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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/24835-0.txt b/24835-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..216b2a6 --- /dev/null +++ b/24835-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7968 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Rídan The Devil And Other Stories, 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: Rídan The Devil And Other Stories + 1899 + +Author: Louis Becke + +Release Date: March 15, 2008 [EBook #24835] +Last Updated: March 8, 2018 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RÍDAN THE DEVIL AND OTHER STORIES *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +RÍDAN THE DEVIL AND OTHER STORIES + +By Louis Becke + + +Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company 1899 + + + + CONTENTS: + + RÍDAN THE DEVIL + + A MEMORY OF 'THE SYSTEM' + + CHAPTER I + + CHAPTER II + + CHAPTER III + + A NORTH PACIFIC LAGOON ISLAND + + BILGER, OF SYDNEY + + THE VISION OF MILLI THE SLAVE + + DENISON GETS A BERTH ASHORE + + ADDIE RANSOM: A MEMORY OF THE TOKELAUS + + IN A NATIVE VILLAGE + + MAURICE KINANE + + THE 'KILLERS' OF TWOFOLD BAY + + DENISON'S SECOND BERTH ASHORE + + A FISH DRIVE ON A MICRONESIAN ATOLL + + BOBARAN + + SEA FISHING IN AUSTRALIA + + AN ADVENTURE IN THE NEW HEBRIDES + + THE SOUTH SEA BUBBLE OF CHARLES DU BREIL + + THE WHITE WIFE AND THE BROWN 'WOMAN' + + WITH HOOK AND LINE ON AN AUSTRAL RIVER + + THE WRECK OF THE LEONORA: A MEMORY OF 'BULLY' HAYES + + AN OLD COLONIAL MUTINY + + A BOATING ADVENTURE IN THE CAROLINES + + A CHRISTMAS EVE IN THE FAR SOUTH SEAS + + + + +RÍDAN THE DEVIL + +Rídan lived alone in a little hut on the borders of the big German +plantation at Mulifenua, away down at the lee end of Upolu Island, and +every one of his brown-skinned fellow-workers either hated or feared +him, and smiled when Burton, the American overseer, would knock him down +for being a 'sulky brute.' But no one of them cared to let Rídan see him +smile. For to them he was a wizard, a devil, who could send death in the +night to those he hated. And so when anyone died on the plantation he +was blamed, and seemed to like it. Once, when he lay ironed hand and +foot in the stifling corrugated iron 'calaboose,' with his blood-shot +eyes fixed in sullen rage on Burton's angered face, Tirauro, a Gilbert +Island native assistant overseer, struck him on the mouth and called him +'a pig cast up by the ocean.' This was to please the white man. But it +did not, for Burton, cruel as he was, called Tirauro a coward and felled +him at once. By ill-luck he fell within reach of Rídan, and in another +moment the manacled hands had seized his enemy's throat. For five +minutes the three men struggled together, the white overseer beating +Rídan over the head with the butt of his heavy Colt's pistol, and then +when Burton rose to his feet the two brown men were lying motionless +together; but Tirauro was dead. + +Rídan was sick for a long time after this. A heavy flogging always did +make him sick, although he was so big and strong. And so, as he could +not work in the fields, he was sent to Apia to do light labour in the +cotton-mill there. The next morning he was missing. He had swum to +a brig lying at anchor in the harbour and hidden away in the empty +forehold. Then he was discovered and taken ashore to the mill again, +where the foreman gave him 'a dose of Cameroons medicine'--that is, +twenty-five lashes. + +'Send him back to the plantation,' said the manager, who was a mere +German civilian, and consequently much despised by his foreman, who had +served in Africa. 'I'm afraid to keep him here, and I'm not going to +punish him if he tries to get away again, poor devil.' + +So back he went to Mulifanua. The boat voyage from Apia down the coast +inside the reef is not a long one, but the Samoan crew were frightened +to have such a man free; so they tied him hand and foot and then lashed +him down tightly under the midship thwart with strips of green _fau_ +bark. Not that they did so with unnecessary cruelty, but ex-Lieutenant +Schwartzkoff, the foreman, was looking on, and then, besides that, +this big-boned, light-skinned man was a foreigner, and a Samoan hates +a foreigner of his own colour if he is poor and friendless. And then he +was an _aitu_ a devil, and could speak neither Samoan, nor Fijian, nor +Tokelau, nor yet any English or German. + +Clearly, therefore, he was not a man at all, but a _manu_--a beast, and +not to be trusted with free limbs. Did not the foreman say that he +was possessed of many devils, and for two years had lived alone on the +plantation, working in the field with the gangs of Tokelau and Solomon +Island men, but speaking to no one, only muttering in a strange tongue +to himself and giving sullen obedience to his taskmasters? + +But as they talked and sang, and as the boat sailed along the white line +of beach fringed with the swaying palms, Rídan groaned in his agony, and +Pulu, the steersman, who was a big strong man and not a coward like his +fellows, took pity on the captive. + +'Let us give him a drink,' he said; 'he cannot hurt us as he is. Else he +may die in the boat and we lose the price of his passage; for the white +men at Mulifanua will not pay us for bringing to them a dead man.' + +So they cast off the lashings of _fau_ bark that bound Rídan to the +thwart, and Pulu, lifting him up, gave him a long drink, holding the +gourd to his quivering mouth--for his hands were tied behind him. + +'Let him rest with his back against the side of the boat,' said Pulu +presently; 'and, see, surely we may loosen the thongs around his wrists +a little, for they are cutting into the flesh.' + +But the others were afraid, and begged him to let well alone. Then Pulu +grew angry and called them cowards, for, as they argued, Rídan fell +forward on his face in a swoon. + +When 'the devil' came to and opened his wearied, blood-shot eyes, Pulu +was bathing his forehead with cold water, and his bruised and swollen +hands were free. For a minute or so he gasped and stared at the big +Samoan, and a heavy sigh broke from his broad naked chest. Then he put +his hands to his face--and sobbed. + +Pulu drew back in wondering pity--surely no devil could weep--and then, +with a defiant glance at the three other Samoans, he stooped down and +unbound Rídan's feet. + +'Let him lie,' he said, going aft to the tiller. 'We be four strong +men--he is but as a child from weakness. See, his bones are like to cut +through his skin. He hath been starved.' + + * * * * * + +At dusk they ran the boat along the plantation jetty, and Pulu and +another man led Rfdan up the path to the manager's house. His hands were +free, but a stout rope of cinnet was tied around his naked waist and +Pulu held the end. + +'Ah, you dumb, sulky devil; you've come back to us again, have you?' +said Burton, eyeing him savagely. 'I wish Schwartzkoff had kept you up +in Apia, you murderous, yellow-hided scoundrel!' + +'What's the use of bully-ragging him?' remarked the plantation engineer, +with a sarcastic laugh; 'he doesn't understand a word you say. Club-law +and the sasa {*} are the only things that appeal to him--and he gets +plenty of both on Mulifanua. Hallo, look at that! Why, he's kissing +Pulu's toe!' + + * Whip. + +Burton laughed. 'So he is. Look out, Pulu, perhaps he's a _kai tagata_' +(cannibal). 'Take care he doesn't bite it off.' + +Pulu shook his mop of yellow hair gravely. A great pity filled his big +heart, for as he had turned to go back to the boat Rídan had fallen upon +his knees and pressed his lips to the feet of the man who had given him +a drink. + +That night Burton and the Scotch engineer went to Rídan's hut, taking +with them food and a new sleeping-mat. He was sitting cross-legged +before a tiny fire of coco-nut shells, gazing at the blue, leaping jets +of flame, and as the two men entered, slowly turned his face to them. + +'Here,' said Burton, less roughly than usual,' here's some _kai kai_ for +you.' + +He took the food from Burton's hand, set it beside him on the ground, +and then, supporting himself on his gaunt right arm and hand, gave the +overseer one long look of bitter, undying hatred; then his eyes drooped +to the fire again. + +'And here, Rídan,' said Craik, the engineer, throwing the sleeping-mat +upon the ground, 'that'll keep your auld bones frae cutting into the +ground. And here is what will do ye mair good still,' and he placed a +wooden pipe and a stick of tobacco in 'the devil's' hand. In a moment +Rídan was on his knees with his forehead pressed to the ground in +gratitude. + +The men looked at him in silence for a few moments as he crouched at +Craik's feet, with the light of the fire playing upon his tattooed +yellow back and masses of tangled black hair. + +'Come awa', Burton, leave the puir deevil to himself. And I'm thinking +ye might try him on the other tack awhile. Ye _have not_ broken the +creature's spirit yet, and I wouldna try to if I were you--for my own +safety. Sit up Rídan, mon, and smoke your pipe.' + + * * * * * + +Two years before, Rídan had been brought to Samoa by a German +labour-ship, which had picked him up in a canoe at sea, somewhere off +the coast of Dutch New Guinea. He was the only survivor of a party of +seven, and when lifted on board was in the last stage of exhaustion from +thirst and hunger. Where the canoe had sailed from, and whither bound, +no one on board the _Iserbrook_ could learn, for the stranger spoke a +language utterly unknown to anyone of even the _Iserbrook's_ polyglot +ship's company--men who came from all parts of Polynesia and Micronesia. +All that could be learned from him by signs and gestures was that a +great storm had overtaken the canoe, many days of hunger and thirst had +followed, and then death ended the agonies of all but himself. + +In a few weeks, and while the brig was thrashing her way back to Samoa +against the south-east trades, Rídan regained his health and strength +and became a favourite with all on board, white and brown. He was quite +six feet in height, with a bright yellow skin, bronzed by the sun; +and his straight features and long black hair were of the true +Malayo-Polynesian type. From the back of his neck two broad stripes of +bright blue tattooing ran down the whole length of his muscular back, +and thence curved outwards and downwards along the back of his thighs +and terminated at each heel. No one on the _Iserbrook_ had ever seen +similar tattooing, and many were the conjectures as to Rídan's native +place. One word, however, he constantly repeated, 'Onêata,' and then +would point to the north-west. But no one knew of such a place, though +many did of an Oneaka, far to the south-east--an island of the Gilbert +Group near the Equator. + +The weeks passed, and at last Rídan looked with wondering eyes upon the +strange houses of the white men in Apia harbour. By-and-by boats +came off to the ship, and the three hundred and odd brown-skinned and +black-skinned people from the Solomons and the Admiralties and the +countless islands about New Britain and New Ireland were taken ashore +to work on the plantations at Vailele and Mulifanua, and Rídan alone was +left. He was glad of this, for the white men on board had been kind to +him, and he began to hope that he would be taken back to Onêata. But +that night he was brought ashore by the captain to a house where many +white men were sitting together, smoking and drinking. They all looked +curiously at him and addressed him in many island tongues, and Rídan +smiled and shook his head and said, 'Me Rídan; me Onêata.' + +'Leave him with me, Kühne,' said Burton to the captain of the brig. +'He's the best and biggest man of the lot you've brought this trip. I'll +marry him to one of my wife's servants, and he'll live in clover down at +Mulifanua.' + +So early next morning Rfdan was put in a boat with many other new +'boys,' and he smiled with joy, thinking he was going back to the +ship--and Onêata. But when the boat sailed round Mulinu's Point, and the +spars of the _Iserbrook_ were suddenly hidden by the intervening line of +palm trees, a cry of terror burst from him, and he sprang overboard. +He was soon caught, though he dived and swam like a fish. And then two +wild-eyed Gilbert Islanders held him by the arms, and laughed as he wept +and kept repeating, 'Onëata, Onëata.' + + * * * * * + +From that day began his martyrdom. He worked hard under his overseer, +but ran away again and again, only to be brought back and tied up. +Sometimes, as he toiled, he would look longingly across the narrow +strait of sunlit water at the bright green little island of Manono, six +miles away; and twice he stole down to the shore at night, launched +a canoe and paddled over towards it. But each time the plantation +guard-boat brought him back; and then Burton put him in irons. Once he +swam the whole distance, braving the sharks, and, reaching the island, +hid in a taro swamp till the next night. He meant to steal food and a +canoe--and seek for Onëata. But the Manono people found him, and, though +he fought desperately, they overcame and bound him, and the women cursed +him for a Tâfito{*} devil, a thieving beast, and beat and pelted him as +the men carried him back to the plantation, tied up like a wild boar, to +get their ten dollars reward for him from the manager. And Burton gave +him thirty lashes as a corrective. + + * The Samoans apply the term 'Tâfito' to all natives of the + Gilbert Group and other equatorial islands. The word is an + abbreviation of Taputeauea (Drummond's Island), and 'Tâfito' + is synonymous for 'savage'--in some senses. + +Then came long, long months of unceasing toil, broken only by attempts +to escape, recapture, irons and more lashes. The rest of the native +labourers so hated and persecuted him that at last the man's nature +changed, and he became desperate and dangerous. No one but Burton dared +strike him now, for he would spring at an enemy's throat like a madman, +and half strangle him ere he could be dragged away stunned, bruised and +bleeding. When his day's slavery was over he would go to his hut, eat +his scanty meal of rice, biscuit and yam in sullen silence, and brood +and mutter to himself. But from the day of his first flogging no word +ever escaped his set lips. All these things he told afterwards to Von +Hammer, the supercargo of the _Mindora_, when she came to Mulifanua with +a cargo of new 'boys.'{*} + + * Polynesian labourers are generally termed 'boys.' + +Von Hammer had been everywhere in the North Pacific, so Burton took him +to Rídan's hut, and called to the 'sulky devil' to come out. He came, +and sullenly followed the two men into the manager's big sitting-room, +and sat down cross-legged on the floor. The bright lamplight shone full +on his nude figure and the tangle of black hair that fell about his +now sun-darkened back and shoulders. And, as on that other evening long +before, when he sat crouching over his fire, his eyes sought Burton's +face with a look of implacable hatred. + +'See if you can find out where the d--d brute comes from,' said Burton. + +Von Hammer looked at Rídan intently for a minute, and then said one or +two words to him in a tongue that the overseer had never before heard. + +With trembling limbs and a joyful wonder shining in his dark eyes, Rfdan +crept up to the supercargo, and then, in a voice of whispered sobs, he +told his two years' tale of bitter misery. + + * * * * * + +'Very well,' said Burton, an hour later, to Von Hammer, 'you can take +him. I don't want the brute here. But he is a dangerous devil, mind. +Where do you say he comes from?' + +'Onêata--Saint David's Island--a little bit of a sandy atoll, as big as +Manono over there, and much like it, too. I know the place well--lived +there once when I was pearling, ten years ago. I don't think the natives +there see a white man more than once in five years. It's a very isolated +spot, off the north-èast coast of New Guinea. “Bully” Hayes used to call +there once. However, let me have him. The _Mindora_ may go to Manila +next year; if so, I'll land him at Onêata on our way there. Anyway, he's +no good to you. And he told me just now that he has been waiting his +chance to murder you.' + +The _Mindora_ returned to Apia to take in stores, and Von Hammer +took Rídan with him, clothed in a suit of blue serge, and with silent +happiness illumining his face. For his heart was leaping within him at +the thought of Onêata, and of those who numbered him with the dead; +and when he clambered up the ship's side and saw Pulu, the big Samoan, +working on deck with the other native sailors, he flung his arms around +him and gave him a mighty hug, and laughed like a pleased child when Von +Hammer told him that Pulu would be his shipmate till he saw the green +land and white beach of Onêata once more. + + * * * * * + +Six months out from Samoa the _Mindora_ was hove-to off Choiseul Island, +in the Solomon Group, waiting for her boat. Von Hammer and four hands +had gone ashore to land supplies for a trader, and the brig was awaiting +his return. There was a heavy sea running on the reef as the boat pushed +off from the beach in the fast-gathering darkness; but who minds such +things with a native crew? So thought Von Hammer as he grasped the long, +swaying steer oar, and swung the whale-boat's head to the white line of +surf. 'Give it to her, boys; now's our chance--there's a bit of a lull +now, eh, Pulu? Bend to it, Rídan, my lad.' + +Out shot the boat, Pulu pulling stroke, Rídan bow-oar, and two sturdy, +square-built Savage Islanders amidships. Surge after surge roared and +hissed past in the darkness, and never a drop of water wetted their +naked backs; and then, with a wild cry from the crew and a shouting +laugh from the steersman, she swept over and down the edge of the reef +and gained the deep water--a second too late! Ere she could rise from +the blackened trough a great curling roller towered high over, and then +with a bursting roar fell upon and smothered her. When she rose to the +surface Von Hammer was fifty feet away, clinging to the steer-oar. A +quick glance showed him that none of the crew were missing--they were +all holding on to the swamped boat and 'swimming' her out away from +the reef, and shouting loudly for him to come alongside. Pushing the +steer-oar before him, he soon reached the boat, and, despite his own +unwillingness, his crew insisted on his getting in. Then, each still +grasping the gunwale with one hand, they worked the boat out yard by +yard, swaying her fore and aft whenever a lull in the seas came, and +jerking the water out of her by degrees till the two Savage Islanders +were able to clamber in and bale out with the wooden bucket slung under +the after-thwart, while the white man kept her head to the sea. But the +current was setting them steadily along, parallel with the reef, and +every now and then a sea would tumble aboard and nearly fill her again. +At last, however, the Savage Islanders got her somewhat free of water, +and called to Pulu and Rídan to get in--there were plenty of spare +canoe-paddles secured along the sides in case of an emergency such as +this. + +'Get in, Pulu, get in,' said Rfdan to the Samoan, in English; 'get in +quickly.' + +But Pulu refused. He was a bigger and a heavier man than Rfdan, he said, +and the boat was not yet able to bear the weight of a fourth man. This +was true, and the supercargo, though he knew the awful risk the men +ran, and urged them to jump in and paddle, yet knew that the additional +weight of two such heavy men as Rfdan and Pulu meant death to all, +for every now and then a leaping sea would again fill the boat to the +thwarts. + +And then suddenly, amid the crashing sound of the thundering rollers on +the reef, Rídan raised his voice in an awful shriek. + +'_Quick! Pulu, quick!_ Some shark hav' come. Get in, get in first,' he +said in his broken English. And as he spoke he grasped the gunwale +with both hands and raised his head and broad shoulders high out of the +water, and a bubbling, groan-like sound issued from his lips. + +In an instant the big Samoan swung himself into the boat, and Von Hammer +called to Rídan to get in also. + +'Nay, oh, white man!' he answered, in a strange choking voice, 'let me +stay here and hold to the boat. We are not yet safe from the reef. But +paddle, paddle... quickly!' + +In another minute or two the boat was out of danger, and then Rídan's +voice was heard. + +'Lift me in,' he said quietly, 'my strength is spent.' + +The two Savage Islanders sprang to his aid, drew him up over the side, +and tumbled him into the boat. Then, without a further look, they seized +their paddles and plunged them into the water. Rídan lay in a huddled-up +heap on the bottom boards. + +'Exhausted, poor devil!' said Von Hammer to himself, bending down and +peering at the motionless figure through the darkness. Then something +warm flowed over his naked foot as the boat rolled, and he looked closer +at Rídan, and-- + +'Oh, my God!' burst from him--both of Rídan's legs were gone--bitten off +just above the knees. + +Twenty minutes later, as the boat came alongside the _Mindora_, Rídan +'the devil' died in the arms of the man who had once given him a drink. + + + + +A MEMORY OF 'THE SYSTEM' + + + + +CHAPTER I + +The house in which I lived from my birth till I was twelve years of age +stood on the green-grassed slopes of a treeless bluff which overlooked +the blue waters of the sunlit Pacific. Except for a cluster of five or +six little weatherboard cottages perched on the verge of the headland, +half a mile away, and occupied by the crew of the Government pilot boat, +there were no other dwellings near, for the 'town,' as it was called, +lay out of sight, on the low, flat banks of a tidal river, whose upper +waters were the haunt and breeding places of the black swan, the wild +duck and the pelican. + +My father was the principal civil official in the place, which was +called Bar Harbour, one of the smaller penal settlements in Australia, +founded for what were called 'the better class' of convicts, many of +whom, having received their emancipation papers, had settled in the +vicinity, and had become prosperous and, in a measure, respected +settlers, though my father, who had a somewhat bitter tongue, said that +no ex-convict could ever be respected in the colony until he had lent +money to one or other of the many retired military or civil officers +who held large Crown grants of land in the district and worked them with +convict labour; for, while numbers of the emancipists throve and became +almost wealthy, despite the many cruel and harassing restrictions +imposed upon them by the unwritten laws of society (which yet +academically held them to be purged of their offences), the grand +military gentlemen and their huge estates generally went to ruin--mostly +through their own improvidence, though such misfortunes, our minister, +the Reverend Mr Sampson, said, in the sermons he preached in +our hideous, red-brick church, were caused by an 'inscrutable +Providence'--their dwellings and store houses were burnt, their cattle +and sheep disappeared, and their 'assigned' labourers took to the bush, +and either perished of starvation or became bushrangers and went to the +gallows in due course. + +My mother, who was a gentle, tender-hearted woman, and seemed to live +and move and have her being only for the purpose of making happy those +around her, was, being English-born (she was of a Devonshire family), +a constant church-goer, not for the sake of appearances, for her +intelligence was too great for her to be bound by such a shallow reason, +but because she was a simple, good and pure-minded woman, and sought by +her example to make a protest against the scandalous and degraded lives +led by many of the soldier officers and officials with whom she and her +children were brought in almost daily contact, for my father, being +an all too generous man, kept open house. But although she was always +sweet-tempered and sometimes merry with the hard-drinking old Peninsular +veterans, and the noisy and swaggering subalterns of the ill-famed 102nd +Regiment (or New South Wales Corps), she always shuddered and looked +pale and ill at ease when she saw among my father's guests the coarse, +stern face of the minister, and her dislike of the clergyman was shared +by all we children, especially by my elder brother Harry (then sixteen +years of age), who called him 'the flogging parson' and the 'Reverend +Diabolical Howl.' This latter nickname stuck, and greatly tickled Major +Trenton, who repeated it to the other officers, and one day young Mr +Moore of the 102nd, who was clever at such things, made a sketch of +the cleric as he appeared when preaching, which set them all a-laughing +immoderately. + +'God alive!' cried old Major Trenton, holding the picture in his left +hand, and bringing down his right upon the table with a thump that set +all the glasses jingling, ''tis a perfect likeness of him, and yet, +Moore, if ye had but given him a judge's wig and robes instead of a +cassock, he would be the double of damned old hanging Norbury up there,' +pointing to the picture of an Irish judge which hung on the wall. +'Come,' he added, 'Mrs Egerton must see this. I know our hostess loves +the gentle parson.' + +So three or four of them, still laughing boisterously, left the table to +look for my mother, whom they found sitting on the latticed-in verandah, +which on hot summer days was used as a drawing-room. She, too, laughed +heartily at the sketch, and said 'twas wonderfully drawn, and then +my brother Harry asked Mr Moore to give it to him. This the young +lieutenant did, though my mother begged him to destroy it, lest Mr +Sampson should hear of the matter and take offence. But my brother +promised her not to let it go out of his keeping, and there the thing +ended--so we thought. + +Yet, in some way, my mother's convict and free servants came to hear of +the picture--they had already bandied about the parson's nickname--and +every one of them, on some cunning excuse, had come to my brother's room +and laughed at the drawing; and very often when they saw the clergyman +riding past the house, attended by his convict orderly, they would say, +with an added curse, 'There goes “Diabolical Howl,'” for they all hated +the man, because, being a magistrate as well as a minister, he had +sentenced many a prisoner to a dreadful flogging and had watched it +being administered. + +But perhaps it was not altogether on account of the floggings in which +he so believed for which he was so detested--for floggings were common +enough for even small breaches of the regulations of the System--but +for the spiritual admonition with which he dosed them afterwards, while +their backs were still black and bloody from the cat. Once, when an old +convict named Callaghan was detected stealing some sugar belonging to +one of the pilot boat's crew, my mother went to Dr Parsons, who, with +the Reverend Mr Sampson, was to hear the charge against Callaghan on the +following morning, and begged him not to have the man flogged; and Tom +King, the man from whom the sugar was stolen, went with her and joined +his pleadings to hers. + +'Now, come, doctor,' said my mother, placing her hand on the old +officer's arm and smiling into his face, 'you _must_ grant me this +favour. The man is far too old to be flogged. And then he was a soldier +himself once--he was a drummer boy, so he once told me, in the 4th +Buffs.' + +'The most rascally regiment in the service, madam. Every one of them +deserved hanging. But,' and here his tone changed from good-humoured +banter into sincerity, 'I honour you, Mrs Egerton, for your humanity. +The man is over sixty, and I promise you that he shall not be flogged. +Why, he is scarce recovered yet from the punishment inflicted on him for +stealing Major Innes's goose. But yet he is a terrible old rascal.' + +'Never mind that,' said my mother, laughing. 'Major Innes should keep +his geese from straying about at night-time. And then, doctor, you +must remember that poor Callaghan said that he mistook the bird for a +pelican--it being dark when he killed it.' + +'Ha, ha,' laughed the doctor, 'and no doubt Mr Patrick Callaghan only +discovered his mistake when he was cooking his pelican, and noticed its +remarkably short bill.' + +My mother left, well pleased, but on the following morning, while we +were at our mid-day meal, she was much distressed to hear that old +Callaghan had received fifty lashes after all--the good doctor had been +thrown from his horse and so much hurt that he was unable to attend the +court, and another magistrate--a creature of Mr Sampson's--had taken his +place. The news was brought to us by Thomas King, and my mother's pale +face flushed with anger as, bidding King to go into the kitchen and get +some dinner, she turned to my father (who took but little heed of such a +simple thing as the flogging of a convict), and said hotly,-- + +''Tis shameful that such cruelty can be perpetrated! I shall write to +the Governor himself--he is a just and humane man--oh, it is wicked, +wicked,' and then she covered her face with her hands and sobbed aloud. + +My father was silent. He detested the parson most heartily, but was too +cautious a man, in regard to his own interest, to give open expression +to his opinions, so beyond muttering something to my brother Harry about +Thomas King having no business to distress her, he was about to rise +from the table, when a servant announced that the Reverend Mr Sampson +wished to see him. + +The mention of the clergyman's name seemed to transform my mother into +another woman. Quickly, but gently, putting aside my sister Frances, +whose loving arms were clasped around her waist, she rose, and fire +flashed in her eyes as she said to the servant,-- + +'Denham, tell Mr Sampson that I desire to speak with him as soon as he +has finished his business with Mr Egerton.' + +My father went out to the drawing-room, where the clergyman awaited him, +and for the next ten minutes or so my mother walked quickly to and fro +in the dining-room, bidding us remain seated, and in a harsh, unnatural +tone to one so sweet and gentle, she told the servants who waited to +withdraw. + +'Mr Sampson is at your service, madam,' said Denham, opening the door. + +'Show him in here,' said my mother, sharply, and her always pale face +grew paler still. + +The clergyman entered, and extended his fat, white hand to her; she drew +back and bowed coldly. + +'I do not desire to shake hands with you, sir.' + +Mr Sampson's red face flushed purple. + +'I do not understand you, madam. Is this a jest--or do you forget who I +am?' + +'I shall try to make you understand me, Mr Sampson, in as few words +as possible. I do not jest, and I do not forget who you are. I have a +request to make.' + +'Indeed! I feel honoured, madam,' and the corners of the clergyman's +thick lips turned contemptuously down--'and that is--?' + +'That you will cease your visits to this house. It would be painful +indeed to me to receive you as a guest from this time forth, for this +very day it is my intention to write to the Governor and acquaint +him with the shocking act of cruelty committed this morning--'twas a +shameful, cruel deed to flog an old man so cruelly.' + +Mr Sampson's face was now livid with the rage he could not suppress. + +'Beware, madam, of what you say or do. 'Tis a pretty example you set +your children to thus insult a clergyman.' + +My mother's answer cut like a whip-lash. 'A clergyman such as you, +Mr Sampson, can inspire naught in their childish minds but fear and +abhorrence,' and then she pulled the bell cord so violently that not +only Denham but my father entered as well. + +'Show Mr Sampson out,' she said in accents of mingled anger and +scorn, and then turning to the window nearest, she seemed to be gazing +unconcernedly upon the blue expanse of ocean before her; but her little +hands were clasped tightly together, and her whole frame trembled with +excitement. + +As soon as the clergyman had mounted his horse and ridden off, my father +returned to the dining-room. + +'You have made a bitter enemy of a man who can do me much harm,' he +began; but something in my mother's face made him cease from further +reproaches, and he added lightly, that he hoped 'twould soon blow over. + +'Charles,' said my mother, who was now herself again, 'it must _not_ +blow over. The Governor shall know of this man's doings. And never again +shall I or my children enter the church when he preaches. To-night, +I suppose, he will visit that wretched old man--the victim of his +brutality--and administer “spiritual admonition.” Come, children, let us +go to the beach and forget that that dreadful man has been here.' + +It was, I think, this practice of 'administering admonition' to convicts +after he had had them sentenced to a severe flogging that first gave my +mother such an utter abhorrence of the man, together with his habit of +confining his sermons to the prisoners to the one subject--their own +criminal natures and the terrors of hell-fire everlasting. Then, too, +his voice was appalling to hear, for he had a way of suddenly dropping +his harsh, metallic tones, and raising his voice to a howl, like to that +of a hungry dingo.{*} + + * The native dog of Australia, whose long, accentuated howl + is most distressing to hear. + +Often did I, when sitting in our great square pew in that dreadful, +horrible church, press close to my mother's side and bury my face in her +dress, as he lashed himself into a fury and called down the vengeance of +a wrathful God upon the rows of silent, wretched beings clad in yellow, +who were seated on long stools in the back of the church, guarded by +soldiers, who, with loaded muskets, were stationed in the gallery +above. Some of the convicts, it was said, had sworn to murder him if an +opportunity served, and this no doubt made him the more merciless and +vindictive to any one of them who was so unfortunate as to be charged +before him in his capacity of magistrate. By the Regulations he could +not sit alone to deal out punishment, and sometimes had difficulty +in finding a colleague, especially among the military men, who nearly +always protested against his fondness for the cat; but there were always +to be found, in the end, magistrates who would do anything to please +him, for it was known that he had great influence with the Home +Government, and was not chary of using it on behalf of those who +truckled to him, if he so inclined; and, indeed, both Major Trenton and +Dr Parsons said that he was a man with many good points, and could be, +to those who pleased him, a good friend, as well as a bitter enemy to +those who in any way crossed him. But they asserted that he should never +have been appointed a magistrate in a colony where the penal laws gave +such latitude to his violent temper and arbitrary disposition. + +Early one morning in December, and three months after the drawing of +the picture by Lieutenant Moore, my two brothers and myself set off on +a fishing excursion to a tidal lagoon whose waters debouched into the +Pacific, about fifteen miles southward from the little township. Behind +us followed a young man named Walter Trenfield, who was one of my +father's assigned servants, and an aboriginal named 'King Billy'; +these two carried our provisions, cooking utensils and blankets, for we +intended to camp out for two or three days. + +A half-an-hour's walk over the slopes of the bluff brought us to the +fringe of the dense coastal forest, through which our track lay for +another two or three miles before we again came to open country. There +was, however, a very good road, made by convict labour, through the +scrub as far as it went; it ran almost along the very verge of the +steep-to coast, and as we tramped over the rich red soil we had the +bright blue sea beneath us on our left, and the dark and almost silent +bush on our right. I say 'almost,' for although in these moist and +sunless seaboard tracts of what we Australian-born people call bush, and +English people would call wood or forest, there was no sound of human +life, there was yet always to be heard the _thump, thump_ of the +frightened scrub wallaby, and now and again the harsh, shrieking note of +the great white cockatoo, or the quick rush of a long-tailed iguana over +the thick bed of leaves, as the timid reptile fled to the nearest tree, +up whose rugged bole it crawled for security. + +We had come some three or four miles upon our way, when we suddenly +emerged from the darkness and stillness of the scrub out into the light +of day and the bright sunshine, and heard the low murmur of the surf +beating upon the rocks below. Here we sat down to rest awhile and feast +our boyish eyes on the beauties of sea and shore and sky around us. +A few hundred yards away from where we sat was a round, verdured cone +called 'Little Nobby'; it rose steep-to from the sea to a height of +about three hundred feet, and formed a very striking and distinct +landmark upon that part of the coast--bold and rugged as it was--for +a stretch of three score miles. Presently, as we lay upon the grass, +looking out upon the sea, Walter Trenfield and the aboriginal joined us, +and whilst they made a fire to boil a billy of tea, my brother Harry, +hearing the call of a wonga pigeon, picked up his gun and went into the +scrub to shoot it. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +I must now relate something of the previous history of this young +man Trenfield. He was a native of Bideford, in Devon--my mother's +county--and had been a sailor. Some years before, he, with another young +man named Thomas May, had been concerned in a mutiny on board a London +whale-ship, the _Jason_, and both men were sentenced to fourteen years' +penal servitude, it being believed, though not proven, that either +Trenfield or May had killed one of the officers with a blow of the fist. +They were, with six of their shipmates, tried at the Old Bailey, and +although a Quaker gentleman, a Mr Robert Bent, who had visited them in +prison, gave a lawyer fifty guineas to defend them, the judge said that +although the death of the officer could not be sheeted home to either of +them, there was no doubt of their taking part in the mutiny--with which +offence they were charged. After spending three months in one of the +convict hulks they were sent out to Sydney in the _Breckenbridge_ +transport. But before they sailed they were several times visited by Mr +Bent, who told them that he would always bear them in mind, and should +endeavour to have their sentences reduced if he heard good word of their +future conduct from his agent in Sydney; this Mr Bent was the owner of +several of the Government transports, which, after discharging their +cargo of convicts, would sail upon a whaling cruise to the South Seas. +More than this, he said that he would give them berths on one of his +vessels as soon as they regained their freedom, and that he had written +to his agent to that effect. + +It so happened that this agent, a Mr Thomas Campbell, was a friend of my +father's, who also knew Mr Bent, and so when the _Breckenbridge_ arrived +at Sydney he succeeded in having Trenfield assigned to him, and Thomas +May to a contractor who was building a bridge for the Government over a +river in the vicinity of Bar Harbour. + +The two young seamen were very much attached to each other, and their +cheerful dispositions, good conduct and unceasing industry led to their +being granted many privileges. Both my father and my mother had taken +a strong liking to Trenfield; and so, too, had Ruth Kenna, a young +free female servant of ours. As for we boys, we simply worshipped both +Trenfield and May as heroes who had sailed in the far South Seas and +harpooned and killed the mighty sperm whale, and had fought with the +wild and naked savages of the Pacific Isles. + +Ruth Kenna was the daughter of a small farmer in the district, who had +been emancipated by the good Governor. He was a widower, and a rough, +taciturn man, but passionately devoted to Ruth, who was his only child. +He had been transported for having taken part in the disastrous Irish +rebellion of '98,' and his young wife had followed him to share his +exile. The terrors and hardships of the long voyage out killed her, for +she died almost as soon as she landed, without seeing her husband, +and leaving her infant child to the kindly care of the officers of the +detachment of the regiment which had come out in the same ship. By them +the infant girl had been placed in the charge of a respectable female +convict, who, at my mother's expense, had kept her till she was ten +years of age. Then she came to us as a servant, and had remained ever +since. + +Very often my father--though he pretended, as became his official +position in a Crown Colony, to have a great dislike to Irish Roman +Catholics--would allow we boys to go to Patrick Kenna's farm to shoot +native bears and opossums, which were very plentiful thereabout, for +the land was very thickly timbered with blue gum, tallow-wood and native +apple. The house itself stood on the margin of a small tidal creek, +whose shallow waters teemed with fish of all descriptions, and in the +winter Kenna would catch great numbers of whiting, bream and sea mullet, +which he salted and dried and sold to the settlers who lived inland. +He lived quite alone, except from Saturday morning till Sunday morning, +when Ruth stayed with him and straightened up the rough house. Sometimes +Ruth would persuade my mother to let my brother Will and myself stay +with them for the night, and dearly did we love going; for her father, +though a silent, cold-mannered man to most people, was always different +to any one of us Egertons, and never even grumbled when we got into +mischief, though he pretended to be very angry. Once, indeed, he had +good cause to be--as I shall relate. + +One Saturday evening, after we had finished our supper, Patrick Kenna +found that he had run out of tobacco, and said that if we were not +afraid of being left by ourselves for a few hours he would walk into Bar +Harbour and buy some before the store closed, returning before midnight. +Of course we did not mind, and in a few minutes Ruth's father set out, +accompanied by 'King Billy' and one or two other black-fellows who +were in hopes of selling some wild honey for a bottle or two of rum. We +watched them disappear into the darkness of the forest, and then, as the +night was suitable, my brother Will proposed that we should all go down +to the creek and fish for black bream. + +'The tide is coming in, Ruth,' he said gleefully, 'and we'll have fine +sport. I'll go on first and light a fire on the bank.' + +Presently, as Ruth and I were getting ready our lines, he dashed into +the house again, panting with excitement. + +'Never mind the lines. Oh, I have glorious news! The salmon are coming +in, in swarms, and the water is alive with them! Ruth, let us get the +net and put it right across the creek as soon as it is slack water. +'Twill be glorious.' + +Now, we knew that the sea salmon had been seen out at sea a few days +before, but it was yet thought to be too soon for their vast droves +to enter the rivers and lagoons. But Will was quite right, for when we +dragged down the heavy net we found that the water, which half an hour +before, though under the light of myriad stars, had been black and +silent, was now a living sheet of phosphorescent light, caused by the +passage up the creek of countless thousands of agitated fish, driven in +by hundreds of porpoises and savage, grey ocean-haunting sharks, whose +murderous forms we could see darting to and fro just outside the shallow +bar, charging into and devouring the helpless, compact masses of salmon, +whose very numbers prevented them from escaping; for serried legion +after legion from the sea swam swiftly in to the narrow passage and +pressed upon those which were seeking to force their way up to the +shallow, muddy waters five miles beyond--where alone lay safety from the +tigers of the sea. + +Ruth Kenna, as wild with excitement as my brother and myself, took up +one pole of the net and sprang into the water, leaving Will and I to pay +out on our side. She was a tall, strong girl, but what with the force of +the inward current and the mad press of the terrified salmon, she could +barely reach the sand-spit on the other shore, though the passage was +not fifty feet across. But she managed to struggle ashore and secure her +end of the net by jamming the pole between some logs of driftwood which +lay upon the sand. Then, with a loud, merry laugh, she bade me run up +to the house and bring her a petticoat and bodice, and leaping into the +water she swam across again and helped Will to properly secure his end +of the net to the bole of a tea tree. + +Old as I am now, the memory of that happy, happy night lives with me +yet. By the light of a huge fire of logs we sat and watched the net, +which, as the tide ebbed, curved outward to the sea, though the salmon +without still tried to force a passage into the creek, and the ravening +sharks outside the deep water of the bar rushed through and through +their close-packed ranks and gorged themselves till they rolled about, +with distended bellies, as if they were water-logged baulks of timber. + +As we sat by the fire, waiting for the tide to run out, we heard the +dogs barking and knew that Patrick Kenna had returned. Presently we +heard him walking down towards us, and at the same moment Ruth uttered +an exclamation of terror and pointed to the water. + +'Oh, look! look! There are a lot of sharks inside, coming down the +creek. Quick! let this end of the net go, or they will be caught in it +and tear it to pieces!' + +Her father was alive to the danger. Springing before us, he cut the end +of the line fastened to the tea-tree; but he was too late, for before +the net had tailed out to the current four or five sharks had dashed +into it and entangled themselves in its meshes, and in ten minutes the +net was utterly ruined, for although the sharks could not use their +teeth, the great weight of their gorged bodies and their furious +struggles soon tore the bight of it to shreds. + +Kenna watched the destruction of the net in silence. As he stood in the +light of the fire, his dark, rugged face showed no sign of the anger +that must have burned within him at our thoughtless conduct. + +'Ye might have waited till I was back, Ruth,' he said quietly; 'there's +as good a net as was ever made gone to ruin. And sure 'twas a mad thing +for ye to do when th' ravening sharks were so plentiful.' + +Of course my father and mother were very angry with us, and sent Kenna +five pounds to partly pay for the damage done. He sent it back by Ruth, +and said that he would be a poor creature to take it, for the mishap was +caused by Ruth's folly, and that we boys were in no way to blame. + + * * * * * + +Almost every alternate evening Tom May would come to our house, and go +to Walter Trenfield's quarters, which were in a large airy loft over +our stable, and the two young men would dress and sew the skins of +the wallabies and 'possums which my brothers had shot. My mother never +objected to us staying with them till about ten o'clock, and Ruth, too, +often came and made coffee for us all. Both May and Trenfield always +behaved well and soberly, and although they had been whale-ship sailors +they were always very careful in their language when we were with them. +Some time before my mother's angry interview with Mr Sampson she had +mentioned, in his hearing, to Major Trenton's wife, that her boys were +greatly attached to the two young men, whose stories of their former +sea life were very exciting, and so forth, whereupon the clergyman said +sourly that both were dangerous villains who should not be trusted, and +she would do well to prevent the further intercourse of her children +with such rascals. + +My mother bowed stiffly to him, and said gently that she thought he was +mistaken greatly in their characters; also she was well able to look +after her children's morals; but Mrs Trenton, a sharp-tongued old +Irishwoman, who hated the parson and loved my mother, spoke out pretty +plainly. + +'No one but a clergyman would make such a rude speech to a lady, sir. +A man who _called_ himself a gentleman would be made to account for his +lack of manners.' + +One Saturday afternoon, as Walter Trenfield and Ruth were driving the +cows down to the creek to drink, and Will and I were idling about on the +seaward hill, we saw Patrick Kenna ride up to the house, dismount and +knock. He only remained indoors a few minutes, and presently we saw him +galloping towards Trenfield and Ruth, with whom he stayed talking for +even a still shorter time; then, without taking any notice of us--which +was most unusual for him--he put spurs to his horse and rode straight +for the scrub, towards his home. + +'There is something the matter,' said Will. 'See, there is Walter +running up to the house again. Come, let us see what it is.' + +We ran home, and entering by the garden gate saw that Walter was talking +to my mother on the back verandah. She seemed very troubled and almost +on the verge of crying, and we soon heard the news, which was bad +enough. Thomas May had been given a hundred lashes and had taken to the +bush. + +It appeared that May, whom we had not seen for one or two weeks, had +been working under an overseer named Cross, at a place about ten miles +from the town. (This man Cross was of a notoriously savage disposition, +and had himself been a convict in Van Diemen's Land, but had received a +pardon for having shot and killed a bushranger there.) + +May, with the rest of his gang, was felling timber, when a heavy chip +flew from the tallow-wood tree upon which he was working, and struck +the overseer in the face. Cross at once flew into a violent passion, and +with much foul language accused poor May of having thrown the chip at +him. This the young fellow warmly denied, whereupon Cross, taking his +pistol out of his belt, struck the sailor on the mouth with the butt. In +an instant May returned the blow by knocking the overseer down, and was +then seized by two of his fellow-convicts. He was ironed and taken into +town, and on the following morning was brought before Mr Sampson and +another magistrate. It was no use of his pleading provocation, he +received his flogging within a few hours. Towards daylight he crept out +of his hut, broke into his master's storeroom, and took a musket, powder +and ball, and as much food as he could carry, telling a fellow-prisoner +that he would perish in the bush rather than be taken alive. + +On the fifth night after his escape, and whilst the constables were +scouring the country in search of him, he came to Patrick Kenna's house. +The night was very dark and the rain descending in torrents; so, there +being no fear of intruders, Kenna barred his door and made the poor +fellow comfortable by giving him a change of clothes, a good meal and +some tobacco to smoke. Tom inquired very eagerly after Walter, and sent +him a long message, and then told Kenna some startling news. + +Two days after he had absconded, and when he was quite thirty miles +distant from Bar Harbour, he saw smoke arising from a dense scrub. +Creeping along on his hands and knees he saw two men--escaped convicts +like himself--engaged in skinning a wallaby. He at once made himself +known to them and was welcomed. After a meal from the wallaby, the two +men asked him if he would join them in a plan they had of getting away +from the country; he was just the man, they said, being a sailor, who +could bring the attempt to a successful issue. Then they told him that, +many weeks previously, they had found a whale-boat lying capsized on the +beach some miles away, and that she was perfectly sound. By great labour +they had succeeded in dragging her up into the margin of the scrub on +the beach, where they had turned her over and covered her carefully with +dead branches. A further search along the beach had resulted in their +finding an oar and one of the line tubs,{*} but that was all. + + * English whale-ship boats generally used two line tub's-- + American only one. No doubt this boat was lost from an + English whaler, the _Britannia_, then on the coast. + +Of course poor Tom May was greatly taken with this, and said that he +would join them, and that he thought Walter Trenfield would come as +well. He went with the men to look at the boat, and found her just as +they had said--almost new and quite watertight. He agreed to return to +within a safe distance of Bar Harbour, and, through Patrick Kenna, let +Trenfield know of the discovery of the boat and get him to help them to +fit her out properly. Oars and a mast they could easily make, had they +the tools, and a sail could also be obtained through either Ruth or her +father, who could get them enough coarse calico for the purpose. + +Kenna promised to help, although he told Tom he should try to dissuade +Walter from joining in the enterprise. Just before daylight May bid +Kenna good-bye, as he was anxious to return to the other two convicts +and tell them that they had friends who would help them. Before he +left, however, he arranged with Kenna that the latter should bring the +required articles one by one--especially two breakers of water--to the +foot of Little Nobby's and hide them in the scrub at the spot agreed +upon. Then, when all was ready and a dark night favoured, May and the +other two men were to launch the boat and make their way with all speed +down the coast to Little Nobby's--nearly twenty miles distant from where +the boat was hidden--take on board the water and provisions and put to +sea; it being May's intention, whether Trenfield joined him or not, to +make to the northward for Timor in the East Indies. Then, with a warm +hand-grasp, they parted; and never again was Thomas May seen alive. + +On the following morning Kenna contrived to see Walter and tell him that +his former shipmate was safe, and what was afoot. Of course Walter was +overjoyed to learn that he (Tom) had such a means of escape offering, +and at once announced his intention of falling in with the enterprise; +but Patrick Kenna spoke very strongly against his doing so, and Ruth, +too, came to her father's aid. It was, they said, foolish of him to link +himself with these desperate men, every one of whom had a price upon his +head, whereas he, Walter, stood in good chance of receiving his pardon +at any moment. Why should he sacrifice himself and break Ruth's heart +for the sake of his friend? + +So, finally, overcome by their arguments, he yielded, saying, however, +that he felt he was acting a coward's part, and begged of Kenna to +arrange a farewell meeting between Tom and himself. This, wisely enough, +Kenna refused to do, but said he would do anything else to make their +separation easier. So Trenfield wrote his old comrade a letter of +farewell, and, taking a canvas bag, he filled it with all sorts of +articles likely to be useful on a long boat voyage. Kenna took the bag, +together with material for a sail, away with him at night and placed it +in the spot agreed upon with May. He had already given Tom a tomahawk +and an adze with which to make some oars and a mast. + +On the fourth night after his visit to Kenna's house, Tom May again came +through the bush, and went to Little Nobby's, for when Ruth's father +went to the hiding-place in the morning with a breaker of water and a +large bundle of dried fish, he found that the bag and the sail-cloth +were gone, and on a small piece of white driftwood which lay on the +ground these words were written in charcoal:-- + + '_Sunday, Midnight?_' + +By this Kenna knew that the three men meant to come for the provisions +and water at the time mentioned. It was then Friday, and he had much +to do to get all in readiness; for Little Nobby's was quite six miles +distant from his house, and he could only make his journeys to and fro +with great secrecy, for the constables were still searching the coastal +region for May. But, aided by Billy, the aboriginal, he managed to have +everything in readiness early on Sunday night. He afterwards told my +mother that besides the two breakers of water, each holding ten gallons, +he had provided four gallons of rum, a hundredweight each of salted +meat and dried fish, tobacco and pipes, fishing tackle, two muskets, and +plenty of powder and bullets. The place selected for the landing of +the boat was an excellent one; for on one side of Little Nobby's was a +little, narrow bay running in between high clifis of black trap rock, +which broke the force of the ocean swell entirely. Then, too, the place +was very lonely and seldom visited, for the main road lay nearly two +miles back beyond the clifis. + +Whether my mother actually knew of all that was going on I do not know; +but I do know that about this time she seemed paler than ever, and we +frequently saw her and Ruth talking earnestly together; and Ruth and +Walter, too, were always whispering to each other. + +Sunday came, and as my mother, since her quarrel with the Reverend Mr +Sampson over the flogging of old Callaghan, did not now go to church, +we all, except my father, who was still on friendly terms with the +clergyman, remained at home, my mother herself conducting a short +service in the dining-room, at which all the servants, free and bond, +attended. In the afternoon Major Trenton, Captain Crozier and some other +soldier officers rode up, as was customary with them on Sundays, and +Ruth and Denham brought them brandy and water on the front verandah, +where they awaited my mother and sisters. + +'Harry, you young rascal,' said Major Trenton, presently to my eldest +brother, 'what did you do with Mr Moore's picture of the parson, eh?' + +'It was stolen from me, sir,' he answered, laughing, 'about three or +four months ago.' + +'Indeed,' said the major; 'then the thief has principles, and will +doubtless send it back to you, for he has made a score of copies of +it, and they are all over the district. Why, the rascal, whoever he is, +nailed one to the door of the Commissariat Store not long ago, and the +first person to see it was Mr Sampson himself. He is mightily wroth +about it, I can tell ye, and somehow suspects that the picture came from +someone in this house, and told your father that these copies were given +about by your man Trenfield. So just ye give a hint to the fellow, and +tell him that if the parson gets a chance to tickle his back, faith +he'll do it.' + +'I am sure, sir, that Walter did not take the picture,' said my brother. +'It was nailed up over my bed and one day I missed it. I thought that +my mother had destroyed or taken it away. But she had not, and I cannot +account for its disappearance.' + +Now this was hardly true, for, from something they had heard from Ruth, +both Harry and my sister Frances thought that Thomas May had taken away +the caricature, intending to replace it. + +'Well, never mind, my lad,' said Major Trenton, laughing, ''tis a +monstrous fine joke, anyway, and, faith, I sent one of the copies to the +Governor himself. 'Twill amuse him hugely.' + +Presently my mother and my two sisters joined the group on the verandah, +and as they were all talking and laughing together, Ruth Kenna came to +my mother and said that her father had just come with a basket of fresh +fish and would like to see her for a minute. I, being the youngest boy +of the family, and over-fond--so my brothers said--of hanging on +to mammy's apron-strings, as well as being anxious to see the fish, +followed her out on to the back verandah, where black-browed, dark-faced +Patrick Kenna awaited her. + +''Tis a fine dark night coming on, ma'am,' he said in a low voice. 'The +wind is north-east and 'twill hould well till daylight. Then 'twill come +away from the south-east, sure enough. They should be there long before +midnight and out of sight of land before the dawn.' + +'Yes, yes, Patrick,' said my mother, hurriedly. 'I shall pray to-night +to God for those in peril on the sea; and to forgive us for any wrong we +may have done in this matter.' + +'No harm can iver come to any wan in this house,' said the man, +earnestly, raising her hand to his lips, 'for the blessin' av God an' +the Holy Virgin is upon it.' + +My mother pressed his hand. 'Good-bye, Patrick. I do hope all may go +well;' and with this she went away. + +Kenna raised his hat and turned to go, when Walter Trenfield came to the +foot of the verandah steps and stopped him. + +'Let me come with you,' he said, 'and bid Tom good-bye.' + +'No,' answered Kenna, roughly, 'neither you nor I nor any wan else must +go near Nobby's to-night; matthers are goin' well enough, an' no folly +of yours shall bring desthruction upon them. As it is, the constables +suspect me, and are now watching my house.' + +Then, mounting his horse again, he rode leisurely away over the brow of +the hill towards the scrub, through which his road lay. + +Both Walter and Ruth knew that unless the night was very clear there was +no chance of even the lookout man on the pilot station seeing a small +boat passing along to the southward; but nevertheless they went up to +the pilot station about ten o'clock, when they thought that Tom May +and his companions would be passing Bar Harbour on their way to Little +Nobby's. They stayed on the headland for nearly an hour, talking to Tom +King and the look-out man, and then came home, feeling satisfied that +if the three men had succeeded in launching the boat safely, they had +passed Bar Harbour about eleven o'clock and would reach Nobby's at or +before midnight. + +Soon after breakfast next morning, Patrick Kenna, under pretence of +speaking to my mother about a strayed heifer of ours, came into the +kitchen, and told Ruth that all was well; he had been to Little Nobby's +at daylight and found that everything was gone and the boat was nowhere +to be discerned. + +For quite another two or three weeks after this the constables pursued +their search after Thomas May, much to the amusement of Ruth and +Patrick Kenna, especially as the latter, with 'King Billy' and another +aboriginal, were officially employed by my father at ten shillings _per +diem_ to discover the absconder--Billy, who seemed to be most anxious +to get the reward of five pounds, leading the constables all over the +country and eating more than three men's rations daily. At last the +chase was abandoned, and my father wrote officially to Sydney and said +that 'Thomas May, No. 3614, _Breckenbridge_,' was supposed to have +either died of starvation in the bush or have been killed by the +natives. My mother, of course, thought she knew better. + +And so the matter was forgotten by everyone but us who had known and +cared for the good-natured, high-spirited and warm-hearted young sailor; +and as the months went by, Walter Trenfield and my mother both looked +forward to receiving a letter from Tom May, telling them that he and his +companions had reached some port in the Dutch East Indies in safety. For +not only was the boat well found, but they had plenty of provisions, +and Tom May was a thorough seaman; and besides that, my mother had often +told us the story of the convict William Bryant, who had escaped from +Sydney Harbour in Governor Phillip's time, and in an open boat, with +four other men and his wife and two infant children, succeeded in +reaching Timor, after a voyage of three thousand miles.{*} + + * Publisher's Note.--The strange but true story of the + Bryants is told in a volume entitled _A First Fleet Family_. + (Louis Becke and Walter Jeffery. London: T. Fisher Unwin. + 1896.) + +But no letter came until two long years had passed. + +Ruth Kenna, at the time of my story, though not yet seventeen years of +age, was a tall, powerful girl, and was known as the best horsewoman in +all the country around. She was a happy, good-natured sort of a wench, +with a heart filled with sunshine and love and truth and honesty; though +Mr Sampson once told my father that she was a 'dangerous Papist,' and +the child of a convicted rebel, and as such should have no place in +a Protestant family. This so angered my mother that she wrote the +clergyman a very sharp letter and said she would take it as a favour if +he would not interfere with her servants. This was a great thing for her +to do; and my father said 'twas most indiscreet. But mother only smiled +and said that although she was sorry Ruth was a Papist, she (Ruth) was a +good, honest girl, and that her father was a good, honest man, and that +if Mr Sampson was wise he would not come near Ruth, who, being a free +woman, had said she would throw him down the garden well. At this time +Ruth was looking forward to the day of her marriage with Trenfield, who, +through my father's influence with the Governor, was expecting to be +pardoned. + +But now I am forging ahead too fast, and must go back to where we boys +and Walter Trenfield were lying on the grassy bluff overlooking Little +Nobby's awaiting the return of my brother Harry. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +'Walter,' said Harry, throwing down the pigeon which he had shot, and +pointing to Little Nobby's, 'this is the lowest tide I have ever seen. +Look, the topmost fringe of kelp on the rocks is quite dry, and six feet +above the water, and there is no surf. Let's swim across the gut into +the cave.' + +'As you please, sir,' the young man answered, his sun-tanned face +lighting up with pleasure; 'the wind is westerly, and the water very +clear; so, if there are any sharks about we can easily see them.' + +So presently down we trooped, and, clambering over the jagged pinnacles +of rock, soon reached the seaward face of Little Nobby's. The cave of +which my brother had spoken was in the very centre of the cone, and the +only known way of access to it was by swimming across the narrow gut +or channel which cleft in twain the base of the hill. A boat, in calm +weather, might have easily rowed up to the mouth of the cave, but only +during a very low tide. No one, so far, had attempted this, and 'King +Billy,' when he saw my brother and Trenfield strip and jump into the +water, seemed much disturbed. The cave, he said, was the home of a +'debbil-debbil,' and 'twas dangerous for any human being to enter +it. But Harry and Trenfield had already swum across, clambered up the +kelp-covered ledge of the cave and disappeared into the darkness beyond. + +For nearly ten minutes, or perhaps a quarter of an hour, Will and I +waited impatiently for their return, grumbling at not being allowed +to go with them, for the sea was as smooth as a mountain lake, and the +water so clear that the smallest pebble could be discerned lying upon +the white sandy bottom five fathoms below. + +Said Will presently, 'I don't believe there's a shark within a mile; do +you?' + +'No,' I answered, looking longingly at the crystal water and then at the +black mouth of the cavern, which neither Will nor I had ever entered. + +'Then come on,' said Will, quickly, and in a few seconds we were out of +our clothes, and paying no heed to 'King Billy's' exclamations of terror +we dropped quietly into the water and swam across, telling him to stay +where he was and keep a look-out for sharks. + +A few strokes brought us safely over, and then, as we climbed up and +stood on the cold rocky floor of the dark cave, our hearts began to fail +us somewhat--the place was so grim, silent and terrifying. + +Feeling our way carefully along, however, we advanced for some ten or +twelve yards and then stopped, for though we heard the voices, we could +see the figures of Harry and Trenfield but dimly. + +'Where are you?' cried Will. + +'Over here,' answered my brother; 'you can come along if you like. We +think that there's a way of getting out by climbing up--we can see the +trees on the back of the hill.' + +This was a discovery indeed, and Will and I, as we made our way to +where they sat, found the darkness decreasing at every step, and when +we reached them, we could see about us quite plainly, for thin, dimmed +shafts of sunlight penetrated the cavern from above by a narrow cleft, +through which we could see not only the dark foliage of the trees, whose +branches overhung the place, but a strip of blue sky. + +'Listen!' said Will. + +Somewhere near a 'butcher' bird was calling to its mate, who quickly +answered, and then the pair whistled sweetly and joyously together; +and when they ceased a bell-bird sounded his clear, resonant note +thrice--then silence. + +Presently Walter and Harry set about to attempt an ascent, laughing +heartily at the thought of how we should startle poor 'King Billy' by +reappearing out of the bowels of the earth, instead of by the way we had +left him. + +The top of the cleft was not more than thirty feet from the floor of the +cave, and its very narrowness reduced the difficulty of climbing up its +rugged sides, which were composed of pieces of rock embedded in earth. +In the centre, however, the walls approached so closely to each other +about half way down--within a few inches, in fact--that they were +blocked up with what appeared to be a mass of decaying branches, fallen +leaves and such _débris_. + +Walter Trenfield went first, then Will, and Harry and I followed. We +found it much easier working our way up than we anticipated, for the +jutting points of rock gave us a good foothold, and the roots of trees, +living and dead, helped us greatly, for some of these grew across from +one side of the cleft to the other, and afforded us ladder-like steps. + +Walter had nearly reached the mouth of the chasm, when Will, who was +ascending more leisurely and carefully behind him, put his foot upon the +thick mass of leaves and rotting wood which blocked up its centre, and, +finding it was firm, sat down upon it to rest himself. Presently, +to have some amusement at the expense of Harry and myself, who were +directly beneath him, he began to shower armfuls of dead leaves upon +us--then suddenly he uttered a cry of terror, sprang to his feet, and +clambered quickly to the top, where Trenfield seized him just as he was +about to fall. + +Thinking that he had been frightened, or perhaps bitten by a black +snake or a death-adder, Harry and I climbed up after him as quickly +as possible, little heeding the cuts and bruises we inflicted upon +our naked bodies. As soon as we reached the ledge and flung ourselves, +panting and somewhat terrified, on the thick bed of leaves which covered +the ground like a carpet, we saw Walter Trenfield bending his tall, +naked figure over Will, who was crouched up in a heap and trying, +through his sobs of terror, to tell what it was that he had seen. + +'There is a dead man down there,' he gasped, 'a dead man! When I took +up the last armful of leaves to throw down on Tom and Harry, I saw a +dreadful face beneath... it was almost a skull, but there is some flesh +on the face... and oh, Walter! _it has red hair like Tom May's._' Then, +overcome by the terror of that which he had seen, he sobbed afresh. + +'Come,' sir,' said Trenfield to my eldest brother, 'we must go down and +look.' + +Leaning over the brink of the narrow cleft, I watched Harry and +Trenfield descend, throw down the rotting leaves and timber which had +accumulated in the centre; and then I saw a dreadful sight--a shrunken, +awful face, with white, gleaming teeth, and two fleshless hands lying +together upon an all but skeleton chest. The rest of the body, except +one leg, which from the knee downwards was partly raised and showed a +bone protruding from a rough raw-hide boot, was mercifully concealed +from our sight by the coarse jumper and grey canvas trousers of a +convict. + +Presently Walter looked up, and cried out in a strange, hoarse voice,-- + +'Go away, Master Tom, you must not look. Do you and Master Will wait for +us on the rocks, but first tell Billy to come here with our clothes.' + +Will and I at once obeyed, glad to get away, and hurrying round the base +of the hill we returned to 'King Billy,' who, poor simple savage, had +given us up for lost, and was crouched up in a-heap on the rocks, making +a low whining noise like the cry of a very young puppy. He did truly +dance for joy when he heard our voices, and then at once, without asking +us what had happened, went off to Walter and Harry, taking their clothes +with him. + +Will and I dressed ourselves, and then we sat down to wait. + +'Tom,' said Will, who had now recovered his composure, 'I am sure it is +poor Tom May who is lying there. Do you remember a red silk handkerchief +which mother gave him last Christmas Day? Well, there is one exactly +like it round _its_ neck. I was too frightened to look closer, but Tom +always wore his handkerchief round his neck in a sailor's knot. And +then, too,' and here Will's eyes filled with tears and he began to sob, +'_it_ had bright red hair... it had nearly all fallen off, and...' + +'Oh, Will,' I cried, 'don't tell me any more! I feel so sick.' + +Nearly half an hour passed, and then we saw Harry and Trenfield, holding +each other's hand like two children, coming towards us. They sat down +near us, and then the young convict placed his big, brown hands over his +face, and heavy sobs broke from his broad chest. + +'Oh, God! Master Harry!' he cried, 'is there no justice in the world? +To die there, in that awful place, like a rat in a trap! oh, it is +dreadful, dreadful! And then I thought that he was long ago far away +from here--a free man.' + +'Do you think those two other men threw him down there, Walter?' asked +my eldest brother, almost in a whisper. + +'No, sir,' he replied, catching his breath. 'Why should they murder the +man who alone was capable of taking the boat upon such a long voyage? +This is what I think, sir. Poor Tom, instead of coming down in the boat +with the other two, left them on Saturday and walked here so that he +might light a fire on the top of Little Nobby's on Sunday night to guide +them to the place. He told Ruth's father that he thought he should do +this in case the night turned out very dark. And Billy says that a fire +was made, and that when poor Tom was descending the hill to meet the +boat he fell into the cleft and got jammed between the rocky walls.' + +'But would not the two other men make a search for him?' + +'God knows, sir! We shall never know. They may have thought that Tom had +been captured, and that the fire had been lit by Ruth's father. But I +think that Billy is right, and that poor Tom, after lighting the fire, +was coming down the hill to meet the boat, when in the darkness he +wandered off the track and stepped into the crack at the widest part of +its mouth, which is right above where we found him. He must have fallen +upon his back and become so tightly wedged in in that awful place that +he could not use his arms to free himself. And then, sir, even if he had +not been stunned, his cries could not have been heard by the other two +men, who, unless they purposely made a search, would not have had any +reason to go within two hundred yards of the spot where he fell.' + +Harry shuddered, and then for some time no one of us spoke. 'King Billy' +had been sent off to tell my father of the discovery of the body, or +rather skeleton, which Walter and Harry had at first attempted to free +from the walls of the chasm, but were too overcome to complete the task. + +Together we slowly ascended the bluff, and there a surprise awaited us; +for, sitting on their horses, on the brow of the hill, were the dreaded +minister and his convict orderly. They had no doubt seen our bags and +guns lying on the grass, and had ridden to the crest of the bluff to +discover our whereabouts. + +Mr Sampson eyed us all very sourly, and scarcely deigned to respond to +our salutations, as one by one we walked past him and busied ourselves +in silence over our impedimenta. No doubt he saw that both Harry and +Walter were very pale, and that Will and I had not yet dried our tears. + +'Come here, boys,' he said in his harsh, pompous tones. 'What, may I +ask, is the cause of this grief which seems to be shared by all alike?' +Then, without waiting for an answer, his glance fell upon Walter +Trenfield, who, after saluting him, had turned away, and with averted +face was strapping some of our belongings together. + +I saw the clergyman's coarse red face, with its fat, terraced chins, +grow purple with rage as I had seen it once before, and I instinctively +drew back. + +'Ha!' he said, and urging his horse forward, he bent down and touched +the young convict on the shoulder with his whip. 'Ha! look up, fellow. I +want a word with you, sirrah.' + +Trenfield, who was stooping at the moment, stood erect, and then, facing +the parson, again raised his hand to his cap. His face was deadly pale, +and his deep-set bright blue eyes seemed to have suddenly shrunken and +drawn back, and his whole body was trembling. + +'Look at me, fellow,' said Mr Sampson, for the second time. + +_'I am looking at you, sir._' + +The words came from between his white lips and set teeth in a low, +hoarse whisper, and all the hatred in his heart seemed to go with them. +The clergyman eyed him for a few seconds in silence, but the convict met +his gaze unfalteringly. + +'So 'tis to you, you scoundrel, that your ruffianly fellow-criminals +are indebted for so much amusement at my expense! Tell me, you villain, +where you got that picture, and who prompted you to display it? Answer +me quickly, you unhanged rascal!' + +Trenfield's lips moved, but ere he could speak, my eldest brother +stepped forward, bravely enough. + +'Indeed, sir, Trenfield had nothing to do with the picture. It was given +to me, but by some mischance was lost or stolen. I am sure, sir, that +Trenfield would not--' + +'Trenfield is a villain. How dare you, presumptuous boy, seek to excuse +him! A good birching, for which you are not too old, would teach you +that reverence and respect for a clergyman which your mother has so +forgotten.' + +Harry fired up quickly enough at the insulting words. + +'How dare you, sir, speak to me in this fashion? My father shall hear of +this.' + +'Let _me_ deal with him, the bloody-minded dog!' said a voice. + +It was that of Walter Trenfield, who, springing forward, presented my +brother's loaded fowling-piece at the minister's head. 'Listen to me, +you beast in human form, you heartless fiend! I am going to send your +poisonous soul to hell.' + +He pulled the trigger, but the gun missed fire; then swiftly clubbing +the weapon he brought it with terrific force against the clergyman's +chest and knocked him off the horse. The orderly at once turned, and +fled as his master fell. + +The Reverend Mr Sampson lay prone upon the sward, his once red face +blanched to a deathly white, and over him, with grounded gun, stood the +young convict. + +My brother tried to take the weapon from him, but Trenfield tossed him +aside with one hand as if he were a straw. Then for a minute he looked +at the prostrate man in silence; once he raised the gun by the muzzle, +then he threw it aside, and, kneeling beside the clergyman, placed his +face close to his. + +'You dog, you dog, you damned dog! I could choke you now as you lie, you +brute beast. But I will let you live, to go to hell in God's own time, +you cruel, flogging wretch! _You_ murdered Thomas May--his rotting body +is not a hundred yards away. May the stink of it reach the nostrils of +Almighty God--and be in yours for ever!' + +He rose quickly, took the saddle and bridle off the clergyman's horse, +and, striking the animal a sharp blow on the nose, sent it galloping +away into the forest; then he returned and again stood over Mr Sampson, +his face working with the violence of his passion. + +'Are you going to murder me?' the minister asked gaspingly. + +'No,' he replied savagely, kicking him again and again in the face, 'but +lie there, you bloody-minded swab, till I tell you you can go.' + +And then, his passion spent, he turned to us with outstretched hand,-- + +'God bless you all, young gentlemen! God bless you, Master Harry! and +your good mother and Miss Frances and little Miss Olive. I am done for +now. But tell Ruth that if I am taken I'll die a man. And tell her, +Master Harry, that--that--' + +My brother grasped his trembling hand, as for a moment he stood, gun in +hand, and swayed to and fro as if he were like to fall. Then he plunged +into the forest. + + * * * * * + +One night, three weeks after this, and whilst Mr Sampson was recovering +from his injuries, and a force of constables, with a black tracker, were +scouring the country for Walter, my mother called we children to her +bedroom. She had retired, but Ruth Kenna, with tears in her blue Irish +eyes, stood beside the bed. + +'Quick, children,' said my mother, in a whisper, 'Ruth is going away. +Quick, quick; kiss her goodbye.' + +And then whilst we, wondering, put our arms around dear Ruth, my mother +slipped out of bed, and taking some money out of a cabinet, put it into +the girl's hand, and said,-- + +'Good-bye, Ruth. You've been an honest girl to us. May God bless and +keep you always, my dear child, and do not fail to write.' + + * * * * * + +Next morning there was a great to-do, for Patrick Kenna's house was +found to be empty, and he and his daughter and Walter Trenfield were +never seen again in our part. But away out on the horizon were the sails +of a whale-ship which had been cruising about the coast for some days +past; and though my mother kept her own counsel for a long year, we +children soon knew that all three had escaped in the whaler, for my +brother Harry had received a letter from Trenfield. It was handed to +him by the aboriginal 'King Billy,' and contained only these +words,--'Good-bye, sir. Ruth and I and her father will be on the blue +water before daylight.' + +When two years or more had passed, my mother received a letter. It was +written from Boston in America, and was signed 'Ruth Trenfield.' + +'I am glad she and Walter are happy at last,' said my mother, with the +tears shining in her soft eyes. + + + + +A NORTH PACIFIC LAGOON ISLAND + +Two degrees north of the Equator, and midway between the Hawaiian +Islands and fair, green Tahiti, is the largest and most important of +the many equatorial isolated lagoon islands which, from 10 deg. N. to +10 deg. S., are dispersed over 40 deg. of longitude. The original native +name of this island has long been lost, and by that given to it by +Captain Cook one hundred and twenty years ago it is now known to Pacific +navigators--Christmas Island. Cook was probably the first European to +visit and examine the place, though it had very likely been sighted by +the Spaniards long before his time, in the days of the voyages of the +yearly galleons between the Philippines and Mexico and Peru. + +On the afternoon of December 24, 1777, Cook (in the _Resolution_ and +_Discovery_) discovered to leeward of the former ship a long, low, +sandy island, which proved to be about ninety miles in circumference. +It appeared to be an exceedingly barren-looking land, save on the +south-west side, where grew a luxuriant grove of coco-palms. Here he +brought his ships to an anchor, and partly to recuperate his crews, +who were in ill health, and partly to observe an eclipse of the sun, he +remained at the island some weeks. He soon discovered that the lagoon in +the centre was of noble proportions, and that its waters teemed with +an immense variety of fish and countless 'droves' of sharks. To-day it +remains the same. + +Fifty years passed ere this lonely atoll was visited by another ship, +and then American and English whalers, or, as they were called in those +days, 'South Seamen,' began to touch at the island, give their crews a +few days' spell amid the grateful shade of the palm grove and load their +boats to the gunwales with fat green turtle, turtle eggs, robber crabs, +and sea-birds' eggs. From that time the place became well known to the +three or four hundred of sperm whalers engaged in the fishery, and, +later on, to the shark-catching vessels from the Hawaiian Islands. +Then, sixteen years ago, Christmas Island was taken up by a London firm +engaged in the South Sea Island trade under a lease from the Colonial +Office; this firm at once sent there a number of native labourers from +Manhiki, an island in the South Pacific. These, under the charge of +a white man, were set to work planting coco-nuts and diving for pearl +shell in the lagoon. At the present time, despite one or two severe +droughts, the coco-nut plantations are thriving, and the lessees should +in another few years reap their reward, and hold one of the richest +possessions in the South Seas. + +The island is of considerable extent, and though on the windward or +eastern side its appearance is uninviting in the extreme, and the fierce +oceanic currents that for ever sweep in mighty eddies around its shores +render approach to it difficult and sometimes dangerous, it has yet +afforded succour to many an exhausted and sea-worn shipwrecked crew who +have reached it in boats. And, on the other hand, several fine ships, +sailing quietly along at night time, unaware of the great ocean currents +that are focussed about the terrible reefs encompassing the island, have +crashed upon the jagged coral barrier and been smashed to pieces by the +violence of the surf. + +Scarcely discernible, from its extreme lowness, at a distance of more +than eight miles from the ship's deck, its presence is made known hours +before it is sighted by vast clouds of amphibious birds, most of which +all day long hover about the sea in its vicinity, and return to their +rookeries on the island at sunset. On one occasion, when the vessel in +which I was then serving was quite twenty miles from the land, we were +unable to hear ourselves speak, when, just before it became dark, the +air was filled with the clamour of countless thousands of birds of +aquatic habits that flew in and about our schooner's rigging. Some +of these were what whalemen call 'shoal birds,' 'wide-awakes,' +'molly-hawks,' 'whale birds' and 'mutton birds.' Among them were some +hundreds of frigate birds, the _katafa_ of the Ellice Islanders, and a +few magnificently plum-aged fishers, called _kanapu_ by the natives of +Equatorial Polynesia. + +Given a good breeze and plenty of daylight, the whale-ships of the olden +days could stand round the western horn of the island, a projecting +point rendered pleasingly conspicuous by the grove of graceful +coco-palms which Cook was so glad to observe so many years before, and +then enter a deep bay on the north-west coast, where they obtained +good anchorage in from fifteen to twenty fathoms of water of the most +wonderful transparency, and within a mile of the vast stretches of +white sandy beach that trend away for miles on either hand. And then the +sailors, overjoyed at the delightful prospect of running about in the +few and widely-apart palm groves, and inhaling the sweet, earthy smell +of the thin but fertile soil, covered with its soft, thick bed of +fallen leaves, would lower away the boats, and pulling with their united +strength through the sweeping eddies of the dangerous passage, effect +a landing on a beach of dazzling whites and situated in the inner +south-west border of the wide lagoon. + +On our first visit to the island, in 1872, we had some glorious fishing; +and when we returned on board, under the rays of a moon that shone with +strange, uncanny brilliancy, and revealed the coral bottom ten fathoms +below, the scene presented from our decks was one of the greatest +imaginable beauty, though the loneliness of the place and the absence of +human life was somewhat depressing. We remained at the island for three +days, and during our stay our crew of South Sea Islanders literally +filled our decks with fish, turtle and birds' eggs. Curiously enough, +in our scant library on board the little trading vessel I came across +portion of a narrative of a voyage in a South Seaman, written by her +surgeon, a Mr Bennett, in 1838,{*} and our captain and myself were much +interested in the accurate description he gave of Christmas Island and +its huge rookeries of oceanic birds. + + * _Narrative of a Whaling Voyage round the Globe, from_ 1833 + to 1836. By F. D. Bennett. + +This is what he says: 'Here and there among the low thicket scrubs are +vast rookeries of aquatic birds, whose clamour is deafening. They nest +and incubate upon the ground, and show not the slightest fear of the +approach of human visitors. Among the sooty terns, whose number it was +impossible to estimate, were many hundreds of tropic birds and pure +snow-white petrels.' (He no doubt imagined the pure snow-white petrels +to be a distinct species--they were young tropic birds.) 'These latter, +who flew with a gentle, flapping motion, would actually fly up to us and +scan our countenances with an almost human expression of interest and +curiosity.' (Darwin, in his account of another Christmas Island in the +Indian Ocean, also describes these gentle creatures as being of ethereal +beauty.) 'Some, indeed, permitted themselves to be caught, and although +their delicate, fragile forms quivered with fear when they came in +contact with our hands, they would, when released, return to us again +and again, as if seeking to solve the mystery of what strange beings +were these that had invaded their retreat. In one rookery there were +many varieties of these oceanic birds, and a species of booby that +seems to be peculiar to Christmas Island. In size and colour they much +resemble the ordinary gannet of our cold northern seas. Their plumage is +of a wondrously bright snow white, with the exception of the primary and +secondary feathers of the wings, and the _retrices_ or tail feathers, +which are of a glossy black. The skin of the cheeks and chin is devoid +of feathers, and of a jet black colour, the beak a delicate yellow blue, +the legs bright blue. The solicitude of the female birds of this species +for their offspring was most interesting to witness. Their nests were +of the rudest description, being merely circular heaps of sand raised in +the open plain and exposed to the fury of storms. As we approached the +nests the mother birds settled themselves down upon their single egg +and screamed loudly, but would permit themselves to be lifted off, yet +struggled violently in our hands to get back again. Although there were +thousands of these nests within a radius of an acre, a brooding +hen might easily have been passed unnoticed, for her white plumage +corresponded so well with the hue of the coral sands that one was apt to +kick against the nest were it not for the agonised, barking note of the +poor mother. The male birds, however, of this species did not show any +marital concern for their partners. They were usually seated near the +nests, but at once took to flight upon our approach. Further on, among +a thicket of scrubby vegetation, we found a rookery of many thousands of +the superb red-tailed tropic bird (_Phaeton phoenicurus_), also engaged +in incubation. Their nests were mere circular excavations in the sand, +under the shade of the bushes of the thicket. Each nest contained an +egg of pure white, dotted with delicate lilac spots, and in size rather +larger and rounder than that of the domestic hen. The females, as +well as the males, made no attempt to escape from their nests on our +approach, whether they had or had not the care of eggs, and consequently +several of our crew, with innate Polynesian vanity, soon caught a +number, and plucking out the two long scarlet tail feathers placed them +in their hat bands. + +'A hundred yards away from the rookery of the tropic birds was one of +a colony of the snowy tern before mentioned. These gentle, black-eyed +creatures do not even pretend to construct a nest, but simply deposit a +solitary egg upon the bough of a tree (like the _gogo_, or whale bird). +They select for this purpose a tree destitute of foliage, and a branch +of horizontal growth. It is strange that, notwithstanding the exposed +situation of these eggs, they are very difficult to find; and it was +not until long after the solicitude of the parent birds informed us that +their spot of incubation was near that we could solve the mystery which +attended their nursery. Each egg is the size of a pigeon's, and marked +with either blood or chocolate-coloured splashes and spots of irregular +shape. Considering the slenderness of the branches on which they are +deposited, it is remarkable that the eggs (which appear to be at the +mercy of every passing breeze) should yet retain their extraordinary +position during incubation.' (Any Pacific Islander could easily have +explained this seeming mystery. The shell, when the egg is laid, is +covered with a strong adhesive coating. I have often seen a single egg, +laid upon a slender branch, swaying about in a strong trade wind, and +yet remain firmly in its position.) 'What may be the habits of the +newly-hatched birds we had no opportunity of learning, as none of the +latter came within our observation. + +'Small reef birds (tern) were present in prodigious numbers, skimming +the waters of the coast with an erratic, rapid, but yet graceful flight, +like that of the stormy petrel. At night they assembled in vast numbers +on an islet in the lagoon, to roost on the trees. They are about the +size of an Australian snipe, and their forms are models of elegance and +beauty. Their plumage is in true slate colour, the secondary wings are +white, and a narrow white zone surrounds each eye; their legs and feet +are a pale blue, with white webs. + +'Every now and then as we, during our visit, walked along the snow-white +beaches, great crowds of golden-winged plover and tiny snipe sprang +skyward, and swept in graceful gyrations over the broad expanse of +water, till they settled upon some sandy spit or spot of projecting +reef; and, indeed, the immense concourse or frigate birds, boobies, +terns, petrels and other aquatic denizens of the island filled us with +boundless astonishment. + +'At night time there crept out from their lairs in the loose coral +shingle that lined the scrub at high-water mark, incredible numbers of +huge “land lobsters”--the “robber crab” of the Pacific Islands. They all +crawled to within a few feet of the placid waters of the lagoon, where +they remained motionless, as if awaiting some event--possibly to prey +upon the smaller species of _crustaceæ_ and turtle eggs.' + +Christmas Island, in its structure and elevation, much resembles +Palmerston Island, Arrecifos or Providence Island (the secret rendezvous +of Captain 'Bully' Hayes), Brown's Range, and other low-lying atolls +of the North and South Pacific. The greater part of the interior of the +island is, however, despite the vast number of coco-nuts planted upon it +during the past ten years, still sadly deficient in cheerful vegetation. + +The waters of the lagoon vary greatly in depth, but generally are +shallow and much broken up by sandy spits, reefs and huge coral boulders +which protrude at low water, and the surface is much subject to the +action of the trade wind, which, when blowing strong, lashes them into +a wild surf; and the low shores of the encircling islets, that form +a continuous reef-connected chain, are rendered invisible from the +opposite side by the smoky haze and spume which ascends in clouds from +the breaking surf that rolls and thunders on the outer barrier reefs. + +In the interior no fresh water is obtainable, although in the rainy +season some of a brackish quality can be had by sinking shallow wells. +This water rises and falls in the wells in unison with the tides. Here +and there are very extensive swamps of sea-water, evaporrated to a +strong brine; the margins of these are clothed with a fair growth of +the pandanus or screw-pine palm, the fruit of which, when ripe, forms a +nutritious and palatable food for the natives of the Equatorial Pacific +Islands. + +The island where Captain Cook set up his observatory is but a small +strip of sandy soil, clothed with a few coco-palms, some screw-palms +(pandanus), and a thick-matted carpet of a vine called _At At_ by the +natives. The only quadrupeds are rats, and some huge land tortoises, +similar to those of the Galapagos Islands. They are most hideous-looking +creatures, and, being of nocturnal habits, like the great robber crab, +are apt to produce a most terrifying impression upon the beholder, if +met with in the loneliness of the night. The present human occupants of +Christmas Island are, however, well supplied with pigs and poultry; and +though this far-away dot of Britain's empire beyond the seas is scarcely +known to the world, and visited but twice a year by a trading vessel +from Sydney, they are happy and contented in their home in this lonely +isle of the mid-Pacific. + + + + +BILGER, OF SYDNEY + +A death in the family brought about my fatal acquaintance with Bilger. +A few days after the funeral, as my sister and I sat talking on the +verandah of our cottage (which overlooked the waters of Sydney Harbour) +and listened to the pouring rain upon the shingled roof, we saw a man +open the garden gate and come slowly up to the house. He carried an +ancient umbrella, the tack lashings of which on one side had given way +entirely, showing six bare ribs. As he walked up the path, his large, +sodden boots made a nasty, squelching sound, and my sister, who has a +large heart, at once said, 'Poor creature; I wonder who he is. I hope it +isn't the coal man come for his money.' + +He went round to the back door and, after letting himself drain off a +bit, knocked gently and with exceeding diffidence. + +I asked him his business. He said he wanted to see my wife. + +'Not here. Gone away for a month.' + +'Dear, dear, how sad! Broken down, no doubt, with a mother's grief. Is +there any other lady in the family whom I could see?' + +'What the deuce do you want?' I began angrily; then, as he raised his +weak, watery eyes to mine, and I saw that his grey hairs were as wet as +his boots, I relented. Perhaps he was someone who knew my wife or her +people, and wanted to condole with her over the death of her baby. He +looked sober enough, so, as he seemed much agitated, I asked him to sit +down, and said I would send my sister to him. Then I went back to my +pipe and chair. Ten minutes later my sister Kate came to me with her +handkerchief to her eyes. + +'_Do_ go and see the old fellow. He has _such_ a sympathetic nature. +I'm sure I should have cried aloud had I stayed any longer. Anyone would +think he had known poor little Teddie ever since he was born. I've asked +Mary to make him a cup of tea.' + +'Who is he?' + +'I don't know his name, but he seems so sympathetic. And he says he +should be so pleased if he might see you again for a few minutes. He +says, too, that you have a good and kind face. I told him that you would +be sure to take at least a dozen of those in cream and gold. There's +nothing at all vulgar; quite the reverse.' + +'What _are_ you talking about, Kate? Who is this sodden old lunatic, and +what on earth are you crying for?' + +My sister nearly sobbed. 'I always thought that what you derisively +termed “mortuary bards” were horrid people, but this old man has a +beautiful nature. And he's very wet--and hungry too, I'm sure; and Mary +looks at him as if he were a dog. Do try and help him. I think we might +get one or two dozen cream and gold cards, and two dozen black-edged. + +And then he's a journalist, too. He's told me quite a sad little story +of his life struggle, and the moment I told him you were on the _Evening +News_ he quite brightened up, and said he knew your name quite well.' + +'Kate,' I said, 'I don't want to see the man. What the deuce does he +want? If he is one of those loafing scoundrels of undertakers' and +mortuary masons' touts, just send him about his business; give him a +glass of whisky and tell Mary to clear him out.' + +My sister said that to send an old man out in such weather was not like +_me_. Surely I would at least speak a kind word to him. + +In sheer desperation I went out to the man. He addressed me in husky +tones, and said that he desired to express his deep sympathy with me in +my affliction, also that he was 'a member of the Fourth Estate.' Seven +years before he had edited the _Barangoora News_, but his determined +opposition to a dishonest Government led to his ruin, and now-- + +'All right, old man; stow all that. What do you want?' + +He looked at me reproachfully, and taking up a small leather bag, said +that he represented Messrs ------, 'Monumental Masons and Memorial Card +Designers and Printers,' and should feel pleased if I would look at his +samples. + +He was such a wretched, hungry-looking, down-upon-his-beam-ends old +fellow, that I could not refuse to inspect his wares. And then his boots +filled me with pity. For such a little man he had the biggest boots I +ever saw--baggy, elastic sides, and toes turned up, with the after part +of the uppers sticking out some inches beyond the frayed edges of his +trousers. As he sat down and drew these garments up, and his bare, +skinny legs showed above his wrecked boots, his feet looked like two +water-logged cutters under bare poles, with the water running out of the +scuppers. + +Mary brought the whisky. I poured him out a good, stiff second mate's +nip. It did my heart good to see him drink it, and hear the soft +ecstatic 'Ah, ah, ah,' which broke from him when he put the glass down; +it was a _Te Deum Laudamus_. + +Having briefly intimated to him that I had no intention of buying 'a +handsome granite monument, with suitable inscription, or twelve lines +of verse, for £4, 17s. 6d.,' I took up his packet of _In Memoriam_ cards +and went through them. The first one was a hand-drawn design in cream +and gold--Kate's fancy. It represented in the centre an enormously +bloated infant with an idiotic leer, lying upon its back on a blue cloud +with scalloped edges, whilst two male angels, each with an extremely +vicious expression, were pulling the cloud along by means of tow-lines +attached to their wings. Underneath were these words in MS.: 'More +angels can be added, if desired, at an extra charge of 6d. each.' + +No. 2 represented a disorderly flight of cherubims, savagely attacking a +sleeping infant in its cradle, which was supported on either hand by +two vulgar-looking female angels blowing bullock horns in an apathetic +manner. + +No. 3 rather took my fancy--there was so much in it--four large fowls +flying across the empyrean; each bird carried a rose as large as a +cabbage in its beak, and apparently intended to let them drop upon +a group of family mourners beneath. The MS. inscribed said, 'If +photographs are supplied of members of the Mourning Family, our artist +will reproduce same in group gathered round the deceased. If doves are +not approved, cherubims, angels, or floral designs may be used instead, +for small extra charge.' + +Whilst I was going through these horrors the old man kept up a babbling +commentary on their particular and collective beauties; then he wanted +me to look at his specimens of verse, much of which, he added, with +fatuous vanity, was his own composition. + +I did read some of it, and felt a profound pity for the corpse that had +to submit to such degradation. Here are four specimens, the first of +which was marked, 'Especially suitable for a numerous family, who have +lost an aged parent, gold lettering is. 6d. extra,'-- + + 'Mary and May and Peter and John [or other names] + Loved and honoured him [or her] who has gone; + White was his [or her] hair and kind was his [or her] heart, + Oh why, we all sigh, were we made thus to part?' + +_For an Aunt, (Suitable verses for Uncles at same rates.)_ + + 'Even our own sweet mother, who is so kind, + Could not wring our hearts more if she went and left us behind; + A halo of glory is now on thy head, + Ah, sad, sad thought that good auntie is dead.' + +_For a Father or Mother,_ + + 'Oh children, dear, when I was alive, + To get you bread I hard did strive; + I now am where I need no bread, + And wear a halo round my head. + Weep not upon my tomb, I pray, + But do your duty day by day.' + +The last but one was still more beautiful,-- + +_For a Child who suffered a Long Illness before Decease_. + +[I remarked casually that a child could not suffer even a short illness +_after_ decease. Bilger smiled a watery smile and said 'No.'] + + 'For many long months did we fondly sit, + And watch our darling fade bit by bit; + Till an angel called from out the sky, + “Come home, dear child, to the Sweet By-and-By. + Hard was your lot on earth's sad plain, + But now you shall never suffer again, + For cherubims and seraphims will welcome you here. + Fond parents, lament not for the loss of one so dear.”' + [N.B.--“_These are very beautiful lines_.”] + +The gem of the collection, however, was this:-- + +_Suitable for a child of any age. The beautiful simplicity of the words +have brought us an enormous amount of orders from bereaved parents_. + + 'Our [Emily] was so fair, + That the angels envied her, + And whispered in her ear, + “We will take you away on [Tuesday] night.”' + +[“_Drawing of angels carrying away deceased child, is. 6d. extra_.”] + +The old imbecile put his damp finger upon this, and asked me what I +thought of it. I said it was very simple but touching, and then, being +anxious to get rid of him, ordered two dozen of Kate's fancy. He thanked +me most fervently, and said he would bring them to me in a few days. I +hurriedly remarked he could post them instead, paid him in advance, and +told him to help himself to some more whisky. He did so, and I observed, +with some regret, that he took nearly half a tumblerful. + +'Dear, dear me,' he said, with an apologetic smile, 'I'm afraid I have +taken too much; would you kindly pour some back. My hand is somewhat +shaky. Old age, sir, if I may indulge in a platitude, is--' + +'Oh, never mind putting any back. It's a long walk to the ferry, and a +wet day beside.' + +'True, true,' he said meditatively, looking at Mary carrying in the +dinner, and drinking the whisky in an abstracted manner. + +Just then my sister beckoned me out. She said it was very thoughtless of +me to pour gallons of whisky down the poor old fellow's throat, upon an +empty stomach. + +'Perhaps you would like me to ask him to have dinner with us?' I said +with dignified sarcasm. + +'I think we might at least let Mary give him something to eat.' + +Of course I yielded, and my sister bade Mary give our visitor a good +dinner. For such a small man he had an appetite that would have done +credit to a long-fasting tiger shark tackling a dead whale; and every +time I glanced at Mary's face as she waited on my sister and myself I +saw that she was verging upon frenzy. At last, however, we heard him +shuffling about on the verandah, and thought he was going without saying +'thank you.' We wronged him, for presently he called to Mary and asked +her if I would kindly grant him a few words after I had finished dinner. + +'Confound him! What the deuce--' + +My sister said, 'Don't be cruel to the poor old fellow. _You may be like +him yourself some day._' + +I said I didn't doubt it, if my womenfolk encouraged every infernal old +dead-beat in the colony to come and loaf upon me. Two large tears at +once ran down Kate's nose, and dropped into the custard on her plate. I +softened at once and went out. + +'Permit me, sir,' he said, in a wobbly kind of voice, as he lurched to +and fro in the doorway, and tried to jab the point of his umbrella into +a knot-hole in the verandah boards in order to steady himself, 'permit +me, sir, to thank you for your kindness and to tender you my private +card. Perhaps I may be able to serve you in some humble way'--here the +umbrella point stuck in the hole, and he clung to the handle with both +hands--'some humble way, sir. Like yourself, I am a literary man, as +this will show you.' He fumbled in his breast pocket with his left hand, +and would have fallen over on his back but for the umbrella handle, to +which he clung with his right. Presently he extracted a dirty card and +handed it to me, with a bow, which he effected by doubling himself +on his stomach over the friendly gamp, and remained in that position, +swaying to and fro, for quite ten seconds. I read the card:-- + + MR HORATIO BILGER + Journalist and Littérateur + + Formerly Editor of the 'Barangoora News' + + Real Aylesbury Ducks for Sale + Book-keeping Taught in Four Lessons + + 4a Kellet Street, + Darlinghurst, Sydney + +I said I should bear him in mind, and, after helping him to release his +umbrella, saw him down the steps and watched him disappear. + +'Thank Heaven!' I said to Kate, 'we have seen the last of him.' + +I was bitterly mistaken, for next morning when I entered the office, +Bilger was there awaiting me, outside the sub-editor's room. He was +wearing a new pair of boots, much larger than the old ones, and smiled +pleasantly at me, and said he had brought his son Edward to see me, +feeling sure that I would use my influence with the editor and manager +to get him put on as a canvasser. + +I refused point blank to see 'Edward' then or at any other time, and +said that even if there was a vacancy I should not recommend a stranger. +He sighed, and said that I should like Edward, once I knew him. He was +'a noble lad, but misfortune had dogged his footsteps--a brave, heroic +nature, fighting hard against unmerited adversity.' I went in and shut +the door. + + * * * * * + +Two days later Kate asked me at supper if I _couldn't do something for +old Bilger's son_. + +'Has that infernal old nuisance been writing to you about his confounded +son?' + +'How ill-tempered you are! The “old nuisance,” as you call him, has +behaved very nicely. He sent his son over here to thank us for our +kindness, and to ask me to accept a dozen extra cards from himself. The +son is a very respectable-looking man, but rather shabby. He is coming +again to-morrow to help Mary to put up the new wire clothes line.' + +'Is he? Well, then, Mary can pay him.' + +'Don't be so horrid. He doesn't want payment for it. But, of course, I +shall pay his fare each way. Mary says he's such a willing young man.' + +In the morning I saw Mr Edward Bilger, helping Mary. He was a fat-faced, +greasy-looking youth, with an attempted air of hang-dog respectability, +and with 'loafer' writ large on his forehead. I stepped over to him and +said,-- + +'Now, look here. I don't want you fooling about the premises. Here's two +shillings for you. Clear out, and if you come back again on any pretence +whatever I'll give you in charge.' + +He accepted the two shillings with thanks, said that he meant no +offence, but he thought Mary was not strong enough to put up a wire +clothes line. + +Mary (who was standing by, looking very sulky) was a cow-like creature +of eleven stone, and I laughed. She at once sniffed and marched away. +Mr Bilger, junior, presently followed her into the kitchen. I went after +him and ordered him out. Mary was leaning against the dresser, biting +her nails and looking at me viciously. + +Half an hour later, as I walked to the ferry, I saw Mr Bilger, junior, +sitting by the roadside, eating bread and meat (my property). He stood +up as I passed, and said politely that it looked like rain. I requested +him to make a visit to Sheol, and passed on. + +In the afternoon my sister called upon me at the _Evening News_ office. +She wore that look of resigned martyrdom peculiar to women who have +something unpleasant to say. + +'Mary has given me notice--of course.' + +'Why “of course!”' + +Kate rose with an air of outraged dignity. 'Servants don't like to be +bullied and sworn at--not white servants, anyway. You can't expect the +girl to stay. She's a very good girl, and I'm sure that that young +man Bilger was doing no harm. As it is, you have placed me in a most +unpleasant position; I had told him that he could let his younger +brothers and sisters come and weed the paddock, and--' + +'Why not invite the whole Bilger family to come and live on the +premises?' I began, when Kate interrupted me by saying that if I was +going to be violent she would leave me. Then she sailed out with an +injured expression of countenance. + +When I returned home to dinner at 7.30, Mary waited upon us in sullen +silence. After dinner I called her in, gave her a week's wages in lieu +of notice, and told her to get out of the house as a nuisance. Kate went +outside and wept. + + * * * * * + +From that day the Bilger family proved a curse to me. Old Bilger wrote +me a note expressing his sorrow that his son--quite innocently--had +given me offence; also he regretted to hear that my servant had left me. +Mrs Bilger, he added, was quite grieved, and would do her best to send +some 'likely girls' over. 'If none of them suited, Mrs Bilger would +be delighted to come and assist my sister in the mornings. She was an +excellent, worthy woman.' And he ventured, with all due respect, to +suggest to me that my sister looked very delicate. His poor lad Edward +was very sad at heart _over the turn matters had taken_. The younger +children, too, were sadly grieved--to be in a garden, even to toil, +would be a revelation to them. + +That evening I went home in a bad temper. Kate, instead of meeting me as +usual at the gate, was cooking dinner, looking hot and resigned, I dined +alone, Kate saying coldly that she did not care about eating anything. +The only other remark she made that evening was that 'Mary had cried +very bitterly when she left.' + +I said, 'The useless, fat beast!' + + * * * * * + +The Curse of Bilger rested upon me for quite three months. He called +twice a week, regularly, and borrowed two shillings 'until next Monday.' +Then one day that greasy ruffian, Bilger, junior, came into the _Evening +News_ office, full of tears and colonial beer, and said that his poor +father was dead, and that his mother thought I might perhaps lend her a +pound to help bury him. + +The sub-editor (who was overjoyed at Bilger's demise) lent me ten +shillings, which I gave to Edward, and told him I was sorry to hear the +old man was dead. I am afraid my face belied my words. + + + + +THE VISION OF MILLI THE SLAVE + +One day a message came over from Tetoro, King of Paré, in Tahiti, to +his vassal Mahua, chief of Tetuaroa,{*} saying, 'Get thee ready a great +feast, for in ten days I send thee my daughter Laea to be wife to thy +son Narü. + + * Tetuaroa is an island about forty miles from Tahiti. It + was in those days (1808) part of the hereditary possessions + of the chief of Paré. + +For Narü, the son of the chief of Tetuaroa, had long been smitten with +the beauty of Laea, and desired to make her his wife. Only once had +he seen her; but since then he had sent over many canoes laden with +presents, such as hogs and turtle, and great bunches of plantains, and +fine tappa cloth for her acceptance. + +But Tetoro, her father, was a greedy man, and cried for more; and Mahua, +so that his son might gain his heart's desire, became hard and cruel to +the people of Tetuaroa. + +Day after day he sent his servants to every village on the island +demanding from them all such things as would please the eye of Tetoro; +so that by-and-by there was but little left in their plantations, and +still less in their houses. + +And so, with sullen faces and low murmurs of anger, the people yielded +up their treasures of mats and tappa cloth, and such other things that +the servants of the chief discovered in their dwellings, and watched +them carried away to appease the avarice of Tetoro the King. + +One night, when they were gathered together in their houses, and the +torches of _tui tui_ (candle-nut kernels) were lighted, they talked +among themselves, not loudly but in whispers, for no one knew but that +one of the chiefs body-men might perhaps be listening outside, and that +to them meant swift death from the anger of Mahua. + +'Why has this misfortune come upon us?' they said to one another. 'Why +should Narü, who is an _aito_{*} set his heart upon the daughter of +Tetoro when there are women of as good blood as her close to his hand? +Surely, when she comes here to live, then will there be hard times in +the land, and we shall be eaten up with hunger.' + + * A man distinguished in warfare. + +'Ay,' said a girl named Milli, 'it is hard that we should give our all +to a strange woman.' + +She spoke very loudly, and without fear, and the rest of the people +looked wonderingly at her, for she was but a poor slave, and, as such, +should not have raised her voice when men were present. So they angrily +bade her be silent. Who was she that dared to speak of such things? If +she died of hunger, they said, what did it matter? She was but a girl +and a slave, and girls' lives were worth nothing until they bore male +children. + +And then Milli the Slave sprang up, her eyes blazing with anger, and +heaped scorn upon them for cowards. + +'See,' she said, and her voice shook with passion; 'see me, Milli the +Slave, standing before ye all, and listen to my words, so that your +hearts may grow strong, even as strong as mine has grown. Listen while I +tell thee of a dream that came to me in the night. + +'In my dream this land of ours became as it was fifteen moons ago, and +as it may never be again. I saw the groves of plantains, with their +loads of fruit, shine red and yellow, like the setting of the sun, and +the ground was forced open because of the great size of the yams and +taro and arrowroot that grew beneath; and I heard the heavy fall of the +ripe coconuts on the grass, and the crooning notes of the pigeons that +fed upon the red _mati_ berries were as the low booming of the surf on +the reef when it sounds far distant.' + +For a little while she ceased, and the people muttered. + +'Ay, it was so, fifteen moons ago.' + +And then Milli, sinking upon one knee, and spreading out her arms +towards them, spoke again, but in a low, soft voice,-- + +'And I saw the white beach of Teavamoa black with turtle that could +scarce crawl seaward because of their fatness; and saw the canoes, +filled to the gunwales with white, shining fish, come paddling in from +the lagoon; and then came the night. And in the night I heard the sound +of the _vivo_{*} and the beat of the drum, and the songs and laughter +and the shouts of the people as they made merry and sang and danced, +and ate and drank, till the red sun burst out from the sea, and they lay +down to sleep. + + * Nasal flute. + +'And then, behold there came into my dream, a small black cloud. It +gathered together at Paré, and rose from the ground, and was borne +across the sea to Tetuaroa.{*} As it came nearer, darker and darker +grew the shadows over this land, till at last it was wrapped up in the +blackness of night. And then out of the belly of the cloud there sprang +a woman arrayed as a bride, and behind her there followed men with faces +strange to me, whose stamping footsteps shook the island to its roots in +the deep sea. Then came a mystic voice to me, which said,-- + +“Follow and see.” + + * Tetoro's canoe, in which he sent his daughter to Tetuaroa, + was painted black by an English sailor who, living under his + protection, afterwards married his daughter. + +'So I followed and saw'--she sprang to her feet, and her voice rang +sharp and fierce--'I saw the strange woman and those with her pass +swiftly over the land like as the shadows of birds fall upon the ground +when the sun is high and their flight is low and quick. And as they +passed, the plantains and taro and arrowroot were torn up and stripped +and left to perish; and there was nought left of the swarms of turtle +and fish but their bones; for the black cloud and the swift shadows +that ran before it had eaten out the heart of the land, and not even one +coco-nut was left. + +'And then I heard a great crying and weeping of many voices, and I saw +men and women lying down in their houses with their bones sticking out +of their skins; and wild pigs, perishing with hunger, sprang in upon +them and tore their bellies open with their tusks, and devoured them, +and fought with each other among the bones and blood of those they ate.' + +A groan of terror burst from the listening people, and the slave girl, +with her lips parted and her white teeth set, looked with gleaming, +angry eyes slowly round the group. + +'Again I heard the cries and the groans and the weeping; and I saw thee, +Foani, take thy suckling child from thy withered breast, and give it to +thy husband, so that it might be slain to feed thy other children. And +then thou, too, Tiria, and thou, Hini, and many other women, did I see +slay thy children and their children, and cook and eat them, even as the +wild pigs had eaten those men and women that lay dying on their mats. +And this, O people! is all of the dream that came to me; for then a +great sweat ran down over my body, and a heavy pain came upon my heart, +so that I awoke.' + +She trembled and sank down again among the women, in the midst of whom +she had been sitting, and then growling, angry murmurs ran round the +assemblage, and the names of Narü and the king's daughter passed from +lip to lip. + + * * * * * + +Well as they liked their chief's son--for he was distinguished alike +for his bravery and generosity--they yet saw that his marriage with Laea +would mean a continued existence of misery to them all, or at least so +long as the young man's passion for his wife lasted. + +Past experience had taught them many a bitter lesson, for ever since +their island had been conquered, they had been subjected to the payment +of the most exacting tribute. + +Fertile as was Tetuaroa, the continued demands made upon its people +for food by the royal family of Tahiti had frequently reduced them to a +condition bordering upon starvation. + +But these requests had, of late years, been so much modified, that the +island, under the rule of Mahua, had become renowned for its wealth of +food and the prosperous condition of its inhabitants. + +It was, therefore, with no pleasant feelings that the people viewed +the approaching marriage of the son of their chief to the child of the +grasping Tetoro, a man who would certainly see no abatement made in +the extortions he had succeeded in inducing his vassal Mahua to again +inaugurate. + + * * * * * + +At midnight, long after the women were asleep, the principal men of the +island met together and talked of the dream described by the slave girl. +So firmly were they convinced that she had been chosen by the gods as +a means of warning them of their impending rate if the marriage took +place, that they firmly resolved to frustrate it, even if it cost every +one of them his life. + +But, so that neither Mahua nor his son should suspect their intentions, +they set about to prepare for the great feast ordered by Tetoro; and for +the next week or so the whole population was busily engaged in bringing +together their various presents of food and goods, and conveying them +to the chief's house, where, on the arrival of the fleet of canoes that +would bring the king's daughter from Paré, they would be presented to +her in person by the priests and minor chiefs. + + * * * * * + +On the afternoon of the tenth day, some men whom Mahua had set to watch +for Tetoro's fleet saw the great mat sails of five war canoes sweeping +across the long line of palms that fringed the southern beach? Then +there was great commotion, and many _pu_{*} were sounded from one end +of the island to the other, bidding the people to assemble at the +landing-place and welcome the bride of the chiefs son. + + * The conch shell. + +Now, it so happened that Narü, when the cry arose that the canoes were +coming, was sitting alone in a little bush-house near the south point +of the island. He had come there with two or three of his young men +attendants, so that he might be dressed and adorned to meet Tetoro's +daughter. As soon as they had completed their task he had sent them +away, for he intended to remain in the bush-house till his father sent +for him; for such was the custom of the land. + +Very gay and handsome he looked, when presently he stood up and looked +out over the lagoon to where the canoes were entering the passage. Round +his waist was a girdle of bright yellow strips of plantain leaves, +mixed with the scarlet leaves of the _ti_ plant; a band of pearl-shell +ornaments encircled his forehead, and his long, black hair, perfumed +with scented oil, was twisted up in a high spiral knob, and ornamented +with scarlet hibiscus flowers. Across one broad shoulder there hung a +small, snowy-white poncho or cape, made of fine tappa cloth, and round +his wrists and ankles were circlets of pearl shell, enclosed in a +netting of black coir cinnet. On each leg there was tattooed, in bright +blue, a coco-nut tree, its roots spreading out at the heel and running +in wavy lines along the instep to the toes, its elastic stalk shooting +upwards till its waving plumes spread gracefully out on the broad, +muscular calf. + +Yet, although he was so finely arrayed, Narü was troubled in his mind; +for not once did those who had dressed him speak of Laea, and this the +young man thought was strange, for he would have been pleased to hear +them talk to him of her beauty. In silence had they attended to his +needs, and this hurt him, for they were all dear friends. So at last, +when they rose to leave him, he had said,-- + +'Why is it that none of ye speak either to me, or to one another? Am I a +corpse that is dressed for the funeral rites?' + +Then one of them, named Tanéo, his foster-brother, answered, and bent +his head as he spoke,-- + +'Oh, Narü, son of Mahua, and mine own brother, hast thou not heard of +the dream of Milli?' + +At the name of Milli, the hot blood leapt into the face of the chief's +son; but he answered quickly,-- + +'Nay, naught have I heard, and how can the dream of a slave girl concern +me on such a day as this?' + +'Oh, Narü!' replied Tanéo, ''tis more than a dream; for the god Oro hath +spoken to her, and shown her things that concern thee and all of thy +father's people.' And with that the young men arose and left him without +further speech. + +Little did Narü know that scarce a stone's throw away from where he +stood, Milli, with love in her eyes, was watching him from behind a +clump of plantain trees. She, too, was arrayed as if for a dance or +a marriage, and behind her were a number of women, who were crouched +together and spoke only in whispers. + +As they stood, the sounds of the drums and flutes and conches came from +the village, and then Narü went forth from the little house, and walked +towards it through the palm grove. + + * * * * * + +As he stepped proudly along the shaded path he heard his name called in +a low voice, and Milli the Slave stood before him with downcast eyes, +and barred his path. + +Now, Narü, bold as he was, feared to meet this girl, and so for some +moments no words came to him, and Milli, looking quickly up, saw that he +had placed his right hand over his eyes. Then she spoke,-- + +'See, Narü, I do but come to thee to speak some little words; so turn +thy face to me once more; for from this day thou shalt never again see +Milli the Slave.' + +But Narü, still keeping his hand to his eyes, turned aside, and leaning +his forehead against the trunk of a palm-tree, kept silence awhile. Then +he said, in a low voice,-- + +'Oh, Milli, be not too hard! This woman Laea hath bewitched me--and +then--thou art but a slave.' + +'Aye,' answered the girl, softly, 'I am but a slave, and this Laea is +very beautiful and the daughter of a great chief. So for that do I come +to say farewell, and to ask thee to drink with me this bowl of orange +juice. 'Tis all I have to offer, for I am poor and have no wedding gift +to give thee; and yet with this mean offering do I for ever give thee +the hot love of my heart--ay, and my life also, if thou should'st need +it.' + +And so, to please the girl whom he had once loved, he received from +her hand the drink of orange juice, which she took from a basket she +carried, and yet as he drank he looked away, for he feared to see her +eyes looking into his. + +Only one word did he say as he turned away, and that was 'Farewell,' and +Milli answered 'Farewell, Narü;' but when he had gone some distance she +followed him and sobbed softly to herself. + +And soon, as Narü walked, his body swayed to and fro and his feet struck +the roots of the trees that grew out through the soil along the path. +Then Milli, running swiftly up, caught him as he fell, and laid his head +upon her knees. His eyes were closed and his skin dead to her touch. + +Presently the bushes near by parted, and two women came out, and lifting +Narü between them, they carried the young man to a shady place and laid +him down. + +And then Milli wept as she bent her face over that of the man she loved, +but the two older women bade her cease. + +Once more the girl looked at Narü, and then, stepping out into the path, +ran swiftly towards the village. + + * * * * * + +The five canoes were now sailing quickly over the smooth lagoon, with +the streamers from their mat sails floating in the wind, and on the +stages that ran from their sides to the outriggers were grouped parties +of singers and dancers, with painted bodies and faces dyed scarlet with +the juice of the _mati_ berry, who sang and danced, and shouted, and +made a brave show for the people who awaited their coming on the shore. + +On the great stage of the first canoe, which was painted black, was +seated Laea, surrounded by her women attendants, who joined in the wild +singing whenever the name of their mistress formed the singers' theme. + +Then suddenly, as each steersman let fall from his hand his great +steering paddle, which was secured by a rope to the side, the canoes +ran up into the wind, the huge mat sails were lowered, the stone anchors +dropped overboard, and the music and dancing ceased. + +And then a strange thing happened, and Laea, who was of a proud and +haughty disposition, as became her lineage, grew pale with anger; for +suddenly the great crowd of people which had assembled on the beach +seemed to sway to and fro, and then separate and form into two bodies; +and she saw that the women and children had gathered apart from the men +and stood in a compact mass on the brow of the beach, and the men, in +strange, ominous quiet, spear and club in hand, had ranged, without a +sound, in battle array before her escort. + +There was silence awhile, and then Tanéo, the foster brother of Narü, +clothed in his armour of cinnet fibre, and grasping a short stabbing +spear in his hand, stepped out of the ranks. + +'Get thee back again to Tahiti, O men of Paré,' he said quietly, +striking his spear into the sand. 'This marriage is not to our minds.' + +Then Laea, as she looked at the amazed and angered faces of her people +as they heard Tanéo's insulting words, dashed aside her attendants, and +leaping from the canoe into the shallow water, walked to the shore, and +stood face to face with him. + +'Who art thou, fellow, to stand before the daughter of Tetoro the King, +with a spear in thy rude hand, and thy mouth filled with saucy words?' + +'I am Tanéo, the foster brother of the man thou seekest to marry. And +because that a warning hath come to us against this marriage do I stand +here, spear in hand.' + +Laea laughed scornfully. + +'_I_ seek thy brother in marriage? Thou fool! Would I, the daughter of +my father, _seek_ any man for husband? Hath not this Narü pestered me so +with his presents and his love-offerings that, for very weariness, and +to please my father, I turned my face from the Englishman who buildeth +ships for him, and said “Aye” to this Narü--who is but a little +man{*}--when he besought me to be wife to him. Ah! the Englishman, who +is both a clever and strong man, is more to my liking.' + + * Meaning in rank. + +'Get thee back, then, to thy Englishman, and leave to me my lover,' +cried a woman's voice, and Milli the Slave, thrusting aside the armed +men who sought to stay her, sprang out upon the sand, and clenching her +hands tightly, gazed fiercely at the king's daughter. + +'_Thy_ lover!' and Laea looked contemptuously at the small, slender +figure of the slave girl, and then her cheek darkened with rage as she +turned to her followers. 'See how this dog of a Narü hath insulted me! +Have I come all this way to be fooled for the sake of such a miserable +creature as this?' and she pointed scornfully to Milli and then spat on +the ground. 'Where is this fellow? Let him come near to me so that I may +tell him to his face that I have ever despised him as one beneath me. +Where is he, I ask thee, girl?' And she seized the slave girl by her +wrist. + +The savage fury of her voice, her blazing eyes, and noble, commanding +presence, excited alike both her own people and the clustering throng +of armed men that stood watching on the beach, for these latter, by some +common impulse moved nearer, and at the same time every man in the five +canoes sprang out, and, dashing through the water, ranged themselves +beside their mistress. + +'Back!' cried Tanéo, warningly; 'back, ye men of Paré, back, ere it be +too late, and thou, Laea, harm not the girl, for see, O foolish woman! +we here are as ten to one, and 'twill be a bloody day for thee and thy +people if but a spear be raised.' + +And then, facing round, he cried, 'And back, O men of Tetuaroa. Why draw +ye so near? Must blood run because of the vain and bitter words of a +silly woman?' + +Then, with an angry gesture, Laea released her hold of the slave girl's +slender wrist, and she, too, held up a warning hand to her warriors. + +'True, Tanéo,' she said mockingly; 'thy people are as ten to one of +mine, as thou sayest, and for this alone dost thou dare insult me. Oh, +thou coward, Tanéo!' + +A swift gleam of anger shone in Tanéo's eyes, and his hand grasped +his spear tightly. Then he looked steadily at the king's daughter, and +answered. + +'Nay, no coward am I, Laea. And see, if but a little blood will appease +thee, take this spear and slay me. It is better for one to die than +many.' Stretching out his hand, he gave her his spear. + +She waved it back sneeringly. + +'Thy words are brave, Tanéo; but only because that behind them lieth no +danger. Only a coward could talk as--' + +He sprang back. + +'Ho, men of Paré! Listen! So that but one or two men may die, and many +live, let this quarrel lie between me and any one of ye that will battle +with me here, spear to spear, on this beach. Is it not better so than +that Tetoro the King should weep for so many of his people?' + +A tall, grey-headed old warrior leapt out from the ranks of those that +stood behind Laea. + +'Thou and I, Tanéo, shall fight till one of us be slain.' + +Suddenly Milli the Slave sprang between them with outstretched arms. + +'Peace, peace! Drop thou thy spear, Tanéo, and thou thine, old man. +There is no need for blood but mine--for Narü is dead.' + +Then, kneeling on the sand she said, 'Draw near to me and listen.' + +Quickly the opposing parties formed a circle around her; before her +stood the haughty and angry Laea; behind her, and standing side by side, +Tanéo and the grey-haired Tahitian warrior. + +'I am Milli, the bond-woman of Mahua, the father of Narü. And Narü loved +me; but because of thee, O Laea, he turned from me, and my heart became +cold. For who would give food to my child when it was born--the child of +a slave whose lover was a chief and who had cast her off? And then there +came a vision to me in the night, and I saw the things of which I have +told ye, O men of Tetuaroa. And I knew that the black cloud of my vision +was sent to warn the people of this land against the marriage, and the +hunger and the bitter days of poverty that would come of it. And so, +because thou art a great woman, O Laea, and I but a poor slave, did I +meet Narü but a little while since and give him to drink; and when he +drank of that which I gave him he died, for it was poisoned.' + +A low murmur, half anger, half pity, broke from the assembled people. + +'Thou fool!' said Laea, pityingly; and then she turned to Tanéo. + +'And so thy brother hath died by the hand of a slave? Let us part in +peace. Farewell!' + +And then, as the men of Paré returned in silence to their canoes, Tanéo +and his people closed in upon the kneeling figure of the slave girl, who +bent her head as a man stepped before her with a club. + + * * * * * + +When the five canoes had sailed away a little distance from the beach, +Laea saw the men of Tetuaroa open out their ranks, and, looking in the +midst, she saw, lying face downwards on the sand, the body of Milli the +Slave. + + + + +DENISON GETS A BERTH ASHORE + +After many years as supercargo, 'blackbirder' {*} and trader in the South +Seas, Tom Denison one day found himself in Sydney with less than ten +shillings in his pocket, and with a strong fraternal yearning to visit +his brother, who was a bank manager in North Queensland and a very +good-natured man. So he sent a telegram, 'Tired of the sea. Can you +find me a billet ashore?' An answer soon came, 'Yes, if you can +manage poultry farm and keep books. If so, will wire passage money and +expenses.' + + * A 'backbirder' is the term applied to any person engaged + in the Polynesian labour traffic. + +Denison pondered over the situation. He had seen a lot of poultry in +his time--in coops on board the _Indiana_ and the _Palestine_; and one +Captain 'Bully' Hayes, with whom he had once sailed as supercargo, had +told him a lot of things about game fowls, to which birds the genial +'Bully' had a great leaning--but was not sure that he was good at books. +In fact, the owners of the _Palestine_ had said that his system of +book-keeping had driven the senior partner to drink, and they always +sent a 'Manual of Book-keeping' on board every time the ship sailed from +Sydney. At the same time Denison was touched by the allusion to passage +money and expenses, and felt that making entries about the birth of +clutches of chickens and ducklings, and the number of eggs sold, +would be simple enough--much easier than the heartbreaking work of a +supercargo, when such customers as Flash Harry of Apia or Fiji Bill of +Apamama would challenge the correctness of their grog bills, and offer +to fight him instead of paying. And then, he thought, it would be simply +delightful to sit in a room in a quiet farmhouse and hear the gentle +moaning of calves and the cheerful cackle of exultant hens, as he wrote +items in a book about eggs and things, and drink buttermilk, instead +of toiling in the ill-smelling trade-room on board the _Palestine_, +bottling off Queensland rum and opening tierces of negrohead tobacco, +while the brig was either standing on her head or rolling her soul out, +and Packenham the skipper was using shocking language to everyone on +deck. + +So he sent a 'collect' telegram to his brother, and stated that he +thoroughly understood all branches of poultry and book-keeping. + +On the voyage up to Cooktown he kept to himself, and studied 'Pip and +Its Remedy,' 'Warts and the Sulphur Cure,' 'Milligan on Roup in Ducks,' +and other valuable works; so that when the steamer reached the port and +he met his brother, the latter was deeply impressed with the profound +knowledge he displayed of the various kinds of poultry diseases, and +said he felt sure that Denison would 'make the thing pay.' The poultry +farm, he said, belonged to the bank, which had advanced money to the +former proprietor, who had most unjustifiably died in _delirium tremens_ +at Cooktown Hospital a few months ago, leaving the farm to the care of +some aboriginals, and his estate much in debt to the good, kind bank. + +On the following evening Denison was driven out to the place by his +brother, who took advantage of the occasion to point out to the youth +the beauties of a country life, away from the temptations of cities. +Also he remarked upon the folly of a young man spending the bloom of his +years among the dissolute natives of the South Seas; and then casually +inquired if the women down there were pretty. Then the younger Denison +began to talk, and the elder brother immediately pulled up the horse +from a smart trot into a slow walk, saying there was no need to rush +along on such a hot night, and that he liked to hear about the customs +of foreign countries. About ten o'clock they reached their destination, +and the elder brother, without getting out of the trap and entering the +house, hurriedly bade Tom good-bye and drove off as quickly as possible, +fearing that if he stayed till the morning, and the youth saw the place +by daylight, the latter would become a fratricide. + +The occupants of the farm were, the new manager found, three black +fellows and two 'gins,' {*} all of whom were in a state of stark nudity; +but they welcomed him with smiles and an overpowering smell of ants, the +which latter is peculiar to the Australian nigger. One of the bucks, who +when Denison entered was sleeping, with three exceedingly mangy dogs, in +the ex-proprietor's bunk--a gorgeous affair made of a badly-smelling +new green hide stretched between four posts, at once got up and gave him +possession of the couch; and Denison, being very tired, spread his rug +over the hide and turned in, determined not to grumble, and make the +thing pay, and then buy a place in the Marquesas or Samoa in a few +years, and die in comfort. During the night the mosquitoes worried him +incessantly, until one of the coloured ladies, who slept on the ground +in the next room, hearing his petulant exclamations, brought him a dirty +piece of rag, soaked in kerosene, and told him to anoint his hair, face +and hands with it. He did so, and then fell asleep comfortably. + + * 'Gin,' or 'lubra'--the female Australian aboriginal. + +Early in the morning he rose and inspected the place (which I forgot +to say was twenty miles from Cooktown, and on the bank of the Endeavour +River). He found it to consist of two rusty old corrugated iron +buildings, vaguely surrounded by an enormous amount of primaeval +desolation and immediately encompassed by several hundred dead cattle +(in an advanced state of putrefaction) picturesquely disposed about the +outskirts of the premises. But Denison, being by nature a cheerful man, +remembered that his brother (who was pious) had alluded to a drought, +and said that rain was expected every day, as the newly-appointed Bishop +of North Queensland had appointed a day of general humiliation and +prayer, and that poultry-rearing was bound to pay. + +The stock of poultry was then rounded up by the black-fellows for his +inspection--thirty-seven dissolute-looking ducks, ninety-three degraded +and anaemic female fowls, thirteen spirit-broken roosters, and eleven +apathetic geese. Denison caught one of the ducks, which immediately +endeavoured to swallow his fore-finger, under the impression it was food +of some sort. + +'Jacky,' he said to the leading coloured gentleman, 'my brother told me +that there were five hundred ducks here. Where are they?' + +Jacky said that the ducks _would_ go on the river and that 'plenty +feller big alligator eat 'em up.' + +'Then where are the seven hundred and fifty laying hens?' + +Jacky scratched his woolly head and grinned. 'Goanner' eat some, snake +eat some, some die, some run away in bush, hawk eat some. By ------, +this feller duck and fowl altogether dam fool.' » + +During the following week Denison found that Jacky had not deviated from +the truth--the alligators did eat the ducks, the tiger and carpet-snakes +and iguanas did crawl about the place at night-time and seize any +luckless fowl not strong enough to fly up to roost in the branch of a +tree, the hawks did prefer live poultry to long-deceased bullock, and +those hens physically capable of laying eggs laid them on an ironstone +ridge about a mile away from the house. He went there one day, found +nine eggs, and saw five death adders and a large and placid carpet +snake. Then he wrote to his brother, and said that he thought the place +would pay when the drought broke up, but he did not feel justified in +taking £3, 10s. a week from the bank under the present circumstances, +and would like to resign his berth, as he was afraid he was about to get +an attack of fever. + +A few days later he received an official letter from the bank, signed +'C. Aubrey Denison, Manager,' expressing surprise at his desire to +give up the control of a concern that was 'bound to pay,' and for +the management of which the bank had rejected twenty-three other +applications in his favour, and suggesting that, as the poultry were +not thriving, he might skin the carcases of such cattle as died in the +future, and send the hides to Cooktown--'for every hide the bank +will allow you 2s. 6d. nett.' With the official letter was a private +communication from the Elder Brother telling him not to be disheartened +so quickly--the place was sure to pay as soon as the drought broke up; +also that as the river water was bad, and tea made from it was not +good for anyone with fever, he was sending up a dozen of whisky by +the mailman next week. Again Denison was touched by his brother's +thoughtfulness, and decided to remain for another week at least. But +at night-time he thought a good deal about the dear old _Palestine_ and +Harvey Packenham, her skipper. + +While awaiting with considerable anxiety the arrival of the mailman, +Denison passed the time in killing tiger-snakes, cremating the dead +cattle around the place, bathing in the only pool in the river safe from +alligators, and meditating upon the advantages of a berth ashore. But +when the mailman arrived (four days late) with only five bottles of +whisky, and said in a small, husky voice that the pack-horse had fallen +and broken seven bottles, he felt a soured and disappointed man, and +knew that he was only fit for the sea. The mailman, to whom he expressed +these sentiments, told him to cheer up. It was loneliness, he said, that +made him feel like that, and he for _his_ part 'didn't like to see no +man feelin' lonely in the bloomin' bush.' Therefore he would keep him +company for a few days, and let the sanguinary mail go to Hades. + +He did keep him company. And then, when the whisky was finished, he bade +Denison good-bye, and said that any man who would send 'his own bloomin' +brother to perish in such a place was not fit to live himself, and ought +to be flamin' well shown up in the bloomin' noospapers.' At daybreak +next morning Denison told the coloured ladies and gentlemen to eat the +remaining poultry; and, shouldering his swag, tramped it into Cooktown +to 'look for a ship.' + + + + +ADDIE RANSOM: A MEMORY OF THE TOKELAUS + +A hot, steamy mist rose from the gleaming, oily sea, and the little +island lay sweltering and gasping under a sky of brass and a savagely +blazing sun. Along the edges of the curving lines of yellow beach +the drought-smitten plumes of the fast-withering coco-palms drooped +straight, brown and motionless; and Wallis, the trader at Avamua +village, as he paced to and fro upon the heated boards of his verandah, +cursed the island and the people, and the deadly calm, and the brassy +sky, and the firm of Tom de Wolf & Sons (whom he blamed for the +weather), and the drought, and the sickness, and the overdue ship, and +himself, and everything else; and he wished that Lita would go away for +a month--her patience and calmness worried and irritated him. Then +he might perhaps try getting drunk on Sundays like Ransom; to-day was +Sunday, and another Sunday meant another hell of twelve hours' heat, and +misery, and hope deferred. + +'Curse that damned bell! There it goes again, though half of the people +are dead, and the other half are dying like rotten sheep! Oh, for a +ship, or rain, or a howling gale--anything but this!' + +He dashed his pipe furiously upon the verandah, and then flung himself +into a cane lounge, pressed his hands to his ears, and swore silently at +the jarring clamour of the hated church bell. + +Lita's brown hand touched him on the shoulder. + +'Wassa th' matter, Tom, wis you?' + +'Oh, go away, for God's sake, Lita, there's a good girl. Leave me alone. +Go to church, and tell Ioane I'll give him a couple of dollars not to +ring that damned, infernal bell again to-day. I'm going mad! I'll get +drunk, I think, like Ransom. My God! just think of it, girl! Twelve +months without a ship, and this hateful, God-forsaken island turning +into a pest-house.' + +'Wasa is pesta-house, Tom?' + +'Place where they put people in to die--lazzaretto, charnel-house, +morgue, living grave! Oh, go away, girl, go to the blarsted church if +you want to, and leave me alone.' + +Her slender fingers touched his hand timidly. + +'I don' wan' go to church, Tom. I don' wan' leave you here to get mad +an' lon'ly by yourse'f.' + +'Very well, old woman, stay here with me. Perhaps a breeze may come +by-and-by and then we can breathe. How many people died yesterday, +Lita?' + +''Bout nine, Tom--four men, tree woman, an' some child.' + +'Poor devils! I wish I had some medicine for them. But I'm hanged if +I know what it is--some sort of cholera brought here by that infernal +American missionary brig, I believe. Hallo! there's Ioane beginning.' + + * * * * * + +The white-walled native church was not a stone's throw away, and through +the wide, paneless windows and open doors the deep voice of Ioane, the +Samoan native teacher, sounded clearly and solemnly in the still, heated +morn. Wallis, with his wide straw hat covering his bronzed face, lay +back in the lounge, and, at first, took no heed. Lita, sitting at his +feet, rested her chin on one hand and listened intently. + +'Turn ye all, men and women of this afflicted land of Nukutavau, to the +Word of God, which is written in the Book of Isaiah, in the fortieth +chapter and the sixth verse. It was to my mind that we should first +sing to the praise of Jehovah; but, alas! we cannot sing to-day; for my +cheeks are wetted with many tears, and my belly is bursting with sorrow +when I see how few there are of us who are left. But yet can we pray +together; and the whisper of affliction shall as surely reach the ear of +God as the loud, glad song of praise. But first hear ye these words:-- + +'“The Voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? And the Voice +answered. All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the +flower of the field: the grass withereth, the flower fadeth; because the +spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: Surely the people is grass.”' + +Wallis sat up and listened; for as the preacher ceased he heard the +sound of many sobs; and presently a woman, old, gaunt and feeble, +staggered out from the church and flung herself face downwards upon the +burning sand. + +'_A mate, a mate tatou_,' she moaned, 'e agi mai le manava Ieova.' ['We +perish, we perish with the breath of Jehovah.') + +She lay there unheeded; for now the preacher, with broken voice, was +passionately imploring his congregation to cast themselves upon the +mercy of God, and beseech Him to stay the deadly pestilence which had so +sorely smitten the land. + +'And spare Thou, O God Most High, Most Merciful, and Most Just, these +many little children who yet live, for they are but very small, and have +not yet sinned before Thee. Three of mine own hast thou touched with +Thy hand, and taken to Thee, and my belly and the belly of my wife are +empty, and yearn in the night for the voices we shall hear no more. And +for those three whom Thou hast taken, spare Thou three of those who yet +live. And shield, O God, with Thy care, the _papalagi_{*} Ranisome and +his child, the girl Ati' (Addie), 'for she loveth Thy word; and turn +Thou the heart of her father from the drinking of grog, so that he +shall be no more as a hog that is _loia_.'{**} 'And shield, too, +the _papalagi_ Walesi and the woman Lita--she who liveth with him in +sin--for their hearts are ever good and their hands ever open to us of +Nukutavau; and send, O most merciful and compassionate One, a ship, so +that the two white men and the woman Lita, and the girl Ati, and we, +Thy people, may not die of hunger and thirst and sickness, but live to +praise Thy holy name.' + + * Foreigner. + + ** A man or an animal is _loia_ when he or it has eaten or + drunk to such repletion as to lie down and be overrun with + ants--an expressive Samoan synonym for excess. + +A burst of weeping, and _Amene! Amene!_ came from his hearers, then +silence; and Wallis, taking his hat from his face, bent his head. + +Presently the scanty congregation came slowly forth. Some, as they +passed the white man and Lita, tried to smile a greeting to them, though +every brown face was wet with tears. Last of all came Ioane, the Samoan +teacher, short, square-built, with deep sunken earnest eyes bent to +the ground, his right arm supporting his wife, whose slender frame was +shaken with the violence of her grief for those three of her heart +whom 'He had taken.' Wallis, followed by Lita, stepped down from his +verandah, and held out his hand. The teacher pressed it in silence, and, +unable now to speak, walked slowly on. Lita, her dark, oval face still +hot with anger, drew back and made no sign, though Eliné, the teacher's +wife, murmured as she passed,--'Nay, be not angry, Lita; for death is +near to us all.' + + * * * * * + +As they returned to the house, Ransom, the old trader from Avatulalo, +the next village to that in which Wallis lived, met them at the gate. +He was a man of sixty or thereabout--grey, dirty, dishevelled and half +drunk. + +'I want you and Lita to come back with me,' he said slowly, holding to +the palings of the fence, and moving his head from side to side; 'you +must come... 'you must come, or'--with sudden frenzy--'by God, I'll put +a firestick into your house; I will, by blazes, I will! Curse you, Tom +Wallis, and your damned, Sydney-white-duck-suit-respectability, and your +damned proud quarter-caste Portugee woman, who you ain't married to, as +I was to mine--bad as she was. Put up your hands you--' + +Wallis gripped him firmly but kindly by the wrists, and forced him into +a seat. + +'What's the matter with you, Ransom? Only drunk and fightable as usual? +or are you being chased by pink snakes with tiger's heads again, eh? +There, sit quiet, old man. Where is Addie?' + +For a few moments the old man made no answer; then he rose, and placing +his trembling hands on Wallis's chest said brokenly,-- + +'God help me, Tom! She's a-dyin'... an' I'm near drunk. She was took bad +this mornin', an' has been callin' for the teacher an' Lita-- an' I'd +as lief go to hell as to ask a damned Kanaka mission'ry to come an' talk +Gospel an' Heaven to a child o' mine--not in my own house, anyway. It +ain't right or proper. But she kep' on a-pesterin' me, an' at last I +said I would come an' arst him... an' while I was waitin' outside the +church I hears the damned feller a-prayin' and sayin' “_All flesh +is grass, and the grass withereth_“'--his voice quivered and broke +again--'an' onct I heard my old mother say them very words when she was +a-dyin', more'n forty year ago, in the old country. An' Addie's dyin' +fast, Tom; dyin', an' I can't say a prayer with her; I don't know none. +I'm only a drunken old shellback, an' I ought to be struck dead for my +bloody sins. She's all I has in the world to love; an' now, an' now--' +He turned away and, covering his face with his coarse, sunburnt hands, +sobbed like a child. + + * * * * * + +Half an hour later Wallis and Lita were in the room with the dying girl. +Ransom, shambling behind them, crept in and knelt at the foot of the +bed. Two native women, who were squatted on the matted floor went +out softly, and Wallis bent over the girl and looked into her pallid, +twitching face, over which the dread grey shadow was creeping fast. She +put out her hand to the trader and Lita, and a faint smile moved her +lips. + +'You is good to come, Tom Wallis,' she said, in her childish voice, 'an' +so is you, Lita. Wher' is my fath'? I don' see him. I was ask him to +bring Ioane here to pray fo' me. I _can't_ pray myself.... I _have_ been +try.... Wher' is you, fath'?' + +Ransom crept round to her side, and laid his face upon her open hand. + +'Ah, fath', you is come... poor fath'. I say, fath', _don_ you drink no +more. You been promise me that, fath', so many time. _Don'_ you break +yo' promise now, will you?' + +The grizzled old sinner put his trembling lips to hers. 'Never no more, +Addie--may God strike me dead if I lie!' + +'Come away, old man,' said Wallis, softly, 'let Lita be with her. +Neither you nor I should disturb her just now. See, she wants Lita. But +her time is near, and you must keep close to her.' + +They drew apart, and Lita knelt beside the bed. + + * * * * * + +'An' did he pray for fath', an' me, an' you, an' Tom, an' my mother who +runned away? Tell me all 'bout it, Lita. I _did_ wan' him to come and +tell me some things I wan' to know before I is dead. Tell me what he +say.' + +'He say dat vers', “De grass with', de flow' fade, but de word of de +Lor' God endure fo' ev.'”' + +'Was do it mean, Lita, dear?' + +'I don' 'xactly know, Ati, dear. But Tom say he mean dat by-an'-by, if +we is good an' don' lie an' steal, an' don' kill nobody, dat we all go +to heav' when we is die.' + +'Lita, dear, Ioane say one day dat de Bible say my fath' go to hell +because he get drunk all de time.' + +'Don' you b'lieve him, Ati; Ioane is only dam Kanaka mission'ry. Wassa +the hell do _he_ know 'bout such thing? _You_ go to heav' sure 'nuff, +and you' fath' come to you there by-an'-by. He never been steal or lie; +he on'y get drunk. Don' you be 'fraid 'bout dat, Ati, dear. An' you will +see yo' mother, too. Oh, yes, yo' will see yo' mother; an' yo' fath' will +come there too, all nice, an' clean, an' sober, in new pyjamas all shinin' +white; an' he will kiss yo' mother on her mouf, an' say, “I forgive you, +Nellie Ransom, jes' as Jesu Christ has forgive me.”' + +The girl sighed heavily, and then lay with closed eyes, breathing +softly. Suddenly she turned quickly on her side, and extended her arms, +and her voice sounded strangely clear and distinct. + +'Where is you, fath'? Quick, quick, come an' hol' me. It is dark.... +Hol' me tight... clos' up, clos' up, fath', my fath'... it is so +dark--so dark.' + + * * * * * + +The natives told Wallis next morning that 'Ranisome' had gone quite mad. + +'How know ye he is mad?' + +'_Tah!_ He hath taken every bottle of grog from two boxes and smashed +them on the ground. And then we saw him kneel upon the sand, raise his +hands, and weep. He is mad.' + + + + +IN A NATIVE VILLAGE + +When I first settled down on this particular island as a trader, I had, +in my boundless ignorance of the fierce jealousy that prevailed between +the various villages thereon, been foolish enough to engage two or three +servants from outlying districts--much against the wishes of the local +_kaupule_ (town councillors), each of whom brought me two or three +candidates (relatives, connections or spongers of their own) and urged +that I should engage them and no others. This I refused to do, point +blank, and after much angry discussion and argument, I succeeded in +having my own way, and was allowed to choose my servants from villages +widely apart. In the course of a few weeks some terrific encounters had +taken place between my women servants and other of the local females, +who regarded them as vile usurpers of their right to rob and plunder the +new white man. However, in time matters settled down in a measure; +and beyond vituperative language and sanguinary threats against the +successful applicants, the rejected candidates, male and female, behaved +very nicely. But I was slumbering on a latent volcano of fresh troubles, +and the premonitory upheaval came about a month after our head nurse, +Hakala, had been fined five dollars for using English Seafaring' +language to another woman who had called her a pig. As Hakala could not +pay the fine--being already in debt to me for two months' wages paid in +advance--I settled it; for she was a widow, and had endeared herself +to me by the vigorous manner in which she had pitched a large, fat girl +named 'Heké out of the house for stealing some sugar from my store-room. +The members of the _kaupule_ (the village parliament) were pleased to +accept the money, but wrote me a formal letter on the following morning, +and remarked that it was wrong of me to encourage brutal conduct in any +of my servants--wrong and un-Christian-like as well. 'But,' the letter +went on to say, 'it is honest of you to pay this woman's fine; and +Talamaheke' (the sugar-thief) 'has been sentenced to do three days' +road-making for stealing the sugar. Yet you must not think evil of +Talamaheke, for she is a little _vale_ (mad), and has a class in the +Sunday-school. Now it is in our minds that, as you are an honest man, +you will pay the fines owing on the horse.' I had a vague recollection +of my predecessor telling me something indefinite about a horse +belonging to the station, but could not remember whether he said that +the animal was in the vicinity of the station or was rambling elsewhere +on the island, or had died. So I called my Samoan cook, Harry, to learn +what he knew about the matter. Harry was the Adonis of the village, and +already the under-nurse, E'eu, a sweet little hazel-eyed creature of +fifteen, and incorrigibly wicked, had succumbed to his charms, and spent +much of her time in the kitchen. At that moment Harry was seated outside +the cook-house, dressed in a suit of spotless white duck, playing an +accordeon; also he wore round his brown neck a thick wreath of white +and scarlet flowers. Harry, I may remark, was a dandy and a notorious +profligate, but against these natural faults was the fact that he could +make very good bread. + +'Harry,' I said, 'do you know anything about this horse?' and I tapped +the official letter. + +He smiled. 'Oh, yes, sir. I know all 'bout him. He been fined altogether +'bout two hundred and fifty dollar, an' never pay.' + +'What do you mean? How can anyone fine a horse?' + +Then Harry explained and gave me the horse's history. + +The animal had been brought from New Zealand for some occult reason, and +had behaved himself very badly ever since he landed. Young banana trees +were his especial fancy, cotton plants he devoured wholesale, and it +was generally asserted that he was also addicted to kicking chickens. My +three predecessors on the station had each repudiated the creature, and +each man when he left the island had said that his successor would pay +for all damage done. + +'Where is the brute now?' I asked. + +Looking cautiously around to see that no one was within earshot, Harry +informed me that until a week previously the _nuâ_ had been running +quietly in the interior of the island for many months, but since my +arrival had been brought back by two of the deacons and was now feeding +about the immediate vicinity. + +'Why did the deacons bring him back, if he destroys banana trees and +kill chickens?' + +Harry looked very uncomfortable and seemed disinclined to speak, but +at last let the cat out of the bag and revealed a diabolical +conspiracy--the horse had been brought back for my undoing, or rather +for the undoing of the strings of my bag of dollars. + +'You see, sir,' said he, confidentially, 'these people on this island +very clever--all dam rogue' (his mother was a native of the island), +'an' 'bout a month ago, when you give two dollar to help build new +church, the _fakafili_ and _kaupule_{*} (judge and councillors) 'say you +is a very good man and that you might pay that horse's fines. An' if you +pay that horse's fines then the people will have enough money to send to +Sydney to buy glass windows and nice, fine doors for the new church. An' +so that is why the deacons have bring that horse back.' + +'But what good will bringing the horse here do? That won't make me pay +his fines.' + +'Oh, you see, sir, since the horse been come back the people take him +out every day into some banana plantation and let him eat some trees. +Then, by-and-by--to-morrer, perhaps--they will come an' ask you to go +and look. Then you will look an' say, “Alright, I will pay five dollar.” + An' then when you pay that five dollar the _kaupule_ and the judge will +say, “Now you mus' pay for all the bad things that that horse do before +you come here.” An' s'pose you won' pay, then I b'lieve the judge an' +headmen goin' to _tapu_{*} your store. You see they wan' that money for +church very bad, because they very jealous of Halamua church.' + + * Tapu, in this sense, means boycotting. + +'Jealous of Halamua church! Why?' + +'Oh, because Halamua people been buy a foolpit for their church--a very +fine foolpit from California; an' now this town here very jealous, and +the people say that when you pay that horse's fine they will buy pine +windows, pine doors, and pine floor, _and give Halamua church hell?_ + +The novel (but in some cases exceedingly correct) pronunciation +of pulpit pleased me, yet my wrath was aroused at this scandalous +revelation of the plans of the villagers to beautify their church at my +expense. It was as bad as any church bazaar in Christendom. + +As Harry surmised, I received a visit from a deputation the next +morning. They wanted me to come and see the destruction done to their +plantations by _my_ horse. + +'But it's not my horse,' I said. 'I decline to hear anything about a +horse. There is no horse down in my stock list, nor an elephant.' + +A dirty old ruffian with one eye and a tattooed face regarded me gravely +for a moment, and then asked me in a wheezy, husky voice if I knew that +Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for telling lies. + +'Of course,' I replied promptly, 'I saw them struck. My uncle in England +had them buried in his garden to improve the soil. And why do you come +here and tell me these things about a horse? If there _is_ a horse, and +it eats your bananas and sugar-cane, why don't you shoot it?' + +This suggestion staggered the deputation, half of which scratched its +head meditatively. Then a tall, thin man, with an attenuated face like a +starved fowl, said sneeringly in English,-- + +'What for you want to make gammon you no savee about horse?' + +His companions smiled approvingly; not that they understood a word of +English, but they evidently regarded the fowl-like creature as a learned +person who would give me a dressing down in my own language. + +I looked at him with a puzzled expression, and then said to Harry,-- + +'What does this man say, Harry? I can't talk German. Can you?' + +Harry grinned and shook his head; the rest of the deputation looked +angrily at the hatchet-faced man, and the member seated next to him told +him he ought to be ashamed of himself to pretend to be able to _vogahau +faka Beretania_ (talk English). + +For some minutes no one spoke. Then the youngest member of the +deputation, a jolly, fat-faced young deacon, dressed in a suit of white +flannel, laughed merrily, and asked me for some tobacco. I gave them a +plug each all round, and the deputation withdrew. So having successfully +repudiated the horse and all his works, I felt satisfied. + + * * * * * + +Pigs were the next trouble--my own pigs and the pigs of the general +public. When I landed on the island I had brought with me from Sydney +a lady and gentleman pig of exceedingly high lineage. They were now +the proud and happy parents of seven beautiful little black-and-white +piglets, and at any hour of the day one might see numbers of natives +looking over my wall at the graceful little creatures as they chased one +another over the grass, charged at nothing, and came to a dead stop with +astonishing rapidity and a look of intense amazement. One fatal day I +let them out, thinking they would come to no harm, as their parents were +with them. As they did not return at dusk I sent E'eu, the under-nurse, +to search for them. She came back and told me in a whisper that the +father and mother pig were rooting up a sweet-potato patch belonging +to the local chief. The piglets she had failed to discover. Enjoining +secrecy, I sent E'eu and Harry to chase the parents home. This was +effected after considerable trouble, but the owner of the potato patch +claimed two dollars damages. I paid it, feeling his claim was just. Next +morning the seven piglets were returned one by one by various native +children. Each piglet had, according to their accounts, been in a +separate garden, and done considerable damage; and 'because they' (the +piglets) 'were the property of a good and just man, the owners of the +gardens would not hurt nor even chase them,' etc. Glad to recover +the squealing little wanderers at any cost, I gave each lying child a +quarter-dollar. Next day I had a piece of ground walled in with lumps +of coral and placed the porcine family inside. Then I wrote to the +councillors, asking them to notify the people that if any of the village +pigs came inside my fence and rooted abyssmal holes in my ground, as had +been their habit hitherto, I should demand compensation. His Honour the +Chief Justice stated in court that this was only fair and right; the +white man had paid for the damage done by _his_ pigs, and therefore he +was entitled to claim damages if the village pigs caused him trouble. +(I had previously squared his Honour with the promise of a male sucker.) +One day the seven young pigs escaped from their mother and went out for +a run on the village green. They were at once assailed as detestable +foreign devils by about two hundred and forty-three gaunt, razorbacked +village sows, and were only rescued from a cruel death after every one +had lost its tail. Why is it that pigs of different breeds always bite +off each other's tails? I claimed fifty cents per tail, and was awarded +$3.50 damages, to be paid by the community generally. The community +refused to pay. His Honour then notified by the town crier that I was +at liberty to shoot any pig that broke into the station grounds. I put +a cartridge into a Snider rifle and told my servants to call me if they +heard a grunt in the night. + +Three days after this, as I was discussing theology and baked fowl one +night with the local teacher in his own house, a boy burst in and said +that there was a strange pig in my garden devouring my crop of French +beans. In two minutes I was back in my house, snatched up the Snider, +and ran to the garden wall. There was the brute, a great black-and +white beast, the biggest native pig I ever saw. His back was turned, but +hearing my steps he 'went about' and faced me. 'Twas a bright moonlight +night, and the bullet plugged him fair between the eyes. Over he rolled +without a kick. Then I heard a shriek or laughter, and saw half a dozen +girls scuttling away among the coco-palms. A horrible suspicion nearly +made me faint. Jumping over the wall I examined the defunct, and could +scarce forbear to shed a tear. + +'Twas mine own prized black Australian boar, daubed over with splashes +of coral lime whitewash. And the whitewash came from a tub full of it, +with which the natives had that morning been whitening the walls of the +newly-built village church. The one-eyed old scoundrel of a deacon told +me next day it was a judgment on me. + + + + +MAURICE KINANE + +Eastward, from the coast of New Guinea, there lies a large island +called, on the maps, New Britain, the native name of which is Berara. It +is nearly three hundred miles in length and, in parts, almost sixty in +width, and excepting the north-eastern portion, now settled by +German colonists, is inhabited by a race of dangerous and treacherous +cannibals, who are continually at war among themselves, for there are +many hundred tribes living on the coast as well as in the interior. +Although there have been white people living on the north-east coast +for over thirty years--for there were adventurous American and English +traders living in this wild island long before the natives ever saw a +German--not one of them knew then, or knows now, much of the strange +black tribes who dwell in the interior of the centre and western part of +the island, save that they were then, as they are in this present year, +always at enmity with the coast tribes, and are, like them, more or less +addicted to cannibalism. + +Sixty miles from the western end of the island is the mountainous land +of German New Guinea; and sometimes, when the air is clear and the +south-east trade wind blows, the savages on Berara can see across the +deep, wide strait the grey loom of the great range that fringes the +north-eastern coast of New Guinea for many hundred miles. Once, indeed, +when the writer of this true story lived in New Britain, he saw this +sight for a whole week, for there, in those beautiful islands, the air +is very clear at certain seasons of the year. + +From Matupi, where the principal settlement in New Britain is situated, +to the deep bay at Kabaira, fifty miles away, the coast is very +beautiful. And, indeed, no one who looks at the lovely grassy downs that +here and there show through the groves of waving palm trees stretching +from the beach away up to the rising land of the interior could think +that such a fair country was the home of a deadly fever; and that in +the waters of the bright limpid streams that ran gently down from the +forest-clad hills to meet the blue waters of the Pacific there lurked +disease and death to him who drank thereof. + +At the time of my story (except for the adventurous American whalemen +from Nantucket and New Bedford, and the sandal-wood cutters from New +South Wales, who sometimes touched there) white men were unknown to +the people of New Britain. Sometimes when the sperm-whaling fleet was +cruising northwards and westward to the Moluccas, a ship would sail +along the coast in the daytime, but always anchored at night, for it +was dreaded for the many dangerous reefs that surround it. And once the +anchor was down a strict watch was kept on board, for the natives were +known to be fierce and treacherous. + +Between where is now the German settlement and the great native town at +Kabaira Bay there is an island called Mano, which stands five miles +off from the mainland. Early one morning, when the wild people of the +villages among the palm-groves which lined the long winding beach came +out of their thatched huts for their morning bathe they gave a great +cry, for a large full-rigged ship was standing in close under the lee of +Mano, and clewing up her sails before she came to an anchor. + +Now the natives who lived on the mainland of New Britain were the +hereditary enemies of those who dwelt on Mano Island, and it was hateful +for them to see a ship anchor there, for then the Mano Islanders would +get axes and muskets and hoop-iron. + +So, with Baringa, the chief, at their head, they all ran to the summit +of a high, grassy hill (known, by reason of a terrible deed once done +there in the olden times, as the Hill of Old Men's Groans), and sat down +to watch if the ship would send her boats ashore. + +'Look!' said Baringa, fiercely, striking the ground with his heavy +jade-headed club, 'look, I see a boat putting out from the side. Who +among ye will come with me to the ship, so that I may sell my turtle +shell and pearl shell to the captain for muskets and powder and bullets? +Are these dogs of Mano to get such things from the ship, and then come +over here at night and slay and then cook us in their ovens? Hungry am I +for revenge; for 'tis now twelve moons since they stole my son from me, +and not one life have I had in return for his.' + +But no one answered. Of what use was it, they thought, for Baringa to +think of his little son? He was but a boy after all, and had long since +gone down the throats of the men of Mano. Besides, the Mano people were +very strong and already had many guns. + +So for an hour Baringa sat and chafed and watched; and then suddenly +he and those with him sprang up, for a sound like thunder came over to +them, and a cloud of white smoke curled up from the ship's side; she had +fired one of her big guns. Presently Baringa and his people saw that the +boat which had gone ashore was pulling back fast, and that some of the +crew who were sitting in the stern were firing their muskets at the Mano +people, who were pursuing the boat in six canoes. Twice again the ship +fired a big gun, and then the boat was safe, for the two twenty-four +pounders, loaded with grape-shot, smashed two of them to pieces when +they were less than a hundred yards from the ship. + +Baringa shouted with savage joy. 'Come,' he cried, 'let us hasten to the +beach, and get quickly to the ship in our canoes; for now that the white +men have fought with these Mano dogs, the ship will come here to us and +anchor; for I, Baringa, am known to many white men.' + + * * * * * + +The name of the ship was the _Boadicea_. She was of about seven hundred +tons, and was bound to China from Port Jackson, but for four months had +remained among the islands of the New Hebrides group, where the crew had +been cutting sandal-wood, which in those days was very plentiful there. +Her captain, who was a very skilful navigator, instead of going through +Torres Straits, had sailed between New Ireland and New Britain, so that +he might learn the truth of some tales he had heard about the richness +of those islands in sandal-wood and pearl shell. So he had cruised +slowly along till he sighted Mano Island, and here he decided to water +the ship; for from the deck was visible a fine stream of water, running +from the forest-clad mountains down to the white sands of the quiet +beach. + +As soon as possible a boat was lowered and manned and armed; for +although he could not see a native anywhere on the beach, nor any signs +of human occupation elsewhere on the island, the captain was a very +cautious man. A little further back from the beach was a very dense +grove of coco-nut trees laden with fruit, and at these the crew of the +Boadicea looked with longing eyes. + +'We must water the ship first, my lads,' said Captain Williams, 'and +then we'll spend the rest of the day among the coco-nut trees, and fill +our boats with them.' + +Just then as the bronze-faced captain was ascending to the poop from his +cabin; a small barefooted boy came aft, and, touching his hat, said,-- + +'Av ye plaze, sor, won't ye let me go in the boat, sor?' + +'Why, Maurice, my boy, there's quite enough of us going in her as it +is,' said the captain, kindly, for the dirty-faced but bright-eyed +Maurice Kinane was a favourite with everyone on board. + +'Ah, but shure, sor,' pleaded the boy, 'av yer honour would just let me +go, av it was only to pluck a blade av the foine green grass, and lave +me face in the swate clane wather I'll be beholden--' + +'Well, well, my lad, jump in then,' said Captain Williams, with a smile, +and buckling his cutlass belt around his waist he sent the lad down the +ladder before him and the boat pushed off. + + * * * * * + +Ten months before, this poor Irish lad, who was but thirteen years of +age, had lost both his parents through the upsetting of a boat in Sydney +Harbour. His father was a sergeant in the 77th Regiment, and had only +arrived in the colony a few months previous to the accident, and the +boy was left without a relative in the world. But the captain of his +father's company and the other officers of the regiment were very kind +to him, and the colonel said he would get him enlisted as a drummer. + +And so for a time Maurice lived in the barracks under the care of +Sergeant MacDougall, a crusty old warrior, who proved a hard master and +made the boy's life anything but a happy one. And Maurice, though he +was proud of the colonel's kind words and of serving with the regiment, +fretted greatly at the harsh manner of the old sergeant. + +One morning he was reported as missing. Little did those who looked for +him all the next day think that the boy was far out at sea, for he had +stowed away on board the _Boadicea_; and although Captain Williams was +very angry with him when he was discovered and led aft, the lad's genial +temper and bright, honest face soon won him over, as, indeed, it did +everyone else on board. + +For nearly an hour after the boat had landed at the mouth of the little +stream the seamen were busily-engaged in filling the water casks. Not a +sign of a native could be seen, and then, regardful of the longing looks +that the sailors cast at the grove of coco-nuts, the captain, taking +with him Maurice and four hands, set out along the beach for the purpose +of gathering a few score of the young nuts to give to his men to drink. + +One of the four seamen was a Kanaka named 'Tommy Sandwich.' He was a +native of Sandwich or Vaté Island in the New Hebrides. In a very short +time this man had ascended a lofty palm-tree, and was throwing down the +coco-nuts to the others, who for some minutes were busily engaged tying +them together to carry them to the boat. + +'That will do, Tommy,' cried the captain, presently. 'Come down now and +help the others to carry.' He did not see that Maurice, boy-like +and adventurous, had managed to ascend a less lofty tree some little +distance away, out of sight of his shipmates, and at that moment was +already ensconced in the leafy crown, gazing with rapture at the lovely +scene that lay before him. + +It took the men but another ten minutes to tie up the coco-nuts into +bunches of ten, and then each of them drank copiously of the sweet milk +of half a dozen which Tommy had husked for them. + +'Come, lads,' said Captain Williams, 'back to the boat now. By-and-by--' + +A dreadful chorus of savage yells interrupted him, and he and the men +seized their muskets and sprang to their feet. The sounds seemed to +come from where the boat was watering; in a few seconds more four musket +shots rang out. + +'Run, run for your lives,' cried the captain, drawing his pistol. 'The +savages are attacking the boat.' And the seamen, throwing down the +coco-nuts, rushed out of the palm grove to rescue their shipmates. + +They were only just in time, for the banks of the little stream were +covered with naked savages, who had sprung out of the thick undergrowth +upon the watering party, and ere the boat could be pushed off two of the +poor sailors had been savagely slaughtered. Fortunately for the captain +and his party, they were nearer to the boat, when they made their +appearance, than were the natives, and, plunging into the water, and +holding their muskets over their heads, they reached her in safety, and +at once opened fire, whilst the rest of the crew bent to the oars. + +But the danger was not yet over, for as soon as the boat was out of +reach of the showers of spears sent at her from the shore, a number +of canoes appeared round a bend of the mountainous coast. They had +evidently been sent to cut off the white men's retreat. And then began +the race for life to the ship which had been witnessed by Baringa and +his people from the mainland. + +Maurice, from his tree, had heard the yells of the savages and the +gunshots, and was about to descend and follow the captain and his +shipmates, when he heard a rush of bodies through the palm grove, and +saw beneath him forty or fifty natives, all armed with clubs and spears. +They were a horrible-looking lot, for they were quite naked and the +lips of all were stained a deep red from the juice of the betel-nut, and +their dull reddish-brown bodies were daubed over with yellow and white +stripes. This party had perhaps meant to surprise the captain and his +men as they were getting the coco-nuts, for, finding them gone, they at +once rushed out of the grove in pursuit. Fortunately for Maurice they +were too excited to think of looking about them, else his end would have +come very quickly. + +For nearly ten minutes the lad remained quiet, listening to the +sounds of the fighting, and in fearful doubt as to his best course of +action--whether to make a bold dash and try to find his way to the +boat, or remain in the tree till a rescue party was sent from the ship. +Suddenly the thundering report of one of the ship's guns made him peer +seaward through the branches of his retreat; and there, to his delight, +he caught a brief view of the boat. Again the report of another gun +pealed out, and a wild screaming cry from the natives told him that the +shot had done some execution. + +'I must get out of this,' he thought, 'and make a bolt along the beach +in the other direction, till I get into the hills. I can see better from +there, and perhaps make a signal to the ship.' Maurice got quietly down +from the tree, and after looking cautiously about him, was about to set +off at a run, when he found himself face to face with a young native +boy, who, running quickly forward, grasped him by the hands, and began +to talk volubly, at the same time trying to drag him towards the beach. +The boy, save for a girdle of ti leaves, was naked, and Maurice, anxious +and alarmed as he was for his own safety, could not but notice that the +young savage seemed terribly excited. + +'Let me go, ye black naygur,' said Maurice, freeing his hands and +striking him in the chest. + +In an instant the native boy fell upon his knees, and held up his hands, +palms outward, in a supplicating gesture. + +Puzzled at this, but still dreading treachery, Maurice turned away and +again sought to make his way to the hills; but again the boy caught his +hands, and with gentle force, and eyes filled with tears, tried to push +or lead him to the beach. At last, apparently as if in despair of making +the white lad understand him by words, he made signs of deadly combat, +and ended by pointing over to where the boat had been attacked. Then, +touching Maurice on the chest, and then himself, he pointed to the sea, +and lying on the ground worked his arms and legs as if swimming. + +'Sure, perhaps he's a friend,' thought Maurice, 'an' wants me to swim +off to the ship. But perhaps he's a thraitor and only manes to entice me +away to be murdered. Anyway, it's not much of a choice I've got at all. +So come on, blackamoor, I'm wid ye.' + +Although not understanding a word that Maurice said, the native boy +smiled when he saw that the white lad was willing to come with him at +last. Then, hand-in-hand, they ran quietly along till they reached the +beach; and here the native, motioning Maurice to keep out of view, crept +on his hands and knees till he reached a rock, and then slowly raised +his head above it and peered cautiously ahead. + +Whatever it was he saw evidently satisfied him, for he crawled back +to Maurice, and again taking his hand broke into a run, but instead of +going in the direction of the river, he led the way along the beach +in the opposite direction. Feeling confident now that he had found a +friend, Maurice's spirits began to rise, and he went along with the boy +unhesitatingly. + +At last they rounded a sandy point, covered with a dense growth of +coco-nut trees and pandanus palms; this point formed the southern horn +of a small deep bay, in the centre of which stood an island, warded by +a snow-white beach, and on the nearmost shore Maurice saw a canoe drawn +up. + +The island beach was quite three hundred yards away, but Maurice was +a good swimmer, and although he shuddered at the thought of sharks, he +plunged in the water after his dark-skinned companion and soon reached +the islet, which was but a tiny spot, containing some two or three score +of coco-palms, and three untenanted native huts. It was used by the +natives as a fishing station, and the canoe, which was a very small one, +had evidently been in use that day. Close by were the marks in the sand +where a larger one had been carried down. In one of the huts smoke was +arising from a native ground-oven, which showed that the fishermen had +not long gone; doubtless they would return when the food was cooked, for +the native boy pointed out the oven to Maurice with a look of alarm. + +The two boys soon launched the canoe, and each seizing a paddle, at once +struck out in the direction of the ship. The native lad sat aft, Maurice +for'ard, and clumsy as was the latter with the long and narrow canoe +paddle, he yet managed to keep his seat and not capsize the frail little +craft. + +'Hurroo!' cried foolish Maurice, turning to his companion, 'we're all +right now, I'm thinkin'. There's the ship!' + +There she was sure enough, and there also were four canoes, paddling +along close in-shore, returning from their chase of the captain's +boat. They heard Maurice's loud shout of triumph, at once altered their +course, and sped swiftly towards the two boys. + + * * * * * + +Scarcely had Captain Williams and his exhausted crew gained the ship +when the mate reported that a fleet of canoes was coming across from +the mainland of New Britain, and orders were at once given to load the +ship's eight guns with grape and canister. (In those days of Chinese +and Malay pirates and dangerous natives of the South Seas, all merchants +ships, particularly those engaged in the sandal-wood trade, were well +armed, and almost man-of-war discipline observed.) + +'We'll give them something to remember us by, Hodgson,' said Captain +Williams, grimly. 'That poor lad! To think I never noticed he was not in +the boat till too late! I expect he's murdered by now; but I shall take +a bloody vengeance for the poor boy's death. Serve out some grog to the +hands, steward; and some of you fellows stand by with some shot to +dump into the canoes if we should miss them with the guns and they get +alongside.' + +But just as he spoke the mate called out, 'The canoes have stopped +paddling, sir, all except one, which is coming right on.' + +'All right, I see it. Let them come and have a look at us. As soon as it +gets close enough, I'll sink it.' + +For some minutes the canoe, which contained seven men, continued +to advance with great swiftness; then she ceased paddling, and the +steersman stood up and called out something to the ship, just as she was +well covered by two of the guns on the port side. In another minute she +would have been blown out of the water, when Tommy Sandwich ran aft and +said,-- + +'I think, cap'n, that fellow he no want fight ship; I think he want talk +you.' + +'Perhaps so, Tommy; so we'll let him come a bit closer.' + +Again the native paddles sent the canoe inward till she was well within +easy hailing distance of the ship, and the same native again stood up +and called out,-- + +'Hi, cap'n. No you shoot me. Me Baringa. Me like come 'board.' + +'All right,' answered Captain Williams, 'come alongside.' + +The moment the canoe ranged alongside, Baringa clambered up the side, +and advanced fearlessly toward the poop. 'Where cap'n?' he asked, +pushing unceremoniously aside those who stood in his way; and mounting +the ladder at the break of the poop he walked up to the master of the +_Boadicea_ and held out his hand. + +In a very short time, by the aid of Tommy Sandwich, whose language was +allied to that of the natives of New Britain, Captain Williams learnt +how matters stood. His visitor was anxious to help him, and volunteered +to join the white man in an attack on the treacherous people of Mano, +though he gave but little hope of their finding Maurice alive. They had, +he said, stolen his own son twelve months before, and eaten him, and he +wanted his revenge. Presently, as a proof of his integrity, he produced +from a dirty leather cartridge pouch, that was strapped around his +waist, a soiled piece of paper, and handed it to the captain. It read as +follows:-- + + 'The bearer, Baringa, is the chief of Kabaira Coast. He is a + thorough old cannibal, but, as far as I know, may be trusted + by white men. He supplied my ship with fresh provisions, and + seems a friendly old cut-throat. + + 'Matthew Wallis, + 'Master, ship _Algerine_ of New Bedford. + 'October 2 st, 1839.' + +'Well, that's satisfactory,' said Captain Williams, turning to Tommy. +'Tell him that I am going to land and try and find Maurice, and he can +help me with his people. Mr Hodgson, man and arm the boats again.' + +In a moment all was bustle and excitement, in the midst of which a loud +'hurrah' came from aloft from a sailor who was on the fore-yard watching +the remaining canoes of Baringa's fleet. 'Hurrah! Here's Maurice, sir, +coming off in a canoe with a nigger, an' a lot of other niggers in four +canoes a-chasin' him.' + +Springing to the taffrail, Captain Williams saw the canoe, which had +just rounded the point and was now well in view. The two boys were +paddling for their lives; behind them were the four canoes filled with +yelling savages. + +'Into the boats, men, for God's sake!' roared the captain. Had a +greater distance separated Maurice from his pursuers the master of the +_Boadicea_ would have endeavoured to have sunk the four canoes with +the ship's guns; but the risk was too great to attempt it as they were. +However, the gunner and carpenter were sent into the fore-top to try and +pick off some of the natives by firing over Maurice's canoe. + +Five minutes later the ship's three boats were pulling swiftly to the +rescue, and Baringa, jumping into his own canoe, beckoned to the rest +of his flotilla to follow him, and six natives urged the light craft +furiously along after the boats. + +On, on, came the two poor boys, straining every nerve; but every moment +their pursuers gained on them; and on, on dashed the heavy, cumbersome +boats. Already the nearest canoe was within fifty feet of Maurice and +his black friend, the savage paddlers undaunted by the fire from the +muskets of the gunner and carpenter, when Captain Williams saw a native +rise up and hurl a club at the two boys. Quick as lightning the captain +picked up his musket and fired, and the savage fell forward with a +bullet through his chest. But quick as he was he was too late, for the +club whizzed through the air and struck the native boy on his right arm. + +A savage yell of triumph came from the pursuing canoes as their +occupants saw the boy go down and the canoe broach-to, and then the +leading canoe dashed up alongside that of Maurice and his companion. + +'Pull, men, pull, for God's sake!' cried the captain, frantically, as +he saw the Irish lad, paddle in hand, standing up over the body of the +fallen boy, and strike wildly at his murderous pursuers. + +With heaving bosoms and set teeth the seamen urged the boats along, and +they and the four canoes crashed together in deadly conflict. But as +they met, a huge savage stood up and, poising a spear, darted it at +the prone figure of the native boy; it did not reach him, for Maurice, +wounded and bleeding as he was with a spear wound through his thigh, +flung himself in front of the weapon to save his friend. It struck him +in the shoulder and came out a full foot at his back. + +'You dog,' said Williams, raising his pistol, and the native went down +with a crash. + +And then ensued a scene of slaughter, as the seamen of the _Boadicea_ +got to work with their cutlasses. It did not take long to end the fight, +and not one of the Mano men escaped, for now Baringa's canoes had come +up, and with their heavy jade clubs dashed out the brains of those +of their enemies who sought to swim ashore. It was in truth a hideous +sight, and even the hardy sailors shuddered when they saw the merciless +manner in which wounded and dying men were massacred by their naked +allies. + +As quickly as possible, the two boys were lifted out of the little canoe +and placed in the captain's boat, where their wounds were examined. The +native boy's arm was broken, and his back badly hurt, but he was quite +conscious. As for Maurice, he was in a bad state, and Captain Williams +decided not to pull out the spear till the ship was reached. + +Just as he had given orders to pull for the ship, Baringa's canoe +returned from the slaughter of the remaining fugitives, and drew up +alongside the captain's boat, and the moment the chief saw the native +boy lying in the stern sheets of the boat he sprang out of the canoe and +embraced him. + +'It is my boy, my Lokolol--he whom I thought was dead.' + +Little remains to be told. The two boys were carefully attended to as +soon as they reached the ship, and to the joy of everyone the spear, +when extracted from Maurice's body, was pronounced by Baringa not to +be a poisoned one. As for Lokolol, the chief's son, his arm was put in +splints, but during the time that was occupied in doing this his hand +was clasped around that of the brave young sailor lad who had saved his +life, and his big, black eyes never left Maurice's pallid face. + +For three days the _Boadicea_ remained at anchor opposite the +village--she had sailed there the morning after the fight--and the chief +showed his gratitude by every possible means. On the morning of the day +on which the ship sailed he came on board, attended by thirty canoes, +every one of which was laden deep down with pearl shell. It was passed +up on deck, and stacked in a heap, and then Baringa asked for the +captain and the white boy who had saved his son. Beside him stood +Lokolol, his arm in a sling, and tears running down his cheeks, for he +knew he would see Maurice no more. + +Then Captain Williams came on deck and showed the chief the little cabin +boy, lying in a hammock under the poop awning. The burly savage came +over to him, and taking Maurice's hand in his, placed it tenderly +upon his huge, hairy bosom in token of gratitude. Then he spoke to the +captain through Tommy Sandwich. + +'Tell this good captain that I, Baringa, am for ever the white man's +friend. And tell him, too, that all this pearl shell here is my gift to +him and the boy who helped my son to escape from captivity. Half is for +the good captain; half is for the brave white boy.' + +Then, after remaining on board till the ship was many miles away from +the land, the chief and his son bade the wounded boy farewell and went +back to the shore. + +Maurice soon recovered, and when the _Boadicea_ arrived at Hong Kong, +and Captain Williams had sold the pearl shell, he said to his cabin +boy,-- + +'Maurice, my lad, I've sold the pearl shell, and what do you think I've +been paid for it? Well, just eight thousand dollars--£1600 in English +money. You're quite a rich boy now, Maurice. It's not every lad that +gets four thousand dollars for saving a nigger's life.' + +Maurice's bright blue eyes filled with honest tears. 'Shure, sor, he +was a naygur, thrue enough. But thin, yere honour, he had a foine bould +heart to do what he did for Maurice Kinane.' + +And, as I have said, this is a true story, and old Maurice Kinane, who +is alive now, himself told it to me. + + + + +THE 'KILLERS' OF TWOFOLD BAY + +Enbosomed in the verdure-clad hills of the southern coast of sunny New +South Wales lies a fisherman's paradise, named Twofold Bay. Its fame +is but local, or known only to outsiders who may have spent a day there +when travelling from Sydney to Tasmania in the fine steamers of the +Union Company, which occasionally put in there to ship cattle from the +little township of Eden, which is situated upon the northern shore +of its deep and placid waters. But the chief point of interest about +Twofold Bay is that it is the rendezvous of the famous 'killers' (_Orca +gladiator_) the deadly foes of the whole race of cetaceans other than +themselves, and the most extraordinary and sagacious creatures that +inhabit the ocean's depths. From July to November two 'schools' of +killers may be seen every day, either cruising to and fro across the +entrance of the bay, or engaged in a Titanic combat with a whale--a +'right' whale, a 'humpback,' or the long, swift 'fin-back.' Never have +they been known to tackle the great sperm-whale, except when one of +those mighty creatures has been wounded by his human enemies. And +to witness one of these mighty struggles is worth travelling many a +thousand miles to see; it is terrible, awe-inspiring and wonderful. The +'killer' ranges in length from ten feet to twenty-five feet (whalemen +have told me that one was seen stranded on the Great Barrier Reef in +1862 which measured thirty feet). Their breathing apparatus and general +anatomy is much similar to that of the larger whales. They spout, +'breach.' and 'sound' like other cetaceans, and are of the same +migratory habit, as the two 'schools' which haunt Twofold Bay always +leave there at a certain time of the year to cruise in other seas, +returning to their headquarters when the humpback and fin-back whales +make their appearance on the coast of New South Wales, travelling +northwards to the feeding-grounds on the Bampton Shoals, the coast of +New Guinea and the Moluccas. + +The head of the killer is of enormous strength. The mouth is armed in +both jaws with fearful teeth, from one and a half inches to two inches +long, and set rather widely apart. In colour they show an extraordinary +variation, some being all one hue--brown, black, or dull grey; others +are black, with large, irregular patches or streaks of pure white or +yellow; others are dark brown with black and yellow patches. One, +which I saw ashore on the reef at the island of Nukulaelae in the South +Pacific, was nearly black, except for a few irregular blotches of white +on the back and belly. This particular killer had died from starvation, +for nearly the entire lower jaw had decayed from a cancerous growth. + +The whaling station at Twofold Bay is now, alas! the only one in the +colony--the last remnant of a once great and thriving industry, which, +in the early days of the then struggling colony, was the nursery of bold +and adventurous seamen. It is now carried on by a family named Davidson, +father and sons--in conjunction with the killers. And for more than +twenty years this business partnership has existed between the humans +and the cetaceans, and the utmost rectitude and solicitude for each +other's interests has always been maintained. _Orca gladiator_ seizes +the whale for the Davidsons and holds him until the deadly lance is +plunged into his 'life,' and the Davidssons let Orca carry the carcass +to the bottom, and take his tithe of luscious blubber. This is the +literal truth; and grizzled old Davidson, or any one of the stalwart +sons who man his two boats, will tell you that but for the killers, who +do half of the work, whaling would not pay with oil only worth from £18 +to £24 a tun. + +Let us imagine a warm, sunny day in August at Twofold Bay. The man +who is on the lookout at the old lighthouse, built by 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 not clear. If the creature is in a playful mood and +'breaches,' that is, springs bodily out of the water and 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, looks down. There they are, cruising +slowly up and down, close in-shore, spouting lazily and showing their +wet, gleaming backs as they rise, roll and dive again. There's 'Fatty,' +and 'Spot,' and 'Flukey,' and 'Little Jim,' and 'Paddy,' and 'Tom Tug.' +Nearly every one of them has a name, 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, +'Humpbacks!' 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 'pick-up' 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're coming right down +on us. Billy was 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 young 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 full 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 school, and +are holding him for the boat and for the deadly lance of his human foes. +The rest of the humpbacks raise 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 how 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.) + +Ranging 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 skin and 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 bulldogs 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 tough corrugations of +his grey-ribbed 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 with 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 blows into his 'life,' a gushing torrent of hot, dark blood, +he rolls over on his side, an agonised trembling quivers through his +vast frame, the battle is over 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 carcass will again rise +to the surface, and as, before he was taken down, the whalemen have +attached a line and buoy to the body, its whereabouts is easily +discerned from the lookout on the headland; the boats again put off and +tow it ashore to the trying-out works. The killers, though they have 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 carcass 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 have 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. + +On some occasions, when a pack of killers set out whale-hunting, they +will be joined by a thresher--the fox-shark (Alopias vulpes)--and then +while the killers bite and tear the unfortunate cetacean, the thresher +deals him fearful blows with his scythe-like tail. The master of a +whaling vessel told me that off the north end of New Caledonia, there +was, from 1868 till 1876, a pack of nine killers which were always +attended by two threshers and a sword-fish. Not only he, but many other +whaling skippers had seen this particular swordfish, year after year, +joining the killers in attacks upon whales. The cruising ground of this +pack extended for thirty miles, north and south, and the nine creatures +and their associates were well known to hundreds of New Bedford +whalemen. No doubt many of these combats, witnessed from merchant ships, +have led to many sea-serpent stories; for when a thresher stands his +twenty feet of slender body straight up on end like a pole, he presents +a strange sight, as his long body sways, and curves, and twists in air, +as he deals his cutting blows upon his victim. Then, too, the enormous +length of the pectoral fins of a humpback whale, which show dazzlingly +white as he rolls from side to side in his agony, and frantically beats +the water with them in his struggles, or upends one after the other like +a mast, might well be mistaken for the uprearing of a serpent's +body. But any South Sea whaleman will smile when he hears talk of the +sea-serpent, though he has not forgotten the awe and fascination with +which he was filled, when he first saw a whale in the agonies of +combat with _Alopias vulpes_ and _Orca gladiator_, and the serpentine +evolutions of the former creature. + +The whaleman in the Pacific sees very strange and wondrous sights; and +never, since Herman Melville wrote his strangely exciting and weird +book, 'The Whale,' nearly fifty years ago, has any writer given us such +a vivid and true picture of whaling life and incident as Mr Frank T. +Bullen in his 'Cruise of the _Cachalot_ published this year. + + + + +DENISON'S SECOND BERTH ASHORE + +I have already told how Tom Denison, the South Sea Island supercargo, +took a berth ashore as overseer of a Queensland duck farm, which +was mortgaged to a bank of which his brother was manager, and how he +resigned the post in great despondency, and humped his swag to Cooktown. + +Over his meeting with his brother let a veil be drawn. Suffice it to say +that the banker told him that he had missed the one great chance of his +life, and quoted Scripture about the ways of the improvident man to such +an extent that Denison forgot himself, and said that the bank and its +infernal ducks could go and be damned. Thereupon his sister-in-law (who +was a clergyman's daughter, and revered the Bank as she did the Church) +swooned, and his brother told him he was a heartless and dissolute young +ruffian, who would come to a bad end. Feeling very hurt and indignant, +the ex-supercargo stumped out of the bank, and went down to the wharf to +look for a ship. + +But there was only a dirty little coasting steamer in port, and Denison +hated steamers, for once he had had to go a voyage in one as supercargo, +and the continuous work involved by being constantly in port every few +days, instead of drifting about in a calm, all but broke his heart. +So he rented a room at a diggers' boarding-house kept by a Chinaman, +knowing that this would be a dagger in the heart of his sister-in-law, +who was the leading lady in Cooktown society; also, he walked about the +town without a coat, and then took a job on the wharf discharging coals +from a collier, and experienced a malevolent satisfaction when he one +evening met Mrs Aubrey Denison in the street. He was in company with +four other coal-heavers, all as black as himself; his sister-in-law was +walking with the wife of the newly-appointed Supreme Court judge. She +glanced shudderingly at the disgraceful sight her relative presented, +went home and hysterically suggested to Aubrey Denison, Esq., that his +brother Tom was a degraded criminal, and was on the way to well-deserved +penal servitude. + +After the coal-heaving job was finished, Denison lay back and luxuriated +on the £5, 17s. 6d. he had earned for his week's toil. Then one morning +he saw an advertisement, in the _North Queensland Trumpet-Call_, for a +proof-reader. And being possessed of a certain amount of worldly wisdom, +he went down to the bank, saw his brother (who received him with a +gloomy brow) and said he should like to write a letter to the editor of +the _Trumpet-Call_. He wrote his letter--on bank paper--and then went +back to Sum Fat's to await developments. The following morning he +received a note from the editor telling him to call at the office. To +Susie Sum Fat, his landlord's pretty half-caste daughter, he showed +the missive, and asked her to lend him one of her father's best shirts. +Susie, who liked Denison for his nice ways, and the tender manner in +which he squeezed her hand when passing the bread, promptly brought him +her parent's entire stock of linen, and bade him, with a soft smile, to +take his pick. Also that night she brought him a blue silk kummerbund +streaked with scarlet, and laid it on his pillow, with a written +intimation that it was sent 'with fondiest love from Susie S. Fat.' + +Arrayed in a clean shirt, and the swagger kummerbund, Denison presented +himself next morning to the editor of the _Trumpet-Call_. There were +seven other applicants for the billet, but Denison's white shirt and +new kummerbund were, he felt, a tower of strength to him, and even the +editor of the _Trumpet-Call_ seemed impressed--clean shirts being an +anomaly in Cooktown journalistic circles. + +The editor was a tall, stately man, with red eyes and a distinctly +alcoholic breath. The other applicants went in first. Each one had a +bundle of very dirty testimonials, all of which recalled to Denison +Judge Norbury's remarks about the 'tender' letters of a certain breach +of promise case. One little man, with bandy legs and a lurching gait, +put his unclean hands on the editorial table, and said that his father +was 'select preacher to the University of Oxford.' + +The red-eyed man said he was proud to know him. 'Your father, sir, was +a learned man and I reverence his name. But I never could forgive myself +did I permit a son of such a great teacher to accept such a laborious +position as proof-reader on the _Trumpet Call_. Go to Sydney or +Melbourne, my dear sir. The editors of all our leading colonial papers +were clergymen or are sons of clergymen. I should be doing your future +prospects a bitter injustice. A bright career awaits you in this new +country.' + +He shook the hand of the select preacher's son and sent him out. + +Among the other applicants was a man who had tried dugong fishing on +the Great Barrier Reef; a broken-down advance agent from a stranded +theatrical company; a local auctioneer with defective vision, but who +had once written a 'poem' for a ladies' journal; a baker's carter who +was secretary to the local debating society; and a man named Joss, who +had a terrific black eye and who told Denison, _sotto voce_, that if +the editor gave _him_ any sauce he would 'go for him' there and then +and 'knock his bloomin' eye out,' and the son of the local bellman and +bill-poster. The editor took their names and addresses, and said he +should write to them all in the morning and announce his decision. Then, +after they had gone, he turned to Denison with a pleasant smile and an +approving look at Sum Fat's shirt, and asked him if he had had previous +experience of proof-reading. Denison, in a diffident manner, said that +he had not exactly had much. + +'Just so. But you'll try and do your best, Mr Denison? Well, come in +this evening at eight o'clock, and see Mr Pinkham, the sub-editor. He'll +show you what to do. Salary, £2, 15s. Strict sobriety, I trust?' + +The successful one said he never got quite drunk, expressed his thanks +and withdrew. Once into the street he walked quickly into Sum Fat's, and +told the Celestial that he had taken a billet at 'thirty bob' a week on +a newspaper. + +'Wha' paper?' inquired Sum Fat, who was squeezing a nasty-looking +adipocerous mass into fish-balls for his boarders. + +'The _Trumpet-Call_.' + +'That's a lotten lag, if you li.' It close on banklupt this long time.' + +Denison assented cheerfully. It _was_ a rotten rag, he said, and +undoubtedly in a weak position financially; but the thirty bob would pay +his board bill. + +Then Sum Fat, who knew that the ex-supercargo was lying as regarded +the amount of his salary, nodded indifferently and went on pounding his +awful hash. + + * * * * * + +'Where is Mr Pinkham?' asked Denison at eight p.m., when an exceedingly +dirty small boy brought him his first proof. + +'He's tanked.{*} An' he says he ain't agoin' to help no blackguard +sailor feller to read no proofs. And most all the comps is tanked, too.' + + * 'Tanked.' A colonialism which indicates that a person has + indulged in too much liquid refreshment. + +However, with the intelligent assistance of the boy, Denison managed to +pull through that night, with the following result in the intercolonial +Telegrams' column:-- + + 'Melbourne, August 13.--The body of an elderly boat was + foundd last night floating down the Yarra, down the Yarra, + with its throat cut. It wvs dressed in v grey tweed suit + with a flannel shirt, dressed in a grey tweed suit with a + flannel shirt. This mourning a girl said the deceased was + her father,' etc. + +A few lines further down in the same column was the intelligence that +Chief Justice Higinbotham of Victoria had 'sentenced the man Power to +imprisonment for the term of his natural next.' + +When Denison turned up next evening, the editor asked him in distinctly +cold tones if he 'had read the paper.' + +Denison said he had not--he was too tired. + +Then the editor pointed out twenty-nine hideous mistakes, all underlined +in blue pencil and on a par with the two above-mentioned. Denison +explained in regard to the word 'next' that he meant 'life,' but there +being a turned 'e' in 'life' he somehow deleted the entire word, and +just then in his zeal, calling out 'next proof,' he unthinkingly wrote +'next' on the proof instead of 'life.' As for the matter of the boat he +had no excuse to offer. The editor was not harsh, but said that a man +of Denison's intelligence ought to be employed in building up Britain +beyond the seas instead of reading proofs. + +For the next two issues he pulled through fairly well. Sum Fat advanced +him ten shillings, with which he bought Susie a pair of canvas shoes, +and Susie kissed him seven times and said she loved him because he never +said horrid things to her like the other men. And when she laid her +innocent face upon his shoulder and wept, Denison was somewhat stirred, +and decided to get away from Susie as quickly as possible. + +On the fourth evening a beery local politician sent in a paragraph, +written in an atrocious hand, stating that he (the beery man) had +'received a number of replies to the circulars he had sent out to +the supporters of the Government,' etc. In the morning the paragraph +appeared:-- + + '_Mr Ebenezer Thompson, the champion of Separation, for + North Queensland, has again received quite a large number of + reptiles,' _etc. + +Of course Mr Thompson was terribly insulted--everyone in Cooktown knew +that he had periodical illnesses, during which he imagined he was chased +by large snakes joined to blue dogs with red eyes and crimson tails--and +demanded Denison's instant dismissal. The editor however, pleaded for +him on account of his inexperience, and the matter was passed over. + +He worried along pretty well till the end of the week, and then fresh +trouble arose. Mr Pinkham the sub-editor, who did the foreign cables +and the local fire-brigade items, got exceedingly drunk--a weekly +occurrence--and, for his own safety, was locked up by the intelligent +police. The three reporters, who all hated Pinkham, declined to sub-edit +his cables, and consequently the editor was himself driven to take +refuge in drink. The business manager, however, took his place, and told +Denison that he relied on him to assist with the cables. Denison hinted +at increased emoluments, and the manager promptly threatened to sack him +and all the rest of the literary staff. He would do the cables himself, +he said. He abhorred Denison on account of Susie and the kummerbund. + +Just then the Emperor Frederick was dying at San Remo, and cables were +coming through _via_ Sydney. + +At one a.m. the business manager came in to Denison and said that they +should try to get along amicably. As both the editor and Mr Pinkham, he +said, were in a disgraceful condition, he relied upon the rest of the +staff to maintain the credit of the _Trumpet-Call_, etc. Then he showed +Denison a cable he had just received, and asked him if he could assist +him to make it out. It ran in this wise: + + 'London--Emperor Frederick condition very grave. German + physicians hamper Morell Mackenzie, but approve suggestion + operation trache Otomy esophagus without delay.' + +Denison said (with secret joy) that he was afraid he couldn't help. +But he believed that there were two world-famous Italian doctors named +Tracchi and Tomy. 'Esophagus' was, he also remarked, no doubt meant for +'sarcophagus'--the Latin name for the gullet. And he suggested to his +enemy that it would be well to rush the cable through as quickly as +possible. The business manager said he should--he merely felt a little +doubt about the proper spelling of the Italian doctors' names, though +he, of course, knew that there was no such word as esophagus. As he went +out Denison smiled like a fiend. His anticipations of an ample revenge +upon the low, sordid creature who had refused him another sovereign a +week were gratified in the morning, for under a large heading he saw +this:-- + + 'THE EMPEROR FREDERICK + + 'Serious Condition + + '_San Remo.-- The Emperor Frederick's condition is causing + grave anxiety. The German physicians in attendance hinder + Morell Mackenzie in every possible way. They, however, agree + to his suggestion to send for the two celebrated Italian + specialists, Drs Tracchi and Tomy, and with them perform an + operation on the Emperor's sarcophagus. Wheat is 1d. firmer. + Hides are dull, bank rate unaltered. Tallow is + improving._' + +The absolute beauty of the thing, however, to Denison's mind, was that +the business manager had sold a copy of his translation of the cablegram +to the other local paper--run by the Cooktown Labour Union--which had +used it word for word. + +Nothing of moment occurred after this till a report of a sermon by Dr +Stanton, the first Bishop of North Queensland, appeared. His lordship, +alluding to certain conditions of the human mind which rendered one's +judgment 'subject to warp and bias,' the intelligent compositor made it +'wasps and bees,' and Denison, being very sleepy when he read the proof, +let it go. And Dr Stanton, good and generous man, laughed heartily when +Denison, with a contrite and broken heart called on him, and asked for +his forgiveness. + +But Nemesis was coming along. There was a wealthy and atrociously vulgar +magnate in Cooktown, whose wife ran second to Mrs Aubrey Denison in +local society, and who had just lost her father. The death announcement +appeared as follows:-- + + 'On June 18, at the Bungalow, Cooktown, Donald Dugald + M'Whannel, Government Inspector of Artesian Bores for North + Queensland, aged sixty-five. + + 'Also, at the same time and place, five trusses of + Victoria hay, some pigs and calves, and twenty-six bags of + onions and potatoes, all in prime order.' + +Of course this was the last straw, and Denison was asked to resign. But +as Mrs Aubrey Denison wrote and said she should like to forgive him for +his disgraceful conduct before he went away, he sent the Scotch foreman +of the _Trumpet-Call_ to explain to her that the catch-line of an +auctioneer's advertisement had been 'dropped' on the same galley as the +mortuary notice, and overlooked when the forme was locked. And so, after +a tender farewell to little Susie Sum Fat, and with her kisses still +warm upon his lips, Denison went out into the world again to look for a +ship. + + + + +A FISH DRIVE ON A MICRONESIAN ATOLL + +We were thrashing our way in a little brigantine, owned by Tom de Wolf, +of Liverpool, against the strong north-east trade wind, from the Western +Carolines to Milli in the Marshalls, when one day we sighted a low-lying +cluster of five small palm-clad islands that lay basking, white and +green, in the bright Pacific sun; and an hour before dark the _Lunalilo_ +dropped her anchor just in front of the native village. In a few minutes +the resident white trader came off to us in his boat and made us welcome +to his island home. + +We had heard that he had quite a considerable quantity of hawkbill +turtle shell and some coco-nut oil to sell, and came to ascertain +the truth of the report before we were anticipated by some German or +American trading vessel. + +Less than a mile away from where the brigantine was anchored we saw a +noble white beach, trending east and west in many curves, and backed by +serried lines of palms and groves of bread-fruit trees, through whose +bright verdancy peeped out the thatch-covered and saddle-backed houses +of the natives. Apart from the village, and enclosed by a low fence of +growing hibiscus palings, stood the trader's house, a long, rambling +building with white coral-lime walls and a wide, shady verandah on all +four sides. In front of the fence was a tall, white-painted flagstaff, +and presently we saw a woman come out of the trader's house and walk up +to it. In another minute the Stars and Stripes went slowly up, and then +hung limp and motionless in the windless atmosphere. + +'There,' said the trader, with a laugh, 'you see, my wife, native as she +is, is more polite than I am. But the fact is that I was so excited +when I saw your schooner that I never thought about hoisting the old +gridiron. Now, look here, gentlemen; before we do anything else, or talk +about business, I want you to promise to come ashore to night. There is +to be a big fish drive, and I can assure you that that is a sight worth +seeing.' + +We made the promise, and half an hour later went ashore and walked up +to our friend's house. Here we found the entire population of the island +assembled to do us honour, and for quite ten minutes were embraced most +effusively by every one, male or female, who could get near us. The +men were naked to their waists--the missionaries had not then made +any headway in the Caroline Islands--around which they wore either +gaily-coloured girdles of bleached and then dyed strips of fine pandanus +leaf, or sashes of closely-woven banana fibre. The women, however, +somewhat ineffectually concealed the remarkable beauty of their figures +by wearing, in addition to their grass waist girdles, a crescent-shaped +garment of similar material, which was suspended from their necks, and +covered their bosoms.{*} Their glossy black hair hung in wavy curls down +their smooth brown backs. * Since the advent of the missionaries this +costume has been suppressed. + +Nearly all the young unmarried girls wore narrow head circlets of white +pandanus leaf, profusely adorned and embroidered with red and yellow +beads, flat pieces of polished pearl shell, and edged with green and +gold and scarlet parrots' feathers. Their address and modest demeanour +was engaging in the extreme, and we noticed that they showed the utmost +deference and respect to an aged female who sat on a mat in the centre +of the room, surrounded by a number of young children. She was, we +learnt, the king's mother, and at her request the trader led us over to +where she sat, and gave us a formal introduction. She received us in a +pleasant but dignified manner, and the moment that she opened her lips +to speak the clatter of tongues around us ceased as if by magic, and the +most respectful silence prevailed. + +As neither the captain nor myself were able to speak the local +dialect--which is similar to that of Ponapé--we were somewhat at a loss +to answer the questions she put to us, and etiquette forbade the trader +to volunteer his services as an interpreter, till the old dame asked +him. Presently, however, she desired him to tell us that she was very +pleased to see us; that the fish drive would, she hoped, interest us +greatly. Then, at a sign from her, a handsome young man who stood in the +doorway came forward and laid down a bundle of mats at our feet; this +was the old lady's formal present to the captain and myself. She then +rose, and bidding us to come and see her in her son's house before we +sailed, she walked over to the end of the room, attended by her retinue +of children, and sat down again on a finely-worked mat, which was spread +out before her. Then she made another and longer speech on behalf of her +son, who, she said, had desired her to say that he was very pleased +we had brought the ship to an anchor; that his stomach was filled with +friendship for white men; and that the trader would tell us that all +that he (the king) said was true; also that if any of her people stole +even the most trifling article from our ship they would be severely +punished, etc. Furthermore, she trusted that after we had spent one +night at the white man's house and seen the fish drive, we would spend +the following morning with her, when we should be feasted, and every +honour and attention shown us. Then the young man attendant produced +another present--from the king. This was a live sucking pig, a pair of +fat Muscovy ducks, and a huge green turtle. This latter was carried in +by four women, and placed in the centre of the room. We then, through +the trader, made return gifts of a bolt of white calico, a lamp and a +tin of kerosene. Touching these with her hand the old woman signed to +her attendants to take them away, and then, with another polite speech, +left the house. + +The moment the king's mother retired, many more of the common people +swarmed into the house, and all seemed highly delighted to learn that we +intended to stay and see the great fish drive. + +As every one of our native crew was very anxious to join in the +sport, the captain had asked the king's mother to 'tapu' the ship till +daylight, and shortly afterwards we were told by a messenger from the +king that this had been done, and that no native would attempt to board +the ship till we had returned. Although these people were honest enough, +our captain thought it hardly safe enough to leave the ship without a +white man on board, for all natives are very careless with the use of +fire, and, being great smokers, he felt nervous on that score. + +At five o'clock we were taken to the king's house, where we found the +whole population assembled. A great feast was spread out, and King +Ralok, who advanced to meet us, took us by our hands and sat us down in +the midst of a vast collection of baked fish, bread fruit, turtle meat +and eggs, and roast fowls, pigeons and pork. Of course we had to eat; +but at the earliest opportunity the trader told the king that we were +anxious to see the preparations made for the drive before it got too +dark. Ralok at once agreed, and after drinking the milk of a young +coco-nut to wash down the repast, we made a start for the scene of +operations. + +This was along the shore of the lagoon. At high water, for nearly two +or three miles, the white, sandy bottom would be covered by a depth of +about four feet of water; at low water, as it was now, it was dry. Here +and there were clumps of coral boulders, generally circular in shape, +and these, at high water, would be just flush with the surface. These +boulders were some two or three hundred yards apart, and as we came out +upon the lagoon beach we saw that they were connected by a vast number +of nets lying upon the sand, in readiness to rise, by means of their +light wooden floats of puka wood, as soon as the incoming tide swept in +from the ocean. Upon the top of each of these connecting boulders were +piled bundles or long torches made of dried coco-nut branches, which +were to be lighted when the drive began. The total length of the netting +was about two miles, but at one end, that facing the deep water of the +lagoon, there was a wide, unenclosed space. Here, however, were lying +half a dozen canoes, whose outrigger platforms were piled up with +strong nets, which were to be stretched across the opening at the proper +moment. + +After looking at the preparations, we returned to the village, and as we +had no time to lose, and the tide was coming in at a great rate over the +reef, we began to dress, or rather undress, for the sport. To each of +us was given a spear, and a number of young women and children were +told off to accompany us with baskets, with half-a-dozen boys as +torch-bearers. + +As soon as darkness had fallen the whole village was astir. From every +house men, women and very young children swarmed, these latter without +even the traditional leaf to hide their nakedness, while the grown girls +and women, possibly with the view of not shocking us too much, wore +short--very short--girdles around their loins. + +The grown men and youths now launched a number of canoes, and, crowding +into them, paddled out into the lagoon, keeping well away, however, +from the line of nets, the floats of which were now appearing upon the +surface of the water. In each canoe was a large basket filled with a +nasty-looking mass. This was the crushed shells and bodies of _uga_, or +small land crabs, and was to be used as 'burley' to attract the fish to +the wake of the canoes. + +Before going further I must mention that at a particular season of the +year--May--many of the Micronesian Islands are visited by vast shoals of +fish much resembling an English salmon. These enter the lagoons from +the ocean in pursuit of smaller fish. These smaller fish, which are a +species of sprat, assemble in incredible quantities, and at night-time +are wont to crowd together in prodigious numbers about the coral +boulders before mentioned, in the same manner that ocean-living fish +will sometimes attach themselves to a ship or other moving substance, +as some protection from pursuit by bonito, albicore, and the fish called +_tautau_. The latter are of nocturnal habit when seeking food, and +during the daytime lie almost motionless near the bottom, where they can +often be seen in serried masses. As soon as night falls they rise to the +surface and give chase to flying-fish and other surface-swimming ocean +fish. In shape they are very similar to a salmon, but do not possess +the same deepness of body and general fulness. Their heads consist of +a series of long plates, and their jaws are armed with rows of serrated +bone plates. In colour they are a very beautiful iridescent silver along +the sides and belly, the back and head being a deep, glossy blue. When +full grown their length is slightly over four feet, and weight about +twenty-five pounds. They are as voracious as the pike, swim with +extraordinary swiftness at night-time, and will take the hook eagerly +if baited with a whole flying-fish; their flesh is somewhat delicate in +flavour and greatly relished by the natives of Micronesia, who regard it +as second only to the universally esteemed flying-fish. + +Two or three days before we made the little group of islands, immense +droves of these _tautau_, as the natives of Eastern Polynesia call them, +had been hovering about the reefs, and the people were now to endeavour +to tempt them into the trap set for them with such care and labour. + +For about a quarter of an hour not a sound broke the silence of the +night. We were in the midst of some three or four hundred natives, who +only spoke in whispers for fear of alarming the fish. All round the +deeper portion of the chain of nets was a line of canoes, filled with +women and girls, who held torches in their hands ready to light up the +moment the signal was given. Further in towards the shore, where the +water was not too deep to prevent them keeping on their feet, were +numbers of girls and children standing close together, their bodies +almost touching, and the floats of the nets touching their bosoms; +we white men, with the trader, were standing together, with our +torch-bearers, upon a flat-topped coral boulder. + +Suddenly a whisper ran along the line of watchers--the canoes were +coming. One by one we made them out, the paddlers dipping their paddles +into the water in silence, as one of their number in each canoe threw +out double handfuls of the crushed crab 'burley.' As they approached +nearer to us we became aware of a peculiar lapping, splashing noise, as +of hundreds of bare feet walking in water a few inches deep. + +'That's the fish,' whispered the trader. 'Look at them--they are coming +in in thousands.' + +And then even our unaccustomed eyes could see that the water behind the +canoes was churned into a white froth by the jumping, splashing fish, +which x were following the canoes in a solid wall, snapping up the food +so industriously thrown to them. In a few minutes the canoes had entered +the open end of the trap, and were paddling noiselessly past the inner +lines of nets, not a hundred yards from where we stood. At last, when +the whole inclosure was literally swarming with fish, the outside canoes +quickly closed up the gap by stretching the nets across it, and almost +at the same moment there was a tremendous splashing and churning up of +the water around each knoll and boulder of coral. The _tautau_ had left +off eating the bait thrown them from the canoes, and were attacking the +myriads of small fish that clustered round the boulders. And then, at +a signal given by one of the outside canoes, the torches sprang +into flame, and by the bright light that flooded the scene the most +extraordinary sight was revealed, for from one side to the other the +great inclosure was full of magnificent _tautau_ about three feet six in +length. They were all swimming on the surface; and as soon as the +blaze of the torches illumined the water they at once became almost +stationary; or, after the manner of flying-fish, when subjected to a +strong light, swam slowly about in a dazed, hesitating manner. + +The work of capturing some very large turtle, that had come into the +fatal circle of nets, was now at once begun, lest in their endeavours to +escape the nets might be broken and the fish escape. There were six of +these creatures speared before they could do any damage; as well as two +or three small sharks, which, having gorged themselves to repletion, +were killed as they lazily swam along the circle of nets. + +So well had the natives judged of the time it would take to carry out +their scheme, that within half an hour of the inclosure of the fish the +tide began to fall, and the imprisoned swarms showed signs of anxiety to +escape, but as fresh supplies of torches were brought from the village, +and kept continuously alight, their alarm seemed to disappear. Had a +heavy shower of rain fallen--so the trader told us--and extinguished the +torches, the fish would have rushed at the nets and carried them away by +sheer weight. + +Meanwhile, as the tide continued to fall, many of the women and girls +amused themselves by stunning all the fish that came within reach +of them, and loading the canoes with them. Once some fifty or sixty +_tautau_ came right up to the boulder on which we stood, and were +so dazed by the glare of light that poured down on them, that some +permitted themselves to be captured by the hand. + +Lower and lower fell the water, and as the shore end of the trap became +dry, the fish were gradually forced to come closer and closer together +as their swimming space diminished. By-and-by, as the receding tide +left the chain of coral rocks dry on their summits, women waded out with +firewood, and built fires on them; not that there was now any danger +of the fish breaking away, but to give a still better light. At last, +however, the word was passed along the line that the sea end of the +drive had been strengthened by additional nets in case a sudden rush +might occur; but, by this time, so rapidly was the water running out, +that even at the deepest end there was not perhaps two feet available +for the now terrified and struggling swarms of _tautau_. In another +twenty minutes there was heard a most extraordinary sound, caused by +thousands upon thousands of fish thrashing and jumping about on the +sand; while at the sea end of the drive, where the great body of all +were massed together, the scene was simply indescribable. What +little water was left was beaten into froth and foam by their violent +struggles, and the light from the torches showed that a space of +about five acres in extent was covered with a shining, silvery mass +of splendid _tautau_, intermixed with a small number of gorgeous-hued +rock-fish, cray-fish, and some hawk-bill turtle. + +The work of picking up the prizes went on for at least two hours. Three +or four of the _tautau_ placed in a basket was as much as a woman could +carry, and, although everyone present worked hard, some thousands of +fish were not taken. Many of these, however, were not dead, and, with +the incoming tide, swam off again. All the young turtle, however, +were secured, the natives taking them up carefully and putting them in +walled-in pools where they would remain prisoners. + +We tried to ascertain the number of fish taken, but gave it up. Every +house and canoe-shed appeared to have the floor covered with them, and +for the next day or two there were great fish dinners on the island. + +Some thousands of _tautau_ were split open and dried upon platforms in +the same manner as the natives of Eastern Polynesia dry flying-fish, and +the Fraser River Indians their salmon. + +We succeeded in buying a fine lot of turtle shell from the trader, as +well as some from the king and his mother. The old lady treated us right +royally, and, a few hours before we sailed, a canoe-load of fruit and +drinking coco-nuts were sent off to the ship, with her compliments. + + + + +BOBARAN + +When our boat touched the beach in front of the trader's house just as +the dawn was breaking, I thought Kabaira Bay one of the loveliest places +in the Pacific, and said so to the man I had been sent to relieve. He +quite concurred in my opinion of the beauties of the scenery, but said +that he was very glad to get away. Then, being a cheerful man, though +given to unnecessary blasphemy, like most South Sea Island traders, he +took me out to the rich garden at the back of the station and showed +me the grave of his predecessor, who had died of fever a year before. +Further on, but outside the enclosing fence, were some more graves, he +said. + +'Whose?' I asked. + +'Captain Murray's, his mate's, and two of his cutter's crew.' + +'Fever?' + +'No,' he replied, with some slight surprise at my ignorance; 'the +natives killed 'em a couple o' years ago. An', see, just over there by +Point Luen, is the Hon. Mr Willington's house. He was a nephew of Lord +L------. I goes there sometimes and rips a board out o' the floor when I +wants one.' ^ + +'Mr Wellington gone away?' My friend _was_ surprised this time. 'Why, +you _must_ be a new chum in New Britain. Why, Willington ain't dead six +months.' 'Fev--' + +'Fever be -------. No, he got speared when he was lying in his bunk +readin' a book one night. _I_ told him that the niggers would pay him +out for a-playin' crooked with em'; but he was too cock-a-hoopy to +listen to a feller like me.' + +'Any more white men buried in Kabaira? 'I asked after a while, as we +walked back to the house to take stock of my host's trade goods. + +'No, that's all that's planted here--at least, all I know of, and I've +been here, in New Britain, five years. There's been a good many Dutchmen +killed on the coast here, and over in New Ireland, but I didn't know +any of 'em. An' they're such a silly lot o' duffers, that they reg'lar +tempts these New Britain niggers to kill 'em; and then the beggars, not +knowing an Englishman from a Dutchman, are ready to murder anyone with +a white skin. So you look out, young feller. These niggers here are a +rotten bad lot. But I'll interdooce yer to Bobaran. He's the biggest +cut-throat of em' all; but he an' me is good pals, and onct you've +squared him you're pretty safe. Got plenty fever medicine?' 'Lots.' +'Liquor?' 'Case of gin.' + +'That'll keep you clear o' fever as much as anything, as long as the +case lasts. Always drink some when it's raining.' (It usually rained +nine days out of ten in New Britain). 'Now we'll take stock. I can tell +you I'm mighty glad to clear out o' this place--an' so will you be in a +couple o' months, if--you're alive.' + +Having thus, in cheerful converse, somewhat enlightened me as to the +peculiar characteristics of Kabaira Bay and its inhabitants, my friend +had breakfast cooked, and whilst we were eating it, sent a messenger for +his friend Bobaran to come and make the acquaintance of the new white +man. During breakfast the trader gave me much further information, all +of which, as a man new to the ropes, I was very glad to obtain. Kabaira, +I already knew (I had but just arrived in New Britain from Eastern +Polynesia), was the 'furthest out' trading station on the great island, +which, at that time, had barely thirty white men living on it; most of +these were settled on Gazelle Peninsula, and a few on the Duke of York +Island, midway between the northern point of New Britain and mountainous +New Ireland. My nearest neighbour lived at Kabakadà, a populous native +town ten miles away. My host told me that this man was 'a noisy, drunken +little swine,' the which assertion I subsequently found to be absolutely +correct. Further on, five miles from Kabakadà, was another trader named +Bruno Ran, a hard-working Swiss; then, after rounding Cape Stephens, +was the large German trading station of Matupi in Blanche Bay, where you +could buy anything from a needle to a chain cable. On the Duke of York +Island was another trading station, and also the Wesleyan Mission, which +as yet had made but few converts in New Britain; and over in New Ireland +were a few scattered English traders, who sometimes sailed over on a +visit to their dangerously-situated fellow-countrymen in the big island. + +For dangerous indeed was the daily existence of traders in those then +little-known islands. But money was to be made, and men will dare much +to make money quickly, even though at the risk of their lives. As for +the natives of New Britain, a few words will suffice. They were the most +unmitigated savages, cowardly and treacherous, and with the exception of +the people of the villages in the vicinity of Blanche Bay, whose women +wore a scanty girdle of leaves of the plant _Cordyline terminalis_, +they passed their lives in a state of stark nudity. Their dwellings +and canoes were of the poorest description, but their plantations and +gardens were highly cultivated, and marvels of incessant and intelligent +labour. For human life they had no regard; in fact, a pig was worth more +than a man, except among those tribes where a man who weighed more than +a pig would be more valuable as food. At the present time things have +improved on the Gazelle Peninsula, but along the coast-line, which to +the westward stretches for over two hundred miles towards New Guinea, +matters have not changed. As for their personal appearance, it is simply +hideous. Take the biggest anthropoid ape, stain his teeth black and his +lips scarlet, stick a wig of matted greasy curls on his head, and put +half a dozen slender spears in his right paw, and you have an idea of +a New Britain nigger--a 'brand,' according to missionary ethics, who +should be plucked from the burning, but whom the Christian of ordinary +intelligence would cheerfully watch burning until he was reduced to a +cinder. + +Just as we had finished breakfast, Bobaran came in and squatted on the +flour. Being a man of rank and influence, he was privileged, and allowed +to carry his arms with him inside the trader's house. These consisted +of five spears, one long-handled ebony-wood club, with a huge jade head, +and a horse-pistol, which was fastened to a leather belt around his +naked waist. His fuzzy wool was dyed a bright brick red colour and +twisted into countless little curls which, hanging over his beetling and +excessively dirty black forehead, almost concealed his savage eyes, and +harmonised with his thick, betel-stained lips and cavernous, grip-sack +mouth. Around his arms were two white circlets of shell, and depending +from his bull-like neck a little basket containing betel-nut and lime. +He certainly was a most truculent-looking scoundrel. Nevertheless, +I shook hands with him cordially, and he agreed, for certain +considerations, to look after me, find me in food, warn me of any danger +that might impend, and also to murder anyone with whom I might feel +annoyed, for a fixed but very small remuneration. In proof whereof of +this alliance, and as a token of amity and goodwill, Parker (the +trader) presented him with a small tin of ship biscuit, four dynamite +cartridges, a dozen boxes of matches and a bottle of a villainous German +liquor called 'Corn Schnapps.' Then the atrocity stood up and embraced +me, and asked me to show him my firearms. His fierce eyes gleamed +with pleasure as he turned them about in his filthy paws, and he was +especially pleased with the size of a Sharp's rifle cartridge and bullet +which would, he grinned, 'make big fellow hole in man.' Then, with +further expressions of goodwill on both sides, we parted. + +At dusk Parker bade me good-bye, and urging me to put the utmost +confidence in Bobaran and drink plenty of gin whenever it rained--to +keep the fever from 'gettin' holt' of my system--he walked down to the +beach and stepped into the boat. For a few minutes I stood watching till +he was hidden from view by a point of land, and then, feeling somewhat +depressed at my future loneliness, I walked back to the house. + +Bobaran, the Mesdames Bobaran (three), and the Masters and Misses +Bobaran were sitting on the verandah awaiting me. None of them were as +much dressed as their father, who had, as I have said, a leather belt +around his loins, and all were chewing betel-nut and expectorating the +scarlet juice thereof vigorously about the premises. Being aware of the +fact that a New Britain woman is never abroad at night, and a man but +seldom, I was surprised at such a family gathering, for the village was +some distance away. Bobaran, however, explained that as he and two +of his sons intended keeping guard for me that night, the rest of the +family had come with them--and that they should like some tobacco. + +Leaving his wives and children outside to smoke, my protector came +into the sitting-room, and as he had acquired a considerable amount of +unpolished sailor man's English, I found him very entertaining and also +instructive. First he told me that the Kabaira people were perfectly +safe; it was a very peaceful village, and the people liked white men, +and he hoped I would not carry arms whenever I went out--it made them +frightened, and when people were frightened of a man they naturally +tried to kill him. Agreed to. Secondly, they were not cannibals--all +their neighbours were, however. (I said I was pleased to hear it, no +doubt someone had maligned them.) But they were all thieves, and I must +take prompt action to prevent myself from being robbed--(here one of his +wives crept to the door on all fours and asked her lord and master for +a match, but was struck with great violence in the mouth with an empty +salmon tin instead, for interrupting). To-morrow I should do as 'Parka' +did the day he came to Kabaira. I must go down to the beach with a +dynamite cartridge in my hand and seek for a place where there was +plenty of fish. And I must have another cartridge ready in my pocket. +As soon as the first shot went off hundreds of natives would jump in the +water and try to steal all the best fish. Then I was to light the fuse +of the second cartridge and throw it in. And it would be sure to hurt +_some_ of the people, and they would not follow me next time I went +fishing. But, of course, if I _should_ happen to kill anyone, I would +pay for it? + +'Of course I would,' I said. 'How much?' + +'Big feller man, one good musket; boy, one axix' (axe); 'old woman, old +feller, musket; young girl, one good musket.' + +Then he approached me on a delicate subject, i.e., the taking over of +my predecessor's harem of three native women. I explained that I was +expecting my wife down soon from Samoa and couldn't do it. He said it +was a great pity, as one of 'Parka's' wives could make tea and +cook meat. Also, that I need be under no fear of her making any +unpleasantness when my wife turned up. Would I like to see the girl? +'Parka' had taught her a lot of things. She did not oil her hair with +pigeon fat, and cleaned her teeth every day just like a Samoan girl. +Also, she had ten coils of _dewarra_ (cowrie shells threaded on the +midribs of the coco-nut leaf, and used as the native currency). I said +I was very much tempted, but thought I had better not. He looked at me +steadily for a few seconds, as he thrust a fresh 'chaw' of betel-nut +and lime into his hideous mouth, and said that I was missing a great +chance--there were plenty of white men along the coast who would be glad +to get anyone of 'Parka's' wives, especially she who could make tea and +cook meat. + +He seemed pleased that I was disposed to be as liberal-handed as Parker, +for whom he seemed to have a high regard; and then proceeded to tell me +of some of his own exploits among the inhabitants of Mutavât, a village +across the bay, which was at enmity with Kabaira. The infinite gusto +with which he related a series of atrocious murders gave me a chill, and +he looked like an evil spirit when his great red lips parted in a grin +and revealed his black teeth. Presently he asked me if I had shot +any people; and when I said I had not, he became regretful, but soon +brightened up again and said I would have plenty of chances yet. + +There were some bush villages, to which he would take me some day, and +if we were careful we could knock over two or three people easily; they +were a bad lot these 'man-a-bush' (bush-men). + +At ten o'clock I turned in, and Bobaran, after an animated conversation +with his family, lay down at my door with a Snider rifle and his +horse-pistol by his side. + +And for many long, weary months, in the beautiful but fever-ridden +Kabaira Bay, he was the only person to whom I could talk; and in time I +began to take a liking to him, for I found him, as Parker had told me, +'a thunderin' old cut-throat, but as straight as a die to a white man +who acts straight to him.' + + + + +SEA FISHING IN AUSTRALIA + +'Hi, mister, turn out, please, if you're a-comin' with us,' a gruff +voice called out to me one frosty morning in May, and then a hairy, +good-humoured-looking face flattened itself against my window pane as +the owner sought to peer into the room. + +I jumped out of bed, opened the window, and shivered in my pyjamas as +the keen morning air rushed in to the warm room. Slaney, the coxswain +of the Port Macquarie pilot boat,{*} was standing below me on the grassy +side walk, muffled up in his great coat, and carrying a shin of beef in +his hand. + + * Port Macquarie is a quaint 'old' seaport on the northern + coast of New South Wales. + +'How does it look outside, Slaney?' I asked. + +'Smooth as glass. Hurry up, please. I've just come from the butcher's, +couldn't get any fish bait last night, so bespoke a shin of beef.' + +Five minuses later I had dressed, and was running up the hill to the +pilot station with my fishing tackle, together with some sandwiches, +some bottles of beer, and a tin pannikin, slung in a corn sack over my +shoulder--not a very elegant turn-out, but the correct thing for such +rough and tumble work as schnapper fishing. At the top of the hill I +stopped to give myself breath a minute. An impatient 'Hallo there, _do_ +hurry,' ascended to me from beneath, where the smart pilot boat lay +rocking on the waters of a little cove, cut out of the solid rock by the +labour of convicts seventy years before, her crew of six men standing up +to their knees in the water, and holding her steady. Tumbling down the +grassy hill at the risk of breaking my neck, I waded out and clambered +over the side, and in another minute the crew were bending to their oars +and the boat sweeping round a clump of conical rocks that sheltered +the boat harbour from the long roll of the Pacific billows. Oh, what a +lovely morning, and how the blue ocean glinted and sparkled in the quick +warming sun. Away to the southward the high, thickly-timbered coast was +broken up by jutting headlands and little, irregularly shaped bays, with +steep, rocky shores; and northward a long sweep of beach trended in a +curving line for ten miles, till it ended at the purple sides of Point +Plomer, beyond which loomed the misty blue outline of Captain Cook's +'Smoaky' Cape. + +The wind was from the westward; so we hoisted our lug sail, and headed +seaward to the sun. Behind us the noisy Hastings River bar clamoured and +moaned unceasingly; for though the sea was smooth, the tide was on the +ebb, and rushing fiercely out over the wide but shallow entrance to +the river, and short, angry waves reared, and tumbled, and fought the +roaring current. But in another ten minutes the noise of the waters +became lost in the distance, and we heard, naught but the gentle +_lip-lap, lip-lap_, of the boat's cut-water as she slipped over the +swelling seas. Three miles out we took our bearings from a mountain +called The Brothers, and Camden Haven Heads, and then dropped our anchor +in twenty-two fathoms on a rocky bottom. + +There is not much 'finnicking' preparation for schnapper fishing, and +in five minutes every line was baited, and over the side, and at the +bottom, and before another two or three had passed we knew we had struck +the right spot, for nearly every one of us felt the unmistakable tug +of a lusty schnapper, and then the determined downward pull, strong and +steady, which he makes when once hooked. Slaney, who was using a line as +thick as signal-halliards, was the first to haul his fish over the side, +and drop him, kicking and thrashing like a young porpoise, into the +boat; the rest of us, whose tackle was much thinner, were a long way +behind him, and Slaney's line was over the side again before our fish +were laid beside the first arrival. What a beautiful fish is a ten-pound +schnapper--a brilliant pink back, sides and tail, dotted over with +tiny spots of a wonderful, gleaming blue that sparkle like miniature +diamonds; the bream-shaped head a deep reddish-purple, with nose and +lips of palish pink; the belly a pure, shining white. No wonder that +Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales, spoke of the schnapper +as 'an exceedingly beautiful and palatable fish.' + +For about an hour we continued to haul up fish after fish till our +arms ached. The smallest weighed about three pounds, the largest about +seventeen pounds, and the average weight of the lot was about eight +pounds. Then we knocked off for breakfast. That finished, we lit our +pipes and settled down to work again. Alas! a swarm of ugly brown and +yellow 'leather-jackets' had arrived on the scene, and before our lines +could touch bottom the brutes would either take the bait, or bite off +the hook snoozings with their keen, rat-like teeth. In a quarter of an +hour we had caught but four schnapper and lost a dozen or more hooks; +my own line was bitten through at about five fathoms from the surface--a +piece of meat skin had wound itself round it and had been discovered by +one of these predatory villains. No wonder that the Samoans and natives +of the Tokelau Islands term the leather-jacket _isumu moana_--the +sea-rat. However, as leather-jackets make excellent schnapper bait, two +of us were told off to fish for them with bream-lines and wire-snoozed +small hooks, and we soon had the satisfaction of catching a dozen of the +thieves. These were quickly skinned and cut up; then we lifted anchor +and pulled southward for about half a mile, knowing we should catch but +few schnapper where leather-jackets were. + +Our new ground proved a lucky one, for we not only caught some seventy +schnapper--some of them truly noble fish--but two magnificent black +and white rock cod, a fish whose flavour is excelled by no other in +Australian waters. No leather-jackets appeared to disturb our pleasure, +and not even the usual murderous shark showed his ugly face, and played +the usual game of seizing every schnapper as it was hauled up, and +biting it in halves. Only the previous week half a dozen had followed us +about from ground to ground, breaking our lines, and taking five out +of every ten fish we hooked. Two at last we succeeded in harpooning and +killing, and casting their bodies to their friends, who made short work +of them and left us alone for the rest of the day. + +Schnapper in the winter months, on the Australian coast, retire to the +deep water, and can be caught in from thirty to fifty fathoms. They +travel in droves like sheep, and prefer to frequent rocky or broken +ground. Sometimes, however, they will enter the bar harbours in great +numbers and ascend the tidal rivers. Twenty-five years ago they were +often taken in nets in the Parramatta River, near Sydney, and were +very plentiful in Sydney Harbour itself. Nowadays one is rarely +caught anywhere inside the Heads. Steamboat traffic and the foul water +resulting from sewerage has driven them to the deep waters of the ocean. +One peculiar feature of schnapper fishing on the northern coast of New +South Wales is that, be the fish ever so plentiful and hungry, they +invariably cease biting immediately, if the wind should change to the +east or north-east. Yet on the southern seaboard, from Twofold Bay to +Galo Island, they will take the hook during a black north-easter, as +freely as they do when the wind is blowing from any other quarter. + +From one end to the other of the coast of New South Wales, there is +grand rock-fishing to be had by anyone who once is initiated into its +mysteries, and is not afraid of getting an occasional drenching from +an ocean roller when there is any sea running. Right from the southern +boundary of the colony to the Tweed River on the north, are breaks in +the long sandy beaches, of rocky coast, which in most places are easily +accessible to the fisherman; and the water in these spots being +deep close under the verge of the cliffs, the deep-sea fish, such +as schnapper, blue and brown groper, the gigantic mottled rock-cod, +trevally, king-fish, the great Jew-fish, sea salmon, etc., at certain +seasons of the year cruise to and fro about the rocks in extraordinary +numbers. But, strange as it may appear, rock-fishing is almost unknown +to the average colonial, except those living near the principal ports. +The greatest ignorance, too, prevails as to the edible qualities of the +many varieties of excellent rock-fish, except the well-known schnapper. +The generality of the coast settlers look upon most coloured fish as +'bad to eat,' if not 'poisonous,' and particularly so in the case of +the delicious blue groper or blue-fish, the 'leather jacket,' and the +scaleless bonito, which latter occasionally visit the shores of the +colony in large 'schools,' and take a bait eagerly. + +My boyish experiences of rock-fishing in New South Wales are full of +delightful memories. Then, accompanied by one of the few surviving +members of the Hastings River (Port Macquarie) blacks, my brothers and +myself would set out for a week's camping-out on the wild and lonely +coast between Port Macquarie and Camden Haven--a stretch of twenty miles +or so. Our equipment consisted of some very heavy lines and hooks for +the big fish, some fine tackle for beach fishing--for bream, whiting, +flathead, etc.--a couple of spears for cray-fish, an old smooth-bore +army musket and ammunition (for shooting ducks on the tidal lagoons), +tea, sugar, as much bread as we could carry, and a tomahawk. As for +tents, such luxuries were unknown to us boys in those days; if it showed +signs of rain at night time we could soon put up a bark shelter, and, +with a pair of light blankets under us, sleep in peace. + +One of our most favoured spots was at Tacking Point, a curious steep-to +bluff, clothed on its sides with a dense thicket scrub, the haunt of +hundreds of black wallabies and wonga pigeons, and also a large variety, +of brown and black snakes, with an occasional death adder. The summit, +however, was beautifully grassed, and clear of timber, except for a +clump or two of gnarled and knotted honeysuckle trees; and here, after +our day's fishing, we would camp, and, lying beside our fire, look out +upon the starlit Pacific two hundred feet below. Although only five +miles from the little town, we scarcely saw a human being during our +many trips. Sometimes, however, some of 'Tommy's' sooty relatives would +follow us up, in order to gorge themselves on fish and game, which we +shared with them cheerfully. + +My first groper was an exciting experience. Descending to the rocky +shore very early in the morning with 'Tommy,' we clambered over some +huge jagged and wildly-jungled-together boulders at the foot of the +bluff, and reached the edge of a large, deep pool of blue water in the +rocks, with a narrow opening to the sea. The sides were covered with +long streaming kelp and many-coloured seaweed, which moved gently up and +down to the rise and fall of the ocean swell. Only in one part could we +see the white sand at the bottom of the pool, for the depth of water was +some six or seven fathoms. Both blue and brown groper are very fond of +crabs; in fact, when a big, wary fellow will not look at either a piece +of octopus or the flesh of the _aliotis_ shell, he cannot resist a crab. +We soon secured plenty of crabs of all sizes and colours, and, baiting +our lines with two of the largest, dismembered the others, and +flung portions of them into the pool. A number of small parrot-fish, +sea-bream, and mottled cod at once appeared and devoured the fragments. +The size and hardness of the shells of our crabs, however, were too much +for them, and although they snapped off a leg or two and 'worried' +the baits considerably, our hooks touched bottom safely (we were using +sinkers of stone). Suddenly, just as my companion had thrown another +handful of 'burley' into the water, three big blue groper rose to the +surface almost together, and, swallowing the crushed-up crab, began +swimming round and round the edges of the pool eagerly seeking for more. +This was my first view of this species of groper at close quarters, and +these three presented, a very beautiful sight, the very dark blue of the +whole of their closely-scaled, shining bodies, and the very light blue +of their fins and tails making a pretty contrast. Two were about 15 lb. +to 16 lb. each, the other about 35 lb. to 40 lb., and nearly four feet +in length. They swam but slowly, though every now and then they would +turn with some swiftness of motion as 'Tommy' continued to throw +in pieces of crab. Meanwhile, by my black companion's whispered +instructions, I had cut the sinker off a spare line, and baited the +four-inch hook with the two largest crabs left. Unreeving about six +fathoms of line, I handed the baited end to 'Tommy,' who deftly threw it +just before the nose of the big fellow. In an instant he had seized +the hook, and, diving, made for the opening between the rocks. 'Tommy,' +yelling to me to look to the other lines, held on like grim death and +managed to turn his prize's head in time; the two others sticking close +to their brother in misfortune. I had just hauled up one of the other +two lines, and was running round the jagged side of the pool holding the +other in my left hand (so as to keep clear of 'Tommy's' fish), when +I felt a terrific tug that nearly sent me over. 'Look out! Look out!' +shouted 'Tommy,' warningly; 'don't let that fella get underneath the +seaweed; keep him clear of dat, or you lose him!' For a 16-lb. fish he +pulled tremendously (for a boy of my size); but at last I managed to +get a steady strain on him, and then his big blue head, with its thick, +negro-like lips, soon appeared at the base of a slanting rock, up which +I hauled him, kicking and floundering. 'Tommy' meanwhile had already +landed his fish, and had cast his line for the last of the trio; but +without success; he had made off to the sea. + +A few hours later, at low tide, we caught, in the same pool, seven +schnapper, averaging about 8 lb. each; a brown groper of 20 lb., a dozen +or more of deep sea bream, beautiful silvery-scaled fish, with a pale +greenish tinge on the head and back, and bright yellow fins and tail; +and several huge cray-fish, which clung to our hooks and did not let go +their hold in time. + +This pool was only one of many along this picturesque and rocky coast, +along which, at the present time, fish are just as plentiful and as easy +to catch; but four years ago I, on visiting 'the' pool of my early days, +found it filled by a pile of soap-stone rocks, detached by the rains +from the sea face of the bluff above it. It was a bitter disappointment +to me, for the memory of that pool had remained with me since my +boyhood, and I felt as one who, after a long, long separation in foreign +climes from some dear friend of his youth, at last returns home, hoping +to meet his comrade once more, and is shown his grass-grown grave. + + + + +AN ADVENTURE IN THE NEW HEBRIDES + +More than twenty years ago a fine young Polynesian half-caste, named +Alan, and the writer, were running a small trading cutter out of Samoa, +among the low-lying atolls of the Ellice and Tokelau groups, in the +South Pacific. We had hauled her up on the beach to clean and put a few +sheets of copper on her, when, one day, a big, bronze-faced man came +to us, and asked us if we were open to a charter to Santo in the New +Hebrides. After a few minutes' conversation we struck a bargain, the +terms of which were to take him, his native wife, three servants, and +twenty tons of trade goods to his trading station on Espiritu Santo in +the New Hebrides, for six hundred dollars. He was an ex-trading skipper, +but had given up the sea, married a Hervey Island half-caste, and, after +trading some years in the Caroline and Marshall groups, had made a +trip to the New Hebrides, where he had gone into partnership with a +Frenchman, who, like himself, was a sailor man, and had settled down on +Santo. Hannah--for that was his name--had then returned to the Carolines +for his family, and brought them to Samoa, from whence he thought he +could get a passage down to the New Hebrides in one of the two German +brigs then engaged in the Kanaka labour trade--'black-birding,' as it +was called. But one, the _Iserbrook_ had been burnt in Sydney Harbour, +and the other was away at Valparaiso. + +But now arose a difficulty. I was not navigator enough to take the +vessel to Santo--a distance of thirteen hundred miles--let alone beat +her back to Samoa against the south-east trades. This, however, Captain +Hannah soon settled. He agreed to navigate us down, and his partner +would come back with me, as his wife, who was a Samoan woman, wanted to +pay a visit to her native country, and our vessel would afford her an +excellent opportunity; his own services in bringing the cutter back to +Samoa to be 'squared' by free passages for himself and wife. + +My partner Alan was quite satisfied. The big man planked down two +hundred and fifty dollars on account, and we shook hands all round. +Hannah was a quiet, silent sort of fellow, but I knew we should get on +all right, for he came down to us next morning with his people, helped +us heave the cutter off the beach, and covered our decks with pigs and +poultry. That afternoon we got our wood and water aboard, and were ready +for sea at daylight. + +Alan was a splendid type of a man. Brought up to the sea from his +childhood, he had served some years as a boat-steerer on American +whale-ships, then with 'Bully' Hayes as boatswain in the notorious +_Rona_ brig; and a finer seaman never walked a deck. He was very proud +of the English blood in his veins, and always talking of the exploits +of his father, who had served with the gallant Cochrane in the Chilian +navy. At sea he was a man for emergencies--quick, resolute, resourceful +and sober. On shore, with money in his pocket, he descended to the +level of the lowest beach-comber, and was always in trouble for thumping +somebody--generally another half-caste or a policeman. Peace to his +bones! He went to a sailor's death long ago; but the writer of this +narrative will never forget the dark, handsome face, laughter-filled +eyes, and cheery voice of the best shipmate with whom he ever sailed. + +We put to sea with a fine breeze, and running between the islands of +Upolu and Savai'i, were out of sight of land by dusk. There were but +thirteen persons all told on board--our seven passengers, Alan, four +native sailors, and myself--but we were in no wise crowded for room, for +the hold was used as a sleeping-place by Captain Hannah's wife, her two +children and three servants. Mats had been spread over the cargo, and +the weather being fine, the hatch was left open from the time we left +Samoa nearly till we reached Santo. + +The south-east trade wind held steadily, and the little vessel, being +clean and in fine trim, ran along at a great rate, till, on the sixth +day out, when we had just sighted Pentecost Island, one of the New +Hebrides group, it died away, and at sunset we were becalmed. All that +night the air was close and muggy, but towards dawn a faint air came +from the westward. During the night the strong current had carried us in +ten or twelve miles nearer to the shore, and at sunrise we were not +more than six miles from the land. Pentecost, from the treachery of its +savage inhabitants, had always borne a bad reputation; and so, as the +cutter still continued to drift shorewards, Alan, Captain Hannah and +myself thought it just as well to be prepared for any canoes that might +attempt to cut us off. (As-a matter of fact, however, we need not have +been under any alarm in this respect, for although the Pentecost natives +were, and are now, a thoroughly bad lot, as the surveying vessels of the +Australian Squadron know to their cost, they would never attempt to cut +off a vessel unless she were anchored. But no one of we white men +knew much of the New Hebrides.) So as we had plenty of arms on +board--Winchesters and Sharp's rifles--We got them in readiness; and +very fortunate it was that we did so. + +We drifted steadily along the densely-wooded shores of Pentecost all +that day, the sea as smooth as glass, and the pitch bubbling up in the +decks from the intense heat. Towards sunset, Captain Hannah's wife, who +was lying on the skylight with her youngest child, called out to us that +she could see a boat or canoe on the starboard beam. Hannah and I at +once got our glasses, and soon made out a boat, pulling five oars, +coming towards us from the island, and not more than a couple of miles +away. + +As she came nearer, and lifted now and then to the swell, we obtained a +better view, and saw there were six people in her--five pulling and one +steering. They came along very leisurely. + +'Shipwrecked people, I imagine,' said Hannah; and then, turning to Alan +and myself, he added, with a laugh, 'Perhaps there's a fine big lump +of a ship ashore about here, and you fellows are bound to get some fine +pickings--might get the ship herself afloat.' + +In ten minutes or so a bit of a light air came over the water, and +filled our sails, so we stood over towards the boat, which was now +drawing close. Presently one of our native sailors hailed us from aloft, +and said he could see four or five more men in the boat besides those +who were pulling; and at the same time she ceased rowing awhile, then +the oars dipped again, and she came on. + +Suddenly Hannah, who was scanning the strange boat very closely, turned +to me quietly and said, 'I don't like the looks of that boat. We had +better not let them come alongside. Perhaps they're escapees from New +Caledonia. I thought so at first--they've got the regular “Ile Nou +stroke.” If they try to board we must beat them off, or we may lose the +ship.' + +Realising the danger, we at once called the native hands aft, gave each +man a loaded Sharp's rifle and half a dozen cartridges, and told him to +lay it down handy on the deck, and be prepared to use it. Hannah's wife +at once began loading our five Winchester rifles. By this time the boat +was within a hundred yards of the cutter. Whether those in her saw what +we were doing or not I do not know, but they came on very confidently. + +Then, getting up on the rail, I hailed, 'Boat ahoy, there! Don't come +any nearer, or we'll fire into you. What do you want?' + +There was a sudden commotion among the rowers, and then Hannah and Alan, +coming to the rail, stood beside me with their Winchesters in their +hands. This display had a good effect, for they stopped pulling at once, +and the man steering stood up. The moment I got a full view of him and +heard him speak, I knew that Hannah was right about the identity of the +strangers. + +'We are a ship-a-wreck men,' he called out; 'we wanta water and +provis'.' + +'Well, pull abeam or us to windward, but don't come alongside just yet.' + +'All right,' was the answer. + +The wind was very light, and the boat could have soon overtaken us, but +we felt confident that, with the arms we possessed, we could easily beat +them off if they tried to board. At the same time we were willing to +give them some provisions, and such other assistance as lay in our +power. + +After talking the matter over with Hannah, I again hailed the boat, and +told the steersman that he could come aboard, but that the rest of his +crowd must keep to the boat. + +Hauling our jib to windward, we let them range alongside, and the +steersman jumped on deck. During the few minutes that the boat was +waiting, we had a good look at her and her occupants. The former, +I could see, was German-built, very long, narrow and heavy, and was +lumbered up with a quantity of fresh coco-nuts, yams, taro and +other native food. As for the crew, they were as suspicious and as +desperate-looking a lot of scarecrows as could be imagined. + +Some of them were dressed in the heavy woollen garments usually worn +by German merchant seamen, but half a dozen of them were wearing the +yellow-grey canvas trousers of the New Caledonian convict. As I looked +down at them Alan pointed out to me the muzzles of three or four short +rifles showing from beneath the edge of a ragged native mat which was +spread over the bottom boards for'ard. They had evidently spent the +night on shore, for some of them, who were wearing cloth caps, had made +themselves peaked sunshades of plaited green coco-nut leaves, which were +tied round their heads, native-fashion. Lying amidships was a good-sized +water-breaker; and one of the gang, a little, hooknosed ruffian, with a +villainous face and wearing a filthy print shirt with the tails outside +his pants, kept tapping it with a piece of wood to show us by the hollow +sound that it was empty. + +'Pass it up on deck, you monkey-faced swine,' said Alan. 'Why didn't you +fill it when you were ashore?' + +'We no finda water,' said the leader; 'we looka two, tree day--no +finda, and too many -------- nigger on shore shoota us all the time +witha-bow-anda-arra.' + +'Well, you've got some guns there, I see. Couldn't you keep the niggers +off while a couple of you filled the breaker?' I asked. 'And there's +plenty of water on Pentecost, I believe.' + +He shrugged his shoulders. 'Of what-a good the gun? We no have the +cartridge. Perhaps you give some--feefty, twenty, ten, eh?' + +Alan, who was a bit of a humorist, answered that we would give him as +many cartridges as he wanted, if he gave us all the rifles he had in the +boat in exchange. + +A scowl--which he tried to twist into a smile--flitted across his face, +and he turned his head away. + +Giving the crowd in the boat a long line, we veered them astern, and +as the breeze was now freshening, the cutter slipping through the +water pretty fast, and we felt safe, Hannah, Alan and myself turned our +undivided attention to our visitor. He was a tall, squarely-built fellow +of about fifty years of age, with a thick stubble of iron-grey beard +covering his cheeks and chin, and his forehead and neck were burnt to +the colour of dark leather by the rays of a tropic sun. He was dressed +in a pea-jacket and dungaree pants, but had no boots. + +'Sit down,' I said, c and tell us what we can do for you. But take a +glass of grog first.' + +He drank the liquor eagerly, first bowing to Mrs Hannah and then to us +all in turn, and at the same time taking a sweeping glance along the +deck at our crew, who were grouped for'ard. As he raised his hand to his +mouth I saw that the back of it was much tattooed. + +'Where did you lose your ship?' I asked. + +'Astrolaba Reefa,' he answered quickly, 'three hundreda mila to +south-a-ward.' + +'What was her name?' + +'The _Airdale_,' he replied glibly. 'Belonga to Liverpool--fine biga +ship. We bound to Pam in New Caledonia to load chroma ore, and run +ashore on dark night. Ship break up very quick'--and then he spun off +the rest of his yarn, and a very plausible one it was, too. The ship, +he said, was not injured much at first, and on the following morning +the captain, with the second mate and four hands, had left in one of the +boats for Pam to get assistance. The first mate, bos'un and three hands +were drowned. After waiting for ten days on the wreck the rest of the +crew took to the long boat, for bad weather came on, and the ship began +to pound on the reef. + +'But what are you doing here so far to the northward?' asked Hannah, in +his slow, drawling tones. 'Why didn't you steer for New Caledonia? You +were only two days' sail to there from Astrolabe Reefs. Now you are +three hundred miles to the north.' + +The man was a marvellous liar. Yes, he said, that was true, but 'Goda +help him,' he would 'speaka true.' He and the nine men with him did not +want to go to New Caledonia, and did not want to have anything more to +do with the captain, who was a very 'harda' man, and so they had stood +to the northward, meaning to land on one of the New Hebrides. + +'What was the captain's name?' + +'Smeeth--Captain Johna Smeeth. Belonga to Liverpool.' + +'Are you one of the ship's officers?' + +'I am carpenter,' he answered promptly. 'I all the time sail in Englisha +ship.' + +'Just so; are you a Frenchman?' asked Hannah, casually. + +'No; I come from Barcelon'.' + +'Well,' I said, 'I hope you will get along all right in your boat, +wherever you go. I'll give you a 50-lb. tin of biscuits, some tinned +meats, and as much water as you can take.' + +He thanked me effusively, and said he would remember me in his prayers +to the Virgin, etc. + +'Have you a compass?' I asked. + +He shrugged his shoulders despairingly. No, they had no compass; the +'gooda Goda must be compass' for them. + +Mani, Hannah's wife, who was sitting near us, with her youngest child on +her lap, apparently taking no heed of our talk, held the infant up and +smiled; and, as if speaking to it, said in Samoan,-- + +'He lies. I saw a boat compass in the stern sheets of the boat.' + +'Well, I'm sorry I can't give you a compass,' I said. 'Alan, pass up a +tin of biscuit and a case of meat. The breeze is freshening, and we must +get along.' + +Then our visitor made an earnest appeal. His boat was leaky, his +comrades were worn out, yet if we would let them come aboard they would, +after a little rest, tow the cutter in a calm, and not trouble us in +any way. Then, when we sighted Santo, they would leave us and make for +Leper's Island, which was the place they wanted to reach. The natives +there were very friendly, and there were some white men there. + +'No,' I said, 'our vessel is too small for so many people. If you follow +Pentecost along to the north, you will sight Leper's Island as soon as +you round the north point. Now, haul your boat alongside. And here are +a couple of bottles of brandy for yourself and crew, some matches, and a +small box of tobacco.' + +The boat hauled alongside, and our visitor, again thanking us, got in. +In a few minutes we saw their leader serving them out a nip; then the +night blotted them from view. + +At daylight we were again becalmed and drifting steadily to the +northward. The boat was not in sight, and the only signs of life visible +around us were some slender columns of smoke ascending from the native +villages along the coast, which was less than three miles away. The heat +at ten o'clock was intense, and, to add to our discomfort, a heavy +swell set in and caused us to roll incessantly. However, we lowered our +mainsail, tried to be philosophical, and waited for a breeze. Towards +four in the afternoon a sharp rain squall swept down upon us from the +land; it lasted barely ten minutes, and was followed by others at short +intervals, and then we knew we were in for a night of it. Whenever one +of these squalls came tearing over the water we made good use of the +wind by running before it to the east, so as to get away from the land; +but at midnight we found we were still a great deal too close; and that +the current was very strong, and now setting in-shore very rapidly, we +could tell by the sound of the surf. There was nothing for us but to tow +off, for the water was too deep to anchor, even within thirty fathoms of +the reef. Just as we got the boat over the side there came a tremendous +downpour of rain, and we could only make ourselves heard by shouting to +each other at the top of our voices. This continued for half an hour, +and through it all, the boat, with Alan and three hands, continued to +tow. Suddenly the rain ceased--for about five minutes--only to fall +again with a deafening uproar. At two o'clock it toned down to a misty +drizzle, and we called to Alan to come alongside, as Hannah, two of his +natives and myself would give him a spell. The rain had beaten the swell +down, but the current was terribly strong, and when the mist lifted a +bit we saw we were still too close to the reef. After taking a cast of +the lead, and finding no bottom, Hannah and his two natives and myself +tumbled into the boat. We had just about tautened the tow-line when +Alan's voice rang out. + +'Boat ahoy! Come back, quick, for God's sake! Here's the Frenchmen +coming!' + +We backed alongside and jumped on board, just in time; for almost at the +same moment the Frenchmen's boat came up with a rush, and half a dozen +men sprang on to our decks and instantly closed with us. The rest would +have followed, but the ever-ready Mani began firing into their boat +with a Winchester. This kept them off. Had they, too, gained the deck we +should probably have lost the ship. The struggle on board was short but +sharp. Hannah, who was possessed of enormous strength, had seized the +first man who jumped over the rail round his waist, and slung him clean +across the deck against the port bulwarks, were he lay stunned; and then +went for the next man, whom he knocked backward into the boat with a +terrific blow. Meanwhile, Alan, two native sailors and myself, where +tied up in a knot with three others on the port side. It was so dark +that it was impossible to tell friend from foe at first; and one of our +hands, a Savage Islander, named Puniola, was just about to put a knife +into me, as he, two of the boarders and myself were struggling together, +when by chance he felt the big square buckle of my leather belt and +recognised me. He quickly let go of me, seized one of the convicts by +the throat, and choked him into insensibility, and we soon quietened one +of the other two by the same method. The third man, who was as wiry as +an eel and as strong as a horse, fought desperately, knocked two of +us down, and was then himself laid out by Hannah, who had come to our +assistance. Poor Alan, however, had fared badly; for the leader of the +gang had half-stunned him with a weapon of some sort, and we found him +lying across the cutter's tiller, bleeding profusely from a cut on the +head. His assailant, seeing that the attempt to capture the ship had +failed, jumped overboard and swam to his boat, which was drifting near +to us in the darkness. + +As quickly as possible we got lights and examined the gentry lying about +on the deck. One of them was still unconscious, the rest were pretty +badly mauled about in the tussle; and Manî suggested that we had better +drop them overboard to save further trouble. Her blood was up, and she +was full of fight; but Hannah merely laughed, and told her not to be +such a _pun fia ai_ (tiger cat). + +Showing a light, we hailed the Frenchmen's boat, and told them to come +alongside again. + +'If you don't look smart we'll drop these five men overboard. So hurry +up.' + +The gentleman from 'Barcelon'--who was certainly possessed of inimitable +cheek--after telling us to go to Hades, added that he had but one oar +in the boat, the others had gone adrift. So we had to dump our prisoners +into our own boat, and pull out to the other. Then, while Alan and I +covered those in the Frenchmen's boat, Hannah and two hands flung our +prisoners out of our boat into their own. Their leader took matters very +coolly, cursed his returning comrades freely as cowards, and then had +the face to ask us for some oars. + +Then Hannah, who, we now found, spoke French, boiled over. Jumping into +the other boat, he seized the gentleman from Barcelona by the throat +with his left hand and rapidly pounded his face into a pulp with his +right. + +Whilst Hannah was taking his satisfaction out of the big man, we struck +some matches and examined the rest of the crowd in the boat. One man, we +saw, was badly wounded, Manï having sent two bullets through his right +shoulder and one through his thigh; another had his cheek cut open, but +whether this was caused by a bullet or not I could not tell. I, being +young and green, felt very pitiful and wanted Hannah to bring the +badly-wounded man on board; but he, like a sensible man, said he would +see me hanged first, and that we ought to shoot the lot of them. + +But, anyway, we gave them three oars, and then pushed clear of their +boat just as another rain squall came seething along. + +At dawn we saw them, about two miles abeam of us, pulling slowly in +towards Pentecost. + +We heard afterwards that they were sighted by the Sydney steamer +_Ripple_ Captain Ferguson, off Torres Island, in the Banks Group. Most +probably they abandoned the idea of stopping at Leper's Island, where +they would not be safe from recapture by the French cruisers, and +were then making for the Solomons. But that they ever reached there is +doubtful; or, if they did, they were probably eaten by the natives. The +boat, we heard, they had captured from a German vessel loading nickel +ore at one of north-eastern ports of New Caledonia, and they had then +raided a small settlement on the coast and obtained some arms and +provisions. Long afterwards I was told that their leader was a sailor +who was serving a life sentence for killing his mistress at La Ciotat, +in the South of France. + +It is quite possible, however, that they may have been picked up by +an American whale-ship making northwards to the Moluccas from the +New Zealand ground. In those days there were quite thirty ships still +remaining of the once great American whaling fleet, which traversed the +Pacific from one end to the other. + + Publisher's Note.--The half-caste Alan mentioned in this + story is the same 'Alan' who so frequently figures in Mr + Becke's tales in _By Reef and Palm_, and his subsequent + books. + + + + +THE SOUTH SEA BUBBLE OF CHARLES DU BREIL + +Less than a year ago news was received of the arrival in Noumea, in New +Caledonia, of the remainder of a party of unwashed visionaries, calling +themselves the 'United Brotherhood of the South Sea Islands.' A year +before they had sailed away from San Francisco in a wretched old crate +of a schooner, named the _Percy Edward_ (an ex-Tahitian mail packet), to +seek for an island or islands whereon they were to found a Socialistic +Utopia, where they were to pluck the wild goat by the beard, pay no +rent to the native owners of the soil, and, letting their hair grow down +their backs, lead an idyllic life and loaf around generally. Such a mad +scheme could have been conceived nowhere else but in San Francisco or +Paris. + +In the latter city such another venture, but founded on more heroic +lines of infatuation, was organised eighteen years ago by the late +Charles du Breil, Marquis de Rays, and the results ought to have made +the American enthusiasts reflect a little before they started. But +having got the idea that they might sail on through summer seas till +they came to some land fair to look upon, and then annex it right away +in the sacred name of Socialism (and thus violate one of the +principal articles of their faith), they started--only to be quickly +disillusionised. For there were no islands anywhere in the two Pacifics +to be had for the taking thereof; neither were there any tracts of land +to be had from the natives, except for hard cash or its equivalent. +The untutored Kanakas also, with whom they came in contact, refused to +become brother Socialists and go shares with the long-haired wanderers +in their land or anything else. So from island to island the _Percy +Edward_ cruised, looking more disreputable every day, until, as the +months went by, she began to resemble, in her tattered gear and dejected +appearance, her fatuous passengers. At last, after being chivvied about +considerably by the white and native inhabitants of the various islands +touched at, the forlorn expedition reached Fiji. Here fifty of the +idealists elected to remain and work for their living under a government +which represented the base and brutal institution of Monarchy. But the +remaining fifty-eight stuck to the _Percy Edward_ and her decayed salt +junk, and stinking water, and their beautiful ideals; till at last the +ship was caught in a hurricane, badly battered about, lost her foremast, +and only escaped foundering by resting her keel on the bottom of +Noumea Harbour. Then the visionaries began to collect their senses, +and denounced the _Percy Edward_ and the principles of the 'United +Brotherhood' as hollow frauds, and elected to go ashore and get a good +square meal. + +The affair recalls the story of the ill-starred colony of 'Nouvelle +France,' which was given the tacit support of the French Government, +the blessing of the Church, and the hard-earned savings of the wretched +dupes of French, Italian and Spanish peasantry who believed in it--until +it collapsed, and many of them died cursing it and themselves on the +fever-stricken shores of New Ireland. + +Early in 1879 an enticing prospectus appeared, signed 'Ch. du Breil, +Director and Founder of the Free Colony of Port Breton in Oceania.' In +this precious document the marvellous fertility, the beautiful scenery, +and the healthy climate of the island of New Ireland (Tombara) were +described at length, while the native inhabitants came in for much +unqualified praise as simple children of nature, who were looking +forward with rapture to the advent of the colonists, and to the prospect +of becoming citizens of the Free Colony, and being recognised as +Frenchmen, and helping the settlers cultivate the vine, etc., and being +admitted into the fold of Christianity. + +Perhaps Du Breil believed in his impossible scheme--many people said so, +when, some years afterwards, he was sentenced to two years' imprisonment +and a fine of thirty thousand francs for his share in it. But if he +did not, the French peasantry did, and money came pouring in. Ignorant +people sold their little all and gathered together at Marseilles and +other ports, where ships waited to convey them to the new paradise; +in all, nearly half a million pounds was subscribed. Then away +went emissaries to the southern parts of Italy, where the ignorant +agricultural labourers bit freely and were caught wholesale. In their +case, however, the prospectus varied from that issued in France, which +was specially designed to ensnare small capitalists, tradespeople +and farmers, as well as the poorer peasants. The various religious +fraternities in France, which hoped to benefit financially by +their advocacy, boomed the scheme, and sermons were preached on the +philanthropy of M. le Marquis, who, like Law and Blount, was nothing if +not magnificent. By the time the _Chandernagore_, the first ship, had +sailed from Flushing, elaborate plans were issued of the new city, with +its parks and public buildings, and noble wharves and boulevards aglow +with life and excitement; while the religious wants of the settlers had +not been neglected, for cathedrals and churches figured conspicuously. +Also, it was indicated by a carefully-prepared descriptive pamphlet, +that gold and diamonds and such other things only wanted looking for +in the surrounding islands, where they could be obtained in quantities +sufficient to satisfy the most avaricious. + +The _Chandernagore_ carried only eighty colonists, all males, and, +flying the Liberian flag, after a long passage she reached the Lachlan +Islands, in the South Pacific, where sixteen of them elected to stay, +charmed by the beauty of the place and the unconventional manners of +the native women. Of these sixteen, five died from fever, and of the +remainder two were killed and eaten by natives of other islands, and +the rest were rescued by Australian and German trading vessels. The +_Chandernagore_ proceeded on her voyage, and Port Breton was reached +at last. It is on the south end of the great island of New Ireland, and +with, perhaps, the exception of the Falkland Islands, or the Crozets, +or London in the month of November, the most sodden, dank, squashy and +appalling place on the globe. The day after the ship anchored it began +to rain, and, as it showed no signs of clearing up at the end of three +weeks, the captain was besought to look out for another site for the +city where it was not quite so wet. He took them to a better place, +named Liki Liki Bay, near Cape St George, and, after a preliminary orgie +on board, the enthusiastic colonists set to work house-building and +clearing the primaeval forest for the grape and fig crop. But as there +were about two thousand and ninety trees to the hectare, and every tree +was joined to its neighbours by vines as thick as a ship's main-mast, +the work proceeded but slowly. Considerable time was lost, also, by each +man dropping his axe twice in ten seconds to kill the mosquitoes which +stung him severely. After a few days of this the founders of New France +decided to return to Europe, and, duly arming themselves, went on board +and interviewed the captain. The captain, MacLachlan, was a Scotchman +by birth, but a naturalised Frenchman. He was also a humorist in a grim +sort of way. On the voyage out he and M. de Villacroix, who was the +temporary Governor, found that the eighty gentlemen colony founders were +a pretty rough lot, who wanted to take charge of the ship. MacLachlan, +who was a man of energy, brought them to reason by tricing seven of them +up to the rigging by their thumbs, and promised to 'deal severely' with +them next time. So when they boarded the _Chandernagore_ and informed +him that he must take them back to France, he answered by hunting them +ashore again, landing six months' provisions, and sailing for Sydney, +according to instructions from the Marquis. On arriving at Sydney +he chartered a schooner, loaded her with provisions and agricultural +machinery, and despatched her to Liki Liki Bay. Rough and cruel as +he may appear, MacLachlan was the right sort of man to master +insubordination and mutiny. I knew the man well, and know that he knew +the ruffianly element he had to deal with in the first lot of colonists, +and dealt with it in a proper and summary manner. Had there been half a +dozen more such men as himself and Villacroix to back him up, the tragic +ending of the ill-fated expedition would have been averted. + +But meantime the second contingent was preparing to leave, and the +steamer _Genii_ was bought by the Marquis to load another cargo of +deluded emigrants at Marseilles and Barcelona. Like Villacroix and +MacLachlan, her captain (Rabardy) was a man in whom he reposed implicit +trust; and, indeed, Du Breil seems to have been at least fortunate in +the choice of his sea-leaders to conduct his deplorable colonists to +their Paradise. Under other and less determined men the loss of life +would have been terrible. MacLachlan's letters from Sydney had warned +him of one source of danger--mutiny--and Du Breil decided to send +out with the second contingent a military guard. From the Italian and +Spanish 'settlers' there was nothing to fear. Whatever they suffered +they suffered in silence, like sheep; and the presence of several +priests (going out to preach in the handsome stone cathedrals and +churches before mentioned), whom they looked up to with simple +reverence, was a surer safeguard for their good conduct than a company +of troops. The married men among the French contingent of the second +lot were like them in this respect; but, all through the course of the +disastrous expedition, it was cursed by the inclusion of a number of +unmarried man, whose ruffianism proved too strong to be checked; then +there were a number of _nymphes du pavi_, recruited from the streets of +Marseilles and Toulon. 'They came on board as unmarried women, but an +“arrangement” in each case was made with one of the single men to play +M. le Mari,' said one of the leaders, to the writer, when he lay dying +of fever in the _Genil's_ stifling saloon at Duke of York Island. Who +can wonder at the collapse of the 'colony,' when practices such as +these were tolerated? But it is typical of the system, or rather want of +system, of French colonisation generally. On March 16th the _Genii_ +left Barcelona with over two hundred and fifty colonists--men, women +and children. Some of the Italians were from the north--these were +hard-working and intelligent--some from Calabria--little better than +beasts of the field--and the Spaniards came from Valencia and Catalonia. +The military guard consisted of a Spanish captain and lieutenant and +an Italian lieutenant, while the rank and file were of various +nationalities. Before the crazy old _Genii_ reached Port Said the guard +themselves made matters warm, and, with the first and second engineers +and second officer, refused to proceed. Rabardy, the captain, gladly let +them go at Port Said and made for the Maldive Islands, where he engaged +thirty Arabs. Later on he put these ashore at Point de Galle. At +Singapore the vessel remained six weeks, waiting for instructions, +and then reached Liki Liki Bay fifteen days later--to find the place +abandoned and the beach covered with the stores left there by the +_Chandernagore_ party, who had escaped to Australia; this he learned two +days later from the white traders at Mioko, the settlement on Duke of +York Island, twenty or thirty miles away. Rabardy was at his wit's end. +He knew that another steamer was due in a month or two, and determined +to wait and consult with the new Governor, who was coming out with a +fresh batch of three hundred people. No work at settlement was begun, +for Rabardy considered the former site could be bettered. Meanwhile, +there arrived a barque of one thousand tons, the _Marquis de Rays_, +deeply laden with cotton and sugar machinery, stores, provisions +and medicines, and a large amount of trade goods for barter with the +natives. These latter, although not cannibals like the people of the +neighbouring Island of New Britain, were a very low type of savages, and +their mode of life was disgusting in the extreme; whilst their wild and +ferocious appearance was in harmony with their stark nudity. Still the +_Genil's_ people established friendly relations with them, and were +supplied with fruit and vegetables, such as yams and taro. + +On October 17th the steamer _India_ arrived with her emigrants, and the +new Governor, M. de Prévost, nothing daunted by the unfortunate previous +experiences of the colony and its mismanagement, set to work with +Captain Rabardy to get things in order. + +A fresh site was chosen for the actual settlement, and the new arrivals, +joining heartily with the _Genil's_ people, began to clear and build. +The Italians and Spaniards toiled, in happy expectation of future +prosperity, with their French fellow-settlers, and hope ran high. But +already the deadly malaria had begun its work, and ere long more than +half of the many hundreds of colonists were suffering from fever, and +soon some died. Then suddenly the Governor, who hitherto had cheered +them up by his example and energy, announced his intention of going to +Sydney in the _Genii_ (the _India_ had sailed for France) to procure +cattle and a fresh stock of provisions. He never returned. Months and +months went by, and the colonists waited and waited, while the fever +carried off someone every few days; and then their hearts failed them, +and they longed for the lands they had left for a chimera. A sad +two months passed, and then one day another steamer--the _Nouvelle +Bretagne_--came into Liki Liki Bay. She had brought out some three +hundred more colonists, Spanish people, who listened, with doleful +faces, to the tale of those who had preceded them to the Utopia of +Charles du Breil. Rabardy, of the _Genil_, who, a month later, was to +die of fever, game to the last, consulted with Captain Henry, of +the _Nouvelle Bretagne_ and, as they talked on the poop deck of the +newly-arrived steamer, a cry came from the people on shore that another +ship was in sight. An hour later a black-painted, unobtrusive-looking +steamer came slowly into the bay and dropped anchor. She looked like a +collier, and flew the red ensign of England; but Henry knew her. She was +the _Legaspi_, Spanish gunboat from Manila, and had chased him from the +Philippines. As her cable rattled through her hawsepipes, down went the +red ensign and up went the Spanish colours, and a boat full of armed men +dashed alongside the _Nouvelle Bretagne_, and in another five minutes +Captain Henry was a prisoner, handcuffed, and on his way to the warship. +What he had done at Manila was a daring deed enough, and is a story in +itself, and nothing much to his discredit. His ship had been prevented +from putting to sea by the Spanish authorities, and Henry, who had many +sick on board, and was greatly harassed in mind, suddenly slipped his +cable and steamed off, although there was a Spanish guard on board. +These he landed on the coast of Luzon. + +That evening the commander of the _Legaspi_ called the Spanish emigrants +together and addressed them. 'The colony is a failure; the French, +Italian and Spanish Governments have repudiated it. Those of you who +like to return with the _Legaspi_ to Manila can do so; those who do not +may remain here, to die of starvation or be eaten by the savages.' + +Next morning the _Legaspi_ steamed out of Liki Liki Bay with the +_Nouvelle Bretagne_ in tow, taking; all the Spanish colonists with her. +Then, to the aid of the despairing French and Italian colonists, came +one Tom Farrell, an English trader on the Duke of York Island. He gave +them provisions, advanced them money, and treated them well, taking care +to get possession of the _Genil_ and the barque _Marquis de Rays_. +The _Genil_ he sent to Australia under command of an English captain +(Rabardy was dead by then, and his dying words to the writer of +this sketch, as he grasped his hand for the last time, were, 'I have +tried--and failed. I had not one competent officer with me to help me to +maintain my authority or shoot some of the ruffians who have ruined the +expedition'). Her unfortunate passengers were generously treated by the +New South Wales Government, who settled many of them on the Richmond +River, in the northern portion of the colony. Here they founded a +prosperous little settlement, and are to this day happy and contented, +and thank their stars that they left a spurious Utopia to dwell in a +country where the conditions of climate are like those of their own +sunny Italy. Perhaps, however, they think sometimes of those of their +former comrades who died out there in the savage 'colony' of Charles du +Breil. At Liki Liki there died nine; at Duke of York Island, thirteen; +at New Britain, twenty-one; and six were eaten by the cannibals of the +islands thereabouts. Of a score or so of others who remained in the +North-West Pacific there is no record. Probably they succumbed to +fever, or went down under the clubs and spears of the wild people of +New Britain, New Guinea and the Admiralty Group. Such was the end of the +vision of Charles du Breil and the Colony of New France. + + + + +THE WHITE WIFE AND THE BROWN 'WOMAN' + +Masters, the trader at Fana 'alu, was walking up the beach to his +house, reading a letter which he had just received from the captain of a +passing vessel. It was from his employers in Sydney,--'We are confident +that Mrs Masters and yourself will do all you can to render the lady's +stay at Fana 'alu agreeable to her. You will find her husband, our new +supercargo, a very fine fellow, easy to get on with, and a thoroughly +honourable and conscientious business man.' + +'Here, Melanie, old woman, where are you?' he called, as he flung +himself lazily into a cane lounge on the verandah. + +Melanie, who, native-like, was combing her hair in the sitting-room, +rose from the mat upon which she was sitting and came to the door. + +'What is it, Tom?' she asked, leaning against the wall and drawing the +comb slowly through her long, black locks. + +'Why, the barque will be here in another week or so, so this letter +says, and there's a _tamaitai papalagi_ (white lady) on board, and she +will very likely stay here with us while her husband, who is the new +supercargo, goes away in the ship to the Solomon Islands. He will come +for her again in about six weeks.' + + * * * * * + +Melanie's dark eyes glistened with pleasure. White women were rare +visitors at lonely Fana 'alu. Every year, it was true, when the American +missionary barque touched at the island, one, or sometimes two, white +ladies would come ashore; but they were missionaries' wives, and never +passed inside the door of the trader's house to speak to his wife. +That, in the eyes of the converted natives, would have been scandalous. +Melanie might, if she so wished it, have called upon _them_ at the +native teacher's house, and paid homage afar off by sitting down on the +mats in the furthest corner of the house, while fat, greasy Lepeka,{*} +the wife of the equally fat and greasy teacher Paulo, Christianly +whispered in the ears of the holy white ladies that that was the white +man's 'woman'--who wasn't married to her 'husband.' And even a white +missionary's wife must not offend the spouse of the native teacher. So +had any of these ladies wished to talk to Melanie, they would have had +to make Lepeka their medium; for in some parts of the South Seas the +usual position of vicar and curate is reversed, and the white visiting +missionary and his wife deliver themselves into the hands of the brown +curate and his wife for the time being. Perhaps it is this that makes +most white missionaries so thin--the strain of having to submit to a +Kanaka teacher's ideas of conventionality must be pretty hard to +bear. And so poor Melanie, who would have liked to have sat near the +fair-faced, sweet-voiced white ladies, or, perhaps, fondled their hands, +as did the young unmarried girls who always surrounded them, bore her +lot with content. For once, when she had brought her simple _alofa_ +(gift of love) to the missionaries, and laid it timidly down on the mats +in the centre of the room, one of the white ladies had smiled at her and +said to her husband,-- + +'Oh, what a pretty girl, and how nicely she is dressed. Ask her to come +here and sit by me.' + + * Rebecca. + +But Melanie was quick to see Lepeka's dark frown, and discreetly retired +to her usual corner, at the back of the room, and when she went home to +Masters, she did not chatter and laugh as usual when telling him of all +she had seen and heard at the teacher's house. + +For, in her simple heart, there began to grow an unrest. She would feel +better, she thought, when the mission ship had sailed away again, and +she would forget the kind smile of the missionary's wife, and forget, +too, the sneering curl of Lepeka's fat lips. Three years before, when +Tom Masters had picked her up in a dancing saloon in Apia and had asked +her to come away with him to Fana 'alu as his wife, she had thought of +a marriage in the church, with its attendant mild excitements, and +gluttonies of baked pig and fowls, and _palusami_ and other delicacies, +and the receiving and giving of many presents. But when Masters--who +possessed a fragmentary conscience--told her why he could not marry her, +she accepted the position calmly, and said it did not matter. + +Perhaps, among the women of Fana 'alu, she stood highest in public +estimation, notwithstanding her bar sinister, for she was open-handed +and generous, and both the chiefs wife and Lepeka, the teacher's grand +lady, were of common blood--whilst she, despite her antecedents in +Apia, was of the best in Manono--the birthplace of the noble families of +Samoa. + + * * * * * + +So, as she stood there in the doorway, first combing and then plaiting +her hair _à la Suisse_, she asked in her native tongue,-- + +'Is she young, Tom? Will she have hair of goldthread like that of the +wife thou hadst in Sini{*} long ago--she who married another man?' + + * Sydney. + +Masters laughed. How could he tell! She might be young and fair; she +might be an _olomatua_ (an old woman), dried up and skinny. But that +was none of their business. All that he and Melanie had to do was to +entertain her well and make much of her. + +'True,' said the placid-minded Melanie; 'and even if she be as ugly as +an _aitu_ (devil), yet will that fat-faced pig Lepeka die with envy to +see a white lady a guest in my house. Would that I could send to Manono +for my three brothers, so that they might come here and get drunk, and +beat Paulo! I hate Paulo, even as I hate Lepeka, for they both speak +evil of _me_, yet are for ever cringing to _thee_, taking eagerly thy +gifts of money to the church and the school and the mission fund, and +yet whispering of me as the dancing-house whore.' + +'Never mind that, old woman,' said Masters, softly, placing his hand +upon the girl's head. 'Next year we shall go away from Fana 'alu. We +shall go to Ponapé, in the far, far north--away from these islands; no +bitter tongues shall pain thy heart there.' Then, picking up his hat, +he sauntered down to the beach again and stood watching his whale-boat +being hauled up into the boat-shed by her native crew. + +'_Like the wife he once had in Sydney, long ago._' + +He lit his pipe, and began to pace to and fro on the sandy path under +the cool shade of the coco-palms and bread-fruit trees, thinking of an +incident of his past life, which, although six long years had passed, +neither his subsequent wanderings in many lands, nor his three latter +years' monotonously happy and lazy existence with Melanie at Fana 'alu, +had yet quite banished from his memory. And the chance question put to +him half an hour before had brought back to him a vision of the slender, +blue-eyed and golden-haired woman who was the partner of his first +matrimonial venture. + +They had in the beginning led a turtle-dovey kind of life in those old +days on the shores of Port Jackson. Not long after their marriage the +shipping firm in which he was employed failed, and he had to seek for +another billet; and, being an energetic, self-reliant man, with no +false pride, he shipped as steward on board the _Noord Brabant_, a +hogged-backed, heartbroken and worn-out American lumber ship running +between Puget Sound and the Australian colonies. His wife had cried a +little at first; but he told her that no one but their two selves would +know, and it was better for him to be earning five pounds a month than +idling about in Sydney. + +On board the crazy old barque he found an acquaintance, who soon became +a friend. This was the second mate--another Sydney man--who had shipped +on the _Noord Brabant_ because berths on good ships were scarce and +mates and skippers were plentiful. So the two men, while the ship was +being patched up for her long voyage across the Pacific, spent their +evenings together at Masters's house. + +Harry Laurance--that was the second mate's name--was a fine, handsome +man, with clear, honest eyes and a merry, infectious laugh, and those +evenings at his friend's house were a source of unalloyed happiness +to him, for from his boyhood he had known no home except a ship or a +squalid boarding-house. + +One night, as the three sat together in Masters's little four-roomed +cottage, and Nellie Masters had ceased playing upon the rattling +fifteen-guinea box of discord called a piano, the three made plans for +the future. When they--Masters and Laurance--returned from Puget Sound, +they were not to part. Laurance, who had had long experience in the +Island trade, had saved a little money--not much (as he told Masters one +day when he placed ten sovereigns in the latter's hand, and asked him +to accept it as a loan for his wife's sake), but nearly enough to buy a +little thirty-ton vessel he knew of which was for sale, and which would +be just the craft to run on trading voyages from New Zealand among the +islands of the Gambier Group--if they could load her with trade goods. +And he knew a man in Puget Sound who, he thought, would lend him a +few hundreds, and take a third share in the venture. Then, when he and +Masters returned from the impending voyage to Sydney, they, with Mrs +Masters, would go over to Auckland, buy the schooner and the trade +goods, and then sail for Manga Reva in the Gambier Group, where Masters +and his wife were to buy a bit of land and put up a trading station, +whilst Laurance ran the little vessel to and fro among the various +islands of the group, and brought back pearl shell and copra for sale +to the big German firm in Tahiti. And Masters's pretty wife smiled +joyously. She did not like to be parted from Tom for nearly seven +months; but seven months was not a lifetime--and then they would be so +happy, away from the grinding poverty of their existence in Sydney. + + * * * * * + +Dreams! Six weeks afterwards, as the old _Noord Brabant_ lay groaning +over on her beam ends, thrashing her canvas to ribbons in a fierce night +squall off Beveridge Reef, Tom Masters, hurrying on deck to help +the hands shorten sail, was knocked overboard by the parting of the +spanker-boom guy, and disappeared without a cry, into the seething boil +to leeward. + +For two hours--after the squall had ceased, and Masters was missed--the +boat searched for him under the bright rays of a silvery moon and a +clear, cloudless sky. But every now and then rain fell heavily, and +though the boat rowed round and round the ship within a radius of two or +three miles no answering cry came to the repeated hails of the crew. +So then the _Noord Brabant_ stood away again on her course, and Harry +Laurance lay awake all his watch below, thinking sadly of his friend and +of the dreadful shock which awaited the young wife in Sydney. + +But Tom Masters did not drown. When he came to the surface of the water +he found himself floating among the _debris_ of the quarter-boat, +which, when the spanker-boom guy parted and the heavy spar swung over +to leeward, had swept the after-davit out of its socket and let the boat +hang, stern down, by the for'ard fall, until the labouring old barque, +raising her stern high out of the water, smashed down upon it as it +dragged under her counter and tore out the for'ard ringbolt. + +Half-stunned by the force of the blow which he had received on the back +of his head from the spanker-boom when it swept him overboard, Masters +was yet able to swim to the wreckage of the boat which he saw floating +near him, and, clinging to the after part of the keel, he saw the +cabin lights of the Noord Brabant shining brightly through the square, +old-fashioned ports for a minute or two, and heard the cries of her +crew as the sails were clewed up and furled. Then a sharp, hissing rain +squall hid her from view in a thick white mist, and, with agony and +despair in his heart, he gave up all hope of life, knowing that the only +other boat was turned bottom up on the main hatch of the barque, and +that the ship was only half-manned by a scratch crew of long-shore +loafers. + +But it so happened that when the _Noord Brabant_, close-hauled to clear +Beveridge Reef, was thrown on her beam ends by the violence of the +squall, the whaling schooner _John Bright_ was rolling easily along +before it under shortened canvas, and the cook of the schooner, as he +stood on the foc'scle, smoking his pipe, caught a sight of floating +wreckage right ahead, with the indistinct figure of a man clinging to +it, and bawled out 'Hard a-port!' just in time, or else the schooner +had run right on top of the drifting boat and finished this tale and Tom +Masters as well. + +But boats are lowered quickly on an American whale-ship--quicker than +on any other ship afloat--and in less than ten minutes Tom Masters was +picked up and, in face of a blinding rain squall, brought on board the +_John Bright_. Then a long illness--almost death. + +Three months afterwards, as the schooner was slowly crawling along over +the North Pacific towards Honolulu, she spoke a timber ship bound to the +Australian colonies from Port Townsend in Puget Sound; and Masters, now +recovering from the terrible shock he had received, went on board and +asked the captain to let him work his passage. But the Yankee skipper of +the lumber ship did not seem to like the idea of having to feed such +a hollow-eyed, gaunt-looking being for another six weeks or so, and +refused his request. And so Masters, in a dulled, apathetic sort of way +went back to the _John Bright_, climbed up her side, and, with despair +in his heart, lay down in his bunk and tried to sleep, never knowing +that, half an hour before, when he was speaking to the captain of the +lumberman, a letter to his wife from Laurance lay in a locker not three +feet away from him, telling her of her husband's death at sea and his +own heartfelt sorrow and sympathy. + +And Laurance was honest and genuine in his sympathy. He had had a warm +feeling of friendship for Tom Masters, and his heart was filled with +pity for the poor little wife left alone without a friend in the world. +He had tried to express himself clearly in his letter, but all that +Nellie Masters could understand was that Tom had been drowned at sea, +that Laurance would be back in Sydney in a month or two and give her all +particulars, and that she was not utterly friendless and alone in the +world. + +Within a month of Harry Laurance's return she began to think more of him +and of his goodness to her, than of her dead husband--and then gratitude +became love. She was only a poor little woman, and of a weakly, +irresolute nature, unable to think for herself, and unfitted to battle +alone with the world and poverty. So one day when Laurance, whose big +heart was full of love and pity for her, asked her to be his wife, she +gave him a happy smile and said 'Yes.' Before a second month had passed +they were quietly married. + +Masters, meanwhile, had been pursued by the demon of ill-luck. When the +schooner reached Honolulu, he, a mere wreck, physically and mentally, of +his former self, had been carried ashore to the hospital, and was making +a slow recovery, when the Sydney whaling brig, _Wild Wave_ came into +port with some of her crew injured by a boat accident. One of the men +was placed in a bed next to that occupied by Masters, and one day his +captain came to see him and brought him some colonial newspapers which +had just arrived. + +'Here, mate,' said the sailor, tossing one of the papers over to +Masters, 'you're a Sydney man, and there's a Sydney newspaper.' + +Masters took up the paper, and the first lines he read were these:-- + +'Laurance--Masters. On the 10th inst., at the Scots Church, Church Hill, +Henry A. Laurance to Helen, widow of the late Thomas Masters.' + +Possibly, had he been well enough to have returned to Sydney, he would +have gone back and made three persons' lives unhappy. But, although an +Englishman, he had not the rigidly conventional idea that the divorce +court was part of the machinery of the Wrath of God against women who +unknowingly committed bigamy, and ought to be availed of by injured +husbands. So, instead of having a relapse, he pulled himself together, +left the hospital, and got placidly drunk, and concluded, when he became +sober, not to disturb them. + +'I suppose neither of them is to blame,' he thought. 'How were either +of them to know that I was not drowned?... And then poor little Nell had +only ten shillings a week to live upon until I came back.' + +Still, he would have been better pleased had Harry Laurance been a +stranger to him--no man cares to know his successor in such a matter. +By-and-by he worked his passage to Samoa, where, under the assumed name +of Tom Patterson, he soon found employment. Then one night he went into +Charley the Russian's saloon--and met Melanie. + +And now he was settled down at Fana 'alu, was doing well as a trader, +and had acquired, in all its intensity, the usual dislike to the idea of +ever going back to the world again, common enough to men of his nature +in Polynesia. Besides that, Melanie understood him and he understood +her. She was as open and honest as the day, worked hard for him in his +store, and was sincerely attached to him. So he was well content. + + * * * * * + +There was much commotion in the village when the trading barque arrived +and lay-to off Fana 'alu. Melanie, in a dress of spotless white muslin, +flitted to and fro within the house, smoking cigarettes and cursing her +women assistants' laziness and stupidity. Masters, it so happened, was +away in his boat at another village along the coast, and pretty Melanie +was in a state of nervous trepidation at the thought of having to meet +the English lady alone. What should she do? What should she say? Her +English was scant but vigorous, having mostly been acquired from +the merchant skippers, who, in her--to put it nicely--maiden days, +frequented the dance house of 'Charley the Russian' in Apia, and she was +conning over the problem of whether she should address her coming guest +in that language or not. Her child, a little girl of two, followed her +mother's movements with intense curiosity; and presently a bevy of young +native girls swarmed into the room with the news that the boat had come +ashore, and that the white lady and her husband had landed and were +now walking up to the house. Then Mrs Masters Number Two pulled herself +together and, throwing away her cigarette, went to the door and, with a +graceful, modest demeanour and a timid, bashful smile, held out her hand +to a lovely being with big, bright blue eyes and thick masses of hair of +shining gold. Beside this--to Melanie--glorious vision of beauty, stood +the husband--a big, black-moustached and bronze-feced man, who stooped +as he entered the door of the trader's house, and said good-naturedly to +her,-- + +'Glad to meet you, Mrs Patterson. Will your husband be long before he +returns?' + +'I don' know, sir,' answered Melanie. 'He hav' gone to Pitofanua. But +he will come ver' quick when he know that the ship hav' come.' Then, +trembling with pleasurable excitement, she turned to the lady and +indicated a low easy-chair, and said in Samoan,-- + +'Sit thou there, O lady;' and then in English, 'I can't speak Englis' +very good sometimes. But my man will soon come.' Then she remembered +something. 'Please will you come into dis room here, which is been made +all ready for you, an' take off your hat;' and then she darted over to +a side table, brought a glass and a bottle of whisky over to the lady's +husband; then, with a winning smile, timidly held out her brown hand to +her guest, and led her into the bedroom. + +The new supercargo helped himself to a nip of whisky and then sat down, +his keen business eye taking in the order and cleanliness of the room. +In a few minutes his wife came out. + +'Hang these traders, Nell! Why isn't this fellow here to meet me? He had +no business to go away from his station when the ship was due. However, +he has jolly nice quarters, and so we'll make ourselves comfortable +until he turns up. I think you'll like this place, Nell, and won't find +it tedious whilst I'm away at the Solomons. Eh, pet?' + +The White Lady nodded and smiled. 'Yes, Harry, but I'll miss you +terribly to-morrow. Six weeks is a long time, dear.... Oh, Harry, +do look--isn't she a lovely child?' And, bending down, she swept up +Melanie's little girl in her arms and kissed her softly, and her eyes +suddenly filled with tears. + +'Yes,' said the supercargo, shortly, as, without looking at the child, +he took some papers from his pocket and began to read. His and her +hearts' desire had never been granted, and so he hated to look at the +child of another man. + +'I wish this fellow would come,' he said presently, in an irritable +tone, as he rose and walked to and fro.... Don't let that child paw you +about like that, Nell.... Hallo, here he is at last.' + +Fanning his heated brow with his broad hat of pandanus leaf, the trader +stood in the doorway. + +'Good morning. I'm sorry I was away when you came--' + +A cry, half scream and half sob, came from the supercargo's wife, as, +still holding the child in her arms, she swayed to and fro, and Melanie +sprang to her side. + +'Oh, Harry, it is Tom!' she said. + +Then she sank back and lay upon the matted floor, with her head pillowed +upon Melanie's bosom; and the child wailed in terror. + +'What the hell is the matter?' said the big supercargo, striding forward +to the trader and seizing him by the arm. Then he looked into Masters's +face. 'By God, Masters, is it _you_? As heaven is my judge, I swear to +you that we both thought you were dead!' + +The trader's eyes met his in a long, searching glance, then turned to +where the unconscious, figure of the white woman lay, supported in the +arms of Melanie, who, with affrighted eyes, gazed appealingly to them +both. + +He reached out his hand to the other man. 'That's all right, Laurance. +Let us go outside and talk. See, _your wife_ has fainted, but Melanie +will see to her.' + + * * * * * + +That night, whilst Masters and Laurance, cigars in mouth, were gravely +picking out the former's trade goods on board the _Palestine_ the White +Lady and the Brown 'Woman' talked. + +'Is you any better now?' said Melanie, as she caressingly ran her hand +down the golden locks of Mrs Laurance. + +A smothered sob was her answer, and the yellow head buried itself among +the pillows of the couch. + +Melanie turned away despairingly, and then lit a cigarette. What a fool +was this beautiful white woman--nothing but sob, sob, sob! What could be +done to dry her tears? + +Presently the Brown 'Woman' slid her hand under the waist of the weeping +White Lady, and pressed her cheek to hers. + +'Don' you wan' to stay here now?' + +'No, no, no! Let me go away. I wish I were dead!' + +'What for?' and the philosophical Melanie sent two long streaks of smoke +through her nostrils. 'Why are you 'shamed? You have a husban' now, and +yo' don' wan' to _faotane_, do you?' + +'What is _faotane?_' + +Melanie laughed. '_Faotane_ is Samoa language; it means stealing a +husban.... And yo' won' steal my husban' from me, will you? Yo' hav' got +a new husban', and yo' won' take Tom from me, will yo'?' + +Mrs Laurance sprang to her feet and placed her hands on the Brown +'Woman's' shoulders. + +'Tell me,' she said, 'did he ever talk of me?' + +'Yes,' said the truthful Melanie. 'He tell me that yo' have hair like +gold, and that your eye was blue like the sky.' + +'No more?' + +Melanie shook her black locks. 'No more. My man never talk too much. You +like to eat some roast pigeon now?' + +The White Lady turned her head aside and sobbed. 'And for a soulless +being like this!' Then she remembered that Masters was not to blame, and +waited, trembling and sobbing, for the two men to return. + + * * * * * + +Masters, having finished his business on board the barque, held out his +hand to Laurance. + +'Good-bye, Harry. Nothing can be done. Tom Masters was drowned off +Beveridge Reef years ago, and Harry Laurance married his widow; and Tom +Patterson is another man, who has a native wife, and--' + +He wrung Laurance's hand, sprang up the companion-way and called to +his boat's crew,-- + +'Haul the boat alongside, boys. I'm going to Pito-fanua again; and you +beggars will have to pull like hell.... Good-bye, Harry, old fellow. +Send your boat ashore for your wife... and God bless you both!' + + + + +WITH HOOK AND LINE ON AN AUSTRAL RIVER + +The English visitor to the Eastern Colonies of Australia, who is +in search of sport with either rod or hand line, can always obtain +excellent fishing in the summer months, even in such traffic-disturbed +harbours as Sydney, Newcastle and other ports; but on the tidal rivers +of the eastern and southern seaboard he can catch more fish than he can +carry home, during nine months of the year. In the true winter months +deep sea fishing is not much favoured, except during the prevalence of +westerly winds, when for days at a time the Pacific is as smooth as a +lake; but in the rivers, from Mallacoota Inlet, which is a few miles +over the Victorian boundary, to the Tweed River on the north, the +stranger may fairly revel, not only in the delights of splendid fishing, +but in the charms of beautiful scenery. He needs no guide, will be put +to but little expense, for the country hotel accommodation is good +and cheap; and, should he visit some of the northern rivers, where the +towns--or rather small settlements--are few and far between, he will +find the settlers the embodiment of British hospitality. Some five years +ago the writer formed one of the crew of a little steamer of fifty tons, +named the _Jenny Lind_, which was sent out along the coast in the +futile endeavour to revive the coast whaling industry. Through stress +of weather we had frequently to make a dash for shelter, towing our one +whale-boat, to one of the many tidal rivers on the coast between Sydney +and Gabo Island. Here we would remain until the weather broke, and our +crew would literally cover the deck with an extraordinary variety of +fish in the course of a few hours. Then, at low tide, we could always +fill a couple of corn sacks with excellent oysters, and get bucketfuls +of large prawns by means of a scoop net improvised from a piece of +mosquito netting. Game, too, was very plentiful on the lagoons. The +settlers were generally glad to see us, and gave us so freely of milk, +butter, pumpkins, etc., that, despite the rough handling we always had +at sea from the weather, we grew quite fat. But as the greater part of +my fishing experience was gained on the northern rivers of the colony +of New South Wales, it is of them I shall write. Eighteen hours' run +by steamer from Sydney is the Hastings River, on the southern bank of +which, a mile from the bar, is the old-time town of Port Macquarie--a +quaint, sleepy little place of six hundred inhabitants, who spend their +days in fishing and waiting for better times. There are two or three +fairly good hotels, very pretty scenery along the coast and up +the river, and a stranger can pass a month without suffering from +_ennui_--that is, of course, if he be fond of fishing and shooting; if +he is not, he should avoid going there, for it is the dullest coast +town in New South Wales. The southern shore, from the steamer wharf to +opposite the bar, is lined with a hard beach, on which, at high tide +or slack water at low tide, one may sit down in comfort and have great +sport with bream, whiting and flathead. As soon as the tide turns, +however, and is well on the ebb or flow, further fishing is impossible, +for the river rushes out to sea with great velocity, and the incoming +tide is almost as swift. On the other side of the harbour is a long, +sandy point called the North Shore, about a mile in length. This, at the +north end, is met by a somewhat dense scrub, which lines the right bank +of the river for a couple of miles, and affords a splendid shade to +anyone fishing on the river bank. The outer or ocean beach is but a few +minutes' walk from the river, and a magnificent beach it is, trending in +one great unbroken curve to Point Plomer, seven miles from the township. + +Before ascending the river on a fishing trip one has to be provided with +a plentiful supply of cockles, or 'pippies,' as they are called locally. +These can only be obtained on the northern ocean beach, and not the +least enjoyable part of a day's sport consists in getting them. They +are triangular in shape, with smooth shells of every imaginable colour, +though a rich purple is commonest. As the backwash leaves the sands +bare, these bivalves may be seen in thick but irregular patches +protruding from the sand. Sometimes, if the tide is not low enough, one +may get rolled over by the surf if he happen to have his back turned +seaward. Generally I was accompanied by two boys, known as 'Condon's +Twins.' They were my landlord's sons, and certainly two of the smartest +young sportsmen--although only twelve years old--I ever met with. Both +were very small for their age, and I was always in doubt as to which +was which. They were always delighted to come with me, and did not +mind being soused by a roller now and then when filling my 'pippy' bag. +Pippies are the best bait one can have for whiting (except prawns) in +Australia, for, unlike the English whiting, it will not touch fish +bait of any sort, although, when very hungry, it will sometimes take +to octopus flesh. Bream, whether black or silvery, flathead, trevally, +Jew-fish, and, indeed, all other fish obtained in Australia, are not +so dainty, for, although they like 'pippies' and prawns best, they will +take raw meat, fish, or octopus bait with readiness. Certain species of +sea and river mullet are like them in this respect, and good sport may +be had from them with a rod in the hot months, as Dick and Fred, +the twins aforesaid, well knew, for often would their irate father +wrath-fully ask them why they wasted their time catching 'them worthless +mullet.' + +But let me give an idea of one of many days' fishing on the Hastings, +spent with the 'Twins.' Having filled a sugar-bag with 'pippies' on the +ocean beach, we put on our boots and make our way through the belt of +scrub to where our boat is lying, tied to the protruding roots of a +tree. Each of us is armed with a green stick, and we pick our way pretty +carefully, for black snake are plentiful, and to tread on one means +death. The density of the foliage overhead is such that but little +sunlight can pierce through it, and the ground is soft to our feet with +the thick carpet of fallen leaves beneath. No sound but the murmuring of +the sea and the hoarse notes of countless gulls breaks the silence, for +this side of the river is uninhabited, and its solitude disturbed only +by some settler who has ridden down the coast to look for straying +cattle, or by a fishing party from the town. Our boat, which we had +hauled up and then tied to the tree, is now afloat, for the tide has +risen, and the long stretches of yellow sandbanks which line the channel +on the further side are covered now with a foot of water. As we drift up +the river, eating our lunch, and letting the boat take care of herself, +a huge, misshapen thing comes round a low point, emitting horrid +groanings and wheezings. It is a steam stern-wheel punt, loaded with +mighty logs of black-butt and tallow wood, from fifty feet to seventy +feet in length, cut far up the Hastings and the Maria and Wilson Rivers, +and destined for the saw-mill at Port Macquarie. + +In another hour we are at our landing-place, a selector's abandoned +homestead, built of rough slabs, and standing about fifty yards back +from the river and the narrow line of brown, winding beach. The roof had +long since fallen in, and the fences and outbuildings lay low, covered +with vines and creepers. The intense solitude of the place, the +motionless forest of lofty, grey-boled swamp gums that encompassed it +on all sides but one, and the wide stretch of river before it were +calculated to inspire melancholy in anyone but an ardent fisherman. +Scarcely have we hauled our boat up on the sand, and deposited our +provisions and water in the roofless house, when we hear a commotion +in the river--a swarm of fish called 'tailer' are making havoc among a +'school' of small mullet, many of which fling themselves out upon the +sand. Presently all is quiet again, and we get our lines ready. + +For whiting and silvery bream, rather fine lines are used; but we each +have a heavy line for flathead, for these fish are caught in the tidal +rivers on a sandy bottom up to three feet and four feet in length. They +are in colour, both on back and belly, much like a sole, of great width +across the shoulders, and then taper away to a very fine tail. The head +is perfectly flat, very thin, and armed on each side with very sharp +bones pointing tailward. A stab from one of these causes intense +inflammation. The fins are small--so small as to appear almost +rudimentary--yet the fish swims, or rather darts, along the bottom with +amazing rapidity. They love to lie along the banks a few feet from the +shore, where, concealed in the sand, they can dart out upon and seize +their prey in their enormous 'gripsack'mouths. The approach of a boat, +or a person walking along the sand, will cause them to at once speed +like lightning into deep water, leaving behind them a wake of sand and +mud, which is washed off their backs in their flight. Still, although +not a pleasing fish to look at, the flathead is of a delicious and +delicate flavour. There are some variations in their shades of colour, +from a pale, delicate grey to a very dark brown, according to their +habitat, and, although most frequent in very shallow water, they are +often caught in great quantities off the coast in from ten to fifteen +fathoms of water. Gut or wire snoodings are indispensable when fishing +for flathead, else the fish invariably severs the line with his fine +needle-pointed teeth, which are set very closely together. Nothing comes +amiss to them as food; but they have a great love for small mullet or +whiting, or a piece of octopus tentacle. + +Baiting our heavy lines with mullet--two hooks with brass-wire snoods to +each line--we throw out about thirty yards, then, leaving two or three +fathoms loose upon the shore, we each thrust a stick firmly into the +sand, and take a turn of the line round it. As the largest flathead +invariably darts upon the bait, and then makes a bolt with it, this plan +is a good one to follow, unless, of course, they are biting freely; in +that case the smaller lines for bream and whiting, etc., are hauled in, +for there is more real sport in landing a 10-lb. flathead than there is +in catching smaller fish, for he is very game, and fights fiercely for +his life. + +Having disposed our big lines, we bait the smaller ones with 'pippies,' +and not two minutes at the outside elapse after the sinkers have touched +bottom when we know we are to have a good time, for each of us has +hooked a fish, and three whiting are kicking on the sand before five +minutes have expired. Then for another hour we throw out and haul in +again as quickly as possible, landing whiting from 6 oz. to nearly 2 lb. +weight. One of the 'Twins' has five hooks on his line, and occasionally +lands three fish together, and now and again we get small bream and +an occasional 'tailer' of 2 lb. or 3 lb. As the sun mounts higher the +breeze dies away, the heat becomes very great, and we have frequent +recourse to our water jar--in one case mixing it with whisky. Then the +whiting cease to bite as suddenly as they have begun, and move off into +deeper water. Just as we are debating as to whether we shall take +the boat out into mid-stream, Twin Dick gives a yell, as his stick is +suddenly whipped out of the sand, and the loose line lying beside it +rushes away into the water. But Dick is an old hand, and lets his fish +have his first bolt, and then turns him. 'By jingo! sir, he's a big +fellow,' he cries, as he hauls in the line, now as taut as a telegraph +wire, and then the other twin comes to his aid, and in a few minutes the +outline of the fish is seen, coming in straight ahead, as quick as they +can pull him. When he is within ten feet of the beach the boys run up +the bank and land him safely, as he turns his body into a circle in +his attempts to shake out the hook. Being called upon to estimate his +weight, I give it as 11 lb., much to the Twins' sorrow--they think it 15 +lb. Half an hour passes, and we catch but half a dozen silvery bream and +some small baby whiting, for now the sun is beating down upon our heads, +and our naked feet begin to burn and sting; so we adjourn to the old +house and rest awhile, leaving our big lines securely tied. But, though +the breeze for which we wait comes along by two o'clock, the fish do +not, and so, after disinterring our takes from the wet sand, wherein we +had buried them as they were caught, to prevent them being spoilt by +the sun, we get aboard again and pull across to the opposite bank of the +river. Here, in much deeper water, about fifteen feet right under the +clayey bank, we can see hundreds of fine bream, and now and then +some small Jew-fish. Taking off our sinkers, we have as good and more +exciting sport among the bream than we had with the whiting, catching +between four and five dozen by six o'clock. Then, after boiling the +billy and eating some fearfully tough corned meat, we get into the boat +again, hoist our sail, and land at the little township just after dark. +Such was one of many similar days' sport on the Hastings, which, with +the Bellinger, the Nambucca, the Macleay and the Clarence Rivers, +affords good fishing practically all the year round. Then, besides these +tidal rivers, there are at frequent intervals along the coast, tidal +lagoons and 'blind' creeks where fish congregate in really incredible +quantities. Such places as Lake Illawarra and Lake Macquarie are fishing +resorts well known to the tourist; but along the northern coast, where +the population is scantier and access by rail or steamer more difficult, +there is an absolutely new field open to the sportsman--in fact, these +places are seldom visited for either fishing or shooting by people +from Sydney. During November and December the bars of these rivers are +literally black with incredible numbers of coarse sea-salmon--a fish +much like the English sea bass--which, making their way over the bars, +swim up the rivers and remain there for about a week. Although these +fish, which weigh from 8 lb. to 10 lb., do not take a bait, and are +rather too coarse to eat, their roes are very good, especially when +smoked. They are captured with the greatest of ease, either by spearing +or by the hand, for sometimes they are in such dense masses that they +are unable to maoeuvre in small bays, and the urchins of coastal towns +hail their yearly advent with delight. They usually make their first +appearance about November 20th (I presume they resort to the rivers to +spawn), and are always followed by a great number of very large sharks +and saw-fish,{*} which commit dreadful havoc in their serried and +helpless ranks. Following the sea-salmon, the rivers are next visited +in January by shoals of very large sea-mullet--blue-black backs, silvery +bellies and sides, and yellow fins and tails. These, too, will not take +a bait, but are caught in nets, and, if a steamer happens to be on the +eve of leaving for Sydney, many hundreds of baskets are sent away; but +they barely pay the cost of freight and commission, I believe. There are +several varieties of sea-mullet, one or two of which will take the hook +freely, and I have often caught them off the rocky coast of New South +Wales with a rod when the sea has been smooth. The arrival of the big +sea-mullet denotes that the season for Jew-fish is at its height, and +if the stranger to Australian waters wants exciting sport, let him try +Jew-fishing at night. In deep water off the coast these great fish are +occasionally caught during daylight, but a dull, cloudy night is best, +when they may be caught from the beach or river bank in shallow water. +Very stout lines and heavy hooks are used, for a 90-lb. or 100-lb. +Jew-fish is very common. Baiting with a whole mullet or whiting, or one +of the arms of an octopus, the most amateurish fisherman cannot fail to +hook two or three Jew-fish in a night. (Even in Sydney Harbour I have +seen some very large ones caught by people fishing from ferry wharves.) +They are very powerful, and also very game, and when they rise to the +surface make a terrific splashing. At one place on the Hastings River, +called Blackman's Point, a party of four of us took thirteen fish, +the heaviest of which was 62 lb. and the lightest 9 lb. Next morning, +however, the Blackman's Point ferryman, who always set a line from his +punt when he turned in, showed us one of over 90 lb. When they grow to +such a size as this they are not eaten locally, as the flesh is very +often full of thin, thread-like worms. The young fish, however, are very +palatable. + + * The 'saw-fish' of the Australian tidal rivers is very + distinct from the sword-fish of the deep sea. + +The saw-fish, to which I have before alluded as harrying the swarms of +sea-salmon, also make havoc with the Jew-fish, and very often are caught +on Jew-fish lines. They are terrible customers to get foul of (I do not +confound them with the sword-fish) when fishing from a small boat. Their +huge broad bill of hard bone, set on both sides with its terrible sharp +spikes, their great length and enormous strength, render it impossible +to even get them alongside, and there is no help for it but either to +cut the line or pull up anchor and land him on the shore. Even then the +task of despatching one of these creatures is no child's play on a dark +night, for they lash their long tails about with such fury that a broken +leg might be the result of coming too close. In the rivers of Northern +Queensland the saw-fish attain an enormous size, and the Chinese +fishermen about Cooktown and Townsville often have their nets destroyed +by a sawfish enfolding himself in them. Alligators, by the way, do the +same thing there, and are sometimes captured, perfectly helpless, in the +folds of the nets, in which they have rolled themselves over and over +again, tearing it beyond repair with their feet, but eventually yielding +to their fate. + +The schnapper, the best of all Australian fish, is too well known to +here enter into a detailed description. Most town-bred Australians +generally regard it as a purely ocean-loving fish, or at least only +frequenting very deep waters in deep harbours, such as Sydney, Jervis +Bay and Twofold Bay. This is quite a mistake, for in many of the rivers, +twenty or more miles up from the sea, the writer and many other people +have not only caught these beautiful fish, but seen fishermen haul in +their nets filled with them. But they seldom remain long, preferring the +blue depths of ocean to the muddy bottoms of tidal rivers, for they are +rock-haunting and surf-loving. + +Of late years the northern bar harbours and rivers of New South Wales +have been visited by a fish that in my boyhood's days was unknown even +to the oldest fisherman--the bonito. Although in shape and size they +exactly resemble the ocean bonito of tropic seas, these new arrivals are +lighter in colour, with bands of marbled grey along the sides and +belly. They bite freely at a running bait--i.e., when a line is towed +astern--and are very good when eaten quite fresh, but, like all of the +mackerel tribe, rapidly deteriorate soon after they are caught. The +majority of the coast settlers will not eat them, being under the idea +that, as they are all but scaleless, they are 'poisonous.' This silly +impression also prevails with regard to many other scaleless fish on +the Australian coast, some of which, such as the trevally, are among the +best and most delicate in flavour. The black and white rock cod is also +regarded with aversion by the untutored settlers of the small coast +settlements, yet these fish are sold in Sydney, like the schnapper, at +prohibitive prices. + +In conclusion, let me advise anyone who is contemplating a visit to +Australia, and means to devote any of his time to either river or lake +fishing, to take his rods with him; all the rest of his tackle he can +buy as cheap in the colonies as he can in England. Rods are but little +used in salt-water fishing in Australia, and are terribly expensive to +buy. Those who do use a rod are usually satisfied with a bamboo--a +very good rod it makes, too, although inconvenient to carry when +travelling--but the generality of people use hand lines. And the visitor +must not be persuaded that he can get really good river fishing without +going some distance from Sydney or Melbourne. That there is some +excellent sport to be obtained in Port Jackson in summer is true, but it +is lacking in a very essential thing--the quietude that is dear to the +heart of every true fisherman. + + + + +THE WRECK OF THE LEONORA: A MEMORY OF 'BULLY' HAYES + +The brig _Leonora_, owned and commanded by the notorious Captain 'Bully' +Hayes, has, perhaps, been more written and talked about than any other +vessel, except the _Bounty_, that ever sailed the South Seas, and her +career was as eventful as that of her captain. It was my fortune to fill +the distinguished position of supercargo to that eminent gentleman for +two years, and, as may be imagined by those who have read anything of +Hayes's strange life and doings in the Pacific and the China Seas, +I found the berth a remarkably curious one. How and why I became +supercargo to the famous alleged pirate is another story; but, in +justice to 'Bully's' memory, I may here at once say that the man was +_not_ the remorseless ruffian that his enemies and many writers of tales +of the South Seas have painted him; furthermore, he was one of the best +sailor-men that ever trod a deck. Had he lived in the times of Drake or +Dampier, he would have been a hero, for he was a man born to command and +lead. _Inter alia_, he was also clever with his fists, and my soul was +possessed of the deepest admiration for him in this respect from the +very first day I stepped on board the _Leonora_, in Milli Lagoon, in +the Marshall Islands, for it was my privilege to see him knock out +three men, one after another, in twice as many minutes. These men were +'toughs' from a New Bedford whaler, and had been put ashore at Milli +Lagoon by their captain as dangerous and useless characters. They came +on board the _Leonora_ and asked 'Bully' to ship them. He refused in +such unnecessary language that the leader of the three, in fatuous +ignorance of the man to whom he was speaking, threatened to 'put a head +on him'; whereupon Hayes at once had the deck cleared, and, taking them +in turn, knocked each man out in the first round. Then he gave them a +glass of grog all round, a bottle of arnica to cure the malformations he +had caused on their countenances, and sent them ashore. + +But this is not the story of the wreck of the _Leonora_. + +We had made Strong's Island from Ponapé, in the Western Carolines, to +wood and water and land some cattle, and for two weeks we lay at +anchor in the beautiful harbour of Lêlé. We found the island in a very +disturbed and excited state, for a few weeks previously two American +sperm whalers had touched at Lêlé and landed five white men, with a +retinue of nearly one hundred savage natives from Pleasant Island, an +isolated spot situated in 0.25 S., and these people--white and brown--so +terrified the Strong's Islanders that the old King Togusa was in abject +fear of them. We (Hayes and myself) soon learnt their story, which was +that they had been compelled to fly for their lives from Pleasant Island +on account of an engagement between the various clans of that place. The +two chiefs under whose protection these men lived had been badly beaten, +and the victors gave the five white traders a short notice to clear out +or be shot. They at once put to sea in their several whale-boats, but +when some three hundred miles away from the island, on their way to +Ponapé--the North Pacific Cave of Adullam--they were sighted and picked +up by the two whalers, the _St George_ and the _Europa_, the captains of +which, not caring for their company all the way to Ponapé, landed them +at Strong's Island. They were now awaiting a chance to continue their +voyage to Ponapé in a passing whaler, and in the meantime their savage +followers were harrying the unfortunate Strong's Islanders to death, +robbing their plantations, abducting their women and knocking them about +generally. + +These wild people were the most noisy and intractable lot of natives I +had ever seen, wearing only a girdle of leaves around their waists, +and all armed with Snider carbines and short stabbing knives made from +cutlasses broken in halves. But, although they bullied the weak and +effeminate Strong's Islanders, they were yet very obedient to their +white masters, to whom they were all more or less related through the +native wives whom the traders had married. The women were very tall +and handsome, and every bit as handy with their knives as the men in a +quarrel. + +Hayes, of course, was well known to both the white men and natives, and +at once began his good offices by threatening to open fire on the houses +and boats of the former if they did not at once cease to persecute the +king and his subjects. This threat he made in the presence and hearing +of the king himself, who was deeply grateful, and at once said he would +make him a present of two tuns of oil. The five hairy ruffians were +considerably startled at first; but Hayes, I regret to say, turning to +one of them, named Pedro Diaz, said in Spanish, 'Don't be scared, Peter. +I'm not going back on you fellows; but at the same time you'll have to +quit knocking these poor devils about. So just go ashore and take away +your people's rifles--it means a couple of tuns of oil for me--its just +as well in the hold of the _Leonora_ as in that of the missionary brig +_Morning Star_. The missionaries would only promise King Togusa credit +in heaven. I'll give him enough grog to keep him drunk for a month of +Sundays on earth; and as he never possibly could get to heaven, I am +treating him better than the missionaries, who would simply be obtaining +his oil under false pretences.' + +On the following day the king sent off his gift of oil; the five white +men and he became reconciled, and the abducted Strong's Island women +were returned to their parents or husbands as a guarantee of good faith. +In the evening the traders came on board and made an arrangement with +Hayes to proceed in the brig to Arrecifos (Providence Island), a large +atoll to the north-west, of which Hayes had taken possession. Here they +were to live as long as they liked, paying Hayes a certain quantity of +coco-nut oil as tribute, and resisting, by force of arms, any attempt to +take possession of the atoll by the German trading company of Godeffroy, +should it be made by any one of the three, armed German brigs belonging +to the firm, and then cruising in the North Pacific. + +Two days later we bade farewell to the old king and his pretty young +wife, Se, and the _Leonora_ sailed out of Lêlé. We were first to call at +South Harbour, six miles to leeward, where we were to take in yams, pigs +and other provisions for the voyage to Providence Island, as we had now +over one hundred additional people on board. + +We ran out of Lêlé at daylight, and at seven o'clock in the morning +dropped our anchor in fourteen fathoms in South Harbour, or Utwé,{*} as +the natives called it. As quickly as possible the ship's boats, aided +by those belonging to the traders, set to work to bring off the yams and +pigs, for which, as they were brought on deck by their native owners, I +weighed and paid. By dusk we had finished, and I was just dressing to go +to supper aboard one of the American whale-ships which were lying near +us, when the trade wind, which had been lusty enough all day, suddenly +fell--a very dangerous sign at that season of the year. In a few minutes +Hayes sent a boat over to the whalers, telling the captains that a blow +was coming on from the westward, and advising them to clear out to sea. +But the American captains decided not to risk towing out through the +narrow passage; and as they were in a much better position than the +_Leonora_, they did wisely, for in less than a quarter of an hour a +mountainous swell began rolling in, and it soon became evident that +even with our own four boats, and the seven belonging to the traders, we +could not tow out. + + * The Port Lottin of Dupurrcy. + +As quickly as possible Hayes had our royal and top-gallant yards sent +down, the boats slung in-board from the davits on the deck, the Pleasant +Islanders sent below, and every preparation made to ride out the blow, +which we were in hopes would not last more than six hours or so. So far +not a breath of wind had come, but the brig was rolling so badly that +we quite expected to see her go over on her beam ends and stay there. +At sunset the air was so close and oppressive that one could scarcely +breathe, and the natives in the hold became half suffocated, and +could only be kept down by the white traders and some of our officers +threatening to shoot the first man that tried to get on deck. Many of +them, however, besought to be allowed to swim ashore and remain till +morning, and Hayes told them they could go. Some ten men and six +women at once came up; and, although it was now dark, and the sharks +consequently much more to be dreaded, sprang overboard, and swam in +towards the native village of Utwé. + +For another twenty minutes or more we remained anxiously awaiting. The +sky was as black as pitch, and there was now a tremendously high sea, +and the din and thunder of the surf on the reef a couple of cables' +length away was most appalling. I had never heard anything like it +before, nor have I since; and the weird sound of the huge seas as they +tumbled and roared upon the hollow crust of the reef made my hair stand +upon end like priming wires. The tide was low, and perhaps that had +something to do with the wild, resounding clamour of the seas upon the +long line of reef; but there was a strange humming note underlying it +all, which was new to many of our ship's company, and seemed to fill +even the rest of the Pleasant Islanders who remained on board with a +sense of dread, for they earnestly besought Hayes to let them come on +deck, for, they said, 'the belly of the world was about to burst.' + +To this, most fortunately for themselves, Hayes consented, and in a +few minutes they swarmed up on deck, each man carrying his Snider +and cutlass-knife, and the women and children loaded up with their +sleeping-mats and other gear. Some of the women crawled under the long +boat, which was lying on the port side, and made themselves comfortable; +and the men brought their arms to me to stow in the trade room, for fear +of their getting wet, and then returned to their white masters, who were +grouped together on deck. + +Then, quite suddenly, the jumping, tumbling sea began to subside, and +through the darkness we heard the skipper of one of the American whalers +hail us. + +'What are you, going to do, Captain Hayes? I guess we're in a pretty +tight place. I'd try to tow out if I could see the hole in the wall. +We're going to get it mighty hot presently. It's coming on fast.' + +'That's so,' Hayes replied, with a laugh; 'but we can't stop it. And, +say, look here, captain, as you fellows are lying further out than I am, +you might each start a cask of oil to run when the seas begin to break. +It won't help you much, but it will me.' + +The whale-ship captain laughed, and said that he was afraid that his +six hundred barrels of oil would start themselves if the sea began to +break--meaning that his ship would go ashore. + +The previous heavy rolling of the brig had nearly made a wreck of my +trade room, for everything had been jerked off the shelves, and cases +of liquor, powder, cartridges, concertinas and women's hats, etc., were +lying burst open on the floor; so, calling a couple of native sailors +to help me, I was just going below, when I heard Captain Hayes's sharp +tones calling out to our officers to stand by. + +From the north-west there came a peculiar droning, humming sound, +mingled with a subdued crashing and roaring of the mountain forest, +which lay about a quarter of a mile astern of us--the noise one hears +when a mighty bush fire is raging in Australia, and a sudden gust of +wind adds to its devastation--and then in another half a minute the +brig spun round like a top to the fury of the first blast, and we were +enveloped in a blinding shower of leaves, twigs and salty spray. She +brought up to her anchors with a jerk that nearly threw everyone off his +feet, and then in an incredibly short time the sea again began to rise, +and the brig to plunge and take water in over the bows and waist--not +heavy seas, but sheets of water nipped off by the force of the wind and +falling on the decks in drenching showers. + +Just as I was hurrying below, Hayes stopped me. + +'Don't bother about the trade room. Get all the arms and ammunition you +can ready for the boats. I'm afraid that we won't see this through. The +blubber-hunters are all right; but we are not. We have to ride short. I +can't give her more than another ten fathoms of cable--there are a lot +of coral boulders right aft. If the wind hauls round a couple of points +we may clear them, but it isn't going to; and we'll get smothered in the +seas in another ten minutes--if the cables don't part before then.' + +Seldom was a ship sent to destruction in such a short time as the +_Leonora_. I had not been five minutes in the main cabin before a heavy +sea came over the bows with a crash, carried away the for'ard deckhouse, +which it swept overboard, killed four people, and poured into the cabin. +I heard Hayes call out to the mate to give her another ten fathoms +of cable, and then, assisted by half a dozen native women and a young +Easter Island half-caste girl named Lalia, wife to one of the five white +traders, began packing our arms and ammunition into two or three strong +trade boxes. In another chest we stowed the ship's chronometers, Hayes's +instruments, and all the charts upon which we could lay hands, together +with about six thousand silver dollars in bags, the ship's books and +some silver plate. The women, who were the officers' and traders' wives, +were fearfully terrified; all but Lalia, who was a fine, courageous +girl. Taking a cutlass from the rack in the cabin she stood over them; +and, cursing freely in French, English, Spanish and whalers' language, +threatened to murder every one of them if they did not hurry. We got the +first box of arms safely up the companion, and Hayes saw it lowered into +one of the traders' whale-boats, which was standing by under the stern. +Then, as a tremendous crashing sea came over the waist, all the women +but Lalia bolted and left us alone. Lalia laughed. + +'That's the long-boat gone, sir; and all those Pleasant Islands women +are drown, I hope--the damned savage beasts, I hate them.' + + * The _Leonora_ carried four guns. + +I learnt afterwards that the crash was caused by the two guns on the +starboard side taking a run to port, and carrying away the port ones +with them over the side through the bulwarks.{*} The long-boat was +washed overboard by the same sea, but half a dozen of our Rotumah Island +sailors had jumped overboard after her, and, using canoe paddles, saved +her from being dashed on the reef. She was soon brought alongside, fully +manned, and awaiting Hayes's orders. + +The captain now called to me to stand by to take charge of her, when a +second fearful sea came over the waist, and fairly buried the ship, +and Hung, the Chinese carpenter and myself were only saved from going +overboard, by being entangled in the falls of one of the quarter-boats. +As for the long-boat, it was swept away out of sight, but succeeded in +reaching the shore safely, with the loss of one man. + +By this time the seas were breaking over the brig with terrible force, +and when they came over the bows they swept her flush decks like a +torrent. Presently she gave such a terrible roll to port that we thought +she was going over altogether, and the third mate reported that six +four-hundred-gallon water tanks, which were stored in the 'tween +decks amidships, had gone adrift to the port side. Then Hayes told the +carpenter to cut away the masts. A few slashes at the rigging, and a +couple of snicks at the spars themselves, sent the sticks over the side +quick enough; the brig stood up again and rode easier. + +Meanwhile, the boat of one of the traders named Terry--an old +ex-man-of-war's man--had come off, manned by half a dozen of his +stalwart half-caste sons, and although it was still pitch dark, and +the din of the gale sounded like fifty railway locomotives whistling in +unison, and the brig was only revealed to the brave fellows by the white +light of the foam-whipped sea, they ran the boat under the counter, and +stood by while a number of women and children jumped, or were pitched +overboard, to them. These were quickly rescued, and then that boat, too, +vanished. + +Again the wind lulled for about five minutes, and Hayes and old Harry +Terry urged the rest of the remaining women to jump overboard and make +for the shore, as the brig's decks were now awash, and every third or +fourth sea swept along her, fore and aft, with irresistible force. One +woman--a stout, powerfully-built native of Ocean Island--whose infant +child was lashed to her naked back with bands of coir cinnet, rushed up +to the captain, and crying, 'Kâpeni, ka maté a maté '--['Captain, if I +die, I die')--put her arms round his neck, rubbed noses with him, and +leaped over the stern rail into the seething surf. She was found the +next morning lying dead on a little beach, having bled to death from the +wounds she had received from the jagged coral rocks, but the baby was +alive, for with her dying hands the poor creature had placed it under +shelter, and covered it over with grass and leaves, where it was found, +sleeping soundly, by a native sailor. + +There was not now the slightest hope of saving the ship, unless the sea +went down; and Hayes, who was as cool as if he were taking his morning +coffee, told the rest of the crew, who were now all gathered together +aft, to get ashore the best way they could. Three of the white traders +were still aboard, awaiting the return of their boats, which, manned by +their faithful Pleasant Islanders, we now and again could dimly discern, +as they appeared on the summit of the heaving seas, waiting for a chance +to pull up astern and rescue their masters. + +There were still two chests full of valuables in the main cabin to be +got on deck, and Lalia (sweet Lalia), the young woman of whom I have +before spoken, although her husband had gone ashore, refused to jump to +the boats, and said she would stay and help us to save them. + +'Go, ashore, Lalia. Go to your husband,' said Hayes, sternly pushing her +to the stern rail; 'he is an old man, and cannot come off again in his +boat for you. Perhaps he is drowned.' + +The girl laughed and said it was all the better--she would get another +and a younger husband; she would stay with the _men_ on board and not +swim ashore with the old women. Then she ran below. In a few minutes +she reappeared, with a fine powerful Pleasant Island native named Karta, +carrying our Chinese steward, who was paralysed with drink and terror. +Hayes took the man up in his arms and, seeing one of the boats close +to, threw him overboard without further ado. Then Lalia and I again +went below for another of the boxes, and, aided by Karta, we had got it +half-way up the companion ladder when the brig rose her stern high to +a mountain sea, and then came down with a terrific crash on to a coral +boulder, ripping her rudder from the stern post, and sending it clean +through the deck. Lalia fell backwards into the cabin, and the heavy +chest slipped down on the top of her, crushing her left foot cruelly +against the companion lining, and jamming her slender body underneath. +Karta and myself tried hard to free the poor tortured girl, but without +avail, and then some of our Rotumah Island sailors, hearing our cries +for help, ran down, and by our united exertions, we got her clear, put +her in the steward's bunk--as she had fainted--and lugged the chest on +deck. + +One of the traders' whale-boats was lying close to, and the chest was, +by the merest chance, dropped into her just as the brig came down again +on the coral boulder with a thundering crash and smashed a big hole into +her timbers under her starboard counter. In a few minutes she began to +fill. + +'It's all up with her, boys,' cried the philosophical 'Bully.' 'Jump for +the boats all of you; but wait for a rising sea, or you'll get smashed +up on the coral. Bo'sun, take a look round below, and see that there are +no more women there. We must take care of the women, boys.' + +Karta, the brave Pleasant Islander, a Manila man named Sarréo, and +myself then went below for Lalia. She was sitting up in the steward's +bunk, stripped to the waist, and only awaiting help to get on deck. +Already the main cabin had three feet of water in it, and just as we +lifted the girl out, another sea came in over deck and nearly filled it; +and with it came the bruised and battered dead body of a little native +boy, who, crouching up under the shelter of the companion, had been +killed by the wheel falling upon and crushing him when the rudder was +carried away. + +Half-drowned, we managed to struggle on deck, Karta carrying the girl, +and the Manila man and I helping each other together. The brig was now +quite under water for'ard, but her after part was hanging on the coral +boulder under it, though every succeeding sea rolled her from side to +side. Hayes snatched the girl from Karta's arms just as the ship lobbed +over to starboard on her bilge, then a thumping sea came thundering +down, and swept the lot of us over the stern. + +The poor Manila man was never seen again--barring a small portion of +his anatomy; to wit, his right arm and shoulder, the rest having been +assimilated by Jack Shark. Hayes got ashore by himself, and the writer +of this narrative, with Karta, the Pleasant Islander, and Lalia, the +trader's wife, came ashore on the wreck of a boat that had been carried +on top of the after-deck house. + +We were all badly knocked about. Karta had a fearful gash in his leg +from a piece of coral. This he had bound up, whilst swimming, with a +strip of his grass-cloth girdle. Lalia, in addition to her dreadfully +crushed foot, had her right arm badly cut; and the writer was so +generally excoriated and done-up that he would never have reached the +shore, but for the gallant Karta and the brave-hearted Lalia, who both +held him up when he wanted to let go and drown quietly. + +At dawn the gale had ceased, and whilst we, the survivors of the +_Leonora_ stood up and stretched our aching limbs we saw, as we glanced +seaward, the two 'blubber hunters,' who had ridden out the storm safely, +heave-up and sail through the passage. I don't think either of the +captains was wanting in humane feeling; but both were, no doubt, very +much afraid that as 'Bully' Hayes had lost his ship, he would not +be particular about taking another near to hand. And they were quite +correct. Hayes and his third mate, some of the white traders, and twenty +or so of our crew were quite willing to seize one of the whalers, and +sail to Arrecifos. But the Yankee skippers knew too much of 'Bully,' and +left us to ourselves on Strong's Island; and many a tragedy resulted, +for the crew and passengers of the _Leonora_ with some few exceptions, +were not particular as to their doings, and mutiny, treachery, murder, +and sudden death, were the outcome of the wreck of the _Leonora_. + + + + +AN OLD COLONIAL MUTINY + +The following notice one day appeared among the official records of the +earlier days (1800) of the colony of New South Wales:-- + + 'Whereas the persons undermentioned and described did, in + the month of November, by force of arms, violently take away + from His Majesty's settlement at Dalrymple a colonial brig + or vessel called the _Venus_, the property of Mr Robert + Campbell, a merchant of this territory, and the said vessel + then containing stores, the property of His Majesty, and a + quantity of necessary stores, the property of the officers + of that settlement, and sundry other property, belonging to + private individuals.' + +Then follows the description of the crew, from which it will be seen +that there was every factor towards some criminal deed on board the +_Venus_. First of all the chief mate is mentioned:-- + + 'Benjamin Burnet Kelly, chief mate; says he is an American. + He arrived in this colony as chief mate of the _Albion_, a + South Sea whaler (Captain Bunker); Richard Edwards, second + mate; Joseph Redmonds, seaman, a mulatto or mestizo of South + America 299 (came out from England in the _Venus_); Darra, + cook, a Malay man, both ears missing; Thomas Ford and + William Porter Evans, boys of 14 and 16 (Evans is a native + of Rose Hill in this colony); Richard Thompson, a soldier; + Thomas Richard Evans, a convict, formerly a gunner's mate on + H.M.S. _Calcutta_ (sentenced to fourteen years for desertion + and striking an officer); John Lancaster or Lancashire, a + convict, a very dangerous person; Charlotte Badger, convict, + a very corpulent person (has an infant in arms); Kitty + Hegarty, convict, very handsome woman, with white teeth and + fresh complexion, much inclined to smile, a great talker.' + +Then comes an official proclamation, signed 'G. Blaxcell, Secretary, +Government House, Sydney,' cautioning 'all governors and officers in +command at any of His Majesty's ports, and the Honourable East India +Company's magistrates or officers in command, at home or abroad, at +whatever port the said brig may be taken into, or met with at sea, +against any frauds or deceptions that may be practised by the offending +parties,' and asking that they might be seized and brought to condign +punishment. + +The _Venus_, under the command of Mr S. Rodman Chace, sailed out of +Sydney Cove (as Port Jackson was then called) for Twofold Bay at the +time before mentioned. Here she remained at anchor for about five weeks, +and here it was that the first trouble began. + +Captain Chace had been ashore, and about dusk was returning in his boat +to the ship, when he heard sounds of great hilarity proceeding from +those on board. On coming alongside and gaining the deck, he found that +the two convict ladies were entertaining Mr Benjamin Burnet Kelly, the +mate, with a dancing exhibition, the musical accompaniment to which was +given by Darra, the earless Malayan cook, who was seated on a tub on the +main-hatch playing a battered violin. Lying around the deck, in various +stages of drunkenness, were the male convicts and some of the crew, and +the genial Mr Kelly presided over a bucket of rum, pannikins of which +were offered to the ladies at frequent intervals by the two faithful +cup-bearers,--Ford and Evans. + +Chace at once put an end to the harmony by seizing the bucket of rum and +throwing it overboard, and the drunken people about him being incapable +of offering much resistance, he put them in irons and tumbled them +below. Kelly, who was a big, truculent-looking man, then produced a +bowie knife of alarming dimensions and challenged Chace to combat, but +was quickly awed by a pistol being placed at his breast by his superior +officer. He then promised to return to his duty, provided--here he +began to weep, that--the captain did not harm Kitty Hegarty, for whom he +professed an ardent attachment. + +As the _Venus_ carried despatches for the Governor of Van Diemen's Land, +Captain Chace was eager to reach his destination, Port Dalrymple, with +all speed, and therefore was in a very anxious state of mind after the +disturbance mentioned, particularly as the mate Kelly, and the convicts +on board, seemed to have some sort of secret understanding. However, +the _Venus_ arrived there safely, and Captain Chace duly delivered his +despatches to Lieutenant House, the Marine officer in charge. Feeling +sure that there was now no further danger to be apprehended, he spent +the night with an old shipmate, the captain of the schooner _Governor +Hunter_. After breakfast, accompanied by Mr House, he got into his boat +and set out for his ship. He had left instructions with the mate to get +up anchor at six o'clock and come up the river, and about seven o'clock, +as he and Mr House were being pulled towards her in the boat, they saw +that she was under weigh, and coming up. + +'There's not much use in us going down, as your ship is coming up, +Chace,' said Mr House. 'Let us go ashore here in this cove and wait for +her.' + +The master agreed to this, and the boat turned into a little +sandy-beached cove, where they lost sight of the ship, which, with +the light breeze then blowing, would not pass abreast of the cove for +another hour. + +About an hour passed, and then they heard the sound of oars, and the +_Venus_ boat was seen sweeping round the headland of the cove. The crew +seemed thoroughly exhausted, and many of them were cut and bleeding. In +a few moments they told their story, which was, that just after the ship +got under weigh, Kelly and the convicts sprang upon the second mate, +stunned him and pitched him below. Then, before those of the crew who +were not in league with the mutineers could offer any resistance, they +were set upon by the pilot, Thompson, the soldier, Darra, the earless +cook and the two women, all of whom were armed with pistols and swords. + +'Into the boat, all of you fellows,' said Kelly, pointing a pistol at +the five seamen; 'into the boat; quick! or you are all dead men!' + +The boat was towing astern, and the five seamen, seeing that the _Venus_ +was now in the absolute possession of the mutineers, and that Kelly +would not hesitate to shoot them if they disobeyed him, went into the +boat quietly. + +As soon as the mutineers cast off the boat's painter, Kelly came aft +with Kitty Hegarty, and placing his arms around her waist, jocularly +called out to the men in the boat to 'look at the pirate's bride, and +give his compliments and “Mrs Kelly's” compliments to Captain Chace, +Lieutenant House, and the Lieutenant-Governor.' He also charged them to +tell Lieutenant House that he was much obliged to him for lending Chace +(on a former occasion) the _Narrative of Lieutenant Bligh and the Mutiny +of the Bounty_, which had so much interested him (Kelly) and 'Kitty' +that they had 'decided to do Fletcher Christian's trick, and take a +cruise among the South Seas.' He then, with much accompanying laughter +from merry Miss Hegarty, put a wooden bucket on her head, and called out +to the people in the boat to look at 'Her Majesty, Queen Kitty Hegarty +of the Cannibal Islands.' Immediately after this badinage he ordered +Thompson, who was at the helm, to put it hard up; and then wore ship and +sailed out seawards. + + * * * * * + +News of the mutiny was at once sent to Lieutenant-Governor Paterson. But +the mutineers were not heard of for a long time. Then it was learnt that +Kelly had sailed the _Venus_ to the coast of New Zealand and, by means +of selling a number of casks of rum to the Maoris, had acquired a +quantity of small arms, and two brass cannons, each throwing a 6-lb. +shot. At one of the places they touched at, Thompson, with the aid +of Kelly, abducted a handsome young Maori girl. She was a niece of Te +Morenga, a chief in the Bay of Islands district. The unfortunate girl, +however, so fretted, and lost so much of her attractiveness, that her +scoundrelly abductor sold her to a chief named Hukori, of Mercury +Bay, or, if he did not sell her, she eventually came into Hukori's +possession. On their voyage up the Hauraki Gulf, they raided one or two +small Maori _hapus_ and carried off another girl, the daughter of the +chief Te Haupa, or, as he was better known, Te Totara. + + * * * * * + +Early in the following year Captain Bierney, of the London brig +_Commerce_, reported to the Governor of New South Wales that the _Venus_ +had anchored at Te Puna, in New Zealand, and that Kelly had invited a +number of Maoris on board to an orgie. For some time a great state of +drunkenness had prevailed on board; for the _Venus_, among other stores, +carried a large quantity of wines and spirits, intended for the use of +the military at Van Diemen's Land. Her sails and running gear were in a +very bad state, and not the slightest discipline was maintained. + +In answer to the mutineers' invitation, a number of Maoris came on +board, and Kelly, addressing the leading chiefs, told them that he +was perfectly well aware of the fact that he and those with him were +incapable of offering resistance if his visitors attempted to cut off +the ship. But, he said, he had determined to abandon the ship, and +therefore he had invited them on board so that they might take what they +wanted from her; and if they had no objection, he and his wife wished to +live ashore with them for the future. He then broached a cask of rum and +invited them to drink it. + +The Maoris appeared to have fallen in with his suggestion with alacrity, +and the chief gave the leading mutineer and his wife a large _whare_ to +live in, and also two slaves as servants. + +The rest of the tale is incomplete in its details. Of the fate of the +_Venus_ nothing is known. Probably she was burnt by the Maoris. Kelly, +Kitty Hegarty, Charlotte Badger and her child, Thompson, and two others, +lived among the natives for some time. Then the woman Kitty Hegarty +died suddenly while Kelly was away on a warlike excursion with his Maori +friends, and was hastily buried. It was alleged that she was killed by +some women, one of whom was anxious to possess Kelly for her husband. +Kelly himself was captured by a king's ship in 1808, and sent to +England, where he was hanged for piracy. Lancaster was also captured by +the master of an American whale-ship, _The Brothers_ of Nantucket, and +taken to Sydney and hanged. The rest of the mutineers either met with +violent deaths at the hands of the Maoris, or succeeded in living their +lives out as pakeha-Maoris. + +Of the other woman--Charlotte Badger--and her child nothing further was +known, save that in 1808 she and the child were offered a passage to +Port Jackson by Captain Bunker; but she declined, saying she would +rather live with the Maoris than return to New South Wales to be hanged. +This was not unnatural. + +But, long afterwards, in the year 1826, an American whale-ship, the +_Lafayette_ of Salem, reported an incident of her cruise that showed +some light on the end of Charlotte Badger. + +In May 1826, the _Lafayette_ was off 'an unknown island in the South +Seas. It was covered with trees, was about three miles long, and was +inhabited by a small number of natives. The position of this island was +in 22 deg. 30 min. south, 176 deg. 19. min. west.' The weather being +calm at the time and the natives, by the signs and gestures they made to +the ship, evidently friendly, the captain and second mate's boats were +lowered, and, with well-armed crews, pulled ashore. Only some forty or +fifty natives of a light brown colour were on the island, and these, +meeting the white men as they landed, conducted them to their houses +with every demonstration of friendliness. Among the number was a native +of Oahu (Hawaii), named Hula, who had formed one of the crew of the +London privateer _Port-au-prince_, a vessel that had been cut off by +the natives of the Haabai Group, in the Friendly Islands, twenty years +previously. He spoke English well, and informed Captain Barthing of the +_Lafayette_ that the island formed one of the Tonga Group (it is now +known as Pylstaart Island), and that his was the second ship that had +ever visited the place. Another ship, he said, had called at the island +about ten years before (this would be about 1816); that he had gone off +on board, and had seen a very big, stout woman, with a little girl about +eight years of age with her. At first he thought, from her dark skin, +that she was a native, but the crew of the ship (which was a Nantucket +whaler) told him that she was an Englishwoman, who had escaped from +captivity with the Maoris. + +No doubt this was the woman Badger, described in the official account of +the mutiny of the _Venus_ as 'a very corpulent person.' + + + + +A BOATING ADVENTURE IN THE CAROLINES + +In the year 1874 we were cruising leisurely through the Western +Carolines, in the North Pacific, trading at such islands as we touched +at, and making for the Pelew Group, still farther to the westward. But +at that season of the year the winds were very light, a strong ocean +current set continuously to the eastward, and there was every indication +of a solid calm setting in, and lasting, as they do in these latitudes, +for a week. Now, part of our cargo consisted of dried sharks' fins, and +the smell from these was so strong that every one of the three white men +on board was suffering from severe headache. We had a number of native +passengers, and, as they lived in the hold, we could not close the +hatches; they, however, did not mind the nauseating odour in the least. +So, for three or four days, we crawled along, raising the wooded peaks +of Ascension Island (Ponapé) one afternoon, and drifting back to the +east so much in the night as to lose them at sunrise. Then followed +another day of a sky of brass above and a steaming wide expanse of oily +sea below, and then, at nightfall, a sweet, cooling breeze from the +north-east, and general happiness, accentuated by a native woman playing +a dissolute-looking accordion, and singing 'Voici le Sabre,' in Tahitian +French. No one cared to sleep that night. Dawn came almost ere we knew +it, and again the blue peaks of Ascension loomed up right ahead. + +Just as we had finished coffee, and our attention was drawn to a number +of boobies and whale-birds resting upon some floating substance half a +mile distant, we discovered a couple of sail ahead, and then another, +and another, all whalers, and, as they were under easy-cruising +canvas--being on the sperm whaling ground--we soon began to overhaul +them. One was a small, full-rigged ship, the others were barques. As we +slipped along after them I ran our little vessel close to the floating +object I have before mentioned, and saw it was a ship's lower mast, +which looked, from the scarcity of marine growth upon it, to have +been in the water but a short time. Shortly after, we passed some more +wreckage, all of which evidently had belonged to a good lump of the +vessel. + +About eleven o'clock we were close to one of the barques--a four-boat +ship, and also carrying a nine-foot dinghy at her stern. She hoisted the +Hawaiian colours in response to ours, and, as the breeze was very light, +I hailed her skipper and we began to talk. Our skipper wanted some +pump-leather; he wanted some white sugar. + +'Come aboard,' he said, 'and have dinner with me. I'll give you a barrel +of 'Frisco potatoes to take back.' + +We lowered our whale-boat, and, taking two hands, I pulled alongside the +barque. Although under the Hawaiian flag, her officers were nearly all +Americans, and, as is always the case in the South Seas, we were soon on +friendly terms. The four ships were all making for Jakoits Harbour, in +Ponapé, to wood and water; and I said we would keep company with them. +Our own skipper, I must mention, was just recovering from wild, weird +visions of impossible, imaginary animals, superinduced by Hollands gin, +and I wanted to put him ashore at Ponapé for a week or so. + +After dinner the American captain put a barrel of potatoes into +our boat, and I bade him good-bye for the time. The breeze was now +freshening, and, as he decided to get into Jakoits before dark, the +barque made sail, and was soon a good distance ahead of our vessel. + +Between four and five o'clock we saw the foremost whaler--the +ship--brace up sharp, and almost immediately the other three followed +suit. We soon discovered the cause--whales had been sighted, coming down +from windward. The 'pod' or school was nearest to us, and we could see +them quite plainly from the deck. Every now and then one of them would +'breach' and send up a white mass of foam, and by their course I saw +that they would pass between us and the barque--the ship nearest to us. +In less than five minutes there were more than a dozen boats lowered +from the four vessels, all pulling their hardest to reach the whales +first. The creatures came along very leisurely, then, when about a mile +from the schooner, hove-to for a short time; their keen hearing told +them of danger ahead, for three or four of them sounded, and then made +off to windward. These were followed by all the boats from the other +three vessels, and two from the barque, the remaining two belonging to +the latter pulling across our bows, close together and within a hundred +yards of us. + +The rest of the whales--some cows, with their calves, and a bull--after +lying quiet for a short time, also sounded, but soon rose again, quite +close to the two boats. That of the chief mate got 'fast' first to one +of the cows, and away they flew at twelve or thirteen knots. The second +boat was making for the bull, which seemed very uneasy, and was swimming +at a great speed round and round the remaining cows and calves, with +his head high out of the water as if to guard them from danger, when the +monstrous creature again sounded and the boat-header instantly turned +his attention to a cow, which lay perfectly motionless on the water, +apparently too terrified to move. + +Half a dozen strokes sent the boat to within striking distance and the +boat-header called to his boat-steerer to 'Stand up.' The boat-steerer, +who pulls bow oar before a whale is struck, and goes aft after striking, +is also the harpooner, and at the order to stand up, takes in his oar +and seizes his harpoon. After he has darted the iron, and the boat is +backed astern, he comes aft to steer, and the officer takes his place +for'ard, ready to lance the whale at the fitting time. There is no +reason or sense in this procedure, it is merely whaling custom. + +Just as the boat-steerer stood up, iron in hand, the bull rose right +under the boat's stern, lifted her clean out of the water with his head, +and then, as he swept onward, gave her an underclip with his mighty +flukes, smashing her in like an egg-shell and sending men, oars, tub and +lines, and broken timbers, broadcast into the air. Then, with the lady +by his side, he raced away. + +Most fortunately, our own boat was still towing astern, for as we +were so near the land we had not bothered about hoisting her up again, +knowing that we should want her to tow us into Jakoits if the wind fell +light when going through the passage. + +The mate, two Penrhyn Island natives and myself were but a few moments +in hauling her alongside, jumping in, and pulling to the assistance +of the whale-boat's crew, some of whom we could see clinging to the +wreckage. The officer in charge was a little wiry Western Island +Portuguese, and as we came up he called out to us that one of the men +was killed and had sunk, and another, whom he was supporting, had his +leg broken and was unconscious. We lifted them into the boat as quickly +as possible, laid the injured man on his back and started for the +schooner. We had scarcely pulled a dozen strokes when, to our profound +astonishment, we saw her suddenly keep away from us. + +'The captain's come on deck again,' cried one or our native hands to me. + +Sure enough, the skipper was on deck, and at the wheel, and took not the +slightest heed of our repeated hails, except that he merely turned his +head, gave us a brief glance, eased off the main-sheet a bit, and let +the schooner spin away towards the land. We learnt next evening that he +had suddenly emerged on deck from his bunk, given the helmsman a cuff +on the head, and driven him, the steward and the other remaining hand +up for'ard. They and the native passengers, who knew something of his +performances when in liquor, were too frightened to do anything, and let +him have his own way. + +We pulled after the schooner as hard as we could for a quarter of an +hour, then gave it up and steered for the barque, which was now a couple +of miles away. She had been working to windward after the chief +mate's and fourth mate's boats--both of which had quickly killed their +respective whales--when the disaster to the second officer's boat was +seen, and she was now coming towards us. The fourth boat was miles +distant, chasing the main body of the 'pod,' in company with those of +the other barques and the ship. + +By this time it was all but dark; a short, choppy sea had risen, the +wind came in sharp, angry puffs every now and then, and we made scarcely +any headway against it. The barque seemed to be almost standing still, +though she was really coming along at a ripping pace. Presently she +showed a light, and we felt relieved. Just then the man with the broken +leg called to his officer, and asked for a smoke, and I was filling my +pipe for him when the boat struck something hard with a crash, shipped a +sea aft, and at once capsized, several of us being taken underneath her. + +The Portuguese, who was a gallant little fellow, had, with one of the +Penrhyn Islanders, got the wounded man clear, and presently we all found +ourselves clinging to the boat, which was floating bottom-up and badly +bilged. Fortunately, none of us were hurt, but our position was a +dangerous one, and we kept hailing repeatedly, fearing that the barque +would run by us in the darkness, and that the blue sharks would discover +us. Then, to our joy, we saw her close to, bearing right down upon us, +and now came the added terror that she would run us down, unless those +on board could be made to hear our cries and realise our situation. + +Again we raised our voices, and shouted till our lungs were exhausted, +but no answer came, the only sounds we heard being the thrapping +and swash of the waves against our boat. Five minutes--which seemed +hours--passed, and then we suddenly lost sight of the barque's +headlight, and saw the dull gleam of those aft shining through the cabin +ports. + +'Thank God!' said the whaler officer, 'he's bringing to.' + +Scarcely had he spoken when we heard a hail distinctly. + +'Boat ahoy, there, where are you?' + +'In the water. We're capsized,' I answered. + +No response came; then again they hailed, and again we shouted unitedly, +but no reply, and presently we saw a blue light was being burnt on the +starboard side--they were looking for us in the wrong quarter. For some +minutes our suspense was horrible, for, if the captain thought he had +overshot our boat (knowing nothing of the second disaster), he would, +we feared, go off on the other tack. Again they hailed, and again +we answered, though we were now feeling pretty well done up, and the +Portuguese was alternately praying to the saints and consigning his +captain to hell. + +'Hurrah!' cried Tom, one of my Penrhyn Island boys, 'she's filling away +again, and coming down; they've heard us, safe enough.' + +It so happened that they had not heard us at all; but the captain, at +the earnest request of the ship's cooper, who believed that we had been +swamped, and were to leeward, decided to keep away for a short time, and +then again bring-to. Not only was he anxious for us, but for the other +boats, and the dead whales as well; for he feared that, unless he could +get the latter alongside by daylight, and start to cut-in, the sharks +would devour the best part of them. + +A few more minutes passed, and now we saw the barque looming through the +night, and apparently again coming right on top of us. We shouted +and screamed till our voices broke into hoarse groans; and then there +happened a strange thing. That which had caused our misfortune proved +our salvation. We heard a crashing sound, followed by loud cries of +alarm, and then saw the ship lying flat aback, canting heavily over to +port. Presently she righted, and then made a stern-board, and came so +close to us that one of the hands not only heard our cries but saw us in +the water. + +In an instant the captain called to us to cheer up, and said a boat was +coming. 'The ship struck some wreckage, and is making water,' he added. + +We were taken aboard in two trips, the poor, broken-legged sailor +suffering terribly. He had been kept from drowning by one of the Penrhyn +men, who stuck to him like a brick through all the time we were in the +water. Neither of these brave islanders had lost heart for a moment, +though Harry, the elder of the two, was in consumption and not at all +strong. + +As soon as we had sufficiently recovered to be able to talk and tell our +story, we were pleased to hear from the captain that the ship was not +badly injured, and that the pumps--short-handed as he then was--could +easily keep the water down; also that all the other boats were safe, +and had signalled that they had each 'killed,' and were lying by their +whales. + +Early in the morning the four ships were within a few miles of each +other, and each had one or more whales alongside, cutting-in. The +schooner, too, was in sight, lying becalmed under the lee of Ponapé. The +captain of the whaler lent me one of his boats, paid me a fair price for +the loss of our own, and otherwise treated us handsomely. He was highly +pleased at having such 'greasy luck,' i.e., getting three fish, and, +besides presenting me with another barrel of potatoes, gave me four +bolts of canvas, and each of our natives came away with a small case of +tobacco, and five dollars in silver. + +We had a long pull to the schooner, and our arrival was hailed with +cries of delight. The skipper, we were pleased to learn, was nearly +dead, having been severely beaten by the women passengers on board, one +of whom, creeping up behind him as he was steering, threw a piece of +_tappa_ cloth over his head, while the others bore him to the deck and +tied him up and hammered him. He told me a few days afterwards that he +had not the slightest recollection of leaving us in the boat. + +The wreckage upon which the whale-ship struck was, so her captain +imagined, the same which had capsized our boat. As far as he could make +out in the darkness, it was a long and wide piece of decking, belonging +to a large ship. Our boat, very probably, had gone half her length +on top of the edge of it, and was then washed off again after she had +bilged; and the strong current had set us clear. + + + + +A CHRISTMAS EVE IN THE FAR SOUTH SEAS + +Donald MacBride and myself were the only Britishers living on one of the +North Pacific island lagoons when Christmas of 1880 drew near, and we +determined to celebrate it in a manner that would fill our German and +American trading rivals throughout the group with envy. MacBride was +a bony, red-headed Scotchman, with a large heart and a small, jealous, +half-caste wife. The latter acquisition ruled him with a rod of iron, +much to his financial and moral benefit, but nevertheless agreed with +me that we--Donald, she and myself--ought to show the Americans and the +'Dutchmen' how an English Christmas should be celebrated. But as Sera +was a half-caste native of the Pelews, and had never been to a civilised +country, she also concurred with me that Donald and myself should run +the show, which, although I was not a married man, was to take place in +my house on account of the greater space available. Donald, she said, +wanted to have a 'hakkise'; so we bought a nanny-goat from Ludwig +Wolfen, the German trader at Molok, and one evening--the 23rd of +December--I helped Sera to drive and drag the unsuspecting creature home +to her husband's place to the slaughter. (I may as well say at once that +MacBride's nanny-goat haggis was a hideous failure, and my boat's +crew, to whom it was handed over, with many strong expressions about +MacBride's beastly provincial taste, said that it _smelt_ good, like +shark's liver, but was not at all so juicy.) + +Meanwhile, Wolfen, a fat, good-hearted Teuton, with a face like a full +moon in a fog, called upon me, and remarked in a squashy tone of voice, +superinduced by too many years of lager beer, and its resultant adipose +tissue, that he and Peter Huysmans, his neighbour, would feel very much +hurt if we did not invite them to participate in the festivities. I said +that 'Blazy-head' (for so we called dear old MacBride) and myself would +be delighted; whereupon Wolfen, who had once, when he was a sailor on +an English ship, spent a Christmas in a public-house somewhere in the +vicinity of the East India Docks, said that the correct thing for us +to do would be to have a Christmas cake; also, he suggested we should +invite Tom Devine and Charley de Buis, the two American traders who +lived across the lagoon, to join the party. Being aware of the fact +that, from trade jealousies, there had hitherto been a somewhat +notorious bitterness of feeling between my German fellow-trader and the +two Americans, I shook his hand warmly, said that I was delighted to see +that he could forgive and forget, and that I should that moment send +my boat across the lagoon to Devine and Charley de Buis with a written +invitation, and ask them to favour us with their company; also, that +as Mrs Charley--who was a Samoan half-caste girl--was skilled in baking +bread, perhaps she would lend Mesdames MacBride, Wolfen and Huysmans her +assistance in making a Christmas cake, the size of which should cause +the native population to sit up and respect us as men of more than +ordinary intelligence and patriotism. + +On the evening of the 24th, three whale-boats, attended by a flotilla of +small native canoes, sailed into the little sandy-beached nook upon the +shores of which the trading station was situated. The three boats were +steered by the Messrs Peter Huysmans, Charles de Buis and Thomas Devine, +who were accompanied by their wives, children and numerous female +relatives, all of the latter being clad in their holiday attire of new +mats, and with their hair excessively anointed with scented coco-nut +oil, scarlet hibiscus flowers behind their ears, and necklaces of +sweet-smelling pieces of pandanus drupes. + +MacBride, Mrs MacBride and I received them the moment they stepped out +of the boats, and then Ludwig Wolfen, who was disposed in the background +with an accordion, and seated on a gin case, played 'The Star Spangled +Banner,' to the accompaniment of several native drums, beaten by his +wife and her sister and brothers. Then my boatman--a stalwart Maori +half-caste--advanced from out the thronging crowd of natives which +surrounded us, and planted in the sand a British red ensign attached +to a tall bamboo pole, and called for three cheers for the Queen of +England, and three for the President of the United States. This at once +gave offence to Ludwig Wolfen, who asked what was the matter with the +Emperor of Germany; whereupon Bill Grey (the Maori) took off his coat +and asked him what he meant, and a fierce encounter was only avoided by +half a dozen strapping natives seizing Billy and making him sit down on +the sand, while the wrathful Ludwig was hustled by Donald MacBride and +Mrs Ludwig and threatened with a hammering if he insulted the gathering +by his ill-timed and injudicious remarks about a foreign potentate. +(Ludwig, I regret to say, had begun his Christmas on the previous +evening.) + +But we were all too merry, and too filled with right good down +comradeship to let such a trifle as this disturb the harmony of our +first Christmas foregathering; and presently Bill Grey, his dark, +handsome face wreathed in a sunny smile, came up to the sulky and +rightly-indignant trader with outstretched hand, and said he was sorry. +And Wolfen, good-hearted German that he was, grasped it warmly, and said +he was sorry too; and then we all trooped up to the house and sat down, +only to rise up again with our glasses clinking together as we drank +to our wives and ourselves and the coming Christmas, and to the brown +smiling faces of the people around us, who wondered why we grew merry +so suddenly; for sometimes, as they knew, we had all quarrelled with one +another, and bitter words had passed; for so it ever is, and ever shall +be, even in the far South Seas, when questions of 'trade' and 'money' +come between good fellowship and old-time _camaraderie_. And then sweet, +dark-eyed Sera, MacBride's young wife, took up her guitar and sang us +love songs in the old Lusitanian tongue of her father; and Tom Devine, +the ex-boat-steerer, and Charley de Buis, the reckless; and Peter +Huysmans, the red-faced, white-haired old Dutchman, all joined hands and +danced around the rough table; while Billy Grey and Ludwig Wolfen stood +on the top of it and sang, or tried to sing, 'Home Sweet Home'; and the +writer of this memory of those old Pacific days sat in a chair in the +doorway and wondered where we should all be the next year. For, as we +sang and danced, and the twang, twang of Sera's guitar sounded through +the silent night without, Tom Devine, the American, held up his hand to +MacBride, and silence fell. + +'Boys,' he said, 'let us drink to the memory of the far-off faces of +those dear ones whom we never may see again!' + +He paused a moment, and then caught sight of Sera as she bent over her +guitar with downcast eyes; 'And to those who are with us now--our wives +and our children, and our friends! Drink, my boys; and the first man +who, either to-night or to-morrow, talks about business and dirty, +filthy dollars, shall get fired out right away before he knows where he +is; for this is Christmas time--and, Sera MacBride, why the devil don't +you play something and keep me from making a fool of myself?' + +So Sera, with a twist of her lithe body and a merry gleam in her full, +big eyes, sang another song; and then long, bony MacBride came over to +her and kissed her on her fair, smooth forehead, whispered something +that we did not hear, and pointed to Charley de Buis, who stood, glass +in hand, at the furthest corner of the big room, his thin, suntanned +face as grave and sober as that of an English judge. + +'Gentlemen'--(then _sotto voce_ to the chairman in the doorway, 'Just +fancy us South Sea loafers calling ourselves gentlemen!')--'gentlemen, +we are here to spend a good time, and I move that we quit speech-making +and start the women on that cake. Tom Devine and myself are, as you +know, members of two of the First Families in America, and only came to +the South Seas to wear out our old clothes--' + +'Shut up,' said Devine; 'we don't want to hear anything about the First +American families; this is an English Christmas, with full-blooded South +Sea trimmings. Off you go, you women, and start on the cake.' + +So Charley de Buis 'shut up,' and then the women, headed by Sera and +Mary Devine, trooped off to the cook-house to beat up eggs for the cake, +and left us to ourselves. When it drew near midnight they returned, and +Peter Huysmans arose, and, twisting his grizzled moustaches, said,-- + +'Mine boys, will you led me dell you dot now is coming der morn ven +Jesus Christ vos born? And vill you blease, Mary Devine, dell dose +natives outside to stop those damdt drums vile I speaks? Und come here +you, MacBride, mit your red het, und you, Ludwig Wolfen, and you Tom +Devine, und you Charley de Buis, you wicked damdt devil, und you, Tom +Denison, you saucy Australian boy, mit your curlt moustache and your +svell vite tuck suit; und led us join our hands together, and agree +to have no more quarrellings und no more angry vorts. For vy should ve +quarrel, as our good friendt says, over dirty dollars, ven dere is room +enough for us all on dis lagoon to get a decent livings? Und den ve +should try und remember dot ve, none of us, is going to live for +ever, and ven ve is dead, ve is dead a damdt long time. But now, mine +friendts, I vill say no more, vor I am dry; so here's to all our good +healths, and let us bromise one another not to haf no more angry vorts.' + +And so we all gathered around the big table, and, grasping each other's +hands, raised our glasses and drank together without speaking, for there +was something--we knew not what--that lay behind Dutch Peter's +little speech which made us _think_. Presently, when a big and gaudy +German-made cuckoo clock in the room struck twelve, even reckless +Charley de Buis forgot his old joke about Tom Denison's 'damned old +squawking British duck,' as he called the little painted bird, and we +all went outside, and sat smoking our pipes on the wide verandah, and +watching the flashing torchlights of the fishing canoes as they paddled +slowly to and fro over the smooth waters of the sleeping lagoon. Then, +almost ere we knew it, the quick red sun had turned the long, black line +of palms on Karolyne to purple, and then to shining green, and Christmas +Day had come. + + * * * * * + +To-night, as a chill December wind wails through the leafless elms +and chestnuts of this quiet Kentish village, I think of that far-away +Christmas eve, and the rough, honest, sun-browned faces of the men who +were around me, and pressed my hand when Peter Huysmans spoke of home +and Christmas, and Tom Devine of 'the dear faces whom we never might see +again.' For only one, with the writer, is left. MacBride and his gentle, +sweet-voiced Sera went to their death a year or two later in the savage +and murderous Solomons; Wolfen and his wife and children perished at sea +when the _Sadie Foster_ schooner turned turtle off the Marshalls; and +Devine and Charley de Buis, comrades to the last, sailed away to the +Moluccas in a ten-ton boat and were never heard of again--their fate is +one of the many mysteries of the deep. Peter Huysmans is alive and well, +and only a year ago I grasped his now trembling hand in mighty London, +and spoke of our meeting on Milli Lagoon. + +And then again, in a garish and tinselled City bar, we raised our +glasses and drank to the memory of those who had gone before. + + +THE END + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Rídan The Devil And Other Stories, by Louis Becke + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RÍDAN THE DEVIL AND OTHER STORIES *** + +***** This file should be named 24835-0.txt or 24835-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/8/3/24835/ + +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/24835-0.zip b/24835-0.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..170e7f1 --- /dev/null +++ b/24835-0.zip diff --git a/24835-8.txt b/24835-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8cc644c --- /dev/null +++ b/24835-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7967 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Rdan The Devil And Other Stories, 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: Rdan The Devil And Other Stories + 1899 + +Author: Louis Becke + +Release Date: March 15, 2008 [EBook #24835] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RDAN THE DEVIL AND OTHER STORIES *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +RDAN THE DEVIL AND OTHER STORIES + +By Louis Becke + + +Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company 1899 + + + + CONTENTS: + + RDAN THE DEVIL + + A MEMORY OF 'THE SYSTEM' + + CHAPTER I + + CHAPTER II + + CHAPTER III + + A NORTH PACIFIC LAGOON ISLAND + + BILGER, OF SYDNEY + + THE VISION OF MILLI THE SLAVE + + DENISON GETS A BERTH ASHORE + + ADDIE RANSOM: A MEMORY OF THE TOKELAUS + + IN A NATIVE VILLAGE + + MAURICE KINANE + + THE 'KILLERS' OF TWOFOLD BAY + + DENISON'S SECOND BERTH ASHORE + + A FISH DRIVE ON A MICRONESIAN ATOLL + + BOBARAN + + SEA FISHING IN AUSTRALIA + + AN ADVENTURE IN THE NEW HEBRIDES + + THE SOUTH SEA BUBBLE OF CHARLES DU BREIL + + THE WHITE WIFE AND THE BROWN 'WOMAN' + + WITH HOOK AND LINE ON AN AUSTRAL RIVER + + THE WRECK OF THE LEONORA: A MEMORY OF 'BULLY' HAYES + + AN OLD COLONIAL MUTINY + + A BOATING ADVENTURE IN THE CAROLINES + + A CHRISTMAS EVE IN THE FAR SOUTH SEAS + + + + +RDAN THE DEVIL + +Rdan lived alone in a little hut on the borders of the big German +plantation at Mulifenua, away down at the lee end of Upolu Island, and +every one of his brown-skinned fellow-workers either hated or feared +him, and smiled when Burton, the American overseer, would knock him down +for being a 'sulky brute.' But no one of them cared to let Rdan see him +smile. For to them he was a wizard, a devil, who could send death in the +night to those he hated. And so when anyone died on the plantation he +was blamed, and seemed to like it. Once, when he lay ironed hand and +foot in the stifling corrugated iron 'calaboose,' with his blood-shot +eyes fixed in sullen rage on Burton's angered face, Tirauro, a Gilbert +Island native assistant overseer, struck him on the mouth and called him +'a pig cast up by the ocean.' This was to please the white man. But it +did not, for Burton, cruel as he was, called Tirauro a coward and felled +him at once. By ill-luck he fell within reach of Rdan, and in another +moment the manacled hands had seized his enemy's throat. For five +minutes the three men struggled together, the white overseer beating +Rdan over the head with the butt of his heavy Colt's pistol, and then +when Burton rose to his feet the two brown men were lying motionless +together; but Tirauro was dead. + +Rdan was sick for a long time after this. A heavy flogging always did +make him sick, although he was so big and strong. And so, as he could +not work in the fields, he was sent to Apia to do light labour in the +cotton-mill there. The next morning he was missing. He had swum to +a brig lying at anchor in the harbour and hidden away in the empty +forehold. Then he was discovered and taken ashore to the mill again, +where the foreman gave him 'a dose of Cameroons medicine'--that is, +twenty-five lashes. + +'Send him back to the plantation,' said the manager, who was a mere +German civilian, and consequently much despised by his foreman, who had +served in Africa. 'I'm afraid to keep him here, and I'm not going to +punish him if he tries to get away again, poor devil.' + +So back he went to Mulifanua. The boat voyage from Apia down the coast +inside the reef is not a long one, but the Samoan crew were frightened +to have such a man free; so they tied him hand and foot and then lashed +him down tightly under the midship thwart with strips of green _fau_ +bark. Not that they did so with unnecessary cruelty, but ex-Lieutenant +Schwartzkoff, the foreman, was looking on, and then, besides that, +this big-boned, light-skinned man was a foreigner, and a Samoan hates +a foreigner of his own colour if he is poor and friendless. And then he +was an _aitu_ a devil, and could speak neither Samoan, nor Fijian, nor +Tokelau, nor yet any English or German. + +Clearly, therefore, he was not a man at all, but a _manu_--a beast, and +not to be trusted with free limbs. Did not the foreman say that he +was possessed of many devils, and for two years had lived alone on the +plantation, working in the field with the gangs of Tokelau and Solomon +Island men, but speaking to no one, only muttering in a strange tongue +to himself and giving sullen obedience to his taskmasters? + +But as they talked and sang, and as the boat sailed along the white line +of beach fringed with the swaying palms, Rdan groaned in his agony, and +Pulu, the steersman, who was a big strong man and not a coward like his +fellows, took pity on the captive. + +'Let us give him a drink,' he said; 'he cannot hurt us as he is. Else he +may die in the boat and we lose the price of his passage; for the white +men at Mulifanua will not pay us for bringing to them a dead man.' + +So they cast off the lashings of _fau_ bark that bound Rdan to the +thwart, and Pulu, lifting him up, gave him a long drink, holding the +gourd to his quivering mouth--for his hands were tied behind him. + +'Let him rest with his back against the side of the boat,' said Pulu +presently; 'and, see, surely we may loosen the thongs around his wrists +a little, for they are cutting into the flesh.' + +But the others were afraid, and begged him to let well alone. Then Pulu +grew angry and called them cowards, for, as they argued, Rdan fell +forward on his face in a swoon. + +When 'the devil' came to and opened his wearied, blood-shot eyes, Pulu +was bathing his forehead with cold water, and his bruised and swollen +hands were free. For a minute or so he gasped and stared at the big +Samoan, and a heavy sigh broke from his broad naked chest. Then he put +his hands to his face--and sobbed. + +Pulu drew back in wondering pity--surely no devil could weep--and then, +with a defiant glance at the three other Samoans, he stooped down and +unbound Rdan's feet. + +'Let him lie,' he said, going aft to the tiller. 'We be four strong +men--he is but as a child from weakness. See, his bones are like to cut +through his skin. He hath been starved.' + + * * * * * + +At dusk they ran the boat along the plantation jetty, and Pulu and +another man led Rfdan up the path to the manager's house. His hands were +free, but a stout rope of cinnet was tied around his naked waist and +Pulu held the end. + +'Ah, you dumb, sulky devil; you've come back to us again, have you?' +said Burton, eyeing him savagely. 'I wish Schwartzkoff had kept you up +in Apia, you murderous, yellow-hided scoundrel!' + +'What's the use of bully-ragging him?' remarked the plantation engineer, +with a sarcastic laugh; 'he doesn't understand a word you say. Club-law +and the sasa {*} are the only things that appeal to him--and he gets +plenty of both on Mulifanua. Hallo, look at that! Why, he's kissing +Pulu's toe!' + + * Whip. + +Burton laughed. 'So he is. Look out, Pulu, perhaps he's a _kai tagata_' +(cannibal). 'Take care he doesn't bite it off.' + +Pulu shook his mop of yellow hair gravely. A great pity filled his big +heart, for as he had turned to go back to the boat Rdan had fallen upon +his knees and pressed his lips to the feet of the man who had given him +a drink. + +That night Burton and the Scotch engineer went to Rdan's hut, taking +with them food and a new sleeping-mat. He was sitting cross-legged +before a tiny fire of coco-nut shells, gazing at the blue, leaping jets +of flame, and as the two men entered, slowly turned his face to them. + +'Here,' said Burton, less roughly than usual,' here's some _kai kai_ for +you.' + +He took the food from Burton's hand, set it beside him on the ground, +and then, supporting himself on his gaunt right arm and hand, gave the +overseer one long look of bitter, undying hatred; then his eyes drooped +to the fire again. + +'And here, Rdan,' said Craik, the engineer, throwing the sleeping-mat +upon the ground, 'that'll keep your auld bones frae cutting into the +ground. And here is what will do ye mair good still,' and he placed a +wooden pipe and a stick of tobacco in 'the devil's' hand. In a moment +Rdan was on his knees with his forehead pressed to the ground in +gratitude. + +The men looked at him in silence for a few moments as he crouched at +Craik's feet, with the light of the fire playing upon his tattooed +yellow back and masses of tangled black hair. + +'Come awa', Burton, leave the puir deevil to himself. And I'm thinking +ye might try him on the other tack awhile. Ye _have not_ broken the +creature's spirit yet, and I wouldna try to if I were you--for my own +safety. Sit up Rdan, mon, and smoke your pipe.' + + * * * * * + +Two years before, Rdan had been brought to Samoa by a German +labour-ship, which had picked him up in a canoe at sea, somewhere off +the coast of Dutch New Guinea. He was the only survivor of a party of +seven, and when lifted on board was in the last stage of exhaustion from +thirst and hunger. Where the canoe had sailed from, and whither bound, +no one on board the _Iserbrook_ could learn, for the stranger spoke a +language utterly unknown to anyone of even the _Iserbrook's_ polyglot +ship's company--men who came from all parts of Polynesia and Micronesia. +All that could be learned from him by signs and gestures was that a +great storm had overtaken the canoe, many days of hunger and thirst had +followed, and then death ended the agonies of all but himself. + +In a few weeks, and while the brig was thrashing her way back to Samoa +against the south-east trades, Rdan regained his health and strength +and became a favourite with all on board, white and brown. He was quite +six feet in height, with a bright yellow skin, bronzed by the sun; +and his straight features and long black hair were of the true +Malayo-Polynesian type. From the back of his neck two broad stripes of +bright blue tattooing ran down the whole length of his muscular back, +and thence curved outwards and downwards along the back of his thighs +and terminated at each heel. No one on the _Iserbrook_ had ever seen +similar tattooing, and many were the conjectures as to Rdan's native +place. One word, however, he constantly repeated, 'Onata,' and then +would point to the north-west. But no one knew of such a place, though +many did of an Oneaka, far to the south-east--an island of the Gilbert +Group near the Equator. + +The weeks passed, and at last Rdan looked with wondering eyes upon the +strange houses of the white men in Apia harbour. By-and-by boats +came off to the ship, and the three hundred and odd brown-skinned and +black-skinned people from the Solomons and the Admiralties and the +countless islands about New Britain and New Ireland were taken ashore +to work on the plantations at Vailele and Mulifanua, and Rdan alone was +left. He was glad of this, for the white men on board had been kind to +him, and he began to hope that he would be taken back to Onata. But +that night he was brought ashore by the captain to a house where many +white men were sitting together, smoking and drinking. They all looked +curiously at him and addressed him in many island tongues, and Rdan +smiled and shook his head and said, 'Me Rdan; me Onata.' + +'Leave him with me, Khne,' said Burton to the captain of the brig. +'He's the best and biggest man of the lot you've brought this trip. I'll +marry him to one of my wife's servants, and he'll live in clover down at +Mulifanua.' + +So early next morning Rfdan was put in a boat with many other new +'boys,' and he smiled with joy, thinking he was going back to the +ship--and Onata. But when the boat sailed round Mulinu's Point, and the +spars of the _Iserbrook_ were suddenly hidden by the intervening line of +palm trees, a cry of terror burst from him, and he sprang overboard. +He was soon caught, though he dived and swam like a fish. And then two +wild-eyed Gilbert Islanders held him by the arms, and laughed as he wept +and kept repeating, 'Onata, Onata.' + + * * * * * + +From that day began his martyrdom. He worked hard under his overseer, +but ran away again and again, only to be brought back and tied up. +Sometimes, as he toiled, he would look longingly across the narrow +strait of sunlit water at the bright green little island of Manono, six +miles away; and twice he stole down to the shore at night, launched +a canoe and paddled over towards it. But each time the plantation +guard-boat brought him back; and then Burton put him in irons. Once he +swam the whole distance, braving the sharks, and, reaching the island, +hid in a taro swamp till the next night. He meant to steal food and a +canoe--and seek for Onata. But the Manono people found him, and, though +he fought desperately, they overcame and bound him, and the women cursed +him for a Tfito{*} devil, a thieving beast, and beat and pelted him as +the men carried him back to the plantation, tied up like a wild boar, to +get their ten dollars reward for him from the manager. And Burton gave +him thirty lashes as a corrective. + + * The Samoans apply the term 'Tfito' to all natives of the + Gilbert Group and other equatorial islands. The word is an + abbreviation of Taputeauea (Drummond's Island), and 'Tfito' + is synonymous for 'savage'--in some senses. + +Then came long, long months of unceasing toil, broken only by attempts +to escape, recapture, irons and more lashes. The rest of the native +labourers so hated and persecuted him that at last the man's nature +changed, and he became desperate and dangerous. No one but Burton dared +strike him now, for he would spring at an enemy's throat like a madman, +and half strangle him ere he could be dragged away stunned, bruised and +bleeding. When his day's slavery was over he would go to his hut, eat +his scanty meal of rice, biscuit and yam in sullen silence, and brood +and mutter to himself. But from the day of his first flogging no word +ever escaped his set lips. All these things he told afterwards to Von +Hammer, the supercargo of the _Mindora_, when she came to Mulifanua with +a cargo of new 'boys.'{*} + + * Polynesian labourers are generally termed 'boys.' + +Von Hammer had been everywhere in the North Pacific, so Burton took him +to Rdan's hut, and called to the 'sulky devil' to come out. He came, +and sullenly followed the two men into the manager's big sitting-room, +and sat down cross-legged on the floor. The bright lamplight shone full +on his nude figure and the tangle of black hair that fell about his +now sun-darkened back and shoulders. And, as on that other evening long +before, when he sat crouching over his fire, his eyes sought Burton's +face with a look of implacable hatred. + +'See if you can find out where the d--d brute comes from,' said Burton. + +Von Hammer looked at Rdan intently for a minute, and then said one or +two words to him in a tongue that the overseer had never before heard. + +With trembling limbs and a joyful wonder shining in his dark eyes, Rfdan +crept up to the supercargo, and then, in a voice of whispered sobs, he +told his two years' tale of bitter misery. + + * * * * * + +'Very well,' said Burton, an hour later, to Von Hammer, 'you can take +him. I don't want the brute here. But he is a dangerous devil, mind. +Where do you say he comes from?' + +'Onata--Saint David's Island--a little bit of a sandy atoll, as big as +Manono over there, and much like it, too. I know the place well--lived +there once when I was pearling, ten years ago. I don't think the natives +there see a white man more than once in five years. It's a very isolated +spot, off the north-ast coast of New Guinea. "Bully" Hayes used to call +there once. However, let me have him. The _Mindora_ may go to Manila +next year; if so, I'll land him at Onata on our way there. Anyway, he's +no good to you. And he told me just now that he has been waiting his +chance to murder you.' + +The _Mindora_ returned to Apia to take in stores, and Von Hammer +took Rdan with him, clothed in a suit of blue serge, and with silent +happiness illumining his face. For his heart was leaping within him at +the thought of Onata, and of those who numbered him with the dead; +and when he clambered up the ship's side and saw Pulu, the big Samoan, +working on deck with the other native sailors, he flung his arms around +him and gave him a mighty hug, and laughed like a pleased child when Von +Hammer told him that Pulu would be his shipmate till he saw the green +land and white beach of Onata once more. + + * * * * * + +Six months out from Samoa the _Mindora_ was hove-to off Choiseul Island, +in the Solomon Group, waiting for her boat. Von Hammer and four hands +had gone ashore to land supplies for a trader, and the brig was awaiting +his return. There was a heavy sea running on the reef as the boat pushed +off from the beach in the fast-gathering darkness; but who minds such +things with a native crew? So thought Von Hammer as he grasped the long, +swaying steer oar, and swung the whale-boat's head to the white line of +surf. 'Give it to her, boys; now's our chance--there's a bit of a lull +now, eh, Pulu? Bend to it, Rdan, my lad.' + +Out shot the boat, Pulu pulling stroke, Rdan bow-oar, and two sturdy, +square-built Savage Islanders amidships. Surge after surge roared and +hissed past in the darkness, and never a drop of water wetted their +naked backs; and then, with a wild cry from the crew and a shouting +laugh from the steersman, she swept over and down the edge of the reef +and gained the deep water--a second too late! Ere she could rise from +the blackened trough a great curling roller towered high over, and then +with a bursting roar fell upon and smothered her. When she rose to the +surface Von Hammer was fifty feet away, clinging to the steer-oar. A +quick glance showed him that none of the crew were missing--they were +all holding on to the swamped boat and 'swimming' her out away from +the reef, and shouting loudly for him to come alongside. Pushing the +steer-oar before him, he soon reached the boat, and, despite his own +unwillingness, his crew insisted on his getting in. Then, each still +grasping the gunwale with one hand, they worked the boat out yard by +yard, swaying her fore and aft whenever a lull in the seas came, and +jerking the water out of her by degrees till the two Savage Islanders +were able to clamber in and bale out with the wooden bucket slung under +the after-thwart, while the white man kept her head to the sea. But the +current was setting them steadily along, parallel with the reef, and +every now and then a sea would tumble aboard and nearly fill her again. +At last, however, the Savage Islanders got her somewhat free of water, +and called to Pulu and Rdan to get in--there were plenty of spare +canoe-paddles secured along the sides in case of an emergency such as +this. + +'Get in, Pulu, get in,' said Rfdan to the Samoan, in English; 'get in +quickly.' + +But Pulu refused. He was a bigger and a heavier man than Rfdan, he said, +and the boat was not yet able to bear the weight of a fourth man. This +was true, and the supercargo, though he knew the awful risk the men +ran, and urged them to jump in and paddle, yet knew that the additional +weight of two such heavy men as Rfdan and Pulu meant death to all, +for every now and then a leaping sea would again fill the boat to the +thwarts. + +And then suddenly, amid the crashing sound of the thundering rollers on +the reef, Rdan raised his voice in an awful shriek. + +'_Quick! Pulu, quick!_ Some shark hav' come. Get in, get in first,' he +said in his broken English. And as he spoke he grasped the gunwale +with both hands and raised his head and broad shoulders high out of the +water, and a bubbling, groan-like sound issued from his lips. + +In an instant the big Samoan swung himself into the boat, and Von Hammer +called to Rdan to get in also. + +'Nay, oh, white man!' he answered, in a strange choking voice, 'let me +stay here and hold to the boat. We are not yet safe from the reef. But +paddle, paddle... quickly!' + +In another minute or two the boat was out of danger, and then Rdan's +voice was heard. + +'Lift me in,' he said quietly, 'my strength is spent.' + +The two Savage Islanders sprang to his aid, drew him up over the side, +and tumbled him into the boat. Then, without a further look, they seized +their paddles and plunged them into the water. Rdan lay in a huddled-up +heap on the bottom boards. + +'Exhausted, poor devil!' said Von Hammer to himself, bending down and +peering at the motionless figure through the darkness. Then something +warm flowed over his naked foot as the boat rolled, and he looked closer +at Rdan, and-- + +'Oh, my God!' burst from him--both of Rdan's legs were gone--bitten off +just above the knees. + +Twenty minutes later, as the boat came alongside the _Mindora_, Rdan +'the devil' died in the arms of the man who had once given him a drink. + + + + +A MEMORY OF 'THE SYSTEM' + + + + +CHAPTER I + +The house in which I lived from my birth till I was twelve years of age +stood on the green-grassed slopes of a treeless bluff which overlooked +the blue waters of the sunlit Pacific. Except for a cluster of five or +six little weatherboard cottages perched on the verge of the headland, +half a mile away, and occupied by the crew of the Government pilot boat, +there were no other dwellings near, for the 'town,' as it was called, +lay out of sight, on the low, flat banks of a tidal river, whose upper +waters were the haunt and breeding places of the black swan, the wild +duck and the pelican. + +My father was the principal civil official in the place, which was +called Bar Harbour, one of the smaller penal settlements in Australia, +founded for what were called 'the better class' of convicts, many of +whom, having received their emancipation papers, had settled in the +vicinity, and had become prosperous and, in a measure, respected +settlers, though my father, who had a somewhat bitter tongue, said that +no ex-convict could ever be respected in the colony until he had lent +money to one or other of the many retired military or civil officers +who held large Crown grants of land in the district and worked them with +convict labour; for, while numbers of the emancipists throve and became +almost wealthy, despite the many cruel and harassing restrictions +imposed upon them by the unwritten laws of society (which yet +academically held them to be purged of their offences), the grand +military gentlemen and their huge estates generally went to ruin--mostly +through their own improvidence, though such misfortunes, our minister, +the Reverend Mr Sampson, said, in the sermons he preached in +our hideous, red-brick church, were caused by an 'inscrutable +Providence'--their dwellings and store houses were burnt, their cattle +and sheep disappeared, and their 'assigned' labourers took to the bush, +and either perished of starvation or became bushrangers and went to the +gallows in due course. + +My mother, who was a gentle, tender-hearted woman, and seemed to live +and move and have her being only for the purpose of making happy those +around her, was, being English-born (she was of a Devonshire family), +a constant church-goer, not for the sake of appearances, for her +intelligence was too great for her to be bound by such a shallow reason, +but because she was a simple, good and pure-minded woman, and sought by +her example to make a protest against the scandalous and degraded lives +led by many of the soldier officers and officials with whom she and her +children were brought in almost daily contact, for my father, being +an all too generous man, kept open house. But although she was always +sweet-tempered and sometimes merry with the hard-drinking old Peninsular +veterans, and the noisy and swaggering subalterns of the ill-famed 102nd +Regiment (or New South Wales Corps), she always shuddered and looked +pale and ill at ease when she saw among my father's guests the coarse, +stern face of the minister, and her dislike of the clergyman was shared +by all we children, especially by my elder brother Harry (then sixteen +years of age), who called him 'the flogging parson' and the 'Reverend +Diabolical Howl.' This latter nickname stuck, and greatly tickled Major +Trenton, who repeated it to the other officers, and one day young Mr +Moore of the 102nd, who was clever at such things, made a sketch of +the cleric as he appeared when preaching, which set them all a-laughing +immoderately. + +'God alive!' cried old Major Trenton, holding the picture in his left +hand, and bringing down his right upon the table with a thump that set +all the glasses jingling, ''tis a perfect likeness of him, and yet, +Moore, if ye had but given him a judge's wig and robes instead of a +cassock, he would be the double of damned old hanging Norbury up there,' +pointing to the picture of an Irish judge which hung on the wall. +'Come,' he added, 'Mrs Egerton must see this. I know our hostess loves +the gentle parson.' + +So three or four of them, still laughing boisterously, left the table to +look for my mother, whom they found sitting on the latticed-in verandah, +which on hot summer days was used as a drawing-room. She, too, laughed +heartily at the sketch, and said 'twas wonderfully drawn, and then +my brother Harry asked Mr Moore to give it to him. This the young +lieutenant did, though my mother begged him to destroy it, lest Mr +Sampson should hear of the matter and take offence. But my brother +promised her not to let it go out of his keeping, and there the thing +ended--so we thought. + +Yet, in some way, my mother's convict and free servants came to hear of +the picture--they had already bandied about the parson's nickname--and +every one of them, on some cunning excuse, had come to my brother's room +and laughed at the drawing; and very often when they saw the clergyman +riding past the house, attended by his convict orderly, they would say, +with an added curse, 'There goes "Diabolical Howl,'" for they all hated +the man, because, being a magistrate as well as a minister, he had +sentenced many a prisoner to a dreadful flogging and had watched it +being administered. + +But perhaps it was not altogether on account of the floggings in which +he so believed for which he was so detested--for floggings were common +enough for even small breaches of the regulations of the System--but +for the spiritual admonition with which he dosed them afterwards, while +their backs were still black and bloody from the cat. Once, when an old +convict named Callaghan was detected stealing some sugar belonging to +one of the pilot boat's crew, my mother went to Dr Parsons, who, with +the Reverend Mr Sampson, was to hear the charge against Callaghan on the +following morning, and begged him not to have the man flogged; and Tom +King, the man from whom the sugar was stolen, went with her and joined +his pleadings to hers. + +'Now, come, doctor,' said my mother, placing her hand on the old +officer's arm and smiling into his face, 'you _must_ grant me this +favour. The man is far too old to be flogged. And then he was a soldier +himself once--he was a drummer boy, so he once told me, in the 4th +Buffs.' + +'The most rascally regiment in the service, madam. Every one of them +deserved hanging. But,' and here his tone changed from good-humoured +banter into sincerity, 'I honour you, Mrs Egerton, for your humanity. +The man is over sixty, and I promise you that he shall not be flogged. +Why, he is scarce recovered yet from the punishment inflicted on him for +stealing Major Innes's goose. But yet he is a terrible old rascal.' + +'Never mind that,' said my mother, laughing. 'Major Innes should keep +his geese from straying about at night-time. And then, doctor, you +must remember that poor Callaghan said that he mistook the bird for a +pelican--it being dark when he killed it.' + +'Ha, ha,' laughed the doctor, 'and no doubt Mr Patrick Callaghan only +discovered his mistake when he was cooking his pelican, and noticed its +remarkably short bill.' + +My mother left, well pleased, but on the following morning, while we +were at our mid-day meal, she was much distressed to hear that old +Callaghan had received fifty lashes after all--the good doctor had been +thrown from his horse and so much hurt that he was unable to attend the +court, and another magistrate--a creature of Mr Sampson's--had taken his +place. The news was brought to us by Thomas King, and my mother's pale +face flushed with anger as, bidding King to go into the kitchen and get +some dinner, she turned to my father (who took but little heed of such a +simple thing as the flogging of a convict), and said hotly,-- + +''Tis shameful that such cruelty can be perpetrated! I shall write to +the Governor himself--he is a just and humane man--oh, it is wicked, +wicked,' and then she covered her face with her hands and sobbed aloud. + +My father was silent. He detested the parson most heartily, but was too +cautious a man, in regard to his own interest, to give open expression +to his opinions, so beyond muttering something to my brother Harry about +Thomas King having no business to distress her, he was about to rise +from the table, when a servant announced that the Reverend Mr Sampson +wished to see him. + +The mention of the clergyman's name seemed to transform my mother into +another woman. Quickly, but gently, putting aside my sister Frances, +whose loving arms were clasped around her waist, she rose, and fire +flashed in her eyes as she said to the servant,-- + +'Denham, tell Mr Sampson that I desire to speak with him as soon as he +has finished his business with Mr Egerton.' + +My father went out to the drawing-room, where the clergyman awaited him, +and for the next ten minutes or so my mother walked quickly to and fro +in the dining-room, bidding us remain seated, and in a harsh, unnatural +tone to one so sweet and gentle, she told the servants who waited to +withdraw. + +'Mr Sampson is at your service, madam,' said Denham, opening the door. + +'Show him in here,' said my mother, sharply, and her always pale face +grew paler still. + +The clergyman entered, and extended his fat, white hand to her; she drew +back and bowed coldly. + +'I do not desire to shake hands with you, sir.' + +Mr Sampson's red face flushed purple. + +'I do not understand you, madam. Is this a jest--or do you forget who I +am?' + +'I shall try to make you understand me, Mr Sampson, in as few words +as possible. I do not jest, and I do not forget who you are. I have a +request to make.' + +'Indeed! I feel honoured, madam,' and the corners of the clergyman's +thick lips turned contemptuously down--'and that is--?' + +'That you will cease your visits to this house. It would be painful +indeed to me to receive you as a guest from this time forth, for this +very day it is my intention to write to the Governor and acquaint +him with the shocking act of cruelty committed this morning--'twas a +shameful, cruel deed to flog an old man so cruelly.' + +Mr Sampson's face was now livid with the rage he could not suppress. + +'Beware, madam, of what you say or do. 'Tis a pretty example you set +your children to thus insult a clergyman.' + +My mother's answer cut like a whip-lash. 'A clergyman such as you, +Mr Sampson, can inspire naught in their childish minds but fear and +abhorrence,' and then she pulled the bell cord so violently that not +only Denham but my father entered as well. + +'Show Mr Sampson out,' she said in accents of mingled anger and +scorn, and then turning to the window nearest, she seemed to be gazing +unconcernedly upon the blue expanse of ocean before her; but her little +hands were clasped tightly together, and her whole frame trembled with +excitement. + +As soon as the clergyman had mounted his horse and ridden off, my father +returned to the dining-room. + +'You have made a bitter enemy of a man who can do me much harm,' he +began; but something in my mother's face made him cease from further +reproaches, and he added lightly, that he hoped 'twould soon blow over. + +'Charles,' said my mother, who was now herself again, 'it must _not_ +blow over. The Governor shall know of this man's doings. And never again +shall I or my children enter the church when he preaches. To-night, +I suppose, he will visit that wretched old man--the victim of his +brutality--and administer "spiritual admonition." Come, children, let us +go to the beach and forget that that dreadful man has been here.' + +It was, I think, this practice of 'administering admonition' to convicts +after he had had them sentenced to a severe flogging that first gave my +mother such an utter abhorrence of the man, together with his habit of +confining his sermons to the prisoners to the one subject--their own +criminal natures and the terrors of hell-fire everlasting. Then, too, +his voice was appalling to hear, for he had a way of suddenly dropping +his harsh, metallic tones, and raising his voice to a howl, like to that +of a hungry dingo.{*} + + * The native dog of Australia, whose long, accentuated howl + is most distressing to hear. + +Often did I, when sitting in our great square pew in that dreadful, +horrible church, press close to my mother's side and bury my face in her +dress, as he lashed himself into a fury and called down the vengeance of +a wrathful God upon the rows of silent, wretched beings clad in yellow, +who were seated on long stools in the back of the church, guarded by +soldiers, who, with loaded muskets, were stationed in the gallery +above. Some of the convicts, it was said, had sworn to murder him if an +opportunity served, and this no doubt made him the more merciless and +vindictive to any one of them who was so unfortunate as to be charged +before him in his capacity of magistrate. By the Regulations he could +not sit alone to deal out punishment, and sometimes had difficulty +in finding a colleague, especially among the military men, who nearly +always protested against his fondness for the cat; but there were always +to be found, in the end, magistrates who would do anything to please +him, for it was known that he had great influence with the Home +Government, and was not chary of using it on behalf of those who +truckled to him, if he so inclined; and, indeed, both Major Trenton and +Dr Parsons said that he was a man with many good points, and could be, +to those who pleased him, a good friend, as well as a bitter enemy to +those who in any way crossed him. But they asserted that he should never +have been appointed a magistrate in a colony where the penal laws gave +such latitude to his violent temper and arbitrary disposition. + +Early one morning in December, and three months after the drawing of +the picture by Lieutenant Moore, my two brothers and myself set off on +a fishing excursion to a tidal lagoon whose waters debouched into the +Pacific, about fifteen miles southward from the little township. Behind +us followed a young man named Walter Trenfield, who was one of my +father's assigned servants, and an aboriginal named 'King Billy'; +these two carried our provisions, cooking utensils and blankets, for we +intended to camp out for two or three days. + +A half-an-hour's walk over the slopes of the bluff brought us to the +fringe of the dense coastal forest, through which our track lay for +another two or three miles before we again came to open country. There +was, however, a very good road, made by convict labour, through the +scrub as far as it went; it ran almost along the very verge of the +steep-to coast, and as we tramped over the rich red soil we had the +bright blue sea beneath us on our left, and the dark and almost silent +bush on our right. I say 'almost,' for although in these moist and +sunless seaboard tracts of what we Australian-born people call bush, and +English people would call wood or forest, there was no sound of human +life, there was yet always to be heard the _thump, thump_ of the +frightened scrub wallaby, and now and again the harsh, shrieking note of +the great white cockatoo, or the quick rush of a long-tailed iguana over +the thick bed of leaves, as the timid reptile fled to the nearest tree, +up whose rugged bole it crawled for security. + +We had come some three or four miles upon our way, when we suddenly +emerged from the darkness and stillness of the scrub out into the light +of day and the bright sunshine, and heard the low murmur of the surf +beating upon the rocks below. Here we sat down to rest awhile and feast +our boyish eyes on the beauties of sea and shore and sky around us. +A few hundred yards away from where we sat was a round, verdured cone +called 'Little Nobby'; it rose steep-to from the sea to a height of +about three hundred feet, and formed a very striking and distinct +landmark upon that part of the coast--bold and rugged as it was--for +a stretch of three score miles. Presently, as we lay upon the grass, +looking out upon the sea, Walter Trenfield and the aboriginal joined us, +and whilst they made a fire to boil a billy of tea, my brother Harry, +hearing the call of a wonga pigeon, picked up his gun and went into the +scrub to shoot it. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +I must now relate something of the previous history of this young +man Trenfield. He was a native of Bideford, in Devon--my mother's +county--and had been a sailor. Some years before, he, with another young +man named Thomas May, had been concerned in a mutiny on board a London +whale-ship, the _Jason_, and both men were sentenced to fourteen years' +penal servitude, it being believed, though not proven, that either +Trenfield or May had killed one of the officers with a blow of the fist. +They were, with six of their shipmates, tried at the Old Bailey, and +although a Quaker gentleman, a Mr Robert Bent, who had visited them in +prison, gave a lawyer fifty guineas to defend them, the judge said that +although the death of the officer could not be sheeted home to either of +them, there was no doubt of their taking part in the mutiny--with which +offence they were charged. After spending three months in one of the +convict hulks they were sent out to Sydney in the _Breckenbridge_ +transport. But before they sailed they were several times visited by Mr +Bent, who told them that he would always bear them in mind, and should +endeavour to have their sentences reduced if he heard good word of their +future conduct from his agent in Sydney; this Mr Bent was the owner of +several of the Government transports, which, after discharging their +cargo of convicts, would sail upon a whaling cruise to the South Seas. +More than this, he said that he would give them berths on one of his +vessels as soon as they regained their freedom, and that he had written +to his agent to that effect. + +It so happened that this agent, a Mr Thomas Campbell, was a friend of my +father's, who also knew Mr Bent, and so when the _Breckenbridge_ arrived +at Sydney he succeeded in having Trenfield assigned to him, and Thomas +May to a contractor who was building a bridge for the Government over a +river in the vicinity of Bar Harbour. + +The two young seamen were very much attached to each other, and their +cheerful dispositions, good conduct and unceasing industry led to their +being granted many privileges. Both my father and my mother had taken +a strong liking to Trenfield; and so, too, had Ruth Kenna, a young +free female servant of ours. As for we boys, we simply worshipped both +Trenfield and May as heroes who had sailed in the far South Seas and +harpooned and killed the mighty sperm whale, and had fought with the +wild and naked savages of the Pacific Isles. + +Ruth Kenna was the daughter of a small farmer in the district, who had +been emancipated by the good Governor. He was a widower, and a rough, +taciturn man, but passionately devoted to Ruth, who was his only child. +He had been transported for having taken part in the disastrous Irish +rebellion of '98,' and his young wife had followed him to share his +exile. The terrors and hardships of the long voyage out killed her, for +she died almost as soon as she landed, without seeing her husband, +and leaving her infant child to the kindly care of the officers of the +detachment of the regiment which had come out in the same ship. By them +the infant girl had been placed in the charge of a respectable female +convict, who, at my mother's expense, had kept her till she was ten +years of age. Then she came to us as a servant, and had remained ever +since. + +Very often my father--though he pretended, as became his official +position in a Crown Colony, to have a great dislike to Irish Roman +Catholics--would allow we boys to go to Patrick Kenna's farm to shoot +native bears and opossums, which were very plentiful thereabout, for +the land was very thickly timbered with blue gum, tallow-wood and native +apple. The house itself stood on the margin of a small tidal creek, +whose shallow waters teemed with fish of all descriptions, and in the +winter Kenna would catch great numbers of whiting, bream and sea mullet, +which he salted and dried and sold to the settlers who lived inland. +He lived quite alone, except from Saturday morning till Sunday morning, +when Ruth stayed with him and straightened up the rough house. Sometimes +Ruth would persuade my mother to let my brother Will and myself stay +with them for the night, and dearly did we love going; for her father, +though a silent, cold-mannered man to most people, was always different +to any one of us Egertons, and never even grumbled when we got into +mischief, though he pretended to be very angry. Once, indeed, he had +good cause to be--as I shall relate. + +One Saturday evening, after we had finished our supper, Patrick Kenna +found that he had run out of tobacco, and said that if we were not +afraid of being left by ourselves for a few hours he would walk into Bar +Harbour and buy some before the store closed, returning before midnight. +Of course we did not mind, and in a few minutes Ruth's father set out, +accompanied by 'King Billy' and one or two other black-fellows who +were in hopes of selling some wild honey for a bottle or two of rum. We +watched them disappear into the darkness of the forest, and then, as the +night was suitable, my brother Will proposed that we should all go down +to the creek and fish for black bream. + +'The tide is coming in, Ruth,' he said gleefully, 'and we'll have fine +sport. I'll go on first and light a fire on the bank.' + +Presently, as Ruth and I were getting ready our lines, he dashed into +the house again, panting with excitement. + +'Never mind the lines. Oh, I have glorious news! The salmon are coming +in, in swarms, and the water is alive with them! Ruth, let us get the +net and put it right across the creek as soon as it is slack water. +'Twill be glorious.' + +Now, we knew that the sea salmon had been seen out at sea a few days +before, but it was yet thought to be too soon for their vast droves +to enter the rivers and lagoons. But Will was quite right, for when we +dragged down the heavy net we found that the water, which half an hour +before, though under the light of myriad stars, had been black and +silent, was now a living sheet of phosphorescent light, caused by the +passage up the creek of countless thousands of agitated fish, driven in +by hundreds of porpoises and savage, grey ocean-haunting sharks, whose +murderous forms we could see darting to and fro just outside the shallow +bar, charging into and devouring the helpless, compact masses of salmon, +whose very numbers prevented them from escaping; for serried legion +after legion from the sea swam swiftly in to the narrow passage and +pressed upon those which were seeking to force their way up to the +shallow, muddy waters five miles beyond--where alone lay safety from the +tigers of the sea. + +Ruth Kenna, as wild with excitement as my brother and myself, took up +one pole of the net and sprang into the water, leaving Will and I to pay +out on our side. She was a tall, strong girl, but what with the force of +the inward current and the mad press of the terrified salmon, she could +barely reach the sand-spit on the other shore, though the passage was +not fifty feet across. But she managed to struggle ashore and secure her +end of the net by jamming the pole between some logs of driftwood which +lay upon the sand. Then, with a loud, merry laugh, she bade me run up +to the house and bring her a petticoat and bodice, and leaping into the +water she swam across again and helped Will to properly secure his end +of the net to the bole of a tea tree. + +Old as I am now, the memory of that happy, happy night lives with me +yet. By the light of a huge fire of logs we sat and watched the net, +which, as the tide ebbed, curved outward to the sea, though the salmon +without still tried to force a passage into the creek, and the ravening +sharks outside the deep water of the bar rushed through and through +their close-packed ranks and gorged themselves till they rolled about, +with distended bellies, as if they were water-logged baulks of timber. + +As we sat by the fire, waiting for the tide to run out, we heard the +dogs barking and knew that Patrick Kenna had returned. Presently we +heard him walking down towards us, and at the same moment Ruth uttered +an exclamation of terror and pointed to the water. + +'Oh, look! look! There are a lot of sharks inside, coming down the +creek. Quick! let this end of the net go, or they will be caught in it +and tear it to pieces!' + +Her father was alive to the danger. Springing before us, he cut the end +of the line fastened to the tea-tree; but he was too late, for before +the net had tailed out to the current four or five sharks had dashed +into it and entangled themselves in its meshes, and in ten minutes the +net was utterly ruined, for although the sharks could not use their +teeth, the great weight of their gorged bodies and their furious +struggles soon tore the bight of it to shreds. + +Kenna watched the destruction of the net in silence. As he stood in the +light of the fire, his dark, rugged face showed no sign of the anger +that must have burned within him at our thoughtless conduct. + +'Ye might have waited till I was back, Ruth,' he said quietly; 'there's +as good a net as was ever made gone to ruin. And sure 'twas a mad thing +for ye to do when th' ravening sharks were so plentiful.' + +Of course my father and mother were very angry with us, and sent Kenna +five pounds to partly pay for the damage done. He sent it back by Ruth, +and said that he would be a poor creature to take it, for the mishap was +caused by Ruth's folly, and that we boys were in no way to blame. + + * * * * * + +Almost every alternate evening Tom May would come to our house, and go +to Walter Trenfield's quarters, which were in a large airy loft over +our stable, and the two young men would dress and sew the skins of +the wallabies and 'possums which my brothers had shot. My mother never +objected to us staying with them till about ten o'clock, and Ruth, too, +often came and made coffee for us all. Both May and Trenfield always +behaved well and soberly, and although they had been whale-ship sailors +they were always very careful in their language when we were with them. +Some time before my mother's angry interview with Mr Sampson she had +mentioned, in his hearing, to Major Trenton's wife, that her boys were +greatly attached to the two young men, whose stories of their former +sea life were very exciting, and so forth, whereupon the clergyman said +sourly that both were dangerous villains who should not be trusted, and +she would do well to prevent the further intercourse of her children +with such rascals. + +My mother bowed stiffly to him, and said gently that she thought he was +mistaken greatly in their characters; also she was well able to look +after her children's morals; but Mrs Trenton, a sharp-tongued old +Irishwoman, who hated the parson and loved my mother, spoke out pretty +plainly. + +'No one but a clergyman would make such a rude speech to a lady, sir. +A man who _called_ himself a gentleman would be made to account for his +lack of manners.' + +One Saturday afternoon, as Walter Trenfield and Ruth were driving the +cows down to the creek to drink, and Will and I were idling about on the +seaward hill, we saw Patrick Kenna ride up to the house, dismount and +knock. He only remained indoors a few minutes, and presently we saw him +galloping towards Trenfield and Ruth, with whom he stayed talking for +even a still shorter time; then, without taking any notice of us--which +was most unusual for him--he put spurs to his horse and rode straight +for the scrub, towards his home. + +'There is something the matter,' said Will. 'See, there is Walter +running up to the house again. Come, let us see what it is.' + +We ran home, and entering by the garden gate saw that Walter was talking +to my mother on the back verandah. She seemed very troubled and almost +on the verge of crying, and we soon heard the news, which was bad +enough. Thomas May had been given a hundred lashes and had taken to the +bush. + +It appeared that May, whom we had not seen for one or two weeks, had +been working under an overseer named Cross, at a place about ten miles +from the town. (This man Cross was of a notoriously savage disposition, +and had himself been a convict in Van Diemen's Land, but had received a +pardon for having shot and killed a bushranger there.) + +May, with the rest of his gang, was felling timber, when a heavy chip +flew from the tallow-wood tree upon which he was working, and struck +the overseer in the face. Cross at once flew into a violent passion, and +with much foul language accused poor May of having thrown the chip at +him. This the young fellow warmly denied, whereupon Cross, taking his +pistol out of his belt, struck the sailor on the mouth with the butt. In +an instant May returned the blow by knocking the overseer down, and was +then seized by two of his fellow-convicts. He was ironed and taken into +town, and on the following morning was brought before Mr Sampson and +another magistrate. It was no use of his pleading provocation, he +received his flogging within a few hours. Towards daylight he crept out +of his hut, broke into his master's storeroom, and took a musket, powder +and ball, and as much food as he could carry, telling a fellow-prisoner +that he would perish in the bush rather than be taken alive. + +On the fifth night after his escape, and whilst the constables were +scouring the country in search of him, he came to Patrick Kenna's house. +The night was very dark and the rain descending in torrents; so, there +being no fear of intruders, Kenna barred his door and made the poor +fellow comfortable by giving him a change of clothes, a good meal and +some tobacco to smoke. Tom inquired very eagerly after Walter, and sent +him a long message, and then told Kenna some startling news. + +Two days after he had absconded, and when he was quite thirty miles +distant from Bar Harbour, he saw smoke arising from a dense scrub. +Creeping along on his hands and knees he saw two men--escaped convicts +like himself--engaged in skinning a wallaby. He at once made himself +known to them and was welcomed. After a meal from the wallaby, the two +men asked him if he would join them in a plan they had of getting away +from the country; he was just the man, they said, being a sailor, who +could bring the attempt to a successful issue. Then they told him that, +many weeks previously, they had found a whale-boat lying capsized on the +beach some miles away, and that she was perfectly sound. By great labour +they had succeeded in dragging her up into the margin of the scrub on +the beach, where they had turned her over and covered her carefully with +dead branches. A further search along the beach had resulted in their +finding an oar and one of the line tubs,{*} but that was all. + + * English whale-ship boats generally used two line tub's-- + American only one. No doubt this boat was lost from an + English whaler, the _Britannia_, then on the coast. + +Of course poor Tom May was greatly taken with this, and said that he +would join them, and that he thought Walter Trenfield would come as +well. He went with the men to look at the boat, and found her just as +they had said--almost new and quite watertight. He agreed to return to +within a safe distance of Bar Harbour, and, through Patrick Kenna, let +Trenfield know of the discovery of the boat and get him to help them to +fit her out properly. Oars and a mast they could easily make, had they +the tools, and a sail could also be obtained through either Ruth or her +father, who could get them enough coarse calico for the purpose. + +Kenna promised to help, although he told Tom he should try to dissuade +Walter from joining in the enterprise. Just before daylight May bid +Kenna good-bye, as he was anxious to return to the other two convicts +and tell them that they had friends who would help them. Before he +left, however, he arranged with Kenna that the latter should bring the +required articles one by one--especially two breakers of water--to the +foot of Little Nobby's and hide them in the scrub at the spot agreed +upon. Then, when all was ready and a dark night favoured, May and the +other two men were to launch the boat and make their way with all speed +down the coast to Little Nobby's--nearly twenty miles distant from where +the boat was hidden--take on board the water and provisions and put to +sea; it being May's intention, whether Trenfield joined him or not, to +make to the northward for Timor in the East Indies. Then, with a warm +hand-grasp, they parted; and never again was Thomas May seen alive. + +On the following morning Kenna contrived to see Walter and tell him that +his former shipmate was safe, and what was afoot. Of course Walter was +overjoyed to learn that he (Tom) had such a means of escape offering, +and at once announced his intention of falling in with the enterprise; +but Patrick Kenna spoke very strongly against his doing so, and Ruth, +too, came to her father's aid. It was, they said, foolish of him to link +himself with these desperate men, every one of whom had a price upon his +head, whereas he, Walter, stood in good chance of receiving his pardon +at any moment. Why should he sacrifice himself and break Ruth's heart +for the sake of his friend? + +So, finally, overcome by their arguments, he yielded, saying, however, +that he felt he was acting a coward's part, and begged of Kenna to +arrange a farewell meeting between Tom and himself. This, wisely enough, +Kenna refused to do, but said he would do anything else to make their +separation easier. So Trenfield wrote his old comrade a letter of +farewell, and, taking a canvas bag, he filled it with all sorts of +articles likely to be useful on a long boat voyage. Kenna took the bag, +together with material for a sail, away with him at night and placed it +in the spot agreed upon with May. He had already given Tom a tomahawk +and an adze with which to make some oars and a mast. + +On the fourth night after his visit to Kenna's house, Tom May again came +through the bush, and went to Little Nobby's, for when Ruth's father +went to the hiding-place in the morning with a breaker of water and a +large bundle of dried fish, he found that the bag and the sail-cloth +were gone, and on a small piece of white driftwood which lay on the +ground these words were written in charcoal:-- + + '_Sunday, Midnight?_' + +By this Kenna knew that the three men meant to come for the provisions +and water at the time mentioned. It was then Friday, and he had much +to do to get all in readiness; for Little Nobby's was quite six miles +distant from his house, and he could only make his journeys to and fro +with great secrecy, for the constables were still searching the coastal +region for May. But, aided by Billy, the aboriginal, he managed to have +everything in readiness early on Sunday night. He afterwards told my +mother that besides the two breakers of water, each holding ten gallons, +he had provided four gallons of rum, a hundredweight each of salted +meat and dried fish, tobacco and pipes, fishing tackle, two muskets, and +plenty of powder and bullets. The place selected for the landing of +the boat was an excellent one; for on one side of Little Nobby's was a +little, narrow bay running in between high clifis of black trap rock, +which broke the force of the ocean swell entirely. Then, too, the place +was very lonely and seldom visited, for the main road lay nearly two +miles back beyond the clifis. + +Whether my mother actually knew of all that was going on I do not know; +but I do know that about this time she seemed paler than ever, and we +frequently saw her and Ruth talking earnestly together; and Ruth and +Walter, too, were always whispering to each other. + +Sunday came, and as my mother, since her quarrel with the Reverend Mr +Sampson over the flogging of old Callaghan, did not now go to church, +we all, except my father, who was still on friendly terms with the +clergyman, remained at home, my mother herself conducting a short +service in the dining-room, at which all the servants, free and bond, +attended. In the afternoon Major Trenton, Captain Crozier and some other +soldier officers rode up, as was customary with them on Sundays, and +Ruth and Denham brought them brandy and water on the front verandah, +where they awaited my mother and sisters. + +'Harry, you young rascal,' said Major Trenton, presently to my eldest +brother, 'what did you do with Mr Moore's picture of the parson, eh?' + +'It was stolen from me, sir,' he answered, laughing, 'about three or +four months ago.' + +'Indeed,' said the major; 'then the thief has principles, and will +doubtless send it back to you, for he has made a score of copies of +it, and they are all over the district. Why, the rascal, whoever he is, +nailed one to the door of the Commissariat Store not long ago, and the +first person to see it was Mr Sampson himself. He is mightily wroth +about it, I can tell ye, and somehow suspects that the picture came from +someone in this house, and told your father that these copies were given +about by your man Trenfield. So just ye give a hint to the fellow, and +tell him that if the parson gets a chance to tickle his back, faith +he'll do it.' + +'I am sure, sir, that Walter did not take the picture,' said my brother. +'It was nailed up over my bed and one day I missed it. I thought that +my mother had destroyed or taken it away. But she had not, and I cannot +account for its disappearance.' + +Now this was hardly true, for, from something they had heard from Ruth, +both Harry and my sister Frances thought that Thomas May had taken away +the caricature, intending to replace it. + +'Well, never mind, my lad,' said Major Trenton, laughing, ''tis a +monstrous fine joke, anyway, and, faith, I sent one of the copies to the +Governor himself. 'Twill amuse him hugely.' + +Presently my mother and my two sisters joined the group on the verandah, +and as they were all talking and laughing together, Ruth Kenna came to +my mother and said that her father had just come with a basket of fresh +fish and would like to see her for a minute. I, being the youngest boy +of the family, and over-fond--so my brothers said--of hanging on +to mammy's apron-strings, as well as being anxious to see the fish, +followed her out on to the back verandah, where black-browed, dark-faced +Patrick Kenna awaited her. + +''Tis a fine dark night coming on, ma'am,' he said in a low voice. 'The +wind is north-east and 'twill hould well till daylight. Then 'twill come +away from the south-east, sure enough. They should be there long before +midnight and out of sight of land before the dawn.' + +'Yes, yes, Patrick,' said my mother, hurriedly. 'I shall pray to-night +to God for those in peril on the sea; and to forgive us for any wrong we +may have done in this matter.' + +'No harm can iver come to any wan in this house,' said the man, +earnestly, raising her hand to his lips, 'for the blessin' av God an' +the Holy Virgin is upon it.' + +My mother pressed his hand. 'Good-bye, Patrick. I do hope all may go +well;' and with this she went away. + +Kenna raised his hat and turned to go, when Walter Trenfield came to the +foot of the verandah steps and stopped him. + +'Let me come with you,' he said, 'and bid Tom good-bye.' + +'No,' answered Kenna, roughly, 'neither you nor I nor any wan else must +go near Nobby's to-night; matthers are goin' well enough, an' no folly +of yours shall bring desthruction upon them. As it is, the constables +suspect me, and are now watching my house.' + +Then, mounting his horse again, he rode leisurely away over the brow of +the hill towards the scrub, through which his road lay. + +Both Walter and Ruth knew that unless the night was very clear there was +no chance of even the lookout man on the pilot station seeing a small +boat passing along to the southward; but nevertheless they went up to +the pilot station about ten o'clock, when they thought that Tom May +and his companions would be passing Bar Harbour on their way to Little +Nobby's. They stayed on the headland for nearly an hour, talking to Tom +King and the look-out man, and then came home, feeling satisfied that +if the three men had succeeded in launching the boat safely, they had +passed Bar Harbour about eleven o'clock and would reach Nobby's at or +before midnight. + +Soon after breakfast next morning, Patrick Kenna, under pretence of +speaking to my mother about a strayed heifer of ours, came into the +kitchen, and told Ruth that all was well; he had been to Little Nobby's +at daylight and found that everything was gone and the boat was nowhere +to be discerned. + +For quite another two or three weeks after this the constables pursued +their search after Thomas May, much to the amusement of Ruth and +Patrick Kenna, especially as the latter, with 'King Billy' and another +aboriginal, were officially employed by my father at ten shillings _per +diem_ to discover the absconder--Billy, who seemed to be most anxious +to get the reward of five pounds, leading the constables all over the +country and eating more than three men's rations daily. At last the +chase was abandoned, and my father wrote officially to Sydney and said +that 'Thomas May, No. 3614, _Breckenbridge_,' was supposed to have +either died of starvation in the bush or have been killed by the +natives. My mother, of course, thought she knew better. + +And so the matter was forgotten by everyone but us who had known and +cared for the good-natured, high-spirited and warm-hearted young sailor; +and as the months went by, Walter Trenfield and my mother both looked +forward to receiving a letter from Tom May, telling them that he and his +companions had reached some port in the Dutch East Indies in safety. For +not only was the boat well found, but they had plenty of provisions, +and Tom May was a thorough seaman; and besides that, my mother had often +told us the story of the convict William Bryant, who had escaped from +Sydney Harbour in Governor Phillip's time, and in an open boat, with +four other men and his wife and two infant children, succeeded in +reaching Timor, after a voyage of three thousand miles.{*} + + * Publisher's Note.--The strange but true story of the + Bryants is told in a volume entitled _A First Fleet Family_. + (Louis Becke and Walter Jeffery. London: T. Fisher Unwin. + 1896.) + +But no letter came until two long years had passed. + +Ruth Kenna, at the time of my story, though not yet seventeen years of +age, was a tall, powerful girl, and was known as the best horsewoman in +all the country around. She was a happy, good-natured sort of a wench, +with a heart filled with sunshine and love and truth and honesty; though +Mr Sampson once told my father that she was a 'dangerous Papist,' and +the child of a convicted rebel, and as such should have no place in +a Protestant family. This so angered my mother that she wrote the +clergyman a very sharp letter and said she would take it as a favour if +he would not interfere with her servants. This was a great thing for her +to do; and my father said 'twas most indiscreet. But mother only smiled +and said that although she was sorry Ruth was a Papist, she (Ruth) was a +good, honest girl, and that her father was a good, honest man, and that +if Mr Sampson was wise he would not come near Ruth, who, being a free +woman, had said she would throw him down the garden well. At this time +Ruth was looking forward to the day of her marriage with Trenfield, who, +through my father's influence with the Governor, was expecting to be +pardoned. + +But now I am forging ahead too fast, and must go back to where we boys +and Walter Trenfield were lying on the grassy bluff overlooking Little +Nobby's awaiting the return of my brother Harry. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +'Walter,' said Harry, throwing down the pigeon which he had shot, and +pointing to Little Nobby's, 'this is the lowest tide I have ever seen. +Look, the topmost fringe of kelp on the rocks is quite dry, and six feet +above the water, and there is no surf. Let's swim across the gut into +the cave.' + +'As you please, sir,' the young man answered, his sun-tanned face +lighting up with pleasure; 'the wind is westerly, and the water very +clear; so, if there are any sharks about we can easily see them.' + +So presently down we trooped, and, clambering over the jagged pinnacles +of rock, soon reached the seaward face of Little Nobby's. The cave of +which my brother had spoken was in the very centre of the cone, and the +only known way of access to it was by swimming across the narrow gut +or channel which cleft in twain the base of the hill. A boat, in calm +weather, might have easily rowed up to the mouth of the cave, but only +during a very low tide. No one, so far, had attempted this, and 'King +Billy,' when he saw my brother and Trenfield strip and jump into the +water, seemed much disturbed. The cave, he said, was the home of a +'debbil-debbil,' and 'twas dangerous for any human being to enter +it. But Harry and Trenfield had already swum across, clambered up the +kelp-covered ledge of the cave and disappeared into the darkness beyond. + +For nearly ten minutes, or perhaps a quarter of an hour, Will and I +waited impatiently for their return, grumbling at not being allowed +to go with them, for the sea was as smooth as a mountain lake, and the +water so clear that the smallest pebble could be discerned lying upon +the white sandy bottom five fathoms below. + +Said Will presently, 'I don't believe there's a shark within a mile; do +you?' + +'No,' I answered, looking longingly at the crystal water and then at the +black mouth of the cavern, which neither Will nor I had ever entered. + +'Then come on,' said Will, quickly, and in a few seconds we were out of +our clothes, and paying no heed to 'King Billy's' exclamations of terror +we dropped quietly into the water and swam across, telling him to stay +where he was and keep a look-out for sharks. + +A few strokes brought us safely over, and then, as we climbed up and +stood on the cold rocky floor of the dark cave, our hearts began to fail +us somewhat--the place was so grim, silent and terrifying. + +Feeling our way carefully along, however, we advanced for some ten or +twelve yards and then stopped, for though we heard the voices, we could +see the figures of Harry and Trenfield but dimly. + +'Where are you?' cried Will. + +'Over here,' answered my brother; 'you can come along if you like. We +think that there's a way of getting out by climbing up--we can see the +trees on the back of the hill.' + +This was a discovery indeed, and Will and I, as we made our way to +where they sat, found the darkness decreasing at every step, and when +we reached them, we could see about us quite plainly, for thin, dimmed +shafts of sunlight penetrated the cavern from above by a narrow cleft, +through which we could see not only the dark foliage of the trees, whose +branches overhung the place, but a strip of blue sky. + +'Listen!' said Will. + +Somewhere near a 'butcher' bird was calling to its mate, who quickly +answered, and then the pair whistled sweetly and joyously together; +and when they ceased a bell-bird sounded his clear, resonant note +thrice--then silence. + +Presently Walter and Harry set about to attempt an ascent, laughing +heartily at the thought of how we should startle poor 'King Billy' by +reappearing out of the bowels of the earth, instead of by the way we had +left him. + +The top of the cleft was not more than thirty feet from the floor of the +cave, and its very narrowness reduced the difficulty of climbing up its +rugged sides, which were composed of pieces of rock embedded in earth. +In the centre, however, the walls approached so closely to each other +about half way down--within a few inches, in fact--that they were +blocked up with what appeared to be a mass of decaying branches, fallen +leaves and such _dbris_. + +Walter Trenfield went first, then Will, and Harry and I followed. We +found it much easier working our way up than we anticipated, for the +jutting points of rock gave us a good foothold, and the roots of trees, +living and dead, helped us greatly, for some of these grew across from +one side of the cleft to the other, and afforded us ladder-like steps. + +Walter had nearly reached the mouth of the chasm, when Will, who was +ascending more leisurely and carefully behind him, put his foot upon the +thick mass of leaves and rotting wood which blocked up its centre, and, +finding it was firm, sat down upon it to rest himself. Presently, +to have some amusement at the expense of Harry and myself, who were +directly beneath him, he began to shower armfuls of dead leaves upon +us--then suddenly he uttered a cry of terror, sprang to his feet, and +clambered quickly to the top, where Trenfield seized him just as he was +about to fall. + +Thinking that he had been frightened, or perhaps bitten by a black +snake or a death-adder, Harry and I climbed up after him as quickly +as possible, little heeding the cuts and bruises we inflicted upon +our naked bodies. As soon as we reached the ledge and flung ourselves, +panting and somewhat terrified, on the thick bed of leaves which covered +the ground like a carpet, we saw Walter Trenfield bending his tall, +naked figure over Will, who was crouched up in a heap and trying, +through his sobs of terror, to tell what it was that he had seen. + +'There is a dead man down there,' he gasped, 'a dead man! When I took +up the last armful of leaves to throw down on Tom and Harry, I saw a +dreadful face beneath... it was almost a skull, but there is some flesh +on the face... and oh, Walter! _it has red hair like Tom May's._' Then, +overcome by the terror of that which he had seen, he sobbed afresh. + +'Come,' sir,' said Trenfield to my eldest brother, 'we must go down and +look.' + +Leaning over the brink of the narrow cleft, I watched Harry and +Trenfield descend, throw down the rotting leaves and timber which had +accumulated in the centre; and then I saw a dreadful sight--a shrunken, +awful face, with white, gleaming teeth, and two fleshless hands lying +together upon an all but skeleton chest. The rest of the body, except +one leg, which from the knee downwards was partly raised and showed a +bone protruding from a rough raw-hide boot, was mercifully concealed +from our sight by the coarse jumper and grey canvas trousers of a +convict. + +Presently Walter looked up, and cried out in a strange, hoarse voice,-- + +'Go away, Master Tom, you must not look. Do you and Master Will wait for +us on the rocks, but first tell Billy to come here with our clothes.' + +Will and I at once obeyed, glad to get away, and hurrying round the base +of the hill we returned to 'King Billy,' who, poor simple savage, had +given us up for lost, and was crouched up in a-heap on the rocks, making +a low whining noise like the cry of a very young puppy. He did truly +dance for joy when he heard our voices, and then at once, without asking +us what had happened, went off to Walter and Harry, taking their clothes +with him. + +Will and I dressed ourselves, and then we sat down to wait. + +'Tom,' said Will, who had now recovered his composure, 'I am sure it is +poor Tom May who is lying there. Do you remember a red silk handkerchief +which mother gave him last Christmas Day? Well, there is one exactly +like it round _its_ neck. I was too frightened to look closer, but Tom +always wore his handkerchief round his neck in a sailor's knot. And +then, too,' and here Will's eyes filled with tears and he began to sob, +'_it_ had bright red hair... it had nearly all fallen off, and...' + +'Oh, Will,' I cried, 'don't tell me any more! I feel so sick.' + +Nearly half an hour passed, and then we saw Harry and Trenfield, holding +each other's hand like two children, coming towards us. They sat down +near us, and then the young convict placed his big, brown hands over his +face, and heavy sobs broke from his broad chest. + +'Oh, God! Master Harry!' he cried, 'is there no justice in the world? +To die there, in that awful place, like a rat in a trap! oh, it is +dreadful, dreadful! And then I thought that he was long ago far away +from here--a free man.' + +'Do you think those two other men threw him down there, Walter?' asked +my eldest brother, almost in a whisper. + +'No, sir,' he replied, catching his breath. 'Why should they murder the +man who alone was capable of taking the boat upon such a long voyage? +This is what I think, sir. Poor Tom, instead of coming down in the boat +with the other two, left them on Saturday and walked here so that he +might light a fire on the top of Little Nobby's on Sunday night to guide +them to the place. He told Ruth's father that he thought he should do +this in case the night turned out very dark. And Billy says that a fire +was made, and that when poor Tom was descending the hill to meet the +boat he fell into the cleft and got jammed between the rocky walls.' + +'But would not the two other men make a search for him?' + +'God knows, sir! We shall never know. They may have thought that Tom had +been captured, and that the fire had been lit by Ruth's father. But I +think that Billy is right, and that poor Tom, after lighting the fire, +was coming down the hill to meet the boat, when in the darkness he +wandered off the track and stepped into the crack at the widest part of +its mouth, which is right above where we found him. He must have fallen +upon his back and become so tightly wedged in in that awful place that +he could not use his arms to free himself. And then, sir, even if he had +not been stunned, his cries could not have been heard by the other two +men, who, unless they purposely made a search, would not have had any +reason to go within two hundred yards of the spot where he fell.' + +Harry shuddered, and then for some time no one of us spoke. 'King Billy' +had been sent off to tell my father of the discovery of the body, or +rather skeleton, which Walter and Harry had at first attempted to free +from the walls of the chasm, but were too overcome to complete the task. + +Together we slowly ascended the bluff, and there a surprise awaited us; +for, sitting on their horses, on the brow of the hill, were the dreaded +minister and his convict orderly. They had no doubt seen our bags and +guns lying on the grass, and had ridden to the crest of the bluff to +discover our whereabouts. + +Mr Sampson eyed us all very sourly, and scarcely deigned to respond to +our salutations, as one by one we walked past him and busied ourselves +in silence over our impedimenta. No doubt he saw that both Harry and +Walter were very pale, and that Will and I had not yet dried our tears. + +'Come here, boys,' he said in his harsh, pompous tones. 'What, may I +ask, is the cause of this grief which seems to be shared by all alike?' +Then, without waiting for an answer, his glance fell upon Walter +Trenfield, who, after saluting him, had turned away, and with averted +face was strapping some of our belongings together. + +I saw the clergyman's coarse red face, with its fat, terraced chins, +grow purple with rage as I had seen it once before, and I instinctively +drew back. + +'Ha!' he said, and urging his horse forward, he bent down and touched +the young convict on the shoulder with his whip. 'Ha! look up, fellow. I +want a word with you, sirrah.' + +Trenfield, who was stooping at the moment, stood erect, and then, facing +the parson, again raised his hand to his cap. His face was deadly pale, +and his deep-set bright blue eyes seemed to have suddenly shrunken and +drawn back, and his whole body was trembling. + +'Look at me, fellow,' said Mr Sampson, for the second time. + +_'I am looking at you, sir._' + +The words came from between his white lips and set teeth in a low, +hoarse whisper, and all the hatred in his heart seemed to go with them. +The clergyman eyed him for a few seconds in silence, but the convict met +his gaze unfalteringly. + +'So 'tis to you, you scoundrel, that your ruffianly fellow-criminals +are indebted for so much amusement at my expense! Tell me, you villain, +where you got that picture, and who prompted you to display it? Answer +me quickly, you unhanged rascal!' + +Trenfield's lips moved, but ere he could speak, my eldest brother +stepped forward, bravely enough. + +'Indeed, sir, Trenfield had nothing to do with the picture. It was given +to me, but by some mischance was lost or stolen. I am sure, sir, that +Trenfield would not--' + +'Trenfield is a villain. How dare you, presumptuous boy, seek to excuse +him! A good birching, for which you are not too old, would teach you +that reverence and respect for a clergyman which your mother has so +forgotten.' + +Harry fired up quickly enough at the insulting words. + +'How dare you, sir, speak to me in this fashion? My father shall hear of +this.' + +'Let _me_ deal with him, the bloody-minded dog!' said a voice. + +It was that of Walter Trenfield, who, springing forward, presented my +brother's loaded fowling-piece at the minister's head. 'Listen to me, +you beast in human form, you heartless fiend! I am going to send your +poisonous soul to hell.' + +He pulled the trigger, but the gun missed fire; then swiftly clubbing +the weapon he brought it with terrific force against the clergyman's +chest and knocked him off the horse. The orderly at once turned, and +fled as his master fell. + +The Reverend Mr Sampson lay prone upon the sward, his once red face +blanched to a deathly white, and over him, with grounded gun, stood the +young convict. + +My brother tried to take the weapon from him, but Trenfield tossed him +aside with one hand as if he were a straw. Then for a minute he looked +at the prostrate man in silence; once he raised the gun by the muzzle, +then he threw it aside, and, kneeling beside the clergyman, placed his +face close to his. + +'You dog, you dog, you damned dog! I could choke you now as you lie, you +brute beast. But I will let you live, to go to hell in God's own time, +you cruel, flogging wretch! _You_ murdered Thomas May--his rotting body +is not a hundred yards away. May the stink of it reach the nostrils of +Almighty God--and be in yours for ever!' + +He rose quickly, took the saddle and bridle off the clergyman's horse, +and, striking the animal a sharp blow on the nose, sent it galloping +away into the forest; then he returned and again stood over Mr Sampson, +his face working with the violence of his passion. + +'Are you going to murder me?' the minister asked gaspingly. + +'No,' he replied savagely, kicking him again and again in the face, 'but +lie there, you bloody-minded swab, till I tell you you can go.' + +And then, his passion spent, he turned to us with outstretched hand,-- + +'God bless you all, young gentlemen! God bless you, Master Harry! and +your good mother and Miss Frances and little Miss Olive. I am done for +now. But tell Ruth that if I am taken I'll die a man. And tell her, +Master Harry, that--that--' + +My brother grasped his trembling hand, as for a moment he stood, gun in +hand, and swayed to and fro as if he were like to fall. Then he plunged +into the forest. + + * * * * * + +One night, three weeks after this, and whilst Mr Sampson was recovering +from his injuries, and a force of constables, with a black tracker, were +scouring the country for Walter, my mother called we children to her +bedroom. She had retired, but Ruth Kenna, with tears in her blue Irish +eyes, stood beside the bed. + +'Quick, children,' said my mother, in a whisper, 'Ruth is going away. +Quick, quick; kiss her goodbye.' + +And then whilst we, wondering, put our arms around dear Ruth, my mother +slipped out of bed, and taking some money out of a cabinet, put it into +the girl's hand, and said,-- + +'Good-bye, Ruth. You've been an honest girl to us. May God bless and +keep you always, my dear child, and do not fail to write.' + + * * * * * + +Next morning there was a great to-do, for Patrick Kenna's house was +found to be empty, and he and his daughter and Walter Trenfield were +never seen again in our part. But away out on the horizon were the sails +of a whale-ship which had been cruising about the coast for some days +past; and though my mother kept her own counsel for a long year, we +children soon knew that all three had escaped in the whaler, for my +brother Harry had received a letter from Trenfield. It was handed to +him by the aboriginal 'King Billy,' and contained only these +words,--'Good-bye, sir. Ruth and I and her father will be on the blue +water before daylight.' + +When two years or more had passed, my mother received a letter. It was +written from Boston in America, and was signed 'Ruth Trenfield.' + +'I am glad she and Walter are happy at last,' said my mother, with the +tears shining in her soft eyes. + + + + +A NORTH PACIFIC LAGOON ISLAND + +Two degrees north of the Equator, and midway between the Hawaiian +Islands and fair, green Tahiti, is the largest and most important of +the many equatorial isolated lagoon islands which, from 10 deg. N. to +10 deg. S., are dispersed over 40 deg. of longitude. The original native +name of this island has long been lost, and by that given to it by +Captain Cook one hundred and twenty years ago it is now known to Pacific +navigators--Christmas Island. Cook was probably the first European to +visit and examine the place, though it had very likely been sighted by +the Spaniards long before his time, in the days of the voyages of the +yearly galleons between the Philippines and Mexico and Peru. + +On the afternoon of December 24, 1777, Cook (in the _Resolution_ and +_Discovery_) discovered to leeward of the former ship a long, low, +sandy island, which proved to be about ninety miles in circumference. +It appeared to be an exceedingly barren-looking land, save on the +south-west side, where grew a luxuriant grove of coco-palms. Here he +brought his ships to an anchor, and partly to recuperate his crews, +who were in ill health, and partly to observe an eclipse of the sun, he +remained at the island some weeks. He soon discovered that the lagoon in +the centre was of noble proportions, and that its waters teemed with +an immense variety of fish and countless 'droves' of sharks. To-day it +remains the same. + +Fifty years passed ere this lonely atoll was visited by another ship, +and then American and English whalers, or, as they were called in those +days, 'South Seamen,' began to touch at the island, give their crews a +few days' spell amid the grateful shade of the palm grove and load their +boats to the gunwales with fat green turtle, turtle eggs, robber crabs, +and sea-birds' eggs. From that time the place became well known to the +three or four hundred of sperm whalers engaged in the fishery, and, +later on, to the shark-catching vessels from the Hawaiian Islands. +Then, sixteen years ago, Christmas Island was taken up by a London firm +engaged in the South Sea Island trade under a lease from the Colonial +Office; this firm at once sent there a number of native labourers from +Manhiki, an island in the South Pacific. These, under the charge of +a white man, were set to work planting coco-nuts and diving for pearl +shell in the lagoon. At the present time, despite one or two severe +droughts, the coco-nut plantations are thriving, and the lessees should +in another few years reap their reward, and hold one of the richest +possessions in the South Seas. + +The island is of considerable extent, and though on the windward or +eastern side its appearance is uninviting in the extreme, and the fierce +oceanic currents that for ever sweep in mighty eddies around its shores +render approach to it difficult and sometimes dangerous, it has yet +afforded succour to many an exhausted and sea-worn shipwrecked crew who +have reached it in boats. And, on the other hand, several fine ships, +sailing quietly along at night time, unaware of the great ocean currents +that are focussed about the terrible reefs encompassing the island, have +crashed upon the jagged coral barrier and been smashed to pieces by the +violence of the surf. + +Scarcely discernible, from its extreme lowness, at a distance of more +than eight miles from the ship's deck, its presence is made known hours +before it is sighted by vast clouds of amphibious birds, most of which +all day long hover about the sea in its vicinity, and return to their +rookeries on the island at sunset. On one occasion, when the vessel in +which I was then serving was quite twenty miles from the land, we were +unable to hear ourselves speak, when, just before it became dark, the +air was filled with the clamour of countless thousands of birds of +aquatic habits that flew in and about our schooner's rigging. Some +of these were what whalemen call 'shoal birds,' 'wide-awakes,' +'molly-hawks,' 'whale birds' and 'mutton birds.' Among them were some +hundreds of frigate birds, the _katafa_ of the Ellice Islanders, and a +few magnificently plum-aged fishers, called _kanapu_ by the natives of +Equatorial Polynesia. + +Given a good breeze and plenty of daylight, the whale-ships of the olden +days could stand round the western horn of the island, a projecting +point rendered pleasingly conspicuous by the grove of graceful +coco-palms which Cook was so glad to observe so many years before, and +then enter a deep bay on the north-west coast, where they obtained +good anchorage in from fifteen to twenty fathoms of water of the most +wonderful transparency, and within a mile of the vast stretches of +white sandy beach that trend away for miles on either hand. And then the +sailors, overjoyed at the delightful prospect of running about in the +few and widely-apart palm groves, and inhaling the sweet, earthy smell +of the thin but fertile soil, covered with its soft, thick bed of +fallen leaves, would lower away the boats, and pulling with their united +strength through the sweeping eddies of the dangerous passage, effect +a landing on a beach of dazzling whites and situated in the inner +south-west border of the wide lagoon. + +On our first visit to the island, in 1872, we had some glorious fishing; +and when we returned on board, under the rays of a moon that shone with +strange, uncanny brilliancy, and revealed the coral bottom ten fathoms +below, the scene presented from our decks was one of the greatest +imaginable beauty, though the loneliness of the place and the absence of +human life was somewhat depressing. We remained at the island for three +days, and during our stay our crew of South Sea Islanders literally +filled our decks with fish, turtle and birds' eggs. Curiously enough, +in our scant library on board the little trading vessel I came across +portion of a narrative of a voyage in a South Seaman, written by her +surgeon, a Mr Bennett, in 1838,{*} and our captain and myself were much +interested in the accurate description he gave of Christmas Island and +its huge rookeries of oceanic birds. + + * _Narrative of a Whaling Voyage round the Globe, from_ 1833 + to 1836. By F. D. Bennett. + +This is what he says: 'Here and there among the low thicket scrubs are +vast rookeries of aquatic birds, whose clamour is deafening. They nest +and incubate upon the ground, and show not the slightest fear of the +approach of human visitors. Among the sooty terns, whose number it was +impossible to estimate, were many hundreds of tropic birds and pure +snow-white petrels.' (He no doubt imagined the pure snow-white petrels +to be a distinct species--they were young tropic birds.) 'These latter, +who flew with a gentle, flapping motion, would actually fly up to us and +scan our countenances with an almost human expression of interest and +curiosity.' (Darwin, in his account of another Christmas Island in the +Indian Ocean, also describes these gentle creatures as being of ethereal +beauty.) 'Some, indeed, permitted themselves to be caught, and although +their delicate, fragile forms quivered with fear when they came in +contact with our hands, they would, when released, return to us again +and again, as if seeking to solve the mystery of what strange beings +were these that had invaded their retreat. In one rookery there were +many varieties of these oceanic birds, and a species of booby that +seems to be peculiar to Christmas Island. In size and colour they much +resemble the ordinary gannet of our cold northern seas. Their plumage is +of a wondrously bright snow white, with the exception of the primary and +secondary feathers of the wings, and the _retrices_ or tail feathers, +which are of a glossy black. The skin of the cheeks and chin is devoid +of feathers, and of a jet black colour, the beak a delicate yellow blue, +the legs bright blue. The solicitude of the female birds of this species +for their offspring was most interesting to witness. Their nests were +of the rudest description, being merely circular heaps of sand raised in +the open plain and exposed to the fury of storms. As we approached the +nests the mother birds settled themselves down upon their single egg +and screamed loudly, but would permit themselves to be lifted off, yet +struggled violently in our hands to get back again. Although there were +thousands of these nests within a radius of an acre, a brooding +hen might easily have been passed unnoticed, for her white plumage +corresponded so well with the hue of the coral sands that one was apt to +kick against the nest were it not for the agonised, barking note of the +poor mother. The male birds, however, of this species did not show any +marital concern for their partners. They were usually seated near the +nests, but at once took to flight upon our approach. Further on, among +a thicket of scrubby vegetation, we found a rookery of many thousands of +the superb red-tailed tropic bird (_Phaeton phoenicurus_), also engaged +in incubation. Their nests were mere circular excavations in the sand, +under the shade of the bushes of the thicket. Each nest contained an +egg of pure white, dotted with delicate lilac spots, and in size rather +larger and rounder than that of the domestic hen. The females, as +well as the males, made no attempt to escape from their nests on our +approach, whether they had or had not the care of eggs, and consequently +several of our crew, with innate Polynesian vanity, soon caught a +number, and plucking out the two long scarlet tail feathers placed them +in their hat bands. + +'A hundred yards away from the rookery of the tropic birds was one of +a colony of the snowy tern before mentioned. These gentle, black-eyed +creatures do not even pretend to construct a nest, but simply deposit a +solitary egg upon the bough of a tree (like the _gogo_, or whale bird). +They select for this purpose a tree destitute of foliage, and a branch +of horizontal growth. It is strange that, notwithstanding the exposed +situation of these eggs, they are very difficult to find; and it was +not until long after the solicitude of the parent birds informed us that +their spot of incubation was near that we could solve the mystery which +attended their nursery. Each egg is the size of a pigeon's, and marked +with either blood or chocolate-coloured splashes and spots of irregular +shape. Considering the slenderness of the branches on which they are +deposited, it is remarkable that the eggs (which appear to be at the +mercy of every passing breeze) should yet retain their extraordinary +position during incubation.' (Any Pacific Islander could easily have +explained this seeming mystery. The shell, when the egg is laid, is +covered with a strong adhesive coating. I have often seen a single egg, +laid upon a slender branch, swaying about in a strong trade wind, and +yet remain firmly in its position.) 'What may be the habits of the +newly-hatched birds we had no opportunity of learning, as none of the +latter came within our observation. + +'Small reef birds (tern) were present in prodigious numbers, skimming +the waters of the coast with an erratic, rapid, but yet graceful flight, +like that of the stormy petrel. At night they assembled in vast numbers +on an islet in the lagoon, to roost on the trees. They are about the +size of an Australian snipe, and their forms are models of elegance and +beauty. Their plumage is in true slate colour, the secondary wings are +white, and a narrow white zone surrounds each eye; their legs and feet +are a pale blue, with white webs. + +'Every now and then as we, during our visit, walked along the snow-white +beaches, great crowds of golden-winged plover and tiny snipe sprang +skyward, and swept in graceful gyrations over the broad expanse of +water, till they settled upon some sandy spit or spot of projecting +reef; and, indeed, the immense concourse or frigate birds, boobies, +terns, petrels and other aquatic denizens of the island filled us with +boundless astonishment. + +'At night time there crept out from their lairs in the loose coral +shingle that lined the scrub at high-water mark, incredible numbers of +huge "land lobsters"--the "robber crab" of the Pacific Islands. They all +crawled to within a few feet of the placid waters of the lagoon, where +they remained motionless, as if awaiting some event--possibly to prey +upon the smaller species of _crustace_ and turtle eggs.' + +Christmas Island, in its structure and elevation, much resembles +Palmerston Island, Arrecifos or Providence Island (the secret rendezvous +of Captain 'Bully' Hayes), Brown's Range, and other low-lying atolls +of the North and South Pacific. The greater part of the interior of the +island is, however, despite the vast number of coco-nuts planted upon it +during the past ten years, still sadly deficient in cheerful vegetation. + +The waters of the lagoon vary greatly in depth, but generally are +shallow and much broken up by sandy spits, reefs and huge coral boulders +which protrude at low water, and the surface is much subject to the +action of the trade wind, which, when blowing strong, lashes them into +a wild surf; and the low shores of the encircling islets, that form +a continuous reef-connected chain, are rendered invisible from the +opposite side by the smoky haze and spume which ascends in clouds from +the breaking surf that rolls and thunders on the outer barrier reefs. + +In the interior no fresh water is obtainable, although in the rainy +season some of a brackish quality can be had by sinking shallow wells. +This water rises and falls in the wells in unison with the tides. Here +and there are very extensive swamps of sea-water, evaporrated to a +strong brine; the margins of these are clothed with a fair growth of +the pandanus or screw-pine palm, the fruit of which, when ripe, forms a +nutritious and palatable food for the natives of the Equatorial Pacific +Islands. + +The island where Captain Cook set up his observatory is but a small +strip of sandy soil, clothed with a few coco-palms, some screw-palms +(pandanus), and a thick-matted carpet of a vine called _At At_ by the +natives. The only quadrupeds are rats, and some huge land tortoises, +similar to those of the Galapagos Islands. They are most hideous-looking +creatures, and, being of nocturnal habits, like the great robber crab, +are apt to produce a most terrifying impression upon the beholder, if +met with in the loneliness of the night. The present human occupants of +Christmas Island are, however, well supplied with pigs and poultry; and +though this far-away dot of Britain's empire beyond the seas is scarcely +known to the world, and visited but twice a year by a trading vessel +from Sydney, they are happy and contented in their home in this lonely +isle of the mid-Pacific. + + + + +BILGER, OF SYDNEY + +A death in the family brought about my fatal acquaintance with Bilger. +A few days after the funeral, as my sister and I sat talking on the +verandah of our cottage (which overlooked the waters of Sydney Harbour) +and listened to the pouring rain upon the shingled roof, we saw a man +open the garden gate and come slowly up to the house. He carried an +ancient umbrella, the tack lashings of which on one side had given way +entirely, showing six bare ribs. As he walked up the path, his large, +sodden boots made a nasty, squelching sound, and my sister, who has a +large heart, at once said, 'Poor creature; I wonder who he is. I hope it +isn't the coal man come for his money.' + +He went round to the back door and, after letting himself drain off a +bit, knocked gently and with exceeding diffidence. + +I asked him his business. He said he wanted to see my wife. + +'Not here. Gone away for a month.' + +'Dear, dear, how sad! Broken down, no doubt, with a mother's grief. Is +there any other lady in the family whom I could see?' + +'What the deuce do you want?' I began angrily; then, as he raised his +weak, watery eyes to mine, and I saw that his grey hairs were as wet as +his boots, I relented. Perhaps he was someone who knew my wife or her +people, and wanted to condole with her over the death of her baby. He +looked sober enough, so, as he seemed much agitated, I asked him to sit +down, and said I would send my sister to him. Then I went back to my +pipe and chair. Ten minutes later my sister Kate came to me with her +handkerchief to her eyes. + +'_Do_ go and see the old fellow. He has _such_ a sympathetic nature. +I'm sure I should have cried aloud had I stayed any longer. Anyone would +think he had known poor little Teddie ever since he was born. I've asked +Mary to make him a cup of tea.' + +'Who is he?' + +'I don't know his name, but he seems so sympathetic. And he says he +should be so pleased if he might see you again for a few minutes. He +says, too, that you have a good and kind face. I told him that you would +be sure to take at least a dozen of those in cream and gold. There's +nothing at all vulgar; quite the reverse.' + +'What _are_ you talking about, Kate? Who is this sodden old lunatic, and +what on earth are you crying for?' + +My sister nearly sobbed. 'I always thought that what you derisively +termed "mortuary bards" were horrid people, but this old man has a +beautiful nature. And he's very wet--and hungry too, I'm sure; and Mary +looks at him as if he were a dog. Do try and help him. I think we might +get one or two dozen cream and gold cards, and two dozen black-edged. + +And then he's a journalist, too. He's told me quite a sad little story +of his life struggle, and the moment I told him you were on the _Evening +News_ he quite brightened up, and said he knew your name quite well.' + +'Kate,' I said, 'I don't want to see the man. What the deuce does he +want? If he is one of those loafing scoundrels of undertakers' and +mortuary masons' touts, just send him about his business; give him a +glass of whisky and tell Mary to clear him out.' + +My sister said that to send an old man out in such weather was not like +_me_. Surely I would at least speak a kind word to him. + +In sheer desperation I went out to the man. He addressed me in husky +tones, and said that he desired to express his deep sympathy with me in +my affliction, also that he was 'a member of the Fourth Estate.' Seven +years before he had edited the _Barangoora News_, but his determined +opposition to a dishonest Government led to his ruin, and now-- + +'All right, old man; stow all that. What do you want?' + +He looked at me reproachfully, and taking up a small leather bag, said +that he represented Messrs ------, 'Monumental Masons and Memorial Card +Designers and Printers,' and should feel pleased if I would look at his +samples. + +He was such a wretched, hungry-looking, down-upon-his-beam-ends old +fellow, that I could not refuse to inspect his wares. And then his boots +filled me with pity. For such a little man he had the biggest boots I +ever saw--baggy, elastic sides, and toes turned up, with the after part +of the uppers sticking out some inches beyond the frayed edges of his +trousers. As he sat down and drew these garments up, and his bare, +skinny legs showed above his wrecked boots, his feet looked like two +water-logged cutters under bare poles, with the water running out of the +scuppers. + +Mary brought the whisky. I poured him out a good, stiff second mate's +nip. It did my heart good to see him drink it, and hear the soft +ecstatic 'Ah, ah, ah,' which broke from him when he put the glass down; +it was a _Te Deum Laudamus_. + +Having briefly intimated to him that I had no intention of buying 'a +handsome granite monument, with suitable inscription, or twelve lines +of verse, for 4, 17s. 6d.,' I took up his packet of _In Memoriam_ cards +and went through them. The first one was a hand-drawn design in cream +and gold--Kate's fancy. It represented in the centre an enormously +bloated infant with an idiotic leer, lying upon its back on a blue cloud +with scalloped edges, whilst two male angels, each with an extremely +vicious expression, were pulling the cloud along by means of tow-lines +attached to their wings. Underneath were these words in MS.: 'More +angels can be added, if desired, at an extra charge of 6d. each.' + +No. 2 represented a disorderly flight of cherubims, savagely attacking a +sleeping infant in its cradle, which was supported on either hand by +two vulgar-looking female angels blowing bullock horns in an apathetic +manner. + +No. 3 rather took my fancy--there was so much in it--four large fowls +flying across the empyrean; each bird carried a rose as large as a +cabbage in its beak, and apparently intended to let them drop upon +a group of family mourners beneath. The MS. inscribed said, 'If +photographs are supplied of members of the Mourning Family, our artist +will reproduce same in group gathered round the deceased. If doves are +not approved, cherubims, angels, or floral designs may be used instead, +for small extra charge.' + +Whilst I was going through these horrors the old man kept up a babbling +commentary on their particular and collective beauties; then he wanted +me to look at his specimens of verse, much of which, he added, with +fatuous vanity, was his own composition. + +I did read some of it, and felt a profound pity for the corpse that had +to submit to such degradation. Here are four specimens, the first of +which was marked, 'Especially suitable for a numerous family, who have +lost an aged parent, gold lettering is. 6d. extra,'-- + + 'Mary and May and Peter and John [or other names] + Loved and honoured him [or her] who has gone; + White was his [or her] hair and kind was his [or her] heart, + Oh why, we all sigh, were we made thus to part?' + +_For an Aunt, (Suitable verses for Uncles at same rates.)_ + + 'Even our own sweet mother, who is so kind, + Could not wring our hearts more if she went and left us behind; + A halo of glory is now on thy head, + Ah, sad, sad thought that good auntie is dead.' + +_For a Father or Mother,_ + + 'Oh children, dear, when I was alive, + To get you bread I hard did strive; + I now am where I need no bread, + And wear a halo round my head. + Weep not upon my tomb, I pray, + But do your duty day by day.' + +The last but one was still more beautiful,-- + +_For a Child who suffered a Long Illness before Decease_. + +[I remarked casually that a child could not suffer even a short illness +_after_ decease. Bilger smiled a watery smile and said 'No.'] + + 'For many long months did we fondly sit, + And watch our darling fade bit by bit; + Till an angel called from out the sky, + "Come home, dear child, to the Sweet By-and-By. + Hard was your lot on earth's sad plain, + But now you shall never suffer again, + For cherubims and seraphims will welcome you here. + Fond parents, lament not for the loss of one so dear."' + [N.B.--"_These are very beautiful lines_."] + +The gem of the collection, however, was this:-- + +_Suitable for a child of any age. The beautiful simplicity of the words +have brought us an enormous amount of orders from bereaved parents_. + + 'Our [Emily] was so fair, + That the angels envied her, + And whispered in her ear, + "We will take you away on [Tuesday] night."' + +["_Drawing of angels carrying away deceased child, is. 6d. extra_."] + +The old imbecile put his damp finger upon this, and asked me what I +thought of it. I said it was very simple but touching, and then, being +anxious to get rid of him, ordered two dozen of Kate's fancy. He thanked +me most fervently, and said he would bring them to me in a few days. I +hurriedly remarked he could post them instead, paid him in advance, and +told him to help himself to some more whisky. He did so, and I observed, +with some regret, that he took nearly half a tumblerful. + +'Dear, dear me,' he said, with an apologetic smile, 'I'm afraid I have +taken too much; would you kindly pour some back. My hand is somewhat +shaky. Old age, sir, if I may indulge in a platitude, is--' + +'Oh, never mind putting any back. It's a long walk to the ferry, and a +wet day beside.' + +'True, true,' he said meditatively, looking at Mary carrying in the +dinner, and drinking the whisky in an abstracted manner. + +Just then my sister beckoned me out. She said it was very thoughtless of +me to pour gallons of whisky down the poor old fellow's throat, upon an +empty stomach. + +'Perhaps you would like me to ask him to have dinner with us?' I said +with dignified sarcasm. + +'I think we might at least let Mary give him something to eat.' + +Of course I yielded, and my sister bade Mary give our visitor a good +dinner. For such a small man he had an appetite that would have done +credit to a long-fasting tiger shark tackling a dead whale; and every +time I glanced at Mary's face as she waited on my sister and myself I +saw that she was verging upon frenzy. At last, however, we heard him +shuffling about on the verandah, and thought he was going without saying +'thank you.' We wronged him, for presently he called to Mary and asked +her if I would kindly grant him a few words after I had finished dinner. + +'Confound him! What the deuce--' + +My sister said, 'Don't be cruel to the poor old fellow. _You may be like +him yourself some day._' + +I said I didn't doubt it, if my womenfolk encouraged every infernal old +dead-beat in the colony to come and loaf upon me. Two large tears at +once ran down Kate's nose, and dropped into the custard on her plate. I +softened at once and went out. + +'Permit me, sir,' he said, in a wobbly kind of voice, as he lurched to +and fro in the doorway, and tried to jab the point of his umbrella into +a knot-hole in the verandah boards in order to steady himself, 'permit +me, sir, to thank you for your kindness and to tender you my private +card. Perhaps I may be able to serve you in some humble way'--here the +umbrella point stuck in the hole, and he clung to the handle with both +hands--'some humble way, sir. Like yourself, I am a literary man, as +this will show you.' He fumbled in his breast pocket with his left hand, +and would have fallen over on his back but for the umbrella handle, to +which he clung with his right. Presently he extracted a dirty card and +handed it to me, with a bow, which he effected by doubling himself +on his stomach over the friendly gamp, and remained in that position, +swaying to and fro, for quite ten seconds. I read the card:-- + + MR HORATIO BILGER + Journalist and Littrateur + + Formerly Editor of the 'Barangoora News' + + Real Aylesbury Ducks for Sale + Book-keeping Taught in Four Lessons + + 4a Kellet Street, + Darlinghurst, Sydney + +I said I should bear him in mind, and, after helping him to release his +umbrella, saw him down the steps and watched him disappear. + +'Thank Heaven!' I said to Kate, 'we have seen the last of him.' + +I was bitterly mistaken, for next morning when I entered the office, +Bilger was there awaiting me, outside the sub-editor's room. He was +wearing a new pair of boots, much larger than the old ones, and smiled +pleasantly at me, and said he had brought his son Edward to see me, +feeling sure that I would use my influence with the editor and manager +to get him put on as a canvasser. + +I refused point blank to see 'Edward' then or at any other time, and +said that even if there was a vacancy I should not recommend a stranger. +He sighed, and said that I should like Edward, once I knew him. He was +'a noble lad, but misfortune had dogged his footsteps--a brave, heroic +nature, fighting hard against unmerited adversity.' I went in and shut +the door. + + * * * * * + +Two days later Kate asked me at supper if I _couldn't do something for +old Bilger's son_. + +'Has that infernal old nuisance been writing to you about his confounded +son?' + +'How ill-tempered you are! The "old nuisance," as you call him, has +behaved very nicely. He sent his son over here to thank us for our +kindness, and to ask me to accept a dozen extra cards from himself. The +son is a very respectable-looking man, but rather shabby. He is coming +again to-morrow to help Mary to put up the new wire clothes line.' + +'Is he? Well, then, Mary can pay him.' + +'Don't be so horrid. He doesn't want payment for it. But, of course, I +shall pay his fare each way. Mary says he's such a willing young man.' + +In the morning I saw Mr Edward Bilger, helping Mary. He was a fat-faced, +greasy-looking youth, with an attempted air of hang-dog respectability, +and with 'loafer' writ large on his forehead. I stepped over to him and +said,-- + +'Now, look here. I don't want you fooling about the premises. Here's two +shillings for you. Clear out, and if you come back again on any pretence +whatever I'll give you in charge.' + +He accepted the two shillings with thanks, said that he meant no +offence, but he thought Mary was not strong enough to put up a wire +clothes line. + +Mary (who was standing by, looking very sulky) was a cow-like creature +of eleven stone, and I laughed. She at once sniffed and marched away. +Mr Bilger, junior, presently followed her into the kitchen. I went after +him and ordered him out. Mary was leaning against the dresser, biting +her nails and looking at me viciously. + +Half an hour later, as I walked to the ferry, I saw Mr Bilger, junior, +sitting by the roadside, eating bread and meat (my property). He stood +up as I passed, and said politely that it looked like rain. I requested +him to make a visit to Sheol, and passed on. + +In the afternoon my sister called upon me at the _Evening News_ office. +She wore that look of resigned martyrdom peculiar to women who have +something unpleasant to say. + +'Mary has given me notice--of course.' + +'Why "of course!"' + +Kate rose with an air of outraged dignity. 'Servants don't like to be +bullied and sworn at--not white servants, anyway. You can't expect the +girl to stay. She's a very good girl, and I'm sure that that young +man Bilger was doing no harm. As it is, you have placed me in a most +unpleasant position; I had told him that he could let his younger +brothers and sisters come and weed the paddock, and--' + +'Why not invite the whole Bilger family to come and live on the +premises?' I began, when Kate interrupted me by saying that if I was +going to be violent she would leave me. Then she sailed out with an +injured expression of countenance. + +When I returned home to dinner at 7.30, Mary waited upon us in sullen +silence. After dinner I called her in, gave her a week's wages in lieu +of notice, and told her to get out of the house as a nuisance. Kate went +outside and wept. + + * * * * * + +From that day the Bilger family proved a curse to me. Old Bilger wrote +me a note expressing his sorrow that his son--quite innocently--had +given me offence; also he regretted to hear that my servant had left me. +Mrs Bilger, he added, was quite grieved, and would do her best to send +some 'likely girls' over. 'If none of them suited, Mrs Bilger would +be delighted to come and assist my sister in the mornings. She was an +excellent, worthy woman.' And he ventured, with all due respect, to +suggest to me that my sister looked very delicate. His poor lad Edward +was very sad at heart _over the turn matters had taken_. The younger +children, too, were sadly grieved--to be in a garden, even to toil, +would be a revelation to them. + +That evening I went home in a bad temper. Kate, instead of meeting me as +usual at the gate, was cooking dinner, looking hot and resigned, I dined +alone, Kate saying coldly that she did not care about eating anything. +The only other remark she made that evening was that 'Mary had cried +very bitterly when she left.' + +I said, 'The useless, fat beast!' + + * * * * * + +The Curse of Bilger rested upon me for quite three months. He called +twice a week, regularly, and borrowed two shillings 'until next Monday.' +Then one day that greasy ruffian, Bilger, junior, came into the _Evening +News_ office, full of tears and colonial beer, and said that his poor +father was dead, and that his mother thought I might perhaps lend her a +pound to help bury him. + +The sub-editor (who was overjoyed at Bilger's demise) lent me ten +shillings, which I gave to Edward, and told him I was sorry to hear the +old man was dead. I am afraid my face belied my words. + + + + +THE VISION OF MILLI THE SLAVE + +One day a message came over from Tetoro, King of Par, in Tahiti, to +his vassal Mahua, chief of Tetuaroa,{*} saying, 'Get thee ready a great +feast, for in ten days I send thee my daughter Laea to be wife to thy +son Nar. + + * Tetuaroa is an island about forty miles from Tahiti. It + was in those days (1808) part of the hereditary possessions + of the chief of Par. + +For Nar, the son of the chief of Tetuaroa, had long been smitten with +the beauty of Laea, and desired to make her his wife. Only once had +he seen her; but since then he had sent over many canoes laden with +presents, such as hogs and turtle, and great bunches of plantains, and +fine tappa cloth for her acceptance. + +But Tetoro, her father, was a greedy man, and cried for more; and Mahua, +so that his son might gain his heart's desire, became hard and cruel to +the people of Tetuaroa. + +Day after day he sent his servants to every village on the island +demanding from them all such things as would please the eye of Tetoro; +so that by-and-by there was but little left in their plantations, and +still less in their houses. + +And so, with sullen faces and low murmurs of anger, the people yielded +up their treasures of mats and tappa cloth, and such other things that +the servants of the chief discovered in their dwellings, and watched +them carried away to appease the avarice of Tetoro the King. + +One night, when they were gathered together in their houses, and the +torches of _tui tui_ (candle-nut kernels) were lighted, they talked +among themselves, not loudly but in whispers, for no one knew but that +one of the chiefs body-men might perhaps be listening outside, and that +to them meant swift death from the anger of Mahua. + +'Why has this misfortune come upon us?' they said to one another. 'Why +should Nar, who is an _aito_{*} set his heart upon the daughter of +Tetoro when there are women of as good blood as her close to his hand? +Surely, when she comes here to live, then will there be hard times in +the land, and we shall be eaten up with hunger.' + + * A man distinguished in warfare. + +'Ay,' said a girl named Milli, 'it is hard that we should give our all +to a strange woman.' + +She spoke very loudly, and without fear, and the rest of the people +looked wonderingly at her, for she was but a poor slave, and, as such, +should not have raised her voice when men were present. So they angrily +bade her be silent. Who was she that dared to speak of such things? If +she died of hunger, they said, what did it matter? She was but a girl +and a slave, and girls' lives were worth nothing until they bore male +children. + +And then Milli the Slave sprang up, her eyes blazing with anger, and +heaped scorn upon them for cowards. + +'See,' she said, and her voice shook with passion; 'see me, Milli the +Slave, standing before ye all, and listen to my words, so that your +hearts may grow strong, even as strong as mine has grown. Listen while I +tell thee of a dream that came to me in the night. + +'In my dream this land of ours became as it was fifteen moons ago, and +as it may never be again. I saw the groves of plantains, with their +loads of fruit, shine red and yellow, like the setting of the sun, and +the ground was forced open because of the great size of the yams and +taro and arrowroot that grew beneath; and I heard the heavy fall of the +ripe coconuts on the grass, and the crooning notes of the pigeons that +fed upon the red _mati_ berries were as the low booming of the surf on +the reef when it sounds far distant.' + +For a little while she ceased, and the people muttered. + +'Ay, it was so, fifteen moons ago.' + +And then Milli, sinking upon one knee, and spreading out her arms +towards them, spoke again, but in a low, soft voice,-- + +'And I saw the white beach of Teavamoa black with turtle that could +scarce crawl seaward because of their fatness; and saw the canoes, +filled to the gunwales with white, shining fish, come paddling in from +the lagoon; and then came the night. And in the night I heard the sound +of the _vivo_{*} and the beat of the drum, and the songs and laughter +and the shouts of the people as they made merry and sang and danced, +and ate and drank, till the red sun burst out from the sea, and they lay +down to sleep. + + * Nasal flute. + +'And then, behold there came into my dream, a small black cloud. It +gathered together at Par, and rose from the ground, and was borne +across the sea to Tetuaroa.{*} As it came nearer, darker and darker +grew the shadows over this land, till at last it was wrapped up in the +blackness of night. And then out of the belly of the cloud there sprang +a woman arrayed as a bride, and behind her there followed men with faces +strange to me, whose stamping footsteps shook the island to its roots in +the deep sea. Then came a mystic voice to me, which said,-- + +"Follow and see." + + * Tetoro's canoe, in which he sent his daughter to Tetuaroa, + was painted black by an English sailor who, living under his + protection, afterwards married his daughter. + +'So I followed and saw'--she sprang to her feet, and her voice rang +sharp and fierce--'I saw the strange woman and those with her pass +swiftly over the land like as the shadows of birds fall upon the ground +when the sun is high and their flight is low and quick. And as they +passed, the plantains and taro and arrowroot were torn up and stripped +and left to perish; and there was nought left of the swarms of turtle +and fish but their bones; for the black cloud and the swift shadows +that ran before it had eaten out the heart of the land, and not even one +coco-nut was left. + +'And then I heard a great crying and weeping of many voices, and I saw +men and women lying down in their houses with their bones sticking out +of their skins; and wild pigs, perishing with hunger, sprang in upon +them and tore their bellies open with their tusks, and devoured them, +and fought with each other among the bones and blood of those they ate.' + +A groan of terror burst from the listening people, and the slave girl, +with her lips parted and her white teeth set, looked with gleaming, +angry eyes slowly round the group. + +'Again I heard the cries and the groans and the weeping; and I saw thee, +Foani, take thy suckling child from thy withered breast, and give it to +thy husband, so that it might be slain to feed thy other children. And +then thou, too, Tiria, and thou, Hini, and many other women, did I see +slay thy children and their children, and cook and eat them, even as the +wild pigs had eaten those men and women that lay dying on their mats. +And this, O people! is all of the dream that came to me; for then a +great sweat ran down over my body, and a heavy pain came upon my heart, +so that I awoke.' + +She trembled and sank down again among the women, in the midst of whom +she had been sitting, and then growling, angry murmurs ran round the +assemblage, and the names of Nar and the king's daughter passed from +lip to lip. + + * * * * * + +Well as they liked their chief's son--for he was distinguished alike +for his bravery and generosity--they yet saw that his marriage with Laea +would mean a continued existence of misery to them all, or at least so +long as the young man's passion for his wife lasted. + +Past experience had taught them many a bitter lesson, for ever since +their island had been conquered, they had been subjected to the payment +of the most exacting tribute. + +Fertile as was Tetuaroa, the continued demands made upon its people +for food by the royal family of Tahiti had frequently reduced them to a +condition bordering upon starvation. + +But these requests had, of late years, been so much modified, that the +island, under the rule of Mahua, had become renowned for its wealth of +food and the prosperous condition of its inhabitants. + +It was, therefore, with no pleasant feelings that the people viewed +the approaching marriage of the son of their chief to the child of the +grasping Tetoro, a man who would certainly see no abatement made in +the extortions he had succeeded in inducing his vassal Mahua to again +inaugurate. + + * * * * * + +At midnight, long after the women were asleep, the principal men of the +island met together and talked of the dream described by the slave girl. +So firmly were they convinced that she had been chosen by the gods as +a means of warning them of their impending rate if the marriage took +place, that they firmly resolved to frustrate it, even if it cost every +one of them his life. + +But, so that neither Mahua nor his son should suspect their intentions, +they set about to prepare for the great feast ordered by Tetoro; and for +the next week or so the whole population was busily engaged in bringing +together their various presents of food and goods, and conveying them +to the chief's house, where, on the arrival of the fleet of canoes that +would bring the king's daughter from Par, they would be presented to +her in person by the priests and minor chiefs. + + * * * * * + +On the afternoon of the tenth day, some men whom Mahua had set to watch +for Tetoro's fleet saw the great mat sails of five war canoes sweeping +across the long line of palms that fringed the southern beach? Then +there was great commotion, and many _pu_{*} were sounded from one end +of the island to the other, bidding the people to assemble at the +landing-place and welcome the bride of the chiefs son. + + * The conch shell. + +Now, it so happened that Nar, when the cry arose that the canoes were +coming, was sitting alone in a little bush-house near the south point +of the island. He had come there with two or three of his young men +attendants, so that he might be dressed and adorned to meet Tetoro's +daughter. As soon as they had completed their task he had sent them +away, for he intended to remain in the bush-house till his father sent +for him; for such was the custom of the land. + +Very gay and handsome he looked, when presently he stood up and looked +out over the lagoon to where the canoes were entering the passage. Round +his waist was a girdle of bright yellow strips of plantain leaves, +mixed with the scarlet leaves of the _ti_ plant; a band of pearl-shell +ornaments encircled his forehead, and his long, black hair, perfumed +with scented oil, was twisted up in a high spiral knob, and ornamented +with scarlet hibiscus flowers. Across one broad shoulder there hung a +small, snowy-white poncho or cape, made of fine tappa cloth, and round +his wrists and ankles were circlets of pearl shell, enclosed in a +netting of black coir cinnet. On each leg there was tattooed, in bright +blue, a coco-nut tree, its roots spreading out at the heel and running +in wavy lines along the instep to the toes, its elastic stalk shooting +upwards till its waving plumes spread gracefully out on the broad, +muscular calf. + +Yet, although he was so finely arrayed, Nar was troubled in his mind; +for not once did those who had dressed him speak of Laea, and this the +young man thought was strange, for he would have been pleased to hear +them talk to him of her beauty. In silence had they attended to his +needs, and this hurt him, for they were all dear friends. So at last, +when they rose to leave him, he had said,-- + +'Why is it that none of ye speak either to me, or to one another? Am I a +corpse that is dressed for the funeral rites?' + +Then one of them, named Tano, his foster-brother, answered, and bent +his head as he spoke,-- + +'Oh, Nar, son of Mahua, and mine own brother, hast thou not heard of +the dream of Milli?' + +At the name of Milli, the hot blood leapt into the face of the chief's +son; but he answered quickly,-- + +'Nay, naught have I heard, and how can the dream of a slave girl concern +me on such a day as this?' + +'Oh, Nar!' replied Tano, ''tis more than a dream; for the god Oro hath +spoken to her, and shown her things that concern thee and all of thy +father's people.' And with that the young men arose and left him without +further speech. + +Little did Nar know that scarce a stone's throw away from where he +stood, Milli, with love in her eyes, was watching him from behind a +clump of plantain trees. She, too, was arrayed as if for a dance or +a marriage, and behind her were a number of women, who were crouched +together and spoke only in whispers. + +As they stood, the sounds of the drums and flutes and conches came from +the village, and then Nar went forth from the little house, and walked +towards it through the palm grove. + + * * * * * + +As he stepped proudly along the shaded path he heard his name called in +a low voice, and Milli the Slave stood before him with downcast eyes, +and barred his path. + +Now, Nar, bold as he was, feared to meet this girl, and so for some +moments no words came to him, and Milli, looking quickly up, saw that he +had placed his right hand over his eyes. Then she spoke,-- + +'See, Nar, I do but come to thee to speak some little words; so turn +thy face to me once more; for from this day thou shalt never again see +Milli the Slave.' + +But Nar, still keeping his hand to his eyes, turned aside, and leaning +his forehead against the trunk of a palm-tree, kept silence awhile. Then +he said, in a low voice,-- + +'Oh, Milli, be not too hard! This woman Laea hath bewitched me--and +then--thou art but a slave.' + +'Aye,' answered the girl, softly, 'I am but a slave, and this Laea is +very beautiful and the daughter of a great chief. So for that do I come +to say farewell, and to ask thee to drink with me this bowl of orange +juice. 'Tis all I have to offer, for I am poor and have no wedding gift +to give thee; and yet with this mean offering do I for ever give thee +the hot love of my heart--ay, and my life also, if thou should'st need +it.' + +And so, to please the girl whom he had once loved, he received from +her hand the drink of orange juice, which she took from a basket she +carried, and yet as he drank he looked away, for he feared to see her +eyes looking into his. + +Only one word did he say as he turned away, and that was 'Farewell,' and +Milli answered 'Farewell, Nar;' but when he had gone some distance she +followed him and sobbed softly to herself. + +And soon, as Nar walked, his body swayed to and fro and his feet struck +the roots of the trees that grew out through the soil along the path. +Then Milli, running swiftly up, caught him as he fell, and laid his head +upon her knees. His eyes were closed and his skin dead to her touch. + +Presently the bushes near by parted, and two women came out, and lifting +Nar between them, they carried the young man to a shady place and laid +him down. + +And then Milli wept as she bent her face over that of the man she loved, +but the two older women bade her cease. + +Once more the girl looked at Nar, and then, stepping out into the path, +ran swiftly towards the village. + + * * * * * + +The five canoes were now sailing quickly over the smooth lagoon, with +the streamers from their mat sails floating in the wind, and on the +stages that ran from their sides to the outriggers were grouped parties +of singers and dancers, with painted bodies and faces dyed scarlet with +the juice of the _mati_ berry, who sang and danced, and shouted, and +made a brave show for the people who awaited their coming on the shore. + +On the great stage of the first canoe, which was painted black, was +seated Laea, surrounded by her women attendants, who joined in the wild +singing whenever the name of their mistress formed the singers' theme. + +Then suddenly, as each steersman let fall from his hand his great +steering paddle, which was secured by a rope to the side, the canoes +ran up into the wind, the huge mat sails were lowered, the stone anchors +dropped overboard, and the music and dancing ceased. + +And then a strange thing happened, and Laea, who was of a proud and +haughty disposition, as became her lineage, grew pale with anger; for +suddenly the great crowd of people which had assembled on the beach +seemed to sway to and fro, and then separate and form into two bodies; +and she saw that the women and children had gathered apart from the men +and stood in a compact mass on the brow of the beach, and the men, in +strange, ominous quiet, spear and club in hand, had ranged, without a +sound, in battle array before her escort. + +There was silence awhile, and then Tano, the foster brother of Nar, +clothed in his armour of cinnet fibre, and grasping a short stabbing +spear in his hand, stepped out of the ranks. + +'Get thee back again to Tahiti, O men of Par,' he said quietly, +striking his spear into the sand. 'This marriage is not to our minds.' + +Then Laea, as she looked at the amazed and angered faces of her people +as they heard Tano's insulting words, dashed aside her attendants, and +leaping from the canoe into the shallow water, walked to the shore, and +stood face to face with him. + +'Who art thou, fellow, to stand before the daughter of Tetoro the King, +with a spear in thy rude hand, and thy mouth filled with saucy words?' + +'I am Tano, the foster brother of the man thou seekest to marry. And +because that a warning hath come to us against this marriage do I stand +here, spear in hand.' + +Laea laughed scornfully. + +'_I_ seek thy brother in marriage? Thou fool! Would I, the daughter of +my father, _seek_ any man for husband? Hath not this Nar pestered me so +with his presents and his love-offerings that, for very weariness, and +to please my father, I turned my face from the Englishman who buildeth +ships for him, and said "Aye" to this Nar--who is but a little +man{*}--when he besought me to be wife to him. Ah! the Englishman, who +is both a clever and strong man, is more to my liking.' + + * Meaning in rank. + +'Get thee back, then, to thy Englishman, and leave to me my lover,' +cried a woman's voice, and Milli the Slave, thrusting aside the armed +men who sought to stay her, sprang out upon the sand, and clenching her +hands tightly, gazed fiercely at the king's daughter. + +'_Thy_ lover!' and Laea looked contemptuously at the small, slender +figure of the slave girl, and then her cheek darkened with rage as she +turned to her followers. 'See how this dog of a Nar hath insulted me! +Have I come all this way to be fooled for the sake of such a miserable +creature as this?' and she pointed scornfully to Milli and then spat on +the ground. 'Where is this fellow? Let him come near to me so that I may +tell him to his face that I have ever despised him as one beneath me. +Where is he, I ask thee, girl?' And she seized the slave girl by her +wrist. + +The savage fury of her voice, her blazing eyes, and noble, commanding +presence, excited alike both her own people and the clustering throng +of armed men that stood watching on the beach, for these latter, by some +common impulse moved nearer, and at the same time every man in the five +canoes sprang out, and, dashing through the water, ranged themselves +beside their mistress. + +'Back!' cried Tano, warningly; 'back, ye men of Par, back, ere it be +too late, and thou, Laea, harm not the girl, for see, O foolish woman! +we here are as ten to one, and 'twill be a bloody day for thee and thy +people if but a spear be raised.' + +And then, facing round, he cried, 'And back, O men of Tetuaroa. Why draw +ye so near? Must blood run because of the vain and bitter words of a +silly woman?' + +Then, with an angry gesture, Laea released her hold of the slave girl's +slender wrist, and she, too, held up a warning hand to her warriors. + +'True, Tano,' she said mockingly; 'thy people are as ten to one of +mine, as thou sayest, and for this alone dost thou dare insult me. Oh, +thou coward, Tano!' + +A swift gleam of anger shone in Tano's eyes, and his hand grasped +his spear tightly. Then he looked steadily at the king's daughter, and +answered. + +'Nay, no coward am I, Laea. And see, if but a little blood will appease +thee, take this spear and slay me. It is better for one to die than +many.' Stretching out his hand, he gave her his spear. + +She waved it back sneeringly. + +'Thy words are brave, Tano; but only because that behind them lieth no +danger. Only a coward could talk as--' + +He sprang back. + +'Ho, men of Par! Listen! So that but one or two men may die, and many +live, let this quarrel lie between me and any one of ye that will battle +with me here, spear to spear, on this beach. Is it not better so than +that Tetoro the King should weep for so many of his people?' + +A tall, grey-headed old warrior leapt out from the ranks of those that +stood behind Laea. + +'Thou and I, Tano, shall fight till one of us be slain.' + +Suddenly Milli the Slave sprang between them with outstretched arms. + +'Peace, peace! Drop thou thy spear, Tano, and thou thine, old man. +There is no need for blood but mine--for Nar is dead.' + +Then, kneeling on the sand she said, 'Draw near to me and listen.' + +Quickly the opposing parties formed a circle around her; before her +stood the haughty and angry Laea; behind her, and standing side by side, +Tano and the grey-haired Tahitian warrior. + +'I am Milli, the bond-woman of Mahua, the father of Nar. And Nar loved +me; but because of thee, O Laea, he turned from me, and my heart became +cold. For who would give food to my child when it was born--the child of +a slave whose lover was a chief and who had cast her off? And then there +came a vision to me in the night, and I saw the things of which I have +told ye, O men of Tetuaroa. And I knew that the black cloud of my vision +was sent to warn the people of this land against the marriage, and the +hunger and the bitter days of poverty that would come of it. And so, +because thou art a great woman, O Laea, and I but a poor slave, did I +meet Nar but a little while since and give him to drink; and when he +drank of that which I gave him he died, for it was poisoned.' + +A low murmur, half anger, half pity, broke from the assembled people. + +'Thou fool!' said Laea, pityingly; and then she turned to Tano. + +'And so thy brother hath died by the hand of a slave? Let us part in +peace. Farewell!' + +And then, as the men of Par returned in silence to their canoes, Tano +and his people closed in upon the kneeling figure of the slave girl, who +bent her head as a man stepped before her with a club. + + * * * * * + +When the five canoes had sailed away a little distance from the beach, +Laea saw the men of Tetuaroa open out their ranks, and, looking in the +midst, she saw, lying face downwards on the sand, the body of Milli the +Slave. + + + + +DENISON GETS A BERTH ASHORE + +After many years as supercargo, 'blackbirder'{*} and trader in the South +Seas, Tom Denison one day found himself in Sydney with less than ten +shillings in his pocket, and with a strong fraternal yearning to visit +his brother, who was a bank manager in North Queensland and a very +good-natured man. So he sent a telegram, 'Tired of the sea. Can you +find me a billet ashore?' An answer soon came, 'Yes, if you can +manage poultry farm and keep books. If so, will wire passage money and +expenses.' + + * A 'backbirder' is the term applied to any person engaged + in the Polynesian labour traffic. + +Denison pondered over the situation. He had seen a lot of poultry in +his time--in coops on board the _Indiana_ and the _Palestine_; and one +Captain 'Bully' Hayes, with whom he had once sailed as supercargo, had +told him a lot of things about game fowls, to which birds the genial +'Bully' had a great leaning--but was not sure that he was good at books. +In fact, the owners of the _Palestine_ had said that his system of +book-keeping had driven the senior partner to drink, and they always +sent a 'Manual of Book-keeping' on board every time the ship sailed from +Sydney. At the same time Denison was touched by the allusion to passage +money and expenses, and felt that making entries about the birth of +clutches of chickens and ducklings, and the number of eggs sold, +would be simple enough--much easier than the heartbreaking work of a +supercargo, when such customers as Flash Harry of Apia or Fiji Bill of +Apamama would challenge the correctness of their grog bills, and offer +to fight him instead of paying. And then, he thought, it would be simply +delightful to sit in a room in a quiet farmhouse and hear the gentle +moaning of calves and the cheerful cackle of exultant hens, as he wrote +items in a book about eggs and things, and drink buttermilk, instead +of toiling in the ill-smelling trade-room on board the _Palestine_, +bottling off Queensland rum and opening tierces of negrohead tobacco, +while the brig was either standing on her head or rolling her soul out, +and Packenham the skipper was using shocking language to everyone on +deck. + +So he sent a 'collect' telegram to his brother, and stated that he +thoroughly understood all branches of poultry and book-keeping. + +On the voyage up to Cooktown he kept to himself, and studied 'Pip and +Its Remedy,' 'Warts and the Sulphur Cure,' 'Milligan on Roup in Ducks,' +and other valuable works; so that when the steamer reached the port and +he met his brother, the latter was deeply impressed with the profound +knowledge he displayed of the various kinds of poultry diseases, and +said he felt sure that Denison would 'make the thing pay.' The poultry +farm, he said, belonged to the bank, which had advanced money to the +former proprietor, who had most unjustifiably died in _delirium tremens_ +at Cooktown Hospital a few months ago, leaving the farm to the care of +some aboriginals, and his estate much in debt to the good, kind bank. + +On the following evening Denison was driven out to the place by his +brother, who took advantage of the occasion to point out to the youth +the beauties of a country life, away from the temptations of cities. +Also he remarked upon the folly of a young man spending the bloom of his +years among the dissolute natives of the South Seas; and then casually +inquired if the women down there were pretty. Then the younger Denison +began to talk, and the elder brother immediately pulled up the horse +from a smart trot into a slow walk, saying there was no need to rush +along on such a hot night, and that he liked to hear about the customs +of foreign countries. About ten o'clock they reached their destination, +and the elder brother, without getting out of the trap and entering the +house, hurriedly bade Tom good-bye and drove off as quickly as possible, +fearing that if he stayed till the morning, and the youth saw the place +by daylight, the latter would become a fratricide. + +The occupants of the farm were, the new manager found, three black +fellows and two 'gins,'{*} all of whom were in a state of stark nudity; +but they welcomed him with smiles and an overpowering smell of ants, the +which latter is peculiar to the Australian nigger. One of the bucks, who +when Denison entered was sleeping, with three exceedingly mangy dogs, in +the ex-proprietor's bunk--a gorgeous affair made of a badly-smelling +new green hide stretched between four posts, at once got up and gave him +possession of the couch; and Denison, being very tired, spread his rug +over the hide and turned in, determined not to grumble, and make the +thing pay, and then buy a place in the Marquesas or Samoa in a few +years, and die in comfort. During the night the mosquitoes worried him +incessantly, until one of the coloured ladies, who slept on the ground +in the next room, hearing his petulant exclamations, brought him a dirty +piece of rag, soaked in kerosene, and told him to anoint his hair, face +and hands with it. He did so, and then fell asleep comfortably. + + * 'Gin,' or 'lubra'--the female Australian aboriginal. + +Early in the morning he rose and inspected the place (which I forgot +to say was twenty miles from Cooktown, and on the bank of the Endeavour +River). He found it to consist of two rusty old corrugated iron +buildings, vaguely surrounded by an enormous amount of primaeval +desolation and immediately encompassed by several hundred dead cattle +(in an advanced state of putrefaction) picturesquely disposed about the +outskirts of the premises. But Denison, being by nature a cheerful man, +remembered that his brother (who was pious) had alluded to a drought, +and said that rain was expected every day, as the newly-appointed Bishop +of North Queensland had appointed a day of general humiliation and +prayer, and that poultry-rearing was bound to pay. + +The stock of poultry was then rounded up by the black-fellows for his +inspection--thirty-seven dissolute-looking ducks, ninety-three degraded +and anaemic female fowls, thirteen spirit-broken roosters, and eleven +apathetic geese. Denison caught one of the ducks, which immediately +endeavoured to swallow his fore-finger, under the impression it was food +of some sort. + +'Jacky,' he said to the leading coloured gentleman, 'my brother told me +that there were five hundred ducks here. Where are they?' + +Jacky said that the ducks _would_ go on the river and that 'plenty +feller big alligator eat 'em up.' + +'Then where are the seven hundred and fifty laying hens?' + +Jacky scratched his woolly head and grinned. 'Goanner' eat some, snake +eat some, some die, some run away in bush, hawk eat some. By ------, +this feller duck and fowl altogether dam fool.' + +During the following week Denison found that Jacky had not deviated from +the truth--the alligators did eat the ducks, the tiger and carpet-snakes +and iguanas did crawl about the place at night-time and seize any +luckless fowl not strong enough to fly up to roost in the branch of a +tree, the hawks did prefer live poultry to long-deceased bullock, and +those hens physically capable of laying eggs laid them on an ironstone +ridge about a mile away from the house. He went there one day, found +nine eggs, and saw five death adders and a large and placid carpet +snake. Then he wrote to his brother, and said that he thought the place +would pay when the drought broke up, but he did not feel justified in +taking 3, 10s. a week from the bank under the present circumstances, +and would like to resign his berth, as he was afraid he was about to get +an attack of fever. + +A few days later he received an official letter from the bank, signed +'C. Aubrey Denison, Manager,' expressing surprise at his desire to +give up the control of a concern that was 'bound to pay,' and for +the management of which the bank had rejected twenty-three other +applications in his favour, and suggesting that, as the poultry were +not thriving, he might skin the carcases of such cattle as died in the +future, and send the hides to Cooktown--'for every hide the bank +will allow you 2s. 6d. nett.' With the official letter was a private +communication from the Elder Brother telling him not to be disheartened +so quickly--the place was sure to pay as soon as the drought broke up; +also that as the river water was bad, and tea made from it was not +good for anyone with fever, he was sending up a dozen of whisky by +the mailman next week. Again Denison was touched by his brother's +thoughtfulness, and decided to remain for another week at least. But +at night-time he thought a good deal about the dear old _Palestine_ and +Harvey Packenham, her skipper. + +While awaiting with considerable anxiety the arrival of the mailman, +Denison passed the time in killing tiger-snakes, cremating the dead +cattle around the place, bathing in the only pool in the river safe from +alligators, and meditating upon the advantages of a berth ashore. But +when the mailman arrived (four days late) with only five bottles of +whisky, and said in a small, husky voice that the pack-horse had fallen +and broken seven bottles, he felt a soured and disappointed man, and +knew that he was only fit for the sea. The mailman, to whom he expressed +these sentiments, told him to cheer up. It was loneliness, he said, that +made him feel like that, and he for _his_ part 'didn't like to see no +man feelin' lonely in the bloomin' bush.' Therefore he would keep him +company for a few days, and let the sanguinary mail go to Hades. + +He did keep him company. And then, when the whisky was finished, he bade +Denison good-bye, and said that any man who would send 'his own bloomin' +brother to perish in such a place was not fit to live himself, and ought +to be flamin' well shown up in the bloomin' noospapers.' At daybreak +next morning Denison told the coloured ladies and gentlemen to eat the +remaining poultry; and, shouldering his swag, tramped it into Cooktown +to 'look for a ship.' + + + + +ADDIE RANSOM: A MEMORY OF THE TOKELAUS + +A hot, steamy mist rose from the gleaming, oily sea, and the little +island lay sweltering and gasping under a sky of brass and a savagely +blazing sun. Along the edges of the curving lines of yellow beach +the drought-smitten plumes of the fast-withering coco-palms drooped +straight, brown and motionless; and Wallis, the trader at Avamua +village, as he paced to and fro upon the heated boards of his verandah, +cursed the island and the people, and the deadly calm, and the brassy +sky, and the firm of Tom de Wolf & Sons (whom he blamed for the +weather), and the drought, and the sickness, and the overdue ship, and +himself, and everything else; and he wished that Lita would go away for +a month--her patience and calmness worried and irritated him. Then +he might perhaps try getting drunk on Sundays like Ransom; to-day was +Sunday, and another Sunday meant another hell of twelve hours' heat, and +misery, and hope deferred. + +'Curse that damned bell! There it goes again, though half of the people +are dead, and the other half are dying like rotten sheep! Oh, for a +ship, or rain, or a howling gale--anything but this!' + +He dashed his pipe furiously upon the verandah, and then flung himself +into a cane lounge, pressed his hands to his ears, and swore silently at +the jarring clamour of the hated church bell. + +Lita's brown hand touched him on the shoulder. + +'Wassa th' matter, Tom, wis you?' + +'Oh, go away, for God's sake, Lita, there's a good girl. Leave me alone. +Go to church, and tell Ioane I'll give him a couple of dollars not to +ring that damned, infernal bell again to-day. I'm going mad! I'll get +drunk, I think, like Ransom. My God! just think of it, girl! Twelve +months without a ship, and this hateful, God-forsaken island turning +into a pest-house.' + +'Wasa is pesta-house, Tom?' + +'Place where they put people in to die--lazzaretto, charnel-house, +morgue, living grave! Oh, go away, girl, go to the blarsted church if +you want to, and leave me alone.' + +Her slender fingers touched his hand timidly. + +'I don' wan' go to church, Tom. I don' wan' leave you here to get mad +an' lon'ly by yourse'f.' + +'Very well, old woman, stay here with me. Perhaps a breeze may come +by-and-by and then we can breathe. How many people died yesterday, +Lita?' + +''Bout nine, Tom--four men, tree woman, an' some child.' + +'Poor devils! I wish I had some medicine for them. But I'm hanged if +I know what it is--some sort of cholera brought here by that infernal +American missionary brig, I believe. Hallo! there's Ioane beginning.' + + * * * * * + +The white-walled native church was not a stone's throw away, and through +the wide, paneless windows and open doors the deep voice of Ioane, the +Samoan native teacher, sounded clearly and solemnly in the still, heated +morn. Wallis, with his wide straw hat covering his bronzed face, lay +back in the lounge, and, at first, took no heed. Lita, sitting at his +feet, rested her chin on one hand and listened intently. + +'Turn ye all, men and women of this afflicted land of Nukutavau, to the +Word of God, which is written in the Book of Isaiah, in the fortieth +chapter and the sixth verse. It was to my mind that we should first +sing to the praise of Jehovah; but, alas! we cannot sing to-day; for my +cheeks are wetted with many tears, and my belly is bursting with sorrow +when I see how few there are of us who are left. But yet can we pray +together; and the whisper of affliction shall as surely reach the ear of +God as the loud, glad song of praise. But first hear ye these words:-- + +'"The Voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? And the Voice +answered. All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the +flower of the field: the grass withereth, the flower fadeth; because the +spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: Surely the people is grass."' + +Wallis sat up and listened; for as the preacher ceased he heard the +sound of many sobs; and presently a woman, old, gaunt and feeble, +staggered out from the church and flung herself face downwards upon the +burning sand. + +'_A mate, a mate tatou_,' she moaned, 'e agi mai le manava Ieova.' ('We +perish, we perish with the breath of Jehovah.') + +She lay there unheeded; for now the preacher, with broken voice, was +passionately imploring his congregation to cast themselves upon the +mercy of God, and beseech Him to stay the deadly pestilence which had so +sorely smitten the land. + +'And spare Thou, O God Most High, Most Merciful, and Most Just, these +many little children who yet live, for they are but very small, and have +not yet sinned before Thee. Three of mine own hast thou touched with +Thy hand, and taken to Thee, and my belly and the belly of my wife are +empty, and yearn in the night for the voices we shall hear no more. And +for those three whom Thou hast taken, spare Thou three of those who yet +live. And shield, O God, with Thy care, the _papalagi_{*} Ranisome and +his child, the girl Ati' (Addie), 'for she loveth Thy word; and turn +Thou the heart of her father from the drinking of grog, so that he +shall be no more as a hog that is _loia_.'{**} 'And shield, too, +the _papalagi_ Walesi and the woman Lita--she who liveth with him in +sin--for their hearts are ever good and their hands ever open to us of +Nukutavau; and send, O most merciful and compassionate One, a ship, so +that the two white men and the woman Lita, and the girl Ati, and we, +Thy people, may not die of hunger and thirst and sickness, but live to +praise Thy holy name.' + + * Foreigner. + + ** A man or an animal is _loia_ when he or it has eaten or + drunk to such repletion as to lie down and be overrun with + ants--an expressive Samoan synonym for excess. + +A burst of weeping, and _Amene! Amene!_ came from his hearers, then +silence; and Wallis, taking his hat from his face, bent his head. + +Presently the scanty congregation came slowly forth. Some, as they +passed the white man and Lita, tried to smile a greeting to them, though +every brown face was wet with tears. Last of all came Ioane, the Samoan +teacher, short, square-built, with deep sunken earnest eyes bent to +the ground, his right arm supporting his wife, whose slender frame was +shaken with the violence of her grief for those three of her heart +whom 'He had taken.' Wallis, followed by Lita, stepped down from his +verandah, and held out his hand. The teacher pressed it in silence, and, +unable now to speak, walked slowly on. Lita, her dark, oval face still +hot with anger, drew back and made no sign, though Elin, the teacher's +wife, murmured as she passed,--'Nay, be not angry, Lita; for death is +near to us all.' + + * * * * * + +As they returned to the house, Ransom, the old trader from Avatulalo, +the next village to that in which Wallis lived, met them at the gate. +He was a man of sixty or thereabout--grey, dirty, dishevelled and half +drunk. + +'I want you and Lita to come back with me,' he said slowly, holding to +the palings of the fence, and moving his head from side to side; 'you +must come... 'you must come, or'--with sudden frenzy--'by God, I'll put +a firestick into your house; I will, by blazes, I will! Curse you, Tom +Wallis, and your damned, Sydney-white-duck-suit-respectability, and your +damned proud quarter-caste Portugee woman, who you ain't married to, as +I was to mine--bad as she was. Put up your hands you--' + +Wallis gripped him firmly but kindly by the wrists, and forced him into +a seat. + +'What's the matter with you, Ransom? Only drunk and fightable as usual? +or are you being chased by pink snakes with tiger's heads again, eh? +There, sit quiet, old man. Where is Addie?' + +For a few moments the old man made no answer; then he rose, and placing +his trembling hands on Wallis's chest said brokenly,-- + +'God help me, Tom! She's a-dyin'... an' I'm near drunk. She was took bad +this mornin', an' has been callin' for the teacher an' Lita-- an' I'd +as lief go to hell as to ask a damned Kanaka mission'ry to come an' talk +Gospel an' Heaven to a child o' mine--not in my own house, anyway. It +ain't right or proper. But she kep' on a-pesterin' me, an' at last I +said I would come an' arst him... an' while I was waitin' outside the +church I hears the damned feller a-prayin' and sayin' "_All flesh +is grass, and the grass withereth_"'--his voice quivered and broke +again--'an' onct I heard my old mother say them very words when she was +a-dyin', more'n forty year ago, in the old country. An' Addie's dyin' +fast, Tom; dyin', an' I can't say a prayer with her; I don't know none. +I'm only a drunken old shellback, an' I ought to be struck dead for my +bloody sins. She's all I has in the world to love; an' now, an' now--' +He turned away and, covering his face with his coarse, sunburnt hands, +sobbed like a child. + + * * * * * + +Half an hour later Wallis and Lita were in the room with the dying girl. +Ransom, shambling behind them, crept in and knelt at the foot of the +bed. Two native women, who were squatted on the matted floor went +out softly, and Wallis bent over the girl and looked into her pallid, +twitching face, over which the dread grey shadow was creeping fast. She +put out her hand to the trader and Lita, and a faint smile moved her +lips. + +'You is good to come, Tom Wallis,' she said, in her childish voice, 'an' +so is you, Lita. Wher' is my fath'? I don' see him. I was ask him to +bring Ioane here to pray fo' me. I _can't_ pray myself.... I _have_ been +try.... Wher' is you, fath'?' + +Ransom crept round to her side, and laid his face upon her open hand. + +'Ah, fath', you is come... poor fath'. I say, fath', _don_ you drink no +more. You been promise me that, fath', so many time. _Don'_ you break +yo' promise now, will you?' + +The grizzled old sinner put his trembling lips to hers. 'Never no more, +Addie--may God strike me dead if I lie!' + +'Come away, old man,' said Wallis, softly, 'let Lita be with her. +Neither you nor I should disturb her just now. See, she wants Lita. But +her time is near, and you must keep close to her.' + +They drew apart, and Lita knelt beside the bed. + + * * * * * + +'An' did he pray for fath', an' me, an' you, an' Tom, an' my mother who +runned away? Tell me all 'bout it, Lita. I _did_ wan' him to come and +tell me some things I wan' to know before I is dead. Tell me what he +say.' + +'He say dat vers', "De grass with', de flow' fade, but de word of de +Lor' God endure fo' ev.'"' + +'Was do it mean, Lita, dear?' + +'I don' 'xactly know, Ati, dear. But Tom say he mean dat by-an'-by, if +we is good an' don' lie an' steal, an' don' kill nobody, dat we all go +to heav' when we is die.' + +'Lita, dear, Ioane say one day dat de Bible say my fath' go to hell +because he get drunk all de time.' + +'Don' you b'lieve him, Ati; Ioane is only dam Kanaka mission'ry. Wassa +the hell do _he_ know 'bout such thing? _You_ go to heav' sure 'nuff, +and you' fath' come to you there by-an'-by. He never been steal or lie; +he on'y get drunk. Don' you be 'fraid 'bout dat, Ati, dear. An' you will +see yo' mother, too. Oh, yes, yo' will see yo' mother; an' yo' fath' will +come there too, all nice, an' clean, an' sober, in new pyjamas all shinin' +white; an' he will kiss yo' mother on her mouf, an' say, "I forgive you, +Nellie Ransom, jes' as Jesu Christ has forgive me."' + +The girl sighed heavily, and then lay with closed eyes, breathing +softly. Suddenly she turned quickly on her side, and extended her arms, +and her voice sounded strangely clear and distinct. + +'Where is you, fath'? Quick, quick, come an' hol' me. It is dark.... +Hol' me tight... clos' up, clos' up, fath', my fath'... it is so +dark--so dark.' + + * * * * * + +The natives told Wallis next morning that 'Ranisome' had gone quite mad. + +'How know ye he is mad?' + +'_Tah!_ He hath taken every bottle of grog from two boxes and smashed +them on the ground. And then we saw him kneel upon the sand, raise his +hands, and weep. He is mad.' + + + + +IN A NATIVE VILLAGE + +When I first settled down on this particular island as a trader, I had, +in my boundless ignorance of the fierce jealousy that prevailed between +the various villages thereon, been foolish enough to engage two or three +servants from outlying districts--much against the wishes of the local +_kaupule_ (town councillors), each of whom brought me two or three +candidates (relatives, connections or spongers of their own) and urged +that I should engage them and no others. This I refused to do, point +blank, and after much angry discussion and argument, I succeeded in +having my own way, and was allowed to choose my servants from villages +widely apart. In the course of a few weeks some terrific encounters had +taken place between my women servants and other of the local females, +who regarded them as vile usurpers of their right to rob and plunder the +new white man. However, in time matters settled down in a measure; +and beyond vituperative language and sanguinary threats against the +successful applicants, the rejected candidates, male and female, behaved +very nicely. But I was slumbering on a latent volcano of fresh troubles, +and the premonitory upheaval came about a month after our head nurse, +Hakala, had been fined five dollars for using English Seafaring' +language to another woman who had called her a pig. As Hakala could not +pay the fine--being already in debt to me for two months' wages paid in +advance--I settled it; for she was a widow, and had endeared herself +to me by the vigorous manner in which she had pitched a large, fat girl +named 'Hek out of the house for stealing some sugar from my store-room. +The members of the _kaupule_ (the village parliament) were pleased to +accept the money, but wrote me a formal letter on the following morning, +and remarked that it was wrong of me to encourage brutal conduct in any +of my servants--wrong and un-Christian-like as well. 'But,' the letter +went on to say, 'it is honest of you to pay this woman's fine; and +Talamaheke' (the sugar-thief) 'has been sentenced to do three days' +road-making for stealing the sugar. Yet you must not think evil of +Talamaheke, for she is a little _vale_ (mad), and has a class in the +Sunday-school. Now it is in our minds that, as you are an honest man, +you will pay the fines owing on the horse.' I had a vague recollection +of my predecessor telling me something indefinite about a horse +belonging to the station, but could not remember whether he said that +the animal was in the vicinity of the station or was rambling elsewhere +on the island, or had died. So I called my Samoan cook, Harry, to learn +what he knew about the matter. Harry was the Adonis of the village, and +already the under-nurse, E'eu, a sweet little hazel-eyed creature of +fifteen, and incorrigibly wicked, had succumbed to his charms, and spent +much of her time in the kitchen. At that moment Harry was seated outside +the cook-house, dressed in a suit of spotless white duck, playing an +accordeon; also he wore round his brown neck a thick wreath of white +and scarlet flowers. Harry, I may remark, was a dandy and a notorious +profligate, but against these natural faults was the fact that he could +make very good bread. + +'Harry,' I said, 'do you know anything about this horse?' and I tapped +the official letter. + +He smiled. 'Oh, yes, sir. I know all 'bout him. He been fined altogether +'bout two hundred and fifty dollar, an' never pay.' + +'What do you mean? How can anyone fine a horse?' + +Then Harry explained and gave me the horse's history. + +The animal had been brought from New Zealand for some occult reason, and +had behaved himself very badly ever since he landed. Young banana trees +were his especial fancy, cotton plants he devoured wholesale, and it +was generally asserted that he was also addicted to kicking chickens. My +three predecessors on the station had each repudiated the creature, and +each man when he left the island had said that his successor would pay +for all damage done. + +'Where is the brute now?' I asked. + +Looking cautiously around to see that no one was within earshot, Harry +informed me that until a week previously the _nu_ had been running +quietly in the interior of the island for many months, but since my +arrival had been brought back by two of the deacons and was now feeding +about the immediate vicinity. + +'Why did the deacons bring him back, if he destroys banana trees and +kill chickens?' + +Harry looked very uncomfortable and seemed disinclined to speak, but +at last let the cat out of the bag and revealed a diabolical +conspiracy--the horse had been brought back for my undoing, or rather +for the undoing of the strings of my bag of dollars. + +'You see, sir,' said he, confidentially, 'these people on this island +very clever--all dam rogue' (his mother was a native of the island), +'an' 'bout a month ago, when you give two dollar to help build new +church, the _fakafili_ and _kaupule_{*} (judge and councillors) 'say you +is a very good man and that you might pay that horse's fines. An' if you +pay that horse's fines then the people will have enough money to send to +Sydney to buy glass windows and nice, fine doors for the new church. An' +so that is why the deacons have bring that horse back.' + +'But what good will bringing the horse here do? That won't make me pay +his fines.' + +'Oh, you see, sir, since the horse been come back the people take him +out every day into some banana plantation and let him eat some trees. +Then, by-and-by--to-morrer, perhaps--they will come an' ask you to go +and look. Then you will look an' say, "Alright, I will pay five dollar." +An' then when you pay that five dollar the _kaupule_ and the judge will +say, "Now you mus' pay for all the bad things that that horse do before +you come here." An' s'pose you won' pay, then I b'lieve the judge an' +headmen goin' to _tapu_{*} your store. You see they wan' that money for +church very bad, because they very jealous of Halamua church.' + + * Tapu, in this sense, means boycotting. + +'Jealous of Halamua church! Why?' + +'Oh, because Halamua people been buy a foolpit for their church--a very +fine foolpit from California; an' now this town here very jealous, and +the people say that when you pay that horse's fine they will buy pine +windows, pine doors, and pine floor, _and give Halamua church hell?_ + +The novel (but in some cases exceedingly correct) pronunciation +of pulpit pleased me, yet my wrath was aroused at this scandalous +revelation of the plans of the villagers to beautify their church at my +expense. It was as bad as any church bazaar in Christendom. + +As Harry surmised, I received a visit from a deputation the next +morning. They wanted me to come and see the destruction done to their +plantations by _my_ horse. + +'But it's not my horse,' I said. 'I decline to hear anything about a +horse. There is no horse down in my stock list, nor an elephant.' + +A dirty old ruffian with one eye and a tattooed face regarded me gravely +for a moment, and then asked me in a wheezy, husky voice if I knew that +Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for telling lies. + +'Of course,' I replied promptly, 'I saw them struck. My uncle in England +had them buried in his garden to improve the soil. And why do you come +here and tell me these things about a horse? If there _is_ a horse, and +it eats your bananas and sugar-cane, why don't you shoot it?' + +This suggestion staggered the deputation, half of which scratched its +head meditatively. Then a tall, thin man, with an attenuated face like a +starved fowl, said sneeringly in English,-- + +'What for you want to make gammon you no savee about horse?' + +His companions smiled approvingly; not that they understood a word of +English, but they evidently regarded the fowl-like creature as a learned +person who would give me a dressing down in my own language. + +I looked at him with a puzzled expression, and then said to Harry,-- + +'What does this man say, Harry? I can't talk German. Can you?' + +Harry grinned and shook his head; the rest of the deputation looked +angrily at the hatchet-faced man, and the member seated next to him told +him he ought to be ashamed of himself to pretend to be able to _vogahau +faka Beretania_ (talk English). + +For some minutes no one spoke. Then the youngest member of the +deputation, a jolly, fat-faced young deacon, dressed in a suit of white +flannel, laughed merrily, and asked me for some tobacco. I gave them a +plug each all round, and the deputation withdrew. So having successfully +repudiated the horse and all his works, I felt satisfied. + + * * * * * + +Pigs were the next trouble--my own pigs and the pigs of the general +public. When I landed on the island I had brought with me from Sydney +a lady and gentleman pig of exceedingly high lineage. They were now +the proud and happy parents of seven beautiful little black-and-white +piglets, and at any hour of the day one might see numbers of natives +looking over my wall at the graceful little creatures as they chased one +another over the grass, charged at nothing, and came to a dead stop with +astonishing rapidity and a look of intense amazement. One fatal day I +let them out, thinking they would come to no harm, as their parents were +with them. As they did not return at dusk I sent E'eu, the under-nurse, +to search for them. She came back and told me in a whisper that the +father and mother pig were rooting up a sweet-potato patch belonging +to the local chief. The piglets she had failed to discover. Enjoining +secrecy, I sent E'eu and Harry to chase the parents home. This was +effected after considerable trouble, but the owner of the potato patch +claimed two dollars damages. I paid it, feeling his claim was just. Next +morning the seven piglets were returned one by one by various native +children. Each piglet had, according to their accounts, been in a +separate garden, and done considerable damage; and 'because they' (the +piglets) 'were the property of a good and just man, the owners of the +gardens would not hurt nor even chase them,' etc. Glad to recover +the squealing little wanderers at any cost, I gave each lying child a +quarter-dollar. Next day I had a piece of ground walled in with lumps +of coral and placed the porcine family inside. Then I wrote to the +councillors, asking them to notify the people that if any of the village +pigs came inside my fence and rooted abyssmal holes in my ground, as had +been their habit hitherto, I should demand compensation. His Honour the +Chief Justice stated in court that this was only fair and right; the +white man had paid for the damage done by _his_ pigs, and therefore he +was entitled to claim damages if the village pigs caused him trouble. +(I had previously squared his Honour with the promise of a male sucker.) +One day the seven young pigs escaped from their mother and went out for +a run on the village green. They were at once assailed as detestable +foreign devils by about two hundred and forty-three gaunt, razorbacked +village sows, and were only rescued from a cruel death after every one +had lost its tail. Why is it that pigs of different breeds always bite +off each other's tails? I claimed fifty cents per tail, and was awarded +$3.50 damages, to be paid by the community generally. The community +refused to pay. His Honour then notified by the town crier that I was +at liberty to shoot any pig that broke into the station grounds. I put +a cartridge into a Snider rifle and told my servants to call me if they +heard a grunt in the night. + +Three days after this, as I was discussing theology and baked fowl one +night with the local teacher in his own house, a boy burst in and said +that there was a strange pig in my garden devouring my crop of French +beans. In two minutes I was back in my house, snatched up the Snider, +and ran to the garden wall. There was the brute, a great black-and +white beast, the biggest native pig I ever saw. His back was turned, but +hearing my steps he 'went about' and faced me. 'Twas a bright moonlight +night, and the bullet plugged him fair between the eyes. Over he rolled +without a kick. Then I heard a shriek or laughter, and saw half a dozen +girls scuttling away among the coco-palms. A horrible suspicion nearly +made me faint. Jumping over the wall I examined the defunct, and could +scarce forbear to shed a tear. + +'Twas mine own prized black Australian boar, daubed over with splashes +of coral lime whitewash. And the whitewash came from a tub full of it, +with which the natives had that morning been whitening the walls of the +newly-built village church. The one-eyed old scoundrel of a deacon told +me next day it was a judgment on me. + + + + +MAURICE KINANE + +Eastward, from the coast of New Guinea, there lies a large island +called, on the maps, New Britain, the native name of which is Berara. It +is nearly three hundred miles in length and, in parts, almost sixty in +width, and excepting the north-eastern portion, now settled by +German colonists, is inhabited by a race of dangerous and treacherous +cannibals, who are continually at war among themselves, for there are +many hundred tribes living on the coast as well as in the interior. +Although there have been white people living on the north-east coast +for over thirty years--for there were adventurous American and English +traders living in this wild island long before the natives ever saw a +German--not one of them knew then, or knows now, much of the strange +black tribes who dwell in the interior of the centre and western part of +the island, save that they were then, as they are in this present year, +always at enmity with the coast tribes, and are, like them, more or less +addicted to cannibalism. + +Sixty miles from the western end of the island is the mountainous land +of German New Guinea; and sometimes, when the air is clear and the +south-east trade wind blows, the savages on Berara can see across the +deep, wide strait the grey loom of the great range that fringes the +north-eastern coast of New Guinea for many hundred miles. Once, indeed, +when the writer of this true story lived in New Britain, he saw this +sight for a whole week, for there, in those beautiful islands, the air +is very clear at certain seasons of the year. + +From Matupi, where the principal settlement in New Britain is situated, +to the deep bay at Kabaira, fifty miles away, the coast is very +beautiful. And, indeed, no one who looks at the lovely grassy downs that +here and there show through the groves of waving palm trees stretching +from the beach away up to the rising land of the interior could think +that such a fair country was the home of a deadly fever; and that in +the waters of the bright limpid streams that ran gently down from the +forest-clad hills to meet the blue waters of the Pacific there lurked +disease and death to him who drank thereof. + +At the time of my story (except for the adventurous American whalemen +from Nantucket and New Bedford, and the sandal-wood cutters from New +South Wales, who sometimes touched there) white men were unknown to +the people of New Britain. Sometimes when the sperm-whaling fleet was +cruising northwards and westward to the Moluccas, a ship would sail +along the coast in the daytime, but always anchored at night, for it +was dreaded for the many dangerous reefs that surround it. And once the +anchor was down a strict watch was kept on board, for the natives were +known to be fierce and treacherous. + +Between where is now the German settlement and the great native town at +Kabaira Bay there is an island called Mano, which stands five miles +off from the mainland. Early one morning, when the wild people of the +villages among the palm-groves which lined the long winding beach came +out of their thatched huts for their morning bathe they gave a great +cry, for a large full-rigged ship was standing in close under the lee of +Mano, and clewing up her sails before she came to an anchor. + +Now the natives who lived on the mainland of New Britain were the +hereditary enemies of those who dwelt on Mano Island, and it was hateful +for them to see a ship anchor there, for then the Mano Islanders would +get axes and muskets and hoop-iron. + +So, with Baringa, the chief, at their head, they all ran to the summit +of a high, grassy hill (known, by reason of a terrible deed once done +there in the olden times, as the Hill of Old Men's Groans), and sat down +to watch if the ship would send her boats ashore. + +'Look!' said Baringa, fiercely, striking the ground with his heavy +jade-headed club, 'look, I see a boat putting out from the side. Who +among ye will come with me to the ship, so that I may sell my turtle +shell and pearl shell to the captain for muskets and powder and bullets? +Are these dogs of Mano to get such things from the ship, and then come +over here at night and slay and then cook us in their ovens? Hungry am I +for revenge; for 'tis now twelve moons since they stole my son from me, +and not one life have I had in return for his.' + +But no one answered. Of what use was it, they thought, for Baringa to +think of his little son? He was but a boy after all, and had long since +gone down the throats of the men of Mano. Besides, the Mano people were +very strong and already had many guns. + +So for an hour Baringa sat and chafed and watched; and then suddenly +he and those with him sprang up, for a sound like thunder came over to +them, and a cloud of white smoke curled up from the ship's side; she had +fired one of her big guns. Presently Baringa and his people saw that the +boat which had gone ashore was pulling back fast, and that some of the +crew who were sitting in the stern were firing their muskets at the Mano +people, who were pursuing the boat in six canoes. Twice again the ship +fired a big gun, and then the boat was safe, for the two twenty-four +pounders, loaded with grape-shot, smashed two of them to pieces when +they were less than a hundred yards from the ship. + +Baringa shouted with savage joy. 'Come,' he cried, 'let us hasten to the +beach, and get quickly to the ship in our canoes; for now that the white +men have fought with these Mano dogs, the ship will come here to us and +anchor; for I, Baringa, am known to many white men.' + + * * * * * + +The name of the ship was the _Boadicea_. She was of about seven hundred +tons, and was bound to China from Port Jackson, but for four months had +remained among the islands of the New Hebrides group, where the crew had +been cutting sandal-wood, which in those days was very plentiful there. +Her captain, who was a very skilful navigator, instead of going through +Torres Straits, had sailed between New Ireland and New Britain, so that +he might learn the truth of some tales he had heard about the richness +of those islands in sandal-wood and pearl shell. So he had cruised +slowly along till he sighted Mano Island, and here he decided to water +the ship; for from the deck was visible a fine stream of water, running +from the forest-clad mountains down to the white sands of the quiet +beach. + +As soon as possible a boat was lowered and manned and armed; for +although he could not see a native anywhere on the beach, nor any signs +of human occupation elsewhere on the island, the captain was a very +cautious man. A little further back from the beach was a very dense +grove of coco-nut trees laden with fruit, and at these the crew of the +Boadicea looked with longing eyes. + +'We must water the ship first, my lads,' said Captain Williams, 'and +then we'll spend the rest of the day among the coco-nut trees, and fill +our boats with them.' + +Just then as the bronze-faced captain was ascending to the poop from his +cabin; a small barefooted boy came aft, and, touching his hat, said,-- + +'Av ye plaze, sor, won't ye let me go in the boat, sor?' + +'Why, Maurice, my boy, there's quite enough of us going in her as it +is,' said the captain, kindly, for the dirty-faced but bright-eyed +Maurice Kinane was a favourite with everyone on board. + +'Ah, but shure, sor,' pleaded the boy, 'av yer honour would just let me +go, av it was only to pluck a blade av the foine green grass, and lave +me face in the swate clane wather I'll be beholden--' + +'Well, well, my lad, jump in then,' said Captain Williams, with a smile, +and buckling his cutlass belt around his waist he sent the lad down the +ladder before him and the boat pushed off. + + * * * * * + +Ten months before, this poor Irish lad, who was but thirteen years of +age, had lost both his parents through the upsetting of a boat in Sydney +Harbour. His father was a sergeant in the 77th Regiment, and had only +arrived in the colony a few months previous to the accident, and the +boy was left without a relative in the world. But the captain of his +father's company and the other officers of the regiment were very kind +to him, and the colonel said he would get him enlisted as a drummer. + +And so for a time Maurice lived in the barracks under the care of +Sergeant MacDougall, a crusty old warrior, who proved a hard master and +made the boy's life anything but a happy one. And Maurice, though he +was proud of the colonel's kind words and of serving with the regiment, +fretted greatly at the harsh manner of the old sergeant. + +One morning he was reported as missing. Little did those who looked for +him all the next day think that the boy was far out at sea, for he had +stowed away on board the _Boadicea_; and although Captain Williams was +very angry with him when he was discovered and led aft, the lad's genial +temper and bright, honest face soon won him over, as, indeed, it did +everyone else on board. + +For nearly an hour after the boat had landed at the mouth of the little +stream the seamen were busily-engaged in filling the water casks. Not a +sign of a native could be seen, and then, regardful of the longing looks +that the sailors cast at the grove of coco-nuts, the captain, taking +with him Maurice and four hands, set out along the beach for the purpose +of gathering a few score of the young nuts to give to his men to drink. + +One of the four seamen was a Kanaka named 'Tommy Sandwich.' He was a +native of Sandwich or Vat Island in the New Hebrides. In a very short +time this man had ascended a lofty palm-tree, and was throwing down the +coco-nuts to the others, who for some minutes were busily engaged tying +them together to carry them to the boat. + +'That will do, Tommy,' cried the captain, presently. 'Come down now and +help the others to carry.' He did not see that Maurice, boy-like +and adventurous, had managed to ascend a less lofty tree some little +distance away, out of sight of his shipmates, and at that moment was +already ensconced in the leafy crown, gazing with rapture at the lovely +scene that lay before him. + +It took the men but another ten minutes to tie up the coco-nuts into +bunches of ten, and then each of them drank copiously of the sweet milk +of half a dozen which Tommy had husked for them. + +'Come, lads,' said Captain Williams, 'back to the boat now. By-and-by--' + +A dreadful chorus of savage yells interrupted him, and he and the men +seized their muskets and sprang to their feet. The sounds seemed to +come from where the boat was watering; in a few seconds more four musket +shots rang out. + +'Run, run for your lives,' cried the captain, drawing his pistol. 'The +savages are attacking the boat.' And the seamen, throwing down the +coco-nuts, rushed out of the palm grove to rescue their shipmates. + +They were only just in time, for the banks of the little stream were +covered with naked savages, who had sprung out of the thick undergrowth +upon the watering party, and ere the boat could be pushed off two of the +poor sailors had been savagely slaughtered. Fortunately for the captain +and his party, they were nearer to the boat, when they made their +appearance, than were the natives, and, plunging into the water, and +holding their muskets over their heads, they reached her in safety, and +at once opened fire, whilst the rest of the crew bent to the oars. + +But the danger was not yet over, for as soon as the boat was out of +reach of the showers of spears sent at her from the shore, a number +of canoes appeared round a bend of the mountainous coast. They had +evidently been sent to cut off the white men's retreat. And then began +the race for life to the ship which had been witnessed by Baringa and +his people from the mainland. + +Maurice, from his tree, had heard the yells of the savages and the +gunshots, and was about to descend and follow the captain and his +shipmates, when he heard a rush of bodies through the palm grove, and +saw beneath him forty or fifty natives, all armed with clubs and spears. +They were a horrible-looking lot, for they were quite naked and the +lips of all were stained a deep red from the juice of the betel-nut, and +their dull reddish-brown bodies were daubed over with yellow and white +stripes. This party had perhaps meant to surprise the captain and his +men as they were getting the coco-nuts, for, finding them gone, they at +once rushed out of the grove in pursuit. Fortunately for Maurice they +were too excited to think of looking about them, else his end would have +come very quickly. + +For nearly ten minutes the lad remained quiet, listening to the +sounds of the fighting, and in fearful doubt as to his best course of +action--whether to make a bold dash and try to find his way to the +boat, or remain in the tree till a rescue party was sent from the ship. +Suddenly the thundering report of one of the ship's guns made him peer +seaward through the branches of his retreat; and there, to his delight, +he caught a brief view of the boat. Again the report of another gun +pealed out, and a wild screaming cry from the natives told him that the +shot had done some execution. + +'I must get out of this,' he thought, 'and make a bolt along the beach +in the other direction, till I get into the hills. I can see better from +there, and perhaps make a signal to the ship.' Maurice got quietly down +from the tree, and after looking cautiously about him, was about to set +off at a run, when he found himself face to face with a young native +boy, who, running quickly forward, grasped him by the hands, and began +to talk volubly, at the same time trying to drag him towards the beach. +The boy, save for a girdle of ti leaves, was naked, and Maurice, anxious +and alarmed as he was for his own safety, could not but notice that the +young savage seemed terribly excited. + +'Let me go, ye black naygur,' said Maurice, freeing his hands and +striking him in the chest. + +In an instant the native boy fell upon his knees, and held up his hands, +palms outward, in a supplicating gesture. + +Puzzled at this, but still dreading treachery, Maurice turned away and +again sought to make his way to the hills; but again the boy caught his +hands, and with gentle force, and eyes filled with tears, tried to push +or lead him to the beach. At last, apparently as if in despair of making +the white lad understand him by words, he made signs of deadly combat, +and ended by pointing over to where the boat had been attacked. Then, +touching Maurice on the chest, and then himself, he pointed to the sea, +and lying on the ground worked his arms and legs as if swimming. + +'Sure, perhaps he's a friend,' thought Maurice, 'an' wants me to swim +off to the ship. But perhaps he's a thraitor and only manes to entice me +away to be murdered. Anyway, it's not much of a choice I've got at all. +So come on, blackamoor, I'm wid ye.' + +Although not understanding a word that Maurice said, the native boy +smiled when he saw that the white lad was willing to come with him at +last. Then, hand-in-hand, they ran quietly along till they reached the +beach; and here the native, motioning Maurice to keep out of view, crept +on his hands and knees till he reached a rock, and then slowly raised +his head above it and peered cautiously ahead. + +Whatever it was he saw evidently satisfied him, for he crawled back +to Maurice, and again taking his hand broke into a run, but instead of +going in the direction of the river, he led the way along the beach +in the opposite direction. Feeling confident now that he had found a +friend, Maurice's spirits began to rise, and he went along with the boy +unhesitatingly. + +At last they rounded a sandy point, covered with a dense growth of +coco-nut trees and pandanus palms; this point formed the southern horn +of a small deep bay, in the centre of which stood an island, warded by +a snow-white beach, and on the nearmost shore Maurice saw a canoe drawn +up. + +The island beach was quite three hundred yards away, but Maurice was +a good swimmer, and although he shuddered at the thought of sharks, he +plunged in the water after his dark-skinned companion and soon reached +the islet, which was but a tiny spot, containing some two or three score +of coco-palms, and three untenanted native huts. It was used by the +natives as a fishing station, and the canoe, which was a very small one, +had evidently been in use that day. Close by were the marks in the sand +where a larger one had been carried down. In one of the huts smoke was +arising from a native ground-oven, which showed that the fishermen had +not long gone; doubtless they would return when the food was cooked, for +the native boy pointed out the oven to Maurice with a look of alarm. + +The two boys soon launched the canoe, and each seizing a paddle, at once +struck out in the direction of the ship. The native lad sat aft, Maurice +for'ard, and clumsy as was the latter with the long and narrow canoe +paddle, he yet managed to keep his seat and not capsize the frail little +craft. + +'Hurroo!' cried foolish Maurice, turning to his companion, 'we're all +right now, I'm thinkin'. There's the ship!' + +There she was sure enough, and there also were four canoes, paddling +along close in-shore, returning from their chase of the captain's +boat. They heard Maurice's loud shout of triumph, at once altered their +course, and sped swiftly towards the two boys. + + * * * * * + +Scarcely had Captain Williams and his exhausted crew gained the ship +when the mate reported that a fleet of canoes was coming across from +the mainland of New Britain, and orders were at once given to load the +ship's eight guns with grape and canister. (In those days of Chinese +and Malay pirates and dangerous natives of the South Seas, all merchants +ships, particularly those engaged in the sandal-wood trade, were well +armed, and almost man-of-war discipline observed.) + +'We'll give them something to remember us by, Hodgson,' said Captain +Williams, grimly. 'That poor lad! To think I never noticed he was not in +the boat till too late! I expect he's murdered by now; but I shall take +a bloody vengeance for the poor boy's death. Serve out some grog to the +hands, steward; and some of you fellows stand by with some shot to +dump into the canoes if we should miss them with the guns and they get +alongside.' + +But just as he spoke the mate called out, 'The canoes have stopped +paddling, sir, all except one, which is coming right on.' + +'All right, I see it. Let them come and have a look at us. As soon as it +gets close enough, I'll sink it.' + +For some minutes the canoe, which contained seven men, continued +to advance with great swiftness; then she ceased paddling, and the +steersman stood up and called out something to the ship, just as she was +well covered by two of the guns on the port side. In another minute she +would have been blown out of the water, when Tommy Sandwich ran aft and +said,-- + +'I think, cap'n, that fellow he no want fight ship; I think he want talk +you.' + +'Perhaps so, Tommy; so we'll let him come a bit closer.' + +Again the native paddles sent the canoe inward till she was well within +easy hailing distance of the ship, and the same native again stood up +and called out,-- + +'Hi, cap'n. No you shoot me. Me Baringa. Me like come 'board.' + +'All right,' answered Captain Williams, 'come alongside.' + +The moment the canoe ranged alongside, Baringa clambered up the side, +and advanced fearlessly toward the poop. 'Where cap'n?' he asked, +pushing unceremoniously aside those who stood in his way; and mounting +the ladder at the break of the poop he walked up to the master of the +_Boadicea_ and held out his hand. + +In a very short time, by the aid of Tommy Sandwich, whose language was +allied to that of the natives of New Britain, Captain Williams learnt +how matters stood. His visitor was anxious to help him, and volunteered +to join the white man in an attack on the treacherous people of Mano, +though he gave but little hope of their finding Maurice alive. They had, +he said, stolen his own son twelve months before, and eaten him, and he +wanted his revenge. Presently, as a proof of his integrity, he produced +from a dirty leather cartridge pouch, that was strapped around his +waist, a soiled piece of paper, and handed it to the captain. It read as +follows:-- + + 'The bearer, Baringa, is the chief of Kabaira Coast. He is a + thorough old cannibal, but, as far as I know, may be trusted + by white men. He supplied my ship with fresh provisions, and + seems a friendly old cut-throat. + + 'Matthew Wallis, + 'Master, ship _Algerine_ of New Bedford. + 'October 2 st, 1839.' + +'Well, that's satisfactory,' said Captain Williams, turning to Tommy. +'Tell him that I am going to land and try and find Maurice, and he can +help me with his people. Mr Hodgson, man and arm the boats again.' + +In a moment all was bustle and excitement, in the midst of which a loud +'hurrah' came from aloft from a sailor who was on the fore-yard watching +the remaining canoes of Baringa's fleet. 'Hurrah! Here's Maurice, sir, +coming off in a canoe with a nigger, an' a lot of other niggers in four +canoes a-chasin' him.' + +Springing to the taffrail, Captain Williams saw the canoe, which had +just rounded the point and was now well in view. The two boys were +paddling for their lives; behind them were the four canoes filled with +yelling savages. + +'Into the boats, men, for God's sake!' roared the captain. Had a +greater distance separated Maurice from his pursuers the master of the +_Boadicea_ would have endeavoured to have sunk the four canoes with +the ship's guns; but the risk was too great to attempt it as they were. +However, the gunner and carpenter were sent into the fore-top to try and +pick off some of the natives by firing over Maurice's canoe. + +Five minutes later the ship's three boats were pulling swiftly to the +rescue, and Baringa, jumping into his own canoe, beckoned to the rest +of his flotilla to follow him, and six natives urged the light craft +furiously along after the boats. + +On, on, came the two poor boys, straining every nerve; but every moment +their pursuers gained on them; and on, on dashed the heavy, cumbersome +boats. Already the nearest canoe was within fifty feet of Maurice and +his black friend, the savage paddlers undaunted by the fire from the +muskets of the gunner and carpenter, when Captain Williams saw a native +rise up and hurl a club at the two boys. Quick as lightning the captain +picked up his musket and fired, and the savage fell forward with a +bullet through his chest. But quick as he was he was too late, for the +club whizzed through the air and struck the native boy on his right arm. + +A savage yell of triumph came from the pursuing canoes as their +occupants saw the boy go down and the canoe broach-to, and then the +leading canoe dashed up alongside that of Maurice and his companion. + +'Pull, men, pull, for God's sake!' cried the captain, frantically, as +he saw the Irish lad, paddle in hand, standing up over the body of the +fallen boy, and strike wildly at his murderous pursuers. + +With heaving bosoms and set teeth the seamen urged the boats along, and +they and the four canoes crashed together in deadly conflict. But as +they met, a huge savage stood up and, poising a spear, darted it at +the prone figure of the native boy; it did not reach him, for Maurice, +wounded and bleeding as he was with a spear wound through his thigh, +flung himself in front of the weapon to save his friend. It struck him +in the shoulder and came out a full foot at his back. + +'You dog,' said Williams, raising his pistol, and the native went down +with a crash. + +And then ensued a scene of slaughter, as the seamen of the _Boadicea_ +got to work with their cutlasses. It did not take long to end the fight, +and not one of the Mano men escaped, for now Baringa's canoes had come +up, and with their heavy jade clubs dashed out the brains of those +of their enemies who sought to swim ashore. It was in truth a hideous +sight, and even the hardy sailors shuddered when they saw the merciless +manner in which wounded and dying men were massacred by their naked +allies. + +As quickly as possible, the two boys were lifted out of the little canoe +and placed in the captain's boat, where their wounds were examined. The +native boy's arm was broken, and his back badly hurt, but he was quite +conscious. As for Maurice, he was in a bad state, and Captain Williams +decided not to pull out the spear till the ship was reached. + +Just as he had given orders to pull for the ship, Baringa's canoe +returned from the slaughter of the remaining fugitives, and drew up +alongside the captain's boat, and the moment the chief saw the native +boy lying in the stern sheets of the boat he sprang out of the canoe and +embraced him. + +'It is my boy, my Lokolol--he whom I thought was dead.' + +Little remains to be told. The two boys were carefully attended to as +soon as they reached the ship, and to the joy of everyone the spear, +when extracted from Maurice's body, was pronounced by Baringa not to +be a poisoned one. As for Lokolol, the chief's son, his arm was put in +splints, but during the time that was occupied in doing this his hand +was clasped around that of the brave young sailor lad who had saved his +life, and his big, black eyes never left Maurice's pallid face. + +For three days the _Boadicea_ remained at anchor opposite the +village--she had sailed there the morning after the fight--and the chief +showed his gratitude by every possible means. On the morning of the day +on which the ship sailed he came on board, attended by thirty canoes, +every one of which was laden deep down with pearl shell. It was passed +up on deck, and stacked in a heap, and then Baringa asked for the +captain and the white boy who had saved his son. Beside him stood +Lokolol, his arm in a sling, and tears running down his cheeks, for he +knew he would see Maurice no more. + +Then Captain Williams came on deck and showed the chief the little cabin +boy, lying in a hammock under the poop awning. The burly savage came +over to him, and taking Maurice's hand in his, placed it tenderly +upon his huge, hairy bosom in token of gratitude. Then he spoke to the +captain through Tommy Sandwich. + +'Tell this good captain that I, Baringa, am for ever the white man's +friend. And tell him, too, that all this pearl shell here is my gift to +him and the boy who helped my son to escape from captivity. Half is for +the good captain; half is for the brave white boy.' + +Then, after remaining on board till the ship was many miles away from +the land, the chief and his son bade the wounded boy farewell and went +back to the shore. + +Maurice soon recovered, and when the _Boadicea_ arrived at Hong Kong, +and Captain Williams had sold the pearl shell, he said to his cabin +boy,-- + +'Maurice, my lad, I've sold the pearl shell, and what do you think I've +been paid for it? Well, just eight thousand dollars--1600 in English +money. You're quite a rich boy now, Maurice. It's not every lad that +gets four thousand dollars for saving a nigger's life.' + +Maurice's bright blue eyes filled with honest tears. 'Shure, sor, he +was a naygur, thrue enough. But thin, yere honour, he had a foine bould +heart to do what he did for Maurice Kinane.' + +And, as I have said, this is a true story, and old Maurice Kinane, who +is alive now, himself told it to me. + + + + +THE 'KILLERS' OF TWOFOLD BAY + +Enbosomed in the verdure-clad hills of the southern coast of sunny New +South Wales lies a fisherman's paradise, named Twofold Bay. Its fame +is but local, or known only to outsiders who may have spent a day there +when travelling from Sydney to Tasmania in the fine steamers of the +Union Company, which occasionally put in there to ship cattle from the +little township of Eden, which is situated upon the northern shore +of its deep and placid waters. But the chief point of interest about +Twofold Bay is that it is the rendezvous of the famous 'killers' (_Orca +gladiator_) the deadly foes of the whole race of cetaceans other than +themselves, and the most extraordinary and sagacious creatures that +inhabit the ocean's depths. From July to November two 'schools' of +killers may be seen every day, either cruising to and fro across the +entrance of the bay, or engaged in a Titanic combat with a whale--a +'right' whale, a 'humpback,' or the long, swift 'fin-back.' Never have +they been known to tackle the great sperm-whale, except when one of +those mighty creatures has been wounded by his human enemies. And +to witness one of these mighty struggles is worth travelling many a +thousand miles to see; it is terrible, awe-inspiring and wonderful. The +'killer' ranges in length from ten feet to twenty-five feet (whalemen +have told me that one was seen stranded on the Great Barrier Reef in +1862 which measured thirty feet). Their breathing apparatus and general +anatomy is much similar to that of the larger whales. They spout, +'breach.' and 'sound' like other cetaceans, and are of the same +migratory habit, as the two 'schools' which haunt Twofold Bay always +leave there at a certain time of the year to cruise in other seas, +returning to their headquarters when the humpback and fin-back whales +make their appearance on the coast of New South Wales, travelling +northwards to the feeding-grounds on the Bampton Shoals, the coast of +New Guinea and the Moluccas. + +The head of the killer is of enormous strength. The mouth is armed in +both jaws with fearful teeth, from one and a half inches to two inches +long, and set rather widely apart. In colour they show an extraordinary +variation, some being all one hue--brown, black, or dull grey; others +are black, with large, irregular patches or streaks of pure white or +yellow; others are dark brown with black and yellow patches. One, +which I saw ashore on the reef at the island of Nukulaelae in the South +Pacific, was nearly black, except for a few irregular blotches of white +on the back and belly. This particular killer had died from starvation, +for nearly the entire lower jaw had decayed from a cancerous growth. + +The whaling station at Twofold Bay is now, alas! the only one in the +colony--the last remnant of a once great and thriving industry, which, +in the early days of the then struggling colony, was the nursery of bold +and adventurous seamen. It is now carried on by a family named Davidson, +father and sons--in conjunction with the killers. And for more than +twenty years this business partnership has existed between the humans +and the cetaceans, and the utmost rectitude and solicitude for each +other's interests has always been maintained. _Orca gladiator_ seizes +the whale for the Davidsons and holds him until the deadly lance is +plunged into his 'life,' and the Davidssons let Orca carry the carcass +to the bottom, and take his tithe of luscious blubber. This is the +literal truth; and grizzled old Davidson, or any one of the stalwart +sons who man his two boats, will tell you that but for the killers, who +do half of the work, whaling would not pay with oil only worth from 18 +to 24 a tun. + +Let us imagine a warm, sunny day in August at Twofold Bay. The man +who is on the lookout at the old lighthouse, built by 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 not clear. If the creature is in a playful mood and +'breaches,' that is, springs bodily out of the water and 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, looks down. There they are, cruising +slowly up and down, close in-shore, spouting lazily and showing their +wet, gleaming backs as they rise, roll and dive again. There's 'Fatty,' +and 'Spot,' and 'Flukey,' and 'Little Jim,' and 'Paddy,' and 'Tom Tug.' +Nearly every one of them has a name, 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, +'Humpbacks!' 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 'pick-up' 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're coming right down +on us. Billy was 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 young 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 full 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 school, and +are holding him for the boat and for the deadly lance of his human foes. +The rest of the humpbacks raise 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 how 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.) + +Ranging 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 skin and 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 bulldogs 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 tough corrugations of +his grey-ribbed 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 with 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 blows into his 'life,' a gushing torrent of hot, dark blood, +he rolls over on his side, an agonised trembling quivers through his +vast frame, the battle is over 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 carcass will again rise +to the surface, and as, before he was taken down, the whalemen have +attached a line and buoy to the body, its whereabouts is easily +discerned from the lookout on the headland; the boats again put off and +tow it ashore to the trying-out works. The killers, though they have 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 carcass 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 have 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. + +On some occasions, when a pack of killers set out whale-hunting, they +will be joined by a thresher--the fox-shark (Alopias vulpes)--and then +while the killers bite and tear the unfortunate cetacean, the thresher +deals him fearful blows with his scythe-like tail. The master of a +whaling vessel told me that off the north end of New Caledonia, there +was, from 1868 till 1876, a pack of nine killers which were always +attended by two threshers and a sword-fish. Not only he, but many other +whaling skippers had seen this particular swordfish, year after year, +joining the killers in attacks upon whales. The cruising ground of this +pack extended for thirty miles, north and south, and the nine creatures +and their associates were well known to hundreds of New Bedford +whalemen. No doubt many of these combats, witnessed from merchant ships, +have led to many sea-serpent stories; for when a thresher stands his +twenty feet of slender body straight up on end like a pole, he presents +a strange sight, as his long body sways, and curves, and twists in air, +as he deals his cutting blows upon his victim. Then, too, the enormous +length of the pectoral fins of a humpback whale, which show dazzlingly +white as he rolls from side to side in his agony, and frantically beats +the water with them in his struggles, or upends one after the other like +a mast, might well be mistaken for the uprearing of a serpent's +body. But any South Sea whaleman will smile when he hears talk of the +sea-serpent, though he has not forgotten the awe and fascination with +which he was filled, when he first saw a whale in the agonies of +combat with _Alopias vulpes_ and _Orca gladiator_, and the serpentine +evolutions of the former creature. + +The whaleman in the Pacific sees very strange and wondrous sights; and +never, since Herman Melville wrote his strangely exciting and weird +book, 'The Whale,' nearly fifty years ago, has any writer given us such +a vivid and true picture of whaling life and incident as Mr Frank T. +Bullen in his 'Cruise of the _Cachalot_ published this year. + + + + +DENISON'S SECOND BERTH ASHORE + +I have already told how Tom Denison, the South Sea Island supercargo, +took a berth ashore as overseer of a Queensland duck farm, which +was mortgaged to a bank of which his brother was manager, and how he +resigned the post in great despondency, and humped his swag to Cooktown. + +Over his meeting with his brother let a veil be drawn. Suffice it to say +that the banker told him that he had missed the one great chance of his +life, and quoted Scripture about the ways of the improvident man to such +an extent that Denison forgot himself, and said that the bank and its +infernal ducks could go and be damned. Thereupon his sister-in-law (who +was a clergyman's daughter, and revered the Bank as she did the Church) +swooned, and his brother told him he was a heartless and dissolute young +ruffian, who would come to a bad end. Feeling very hurt and indignant, +the ex-supercargo stumped out of the bank, and went down to the wharf to +look for a ship. + +But there was only a dirty little coasting steamer in port, and Denison +hated steamers, for once he had had to go a voyage in one as supercargo, +and the continuous work involved by being constantly in port every few +days, instead of drifting about in a calm, all but broke his heart. +So he rented a room at a diggers' boarding-house kept by a Chinaman, +knowing that this would be a dagger in the heart of his sister-in-law, +who was the leading lady in Cooktown society; also, he walked about the +town without a coat, and then took a job on the wharf discharging coals +from a collier, and experienced a malevolent satisfaction when he one +evening met Mrs Aubrey Denison in the street. He was in company with +four other coal-heavers, all as black as himself; his sister-in-law was +walking with the wife of the newly-appointed Supreme Court judge. She +glanced shudderingly at the disgraceful sight her relative presented, +went home and hysterically suggested to Aubrey Denison, Esq., that his +brother Tom was a degraded criminal, and was on the way to well-deserved +penal servitude. + +After the coal-heaving job was finished, Denison lay back and luxuriated +on the 5, 17s. 6d. he had earned for his week's toil. Then one morning +he saw an advertisement, in the _North Queensland Trumpet-Call_, for a +proof-reader. And being possessed of a certain amount of worldly wisdom, +he went down to the bank, saw his brother (who received him with a +gloomy brow) and said he should like to write a letter to the editor of +the _Trumpet-Call_. He wrote his letter--on bank paper--and then went +back to Sum Fat's to await developments. The following morning he +received a note from the editor telling him to call at the office. To +Susie Sum Fat, his landlord's pretty half-caste daughter, he showed +the missive, and asked her to lend him one of her father's best shirts. +Susie, who liked Denison for his nice ways, and the tender manner in +which he squeezed her hand when passing the bread, promptly brought him +her parent's entire stock of linen, and bade him, with a soft smile, to +take his pick. Also that night she brought him a blue silk kummerbund +streaked with scarlet, and laid it on his pillow, with a written +intimation that it was sent 'with fondiest love from Susie S. Fat.' + +Arrayed in a clean shirt, and the swagger kummerbund, Denison presented +himself next morning to the editor of the _Trumpet-Call_. There were +seven other applicants for the billet, but Denison's white shirt and +new kummerbund were, he felt, a tower of strength to him, and even the +editor of the _Trumpet-Call_ seemed impressed--clean shirts being an +anomaly in Cooktown journalistic circles. + +The editor was a tall, stately man, with red eyes and a distinctly +alcoholic breath. The other applicants went in first. Each one had a +bundle of very dirty testimonials, all of which recalled to Denison +Judge Norbury's remarks about the 'tender' letters of a certain breach +of promise case. One little man, with bandy legs and a lurching gait, +put his unclean hands on the editorial table, and said that his father +was 'select preacher to the University of Oxford.' + +The red-eyed man said he was proud to know him. 'Your father, sir, was +a learned man and I reverence his name. But I never could forgive myself +did I permit a son of such a great teacher to accept such a laborious +position as proof-reader on the _Trumpet Call_. Go to Sydney or +Melbourne, my dear sir. The editors of all our leading colonial papers +were clergymen or are sons of clergymen. I should be doing your future +prospects a bitter injustice. A bright career awaits you in this new +country.' + +He shook the hand of the select preacher's son and sent him out. + +Among the other applicants was a man who had tried dugong fishing on +the Great Barrier Reef; a broken-down advance agent from a stranded +theatrical company; a local auctioneer with defective vision, but who +had once written a 'poem' for a ladies' journal; a baker's carter who +was secretary to the local debating society; and a man named Joss, who +had a terrific black eye and who told Denison, _sotto voce_, that if +the editor gave _him_ any sauce he would 'go for him' there and then +and 'knock his bloomin' eye out,' and the son of the local bellman and +bill-poster. The editor took their names and addresses, and said he +should write to them all in the morning and announce his decision. Then, +after they had gone, he turned to Denison with a pleasant smile and an +approving look at Sum Fat's shirt, and asked him if he had had previous +experience of proof-reading. Denison, in a diffident manner, said that +he had not exactly had much. + +'Just so. But you'll try and do your best, Mr Denison? Well, come in +this evening at eight o'clock, and see Mr Pinkham, the sub-editor. He'll +show you what to do. Salary, 2, 15s. Strict sobriety, I trust?' + +The successful one said he never got quite drunk, expressed his thanks +and withdrew. Once into the street he walked quickly into Sum Fat's, and +told the Celestial that he had taken a billet at 'thirty bob' a week on +a newspaper. + +'Wha' paper?' inquired Sum Fat, who was squeezing a nasty-looking +adipocerous mass into fish-balls for his boarders. + +'The _Trumpet-Call_.' + +'That's a lotten lag, if you li.' It close on banklupt this long time.' + +Denison assented cheerfully. It _was_ a rotten rag, he said, and +undoubtedly in a weak position financially; but the thirty bob would pay +his board bill. + +Then Sum Fat, who knew that the ex-supercargo was lying as regarded +the amount of his salary, nodded indifferently and went on pounding his +awful hash. + + * * * * * + +'Where is Mr Pinkham?' asked Denison at eight p.m., when an exceedingly +dirty small boy brought him his first proof. + +'He's tanked.{*} An' he says he ain't agoin' to help no blackguard +sailor feller to read no proofs. And most all the comps is tanked, too.' + + * 'Tanked.' A colonialism which indicates that a person has + indulged in too much liquid refreshment. + +However, with the intelligent assistance of the boy, Denison managed to +pull through that night, with the following result in the intercolonial +Telegrams' column:-- + + 'Melbourne, August 13.--The body of an elderly boat was + foundd last night floating down the Yarra, down the Yarra, + with its throat cut. It wvs dressed in v grey tweed suit + with a flannel shirt, dressed in a grey tweed suit with a + flannel shirt. This mourning a girl said the deceased was + her father,' etc. + +A few lines further down in the same column was the intelligence that +Chief Justice Higinbotham of Victoria had 'sentenced the man Power to +imprisonment for the term of his natural next.' + +When Denison turned up next evening, the editor asked him in distinctly +cold tones if he 'had read the paper.' + +Denison said he had not--he was too tired. + +Then the editor pointed out twenty-nine hideous mistakes, all underlined +in blue pencil and on a par with the two above-mentioned. Denison +explained in regard to the word 'next' that he meant 'life,' but there +being a turned 'e' in 'life' he somehow deleted the entire word, and +just then in his zeal, calling out 'next proof,' he unthinkingly wrote +'next' on the proof instead of 'life.' As for the matter of the boat he +had no excuse to offer. The editor was not harsh, but said that a man +of Denison's intelligence ought to be employed in building up Britain +beyond the seas instead of reading proofs. + +For the next two issues he pulled through fairly well. Sum Fat advanced +him ten shillings, with which he bought Susie a pair of canvas shoes, +and Susie kissed him seven times and said she loved him because he never +said horrid things to her like the other men. And when she laid her +innocent face upon his shoulder and wept, Denison was somewhat stirred, +and decided to get away from Susie as quickly as possible. + +On the fourth evening a beery local politician sent in a paragraph, +written in an atrocious hand, stating that he (the beery man) had +'received a number of replies to the circulars he had sent out to +the supporters of the Government,' etc. In the morning the paragraph +appeared:-- + + '_Mr Ebenezer Thompson, the champion of Separation, for + North Queensland, has again received quite a large number of + reptiles,' _etc. + +Of course Mr Thompson was terribly insulted--everyone in Cooktown knew +that he had periodical illnesses, during which he imagined he was chased +by large snakes joined to blue dogs with red eyes and crimson tails--and +demanded Denison's instant dismissal. The editor however, pleaded for +him on account of his inexperience, and the matter was passed over. + +He worried along pretty well till the end of the week, and then fresh +trouble arose. Mr Pinkham the sub-editor, who did the foreign cables +and the local fire-brigade items, got exceedingly drunk--a weekly +occurrence--and, for his own safety, was locked up by the intelligent +police. The three reporters, who all hated Pinkham, declined to sub-edit +his cables, and consequently the editor was himself driven to take +refuge in drink. The business manager, however, took his place, and told +Denison that he relied on him to assist with the cables. Denison hinted +at increased emoluments, and the manager promptly threatened to sack him +and all the rest of the literary staff. He would do the cables himself, +he said. He abhorred Denison on account of Susie and the kummerbund. + +Just then the Emperor Frederick was dying at San Remo, and cables were +coming through _via_ Sydney. + +At one a.m. the business manager came in to Denison and said that they +should try to get along amicably. As both the editor and Mr Pinkham, he +said, were in a disgraceful condition, he relied upon the rest of the +staff to maintain the credit of the _Trumpet-Call_, etc. Then he showed +Denison a cable he had just received, and asked him if he could assist +him to make it out. It ran in this wise: + + 'London--Emperor Frederick condition very grave. German + physicians hamper Morell Mackenzie, but approve suggestion + operation trache Otomy esophagus without delay.' + +Denison said (with secret joy) that he was afraid he couldn't help. +But he believed that there were two world-famous Italian doctors named +Tracchi and Tomy. 'Esophagus' was, he also remarked, no doubt meant for +'sarcophagus'--the Latin name for the gullet. And he suggested to his +enemy that it would be well to rush the cable through as quickly as +possible. The business manager said he should--he merely felt a little +doubt about the proper spelling of the Italian doctors' names, though +he, of course, knew that there was no such word as esophagus. As he went +out Denison smiled like a fiend. His anticipations of an ample revenge +upon the low, sordid creature who had refused him another sovereign a +week were gratified in the morning, for under a large heading he saw +this:-- + + 'THE EMPEROR FREDERICK + + 'Serious Condition + + '_San Remo.-- The Emperor Frederick's condition is causing + grave anxiety. The German physicians in attendance hinder + Morell Mackenzie in every possible way. They, however, agree + to his suggestion to send for the two celebrated Italian + specialists, Drs Tracchi and Tomy, and with them perform an + operation on the Emperor's sarcophagus. Wheat is 1d. firmer. + Hides are dull, bank rate unaltered. Tallow is + improving._' + +The absolute beauty of the thing, however, to Denison's mind, was that +the business manager had sold a copy of his translation of the cablegram +to the other local paper--run by the Cooktown Labour Union--which had +used it word for word. + +Nothing of moment occurred after this till a report of a sermon by Dr +Stanton, the first Bishop of North Queensland, appeared. His lordship, +alluding to certain conditions of the human mind which rendered one's +judgment 'subject to warp and bias,' the intelligent compositor made it +'wasps and bees,' and Denison, being very sleepy when he read the proof, +let it go. And Dr Stanton, good and generous man, laughed heartily when +Denison, with a contrite and broken heart called on him, and asked for +his forgiveness. + +But Nemesis was coming along. There was a wealthy and atrociously vulgar +magnate in Cooktown, whose wife ran second to Mrs Aubrey Denison in +local society, and who had just lost her father. The death announcement +appeared as follows:-- + + 'On June 18, at the Bungalow, Cooktown, Donald Dugald + M'Whannel, Government Inspector of Artesian Bores for North + Queensland, aged sixty-five. + + 'Also, at the same time and place, five trusses of + Victoria hay, some pigs and calves, and twenty-six bags of + onions and potatoes, all in prime order.' + +Of course this was the last straw, and Denison was asked to resign. But +as Mrs Aubrey Denison wrote and said she should like to forgive him for +his disgraceful conduct before he went away, he sent the Scotch foreman +of the _Trumpet-Call_ to explain to her that the catch-line of an +auctioneer's advertisement had been 'dropped' on the same galley as the +mortuary notice, and overlooked when the forme was locked. And so, after +a tender farewell to little Susie Sum Fat, and with her kisses still +warm upon his lips, Denison went out into the world again to look for a +ship. + + + + +A FISH DRIVE ON A MICRONESIAN ATOLL + +We were thrashing our way in a little brigantine, owned by Tom de Wolf, +of Liverpool, against the strong north-east trade wind, from the Western +Carolines to Milli in the Marshalls, when one day we sighted a low-lying +cluster of five small palm-clad islands that lay basking, white and +green, in the bright Pacific sun; and an hour before dark the _Lunalilo_ +dropped her anchor just in front of the native village. In a few minutes +the resident white trader came off to us in his boat and made us welcome +to his island home. + +We had heard that he had quite a considerable quantity of hawkbill +turtle shell and some coco-nut oil to sell, and came to ascertain +the truth of the report before we were anticipated by some German or +American trading vessel. + +Less than a mile away from where the brigantine was anchored we saw a +noble white beach, trending east and west in many curves, and backed by +serried lines of palms and groves of bread-fruit trees, through whose +bright verdancy peeped out the thatch-covered and saddle-backed houses +of the natives. Apart from the village, and enclosed by a low fence of +growing hibiscus palings, stood the trader's house, a long, rambling +building with white coral-lime walls and a wide, shady verandah on all +four sides. In front of the fence was a tall, white-painted flagstaff, +and presently we saw a woman come out of the trader's house and walk up +to it. In another minute the Stars and Stripes went slowly up, and then +hung limp and motionless in the windless atmosphere. + +'There,' said the trader, with a laugh, 'you see, my wife, native as she +is, is more polite than I am. But the fact is that I was so excited +when I saw your schooner that I never thought about hoisting the old +gridiron. Now, look here, gentlemen; before we do anything else, or talk +about business, I want you to promise to come ashore to night. There is +to be a big fish drive, and I can assure you that that is a sight worth +seeing.' + +We made the promise, and half an hour later went ashore and walked up +to our friend's house. Here we found the entire population of the island +assembled to do us honour, and for quite ten minutes were embraced most +effusively by every one, male or female, who could get near us. The +men were naked to their waists--the missionaries had not then made +any headway in the Caroline Islands--around which they wore either +gaily-coloured girdles of bleached and then dyed strips of fine pandanus +leaf, or sashes of closely-woven banana fibre. The women, however, +somewhat ineffectually concealed the remarkable beauty of their figures +by wearing, in addition to their grass waist girdles, a crescent-shaped +garment of similar material, which was suspended from their necks, and +covered their bosoms.{*} Their glossy black hair hung in wavy curls down +their smooth brown backs. * Since the advent of the missionaries this +costume has been suppressed. + +Nearly all the young unmarried girls wore narrow head circlets of white +pandanus leaf, profusely adorned and embroidered with red and yellow +beads, flat pieces of polished pearl shell, and edged with green and +gold and scarlet parrots' feathers. Their address and modest demeanour +was engaging in the extreme, and we noticed that they showed the utmost +deference and respect to an aged female who sat on a mat in the centre +of the room, surrounded by a number of young children. She was, we +learnt, the king's mother, and at her request the trader led us over to +where she sat, and gave us a formal introduction. She received us in a +pleasant but dignified manner, and the moment that she opened her lips +to speak the clatter of tongues around us ceased as if by magic, and the +most respectful silence prevailed. + +As neither the captain nor myself were able to speak the local +dialect--which is similar to that of Ponap--we were somewhat at a loss +to answer the questions she put to us, and etiquette forbade the trader +to volunteer his services as an interpreter, till the old dame asked +him. Presently, however, she desired him to tell us that she was very +pleased to see us; that the fish drive would, she hoped, interest us +greatly. Then, at a sign from her, a handsome young man who stood in the +doorway came forward and laid down a bundle of mats at our feet; this +was the old lady's formal present to the captain and myself. She then +rose, and bidding us to come and see her in her son's house before we +sailed, she walked over to the end of the room, attended by her retinue +of children, and sat down again on a finely-worked mat, which was spread +out before her. Then she made another and longer speech on behalf of her +son, who, she said, had desired her to say that he was very pleased +we had brought the ship to an anchor; that his stomach was filled with +friendship for white men; and that the trader would tell us that all +that he (the king) said was true; also that if any of her people stole +even the most trifling article from our ship they would be severely +punished, etc. Furthermore, she trusted that after we had spent one +night at the white man's house and seen the fish drive, we would spend +the following morning with her, when we should be feasted, and every +honour and attention shown us. Then the young man attendant produced +another present--from the king. This was a live sucking pig, a pair of +fat Muscovy ducks, and a huge green turtle. This latter was carried in +by four women, and placed in the centre of the room. We then, through +the trader, made return gifts of a bolt of white calico, a lamp and a +tin of kerosene. Touching these with her hand the old woman signed to +her attendants to take them away, and then, with another polite speech, +left the house. + +The moment the king's mother retired, many more of the common people +swarmed into the house, and all seemed highly delighted to learn that we +intended to stay and see the great fish drive. + +As every one of our native crew was very anxious to join in the +sport, the captain had asked the king's mother to 'tapu' the ship till +daylight, and shortly afterwards we were told by a messenger from the +king that this had been done, and that no native would attempt to board +the ship till we had returned. Although these people were honest enough, +our captain thought it hardly safe enough to leave the ship without a +white man on board, for all natives are very careless with the use of +fire, and, being great smokers, he felt nervous on that score. + +At five o'clock we were taken to the king's house, where we found the +whole population assembled. A great feast was spread out, and King +Ralok, who advanced to meet us, took us by our hands and sat us down in +the midst of a vast collection of baked fish, bread fruit, turtle meat +and eggs, and roast fowls, pigeons and pork. Of course we had to eat; +but at the earliest opportunity the trader told the king that we were +anxious to see the preparations made for the drive before it got too +dark. Ralok at once agreed, and after drinking the milk of a young +coco-nut to wash down the repast, we made a start for the scene of +operations. + +This was along the shore of the lagoon. At high water, for nearly two +or three miles, the white, sandy bottom would be covered by a depth of +about four feet of water; at low water, as it was now, it was dry. Here +and there were clumps of coral boulders, generally circular in shape, +and these, at high water, would be just flush with the surface. These +boulders were some two or three hundred yards apart, and as we came out +upon the lagoon beach we saw that they were connected by a vast number +of nets lying upon the sand, in readiness to rise, by means of their +light wooden floats of puka wood, as soon as the incoming tide swept in +from the ocean. Upon the top of each of these connecting boulders were +piled bundles or long torches made of dried coco-nut branches, which +were to be lighted when the drive began. The total length of the netting +was about two miles, but at one end, that facing the deep water of the +lagoon, there was a wide, unenclosed space. Here, however, were lying +half a dozen canoes, whose outrigger platforms were piled up with +strong nets, which were to be stretched across the opening at the proper +moment. + +After looking at the preparations, we returned to the village, and as we +had no time to lose, and the tide was coming in at a great rate over the +reef, we began to dress, or rather undress, for the sport. To each of +us was given a spear, and a number of young women and children were +told off to accompany us with baskets, with half-a-dozen boys as +torch-bearers. + +As soon as darkness had fallen the whole village was astir. From every +house men, women and very young children swarmed, these latter without +even the traditional leaf to hide their nakedness, while the grown girls +and women, possibly with the view of not shocking us too much, wore +short--very short--girdles around their loins. + +The grown men and youths now launched a number of canoes, and, crowding +into them, paddled out into the lagoon, keeping well away, however, +from the line of nets, the floats of which were now appearing upon the +surface of the water. In each canoe was a large basket filled with a +nasty-looking mass. This was the crushed shells and bodies of _uga_, or +small land crabs, and was to be used as 'burley' to attract the fish to +the wake of the canoes. + +Before going further I must mention that at a particular season of the +year--May--many of the Micronesian Islands are visited by vast shoals of +fish much resembling an English salmon. These enter the lagoons from +the ocean in pursuit of smaller fish. These smaller fish, which are a +species of sprat, assemble in incredible quantities, and at night-time +are wont to crowd together in prodigious numbers about the coral +boulders before mentioned, in the same manner that ocean-living fish +will sometimes attach themselves to a ship or other moving substance, +as some protection from pursuit by bonito, albicore, and the fish called +_tautau_. The latter are of nocturnal habit when seeking food, and +during the daytime lie almost motionless near the bottom, where they can +often be seen in serried masses. As soon as night falls they rise to the +surface and give chase to flying-fish and other surface-swimming ocean +fish. In shape they are very similar to a salmon, but do not possess +the same deepness of body and general fulness. Their heads consist of +a series of long plates, and their jaws are armed with rows of serrated +bone plates. In colour they are a very beautiful iridescent silver along +the sides and belly, the back and head being a deep, glossy blue. When +full grown their length is slightly over four feet, and weight about +twenty-five pounds. They are as voracious as the pike, swim with +extraordinary swiftness at night-time, and will take the hook eagerly +if baited with a whole flying-fish; their flesh is somewhat delicate in +flavour and greatly relished by the natives of Micronesia, who regard it +as second only to the universally esteemed flying-fish. + +Two or three days before we made the little group of islands, immense +droves of these _tautau_, as the natives of Eastern Polynesia call them, +had been hovering about the reefs, and the people were now to endeavour +to tempt them into the trap set for them with such care and labour. + +For about a quarter of an hour not a sound broke the silence of the +night. We were in the midst of some three or four hundred natives, who +only spoke in whispers for fear of alarming the fish. All round the +deeper portion of the chain of nets was a line of canoes, filled with +women and girls, who held torches in their hands ready to light up the +moment the signal was given. Further in towards the shore, where the +water was not too deep to prevent them keeping on their feet, were +numbers of girls and children standing close together, their bodies +almost touching, and the floats of the nets touching their bosoms; +we white men, with the trader, were standing together, with our +torch-bearers, upon a flat-topped coral boulder. + +Suddenly a whisper ran along the line of watchers--the canoes were +coming. One by one we made them out, the paddlers dipping their paddles +into the water in silence, as one of their number in each canoe threw +out double handfuls of the crushed crab 'burley.' As they approached +nearer to us we became aware of a peculiar lapping, splashing noise, as +of hundreds of bare feet walking in water a few inches deep. + +'That's the fish,' whispered the trader. 'Look at them--they are coming +in in thousands.' + +And then even our unaccustomed eyes could see that the water behind the +canoes was churned into a white froth by the jumping, splashing fish, +which x were following the canoes in a solid wall, snapping up the food +so industriously thrown to them. In a few minutes the canoes had entered +the open end of the trap, and were paddling noiselessly past the inner +lines of nets, not a hundred yards from where we stood. At last, when +the whole inclosure was literally swarming with fish, the outside canoes +quickly closed up the gap by stretching the nets across it, and almost +at the same moment there was a tremendous splashing and churning up of +the water around each knoll and boulder of coral. The _tautau_ had left +off eating the bait thrown them from the canoes, and were attacking the +myriads of small fish that clustered round the boulders. And then, at +a signal given by one of the outside canoes, the torches sprang +into flame, and by the bright light that flooded the scene the most +extraordinary sight was revealed, for from one side to the other the +great inclosure was full of magnificent _tautau_ about three feet six in +length. They were all swimming on the surface; and as soon as the +blaze of the torches illumined the water they at once became almost +stationary; or, after the manner of flying-fish, when subjected to a +strong light, swam slowly about in a dazed, hesitating manner. + +The work of capturing some very large turtle, that had come into the +fatal circle of nets, was now at once begun, lest in their endeavours to +escape the nets might be broken and the fish escape. There were six of +these creatures speared before they could do any damage; as well as two +or three small sharks, which, having gorged themselves to repletion, +were killed as they lazily swam along the circle of nets. + +So well had the natives judged of the time it would take to carry out +their scheme, that within half an hour of the inclosure of the fish the +tide began to fall, and the imprisoned swarms showed signs of anxiety to +escape, but as fresh supplies of torches were brought from the village, +and kept continuously alight, their alarm seemed to disappear. Had a +heavy shower of rain fallen--so the trader told us--and extinguished the +torches, the fish would have rushed at the nets and carried them away by +sheer weight. + +Meanwhile, as the tide continued to fall, many of the women and girls +amused themselves by stunning all the fish that came within reach +of them, and loading the canoes with them. Once some fifty or sixty +_tautau_ came right up to the boulder on which we stood, and were +so dazed by the glare of light that poured down on them, that some +permitted themselves to be captured by the hand. + +Lower and lower fell the water, and as the shore end of the trap became +dry, the fish were gradually forced to come closer and closer together +as their swimming space diminished. By-and-by, as the receding tide +left the chain of coral rocks dry on their summits, women waded out with +firewood, and built fires on them; not that there was now any danger +of the fish breaking away, but to give a still better light. At last, +however, the word was passed along the line that the sea end of the +drive had been strengthened by additional nets in case a sudden rush +might occur; but, by this time, so rapidly was the water running out, +that even at the deepest end there was not perhaps two feet available +for the now terrified and struggling swarms of _tautau_. In another +twenty minutes there was heard a most extraordinary sound, caused by +thousands upon thousands of fish thrashing and jumping about on the +sand; while at the sea end of the drive, where the great body of all +were massed together, the scene was simply indescribable. What +little water was left was beaten into froth and foam by their violent +struggles, and the light from the torches showed that a space of +about five acres in extent was covered with a shining, silvery mass +of splendid _tautau_, intermixed with a small number of gorgeous-hued +rock-fish, cray-fish, and some hawk-bill turtle. + +The work of picking up the prizes went on for at least two hours. Three +or four of the _tautau_ placed in a basket was as much as a woman could +carry, and, although everyone present worked hard, some thousands of +fish were not taken. Many of these, however, were not dead, and, with +the incoming tide, swam off again. All the young turtle, however, +were secured, the natives taking them up carefully and putting them in +walled-in pools where they would remain prisoners. + +We tried to ascertain the number of fish taken, but gave it up. Every +house and canoe-shed appeared to have the floor covered with them, and +for the next day or two there were great fish dinners on the island. + +Some thousands of _tautau_ were split open and dried upon platforms in +the same manner as the natives of Eastern Polynesia dry flying-fish, and +the Fraser River Indians their salmon. + +We succeeded in buying a fine lot of turtle shell from the trader, as +well as some from the king and his mother. The old lady treated us right +royally, and, a few hours before we sailed, a canoe-load of fruit and +drinking coco-nuts were sent off to the ship, with her compliments. + + + + +BOBARAN + +When our boat touched the beach in front of the trader's house just as +the dawn was breaking, I thought Kabaira Bay one of the loveliest places +in the Pacific, and said so to the man I had been sent to relieve. He +quite concurred in my opinion of the beauties of the scenery, but said +that he was very glad to get away. Then, being a cheerful man, though +given to unnecessary blasphemy, like most South Sea Island traders, he +took me out to the rich garden at the back of the station and showed +me the grave of his predecessor, who had died of fever a year before. +Further on, but outside the enclosing fence, were some more graves, he +said. + +'Whose?' I asked. + +'Captain Murray's, his mate's, and two of his cutter's crew.' + +'Fever?' + +'No,' he replied, with some slight surprise at my ignorance; 'the +natives killed 'em a couple o' years ago. An', see, just over there by +Point Luen, is the Hon. Mr Willington's house. He was a nephew of Lord +L------. I goes there sometimes and rips a board out o' the floor when I +wants one.' ^ + +'Mr Wellington gone away?' My friend _was_ surprised this time. 'Why, +you _must_ be a new chum in New Britain. Why, Willington ain't dead six +months.' 'Fev--' + +'Fever be -------. No, he got speared when he was lying in his bunk +readin' a book one night. _I_ told him that the niggers would pay him +out for a-playin' crooked with em'; but he was too cock-a-hoopy to +listen to a feller like me.' + +'Any more white men buried in Kabaira? 'I asked after a while, as we +walked back to the house to take stock of my host's trade goods. + +'No, that's all that's planted here--at least, all I know of, and I've +been here, in New Britain, five years. There's been a good many Dutchmen +killed on the coast here, and over in New Ireland, but I didn't know +any of 'em. An' they're such a silly lot o' duffers, that they reg'lar +tempts these New Britain niggers to kill 'em; and then the beggars, not +knowing an Englishman from a Dutchman, are ready to murder anyone with +a white skin. So you look out, young feller. These niggers here are a +rotten bad lot. But I'll interdooce yer to Bobaran. He's the biggest +cut-throat of em' all; but he an' me is good pals, and onct you've +squared him you're pretty safe. Got plenty fever medicine?' 'Lots.' +'Liquor?' 'Case of gin.' + +'That'll keep you clear o' fever as much as anything, as long as the +case lasts. Always drink some when it's raining.' (It usually rained +nine days out of ten in New Britain). 'Now we'll take stock. I can tell +you I'm mighty glad to clear out o' this place--an' so will you be in a +couple o' months, if--you're alive.' + +Having thus, in cheerful converse, somewhat enlightened me as to the +peculiar characteristics of Kabaira Bay and its inhabitants, my friend +had breakfast cooked, and whilst we were eating it, sent a messenger for +his friend Bobaran to come and make the acquaintance of the new white +man. During breakfast the trader gave me much further information, all +of which, as a man new to the ropes, I was very glad to obtain. Kabaira, +I already knew (I had but just arrived in New Britain from Eastern +Polynesia), was the 'furthest out' trading station on the great island, +which, at that time, had barely thirty white men living on it; most of +these were settled on Gazelle Peninsula, and a few on the Duke of York +Island, midway between the northern point of New Britain and mountainous +New Ireland. My nearest neighbour lived at Kabakad, a populous native +town ten miles away. My host told me that this man was 'a noisy, drunken +little swine,' the which assertion I subsequently found to be absolutely +correct. Further on, five miles from Kabakad, was another trader named +Bruno Ran, a hard-working Swiss; then, after rounding Cape Stephens, +was the large German trading station of Matupi in Blanche Bay, where you +could buy anything from a needle to a chain cable. On the Duke of York +Island was another trading station, and also the Wesleyan Mission, which +as yet had made but few converts in New Britain; and over in New Ireland +were a few scattered English traders, who sometimes sailed over on a +visit to their dangerously-situated fellow-countrymen in the big island. + +For dangerous indeed was the daily existence of traders in those then +little-known islands. But money was to be made, and men will dare much +to make money quickly, even though at the risk of their lives. As for +the natives of New Britain, a few words will suffice. They were the most +unmitigated savages, cowardly and treacherous, and with the exception of +the people of the villages in the vicinity of Blanche Bay, whose women +wore a scanty girdle of leaves of the plant _Cordyline terminalis_, +they passed their lives in a state of stark nudity. Their dwellings +and canoes were of the poorest description, but their plantations and +gardens were highly cultivated, and marvels of incessant and intelligent +labour. For human life they had no regard; in fact, a pig was worth more +than a man, except among those tribes where a man who weighed more than +a pig would be more valuable as food. At the present time things have +improved on the Gazelle Peninsula, but along the coast-line, which to +the westward stretches for over two hundred miles towards New Guinea, +matters have not changed. As for their personal appearance, it is simply +hideous. Take the biggest anthropoid ape, stain his teeth black and his +lips scarlet, stick a wig of matted greasy curls on his head, and put +half a dozen slender spears in his right paw, and you have an idea of +a New Britain nigger--a 'brand,' according to missionary ethics, who +should be plucked from the burning, but whom the Christian of ordinary +intelligence would cheerfully watch burning until he was reduced to a +cinder. + +Just as we had finished breakfast, Bobaran came in and squatted on the +flour. Being a man of rank and influence, he was privileged, and allowed +to carry his arms with him inside the trader's house. These consisted +of five spears, one long-handled ebony-wood club, with a huge jade head, +and a horse-pistol, which was fastened to a leather belt around his +naked waist. His fuzzy wool was dyed a bright brick red colour and +twisted into countless little curls which, hanging over his beetling and +excessively dirty black forehead, almost concealed his savage eyes, and +harmonised with his thick, betel-stained lips and cavernous, grip-sack +mouth. Around his arms were two white circlets of shell, and depending +from his bull-like neck a little basket containing betel-nut and lime. +He certainly was a most truculent-looking scoundrel. Nevertheless, +I shook hands with him cordially, and he agreed, for certain +considerations, to look after me, find me in food, warn me of any danger +that might impend, and also to murder anyone with whom I might feel +annoyed, for a fixed but very small remuneration. In proof whereof of +this alliance, and as a token of amity and goodwill, Parker (the +trader) presented him with a small tin of ship biscuit, four dynamite +cartridges, a dozen boxes of matches and a bottle of a villainous German +liquor called 'Corn Schnapps.' Then the atrocity stood up and embraced +me, and asked me to show him my firearms. His fierce eyes gleamed +with pleasure as he turned them about in his filthy paws, and he was +especially pleased with the size of a Sharp's rifle cartridge and bullet +which would, he grinned, 'make big fellow hole in man.' Then, with +further expressions of goodwill on both sides, we parted. + +At dusk Parker bade me good-bye, and urging me to put the utmost +confidence in Bobaran and drink plenty of gin whenever it rained--to +keep the fever from 'gettin' holt' of my system--he walked down to the +beach and stepped into the boat. For a few minutes I stood watching till +he was hidden from view by a point of land, and then, feeling somewhat +depressed at my future loneliness, I walked back to the house. + +Bobaran, the Mesdames Bobaran (three), and the Masters and Misses +Bobaran were sitting on the verandah awaiting me. None of them were as +much dressed as their father, who had, as I have said, a leather belt +around his loins, and all were chewing betel-nut and expectorating the +scarlet juice thereof vigorously about the premises. Being aware of the +fact that a New Britain woman is never abroad at night, and a man but +seldom, I was surprised at such a family gathering, for the village was +some distance away. Bobaran, however, explained that as he and two +of his sons intended keeping guard for me that night, the rest of the +family had come with them--and that they should like some tobacco. + +Leaving his wives and children outside to smoke, my protector came +into the sitting-room, and as he had acquired a considerable amount of +unpolished sailor man's English, I found him very entertaining and also +instructive. First he told me that the Kabaira people were perfectly +safe; it was a very peaceful village, and the people liked white men, +and he hoped I would not carry arms whenever I went out--it made them +frightened, and when people were frightened of a man they naturally +tried to kill him. Agreed to. Secondly, they were not cannibals--all +their neighbours were, however. (I said I was pleased to hear it, no +doubt someone had maligned them.) But they were all thieves, and I must +take prompt action to prevent myself from being robbed--(here one of his +wives crept to the door on all fours and asked her lord and master for +a match, but was struck with great violence in the mouth with an empty +salmon tin instead, for interrupting). To-morrow I should do as 'Parka' +did the day he came to Kabaira. I must go down to the beach with a +dynamite cartridge in my hand and seek for a place where there was +plenty of fish. And I must have another cartridge ready in my pocket. +As soon as the first shot went off hundreds of natives would jump in the +water and try to steal all the best fish. Then I was to light the fuse +of the second cartridge and throw it in. And it would be sure to hurt +_some_ of the people, and they would not follow me next time I went +fishing. But, of course, if I _should_ happen to kill anyone, I would +pay for it? + +'Of course I would,' I said. 'How much?' + +'Big feller man, one good musket; boy, one axix' (axe); 'old woman, old +feller, musket; young girl, one good musket.' + +Then he approached me on a delicate subject, i.e., the taking over of +my predecessor's harem of three native women. I explained that I was +expecting my wife down soon from Samoa and couldn't do it. He said it +was a great pity, as one of 'Parka's' wives could make tea and +cook meat. Also, that I need be under no fear of her making any +unpleasantness when my wife turned up. Would I like to see the girl? +'Parka' had taught her a lot of things. She did not oil her hair with +pigeon fat, and cleaned her teeth every day just like a Samoan girl. +Also, she had ten coils of _dewarra_ (cowrie shells threaded on the +midribs of the coco-nut leaf, and used as the native currency). I said +I was very much tempted, but thought I had better not. He looked at me +steadily for a few seconds, as he thrust a fresh 'chaw' of betel-nut +and lime into his hideous mouth, and said that I was missing a great +chance--there were plenty of white men along the coast who would be glad +to get anyone of 'Parka's' wives, especially she who could make tea and +cook meat. + +He seemed pleased that I was disposed to be as liberal-handed as Parker, +for whom he seemed to have a high regard; and then proceeded to tell me +of some of his own exploits among the inhabitants of Mutavt, a village +across the bay, which was at enmity with Kabaira. The infinite gusto +with which he related a series of atrocious murders gave me a chill, and +he looked like an evil spirit when his great red lips parted in a grin +and revealed his black teeth. Presently he asked me if I had shot +any people; and when I said I had not, he became regretful, but soon +brightened up again and said I would have plenty of chances yet. + +There were some bush villages, to which he would take me some day, and +if we were careful we could knock over two or three people easily; they +were a bad lot these 'man-a-bush' (bush-men). + +At ten o'clock I turned in, and Bobaran, after an animated conversation +with his family, lay down at my door with a Snider rifle and his +horse-pistol by his side. + +And for many long, weary months, in the beautiful but fever-ridden +Kabaira Bay, he was the only person to whom I could talk; and in time I +began to take a liking to him, for I found him, as Parker had told me, +'a thunderin' old cut-throat, but as straight as a die to a white man +who acts straight to him.' + + + + +SEA FISHING IN AUSTRALIA + +'Hi, mister, turn out, please, if you're a-comin' with us,' a gruff +voice called out to me one frosty morning in May, and then a hairy, +good-humoured-looking face flattened itself against my window pane as +the owner sought to peer into the room. + +I jumped out of bed, opened the window, and shivered in my pyjamas as +the keen morning air rushed in to the warm room. Slaney, the coxswain +of the Port Macquarie pilot boat,{*} was standing below me on the grassy +side walk, muffled up in his great coat, and carrying a shin of beef in +his hand. + + * Port Macquarie is a quaint 'old' seaport on the northern + coast of New South Wales. + +'How does it look outside, Slaney?' I asked. + +'Smooth as glass. Hurry up, please. I've just come from the butcher's, +couldn't get any fish bait last night, so bespoke a shin of beef.' + +Five minuses later I had dressed, and was running up the hill to the +pilot station with my fishing tackle, together with some sandwiches, +some bottles of beer, and a tin pannikin, slung in a corn sack over my +shoulder--not a very elegant turn-out, but the correct thing for such +rough and tumble work as schnapper fishing. At the top of the hill I +stopped to give myself breath a minute. An impatient 'Hallo there, _do_ +hurry,' ascended to me from beneath, where the smart pilot boat lay +rocking on the waters of a little cove, cut out of the solid rock by the +labour of convicts seventy years before, her crew of six men standing up +to their knees in the water, and holding her steady. Tumbling down the +grassy hill at the risk of breaking my neck, I waded out and clambered +over the side, and in another minute the crew were bending to their oars +and the boat sweeping round a clump of conical rocks that sheltered +the boat harbour from the long roll of the Pacific billows. Oh, what a +lovely morning, and how the blue ocean glinted and sparkled in the quick +warming sun. Away to the southward the high, thickly-timbered coast was +broken up by jutting headlands and little, irregularly shaped bays, with +steep, rocky shores; and northward a long sweep of beach trended in a +curving line for ten miles, till it ended at the purple sides of Point +Plomer, beyond which loomed the misty blue outline of Captain Cook's +'Smoaky' Cape. + +The wind was from the westward; so we hoisted our lug sail, and headed +seaward to the sun. Behind us the noisy Hastings River bar clamoured and +moaned unceasingly; for though the sea was smooth, the tide was on the +ebb, and rushing fiercely out over the wide but shallow entrance to +the river, and short, angry waves reared, and tumbled, and fought the +roaring current. But in another ten minutes the noise of the waters +became lost in the distance, and we heard, naught but the gentle +_lip-lap, lip-lap_, of the boat's cut-water as she slipped over the +swelling seas. Three miles out we took our bearings from a mountain +called The Brothers, and Camden Haven Heads, and then dropped our anchor +in twenty-two fathoms on a rocky bottom. + +There is not much 'finnicking' preparation for schnapper fishing, and +in five minutes every line was baited, and over the side, and at the +bottom, and before another two or three had passed we knew we had struck +the right spot, for nearly every one of us felt the unmistakable tug +of a lusty schnapper, and then the determined downward pull, strong and +steady, which he makes when once hooked. Slaney, who was using a line as +thick as signal-halliards, was the first to haul his fish over the side, +and drop him, kicking and thrashing like a young porpoise, into the +boat; the rest of us, whose tackle was much thinner, were a long way +behind him, and Slaney's line was over the side again before our fish +were laid beside the first arrival. What a beautiful fish is a ten-pound +schnapper--a brilliant pink back, sides and tail, dotted over with +tiny spots of a wonderful, gleaming blue that sparkle like miniature +diamonds; the bream-shaped head a deep reddish-purple, with nose and +lips of palish pink; the belly a pure, shining white. No wonder that +Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales, spoke of the schnapper +as 'an exceedingly beautiful and palatable fish.' + +For about an hour we continued to haul up fish after fish till our +arms ached. The smallest weighed about three pounds, the largest about +seventeen pounds, and the average weight of the lot was about eight +pounds. Then we knocked off for breakfast. That finished, we lit our +pipes and settled down to work again. Alas! a swarm of ugly brown and +yellow 'leather-jackets' had arrived on the scene, and before our lines +could touch bottom the brutes would either take the bait, or bite off +the hook snoozings with their keen, rat-like teeth. In a quarter of an +hour we had caught but four schnapper and lost a dozen or more hooks; +my own line was bitten through at about five fathoms from the surface--a +piece of meat skin had wound itself round it and had been discovered by +one of these predatory villains. No wonder that the Samoans and natives +of the Tokelau Islands term the leather-jacket _isumu moana_--the +sea-rat. However, as leather-jackets make excellent schnapper bait, two +of us were told off to fish for them with bream-lines and wire-snoozed +small hooks, and we soon had the satisfaction of catching a dozen of the +thieves. These were quickly skinned and cut up; then we lifted anchor +and pulled southward for about half a mile, knowing we should catch but +few schnapper where leather-jackets were. + +Our new ground proved a lucky one, for we not only caught some seventy +schnapper--some of them truly noble fish--but two magnificent black +and white rock cod, a fish whose flavour is excelled by no other in +Australian waters. No leather-jackets appeared to disturb our pleasure, +and not even the usual murderous shark showed his ugly face, and played +the usual game of seizing every schnapper as it was hauled up, and +biting it in halves. Only the previous week half a dozen had followed us +about from ground to ground, breaking our lines, and taking five out +of every ten fish we hooked. Two at last we succeeded in harpooning and +killing, and casting their bodies to their friends, who made short work +of them and left us alone for the rest of the day. + +Schnapper in the winter months, on the Australian coast, retire to the +deep water, and can be caught in from thirty to fifty fathoms. They +travel in droves like sheep, and prefer to frequent rocky or broken +ground. Sometimes, however, they will enter the bar harbours in great +numbers and ascend the tidal rivers. Twenty-five years ago they were +often taken in nets in the Parramatta River, near Sydney, and were +very plentiful in Sydney Harbour itself. Nowadays one is rarely +caught anywhere inside the Heads. Steamboat traffic and the foul water +resulting from sewerage has driven them to the deep waters of the ocean. +One peculiar feature of schnapper fishing on the northern coast of New +South Wales is that, be the fish ever so plentiful and hungry, they +invariably cease biting immediately, if the wind should change to the +east or north-east. Yet on the southern seaboard, from Twofold Bay to +Galo Island, they will take the hook during a black north-easter, as +freely as they do when the wind is blowing from any other quarter. + +From one end to the other of the coast of New South Wales, there is +grand rock-fishing to be had by anyone who once is initiated into its +mysteries, and is not afraid of getting an occasional drenching from +an ocean roller when there is any sea running. Right from the southern +boundary of the colony to the Tweed River on the north, are breaks in +the long sandy beaches, of rocky coast, which in most places are easily +accessible to the fisherman; and the water in these spots being +deep close under the verge of the cliffs, the deep-sea fish, such +as schnapper, blue and brown groper, the gigantic mottled rock-cod, +trevally, king-fish, the great Jew-fish, sea salmon, etc., at certain +seasons of the year cruise to and fro about the rocks in extraordinary +numbers. But, strange as it may appear, rock-fishing is almost unknown +to the average colonial, except those living near the principal ports. +The greatest ignorance, too, prevails as to the edible qualities of the +many varieties of excellent rock-fish, except the well-known schnapper. +The generality of the coast settlers look upon most coloured fish as +'bad to eat,' if not 'poisonous,' and particularly so in the case of +the delicious blue groper or blue-fish, the 'leather jacket,' and the +scaleless bonito, which latter occasionally visit the shores of the +colony in large 'schools,' and take a bait eagerly. + +My boyish experiences of rock-fishing in New South Wales are full of +delightful memories. Then, accompanied by one of the few surviving +members of the Hastings River (Port Macquarie) blacks, my brothers and +myself would set out for a week's camping-out on the wild and lonely +coast between Port Macquarie and Camden Haven--a stretch of twenty miles +or so. Our equipment consisted of some very heavy lines and hooks for +the big fish, some fine tackle for beach fishing--for bream, whiting, +flathead, etc.--a couple of spears for cray-fish, an old smooth-bore +army musket and ammunition (for shooting ducks on the tidal lagoons), +tea, sugar, as much bread as we could carry, and a tomahawk. As for +tents, such luxuries were unknown to us boys in those days; if it showed +signs of rain at night time we could soon put up a bark shelter, and, +with a pair of light blankets under us, sleep in peace. + +One of our most favoured spots was at Tacking Point, a curious steep-to +bluff, clothed on its sides with a dense thicket scrub, the haunt of +hundreds of black wallabies and wonga pigeons, and also a large variety, +of brown and black snakes, with an occasional death adder. The summit, +however, was beautifully grassed, and clear of timber, except for a +clump or two of gnarled and knotted honeysuckle trees; and here, after +our day's fishing, we would camp, and, lying beside our fire, look out +upon the starlit Pacific two hundred feet below. Although only five +miles from the little town, we scarcely saw a human being during our +many trips. Sometimes, however, some of 'Tommy's' sooty relatives would +follow us up, in order to gorge themselves on fish and game, which we +shared with them cheerfully. + +My first groper was an exciting experience. Descending to the rocky +shore very early in the morning with 'Tommy,' we clambered over some +huge jagged and wildly-jungled-together boulders at the foot of the +bluff, and reached the edge of a large, deep pool of blue water in the +rocks, with a narrow opening to the sea. The sides were covered with +long streaming kelp and many-coloured seaweed, which moved gently up and +down to the rise and fall of the ocean swell. Only in one part could we +see the white sand at the bottom of the pool, for the depth of water was +some six or seven fathoms. Both blue and brown groper are very fond of +crabs; in fact, when a big, wary fellow will not look at either a piece +of octopus or the flesh of the _aliotis_ shell, he cannot resist a crab. +We soon secured plenty of crabs of all sizes and colours, and, baiting +our lines with two of the largest, dismembered the others, and +flung portions of them into the pool. A number of small parrot-fish, +sea-bream, and mottled cod at once appeared and devoured the fragments. +The size and hardness of the shells of our crabs, however, were too much +for them, and although they snapped off a leg or two and 'worried' +the baits considerably, our hooks touched bottom safely (we were using +sinkers of stone). Suddenly, just as my companion had thrown another +handful of 'burley' into the water, three big blue groper rose to the +surface almost together, and, swallowing the crushed-up crab, began +swimming round and round the edges of the pool eagerly seeking for more. +This was my first view of this species of groper at close quarters, and +these three presented, a very beautiful sight, the very dark blue of the +whole of their closely-scaled, shining bodies, and the very light blue +of their fins and tails making a pretty contrast. Two were about 15 lb. +to 16 lb. each, the other about 35 lb. to 40 lb., and nearly four feet +in length. They swam but slowly, though every now and then they would +turn with some swiftness of motion as 'Tommy' continued to throw +in pieces of crab. Meanwhile, by my black companion's whispered +instructions, I had cut the sinker off a spare line, and baited the +four-inch hook with the two largest crabs left. Unreeving about six +fathoms of line, I handed the baited end to 'Tommy,' who deftly threw it +just before the nose of the big fellow. In an instant he had seized +the hook, and, diving, made for the opening between the rocks. 'Tommy,' +yelling to me to look to the other lines, held on like grim death and +managed to turn his prize's head in time; the two others sticking close +to their brother in misfortune. I had just hauled up one of the other +two lines, and was running round the jagged side of the pool holding the +other in my left hand (so as to keep clear of 'Tommy's' fish), when +I felt a terrific tug that nearly sent me over. 'Look out! Look out!' +shouted 'Tommy,' warningly; 'don't let that fella get underneath the +seaweed; keep him clear of dat, or you lose him!' For a 16-lb. fish he +pulled tremendously (for a boy of my size); but at last I managed to +get a steady strain on him, and then his big blue head, with its thick, +negro-like lips, soon appeared at the base of a slanting rock, up which +I hauled him, kicking and floundering. 'Tommy' meanwhile had already +landed his fish, and had cast his line for the last of the trio; but +without success; he had made off to the sea. + +A few hours later, at low tide, we caught, in the same pool, seven +schnapper, averaging about 8 lb. each; a brown groper of 20 lb., a dozen +or more of deep sea bream, beautiful silvery-scaled fish, with a pale +greenish tinge on the head and back, and bright yellow fins and tail; +and several huge cray-fish, which clung to our hooks and did not let go +their hold in time. + +This pool was only one of many along this picturesque and rocky coast, +along which, at the present time, fish are just as plentiful and as easy +to catch; but four years ago I, on visiting 'the' pool of my early days, +found it filled by a pile of soap-stone rocks, detached by the rains +from the sea face of the bluff above it. It was a bitter disappointment +to me, for the memory of that pool had remained with me since my +boyhood, and I felt as one who, after a long, long separation in foreign +climes from some dear friend of his youth, at last returns home, hoping +to meet his comrade once more, and is shown his grass-grown grave. + + + + +AN ADVENTURE IN THE NEW HEBRIDES + +More than twenty years ago a fine young Polynesian half-caste, named +Alan, and the writer, were running a small trading cutter out of Samoa, +among the low-lying atolls of the Ellice and Tokelau groups, in the +South Pacific. We had hauled her up on the beach to clean and put a few +sheets of copper on her, when, one day, a big, bronze-faced man came +to us, and asked us if we were open to a charter to Santo in the New +Hebrides. After a few minutes' conversation we struck a bargain, the +terms of which were to take him, his native wife, three servants, and +twenty tons of trade goods to his trading station on Espiritu Santo in +the New Hebrides, for six hundred dollars. He was an ex-trading skipper, +but had given up the sea, married a Hervey Island half-caste, and, after +trading some years in the Caroline and Marshall groups, had made a +trip to the New Hebrides, where he had gone into partnership with a +Frenchman, who, like himself, was a sailor man, and had settled down on +Santo. Hannah--for that was his name--had then returned to the Carolines +for his family, and brought them to Samoa, from whence he thought he +could get a passage down to the New Hebrides in one of the two German +brigs then engaged in the Kanaka labour trade--'black-birding,' as it +was called. But one, the _Iserbrook_ had been burnt in Sydney Harbour, +and the other was away at Valparaiso. + +But now arose a difficulty. I was not navigator enough to take the +vessel to Santo--a distance of thirteen hundred miles--let alone beat +her back to Samoa against the south-east trades. This, however, Captain +Hannah soon settled. He agreed to navigate us down, and his partner +would come back with me, as his wife, who was a Samoan woman, wanted to +pay a visit to her native country, and our vessel would afford her an +excellent opportunity; his own services in bringing the cutter back to +Samoa to be 'squared' by free passages for himself and wife. + +My partner Alan was quite satisfied. The big man planked down two +hundred and fifty dollars on account, and we shook hands all round. +Hannah was a quiet, silent sort of fellow, but I knew we should get on +all right, for he came down to us next morning with his people, helped +us heave the cutter off the beach, and covered our decks with pigs and +poultry. That afternoon we got our wood and water aboard, and were ready +for sea at daylight. + +Alan was a splendid type of a man. Brought up to the sea from his +childhood, he had served some years as a boat-steerer on American +whale-ships, then with 'Bully' Hayes as boatswain in the notorious +_Rona_ brig; and a finer seaman never walked a deck. He was very proud +of the English blood in his veins, and always talking of the exploits +of his father, who had served with the gallant Cochrane in the Chilian +navy. At sea he was a man for emergencies--quick, resolute, resourceful +and sober. On shore, with money in his pocket, he descended to the +level of the lowest beach-comber, and was always in trouble for thumping +somebody--generally another half-caste or a policeman. Peace to his +bones! He went to a sailor's death long ago; but the writer of this +narrative will never forget the dark, handsome face, laughter-filled +eyes, and cheery voice of the best shipmate with whom he ever sailed. + +We put to sea with a fine breeze, and running between the islands of +Upolu and Savai'i, were out of sight of land by dusk. There were but +thirteen persons all told on board--our seven passengers, Alan, four +native sailors, and myself--but we were in no wise crowded for room, for +the hold was used as a sleeping-place by Captain Hannah's wife, her two +children and three servants. Mats had been spread over the cargo, and +the weather being fine, the hatch was left open from the time we left +Samoa nearly till we reached Santo. + +The south-east trade wind held steadily, and the little vessel, being +clean and in fine trim, ran along at a great rate, till, on the sixth +day out, when we had just sighted Pentecost Island, one of the New +Hebrides group, it died away, and at sunset we were becalmed. All that +night the air was close and muggy, but towards dawn a faint air came +from the westward. During the night the strong current had carried us in +ten or twelve miles nearer to the shore, and at sunrise we were not +more than six miles from the land. Pentecost, from the treachery of its +savage inhabitants, had always borne a bad reputation; and so, as the +cutter still continued to drift shorewards, Alan, Captain Hannah and +myself thought it just as well to be prepared for any canoes that might +attempt to cut us off. (As-a matter of fact, however, we need not have +been under any alarm in this respect, for although the Pentecost natives +were, and are now, a thoroughly bad lot, as the surveying vessels of the +Australian Squadron know to their cost, they would never attempt to cut +off a vessel unless she were anchored. But no one of we white men +knew much of the New Hebrides.) So as we had plenty of arms on +board--Winchesters and Sharp's rifles--We got them in readiness; and +very fortunate it was that we did so. + +We drifted steadily along the densely-wooded shores of Pentecost all +that day, the sea as smooth as glass, and the pitch bubbling up in the +decks from the intense heat. Towards sunset, Captain Hannah's wife, who +was lying on the skylight with her youngest child, called out to us that +she could see a boat or canoe on the starboard beam. Hannah and I at +once got our glasses, and soon made out a boat, pulling five oars, +coming towards us from the island, and not more than a couple of miles +away. + +As she came nearer, and lifted now and then to the swell, we obtained a +better view, and saw there were six people in her--five pulling and one +steering. They came along very leisurely. + +'Shipwrecked people, I imagine,' said Hannah; and then, turning to Alan +and myself, he added, with a laugh, 'Perhaps there's a fine big lump +of a ship ashore about here, and you fellows are bound to get some fine +pickings--might get the ship herself afloat.' + +In ten minutes or so a bit of a light air came over the water, and +filled our sails, so we stood over towards the boat, which was now +drawing close. Presently one of our native sailors hailed us from aloft, +and said he could see four or five more men in the boat besides those +who were pulling; and at the same time she ceased rowing awhile, then +the oars dipped again, and she came on. + +Suddenly Hannah, who was scanning the strange boat very closely, turned +to me quietly and said, 'I don't like the looks of that boat. We had +better not let them come alongside. Perhaps they're escapees from New +Caledonia. I thought so at first--they've got the regular "Ile Nou +stroke." If they try to board we must beat them off, or we may lose the +ship.' + +Realising the danger, we at once called the native hands aft, gave each +man a loaded Sharp's rifle and half a dozen cartridges, and told him to +lay it down handy on the deck, and be prepared to use it. Hannah's wife +at once began loading our five Winchester rifles. By this time the boat +was within a hundred yards of the cutter. Whether those in her saw what +we were doing or not I do not know, but they came on very confidently. + +Then, getting up on the rail, I hailed, 'Boat ahoy, there! Don't come +any nearer, or we'll fire into you. What do you want?' + +There was a sudden commotion among the rowers, and then Hannah and Alan, +coming to the rail, stood beside me with their Winchesters in their +hands. This display had a good effect, for they stopped pulling at once, +and the man steering stood up. The moment I got a full view of him and +heard him speak, I knew that Hannah was right about the identity of the +strangers. + +'We are a ship-a-wreck men,' he called out; 'we wanta water and +provis'.' + +'Well, pull abeam or us to windward, but don't come alongside just yet.' + +'All right,' was the answer. + +The wind was very light, and the boat could have soon overtaken us, but +we felt confident that, with the arms we possessed, we could easily beat +them off if they tried to board. At the same time we were willing to +give them some provisions, and such other assistance as lay in our +power. + +After talking the matter over with Hannah, I again hailed the boat, and +told the steersman that he could come aboard, but that the rest of his +crowd must keep to the boat. + +Hauling our jib to windward, we let them range alongside, and the +steersman jumped on deck. During the few minutes that the boat was +waiting, we had a good look at her and her occupants. The former, +I could see, was German-built, very long, narrow and heavy, and was +lumbered up with a quantity of fresh coco-nuts, yams, taro and +other native food. As for the crew, they were as suspicious and as +desperate-looking a lot of scarecrows as could be imagined. + +Some of them were dressed in the heavy woollen garments usually worn +by German merchant seamen, but half a dozen of them were wearing the +yellow-grey canvas trousers of the New Caledonian convict. As I looked +down at them Alan pointed out to me the muzzles of three or four short +rifles showing from beneath the edge of a ragged native mat which was +spread over the bottom boards for'ard. They had evidently spent the +night on shore, for some of them, who were wearing cloth caps, had made +themselves peaked sunshades of plaited green coco-nut leaves, which were +tied round their heads, native-fashion. Lying amidships was a good-sized +water-breaker; and one of the gang, a little, hooknosed ruffian, with a +villainous face and wearing a filthy print shirt with the tails outside +his pants, kept tapping it with a piece of wood to show us by the hollow +sound that it was empty. + +'Pass it up on deck, you monkey-faced swine,' said Alan. 'Why didn't you +fill it when you were ashore?' + +'We no finda water,' said the leader; 'we looka two, tree day--no +finda, and too many -------- nigger on shore shoota us all the time +witha-bow-anda-arra.' + +'Well, you've got some guns there, I see. Couldn't you keep the niggers +off while a couple of you filled the breaker?' I asked. 'And there's +plenty of water on Pentecost, I believe.' + +He shrugged his shoulders. 'Of what-a good the gun? We no have the +cartridge. Perhaps you give some--feefty, twenty, ten, eh?' + +Alan, who was a bit of a humorist, answered that we would give him as +many cartridges as he wanted, if he gave us all the rifles he had in the +boat in exchange. + +A scowl--which he tried to twist into a smile--flitted across his face, +and he turned his head away. + +Giving the crowd in the boat a long line, we veered them astern, and +as the breeze was now freshening, the cutter slipping through the +water pretty fast, and we felt safe, Hannah, Alan and myself turned our +undivided attention to our visitor. He was a tall, squarely-built fellow +of about fifty years of age, with a thick stubble of iron-grey beard +covering his cheeks and chin, and his forehead and neck were burnt to +the colour of dark leather by the rays of a tropic sun. He was dressed +in a pea-jacket and dungaree pants, but had no boots. + +'Sit down,' I said, c and tell us what we can do for you. But take a +glass of grog first.' + +He drank the liquor eagerly, first bowing to Mrs Hannah and then to us +all in turn, and at the same time taking a sweeping glance along the +deck at our crew, who were grouped for'ard. As he raised his hand to his +mouth I saw that the back of it was much tattooed. + +'Where did you lose your ship?' I asked. + +'Astrolaba Reefa,' he answered quickly, 'three hundreda mila to +south-a-ward.' + +'What was her name?' + +'The _Airdale_,' he replied glibly. 'Belonga to Liverpool--fine biga +ship. We bound to Pam in New Caledonia to load chroma ore, and run +ashore on dark night. Ship break up very quick'--and then he spun off +the rest of his yarn, and a very plausible one it was, too. The ship, +he said, was not injured much at first, and on the following morning +the captain, with the second mate and four hands, had left in one of the +boats for Pam to get assistance. The first mate, bos'un and three hands +were drowned. After waiting for ten days on the wreck the rest of the +crew took to the long boat, for bad weather came on, and the ship began +to pound on the reef. + +'But what are you doing here so far to the northward?' asked Hannah, in +his slow, drawling tones. 'Why didn't you steer for New Caledonia? You +were only two days' sail to there from Astrolabe Reefs. Now you are +three hundred miles to the north.' + +The man was a marvellous liar. Yes, he said, that was true, but 'Goda +help him,' he would 'speaka true.' He and the nine men with him did not +want to go to New Caledonia, and did not want to have anything more to +do with the captain, who was a very 'harda' man, and so they had stood +to the northward, meaning to land on one of the New Hebrides. + +'What was the captain's name?' + +'Smeeth--Captain Johna Smeeth. Belonga to Liverpool.' + +'Are you one of the ship's officers?' + +'I am carpenter,' he answered promptly. 'I all the time sail in Englisha +ship.' + +'Just so; are you a Frenchman?' asked Hannah, casually. + +'No; I come from Barcelon'.' + +'Well,' I said, 'I hope you will get along all right in your boat, +wherever you go. I'll give you a 50-lb. tin of biscuits, some tinned +meats, and as much water as you can take.' + +He thanked me effusively, and said he would remember me in his prayers +to the Virgin, etc. + +'Have you a compass?' I asked. + +He shrugged his shoulders despairingly. No, they had no compass; the +'gooda Goda must be compass' for them. + +Mani, Hannah's wife, who was sitting near us, with her youngest child on +her lap, apparently taking no heed of our talk, held the infant up and +smiled; and, as if speaking to it, said in Samoan,-- + +'He lies. I saw a boat compass in the stern sheets of the boat.' + +'Well, I'm sorry I can't give you a compass,' I said. 'Alan, pass up a +tin of biscuit and a case of meat. The breeze is freshening, and we must +get along.' + +Then our visitor made an earnest appeal. His boat was leaky, his +comrades were worn out, yet if we would let them come aboard they would, +after a little rest, tow the cutter in a calm, and not trouble us in +any way. Then, when we sighted Santo, they would leave us and make for +Leper's Island, which was the place they wanted to reach. The natives +there were very friendly, and there were some white men there. + +'No,' I said, 'our vessel is too small for so many people. If you follow +Pentecost along to the north, you will sight Leper's Island as soon as +you round the north point. Now, haul your boat alongside. And here are +a couple of bottles of brandy for yourself and crew, some matches, and a +small box of tobacco.' + +The boat hauled alongside, and our visitor, again thanking us, got in. +In a few minutes we saw their leader serving them out a nip; then the +night blotted them from view. + +At daylight we were again becalmed and drifting steadily to the +northward. The boat was not in sight, and the only signs of life visible +around us were some slender columns of smoke ascending from the native +villages along the coast, which was less than three miles away. The heat +at ten o'clock was intense, and, to add to our discomfort, a heavy +swell set in and caused us to roll incessantly. However, we lowered our +mainsail, tried to be philosophical, and waited for a breeze. Towards +four in the afternoon a sharp rain squall swept down upon us from the +land; it lasted barely ten minutes, and was followed by others at short +intervals, and then we knew we were in for a night of it. Whenever one +of these squalls came tearing over the water we made good use of the +wind by running before it to the east, so as to get away from the land; +but at midnight we found we were still a great deal too close; and that +the current was very strong, and now setting in-shore very rapidly, we +could tell by the sound of the surf. There was nothing for us but to tow +off, for the water was too deep to anchor, even within thirty fathoms of +the reef. Just as we got the boat over the side there came a tremendous +downpour of rain, and we could only make ourselves heard by shouting to +each other at the top of our voices. This continued for half an hour, +and through it all, the boat, with Alan and three hands, continued to +tow. Suddenly the rain ceased--for about five minutes--only to fall +again with a deafening uproar. At two o'clock it toned down to a misty +drizzle, and we called to Alan to come alongside, as Hannah, two of his +natives and myself would give him a spell. The rain had beaten the swell +down, but the current was terribly strong, and when the mist lifted a +bit we saw we were still too close to the reef. After taking a cast of +the lead, and finding no bottom, Hannah and his two natives and myself +tumbled into the boat. We had just about tautened the tow-line when +Alan's voice rang out. + +'Boat ahoy! Come back, quick, for God's sake! Here's the Frenchmen +coming!' + +We backed alongside and jumped on board, just in time; for almost at the +same moment the Frenchmen's boat came up with a rush, and half a dozen +men sprang on to our decks and instantly closed with us. The rest would +have followed, but the ever-ready Mani began firing into their boat +with a Winchester. This kept them off. Had they, too, gained the deck we +should probably have lost the ship. The struggle on board was short but +sharp. Hannah, who was possessed of enormous strength, had seized the +first man who jumped over the rail round his waist, and slung him clean +across the deck against the port bulwarks, were he lay stunned; and then +went for the next man, whom he knocked backward into the boat with a +terrific blow. Meanwhile, Alan, two native sailors and myself, where +tied up in a knot with three others on the port side. It was so dark +that it was impossible to tell friend from foe at first; and one of our +hands, a Savage Islander, named Puniola, was just about to put a knife +into me, as he, two of the boarders and myself were struggling together, +when by chance he felt the big square buckle of my leather belt and +recognised me. He quickly let go of me, seized one of the convicts by +the throat, and choked him into insensibility, and we soon quietened one +of the other two by the same method. The third man, who was as wiry as +an eel and as strong as a horse, fought desperately, knocked two of +us down, and was then himself laid out by Hannah, who had come to our +assistance. Poor Alan, however, had fared badly; for the leader of the +gang had half-stunned him with a weapon of some sort, and we found him +lying across the cutter's tiller, bleeding profusely from a cut on the +head. His assailant, seeing that the attempt to capture the ship had +failed, jumped overboard and swam to his boat, which was drifting near +to us in the darkness. + +As quickly as possible we got lights and examined the gentry lying about +on the deck. One of them was still unconscious, the rest were pretty +badly mauled about in the tussle; and Man suggested that we had better +drop them overboard to save further trouble. Her blood was up, and she +was full of fight; but Hannah merely laughed, and told her not to be +such a _pun fia ai_ (tiger cat). + +Showing a light, we hailed the Frenchmen's boat, and told them to come +alongside again. + +'If you don't look smart we'll drop these five men overboard. So hurry +up.' + +The gentleman from 'Barcelon'--who was certainly possessed of inimitable +cheek--after telling us to go to Hades, added that he had but one oar +in the boat, the others had gone adrift. So we had to dump our prisoners +into our own boat, and pull out to the other. Then, while Alan and I +covered those in the Frenchmen's boat, Hannah and two hands flung our +prisoners out of our boat into their own. Their leader took matters very +coolly, cursed his returning comrades freely as cowards, and then had +the face to ask us for some oars. + +Then Hannah, who, we now found, spoke French, boiled over. Jumping into +the other boat, he seized the gentleman from Barcelona by the throat +with his left hand and rapidly pounded his face into a pulp with his +right. + +Whilst Hannah was taking his satisfaction out of the big man, we struck +some matches and examined the rest of the crowd in the boat. One man, we +saw, was badly wounded, Man having sent two bullets through his right +shoulder and one through his thigh; another had his cheek cut open, but +whether this was caused by a bullet or not I could not tell. I, being +young and green, felt very pitiful and wanted Hannah to bring the +badly-wounded man on board; but he, like a sensible man, said he would +see me hanged first, and that we ought to shoot the lot of them. + +But, anyway, we gave them three oars, and then pushed clear of their +boat just as another rain squall came seething along. + +At dawn we saw them, about two miles abeam of us, pulling slowly in +towards Pentecost. + +We heard afterwards that they were sighted by the Sydney steamer +_Ripple_ Captain Ferguson, off Torres Island, in the Banks Group. Most +probably they abandoned the idea of stopping at Leper's Island, where +they would not be safe from recapture by the French cruisers, and +were then making for the Solomons. But that they ever reached there is +doubtful; or, if they did, they were probably eaten by the natives. The +boat, we heard, they had captured from a German vessel loading nickel +ore at one of north-eastern ports of New Caledonia, and they had then +raided a small settlement on the coast and obtained some arms and +provisions. Long afterwards I was told that their leader was a sailor +who was serving a life sentence for killing his mistress at La Ciotat, +in the South of France. + +It is quite possible, however, that they may have been picked up by +an American whale-ship making northwards to the Moluccas from the +New Zealand ground. In those days there were quite thirty ships still +remaining of the once great American whaling fleet, which traversed the +Pacific from one end to the other. + + Publisher's Note.--The half-caste Alan mentioned in this + story is the same 'Alan' who so frequently figures in Mr + Becke's tales in _By Reef and Palm_, and his subsequent + books. + + + + +THE SOUTH SEA BUBBLE OF CHARLES DU BREIL + +Less than a year ago news was received of the arrival in Noumea, in New +Caledonia, of the remainder of a party of unwashed visionaries, calling +themselves the 'United Brotherhood of the South Sea Islands.' A year +before they had sailed away from San Francisco in a wretched old crate +of a schooner, named the _Percy Edward_ (an ex-Tahitian mail packet), to +seek for an island or islands whereon they were to found a Socialistic +Utopia, where they were to pluck the wild goat by the beard, pay no +rent to the native owners of the soil, and, letting their hair grow down +their backs, lead an idyllic life and loaf around generally. Such a mad +scheme could have been conceived nowhere else but in San Francisco or +Paris. + +In the latter city such another venture, but founded on more heroic +lines of infatuation, was organised eighteen years ago by the late +Charles du Breil, Marquis de Rays, and the results ought to have made +the American enthusiasts reflect a little before they started. But +having got the idea that they might sail on through summer seas till +they came to some land fair to look upon, and then annex it right away +in the sacred name of Socialism (and thus violate one of the +principal articles of their faith), they started--only to be quickly +disillusionised. For there were no islands anywhere in the two Pacifics +to be had for the taking thereof; neither were there any tracts of land +to be had from the natives, except for hard cash or its equivalent. +The untutored Kanakas also, with whom they came in contact, refused to +become brother Socialists and go shares with the long-haired wanderers +in their land or anything else. So from island to island the _Percy +Edward_ cruised, looking more disreputable every day, until, as the +months went by, she began to resemble, in her tattered gear and dejected +appearance, her fatuous passengers. At last, after being chivvied about +considerably by the white and native inhabitants of the various islands +touched at, the forlorn expedition reached Fiji. Here fifty of the +idealists elected to remain and work for their living under a government +which represented the base and brutal institution of Monarchy. But the +remaining fifty-eight stuck to the _Percy Edward_ and her decayed salt +junk, and stinking water, and their beautiful ideals; till at last the +ship was caught in a hurricane, badly battered about, lost her foremast, +and only escaped foundering by resting her keel on the bottom of +Noumea Harbour. Then the visionaries began to collect their senses, +and denounced the _Percy Edward_ and the principles of the 'United +Brotherhood' as hollow frauds, and elected to go ashore and get a good +square meal. + +The affair recalls the story of the ill-starred colony of 'Nouvelle +France,' which was given the tacit support of the French Government, +the blessing of the Church, and the hard-earned savings of the wretched +dupes of French, Italian and Spanish peasantry who believed in it--until +it collapsed, and many of them died cursing it and themselves on the +fever-stricken shores of New Ireland. + +Early in 1879 an enticing prospectus appeared, signed 'Ch. du Breil, +Director and Founder of the Free Colony of Port Breton in Oceania.' In +this precious document the marvellous fertility, the beautiful scenery, +and the healthy climate of the island of New Ireland (Tombara) were +described at length, while the native inhabitants came in for much +unqualified praise as simple children of nature, who were looking +forward with rapture to the advent of the colonists, and to the prospect +of becoming citizens of the Free Colony, and being recognised as +Frenchmen, and helping the settlers cultivate the vine, etc., and being +admitted into the fold of Christianity. + +Perhaps Du Breil believed in his impossible scheme--many people said so, +when, some years afterwards, he was sentenced to two years' imprisonment +and a fine of thirty thousand francs for his share in it. But if he +did not, the French peasantry did, and money came pouring in. Ignorant +people sold their little all and gathered together at Marseilles and +other ports, where ships waited to convey them to the new paradise; +in all, nearly half a million pounds was subscribed. Then away +went emissaries to the southern parts of Italy, where the ignorant +agricultural labourers bit freely and were caught wholesale. In their +case, however, the prospectus varied from that issued in France, which +was specially designed to ensnare small capitalists, tradespeople +and farmers, as well as the poorer peasants. The various religious +fraternities in France, which hoped to benefit financially by +their advocacy, boomed the scheme, and sermons were preached on the +philanthropy of M. le Marquis, who, like Law and Blount, was nothing if +not magnificent. By the time the _Chandernagore_, the first ship, had +sailed from Flushing, elaborate plans were issued of the new city, with +its parks and public buildings, and noble wharves and boulevards aglow +with life and excitement; while the religious wants of the settlers had +not been neglected, for cathedrals and churches figured conspicuously. +Also, it was indicated by a carefully-prepared descriptive pamphlet, +that gold and diamonds and such other things only wanted looking for +in the surrounding islands, where they could be obtained in quantities +sufficient to satisfy the most avaricious. + +The _Chandernagore_ carried only eighty colonists, all males, and, +flying the Liberian flag, after a long passage she reached the Lachlan +Islands, in the South Pacific, where sixteen of them elected to stay, +charmed by the beauty of the place and the unconventional manners of +the native women. Of these sixteen, five died from fever, and of the +remainder two were killed and eaten by natives of other islands, and +the rest were rescued by Australian and German trading vessels. The +_Chandernagore_ proceeded on her voyage, and Port Breton was reached +at last. It is on the south end of the great island of New Ireland, and +with, perhaps, the exception of the Falkland Islands, or the Crozets, +or London in the month of November, the most sodden, dank, squashy and +appalling place on the globe. The day after the ship anchored it began +to rain, and, as it showed no signs of clearing up at the end of three +weeks, the captain was besought to look out for another site for the +city where it was not quite so wet. He took them to a better place, +named Liki Liki Bay, near Cape St George, and, after a preliminary orgie +on board, the enthusiastic colonists set to work house-building and +clearing the primaeval forest for the grape and fig crop. But as there +were about two thousand and ninety trees to the hectare, and every tree +was joined to its neighbours by vines as thick as a ship's main-mast, +the work proceeded but slowly. Considerable time was lost, also, by each +man dropping his axe twice in ten seconds to kill the mosquitoes which +stung him severely. After a few days of this the founders of New France +decided to return to Europe, and, duly arming themselves, went on board +and interviewed the captain. The captain, MacLachlan, was a Scotchman +by birth, but a naturalised Frenchman. He was also a humorist in a grim +sort of way. On the voyage out he and M. de Villacroix, who was the +temporary Governor, found that the eighty gentlemen colony founders were +a pretty rough lot, who wanted to take charge of the ship. MacLachlan, +who was a man of energy, brought them to reason by tricing seven of them +up to the rigging by their thumbs, and promised to 'deal severely' with +them next time. So when they boarded the _Chandernagore_ and informed +him that he must take them back to France, he answered by hunting them +ashore again, landing six months' provisions, and sailing for Sydney, +according to instructions from the Marquis. On arriving at Sydney +he chartered a schooner, loaded her with provisions and agricultural +machinery, and despatched her to Liki Liki Bay. Rough and cruel as +he may appear, MacLachlan was the right sort of man to master +insubordination and mutiny. I knew the man well, and know that he knew +the ruffianly element he had to deal with in the first lot of colonists, +and dealt with it in a proper and summary manner. Had there been half a +dozen more such men as himself and Villacroix to back him up, the tragic +ending of the ill-fated expedition would have been averted. + +But meantime the second contingent was preparing to leave, and the +steamer _Genii_ was bought by the Marquis to load another cargo of +deluded emigrants at Marseilles and Barcelona. Like Villacroix and +MacLachlan, her captain (Rabardy) was a man in whom he reposed implicit +trust; and, indeed, Du Breil seems to have been at least fortunate in +the choice of his sea-leaders to conduct his deplorable colonists to +their Paradise. Under other and less determined men the loss of life +would have been terrible. MacLachlan's letters from Sydney had warned +him of one source of danger--mutiny--and Du Breil decided to send +out with the second contingent a military guard. From the Italian and +Spanish 'settlers' there was nothing to fear. Whatever they suffered +they suffered in silence, like sheep; and the presence of several +priests (going out to preach in the handsome stone cathedrals and +churches before mentioned), whom they looked up to with simple +reverence, was a surer safeguard for their good conduct than a company +of troops. The married men among the French contingent of the second +lot were like them in this respect; but, all through the course of the +disastrous expedition, it was cursed by the inclusion of a number of +unmarried man, whose ruffianism proved too strong to be checked; then +there were a number of _nymphes du pavi_, recruited from the streets of +Marseilles and Toulon. 'They came on board as unmarried women, but an +"arrangement" in each case was made with one of the single men to play +M. le Mari,' said one of the leaders, to the writer, when he lay dying +of fever in the _Genil's_ stifling saloon at Duke of York Island. Who +can wonder at the collapse of the 'colony,' when practices such as +these were tolerated? But it is typical of the system, or rather want of +system, of French colonisation generally. On March 16th the _Genii_ +left Barcelona with over two hundred and fifty colonists--men, women +and children. Some of the Italians were from the north--these were +hard-working and intelligent--some from Calabria--little better than +beasts of the field--and the Spaniards came from Valencia and Catalonia. +The military guard consisted of a Spanish captain and lieutenant and +an Italian lieutenant, while the rank and file were of various +nationalities. Before the crazy old _Genii_ reached Port Said the guard +themselves made matters warm, and, with the first and second engineers +and second officer, refused to proceed. Rabardy, the captain, gladly let +them go at Port Said and made for the Maldive Islands, where he engaged +thirty Arabs. Later on he put these ashore at Point de Galle. At +Singapore the vessel remained six weeks, waiting for instructions, +and then reached Liki Liki Bay fifteen days later--to find the place +abandoned and the beach covered with the stores left there by the +_Chandernagore_ party, who had escaped to Australia; this he learned two +days later from the white traders at Mioko, the settlement on Duke of +York Island, twenty or thirty miles away. Rabardy was at his wit's end. +He knew that another steamer was due in a month or two, and determined +to wait and consult with the new Governor, who was coming out with a +fresh batch of three hundred people. No work at settlement was begun, +for Rabardy considered the former site could be bettered. Meanwhile, +there arrived a barque of one thousand tons, the _Marquis de Rays_, +deeply laden with cotton and sugar machinery, stores, provisions +and medicines, and a large amount of trade goods for barter with the +natives. These latter, although not cannibals like the people of the +neighbouring Island of New Britain, were a very low type of savages, and +their mode of life was disgusting in the extreme; whilst their wild and +ferocious appearance was in harmony with their stark nudity. Still the +_Genil's_ people established friendly relations with them, and were +supplied with fruit and vegetables, such as yams and taro. + +On October 17th the steamer _India_ arrived with her emigrants, and the +new Governor, M. de Prvost, nothing daunted by the unfortunate previous +experiences of the colony and its mismanagement, set to work with +Captain Rabardy to get things in order. + +A fresh site was chosen for the actual settlement, and the new arrivals, +joining heartily with the _Genil's_ people, began to clear and build. +The Italians and Spaniards toiled, in happy expectation of future +prosperity, with their French fellow-settlers, and hope ran high. But +already the deadly malaria had begun its work, and ere long more than +half of the many hundreds of colonists were suffering from fever, and +soon some died. Then suddenly the Governor, who hitherto had cheered +them up by his example and energy, announced his intention of going to +Sydney in the _Genii_ (the _India_ had sailed for France) to procure +cattle and a fresh stock of provisions. He never returned. Months and +months went by, and the colonists waited and waited, while the fever +carried off someone every few days; and then their hearts failed them, +and they longed for the lands they had left for a chimera. A sad +two months passed, and then one day another steamer--the _Nouvelle +Bretagne_--came into Liki Liki Bay. She had brought out some three +hundred more colonists, Spanish people, who listened, with doleful +faces, to the tale of those who had preceded them to the Utopia of +Charles du Breil. Rabardy, of the _Genil_, who, a month later, was to +die of fever, game to the last, consulted with Captain Henry, of +the _Nouvelle Bretagne_ and, as they talked on the poop deck of the +newly-arrived steamer, a cry came from the people on shore that another +ship was in sight. An hour later a black-painted, unobtrusive-looking +steamer came slowly into the bay and dropped anchor. She looked like a +collier, and flew the red ensign of England; but Henry knew her. She was +the _Legaspi_, Spanish gunboat from Manila, and had chased him from the +Philippines. As her cable rattled through her hawsepipes, down went the +red ensign and up went the Spanish colours, and a boat full of armed men +dashed alongside the _Nouvelle Bretagne_, and in another five minutes +Captain Henry was a prisoner, handcuffed, and on his way to the warship. +What he had done at Manila was a daring deed enough, and is a story in +itself, and nothing much to his discredit. His ship had been prevented +from putting to sea by the Spanish authorities, and Henry, who had many +sick on board, and was greatly harassed in mind, suddenly slipped his +cable and steamed off, although there was a Spanish guard on board. +These he landed on the coast of Luzon. + +That evening the commander of the _Legaspi_ called the Spanish emigrants +together and addressed them. 'The colony is a failure; the French, +Italian and Spanish Governments have repudiated it. Those of you who +like to return with the _Legaspi_ to Manila can do so; those who do not +may remain here, to die of starvation or be eaten by the savages.' + +Next morning the _Legaspi_ steamed out of Liki Liki Bay with the +_Nouvelle Bretagne_ in tow, taking; all the Spanish colonists with her. +Then, to the aid of the despairing French and Italian colonists, came +one Tom Farrell, an English trader on the Duke of York Island. He gave +them provisions, advanced them money, and treated them well, taking care +to get possession of the _Genil_ and the barque _Marquis de Rays_. +The _Genil_ he sent to Australia under command of an English captain +(Rabardy was dead by then, and his dying words to the writer of +this sketch, as he grasped his hand for the last time, were, 'I have +tried--and failed. I had not one competent officer with me to help me to +maintain my authority or shoot some of the ruffians who have ruined the +expedition'). Her unfortunate passengers were generously treated by the +New South Wales Government, who settled many of them on the Richmond +River, in the northern portion of the colony. Here they founded a +prosperous little settlement, and are to this day happy and contented, +and thank their stars that they left a spurious Utopia to dwell in a +country where the conditions of climate are like those of their own +sunny Italy. Perhaps, however, they think sometimes of those of their +former comrades who died out there in the savage 'colony' of Charles du +Breil. At Liki Liki there died nine; at Duke of York Island, thirteen; +at New Britain, twenty-one; and six were eaten by the cannibals of the +islands thereabouts. Of a score or so of others who remained in the +North-West Pacific there is no record. Probably they succumbed to +fever, or went down under the clubs and spears of the wild people of +New Britain, New Guinea and the Admiralty Group. Such was the end of the +vision of Charles du Breil and the Colony of New France. + + + + +THE WHITE WIFE AND THE BROWN 'WOMAN' + +Masters, the trader at Fana 'alu, was walking up the beach to his +house, reading a letter which he had just received from the captain of a +passing vessel. It was from his employers in Sydney,--'We are confident +that Mrs Masters and yourself will do all you can to render the lady's +stay at Fana 'alu agreeable to her. You will find her husband, our new +supercargo, a very fine fellow, easy to get on with, and a thoroughly +honourable and conscientious business man.' + +'Here, Melanie, old woman, where are you?' he called, as he flung +himself lazily into a cane lounge on the verandah. + +Melanie, who, native-like, was combing her hair in the sitting-room, +rose from the mat upon which she was sitting and came to the door. + +'What is it, Tom?' she asked, leaning against the wall and drawing the +comb slowly through her long, black locks. + +'Why, the barque will be here in another week or so, so this letter +says, and there's a _tamaitai papalagi_ (white lady) on board, and she +will very likely stay here with us while her husband, who is the new +supercargo, goes away in the ship to the Solomon Islands. He will come +for her again in about six weeks.' + + * * * * * + +Melanie's dark eyes glistened with pleasure. White women were rare +visitors at lonely Fana 'alu. Every year, it was true, when the American +missionary barque touched at the island, one, or sometimes two, white +ladies would come ashore; but they were missionaries' wives, and never +passed inside the door of the trader's house to speak to his wife. +That, in the eyes of the converted natives, would have been scandalous. +Melanie might, if she so wished it, have called upon _them_ at the +native teacher's house, and paid homage afar off by sitting down on the +mats in the furthest corner of the house, while fat, greasy Lepeka,{*} +the wife of the equally fat and greasy teacher Paulo, Christianly +whispered in the ears of the holy white ladies that that was the white +man's 'woman'--who wasn't married to her 'husband.' And even a white +missionary's wife must not offend the spouse of the native teacher. So +had any of these ladies wished to talk to Melanie, they would have had +to make Lepeka their medium; for in some parts of the South Seas the +usual position of vicar and curate is reversed, and the white visiting +missionary and his wife deliver themselves into the hands of the brown +curate and his wife for the time being. Perhaps it is this that makes +most white missionaries so thin--the strain of having to submit to a +Kanaka teacher's ideas of conventionality must be pretty hard to +bear. And so poor Melanie, who would have liked to have sat near the +fair-faced, sweet-voiced white ladies, or, perhaps, fondled their hands, +as did the young unmarried girls who always surrounded them, bore her +lot with content. For once, when she had brought her simple _alofa_ +(gift of love) to the missionaries, and laid it timidly down on the mats +in the centre of the room, one of the white ladies had smiled at her and +said to her husband,-- + +'Oh, what a pretty girl, and how nicely she is dressed. Ask her to come +here and sit by me.' + + * Rebecca. + +But Melanie was quick to see Lepeka's dark frown, and discreetly retired +to her usual corner, at the back of the room, and when she went home to +Masters, she did not chatter and laugh as usual when telling him of all +she had seen and heard at the teacher's house. + +For, in her simple heart, there began to grow an unrest. She would feel +better, she thought, when the mission ship had sailed away again, and +she would forget the kind smile of the missionary's wife, and forget, +too, the sneering curl of Lepeka's fat lips. Three years before, when +Tom Masters had picked her up in a dancing saloon in Apia and had asked +her to come away with him to Fana 'alu as his wife, she had thought of +a marriage in the church, with its attendant mild excitements, and +gluttonies of baked pig and fowls, and _palusami_ and other delicacies, +and the receiving and giving of many presents. But when Masters--who +possessed a fragmentary conscience--told her why he could not marry her, +she accepted the position calmly, and said it did not matter. + +Perhaps, among the women of Fana 'alu, she stood highest in public +estimation, notwithstanding her bar sinister, for she was open-handed +and generous, and both the chiefs wife and Lepeka, the teacher's grand +lady, were of common blood--whilst she, despite her antecedents in +Apia, was of the best in Manono--the birthplace of the noble families of +Samoa. + + * * * * * + +So, as she stood there in the doorway, first combing and then plaiting +her hair _ la Suisse_, she asked in her native tongue,-- + +'Is she young, Tom? Will she have hair of goldthread like that of the +wife thou hadst in Sini{*} long ago--she who married another man?' + + * Sydney. + +Masters laughed. How could he tell! She might be young and fair; she +might be an _olomatua_ (an old woman), dried up and skinny. But that +was none of their business. All that he and Melanie had to do was to +entertain her well and make much of her. + +'True,' said the placid-minded Melanie; 'and even if she be as ugly as +an _aitu_ (devil), yet will that fat-faced pig Lepeka die with envy to +see a white lady a guest in my house. Would that I could send to Manono +for my three brothers, so that they might come here and get drunk, and +beat Paulo! I hate Paulo, even as I hate Lepeka, for they both speak +evil of _me_, yet are for ever cringing to _thee_, taking eagerly thy +gifts of money to the church and the school and the mission fund, and +yet whispering of me as the dancing-house whore.' + +'Never mind that, old woman,' said Masters, softly, placing his hand +upon the girl's head. 'Next year we shall go away from Fana 'alu. We +shall go to Ponap, in the far, far north--away from these islands; no +bitter tongues shall pain thy heart there.' Then, picking up his hat, +he sauntered down to the beach again and stood watching his whale-boat +being hauled up into the boat-shed by her native crew. + +'_Like the wife he once had in Sydney, long ago._' + +He lit his pipe, and began to pace to and fro on the sandy path under +the cool shade of the coco-palms and bread-fruit trees, thinking of an +incident of his past life, which, although six long years had passed, +neither his subsequent wanderings in many lands, nor his three latter +years' monotonously happy and lazy existence with Melanie at Fana 'alu, +had yet quite banished from his memory. And the chance question put to +him half an hour before had brought back to him a vision of the slender, +blue-eyed and golden-haired woman who was the partner of his first +matrimonial venture. + +They had in the beginning led a turtle-dovey kind of life in those old +days on the shores of Port Jackson. Not long after their marriage the +shipping firm in which he was employed failed, and he had to seek for +another billet; and, being an energetic, self-reliant man, with no +false pride, he shipped as steward on board the _Noord Brabant_, a +hogged-backed, heartbroken and worn-out American lumber ship running +between Puget Sound and the Australian colonies. His wife had cried a +little at first; but he told her that no one but their two selves would +know, and it was better for him to be earning five pounds a month than +idling about in Sydney. + +On board the crazy old barque he found an acquaintance, who soon became +a friend. This was the second mate--another Sydney man--who had shipped +on the _Noord Brabant_ because berths on good ships were scarce and +mates and skippers were plentiful. So the two men, while the ship was +being patched up for her long voyage across the Pacific, spent their +evenings together at Masters's house. + +Harry Laurance--that was the second mate's name--was a fine, handsome +man, with clear, honest eyes and a merry, infectious laugh, and those +evenings at his friend's house were a source of unalloyed happiness +to him, for from his boyhood he had known no home except a ship or a +squalid boarding-house. + +One night, as the three sat together in Masters's little four-roomed +cottage, and Nellie Masters had ceased playing upon the rattling +fifteen-guinea box of discord called a piano, the three made plans for +the future. When they--Masters and Laurance--returned from Puget Sound, +they were not to part. Laurance, who had had long experience in the +Island trade, had saved a little money--not much (as he told Masters one +day when he placed ten sovereigns in the latter's hand, and asked him +to accept it as a loan for his wife's sake), but nearly enough to buy a +little thirty-ton vessel he knew of which was for sale, and which would +be just the craft to run on trading voyages from New Zealand among the +islands of the Gambier Group--if they could load her with trade goods. +And he knew a man in Puget Sound who, he thought, would lend him a +few hundreds, and take a third share in the venture. Then, when he and +Masters returned from the impending voyage to Sydney, they, with Mrs +Masters, would go over to Auckland, buy the schooner and the trade +goods, and then sail for Manga Reva in the Gambier Group, where Masters +and his wife were to buy a bit of land and put up a trading station, +whilst Laurance ran the little vessel to and fro among the various +islands of the group, and brought back pearl shell and copra for sale +to the big German firm in Tahiti. And Masters's pretty wife smiled +joyously. She did not like to be parted from Tom for nearly seven +months; but seven months was not a lifetime--and then they would be so +happy, away from the grinding poverty of their existence in Sydney. + + * * * * * + +Dreams! Six weeks afterwards, as the old _Noord Brabant_ lay groaning +over on her beam ends, thrashing her canvas to ribbons in a fierce night +squall off Beveridge Reef, Tom Masters, hurrying on deck to help +the hands shorten sail, was knocked overboard by the parting of the +spanker-boom guy, and disappeared without a cry, into the seething boil +to leeward. + +For two hours--after the squall had ceased, and Masters was missed--the +boat searched for him under the bright rays of a silvery moon and a +clear, cloudless sky. But every now and then rain fell heavily, and +though the boat rowed round and round the ship within a radius of two or +three miles no answering cry came to the repeated hails of the crew. +So then the _Noord Brabant_ stood away again on her course, and Harry +Laurance lay awake all his watch below, thinking sadly of his friend and +of the dreadful shock which awaited the young wife in Sydney. + +But Tom Masters did not drown. When he came to the surface of the water +he found himself floating among the _debris_ of the quarter-boat, +which, when the spanker-boom guy parted and the heavy spar swung over +to leeward, had swept the after-davit out of its socket and let the boat +hang, stern down, by the for'ard fall, until the labouring old barque, +raising her stern high out of the water, smashed down upon it as it +dragged under her counter and tore out the for'ard ringbolt. + +Half-stunned by the force of the blow which he had received on the back +of his head from the spanker-boom when it swept him overboard, Masters +was yet able to swim to the wreckage of the boat which he saw floating +near him, and, clinging to the after part of the keel, he saw the +cabin lights of the Noord Brabant shining brightly through the square, +old-fashioned ports for a minute or two, and heard the cries of her +crew as the sails were clewed up and furled. Then a sharp, hissing rain +squall hid her from view in a thick white mist, and, with agony and +despair in his heart, he gave up all hope of life, knowing that the only +other boat was turned bottom up on the main hatch of the barque, and +that the ship was only half-manned by a scratch crew of long-shore +loafers. + +But it so happened that when the _Noord Brabant_, close-hauled to clear +Beveridge Reef, was thrown on her beam ends by the violence of the +squall, the whaling schooner _John Bright_ was rolling easily along +before it under shortened canvas, and the cook of the schooner, as he +stood on the foc'scle, smoking his pipe, caught a sight of floating +wreckage right ahead, with the indistinct figure of a man clinging to +it, and bawled out 'Hard a-port!' just in time, or else the schooner +had run right on top of the drifting boat and finished this tale and Tom +Masters as well. + +But boats are lowered quickly on an American whale-ship--quicker than +on any other ship afloat--and in less than ten minutes Tom Masters was +picked up and, in face of a blinding rain squall, brought on board the +_John Bright_. Then a long illness--almost death. + +Three months afterwards, as the schooner was slowly crawling along over +the North Pacific towards Honolulu, she spoke a timber ship bound to the +Australian colonies from Port Townsend in Puget Sound; and Masters, now +recovering from the terrible shock he had received, went on board and +asked the captain to let him work his passage. But the Yankee skipper of +the lumber ship did not seem to like the idea of having to feed such +a hollow-eyed, gaunt-looking being for another six weeks or so, and +refused his request. And so Masters, in a dulled, apathetic sort of way +went back to the _John Bright_, climbed up her side, and, with despair +in his heart, lay down in his bunk and tried to sleep, never knowing +that, half an hour before, when he was speaking to the captain of the +lumberman, a letter to his wife from Laurance lay in a locker not three +feet away from him, telling her of her husband's death at sea and his +own heartfelt sorrow and sympathy. + +And Laurance was honest and genuine in his sympathy. He had had a warm +feeling of friendship for Tom Masters, and his heart was filled with +pity for the poor little wife left alone without a friend in the world. +He had tried to express himself clearly in his letter, but all that +Nellie Masters could understand was that Tom had been drowned at sea, +that Laurance would be back in Sydney in a month or two and give her all +particulars, and that she was not utterly friendless and alone in the +world. + +Within a month of Harry Laurance's return she began to think more of him +and of his goodness to her, than of her dead husband--and then gratitude +became love. She was only a poor little woman, and of a weakly, +irresolute nature, unable to think for herself, and unfitted to battle +alone with the world and poverty. So one day when Laurance, whose big +heart was full of love and pity for her, asked her to be his wife, she +gave him a happy smile and said 'Yes.' Before a second month had passed +they were quietly married. + +Masters, meanwhile, had been pursued by the demon of ill-luck. When the +schooner reached Honolulu, he, a mere wreck, physically and mentally, of +his former self, had been carried ashore to the hospital, and was making +a slow recovery, when the Sydney whaling brig, _Wild Wave_ came into +port with some of her crew injured by a boat accident. One of the men +was placed in a bed next to that occupied by Masters, and one day his +captain came to see him and brought him some colonial newspapers which +had just arrived. + +'Here, mate,' said the sailor, tossing one of the papers over to +Masters, 'you're a Sydney man, and there's a Sydney newspaper.' + +Masters took up the paper, and the first lines he read were these:-- + +'Laurance--Masters. On the 10th inst., at the Scots Church, Church Hill, +Henry A. Laurance to Helen, widow of the late Thomas Masters.' + +Possibly, had he been well enough to have returned to Sydney, he would +have gone back and made three persons' lives unhappy. But, although an +Englishman, he had not the rigidly conventional idea that the divorce +court was part of the machinery of the Wrath of God against women who +unknowingly committed bigamy, and ought to be availed of by injured +husbands. So, instead of having a relapse, he pulled himself together, +left the hospital, and got placidly drunk, and concluded, when he became +sober, not to disturb them. + +'I suppose neither of them is to blame,' he thought. 'How were either +of them to know that I was not drowned?... And then poor little Nell had +only ten shillings a week to live upon until I came back.' + +Still, he would have been better pleased had Harry Laurance been a +stranger to him--no man cares to know his successor in such a matter. +By-and-by he worked his passage to Samoa, where, under the assumed name +of Tom Patterson, he soon found employment. Then one night he went into +Charley the Russian's saloon--and met Melanie. + +And now he was settled down at Fana 'alu, was doing well as a trader, +and had acquired, in all its intensity, the usual dislike to the idea of +ever going back to the world again, common enough to men of his nature +in Polynesia. Besides that, Melanie understood him and he understood +her. She was as open and honest as the day, worked hard for him in his +store, and was sincerely attached to him. So he was well content. + + * * * * * + +There was much commotion in the village when the trading barque arrived +and lay-to off Fana 'alu. Melanie, in a dress of spotless white muslin, +flitted to and fro within the house, smoking cigarettes and cursing her +women assistants' laziness and stupidity. Masters, it so happened, was +away in his boat at another village along the coast, and pretty Melanie +was in a state of nervous trepidation at the thought of having to meet +the English lady alone. What should she do? What should she say? Her +English was scant but vigorous, having mostly been acquired from +the merchant skippers, who, in her--to put it nicely--maiden days, +frequented the dance house of 'Charley the Russian' in Apia, and she was +conning over the problem of whether she should address her coming guest +in that language or not. Her child, a little girl of two, followed her +mother's movements with intense curiosity; and presently a bevy of young +native girls swarmed into the room with the news that the boat had come +ashore, and that the white lady and her husband had landed and were +now walking up to the house. Then Mrs Masters Number Two pulled herself +together and, throwing away her cigarette, went to the door and, with a +graceful, modest demeanour and a timid, bashful smile, held out her hand +to a lovely being with big, bright blue eyes and thick masses of hair of +shining gold. Beside this--to Melanie--glorious vision of beauty, stood +the husband--a big, black-moustached and bronze-feced man, who stooped +as he entered the door of the trader's house, and said good-naturedly to +her,-- + +'Glad to meet you, Mrs Patterson. Will your husband be long before he +returns?' + +'I don' know, sir,' answered Melanie. 'He hav' gone to Pitofanua. But +he will come ver' quick when he know that the ship hav' come.' Then, +trembling with pleasurable excitement, she turned to the lady and +indicated a low easy-chair, and said in Samoan,-- + +'Sit thou there, O lady;' and then in English, 'I can't speak Englis' +very good sometimes. But my man will soon come.' Then she remembered +something. 'Please will you come into dis room here, which is been made +all ready for you, an' take off your hat;' and then she darted over to +a side table, brought a glass and a bottle of whisky over to the lady's +husband; then, with a winning smile, timidly held out her brown hand to +her guest, and led her into the bedroom. + +The new supercargo helped himself to a nip of whisky and then sat down, +his keen business eye taking in the order and cleanliness of the room. +In a few minutes his wife came out. + +'Hang these traders, Nell! Why isn't this fellow here to meet me? He had +no business to go away from his station when the ship was due. However, +he has jolly nice quarters, and so we'll make ourselves comfortable +until he turns up. I think you'll like this place, Nell, and won't find +it tedious whilst I'm away at the Solomons. Eh, pet?' + +The White Lady nodded and smiled. 'Yes, Harry, but I'll miss you +terribly to-morrow. Six weeks is a long time, dear.... Oh, Harry, +do look--isn't she a lovely child?' And, bending down, she swept up +Melanie's little girl in her arms and kissed her softly, and her eyes +suddenly filled with tears. + +'Yes,' said the supercargo, shortly, as, without looking at the child, +he took some papers from his pocket and began to read. His and her +hearts' desire had never been granted, and so he hated to look at the +child of another man. + +'I wish this fellow would come,' he said presently, in an irritable +tone, as he rose and walked to and fro.... Don't let that child paw you +about like that, Nell.... Hallo, here he is at last.' + +Fanning his heated brow with his broad hat of pandanus leaf, the trader +stood in the doorway. + +'Good morning. I'm sorry I was away when you came--' + +A cry, half scream and half sob, came from the supercargo's wife, as, +still holding the child in her arms, she swayed to and fro, and Melanie +sprang to her side. + +'Oh, Harry, it is Tom!' she said. + +Then she sank back and lay upon the matted floor, with her head pillowed +upon Melanie's bosom; and the child wailed in terror. + +'What the hell is the matter?' said the big supercargo, striding forward +to the trader and seizing him by the arm. Then he looked into Masters's +face. 'By God, Masters, is it _you_? As heaven is my judge, I swear to +you that we both thought you were dead!' + +The trader's eyes met his in a long, searching glance, then turned to +where the unconscious, figure of the white woman lay, supported in the +arms of Melanie, who, with affrighted eyes, gazed appealingly to them +both. + +He reached out his hand to the other man. 'That's all right, Laurance. +Let us go outside and talk. See, _your wife_ has fainted, but Melanie +will see to her.' + + * * * * * + +That night, whilst Masters and Laurance, cigars in mouth, were gravely +picking out the former's trade goods on board the _Palestine_ the White +Lady and the Brown 'Woman' talked. + +'Is you any better now?' said Melanie, as she caressingly ran her hand +down the golden locks of Mrs Laurance. + +A smothered sob was her answer, and the yellow head buried itself among +the pillows of the couch. + +Melanie turned away despairingly, and then lit a cigarette. What a fool +was this beautiful white woman--nothing but sob, sob, sob! What could be +done to dry her tears? + +Presently the Brown 'Woman' slid her hand under the waist of the weeping +White Lady, and pressed her cheek to hers. + +'Don' you wan' to stay here now?' + +'No, no, no! Let me go away. I wish I were dead!' + +'What for?' and the philosophical Melanie sent two long streaks of smoke +through her nostrils. 'Why are you 'shamed? You have a husban' now, and +yo' don' wan' to _faotane_, do you?' + +'What is _faotane?_' + +Melanie laughed. '_Faotane_ is Samoa language; it means stealing a +husban.... And yo' won' steal my husban' from me, will you? Yo' hav' got +a new husban', and yo' won' take Tom from me, will yo'?' + +Mrs Laurance sprang to her feet and placed her hands on the Brown +'Woman's' shoulders. + +'Tell me,' she said, 'did he ever talk of me?' + +'Yes,' said the truthful Melanie. 'He tell me that yo' have hair like +gold, and that your eye was blue like the sky.' + +'No more?' + +Melanie shook her black locks. 'No more. My man never talk too much. You +like to eat some roast pigeon now?' + +The White Lady turned her head aside and sobbed. 'And for a soulless +being like this!' Then she remembered that Masters was not to blame, and +waited, trembling and sobbing, for the two men to return. + + * * * * * + +Masters, having finished his business on board the barque, held out his +hand to Laurance. + +'Good-bye, Harry. Nothing can be done. Tom Masters was drowned off +Beveridge Reef years ago, and Harry Laurance married his widow; and Tom +Patterson is another man, who has a native wife, and--' + +He wrung Laurance's hand, sprang up the companion-way and called to +his boat's crew,-- + +'Haul the boat alongside, boys. I'm going to Pito-fanua again; and you +beggars will have to pull like hell.... Good-bye, Harry, old fellow. +Send your boat ashore for your wife... and God bless you both!' + + + + +WITH HOOK AND LINE ON AN AUSTRAL RIVER + +The English visitor to the Eastern Colonies of Australia, who is +in search of sport with either rod or hand line, can always obtain +excellent fishing in the summer months, even in such traffic-disturbed +harbours as Sydney, Newcastle and other ports; but on the tidal rivers +of the eastern and southern seaboard he can catch more fish than he can +carry home, during nine months of the year. In the true winter months +deep sea fishing is not much favoured, except during the prevalence of +westerly winds, when for days at a time the Pacific is as smooth as a +lake; but in the rivers, from Mallacoota Inlet, which is a few miles +over the Victorian boundary, to the Tweed River on the north, the +stranger may fairly revel, not only in the delights of splendid fishing, +but in the charms of beautiful scenery. He needs no guide, will be put +to but little expense, for the country hotel accommodation is good +and cheap; and, should he visit some of the northern rivers, where the +towns--or rather small settlements--are few and far between, he will +find the settlers the embodiment of British hospitality. Some five years +ago the writer formed one of the crew of a little steamer of fifty tons, +named the _Jenny Lind_, which was sent out along the coast in the +futile endeavour to revive the coast whaling industry. Through stress +of weather we had frequently to make a dash for shelter, towing our one +whale-boat, to one of the many tidal rivers on the coast between Sydney +and Gabo Island. Here we would remain until the weather broke, and our +crew would literally cover the deck with an extraordinary variety of +fish in the course of a few hours. Then, at low tide, we could always +fill a couple of corn sacks with excellent oysters, and get bucketfuls +of large prawns by means of a scoop net improvised from a piece of +mosquito netting. Game, too, was very plentiful on the lagoons. The +settlers were generally glad to see us, and gave us so freely of milk, +butter, pumpkins, etc., that, despite the rough handling we always had +at sea from the weather, we grew quite fat. But as the greater part of +my fishing experience was gained on the northern rivers of the colony +of New South Wales, it is of them I shall write. Eighteen hours' run +by steamer from Sydney is the Hastings River, on the southern bank of +which, a mile from the bar, is the old-time town of Port Macquarie--a +quaint, sleepy little place of six hundred inhabitants, who spend their +days in fishing and waiting for better times. There are two or three +fairly good hotels, very pretty scenery along the coast and up +the river, and a stranger can pass a month without suffering from +_ennui_--that is, of course, if he be fond of fishing and shooting; if +he is not, he should avoid going there, for it is the dullest coast +town in New South Wales. The southern shore, from the steamer wharf to +opposite the bar, is lined with a hard beach, on which, at high tide +or slack water at low tide, one may sit down in comfort and have great +sport with bream, whiting and flathead. As soon as the tide turns, +however, and is well on the ebb or flow, further fishing is impossible, +for the river rushes out to sea with great velocity, and the incoming +tide is almost as swift. On the other side of the harbour is a long, +sandy point called the North Shore, about a mile in length. This, at the +north end, is met by a somewhat dense scrub, which lines the right bank +of the river for a couple of miles, and affords a splendid shade to +anyone fishing on the river bank. The outer or ocean beach is but a few +minutes' walk from the river, and a magnificent beach it is, trending in +one great unbroken curve to Point Plomer, seven miles from the township. + +Before ascending the river on a fishing trip one has to be provided with +a plentiful supply of cockles, or 'pippies,' as they are called locally. +These can only be obtained on the northern ocean beach, and not the +least enjoyable part of a day's sport consists in getting them. They +are triangular in shape, with smooth shells of every imaginable colour, +though a rich purple is commonest. As the backwash leaves the sands +bare, these bivalves may be seen in thick but irregular patches +protruding from the sand. Sometimes, if the tide is not low enough, one +may get rolled over by the surf if he happen to have his back turned +seaward. Generally I was accompanied by two boys, known as 'Condon's +Twins.' They were my landlord's sons, and certainly two of the smartest +young sportsmen--although only twelve years old--I ever met with. Both +were very small for their age, and I was always in doubt as to which +was which. They were always delighted to come with me, and did not +mind being soused by a roller now and then when filling my 'pippy' bag. +Pippies are the best bait one can have for whiting (except prawns) in +Australia, for, unlike the English whiting, it will not touch fish +bait of any sort, although, when very hungry, it will sometimes take +to octopus flesh. Bream, whether black or silvery, flathead, trevally, +Jew-fish, and, indeed, all other fish obtained in Australia, are not +so dainty, for, although they like 'pippies' and prawns best, they will +take raw meat, fish, or octopus bait with readiness. Certain species of +sea and river mullet are like them in this respect, and good sport may +be had from them with a rod in the hot months, as Dick and Fred, +the twins aforesaid, well knew, for often would their irate father +wrath-fully ask them why they wasted their time catching 'them worthless +mullet.' + +But let me give an idea of one of many days' fishing on the Hastings, +spent with the 'Twins.' Having filled a sugar-bag with 'pippies' on the +ocean beach, we put on our boots and make our way through the belt of +scrub to where our boat is lying, tied to the protruding roots of a +tree. Each of us is armed with a green stick, and we pick our way pretty +carefully, for black snake are plentiful, and to tread on one means +death. The density of the foliage overhead is such that but little +sunlight can pierce through it, and the ground is soft to our feet with +the thick carpet of fallen leaves beneath. No sound but the murmuring of +the sea and the hoarse notes of countless gulls breaks the silence, for +this side of the river is uninhabited, and its solitude disturbed only +by some settler who has ridden down the coast to look for straying +cattle, or by a fishing party from the town. Our boat, which we had +hauled up and then tied to the tree, is now afloat, for the tide has +risen, and the long stretches of yellow sandbanks which line the channel +on the further side are covered now with a foot of water. As we drift up +the river, eating our lunch, and letting the boat take care of herself, +a huge, misshapen thing comes round a low point, emitting horrid +groanings and wheezings. It is a steam stern-wheel punt, loaded with +mighty logs of black-butt and tallow wood, from fifty feet to seventy +feet in length, cut far up the Hastings and the Maria and Wilson Rivers, +and destined for the saw-mill at Port Macquarie. + +In another hour we are at our landing-place, a selector's abandoned +homestead, built of rough slabs, and standing about fifty yards back +from the river and the narrow line of brown, winding beach. The roof had +long since fallen in, and the fences and outbuildings lay low, covered +with vines and creepers. The intense solitude of the place, the +motionless forest of lofty, grey-boled swamp gums that encompassed it +on all sides but one, and the wide stretch of river before it were +calculated to inspire melancholy in anyone but an ardent fisherman. +Scarcely have we hauled our boat up on the sand, and deposited our +provisions and water in the roofless house, when we hear a commotion +in the river--a swarm of fish called 'tailer' are making havoc among a +'school' of small mullet, many of which fling themselves out upon the +sand. Presently all is quiet again, and we get our lines ready. + +For whiting and silvery bream, rather fine lines are used; but we each +have a heavy line for flathead, for these fish are caught in the tidal +rivers on a sandy bottom up to three feet and four feet in length. They +are in colour, both on back and belly, much like a sole, of great width +across the shoulders, and then taper away to a very fine tail. The head +is perfectly flat, very thin, and armed on each side with very sharp +bones pointing tailward. A stab from one of these causes intense +inflammation. The fins are small--so small as to appear almost +rudimentary--yet the fish swims, or rather darts, along the bottom with +amazing rapidity. They love to lie along the banks a few feet from the +shore, where, concealed in the sand, they can dart out upon and seize +their prey in their enormous 'gripsack'mouths. The approach of a boat, +or a person walking along the sand, will cause them to at once speed +like lightning into deep water, leaving behind them a wake of sand and +mud, which is washed off their backs in their flight. Still, although +not a pleasing fish to look at, the flathead is of a delicious and +delicate flavour. There are some variations in their shades of colour, +from a pale, delicate grey to a very dark brown, according to their +habitat, and, although most frequent in very shallow water, they are +often caught in great quantities off the coast in from ten to fifteen +fathoms of water. Gut or wire snoodings are indispensable when fishing +for flathead, else the fish invariably severs the line with his fine +needle-pointed teeth, which are set very closely together. Nothing comes +amiss to them as food; but they have a great love for small mullet or +whiting, or a piece of octopus tentacle. + +Baiting our heavy lines with mullet--two hooks with brass-wire snoods to +each line--we throw out about thirty yards, then, leaving two or three +fathoms loose upon the shore, we each thrust a stick firmly into the +sand, and take a turn of the line round it. As the largest flathead +invariably darts upon the bait, and then makes a bolt with it, this plan +is a good one to follow, unless, of course, they are biting freely; in +that case the smaller lines for bream and whiting, etc., are hauled in, +for there is more real sport in landing a 10-lb. flathead than there is +in catching smaller fish, for he is very game, and fights fiercely for +his life. + +Having disposed our big lines, we bait the smaller ones with 'pippies,' +and not two minutes at the outside elapse after the sinkers have touched +bottom when we know we are to have a good time, for each of us has +hooked a fish, and three whiting are kicking on the sand before five +minutes have expired. Then for another hour we throw out and haul in +again as quickly as possible, landing whiting from 6 oz. to nearly 2 lb. +weight. One of the 'Twins' has five hooks on his line, and occasionally +lands three fish together, and now and again we get small bream and +an occasional 'tailer' of 2 lb. or 3 lb. As the sun mounts higher the +breeze dies away, the heat becomes very great, and we have frequent +recourse to our water jar--in one case mixing it with whisky. Then the +whiting cease to bite as suddenly as they have begun, and move off into +deeper water. Just as we are debating as to whether we shall take +the boat out into mid-stream, Twin Dick gives a yell, as his stick is +suddenly whipped out of the sand, and the loose line lying beside it +rushes away into the water. But Dick is an old hand, and lets his fish +have his first bolt, and then turns him. 'By jingo! sir, he's a big +fellow,' he cries, as he hauls in the line, now as taut as a telegraph +wire, and then the other twin comes to his aid, and in a few minutes the +outline of the fish is seen, coming in straight ahead, as quick as they +can pull him. When he is within ten feet of the beach the boys run up +the bank and land him safely, as he turns his body into a circle in +his attempts to shake out the hook. Being called upon to estimate his +weight, I give it as 11 lb., much to the Twins' sorrow--they think it 15 +lb. Half an hour passes, and we catch but half a dozen silvery bream and +some small baby whiting, for now the sun is beating down upon our heads, +and our naked feet begin to burn and sting; so we adjourn to the old +house and rest awhile, leaving our big lines securely tied. But, though +the breeze for which we wait comes along by two o'clock, the fish do +not, and so, after disinterring our takes from the wet sand, wherein we +had buried them as they were caught, to prevent them being spoilt by +the sun, we get aboard again and pull across to the opposite bank of the +river. Here, in much deeper water, about fifteen feet right under the +clayey bank, we can see hundreds of fine bream, and now and then +some small Jew-fish. Taking off our sinkers, we have as good and more +exciting sport among the bream than we had with the whiting, catching +between four and five dozen by six o'clock. Then, after boiling the +billy and eating some fearfully tough corned meat, we get into the boat +again, hoist our sail, and land at the little township just after dark. +Such was one of many similar days' sport on the Hastings, which, with +the Bellinger, the Nambucca, the Macleay and the Clarence Rivers, +affords good fishing practically all the year round. Then, besides these +tidal rivers, there are at frequent intervals along the coast, tidal +lagoons and 'blind' creeks where fish congregate in really incredible +quantities. Such places as Lake Illawarra and Lake Macquarie are fishing +resorts well known to the tourist; but along the northern coast, where +the population is scantier and access by rail or steamer more difficult, +there is an absolutely new field open to the sportsman--in fact, these +places are seldom visited for either fishing or shooting by people +from Sydney. During November and December the bars of these rivers are +literally black with incredible numbers of coarse sea-salmon--a fish +much like the English sea bass--which, making their way over the bars, +swim up the rivers and remain there for about a week. Although these +fish, which weigh from 8 lb. to 10 lb., do not take a bait, and are +rather too coarse to eat, their roes are very good, especially when +smoked. They are captured with the greatest of ease, either by spearing +or by the hand, for sometimes they are in such dense masses that they +are unable to maoeuvre in small bays, and the urchins of coastal towns +hail their yearly advent with delight. They usually make their first +appearance about November 20th (I presume they resort to the rivers to +spawn), and are always followed by a great number of very large sharks +and saw-fish,{*} which commit dreadful havoc in their serried and +helpless ranks. Following the sea-salmon, the rivers are next visited +in January by shoals of very large sea-mullet--blue-black backs, silvery +bellies and sides, and yellow fins and tails. These, too, will not take +a bait, but are caught in nets, and, if a steamer happens to be on the +eve of leaving for Sydney, many hundreds of baskets are sent away; but +they barely pay the cost of freight and commission, I believe. There are +several varieties of sea-mullet, one or two of which will take the hook +freely, and I have often caught them off the rocky coast of New South +Wales with a rod when the sea has been smooth. The arrival of the big +sea-mullet denotes that the season for Jew-fish is at its height, and +if the stranger to Australian waters wants exciting sport, let him try +Jew-fishing at night. In deep water off the coast these great fish are +occasionally caught during daylight, but a dull, cloudy night is best, +when they may be caught from the beach or river bank in shallow water. +Very stout lines and heavy hooks are used, for a 90-lb. or 100-lb. +Jew-fish is very common. Baiting with a whole mullet or whiting, or one +of the arms of an octopus, the most amateurish fisherman cannot fail to +hook two or three Jew-fish in a night. (Even in Sydney Harbour I have +seen some very large ones caught by people fishing from ferry wharves.) +They are very powerful, and also very game, and when they rise to the +surface make a terrific splashing. At one place on the Hastings River, +called Blackman's Point, a party of four of us took thirteen fish, +the heaviest of which was 62 lb. and the lightest 9 lb. Next morning, +however, the Blackman's Point ferryman, who always set a line from his +punt when he turned in, showed us one of over 90 lb. When they grow to +such a size as this they are not eaten locally, as the flesh is very +often full of thin, thread-like worms. The young fish, however, are very +palatable. + + * The 'saw-fish' of the Australian tidal rivers is very + distinct from the sword-fish of the deep sea. + +The saw-fish, to which I have before alluded as harrying the swarms of +sea-salmon, also make havoc with the Jew-fish, and very often are caught +on Jew-fish lines. They are terrible customers to get foul of (I do not +confound them with the sword-fish) when fishing from a small boat. Their +huge broad bill of hard bone, set on both sides with its terrible sharp +spikes, their great length and enormous strength, render it impossible +to even get them alongside, and there is no help for it but either to +cut the line or pull up anchor and land him on the shore. Even then the +task of despatching one of these creatures is no child's play on a dark +night, for they lash their long tails about with such fury that a broken +leg might be the result of coming too close. In the rivers of Northern +Queensland the saw-fish attain an enormous size, and the Chinese +fishermen about Cooktown and Townsville often have their nets destroyed +by a sawfish enfolding himself in them. Alligators, by the way, do the +same thing there, and are sometimes captured, perfectly helpless, in the +folds of the nets, in which they have rolled themselves over and over +again, tearing it beyond repair with their feet, but eventually yielding +to their fate. + +The schnapper, the best of all Australian fish, is too well known to +here enter into a detailed description. Most town-bred Australians +generally regard it as a purely ocean-loving fish, or at least only +frequenting very deep waters in deep harbours, such as Sydney, Jervis +Bay and Twofold Bay. This is quite a mistake, for in many of the rivers, +twenty or more miles up from the sea, the writer and many other people +have not only caught these beautiful fish, but seen fishermen haul in +their nets filled with them. But they seldom remain long, preferring the +blue depths of ocean to the muddy bottoms of tidal rivers, for they are +rock-haunting and surf-loving. + +Of late years the northern bar harbours and rivers of New South Wales +have been visited by a fish that in my boyhood's days was unknown even +to the oldest fisherman--the bonito. Although in shape and size they +exactly resemble the ocean bonito of tropic seas, these new arrivals are +lighter in colour, with bands of marbled grey along the sides and +belly. They bite freely at a running bait--i.e., when a line is towed +astern--and are very good when eaten quite fresh, but, like all of the +mackerel tribe, rapidly deteriorate soon after they are caught. The +majority of the coast settlers will not eat them, being under the idea +that, as they are all but scaleless, they are 'poisonous.' This silly +impression also prevails with regard to many other scaleless fish on +the Australian coast, some of which, such as the trevally, are among the +best and most delicate in flavour. The black and white rock cod is also +regarded with aversion by the untutored settlers of the small coast +settlements, yet these fish are sold in Sydney, like the schnapper, at +prohibitive prices. + +In conclusion, let me advise anyone who is contemplating a visit to +Australia, and means to devote any of his time to either river or lake +fishing, to take his rods with him; all the rest of his tackle he can +buy as cheap in the colonies as he can in England. Rods are but little +used in salt-water fishing in Australia, and are terribly expensive to +buy. Those who do use a rod are usually satisfied with a bamboo--a +very good rod it makes, too, although inconvenient to carry when +travelling--but the generality of people use hand lines. And the visitor +must not be persuaded that he can get really good river fishing without +going some distance from Sydney or Melbourne. That there is some +excellent sport to be obtained in Port Jackson in summer is true, but it +is lacking in a very essential thing--the quietude that is dear to the +heart of every true fisherman. + + + + +THE WRECK OF THE LEONORA: A MEMORY OF 'BULLY' HAYES + +The brig _Leonora_, owned and commanded by the notorious Captain 'Bully' +Hayes, has, perhaps, been more written and talked about than any other +vessel, except the _Bounty_, that ever sailed the South Seas, and her +career was as eventful as that of her captain. It was my fortune to fill +the distinguished position of supercargo to that eminent gentleman for +two years, and, as may be imagined by those who have read anything of +Hayes's strange life and doings in the Pacific and the China Seas, +I found the berth a remarkably curious one. How and why I became +supercargo to the famous alleged pirate is another story; but, in +justice to 'Bully's' memory, I may here at once say that the man was +_not_ the remorseless ruffian that his enemies and many writers of tales +of the South Seas have painted him; furthermore, he was one of the best +sailor-men that ever trod a deck. Had he lived in the times of Drake or +Dampier, he would have been a hero, for he was a man born to command and +lead. _Inter alia_, he was also clever with his fists, and my soul was +possessed of the deepest admiration for him in this respect from the +very first day I stepped on board the _Leonora_, in Milli Lagoon, in +the Marshall Islands, for it was my privilege to see him knock out +three men, one after another, in twice as many minutes. These men were +'toughs' from a New Bedford whaler, and had been put ashore at Milli +Lagoon by their captain as dangerous and useless characters. They came +on board the _Leonora_ and asked 'Bully' to ship them. He refused in +such unnecessary language that the leader of the three, in fatuous +ignorance of the man to whom he was speaking, threatened to 'put a head +on him'; whereupon Hayes at once had the deck cleared, and, taking them +in turn, knocked each man out in the first round. Then he gave them a +glass of grog all round, a bottle of arnica to cure the malformations he +had caused on their countenances, and sent them ashore. + +But this is not the story of the wreck of the _Leonora_. + +We had made Strong's Island from Ponap, in the Western Carolines, to +wood and water and land some cattle, and for two weeks we lay at +anchor in the beautiful harbour of Ll. We found the island in a very +disturbed and excited state, for a few weeks previously two American +sperm whalers had touched at Ll and landed five white men, with a +retinue of nearly one hundred savage natives from Pleasant Island, an +isolated spot situated in 0.25 S., and these people--white and brown--so +terrified the Strong's Islanders that the old King Togusa was in abject +fear of them. We (Hayes and myself) soon learnt their story, which was +that they had been compelled to fly for their lives from Pleasant Island +on account of an engagement between the various clans of that place. The +two chiefs under whose protection these men lived had been badly beaten, +and the victors gave the five white traders a short notice to clear out +or be shot. They at once put to sea in their several whale-boats, but +when some three hundred miles away from the island, on their way to +Ponap--the North Pacific Cave of Adullam--they were sighted and picked +up by the two whalers, the _St George_ and the _Europa_, the captains of +which, not caring for their company all the way to Ponap, landed them +at Strong's Island. They were now awaiting a chance to continue their +voyage to Ponap in a passing whaler, and in the meantime their savage +followers were harrying the unfortunate Strong's Islanders to death, +robbing their plantations, abducting their women and knocking them about +generally. + +These wild people were the most noisy and intractable lot of natives I +had ever seen, wearing only a girdle of leaves around their waists, +and all armed with Snider carbines and short stabbing knives made from +cutlasses broken in halves. But, although they bullied the weak and +effeminate Strong's Islanders, they were yet very obedient to their +white masters, to whom they were all more or less related through the +native wives whom the traders had married. The women were very tall +and handsome, and every bit as handy with their knives as the men in a +quarrel. + +Hayes, of course, was well known to both the white men and natives, and +at once began his good offices by threatening to open fire on the houses +and boats of the former if they did not at once cease to persecute the +king and his subjects. This threat he made in the presence and hearing +of the king himself, who was deeply grateful, and at once said he would +make him a present of two tuns of oil. The five hairy ruffians were +considerably startled at first; but Hayes, I regret to say, turning to +one of them, named Pedro Diaz, said in Spanish, 'Don't be scared, Peter. +I'm not going back on you fellows; but at the same time you'll have to +quit knocking these poor devils about. So just go ashore and take away +your people's rifles--it means a couple of tuns of oil for me--its just +as well in the hold of the _Leonora_ as in that of the missionary brig +_Morning Star_. The missionaries would only promise King Togusa credit +in heaven. I'll give him enough grog to keep him drunk for a month of +Sundays on earth; and as he never possibly could get to heaven, I am +treating him better than the missionaries, who would simply be obtaining +his oil under false pretences.' + +On the following day the king sent off his gift of oil; the five white +men and he became reconciled, and the abducted Strong's Island women +were returned to their parents or husbands as a guarantee of good faith. +In the evening the traders came on board and made an arrangement with +Hayes to proceed in the brig to Arrecifos (Providence Island), a large +atoll to the north-west, of which Hayes had taken possession. Here they +were to live as long as they liked, paying Hayes a certain quantity of +coco-nut oil as tribute, and resisting, by force of arms, any attempt to +take possession of the atoll by the German trading company of Godeffroy, +should it be made by any one of the three, armed German brigs belonging +to the firm, and then cruising in the North Pacific. + +Two days later we bade farewell to the old king and his pretty young +wife, Se, and the _Leonora_ sailed out of Ll. We were first to call at +South Harbour, six miles to leeward, where we were to take in yams, pigs +and other provisions for the voyage to Providence Island, as we had now +over one hundred additional people on board. + +We ran out of Ll at daylight, and at seven o'clock in the morning +dropped our anchor in fourteen fathoms in South Harbour, or Utw,{*} as +the natives called it. As quickly as possible the ship's boats, aided +by those belonging to the traders, set to work to bring off the yams and +pigs, for which, as they were brought on deck by their native owners, I +weighed and paid. By dusk we had finished, and I was just dressing to go +to supper aboard one of the American whale-ships which were lying near +us, when the trade wind, which had been lusty enough all day, suddenly +fell--a very dangerous sign at that season of the year. In a few minutes +Hayes sent a boat over to the whalers, telling the captains that a blow +was coming on from the westward, and advising them to clear out to sea. +But the American captains decided not to risk towing out through the +narrow passage; and as they were in a much better position than the +_Leonora_, they did wisely, for in less than a quarter of an hour a +mountainous swell began rolling in, and it soon became evident that +even with our own four boats, and the seven belonging to the traders, we +could not tow out. + + * The Port Lottin of Dupurrcy. + +As quickly as possible Hayes had our royal and top-gallant yards sent +down, the boats slung in-board from the davits on the deck, the Pleasant +Islanders sent below, and every preparation made to ride out the blow, +which we were in hopes would not last more than six hours or so. So far +not a breath of wind had come, but the brig was rolling so badly that +we quite expected to see her go over on her beam ends and stay there. +At sunset the air was so close and oppressive that one could scarcely +breathe, and the natives in the hold became half suffocated, and +could only be kept down by the white traders and some of our officers +threatening to shoot the first man that tried to get on deck. Many of +them, however, besought to be allowed to swim ashore and remain till +morning, and Hayes told them they could go. Some ten men and six +women at once came up; and, although it was now dark, and the sharks +consequently much more to be dreaded, sprang overboard, and swam in +towards the native village of Utw. + +For another twenty minutes or more we remained anxiously awaiting. The +sky was as black as pitch, and there was now a tremendously high sea, +and the din and thunder of the surf on the reef a couple of cables' +length away was most appalling. I had never heard anything like it +before, nor have I since; and the weird sound of the huge seas as they +tumbled and roared upon the hollow crust of the reef made my hair stand +upon end like priming wires. The tide was low, and perhaps that had +something to do with the wild, resounding clamour of the seas upon the +long line of reef; but there was a strange humming note underlying it +all, which was new to many of our ship's company, and seemed to fill +even the rest of the Pleasant Islanders who remained on board with a +sense of dread, for they earnestly besought Hayes to let them come on +deck, for, they said, 'the belly of the world was about to burst.' + +To this, most fortunately for themselves, Hayes consented, and in a +few minutes they swarmed up on deck, each man carrying his Snider +and cutlass-knife, and the women and children loaded up with their +sleeping-mats and other gear. Some of the women crawled under the long +boat, which was lying on the port side, and made themselves comfortable; +and the men brought their arms to me to stow in the trade room, for fear +of their getting wet, and then returned to their white masters, who were +grouped together on deck. + +Then, quite suddenly, the jumping, tumbling sea began to subside, and +through the darkness we heard the skipper of one of the American whalers +hail us. + +'What are you, going to do, Captain Hayes? I guess we're in a pretty +tight place. I'd try to tow out if I could see the hole in the wall. +We're going to get it mighty hot presently. It's coming on fast.' + +'That's so,' Hayes replied, with a laugh; 'but we can't stop it. And, +say, look here, captain, as you fellows are lying further out than I am, +you might each start a cask of oil to run when the seas begin to break. +It won't help you much, but it will me.' + +The whale-ship captain laughed, and said that he was afraid that his +six hundred barrels of oil would start themselves if the sea began to +break--meaning that his ship would go ashore. + +The previous heavy rolling of the brig had nearly made a wreck of my +trade room, for everything had been jerked off the shelves, and cases +of liquor, powder, cartridges, concertinas and women's hats, etc., were +lying burst open on the floor; so, calling a couple of native sailors +to help me, I was just going below, when I heard Captain Hayes's sharp +tones calling out to our officers to stand by. + +From the north-west there came a peculiar droning, humming sound, +mingled with a subdued crashing and roaring of the mountain forest, +which lay about a quarter of a mile astern of us--the noise one hears +when a mighty bush fire is raging in Australia, and a sudden gust of +wind adds to its devastation--and then in another half a minute the +brig spun round like a top to the fury of the first blast, and we were +enveloped in a blinding shower of leaves, twigs and salty spray. She +brought up to her anchors with a jerk that nearly threw everyone off his +feet, and then in an incredibly short time the sea again began to rise, +and the brig to plunge and take water in over the bows and waist--not +heavy seas, but sheets of water nipped off by the force of the wind and +falling on the decks in drenching showers. + +Just as I was hurrying below, Hayes stopped me. + +'Don't bother about the trade room. Get all the arms and ammunition you +can ready for the boats. I'm afraid that we won't see this through. The +blubber-hunters are all right; but we are not. We have to ride short. I +can't give her more than another ten fathoms of cable--there are a lot +of coral boulders right aft. If the wind hauls round a couple of points +we may clear them, but it isn't going to; and we'll get smothered in the +seas in another ten minutes--if the cables don't part before then.' + +Seldom was a ship sent to destruction in such a short time as the +_Leonora_. I had not been five minutes in the main cabin before a heavy +sea came over the bows with a crash, carried away the for'ard deckhouse, +which it swept overboard, killed four people, and poured into the cabin. +I heard Hayes call out to the mate to give her another ten fathoms +of cable, and then, assisted by half a dozen native women and a young +Easter Island half-caste girl named Lalia, wife to one of the five white +traders, began packing our arms and ammunition into two or three strong +trade boxes. In another chest we stowed the ship's chronometers, Hayes's +instruments, and all the charts upon which we could lay hands, together +with about six thousand silver dollars in bags, the ship's books and +some silver plate. The women, who were the officers' and traders' wives, +were fearfully terrified; all but Lalia, who was a fine, courageous +girl. Taking a cutlass from the rack in the cabin she stood over them; +and, cursing freely in French, English, Spanish and whalers' language, +threatened to murder every one of them if they did not hurry. We got the +first box of arms safely up the companion, and Hayes saw it lowered into +one of the traders' whale-boats, which was standing by under the stern. +Then, as a tremendous crashing sea came over the waist, all the women +but Lalia bolted and left us alone. Lalia laughed. + +'That's the long-boat gone, sir; and all those Pleasant Islands women +are drown, I hope--the damned savage beasts, I hate them.' + + * The _Leonora_ carried four guns. + +I learnt afterwards that the crash was caused by the two guns on the +starboard side taking a run to port, and carrying away the port ones +with them over the side through the bulwarks.{*} The long-boat was +washed overboard by the same sea, but half a dozen of our Rotumah Island +sailors had jumped overboard after her, and, using canoe paddles, saved +her from being dashed on the reef. She was soon brought alongside, fully +manned, and awaiting Hayes's orders. + +The captain now called to me to stand by to take charge of her, when a +second fearful sea came over the waist, and fairly buried the ship, +and Hung, the Chinese carpenter and myself were only saved from going +overboard, by being entangled in the falls of one of the quarter-boats. +As for the long-boat, it was swept away out of sight, but succeeded in +reaching the shore safely, with the loss of one man. + +By this time the seas were breaking over the brig with terrible force, +and when they came over the bows they swept her flush decks like a +torrent. Presently she gave such a terrible roll to port that we thought +she was going over altogether, and the third mate reported that six +four-hundred-gallon water tanks, which were stored in the 'tween +decks amidships, had gone adrift to the port side. Then Hayes told the +carpenter to cut away the masts. A few slashes at the rigging, and a +couple of snicks at the spars themselves, sent the sticks over the side +quick enough; the brig stood up again and rode easier. + +Meanwhile, the boat of one of the traders named Terry--an old +ex-man-of-war's man--had come off, manned by half a dozen of his +stalwart half-caste sons, and although it was still pitch dark, and +the din of the gale sounded like fifty railway locomotives whistling in +unison, and the brig was only revealed to the brave fellows by the white +light of the foam-whipped sea, they ran the boat under the counter, and +stood by while a number of women and children jumped, or were pitched +overboard, to them. These were quickly rescued, and then that boat, too, +vanished. + +Again the wind lulled for about five minutes, and Hayes and old Harry +Terry urged the rest of the remaining women to jump overboard and make +for the shore, as the brig's decks were now awash, and every third or +fourth sea swept along her, fore and aft, with irresistible force. One +woman--a stout, powerfully-built native of Ocean Island--whose infant +child was lashed to her naked back with bands of coir cinnet, rushed up +to the captain, and crying, 'Kpeni, ka mat a mat '--('Captain, if I +die, I die')--put her arms round his neck, rubbed noses with him, and +leaped over the stern rail into the seething surf. She was found the +next morning lying dead on a little beach, having bled to death from the +wounds she had received from the jagged coral rocks, but the baby was +alive, for with her dying hands the poor creature had placed it under +shelter, and covered it over with grass and leaves, where it was found, +sleeping soundly, by a native sailor. + +There was not now the slightest hope of saving the ship, unless the sea +went down; and Hayes, who was as cool as if he were taking his morning +coffee, told the rest of the crew, who were now all gathered together +aft, to get ashore the best way they could. Three of the white traders +were still aboard, awaiting the return of their boats, which, manned by +their faithful Pleasant Islanders, we now and again could dimly discern, +as they appeared on the summit of the heaving seas, waiting for a chance +to pull up astern and rescue their masters. + +There were still two chests full of valuables in the main cabin to be +got on deck, and Lalia (sweet Lalia), the young woman of whom I have +before spoken, although her husband had gone ashore, refused to jump to +the boats, and said she would stay and help us to save them. + +'Go, ashore, Lalia. Go to your husband,' said Hayes, sternly pushing her +to the stern rail; 'he is an old man, and cannot come off again in his +boat for you. Perhaps he is drowned.' + +The girl laughed and said it was all the better--she would get another +and a younger husband; she would stay with the _men_ on board and not +swim ashore with the old women. Then she ran below. In a few minutes +she reappeared, with a fine powerful Pleasant Island native named Karta, +carrying our Chinese steward, who was paralysed with drink and terror. +Hayes took the man up in his arms and, seeing one of the boats close +to, threw him overboard without further ado. Then Lalia and I again +went below for another of the boxes, and, aided by Karta, we had got it +half-way up the companion ladder when the brig rose her stern high to +a mountain sea, and then came down with a terrific crash on to a coral +boulder, ripping her rudder from the stern post, and sending it clean +through the deck. Lalia fell backwards into the cabin, and the heavy +chest slipped down on the top of her, crushing her left foot cruelly +against the companion lining, and jamming her slender body underneath. +Karta and myself tried hard to free the poor tortured girl, but without +avail, and then some of our Rotumah Island sailors, hearing our cries +for help, ran down, and by our united exertions, we got her clear, put +her in the steward's bunk--as she had fainted--and lugged the chest on +deck. + +One of the traders' whale-boats was lying close to, and the chest was, +by the merest chance, dropped into her just as the brig came down again +on the coral boulder with a thundering crash and smashed a big hole into +her timbers under her starboard counter. In a few minutes she began to +fill. + +'It's all up with her, boys,' cried the philosophical 'Bully.' 'Jump for +the boats all of you; but wait for a rising sea, or you'll get smashed +up on the coral. Bo'sun, take a look round below, and see that there are +no more women there. We must take care of the women, boys.' + +Karta, the brave Pleasant Islander, a Manila man named Sarro, and +myself then went below for Lalia. She was sitting up in the steward's +bunk, stripped to the waist, and only awaiting help to get on deck. +Already the main cabin had three feet of water in it, and just as we +lifted the girl out, another sea came in over deck and nearly filled it; +and with it came the bruised and battered dead body of a little native +boy, who, crouching up under the shelter of the companion, had been +killed by the wheel falling upon and crushing him when the rudder was +carried away. + +Half-drowned, we managed to struggle on deck, Karta carrying the girl, +and the Manila man and I helping each other together. The brig was now +quite under water for'ard, but her after part was hanging on the coral +boulder under it, though every succeeding sea rolled her from side to +side. Hayes snatched the girl from Karta's arms just as the ship lobbed +over to starboard on her bilge, then a thumping sea came thundering +down, and swept the lot of us over the stern. + +The poor Manila man was never seen again--barring a small portion of +his anatomy; to wit, his right arm and shoulder, the rest having been +assimilated by Jack Shark. Hayes got ashore by himself, and the writer +of this narrative, with Karta, the Pleasant Islander, and Lalia, the +trader's wife, came ashore on the wreck of a boat that had been carried +on top of the after-deck house. + +We were all badly knocked about. Karta had a fearful gash in his leg +from a piece of coral. This he had bound up, whilst swimming, with a +strip of his grass-cloth girdle. Lalia, in addition to her dreadfully +crushed foot, had her right arm badly cut; and the writer was so +generally excoriated and done-up that he would never have reached the +shore, but for the gallant Karta and the brave-hearted Lalia, who both +held him up when he wanted to let go and drown quietly. + +At dawn the gale had ceased, and whilst we, the survivors of the +_Leonora_ stood up and stretched our aching limbs we saw, as we glanced +seaward, the two 'blubber hunters,' who had ridden out the storm safely, +heave-up and sail through the passage. I don't think either of the +captains was wanting in humane feeling; but both were, no doubt, very +much afraid that as 'Bully' Hayes had lost his ship, he would not +be particular about taking another near to hand. And they were quite +correct. Hayes and his third mate, some of the white traders, and twenty +or so of our crew were quite willing to seize one of the whalers, and +sail to Arrecifos. But the Yankee skippers knew too much of 'Bully,' and +left us to ourselves on Strong's Island; and many a tragedy resulted, +for the crew and passengers of the _Leonora_ with some few exceptions, +were not particular as to their doings, and mutiny, treachery, murder, +and sudden death, were the outcome of the wreck of the _Leonora_. + + + + +AN OLD COLONIAL MUTINY + +The following notice one day appeared among the official records of the +earlier days (1800) of the colony of New South Wales:-- + + 'Whereas the persons undermentioned and described did, in + the month of November, by force of arms, violently take away + from His Majesty's settlement at Dalrymple a colonial brig + or vessel called the _Venus_, the property of Mr Robert + Campbell, a merchant of this territory, and the said vessel + then containing stores, the property of His Majesty, and a + quantity of necessary stores, the property of the officers + of that settlement, and sundry other property, belonging to + private individuals.' + +Then follows the description of the crew, from which it will be seen +that there was every factor towards some criminal deed on board the +_Venus_. First of all the chief mate is mentioned:-- + + 'Benjamin Burnet Kelly, chief mate; says he is an American. + He arrived in this colony as chief mate of the _Albion_, a + South Sea whaler (Captain Bunker); Richard Edwards, second + mate; Joseph Redmonds, seaman, a mulatto or mestizo of South + America 299 (came out from England in the _Venus_); Darra, + cook, a Malay man, both ears missing; Thomas Ford and + William Porter Evans, boys of 14 and 16 (Evans is a native + of Rose Hill in this colony); Richard Thompson, a soldier; + Thomas Richard Evans, a convict, formerly a gunner's mate on + H.M.S. _Calcutta_ (sentenced to fourteen years for desertion + and striking an officer); John Lancaster or Lancashire, a + convict, a very dangerous person; Charlotte Badger, convict, + a very corpulent person (has an infant in arms); Kitty + Hegarty, convict, very handsome woman, with white teeth and + fresh complexion, much inclined to smile, a great talker.' + +Then comes an official proclamation, signed 'G. Blaxcell, Secretary, +Government House, Sydney,' cautioning 'all governors and officers in +command at any of His Majesty's ports, and the Honourable East India +Company's magistrates or officers in command, at home or abroad, at +whatever port the said brig may be taken into, or met with at sea, +against any frauds or deceptions that may be practised by the offending +parties,' and asking that they might be seized and brought to condign +punishment. + +The _Venus_, under the command of Mr S. Rodman Chace, sailed out of +Sydney Cove (as Port Jackson was then called) for Twofold Bay at the +time before mentioned. Here she remained at anchor for about five weeks, +and here it was that the first trouble began. + +Captain Chace had been ashore, and about dusk was returning in his boat +to the ship, when he heard sounds of great hilarity proceeding from +those on board. On coming alongside and gaining the deck, he found that +the two convict ladies were entertaining Mr Benjamin Burnet Kelly, the +mate, with a dancing exhibition, the musical accompaniment to which was +given by Darra, the earless Malayan cook, who was seated on a tub on the +main-hatch playing a battered violin. Lying around the deck, in various +stages of drunkenness, were the male convicts and some of the crew, and +the genial Mr Kelly presided over a bucket of rum, pannikins of which +were offered to the ladies at frequent intervals by the two faithful +cup-bearers,--Ford and Evans. + +Chace at once put an end to the harmony by seizing the bucket of rum and +throwing it overboard, and the drunken people about him being incapable +of offering much resistance, he put them in irons and tumbled them +below. Kelly, who was a big, truculent-looking man, then produced a +bowie knife of alarming dimensions and challenged Chace to combat, but +was quickly awed by a pistol being placed at his breast by his superior +officer. He then promised to return to his duty, provided--here he +began to weep, that--the captain did not harm Kitty Hegarty, for whom he +professed an ardent attachment. + +As the _Venus_ carried despatches for the Governor of Van Diemen's Land, +Captain Chace was eager to reach his destination, Port Dalrymple, with +all speed, and therefore was in a very anxious state of mind after the +disturbance mentioned, particularly as the mate Kelly, and the convicts +on board, seemed to have some sort of secret understanding. However, +the _Venus_ arrived there safely, and Captain Chace duly delivered his +despatches to Lieutenant House, the Marine officer in charge. Feeling +sure that there was now no further danger to be apprehended, he spent +the night with an old shipmate, the captain of the schooner _Governor +Hunter_. After breakfast, accompanied by Mr House, he got into his boat +and set out for his ship. He had left instructions with the mate to get +up anchor at six o'clock and come up the river, and about seven o'clock, +as he and Mr House were being pulled towards her in the boat, they saw +that she was under weigh, and coming up. + +'There's not much use in us going down, as your ship is coming up, +Chace,' said Mr House. 'Let us go ashore here in this cove and wait for +her.' + +The master agreed to this, and the boat turned into a little +sandy-beached cove, where they lost sight of the ship, which, with +the light breeze then blowing, would not pass abreast of the cove for +another hour. + +About an hour passed, and then they heard the sound of oars, and the +_Venus_ boat was seen sweeping round the headland of the cove. The crew +seemed thoroughly exhausted, and many of them were cut and bleeding. In +a few moments they told their story, which was, that just after the ship +got under weigh, Kelly and the convicts sprang upon the second mate, +stunned him and pitched him below. Then, before those of the crew who +were not in league with the mutineers could offer any resistance, they +were set upon by the pilot, Thompson, the soldier, Darra, the earless +cook and the two women, all of whom were armed with pistols and swords. + +'Into the boat, all of you fellows,' said Kelly, pointing a pistol at +the five seamen; 'into the boat; quick! or you are all dead men!' + +The boat was towing astern, and the five seamen, seeing that the _Venus_ +was now in the absolute possession of the mutineers, and that Kelly +would not hesitate to shoot them if they disobeyed him, went into the +boat quietly. + +As soon as the mutineers cast off the boat's painter, Kelly came aft +with Kitty Hegarty, and placing his arms around her waist, jocularly +called out to the men in the boat to 'look at the pirate's bride, and +give his compliments and "Mrs Kelly's" compliments to Captain Chace, +Lieutenant House, and the Lieutenant-Governor.' He also charged them to +tell Lieutenant House that he was much obliged to him for lending Chace +(on a former occasion) the _Narrative of Lieutenant Bligh and the Mutiny +of the Bounty_, which had so much interested him (Kelly) and 'Kitty' +that they had 'decided to do Fletcher Christian's trick, and take a +cruise among the South Seas.' He then, with much accompanying laughter +from merry Miss Hegarty, put a wooden bucket on her head, and called out +to the people in the boat to look at 'Her Majesty, Queen Kitty Hegarty +of the Cannibal Islands.' Immediately after this badinage he ordered +Thompson, who was at the helm, to put it hard up; and then wore ship and +sailed out seawards. + + * * * * * + +News of the mutiny was at once sent to Lieutenant-Governor Paterson. But +the mutineers were not heard of for a long time. Then it was learnt that +Kelly had sailed the _Venus_ to the coast of New Zealand and, by means +of selling a number of casks of rum to the Maoris, had acquired a +quantity of small arms, and two brass cannons, each throwing a 6-lb. +shot. At one of the places they touched at, Thompson, with the aid +of Kelly, abducted a handsome young Maori girl. She was a niece of Te +Morenga, a chief in the Bay of Islands district. The unfortunate girl, +however, so fretted, and lost so much of her attractiveness, that her +scoundrelly abductor sold her to a chief named Hukori, of Mercury +Bay, or, if he did not sell her, she eventually came into Hukori's +possession. On their voyage up the Hauraki Gulf, they raided one or two +small Maori _hapus_ and carried off another girl, the daughter of the +chief Te Haupa, or, as he was better known, Te Totara. + + * * * * * + +Early in the following year Captain Bierney, of the London brig +_Commerce_, reported to the Governor of New South Wales that the _Venus_ +had anchored at Te Puna, in New Zealand, and that Kelly had invited a +number of Maoris on board to an orgie. For some time a great state of +drunkenness had prevailed on board; for the _Venus_, among other stores, +carried a large quantity of wines and spirits, intended for the use of +the military at Van Diemen's Land. Her sails and running gear were in a +very bad state, and not the slightest discipline was maintained. + +In answer to the mutineers' invitation, a number of Maoris came on +board, and Kelly, addressing the leading chiefs, told them that he +was perfectly well aware of the fact that he and those with him were +incapable of offering resistance if his visitors attempted to cut off +the ship. But, he said, he had determined to abandon the ship, and +therefore he had invited them on board so that they might take what they +wanted from her; and if they had no objection, he and his wife wished to +live ashore with them for the future. He then broached a cask of rum and +invited them to drink it. + +The Maoris appeared to have fallen in with his suggestion with alacrity, +and the chief gave the leading mutineer and his wife a large _whare_ to +live in, and also two slaves as servants. + +The rest of the tale is incomplete in its details. Of the fate of the +_Venus_ nothing is known. Probably she was burnt by the Maoris. Kelly, +Kitty Hegarty, Charlotte Badger and her child, Thompson, and two others, +lived among the natives for some time. Then the woman Kitty Hegarty +died suddenly while Kelly was away on a warlike excursion with his Maori +friends, and was hastily buried. It was alleged that she was killed by +some women, one of whom was anxious to possess Kelly for her husband. +Kelly himself was captured by a king's ship in 1808, and sent to +England, where he was hanged for piracy. Lancaster was also captured by +the master of an American whale-ship, _The Brothers_ of Nantucket, and +taken to Sydney and hanged. The rest of the mutineers either met with +violent deaths at the hands of the Maoris, or succeeded in living their +lives out as pakeha-Maoris. + +Of the other woman--Charlotte Badger--and her child nothing further was +known, save that in 1808 she and the child were offered a passage to +Port Jackson by Captain Bunker; but she declined, saying she would +rather live with the Maoris than return to New South Wales to be hanged. +This was not unnatural. + +But, long afterwards, in the year 1826, an American whale-ship, the +_Lafayette_ of Salem, reported an incident of her cruise that showed +some light on the end of Charlotte Badger. + +In May 1826, the _Lafayette_ was off 'an unknown island in the South +Seas. It was covered with trees, was about three miles long, and was +inhabited by a small number of natives. The position of this island was +in 22 deg. 30 min. south, 176 deg. 19. min. west.' The weather being +calm at the time and the natives, by the signs and gestures they made to +the ship, evidently friendly, the captain and second mate's boats were +lowered, and, with well-armed crews, pulled ashore. Only some forty or +fifty natives of a light brown colour were on the island, and these, +meeting the white men as they landed, conducted them to their houses +with every demonstration of friendliness. Among the number was a native +of Oahu (Hawaii), named Hula, who had formed one of the crew of the +London privateer _Port-au-prince_, a vessel that had been cut off by +the natives of the Haabai Group, in the Friendly Islands, twenty years +previously. He spoke English well, and informed Captain Barthing of the +_Lafayette_ that the island formed one of the Tonga Group (it is now +known as Pylstaart Island), and that his was the second ship that had +ever visited the place. Another ship, he said, had called at the island +about ten years before (this would be about 1816); that he had gone off +on board, and had seen a very big, stout woman, with a little girl about +eight years of age with her. At first he thought, from her dark skin, +that she was a native, but the crew of the ship (which was a Nantucket +whaler) told him that she was an Englishwoman, who had escaped from +captivity with the Maoris. + +No doubt this was the woman Badger, described in the official account of +the mutiny of the _Venus_ as 'a very corpulent person.' + + + + +A BOATING ADVENTURE IN THE CAROLINES + +In the year 1874 we were cruising leisurely through the Western +Carolines, in the North Pacific, trading at such islands as we touched +at, and making for the Pelew Group, still farther to the westward. But +at that season of the year the winds were very light, a strong ocean +current set continuously to the eastward, and there was every indication +of a solid calm setting in, and lasting, as they do in these latitudes, +for a week. Now, part of our cargo consisted of dried sharks' fins, and +the smell from these was so strong that every one of the three white men +on board was suffering from severe headache. We had a number of native +passengers, and, as they lived in the hold, we could not close the +hatches; they, however, did not mind the nauseating odour in the least. +So, for three or four days, we crawled along, raising the wooded peaks +of Ascension Island (Ponap) one afternoon, and drifting back to the +east so much in the night as to lose them at sunrise. Then followed +another day of a sky of brass above and a steaming wide expanse of oily +sea below, and then, at nightfall, a sweet, cooling breeze from the +north-east, and general happiness, accentuated by a native woman playing +a dissolute-looking accordion, and singing 'Voici le Sabre,' in Tahitian +French. No one cared to sleep that night. Dawn came almost ere we knew +it, and again the blue peaks of Ascension loomed up right ahead. + +Just as we had finished coffee, and our attention was drawn to a number +of boobies and whale-birds resting upon some floating substance half a +mile distant, we discovered a couple of sail ahead, and then another, +and another, all whalers, and, as they were under easy-cruising +canvas--being on the sperm whaling ground--we soon began to overhaul +them. One was a small, full-rigged ship, the others were barques. As we +slipped along after them I ran our little vessel close to the floating +object I have before mentioned, and saw it was a ship's lower mast, +which looked, from the scarcity of marine growth upon it, to have +been in the water but a short time. Shortly after, we passed some more +wreckage, all of which evidently had belonged to a good lump of the +vessel. + +About eleven o'clock we were close to one of the barques--a four-boat +ship, and also carrying a nine-foot dinghy at her stern. She hoisted the +Hawaiian colours in response to ours, and, as the breeze was very light, +I hailed her skipper and we began to talk. Our skipper wanted some +pump-leather; he wanted some white sugar. + +'Come aboard,' he said, 'and have dinner with me. I'll give you a barrel +of 'Frisco potatoes to take back.' + +We lowered our whale-boat, and, taking two hands, I pulled alongside the +barque. Although under the Hawaiian flag, her officers were nearly all +Americans, and, as is always the case in the South Seas, we were soon on +friendly terms. The four ships were all making for Jakoits Harbour, in +Ponap, to wood and water; and I said we would keep company with them. +Our own skipper, I must mention, was just recovering from wild, weird +visions of impossible, imaginary animals, superinduced by Hollands gin, +and I wanted to put him ashore at Ponap for a week or so. + +After dinner the American captain put a barrel of potatoes into +our boat, and I bade him good-bye for the time. The breeze was now +freshening, and, as he decided to get into Jakoits before dark, the +barque made sail, and was soon a good distance ahead of our vessel. + +Between four and five o'clock we saw the foremost whaler--the +ship--brace up sharp, and almost immediately the other three followed +suit. We soon discovered the cause--whales had been sighted, coming down +from windward. The 'pod' or school was nearest to us, and we could see +them quite plainly from the deck. Every now and then one of them would +'breach' and send up a white mass of foam, and by their course I saw +that they would pass between us and the barque--the ship nearest to us. +In less than five minutes there were more than a dozen boats lowered +from the four vessels, all pulling their hardest to reach the whales +first. The creatures came along very leisurely, then, when about a mile +from the schooner, hove-to for a short time; their keen hearing told +them of danger ahead, for three or four of them sounded, and then made +off to windward. These were followed by all the boats from the other +three vessels, and two from the barque, the remaining two belonging to +the latter pulling across our bows, close together and within a hundred +yards of us. + +The rest of the whales--some cows, with their calves, and a bull--after +lying quiet for a short time, also sounded, but soon rose again, quite +close to the two boats. That of the chief mate got 'fast' first to one +of the cows, and away they flew at twelve or thirteen knots. The second +boat was making for the bull, which seemed very uneasy, and was swimming +at a great speed round and round the remaining cows and calves, with +his head high out of the water as if to guard them from danger, when the +monstrous creature again sounded and the boat-header instantly turned +his attention to a cow, which lay perfectly motionless on the water, +apparently too terrified to move. + +Half a dozen strokes sent the boat to within striking distance and the +boat-header called to his boat-steerer to 'Stand up.' The boat-steerer, +who pulls bow oar before a whale is struck, and goes aft after striking, +is also the harpooner, and at the order to stand up, takes in his oar +and seizes his harpoon. After he has darted the iron, and the boat is +backed astern, he comes aft to steer, and the officer takes his place +for'ard, ready to lance the whale at the fitting time. There is no +reason or sense in this procedure, it is merely whaling custom. + +Just as the boat-steerer stood up, iron in hand, the bull rose right +under the boat's stern, lifted her clean out of the water with his head, +and then, as he swept onward, gave her an underclip with his mighty +flukes, smashing her in like an egg-shell and sending men, oars, tub and +lines, and broken timbers, broadcast into the air. Then, with the lady +by his side, he raced away. + +Most fortunately, our own boat was still towing astern, for as we +were so near the land we had not bothered about hoisting her up again, +knowing that we should want her to tow us into Jakoits if the wind fell +light when going through the passage. + +The mate, two Penrhyn Island natives and myself were but a few moments +in hauling her alongside, jumping in, and pulling to the assistance +of the whale-boat's crew, some of whom we could see clinging to the +wreckage. The officer in charge was a little wiry Western Island +Portuguese, and as we came up he called out to us that one of the men +was killed and had sunk, and another, whom he was supporting, had his +leg broken and was unconscious. We lifted them into the boat as quickly +as possible, laid the injured man on his back and started for the +schooner. We had scarcely pulled a dozen strokes when, to our profound +astonishment, we saw her suddenly keep away from us. + +'The captain's come on deck again,' cried one or our native hands to me. + +Sure enough, the skipper was on deck, and at the wheel, and took not the +slightest heed of our repeated hails, except that he merely turned his +head, gave us a brief glance, eased off the main-sheet a bit, and let +the schooner spin away towards the land. We learnt next evening that he +had suddenly emerged on deck from his bunk, given the helmsman a cuff +on the head, and driven him, the steward and the other remaining hand +up for'ard. They and the native passengers, who knew something of his +performances when in liquor, were too frightened to do anything, and let +him have his own way. + +We pulled after the schooner as hard as we could for a quarter of an +hour, then gave it up and steered for the barque, which was now a couple +of miles away. She had been working to windward after the chief +mate's and fourth mate's boats--both of which had quickly killed their +respective whales--when the disaster to the second officer's boat was +seen, and she was now coming towards us. The fourth boat was miles +distant, chasing the main body of the 'pod,' in company with those of +the other barques and the ship. + +By this time it was all but dark; a short, choppy sea had risen, the +wind came in sharp, angry puffs every now and then, and we made scarcely +any headway against it. The barque seemed to be almost standing still, +though she was really coming along at a ripping pace. Presently she +showed a light, and we felt relieved. Just then the man with the broken +leg called to his officer, and asked for a smoke, and I was filling my +pipe for him when the boat struck something hard with a crash, shipped a +sea aft, and at once capsized, several of us being taken underneath her. + +The Portuguese, who was a gallant little fellow, had, with one of the +Penrhyn Islanders, got the wounded man clear, and presently we all found +ourselves clinging to the boat, which was floating bottom-up and badly +bilged. Fortunately, none of us were hurt, but our position was a +dangerous one, and we kept hailing repeatedly, fearing that the barque +would run by us in the darkness, and that the blue sharks would discover +us. Then, to our joy, we saw her close to, bearing right down upon us, +and now came the added terror that she would run us down, unless those +on board could be made to hear our cries and realise our situation. + +Again we raised our voices, and shouted till our lungs were exhausted, +but no answer came, the only sounds we heard being the thrapping +and swash of the waves against our boat. Five minutes--which seemed +hours--passed, and then we suddenly lost sight of the barque's +headlight, and saw the dull gleam of those aft shining through the cabin +ports. + +'Thank God!' said the whaler officer, 'he's bringing to.' + +Scarcely had he spoken when we heard a hail distinctly. + +'Boat ahoy, there, where are you?' + +'In the water. We're capsized,' I answered. + +No response came; then again they hailed, and again we shouted unitedly, +but no reply, and presently we saw a blue light was being burnt on the +starboard side--they were looking for us in the wrong quarter. For some +minutes our suspense was horrible, for, if the captain thought he had +overshot our boat (knowing nothing of the second disaster), he would, +we feared, go off on the other tack. Again they hailed, and again +we answered, though we were now feeling pretty well done up, and the +Portuguese was alternately praying to the saints and consigning his +captain to hell. + +'Hurrah!' cried Tom, one of my Penrhyn Island boys, 'she's filling away +again, and coming down; they've heard us, safe enough.' + +It so happened that they had not heard us at all; but the captain, at +the earnest request of the ship's cooper, who believed that we had been +swamped, and were to leeward, decided to keep away for a short time, and +then again bring-to. Not only was he anxious for us, but for the other +boats, and the dead whales as well; for he feared that, unless he could +get the latter alongside by daylight, and start to cut-in, the sharks +would devour the best part of them. + +A few more minutes passed, and now we saw the barque looming through the +night, and apparently again coming right on top of us. We shouted +and screamed till our voices broke into hoarse groans; and then there +happened a strange thing. That which had caused our misfortune proved +our salvation. We heard a crashing sound, followed by loud cries of +alarm, and then saw the ship lying flat aback, canting heavily over to +port. Presently she righted, and then made a stern-board, and came so +close to us that one of the hands not only heard our cries but saw us in +the water. + +In an instant the captain called to us to cheer up, and said a boat was +coming. 'The ship struck some wreckage, and is making water,' he added. + +We were taken aboard in two trips, the poor, broken-legged sailor +suffering terribly. He had been kept from drowning by one of the Penrhyn +men, who stuck to him like a brick through all the time we were in the +water. Neither of these brave islanders had lost heart for a moment, +though Harry, the elder of the two, was in consumption and not at all +strong. + +As soon as we had sufficiently recovered to be able to talk and tell our +story, we were pleased to hear from the captain that the ship was not +badly injured, and that the pumps--short-handed as he then was--could +easily keep the water down; also that all the other boats were safe, +and had signalled that they had each 'killed,' and were lying by their +whales. + +Early in the morning the four ships were within a few miles of each +other, and each had one or more whales alongside, cutting-in. The +schooner, too, was in sight, lying becalmed under the lee of Ponap. The +captain of the whaler lent me one of his boats, paid me a fair price for +the loss of our own, and otherwise treated us handsomely. He was highly +pleased at having such 'greasy luck,' i.e., getting three fish, and, +besides presenting me with another barrel of potatoes, gave me four +bolts of canvas, and each of our natives came away with a small case of +tobacco, and five dollars in silver. + +We had a long pull to the schooner, and our arrival was hailed with +cries of delight. The skipper, we were pleased to learn, was nearly +dead, having been severely beaten by the women passengers on board, one +of whom, creeping up behind him as he was steering, threw a piece of +_tappa_ cloth over his head, while the others bore him to the deck and +tied him up and hammered him. He told me a few days afterwards that he +had not the slightest recollection of leaving us in the boat. + +The wreckage upon which the whale-ship struck was, so her captain +imagined, the same which had capsized our boat. As far as he could make +out in the darkness, it was a long and wide piece of decking, belonging +to a large ship. Our boat, very probably, had gone half her length +on top of the edge of it, and was then washed off again after she had +bilged; and the strong current had set us clear. + + + + +A CHRISTMAS EVE IN THE FAR SOUTH SEAS + +Donald MacBride and myself were the only Britishers living on one of the +North Pacific island lagoons when Christmas of 1880 drew near, and we +determined to celebrate it in a manner that would fill our German and +American trading rivals throughout the group with envy. MacBride was +a bony, red-headed Scotchman, with a large heart and a small, jealous, +half-caste wife. The latter acquisition ruled him with a rod of iron, +much to his financial and moral benefit, but nevertheless agreed with +me that we--Donald, she and myself--ought to show the Americans and the +'Dutchmen' how an English Christmas should be celebrated. But as Sera +was a half-caste native of the Pelews, and had never been to a civilised +country, she also concurred with me that Donald and myself should run +the show, which, although I was not a married man, was to take place in +my house on account of the greater space available. Donald, she said, +wanted to have a 'hakkise'; so we bought a nanny-goat from Ludwig +Wolfen, the German trader at Molok, and one evening--the 23rd of +December--I helped Sera to drive and drag the unsuspecting creature home +to her husband's place to the slaughter. (I may as well say at once that +MacBride's nanny-goat haggis was a hideous failure, and my boat's +crew, to whom it was handed over, with many strong expressions about +MacBride's beastly provincial taste, said that it _smelt_ good, like +shark's liver, but was not at all so juicy.) + +Meanwhile, Wolfen, a fat, good-hearted Teuton, with a face like a full +moon in a fog, called upon me, and remarked in a squashy tone of voice, +superinduced by too many years of lager beer, and its resultant adipose +tissue, that he and Peter Huysmans, his neighbour, would feel very much +hurt if we did not invite them to participate in the festivities. I said +that 'Blazy-head' (for so we called dear old MacBride) and myself would +be delighted; whereupon Wolfen, who had once, when he was a sailor on +an English ship, spent a Christmas in a public-house somewhere in the +vicinity of the East India Docks, said that the correct thing for us +to do would be to have a Christmas cake; also, he suggested we should +invite Tom Devine and Charley de Buis, the two American traders who +lived across the lagoon, to join the party. Being aware of the fact +that, from trade jealousies, there had hitherto been a somewhat +notorious bitterness of feeling between my German fellow-trader and the +two Americans, I shook his hand warmly, said that I was delighted to see +that he could forgive and forget, and that I should that moment send +my boat across the lagoon to Devine and Charley de Buis with a written +invitation, and ask them to favour us with their company; also, that +as Mrs Charley--who was a Samoan half-caste girl--was skilled in baking +bread, perhaps she would lend Mesdames MacBride, Wolfen and Huysmans her +assistance in making a Christmas cake, the size of which should cause +the native population to sit up and respect us as men of more than +ordinary intelligence and patriotism. + +On the evening of the 24th, three whale-boats, attended by a flotilla of +small native canoes, sailed into the little sandy-beached nook upon the +shores of which the trading station was situated. The three boats were +steered by the Messrs Peter Huysmans, Charles de Buis and Thomas Devine, +who were accompanied by their wives, children and numerous female +relatives, all of the latter being clad in their holiday attire of new +mats, and with their hair excessively anointed with scented coco-nut +oil, scarlet hibiscus flowers behind their ears, and necklaces of +sweet-smelling pieces of pandanus drupes. + +MacBride, Mrs MacBride and I received them the moment they stepped out +of the boats, and then Ludwig Wolfen, who was disposed in the background +with an accordion, and seated on a gin case, played 'The Star Spangled +Banner,' to the accompaniment of several native drums, beaten by his +wife and her sister and brothers. Then my boatman--a stalwart Maori +half-caste--advanced from out the thronging crowd of natives which +surrounded us, and planted in the sand a British red ensign attached +to a tall bamboo pole, and called for three cheers for the Queen of +England, and three for the President of the United States. This at once +gave offence to Ludwig Wolfen, who asked what was the matter with the +Emperor of Germany; whereupon Bill Grey (the Maori) took off his coat +and asked him what he meant, and a fierce encounter was only avoided by +half a dozen strapping natives seizing Billy and making him sit down on +the sand, while the wrathful Ludwig was hustled by Donald MacBride and +Mrs Ludwig and threatened with a hammering if he insulted the gathering +by his ill-timed and injudicious remarks about a foreign potentate. +(Ludwig, I regret to say, had begun his Christmas on the previous +evening.) + +But we were all too merry, and too filled with right good down +comradeship to let such a trifle as this disturb the harmony of our +first Christmas foregathering; and presently Bill Grey, his dark, +handsome face wreathed in a sunny smile, came up to the sulky and +rightly-indignant trader with outstretched hand, and said he was sorry. +And Wolfen, good-hearted German that he was, grasped it warmly, and said +he was sorry too; and then we all trooped up to the house and sat down, +only to rise up again with our glasses clinking together as we drank +to our wives and ourselves and the coming Christmas, and to the brown +smiling faces of the people around us, who wondered why we grew merry +so suddenly; for sometimes, as they knew, we had all quarrelled with one +another, and bitter words had passed; for so it ever is, and ever shall +be, even in the far South Seas, when questions of 'trade' and 'money' +come between good fellowship and old-time _camaraderie_. And then sweet, +dark-eyed Sera, MacBride's young wife, took up her guitar and sang us +love songs in the old Lusitanian tongue of her father; and Tom Devine, +the ex-boat-steerer, and Charley de Buis, the reckless; and Peter +Huysmans, the red-faced, white-haired old Dutchman, all joined hands and +danced around the rough table; while Billy Grey and Ludwig Wolfen stood +on the top of it and sang, or tried to sing, 'Home Sweet Home'; and the +writer of this memory of those old Pacific days sat in a chair in the +doorway and wondered where we should all be the next year. For, as we +sang and danced, and the twang, twang of Sera's guitar sounded through +the silent night without, Tom Devine, the American, held up his hand to +MacBride, and silence fell. + +'Boys,' he said, 'let us drink to the memory of the far-off faces of +those dear ones whom we never may see again!' + +He paused a moment, and then caught sight of Sera as she bent over her +guitar with downcast eyes; 'And to those who are with us now--our wives +and our children, and our friends! Drink, my boys; and the first man +who, either to-night or to-morrow, talks about business and dirty, +filthy dollars, shall get fired out right away before he knows where he +is; for this is Christmas time--and, Sera MacBride, why the devil don't +you play something and keep me from making a fool of myself?' + +So Sera, with a twist of her lithe body and a merry gleam in her full, +big eyes, sang another song; and then long, bony MacBride came over to +her and kissed her on her fair, smooth forehead, whispered something +that we did not hear, and pointed to Charley de Buis, who stood, glass +in hand, at the furthest corner of the big room, his thin, suntanned +face as grave and sober as that of an English judge. + +'Gentlemen'--(then _sotto voce_ to the chairman in the doorway, 'Just +fancy us South Sea loafers calling ourselves gentlemen!')--'gentlemen, +we are here to spend a good time, and I move that we quit speech-making +and start the women on that cake. Tom Devine and myself are, as you +know, members of two of the First Families in America, and only came to +the South Seas to wear out our old clothes--' + +'Shut up,' said Devine; 'we don't want to hear anything about the First +American families; this is an English Christmas, with full-blooded South +Sea trimmings. Off you go, you women, and start on the cake.' + +So Charley de Buis 'shut up,' and then the women, headed by Sera and +Mary Devine, trooped off to the cook-house to beat up eggs for the cake, +and left us to ourselves. When it drew near midnight they returned, and +Peter Huysmans arose, and, twisting his grizzled moustaches, said,-- + +'Mine boys, will you led me dell you dot now is coming der morn ven +Jesus Christ vos born? And vill you blease, Mary Devine, dell dose +natives outside to stop those damdt drums vile I speaks? Und come here +you, MacBride, mit your red het, und you, Ludwig Wolfen, and you Tom +Devine, und you Charley de Buis, you wicked damdt devil, und you, Tom +Denison, you saucy Australian boy, mit your curlt moustache and your +svell vite tuck suit; und led us join our hands together, and agree +to have no more quarrellings und no more angry vorts. For vy should ve +quarrel, as our good friendt says, over dirty dollars, ven dere is room +enough for us all on dis lagoon to get a decent livings? Und den ve +should try und remember dot ve, none of us, is going to live for +ever, and ven ve is dead, ve is dead a damdt long time. But now, mine +friendts, I vill say no more, vor I am dry; so here's to all our good +healths, and let us bromise one another not to haf no more angry vorts.' + +And so we all gathered around the big table, and, grasping each other's +hands, raised our glasses and drank together without speaking, for there +was something--we knew not what--that lay behind Dutch Peter's +little speech which made us _think_. Presently, when a big and gaudy +German-made cuckoo clock in the room struck twelve, even reckless +Charley de Buis forgot his old joke about Tom Denison's 'damned old +squawking British duck,' as he called the little painted bird, and we +all went outside, and sat smoking our pipes on the wide verandah, and +watching the flashing torchlights of the fishing canoes as they paddled +slowly to and fro over the smooth waters of the sleeping lagoon. Then, +almost ere we knew it, the quick red sun had turned the long, black line +of palms on Karolyne to purple, and then to shining green, and Christmas +Day had come. + + * * * * * + +To-night, as a chill December wind wails through the leafless elms +and chestnuts of this quiet Kentish village, I think of that far-away +Christmas eve, and the rough, honest, sun-browned faces of the men who +were around me, and pressed my hand when Peter Huysmans spoke of home +and Christmas, and Tom Devine of 'the dear faces whom we never might see +again.' For only one, with the writer, is left. MacBride and his gentle, +sweet-voiced Sera went to their death a year or two later in the savage +and murderous Solomons; Wolfen and his wife and children perished at sea +when the _Sadie Foster_ schooner turned turtle off the Marshalls; and +Devine and Charley de Buis, comrades to the last, sailed away to the +Moluccas in a ten-ton boat and were never heard of again--their fate is +one of the many mysteries of the deep. Peter Huysmans is alive and well, +and only a year ago I grasped his now trembling hand in mighty London, +and spoke of our meeting on Milli Lagoon. + +And then again, in a garish and tinselled City bar, we raised our +glasses and drank to the memory of those who had gone before. + + +THE END + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Rdan The Devil And Other Stories, by Louis Becke + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RDAN THE DEVIL AND OTHER STORIES *** + +***** This file should be named 24835-8.txt or 24835-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/8/3/24835/ + +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/24835-8.zip b/24835-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..775ec1e --- /dev/null +++ b/24835-8.zip diff --git a/24835-h.zip b/24835-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..4e971c9 --- /dev/null +++ b/24835-h.zip diff --git a/24835-h/24835-h.htm b/24835-h/24835-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..83559f2 --- /dev/null +++ b/24835-h/24835-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,9021 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" /> + <title> + Rídan the Devil and Other Stories, by Louis Becke + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +Project Gutenberg's Rídan The Devil And Other Stories, 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: Rídan The Devil And Other Stories + 1899 + +Author: Louis Becke + +Release Date: March 15, 2008 [EBook #24835] +Last Updated: March 8, 2018 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RÍDAN THE DEVIL AND OTHER STORIES *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + RÍDAN THE DEVIL AND OTHER STORIES + </h1> + <h2> + By Louis Becke + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h4> + Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company 1899 + </h4> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> RÍDAN THE DEVIL </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> A MEMORY OF 'THE SYSTEM' </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="#link2H_4_0006"> A NORTH PACIFIC LAGOON ISLAND </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> BILGER, OF SYDNEY </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> THE VISION OF MILLI THE SLAVE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> DENISON GETS A BERTH ASHORE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> ADDIE RANSOM: A MEMORY OF THE TOKELAUS </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> IN A NATIVE VILLAGE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> MAURICE KINANE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> THE 'KILLERS' OF TWOFOLD BAY </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> DENISON'S SECOND BERTH ASHORE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> A FISH DRIVE ON A MICRONESIAN ATOLL </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0016"> BOBARAN </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0017"> SEA FISHING IN AUSTRALIA </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0018"> AN ADVENTURE IN THE NEW HEBRIDES </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0019"> THE SOUTH SEA BUBBLE OF CHARLES DU BREIL </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0020"> THE WHITE WIFE AND THE BROWN 'WOMAN' </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0021"> WITH HOOK AND LINE ON AN AUSTRAL RIVER </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0022"> THE WRECK OF THE LEONORA: A MEMORY OF 'BULLY' + HAYES </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0023"> AN OLD COLONIAL MUTINY </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0024"> A BOATING ADVENTURE IN THE CAROLINES </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0025"> A CHRISTMAS EVE IN THE FAR SOUTH SEAS </a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <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> + RÍDAN THE DEVIL + </h2> + <p> + Rídan lived alone in a little hut on the borders of the big German + plantation at Mulifenua, away down at the lee end of Upolu Island, and + every one of his brown-skinned fellow-workers either hated or feared him, + and smiled when Burton, the American overseer, would knock him down for + being a 'sulky brute.' But no one of them cared to let Rídan see him + smile. For to them he was a wizard, a devil, who could send death in the + night to those he hated. And so when anyone died on the plantation he was + blamed, and seemed to like it. Once, when he lay ironed hand and foot in + the stifling corrugated iron 'calaboose,' with his blood-shot eyes fixed + in sullen rage on Burton's angered face, Tirauro, a Gilbert Island native + assistant overseer, struck him on the mouth and called him 'a pig cast up + by the ocean.' This was to please the white man. But it did not, for + Burton, cruel as he was, called Tirauro a coward and felled him at once. + By ill-luck he fell within reach of Rídan, and in another moment the + manacled hands had seized his enemy's throat. For five minutes the three + men struggled together, the white overseer beating Rídan over the head + with the butt of his heavy Colt's pistol, and then when Burton rose to his + feet the two brown men were lying motionless together; but Tirauro was + dead. + </p> + <p> + Rídan was sick for a long time after this. A heavy flogging always did + make him sick, although he was so big and strong. And so, as he could not + work in the fields, he was sent to Apia to do light labour in the + cotton-mill there. The next morning he was missing. He had swum to a brig + lying at anchor in the harbour and hidden away in the empty forehold. Then + he was discovered and taken ashore to the mill again, where the foreman + gave him 'a dose of Cameroons medicine'—that is, twenty-five lashes. + </p> + <p> + 'Send him back to the plantation,' said the manager, who was a mere German + civilian, and consequently much despised by his foreman, who had served in + Africa. 'I'm afraid to keep him here, and I'm not going to punish him if + he tries to get away again, poor devil.' + </p> + <p> + So back he went to Mulifanua. The boat voyage from Apia down the coast + inside the reef is not a long one, but the Samoan crew were frightened to + have such a man free; so they tied him hand and foot and then lashed him + down tightly under the midship thwart with strips of green <i>fau</i> + bark. Not that they did so with unnecessary cruelty, but ex-Lieutenant + Schwartzkoff, the foreman, was looking on, and then, besides that, this + big-boned, light-skinned man was a foreigner, and a Samoan hates a + foreigner of his own colour if he is poor and friendless. And then he was + an <i>aitu</i> a devil, and could speak neither Samoan, nor Fijian, nor + Tokelau, nor yet any English or German. + </p> + <p> + Clearly, therefore, he was not a man at all, but a <i>manu</i>—a + beast, and not to be trusted with free limbs. Did not the foreman say that + he was possessed of many devils, and for two years had lived alone on the + plantation, working in the field with the gangs of Tokelau and Solomon + Island men, but speaking to no one, only muttering in a strange tongue to + himself and giving sullen obedience to his taskmasters? + </p> + <p> + But as they talked and sang, and as the boat sailed along the white line + of beach fringed with the swaying palms, Rídan groaned in his agony, and + Pulu, the steersman, who was a big strong man and not a coward like his + fellows, took pity on the captive. + </p> + <p> + 'Let us give him a drink,' he said; 'he cannot hurt us as he is. Else he + may die in the boat and we lose the price of his passage; for the white + men at Mulifanua will not pay us for bringing to them a dead man.' + </p> + <p> + So they cast off the lashings of <i>fau</i> bark that bound Rídan to the + thwart, and Pulu, lifting him up, gave him a long drink, holding the gourd + to his quivering mouth—for his hands were tied behind him. + </p> + <p> + 'Let him rest with his back against the side of the boat,' said Pulu + presently; 'and, see, surely we may loosen the thongs around his wrists a + little, for they are cutting into the flesh.' + </p> + <p> + But the others were afraid, and begged him to let well alone. Then Pulu + grew angry and called them cowards, for, as they argued, Rídan fell + forward on his face in a swoon. + </p> + <p> + When 'the devil' came to and opened his wearied, blood-shot eyes, Pulu was + bathing his forehead with cold water, and his bruised and swollen hands + were free. For a minute or so he gasped and stared at the big Samoan, and + a heavy sigh broke from his broad naked chest. Then he put his hands to + his face—and sobbed. + </p> + <p> + Pulu drew back in wondering pity—surely no devil could weep—and + then, with a defiant glance at the three other Samoans, he stooped down + and unbound Rídan's feet. + </p> + <p> + 'Let him lie,' he said, going aft to the tiller. 'We be four strong men—he + is but as a child from weakness. See, his bones are like to cut through + his skin. He hath been starved.' + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + At dusk they ran the boat along the plantation jetty, and Pulu and another + man led Rfdan up the path to the manager's house. His hands were free, but + a stout rope of cinnet was tied around his naked waist and Pulu held the + end. + </p> + <p> + 'Ah, you dumb, sulky devil; you've come back to us again, have you?' said + Burton, eyeing him savagely. 'I wish Schwartzkoff had kept you up in Apia, + you murderous, yellow-hided scoundrel!' + </p> + <p> + 'What's the use of bully-ragging him?' remarked the plantation engineer, + with a sarcastic laugh; 'he doesn't understand a word you say. Club-law + and the sasa {*} are the only things that appeal to him—and he gets + plenty of both on Mulifanua. Hallo, look at that! Why, he's kissing Pulu's + toe!' + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Whip. +</pre> + <p> + Burton laughed. 'So he is. Look out, Pulu, perhaps he's a <i>kai tagata</i>' + (cannibal). 'Take care he doesn't bite it off.' + </p> + <p> + Pulu shook his mop of yellow hair gravely. A great pity filled his big + heart, for as he had turned to go back to the boat Rídan had fallen upon + his knees and pressed his lips to the feet of the man who had given him a + drink. + </p> + <p> + That night Burton and the Scotch engineer went to Rídan's hut, taking with + them food and a new sleeping-mat. He was sitting cross-legged before a + tiny fire of coco-nut shells, gazing at the blue, leaping jets of flame, + and as the two men entered, slowly turned his face to them. + </p> + <p> + 'Here,' said Burton, less roughly than usual,' here's some <i>kai kai</i> + for you.' + </p> + <p> + He took the food from Burton's hand, set it beside him on the ground, and + then, supporting himself on his gaunt right arm and hand, gave the + overseer one long look of bitter, undying hatred; then his eyes drooped to + the fire again. + </p> + <p> + 'And here, Rídan,' said Craik, the engineer, throwing the sleeping-mat + upon the ground, 'that'll keep your auld bones frae cutting into the + ground. And here is what will do ye mair good still,' and he placed a + wooden pipe and a stick of tobacco in 'the devil's' hand. In a moment + Rídan was on his knees with his forehead pressed to the ground in + gratitude. + </p> + <p> + The men looked at him in silence for a few moments as he crouched at + Craik's feet, with the light of the fire playing upon his tattooed yellow + back and masses of tangled black hair. + </p> + <p> + 'Come awa', Burton, leave the puir deevil to himself. And I'm thinking ye + might try him on the other tack awhile. Ye <i>have not</i> broken the + creature's spirit yet, and I wouldna try to if I were you—for my own + safety. Sit up Rídan, mon, and smoke your pipe.' + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Two years before, Rídan had been brought to Samoa by a German labour-ship, + which had picked him up in a canoe at sea, somewhere off the coast of + Dutch New Guinea. He was the only survivor of a party of seven, and when + lifted on board was in the last stage of exhaustion from thirst and + hunger. Where the canoe had sailed from, and whither bound, no one on + board the <i>Iserbrook</i> could learn, for the stranger spoke a language + utterly unknown to anyone of even the <i>Iserbrook's</i> polyglot ship's + company—men who came from all parts of Polynesia and Micronesia. All + that could be learned from him by signs and gestures was that a great + storm had overtaken the canoe, many days of hunger and thirst had + followed, and then death ended the agonies of all but himself. + </p> + <p> + In a few weeks, and while the brig was thrashing her way back to Samoa + against the south-east trades, Rídan regained his health and strength and + became a favourite with all on board, white and brown. He was quite six + feet in height, with a bright yellow skin, bronzed by the sun; and his + straight features and long black hair were of the true Malayo-Polynesian + type. From the back of his neck two broad stripes of bright blue tattooing + ran down the whole length of his muscular back, and thence curved outwards + and downwards along the back of his thighs and terminated at each heel. No + one on the <i>Iserbrook</i> had ever seen similar tattooing, and many were + the conjectures as to Rídan's native place. One word, however, he + constantly repeated, 'Onêata,' and then would point to the north-west. But + no one knew of such a place, though many did of an Oneaka, far to the + south-east—an island of the Gilbert Group near the Equator. + </p> + <p> + The weeks passed, and at last Rídan looked with wondering eyes upon the + strange houses of the white men in Apia harbour. By-and-by boats came off + to the ship, and the three hundred and odd brown-skinned and black-skinned + people from the Solomons and the Admiralties and the countless islands + about New Britain and New Ireland were taken ashore to work on the + plantations at Vailele and Mulifanua, and Rídan alone was left. He was + glad of this, for the white men on board had been kind to him, and he + began to hope that he would be taken back to Onêata. But that night he was + brought ashore by the captain to a house where many white men were sitting + together, smoking and drinking. They all looked curiously at him and + addressed him in many island tongues, and Rídan smiled and shook his head + and said, 'Me Rídan; me Onêata.' + </p> + <p> + 'Leave him with me, Kühne,' said Burton to the captain of the brig. 'He's + the best and biggest man of the lot you've brought this trip. I'll marry + him to one of my wife's servants, and he'll live in clover down at + Mulifanua.' + </p> + <p> + So early next morning Rfdan was put in a boat with many other new 'boys,' + and he smiled with joy, thinking he was going back to the ship—and + Onêata. But when the boat sailed round Mulinu's Point, and the spars of + the <i>Iserbrook</i> were suddenly hidden by the intervening line of palm + trees, a cry of terror burst from him, and he sprang overboard. He was + soon caught, though he dived and swam like a fish. And then two wild-eyed + Gilbert Islanders held him by the arms, and laughed as he wept and kept + repeating, 'Onëata, Onëata.' + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + From that day began his martyrdom. He worked hard under his overseer, but + ran away again and again, only to be brought back and tied up. Sometimes, + as he toiled, he would look longingly across the narrow strait of sunlit + water at the bright green little island of Manono, six miles away; and + twice he stole down to the shore at night, launched a canoe and paddled + over towards it. But each time the plantation guard-boat brought him back; + and then Burton put him in irons. Once he swam the whole distance, braving + the sharks, and, reaching the island, hid in a taro swamp till the next + night. He meant to steal food and a canoe—and seek for Onëata. But + the Manono people found him, and, though he fought desperately, they + overcame and bound him, and the women cursed him for a Tâfito{*} devil, a + thieving beast, and beat and pelted him as the men carried him back to the + plantation, tied up like a wild boar, to get their ten dollars reward for + him from the manager. And Burton gave him thirty lashes as a corrective. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The Samoans apply the term 'Tâfito' to all natives of the + Gilbert Group and other equatorial islands. The word is an + abbreviation of Taputeauea (Drummond's Island), and 'Tâfito' + is synonymous for 'savage'—in some senses. +</pre> + <p> + Then came long, long months of unceasing toil, broken only by attempts to + escape, recapture, irons and more lashes. The rest of the native labourers + so hated and persecuted him that at last the man's nature changed, and he + became desperate and dangerous. No one but Burton dared strike him now, + for he would spring at an enemy's throat like a madman, and half strangle + him ere he could be dragged away stunned, bruised and bleeding. When his + day's slavery was over he would go to his hut, eat his scanty meal of + rice, biscuit and yam in sullen silence, and brood and mutter to himself. + But from the day of his first flogging no word ever escaped his set lips. + All these things he told afterwards to Von Hammer, the supercargo of the + <i>Mindora</i>, when she came to Mulifanua with a cargo of new 'boys.'{*} + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Polynesian labourers are generally termed 'boys.' +</pre> + <p> + Von Hammer had been everywhere in the North Pacific, so Burton took him to + Rídan's hut, and called to the 'sulky devil' to come out. He came, and + sullenly followed the two men into the manager's big sitting-room, and sat + down cross-legged on the floor. The bright lamplight shone full on his + nude figure and the tangle of black hair that fell about his now + sun-darkened back and shoulders. And, as on that other evening long + before, when he sat crouching over his fire, his eyes sought Burton's face + with a look of implacable hatred. + </p> + <p> + 'See if you can find out where the d—d brute comes from,' said + Burton. + </p> + <p> + Von Hammer looked at Rídan intently for a minute, and then said one or two + words to him in a tongue that the overseer had never before heard. + </p> + <p> + With trembling limbs and a joyful wonder shining in his dark eyes, Rfdan + crept up to the supercargo, and then, in a voice of whispered sobs, he + told his two years' tale of bitter misery. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + 'Very well,' said Burton, an hour later, to Von Hammer, 'you can take him. + I don't want the brute here. But he is a dangerous devil, mind. Where do + you say he comes from?' + </p> + <p> + 'Onêata—Saint David's Island—a little bit of a sandy atoll, as + big as Manono over there, and much like it, too. I know the place well—lived + there once when I was pearling, ten years ago. I don't think the natives + there see a white man more than once in five years. It's a very isolated + spot, off the north-èast coast of New Guinea. “Bully” Hayes used to call + there once. However, let me have him. The <i>Mindora</i> may go to Manila + next year; if so, I'll land him at Onêata on our way there. Anyway, he's + no good to you. And he told me just now that he has been waiting his + chance to murder you.' + </p> + <p> + The <i>Mindora</i> returned to Apia to take in stores, and Von Hammer took + Rídan with him, clothed in a suit of blue serge, and with silent happiness + illumining his face. For his heart was leaping within him at the thought + of Onêata, and of those who numbered him with the dead; and when he + clambered up the ship's side and saw Pulu, the big Samoan, working on deck + with the other native sailors, he flung his arms around him and gave him a + mighty hug, and laughed like a pleased child when Von Hammer told him that + Pulu would be his shipmate till he saw the green land and white beach of + Onêata once more. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Six months out from Samoa the <i>Mindora</i> was hove-to off Choiseul + Island, in the Solomon Group, waiting for her boat. Von Hammer and four + hands had gone ashore to land supplies for a trader, and the brig was + awaiting his return. There was a heavy sea running on the reef as the boat + pushed off from the beach in the fast-gathering darkness; but who minds + such things with a native crew? So thought Von Hammer as he grasped the + long, swaying steer oar, and swung the whale-boat's head to the white line + of surf. 'Give it to her, boys; now's our chance—there's a bit of a + lull now, eh, Pulu? Bend to it, Rídan, my lad.' + </p> + <p> + Out shot the boat, Pulu pulling stroke, Rídan bow-oar, and two sturdy, + square-built Savage Islanders amidships. Surge after surge roared and + hissed past in the darkness, and never a drop of water wetted their naked + backs; and then, with a wild cry from the crew and a shouting laugh from + the steersman, she swept over and down the edge of the reef and gained the + deep water—a second too late! Ere she could rise from the blackened + trough a great curling roller towered high over, and then with a bursting + roar fell upon and smothered her. When she rose to the surface Von Hammer + was fifty feet away, clinging to the steer-oar. A quick glance showed him + that none of the crew were missing—they were all holding on to the + swamped boat and 'swimming' her out away from the reef, and shouting + loudly for him to come alongside. Pushing the steer-oar before him, he + soon reached the boat, and, despite his own unwillingness, his crew + insisted on his getting in. Then, each still grasping the gunwale with one + hand, they worked the boat out yard by yard, swaying her fore and aft + whenever a lull in the seas came, and jerking the water out of her by + degrees till the two Savage Islanders were able to clamber in and bale out + with the wooden bucket slung under the after-thwart, while the white man + kept her head to the sea. But the current was setting them steadily along, + parallel with the reef, and every now and then a sea would tumble aboard + and nearly fill her again. At last, however, the Savage Islanders got her + somewhat free of water, and called to Pulu and Rídan to get in—there + were plenty of spare canoe-paddles secured along the sides in case of an + emergency such as this. + </p> + <p> + 'Get in, Pulu, get in,' said Rfdan to the Samoan, in English; 'get in + quickly.' + </p> + <p> + But Pulu refused. He was a bigger and a heavier man than Rfdan, he said, + and the boat was not yet able to bear the weight of a fourth man. This was + true, and the supercargo, though he knew the awful risk the men ran, and + urged them to jump in and paddle, yet knew that the additional weight of + two such heavy men as Rfdan and Pulu meant death to all, for every now and + then a leaping sea would again fill the boat to the thwarts. + </p> + <p> + And then suddenly, amid the crashing sound of the thundering rollers on + the reef, Rídan raised his voice in an awful shriek. + </p> + <p> + '<i>Quick! Pulu, quick!</i> Some shark hav' come. Get in, get in first,' + he said in his broken English. And as he spoke he grasped the gunwale with + both hands and raised his head and broad shoulders high out of the water, + and a bubbling, groan-like sound issued from his lips. + </p> + <p> + In an instant the big Samoan swung himself into the boat, and Von Hammer + called to Rídan to get in also. + </p> + <p> + 'Nay, oh, white man!' he answered, in a strange choking voice, 'let me + stay here and hold to the boat. We are not yet safe from the reef. But + paddle, paddle... quickly!' + </p> + <p> + In another minute or two the boat was out of danger, and then Rídan's + voice was heard. + </p> + <p> + 'Lift me in,' he said quietly, 'my strength is spent.' + </p> + <p> + The two Savage Islanders sprang to his aid, drew him up over the side, and + tumbled him into the boat. Then, without a further look, they seized their + paddles and plunged them into the water. Rídan lay in a huddled-up heap on + the bottom boards. + </p> + <p> + 'Exhausted, poor devil!' said Von Hammer to himself, bending down and + peering at the motionless figure through the darkness. Then something warm + flowed over his naked foot as the boat rolled, and he looked closer at + Rídan, and— + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, my God!' burst from him—both of Rídan's legs were gone—bitten + off just above the knees. + </p> + <p> + Twenty minutes later, as the boat came alongside the <i>Mindora</i>, Rídan + 'the devil' died in the arms of the man who had once given him a drink. + </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> + A MEMORY OF 'THE SYSTEM' + </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> + The house in which I lived from my birth till I was twelve years of age + stood on the green-grassed slopes of a treeless bluff which overlooked the + blue waters of the sunlit Pacific. Except for a cluster of five or six + little weatherboard cottages perched on the verge of the headland, half a + mile away, and occupied by the crew of the Government pilot boat, there + were no other dwellings near, for the 'town,' as it was called, lay out of + sight, on the low, flat banks of a tidal river, whose upper waters were + the haunt and breeding places of the black swan, the wild duck and the + pelican. + </p> + <p> + My father was the principal civil official in the place, which was called + Bar Harbour, one of the smaller penal settlements in Australia, founded + for what were called 'the better class' of convicts, many of whom, having + received their emancipation papers, had settled in the vicinity, and had + become prosperous and, in a measure, respected settlers, though my father, + who had a somewhat bitter tongue, said that no ex-convict could ever be + respected in the colony until he had lent money to one or other of the + many retired military or civil officers who held large Crown grants of + land in the district and worked them with convict labour; for, while + numbers of the emancipists throve and became almost wealthy, despite the + many cruel and harassing restrictions imposed upon them by the unwritten + laws of society (which yet academically held them to be purged of their + offences), the grand military gentlemen and their huge estates generally + went to ruin—mostly through their own improvidence, though such + misfortunes, our minister, the Reverend Mr Sampson, said, in the sermons + he preached in our hideous, red-brick church, were caused by an + 'inscrutable Providence'—their dwellings and store houses were + burnt, their cattle and sheep disappeared, and their 'assigned' labourers + took to the bush, and either perished of starvation or became bushrangers + and went to the gallows in due course. + </p> + <p> + My mother, who was a gentle, tender-hearted woman, and seemed to live and + move and have her being only for the purpose of making happy those around + her, was, being English-born (she was of a Devonshire family), a constant + church-goer, not for the sake of appearances, for her intelligence was too + great for her to be bound by such a shallow reason, but because she was a + simple, good and pure-minded woman, and sought by her example to make a + protest against the scandalous and degraded lives led by many of the + soldier officers and officials with whom she and her children were brought + in almost daily contact, for my father, being an all too generous man, + kept open house. But although she was always sweet-tempered and sometimes + merry with the hard-drinking old Peninsular veterans, and the noisy and + swaggering subalterns of the ill-famed 102nd Regiment (or New South Wales + Corps), she always shuddered and looked pale and ill at ease when she saw + among my father's guests the coarse, stern face of the minister, and her + dislike of the clergyman was shared by all we children, especially by my + elder brother Harry (then sixteen years of age), who called him 'the + flogging parson' and the 'Reverend Diabolical Howl.' This latter nickname + stuck, and greatly tickled Major Trenton, who repeated it to the other + officers, and one day young Mr Moore of the 102nd, who was clever at such + things, made a sketch of the cleric as he appeared when preaching, which + set them all a-laughing immoderately. + </p> + <p> + 'God alive!' cried old Major Trenton, holding the picture in his left + hand, and bringing down his right upon the table with a thump that set all + the glasses jingling, ''tis a perfect likeness of him, and yet, Moore, if + ye had but given him a judge's wig and robes instead of a cassock, he + would be the double of damned old hanging Norbury up there,' pointing to + the picture of an Irish judge which hung on the wall. 'Come,' he added, + 'Mrs Egerton must see this. I know our hostess loves the gentle parson.' + </p> + <p> + So three or four of them, still laughing boisterously, left the table to + look for my mother, whom they found sitting on the latticed-in verandah, + which on hot summer days was used as a drawing-room. She, too, laughed + heartily at the sketch, and said 'twas wonderfully drawn, and then my + brother Harry asked Mr Moore to give it to him. This the young lieutenant + did, though my mother begged him to destroy it, lest Mr Sampson should + hear of the matter and take offence. But my brother promised her not to + let it go out of his keeping, and there the thing ended—so we + thought. + </p> + <p> + Yet, in some way, my mother's convict and free servants came to hear of + the picture—they had already bandied about the parson's nickname—and + every one of them, on some cunning excuse, had come to my brother's room + and laughed at the drawing; and very often when they saw the clergyman + riding past the house, attended by his convict orderly, they would say, + with an added curse, 'There goes “Diabolical Howl,'” for they all hated + the man, because, being a magistrate as well as a minister, he had + sentenced many a prisoner to a dreadful flogging and had watched it being + administered. + </p> + <p> + But perhaps it was not altogether on account of the floggings in which he + so believed for which he was so detested—for floggings were common + enough for even small breaches of the regulations of the System—but + for the spiritual admonition with which he dosed them afterwards, while + their backs were still black and bloody from the cat. Once, when an old + convict named Callaghan was detected stealing some sugar belonging to one + of the pilot boat's crew, my mother went to Dr Parsons, who, with the + Reverend Mr Sampson, was to hear the charge against Callaghan on the + following morning, and begged him not to have the man flogged; and Tom + King, the man from whom the sugar was stolen, went with her and joined his + pleadings to hers. + </p> + <p> + 'Now, come, doctor,' said my mother, placing her hand on the old officer's + arm and smiling into his face, 'you <i>must</i> grant me this favour. The + man is far too old to be flogged. And then he was a soldier himself once—he + was a drummer boy, so he once told me, in the 4th Buffs.' + </p> + <p> + 'The most rascally regiment in the service, madam. Every one of them + deserved hanging. But,' and here his tone changed from good-humoured + banter into sincerity, 'I honour you, Mrs Egerton, for your humanity. The + man is over sixty, and I promise you that he shall not be flogged. Why, he + is scarce recovered yet from the punishment inflicted on him for stealing + Major Innes's goose. But yet he is a terrible old rascal.' + </p> + <p> + 'Never mind that,' said my mother, laughing. 'Major Innes should keep his + geese from straying about at night-time. And then, doctor, you must + remember that poor Callaghan said that he mistook the bird for a pelican—it + being dark when he killed it.' + </p> + <p> + 'Ha, ha,' laughed the doctor, 'and no doubt Mr Patrick Callaghan only + discovered his mistake when he was cooking his pelican, and noticed its + remarkably short bill.' + </p> + <p> + My mother left, well pleased, but on the following morning, while we were + at our mid-day meal, she was much distressed to hear that old Callaghan + had received fifty lashes after all—the good doctor had been thrown + from his horse and so much hurt that he was unable to attend the court, + and another magistrate—a creature of Mr Sampson's—had taken + his place. The news was brought to us by Thomas King, and my mother's pale + face flushed with anger as, bidding King to go into the kitchen and get + some dinner, she turned to my father (who took but little heed of such a + simple thing as the flogging of a convict), and said hotly,— + </p> + <p> + ''Tis shameful that such cruelty can be perpetrated! I shall write to the + Governor himself—he is a just and humane man—oh, it is wicked, + wicked,' and then she covered her face with her hands and sobbed aloud. + </p> + <p> + My father was silent. He detested the parson most heartily, but was too + cautious a man, in regard to his own interest, to give open expression to + his opinions, so beyond muttering something to my brother Harry about + Thomas King having no business to distress her, he was about to rise from + the table, when a servant announced that the Reverend Mr Sampson wished to + see him. + </p> + <p> + The mention of the clergyman's name seemed to transform my mother into + another woman. Quickly, but gently, putting aside my sister Frances, whose + loving arms were clasped around her waist, she rose, and fire flashed in + her eyes as she said to the servant,— + </p> + <p> + 'Denham, tell Mr Sampson that I desire to speak with him as soon as he has + finished his business with Mr Egerton.' + </p> + <p> + My father went out to the drawing-room, where the clergyman awaited him, + and for the next ten minutes or so my mother walked quickly to and fro in + the dining-room, bidding us remain seated, and in a harsh, unnatural tone + to one so sweet and gentle, she told the servants who waited to withdraw. + </p> + <p> + 'Mr Sampson is at your service, madam,' said Denham, opening the door. + </p> + <p> + 'Show him in here,' said my mother, sharply, and her always pale face grew + paler still. + </p> + <p> + The clergyman entered, and extended his fat, white hand to her; she drew + back and bowed coldly. + </p> + <p> + 'I do not desire to shake hands with you, sir.' + </p> + <p> + Mr Sampson's red face flushed purple. + </p> + <p> + 'I do not understand you, madam. Is this a jest—or do you forget who + I am?' + </p> + <p> + 'I shall try to make you understand me, Mr Sampson, in as few words as + possible. I do not jest, and I do not forget who you are. I have a request + to make.' + </p> + <p> + 'Indeed! I feel honoured, madam,' and the corners of the clergyman's thick + lips turned contemptuously down—'and that is—?' + </p> + <p> + 'That you will cease your visits to this house. It would be painful indeed + to me to receive you as a guest from this time forth, for this very day it + is my intention to write to the Governor and acquaint him with the + shocking act of cruelty committed this morning—'twas a shameful, + cruel deed to flog an old man so cruelly.' + </p> + <p> + Mr Sampson's face was now livid with the rage he could not suppress. + </p> + <p> + 'Beware, madam, of what you say or do. 'Tis a pretty example you set your + children to thus insult a clergyman.' + </p> + <p> + My mother's answer cut like a whip-lash. 'A clergyman such as you, Mr + Sampson, can inspire naught in their childish minds but fear and + abhorrence,' and then she pulled the bell cord so violently that not only + Denham but my father entered as well. + </p> + <p> + 'Show Mr Sampson out,' she said in accents of mingled anger and scorn, and + then turning to the window nearest, she seemed to be gazing unconcernedly + upon the blue expanse of ocean before her; but her little hands were + clasped tightly together, and her whole frame trembled with excitement. + </p> + <p> + As soon as the clergyman had mounted his horse and ridden off, my father + returned to the dining-room. + </p> + <p> + 'You have made a bitter enemy of a man who can do me much harm,' he began; + but something in my mother's face made him cease from further reproaches, + and he added lightly, that he hoped 'twould soon blow over. + </p> + <p> + 'Charles,' said my mother, who was now herself again, 'it must <i>not</i> + blow over. The Governor shall know of this man's doings. And never again + shall I or my children enter the church when he preaches. To-night, I + suppose, he will visit that wretched old man—the victim of his + brutality—and administer “spiritual admonition.” Come, children, let + us go to the beach and forget that that dreadful man has been here.' + </p> + <p> + It was, I think, this practice of 'administering admonition' to convicts + after he had had them sentenced to a severe flogging that first gave my + mother such an utter abhorrence of the man, together with his habit of + confining his sermons to the prisoners to the one subject—their own + criminal natures and the terrors of hell-fire everlasting. Then, too, his + voice was appalling to hear, for he had a way of suddenly dropping his + harsh, metallic tones, and raising his voice to a howl, like to that of a + hungry dingo.{*} + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The native dog of Australia, whose long, accentuated howl + is most distressing to hear. +</pre> + <p> + Often did I, when sitting in our great square pew in that dreadful, + horrible church, press close to my mother's side and bury my face in her + dress, as he lashed himself into a fury and called down the vengeance of a + wrathful God upon the rows of silent, wretched beings clad in yellow, who + were seated on long stools in the back of the church, guarded by soldiers, + who, with loaded muskets, were stationed in the gallery above. Some of the + convicts, it was said, had sworn to murder him if an opportunity served, + and this no doubt made him the more merciless and vindictive to any one of + them who was so unfortunate as to be charged before him in his capacity of + magistrate. By the Regulations he could not sit alone to deal out + punishment, and sometimes had difficulty in finding a colleague, + especially among the military men, who nearly always protested against his + fondness for the cat; but there were always to be found, in the end, + magistrates who would do anything to please him, for it was known that he + had great influence with the Home Government, and was not chary of using + it on behalf of those who truckled to him, if he so inclined; and, indeed, + both Major Trenton and Dr Parsons said that he was a man with many good + points, and could be, to those who pleased him, a good friend, as well as + a bitter enemy to those who in any way crossed him. But they asserted that + he should never have been appointed a magistrate in a colony where the + penal laws gave such latitude to his violent temper and arbitrary + disposition. + </p> + <p> + Early one morning in December, and three months after the drawing of the + picture by Lieutenant Moore, my two brothers and myself set off on a + fishing excursion to a tidal lagoon whose waters debouched into the + Pacific, about fifteen miles southward from the little township. Behind us + followed a young man named Walter Trenfield, who was one of my father's + assigned servants, and an aboriginal named 'King Billy'; these two carried + our provisions, cooking utensils and blankets, for we intended to camp out + for two or three days. + </p> + <p> + A half-an-hour's walk over the slopes of the bluff brought us to the + fringe of the dense coastal forest, through which our track lay for + another two or three miles before we again came to open country. There + was, however, a very good road, made by convict labour, through the scrub + as far as it went; it ran almost along the very verge of the steep-to + coast, and as we tramped over the rich red soil we had the bright blue sea + beneath us on our left, and the dark and almost silent bush on our right. + I say 'almost,' for although in these moist and sunless seaboard tracts of + what we Australian-born people call bush, and English people would call + wood or forest, there was no sound of human life, there was yet always to + be heard the <i>thump, thump</i> of the frightened scrub wallaby, and now + and again the harsh, shrieking note of the great white cockatoo, or the + quick rush of a long-tailed iguana over the thick bed of leaves, as the + timid reptile fled to the nearest tree, up whose rugged bole it crawled + for security. + </p> + <p> + We had come some three or four miles upon our way, when we suddenly + emerged from the darkness and stillness of the scrub out into the light of + day and the bright sunshine, and heard the low murmur of the surf beating + upon the rocks below. Here we sat down to rest awhile and feast our boyish + eyes on the beauties of sea and shore and sky around us. A few hundred + yards away from where we sat was a round, verdured cone called 'Little + Nobby'; it rose steep-to from the sea to a height of about three hundred + feet, and formed a very striking and distinct landmark upon that part of + the coast—bold and rugged as it was—for a stretch of three + score miles. Presently, as we lay upon the grass, looking out upon the + sea, Walter Trenfield and the aboriginal joined us, and whilst they made a + fire to boil a billy of tea, my brother Harry, hearing the call of a wonga + pigeon, picked up his gun and went into the scrub to shoot it. + </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> + I must now relate something of the previous history of this young man + Trenfield. He was a native of Bideford, in Devon—my mother's county—and + had been a sailor. Some years before, he, with another young man named + Thomas May, had been concerned in a mutiny on board a London whale-ship, + the <i>Jason</i>, and both men were sentenced to fourteen years' penal + servitude, it being believed, though not proven, that either Trenfield or + May had killed one of the officers with a blow of the fist. They were, + with six of their shipmates, tried at the Old Bailey, and although a + Quaker gentleman, a Mr Robert Bent, who had visited them in prison, gave a + lawyer fifty guineas to defend them, the judge said that although the + death of the officer could not be sheeted home to either of them, there + was no doubt of their taking part in the mutiny—with which offence + they were charged. After spending three months in one of the convict hulks + they were sent out to Sydney in the <i>Breckenbridge</i> transport. But + before they sailed they were several times visited by Mr Bent, who told + them that he would always bear them in mind, and should endeavour to have + their sentences reduced if he heard good word of their future conduct from + his agent in Sydney; this Mr Bent was the owner of several of the + Government transports, which, after discharging their cargo of convicts, + would sail upon a whaling cruise to the South Seas. More than this, he + said that he would give them berths on one of his vessels as soon as they + regained their freedom, and that he had written to his agent to that + effect. + </p> + <p> + It so happened that this agent, a Mr Thomas Campbell, was a friend of my + father's, who also knew Mr Bent, and so when the <i>Breckenbridge</i> + arrived at Sydney he succeeded in having Trenfield assigned to him, and + Thomas May to a contractor who was building a bridge for the Government + over a river in the vicinity of Bar Harbour. + </p> + <p> + The two young seamen were very much attached to each other, and their + cheerful dispositions, good conduct and unceasing industry led to their + being granted many privileges. Both my father and my mother had taken a + strong liking to Trenfield; and so, too, had Ruth Kenna, a young free + female servant of ours. As for we boys, we simply worshipped both + Trenfield and May as heroes who had sailed in the far South Seas and + harpooned and killed the mighty sperm whale, and had fought with the wild + and naked savages of the Pacific Isles. + </p> + <p> + Ruth Kenna was the daughter of a small farmer in the district, who had + been emancipated by the good Governor. He was a widower, and a rough, + taciturn man, but passionately devoted to Ruth, who was his only child. He + had been transported for having taken part in the disastrous Irish + rebellion of '98,' and his young wife had followed him to share his exile. + The terrors and hardships of the long voyage out killed her, for she died + almost as soon as she landed, without seeing her husband, and leaving her + infant child to the kindly care of the officers of the detachment of the + regiment which had come out in the same ship. By them the infant girl had + been placed in the charge of a respectable female convict, who, at my + mother's expense, had kept her till she was ten years of age. Then she + came to us as a servant, and had remained ever since. + </p> + <p> + Very often my father—though he pretended, as became his official + position in a Crown Colony, to have a great dislike to Irish Roman + Catholics—would allow we boys to go to Patrick Kenna's farm to shoot + native bears and opossums, which were very plentiful thereabout, for the + land was very thickly timbered with blue gum, tallow-wood and native + apple. The house itself stood on the margin of a small tidal creek, whose + shallow waters teemed with fish of all descriptions, and in the winter + Kenna would catch great numbers of whiting, bream and sea mullet, which he + salted and dried and sold to the settlers who lived inland. He lived quite + alone, except from Saturday morning till Sunday morning, when Ruth stayed + with him and straightened up the rough house. Sometimes Ruth would + persuade my mother to let my brother Will and myself stay with them for + the night, and dearly did we love going; for her father, though a silent, + cold-mannered man to most people, was always different to any one of us + Egertons, and never even grumbled when we got into mischief, though he + pretended to be very angry. Once, indeed, he had good cause to be—as + I shall relate. + </p> + <p> + One Saturday evening, after we had finished our supper, Patrick Kenna + found that he had run out of tobacco, and said that if we were not afraid + of being left by ourselves for a few hours he would walk into Bar Harbour + and buy some before the store closed, returning before midnight. Of course + we did not mind, and in a few minutes Ruth's father set out, accompanied + by 'King Billy' and one or two other black-fellows who were in hopes of + selling some wild honey for a bottle or two of rum. We watched them + disappear into the darkness of the forest, and then, as the night was + suitable, my brother Will proposed that we should all go down to the creek + and fish for black bream. + </p> + <p> + 'The tide is coming in, Ruth,' he said gleefully, 'and we'll have fine + sport. I'll go on first and light a fire on the bank.' + </p> + <p> + Presently, as Ruth and I were getting ready our lines, he dashed into the + house again, panting with excitement. + </p> + <p> + 'Never mind the lines. Oh, I have glorious news! The salmon are coming in, + in swarms, and the water is alive with them! Ruth, let us get the net and + put it right across the creek as soon as it is slack water. 'Twill be + glorious.' + </p> + <p> + Now, we knew that the sea salmon had been seen out at sea a few days + before, but it was yet thought to be too soon for their vast droves to + enter the rivers and lagoons. But Will was quite right, for when we + dragged down the heavy net we found that the water, which half an hour + before, though under the light of myriad stars, had been black and silent, + was now a living sheet of phosphorescent light, caused by the passage up + the creek of countless thousands of agitated fish, driven in by hundreds + of porpoises and savage, grey ocean-haunting sharks, whose murderous forms + we could see darting to and fro just outside the shallow bar, charging + into and devouring the helpless, compact masses of salmon, whose very + numbers prevented them from escaping; for serried legion after legion from + the sea swam swiftly in to the narrow passage and pressed upon those which + were seeking to force their way up to the shallow, muddy waters five miles + beyond—where alone lay safety from the tigers of the sea. + </p> + <p> + Ruth Kenna, as wild with excitement as my brother and myself, took up one + pole of the net and sprang into the water, leaving Will and I to pay out + on our side. She was a tall, strong girl, but what with the force of the + inward current and the mad press of the terrified salmon, she could barely + reach the sand-spit on the other shore, though the passage was not fifty + feet across. But she managed to struggle ashore and secure her end of the + net by jamming the pole between some logs of driftwood which lay upon the + sand. Then, with a loud, merry laugh, she bade me run up to the house and + bring her a petticoat and bodice, and leaping into the water she swam + across again and helped Will to properly secure his end of the net to the + bole of a tea tree. + </p> + <p> + Old as I am now, the memory of that happy, happy night lives with me yet. + By the light of a huge fire of logs we sat and watched the net, which, as + the tide ebbed, curved outward to the sea, though the salmon without still + tried to force a passage into the creek, and the ravening sharks outside + the deep water of the bar rushed through and through their close-packed + ranks and gorged themselves till they rolled about, with distended + bellies, as if they were water-logged baulks of timber. + </p> + <p> + As we sat by the fire, waiting for the tide to run out, we heard the dogs + barking and knew that Patrick Kenna had returned. Presently we heard him + walking down towards us, and at the same moment Ruth uttered an + exclamation of terror and pointed to the water. + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, look! look! There are a lot of sharks inside, coming down the creek. + Quick! let this end of the net go, or they will be caught in it and tear + it to pieces!' + </p> + <p> + Her father was alive to the danger. Springing before us, he cut the end of + the line fastened to the tea-tree; but he was too late, for before the net + had tailed out to the current four or five sharks had dashed into it and + entangled themselves in its meshes, and in ten minutes the net was utterly + ruined, for although the sharks could not use their teeth, the great + weight of their gorged bodies and their furious struggles soon tore the + bight of it to shreds. + </p> + <p> + Kenna watched the destruction of the net in silence. As he stood in the + light of the fire, his dark, rugged face showed no sign of the anger that + must have burned within him at our thoughtless conduct. + </p> + <p> + 'Ye might have waited till I was back, Ruth,' he said quietly; 'there's as + good a net as was ever made gone to ruin. And sure 'twas a mad thing for + ye to do when th' ravening sharks were so plentiful.' + </p> + <p> + Of course my father and mother were very angry with us, and sent Kenna + five pounds to partly pay for the damage done. He sent it back by Ruth, + and said that he would be a poor creature to take it, for the mishap was + caused by Ruth's folly, and that we boys were in no way to blame. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Almost every alternate evening Tom May would come to our house, and go to + Walter Trenfield's quarters, which were in a large airy loft over our + stable, and the two young men would dress and sew the skins of the + wallabies and 'possums which my brothers had shot. My mother never + objected to us staying with them till about ten o'clock, and Ruth, too, + often came and made coffee for us all. Both May and Trenfield always + behaved well and soberly, and although they had been whale-ship sailors + they were always very careful in their language when we were with them. + Some time before my mother's angry interview with Mr Sampson she had + mentioned, in his hearing, to Major Trenton's wife, that her boys were + greatly attached to the two young men, whose stories of their former sea + life were very exciting, and so forth, whereupon the clergyman said sourly + that both were dangerous villains who should not be trusted, and she would + do well to prevent the further intercourse of her children with such + rascals. + </p> + <p> + My mother bowed stiffly to him, and said gently that she thought he was + mistaken greatly in their characters; also she was well able to look after + her children's morals; but Mrs Trenton, a sharp-tongued old Irishwoman, + who hated the parson and loved my mother, spoke out pretty plainly. + </p> + <p> + 'No one but a clergyman would make such a rude speech to a lady, sir. A + man who <i>called</i> himself a gentleman would be made to account for his + lack of manners.' + </p> + <p> + One Saturday afternoon, as Walter Trenfield and Ruth were driving the cows + down to the creek to drink, and Will and I were idling about on the + seaward hill, we saw Patrick Kenna ride up to the house, dismount and + knock. He only remained indoors a few minutes, and presently we saw him + galloping towards Trenfield and Ruth, with whom he stayed talking for even + a still shorter time; then, without taking any notice of us—which + was most unusual for him—he put spurs to his horse and rode straight + for the scrub, towards his home. + </p> + <p> + 'There is something the matter,' said Will. 'See, there is Walter running + up to the house again. Come, let us see what it is.' + </p> + <p> + We ran home, and entering by the garden gate saw that Walter was talking + to my mother on the back verandah. She seemed very troubled and almost on + the verge of crying, and we soon heard the news, which was bad enough. + Thomas May had been given a hundred lashes and had taken to the bush. + </p> + <p> + It appeared that May, whom we had not seen for one or two weeks, had been + working under an overseer named Cross, at a place about ten miles from the + town. (This man Cross was of a notoriously savage disposition, and had + himself been a convict in Van Diemen's Land, but had received a pardon for + having shot and killed a bushranger there.) + </p> + <p> + May, with the rest of his gang, was felling timber, when a heavy chip flew + from the tallow-wood tree upon which he was working, and struck the + overseer in the face. Cross at once flew into a violent passion, and with + much foul language accused poor May of having thrown the chip at him. This + the young fellow warmly denied, whereupon Cross, taking his pistol out of + his belt, struck the sailor on the mouth with the butt. In an instant May + returned the blow by knocking the overseer down, and was then seized by + two of his fellow-convicts. He was ironed and taken into town, and on the + following morning was brought before Mr Sampson and another magistrate. It + was no use of his pleading provocation, he received his flogging within a + few hours. Towards daylight he crept out of his hut, broke into his + master's storeroom, and took a musket, powder and ball, and as much food + as he could carry, telling a fellow-prisoner that he would perish in the + bush rather than be taken alive. + </p> + <p> + On the fifth night after his escape, and whilst the constables were + scouring the country in search of him, he came to Patrick Kenna's house. + The night was very dark and the rain descending in torrents; so, there + being no fear of intruders, Kenna barred his door and made the poor fellow + comfortable by giving him a change of clothes, a good meal and some + tobacco to smoke. Tom inquired very eagerly after Walter, and sent him a + long message, and then told Kenna some startling news. + </p> + <p> + Two days after he had absconded, and when he was quite thirty miles + distant from Bar Harbour, he saw smoke arising from a dense scrub. + Creeping along on his hands and knees he saw two men—escaped + convicts like himself—engaged in skinning a wallaby. He at once made + himself known to them and was welcomed. After a meal from the wallaby, the + two men asked him if he would join them in a plan they had of getting away + from the country; he was just the man, they said, being a sailor, who + could bring the attempt to a successful issue. Then they told him that, + many weeks previously, they had found a whale-boat lying capsized on the + beach some miles away, and that she was perfectly sound. By great labour + they had succeeded in dragging her up into the margin of the scrub on the + beach, where they had turned her over and covered her carefully with dead + branches. A further search along the beach had resulted in their finding + an oar and one of the line tubs,{*} but that was all. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * English whale-ship boats generally used two line tub's— + American only one. No doubt this boat was lost from an + English whaler, the <i>Britannia</i>, then on the coast. +</pre> + <p> + Of course poor Tom May was greatly taken with this, and said that he would + join them, and that he thought Walter Trenfield would come as well. He + went with the men to look at the boat, and found her just as they had said—almost + new and quite watertight. He agreed to return to within a safe distance of + Bar Harbour, and, through Patrick Kenna, let Trenfield know of the + discovery of the boat and get him to help them to fit her out properly. + Oars and a mast they could easily make, had they the tools, and a sail + could also be obtained through either Ruth or her father, who could get + them enough coarse calico for the purpose. + </p> + <p> + Kenna promised to help, although he told Tom he should try to dissuade + Walter from joining in the enterprise. Just before daylight May bid Kenna + good-bye, as he was anxious to return to the other two convicts and tell + them that they had friends who would help them. Before he left, however, + he arranged with Kenna that the latter should bring the required articles + one by one—especially two breakers of water—to the foot of + Little Nobby's and hide them in the scrub at the spot agreed upon. Then, + when all was ready and a dark night favoured, May and the other two men + were to launch the boat and make their way with all speed down the coast + to Little Nobby's—nearly twenty miles distant from where the boat + was hidden—take on board the water and provisions and put to sea; it + being May's intention, whether Trenfield joined him or not, to make to the + northward for Timor in the East Indies. Then, with a warm hand-grasp, they + parted; and never again was Thomas May seen alive. + </p> + <p> + On the following morning Kenna contrived to see Walter and tell him that + his former shipmate was safe, and what was afoot. Of course Walter was + overjoyed to learn that he (Tom) had such a means of escape offering, and + at once announced his intention of falling in with the enterprise; but + Patrick Kenna spoke very strongly against his doing so, and Ruth, too, + came to her father's aid. It was, they said, foolish of him to link + himself with these desperate men, every one of whom had a price upon his + head, whereas he, Walter, stood in good chance of receiving his pardon at + any moment. Why should he sacrifice himself and break Ruth's heart for the + sake of his friend? + </p> + <p> + So, finally, overcome by their arguments, he yielded, saying, however, + that he felt he was acting a coward's part, and begged of Kenna to arrange + a farewell meeting between Tom and himself. This, wisely enough, Kenna + refused to do, but said he would do anything else to make their separation + easier. So Trenfield wrote his old comrade a letter of farewell, and, + taking a canvas bag, he filled it with all sorts of articles likely to be + useful on a long boat voyage. Kenna took the bag, together with material + for a sail, away with him at night and placed it in the spot agreed upon + with May. He had already given Tom a tomahawk and an adze with which to + make some oars and a mast. + </p> + <p> + On the fourth night after his visit to Kenna's house, Tom May again came + through the bush, and went to Little Nobby's, for when Ruth's father went + to the hiding-place in the morning with a breaker of water and a large + bundle of dried fish, he found that the bag and the sail-cloth were gone, + and on a small piece of white driftwood which lay on the ground these + words were written in charcoal:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + '<i>Sunday, Midnight?</i>' +</pre> + <p> + By this Kenna knew that the three men meant to come for the provisions and + water at the time mentioned. It was then Friday, and he had much to do to + get all in readiness; for Little Nobby's was quite six miles distant from + his house, and he could only make his journeys to and fro with great + secrecy, for the constables were still searching the coastal region for + May. But, aided by Billy, the aboriginal, he managed to have everything in + readiness early on Sunday night. He afterwards told my mother that besides + the two breakers of water, each holding ten gallons, he had provided four + gallons of rum, a hundredweight each of salted meat and dried fish, + tobacco and pipes, fishing tackle, two muskets, and plenty of powder and + bullets. The place selected for the landing of the boat was an excellent + one; for on one side of Little Nobby's was a little, narrow bay running in + between high clifis of black trap rock, which broke the force of the ocean + swell entirely. Then, too, the place was very lonely and seldom visited, + for the main road lay nearly two miles back beyond the clifis. + </p> + <p> + Whether my mother actually knew of all that was going on I do not know; + but I do know that about this time she seemed paler than ever, and we + frequently saw her and Ruth talking earnestly together; and Ruth and + Walter, too, were always whispering to each other. + </p> + <p> + Sunday came, and as my mother, since her quarrel with the Reverend Mr + Sampson over the flogging of old Callaghan, did not now go to church, we + all, except my father, who was still on friendly terms with the clergyman, + remained at home, my mother herself conducting a short service in the + dining-room, at which all the servants, free and bond, attended. In the + afternoon Major Trenton, Captain Crozier and some other soldier officers + rode up, as was customary with them on Sundays, and Ruth and Denham + brought them brandy and water on the front verandah, where they awaited my + mother and sisters. + </p> + <p> + 'Harry, you young rascal,' said Major Trenton, presently to my eldest + brother, 'what did you do with Mr Moore's picture of the parson, eh?' + </p> + <p> + 'It was stolen from me, sir,' he answered, laughing, 'about three or four + months ago.' + </p> + <p> + 'Indeed,' said the major; 'then the thief has principles, and will + doubtless send it back to you, for he has made a score of copies of it, + and they are all over the district. Why, the rascal, whoever he is, nailed + one to the door of the Commissariat Store not long ago, and the first + person to see it was Mr Sampson himself. He is mightily wroth about it, I + can tell ye, and somehow suspects that the picture came from someone in + this house, and told your father that these copies were given about by + your man Trenfield. So just ye give a hint to the fellow, and tell him + that if the parson gets a chance to tickle his back, faith he'll do it.' + </p> + <p> + 'I am sure, sir, that Walter did not take the picture,' said my brother. + 'It was nailed up over my bed and one day I missed it. I thought that my + mother had destroyed or taken it away. But she had not, and I cannot + account for its disappearance.' + </p> + <p> + Now this was hardly true, for, from something they had heard from Ruth, + both Harry and my sister Frances thought that Thomas May had taken away + the caricature, intending to replace it. + </p> + <p> + 'Well, never mind, my lad,' said Major Trenton, laughing, ''tis a + monstrous fine joke, anyway, and, faith, I sent one of the copies to the + Governor himself. 'Twill amuse him hugely.' + </p> + <p> + Presently my mother and my two sisters joined the group on the verandah, + and as they were all talking and laughing together, Ruth Kenna came to my + mother and said that her father had just come with a basket of fresh fish + and would like to see her for a minute. I, being the youngest boy of the + family, and over-fond—so my brothers said—of hanging on to + mammy's apron-strings, as well as being anxious to see the fish, followed + her out on to the back verandah, where black-browed, dark-faced Patrick + Kenna awaited her. + </p> + <p> + ''Tis a fine dark night coming on, ma'am,' he said in a low voice. 'The + wind is north-east and 'twill hould well till daylight. Then 'twill come + away from the south-east, sure enough. They should be there long before + midnight and out of sight of land before the dawn.' + </p> + <p> + 'Yes, yes, Patrick,' said my mother, hurriedly. 'I shall pray to-night to + God for those in peril on the sea; and to forgive us for any wrong we may + have done in this matter.' + </p> + <p> + 'No harm can iver come to any wan in this house,' said the man, earnestly, + raising her hand to his lips, 'for the blessin' av God an' the Holy Virgin + is upon it.' + </p> + <p> + My mother pressed his hand. 'Good-bye, Patrick. I do hope all may go + well;' and with this she went away. + </p> + <p> + Kenna raised his hat and turned to go, when Walter Trenfield came to the + foot of the verandah steps and stopped him. + </p> + <p> + 'Let me come with you,' he said, 'and bid Tom good-bye.' + </p> + <p> + 'No,' answered Kenna, roughly, 'neither you nor I nor any wan else must go + near Nobby's to-night; matthers are goin' well enough, an' no folly of + yours shall bring desthruction upon them. As it is, the constables suspect + me, and are now watching my house.' + </p> + <p> + Then, mounting his horse again, he rode leisurely away over the brow of + the hill towards the scrub, through which his road lay. + </p> + <p> + Both Walter and Ruth knew that unless the night was very clear there was + no chance of even the lookout man on the pilot station seeing a small boat + passing along to the southward; but nevertheless they went up to the pilot + station about ten o'clock, when they thought that Tom May and his + companions would be passing Bar Harbour on their way to Little Nobby's. + They stayed on the headland for nearly an hour, talking to Tom King and + the look-out man, and then came home, feeling satisfied that if the three + men had succeeded in launching the boat safely, they had passed Bar + Harbour about eleven o'clock and would reach Nobby's at or before + midnight. + </p> + <p> + Soon after breakfast next morning, Patrick Kenna, under pretence of + speaking to my mother about a strayed heifer of ours, came into the + kitchen, and told Ruth that all was well; he had been to Little Nobby's at + daylight and found that everything was gone and the boat was nowhere to be + discerned. + </p> + <p> + For quite another two or three weeks after this the constables pursued + their search after Thomas May, much to the amusement of Ruth and Patrick + Kenna, especially as the latter, with 'King Billy' and another aboriginal, + were officially employed by my father at ten shillings <i>per diem</i> to + discover the absconder—Billy, who seemed to be most anxious to get + the reward of five pounds, leading the constables all over the country and + eating more than three men's rations daily. At last the chase was + abandoned, and my father wrote officially to Sydney and said that 'Thomas + May, No. 3614, <i>Breckenbridge</i>,' was supposed to have either died of + starvation in the bush or have been killed by the natives. My mother, of + course, thought she knew better. + </p> + <p> + And so the matter was forgotten by everyone but us who had known and cared + for the good-natured, high-spirited and warm-hearted young sailor; and as + the months went by, Walter Trenfield and my mother both looked forward to + receiving a letter from Tom May, telling them that he and his companions + had reached some port in the Dutch East Indies in safety. For not only was + the boat well found, but they had plenty of provisions, and Tom May was a + thorough seaman; and besides that, my mother had often told us the story + of the convict William Bryant, who had escaped from Sydney Harbour in + Governor Phillip's time, and in an open boat, with four other men and his + wife and two infant children, succeeded in reaching Timor, after a voyage + of three thousand miles.{*} + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Publisher's Note.—The strange but true story of the + Bryants is told in a volume entitled <i>A First Fleet Family</i>. + (Louis Becke and Walter Jeffery. London: T. Fisher Unwin. + 1896.) +</pre> + <p> + But no letter came until two long years had passed. + </p> + <p> + Ruth Kenna, at the time of my story, though not yet seventeen years of + age, was a tall, powerful girl, and was known as the best horsewoman in + all the country around. She was a happy, good-natured sort of a wench, + with a heart filled with sunshine and love and truth and honesty; though + Mr Sampson once told my father that she was a 'dangerous Papist,' and the + child of a convicted rebel, and as such should have no place in a + Protestant family. This so angered my mother that she wrote the clergyman + a very sharp letter and said she would take it as a favour if he would not + interfere with her servants. This was a great thing for her to do; and my + father said 'twas most indiscreet. But mother only smiled and said that + although she was sorry Ruth was a Papist, she (Ruth) was a good, honest + girl, and that her father was a good, honest man, and that if Mr Sampson + was wise he would not come near Ruth, who, being a free woman, had said + she would throw him down the garden well. At this time Ruth was looking + forward to the day of her marriage with Trenfield, who, through my + father's influence with the Governor, was expecting to be pardoned. + </p> + <p> + But now I am forging ahead too fast, and must go back to where we boys and + Walter Trenfield were lying on the grassy bluff overlooking Little Nobby's + awaiting the return of my brother Harry. + </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> + 'Walter,' said Harry, throwing down the pigeon which he had shot, and + pointing to Little Nobby's, 'this is the lowest tide I have ever seen. + Look, the topmost fringe of kelp on the rocks is quite dry, and six feet + above the water, and there is no surf. Let's swim across the gut into the + cave.' + </p> + <p> + 'As you please, sir,' the young man answered, his sun-tanned face lighting + up with pleasure; 'the wind is westerly, and the water very clear; so, if + there are any sharks about we can easily see them.' + </p> + <p> + So presently down we trooped, and, clambering over the jagged pinnacles of + rock, soon reached the seaward face of Little Nobby's. The cave of which + my brother had spoken was in the very centre of the cone, and the only + known way of access to it was by swimming across the narrow gut or channel + which cleft in twain the base of the hill. A boat, in calm weather, might + have easily rowed up to the mouth of the cave, but only during a very low + tide. No one, so far, had attempted this, and 'King Billy,' when he saw my + brother and Trenfield strip and jump into the water, seemed much + disturbed. The cave, he said, was the home of a 'debbil-debbil,' and 'twas + dangerous for any human being to enter it. But Harry and Trenfield had + already swum across, clambered up the kelp-covered ledge of the cave and + disappeared into the darkness beyond. + </p> + <p> + For nearly ten minutes, or perhaps a quarter of an hour, Will and I waited + impatiently for their return, grumbling at not being allowed to go with + them, for the sea was as smooth as a mountain lake, and the water so clear + that the smallest pebble could be discerned lying upon the white sandy + bottom five fathoms below. + </p> + <p> + Said Will presently, 'I don't believe there's a shark within a mile; do + you?' + </p> + <p> + 'No,' I answered, looking longingly at the crystal water and then at the + black mouth of the cavern, which neither Will nor I had ever entered. + </p> + <p> + 'Then come on,' said Will, quickly, and in a few seconds we were out of + our clothes, and paying no heed to 'King Billy's' exclamations of terror + we dropped quietly into the water and swam across, telling him to stay + where he was and keep a look-out for sharks. + </p> + <p> + A few strokes brought us safely over, and then, as we climbed up and stood + on the cold rocky floor of the dark cave, our hearts began to fail us + somewhat—the place was so grim, silent and terrifying. + </p> + <p> + Feeling our way carefully along, however, we advanced for some ten or + twelve yards and then stopped, for though we heard the voices, we could + see the figures of Harry and Trenfield but dimly. + </p> + <p> + 'Where are you?' cried Will. + </p> + <p> + 'Over here,' answered my brother; 'you can come along if you like. We + think that there's a way of getting out by climbing up—we can see + the trees on the back of the hill.' + </p> + <p> + This was a discovery indeed, and Will and I, as we made our way to where + they sat, found the darkness decreasing at every step, and when we reached + them, we could see about us quite plainly, for thin, dimmed shafts of + sunlight penetrated the cavern from above by a narrow cleft, through which + we could see not only the dark foliage of the trees, whose branches + overhung the place, but a strip of blue sky. + </p> + <p> + 'Listen!' said Will. + </p> + <p> + Somewhere near a 'butcher' bird was calling to its mate, who quickly + answered, and then the pair whistled sweetly and joyously together; and + when they ceased a bell-bird sounded his clear, resonant note thrice—then + silence. + </p> + <p> + Presently Walter and Harry set about to attempt an ascent, laughing + heartily at the thought of how we should startle poor 'King Billy' by + reappearing out of the bowels of the earth, instead of by the way we had + left him. + </p> + <p> + The top of the cleft was not more than thirty feet from the floor of the + cave, and its very narrowness reduced the difficulty of climbing up its + rugged sides, which were composed of pieces of rock embedded in earth. In + the centre, however, the walls approached so closely to each other about + half way down—within a few inches, in fact—that they were + blocked up with what appeared to be a mass of decaying branches, fallen + leaves and such <i>débris</i>. + </p> + <p> + Walter Trenfield went first, then Will, and Harry and I followed. We found + it much easier working our way up than we anticipated, for the jutting + points of rock gave us a good foothold, and the roots of trees, living and + dead, helped us greatly, for some of these grew across from one side of + the cleft to the other, and afforded us ladder-like steps. + </p> + <p> + Walter had nearly reached the mouth of the chasm, when Will, who was + ascending more leisurely and carefully behind him, put his foot upon the + thick mass of leaves and rotting wood which blocked up its centre, and, + finding it was firm, sat down upon it to rest himself. Presently, to have + some amusement at the expense of Harry and myself, who were directly + beneath him, he began to shower armfuls of dead leaves upon us—then + suddenly he uttered a cry of terror, sprang to his feet, and clambered + quickly to the top, where Trenfield seized him just as he was about to + fall. + </p> + <p> + Thinking that he had been frightened, or perhaps bitten by a black snake + or a death-adder, Harry and I climbed up after him as quickly as possible, + little heeding the cuts and bruises we inflicted upon our naked bodies. As + soon as we reached the ledge and flung ourselves, panting and somewhat + terrified, on the thick bed of leaves which covered the ground like a + carpet, we saw Walter Trenfield bending his tall, naked figure over Will, + who was crouched up in a heap and trying, through his sobs of terror, to + tell what it was that he had seen. + </p> + <p> + 'There is a dead man down there,' he gasped, 'a dead man! When I took up + the last armful of leaves to throw down on Tom and Harry, I saw a dreadful + face beneath... it was almost a skull, but there is some flesh on the + face... and oh, Walter! <i>it has red hair like Tom May's.</i>' Then, + overcome by the terror of that which he had seen, he sobbed afresh. + </p> + <p> + 'Come,' sir,' said Trenfield to my eldest brother, 'we must go down and + look.' + </p> + <p> + Leaning over the brink of the narrow cleft, I watched Harry and Trenfield + descend, throw down the rotting leaves and timber which had accumulated in + the centre; and then I saw a dreadful sight—a shrunken, awful face, + with white, gleaming teeth, and two fleshless hands lying together upon an + all but skeleton chest. The rest of the body, except one leg, which from + the knee downwards was partly raised and showed a bone protruding from a + rough raw-hide boot, was mercifully concealed from our sight by the coarse + jumper and grey canvas trousers of a convict. + </p> + <p> + Presently Walter looked up, and cried out in a strange, hoarse voice,— + </p> + <p> + 'Go away, Master Tom, you must not look. Do you and Master Will wait for + us on the rocks, but first tell Billy to come here with our clothes.' + </p> + <p> + Will and I at once obeyed, glad to get away, and hurrying round the base + of the hill we returned to 'King Billy,' who, poor simple savage, had + given us up for lost, and was crouched up in a-heap on the rocks, making a + low whining noise like the cry of a very young puppy. He did truly dance + for joy when he heard our voices, and then at once, without asking us what + had happened, went off to Walter and Harry, taking their clothes with him. + </p> + <p> + Will and I dressed ourselves, and then we sat down to wait. + </p> + <p> + 'Tom,' said Will, who had now recovered his composure, 'I am sure it is + poor Tom May who is lying there. Do you remember a red silk handkerchief + which mother gave him last Christmas Day? Well, there is one exactly like + it round <i>its</i> neck. I was too frightened to look closer, but Tom + always wore his handkerchief round his neck in a sailor's knot. And then, + too,' and here Will's eyes filled with tears and he began to sob, '<i>it</i> + had bright red hair... it had nearly all fallen off, and...' + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, Will,' I cried, 'don't tell me any more! I feel so sick.' + </p> + <p> + Nearly half an hour passed, and then we saw Harry and Trenfield, holding + each other's hand like two children, coming towards us. They sat down near + us, and then the young convict placed his big, brown hands over his face, + and heavy sobs broke from his broad chest. + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, God! Master Harry!' he cried, 'is there no justice in the world? To + die there, in that awful place, like a rat in a trap! oh, it is dreadful, + dreadful! And then I thought that he was long ago far away from here—a + free man.' + </p> + <p> + 'Do you think those two other men threw him down there, Walter?' asked my + eldest brother, almost in a whisper. + </p> + <p> + 'No, sir,' he replied, catching his breath. 'Why should they murder the + man who alone was capable of taking the boat upon such a long voyage? This + is what I think, sir. Poor Tom, instead of coming down in the boat with + the other two, left them on Saturday and walked here so that he might + light a fire on the top of Little Nobby's on Sunday night to guide them to + the place. He told Ruth's father that he thought he should do this in case + the night turned out very dark. And Billy says that a fire was made, and + that when poor Tom was descending the hill to meet the boat he fell into + the cleft and got jammed between the rocky walls.' + </p> + <p> + 'But would not the two other men make a search for him?' + </p> + <p> + 'God knows, sir! We shall never know. They may have thought that Tom had + been captured, and that the fire had been lit by Ruth's father. But I + think that Billy is right, and that poor Tom, after lighting the fire, was + coming down the hill to meet the boat, when in the darkness he wandered + off the track and stepped into the crack at the widest part of its mouth, + which is right above where we found him. He must have fallen upon his back + and become so tightly wedged in in that awful place that he could not use + his arms to free himself. And then, sir, even if he had not been stunned, + his cries could not have been heard by the other two men, who, unless they + purposely made a search, would not have had any reason to go within two + hundred yards of the spot where he fell.' + </p> + <p> + Harry shuddered, and then for some time no one of us spoke. 'King Billy' + had been sent off to tell my father of the discovery of the body, or + rather skeleton, which Walter and Harry had at first attempted to free + from the walls of the chasm, but were too overcome to complete the task. + </p> + <p> + Together we slowly ascended the bluff, and there a surprise awaited us; + for, sitting on their horses, on the brow of the hill, were the dreaded + minister and his convict orderly. They had no doubt seen our bags and guns + lying on the grass, and had ridden to the crest of the bluff to discover + our whereabouts. + </p> + <p> + Mr Sampson eyed us all very sourly, and scarcely deigned to respond to our + salutations, as one by one we walked past him and busied ourselves in + silence over our impedimenta. No doubt he saw that both Harry and Walter + were very pale, and that Will and I had not yet dried our tears. + </p> + <p> + 'Come here, boys,' he said in his harsh, pompous tones. 'What, may I ask, + is the cause of this grief which seems to be shared by all alike?' Then, + without waiting for an answer, his glance fell upon Walter Trenfield, who, + after saluting him, had turned away, and with averted face was strapping + some of our belongings together. + </p> + <p> + I saw the clergyman's coarse red face, with its fat, terraced chins, grow + purple with rage as I had seen it once before, and I instinctively drew + back. + </p> + <p> + 'Ha!' he said, and urging his horse forward, he bent down and touched the + young convict on the shoulder with his whip. 'Ha! look up, fellow. I want + a word with you, sirrah.' + </p> + <p> + Trenfield, who was stooping at the moment, stood erect, and then, facing + the parson, again raised his hand to his cap. His face was deadly pale, + and his deep-set bright blue eyes seemed to have suddenly shrunken and + drawn back, and his whole body was trembling. + </p> + <p> + 'Look at me, fellow,' said Mr Sampson, for the second time. + </p> + <p> + <i>'I am looking at you, sir.</i>' + </p> + <p> + The words came from between his white lips and set teeth in a low, hoarse + whisper, and all the hatred in his heart seemed to go with them. The + clergyman eyed him for a few seconds in silence, but the convict met his + gaze unfalteringly. + </p> + <p> + 'So 'tis to you, you scoundrel, that your ruffianly fellow-criminals are + indebted for so much amusement at my expense! Tell me, you villain, where + you got that picture, and who prompted you to display it? Answer me + quickly, you unhanged rascal!' + </p> + <p> + Trenfield's lips moved, but ere he could speak, my eldest brother stepped + forward, bravely enough. + </p> + <p> + 'Indeed, sir, Trenfield had nothing to do with the picture. It was given + to me, but by some mischance was lost or stolen. I am sure, sir, that + Trenfield would not—' + </p> + <p> + 'Trenfield is a villain. How dare you, presumptuous boy, seek to excuse + him! A good birching, for which you are not too old, would teach you that + reverence and respect for a clergyman which your mother has so forgotten.' + </p> + <p> + Harry fired up quickly enough at the insulting words. + </p> + <p> + 'How dare you, sir, speak to me in this fashion? My father shall hear of + this.' + </p> + <p> + 'Let <i>me</i> deal with him, the bloody-minded dog!' said a voice. + </p> + <p> + It was that of Walter Trenfield, who, springing forward, presented my + brother's loaded fowling-piece at the minister's head. 'Listen to me, you + beast in human form, you heartless fiend! I am going to send your + poisonous soul to hell.' + </p> + <p> + He pulled the trigger, but the gun missed fire; then swiftly clubbing the + weapon he brought it with terrific force against the clergyman's chest and + knocked him off the horse. The orderly at once turned, and fled as his + master fell. + </p> + <p> + The Reverend Mr Sampson lay prone upon the sward, his once red face + blanched to a deathly white, and over him, with grounded gun, stood the + young convict. + </p> + <p> + My brother tried to take the weapon from him, but Trenfield tossed him + aside with one hand as if he were a straw. Then for a minute he looked at + the prostrate man in silence; once he raised the gun by the muzzle, then + he threw it aside, and, kneeling beside the clergyman, placed his face + close to his. + </p> + <p> + 'You dog, you dog, you damned dog! I could choke you now as you lie, you + brute beast. But I will let you live, to go to hell in God's own time, you + cruel, flogging wretch! <i>You</i> murdered Thomas May—his rotting + body is not a hundred yards away. May the stink of it reach the nostrils + of Almighty God—and be in yours for ever!' + </p> + <p> + He rose quickly, took the saddle and bridle off the clergyman's horse, + and, striking the animal a sharp blow on the nose, sent it galloping away + into the forest; then he returned and again stood over Mr Sampson, his + face working with the violence of his passion. + </p> + <p> + 'Are you going to murder me?' the minister asked gaspingly. + </p> + <p> + 'No,' he replied savagely, kicking him again and again in the face, 'but + lie there, you bloody-minded swab, till I tell you you can go.' + </p> + <p> + And then, his passion spent, he turned to us with outstretched hand,— + </p> + <p> + 'God bless you all, young gentlemen! God bless you, Master Harry! and your + good mother and Miss Frances and little Miss Olive. I am done for now. But + tell Ruth that if I am taken I'll die a man. And tell her, Master Harry, + that—that—' + </p> + <p> + My brother grasped his trembling hand, as for a moment he stood, gun in + hand, and swayed to and fro as if he were like to fall. Then he plunged + into the forest. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + One night, three weeks after this, and whilst Mr Sampson was recovering + from his injuries, and a force of constables, with a black tracker, were + scouring the country for Walter, my mother called we children to her + bedroom. She had retired, but Ruth Kenna, with tears in her blue Irish + eyes, stood beside the bed. + </p> + <p> + 'Quick, children,' said my mother, in a whisper, 'Ruth is going away. + Quick, quick; kiss her goodbye.' + </p> + <p> + And then whilst we, wondering, put our arms around dear Ruth, my mother + slipped out of bed, and taking some money out of a cabinet, put it into + the girl's hand, and said,— + </p> + <p> + 'Good-bye, Ruth. You've been an honest girl to us. May God bless and keep + you always, my dear child, and do not fail to write.' + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Next morning there was a great to-do, for Patrick Kenna's house was found + to be empty, and he and his daughter and Walter Trenfield were never seen + again in our part. But away out on the horizon were the sails of a + whale-ship which had been cruising about the coast for some days past; and + though my mother kept her own counsel for a long year, we children soon + knew that all three had escaped in the whaler, for my brother Harry had + received a letter from Trenfield. It was handed to him by the aboriginal + 'King Billy,' and contained only these words,—'Good-bye, sir. Ruth + and I and her father will be on the blue water before daylight.' + </p> + <p> + When two years or more had passed, my mother received a letter. It was + written from Boston in America, and was signed 'Ruth Trenfield.' + </p> + <p> + 'I am glad she and Walter are happy at last,' said my mother, with the + tears shining in her soft eyes. + </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> + A NORTH PACIFIC LAGOON ISLAND + </h2> + <p> + Two degrees north of the Equator, and midway between the Hawaiian Islands + and fair, green Tahiti, is the largest and most important of the many + equatorial isolated lagoon islands which, from 10 deg. N. to 10 deg. S., + are dispersed over 40 deg. of longitude. The original native name of this + island has long been lost, and by that given to it by Captain Cook one + hundred and twenty years ago it is now known to Pacific navigators—Christmas + Island. Cook was probably the first European to visit and examine the + place, though it had very likely been sighted by the Spaniards long before + his time, in the days of the voyages of the yearly galleons between the + Philippines and Mexico and Peru. + </p> + <p> + On the afternoon of December 24, 1777, Cook (in the <i>Resolution</i> and + <i>Discovery</i>) discovered to leeward of the former ship a long, low, + sandy island, which proved to be about ninety miles in circumference. It + appeared to be an exceedingly barren-looking land, save on the south-west + side, where grew a luxuriant grove of coco-palms. Here he brought his + ships to an anchor, and partly to recuperate his crews, who were in ill + health, and partly to observe an eclipse of the sun, he remained at the + island some weeks. He soon discovered that the lagoon in the centre was of + noble proportions, and that its waters teemed with an immense variety of + fish and countless 'droves' of sharks. To-day it remains the same. + </p> + <p> + Fifty years passed ere this lonely atoll was visited by another ship, and + then American and English whalers, or, as they were called in those days, + 'South Seamen,' began to touch at the island, give their crews a few days' + spell amid the grateful shade of the palm grove and load their boats to + the gunwales with fat green turtle, turtle eggs, robber crabs, and + sea-birds' eggs. From that time the place became well known to the three + or four hundred of sperm whalers engaged in the fishery, and, later on, to + the shark-catching vessels from the Hawaiian Islands. Then, sixteen years + ago, Christmas Island was taken up by a London firm engaged in the South + Sea Island trade under a lease from the Colonial Office; this firm at once + sent there a number of native labourers from Manhiki, an island in the + South Pacific. These, under the charge of a white man, were set to work + planting coco-nuts and diving for pearl shell in the lagoon. At the + present time, despite one or two severe droughts, the coco-nut plantations + are thriving, and the lessees should in another few years reap their + reward, and hold one of the richest possessions in the South Seas. + </p> + <p> + The island is of considerable extent, and though on the windward or + eastern side its appearance is uninviting in the extreme, and the fierce + oceanic currents that for ever sweep in mighty eddies around its shores + render approach to it difficult and sometimes dangerous, it has yet + afforded succour to many an exhausted and sea-worn shipwrecked crew who + have reached it in boats. And, on the other hand, several fine ships, + sailing quietly along at night time, unaware of the great ocean currents + that are focussed about the terrible reefs encompassing the island, have + crashed upon the jagged coral barrier and been smashed to pieces by the + violence of the surf. + </p> + <p> + Scarcely discernible, from its extreme lowness, at a distance of more than + eight miles from the ship's deck, its presence is made known hours before + it is sighted by vast clouds of amphibious birds, most of which all day + long hover about the sea in its vicinity, and return to their rookeries on + the island at sunset. On one occasion, when the vessel in which I was then + serving was quite twenty miles from the land, we were unable to hear + ourselves speak, when, just before it became dark, the air was filled with + the clamour of countless thousands of birds of aquatic habits that flew in + and about our schooner's rigging. Some of these were what whalemen call + 'shoal birds,' 'wide-awakes,' 'molly-hawks,' 'whale birds' and 'mutton + birds.' Among them were some hundreds of frigate birds, the <i>katafa</i> + of the Ellice Islanders, and a few magnificently plum-aged fishers, called + <i>kanapu</i> by the natives of Equatorial Polynesia. + </p> + <p> + Given a good breeze and plenty of daylight, the whale-ships of the olden + days could stand round the western horn of the island, a projecting point + rendered pleasingly conspicuous by the grove of graceful coco-palms which + Cook was so glad to observe so many years before, and then enter a deep + bay on the north-west coast, where they obtained good anchorage in from + fifteen to twenty fathoms of water of the most wonderful transparency, and + within a mile of the vast stretches of white sandy beach that trend away + for miles on either hand. And then the sailors, overjoyed at the + delightful prospect of running about in the few and widely-apart palm + groves, and inhaling the sweet, earthy smell of the thin but fertile soil, + covered with its soft, thick bed of fallen leaves, would lower away the + boats, and pulling with their united strength through the sweeping eddies + of the dangerous passage, effect a landing on a beach of dazzling whites + and situated in the inner south-west border of the wide lagoon. + </p> + <p> + On our first visit to the island, in 1872, we had some glorious fishing; + and when we returned on board, under the rays of a moon that shone with + strange, uncanny brilliancy, and revealed the coral bottom ten fathoms + below, the scene presented from our decks was one of the greatest + imaginable beauty, though the loneliness of the place and the absence of + human life was somewhat depressing. We remained at the island for three + days, and during our stay our crew of South Sea Islanders literally filled + our decks with fish, turtle and birds' eggs. Curiously enough, in our + scant library on board the little trading vessel I came across portion of + a narrative of a voyage in a South Seaman, written by her surgeon, a Mr + Bennett, in 1838,{*} and our captain and myself were much interested in + the accurate description he gave of Christmas Island and its huge + rookeries of oceanic birds. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * <i>Narrative of a Whaling Voyage round the Globe, from</i> 1833 + to 1836. By F. D. Bennett. +</pre> + <p> + This is what he says: 'Here and there among the low thicket scrubs are + vast rookeries of aquatic birds, whose clamour is deafening. They nest and + incubate upon the ground, and show not the slightest fear of the approach + of human visitors. Among the sooty terns, whose number it was impossible + to estimate, were many hundreds of tropic birds and pure snow-white + petrels.' (He no doubt imagined the pure snow-white petrels to be a + distinct species—they were young tropic birds.) 'These latter, who + flew with a gentle, flapping motion, would actually fly up to us and scan + our countenances with an almost human expression of interest and + curiosity.' (Darwin, in his account of another Christmas Island in the + Indian Ocean, also describes these gentle creatures as being of ethereal + beauty.) 'Some, indeed, permitted themselves to be caught, and although + their delicate, fragile forms quivered with fear when they came in contact + with our hands, they would, when released, return to us again and again, + as if seeking to solve the mystery of what strange beings were these that + had invaded their retreat. In one rookery there were many varieties of + these oceanic birds, and a species of booby that seems to be peculiar to + Christmas Island. In size and colour they much resemble the ordinary + gannet of our cold northern seas. Their plumage is of a wondrously bright + snow white, with the exception of the primary and secondary feathers of + the wings, and the <i>retrices</i> or tail feathers, which are of a glossy + black. The skin of the cheeks and chin is devoid of feathers, and of a jet + black colour, the beak a delicate yellow blue, the legs bright blue. The + solicitude of the female birds of this species for their offspring was + most interesting to witness. Their nests were of the rudest description, + being merely circular heaps of sand raised in the open plain and exposed + to the fury of storms. As we approached the nests the mother birds settled + themselves down upon their single egg and screamed loudly, but would + permit themselves to be lifted off, yet struggled violently in our hands + to get back again. Although there were thousands of these nests within a + radius of an acre, a brooding hen might easily have been passed unnoticed, + for her white plumage corresponded so well with the hue of the coral sands + that one was apt to kick against the nest were it not for the agonised, + barking note of the poor mother. The male birds, however, of this species + did not show any marital concern for their partners. They were usually + seated near the nests, but at once took to flight upon our approach. + Further on, among a thicket of scrubby vegetation, we found a rookery of + many thousands of the superb red-tailed tropic bird (<i>Phaeton + phoenicurus</i>), also engaged in incubation. Their nests were mere + circular excavations in the sand, under the shade of the bushes of the + thicket. Each nest contained an egg of pure white, dotted with delicate + lilac spots, and in size rather larger and rounder than that of the + domestic hen. The females, as well as the males, made no attempt to escape + from their nests on our approach, whether they had or had not the care of + eggs, and consequently several of our crew, with innate Polynesian vanity, + soon caught a number, and plucking out the two long scarlet tail feathers + placed them in their hat bands. + </p> + <p> + 'A hundred yards away from the rookery of the tropic birds was one of a + colony of the snowy tern before mentioned. These gentle, black-eyed + creatures do not even pretend to construct a nest, but simply deposit a + solitary egg upon the bough of a tree (like the <i>gogo</i>, or whale + bird). They select for this purpose a tree destitute of foliage, and a + branch of horizontal growth. It is strange that, notwithstanding the + exposed situation of these eggs, they are very difficult to find; and it + was not until long after the solicitude of the parent birds informed us + that their spot of incubation was near that we could solve the mystery + which attended their nursery. Each egg is the size of a pigeon's, and + marked with either blood or chocolate-coloured splashes and spots of + irregular shape. Considering the slenderness of the branches on which they + are deposited, it is remarkable that the eggs (which appear to be at the + mercy of every passing breeze) should yet retain their extraordinary + position during incubation.' (Any Pacific Islander could easily have + explained this seeming mystery. The shell, when the egg is laid, is + covered with a strong adhesive coating. I have often seen a single egg, + laid upon a slender branch, swaying about in a strong trade wind, and yet + remain firmly in its position.) 'What may be the habits of the + newly-hatched birds we had no opportunity of learning, as none of the + latter came within our observation. + </p> + <p> + 'Small reef birds (tern) were present in prodigious numbers, skimming the + waters of the coast with an erratic, rapid, but yet graceful flight, like + that of the stormy petrel. At night they assembled in vast numbers on an + islet in the lagoon, to roost on the trees. They are about the size of an + Australian snipe, and their forms are models of elegance and beauty. Their + plumage is in true slate colour, the secondary wings are white, and a + narrow white zone surrounds each eye; their legs and feet are a pale blue, + with white webs. + </p> + <p> + 'Every now and then as we, during our visit, walked along the snow-white + beaches, great crowds of golden-winged plover and tiny snipe sprang + skyward, and swept in graceful gyrations over the broad expanse of water, + till they settled upon some sandy spit or spot of projecting reef; and, + indeed, the immense concourse or frigate birds, boobies, terns, petrels + and other aquatic denizens of the island filled us with boundless + astonishment. + </p> + <p> + 'At night time there crept out from their lairs in the loose coral shingle + that lined the scrub at high-water mark, incredible numbers of huge “land + lobsters”—the “robber crab” of the Pacific Islands. They all crawled + to within a few feet of the placid waters of the lagoon, where they + remained motionless, as if awaiting some event—possibly to prey upon + the smaller species of <i>crustaceæ</i> and turtle eggs.' + </p> + <p> + Christmas Island, in its structure and elevation, much resembles + Palmerston Island, Arrecifos or Providence Island (the secret rendezvous + of Captain 'Bully' Hayes), Brown's Range, and other low-lying atolls of + the North and South Pacific. The greater part of the interior of the + island is, however, despite the vast number of coco-nuts planted upon it + during the past ten years, still sadly deficient in cheerful vegetation. + </p> + <p> + The waters of the lagoon vary greatly in depth, but generally are shallow + and much broken up by sandy spits, reefs and huge coral boulders which + protrude at low water, and the surface is much subject to the action of + the trade wind, which, when blowing strong, lashes them into a wild surf; + and the low shores of the encircling islets, that form a continuous + reef-connected chain, are rendered invisible from the opposite side by the + smoky haze and spume which ascends in clouds from the breaking surf that + rolls and thunders on the outer barrier reefs. + </p> + <p> + In the interior no fresh water is obtainable, although in the rainy season + some of a brackish quality can be had by sinking shallow wells. This water + rises and falls in the wells in unison with the tides. Here and there are + very extensive swamps of sea-water, evaporrated to a strong brine; the + margins of these are clothed with a fair growth of the pandanus or + screw-pine palm, the fruit of which, when ripe, forms a nutritious and + palatable food for the natives of the Equatorial Pacific Islands. + </p> + <p> + The island where Captain Cook set up his observatory is but a small strip + of sandy soil, clothed with a few coco-palms, some screw-palms (pandanus), + and a thick-matted carpet of a vine called <i>At At</i> by the natives. + The only quadrupeds are rats, and some huge land tortoises, similar to + those of the Galapagos Islands. They are most hideous-looking creatures, + and, being of nocturnal habits, like the great robber crab, are apt to + produce a most terrifying impression upon the beholder, if met with in the + loneliness of the night. The present human occupants of Christmas Island + are, however, well supplied with pigs and poultry; and though this + far-away dot of Britain's empire beyond the seas is scarcely known to the + world, and visited but twice a year by a trading vessel from Sydney, they + are happy and contented in their home in this lonely isle of the + mid-Pacific. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BILGER, OF SYDNEY + </h2> + <p> + A death in the family brought about my fatal acquaintance with Bilger. A + few days after the funeral, as my sister and I sat talking on the verandah + of our cottage (which overlooked the waters of Sydney Harbour) and + listened to the pouring rain upon the shingled roof, we saw a man open the + garden gate and come slowly up to the house. He carried an ancient + umbrella, the tack lashings of which on one side had given way entirely, + showing six bare ribs. As he walked up the path, his large, sodden boots + made a nasty, squelching sound, and my sister, who has a large heart, at + once said, 'Poor creature; I wonder who he is. I hope it isn't the coal + man come for his money.' + </p> + <p> + He went round to the back door and, after letting himself drain off a bit, + knocked gently and with exceeding diffidence. + </p> + <p> + I asked him his business. He said he wanted to see my wife. + </p> + <p> + 'Not here. Gone away for a month.' + </p> + <p> + 'Dear, dear, how sad! Broken down, no doubt, with a mother's grief. Is + there any other lady in the family whom I could see?' + </p> + <p> + 'What the deuce do you want?' I began angrily; then, as he raised his + weak, watery eyes to mine, and I saw that his grey hairs were as wet as + his boots, I relented. Perhaps he was someone who knew my wife or her + people, and wanted to condole with her over the death of her baby. He + looked sober enough, so, as he seemed much agitated, I asked him to sit + down, and said I would send my sister to him. Then I went back to my pipe + and chair. Ten minutes later my sister Kate came to me with her + handkerchief to her eyes. + </p> + <p> + '<i>Do</i> go and see the old fellow. He has <i>such</i> a sympathetic + nature. I'm sure I should have cried aloud had I stayed any longer. Anyone + would think he had known poor little Teddie ever since he was born. I've + asked Mary to make him a cup of tea.' + </p> + <p> + 'Who is he?' + </p> + <p> + 'I don't know his name, but he seems so sympathetic. And he says he should + be so pleased if he might see you again for a few minutes. He says, too, + that you have a good and kind face. I told him that you would be sure to + take at least a dozen of those in cream and gold. There's nothing at all + vulgar; quite the reverse.' + </p> + <p> + 'What <i>are</i> you talking about, Kate? Who is this sodden old lunatic, + and what on earth are you crying for?' + </p> + <p> + My sister nearly sobbed. 'I always thought that what you derisively termed + “mortuary bards” were horrid people, but this old man has a beautiful + nature. And he's very wet—and hungry too, I'm sure; and Mary looks + at him as if he were a dog. Do try and help him. I think we might get one + or two dozen cream and gold cards, and two dozen black-edged. + </p> + <p> + And then he's a journalist, too. He's told me quite a sad little story of + his life struggle, and the moment I told him you were on the <i>Evening + News</i> he quite brightened up, and said he knew your name quite well.' + </p> + <p> + 'Kate,' I said, 'I don't want to see the man. What the deuce does he want? + If he is one of those loafing scoundrels of undertakers' and mortuary + masons' touts, just send him about his business; give him a glass of + whisky and tell Mary to clear him out.' + </p> + <p> + My sister said that to send an old man out in such weather was not like <i>me</i>. + Surely I would at least speak a kind word to him. + </p> + <p> + In sheer desperation I went out to the man. He addressed me in husky + tones, and said that he desired to express his deep sympathy with me in my + affliction, also that he was 'a member of the Fourth Estate.' Seven years + before he had edited the <i>Barangoora News</i>, but his determined + opposition to a dishonest Government led to his ruin, and now— + </p> + <p> + 'All right, old man; stow all that. What do you want?' + </p> + <p> + He looked at me reproachfully, and taking up a small leather bag, said + that he represented Messrs ———, 'Monumental Masons and + Memorial Card Designers and Printers,' and should feel pleased if I would + look at his samples. + </p> + <p> + He was such a wretched, hungry-looking, down-upon-his-beam-ends old + fellow, that I could not refuse to inspect his wares. And then his boots + filled me with pity. For such a little man he had the biggest boots I ever + saw—baggy, elastic sides, and toes turned up, with the after part of + the uppers sticking out some inches beyond the frayed edges of his + trousers. As he sat down and drew these garments up, and his bare, skinny + legs showed above his wrecked boots, his feet looked like two water-logged + cutters under bare poles, with the water running out of the scuppers. + </p> + <p> + Mary brought the whisky. I poured him out a good, stiff second mate's nip. + It did my heart good to see him drink it, and hear the soft ecstatic 'Ah, + ah, ah,' which broke from him when he put the glass down; it was a <i>Te + Deum Laudamus</i>. + </p> + <p> + Having briefly intimated to him that I had no intention of buying 'a + handsome granite monument, with suitable inscription, or twelve lines of + verse, for £4, 17s. 6d.,' I took up his packet of <i>In Memoriam</i> cards + and went through them. The first one was a hand-drawn design in cream and + gold—Kate's fancy. It represented in the centre an enormously + bloated infant with an idiotic leer, lying upon its back on a blue cloud + with scalloped edges, whilst two male angels, each with an extremely + vicious expression, were pulling the cloud along by means of tow-lines + attached to their wings. Underneath were these words in MS.: 'More angels + can be added, if desired, at an extra charge of 6d. each.' + </p> + <p> + No. 2 represented a disorderly flight of cherubims, savagely attacking a + sleeping infant in its cradle, which was supported on either hand by two + vulgar-looking female angels blowing bullock horns in an apathetic manner. + </p> + <p> + No. 3 rather took my fancy—there was so much in it—four large + fowls flying across the empyrean; each bird carried a rose as large as a + cabbage in its beak, and apparently intended to let them drop upon a group + of family mourners beneath. The MS. inscribed said, 'If photographs are + supplied of members of the Mourning Family, our artist will reproduce same + in group gathered round the deceased. If doves are not approved, + cherubims, angels, or floral designs may be used instead, for small extra + charge.' + </p> + <p> + Whilst I was going through these horrors the old man kept up a babbling + commentary on their particular and collective beauties; then he wanted me + to look at his specimens of verse, much of which, he added, with fatuous + vanity, was his own composition. + </p> + <p> + I did read some of it, and felt a profound pity for the corpse that had to + submit to such degradation. Here are four specimens, the first of which + was marked, 'Especially suitable for a numerous family, who have lost an + aged parent, gold lettering is. 6d. extra,'— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Mary and May and Peter and John [or other names] + Loved and honoured him [or her] who has gone; + White was his [or her] hair and kind was his [or her] heart, + Oh why, we all sigh, were we made thus to part?' +</pre> + <p> + <i>For an Aunt, (Suitable verses for Uncles at same rates.)</i> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Even our own sweet mother, who is so kind, + Could not wring our hearts more if she went and left us behind; + A halo of glory is now on thy head, + Ah, sad, sad thought that good auntie is dead.' +</pre> + <p> + <i>For a Father or Mother,</i> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Oh children, dear, when I was alive, + To get you bread I hard did strive; + I now am where I need no bread, + And wear a halo round my head. + Weep not upon my tomb, I pray, + But do your duty day by day.' +</pre> + <p> + The last but one was still more beautiful,— + </p> + <p> + <i>For a Child who suffered a Long Illness before Decease</i>. + </p> + <p> + [I remarked casually that a child could not suffer even a short illness <i>after</i> + decease. Bilger smiled a watery smile and said 'No.'] + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'For many long months did we fondly sit, + And watch our darling fade bit by bit; + Till an angel called from out the sky, + “Come home, dear child, to the Sweet By-and-By. + Hard was your lot on earth's sad plain, + But now you shall never suffer again, + For cherubims and seraphims will welcome you here. + Fond parents, lament not for the loss of one so dear.”' + [N.B.—“<i>These are very beautiful lines</i>.”] +</pre> + <p> + The gem of the collection, however, was this:— + </p> + <p> + <i>Suitable for a child of any age. The beautiful simplicity of the words + have brought us an enormous amount of orders from bereaved parents</i>. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Our [Emily] was so fair, + That the angels envied her, + And whispered in her ear, + “We will take you away on [Tuesday] night.”' +</pre> + <p> + [“<i>Drawing of angels carrying away deceased child, is. 6d. extra</i>.”] + </p> + <p> + The old imbecile put his damp finger upon this, and asked me what I + thought of it. I said it was very simple but touching, and then, being + anxious to get rid of him, ordered two dozen of Kate's fancy. He thanked + me most fervently, and said he would bring them to me in a few days. I + hurriedly remarked he could post them instead, paid him in advance, and + told him to help himself to some more whisky. He did so, and I observed, + with some regret, that he took nearly half a tumblerful. + </p> + <p> + 'Dear, dear me,' he said, with an apologetic smile, 'I'm afraid I have + taken too much; would you kindly pour some back. My hand is somewhat + shaky. Old age, sir, if I may indulge in a platitude, is—' + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, never mind putting any back. It's a long walk to the ferry, and a wet + day beside.' + </p> + <p> + 'True, true,' he said meditatively, looking at Mary carrying in the + dinner, and drinking the whisky in an abstracted manner. + </p> + <p> + Just then my sister beckoned me out. She said it was very thoughtless of + me to pour gallons of whisky down the poor old fellow's throat, upon an + empty stomach. + </p> + <p> + 'Perhaps you would like me to ask him to have dinner with us?' I said with + dignified sarcasm. + </p> + <p> + 'I think we might at least let Mary give him something to eat.' + </p> + <p> + Of course I yielded, and my sister bade Mary give our visitor a good + dinner. For such a small man he had an appetite that would have done + credit to a long-fasting tiger shark tackling a dead whale; and every time + I glanced at Mary's face as she waited on my sister and myself I saw that + she was verging upon frenzy. At last, however, we heard him shuffling + about on the verandah, and thought he was going without saying 'thank + you.' We wronged him, for presently he called to Mary and asked her if I + would kindly grant him a few words after I had finished dinner. + </p> + <p> + 'Confound him! What the deuce—' + </p> + <p> + My sister said, 'Don't be cruel to the poor old fellow. <i>You may be like + him yourself some day.</i>' + </p> + <p> + I said I didn't doubt it, if my womenfolk encouraged every infernal old + dead-beat in the colony to come and loaf upon me. Two large tears at once + ran down Kate's nose, and dropped into the custard on her plate. I + softened at once and went out. + </p> + <p> + 'Permit me, sir,' he said, in a wobbly kind of voice, as he lurched to and + fro in the doorway, and tried to jab the point of his umbrella into a + knot-hole in the verandah boards in order to steady himself, 'permit me, + sir, to thank you for your kindness and to tender you my private card. + Perhaps I may be able to serve you in some humble way'—here the + umbrella point stuck in the hole, and he clung to the handle with both + hands—'some humble way, sir. Like yourself, I am a literary man, as + this will show you.' He fumbled in his breast pocket with his left hand, + and would have fallen over on his back but for the umbrella handle, to + which he clung with his right. Presently he extracted a dirty card and + handed it to me, with a bow, which he effected by doubling himself on his + stomach over the friendly gamp, and remained in that position, swaying to + and fro, for quite ten seconds. I read the card:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + MR HORATIO BILGER + Journalist and Littérateur + + Formerly Editor of the 'Barangoora News' + + Real Aylesbury Ducks for Sale + Book-keeping Taught in Four Lessons + + 4a Kellet Street, + Darlinghurst, Sydney +</pre> + <p> + I said I should bear him in mind, and, after helping him to release his + umbrella, saw him down the steps and watched him disappear. + </p> + <p> + 'Thank Heaven!' I said to Kate, 'we have seen the last of him.' + </p> + <p> + I was bitterly mistaken, for next morning when I entered the office, + Bilger was there awaiting me, outside the sub-editor's room. He was + wearing a new pair of boots, much larger than the old ones, and smiled + pleasantly at me, and said he had brought his son Edward to see me, + feeling sure that I would use my influence with the editor and manager to + get him put on as a canvasser. + </p> + <p> + I refused point blank to see 'Edward' then or at any other time, and said + that even if there was a vacancy I should not recommend a stranger. He + sighed, and said that I should like Edward, once I knew him. He was 'a + noble lad, but misfortune had dogged his footsteps—a brave, heroic + nature, fighting hard against unmerited adversity.' I went in and shut the + door. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Two days later Kate asked me at supper if I <i>couldn't do something for + old Bilger's son</i>. + </p> + <p> + 'Has that infernal old nuisance been writing to you about his confounded + son?' + </p> + <p> + 'How ill-tempered you are! The “old nuisance,” as you call him, has + behaved very nicely. He sent his son over here to thank us for our + kindness, and to ask me to accept a dozen extra cards from himself. The + son is a very respectable-looking man, but rather shabby. He is coming + again to-morrow to help Mary to put up the new wire clothes line.' + </p> + <p> + 'Is he? Well, then, Mary can pay him.' + </p> + <p> + 'Don't be so horrid. He doesn't want payment for it. But, of course, I + shall pay his fare each way. Mary says he's such a willing young man.' + </p> + <p> + In the morning I saw Mr Edward Bilger, helping Mary. He was a fat-faced, + greasy-looking youth, with an attempted air of hang-dog respectability, + and with 'loafer' writ large on his forehead. I stepped over to him and + said,— + </p> + <p> + 'Now, look here. I don't want you fooling about the premises. Here's two + shillings for you. Clear out, and if you come back again on any pretence + whatever I'll give you in charge.' + </p> + <p> + He accepted the two shillings with thanks, said that he meant no offence, + but he thought Mary was not strong enough to put up a wire clothes line. + </p> + <p> + Mary (who was standing by, looking very sulky) was a cow-like creature of + eleven stone, and I laughed. She at once sniffed and marched away. Mr + Bilger, junior, presently followed her into the kitchen. I went after him + and ordered him out. Mary was leaning against the dresser, biting her + nails and looking at me viciously. + </p> + <p> + Half an hour later, as I walked to the ferry, I saw Mr Bilger, junior, + sitting by the roadside, eating bread and meat (my property). He stood up + as I passed, and said politely that it looked like rain. I requested him + to make a visit to Sheol, and passed on. + </p> + <p> + In the afternoon my sister called upon me at the <i>Evening News</i> + office. She wore that look of resigned martyrdom peculiar to women who + have something unpleasant to say. + </p> + <p> + 'Mary has given me notice—of course.' + </p> + <p> + 'Why “of course!”' + </p> + <p> + Kate rose with an air of outraged dignity. 'Servants don't like to be + bullied and sworn at—not white servants, anyway. You can't expect + the girl to stay. She's a very good girl, and I'm sure that that young man + Bilger was doing no harm. As it is, you have placed me in a most + unpleasant position; I had told him that he could let his younger brothers + and sisters come and weed the paddock, and—' + </p> + <p> + 'Why not invite the whole Bilger family to come and live on the premises?' + I began, when Kate interrupted me by saying that if I was going to be + violent she would leave me. Then she sailed out with an injured expression + of countenance. + </p> + <p> + When I returned home to dinner at 7.30, Mary waited upon us in sullen + silence. After dinner I called her in, gave her a week's wages in lieu of + notice, and told her to get out of the house as a nuisance. Kate went + outside and wept. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + From that day the Bilger family proved a curse to me. Old Bilger wrote me + a note expressing his sorrow that his son—quite innocently—had + given me offence; also he regretted to hear that my servant had left me. + Mrs Bilger, he added, was quite grieved, and would do her best to send + some 'likely girls' over. 'If none of them suited, Mrs Bilger would be + delighted to come and assist my sister in the mornings. She was an + excellent, worthy woman.' And he ventured, with all due respect, to + suggest to me that my sister looked very delicate. His poor lad Edward was + very sad at heart <i>over the turn matters had taken</i>. The younger + children, too, were sadly grieved—to be in a garden, even to toil, + would be a revelation to them. + </p> + <p> + That evening I went home in a bad temper. Kate, instead of meeting me as + usual at the gate, was cooking dinner, looking hot and resigned, I dined + alone, Kate saying coldly that she did not care about eating anything. The + only other remark she made that evening was that 'Mary had cried very + bitterly when she left.' + </p> + <p> + I said, 'The useless, fat beast!' + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The Curse of Bilger rested upon me for quite three months. He called twice + a week, regularly, and borrowed two shillings 'until next Monday.' Then + one day that greasy ruffian, Bilger, junior, came into the <i>Evening News</i> + office, full of tears and colonial beer, and said that his poor father was + dead, and that his mother thought I might perhaps lend her a pound to help + bury him. + </p> + <p> + The sub-editor (who was overjoyed at Bilger's demise) lent me ten + shillings, which I gave to Edward, and told him I was sorry to hear the + old man was dead. I am afraid my face belied my words. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE VISION OF MILLI THE SLAVE + </h2> + <p> + One day a message came over from Tetoro, King of Paré, in Tahiti, to his + vassal Mahua, chief of Tetuaroa,{*} saying, 'Get thee ready a great feast, + for in ten days I send thee my daughter Laea to be wife to thy son Narü. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Tetuaroa is an island about forty miles from Tahiti. It + was in those days (1808) part of the hereditary possessions + of the chief of Paré. +</pre> + <p> + For Narü, the son of the chief of Tetuaroa, had long been smitten with the + beauty of Laea, and desired to make her his wife. Only once had he seen + her; but since then he had sent over many canoes laden with presents, such + as hogs and turtle, and great bunches of plantains, and fine tappa cloth + for her acceptance. + </p> + <p> + But Tetoro, her father, was a greedy man, and cried for more; and Mahua, + so that his son might gain his heart's desire, became hard and cruel to + the people of Tetuaroa. + </p> + <p> + Day after day he sent his servants to every village on the island + demanding from them all such things as would please the eye of Tetoro; so + that by-and-by there was but little left in their plantations, and still + less in their houses. + </p> + <p> + And so, with sullen faces and low murmurs of anger, the people yielded up + their treasures of mats and tappa cloth, and such other things that the + servants of the chief discovered in their dwellings, and watched them + carried away to appease the avarice of Tetoro the King. + </p> + <p> + One night, when they were gathered together in their houses, and the + torches of <i>tui tui</i> (candle-nut kernels) were lighted, they talked + among themselves, not loudly but in whispers, for no one knew but that one + of the chiefs body-men might perhaps be listening outside, and that to + them meant swift death from the anger of Mahua. + </p> + <p> + 'Why has this misfortune come upon us?' they said to one another. 'Why + should Narü, who is an <i>aito</i>{*} set his heart upon the daughter of + Tetoro when there are women of as good blood as her close to his hand? + Surely, when she comes here to live, then will there be hard times in the + land, and we shall be eaten up with hunger.' + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * A man distinguished in warfare. +</pre> + <p> + 'Ay,' said a girl named Milli, 'it is hard that we should give our all to + a strange woman.' + </p> + <p> + She spoke very loudly, and without fear, and the rest of the people looked + wonderingly at her, for she was but a poor slave, and, as such, should not + have raised her voice when men were present. So they angrily bade her be + silent. Who was she that dared to speak of such things? If she died of + hunger, they said, what did it matter? She was but a girl and a slave, and + girls' lives were worth nothing until they bore male children. + </p> + <p> + And then Milli the Slave sprang up, her eyes blazing with anger, and + heaped scorn upon them for cowards. + </p> + <p> + 'See,' she said, and her voice shook with passion; 'see me, Milli the + Slave, standing before ye all, and listen to my words, so that your hearts + may grow strong, even as strong as mine has grown. Listen while I tell + thee of a dream that came to me in the night. + </p> + <p> + 'In my dream this land of ours became as it was fifteen moons ago, and as + it may never be again. I saw the groves of plantains, with their loads of + fruit, shine red and yellow, like the setting of the sun, and the ground + was forced open because of the great size of the yams and taro and + arrowroot that grew beneath; and I heard the heavy fall of the ripe + coconuts on the grass, and the crooning notes of the pigeons that fed upon + the red <i>mati</i> berries were as the low booming of the surf on the + reef when it sounds far distant.' + </p> + <p> + For a little while she ceased, and the people muttered. + </p> + <p> + 'Ay, it was so, fifteen moons ago.' + </p> + <p> + And then Milli, sinking upon one knee, and spreading out her arms towards + them, spoke again, but in a low, soft voice,— + </p> + <p> + 'And I saw the white beach of Teavamoa black with turtle that could scarce + crawl seaward because of their fatness; and saw the canoes, filled to the + gunwales with white, shining fish, come paddling in from the lagoon; and + then came the night. And in the night I heard the sound of the <i>vivo</i>{*} + and the beat of the drum, and the songs and laughter and the shouts of the + people as they made merry and sang and danced, and ate and drank, till the + red sun burst out from the sea, and they lay down to sleep. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Nasal flute. +</pre> + <p> + 'And then, behold there came into my dream, a small black cloud. It + gathered together at Paré, and rose from the ground, and was borne across + the sea to Tetuaroa.{*} As it came nearer, darker and darker grew the + shadows over this land, till at last it was wrapped up in the blackness of + night. And then out of the belly of the cloud there sprang a woman arrayed + as a bride, and behind her there followed men with faces strange to me, + whose stamping footsteps shook the island to its roots in the deep sea. + Then came a mystic voice to me, which said,— + </p> + <p> + “Follow and see.” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Tetoro's canoe, in which he sent his daughter to Tetuaroa, + was painted black by an English sailor who, living under his + protection, afterwards married his daughter. +</pre> + <p> + 'So I followed and saw'—she sprang to her feet, and her voice rang + sharp and fierce—'I saw the strange woman and those with her pass + swiftly over the land like as the shadows of birds fall upon the ground + when the sun is high and their flight is low and quick. And as they + passed, the plantains and taro and arrowroot were torn up and stripped and + left to perish; and there was nought left of the swarms of turtle and fish + but their bones; for the black cloud and the swift shadows that ran before + it had eaten out the heart of the land, and not even one coco-nut was + left. + </p> + <p> + 'And then I heard a great crying and weeping of many voices, and I saw men + and women lying down in their houses with their bones sticking out of + their skins; and wild pigs, perishing with hunger, sprang in upon them and + tore their bellies open with their tusks, and devoured them, and fought + with each other among the bones and blood of those they ate.' + </p> + <p> + A groan of terror burst from the listening people, and the slave girl, + with her lips parted and her white teeth set, looked with gleaming, angry + eyes slowly round the group. + </p> + <p> + 'Again I heard the cries and the groans and the weeping; and I saw thee, + Foani, take thy suckling child from thy withered breast, and give it to + thy husband, so that it might be slain to feed thy other children. And + then thou, too, Tiria, and thou, Hini, and many other women, did I see + slay thy children and their children, and cook and eat them, even as the + wild pigs had eaten those men and women that lay dying on their mats. And + this, O people! is all of the dream that came to me; for then a great + sweat ran down over my body, and a heavy pain came upon my heart, so that + I awoke.' + </p> + <p> + She trembled and sank down again among the women, in the midst of whom she + had been sitting, and then growling, angry murmurs ran round the + assemblage, and the names of Narü and the king's daughter passed from lip + to lip. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Well as they liked their chief's son—for he was distinguished alike + for his bravery and generosity—they yet saw that his marriage with + Laea would mean a continued existence of misery to them all, or at least + so long as the young man's passion for his wife lasted. + </p> + <p> + Past experience had taught them many a bitter lesson, for ever since their + island had been conquered, they had been subjected to the payment of the + most exacting tribute. + </p> + <p> + Fertile as was Tetuaroa, the continued demands made upon its people for + food by the royal family of Tahiti had frequently reduced them to a + condition bordering upon starvation. + </p> + <p> + But these requests had, of late years, been so much modified, that the + island, under the rule of Mahua, had become renowned for its wealth of + food and the prosperous condition of its inhabitants. + </p> + <p> + It was, therefore, with no pleasant feelings that the people viewed the + approaching marriage of the son of their chief to the child of the + grasping Tetoro, a man who would certainly see no abatement made in the + extortions he had succeeded in inducing his vassal Mahua to again + inaugurate. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + At midnight, long after the women were asleep, the principal men of the + island met together and talked of the dream described by the slave girl. + So firmly were they convinced that she had been chosen by the gods as a + means of warning them of their impending rate if the marriage took place, + that they firmly resolved to frustrate it, even if it cost every one of + them his life. + </p> + <p> + But, so that neither Mahua nor his son should suspect their intentions, + they set about to prepare for the great feast ordered by Tetoro; and for + the next week or so the whole population was busily engaged in bringing + together their various presents of food and goods, and conveying them to + the chief's house, where, on the arrival of the fleet of canoes that would + bring the king's daughter from Paré, they would be presented to her in + person by the priests and minor chiefs. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + On the afternoon of the tenth day, some men whom Mahua had set to watch + for Tetoro's fleet saw the great mat sails of five war canoes sweeping + across the long line of palms that fringed the southern beach? Then there + was great commotion, and many <i>pu</i>{*} were sounded from one end of + the island to the other, bidding the people to assemble at the + landing-place and welcome the bride of the chiefs son. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The conch shell. +</pre> + <p> + Now, it so happened that Narü, when the cry arose that the canoes were + coming, was sitting alone in a little bush-house near the south point of + the island. He had come there with two or three of his young men + attendants, so that he might be dressed and adorned to meet Tetoro's + daughter. As soon as they had completed their task he had sent them away, + for he intended to remain in the bush-house till his father sent for him; + for such was the custom of the land. + </p> + <p> + Very gay and handsome he looked, when presently he stood up and looked out + over the lagoon to where the canoes were entering the passage. Round his + waist was a girdle of bright yellow strips of plantain leaves, mixed with + the scarlet leaves of the <i>ti</i> plant; a band of pearl-shell ornaments + encircled his forehead, and his long, black hair, perfumed with scented + oil, was twisted up in a high spiral knob, and ornamented with scarlet + hibiscus flowers. Across one broad shoulder there hung a small, + snowy-white poncho or cape, made of fine tappa cloth, and round his wrists + and ankles were circlets of pearl shell, enclosed in a netting of black + coir cinnet. On each leg there was tattooed, in bright blue, a coco-nut + tree, its roots spreading out at the heel and running in wavy lines along + the instep to the toes, its elastic stalk shooting upwards till its waving + plumes spread gracefully out on the broad, muscular calf. + </p> + <p> + Yet, although he was so finely arrayed, Narü was troubled in his mind; for + not once did those who had dressed him speak of Laea, and this the young + man thought was strange, for he would have been pleased to hear them talk + to him of her beauty. In silence had they attended to his needs, and this + hurt him, for they were all dear friends. So at last, when they rose to + leave him, he had said,— + </p> + <p> + 'Why is it that none of ye speak either to me, or to one another? Am I a + corpse that is dressed for the funeral rites?' + </p> + <p> + Then one of them, named Tanéo, his foster-brother, answered, and bent his + head as he spoke,— + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, Narü, son of Mahua, and mine own brother, hast thou not heard of the + dream of Milli?' + </p> + <p> + At the name of Milli, the hot blood leapt into the face of the chief's + son; but he answered quickly,— + </p> + <p> + 'Nay, naught have I heard, and how can the dream of a slave girl concern + me on such a day as this?' + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, Narü!' replied Tanéo, ''tis more than a dream; for the god Oro hath + spoken to her, and shown her things that concern thee and all of thy + father's people.' And with that the young men arose and left him without + further speech. + </p> + <p> + Little did Narü know that scarce a stone's throw away from where he stood, + Milli, with love in her eyes, was watching him from behind a clump of + plantain trees. She, too, was arrayed as if for a dance or a marriage, and + behind her were a number of women, who were crouched together and spoke + only in whispers. + </p> + <p> + As they stood, the sounds of the drums and flutes and conches came from + the village, and then Narü went forth from the little house, and walked + towards it through the palm grove. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + As he stepped proudly along the shaded path he heard his name called in a + low voice, and Milli the Slave stood before him with downcast eyes, and + barred his path. + </p> + <p> + Now, Narü, bold as he was, feared to meet this girl, and so for some + moments no words came to him, and Milli, looking quickly up, saw that he + had placed his right hand over his eyes. Then she spoke,— + </p> + <p> + 'See, Narü, I do but come to thee to speak some little words; so turn thy + face to me once more; for from this day thou shalt never again see Milli + the Slave.' + </p> + <p> + But Narü, still keeping his hand to his eyes, turned aside, and leaning + his forehead against the trunk of a palm-tree, kept silence awhile. Then + he said, in a low voice,— + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, Milli, be not too hard! This woman Laea hath bewitched me—and + then—thou art but a slave.' + </p> + <p> + 'Aye,' answered the girl, softly, 'I am but a slave, and this Laea is very + beautiful and the daughter of a great chief. So for that do I come to say + farewell, and to ask thee to drink with me this bowl of orange juice. 'Tis + all I have to offer, for I am poor and have no wedding gift to give thee; + and yet with this mean offering do I for ever give thee the hot love of my + heart—ay, and my life also, if thou should'st need it.' + </p> + <p> + And so, to please the girl whom he had once loved, he received from her + hand the drink of orange juice, which she took from a basket she carried, + and yet as he drank he looked away, for he feared to see her eyes looking + into his. + </p> + <p> + Only one word did he say as he turned away, and that was 'Farewell,' and + Milli answered 'Farewell, Narü;' but when he had gone some distance she + followed him and sobbed softly to herself. + </p> + <p> + And soon, as Narü walked, his body swayed to and fro and his feet struck + the roots of the trees that grew out through the soil along the path. Then + Milli, running swiftly up, caught him as he fell, and laid his head upon + her knees. His eyes were closed and his skin dead to her touch. + </p> + <p> + Presently the bushes near by parted, and two women came out, and lifting + Narü between them, they carried the young man to a shady place and laid + him down. + </p> + <p> + And then Milli wept as she bent her face over that of the man she loved, + but the two older women bade her cease. + </p> + <p> + Once more the girl looked at Narü, and then, stepping out into the path, + ran swiftly towards the village. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The five canoes were now sailing quickly over the smooth lagoon, with the + streamers from their mat sails floating in the wind, and on the stages + that ran from their sides to the outriggers were grouped parties of + singers and dancers, with painted bodies and faces dyed scarlet with the + juice of the <i>mati</i> berry, who sang and danced, and shouted, and made + a brave show for the people who awaited their coming on the shore. + </p> + <p> + On the great stage of the first canoe, which was painted black, was seated + Laea, surrounded by her women attendants, who joined in the wild singing + whenever the name of their mistress formed the singers' theme. + </p> + <p> + Then suddenly, as each steersman let fall from his hand his great steering + paddle, which was secured by a rope to the side, the canoes ran up into + the wind, the huge mat sails were lowered, the stone anchors dropped + overboard, and the music and dancing ceased. + </p> + <p> + And then a strange thing happened, and Laea, who was of a proud and + haughty disposition, as became her lineage, grew pale with anger; for + suddenly the great crowd of people which had assembled on the beach seemed + to sway to and fro, and then separate and form into two bodies; and she + saw that the women and children had gathered apart from the men and stood + in a compact mass on the brow of the beach, and the men, in strange, + ominous quiet, spear and club in hand, had ranged, without a sound, in + battle array before her escort. + </p> + <p> + There was silence awhile, and then Tanéo, the foster brother of Narü, + clothed in his armour of cinnet fibre, and grasping a short stabbing spear + in his hand, stepped out of the ranks. + </p> + <p> + 'Get thee back again to Tahiti, O men of Paré,' he said quietly, striking + his spear into the sand. 'This marriage is not to our minds.' + </p> + <p> + Then Laea, as she looked at the amazed and angered faces of her people as + they heard Tanéo's insulting words, dashed aside her attendants, and + leaping from the canoe into the shallow water, walked to the shore, and + stood face to face with him. + </p> + <p> + 'Who art thou, fellow, to stand before the daughter of Tetoro the King, + with a spear in thy rude hand, and thy mouth filled with saucy words?' + </p> + <p> + 'I am Tanéo, the foster brother of the man thou seekest to marry. And + because that a warning hath come to us against this marriage do I stand + here, spear in hand.' + </p> + <p> + Laea laughed scornfully. + </p> + <p> + '<i>I</i> seek thy brother in marriage? Thou fool! Would I, the daughter + of my father, <i>seek</i> any man for husband? Hath not this Narü pestered + me so with his presents and his love-offerings that, for very weariness, + and to please my father, I turned my face from the Englishman who buildeth + ships for him, and said “Aye” to this Narü—who is but a little + man{*}—when he besought me to be wife to him. Ah! the Englishman, + who is both a clever and strong man, is more to my liking.' + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Meaning in rank. +</pre> + <p> + 'Get thee back, then, to thy Englishman, and leave to me my lover,' cried + a woman's voice, and Milli the Slave, thrusting aside the armed men who + sought to stay her, sprang out upon the sand, and clenching her hands + tightly, gazed fiercely at the king's daughter. + </p> + <p> + '<i>Thy</i> lover!' and Laea looked contemptuously at the small, slender + figure of the slave girl, and then her cheek darkened with rage as she + turned to her followers. 'See how this dog of a Narü hath insulted me! + Have I come all this way to be fooled for the sake of such a miserable + creature as this?' and she pointed scornfully to Milli and then spat on + the ground. 'Where is this fellow? Let him come near to me so that I may + tell him to his face that I have ever despised him as one beneath me. + Where is he, I ask thee, girl?' And she seized the slave girl by her + wrist. + </p> + <p> + The savage fury of her voice, her blazing eyes, and noble, commanding + presence, excited alike both her own people and the clustering throng of + armed men that stood watching on the beach, for these latter, by some + common impulse moved nearer, and at the same time every man in the five + canoes sprang out, and, dashing through the water, ranged themselves + beside their mistress. + </p> + <p> + 'Back!' cried Tanéo, warningly; 'back, ye men of Paré, back, ere it be too + late, and thou, Laea, harm not the girl, for see, O foolish woman! we here + are as ten to one, and 'twill be a bloody day for thee and thy people if + but a spear be raised.' + </p> + <p> + And then, facing round, he cried, 'And back, O men of Tetuaroa. Why draw + ye so near? Must blood run because of the vain and bitter words of a silly + woman?' + </p> + <p> + Then, with an angry gesture, Laea released her hold of the slave girl's + slender wrist, and she, too, held up a warning hand to her warriors. + </p> + <p> + 'True, Tanéo,' she said mockingly; 'thy people are as ten to one of mine, + as thou sayest, and for this alone dost thou dare insult me. Oh, thou + coward, Tanéo!' + </p> + <p> + A swift gleam of anger shone in Tanéo's eyes, and his hand grasped his + spear tightly. Then he looked steadily at the king's daughter, and + answered. + </p> + <p> + 'Nay, no coward am I, Laea. And see, if but a little blood will appease + thee, take this spear and slay me. It is better for one to die than many.' + Stretching out his hand, he gave her his spear. + </p> + <p> + She waved it back sneeringly. + </p> + <p> + 'Thy words are brave, Tanéo; but only because that behind them lieth no + danger. Only a coward could talk as—' + </p> + <p> + He sprang back. + </p> + <p> + 'Ho, men of Paré! Listen! So that but one or two men may die, and many + live, let this quarrel lie between me and any one of ye that will battle + with me here, spear to spear, on this beach. Is it not better so than that + Tetoro the King should weep for so many of his people?' + </p> + <p> + A tall, grey-headed old warrior leapt out from the ranks of those that + stood behind Laea. + </p> + <p> + 'Thou and I, Tanéo, shall fight till one of us be slain.' + </p> + <p> + Suddenly Milli the Slave sprang between them with outstretched arms. + </p> + <p> + 'Peace, peace! Drop thou thy spear, Tanéo, and thou thine, old man. There + is no need for blood but mine—for Narü is dead.' + </p> + <p> + Then, kneeling on the sand she said, 'Draw near to me and listen.' + </p> + <p> + Quickly the opposing parties formed a circle around her; before her stood + the haughty and angry Laea; behind her, and standing side by side, Tanéo + and the grey-haired Tahitian warrior. + </p> + <p> + 'I am Milli, the bond-woman of Mahua, the father of Narü. And Narü loved + me; but because of thee, O Laea, he turned from me, and my heart became + cold. For who would give food to my child when it was born—the child + of a slave whose lover was a chief and who had cast her off? And then + there came a vision to me in the night, and I saw the things of which I + have told ye, O men of Tetuaroa. And I knew that the black cloud of my + vision was sent to warn the people of this land against the marriage, and + the hunger and the bitter days of poverty that would come of it. And so, + because thou art a great woman, O Laea, and I but a poor slave, did I meet + Narü but a little while since and give him to drink; and when he drank of + that which I gave him he died, for it was poisoned.' + </p> + <p> + A low murmur, half anger, half pity, broke from the assembled people. + </p> + <p> + 'Thou fool!' said Laea, pityingly; and then she turned to Tanéo. + </p> + <p> + 'And so thy brother hath died by the hand of a slave? Let us part in + peace. Farewell!' + </p> + <p> + And then, as the men of Paré returned in silence to their canoes, Tanéo + and his people closed in upon the kneeling figure of the slave girl, who + bent her head as a man stepped before her with a club. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + When the five canoes had sailed away a little distance from the beach, + Laea saw the men of Tetuaroa open out their ranks, and, looking in the + midst, she saw, lying face downwards on the sand, the body of Milli the + Slave. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + DENISON GETS A BERTH ASHORE + </h2> + <p> + After many years as supercargo, 'blackbirder' {*} and trader in the South + Seas, Tom Denison one day found himself in Sydney with less than ten + shillings in his pocket, and with a strong fraternal yearning to visit his + brother, who was a bank manager in North Queensland and a very + good-natured man. So he sent a telegram, 'Tired of the sea. Can you find + me a billet ashore?' An answer soon came, 'Yes, if you can manage poultry + farm and keep books. If so, will wire passage money and expenses.' + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * A 'backbirder' is the term applied to any person engaged + in the Polynesian labour traffic. +</pre> + <p> + Denison pondered over the situation. He had seen a lot of poultry in his + time—in coops on board the <i>Indiana</i> and the <i>Palestine</i>; + and one Captain 'Bully' Hayes, with whom he had once sailed as supercargo, + had told him a lot of things about game fowls, to which birds the genial + 'Bully' had a great leaning—but was not sure that he was good at + books. In fact, the owners of the <i>Palestine</i> had said that his + system of book-keeping had driven the senior partner to drink, and they + always sent a 'Manual of Book-keeping' on board every time the ship sailed + from Sydney. At the same time Denison was touched by the allusion to + passage money and expenses, and felt that making entries about the birth + of clutches of chickens and ducklings, and the number of eggs sold, would + be simple enough—much easier than the heartbreaking work of a + supercargo, when such customers as Flash Harry of Apia or Fiji Bill of + Apamama would challenge the correctness of their grog bills, and offer to + fight him instead of paying. And then, he thought, it would be simply + delightful to sit in a room in a quiet farmhouse and hear the gentle + moaning of calves and the cheerful cackle of exultant hens, as he wrote + items in a book about eggs and things, and drink buttermilk, instead of + toiling in the ill-smelling trade-room on board the <i>Palestine</i>, + bottling off Queensland rum and opening tierces of negrohead tobacco, + while the brig was either standing on her head or rolling her soul out, + and Packenham the skipper was using shocking language to everyone on deck. + </p> + <p> + So he sent a 'collect' telegram to his brother, and stated that he + thoroughly understood all branches of poultry and book-keeping. + </p> + <p> + On the voyage up to Cooktown he kept to himself, and studied 'Pip and Its + Remedy,' 'Warts and the Sulphur Cure,' 'Milligan on Roup in Ducks,' and + other valuable works; so that when the steamer reached the port and he met + his brother, the latter was deeply impressed with the profound knowledge + he displayed of the various kinds of poultry diseases, and said he felt + sure that Denison would 'make the thing pay.' The poultry farm, he said, + belonged to the bank, which had advanced money to the former proprietor, + who had most unjustifiably died in <i>delirium tremens</i> at Cooktown + Hospital a few months ago, leaving the farm to the care of some + aboriginals, and his estate much in debt to the good, kind bank. + </p> + <p> + On the following evening Denison was driven out to the place by his + brother, who took advantage of the occasion to point out to the youth the + beauties of a country life, away from the temptations of cities. Also he + remarked upon the folly of a young man spending the bloom of his years + among the dissolute natives of the South Seas; and then casually inquired + if the women down there were pretty. Then the younger Denison began to + talk, and the elder brother immediately pulled up the horse from a smart + trot into a slow walk, saying there was no need to rush along on such a + hot night, and that he liked to hear about the customs of foreign + countries. About ten o'clock they reached their destination, and the elder + brother, without getting out of the trap and entering the house, hurriedly + bade Tom good-bye and drove off as quickly as possible, fearing that if he + stayed till the morning, and the youth saw the place by daylight, the + latter would become a fratricide. + </p> + <p> + The occupants of the farm were, the new manager found, three black fellows + and two 'gins,' {*} all of whom were in a state of stark nudity; but they + welcomed him with smiles and an overpowering smell of ants, the which + latter is peculiar to the Australian nigger. One of the bucks, who when + Denison entered was sleeping, with three exceedingly mangy dogs, in the + ex-proprietor's bunk—a gorgeous affair made of a badly-smelling new + green hide stretched between four posts, at once got up and gave him + possession of the couch; and Denison, being very tired, spread his rug + over the hide and turned in, determined not to grumble, and make the thing + pay, and then buy a place in the Marquesas or Samoa in a few years, and + die in comfort. During the night the mosquitoes worried him incessantly, + until one of the coloured ladies, who slept on the ground in the next + room, hearing his petulant exclamations, brought him a dirty piece of rag, + soaked in kerosene, and told him to anoint his hair, face and hands with + it. He did so, and then fell asleep comfortably. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * 'Gin,' or 'lubra'—the female Australian aboriginal. +</pre> + <p> + Early in the morning he rose and inspected the place (which I forgot to + say was twenty miles from Cooktown, and on the bank of the Endeavour + River). He found it to consist of two rusty old corrugated iron buildings, + vaguely surrounded by an enormous amount of primaeval desolation and + immediately encompassed by several hundred dead cattle (in an advanced + state of putrefaction) picturesquely disposed about the outskirts of the + premises. But Denison, being by nature a cheerful man, remembered that his + brother (who was pious) had alluded to a drought, and said that rain was + expected every day, as the newly-appointed Bishop of North Queensland had + appointed a day of general humiliation and prayer, and that + poultry-rearing was bound to pay. + </p> + <p> + The stock of poultry was then rounded up by the black-fellows for his + inspection—thirty-seven dissolute-looking ducks, ninety-three + degraded and anaemic female fowls, thirteen spirit-broken roosters, and + eleven apathetic geese. Denison caught one of the ducks, which immediately + endeavoured to swallow his fore-finger, under the impression it was food + of some sort. + </p> + <p> + 'Jacky,' he said to the leading coloured gentleman, 'my brother told me + that there were five hundred ducks here. Where are they?' + </p> + <p> + Jacky said that the ducks <i>would</i> go on the river and that 'plenty + feller big alligator eat 'em up.' + </p> + <p> + 'Then where are the seven hundred and fifty laying hens?' + </p> + <p> + Jacky scratched his woolly head and grinned. 'Goanner' eat some, snake eat + some, some die, some run away in bush, hawk eat some. By ———, + this feller duck and fowl altogether dam fool.' » + </p> + <p> + During the following week Denison found that Jacky had not deviated from + the truth—the alligators did eat the ducks, the tiger and + carpet-snakes and iguanas did crawl about the place at night-time and + seize any luckless fowl not strong enough to fly up to roost in the branch + of a tree, the hawks did prefer live poultry to long-deceased bullock, and + those hens physically capable of laying eggs laid them on an ironstone + ridge about a mile away from the house. He went there one day, found nine + eggs, and saw five death adders and a large and placid carpet snake. Then + he wrote to his brother, and said that he thought the place would pay when + the drought broke up, but he did not feel justified in taking £3, 10s. a + week from the bank under the present circumstances, and would like to + resign his berth, as he was afraid he was about to get an attack of fever. + </p> + <p> + A few days later he received an official letter from the bank, signed 'C. + Aubrey Denison, Manager,' expressing surprise at his desire to give up the + control of a concern that was 'bound to pay,' and for the management of + which the bank had rejected twenty-three other applications in his favour, + and suggesting that, as the poultry were not thriving, he might skin the + carcases of such cattle as died in the future, and send the hides to + Cooktown—'for every hide the bank will allow you 2s. 6d. nett.' With + the official letter was a private communication from the Elder Brother + telling him not to be disheartened so quickly—the place was sure to + pay as soon as the drought broke up; also that as the river water was bad, + and tea made from it was not good for anyone with fever, he was sending up + a dozen of whisky by the mailman next week. Again Denison was touched by + his brother's thoughtfulness, and decided to remain for another week at + least. But at night-time he thought a good deal about the dear old <i>Palestine</i> + and Harvey Packenham, her skipper. + </p> + <p> + While awaiting with considerable anxiety the arrival of the mailman, + Denison passed the time in killing tiger-snakes, cremating the dead cattle + around the place, bathing in the only pool in the river safe from + alligators, and meditating upon the advantages of a berth ashore. But when + the mailman arrived (four days late) with only five bottles of whisky, and + said in a small, husky voice that the pack-horse had fallen and broken + seven bottles, he felt a soured and disappointed man, and knew that he was + only fit for the sea. The mailman, to whom he expressed these sentiments, + told him to cheer up. It was loneliness, he said, that made him feel like + that, and he for <i>his</i> part 'didn't like to see no man feelin' lonely + in the bloomin' bush.' Therefore he would keep him company for a few days, + and let the sanguinary mail go to Hades. + </p> + <p> + He did keep him company. And then, when the whisky was finished, he bade + Denison good-bye, and said that any man who would send 'his own bloomin' + brother to perish in such a place was not fit to live himself, and ought + to be flamin' well shown up in the bloomin' noospapers.' At daybreak next + morning Denison told the coloured ladies and gentlemen to eat the + remaining poultry; and, shouldering his swag, tramped it into Cooktown to + 'look for a ship.' + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + ADDIE RANSOM: A MEMORY OF THE TOKELAUS + </h2> + <p> + A hot, steamy mist rose from the gleaming, oily sea, and the little island + lay sweltering and gasping under a sky of brass and a savagely blazing + sun. Along the edges of the curving lines of yellow beach the + drought-smitten plumes of the fast-withering coco-palms drooped straight, + brown and motionless; and Wallis, the trader at Avamua village, as he + paced to and fro upon the heated boards of his verandah, cursed the island + and the people, and the deadly calm, and the brassy sky, and the firm of + Tom de Wolf & Sons (whom he blamed for the weather), and the drought, + and the sickness, and the overdue ship, and himself, and everything else; + and he wished that Lita would go away for a month—her patience and + calmness worried and irritated him. Then he might perhaps try getting + drunk on Sundays like Ransom; to-day was Sunday, and another Sunday meant + another hell of twelve hours' heat, and misery, and hope deferred. + </p> + <p> + 'Curse that damned bell! There it goes again, though half of the people + are dead, and the other half are dying like rotten sheep! Oh, for a ship, + or rain, or a howling gale—anything but this!' + </p> + <p> + He dashed his pipe furiously upon the verandah, and then flung himself + into a cane lounge, pressed his hands to his ears, and swore silently at + the jarring clamour of the hated church bell. + </p> + <p> + Lita's brown hand touched him on the shoulder. + </p> + <p> + 'Wassa th' matter, Tom, wis you?' + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, go away, for God's sake, Lita, there's a good girl. Leave me alone. + Go to church, and tell Ioane I'll give him a couple of dollars not to ring + that damned, infernal bell again to-day. I'm going mad! I'll get drunk, I + think, like Ransom. My God! just think of it, girl! Twelve months without + a ship, and this hateful, God-forsaken island turning into a pest-house.' + </p> + <p> + 'Wasa is pesta-house, Tom?' + </p> + <p> + 'Place where they put people in to die—lazzaretto, charnel-house, + morgue, living grave! Oh, go away, girl, go to the blarsted church if you + want to, and leave me alone.' + </p> + <p> + Her slender fingers touched his hand timidly. + </p> + <p> + 'I don' wan' go to church, Tom. I don' wan' leave you here to get mad an' + lon'ly by yourse'f.' + </p> + <p> + 'Very well, old woman, stay here with me. Perhaps a breeze may come + by-and-by and then we can breathe. How many people died yesterday, Lita?' + </p> + <p> + ''Bout nine, Tom—four men, tree woman, an' some child.' + </p> + <p> + 'Poor devils! I wish I had some medicine for them. But I'm hanged if I + know what it is—some sort of cholera brought here by that infernal + American missionary brig, I believe. Hallo! there's Ioane beginning.' + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The white-walled native church was not a stone's throw away, and through + the wide, paneless windows and open doors the deep voice of Ioane, the + Samoan native teacher, sounded clearly and solemnly in the still, heated + morn. Wallis, with his wide straw hat covering his bronzed face, lay back + in the lounge, and, at first, took no heed. Lita, sitting at his feet, + rested her chin on one hand and listened intently. + </p> + <p> + 'Turn ye all, men and women of this afflicted land of Nukutavau, to the + Word of God, which is written in the Book of Isaiah, in the fortieth + chapter and the sixth verse. It was to my mind that we should first sing + to the praise of Jehovah; but, alas! we cannot sing to-day; for my cheeks + are wetted with many tears, and my belly is bursting with sorrow when I + see how few there are of us who are left. But yet can we pray together; + and the whisper of affliction shall as surely reach the ear of God as the + loud, glad song of praise. But first hear ye these words:— + </p> + <p> + '“The Voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? And the Voice + answered. All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the + flower of the field: the grass withereth, the flower fadeth; because the + spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: Surely the people is grass.”' + </p> + <p> + Wallis sat up and listened; for as the preacher ceased he heard the sound + of many sobs; and presently a woman, old, gaunt and feeble, staggered out + from the church and flung herself face downwards upon the burning sand. + </p> + <p> + '<i>A mate, a mate tatou</i>,' she moaned, 'e agi mai le manava Ieova.' + ('We perish, we perish with the breath of Jehovah.') + </p> + <p> + She lay there unheeded; for now the preacher, with broken voice, was + passionately imploring his congregation to cast themselves upon the mercy + of God, and beseech Him to stay the deadly pestilence which had so sorely + smitten the land. + </p> + <p> + 'And spare Thou, O God Most High, Most Merciful, and Most Just, these many + little children who yet live, for they are but very small, and have not + yet sinned before Thee. Three of mine own hast thou touched with Thy hand, + and taken to Thee, and my belly and the belly of my wife are empty, and + yearn in the night for the voices we shall hear no more. And for those + three whom Thou hast taken, spare Thou three of those who yet live. And + shield, O God, with Thy care, the <i>papalagi</i>{*} Ranisome and his + child, the girl Ati' (Addie), 'for she loveth Thy word; and turn Thou the + heart of her father from the drinking of grog, so that he shall be no more + as a hog that is <i>loia</i>.'{**} 'And shield, too, the <i>papalagi</i> + Walesi and the woman Lita—she who liveth with him in sin—for + their hearts are ever good and their hands ever open to us of Nukutavau; + and send, O most merciful and compassionate One, a ship, so that the two + white men and the woman Lita, and the girl Ati, and we, Thy people, may + not die of hunger and thirst and sickness, but live to praise Thy holy + name.' + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Foreigner. + + ** A man or an animal is <i>loia</i> when he or it has eaten or + drunk to such repletion as to lie down and be overrun with + ants—an expressive Samoan synonym for excess. +</pre> + <p> + A burst of weeping, and <i>Amene! Amene!</i> came from his hearers, then + silence; and Wallis, taking his hat from his face, bent his head. + </p> + <p> + Presently the scanty congregation came slowly forth. Some, as they passed + the white man and Lita, tried to smile a greeting to them, though every + brown face was wet with tears. Last of all came Ioane, the Samoan teacher, + short, square-built, with deep sunken earnest eyes bent to the ground, his + right arm supporting his wife, whose slender frame was shaken with the + violence of her grief for those three of her heart whom 'He had taken.' + Wallis, followed by Lita, stepped down from his verandah, and held out his + hand. The teacher pressed it in silence, and, unable now to speak, walked + slowly on. Lita, her dark, oval face still hot with anger, drew back and + made no sign, though Eliné, the teacher's wife, murmured as she passed,—'Nay, + be not angry, Lita; for death is near to us all.' + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + As they returned to the house, Ransom, the old trader from Avatulalo, the + next village to that in which Wallis lived, met them at the gate. He was a + man of sixty or thereabout—grey, dirty, dishevelled and half drunk. + </p> + <p> + 'I want you and Lita to come back with me,' he said slowly, holding to the + palings of the fence, and moving his head from side to side; 'you must + come... 'you must come, or'—with sudden frenzy—'by God, I'll + put a firestick into your house; I will, by blazes, I will! Curse you, Tom + Wallis, and your damned, Sydney-white-duck-suit-respectability, and your + damned proud quarter-caste Portugee woman, who you ain't married to, as I + was to mine—bad as she was. Put up your hands you—' + </p> + <p> + Wallis gripped him firmly but kindly by the wrists, and forced him into a + seat. + </p> + <p> + 'What's the matter with you, Ransom? Only drunk and fightable as usual? or + are you being chased by pink snakes with tiger's heads again, eh? There, + sit quiet, old man. Where is Addie?' + </p> + <p> + For a few moments the old man made no answer; then he rose, and placing + his trembling hands on Wallis's chest said brokenly,— + </p> + <p> + 'God help me, Tom! She's a-dyin'... an' I'm near drunk. She was took bad + this mornin', an' has been callin' for the teacher an' Lita— an' I'd + as lief go to hell as to ask a damned Kanaka mission'ry to come an' talk + Gospel an' Heaven to a child o' mine—not in my own house, anyway. It + ain't right or proper. But she kep' on a-pesterin' me, an' at last I said + I would come an' arst him... an' while I was waitin' outside the church I + hears the damned feller a-prayin' and sayin' “<i>All flesh is grass, and + the grass withereth</i>”'—his voice quivered and broke again—'an' + onct I heard my old mother say them very words when she was a-dyin', + more'n forty year ago, in the old country. An' Addie's dyin' fast, Tom; + dyin', an' I can't say a prayer with her; I don't know none. I'm only a + drunken old shellback, an' I ought to be struck dead for my bloody sins. + She's all I has in the world to love; an' now, an' now—' He turned + away and, covering his face with his coarse, sunburnt hands, sobbed like a + child. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Half an hour later Wallis and Lita were in the room with the dying girl. + Ransom, shambling behind them, crept in and knelt at the foot of the bed. + Two native women, who were squatted on the matted floor went out softly, + and Wallis bent over the girl and looked into her pallid, twitching face, + over which the dread grey shadow was creeping fast. She put out her hand + to the trader and Lita, and a faint smile moved her lips. + </p> + <p> + 'You is good to come, Tom Wallis,' she said, in her childish voice, 'an' + so is you, Lita. Wher' is my fath'? I don' see him. I was ask him to bring + Ioane here to pray fo' me. I <i>can't</i> pray myself.... I <i>have</i> + been try.... Wher' is you, fath'?' + </p> + <p> + Ransom crept round to her side, and laid his face upon her open hand. + </p> + <p> + 'Ah, fath', you is come... poor fath'. I say, fath', <i>don</i> you drink + no more. You been promise me that, fath', so many time. <i>Don''</i> you + break yo' promise now, will you?' + </p> + <p> + The grizzled old sinner put his trembling lips to hers. 'Never no more, + Addie—may God strike me dead if I lie!' + </p> + <p> + 'Come away, old man,' said Wallis, softly, 'let Lita be with her. Neither + you nor I should disturb her just now. See, she wants Lita. But her time + is near, and you must keep close to her.' + </p> + <p> + They drew apart, and Lita knelt beside the bed. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + 'An' did he pray for fath', an' me, an' you, an' Tom, an' my mother who + runned away? Tell me all 'bout it, Lita. I <i>did</i> wan' him to come and + tell me some things I wan' to know before I is dead. Tell me what he say.' + </p> + <p> + 'He say dat vers', “De grass with', de flow' fade, but de word of de Lor' + God endure fo' ev.'”' + </p> + <p> + 'Was do it mean, Lita, dear?' + </p> + <p> + 'I don' 'xactly know, Ati, dear. But Tom say he mean dat by-an'-by, if we + is good an' don' lie an' steal, an' don' kill nobody, dat we all go to + heav' when we is die.' + </p> + <p> + 'Lita, dear, Ioane say one day dat de Bible say my fath' go to hell + because he get drunk all de time.' + </p> + <p> + 'Don' you b'lieve him, Ati; Ioane is only dam Kanaka mission'ry. Wassa the + hell do <i>he</i> know 'bout such thing? <i>You</i> go to heav' sure + 'nuff, and you' fath' come to you there by-an'-by. He never been steal or + lie; he on'y get drunk. Don' you be 'fraid 'bout dat, Ati, dear. An' you + will see yo' mother, too. Oh, yes, yo' will see yo' mother; an' yo' fath' + will come there too, all nice, an' clean, an' sober, in new pyjamas all + shinin' white; an' he will kiss yo' mother on her mouf, an' say, “I + forgive you, Nellie Ransom, jes' as Jesu Christ has forgive me.”' + </p> + <p> + The girl sighed heavily, and then lay with closed eyes, breathing softly. + Suddenly she turned quickly on her side, and extended her arms, and her + voice sounded strangely clear and distinct. + </p> + <p> + 'Where is you, fath'? Quick, quick, come an' hol' me. It is dark.... Hol' + me tight... clos' up, clos' up, fath', my fath'... it is so dark—so + dark.' + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The natives told Wallis next morning that 'Ranisome' had gone quite mad. + </p> + <p> + 'How know ye he is mad?' + </p> + <p> + '<i>Tah!</i> He hath taken every bottle of grog from two boxes and smashed + them on the ground. And then we saw him kneel upon the sand, raise his + hands, and weep. He is mad.' + </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> + IN A NATIVE VILLAGE + </h2> + <p> + When I first settled down on this particular island as a trader, I had, in + my boundless ignorance of the fierce jealousy that prevailed between the + various villages thereon, been foolish enough to engage two or three + servants from outlying districts—much against the wishes of the + local <i>kaupule</i> (town councillors), each of whom brought me two or + three candidates (relatives, connections or spongers of their own) and + urged that I should engage them and no others. This I refused to do, point + blank, and after much angry discussion and argument, I succeeded in having + my own way, and was allowed to choose my servants from villages widely + apart. In the course of a few weeks some terrific encounters had taken + place between my women servants and other of the local females, who + regarded them as vile usurpers of their right to rob and plunder the new + white man. However, in time matters settled down in a measure; and beyond + vituperative language and sanguinary threats against the successful + applicants, the rejected candidates, male and female, behaved very nicely. + But I was slumbering on a latent volcano of fresh troubles, and the + premonitory upheaval came about a month after our head nurse, Hakala, had + been fined five dollars for using English Seafaring' language to another + woman who had called her a pig. As Hakala could not pay the fine—being + already in debt to me for two months' wages paid in advance—I + settled it; for she was a widow, and had endeared herself to me by the + vigorous manner in which she had pitched a large, fat girl named 'Heké out + of the house for stealing some sugar from my store-room. The members of + the <i>kaupule</i> (the village parliament) were pleased to accept the + money, but wrote me a formal letter on the following morning, and remarked + that it was wrong of me to encourage brutal conduct in any of my servants—wrong + and un-Christian-like as well. 'But,' the letter went on to say, 'it is + honest of you to pay this woman's fine; and Talamaheke' (the sugar-thief) + 'has been sentenced to do three days' road-making for stealing the sugar. + Yet you must not think evil of Talamaheke, for she is a little <i>vale</i> + (mad), and has a class in the Sunday-school. Now it is in our minds that, + as you are an honest man, you will pay the fines owing on the horse.' I + had a vague recollection of my predecessor telling me something indefinite + about a horse belonging to the station, but could not remember whether he + said that the animal was in the vicinity of the station or was rambling + elsewhere on the island, or had died. So I called my Samoan cook, Harry, + to learn what he knew about the matter. Harry was the Adonis of the + village, and already the under-nurse, E'eu, a sweet little hazel-eyed + creature of fifteen, and incorrigibly wicked, had succumbed to his charms, + and spent much of her time in the kitchen. At that moment Harry was seated + outside the cook-house, dressed in a suit of spotless white duck, playing + an accordeon; also he wore round his brown neck a thick wreath of white + and scarlet flowers. Harry, I may remark, was a dandy and a notorious + profligate, but against these natural faults was the fact that he could + make very good bread. + </p> + <p> + 'Harry,' I said, 'do you know anything about this horse?' and I tapped the + official letter. + </p> + <p> + He smiled. 'Oh, yes, sir. I know all 'bout him. He been fined altogether + 'bout two hundred and fifty dollar, an' never pay.' + </p> + <p> + 'What do you mean? How can anyone fine a horse?' + </p> + <p> + Then Harry explained and gave me the horse's history. + </p> + <p> + The animal had been brought from New Zealand for some occult reason, and + had behaved himself very badly ever since he landed. Young banana trees + were his especial fancy, cotton plants he devoured wholesale, and it was + generally asserted that he was also addicted to kicking chickens. My three + predecessors on the station had each repudiated the creature, and each man + when he left the island had said that his successor would pay for all + damage done. + </p> + <p> + 'Where is the brute now?' I asked. + </p> + <p> + Looking cautiously around to see that no one was within earshot, Harry + informed me that until a week previously the <i>nuâ</i> had been running + quietly in the interior of the island for many months, but since my + arrival had been brought back by two of the deacons and was now feeding + about the immediate vicinity. + </p> + <p> + 'Why did the deacons bring him back, if he destroys banana trees and kill + chickens?' + </p> + <p> + Harry looked very uncomfortable and seemed disinclined to speak, but at + last let the cat out of the bag and revealed a diabolical conspiracy—the + horse had been brought back for my undoing, or rather for the undoing of + the strings of my bag of dollars. + </p> + <p> + 'You see, sir,' said he, confidentially, 'these people on this island very + clever—all dam rogue' (his mother was a native of the island), 'an' + 'bout a month ago, when you give two dollar to help build new church, the + <i>fakafili</i> and <i>kaupule</i>{*} (judge and councillors) 'say you is + a very good man and that you might pay that horse's fines. An' if you pay + that horse's fines then the people will have enough money to send to + Sydney to buy glass windows and nice, fine doors for the new church. An' + so that is why the deacons have bring that horse back.' + </p> + <p> + 'But what good will bringing the horse here do? That won't make me pay his + fines.' + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, you see, sir, since the horse been come back the people take him out + every day into some banana plantation and let him eat some trees. Then, + by-and-by—to-morrer, perhaps—they will come an' ask you to go + and look. Then you will look an' say, “Alright, I will pay five dollar.” + An' then when you pay that five dollar the <i>kaupule</i> and the judge + will say, “Now you mus' pay for all the bad things that that horse do + before you come here.” An' s'pose you won' pay, then I b'lieve the judge + an' headmen goin' to <i>tapu</i>{*} your store. You see they wan' that + money for church very bad, because they very jealous of Halamua church.' + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Tapu, in this sense, means boycotting. +</pre> + <p> + 'Jealous of Halamua church! Why?' + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, because Halamua people been buy a foolpit for their church—a + very fine foolpit from California; an' now this town here very jealous, + and the people say that when you pay that horse's fine they will buy pine + windows, pine doors, and pine floor, <i>and give Halamua church hell?</i> + </p> + <p> + The novel (but in some cases exceedingly correct) pronunciation of pulpit + pleased me, yet my wrath was aroused at this scandalous revelation of the + plans of the villagers to beautify their church at my expense. It was as + bad as any church bazaar in Christendom. + </p> + <p> + As Harry surmised, I received a visit from a deputation the next morning. + They wanted me to come and see the destruction done to their plantations + by <i>my</i> horse. + </p> + <p> + 'But it's not my horse,' I said. 'I decline to hear anything about a + horse. There is no horse down in my stock list, nor an elephant.' + </p> + <p> + A dirty old ruffian with one eye and a tattooed face regarded me gravely + for a moment, and then asked me in a wheezy, husky voice if I knew that + Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for telling lies. + </p> + <p> + 'Of course,' I replied promptly, 'I saw them struck. My uncle in England + had them buried in his garden to improve the soil. And why do you come + here and tell me these things about a horse? If there <i>is</i> a horse, + and it eats your bananas and sugar-cane, why don't you shoot it?' + </p> + <p> + This suggestion staggered the deputation, half of which scratched its head + meditatively. Then a tall, thin man, with an attenuated face like a + starved fowl, said sneeringly in English,— + </p> + <p> + 'What for you want to make gammon you no savee about horse?' + </p> + <p> + His companions smiled approvingly; not that they understood a word of + English, but they evidently regarded the fowl-like creature as a learned + person who would give me a dressing down in my own language. + </p> + <p> + I looked at him with a puzzled expression, and then said to Harry,— + </p> + <p> + 'What does this man say, Harry? I can't talk German. Can you?' + </p> + <p> + Harry grinned and shook his head; the rest of the deputation looked + angrily at the hatchet-faced man, and the member seated next to him told + him he ought to be ashamed of himself to pretend to be able to <i>vogahau + faka Beretania</i> (talk English). + </p> + <p> + For some minutes no one spoke. Then the youngest member of the deputation, + a jolly, fat-faced young deacon, dressed in a suit of white flannel, + laughed merrily, and asked me for some tobacco. I gave them a plug each + all round, and the deputation withdrew. So having successfully repudiated + the horse and all his works, I felt satisfied. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Pigs were the next trouble—my own pigs and the pigs of the general + public. When I landed on the island I had brought with me from Sydney a + lady and gentleman pig of exceedingly high lineage. They were now the + proud and happy parents of seven beautiful little black-and-white piglets, + and at any hour of the day one might see numbers of natives looking over + my wall at the graceful little creatures as they chased one another over + the grass, charged at nothing, and came to a dead stop with astonishing + rapidity and a look of intense amazement. One fatal day I let them out, + thinking they would come to no harm, as their parents were with them. As + they did not return at dusk I sent E'eu, the under-nurse, to search for + them. She came back and told me in a whisper that the father and mother + pig were rooting up a sweet-potato patch belonging to the local chief. The + piglets she had failed to discover. Enjoining secrecy, I sent E'eu and + Harry to chase the parents home. This was effected after considerable + trouble, but the owner of the potato patch claimed two dollars damages. I + paid it, feeling his claim was just. Next morning the seven piglets were + returned one by one by various native children. Each piglet had, according + to their accounts, been in a separate garden, and done considerable + damage; and 'because they' (the piglets) 'were the property of a good and + just man, the owners of the gardens would not hurt nor even chase them,' + etc. Glad to recover the squealing little wanderers at any cost, I gave + each lying child a quarter-dollar. Next day I had a piece of ground walled + in with lumps of coral and placed the porcine family inside. Then I wrote + to the councillors, asking them to notify the people that if any of the + village pigs came inside my fence and rooted abyssmal holes in my ground, + as had been their habit hitherto, I should demand compensation. His Honour + the Chief Justice stated in court that this was only fair and right; the + white man had paid for the damage done by <i>his</i> pigs, and therefore + he was entitled to claim damages if the village pigs caused him trouble. + (I had previously squared his Honour with the promise of a male sucker.) + One day the seven young pigs escaped from their mother and went out for a + run on the village green. They were at once assailed as detestable foreign + devils by about two hundred and forty-three gaunt, razorbacked village + sows, and were only rescued from a cruel death after every one had lost + its tail. Why is it that pigs of different breeds always bite off each + other's tails? I claimed fifty cents per tail, and was awarded $3.50 + damages, to be paid by the community generally. The community refused to + pay. His Honour then notified by the town crier that I was at liberty to + shoot any pig that broke into the station grounds. I put a cartridge into + a Snider rifle and told my servants to call me if they heard a grunt in + the night. + </p> + <p> + Three days after this, as I was discussing theology and baked fowl one + night with the local teacher in his own house, a boy burst in and said + that there was a strange pig in my garden devouring my crop of French + beans. In two minutes I was back in my house, snatched up the Snider, and + ran to the garden wall. There was the brute, a great black-and white + beast, the biggest native pig I ever saw. His back was turned, but hearing + my steps he 'went about' and faced me. 'Twas a bright moonlight night, and + the bullet plugged him fair between the eyes. Over he rolled without a + kick. Then I heard a shriek or laughter, and saw half a dozen girls + scuttling away among the coco-palms. A horrible suspicion nearly made me + faint. Jumping over the wall I examined the defunct, and could scarce + forbear to shed a tear. + </p> + <p> + 'Twas mine own prized black Australian boar, daubed over with splashes of + coral lime whitewash. And the whitewash came from a tub full of it, with + which the natives had that morning been whitening the walls of the + newly-built village church. The one-eyed old scoundrel of a deacon told me + next day it was a judgment on me. + </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> + MAURICE KINANE + </h2> + <p> + Eastward, from the coast of New Guinea, there lies a large island called, + on the maps, New Britain, the native name of which is Berara. It is nearly + three hundred miles in length and, in parts, almost sixty in width, and + excepting the north-eastern portion, now settled by German colonists, is + inhabited by a race of dangerous and treacherous cannibals, who are + continually at war among themselves, for there are many hundred tribes + living on the coast as well as in the interior. Although there have been + white people living on the north-east coast for over thirty years—for + there were adventurous American and English traders living in this wild + island long before the natives ever saw a German—not one of them + knew then, or knows now, much of the strange black tribes who dwell in the + interior of the centre and western part of the island, save that they were + then, as they are in this present year, always at enmity with the coast + tribes, and are, like them, more or less addicted to cannibalism. + </p> + <p> + Sixty miles from the western end of the island is the mountainous land of + German New Guinea; and sometimes, when the air is clear and the south-east + trade wind blows, the savages on Berara can see across the deep, wide + strait the grey loom of the great range that fringes the north-eastern + coast of New Guinea for many hundred miles. Once, indeed, when the writer + of this true story lived in New Britain, he saw this sight for a whole + week, for there, in those beautiful islands, the air is very clear at + certain seasons of the year. + </p> + <p> + From Matupi, where the principal settlement in New Britain is situated, to + the deep bay at Kabaira, fifty miles away, the coast is very beautiful. + And, indeed, no one who looks at the lovely grassy downs that here and + there show through the groves of waving palm trees stretching from the + beach away up to the rising land of the interior could think that such a + fair country was the home of a deadly fever; and that in the waters of the + bright limpid streams that ran gently down from the forest-clad hills to + meet the blue waters of the Pacific there lurked disease and death to him + who drank thereof. + </p> + <p> + At the time of my story (except for the adventurous American whalemen from + Nantucket and New Bedford, and the sandal-wood cutters from New South + Wales, who sometimes touched there) white men were unknown to the people + of New Britain. Sometimes when the sperm-whaling fleet was cruising + northwards and westward to the Moluccas, a ship would sail along the coast + in the daytime, but always anchored at night, for it was dreaded for the + many dangerous reefs that surround it. And once the anchor was down a + strict watch was kept on board, for the natives were known to be fierce + and treacherous. + </p> + <p> + Between where is now the German settlement and the great native town at + Kabaira Bay there is an island called Mano, which stands five miles off + from the mainland. Early one morning, when the wild people of the villages + among the palm-groves which lined the long winding beach came out of their + thatched huts for their morning bathe they gave a great cry, for a large + full-rigged ship was standing in close under the lee of Mano, and clewing + up her sails before she came to an anchor. + </p> + <p> + Now the natives who lived on the mainland of New Britain were the + hereditary enemies of those who dwelt on Mano Island, and it was hateful + for them to see a ship anchor there, for then the Mano Islanders would get + axes and muskets and hoop-iron. + </p> + <p> + So, with Baringa, the chief, at their head, they all ran to the summit of + a high, grassy hill (known, by reason of a terrible deed once done there + in the olden times, as the Hill of Old Men's Groans), and sat down to + watch if the ship would send her boats ashore. + </p> + <p> + 'Look!' said Baringa, fiercely, striking the ground with his heavy + jade-headed club, 'look, I see a boat putting out from the side. Who among + ye will come with me to the ship, so that I may sell my turtle shell and + pearl shell to the captain for muskets and powder and bullets? Are these + dogs of Mano to get such things from the ship, and then come over here at + night and slay and then cook us in their ovens? Hungry am I for revenge; + for 'tis now twelve moons since they stole my son from me, and not one + life have I had in return for his.' + </p> + <p> + But no one answered. Of what use was it, they thought, for Baringa to + think of his little son? He was but a boy after all, and had long since + gone down the throats of the men of Mano. Besides, the Mano people were + very strong and already had many guns. + </p> + <p> + So for an hour Baringa sat and chafed and watched; and then suddenly he + and those with him sprang up, for a sound like thunder came over to them, + and a cloud of white smoke curled up from the ship's side; she had fired + one of her big guns. Presently Baringa and his people saw that the boat + which had gone ashore was pulling back fast, and that some of the crew who + were sitting in the stern were firing their muskets at the Mano people, + who were pursuing the boat in six canoes. Twice again the ship fired a big + gun, and then the boat was safe, for the two twenty-four pounders, loaded + with grape-shot, smashed two of them to pieces when they were less than a + hundred yards from the ship. + </p> + <p> + Baringa shouted with savage joy. 'Come,' he cried, 'let us hasten to the + beach, and get quickly to the ship in our canoes; for now that the white + men have fought with these Mano dogs, the ship will come here to us and + anchor; for I, Baringa, am known to many white men.' + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The name of the ship was the <i>Boadicea</i>. She was of about seven + hundred tons, and was bound to China from Port Jackson, but for four + months had remained among the islands of the New Hebrides group, where the + crew had been cutting sandal-wood, which in those days was very plentiful + there. Her captain, who was a very skilful navigator, instead of going + through Torres Straits, had sailed between New Ireland and New Britain, so + that he might learn the truth of some tales he had heard about the + richness of those islands in sandal-wood and pearl shell. So he had + cruised slowly along till he sighted Mano Island, and here he decided to + water the ship; for from the deck was visible a fine stream of water, + running from the forest-clad mountains down to the white sands of the + quiet beach. + </p> + <p> + As soon as possible a boat was lowered and manned and armed; for although + he could not see a native anywhere on the beach, nor any signs of human + occupation elsewhere on the island, the captain was a very cautious man. A + little further back from the beach was a very dense grove of coco-nut + trees laden with fruit, and at these the crew of the Boadicea looked with + longing eyes. + </p> + <p> + 'We must water the ship first, my lads,' said Captain Williams, 'and then + we'll spend the rest of the day among the coco-nut trees, and fill our + boats with them.' + </p> + <p> + Just then as the bronze-faced captain was ascending to the poop from his + cabin; a small barefooted boy came aft, and, touching his hat, said,— + </p> + <p> + 'Av ye plaze, sor, won't ye let me go in the boat, sor?' + </p> + <p> + 'Why, Maurice, my boy, there's quite enough of us going in her as it is,' + said the captain, kindly, for the dirty-faced but bright-eyed Maurice + Kinane was a favourite with everyone on board. + </p> + <p> + 'Ah, but shure, sor,' pleaded the boy, 'av yer honour would just let me + go, av it was only to pluck a blade av the foine green grass, and lave me + face in the swate clane wather I'll be beholden—' + </p> + <p> + 'Well, well, my lad, jump in then,' said Captain Williams, with a smile, + and buckling his cutlass belt around his waist he sent the lad down the + ladder before him and the boat pushed off. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Ten months before, this poor Irish lad, who was but thirteen years of age, + had lost both his parents through the upsetting of a boat in Sydney + Harbour. His father was a sergeant in the 77th Regiment, and had only + arrived in the colony a few months previous to the accident, and the boy + was left without a relative in the world. But the captain of his father's + company and the other officers of the regiment were very kind to him, and + the colonel said he would get him enlisted as a drummer. + </p> + <p> + And so for a time Maurice lived in the barracks under the care of Sergeant + MacDougall, a crusty old warrior, who proved a hard master and made the + boy's life anything but a happy one. And Maurice, though he was proud of + the colonel's kind words and of serving with the regiment, fretted greatly + at the harsh manner of the old sergeant. + </p> + <p> + One morning he was reported as missing. Little did those who looked for + him all the next day think that the boy was far out at sea, for he had + stowed away on board the <i>Boadicea</i>; and although Captain Williams + was very angry with him when he was discovered and led aft, the lad's + genial temper and bright, honest face soon won him over, as, indeed, it + did everyone else on board. + </p> + <p> + For nearly an hour after the boat had landed at the mouth of the little + stream the seamen were busily-engaged in filling the water casks. Not a + sign of a native could be seen, and then, regardful of the longing looks + that the sailors cast at the grove of coco-nuts, the captain, taking with + him Maurice and four hands, set out along the beach for the purpose of + gathering a few score of the young nuts to give to his men to drink. + </p> + <p> + One of the four seamen was a Kanaka named 'Tommy Sandwich.' He was a + native of Sandwich or Vaté Island in the New Hebrides. In a very short + time this man had ascended a lofty palm-tree, and was throwing down the + coco-nuts to the others, who for some minutes were busily engaged tying + them together to carry them to the boat. + </p> + <p> + 'That will do, Tommy,' cried the captain, presently. 'Come down now and + help the others to carry.' He did not see that Maurice, boy-like and + adventurous, had managed to ascend a less lofty tree some little distance + away, out of sight of his shipmates, and at that moment was already + ensconced in the leafy crown, gazing with rapture at the lovely scene that + lay before him. + </p> + <p> + It took the men but another ten minutes to tie up the coco-nuts into + bunches of ten, and then each of them drank copiously of the sweet milk of + half a dozen which Tommy had husked for them. + </p> + <p> + 'Come, lads,' said Captain Williams, 'back to the boat now. By-and-by—' + </p> + <p> + A dreadful chorus of savage yells interrupted him, and he and the men + seized their muskets and sprang to their feet. The sounds seemed to come + from where the boat was watering; in a few seconds more four musket shots + rang out. + </p> + <p> + 'Run, run for your lives,' cried the captain, drawing his pistol. 'The + savages are attacking the boat.' And the seamen, throwing down the + coco-nuts, rushed out of the palm grove to rescue their shipmates. + </p> + <p> + They were only just in time, for the banks of the little stream were + covered with naked savages, who had sprung out of the thick undergrowth + upon the watering party, and ere the boat could be pushed off two of the + poor sailors had been savagely slaughtered. Fortunately for the captain + and his party, they were nearer to the boat, when they made their + appearance, than were the natives, and, plunging into the water, and + holding their muskets over their heads, they reached her in safety, and at + once opened fire, whilst the rest of the crew bent to the oars. + </p> + <p> + But the danger was not yet over, for as soon as the boat was out of reach + of the showers of spears sent at her from the shore, a number of canoes + appeared round a bend of the mountainous coast. They had evidently been + sent to cut off the white men's retreat. And then began the race for life + to the ship which had been witnessed by Baringa and his people from the + mainland. + </p> + <p> + Maurice, from his tree, had heard the yells of the savages and the + gunshots, and was about to descend and follow the captain and his + shipmates, when he heard a rush of bodies through the palm grove, and saw + beneath him forty or fifty natives, all armed with clubs and spears. They + were a horrible-looking lot, for they were quite naked and the lips of all + were stained a deep red from the juice of the betel-nut, and their dull + reddish-brown bodies were daubed over with yellow and white stripes. This + party had perhaps meant to surprise the captain and his men as they were + getting the coco-nuts, for, finding them gone, they at once rushed out of + the grove in pursuit. Fortunately for Maurice they were too excited to + think of looking about them, else his end would have come very quickly. + </p> + <p> + For nearly ten minutes the lad remained quiet, listening to the sounds of + the fighting, and in fearful doubt as to his best course of action—whether + to make a bold dash and try to find his way to the boat, or remain in the + tree till a rescue party was sent from the ship. Suddenly the thundering + report of one of the ship's guns made him peer seaward through the + branches of his retreat; and there, to his delight, he caught a brief view + of the boat. Again the report of another gun pealed out, and a wild + screaming cry from the natives told him that the shot had done some + execution. + </p> + <p> + 'I must get out of this,' he thought, 'and make a bolt along the beach in + the other direction, till I get into the hills. I can see better from + there, and perhaps make a signal to the ship.' Maurice got quietly down + from the tree, and after looking cautiously about him, was about to set + off at a run, when he found himself face to face with a young native boy, + who, running quickly forward, grasped him by the hands, and began to talk + volubly, at the same time trying to drag him towards the beach. The boy, + save for a girdle of ti leaves, was naked, and Maurice, anxious and + alarmed as he was for his own safety, could not but notice that the young + savage seemed terribly excited. + </p> + <p> + 'Let me go, ye black naygur,' said Maurice, freeing his hands and striking + him in the chest. + </p> + <p> + In an instant the native boy fell upon his knees, and held up his hands, + palms outward, in a supplicating gesture. + </p> + <p> + Puzzled at this, but still dreading treachery, Maurice turned away and + again sought to make his way to the hills; but again the boy caught his + hands, and with gentle force, and eyes filled with tears, tried to push or + lead him to the beach. At last, apparently as if in despair of making the + white lad understand him by words, he made signs of deadly combat, and + ended by pointing over to where the boat had been attacked. Then, touching + Maurice on the chest, and then himself, he pointed to the sea, and lying + on the ground worked his arms and legs as if swimming. + </p> + <p> + 'Sure, perhaps he's a friend,' thought Maurice, 'an' wants me to swim off + to the ship. But perhaps he's a thraitor and only manes to entice me away + to be murdered. Anyway, it's not much of a choice I've got at all. So come + on, blackamoor, I'm wid ye.' + </p> + <p> + Although not understanding a word that Maurice said, the native boy smiled + when he saw that the white lad was willing to come with him at last. Then, + hand-in-hand, they ran quietly along till they reached the beach; and here + the native, motioning Maurice to keep out of view, crept on his hands and + knees till he reached a rock, and then slowly raised his head above it and + peered cautiously ahead. + </p> + <p> + Whatever it was he saw evidently satisfied him, for he crawled back to + Maurice, and again taking his hand broke into a run, but instead of going + in the direction of the river, he led the way along the beach in the + opposite direction. Feeling confident now that he had found a friend, + Maurice's spirits began to rise, and he went along with the boy + unhesitatingly. + </p> + <p> + At last they rounded a sandy point, covered with a dense growth of + coco-nut trees and pandanus palms; this point formed the southern horn of + a small deep bay, in the centre of which stood an island, warded by a + snow-white beach, and on the nearmost shore Maurice saw a canoe drawn up. + </p> + <p> + The island beach was quite three hundred yards away, but Maurice was a + good swimmer, and although he shuddered at the thought of sharks, he + plunged in the water after his dark-skinned companion and soon reached the + islet, which was but a tiny spot, containing some two or three score of + coco-palms, and three untenanted native huts. It was used by the natives + as a fishing station, and the canoe, which was a very small one, had + evidently been in use that day. Close by were the marks in the sand where + a larger one had been carried down. In one of the huts smoke was arising + from a native ground-oven, which showed that the fishermen had not long + gone; doubtless they would return when the food was cooked, for the native + boy pointed out the oven to Maurice with a look of alarm. + </p> + <p> + The two boys soon launched the canoe, and each seizing a paddle, at once + struck out in the direction of the ship. The native lad sat aft, Maurice + for'ard, and clumsy as was the latter with the long and narrow canoe + paddle, he yet managed to keep his seat and not capsize the frail little + craft. + </p> + <p> + 'Hurroo!' cried foolish Maurice, turning to his companion, 'we're all + right now, I'm thinkin'. There's the ship!' + </p> + <p> + There she was sure enough, and there also were four canoes, paddling along + close in-shore, returning from their chase of the captain's boat. They + heard Maurice's loud shout of triumph, at once altered their course, and + sped swiftly towards the two boys. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Scarcely had Captain Williams and his exhausted crew gained the ship when + the mate reported that a fleet of canoes was coming across from the + mainland of New Britain, and orders were at once given to load the ship's + eight guns with grape and canister. (In those days of Chinese and Malay + pirates and dangerous natives of the South Seas, all merchants ships, + particularly those engaged in the sandal-wood trade, were well armed, and + almost man-of-war discipline observed.) + </p> + <p> + 'We'll give them something to remember us by, Hodgson,' said Captain + Williams, grimly. 'That poor lad! To think I never noticed he was not in + the boat till too late! I expect he's murdered by now; but I shall take a + bloody vengeance for the poor boy's death. Serve out some grog to the + hands, steward; and some of you fellows stand by with some shot to dump + into the canoes if we should miss them with the guns and they get + alongside.' + </p> + <p> + But just as he spoke the mate called out, 'The canoes have stopped + paddling, sir, all except one, which is coming right on.' + </p> + <p> + 'All right, I see it. Let them come and have a look at us. As soon as it + gets close enough, I'll sink it.' + </p> + <p> + For some minutes the canoe, which contained seven men, continued to + advance with great swiftness; then she ceased paddling, and the steersman + stood up and called out something to the ship, just as she was well + covered by two of the guns on the port side. In another minute she would + have been blown out of the water, when Tommy Sandwich ran aft and said,— + </p> + <p> + 'I think, cap'n, that fellow he no want fight ship; I think he want talk + you.' + </p> + <p> + 'Perhaps so, Tommy; so we'll let him come a bit closer.' + </p> + <p> + Again the native paddles sent the canoe inward till she was well within + easy hailing distance of the ship, and the same native again stood up and + called out,— + </p> + <p> + 'Hi, cap'n. No you shoot me. Me Baringa. Me like come 'board.' + </p> + <p> + 'All right,' answered Captain Williams, 'come alongside.' + </p> + <p> + The moment the canoe ranged alongside, Baringa clambered up the side, and + advanced fearlessly toward the poop. 'Where cap'n?' he asked, pushing + unceremoniously aside those who stood in his way; and mounting the ladder + at the break of the poop he walked up to the master of the <i>Boadicea</i> + and held out his hand. + </p> + <p> + In a very short time, by the aid of Tommy Sandwich, whose language was + allied to that of the natives of New Britain, Captain Williams learnt how + matters stood. His visitor was anxious to help him, and volunteered to + join the white man in an attack on the treacherous people of Mano, though + he gave but little hope of their finding Maurice alive. They had, he said, + stolen his own son twelve months before, and eaten him, and he wanted his + revenge. Presently, as a proof of his integrity, he produced from a dirty + leather cartridge pouch, that was strapped around his waist, a soiled + piece of paper, and handed it to the captain. It read as follows:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'The bearer, Baringa, is the chief of Kabaira Coast. He is a + thorough old cannibal, but, as far as I know, may be trusted + by white men. He supplied my ship with fresh provisions, and + seems a friendly old cut-throat. + + 'Matthew Wallis, + 'Master, ship <i>Algerine</i> of New Bedford. + 'October 2 st, 1839.' +</pre> + <p> + 'Well, that's satisfactory,' said Captain Williams, turning to Tommy. + 'Tell him that I am going to land and try and find Maurice, and he can + help me with his people. Mr Hodgson, man and arm the boats again.' + </p> + <p> + In a moment all was bustle and excitement, in the midst of which a loud + 'hurrah' came from aloft from a sailor who was on the fore-yard watching + the remaining canoes of Baringa's fleet. 'Hurrah! Here's Maurice, sir, + coming off in a canoe with a nigger, an' a lot of other niggers in four + canoes a-chasin' him.' + </p> + <p> + Springing to the taffrail, Captain Williams saw the canoe, which had just + rounded the point and was now well in view. The two boys were paddling for + their lives; behind them were the four canoes filled with yelling savages. + </p> + <p> + 'Into the boats, men, for God's sake!' roared the captain. Had a greater + distance separated Maurice from his pursuers the master of the <i>Boadicea</i> + would have endeavoured to have sunk the four canoes with the ship's guns; + but the risk was too great to attempt it as they were. However, the gunner + and carpenter were sent into the fore-top to try and pick off some of the + natives by firing over Maurice's canoe. + </p> + <p> + Five minutes later the ship's three boats were pulling swiftly to the + rescue, and Baringa, jumping into his own canoe, beckoned to the rest of + his flotilla to follow him, and six natives urged the light craft + furiously along after the boats. + </p> + <p> + On, on, came the two poor boys, straining every nerve; but every moment + their pursuers gained on them; and on, on dashed the heavy, cumbersome + boats. Already the nearest canoe was within fifty feet of Maurice and his + black friend, the savage paddlers undaunted by the fire from the muskets + of the gunner and carpenter, when Captain Williams saw a native rise up + and hurl a club at the two boys. Quick as lightning the captain picked up + his musket and fired, and the savage fell forward with a bullet through + his chest. But quick as he was he was too late, for the club whizzed + through the air and struck the native boy on his right arm. + </p> + <p> + A savage yell of triumph came from the pursuing canoes as their occupants + saw the boy go down and the canoe broach-to, and then the leading canoe + dashed up alongside that of Maurice and his companion. + </p> + <p> + 'Pull, men, pull, for God's sake!' cried the captain, frantically, as he + saw the Irish lad, paddle in hand, standing up over the body of the fallen + boy, and strike wildly at his murderous pursuers. + </p> + <p> + With heaving bosoms and set teeth the seamen urged the boats along, and + they and the four canoes crashed together in deadly conflict. But as they + met, a huge savage stood up and, poising a spear, darted it at the prone + figure of the native boy; it did not reach him, for Maurice, wounded and + bleeding as he was with a spear wound through his thigh, flung himself in + front of the weapon to save his friend. It struck him in the shoulder and + came out a full foot at his back. + </p> + <p> + 'You dog,' said Williams, raising his pistol, and the native went down + with a crash. + </p> + <p> + And then ensued a scene of slaughter, as the seamen of the <i>Boadicea</i> + got to work with their cutlasses. It did not take long to end the fight, + and not one of the Mano men escaped, for now Baringa's canoes had come up, + and with their heavy jade clubs dashed out the brains of those of their + enemies who sought to swim ashore. It was in truth a hideous sight, and + even the hardy sailors shuddered when they saw the merciless manner in + which wounded and dying men were massacred by their naked allies. + </p> + <p> + As quickly as possible, the two boys were lifted out of the little canoe + and placed in the captain's boat, where their wounds were examined. The + native boy's arm was broken, and his back badly hurt, but he was quite + conscious. As for Maurice, he was in a bad state, and Captain Williams + decided not to pull out the spear till the ship was reached. + </p> + <p> + Just as he had given orders to pull for the ship, Baringa's canoe returned + from the slaughter of the remaining fugitives, and drew up alongside the + captain's boat, and the moment the chief saw the native boy lying in the + stern sheets of the boat he sprang out of the canoe and embraced him. + </p> + <p> + 'It is my boy, my Lokolol—he whom I thought was dead.' + </p> + <p> + Little remains to be told. The two boys were carefully attended to as soon + as they reached the ship, and to the joy of everyone the spear, when + extracted from Maurice's body, was pronounced by Baringa not to be a + poisoned one. As for Lokolol, the chief's son, his arm was put in splints, + but during the time that was occupied in doing this his hand was clasped + around that of the brave young sailor lad who had saved his life, and his + big, black eyes never left Maurice's pallid face. + </p> + <p> + For three days the <i>Boadicea</i> remained at anchor opposite the village—she + had sailed there the morning after the fight—and the chief showed + his gratitude by every possible means. On the morning of the day on which + the ship sailed he came on board, attended by thirty canoes, every one of + which was laden deep down with pearl shell. It was passed up on deck, and + stacked in a heap, and then Baringa asked for the captain and the white + boy who had saved his son. Beside him stood Lokolol, his arm in a sling, + and tears running down his cheeks, for he knew he would see Maurice no + more. + </p> + <p> + Then Captain Williams came on deck and showed the chief the little cabin + boy, lying in a hammock under the poop awning. The burly savage came over + to him, and taking Maurice's hand in his, placed it tenderly upon his + huge, hairy bosom in token of gratitude. Then he spoke to the captain + through Tommy Sandwich. + </p> + <p> + 'Tell this good captain that I, Baringa, am for ever the white man's + friend. And tell him, too, that all this pearl shell here is my gift to + him and the boy who helped my son to escape from captivity. Half is for + the good captain; half is for the brave white boy.' + </p> + <p> + Then, after remaining on board till the ship was many miles away from the + land, the chief and his son bade the wounded boy farewell and went back to + the shore. + </p> + <p> + Maurice soon recovered, and when the <i>Boadicea</i> arrived at Hong Kong, + and Captain Williams had sold the pearl shell, he said to his cabin boy,— + </p> + <p> + 'Maurice, my lad, I've sold the pearl shell, and what do you think I've + been paid for it? Well, just eight thousand dollars—£1600 in English + money. You're quite a rich boy now, Maurice. It's not every lad that gets + four thousand dollars for saving a nigger's life.' + </p> + <p> + Maurice's bright blue eyes filled with honest tears. 'Shure, sor, he was a + naygur, thrue enough. But thin, yere honour, he had a foine bould heart to + do what he did for Maurice Kinane.' + </p> + <p> + And, as I have said, this is a true story, and old Maurice Kinane, who is + alive now, himself told it to me. + </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> + THE 'KILLERS' OF TWOFOLD BAY + </h2> + <p> + Enbosomed in the verdure-clad hills of the southern coast of sunny New + South Wales lies a fisherman's paradise, named Twofold Bay. Its fame is + but local, or known only to outsiders who may have spent a day there when + travelling from Sydney to Tasmania in the fine steamers of the Union + Company, which occasionally put in there to ship cattle from the little + township of Eden, which is situated upon the northern shore of its deep + and placid waters. But the chief point of interest about Twofold Bay is + that it is the rendezvous of the famous 'killers' (<i>Orca gladiator</i>) + the deadly foes of the whole race of cetaceans other than themselves, and + the most extraordinary and sagacious creatures that inhabit the ocean's + depths. From July to November two 'schools' of killers may be seen every + day, either cruising to and fro across the entrance of the bay, or engaged + in a Titanic combat with a whale—a 'right' whale, a 'humpback,' or + the long, swift 'fin-back.' Never have they been known to tackle the great + sperm-whale, except when one of those mighty creatures has been wounded by + his human enemies. And to witness one of these mighty struggles is worth + travelling many a thousand miles to see; it is terrible, awe-inspiring and + wonderful. The 'killer' ranges in length from ten feet to twenty-five feet + (whalemen have told me that one was seen stranded on the Great Barrier + Reef in 1862 which measured thirty feet). Their breathing apparatus and + general anatomy is much similar to that of the larger whales. They spout, + 'breach.' and 'sound' like other cetaceans, and are of the same migratory + habit, as the two 'schools' which haunt Twofold Bay always leave there at + a certain time of the year to cruise in other seas, returning to their + headquarters when the humpback and fin-back whales make their appearance + on the coast of New South Wales, travelling northwards to the + feeding-grounds on the Bampton Shoals, the coast of New Guinea and the + Moluccas. + </p> + <p> + The head of the killer is of enormous strength. The mouth is armed in both + jaws with fearful teeth, from one and a half inches to two inches long, + and set rather widely apart. In colour they show an extraordinary + variation, some being all one hue—brown, black, or dull grey; others + are black, with large, irregular patches or streaks of pure white or + yellow; others are dark brown with black and yellow patches. One, which I + saw ashore on the reef at the island of Nukulaelae in the South Pacific, + was nearly black, except for a few irregular blotches of white on the back + and belly. This particular killer had died from starvation, for nearly the + entire lower jaw had decayed from a cancerous growth. + </p> + <p> + The whaling station at Twofold Bay is now, alas! the only one in the + colony—the last remnant of a once great and thriving industry, + which, in the early days of the then struggling colony, was the nursery of + bold and adventurous seamen. It is now carried on by a family named + Davidson, father and sons—in conjunction with the killers. And for + more than twenty years this business partnership has existed between the + humans and the cetaceans, and the utmost rectitude and solicitude for each + other's interests has always been maintained. <i>Orca gladiator</i> seizes + the whale for the Davidsons and holds him until the deadly lance is + plunged into his 'life,' and the Davidssons let Orca carry the carcass to + the bottom, and take his tithe of luscious blubber. This is the literal + truth; and grizzled old Davidson, or any one of the stalwart sons who man + his two boats, will tell you that but for the killers, who do half of the + work, whaling would not pay with oil only worth from £18 to £24 a tun. + </p> + <p> + Let us imagine a warm, sunny day in August at Twofold Bay. The man who is + on the lookout at the old lighthouse, built by 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 not clear. If the creature is in a playful mood and 'breaches,' that + is, springs bodily out of the water and 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, looks down. There they are, cruising slowly up + and down, close in-shore, spouting lazily and showing their wet, gleaming + backs as they rise, roll and dive again. There's 'Fatty,' and 'Spot,' and + 'Flukey,' and 'Little Jim,' and 'Paddy,' and 'Tom Tug.' Nearly every one + of them has a name, 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, + 'Humpbacks!' 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 'pick-up' 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're coming right down + on us. Billy was 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 young 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 full 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 school, and are holding him for the boat + and for the deadly lance of his human foes. The rest of the humpbacks + raise 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 how 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> + Ranging 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 skin and 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 + bulldogs 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 tough corrugations of his grey-ribbed + 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 with 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 blows into + his 'life,' a gushing torrent of hot, dark blood, he rolls over on his + side, an agonised trembling quivers through his vast frame, the battle is + over 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 carcass will again rise + to the surface, and as, before he was taken down, the whalemen have + attached a line and buoy to the body, its whereabouts is easily discerned + from the lookout on the headland; the boats again put off and tow it + ashore to the trying-out works. The killers, though they have 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 carcass 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 have 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 <i>smelt</i> 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> + <p> + On some occasions, when a pack of killers set out whale-hunting, they will + be joined by a thresher—the fox-shark (Alopias vulpes)—and + then while the killers bite and tear the unfortunate cetacean, the + thresher deals him fearful blows with his scythe-like tail. The master of + a whaling vessel told me that off the north end of New Caledonia, there + was, from 1868 till 1876, a pack of nine killers which were always + attended by two threshers and a sword-fish. Not only he, but many other + whaling skippers had seen this particular swordfish, year after year, + joining the killers in attacks upon whales. The cruising ground of this + pack extended for thirty miles, north and south, and the nine creatures + and their associates were well known to hundreds of New Bedford whalemen. + No doubt many of these combats, witnessed from merchant ships, have led to + many sea-serpent stories; for when a thresher stands his twenty feet of + slender body straight up on end like a pole, he presents a strange sight, + as his long body sways, and curves, and twists in air, as he deals his + cutting blows upon his victim. Then, too, the enormous length of the + pectoral fins of a humpback whale, which show dazzlingly white as he rolls + from side to side in his agony, and frantically beats the water with them + in his struggles, or upends one after the other like a mast, might well be + mistaken for the uprearing of a serpent's body. But any South Sea whaleman + will smile when he hears talk of the sea-serpent, though he has not + forgotten the awe and fascination with which he was filled, when he first + saw a whale in the agonies of combat with <i>Alopias vulpes</i> and <i>Orca + gladiator</i>, and the serpentine evolutions of the former creature. + </p> + <p> + The whaleman in the Pacific sees very strange and wondrous sights; and + never, since Herman Melville wrote his strangely exciting and weird book, + 'The Whale,' nearly fifty years ago, has any writer given us such a vivid + and true picture of whaling life and incident as Mr Frank T. Bullen in his + 'Cruise of the <i>Cachalot</i> published this year. + </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> + DENISON'S SECOND BERTH ASHORE + </h2> + <p> + I have already told how Tom Denison, the South Sea Island supercargo, took + a berth ashore as overseer of a Queensland duck farm, which was mortgaged + to a bank of which his brother was manager, and how he resigned the post + in great despondency, and humped his swag to Cooktown. + </p> + <p> + Over his meeting with his brother let a veil be drawn. Suffice it to say + that the banker told him that he had missed the one great chance of his + life, and quoted Scripture about the ways of the improvident man to such + an extent that Denison forgot himself, and said that the bank and its + infernal ducks could go and be damned. Thereupon his sister-in-law (who + was a clergyman's daughter, and revered the Bank as she did the Church) + swooned, and his brother told him he was a heartless and dissolute young + ruffian, who would come to a bad end. Feeling very hurt and indignant, the + ex-supercargo stumped out of the bank, and went down to the wharf to look + for a ship. + </p> + <p> + But there was only a dirty little coasting steamer in port, and Denison + hated steamers, for once he had had to go a voyage in one as supercargo, + and the continuous work involved by being constantly in port every few + days, instead of drifting about in a calm, all but broke his heart. So he + rented a room at a diggers' boarding-house kept by a Chinaman, knowing + that this would be a dagger in the heart of his sister-in-law, who was the + leading lady in Cooktown society; also, he walked about the town without a + coat, and then took a job on the wharf discharging coals from a collier, + and experienced a malevolent satisfaction when he one evening met Mrs + Aubrey Denison in the street. He was in company with four other + coal-heavers, all as black as himself; his sister-in-law was walking with + the wife of the newly-appointed Supreme Court judge. She glanced + shudderingly at the disgraceful sight her relative presented, went home + and hysterically suggested to Aubrey Denison, Esq., that his brother Tom + was a degraded criminal, and was on the way to well-deserved penal + servitude. + </p> + <p> + After the coal-heaving job was finished, Denison lay back and luxuriated + on the £5, 17s. 6d. he had earned for his week's toil. Then one morning he + saw an advertisement, in the <i>North Queensland Trumpet-Call</i>, for a + proof-reader. And being possessed of a certain amount of worldly wisdom, + he went down to the bank, saw his brother (who received him with a gloomy + brow) and said he should like to write a letter to the editor of the <i>Trumpet-Call</i>. + He wrote his letter—on bank paper—and then went back to Sum + Fat's to await developments. The following morning he received a note from + the editor telling him to call at the office. To Susie Sum Fat, his + landlord's pretty half-caste daughter, he showed the missive, and asked + her to lend him one of her father's best shirts. Susie, who liked Denison + for his nice ways, and the tender manner in which he squeezed her hand + when passing the bread, promptly brought him her parent's entire stock of + linen, and bade him, with a soft smile, to take his pick. Also that night + she brought him a blue silk kummerbund streaked with scarlet, and laid it + on his pillow, with a written intimation that it was sent 'with fondiest + love from Susie S. Fat.' + </p> + <p> + Arrayed in a clean shirt, and the swagger kummerbund, Denison presented + himself next morning to the editor of the <i>Trumpet-Call</i>. There were + seven other applicants for the billet, but Denison's white shirt and new + kummerbund were, he felt, a tower of strength to him, and even the editor + of the <i>Trumpet-Call</i> seemed impressed—clean shirts being an + anomaly in Cooktown journalistic circles. + </p> + <p> + The editor was a tall, stately man, with red eyes and a distinctly + alcoholic breath. The other applicants went in first. Each one had a + bundle of very dirty testimonials, all of which recalled to Denison Judge + Norbury's remarks about the 'tender' letters of a certain breach of + promise case. One little man, with bandy legs and a lurching gait, put his + unclean hands on the editorial table, and said that his father was 'select + preacher to the University of Oxford.' + </p> + <p> + The red-eyed man said he was proud to know him. 'Your father, sir, was a + learned man and I reverence his name. But I never could forgive myself did + I permit a son of such a great teacher to accept such a laborious position + as proof-reader on the <i>Trumpet Call</i>. Go to Sydney or Melbourne, my + dear sir. The editors of all our leading colonial papers were clergymen or + are sons of clergymen. I should be doing your future prospects a bitter + injustice. A bright career awaits you in this new country.' + </p> + <p> + He shook the hand of the select preacher's son and sent him out. + </p> + <p> + Among the other applicants was a man who had tried dugong fishing on the + Great Barrier Reef; a broken-down advance agent from a stranded theatrical + company; a local auctioneer with defective vision, but who had once + written a 'poem' for a ladies' journal; a baker's carter who was secretary + to the local debating society; and a man named Joss, who had a terrific + black eye and who told Denison, <i>sotto voce</i>, that if the editor gave + <i>him</i> any sauce he would 'go for him' there and then and 'knock his + bloomin' eye out,' and the son of the local bellman and bill-poster. The + editor took their names and addresses, and said he should write to them + all in the morning and announce his decision. Then, after they had gone, + he turned to Denison with a pleasant smile and an approving look at Sum + Fat's shirt, and asked him if he had had previous experience of + proof-reading. Denison, in a diffident manner, said that he had not + exactly had much. + </p> + <p> + 'Just so. But you'll try and do your best, Mr Denison? Well, come in this + evening at eight o'clock, and see Mr Pinkham, the sub-editor. He'll show + you what to do. Salary, £2, 15s. Strict sobriety, I trust?' + </p> + <p> + The successful one said he never got quite drunk, expressed his thanks and + withdrew. Once into the street he walked quickly into Sum Fat's, and told + the Celestial that he had taken a billet at 'thirty bob' a week on a + newspaper. + </p> + <p> + 'Wha' paper?' inquired Sum Fat, who was squeezing a nasty-looking + adipocerous mass into fish-balls for his boarders. + </p> + <p> + 'The <i>Trumpet-Call</i>.' + </p> + <p> + 'That's a lotten lag, if you li.' It close on banklupt this long time.' + </p> + <p> + Denison assented cheerfully. It <i>was</i> a rotten rag, he said, and + undoubtedly in a weak position financially; but the thirty bob would pay + his board bill. + </p> + <p> + Then Sum Fat, who knew that the ex-supercargo was lying as regarded the + amount of his salary, nodded indifferently and went on pounding his awful + hash. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + 'Where is Mr Pinkham?' asked Denison at eight p.m., when an exceedingly + dirty small boy brought him his first proof. + </p> + <p> + 'He's tanked.{*} An' he says he ain't agoin' to help no blackguard sailor + feller to read no proofs. And most all the comps is tanked, too.' + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * 'Tanked.' A colonialism which indicates that a person has + indulged in too much liquid refreshment. +</pre> + <p> + However, with the intelligent assistance of the boy, Denison managed to + pull through that night, with the following result in the intercolonial + Telegrams' column:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Melbourne, August 13.—The body of an elderly boat was + foundd last night floating down the Yarra, down the Yarra, + with its throat cut. It wvs dressed in v grey tweed suit + with a flannel shirt, dressed in a grey tweed suit with a + flannel shirt. This mourning a girl said the deceased was + her father,' etc. +</pre> + <p> + A few lines further down in the same column was the intelligence that + Chief Justice Higinbotham of Victoria had 'sentenced the man Power to + imprisonment for the term of his natural next.' + </p> + <p> + When Denison turned up next evening, the editor asked him in distinctly + cold tones if he 'had read the paper.' + </p> + <p> + Denison said he had not—he was too tired. + </p> + <p> + Then the editor pointed out twenty-nine hideous mistakes, all underlined + in blue pencil and on a par with the two above-mentioned. Denison + explained in regard to the word 'next' that he meant 'life,' but there + being a turned 'e' in 'life' he somehow deleted the entire word, and just + then in his zeal, calling out 'next proof,' he unthinkingly wrote 'next' + on the proof instead of 'life.' As for the matter of the boat he had no + excuse to offer. The editor was not harsh, but said that a man of + Denison's intelligence ought to be employed in building up Britain beyond + the seas instead of reading proofs. + </p> + <p> + For the next two issues he pulled through fairly well. Sum Fat advanced + him ten shillings, with which he bought Susie a pair of canvas shoes, and + Susie kissed him seven times and said she loved him because he never said + horrid things to her like the other men. And when she laid her innocent + face upon his shoulder and wept, Denison was somewhat stirred, and decided + to get away from Susie as quickly as possible. + </p> + <p> + On the fourth evening a beery local politician sent in a paragraph, + written in an atrocious hand, stating that he (the beery man) had + 'received a number of replies to the circulars he had sent out to the + supporters of the Government,' etc. In the morning the paragraph appeared:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + '<i>Mr Ebenezer Thompson, the champion of Separation, for + North Queensland, has again received quite a large number of + reptiles,' </i>etc. +</pre> + <p> + Of course Mr Thompson was terribly insulted—everyone in Cooktown + knew that he had periodical illnesses, during which he imagined he was + chased by large snakes joined to blue dogs with red eyes and crimson tails—and + demanded Denison's instant dismissal. The editor however, pleaded for him + on account of his inexperience, and the matter was passed over. + </p> + <p> + He worried along pretty well till the end of the week, and then fresh + trouble arose. Mr Pinkham the sub-editor, who did the foreign cables and + the local fire-brigade items, got exceedingly drunk—a weekly + occurrence—and, for his own safety, was locked up by the intelligent + police. The three reporters, who all hated Pinkham, declined to sub-edit + his cables, and consequently the editor was himself driven to take refuge + in drink. The business manager, however, took his place, and told Denison + that he relied on him to assist with the cables. Denison hinted at + increased emoluments, and the manager promptly threatened to sack him and + all the rest of the literary staff. He would do the cables himself, he + said. He abhorred Denison on account of Susie and the kummerbund. + </p> + <p> + Just then the Emperor Frederick was dying at San Remo, and cables were + coming through <i>via</i> Sydney. + </p> + <p> + At one a.m. the business manager came in to Denison and said that they + should try to get along amicably. As both the editor and Mr Pinkham, he + said, were in a disgraceful condition, he relied upon the rest of the + staff to maintain the credit of the <i>Trumpet-Call</i>, etc. Then he + showed Denison a cable he had just received, and asked him if he could + assist him to make it out. It ran in this wise: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'London—Emperor Frederick condition very grave. German + physicians hamper Morell Mackenzie, but approve suggestion + operation trache Otomy esophagus without delay.' +</pre> + <p> + Denison said (with secret joy) that he was afraid he couldn't help. But he + believed that there were two world-famous Italian doctors named Tracchi + and Tomy. 'Esophagus' was, he also remarked, no doubt meant for + 'sarcophagus'—the Latin name for the gullet. And he suggested to his + enemy that it would be well to rush the cable through as quickly as + possible. The business manager said he should—he merely felt a + little doubt about the proper spelling of the Italian doctors' names, + though he, of course, knew that there was no such word as esophagus. As he + went out Denison smiled like a fiend. His anticipations of an ample + revenge upon the low, sordid creature who had refused him another + sovereign a week were gratified in the morning, for under a large heading + he saw this:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'THE EMPEROR FREDERICK + + 'Serious Condition + + '<i>San Remo.— The Emperor Frederick's condition is causing + grave anxiety. The German physicians in attendance hinder + Morell Mackenzie in every possible way. They, however, agree + to his suggestion to send for the two celebrated Italian + specialists, Drs Tracchi and Tomy, and with them perform an + operation on the Emperor's sarcophagus. Wheat is 1d. firmer. + Hides are dull, bank rate unaltered. Tallow is + improving.</i>' +</pre> + <p> + The absolute beauty of the thing, however, to Denison's mind, was that the + business manager had sold a copy of his translation of the cablegram to + the other local paper—run by the Cooktown Labour Union—which + had used it word for word. + </p> + <p> + Nothing of moment occurred after this till a report of a sermon by Dr + Stanton, the first Bishop of North Queensland, appeared. His lordship, + alluding to certain conditions of the human mind which rendered one's + judgment 'subject to warp and bias,' the intelligent compositor made it + 'wasps and bees,' and Denison, being very sleepy when he read the proof, + let it go. And Dr Stanton, good and generous man, laughed heartily when + Denison, with a contrite and broken heart called on him, and asked for his + forgiveness. + </p> + <p> + But Nemesis was coming along. There was a wealthy and atrociously vulgar + magnate in Cooktown, whose wife ran second to Mrs Aubrey Denison in local + society, and who had just lost her father. The death announcement appeared + as follows:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'On June 18, at the Bungalow, Cooktown, Donald Dugald + M'Whannel, Government Inspector of Artesian Bores for North + Queensland, aged sixty-five. + + 'Also, at the same time and place, five trusses of + Victoria hay, some pigs and calves, and twenty-six bags of + onions and potatoes, all in prime order.' +</pre> + <p> + Of course this was the last straw, and Denison was asked to resign. But as + Mrs Aubrey Denison wrote and said she should like to forgive him for his + disgraceful conduct before he went away, he sent the Scotch foreman of the + <i>Trumpet-Call</i> to explain to her that the catch-line of an + auctioneer's advertisement had been 'dropped' on the same galley as the + mortuary notice, and overlooked when the forme was locked. And so, after a + tender farewell to little Susie Sum Fat, and with her kisses still warm + upon his lips, Denison went out into the world again to look for a ship. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + A FISH DRIVE ON A MICRONESIAN ATOLL + </h2> + <p> + We were thrashing our way in a little brigantine, owned by Tom de Wolf, of + Liverpool, against the strong north-east trade wind, from the Western + Carolines to Milli in the Marshalls, when one day we sighted a low-lying + cluster of five small palm-clad islands that lay basking, white and green, + in the bright Pacific sun; and an hour before dark the <i>Lunalilo</i> + dropped her anchor just in front of the native village. In a few minutes + the resident white trader came off to us in his boat and made us welcome + to his island home. + </p> + <p> + We had heard that he had quite a considerable quantity of hawkbill turtle + shell and some coco-nut oil to sell, and came to ascertain the truth of + the report before we were anticipated by some German or American trading + vessel. + </p> + <p> + Less than a mile away from where the brigantine was anchored we saw a + noble white beach, trending east and west in many curves, and backed by + serried lines of palms and groves of bread-fruit trees, through whose + bright verdancy peeped out the thatch-covered and saddle-backed houses of + the natives. Apart from the village, and enclosed by a low fence of + growing hibiscus palings, stood the trader's house, a long, rambling + building with white coral-lime walls and a wide, shady verandah on all + four sides. In front of the fence was a tall, white-painted flagstaff, and + presently we saw a woman come out of the trader's house and walk up to it. + In another minute the Stars and Stripes went slowly up, and then hung limp + and motionless in the windless atmosphere. + </p> + <p> + 'There,' said the trader, with a laugh, 'you see, my wife, native as she + is, is more polite than I am. But the fact is that I was so excited when I + saw your schooner that I never thought about hoisting the old gridiron. + Now, look here, gentlemen; before we do anything else, or talk about + business, I want you to promise to come ashore to night. There is to be a + big fish drive, and I can assure you that that is a sight worth seeing.' + </p> + <p> + We made the promise, and half an hour later went ashore and walked up to + our friend's house. Here we found the entire population of the island + assembled to do us honour, and for quite ten minutes were embraced most + effusively by every one, male or female, who could get near us. The men + were naked to their waists—the missionaries had not then made any + headway in the Caroline Islands—around which they wore either + gaily-coloured girdles of bleached and then dyed strips of fine pandanus + leaf, or sashes of closely-woven banana fibre. The women, however, + somewhat ineffectually concealed the remarkable beauty of their figures by + wearing, in addition to their grass waist girdles, a crescent-shaped + garment of similar material, which was suspended from their necks, and + covered their bosoms.{*} Their glossy black hair hung in wavy curls down + their smooth brown backs. * Since the advent of the missionaries this + costume has been suppressed. + </p> + <p> + Nearly all the young unmarried girls wore narrow head circlets of white + pandanus leaf, profusely adorned and embroidered with red and yellow + beads, flat pieces of polished pearl shell, and edged with green and gold + and scarlet parrots' feathers. Their address and modest demeanour was + engaging in the extreme, and we noticed that they showed the utmost + deference and respect to an aged female who sat on a mat in the centre of + the room, surrounded by a number of young children. She was, we learnt, + the king's mother, and at her request the trader led us over to where she + sat, and gave us a formal introduction. She received us in a pleasant but + dignified manner, and the moment that she opened her lips to speak the + clatter of tongues around us ceased as if by magic, and the most + respectful silence prevailed. + </p> + <p> + As neither the captain nor myself were able to speak the local dialect—which + is similar to that of Ponapé—we were somewhat at a loss to answer + the questions she put to us, and etiquette forbade the trader to volunteer + his services as an interpreter, till the old dame asked him. Presently, + however, she desired him to tell us that she was very pleased to see us; + that the fish drive would, she hoped, interest us greatly. Then, at a sign + from her, a handsome young man who stood in the doorway came forward and + laid down a bundle of mats at our feet; this was the old lady's formal + present to the captain and myself. She then rose, and bidding us to come + and see her in her son's house before we sailed, she walked over to the + end of the room, attended by her retinue of children, and sat down again + on a finely-worked mat, which was spread out before her. Then she made + another and longer speech on behalf of her son, who, she said, had desired + her to say that he was very pleased we had brought the ship to an anchor; + that his stomach was filled with friendship for white men; and that the + trader would tell us that all that he (the king) said was true; also that + if any of her people stole even the most trifling article from our ship + they would be severely punished, etc. Furthermore, she trusted that after + we had spent one night at the white man's house and seen the fish drive, + we would spend the following morning with her, when we should be feasted, + and every honour and attention shown us. Then the young man attendant + produced another present—from the king. This was a live sucking pig, + a pair of fat Muscovy ducks, and a huge green turtle. This latter was + carried in by four women, and placed in the centre of the room. We then, + through the trader, made return gifts of a bolt of white calico, a lamp + and a tin of kerosene. Touching these with her hand the old woman signed + to her attendants to take them away, and then, with another polite speech, + left the house. + </p> + <p> + The moment the king's mother retired, many more of the common people + swarmed into the house, and all seemed highly delighted to learn that we + intended to stay and see the great fish drive. + </p> + <p> + As every one of our native crew was very anxious to join in the sport, the + captain had asked the king's mother to 'tapu' the ship till daylight, and + shortly afterwards we were told by a messenger from the king that this had + been done, and that no native would attempt to board the ship till we had + returned. Although these people were honest enough, our captain thought it + hardly safe enough to leave the ship without a white man on board, for all + natives are very careless with the use of fire, and, being great smokers, + he felt nervous on that score. + </p> + <p> + At five o'clock we were taken to the king's house, where we found the + whole population assembled. A great feast was spread out, and King Ralok, + who advanced to meet us, took us by our hands and sat us down in the midst + of a vast collection of baked fish, bread fruit, turtle meat and eggs, and + roast fowls, pigeons and pork. Of course we had to eat; but at the + earliest opportunity the trader told the king that we were anxious to see + the preparations made for the drive before it got too dark. Ralok at once + agreed, and after drinking the milk of a young coco-nut to wash down the + repast, we made a start for the scene of operations. + </p> + <p> + This was along the shore of the lagoon. At high water, for nearly two or + three miles, the white, sandy bottom would be covered by a depth of about + four feet of water; at low water, as it was now, it was dry. Here and + there were clumps of coral boulders, generally circular in shape, and + these, at high water, would be just flush with the surface. These boulders + were some two or three hundred yards apart, and as we came out upon the + lagoon beach we saw that they were connected by a vast number of nets + lying upon the sand, in readiness to rise, by means of their light wooden + floats of puka wood, as soon as the incoming tide swept in from the ocean. + Upon the top of each of these connecting boulders were piled bundles or + long torches made of dried coco-nut branches, which were to be lighted + when the drive began. The total length of the netting was about two miles, + but at one end, that facing the deep water of the lagoon, there was a + wide, unenclosed space. Here, however, were lying half a dozen canoes, + whose outrigger platforms were piled up with strong nets, which were to be + stretched across the opening at the proper moment. + </p> + <p> + After looking at the preparations, we returned to the village, and as we + had no time to lose, and the tide was coming in at a great rate over the + reef, we began to dress, or rather undress, for the sport. To each of us + was given a spear, and a number of young women and children were told off + to accompany us with baskets, with half-a-dozen boys as torch-bearers. + </p> + <p> + As soon as darkness had fallen the whole village was astir. From every + house men, women and very young children swarmed, these latter without + even the traditional leaf to hide their nakedness, while the grown girls + and women, possibly with the view of not shocking us too much, wore short—very + short—girdles around their loins. + </p> + <p> + The grown men and youths now launched a number of canoes, and, crowding + into them, paddled out into the lagoon, keeping well away, however, from + the line of nets, the floats of which were now appearing upon the surface + of the water. In each canoe was a large basket filled with a nasty-looking + mass. This was the crushed shells and bodies of <i>uga</i>, or small land + crabs, and was to be used as 'burley' to attract the fish to the wake of + the canoes. + </p> + <p> + Before going further I must mention that at a particular season of the + year—May—many of the Micronesian Islands are visited by vast + shoals of fish much resembling an English salmon. These enter the lagoons + from the ocean in pursuit of smaller fish. These smaller fish, which are a + species of sprat, assemble in incredible quantities, and at night-time are + wont to crowd together in prodigious numbers about the coral boulders + before mentioned, in the same manner that ocean-living fish will sometimes + attach themselves to a ship or other moving substance, as some protection + from pursuit by bonito, albicore, and the fish called <i>tautau</i>. The + latter are of nocturnal habit when seeking food, and during the daytime + lie almost motionless near the bottom, where they can often be seen in + serried masses. As soon as night falls they rise to the surface and give + chase to flying-fish and other surface-swimming ocean fish. In shape they + are very similar to a salmon, but do not possess the same deepness of body + and general fulness. Their heads consist of a series of long plates, and + their jaws are armed with rows of serrated bone plates. In colour they are + a very beautiful iridescent silver along the sides and belly, the back and + head being a deep, glossy blue. When full grown their length is slightly + over four feet, and weight about twenty-five pounds. They are as voracious + as the pike, swim with extraordinary swiftness at night-time, and will + take the hook eagerly if baited with a whole flying-fish; their flesh is + somewhat delicate in flavour and greatly relished by the natives of + Micronesia, who regard it as second only to the universally esteemed + flying-fish. + </p> + <p> + Two or three days before we made the little group of islands, immense + droves of these <i>tautau</i>, as the natives of Eastern Polynesia call + them, had been hovering about the reefs, and the people were now to + endeavour to tempt them into the trap set for them with such care and + labour. + </p> + <p> + For about a quarter of an hour not a sound broke the silence of the night. + We were in the midst of some three or four hundred natives, who only spoke + in whispers for fear of alarming the fish. All round the deeper portion of + the chain of nets was a line of canoes, filled with women and girls, who + held torches in their hands ready to light up the moment the signal was + given. Further in towards the shore, where the water was not too deep to + prevent them keeping on their feet, were numbers of girls and children + standing close together, their bodies almost touching, and the floats of + the nets touching their bosoms; we white men, with the trader, were + standing together, with our torch-bearers, upon a flat-topped coral + boulder. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly a whisper ran along the line of watchers—the canoes were + coming. One by one we made them out, the paddlers dipping their paddles + into the water in silence, as one of their number in each canoe threw out + double handfuls of the crushed crab 'burley.' As they approached nearer to + us we became aware of a peculiar lapping, splashing noise, as of hundreds + of bare feet walking in water a few inches deep. + </p> + <p> + 'That's the fish,' whispered the trader. 'Look at them—they are + coming in in thousands.' + </p> + <p> + And then even our unaccustomed eyes could see that the water behind the + canoes was churned into a white froth by the jumping, splashing fish, + which x were following the canoes in a solid wall, snapping up the food so + industriously thrown to them. In a few minutes the canoes had entered the + open end of the trap, and were paddling noiselessly past the inner lines + of nets, not a hundred yards from where we stood. At last, when the whole + inclosure was literally swarming with fish, the outside canoes quickly + closed up the gap by stretching the nets across it, and almost at the same + moment there was a tremendous splashing and churning up of the water + around each knoll and boulder of coral. The <i>tautau</i> had left off + eating the bait thrown them from the canoes, and were attacking the + myriads of small fish that clustered round the boulders. And then, at a + signal given by one of the outside canoes, the torches sprang into flame, + and by the bright light that flooded the scene the most extraordinary + sight was revealed, for from one side to the other the great inclosure was + full of magnificent <i>tautau</i> about three feet six in length. They + were all swimming on the surface; and as soon as the blaze of the torches + illumined the water they at once became almost stationary; or, after the + manner of flying-fish, when subjected to a strong light, swam slowly about + in a dazed, hesitating manner. + </p> + <p> + The work of capturing some very large turtle, that had come into the fatal + circle of nets, was now at once begun, lest in their endeavours to escape + the nets might be broken and the fish escape. There were six of these + creatures speared before they could do any damage; as well as two or three + small sharks, which, having gorged themselves to repletion, were killed as + they lazily swam along the circle of nets. + </p> + <p> + So well had the natives judged of the time it would take to carry out + their scheme, that within half an hour of the inclosure of the fish the + tide began to fall, and the imprisoned swarms showed signs of anxiety to + escape, but as fresh supplies of torches were brought from the village, + and kept continuously alight, their alarm seemed to disappear. Had a heavy + shower of rain fallen—so the trader told us—and extinguished + the torches, the fish would have rushed at the nets and carried them away + by sheer weight. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, as the tide continued to fall, many of the women and girls + amused themselves by stunning all the fish that came within reach of them, + and loading the canoes with them. Once some fifty or sixty <i>tautau</i> + came right up to the boulder on which we stood, and were so dazed by the + glare of light that poured down on them, that some permitted themselves to + be captured by the hand. + </p> + <p> + Lower and lower fell the water, and as the shore end of the trap became + dry, the fish were gradually forced to come closer and closer together as + their swimming space diminished. By-and-by, as the receding tide left the + chain of coral rocks dry on their summits, women waded out with firewood, + and built fires on them; not that there was now any danger of the fish + breaking away, but to give a still better light. At last, however, the + word was passed along the line that the sea end of the drive had been + strengthened by additional nets in case a sudden rush might occur; but, by + this time, so rapidly was the water running out, that even at the deepest + end there was not perhaps two feet available for the now terrified and + struggling swarms of <i>tautau</i>. In another twenty minutes there was + heard a most extraordinary sound, caused by thousands upon thousands of + fish thrashing and jumping about on the sand; while at the sea end of the + drive, where the great body of all were massed together, the scene was + simply indescribable. What little water was left was beaten into froth and + foam by their violent struggles, and the light from the torches showed + that a space of about five acres in extent was covered with a shining, + silvery mass of splendid <i>tautau</i>, intermixed with a small number of + gorgeous-hued rock-fish, cray-fish, and some hawk-bill turtle. + </p> + <p> + The work of picking up the prizes went on for at least two hours. Three or + four of the <i>tautau</i> placed in a basket was as much as a woman could + carry, and, although everyone present worked hard, some thousands of fish + were not taken. Many of these, however, were not dead, and, with the + incoming tide, swam off again. All the young turtle, however, were + secured, the natives taking them up carefully and putting them in + walled-in pools where they would remain prisoners. + </p> + <p> + We tried to ascertain the number of fish taken, but gave it up. Every + house and canoe-shed appeared to have the floor covered with them, and for + the next day or two there were great fish dinners on the island. + </p> + <p> + Some thousands of <i>tautau</i> were split open and dried upon platforms + in the same manner as the natives of Eastern Polynesia dry flying-fish, + and the Fraser River Indians their salmon. + </p> + <p> + We succeeded in buying a fine lot of turtle shell from the trader, as well + as some from the king and his mother. The old lady treated us right + royally, and, a few hours before we sailed, a canoe-load of fruit and + drinking coco-nuts were sent off to the ship, with her compliments. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0016" id="link2H_4_0016"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BOBARAN + </h2> + <p> + When our boat touched the beach in front of the trader's house just as the + dawn was breaking, I thought Kabaira Bay one of the loveliest places in + the Pacific, and said so to the man I had been sent to relieve. He quite + concurred in my opinion of the beauties of the scenery, but said that he + was very glad to get away. Then, being a cheerful man, though given to + unnecessary blasphemy, like most South Sea Island traders, he took me out + to the rich garden at the back of the station and showed me the grave of + his predecessor, who had died of fever a year before. Further on, but + outside the enclosing fence, were some more graves, he said. + </p> + <p> + 'Whose?' I asked. + </p> + <p> + 'Captain Murray's, his mate's, and two of his cutter's crew.' + </p> + <p> + 'Fever?' + </p> + <p> + 'No,' he replied, with some slight surprise at my ignorance; 'the natives + killed 'em a couple o' years ago. An', see, just over there by Point Luen, + is the Hon. Mr Willington's house. He was a nephew of Lord L———. + I goes there sometimes and rips a board out o' the floor when I wants + one.' ^ + </p> + <p> + 'Mr Wellington gone away?' My friend <i>was</i> surprised this time. 'Why, + you <i>must</i> be a new chum in New Britain. Why, Willington ain't dead + six months.' 'Fev—' + </p> + <p> + 'Fever be ———-. No, he got speared when he was lying in + his bunk readin' a book one night. <i>I</i> told him that the niggers + would pay him out for a-playin' crooked with em'; but he was too + cock-a-hoopy to listen to a feller like me.' + </p> + <p> + 'Any more white men buried in Kabaira? 'I asked after a while, as we + walked back to the house to take stock of my host's trade goods. + </p> + <p> + 'No, that's all that's planted here—at least, all I know of, and + I've been here, in New Britain, five years. There's been a good many + Dutchmen killed on the coast here, and over in New Ireland, but I didn't + know any of 'em. An' they're such a silly lot o' duffers, that they + reg'lar tempts these New Britain niggers to kill 'em; and then the + beggars, not knowing an Englishman from a Dutchman, are ready to murder + anyone with a white skin. So you look out, young feller. These niggers + here are a rotten bad lot. But I'll interdooce yer to Bobaran. He's the + biggest cut-throat of em' all; but he an' me is good pals, and onct you've + squared him you're pretty safe. Got plenty fever medicine?' 'Lots.' + 'Liquor?' 'Case of gin.' + </p> + <p> + 'That'll keep you clear o' fever as much as anything, as long as the case + lasts. Always drink some when it's raining.' (It usually rained nine days + out of ten in New Britain). 'Now we'll take stock. I can tell you I'm + mighty glad to clear out o' this place—an' so will you be in a + couple o' months, if—you're alive.' + </p> + <p> + Having thus, in cheerful converse, somewhat enlightened me as to the + peculiar characteristics of Kabaira Bay and its inhabitants, my friend had + breakfast cooked, and whilst we were eating it, sent a messenger for his + friend Bobaran to come and make the acquaintance of the new white man. + During breakfast the trader gave me much further information, all of + which, as a man new to the ropes, I was very glad to obtain. Kabaira, I + already knew (I had but just arrived in New Britain from Eastern + Polynesia), was the 'furthest out' trading station on the great island, + which, at that time, had barely thirty white men living on it; most of + these were settled on Gazelle Peninsula, and a few on the Duke of York + Island, midway between the northern point of New Britain and mountainous + New Ireland. My nearest neighbour lived at Kabakadà, a populous native + town ten miles away. My host told me that this man was 'a noisy, drunken + little swine,' the which assertion I subsequently found to be absolutely + correct. Further on, five miles from Kabakadà, was another trader named + Bruno Ran, a hard-working Swiss; then, after rounding Cape Stephens, was + the large German trading station of Matupi in Blanche Bay, where you could + buy anything from a needle to a chain cable. On the Duke of York Island + was another trading station, and also the Wesleyan Mission, which as yet + had made but few converts in New Britain; and over in New Ireland were a + few scattered English traders, who sometimes sailed over on a visit to + their dangerously-situated fellow-countrymen in the big island. + </p> + <p> + For dangerous indeed was the daily existence of traders in those then + little-known islands. But money was to be made, and men will dare much to + make money quickly, even though at the risk of their lives. As for the + natives of New Britain, a few words will suffice. They were the most + unmitigated savages, cowardly and treacherous, and with the exception of + the people of the villages in the vicinity of Blanche Bay, whose women + wore a scanty girdle of leaves of the plant <i>Cordyline terminalis</i>, + they passed their lives in a state of stark nudity. Their dwellings and + canoes were of the poorest description, but their plantations and gardens + were highly cultivated, and marvels of incessant and intelligent labour. + For human life they had no regard; in fact, a pig was worth more than a + man, except among those tribes where a man who weighed more than a pig + would be more valuable as food. At the present time things have improved + on the Gazelle Peninsula, but along the coast-line, which to the westward + stretches for over two hundred miles towards New Guinea, matters have not + changed. As for their personal appearance, it is simply hideous. Take the + biggest anthropoid ape, stain his teeth black and his lips scarlet, stick + a wig of matted greasy curls on his head, and put half a dozen slender + spears in his right paw, and you have an idea of a New Britain nigger—a + 'brand,' according to missionary ethics, who should be plucked from the + burning, but whom the Christian of ordinary intelligence would cheerfully + watch burning until he was reduced to a cinder. + </p> + <p> + Just as we had finished breakfast, Bobaran came in and squatted on the + flour. Being a man of rank and influence, he was privileged, and allowed + to carry his arms with him inside the trader's house. These consisted of + five spears, one long-handled ebony-wood club, with a huge jade head, and + a horse-pistol, which was fastened to a leather belt around his naked + waist. His fuzzy wool was dyed a bright brick red colour and twisted into + countless little curls which, hanging over his beetling and excessively + dirty black forehead, almost concealed his savage eyes, and harmonised + with his thick, betel-stained lips and cavernous, grip-sack mouth. Around + his arms were two white circlets of shell, and depending from his + bull-like neck a little basket containing betel-nut and lime. He certainly + was a most truculent-looking scoundrel. Nevertheless, I shook hands with + him cordially, and he agreed, for certain considerations, to look after + me, find me in food, warn me of any danger that might impend, and also to + murder anyone with whom I might feel annoyed, for a fixed but very small + remuneration. In proof whereof of this alliance, and as a token of amity + and goodwill, Parker (the trader) presented him with a small tin of ship + biscuit, four dynamite cartridges, a dozen boxes of matches and a bottle + of a villainous German liquor called 'Corn Schnapps.' Then the atrocity + stood up and embraced me, and asked me to show him my firearms. His fierce + eyes gleamed with pleasure as he turned them about in his filthy paws, and + he was especially pleased with the size of a Sharp's rifle cartridge and + bullet which would, he grinned, 'make big fellow hole in man.' Then, with + further expressions of goodwill on both sides, we parted. + </p> + <p> + At dusk Parker bade me good-bye, and urging me to put the utmost + confidence in Bobaran and drink plenty of gin whenever it rained—to + keep the fever from 'gettin' holt' of my system—he walked down to + the beach and stepped into the boat. For a few minutes I stood watching + till he was hidden from view by a point of land, and then, feeling + somewhat depressed at my future loneliness, I walked back to the house. + </p> + <p> + Bobaran, the Mesdames Bobaran (three), and the Masters and Misses Bobaran + were sitting on the verandah awaiting me. None of them were as much + dressed as their father, who had, as I have said, a leather belt around + his loins, and all were chewing betel-nut and expectorating the scarlet + juice thereof vigorously about the premises. Being aware of the fact that + a New Britain woman is never abroad at night, and a man but seldom, I was + surprised at such a family gathering, for the village was some distance + away. Bobaran, however, explained that as he and two of his sons intended + keeping guard for me that night, the rest of the family had come with them—and + that they should like some tobacco. + </p> + <p> + Leaving his wives and children outside to smoke, my protector came into + the sitting-room, and as he had acquired a considerable amount of + unpolished sailor man's English, I found him very entertaining and also + instructive. First he told me that the Kabaira people were perfectly safe; + it was a very peaceful village, and the people liked white men, and he + hoped I would not carry arms whenever I went out—it made them + frightened, and when people were frightened of a man they naturally tried + to kill him. Agreed to. Secondly, they were not cannibals—all their + neighbours were, however. (I said I was pleased to hear it, no doubt + someone had maligned them.) But they were all thieves, and I must take + prompt action to prevent myself from being robbed—(here one of his + wives crept to the door on all fours and asked her lord and master for a + match, but was struck with great violence in the mouth with an empty + salmon tin instead, for interrupting). To-morrow I should do as 'Parka' + did the day he came to Kabaira. I must go down to the beach with a + dynamite cartridge in my hand and seek for a place where there was plenty + of fish. And I must have another cartridge ready in my pocket. As soon as + the first shot went off hundreds of natives would jump in the water and + try to steal all the best fish. Then I was to light the fuse of the second + cartridge and throw it in. And it would be sure to hurt <i>some</i> of the + people, and they would not follow me next time I went fishing. But, of + course, if I <i>should</i> happen to kill anyone, I would pay for it? + </p> + <p> + 'Of course I would,' I said. 'How much?' + </p> + <p> + 'Big feller man, one good musket; boy, one axix' (axe); 'old woman, old + feller, musket; young girl, one good musket.' + </p> + <p> + Then he approached me on a delicate subject, i.e., the taking over of my + predecessor's harem of three native women. I explained that I was + expecting my wife down soon from Samoa and couldn't do it. He said it was + a great pity, as one of 'Parka's' wives could make tea and cook meat. + Also, that I need be under no fear of her making any unpleasantness when + my wife turned up. Would I like to see the girl? 'Parka' had taught her a + lot of things. She did not oil her hair with pigeon fat, and cleaned her + teeth every day just like a Samoan girl. Also, she had ten coils of <i>dewarra</i> + (cowrie shells threaded on the midribs of the coco-nut leaf, and used as + the native currency). I said I was very much tempted, but thought I had + better not. He looked at me steadily for a few seconds, as he thrust a + fresh 'chaw' of betel-nut and lime into his hideous mouth, and said that I + was missing a great chance—there were plenty of white men along the + coast who would be glad to get anyone of 'Parka's' wives, especially she + who could make tea and cook meat. + </p> + <p> + He seemed pleased that I was disposed to be as liberal-handed as Parker, + for whom he seemed to have a high regard; and then proceeded to tell me of + some of his own exploits among the inhabitants of Mutavât, a village + across the bay, which was at enmity with Kabaira. The infinite gusto with + which he related a series of atrocious murders gave me a chill, and he + looked like an evil spirit when his great red lips parted in a grin and + revealed his black teeth. Presently he asked me if I had shot any people; + and when I said I had not, he became regretful, but soon brightened up + again and said I would have plenty of chances yet. + </p> + <p> + There were some bush villages, to which he would take me some day, and if + we were careful we could knock over two or three people easily; they were + a bad lot these 'man-a-bush' (bush-men). + </p> + <p> + At ten o'clock I turned in, and Bobaran, after an animated conversation + with his family, lay down at my door with a Snider rifle and his + horse-pistol by his side. + </p> + <p> + And for many long, weary months, in the beautiful but fever-ridden Kabaira + Bay, he was the only person to whom I could talk; and in time I began to + take a liking to him, for I found him, as Parker had told me, 'a + thunderin' old cut-throat, but as straight as a die to a white man who + acts straight to him.' + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0017" id="link2H_4_0017"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SEA FISHING IN AUSTRALIA + </h2> + <p> + 'Hi, mister, turn out, please, if you're a-comin' with us,' a gruff voice + called out to me one frosty morning in May, and then a hairy, + good-humoured-looking face flattened itself against my window pane as the + owner sought to peer into the room. + </p> + <p> + I jumped out of bed, opened the window, and shivered in my pyjamas as the + keen morning air rushed in to the warm room. Slaney, the coxswain of the + Port Macquarie pilot boat,{*} was standing below me on the grassy side + walk, muffled up in his great coat, and carrying a shin of beef in his + hand. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Port Macquarie is a quaint 'old' seaport on the northern + coast of New South Wales. +</pre> + <p> + 'How does it look outside, Slaney?' I asked. + </p> + <p> + 'Smooth as glass. Hurry up, please. I've just come from the butcher's, + couldn't get any fish bait last night, so bespoke a shin of beef.' + </p> + <p> + Five minuses later I had dressed, and was running up the hill to the pilot + station with my fishing tackle, together with some sandwiches, some + bottles of beer, and a tin pannikin, slung in a corn sack over my shoulder—not + a very elegant turn-out, but the correct thing for such rough and tumble + work as schnapper fishing. At the top of the hill I stopped to give myself + breath a minute. An impatient 'Hallo there, <i>do</i> hurry,' ascended to + me from beneath, where the smart pilot boat lay rocking on the waters of a + little cove, cut out of the solid rock by the labour of convicts seventy + years before, her crew of six men standing up to their knees in the water, + and holding her steady. Tumbling down the grassy hill at the risk of + breaking my neck, I waded out and clambered over the side, and in another + minute the crew were bending to their oars and the boat sweeping round a + clump of conical rocks that sheltered the boat harbour from the long roll + of the Pacific billows. Oh, what a lovely morning, and how the blue ocean + glinted and sparkled in the quick warming sun. Away to the southward the + high, thickly-timbered coast was broken up by jutting headlands and + little, irregularly shaped bays, with steep, rocky shores; and northward a + long sweep of beach trended in a curving line for ten miles, till it ended + at the purple sides of Point Plomer, beyond which loomed the misty blue + outline of Captain Cook's 'Smoaky' Cape. + </p> + <p> + The wind was from the westward; so we hoisted our lug sail, and headed + seaward to the sun. Behind us the noisy Hastings River bar clamoured and + moaned unceasingly; for though the sea was smooth, the tide was on the + ebb, and rushing fiercely out over the wide but shallow entrance to the + river, and short, angry waves reared, and tumbled, and fought the roaring + current. But in another ten minutes the noise of the waters became lost in + the distance, and we heard, naught but the gentle <i>lip-lap, lip-lap</i>, + of the boat's cut-water as she slipped over the swelling seas. Three miles + out we took our bearings from a mountain called The Brothers, and Camden + Haven Heads, and then dropped our anchor in twenty-two fathoms on a rocky + bottom. + </p> + <p> + There is not much 'finnicking' preparation for schnapper fishing, and in + five minutes every line was baited, and over the side, and at the bottom, + and before another two or three had passed we knew we had struck the right + spot, for nearly every one of us felt the unmistakable tug of a lusty + schnapper, and then the determined downward pull, strong and steady, which + he makes when once hooked. Slaney, who was using a line as thick as + signal-halliards, was the first to haul his fish over the side, and drop + him, kicking and thrashing like a young porpoise, into the boat; the rest + of us, whose tackle was much thinner, were a long way behind him, and + Slaney's line was over the side again before our fish were laid beside the + first arrival. What a beautiful fish is a ten-pound schnapper—a + brilliant pink back, sides and tail, dotted over with tiny spots of a + wonderful, gleaming blue that sparkle like miniature diamonds; the + bream-shaped head a deep reddish-purple, with nose and lips of palish + pink; the belly a pure, shining white. No wonder that Phillip, the first + Governor of New South Wales, spoke of the schnapper as 'an exceedingly + beautiful and palatable fish.' + </p> + <p> + For about an hour we continued to haul up fish after fish till our arms + ached. The smallest weighed about three pounds, the largest about + seventeen pounds, and the average weight of the lot was about eight + pounds. Then we knocked off for breakfast. That finished, we lit our pipes + and settled down to work again. Alas! a swarm of ugly brown and yellow + 'leather-jackets' had arrived on the scene, and before our lines could + touch bottom the brutes would either take the bait, or bite off the hook + snoozings with their keen, rat-like teeth. In a quarter of an hour we had + caught but four schnapper and lost a dozen or more hooks; my own line was + bitten through at about five fathoms from the surface—a piece of + meat skin had wound itself round it and had been discovered by one of + these predatory villains. No wonder that the Samoans and natives of the + Tokelau Islands term the leather-jacket <i>isumu moana</i>—the + sea-rat. However, as leather-jackets make excellent schnapper bait, two of + us were told off to fish for them with bream-lines and wire-snoozed small + hooks, and we soon had the satisfaction of catching a dozen of the + thieves. These were quickly skinned and cut up; then we lifted anchor and + pulled southward for about half a mile, knowing we should catch but few + schnapper where leather-jackets were. + </p> + <p> + Our new ground proved a lucky one, for we not only caught some seventy + schnapper—some of them truly noble fish—but two magnificent + black and white rock cod, a fish whose flavour is excelled by no other in + Australian waters. No leather-jackets appeared to disturb our pleasure, + and not even the usual murderous shark showed his ugly face, and played + the usual game of seizing every schnapper as it was hauled up, and biting + it in halves. Only the previous week half a dozen had followed us about + from ground to ground, breaking our lines, and taking five out of every + ten fish we hooked. Two at last we succeeded in harpooning and killing, + and casting their bodies to their friends, who made short work of them and + left us alone for the rest of the day. + </p> + <p> + Schnapper in the winter months, on the Australian coast, retire to the + deep water, and can be caught in from thirty to fifty fathoms. They travel + in droves like sheep, and prefer to frequent rocky or broken ground. + Sometimes, however, they will enter the bar harbours in great numbers and + ascend the tidal rivers. Twenty-five years ago they were often taken in + nets in the Parramatta River, near Sydney, and were very plentiful in + Sydney Harbour itself. Nowadays one is rarely caught anywhere inside the + Heads. Steamboat traffic and the foul water resulting from sewerage has + driven them to the deep waters of the ocean. One peculiar feature of + schnapper fishing on the northern coast of New South Wales is that, be the + fish ever so plentiful and hungry, they invariably cease biting + immediately, if the wind should change to the east or north-east. Yet on + the southern seaboard, from Twofold Bay to Galo Island, they will take the + hook during a black north-easter, as freely as they do when the wind is + blowing from any other quarter. + </p> + <p> + From one end to the other of the coast of New South Wales, there is grand + rock-fishing to be had by anyone who once is initiated into its mysteries, + and is not afraid of getting an occasional drenching from an ocean roller + when there is any sea running. Right from the southern boundary of the + colony to the Tweed River on the north, are breaks in the long sandy + beaches, of rocky coast, which in most places are easily accessible to the + fisherman; and the water in these spots being deep close under the verge + of the cliffs, the deep-sea fish, such as schnapper, blue and brown + groper, the gigantic mottled rock-cod, trevally, king-fish, the great + Jew-fish, sea salmon, etc., at certain seasons of the year cruise to and + fro about the rocks in extraordinary numbers. But, strange as it may + appear, rock-fishing is almost unknown to the average colonial, except + those living near the principal ports. The greatest ignorance, too, + prevails as to the edible qualities of the many varieties of excellent + rock-fish, except the well-known schnapper. The generality of the coast + settlers look upon most coloured fish as 'bad to eat,' if not 'poisonous,' + and particularly so in the case of the delicious blue groper or blue-fish, + the 'leather jacket,' and the scaleless bonito, which latter occasionally + visit the shores of the colony in large 'schools,' and take a bait + eagerly. + </p> + <p> + My boyish experiences of rock-fishing in New South Wales are full of + delightful memories. Then, accompanied by one of the few surviving members + of the Hastings River (Port Macquarie) blacks, my brothers and myself + would set out for a week's camping-out on the wild and lonely coast + between Port Macquarie and Camden Haven—a stretch of twenty miles or + so. Our equipment consisted of some very heavy lines and hooks for the big + fish, some fine tackle for beach fishing—for bream, whiting, + flathead, etc.—a couple of spears for cray-fish, an old smooth-bore + army musket and ammunition (for shooting ducks on the tidal lagoons), tea, + sugar, as much bread as we could carry, and a tomahawk. As for tents, such + luxuries were unknown to us boys in those days; if it showed signs of rain + at night time we could soon put up a bark shelter, and, with a pair of + light blankets under us, sleep in peace. + </p> + <p> + One of our most favoured spots was at Tacking Point, a curious steep-to + bluff, clothed on its sides with a dense thicket scrub, the haunt of + hundreds of black wallabies and wonga pigeons, and also a large variety, + of brown and black snakes, with an occasional death adder. The summit, + however, was beautifully grassed, and clear of timber, except for a clump + or two of gnarled and knotted honeysuckle trees; and here, after our day's + fishing, we would camp, and, lying beside our fire, look out upon the + starlit Pacific two hundred feet below. Although only five miles from the + little town, we scarcely saw a human being during our many trips. + Sometimes, however, some of 'Tommy's' sooty relatives would follow us up, + in order to gorge themselves on fish and game, which we shared with them + cheerfully. + </p> + <p> + My first groper was an exciting experience. Descending to the rocky shore + very early in the morning with 'Tommy,' we clambered over some huge jagged + and wildly-jungled-together boulders at the foot of the bluff, and reached + the edge of a large, deep pool of blue water in the rocks, with a narrow + opening to the sea. The sides were covered with long streaming kelp and + many-coloured seaweed, which moved gently up and down to the rise and fall + of the ocean swell. Only in one part could we see the white sand at the + bottom of the pool, for the depth of water was some six or seven fathoms. + Both blue and brown groper are very fond of crabs; in fact, when a big, + wary fellow will not look at either a piece of octopus or the flesh of the + <i>aliotis</i> shell, he cannot resist a crab. We soon secured plenty of + crabs of all sizes and colours, and, baiting our lines with two of the + largest, dismembered the others, and flung portions of them into the pool. + A number of small parrot-fish, sea-bream, and mottled cod at once appeared + and devoured the fragments. The size and hardness of the shells of our + crabs, however, were too much for them, and although they snapped off a + leg or two and 'worried' the baits considerably, our hooks touched bottom + safely (we were using sinkers of stone). Suddenly, just as my companion + had thrown another handful of 'burley' into the water, three big blue + groper rose to the surface almost together, and, swallowing the crushed-up + crab, began swimming round and round the edges of the pool eagerly seeking + for more. This was my first view of this species of groper at close + quarters, and these three presented, a very beautiful sight, the very dark + blue of the whole of their closely-scaled, shining bodies, and the very + light blue of their fins and tails making a pretty contrast. Two were + about 15 lb. to 16 lb. each, the other about 35 lb. to 40 lb., and nearly + four feet in length. They swam but slowly, though every now and then they + would turn with some swiftness of motion as 'Tommy' continued to throw in + pieces of crab. Meanwhile, by my black companion's whispered instructions, + I had cut the sinker off a spare line, and baited the four-inch hook with + the two largest crabs left. Unreeving about six fathoms of line, I handed + the baited end to 'Tommy,' who deftly threw it just before the nose of the + big fellow. In an instant he had seized the hook, and, diving, made for + the opening between the rocks. 'Tommy,' yelling to me to look to the other + lines, held on like grim death and managed to turn his prize's head in + time; the two others sticking close to their brother in misfortune. I had + just hauled up one of the other two lines, and was running round the + jagged side of the pool holding the other in my left hand (so as to keep + clear of 'Tommy's' fish), when I felt a terrific tug that nearly sent me + over. 'Look out! Look out!' shouted 'Tommy,' warningly; 'don't let that + fella get underneath the seaweed; keep him clear of dat, or you lose him!' + For a 16-lb. fish he pulled tremendously (for a boy of my size); but at + last I managed to get a steady strain on him, and then his big blue head, + with its thick, negro-like lips, soon appeared at the base of a slanting + rock, up which I hauled him, kicking and floundering. 'Tommy' meanwhile + had already landed his fish, and had cast his line for the last of the + trio; but without success; he had made off to the sea. + </p> + <p> + A few hours later, at low tide, we caught, in the same pool, seven + schnapper, averaging about 8 lb. each; a brown groper of 20 lb., a dozen + or more of deep sea bream, beautiful silvery-scaled fish, with a pale + greenish tinge on the head and back, and bright yellow fins and tail; and + several huge cray-fish, which clung to our hooks and did not let go their + hold in time. + </p> + <p> + This pool was only one of many along this picturesque and rocky coast, + along which, at the present time, fish are just as plentiful and as easy + to catch; but four years ago I, on visiting 'the' pool of my early days, + found it filled by a pile of soap-stone rocks, detached by the rains from + the sea face of the bluff above it. It was a bitter disappointment to me, + for the memory of that pool had remained with me since my boyhood, and I + felt as one who, after a long, long separation in foreign climes from some + dear friend of his youth, at last returns home, hoping to meet his comrade + once more, and is shown his grass-grown grave. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0018" id="link2H_4_0018"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + AN ADVENTURE IN THE NEW HEBRIDES + </h2> + <p> + More than twenty years ago a fine young Polynesian half-caste, named Alan, + and the writer, were running a small trading cutter out of Samoa, among + the low-lying atolls of the Ellice and Tokelau groups, in the South + Pacific. We had hauled her up on the beach to clean and put a few sheets + of copper on her, when, one day, a big, bronze-faced man came to us, and + asked us if we were open to a charter to Santo in the New Hebrides. After + a few minutes' conversation we struck a bargain, the terms of which were + to take him, his native wife, three servants, and twenty tons of trade + goods to his trading station on Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides, for + six hundred dollars. He was an ex-trading skipper, but had given up the + sea, married a Hervey Island half-caste, and, after trading some years in + the Caroline and Marshall groups, had made a trip to the New Hebrides, + where he had gone into partnership with a Frenchman, who, like himself, + was a sailor man, and had settled down on Santo. Hannah—for that was + his name—had then returned to the Carolines for his family, and + brought them to Samoa, from whence he thought he could get a passage down + to the New Hebrides in one of the two German brigs then engaged in the + Kanaka labour trade—'black-birding,' as it was called. But one, the + <i>Iserbrook</i> had been burnt in Sydney Harbour, and the other was away + at Valparaiso. + </p> + <p> + But now arose a difficulty. I was not navigator enough to take the vessel + to Santo—a distance of thirteen hundred miles—let alone beat + her back to Samoa against the south-east trades. This, however, Captain + Hannah soon settled. He agreed to navigate us down, and his partner would + come back with me, as his wife, who was a Samoan woman, wanted to pay a + visit to her native country, and our vessel would afford her an excellent + opportunity; his own services in bringing the cutter back to Samoa to be + 'squared' by free passages for himself and wife. + </p> + <p> + My partner Alan was quite satisfied. The big man planked down two hundred + and fifty dollars on account, and we shook hands all round. Hannah was a + quiet, silent sort of fellow, but I knew we should get on all right, for + he came down to us next morning with his people, helped us heave the + cutter off the beach, and covered our decks with pigs and poultry. That + afternoon we got our wood and water aboard, and were ready for sea at + daylight. + </p> + <p> + Alan was a splendid type of a man. Brought up to the sea from his + childhood, he had served some years as a boat-steerer on American + whale-ships, then with 'Bully' Hayes as boatswain in the notorious <i>Rona</i> + brig; and a finer seaman never walked a deck. He was very proud of the + English blood in his veins, and always talking of the exploits of his + father, who had served with the gallant Cochrane in the Chilian navy. At + sea he was a man for emergencies—quick, resolute, resourceful and + sober. On shore, with money in his pocket, he descended to the level of + the lowest beach-comber, and was always in trouble for thumping somebody—generally + another half-caste or a policeman. Peace to his bones! He went to a + sailor's death long ago; but the writer of this narrative will never + forget the dark, handsome face, laughter-filled eyes, and cheery voice of + the best shipmate with whom he ever sailed. + </p> + <p> + We put to sea with a fine breeze, and running between the islands of Upolu + and Savai'i, were out of sight of land by dusk. There were but thirteen + persons all told on board—our seven passengers, Alan, four native + sailors, and myself—but we were in no wise crowded for room, for the + hold was used as a sleeping-place by Captain Hannah's wife, her two + children and three servants. Mats had been spread over the cargo, and the + weather being fine, the hatch was left open from the time we left Samoa + nearly till we reached Santo. + </p> + <p> + The south-east trade wind held steadily, and the little vessel, being + clean and in fine trim, ran along at a great rate, till, on the sixth day + out, when we had just sighted Pentecost Island, one of the New Hebrides + group, it died away, and at sunset we were becalmed. All that night the + air was close and muggy, but towards dawn a faint air came from the + westward. During the night the strong current had carried us in ten or + twelve miles nearer to the shore, and at sunrise we were not more than six + miles from the land. Pentecost, from the treachery of its savage + inhabitants, had always borne a bad reputation; and so, as the cutter + still continued to drift shorewards, Alan, Captain Hannah and myself + thought it just as well to be prepared for any canoes that might attempt + to cut us off. (As-a matter of fact, however, we need not have been under + any alarm in this respect, for although the Pentecost natives were, and + are now, a thoroughly bad lot, as the surveying vessels of the Australian + Squadron know to their cost, they would never attempt to cut off a vessel + unless she were anchored. But no one of we white men knew much of the New + Hebrides.) So as we had plenty of arms on board—Winchesters and + Sharp's rifles—We got them in readiness; and very fortunate it was + that we did so. + </p> + <p> + We drifted steadily along the densely-wooded shores of Pentecost all that + day, the sea as smooth as glass, and the pitch bubbling up in the decks + from the intense heat. Towards sunset, Captain Hannah's wife, who was + lying on the skylight with her youngest child, called out to us that she + could see a boat or canoe on the starboard beam. Hannah and I at once got + our glasses, and soon made out a boat, pulling five oars, coming towards + us from the island, and not more than a couple of miles away. + </p> + <p> + As she came nearer, and lifted now and then to the swell, we obtained a + better view, and saw there were six people in her—five pulling and + one steering. They came along very leisurely. + </p> + <p> + 'Shipwrecked people, I imagine,' said Hannah; and then, turning to Alan + and myself, he added, with a laugh, 'Perhaps there's a fine big lump of a + ship ashore about here, and you fellows are bound to get some fine + pickings—might get the ship herself afloat.' + </p> + <p> + In ten minutes or so a bit of a light air came over the water, and filled + our sails, so we stood over towards the boat, which was now drawing close. + Presently one of our native sailors hailed us from aloft, and said he + could see four or five more men in the boat besides those who were + pulling; and at the same time she ceased rowing awhile, then the oars + dipped again, and she came on. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly Hannah, who was scanning the strange boat very closely, turned to + me quietly and said, 'I don't like the looks of that boat. We had better + not let them come alongside. Perhaps they're escapees from New Caledonia. + I thought so at first—they've got the regular “Ile Nou stroke.” If + they try to board we must beat them off, or we may lose the ship.' + </p> + <p> + Realising the danger, we at once called the native hands aft, gave each + man a loaded Sharp's rifle and half a dozen cartridges, and told him to + lay it down handy on the deck, and be prepared to use it. Hannah's wife at + once began loading our five Winchester rifles. By this time the boat was + within a hundred yards of the cutter. Whether those in her saw what we + were doing or not I do not know, but they came on very confidently. + </p> + <p> + Then, getting up on the rail, I hailed, 'Boat ahoy, there! Don't come any + nearer, or we'll fire into you. What do you want?' + </p> + <p> + There was a sudden commotion among the rowers, and then Hannah and Alan, + coming to the rail, stood beside me with their Winchesters in their hands. + This display had a good effect, for they stopped pulling at once, and the + man steering stood up. The moment I got a full view of him and heard him + speak, I knew that Hannah was right about the identity of the strangers. + </p> + <p> + 'We are a ship-a-wreck men,' he called out; 'we wanta water and provis'.' + </p> + <p> + 'Well, pull abeam or us to windward, but don't come alongside just yet.' + </p> + <p> + 'All right,' was the answer. + </p> + <p> + The wind was very light, and the boat could have soon overtaken us, but we + felt confident that, with the arms we possessed, we could easily beat them + off if they tried to board. At the same time we were willing to give them + some provisions, and such other assistance as lay in our power. + </p> + <p> + After talking the matter over with Hannah, I again hailed the boat, and + told the steersman that he could come aboard, but that the rest of his + crowd must keep to the boat. + </p> + <p> + Hauling our jib to windward, we let them range alongside, and the + steersman jumped on deck. During the few minutes that the boat was + waiting, we had a good look at her and her occupants. The former, I could + see, was German-built, very long, narrow and heavy, and was lumbered up + with a quantity of fresh coco-nuts, yams, taro and other native food. As + for the crew, they were as suspicious and as desperate-looking a lot of + scarecrows as could be imagined. + </p> + <p> + Some of them were dressed in the heavy woollen garments usually worn by + German merchant seamen, but half a dozen of them were wearing the + yellow-grey canvas trousers of the New Caledonian convict. As I looked + down at them Alan pointed out to me the muzzles of three or four short + rifles showing from beneath the edge of a ragged native mat which was + spread over the bottom boards for'ard. They had evidently spent the night + on shore, for some of them, who were wearing cloth caps, had made + themselves peaked sunshades of plaited green coco-nut leaves, which were + tied round their heads, native-fashion. Lying amidships was a good-sized + water-breaker; and one of the gang, a little, hooknosed ruffian, with a + villainous face and wearing a filthy print shirt with the tails outside + his pants, kept tapping it with a piece of wood to show us by the hollow + sound that it was empty. + </p> + <p> + 'Pass it up on deck, you monkey-faced swine,' said Alan. 'Why didn't you + fill it when you were ashore?' + </p> + <p> + 'We no finda water,' said the leader; 'we looka two, tree day—no + finda, and too many ———— nigger on shore shoota us + all the time witha-bow-anda-arra.' + </p> + <p> + 'Well, you've got some guns there, I see. Couldn't you keep the niggers + off while a couple of you filled the breaker?' I asked. 'And there's + plenty of water on Pentecost, I believe.' + </p> + <p> + He shrugged his shoulders. 'Of what-a good the gun? We no have the + cartridge. Perhaps you give some—feefty, twenty, ten, eh?' + </p> + <p> + Alan, who was a bit of a humorist, answered that we would give him as many + cartridges as he wanted, if he gave us all the rifles he had in the boat + in exchange. + </p> + <p> + A scowl—which he tried to twist into a smile—flitted across + his face, and he turned his head away. + </p> + <p> + Giving the crowd in the boat a long line, we veered them astern, and as + the breeze was now freshening, the cutter slipping through the water + pretty fast, and we felt safe, Hannah, Alan and myself turned our + undivided attention to our visitor. He was a tall, squarely-built fellow + of about fifty years of age, with a thick stubble of iron-grey beard + covering his cheeks and chin, and his forehead and neck were burnt to the + colour of dark leather by the rays of a tropic sun. He was dressed in a + pea-jacket and dungaree pants, but had no boots. + </p> + <p> + 'Sit down,' I said, c and tell us what we can do for you. But take a glass + of grog first.' + </p> + <p> + He drank the liquor eagerly, first bowing to Mrs Hannah and then to us all + in turn, and at the same time taking a sweeping glance along the deck at + our crew, who were grouped for'ard. As he raised his hand to his mouth I + saw that the back of it was much tattooed. + </p> + <p> + 'Where did you lose your ship?' I asked. + </p> + <p> + 'Astrolaba Reefa,' he answered quickly, 'three hundreda mila to + south-a-ward.' + </p> + <p> + 'What was her name?' + </p> + <p> + 'The <i>Airdale</i>,' he replied glibly. 'Belonga to Liverpool—fine + biga ship. We bound to Pam in New Caledonia to load chroma ore, and run + ashore on dark night. Ship break up very quick'—and then he spun off + the rest of his yarn, and a very plausible one it was, too. The ship, he + said, was not injured much at first, and on the following morning the + captain, with the second mate and four hands, had left in one of the boats + for Pam to get assistance. The first mate, bos'un and three hands were + drowned. After waiting for ten days on the wreck the rest of the crew took + to the long boat, for bad weather came on, and the ship began to pound on + the reef. + </p> + <p> + 'But what are you doing here so far to the northward?' asked Hannah, in + his slow, drawling tones. 'Why didn't you steer for New Caledonia? You + were only two days' sail to there from Astrolabe Reefs. Now you are three + hundred miles to the north.' + </p> + <p> + The man was a marvellous liar. Yes, he said, that was true, but 'Goda help + him,' he would 'speaka true.' He and the nine men with him did not want to + go to New Caledonia, and did not want to have anything more to do with the + captain, who was a very 'harda' man, and so they had stood to the + northward, meaning to land on one of the New Hebrides. + </p> + <p> + 'What was the captain's name?' + </p> + <p> + 'Smeeth—Captain Johna Smeeth. Belonga to Liverpool.' + </p> + <p> + 'Are you one of the ship's officers?' + </p> + <p> + 'I am carpenter,' he answered promptly. 'I all the time sail in Englisha + ship.' + </p> + <p> + 'Just so; are you a Frenchman?' asked Hannah, casually. + </p> + <p> + 'No; I come from Barcelon'.' + </p> + <p> + 'Well,' I said, 'I hope you will get along all right in your boat, + wherever you go. I'll give you a 50-lb. tin of biscuits, some tinned + meats, and as much water as you can take.' + </p> + <p> + He thanked me effusively, and said he would remember me in his prayers to + the Virgin, etc. + </p> + <p> + 'Have you a compass?' I asked. + </p> + <p> + He shrugged his shoulders despairingly. No, they had no compass; the + 'gooda Goda must be compass' for them. + </p> + <p> + Mani, Hannah's wife, who was sitting near us, with her youngest child on + her lap, apparently taking no heed of our talk, held the infant up and + smiled; and, as if speaking to it, said in Samoan,— + </p> + <p> + 'He lies. I saw a boat compass in the stern sheets of the boat.' + </p> + <p> + 'Well, I'm sorry I can't give you a compass,' I said. 'Alan, pass up a tin + of biscuit and a case of meat. The breeze is freshening, and we must get + along.' + </p> + <p> + Then our visitor made an earnest appeal. His boat was leaky, his comrades + were worn out, yet if we would let them come aboard they would, after a + little rest, tow the cutter in a calm, and not trouble us in any way. + Then, when we sighted Santo, they would leave us and make for Leper's + Island, which was the place they wanted to reach. The natives there were + very friendly, and there were some white men there. + </p> + <p> + 'No,' I said, 'our vessel is too small for so many people. If you follow + Pentecost along to the north, you will sight Leper's Island as soon as you + round the north point. Now, haul your boat alongside. And here are a + couple of bottles of brandy for yourself and crew, some matches, and a + small box of tobacco.' + </p> + <p> + The boat hauled alongside, and our visitor, again thanking us, got in. In + a few minutes we saw their leader serving them out a nip; then the night + blotted them from view. + </p> + <p> + At daylight we were again becalmed and drifting steadily to the northward. + The boat was not in sight, and the only signs of life visible around us + were some slender columns of smoke ascending from the native villages + along the coast, which was less than three miles away. The heat at ten + o'clock was intense, and, to add to our discomfort, a heavy swell set in + and caused us to roll incessantly. However, we lowered our mainsail, tried + to be philosophical, and waited for a breeze. Towards four in the + afternoon a sharp rain squall swept down upon us from the land; it lasted + barely ten minutes, and was followed by others at short intervals, and + then we knew we were in for a night of it. Whenever one of these squalls + came tearing over the water we made good use of the wind by running before + it to the east, so as to get away from the land; but at midnight we found + we were still a great deal too close; and that the current was very + strong, and now setting in-shore very rapidly, we could tell by the sound + of the surf. There was nothing for us but to tow off, for the water was + too deep to anchor, even within thirty fathoms of the reef. Just as we got + the boat over the side there came a tremendous downpour of rain, and we + could only make ourselves heard by shouting to each other at the top of + our voices. This continued for half an hour, and through it all, the boat, + with Alan and three hands, continued to tow. Suddenly the rain ceased—for + about five minutes—only to fall again with a deafening uproar. At + two o'clock it toned down to a misty drizzle, and we called to Alan to + come alongside, as Hannah, two of his natives and myself would give him a + spell. The rain had beaten the swell down, but the current was terribly + strong, and when the mist lifted a bit we saw we were still too close to + the reef. After taking a cast of the lead, and finding no bottom, Hannah + and his two natives and myself tumbled into the boat. We had just about + tautened the tow-line when Alan's voice rang out. + </p> + <p> + 'Boat ahoy! Come back, quick, for God's sake! Here's the Frenchmen + coming!' + </p> + <p> + We backed alongside and jumped on board, just in time; for almost at the + same moment the Frenchmen's boat came up with a rush, and half a dozen men + sprang on to our decks and instantly closed with us. The rest would have + followed, but the ever-ready Mani began firing into their boat with a + Winchester. This kept them off. Had they, too, gained the deck we should + probably have lost the ship. The struggle on board was short but sharp. + Hannah, who was possessed of enormous strength, had seized the first man + who jumped over the rail round his waist, and slung him clean across the + deck against the port bulwarks, were he lay stunned; and then went for the + next man, whom he knocked backward into the boat with a terrific blow. + Meanwhile, Alan, two native sailors and myself, where tied up in a knot + with three others on the port side. It was so dark that it was impossible + to tell friend from foe at first; and one of our hands, a Savage Islander, + named Puniola, was just about to put a knife into me, as he, two of the + boarders and myself were struggling together, when by chance he felt the + big square buckle of my leather belt and recognised me. He quickly let go + of me, seized one of the convicts by the throat, and choked him into + insensibility, and we soon quietened one of the other two by the same + method. The third man, who was as wiry as an eel and as strong as a horse, + fought desperately, knocked two of us down, and was then himself laid out + by Hannah, who had come to our assistance. Poor Alan, however, had fared + badly; for the leader of the gang had half-stunned him with a weapon of + some sort, and we found him lying across the cutter's tiller, bleeding + profusely from a cut on the head. His assailant, seeing that the attempt + to capture the ship had failed, jumped overboard and swam to his boat, + which was drifting near to us in the darkness. + </p> + <p> + As quickly as possible we got lights and examined the gentry lying about + on the deck. One of them was still unconscious, the rest were pretty badly + mauled about in the tussle; and Manî suggested that we had better drop + them overboard to save further trouble. Her blood was up, and she was full + of fight; but Hannah merely laughed, and told her not to be such a <i>pun + fia ai</i> (tiger cat). + </p> + <p> + Showing a light, we hailed the Frenchmen's boat, and told them to come + alongside again. + </p> + <p> + 'If you don't look smart we'll drop these five men overboard. So hurry + up.' + </p> + <p> + The gentleman from 'Barcelon'—who was certainly possessed of + inimitable cheek—after telling us to go to Hades, added that he had + but one oar in the boat, the others had gone adrift. So we had to dump our + prisoners into our own boat, and pull out to the other. Then, while Alan + and I covered those in the Frenchmen's boat, Hannah and two hands flung + our prisoners out of our boat into their own. Their leader took matters + very coolly, cursed his returning comrades freely as cowards, and then had + the face to ask us for some oars. + </p> + <p> + Then Hannah, who, we now found, spoke French, boiled over. Jumping into + the other boat, he seized the gentleman from Barcelona by the throat with + his left hand and rapidly pounded his face into a pulp with his right. + </p> + <p> + Whilst Hannah was taking his satisfaction out of the big man, we struck + some matches and examined the rest of the crowd in the boat. One man, we + saw, was badly wounded, Manï having sent two bullets through his right + shoulder and one through his thigh; another had his cheek cut open, but + whether this was caused by a bullet or not I could not tell. I, being + young and green, felt very pitiful and wanted Hannah to bring the + badly-wounded man on board; but he, like a sensible man, said he would see + me hanged first, and that we ought to shoot the lot of them. + </p> + <p> + But, anyway, we gave them three oars, and then pushed clear of their boat + just as another rain squall came seething along. + </p> + <p> + At dawn we saw them, about two miles abeam of us, pulling slowly in + towards Pentecost. + </p> + <p> + We heard afterwards that they were sighted by the Sydney steamer <i>Ripple</i> + Captain Ferguson, off Torres Island, in the Banks Group. Most probably + they abandoned the idea of stopping at Leper's Island, where they would + not be safe from recapture by the French cruisers, and were then making + for the Solomons. But that they ever reached there is doubtful; or, if + they did, they were probably eaten by the natives. The boat, we heard, + they had captured from a German vessel loading nickel ore at one of + north-eastern ports of New Caledonia, and they had then raided a small + settlement on the coast and obtained some arms and provisions. Long + afterwards I was told that their leader was a sailor who was serving a + life sentence for killing his mistress at La Ciotat, in the South of + France. + </p> + <p> + It is quite possible, however, that they may have been picked up by an + American whale-ship making northwards to the Moluccas from the New Zealand + ground. In those days there were quite thirty ships still remaining of the + once great American whaling fleet, which traversed the Pacific from one + end to the other. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Publisher's Note.—The half-caste Alan mentioned in this + story is the same 'Alan' who so frequently figures in Mr + Becke's tales in <i>By Reef and Palm</i>, and his subsequent + books. +</pre> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0019" id="link2H_4_0019"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE SOUTH SEA BUBBLE OF CHARLES DU BREIL + </h2> + <p> + Less than a year ago news was received of the arrival in Noumea, in New + Caledonia, of the remainder of a party of unwashed visionaries, calling + themselves the 'United Brotherhood of the South Sea Islands.' A year + before they had sailed away from San Francisco in a wretched old crate of + a schooner, named the <i>Percy Edward</i> (an ex-Tahitian mail packet), to + seek for an island or islands whereon they were to found a Socialistic + Utopia, where they were to pluck the wild goat by the beard, pay no rent + to the native owners of the soil, and, letting their hair grow down their + backs, lead an idyllic life and loaf around generally. Such a mad scheme + could have been conceived nowhere else but in San Francisco or Paris. + </p> + <p> + In the latter city such another venture, but founded on more heroic lines + of infatuation, was organised eighteen years ago by the late Charles du + Breil, Marquis de Rays, and the results ought to have made the American + enthusiasts reflect a little before they started. But having got the idea + that they might sail on through summer seas till they came to some land + fair to look upon, and then annex it right away in the sacred name of + Socialism (and thus violate one of the principal articles of their faith), + they started—only to be quickly disillusionised. For there were no + islands anywhere in the two Pacifics to be had for the taking thereof; + neither were there any tracts of land to be had from the natives, except + for hard cash or its equivalent. The untutored Kanakas also, with whom + they came in contact, refused to become brother Socialists and go shares + with the long-haired wanderers in their land or anything else. So from + island to island the <i>Percy Edward</i> cruised, looking more + disreputable every day, until, as the months went by, she began to + resemble, in her tattered gear and dejected appearance, her fatuous + passengers. At last, after being chivvied about considerably by the white + and native inhabitants of the various islands touched at, the forlorn + expedition reached Fiji. Here fifty of the idealists elected to remain and + work for their living under a government which represented the base and + brutal institution of Monarchy. But the remaining fifty-eight stuck to the + <i>Percy Edward</i> and her decayed salt junk, and stinking water, and + their beautiful ideals; till at last the ship was caught in a hurricane, + badly battered about, lost her foremast, and only escaped foundering by + resting her keel on the bottom of Noumea Harbour. Then the visionaries + began to collect their senses, and denounced the <i>Percy Edward</i> and + the principles of the 'United Brotherhood' as hollow frauds, and elected + to go ashore and get a good square meal. + </p> + <p> + The affair recalls the story of the ill-starred colony of 'Nouvelle + France,' which was given the tacit support of the French Government, the + blessing of the Church, and the hard-earned savings of the wretched dupes + of French, Italian and Spanish peasantry who believed in it—until it + collapsed, and many of them died cursing it and themselves on the + fever-stricken shores of New Ireland. + </p> + <p> + Early in 1879 an enticing prospectus appeared, signed 'Ch. du Breil, + Director and Founder of the Free Colony of Port Breton in Oceania.' In + this precious document the marvellous fertility, the beautiful scenery, + and the healthy climate of the island of New Ireland (Tombara) were + described at length, while the native inhabitants came in for much + unqualified praise as simple children of nature, who were looking forward + with rapture to the advent of the colonists, and to the prospect of + becoming citizens of the Free Colony, and being recognised as Frenchmen, + and helping the settlers cultivate the vine, etc., and being admitted into + the fold of Christianity. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps Du Breil believed in his impossible scheme—many people said + so, when, some years afterwards, he was sentenced to two years' + imprisonment and a fine of thirty thousand francs for his share in it. But + if he did not, the French peasantry did, and money came pouring in. + Ignorant people sold their little all and gathered together at Marseilles + and other ports, where ships waited to convey them to the new paradise; in + all, nearly half a million pounds was subscribed. Then away went + emissaries to the southern parts of Italy, where the ignorant agricultural + labourers bit freely and were caught wholesale. In their case, however, + the prospectus varied from that issued in France, which was specially + designed to ensnare small capitalists, tradespeople and farmers, as well + as the poorer peasants. The various religious fraternities in France, + which hoped to benefit financially by their advocacy, boomed the scheme, + and sermons were preached on the philanthropy of M. le Marquis, who, like + Law and Blount, was nothing if not magnificent. By the time the <i>Chandernagore</i>, + the first ship, had sailed from Flushing, elaborate plans were issued of + the new city, with its parks and public buildings, and noble wharves and + boulevards aglow with life and excitement; while the religious wants of + the settlers had not been neglected, for cathedrals and churches figured + conspicuously. Also, it was indicated by a carefully-prepared descriptive + pamphlet, that gold and diamonds and such other things only wanted looking + for in the surrounding islands, where they could be obtained in quantities + sufficient to satisfy the most avaricious. + </p> + <p> + The <i>Chandernagore</i> carried only eighty colonists, all males, and, + flying the Liberian flag, after a long passage she reached the Lachlan + Islands, in the South Pacific, where sixteen of them elected to stay, + charmed by the beauty of the place and the unconventional manners of the + native women. Of these sixteen, five died from fever, and of the remainder + two were killed and eaten by natives of other islands, and the rest were + rescued by Australian and German trading vessels. The <i>Chandernagore</i> + proceeded on her voyage, and Port Breton was reached at last. It is on the + south end of the great island of New Ireland, and with, perhaps, the + exception of the Falkland Islands, or the Crozets, or London in the month + of November, the most sodden, dank, squashy and appalling place on the + globe. The day after the ship anchored it began to rain, and, as it showed + no signs of clearing up at the end of three weeks, the captain was + besought to look out for another site for the city where it was not quite + so wet. He took them to a better place, named Liki Liki Bay, near Cape St + George, and, after a preliminary orgie on board, the enthusiastic + colonists set to work house-building and clearing the primaeval forest for + the grape and fig crop. But as there were about two thousand and ninety + trees to the hectare, and every tree was joined to its neighbours by vines + as thick as a ship's main-mast, the work proceeded but slowly. + Considerable time was lost, also, by each man dropping his axe twice in + ten seconds to kill the mosquitoes which stung him severely. After a few + days of this the founders of New France decided to return to Europe, and, + duly arming themselves, went on board and interviewed the captain. The + captain, MacLachlan, was a Scotchman by birth, but a naturalised + Frenchman. He was also a humorist in a grim sort of way. On the voyage out + he and M. de Villacroix, who was the temporary Governor, found that the + eighty gentlemen colony founders were a pretty rough lot, who wanted to + take charge of the ship. MacLachlan, who was a man of energy, brought them + to reason by tricing seven of them up to the rigging by their thumbs, and + promised to 'deal severely' with them next time. So when they boarded the + <i>Chandernagore</i> and informed him that he must take them back to + France, he answered by hunting them ashore again, landing six months' + provisions, and sailing for Sydney, according to instructions from the + Marquis. On arriving at Sydney he chartered a schooner, loaded her with + provisions and agricultural machinery, and despatched her to Liki Liki + Bay. Rough and cruel as he may appear, MacLachlan was the right sort of + man to master insubordination and mutiny. I knew the man well, and know + that he knew the ruffianly element he had to deal with in the first lot of + colonists, and dealt with it in a proper and summary manner. Had there + been half a dozen more such men as himself and Villacroix to back him up, + the tragic ending of the ill-fated expedition would have been averted. + </p> + <p> + But meantime the second contingent was preparing to leave, and the steamer + <i>Genii</i> was bought by the Marquis to load another cargo of deluded + emigrants at Marseilles and Barcelona. Like Villacroix and MacLachlan, her + captain (Rabardy) was a man in whom he reposed implicit trust; and, + indeed, Du Breil seems to have been at least fortunate in the choice of + his sea-leaders to conduct his deplorable colonists to their Paradise. + Under other and less determined men the loss of life would have been + terrible. MacLachlan's letters from Sydney had warned him of one source of + danger—mutiny—and Du Breil decided to send out with the second + contingent a military guard. From the Italian and Spanish 'settlers' there + was nothing to fear. Whatever they suffered they suffered in silence, like + sheep; and the presence of several priests (going out to preach in the + handsome stone cathedrals and churches before mentioned), whom they looked + up to with simple reverence, was a surer safeguard for their good conduct + than a company of troops. The married men among the French contingent of + the second lot were like them in this respect; but, all through the course + of the disastrous expedition, it was cursed by the inclusion of a number + of unmarried man, whose ruffianism proved too strong to be checked; then + there were a number of <i>nymphes du pavi</i>, recruited from the streets + of Marseilles and Toulon. 'They came on board as unmarried women, but an + “arrangement” in each case was made with one of the single men to play M. + le Mari,' said one of the leaders, to the writer, when he lay dying of + fever in the <i>Genil's</i> stifling saloon at Duke of York Island. Who + can wonder at the collapse of the 'colony,' when practices such as these + were tolerated? But it is typical of the system, or rather want of system, + of French colonisation generally. On March 16th the <i>Genii</i> left + Barcelona with over two hundred and fifty colonists—men, women and + children. Some of the Italians were from the north—these were + hard-working and intelligent—some from Calabria—little better + than beasts of the field—and the Spaniards came from Valencia and + Catalonia. The military guard consisted of a Spanish captain and + lieutenant and an Italian lieutenant, while the rank and file were of + various nationalities. Before the crazy old <i>Genii</i> reached Port Said + the guard themselves made matters warm, and, with the first and second + engineers and second officer, refused to proceed. Rabardy, the captain, + gladly let them go at Port Said and made for the Maldive Islands, where he + engaged thirty Arabs. Later on he put these ashore at Point de Galle. At + Singapore the vessel remained six weeks, waiting for instructions, and + then reached Liki Liki Bay fifteen days later—to find the place + abandoned and the beach covered with the stores left there by the <i>Chandernagore</i> + party, who had escaped to Australia; this he learned two days later from + the white traders at Mioko, the settlement on Duke of York Island, twenty + or thirty miles away. Rabardy was at his wit's end. He knew that another + steamer was due in a month or two, and determined to wait and consult with + the new Governor, who was coming out with a fresh batch of three hundred + people. No work at settlement was begun, for Rabardy considered the former + site could be bettered. Meanwhile, there arrived a barque of one thousand + tons, the <i>Marquis de Rays</i>, deeply laden with cotton and sugar + machinery, stores, provisions and medicines, and a large amount of trade + goods for barter with the natives. These latter, although not cannibals + like the people of the neighbouring Island of New Britain, were a very low + type of savages, and their mode of life was disgusting in the extreme; + whilst their wild and ferocious appearance was in harmony with their stark + nudity. Still the <i>Genil's</i> people established friendly relations + with them, and were supplied with fruit and vegetables, such as yams and + taro. + </p> + <p> + On October 17th the steamer <i>India</i> arrived with her emigrants, and + the new Governor, M. de Prévost, nothing daunted by the unfortunate + previous experiences of the colony and its mismanagement, set to work with + Captain Rabardy to get things in order. + </p> + <p> + A fresh site was chosen for the actual settlement, and the new arrivals, + joining heartily with the <i>Genil's</i> people, began to clear and build. + The Italians and Spaniards toiled, in happy expectation of future + prosperity, with their French fellow-settlers, and hope ran high. But + already the deadly malaria had begun its work, and ere long more than half + of the many hundreds of colonists were suffering from fever, and soon some + died. Then suddenly the Governor, who hitherto had cheered them up by his + example and energy, announced his intention of going to Sydney in the <i>Genii</i> + (the <i>India</i> had sailed for France) to procure cattle and a fresh + stock of provisions. He never returned. Months and months went by, and the + colonists waited and waited, while the fever carried off someone every few + days; and then their hearts failed them, and they longed for the lands + they had left for a chimera. A sad two months passed, and then one day + another steamer—the <i>Nouvelle Bretagne</i>—came into Liki + Liki Bay. She had brought out some three hundred more colonists, Spanish + people, who listened, with doleful faces, to the tale of those who had + preceded them to the Utopia of Charles du Breil. Rabardy, of the <i>Genil</i>, + who, a month later, was to die of fever, game to the last, consulted with + Captain Henry, of the <i>Nouvelle Bretagne</i> and, as they talked on the + poop deck of the newly-arrived steamer, a cry came from the people on + shore that another ship was in sight. An hour later a black-painted, + unobtrusive-looking steamer came slowly into the bay and dropped anchor. + She looked like a collier, and flew the red ensign of England; but Henry + knew her. She was the <i>Legaspi</i>, Spanish gunboat from Manila, and had + chased him from the Philippines. As her cable rattled through her + hawsepipes, down went the red ensign and up went the Spanish colours, and + a boat full of armed men dashed alongside the <i>Nouvelle Bretagne</i>, + and in another five minutes Captain Henry was a prisoner, handcuffed, and + on his way to the warship. What he had done at Manila was a daring deed + enough, and is a story in itself, and nothing much to his discredit. His + ship had been prevented from putting to sea by the Spanish authorities, + and Henry, who had many sick on board, and was greatly harassed in mind, + suddenly slipped his cable and steamed off, although there was a Spanish + guard on board. These he landed on the coast of Luzon. + </p> + <p> + That evening the commander of the <i>Legaspi</i> called the Spanish + emigrants together and addressed them. 'The colony is a failure; the + French, Italian and Spanish Governments have repudiated it. Those of you + who like to return with the <i>Legaspi</i> to Manila can do so; those who + do not may remain here, to die of starvation or be eaten by the savages.' + </p> + <p> + Next morning the <i>Legaspi</i> steamed out of Liki Liki Bay with the <i>Nouvelle + Bretagne</i> in tow, taking; all the Spanish colonists with her. Then, to + the aid of the despairing French and Italian colonists, came one Tom + Farrell, an English trader on the Duke of York Island. He gave them + provisions, advanced them money, and treated them well, taking care to get + possession of the <i>Genil</i> and the barque <i>Marquis de Rays</i>. The + <i>Genil</i> he sent to Australia under command of an English captain + (Rabardy was dead by then, and his dying words to the writer of this + sketch, as he grasped his hand for the last time, were, 'I have tried—and + failed. I had not one competent officer with me to help me to maintain my + authority or shoot some of the ruffians who have ruined the expedition'). + Her unfortunate passengers were generously treated by the New South Wales + Government, who settled many of them on the Richmond River, in the + northern portion of the colony. Here they founded a prosperous little + settlement, and are to this day happy and contented, and thank their stars + that they left a spurious Utopia to dwell in a country where the + conditions of climate are like those of their own sunny Italy. Perhaps, + however, they think sometimes of those of their former comrades who died + out there in the savage 'colony' of Charles du Breil. At Liki Liki there + died nine; at Duke of York Island, thirteen; at New Britain, twenty-one; + and six were eaten by the cannibals of the islands thereabouts. Of a score + or so of others who remained in the North-West Pacific there is no record. + Probably they succumbed to fever, or went down under the clubs and spears + of the wild people of New Britain, New Guinea and the Admiralty Group. + Such was the end of the vision of Charles du Breil and the Colony of New + France. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0020" id="link2H_4_0020"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE WHITE WIFE AND THE BROWN 'WOMAN' + </h2> + <p> + Masters, the trader at Fana 'alu, was walking up the beach to his house, + reading a letter which he had just received from the captain of a passing + vessel. It was from his employers in Sydney,—'We are confident that + Mrs Masters and yourself will do all you can to render the lady's stay at + Fana 'alu agreeable to her. You will find her husband, our new supercargo, + a very fine fellow, easy to get on with, and a thoroughly honourable and + conscientious business man.' + </p> + <p> + 'Here, Melanie, old woman, where are you?' he called, as he flung himself + lazily into a cane lounge on the verandah. + </p> + <p> + Melanie, who, native-like, was combing her hair in the sitting-room, rose + from the mat upon which she was sitting and came to the door. + </p> + <p> + 'What is it, Tom?' she asked, leaning against the wall and drawing the + comb slowly through her long, black locks. + </p> + <p> + 'Why, the barque will be here in another week or so, so this letter says, + and there's a <i>tamaitai papalagi</i> (white lady) on board, and she will + very likely stay here with us while her husband, who is the new + supercargo, goes away in the ship to the Solomon Islands. He will come for + her again in about six weeks.' + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Melanie's dark eyes glistened with pleasure. White women were rare + visitors at lonely Fana 'alu. Every year, it was true, when the American + missionary barque touched at the island, one, or sometimes two, white + ladies would come ashore; but they were missionaries' wives, and never + passed inside the door of the trader's house to speak to his wife. That, + in the eyes of the converted natives, would have been scandalous. Melanie + might, if she so wished it, have called upon <i>them</i> at the native + teacher's house, and paid homage afar off by sitting down on the mats in + the furthest corner of the house, while fat, greasy Lepeka,{*} the wife of + the equally fat and greasy teacher Paulo, Christianly whispered in the + ears of the holy white ladies that that was the white man's 'woman'—who + wasn't married to her 'husband.' And even a white missionary's wife must + not offend the spouse of the native teacher. So had any of these ladies + wished to talk to Melanie, they would have had to make Lepeka their + medium; for in some parts of the South Seas the usual position of vicar + and curate is reversed, and the white visiting missionary and his wife + deliver themselves into the hands of the brown curate and his wife for the + time being. Perhaps it is this that makes most white missionaries so thin—the + strain of having to submit to a Kanaka teacher's ideas of conventionality + must be pretty hard to bear. And so poor Melanie, who would have liked to + have sat near the fair-faced, sweet-voiced white ladies, or, perhaps, + fondled their hands, as did the young unmarried girls who always + surrounded them, bore her lot with content. For once, when she had brought + her simple <i>alofa</i> (gift of love) to the missionaries, and laid it + timidly down on the mats in the centre of the room, one of the white + ladies had smiled at her and said to her husband,— + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, what a pretty girl, and how nicely she is dressed. Ask her to come + here and sit by me.' + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Rebecca. +</pre> + <p> + But Melanie was quick to see Lepeka's dark frown, and discreetly retired + to her usual corner, at the back of the room, and when she went home to + Masters, she did not chatter and laugh as usual when telling him of all + she had seen and heard at the teacher's house. + </p> + <p> + For, in her simple heart, there began to grow an unrest. She would feel + better, she thought, when the mission ship had sailed away again, and she + would forget the kind smile of the missionary's wife, and forget, too, the + sneering curl of Lepeka's fat lips. Three years before, when Tom Masters + had picked her up in a dancing saloon in Apia and had asked her to come + away with him to Fana 'alu as his wife, she had thought of a marriage in + the church, with its attendant mild excitements, and gluttonies of baked + pig and fowls, and <i>palusami</i> and other delicacies, and the receiving + and giving of many presents. But when Masters—who possessed a + fragmentary conscience—told her why he could not marry her, she + accepted the position calmly, and said it did not matter. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps, among the women of Fana 'alu, she stood highest in public + estimation, notwithstanding her bar sinister, for she was open-handed and + generous, and both the chiefs wife and Lepeka, the teacher's grand lady, + were of common blood—whilst she, despite her antecedents in Apia, + was of the best in Manono—the birthplace of the noble families of + Samoa. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + So, as she stood there in the doorway, first combing and then plaiting her + hair <i>à la Suisse</i>, she asked in her native tongue,— + </p> + <p> + 'Is she young, Tom? Will she have hair of goldthread like that of the wife + thou hadst in Sini{*} long ago—she who married another man?' + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Sydney. +</pre> + <p> + Masters laughed. How could he tell! She might be young and fair; she might + be an <i>olomatua</i> (an old woman), dried up and skinny. But that was + none of their business. All that he and Melanie had to do was to entertain + her well and make much of her. + </p> + <p> + 'True,' said the placid-minded Melanie; 'and even if she be as ugly as an + <i>aitu</i> (devil), yet will that fat-faced pig Lepeka die with envy to + see a white lady a guest in my house. Would that I could send to Manono + for my three brothers, so that they might come here and get drunk, and + beat Paulo! I hate Paulo, even as I hate Lepeka, for they both speak evil + of <i>me</i>, yet are for ever cringing to <i>thee</i>, taking eagerly thy + gifts of money to the church and the school and the mission fund, and yet + whispering of me as the dancing-house whore.' + </p> + <p> + 'Never mind that, old woman,' said Masters, softly, placing his hand upon + the girl's head. 'Next year we shall go away from Fana 'alu. We shall go + to Ponapé, in the far, far north—away from these islands; no bitter + tongues shall pain thy heart there.' Then, picking up his hat, he + sauntered down to the beach again and stood watching his whale-boat being + hauled up into the boat-shed by her native crew. + </p> + <p> + '<i>Like the wife he once had in Sydney, long ago.</i>' + </p> + <p> + He lit his pipe, and began to pace to and fro on the sandy path under the + cool shade of the coco-palms and bread-fruit trees, thinking of an + incident of his past life, which, although six long years had passed, + neither his subsequent wanderings in many lands, nor his three latter + years' monotonously happy and lazy existence with Melanie at Fana 'alu, + had yet quite banished from his memory. And the chance question put to him + half an hour before had brought back to him a vision of the slender, + blue-eyed and golden-haired woman who was the partner of his first + matrimonial venture. + </p> + <p> + They had in the beginning led a turtle-dovey kind of life in those old + days on the shores of Port Jackson. Not long after their marriage the + shipping firm in which he was employed failed, and he had to seek for + another billet; and, being an energetic, self-reliant man, with no false + pride, he shipped as steward on board the <i>Noord Brabant</i>, a + hogged-backed, heartbroken and worn-out American lumber ship running + between Puget Sound and the Australian colonies. His wife had cried a + little at first; but he told her that no one but their two selves would + know, and it was better for him to be earning five pounds a month than + idling about in Sydney. + </p> + <p> + On board the crazy old barque he found an acquaintance, who soon became a + friend. This was the second mate—another Sydney man—who had + shipped on the <i>Noord Brabant</i> because berths on good ships were + scarce and mates and skippers were plentiful. So the two men, while the + ship was being patched up for her long voyage across the Pacific, spent + their evenings together at Masters's house. + </p> + <p> + Harry Laurance—that was the second mate's name—was a fine, + handsome man, with clear, honest eyes and a merry, infectious laugh, and + those evenings at his friend's house were a source of unalloyed happiness + to him, for from his boyhood he had known no home except a ship or a + squalid boarding-house. + </p> + <p> + One night, as the three sat together in Masters's little four-roomed + cottage, and Nellie Masters had ceased playing upon the rattling + fifteen-guinea box of discord called a piano, the three made plans for the + future. When they—Masters and Laurance—returned from Puget + Sound, they were not to part. Laurance, who had had long experience in the + Island trade, had saved a little money—not much (as he told Masters + one day when he placed ten sovereigns in the latter's hand, and asked him + to accept it as a loan for his wife's sake), but nearly enough to buy a + little thirty-ton vessel he knew of which was for sale, and which would be + just the craft to run on trading voyages from New Zealand among the + islands of the Gambier Group—if they could load her with trade + goods. And he knew a man in Puget Sound who, he thought, would lend him a + few hundreds, and take a third share in the venture. Then, when he and + Masters returned from the impending voyage to Sydney, they, with Mrs + Masters, would go over to Auckland, buy the schooner and the trade goods, + and then sail for Manga Reva in the Gambier Group, where Masters and his + wife were to buy a bit of land and put up a trading station, whilst + Laurance ran the little vessel to and fro among the various islands of the + group, and brought back pearl shell and copra for sale to the big German + firm in Tahiti. And Masters's pretty wife smiled joyously. She did not + like to be parted from Tom for nearly seven months; but seven months was + not a lifetime—and then they would be so happy, away from the + grinding poverty of their existence in Sydney. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Dreams! Six weeks afterwards, as the old <i>Noord Brabant</i> lay groaning + over on her beam ends, thrashing her canvas to ribbons in a fierce night + squall off Beveridge Reef, Tom Masters, hurrying on deck to help the hands + shorten sail, was knocked overboard by the parting of the spanker-boom + guy, and disappeared without a cry, into the seething boil to leeward. + </p> + <p> + For two hours—after the squall had ceased, and Masters was missed—the + boat searched for him under the bright rays of a silvery moon and a clear, + cloudless sky. But every now and then rain fell heavily, and though the + boat rowed round and round the ship within a radius of two or three miles + no answering cry came to the repeated hails of the crew. So then the <i>Noord + Brabant</i> stood away again on her course, and Harry Laurance lay awake + all his watch below, thinking sadly of his friend and of the dreadful + shock which awaited the young wife in Sydney. + </p> + <p> + But Tom Masters did not drown. When he came to the surface of the water he + found himself floating among the <i>debris</i> of the quarter-boat, which, + when the spanker-boom guy parted and the heavy spar swung over to leeward, + had swept the after-davit out of its socket and let the boat hang, stern + down, by the for'ard fall, until the labouring old barque, raising her + stern high out of the water, smashed down upon it as it dragged under her + counter and tore out the for'ard ringbolt. + </p> + <p> + Half-stunned by the force of the blow which he had received on the back of + his head from the spanker-boom when it swept him overboard, Masters was + yet able to swim to the wreckage of the boat which he saw floating near + him, and, clinging to the after part of the keel, he saw the cabin lights + of the Noord Brabant shining brightly through the square, old-fashioned + ports for a minute or two, and heard the cries of her crew as the sails + were clewed up and furled. Then a sharp, hissing rain squall hid her from + view in a thick white mist, and, with agony and despair in his heart, he + gave up all hope of life, knowing that the only other boat was turned + bottom up on the main hatch of the barque, and that the ship was only + half-manned by a scratch crew of long-shore loafers. + </p> + <p> + But it so happened that when the <i>Noord Brabant</i>, close-hauled to + clear Beveridge Reef, was thrown on her beam ends by the violence of the + squall, the whaling schooner <i>John Bright</i> was rolling easily along + before it under shortened canvas, and the cook of the schooner, as he + stood on the foc'scle, smoking his pipe, caught a sight of floating + wreckage right ahead, with the indistinct figure of a man clinging to it, + and bawled out 'Hard a-port!' just in time, or else the schooner had run + right on top of the drifting boat and finished this tale and Tom Masters + as well. + </p> + <p> + But boats are lowered quickly on an American whale-ship—quicker than + on any other ship afloat—and in less than ten minutes Tom Masters + was picked up and, in face of a blinding rain squall, brought on board the + <i>John Bright</i>. Then a long illness—almost death. + </p> + <p> + Three months afterwards, as the schooner was slowly crawling along over + the North Pacific towards Honolulu, she spoke a timber ship bound to the + Australian colonies from Port Townsend in Puget Sound; and Masters, now + recovering from the terrible shock he had received, went on board and + asked the captain to let him work his passage. But the Yankee skipper of + the lumber ship did not seem to like the idea of having to feed such a + hollow-eyed, gaunt-looking being for another six weeks or so, and refused + his request. And so Masters, in a dulled, apathetic sort of way went back + to the <i>John Bright</i>, climbed up her side, and, with despair in his + heart, lay down in his bunk and tried to sleep, never knowing that, half + an hour before, when he was speaking to the captain of the lumberman, a + letter to his wife from Laurance lay in a locker not three feet away from + him, telling her of her husband's death at sea and his own heartfelt + sorrow and sympathy. + </p> + <p> + And Laurance was honest and genuine in his sympathy. He had had a warm + feeling of friendship for Tom Masters, and his heart was filled with pity + for the poor little wife left alone without a friend in the world. He had + tried to express himself clearly in his letter, but all that Nellie + Masters could understand was that Tom had been drowned at sea, that + Laurance would be back in Sydney in a month or two and give her all + particulars, and that she was not utterly friendless and alone in the + world. + </p> + <p> + Within a month of Harry Laurance's return she began to think more of him + and of his goodness to her, than of her dead husband—and then + gratitude became love. She was only a poor little woman, and of a weakly, + irresolute nature, unable to think for herself, and unfitted to battle + alone with the world and poverty. So one day when Laurance, whose big + heart was full of love and pity for her, asked her to be his wife, she + gave him a happy smile and said 'Yes.' Before a second month had passed + they were quietly married. + </p> + <p> + Masters, meanwhile, had been pursued by the demon of ill-luck. When the + schooner reached Honolulu, he, a mere wreck, physically and mentally, of + his former self, had been carried ashore to the hospital, and was making a + slow recovery, when the Sydney whaling brig, <i>Wild Wave</i> came into + port with some of her crew injured by a boat accident. One of the men was + placed in a bed next to that occupied by Masters, and one day his captain + came to see him and brought him some colonial newspapers which had just + arrived. + </p> + <p> + 'Here, mate,' said the sailor, tossing one of the papers over to Masters, + 'you're a Sydney man, and there's a Sydney newspaper.' + </p> + <p> + Masters took up the paper, and the first lines he read were these:— + </p> + <p> + 'Laurance—Masters. On the 10th inst., at the Scots Church, Church + Hill, Henry A. Laurance to Helen, widow of the late Thomas Masters.' + </p> + <p> + Possibly, had he been well enough to have returned to Sydney, he would + have gone back and made three persons' lives unhappy. But, although an + Englishman, he had not the rigidly conventional idea that the divorce + court was part of the machinery of the Wrath of God against women who + unknowingly committed bigamy, and ought to be availed of by injured + husbands. So, instead of having a relapse, he pulled himself together, + left the hospital, and got placidly drunk, and concluded, when he became + sober, not to disturb them. + </p> + <p> + 'I suppose neither of them is to blame,' he thought. 'How were either of + them to know that I was not drowned?... And then poor little Nell had only + ten shillings a week to live upon until I came back.' + </p> + <p> + Still, he would have been better pleased had Harry Laurance been a + stranger to him—no man cares to know his successor in such a matter. + By-and-by he worked his passage to Samoa, where, under the assumed name of + Tom Patterson, he soon found employment. Then one night he went into + Charley the Russian's saloon—and met Melanie. + </p> + <p> + And now he was settled down at Fana 'alu, was doing well as a trader, and + had acquired, in all its intensity, the usual dislike to the idea of ever + going back to the world again, common enough to men of his nature in + Polynesia. Besides that, Melanie understood him and he understood her. She + was as open and honest as the day, worked hard for him in his store, and + was sincerely attached to him. So he was well content. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + There was much commotion in the village when the trading barque arrived + and lay-to off Fana 'alu. Melanie, in a dress of spotless white muslin, + flitted to and fro within the house, smoking cigarettes and cursing her + women assistants' laziness and stupidity. Masters, it so happened, was + away in his boat at another village along the coast, and pretty Melanie + was in a state of nervous trepidation at the thought of having to meet the + English lady alone. What should she do? What should she say? Her English + was scant but vigorous, having mostly been acquired from the merchant + skippers, who, in her—to put it nicely—maiden days, frequented + the dance house of 'Charley the Russian' in Apia, and she was conning over + the problem of whether she should address her coming guest in that + language or not. Her child, a little girl of two, followed her mother's + movements with intense curiosity; and presently a bevy of young native + girls swarmed into the room with the news that the boat had come ashore, + and that the white lady and her husband had landed and were now walking up + to the house. Then Mrs Masters Number Two pulled herself together and, + throwing away her cigarette, went to the door and, with a graceful, modest + demeanour and a timid, bashful smile, held out her hand to a lovely being + with big, bright blue eyes and thick masses of hair of shining gold. + Beside this—to Melanie—glorious vision of beauty, stood the + husband—a big, black-moustached and bronze-feced man, who stooped as + he entered the door of the trader's house, and said good-naturedly to her,— + </p> + <p> + 'Glad to meet you, Mrs Patterson. Will your husband be long before he + returns?' + </p> + <p> + 'I don' know, sir,' answered Melanie. 'He hav' gone to Pitofanua. But he + will come ver' quick when he know that the ship hav' come.' Then, + trembling with pleasurable excitement, she turned to the lady and + indicated a low easy-chair, and said in Samoan,— + </p> + <p> + 'Sit thou there, O lady;' and then in English, 'I can't speak Englis' very + good sometimes. But my man will soon come.' Then she remembered something. + 'Please will you come into dis room here, which is been made all ready for + you, an' take off your hat;' and then she darted over to a side table, + brought a glass and a bottle of whisky over to the lady's husband; then, + with a winning smile, timidly held out her brown hand to her guest, and + led her into the bedroom. + </p> + <p> + The new supercargo helped himself to a nip of whisky and then sat down, + his keen business eye taking in the order and cleanliness of the room. In + a few minutes his wife came out. + </p> + <p> + 'Hang these traders, Nell! Why isn't this fellow here to meet me? He had + no business to go away from his station when the ship was due. However, he + has jolly nice quarters, and so we'll make ourselves comfortable until he + turns up. I think you'll like this place, Nell, and won't find it tedious + whilst I'm away at the Solomons. Eh, pet?' + </p> + <p> + The White Lady nodded and smiled. 'Yes, Harry, but I'll miss you terribly + to-morrow. Six weeks is a long time, dear.... Oh, Harry, do look—isn't + she a lovely child?' And, bending down, she swept up Melanie's little girl + in her arms and kissed her softly, and her eyes suddenly filled with + tears. + </p> + <p> + 'Yes,' said the supercargo, shortly, as, without looking at the child, he + took some papers from his pocket and began to read. His and her hearts' + desire had never been granted, and so he hated to look at the child of + another man. + </p> + <p> + 'I wish this fellow would come,' he said presently, in an irritable tone, + as he rose and walked to and fro.... Don't let that child paw you about + like that, Nell.... Hallo, here he is at last.' + </p> + <p> + Fanning his heated brow with his broad hat of pandanus leaf, the trader + stood in the doorway. + </p> + <p> + 'Good morning. I'm sorry I was away when you came—' + </p> + <p> + A cry, half scream and half sob, came from the supercargo's wife, as, + still holding the child in her arms, she swayed to and fro, and Melanie + sprang to her side. + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, Harry, it is Tom!' she said. + </p> + <p> + Then she sank back and lay upon the matted floor, with her head pillowed + upon Melanie's bosom; and the child wailed in terror. + </p> + <p> + 'What the hell is the matter?' said the big supercargo, striding forward + to the trader and seizing him by the arm. Then he looked into Masters's + face. 'By God, Masters, is it <i>you</i>? As heaven is my judge, I swear + to you that we both thought you were dead!' + </p> + <p> + The trader's eyes met his in a long, searching glance, then turned to + where the unconscious, figure of the white woman lay, supported in the + arms of Melanie, who, with affrighted eyes, gazed appealingly to them + both. + </p> + <p> + He reached out his hand to the other man. 'That's all right, Laurance. Let + us go outside and talk. See, <i>your wife</i> has fainted, but Melanie + will see to her.' + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + That night, whilst Masters and Laurance, cigars in mouth, were gravely + picking out the former's trade goods on board the <i>Palestine</i> the + White Lady and the Brown 'Woman' talked. + </p> + <p> + 'Is you any better now?' said Melanie, as she caressingly ran her hand + down the golden locks of Mrs Laurance. + </p> + <p> + A smothered sob was her answer, and the yellow head buried itself among + the pillows of the couch. + </p> + <p> + Melanie turned away despairingly, and then lit a cigarette. What a fool + was this beautiful white woman—nothing but sob, sob, sob! What could + be done to dry her tears? + </p> + <p> + Presently the Brown 'Woman' slid her hand under the waist of the weeping + White Lady, and pressed her cheek to hers. + </p> + <p> + 'Don' you wan' to stay here now?' + </p> + <p> + 'No, no, no! Let me go away. I wish I were dead!' + </p> + <p> + 'What for?' and the philosophical Melanie sent two long streaks of smoke + through her nostrils. 'Why are you 'shamed? You have a husban' now, and + yo' don' wan' to <i>faotane</i>, do you?' + </p> + <p> + 'What is <i>faotane?</i>' + </p> + <p> + Melanie laughed. '<i>Faotane</i> is Samoa language; it means stealing a + husban.... And yo' won' steal my husban' from me, will you? Yo' hav' got a + new husban', and yo' won' take Tom from me, will yo'?' + </p> + <p> + Mrs Laurance sprang to her feet and placed her hands on the Brown + 'Woman's' shoulders. + </p> + <p> + 'Tell me,' she said, 'did he ever talk of me?' + </p> + <p> + 'Yes,' said the truthful Melanie. 'He tell me that yo' have hair like + gold, and that your eye was blue like the sky.' + </p> + <p> + 'No more?' + </p> + <p> + Melanie shook her black locks. 'No more. My man never talk too much. You + like to eat some roast pigeon now?' + </p> + <p> + The White Lady turned her head aside and sobbed. 'And for a soulless being + like this!' Then she remembered that Masters was not to blame, and waited, + trembling and sobbing, for the two men to return. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Masters, having finished his business on board the barque, held out his + hand to Laurance. + </p> + <p> + 'Good-bye, Harry. Nothing can be done. Tom Masters was drowned off + Beveridge Reef years ago, and Harry Laurance married his widow; and Tom + Patterson is another man, who has a native wife, and—' + </p> + <p> + He wrung Laurance's hand, sprang up the companion-way and called to his + boat's crew,— + </p> + <p> + 'Haul the boat alongside, boys. I'm going to Pito-fanua again; and you + beggars will have to pull like hell.... Good-bye, Harry, old fellow. Send + your boat ashore for your wife... and God bless you both!' + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0021" id="link2H_4_0021"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + WITH HOOK AND LINE ON AN AUSTRAL RIVER + </h2> + <p> + The English visitor to the Eastern Colonies of Australia, who is in search + of sport with either rod or hand line, can always obtain excellent fishing + in the summer months, even in such traffic-disturbed harbours as Sydney, + Newcastle and other ports; but on the tidal rivers of the eastern and + southern seaboard he can catch more fish than he can carry home, during + nine months of the year. In the true winter months deep sea fishing is not + much favoured, except during the prevalence of westerly winds, when for + days at a time the Pacific is as smooth as a lake; but in the rivers, from + Mallacoota Inlet, which is a few miles over the Victorian boundary, to the + Tweed River on the north, the stranger may fairly revel, not only in the + delights of splendid fishing, but in the charms of beautiful scenery. He + needs no guide, will be put to but little expense, for the country hotel + accommodation is good and cheap; and, should he visit some of the northern + rivers, where the towns—or rather small settlements—are few + and far between, he will find the settlers the embodiment of British + hospitality. Some five years ago the writer formed one of the crew of a + little steamer of fifty tons, named the <i>Jenny Lind</i>, which was sent + out along the coast in the futile endeavour to revive the coast whaling + industry. Through stress of weather we had frequently to make a dash for + shelter, towing our one whale-boat, to one of the many tidal rivers on the + coast between Sydney and Gabo Island. Here we would remain until the + weather broke, and our crew would literally cover the deck with an + extraordinary variety of fish in the course of a few hours. Then, at low + tide, we could always fill a couple of corn sacks with excellent oysters, + and get bucketfuls of large prawns by means of a scoop net improvised from + a piece of mosquito netting. Game, too, was very plentiful on the lagoons. + The settlers were generally glad to see us, and gave us so freely of milk, + butter, pumpkins, etc., that, despite the rough handling we always had at + sea from the weather, we grew quite fat. But as the greater part of my + fishing experience was gained on the northern rivers of the colony of New + South Wales, it is of them I shall write. Eighteen hours' run by steamer + from Sydney is the Hastings River, on the southern bank of which, a mile + from the bar, is the old-time town of Port Macquarie—a quaint, + sleepy little place of six hundred inhabitants, who spend their days in + fishing and waiting for better times. There are two or three fairly good + hotels, very pretty scenery along the coast and up the river, and a + stranger can pass a month without suffering from <i>ennui</i>—that + is, of course, if he be fond of fishing and shooting; if he is not, he + should avoid going there, for it is the dullest coast town in New South + Wales. The southern shore, from the steamer wharf to opposite the bar, is + lined with a hard beach, on which, at high tide or slack water at low + tide, one may sit down in comfort and have great sport with bream, whiting + and flathead. As soon as the tide turns, however, and is well on the ebb + or flow, further fishing is impossible, for the river rushes out to sea + with great velocity, and the incoming tide is almost as swift. On the + other side of the harbour is a long, sandy point called the North Shore, + about a mile in length. This, at the north end, is met by a somewhat dense + scrub, which lines the right bank of the river for a couple of miles, and + affords a splendid shade to anyone fishing on the river bank. The outer or + ocean beach is but a few minutes' walk from the river, and a magnificent + beach it is, trending in one great unbroken curve to Point Plomer, seven + miles from the township. + </p> + <p> + Before ascending the river on a fishing trip one has to be provided with a + plentiful supply of cockles, or 'pippies,' as they are called locally. + These can only be obtained on the northern ocean beach, and not the least + enjoyable part of a day's sport consists in getting them. They are + triangular in shape, with smooth shells of every imaginable colour, though + a rich purple is commonest. As the backwash leaves the sands bare, these + bivalves may be seen in thick but irregular patches protruding from the + sand. Sometimes, if the tide is not low enough, one may get rolled over by + the surf if he happen to have his back turned seaward. Generally I was + accompanied by two boys, known as 'Condon's Twins.' They were my + landlord's sons, and certainly two of the smartest young sportsmen—although + only twelve years old—I ever met with. Both were very small for + their age, and I was always in doubt as to which was which. They were + always delighted to come with me, and did not mind being soused by a + roller now and then when filling my 'pippy' bag. Pippies are the best bait + one can have for whiting (except prawns) in Australia, for, unlike the + English whiting, it will not touch fish bait of any sort, although, when + very hungry, it will sometimes take to octopus flesh. Bream, whether black + or silvery, flathead, trevally, Jew-fish, and, indeed, all other fish + obtained in Australia, are not so dainty, for, although they like + 'pippies' and prawns best, they will take raw meat, fish, or octopus bait + with readiness. Certain species of sea and river mullet are like them in + this respect, and good sport may be had from them with a rod in the hot + months, as Dick and Fred, the twins aforesaid, well knew, for often would + their irate father wrath-fully ask them why they wasted their time + catching 'them worthless mullet.' + </p> + <p> + But let me give an idea of one of many days' fishing on the Hastings, + spent with the 'Twins.' Having filled a sugar-bag with 'pippies' on the + ocean beach, we put on our boots and make our way through the belt of + scrub to where our boat is lying, tied to the protruding roots of a tree. + Each of us is armed with a green stick, and we pick our way pretty + carefully, for black snake are plentiful, and to tread on one means death. + The density of the foliage overhead is such that but little sunlight can + pierce through it, and the ground is soft to our feet with the thick + carpet of fallen leaves beneath. No sound but the murmuring of the sea and + the hoarse notes of countless gulls breaks the silence, for this side of + the river is uninhabited, and its solitude disturbed only by some settler + who has ridden down the coast to look for straying cattle, or by a fishing + party from the town. Our boat, which we had hauled up and then tied to the + tree, is now afloat, for the tide has risen, and the long stretches of + yellow sandbanks which line the channel on the further side are covered + now with a foot of water. As we drift up the river, eating our lunch, and + letting the boat take care of herself, a huge, misshapen thing comes round + a low point, emitting horrid groanings and wheezings. It is a steam + stern-wheel punt, loaded with mighty logs of black-butt and tallow wood, + from fifty feet to seventy feet in length, cut far up the Hastings and the + Maria and Wilson Rivers, and destined for the saw-mill at Port Macquarie. + </p> + <p> + In another hour we are at our landing-place, a selector's abandoned + homestead, built of rough slabs, and standing about fifty yards back from + the river and the narrow line of brown, winding beach. The roof had long + since fallen in, and the fences and outbuildings lay low, covered with + vines and creepers. The intense solitude of the place, the motionless + forest of lofty, grey-boled swamp gums that encompassed it on all sides + but one, and the wide stretch of river before it were calculated to + inspire melancholy in anyone but an ardent fisherman. Scarcely have we + hauled our boat up on the sand, and deposited our provisions and water in + the roofless house, when we hear a commotion in the river—a swarm of + fish called 'tailer' are making havoc among a 'school' of small mullet, + many of which fling themselves out upon the sand. Presently all is quiet + again, and we get our lines ready. + </p> + <p> + For whiting and silvery bream, rather fine lines are used; but we each + have a heavy line for flathead, for these fish are caught in the tidal + rivers on a sandy bottom up to three feet and four feet in length. They + are in colour, both on back and belly, much like a sole, of great width + across the shoulders, and then taper away to a very fine tail. The head is + perfectly flat, very thin, and armed on each side with very sharp bones + pointing tailward. A stab from one of these causes intense inflammation. + The fins are small—so small as to appear almost rudimentary—yet + the fish swims, or rather darts, along the bottom with amazing rapidity. + They love to lie along the banks a few feet from the shore, where, + concealed in the sand, they can dart out upon and seize their prey in + their enormous 'gripsack'mouths. The approach of a boat, or a person + walking along the sand, will cause them to at once speed like lightning + into deep water, leaving behind them a wake of sand and mud, which is + washed off their backs in their flight. Still, although not a pleasing + fish to look at, the flathead is of a delicious and delicate flavour. + There are some variations in their shades of colour, from a pale, delicate + grey to a very dark brown, according to their habitat, and, although most + frequent in very shallow water, they are often caught in great quantities + off the coast in from ten to fifteen fathoms of water. Gut or wire + snoodings are indispensable when fishing for flathead, else the fish + invariably severs the line with his fine needle-pointed teeth, which are + set very closely together. Nothing comes amiss to them as food; but they + have a great love for small mullet or whiting, or a piece of octopus + tentacle. + </p> + <p> + Baiting our heavy lines with mullet—two hooks with brass-wire snoods + to each line—we throw out about thirty yards, then, leaving two or + three fathoms loose upon the shore, we each thrust a stick firmly into the + sand, and take a turn of the line round it. As the largest flathead + invariably darts upon the bait, and then makes a bolt with it, this plan + is a good one to follow, unless, of course, they are biting freely; in + that case the smaller lines for bream and whiting, etc., are hauled in, + for there is more real sport in landing a 10-lb. flathead than there is in + catching smaller fish, for he is very game, and fights fiercely for his + life. + </p> + <p> + Having disposed our big lines, we bait the smaller ones with 'pippies,' + and not two minutes at the outside elapse after the sinkers have touched + bottom when we know we are to have a good time, for each of us has hooked + a fish, and three whiting are kicking on the sand before five minutes have + expired. Then for another hour we throw out and haul in again as quickly + as possible, landing whiting from 6 oz. to nearly 2 lb. weight. One of the + 'Twins' has five hooks on his line, and occasionally lands three fish + together, and now and again we get small bream and an occasional 'tailer' + of 2 lb. or 3 lb. As the sun mounts higher the breeze dies away, the heat + becomes very great, and we have frequent recourse to our water jar—in + one case mixing it with whisky. Then the whiting cease to bite as suddenly + as they have begun, and move off into deeper water. Just as we are + debating as to whether we shall take the boat out into mid-stream, Twin + Dick gives a yell, as his stick is suddenly whipped out of the sand, and + the loose line lying beside it rushes away into the water. But Dick is an + old hand, and lets his fish have his first bolt, and then turns him. 'By + jingo! sir, he's a big fellow,' he cries, as he hauls in the line, now as + taut as a telegraph wire, and then the other twin comes to his aid, and in + a few minutes the outline of the fish is seen, coming in straight ahead, + as quick as they can pull him. When he is within ten feet of the beach the + boys run up the bank and land him safely, as he turns his body into a + circle in his attempts to shake out the hook. Being called upon to + estimate his weight, I give it as 11 lb., much to the Twins' sorrow—they + think it 15 lb. Half an hour passes, and we catch but half a dozen silvery + bream and some small baby whiting, for now the sun is beating down upon + our heads, and our naked feet begin to burn and sting; so we adjourn to + the old house and rest awhile, leaving our big lines securely tied. But, + though the breeze for which we wait comes along by two o'clock, the fish + do not, and so, after disinterring our takes from the wet sand, wherein we + had buried them as they were caught, to prevent them being spoilt by the + sun, we get aboard again and pull across to the opposite bank of the + river. Here, in much deeper water, about fifteen feet right under the + clayey bank, we can see hundreds of fine bream, and now and then some + small Jew-fish. Taking off our sinkers, we have as good and more exciting + sport among the bream than we had with the whiting, catching between four + and five dozen by six o'clock. Then, after boiling the billy and eating + some fearfully tough corned meat, we get into the boat again, hoist our + sail, and land at the little township just after dark. Such was one of + many similar days' sport on the Hastings, which, with the Bellinger, the + Nambucca, the Macleay and the Clarence Rivers, affords good fishing + practically all the year round. Then, besides these tidal rivers, there + are at frequent intervals along the coast, tidal lagoons and 'blind' + creeks where fish congregate in really incredible quantities. Such places + as Lake Illawarra and Lake Macquarie are fishing resorts well known to the + tourist; but along the northern coast, where the population is scantier + and access by rail or steamer more difficult, there is an absolutely new + field open to the sportsman—in fact, these places are seldom visited + for either fishing or shooting by people from Sydney. During November and + December the bars of these rivers are literally black with incredible + numbers of coarse sea-salmon—a fish much like the English sea bass—which, + making their way over the bars, swim up the rivers and remain there for + about a week. Although these fish, which weigh from 8 lb. to 10 lb., do + not take a bait, and are rather too coarse to eat, their roes are very + good, especially when smoked. They are captured with the greatest of ease, + either by spearing or by the hand, for sometimes they are in such dense + masses that they are unable to maoeuvre in small bays, and the urchins of + coastal towns hail their yearly advent with delight. They usually make + their first appearance about November 20th (I presume they resort to the + rivers to spawn), and are always followed by a great number of very large + sharks and saw-fish,{*} which commit dreadful havoc in their serried and + helpless ranks. Following the sea-salmon, the rivers are next visited in + January by shoals of very large sea-mullet—blue-black backs, silvery + bellies and sides, and yellow fins and tails. These, too, will not take a + bait, but are caught in nets, and, if a steamer happens to be on the eve + of leaving for Sydney, many hundreds of baskets are sent away; but they + barely pay the cost of freight and commission, I believe. There are + several varieties of sea-mullet, one or two of which will take the hook + freely, and I have often caught them off the rocky coast of New South + Wales with a rod when the sea has been smooth. The arrival of the big + sea-mullet denotes that the season for Jew-fish is at its height, and if + the stranger to Australian waters wants exciting sport, let him try + Jew-fishing at night. In deep water off the coast these great fish are + occasionally caught during daylight, but a dull, cloudy night is best, + when they may be caught from the beach or river bank in shallow water. + Very stout lines and heavy hooks are used, for a 90-lb. or 100-lb. + Jew-fish is very common. Baiting with a whole mullet or whiting, or one of + the arms of an octopus, the most amateurish fisherman cannot fail to hook + two or three Jew-fish in a night. (Even in Sydney Harbour I have seen some + very large ones caught by people fishing from ferry wharves.) They are + very powerful, and also very game, and when they rise to the surface make + a terrific splashing. At one place on the Hastings River, called + Blackman's Point, a party of four of us took thirteen fish, the heaviest + of which was 62 lb. and the lightest 9 lb. Next morning, however, the + Blackman's Point ferryman, who always set a line from his punt when he + turned in, showed us one of over 90 lb. When they grow to such a size as + this they are not eaten locally, as the flesh is very often full of thin, + thread-like worms. The young fish, however, are very palatable. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The 'saw-fish' of the Australian tidal rivers is very + distinct from the sword-fish of the deep sea. +</pre> + <p> + The saw-fish, to which I have before alluded as harrying the swarms of + sea-salmon, also make havoc with the Jew-fish, and very often are caught + on Jew-fish lines. They are terrible customers to get foul of (I do not + confound them with the sword-fish) when fishing from a small boat. Their + huge broad bill of hard bone, set on both sides with its terrible sharp + spikes, their great length and enormous strength, render it impossible to + even get them alongside, and there is no help for it but either to cut the + line or pull up anchor and land him on the shore. Even then the task of + despatching one of these creatures is no child's play on a dark night, for + they lash their long tails about with such fury that a broken leg might be + the result of coming too close. In the rivers of Northern Queensland the + saw-fish attain an enormous size, and the Chinese fishermen about Cooktown + and Townsville often have their nets destroyed by a sawfish enfolding + himself in them. Alligators, by the way, do the same thing there, and are + sometimes captured, perfectly helpless, in the folds of the nets, in which + they have rolled themselves over and over again, tearing it beyond repair + with their feet, but eventually yielding to their fate. + </p> + <p> + The schnapper, the best of all Australian fish, is too well known to here + enter into a detailed description. Most town-bred Australians generally + regard it as a purely ocean-loving fish, or at least only frequenting very + deep waters in deep harbours, such as Sydney, Jervis Bay and Twofold Bay. + This is quite a mistake, for in many of the rivers, twenty or more miles + up from the sea, the writer and many other people have not only caught + these beautiful fish, but seen fishermen haul in their nets filled with + them. But they seldom remain long, preferring the blue depths of ocean to + the muddy bottoms of tidal rivers, for they are rock-haunting and + surf-loving. + </p> + <p> + Of late years the northern bar harbours and rivers of New South Wales have + been visited by a fish that in my boyhood's days was unknown even to the + oldest fisherman—the bonito. Although in shape and size they exactly + resemble the ocean bonito of tropic seas, these new arrivals are lighter + in colour, with bands of marbled grey along the sides and belly. They bite + freely at a running bait—i.e., when a line is towed astern—and + are very good when eaten quite fresh, but, like all of the mackerel tribe, + rapidly deteriorate soon after they are caught. The majority of the coast + settlers will not eat them, being under the idea that, as they are all but + scaleless, they are 'poisonous.' This silly impression also prevails with + regard to many other scaleless fish on the Australian coast, some of + which, such as the trevally, are among the best and most delicate in + flavour. The black and white rock cod is also regarded with aversion by + the untutored settlers of the small coast settlements, yet these fish are + sold in Sydney, like the schnapper, at prohibitive prices. + </p> + <p> + In conclusion, let me advise anyone who is contemplating a visit to + Australia, and means to devote any of his time to either river or lake + fishing, to take his rods with him; all the rest of his tackle he can buy + as cheap in the colonies as he can in England. Rods are but little used in + salt-water fishing in Australia, and are terribly expensive to buy. Those + who do use a rod are usually satisfied with a bamboo—a very good rod + it makes, too, although inconvenient to carry when travelling—but + the generality of people use hand lines. And the visitor must not be + persuaded that he can get really good river fishing without going some + distance from Sydney or Melbourne. That there is some excellent sport to + be obtained in Port Jackson in summer is true, but it is lacking in a very + essential thing—the quietude that is dear to the heart of every true + fisherman. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0022" id="link2H_4_0022"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE WRECK OF THE LEONORA: A MEMORY OF 'BULLY' HAYES + </h2> + <p> + The brig <i>Leonora</i>, owned and commanded by the notorious Captain + 'Bully' Hayes, has, perhaps, been more written and talked about than any + other vessel, except the <i>Bounty</i>, that ever sailed the South Seas, + and her career was as eventful as that of her captain. It was my fortune + to fill the distinguished position of supercargo to that eminent gentleman + for two years, and, as may be imagined by those who have read anything of + Hayes's strange life and doings in the Pacific and the China Seas, I found + the berth a remarkably curious one. How and why I became supercargo to the + famous alleged pirate is another story; but, in justice to 'Bully's' + memory, I may here at once say that the man was <i>not</i> the remorseless + ruffian that his enemies and many writers of tales of the South Seas have + painted him; furthermore, he was one of the best sailor-men that ever trod + a deck. Had he lived in the times of Drake or Dampier, he would have been + a hero, for he was a man born to command and lead. <i>Inter alia</i>, he + was also clever with his fists, and my soul was possessed of the deepest + admiration for him in this respect from the very first day I stepped on + board the <i>Leonora</i>, in Milli Lagoon, in the Marshall Islands, for it + was my privilege to see him knock out three men, one after another, in + twice as many minutes. These men were 'toughs' from a New Bedford whaler, + and had been put ashore at Milli Lagoon by their captain as dangerous and + useless characters. They came on board the <i>Leonora</i> and asked + 'Bully' to ship them. He refused in such unnecessary language that the + leader of the three, in fatuous ignorance of the man to whom he was + speaking, threatened to 'put a head on him'; whereupon Hayes at once had + the deck cleared, and, taking them in turn, knocked each man out in the + first round. Then he gave them a glass of grog all round, a bottle of + arnica to cure the malformations he had caused on their countenances, and + sent them ashore. + </p> + <p> + But this is not the story of the wreck of the <i>Leonora</i>. + </p> + <p> + We had made Strong's Island from Ponapé, in the Western Carolines, to wood + and water and land some cattle, and for two weeks we lay at anchor in the + beautiful harbour of Lêlé. We found the island in a very disturbed and + excited state, for a few weeks previously two American sperm whalers had + touched at Lêlé and landed five white men, with a retinue of nearly one + hundred savage natives from Pleasant Island, an isolated spot situated in + 0.25 S., and these people—white and brown—so terrified the + Strong's Islanders that the old King Togusa was in abject fear of them. We + (Hayes and myself) soon learnt their story, which was that they had been + compelled to fly for their lives from Pleasant Island on account of an + engagement between the various clans of that place. The two chiefs under + whose protection these men lived had been badly beaten, and the victors + gave the five white traders a short notice to clear out or be shot. They + at once put to sea in their several whale-boats, but when some three + hundred miles away from the island, on their way to Ponapé—the North + Pacific Cave of Adullam—they were sighted and picked up by the two + whalers, the <i>St George</i> and the <i>Europa</i>, the captains of + which, not caring for their company all the way to Ponapé, landed them at + Strong's Island. They were now awaiting a chance to continue their voyage + to Ponapé in a passing whaler, and in the meantime their savage followers + were harrying the unfortunate Strong's Islanders to death, robbing their + plantations, abducting their women and knocking them about generally. + </p> + <p> + These wild people were the most noisy and intractable lot of natives I had + ever seen, wearing only a girdle of leaves around their waists, and all + armed with Snider carbines and short stabbing knives made from cutlasses + broken in halves. But, although they bullied the weak and effeminate + Strong's Islanders, they were yet very obedient to their white masters, to + whom they were all more or less related through the native wives whom the + traders had married. The women were very tall and handsome, and every bit + as handy with their knives as the men in a quarrel. + </p> + <p> + Hayes, of course, was well known to both the white men and natives, and at + once began his good offices by threatening to open fire on the houses and + boats of the former if they did not at once cease to persecute the king + and his subjects. This threat he made in the presence and hearing of the + king himself, who was deeply grateful, and at once said he would make him + a present of two tuns of oil. The five hairy ruffians were considerably + startled at first; but Hayes, I regret to say, turning to one of them, + named Pedro Diaz, said in Spanish, 'Don't be scared, Peter. I'm not going + back on you fellows; but at the same time you'll have to quit knocking + these poor devils about. So just go ashore and take away your people's + rifles—it means a couple of tuns of oil for me—its just as + well in the hold of the <i>Leonora</i> as in that of the missionary brig + <i>Morning Star</i>. The missionaries would only promise King Togusa + credit in heaven. I'll give him enough grog to keep him drunk for a month + of Sundays on earth; and as he never possibly could get to heaven, I am + treating him better than the missionaries, who would simply be obtaining + his oil under false pretences.' + </p> + <p> + On the following day the king sent off his gift of oil; the five white men + and he became reconciled, and the abducted Strong's Island women were + returned to their parents or husbands as a guarantee of good faith. In the + evening the traders came on board and made an arrangement with Hayes to + proceed in the brig to Arrecifos (Providence Island), a large atoll to the + north-west, of which Hayes had taken possession. Here they were to live as + long as they liked, paying Hayes a certain quantity of coco-nut oil as + tribute, and resisting, by force of arms, any attempt to take possession + of the atoll by the German trading company of Godeffroy, should it be made + by any one of the three, armed German brigs belonging to the firm, and + then cruising in the North Pacific. + </p> + <p> + Two days later we bade farewell to the old king and his pretty young wife, + Se, and the <i>Leonora</i> sailed out of Lêlé. We were first to call at + South Harbour, six miles to leeward, where we were to take in yams, pigs + and other provisions for the voyage to Providence Island, as we had now + over one hundred additional people on board. + </p> + <p> + We ran out of Lêlé at daylight, and at seven o'clock in the morning + dropped our anchor in fourteen fathoms in South Harbour, or Utwé,{*} as + the natives called it. As quickly as possible the ship's boats, aided by + those belonging to the traders, set to work to bring off the yams and + pigs, for which, as they were brought on deck by their native owners, I + weighed and paid. By dusk we had finished, and I was just dressing to go + to supper aboard one of the American whale-ships which were lying near us, + when the trade wind, which had been lusty enough all day, suddenly fell—a + very dangerous sign at that season of the year. In a few minutes Hayes + sent a boat over to the whalers, telling the captains that a blow was + coming on from the westward, and advising them to clear out to sea. But + the American captains decided not to risk towing out through the narrow + passage; and as they were in a much better position than the <i>Leonora</i>, + they did wisely, for in less than a quarter of an hour a mountainous swell + began rolling in, and it soon became evident that even with our own four + boats, and the seven belonging to the traders, we could not tow out. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The Port Lottin of Dupurrcy. +</pre> + <p> + As quickly as possible Hayes had our royal and top-gallant yards sent + down, the boats slung in-board from the davits on the deck, the Pleasant + Islanders sent below, and every preparation made to ride out the blow, + which we were in hopes would not last more than six hours or so. So far + not a breath of wind had come, but the brig was rolling so badly that we + quite expected to see her go over on her beam ends and stay there. At + sunset the air was so close and oppressive that one could scarcely + breathe, and the natives in the hold became half suffocated, and could + only be kept down by the white traders and some of our officers + threatening to shoot the first man that tried to get on deck. Many of + them, however, besought to be allowed to swim ashore and remain till + morning, and Hayes told them they could go. Some ten men and six women at + once came up; and, although it was now dark, and the sharks consequently + much more to be dreaded, sprang overboard, and swam in towards the native + village of Utwé. + </p> + <p> + For another twenty minutes or more we remained anxiously awaiting. The sky + was as black as pitch, and there was now a tremendously high sea, and the + din and thunder of the surf on the reef a couple of cables' length away + was most appalling. I had never heard anything like it before, nor have I + since; and the weird sound of the huge seas as they tumbled and roared + upon the hollow crust of the reef made my hair stand upon end like priming + wires. The tide was low, and perhaps that had something to do with the + wild, resounding clamour of the seas upon the long line of reef; but there + was a strange humming note underlying it all, which was new to many of our + ship's company, and seemed to fill even the rest of the Pleasant Islanders + who remained on board with a sense of dread, for they earnestly besought + Hayes to let them come on deck, for, they said, 'the belly of the world + was about to burst.' + </p> + <p> + To this, most fortunately for themselves, Hayes consented, and in a few + minutes they swarmed up on deck, each man carrying his Snider and + cutlass-knife, and the women and children loaded up with their + sleeping-mats and other gear. Some of the women crawled under the long + boat, which was lying on the port side, and made themselves comfortable; + and the men brought their arms to me to stow in the trade room, for fear + of their getting wet, and then returned to their white masters, who were + grouped together on deck. + </p> + <p> + Then, quite suddenly, the jumping, tumbling sea began to subside, and + through the darkness we heard the skipper of one of the American whalers + hail us. + </p> + <p> + 'What are you, going to do, Captain Hayes? I guess we're in a pretty tight + place. I'd try to tow out if I could see the hole in the wall. We're going + to get it mighty hot presently. It's coming on fast.' + </p> + <p> + 'That's so,' Hayes replied, with a laugh; 'but we can't stop it. And, say, + look here, captain, as you fellows are lying further out than I am, you + might each start a cask of oil to run when the seas begin to break. It + won't help you much, but it will me.' + </p> + <p> + The whale-ship captain laughed, and said that he was afraid that his six + hundred barrels of oil would start themselves if the sea began to break—meaning + that his ship would go ashore. + </p> + <p> + The previous heavy rolling of the brig had nearly made a wreck of my trade + room, for everything had been jerked off the shelves, and cases of liquor, + powder, cartridges, concertinas and women's hats, etc., were lying burst + open on the floor; so, calling a couple of native sailors to help me, I + was just going below, when I heard Captain Hayes's sharp tones calling out + to our officers to stand by. + </p> + <p> + From the north-west there came a peculiar droning, humming sound, mingled + with a subdued crashing and roaring of the mountain forest, which lay + about a quarter of a mile astern of us—the noise one hears when a + mighty bush fire is raging in Australia, and a sudden gust of wind adds to + its devastation—and then in another half a minute the brig spun + round like a top to the fury of the first blast, and we were enveloped in + a blinding shower of leaves, twigs and salty spray. She brought up to her + anchors with a jerk that nearly threw everyone off his feet, and then in + an incredibly short time the sea again began to rise, and the brig to + plunge and take water in over the bows and waist—not heavy seas, but + sheets of water nipped off by the force of the wind and falling on the + decks in drenching showers. + </p> + <p> + Just as I was hurrying below, Hayes stopped me. + </p> + <p> + 'Don't bother about the trade room. Get all the arms and ammunition you + can ready for the boats. I'm afraid that we won't see this through. The + blubber-hunters are all right; but we are not. We have to ride short. I + can't give her more than another ten fathoms of cable—there are a + lot of coral boulders right aft. If the wind hauls round a couple of + points we may clear them, but it isn't going to; and we'll get smothered + in the seas in another ten minutes—if the cables don't part before + then.' + </p> + <p> + Seldom was a ship sent to destruction in such a short time as the <i>Leonora</i>. + I had not been five minutes in the main cabin before a heavy sea came over + the bows with a crash, carried away the for'ard deckhouse, which it swept + overboard, killed four people, and poured into the cabin. I heard Hayes + call out to the mate to give her another ten fathoms of cable, and then, + assisted by half a dozen native women and a young Easter Island half-caste + girl named Lalia, wife to one of the five white traders, began packing our + arms and ammunition into two or three strong trade boxes. In another chest + we stowed the ship's chronometers, Hayes's instruments, and all the charts + upon which we could lay hands, together with about six thousand silver + dollars in bags, the ship's books and some silver plate. The women, who + were the officers' and traders' wives, were fearfully terrified; all but + Lalia, who was a fine, courageous girl. Taking a cutlass from the rack in + the cabin she stood over them; and, cursing freely in French, English, + Spanish and whalers' language, threatened to murder every one of them if + they did not hurry. We got the first box of arms safely up the companion, + and Hayes saw it lowered into one of the traders' whale-boats, which was + standing by under the stern. Then, as a tremendous crashing sea came over + the waist, all the women but Lalia bolted and left us alone. Lalia + laughed. + </p> + <p> + 'That's the long-boat gone, sir; and all those Pleasant Islands women are + drown, I hope—the damned savage beasts, I hate them.' + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The <i>Leonora</i> carried four guns. +</pre> + <p> + I learnt afterwards that the crash was caused by the two guns on the + starboard side taking a run to port, and carrying away the port ones with + them over the side through the bulwarks.{*} The long-boat was washed + overboard by the same sea, but half a dozen of our Rotumah Island sailors + had jumped overboard after her, and, using canoe paddles, saved her from + being dashed on the reef. She was soon brought alongside, fully manned, + and awaiting Hayes's orders. + </p> + <p> + The captain now called to me to stand by to take charge of her, when a + second fearful sea came over the waist, and fairly buried the ship, and + Hung, the Chinese carpenter and myself were only saved from going + overboard, by being entangled in the falls of one of the quarter-boats. As + for the long-boat, it was swept away out of sight, but succeeded in + reaching the shore safely, with the loss of one man. + </p> + <p> + By this time the seas were breaking over the brig with terrible force, and + when they came over the bows they swept her flush decks like a torrent. + Presently she gave such a terrible roll to port that we thought she was + going over altogether, and the third mate reported that six + four-hundred-gallon water tanks, which were stored in the 'tween decks + amidships, had gone adrift to the port side. Then Hayes told the carpenter + to cut away the masts. A few slashes at the rigging, and a couple of + snicks at the spars themselves, sent the sticks over the side quick + enough; the brig stood up again and rode easier. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, the boat of one of the traders named Terry—an old + ex-man-of-war's man—had come off, manned by half a dozen of his + stalwart half-caste sons, and although it was still pitch dark, and the + din of the gale sounded like fifty railway locomotives whistling in + unison, and the brig was only revealed to the brave fellows by the white + light of the foam-whipped sea, they ran the boat under the counter, and + stood by while a number of women and children jumped, or were pitched + overboard, to them. These were quickly rescued, and then that boat, too, + vanished. + </p> + <p> + Again the wind lulled for about five minutes, and Hayes and old Harry + Terry urged the rest of the remaining women to jump overboard and make for + the shore, as the brig's decks were now awash, and every third or fourth + sea swept along her, fore and aft, with irresistible force. One woman—a + stout, powerfully-built native of Ocean Island—whose infant child + was lashed to her naked back with bands of coir cinnet, rushed up to the + captain, and crying, 'Kâpeni, ka maté a maté '—('Captain, if I die, + I die')—put her arms round his neck, rubbed noses with him, and + leaped over the stern rail into the seething surf. She was found the next + morning lying dead on a little beach, having bled to death from the wounds + she had received from the jagged coral rocks, but the baby was alive, for + with her dying hands the poor creature had placed it under shelter, and + covered it over with grass and leaves, where it was found, sleeping + soundly, by a native sailor. + </p> + <p> + There was not now the slightest hope of saving the ship, unless the sea + went down; and Hayes, who was as cool as if he were taking his morning + coffee, told the rest of the crew, who were now all gathered together aft, + to get ashore the best way they could. Three of the white traders were + still aboard, awaiting the return of their boats, which, manned by their + faithful Pleasant Islanders, we now and again could dimly discern, as they + appeared on the summit of the heaving seas, waiting for a chance to pull + up astern and rescue their masters. + </p> + <p> + There were still two chests full of valuables in the main cabin to be got + on deck, and Lalia (sweet Lalia), the young woman of whom I have before + spoken, although her husband had gone ashore, refused to jump to the + boats, and said she would stay and help us to save them. + </p> + <p> + 'Go, ashore, Lalia. Go to your husband,' said Hayes, sternly pushing her + to the stern rail; 'he is an old man, and cannot come off again in his + boat for you. Perhaps he is drowned.' + </p> + <p> + The girl laughed and said it was all the better—she would get + another and a younger husband; she would stay with the <i>men</i> on board + and not swim ashore with the old women. Then she ran below. In a few + minutes she reappeared, with a fine powerful Pleasant Island native named + Karta, carrying our Chinese steward, who was paralysed with drink and + terror. Hayes took the man up in his arms and, seeing one of the boats + close to, threw him overboard without further ado. Then Lalia and I again + went below for another of the boxes, and, aided by Karta, we had got it + half-way up the companion ladder when the brig rose her stern high to a + mountain sea, and then came down with a terrific crash on to a coral + boulder, ripping her rudder from the stern post, and sending it clean + through the deck. Lalia fell backwards into the cabin, and the heavy chest + slipped down on the top of her, crushing her left foot cruelly against the + companion lining, and jamming her slender body underneath. Karta and + myself tried hard to free the poor tortured girl, but without avail, and + then some of our Rotumah Island sailors, hearing our cries for help, ran + down, and by our united exertions, we got her clear, put her in the + steward's bunk—as she had fainted—and lugged the chest on + deck. + </p> + <p> + One of the traders' whale-boats was lying close to, and the chest was, by + the merest chance, dropped into her just as the brig came down again on + the coral boulder with a thundering crash and smashed a big hole into her + timbers under her starboard counter. In a few minutes she began to fill. + </p> + <p> + 'It's all up with her, boys,' cried the philosophical 'Bully.' 'Jump for + the boats all of you; but wait for a rising sea, or you'll get smashed up + on the coral. Bo'sun, take a look round below, and see that there are no + more women there. We must take care of the women, boys.' + </p> + <p> + Karta, the brave Pleasant Islander, a Manila man named Sarréo, and myself + then went below for Lalia. She was sitting up in the steward's bunk, + stripped to the waist, and only awaiting help to get on deck. Already the + main cabin had three feet of water in it, and just as we lifted the girl + out, another sea came in over deck and nearly filled it; and with it came + the bruised and battered dead body of a little native boy, who, crouching + up under the shelter of the companion, had been killed by the wheel + falling upon and crushing him when the rudder was carried away. + </p> + <p> + Half-drowned, we managed to struggle on deck, Karta carrying the girl, and + the Manila man and I helping each other together. The brig was now quite + under water for'ard, but her after part was hanging on the coral boulder + under it, though every succeeding sea rolled her from side to side. Hayes + snatched the girl from Karta's arms just as the ship lobbed over to + starboard on her bilge, then a thumping sea came thundering down, and + swept the lot of us over the stern. + </p> + <p> + The poor Manila man was never seen again—barring a small portion of + his anatomy; to wit, his right arm and shoulder, the rest having been + assimilated by Jack Shark. Hayes got ashore by himself, and the writer of + this narrative, with Karta, the Pleasant Islander, and Lalia, the trader's + wife, came ashore on the wreck of a boat that had been carried on top of + the after-deck house. + </p> + <p> + We were all badly knocked about. Karta had a fearful gash in his leg from + a piece of coral. This he had bound up, whilst swimming, with a strip of + his grass-cloth girdle. Lalia, in addition to her dreadfully crushed foot, + had her right arm badly cut; and the writer was so generally excoriated + and done-up that he would never have reached the shore, but for the + gallant Karta and the brave-hearted Lalia, who both held him up when he + wanted to let go and drown quietly. + </p> + <p> + At dawn the gale had ceased, and whilst we, the survivors of the <i>Leonora</i> + stood up and stretched our aching limbs we saw, as we glanced seaward, the + two 'blubber hunters,' who had ridden out the storm safely, heave-up and + sail through the passage. I don't think either of the captains was wanting + in humane feeling; but both were, no doubt, very much afraid that as + 'Bully' Hayes had lost his ship, he would not be particular about taking + another near to hand. And they were quite correct. Hayes and his third + mate, some of the white traders, and twenty or so of our crew were quite + willing to seize one of the whalers, and sail to Arrecifos. But the Yankee + skippers knew too much of 'Bully,' and left us to ourselves on Strong's + Island; and many a tragedy resulted, for the crew and passengers of the <i>Leonora</i> + with some few exceptions, were not particular as to their doings, and + mutiny, treachery, murder, and sudden death, were the outcome of the wreck + of the <i>Leonora</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0023" id="link2H_4_0023"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + AN OLD COLONIAL MUTINY + </h2> + <p> + The following notice one day appeared among the official records of the + earlier days (1800) of the colony of New South Wales:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Whereas the persons undermentioned and described did, in + the month of November, by force of arms, violently take away + from His Majesty's settlement at Dalrymple a colonial brig + or vessel called the <i>Venus</i>, the property of Mr Robert + Campbell, a merchant of this territory, and the said vessel + then containing stores, the property of His Majesty, and a + quantity of necessary stores, the property of the officers + of that settlement, and sundry other property, belonging to + private individuals.' +</pre> + <p> + Then follows the description of the crew, from which it will be seen that + there was every factor towards some criminal deed on board the <i>Venus</i>. + First of all the chief mate is mentioned:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Benjamin Burnet Kelly, chief mate; says he is an American. + He arrived in this colony as chief mate of the <i>Albion</i>, a + South Sea whaler (Captain Bunker); Richard Edwards, second + mate; Joseph Redmonds, seaman, a mulatto or mestizo of South + America 299 (came out from England in the <i>Venus</i>); Darra, + cook, a Malay man, both ears missing; Thomas Ford and + William Porter Evans, boys of 14 and 16 (Evans is a native + of Rose Hill in this colony); Richard Thompson, a soldier; + Thomas Richard Evans, a convict, formerly a gunner's mate on + H.M.S. <i>Calcutta</i> (sentenced to fourteen years for desertion + and striking an officer); John Lancaster or Lancashire, a + convict, a very dangerous person; Charlotte Badger, convict, + a very corpulent person (has an infant in arms); Kitty + Hegarty, convict, very handsome woman, with white teeth and + fresh complexion, much inclined to smile, a great talker.' +</pre> + <p> + Then comes an official proclamation, signed 'G. Blaxcell, Secretary, + Government House, Sydney,' cautioning 'all governors and officers in + command at any of His Majesty's ports, and the Honourable East India + Company's magistrates or officers in command, at home or abroad, at + whatever port the said brig may be taken into, or met with at sea, against + any frauds or deceptions that may be practised by the offending parties,' + and asking that they might be seized and brought to condign punishment. + </p> + <p> + The <i>Venus</i>, under the command of Mr S. Rodman Chace, sailed out of + Sydney Cove (as Port Jackson was then called) for Twofold Bay at the time + before mentioned. Here she remained at anchor for about five weeks, and + here it was that the first trouble began. + </p> + <p> + Captain Chace had been ashore, and about dusk was returning in his boat to + the ship, when he heard sounds of great hilarity proceeding from those on + board. On coming alongside and gaining the deck, he found that the two + convict ladies were entertaining Mr Benjamin Burnet Kelly, the mate, with + a dancing exhibition, the musical accompaniment to which was given by + Darra, the earless Malayan cook, who was seated on a tub on the main-hatch + playing a battered violin. Lying around the deck, in various stages of + drunkenness, were the male convicts and some of the crew, and the genial + Mr Kelly presided over a bucket of rum, pannikins of which were offered to + the ladies at frequent intervals by the two faithful cup-bearers,—Ford + and Evans. + </p> + <p> + Chace at once put an end to the harmony by seizing the bucket of rum and + throwing it overboard, and the drunken people about him being incapable of + offering much resistance, he put them in irons and tumbled them below. + Kelly, who was a big, truculent-looking man, then produced a bowie knife + of alarming dimensions and challenged Chace to combat, but was quickly + awed by a pistol being placed at his breast by his superior officer. He + then promised to return to his duty, provided—here he began to weep, + that—the captain did not harm Kitty Hegarty, for whom he professed + an ardent attachment. + </p> + <p> + As the <i>Venus</i> carried despatches for the Governor of Van Diemen's + Land, Captain Chace was eager to reach his destination, Port Dalrymple, + with all speed, and therefore was in a very anxious state of mind after + the disturbance mentioned, particularly as the mate Kelly, and the + convicts on board, seemed to have some sort of secret understanding. + However, the <i>Venus</i> arrived there safely, and Captain Chace duly + delivered his despatches to Lieutenant House, the Marine officer in + charge. Feeling sure that there was now no further danger to be + apprehended, he spent the night with an old shipmate, the captain of the + schooner <i>Governor Hunter</i>. After breakfast, accompanied by Mr House, + he got into his boat and set out for his ship. He had left instructions + with the mate to get up anchor at six o'clock and come up the river, and + about seven o'clock, as he and Mr House were being pulled towards her in + the boat, they saw that she was under weigh, and coming up. + </p> + <p> + 'There's not much use in us going down, as your ship is coming up, Chace,' + said Mr House. 'Let us go ashore here in this cove and wait for her.' + </p> + <p> + The master agreed to this, and the boat turned into a little sandy-beached + cove, where they lost sight of the ship, which, with the light breeze then + blowing, would not pass abreast of the cove for another hour. + </p> + <p> + About an hour passed, and then they heard the sound of oars, and the <i>Venus</i> + boat was seen sweeping round the headland of the cove. The crew seemed + thoroughly exhausted, and many of them were cut and bleeding. In a few + moments they told their story, which was, that just after the ship got + under weigh, Kelly and the convicts sprang upon the second mate, stunned + him and pitched him below. Then, before those of the crew who were not in + league with the mutineers could offer any resistance, they were set upon + by the pilot, Thompson, the soldier, Darra, the earless cook and the two + women, all of whom were armed with pistols and swords. + </p> + <p> + 'Into the boat, all of you fellows,' said Kelly, pointing a pistol at the + five seamen; 'into the boat; quick! or you are all dead men!' + </p> + <p> + The boat was towing astern, and the five seamen, seeing that the <i>Venus</i> + was now in the absolute possession of the mutineers, and that Kelly would + not hesitate to shoot them if they disobeyed him, went into the boat + quietly. + </p> + <p> + As soon as the mutineers cast off the boat's painter, Kelly came aft with + Kitty Hegarty, and placing his arms around her waist, jocularly called out + to the men in the boat to 'look at the pirate's bride, and give his + compliments and “Mrs Kelly's” compliments to Captain Chace, Lieutenant + House, and the Lieutenant-Governor.' He also charged them to tell + Lieutenant House that he was much obliged to him for lending Chace (on a + former occasion) the <i>Narrative of Lieutenant Bligh and the Mutiny of + the Bounty</i>, which had so much interested him (Kelly) and 'Kitty' that + they had 'decided to do Fletcher Christian's trick, and take a cruise + among the South Seas.' He then, with much accompanying laughter from merry + Miss Hegarty, put a wooden bucket on her head, and called out to the + people in the boat to look at 'Her Majesty, Queen Kitty Hegarty of the + Cannibal Islands.' Immediately after this badinage he ordered Thompson, + who was at the helm, to put it hard up; and then wore ship and sailed out + seawards. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + News of the mutiny was at once sent to Lieutenant-Governor Paterson. But + the mutineers were not heard of for a long time. Then it was learnt that + Kelly had sailed the <i>Venus</i> to the coast of New Zealand and, by + means of selling a number of casks of rum to the Maoris, had acquired a + quantity of small arms, and two brass cannons, each throwing a 6-lb. shot. + At one of the places they touched at, Thompson, with the aid of Kelly, + abducted a handsome young Maori girl. She was a niece of Te Morenga, a + chief in the Bay of Islands district. The unfortunate girl, however, so + fretted, and lost so much of her attractiveness, that her scoundrelly + abductor sold her to a chief named Hukori, of Mercury Bay, or, if he did + not sell her, she eventually came into Hukori's possession. On their + voyage up the Hauraki Gulf, they raided one or two small Maori <i>hapus</i> + and carried off another girl, the daughter of the chief Te Haupa, or, as + he was better known, Te Totara. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Early in the following year Captain Bierney, of the London brig <i>Commerce</i>, + reported to the Governor of New South Wales that the <i>Venus</i> had + anchored at Te Puna, in New Zealand, and that Kelly had invited a number + of Maoris on board to an orgie. For some time a great state of drunkenness + had prevailed on board; for the <i>Venus</i>, among other stores, carried + a large quantity of wines and spirits, intended for the use of the + military at Van Diemen's Land. Her sails and running gear were in a very + bad state, and not the slightest discipline was maintained. + </p> + <p> + In answer to the mutineers' invitation, a number of Maoris came on board, + and Kelly, addressing the leading chiefs, told them that he was perfectly + well aware of the fact that he and those with him were incapable of + offering resistance if his visitors attempted to cut off the ship. But, he + said, he had determined to abandon the ship, and therefore he had invited + them on board so that they might take what they wanted from her; and if + they had no objection, he and his wife wished to live ashore with them for + the future. He then broached a cask of rum and invited them to drink it. + </p> + <p> + The Maoris appeared to have fallen in with his suggestion with alacrity, + and the chief gave the leading mutineer and his wife a large <i>whare</i> + to live in, and also two slaves as servants. + </p> + <p> + The rest of the tale is incomplete in its details. Of the fate of the <i>Venus</i> + nothing is known. Probably she was burnt by the Maoris. Kelly, Kitty + Hegarty, Charlotte Badger and her child, Thompson, and two others, lived + among the natives for some time. Then the woman Kitty Hegarty died + suddenly while Kelly was away on a warlike excursion with his Maori + friends, and was hastily buried. It was alleged that she was killed by + some women, one of whom was anxious to possess Kelly for her husband. + Kelly himself was captured by a king's ship in 1808, and sent to England, + where he was hanged for piracy. Lancaster was also captured by the master + of an American whale-ship, <i>The Brothers</i> of Nantucket, and taken to + Sydney and hanged. The rest of the mutineers either met with violent + deaths at the hands of the Maoris, or succeeded in living their lives out + as pakeha-Maoris. + </p> + <p> + Of the other woman—Charlotte Badger—and her child nothing + further was known, save that in 1808 she and the child were offered a + passage to Port Jackson by Captain Bunker; but she declined, saying she + would rather live with the Maoris than return to New South Wales to be + hanged. This was not unnatural. + </p> + <p> + But, long afterwards, in the year 1826, an American whale-ship, the <i>Lafayette</i> + of Salem, reported an incident of her cruise that showed some light on the + end of Charlotte Badger. + </p> + <p> + In May 1826, the <i>Lafayette</i> was off 'an unknown island in the South + Seas. It was covered with trees, was about three miles long, and was + inhabited by a small number of natives. The position of this island was in + 22 deg. 30 min. south, 176 deg. 19. min. west.' The weather being calm at + the time and the natives, by the signs and gestures they made to the ship, + evidently friendly, the captain and second mate's boats were lowered, and, + with well-armed crews, pulled ashore. Only some forty or fifty natives of + a light brown colour were on the island, and these, meeting the white men + as they landed, conducted them to their houses with every demonstration of + friendliness. Among the number was a native of Oahu (Hawaii), named Hula, + who had formed one of the crew of the London privateer <i>Port-au-prince</i>, + a vessel that had been cut off by the natives of the Haabai Group, in the + Friendly Islands, twenty years previously. He spoke English well, and + informed Captain Barthing of the <i>Lafayette</i> that the island formed + one of the Tonga Group (it is now known as Pylstaart Island), and that his + was the second ship that had ever visited the place. Another ship, he + said, had called at the island about ten years before (this would be about + 1816); that he had gone off on board, and had seen a very big, stout + woman, with a little girl about eight years of age with her. At first he + thought, from her dark skin, that she was a native, but the crew of the + ship (which was a Nantucket whaler) told him that she was an Englishwoman, + who had escaped from captivity with the Maoris. + </p> + <p> + No doubt this was the woman Badger, described in the official account of + the mutiny of the <i>Venus</i> as 'a very corpulent person.' + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0024" id="link2H_4_0024"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + A BOATING ADVENTURE IN THE CAROLINES + </h2> + <p> + In the year 1874 we were cruising leisurely through the Western Carolines, + in the North Pacific, trading at such islands as we touched at, and making + for the Pelew Group, still farther to the westward. But at that season of + the year the winds were very light, a strong ocean current set + continuously to the eastward, and there was every indication of a solid + calm setting in, and lasting, as they do in these latitudes, for a week. + Now, part of our cargo consisted of dried sharks' fins, and the smell from + these was so strong that every one of the three white men on board was + suffering from severe headache. We had a number of native passengers, and, + as they lived in the hold, we could not close the hatches; they, however, + did not mind the nauseating odour in the least. So, for three or four + days, we crawled along, raising the wooded peaks of Ascension Island + (Ponapé) one afternoon, and drifting back to the east so much in the night + as to lose them at sunrise. Then followed another day of a sky of brass + above and a steaming wide expanse of oily sea below, and then, at + nightfall, a sweet, cooling breeze from the north-east, and general + happiness, accentuated by a native woman playing a dissolute-looking + accordion, and singing 'Voici le Sabre,' in Tahitian French. No one cared + to sleep that night. Dawn came almost ere we knew it, and again the blue + peaks of Ascension loomed up right ahead. + </p> + <p> + Just as we had finished coffee, and our attention was drawn to a number of + boobies and whale-birds resting upon some floating substance half a mile + distant, we discovered a couple of sail ahead, and then another, and + another, all whalers, and, as they were under easy-cruising canvas—being + on the sperm whaling ground—we soon began to overhaul them. One was + a small, full-rigged ship, the others were barques. As we slipped along + after them I ran our little vessel close to the floating object I have + before mentioned, and saw it was a ship's lower mast, which looked, from + the scarcity of marine growth upon it, to have been in the water but a + short time. Shortly after, we passed some more wreckage, all of which + evidently had belonged to a good lump of the vessel. + </p> + <p> + About eleven o'clock we were close to one of the barques—a four-boat + ship, and also carrying a nine-foot dinghy at her stern. She hoisted the + Hawaiian colours in response to ours, and, as the breeze was very light, I + hailed her skipper and we began to talk. Our skipper wanted some + pump-leather; he wanted some white sugar. + </p> + <p> + 'Come aboard,' he said, 'and have dinner with me. I'll give you a barrel + of 'Frisco potatoes to take back.' + </p> + <p> + We lowered our whale-boat, and, taking two hands, I pulled alongside the + barque. Although under the Hawaiian flag, her officers were nearly all + Americans, and, as is always the case in the South Seas, we were soon on + friendly terms. The four ships were all making for Jakoits Harbour, in + Ponapé, to wood and water; and I said we would keep company with them. Our + own skipper, I must mention, was just recovering from wild, weird visions + of impossible, imaginary animals, superinduced by Hollands gin, and I + wanted to put him ashore at Ponapé for a week or so. + </p> + <p> + After dinner the American captain put a barrel of potatoes into our boat, + and I bade him good-bye for the time. The breeze was now freshening, and, + as he decided to get into Jakoits before dark, the barque made sail, and + was soon a good distance ahead of our vessel. + </p> + <p> + Between four and five o'clock we saw the foremost whaler—the ship—brace + up sharp, and almost immediately the other three followed suit. We soon + discovered the cause—whales had been sighted, coming down from + windward. The 'pod' or school was nearest to us, and we could see them + quite plainly from the deck. Every now and then one of them would 'breach' + and send up a white mass of foam, and by their course I saw that they + would pass between us and the barque—the ship nearest to us. In less + than five minutes there were more than a dozen boats lowered from the four + vessels, all pulling their hardest to reach the whales first. The + creatures came along very leisurely, then, when about a mile from the + schooner, hove-to for a short time; their keen hearing told them of danger + ahead, for three or four of them sounded, and then made off to windward. + These were followed by all the boats from the other three vessels, and two + from the barque, the remaining two belonging to the latter pulling across + our bows, close together and within a hundred yards of us. + </p> + <p> + The rest of the whales—some cows, with their calves, and a bull—after + lying quiet for a short time, also sounded, but soon rose again, quite + close to the two boats. That of the chief mate got 'fast' first to one of + the cows, and away they flew at twelve or thirteen knots. The second boat + was making for the bull, which seemed very uneasy, and was swimming at a + great speed round and round the remaining cows and calves, with his head + high out of the water as if to guard them from danger, when the monstrous + creature again sounded and the boat-header instantly turned his attention + to a cow, which lay perfectly motionless on the water, apparently too + terrified to move. + </p> + <p> + Half a dozen strokes sent the boat to within striking distance and the + boat-header called to his boat-steerer to 'Stand up.' The boat-steerer, + who pulls bow oar before a whale is struck, and goes aft after striking, + is also the harpooner, and at the order to stand up, takes in his oar and + seizes his harpoon. After he has darted the iron, and the boat is backed + astern, he comes aft to steer, and the officer takes his place for'ard, + ready to lance the whale at the fitting time. There is no reason or sense + in this procedure, it is merely whaling custom. + </p> + <p> + Just as the boat-steerer stood up, iron in hand, the bull rose right under + the boat's stern, lifted her clean out of the water with his head, and + then, as he swept onward, gave her an underclip with his mighty flukes, + smashing her in like an egg-shell and sending men, oars, tub and lines, + and broken timbers, broadcast into the air. Then, with the lady by his + side, he raced away. + </p> + <p> + Most fortunately, our own boat was still towing astern, for as we were so + near the land we had not bothered about hoisting her up again, knowing + that we should want her to tow us into Jakoits if the wind fell light when + going through the passage. + </p> + <p> + The mate, two Penrhyn Island natives and myself were but a few moments in + hauling her alongside, jumping in, and pulling to the assistance of the + whale-boat's crew, some of whom we could see clinging to the wreckage. The + officer in charge was a little wiry Western Island Portuguese, and as we + came up he called out to us that one of the men was killed and had sunk, + and another, whom he was supporting, had his leg broken and was + unconscious. We lifted them into the boat as quickly as possible, laid the + injured man on his back and started for the schooner. We had scarcely + pulled a dozen strokes when, to our profound astonishment, we saw her + suddenly keep away from us. + </p> + <p> + 'The captain's come on deck again,' cried one or our native hands to me. + </p> + <p> + Sure enough, the skipper was on deck, and at the wheel, and took not the + slightest heed of our repeated hails, except that he merely turned his + head, gave us a brief glance, eased off the main-sheet a bit, and let the + schooner spin away towards the land. We learnt next evening that he had + suddenly emerged on deck from his bunk, given the helmsman a cuff on the + head, and driven him, the steward and the other remaining hand up for'ard. + They and the native passengers, who knew something of his performances + when in liquor, were too frightened to do anything, and let him have his + own way. + </p> + <p> + We pulled after the schooner as hard as we could for a quarter of an hour, + then gave it up and steered for the barque, which was now a couple of + miles away. She had been working to windward after the chief mate's and + fourth mate's boats—both of which had quickly killed their + respective whales—when the disaster to the second officer's boat was + seen, and she was now coming towards us. The fourth boat was miles + distant, chasing the main body of the 'pod,' in company with those of the + other barques and the ship. + </p> + <p> + By this time it was all but dark; a short, choppy sea had risen, the wind + came in sharp, angry puffs every now and then, and we made scarcely any + headway against it. The barque seemed to be almost standing still, though + she was really coming along at a ripping pace. Presently she showed a + light, and we felt relieved. Just then the man with the broken leg called + to his officer, and asked for a smoke, and I was filling my pipe for him + when the boat struck something hard with a crash, shipped a sea aft, and + at once capsized, several of us being taken underneath her. + </p> + <p> + The Portuguese, who was a gallant little fellow, had, with one of the + Penrhyn Islanders, got the wounded man clear, and presently we all found + ourselves clinging to the boat, which was floating bottom-up and badly + bilged. Fortunately, none of us were hurt, but our position was a + dangerous one, and we kept hailing repeatedly, fearing that the barque + would run by us in the darkness, and that the blue sharks would discover + us. Then, to our joy, we saw her close to, bearing right down upon us, and + now came the added terror that she would run us down, unless those on + board could be made to hear our cries and realise our situation. + </p> + <p> + Again we raised our voices, and shouted till our lungs were exhausted, but + no answer came, the only sounds we heard being the thrapping and swash of + the waves against our boat. Five minutes—which seemed hours—passed, + and then we suddenly lost sight of the barque's headlight, and saw the + dull gleam of those aft shining through the cabin ports. + </p> + <p> + 'Thank God!' said the whaler officer, 'he's bringing to.' + </p> + <p> + Scarcely had he spoken when we heard a hail distinctly. + </p> + <p> + 'Boat ahoy, there, where are you?' + </p> + <p> + 'In the water. We're capsized,' I answered. + </p> + <p> + No response came; then again they hailed, and again we shouted unitedly, + but no reply, and presently we saw a blue light was being burnt on the + starboard side—they were looking for us in the wrong quarter. For + some minutes our suspense was horrible, for, if the captain thought he had + overshot our boat (knowing nothing of the second disaster), he would, we + feared, go off on the other tack. Again they hailed, and again we + answered, though we were now feeling pretty well done up, and the + Portuguese was alternately praying to the saints and consigning his + captain to hell. + </p> + <p> + 'Hurrah!' cried Tom, one of my Penrhyn Island boys, 'she's filling away + again, and coming down; they've heard us, safe enough.' + </p> + <p> + It so happened that they had not heard us at all; but the captain, at the + earnest request of the ship's cooper, who believed that we had been + swamped, and were to leeward, decided to keep away for a short time, and + then again bring-to. Not only was he anxious for us, but for the other + boats, and the dead whales as well; for he feared that, unless he could + get the latter alongside by daylight, and start to cut-in, the sharks + would devour the best part of them. + </p> + <p> + A few more minutes passed, and now we saw the barque looming through the + night, and apparently again coming right on top of us. We shouted and + screamed till our voices broke into hoarse groans; and then there happened + a strange thing. That which had caused our misfortune proved our + salvation. We heard a crashing sound, followed by loud cries of alarm, and + then saw the ship lying flat aback, canting heavily over to port. + Presently she righted, and then made a stern-board, and came so close to + us that one of the hands not only heard our cries but saw us in the water. + </p> + <p> + In an instant the captain called to us to cheer up, and said a boat was + coming. 'The ship struck some wreckage, and is making water,' he added. + </p> + <p> + We were taken aboard in two trips, the poor, broken-legged sailor + suffering terribly. He had been kept from drowning by one of the Penrhyn + men, who stuck to him like a brick through all the time we were in the + water. Neither of these brave islanders had lost heart for a moment, + though Harry, the elder of the two, was in consumption and not at all + strong. + </p> + <p> + As soon as we had sufficiently recovered to be able to talk and tell our + story, we were pleased to hear from the captain that the ship was not + badly injured, and that the pumps—short-handed as he then was—could + easily keep the water down; also that all the other boats were safe, and + had signalled that they had each 'killed,' and were lying by their whales. + </p> + <p> + Early in the morning the four ships were within a few miles of each other, + and each had one or more whales alongside, cutting-in. The schooner, too, + was in sight, lying becalmed under the lee of Ponapé. The captain of the + whaler lent me one of his boats, paid me a fair price for the loss of our + own, and otherwise treated us handsomely. He was highly pleased at having + such 'greasy luck,' i.e., getting three fish, and, besides presenting me + with another barrel of potatoes, gave me four bolts of canvas, and each of + our natives came away with a small case of tobacco, and five dollars in + silver. + </p> + <p> + We had a long pull to the schooner, and our arrival was hailed with cries + of delight. The skipper, we were pleased to learn, was nearly dead, having + been severely beaten by the women passengers on board, one of whom, + creeping up behind him as he was steering, threw a piece of <i>tappa</i> + cloth over his head, while the others bore him to the deck and tied him up + and hammered him. He told me a few days afterwards that he had not the + slightest recollection of leaving us in the boat. + </p> + <p> + The wreckage upon which the whale-ship struck was, so her captain + imagined, the same which had capsized our boat. As far as he could make + out in the darkness, it was a long and wide piece of decking, belonging to + a large ship. Our boat, very probably, had gone half her length on top of + the edge of it, and was then washed off again after she had bilged; and + the strong current had set us clear. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0025" id="link2H_4_0025"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + A CHRISTMAS EVE IN THE FAR SOUTH SEAS + </h2> + <p> + Donald MacBride and myself were the only Britishers living on one of the + North Pacific island lagoons when Christmas of 1880 drew near, and we + determined to celebrate it in a manner that would fill our German and + American trading rivals throughout the group with envy. MacBride was a + bony, red-headed Scotchman, with a large heart and a small, jealous, + half-caste wife. The latter acquisition ruled him with a rod of iron, much + to his financial and moral benefit, but nevertheless agreed with me that + we—Donald, she and myself—ought to show the Americans and the + 'Dutchmen' how an English Christmas should be celebrated. But as Sera was + a half-caste native of the Pelews, and had never been to a civilised + country, she also concurred with me that Donald and myself should run the + show, which, although I was not a married man, was to take place in my + house on account of the greater space available. Donald, she said, wanted + to have a 'hakkise'; so we bought a nanny-goat from Ludwig Wolfen, the + German trader at Molok, and one evening—the 23rd of December—I + helped Sera to drive and drag the unsuspecting creature home to her + husband's place to the slaughter. (I may as well say at once that + MacBride's nanny-goat haggis was a hideous failure, and my boat's crew, to + whom it was handed over, with many strong expressions about MacBride's + beastly provincial taste, said that it <i>smelt</i> good, like shark's + liver, but was not at all so juicy.) + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, Wolfen, a fat, good-hearted Teuton, with a face like a full + moon in a fog, called upon me, and remarked in a squashy tone of voice, + superinduced by too many years of lager beer, and its resultant adipose + tissue, that he and Peter Huysmans, his neighbour, would feel very much + hurt if we did not invite them to participate in the festivities. I said + that 'Blazy-head' (for so we called dear old MacBride) and myself would be + delighted; whereupon Wolfen, who had once, when he was a sailor on an + English ship, spent a Christmas in a public-house somewhere in the + vicinity of the East India Docks, said that the correct thing for us to do + would be to have a Christmas cake; also, he suggested we should invite Tom + Devine and Charley de Buis, the two American traders who lived across the + lagoon, to join the party. Being aware of the fact that, from trade + jealousies, there had hitherto been a somewhat notorious bitterness of + feeling between my German fellow-trader and the two Americans, I shook his + hand warmly, said that I was delighted to see that he could forgive and + forget, and that I should that moment send my boat across the lagoon to + Devine and Charley de Buis with a written invitation, and ask them to + favour us with their company; also, that as Mrs Charley—who was a + Samoan half-caste girl—was skilled in baking bread, perhaps she + would lend Mesdames MacBride, Wolfen and Huysmans her assistance in making + a Christmas cake, the size of which should cause the native population to + sit up and respect us as men of more than ordinary intelligence and + patriotism. + </p> + <p> + On the evening of the 24th, three whale-boats, attended by a flotilla of + small native canoes, sailed into the little sandy-beached nook upon the + shores of which the trading station was situated. The three boats were + steered by the Messrs Peter Huysmans, Charles de Buis and Thomas Devine, + who were accompanied by their wives, children and numerous female + relatives, all of the latter being clad in their holiday attire of new + mats, and with their hair excessively anointed with scented coco-nut oil, + scarlet hibiscus flowers behind their ears, and necklaces of + sweet-smelling pieces of pandanus drupes. + </p> + <p> + MacBride, Mrs MacBride and I received them the moment they stepped out of + the boats, and then Ludwig Wolfen, who was disposed in the background with + an accordion, and seated on a gin case, played 'The Star Spangled Banner,' + to the accompaniment of several native drums, beaten by his wife and her + sister and brothers. Then my boatman—a stalwart Maori half-caste—advanced + from out the thronging crowd of natives which surrounded us, and planted + in the sand a British red ensign attached to a tall bamboo pole, and + called for three cheers for the Queen of England, and three for the + President of the United States. This at once gave offence to Ludwig + Wolfen, who asked what was the matter with the Emperor of Germany; + whereupon Bill Grey (the Maori) took off his coat and asked him what he + meant, and a fierce encounter was only avoided by half a dozen strapping + natives seizing Billy and making him sit down on the sand, while the + wrathful Ludwig was hustled by Donald MacBride and Mrs Ludwig and + threatened with a hammering if he insulted the gathering by his ill-timed + and injudicious remarks about a foreign potentate. (Ludwig, I regret to + say, had begun his Christmas on the previous evening.) + </p> + <p> + But we were all too merry, and too filled with right good down comradeship + to let such a trifle as this disturb the harmony of our first Christmas + foregathering; and presently Bill Grey, his dark, handsome face wreathed + in a sunny smile, came up to the sulky and rightly-indignant trader with + outstretched hand, and said he was sorry. And Wolfen, good-hearted German + that he was, grasped it warmly, and said he was sorry too; and then we all + trooped up to the house and sat down, only to rise up again with our + glasses clinking together as we drank to our wives and ourselves and the + coming Christmas, and to the brown smiling faces of the people around us, + who wondered why we grew merry so suddenly; for sometimes, as they knew, + we had all quarrelled with one another, and bitter words had passed; for + so it ever is, and ever shall be, even in the far South Seas, when + questions of 'trade' and 'money' come between good fellowship and old-time + <i>camaraderie</i>. And then sweet, dark-eyed Sera, MacBride's young wife, + took up her guitar and sang us love songs in the old Lusitanian tongue of + her father; and Tom Devine, the ex-boat-steerer, and Charley de Buis, the + reckless; and Peter Huysmans, the red-faced, white-haired old Dutchman, + all joined hands and danced around the rough table; while Billy Grey and + Ludwig Wolfen stood on the top of it and sang, or tried to sing, 'Home + Sweet Home'; and the writer of this memory of those old Pacific days sat + in a chair in the doorway and wondered where we should all be the next + year. For, as we sang and danced, and the twang, twang of Sera's guitar + sounded through the silent night without, Tom Devine, the American, held + up his hand to MacBride, and silence fell. + </p> + <p> + 'Boys,' he said, 'let us drink to the memory of the far-off faces of those + dear ones whom we never may see again!' + </p> + <p> + He paused a moment, and then caught sight of Sera as she bent over her + guitar with downcast eyes; 'And to those who are with us now—our + wives and our children, and our friends! Drink, my boys; and the first man + who, either to-night or to-morrow, talks about business and dirty, filthy + dollars, shall get fired out right away before he knows where he is; for + this is Christmas time—and, Sera MacBride, why the devil don't you + play something and keep me from making a fool of myself?' + </p> + <p> + So Sera, with a twist of her lithe body and a merry gleam in her full, big + eyes, sang another song; and then long, bony MacBride came over to her and + kissed her on her fair, smooth forehead, whispered something that we did + not hear, and pointed to Charley de Buis, who stood, glass in hand, at the + furthest corner of the big room, his thin, suntanned face as grave and + sober as that of an English judge. + </p> + <p> + 'Gentlemen'—(then <i>sotto voce</i> to the chairman in the doorway, + 'Just fancy us South Sea loafers calling ourselves gentlemen!')—'gentlemen, + we are here to spend a good time, and I move that we quit speech-making + and start the women on that cake. Tom Devine and myself are, as you know, + members of two of the First Families in America, and only came to the + South Seas to wear out our old clothes—' + </p> + <p> + 'Shut up,' said Devine; 'we don't want to hear anything about the First + American families; this is an English Christmas, with full-blooded South + Sea trimmings. Off you go, you women, and start on the cake.' + </p> + <p> + So Charley de Buis 'shut up,' and then the women, headed by Sera and Mary + Devine, trooped off to the cook-house to beat up eggs for the cake, and + left us to ourselves. When it drew near midnight they returned, and Peter + Huysmans arose, and, twisting his grizzled moustaches, said,— + </p> + <p> + 'Mine boys, will you led me dell you dot now is coming der morn ven Jesus + Christ vos born? And vill you blease, Mary Devine, dell dose natives + outside to stop those damdt drums vile I speaks? Und come here you, + MacBride, mit your red het, und you, Ludwig Wolfen, and you Tom Devine, + und you Charley de Buis, you wicked damdt devil, und you, Tom Denison, you + saucy Australian boy, mit your curlt moustache and your svell vite tuck + suit; und led us join our hands together, and agree to have no more + quarrellings und no more angry vorts. For vy should ve quarrel, as our + good friendt says, over dirty dollars, ven dere is room enough for us all + on dis lagoon to get a decent livings? Und den ve should try und remember + dot ve, none of us, is going to live for ever, and ven ve is dead, ve is + dead a damdt long time. But now, mine friendts, I vill say no more, vor I + am dry; so here's to all our good healths, and let us bromise one another + not to haf no more angry vorts.' + </p> + <p> + And so we all gathered around the big table, and, grasping each other's + hands, raised our glasses and drank together without speaking, for there + was something—we knew not what—that lay behind Dutch Peter's + little speech which made us <i>think</i>. Presently, when a big and gaudy + German-made cuckoo clock in the room struck twelve, even reckless Charley + de Buis forgot his old joke about Tom Denison's 'damned old squawking + British duck,' as he called the little painted bird, and we all went + outside, and sat smoking our pipes on the wide verandah, and watching the + flashing torchlights of the fishing canoes as they paddled slowly to and + fro over the smooth waters of the sleeping lagoon. Then, almost ere we + knew it, the quick red sun had turned the long, black line of palms on + Karolyne to purple, and then to shining green, and Christmas Day had come. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + To-night, as a chill December wind wails through the leafless elms and + chestnuts of this quiet Kentish village, I think of that far-away + Christmas eve, and the rough, honest, sun-browned faces of the men who + were around me, and pressed my hand when Peter Huysmans spoke of home and + Christmas, and Tom Devine of 'the dear faces whom we never might see + again.' For only one, with the writer, is left. MacBride and his gentle, + sweet-voiced Sera went to their death a year or two later in the savage + and murderous Solomons; Wolfen and his wife and children perished at sea + when the <i>Sadie Foster</i> schooner turned turtle off the Marshalls; and + Devine and Charley de Buis, comrades to the last, sailed away to the + Moluccas in a ten-ton boat and were never heard of again—their fate + is one of the many mysteries of the deep. Peter Huysmans is alive and + well, and only a year ago I grasped his now trembling hand in mighty + London, and spoke of our meeting on Milli Lagoon. + </p> + <p> + And then again, in a garish and tinselled City bar, we raised our glasses + and drank to the memory of those who had gone before. + </p> + <p> + THE END <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Rídan The Devil And Other Stories, by Louis Becke + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RÍDAN THE DEVIL AND OTHER STORIES *** + +***** This file should be named 24835-h.htm or 24835-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/8/3/24835/ + +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: Ridan The Devil And Other Stories + 1899 + +Author: Louis Becke + +Release Date: March 15, 2008 [EBook #24835] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RIDAN THE DEVIL AND OTHER STORIES *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +RIDAN THE DEVIL AND OTHER STORIES + +By Louis Becke + + +Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company 1899 + + + + CONTENTS: + + RIDAN THE DEVIL + + A MEMORY OF 'THE SYSTEM' + + CHAPTER I + + CHAPTER II + + CHAPTER III + + A NORTH PACIFIC LAGOON ISLAND + + BILGER, OF SYDNEY + + THE VISION OF MILLI THE SLAVE + + DENISON GETS A BERTH ASHORE + + ADDIE RANSOM: A MEMORY OF THE TOKELAUS + + IN A NATIVE VILLAGE + + MAURICE KINANE + + THE 'KILLERS' OF TWOFOLD BAY + + DENISON'S SECOND BERTH ASHORE + + A FISH DRIVE ON A MICRONESIAN ATOLL + + BOBARAN + + SEA FISHING IN AUSTRALIA + + AN ADVENTURE IN THE NEW HEBRIDES + + THE SOUTH SEA BUBBLE OF CHARLES DU BREIL + + THE WHITE WIFE AND THE BROWN 'WOMAN' + + WITH HOOK AND LINE ON AN AUSTRAL RIVER + + THE WRECK OF THE LEONORA: A MEMORY OF 'BULLY' HAYES + + AN OLD COLONIAL MUTINY + + A BOATING ADVENTURE IN THE CAROLINES + + A CHRISTMAS EVE IN THE FAR SOUTH SEAS + + + + +RIDAN THE DEVIL + +Ridan lived alone in a little hut on the borders of the big German +plantation at Mulifenua, away down at the lee end of Upolu Island, and +every one of his brown-skinned fellow-workers either hated or feared +him, and smiled when Burton, the American overseer, would knock him down +for being a 'sulky brute.' But no one of them cared to let Ridan see him +smile. For to them he was a wizard, a devil, who could send death in the +night to those he hated. And so when anyone died on the plantation he +was blamed, and seemed to like it. Once, when he lay ironed hand and +foot in the stifling corrugated iron 'calaboose,' with his blood-shot +eyes fixed in sullen rage on Burton's angered face, Tirauro, a Gilbert +Island native assistant overseer, struck him on the mouth and called him +'a pig cast up by the ocean.' This was to please the white man. But it +did not, for Burton, cruel as he was, called Tirauro a coward and felled +him at once. By ill-luck he fell within reach of Ridan, and in another +moment the manacled hands had seized his enemy's throat. For five +minutes the three men struggled together, the white overseer beating +Ridan over the head with the butt of his heavy Colt's pistol, and then +when Burton rose to his feet the two brown men were lying motionless +together; but Tirauro was dead. + +Ridan was sick for a long time after this. A heavy flogging always did +make him sick, although he was so big and strong. And so, as he could +not work in the fields, he was sent to Apia to do light labour in the +cotton-mill there. The next morning he was missing. He had swum to +a brig lying at anchor in the harbour and hidden away in the empty +forehold. Then he was discovered and taken ashore to the mill again, +where the foreman gave him 'a dose of Cameroons medicine'--that is, +twenty-five lashes. + +'Send him back to the plantation,' said the manager, who was a mere +German civilian, and consequently much despised by his foreman, who had +served in Africa. 'I'm afraid to keep him here, and I'm not going to +punish him if he tries to get away again, poor devil.' + +So back he went to Mulifanua. The boat voyage from Apia down the coast +inside the reef is not a long one, but the Samoan crew were frightened +to have such a man free; so they tied him hand and foot and then lashed +him down tightly under the midship thwart with strips of green _fau_ +bark. Not that they did so with unnecessary cruelty, but ex-Lieutenant +Schwartzkoff, the foreman, was looking on, and then, besides that, +this big-boned, light-skinned man was a foreigner, and a Samoan hates +a foreigner of his own colour if he is poor and friendless. And then he +was an _aitu_ a devil, and could speak neither Samoan, nor Fijian, nor +Tokelau, nor yet any English or German. + +Clearly, therefore, he was not a man at all, but a _manu_--a beast, and +not to be trusted with free limbs. Did not the foreman say that he +was possessed of many devils, and for two years had lived alone on the +plantation, working in the field with the gangs of Tokelau and Solomon +Island men, but speaking to no one, only muttering in a strange tongue +to himself and giving sullen obedience to his taskmasters? + +But as they talked and sang, and as the boat sailed along the white line +of beach fringed with the swaying palms, Ridan groaned in his agony, and +Pulu, the steersman, who was a big strong man and not a coward like his +fellows, took pity on the captive. + +'Let us give him a drink,' he said; 'he cannot hurt us as he is. Else he +may die in the boat and we lose the price of his passage; for the white +men at Mulifanua will not pay us for bringing to them a dead man.' + +So they cast off the lashings of _fau_ bark that bound Ridan to the +thwart, and Pulu, lifting him up, gave him a long drink, holding the +gourd to his quivering mouth--for his hands were tied behind him. + +'Let him rest with his back against the side of the boat,' said Pulu +presently; 'and, see, surely we may loosen the thongs around his wrists +a little, for they are cutting into the flesh.' + +But the others were afraid, and begged him to let well alone. Then Pulu +grew angry and called them cowards, for, as they argued, Ridan fell +forward on his face in a swoon. + +When 'the devil' came to and opened his wearied, blood-shot eyes, Pulu +was bathing his forehead with cold water, and his bruised and swollen +hands were free. For a minute or so he gasped and stared at the big +Samoan, and a heavy sigh broke from his broad naked chest. Then he put +his hands to his face--and sobbed. + +Pulu drew back in wondering pity--surely no devil could weep--and then, +with a defiant glance at the three other Samoans, he stooped down and +unbound Ridan's feet. + +'Let him lie,' he said, going aft to the tiller. 'We be four strong +men--he is but as a child from weakness. See, his bones are like to cut +through his skin. He hath been starved.' + + * * * * * + +At dusk they ran the boat along the plantation jetty, and Pulu and +another man led Rfdan up the path to the manager's house. His hands were +free, but a stout rope of cinnet was tied around his naked waist and +Pulu held the end. + +'Ah, you dumb, sulky devil; you've come back to us again, have you?' +said Burton, eyeing him savagely. 'I wish Schwartzkoff had kept you up +in Apia, you murderous, yellow-hided scoundrel!' + +'What's the use of bully-ragging him?' remarked the plantation engineer, +with a sarcastic laugh; 'he doesn't understand a word you say. Club-law +and the sasa {*} are the only things that appeal to him--and he gets +plenty of both on Mulifanua. Hallo, look at that! Why, he's kissing +Pulu's toe!' + + * Whip. + +Burton laughed. 'So he is. Look out, Pulu, perhaps he's a _kai tagata_' +(cannibal). 'Take care he doesn't bite it off.' + +Pulu shook his mop of yellow hair gravely. A great pity filled his big +heart, for as he had turned to go back to the boat Ridan had fallen upon +his knees and pressed his lips to the feet of the man who had given him +a drink. + +That night Burton and the Scotch engineer went to Ridan's hut, taking +with them food and a new sleeping-mat. He was sitting cross-legged +before a tiny fire of coco-nut shells, gazing at the blue, leaping jets +of flame, and as the two men entered, slowly turned his face to them. + +'Here,' said Burton, less roughly than usual,' here's some _kai kai_ for +you.' + +He took the food from Burton's hand, set it beside him on the ground, +and then, supporting himself on his gaunt right arm and hand, gave the +overseer one long look of bitter, undying hatred; then his eyes drooped +to the fire again. + +'And here, Ridan,' said Craik, the engineer, throwing the sleeping-mat +upon the ground, 'that'll keep your auld bones frae cutting into the +ground. And here is what will do ye mair good still,' and he placed a +wooden pipe and a stick of tobacco in 'the devil's' hand. In a moment +Ridan was on his knees with his forehead pressed to the ground in +gratitude. + +The men looked at him in silence for a few moments as he crouched at +Craik's feet, with the light of the fire playing upon his tattooed +yellow back and masses of tangled black hair. + +'Come awa', Burton, leave the puir deevil to himself. And I'm thinking +ye might try him on the other tack awhile. Ye _have not_ broken the +creature's spirit yet, and I wouldna try to if I were you--for my own +safety. Sit up Ridan, mon, and smoke your pipe.' + + * * * * * + +Two years before, Ridan had been brought to Samoa by a German +labour-ship, which had picked him up in a canoe at sea, somewhere off +the coast of Dutch New Guinea. He was the only survivor of a party of +seven, and when lifted on board was in the last stage of exhaustion from +thirst and hunger. Where the canoe had sailed from, and whither bound, +no one on board the _Iserbrook_ could learn, for the stranger spoke a +language utterly unknown to anyone of even the _Iserbrook's_ polyglot +ship's company--men who came from all parts of Polynesia and Micronesia. +All that could be learned from him by signs and gestures was that a +great storm had overtaken the canoe, many days of hunger and thirst had +followed, and then death ended the agonies of all but himself. + +In a few weeks, and while the brig was thrashing her way back to Samoa +against the south-east trades, Ridan regained his health and strength +and became a favourite with all on board, white and brown. He was quite +six feet in height, with a bright yellow skin, bronzed by the sun; +and his straight features and long black hair were of the true +Malayo-Polynesian type. From the back of his neck two broad stripes of +bright blue tattooing ran down the whole length of his muscular back, +and thence curved outwards and downwards along the back of his thighs +and terminated at each heel. No one on the _Iserbrook_ had ever seen +similar tattooing, and many were the conjectures as to Ridan's native +place. One word, however, he constantly repeated, 'Oneata,' and then +would point to the north-west. But no one knew of such a place, though +many did of an Oneaka, far to the south-east--an island of the Gilbert +Group near the Equator. + +The weeks passed, and at last Ridan looked with wondering eyes upon the +strange houses of the white men in Apia harbour. By-and-by boats +came off to the ship, and the three hundred and odd brown-skinned and +black-skinned people from the Solomons and the Admiralties and the +countless islands about New Britain and New Ireland were taken ashore +to work on the plantations at Vailele and Mulifanua, and Ridan alone was +left. He was glad of this, for the white men on board had been kind to +him, and he began to hope that he would be taken back to Oneata. But +that night he was brought ashore by the captain to a house where many +white men were sitting together, smoking and drinking. They all looked +curiously at him and addressed him in many island tongues, and Ridan +smiled and shook his head and said, 'Me Ridan; me Oneata.' + +'Leave him with me, Kuehne,' said Burton to the captain of the brig. +'He's the best and biggest man of the lot you've brought this trip. I'll +marry him to one of my wife's servants, and he'll live in clover down at +Mulifanua.' + +So early next morning Rfdan was put in a boat with many other new +'boys,' and he smiled with joy, thinking he was going back to the +ship--and Oneata. But when the boat sailed round Mulinu's Point, and the +spars of the _Iserbrook_ were suddenly hidden by the intervening line of +palm trees, a cry of terror burst from him, and he sprang overboard. +He was soon caught, though he dived and swam like a fish. And then two +wild-eyed Gilbert Islanders held him by the arms, and laughed as he wept +and kept repeating, 'Oneata, Oneata.' + + * * * * * + +From that day began his martyrdom. He worked hard under his overseer, +but ran away again and again, only to be brought back and tied up. +Sometimes, as he toiled, he would look longingly across the narrow +strait of sunlit water at the bright green little island of Manono, six +miles away; and twice he stole down to the shore at night, launched +a canoe and paddled over towards it. But each time the plantation +guard-boat brought him back; and then Burton put him in irons. Once he +swam the whole distance, braving the sharks, and, reaching the island, +hid in a taro swamp till the next night. He meant to steal food and a +canoe--and seek for Oneata. But the Manono people found him, and, though +he fought desperately, they overcame and bound him, and the women cursed +him for a Tafito{*} devil, a thieving beast, and beat and pelted him as +the men carried him back to the plantation, tied up like a wild boar, to +get their ten dollars reward for him from the manager. And Burton gave +him thirty lashes as a corrective. + + * The Samoans apply the term 'Tafito' to all natives of the + Gilbert Group and other equatorial islands. The word is an + abbreviation of Taputeauea (Drummond's Island), and 'Tafito' + is synonymous for 'savage'--in some senses. + +Then came long, long months of unceasing toil, broken only by attempts +to escape, recapture, irons and more lashes. The rest of the native +labourers so hated and persecuted him that at last the man's nature +changed, and he became desperate and dangerous. No one but Burton dared +strike him now, for he would spring at an enemy's throat like a madman, +and half strangle him ere he could be dragged away stunned, bruised and +bleeding. When his day's slavery was over he would go to his hut, eat +his scanty meal of rice, biscuit and yam in sullen silence, and brood +and mutter to himself. But from the day of his first flogging no word +ever escaped his set lips. All these things he told afterwards to Von +Hammer, the supercargo of the _Mindora_, when she came to Mulifanua with +a cargo of new 'boys.'{*} + + * Polynesian labourers are generally termed 'boys.' + +Von Hammer had been everywhere in the North Pacific, so Burton took him +to Ridan's hut, and called to the 'sulky devil' to come out. He came, +and sullenly followed the two men into the manager's big sitting-room, +and sat down cross-legged on the floor. The bright lamplight shone full +on his nude figure and the tangle of black hair that fell about his +now sun-darkened back and shoulders. And, as on that other evening long +before, when he sat crouching over his fire, his eyes sought Burton's +face with a look of implacable hatred. + +'See if you can find out where the d--d brute comes from,' said Burton. + +Von Hammer looked at Ridan intently for a minute, and then said one or +two words to him in a tongue that the overseer had never before heard. + +With trembling limbs and a joyful wonder shining in his dark eyes, Rfdan +crept up to the supercargo, and then, in a voice of whispered sobs, he +told his two years' tale of bitter misery. + + * * * * * + +'Very well,' said Burton, an hour later, to Von Hammer, 'you can take +him. I don't want the brute here. But he is a dangerous devil, mind. +Where do you say he comes from?' + +'Oneata--Saint David's Island--a little bit of a sandy atoll, as big as +Manono over there, and much like it, too. I know the place well--lived +there once when I was pearling, ten years ago. I don't think the natives +there see a white man more than once in five years. It's a very isolated +spot, off the north-east coast of New Guinea. "Bully" Hayes used to call +there once. However, let me have him. The _Mindora_ may go to Manila +next year; if so, I'll land him at Oneata on our way there. Anyway, he's +no good to you. And he told me just now that he has been waiting his +chance to murder you.' + +The _Mindora_ returned to Apia to take in stores, and Von Hammer +took Ridan with him, clothed in a suit of blue serge, and with silent +happiness illumining his face. For his heart was leaping within him at +the thought of Oneata, and of those who numbered him with the dead; +and when he clambered up the ship's side and saw Pulu, the big Samoan, +working on deck with the other native sailors, he flung his arms around +him and gave him a mighty hug, and laughed like a pleased child when Von +Hammer told him that Pulu would be his shipmate till he saw the green +land and white beach of Oneata once more. + + * * * * * + +Six months out from Samoa the _Mindora_ was hove-to off Choiseul Island, +in the Solomon Group, waiting for her boat. Von Hammer and four hands +had gone ashore to land supplies for a trader, and the brig was awaiting +his return. There was a heavy sea running on the reef as the boat pushed +off from the beach in the fast-gathering darkness; but who minds such +things with a native crew? So thought Von Hammer as he grasped the long, +swaying steer oar, and swung the whale-boat's head to the white line of +surf. 'Give it to her, boys; now's our chance--there's a bit of a lull +now, eh, Pulu? Bend to it, Ridan, my lad.' + +Out shot the boat, Pulu pulling stroke, Ridan bow-oar, and two sturdy, +square-built Savage Islanders amidships. Surge after surge roared and +hissed past in the darkness, and never a drop of water wetted their +naked backs; and then, with a wild cry from the crew and a shouting +laugh from the steersman, she swept over and down the edge of the reef +and gained the deep water--a second too late! Ere she could rise from +the blackened trough a great curling roller towered high over, and then +with a bursting roar fell upon and smothered her. When she rose to the +surface Von Hammer was fifty feet away, clinging to the steer-oar. A +quick glance showed him that none of the crew were missing--they were +all holding on to the swamped boat and 'swimming' her out away from +the reef, and shouting loudly for him to come alongside. Pushing the +steer-oar before him, he soon reached the boat, and, despite his own +unwillingness, his crew insisted on his getting in. Then, each still +grasping the gunwale with one hand, they worked the boat out yard by +yard, swaying her fore and aft whenever a lull in the seas came, and +jerking the water out of her by degrees till the two Savage Islanders +were able to clamber in and bale out with the wooden bucket slung under +the after-thwart, while the white man kept her head to the sea. But the +current was setting them steadily along, parallel with the reef, and +every now and then a sea would tumble aboard and nearly fill her again. +At last, however, the Savage Islanders got her somewhat free of water, +and called to Pulu and Ridan to get in--there were plenty of spare +canoe-paddles secured along the sides in case of an emergency such as +this. + +'Get in, Pulu, get in,' said Rfdan to the Samoan, in English; 'get in +quickly.' + +But Pulu refused. He was a bigger and a heavier man than Rfdan, he said, +and the boat was not yet able to bear the weight of a fourth man. This +was true, and the supercargo, though he knew the awful risk the men +ran, and urged them to jump in and paddle, yet knew that the additional +weight of two such heavy men as Rfdan and Pulu meant death to all, +for every now and then a leaping sea would again fill the boat to the +thwarts. + +And then suddenly, amid the crashing sound of the thundering rollers on +the reef, Ridan raised his voice in an awful shriek. + +'_Quick! Pulu, quick!_ Some shark hav' come. Get in, get in first,' he +said in his broken English. And as he spoke he grasped the gunwale +with both hands and raised his head and broad shoulders high out of the +water, and a bubbling, groan-like sound issued from his lips. + +In an instant the big Samoan swung himself into the boat, and Von Hammer +called to Ridan to get in also. + +'Nay, oh, white man!' he answered, in a strange choking voice, 'let me +stay here and hold to the boat. We are not yet safe from the reef. But +paddle, paddle... quickly!' + +In another minute or two the boat was out of danger, and then Ridan's +voice was heard. + +'Lift me in,' he said quietly, 'my strength is spent.' + +The two Savage Islanders sprang to his aid, drew him up over the side, +and tumbled him into the boat. Then, without a further look, they seized +their paddles and plunged them into the water. Ridan lay in a huddled-up +heap on the bottom boards. + +'Exhausted, poor devil!' said Von Hammer to himself, bending down and +peering at the motionless figure through the darkness. Then something +warm flowed over his naked foot as the boat rolled, and he looked closer +at Ridan, and-- + +'Oh, my God!' burst from him--both of Ridan's legs were gone--bitten off +just above the knees. + +Twenty minutes later, as the boat came alongside the _Mindora_, Ridan +'the devil' died in the arms of the man who had once given him a drink. + + + + +A MEMORY OF 'THE SYSTEM' + + + + +CHAPTER I + +The house in which I lived from my birth till I was twelve years of age +stood on the green-grassed slopes of a treeless bluff which overlooked +the blue waters of the sunlit Pacific. Except for a cluster of five or +six little weatherboard cottages perched on the verge of the headland, +half a mile away, and occupied by the crew of the Government pilot boat, +there were no other dwellings near, for the 'town,' as it was called, +lay out of sight, on the low, flat banks of a tidal river, whose upper +waters were the haunt and breeding places of the black swan, the wild +duck and the pelican. + +My father was the principal civil official in the place, which was +called Bar Harbour, one of the smaller penal settlements in Australia, +founded for what were called 'the better class' of convicts, many of +whom, having received their emancipation papers, had settled in the +vicinity, and had become prosperous and, in a measure, respected +settlers, though my father, who had a somewhat bitter tongue, said that +no ex-convict could ever be respected in the colony until he had lent +money to one or other of the many retired military or civil officers +who held large Crown grants of land in the district and worked them with +convict labour; for, while numbers of the emancipists throve and became +almost wealthy, despite the many cruel and harassing restrictions +imposed upon them by the unwritten laws of society (which yet +academically held them to be purged of their offences), the grand +military gentlemen and their huge estates generally went to ruin--mostly +through their own improvidence, though such misfortunes, our minister, +the Reverend Mr Sampson, said, in the sermons he preached in +our hideous, red-brick church, were caused by an 'inscrutable +Providence'--their dwellings and store houses were burnt, their cattle +and sheep disappeared, and their 'assigned' labourers took to the bush, +and either perished of starvation or became bushrangers and went to the +gallows in due course. + +My mother, who was a gentle, tender-hearted woman, and seemed to live +and move and have her being only for the purpose of making happy those +around her, was, being English-born (she was of a Devonshire family), +a constant church-goer, not for the sake of appearances, for her +intelligence was too great for her to be bound by such a shallow reason, +but because she was a simple, good and pure-minded woman, and sought by +her example to make a protest against the scandalous and degraded lives +led by many of the soldier officers and officials with whom she and her +children were brought in almost daily contact, for my father, being +an all too generous man, kept open house. But although she was always +sweet-tempered and sometimes merry with the hard-drinking old Peninsular +veterans, and the noisy and swaggering subalterns of the ill-famed 102nd +Regiment (or New South Wales Corps), she always shuddered and looked +pale and ill at ease when she saw among my father's guests the coarse, +stern face of the minister, and her dislike of the clergyman was shared +by all we children, especially by my elder brother Harry (then sixteen +years of age), who called him 'the flogging parson' and the 'Reverend +Diabolical Howl.' This latter nickname stuck, and greatly tickled Major +Trenton, who repeated it to the other officers, and one day young Mr +Moore of the 102nd, who was clever at such things, made a sketch of +the cleric as he appeared when preaching, which set them all a-laughing +immoderately. + +'God alive!' cried old Major Trenton, holding the picture in his left +hand, and bringing down his right upon the table with a thump that set +all the glasses jingling, ''tis a perfect likeness of him, and yet, +Moore, if ye had but given him a judge's wig and robes instead of a +cassock, he would be the double of damned old hanging Norbury up there,' +pointing to the picture of an Irish judge which hung on the wall. +'Come,' he added, 'Mrs Egerton must see this. I know our hostess loves +the gentle parson.' + +So three or four of them, still laughing boisterously, left the table to +look for my mother, whom they found sitting on the latticed-in verandah, +which on hot summer days was used as a drawing-room. She, too, laughed +heartily at the sketch, and said 'twas wonderfully drawn, and then +my brother Harry asked Mr Moore to give it to him. This the young +lieutenant did, though my mother begged him to destroy it, lest Mr +Sampson should hear of the matter and take offence. But my brother +promised her not to let it go out of his keeping, and there the thing +ended--so we thought. + +Yet, in some way, my mother's convict and free servants came to hear of +the picture--they had already bandied about the parson's nickname--and +every one of them, on some cunning excuse, had come to my brother's room +and laughed at the drawing; and very often when they saw the clergyman +riding past the house, attended by his convict orderly, they would say, +with an added curse, 'There goes "Diabolical Howl,'" for they all hated +the man, because, being a magistrate as well as a minister, he had +sentenced many a prisoner to a dreadful flogging and had watched it +being administered. + +But perhaps it was not altogether on account of the floggings in which +he so believed for which he was so detested--for floggings were common +enough for even small breaches of the regulations of the System--but +for the spiritual admonition with which he dosed them afterwards, while +their backs were still black and bloody from the cat. Once, when an old +convict named Callaghan was detected stealing some sugar belonging to +one of the pilot boat's crew, my mother went to Dr Parsons, who, with +the Reverend Mr Sampson, was to hear the charge against Callaghan on the +following morning, and begged him not to have the man flogged; and Tom +King, the man from whom the sugar was stolen, went with her and joined +his pleadings to hers. + +'Now, come, doctor,' said my mother, placing her hand on the old +officer's arm and smiling into his face, 'you _must_ grant me this +favour. The man is far too old to be flogged. And then he was a soldier +himself once--he was a drummer boy, so he once told me, in the 4th +Buffs.' + +'The most rascally regiment in the service, madam. Every one of them +deserved hanging. But,' and here his tone changed from good-humoured +banter into sincerity, 'I honour you, Mrs Egerton, for your humanity. +The man is over sixty, and I promise you that he shall not be flogged. +Why, he is scarce recovered yet from the punishment inflicted on him for +stealing Major Innes's goose. But yet he is a terrible old rascal.' + +'Never mind that,' said my mother, laughing. 'Major Innes should keep +his geese from straying about at night-time. And then, doctor, you +must remember that poor Callaghan said that he mistook the bird for a +pelican--it being dark when he killed it.' + +'Ha, ha,' laughed the doctor, 'and no doubt Mr Patrick Callaghan only +discovered his mistake when he was cooking his pelican, and noticed its +remarkably short bill.' + +My mother left, well pleased, but on the following morning, while we +were at our mid-day meal, she was much distressed to hear that old +Callaghan had received fifty lashes after all--the good doctor had been +thrown from his horse and so much hurt that he was unable to attend the +court, and another magistrate--a creature of Mr Sampson's--had taken his +place. The news was brought to us by Thomas King, and my mother's pale +face flushed with anger as, bidding King to go into the kitchen and get +some dinner, she turned to my father (who took but little heed of such a +simple thing as the flogging of a convict), and said hotly,-- + +''Tis shameful that such cruelty can be perpetrated! I shall write to +the Governor himself--he is a just and humane man--oh, it is wicked, +wicked,' and then she covered her face with her hands and sobbed aloud. + +My father was silent. He detested the parson most heartily, but was too +cautious a man, in regard to his own interest, to give open expression +to his opinions, so beyond muttering something to my brother Harry about +Thomas King having no business to distress her, he was about to rise +from the table, when a servant announced that the Reverend Mr Sampson +wished to see him. + +The mention of the clergyman's name seemed to transform my mother into +another woman. Quickly, but gently, putting aside my sister Frances, +whose loving arms were clasped around her waist, she rose, and fire +flashed in her eyes as she said to the servant,-- + +'Denham, tell Mr Sampson that I desire to speak with him as soon as he +has finished his business with Mr Egerton.' + +My father went out to the drawing-room, where the clergyman awaited him, +and for the next ten minutes or so my mother walked quickly to and fro +in the dining-room, bidding us remain seated, and in a harsh, unnatural +tone to one so sweet and gentle, she told the servants who waited to +withdraw. + +'Mr Sampson is at your service, madam,' said Denham, opening the door. + +'Show him in here,' said my mother, sharply, and her always pale face +grew paler still. + +The clergyman entered, and extended his fat, white hand to her; she drew +back and bowed coldly. + +'I do not desire to shake hands with you, sir.' + +Mr Sampson's red face flushed purple. + +'I do not understand you, madam. Is this a jest--or do you forget who I +am?' + +'I shall try to make you understand me, Mr Sampson, in as few words +as possible. I do not jest, and I do not forget who you are. I have a +request to make.' + +'Indeed! I feel honoured, madam,' and the corners of the clergyman's +thick lips turned contemptuously down--'and that is--?' + +'That you will cease your visits to this house. It would be painful +indeed to me to receive you as a guest from this time forth, for this +very day it is my intention to write to the Governor and acquaint +him with the shocking act of cruelty committed this morning--'twas a +shameful, cruel deed to flog an old man so cruelly.' + +Mr Sampson's face was now livid with the rage he could not suppress. + +'Beware, madam, of what you say or do. 'Tis a pretty example you set +your children to thus insult a clergyman.' + +My mother's answer cut like a whip-lash. 'A clergyman such as you, +Mr Sampson, can inspire naught in their childish minds but fear and +abhorrence,' and then she pulled the bell cord so violently that not +only Denham but my father entered as well. + +'Show Mr Sampson out,' she said in accents of mingled anger and +scorn, and then turning to the window nearest, she seemed to be gazing +unconcernedly upon the blue expanse of ocean before her; but her little +hands were clasped tightly together, and her whole frame trembled with +excitement. + +As soon as the clergyman had mounted his horse and ridden off, my father +returned to the dining-room. + +'You have made a bitter enemy of a man who can do me much harm,' he +began; but something in my mother's face made him cease from further +reproaches, and he added lightly, that he hoped 'twould soon blow over. + +'Charles,' said my mother, who was now herself again, 'it must _not_ +blow over. The Governor shall know of this man's doings. And never again +shall I or my children enter the church when he preaches. To-night, +I suppose, he will visit that wretched old man--the victim of his +brutality--and administer "spiritual admonition." Come, children, let us +go to the beach and forget that that dreadful man has been here.' + +It was, I think, this practice of 'administering admonition' to convicts +after he had had them sentenced to a severe flogging that first gave my +mother such an utter abhorrence of the man, together with his habit of +confining his sermons to the prisoners to the one subject--their own +criminal natures and the terrors of hell-fire everlasting. Then, too, +his voice was appalling to hear, for he had a way of suddenly dropping +his harsh, metallic tones, and raising his voice to a howl, like to that +of a hungry dingo.{*} + + * The native dog of Australia, whose long, accentuated howl + is most distressing to hear. + +Often did I, when sitting in our great square pew in that dreadful, +horrible church, press close to my mother's side and bury my face in her +dress, as he lashed himself into a fury and called down the vengeance of +a wrathful God upon the rows of silent, wretched beings clad in yellow, +who were seated on long stools in the back of the church, guarded by +soldiers, who, with loaded muskets, were stationed in the gallery +above. Some of the convicts, it was said, had sworn to murder him if an +opportunity served, and this no doubt made him the more merciless and +vindictive to any one of them who was so unfortunate as to be charged +before him in his capacity of magistrate. By the Regulations he could +not sit alone to deal out punishment, and sometimes had difficulty +in finding a colleague, especially among the military men, who nearly +always protested against his fondness for the cat; but there were always +to be found, in the end, magistrates who would do anything to please +him, for it was known that he had great influence with the Home +Government, and was not chary of using it on behalf of those who +truckled to him, if he so inclined; and, indeed, both Major Trenton and +Dr Parsons said that he was a man with many good points, and could be, +to those who pleased him, a good friend, as well as a bitter enemy to +those who in any way crossed him. But they asserted that he should never +have been appointed a magistrate in a colony where the penal laws gave +such latitude to his violent temper and arbitrary disposition. + +Early one morning in December, and three months after the drawing of +the picture by Lieutenant Moore, my two brothers and myself set off on +a fishing excursion to a tidal lagoon whose waters debouched into the +Pacific, about fifteen miles southward from the little township. Behind +us followed a young man named Walter Trenfield, who was one of my +father's assigned servants, and an aboriginal named 'King Billy'; +these two carried our provisions, cooking utensils and blankets, for we +intended to camp out for two or three days. + +A half-an-hour's walk over the slopes of the bluff brought us to the +fringe of the dense coastal forest, through which our track lay for +another two or three miles before we again came to open country. There +was, however, a very good road, made by convict labour, through the +scrub as far as it went; it ran almost along the very verge of the +steep-to coast, and as we tramped over the rich red soil we had the +bright blue sea beneath us on our left, and the dark and almost silent +bush on our right. I say 'almost,' for although in these moist and +sunless seaboard tracts of what we Australian-born people call bush, and +English people would call wood or forest, there was no sound of human +life, there was yet always to be heard the _thump, thump_ of the +frightened scrub wallaby, and now and again the harsh, shrieking note of +the great white cockatoo, or the quick rush of a long-tailed iguana over +the thick bed of leaves, as the timid reptile fled to the nearest tree, +up whose rugged bole it crawled for security. + +We had come some three or four miles upon our way, when we suddenly +emerged from the darkness and stillness of the scrub out into the light +of day and the bright sunshine, and heard the low murmur of the surf +beating upon the rocks below. Here we sat down to rest awhile and feast +our boyish eyes on the beauties of sea and shore and sky around us. +A few hundred yards away from where we sat was a round, verdured cone +called 'Little Nobby'; it rose steep-to from the sea to a height of +about three hundred feet, and formed a very striking and distinct +landmark upon that part of the coast--bold and rugged as it was--for +a stretch of three score miles. Presently, as we lay upon the grass, +looking out upon the sea, Walter Trenfield and the aboriginal joined us, +and whilst they made a fire to boil a billy of tea, my brother Harry, +hearing the call of a wonga pigeon, picked up his gun and went into the +scrub to shoot it. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +I must now relate something of the previous history of this young +man Trenfield. He was a native of Bideford, in Devon--my mother's +county--and had been a sailor. Some years before, he, with another young +man named Thomas May, had been concerned in a mutiny on board a London +whale-ship, the _Jason_, and both men were sentenced to fourteen years' +penal servitude, it being believed, though not proven, that either +Trenfield or May had killed one of the officers with a blow of the fist. +They were, with six of their shipmates, tried at the Old Bailey, and +although a Quaker gentleman, a Mr Robert Bent, who had visited them in +prison, gave a lawyer fifty guineas to defend them, the judge said that +although the death of the officer could not be sheeted home to either of +them, there was no doubt of their taking part in the mutiny--with which +offence they were charged. After spending three months in one of the +convict hulks they were sent out to Sydney in the _Breckenbridge_ +transport. But before they sailed they were several times visited by Mr +Bent, who told them that he would always bear them in mind, and should +endeavour to have their sentences reduced if he heard good word of their +future conduct from his agent in Sydney; this Mr Bent was the owner of +several of the Government transports, which, after discharging their +cargo of convicts, would sail upon a whaling cruise to the South Seas. +More than this, he said that he would give them berths on one of his +vessels as soon as they regained their freedom, and that he had written +to his agent to that effect. + +It so happened that this agent, a Mr Thomas Campbell, was a friend of my +father's, who also knew Mr Bent, and so when the _Breckenbridge_ arrived +at Sydney he succeeded in having Trenfield assigned to him, and Thomas +May to a contractor who was building a bridge for the Government over a +river in the vicinity of Bar Harbour. + +The two young seamen were very much attached to each other, and their +cheerful dispositions, good conduct and unceasing industry led to their +being granted many privileges. Both my father and my mother had taken +a strong liking to Trenfield; and so, too, had Ruth Kenna, a young +free female servant of ours. As for we boys, we simply worshipped both +Trenfield and May as heroes who had sailed in the far South Seas and +harpooned and killed the mighty sperm whale, and had fought with the +wild and naked savages of the Pacific Isles. + +Ruth Kenna was the daughter of a small farmer in the district, who had +been emancipated by the good Governor. He was a widower, and a rough, +taciturn man, but passionately devoted to Ruth, who was his only child. +He had been transported for having taken part in the disastrous Irish +rebellion of '98,' and his young wife had followed him to share his +exile. The terrors and hardships of the long voyage out killed her, for +she died almost as soon as she landed, without seeing her husband, +and leaving her infant child to the kindly care of the officers of the +detachment of the regiment which had come out in the same ship. By them +the infant girl had been placed in the charge of a respectable female +convict, who, at my mother's expense, had kept her till she was ten +years of age. Then she came to us as a servant, and had remained ever +since. + +Very often my father--though he pretended, as became his official +position in a Crown Colony, to have a great dislike to Irish Roman +Catholics--would allow we boys to go to Patrick Kenna's farm to shoot +native bears and opossums, which were very plentiful thereabout, for +the land was very thickly timbered with blue gum, tallow-wood and native +apple. The house itself stood on the margin of a small tidal creek, +whose shallow waters teemed with fish of all descriptions, and in the +winter Kenna would catch great numbers of whiting, bream and sea mullet, +which he salted and dried and sold to the settlers who lived inland. +He lived quite alone, except from Saturday morning till Sunday morning, +when Ruth stayed with him and straightened up the rough house. Sometimes +Ruth would persuade my mother to let my brother Will and myself stay +with them for the night, and dearly did we love going; for her father, +though a silent, cold-mannered man to most people, was always different +to any one of us Egertons, and never even grumbled when we got into +mischief, though he pretended to be very angry. Once, indeed, he had +good cause to be--as I shall relate. + +One Saturday evening, after we had finished our supper, Patrick Kenna +found that he had run out of tobacco, and said that if we were not +afraid of being left by ourselves for a few hours he would walk into Bar +Harbour and buy some before the store closed, returning before midnight. +Of course we did not mind, and in a few minutes Ruth's father set out, +accompanied by 'King Billy' and one or two other black-fellows who +were in hopes of selling some wild honey for a bottle or two of rum. We +watched them disappear into the darkness of the forest, and then, as the +night was suitable, my brother Will proposed that we should all go down +to the creek and fish for black bream. + +'The tide is coming in, Ruth,' he said gleefully, 'and we'll have fine +sport. I'll go on first and light a fire on the bank.' + +Presently, as Ruth and I were getting ready our lines, he dashed into +the house again, panting with excitement. + +'Never mind the lines. Oh, I have glorious news! The salmon are coming +in, in swarms, and the water is alive with them! Ruth, let us get the +net and put it right across the creek as soon as it is slack water. +'Twill be glorious.' + +Now, we knew that the sea salmon had been seen out at sea a few days +before, but it was yet thought to be too soon for their vast droves +to enter the rivers and lagoons. But Will was quite right, for when we +dragged down the heavy net we found that the water, which half an hour +before, though under the light of myriad stars, had been black and +silent, was now a living sheet of phosphorescent light, caused by the +passage up the creek of countless thousands of agitated fish, driven in +by hundreds of porpoises and savage, grey ocean-haunting sharks, whose +murderous forms we could see darting to and fro just outside the shallow +bar, charging into and devouring the helpless, compact masses of salmon, +whose very numbers prevented them from escaping; for serried legion +after legion from the sea swam swiftly in to the narrow passage and +pressed upon those which were seeking to force their way up to the +shallow, muddy waters five miles beyond--where alone lay safety from the +tigers of the sea. + +Ruth Kenna, as wild with excitement as my brother and myself, took up +one pole of the net and sprang into the water, leaving Will and I to pay +out on our side. She was a tall, strong girl, but what with the force of +the inward current and the mad press of the terrified salmon, she could +barely reach the sand-spit on the other shore, though the passage was +not fifty feet across. But she managed to struggle ashore and secure her +end of the net by jamming the pole between some logs of driftwood which +lay upon the sand. Then, with a loud, merry laugh, she bade me run up +to the house and bring her a petticoat and bodice, and leaping into the +water she swam across again and helped Will to properly secure his end +of the net to the bole of a tea tree. + +Old as I am now, the memory of that happy, happy night lives with me +yet. By the light of a huge fire of logs we sat and watched the net, +which, as the tide ebbed, curved outward to the sea, though the salmon +without still tried to force a passage into the creek, and the ravening +sharks outside the deep water of the bar rushed through and through +their close-packed ranks and gorged themselves till they rolled about, +with distended bellies, as if they were water-logged baulks of timber. + +As we sat by the fire, waiting for the tide to run out, we heard the +dogs barking and knew that Patrick Kenna had returned. Presently we +heard him walking down towards us, and at the same moment Ruth uttered +an exclamation of terror and pointed to the water. + +'Oh, look! look! There are a lot of sharks inside, coming down the +creek. Quick! let this end of the net go, or they will be caught in it +and tear it to pieces!' + +Her father was alive to the danger. Springing before us, he cut the end +of the line fastened to the tea-tree; but he was too late, for before +the net had tailed out to the current four or five sharks had dashed +into it and entangled themselves in its meshes, and in ten minutes the +net was utterly ruined, for although the sharks could not use their +teeth, the great weight of their gorged bodies and their furious +struggles soon tore the bight of it to shreds. + +Kenna watched the destruction of the net in silence. As he stood in the +light of the fire, his dark, rugged face showed no sign of the anger +that must have burned within him at our thoughtless conduct. + +'Ye might have waited till I was back, Ruth,' he said quietly; 'there's +as good a net as was ever made gone to ruin. And sure 'twas a mad thing +for ye to do when th' ravening sharks were so plentiful.' + +Of course my father and mother were very angry with us, and sent Kenna +five pounds to partly pay for the damage done. He sent it back by Ruth, +and said that he would be a poor creature to take it, for the mishap was +caused by Ruth's folly, and that we boys were in no way to blame. + + * * * * * + +Almost every alternate evening Tom May would come to our house, and go +to Walter Trenfield's quarters, which were in a large airy loft over +our stable, and the two young men would dress and sew the skins of +the wallabies and 'possums which my brothers had shot. My mother never +objected to us staying with them till about ten o'clock, and Ruth, too, +often came and made coffee for us all. Both May and Trenfield always +behaved well and soberly, and although they had been whale-ship sailors +they were always very careful in their language when we were with them. +Some time before my mother's angry interview with Mr Sampson she had +mentioned, in his hearing, to Major Trenton's wife, that her boys were +greatly attached to the two young men, whose stories of their former +sea life were very exciting, and so forth, whereupon the clergyman said +sourly that both were dangerous villains who should not be trusted, and +she would do well to prevent the further intercourse of her children +with such rascals. + +My mother bowed stiffly to him, and said gently that she thought he was +mistaken greatly in their characters; also she was well able to look +after her children's morals; but Mrs Trenton, a sharp-tongued old +Irishwoman, who hated the parson and loved my mother, spoke out pretty +plainly. + +'No one but a clergyman would make such a rude speech to a lady, sir. +A man who _called_ himself a gentleman would be made to account for his +lack of manners.' + +One Saturday afternoon, as Walter Trenfield and Ruth were driving the +cows down to the creek to drink, and Will and I were idling about on the +seaward hill, we saw Patrick Kenna ride up to the house, dismount and +knock. He only remained indoors a few minutes, and presently we saw him +galloping towards Trenfield and Ruth, with whom he stayed talking for +even a still shorter time; then, without taking any notice of us--which +was most unusual for him--he put spurs to his horse and rode straight +for the scrub, towards his home. + +'There is something the matter,' said Will. 'See, there is Walter +running up to the house again. Come, let us see what it is.' + +We ran home, and entering by the garden gate saw that Walter was talking +to my mother on the back verandah. She seemed very troubled and almost +on the verge of crying, and we soon heard the news, which was bad +enough. Thomas May had been given a hundred lashes and had taken to the +bush. + +It appeared that May, whom we had not seen for one or two weeks, had +been working under an overseer named Cross, at a place about ten miles +from the town. (This man Cross was of a notoriously savage disposition, +and had himself been a convict in Van Diemen's Land, but had received a +pardon for having shot and killed a bushranger there.) + +May, with the rest of his gang, was felling timber, when a heavy chip +flew from the tallow-wood tree upon which he was working, and struck +the overseer in the face. Cross at once flew into a violent passion, and +with much foul language accused poor May of having thrown the chip at +him. This the young fellow warmly denied, whereupon Cross, taking his +pistol out of his belt, struck the sailor on the mouth with the butt. In +an instant May returned the blow by knocking the overseer down, and was +then seized by two of his fellow-convicts. He was ironed and taken into +town, and on the following morning was brought before Mr Sampson and +another magistrate. It was no use of his pleading provocation, he +received his flogging within a few hours. Towards daylight he crept out +of his hut, broke into his master's storeroom, and took a musket, powder +and ball, and as much food as he could carry, telling a fellow-prisoner +that he would perish in the bush rather than be taken alive. + +On the fifth night after his escape, and whilst the constables were +scouring the country in search of him, he came to Patrick Kenna's house. +The night was very dark and the rain descending in torrents; so, there +being no fear of intruders, Kenna barred his door and made the poor +fellow comfortable by giving him a change of clothes, a good meal and +some tobacco to smoke. Tom inquired very eagerly after Walter, and sent +him a long message, and then told Kenna some startling news. + +Two days after he had absconded, and when he was quite thirty miles +distant from Bar Harbour, he saw smoke arising from a dense scrub. +Creeping along on his hands and knees he saw two men--escaped convicts +like himself--engaged in skinning a wallaby. He at once made himself +known to them and was welcomed. After a meal from the wallaby, the two +men asked him if he would join them in a plan they had of getting away +from the country; he was just the man, they said, being a sailor, who +could bring the attempt to a successful issue. Then they told him that, +many weeks previously, they had found a whale-boat lying capsized on the +beach some miles away, and that she was perfectly sound. By great labour +they had succeeded in dragging her up into the margin of the scrub on +the beach, where they had turned her over and covered her carefully with +dead branches. A further search along the beach had resulted in their +finding an oar and one of the line tubs,{*} but that was all. + + * English whale-ship boats generally used two line tub's-- + American only one. No doubt this boat was lost from an + English whaler, the _Britannia_, then on the coast. + +Of course poor Tom May was greatly taken with this, and said that he +would join them, and that he thought Walter Trenfield would come as +well. He went with the men to look at the boat, and found her just as +they had said--almost new and quite watertight. He agreed to return to +within a safe distance of Bar Harbour, and, through Patrick Kenna, let +Trenfield know of the discovery of the boat and get him to help them to +fit her out properly. Oars and a mast they could easily make, had they +the tools, and a sail could also be obtained through either Ruth or her +father, who could get them enough coarse calico for the purpose. + +Kenna promised to help, although he told Tom he should try to dissuade +Walter from joining in the enterprise. Just before daylight May bid +Kenna good-bye, as he was anxious to return to the other two convicts +and tell them that they had friends who would help them. Before he +left, however, he arranged with Kenna that the latter should bring the +required articles one by one--especially two breakers of water--to the +foot of Little Nobby's and hide them in the scrub at the spot agreed +upon. Then, when all was ready and a dark night favoured, May and the +other two men were to launch the boat and make their way with all speed +down the coast to Little Nobby's--nearly twenty miles distant from where +the boat was hidden--take on board the water and provisions and put to +sea; it being May's intention, whether Trenfield joined him or not, to +make to the northward for Timor in the East Indies. Then, with a warm +hand-grasp, they parted; and never again was Thomas May seen alive. + +On the following morning Kenna contrived to see Walter and tell him that +his former shipmate was safe, and what was afoot. Of course Walter was +overjoyed to learn that he (Tom) had such a means of escape offering, +and at once announced his intention of falling in with the enterprise; +but Patrick Kenna spoke very strongly against his doing so, and Ruth, +too, came to her father's aid. It was, they said, foolish of him to link +himself with these desperate men, every one of whom had a price upon his +head, whereas he, Walter, stood in good chance of receiving his pardon +at any moment. Why should he sacrifice himself and break Ruth's heart +for the sake of his friend? + +So, finally, overcome by their arguments, he yielded, saying, however, +that he felt he was acting a coward's part, and begged of Kenna to +arrange a farewell meeting between Tom and himself. This, wisely enough, +Kenna refused to do, but said he would do anything else to make their +separation easier. So Trenfield wrote his old comrade a letter of +farewell, and, taking a canvas bag, he filled it with all sorts of +articles likely to be useful on a long boat voyage. Kenna took the bag, +together with material for a sail, away with him at night and placed it +in the spot agreed upon with May. He had already given Tom a tomahawk +and an adze with which to make some oars and a mast. + +On the fourth night after his visit to Kenna's house, Tom May again came +through the bush, and went to Little Nobby's, for when Ruth's father +went to the hiding-place in the morning with a breaker of water and a +large bundle of dried fish, he found that the bag and the sail-cloth +were gone, and on a small piece of white driftwood which lay on the +ground these words were written in charcoal:-- + + '_Sunday, Midnight?_' + +By this Kenna knew that the three men meant to come for the provisions +and water at the time mentioned. It was then Friday, and he had much +to do to get all in readiness; for Little Nobby's was quite six miles +distant from his house, and he could only make his journeys to and fro +with great secrecy, for the constables were still searching the coastal +region for May. But, aided by Billy, the aboriginal, he managed to have +everything in readiness early on Sunday night. He afterwards told my +mother that besides the two breakers of water, each holding ten gallons, +he had provided four gallons of rum, a hundredweight each of salted +meat and dried fish, tobacco and pipes, fishing tackle, two muskets, and +plenty of powder and bullets. The place selected for the landing of +the boat was an excellent one; for on one side of Little Nobby's was a +little, narrow bay running in between high clifis of black trap rock, +which broke the force of the ocean swell entirely. Then, too, the place +was very lonely and seldom visited, for the main road lay nearly two +miles back beyond the clifis. + +Whether my mother actually knew of all that was going on I do not know; +but I do know that about this time she seemed paler than ever, and we +frequently saw her and Ruth talking earnestly together; and Ruth and +Walter, too, were always whispering to each other. + +Sunday came, and as my mother, since her quarrel with the Reverend Mr +Sampson over the flogging of old Callaghan, did not now go to church, +we all, except my father, who was still on friendly terms with the +clergyman, remained at home, my mother herself conducting a short +service in the dining-room, at which all the servants, free and bond, +attended. In the afternoon Major Trenton, Captain Crozier and some other +soldier officers rode up, as was customary with them on Sundays, and +Ruth and Denham brought them brandy and water on the front verandah, +where they awaited my mother and sisters. + +'Harry, you young rascal,' said Major Trenton, presently to my eldest +brother, 'what did you do with Mr Moore's picture of the parson, eh?' + +'It was stolen from me, sir,' he answered, laughing, 'about three or +four months ago.' + +'Indeed,' said the major; 'then the thief has principles, and will +doubtless send it back to you, for he has made a score of copies of +it, and they are all over the district. Why, the rascal, whoever he is, +nailed one to the door of the Commissariat Store not long ago, and the +first person to see it was Mr Sampson himself. He is mightily wroth +about it, I can tell ye, and somehow suspects that the picture came from +someone in this house, and told your father that these copies were given +about by your man Trenfield. So just ye give a hint to the fellow, and +tell him that if the parson gets a chance to tickle his back, faith +he'll do it.' + +'I am sure, sir, that Walter did not take the picture,' said my brother. +'It was nailed up over my bed and one day I missed it. I thought that +my mother had destroyed or taken it away. But she had not, and I cannot +account for its disappearance.' + +Now this was hardly true, for, from something they had heard from Ruth, +both Harry and my sister Frances thought that Thomas May had taken away +the caricature, intending to replace it. + +'Well, never mind, my lad,' said Major Trenton, laughing, ''tis a +monstrous fine joke, anyway, and, faith, I sent one of the copies to the +Governor himself. 'Twill amuse him hugely.' + +Presently my mother and my two sisters joined the group on the verandah, +and as they were all talking and laughing together, Ruth Kenna came to +my mother and said that her father had just come with a basket of fresh +fish and would like to see her for a minute. I, being the youngest boy +of the family, and over-fond--so my brothers said--of hanging on +to mammy's apron-strings, as well as being anxious to see the fish, +followed her out on to the back verandah, where black-browed, dark-faced +Patrick Kenna awaited her. + +''Tis a fine dark night coming on, ma'am,' he said in a low voice. 'The +wind is north-east and 'twill hould well till daylight. Then 'twill come +away from the south-east, sure enough. They should be there long before +midnight and out of sight of land before the dawn.' + +'Yes, yes, Patrick,' said my mother, hurriedly. 'I shall pray to-night +to God for those in peril on the sea; and to forgive us for any wrong we +may have done in this matter.' + +'No harm can iver come to any wan in this house,' said the man, +earnestly, raising her hand to his lips, 'for the blessin' av God an' +the Holy Virgin is upon it.' + +My mother pressed his hand. 'Good-bye, Patrick. I do hope all may go +well;' and with this she went away. + +Kenna raised his hat and turned to go, when Walter Trenfield came to the +foot of the verandah steps and stopped him. + +'Let me come with you,' he said, 'and bid Tom good-bye.' + +'No,' answered Kenna, roughly, 'neither you nor I nor any wan else must +go near Nobby's to-night; matthers are goin' well enough, an' no folly +of yours shall bring desthruction upon them. As it is, the constables +suspect me, and are now watching my house.' + +Then, mounting his horse again, he rode leisurely away over the brow of +the hill towards the scrub, through which his road lay. + +Both Walter and Ruth knew that unless the night was very clear there was +no chance of even the lookout man on the pilot station seeing a small +boat passing along to the southward; but nevertheless they went up to +the pilot station about ten o'clock, when they thought that Tom May +and his companions would be passing Bar Harbour on their way to Little +Nobby's. They stayed on the headland for nearly an hour, talking to Tom +King and the look-out man, and then came home, feeling satisfied that +if the three men had succeeded in launching the boat safely, they had +passed Bar Harbour about eleven o'clock and would reach Nobby's at or +before midnight. + +Soon after breakfast next morning, Patrick Kenna, under pretence of +speaking to my mother about a strayed heifer of ours, came into the +kitchen, and told Ruth that all was well; he had been to Little Nobby's +at daylight and found that everything was gone and the boat was nowhere +to be discerned. + +For quite another two or three weeks after this the constables pursued +their search after Thomas May, much to the amusement of Ruth and +Patrick Kenna, especially as the latter, with 'King Billy' and another +aboriginal, were officially employed by my father at ten shillings _per +diem_ to discover the absconder--Billy, who seemed to be most anxious +to get the reward of five pounds, leading the constables all over the +country and eating more than three men's rations daily. At last the +chase was abandoned, and my father wrote officially to Sydney and said +that 'Thomas May, No. 3614, _Breckenbridge_,' was supposed to have +either died of starvation in the bush or have been killed by the +natives. My mother, of course, thought she knew better. + +And so the matter was forgotten by everyone but us who had known and +cared for the good-natured, high-spirited and warm-hearted young sailor; +and as the months went by, Walter Trenfield and my mother both looked +forward to receiving a letter from Tom May, telling them that he and his +companions had reached some port in the Dutch East Indies in safety. For +not only was the boat well found, but they had plenty of provisions, +and Tom May was a thorough seaman; and besides that, my mother had often +told us the story of the convict William Bryant, who had escaped from +Sydney Harbour in Governor Phillip's time, and in an open boat, with +four other men and his wife and two infant children, succeeded in +reaching Timor, after a voyage of three thousand miles.{*} + + * Publisher's Note.--The strange but true story of the + Bryants is told in a volume entitled _A First Fleet Family_. + (Louis Becke and Walter Jeffery. London: T. Fisher Unwin. + 1896.) + +But no letter came until two long years had passed. + +Ruth Kenna, at the time of my story, though not yet seventeen years of +age, was a tall, powerful girl, and was known as the best horsewoman in +all the country around. She was a happy, good-natured sort of a wench, +with a heart filled with sunshine and love and truth and honesty; though +Mr Sampson once told my father that she was a 'dangerous Papist,' and +the child of a convicted rebel, and as such should have no place in +a Protestant family. This so angered my mother that she wrote the +clergyman a very sharp letter and said she would take it as a favour if +he would not interfere with her servants. This was a great thing for her +to do; and my father said 'twas most indiscreet. But mother only smiled +and said that although she was sorry Ruth was a Papist, she (Ruth) was a +good, honest girl, and that her father was a good, honest man, and that +if Mr Sampson was wise he would not come near Ruth, who, being a free +woman, had said she would throw him down the garden well. At this time +Ruth was looking forward to the day of her marriage with Trenfield, who, +through my father's influence with the Governor, was expecting to be +pardoned. + +But now I am forging ahead too fast, and must go back to where we boys +and Walter Trenfield were lying on the grassy bluff overlooking Little +Nobby's awaiting the return of my brother Harry. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +'Walter,' said Harry, throwing down the pigeon which he had shot, and +pointing to Little Nobby's, 'this is the lowest tide I have ever seen. +Look, the topmost fringe of kelp on the rocks is quite dry, and six feet +above the water, and there is no surf. Let's swim across the gut into +the cave.' + +'As you please, sir,' the young man answered, his sun-tanned face +lighting up with pleasure; 'the wind is westerly, and the water very +clear; so, if there are any sharks about we can easily see them.' + +So presently down we trooped, and, clambering over the jagged pinnacles +of rock, soon reached the seaward face of Little Nobby's. The cave of +which my brother had spoken was in the very centre of the cone, and the +only known way of access to it was by swimming across the narrow gut +or channel which cleft in twain the base of the hill. A boat, in calm +weather, might have easily rowed up to the mouth of the cave, but only +during a very low tide. No one, so far, had attempted this, and 'King +Billy,' when he saw my brother and Trenfield strip and jump into the +water, seemed much disturbed. The cave, he said, was the home of a +'debbil-debbil,' and 'twas dangerous for any human being to enter +it. But Harry and Trenfield had already swum across, clambered up the +kelp-covered ledge of the cave and disappeared into the darkness beyond. + +For nearly ten minutes, or perhaps a quarter of an hour, Will and I +waited impatiently for their return, grumbling at not being allowed +to go with them, for the sea was as smooth as a mountain lake, and the +water so clear that the smallest pebble could be discerned lying upon +the white sandy bottom five fathoms below. + +Said Will presently, 'I don't believe there's a shark within a mile; do +you?' + +'No,' I answered, looking longingly at the crystal water and then at the +black mouth of the cavern, which neither Will nor I had ever entered. + +'Then come on,' said Will, quickly, and in a few seconds we were out of +our clothes, and paying no heed to 'King Billy's' exclamations of terror +we dropped quietly into the water and swam across, telling him to stay +where he was and keep a look-out for sharks. + +A few strokes brought us safely over, and then, as we climbed up and +stood on the cold rocky floor of the dark cave, our hearts began to fail +us somewhat--the place was so grim, silent and terrifying. + +Feeling our way carefully along, however, we advanced for some ten or +twelve yards and then stopped, for though we heard the voices, we could +see the figures of Harry and Trenfield but dimly. + +'Where are you?' cried Will. + +'Over here,' answered my brother; 'you can come along if you like. We +think that there's a way of getting out by climbing up--we can see the +trees on the back of the hill.' + +This was a discovery indeed, and Will and I, as we made our way to +where they sat, found the darkness decreasing at every step, and when +we reached them, we could see about us quite plainly, for thin, dimmed +shafts of sunlight penetrated the cavern from above by a narrow cleft, +through which we could see not only the dark foliage of the trees, whose +branches overhung the place, but a strip of blue sky. + +'Listen!' said Will. + +Somewhere near a 'butcher' bird was calling to its mate, who quickly +answered, and then the pair whistled sweetly and joyously together; +and when they ceased a bell-bird sounded his clear, resonant note +thrice--then silence. + +Presently Walter and Harry set about to attempt an ascent, laughing +heartily at the thought of how we should startle poor 'King Billy' by +reappearing out of the bowels of the earth, instead of by the way we had +left him. + +The top of the cleft was not more than thirty feet from the floor of the +cave, and its very narrowness reduced the difficulty of climbing up its +rugged sides, which were composed of pieces of rock embedded in earth. +In the centre, however, the walls approached so closely to each other +about half way down--within a few inches, in fact--that they were +blocked up with what appeared to be a mass of decaying branches, fallen +leaves and such _debris_. + +Walter Trenfield went first, then Will, and Harry and I followed. We +found it much easier working our way up than we anticipated, for the +jutting points of rock gave us a good foothold, and the roots of trees, +living and dead, helped us greatly, for some of these grew across from +one side of the cleft to the other, and afforded us ladder-like steps. + +Walter had nearly reached the mouth of the chasm, when Will, who was +ascending more leisurely and carefully behind him, put his foot upon the +thick mass of leaves and rotting wood which blocked up its centre, and, +finding it was firm, sat down upon it to rest himself. Presently, +to have some amusement at the expense of Harry and myself, who were +directly beneath him, he began to shower armfuls of dead leaves upon +us--then suddenly he uttered a cry of terror, sprang to his feet, and +clambered quickly to the top, where Trenfield seized him just as he was +about to fall. + +Thinking that he had been frightened, or perhaps bitten by a black +snake or a death-adder, Harry and I climbed up after him as quickly +as possible, little heeding the cuts and bruises we inflicted upon +our naked bodies. As soon as we reached the ledge and flung ourselves, +panting and somewhat terrified, on the thick bed of leaves which covered +the ground like a carpet, we saw Walter Trenfield bending his tall, +naked figure over Will, who was crouched up in a heap and trying, +through his sobs of terror, to tell what it was that he had seen. + +'There is a dead man down there,' he gasped, 'a dead man! When I took +up the last armful of leaves to throw down on Tom and Harry, I saw a +dreadful face beneath... it was almost a skull, but there is some flesh +on the face... and oh, Walter! _it has red hair like Tom May's._' Then, +overcome by the terror of that which he had seen, he sobbed afresh. + +'Come,' sir,' said Trenfield to my eldest brother, 'we must go down and +look.' + +Leaning over the brink of the narrow cleft, I watched Harry and +Trenfield descend, throw down the rotting leaves and timber which had +accumulated in the centre; and then I saw a dreadful sight--a shrunken, +awful face, with white, gleaming teeth, and two fleshless hands lying +together upon an all but skeleton chest. The rest of the body, except +one leg, which from the knee downwards was partly raised and showed a +bone protruding from a rough raw-hide boot, was mercifully concealed +from our sight by the coarse jumper and grey canvas trousers of a +convict. + +Presently Walter looked up, and cried out in a strange, hoarse voice,-- + +'Go away, Master Tom, you must not look. Do you and Master Will wait for +us on the rocks, but first tell Billy to come here with our clothes.' + +Will and I at once obeyed, glad to get away, and hurrying round the base +of the hill we returned to 'King Billy,' who, poor simple savage, had +given us up for lost, and was crouched up in a-heap on the rocks, making +a low whining noise like the cry of a very young puppy. He did truly +dance for joy when he heard our voices, and then at once, without asking +us what had happened, went off to Walter and Harry, taking their clothes +with him. + +Will and I dressed ourselves, and then we sat down to wait. + +'Tom,' said Will, who had now recovered his composure, 'I am sure it is +poor Tom May who is lying there. Do you remember a red silk handkerchief +which mother gave him last Christmas Day? Well, there is one exactly +like it round _its_ neck. I was too frightened to look closer, but Tom +always wore his handkerchief round his neck in a sailor's knot. And +then, too,' and here Will's eyes filled with tears and he began to sob, +'_it_ had bright red hair... it had nearly all fallen off, and...' + +'Oh, Will,' I cried, 'don't tell me any more! I feel so sick.' + +Nearly half an hour passed, and then we saw Harry and Trenfield, holding +each other's hand like two children, coming towards us. They sat down +near us, and then the young convict placed his big, brown hands over his +face, and heavy sobs broke from his broad chest. + +'Oh, God! Master Harry!' he cried, 'is there no justice in the world? +To die there, in that awful place, like a rat in a trap! oh, it is +dreadful, dreadful! And then I thought that he was long ago far away +from here--a free man.' + +'Do you think those two other men threw him down there, Walter?' asked +my eldest brother, almost in a whisper. + +'No, sir,' he replied, catching his breath. 'Why should they murder the +man who alone was capable of taking the boat upon such a long voyage? +This is what I think, sir. Poor Tom, instead of coming down in the boat +with the other two, left them on Saturday and walked here so that he +might light a fire on the top of Little Nobby's on Sunday night to guide +them to the place. He told Ruth's father that he thought he should do +this in case the night turned out very dark. And Billy says that a fire +was made, and that when poor Tom was descending the hill to meet the +boat he fell into the cleft and got jammed between the rocky walls.' + +'But would not the two other men make a search for him?' + +'God knows, sir! We shall never know. They may have thought that Tom had +been captured, and that the fire had been lit by Ruth's father. But I +think that Billy is right, and that poor Tom, after lighting the fire, +was coming down the hill to meet the boat, when in the darkness he +wandered off the track and stepped into the crack at the widest part of +its mouth, which is right above where we found him. He must have fallen +upon his back and become so tightly wedged in in that awful place that +he could not use his arms to free himself. And then, sir, even if he had +not been stunned, his cries could not have been heard by the other two +men, who, unless they purposely made a search, would not have had any +reason to go within two hundred yards of the spot where he fell.' + +Harry shuddered, and then for some time no one of us spoke. 'King Billy' +had been sent off to tell my father of the discovery of the body, or +rather skeleton, which Walter and Harry had at first attempted to free +from the walls of the chasm, but were too overcome to complete the task. + +Together we slowly ascended the bluff, and there a surprise awaited us; +for, sitting on their horses, on the brow of the hill, were the dreaded +minister and his convict orderly. They had no doubt seen our bags and +guns lying on the grass, and had ridden to the crest of the bluff to +discover our whereabouts. + +Mr Sampson eyed us all very sourly, and scarcely deigned to respond to +our salutations, as one by one we walked past him and busied ourselves +in silence over our impedimenta. No doubt he saw that both Harry and +Walter were very pale, and that Will and I had not yet dried our tears. + +'Come here, boys,' he said in his harsh, pompous tones. 'What, may I +ask, is the cause of this grief which seems to be shared by all alike?' +Then, without waiting for an answer, his glance fell upon Walter +Trenfield, who, after saluting him, had turned away, and with averted +face was strapping some of our belongings together. + +I saw the clergyman's coarse red face, with its fat, terraced chins, +grow purple with rage as I had seen it once before, and I instinctively +drew back. + +'Ha!' he said, and urging his horse forward, he bent down and touched +the young convict on the shoulder with his whip. 'Ha! look up, fellow. I +want a word with you, sirrah.' + +Trenfield, who was stooping at the moment, stood erect, and then, facing +the parson, again raised his hand to his cap. His face was deadly pale, +and his deep-set bright blue eyes seemed to have suddenly shrunken and +drawn back, and his whole body was trembling. + +'Look at me, fellow,' said Mr Sampson, for the second time. + +_'I am looking at you, sir._' + +The words came from between his white lips and set teeth in a low, +hoarse whisper, and all the hatred in his heart seemed to go with them. +The clergyman eyed him for a few seconds in silence, but the convict met +his gaze unfalteringly. + +'So 'tis to you, you scoundrel, that your ruffianly fellow-criminals +are indebted for so much amusement at my expense! Tell me, you villain, +where you got that picture, and who prompted you to display it? Answer +me quickly, you unhanged rascal!' + +Trenfield's lips moved, but ere he could speak, my eldest brother +stepped forward, bravely enough. + +'Indeed, sir, Trenfield had nothing to do with the picture. It was given +to me, but by some mischance was lost or stolen. I am sure, sir, that +Trenfield would not--' + +'Trenfield is a villain. How dare you, presumptuous boy, seek to excuse +him! A good birching, for which you are not too old, would teach you +that reverence and respect for a clergyman which your mother has so +forgotten.' + +Harry fired up quickly enough at the insulting words. + +'How dare you, sir, speak to me in this fashion? My father shall hear of +this.' + +'Let _me_ deal with him, the bloody-minded dog!' said a voice. + +It was that of Walter Trenfield, who, springing forward, presented my +brother's loaded fowling-piece at the minister's head. 'Listen to me, +you beast in human form, you heartless fiend! I am going to send your +poisonous soul to hell.' + +He pulled the trigger, but the gun missed fire; then swiftly clubbing +the weapon he brought it with terrific force against the clergyman's +chest and knocked him off the horse. The orderly at once turned, and +fled as his master fell. + +The Reverend Mr Sampson lay prone upon the sward, his once red face +blanched to a deathly white, and over him, with grounded gun, stood the +young convict. + +My brother tried to take the weapon from him, but Trenfield tossed him +aside with one hand as if he were a straw. Then for a minute he looked +at the prostrate man in silence; once he raised the gun by the muzzle, +then he threw it aside, and, kneeling beside the clergyman, placed his +face close to his. + +'You dog, you dog, you damned dog! I could choke you now as you lie, you +brute beast. But I will let you live, to go to hell in God's own time, +you cruel, flogging wretch! _You_ murdered Thomas May--his rotting body +is not a hundred yards away. May the stink of it reach the nostrils of +Almighty God--and be in yours for ever!' + +He rose quickly, took the saddle and bridle off the clergyman's horse, +and, striking the animal a sharp blow on the nose, sent it galloping +away into the forest; then he returned and again stood over Mr Sampson, +his face working with the violence of his passion. + +'Are you going to murder me?' the minister asked gaspingly. + +'No,' he replied savagely, kicking him again and again in the face, 'but +lie there, you bloody-minded swab, till I tell you you can go.' + +And then, his passion spent, he turned to us with outstretched hand,-- + +'God bless you all, young gentlemen! God bless you, Master Harry! and +your good mother and Miss Frances and little Miss Olive. I am done for +now. But tell Ruth that if I am taken I'll die a man. And tell her, +Master Harry, that--that--' + +My brother grasped his trembling hand, as for a moment he stood, gun in +hand, and swayed to and fro as if he were like to fall. Then he plunged +into the forest. + + * * * * * + +One night, three weeks after this, and whilst Mr Sampson was recovering +from his injuries, and a force of constables, with a black tracker, were +scouring the country for Walter, my mother called we children to her +bedroom. She had retired, but Ruth Kenna, with tears in her blue Irish +eyes, stood beside the bed. + +'Quick, children,' said my mother, in a whisper, 'Ruth is going away. +Quick, quick; kiss her goodbye.' + +And then whilst we, wondering, put our arms around dear Ruth, my mother +slipped out of bed, and taking some money out of a cabinet, put it into +the girl's hand, and said,-- + +'Good-bye, Ruth. You've been an honest girl to us. May God bless and +keep you always, my dear child, and do not fail to write.' + + * * * * * + +Next morning there was a great to-do, for Patrick Kenna's house was +found to be empty, and he and his daughter and Walter Trenfield were +never seen again in our part. But away out on the horizon were the sails +of a whale-ship which had been cruising about the coast for some days +past; and though my mother kept her own counsel for a long year, we +children soon knew that all three had escaped in the whaler, for my +brother Harry had received a letter from Trenfield. It was handed to +him by the aboriginal 'King Billy,' and contained only these +words,--'Good-bye, sir. Ruth and I and her father will be on the blue +water before daylight.' + +When two years or more had passed, my mother received a letter. It was +written from Boston in America, and was signed 'Ruth Trenfield.' + +'I am glad she and Walter are happy at last,' said my mother, with the +tears shining in her soft eyes. + + + + +A NORTH PACIFIC LAGOON ISLAND + +Two degrees north of the Equator, and midway between the Hawaiian +Islands and fair, green Tahiti, is the largest and most important of +the many equatorial isolated lagoon islands which, from 10 deg. N. to +10 deg. S., are dispersed over 40 deg. of longitude. The original native +name of this island has long been lost, and by that given to it by +Captain Cook one hundred and twenty years ago it is now known to Pacific +navigators--Christmas Island. Cook was probably the first European to +visit and examine the place, though it had very likely been sighted by +the Spaniards long before his time, in the days of the voyages of the +yearly galleons between the Philippines and Mexico and Peru. + +On the afternoon of December 24, 1777, Cook (in the _Resolution_ and +_Discovery_) discovered to leeward of the former ship a long, low, +sandy island, which proved to be about ninety miles in circumference. +It appeared to be an exceedingly barren-looking land, save on the +south-west side, where grew a luxuriant grove of coco-palms. Here he +brought his ships to an anchor, and partly to recuperate his crews, +who were in ill health, and partly to observe an eclipse of the sun, he +remained at the island some weeks. He soon discovered that the lagoon in +the centre was of noble proportions, and that its waters teemed with +an immense variety of fish and countless 'droves' of sharks. To-day it +remains the same. + +Fifty years passed ere this lonely atoll was visited by another ship, +and then American and English whalers, or, as they were called in those +days, 'South Seamen,' began to touch at the island, give their crews a +few days' spell amid the grateful shade of the palm grove and load their +boats to the gunwales with fat green turtle, turtle eggs, robber crabs, +and sea-birds' eggs. From that time the place became well known to the +three or four hundred of sperm whalers engaged in the fishery, and, +later on, to the shark-catching vessels from the Hawaiian Islands. +Then, sixteen years ago, Christmas Island was taken up by a London firm +engaged in the South Sea Island trade under a lease from the Colonial +Office; this firm at once sent there a number of native labourers from +Manhiki, an island in the South Pacific. These, under the charge of +a white man, were set to work planting coco-nuts and diving for pearl +shell in the lagoon. At the present time, despite one or two severe +droughts, the coco-nut plantations are thriving, and the lessees should +in another few years reap their reward, and hold one of the richest +possessions in the South Seas. + +The island is of considerable extent, and though on the windward or +eastern side its appearance is uninviting in the extreme, and the fierce +oceanic currents that for ever sweep in mighty eddies around its shores +render approach to it difficult and sometimes dangerous, it has yet +afforded succour to many an exhausted and sea-worn shipwrecked crew who +have reached it in boats. And, on the other hand, several fine ships, +sailing quietly along at night time, unaware of the great ocean currents +that are focussed about the terrible reefs encompassing the island, have +crashed upon the jagged coral barrier and been smashed to pieces by the +violence of the surf. + +Scarcely discernible, from its extreme lowness, at a distance of more +than eight miles from the ship's deck, its presence is made known hours +before it is sighted by vast clouds of amphibious birds, most of which +all day long hover about the sea in its vicinity, and return to their +rookeries on the island at sunset. On one occasion, when the vessel in +which I was then serving was quite twenty miles from the land, we were +unable to hear ourselves speak, when, just before it became dark, the +air was filled with the clamour of countless thousands of birds of +aquatic habits that flew in and about our schooner's rigging. Some +of these were what whalemen call 'shoal birds,' 'wide-awakes,' +'molly-hawks,' 'whale birds' and 'mutton birds.' Among them were some +hundreds of frigate birds, the _katafa_ of the Ellice Islanders, and a +few magnificently plum-aged fishers, called _kanapu_ by the natives of +Equatorial Polynesia. + +Given a good breeze and plenty of daylight, the whale-ships of the olden +days could stand round the western horn of the island, a projecting +point rendered pleasingly conspicuous by the grove of graceful +coco-palms which Cook was so glad to observe so many years before, and +then enter a deep bay on the north-west coast, where they obtained +good anchorage in from fifteen to twenty fathoms of water of the most +wonderful transparency, and within a mile of the vast stretches of +white sandy beach that trend away for miles on either hand. And then the +sailors, overjoyed at the delightful prospect of running about in the +few and widely-apart palm groves, and inhaling the sweet, earthy smell +of the thin but fertile soil, covered with its soft, thick bed of +fallen leaves, would lower away the boats, and pulling with their united +strength through the sweeping eddies of the dangerous passage, effect +a landing on a beach of dazzling whites and situated in the inner +south-west border of the wide lagoon. + +On our first visit to the island, in 1872, we had some glorious fishing; +and when we returned on board, under the rays of a moon that shone with +strange, uncanny brilliancy, and revealed the coral bottom ten fathoms +below, the scene presented from our decks was one of the greatest +imaginable beauty, though the loneliness of the place and the absence of +human life was somewhat depressing. We remained at the island for three +days, and during our stay our crew of South Sea Islanders literally +filled our decks with fish, turtle and birds' eggs. Curiously enough, +in our scant library on board the little trading vessel I came across +portion of a narrative of a voyage in a South Seaman, written by her +surgeon, a Mr Bennett, in 1838,{*} and our captain and myself were much +interested in the accurate description he gave of Christmas Island and +its huge rookeries of oceanic birds. + + * _Narrative of a Whaling Voyage round the Globe, from_ 1833 + to 1836. By F. D. Bennett. + +This is what he says: 'Here and there among the low thicket scrubs are +vast rookeries of aquatic birds, whose clamour is deafening. They nest +and incubate upon the ground, and show not the slightest fear of the +approach of human visitors. Among the sooty terns, whose number it was +impossible to estimate, were many hundreds of tropic birds and pure +snow-white petrels.' (He no doubt imagined the pure snow-white petrels +to be a distinct species--they were young tropic birds.) 'These latter, +who flew with a gentle, flapping motion, would actually fly up to us and +scan our countenances with an almost human expression of interest and +curiosity.' (Darwin, in his account of another Christmas Island in the +Indian Ocean, also describes these gentle creatures as being of ethereal +beauty.) 'Some, indeed, permitted themselves to be caught, and although +their delicate, fragile forms quivered with fear when they came in +contact with our hands, they would, when released, return to us again +and again, as if seeking to solve the mystery of what strange beings +were these that had invaded their retreat. In one rookery there were +many varieties of these oceanic birds, and a species of booby that +seems to be peculiar to Christmas Island. In size and colour they much +resemble the ordinary gannet of our cold northern seas. Their plumage is +of a wondrously bright snow white, with the exception of the primary and +secondary feathers of the wings, and the _retrices_ or tail feathers, +which are of a glossy black. The skin of the cheeks and chin is devoid +of feathers, and of a jet black colour, the beak a delicate yellow blue, +the legs bright blue. The solicitude of the female birds of this species +for their offspring was most interesting to witness. Their nests were +of the rudest description, being merely circular heaps of sand raised in +the open plain and exposed to the fury of storms. As we approached the +nests the mother birds settled themselves down upon their single egg +and screamed loudly, but would permit themselves to be lifted off, yet +struggled violently in our hands to get back again. Although there were +thousands of these nests within a radius of an acre, a brooding +hen might easily have been passed unnoticed, for her white plumage +corresponded so well with the hue of the coral sands that one was apt to +kick against the nest were it not for the agonised, barking note of the +poor mother. The male birds, however, of this species did not show any +marital concern for their partners. They were usually seated near the +nests, but at once took to flight upon our approach. Further on, among +a thicket of scrubby vegetation, we found a rookery of many thousands of +the superb red-tailed tropic bird (_Phaeton phoenicurus_), also engaged +in incubation. Their nests were mere circular excavations in the sand, +under the shade of the bushes of the thicket. Each nest contained an +egg of pure white, dotted with delicate lilac spots, and in size rather +larger and rounder than that of the domestic hen. The females, as +well as the males, made no attempt to escape from their nests on our +approach, whether they had or had not the care of eggs, and consequently +several of our crew, with innate Polynesian vanity, soon caught a +number, and plucking out the two long scarlet tail feathers placed them +in their hat bands. + +'A hundred yards away from the rookery of the tropic birds was one of +a colony of the snowy tern before mentioned. These gentle, black-eyed +creatures do not even pretend to construct a nest, but simply deposit a +solitary egg upon the bough of a tree (like the _gogo_, or whale bird). +They select for this purpose a tree destitute of foliage, and a branch +of horizontal growth. It is strange that, notwithstanding the exposed +situation of these eggs, they are very difficult to find; and it was +not until long after the solicitude of the parent birds informed us that +their spot of incubation was near that we could solve the mystery which +attended their nursery. Each egg is the size of a pigeon's, and marked +with either blood or chocolate-coloured splashes and spots of irregular +shape. Considering the slenderness of the branches on which they are +deposited, it is remarkable that the eggs (which appear to be at the +mercy of every passing breeze) should yet retain their extraordinary +position during incubation.' (Any Pacific Islander could easily have +explained this seeming mystery. The shell, when the egg is laid, is +covered with a strong adhesive coating. I have often seen a single egg, +laid upon a slender branch, swaying about in a strong trade wind, and +yet remain firmly in its position.) 'What may be the habits of the +newly-hatched birds we had no opportunity of learning, as none of the +latter came within our observation. + +'Small reef birds (tern) were present in prodigious numbers, skimming +the waters of the coast with an erratic, rapid, but yet graceful flight, +like that of the stormy petrel. At night they assembled in vast numbers +on an islet in the lagoon, to roost on the trees. They are about the +size of an Australian snipe, and their forms are models of elegance and +beauty. Their plumage is in true slate colour, the secondary wings are +white, and a narrow white zone surrounds each eye; their legs and feet +are a pale blue, with white webs. + +'Every now and then as we, during our visit, walked along the snow-white +beaches, great crowds of golden-winged plover and tiny snipe sprang +skyward, and swept in graceful gyrations over the broad expanse of +water, till they settled upon some sandy spit or spot of projecting +reef; and, indeed, the immense concourse or frigate birds, boobies, +terns, petrels and other aquatic denizens of the island filled us with +boundless astonishment. + +'At night time there crept out from their lairs in the loose coral +shingle that lined the scrub at high-water mark, incredible numbers of +huge "land lobsters"--the "robber crab" of the Pacific Islands. They all +crawled to within a few feet of the placid waters of the lagoon, where +they remained motionless, as if awaiting some event--possibly to prey +upon the smaller species of _crustaceae_ and turtle eggs.' + +Christmas Island, in its structure and elevation, much resembles +Palmerston Island, Arrecifos or Providence Island (the secret rendezvous +of Captain 'Bully' Hayes), Brown's Range, and other low-lying atolls +of the North and South Pacific. The greater part of the interior of the +island is, however, despite the vast number of coco-nuts planted upon it +during the past ten years, still sadly deficient in cheerful vegetation. + +The waters of the lagoon vary greatly in depth, but generally are +shallow and much broken up by sandy spits, reefs and huge coral boulders +which protrude at low water, and the surface is much subject to the +action of the trade wind, which, when blowing strong, lashes them into +a wild surf; and the low shores of the encircling islets, that form +a continuous reef-connected chain, are rendered invisible from the +opposite side by the smoky haze and spume which ascends in clouds from +the breaking surf that rolls and thunders on the outer barrier reefs. + +In the interior no fresh water is obtainable, although in the rainy +season some of a brackish quality can be had by sinking shallow wells. +This water rises and falls in the wells in unison with the tides. Here +and there are very extensive swamps of sea-water, evaporrated to a +strong brine; the margins of these are clothed with a fair growth of +the pandanus or screw-pine palm, the fruit of which, when ripe, forms a +nutritious and palatable food for the natives of the Equatorial Pacific +Islands. + +The island where Captain Cook set up his observatory is but a small +strip of sandy soil, clothed with a few coco-palms, some screw-palms +(pandanus), and a thick-matted carpet of a vine called _At At_ by the +natives. The only quadrupeds are rats, and some huge land tortoises, +similar to those of the Galapagos Islands. They are most hideous-looking +creatures, and, being of nocturnal habits, like the great robber crab, +are apt to produce a most terrifying impression upon the beholder, if +met with in the loneliness of the night. The present human occupants of +Christmas Island are, however, well supplied with pigs and poultry; and +though this far-away dot of Britain's empire beyond the seas is scarcely +known to the world, and visited but twice a year by a trading vessel +from Sydney, they are happy and contented in their home in this lonely +isle of the mid-Pacific. + + + + +BILGER, OF SYDNEY + +A death in the family brought about my fatal acquaintance with Bilger. +A few days after the funeral, as my sister and I sat talking on the +verandah of our cottage (which overlooked the waters of Sydney Harbour) +and listened to the pouring rain upon the shingled roof, we saw a man +open the garden gate and come slowly up to the house. He carried an +ancient umbrella, the tack lashings of which on one side had given way +entirely, showing six bare ribs. As he walked up the path, his large, +sodden boots made a nasty, squelching sound, and my sister, who has a +large heart, at once said, 'Poor creature; I wonder who he is. I hope it +isn't the coal man come for his money.' + +He went round to the back door and, after letting himself drain off a +bit, knocked gently and with exceeding diffidence. + +I asked him his business. He said he wanted to see my wife. + +'Not here. Gone away for a month.' + +'Dear, dear, how sad! Broken down, no doubt, with a mother's grief. Is +there any other lady in the family whom I could see?' + +'What the deuce do you want?' I began angrily; then, as he raised his +weak, watery eyes to mine, and I saw that his grey hairs were as wet as +his boots, I relented. Perhaps he was someone who knew my wife or her +people, and wanted to condole with her over the death of her baby. He +looked sober enough, so, as he seemed much agitated, I asked him to sit +down, and said I would send my sister to him. Then I went back to my +pipe and chair. Ten minutes later my sister Kate came to me with her +handkerchief to her eyes. + +'_Do_ go and see the old fellow. He has _such_ a sympathetic nature. +I'm sure I should have cried aloud had I stayed any longer. Anyone would +think he had known poor little Teddie ever since he was born. I've asked +Mary to make him a cup of tea.' + +'Who is he?' + +'I don't know his name, but he seems so sympathetic. And he says he +should be so pleased if he might see you again for a few minutes. He +says, too, that you have a good and kind face. I told him that you would +be sure to take at least a dozen of those in cream and gold. There's +nothing at all vulgar; quite the reverse.' + +'What _are_ you talking about, Kate? Who is this sodden old lunatic, and +what on earth are you crying for?' + +My sister nearly sobbed. 'I always thought that what you derisively +termed "mortuary bards" were horrid people, but this old man has a +beautiful nature. And he's very wet--and hungry too, I'm sure; and Mary +looks at him as if he were a dog. Do try and help him. I think we might +get one or two dozen cream and gold cards, and two dozen black-edged. + +And then he's a journalist, too. He's told me quite a sad little story +of his life struggle, and the moment I told him you were on the _Evening +News_ he quite brightened up, and said he knew your name quite well.' + +'Kate,' I said, 'I don't want to see the man. What the deuce does he +want? If he is one of those loafing scoundrels of undertakers' and +mortuary masons' touts, just send him about his business; give him a +glass of whisky and tell Mary to clear him out.' + +My sister said that to send an old man out in such weather was not like +_me_. Surely I would at least speak a kind word to him. + +In sheer desperation I went out to the man. He addressed me in husky +tones, and said that he desired to express his deep sympathy with me in +my affliction, also that he was 'a member of the Fourth Estate.' Seven +years before he had edited the _Barangoora News_, but his determined +opposition to a dishonest Government led to his ruin, and now-- + +'All right, old man; stow all that. What do you want?' + +He looked at me reproachfully, and taking up a small leather bag, said +that he represented Messrs ------, 'Monumental Masons and Memorial Card +Designers and Printers,' and should feel pleased if I would look at his +samples. + +He was such a wretched, hungry-looking, down-upon-his-beam-ends old +fellow, that I could not refuse to inspect his wares. And then his boots +filled me with pity. For such a little man he had the biggest boots I +ever saw--baggy, elastic sides, and toes turned up, with the after part +of the uppers sticking out some inches beyond the frayed edges of his +trousers. As he sat down and drew these garments up, and his bare, +skinny legs showed above his wrecked boots, his feet looked like two +water-logged cutters under bare poles, with the water running out of the +scuppers. + +Mary brought the whisky. I poured him out a good, stiff second mate's +nip. It did my heart good to see him drink it, and hear the soft +ecstatic 'Ah, ah, ah,' which broke from him when he put the glass down; +it was a _Te Deum Laudamus_. + +Having briefly intimated to him that I had no intention of buying 'a +handsome granite monument, with suitable inscription, or twelve lines +of verse, for L4, 17s. 6d.,' I took up his packet of _In Memoriam_ cards +and went through them. The first one was a hand-drawn design in cream +and gold--Kate's fancy. It represented in the centre an enormously +bloated infant with an idiotic leer, lying upon its back on a blue cloud +with scalloped edges, whilst two male angels, each with an extremely +vicious expression, were pulling the cloud along by means of tow-lines +attached to their wings. Underneath were these words in MS.: 'More +angels can be added, if desired, at an extra charge of 6d. each.' + +No. 2 represented a disorderly flight of cherubims, savagely attacking a +sleeping infant in its cradle, which was supported on either hand by +two vulgar-looking female angels blowing bullock horns in an apathetic +manner. + +No. 3 rather took my fancy--there was so much in it--four large fowls +flying across the empyrean; each bird carried a rose as large as a +cabbage in its beak, and apparently intended to let them drop upon +a group of family mourners beneath. The MS. inscribed said, 'If +photographs are supplied of members of the Mourning Family, our artist +will reproduce same in group gathered round the deceased. If doves are +not approved, cherubims, angels, or floral designs may be used instead, +for small extra charge.' + +Whilst I was going through these horrors the old man kept up a babbling +commentary on their particular and collective beauties; then he wanted +me to look at his specimens of verse, much of which, he added, with +fatuous vanity, was his own composition. + +I did read some of it, and felt a profound pity for the corpse that had +to submit to such degradation. Here are four specimens, the first of +which was marked, 'Especially suitable for a numerous family, who have +lost an aged parent, gold lettering is. 6d. extra,'-- + + 'Mary and May and Peter and John [or other names] + Loved and honoured him [or her] who has gone; + White was his [or her] hair and kind was his [or her] heart, + Oh why, we all sigh, were we made thus to part?' + +_For an Aunt, (Suitable verses for Uncles at same rates.)_ + + 'Even our own sweet mother, who is so kind, + Could not wring our hearts more if she went and left us behind; + A halo of glory is now on thy head, + Ah, sad, sad thought that good auntie is dead.' + +_For a Father or Mother,_ + + 'Oh children, dear, when I was alive, + To get you bread I hard did strive; + I now am where I need no bread, + And wear a halo round my head. + Weep not upon my tomb, I pray, + But do your duty day by day.' + +The last but one was still more beautiful,-- + +_For a Child who suffered a Long Illness before Decease_. + +[I remarked casually that a child could not suffer even a short illness +_after_ decease. Bilger smiled a watery smile and said 'No.'] + + 'For many long months did we fondly sit, + And watch our darling fade bit by bit; + Till an angel called from out the sky, + "Come home, dear child, to the Sweet By-and-By. + Hard was your lot on earth's sad plain, + But now you shall never suffer again, + For cherubims and seraphims will welcome you here. + Fond parents, lament not for the loss of one so dear."' + [N.B.--"_These are very beautiful lines_."] + +The gem of the collection, however, was this:-- + +_Suitable for a child of any age. The beautiful simplicity of the words +have brought us an enormous amount of orders from bereaved parents_. + + 'Our [Emily] was so fair, + That the angels envied her, + And whispered in her ear, + "We will take you away on [Tuesday] night."' + +["_Drawing of angels carrying away deceased child, is. 6d. extra_."] + +The old imbecile put his damp finger upon this, and asked me what I +thought of it. I said it was very simple but touching, and then, being +anxious to get rid of him, ordered two dozen of Kate's fancy. He thanked +me most fervently, and said he would bring them to me in a few days. I +hurriedly remarked he could post them instead, paid him in advance, and +told him to help himself to some more whisky. He did so, and I observed, +with some regret, that he took nearly half a tumblerful. + +'Dear, dear me,' he said, with an apologetic smile, 'I'm afraid I have +taken too much; would you kindly pour some back. My hand is somewhat +shaky. Old age, sir, if I may indulge in a platitude, is--' + +'Oh, never mind putting any back. It's a long walk to the ferry, and a +wet day beside.' + +'True, true,' he said meditatively, looking at Mary carrying in the +dinner, and drinking the whisky in an abstracted manner. + +Just then my sister beckoned me out. She said it was very thoughtless of +me to pour gallons of whisky down the poor old fellow's throat, upon an +empty stomach. + +'Perhaps you would like me to ask him to have dinner with us?' I said +with dignified sarcasm. + +'I think we might at least let Mary give him something to eat.' + +Of course I yielded, and my sister bade Mary give our visitor a good +dinner. For such a small man he had an appetite that would have done +credit to a long-fasting tiger shark tackling a dead whale; and every +time I glanced at Mary's face as she waited on my sister and myself I +saw that she was verging upon frenzy. At last, however, we heard him +shuffling about on the verandah, and thought he was going without saying +'thank you.' We wronged him, for presently he called to Mary and asked +her if I would kindly grant him a few words after I had finished dinner. + +'Confound him! What the deuce--' + +My sister said, 'Don't be cruel to the poor old fellow. _You may be like +him yourself some day._' + +I said I didn't doubt it, if my womenfolk encouraged every infernal old +dead-beat in the colony to come and loaf upon me. Two large tears at +once ran down Kate's nose, and dropped into the custard on her plate. I +softened at once and went out. + +'Permit me, sir,' he said, in a wobbly kind of voice, as he lurched to +and fro in the doorway, and tried to jab the point of his umbrella into +a knot-hole in the verandah boards in order to steady himself, 'permit +me, sir, to thank you for your kindness and to tender you my private +card. Perhaps I may be able to serve you in some humble way'--here the +umbrella point stuck in the hole, and he clung to the handle with both +hands--'some humble way, sir. Like yourself, I am a literary man, as +this will show you.' He fumbled in his breast pocket with his left hand, +and would have fallen over on his back but for the umbrella handle, to +which he clung with his right. Presently he extracted a dirty card and +handed it to me, with a bow, which he effected by doubling himself +on his stomach over the friendly gamp, and remained in that position, +swaying to and fro, for quite ten seconds. I read the card:-- + + MR HORATIO BILGER + Journalist and Litterateur + + Formerly Editor of the 'Barangoora News' + + Real Aylesbury Ducks for Sale + Book-keeping Taught in Four Lessons + + 4a Kellet Street, + Darlinghurst, Sydney + +I said I should bear him in mind, and, after helping him to release his +umbrella, saw him down the steps and watched him disappear. + +'Thank Heaven!' I said to Kate, 'we have seen the last of him.' + +I was bitterly mistaken, for next morning when I entered the office, +Bilger was there awaiting me, outside the sub-editor's room. He was +wearing a new pair of boots, much larger than the old ones, and smiled +pleasantly at me, and said he had brought his son Edward to see me, +feeling sure that I would use my influence with the editor and manager +to get him put on as a canvasser. + +I refused point blank to see 'Edward' then or at any other time, and +said that even if there was a vacancy I should not recommend a stranger. +He sighed, and said that I should like Edward, once I knew him. He was +'a noble lad, but misfortune had dogged his footsteps--a brave, heroic +nature, fighting hard against unmerited adversity.' I went in and shut +the door. + + * * * * * + +Two days later Kate asked me at supper if I _couldn't do something for +old Bilger's son_. + +'Has that infernal old nuisance been writing to you about his confounded +son?' + +'How ill-tempered you are! The "old nuisance," as you call him, has +behaved very nicely. He sent his son over here to thank us for our +kindness, and to ask me to accept a dozen extra cards from himself. The +son is a very respectable-looking man, but rather shabby. He is coming +again to-morrow to help Mary to put up the new wire clothes line.' + +'Is he? Well, then, Mary can pay him.' + +'Don't be so horrid. He doesn't want payment for it. But, of course, I +shall pay his fare each way. Mary says he's such a willing young man.' + +In the morning I saw Mr Edward Bilger, helping Mary. He was a fat-faced, +greasy-looking youth, with an attempted air of hang-dog respectability, +and with 'loafer' writ large on his forehead. I stepped over to him and +said,-- + +'Now, look here. I don't want you fooling about the premises. Here's two +shillings for you. Clear out, and if you come back again on any pretence +whatever I'll give you in charge.' + +He accepted the two shillings with thanks, said that he meant no +offence, but he thought Mary was not strong enough to put up a wire +clothes line. + +Mary (who was standing by, looking very sulky) was a cow-like creature +of eleven stone, and I laughed. She at once sniffed and marched away. +Mr Bilger, junior, presently followed her into the kitchen. I went after +him and ordered him out. Mary was leaning against the dresser, biting +her nails and looking at me viciously. + +Half an hour later, as I walked to the ferry, I saw Mr Bilger, junior, +sitting by the roadside, eating bread and meat (my property). He stood +up as I passed, and said politely that it looked like rain. I requested +him to make a visit to Sheol, and passed on. + +In the afternoon my sister called upon me at the _Evening News_ office. +She wore that look of resigned martyrdom peculiar to women who have +something unpleasant to say. + +'Mary has given me notice--of course.' + +'Why "of course!"' + +Kate rose with an air of outraged dignity. 'Servants don't like to be +bullied and sworn at--not white servants, anyway. You can't expect the +girl to stay. She's a very good girl, and I'm sure that that young +man Bilger was doing no harm. As it is, you have placed me in a most +unpleasant position; I had told him that he could let his younger +brothers and sisters come and weed the paddock, and--' + +'Why not invite the whole Bilger family to come and live on the +premises?' I began, when Kate interrupted me by saying that if I was +going to be violent she would leave me. Then she sailed out with an +injured expression of countenance. + +When I returned home to dinner at 7.30, Mary waited upon us in sullen +silence. After dinner I called her in, gave her a week's wages in lieu +of notice, and told her to get out of the house as a nuisance. Kate went +outside and wept. + + * * * * * + +From that day the Bilger family proved a curse to me. Old Bilger wrote +me a note expressing his sorrow that his son--quite innocently--had +given me offence; also he regretted to hear that my servant had left me. +Mrs Bilger, he added, was quite grieved, and would do her best to send +some 'likely girls' over. 'If none of them suited, Mrs Bilger would +be delighted to come and assist my sister in the mornings. She was an +excellent, worthy woman.' And he ventured, with all due respect, to +suggest to me that my sister looked very delicate. His poor lad Edward +was very sad at heart _over the turn matters had taken_. The younger +children, too, were sadly grieved--to be in a garden, even to toil, +would be a revelation to them. + +That evening I went home in a bad temper. Kate, instead of meeting me as +usual at the gate, was cooking dinner, looking hot and resigned, I dined +alone, Kate saying coldly that she did not care about eating anything. +The only other remark she made that evening was that 'Mary had cried +very bitterly when she left.' + +I said, 'The useless, fat beast!' + + * * * * * + +The Curse of Bilger rested upon me for quite three months. He called +twice a week, regularly, and borrowed two shillings 'until next Monday.' +Then one day that greasy ruffian, Bilger, junior, came into the _Evening +News_ office, full of tears and colonial beer, and said that his poor +father was dead, and that his mother thought I might perhaps lend her a +pound to help bury him. + +The sub-editor (who was overjoyed at Bilger's demise) lent me ten +shillings, which I gave to Edward, and told him I was sorry to hear the +old man was dead. I am afraid my face belied my words. + + + + +THE VISION OF MILLI THE SLAVE + +One day a message came over from Tetoro, King of Pare, in Tahiti, to +his vassal Mahua, chief of Tetuaroa,{*} saying, 'Get thee ready a great +feast, for in ten days I send thee my daughter Laea to be wife to thy +son Narue. + + * Tetuaroa is an island about forty miles from Tahiti. It + was in those days (1808) part of the hereditary possessions + of the chief of Pare. + +For Narue, the son of the chief of Tetuaroa, had long been smitten with +the beauty of Laea, and desired to make her his wife. Only once had +he seen her; but since then he had sent over many canoes laden with +presents, such as hogs and turtle, and great bunches of plantains, and +fine tappa cloth for her acceptance. + +But Tetoro, her father, was a greedy man, and cried for more; and Mahua, +so that his son might gain his heart's desire, became hard and cruel to +the people of Tetuaroa. + +Day after day he sent his servants to every village on the island +demanding from them all such things as would please the eye of Tetoro; +so that by-and-by there was but little left in their plantations, and +still less in their houses. + +And so, with sullen faces and low murmurs of anger, the people yielded +up their treasures of mats and tappa cloth, and such other things that +the servants of the chief discovered in their dwellings, and watched +them carried away to appease the avarice of Tetoro the King. + +One night, when they were gathered together in their houses, and the +torches of _tui tui_ (candle-nut kernels) were lighted, they talked +among themselves, not loudly but in whispers, for no one knew but that +one of the chiefs body-men might perhaps be listening outside, and that +to them meant swift death from the anger of Mahua. + +'Why has this misfortune come upon us?' they said to one another. 'Why +should Narue, who is an _aito_{*} set his heart upon the daughter of +Tetoro when there are women of as good blood as her close to his hand? +Surely, when she comes here to live, then will there be hard times in +the land, and we shall be eaten up with hunger.' + + * A man distinguished in warfare. + +'Ay,' said a girl named Milli, 'it is hard that we should give our all +to a strange woman.' + +She spoke very loudly, and without fear, and the rest of the people +looked wonderingly at her, for she was but a poor slave, and, as such, +should not have raised her voice when men were present. So they angrily +bade her be silent. Who was she that dared to speak of such things? If +she died of hunger, they said, what did it matter? She was but a girl +and a slave, and girls' lives were worth nothing until they bore male +children. + +And then Milli the Slave sprang up, her eyes blazing with anger, and +heaped scorn upon them for cowards. + +'See,' she said, and her voice shook with passion; 'see me, Milli the +Slave, standing before ye all, and listen to my words, so that your +hearts may grow strong, even as strong as mine has grown. Listen while I +tell thee of a dream that came to me in the night. + +'In my dream this land of ours became as it was fifteen moons ago, and +as it may never be again. I saw the groves of plantains, with their +loads of fruit, shine red and yellow, like the setting of the sun, and +the ground was forced open because of the great size of the yams and +taro and arrowroot that grew beneath; and I heard the heavy fall of the +ripe coconuts on the grass, and the crooning notes of the pigeons that +fed upon the red _mati_ berries were as the low booming of the surf on +the reef when it sounds far distant.' + +For a little while she ceased, and the people muttered. + +'Ay, it was so, fifteen moons ago.' + +And then Milli, sinking upon one knee, and spreading out her arms +towards them, spoke again, but in a low, soft voice,-- + +'And I saw the white beach of Teavamoa black with turtle that could +scarce crawl seaward because of their fatness; and saw the canoes, +filled to the gunwales with white, shining fish, come paddling in from +the lagoon; and then came the night. And in the night I heard the sound +of the _vivo_{*} and the beat of the drum, and the songs and laughter +and the shouts of the people as they made merry and sang and danced, +and ate and drank, till the red sun burst out from the sea, and they lay +down to sleep. + + * Nasal flute. + +'And then, behold there came into my dream, a small black cloud. It +gathered together at Pare, and rose from the ground, and was borne +across the sea to Tetuaroa.{*} As it came nearer, darker and darker +grew the shadows over this land, till at last it was wrapped up in the +blackness of night. And then out of the belly of the cloud there sprang +a woman arrayed as a bride, and behind her there followed men with faces +strange to me, whose stamping footsteps shook the island to its roots in +the deep sea. Then came a mystic voice to me, which said,-- + +"Follow and see." + + * Tetoro's canoe, in which he sent his daughter to Tetuaroa, + was painted black by an English sailor who, living under his + protection, afterwards married his daughter. + +'So I followed and saw'--she sprang to her feet, and her voice rang +sharp and fierce--'I saw the strange woman and those with her pass +swiftly over the land like as the shadows of birds fall upon the ground +when the sun is high and their flight is low and quick. And as they +passed, the plantains and taro and arrowroot were torn up and stripped +and left to perish; and there was nought left of the swarms of turtle +and fish but their bones; for the black cloud and the swift shadows +that ran before it had eaten out the heart of the land, and not even one +coco-nut was left. + +'And then I heard a great crying and weeping of many voices, and I saw +men and women lying down in their houses with their bones sticking out +of their skins; and wild pigs, perishing with hunger, sprang in upon +them and tore their bellies open with their tusks, and devoured them, +and fought with each other among the bones and blood of those they ate.' + +A groan of terror burst from the listening people, and the slave girl, +with her lips parted and her white teeth set, looked with gleaming, +angry eyes slowly round the group. + +'Again I heard the cries and the groans and the weeping; and I saw thee, +Foani, take thy suckling child from thy withered breast, and give it to +thy husband, so that it might be slain to feed thy other children. And +then thou, too, Tiria, and thou, Hini, and many other women, did I see +slay thy children and their children, and cook and eat them, even as the +wild pigs had eaten those men and women that lay dying on their mats. +And this, O people! is all of the dream that came to me; for then a +great sweat ran down over my body, and a heavy pain came upon my heart, +so that I awoke.' + +She trembled and sank down again among the women, in the midst of whom +she had been sitting, and then growling, angry murmurs ran round the +assemblage, and the names of Narue and the king's daughter passed from +lip to lip. + + * * * * * + +Well as they liked their chief's son--for he was distinguished alike +for his bravery and generosity--they yet saw that his marriage with Laea +would mean a continued existence of misery to them all, or at least so +long as the young man's passion for his wife lasted. + +Past experience had taught them many a bitter lesson, for ever since +their island had been conquered, they had been subjected to the payment +of the most exacting tribute. + +Fertile as was Tetuaroa, the continued demands made upon its people +for food by the royal family of Tahiti had frequently reduced them to a +condition bordering upon starvation. + +But these requests had, of late years, been so much modified, that the +island, under the rule of Mahua, had become renowned for its wealth of +food and the prosperous condition of its inhabitants. + +It was, therefore, with no pleasant feelings that the people viewed +the approaching marriage of the son of their chief to the child of the +grasping Tetoro, a man who would certainly see no abatement made in +the extortions he had succeeded in inducing his vassal Mahua to again +inaugurate. + + * * * * * + +At midnight, long after the women were asleep, the principal men of the +island met together and talked of the dream described by the slave girl. +So firmly were they convinced that she had been chosen by the gods as +a means of warning them of their impending rate if the marriage took +place, that they firmly resolved to frustrate it, even if it cost every +one of them his life. + +But, so that neither Mahua nor his son should suspect their intentions, +they set about to prepare for the great feast ordered by Tetoro; and for +the next week or so the whole population was busily engaged in bringing +together their various presents of food and goods, and conveying them +to the chief's house, where, on the arrival of the fleet of canoes that +would bring the king's daughter from Pare, they would be presented to +her in person by the priests and minor chiefs. + + * * * * * + +On the afternoon of the tenth day, some men whom Mahua had set to watch +for Tetoro's fleet saw the great mat sails of five war canoes sweeping +across the long line of palms that fringed the southern beach? Then +there was great commotion, and many _pu_{*} were sounded from one end +of the island to the other, bidding the people to assemble at the +landing-place and welcome the bride of the chiefs son. + + * The conch shell. + +Now, it so happened that Narue, when the cry arose that the canoes were +coming, was sitting alone in a little bush-house near the south point +of the island. He had come there with two or three of his young men +attendants, so that he might be dressed and adorned to meet Tetoro's +daughter. As soon as they had completed their task he had sent them +away, for he intended to remain in the bush-house till his father sent +for him; for such was the custom of the land. + +Very gay and handsome he looked, when presently he stood up and looked +out over the lagoon to where the canoes were entering the passage. Round +his waist was a girdle of bright yellow strips of plantain leaves, +mixed with the scarlet leaves of the _ti_ plant; a band of pearl-shell +ornaments encircled his forehead, and his long, black hair, perfumed +with scented oil, was twisted up in a high spiral knob, and ornamented +with scarlet hibiscus flowers. Across one broad shoulder there hung a +small, snowy-white poncho or cape, made of fine tappa cloth, and round +his wrists and ankles were circlets of pearl shell, enclosed in a +netting of black coir cinnet. On each leg there was tattooed, in bright +blue, a coco-nut tree, its roots spreading out at the heel and running +in wavy lines along the instep to the toes, its elastic stalk shooting +upwards till its waving plumes spread gracefully out on the broad, +muscular calf. + +Yet, although he was so finely arrayed, Narue was troubled in his mind; +for not once did those who had dressed him speak of Laea, and this the +young man thought was strange, for he would have been pleased to hear +them talk to him of her beauty. In silence had they attended to his +needs, and this hurt him, for they were all dear friends. So at last, +when they rose to leave him, he had said,-- + +'Why is it that none of ye speak either to me, or to one another? Am I a +corpse that is dressed for the funeral rites?' + +Then one of them, named Taneo, his foster-brother, answered, and bent +his head as he spoke,-- + +'Oh, Narue, son of Mahua, and mine own brother, hast thou not heard of +the dream of Milli?' + +At the name of Milli, the hot blood leapt into the face of the chief's +son; but he answered quickly,-- + +'Nay, naught have I heard, and how can the dream of a slave girl concern +me on such a day as this?' + +'Oh, Narue!' replied Taneo, ''tis more than a dream; for the god Oro hath +spoken to her, and shown her things that concern thee and all of thy +father's people.' And with that the young men arose and left him without +further speech. + +Little did Narue know that scarce a stone's throw away from where he +stood, Milli, with love in her eyes, was watching him from behind a +clump of plantain trees. She, too, was arrayed as if for a dance or +a marriage, and behind her were a number of women, who were crouched +together and spoke only in whispers. + +As they stood, the sounds of the drums and flutes and conches came from +the village, and then Narue went forth from the little house, and walked +towards it through the palm grove. + + * * * * * + +As he stepped proudly along the shaded path he heard his name called in +a low voice, and Milli the Slave stood before him with downcast eyes, +and barred his path. + +Now, Narue, bold as he was, feared to meet this girl, and so for some +moments no words came to him, and Milli, looking quickly up, saw that he +had placed his right hand over his eyes. Then she spoke,-- + +'See, Narue, I do but come to thee to speak some little words; so turn +thy face to me once more; for from this day thou shalt never again see +Milli the Slave.' + +But Narue, still keeping his hand to his eyes, turned aside, and leaning +his forehead against the trunk of a palm-tree, kept silence awhile. Then +he said, in a low voice,-- + +'Oh, Milli, be not too hard! This woman Laea hath bewitched me--and +then--thou art but a slave.' + +'Aye,' answered the girl, softly, 'I am but a slave, and this Laea is +very beautiful and the daughter of a great chief. So for that do I come +to say farewell, and to ask thee to drink with me this bowl of orange +juice. 'Tis all I have to offer, for I am poor and have no wedding gift +to give thee; and yet with this mean offering do I for ever give thee +the hot love of my heart--ay, and my life also, if thou should'st need +it.' + +And so, to please the girl whom he had once loved, he received from +her hand the drink of orange juice, which she took from a basket she +carried, and yet as he drank he looked away, for he feared to see her +eyes looking into his. + +Only one word did he say as he turned away, and that was 'Farewell,' and +Milli answered 'Farewell, Narue;' but when he had gone some distance she +followed him and sobbed softly to herself. + +And soon, as Narue walked, his body swayed to and fro and his feet struck +the roots of the trees that grew out through the soil along the path. +Then Milli, running swiftly up, caught him as he fell, and laid his head +upon her knees. His eyes were closed and his skin dead to her touch. + +Presently the bushes near by parted, and two women came out, and lifting +Narue between them, they carried the young man to a shady place and laid +him down. + +And then Milli wept as she bent her face over that of the man she loved, +but the two older women bade her cease. + +Once more the girl looked at Narue, and then, stepping out into the path, +ran swiftly towards the village. + + * * * * * + +The five canoes were now sailing quickly over the smooth lagoon, with +the streamers from their mat sails floating in the wind, and on the +stages that ran from their sides to the outriggers were grouped parties +of singers and dancers, with painted bodies and faces dyed scarlet with +the juice of the _mati_ berry, who sang and danced, and shouted, and +made a brave show for the people who awaited their coming on the shore. + +On the great stage of the first canoe, which was painted black, was +seated Laea, surrounded by her women attendants, who joined in the wild +singing whenever the name of their mistress formed the singers' theme. + +Then suddenly, as each steersman let fall from his hand his great +steering paddle, which was secured by a rope to the side, the canoes +ran up into the wind, the huge mat sails were lowered, the stone anchors +dropped overboard, and the music and dancing ceased. + +And then a strange thing happened, and Laea, who was of a proud and +haughty disposition, as became her lineage, grew pale with anger; for +suddenly the great crowd of people which had assembled on the beach +seemed to sway to and fro, and then separate and form into two bodies; +and she saw that the women and children had gathered apart from the men +and stood in a compact mass on the brow of the beach, and the men, in +strange, ominous quiet, spear and club in hand, had ranged, without a +sound, in battle array before her escort. + +There was silence awhile, and then Taneo, the foster brother of Narue, +clothed in his armour of cinnet fibre, and grasping a short stabbing +spear in his hand, stepped out of the ranks. + +'Get thee back again to Tahiti, O men of Pare,' he said quietly, +striking his spear into the sand. 'This marriage is not to our minds.' + +Then Laea, as she looked at the amazed and angered faces of her people +as they heard Taneo's insulting words, dashed aside her attendants, and +leaping from the canoe into the shallow water, walked to the shore, and +stood face to face with him. + +'Who art thou, fellow, to stand before the daughter of Tetoro the King, +with a spear in thy rude hand, and thy mouth filled with saucy words?' + +'I am Taneo, the foster brother of the man thou seekest to marry. And +because that a warning hath come to us against this marriage do I stand +here, spear in hand.' + +Laea laughed scornfully. + +'_I_ seek thy brother in marriage? Thou fool! Would I, the daughter of +my father, _seek_ any man for husband? Hath not this Narue pestered me so +with his presents and his love-offerings that, for very weariness, and +to please my father, I turned my face from the Englishman who buildeth +ships for him, and said "Aye" to this Narue--who is but a little +man{*}--when he besought me to be wife to him. Ah! the Englishman, who +is both a clever and strong man, is more to my liking.' + + * Meaning in rank. + +'Get thee back, then, to thy Englishman, and leave to me my lover,' +cried a woman's voice, and Milli the Slave, thrusting aside the armed +men who sought to stay her, sprang out upon the sand, and clenching her +hands tightly, gazed fiercely at the king's daughter. + +'_Thy_ lover!' and Laea looked contemptuously at the small, slender +figure of the slave girl, and then her cheek darkened with rage as she +turned to her followers. 'See how this dog of a Narue hath insulted me! +Have I come all this way to be fooled for the sake of such a miserable +creature as this?' and she pointed scornfully to Milli and then spat on +the ground. 'Where is this fellow? Let him come near to me so that I may +tell him to his face that I have ever despised him as one beneath me. +Where is he, I ask thee, girl?' And she seized the slave girl by her +wrist. + +The savage fury of her voice, her blazing eyes, and noble, commanding +presence, excited alike both her own people and the clustering throng +of armed men that stood watching on the beach, for these latter, by some +common impulse moved nearer, and at the same time every man in the five +canoes sprang out, and, dashing through the water, ranged themselves +beside their mistress. + +'Back!' cried Taneo, warningly; 'back, ye men of Pare, back, ere it be +too late, and thou, Laea, harm not the girl, for see, O foolish woman! +we here are as ten to one, and 'twill be a bloody day for thee and thy +people if but a spear be raised.' + +And then, facing round, he cried, 'And back, O men of Tetuaroa. Why draw +ye so near? Must blood run because of the vain and bitter words of a +silly woman?' + +Then, with an angry gesture, Laea released her hold of the slave girl's +slender wrist, and she, too, held up a warning hand to her warriors. + +'True, Taneo,' she said mockingly; 'thy people are as ten to one of +mine, as thou sayest, and for this alone dost thou dare insult me. Oh, +thou coward, Taneo!' + +A swift gleam of anger shone in Taneo's eyes, and his hand grasped +his spear tightly. Then he looked steadily at the king's daughter, and +answered. + +'Nay, no coward am I, Laea. And see, if but a little blood will appease +thee, take this spear and slay me. It is better for one to die than +many.' Stretching out his hand, he gave her his spear. + +She waved it back sneeringly. + +'Thy words are brave, Taneo; but only because that behind them lieth no +danger. Only a coward could talk as--' + +He sprang back. + +'Ho, men of Pare! Listen! So that but one or two men may die, and many +live, let this quarrel lie between me and any one of ye that will battle +with me here, spear to spear, on this beach. Is it not better so than +that Tetoro the King should weep for so many of his people?' + +A tall, grey-headed old warrior leapt out from the ranks of those that +stood behind Laea. + +'Thou and I, Taneo, shall fight till one of us be slain.' + +Suddenly Milli the Slave sprang between them with outstretched arms. + +'Peace, peace! Drop thou thy spear, Taneo, and thou thine, old man. +There is no need for blood but mine--for Narue is dead.' + +Then, kneeling on the sand she said, 'Draw near to me and listen.' + +Quickly the opposing parties formed a circle around her; before her +stood the haughty and angry Laea; behind her, and standing side by side, +Taneo and the grey-haired Tahitian warrior. + +'I am Milli, the bond-woman of Mahua, the father of Narue. And Narue loved +me; but because of thee, O Laea, he turned from me, and my heart became +cold. For who would give food to my child when it was born--the child of +a slave whose lover was a chief and who had cast her off? And then there +came a vision to me in the night, and I saw the things of which I have +told ye, O men of Tetuaroa. And I knew that the black cloud of my vision +was sent to warn the people of this land against the marriage, and the +hunger and the bitter days of poverty that would come of it. And so, +because thou art a great woman, O Laea, and I but a poor slave, did I +meet Narue but a little while since and give him to drink; and when he +drank of that which I gave him he died, for it was poisoned.' + +A low murmur, half anger, half pity, broke from the assembled people. + +'Thou fool!' said Laea, pityingly; and then she turned to Taneo. + +'And so thy brother hath died by the hand of a slave? Let us part in +peace. Farewell!' + +And then, as the men of Pare returned in silence to their canoes, Taneo +and his people closed in upon the kneeling figure of the slave girl, who +bent her head as a man stepped before her with a club. + + * * * * * + +When the five canoes had sailed away a little distance from the beach, +Laea saw the men of Tetuaroa open out their ranks, and, looking in the +midst, she saw, lying face downwards on the sand, the body of Milli the +Slave. + + + + +DENISON GETS A BERTH ASHORE + +After many years as supercargo, 'blackbirder'{*} and trader in the South +Seas, Tom Denison one day found himself in Sydney with less than ten +shillings in his pocket, and with a strong fraternal yearning to visit +his brother, who was a bank manager in North Queensland and a very +good-natured man. So he sent a telegram, 'Tired of the sea. Can you +find me a billet ashore?' An answer soon came, 'Yes, if you can +manage poultry farm and keep books. If so, will wire passage money and +expenses.' + + * A 'backbirder' is the term applied to any person engaged + in the Polynesian labour traffic. + +Denison pondered over the situation. He had seen a lot of poultry in +his time--in coops on board the _Indiana_ and the _Palestine_; and one +Captain 'Bully' Hayes, with whom he had once sailed as supercargo, had +told him a lot of things about game fowls, to which birds the genial +'Bully' had a great leaning--but was not sure that he was good at books. +In fact, the owners of the _Palestine_ had said that his system of +book-keeping had driven the senior partner to drink, and they always +sent a 'Manual of Book-keeping' on board every time the ship sailed from +Sydney. At the same time Denison was touched by the allusion to passage +money and expenses, and felt that making entries about the birth of +clutches of chickens and ducklings, and the number of eggs sold, +would be simple enough--much easier than the heartbreaking work of a +supercargo, when such customers as Flash Harry of Apia or Fiji Bill of +Apamama would challenge the correctness of their grog bills, and offer +to fight him instead of paying. And then, he thought, it would be simply +delightful to sit in a room in a quiet farmhouse and hear the gentle +moaning of calves and the cheerful cackle of exultant hens, as he wrote +items in a book about eggs and things, and drink buttermilk, instead +of toiling in the ill-smelling trade-room on board the _Palestine_, +bottling off Queensland rum and opening tierces of negrohead tobacco, +while the brig was either standing on her head or rolling her soul out, +and Packenham the skipper was using shocking language to everyone on +deck. + +So he sent a 'collect' telegram to his brother, and stated that he +thoroughly understood all branches of poultry and book-keeping. + +On the voyage up to Cooktown he kept to himself, and studied 'Pip and +Its Remedy,' 'Warts and the Sulphur Cure,' 'Milligan on Roup in Ducks,' +and other valuable works; so that when the steamer reached the port and +he met his brother, the latter was deeply impressed with the profound +knowledge he displayed of the various kinds of poultry diseases, and +said he felt sure that Denison would 'make the thing pay.' The poultry +farm, he said, belonged to the bank, which had advanced money to the +former proprietor, who had most unjustifiably died in _delirium tremens_ +at Cooktown Hospital a few months ago, leaving the farm to the care of +some aboriginals, and his estate much in debt to the good, kind bank. + +On the following evening Denison was driven out to the place by his +brother, who took advantage of the occasion to point out to the youth +the beauties of a country life, away from the temptations of cities. +Also he remarked upon the folly of a young man spending the bloom of his +years among the dissolute natives of the South Seas; and then casually +inquired if the women down there were pretty. Then the younger Denison +began to talk, and the elder brother immediately pulled up the horse +from a smart trot into a slow walk, saying there was no need to rush +along on such a hot night, and that he liked to hear about the customs +of foreign countries. About ten o'clock they reached their destination, +and the elder brother, without getting out of the trap and entering the +house, hurriedly bade Tom good-bye and drove off as quickly as possible, +fearing that if he stayed till the morning, and the youth saw the place +by daylight, the latter would become a fratricide. + +The occupants of the farm were, the new manager found, three black +fellows and two 'gins,'{*} all of whom were in a state of stark nudity; +but they welcomed him with smiles and an overpowering smell of ants, the +which latter is peculiar to the Australian nigger. One of the bucks, who +when Denison entered was sleeping, with three exceedingly mangy dogs, in +the ex-proprietor's bunk--a gorgeous affair made of a badly-smelling +new green hide stretched between four posts, at once got up and gave him +possession of the couch; and Denison, being very tired, spread his rug +over the hide and turned in, determined not to grumble, and make the +thing pay, and then buy a place in the Marquesas or Samoa in a few +years, and die in comfort. During the night the mosquitoes worried him +incessantly, until one of the coloured ladies, who slept on the ground +in the next room, hearing his petulant exclamations, brought him a dirty +piece of rag, soaked in kerosene, and told him to anoint his hair, face +and hands with it. He did so, and then fell asleep comfortably. + + * 'Gin,' or 'lubra'--the female Australian aboriginal. + +Early in the morning he rose and inspected the place (which I forgot +to say was twenty miles from Cooktown, and on the bank of the Endeavour +River). He found it to consist of two rusty old corrugated iron +buildings, vaguely surrounded by an enormous amount of primaeval +desolation and immediately encompassed by several hundred dead cattle +(in an advanced state of putrefaction) picturesquely disposed about the +outskirts of the premises. But Denison, being by nature a cheerful man, +remembered that his brother (who was pious) had alluded to a drought, +and said that rain was expected every day, as the newly-appointed Bishop +of North Queensland had appointed a day of general humiliation and +prayer, and that poultry-rearing was bound to pay. + +The stock of poultry was then rounded up by the black-fellows for his +inspection--thirty-seven dissolute-looking ducks, ninety-three degraded +and anaemic female fowls, thirteen spirit-broken roosters, and eleven +apathetic geese. Denison caught one of the ducks, which immediately +endeavoured to swallow his fore-finger, under the impression it was food +of some sort. + +'Jacky,' he said to the leading coloured gentleman, 'my brother told me +that there were five hundred ducks here. Where are they?' + +Jacky said that the ducks _would_ go on the river and that 'plenty +feller big alligator eat 'em up.' + +'Then where are the seven hundred and fifty laying hens?' + +Jacky scratched his woolly head and grinned. 'Goanner' eat some, snake +eat some, some die, some run away in bush, hawk eat some. By ------, +this feller duck and fowl altogether dam fool.' " + +During the following week Denison found that Jacky had not deviated from +the truth--the alligators did eat the ducks, the tiger and carpet-snakes +and iguanas did crawl about the place at night-time and seize any +luckless fowl not strong enough to fly up to roost in the branch of a +tree, the hawks did prefer live poultry to long-deceased bullock, and +those hens physically capable of laying eggs laid them on an ironstone +ridge about a mile away from the house. He went there one day, found +nine eggs, and saw five death adders and a large and placid carpet +snake. Then he wrote to his brother, and said that he thought the place +would pay when the drought broke up, but he did not feel justified in +taking L3, 10s. a week from the bank under the present circumstances, +and would like to resign his berth, as he was afraid he was about to get +an attack of fever. + +A few days later he received an official letter from the bank, signed +'C. Aubrey Denison, Manager,' expressing surprise at his desire to +give up the control of a concern that was 'bound to pay,' and for +the management of which the bank had rejected twenty-three other +applications in his favour, and suggesting that, as the poultry were +not thriving, he might skin the carcases of such cattle as died in the +future, and send the hides to Cooktown--'for every hide the bank +will allow you 2s. 6d. nett.' With the official letter was a private +communication from the Elder Brother telling him not to be disheartened +so quickly--the place was sure to pay as soon as the drought broke up; +also that as the river water was bad, and tea made from it was not +good for anyone with fever, he was sending up a dozen of whisky by +the mailman next week. Again Denison was touched by his brother's +thoughtfulness, and decided to remain for another week at least. But +at night-time he thought a good deal about the dear old _Palestine_ and +Harvey Packenham, her skipper. + +While awaiting with considerable anxiety the arrival of the mailman, +Denison passed the time in killing tiger-snakes, cremating the dead +cattle around the place, bathing in the only pool in the river safe from +alligators, and meditating upon the advantages of a berth ashore. But +when the mailman arrived (four days late) with only five bottles of +whisky, and said in a small, husky voice that the pack-horse had fallen +and broken seven bottles, he felt a soured and disappointed man, and +knew that he was only fit for the sea. The mailman, to whom he expressed +these sentiments, told him to cheer up. It was loneliness, he said, that +made him feel like that, and he for _his_ part 'didn't like to see no +man feelin' lonely in the bloomin' bush.' Therefore he would keep him +company for a few days, and let the sanguinary mail go to Hades. + +He did keep him company. And then, when the whisky was finished, he bade +Denison good-bye, and said that any man who would send 'his own bloomin' +brother to perish in such a place was not fit to live himself, and ought +to be flamin' well shown up in the bloomin' noospapers.' At daybreak +next morning Denison told the coloured ladies and gentlemen to eat the +remaining poultry; and, shouldering his swag, tramped it into Cooktown +to 'look for a ship.' + + + + +ADDIE RANSOM: A MEMORY OF THE TOKELAUS + +A hot, steamy mist rose from the gleaming, oily sea, and the little +island lay sweltering and gasping under a sky of brass and a savagely +blazing sun. Along the edges of the curving lines of yellow beach +the drought-smitten plumes of the fast-withering coco-palms drooped +straight, brown and motionless; and Wallis, the trader at Avamua +village, as he paced to and fro upon the heated boards of his verandah, +cursed the island and the people, and the deadly calm, and the brassy +sky, and the firm of Tom de Wolf & Sons (whom he blamed for the +weather), and the drought, and the sickness, and the overdue ship, and +himself, and everything else; and he wished that Lita would go away for +a month--her patience and calmness worried and irritated him. Then +he might perhaps try getting drunk on Sundays like Ransom; to-day was +Sunday, and another Sunday meant another hell of twelve hours' heat, and +misery, and hope deferred. + +'Curse that damned bell! There it goes again, though half of the people +are dead, and the other half are dying like rotten sheep! Oh, for a +ship, or rain, or a howling gale--anything but this!' + +He dashed his pipe furiously upon the verandah, and then flung himself +into a cane lounge, pressed his hands to his ears, and swore silently at +the jarring clamour of the hated church bell. + +Lita's brown hand touched him on the shoulder. + +'Wassa th' matter, Tom, wis you?' + +'Oh, go away, for God's sake, Lita, there's a good girl. Leave me alone. +Go to church, and tell Ioane I'll give him a couple of dollars not to +ring that damned, infernal bell again to-day. I'm going mad! I'll get +drunk, I think, like Ransom. My God! just think of it, girl! Twelve +months without a ship, and this hateful, God-forsaken island turning +into a pest-house.' + +'Wasa is pesta-house, Tom?' + +'Place where they put people in to die--lazzaretto, charnel-house, +morgue, living grave! Oh, go away, girl, go to the blarsted church if +you want to, and leave me alone.' + +Her slender fingers touched his hand timidly. + +'I don' wan' go to church, Tom. I don' wan' leave you here to get mad +an' lon'ly by yourse'f.' + +'Very well, old woman, stay here with me. Perhaps a breeze may come +by-and-by and then we can breathe. How many people died yesterday, +Lita?' + +''Bout nine, Tom--four men, tree woman, an' some child.' + +'Poor devils! I wish I had some medicine for them. But I'm hanged if +I know what it is--some sort of cholera brought here by that infernal +American missionary brig, I believe. Hallo! there's Ioane beginning.' + + * * * * * + +The white-walled native church was not a stone's throw away, and through +the wide, paneless windows and open doors the deep voice of Ioane, the +Samoan native teacher, sounded clearly and solemnly in the still, heated +morn. Wallis, with his wide straw hat covering his bronzed face, lay +back in the lounge, and, at first, took no heed. Lita, sitting at his +feet, rested her chin on one hand and listened intently. + +'Turn ye all, men and women of this afflicted land of Nukutavau, to the +Word of God, which is written in the Book of Isaiah, in the fortieth +chapter and the sixth verse. It was to my mind that we should first +sing to the praise of Jehovah; but, alas! we cannot sing to-day; for my +cheeks are wetted with many tears, and my belly is bursting with sorrow +when I see how few there are of us who are left. But yet can we pray +together; and the whisper of affliction shall as surely reach the ear of +God as the loud, glad song of praise. But first hear ye these words:-- + +'"The Voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? And the Voice +answered. All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the +flower of the field: the grass withereth, the flower fadeth; because the +spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: Surely the people is grass."' + +Wallis sat up and listened; for as the preacher ceased he heard the +sound of many sobs; and presently a woman, old, gaunt and feeble, +staggered out from the church and flung herself face downwards upon the +burning sand. + +'_A mate, a mate tatou_,' she moaned, 'e agi mai le manava Ieova.' ('We +perish, we perish with the breath of Jehovah.') + +She lay there unheeded; for now the preacher, with broken voice, was +passionately imploring his congregation to cast themselves upon the +mercy of God, and beseech Him to stay the deadly pestilence which had so +sorely smitten the land. + +'And spare Thou, O God Most High, Most Merciful, and Most Just, these +many little children who yet live, for they are but very small, and have +not yet sinned before Thee. Three of mine own hast thou touched with +Thy hand, and taken to Thee, and my belly and the belly of my wife are +empty, and yearn in the night for the voices we shall hear no more. And +for those three whom Thou hast taken, spare Thou three of those who yet +live. And shield, O God, with Thy care, the _papalagi_{*} Ranisome and +his child, the girl Ati' (Addie), 'for she loveth Thy word; and turn +Thou the heart of her father from the drinking of grog, so that he +shall be no more as a hog that is _loia_.'{**} 'And shield, too, +the _papalagi_ Walesi and the woman Lita--she who liveth with him in +sin--for their hearts are ever good and their hands ever open to us of +Nukutavau; and send, O most merciful and compassionate One, a ship, so +that the two white men and the woman Lita, and the girl Ati, and we, +Thy people, may not die of hunger and thirst and sickness, but live to +praise Thy holy name.' + + * Foreigner. + + ** A man or an animal is _loia_ when he or it has eaten or + drunk to such repletion as to lie down and be overrun with + ants--an expressive Samoan synonym for excess. + +A burst of weeping, and _Amene! Amene!_ came from his hearers, then +silence; and Wallis, taking his hat from his face, bent his head. + +Presently the scanty congregation came slowly forth. Some, as they +passed the white man and Lita, tried to smile a greeting to them, though +every brown face was wet with tears. Last of all came Ioane, the Samoan +teacher, short, square-built, with deep sunken earnest eyes bent to +the ground, his right arm supporting his wife, whose slender frame was +shaken with the violence of her grief for those three of her heart +whom 'He had taken.' Wallis, followed by Lita, stepped down from his +verandah, and held out his hand. The teacher pressed it in silence, and, +unable now to speak, walked slowly on. Lita, her dark, oval face still +hot with anger, drew back and made no sign, though Eline, the teacher's +wife, murmured as she passed,--'Nay, be not angry, Lita; for death is +near to us all.' + + * * * * * + +As they returned to the house, Ransom, the old trader from Avatulalo, +the next village to that in which Wallis lived, met them at the gate. +He was a man of sixty or thereabout--grey, dirty, dishevelled and half +drunk. + +'I want you and Lita to come back with me,' he said slowly, holding to +the palings of the fence, and moving his head from side to side; 'you +must come... 'you must come, or'--with sudden frenzy--'by God, I'll put +a firestick into your house; I will, by blazes, I will! Curse you, Tom +Wallis, and your damned, Sydney-white-duck-suit-respectability, and your +damned proud quarter-caste Portugee woman, who you ain't married to, as +I was to mine--bad as she was. Put up your hands you--' + +Wallis gripped him firmly but kindly by the wrists, and forced him into +a seat. + +'What's the matter with you, Ransom? Only drunk and fightable as usual? +or are you being chased by pink snakes with tiger's heads again, eh? +There, sit quiet, old man. Where is Addie?' + +For a few moments the old man made no answer; then he rose, and placing +his trembling hands on Wallis's chest said brokenly,-- + +'God help me, Tom! She's a-dyin'... an' I'm near drunk. She was took bad +this mornin', an' has been callin' for the teacher an' Lita-- an' I'd +as lief go to hell as to ask a damned Kanaka mission'ry to come an' talk +Gospel an' Heaven to a child o' mine--not in my own house, anyway. It +ain't right or proper. But she kep' on a-pesterin' me, an' at last I +said I would come an' arst him... an' while I was waitin' outside the +church I hears the damned feller a-prayin' and sayin' "_All flesh +is grass, and the grass withereth_"'--his voice quivered and broke +again--'an' onct I heard my old mother say them very words when she was +a-dyin', more'n forty year ago, in the old country. An' Addie's dyin' +fast, Tom; dyin', an' I can't say a prayer with her; I don't know none. +I'm only a drunken old shellback, an' I ought to be struck dead for my +bloody sins. She's all I has in the world to love; an' now, an' now--' +He turned away and, covering his face with his coarse, sunburnt hands, +sobbed like a child. + + * * * * * + +Half an hour later Wallis and Lita were in the room with the dying girl. +Ransom, shambling behind them, crept in and knelt at the foot of the +bed. Two native women, who were squatted on the matted floor went +out softly, and Wallis bent over the girl and looked into her pallid, +twitching face, over which the dread grey shadow was creeping fast. She +put out her hand to the trader and Lita, and a faint smile moved her +lips. + +'You is good to come, Tom Wallis,' she said, in her childish voice, 'an' +so is you, Lita. Wher' is my fath'? I don' see him. I was ask him to +bring Ioane here to pray fo' me. I _can't_ pray myself.... I _have_ been +try.... Wher' is you, fath'?' + +Ransom crept round to her side, and laid his face upon her open hand. + +'Ah, fath', you is come... poor fath'. I say, fath', _don_ you drink no +more. You been promise me that, fath', so many time. _Don'_ you break +yo' promise now, will you?' + +The grizzled old sinner put his trembling lips to hers. 'Never no more, +Addie--may God strike me dead if I lie!' + +'Come away, old man,' said Wallis, softly, 'let Lita be with her. +Neither you nor I should disturb her just now. See, she wants Lita. But +her time is near, and you must keep close to her.' + +They drew apart, and Lita knelt beside the bed. + + * * * * * + +'An' did he pray for fath', an' me, an' you, an' Tom, an' my mother who +runned away? Tell me all 'bout it, Lita. I _did_ wan' him to come and +tell me some things I wan' to know before I is dead. Tell me what he +say.' + +'He say dat vers', "De grass with', de flow' fade, but de word of de +Lor' God endure fo' ev.'"' + +'Was do it mean, Lita, dear?' + +'I don' 'xactly know, Ati, dear. But Tom say he mean dat by-an'-by, if +we is good an' don' lie an' steal, an' don' kill nobody, dat we all go +to heav' when we is die.' + +'Lita, dear, Ioane say one day dat de Bible say my fath' go to hell +because he get drunk all de time.' + +'Don' you b'lieve him, Ati; Ioane is only dam Kanaka mission'ry. Wassa +the hell do _he_ know 'bout such thing? _You_ go to heav' sure 'nuff, +and you' fath' come to you there by-an'-by. He never been steal or lie; +he on'y get drunk. Don' you be 'fraid 'bout dat, Ati, dear. An' you will +see yo' mother, too. Oh, yes, yo' will see yo' mother; an' yo' fath' will +come there too, all nice, an' clean, an' sober, in new pyjamas all shinin' +white; an' he will kiss yo' mother on her mouf, an' say, "I forgive you, +Nellie Ransom, jes' as Jesu Christ has forgive me."' + +The girl sighed heavily, and then lay with closed eyes, breathing +softly. Suddenly she turned quickly on her side, and extended her arms, +and her voice sounded strangely clear and distinct. + +'Where is you, fath'? Quick, quick, come an' hol' me. It is dark.... +Hol' me tight... clos' up, clos' up, fath', my fath'... it is so +dark--so dark.' + + * * * * * + +The natives told Wallis next morning that 'Ranisome' had gone quite mad. + +'How know ye he is mad?' + +'_Tah!_ He hath taken every bottle of grog from two boxes and smashed +them on the ground. And then we saw him kneel upon the sand, raise his +hands, and weep. He is mad.' + + + + +IN A NATIVE VILLAGE + +When I first settled down on this particular island as a trader, I had, +in my boundless ignorance of the fierce jealousy that prevailed between +the various villages thereon, been foolish enough to engage two or three +servants from outlying districts--much against the wishes of the local +_kaupule_ (town councillors), each of whom brought me two or three +candidates (relatives, connections or spongers of their own) and urged +that I should engage them and no others. This I refused to do, point +blank, and after much angry discussion and argument, I succeeded in +having my own way, and was allowed to choose my servants from villages +widely apart. In the course of a few weeks some terrific encounters had +taken place between my women servants and other of the local females, +who regarded them as vile usurpers of their right to rob and plunder the +new white man. However, in time matters settled down in a measure; +and beyond vituperative language and sanguinary threats against the +successful applicants, the rejected candidates, male and female, behaved +very nicely. But I was slumbering on a latent volcano of fresh troubles, +and the premonitory upheaval came about a month after our head nurse, +Hakala, had been fined five dollars for using English Seafaring' +language to another woman who had called her a pig. As Hakala could not +pay the fine--being already in debt to me for two months' wages paid in +advance--I settled it; for she was a widow, and had endeared herself +to me by the vigorous manner in which she had pitched a large, fat girl +named 'Heke out of the house for stealing some sugar from my store-room. +The members of the _kaupule_ (the village parliament) were pleased to +accept the money, but wrote me a formal letter on the following morning, +and remarked that it was wrong of me to encourage brutal conduct in any +of my servants--wrong and un-Christian-like as well. 'But,' the letter +went on to say, 'it is honest of you to pay this woman's fine; and +Talamaheke' (the sugar-thief) 'has been sentenced to do three days' +road-making for stealing the sugar. Yet you must not think evil of +Talamaheke, for she is a little _vale_ (mad), and has a class in the +Sunday-school. Now it is in our minds that, as you are an honest man, +you will pay the fines owing on the horse.' I had a vague recollection +of my predecessor telling me something indefinite about a horse +belonging to the station, but could not remember whether he said that +the animal was in the vicinity of the station or was rambling elsewhere +on the island, or had died. So I called my Samoan cook, Harry, to learn +what he knew about the matter. Harry was the Adonis of the village, and +already the under-nurse, E'eu, a sweet little hazel-eyed creature of +fifteen, and incorrigibly wicked, had succumbed to his charms, and spent +much of her time in the kitchen. At that moment Harry was seated outside +the cook-house, dressed in a suit of spotless white duck, playing an +accordeon; also he wore round his brown neck a thick wreath of white +and scarlet flowers. Harry, I may remark, was a dandy and a notorious +profligate, but against these natural faults was the fact that he could +make very good bread. + +'Harry,' I said, 'do you know anything about this horse?' and I tapped +the official letter. + +He smiled. 'Oh, yes, sir. I know all 'bout him. He been fined altogether +'bout two hundred and fifty dollar, an' never pay.' + +'What do you mean? How can anyone fine a horse?' + +Then Harry explained and gave me the horse's history. + +The animal had been brought from New Zealand for some occult reason, and +had behaved himself very badly ever since he landed. Young banana trees +were his especial fancy, cotton plants he devoured wholesale, and it +was generally asserted that he was also addicted to kicking chickens. My +three predecessors on the station had each repudiated the creature, and +each man when he left the island had said that his successor would pay +for all damage done. + +'Where is the brute now?' I asked. + +Looking cautiously around to see that no one was within earshot, Harry +informed me that until a week previously the _nua_ had been running +quietly in the interior of the island for many months, but since my +arrival had been brought back by two of the deacons and was now feeding +about the immediate vicinity. + +'Why did the deacons bring him back, if he destroys banana trees and +kill chickens?' + +Harry looked very uncomfortable and seemed disinclined to speak, but +at last let the cat out of the bag and revealed a diabolical +conspiracy--the horse had been brought back for my undoing, or rather +for the undoing of the strings of my bag of dollars. + +'You see, sir,' said he, confidentially, 'these people on this island +very clever--all dam rogue' (his mother was a native of the island), +'an' 'bout a month ago, when you give two dollar to help build new +church, the _fakafili_ and _kaupule_{*} (judge and councillors) 'say you +is a very good man and that you might pay that horse's fines. An' if you +pay that horse's fines then the people will have enough money to send to +Sydney to buy glass windows and nice, fine doors for the new church. An' +so that is why the deacons have bring that horse back.' + +'But what good will bringing the horse here do? That won't make me pay +his fines.' + +'Oh, you see, sir, since the horse been come back the people take him +out every day into some banana plantation and let him eat some trees. +Then, by-and-by--to-morrer, perhaps--they will come an' ask you to go +and look. Then you will look an' say, "Alright, I will pay five dollar." +An' then when you pay that five dollar the _kaupule_ and the judge will +say, "Now you mus' pay for all the bad things that that horse do before +you come here." An' s'pose you won' pay, then I b'lieve the judge an' +headmen goin' to _tapu_{*} your store. You see they wan' that money for +church very bad, because they very jealous of Halamua church.' + + * Tapu, in this sense, means boycotting. + +'Jealous of Halamua church! Why?' + +'Oh, because Halamua people been buy a foolpit for their church--a very +fine foolpit from California; an' now this town here very jealous, and +the people say that when you pay that horse's fine they will buy pine +windows, pine doors, and pine floor, _and give Halamua church hell?_ + +The novel (but in some cases exceedingly correct) pronunciation +of pulpit pleased me, yet my wrath was aroused at this scandalous +revelation of the plans of the villagers to beautify their church at my +expense. It was as bad as any church bazaar in Christendom. + +As Harry surmised, I received a visit from a deputation the next +morning. They wanted me to come and see the destruction done to their +plantations by _my_ horse. + +'But it's not my horse,' I said. 'I decline to hear anything about a +horse. There is no horse down in my stock list, nor an elephant.' + +A dirty old ruffian with one eye and a tattooed face regarded me gravely +for a moment, and then asked me in a wheezy, husky voice if I knew that +Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for telling lies. + +'Of course,' I replied promptly, 'I saw them struck. My uncle in England +had them buried in his garden to improve the soil. And why do you come +here and tell me these things about a horse? If there _is_ a horse, and +it eats your bananas and sugar-cane, why don't you shoot it?' + +This suggestion staggered the deputation, half of which scratched its +head meditatively. Then a tall, thin man, with an attenuated face like a +starved fowl, said sneeringly in English,-- + +'What for you want to make gammon you no savee about horse?' + +His companions smiled approvingly; not that they understood a word of +English, but they evidently regarded the fowl-like creature as a learned +person who would give me a dressing down in my own language. + +I looked at him with a puzzled expression, and then said to Harry,-- + +'What does this man say, Harry? I can't talk German. Can you?' + +Harry grinned and shook his head; the rest of the deputation looked +angrily at the hatchet-faced man, and the member seated next to him told +him he ought to be ashamed of himself to pretend to be able to _vogahau +faka Beretania_ (talk English). + +For some minutes no one spoke. Then the youngest member of the +deputation, a jolly, fat-faced young deacon, dressed in a suit of white +flannel, laughed merrily, and asked me for some tobacco. I gave them a +plug each all round, and the deputation withdrew. So having successfully +repudiated the horse and all his works, I felt satisfied. + + * * * * * + +Pigs were the next trouble--my own pigs and the pigs of the general +public. When I landed on the island I had brought with me from Sydney +a lady and gentleman pig of exceedingly high lineage. They were now +the proud and happy parents of seven beautiful little black-and-white +piglets, and at any hour of the day one might see numbers of natives +looking over my wall at the graceful little creatures as they chased one +another over the grass, charged at nothing, and came to a dead stop with +astonishing rapidity and a look of intense amazement. One fatal day I +let them out, thinking they would come to no harm, as their parents were +with them. As they did not return at dusk I sent E'eu, the under-nurse, +to search for them. She came back and told me in a whisper that the +father and mother pig were rooting up a sweet-potato patch belonging +to the local chief. The piglets she had failed to discover. Enjoining +secrecy, I sent E'eu and Harry to chase the parents home. This was +effected after considerable trouble, but the owner of the potato patch +claimed two dollars damages. I paid it, feeling his claim was just. Next +morning the seven piglets were returned one by one by various native +children. Each piglet had, according to their accounts, been in a +separate garden, and done considerable damage; and 'because they' (the +piglets) 'were the property of a good and just man, the owners of the +gardens would not hurt nor even chase them,' etc. Glad to recover +the squealing little wanderers at any cost, I gave each lying child a +quarter-dollar. Next day I had a piece of ground walled in with lumps +of coral and placed the porcine family inside. Then I wrote to the +councillors, asking them to notify the people that if any of the village +pigs came inside my fence and rooted abyssmal holes in my ground, as had +been their habit hitherto, I should demand compensation. His Honour the +Chief Justice stated in court that this was only fair and right; the +white man had paid for the damage done by _his_ pigs, and therefore he +was entitled to claim damages if the village pigs caused him trouble. +(I had previously squared his Honour with the promise of a male sucker.) +One day the seven young pigs escaped from their mother and went out for +a run on the village green. They were at once assailed as detestable +foreign devils by about two hundred and forty-three gaunt, razorbacked +village sows, and were only rescued from a cruel death after every one +had lost its tail. Why is it that pigs of different breeds always bite +off each other's tails? I claimed fifty cents per tail, and was awarded +$3.50 damages, to be paid by the community generally. The community +refused to pay. His Honour then notified by the town crier that I was +at liberty to shoot any pig that broke into the station grounds. I put +a cartridge into a Snider rifle and told my servants to call me if they +heard a grunt in the night. + +Three days after this, as I was discussing theology and baked fowl one +night with the local teacher in his own house, a boy burst in and said +that there was a strange pig in my garden devouring my crop of French +beans. In two minutes I was back in my house, snatched up the Snider, +and ran to the garden wall. There was the brute, a great black-and +white beast, the biggest native pig I ever saw. His back was turned, but +hearing my steps he 'went about' and faced me. 'Twas a bright moonlight +night, and the bullet plugged him fair between the eyes. Over he rolled +without a kick. Then I heard a shriek or laughter, and saw half a dozen +girls scuttling away among the coco-palms. A horrible suspicion nearly +made me faint. Jumping over the wall I examined the defunct, and could +scarce forbear to shed a tear. + +'Twas mine own prized black Australian boar, daubed over with splashes +of coral lime whitewash. And the whitewash came from a tub full of it, +with which the natives had that morning been whitening the walls of the +newly-built village church. The one-eyed old scoundrel of a deacon told +me next day it was a judgment on me. + + + + +MAURICE KINANE + +Eastward, from the coast of New Guinea, there lies a large island +called, on the maps, New Britain, the native name of which is Berara. It +is nearly three hundred miles in length and, in parts, almost sixty in +width, and excepting the north-eastern portion, now settled by +German colonists, is inhabited by a race of dangerous and treacherous +cannibals, who are continually at war among themselves, for there are +many hundred tribes living on the coast as well as in the interior. +Although there have been white people living on the north-east coast +for over thirty years--for there were adventurous American and English +traders living in this wild island long before the natives ever saw a +German--not one of them knew then, or knows now, much of the strange +black tribes who dwell in the interior of the centre and western part of +the island, save that they were then, as they are in this present year, +always at enmity with the coast tribes, and are, like them, more or less +addicted to cannibalism. + +Sixty miles from the western end of the island is the mountainous land +of German New Guinea; and sometimes, when the air is clear and the +south-east trade wind blows, the savages on Berara can see across the +deep, wide strait the grey loom of the great range that fringes the +north-eastern coast of New Guinea for many hundred miles. Once, indeed, +when the writer of this true story lived in New Britain, he saw this +sight for a whole week, for there, in those beautiful islands, the air +is very clear at certain seasons of the year. + +From Matupi, where the principal settlement in New Britain is situated, +to the deep bay at Kabaira, fifty miles away, the coast is very +beautiful. And, indeed, no one who looks at the lovely grassy downs that +here and there show through the groves of waving palm trees stretching +from the beach away up to the rising land of the interior could think +that such a fair country was the home of a deadly fever; and that in +the waters of the bright limpid streams that ran gently down from the +forest-clad hills to meet the blue waters of the Pacific there lurked +disease and death to him who drank thereof. + +At the time of my story (except for the adventurous American whalemen +from Nantucket and New Bedford, and the sandal-wood cutters from New +South Wales, who sometimes touched there) white men were unknown to +the people of New Britain. Sometimes when the sperm-whaling fleet was +cruising northwards and westward to the Moluccas, a ship would sail +along the coast in the daytime, but always anchored at night, for it +was dreaded for the many dangerous reefs that surround it. And once the +anchor was down a strict watch was kept on board, for the natives were +known to be fierce and treacherous. + +Between where is now the German settlement and the great native town at +Kabaira Bay there is an island called Mano, which stands five miles +off from the mainland. Early one morning, when the wild people of the +villages among the palm-groves which lined the long winding beach came +out of their thatched huts for their morning bathe they gave a great +cry, for a large full-rigged ship was standing in close under the lee of +Mano, and clewing up her sails before she came to an anchor. + +Now the natives who lived on the mainland of New Britain were the +hereditary enemies of those who dwelt on Mano Island, and it was hateful +for them to see a ship anchor there, for then the Mano Islanders would +get axes and muskets and hoop-iron. + +So, with Baringa, the chief, at their head, they all ran to the summit +of a high, grassy hill (known, by reason of a terrible deed once done +there in the olden times, as the Hill of Old Men's Groans), and sat down +to watch if the ship would send her boats ashore. + +'Look!' said Baringa, fiercely, striking the ground with his heavy +jade-headed club, 'look, I see a boat putting out from the side. Who +among ye will come with me to the ship, so that I may sell my turtle +shell and pearl shell to the captain for muskets and powder and bullets? +Are these dogs of Mano to get such things from the ship, and then come +over here at night and slay and then cook us in their ovens? Hungry am I +for revenge; for 'tis now twelve moons since they stole my son from me, +and not one life have I had in return for his.' + +But no one answered. Of what use was it, they thought, for Baringa to +think of his little son? He was but a boy after all, and had long since +gone down the throats of the men of Mano. Besides, the Mano people were +very strong and already had many guns. + +So for an hour Baringa sat and chafed and watched; and then suddenly +he and those with him sprang up, for a sound like thunder came over to +them, and a cloud of white smoke curled up from the ship's side; she had +fired one of her big guns. Presently Baringa and his people saw that the +boat which had gone ashore was pulling back fast, and that some of the +crew who were sitting in the stern were firing their muskets at the Mano +people, who were pursuing the boat in six canoes. Twice again the ship +fired a big gun, and then the boat was safe, for the two twenty-four +pounders, loaded with grape-shot, smashed two of them to pieces when +they were less than a hundred yards from the ship. + +Baringa shouted with savage joy. 'Come,' he cried, 'let us hasten to the +beach, and get quickly to the ship in our canoes; for now that the white +men have fought with these Mano dogs, the ship will come here to us and +anchor; for I, Baringa, am known to many white men.' + + * * * * * + +The name of the ship was the _Boadicea_. She was of about seven hundred +tons, and was bound to China from Port Jackson, but for four months had +remained among the islands of the New Hebrides group, where the crew had +been cutting sandal-wood, which in those days was very plentiful there. +Her captain, who was a very skilful navigator, instead of going through +Torres Straits, had sailed between New Ireland and New Britain, so that +he might learn the truth of some tales he had heard about the richness +of those islands in sandal-wood and pearl shell. So he had cruised +slowly along till he sighted Mano Island, and here he decided to water +the ship; for from the deck was visible a fine stream of water, running +from the forest-clad mountains down to the white sands of the quiet +beach. + +As soon as possible a boat was lowered and manned and armed; for +although he could not see a native anywhere on the beach, nor any signs +of human occupation elsewhere on the island, the captain was a very +cautious man. A little further back from the beach was a very dense +grove of coco-nut trees laden with fruit, and at these the crew of the +Boadicea looked with longing eyes. + +'We must water the ship first, my lads,' said Captain Williams, 'and +then we'll spend the rest of the day among the coco-nut trees, and fill +our boats with them.' + +Just then as the bronze-faced captain was ascending to the poop from his +cabin; a small barefooted boy came aft, and, touching his hat, said,-- + +'Av ye plaze, sor, won't ye let me go in the boat, sor?' + +'Why, Maurice, my boy, there's quite enough of us going in her as it +is,' said the captain, kindly, for the dirty-faced but bright-eyed +Maurice Kinane was a favourite with everyone on board. + +'Ah, but shure, sor,' pleaded the boy, 'av yer honour would just let me +go, av it was only to pluck a blade av the foine green grass, and lave +me face in the swate clane wather I'll be beholden--' + +'Well, well, my lad, jump in then,' said Captain Williams, with a smile, +and buckling his cutlass belt around his waist he sent the lad down the +ladder before him and the boat pushed off. + + * * * * * + +Ten months before, this poor Irish lad, who was but thirteen years of +age, had lost both his parents through the upsetting of a boat in Sydney +Harbour. His father was a sergeant in the 77th Regiment, and had only +arrived in the colony a few months previous to the accident, and the +boy was left without a relative in the world. But the captain of his +father's company and the other officers of the regiment were very kind +to him, and the colonel said he would get him enlisted as a drummer. + +And so for a time Maurice lived in the barracks under the care of +Sergeant MacDougall, a crusty old warrior, who proved a hard master and +made the boy's life anything but a happy one. And Maurice, though he +was proud of the colonel's kind words and of serving with the regiment, +fretted greatly at the harsh manner of the old sergeant. + +One morning he was reported as missing. Little did those who looked for +him all the next day think that the boy was far out at sea, for he had +stowed away on board the _Boadicea_; and although Captain Williams was +very angry with him when he was discovered and led aft, the lad's genial +temper and bright, honest face soon won him over, as, indeed, it did +everyone else on board. + +For nearly an hour after the boat had landed at the mouth of the little +stream the seamen were busily-engaged in filling the water casks. Not a +sign of a native could be seen, and then, regardful of the longing looks +that the sailors cast at the grove of coco-nuts, the captain, taking +with him Maurice and four hands, set out along the beach for the purpose +of gathering a few score of the young nuts to give to his men to drink. + +One of the four seamen was a Kanaka named 'Tommy Sandwich.' He was a +native of Sandwich or Vate Island in the New Hebrides. In a very short +time this man had ascended a lofty palm-tree, and was throwing down the +coco-nuts to the others, who for some minutes were busily engaged tying +them together to carry them to the boat. + +'That will do, Tommy,' cried the captain, presently. 'Come down now and +help the others to carry.' He did not see that Maurice, boy-like +and adventurous, had managed to ascend a less lofty tree some little +distance away, out of sight of his shipmates, and at that moment was +already ensconced in the leafy crown, gazing with rapture at the lovely +scene that lay before him. + +It took the men but another ten minutes to tie up the coco-nuts into +bunches of ten, and then each of them drank copiously of the sweet milk +of half a dozen which Tommy had husked for them. + +'Come, lads,' said Captain Williams, 'back to the boat now. By-and-by--' + +A dreadful chorus of savage yells interrupted him, and he and the men +seized their muskets and sprang to their feet. The sounds seemed to +come from where the boat was watering; in a few seconds more four musket +shots rang out. + +'Run, run for your lives,' cried the captain, drawing his pistol. 'The +savages are attacking the boat.' And the seamen, throwing down the +coco-nuts, rushed out of the palm grove to rescue their shipmates. + +They were only just in time, for the banks of the little stream were +covered with naked savages, who had sprung out of the thick undergrowth +upon the watering party, and ere the boat could be pushed off two of the +poor sailors had been savagely slaughtered. Fortunately for the captain +and his party, they were nearer to the boat, when they made their +appearance, than were the natives, and, plunging into the water, and +holding their muskets over their heads, they reached her in safety, and +at once opened fire, whilst the rest of the crew bent to the oars. + +But the danger was not yet over, for as soon as the boat was out of +reach of the showers of spears sent at her from the shore, a number +of canoes appeared round a bend of the mountainous coast. They had +evidently been sent to cut off the white men's retreat. And then began +the race for life to the ship which had been witnessed by Baringa and +his people from the mainland. + +Maurice, from his tree, had heard the yells of the savages and the +gunshots, and was about to descend and follow the captain and his +shipmates, when he heard a rush of bodies through the palm grove, and +saw beneath him forty or fifty natives, all armed with clubs and spears. +They were a horrible-looking lot, for they were quite naked and the +lips of all were stained a deep red from the juice of the betel-nut, and +their dull reddish-brown bodies were daubed over with yellow and white +stripes. This party had perhaps meant to surprise the captain and his +men as they were getting the coco-nuts, for, finding them gone, they at +once rushed out of the grove in pursuit. Fortunately for Maurice they +were too excited to think of looking about them, else his end would have +come very quickly. + +For nearly ten minutes the lad remained quiet, listening to the +sounds of the fighting, and in fearful doubt as to his best course of +action--whether to make a bold dash and try to find his way to the +boat, or remain in the tree till a rescue party was sent from the ship. +Suddenly the thundering report of one of the ship's guns made him peer +seaward through the branches of his retreat; and there, to his delight, +he caught a brief view of the boat. Again the report of another gun +pealed out, and a wild screaming cry from the natives told him that the +shot had done some execution. + +'I must get out of this,' he thought, 'and make a bolt along the beach +in the other direction, till I get into the hills. I can see better from +there, and perhaps make a signal to the ship.' Maurice got quietly down +from the tree, and after looking cautiously about him, was about to set +off at a run, when he found himself face to face with a young native +boy, who, running quickly forward, grasped him by the hands, and began +to talk volubly, at the same time trying to drag him towards the beach. +The boy, save for a girdle of ti leaves, was naked, and Maurice, anxious +and alarmed as he was for his own safety, could not but notice that the +young savage seemed terribly excited. + +'Let me go, ye black naygur,' said Maurice, freeing his hands and +striking him in the chest. + +In an instant the native boy fell upon his knees, and held up his hands, +palms outward, in a supplicating gesture. + +Puzzled at this, but still dreading treachery, Maurice turned away and +again sought to make his way to the hills; but again the boy caught his +hands, and with gentle force, and eyes filled with tears, tried to push +or lead him to the beach. At last, apparently as if in despair of making +the white lad understand him by words, he made signs of deadly combat, +and ended by pointing over to where the boat had been attacked. Then, +touching Maurice on the chest, and then himself, he pointed to the sea, +and lying on the ground worked his arms and legs as if swimming. + +'Sure, perhaps he's a friend,' thought Maurice, 'an' wants me to swim +off to the ship. But perhaps he's a thraitor and only manes to entice me +away to be murdered. Anyway, it's not much of a choice I've got at all. +So come on, blackamoor, I'm wid ye.' + +Although not understanding a word that Maurice said, the native boy +smiled when he saw that the white lad was willing to come with him at +last. Then, hand-in-hand, they ran quietly along till they reached the +beach; and here the native, motioning Maurice to keep out of view, crept +on his hands and knees till he reached a rock, and then slowly raised +his head above it and peered cautiously ahead. + +Whatever it was he saw evidently satisfied him, for he crawled back +to Maurice, and again taking his hand broke into a run, but instead of +going in the direction of the river, he led the way along the beach +in the opposite direction. Feeling confident now that he had found a +friend, Maurice's spirits began to rise, and he went along with the boy +unhesitatingly. + +At last they rounded a sandy point, covered with a dense growth of +coco-nut trees and pandanus palms; this point formed the southern horn +of a small deep bay, in the centre of which stood an island, warded by +a snow-white beach, and on the nearmost shore Maurice saw a canoe drawn +up. + +The island beach was quite three hundred yards away, but Maurice was +a good swimmer, and although he shuddered at the thought of sharks, he +plunged in the water after his dark-skinned companion and soon reached +the islet, which was but a tiny spot, containing some two or three score +of coco-palms, and three untenanted native huts. It was used by the +natives as a fishing station, and the canoe, which was a very small one, +had evidently been in use that day. Close by were the marks in the sand +where a larger one had been carried down. In one of the huts smoke was +arising from a native ground-oven, which showed that the fishermen had +not long gone; doubtless they would return when the food was cooked, for +the native boy pointed out the oven to Maurice with a look of alarm. + +The two boys soon launched the canoe, and each seizing a paddle, at once +struck out in the direction of the ship. The native lad sat aft, Maurice +for'ard, and clumsy as was the latter with the long and narrow canoe +paddle, he yet managed to keep his seat and not capsize the frail little +craft. + +'Hurroo!' cried foolish Maurice, turning to his companion, 'we're all +right now, I'm thinkin'. There's the ship!' + +There she was sure enough, and there also were four canoes, paddling +along close in-shore, returning from their chase of the captain's +boat. They heard Maurice's loud shout of triumph, at once altered their +course, and sped swiftly towards the two boys. + + * * * * * + +Scarcely had Captain Williams and his exhausted crew gained the ship +when the mate reported that a fleet of canoes was coming across from +the mainland of New Britain, and orders were at once given to load the +ship's eight guns with grape and canister. (In those days of Chinese +and Malay pirates and dangerous natives of the South Seas, all merchants +ships, particularly those engaged in the sandal-wood trade, were well +armed, and almost man-of-war discipline observed.) + +'We'll give them something to remember us by, Hodgson,' said Captain +Williams, grimly. 'That poor lad! To think I never noticed he was not in +the boat till too late! I expect he's murdered by now; but I shall take +a bloody vengeance for the poor boy's death. Serve out some grog to the +hands, steward; and some of you fellows stand by with some shot to +dump into the canoes if we should miss them with the guns and they get +alongside.' + +But just as he spoke the mate called out, 'The canoes have stopped +paddling, sir, all except one, which is coming right on.' + +'All right, I see it. Let them come and have a look at us. As soon as it +gets close enough, I'll sink it.' + +For some minutes the canoe, which contained seven men, continued +to advance with great swiftness; then she ceased paddling, and the +steersman stood up and called out something to the ship, just as she was +well covered by two of the guns on the port side. In another minute she +would have been blown out of the water, when Tommy Sandwich ran aft and +said,-- + +'I think, cap'n, that fellow he no want fight ship; I think he want talk +you.' + +'Perhaps so, Tommy; so we'll let him come a bit closer.' + +Again the native paddles sent the canoe inward till she was well within +easy hailing distance of the ship, and the same native again stood up +and called out,-- + +'Hi, cap'n. No you shoot me. Me Baringa. Me like come 'board.' + +'All right,' answered Captain Williams, 'come alongside.' + +The moment the canoe ranged alongside, Baringa clambered up the side, +and advanced fearlessly toward the poop. 'Where cap'n?' he asked, +pushing unceremoniously aside those who stood in his way; and mounting +the ladder at the break of the poop he walked up to the master of the +_Boadicea_ and held out his hand. + +In a very short time, by the aid of Tommy Sandwich, whose language was +allied to that of the natives of New Britain, Captain Williams learnt +how matters stood. His visitor was anxious to help him, and volunteered +to join the white man in an attack on the treacherous people of Mano, +though he gave but little hope of their finding Maurice alive. They had, +he said, stolen his own son twelve months before, and eaten him, and he +wanted his revenge. Presently, as a proof of his integrity, he produced +from a dirty leather cartridge pouch, that was strapped around his +waist, a soiled piece of paper, and handed it to the captain. It read as +follows:-- + + 'The bearer, Baringa, is the chief of Kabaira Coast. He is a + thorough old cannibal, but, as far as I know, may be trusted + by white men. He supplied my ship with fresh provisions, and + seems a friendly old cut-throat. + + 'Matthew Wallis, + 'Master, ship _Algerine_ of New Bedford. + 'October 2 st, 1839.' + +'Well, that's satisfactory,' said Captain Williams, turning to Tommy. +'Tell him that I am going to land and try and find Maurice, and he can +help me with his people. Mr Hodgson, man and arm the boats again.' + +In a moment all was bustle and excitement, in the midst of which a loud +'hurrah' came from aloft from a sailor who was on the fore-yard watching +the remaining canoes of Baringa's fleet. 'Hurrah! Here's Maurice, sir, +coming off in a canoe with a nigger, an' a lot of other niggers in four +canoes a-chasin' him.' + +Springing to the taffrail, Captain Williams saw the canoe, which had +just rounded the point and was now well in view. The two boys were +paddling for their lives; behind them were the four canoes filled with +yelling savages. + +'Into the boats, men, for God's sake!' roared the captain. Had a +greater distance separated Maurice from his pursuers the master of the +_Boadicea_ would have endeavoured to have sunk the four canoes with +the ship's guns; but the risk was too great to attempt it as they were. +However, the gunner and carpenter were sent into the fore-top to try and +pick off some of the natives by firing over Maurice's canoe. + +Five minutes later the ship's three boats were pulling swiftly to the +rescue, and Baringa, jumping into his own canoe, beckoned to the rest +of his flotilla to follow him, and six natives urged the light craft +furiously along after the boats. + +On, on, came the two poor boys, straining every nerve; but every moment +their pursuers gained on them; and on, on dashed the heavy, cumbersome +boats. Already the nearest canoe was within fifty feet of Maurice and +his black friend, the savage paddlers undaunted by the fire from the +muskets of the gunner and carpenter, when Captain Williams saw a native +rise up and hurl a club at the two boys. Quick as lightning the captain +picked up his musket and fired, and the savage fell forward with a +bullet through his chest. But quick as he was he was too late, for the +club whizzed through the air and struck the native boy on his right arm. + +A savage yell of triumph came from the pursuing canoes as their +occupants saw the boy go down and the canoe broach-to, and then the +leading canoe dashed up alongside that of Maurice and his companion. + +'Pull, men, pull, for God's sake!' cried the captain, frantically, as +he saw the Irish lad, paddle in hand, standing up over the body of the +fallen boy, and strike wildly at his murderous pursuers. + +With heaving bosoms and set teeth the seamen urged the boats along, and +they and the four canoes crashed together in deadly conflict. But as +they met, a huge savage stood up and, poising a spear, darted it at +the prone figure of the native boy; it did not reach him, for Maurice, +wounded and bleeding as he was with a spear wound through his thigh, +flung himself in front of the weapon to save his friend. It struck him +in the shoulder and came out a full foot at his back. + +'You dog,' said Williams, raising his pistol, and the native went down +with a crash. + +And then ensued a scene of slaughter, as the seamen of the _Boadicea_ +got to work with their cutlasses. It did not take long to end the fight, +and not one of the Mano men escaped, for now Baringa's canoes had come +up, and with their heavy jade clubs dashed out the brains of those +of their enemies who sought to swim ashore. It was in truth a hideous +sight, and even the hardy sailors shuddered when they saw the merciless +manner in which wounded and dying men were massacred by their naked +allies. + +As quickly as possible, the two boys were lifted out of the little canoe +and placed in the captain's boat, where their wounds were examined. The +native boy's arm was broken, and his back badly hurt, but he was quite +conscious. As for Maurice, he was in a bad state, and Captain Williams +decided not to pull out the spear till the ship was reached. + +Just as he had given orders to pull for the ship, Baringa's canoe +returned from the slaughter of the remaining fugitives, and drew up +alongside the captain's boat, and the moment the chief saw the native +boy lying in the stern sheets of the boat he sprang out of the canoe and +embraced him. + +'It is my boy, my Lokolol--he whom I thought was dead.' + +Little remains to be told. The two boys were carefully attended to as +soon as they reached the ship, and to the joy of everyone the spear, +when extracted from Maurice's body, was pronounced by Baringa not to +be a poisoned one. As for Lokolol, the chief's son, his arm was put in +splints, but during the time that was occupied in doing this his hand +was clasped around that of the brave young sailor lad who had saved his +life, and his big, black eyes never left Maurice's pallid face. + +For three days the _Boadicea_ remained at anchor opposite the +village--she had sailed there the morning after the fight--and the chief +showed his gratitude by every possible means. On the morning of the day +on which the ship sailed he came on board, attended by thirty canoes, +every one of which was laden deep down with pearl shell. It was passed +up on deck, and stacked in a heap, and then Baringa asked for the +captain and the white boy who had saved his son. Beside him stood +Lokolol, his arm in a sling, and tears running down his cheeks, for he +knew he would see Maurice no more. + +Then Captain Williams came on deck and showed the chief the little cabin +boy, lying in a hammock under the poop awning. The burly savage came +over to him, and taking Maurice's hand in his, placed it tenderly +upon his huge, hairy bosom in token of gratitude. Then he spoke to the +captain through Tommy Sandwich. + +'Tell this good captain that I, Baringa, am for ever the white man's +friend. And tell him, too, that all this pearl shell here is my gift to +him and the boy who helped my son to escape from captivity. Half is for +the good captain; half is for the brave white boy.' + +Then, after remaining on board till the ship was many miles away from +the land, the chief and his son bade the wounded boy farewell and went +back to the shore. + +Maurice soon recovered, and when the _Boadicea_ arrived at Hong Kong, +and Captain Williams had sold the pearl shell, he said to his cabin +boy,-- + +'Maurice, my lad, I've sold the pearl shell, and what do you think I've +been paid for it? Well, just eight thousand dollars--L1600 in English +money. You're quite a rich boy now, Maurice. It's not every lad that +gets four thousand dollars for saving a nigger's life.' + +Maurice's bright blue eyes filled with honest tears. 'Shure, sor, he +was a naygur, thrue enough. But thin, yere honour, he had a foine bould +heart to do what he did for Maurice Kinane.' + +And, as I have said, this is a true story, and old Maurice Kinane, who +is alive now, himself told it to me. + + + + +THE 'KILLERS' OF TWOFOLD BAY + +Enbosomed in the verdure-clad hills of the southern coast of sunny New +South Wales lies a fisherman's paradise, named Twofold Bay. Its fame +is but local, or known only to outsiders who may have spent a day there +when travelling from Sydney to Tasmania in the fine steamers of the +Union Company, which occasionally put in there to ship cattle from the +little township of Eden, which is situated upon the northern shore +of its deep and placid waters. But the chief point of interest about +Twofold Bay is that it is the rendezvous of the famous 'killers' (_Orca +gladiator_) the deadly foes of the whole race of cetaceans other than +themselves, and the most extraordinary and sagacious creatures that +inhabit the ocean's depths. From July to November two 'schools' of +killers may be seen every day, either cruising to and fro across the +entrance of the bay, or engaged in a Titanic combat with a whale--a +'right' whale, a 'humpback,' or the long, swift 'fin-back.' Never have +they been known to tackle the great sperm-whale, except when one of +those mighty creatures has been wounded by his human enemies. And +to witness one of these mighty struggles is worth travelling many a +thousand miles to see; it is terrible, awe-inspiring and wonderful. The +'killer' ranges in length from ten feet to twenty-five feet (whalemen +have told me that one was seen stranded on the Great Barrier Reef in +1862 which measured thirty feet). Their breathing apparatus and general +anatomy is much similar to that of the larger whales. They spout, +'breach.' and 'sound' like other cetaceans, and are of the same +migratory habit, as the two 'schools' which haunt Twofold Bay always +leave there at a certain time of the year to cruise in other seas, +returning to their headquarters when the humpback and fin-back whales +make their appearance on the coast of New South Wales, travelling +northwards to the feeding-grounds on the Bampton Shoals, the coast of +New Guinea and the Moluccas. + +The head of the killer is of enormous strength. The mouth is armed in +both jaws with fearful teeth, from one and a half inches to two inches +long, and set rather widely apart. In colour they show an extraordinary +variation, some being all one hue--brown, black, or dull grey; others +are black, with large, irregular patches or streaks of pure white or +yellow; others are dark brown with black and yellow patches. One, +which I saw ashore on the reef at the island of Nukulaelae in the South +Pacific, was nearly black, except for a few irregular blotches of white +on the back and belly. This particular killer had died from starvation, +for nearly the entire lower jaw had decayed from a cancerous growth. + +The whaling station at Twofold Bay is now, alas! the only one in the +colony--the last remnant of a once great and thriving industry, which, +in the early days of the then struggling colony, was the nursery of bold +and adventurous seamen. It is now carried on by a family named Davidson, +father and sons--in conjunction with the killers. And for more than +twenty years this business partnership has existed between the humans +and the cetaceans, and the utmost rectitude and solicitude for each +other's interests has always been maintained. _Orca gladiator_ seizes +the whale for the Davidsons and holds him until the deadly lance is +plunged into his 'life,' and the Davidssons let Orca carry the carcass +to the bottom, and take his tithe of luscious blubber. This is the +literal truth; and grizzled old Davidson, or any one of the stalwart +sons who man his two boats, will tell you that but for the killers, who +do half of the work, whaling would not pay with oil only worth from L18 +to L24 a tun. + +Let us imagine a warm, sunny day in August at Twofold Bay. The man +who is on the lookout at the old lighthouse, built by 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 not clear. If the creature is in a playful mood and +'breaches,' that is, springs bodily out of the water and 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, looks down. There they are, cruising +slowly up and down, close in-shore, spouting lazily and showing their +wet, gleaming backs as they rise, roll and dive again. There's 'Fatty,' +and 'Spot,' and 'Flukey,' and 'Little Jim,' and 'Paddy,' and 'Tom Tug.' +Nearly every one of them has a name, 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, +'Humpbacks!' 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 'pick-up' 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're coming right down +on us. Billy was 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 young 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 full 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 school, and +are holding him for the boat and for the deadly lance of his human foes. +The rest of the humpbacks raise 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 how 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.) + +Ranging 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 skin and 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 bulldogs 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 tough corrugations of +his grey-ribbed 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 with 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 blows into his 'life,' a gushing torrent of hot, dark blood, +he rolls over on his side, an agonised trembling quivers through his +vast frame, the battle is over 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 carcass will again rise +to the surface, and as, before he was taken down, the whalemen have +attached a line and buoy to the body, its whereabouts is easily +discerned from the lookout on the headland; the boats again put off and +tow it ashore to the trying-out works. The killers, though they have 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 carcass 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 have 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. + +On some occasions, when a pack of killers set out whale-hunting, they +will be joined by a thresher--the fox-shark (Alopias vulpes)--and then +while the killers bite and tear the unfortunate cetacean, the thresher +deals him fearful blows with his scythe-like tail. The master of a +whaling vessel told me that off the north end of New Caledonia, there +was, from 1868 till 1876, a pack of nine killers which were always +attended by two threshers and a sword-fish. Not only he, but many other +whaling skippers had seen this particular swordfish, year after year, +joining the killers in attacks upon whales. The cruising ground of this +pack extended for thirty miles, north and south, and the nine creatures +and their associates were well known to hundreds of New Bedford +whalemen. No doubt many of these combats, witnessed from merchant ships, +have led to many sea-serpent stories; for when a thresher stands his +twenty feet of slender body straight up on end like a pole, he presents +a strange sight, as his long body sways, and curves, and twists in air, +as he deals his cutting blows upon his victim. Then, too, the enormous +length of the pectoral fins of a humpback whale, which show dazzlingly +white as he rolls from side to side in his agony, and frantically beats +the water with them in his struggles, or upends one after the other like +a mast, might well be mistaken for the uprearing of a serpent's +body. But any South Sea whaleman will smile when he hears talk of the +sea-serpent, though he has not forgotten the awe and fascination with +which he was filled, when he first saw a whale in the agonies of +combat with _Alopias vulpes_ and _Orca gladiator_, and the serpentine +evolutions of the former creature. + +The whaleman in the Pacific sees very strange and wondrous sights; and +never, since Herman Melville wrote his strangely exciting and weird +book, 'The Whale,' nearly fifty years ago, has any writer given us such +a vivid and true picture of whaling life and incident as Mr Frank T. +Bullen in his 'Cruise of the _Cachalot_ published this year. + + + + +DENISON'S SECOND BERTH ASHORE + +I have already told how Tom Denison, the South Sea Island supercargo, +took a berth ashore as overseer of a Queensland duck farm, which +was mortgaged to a bank of which his brother was manager, and how he +resigned the post in great despondency, and humped his swag to Cooktown. + +Over his meeting with his brother let a veil be drawn. Suffice it to say +that the banker told him that he had missed the one great chance of his +life, and quoted Scripture about the ways of the improvident man to such +an extent that Denison forgot himself, and said that the bank and its +infernal ducks could go and be damned. Thereupon his sister-in-law (who +was a clergyman's daughter, and revered the Bank as she did the Church) +swooned, and his brother told him he was a heartless and dissolute young +ruffian, who would come to a bad end. Feeling very hurt and indignant, +the ex-supercargo stumped out of the bank, and went down to the wharf to +look for a ship. + +But there was only a dirty little coasting steamer in port, and Denison +hated steamers, for once he had had to go a voyage in one as supercargo, +and the continuous work involved by being constantly in port every few +days, instead of drifting about in a calm, all but broke his heart. +So he rented a room at a diggers' boarding-house kept by a Chinaman, +knowing that this would be a dagger in the heart of his sister-in-law, +who was the leading lady in Cooktown society; also, he walked about the +town without a coat, and then took a job on the wharf discharging coals +from a collier, and experienced a malevolent satisfaction when he one +evening met Mrs Aubrey Denison in the street. He was in company with +four other coal-heavers, all as black as himself; his sister-in-law was +walking with the wife of the newly-appointed Supreme Court judge. She +glanced shudderingly at the disgraceful sight her relative presented, +went home and hysterically suggested to Aubrey Denison, Esq., that his +brother Tom was a degraded criminal, and was on the way to well-deserved +penal servitude. + +After the coal-heaving job was finished, Denison lay back and luxuriated +on the L5, 17s. 6d. he had earned for his week's toil. Then one morning +he saw an advertisement, in the _North Queensland Trumpet-Call_, for a +proof-reader. And being possessed of a certain amount of worldly wisdom, +he went down to the bank, saw his brother (who received him with a +gloomy brow) and said he should like to write a letter to the editor of +the _Trumpet-Call_. He wrote his letter--on bank paper--and then went +back to Sum Fat's to await developments. The following morning he +received a note from the editor telling him to call at the office. To +Susie Sum Fat, his landlord's pretty half-caste daughter, he showed +the missive, and asked her to lend him one of her father's best shirts. +Susie, who liked Denison for his nice ways, and the tender manner in +which he squeezed her hand when passing the bread, promptly brought him +her parent's entire stock of linen, and bade him, with a soft smile, to +take his pick. Also that night she brought him a blue silk kummerbund +streaked with scarlet, and laid it on his pillow, with a written +intimation that it was sent 'with fondiest love from Susie S. Fat.' + +Arrayed in a clean shirt, and the swagger kummerbund, Denison presented +himself next morning to the editor of the _Trumpet-Call_. There were +seven other applicants for the billet, but Denison's white shirt and +new kummerbund were, he felt, a tower of strength to him, and even the +editor of the _Trumpet-Call_ seemed impressed--clean shirts being an +anomaly in Cooktown journalistic circles. + +The editor was a tall, stately man, with red eyes and a distinctly +alcoholic breath. The other applicants went in first. Each one had a +bundle of very dirty testimonials, all of which recalled to Denison +Judge Norbury's remarks about the 'tender' letters of a certain breach +of promise case. One little man, with bandy legs and a lurching gait, +put his unclean hands on the editorial table, and said that his father +was 'select preacher to the University of Oxford.' + +The red-eyed man said he was proud to know him. 'Your father, sir, was +a learned man and I reverence his name. But I never could forgive myself +did I permit a son of such a great teacher to accept such a laborious +position as proof-reader on the _Trumpet Call_. Go to Sydney or +Melbourne, my dear sir. The editors of all our leading colonial papers +were clergymen or are sons of clergymen. I should be doing your future +prospects a bitter injustice. A bright career awaits you in this new +country.' + +He shook the hand of the select preacher's son and sent him out. + +Among the other applicants was a man who had tried dugong fishing on +the Great Barrier Reef; a broken-down advance agent from a stranded +theatrical company; a local auctioneer with defective vision, but who +had once written a 'poem' for a ladies' journal; a baker's carter who +was secretary to the local debating society; and a man named Joss, who +had a terrific black eye and who told Denison, _sotto voce_, that if +the editor gave _him_ any sauce he would 'go for him' there and then +and 'knock his bloomin' eye out,' and the son of the local bellman and +bill-poster. The editor took their names and addresses, and said he +should write to them all in the morning and announce his decision. Then, +after they had gone, he turned to Denison with a pleasant smile and an +approving look at Sum Fat's shirt, and asked him if he had had previous +experience of proof-reading. Denison, in a diffident manner, said that +he had not exactly had much. + +'Just so. But you'll try and do your best, Mr Denison? Well, come in +this evening at eight o'clock, and see Mr Pinkham, the sub-editor. He'll +show you what to do. Salary, L2, 15s. Strict sobriety, I trust?' + +The successful one said he never got quite drunk, expressed his thanks +and withdrew. Once into the street he walked quickly into Sum Fat's, and +told the Celestial that he had taken a billet at 'thirty bob' a week on +a newspaper. + +'Wha' paper?' inquired Sum Fat, who was squeezing a nasty-looking +adipocerous mass into fish-balls for his boarders. + +'The _Trumpet-Call_.' + +'That's a lotten lag, if you li.' It close on banklupt this long time.' + +Denison assented cheerfully. It _was_ a rotten rag, he said, and +undoubtedly in a weak position financially; but the thirty bob would pay +his board bill. + +Then Sum Fat, who knew that the ex-supercargo was lying as regarded +the amount of his salary, nodded indifferently and went on pounding his +awful hash. + + * * * * * + +'Where is Mr Pinkham?' asked Denison at eight p.m., when an exceedingly +dirty small boy brought him his first proof. + +'He's tanked.{*} An' he says he ain't agoin' to help no blackguard +sailor feller to read no proofs. And most all the comps is tanked, too.' + + * 'Tanked.' A colonialism which indicates that a person has + indulged in too much liquid refreshment. + +However, with the intelligent assistance of the boy, Denison managed to +pull through that night, with the following result in the intercolonial +Telegrams' column:-- + + 'Melbourne, August 13.--The body of an elderly boat was + foundd last night floating down the Yarra, down the Yarra, + with its throat cut. It wvs dressed in v grey tweed suit + with a flannel shirt, dressed in a grey tweed suit with a + flannel shirt. This mourning a girl said the deceased was + her father,' etc. + +A few lines further down in the same column was the intelligence that +Chief Justice Higinbotham of Victoria had 'sentenced the man Power to +imprisonment for the term of his natural next.' + +When Denison turned up next evening, the editor asked him in distinctly +cold tones if he 'had read the paper.' + +Denison said he had not--he was too tired. + +Then the editor pointed out twenty-nine hideous mistakes, all underlined +in blue pencil and on a par with the two above-mentioned. Denison +explained in regard to the word 'next' that he meant 'life,' but there +being a turned 'e' in 'life' he somehow deleted the entire word, and +just then in his zeal, calling out 'next proof,' he unthinkingly wrote +'next' on the proof instead of 'life.' As for the matter of the boat he +had no excuse to offer. The editor was not harsh, but said that a man +of Denison's intelligence ought to be employed in building up Britain +beyond the seas instead of reading proofs. + +For the next two issues he pulled through fairly well. Sum Fat advanced +him ten shillings, with which he bought Susie a pair of canvas shoes, +and Susie kissed him seven times and said she loved him because he never +said horrid things to her like the other men. And when she laid her +innocent face upon his shoulder and wept, Denison was somewhat stirred, +and decided to get away from Susie as quickly as possible. + +On the fourth evening a beery local politician sent in a paragraph, +written in an atrocious hand, stating that he (the beery man) had +'received a number of replies to the circulars he had sent out to +the supporters of the Government,' etc. In the morning the paragraph +appeared:-- + + '_Mr Ebenezer Thompson, the champion of Separation, for + North Queensland, has again received quite a large number of + reptiles,' _etc. + +Of course Mr Thompson was terribly insulted--everyone in Cooktown knew +that he had periodical illnesses, during which he imagined he was chased +by large snakes joined to blue dogs with red eyes and crimson tails--and +demanded Denison's instant dismissal. The editor however, pleaded for +him on account of his inexperience, and the matter was passed over. + +He worried along pretty well till the end of the week, and then fresh +trouble arose. Mr Pinkham the sub-editor, who did the foreign cables +and the local fire-brigade items, got exceedingly drunk--a weekly +occurrence--and, for his own safety, was locked up by the intelligent +police. The three reporters, who all hated Pinkham, declined to sub-edit +his cables, and consequently the editor was himself driven to take +refuge in drink. The business manager, however, took his place, and told +Denison that he relied on him to assist with the cables. Denison hinted +at increased emoluments, and the manager promptly threatened to sack him +and all the rest of the literary staff. He would do the cables himself, +he said. He abhorred Denison on account of Susie and the kummerbund. + +Just then the Emperor Frederick was dying at San Remo, and cables were +coming through _via_ Sydney. + +At one a.m. the business manager came in to Denison and said that they +should try to get along amicably. As both the editor and Mr Pinkham, he +said, were in a disgraceful condition, he relied upon the rest of the +staff to maintain the credit of the _Trumpet-Call_, etc. Then he showed +Denison a cable he had just received, and asked him if he could assist +him to make it out. It ran in this wise: + + 'London--Emperor Frederick condition very grave. German + physicians hamper Morell Mackenzie, but approve suggestion + operation trache Otomy esophagus without delay.' + +Denison said (with secret joy) that he was afraid he couldn't help. +But he believed that there were two world-famous Italian doctors named +Tracchi and Tomy. 'Esophagus' was, he also remarked, no doubt meant for +'sarcophagus'--the Latin name for the gullet. And he suggested to his +enemy that it would be well to rush the cable through as quickly as +possible. The business manager said he should--he merely felt a little +doubt about the proper spelling of the Italian doctors' names, though +he, of course, knew that there was no such word as esophagus. As he went +out Denison smiled like a fiend. His anticipations of an ample revenge +upon the low, sordid creature who had refused him another sovereign a +week were gratified in the morning, for under a large heading he saw +this:-- + + 'THE EMPEROR FREDERICK + + 'Serious Condition + + '_San Remo.-- The Emperor Frederick's condition is causing + grave anxiety. The German physicians in attendance hinder + Morell Mackenzie in every possible way. They, however, agree + to his suggestion to send for the two celebrated Italian + specialists, Drs Tracchi and Tomy, and with them perform an + operation on the Emperor's sarcophagus. Wheat is 1d. firmer. + Hides are dull, bank rate unaltered. Tallow is + improving._' + +The absolute beauty of the thing, however, to Denison's mind, was that +the business manager had sold a copy of his translation of the cablegram +to the other local paper--run by the Cooktown Labour Union--which had +used it word for word. + +Nothing of moment occurred after this till a report of a sermon by Dr +Stanton, the first Bishop of North Queensland, appeared. His lordship, +alluding to certain conditions of the human mind which rendered one's +judgment 'subject to warp and bias,' the intelligent compositor made it +'wasps and bees,' and Denison, being very sleepy when he read the proof, +let it go. And Dr Stanton, good and generous man, laughed heartily when +Denison, with a contrite and broken heart called on him, and asked for +his forgiveness. + +But Nemesis was coming along. There was a wealthy and atrociously vulgar +magnate in Cooktown, whose wife ran second to Mrs Aubrey Denison in +local society, and who had just lost her father. The death announcement +appeared as follows:-- + + 'On June 18, at the Bungalow, Cooktown, Donald Dugald + M'Whannel, Government Inspector of Artesian Bores for North + Queensland, aged sixty-five. + + 'Also, at the same time and place, five trusses of + Victoria hay, some pigs and calves, and twenty-six bags of + onions and potatoes, all in prime order.' + +Of course this was the last straw, and Denison was asked to resign. But +as Mrs Aubrey Denison wrote and said she should like to forgive him for +his disgraceful conduct before he went away, he sent the Scotch foreman +of the _Trumpet-Call_ to explain to her that the catch-line of an +auctioneer's advertisement had been 'dropped' on the same galley as the +mortuary notice, and overlooked when the forme was locked. And so, after +a tender farewell to little Susie Sum Fat, and with her kisses still +warm upon his lips, Denison went out into the world again to look for a +ship. + + + + +A FISH DRIVE ON A MICRONESIAN ATOLL + +We were thrashing our way in a little brigantine, owned by Tom de Wolf, +of Liverpool, against the strong north-east trade wind, from the Western +Carolines to Milli in the Marshalls, when one day we sighted a low-lying +cluster of five small palm-clad islands that lay basking, white and +green, in the bright Pacific sun; and an hour before dark the _Lunalilo_ +dropped her anchor just in front of the native village. In a few minutes +the resident white trader came off to us in his boat and made us welcome +to his island home. + +We had heard that he had quite a considerable quantity of hawkbill +turtle shell and some coco-nut oil to sell, and came to ascertain +the truth of the report before we were anticipated by some German or +American trading vessel. + +Less than a mile away from where the brigantine was anchored we saw a +noble white beach, trending east and west in many curves, and backed by +serried lines of palms and groves of bread-fruit trees, through whose +bright verdancy peeped out the thatch-covered and saddle-backed houses +of the natives. Apart from the village, and enclosed by a low fence of +growing hibiscus palings, stood the trader's house, a long, rambling +building with white coral-lime walls and a wide, shady verandah on all +four sides. In front of the fence was a tall, white-painted flagstaff, +and presently we saw a woman come out of the trader's house and walk up +to it. In another minute the Stars and Stripes went slowly up, and then +hung limp and motionless in the windless atmosphere. + +'There,' said the trader, with a laugh, 'you see, my wife, native as she +is, is more polite than I am. But the fact is that I was so excited +when I saw your schooner that I never thought about hoisting the old +gridiron. Now, look here, gentlemen; before we do anything else, or talk +about business, I want you to promise to come ashore to night. There is +to be a big fish drive, and I can assure you that that is a sight worth +seeing.' + +We made the promise, and half an hour later went ashore and walked up +to our friend's house. Here we found the entire population of the island +assembled to do us honour, and for quite ten minutes were embraced most +effusively by every one, male or female, who could get near us. The +men were naked to their waists--the missionaries had not then made +any headway in the Caroline Islands--around which they wore either +gaily-coloured girdles of bleached and then dyed strips of fine pandanus +leaf, or sashes of closely-woven banana fibre. The women, however, +somewhat ineffectually concealed the remarkable beauty of their figures +by wearing, in addition to their grass waist girdles, a crescent-shaped +garment of similar material, which was suspended from their necks, and +covered their bosoms.{*} Their glossy black hair hung in wavy curls down +their smooth brown backs. * Since the advent of the missionaries this +costume has been suppressed. + +Nearly all the young unmarried girls wore narrow head circlets of white +pandanus leaf, profusely adorned and embroidered with red and yellow +beads, flat pieces of polished pearl shell, and edged with green and +gold and scarlet parrots' feathers. Their address and modest demeanour +was engaging in the extreme, and we noticed that they showed the utmost +deference and respect to an aged female who sat on a mat in the centre +of the room, surrounded by a number of young children. She was, we +learnt, the king's mother, and at her request the trader led us over to +where she sat, and gave us a formal introduction. She received us in a +pleasant but dignified manner, and the moment that she opened her lips +to speak the clatter of tongues around us ceased as if by magic, and the +most respectful silence prevailed. + +As neither the captain nor myself were able to speak the local +dialect--which is similar to that of Ponape--we were somewhat at a loss +to answer the questions she put to us, and etiquette forbade the trader +to volunteer his services as an interpreter, till the old dame asked +him. Presently, however, she desired him to tell us that she was very +pleased to see us; that the fish drive would, she hoped, interest us +greatly. Then, at a sign from her, a handsome young man who stood in the +doorway came forward and laid down a bundle of mats at our feet; this +was the old lady's formal present to the captain and myself. She then +rose, and bidding us to come and see her in her son's house before we +sailed, she walked over to the end of the room, attended by her retinue +of children, and sat down again on a finely-worked mat, which was spread +out before her. Then she made another and longer speech on behalf of her +son, who, she said, had desired her to say that he was very pleased +we had brought the ship to an anchor; that his stomach was filled with +friendship for white men; and that the trader would tell us that all +that he (the king) said was true; also that if any of her people stole +even the most trifling article from our ship they would be severely +punished, etc. Furthermore, she trusted that after we had spent one +night at the white man's house and seen the fish drive, we would spend +the following morning with her, when we should be feasted, and every +honour and attention shown us. Then the young man attendant produced +another present--from the king. This was a live sucking pig, a pair of +fat Muscovy ducks, and a huge green turtle. This latter was carried in +by four women, and placed in the centre of the room. We then, through +the trader, made return gifts of a bolt of white calico, a lamp and a +tin of kerosene. Touching these with her hand the old woman signed to +her attendants to take them away, and then, with another polite speech, +left the house. + +The moment the king's mother retired, many more of the common people +swarmed into the house, and all seemed highly delighted to learn that we +intended to stay and see the great fish drive. + +As every one of our native crew was very anxious to join in the +sport, the captain had asked the king's mother to 'tapu' the ship till +daylight, and shortly afterwards we were told by a messenger from the +king that this had been done, and that no native would attempt to board +the ship till we had returned. Although these people were honest enough, +our captain thought it hardly safe enough to leave the ship without a +white man on board, for all natives are very careless with the use of +fire, and, being great smokers, he felt nervous on that score. + +At five o'clock we were taken to the king's house, where we found the +whole population assembled. A great feast was spread out, and King +Ralok, who advanced to meet us, took us by our hands and sat us down in +the midst of a vast collection of baked fish, bread fruit, turtle meat +and eggs, and roast fowls, pigeons and pork. Of course we had to eat; +but at the earliest opportunity the trader told the king that we were +anxious to see the preparations made for the drive before it got too +dark. Ralok at once agreed, and after drinking the milk of a young +coco-nut to wash down the repast, we made a start for the scene of +operations. + +This was along the shore of the lagoon. At high water, for nearly two +or three miles, the white, sandy bottom would be covered by a depth of +about four feet of water; at low water, as it was now, it was dry. Here +and there were clumps of coral boulders, generally circular in shape, +and these, at high water, would be just flush with the surface. These +boulders were some two or three hundred yards apart, and as we came out +upon the lagoon beach we saw that they were connected by a vast number +of nets lying upon the sand, in readiness to rise, by means of their +light wooden floats of puka wood, as soon as the incoming tide swept in +from the ocean. Upon the top of each of these connecting boulders were +piled bundles or long torches made of dried coco-nut branches, which +were to be lighted when the drive began. The total length of the netting +was about two miles, but at one end, that facing the deep water of the +lagoon, there was a wide, unenclosed space. Here, however, were lying +half a dozen canoes, whose outrigger platforms were piled up with +strong nets, which were to be stretched across the opening at the proper +moment. + +After looking at the preparations, we returned to the village, and as we +had no time to lose, and the tide was coming in at a great rate over the +reef, we began to dress, or rather undress, for the sport. To each of +us was given a spear, and a number of young women and children were +told off to accompany us with baskets, with half-a-dozen boys as +torch-bearers. + +As soon as darkness had fallen the whole village was astir. From every +house men, women and very young children swarmed, these latter without +even the traditional leaf to hide their nakedness, while the grown girls +and women, possibly with the view of not shocking us too much, wore +short--very short--girdles around their loins. + +The grown men and youths now launched a number of canoes, and, crowding +into them, paddled out into the lagoon, keeping well away, however, +from the line of nets, the floats of which were now appearing upon the +surface of the water. In each canoe was a large basket filled with a +nasty-looking mass. This was the crushed shells and bodies of _uga_, or +small land crabs, and was to be used as 'burley' to attract the fish to +the wake of the canoes. + +Before going further I must mention that at a particular season of the +year--May--many of the Micronesian Islands are visited by vast shoals of +fish much resembling an English salmon. These enter the lagoons from +the ocean in pursuit of smaller fish. These smaller fish, which are a +species of sprat, assemble in incredible quantities, and at night-time +are wont to crowd together in prodigious numbers about the coral +boulders before mentioned, in the same manner that ocean-living fish +will sometimes attach themselves to a ship or other moving substance, +as some protection from pursuit by bonito, albicore, and the fish called +_tautau_. The latter are of nocturnal habit when seeking food, and +during the daytime lie almost motionless near the bottom, where they can +often be seen in serried masses. As soon as night falls they rise to the +surface and give chase to flying-fish and other surface-swimming ocean +fish. In shape they are very similar to a salmon, but do not possess +the same deepness of body and general fulness. Their heads consist of +a series of long plates, and their jaws are armed with rows of serrated +bone plates. In colour they are a very beautiful iridescent silver along +the sides and belly, the back and head being a deep, glossy blue. When +full grown their length is slightly over four feet, and weight about +twenty-five pounds. They are as voracious as the pike, swim with +extraordinary swiftness at night-time, and will take the hook eagerly +if baited with a whole flying-fish; their flesh is somewhat delicate in +flavour and greatly relished by the natives of Micronesia, who regard it +as second only to the universally esteemed flying-fish. + +Two or three days before we made the little group of islands, immense +droves of these _tautau_, as the natives of Eastern Polynesia call them, +had been hovering about the reefs, and the people were now to endeavour +to tempt them into the trap set for them with such care and labour. + +For about a quarter of an hour not a sound broke the silence of the +night. We were in the midst of some three or four hundred natives, who +only spoke in whispers for fear of alarming the fish. All round the +deeper portion of the chain of nets was a line of canoes, filled with +women and girls, who held torches in their hands ready to light up the +moment the signal was given. Further in towards the shore, where the +water was not too deep to prevent them keeping on their feet, were +numbers of girls and children standing close together, their bodies +almost touching, and the floats of the nets touching their bosoms; +we white men, with the trader, were standing together, with our +torch-bearers, upon a flat-topped coral boulder. + +Suddenly a whisper ran along the line of watchers--the canoes were +coming. One by one we made them out, the paddlers dipping their paddles +into the water in silence, as one of their number in each canoe threw +out double handfuls of the crushed crab 'burley.' As they approached +nearer to us we became aware of a peculiar lapping, splashing noise, as +of hundreds of bare feet walking in water a few inches deep. + +'That's the fish,' whispered the trader. 'Look at them--they are coming +in in thousands.' + +And then even our unaccustomed eyes could see that the water behind the +canoes was churned into a white froth by the jumping, splashing fish, +which x were following the canoes in a solid wall, snapping up the food +so industriously thrown to them. In a few minutes the canoes had entered +the open end of the trap, and were paddling noiselessly past the inner +lines of nets, not a hundred yards from where we stood. At last, when +the whole inclosure was literally swarming with fish, the outside canoes +quickly closed up the gap by stretching the nets across it, and almost +at the same moment there was a tremendous splashing and churning up of +the water around each knoll and boulder of coral. The _tautau_ had left +off eating the bait thrown them from the canoes, and were attacking the +myriads of small fish that clustered round the boulders. And then, at +a signal given by one of the outside canoes, the torches sprang +into flame, and by the bright light that flooded the scene the most +extraordinary sight was revealed, for from one side to the other the +great inclosure was full of magnificent _tautau_ about three feet six in +length. They were all swimming on the surface; and as soon as the +blaze of the torches illumined the water they at once became almost +stationary; or, after the manner of flying-fish, when subjected to a +strong light, swam slowly about in a dazed, hesitating manner. + +The work of capturing some very large turtle, that had come into the +fatal circle of nets, was now at once begun, lest in their endeavours to +escape the nets might be broken and the fish escape. There were six of +these creatures speared before they could do any damage; as well as two +or three small sharks, which, having gorged themselves to repletion, +were killed as they lazily swam along the circle of nets. + +So well had the natives judged of the time it would take to carry out +their scheme, that within half an hour of the inclosure of the fish the +tide began to fall, and the imprisoned swarms showed signs of anxiety to +escape, but as fresh supplies of torches were brought from the village, +and kept continuously alight, their alarm seemed to disappear. Had a +heavy shower of rain fallen--so the trader told us--and extinguished the +torches, the fish would have rushed at the nets and carried them away by +sheer weight. + +Meanwhile, as the tide continued to fall, many of the women and girls +amused themselves by stunning all the fish that came within reach +of them, and loading the canoes with them. Once some fifty or sixty +_tautau_ came right up to the boulder on which we stood, and were +so dazed by the glare of light that poured down on them, that some +permitted themselves to be captured by the hand. + +Lower and lower fell the water, and as the shore end of the trap became +dry, the fish were gradually forced to come closer and closer together +as their swimming space diminished. By-and-by, as the receding tide +left the chain of coral rocks dry on their summits, women waded out with +firewood, and built fires on them; not that there was now any danger +of the fish breaking away, but to give a still better light. At last, +however, the word was passed along the line that the sea end of the +drive had been strengthened by additional nets in case a sudden rush +might occur; but, by this time, so rapidly was the water running out, +that even at the deepest end there was not perhaps two feet available +for the now terrified and struggling swarms of _tautau_. In another +twenty minutes there was heard a most extraordinary sound, caused by +thousands upon thousands of fish thrashing and jumping about on the +sand; while at the sea end of the drive, where the great body of all +were massed together, the scene was simply indescribable. What +little water was left was beaten into froth and foam by their violent +struggles, and the light from the torches showed that a space of +about five acres in extent was covered with a shining, silvery mass +of splendid _tautau_, intermixed with a small number of gorgeous-hued +rock-fish, cray-fish, and some hawk-bill turtle. + +The work of picking up the prizes went on for at least two hours. Three +or four of the _tautau_ placed in a basket was as much as a woman could +carry, and, although everyone present worked hard, some thousands of +fish were not taken. Many of these, however, were not dead, and, with +the incoming tide, swam off again. All the young turtle, however, +were secured, the natives taking them up carefully and putting them in +walled-in pools where they would remain prisoners. + +We tried to ascertain the number of fish taken, but gave it up. Every +house and canoe-shed appeared to have the floor covered with them, and +for the next day or two there were great fish dinners on the island. + +Some thousands of _tautau_ were split open and dried upon platforms in +the same manner as the natives of Eastern Polynesia dry flying-fish, and +the Fraser River Indians their salmon. + +We succeeded in buying a fine lot of turtle shell from the trader, as +well as some from the king and his mother. The old lady treated us right +royally, and, a few hours before we sailed, a canoe-load of fruit and +drinking coco-nuts were sent off to the ship, with her compliments. + + + + +BOBARAN + +When our boat touched the beach in front of the trader's house just as +the dawn was breaking, I thought Kabaira Bay one of the loveliest places +in the Pacific, and said so to the man I had been sent to relieve. He +quite concurred in my opinion of the beauties of the scenery, but said +that he was very glad to get away. Then, being a cheerful man, though +given to unnecessary blasphemy, like most South Sea Island traders, he +took me out to the rich garden at the back of the station and showed +me the grave of his predecessor, who had died of fever a year before. +Further on, but outside the enclosing fence, were some more graves, he +said. + +'Whose?' I asked. + +'Captain Murray's, his mate's, and two of his cutter's crew.' + +'Fever?' + +'No,' he replied, with some slight surprise at my ignorance; 'the +natives killed 'em a couple o' years ago. An', see, just over there by +Point Luen, is the Hon. Mr Willington's house. He was a nephew of Lord +L------. I goes there sometimes and rips a board out o' the floor when I +wants one.' ^ + +'Mr Wellington gone away?' My friend _was_ surprised this time. 'Why, +you _must_ be a new chum in New Britain. Why, Willington ain't dead six +months.' 'Fev--' + +'Fever be -------. No, he got speared when he was lying in his bunk +readin' a book one night. _I_ told him that the niggers would pay him +out for a-playin' crooked with em'; but he was too cock-a-hoopy to +listen to a feller like me.' + +'Any more white men buried in Kabaira? 'I asked after a while, as we +walked back to the house to take stock of my host's trade goods. + +'No, that's all that's planted here--at least, all I know of, and I've +been here, in New Britain, five years. There's been a good many Dutchmen +killed on the coast here, and over in New Ireland, but I didn't know +any of 'em. An' they're such a silly lot o' duffers, that they reg'lar +tempts these New Britain niggers to kill 'em; and then the beggars, not +knowing an Englishman from a Dutchman, are ready to murder anyone with +a white skin. So you look out, young feller. These niggers here are a +rotten bad lot. But I'll interdooce yer to Bobaran. He's the biggest +cut-throat of em' all; but he an' me is good pals, and onct you've +squared him you're pretty safe. Got plenty fever medicine?' 'Lots.' +'Liquor?' 'Case of gin.' + +'That'll keep you clear o' fever as much as anything, as long as the +case lasts. Always drink some when it's raining.' (It usually rained +nine days out of ten in New Britain). 'Now we'll take stock. I can tell +you I'm mighty glad to clear out o' this place--an' so will you be in a +couple o' months, if--you're alive.' + +Having thus, in cheerful converse, somewhat enlightened me as to the +peculiar characteristics of Kabaira Bay and its inhabitants, my friend +had breakfast cooked, and whilst we were eating it, sent a messenger for +his friend Bobaran to come and make the acquaintance of the new white +man. During breakfast the trader gave me much further information, all +of which, as a man new to the ropes, I was very glad to obtain. Kabaira, +I already knew (I had but just arrived in New Britain from Eastern +Polynesia), was the 'furthest out' trading station on the great island, +which, at that time, had barely thirty white men living on it; most of +these were settled on Gazelle Peninsula, and a few on the Duke of York +Island, midway between the northern point of New Britain and mountainous +New Ireland. My nearest neighbour lived at Kabakada, a populous native +town ten miles away. My host told me that this man was 'a noisy, drunken +little swine,' the which assertion I subsequently found to be absolutely +correct. Further on, five miles from Kabakada, was another trader named +Bruno Ran, a hard-working Swiss; then, after rounding Cape Stephens, +was the large German trading station of Matupi in Blanche Bay, where you +could buy anything from a needle to a chain cable. On the Duke of York +Island was another trading station, and also the Wesleyan Mission, which +as yet had made but few converts in New Britain; and over in New Ireland +were a few scattered English traders, who sometimes sailed over on a +visit to their dangerously-situated fellow-countrymen in the big island. + +For dangerous indeed was the daily existence of traders in those then +little-known islands. But money was to be made, and men will dare much +to make money quickly, even though at the risk of their lives. As for +the natives of New Britain, a few words will suffice. They were the most +unmitigated savages, cowardly and treacherous, and with the exception of +the people of the villages in the vicinity of Blanche Bay, whose women +wore a scanty girdle of leaves of the plant _Cordyline terminalis_, +they passed their lives in a state of stark nudity. Their dwellings +and canoes were of the poorest description, but their plantations and +gardens were highly cultivated, and marvels of incessant and intelligent +labour. For human life they had no regard; in fact, a pig was worth more +than a man, except among those tribes where a man who weighed more than +a pig would be more valuable as food. At the present time things have +improved on the Gazelle Peninsula, but along the coast-line, which to +the westward stretches for over two hundred miles towards New Guinea, +matters have not changed. As for their personal appearance, it is simply +hideous. Take the biggest anthropoid ape, stain his teeth black and his +lips scarlet, stick a wig of matted greasy curls on his head, and put +half a dozen slender spears in his right paw, and you have an idea of +a New Britain nigger--a 'brand,' according to missionary ethics, who +should be plucked from the burning, but whom the Christian of ordinary +intelligence would cheerfully watch burning until he was reduced to a +cinder. + +Just as we had finished breakfast, Bobaran came in and squatted on the +flour. Being a man of rank and influence, he was privileged, and allowed +to carry his arms with him inside the trader's house. These consisted +of five spears, one long-handled ebony-wood club, with a huge jade head, +and a horse-pistol, which was fastened to a leather belt around his +naked waist. His fuzzy wool was dyed a bright brick red colour and +twisted into countless little curls which, hanging over his beetling and +excessively dirty black forehead, almost concealed his savage eyes, and +harmonised with his thick, betel-stained lips and cavernous, grip-sack +mouth. Around his arms were two white circlets of shell, and depending +from his bull-like neck a little basket containing betel-nut and lime. +He certainly was a most truculent-looking scoundrel. Nevertheless, +I shook hands with him cordially, and he agreed, for certain +considerations, to look after me, find me in food, warn me of any danger +that might impend, and also to murder anyone with whom I might feel +annoyed, for a fixed but very small remuneration. In proof whereof of +this alliance, and as a token of amity and goodwill, Parker (the +trader) presented him with a small tin of ship biscuit, four dynamite +cartridges, a dozen boxes of matches and a bottle of a villainous German +liquor called 'Corn Schnapps.' Then the atrocity stood up and embraced +me, and asked me to show him my firearms. His fierce eyes gleamed +with pleasure as he turned them about in his filthy paws, and he was +especially pleased with the size of a Sharp's rifle cartridge and bullet +which would, he grinned, 'make big fellow hole in man.' Then, with +further expressions of goodwill on both sides, we parted. + +At dusk Parker bade me good-bye, and urging me to put the utmost +confidence in Bobaran and drink plenty of gin whenever it rained--to +keep the fever from 'gettin' holt' of my system--he walked down to the +beach and stepped into the boat. For a few minutes I stood watching till +he was hidden from view by a point of land, and then, feeling somewhat +depressed at my future loneliness, I walked back to the house. + +Bobaran, the Mesdames Bobaran (three), and the Masters and Misses +Bobaran were sitting on the verandah awaiting me. None of them were as +much dressed as their father, who had, as I have said, a leather belt +around his loins, and all were chewing betel-nut and expectorating the +scarlet juice thereof vigorously about the premises. Being aware of the +fact that a New Britain woman is never abroad at night, and a man but +seldom, I was surprised at such a family gathering, for the village was +some distance away. Bobaran, however, explained that as he and two +of his sons intended keeping guard for me that night, the rest of the +family had come with them--and that they should like some tobacco. + +Leaving his wives and children outside to smoke, my protector came +into the sitting-room, and as he had acquired a considerable amount of +unpolished sailor man's English, I found him very entertaining and also +instructive. First he told me that the Kabaira people were perfectly +safe; it was a very peaceful village, and the people liked white men, +and he hoped I would not carry arms whenever I went out--it made them +frightened, and when people were frightened of a man they naturally +tried to kill him. Agreed to. Secondly, they were not cannibals--all +their neighbours were, however. (I said I was pleased to hear it, no +doubt someone had maligned them.) But they were all thieves, and I must +take prompt action to prevent myself from being robbed--(here one of his +wives crept to the door on all fours and asked her lord and master for +a match, but was struck with great violence in the mouth with an empty +salmon tin instead, for interrupting). To-morrow I should do as 'Parka' +did the day he came to Kabaira. I must go down to the beach with a +dynamite cartridge in my hand and seek for a place where there was +plenty of fish. And I must have another cartridge ready in my pocket. +As soon as the first shot went off hundreds of natives would jump in the +water and try to steal all the best fish. Then I was to light the fuse +of the second cartridge and throw it in. And it would be sure to hurt +_some_ of the people, and they would not follow me next time I went +fishing. But, of course, if I _should_ happen to kill anyone, I would +pay for it? + +'Of course I would,' I said. 'How much?' + +'Big feller man, one good musket; boy, one axix' (axe); 'old woman, old +feller, musket; young girl, one good musket.' + +Then he approached me on a delicate subject, i.e., the taking over of +my predecessor's harem of three native women. I explained that I was +expecting my wife down soon from Samoa and couldn't do it. He said it +was a great pity, as one of 'Parka's' wives could make tea and +cook meat. Also, that I need be under no fear of her making any +unpleasantness when my wife turned up. Would I like to see the girl? +'Parka' had taught her a lot of things. She did not oil her hair with +pigeon fat, and cleaned her teeth every day just like a Samoan girl. +Also, she had ten coils of _dewarra_ (cowrie shells threaded on the +midribs of the coco-nut leaf, and used as the native currency). I said +I was very much tempted, but thought I had better not. He looked at me +steadily for a few seconds, as he thrust a fresh 'chaw' of betel-nut +and lime into his hideous mouth, and said that I was missing a great +chance--there were plenty of white men along the coast who would be glad +to get anyone of 'Parka's' wives, especially she who could make tea and +cook meat. + +He seemed pleased that I was disposed to be as liberal-handed as Parker, +for whom he seemed to have a high regard; and then proceeded to tell me +of some of his own exploits among the inhabitants of Mutavat, a village +across the bay, which was at enmity with Kabaira. The infinite gusto +with which he related a series of atrocious murders gave me a chill, and +he looked like an evil spirit when his great red lips parted in a grin +and revealed his black teeth. Presently he asked me if I had shot +any people; and when I said I had not, he became regretful, but soon +brightened up again and said I would have plenty of chances yet. + +There were some bush villages, to which he would take me some day, and +if we were careful we could knock over two or three people easily; they +were a bad lot these 'man-a-bush' (bush-men). + +At ten o'clock I turned in, and Bobaran, after an animated conversation +with his family, lay down at my door with a Snider rifle and his +horse-pistol by his side. + +And for many long, weary months, in the beautiful but fever-ridden +Kabaira Bay, he was the only person to whom I could talk; and in time I +began to take a liking to him, for I found him, as Parker had told me, +'a thunderin' old cut-throat, but as straight as a die to a white man +who acts straight to him.' + + + + +SEA FISHING IN AUSTRALIA + +'Hi, mister, turn out, please, if you're a-comin' with us,' a gruff +voice called out to me one frosty morning in May, and then a hairy, +good-humoured-looking face flattened itself against my window pane as +the owner sought to peer into the room. + +I jumped out of bed, opened the window, and shivered in my pyjamas as +the keen morning air rushed in to the warm room. Slaney, the coxswain +of the Port Macquarie pilot boat,{*} was standing below me on the grassy +side walk, muffled up in his great coat, and carrying a shin of beef in +his hand. + + * Port Macquarie is a quaint 'old' seaport on the northern + coast of New South Wales. + +'How does it look outside, Slaney?' I asked. + +'Smooth as glass. Hurry up, please. I've just come from the butcher's, +couldn't get any fish bait last night, so bespoke a shin of beef.' + +Five minuses later I had dressed, and was running up the hill to the +pilot station with my fishing tackle, together with some sandwiches, +some bottles of beer, and a tin pannikin, slung in a corn sack over my +shoulder--not a very elegant turn-out, but the correct thing for such +rough and tumble work as schnapper fishing. At the top of the hill I +stopped to give myself breath a minute. An impatient 'Hallo there, _do_ +hurry,' ascended to me from beneath, where the smart pilot boat lay +rocking on the waters of a little cove, cut out of the solid rock by the +labour of convicts seventy years before, her crew of six men standing up +to their knees in the water, and holding her steady. Tumbling down the +grassy hill at the risk of breaking my neck, I waded out and clambered +over the side, and in another minute the crew were bending to their oars +and the boat sweeping round a clump of conical rocks that sheltered +the boat harbour from the long roll of the Pacific billows. Oh, what a +lovely morning, and how the blue ocean glinted and sparkled in the quick +warming sun. Away to the southward the high, thickly-timbered coast was +broken up by jutting headlands and little, irregularly shaped bays, with +steep, rocky shores; and northward a long sweep of beach trended in a +curving line for ten miles, till it ended at the purple sides of Point +Plomer, beyond which loomed the misty blue outline of Captain Cook's +'Smoaky' Cape. + +The wind was from the westward; so we hoisted our lug sail, and headed +seaward to the sun. Behind us the noisy Hastings River bar clamoured and +moaned unceasingly; for though the sea was smooth, the tide was on the +ebb, and rushing fiercely out over the wide but shallow entrance to +the river, and short, angry waves reared, and tumbled, and fought the +roaring current. But in another ten minutes the noise of the waters +became lost in the distance, and we heard, naught but the gentle +_lip-lap, lip-lap_, of the boat's cut-water as she slipped over the +swelling seas. Three miles out we took our bearings from a mountain +called The Brothers, and Camden Haven Heads, and then dropped our anchor +in twenty-two fathoms on a rocky bottom. + +There is not much 'finnicking' preparation for schnapper fishing, and +in five minutes every line was baited, and over the side, and at the +bottom, and before another two or three had passed we knew we had struck +the right spot, for nearly every one of us felt the unmistakable tug +of a lusty schnapper, and then the determined downward pull, strong and +steady, which he makes when once hooked. Slaney, who was using a line as +thick as signal-halliards, was the first to haul his fish over the side, +and drop him, kicking and thrashing like a young porpoise, into the +boat; the rest of us, whose tackle was much thinner, were a long way +behind him, and Slaney's line was over the side again before our fish +were laid beside the first arrival. What a beautiful fish is a ten-pound +schnapper--a brilliant pink back, sides and tail, dotted over with +tiny spots of a wonderful, gleaming blue that sparkle like miniature +diamonds; the bream-shaped head a deep reddish-purple, with nose and +lips of palish pink; the belly a pure, shining white. No wonder that +Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales, spoke of the schnapper +as 'an exceedingly beautiful and palatable fish.' + +For about an hour we continued to haul up fish after fish till our +arms ached. The smallest weighed about three pounds, the largest about +seventeen pounds, and the average weight of the lot was about eight +pounds. Then we knocked off for breakfast. That finished, we lit our +pipes and settled down to work again. Alas! a swarm of ugly brown and +yellow 'leather-jackets' had arrived on the scene, and before our lines +could touch bottom the brutes would either take the bait, or bite off +the hook snoozings with their keen, rat-like teeth. In a quarter of an +hour we had caught but four schnapper and lost a dozen or more hooks; +my own line was bitten through at about five fathoms from the surface--a +piece of meat skin had wound itself round it and had been discovered by +one of these predatory villains. No wonder that the Samoans and natives +of the Tokelau Islands term the leather-jacket _isumu moana_--the +sea-rat. However, as leather-jackets make excellent schnapper bait, two +of us were told off to fish for them with bream-lines and wire-snoozed +small hooks, and we soon had the satisfaction of catching a dozen of the +thieves. These were quickly skinned and cut up; then we lifted anchor +and pulled southward for about half a mile, knowing we should catch but +few schnapper where leather-jackets were. + +Our new ground proved a lucky one, for we not only caught some seventy +schnapper--some of them truly noble fish--but two magnificent black +and white rock cod, a fish whose flavour is excelled by no other in +Australian waters. No leather-jackets appeared to disturb our pleasure, +and not even the usual murderous shark showed his ugly face, and played +the usual game of seizing every schnapper as it was hauled up, and +biting it in halves. Only the previous week half a dozen had followed us +about from ground to ground, breaking our lines, and taking five out +of every ten fish we hooked. Two at last we succeeded in harpooning and +killing, and casting their bodies to their friends, who made short work +of them and left us alone for the rest of the day. + +Schnapper in the winter months, on the Australian coast, retire to the +deep water, and can be caught in from thirty to fifty fathoms. They +travel in droves like sheep, and prefer to frequent rocky or broken +ground. Sometimes, however, they will enter the bar harbours in great +numbers and ascend the tidal rivers. Twenty-five years ago they were +often taken in nets in the Parramatta River, near Sydney, and were +very plentiful in Sydney Harbour itself. Nowadays one is rarely +caught anywhere inside the Heads. Steamboat traffic and the foul water +resulting from sewerage has driven them to the deep waters of the ocean. +One peculiar feature of schnapper fishing on the northern coast of New +South Wales is that, be the fish ever so plentiful and hungry, they +invariably cease biting immediately, if the wind should change to the +east or north-east. Yet on the southern seaboard, from Twofold Bay to +Galo Island, they will take the hook during a black north-easter, as +freely as they do when the wind is blowing from any other quarter. + +From one end to the other of the coast of New South Wales, there is +grand rock-fishing to be had by anyone who once is initiated into its +mysteries, and is not afraid of getting an occasional drenching from +an ocean roller when there is any sea running. Right from the southern +boundary of the colony to the Tweed River on the north, are breaks in +the long sandy beaches, of rocky coast, which in most places are easily +accessible to the fisherman; and the water in these spots being +deep close under the verge of the cliffs, the deep-sea fish, such +as schnapper, blue and brown groper, the gigantic mottled rock-cod, +trevally, king-fish, the great Jew-fish, sea salmon, etc., at certain +seasons of the year cruise to and fro about the rocks in extraordinary +numbers. But, strange as it may appear, rock-fishing is almost unknown +to the average colonial, except those living near the principal ports. +The greatest ignorance, too, prevails as to the edible qualities of the +many varieties of excellent rock-fish, except the well-known schnapper. +The generality of the coast settlers look upon most coloured fish as +'bad to eat,' if not 'poisonous,' and particularly so in the case of +the delicious blue groper or blue-fish, the 'leather jacket,' and the +scaleless bonito, which latter occasionally visit the shores of the +colony in large 'schools,' and take a bait eagerly. + +My boyish experiences of rock-fishing in New South Wales are full of +delightful memories. Then, accompanied by one of the few surviving +members of the Hastings River (Port Macquarie) blacks, my brothers and +myself would set out for a week's camping-out on the wild and lonely +coast between Port Macquarie and Camden Haven--a stretch of twenty miles +or so. Our equipment consisted of some very heavy lines and hooks for +the big fish, some fine tackle for beach fishing--for bream, whiting, +flathead, etc.--a couple of spears for cray-fish, an old smooth-bore +army musket and ammunition (for shooting ducks on the tidal lagoons), +tea, sugar, as much bread as we could carry, and a tomahawk. As for +tents, such luxuries were unknown to us boys in those days; if it showed +signs of rain at night time we could soon put up a bark shelter, and, +with a pair of light blankets under us, sleep in peace. + +One of our most favoured spots was at Tacking Point, a curious steep-to +bluff, clothed on its sides with a dense thicket scrub, the haunt of +hundreds of black wallabies and wonga pigeons, and also a large variety, +of brown and black snakes, with an occasional death adder. The summit, +however, was beautifully grassed, and clear of timber, except for a +clump or two of gnarled and knotted honeysuckle trees; and here, after +our day's fishing, we would camp, and, lying beside our fire, look out +upon the starlit Pacific two hundred feet below. Although only five +miles from the little town, we scarcely saw a human being during our +many trips. Sometimes, however, some of 'Tommy's' sooty relatives would +follow us up, in order to gorge themselves on fish and game, which we +shared with them cheerfully. + +My first groper was an exciting experience. Descending to the rocky +shore very early in the morning with 'Tommy,' we clambered over some +huge jagged and wildly-jungled-together boulders at the foot of the +bluff, and reached the edge of a large, deep pool of blue water in the +rocks, with a narrow opening to the sea. The sides were covered with +long streaming kelp and many-coloured seaweed, which moved gently up and +down to the rise and fall of the ocean swell. Only in one part could we +see the white sand at the bottom of the pool, for the depth of water was +some six or seven fathoms. Both blue and brown groper are very fond of +crabs; in fact, when a big, wary fellow will not look at either a piece +of octopus or the flesh of the _aliotis_ shell, he cannot resist a crab. +We soon secured plenty of crabs of all sizes and colours, and, baiting +our lines with two of the largest, dismembered the others, and +flung portions of them into the pool. A number of small parrot-fish, +sea-bream, and mottled cod at once appeared and devoured the fragments. +The size and hardness of the shells of our crabs, however, were too much +for them, and although they snapped off a leg or two and 'worried' +the baits considerably, our hooks touched bottom safely (we were using +sinkers of stone). Suddenly, just as my companion had thrown another +handful of 'burley' into the water, three big blue groper rose to the +surface almost together, and, swallowing the crushed-up crab, began +swimming round and round the edges of the pool eagerly seeking for more. +This was my first view of this species of groper at close quarters, and +these three presented, a very beautiful sight, the very dark blue of the +whole of their closely-scaled, shining bodies, and the very light blue +of their fins and tails making a pretty contrast. Two were about 15 lb. +to 16 lb. each, the other about 35 lb. to 40 lb., and nearly four feet +in length. They swam but slowly, though every now and then they would +turn with some swiftness of motion as 'Tommy' continued to throw +in pieces of crab. Meanwhile, by my black companion's whispered +instructions, I had cut the sinker off a spare line, and baited the +four-inch hook with the two largest crabs left. Unreeving about six +fathoms of line, I handed the baited end to 'Tommy,' who deftly threw it +just before the nose of the big fellow. In an instant he had seized +the hook, and, diving, made for the opening between the rocks. 'Tommy,' +yelling to me to look to the other lines, held on like grim death and +managed to turn his prize's head in time; the two others sticking close +to their brother in misfortune. I had just hauled up one of the other +two lines, and was running round the jagged side of the pool holding the +other in my left hand (so as to keep clear of 'Tommy's' fish), when +I felt a terrific tug that nearly sent me over. 'Look out! Look out!' +shouted 'Tommy,' warningly; 'don't let that fella get underneath the +seaweed; keep him clear of dat, or you lose him!' For a 16-lb. fish he +pulled tremendously (for a boy of my size); but at last I managed to +get a steady strain on him, and then his big blue head, with its thick, +negro-like lips, soon appeared at the base of a slanting rock, up which +I hauled him, kicking and floundering. 'Tommy' meanwhile had already +landed his fish, and had cast his line for the last of the trio; but +without success; he had made off to the sea. + +A few hours later, at low tide, we caught, in the same pool, seven +schnapper, averaging about 8 lb. each; a brown groper of 20 lb., a dozen +or more of deep sea bream, beautiful silvery-scaled fish, with a pale +greenish tinge on the head and back, and bright yellow fins and tail; +and several huge cray-fish, which clung to our hooks and did not let go +their hold in time. + +This pool was only one of many along this picturesque and rocky coast, +along which, at the present time, fish are just as plentiful and as easy +to catch; but four years ago I, on visiting 'the' pool of my early days, +found it filled by a pile of soap-stone rocks, detached by the rains +from the sea face of the bluff above it. It was a bitter disappointment +to me, for the memory of that pool had remained with me since my +boyhood, and I felt as one who, after a long, long separation in foreign +climes from some dear friend of his youth, at last returns home, hoping +to meet his comrade once more, and is shown his grass-grown grave. + + + + +AN ADVENTURE IN THE NEW HEBRIDES + +More than twenty years ago a fine young Polynesian half-caste, named +Alan, and the writer, were running a small trading cutter out of Samoa, +among the low-lying atolls of the Ellice and Tokelau groups, in the +South Pacific. We had hauled her up on the beach to clean and put a few +sheets of copper on her, when, one day, a big, bronze-faced man came +to us, and asked us if we were open to a charter to Santo in the New +Hebrides. After a few minutes' conversation we struck a bargain, the +terms of which were to take him, his native wife, three servants, and +twenty tons of trade goods to his trading station on Espiritu Santo in +the New Hebrides, for six hundred dollars. He was an ex-trading skipper, +but had given up the sea, married a Hervey Island half-caste, and, after +trading some years in the Caroline and Marshall groups, had made a +trip to the New Hebrides, where he had gone into partnership with a +Frenchman, who, like himself, was a sailor man, and had settled down on +Santo. Hannah--for that was his name--had then returned to the Carolines +for his family, and brought them to Samoa, from whence he thought he +could get a passage down to the New Hebrides in one of the two German +brigs then engaged in the Kanaka labour trade--'black-birding,' as it +was called. But one, the _Iserbrook_ had been burnt in Sydney Harbour, +and the other was away at Valparaiso. + +But now arose a difficulty. I was not navigator enough to take the +vessel to Santo--a distance of thirteen hundred miles--let alone beat +her back to Samoa against the south-east trades. This, however, Captain +Hannah soon settled. He agreed to navigate us down, and his partner +would come back with me, as his wife, who was a Samoan woman, wanted to +pay a visit to her native country, and our vessel would afford her an +excellent opportunity; his own services in bringing the cutter back to +Samoa to be 'squared' by free passages for himself and wife. + +My partner Alan was quite satisfied. The big man planked down two +hundred and fifty dollars on account, and we shook hands all round. +Hannah was a quiet, silent sort of fellow, but I knew we should get on +all right, for he came down to us next morning with his people, helped +us heave the cutter off the beach, and covered our decks with pigs and +poultry. That afternoon we got our wood and water aboard, and were ready +for sea at daylight. + +Alan was a splendid type of a man. Brought up to the sea from his +childhood, he had served some years as a boat-steerer on American +whale-ships, then with 'Bully' Hayes as boatswain in the notorious +_Rona_ brig; and a finer seaman never walked a deck. He was very proud +of the English blood in his veins, and always talking of the exploits +of his father, who had served with the gallant Cochrane in the Chilian +navy. At sea he was a man for emergencies--quick, resolute, resourceful +and sober. On shore, with money in his pocket, he descended to the +level of the lowest beach-comber, and was always in trouble for thumping +somebody--generally another half-caste or a policeman. Peace to his +bones! He went to a sailor's death long ago; but the writer of this +narrative will never forget the dark, handsome face, laughter-filled +eyes, and cheery voice of the best shipmate with whom he ever sailed. + +We put to sea with a fine breeze, and running between the islands of +Upolu and Savai'i, were out of sight of land by dusk. There were but +thirteen persons all told on board--our seven passengers, Alan, four +native sailors, and myself--but we were in no wise crowded for room, for +the hold was used as a sleeping-place by Captain Hannah's wife, her two +children and three servants. Mats had been spread over the cargo, and +the weather being fine, the hatch was left open from the time we left +Samoa nearly till we reached Santo. + +The south-east trade wind held steadily, and the little vessel, being +clean and in fine trim, ran along at a great rate, till, on the sixth +day out, when we had just sighted Pentecost Island, one of the New +Hebrides group, it died away, and at sunset we were becalmed. All that +night the air was close and muggy, but towards dawn a faint air came +from the westward. During the night the strong current had carried us in +ten or twelve miles nearer to the shore, and at sunrise we were not +more than six miles from the land. Pentecost, from the treachery of its +savage inhabitants, had always borne a bad reputation; and so, as the +cutter still continued to drift shorewards, Alan, Captain Hannah and +myself thought it just as well to be prepared for any canoes that might +attempt to cut us off. (As-a matter of fact, however, we need not have +been under any alarm in this respect, for although the Pentecost natives +were, and are now, a thoroughly bad lot, as the surveying vessels of the +Australian Squadron know to their cost, they would never attempt to cut +off a vessel unless she were anchored. But no one of we white men +knew much of the New Hebrides.) So as we had plenty of arms on +board--Winchesters and Sharp's rifles--We got them in readiness; and +very fortunate it was that we did so. + +We drifted steadily along the densely-wooded shores of Pentecost all +that day, the sea as smooth as glass, and the pitch bubbling up in the +decks from the intense heat. Towards sunset, Captain Hannah's wife, who +was lying on the skylight with her youngest child, called out to us that +she could see a boat or canoe on the starboard beam. Hannah and I at +once got our glasses, and soon made out a boat, pulling five oars, +coming towards us from the island, and not more than a couple of miles +away. + +As she came nearer, and lifted now and then to the swell, we obtained a +better view, and saw there were six people in her--five pulling and one +steering. They came along very leisurely. + +'Shipwrecked people, I imagine,' said Hannah; and then, turning to Alan +and myself, he added, with a laugh, 'Perhaps there's a fine big lump +of a ship ashore about here, and you fellows are bound to get some fine +pickings--might get the ship herself afloat.' + +In ten minutes or so a bit of a light air came over the water, and +filled our sails, so we stood over towards the boat, which was now +drawing close. Presently one of our native sailors hailed us from aloft, +and said he could see four or five more men in the boat besides those +who were pulling; and at the same time she ceased rowing awhile, then +the oars dipped again, and she came on. + +Suddenly Hannah, who was scanning the strange boat very closely, turned +to me quietly and said, 'I don't like the looks of that boat. We had +better not let them come alongside. Perhaps they're escapees from New +Caledonia. I thought so at first--they've got the regular "Ile Nou +stroke." If they try to board we must beat them off, or we may lose the +ship.' + +Realising the danger, we at once called the native hands aft, gave each +man a loaded Sharp's rifle and half a dozen cartridges, and told him to +lay it down handy on the deck, and be prepared to use it. Hannah's wife +at once began loading our five Winchester rifles. By this time the boat +was within a hundred yards of the cutter. Whether those in her saw what +we were doing or not I do not know, but they came on very confidently. + +Then, getting up on the rail, I hailed, 'Boat ahoy, there! Don't come +any nearer, or we'll fire into you. What do you want?' + +There was a sudden commotion among the rowers, and then Hannah and Alan, +coming to the rail, stood beside me with their Winchesters in their +hands. This display had a good effect, for they stopped pulling at once, +and the man steering stood up. The moment I got a full view of him and +heard him speak, I knew that Hannah was right about the identity of the +strangers. + +'We are a ship-a-wreck men,' he called out; 'we wanta water and +provis'.' + +'Well, pull abeam or us to windward, but don't come alongside just yet.' + +'All right,' was the answer. + +The wind was very light, and the boat could have soon overtaken us, but +we felt confident that, with the arms we possessed, we could easily beat +them off if they tried to board. At the same time we were willing to +give them some provisions, and such other assistance as lay in our +power. + +After talking the matter over with Hannah, I again hailed the boat, and +told the steersman that he could come aboard, but that the rest of his +crowd must keep to the boat. + +Hauling our jib to windward, we let them range alongside, and the +steersman jumped on deck. During the few minutes that the boat was +waiting, we had a good look at her and her occupants. The former, +I could see, was German-built, very long, narrow and heavy, and was +lumbered up with a quantity of fresh coco-nuts, yams, taro and +other native food. As for the crew, they were as suspicious and as +desperate-looking a lot of scarecrows as could be imagined. + +Some of them were dressed in the heavy woollen garments usually worn +by German merchant seamen, but half a dozen of them were wearing the +yellow-grey canvas trousers of the New Caledonian convict. As I looked +down at them Alan pointed out to me the muzzles of three or four short +rifles showing from beneath the edge of a ragged native mat which was +spread over the bottom boards for'ard. They had evidently spent the +night on shore, for some of them, who were wearing cloth caps, had made +themselves peaked sunshades of plaited green coco-nut leaves, which were +tied round their heads, native-fashion. Lying amidships was a good-sized +water-breaker; and one of the gang, a little, hooknosed ruffian, with a +villainous face and wearing a filthy print shirt with the tails outside +his pants, kept tapping it with a piece of wood to show us by the hollow +sound that it was empty. + +'Pass it up on deck, you monkey-faced swine,' said Alan. 'Why didn't you +fill it when you were ashore?' + +'We no finda water,' said the leader; 'we looka two, tree day--no +finda, and too many -------- nigger on shore shoota us all the time +witha-bow-anda-arra.' + +'Well, you've got some guns there, I see. Couldn't you keep the niggers +off while a couple of you filled the breaker?' I asked. 'And there's +plenty of water on Pentecost, I believe.' + +He shrugged his shoulders. 'Of what-a good the gun? We no have the +cartridge. Perhaps you give some--feefty, twenty, ten, eh?' + +Alan, who was a bit of a humorist, answered that we would give him as +many cartridges as he wanted, if he gave us all the rifles he had in the +boat in exchange. + +A scowl--which he tried to twist into a smile--flitted across his face, +and he turned his head away. + +Giving the crowd in the boat a long line, we veered them astern, and +as the breeze was now freshening, the cutter slipping through the +water pretty fast, and we felt safe, Hannah, Alan and myself turned our +undivided attention to our visitor. He was a tall, squarely-built fellow +of about fifty years of age, with a thick stubble of iron-grey beard +covering his cheeks and chin, and his forehead and neck were burnt to +the colour of dark leather by the rays of a tropic sun. He was dressed +in a pea-jacket and dungaree pants, but had no boots. + +'Sit down,' I said, c and tell us what we can do for you. But take a +glass of grog first.' + +He drank the liquor eagerly, first bowing to Mrs Hannah and then to us +all in turn, and at the same time taking a sweeping glance along the +deck at our crew, who were grouped for'ard. As he raised his hand to his +mouth I saw that the back of it was much tattooed. + +'Where did you lose your ship?' I asked. + +'Astrolaba Reefa,' he answered quickly, 'three hundreda mila to +south-a-ward.' + +'What was her name?' + +'The _Airdale_,' he replied glibly. 'Belonga to Liverpool--fine biga +ship. We bound to Pam in New Caledonia to load chroma ore, and run +ashore on dark night. Ship break up very quick'--and then he spun off +the rest of his yarn, and a very plausible one it was, too. The ship, +he said, was not injured much at first, and on the following morning +the captain, with the second mate and four hands, had left in one of the +boats for Pam to get assistance. The first mate, bos'un and three hands +were drowned. After waiting for ten days on the wreck the rest of the +crew took to the long boat, for bad weather came on, and the ship began +to pound on the reef. + +'But what are you doing here so far to the northward?' asked Hannah, in +his slow, drawling tones. 'Why didn't you steer for New Caledonia? You +were only two days' sail to there from Astrolabe Reefs. Now you are +three hundred miles to the north.' + +The man was a marvellous liar. Yes, he said, that was true, but 'Goda +help him,' he would 'speaka true.' He and the nine men with him did not +want to go to New Caledonia, and did not want to have anything more to +do with the captain, who was a very 'harda' man, and so they had stood +to the northward, meaning to land on one of the New Hebrides. + +'What was the captain's name?' + +'Smeeth--Captain Johna Smeeth. Belonga to Liverpool.' + +'Are you one of the ship's officers?' + +'I am carpenter,' he answered promptly. 'I all the time sail in Englisha +ship.' + +'Just so; are you a Frenchman?' asked Hannah, casually. + +'No; I come from Barcelon'.' + +'Well,' I said, 'I hope you will get along all right in your boat, +wherever you go. I'll give you a 50-lb. tin of biscuits, some tinned +meats, and as much water as you can take.' + +He thanked me effusively, and said he would remember me in his prayers +to the Virgin, etc. + +'Have you a compass?' I asked. + +He shrugged his shoulders despairingly. No, they had no compass; the +'gooda Goda must be compass' for them. + +Mani, Hannah's wife, who was sitting near us, with her youngest child on +her lap, apparently taking no heed of our talk, held the infant up and +smiled; and, as if speaking to it, said in Samoan,-- + +'He lies. I saw a boat compass in the stern sheets of the boat.' + +'Well, I'm sorry I can't give you a compass,' I said. 'Alan, pass up a +tin of biscuit and a case of meat. The breeze is freshening, and we must +get along.' + +Then our visitor made an earnest appeal. His boat was leaky, his +comrades were worn out, yet if we would let them come aboard they would, +after a little rest, tow the cutter in a calm, and not trouble us in +any way. Then, when we sighted Santo, they would leave us and make for +Leper's Island, which was the place they wanted to reach. The natives +there were very friendly, and there were some white men there. + +'No,' I said, 'our vessel is too small for so many people. If you follow +Pentecost along to the north, you will sight Leper's Island as soon as +you round the north point. Now, haul your boat alongside. And here are +a couple of bottles of brandy for yourself and crew, some matches, and a +small box of tobacco.' + +The boat hauled alongside, and our visitor, again thanking us, got in. +In a few minutes we saw their leader serving them out a nip; then the +night blotted them from view. + +At daylight we were again becalmed and drifting steadily to the +northward. The boat was not in sight, and the only signs of life visible +around us were some slender columns of smoke ascending from the native +villages along the coast, which was less than three miles away. The heat +at ten o'clock was intense, and, to add to our discomfort, a heavy +swell set in and caused us to roll incessantly. However, we lowered our +mainsail, tried to be philosophical, and waited for a breeze. Towards +four in the afternoon a sharp rain squall swept down upon us from the +land; it lasted barely ten minutes, and was followed by others at short +intervals, and then we knew we were in for a night of it. Whenever one +of these squalls came tearing over the water we made good use of the +wind by running before it to the east, so as to get away from the land; +but at midnight we found we were still a great deal too close; and that +the current was very strong, and now setting in-shore very rapidly, we +could tell by the sound of the surf. There was nothing for us but to tow +off, for the water was too deep to anchor, even within thirty fathoms of +the reef. Just as we got the boat over the side there came a tremendous +downpour of rain, and we could only make ourselves heard by shouting to +each other at the top of our voices. This continued for half an hour, +and through it all, the boat, with Alan and three hands, continued to +tow. Suddenly the rain ceased--for about five minutes--only to fall +again with a deafening uproar. At two o'clock it toned down to a misty +drizzle, and we called to Alan to come alongside, as Hannah, two of his +natives and myself would give him a spell. The rain had beaten the swell +down, but the current was terribly strong, and when the mist lifted a +bit we saw we were still too close to the reef. After taking a cast of +the lead, and finding no bottom, Hannah and his two natives and myself +tumbled into the boat. We had just about tautened the tow-line when +Alan's voice rang out. + +'Boat ahoy! Come back, quick, for God's sake! Here's the Frenchmen +coming!' + +We backed alongside and jumped on board, just in time; for almost at the +same moment the Frenchmen's boat came up with a rush, and half a dozen +men sprang on to our decks and instantly closed with us. The rest would +have followed, but the ever-ready Mani began firing into their boat +with a Winchester. This kept them off. Had they, too, gained the deck we +should probably have lost the ship. The struggle on board was short but +sharp. Hannah, who was possessed of enormous strength, had seized the +first man who jumped over the rail round his waist, and slung him clean +across the deck against the port bulwarks, were he lay stunned; and then +went for the next man, whom he knocked backward into the boat with a +terrific blow. Meanwhile, Alan, two native sailors and myself, where +tied up in a knot with three others on the port side. It was so dark +that it was impossible to tell friend from foe at first; and one of our +hands, a Savage Islander, named Puniola, was just about to put a knife +into me, as he, two of the boarders and myself were struggling together, +when by chance he felt the big square buckle of my leather belt and +recognised me. He quickly let go of me, seized one of the convicts by +the throat, and choked him into insensibility, and we soon quietened one +of the other two by the same method. The third man, who was as wiry as +an eel and as strong as a horse, fought desperately, knocked two of +us down, and was then himself laid out by Hannah, who had come to our +assistance. Poor Alan, however, had fared badly; for the leader of the +gang had half-stunned him with a weapon of some sort, and we found him +lying across the cutter's tiller, bleeding profusely from a cut on the +head. His assailant, seeing that the attempt to capture the ship had +failed, jumped overboard and swam to his boat, which was drifting near +to us in the darkness. + +As quickly as possible we got lights and examined the gentry lying about +on the deck. One of them was still unconscious, the rest were pretty +badly mauled about in the tussle; and Mani suggested that we had better +drop them overboard to save further trouble. Her blood was up, and she +was full of fight; but Hannah merely laughed, and told her not to be +such a _pun fia ai_ (tiger cat). + +Showing a light, we hailed the Frenchmen's boat, and told them to come +alongside again. + +'If you don't look smart we'll drop these five men overboard. So hurry +up.' + +The gentleman from 'Barcelon'--who was certainly possessed of inimitable +cheek--after telling us to go to Hades, added that he had but one oar +in the boat, the others had gone adrift. So we had to dump our prisoners +into our own boat, and pull out to the other. Then, while Alan and I +covered those in the Frenchmen's boat, Hannah and two hands flung our +prisoners out of our boat into their own. Their leader took matters very +coolly, cursed his returning comrades freely as cowards, and then had +the face to ask us for some oars. + +Then Hannah, who, we now found, spoke French, boiled over. Jumping into +the other boat, he seized the gentleman from Barcelona by the throat +with his left hand and rapidly pounded his face into a pulp with his +right. + +Whilst Hannah was taking his satisfaction out of the big man, we struck +some matches and examined the rest of the crowd in the boat. One man, we +saw, was badly wounded, Mani having sent two bullets through his right +shoulder and one through his thigh; another had his cheek cut open, but +whether this was caused by a bullet or not I could not tell. I, being +young and green, felt very pitiful and wanted Hannah to bring the +badly-wounded man on board; but he, like a sensible man, said he would +see me hanged first, and that we ought to shoot the lot of them. + +But, anyway, we gave them three oars, and then pushed clear of their +boat just as another rain squall came seething along. + +At dawn we saw them, about two miles abeam of us, pulling slowly in +towards Pentecost. + +We heard afterwards that they were sighted by the Sydney steamer +_Ripple_ Captain Ferguson, off Torres Island, in the Banks Group. Most +probably they abandoned the idea of stopping at Leper's Island, where +they would not be safe from recapture by the French cruisers, and +were then making for the Solomons. But that they ever reached there is +doubtful; or, if they did, they were probably eaten by the natives. The +boat, we heard, they had captured from a German vessel loading nickel +ore at one of north-eastern ports of New Caledonia, and they had then +raided a small settlement on the coast and obtained some arms and +provisions. Long afterwards I was told that their leader was a sailor +who was serving a life sentence for killing his mistress at La Ciotat, +in the South of France. + +It is quite possible, however, that they may have been picked up by +an American whale-ship making northwards to the Moluccas from the +New Zealand ground. In those days there were quite thirty ships still +remaining of the once great American whaling fleet, which traversed the +Pacific from one end to the other. + + Publisher's Note.--The half-caste Alan mentioned in this + story is the same 'Alan' who so frequently figures in Mr + Becke's tales in _By Reef and Palm_, and his subsequent + books. + + + + +THE SOUTH SEA BUBBLE OF CHARLES DU BREIL + +Less than a year ago news was received of the arrival in Noumea, in New +Caledonia, of the remainder of a party of unwashed visionaries, calling +themselves the 'United Brotherhood of the South Sea Islands.' A year +before they had sailed away from San Francisco in a wretched old crate +of a schooner, named the _Percy Edward_ (an ex-Tahitian mail packet), to +seek for an island or islands whereon they were to found a Socialistic +Utopia, where they were to pluck the wild goat by the beard, pay no +rent to the native owners of the soil, and, letting their hair grow down +their backs, lead an idyllic life and loaf around generally. Such a mad +scheme could have been conceived nowhere else but in San Francisco or +Paris. + +In the latter city such another venture, but founded on more heroic +lines of infatuation, was organised eighteen years ago by the late +Charles du Breil, Marquis de Rays, and the results ought to have made +the American enthusiasts reflect a little before they started. But +having got the idea that they might sail on through summer seas till +they came to some land fair to look upon, and then annex it right away +in the sacred name of Socialism (and thus violate one of the +principal articles of their faith), they started--only to be quickly +disillusionised. For there were no islands anywhere in the two Pacifics +to be had for the taking thereof; neither were there any tracts of land +to be had from the natives, except for hard cash or its equivalent. +The untutored Kanakas also, with whom they came in contact, refused to +become brother Socialists and go shares with the long-haired wanderers +in their land or anything else. So from island to island the _Percy +Edward_ cruised, looking more disreputable every day, until, as the +months went by, she began to resemble, in her tattered gear and dejected +appearance, her fatuous passengers. At last, after being chivvied about +considerably by the white and native inhabitants of the various islands +touched at, the forlorn expedition reached Fiji. Here fifty of the +idealists elected to remain and work for their living under a government +which represented the base and brutal institution of Monarchy. But the +remaining fifty-eight stuck to the _Percy Edward_ and her decayed salt +junk, and stinking water, and their beautiful ideals; till at last the +ship was caught in a hurricane, badly battered about, lost her foremast, +and only escaped foundering by resting her keel on the bottom of +Noumea Harbour. Then the visionaries began to collect their senses, +and denounced the _Percy Edward_ and the principles of the 'United +Brotherhood' as hollow frauds, and elected to go ashore and get a good +square meal. + +The affair recalls the story of the ill-starred colony of 'Nouvelle +France,' which was given the tacit support of the French Government, +the blessing of the Church, and the hard-earned savings of the wretched +dupes of French, Italian and Spanish peasantry who believed in it--until +it collapsed, and many of them died cursing it and themselves on the +fever-stricken shores of New Ireland. + +Early in 1879 an enticing prospectus appeared, signed 'Ch. du Breil, +Director and Founder of the Free Colony of Port Breton in Oceania.' In +this precious document the marvellous fertility, the beautiful scenery, +and the healthy climate of the island of New Ireland (Tombara) were +described at length, while the native inhabitants came in for much +unqualified praise as simple children of nature, who were looking +forward with rapture to the advent of the colonists, and to the prospect +of becoming citizens of the Free Colony, and being recognised as +Frenchmen, and helping the settlers cultivate the vine, etc., and being +admitted into the fold of Christianity. + +Perhaps Du Breil believed in his impossible scheme--many people said so, +when, some years afterwards, he was sentenced to two years' imprisonment +and a fine of thirty thousand francs for his share in it. But if he +did not, the French peasantry did, and money came pouring in. Ignorant +people sold their little all and gathered together at Marseilles and +other ports, where ships waited to convey them to the new paradise; +in all, nearly half a million pounds was subscribed. Then away +went emissaries to the southern parts of Italy, where the ignorant +agricultural labourers bit freely and were caught wholesale. In their +case, however, the prospectus varied from that issued in France, which +was specially designed to ensnare small capitalists, tradespeople +and farmers, as well as the poorer peasants. The various religious +fraternities in France, which hoped to benefit financially by +their advocacy, boomed the scheme, and sermons were preached on the +philanthropy of M. le Marquis, who, like Law and Blount, was nothing if +not magnificent. By the time the _Chandernagore_, the first ship, had +sailed from Flushing, elaborate plans were issued of the new city, with +its parks and public buildings, and noble wharves and boulevards aglow +with life and excitement; while the religious wants of the settlers had +not been neglected, for cathedrals and churches figured conspicuously. +Also, it was indicated by a carefully-prepared descriptive pamphlet, +that gold and diamonds and such other things only wanted looking for +in the surrounding islands, where they could be obtained in quantities +sufficient to satisfy the most avaricious. + +The _Chandernagore_ carried only eighty colonists, all males, and, +flying the Liberian flag, after a long passage she reached the Lachlan +Islands, in the South Pacific, where sixteen of them elected to stay, +charmed by the beauty of the place and the unconventional manners of +the native women. Of these sixteen, five died from fever, and of the +remainder two were killed and eaten by natives of other islands, and +the rest were rescued by Australian and German trading vessels. The +_Chandernagore_ proceeded on her voyage, and Port Breton was reached +at last. It is on the south end of the great island of New Ireland, and +with, perhaps, the exception of the Falkland Islands, or the Crozets, +or London in the month of November, the most sodden, dank, squashy and +appalling place on the globe. The day after the ship anchored it began +to rain, and, as it showed no signs of clearing up at the end of three +weeks, the captain was besought to look out for another site for the +city where it was not quite so wet. He took them to a better place, +named Liki Liki Bay, near Cape St George, and, after a preliminary orgie +on board, the enthusiastic colonists set to work house-building and +clearing the primaeval forest for the grape and fig crop. But as there +were about two thousand and ninety trees to the hectare, and every tree +was joined to its neighbours by vines as thick as a ship's main-mast, +the work proceeded but slowly. Considerable time was lost, also, by each +man dropping his axe twice in ten seconds to kill the mosquitoes which +stung him severely. After a few days of this the founders of New France +decided to return to Europe, and, duly arming themselves, went on board +and interviewed the captain. The captain, MacLachlan, was a Scotchman +by birth, but a naturalised Frenchman. He was also a humorist in a grim +sort of way. On the voyage out he and M. de Villacroix, who was the +temporary Governor, found that the eighty gentlemen colony founders were +a pretty rough lot, who wanted to take charge of the ship. MacLachlan, +who was a man of energy, brought them to reason by tricing seven of them +up to the rigging by their thumbs, and promised to 'deal severely' with +them next time. So when they boarded the _Chandernagore_ and informed +him that he must take them back to France, he answered by hunting them +ashore again, landing six months' provisions, and sailing for Sydney, +according to instructions from the Marquis. On arriving at Sydney +he chartered a schooner, loaded her with provisions and agricultural +machinery, and despatched her to Liki Liki Bay. Rough and cruel as +he may appear, MacLachlan was the right sort of man to master +insubordination and mutiny. I knew the man well, and know that he knew +the ruffianly element he had to deal with in the first lot of colonists, +and dealt with it in a proper and summary manner. Had there been half a +dozen more such men as himself and Villacroix to back him up, the tragic +ending of the ill-fated expedition would have been averted. + +But meantime the second contingent was preparing to leave, and the +steamer _Genii_ was bought by the Marquis to load another cargo of +deluded emigrants at Marseilles and Barcelona. Like Villacroix and +MacLachlan, her captain (Rabardy) was a man in whom he reposed implicit +trust; and, indeed, Du Breil seems to have been at least fortunate in +the choice of his sea-leaders to conduct his deplorable colonists to +their Paradise. Under other and less determined men the loss of life +would have been terrible. MacLachlan's letters from Sydney had warned +him of one source of danger--mutiny--and Du Breil decided to send +out with the second contingent a military guard. From the Italian and +Spanish 'settlers' there was nothing to fear. Whatever they suffered +they suffered in silence, like sheep; and the presence of several +priests (going out to preach in the handsome stone cathedrals and +churches before mentioned), whom they looked up to with simple +reverence, was a surer safeguard for their good conduct than a company +of troops. The married men among the French contingent of the second +lot were like them in this respect; but, all through the course of the +disastrous expedition, it was cursed by the inclusion of a number of +unmarried man, whose ruffianism proved too strong to be checked; then +there were a number of _nymphes du pavi_, recruited from the streets of +Marseilles and Toulon. 'They came on board as unmarried women, but an +"arrangement" in each case was made with one of the single men to play +M. le Mari,' said one of the leaders, to the writer, when he lay dying +of fever in the _Genil's_ stifling saloon at Duke of York Island. Who +can wonder at the collapse of the 'colony,' when practices such as +these were tolerated? But it is typical of the system, or rather want of +system, of French colonisation generally. On March 16th the _Genii_ +left Barcelona with over two hundred and fifty colonists--men, women +and children. Some of the Italians were from the north--these were +hard-working and intelligent--some from Calabria--little better than +beasts of the field--and the Spaniards came from Valencia and Catalonia. +The military guard consisted of a Spanish captain and lieutenant and +an Italian lieutenant, while the rank and file were of various +nationalities. Before the crazy old _Genii_ reached Port Said the guard +themselves made matters warm, and, with the first and second engineers +and second officer, refused to proceed. Rabardy, the captain, gladly let +them go at Port Said and made for the Maldive Islands, where he engaged +thirty Arabs. Later on he put these ashore at Point de Galle. At +Singapore the vessel remained six weeks, waiting for instructions, +and then reached Liki Liki Bay fifteen days later--to find the place +abandoned and the beach covered with the stores left there by the +_Chandernagore_ party, who had escaped to Australia; this he learned two +days later from the white traders at Mioko, the settlement on Duke of +York Island, twenty or thirty miles away. Rabardy was at his wit's end. +He knew that another steamer was due in a month or two, and determined +to wait and consult with the new Governor, who was coming out with a +fresh batch of three hundred people. No work at settlement was begun, +for Rabardy considered the former site could be bettered. Meanwhile, +there arrived a barque of one thousand tons, the _Marquis de Rays_, +deeply laden with cotton and sugar machinery, stores, provisions +and medicines, and a large amount of trade goods for barter with the +natives. These latter, although not cannibals like the people of the +neighbouring Island of New Britain, were a very low type of savages, and +their mode of life was disgusting in the extreme; whilst their wild and +ferocious appearance was in harmony with their stark nudity. Still the +_Genil's_ people established friendly relations with them, and were +supplied with fruit and vegetables, such as yams and taro. + +On October 17th the steamer _India_ arrived with her emigrants, and the +new Governor, M. de Prevost, nothing daunted by the unfortunate previous +experiences of the colony and its mismanagement, set to work with +Captain Rabardy to get things in order. + +A fresh site was chosen for the actual settlement, and the new arrivals, +joining heartily with the _Genil's_ people, began to clear and build. +The Italians and Spaniards toiled, in happy expectation of future +prosperity, with their French fellow-settlers, and hope ran high. But +already the deadly malaria had begun its work, and ere long more than +half of the many hundreds of colonists were suffering from fever, and +soon some died. Then suddenly the Governor, who hitherto had cheered +them up by his example and energy, announced his intention of going to +Sydney in the _Genii_ (the _India_ had sailed for France) to procure +cattle and a fresh stock of provisions. He never returned. Months and +months went by, and the colonists waited and waited, while the fever +carried off someone every few days; and then their hearts failed them, +and they longed for the lands they had left for a chimera. A sad +two months passed, and then one day another steamer--the _Nouvelle +Bretagne_--came into Liki Liki Bay. She had brought out some three +hundred more colonists, Spanish people, who listened, with doleful +faces, to the tale of those who had preceded them to the Utopia of +Charles du Breil. Rabardy, of the _Genil_, who, a month later, was to +die of fever, game to the last, consulted with Captain Henry, of +the _Nouvelle Bretagne_ and, as they talked on the poop deck of the +newly-arrived steamer, a cry came from the people on shore that another +ship was in sight. An hour later a black-painted, unobtrusive-looking +steamer came slowly into the bay and dropped anchor. She looked like a +collier, and flew the red ensign of England; but Henry knew her. She was +the _Legaspi_, Spanish gunboat from Manila, and had chased him from the +Philippines. As her cable rattled through her hawsepipes, down went the +red ensign and up went the Spanish colours, and a boat full of armed men +dashed alongside the _Nouvelle Bretagne_, and in another five minutes +Captain Henry was a prisoner, handcuffed, and on his way to the warship. +What he had done at Manila was a daring deed enough, and is a story in +itself, and nothing much to his discredit. His ship had been prevented +from putting to sea by the Spanish authorities, and Henry, who had many +sick on board, and was greatly harassed in mind, suddenly slipped his +cable and steamed off, although there was a Spanish guard on board. +These he landed on the coast of Luzon. + +That evening the commander of the _Legaspi_ called the Spanish emigrants +together and addressed them. 'The colony is a failure; the French, +Italian and Spanish Governments have repudiated it. Those of you who +like to return with the _Legaspi_ to Manila can do so; those who do not +may remain here, to die of starvation or be eaten by the savages.' + +Next morning the _Legaspi_ steamed out of Liki Liki Bay with the +_Nouvelle Bretagne_ in tow, taking; all the Spanish colonists with her. +Then, to the aid of the despairing French and Italian colonists, came +one Tom Farrell, an English trader on the Duke of York Island. He gave +them provisions, advanced them money, and treated them well, taking care +to get possession of the _Genil_ and the barque _Marquis de Rays_. +The _Genil_ he sent to Australia under command of an English captain +(Rabardy was dead by then, and his dying words to the writer of +this sketch, as he grasped his hand for the last time, were, 'I have +tried--and failed. I had not one competent officer with me to help me to +maintain my authority or shoot some of the ruffians who have ruined the +expedition'). Her unfortunate passengers were generously treated by the +New South Wales Government, who settled many of them on the Richmond +River, in the northern portion of the colony. Here they founded a +prosperous little settlement, and are to this day happy and contented, +and thank their stars that they left a spurious Utopia to dwell in a +country where the conditions of climate are like those of their own +sunny Italy. Perhaps, however, they think sometimes of those of their +former comrades who died out there in the savage 'colony' of Charles du +Breil. At Liki Liki there died nine; at Duke of York Island, thirteen; +at New Britain, twenty-one; and six were eaten by the cannibals of the +islands thereabouts. Of a score or so of others who remained in the +North-West Pacific there is no record. Probably they succumbed to +fever, or went down under the clubs and spears of the wild people of +New Britain, New Guinea and the Admiralty Group. Such was the end of the +vision of Charles du Breil and the Colony of New France. + + + + +THE WHITE WIFE AND THE BROWN 'WOMAN' + +Masters, the trader at Fana 'alu, was walking up the beach to his +house, reading a letter which he had just received from the captain of a +passing vessel. It was from his employers in Sydney,--'We are confident +that Mrs Masters and yourself will do all you can to render the lady's +stay at Fana 'alu agreeable to her. You will find her husband, our new +supercargo, a very fine fellow, easy to get on with, and a thoroughly +honourable and conscientious business man.' + +'Here, Melanie, old woman, where are you?' he called, as he flung +himself lazily into a cane lounge on the verandah. + +Melanie, who, native-like, was combing her hair in the sitting-room, +rose from the mat upon which she was sitting and came to the door. + +'What is it, Tom?' she asked, leaning against the wall and drawing the +comb slowly through her long, black locks. + +'Why, the barque will be here in another week or so, so this letter +says, and there's a _tamaitai papalagi_ (white lady) on board, and she +will very likely stay here with us while her husband, who is the new +supercargo, goes away in the ship to the Solomon Islands. He will come +for her again in about six weeks.' + + * * * * * + +Melanie's dark eyes glistened with pleasure. White women were rare +visitors at lonely Fana 'alu. Every year, it was true, when the American +missionary barque touched at the island, one, or sometimes two, white +ladies would come ashore; but they were missionaries' wives, and never +passed inside the door of the trader's house to speak to his wife. +That, in the eyes of the converted natives, would have been scandalous. +Melanie might, if she so wished it, have called upon _them_ at the +native teacher's house, and paid homage afar off by sitting down on the +mats in the furthest corner of the house, while fat, greasy Lepeka,{*} +the wife of the equally fat and greasy teacher Paulo, Christianly +whispered in the ears of the holy white ladies that that was the white +man's 'woman'--who wasn't married to her 'husband.' And even a white +missionary's wife must not offend the spouse of the native teacher. So +had any of these ladies wished to talk to Melanie, they would have had +to make Lepeka their medium; for in some parts of the South Seas the +usual position of vicar and curate is reversed, and the white visiting +missionary and his wife deliver themselves into the hands of the brown +curate and his wife for the time being. Perhaps it is this that makes +most white missionaries so thin--the strain of having to submit to a +Kanaka teacher's ideas of conventionality must be pretty hard to +bear. And so poor Melanie, who would have liked to have sat near the +fair-faced, sweet-voiced white ladies, or, perhaps, fondled their hands, +as did the young unmarried girls who always surrounded them, bore her +lot with content. For once, when she had brought her simple _alofa_ +(gift of love) to the missionaries, and laid it timidly down on the mats +in the centre of the room, one of the white ladies had smiled at her and +said to her husband,-- + +'Oh, what a pretty girl, and how nicely she is dressed. Ask her to come +here and sit by me.' + + * Rebecca. + +But Melanie was quick to see Lepeka's dark frown, and discreetly retired +to her usual corner, at the back of the room, and when she went home to +Masters, she did not chatter and laugh as usual when telling him of all +she had seen and heard at the teacher's house. + +For, in her simple heart, there began to grow an unrest. She would feel +better, she thought, when the mission ship had sailed away again, and +she would forget the kind smile of the missionary's wife, and forget, +too, the sneering curl of Lepeka's fat lips. Three years before, when +Tom Masters had picked her up in a dancing saloon in Apia and had asked +her to come away with him to Fana 'alu as his wife, she had thought of +a marriage in the church, with its attendant mild excitements, and +gluttonies of baked pig and fowls, and _palusami_ and other delicacies, +and the receiving and giving of many presents. But when Masters--who +possessed a fragmentary conscience--told her why he could not marry her, +she accepted the position calmly, and said it did not matter. + +Perhaps, among the women of Fana 'alu, she stood highest in public +estimation, notwithstanding her bar sinister, for she was open-handed +and generous, and both the chiefs wife and Lepeka, the teacher's grand +lady, were of common blood--whilst she, despite her antecedents in +Apia, was of the best in Manono--the birthplace of the noble families of +Samoa. + + * * * * * + +So, as she stood there in the doorway, first combing and then plaiting +her hair _a la Suisse_, she asked in her native tongue,-- + +'Is she young, Tom? Will she have hair of goldthread like that of the +wife thou hadst in Sini{*} long ago--she who married another man?' + + * Sydney. + +Masters laughed. How could he tell! She might be young and fair; she +might be an _olomatua_ (an old woman), dried up and skinny. But that +was none of their business. All that he and Melanie had to do was to +entertain her well and make much of her. + +'True,' said the placid-minded Melanie; 'and even if she be as ugly as +an _aitu_ (devil), yet will that fat-faced pig Lepeka die with envy to +see a white lady a guest in my house. Would that I could send to Manono +for my three brothers, so that they might come here and get drunk, and +beat Paulo! I hate Paulo, even as I hate Lepeka, for they both speak +evil of _me_, yet are for ever cringing to _thee_, taking eagerly thy +gifts of money to the church and the school and the mission fund, and +yet whispering of me as the dancing-house whore.' + +'Never mind that, old woman,' said Masters, softly, placing his hand +upon the girl's head. 'Next year we shall go away from Fana 'alu. We +shall go to Ponape, in the far, far north--away from these islands; no +bitter tongues shall pain thy heart there.' Then, picking up his hat, +he sauntered down to the beach again and stood watching his whale-boat +being hauled up into the boat-shed by her native crew. + +'_Like the wife he once had in Sydney, long ago._' + +He lit his pipe, and began to pace to and fro on the sandy path under +the cool shade of the coco-palms and bread-fruit trees, thinking of an +incident of his past life, which, although six long years had passed, +neither his subsequent wanderings in many lands, nor his three latter +years' monotonously happy and lazy existence with Melanie at Fana 'alu, +had yet quite banished from his memory. And the chance question put to +him half an hour before had brought back to him a vision of the slender, +blue-eyed and golden-haired woman who was the partner of his first +matrimonial venture. + +They had in the beginning led a turtle-dovey kind of life in those old +days on the shores of Port Jackson. Not long after their marriage the +shipping firm in which he was employed failed, and he had to seek for +another billet; and, being an energetic, self-reliant man, with no +false pride, he shipped as steward on board the _Noord Brabant_, a +hogged-backed, heartbroken and worn-out American lumber ship running +between Puget Sound and the Australian colonies. His wife had cried a +little at first; but he told her that no one but their two selves would +know, and it was better for him to be earning five pounds a month than +idling about in Sydney. + +On board the crazy old barque he found an acquaintance, who soon became +a friend. This was the second mate--another Sydney man--who had shipped +on the _Noord Brabant_ because berths on good ships were scarce and +mates and skippers were plentiful. So the two men, while the ship was +being patched up for her long voyage across the Pacific, spent their +evenings together at Masters's house. + +Harry Laurance--that was the second mate's name--was a fine, handsome +man, with clear, honest eyes and a merry, infectious laugh, and those +evenings at his friend's house were a source of unalloyed happiness +to him, for from his boyhood he had known no home except a ship or a +squalid boarding-house. + +One night, as the three sat together in Masters's little four-roomed +cottage, and Nellie Masters had ceased playing upon the rattling +fifteen-guinea box of discord called a piano, the three made plans for +the future. When they--Masters and Laurance--returned from Puget Sound, +they were not to part. Laurance, who had had long experience in the +Island trade, had saved a little money--not much (as he told Masters one +day when he placed ten sovereigns in the latter's hand, and asked him +to accept it as a loan for his wife's sake), but nearly enough to buy a +little thirty-ton vessel he knew of which was for sale, and which would +be just the craft to run on trading voyages from New Zealand among the +islands of the Gambier Group--if they could load her with trade goods. +And he knew a man in Puget Sound who, he thought, would lend him a +few hundreds, and take a third share in the venture. Then, when he and +Masters returned from the impending voyage to Sydney, they, with Mrs +Masters, would go over to Auckland, buy the schooner and the trade +goods, and then sail for Manga Reva in the Gambier Group, where Masters +and his wife were to buy a bit of land and put up a trading station, +whilst Laurance ran the little vessel to and fro among the various +islands of the group, and brought back pearl shell and copra for sale +to the big German firm in Tahiti. And Masters's pretty wife smiled +joyously. She did not like to be parted from Tom for nearly seven +months; but seven months was not a lifetime--and then they would be so +happy, away from the grinding poverty of their existence in Sydney. + + * * * * * + +Dreams! Six weeks afterwards, as the old _Noord Brabant_ lay groaning +over on her beam ends, thrashing her canvas to ribbons in a fierce night +squall off Beveridge Reef, Tom Masters, hurrying on deck to help +the hands shorten sail, was knocked overboard by the parting of the +spanker-boom guy, and disappeared without a cry, into the seething boil +to leeward. + +For two hours--after the squall had ceased, and Masters was missed--the +boat searched for him under the bright rays of a silvery moon and a +clear, cloudless sky. But every now and then rain fell heavily, and +though the boat rowed round and round the ship within a radius of two or +three miles no answering cry came to the repeated hails of the crew. +So then the _Noord Brabant_ stood away again on her course, and Harry +Laurance lay awake all his watch below, thinking sadly of his friend and +of the dreadful shock which awaited the young wife in Sydney. + +But Tom Masters did not drown. When he came to the surface of the water +he found himself floating among the _debris_ of the quarter-boat, +which, when the spanker-boom guy parted and the heavy spar swung over +to leeward, had swept the after-davit out of its socket and let the boat +hang, stern down, by the for'ard fall, until the labouring old barque, +raising her stern high out of the water, smashed down upon it as it +dragged under her counter and tore out the for'ard ringbolt. + +Half-stunned by the force of the blow which he had received on the back +of his head from the spanker-boom when it swept him overboard, Masters +was yet able to swim to the wreckage of the boat which he saw floating +near him, and, clinging to the after part of the keel, he saw the +cabin lights of the Noord Brabant shining brightly through the square, +old-fashioned ports for a minute or two, and heard the cries of her +crew as the sails were clewed up and furled. Then a sharp, hissing rain +squall hid her from view in a thick white mist, and, with agony and +despair in his heart, he gave up all hope of life, knowing that the only +other boat was turned bottom up on the main hatch of the barque, and +that the ship was only half-manned by a scratch crew of long-shore +loafers. + +But it so happened that when the _Noord Brabant_, close-hauled to clear +Beveridge Reef, was thrown on her beam ends by the violence of the +squall, the whaling schooner _John Bright_ was rolling easily along +before it under shortened canvas, and the cook of the schooner, as he +stood on the foc'scle, smoking his pipe, caught a sight of floating +wreckage right ahead, with the indistinct figure of a man clinging to +it, and bawled out 'Hard a-port!' just in time, or else the schooner +had run right on top of the drifting boat and finished this tale and Tom +Masters as well. + +But boats are lowered quickly on an American whale-ship--quicker than +on any other ship afloat--and in less than ten minutes Tom Masters was +picked up and, in face of a blinding rain squall, brought on board the +_John Bright_. Then a long illness--almost death. + +Three months afterwards, as the schooner was slowly crawling along over +the North Pacific towards Honolulu, she spoke a timber ship bound to the +Australian colonies from Port Townsend in Puget Sound; and Masters, now +recovering from the terrible shock he had received, went on board and +asked the captain to let him work his passage. But the Yankee skipper of +the lumber ship did not seem to like the idea of having to feed such +a hollow-eyed, gaunt-looking being for another six weeks or so, and +refused his request. And so Masters, in a dulled, apathetic sort of way +went back to the _John Bright_, climbed up her side, and, with despair +in his heart, lay down in his bunk and tried to sleep, never knowing +that, half an hour before, when he was speaking to the captain of the +lumberman, a letter to his wife from Laurance lay in a locker not three +feet away from him, telling her of her husband's death at sea and his +own heartfelt sorrow and sympathy. + +And Laurance was honest and genuine in his sympathy. He had had a warm +feeling of friendship for Tom Masters, and his heart was filled with +pity for the poor little wife left alone without a friend in the world. +He had tried to express himself clearly in his letter, but all that +Nellie Masters could understand was that Tom had been drowned at sea, +that Laurance would be back in Sydney in a month or two and give her all +particulars, and that she was not utterly friendless and alone in the +world. + +Within a month of Harry Laurance's return she began to think more of him +and of his goodness to her, than of her dead husband--and then gratitude +became love. She was only a poor little woman, and of a weakly, +irresolute nature, unable to think for herself, and unfitted to battle +alone with the world and poverty. So one day when Laurance, whose big +heart was full of love and pity for her, asked her to be his wife, she +gave him a happy smile and said 'Yes.' Before a second month had passed +they were quietly married. + +Masters, meanwhile, had been pursued by the demon of ill-luck. When the +schooner reached Honolulu, he, a mere wreck, physically and mentally, of +his former self, had been carried ashore to the hospital, and was making +a slow recovery, when the Sydney whaling brig, _Wild Wave_ came into +port with some of her crew injured by a boat accident. One of the men +was placed in a bed next to that occupied by Masters, and one day his +captain came to see him and brought him some colonial newspapers which +had just arrived. + +'Here, mate,' said the sailor, tossing one of the papers over to +Masters, 'you're a Sydney man, and there's a Sydney newspaper.' + +Masters took up the paper, and the first lines he read were these:-- + +'Laurance--Masters. On the 10th inst., at the Scots Church, Church Hill, +Henry A. Laurance to Helen, widow of the late Thomas Masters.' + +Possibly, had he been well enough to have returned to Sydney, he would +have gone back and made three persons' lives unhappy. But, although an +Englishman, he had not the rigidly conventional idea that the divorce +court was part of the machinery of the Wrath of God against women who +unknowingly committed bigamy, and ought to be availed of by injured +husbands. So, instead of having a relapse, he pulled himself together, +left the hospital, and got placidly drunk, and concluded, when he became +sober, not to disturb them. + +'I suppose neither of them is to blame,' he thought. 'How were either +of them to know that I was not drowned?... And then poor little Nell had +only ten shillings a week to live upon until I came back.' + +Still, he would have been better pleased had Harry Laurance been a +stranger to him--no man cares to know his successor in such a matter. +By-and-by he worked his passage to Samoa, where, under the assumed name +of Tom Patterson, he soon found employment. Then one night he went into +Charley the Russian's saloon--and met Melanie. + +And now he was settled down at Fana 'alu, was doing well as a trader, +and had acquired, in all its intensity, the usual dislike to the idea of +ever going back to the world again, common enough to men of his nature +in Polynesia. Besides that, Melanie understood him and he understood +her. She was as open and honest as the day, worked hard for him in his +store, and was sincerely attached to him. So he was well content. + + * * * * * + +There was much commotion in the village when the trading barque arrived +and lay-to off Fana 'alu. Melanie, in a dress of spotless white muslin, +flitted to and fro within the house, smoking cigarettes and cursing her +women assistants' laziness and stupidity. Masters, it so happened, was +away in his boat at another village along the coast, and pretty Melanie +was in a state of nervous trepidation at the thought of having to meet +the English lady alone. What should she do? What should she say? Her +English was scant but vigorous, having mostly been acquired from +the merchant skippers, who, in her--to put it nicely--maiden days, +frequented the dance house of 'Charley the Russian' in Apia, and she was +conning over the problem of whether she should address her coming guest +in that language or not. Her child, a little girl of two, followed her +mother's movements with intense curiosity; and presently a bevy of young +native girls swarmed into the room with the news that the boat had come +ashore, and that the white lady and her husband had landed and were +now walking up to the house. Then Mrs Masters Number Two pulled herself +together and, throwing away her cigarette, went to the door and, with a +graceful, modest demeanour and a timid, bashful smile, held out her hand +to a lovely being with big, bright blue eyes and thick masses of hair of +shining gold. Beside this--to Melanie--glorious vision of beauty, stood +the husband--a big, black-moustached and bronze-feced man, who stooped +as he entered the door of the trader's house, and said good-naturedly to +her,-- + +'Glad to meet you, Mrs Patterson. Will your husband be long before he +returns?' + +'I don' know, sir,' answered Melanie. 'He hav' gone to Pitofanua. But +he will come ver' quick when he know that the ship hav' come.' Then, +trembling with pleasurable excitement, she turned to the lady and +indicated a low easy-chair, and said in Samoan,-- + +'Sit thou there, O lady;' and then in English, 'I can't speak Englis' +very good sometimes. But my man will soon come.' Then she remembered +something. 'Please will you come into dis room here, which is been made +all ready for you, an' take off your hat;' and then she darted over to +a side table, brought a glass and a bottle of whisky over to the lady's +husband; then, with a winning smile, timidly held out her brown hand to +her guest, and led her into the bedroom. + +The new supercargo helped himself to a nip of whisky and then sat down, +his keen business eye taking in the order and cleanliness of the room. +In a few minutes his wife came out. + +'Hang these traders, Nell! Why isn't this fellow here to meet me? He had +no business to go away from his station when the ship was due. However, +he has jolly nice quarters, and so we'll make ourselves comfortable +until he turns up. I think you'll like this place, Nell, and won't find +it tedious whilst I'm away at the Solomons. Eh, pet?' + +The White Lady nodded and smiled. 'Yes, Harry, but I'll miss you +terribly to-morrow. Six weeks is a long time, dear.... Oh, Harry, +do look--isn't she a lovely child?' And, bending down, she swept up +Melanie's little girl in her arms and kissed her softly, and her eyes +suddenly filled with tears. + +'Yes,' said the supercargo, shortly, as, without looking at the child, +he took some papers from his pocket and began to read. His and her +hearts' desire had never been granted, and so he hated to look at the +child of another man. + +'I wish this fellow would come,' he said presently, in an irritable +tone, as he rose and walked to and fro.... Don't let that child paw you +about like that, Nell.... Hallo, here he is at last.' + +Fanning his heated brow with his broad hat of pandanus leaf, the trader +stood in the doorway. + +'Good morning. I'm sorry I was away when you came--' + +A cry, half scream and half sob, came from the supercargo's wife, as, +still holding the child in her arms, she swayed to and fro, and Melanie +sprang to her side. + +'Oh, Harry, it is Tom!' she said. + +Then she sank back and lay upon the matted floor, with her head pillowed +upon Melanie's bosom; and the child wailed in terror. + +'What the hell is the matter?' said the big supercargo, striding forward +to the trader and seizing him by the arm. Then he looked into Masters's +face. 'By God, Masters, is it _you_? As heaven is my judge, I swear to +you that we both thought you were dead!' + +The trader's eyes met his in a long, searching glance, then turned to +where the unconscious, figure of the white woman lay, supported in the +arms of Melanie, who, with affrighted eyes, gazed appealingly to them +both. + +He reached out his hand to the other man. 'That's all right, Laurance. +Let us go outside and talk. See, _your wife_ has fainted, but Melanie +will see to her.' + + * * * * * + +That night, whilst Masters and Laurance, cigars in mouth, were gravely +picking out the former's trade goods on board the _Palestine_ the White +Lady and the Brown 'Woman' talked. + +'Is you any better now?' said Melanie, as she caressingly ran her hand +down the golden locks of Mrs Laurance. + +A smothered sob was her answer, and the yellow head buried itself among +the pillows of the couch. + +Melanie turned away despairingly, and then lit a cigarette. What a fool +was this beautiful white woman--nothing but sob, sob, sob! What could be +done to dry her tears? + +Presently the Brown 'Woman' slid her hand under the waist of the weeping +White Lady, and pressed her cheek to hers. + +'Don' you wan' to stay here now?' + +'No, no, no! Let me go away. I wish I were dead!' + +'What for?' and the philosophical Melanie sent two long streaks of smoke +through her nostrils. 'Why are you 'shamed? You have a husban' now, and +yo' don' wan' to _faotane_, do you?' + +'What is _faotane?_' + +Melanie laughed. '_Faotane_ is Samoa language; it means stealing a +husban.... And yo' won' steal my husban' from me, will you? Yo' hav' got +a new husban', and yo' won' take Tom from me, will yo'?' + +Mrs Laurance sprang to her feet and placed her hands on the Brown +'Woman's' shoulders. + +'Tell me,' she said, 'did he ever talk of me?' + +'Yes,' said the truthful Melanie. 'He tell me that yo' have hair like +gold, and that your eye was blue like the sky.' + +'No more?' + +Melanie shook her black locks. 'No more. My man never talk too much. You +like to eat some roast pigeon now?' + +The White Lady turned her head aside and sobbed. 'And for a soulless +being like this!' Then she remembered that Masters was not to blame, and +waited, trembling and sobbing, for the two men to return. + + * * * * * + +Masters, having finished his business on board the barque, held out his +hand to Laurance. + +'Good-bye, Harry. Nothing can be done. Tom Masters was drowned off +Beveridge Reef years ago, and Harry Laurance married his widow; and Tom +Patterson is another man, who has a native wife, and--' + +He wrung Laurance's hand, sprang up the companion-way and called to +his boat's crew,-- + +'Haul the boat alongside, boys. I'm going to Pito-fanua again; and you +beggars will have to pull like hell.... Good-bye, Harry, old fellow. +Send your boat ashore for your wife... and God bless you both!' + + + + +WITH HOOK AND LINE ON AN AUSTRAL RIVER + +The English visitor to the Eastern Colonies of Australia, who is +in search of sport with either rod or hand line, can always obtain +excellent fishing in the summer months, even in such traffic-disturbed +harbours as Sydney, Newcastle and other ports; but on the tidal rivers +of the eastern and southern seaboard he can catch more fish than he can +carry home, during nine months of the year. In the true winter months +deep sea fishing is not much favoured, except during the prevalence of +westerly winds, when for days at a time the Pacific is as smooth as a +lake; but in the rivers, from Mallacoota Inlet, which is a few miles +over the Victorian boundary, to the Tweed River on the north, the +stranger may fairly revel, not only in the delights of splendid fishing, +but in the charms of beautiful scenery. He needs no guide, will be put +to but little expense, for the country hotel accommodation is good +and cheap; and, should he visit some of the northern rivers, where the +towns--or rather small settlements--are few and far between, he will +find the settlers the embodiment of British hospitality. Some five years +ago the writer formed one of the crew of a little steamer of fifty tons, +named the _Jenny Lind_, which was sent out along the coast in the +futile endeavour to revive the coast whaling industry. Through stress +of weather we had frequently to make a dash for shelter, towing our one +whale-boat, to one of the many tidal rivers on the coast between Sydney +and Gabo Island. Here we would remain until the weather broke, and our +crew would literally cover the deck with an extraordinary variety of +fish in the course of a few hours. Then, at low tide, we could always +fill a couple of corn sacks with excellent oysters, and get bucketfuls +of large prawns by means of a scoop net improvised from a piece of +mosquito netting. Game, too, was very plentiful on the lagoons. The +settlers were generally glad to see us, and gave us so freely of milk, +butter, pumpkins, etc., that, despite the rough handling we always had +at sea from the weather, we grew quite fat. But as the greater part of +my fishing experience was gained on the northern rivers of the colony +of New South Wales, it is of them I shall write. Eighteen hours' run +by steamer from Sydney is the Hastings River, on the southern bank of +which, a mile from the bar, is the old-time town of Port Macquarie--a +quaint, sleepy little place of six hundred inhabitants, who spend their +days in fishing and waiting for better times. There are two or three +fairly good hotels, very pretty scenery along the coast and up +the river, and a stranger can pass a month without suffering from +_ennui_--that is, of course, if he be fond of fishing and shooting; if +he is not, he should avoid going there, for it is the dullest coast +town in New South Wales. The southern shore, from the steamer wharf to +opposite the bar, is lined with a hard beach, on which, at high tide +or slack water at low tide, one may sit down in comfort and have great +sport with bream, whiting and flathead. As soon as the tide turns, +however, and is well on the ebb or flow, further fishing is impossible, +for the river rushes out to sea with great velocity, and the incoming +tide is almost as swift. On the other side of the harbour is a long, +sandy point called the North Shore, about a mile in length. This, at the +north end, is met by a somewhat dense scrub, which lines the right bank +of the river for a couple of miles, and affords a splendid shade to +anyone fishing on the river bank. The outer or ocean beach is but a few +minutes' walk from the river, and a magnificent beach it is, trending in +one great unbroken curve to Point Plomer, seven miles from the township. + +Before ascending the river on a fishing trip one has to be provided with +a plentiful supply of cockles, or 'pippies,' as they are called locally. +These can only be obtained on the northern ocean beach, and not the +least enjoyable part of a day's sport consists in getting them. They +are triangular in shape, with smooth shells of every imaginable colour, +though a rich purple is commonest. As the backwash leaves the sands +bare, these bivalves may be seen in thick but irregular patches +protruding from the sand. Sometimes, if the tide is not low enough, one +may get rolled over by the surf if he happen to have his back turned +seaward. Generally I was accompanied by two boys, known as 'Condon's +Twins.' They were my landlord's sons, and certainly two of the smartest +young sportsmen--although only twelve years old--I ever met with. Both +were very small for their age, and I was always in doubt as to which +was which. They were always delighted to come with me, and did not +mind being soused by a roller now and then when filling my 'pippy' bag. +Pippies are the best bait one can have for whiting (except prawns) in +Australia, for, unlike the English whiting, it will not touch fish +bait of any sort, although, when very hungry, it will sometimes take +to octopus flesh. Bream, whether black or silvery, flathead, trevally, +Jew-fish, and, indeed, all other fish obtained in Australia, are not +so dainty, for, although they like 'pippies' and prawns best, they will +take raw meat, fish, or octopus bait with readiness. Certain species of +sea and river mullet are like them in this respect, and good sport may +be had from them with a rod in the hot months, as Dick and Fred, +the twins aforesaid, well knew, for often would their irate father +wrath-fully ask them why they wasted their time catching 'them worthless +mullet.' + +But let me give an idea of one of many days' fishing on the Hastings, +spent with the 'Twins.' Having filled a sugar-bag with 'pippies' on the +ocean beach, we put on our boots and make our way through the belt of +scrub to where our boat is lying, tied to the protruding roots of a +tree. Each of us is armed with a green stick, and we pick our way pretty +carefully, for black snake are plentiful, and to tread on one means +death. The density of the foliage overhead is such that but little +sunlight can pierce through it, and the ground is soft to our feet with +the thick carpet of fallen leaves beneath. No sound but the murmuring of +the sea and the hoarse notes of countless gulls breaks the silence, for +this side of the river is uninhabited, and its solitude disturbed only +by some settler who has ridden down the coast to look for straying +cattle, or by a fishing party from the town. Our boat, which we had +hauled up and then tied to the tree, is now afloat, for the tide has +risen, and the long stretches of yellow sandbanks which line the channel +on the further side are covered now with a foot of water. As we drift up +the river, eating our lunch, and letting the boat take care of herself, +a huge, misshapen thing comes round a low point, emitting horrid +groanings and wheezings. It is a steam stern-wheel punt, loaded with +mighty logs of black-butt and tallow wood, from fifty feet to seventy +feet in length, cut far up the Hastings and the Maria and Wilson Rivers, +and destined for the saw-mill at Port Macquarie. + +In another hour we are at our landing-place, a selector's abandoned +homestead, built of rough slabs, and standing about fifty yards back +from the river and the narrow line of brown, winding beach. The roof had +long since fallen in, and the fences and outbuildings lay low, covered +with vines and creepers. The intense solitude of the place, the +motionless forest of lofty, grey-boled swamp gums that encompassed it +on all sides but one, and the wide stretch of river before it were +calculated to inspire melancholy in anyone but an ardent fisherman. +Scarcely have we hauled our boat up on the sand, and deposited our +provisions and water in the roofless house, when we hear a commotion +in the river--a swarm of fish called 'tailer' are making havoc among a +'school' of small mullet, many of which fling themselves out upon the +sand. Presently all is quiet again, and we get our lines ready. + +For whiting and silvery bream, rather fine lines are used; but we each +have a heavy line for flathead, for these fish are caught in the tidal +rivers on a sandy bottom up to three feet and four feet in length. They +are in colour, both on back and belly, much like a sole, of great width +across the shoulders, and then taper away to a very fine tail. The head +is perfectly flat, very thin, and armed on each side with very sharp +bones pointing tailward. A stab from one of these causes intense +inflammation. The fins are small--so small as to appear almost +rudimentary--yet the fish swims, or rather darts, along the bottom with +amazing rapidity. They love to lie along the banks a few feet from the +shore, where, concealed in the sand, they can dart out upon and seize +their prey in their enormous 'gripsack'mouths. The approach of a boat, +or a person walking along the sand, will cause them to at once speed +like lightning into deep water, leaving behind them a wake of sand and +mud, which is washed off their backs in their flight. Still, although +not a pleasing fish to look at, the flathead is of a delicious and +delicate flavour. There are some variations in their shades of colour, +from a pale, delicate grey to a very dark brown, according to their +habitat, and, although most frequent in very shallow water, they are +often caught in great quantities off the coast in from ten to fifteen +fathoms of water. Gut or wire snoodings are indispensable when fishing +for flathead, else the fish invariably severs the line with his fine +needle-pointed teeth, which are set very closely together. Nothing comes +amiss to them as food; but they have a great love for small mullet or +whiting, or a piece of octopus tentacle. + +Baiting our heavy lines with mullet--two hooks with brass-wire snoods to +each line--we throw out about thirty yards, then, leaving two or three +fathoms loose upon the shore, we each thrust a stick firmly into the +sand, and take a turn of the line round it. As the largest flathead +invariably darts upon the bait, and then makes a bolt with it, this plan +is a good one to follow, unless, of course, they are biting freely; in +that case the smaller lines for bream and whiting, etc., are hauled in, +for there is more real sport in landing a 10-lb. flathead than there is +in catching smaller fish, for he is very game, and fights fiercely for +his life. + +Having disposed our big lines, we bait the smaller ones with 'pippies,' +and not two minutes at the outside elapse after the sinkers have touched +bottom when we know we are to have a good time, for each of us has +hooked a fish, and three whiting are kicking on the sand before five +minutes have expired. Then for another hour we throw out and haul in +again as quickly as possible, landing whiting from 6 oz. to nearly 2 lb. +weight. One of the 'Twins' has five hooks on his line, and occasionally +lands three fish together, and now and again we get small bream and +an occasional 'tailer' of 2 lb. or 3 lb. As the sun mounts higher the +breeze dies away, the heat becomes very great, and we have frequent +recourse to our water jar--in one case mixing it with whisky. Then the +whiting cease to bite as suddenly as they have begun, and move off into +deeper water. Just as we are debating as to whether we shall take +the boat out into mid-stream, Twin Dick gives a yell, as his stick is +suddenly whipped out of the sand, and the loose line lying beside it +rushes away into the water. But Dick is an old hand, and lets his fish +have his first bolt, and then turns him. 'By jingo! sir, he's a big +fellow,' he cries, as he hauls in the line, now as taut as a telegraph +wire, and then the other twin comes to his aid, and in a few minutes the +outline of the fish is seen, coming in straight ahead, as quick as they +can pull him. When he is within ten feet of the beach the boys run up +the bank and land him safely, as he turns his body into a circle in +his attempts to shake out the hook. Being called upon to estimate his +weight, I give it as 11 lb., much to the Twins' sorrow--they think it 15 +lb. Half an hour passes, and we catch but half a dozen silvery bream and +some small baby whiting, for now the sun is beating down upon our heads, +and our naked feet begin to burn and sting; so we adjourn to the old +house and rest awhile, leaving our big lines securely tied. But, though +the breeze for which we wait comes along by two o'clock, the fish do +not, and so, after disinterring our takes from the wet sand, wherein we +had buried them as they were caught, to prevent them being spoilt by +the sun, we get aboard again and pull across to the opposite bank of the +river. Here, in much deeper water, about fifteen feet right under the +clayey bank, we can see hundreds of fine bream, and now and then +some small Jew-fish. Taking off our sinkers, we have as good and more +exciting sport among the bream than we had with the whiting, catching +between four and five dozen by six o'clock. Then, after boiling the +billy and eating some fearfully tough corned meat, we get into the boat +again, hoist our sail, and land at the little township just after dark. +Such was one of many similar days' sport on the Hastings, which, with +the Bellinger, the Nambucca, the Macleay and the Clarence Rivers, +affords good fishing practically all the year round. Then, besides these +tidal rivers, there are at frequent intervals along the coast, tidal +lagoons and 'blind' creeks where fish congregate in really incredible +quantities. Such places as Lake Illawarra and Lake Macquarie are fishing +resorts well known to the tourist; but along the northern coast, where +the population is scantier and access by rail or steamer more difficult, +there is an absolutely new field open to the sportsman--in fact, these +places are seldom visited for either fishing or shooting by people +from Sydney. During November and December the bars of these rivers are +literally black with incredible numbers of coarse sea-salmon--a fish +much like the English sea bass--which, making their way over the bars, +swim up the rivers and remain there for about a week. Although these +fish, which weigh from 8 lb. to 10 lb., do not take a bait, and are +rather too coarse to eat, their roes are very good, especially when +smoked. They are captured with the greatest of ease, either by spearing +or by the hand, for sometimes they are in such dense masses that they +are unable to maoeuvre in small bays, and the urchins of coastal towns +hail their yearly advent with delight. They usually make their first +appearance about November 20th (I presume they resort to the rivers to +spawn), and are always followed by a great number of very large sharks +and saw-fish,{*} which commit dreadful havoc in their serried and +helpless ranks. Following the sea-salmon, the rivers are next visited +in January by shoals of very large sea-mullet--blue-black backs, silvery +bellies and sides, and yellow fins and tails. These, too, will not take +a bait, but are caught in nets, and, if a steamer happens to be on the +eve of leaving for Sydney, many hundreds of baskets are sent away; but +they barely pay the cost of freight and commission, I believe. There are +several varieties of sea-mullet, one or two of which will take the hook +freely, and I have often caught them off the rocky coast of New South +Wales with a rod when the sea has been smooth. The arrival of the big +sea-mullet denotes that the season for Jew-fish is at its height, and +if the stranger to Australian waters wants exciting sport, let him try +Jew-fishing at night. In deep water off the coast these great fish are +occasionally caught during daylight, but a dull, cloudy night is best, +when they may be caught from the beach or river bank in shallow water. +Very stout lines and heavy hooks are used, for a 90-lb. or 100-lb. +Jew-fish is very common. Baiting with a whole mullet or whiting, or one +of the arms of an octopus, the most amateurish fisherman cannot fail to +hook two or three Jew-fish in a night. (Even in Sydney Harbour I have +seen some very large ones caught by people fishing from ferry wharves.) +They are very powerful, and also very game, and when they rise to the +surface make a terrific splashing. At one place on the Hastings River, +called Blackman's Point, a party of four of us took thirteen fish, +the heaviest of which was 62 lb. and the lightest 9 lb. Next morning, +however, the Blackman's Point ferryman, who always set a line from his +punt when he turned in, showed us one of over 90 lb. When they grow to +such a size as this they are not eaten locally, as the flesh is very +often full of thin, thread-like worms. The young fish, however, are very +palatable. + + * The 'saw-fish' of the Australian tidal rivers is very + distinct from the sword-fish of the deep sea. + +The saw-fish, to which I have before alluded as harrying the swarms of +sea-salmon, also make havoc with the Jew-fish, and very often are caught +on Jew-fish lines. They are terrible customers to get foul of (I do not +confound them with the sword-fish) when fishing from a small boat. Their +huge broad bill of hard bone, set on both sides with its terrible sharp +spikes, their great length and enormous strength, render it impossible +to even get them alongside, and there is no help for it but either to +cut the line or pull up anchor and land him on the shore. Even then the +task of despatching one of these creatures is no child's play on a dark +night, for they lash their long tails about with such fury that a broken +leg might be the result of coming too close. In the rivers of Northern +Queensland the saw-fish attain an enormous size, and the Chinese +fishermen about Cooktown and Townsville often have their nets destroyed +by a sawfish enfolding himself in them. Alligators, by the way, do the +same thing there, and are sometimes captured, perfectly helpless, in the +folds of the nets, in which they have rolled themselves over and over +again, tearing it beyond repair with their feet, but eventually yielding +to their fate. + +The schnapper, the best of all Australian fish, is too well known to +here enter into a detailed description. Most town-bred Australians +generally regard it as a purely ocean-loving fish, or at least only +frequenting very deep waters in deep harbours, such as Sydney, Jervis +Bay and Twofold Bay. This is quite a mistake, for in many of the rivers, +twenty or more miles up from the sea, the writer and many other people +have not only caught these beautiful fish, but seen fishermen haul in +their nets filled with them. But they seldom remain long, preferring the +blue depths of ocean to the muddy bottoms of tidal rivers, for they are +rock-haunting and surf-loving. + +Of late years the northern bar harbours and rivers of New South Wales +have been visited by a fish that in my boyhood's days was unknown even +to the oldest fisherman--the bonito. Although in shape and size they +exactly resemble the ocean bonito of tropic seas, these new arrivals are +lighter in colour, with bands of marbled grey along the sides and +belly. They bite freely at a running bait--i.e., when a line is towed +astern--and are very good when eaten quite fresh, but, like all of the +mackerel tribe, rapidly deteriorate soon after they are caught. The +majority of the coast settlers will not eat them, being under the idea +that, as they are all but scaleless, they are 'poisonous.' This silly +impression also prevails with regard to many other scaleless fish on +the Australian coast, some of which, such as the trevally, are among the +best and most delicate in flavour. The black and white rock cod is also +regarded with aversion by the untutored settlers of the small coast +settlements, yet these fish are sold in Sydney, like the schnapper, at +prohibitive prices. + +In conclusion, let me advise anyone who is contemplating a visit to +Australia, and means to devote any of his time to either river or lake +fishing, to take his rods with him; all the rest of his tackle he can +buy as cheap in the colonies as he can in England. Rods are but little +used in salt-water fishing in Australia, and are terribly expensive to +buy. Those who do use a rod are usually satisfied with a bamboo--a +very good rod it makes, too, although inconvenient to carry when +travelling--but the generality of people use hand lines. And the visitor +must not be persuaded that he can get really good river fishing without +going some distance from Sydney or Melbourne. That there is some +excellent sport to be obtained in Port Jackson in summer is true, but it +is lacking in a very essential thing--the quietude that is dear to the +heart of every true fisherman. + + + + +THE WRECK OF THE LEONORA: A MEMORY OF 'BULLY' HAYES + +The brig _Leonora_, owned and commanded by the notorious Captain 'Bully' +Hayes, has, perhaps, been more written and talked about than any other +vessel, except the _Bounty_, that ever sailed the South Seas, and her +career was as eventful as that of her captain. It was my fortune to fill +the distinguished position of supercargo to that eminent gentleman for +two years, and, as may be imagined by those who have read anything of +Hayes's strange life and doings in the Pacific and the China Seas, +I found the berth a remarkably curious one. How and why I became +supercargo to the famous alleged pirate is another story; but, in +justice to 'Bully's' memory, I may here at once say that the man was +_not_ the remorseless ruffian that his enemies and many writers of tales +of the South Seas have painted him; furthermore, he was one of the best +sailor-men that ever trod a deck. Had he lived in the times of Drake or +Dampier, he would have been a hero, for he was a man born to command and +lead. _Inter alia_, he was also clever with his fists, and my soul was +possessed of the deepest admiration for him in this respect from the +very first day I stepped on board the _Leonora_, in Milli Lagoon, in +the Marshall Islands, for it was my privilege to see him knock out +three men, one after another, in twice as many minutes. These men were +'toughs' from a New Bedford whaler, and had been put ashore at Milli +Lagoon by their captain as dangerous and useless characters. They came +on board the _Leonora_ and asked 'Bully' to ship them. He refused in +such unnecessary language that the leader of the three, in fatuous +ignorance of the man to whom he was speaking, threatened to 'put a head +on him'; whereupon Hayes at once had the deck cleared, and, taking them +in turn, knocked each man out in the first round. Then he gave them a +glass of grog all round, a bottle of arnica to cure the malformations he +had caused on their countenances, and sent them ashore. + +But this is not the story of the wreck of the _Leonora_. + +We had made Strong's Island from Ponape, in the Western Carolines, to +wood and water and land some cattle, and for two weeks we lay at +anchor in the beautiful harbour of Lele. We found the island in a very +disturbed and excited state, for a few weeks previously two American +sperm whalers had touched at Lele and landed five white men, with a +retinue of nearly one hundred savage natives from Pleasant Island, an +isolated spot situated in 0.25 S., and these people--white and brown--so +terrified the Strong's Islanders that the old King Togusa was in abject +fear of them. We (Hayes and myself) soon learnt their story, which was +that they had been compelled to fly for their lives from Pleasant Island +on account of an engagement between the various clans of that place. The +two chiefs under whose protection these men lived had been badly beaten, +and the victors gave the five white traders a short notice to clear out +or be shot. They at once put to sea in their several whale-boats, but +when some three hundred miles away from the island, on their way to +Ponape--the North Pacific Cave of Adullam--they were sighted and picked +up by the two whalers, the _St George_ and the _Europa_, the captains of +which, not caring for their company all the way to Ponape, landed them +at Strong's Island. They were now awaiting a chance to continue their +voyage to Ponape in a passing whaler, and in the meantime their savage +followers were harrying the unfortunate Strong's Islanders to death, +robbing their plantations, abducting their women and knocking them about +generally. + +These wild people were the most noisy and intractable lot of natives I +had ever seen, wearing only a girdle of leaves around their waists, +and all armed with Snider carbines and short stabbing knives made from +cutlasses broken in halves. But, although they bullied the weak and +effeminate Strong's Islanders, they were yet very obedient to their +white masters, to whom they were all more or less related through the +native wives whom the traders had married. The women were very tall +and handsome, and every bit as handy with their knives as the men in a +quarrel. + +Hayes, of course, was well known to both the white men and natives, and +at once began his good offices by threatening to open fire on the houses +and boats of the former if they did not at once cease to persecute the +king and his subjects. This threat he made in the presence and hearing +of the king himself, who was deeply grateful, and at once said he would +make him a present of two tuns of oil. The five hairy ruffians were +considerably startled at first; but Hayes, I regret to say, turning to +one of them, named Pedro Diaz, said in Spanish, 'Don't be scared, Peter. +I'm not going back on you fellows; but at the same time you'll have to +quit knocking these poor devils about. So just go ashore and take away +your people's rifles--it means a couple of tuns of oil for me--its just +as well in the hold of the _Leonora_ as in that of the missionary brig +_Morning Star_. The missionaries would only promise King Togusa credit +in heaven. I'll give him enough grog to keep him drunk for a month of +Sundays on earth; and as he never possibly could get to heaven, I am +treating him better than the missionaries, who would simply be obtaining +his oil under false pretences.' + +On the following day the king sent off his gift of oil; the five white +men and he became reconciled, and the abducted Strong's Island women +were returned to their parents or husbands as a guarantee of good faith. +In the evening the traders came on board and made an arrangement with +Hayes to proceed in the brig to Arrecifos (Providence Island), a large +atoll to the north-west, of which Hayes had taken possession. Here they +were to live as long as they liked, paying Hayes a certain quantity of +coco-nut oil as tribute, and resisting, by force of arms, any attempt to +take possession of the atoll by the German trading company of Godeffroy, +should it be made by any one of the three, armed German brigs belonging +to the firm, and then cruising in the North Pacific. + +Two days later we bade farewell to the old king and his pretty young +wife, Se, and the _Leonora_ sailed out of Lele. We were first to call at +South Harbour, six miles to leeward, where we were to take in yams, pigs +and other provisions for the voyage to Providence Island, as we had now +over one hundred additional people on board. + +We ran out of Lele at daylight, and at seven o'clock in the morning +dropped our anchor in fourteen fathoms in South Harbour, or Utwe,{*} as +the natives called it. As quickly as possible the ship's boats, aided +by those belonging to the traders, set to work to bring off the yams and +pigs, for which, as they were brought on deck by their native owners, I +weighed and paid. By dusk we had finished, and I was just dressing to go +to supper aboard one of the American whale-ships which were lying near +us, when the trade wind, which had been lusty enough all day, suddenly +fell--a very dangerous sign at that season of the year. In a few minutes +Hayes sent a boat over to the whalers, telling the captains that a blow +was coming on from the westward, and advising them to clear out to sea. +But the American captains decided not to risk towing out through the +narrow passage; and as they were in a much better position than the +_Leonora_, they did wisely, for in less than a quarter of an hour a +mountainous swell began rolling in, and it soon became evident that +even with our own four boats, and the seven belonging to the traders, we +could not tow out. + + * The Port Lottin of Dupurrcy. + +As quickly as possible Hayes had our royal and top-gallant yards sent +down, the boats slung in-board from the davits on the deck, the Pleasant +Islanders sent below, and every preparation made to ride out the blow, +which we were in hopes would not last more than six hours or so. So far +not a breath of wind had come, but the brig was rolling so badly that +we quite expected to see her go over on her beam ends and stay there. +At sunset the air was so close and oppressive that one could scarcely +breathe, and the natives in the hold became half suffocated, and +could only be kept down by the white traders and some of our officers +threatening to shoot the first man that tried to get on deck. Many of +them, however, besought to be allowed to swim ashore and remain till +morning, and Hayes told them they could go. Some ten men and six +women at once came up; and, although it was now dark, and the sharks +consequently much more to be dreaded, sprang overboard, and swam in +towards the native village of Utwe. + +For another twenty minutes or more we remained anxiously awaiting. The +sky was as black as pitch, and there was now a tremendously high sea, +and the din and thunder of the surf on the reef a couple of cables' +length away was most appalling. I had never heard anything like it +before, nor have I since; and the weird sound of the huge seas as they +tumbled and roared upon the hollow crust of the reef made my hair stand +upon end like priming wires. The tide was low, and perhaps that had +something to do with the wild, resounding clamour of the seas upon the +long line of reef; but there was a strange humming note underlying it +all, which was new to many of our ship's company, and seemed to fill +even the rest of the Pleasant Islanders who remained on board with a +sense of dread, for they earnestly besought Hayes to let them come on +deck, for, they said, 'the belly of the world was about to burst.' + +To this, most fortunately for themselves, Hayes consented, and in a +few minutes they swarmed up on deck, each man carrying his Snider +and cutlass-knife, and the women and children loaded up with their +sleeping-mats and other gear. Some of the women crawled under the long +boat, which was lying on the port side, and made themselves comfortable; +and the men brought their arms to me to stow in the trade room, for fear +of their getting wet, and then returned to their white masters, who were +grouped together on deck. + +Then, quite suddenly, the jumping, tumbling sea began to subside, and +through the darkness we heard the skipper of one of the American whalers +hail us. + +'What are you, going to do, Captain Hayes? I guess we're in a pretty +tight place. I'd try to tow out if I could see the hole in the wall. +We're going to get it mighty hot presently. It's coming on fast.' + +'That's so,' Hayes replied, with a laugh; 'but we can't stop it. And, +say, look here, captain, as you fellows are lying further out than I am, +you might each start a cask of oil to run when the seas begin to break. +It won't help you much, but it will me.' + +The whale-ship captain laughed, and said that he was afraid that his +six hundred barrels of oil would start themselves if the sea began to +break--meaning that his ship would go ashore. + +The previous heavy rolling of the brig had nearly made a wreck of my +trade room, for everything had been jerked off the shelves, and cases +of liquor, powder, cartridges, concertinas and women's hats, etc., were +lying burst open on the floor; so, calling a couple of native sailors +to help me, I was just going below, when I heard Captain Hayes's sharp +tones calling out to our officers to stand by. + +From the north-west there came a peculiar droning, humming sound, +mingled with a subdued crashing and roaring of the mountain forest, +which lay about a quarter of a mile astern of us--the noise one hears +when a mighty bush fire is raging in Australia, and a sudden gust of +wind adds to its devastation--and then in another half a minute the +brig spun round like a top to the fury of the first blast, and we were +enveloped in a blinding shower of leaves, twigs and salty spray. She +brought up to her anchors with a jerk that nearly threw everyone off his +feet, and then in an incredibly short time the sea again began to rise, +and the brig to plunge and take water in over the bows and waist--not +heavy seas, but sheets of water nipped off by the force of the wind and +falling on the decks in drenching showers. + +Just as I was hurrying below, Hayes stopped me. + +'Don't bother about the trade room. Get all the arms and ammunition you +can ready for the boats. I'm afraid that we won't see this through. The +blubber-hunters are all right; but we are not. We have to ride short. I +can't give her more than another ten fathoms of cable--there are a lot +of coral boulders right aft. If the wind hauls round a couple of points +we may clear them, but it isn't going to; and we'll get smothered in the +seas in another ten minutes--if the cables don't part before then.' + +Seldom was a ship sent to destruction in such a short time as the +_Leonora_. I had not been five minutes in the main cabin before a heavy +sea came over the bows with a crash, carried away the for'ard deckhouse, +which it swept overboard, killed four people, and poured into the cabin. +I heard Hayes call out to the mate to give her another ten fathoms +of cable, and then, assisted by half a dozen native women and a young +Easter Island half-caste girl named Lalia, wife to one of the five white +traders, began packing our arms and ammunition into two or three strong +trade boxes. In another chest we stowed the ship's chronometers, Hayes's +instruments, and all the charts upon which we could lay hands, together +with about six thousand silver dollars in bags, the ship's books and +some silver plate. The women, who were the officers' and traders' wives, +were fearfully terrified; all but Lalia, who was a fine, courageous +girl. Taking a cutlass from the rack in the cabin she stood over them; +and, cursing freely in French, English, Spanish and whalers' language, +threatened to murder every one of them if they did not hurry. We got the +first box of arms safely up the companion, and Hayes saw it lowered into +one of the traders' whale-boats, which was standing by under the stern. +Then, as a tremendous crashing sea came over the waist, all the women +but Lalia bolted and left us alone. Lalia laughed. + +'That's the long-boat gone, sir; and all those Pleasant Islands women +are drown, I hope--the damned savage beasts, I hate them.' + + * The _Leonora_ carried four guns. + +I learnt afterwards that the crash was caused by the two guns on the +starboard side taking a run to port, and carrying away the port ones +with them over the side through the bulwarks.{*} The long-boat was +washed overboard by the same sea, but half a dozen of our Rotumah Island +sailors had jumped overboard after her, and, using canoe paddles, saved +her from being dashed on the reef. She was soon brought alongside, fully +manned, and awaiting Hayes's orders. + +The captain now called to me to stand by to take charge of her, when a +second fearful sea came over the waist, and fairly buried the ship, +and Hung, the Chinese carpenter and myself were only saved from going +overboard, by being entangled in the falls of one of the quarter-boats. +As for the long-boat, it was swept away out of sight, but succeeded in +reaching the shore safely, with the loss of one man. + +By this time the seas were breaking over the brig with terrible force, +and when they came over the bows they swept her flush decks like a +torrent. Presently she gave such a terrible roll to port that we thought +she was going over altogether, and the third mate reported that six +four-hundred-gallon water tanks, which were stored in the 'tween +decks amidships, had gone adrift to the port side. Then Hayes told the +carpenter to cut away the masts. A few slashes at the rigging, and a +couple of snicks at the spars themselves, sent the sticks over the side +quick enough; the brig stood up again and rode easier. + +Meanwhile, the boat of one of the traders named Terry--an old +ex-man-of-war's man--had come off, manned by half a dozen of his +stalwart half-caste sons, and although it was still pitch dark, and +the din of the gale sounded like fifty railway locomotives whistling in +unison, and the brig was only revealed to the brave fellows by the white +light of the foam-whipped sea, they ran the boat under the counter, and +stood by while a number of women and children jumped, or were pitched +overboard, to them. These were quickly rescued, and then that boat, too, +vanished. + +Again the wind lulled for about five minutes, and Hayes and old Harry +Terry urged the rest of the remaining women to jump overboard and make +for the shore, as the brig's decks were now awash, and every third or +fourth sea swept along her, fore and aft, with irresistible force. One +woman--a stout, powerfully-built native of Ocean Island--whose infant +child was lashed to her naked back with bands of coir cinnet, rushed up +to the captain, and crying, 'Kapeni, ka mate a mate '--('Captain, if I +die, I die')--put her arms round his neck, rubbed noses with him, and +leaped over the stern rail into the seething surf. She was found the +next morning lying dead on a little beach, having bled to death from the +wounds she had received from the jagged coral rocks, but the baby was +alive, for with her dying hands the poor creature had placed it under +shelter, and covered it over with grass and leaves, where it was found, +sleeping soundly, by a native sailor. + +There was not now the slightest hope of saving the ship, unless the sea +went down; and Hayes, who was as cool as if he were taking his morning +coffee, told the rest of the crew, who were now all gathered together +aft, to get ashore the best way they could. Three of the white traders +were still aboard, awaiting the return of their boats, which, manned by +their faithful Pleasant Islanders, we now and again could dimly discern, +as they appeared on the summit of the heaving seas, waiting for a chance +to pull up astern and rescue their masters. + +There were still two chests full of valuables in the main cabin to be +got on deck, and Lalia (sweet Lalia), the young woman of whom I have +before spoken, although her husband had gone ashore, refused to jump to +the boats, and said she would stay and help us to save them. + +'Go, ashore, Lalia. Go to your husband,' said Hayes, sternly pushing her +to the stern rail; 'he is an old man, and cannot come off again in his +boat for you. Perhaps he is drowned.' + +The girl laughed and said it was all the better--she would get another +and a younger husband; she would stay with the _men_ on board and not +swim ashore with the old women. Then she ran below. In a few minutes +she reappeared, with a fine powerful Pleasant Island native named Karta, +carrying our Chinese steward, who was paralysed with drink and terror. +Hayes took the man up in his arms and, seeing one of the boats close +to, threw him overboard without further ado. Then Lalia and I again +went below for another of the boxes, and, aided by Karta, we had got it +half-way up the companion ladder when the brig rose her stern high to +a mountain sea, and then came down with a terrific crash on to a coral +boulder, ripping her rudder from the stern post, and sending it clean +through the deck. Lalia fell backwards into the cabin, and the heavy +chest slipped down on the top of her, crushing her left foot cruelly +against the companion lining, and jamming her slender body underneath. +Karta and myself tried hard to free the poor tortured girl, but without +avail, and then some of our Rotumah Island sailors, hearing our cries +for help, ran down, and by our united exertions, we got her clear, put +her in the steward's bunk--as she had fainted--and lugged the chest on +deck. + +One of the traders' whale-boats was lying close to, and the chest was, +by the merest chance, dropped into her just as the brig came down again +on the coral boulder with a thundering crash and smashed a big hole into +her timbers under her starboard counter. In a few minutes she began to +fill. + +'It's all up with her, boys,' cried the philosophical 'Bully.' 'Jump for +the boats all of you; but wait for a rising sea, or you'll get smashed +up on the coral. Bo'sun, take a look round below, and see that there are +no more women there. We must take care of the women, boys.' + +Karta, the brave Pleasant Islander, a Manila man named Sarreo, and +myself then went below for Lalia. She was sitting up in the steward's +bunk, stripped to the waist, and only awaiting help to get on deck. +Already the main cabin had three feet of water in it, and just as we +lifted the girl out, another sea came in over deck and nearly filled it; +and with it came the bruised and battered dead body of a little native +boy, who, crouching up under the shelter of the companion, had been +killed by the wheel falling upon and crushing him when the rudder was +carried away. + +Half-drowned, we managed to struggle on deck, Karta carrying the girl, +and the Manila man and I helping each other together. The brig was now +quite under water for'ard, but her after part was hanging on the coral +boulder under it, though every succeeding sea rolled her from side to +side. Hayes snatched the girl from Karta's arms just as the ship lobbed +over to starboard on her bilge, then a thumping sea came thundering +down, and swept the lot of us over the stern. + +The poor Manila man was never seen again--barring a small portion of +his anatomy; to wit, his right arm and shoulder, the rest having been +assimilated by Jack Shark. Hayes got ashore by himself, and the writer +of this narrative, with Karta, the Pleasant Islander, and Lalia, the +trader's wife, came ashore on the wreck of a boat that had been carried +on top of the after-deck house. + +We were all badly knocked about. Karta had a fearful gash in his leg +from a piece of coral. This he had bound up, whilst swimming, with a +strip of his grass-cloth girdle. Lalia, in addition to her dreadfully +crushed foot, had her right arm badly cut; and the writer was so +generally excoriated and done-up that he would never have reached the +shore, but for the gallant Karta and the brave-hearted Lalia, who both +held him up when he wanted to let go and drown quietly. + +At dawn the gale had ceased, and whilst we, the survivors of the +_Leonora_ stood up and stretched our aching limbs we saw, as we glanced +seaward, the two 'blubber hunters,' who had ridden out the storm safely, +heave-up and sail through the passage. I don't think either of the +captains was wanting in humane feeling; but both were, no doubt, very +much afraid that as 'Bully' Hayes had lost his ship, he would not +be particular about taking another near to hand. And they were quite +correct. Hayes and his third mate, some of the white traders, and twenty +or so of our crew were quite willing to seize one of the whalers, and +sail to Arrecifos. But the Yankee skippers knew too much of 'Bully,' and +left us to ourselves on Strong's Island; and many a tragedy resulted, +for the crew and passengers of the _Leonora_ with some few exceptions, +were not particular as to their doings, and mutiny, treachery, murder, +and sudden death, were the outcome of the wreck of the _Leonora_. + + + + +AN OLD COLONIAL MUTINY + +The following notice one day appeared among the official records of the +earlier days (1800) of the colony of New South Wales:-- + + 'Whereas the persons undermentioned and described did, in + the month of November, by force of arms, violently take away + from His Majesty's settlement at Dalrymple a colonial brig + or vessel called the _Venus_, the property of Mr Robert + Campbell, a merchant of this territory, and the said vessel + then containing stores, the property of His Majesty, and a + quantity of necessary stores, the property of the officers + of that settlement, and sundry other property, belonging to + private individuals.' + +Then follows the description of the crew, from which it will be seen +that there was every factor towards some criminal deed on board the +_Venus_. First of all the chief mate is mentioned:-- + + 'Benjamin Burnet Kelly, chief mate; says he is an American. + He arrived in this colony as chief mate of the _Albion_, a + South Sea whaler (Captain Bunker); Richard Edwards, second + mate; Joseph Redmonds, seaman, a mulatto or mestizo of South + America 299 (came out from England in the _Venus_); Darra, + cook, a Malay man, both ears missing; Thomas Ford and + William Porter Evans, boys of 14 and 16 (Evans is a native + of Rose Hill in this colony); Richard Thompson, a soldier; + Thomas Richard Evans, a convict, formerly a gunner's mate on + H.M.S. _Calcutta_ (sentenced to fourteen years for desertion + and striking an officer); John Lancaster or Lancashire, a + convict, a very dangerous person; Charlotte Badger, convict, + a very corpulent person (has an infant in arms); Kitty + Hegarty, convict, very handsome woman, with white teeth and + fresh complexion, much inclined to smile, a great talker.' + +Then comes an official proclamation, signed 'G. Blaxcell, Secretary, +Government House, Sydney,' cautioning 'all governors and officers in +command at any of His Majesty's ports, and the Honourable East India +Company's magistrates or officers in command, at home or abroad, at +whatever port the said brig may be taken into, or met with at sea, +against any frauds or deceptions that may be practised by the offending +parties,' and asking that they might be seized and brought to condign +punishment. + +The _Venus_, under the command of Mr S. Rodman Chace, sailed out of +Sydney Cove (as Port Jackson was then called) for Twofold Bay at the +time before mentioned. Here she remained at anchor for about five weeks, +and here it was that the first trouble began. + +Captain Chace had been ashore, and about dusk was returning in his boat +to the ship, when he heard sounds of great hilarity proceeding from +those on board. On coming alongside and gaining the deck, he found that +the two convict ladies were entertaining Mr Benjamin Burnet Kelly, the +mate, with a dancing exhibition, the musical accompaniment to which was +given by Darra, the earless Malayan cook, who was seated on a tub on the +main-hatch playing a battered violin. Lying around the deck, in various +stages of drunkenness, were the male convicts and some of the crew, and +the genial Mr Kelly presided over a bucket of rum, pannikins of which +were offered to the ladies at frequent intervals by the two faithful +cup-bearers,--Ford and Evans. + +Chace at once put an end to the harmony by seizing the bucket of rum and +throwing it overboard, and the drunken people about him being incapable +of offering much resistance, he put them in irons and tumbled them +below. Kelly, who was a big, truculent-looking man, then produced a +bowie knife of alarming dimensions and challenged Chace to combat, but +was quickly awed by a pistol being placed at his breast by his superior +officer. He then promised to return to his duty, provided--here he +began to weep, that--the captain did not harm Kitty Hegarty, for whom he +professed an ardent attachment. + +As the _Venus_ carried despatches for the Governor of Van Diemen's Land, +Captain Chace was eager to reach his destination, Port Dalrymple, with +all speed, and therefore was in a very anxious state of mind after the +disturbance mentioned, particularly as the mate Kelly, and the convicts +on board, seemed to have some sort of secret understanding. However, +the _Venus_ arrived there safely, and Captain Chace duly delivered his +despatches to Lieutenant House, the Marine officer in charge. Feeling +sure that there was now no further danger to be apprehended, he spent +the night with an old shipmate, the captain of the schooner _Governor +Hunter_. After breakfast, accompanied by Mr House, he got into his boat +and set out for his ship. He had left instructions with the mate to get +up anchor at six o'clock and come up the river, and about seven o'clock, +as he and Mr House were being pulled towards her in the boat, they saw +that she was under weigh, and coming up. + +'There's not much use in us going down, as your ship is coming up, +Chace,' said Mr House. 'Let us go ashore here in this cove and wait for +her.' + +The master agreed to this, and the boat turned into a little +sandy-beached cove, where they lost sight of the ship, which, with +the light breeze then blowing, would not pass abreast of the cove for +another hour. + +About an hour passed, and then they heard the sound of oars, and the +_Venus_ boat was seen sweeping round the headland of the cove. The crew +seemed thoroughly exhausted, and many of them were cut and bleeding. In +a few moments they told their story, which was, that just after the ship +got under weigh, Kelly and the convicts sprang upon the second mate, +stunned him and pitched him below. Then, before those of the crew who +were not in league with the mutineers could offer any resistance, they +were set upon by the pilot, Thompson, the soldier, Darra, the earless +cook and the two women, all of whom were armed with pistols and swords. + +'Into the boat, all of you fellows,' said Kelly, pointing a pistol at +the five seamen; 'into the boat; quick! or you are all dead men!' + +The boat was towing astern, and the five seamen, seeing that the _Venus_ +was now in the absolute possession of the mutineers, and that Kelly +would not hesitate to shoot them if they disobeyed him, went into the +boat quietly. + +As soon as the mutineers cast off the boat's painter, Kelly came aft +with Kitty Hegarty, and placing his arms around her waist, jocularly +called out to the men in the boat to 'look at the pirate's bride, and +give his compliments and "Mrs Kelly's" compliments to Captain Chace, +Lieutenant House, and the Lieutenant-Governor.' He also charged them to +tell Lieutenant House that he was much obliged to him for lending Chace +(on a former occasion) the _Narrative of Lieutenant Bligh and the Mutiny +of the Bounty_, which had so much interested him (Kelly) and 'Kitty' +that they had 'decided to do Fletcher Christian's trick, and take a +cruise among the South Seas.' He then, with much accompanying laughter +from merry Miss Hegarty, put a wooden bucket on her head, and called out +to the people in the boat to look at 'Her Majesty, Queen Kitty Hegarty +of the Cannibal Islands.' Immediately after this badinage he ordered +Thompson, who was at the helm, to put it hard up; and then wore ship and +sailed out seawards. + + * * * * * + +News of the mutiny was at once sent to Lieutenant-Governor Paterson. But +the mutineers were not heard of for a long time. Then it was learnt that +Kelly had sailed the _Venus_ to the coast of New Zealand and, by means +of selling a number of casks of rum to the Maoris, had acquired a +quantity of small arms, and two brass cannons, each throwing a 6-lb. +shot. At one of the places they touched at, Thompson, with the aid +of Kelly, abducted a handsome young Maori girl. She was a niece of Te +Morenga, a chief in the Bay of Islands district. The unfortunate girl, +however, so fretted, and lost so much of her attractiveness, that her +scoundrelly abductor sold her to a chief named Hukori, of Mercury +Bay, or, if he did not sell her, she eventually came into Hukori's +possession. On their voyage up the Hauraki Gulf, they raided one or two +small Maori _hapus_ and carried off another girl, the daughter of the +chief Te Haupa, or, as he was better known, Te Totara. + + * * * * * + +Early in the following year Captain Bierney, of the London brig +_Commerce_, reported to the Governor of New South Wales that the _Venus_ +had anchored at Te Puna, in New Zealand, and that Kelly had invited a +number of Maoris on board to an orgie. For some time a great state of +drunkenness had prevailed on board; for the _Venus_, among other stores, +carried a large quantity of wines and spirits, intended for the use of +the military at Van Diemen's Land. Her sails and running gear were in a +very bad state, and not the slightest discipline was maintained. + +In answer to the mutineers' invitation, a number of Maoris came on +board, and Kelly, addressing the leading chiefs, told them that he +was perfectly well aware of the fact that he and those with him were +incapable of offering resistance if his visitors attempted to cut off +the ship. But, he said, he had determined to abandon the ship, and +therefore he had invited them on board so that they might take what they +wanted from her; and if they had no objection, he and his wife wished to +live ashore with them for the future. He then broached a cask of rum and +invited them to drink it. + +The Maoris appeared to have fallen in with his suggestion with alacrity, +and the chief gave the leading mutineer and his wife a large _whare_ to +live in, and also two slaves as servants. + +The rest of the tale is incomplete in its details. Of the fate of the +_Venus_ nothing is known. Probably she was burnt by the Maoris. Kelly, +Kitty Hegarty, Charlotte Badger and her child, Thompson, and two others, +lived among the natives for some time. Then the woman Kitty Hegarty +died suddenly while Kelly was away on a warlike excursion with his Maori +friends, and was hastily buried. It was alleged that she was killed by +some women, one of whom was anxious to possess Kelly for her husband. +Kelly himself was captured by a king's ship in 1808, and sent to +England, where he was hanged for piracy. Lancaster was also captured by +the master of an American whale-ship, _The Brothers_ of Nantucket, and +taken to Sydney and hanged. The rest of the mutineers either met with +violent deaths at the hands of the Maoris, or succeeded in living their +lives out as pakeha-Maoris. + +Of the other woman--Charlotte Badger--and her child nothing further was +known, save that in 1808 she and the child were offered a passage to +Port Jackson by Captain Bunker; but she declined, saying she would +rather live with the Maoris than return to New South Wales to be hanged. +This was not unnatural. + +But, long afterwards, in the year 1826, an American whale-ship, the +_Lafayette_ of Salem, reported an incident of her cruise that showed +some light on the end of Charlotte Badger. + +In May 1826, the _Lafayette_ was off 'an unknown island in the South +Seas. It was covered with trees, was about three miles long, and was +inhabited by a small number of natives. The position of this island was +in 22 deg. 30 min. south, 176 deg. 19. min. west.' The weather being +calm at the time and the natives, by the signs and gestures they made to +the ship, evidently friendly, the captain and second mate's boats were +lowered, and, with well-armed crews, pulled ashore. Only some forty or +fifty natives of a light brown colour were on the island, and these, +meeting the white men as they landed, conducted them to their houses +with every demonstration of friendliness. Among the number was a native +of Oahu (Hawaii), named Hula, who had formed one of the crew of the +London privateer _Port-au-prince_, a vessel that had been cut off by +the natives of the Haabai Group, in the Friendly Islands, twenty years +previously. He spoke English well, and informed Captain Barthing of the +_Lafayette_ that the island formed one of the Tonga Group (it is now +known as Pylstaart Island), and that his was the second ship that had +ever visited the place. Another ship, he said, had called at the island +about ten years before (this would be about 1816); that he had gone off +on board, and had seen a very big, stout woman, with a little girl about +eight years of age with her. At first he thought, from her dark skin, +that she was a native, but the crew of the ship (which was a Nantucket +whaler) told him that she was an Englishwoman, who had escaped from +captivity with the Maoris. + +No doubt this was the woman Badger, described in the official account of +the mutiny of the _Venus_ as 'a very corpulent person.' + + + + +A BOATING ADVENTURE IN THE CAROLINES + +In the year 1874 we were cruising leisurely through the Western +Carolines, in the North Pacific, trading at such islands as we touched +at, and making for the Pelew Group, still farther to the westward. But +at that season of the year the winds were very light, a strong ocean +current set continuously to the eastward, and there was every indication +of a solid calm setting in, and lasting, as they do in these latitudes, +for a week. Now, part of our cargo consisted of dried sharks' fins, and +the smell from these was so strong that every one of the three white men +on board was suffering from severe headache. We had a number of native +passengers, and, as they lived in the hold, we could not close the +hatches; they, however, did not mind the nauseating odour in the least. +So, for three or four days, we crawled along, raising the wooded peaks +of Ascension Island (Ponape) one afternoon, and drifting back to the +east so much in the night as to lose them at sunrise. Then followed +another day of a sky of brass above and a steaming wide expanse of oily +sea below, and then, at nightfall, a sweet, cooling breeze from the +north-east, and general happiness, accentuated by a native woman playing +a dissolute-looking accordion, and singing 'Voici le Sabre,' in Tahitian +French. No one cared to sleep that night. Dawn came almost ere we knew +it, and again the blue peaks of Ascension loomed up right ahead. + +Just as we had finished coffee, and our attention was drawn to a number +of boobies and whale-birds resting upon some floating substance half a +mile distant, we discovered a couple of sail ahead, and then another, +and another, all whalers, and, as they were under easy-cruising +canvas--being on the sperm whaling ground--we soon began to overhaul +them. One was a small, full-rigged ship, the others were barques. As we +slipped along after them I ran our little vessel close to the floating +object I have before mentioned, and saw it was a ship's lower mast, +which looked, from the scarcity of marine growth upon it, to have +been in the water but a short time. Shortly after, we passed some more +wreckage, all of which evidently had belonged to a good lump of the +vessel. + +About eleven o'clock we were close to one of the barques--a four-boat +ship, and also carrying a nine-foot dinghy at her stern. She hoisted the +Hawaiian colours in response to ours, and, as the breeze was very light, +I hailed her skipper and we began to talk. Our skipper wanted some +pump-leather; he wanted some white sugar. + +'Come aboard,' he said, 'and have dinner with me. I'll give you a barrel +of 'Frisco potatoes to take back.' + +We lowered our whale-boat, and, taking two hands, I pulled alongside the +barque. Although under the Hawaiian flag, her officers were nearly all +Americans, and, as is always the case in the South Seas, we were soon on +friendly terms. The four ships were all making for Jakoits Harbour, in +Ponape, to wood and water; and I said we would keep company with them. +Our own skipper, I must mention, was just recovering from wild, weird +visions of impossible, imaginary animals, superinduced by Hollands gin, +and I wanted to put him ashore at Ponape for a week or so. + +After dinner the American captain put a barrel of potatoes into +our boat, and I bade him good-bye for the time. The breeze was now +freshening, and, as he decided to get into Jakoits before dark, the +barque made sail, and was soon a good distance ahead of our vessel. + +Between four and five o'clock we saw the foremost whaler--the +ship--brace up sharp, and almost immediately the other three followed +suit. We soon discovered the cause--whales had been sighted, coming down +from windward. The 'pod' or school was nearest to us, and we could see +them quite plainly from the deck. Every now and then one of them would +'breach' and send up a white mass of foam, and by their course I saw +that they would pass between us and the barque--the ship nearest to us. +In less than five minutes there were more than a dozen boats lowered +from the four vessels, all pulling their hardest to reach the whales +first. The creatures came along very leisurely, then, when about a mile +from the schooner, hove-to for a short time; their keen hearing told +them of danger ahead, for three or four of them sounded, and then made +off to windward. These were followed by all the boats from the other +three vessels, and two from the barque, the remaining two belonging to +the latter pulling across our bows, close together and within a hundred +yards of us. + +The rest of the whales--some cows, with their calves, and a bull--after +lying quiet for a short time, also sounded, but soon rose again, quite +close to the two boats. That of the chief mate got 'fast' first to one +of the cows, and away they flew at twelve or thirteen knots. The second +boat was making for the bull, which seemed very uneasy, and was swimming +at a great speed round and round the remaining cows and calves, with +his head high out of the water as if to guard them from danger, when the +monstrous creature again sounded and the boat-header instantly turned +his attention to a cow, which lay perfectly motionless on the water, +apparently too terrified to move. + +Half a dozen strokes sent the boat to within striking distance and the +boat-header called to his boat-steerer to 'Stand up.' The boat-steerer, +who pulls bow oar before a whale is struck, and goes aft after striking, +is also the harpooner, and at the order to stand up, takes in his oar +and seizes his harpoon. After he has darted the iron, and the boat is +backed astern, he comes aft to steer, and the officer takes his place +for'ard, ready to lance the whale at the fitting time. There is no +reason or sense in this procedure, it is merely whaling custom. + +Just as the boat-steerer stood up, iron in hand, the bull rose right +under the boat's stern, lifted her clean out of the water with his head, +and then, as he swept onward, gave her an underclip with his mighty +flukes, smashing her in like an egg-shell and sending men, oars, tub and +lines, and broken timbers, broadcast into the air. Then, with the lady +by his side, he raced away. + +Most fortunately, our own boat was still towing astern, for as we +were so near the land we had not bothered about hoisting her up again, +knowing that we should want her to tow us into Jakoits if the wind fell +light when going through the passage. + +The mate, two Penrhyn Island natives and myself were but a few moments +in hauling her alongside, jumping in, and pulling to the assistance +of the whale-boat's crew, some of whom we could see clinging to the +wreckage. The officer in charge was a little wiry Western Island +Portuguese, and as we came up he called out to us that one of the men +was killed and had sunk, and another, whom he was supporting, had his +leg broken and was unconscious. We lifted them into the boat as quickly +as possible, laid the injured man on his back and started for the +schooner. We had scarcely pulled a dozen strokes when, to our profound +astonishment, we saw her suddenly keep away from us. + +'The captain's come on deck again,' cried one or our native hands to me. + +Sure enough, the skipper was on deck, and at the wheel, and took not the +slightest heed of our repeated hails, except that he merely turned his +head, gave us a brief glance, eased off the main-sheet a bit, and let +the schooner spin away towards the land. We learnt next evening that he +had suddenly emerged on deck from his bunk, given the helmsman a cuff +on the head, and driven him, the steward and the other remaining hand +up for'ard. They and the native passengers, who knew something of his +performances when in liquor, were too frightened to do anything, and let +him have his own way. + +We pulled after the schooner as hard as we could for a quarter of an +hour, then gave it up and steered for the barque, which was now a couple +of miles away. She had been working to windward after the chief +mate's and fourth mate's boats--both of which had quickly killed their +respective whales--when the disaster to the second officer's boat was +seen, and she was now coming towards us. The fourth boat was miles +distant, chasing the main body of the 'pod,' in company with those of +the other barques and the ship. + +By this time it was all but dark; a short, choppy sea had risen, the +wind came in sharp, angry puffs every now and then, and we made scarcely +any headway against it. The barque seemed to be almost standing still, +though she was really coming along at a ripping pace. Presently she +showed a light, and we felt relieved. Just then the man with the broken +leg called to his officer, and asked for a smoke, and I was filling my +pipe for him when the boat struck something hard with a crash, shipped a +sea aft, and at once capsized, several of us being taken underneath her. + +The Portuguese, who was a gallant little fellow, had, with one of the +Penrhyn Islanders, got the wounded man clear, and presently we all found +ourselves clinging to the boat, which was floating bottom-up and badly +bilged. Fortunately, none of us were hurt, but our position was a +dangerous one, and we kept hailing repeatedly, fearing that the barque +would run by us in the darkness, and that the blue sharks would discover +us. Then, to our joy, we saw her close to, bearing right down upon us, +and now came the added terror that she would run us down, unless those +on board could be made to hear our cries and realise our situation. + +Again we raised our voices, and shouted till our lungs were exhausted, +but no answer came, the only sounds we heard being the thrapping +and swash of the waves against our boat. Five minutes--which seemed +hours--passed, and then we suddenly lost sight of the barque's +headlight, and saw the dull gleam of those aft shining through the cabin +ports. + +'Thank God!' said the whaler officer, 'he's bringing to.' + +Scarcely had he spoken when we heard a hail distinctly. + +'Boat ahoy, there, where are you?' + +'In the water. We're capsized,' I answered. + +No response came; then again they hailed, and again we shouted unitedly, +but no reply, and presently we saw a blue light was being burnt on the +starboard side--they were looking for us in the wrong quarter. For some +minutes our suspense was horrible, for, if the captain thought he had +overshot our boat (knowing nothing of the second disaster), he would, +we feared, go off on the other tack. Again they hailed, and again +we answered, though we were now feeling pretty well done up, and the +Portuguese was alternately praying to the saints and consigning his +captain to hell. + +'Hurrah!' cried Tom, one of my Penrhyn Island boys, 'she's filling away +again, and coming down; they've heard us, safe enough.' + +It so happened that they had not heard us at all; but the captain, at +the earnest request of the ship's cooper, who believed that we had been +swamped, and were to leeward, decided to keep away for a short time, and +then again bring-to. Not only was he anxious for us, but for the other +boats, and the dead whales as well; for he feared that, unless he could +get the latter alongside by daylight, and start to cut-in, the sharks +would devour the best part of them. + +A few more minutes passed, and now we saw the barque looming through the +night, and apparently again coming right on top of us. We shouted +and screamed till our voices broke into hoarse groans; and then there +happened a strange thing. That which had caused our misfortune proved +our salvation. We heard a crashing sound, followed by loud cries of +alarm, and then saw the ship lying flat aback, canting heavily over to +port. Presently she righted, and then made a stern-board, and came so +close to us that one of the hands not only heard our cries but saw us in +the water. + +In an instant the captain called to us to cheer up, and said a boat was +coming. 'The ship struck some wreckage, and is making water,' he added. + +We were taken aboard in two trips, the poor, broken-legged sailor +suffering terribly. He had been kept from drowning by one of the Penrhyn +men, who stuck to him like a brick through all the time we were in the +water. Neither of these brave islanders had lost heart for a moment, +though Harry, the elder of the two, was in consumption and not at all +strong. + +As soon as we had sufficiently recovered to be able to talk and tell our +story, we were pleased to hear from the captain that the ship was not +badly injured, and that the pumps--short-handed as he then was--could +easily keep the water down; also that all the other boats were safe, +and had signalled that they had each 'killed,' and were lying by their +whales. + +Early in the morning the four ships were within a few miles of each +other, and each had one or more whales alongside, cutting-in. The +schooner, too, was in sight, lying becalmed under the lee of Ponape. The +captain of the whaler lent me one of his boats, paid me a fair price for +the loss of our own, and otherwise treated us handsomely. He was highly +pleased at having such 'greasy luck,' i.e., getting three fish, and, +besides presenting me with another barrel of potatoes, gave me four +bolts of canvas, and each of our natives came away with a small case of +tobacco, and five dollars in silver. + +We had a long pull to the schooner, and our arrival was hailed with +cries of delight. The skipper, we were pleased to learn, was nearly +dead, having been severely beaten by the women passengers on board, one +of whom, creeping up behind him as he was steering, threw a piece of +_tappa_ cloth over his head, while the others bore him to the deck and +tied him up and hammered him. He told me a few days afterwards that he +had not the slightest recollection of leaving us in the boat. + +The wreckage upon which the whale-ship struck was, so her captain +imagined, the same which had capsized our boat. As far as he could make +out in the darkness, it was a long and wide piece of decking, belonging +to a large ship. Our boat, very probably, had gone half her length +on top of the edge of it, and was then washed off again after she had +bilged; and the strong current had set us clear. + + + + +A CHRISTMAS EVE IN THE FAR SOUTH SEAS + +Donald MacBride and myself were the only Britishers living on one of the +North Pacific island lagoons when Christmas of 1880 drew near, and we +determined to celebrate it in a manner that would fill our German and +American trading rivals throughout the group with envy. MacBride was +a bony, red-headed Scotchman, with a large heart and a small, jealous, +half-caste wife. The latter acquisition ruled him with a rod of iron, +much to his financial and moral benefit, but nevertheless agreed with +me that we--Donald, she and myself--ought to show the Americans and the +'Dutchmen' how an English Christmas should be celebrated. But as Sera +was a half-caste native of the Pelews, and had never been to a civilised +country, she also concurred with me that Donald and myself should run +the show, which, although I was not a married man, was to take place in +my house on account of the greater space available. Donald, she said, +wanted to have a 'hakkise'; so we bought a nanny-goat from Ludwig +Wolfen, the German trader at Molok, and one evening--the 23rd of +December--I helped Sera to drive and drag the unsuspecting creature home +to her husband's place to the slaughter. (I may as well say at once that +MacBride's nanny-goat haggis was a hideous failure, and my boat's +crew, to whom it was handed over, with many strong expressions about +MacBride's beastly provincial taste, said that it _smelt_ good, like +shark's liver, but was not at all so juicy.) + +Meanwhile, Wolfen, a fat, good-hearted Teuton, with a face like a full +moon in a fog, called upon me, and remarked in a squashy tone of voice, +superinduced by too many years of lager beer, and its resultant adipose +tissue, that he and Peter Huysmans, his neighbour, would feel very much +hurt if we did not invite them to participate in the festivities. I said +that 'Blazy-head' (for so we called dear old MacBride) and myself would +be delighted; whereupon Wolfen, who had once, when he was a sailor on +an English ship, spent a Christmas in a public-house somewhere in the +vicinity of the East India Docks, said that the correct thing for us +to do would be to have a Christmas cake; also, he suggested we should +invite Tom Devine and Charley de Buis, the two American traders who +lived across the lagoon, to join the party. Being aware of the fact +that, from trade jealousies, there had hitherto been a somewhat +notorious bitterness of feeling between my German fellow-trader and the +two Americans, I shook his hand warmly, said that I was delighted to see +that he could forgive and forget, and that I should that moment send +my boat across the lagoon to Devine and Charley de Buis with a written +invitation, and ask them to favour us with their company; also, that +as Mrs Charley--who was a Samoan half-caste girl--was skilled in baking +bread, perhaps she would lend Mesdames MacBride, Wolfen and Huysmans her +assistance in making a Christmas cake, the size of which should cause +the native population to sit up and respect us as men of more than +ordinary intelligence and patriotism. + +On the evening of the 24th, three whale-boats, attended by a flotilla of +small native canoes, sailed into the little sandy-beached nook upon the +shores of which the trading station was situated. The three boats were +steered by the Messrs Peter Huysmans, Charles de Buis and Thomas Devine, +who were accompanied by their wives, children and numerous female +relatives, all of the latter being clad in their holiday attire of new +mats, and with their hair excessively anointed with scented coco-nut +oil, scarlet hibiscus flowers behind their ears, and necklaces of +sweet-smelling pieces of pandanus drupes. + +MacBride, Mrs MacBride and I received them the moment they stepped out +of the boats, and then Ludwig Wolfen, who was disposed in the background +with an accordion, and seated on a gin case, played 'The Star Spangled +Banner,' to the accompaniment of several native drums, beaten by his +wife and her sister and brothers. Then my boatman--a stalwart Maori +half-caste--advanced from out the thronging crowd of natives which +surrounded us, and planted in the sand a British red ensign attached +to a tall bamboo pole, and called for three cheers for the Queen of +England, and three for the President of the United States. This at once +gave offence to Ludwig Wolfen, who asked what was the matter with the +Emperor of Germany; whereupon Bill Grey (the Maori) took off his coat +and asked him what he meant, and a fierce encounter was only avoided by +half a dozen strapping natives seizing Billy and making him sit down on +the sand, while the wrathful Ludwig was hustled by Donald MacBride and +Mrs Ludwig and threatened with a hammering if he insulted the gathering +by his ill-timed and injudicious remarks about a foreign potentate. +(Ludwig, I regret to say, had begun his Christmas on the previous +evening.) + +But we were all too merry, and too filled with right good down +comradeship to let such a trifle as this disturb the harmony of our +first Christmas foregathering; and presently Bill Grey, his dark, +handsome face wreathed in a sunny smile, came up to the sulky and +rightly-indignant trader with outstretched hand, and said he was sorry. +And Wolfen, good-hearted German that he was, grasped it warmly, and said +he was sorry too; and then we all trooped up to the house and sat down, +only to rise up again with our glasses clinking together as we drank +to our wives and ourselves and the coming Christmas, and to the brown +smiling faces of the people around us, who wondered why we grew merry +so suddenly; for sometimes, as they knew, we had all quarrelled with one +another, and bitter words had passed; for so it ever is, and ever shall +be, even in the far South Seas, when questions of 'trade' and 'money' +come between good fellowship and old-time _camaraderie_. And then sweet, +dark-eyed Sera, MacBride's young wife, took up her guitar and sang us +love songs in the old Lusitanian tongue of her father; and Tom Devine, +the ex-boat-steerer, and Charley de Buis, the reckless; and Peter +Huysmans, the red-faced, white-haired old Dutchman, all joined hands and +danced around the rough table; while Billy Grey and Ludwig Wolfen stood +on the top of it and sang, or tried to sing, 'Home Sweet Home'; and the +writer of this memory of those old Pacific days sat in a chair in the +doorway and wondered where we should all be the next year. For, as we +sang and danced, and the twang, twang of Sera's guitar sounded through +the silent night without, Tom Devine, the American, held up his hand to +MacBride, and silence fell. + +'Boys,' he said, 'let us drink to the memory of the far-off faces of +those dear ones whom we never may see again!' + +He paused a moment, and then caught sight of Sera as she bent over her +guitar with downcast eyes; 'And to those who are with us now--our wives +and our children, and our friends! Drink, my boys; and the first man +who, either to-night or to-morrow, talks about business and dirty, +filthy dollars, shall get fired out right away before he knows where he +is; for this is Christmas time--and, Sera MacBride, why the devil don't +you play something and keep me from making a fool of myself?' + +So Sera, with a twist of her lithe body and a merry gleam in her full, +big eyes, sang another song; and then long, bony MacBride came over to +her and kissed her on her fair, smooth forehead, whispered something +that we did not hear, and pointed to Charley de Buis, who stood, glass +in hand, at the furthest corner of the big room, his thin, suntanned +face as grave and sober as that of an English judge. + +'Gentlemen'--(then _sotto voce_ to the chairman in the doorway, 'Just +fancy us South Sea loafers calling ourselves gentlemen!')--'gentlemen, +we are here to spend a good time, and I move that we quit speech-making +and start the women on that cake. Tom Devine and myself are, as you +know, members of two of the First Families in America, and only came to +the South Seas to wear out our old clothes--' + +'Shut up,' said Devine; 'we don't want to hear anything about the First +American families; this is an English Christmas, with full-blooded South +Sea trimmings. Off you go, you women, and start on the cake.' + +So Charley de Buis 'shut up,' and then the women, headed by Sera and +Mary Devine, trooped off to the cook-house to beat up eggs for the cake, +and left us to ourselves. When it drew near midnight they returned, and +Peter Huysmans arose, and, twisting his grizzled moustaches, said,-- + +'Mine boys, will you led me dell you dot now is coming der morn ven +Jesus Christ vos born? And vill you blease, Mary Devine, dell dose +natives outside to stop those damdt drums vile I speaks? Und come here +you, MacBride, mit your red het, und you, Ludwig Wolfen, and you Tom +Devine, und you Charley de Buis, you wicked damdt devil, und you, Tom +Denison, you saucy Australian boy, mit your curlt moustache and your +svell vite tuck suit; und led us join our hands together, and agree +to have no more quarrellings und no more angry vorts. For vy should ve +quarrel, as our good friendt says, over dirty dollars, ven dere is room +enough for us all on dis lagoon to get a decent livings? Und den ve +should try und remember dot ve, none of us, is going to live for +ever, and ven ve is dead, ve is dead a damdt long time. But now, mine +friendts, I vill say no more, vor I am dry; so here's to all our good +healths, and let us bromise one another not to haf no more angry vorts.' + +And so we all gathered around the big table, and, grasping each other's +hands, raised our glasses and drank together without speaking, for there +was something--we knew not what--that lay behind Dutch Peter's +little speech which made us _think_. Presently, when a big and gaudy +German-made cuckoo clock in the room struck twelve, even reckless +Charley de Buis forgot his old joke about Tom Denison's 'damned old +squawking British duck,' as he called the little painted bird, and we +all went outside, and sat smoking our pipes on the wide verandah, and +watching the flashing torchlights of the fishing canoes as they paddled +slowly to and fro over the smooth waters of the sleeping lagoon. Then, +almost ere we knew it, the quick red sun had turned the long, black line +of palms on Karolyne to purple, and then to shining green, and Christmas +Day had come. + + * * * * * + +To-night, as a chill December wind wails through the leafless elms +and chestnuts of this quiet Kentish village, I think of that far-away +Christmas eve, and the rough, honest, sun-browned faces of the men who +were around me, and pressed my hand when Peter Huysmans spoke of home +and Christmas, and Tom Devine of 'the dear faces whom we never might see +again.' For only one, with the writer, is left. MacBride and his gentle, +sweet-voiced Sera went to their death a year or two later in the savage +and murderous Solomons; Wolfen and his wife and children perished at sea +when the _Sadie Foster_ schooner turned turtle off the Marshalls; and +Devine and Charley de Buis, comrades to the last, sailed away to the +Moluccas in a ten-ton boat and were never heard of again--their fate is +one of the many mysteries of the deep. Peter Huysmans is alive and well, +and only a year ago I grasped his now trembling hand in mighty London, +and spoke of our meeting on Milli Lagoon. + +And then again, in a garish and tinselled City bar, we raised our +glasses and drank to the memory of those who had gone before. + + +THE END + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Ridan The Devil And Other Stories, by Louis Becke + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RIDAN THE DEVIL AND OTHER STORIES *** + +***** This file should be named 24835.txt or 24835.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/8/3/24835/ + +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: Rídan The Devil And Other Stories + 1899 + +Author: Louis Becke + +Release Date: March 15, 2008 [EBook #24835] +Last Updated: March 8, 2018 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RÍDAN THE DEVIL AND OTHER STORIES *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + RÍDAN THE DEVIL AND OTHER STORIES + </h1> + <h2> + By Louis Becke + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h4> + Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company 1899 + </h4> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> RÍDAN THE DEVIL </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> A MEMORY OF 'THE SYSTEM' </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="#link2H_4_0006"> A NORTH PACIFIC LAGOON ISLAND </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> BILGER, OF SYDNEY </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> THE VISION OF MILLI THE SLAVE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> DENISON GETS A BERTH ASHORE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> ADDIE RANSOM: A MEMORY OF THE TOKELAUS </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> IN A NATIVE VILLAGE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> MAURICE KINANE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> THE 'KILLERS' OF TWOFOLD BAY </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> DENISON'S SECOND BERTH ASHORE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> A FISH DRIVE ON A MICRONESIAN ATOLL </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0016"> BOBARAN </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0017"> SEA FISHING IN AUSTRALIA </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0018"> AN ADVENTURE IN THE NEW HEBRIDES </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0019"> THE SOUTH SEA BUBBLE OF CHARLES DU BREIL </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0020"> THE WHITE WIFE AND THE BROWN 'WOMAN' </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0021"> WITH HOOK AND LINE ON AN AUSTRAL RIVER </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0022"> THE WRECK OF THE LEONORA: A MEMORY OF 'BULLY' + HAYES </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0023"> AN OLD COLONIAL MUTINY </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0024"> A BOATING ADVENTURE IN THE CAROLINES </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0025"> A CHRISTMAS EVE IN THE FAR SOUTH SEAS </a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <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> + RÍDAN THE DEVIL + </h2> + <p> + Rídan lived alone in a little hut on the borders of the big German + plantation at Mulifenua, away down at the lee end of Upolu Island, and + every one of his brown-skinned fellow-workers either hated or feared him, + and smiled when Burton, the American overseer, would knock him down for + being a 'sulky brute.' But no one of them cared to let Rídan see him + smile. For to them he was a wizard, a devil, who could send death in the + night to those he hated. And so when anyone died on the plantation he was + blamed, and seemed to like it. Once, when he lay ironed hand and foot in + the stifling corrugated iron 'calaboose,' with his blood-shot eyes fixed + in sullen rage on Burton's angered face, Tirauro, a Gilbert Island native + assistant overseer, struck him on the mouth and called him 'a pig cast up + by the ocean.' This was to please the white man. But it did not, for + Burton, cruel as he was, called Tirauro a coward and felled him at once. + By ill-luck he fell within reach of Rídan, and in another moment the + manacled hands had seized his enemy's throat. For five minutes the three + men struggled together, the white overseer beating Rídan over the head + with the butt of his heavy Colt's pistol, and then when Burton rose to his + feet the two brown men were lying motionless together; but Tirauro was + dead. + </p> + <p> + Rídan was sick for a long time after this. A heavy flogging always did + make him sick, although he was so big and strong. And so, as he could not + work in the fields, he was sent to Apia to do light labour in the + cotton-mill there. The next morning he was missing. He had swum to a brig + lying at anchor in the harbour and hidden away in the empty forehold. Then + he was discovered and taken ashore to the mill again, where the foreman + gave him 'a dose of Cameroons medicine'—that is, twenty-five lashes. + </p> + <p> + 'Send him back to the plantation,' said the manager, who was a mere German + civilian, and consequently much despised by his foreman, who had served in + Africa. 'I'm afraid to keep him here, and I'm not going to punish him if + he tries to get away again, poor devil.' + </p> + <p> + So back he went to Mulifanua. The boat voyage from Apia down the coast + inside the reef is not a long one, but the Samoan crew were frightened to + have such a man free; so they tied him hand and foot and then lashed him + down tightly under the midship thwart with strips of green <i>fau</i> + bark. Not that they did so with unnecessary cruelty, but ex-Lieutenant + Schwartzkoff, the foreman, was looking on, and then, besides that, this + big-boned, light-skinned man was a foreigner, and a Samoan hates a + foreigner of his own colour if he is poor and friendless. And then he was + an <i>aitu</i> a devil, and could speak neither Samoan, nor Fijian, nor + Tokelau, nor yet any English or German. + </p> + <p> + Clearly, therefore, he was not a man at all, but a <i>manu</i>—a + beast, and not to be trusted with free limbs. Did not the foreman say that + he was possessed of many devils, and for two years had lived alone on the + plantation, working in the field with the gangs of Tokelau and Solomon + Island men, but speaking to no one, only muttering in a strange tongue to + himself and giving sullen obedience to his taskmasters? + </p> + <p> + But as they talked and sang, and as the boat sailed along the white line + of beach fringed with the swaying palms, Rídan groaned in his agony, and + Pulu, the steersman, who was a big strong man and not a coward like his + fellows, took pity on the captive. + </p> + <p> + 'Let us give him a drink,' he said; 'he cannot hurt us as he is. Else he + may die in the boat and we lose the price of his passage; for the white + men at Mulifanua will not pay us for bringing to them a dead man.' + </p> + <p> + So they cast off the lashings of <i>fau</i> bark that bound Rídan to the + thwart, and Pulu, lifting him up, gave him a long drink, holding the gourd + to his quivering mouth—for his hands were tied behind him. + </p> + <p> + 'Let him rest with his back against the side of the boat,' said Pulu + presently; 'and, see, surely we may loosen the thongs around his wrists a + little, for they are cutting into the flesh.' + </p> + <p> + But the others were afraid, and begged him to let well alone. Then Pulu + grew angry and called them cowards, for, as they argued, Rídan fell + forward on his face in a swoon. + </p> + <p> + When 'the devil' came to and opened his wearied, blood-shot eyes, Pulu was + bathing his forehead with cold water, and his bruised and swollen hands + were free. For a minute or so he gasped and stared at the big Samoan, and + a heavy sigh broke from his broad naked chest. Then he put his hands to + his face—and sobbed. + </p> + <p> + Pulu drew back in wondering pity—surely no devil could weep—and + then, with a defiant glance at the three other Samoans, he stooped down + and unbound Rídan's feet. + </p> + <p> + 'Let him lie,' he said, going aft to the tiller. 'We be four strong men—he + is but as a child from weakness. See, his bones are like to cut through + his skin. He hath been starved.' + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + At dusk they ran the boat along the plantation jetty, and Pulu and another + man led Rfdan up the path to the manager's house. His hands were free, but + a stout rope of cinnet was tied around his naked waist and Pulu held the + end. + </p> + <p> + 'Ah, you dumb, sulky devil; you've come back to us again, have you?' said + Burton, eyeing him savagely. 'I wish Schwartzkoff had kept you up in Apia, + you murderous, yellow-hided scoundrel!' + </p> + <p> + 'What's the use of bully-ragging him?' remarked the plantation engineer, + with a sarcastic laugh; 'he doesn't understand a word you say. Club-law + and the sasa {*} are the only things that appeal to him—and he gets + plenty of both on Mulifanua. Hallo, look at that! Why, he's kissing Pulu's + toe!' + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Whip. +</pre> + <p> + Burton laughed. 'So he is. Look out, Pulu, perhaps he's a <i>kai tagata</i>' + (cannibal). 'Take care he doesn't bite it off.' + </p> + <p> + Pulu shook his mop of yellow hair gravely. A great pity filled his big + heart, for as he had turned to go back to the boat Rídan had fallen upon + his knees and pressed his lips to the feet of the man who had given him a + drink. + </p> + <p> + That night Burton and the Scotch engineer went to Rídan's hut, taking with + them food and a new sleeping-mat. He was sitting cross-legged before a + tiny fire of coco-nut shells, gazing at the blue, leaping jets of flame, + and as the two men entered, slowly turned his face to them. + </p> + <p> + 'Here,' said Burton, less roughly than usual,' here's some <i>kai kai</i> + for you.' + </p> + <p> + He took the food from Burton's hand, set it beside him on the ground, and + then, supporting himself on his gaunt right arm and hand, gave the + overseer one long look of bitter, undying hatred; then his eyes drooped to + the fire again. + </p> + <p> + 'And here, Rídan,' said Craik, the engineer, throwing the sleeping-mat + upon the ground, 'that'll keep your auld bones frae cutting into the + ground. And here is what will do ye mair good still,' and he placed a + wooden pipe and a stick of tobacco in 'the devil's' hand. In a moment + Rídan was on his knees with his forehead pressed to the ground in + gratitude. + </p> + <p> + The men looked at him in silence for a few moments as he crouched at + Craik's feet, with the light of the fire playing upon his tattooed yellow + back and masses of tangled black hair. + </p> + <p> + 'Come awa', Burton, leave the puir deevil to himself. And I'm thinking ye + might try him on the other tack awhile. Ye <i>have not</i> broken the + creature's spirit yet, and I wouldna try to if I were you—for my own + safety. Sit up Rídan, mon, and smoke your pipe.' + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Two years before, Rídan had been brought to Samoa by a German labour-ship, + which had picked him up in a canoe at sea, somewhere off the coast of + Dutch New Guinea. He was the only survivor of a party of seven, and when + lifted on board was in the last stage of exhaustion from thirst and + hunger. Where the canoe had sailed from, and whither bound, no one on + board the <i>Iserbrook</i> could learn, for the stranger spoke a language + utterly unknown to anyone of even the <i>Iserbrook's</i> polyglot ship's + company—men who came from all parts of Polynesia and Micronesia. All + that could be learned from him by signs and gestures was that a great + storm had overtaken the canoe, many days of hunger and thirst had + followed, and then death ended the agonies of all but himself. + </p> + <p> + In a few weeks, and while the brig was thrashing her way back to Samoa + against the south-east trades, Rídan regained his health and strength and + became a favourite with all on board, white and brown. He was quite six + feet in height, with a bright yellow skin, bronzed by the sun; and his + straight features and long black hair were of the true Malayo-Polynesian + type. From the back of his neck two broad stripes of bright blue tattooing + ran down the whole length of his muscular back, and thence curved outwards + and downwards along the back of his thighs and terminated at each heel. No + one on the <i>Iserbrook</i> had ever seen similar tattooing, and many were + the conjectures as to Rídan's native place. One word, however, he + constantly repeated, 'Onêata,' and then would point to the north-west. But + no one knew of such a place, though many did of an Oneaka, far to the + south-east—an island of the Gilbert Group near the Equator. + </p> + <p> + The weeks passed, and at last Rídan looked with wondering eyes upon the + strange houses of the white men in Apia harbour. By-and-by boats came off + to the ship, and the three hundred and odd brown-skinned and black-skinned + people from the Solomons and the Admiralties and the countless islands + about New Britain and New Ireland were taken ashore to work on the + plantations at Vailele and Mulifanua, and Rídan alone was left. He was + glad of this, for the white men on board had been kind to him, and he + began to hope that he would be taken back to Onêata. But that night he was + brought ashore by the captain to a house where many white men were sitting + together, smoking and drinking. They all looked curiously at him and + addressed him in many island tongues, and Rídan smiled and shook his head + and said, 'Me Rídan; me Onêata.' + </p> + <p> + 'Leave him with me, Kühne,' said Burton to the captain of the brig. 'He's + the best and biggest man of the lot you've brought this trip. I'll marry + him to one of my wife's servants, and he'll live in clover down at + Mulifanua.' + </p> + <p> + So early next morning Rfdan was put in a boat with many other new 'boys,' + and he smiled with joy, thinking he was going back to the ship—and + Onêata. But when the boat sailed round Mulinu's Point, and the spars of + the <i>Iserbrook</i> were suddenly hidden by the intervening line of palm + trees, a cry of terror burst from him, and he sprang overboard. He was + soon caught, though he dived and swam like a fish. And then two wild-eyed + Gilbert Islanders held him by the arms, and laughed as he wept and kept + repeating, 'Onëata, Onëata.' + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + From that day began his martyrdom. He worked hard under his overseer, but + ran away again and again, only to be brought back and tied up. Sometimes, + as he toiled, he would look longingly across the narrow strait of sunlit + water at the bright green little island of Manono, six miles away; and + twice he stole down to the shore at night, launched a canoe and paddled + over towards it. But each time the plantation guard-boat brought him back; + and then Burton put him in irons. Once he swam the whole distance, braving + the sharks, and, reaching the island, hid in a taro swamp till the next + night. He meant to steal food and a canoe—and seek for Onëata. But + the Manono people found him, and, though he fought desperately, they + overcame and bound him, and the women cursed him for a Tâfito{*} devil, a + thieving beast, and beat and pelted him as the men carried him back to the + plantation, tied up like a wild boar, to get their ten dollars reward for + him from the manager. And Burton gave him thirty lashes as a corrective. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The Samoans apply the term 'Tâfito' to all natives of the + Gilbert Group and other equatorial islands. The word is an + abbreviation of Taputeauea (Drummond's Island), and 'Tâfito' + is synonymous for 'savage'—in some senses. +</pre> + <p> + Then came long, long months of unceasing toil, broken only by attempts to + escape, recapture, irons and more lashes. The rest of the native labourers + so hated and persecuted him that at last the man's nature changed, and he + became desperate and dangerous. No one but Burton dared strike him now, + for he would spring at an enemy's throat like a madman, and half strangle + him ere he could be dragged away stunned, bruised and bleeding. When his + day's slavery was over he would go to his hut, eat his scanty meal of + rice, biscuit and yam in sullen silence, and brood and mutter to himself. + But from the day of his first flogging no word ever escaped his set lips. + All these things he told afterwards to Von Hammer, the supercargo of the + <i>Mindora</i>, when she came to Mulifanua with a cargo of new 'boys.'{*} + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Polynesian labourers are generally termed 'boys.' +</pre> + <p> + Von Hammer had been everywhere in the North Pacific, so Burton took him to + Rídan's hut, and called to the 'sulky devil' to come out. He came, and + sullenly followed the two men into the manager's big sitting-room, and sat + down cross-legged on the floor. The bright lamplight shone full on his + nude figure and the tangle of black hair that fell about his now + sun-darkened back and shoulders. And, as on that other evening long + before, when he sat crouching over his fire, his eyes sought Burton's face + with a look of implacable hatred. + </p> + <p> + 'See if you can find out where the d—d brute comes from,' said + Burton. + </p> + <p> + Von Hammer looked at Rídan intently for a minute, and then said one or two + words to him in a tongue that the overseer had never before heard. + </p> + <p> + With trembling limbs and a joyful wonder shining in his dark eyes, Rfdan + crept up to the supercargo, and then, in a voice of whispered sobs, he + told his two years' tale of bitter misery. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + 'Very well,' said Burton, an hour later, to Von Hammer, 'you can take him. + I don't want the brute here. But he is a dangerous devil, mind. Where do + you say he comes from?' + </p> + <p> + 'Onêata—Saint David's Island—a little bit of a sandy atoll, as + big as Manono over there, and much like it, too. I know the place well—lived + there once when I was pearling, ten years ago. I don't think the natives + there see a white man more than once in five years. It's a very isolated + spot, off the north-èast coast of New Guinea. “Bully” Hayes used to call + there once. However, let me have him. The <i>Mindora</i> may go to Manila + next year; if so, I'll land him at Onêata on our way there. Anyway, he's + no good to you. And he told me just now that he has been waiting his + chance to murder you.' + </p> + <p> + The <i>Mindora</i> returned to Apia to take in stores, and Von Hammer took + Rídan with him, clothed in a suit of blue serge, and with silent happiness + illumining his face. For his heart was leaping within him at the thought + of Onêata, and of those who numbered him with the dead; and when he + clambered up the ship's side and saw Pulu, the big Samoan, working on deck + with the other native sailors, he flung his arms around him and gave him a + mighty hug, and laughed like a pleased child when Von Hammer told him that + Pulu would be his shipmate till he saw the green land and white beach of + Onêata once more. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Six months out from Samoa the <i>Mindora</i> was hove-to off Choiseul + Island, in the Solomon Group, waiting for her boat. Von Hammer and four + hands had gone ashore to land supplies for a trader, and the brig was + awaiting his return. There was a heavy sea running on the reef as the boat + pushed off from the beach in the fast-gathering darkness; but who minds + such things with a native crew? So thought Von Hammer as he grasped the + long, swaying steer oar, and swung the whale-boat's head to the white line + of surf. 'Give it to her, boys; now's our chance—there's a bit of a + lull now, eh, Pulu? Bend to it, Rídan, my lad.' + </p> + <p> + Out shot the boat, Pulu pulling stroke, Rídan bow-oar, and two sturdy, + square-built Savage Islanders amidships. Surge after surge roared and + hissed past in the darkness, and never a drop of water wetted their naked + backs; and then, with a wild cry from the crew and a shouting laugh from + the steersman, she swept over and down the edge of the reef and gained the + deep water—a second too late! Ere she could rise from the blackened + trough a great curling roller towered high over, and then with a bursting + roar fell upon and smothered her. When she rose to the surface Von Hammer + was fifty feet away, clinging to the steer-oar. A quick glance showed him + that none of the crew were missing—they were all holding on to the + swamped boat and 'swimming' her out away from the reef, and shouting + loudly for him to come alongside. Pushing the steer-oar before him, he + soon reached the boat, and, despite his own unwillingness, his crew + insisted on his getting in. Then, each still grasping the gunwale with one + hand, they worked the boat out yard by yard, swaying her fore and aft + whenever a lull in the seas came, and jerking the water out of her by + degrees till the two Savage Islanders were able to clamber in and bale out + with the wooden bucket slung under the after-thwart, while the white man + kept her head to the sea. But the current was setting them steadily along, + parallel with the reef, and every now and then a sea would tumble aboard + and nearly fill her again. At last, however, the Savage Islanders got her + somewhat free of water, and called to Pulu and Rídan to get in—there + were plenty of spare canoe-paddles secured along the sides in case of an + emergency such as this. + </p> + <p> + 'Get in, Pulu, get in,' said Rfdan to the Samoan, in English; 'get in + quickly.' + </p> + <p> + But Pulu refused. He was a bigger and a heavier man than Rfdan, he said, + and the boat was not yet able to bear the weight of a fourth man. This was + true, and the supercargo, though he knew the awful risk the men ran, and + urged them to jump in and paddle, yet knew that the additional weight of + two such heavy men as Rfdan and Pulu meant death to all, for every now and + then a leaping sea would again fill the boat to the thwarts. + </p> + <p> + And then suddenly, amid the crashing sound of the thundering rollers on + the reef, Rídan raised his voice in an awful shriek. + </p> + <p> + '<i>Quick! Pulu, quick!</i> Some shark hav' come. Get in, get in first,' + he said in his broken English. And as he spoke he grasped the gunwale with + both hands and raised his head and broad shoulders high out of the water, + and a bubbling, groan-like sound issued from his lips. + </p> + <p> + In an instant the big Samoan swung himself into the boat, and Von Hammer + called to Rídan to get in also. + </p> + <p> + 'Nay, oh, white man!' he answered, in a strange choking voice, 'let me + stay here and hold to the boat. We are not yet safe from the reef. But + paddle, paddle... quickly!' + </p> + <p> + In another minute or two the boat was out of danger, and then Rídan's + voice was heard. + </p> + <p> + 'Lift me in,' he said quietly, 'my strength is spent.' + </p> + <p> + The two Savage Islanders sprang to his aid, drew him up over the side, and + tumbled him into the boat. Then, without a further look, they seized their + paddles and plunged them into the water. Rídan lay in a huddled-up heap on + the bottom boards. + </p> + <p> + 'Exhausted, poor devil!' said Von Hammer to himself, bending down and + peering at the motionless figure through the darkness. Then something warm + flowed over his naked foot as the boat rolled, and he looked closer at + Rídan, and— + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, my God!' burst from him—both of Rídan's legs were gone—bitten + off just above the knees. + </p> + <p> + Twenty minutes later, as the boat came alongside the <i>Mindora</i>, Rídan + 'the devil' died in the arms of the man who had once given him a drink. + </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> + A MEMORY OF 'THE SYSTEM' + </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> + The house in which I lived from my birth till I was twelve years of age + stood on the green-grassed slopes of a treeless bluff which overlooked the + blue waters of the sunlit Pacific. Except for a cluster of five or six + little weatherboard cottages perched on the verge of the headland, half a + mile away, and occupied by the crew of the Government pilot boat, there + were no other dwellings near, for the 'town,' as it was called, lay out of + sight, on the low, flat banks of a tidal river, whose upper waters were + the haunt and breeding places of the black swan, the wild duck and the + pelican. + </p> + <p> + My father was the principal civil official in the place, which was called + Bar Harbour, one of the smaller penal settlements in Australia, founded + for what were called 'the better class' of convicts, many of whom, having + received their emancipation papers, had settled in the vicinity, and had + become prosperous and, in a measure, respected settlers, though my father, + who had a somewhat bitter tongue, said that no ex-convict could ever be + respected in the colony until he had lent money to one or other of the + many retired military or civil officers who held large Crown grants of + land in the district and worked them with convict labour; for, while + numbers of the emancipists throve and became almost wealthy, despite the + many cruel and harassing restrictions imposed upon them by the unwritten + laws of society (which yet academically held them to be purged of their + offences), the grand military gentlemen and their huge estates generally + went to ruin—mostly through their own improvidence, though such + misfortunes, our minister, the Reverend Mr Sampson, said, in the sermons + he preached in our hideous, red-brick church, were caused by an + 'inscrutable Providence'—their dwellings and store houses were + burnt, their cattle and sheep disappeared, and their 'assigned' labourers + took to the bush, and either perished of starvation or became bushrangers + and went to the gallows in due course. + </p> + <p> + My mother, who was a gentle, tender-hearted woman, and seemed to live and + move and have her being only for the purpose of making happy those around + her, was, being English-born (she was of a Devonshire family), a constant + church-goer, not for the sake of appearances, for her intelligence was too + great for her to be bound by such a shallow reason, but because she was a + simple, good and pure-minded woman, and sought by her example to make a + protest against the scandalous and degraded lives led by many of the + soldier officers and officials with whom she and her children were brought + in almost daily contact, for my father, being an all too generous man, + kept open house. But although she was always sweet-tempered and sometimes + merry with the hard-drinking old Peninsular veterans, and the noisy and + swaggering subalterns of the ill-famed 102nd Regiment (or New South Wales + Corps), she always shuddered and looked pale and ill at ease when she saw + among my father's guests the coarse, stern face of the minister, and her + dislike of the clergyman was shared by all we children, especially by my + elder brother Harry (then sixteen years of age), who called him 'the + flogging parson' and the 'Reverend Diabolical Howl.' This latter nickname + stuck, and greatly tickled Major Trenton, who repeated it to the other + officers, and one day young Mr Moore of the 102nd, who was clever at such + things, made a sketch of the cleric as he appeared when preaching, which + set them all a-laughing immoderately. + </p> + <p> + 'God alive!' cried old Major Trenton, holding the picture in his left + hand, and bringing down his right upon the table with a thump that set all + the glasses jingling, ''tis a perfect likeness of him, and yet, Moore, if + ye had but given him a judge's wig and robes instead of a cassock, he + would be the double of damned old hanging Norbury up there,' pointing to + the picture of an Irish judge which hung on the wall. 'Come,' he added, + 'Mrs Egerton must see this. I know our hostess loves the gentle parson.' + </p> + <p> + So three or four of them, still laughing boisterously, left the table to + look for my mother, whom they found sitting on the latticed-in verandah, + which on hot summer days was used as a drawing-room. She, too, laughed + heartily at the sketch, and said 'twas wonderfully drawn, and then my + brother Harry asked Mr Moore to give it to him. This the young lieutenant + did, though my mother begged him to destroy it, lest Mr Sampson should + hear of the matter and take offence. But my brother promised her not to + let it go out of his keeping, and there the thing ended—so we + thought. + </p> + <p> + Yet, in some way, my mother's convict and free servants came to hear of + the picture—they had already bandied about the parson's nickname—and + every one of them, on some cunning excuse, had come to my brother's room + and laughed at the drawing; and very often when they saw the clergyman + riding past the house, attended by his convict orderly, they would say, + with an added curse, 'There goes “Diabolical Howl,'” for they all hated + the man, because, being a magistrate as well as a minister, he had + sentenced many a prisoner to a dreadful flogging and had watched it being + administered. + </p> + <p> + But perhaps it was not altogether on account of the floggings in which he + so believed for which he was so detested—for floggings were common + enough for even small breaches of the regulations of the System—but + for the spiritual admonition with which he dosed them afterwards, while + their backs were still black and bloody from the cat. Once, when an old + convict named Callaghan was detected stealing some sugar belonging to one + of the pilot boat's crew, my mother went to Dr Parsons, who, with the + Reverend Mr Sampson, was to hear the charge against Callaghan on the + following morning, and begged him not to have the man flogged; and Tom + King, the man from whom the sugar was stolen, went with her and joined his + pleadings to hers. + </p> + <p> + 'Now, come, doctor,' said my mother, placing her hand on the old officer's + arm and smiling into his face, 'you <i>must</i> grant me this favour. The + man is far too old to be flogged. And then he was a soldier himself once—he + was a drummer boy, so he once told me, in the 4th Buffs.' + </p> + <p> + 'The most rascally regiment in the service, madam. Every one of them + deserved hanging. But,' and here his tone changed from good-humoured + banter into sincerity, 'I honour you, Mrs Egerton, for your humanity. The + man is over sixty, and I promise you that he shall not be flogged. Why, he + is scarce recovered yet from the punishment inflicted on him for stealing + Major Innes's goose. But yet he is a terrible old rascal.' + </p> + <p> + 'Never mind that,' said my mother, laughing. 'Major Innes should keep his + geese from straying about at night-time. And then, doctor, you must + remember that poor Callaghan said that he mistook the bird for a pelican—it + being dark when he killed it.' + </p> + <p> + 'Ha, ha,' laughed the doctor, 'and no doubt Mr Patrick Callaghan only + discovered his mistake when he was cooking his pelican, and noticed its + remarkably short bill.' + </p> + <p> + My mother left, well pleased, but on the following morning, while we were + at our mid-day meal, she was much distressed to hear that old Callaghan + had received fifty lashes after all—the good doctor had been thrown + from his horse and so much hurt that he was unable to attend the court, + and another magistrate—a creature of Mr Sampson's—had taken + his place. The news was brought to us by Thomas King, and my mother's pale + face flushed with anger as, bidding King to go into the kitchen and get + some dinner, she turned to my father (who took but little heed of such a + simple thing as the flogging of a convict), and said hotly,— + </p> + <p> + ''Tis shameful that such cruelty can be perpetrated! I shall write to the + Governor himself—he is a just and humane man—oh, it is wicked, + wicked,' and then she covered her face with her hands and sobbed aloud. + </p> + <p> + My father was silent. He detested the parson most heartily, but was too + cautious a man, in regard to his own interest, to give open expression to + his opinions, so beyond muttering something to my brother Harry about + Thomas King having no business to distress her, he was about to rise from + the table, when a servant announced that the Reverend Mr Sampson wished to + see him. + </p> + <p> + The mention of the clergyman's name seemed to transform my mother into + another woman. Quickly, but gently, putting aside my sister Frances, whose + loving arms were clasped around her waist, she rose, and fire flashed in + her eyes as she said to the servant,— + </p> + <p> + 'Denham, tell Mr Sampson that I desire to speak with him as soon as he has + finished his business with Mr Egerton.' + </p> + <p> + My father went out to the drawing-room, where the clergyman awaited him, + and for the next ten minutes or so my mother walked quickly to and fro in + the dining-room, bidding us remain seated, and in a harsh, unnatural tone + to one so sweet and gentle, she told the servants who waited to withdraw. + </p> + <p> + 'Mr Sampson is at your service, madam,' said Denham, opening the door. + </p> + <p> + 'Show him in here,' said my mother, sharply, and her always pale face grew + paler still. + </p> + <p> + The clergyman entered, and extended his fat, white hand to her; she drew + back and bowed coldly. + </p> + <p> + 'I do not desire to shake hands with you, sir.' + </p> + <p> + Mr Sampson's red face flushed purple. + </p> + <p> + 'I do not understand you, madam. Is this a jest—or do you forget who + I am?' + </p> + <p> + 'I shall try to make you understand me, Mr Sampson, in as few words as + possible. I do not jest, and I do not forget who you are. I have a request + to make.' + </p> + <p> + 'Indeed! I feel honoured, madam,' and the corners of the clergyman's thick + lips turned contemptuously down—'and that is—?' + </p> + <p> + 'That you will cease your visits to this house. It would be painful indeed + to me to receive you as a guest from this time forth, for this very day it + is my intention to write to the Governor and acquaint him with the + shocking act of cruelty committed this morning—'twas a shameful, + cruel deed to flog an old man so cruelly.' + </p> + <p> + Mr Sampson's face was now livid with the rage he could not suppress. + </p> + <p> + 'Beware, madam, of what you say or do. 'Tis a pretty example you set your + children to thus insult a clergyman.' + </p> + <p> + My mother's answer cut like a whip-lash. 'A clergyman such as you, Mr + Sampson, can inspire naught in their childish minds but fear and + abhorrence,' and then she pulled the bell cord so violently that not only + Denham but my father entered as well. + </p> + <p> + 'Show Mr Sampson out,' she said in accents of mingled anger and scorn, and + then turning to the window nearest, she seemed to be gazing unconcernedly + upon the blue expanse of ocean before her; but her little hands were + clasped tightly together, and her whole frame trembled with excitement. + </p> + <p> + As soon as the clergyman had mounted his horse and ridden off, my father + returned to the dining-room. + </p> + <p> + 'You have made a bitter enemy of a man who can do me much harm,' he began; + but something in my mother's face made him cease from further reproaches, + and he added lightly, that he hoped 'twould soon blow over. + </p> + <p> + 'Charles,' said my mother, who was now herself again, 'it must <i>not</i> + blow over. The Governor shall know of this man's doings. And never again + shall I or my children enter the church when he preaches. To-night, I + suppose, he will visit that wretched old man—the victim of his + brutality—and administer “spiritual admonition.” Come, children, let + us go to the beach and forget that that dreadful man has been here.' + </p> + <p> + It was, I think, this practice of 'administering admonition' to convicts + after he had had them sentenced to a severe flogging that first gave my + mother such an utter abhorrence of the man, together with his habit of + confining his sermons to the prisoners to the one subject—their own + criminal natures and the terrors of hell-fire everlasting. Then, too, his + voice was appalling to hear, for he had a way of suddenly dropping his + harsh, metallic tones, and raising his voice to a howl, like to that of a + hungry dingo.{*} + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The native dog of Australia, whose long, accentuated howl + is most distressing to hear. +</pre> + <p> + Often did I, when sitting in our great square pew in that dreadful, + horrible church, press close to my mother's side and bury my face in her + dress, as he lashed himself into a fury and called down the vengeance of a + wrathful God upon the rows of silent, wretched beings clad in yellow, who + were seated on long stools in the back of the church, guarded by soldiers, + who, with loaded muskets, were stationed in the gallery above. Some of the + convicts, it was said, had sworn to murder him if an opportunity served, + and this no doubt made him the more merciless and vindictive to any one of + them who was so unfortunate as to be charged before him in his capacity of + magistrate. By the Regulations he could not sit alone to deal out + punishment, and sometimes had difficulty in finding a colleague, + especially among the military men, who nearly always protested against his + fondness for the cat; but there were always to be found, in the end, + magistrates who would do anything to please him, for it was known that he + had great influence with the Home Government, and was not chary of using + it on behalf of those who truckled to him, if he so inclined; and, indeed, + both Major Trenton and Dr Parsons said that he was a man with many good + points, and could be, to those who pleased him, a good friend, as well as + a bitter enemy to those who in any way crossed him. But they asserted that + he should never have been appointed a magistrate in a colony where the + penal laws gave such latitude to his violent temper and arbitrary + disposition. + </p> + <p> + Early one morning in December, and three months after the drawing of the + picture by Lieutenant Moore, my two brothers and myself set off on a + fishing excursion to a tidal lagoon whose waters debouched into the + Pacific, about fifteen miles southward from the little township. Behind us + followed a young man named Walter Trenfield, who was one of my father's + assigned servants, and an aboriginal named 'King Billy'; these two carried + our provisions, cooking utensils and blankets, for we intended to camp out + for two or three days. + </p> + <p> + A half-an-hour's walk over the slopes of the bluff brought us to the + fringe of the dense coastal forest, through which our track lay for + another two or three miles before we again came to open country. There + was, however, a very good road, made by convict labour, through the scrub + as far as it went; it ran almost along the very verge of the steep-to + coast, and as we tramped over the rich red soil we had the bright blue sea + beneath us on our left, and the dark and almost silent bush on our right. + I say 'almost,' for although in these moist and sunless seaboard tracts of + what we Australian-born people call bush, and English people would call + wood or forest, there was no sound of human life, there was yet always to + be heard the <i>thump, thump</i> of the frightened scrub wallaby, and now + and again the harsh, shrieking note of the great white cockatoo, or the + quick rush of a long-tailed iguana over the thick bed of leaves, as the + timid reptile fled to the nearest tree, up whose rugged bole it crawled + for security. + </p> + <p> + We had come some three or four miles upon our way, when we suddenly + emerged from the darkness and stillness of the scrub out into the light of + day and the bright sunshine, and heard the low murmur of the surf beating + upon the rocks below. Here we sat down to rest awhile and feast our boyish + eyes on the beauties of sea and shore and sky around us. A few hundred + yards away from where we sat was a round, verdured cone called 'Little + Nobby'; it rose steep-to from the sea to a height of about three hundred + feet, and formed a very striking and distinct landmark upon that part of + the coast—bold and rugged as it was—for a stretch of three + score miles. Presently, as we lay upon the grass, looking out upon the + sea, Walter Trenfield and the aboriginal joined us, and whilst they made a + fire to boil a billy of tea, my brother Harry, hearing the call of a wonga + pigeon, picked up his gun and went into the scrub to shoot it. + </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> + I must now relate something of the previous history of this young man + Trenfield. He was a native of Bideford, in Devon—my mother's county—and + had been a sailor. Some years before, he, with another young man named + Thomas May, had been concerned in a mutiny on board a London whale-ship, + the <i>Jason</i>, and both men were sentenced to fourteen years' penal + servitude, it being believed, though not proven, that either Trenfield or + May had killed one of the officers with a blow of the fist. They were, + with six of their shipmates, tried at the Old Bailey, and although a + Quaker gentleman, a Mr Robert Bent, who had visited them in prison, gave a + lawyer fifty guineas to defend them, the judge said that although the + death of the officer could not be sheeted home to either of them, there + was no doubt of their taking part in the mutiny—with which offence + they were charged. After spending three months in one of the convict hulks + they were sent out to Sydney in the <i>Breckenbridge</i> transport. But + before they sailed they were several times visited by Mr Bent, who told + them that he would always bear them in mind, and should endeavour to have + their sentences reduced if he heard good word of their future conduct from + his agent in Sydney; this Mr Bent was the owner of several of the + Government transports, which, after discharging their cargo of convicts, + would sail upon a whaling cruise to the South Seas. More than this, he + said that he would give them berths on one of his vessels as soon as they + regained their freedom, and that he had written to his agent to that + effect. + </p> + <p> + It so happened that this agent, a Mr Thomas Campbell, was a friend of my + father's, who also knew Mr Bent, and so when the <i>Breckenbridge</i> + arrived at Sydney he succeeded in having Trenfield assigned to him, and + Thomas May to a contractor who was building a bridge for the Government + over a river in the vicinity of Bar Harbour. + </p> + <p> + The two young seamen were very much attached to each other, and their + cheerful dispositions, good conduct and unceasing industry led to their + being granted many privileges. Both my father and my mother had taken a + strong liking to Trenfield; and so, too, had Ruth Kenna, a young free + female servant of ours. As for we boys, we simply worshipped both + Trenfield and May as heroes who had sailed in the far South Seas and + harpooned and killed the mighty sperm whale, and had fought with the wild + and naked savages of the Pacific Isles. + </p> + <p> + Ruth Kenna was the daughter of a small farmer in the district, who had + been emancipated by the good Governor. He was a widower, and a rough, + taciturn man, but passionately devoted to Ruth, who was his only child. He + had been transported for having taken part in the disastrous Irish + rebellion of '98,' and his young wife had followed him to share his exile. + The terrors and hardships of the long voyage out killed her, for she died + almost as soon as she landed, without seeing her husband, and leaving her + infant child to the kindly care of the officers of the detachment of the + regiment which had come out in the same ship. By them the infant girl had + been placed in the charge of a respectable female convict, who, at my + mother's expense, had kept her till she was ten years of age. Then she + came to us as a servant, and had remained ever since. + </p> + <p> + Very often my father—though he pretended, as became his official + position in a Crown Colony, to have a great dislike to Irish Roman + Catholics—would allow we boys to go to Patrick Kenna's farm to shoot + native bears and opossums, which were very plentiful thereabout, for the + land was very thickly timbered with blue gum, tallow-wood and native + apple. The house itself stood on the margin of a small tidal creek, whose + shallow waters teemed with fish of all descriptions, and in the winter + Kenna would catch great numbers of whiting, bream and sea mullet, which he + salted and dried and sold to the settlers who lived inland. He lived quite + alone, except from Saturday morning till Sunday morning, when Ruth stayed + with him and straightened up the rough house. Sometimes Ruth would + persuade my mother to let my brother Will and myself stay with them for + the night, and dearly did we love going; for her father, though a silent, + cold-mannered man to most people, was always different to any one of us + Egertons, and never even grumbled when we got into mischief, though he + pretended to be very angry. Once, indeed, he had good cause to be—as + I shall relate. + </p> + <p> + One Saturday evening, after we had finished our supper, Patrick Kenna + found that he had run out of tobacco, and said that if we were not afraid + of being left by ourselves for a few hours he would walk into Bar Harbour + and buy some before the store closed, returning before midnight. Of course + we did not mind, and in a few minutes Ruth's father set out, accompanied + by 'King Billy' and one or two other black-fellows who were in hopes of + selling some wild honey for a bottle or two of rum. We watched them + disappear into the darkness of the forest, and then, as the night was + suitable, my brother Will proposed that we should all go down to the creek + and fish for black bream. + </p> + <p> + 'The tide is coming in, Ruth,' he said gleefully, 'and we'll have fine + sport. I'll go on first and light a fire on the bank.' + </p> + <p> + Presently, as Ruth and I were getting ready our lines, he dashed into the + house again, panting with excitement. + </p> + <p> + 'Never mind the lines. Oh, I have glorious news! The salmon are coming in, + in swarms, and the water is alive with them! Ruth, let us get the net and + put it right across the creek as soon as it is slack water. 'Twill be + glorious.' + </p> + <p> + Now, we knew that the sea salmon had been seen out at sea a few days + before, but it was yet thought to be too soon for their vast droves to + enter the rivers and lagoons. But Will was quite right, for when we + dragged down the heavy net we found that the water, which half an hour + before, though under the light of myriad stars, had been black and silent, + was now a living sheet of phosphorescent light, caused by the passage up + the creek of countless thousands of agitated fish, driven in by hundreds + of porpoises and savage, grey ocean-haunting sharks, whose murderous forms + we could see darting to and fro just outside the shallow bar, charging + into and devouring the helpless, compact masses of salmon, whose very + numbers prevented them from escaping; for serried legion after legion from + the sea swam swiftly in to the narrow passage and pressed upon those which + were seeking to force their way up to the shallow, muddy waters five miles + beyond—where alone lay safety from the tigers of the sea. + </p> + <p> + Ruth Kenna, as wild with excitement as my brother and myself, took up one + pole of the net and sprang into the water, leaving Will and I to pay out + on our side. She was a tall, strong girl, but what with the force of the + inward current and the mad press of the terrified salmon, she could barely + reach the sand-spit on the other shore, though the passage was not fifty + feet across. But she managed to struggle ashore and secure her end of the + net by jamming the pole between some logs of driftwood which lay upon the + sand. Then, with a loud, merry laugh, she bade me run up to the house and + bring her a petticoat and bodice, and leaping into the water she swam + across again and helped Will to properly secure his end of the net to the + bole of a tea tree. + </p> + <p> + Old as I am now, the memory of that happy, happy night lives with me yet. + By the light of a huge fire of logs we sat and watched the net, which, as + the tide ebbed, curved outward to the sea, though the salmon without still + tried to force a passage into the creek, and the ravening sharks outside + the deep water of the bar rushed through and through their close-packed + ranks and gorged themselves till they rolled about, with distended + bellies, as if they were water-logged baulks of timber. + </p> + <p> + As we sat by the fire, waiting for the tide to run out, we heard the dogs + barking and knew that Patrick Kenna had returned. Presently we heard him + walking down towards us, and at the same moment Ruth uttered an + exclamation of terror and pointed to the water. + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, look! look! There are a lot of sharks inside, coming down the creek. + Quick! let this end of the net go, or they will be caught in it and tear + it to pieces!' + </p> + <p> + Her father was alive to the danger. Springing before us, he cut the end of + the line fastened to the tea-tree; but he was too late, for before the net + had tailed out to the current four or five sharks had dashed into it and + entangled themselves in its meshes, and in ten minutes the net was utterly + ruined, for although the sharks could not use their teeth, the great + weight of their gorged bodies and their furious struggles soon tore the + bight of it to shreds. + </p> + <p> + Kenna watched the destruction of the net in silence. As he stood in the + light of the fire, his dark, rugged face showed no sign of the anger that + must have burned within him at our thoughtless conduct. + </p> + <p> + 'Ye might have waited till I was back, Ruth,' he said quietly; 'there's as + good a net as was ever made gone to ruin. And sure 'twas a mad thing for + ye to do when th' ravening sharks were so plentiful.' + </p> + <p> + Of course my father and mother were very angry with us, and sent Kenna + five pounds to partly pay for the damage done. He sent it back by Ruth, + and said that he would be a poor creature to take it, for the mishap was + caused by Ruth's folly, and that we boys were in no way to blame. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Almost every alternate evening Tom May would come to our house, and go to + Walter Trenfield's quarters, which were in a large airy loft over our + stable, and the two young men would dress and sew the skins of the + wallabies and 'possums which my brothers had shot. My mother never + objected to us staying with them till about ten o'clock, and Ruth, too, + often came and made coffee for us all. Both May and Trenfield always + behaved well and soberly, and although they had been whale-ship sailors + they were always very careful in their language when we were with them. + Some time before my mother's angry interview with Mr Sampson she had + mentioned, in his hearing, to Major Trenton's wife, that her boys were + greatly attached to the two young men, whose stories of their former sea + life were very exciting, and so forth, whereupon the clergyman said sourly + that both were dangerous villains who should not be trusted, and she would + do well to prevent the further intercourse of her children with such + rascals. + </p> + <p> + My mother bowed stiffly to him, and said gently that she thought he was + mistaken greatly in their characters; also she was well able to look after + her children's morals; but Mrs Trenton, a sharp-tongued old Irishwoman, + who hated the parson and loved my mother, spoke out pretty plainly. + </p> + <p> + 'No one but a clergyman would make such a rude speech to a lady, sir. A + man who <i>called</i> himself a gentleman would be made to account for his + lack of manners.' + </p> + <p> + One Saturday afternoon, as Walter Trenfield and Ruth were driving the cows + down to the creek to drink, and Will and I were idling about on the + seaward hill, we saw Patrick Kenna ride up to the house, dismount and + knock. He only remained indoors a few minutes, and presently we saw him + galloping towards Trenfield and Ruth, with whom he stayed talking for even + a still shorter time; then, without taking any notice of us—which + was most unusual for him—he put spurs to his horse and rode straight + for the scrub, towards his home. + </p> + <p> + 'There is something the matter,' said Will. 'See, there is Walter running + up to the house again. Come, let us see what it is.' + </p> + <p> + We ran home, and entering by the garden gate saw that Walter was talking + to my mother on the back verandah. She seemed very troubled and almost on + the verge of crying, and we soon heard the news, which was bad enough. + Thomas May had been given a hundred lashes and had taken to the bush. + </p> + <p> + It appeared that May, whom we had not seen for one or two weeks, had been + working under an overseer named Cross, at a place about ten miles from the + town. (This man Cross was of a notoriously savage disposition, and had + himself been a convict in Van Diemen's Land, but had received a pardon for + having shot and killed a bushranger there.) + </p> + <p> + May, with the rest of his gang, was felling timber, when a heavy chip flew + from the tallow-wood tree upon which he was working, and struck the + overseer in the face. Cross at once flew into a violent passion, and with + much foul language accused poor May of having thrown the chip at him. This + the young fellow warmly denied, whereupon Cross, taking his pistol out of + his belt, struck the sailor on the mouth with the butt. In an instant May + returned the blow by knocking the overseer down, and was then seized by + two of his fellow-convicts. He was ironed and taken into town, and on the + following morning was brought before Mr Sampson and another magistrate. It + was no use of his pleading provocation, he received his flogging within a + few hours. Towards daylight he crept out of his hut, broke into his + master's storeroom, and took a musket, powder and ball, and as much food + as he could carry, telling a fellow-prisoner that he would perish in the + bush rather than be taken alive. + </p> + <p> + On the fifth night after his escape, and whilst the constables were + scouring the country in search of him, he came to Patrick Kenna's house. + The night was very dark and the rain descending in torrents; so, there + being no fear of intruders, Kenna barred his door and made the poor fellow + comfortable by giving him a change of clothes, a good meal and some + tobacco to smoke. Tom inquired very eagerly after Walter, and sent him a + long message, and then told Kenna some startling news. + </p> + <p> + Two days after he had absconded, and when he was quite thirty miles + distant from Bar Harbour, he saw smoke arising from a dense scrub. + Creeping along on his hands and knees he saw two men—escaped + convicts like himself—engaged in skinning a wallaby. He at once made + himself known to them and was welcomed. After a meal from the wallaby, the + two men asked him if he would join them in a plan they had of getting away + from the country; he was just the man, they said, being a sailor, who + could bring the attempt to a successful issue. Then they told him that, + many weeks previously, they had found a whale-boat lying capsized on the + beach some miles away, and that she was perfectly sound. By great labour + they had succeeded in dragging her up into the margin of the scrub on the + beach, where they had turned her over and covered her carefully with dead + branches. A further search along the beach had resulted in their finding + an oar and one of the line tubs,{*} but that was all. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * English whale-ship boats generally used two line tub's— + American only one. No doubt this boat was lost from an + English whaler, the <i>Britannia</i>, then on the coast. +</pre> + <p> + Of course poor Tom May was greatly taken with this, and said that he would + join them, and that he thought Walter Trenfield would come as well. He + went with the men to look at the boat, and found her just as they had said—almost + new and quite watertight. He agreed to return to within a safe distance of + Bar Harbour, and, through Patrick Kenna, let Trenfield know of the + discovery of the boat and get him to help them to fit her out properly. + Oars and a mast they could easily make, had they the tools, and a sail + could also be obtained through either Ruth or her father, who could get + them enough coarse calico for the purpose. + </p> + <p> + Kenna promised to help, although he told Tom he should try to dissuade + Walter from joining in the enterprise. Just before daylight May bid Kenna + good-bye, as he was anxious to return to the other two convicts and tell + them that they had friends who would help them. Before he left, however, + he arranged with Kenna that the latter should bring the required articles + one by one—especially two breakers of water—to the foot of + Little Nobby's and hide them in the scrub at the spot agreed upon. Then, + when all was ready and a dark night favoured, May and the other two men + were to launch the boat and make their way with all speed down the coast + to Little Nobby's—nearly twenty miles distant from where the boat + was hidden—take on board the water and provisions and put to sea; it + being May's intention, whether Trenfield joined him or not, to make to the + northward for Timor in the East Indies. Then, with a warm hand-grasp, they + parted; and never again was Thomas May seen alive. + </p> + <p> + On the following morning Kenna contrived to see Walter and tell him that + his former shipmate was safe, and what was afoot. Of course Walter was + overjoyed to learn that he (Tom) had such a means of escape offering, and + at once announced his intention of falling in with the enterprise; but + Patrick Kenna spoke very strongly against his doing so, and Ruth, too, + came to her father's aid. It was, they said, foolish of him to link + himself with these desperate men, every one of whom had a price upon his + head, whereas he, Walter, stood in good chance of receiving his pardon at + any moment. Why should he sacrifice himself and break Ruth's heart for the + sake of his friend? + </p> + <p> + So, finally, overcome by their arguments, he yielded, saying, however, + that he felt he was acting a coward's part, and begged of Kenna to arrange + a farewell meeting between Tom and himself. This, wisely enough, Kenna + refused to do, but said he would do anything else to make their separation + easier. So Trenfield wrote his old comrade a letter of farewell, and, + taking a canvas bag, he filled it with all sorts of articles likely to be + useful on a long boat voyage. Kenna took the bag, together with material + for a sail, away with him at night and placed it in the spot agreed upon + with May. He had already given Tom a tomahawk and an adze with which to + make some oars and a mast. + </p> + <p> + On the fourth night after his visit to Kenna's house, Tom May again came + through the bush, and went to Little Nobby's, for when Ruth's father went + to the hiding-place in the morning with a breaker of water and a large + bundle of dried fish, he found that the bag and the sail-cloth were gone, + and on a small piece of white driftwood which lay on the ground these + words were written in charcoal:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + '<i>Sunday, Midnight?</i>' +</pre> + <p> + By this Kenna knew that the three men meant to come for the provisions and + water at the time mentioned. It was then Friday, and he had much to do to + get all in readiness; for Little Nobby's was quite six miles distant from + his house, and he could only make his journeys to and fro with great + secrecy, for the constables were still searching the coastal region for + May. But, aided by Billy, the aboriginal, he managed to have everything in + readiness early on Sunday night. He afterwards told my mother that besides + the two breakers of water, each holding ten gallons, he had provided four + gallons of rum, a hundredweight each of salted meat and dried fish, + tobacco and pipes, fishing tackle, two muskets, and plenty of powder and + bullets. The place selected for the landing of the boat was an excellent + one; for on one side of Little Nobby's was a little, narrow bay running in + between high clifis of black trap rock, which broke the force of the ocean + swell entirely. Then, too, the place was very lonely and seldom visited, + for the main road lay nearly two miles back beyond the clifis. + </p> + <p> + Whether my mother actually knew of all that was going on I do not know; + but I do know that about this time she seemed paler than ever, and we + frequently saw her and Ruth talking earnestly together; and Ruth and + Walter, too, were always whispering to each other. + </p> + <p> + Sunday came, and as my mother, since her quarrel with the Reverend Mr + Sampson over the flogging of old Callaghan, did not now go to church, we + all, except my father, who was still on friendly terms with the clergyman, + remained at home, my mother herself conducting a short service in the + dining-room, at which all the servants, free and bond, attended. In the + afternoon Major Trenton, Captain Crozier and some other soldier officers + rode up, as was customary with them on Sundays, and Ruth and Denham + brought them brandy and water on the front verandah, where they awaited my + mother and sisters. + </p> + <p> + 'Harry, you young rascal,' said Major Trenton, presently to my eldest + brother, 'what did you do with Mr Moore's picture of the parson, eh?' + </p> + <p> + 'It was stolen from me, sir,' he answered, laughing, 'about three or four + months ago.' + </p> + <p> + 'Indeed,' said the major; 'then the thief has principles, and will + doubtless send it back to you, for he has made a score of copies of it, + and they are all over the district. Why, the rascal, whoever he is, nailed + one to the door of the Commissariat Store not long ago, and the first + person to see it was Mr Sampson himself. He is mightily wroth about it, I + can tell ye, and somehow suspects that the picture came from someone in + this house, and told your father that these copies were given about by + your man Trenfield. So just ye give a hint to the fellow, and tell him + that if the parson gets a chance to tickle his back, faith he'll do it.' + </p> + <p> + 'I am sure, sir, that Walter did not take the picture,' said my brother. + 'It was nailed up over my bed and one day I missed it. I thought that my + mother had destroyed or taken it away. But she had not, and I cannot + account for its disappearance.' + </p> + <p> + Now this was hardly true, for, from something they had heard from Ruth, + both Harry and my sister Frances thought that Thomas May had taken away + the caricature, intending to replace it. + </p> + <p> + 'Well, never mind, my lad,' said Major Trenton, laughing, ''tis a + monstrous fine joke, anyway, and, faith, I sent one of the copies to the + Governor himself. 'Twill amuse him hugely.' + </p> + <p> + Presently my mother and my two sisters joined the group on the verandah, + and as they were all talking and laughing together, Ruth Kenna came to my + mother and said that her father had just come with a basket of fresh fish + and would like to see her for a minute. I, being the youngest boy of the + family, and over-fond—so my brothers said—of hanging on to + mammy's apron-strings, as well as being anxious to see the fish, followed + her out on to the back verandah, where black-browed, dark-faced Patrick + Kenna awaited her. + </p> + <p> + ''Tis a fine dark night coming on, ma'am,' he said in a low voice. 'The + wind is north-east and 'twill hould well till daylight. Then 'twill come + away from the south-east, sure enough. They should be there long before + midnight and out of sight of land before the dawn.' + </p> + <p> + 'Yes, yes, Patrick,' said my mother, hurriedly. 'I shall pray to-night to + God for those in peril on the sea; and to forgive us for any wrong we may + have done in this matter.' + </p> + <p> + 'No harm can iver come to any wan in this house,' said the man, earnestly, + raising her hand to his lips, 'for the blessin' av God an' the Holy Virgin + is upon it.' + </p> + <p> + My mother pressed his hand. 'Good-bye, Patrick. I do hope all may go + well;' and with this she went away. + </p> + <p> + Kenna raised his hat and turned to go, when Walter Trenfield came to the + foot of the verandah steps and stopped him. + </p> + <p> + 'Let me come with you,' he said, 'and bid Tom good-bye.' + </p> + <p> + 'No,' answered Kenna, roughly, 'neither you nor I nor any wan else must go + near Nobby's to-night; matthers are goin' well enough, an' no folly of + yours shall bring desthruction upon them. As it is, the constables suspect + me, and are now watching my house.' + </p> + <p> + Then, mounting his horse again, he rode leisurely away over the brow of + the hill towards the scrub, through which his road lay. + </p> + <p> + Both Walter and Ruth knew that unless the night was very clear there was + no chance of even the lookout man on the pilot station seeing a small boat + passing along to the southward; but nevertheless they went up to the pilot + station about ten o'clock, when they thought that Tom May and his + companions would be passing Bar Harbour on their way to Little Nobby's. + They stayed on the headland for nearly an hour, talking to Tom King and + the look-out man, and then came home, feeling satisfied that if the three + men had succeeded in launching the boat safely, they had passed Bar + Harbour about eleven o'clock and would reach Nobby's at or before + midnight. + </p> + <p> + Soon after breakfast next morning, Patrick Kenna, under pretence of + speaking to my mother about a strayed heifer of ours, came into the + kitchen, and told Ruth that all was well; he had been to Little Nobby's at + daylight and found that everything was gone and the boat was nowhere to be + discerned. + </p> + <p> + For quite another two or three weeks after this the constables pursued + their search after Thomas May, much to the amusement of Ruth and Patrick + Kenna, especially as the latter, with 'King Billy' and another aboriginal, + were officially employed by my father at ten shillings <i>per diem</i> to + discover the absconder—Billy, who seemed to be most anxious to get + the reward of five pounds, leading the constables all over the country and + eating more than three men's rations daily. At last the chase was + abandoned, and my father wrote officially to Sydney and said that 'Thomas + May, No. 3614, <i>Breckenbridge</i>,' was supposed to have either died of + starvation in the bush or have been killed by the natives. My mother, of + course, thought she knew better. + </p> + <p> + And so the matter was forgotten by everyone but us who had known and cared + for the good-natured, high-spirited and warm-hearted young sailor; and as + the months went by, Walter Trenfield and my mother both looked forward to + receiving a letter from Tom May, telling them that he and his companions + had reached some port in the Dutch East Indies in safety. For not only was + the boat well found, but they had plenty of provisions, and Tom May was a + thorough seaman; and besides that, my mother had often told us the story + of the convict William Bryant, who had escaped from Sydney Harbour in + Governor Phillip's time, and in an open boat, with four other men and his + wife and two infant children, succeeded in reaching Timor, after a voyage + of three thousand miles.{*} + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Publisher's Note.—The strange but true story of the + Bryants is told in a volume entitled <i>A First Fleet Family</i>. + (Louis Becke and Walter Jeffery. London: T. Fisher Unwin. + 1896.) +</pre> + <p> + But no letter came until two long years had passed. + </p> + <p> + Ruth Kenna, at the time of my story, though not yet seventeen years of + age, was a tall, powerful girl, and was known as the best horsewoman in + all the country around. She was a happy, good-natured sort of a wench, + with a heart filled with sunshine and love and truth and honesty; though + Mr Sampson once told my father that she was a 'dangerous Papist,' and the + child of a convicted rebel, and as such should have no place in a + Protestant family. This so angered my mother that she wrote the clergyman + a very sharp letter and said she would take it as a favour if he would not + interfere with her servants. This was a great thing for her to do; and my + father said 'twas most indiscreet. But mother only smiled and said that + although she was sorry Ruth was a Papist, she (Ruth) was a good, honest + girl, and that her father was a good, honest man, and that if Mr Sampson + was wise he would not come near Ruth, who, being a free woman, had said + she would throw him down the garden well. At this time Ruth was looking + forward to the day of her marriage with Trenfield, who, through my + father's influence with the Governor, was expecting to be pardoned. + </p> + <p> + But now I am forging ahead too fast, and must go back to where we boys and + Walter Trenfield were lying on the grassy bluff overlooking Little Nobby's + awaiting the return of my brother Harry. + </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> + 'Walter,' said Harry, throwing down the pigeon which he had shot, and + pointing to Little Nobby's, 'this is the lowest tide I have ever seen. + Look, the topmost fringe of kelp on the rocks is quite dry, and six feet + above the water, and there is no surf. Let's swim across the gut into the + cave.' + </p> + <p> + 'As you please, sir,' the young man answered, his sun-tanned face lighting + up with pleasure; 'the wind is westerly, and the water very clear; so, if + there are any sharks about we can easily see them.' + </p> + <p> + So presently down we trooped, and, clambering over the jagged pinnacles of + rock, soon reached the seaward face of Little Nobby's. The cave of which + my brother had spoken was in the very centre of the cone, and the only + known way of access to it was by swimming across the narrow gut or channel + which cleft in twain the base of the hill. A boat, in calm weather, might + have easily rowed up to the mouth of the cave, but only during a very low + tide. No one, so far, had attempted this, and 'King Billy,' when he saw my + brother and Trenfield strip and jump into the water, seemed much + disturbed. The cave, he said, was the home of a 'debbil-debbil,' and 'twas + dangerous for any human being to enter it. But Harry and Trenfield had + already swum across, clambered up the kelp-covered ledge of the cave and + disappeared into the darkness beyond. + </p> + <p> + For nearly ten minutes, or perhaps a quarter of an hour, Will and I waited + impatiently for their return, grumbling at not being allowed to go with + them, for the sea was as smooth as a mountain lake, and the water so clear + that the smallest pebble could be discerned lying upon the white sandy + bottom five fathoms below. + </p> + <p> + Said Will presently, 'I don't believe there's a shark within a mile; do + you?' + </p> + <p> + 'No,' I answered, looking longingly at the crystal water and then at the + black mouth of the cavern, which neither Will nor I had ever entered. + </p> + <p> + 'Then come on,' said Will, quickly, and in a few seconds we were out of + our clothes, and paying no heed to 'King Billy's' exclamations of terror + we dropped quietly into the water and swam across, telling him to stay + where he was and keep a look-out for sharks. + </p> + <p> + A few strokes brought us safely over, and then, as we climbed up and stood + on the cold rocky floor of the dark cave, our hearts began to fail us + somewhat—the place was so grim, silent and terrifying. + </p> + <p> + Feeling our way carefully along, however, we advanced for some ten or + twelve yards and then stopped, for though we heard the voices, we could + see the figures of Harry and Trenfield but dimly. + </p> + <p> + 'Where are you?' cried Will. + </p> + <p> + 'Over here,' answered my brother; 'you can come along if you like. We + think that there's a way of getting out by climbing up—we can see + the trees on the back of the hill.' + </p> + <p> + This was a discovery indeed, and Will and I, as we made our way to where + they sat, found the darkness decreasing at every step, and when we reached + them, we could see about us quite plainly, for thin, dimmed shafts of + sunlight penetrated the cavern from above by a narrow cleft, through which + we could see not only the dark foliage of the trees, whose branches + overhung the place, but a strip of blue sky. + </p> + <p> + 'Listen!' said Will. + </p> + <p> + Somewhere near a 'butcher' bird was calling to its mate, who quickly + answered, and then the pair whistled sweetly and joyously together; and + when they ceased a bell-bird sounded his clear, resonant note thrice—then + silence. + </p> + <p> + Presently Walter and Harry set about to attempt an ascent, laughing + heartily at the thought of how we should startle poor 'King Billy' by + reappearing out of the bowels of the earth, instead of by the way we had + left him. + </p> + <p> + The top of the cleft was not more than thirty feet from the floor of the + cave, and its very narrowness reduced the difficulty of climbing up its + rugged sides, which were composed of pieces of rock embedded in earth. In + the centre, however, the walls approached so closely to each other about + half way down—within a few inches, in fact—that they were + blocked up with what appeared to be a mass of decaying branches, fallen + leaves and such <i>débris</i>. + </p> + <p> + Walter Trenfield went first, then Will, and Harry and I followed. We found + it much easier working our way up than we anticipated, for the jutting + points of rock gave us a good foothold, and the roots of trees, living and + dead, helped us greatly, for some of these grew across from one side of + the cleft to the other, and afforded us ladder-like steps. + </p> + <p> + Walter had nearly reached the mouth of the chasm, when Will, who was + ascending more leisurely and carefully behind him, put his foot upon the + thick mass of leaves and rotting wood which blocked up its centre, and, + finding it was firm, sat down upon it to rest himself. Presently, to have + some amusement at the expense of Harry and myself, who were directly + beneath him, he began to shower armfuls of dead leaves upon us—then + suddenly he uttered a cry of terror, sprang to his feet, and clambered + quickly to the top, where Trenfield seized him just as he was about to + fall. + </p> + <p> + Thinking that he had been frightened, or perhaps bitten by a black snake + or a death-adder, Harry and I climbed up after him as quickly as possible, + little heeding the cuts and bruises we inflicted upon our naked bodies. As + soon as we reached the ledge and flung ourselves, panting and somewhat + terrified, on the thick bed of leaves which covered the ground like a + carpet, we saw Walter Trenfield bending his tall, naked figure over Will, + who was crouched up in a heap and trying, through his sobs of terror, to + tell what it was that he had seen. + </p> + <p> + 'There is a dead man down there,' he gasped, 'a dead man! When I took up + the last armful of leaves to throw down on Tom and Harry, I saw a dreadful + face beneath... it was almost a skull, but there is some flesh on the + face... and oh, Walter! <i>it has red hair like Tom May's.</i>' Then, + overcome by the terror of that which he had seen, he sobbed afresh. + </p> + <p> + 'Come,' sir,' said Trenfield to my eldest brother, 'we must go down and + look.' + </p> + <p> + Leaning over the brink of the narrow cleft, I watched Harry and Trenfield + descend, throw down the rotting leaves and timber which had accumulated in + the centre; and then I saw a dreadful sight—a shrunken, awful face, + with white, gleaming teeth, and two fleshless hands lying together upon an + all but skeleton chest. The rest of the body, except one leg, which from + the knee downwards was partly raised and showed a bone protruding from a + rough raw-hide boot, was mercifully concealed from our sight by the coarse + jumper and grey canvas trousers of a convict. + </p> + <p> + Presently Walter looked up, and cried out in a strange, hoarse voice,— + </p> + <p> + 'Go away, Master Tom, you must not look. Do you and Master Will wait for + us on the rocks, but first tell Billy to come here with our clothes.' + </p> + <p> + Will and I at once obeyed, glad to get away, and hurrying round the base + of the hill we returned to 'King Billy,' who, poor simple savage, had + given us up for lost, and was crouched up in a-heap on the rocks, making a + low whining noise like the cry of a very young puppy. He did truly dance + for joy when he heard our voices, and then at once, without asking us what + had happened, went off to Walter and Harry, taking their clothes with him. + </p> + <p> + Will and I dressed ourselves, and then we sat down to wait. + </p> + <p> + 'Tom,' said Will, who had now recovered his composure, 'I am sure it is + poor Tom May who is lying there. Do you remember a red silk handkerchief + which mother gave him last Christmas Day? Well, there is one exactly like + it round <i>its</i> neck. I was too frightened to look closer, but Tom + always wore his handkerchief round his neck in a sailor's knot. And then, + too,' and here Will's eyes filled with tears and he began to sob, '<i>it</i> + had bright red hair... it had nearly all fallen off, and...' + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, Will,' I cried, 'don't tell me any more! I feel so sick.' + </p> + <p> + Nearly half an hour passed, and then we saw Harry and Trenfield, holding + each other's hand like two children, coming towards us. They sat down near + us, and then the young convict placed his big, brown hands over his face, + and heavy sobs broke from his broad chest. + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, God! Master Harry!' he cried, 'is there no justice in the world? To + die there, in that awful place, like a rat in a trap! oh, it is dreadful, + dreadful! And then I thought that he was long ago far away from here—a + free man.' + </p> + <p> + 'Do you think those two other men threw him down there, Walter?' asked my + eldest brother, almost in a whisper. + </p> + <p> + 'No, sir,' he replied, catching his breath. 'Why should they murder the + man who alone was capable of taking the boat upon such a long voyage? This + is what I think, sir. Poor Tom, instead of coming down in the boat with + the other two, left them on Saturday and walked here so that he might + light a fire on the top of Little Nobby's on Sunday night to guide them to + the place. He told Ruth's father that he thought he should do this in case + the night turned out very dark. And Billy says that a fire was made, and + that when poor Tom was descending the hill to meet the boat he fell into + the cleft and got jammed between the rocky walls.' + </p> + <p> + 'But would not the two other men make a search for him?' + </p> + <p> + 'God knows, sir! We shall never know. They may have thought that Tom had + been captured, and that the fire had been lit by Ruth's father. But I + think that Billy is right, and that poor Tom, after lighting the fire, was + coming down the hill to meet the boat, when in the darkness he wandered + off the track and stepped into the crack at the widest part of its mouth, + which is right above where we found him. He must have fallen upon his back + and become so tightly wedged in in that awful place that he could not use + his arms to free himself. And then, sir, even if he had not been stunned, + his cries could not have been heard by the other two men, who, unless they + purposely made a search, would not have had any reason to go within two + hundred yards of the spot where he fell.' + </p> + <p> + Harry shuddered, and then for some time no one of us spoke. 'King Billy' + had been sent off to tell my father of the discovery of the body, or + rather skeleton, which Walter and Harry had at first attempted to free + from the walls of the chasm, but were too overcome to complete the task. + </p> + <p> + Together we slowly ascended the bluff, and there a surprise awaited us; + for, sitting on their horses, on the brow of the hill, were the dreaded + minister and his convict orderly. They had no doubt seen our bags and guns + lying on the grass, and had ridden to the crest of the bluff to discover + our whereabouts. + </p> + <p> + Mr Sampson eyed us all very sourly, and scarcely deigned to respond to our + salutations, as one by one we walked past him and busied ourselves in + silence over our impedimenta. No doubt he saw that both Harry and Walter + were very pale, and that Will and I had not yet dried our tears. + </p> + <p> + 'Come here, boys,' he said in his harsh, pompous tones. 'What, may I ask, + is the cause of this grief which seems to be shared by all alike?' Then, + without waiting for an answer, his glance fell upon Walter Trenfield, who, + after saluting him, had turned away, and with averted face was strapping + some of our belongings together. + </p> + <p> + I saw the clergyman's coarse red face, with its fat, terraced chins, grow + purple with rage as I had seen it once before, and I instinctively drew + back. + </p> + <p> + 'Ha!' he said, and urging his horse forward, he bent down and touched the + young convict on the shoulder with his whip. 'Ha! look up, fellow. I want + a word with you, sirrah.' + </p> + <p> + Trenfield, who was stooping at the moment, stood erect, and then, facing + the parson, again raised his hand to his cap. His face was deadly pale, + and his deep-set bright blue eyes seemed to have suddenly shrunken and + drawn back, and his whole body was trembling. + </p> + <p> + 'Look at me, fellow,' said Mr Sampson, for the second time. + </p> + <p> + <i>'I am looking at you, sir.</i>' + </p> + <p> + The words came from between his white lips and set teeth in a low, hoarse + whisper, and all the hatred in his heart seemed to go with them. The + clergyman eyed him for a few seconds in silence, but the convict met his + gaze unfalteringly. + </p> + <p> + 'So 'tis to you, you scoundrel, that your ruffianly fellow-criminals are + indebted for so much amusement at my expense! Tell me, you villain, where + you got that picture, and who prompted you to display it? Answer me + quickly, you unhanged rascal!' + </p> + <p> + Trenfield's lips moved, but ere he could speak, my eldest brother stepped + forward, bravely enough. + </p> + <p> + 'Indeed, sir, Trenfield had nothing to do with the picture. It was given + to me, but by some mischance was lost or stolen. I am sure, sir, that + Trenfield would not—' + </p> + <p> + 'Trenfield is a villain. How dare you, presumptuous boy, seek to excuse + him! A good birching, for which you are not too old, would teach you that + reverence and respect for a clergyman which your mother has so forgotten.' + </p> + <p> + Harry fired up quickly enough at the insulting words. + </p> + <p> + 'How dare you, sir, speak to me in this fashion? My father shall hear of + this.' + </p> + <p> + 'Let <i>me</i> deal with him, the bloody-minded dog!' said a voice. + </p> + <p> + It was that of Walter Trenfield, who, springing forward, presented my + brother's loaded fowling-piece at the minister's head. 'Listen to me, you + beast in human form, you heartless fiend! I am going to send your + poisonous soul to hell.' + </p> + <p> + He pulled the trigger, but the gun missed fire; then swiftly clubbing the + weapon he brought it with terrific force against the clergyman's chest and + knocked him off the horse. The orderly at once turned, and fled as his + master fell. + </p> + <p> + The Reverend Mr Sampson lay prone upon the sward, his once red face + blanched to a deathly white, and over him, with grounded gun, stood the + young convict. + </p> + <p> + My brother tried to take the weapon from him, but Trenfield tossed him + aside with one hand as if he were a straw. Then for a minute he looked at + the prostrate man in silence; once he raised the gun by the muzzle, then + he threw it aside, and, kneeling beside the clergyman, placed his face + close to his. + </p> + <p> + 'You dog, you dog, you damned dog! I could choke you now as you lie, you + brute beast. But I will let you live, to go to hell in God's own time, you + cruel, flogging wretch! <i>You</i> murdered Thomas May—his rotting + body is not a hundred yards away. May the stink of it reach the nostrils + of Almighty God—and be in yours for ever!' + </p> + <p> + He rose quickly, took the saddle and bridle off the clergyman's horse, + and, striking the animal a sharp blow on the nose, sent it galloping away + into the forest; then he returned and again stood over Mr Sampson, his + face working with the violence of his passion. + </p> + <p> + 'Are you going to murder me?' the minister asked gaspingly. + </p> + <p> + 'No,' he replied savagely, kicking him again and again in the face, 'but + lie there, you bloody-minded swab, till I tell you you can go.' + </p> + <p> + And then, his passion spent, he turned to us with outstretched hand,— + </p> + <p> + 'God bless you all, young gentlemen! God bless you, Master Harry! and your + good mother and Miss Frances and little Miss Olive. I am done for now. But + tell Ruth that if I am taken I'll die a man. And tell her, Master Harry, + that—that—' + </p> + <p> + My brother grasped his trembling hand, as for a moment he stood, gun in + hand, and swayed to and fro as if he were like to fall. Then he plunged + into the forest. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + One night, three weeks after this, and whilst Mr Sampson was recovering + from his injuries, and a force of constables, with a black tracker, were + scouring the country for Walter, my mother called we children to her + bedroom. She had retired, but Ruth Kenna, with tears in her blue Irish + eyes, stood beside the bed. + </p> + <p> + 'Quick, children,' said my mother, in a whisper, 'Ruth is going away. + Quick, quick; kiss her goodbye.' + </p> + <p> + And then whilst we, wondering, put our arms around dear Ruth, my mother + slipped out of bed, and taking some money out of a cabinet, put it into + the girl's hand, and said,— + </p> + <p> + 'Good-bye, Ruth. You've been an honest girl to us. May God bless and keep + you always, my dear child, and do not fail to write.' + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Next morning there was a great to-do, for Patrick Kenna's house was found + to be empty, and he and his daughter and Walter Trenfield were never seen + again in our part. But away out on the horizon were the sails of a + whale-ship which had been cruising about the coast for some days past; and + though my mother kept her own counsel for a long year, we children soon + knew that all three had escaped in the whaler, for my brother Harry had + received a letter from Trenfield. It was handed to him by the aboriginal + 'King Billy,' and contained only these words,—'Good-bye, sir. Ruth + and I and her father will be on the blue water before daylight.' + </p> + <p> + When two years or more had passed, my mother received a letter. It was + written from Boston in America, and was signed 'Ruth Trenfield.' + </p> + <p> + 'I am glad she and Walter are happy at last,' said my mother, with the + tears shining in her soft eyes. + </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> + A NORTH PACIFIC LAGOON ISLAND + </h2> + <p> + Two degrees north of the Equator, and midway between the Hawaiian Islands + and fair, green Tahiti, is the largest and most important of the many + equatorial isolated lagoon islands which, from 10 deg. N. to 10 deg. S., + are dispersed over 40 deg. of longitude. The original native name of this + island has long been lost, and by that given to it by Captain Cook one + hundred and twenty years ago it is now known to Pacific navigators—Christmas + Island. Cook was probably the first European to visit and examine the + place, though it had very likely been sighted by the Spaniards long before + his time, in the days of the voyages of the yearly galleons between the + Philippines and Mexico and Peru. + </p> + <p> + On the afternoon of December 24, 1777, Cook (in the <i>Resolution</i> and + <i>Discovery</i>) discovered to leeward of the former ship a long, low, + sandy island, which proved to be about ninety miles in circumference. It + appeared to be an exceedingly barren-looking land, save on the south-west + side, where grew a luxuriant grove of coco-palms. Here he brought his + ships to an anchor, and partly to recuperate his crews, who were in ill + health, and partly to observe an eclipse of the sun, he remained at the + island some weeks. He soon discovered that the lagoon in the centre was of + noble proportions, and that its waters teemed with an immense variety of + fish and countless 'droves' of sharks. To-day it remains the same. + </p> + <p> + Fifty years passed ere this lonely atoll was visited by another ship, and + then American and English whalers, or, as they were called in those days, + 'South Seamen,' began to touch at the island, give their crews a few days' + spell amid the grateful shade of the palm grove and load their boats to + the gunwales with fat green turtle, turtle eggs, robber crabs, and + sea-birds' eggs. From that time the place became well known to the three + or four hundred of sperm whalers engaged in the fishery, and, later on, to + the shark-catching vessels from the Hawaiian Islands. Then, sixteen years + ago, Christmas Island was taken up by a London firm engaged in the South + Sea Island trade under a lease from the Colonial Office; this firm at once + sent there a number of native labourers from Manhiki, an island in the + South Pacific. These, under the charge of a white man, were set to work + planting coco-nuts and diving for pearl shell in the lagoon. At the + present time, despite one or two severe droughts, the coco-nut plantations + are thriving, and the lessees should in another few years reap their + reward, and hold one of the richest possessions in the South Seas. + </p> + <p> + The island is of considerable extent, and though on the windward or + eastern side its appearance is uninviting in the extreme, and the fierce + oceanic currents that for ever sweep in mighty eddies around its shores + render approach to it difficult and sometimes dangerous, it has yet + afforded succour to many an exhausted and sea-worn shipwrecked crew who + have reached it in boats. And, on the other hand, several fine ships, + sailing quietly along at night time, unaware of the great ocean currents + that are focussed about the terrible reefs encompassing the island, have + crashed upon the jagged coral barrier and been smashed to pieces by the + violence of the surf. + </p> + <p> + Scarcely discernible, from its extreme lowness, at a distance of more than + eight miles from the ship's deck, its presence is made known hours before + it is sighted by vast clouds of amphibious birds, most of which all day + long hover about the sea in its vicinity, and return to their rookeries on + the island at sunset. On one occasion, when the vessel in which I was then + serving was quite twenty miles from the land, we were unable to hear + ourselves speak, when, just before it became dark, the air was filled with + the clamour of countless thousands of birds of aquatic habits that flew in + and about our schooner's rigging. Some of these were what whalemen call + 'shoal birds,' 'wide-awakes,' 'molly-hawks,' 'whale birds' and 'mutton + birds.' Among them were some hundreds of frigate birds, the <i>katafa</i> + of the Ellice Islanders, and a few magnificently plum-aged fishers, called + <i>kanapu</i> by the natives of Equatorial Polynesia. + </p> + <p> + Given a good breeze and plenty of daylight, the whale-ships of the olden + days could stand round the western horn of the island, a projecting point + rendered pleasingly conspicuous by the grove of graceful coco-palms which + Cook was so glad to observe so many years before, and then enter a deep + bay on the north-west coast, where they obtained good anchorage in from + fifteen to twenty fathoms of water of the most wonderful transparency, and + within a mile of the vast stretches of white sandy beach that trend away + for miles on either hand. And then the sailors, overjoyed at the + delightful prospect of running about in the few and widely-apart palm + groves, and inhaling the sweet, earthy smell of the thin but fertile soil, + covered with its soft, thick bed of fallen leaves, would lower away the + boats, and pulling with their united strength through the sweeping eddies + of the dangerous passage, effect a landing on a beach of dazzling whites + and situated in the inner south-west border of the wide lagoon. + </p> + <p> + On our first visit to the island, in 1872, we had some glorious fishing; + and when we returned on board, under the rays of a moon that shone with + strange, uncanny brilliancy, and revealed the coral bottom ten fathoms + below, the scene presented from our decks was one of the greatest + imaginable beauty, though the loneliness of the place and the absence of + human life was somewhat depressing. We remained at the island for three + days, and during our stay our crew of South Sea Islanders literally filled + our decks with fish, turtle and birds' eggs. Curiously enough, in our + scant library on board the little trading vessel I came across portion of + a narrative of a voyage in a South Seaman, written by her surgeon, a Mr + Bennett, in 1838,{*} and our captain and myself were much interested in + the accurate description he gave of Christmas Island and its huge + rookeries of oceanic birds. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * <i>Narrative of a Whaling Voyage round the Globe, from</i> 1833 + to 1836. By F. D. Bennett. +</pre> + <p> + This is what he says: 'Here and there among the low thicket scrubs are + vast rookeries of aquatic birds, whose clamour is deafening. They nest and + incubate upon the ground, and show not the slightest fear of the approach + of human visitors. Among the sooty terns, whose number it was impossible + to estimate, were many hundreds of tropic birds and pure snow-white + petrels.' (He no doubt imagined the pure snow-white petrels to be a + distinct species—they were young tropic birds.) 'These latter, who + flew with a gentle, flapping motion, would actually fly up to us and scan + our countenances with an almost human expression of interest and + curiosity.' (Darwin, in his account of another Christmas Island in the + Indian Ocean, also describes these gentle creatures as being of ethereal + beauty.) 'Some, indeed, permitted themselves to be caught, and although + their delicate, fragile forms quivered with fear when they came in contact + with our hands, they would, when released, return to us again and again, + as if seeking to solve the mystery of what strange beings were these that + had invaded their retreat. In one rookery there were many varieties of + these oceanic birds, and a species of booby that seems to be peculiar to + Christmas Island. In size and colour they much resemble the ordinary + gannet of our cold northern seas. Their plumage is of a wondrously bright + snow white, with the exception of the primary and secondary feathers of + the wings, and the <i>retrices</i> or tail feathers, which are of a glossy + black. The skin of the cheeks and chin is devoid of feathers, and of a jet + black colour, the beak a delicate yellow blue, the legs bright blue. The + solicitude of the female birds of this species for their offspring was + most interesting to witness. Their nests were of the rudest description, + being merely circular heaps of sand raised in the open plain and exposed + to the fury of storms. As we approached the nests the mother birds settled + themselves down upon their single egg and screamed loudly, but would + permit themselves to be lifted off, yet struggled violently in our hands + to get back again. Although there were thousands of these nests within a + radius of an acre, a brooding hen might easily have been passed unnoticed, + for her white plumage corresponded so well with the hue of the coral sands + that one was apt to kick against the nest were it not for the agonised, + barking note of the poor mother. The male birds, however, of this species + did not show any marital concern for their partners. They were usually + seated near the nests, but at once took to flight upon our approach. + Further on, among a thicket of scrubby vegetation, we found a rookery of + many thousands of the superb red-tailed tropic bird (<i>Phaeton + phoenicurus</i>), also engaged in incubation. Their nests were mere + circular excavations in the sand, under the shade of the bushes of the + thicket. Each nest contained an egg of pure white, dotted with delicate + lilac spots, and in size rather larger and rounder than that of the + domestic hen. The females, as well as the males, made no attempt to escape + from their nests on our approach, whether they had or had not the care of + eggs, and consequently several of our crew, with innate Polynesian vanity, + soon caught a number, and plucking out the two long scarlet tail feathers + placed them in their hat bands. + </p> + <p> + 'A hundred yards away from the rookery of the tropic birds was one of a + colony of the snowy tern before mentioned. These gentle, black-eyed + creatures do not even pretend to construct a nest, but simply deposit a + solitary egg upon the bough of a tree (like the <i>gogo</i>, or whale + bird). They select for this purpose a tree destitute of foliage, and a + branch of horizontal growth. It is strange that, notwithstanding the + exposed situation of these eggs, they are very difficult to find; and it + was not until long after the solicitude of the parent birds informed us + that their spot of incubation was near that we could solve the mystery + which attended their nursery. Each egg is the size of a pigeon's, and + marked with either blood or chocolate-coloured splashes and spots of + irregular shape. Considering the slenderness of the branches on which they + are deposited, it is remarkable that the eggs (which appear to be at the + mercy of every passing breeze) should yet retain their extraordinary + position during incubation.' (Any Pacific Islander could easily have + explained this seeming mystery. The shell, when the egg is laid, is + covered with a strong adhesive coating. I have often seen a single egg, + laid upon a slender branch, swaying about in a strong trade wind, and yet + remain firmly in its position.) 'What may be the habits of the + newly-hatched birds we had no opportunity of learning, as none of the + latter came within our observation. + </p> + <p> + 'Small reef birds (tern) were present in prodigious numbers, skimming the + waters of the coast with an erratic, rapid, but yet graceful flight, like + that of the stormy petrel. At night they assembled in vast numbers on an + islet in the lagoon, to roost on the trees. They are about the size of an + Australian snipe, and their forms are models of elegance and beauty. Their + plumage is in true slate colour, the secondary wings are white, and a + narrow white zone surrounds each eye; their legs and feet are a pale blue, + with white webs. + </p> + <p> + 'Every now and then as we, during our visit, walked along the snow-white + beaches, great crowds of golden-winged plover and tiny snipe sprang + skyward, and swept in graceful gyrations over the broad expanse of water, + till they settled upon some sandy spit or spot of projecting reef; and, + indeed, the immense concourse or frigate birds, boobies, terns, petrels + and other aquatic denizens of the island filled us with boundless + astonishment. + </p> + <p> + 'At night time there crept out from their lairs in the loose coral shingle + that lined the scrub at high-water mark, incredible numbers of huge “land + lobsters”—the “robber crab” of the Pacific Islands. They all crawled + to within a few feet of the placid waters of the lagoon, where they + remained motionless, as if awaiting some event—possibly to prey upon + the smaller species of <i>crustaceæ</i> and turtle eggs.' + </p> + <p> + Christmas Island, in its structure and elevation, much resembles + Palmerston Island, Arrecifos or Providence Island (the secret rendezvous + of Captain 'Bully' Hayes), Brown's Range, and other low-lying atolls of + the North and South Pacific. The greater part of the interior of the + island is, however, despite the vast number of coco-nuts planted upon it + during the past ten years, still sadly deficient in cheerful vegetation. + </p> + <p> + The waters of the lagoon vary greatly in depth, but generally are shallow + and much broken up by sandy spits, reefs and huge coral boulders which + protrude at low water, and the surface is much subject to the action of + the trade wind, which, when blowing strong, lashes them into a wild surf; + and the low shores of the encircling islets, that form a continuous + reef-connected chain, are rendered invisible from the opposite side by the + smoky haze and spume which ascends in clouds from the breaking surf that + rolls and thunders on the outer barrier reefs. + </p> + <p> + In the interior no fresh water is obtainable, although in the rainy season + some of a brackish quality can be had by sinking shallow wells. This water + rises and falls in the wells in unison with the tides. Here and there are + very extensive swamps of sea-water, evaporrated to a strong brine; the + margins of these are clothed with a fair growth of the pandanus or + screw-pine palm, the fruit of which, when ripe, forms a nutritious and + palatable food for the natives of the Equatorial Pacific Islands. + </p> + <p> + The island where Captain Cook set up his observatory is but a small strip + of sandy soil, clothed with a few coco-palms, some screw-palms (pandanus), + and a thick-matted carpet of a vine called <i>At At</i> by the natives. + The only quadrupeds are rats, and some huge land tortoises, similar to + those of the Galapagos Islands. They are most hideous-looking creatures, + and, being of nocturnal habits, like the great robber crab, are apt to + produce a most terrifying impression upon the beholder, if met with in the + loneliness of the night. The present human occupants of Christmas Island + are, however, well supplied with pigs and poultry; and though this + far-away dot of Britain's empire beyond the seas is scarcely known to the + world, and visited but twice a year by a trading vessel from Sydney, they + are happy and contented in their home in this lonely isle of the + mid-Pacific. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BILGER, OF SYDNEY + </h2> + <p> + A death in the family brought about my fatal acquaintance with Bilger. A + few days after the funeral, as my sister and I sat talking on the verandah + of our cottage (which overlooked the waters of Sydney Harbour) and + listened to the pouring rain upon the shingled roof, we saw a man open the + garden gate and come slowly up to the house. He carried an ancient + umbrella, the tack lashings of which on one side had given way entirely, + showing six bare ribs. As he walked up the path, his large, sodden boots + made a nasty, squelching sound, and my sister, who has a large heart, at + once said, 'Poor creature; I wonder who he is. I hope it isn't the coal + man come for his money.' + </p> + <p> + He went round to the back door and, after letting himself drain off a bit, + knocked gently and with exceeding diffidence. + </p> + <p> + I asked him his business. He said he wanted to see my wife. + </p> + <p> + 'Not here. Gone away for a month.' + </p> + <p> + 'Dear, dear, how sad! Broken down, no doubt, with a mother's grief. Is + there any other lady in the family whom I could see?' + </p> + <p> + 'What the deuce do you want?' I began angrily; then, as he raised his + weak, watery eyes to mine, and I saw that his grey hairs were as wet as + his boots, I relented. Perhaps he was someone who knew my wife or her + people, and wanted to condole with her over the death of her baby. He + looked sober enough, so, as he seemed much agitated, I asked him to sit + down, and said I would send my sister to him. Then I went back to my pipe + and chair. Ten minutes later my sister Kate came to me with her + handkerchief to her eyes. + </p> + <p> + '<i>Do</i> go and see the old fellow. He has <i>such</i> a sympathetic + nature. I'm sure I should have cried aloud had I stayed any longer. Anyone + would think he had known poor little Teddie ever since he was born. I've + asked Mary to make him a cup of tea.' + </p> + <p> + 'Who is he?' + </p> + <p> + 'I don't know his name, but he seems so sympathetic. And he says he should + be so pleased if he might see you again for a few minutes. He says, too, + that you have a good and kind face. I told him that you would be sure to + take at least a dozen of those in cream and gold. There's nothing at all + vulgar; quite the reverse.' + </p> + <p> + 'What <i>are</i> you talking about, Kate? Who is this sodden old lunatic, + and what on earth are you crying for?' + </p> + <p> + My sister nearly sobbed. 'I always thought that what you derisively termed + “mortuary bards” were horrid people, but this old man has a beautiful + nature. And he's very wet—and hungry too, I'm sure; and Mary looks + at him as if he were a dog. Do try and help him. I think we might get one + or two dozen cream and gold cards, and two dozen black-edged. + </p> + <p> + And then he's a journalist, too. He's told me quite a sad little story of + his life struggle, and the moment I told him you were on the <i>Evening + News</i> he quite brightened up, and said he knew your name quite well.' + </p> + <p> + 'Kate,' I said, 'I don't want to see the man. What the deuce does he want? + If he is one of those loafing scoundrels of undertakers' and mortuary + masons' touts, just send him about his business; give him a glass of + whisky and tell Mary to clear him out.' + </p> + <p> + My sister said that to send an old man out in such weather was not like <i>me</i>. + Surely I would at least speak a kind word to him. + </p> + <p> + In sheer desperation I went out to the man. He addressed me in husky + tones, and said that he desired to express his deep sympathy with me in my + affliction, also that he was 'a member of the Fourth Estate.' Seven years + before he had edited the <i>Barangoora News</i>, but his determined + opposition to a dishonest Government led to his ruin, and now— + </p> + <p> + 'All right, old man; stow all that. What do you want?' + </p> + <p> + He looked at me reproachfully, and taking up a small leather bag, said + that he represented Messrs ———, 'Monumental Masons and + Memorial Card Designers and Printers,' and should feel pleased if I would + look at his samples. + </p> + <p> + He was such a wretched, hungry-looking, down-upon-his-beam-ends old + fellow, that I could not refuse to inspect his wares. And then his boots + filled me with pity. For such a little man he had the biggest boots I ever + saw—baggy, elastic sides, and toes turned up, with the after part of + the uppers sticking out some inches beyond the frayed edges of his + trousers. As he sat down and drew these garments up, and his bare, skinny + legs showed above his wrecked boots, his feet looked like two water-logged + cutters under bare poles, with the water running out of the scuppers. + </p> + <p> + Mary brought the whisky. I poured him out a good, stiff second mate's nip. + It did my heart good to see him drink it, and hear the soft ecstatic 'Ah, + ah, ah,' which broke from him when he put the glass down; it was a <i>Te + Deum Laudamus</i>. + </p> + <p> + Having briefly intimated to him that I had no intention of buying 'a + handsome granite monument, with suitable inscription, or twelve lines of + verse, for £4, 17s. 6d.,' I took up his packet of <i>In Memoriam</i> cards + and went through them. The first one was a hand-drawn design in cream and + gold—Kate's fancy. It represented in the centre an enormously + bloated infant with an idiotic leer, lying upon its back on a blue cloud + with scalloped edges, whilst two male angels, each with an extremely + vicious expression, were pulling the cloud along by means of tow-lines + attached to their wings. Underneath were these words in MS.: 'More angels + can be added, if desired, at an extra charge of 6d. each.' + </p> + <p> + No. 2 represented a disorderly flight of cherubims, savagely attacking a + sleeping infant in its cradle, which was supported on either hand by two + vulgar-looking female angels blowing bullock horns in an apathetic manner. + </p> + <p> + No. 3 rather took my fancy—there was so much in it—four large + fowls flying across the empyrean; each bird carried a rose as large as a + cabbage in its beak, and apparently intended to let them drop upon a group + of family mourners beneath. The MS. inscribed said, 'If photographs are + supplied of members of the Mourning Family, our artist will reproduce same + in group gathered round the deceased. If doves are not approved, + cherubims, angels, or floral designs may be used instead, for small extra + charge.' + </p> + <p> + Whilst I was going through these horrors the old man kept up a babbling + commentary on their particular and collective beauties; then he wanted me + to look at his specimens of verse, much of which, he added, with fatuous + vanity, was his own composition. + </p> + <p> + I did read some of it, and felt a profound pity for the corpse that had to + submit to such degradation. Here are four specimens, the first of which + was marked, 'Especially suitable for a numerous family, who have lost an + aged parent, gold lettering is. 6d. extra,'— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Mary and May and Peter and John [or other names] + Loved and honoured him [or her] who has gone; + White was his [or her] hair and kind was his [or her] heart, + Oh why, we all sigh, were we made thus to part?' +</pre> + <p> + <i>For an Aunt, (Suitable verses for Uncles at same rates.)</i> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Even our own sweet mother, who is so kind, + Could not wring our hearts more if she went and left us behind; + A halo of glory is now on thy head, + Ah, sad, sad thought that good auntie is dead.' +</pre> + <p> + <i>For a Father or Mother,</i> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Oh children, dear, when I was alive, + To get you bread I hard did strive; + I now am where I need no bread, + And wear a halo round my head. + Weep not upon my tomb, I pray, + But do your duty day by day.' +</pre> + <p> + The last but one was still more beautiful,— + </p> + <p> + <i>For a Child who suffered a Long Illness before Decease</i>. + </p> + <p> + [I remarked casually that a child could not suffer even a short illness <i>after</i> + decease. Bilger smiled a watery smile and said 'No.'] + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'For many long months did we fondly sit, + And watch our darling fade bit by bit; + Till an angel called from out the sky, + “Come home, dear child, to the Sweet By-and-By. + Hard was your lot on earth's sad plain, + But now you shall never suffer again, + For cherubims and seraphims will welcome you here. + Fond parents, lament not for the loss of one so dear.”' + [N.B.—“<i>These are very beautiful lines</i>.”] +</pre> + <p> + The gem of the collection, however, was this:— + </p> + <p> + <i>Suitable for a child of any age. The beautiful simplicity of the words + have brought us an enormous amount of orders from bereaved parents</i>. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Our [Emily] was so fair, + That the angels envied her, + And whispered in her ear, + “We will take you away on [Tuesday] night.”' +</pre> + <p> + [“<i>Drawing of angels carrying away deceased child, is. 6d. extra</i>.”] + </p> + <p> + The old imbecile put his damp finger upon this, and asked me what I + thought of it. I said it was very simple but touching, and then, being + anxious to get rid of him, ordered two dozen of Kate's fancy. He thanked + me most fervently, and said he would bring them to me in a few days. I + hurriedly remarked he could post them instead, paid him in advance, and + told him to help himself to some more whisky. He did so, and I observed, + with some regret, that he took nearly half a tumblerful. + </p> + <p> + 'Dear, dear me,' he said, with an apologetic smile, 'I'm afraid I have + taken too much; would you kindly pour some back. My hand is somewhat + shaky. Old age, sir, if I may indulge in a platitude, is—' + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, never mind putting any back. It's a long walk to the ferry, and a wet + day beside.' + </p> + <p> + 'True, true,' he said meditatively, looking at Mary carrying in the + dinner, and drinking the whisky in an abstracted manner. + </p> + <p> + Just then my sister beckoned me out. She said it was very thoughtless of + me to pour gallons of whisky down the poor old fellow's throat, upon an + empty stomach. + </p> + <p> + 'Perhaps you would like me to ask him to have dinner with us?' I said with + dignified sarcasm. + </p> + <p> + 'I think we might at least let Mary give him something to eat.' + </p> + <p> + Of course I yielded, and my sister bade Mary give our visitor a good + dinner. For such a small man he had an appetite that would have done + credit to a long-fasting tiger shark tackling a dead whale; and every time + I glanced at Mary's face as she waited on my sister and myself I saw that + she was verging upon frenzy. At last, however, we heard him shuffling + about on the verandah, and thought he was going without saying 'thank + you.' We wronged him, for presently he called to Mary and asked her if I + would kindly grant him a few words after I had finished dinner. + </p> + <p> + 'Confound him! What the deuce—' + </p> + <p> + My sister said, 'Don't be cruel to the poor old fellow. <i>You may be like + him yourself some day.</i>' + </p> + <p> + I said I didn't doubt it, if my womenfolk encouraged every infernal old + dead-beat in the colony to come and loaf upon me. Two large tears at once + ran down Kate's nose, and dropped into the custard on her plate. I + softened at once and went out. + </p> + <p> + 'Permit me, sir,' he said, in a wobbly kind of voice, as he lurched to and + fro in the doorway, and tried to jab the point of his umbrella into a + knot-hole in the verandah boards in order to steady himself, 'permit me, + sir, to thank you for your kindness and to tender you my private card. + Perhaps I may be able to serve you in some humble way'—here the + umbrella point stuck in the hole, and he clung to the handle with both + hands—'some humble way, sir. Like yourself, I am a literary man, as + this will show you.' He fumbled in his breast pocket with his left hand, + and would have fallen over on his back but for the umbrella handle, to + which he clung with his right. Presently he extracted a dirty card and + handed it to me, with a bow, which he effected by doubling himself on his + stomach over the friendly gamp, and remained in that position, swaying to + and fro, for quite ten seconds. I read the card:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + MR HORATIO BILGER + Journalist and Littérateur + + Formerly Editor of the 'Barangoora News' + + Real Aylesbury Ducks for Sale + Book-keeping Taught in Four Lessons + + 4a Kellet Street, + Darlinghurst, Sydney +</pre> + <p> + I said I should bear him in mind, and, after helping him to release his + umbrella, saw him down the steps and watched him disappear. + </p> + <p> + 'Thank Heaven!' I said to Kate, 'we have seen the last of him.' + </p> + <p> + I was bitterly mistaken, for next morning when I entered the office, + Bilger was there awaiting me, outside the sub-editor's room. He was + wearing a new pair of boots, much larger than the old ones, and smiled + pleasantly at me, and said he had brought his son Edward to see me, + feeling sure that I would use my influence with the editor and manager to + get him put on as a canvasser. + </p> + <p> + I refused point blank to see 'Edward' then or at any other time, and said + that even if there was a vacancy I should not recommend a stranger. He + sighed, and said that I should like Edward, once I knew him. He was 'a + noble lad, but misfortune had dogged his footsteps—a brave, heroic + nature, fighting hard against unmerited adversity.' I went in and shut the + door. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Two days later Kate asked me at supper if I <i>couldn't do something for + old Bilger's son</i>. + </p> + <p> + 'Has that infernal old nuisance been writing to you about his confounded + son?' + </p> + <p> + 'How ill-tempered you are! The “old nuisance,” as you call him, has + behaved very nicely. He sent his son over here to thank us for our + kindness, and to ask me to accept a dozen extra cards from himself. The + son is a very respectable-looking man, but rather shabby. He is coming + again to-morrow to help Mary to put up the new wire clothes line.' + </p> + <p> + 'Is he? Well, then, Mary can pay him.' + </p> + <p> + 'Don't be so horrid. He doesn't want payment for it. But, of course, I + shall pay his fare each way. Mary says he's such a willing young man.' + </p> + <p> + In the morning I saw Mr Edward Bilger, helping Mary. He was a fat-faced, + greasy-looking youth, with an attempted air of hang-dog respectability, + and with 'loafer' writ large on his forehead. I stepped over to him and + said,— + </p> + <p> + 'Now, look here. I don't want you fooling about the premises. Here's two + shillings for you. Clear out, and if you come back again on any pretence + whatever I'll give you in charge.' + </p> + <p> + He accepted the two shillings with thanks, said that he meant no offence, + but he thought Mary was not strong enough to put up a wire clothes line. + </p> + <p> + Mary (who was standing by, looking very sulky) was a cow-like creature of + eleven stone, and I laughed. She at once sniffed and marched away. Mr + Bilger, junior, presently followed her into the kitchen. I went after him + and ordered him out. Mary was leaning against the dresser, biting her + nails and looking at me viciously. + </p> + <p> + Half an hour later, as I walked to the ferry, I saw Mr Bilger, junior, + sitting by the roadside, eating bread and meat (my property). He stood up + as I passed, and said politely that it looked like rain. I requested him + to make a visit to Sheol, and passed on. + </p> + <p> + In the afternoon my sister called upon me at the <i>Evening News</i> + office. She wore that look of resigned martyrdom peculiar to women who + have something unpleasant to say. + </p> + <p> + 'Mary has given me notice—of course.' + </p> + <p> + 'Why “of course!”' + </p> + <p> + Kate rose with an air of outraged dignity. 'Servants don't like to be + bullied and sworn at—not white servants, anyway. You can't expect + the girl to stay. She's a very good girl, and I'm sure that that young man + Bilger was doing no harm. As it is, you have placed me in a most + unpleasant position; I had told him that he could let his younger brothers + and sisters come and weed the paddock, and—' + </p> + <p> + 'Why not invite the whole Bilger family to come and live on the premises?' + I began, when Kate interrupted me by saying that if I was going to be + violent she would leave me. Then she sailed out with an injured expression + of countenance. + </p> + <p> + When I returned home to dinner at 7.30, Mary waited upon us in sullen + silence. After dinner I called her in, gave her a week's wages in lieu of + notice, and told her to get out of the house as a nuisance. Kate went + outside and wept. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + From that day the Bilger family proved a curse to me. Old Bilger wrote me + a note expressing his sorrow that his son—quite innocently—had + given me offence; also he regretted to hear that my servant had left me. + Mrs Bilger, he added, was quite grieved, and would do her best to send + some 'likely girls' over. 'If none of them suited, Mrs Bilger would be + delighted to come and assist my sister in the mornings. She was an + excellent, worthy woman.' And he ventured, with all due respect, to + suggest to me that my sister looked very delicate. His poor lad Edward was + very sad at heart <i>over the turn matters had taken</i>. The younger + children, too, were sadly grieved—to be in a garden, even to toil, + would be a revelation to them. + </p> + <p> + That evening I went home in a bad temper. Kate, instead of meeting me as + usual at the gate, was cooking dinner, looking hot and resigned, I dined + alone, Kate saying coldly that she did not care about eating anything. The + only other remark she made that evening was that 'Mary had cried very + bitterly when she left.' + </p> + <p> + I said, 'The useless, fat beast!' + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The Curse of Bilger rested upon me for quite three months. He called twice + a week, regularly, and borrowed two shillings 'until next Monday.' Then + one day that greasy ruffian, Bilger, junior, came into the <i>Evening News</i> + office, full of tears and colonial beer, and said that his poor father was + dead, and that his mother thought I might perhaps lend her a pound to help + bury him. + </p> + <p> + The sub-editor (who was overjoyed at Bilger's demise) lent me ten + shillings, which I gave to Edward, and told him I was sorry to hear the + old man was dead. I am afraid my face belied my words. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE VISION OF MILLI THE SLAVE + </h2> + <p> + One day a message came over from Tetoro, King of Paré, in Tahiti, to his + vassal Mahua, chief of Tetuaroa,{*} saying, 'Get thee ready a great feast, + for in ten days I send thee my daughter Laea to be wife to thy son Narü. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Tetuaroa is an island about forty miles from Tahiti. It + was in those days (1808) part of the hereditary possessions + of the chief of Paré. +</pre> + <p> + For Narü, the son of the chief of Tetuaroa, had long been smitten with the + beauty of Laea, and desired to make her his wife. Only once had he seen + her; but since then he had sent over many canoes laden with presents, such + as hogs and turtle, and great bunches of plantains, and fine tappa cloth + for her acceptance. + </p> + <p> + But Tetoro, her father, was a greedy man, and cried for more; and Mahua, + so that his son might gain his heart's desire, became hard and cruel to + the people of Tetuaroa. + </p> + <p> + Day after day he sent his servants to every village on the island + demanding from them all such things as would please the eye of Tetoro; so + that by-and-by there was but little left in their plantations, and still + less in their houses. + </p> + <p> + And so, with sullen faces and low murmurs of anger, the people yielded up + their treasures of mats and tappa cloth, and such other things that the + servants of the chief discovered in their dwellings, and watched them + carried away to appease the avarice of Tetoro the King. + </p> + <p> + One night, when they were gathered together in their houses, and the + torches of <i>tui tui</i> (candle-nut kernels) were lighted, they talked + among themselves, not loudly but in whispers, for no one knew but that one + of the chiefs body-men might perhaps be listening outside, and that to + them meant swift death from the anger of Mahua. + </p> + <p> + 'Why has this misfortune come upon us?' they said to one another. 'Why + should Narü, who is an <i>aito</i>{*} set his heart upon the daughter of + Tetoro when there are women of as good blood as her close to his hand? + Surely, when she comes here to live, then will there be hard times in the + land, and we shall be eaten up with hunger.' + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * A man distinguished in warfare. +</pre> + <p> + 'Ay,' said a girl named Milli, 'it is hard that we should give our all to + a strange woman.' + </p> + <p> + She spoke very loudly, and without fear, and the rest of the people looked + wonderingly at her, for she was but a poor slave, and, as such, should not + have raised her voice when men were present. So they angrily bade her be + silent. Who was she that dared to speak of such things? If she died of + hunger, they said, what did it matter? She was but a girl and a slave, and + girls' lives were worth nothing until they bore male children. + </p> + <p> + And then Milli the Slave sprang up, her eyes blazing with anger, and + heaped scorn upon them for cowards. + </p> + <p> + 'See,' she said, and her voice shook with passion; 'see me, Milli the + Slave, standing before ye all, and listen to my words, so that your hearts + may grow strong, even as strong as mine has grown. Listen while I tell + thee of a dream that came to me in the night. + </p> + <p> + 'In my dream this land of ours became as it was fifteen moons ago, and as + it may never be again. I saw the groves of plantains, with their loads of + fruit, shine red and yellow, like the setting of the sun, and the ground + was forced open because of the great size of the yams and taro and + arrowroot that grew beneath; and I heard the heavy fall of the ripe + coconuts on the grass, and the crooning notes of the pigeons that fed upon + the red <i>mati</i> berries were as the low booming of the surf on the + reef when it sounds far distant.' + </p> + <p> + For a little while she ceased, and the people muttered. + </p> + <p> + 'Ay, it was so, fifteen moons ago.' + </p> + <p> + And then Milli, sinking upon one knee, and spreading out her arms towards + them, spoke again, but in a low, soft voice,— + </p> + <p> + 'And I saw the white beach of Teavamoa black with turtle that could scarce + crawl seaward because of their fatness; and saw the canoes, filled to the + gunwales with white, shining fish, come paddling in from the lagoon; and + then came the night. And in the night I heard the sound of the <i>vivo</i>{*} + and the beat of the drum, and the songs and laughter and the shouts of the + people as they made merry and sang and danced, and ate and drank, till the + red sun burst out from the sea, and they lay down to sleep. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Nasal flute. +</pre> + <p> + 'And then, behold there came into my dream, a small black cloud. It + gathered together at Paré, and rose from the ground, and was borne across + the sea to Tetuaroa.{*} As it came nearer, darker and darker grew the + shadows over this land, till at last it was wrapped up in the blackness of + night. And then out of the belly of the cloud there sprang a woman arrayed + as a bride, and behind her there followed men with faces strange to me, + whose stamping footsteps shook the island to its roots in the deep sea. + Then came a mystic voice to me, which said,— + </p> + <p> + “Follow and see.” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Tetoro's canoe, in which he sent his daughter to Tetuaroa, + was painted black by an English sailor who, living under his + protection, afterwards married his daughter. +</pre> + <p> + 'So I followed and saw'—she sprang to her feet, and her voice rang + sharp and fierce—'I saw the strange woman and those with her pass + swiftly over the land like as the shadows of birds fall upon the ground + when the sun is high and their flight is low and quick. And as they + passed, the plantains and taro and arrowroot were torn up and stripped and + left to perish; and there was nought left of the swarms of turtle and fish + but their bones; for the black cloud and the swift shadows that ran before + it had eaten out the heart of the land, and not even one coco-nut was + left. + </p> + <p> + 'And then I heard a great crying and weeping of many voices, and I saw men + and women lying down in their houses with their bones sticking out of + their skins; and wild pigs, perishing with hunger, sprang in upon them and + tore their bellies open with their tusks, and devoured them, and fought + with each other among the bones and blood of those they ate.' + </p> + <p> + A groan of terror burst from the listening people, and the slave girl, + with her lips parted and her white teeth set, looked with gleaming, angry + eyes slowly round the group. + </p> + <p> + 'Again I heard the cries and the groans and the weeping; and I saw thee, + Foani, take thy suckling child from thy withered breast, and give it to + thy husband, so that it might be slain to feed thy other children. And + then thou, too, Tiria, and thou, Hini, and many other women, did I see + slay thy children and their children, and cook and eat them, even as the + wild pigs had eaten those men and women that lay dying on their mats. And + this, O people! is all of the dream that came to me; for then a great + sweat ran down over my body, and a heavy pain came upon my heart, so that + I awoke.' + </p> + <p> + She trembled and sank down again among the women, in the midst of whom she + had been sitting, and then growling, angry murmurs ran round the + assemblage, and the names of Narü and the king's daughter passed from lip + to lip. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Well as they liked their chief's son—for he was distinguished alike + for his bravery and generosity—they yet saw that his marriage with + Laea would mean a continued existence of misery to them all, or at least + so long as the young man's passion for his wife lasted. + </p> + <p> + Past experience had taught them many a bitter lesson, for ever since their + island had been conquered, they had been subjected to the payment of the + most exacting tribute. + </p> + <p> + Fertile as was Tetuaroa, the continued demands made upon its people for + food by the royal family of Tahiti had frequently reduced them to a + condition bordering upon starvation. + </p> + <p> + But these requests had, of late years, been so much modified, that the + island, under the rule of Mahua, had become renowned for its wealth of + food and the prosperous condition of its inhabitants. + </p> + <p> + It was, therefore, with no pleasant feelings that the people viewed the + approaching marriage of the son of their chief to the child of the + grasping Tetoro, a man who would certainly see no abatement made in the + extortions he had succeeded in inducing his vassal Mahua to again + inaugurate. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + At midnight, long after the women were asleep, the principal men of the + island met together and talked of the dream described by the slave girl. + So firmly were they convinced that she had been chosen by the gods as a + means of warning them of their impending rate if the marriage took place, + that they firmly resolved to frustrate it, even if it cost every one of + them his life. + </p> + <p> + But, so that neither Mahua nor his son should suspect their intentions, + they set about to prepare for the great feast ordered by Tetoro; and for + the next week or so the whole population was busily engaged in bringing + together their various presents of food and goods, and conveying them to + the chief's house, where, on the arrival of the fleet of canoes that would + bring the king's daughter from Paré, they would be presented to her in + person by the priests and minor chiefs. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + On the afternoon of the tenth day, some men whom Mahua had set to watch + for Tetoro's fleet saw the great mat sails of five war canoes sweeping + across the long line of palms that fringed the southern beach? Then there + was great commotion, and many <i>pu</i>{*} were sounded from one end of + the island to the other, bidding the people to assemble at the + landing-place and welcome the bride of the chiefs son. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The conch shell. +</pre> + <p> + Now, it so happened that Narü, when the cry arose that the canoes were + coming, was sitting alone in a little bush-house near the south point of + the island. He had come there with two or three of his young men + attendants, so that he might be dressed and adorned to meet Tetoro's + daughter. As soon as they had completed their task he had sent them away, + for he intended to remain in the bush-house till his father sent for him; + for such was the custom of the land. + </p> + <p> + Very gay and handsome he looked, when presently he stood up and looked out + over the lagoon to where the canoes were entering the passage. Round his + waist was a girdle of bright yellow strips of plantain leaves, mixed with + the scarlet leaves of the <i>ti</i> plant; a band of pearl-shell ornaments + encircled his forehead, and his long, black hair, perfumed with scented + oil, was twisted up in a high spiral knob, and ornamented with scarlet + hibiscus flowers. Across one broad shoulder there hung a small, + snowy-white poncho or cape, made of fine tappa cloth, and round his wrists + and ankles were circlets of pearl shell, enclosed in a netting of black + coir cinnet. On each leg there was tattooed, in bright blue, a coco-nut + tree, its roots spreading out at the heel and running in wavy lines along + the instep to the toes, its elastic stalk shooting upwards till its waving + plumes spread gracefully out on the broad, muscular calf. + </p> + <p> + Yet, although he was so finely arrayed, Narü was troubled in his mind; for + not once did those who had dressed him speak of Laea, and this the young + man thought was strange, for he would have been pleased to hear them talk + to him of her beauty. In silence had they attended to his needs, and this + hurt him, for they were all dear friends. So at last, when they rose to + leave him, he had said,— + </p> + <p> + 'Why is it that none of ye speak either to me, or to one another? Am I a + corpse that is dressed for the funeral rites?' + </p> + <p> + Then one of them, named Tanéo, his foster-brother, answered, and bent his + head as he spoke,— + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, Narü, son of Mahua, and mine own brother, hast thou not heard of the + dream of Milli?' + </p> + <p> + At the name of Milli, the hot blood leapt into the face of the chief's + son; but he answered quickly,— + </p> + <p> + 'Nay, naught have I heard, and how can the dream of a slave girl concern + me on such a day as this?' + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, Narü!' replied Tanéo, ''tis more than a dream; for the god Oro hath + spoken to her, and shown her things that concern thee and all of thy + father's people.' And with that the young men arose and left him without + further speech. + </p> + <p> + Little did Narü know that scarce a stone's throw away from where he stood, + Milli, with love in her eyes, was watching him from behind a clump of + plantain trees. She, too, was arrayed as if for a dance or a marriage, and + behind her were a number of women, who were crouched together and spoke + only in whispers. + </p> + <p> + As they stood, the sounds of the drums and flutes and conches came from + the village, and then Narü went forth from the little house, and walked + towards it through the palm grove. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + As he stepped proudly along the shaded path he heard his name called in a + low voice, and Milli the Slave stood before him with downcast eyes, and + barred his path. + </p> + <p> + Now, Narü, bold as he was, feared to meet this girl, and so for some + moments no words came to him, and Milli, looking quickly up, saw that he + had placed his right hand over his eyes. Then she spoke,— + </p> + <p> + 'See, Narü, I do but come to thee to speak some little words; so turn thy + face to me once more; for from this day thou shalt never again see Milli + the Slave.' + </p> + <p> + But Narü, still keeping his hand to his eyes, turned aside, and leaning + his forehead against the trunk of a palm-tree, kept silence awhile. Then + he said, in a low voice,— + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, Milli, be not too hard! This woman Laea hath bewitched me—and + then—thou art but a slave.' + </p> + <p> + 'Aye,' answered the girl, softly, 'I am but a slave, and this Laea is very + beautiful and the daughter of a great chief. So for that do I come to say + farewell, and to ask thee to drink with me this bowl of orange juice. 'Tis + all I have to offer, for I am poor and have no wedding gift to give thee; + and yet with this mean offering do I for ever give thee the hot love of my + heart—ay, and my life also, if thou should'st need it.' + </p> + <p> + And so, to please the girl whom he had once loved, he received from her + hand the drink of orange juice, which she took from a basket she carried, + and yet as he drank he looked away, for he feared to see her eyes looking + into his. + </p> + <p> + Only one word did he say as he turned away, and that was 'Farewell,' and + Milli answered 'Farewell, Narü;' but when he had gone some distance she + followed him and sobbed softly to herself. + </p> + <p> + And soon, as Narü walked, his body swayed to and fro and his feet struck + the roots of the trees that grew out through the soil along the path. Then + Milli, running swiftly up, caught him as he fell, and laid his head upon + her knees. His eyes were closed and his skin dead to her touch. + </p> + <p> + Presently the bushes near by parted, and two women came out, and lifting + Narü between them, they carried the young man to a shady place and laid + him down. + </p> + <p> + And then Milli wept as she bent her face over that of the man she loved, + but the two older women bade her cease. + </p> + <p> + Once more the girl looked at Narü, and then, stepping out into the path, + ran swiftly towards the village. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The five canoes were now sailing quickly over the smooth lagoon, with the + streamers from their mat sails floating in the wind, and on the stages + that ran from their sides to the outriggers were grouped parties of + singers and dancers, with painted bodies and faces dyed scarlet with the + juice of the <i>mati</i> berry, who sang and danced, and shouted, and made + a brave show for the people who awaited their coming on the shore. + </p> + <p> + On the great stage of the first canoe, which was painted black, was seated + Laea, surrounded by her women attendants, who joined in the wild singing + whenever the name of their mistress formed the singers' theme. + </p> + <p> + Then suddenly, as each steersman let fall from his hand his great steering + paddle, which was secured by a rope to the side, the canoes ran up into + the wind, the huge mat sails were lowered, the stone anchors dropped + overboard, and the music and dancing ceased. + </p> + <p> + And then a strange thing happened, and Laea, who was of a proud and + haughty disposition, as became her lineage, grew pale with anger; for + suddenly the great crowd of people which had assembled on the beach seemed + to sway to and fro, and then separate and form into two bodies; and she + saw that the women and children had gathered apart from the men and stood + in a compact mass on the brow of the beach, and the men, in strange, + ominous quiet, spear and club in hand, had ranged, without a sound, in + battle array before her escort. + </p> + <p> + There was silence awhile, and then Tanéo, the foster brother of Narü, + clothed in his armour of cinnet fibre, and grasping a short stabbing spear + in his hand, stepped out of the ranks. + </p> + <p> + 'Get thee back again to Tahiti, O men of Paré,' he said quietly, striking + his spear into the sand. 'This marriage is not to our minds.' + </p> + <p> + Then Laea, as she looked at the amazed and angered faces of her people as + they heard Tanéo's insulting words, dashed aside her attendants, and + leaping from the canoe into the shallow water, walked to the shore, and + stood face to face with him. + </p> + <p> + 'Who art thou, fellow, to stand before the daughter of Tetoro the King, + with a spear in thy rude hand, and thy mouth filled with saucy words?' + </p> + <p> + 'I am Tanéo, the foster brother of the man thou seekest to marry. And + because that a warning hath come to us against this marriage do I stand + here, spear in hand.' + </p> + <p> + Laea laughed scornfully. + </p> + <p> + '<i>I</i> seek thy brother in marriage? Thou fool! Would I, the daughter + of my father, <i>seek</i> any man for husband? Hath not this Narü pestered + me so with his presents and his love-offerings that, for very weariness, + and to please my father, I turned my face from the Englishman who buildeth + ships for him, and said “Aye” to this Narü—who is but a little + man{*}—when he besought me to be wife to him. Ah! the Englishman, + who is both a clever and strong man, is more to my liking.' + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Meaning in rank. +</pre> + <p> + 'Get thee back, then, to thy Englishman, and leave to me my lover,' cried + a woman's voice, and Milli the Slave, thrusting aside the armed men who + sought to stay her, sprang out upon the sand, and clenching her hands + tightly, gazed fiercely at the king's daughter. + </p> + <p> + '<i>Thy</i> lover!' and Laea looked contemptuously at the small, slender + figure of the slave girl, and then her cheek darkened with rage as she + turned to her followers. 'See how this dog of a Narü hath insulted me! + Have I come all this way to be fooled for the sake of such a miserable + creature as this?' and she pointed scornfully to Milli and then spat on + the ground. 'Where is this fellow? Let him come near to me so that I may + tell him to his face that I have ever despised him as one beneath me. + Where is he, I ask thee, girl?' And she seized the slave girl by her + wrist. + </p> + <p> + The savage fury of her voice, her blazing eyes, and noble, commanding + presence, excited alike both her own people and the clustering throng of + armed men that stood watching on the beach, for these latter, by some + common impulse moved nearer, and at the same time every man in the five + canoes sprang out, and, dashing through the water, ranged themselves + beside their mistress. + </p> + <p> + 'Back!' cried Tanéo, warningly; 'back, ye men of Paré, back, ere it be too + late, and thou, Laea, harm not the girl, for see, O foolish woman! we here + are as ten to one, and 'twill be a bloody day for thee and thy people if + but a spear be raised.' + </p> + <p> + And then, facing round, he cried, 'And back, O men of Tetuaroa. Why draw + ye so near? Must blood run because of the vain and bitter words of a silly + woman?' + </p> + <p> + Then, with an angry gesture, Laea released her hold of the slave girl's + slender wrist, and she, too, held up a warning hand to her warriors. + </p> + <p> + 'True, Tanéo,' she said mockingly; 'thy people are as ten to one of mine, + as thou sayest, and for this alone dost thou dare insult me. Oh, thou + coward, Tanéo!' + </p> + <p> + A swift gleam of anger shone in Tanéo's eyes, and his hand grasped his + spear tightly. Then he looked steadily at the king's daughter, and + answered. + </p> + <p> + 'Nay, no coward am I, Laea. And see, if but a little blood will appease + thee, take this spear and slay me. It is better for one to die than many.' + Stretching out his hand, he gave her his spear. + </p> + <p> + She waved it back sneeringly. + </p> + <p> + 'Thy words are brave, Tanéo; but only because that behind them lieth no + danger. Only a coward could talk as—' + </p> + <p> + He sprang back. + </p> + <p> + 'Ho, men of Paré! Listen! So that but one or two men may die, and many + live, let this quarrel lie between me and any one of ye that will battle + with me here, spear to spear, on this beach. Is it not better so than that + Tetoro the King should weep for so many of his people?' + </p> + <p> + A tall, grey-headed old warrior leapt out from the ranks of those that + stood behind Laea. + </p> + <p> + 'Thou and I, Tanéo, shall fight till one of us be slain.' + </p> + <p> + Suddenly Milli the Slave sprang between them with outstretched arms. + </p> + <p> + 'Peace, peace! Drop thou thy spear, Tanéo, and thou thine, old man. There + is no need for blood but mine—for Narü is dead.' + </p> + <p> + Then, kneeling on the sand she said, 'Draw near to me and listen.' + </p> + <p> + Quickly the opposing parties formed a circle around her; before her stood + the haughty and angry Laea; behind her, and standing side by side, Tanéo + and the grey-haired Tahitian warrior. + </p> + <p> + 'I am Milli, the bond-woman of Mahua, the father of Narü. And Narü loved + me; but because of thee, O Laea, he turned from me, and my heart became + cold. For who would give food to my child when it was born—the child + of a slave whose lover was a chief and who had cast her off? And then + there came a vision to me in the night, and I saw the things of which I + have told ye, O men of Tetuaroa. And I knew that the black cloud of my + vision was sent to warn the people of this land against the marriage, and + the hunger and the bitter days of poverty that would come of it. And so, + because thou art a great woman, O Laea, and I but a poor slave, did I meet + Narü but a little while since and give him to drink; and when he drank of + that which I gave him he died, for it was poisoned.' + </p> + <p> + A low murmur, half anger, half pity, broke from the assembled people. + </p> + <p> + 'Thou fool!' said Laea, pityingly; and then she turned to Tanéo. + </p> + <p> + 'And so thy brother hath died by the hand of a slave? Let us part in + peace. Farewell!' + </p> + <p> + And then, as the men of Paré returned in silence to their canoes, Tanéo + and his people closed in upon the kneeling figure of the slave girl, who + bent her head as a man stepped before her with a club. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + When the five canoes had sailed away a little distance from the beach, + Laea saw the men of Tetuaroa open out their ranks, and, looking in the + midst, she saw, lying face downwards on the sand, the body of Milli the + Slave. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + DENISON GETS A BERTH ASHORE + </h2> + <p> + After many years as supercargo, 'blackbirder' {*} and trader in the South + Seas, Tom Denison one day found himself in Sydney with less than ten + shillings in his pocket, and with a strong fraternal yearning to visit his + brother, who was a bank manager in North Queensland and a very + good-natured man. So he sent a telegram, 'Tired of the sea. Can you find + me a billet ashore?' An answer soon came, 'Yes, if you can manage poultry + farm and keep books. If so, will wire passage money and expenses.' + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * A 'backbirder' is the term applied to any person engaged + in the Polynesian labour traffic. +</pre> + <p> + Denison pondered over the situation. He had seen a lot of poultry in his + time—in coops on board the <i>Indiana</i> and the <i>Palestine</i>; + and one Captain 'Bully' Hayes, with whom he had once sailed as supercargo, + had told him a lot of things about game fowls, to which birds the genial + 'Bully' had a great leaning—but was not sure that he was good at + books. In fact, the owners of the <i>Palestine</i> had said that his + system of book-keeping had driven the senior partner to drink, and they + always sent a 'Manual of Book-keeping' on board every time the ship sailed + from Sydney. At the same time Denison was touched by the allusion to + passage money and expenses, and felt that making entries about the birth + of clutches of chickens and ducklings, and the number of eggs sold, would + be simple enough—much easier than the heartbreaking work of a + supercargo, when such customers as Flash Harry of Apia or Fiji Bill of + Apamama would challenge the correctness of their grog bills, and offer to + fight him instead of paying. And then, he thought, it would be simply + delightful to sit in a room in a quiet farmhouse and hear the gentle + moaning of calves and the cheerful cackle of exultant hens, as he wrote + items in a book about eggs and things, and drink buttermilk, instead of + toiling in the ill-smelling trade-room on board the <i>Palestine</i>, + bottling off Queensland rum and opening tierces of negrohead tobacco, + while the brig was either standing on her head or rolling her soul out, + and Packenham the skipper was using shocking language to everyone on deck. + </p> + <p> + So he sent a 'collect' telegram to his brother, and stated that he + thoroughly understood all branches of poultry and book-keeping. + </p> + <p> + On the voyage up to Cooktown he kept to himself, and studied 'Pip and Its + Remedy,' 'Warts and the Sulphur Cure,' 'Milligan on Roup in Ducks,' and + other valuable works; so that when the steamer reached the port and he met + his brother, the latter was deeply impressed with the profound knowledge + he displayed of the various kinds of poultry diseases, and said he felt + sure that Denison would 'make the thing pay.' The poultry farm, he said, + belonged to the bank, which had advanced money to the former proprietor, + who had most unjustifiably died in <i>delirium tremens</i> at Cooktown + Hospital a few months ago, leaving the farm to the care of some + aboriginals, and his estate much in debt to the good, kind bank. + </p> + <p> + On the following evening Denison was driven out to the place by his + brother, who took advantage of the occasion to point out to the youth the + beauties of a country life, away from the temptations of cities. Also he + remarked upon the folly of a young man spending the bloom of his years + among the dissolute natives of the South Seas; and then casually inquired + if the women down there were pretty. Then the younger Denison began to + talk, and the elder brother immediately pulled up the horse from a smart + trot into a slow walk, saying there was no need to rush along on such a + hot night, and that he liked to hear about the customs of foreign + countries. About ten o'clock they reached their destination, and the elder + brother, without getting out of the trap and entering the house, hurriedly + bade Tom good-bye and drove off as quickly as possible, fearing that if he + stayed till the morning, and the youth saw the place by daylight, the + latter would become a fratricide. + </p> + <p> + The occupants of the farm were, the new manager found, three black fellows + and two 'gins,' {*} all of whom were in a state of stark nudity; but they + welcomed him with smiles and an overpowering smell of ants, the which + latter is peculiar to the Australian nigger. One of the bucks, who when + Denison entered was sleeping, with three exceedingly mangy dogs, in the + ex-proprietor's bunk—a gorgeous affair made of a badly-smelling new + green hide stretched between four posts, at once got up and gave him + possession of the couch; and Denison, being very tired, spread his rug + over the hide and turned in, determined not to grumble, and make the thing + pay, and then buy a place in the Marquesas or Samoa in a few years, and + die in comfort. During the night the mosquitoes worried him incessantly, + until one of the coloured ladies, who slept on the ground in the next + room, hearing his petulant exclamations, brought him a dirty piece of rag, + soaked in kerosene, and told him to anoint his hair, face and hands with + it. He did so, and then fell asleep comfortably. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * 'Gin,' or 'lubra'—the female Australian aboriginal. +</pre> + <p> + Early in the morning he rose and inspected the place (which I forgot to + say was twenty miles from Cooktown, and on the bank of the Endeavour + River). He found it to consist of two rusty old corrugated iron buildings, + vaguely surrounded by an enormous amount of primaeval desolation and + immediately encompassed by several hundred dead cattle (in an advanced + state of putrefaction) picturesquely disposed about the outskirts of the + premises. But Denison, being by nature a cheerful man, remembered that his + brother (who was pious) had alluded to a drought, and said that rain was + expected every day, as the newly-appointed Bishop of North Queensland had + appointed a day of general humiliation and prayer, and that + poultry-rearing was bound to pay. + </p> + <p> + The stock of poultry was then rounded up by the black-fellows for his + inspection—thirty-seven dissolute-looking ducks, ninety-three + degraded and anaemic female fowls, thirteen spirit-broken roosters, and + eleven apathetic geese. Denison caught one of the ducks, which immediately + endeavoured to swallow his fore-finger, under the impression it was food + of some sort. + </p> + <p> + 'Jacky,' he said to the leading coloured gentleman, 'my brother told me + that there were five hundred ducks here. Where are they?' + </p> + <p> + Jacky said that the ducks <i>would</i> go on the river and that 'plenty + feller big alligator eat 'em up.' + </p> + <p> + 'Then where are the seven hundred and fifty laying hens?' + </p> + <p> + Jacky scratched his woolly head and grinned. 'Goanner' eat some, snake eat + some, some die, some run away in bush, hawk eat some. By ———, + this feller duck and fowl altogether dam fool.' » + </p> + <p> + During the following week Denison found that Jacky had not deviated from + the truth—the alligators did eat the ducks, the tiger and + carpet-snakes and iguanas did crawl about the place at night-time and + seize any luckless fowl not strong enough to fly up to roost in the branch + of a tree, the hawks did prefer live poultry to long-deceased bullock, and + those hens physically capable of laying eggs laid them on an ironstone + ridge about a mile away from the house. He went there one day, found nine + eggs, and saw five death adders and a large and placid carpet snake. Then + he wrote to his brother, and said that he thought the place would pay when + the drought broke up, but he did not feel justified in taking £3, 10s. a + week from the bank under the present circumstances, and would like to + resign his berth, as he was afraid he was about to get an attack of fever. + </p> + <p> + A few days later he received an official letter from the bank, signed 'C. + Aubrey Denison, Manager,' expressing surprise at his desire to give up the + control of a concern that was 'bound to pay,' and for the management of + which the bank had rejected twenty-three other applications in his favour, + and suggesting that, as the poultry were not thriving, he might skin the + carcases of such cattle as died in the future, and send the hides to + Cooktown—'for every hide the bank will allow you 2s. 6d. nett.' With + the official letter was a private communication from the Elder Brother + telling him not to be disheartened so quickly—the place was sure to + pay as soon as the drought broke up; also that as the river water was bad, + and tea made from it was not good for anyone with fever, he was sending up + a dozen of whisky by the mailman next week. Again Denison was touched by + his brother's thoughtfulness, and decided to remain for another week at + least. But at night-time he thought a good deal about the dear old <i>Palestine</i> + and Harvey Packenham, her skipper. + </p> + <p> + While awaiting with considerable anxiety the arrival of the mailman, + Denison passed the time in killing tiger-snakes, cremating the dead cattle + around the place, bathing in the only pool in the river safe from + alligators, and meditating upon the advantages of a berth ashore. But when + the mailman arrived (four days late) with only five bottles of whisky, and + said in a small, husky voice that the pack-horse had fallen and broken + seven bottles, he felt a soured and disappointed man, and knew that he was + only fit for the sea. The mailman, to whom he expressed these sentiments, + told him to cheer up. It was loneliness, he said, that made him feel like + that, and he for <i>his</i> part 'didn't like to see no man feelin' lonely + in the bloomin' bush.' Therefore he would keep him company for a few days, + and let the sanguinary mail go to Hades. + </p> + <p> + He did keep him company. And then, when the whisky was finished, he bade + Denison good-bye, and said that any man who would send 'his own bloomin' + brother to perish in such a place was not fit to live himself, and ought + to be flamin' well shown up in the bloomin' noospapers.' At daybreak next + morning Denison told the coloured ladies and gentlemen to eat the + remaining poultry; and, shouldering his swag, tramped it into Cooktown to + 'look for a ship.' + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + ADDIE RANSOM: A MEMORY OF THE TOKELAUS + </h2> + <p> + A hot, steamy mist rose from the gleaming, oily sea, and the little island + lay sweltering and gasping under a sky of brass and a savagely blazing + sun. Along the edges of the curving lines of yellow beach the + drought-smitten plumes of the fast-withering coco-palms drooped straight, + brown and motionless; and Wallis, the trader at Avamua village, as he + paced to and fro upon the heated boards of his verandah, cursed the island + and the people, and the deadly calm, and the brassy sky, and the firm of + Tom de Wolf & Sons (whom he blamed for the weather), and the drought, + and the sickness, and the overdue ship, and himself, and everything else; + and he wished that Lita would go away for a month—her patience and + calmness worried and irritated him. Then he might perhaps try getting + drunk on Sundays like Ransom; to-day was Sunday, and another Sunday meant + another hell of twelve hours' heat, and misery, and hope deferred. + </p> + <p> + 'Curse that damned bell! There it goes again, though half of the people + are dead, and the other half are dying like rotten sheep! Oh, for a ship, + or rain, or a howling gale—anything but this!' + </p> + <p> + He dashed his pipe furiously upon the verandah, and then flung himself + into a cane lounge, pressed his hands to his ears, and swore silently at + the jarring clamour of the hated church bell. + </p> + <p> + Lita's brown hand touched him on the shoulder. + </p> + <p> + 'Wassa th' matter, Tom, wis you?' + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, go away, for God's sake, Lita, there's a good girl. Leave me alone. + Go to church, and tell Ioane I'll give him a couple of dollars not to ring + that damned, infernal bell again to-day. I'm going mad! I'll get drunk, I + think, like Ransom. My God! just think of it, girl! Twelve months without + a ship, and this hateful, God-forsaken island turning into a pest-house.' + </p> + <p> + 'Wasa is pesta-house, Tom?' + </p> + <p> + 'Place where they put people in to die—lazzaretto, charnel-house, + morgue, living grave! Oh, go away, girl, go to the blarsted church if you + want to, and leave me alone.' + </p> + <p> + Her slender fingers touched his hand timidly. + </p> + <p> + 'I don' wan' go to church, Tom. I don' wan' leave you here to get mad an' + lon'ly by yourse'f.' + </p> + <p> + 'Very well, old woman, stay here with me. Perhaps a breeze may come + by-and-by and then we can breathe. How many people died yesterday, Lita?' + </p> + <p> + ''Bout nine, Tom—four men, tree woman, an' some child.' + </p> + <p> + 'Poor devils! I wish I had some medicine for them. But I'm hanged if I + know what it is—some sort of cholera brought here by that infernal + American missionary brig, I believe. Hallo! there's Ioane beginning.' + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The white-walled native church was not a stone's throw away, and through + the wide, paneless windows and open doors the deep voice of Ioane, the + Samoan native teacher, sounded clearly and solemnly in the still, heated + morn. Wallis, with his wide straw hat covering his bronzed face, lay back + in the lounge, and, at first, took no heed. Lita, sitting at his feet, + rested her chin on one hand and listened intently. + </p> + <p> + 'Turn ye all, men and women of this afflicted land of Nukutavau, to the + Word of God, which is written in the Book of Isaiah, in the fortieth + chapter and the sixth verse. It was to my mind that we should first sing + to the praise of Jehovah; but, alas! we cannot sing to-day; for my cheeks + are wetted with many tears, and my belly is bursting with sorrow when I + see how few there are of us who are left. But yet can we pray together; + and the whisper of affliction shall as surely reach the ear of God as the + loud, glad song of praise. But first hear ye these words:— + </p> + <p> + '“The Voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? And the Voice + answered. All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the + flower of the field: the grass withereth, the flower fadeth; because the + spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: Surely the people is grass.”' + </p> + <p> + Wallis sat up and listened; for as the preacher ceased he heard the sound + of many sobs; and presently a woman, old, gaunt and feeble, staggered out + from the church and flung herself face downwards upon the burning sand. + </p> + <p> + '<i>A mate, a mate tatou</i>,' she moaned, 'e agi mai le manava Ieova.' + ('We perish, we perish with the breath of Jehovah.') + </p> + <p> + She lay there unheeded; for now the preacher, with broken voice, was + passionately imploring his congregation to cast themselves upon the mercy + of God, and beseech Him to stay the deadly pestilence which had so sorely + smitten the land. + </p> + <p> + 'And spare Thou, O God Most High, Most Merciful, and Most Just, these many + little children who yet live, for they are but very small, and have not + yet sinned before Thee. Three of mine own hast thou touched with Thy hand, + and taken to Thee, and my belly and the belly of my wife are empty, and + yearn in the night for the voices we shall hear no more. And for those + three whom Thou hast taken, spare Thou three of those who yet live. And + shield, O God, with Thy care, the <i>papalagi</i>{*} Ranisome and his + child, the girl Ati' (Addie), 'for she loveth Thy word; and turn Thou the + heart of her father from the drinking of grog, so that he shall be no more + as a hog that is <i>loia</i>.'{**} 'And shield, too, the <i>papalagi</i> + Walesi and the woman Lita—she who liveth with him in sin—for + their hearts are ever good and their hands ever open to us of Nukutavau; + and send, O most merciful and compassionate One, a ship, so that the two + white men and the woman Lita, and the girl Ati, and we, Thy people, may + not die of hunger and thirst and sickness, but live to praise Thy holy + name.' + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Foreigner. + + ** A man or an animal is <i>loia</i> when he or it has eaten or + drunk to such repletion as to lie down and be overrun with + ants—an expressive Samoan synonym for excess. +</pre> + <p> + A burst of weeping, and <i>Amene! Amene!</i> came from his hearers, then + silence; and Wallis, taking his hat from his face, bent his head. + </p> + <p> + Presently the scanty congregation came slowly forth. Some, as they passed + the white man and Lita, tried to smile a greeting to them, though every + brown face was wet with tears. Last of all came Ioane, the Samoan teacher, + short, square-built, with deep sunken earnest eyes bent to the ground, his + right arm supporting his wife, whose slender frame was shaken with the + violence of her grief for those three of her heart whom 'He had taken.' + Wallis, followed by Lita, stepped down from his verandah, and held out his + hand. The teacher pressed it in silence, and, unable now to speak, walked + slowly on. Lita, her dark, oval face still hot with anger, drew back and + made no sign, though Eliné, the teacher's wife, murmured as she passed,—'Nay, + be not angry, Lita; for death is near to us all.' + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + As they returned to the house, Ransom, the old trader from Avatulalo, the + next village to that in which Wallis lived, met them at the gate. He was a + man of sixty or thereabout—grey, dirty, dishevelled and half drunk. + </p> + <p> + 'I want you and Lita to come back with me,' he said slowly, holding to the + palings of the fence, and moving his head from side to side; 'you must + come... 'you must come, or'—with sudden frenzy—'by God, I'll + put a firestick into your house; I will, by blazes, I will! Curse you, Tom + Wallis, and your damned, Sydney-white-duck-suit-respectability, and your + damned proud quarter-caste Portugee woman, who you ain't married to, as I + was to mine—bad as she was. Put up your hands you—' + </p> + <p> + Wallis gripped him firmly but kindly by the wrists, and forced him into a + seat. + </p> + <p> + 'What's the matter with you, Ransom? Only drunk and fightable as usual? or + are you being chased by pink snakes with tiger's heads again, eh? There, + sit quiet, old man. Where is Addie?' + </p> + <p> + For a few moments the old man made no answer; then he rose, and placing + his trembling hands on Wallis's chest said brokenly,— + </p> + <p> + 'God help me, Tom! She's a-dyin'... an' I'm near drunk. She was took bad + this mornin', an' has been callin' for the teacher an' Lita— an' I'd + as lief go to hell as to ask a damned Kanaka mission'ry to come an' talk + Gospel an' Heaven to a child o' mine—not in my own house, anyway. It + ain't right or proper. But she kep' on a-pesterin' me, an' at last I said + I would come an' arst him... an' while I was waitin' outside the church I + hears the damned feller a-prayin' and sayin' “<i>All flesh is grass, and + the grass withereth</i>”'—his voice quivered and broke again—'an' + onct I heard my old mother say them very words when she was a-dyin', + more'n forty year ago, in the old country. An' Addie's dyin' fast, Tom; + dyin', an' I can't say a prayer with her; I don't know none. I'm only a + drunken old shellback, an' I ought to be struck dead for my bloody sins. + She's all I has in the world to love; an' now, an' now—' He turned + away and, covering his face with his coarse, sunburnt hands, sobbed like a + child. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Half an hour later Wallis and Lita were in the room with the dying girl. + Ransom, shambling behind them, crept in and knelt at the foot of the bed. + Two native women, who were squatted on the matted floor went out softly, + and Wallis bent over the girl and looked into her pallid, twitching face, + over which the dread grey shadow was creeping fast. She put out her hand + to the trader and Lita, and a faint smile moved her lips. + </p> + <p> + 'You is good to come, Tom Wallis,' she said, in her childish voice, 'an' + so is you, Lita. Wher' is my fath'? I don' see him. I was ask him to bring + Ioane here to pray fo' me. I <i>can't</i> pray myself.... I <i>have</i> + been try.... Wher' is you, fath'?' + </p> + <p> + Ransom crept round to her side, and laid his face upon her open hand. + </p> + <p> + 'Ah, fath', you is come... poor fath'. I say, fath', <i>don</i> you drink + no more. You been promise me that, fath', so many time. <i>Don''</i> you + break yo' promise now, will you?' + </p> + <p> + The grizzled old sinner put his trembling lips to hers. 'Never no more, + Addie—may God strike me dead if I lie!' + </p> + <p> + 'Come away, old man,' said Wallis, softly, 'let Lita be with her. Neither + you nor I should disturb her just now. See, she wants Lita. But her time + is near, and you must keep close to her.' + </p> + <p> + They drew apart, and Lita knelt beside the bed. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + 'An' did he pray for fath', an' me, an' you, an' Tom, an' my mother who + runned away? Tell me all 'bout it, Lita. I <i>did</i> wan' him to come and + tell me some things I wan' to know before I is dead. Tell me what he say.' + </p> + <p> + 'He say dat vers', “De grass with', de flow' fade, but de word of de Lor' + God endure fo' ev.'”' + </p> + <p> + 'Was do it mean, Lita, dear?' + </p> + <p> + 'I don' 'xactly know, Ati, dear. But Tom say he mean dat by-an'-by, if we + is good an' don' lie an' steal, an' don' kill nobody, dat we all go to + heav' when we is die.' + </p> + <p> + 'Lita, dear, Ioane say one day dat de Bible say my fath' go to hell + because he get drunk all de time.' + </p> + <p> + 'Don' you b'lieve him, Ati; Ioane is only dam Kanaka mission'ry. Wassa the + hell do <i>he</i> know 'bout such thing? <i>You</i> go to heav' sure + 'nuff, and you' fath' come to you there by-an'-by. He never been steal or + lie; he on'y get drunk. Don' you be 'fraid 'bout dat, Ati, dear. An' you + will see yo' mother, too. Oh, yes, yo' will see yo' mother; an' yo' fath' + will come there too, all nice, an' clean, an' sober, in new pyjamas all + shinin' white; an' he will kiss yo' mother on her mouf, an' say, “I + forgive you, Nellie Ransom, jes' as Jesu Christ has forgive me.”' + </p> + <p> + The girl sighed heavily, and then lay with closed eyes, breathing softly. + Suddenly she turned quickly on her side, and extended her arms, and her + voice sounded strangely clear and distinct. + </p> + <p> + 'Where is you, fath'? Quick, quick, come an' hol' me. It is dark.... Hol' + me tight... clos' up, clos' up, fath', my fath'... it is so dark—so + dark.' + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The natives told Wallis next morning that 'Ranisome' had gone quite mad. + </p> + <p> + 'How know ye he is mad?' + </p> + <p> + '<i>Tah!</i> He hath taken every bottle of grog from two boxes and smashed + them on the ground. And then we saw him kneel upon the sand, raise his + hands, and weep. He is mad.' + </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> + IN A NATIVE VILLAGE + </h2> + <p> + When I first settled down on this particular island as a trader, I had, in + my boundless ignorance of the fierce jealousy that prevailed between the + various villages thereon, been foolish enough to engage two or three + servants from outlying districts—much against the wishes of the + local <i>kaupule</i> (town councillors), each of whom brought me two or + three candidates (relatives, connections or spongers of their own) and + urged that I should engage them and no others. This I refused to do, point + blank, and after much angry discussion and argument, I succeeded in having + my own way, and was allowed to choose my servants from villages widely + apart. In the course of a few weeks some terrific encounters had taken + place between my women servants and other of the local females, who + regarded them as vile usurpers of their right to rob and plunder the new + white man. However, in time matters settled down in a measure; and beyond + vituperative language and sanguinary threats against the successful + applicants, the rejected candidates, male and female, behaved very nicely. + But I was slumbering on a latent volcano of fresh troubles, and the + premonitory upheaval came about a month after our head nurse, Hakala, had + been fined five dollars for using English Seafaring' language to another + woman who had called her a pig. As Hakala could not pay the fine—being + already in debt to me for two months' wages paid in advance—I + settled it; for she was a widow, and had endeared herself to me by the + vigorous manner in which she had pitched a large, fat girl named 'Heké out + of the house for stealing some sugar from my store-room. The members of + the <i>kaupule</i> (the village parliament) were pleased to accept the + money, but wrote me a formal letter on the following morning, and remarked + that it was wrong of me to encourage brutal conduct in any of my servants—wrong + and un-Christian-like as well. 'But,' the letter went on to say, 'it is + honest of you to pay this woman's fine; and Talamaheke' (the sugar-thief) + 'has been sentenced to do three days' road-making for stealing the sugar. + Yet you must not think evil of Talamaheke, for she is a little <i>vale</i> + (mad), and has a class in the Sunday-school. Now it is in our minds that, + as you are an honest man, you will pay the fines owing on the horse.' I + had a vague recollection of my predecessor telling me something indefinite + about a horse belonging to the station, but could not remember whether he + said that the animal was in the vicinity of the station or was rambling + elsewhere on the island, or had died. So I called my Samoan cook, Harry, + to learn what he knew about the matter. Harry was the Adonis of the + village, and already the under-nurse, E'eu, a sweet little hazel-eyed + creature of fifteen, and incorrigibly wicked, had succumbed to his charms, + and spent much of her time in the kitchen. At that moment Harry was seated + outside the cook-house, dressed in a suit of spotless white duck, playing + an accordeon; also he wore round his brown neck a thick wreath of white + and scarlet flowers. Harry, I may remark, was a dandy and a notorious + profligate, but against these natural faults was the fact that he could + make very good bread. + </p> + <p> + 'Harry,' I said, 'do you know anything about this horse?' and I tapped the + official letter. + </p> + <p> + He smiled. 'Oh, yes, sir. I know all 'bout him. He been fined altogether + 'bout two hundred and fifty dollar, an' never pay.' + </p> + <p> + 'What do you mean? How can anyone fine a horse?' + </p> + <p> + Then Harry explained and gave me the horse's history. + </p> + <p> + The animal had been brought from New Zealand for some occult reason, and + had behaved himself very badly ever since he landed. Young banana trees + were his especial fancy, cotton plants he devoured wholesale, and it was + generally asserted that he was also addicted to kicking chickens. My three + predecessors on the station had each repudiated the creature, and each man + when he left the island had said that his successor would pay for all + damage done. + </p> + <p> + 'Where is the brute now?' I asked. + </p> + <p> + Looking cautiously around to see that no one was within earshot, Harry + informed me that until a week previously the <i>nuâ</i> had been running + quietly in the interior of the island for many months, but since my + arrival had been brought back by two of the deacons and was now feeding + about the immediate vicinity. + </p> + <p> + 'Why did the deacons bring him back, if he destroys banana trees and kill + chickens?' + </p> + <p> + Harry looked very uncomfortable and seemed disinclined to speak, but at + last let the cat out of the bag and revealed a diabolical conspiracy—the + horse had been brought back for my undoing, or rather for the undoing of + the strings of my bag of dollars. + </p> + <p> + 'You see, sir,' said he, confidentially, 'these people on this island very + clever—all dam rogue' (his mother was a native of the island), 'an' + 'bout a month ago, when you give two dollar to help build new church, the + <i>fakafili</i> and <i>kaupule</i>{*} (judge and councillors) 'say you is + a very good man and that you might pay that horse's fines. An' if you pay + that horse's fines then the people will have enough money to send to + Sydney to buy glass windows and nice, fine doors for the new church. An' + so that is why the deacons have bring that horse back.' + </p> + <p> + 'But what good will bringing the horse here do? That won't make me pay his + fines.' + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, you see, sir, since the horse been come back the people take him out + every day into some banana plantation and let him eat some trees. Then, + by-and-by—to-morrer, perhaps—they will come an' ask you to go + and look. Then you will look an' say, “Alright, I will pay five dollar.” + An' then when you pay that five dollar the <i>kaupule</i> and the judge + will say, “Now you mus' pay for all the bad things that that horse do + before you come here.” An' s'pose you won' pay, then I b'lieve the judge + an' headmen goin' to <i>tapu</i>{*} your store. You see they wan' that + money for church very bad, because they very jealous of Halamua church.' + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Tapu, in this sense, means boycotting. +</pre> + <p> + 'Jealous of Halamua church! Why?' + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, because Halamua people been buy a foolpit for their church—a + very fine foolpit from California; an' now this town here very jealous, + and the people say that when you pay that horse's fine they will buy pine + windows, pine doors, and pine floor, <i>and give Halamua church hell?</i> + </p> + <p> + The novel (but in some cases exceedingly correct) pronunciation of pulpit + pleased me, yet my wrath was aroused at this scandalous revelation of the + plans of the villagers to beautify their church at my expense. It was as + bad as any church bazaar in Christendom. + </p> + <p> + As Harry surmised, I received a visit from a deputation the next morning. + They wanted me to come and see the destruction done to their plantations + by <i>my</i> horse. + </p> + <p> + 'But it's not my horse,' I said. 'I decline to hear anything about a + horse. There is no horse down in my stock list, nor an elephant.' + </p> + <p> + A dirty old ruffian with one eye and a tattooed face regarded me gravely + for a moment, and then asked me in a wheezy, husky voice if I knew that + Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for telling lies. + </p> + <p> + 'Of course,' I replied promptly, 'I saw them struck. My uncle in England + had them buried in his garden to improve the soil. And why do you come + here and tell me these things about a horse? If there <i>is</i> a horse, + and it eats your bananas and sugar-cane, why don't you shoot it?' + </p> + <p> + This suggestion staggered the deputation, half of which scratched its head + meditatively. Then a tall, thin man, with an attenuated face like a + starved fowl, said sneeringly in English,— + </p> + <p> + 'What for you want to make gammon you no savee about horse?' + </p> + <p> + His companions smiled approvingly; not that they understood a word of + English, but they evidently regarded the fowl-like creature as a learned + person who would give me a dressing down in my own language. + </p> + <p> + I looked at him with a puzzled expression, and then said to Harry,— + </p> + <p> + 'What does this man say, Harry? I can't talk German. Can you?' + </p> + <p> + Harry grinned and shook his head; the rest of the deputation looked + angrily at the hatchet-faced man, and the member seated next to him told + him he ought to be ashamed of himself to pretend to be able to <i>vogahau + faka Beretania</i> (talk English). + </p> + <p> + For some minutes no one spoke. Then the youngest member of the deputation, + a jolly, fat-faced young deacon, dressed in a suit of white flannel, + laughed merrily, and asked me for some tobacco. I gave them a plug each + all round, and the deputation withdrew. So having successfully repudiated + the horse and all his works, I felt satisfied. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Pigs were the next trouble—my own pigs and the pigs of the general + public. When I landed on the island I had brought with me from Sydney a + lady and gentleman pig of exceedingly high lineage. They were now the + proud and happy parents of seven beautiful little black-and-white piglets, + and at any hour of the day one might see numbers of natives looking over + my wall at the graceful little creatures as they chased one another over + the grass, charged at nothing, and came to a dead stop with astonishing + rapidity and a look of intense amazement. One fatal day I let them out, + thinking they would come to no harm, as their parents were with them. As + they did not return at dusk I sent E'eu, the under-nurse, to search for + them. She came back and told me in a whisper that the father and mother + pig were rooting up a sweet-potato patch belonging to the local chief. The + piglets she had failed to discover. Enjoining secrecy, I sent E'eu and + Harry to chase the parents home. This was effected after considerable + trouble, but the owner of the potato patch claimed two dollars damages. I + paid it, feeling his claim was just. Next morning the seven piglets were + returned one by one by various native children. Each piglet had, according + to their accounts, been in a separate garden, and done considerable + damage; and 'because they' (the piglets) 'were the property of a good and + just man, the owners of the gardens would not hurt nor even chase them,' + etc. Glad to recover the squealing little wanderers at any cost, I gave + each lying child a quarter-dollar. Next day I had a piece of ground walled + in with lumps of coral and placed the porcine family inside. Then I wrote + to the councillors, asking them to notify the people that if any of the + village pigs came inside my fence and rooted abyssmal holes in my ground, + as had been their habit hitherto, I should demand compensation. His Honour + the Chief Justice stated in court that this was only fair and right; the + white man had paid for the damage done by <i>his</i> pigs, and therefore + he was entitled to claim damages if the village pigs caused him trouble. + (I had previously squared his Honour with the promise of a male sucker.) + One day the seven young pigs escaped from their mother and went out for a + run on the village green. They were at once assailed as detestable foreign + devils by about two hundred and forty-three gaunt, razorbacked village + sows, and were only rescued from a cruel death after every one had lost + its tail. Why is it that pigs of different breeds always bite off each + other's tails? I claimed fifty cents per tail, and was awarded $3.50 + damages, to be paid by the community generally. The community refused to + pay. His Honour then notified by the town crier that I was at liberty to + shoot any pig that broke into the station grounds. I put a cartridge into + a Snider rifle and told my servants to call me if they heard a grunt in + the night. + </p> + <p> + Three days after this, as I was discussing theology and baked fowl one + night with the local teacher in his own house, a boy burst in and said + that there was a strange pig in my garden devouring my crop of French + beans. In two minutes I was back in my house, snatched up the Snider, and + ran to the garden wall. There was the brute, a great black-and white + beast, the biggest native pig I ever saw. His back was turned, but hearing + my steps he 'went about' and faced me. 'Twas a bright moonlight night, and + the bullet plugged him fair between the eyes. Over he rolled without a + kick. Then I heard a shriek or laughter, and saw half a dozen girls + scuttling away among the coco-palms. A horrible suspicion nearly made me + faint. Jumping over the wall I examined the defunct, and could scarce + forbear to shed a tear. + </p> + <p> + 'Twas mine own prized black Australian boar, daubed over with splashes of + coral lime whitewash. And the whitewash came from a tub full of it, with + which the natives had that morning been whitening the walls of the + newly-built village church. The one-eyed old scoundrel of a deacon told me + next day it was a judgment on me. + </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> + MAURICE KINANE + </h2> + <p> + Eastward, from the coast of New Guinea, there lies a large island called, + on the maps, New Britain, the native name of which is Berara. It is nearly + three hundred miles in length and, in parts, almost sixty in width, and + excepting the north-eastern portion, now settled by German colonists, is + inhabited by a race of dangerous and treacherous cannibals, who are + continually at war among themselves, for there are many hundred tribes + living on the coast as well as in the interior. Although there have been + white people living on the north-east coast for over thirty years—for + there were adventurous American and English traders living in this wild + island long before the natives ever saw a German—not one of them + knew then, or knows now, much of the strange black tribes who dwell in the + interior of the centre and western part of the island, save that they were + then, as they are in this present year, always at enmity with the coast + tribes, and are, like them, more or less addicted to cannibalism. + </p> + <p> + Sixty miles from the western end of the island is the mountainous land of + German New Guinea; and sometimes, when the air is clear and the south-east + trade wind blows, the savages on Berara can see across the deep, wide + strait the grey loom of the great range that fringes the north-eastern + coast of New Guinea for many hundred miles. Once, indeed, when the writer + of this true story lived in New Britain, he saw this sight for a whole + week, for there, in those beautiful islands, the air is very clear at + certain seasons of the year. + </p> + <p> + From Matupi, where the principal settlement in New Britain is situated, to + the deep bay at Kabaira, fifty miles away, the coast is very beautiful. + And, indeed, no one who looks at the lovely grassy downs that here and + there show through the groves of waving palm trees stretching from the + beach away up to the rising land of the interior could think that such a + fair country was the home of a deadly fever; and that in the waters of the + bright limpid streams that ran gently down from the forest-clad hills to + meet the blue waters of the Pacific there lurked disease and death to him + who drank thereof. + </p> + <p> + At the time of my story (except for the adventurous American whalemen from + Nantucket and New Bedford, and the sandal-wood cutters from New South + Wales, who sometimes touched there) white men were unknown to the people + of New Britain. Sometimes when the sperm-whaling fleet was cruising + northwards and westward to the Moluccas, a ship would sail along the coast + in the daytime, but always anchored at night, for it was dreaded for the + many dangerous reefs that surround it. And once the anchor was down a + strict watch was kept on board, for the natives were known to be fierce + and treacherous. + </p> + <p> + Between where is now the German settlement and the great native town at + Kabaira Bay there is an island called Mano, which stands five miles off + from the mainland. Early one morning, when the wild people of the villages + among the palm-groves which lined the long winding beach came out of their + thatched huts for their morning bathe they gave a great cry, for a large + full-rigged ship was standing in close under the lee of Mano, and clewing + up her sails before she came to an anchor. + </p> + <p> + Now the natives who lived on the mainland of New Britain were the + hereditary enemies of those who dwelt on Mano Island, and it was hateful + for them to see a ship anchor there, for then the Mano Islanders would get + axes and muskets and hoop-iron. + </p> + <p> + So, with Baringa, the chief, at their head, they all ran to the summit of + a high, grassy hill (known, by reason of a terrible deed once done there + in the olden times, as the Hill of Old Men's Groans), and sat down to + watch if the ship would send her boats ashore. + </p> + <p> + 'Look!' said Baringa, fiercely, striking the ground with his heavy + jade-headed club, 'look, I see a boat putting out from the side. Who among + ye will come with me to the ship, so that I may sell my turtle shell and + pearl shell to the captain for muskets and powder and bullets? Are these + dogs of Mano to get such things from the ship, and then come over here at + night and slay and then cook us in their ovens? Hungry am I for revenge; + for 'tis now twelve moons since they stole my son from me, and not one + life have I had in return for his.' + </p> + <p> + But no one answered. Of what use was it, they thought, for Baringa to + think of his little son? He was but a boy after all, and had long since + gone down the throats of the men of Mano. Besides, the Mano people were + very strong and already had many guns. + </p> + <p> + So for an hour Baringa sat and chafed and watched; and then suddenly he + and those with him sprang up, for a sound like thunder came over to them, + and a cloud of white smoke curled up from the ship's side; she had fired + one of her big guns. Presently Baringa and his people saw that the boat + which had gone ashore was pulling back fast, and that some of the crew who + were sitting in the stern were firing their muskets at the Mano people, + who were pursuing the boat in six canoes. Twice again the ship fired a big + gun, and then the boat was safe, for the two twenty-four pounders, loaded + with grape-shot, smashed two of them to pieces when they were less than a + hundred yards from the ship. + </p> + <p> + Baringa shouted with savage joy. 'Come,' he cried, 'let us hasten to the + beach, and get quickly to the ship in our canoes; for now that the white + men have fought with these Mano dogs, the ship will come here to us and + anchor; for I, Baringa, am known to many white men.' + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The name of the ship was the <i>Boadicea</i>. She was of about seven + hundred tons, and was bound to China from Port Jackson, but for four + months had remained among the islands of the New Hebrides group, where the + crew had been cutting sandal-wood, which in those days was very plentiful + there. Her captain, who was a very skilful navigator, instead of going + through Torres Straits, had sailed between New Ireland and New Britain, so + that he might learn the truth of some tales he had heard about the + richness of those islands in sandal-wood and pearl shell. So he had + cruised slowly along till he sighted Mano Island, and here he decided to + water the ship; for from the deck was visible a fine stream of water, + running from the forest-clad mountains down to the white sands of the + quiet beach. + </p> + <p> + As soon as possible a boat was lowered and manned and armed; for although + he could not see a native anywhere on the beach, nor any signs of human + occupation elsewhere on the island, the captain was a very cautious man. A + little further back from the beach was a very dense grove of coco-nut + trees laden with fruit, and at these the crew of the Boadicea looked with + longing eyes. + </p> + <p> + 'We must water the ship first, my lads,' said Captain Williams, 'and then + we'll spend the rest of the day among the coco-nut trees, and fill our + boats with them.' + </p> + <p> + Just then as the bronze-faced captain was ascending to the poop from his + cabin; a small barefooted boy came aft, and, touching his hat, said,— + </p> + <p> + 'Av ye plaze, sor, won't ye let me go in the boat, sor?' + </p> + <p> + 'Why, Maurice, my boy, there's quite enough of us going in her as it is,' + said the captain, kindly, for the dirty-faced but bright-eyed Maurice + Kinane was a favourite with everyone on board. + </p> + <p> + 'Ah, but shure, sor,' pleaded the boy, 'av yer honour would just let me + go, av it was only to pluck a blade av the foine green grass, and lave me + face in the swate clane wather I'll be beholden—' + </p> + <p> + 'Well, well, my lad, jump in then,' said Captain Williams, with a smile, + and buckling his cutlass belt around his waist he sent the lad down the + ladder before him and the boat pushed off. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Ten months before, this poor Irish lad, who was but thirteen years of age, + had lost both his parents through the upsetting of a boat in Sydney + Harbour. His father was a sergeant in the 77th Regiment, and had only + arrived in the colony a few months previous to the accident, and the boy + was left without a relative in the world. But the captain of his father's + company and the other officers of the regiment were very kind to him, and + the colonel said he would get him enlisted as a drummer. + </p> + <p> + And so for a time Maurice lived in the barracks under the care of Sergeant + MacDougall, a crusty old warrior, who proved a hard master and made the + boy's life anything but a happy one. And Maurice, though he was proud of + the colonel's kind words and of serving with the regiment, fretted greatly + at the harsh manner of the old sergeant. + </p> + <p> + One morning he was reported as missing. Little did those who looked for + him all the next day think that the boy was far out at sea, for he had + stowed away on board the <i>Boadicea</i>; and although Captain Williams + was very angry with him when he was discovered and led aft, the lad's + genial temper and bright, honest face soon won him over, as, indeed, it + did everyone else on board. + </p> + <p> + For nearly an hour after the boat had landed at the mouth of the little + stream the seamen were busily-engaged in filling the water casks. Not a + sign of a native could be seen, and then, regardful of the longing looks + that the sailors cast at the grove of coco-nuts, the captain, taking with + him Maurice and four hands, set out along the beach for the purpose of + gathering a few score of the young nuts to give to his men to drink. + </p> + <p> + One of the four seamen was a Kanaka named 'Tommy Sandwich.' He was a + native of Sandwich or Vaté Island in the New Hebrides. In a very short + time this man had ascended a lofty palm-tree, and was throwing down the + coco-nuts to the others, who for some minutes were busily engaged tying + them together to carry them to the boat. + </p> + <p> + 'That will do, Tommy,' cried the captain, presently. 'Come down now and + help the others to carry.' He did not see that Maurice, boy-like and + adventurous, had managed to ascend a less lofty tree some little distance + away, out of sight of his shipmates, and at that moment was already + ensconced in the leafy crown, gazing with rapture at the lovely scene that + lay before him. + </p> + <p> + It took the men but another ten minutes to tie up the coco-nuts into + bunches of ten, and then each of them drank copiously of the sweet milk of + half a dozen which Tommy had husked for them. + </p> + <p> + 'Come, lads,' said Captain Williams, 'back to the boat now. By-and-by—' + </p> + <p> + A dreadful chorus of savage yells interrupted him, and he and the men + seized their muskets and sprang to their feet. The sounds seemed to come + from where the boat was watering; in a few seconds more four musket shots + rang out. + </p> + <p> + 'Run, run for your lives,' cried the captain, drawing his pistol. 'The + savages are attacking the boat.' And the seamen, throwing down the + coco-nuts, rushed out of the palm grove to rescue their shipmates. + </p> + <p> + They were only just in time, for the banks of the little stream were + covered with naked savages, who had sprung out of the thick undergrowth + upon the watering party, and ere the boat could be pushed off two of the + poor sailors had been savagely slaughtered. Fortunately for the captain + and his party, they were nearer to the boat, when they made their + appearance, than were the natives, and, plunging into the water, and + holding their muskets over their heads, they reached her in safety, and at + once opened fire, whilst the rest of the crew bent to the oars. + </p> + <p> + But the danger was not yet over, for as soon as the boat was out of reach + of the showers of spears sent at her from the shore, a number of canoes + appeared round a bend of the mountainous coast. They had evidently been + sent to cut off the white men's retreat. And then began the race for life + to the ship which had been witnessed by Baringa and his people from the + mainland. + </p> + <p> + Maurice, from his tree, had heard the yells of the savages and the + gunshots, and was about to descend and follow the captain and his + shipmates, when he heard a rush of bodies through the palm grove, and saw + beneath him forty or fifty natives, all armed with clubs and spears. They + were a horrible-looking lot, for they were quite naked and the lips of all + were stained a deep red from the juice of the betel-nut, and their dull + reddish-brown bodies were daubed over with yellow and white stripes. This + party had perhaps meant to surprise the captain and his men as they were + getting the coco-nuts, for, finding them gone, they at once rushed out of + the grove in pursuit. Fortunately for Maurice they were too excited to + think of looking about them, else his end would have come very quickly. + </p> + <p> + For nearly ten minutes the lad remained quiet, listening to the sounds of + the fighting, and in fearful doubt as to his best course of action—whether + to make a bold dash and try to find his way to the boat, or remain in the + tree till a rescue party was sent from the ship. Suddenly the thundering + report of one of the ship's guns made him peer seaward through the + branches of his retreat; and there, to his delight, he caught a brief view + of the boat. Again the report of another gun pealed out, and a wild + screaming cry from the natives told him that the shot had done some + execution. + </p> + <p> + 'I must get out of this,' he thought, 'and make a bolt along the beach in + the other direction, till I get into the hills. I can see better from + there, and perhaps make a signal to the ship.' Maurice got quietly down + from the tree, and after looking cautiously about him, was about to set + off at a run, when he found himself face to face with a young native boy, + who, running quickly forward, grasped him by the hands, and began to talk + volubly, at the same time trying to drag him towards the beach. The boy, + save for a girdle of ti leaves, was naked, and Maurice, anxious and + alarmed as he was for his own safety, could not but notice that the young + savage seemed terribly excited. + </p> + <p> + 'Let me go, ye black naygur,' said Maurice, freeing his hands and striking + him in the chest. + </p> + <p> + In an instant the native boy fell upon his knees, and held up his hands, + palms outward, in a supplicating gesture. + </p> + <p> + Puzzled at this, but still dreading treachery, Maurice turned away and + again sought to make his way to the hills; but again the boy caught his + hands, and with gentle force, and eyes filled with tears, tried to push or + lead him to the beach. At last, apparently as if in despair of making the + white lad understand him by words, he made signs of deadly combat, and + ended by pointing over to where the boat had been attacked. Then, touching + Maurice on the chest, and then himself, he pointed to the sea, and lying + on the ground worked his arms and legs as if swimming. + </p> + <p> + 'Sure, perhaps he's a friend,' thought Maurice, 'an' wants me to swim off + to the ship. But perhaps he's a thraitor and only manes to entice me away + to be murdered. Anyway, it's not much of a choice I've got at all. So come + on, blackamoor, I'm wid ye.' + </p> + <p> + Although not understanding a word that Maurice said, the native boy smiled + when he saw that the white lad was willing to come with him at last. Then, + hand-in-hand, they ran quietly along till they reached the beach; and here + the native, motioning Maurice to keep out of view, crept on his hands and + knees till he reached a rock, and then slowly raised his head above it and + peered cautiously ahead. + </p> + <p> + Whatever it was he saw evidently satisfied him, for he crawled back to + Maurice, and again taking his hand broke into a run, but instead of going + in the direction of the river, he led the way along the beach in the + opposite direction. Feeling confident now that he had found a friend, + Maurice's spirits began to rise, and he went along with the boy + unhesitatingly. + </p> + <p> + At last they rounded a sandy point, covered with a dense growth of + coco-nut trees and pandanus palms; this point formed the southern horn of + a small deep bay, in the centre of which stood an island, warded by a + snow-white beach, and on the nearmost shore Maurice saw a canoe drawn up. + </p> + <p> + The island beach was quite three hundred yards away, but Maurice was a + good swimmer, and although he shuddered at the thought of sharks, he + plunged in the water after his dark-skinned companion and soon reached the + islet, which was but a tiny spot, containing some two or three score of + coco-palms, and three untenanted native huts. It was used by the natives + as a fishing station, and the canoe, which was a very small one, had + evidently been in use that day. Close by were the marks in the sand where + a larger one had been carried down. In one of the huts smoke was arising + from a native ground-oven, which showed that the fishermen had not long + gone; doubtless they would return when the food was cooked, for the native + boy pointed out the oven to Maurice with a look of alarm. + </p> + <p> + The two boys soon launched the canoe, and each seizing a paddle, at once + struck out in the direction of the ship. The native lad sat aft, Maurice + for'ard, and clumsy as was the latter with the long and narrow canoe + paddle, he yet managed to keep his seat and not capsize the frail little + craft. + </p> + <p> + 'Hurroo!' cried foolish Maurice, turning to his companion, 'we're all + right now, I'm thinkin'. There's the ship!' + </p> + <p> + There she was sure enough, and there also were four canoes, paddling along + close in-shore, returning from their chase of the captain's boat. They + heard Maurice's loud shout of triumph, at once altered their course, and + sped swiftly towards the two boys. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Scarcely had Captain Williams and his exhausted crew gained the ship when + the mate reported that a fleet of canoes was coming across from the + mainland of New Britain, and orders were at once given to load the ship's + eight guns with grape and canister. (In those days of Chinese and Malay + pirates and dangerous natives of the South Seas, all merchants ships, + particularly those engaged in the sandal-wood trade, were well armed, and + almost man-of-war discipline observed.) + </p> + <p> + 'We'll give them something to remember us by, Hodgson,' said Captain + Williams, grimly. 'That poor lad! To think I never noticed he was not in + the boat till too late! I expect he's murdered by now; but I shall take a + bloody vengeance for the poor boy's death. Serve out some grog to the + hands, steward; and some of you fellows stand by with some shot to dump + into the canoes if we should miss them with the guns and they get + alongside.' + </p> + <p> + But just as he spoke the mate called out, 'The canoes have stopped + paddling, sir, all except one, which is coming right on.' + </p> + <p> + 'All right, I see it. Let them come and have a look at us. As soon as it + gets close enough, I'll sink it.' + </p> + <p> + For some minutes the canoe, which contained seven men, continued to + advance with great swiftness; then she ceased paddling, and the steersman + stood up and called out something to the ship, just as she was well + covered by two of the guns on the port side. In another minute she would + have been blown out of the water, when Tommy Sandwich ran aft and said,— + </p> + <p> + 'I think, cap'n, that fellow he no want fight ship; I think he want talk + you.' + </p> + <p> + 'Perhaps so, Tommy; so we'll let him come a bit closer.' + </p> + <p> + Again the native paddles sent the canoe inward till she was well within + easy hailing distance of the ship, and the same native again stood up and + called out,— + </p> + <p> + 'Hi, cap'n. No you shoot me. Me Baringa. Me like come 'board.' + </p> + <p> + 'All right,' answered Captain Williams, 'come alongside.' + </p> + <p> + The moment the canoe ranged alongside, Baringa clambered up the side, and + advanced fearlessly toward the poop. 'Where cap'n?' he asked, pushing + unceremoniously aside those who stood in his way; and mounting the ladder + at the break of the poop he walked up to the master of the <i>Boadicea</i> + and held out his hand. + </p> + <p> + In a very short time, by the aid of Tommy Sandwich, whose language was + allied to that of the natives of New Britain, Captain Williams learnt how + matters stood. His visitor was anxious to help him, and volunteered to + join the white man in an attack on the treacherous people of Mano, though + he gave but little hope of their finding Maurice alive. They had, he said, + stolen his own son twelve months before, and eaten him, and he wanted his + revenge. Presently, as a proof of his integrity, he produced from a dirty + leather cartridge pouch, that was strapped around his waist, a soiled + piece of paper, and handed it to the captain. It read as follows:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'The bearer, Baringa, is the chief of Kabaira Coast. He is a + thorough old cannibal, but, as far as I know, may be trusted + by white men. He supplied my ship with fresh provisions, and + seems a friendly old cut-throat. + + 'Matthew Wallis, + 'Master, ship <i>Algerine</i> of New Bedford. + 'October 2 st, 1839.' +</pre> + <p> + 'Well, that's satisfactory,' said Captain Williams, turning to Tommy. + 'Tell him that I am going to land and try and find Maurice, and he can + help me with his people. Mr Hodgson, man and arm the boats again.' + </p> + <p> + In a moment all was bustle and excitement, in the midst of which a loud + 'hurrah' came from aloft from a sailor who was on the fore-yard watching + the remaining canoes of Baringa's fleet. 'Hurrah! Here's Maurice, sir, + coming off in a canoe with a nigger, an' a lot of other niggers in four + canoes a-chasin' him.' + </p> + <p> + Springing to the taffrail, Captain Williams saw the canoe, which had just + rounded the point and was now well in view. The two boys were paddling for + their lives; behind them were the four canoes filled with yelling savages. + </p> + <p> + 'Into the boats, men, for God's sake!' roared the captain. Had a greater + distance separated Maurice from his pursuers the master of the <i>Boadicea</i> + would have endeavoured to have sunk the four canoes with the ship's guns; + but the risk was too great to attempt it as they were. However, the gunner + and carpenter were sent into the fore-top to try and pick off some of the + natives by firing over Maurice's canoe. + </p> + <p> + Five minutes later the ship's three boats were pulling swiftly to the + rescue, and Baringa, jumping into his own canoe, beckoned to the rest of + his flotilla to follow him, and six natives urged the light craft + furiously along after the boats. + </p> + <p> + On, on, came the two poor boys, straining every nerve; but every moment + their pursuers gained on them; and on, on dashed the heavy, cumbersome + boats. Already the nearest canoe was within fifty feet of Maurice and his + black friend, the savage paddlers undaunted by the fire from the muskets + of the gunner and carpenter, when Captain Williams saw a native rise up + and hurl a club at the two boys. Quick as lightning the captain picked up + his musket and fired, and the savage fell forward with a bullet through + his chest. But quick as he was he was too late, for the club whizzed + through the air and struck the native boy on his right arm. + </p> + <p> + A savage yell of triumph came from the pursuing canoes as their occupants + saw the boy go down and the canoe broach-to, and then the leading canoe + dashed up alongside that of Maurice and his companion. + </p> + <p> + 'Pull, men, pull, for God's sake!' cried the captain, frantically, as he + saw the Irish lad, paddle in hand, standing up over the body of the fallen + boy, and strike wildly at his murderous pursuers. + </p> + <p> + With heaving bosoms and set teeth the seamen urged the boats along, and + they and the four canoes crashed together in deadly conflict. But as they + met, a huge savage stood up and, poising a spear, darted it at the prone + figure of the native boy; it did not reach him, for Maurice, wounded and + bleeding as he was with a spear wound through his thigh, flung himself in + front of the weapon to save his friend. It struck him in the shoulder and + came out a full foot at his back. + </p> + <p> + 'You dog,' said Williams, raising his pistol, and the native went down + with a crash. + </p> + <p> + And then ensued a scene of slaughter, as the seamen of the <i>Boadicea</i> + got to work with their cutlasses. It did not take long to end the fight, + and not one of the Mano men escaped, for now Baringa's canoes had come up, + and with their heavy jade clubs dashed out the brains of those of their + enemies who sought to swim ashore. It was in truth a hideous sight, and + even the hardy sailors shuddered when they saw the merciless manner in + which wounded and dying men were massacred by their naked allies. + </p> + <p> + As quickly as possible, the two boys were lifted out of the little canoe + and placed in the captain's boat, where their wounds were examined. The + native boy's arm was broken, and his back badly hurt, but he was quite + conscious. As for Maurice, he was in a bad state, and Captain Williams + decided not to pull out the spear till the ship was reached. + </p> + <p> + Just as he had given orders to pull for the ship, Baringa's canoe returned + from the slaughter of the remaining fugitives, and drew up alongside the + captain's boat, and the moment the chief saw the native boy lying in the + stern sheets of the boat he sprang out of the canoe and embraced him. + </p> + <p> + 'It is my boy, my Lokolol—he whom I thought was dead.' + </p> + <p> + Little remains to be told. The two boys were carefully attended to as soon + as they reached the ship, and to the joy of everyone the spear, when + extracted from Maurice's body, was pronounced by Baringa not to be a + poisoned one. As for Lokolol, the chief's son, his arm was put in splints, + but during the time that was occupied in doing this his hand was clasped + around that of the brave young sailor lad who had saved his life, and his + big, black eyes never left Maurice's pallid face. + </p> + <p> + For three days the <i>Boadicea</i> remained at anchor opposite the village—she + had sailed there the morning after the fight—and the chief showed + his gratitude by every possible means. On the morning of the day on which + the ship sailed he came on board, attended by thirty canoes, every one of + which was laden deep down with pearl shell. It was passed up on deck, and + stacked in a heap, and then Baringa asked for the captain and the white + boy who had saved his son. Beside him stood Lokolol, his arm in a sling, + and tears running down his cheeks, for he knew he would see Maurice no + more. + </p> + <p> + Then Captain Williams came on deck and showed the chief the little cabin + boy, lying in a hammock under the poop awning. The burly savage came over + to him, and taking Maurice's hand in his, placed it tenderly upon his + huge, hairy bosom in token of gratitude. Then he spoke to the captain + through Tommy Sandwich. + </p> + <p> + 'Tell this good captain that I, Baringa, am for ever the white man's + friend. And tell him, too, that all this pearl shell here is my gift to + him and the boy who helped my son to escape from captivity. Half is for + the good captain; half is for the brave white boy.' + </p> + <p> + Then, after remaining on board till the ship was many miles away from the + land, the chief and his son bade the wounded boy farewell and went back to + the shore. + </p> + <p> + Maurice soon recovered, and when the <i>Boadicea</i> arrived at Hong Kong, + and Captain Williams had sold the pearl shell, he said to his cabin boy,— + </p> + <p> + 'Maurice, my lad, I've sold the pearl shell, and what do you think I've + been paid for it? Well, just eight thousand dollars—£1600 in English + money. You're quite a rich boy now, Maurice. It's not every lad that gets + four thousand dollars for saving a nigger's life.' + </p> + <p> + Maurice's bright blue eyes filled with honest tears. 'Shure, sor, he was a + naygur, thrue enough. But thin, yere honour, he had a foine bould heart to + do what he did for Maurice Kinane.' + </p> + <p> + And, as I have said, this is a true story, and old Maurice Kinane, who is + alive now, himself told it to me. + </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> + THE 'KILLERS' OF TWOFOLD BAY + </h2> + <p> + Enbosomed in the verdure-clad hills of the southern coast of sunny New + South Wales lies a fisherman's paradise, named Twofold Bay. Its fame is + but local, or known only to outsiders who may have spent a day there when + travelling from Sydney to Tasmania in the fine steamers of the Union + Company, which occasionally put in there to ship cattle from the little + township of Eden, which is situated upon the northern shore of its deep + and placid waters. But the chief point of interest about Twofold Bay is + that it is the rendezvous of the famous 'killers' (<i>Orca gladiator</i>) + the deadly foes of the whole race of cetaceans other than themselves, and + the most extraordinary and sagacious creatures that inhabit the ocean's + depths. From July to November two 'schools' of killers may be seen every + day, either cruising to and fro across the entrance of the bay, or engaged + in a Titanic combat with a whale—a 'right' whale, a 'humpback,' or + the long, swift 'fin-back.' Never have they been known to tackle the great + sperm-whale, except when one of those mighty creatures has been wounded by + his human enemies. And to witness one of these mighty struggles is worth + travelling many a thousand miles to see; it is terrible, awe-inspiring and + wonderful. The 'killer' ranges in length from ten feet to twenty-five feet + (whalemen have told me that one was seen stranded on the Great Barrier + Reef in 1862 which measured thirty feet). Their breathing apparatus and + general anatomy is much similar to that of the larger whales. They spout, + 'breach.' and 'sound' like other cetaceans, and are of the same migratory + habit, as the two 'schools' which haunt Twofold Bay always leave there at + a certain time of the year to cruise in other seas, returning to their + headquarters when the humpback and fin-back whales make their appearance + on the coast of New South Wales, travelling northwards to the + feeding-grounds on the Bampton Shoals, the coast of New Guinea and the + Moluccas. + </p> + <p> + The head of the killer is of enormous strength. The mouth is armed in both + jaws with fearful teeth, from one and a half inches to two inches long, + and set rather widely apart. In colour they show an extraordinary + variation, some being all one hue—brown, black, or dull grey; others + are black, with large, irregular patches or streaks of pure white or + yellow; others are dark brown with black and yellow patches. One, which I + saw ashore on the reef at the island of Nukulaelae in the South Pacific, + was nearly black, except for a few irregular blotches of white on the back + and belly. This particular killer had died from starvation, for nearly the + entire lower jaw had decayed from a cancerous growth. + </p> + <p> + The whaling station at Twofold Bay is now, alas! the only one in the + colony—the last remnant of a once great and thriving industry, + which, in the early days of the then struggling colony, was the nursery of + bold and adventurous seamen. It is now carried on by a family named + Davidson, father and sons—in conjunction with the killers. And for + more than twenty years this business partnership has existed between the + humans and the cetaceans, and the utmost rectitude and solicitude for each + other's interests has always been maintained. <i>Orca gladiator</i> seizes + the whale for the Davidsons and holds him until the deadly lance is + plunged into his 'life,' and the Davidssons let Orca carry the carcass to + the bottom, and take his tithe of luscious blubber. This is the literal + truth; and grizzled old Davidson, or any one of the stalwart sons who man + his two boats, will tell you that but for the killers, who do half of the + work, whaling would not pay with oil only worth from £18 to £24 a tun. + </p> + <p> + Let us imagine a warm, sunny day in August at Twofold Bay. The man who is + on the lookout at the old lighthouse, built by 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 not clear. If the creature is in a playful mood and 'breaches,' that + is, springs bodily out of the water and 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, looks down. There they are, cruising slowly up + and down, close in-shore, spouting lazily and showing their wet, gleaming + backs as they rise, roll and dive again. There's 'Fatty,' and 'Spot,' and + 'Flukey,' and 'Little Jim,' and 'Paddy,' and 'Tom Tug.' Nearly every one + of them has a name, 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, + 'Humpbacks!' 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 'pick-up' 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're coming right down + on us. Billy was 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 young 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 full 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 school, and are holding him for the boat + and for the deadly lance of his human foes. The rest of the humpbacks + raise 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 how 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> + Ranging 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 skin and 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 + bulldogs 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 tough corrugations of his grey-ribbed + 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 with 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 blows into + his 'life,' a gushing torrent of hot, dark blood, he rolls over on his + side, an agonised trembling quivers through his vast frame, the battle is + over 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 carcass will again rise + to the surface, and as, before he was taken down, the whalemen have + attached a line and buoy to the body, its whereabouts is easily discerned + from the lookout on the headland; the boats again put off and tow it + ashore to the trying-out works. The killers, though they have 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 carcass 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 have 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 <i>smelt</i> 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> + <p> + On some occasions, when a pack of killers set out whale-hunting, they will + be joined by a thresher—the fox-shark (Alopias vulpes)—and + then while the killers bite and tear the unfortunate cetacean, the + thresher deals him fearful blows with his scythe-like tail. The master of + a whaling vessel told me that off the north end of New Caledonia, there + was, from 1868 till 1876, a pack of nine killers which were always + attended by two threshers and a sword-fish. Not only he, but many other + whaling skippers had seen this particular swordfish, year after year, + joining the killers in attacks upon whales. The cruising ground of this + pack extended for thirty miles, north and south, and the nine creatures + and their associates were well known to hundreds of New Bedford whalemen. + No doubt many of these combats, witnessed from merchant ships, have led to + many sea-serpent stories; for when a thresher stands his twenty feet of + slender body straight up on end like a pole, he presents a strange sight, + as his long body sways, and curves, and twists in air, as he deals his + cutting blows upon his victim. Then, too, the enormous length of the + pectoral fins of a humpback whale, which show dazzlingly white as he rolls + from side to side in his agony, and frantically beats the water with them + in his struggles, or upends one after the other like a mast, might well be + mistaken for the uprearing of a serpent's body. But any South Sea whaleman + will smile when he hears talk of the sea-serpent, though he has not + forgotten the awe and fascination with which he was filled, when he first + saw a whale in the agonies of combat with <i>Alopias vulpes</i> and <i>Orca + gladiator</i>, and the serpentine evolutions of the former creature. + </p> + <p> + The whaleman in the Pacific sees very strange and wondrous sights; and + never, since Herman Melville wrote his strangely exciting and weird book, + 'The Whale,' nearly fifty years ago, has any writer given us such a vivid + and true picture of whaling life and incident as Mr Frank T. Bullen in his + 'Cruise of the <i>Cachalot</i> published this year. + </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> + DENISON'S SECOND BERTH ASHORE + </h2> + <p> + I have already told how Tom Denison, the South Sea Island supercargo, took + a berth ashore as overseer of a Queensland duck farm, which was mortgaged + to a bank of which his brother was manager, and how he resigned the post + in great despondency, and humped his swag to Cooktown. + </p> + <p> + Over his meeting with his brother let a veil be drawn. Suffice it to say + that the banker told him that he had missed the one great chance of his + life, and quoted Scripture about the ways of the improvident man to such + an extent that Denison forgot himself, and said that the bank and its + infernal ducks could go and be damned. Thereupon his sister-in-law (who + was a clergyman's daughter, and revered the Bank as she did the Church) + swooned, and his brother told him he was a heartless and dissolute young + ruffian, who would come to a bad end. Feeling very hurt and indignant, the + ex-supercargo stumped out of the bank, and went down to the wharf to look + for a ship. + </p> + <p> + But there was only a dirty little coasting steamer in port, and Denison + hated steamers, for once he had had to go a voyage in one as supercargo, + and the continuous work involved by being constantly in port every few + days, instead of drifting about in a calm, all but broke his heart. So he + rented a room at a diggers' boarding-house kept by a Chinaman, knowing + that this would be a dagger in the heart of his sister-in-law, who was the + leading lady in Cooktown society; also, he walked about the town without a + coat, and then took a job on the wharf discharging coals from a collier, + and experienced a malevolent satisfaction when he one evening met Mrs + Aubrey Denison in the street. He was in company with four other + coal-heavers, all as black as himself; his sister-in-law was walking with + the wife of the newly-appointed Supreme Court judge. She glanced + shudderingly at the disgraceful sight her relative presented, went home + and hysterically suggested to Aubrey Denison, Esq., that his brother Tom + was a degraded criminal, and was on the way to well-deserved penal + servitude. + </p> + <p> + After the coal-heaving job was finished, Denison lay back and luxuriated + on the £5, 17s. 6d. he had earned for his week's toil. Then one morning he + saw an advertisement, in the <i>North Queensland Trumpet-Call</i>, for a + proof-reader. And being possessed of a certain amount of worldly wisdom, + he went down to the bank, saw his brother (who received him with a gloomy + brow) and said he should like to write a letter to the editor of the <i>Trumpet-Call</i>. + He wrote his letter—on bank paper—and then went back to Sum + Fat's to await developments. The following morning he received a note from + the editor telling him to call at the office. To Susie Sum Fat, his + landlord's pretty half-caste daughter, he showed the missive, and asked + her to lend him one of her father's best shirts. Susie, who liked Denison + for his nice ways, and the tender manner in which he squeezed her hand + when passing the bread, promptly brought him her parent's entire stock of + linen, and bade him, with a soft smile, to take his pick. Also that night + she brought him a blue silk kummerbund streaked with scarlet, and laid it + on his pillow, with a written intimation that it was sent 'with fondiest + love from Susie S. Fat.' + </p> + <p> + Arrayed in a clean shirt, and the swagger kummerbund, Denison presented + himself next morning to the editor of the <i>Trumpet-Call</i>. There were + seven other applicants for the billet, but Denison's white shirt and new + kummerbund were, he felt, a tower of strength to him, and even the editor + of the <i>Trumpet-Call</i> seemed impressed—clean shirts being an + anomaly in Cooktown journalistic circles. + </p> + <p> + The editor was a tall, stately man, with red eyes and a distinctly + alcoholic breath. The other applicants went in first. Each one had a + bundle of very dirty testimonials, all of which recalled to Denison Judge + Norbury's remarks about the 'tender' letters of a certain breach of + promise case. One little man, with bandy legs and a lurching gait, put his + unclean hands on the editorial table, and said that his father was 'select + preacher to the University of Oxford.' + </p> + <p> + The red-eyed man said he was proud to know him. 'Your father, sir, was a + learned man and I reverence his name. But I never could forgive myself did + I permit a son of such a great teacher to accept such a laborious position + as proof-reader on the <i>Trumpet Call</i>. Go to Sydney or Melbourne, my + dear sir. The editors of all our leading colonial papers were clergymen or + are sons of clergymen. I should be doing your future prospects a bitter + injustice. A bright career awaits you in this new country.' + </p> + <p> + He shook the hand of the select preacher's son and sent him out. + </p> + <p> + Among the other applicants was a man who had tried dugong fishing on the + Great Barrier Reef; a broken-down advance agent from a stranded theatrical + company; a local auctioneer with defective vision, but who had once + written a 'poem' for a ladies' journal; a baker's carter who was secretary + to the local debating society; and a man named Joss, who had a terrific + black eye and who told Denison, <i>sotto voce</i>, that if the editor gave + <i>him</i> any sauce he would 'go for him' there and then and 'knock his + bloomin' eye out,' and the son of the local bellman and bill-poster. The + editor took their names and addresses, and said he should write to them + all in the morning and announce his decision. Then, after they had gone, + he turned to Denison with a pleasant smile and an approving look at Sum + Fat's shirt, and asked him if he had had previous experience of + proof-reading. Denison, in a diffident manner, said that he had not + exactly had much. + </p> + <p> + 'Just so. But you'll try and do your best, Mr Denison? Well, come in this + evening at eight o'clock, and see Mr Pinkham, the sub-editor. He'll show + you what to do. Salary, £2, 15s. Strict sobriety, I trust?' + </p> + <p> + The successful one said he never got quite drunk, expressed his thanks and + withdrew. Once into the street he walked quickly into Sum Fat's, and told + the Celestial that he had taken a billet at 'thirty bob' a week on a + newspaper. + </p> + <p> + 'Wha' paper?' inquired Sum Fat, who was squeezing a nasty-looking + adipocerous mass into fish-balls for his boarders. + </p> + <p> + 'The <i>Trumpet-Call</i>.' + </p> + <p> + 'That's a lotten lag, if you li.' It close on banklupt this long time.' + </p> + <p> + Denison assented cheerfully. It <i>was</i> a rotten rag, he said, and + undoubtedly in a weak position financially; but the thirty bob would pay + his board bill. + </p> + <p> + Then Sum Fat, who knew that the ex-supercargo was lying as regarded the + amount of his salary, nodded indifferently and went on pounding his awful + hash. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + 'Where is Mr Pinkham?' asked Denison at eight p.m., when an exceedingly + dirty small boy brought him his first proof. + </p> + <p> + 'He's tanked.{*} An' he says he ain't agoin' to help no blackguard sailor + feller to read no proofs. And most all the comps is tanked, too.' + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * 'Tanked.' A colonialism which indicates that a person has + indulged in too much liquid refreshment. +</pre> + <p> + However, with the intelligent assistance of the boy, Denison managed to + pull through that night, with the following result in the intercolonial + Telegrams' column:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Melbourne, August 13.—The body of an elderly boat was + foundd last night floating down the Yarra, down the Yarra, + with its throat cut. It wvs dressed in v grey tweed suit + with a flannel shirt, dressed in a grey tweed suit with a + flannel shirt. This mourning a girl said the deceased was + her father,' etc. +</pre> + <p> + A few lines further down in the same column was the intelligence that + Chief Justice Higinbotham of Victoria had 'sentenced the man Power to + imprisonment for the term of his natural next.' + </p> + <p> + When Denison turned up next evening, the editor asked him in distinctly + cold tones if he 'had read the paper.' + </p> + <p> + Denison said he had not—he was too tired. + </p> + <p> + Then the editor pointed out twenty-nine hideous mistakes, all underlined + in blue pencil and on a par with the two above-mentioned. Denison + explained in regard to the word 'next' that he meant 'life,' but there + being a turned 'e' in 'life' he somehow deleted the entire word, and just + then in his zeal, calling out 'next proof,' he unthinkingly wrote 'next' + on the proof instead of 'life.' As for the matter of the boat he had no + excuse to offer. The editor was not harsh, but said that a man of + Denison's intelligence ought to be employed in building up Britain beyond + the seas instead of reading proofs. + </p> + <p> + For the next two issues he pulled through fairly well. Sum Fat advanced + him ten shillings, with which he bought Susie a pair of canvas shoes, and + Susie kissed him seven times and said she loved him because he never said + horrid things to her like the other men. And when she laid her innocent + face upon his shoulder and wept, Denison was somewhat stirred, and decided + to get away from Susie as quickly as possible. + </p> + <p> + On the fourth evening a beery local politician sent in a paragraph, + written in an atrocious hand, stating that he (the beery man) had + 'received a number of replies to the circulars he had sent out to the + supporters of the Government,' etc. In the morning the paragraph appeared:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + '<i>Mr Ebenezer Thompson, the champion of Separation, for + North Queensland, has again received quite a large number of + reptiles,' </i>etc. +</pre> + <p> + Of course Mr Thompson was terribly insulted—everyone in Cooktown + knew that he had periodical illnesses, during which he imagined he was + chased by large snakes joined to blue dogs with red eyes and crimson tails—and + demanded Denison's instant dismissal. The editor however, pleaded for him + on account of his inexperience, and the matter was passed over. + </p> + <p> + He worried along pretty well till the end of the week, and then fresh + trouble arose. Mr Pinkham the sub-editor, who did the foreign cables and + the local fire-brigade items, got exceedingly drunk—a weekly + occurrence—and, for his own safety, was locked up by the intelligent + police. The three reporters, who all hated Pinkham, declined to sub-edit + his cables, and consequently the editor was himself driven to take refuge + in drink. The business manager, however, took his place, and told Denison + that he relied on him to assist with the cables. Denison hinted at + increased emoluments, and the manager promptly threatened to sack him and + all the rest of the literary staff. He would do the cables himself, he + said. He abhorred Denison on account of Susie and the kummerbund. + </p> + <p> + Just then the Emperor Frederick was dying at San Remo, and cables were + coming through <i>via</i> Sydney. + </p> + <p> + At one a.m. the business manager came in to Denison and said that they + should try to get along amicably. As both the editor and Mr Pinkham, he + said, were in a disgraceful condition, he relied upon the rest of the + staff to maintain the credit of the <i>Trumpet-Call</i>, etc. Then he + showed Denison a cable he had just received, and asked him if he could + assist him to make it out. It ran in this wise: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'London—Emperor Frederick condition very grave. German + physicians hamper Morell Mackenzie, but approve suggestion + operation trache Otomy esophagus without delay.' +</pre> + <p> + Denison said (with secret joy) that he was afraid he couldn't help. But he + believed that there were two world-famous Italian doctors named Tracchi + and Tomy. 'Esophagus' was, he also remarked, no doubt meant for + 'sarcophagus'—the Latin name for the gullet. And he suggested to his + enemy that it would be well to rush the cable through as quickly as + possible. The business manager said he should—he merely felt a + little doubt about the proper spelling of the Italian doctors' names, + though he, of course, knew that there was no such word as esophagus. As he + went out Denison smiled like a fiend. His anticipations of an ample + revenge upon the low, sordid creature who had refused him another + sovereign a week were gratified in the morning, for under a large heading + he saw this:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'THE EMPEROR FREDERICK + + 'Serious Condition + + '<i>San Remo.— The Emperor Frederick's condition is causing + grave anxiety. The German physicians in attendance hinder + Morell Mackenzie in every possible way. They, however, agree + to his suggestion to send for the two celebrated Italian + specialists, Drs Tracchi and Tomy, and with them perform an + operation on the Emperor's sarcophagus. Wheat is 1d. firmer. + Hides are dull, bank rate unaltered. Tallow is + improving.</i>' +</pre> + <p> + The absolute beauty of the thing, however, to Denison's mind, was that the + business manager had sold a copy of his translation of the cablegram to + the other local paper—run by the Cooktown Labour Union—which + had used it word for word. + </p> + <p> + Nothing of moment occurred after this till a report of a sermon by Dr + Stanton, the first Bishop of North Queensland, appeared. His lordship, + alluding to certain conditions of the human mind which rendered one's + judgment 'subject to warp and bias,' the intelligent compositor made it + 'wasps and bees,' and Denison, being very sleepy when he read the proof, + let it go. And Dr Stanton, good and generous man, laughed heartily when + Denison, with a contrite and broken heart called on him, and asked for his + forgiveness. + </p> + <p> + But Nemesis was coming along. There was a wealthy and atrociously vulgar + magnate in Cooktown, whose wife ran second to Mrs Aubrey Denison in local + society, and who had just lost her father. The death announcement appeared + as follows:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'On June 18, at the Bungalow, Cooktown, Donald Dugald + M'Whannel, Government Inspector of Artesian Bores for North + Queensland, aged sixty-five. + + 'Also, at the same time and place, five trusses of + Victoria hay, some pigs and calves, and twenty-six bags of + onions and potatoes, all in prime order.' +</pre> + <p> + Of course this was the last straw, and Denison was asked to resign. But as + Mrs Aubrey Denison wrote and said she should like to forgive him for his + disgraceful conduct before he went away, he sent the Scotch foreman of the + <i>Trumpet-Call</i> to explain to her that the catch-line of an + auctioneer's advertisement had been 'dropped' on the same galley as the + mortuary notice, and overlooked when the forme was locked. And so, after a + tender farewell to little Susie Sum Fat, and with her kisses still warm + upon his lips, Denison went out into the world again to look for a ship. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + A FISH DRIVE ON A MICRONESIAN ATOLL + </h2> + <p> + We were thrashing our way in a little brigantine, owned by Tom de Wolf, of + Liverpool, against the strong north-east trade wind, from the Western + Carolines to Milli in the Marshalls, when one day we sighted a low-lying + cluster of five small palm-clad islands that lay basking, white and green, + in the bright Pacific sun; and an hour before dark the <i>Lunalilo</i> + dropped her anchor just in front of the native village. In a few minutes + the resident white trader came off to us in his boat and made us welcome + to his island home. + </p> + <p> + We had heard that he had quite a considerable quantity of hawkbill turtle + shell and some coco-nut oil to sell, and came to ascertain the truth of + the report before we were anticipated by some German or American trading + vessel. + </p> + <p> + Less than a mile away from where the brigantine was anchored we saw a + noble white beach, trending east and west in many curves, and backed by + serried lines of palms and groves of bread-fruit trees, through whose + bright verdancy peeped out the thatch-covered and saddle-backed houses of + the natives. Apart from the village, and enclosed by a low fence of + growing hibiscus palings, stood the trader's house, a long, rambling + building with white coral-lime walls and a wide, shady verandah on all + four sides. In front of the fence was a tall, white-painted flagstaff, and + presently we saw a woman come out of the trader's house and walk up to it. + In another minute the Stars and Stripes went slowly up, and then hung limp + and motionless in the windless atmosphere. + </p> + <p> + 'There,' said the trader, with a laugh, 'you see, my wife, native as she + is, is more polite than I am. But the fact is that I was so excited when I + saw your schooner that I never thought about hoisting the old gridiron. + Now, look here, gentlemen; before we do anything else, or talk about + business, I want you to promise to come ashore to night. There is to be a + big fish drive, and I can assure you that that is a sight worth seeing.' + </p> + <p> + We made the promise, and half an hour later went ashore and walked up to + our friend's house. Here we found the entire population of the island + assembled to do us honour, and for quite ten minutes were embraced most + effusively by every one, male or female, who could get near us. The men + were naked to their waists—the missionaries had not then made any + headway in the Caroline Islands—around which they wore either + gaily-coloured girdles of bleached and then dyed strips of fine pandanus + leaf, or sashes of closely-woven banana fibre. The women, however, + somewhat ineffectually concealed the remarkable beauty of their figures by + wearing, in addition to their grass waist girdles, a crescent-shaped + garment of similar material, which was suspended from their necks, and + covered their bosoms.{*} Their glossy black hair hung in wavy curls down + their smooth brown backs. * Since the advent of the missionaries this + costume has been suppressed. + </p> + <p> + Nearly all the young unmarried girls wore narrow head circlets of white + pandanus leaf, profusely adorned and embroidered with red and yellow + beads, flat pieces of polished pearl shell, and edged with green and gold + and scarlet parrots' feathers. Their address and modest demeanour was + engaging in the extreme, and we noticed that they showed the utmost + deference and respect to an aged female who sat on a mat in the centre of + the room, surrounded by a number of young children. She was, we learnt, + the king's mother, and at her request the trader led us over to where she + sat, and gave us a formal introduction. She received us in a pleasant but + dignified manner, and the moment that she opened her lips to speak the + clatter of tongues around us ceased as if by magic, and the most + respectful silence prevailed. + </p> + <p> + As neither the captain nor myself were able to speak the local dialect—which + is similar to that of Ponapé—we were somewhat at a loss to answer + the questions she put to us, and etiquette forbade the trader to volunteer + his services as an interpreter, till the old dame asked him. Presently, + however, she desired him to tell us that she was very pleased to see us; + that the fish drive would, she hoped, interest us greatly. Then, at a sign + from her, a handsome young man who stood in the doorway came forward and + laid down a bundle of mats at our feet; this was the old lady's formal + present to the captain and myself. She then rose, and bidding us to come + and see her in her son's house before we sailed, she walked over to the + end of the room, attended by her retinue of children, and sat down again + on a finely-worked mat, which was spread out before her. Then she made + another and longer speech on behalf of her son, who, she said, had desired + her to say that he was very pleased we had brought the ship to an anchor; + that his stomach was filled with friendship for white men; and that the + trader would tell us that all that he (the king) said was true; also that + if any of her people stole even the most trifling article from our ship + they would be severely punished, etc. Furthermore, she trusted that after + we had spent one night at the white man's house and seen the fish drive, + we would spend the following morning with her, when we should be feasted, + and every honour and attention shown us. Then the young man attendant + produced another present—from the king. This was a live sucking pig, + a pair of fat Muscovy ducks, and a huge green turtle. This latter was + carried in by four women, and placed in the centre of the room. We then, + through the trader, made return gifts of a bolt of white calico, a lamp + and a tin of kerosene. Touching these with her hand the old woman signed + to her attendants to take them away, and then, with another polite speech, + left the house. + </p> + <p> + The moment the king's mother retired, many more of the common people + swarmed into the house, and all seemed highly delighted to learn that we + intended to stay and see the great fish drive. + </p> + <p> + As every one of our native crew was very anxious to join in the sport, the + captain had asked the king's mother to 'tapu' the ship till daylight, and + shortly afterwards we were told by a messenger from the king that this had + been done, and that no native would attempt to board the ship till we had + returned. Although these people were honest enough, our captain thought it + hardly safe enough to leave the ship without a white man on board, for all + natives are very careless with the use of fire, and, being great smokers, + he felt nervous on that score. + </p> + <p> + At five o'clock we were taken to the king's house, where we found the + whole population assembled. A great feast was spread out, and King Ralok, + who advanced to meet us, took us by our hands and sat us down in the midst + of a vast collection of baked fish, bread fruit, turtle meat and eggs, and + roast fowls, pigeons and pork. Of course we had to eat; but at the + earliest opportunity the trader told the king that we were anxious to see + the preparations made for the drive before it got too dark. Ralok at once + agreed, and after drinking the milk of a young coco-nut to wash down the + repast, we made a start for the scene of operations. + </p> + <p> + This was along the shore of the lagoon. At high water, for nearly two or + three miles, the white, sandy bottom would be covered by a depth of about + four feet of water; at low water, as it was now, it was dry. Here and + there were clumps of coral boulders, generally circular in shape, and + these, at high water, would be just flush with the surface. These boulders + were some two or three hundred yards apart, and as we came out upon the + lagoon beach we saw that they were connected by a vast number of nets + lying upon the sand, in readiness to rise, by means of their light wooden + floats of puka wood, as soon as the incoming tide swept in from the ocean. + Upon the top of each of these connecting boulders were piled bundles or + long torches made of dried coco-nut branches, which were to be lighted + when the drive began. The total length of the netting was about two miles, + but at one end, that facing the deep water of the lagoon, there was a + wide, unenclosed space. Here, however, were lying half a dozen canoes, + whose outrigger platforms were piled up with strong nets, which were to be + stretched across the opening at the proper moment. + </p> + <p> + After looking at the preparations, we returned to the village, and as we + had no time to lose, and the tide was coming in at a great rate over the + reef, we began to dress, or rather undress, for the sport. To each of us + was given a spear, and a number of young women and children were told off + to accompany us with baskets, with half-a-dozen boys as torch-bearers. + </p> + <p> + As soon as darkness had fallen the whole village was astir. From every + house men, women and very young children swarmed, these latter without + even the traditional leaf to hide their nakedness, while the grown girls + and women, possibly with the view of not shocking us too much, wore short—very + short—girdles around their loins. + </p> + <p> + The grown men and youths now launched a number of canoes, and, crowding + into them, paddled out into the lagoon, keeping well away, however, from + the line of nets, the floats of which were now appearing upon the surface + of the water. In each canoe was a large basket filled with a nasty-looking + mass. This was the crushed shells and bodies of <i>uga</i>, or small land + crabs, and was to be used as 'burley' to attract the fish to the wake of + the canoes. + </p> + <p> + Before going further I must mention that at a particular season of the + year—May—many of the Micronesian Islands are visited by vast + shoals of fish much resembling an English salmon. These enter the lagoons + from the ocean in pursuit of smaller fish. These smaller fish, which are a + species of sprat, assemble in incredible quantities, and at night-time are + wont to crowd together in prodigious numbers about the coral boulders + before mentioned, in the same manner that ocean-living fish will sometimes + attach themselves to a ship or other moving substance, as some protection + from pursuit by bonito, albicore, and the fish called <i>tautau</i>. The + latter are of nocturnal habit when seeking food, and during the daytime + lie almost motionless near the bottom, where they can often be seen in + serried masses. As soon as night falls they rise to the surface and give + chase to flying-fish and other surface-swimming ocean fish. In shape they + are very similar to a salmon, but do not possess the same deepness of body + and general fulness. Their heads consist of a series of long plates, and + their jaws are armed with rows of serrated bone plates. In colour they are + a very beautiful iridescent silver along the sides and belly, the back and + head being a deep, glossy blue. When full grown their length is slightly + over four feet, and weight about twenty-five pounds. They are as voracious + as the pike, swim with extraordinary swiftness at night-time, and will + take the hook eagerly if baited with a whole flying-fish; their flesh is + somewhat delicate in flavour and greatly relished by the natives of + Micronesia, who regard it as second only to the universally esteemed + flying-fish. + </p> + <p> + Two or three days before we made the little group of islands, immense + droves of these <i>tautau</i>, as the natives of Eastern Polynesia call + them, had been hovering about the reefs, and the people were now to + endeavour to tempt them into the trap set for them with such care and + labour. + </p> + <p> + For about a quarter of an hour not a sound broke the silence of the night. + We were in the midst of some three or four hundred natives, who only spoke + in whispers for fear of alarming the fish. All round the deeper portion of + the chain of nets was a line of canoes, filled with women and girls, who + held torches in their hands ready to light up the moment the signal was + given. Further in towards the shore, where the water was not too deep to + prevent them keeping on their feet, were numbers of girls and children + standing close together, their bodies almost touching, and the floats of + the nets touching their bosoms; we white men, with the trader, were + standing together, with our torch-bearers, upon a flat-topped coral + boulder. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly a whisper ran along the line of watchers—the canoes were + coming. One by one we made them out, the paddlers dipping their paddles + into the water in silence, as one of their number in each canoe threw out + double handfuls of the crushed crab 'burley.' As they approached nearer to + us we became aware of a peculiar lapping, splashing noise, as of hundreds + of bare feet walking in water a few inches deep. + </p> + <p> + 'That's the fish,' whispered the trader. 'Look at them—they are + coming in in thousands.' + </p> + <p> + And then even our unaccustomed eyes could see that the water behind the + canoes was churned into a white froth by the jumping, splashing fish, + which x were following the canoes in a solid wall, snapping up the food so + industriously thrown to them. In a few minutes the canoes had entered the + open end of the trap, and were paddling noiselessly past the inner lines + of nets, not a hundred yards from where we stood. At last, when the whole + inclosure was literally swarming with fish, the outside canoes quickly + closed up the gap by stretching the nets across it, and almost at the same + moment there was a tremendous splashing and churning up of the water + around each knoll and boulder of coral. The <i>tautau</i> had left off + eating the bait thrown them from the canoes, and were attacking the + myriads of small fish that clustered round the boulders. And then, at a + signal given by one of the outside canoes, the torches sprang into flame, + and by the bright light that flooded the scene the most extraordinary + sight was revealed, for from one side to the other the great inclosure was + full of magnificent <i>tautau</i> about three feet six in length. They + were all swimming on the surface; and as soon as the blaze of the torches + illumined the water they at once became almost stationary; or, after the + manner of flying-fish, when subjected to a strong light, swam slowly about + in a dazed, hesitating manner. + </p> + <p> + The work of capturing some very large turtle, that had come into the fatal + circle of nets, was now at once begun, lest in their endeavours to escape + the nets might be broken and the fish escape. There were six of these + creatures speared before they could do any damage; as well as two or three + small sharks, which, having gorged themselves to repletion, were killed as + they lazily swam along the circle of nets. + </p> + <p> + So well had the natives judged of the time it would take to carry out + their scheme, that within half an hour of the inclosure of the fish the + tide began to fall, and the imprisoned swarms showed signs of anxiety to + escape, but as fresh supplies of torches were brought from the village, + and kept continuously alight, their alarm seemed to disappear. Had a heavy + shower of rain fallen—so the trader told us—and extinguished + the torches, the fish would have rushed at the nets and carried them away + by sheer weight. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, as the tide continued to fall, many of the women and girls + amused themselves by stunning all the fish that came within reach of them, + and loading the canoes with them. Once some fifty or sixty <i>tautau</i> + came right up to the boulder on which we stood, and were so dazed by the + glare of light that poured down on them, that some permitted themselves to + be captured by the hand. + </p> + <p> + Lower and lower fell the water, and as the shore end of the trap became + dry, the fish were gradually forced to come closer and closer together as + their swimming space diminished. By-and-by, as the receding tide left the + chain of coral rocks dry on their summits, women waded out with firewood, + and built fires on them; not that there was now any danger of the fish + breaking away, but to give a still better light. At last, however, the + word was passed along the line that the sea end of the drive had been + strengthened by additional nets in case a sudden rush might occur; but, by + this time, so rapidly was the water running out, that even at the deepest + end there was not perhaps two feet available for the now terrified and + struggling swarms of <i>tautau</i>. In another twenty minutes there was + heard a most extraordinary sound, caused by thousands upon thousands of + fish thrashing and jumping about on the sand; while at the sea end of the + drive, where the great body of all were massed together, the scene was + simply indescribable. What little water was left was beaten into froth and + foam by their violent struggles, and the light from the torches showed + that a space of about five acres in extent was covered with a shining, + silvery mass of splendid <i>tautau</i>, intermixed with a small number of + gorgeous-hued rock-fish, cray-fish, and some hawk-bill turtle. + </p> + <p> + The work of picking up the prizes went on for at least two hours. Three or + four of the <i>tautau</i> placed in a basket was as much as a woman could + carry, and, although everyone present worked hard, some thousands of fish + were not taken. Many of these, however, were not dead, and, with the + incoming tide, swam off again. All the young turtle, however, were + secured, the natives taking them up carefully and putting them in + walled-in pools where they would remain prisoners. + </p> + <p> + We tried to ascertain the number of fish taken, but gave it up. Every + house and canoe-shed appeared to have the floor covered with them, and for + the next day or two there were great fish dinners on the island. + </p> + <p> + Some thousands of <i>tautau</i> were split open and dried upon platforms + in the same manner as the natives of Eastern Polynesia dry flying-fish, + and the Fraser River Indians their salmon. + </p> + <p> + We succeeded in buying a fine lot of turtle shell from the trader, as well + as some from the king and his mother. The old lady treated us right + royally, and, a few hours before we sailed, a canoe-load of fruit and + drinking coco-nuts were sent off to the ship, with her compliments. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0016" id="link2H_4_0016"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BOBARAN + </h2> + <p> + When our boat touched the beach in front of the trader's house just as the + dawn was breaking, I thought Kabaira Bay one of the loveliest places in + the Pacific, and said so to the man I had been sent to relieve. He quite + concurred in my opinion of the beauties of the scenery, but said that he + was very glad to get away. Then, being a cheerful man, though given to + unnecessary blasphemy, like most South Sea Island traders, he took me out + to the rich garden at the back of the station and showed me the grave of + his predecessor, who had died of fever a year before. Further on, but + outside the enclosing fence, were some more graves, he said. + </p> + <p> + 'Whose?' I asked. + </p> + <p> + 'Captain Murray's, his mate's, and two of his cutter's crew.' + </p> + <p> + 'Fever?' + </p> + <p> + 'No,' he replied, with some slight surprise at my ignorance; 'the natives + killed 'em a couple o' years ago. An', see, just over there by Point Luen, + is the Hon. Mr Willington's house. He was a nephew of Lord L———. + I goes there sometimes and rips a board out o' the floor when I wants + one.' ^ + </p> + <p> + 'Mr Wellington gone away?' My friend <i>was</i> surprised this time. 'Why, + you <i>must</i> be a new chum in New Britain. Why, Willington ain't dead + six months.' 'Fev—' + </p> + <p> + 'Fever be ———-. No, he got speared when he was lying in + his bunk readin' a book one night. <i>I</i> told him that the niggers + would pay him out for a-playin' crooked with em'; but he was too + cock-a-hoopy to listen to a feller like me.' + </p> + <p> + 'Any more white men buried in Kabaira? 'I asked after a while, as we + walked back to the house to take stock of my host's trade goods. + </p> + <p> + 'No, that's all that's planted here—at least, all I know of, and + I've been here, in New Britain, five years. There's been a good many + Dutchmen killed on the coast here, and over in New Ireland, but I didn't + know any of 'em. An' they're such a silly lot o' duffers, that they + reg'lar tempts these New Britain niggers to kill 'em; and then the + beggars, not knowing an Englishman from a Dutchman, are ready to murder + anyone with a white skin. So you look out, young feller. These niggers + here are a rotten bad lot. But I'll interdooce yer to Bobaran. He's the + biggest cut-throat of em' all; but he an' me is good pals, and onct you've + squared him you're pretty safe. Got plenty fever medicine?' 'Lots.' + 'Liquor?' 'Case of gin.' + </p> + <p> + 'That'll keep you clear o' fever as much as anything, as long as the case + lasts. Always drink some when it's raining.' (It usually rained nine days + out of ten in New Britain). 'Now we'll take stock. I can tell you I'm + mighty glad to clear out o' this place—an' so will you be in a + couple o' months, if—you're alive.' + </p> + <p> + Having thus, in cheerful converse, somewhat enlightened me as to the + peculiar characteristics of Kabaira Bay and its inhabitants, my friend had + breakfast cooked, and whilst we were eating it, sent a messenger for his + friend Bobaran to come and make the acquaintance of the new white man. + During breakfast the trader gave me much further information, all of + which, as a man new to the ropes, I was very glad to obtain. Kabaira, I + already knew (I had but just arrived in New Britain from Eastern + Polynesia), was the 'furthest out' trading station on the great island, + which, at that time, had barely thirty white men living on it; most of + these were settled on Gazelle Peninsula, and a few on the Duke of York + Island, midway between the northern point of New Britain and mountainous + New Ireland. My nearest neighbour lived at Kabakadà, a populous native + town ten miles away. My host told me that this man was 'a noisy, drunken + little swine,' the which assertion I subsequently found to be absolutely + correct. Further on, five miles from Kabakadà, was another trader named + Bruno Ran, a hard-working Swiss; then, after rounding Cape Stephens, was + the large German trading station of Matupi in Blanche Bay, where you could + buy anything from a needle to a chain cable. On the Duke of York Island + was another trading station, and also the Wesleyan Mission, which as yet + had made but few converts in New Britain; and over in New Ireland were a + few scattered English traders, who sometimes sailed over on a visit to + their dangerously-situated fellow-countrymen in the big island. + </p> + <p> + For dangerous indeed was the daily existence of traders in those then + little-known islands. But money was to be made, and men will dare much to + make money quickly, even though at the risk of their lives. As for the + natives of New Britain, a few words will suffice. They were the most + unmitigated savages, cowardly and treacherous, and with the exception of + the people of the villages in the vicinity of Blanche Bay, whose women + wore a scanty girdle of leaves of the plant <i>Cordyline terminalis</i>, + they passed their lives in a state of stark nudity. Their dwellings and + canoes were of the poorest description, but their plantations and gardens + were highly cultivated, and marvels of incessant and intelligent labour. + For human life they had no regard; in fact, a pig was worth more than a + man, except among those tribes where a man who weighed more than a pig + would be more valuable as food. At the present time things have improved + on the Gazelle Peninsula, but along the coast-line, which to the westward + stretches for over two hundred miles towards New Guinea, matters have not + changed. As for their personal appearance, it is simply hideous. Take the + biggest anthropoid ape, stain his teeth black and his lips scarlet, stick + a wig of matted greasy curls on his head, and put half a dozen slender + spears in his right paw, and you have an idea of a New Britain nigger—a + 'brand,' according to missionary ethics, who should be plucked from the + burning, but whom the Christian of ordinary intelligence would cheerfully + watch burning until he was reduced to a cinder. + </p> + <p> + Just as we had finished breakfast, Bobaran came in and squatted on the + flour. Being a man of rank and influence, he was privileged, and allowed + to carry his arms with him inside the trader's house. These consisted of + five spears, one long-handled ebony-wood club, with a huge jade head, and + a horse-pistol, which was fastened to a leather belt around his naked + waist. His fuzzy wool was dyed a bright brick red colour and twisted into + countless little curls which, hanging over his beetling and excessively + dirty black forehead, almost concealed his savage eyes, and harmonised + with his thick, betel-stained lips and cavernous, grip-sack mouth. Around + his arms were two white circlets of shell, and depending from his + bull-like neck a little basket containing betel-nut and lime. He certainly + was a most truculent-looking scoundrel. Nevertheless, I shook hands with + him cordially, and he agreed, for certain considerations, to look after + me, find me in food, warn me of any danger that might impend, and also to + murder anyone with whom I might feel annoyed, for a fixed but very small + remuneration. In proof whereof of this alliance, and as a token of amity + and goodwill, Parker (the trader) presented him with a small tin of ship + biscuit, four dynamite cartridges, a dozen boxes of matches and a bottle + of a villainous German liquor called 'Corn Schnapps.' Then the atrocity + stood up and embraced me, and asked me to show him my firearms. His fierce + eyes gleamed with pleasure as he turned them about in his filthy paws, and + he was especially pleased with the size of a Sharp's rifle cartridge and + bullet which would, he grinned, 'make big fellow hole in man.' Then, with + further expressions of goodwill on both sides, we parted. + </p> + <p> + At dusk Parker bade me good-bye, and urging me to put the utmost + confidence in Bobaran and drink plenty of gin whenever it rained—to + keep the fever from 'gettin' holt' of my system—he walked down to + the beach and stepped into the boat. For a few minutes I stood watching + till he was hidden from view by a point of land, and then, feeling + somewhat depressed at my future loneliness, I walked back to the house. + </p> + <p> + Bobaran, the Mesdames Bobaran (three), and the Masters and Misses Bobaran + were sitting on the verandah awaiting me. None of them were as much + dressed as their father, who had, as I have said, a leather belt around + his loins, and all were chewing betel-nut and expectorating the scarlet + juice thereof vigorously about the premises. Being aware of the fact that + a New Britain woman is never abroad at night, and a man but seldom, I was + surprised at such a family gathering, for the village was some distance + away. Bobaran, however, explained that as he and two of his sons intended + keeping guard for me that night, the rest of the family had come with them—and + that they should like some tobacco. + </p> + <p> + Leaving his wives and children outside to smoke, my protector came into + the sitting-room, and as he had acquired a considerable amount of + unpolished sailor man's English, I found him very entertaining and also + instructive. First he told me that the Kabaira people were perfectly safe; + it was a very peaceful village, and the people liked white men, and he + hoped I would not carry arms whenever I went out—it made them + frightened, and when people were frightened of a man they naturally tried + to kill him. Agreed to. Secondly, they were not cannibals—all their + neighbours were, however. (I said I was pleased to hear it, no doubt + someone had maligned them.) But they were all thieves, and I must take + prompt action to prevent myself from being robbed—(here one of his + wives crept to the door on all fours and asked her lord and master for a + match, but was struck with great violence in the mouth with an empty + salmon tin instead, for interrupting). To-morrow I should do as 'Parka' + did the day he came to Kabaira. I must go down to the beach with a + dynamite cartridge in my hand and seek for a place where there was plenty + of fish. And I must have another cartridge ready in my pocket. As soon as + the first shot went off hundreds of natives would jump in the water and + try to steal all the best fish. Then I was to light the fuse of the second + cartridge and throw it in. And it would be sure to hurt <i>some</i> of the + people, and they would not follow me next time I went fishing. But, of + course, if I <i>should</i> happen to kill anyone, I would pay for it? + </p> + <p> + 'Of course I would,' I said. 'How much?' + </p> + <p> + 'Big feller man, one good musket; boy, one axix' (axe); 'old woman, old + feller, musket; young girl, one good musket.' + </p> + <p> + Then he approached me on a delicate subject, i.e., the taking over of my + predecessor's harem of three native women. I explained that I was + expecting my wife down soon from Samoa and couldn't do it. He said it was + a great pity, as one of 'Parka's' wives could make tea and cook meat. + Also, that I need be under no fear of her making any unpleasantness when + my wife turned up. Would I like to see the girl? 'Parka' had taught her a + lot of things. She did not oil her hair with pigeon fat, and cleaned her + teeth every day just like a Samoan girl. Also, she had ten coils of <i>dewarra</i> + (cowrie shells threaded on the midribs of the coco-nut leaf, and used as + the native currency). I said I was very much tempted, but thought I had + better not. He looked at me steadily for a few seconds, as he thrust a + fresh 'chaw' of betel-nut and lime into his hideous mouth, and said that I + was missing a great chance—there were plenty of white men along the + coast who would be glad to get anyone of 'Parka's' wives, especially she + who could make tea and cook meat. + </p> + <p> + He seemed pleased that I was disposed to be as liberal-handed as Parker, + for whom he seemed to have a high regard; and then proceeded to tell me of + some of his own exploits among the inhabitants of Mutavât, a village + across the bay, which was at enmity with Kabaira. The infinite gusto with + which he related a series of atrocious murders gave me a chill, and he + looked like an evil spirit when his great red lips parted in a grin and + revealed his black teeth. Presently he asked me if I had shot any people; + and when I said I had not, he became regretful, but soon brightened up + again and said I would have plenty of chances yet. + </p> + <p> + There were some bush villages, to which he would take me some day, and if + we were careful we could knock over two or three people easily; they were + a bad lot these 'man-a-bush' (bush-men). + </p> + <p> + At ten o'clock I turned in, and Bobaran, after an animated conversation + with his family, lay down at my door with a Snider rifle and his + horse-pistol by his side. + </p> + <p> + And for many long, weary months, in the beautiful but fever-ridden Kabaira + Bay, he was the only person to whom I could talk; and in time I began to + take a liking to him, for I found him, as Parker had told me, 'a + thunderin' old cut-throat, but as straight as a die to a white man who + acts straight to him.' + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0017" id="link2H_4_0017"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SEA FISHING IN AUSTRALIA + </h2> + <p> + 'Hi, mister, turn out, please, if you're a-comin' with us,' a gruff voice + called out to me one frosty morning in May, and then a hairy, + good-humoured-looking face flattened itself against my window pane as the + owner sought to peer into the room. + </p> + <p> + I jumped out of bed, opened the window, and shivered in my pyjamas as the + keen morning air rushed in to the warm room. Slaney, the coxswain of the + Port Macquarie pilot boat,{*} was standing below me on the grassy side + walk, muffled up in his great coat, and carrying a shin of beef in his + hand. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Port Macquarie is a quaint 'old' seaport on the northern + coast of New South Wales. +</pre> + <p> + 'How does it look outside, Slaney?' I asked. + </p> + <p> + 'Smooth as glass. Hurry up, please. I've just come from the butcher's, + couldn't get any fish bait last night, so bespoke a shin of beef.' + </p> + <p> + Five minuses later I had dressed, and was running up the hill to the pilot + station with my fishing tackle, together with some sandwiches, some + bottles of beer, and a tin pannikin, slung in a corn sack over my shoulder—not + a very elegant turn-out, but the correct thing for such rough and tumble + work as schnapper fishing. At the top of the hill I stopped to give myself + breath a minute. An impatient 'Hallo there, <i>do</i> hurry,' ascended to + me from beneath, where the smart pilot boat lay rocking on the waters of a + little cove, cut out of the solid rock by the labour of convicts seventy + years before, her crew of six men standing up to their knees in the water, + and holding her steady. Tumbling down the grassy hill at the risk of + breaking my neck, I waded out and clambered over the side, and in another + minute the crew were bending to their oars and the boat sweeping round a + clump of conical rocks that sheltered the boat harbour from the long roll + of the Pacific billows. Oh, what a lovely morning, and how the blue ocean + glinted and sparkled in the quick warming sun. Away to the southward the + high, thickly-timbered coast was broken up by jutting headlands and + little, irregularly shaped bays, with steep, rocky shores; and northward a + long sweep of beach trended in a curving line for ten miles, till it ended + at the purple sides of Point Plomer, beyond which loomed the misty blue + outline of Captain Cook's 'Smoaky' Cape. + </p> + <p> + The wind was from the westward; so we hoisted our lug sail, and headed + seaward to the sun. Behind us the noisy Hastings River bar clamoured and + moaned unceasingly; for though the sea was smooth, the tide was on the + ebb, and rushing fiercely out over the wide but shallow entrance to the + river, and short, angry waves reared, and tumbled, and fought the roaring + current. But in another ten minutes the noise of the waters became lost in + the distance, and we heard, naught but the gentle <i>lip-lap, lip-lap</i>, + of the boat's cut-water as she slipped over the swelling seas. Three miles + out we took our bearings from a mountain called The Brothers, and Camden + Haven Heads, and then dropped our anchor in twenty-two fathoms on a rocky + bottom. + </p> + <p> + There is not much 'finnicking' preparation for schnapper fishing, and in + five minutes every line was baited, and over the side, and at the bottom, + and before another two or three had passed we knew we had struck the right + spot, for nearly every one of us felt the unmistakable tug of a lusty + schnapper, and then the determined downward pull, strong and steady, which + he makes when once hooked. Slaney, who was using a line as thick as + signal-halliards, was the first to haul his fish over the side, and drop + him, kicking and thrashing like a young porpoise, into the boat; the rest + of us, whose tackle was much thinner, were a long way behind him, and + Slaney's line was over the side again before our fish were laid beside the + first arrival. What a beautiful fish is a ten-pound schnapper—a + brilliant pink back, sides and tail, dotted over with tiny spots of a + wonderful, gleaming blue that sparkle like miniature diamonds; the + bream-shaped head a deep reddish-purple, with nose and lips of palish + pink; the belly a pure, shining white. No wonder that Phillip, the first + Governor of New South Wales, spoke of the schnapper as 'an exceedingly + beautiful and palatable fish.' + </p> + <p> + For about an hour we continued to haul up fish after fish till our arms + ached. The smallest weighed about three pounds, the largest about + seventeen pounds, and the average weight of the lot was about eight + pounds. Then we knocked off for breakfast. That finished, we lit our pipes + and settled down to work again. Alas! a swarm of ugly brown and yellow + 'leather-jackets' had arrived on the scene, and before our lines could + touch bottom the brutes would either take the bait, or bite off the hook + snoozings with their keen, rat-like teeth. In a quarter of an hour we had + caught but four schnapper and lost a dozen or more hooks; my own line was + bitten through at about five fathoms from the surface—a piece of + meat skin had wound itself round it and had been discovered by one of + these predatory villains. No wonder that the Samoans and natives of the + Tokelau Islands term the leather-jacket <i>isumu moana</i>—the + sea-rat. However, as leather-jackets make excellent schnapper bait, two of + us were told off to fish for them with bream-lines and wire-snoozed small + hooks, and we soon had the satisfaction of catching a dozen of the + thieves. These were quickly skinned and cut up; then we lifted anchor and + pulled southward for about half a mile, knowing we should catch but few + schnapper where leather-jackets were. + </p> + <p> + Our new ground proved a lucky one, for we not only caught some seventy + schnapper—some of them truly noble fish—but two magnificent + black and white rock cod, a fish whose flavour is excelled by no other in + Australian waters. No leather-jackets appeared to disturb our pleasure, + and not even the usual murderous shark showed his ugly face, and played + the usual game of seizing every schnapper as it was hauled up, and biting + it in halves. Only the previous week half a dozen had followed us about + from ground to ground, breaking our lines, and taking five out of every + ten fish we hooked. Two at last we succeeded in harpooning and killing, + and casting their bodies to their friends, who made short work of them and + left us alone for the rest of the day. + </p> + <p> + Schnapper in the winter months, on the Australian coast, retire to the + deep water, and can be caught in from thirty to fifty fathoms. They travel + in droves like sheep, and prefer to frequent rocky or broken ground. + Sometimes, however, they will enter the bar harbours in great numbers and + ascend the tidal rivers. Twenty-five years ago they were often taken in + nets in the Parramatta River, near Sydney, and were very plentiful in + Sydney Harbour itself. Nowadays one is rarely caught anywhere inside the + Heads. Steamboat traffic and the foul water resulting from sewerage has + driven them to the deep waters of the ocean. One peculiar feature of + schnapper fishing on the northern coast of New South Wales is that, be the + fish ever so plentiful and hungry, they invariably cease biting + immediately, if the wind should change to the east or north-east. Yet on + the southern seaboard, from Twofold Bay to Galo Island, they will take the + hook during a black north-easter, as freely as they do when the wind is + blowing from any other quarter. + </p> + <p> + From one end to the other of the coast of New South Wales, there is grand + rock-fishing to be had by anyone who once is initiated into its mysteries, + and is not afraid of getting an occasional drenching from an ocean roller + when there is any sea running. Right from the southern boundary of the + colony to the Tweed River on the north, are breaks in the long sandy + beaches, of rocky coast, which in most places are easily accessible to the + fisherman; and the water in these spots being deep close under the verge + of the cliffs, the deep-sea fish, such as schnapper, blue and brown + groper, the gigantic mottled rock-cod, trevally, king-fish, the great + Jew-fish, sea salmon, etc., at certain seasons of the year cruise to and + fro about the rocks in extraordinary numbers. But, strange as it may + appear, rock-fishing is almost unknown to the average colonial, except + those living near the principal ports. The greatest ignorance, too, + prevails as to the edible qualities of the many varieties of excellent + rock-fish, except the well-known schnapper. The generality of the coast + settlers look upon most coloured fish as 'bad to eat,' if not 'poisonous,' + and particularly so in the case of the delicious blue groper or blue-fish, + the 'leather jacket,' and the scaleless bonito, which latter occasionally + visit the shores of the colony in large 'schools,' and take a bait + eagerly. + </p> + <p> + My boyish experiences of rock-fishing in New South Wales are full of + delightful memories. Then, accompanied by one of the few surviving members + of the Hastings River (Port Macquarie) blacks, my brothers and myself + would set out for a week's camping-out on the wild and lonely coast + between Port Macquarie and Camden Haven—a stretch of twenty miles or + so. Our equipment consisted of some very heavy lines and hooks for the big + fish, some fine tackle for beach fishing—for bream, whiting, + flathead, etc.—a couple of spears for cray-fish, an old smooth-bore + army musket and ammunition (for shooting ducks on the tidal lagoons), tea, + sugar, as much bread as we could carry, and a tomahawk. As for tents, such + luxuries were unknown to us boys in those days; if it showed signs of rain + at night time we could soon put up a bark shelter, and, with a pair of + light blankets under us, sleep in peace. + </p> + <p> + One of our most favoured spots was at Tacking Point, a curious steep-to + bluff, clothed on its sides with a dense thicket scrub, the haunt of + hundreds of black wallabies and wonga pigeons, and also a large variety, + of brown and black snakes, with an occasional death adder. The summit, + however, was beautifully grassed, and clear of timber, except for a clump + or two of gnarled and knotted honeysuckle trees; and here, after our day's + fishing, we would camp, and, lying beside our fire, look out upon the + starlit Pacific two hundred feet below. Although only five miles from the + little town, we scarcely saw a human being during our many trips. + Sometimes, however, some of 'Tommy's' sooty relatives would follow us up, + in order to gorge themselves on fish and game, which we shared with them + cheerfully. + </p> + <p> + My first groper was an exciting experience. Descending to the rocky shore + very early in the morning with 'Tommy,' we clambered over some huge jagged + and wildly-jungled-together boulders at the foot of the bluff, and reached + the edge of a large, deep pool of blue water in the rocks, with a narrow + opening to the sea. The sides were covered with long streaming kelp and + many-coloured seaweed, which moved gently up and down to the rise and fall + of the ocean swell. Only in one part could we see the white sand at the + bottom of the pool, for the depth of water was some six or seven fathoms. + Both blue and brown groper are very fond of crabs; in fact, when a big, + wary fellow will not look at either a piece of octopus or the flesh of the + <i>aliotis</i> shell, he cannot resist a crab. We soon secured plenty of + crabs of all sizes and colours, and, baiting our lines with two of the + largest, dismembered the others, and flung portions of them into the pool. + A number of small parrot-fish, sea-bream, and mottled cod at once appeared + and devoured the fragments. The size and hardness of the shells of our + crabs, however, were too much for them, and although they snapped off a + leg or two and 'worried' the baits considerably, our hooks touched bottom + safely (we were using sinkers of stone). Suddenly, just as my companion + had thrown another handful of 'burley' into the water, three big blue + groper rose to the surface almost together, and, swallowing the crushed-up + crab, began swimming round and round the edges of the pool eagerly seeking + for more. This was my first view of this species of groper at close + quarters, and these three presented, a very beautiful sight, the very dark + blue of the whole of their closely-scaled, shining bodies, and the very + light blue of their fins and tails making a pretty contrast. Two were + about 15 lb. to 16 lb. each, the other about 35 lb. to 40 lb., and nearly + four feet in length. They swam but slowly, though every now and then they + would turn with some swiftness of motion as 'Tommy' continued to throw in + pieces of crab. Meanwhile, by my black companion's whispered instructions, + I had cut the sinker off a spare line, and baited the four-inch hook with + the two largest crabs left. Unreeving about six fathoms of line, I handed + the baited end to 'Tommy,' who deftly threw it just before the nose of the + big fellow. In an instant he had seized the hook, and, diving, made for + the opening between the rocks. 'Tommy,' yelling to me to look to the other + lines, held on like grim death and managed to turn his prize's head in + time; the two others sticking close to their brother in misfortune. I had + just hauled up one of the other two lines, and was running round the + jagged side of the pool holding the other in my left hand (so as to keep + clear of 'Tommy's' fish), when I felt a terrific tug that nearly sent me + over. 'Look out! Look out!' shouted 'Tommy,' warningly; 'don't let that + fella get underneath the seaweed; keep him clear of dat, or you lose him!' + For a 16-lb. fish he pulled tremendously (for a boy of my size); but at + last I managed to get a steady strain on him, and then his big blue head, + with its thick, negro-like lips, soon appeared at the base of a slanting + rock, up which I hauled him, kicking and floundering. 'Tommy' meanwhile + had already landed his fish, and had cast his line for the last of the + trio; but without success; he had made off to the sea. + </p> + <p> + A few hours later, at low tide, we caught, in the same pool, seven + schnapper, averaging about 8 lb. each; a brown groper of 20 lb., a dozen + or more of deep sea bream, beautiful silvery-scaled fish, with a pale + greenish tinge on the head and back, and bright yellow fins and tail; and + several huge cray-fish, which clung to our hooks and did not let go their + hold in time. + </p> + <p> + This pool was only one of many along this picturesque and rocky coast, + along which, at the present time, fish are just as plentiful and as easy + to catch; but four years ago I, on visiting 'the' pool of my early days, + found it filled by a pile of soap-stone rocks, detached by the rains from + the sea face of the bluff above it. It was a bitter disappointment to me, + for the memory of that pool had remained with me since my boyhood, and I + felt as one who, after a long, long separation in foreign climes from some + dear friend of his youth, at last returns home, hoping to meet his comrade + once more, and is shown his grass-grown grave. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0018" id="link2H_4_0018"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + AN ADVENTURE IN THE NEW HEBRIDES + </h2> + <p> + More than twenty years ago a fine young Polynesian half-caste, named Alan, + and the writer, were running a small trading cutter out of Samoa, among + the low-lying atolls of the Ellice and Tokelau groups, in the South + Pacific. We had hauled her up on the beach to clean and put a few sheets + of copper on her, when, one day, a big, bronze-faced man came to us, and + asked us if we were open to a charter to Santo in the New Hebrides. After + a few minutes' conversation we struck a bargain, the terms of which were + to take him, his native wife, three servants, and twenty tons of trade + goods to his trading station on Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides, for + six hundred dollars. He was an ex-trading skipper, but had given up the + sea, married a Hervey Island half-caste, and, after trading some years in + the Caroline and Marshall groups, had made a trip to the New Hebrides, + where he had gone into partnership with a Frenchman, who, like himself, + was a sailor man, and had settled down on Santo. Hannah—for that was + his name—had then returned to the Carolines for his family, and + brought them to Samoa, from whence he thought he could get a passage down + to the New Hebrides in one of the two German brigs then engaged in the + Kanaka labour trade—'black-birding,' as it was called. But one, the + <i>Iserbrook</i> had been burnt in Sydney Harbour, and the other was away + at Valparaiso. + </p> + <p> + But now arose a difficulty. I was not navigator enough to take the vessel + to Santo—a distance of thirteen hundred miles—let alone beat + her back to Samoa against the south-east trades. This, however, Captain + Hannah soon settled. He agreed to navigate us down, and his partner would + come back with me, as his wife, who was a Samoan woman, wanted to pay a + visit to her native country, and our vessel would afford her an excellent + opportunity; his own services in bringing the cutter back to Samoa to be + 'squared' by free passages for himself and wife. + </p> + <p> + My partner Alan was quite satisfied. The big man planked down two hundred + and fifty dollars on account, and we shook hands all round. Hannah was a + quiet, silent sort of fellow, but I knew we should get on all right, for + he came down to us next morning with his people, helped us heave the + cutter off the beach, and covered our decks with pigs and poultry. That + afternoon we got our wood and water aboard, and were ready for sea at + daylight. + </p> + <p> + Alan was a splendid type of a man. Brought up to the sea from his + childhood, he had served some years as a boat-steerer on American + whale-ships, then with 'Bully' Hayes as boatswain in the notorious <i>Rona</i> + brig; and a finer seaman never walked a deck. He was very proud of the + English blood in his veins, and always talking of the exploits of his + father, who had served with the gallant Cochrane in the Chilian navy. At + sea he was a man for emergencies—quick, resolute, resourceful and + sober. On shore, with money in his pocket, he descended to the level of + the lowest beach-comber, and was always in trouble for thumping somebody—generally + another half-caste or a policeman. Peace to his bones! He went to a + sailor's death long ago; but the writer of this narrative will never + forget the dark, handsome face, laughter-filled eyes, and cheery voice of + the best shipmate with whom he ever sailed. + </p> + <p> + We put to sea with a fine breeze, and running between the islands of Upolu + and Savai'i, were out of sight of land by dusk. There were but thirteen + persons all told on board—our seven passengers, Alan, four native + sailors, and myself—but we were in no wise crowded for room, for the + hold was used as a sleeping-place by Captain Hannah's wife, her two + children and three servants. Mats had been spread over the cargo, and the + weather being fine, the hatch was left open from the time we left Samoa + nearly till we reached Santo. + </p> + <p> + The south-east trade wind held steadily, and the little vessel, being + clean and in fine trim, ran along at a great rate, till, on the sixth day + out, when we had just sighted Pentecost Island, one of the New Hebrides + group, it died away, and at sunset we were becalmed. All that night the + air was close and muggy, but towards dawn a faint air came from the + westward. During the night the strong current had carried us in ten or + twelve miles nearer to the shore, and at sunrise we were not more than six + miles from the land. Pentecost, from the treachery of its savage + inhabitants, had always borne a bad reputation; and so, as the cutter + still continued to drift shorewards, Alan, Captain Hannah and myself + thought it just as well to be prepared for any canoes that might attempt + to cut us off. (As-a matter of fact, however, we need not have been under + any alarm in this respect, for although the Pentecost natives were, and + are now, a thoroughly bad lot, as the surveying vessels of the Australian + Squadron know to their cost, they would never attempt to cut off a vessel + unless she were anchored. But no one of we white men knew much of the New + Hebrides.) So as we had plenty of arms on board—Winchesters and + Sharp's rifles—We got them in readiness; and very fortunate it was + that we did so. + </p> + <p> + We drifted steadily along the densely-wooded shores of Pentecost all that + day, the sea as smooth as glass, and the pitch bubbling up in the decks + from the intense heat. Towards sunset, Captain Hannah's wife, who was + lying on the skylight with her youngest child, called out to us that she + could see a boat or canoe on the starboard beam. Hannah and I at once got + our glasses, and soon made out a boat, pulling five oars, coming towards + us from the island, and not more than a couple of miles away. + </p> + <p> + As she came nearer, and lifted now and then to the swell, we obtained a + better view, and saw there were six people in her—five pulling and + one steering. They came along very leisurely. + </p> + <p> + 'Shipwrecked people, I imagine,' said Hannah; and then, turning to Alan + and myself, he added, with a laugh, 'Perhaps there's a fine big lump of a + ship ashore about here, and you fellows are bound to get some fine + pickings—might get the ship herself afloat.' + </p> + <p> + In ten minutes or so a bit of a light air came over the water, and filled + our sails, so we stood over towards the boat, which was now drawing close. + Presently one of our native sailors hailed us from aloft, and said he + could see four or five more men in the boat besides those who were + pulling; and at the same time she ceased rowing awhile, then the oars + dipped again, and she came on. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly Hannah, who was scanning the strange boat very closely, turned to + me quietly and said, 'I don't like the looks of that boat. We had better + not let them come alongside. Perhaps they're escapees from New Caledonia. + I thought so at first—they've got the regular “Ile Nou stroke.” If + they try to board we must beat them off, or we may lose the ship.' + </p> + <p> + Realising the danger, we at once called the native hands aft, gave each + man a loaded Sharp's rifle and half a dozen cartridges, and told him to + lay it down handy on the deck, and be prepared to use it. Hannah's wife at + once began loading our five Winchester rifles. By this time the boat was + within a hundred yards of the cutter. Whether those in her saw what we + were doing or not I do not know, but they came on very confidently. + </p> + <p> + Then, getting up on the rail, I hailed, 'Boat ahoy, there! Don't come any + nearer, or we'll fire into you. What do you want?' + </p> + <p> + There was a sudden commotion among the rowers, and then Hannah and Alan, + coming to the rail, stood beside me with their Winchesters in their hands. + This display had a good effect, for they stopped pulling at once, and the + man steering stood up. The moment I got a full view of him and heard him + speak, I knew that Hannah was right about the identity of the strangers. + </p> + <p> + 'We are a ship-a-wreck men,' he called out; 'we wanta water and provis'.' + </p> + <p> + 'Well, pull abeam or us to windward, but don't come alongside just yet.' + </p> + <p> + 'All right,' was the answer. + </p> + <p> + The wind was very light, and the boat could have soon overtaken us, but we + felt confident that, with the arms we possessed, we could easily beat them + off if they tried to board. At the same time we were willing to give them + some provisions, and such other assistance as lay in our power. + </p> + <p> + After talking the matter over with Hannah, I again hailed the boat, and + told the steersman that he could come aboard, but that the rest of his + crowd must keep to the boat. + </p> + <p> + Hauling our jib to windward, we let them range alongside, and the + steersman jumped on deck. During the few minutes that the boat was + waiting, we had a good look at her and her occupants. The former, I could + see, was German-built, very long, narrow and heavy, and was lumbered up + with a quantity of fresh coco-nuts, yams, taro and other native food. As + for the crew, they were as suspicious and as desperate-looking a lot of + scarecrows as could be imagined. + </p> + <p> + Some of them were dressed in the heavy woollen garments usually worn by + German merchant seamen, but half a dozen of them were wearing the + yellow-grey canvas trousers of the New Caledonian convict. As I looked + down at them Alan pointed out to me the muzzles of three or four short + rifles showing from beneath the edge of a ragged native mat which was + spread over the bottom boards for'ard. They had evidently spent the night + on shore, for some of them, who were wearing cloth caps, had made + themselves peaked sunshades of plaited green coco-nut leaves, which were + tied round their heads, native-fashion. Lying amidships was a good-sized + water-breaker; and one of the gang, a little, hooknosed ruffian, with a + villainous face and wearing a filthy print shirt with the tails outside + his pants, kept tapping it with a piece of wood to show us by the hollow + sound that it was empty. + </p> + <p> + 'Pass it up on deck, you monkey-faced swine,' said Alan. 'Why didn't you + fill it when you were ashore?' + </p> + <p> + 'We no finda water,' said the leader; 'we looka two, tree day—no + finda, and too many ———— nigger on shore shoota us + all the time witha-bow-anda-arra.' + </p> + <p> + 'Well, you've got some guns there, I see. Couldn't you keep the niggers + off while a couple of you filled the breaker?' I asked. 'And there's + plenty of water on Pentecost, I believe.' + </p> + <p> + He shrugged his shoulders. 'Of what-a good the gun? We no have the + cartridge. Perhaps you give some—feefty, twenty, ten, eh?' + </p> + <p> + Alan, who was a bit of a humorist, answered that we would give him as many + cartridges as he wanted, if he gave us all the rifles he had in the boat + in exchange. + </p> + <p> + A scowl—which he tried to twist into a smile—flitted across + his face, and he turned his head away. + </p> + <p> + Giving the crowd in the boat a long line, we veered them astern, and as + the breeze was now freshening, the cutter slipping through the water + pretty fast, and we felt safe, Hannah, Alan and myself turned our + undivided attention to our visitor. He was a tall, squarely-built fellow + of about fifty years of age, with a thick stubble of iron-grey beard + covering his cheeks and chin, and his forehead and neck were burnt to the + colour of dark leather by the rays of a tropic sun. He was dressed in a + pea-jacket and dungaree pants, but had no boots. + </p> + <p> + 'Sit down,' I said, c and tell us what we can do for you. But take a glass + of grog first.' + </p> + <p> + He drank the liquor eagerly, first bowing to Mrs Hannah and then to us all + in turn, and at the same time taking a sweeping glance along the deck at + our crew, who were grouped for'ard. As he raised his hand to his mouth I + saw that the back of it was much tattooed. + </p> + <p> + 'Where did you lose your ship?' I asked. + </p> + <p> + 'Astrolaba Reefa,' he answered quickly, 'three hundreda mila to + south-a-ward.' + </p> + <p> + 'What was her name?' + </p> + <p> + 'The <i>Airdale</i>,' he replied glibly. 'Belonga to Liverpool—fine + biga ship. We bound to Pam in New Caledonia to load chroma ore, and run + ashore on dark night. Ship break up very quick'—and then he spun off + the rest of his yarn, and a very plausible one it was, too. The ship, he + said, was not injured much at first, and on the following morning the + captain, with the second mate and four hands, had left in one of the boats + for Pam to get assistance. The first mate, bos'un and three hands were + drowned. After waiting for ten days on the wreck the rest of the crew took + to the long boat, for bad weather came on, and the ship began to pound on + the reef. + </p> + <p> + 'But what are you doing here so far to the northward?' asked Hannah, in + his slow, drawling tones. 'Why didn't you steer for New Caledonia? You + were only two days' sail to there from Astrolabe Reefs. Now you are three + hundred miles to the north.' + </p> + <p> + The man was a marvellous liar. Yes, he said, that was true, but 'Goda help + him,' he would 'speaka true.' He and the nine men with him did not want to + go to New Caledonia, and did not want to have anything more to do with the + captain, who was a very 'harda' man, and so they had stood to the + northward, meaning to land on one of the New Hebrides. + </p> + <p> + 'What was the captain's name?' + </p> + <p> + 'Smeeth—Captain Johna Smeeth. Belonga to Liverpool.' + </p> + <p> + 'Are you one of the ship's officers?' + </p> + <p> + 'I am carpenter,' he answered promptly. 'I all the time sail in Englisha + ship.' + </p> + <p> + 'Just so; are you a Frenchman?' asked Hannah, casually. + </p> + <p> + 'No; I come from Barcelon'.' + </p> + <p> + 'Well,' I said, 'I hope you will get along all right in your boat, + wherever you go. I'll give you a 50-lb. tin of biscuits, some tinned + meats, and as much water as you can take.' + </p> + <p> + He thanked me effusively, and said he would remember me in his prayers to + the Virgin, etc. + </p> + <p> + 'Have you a compass?' I asked. + </p> + <p> + He shrugged his shoulders despairingly. No, they had no compass; the + 'gooda Goda must be compass' for them. + </p> + <p> + Mani, Hannah's wife, who was sitting near us, with her youngest child on + her lap, apparently taking no heed of our talk, held the infant up and + smiled; and, as if speaking to it, said in Samoan,— + </p> + <p> + 'He lies. I saw a boat compass in the stern sheets of the boat.' + </p> + <p> + 'Well, I'm sorry I can't give you a compass,' I said. 'Alan, pass up a tin + of biscuit and a case of meat. The breeze is freshening, and we must get + along.' + </p> + <p> + Then our visitor made an earnest appeal. His boat was leaky, his comrades + were worn out, yet if we would let them come aboard they would, after a + little rest, tow the cutter in a calm, and not trouble us in any way. + Then, when we sighted Santo, they would leave us and make for Leper's + Island, which was the place they wanted to reach. The natives there were + very friendly, and there were some white men there. + </p> + <p> + 'No,' I said, 'our vessel is too small for so many people. If you follow + Pentecost along to the north, you will sight Leper's Island as soon as you + round the north point. Now, haul your boat alongside. And here are a + couple of bottles of brandy for yourself and crew, some matches, and a + small box of tobacco.' + </p> + <p> + The boat hauled alongside, and our visitor, again thanking us, got in. In + a few minutes we saw their leader serving them out a nip; then the night + blotted them from view. + </p> + <p> + At daylight we were again becalmed and drifting steadily to the northward. + The boat was not in sight, and the only signs of life visible around us + were some slender columns of smoke ascending from the native villages + along the coast, which was less than three miles away. The heat at ten + o'clock was intense, and, to add to our discomfort, a heavy swell set in + and caused us to roll incessantly. However, we lowered our mainsail, tried + to be philosophical, and waited for a breeze. Towards four in the + afternoon a sharp rain squall swept down upon us from the land; it lasted + barely ten minutes, and was followed by others at short intervals, and + then we knew we were in for a night of it. Whenever one of these squalls + came tearing over the water we made good use of the wind by running before + it to the east, so as to get away from the land; but at midnight we found + we were still a great deal too close; and that the current was very + strong, and now setting in-shore very rapidly, we could tell by the sound + of the surf. There was nothing for us but to tow off, for the water was + too deep to anchor, even within thirty fathoms of the reef. Just as we got + the boat over the side there came a tremendous downpour of rain, and we + could only make ourselves heard by shouting to each other at the top of + our voices. This continued for half an hour, and through it all, the boat, + with Alan and three hands, continued to tow. Suddenly the rain ceased—for + about five minutes—only to fall again with a deafening uproar. At + two o'clock it toned down to a misty drizzle, and we called to Alan to + come alongside, as Hannah, two of his natives and myself would give him a + spell. The rain had beaten the swell down, but the current was terribly + strong, and when the mist lifted a bit we saw we were still too close to + the reef. After taking a cast of the lead, and finding no bottom, Hannah + and his two natives and myself tumbled into the boat. We had just about + tautened the tow-line when Alan's voice rang out. + </p> + <p> + 'Boat ahoy! Come back, quick, for God's sake! Here's the Frenchmen + coming!' + </p> + <p> + We backed alongside and jumped on board, just in time; for almost at the + same moment the Frenchmen's boat came up with a rush, and half a dozen men + sprang on to our decks and instantly closed with us. The rest would have + followed, but the ever-ready Mani began firing into their boat with a + Winchester. This kept them off. Had they, too, gained the deck we should + probably have lost the ship. The struggle on board was short but sharp. + Hannah, who was possessed of enormous strength, had seized the first man + who jumped over the rail round his waist, and slung him clean across the + deck against the port bulwarks, were he lay stunned; and then went for the + next man, whom he knocked backward into the boat with a terrific blow. + Meanwhile, Alan, two native sailors and myself, where tied up in a knot + with three others on the port side. It was so dark that it was impossible + to tell friend from foe at first; and one of our hands, a Savage Islander, + named Puniola, was just about to put a knife into me, as he, two of the + boarders and myself were struggling together, when by chance he felt the + big square buckle of my leather belt and recognised me. He quickly let go + of me, seized one of the convicts by the throat, and choked him into + insensibility, and we soon quietened one of the other two by the same + method. The third man, who was as wiry as an eel and as strong as a horse, + fought desperately, knocked two of us down, and was then himself laid out + by Hannah, who had come to our assistance. Poor Alan, however, had fared + badly; for the leader of the gang had half-stunned him with a weapon of + some sort, and we found him lying across the cutter's tiller, bleeding + profusely from a cut on the head. His assailant, seeing that the attempt + to capture the ship had failed, jumped overboard and swam to his boat, + which was drifting near to us in the darkness. + </p> + <p> + As quickly as possible we got lights and examined the gentry lying about + on the deck. One of them was still unconscious, the rest were pretty badly + mauled about in the tussle; and Manî suggested that we had better drop + them overboard to save further trouble. Her blood was up, and she was full + of fight; but Hannah merely laughed, and told her not to be such a <i>pun + fia ai</i> (tiger cat). + </p> + <p> + Showing a light, we hailed the Frenchmen's boat, and told them to come + alongside again. + </p> + <p> + 'If you don't look smart we'll drop these five men overboard. So hurry + up.' + </p> + <p> + The gentleman from 'Barcelon'—who was certainly possessed of + inimitable cheek—after telling us to go to Hades, added that he had + but one oar in the boat, the others had gone adrift. So we had to dump our + prisoners into our own boat, and pull out to the other. Then, while Alan + and I covered those in the Frenchmen's boat, Hannah and two hands flung + our prisoners out of our boat into their own. Their leader took matters + very coolly, cursed his returning comrades freely as cowards, and then had + the face to ask us for some oars. + </p> + <p> + Then Hannah, who, we now found, spoke French, boiled over. Jumping into + the other boat, he seized the gentleman from Barcelona by the throat with + his left hand and rapidly pounded his face into a pulp with his right. + </p> + <p> + Whilst Hannah was taking his satisfaction out of the big man, we struck + some matches and examined the rest of the crowd in the boat. One man, we + saw, was badly wounded, Manï having sent two bullets through his right + shoulder and one through his thigh; another had his cheek cut open, but + whether this was caused by a bullet or not I could not tell. I, being + young and green, felt very pitiful and wanted Hannah to bring the + badly-wounded man on board; but he, like a sensible man, said he would see + me hanged first, and that we ought to shoot the lot of them. + </p> + <p> + But, anyway, we gave them three oars, and then pushed clear of their boat + just as another rain squall came seething along. + </p> + <p> + At dawn we saw them, about two miles abeam of us, pulling slowly in + towards Pentecost. + </p> + <p> + We heard afterwards that they were sighted by the Sydney steamer <i>Ripple</i> + Captain Ferguson, off Torres Island, in the Banks Group. Most probably + they abandoned the idea of stopping at Leper's Island, where they would + not be safe from recapture by the French cruisers, and were then making + for the Solomons. But that they ever reached there is doubtful; or, if + they did, they were probably eaten by the natives. The boat, we heard, + they had captured from a German vessel loading nickel ore at one of + north-eastern ports of New Caledonia, and they had then raided a small + settlement on the coast and obtained some arms and provisions. Long + afterwards I was told that their leader was a sailor who was serving a + life sentence for killing his mistress at La Ciotat, in the South of + France. + </p> + <p> + It is quite possible, however, that they may have been picked up by an + American whale-ship making northwards to the Moluccas from the New Zealand + ground. In those days there were quite thirty ships still remaining of the + once great American whaling fleet, which traversed the Pacific from one + end to the other. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Publisher's Note.—The half-caste Alan mentioned in this + story is the same 'Alan' who so frequently figures in Mr + Becke's tales in <i>By Reef and Palm</i>, and his subsequent + books. +</pre> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0019" id="link2H_4_0019"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE SOUTH SEA BUBBLE OF CHARLES DU BREIL + </h2> + <p> + Less than a year ago news was received of the arrival in Noumea, in New + Caledonia, of the remainder of a party of unwashed visionaries, calling + themselves the 'United Brotherhood of the South Sea Islands.' A year + before they had sailed away from San Francisco in a wretched old crate of + a schooner, named the <i>Percy Edward</i> (an ex-Tahitian mail packet), to + seek for an island or islands whereon they were to found a Socialistic + Utopia, where they were to pluck the wild goat by the beard, pay no rent + to the native owners of the soil, and, letting their hair grow down their + backs, lead an idyllic life and loaf around generally. Such a mad scheme + could have been conceived nowhere else but in San Francisco or Paris. + </p> + <p> + In the latter city such another venture, but founded on more heroic lines + of infatuation, was organised eighteen years ago by the late Charles du + Breil, Marquis de Rays, and the results ought to have made the American + enthusiasts reflect a little before they started. But having got the idea + that they might sail on through summer seas till they came to some land + fair to look upon, and then annex it right away in the sacred name of + Socialism (and thus violate one of the principal articles of their faith), + they started—only to be quickly disillusionised. For there were no + islands anywhere in the two Pacifics to be had for the taking thereof; + neither were there any tracts of land to be had from the natives, except + for hard cash or its equivalent. The untutored Kanakas also, with whom + they came in contact, refused to become brother Socialists and go shares + with the long-haired wanderers in their land or anything else. So from + island to island the <i>Percy Edward</i> cruised, looking more + disreputable every day, until, as the months went by, she began to + resemble, in her tattered gear and dejected appearance, her fatuous + passengers. At last, after being chivvied about considerably by the white + and native inhabitants of the various islands touched at, the forlorn + expedition reached Fiji. Here fifty of the idealists elected to remain and + work for their living under a government which represented the base and + brutal institution of Monarchy. But the remaining fifty-eight stuck to the + <i>Percy Edward</i> and her decayed salt junk, and stinking water, and + their beautiful ideals; till at last the ship was caught in a hurricane, + badly battered about, lost her foremast, and only escaped foundering by + resting her keel on the bottom of Noumea Harbour. Then the visionaries + began to collect their senses, and denounced the <i>Percy Edward</i> and + the principles of the 'United Brotherhood' as hollow frauds, and elected + to go ashore and get a good square meal. + </p> + <p> + The affair recalls the story of the ill-starred colony of 'Nouvelle + France,' which was given the tacit support of the French Government, the + blessing of the Church, and the hard-earned savings of the wretched dupes + of French, Italian and Spanish peasantry who believed in it—until it + collapsed, and many of them died cursing it and themselves on the + fever-stricken shores of New Ireland. + </p> + <p> + Early in 1879 an enticing prospectus appeared, signed 'Ch. du Breil, + Director and Founder of the Free Colony of Port Breton in Oceania.' In + this precious document the marvellous fertility, the beautiful scenery, + and the healthy climate of the island of New Ireland (Tombara) were + described at length, while the native inhabitants came in for much + unqualified praise as simple children of nature, who were looking forward + with rapture to the advent of the colonists, and to the prospect of + becoming citizens of the Free Colony, and being recognised as Frenchmen, + and helping the settlers cultivate the vine, etc., and being admitted into + the fold of Christianity. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps Du Breil believed in his impossible scheme—many people said + so, when, some years afterwards, he was sentenced to two years' + imprisonment and a fine of thirty thousand francs for his share in it. But + if he did not, the French peasantry did, and money came pouring in. + Ignorant people sold their little all and gathered together at Marseilles + and other ports, where ships waited to convey them to the new paradise; in + all, nearly half a million pounds was subscribed. Then away went + emissaries to the southern parts of Italy, where the ignorant agricultural + labourers bit freely and were caught wholesale. In their case, however, + the prospectus varied from that issued in France, which was specially + designed to ensnare small capitalists, tradespeople and farmers, as well + as the poorer peasants. The various religious fraternities in France, + which hoped to benefit financially by their advocacy, boomed the scheme, + and sermons were preached on the philanthropy of M. le Marquis, who, like + Law and Blount, was nothing if not magnificent. By the time the <i>Chandernagore</i>, + the first ship, had sailed from Flushing, elaborate plans were issued of + the new city, with its parks and public buildings, and noble wharves and + boulevards aglow with life and excitement; while the religious wants of + the settlers had not been neglected, for cathedrals and churches figured + conspicuously. Also, it was indicated by a carefully-prepared descriptive + pamphlet, that gold and diamonds and such other things only wanted looking + for in the surrounding islands, where they could be obtained in quantities + sufficient to satisfy the most avaricious. + </p> + <p> + The <i>Chandernagore</i> carried only eighty colonists, all males, and, + flying the Liberian flag, after a long passage she reached the Lachlan + Islands, in the South Pacific, where sixteen of them elected to stay, + charmed by the beauty of the place and the unconventional manners of the + native women. Of these sixteen, five died from fever, and of the remainder + two were killed and eaten by natives of other islands, and the rest were + rescued by Australian and German trading vessels. The <i>Chandernagore</i> + proceeded on her voyage, and Port Breton was reached at last. It is on the + south end of the great island of New Ireland, and with, perhaps, the + exception of the Falkland Islands, or the Crozets, or London in the month + of November, the most sodden, dank, squashy and appalling place on the + globe. The day after the ship anchored it began to rain, and, as it showed + no signs of clearing up at the end of three weeks, the captain was + besought to look out for another site for the city where it was not quite + so wet. He took them to a better place, named Liki Liki Bay, near Cape St + George, and, after a preliminary orgie on board, the enthusiastic + colonists set to work house-building and clearing the primaeval forest for + the grape and fig crop. But as there were about two thousand and ninety + trees to the hectare, and every tree was joined to its neighbours by vines + as thick as a ship's main-mast, the work proceeded but slowly. + Considerable time was lost, also, by each man dropping his axe twice in + ten seconds to kill the mosquitoes which stung him severely. After a few + days of this the founders of New France decided to return to Europe, and, + duly arming themselves, went on board and interviewed the captain. The + captain, MacLachlan, was a Scotchman by birth, but a naturalised + Frenchman. He was also a humorist in a grim sort of way. On the voyage out + he and M. de Villacroix, who was the temporary Governor, found that the + eighty gentlemen colony founders were a pretty rough lot, who wanted to + take charge of the ship. MacLachlan, who was a man of energy, brought them + to reason by tricing seven of them up to the rigging by their thumbs, and + promised to 'deal severely' with them next time. So when they boarded the + <i>Chandernagore</i> and informed him that he must take them back to + France, he answered by hunting them ashore again, landing six months' + provisions, and sailing for Sydney, according to instructions from the + Marquis. On arriving at Sydney he chartered a schooner, loaded her with + provisions and agricultural machinery, and despatched her to Liki Liki + Bay. Rough and cruel as he may appear, MacLachlan was the right sort of + man to master insubordination and mutiny. I knew the man well, and know + that he knew the ruffianly element he had to deal with in the first lot of + colonists, and dealt with it in a proper and summary manner. Had there + been half a dozen more such men as himself and Villacroix to back him up, + the tragic ending of the ill-fated expedition would have been averted. + </p> + <p> + But meantime the second contingent was preparing to leave, and the steamer + <i>Genii</i> was bought by the Marquis to load another cargo of deluded + emigrants at Marseilles and Barcelona. Like Villacroix and MacLachlan, her + captain (Rabardy) was a man in whom he reposed implicit trust; and, + indeed, Du Breil seems to have been at least fortunate in the choice of + his sea-leaders to conduct his deplorable colonists to their Paradise. + Under other and less determined men the loss of life would have been + terrible. MacLachlan's letters from Sydney had warned him of one source of + danger—mutiny—and Du Breil decided to send out with the second + contingent a military guard. From the Italian and Spanish 'settlers' there + was nothing to fear. Whatever they suffered they suffered in silence, like + sheep; and the presence of several priests (going out to preach in the + handsome stone cathedrals and churches before mentioned), whom they looked + up to with simple reverence, was a surer safeguard for their good conduct + than a company of troops. The married men among the French contingent of + the second lot were like them in this respect; but, all through the course + of the disastrous expedition, it was cursed by the inclusion of a number + of unmarried man, whose ruffianism proved too strong to be checked; then + there were a number of <i>nymphes du pavi</i>, recruited from the streets + of Marseilles and Toulon. 'They came on board as unmarried women, but an + “arrangement” in each case was made with one of the single men to play M. + le Mari,' said one of the leaders, to the writer, when he lay dying of + fever in the <i>Genil's</i> stifling saloon at Duke of York Island. Who + can wonder at the collapse of the 'colony,' when practices such as these + were tolerated? But it is typical of the system, or rather want of system, + of French colonisation generally. On March 16th the <i>Genii</i> left + Barcelona with over two hundred and fifty colonists—men, women and + children. Some of the Italians were from the north—these were + hard-working and intelligent—some from Calabria—little better + than beasts of the field—and the Spaniards came from Valencia and + Catalonia. The military guard consisted of a Spanish captain and + lieutenant and an Italian lieutenant, while the rank and file were of + various nationalities. Before the crazy old <i>Genii</i> reached Port Said + the guard themselves made matters warm, and, with the first and second + engineers and second officer, refused to proceed. Rabardy, the captain, + gladly let them go at Port Said and made for the Maldive Islands, where he + engaged thirty Arabs. Later on he put these ashore at Point de Galle. At + Singapore the vessel remained six weeks, waiting for instructions, and + then reached Liki Liki Bay fifteen days later—to find the place + abandoned and the beach covered with the stores left there by the <i>Chandernagore</i> + party, who had escaped to Australia; this he learned two days later from + the white traders at Mioko, the settlement on Duke of York Island, twenty + or thirty miles away. Rabardy was at his wit's end. He knew that another + steamer was due in a month or two, and determined to wait and consult with + the new Governor, who was coming out with a fresh batch of three hundred + people. No work at settlement was begun, for Rabardy considered the former + site could be bettered. Meanwhile, there arrived a barque of one thousand + tons, the <i>Marquis de Rays</i>, deeply laden with cotton and sugar + machinery, stores, provisions and medicines, and a large amount of trade + goods for barter with the natives. These latter, although not cannibals + like the people of the neighbouring Island of New Britain, were a very low + type of savages, and their mode of life was disgusting in the extreme; + whilst their wild and ferocious appearance was in harmony with their stark + nudity. Still the <i>Genil's</i> people established friendly relations + with them, and were supplied with fruit and vegetables, such as yams and + taro. + </p> + <p> + On October 17th the steamer <i>India</i> arrived with her emigrants, and + the new Governor, M. de Prévost, nothing daunted by the unfortunate + previous experiences of the colony and its mismanagement, set to work with + Captain Rabardy to get things in order. + </p> + <p> + A fresh site was chosen for the actual settlement, and the new arrivals, + joining heartily with the <i>Genil's</i> people, began to clear and build. + The Italians and Spaniards toiled, in happy expectation of future + prosperity, with their French fellow-settlers, and hope ran high. But + already the deadly malaria had begun its work, and ere long more than half + of the many hundreds of colonists were suffering from fever, and soon some + died. Then suddenly the Governor, who hitherto had cheered them up by his + example and energy, announced his intention of going to Sydney in the <i>Genii</i> + (the <i>India</i> had sailed for France) to procure cattle and a fresh + stock of provisions. He never returned. Months and months went by, and the + colonists waited and waited, while the fever carried off someone every few + days; and then their hearts failed them, and they longed for the lands + they had left for a chimera. A sad two months passed, and then one day + another steamer—the <i>Nouvelle Bretagne</i>—came into Liki + Liki Bay. She had brought out some three hundred more colonists, Spanish + people, who listened, with doleful faces, to the tale of those who had + preceded them to the Utopia of Charles du Breil. Rabardy, of the <i>Genil</i>, + who, a month later, was to die of fever, game to the last, consulted with + Captain Henry, of the <i>Nouvelle Bretagne</i> and, as they talked on the + poop deck of the newly-arrived steamer, a cry came from the people on + shore that another ship was in sight. An hour later a black-painted, + unobtrusive-looking steamer came slowly into the bay and dropped anchor. + She looked like a collier, and flew the red ensign of England; but Henry + knew her. She was the <i>Legaspi</i>, Spanish gunboat from Manila, and had + chased him from the Philippines. As her cable rattled through her + hawsepipes, down went the red ensign and up went the Spanish colours, and + a boat full of armed men dashed alongside the <i>Nouvelle Bretagne</i>, + and in another five minutes Captain Henry was a prisoner, handcuffed, and + on his way to the warship. What he had done at Manila was a daring deed + enough, and is a story in itself, and nothing much to his discredit. His + ship had been prevented from putting to sea by the Spanish authorities, + and Henry, who had many sick on board, and was greatly harassed in mind, + suddenly slipped his cable and steamed off, although there was a Spanish + guard on board. These he landed on the coast of Luzon. + </p> + <p> + That evening the commander of the <i>Legaspi</i> called the Spanish + emigrants together and addressed them. 'The colony is a failure; the + French, Italian and Spanish Governments have repudiated it. Those of you + who like to return with the <i>Legaspi</i> to Manila can do so; those who + do not may remain here, to die of starvation or be eaten by the savages.' + </p> + <p> + Next morning the <i>Legaspi</i> steamed out of Liki Liki Bay with the <i>Nouvelle + Bretagne</i> in tow, taking; all the Spanish colonists with her. Then, to + the aid of the despairing French and Italian colonists, came one Tom + Farrell, an English trader on the Duke of York Island. He gave them + provisions, advanced them money, and treated them well, taking care to get + possession of the <i>Genil</i> and the barque <i>Marquis de Rays</i>. The + <i>Genil</i> he sent to Australia under command of an English captain + (Rabardy was dead by then, and his dying words to the writer of this + sketch, as he grasped his hand for the last time, were, 'I have tried—and + failed. I had not one competent officer with me to help me to maintain my + authority or shoot some of the ruffians who have ruined the expedition'). + Her unfortunate passengers were generously treated by the New South Wales + Government, who settled many of them on the Richmond River, in the + northern portion of the colony. Here they founded a prosperous little + settlement, and are to this day happy and contented, and thank their stars + that they left a spurious Utopia to dwell in a country where the + conditions of climate are like those of their own sunny Italy. Perhaps, + however, they think sometimes of those of their former comrades who died + out there in the savage 'colony' of Charles du Breil. At Liki Liki there + died nine; at Duke of York Island, thirteen; at New Britain, twenty-one; + and six were eaten by the cannibals of the islands thereabouts. Of a score + or so of others who remained in the North-West Pacific there is no record. + Probably they succumbed to fever, or went down under the clubs and spears + of the wild people of New Britain, New Guinea and the Admiralty Group. + Such was the end of the vision of Charles du Breil and the Colony of New + France. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0020" id="link2H_4_0020"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE WHITE WIFE AND THE BROWN 'WOMAN' + </h2> + <p> + Masters, the trader at Fana 'alu, was walking up the beach to his house, + reading a letter which he had just received from the captain of a passing + vessel. It was from his employers in Sydney,—'We are confident that + Mrs Masters and yourself will do all you can to render the lady's stay at + Fana 'alu agreeable to her. You will find her husband, our new supercargo, + a very fine fellow, easy to get on with, and a thoroughly honourable and + conscientious business man.' + </p> + <p> + 'Here, Melanie, old woman, where are you?' he called, as he flung himself + lazily into a cane lounge on the verandah. + </p> + <p> + Melanie, who, native-like, was combing her hair in the sitting-room, rose + from the mat upon which she was sitting and came to the door. + </p> + <p> + 'What is it, Tom?' she asked, leaning against the wall and drawing the + comb slowly through her long, black locks. + </p> + <p> + 'Why, the barque will be here in another week or so, so this letter says, + and there's a <i>tamaitai papalagi</i> (white lady) on board, and she will + very likely stay here with us while her husband, who is the new + supercargo, goes away in the ship to the Solomon Islands. He will come for + her again in about six weeks.' + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Melanie's dark eyes glistened with pleasure. White women were rare + visitors at lonely Fana 'alu. Every year, it was true, when the American + missionary barque touched at the island, one, or sometimes two, white + ladies would come ashore; but they were missionaries' wives, and never + passed inside the door of the trader's house to speak to his wife. That, + in the eyes of the converted natives, would have been scandalous. Melanie + might, if she so wished it, have called upon <i>them</i> at the native + teacher's house, and paid homage afar off by sitting down on the mats in + the furthest corner of the house, while fat, greasy Lepeka,{*} the wife of + the equally fat and greasy teacher Paulo, Christianly whispered in the + ears of the holy white ladies that that was the white man's 'woman'—who + wasn't married to her 'husband.' And even a white missionary's wife must + not offend the spouse of the native teacher. So had any of these ladies + wished to talk to Melanie, they would have had to make Lepeka their + medium; for in some parts of the South Seas the usual position of vicar + and curate is reversed, and the white visiting missionary and his wife + deliver themselves into the hands of the brown curate and his wife for the + time being. Perhaps it is this that makes most white missionaries so thin—the + strain of having to submit to a Kanaka teacher's ideas of conventionality + must be pretty hard to bear. And so poor Melanie, who would have liked to + have sat near the fair-faced, sweet-voiced white ladies, or, perhaps, + fondled their hands, as did the young unmarried girls who always + surrounded them, bore her lot with content. For once, when she had brought + her simple <i>alofa</i> (gift of love) to the missionaries, and laid it + timidly down on the mats in the centre of the room, one of the white + ladies had smiled at her and said to her husband,— + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, what a pretty girl, and how nicely she is dressed. Ask her to come + here and sit by me.' + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Rebecca. +</pre> + <p> + But Melanie was quick to see Lepeka's dark frown, and discreetly retired + to her usual corner, at the back of the room, and when she went home to + Masters, she did not chatter and laugh as usual when telling him of all + she had seen and heard at the teacher's house. + </p> + <p> + For, in her simple heart, there began to grow an unrest. She would feel + better, she thought, when the mission ship had sailed away again, and she + would forget the kind smile of the missionary's wife, and forget, too, the + sneering curl of Lepeka's fat lips. Three years before, when Tom Masters + had picked her up in a dancing saloon in Apia and had asked her to come + away with him to Fana 'alu as his wife, she had thought of a marriage in + the church, with its attendant mild excitements, and gluttonies of baked + pig and fowls, and <i>palusami</i> and other delicacies, and the receiving + and giving of many presents. But when Masters—who possessed a + fragmentary conscience—told her why he could not marry her, she + accepted the position calmly, and said it did not matter. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps, among the women of Fana 'alu, she stood highest in public + estimation, notwithstanding her bar sinister, for she was open-handed and + generous, and both the chiefs wife and Lepeka, the teacher's grand lady, + were of common blood—whilst she, despite her antecedents in Apia, + was of the best in Manono—the birthplace of the noble families of + Samoa. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + So, as she stood there in the doorway, first combing and then plaiting her + hair <i>à la Suisse</i>, she asked in her native tongue,— + </p> + <p> + 'Is she young, Tom? Will she have hair of goldthread like that of the wife + thou hadst in Sini{*} long ago—she who married another man?' + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Sydney. +</pre> + <p> + Masters laughed. How could he tell! She might be young and fair; she might + be an <i>olomatua</i> (an old woman), dried up and skinny. But that was + none of their business. All that he and Melanie had to do was to entertain + her well and make much of her. + </p> + <p> + 'True,' said the placid-minded Melanie; 'and even if she be as ugly as an + <i>aitu</i> (devil), yet will that fat-faced pig Lepeka die with envy to + see a white lady a guest in my house. Would that I could send to Manono + for my three brothers, so that they might come here and get drunk, and + beat Paulo! I hate Paulo, even as I hate Lepeka, for they both speak evil + of <i>me</i>, yet are for ever cringing to <i>thee</i>, taking eagerly thy + gifts of money to the church and the school and the mission fund, and yet + whispering of me as the dancing-house whore.' + </p> + <p> + 'Never mind that, old woman,' said Masters, softly, placing his hand upon + the girl's head. 'Next year we shall go away from Fana 'alu. We shall go + to Ponapé, in the far, far north—away from these islands; no bitter + tongues shall pain thy heart there.' Then, picking up his hat, he + sauntered down to the beach again and stood watching his whale-boat being + hauled up into the boat-shed by her native crew. + </p> + <p> + '<i>Like the wife he once had in Sydney, long ago.</i>' + </p> + <p> + He lit his pipe, and began to pace to and fro on the sandy path under the + cool shade of the coco-palms and bread-fruit trees, thinking of an + incident of his past life, which, although six long years had passed, + neither his subsequent wanderings in many lands, nor his three latter + years' monotonously happy and lazy existence with Melanie at Fana 'alu, + had yet quite banished from his memory. And the chance question put to him + half an hour before had brought back to him a vision of the slender, + blue-eyed and golden-haired woman who was the partner of his first + matrimonial venture. + </p> + <p> + They had in the beginning led a turtle-dovey kind of life in those old + days on the shores of Port Jackson. Not long after their marriage the + shipping firm in which he was employed failed, and he had to seek for + another billet; and, being an energetic, self-reliant man, with no false + pride, he shipped as steward on board the <i>Noord Brabant</i>, a + hogged-backed, heartbroken and worn-out American lumber ship running + between Puget Sound and the Australian colonies. His wife had cried a + little at first; but he told her that no one but their two selves would + know, and it was better for him to be earning five pounds a month than + idling about in Sydney. + </p> + <p> + On board the crazy old barque he found an acquaintance, who soon became a + friend. This was the second mate—another Sydney man—who had + shipped on the <i>Noord Brabant</i> because berths on good ships were + scarce and mates and skippers were plentiful. So the two men, while the + ship was being patched up for her long voyage across the Pacific, spent + their evenings together at Masters's house. + </p> + <p> + Harry Laurance—that was the second mate's name—was a fine, + handsome man, with clear, honest eyes and a merry, infectious laugh, and + those evenings at his friend's house were a source of unalloyed happiness + to him, for from his boyhood he had known no home except a ship or a + squalid boarding-house. + </p> + <p> + One night, as the three sat together in Masters's little four-roomed + cottage, and Nellie Masters had ceased playing upon the rattling + fifteen-guinea box of discord called a piano, the three made plans for the + future. When they—Masters and Laurance—returned from Puget + Sound, they were not to part. Laurance, who had had long experience in the + Island trade, had saved a little money—not much (as he told Masters + one day when he placed ten sovereigns in the latter's hand, and asked him + to accept it as a loan for his wife's sake), but nearly enough to buy a + little thirty-ton vessel he knew of which was for sale, and which would be + just the craft to run on trading voyages from New Zealand among the + islands of the Gambier Group—if they could load her with trade + goods. And he knew a man in Puget Sound who, he thought, would lend him a + few hundreds, and take a third share in the venture. Then, when he and + Masters returned from the impending voyage to Sydney, they, with Mrs + Masters, would go over to Auckland, buy the schooner and the trade goods, + and then sail for Manga Reva in the Gambier Group, where Masters and his + wife were to buy a bit of land and put up a trading station, whilst + Laurance ran the little vessel to and fro among the various islands of the + group, and brought back pearl shell and copra for sale to the big German + firm in Tahiti. And Masters's pretty wife smiled joyously. She did not + like to be parted from Tom for nearly seven months; but seven months was + not a lifetime—and then they would be so happy, away from the + grinding poverty of their existence in Sydney. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Dreams! Six weeks afterwards, as the old <i>Noord Brabant</i> lay groaning + over on her beam ends, thrashing her canvas to ribbons in a fierce night + squall off Beveridge Reef, Tom Masters, hurrying on deck to help the hands + shorten sail, was knocked overboard by the parting of the spanker-boom + guy, and disappeared without a cry, into the seething boil to leeward. + </p> + <p> + For two hours—after the squall had ceased, and Masters was missed—the + boat searched for him under the bright rays of a silvery moon and a clear, + cloudless sky. But every now and then rain fell heavily, and though the + boat rowed round and round the ship within a radius of two or three miles + no answering cry came to the repeated hails of the crew. So then the <i>Noord + Brabant</i> stood away again on her course, and Harry Laurance lay awake + all his watch below, thinking sadly of his friend and of the dreadful + shock which awaited the young wife in Sydney. + </p> + <p> + But Tom Masters did not drown. When he came to the surface of the water he + found himself floating among the <i>debris</i> of the quarter-boat, which, + when the spanker-boom guy parted and the heavy spar swung over to leeward, + had swept the after-davit out of its socket and let the boat hang, stern + down, by the for'ard fall, until the labouring old barque, raising her + stern high out of the water, smashed down upon it as it dragged under her + counter and tore out the for'ard ringbolt. + </p> + <p> + Half-stunned by the force of the blow which he had received on the back of + his head from the spanker-boom when it swept him overboard, Masters was + yet able to swim to the wreckage of the boat which he saw floating near + him, and, clinging to the after part of the keel, he saw the cabin lights + of the Noord Brabant shining brightly through the square, old-fashioned + ports for a minute or two, and heard the cries of her crew as the sails + were clewed up and furled. Then a sharp, hissing rain squall hid her from + view in a thick white mist, and, with agony and despair in his heart, he + gave up all hope of life, knowing that the only other boat was turned + bottom up on the main hatch of the barque, and that the ship was only + half-manned by a scratch crew of long-shore loafers. + </p> + <p> + But it so happened that when the <i>Noord Brabant</i>, close-hauled to + clear Beveridge Reef, was thrown on her beam ends by the violence of the + squall, the whaling schooner <i>John Bright</i> was rolling easily along + before it under shortened canvas, and the cook of the schooner, as he + stood on the foc'scle, smoking his pipe, caught a sight of floating + wreckage right ahead, with the indistinct figure of a man clinging to it, + and bawled out 'Hard a-port!' just in time, or else the schooner had run + right on top of the drifting boat and finished this tale and Tom Masters + as well. + </p> + <p> + But boats are lowered quickly on an American whale-ship—quicker than + on any other ship afloat—and in less than ten minutes Tom Masters + was picked up and, in face of a blinding rain squall, brought on board the + <i>John Bright</i>. Then a long illness—almost death. + </p> + <p> + Three months afterwards, as the schooner was slowly crawling along over + the North Pacific towards Honolulu, she spoke a timber ship bound to the + Australian colonies from Port Townsend in Puget Sound; and Masters, now + recovering from the terrible shock he had received, went on board and + asked the captain to let him work his passage. But the Yankee skipper of + the lumber ship did not seem to like the idea of having to feed such a + hollow-eyed, gaunt-looking being for another six weeks or so, and refused + his request. And so Masters, in a dulled, apathetic sort of way went back + to the <i>John Bright</i>, climbed up her side, and, with despair in his + heart, lay down in his bunk and tried to sleep, never knowing that, half + an hour before, when he was speaking to the captain of the lumberman, a + letter to his wife from Laurance lay in a locker not three feet away from + him, telling her of her husband's death at sea and his own heartfelt + sorrow and sympathy. + </p> + <p> + And Laurance was honest and genuine in his sympathy. He had had a warm + feeling of friendship for Tom Masters, and his heart was filled with pity + for the poor little wife left alone without a friend in the world. He had + tried to express himself clearly in his letter, but all that Nellie + Masters could understand was that Tom had been drowned at sea, that + Laurance would be back in Sydney in a month or two and give her all + particulars, and that she was not utterly friendless and alone in the + world. + </p> + <p> + Within a month of Harry Laurance's return she began to think more of him + and of his goodness to her, than of her dead husband—and then + gratitude became love. She was only a poor little woman, and of a weakly, + irresolute nature, unable to think for herself, and unfitted to battle + alone with the world and poverty. So one day when Laurance, whose big + heart was full of love and pity for her, asked her to be his wife, she + gave him a happy smile and said 'Yes.' Before a second month had passed + they were quietly married. + </p> + <p> + Masters, meanwhile, had been pursued by the demon of ill-luck. When the + schooner reached Honolulu, he, a mere wreck, physically and mentally, of + his former self, had been carried ashore to the hospital, and was making a + slow recovery, when the Sydney whaling brig, <i>Wild Wave</i> came into + port with some of her crew injured by a boat accident. One of the men was + placed in a bed next to that occupied by Masters, and one day his captain + came to see him and brought him some colonial newspapers which had just + arrived. + </p> + <p> + 'Here, mate,' said the sailor, tossing one of the papers over to Masters, + 'you're a Sydney man, and there's a Sydney newspaper.' + </p> + <p> + Masters took up the paper, and the first lines he read were these:— + </p> + <p> + 'Laurance—Masters. On the 10th inst., at the Scots Church, Church + Hill, Henry A. Laurance to Helen, widow of the late Thomas Masters.' + </p> + <p> + Possibly, had he been well enough to have returned to Sydney, he would + have gone back and made three persons' lives unhappy. But, although an + Englishman, he had not the rigidly conventional idea that the divorce + court was part of the machinery of the Wrath of God against women who + unknowingly committed bigamy, and ought to be availed of by injured + husbands. So, instead of having a relapse, he pulled himself together, + left the hospital, and got placidly drunk, and concluded, when he became + sober, not to disturb them. + </p> + <p> + 'I suppose neither of them is to blame,' he thought. 'How were either of + them to know that I was not drowned?... And then poor little Nell had only + ten shillings a week to live upon until I came back.' + </p> + <p> + Still, he would have been better pleased had Harry Laurance been a + stranger to him—no man cares to know his successor in such a matter. + By-and-by he worked his passage to Samoa, where, under the assumed name of + Tom Patterson, he soon found employment. Then one night he went into + Charley the Russian's saloon—and met Melanie. + </p> + <p> + And now he was settled down at Fana 'alu, was doing well as a trader, and + had acquired, in all its intensity, the usual dislike to the idea of ever + going back to the world again, common enough to men of his nature in + Polynesia. Besides that, Melanie understood him and he understood her. She + was as open and honest as the day, worked hard for him in his store, and + was sincerely attached to him. So he was well content. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + There was much commotion in the village when the trading barque arrived + and lay-to off Fana 'alu. Melanie, in a dress of spotless white muslin, + flitted to and fro within the house, smoking cigarettes and cursing her + women assistants' laziness and stupidity. Masters, it so happened, was + away in his boat at another village along the coast, and pretty Melanie + was in a state of nervous trepidation at the thought of having to meet the + English lady alone. What should she do? What should she say? Her English + was scant but vigorous, having mostly been acquired from the merchant + skippers, who, in her—to put it nicely—maiden days, frequented + the dance house of 'Charley the Russian' in Apia, and she was conning over + the problem of whether she should address her coming guest in that + language or not. Her child, a little girl of two, followed her mother's + movements with intense curiosity; and presently a bevy of young native + girls swarmed into the room with the news that the boat had come ashore, + and that the white lady and her husband had landed and were now walking up + to the house. Then Mrs Masters Number Two pulled herself together and, + throwing away her cigarette, went to the door and, with a graceful, modest + demeanour and a timid, bashful smile, held out her hand to a lovely being + with big, bright blue eyes and thick masses of hair of shining gold. + Beside this—to Melanie—glorious vision of beauty, stood the + husband—a big, black-moustached and bronze-feced man, who stooped as + he entered the door of the trader's house, and said good-naturedly to her,— + </p> + <p> + 'Glad to meet you, Mrs Patterson. Will your husband be long before he + returns?' + </p> + <p> + 'I don' know, sir,' answered Melanie. 'He hav' gone to Pitofanua. But he + will come ver' quick when he know that the ship hav' come.' Then, + trembling with pleasurable excitement, she turned to the lady and + indicated a low easy-chair, and said in Samoan,— + </p> + <p> + 'Sit thou there, O lady;' and then in English, 'I can't speak Englis' very + good sometimes. But my man will soon come.' Then she remembered something. + 'Please will you come into dis room here, which is been made all ready for + you, an' take off your hat;' and then she darted over to a side table, + brought a glass and a bottle of whisky over to the lady's husband; then, + with a winning smile, timidly held out her brown hand to her guest, and + led her into the bedroom. + </p> + <p> + The new supercargo helped himself to a nip of whisky and then sat down, + his keen business eye taking in the order and cleanliness of the room. In + a few minutes his wife came out. + </p> + <p> + 'Hang these traders, Nell! Why isn't this fellow here to meet me? He had + no business to go away from his station when the ship was due. However, he + has jolly nice quarters, and so we'll make ourselves comfortable until he + turns up. I think you'll like this place, Nell, and won't find it tedious + whilst I'm away at the Solomons. Eh, pet?' + </p> + <p> + The White Lady nodded and smiled. 'Yes, Harry, but I'll miss you terribly + to-morrow. Six weeks is a long time, dear.... Oh, Harry, do look—isn't + she a lovely child?' And, bending down, she swept up Melanie's little girl + in her arms and kissed her softly, and her eyes suddenly filled with + tears. + </p> + <p> + 'Yes,' said the supercargo, shortly, as, without looking at the child, he + took some papers from his pocket and began to read. His and her hearts' + desire had never been granted, and so he hated to look at the child of + another man. + </p> + <p> + 'I wish this fellow would come,' he said presently, in an irritable tone, + as he rose and walked to and fro.... Don't let that child paw you about + like that, Nell.... Hallo, here he is at last.' + </p> + <p> + Fanning his heated brow with his broad hat of pandanus leaf, the trader + stood in the doorway. + </p> + <p> + 'Good morning. I'm sorry I was away when you came—' + </p> + <p> + A cry, half scream and half sob, came from the supercargo's wife, as, + still holding the child in her arms, she swayed to and fro, and Melanie + sprang to her side. + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, Harry, it is Tom!' she said. + </p> + <p> + Then she sank back and lay upon the matted floor, with her head pillowed + upon Melanie's bosom; and the child wailed in terror. + </p> + <p> + 'What the hell is the matter?' said the big supercargo, striding forward + to the trader and seizing him by the arm. Then he looked into Masters's + face. 'By God, Masters, is it <i>you</i>? As heaven is my judge, I swear + to you that we both thought you were dead!' + </p> + <p> + The trader's eyes met his in a long, searching glance, then turned to + where the unconscious, figure of the white woman lay, supported in the + arms of Melanie, who, with affrighted eyes, gazed appealingly to them + both. + </p> + <p> + He reached out his hand to the other man. 'That's all right, Laurance. Let + us go outside and talk. See, <i>your wife</i> has fainted, but Melanie + will see to her.' + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + That night, whilst Masters and Laurance, cigars in mouth, were gravely + picking out the former's trade goods on board the <i>Palestine</i> the + White Lady and the Brown 'Woman' talked. + </p> + <p> + 'Is you any better now?' said Melanie, as she caressingly ran her hand + down the golden locks of Mrs Laurance. + </p> + <p> + A smothered sob was her answer, and the yellow head buried itself among + the pillows of the couch. + </p> + <p> + Melanie turned away despairingly, and then lit a cigarette. What a fool + was this beautiful white woman—nothing but sob, sob, sob! What could + be done to dry her tears? + </p> + <p> + Presently the Brown 'Woman' slid her hand under the waist of the weeping + White Lady, and pressed her cheek to hers. + </p> + <p> + 'Don' you wan' to stay here now?' + </p> + <p> + 'No, no, no! Let me go away. I wish I were dead!' + </p> + <p> + 'What for?' and the philosophical Melanie sent two long streaks of smoke + through her nostrils. 'Why are you 'shamed? You have a husban' now, and + yo' don' wan' to <i>faotane</i>, do you?' + </p> + <p> + 'What is <i>faotane?</i>' + </p> + <p> + Melanie laughed. '<i>Faotane</i> is Samoa language; it means stealing a + husban.... And yo' won' steal my husban' from me, will you? Yo' hav' got a + new husban', and yo' won' take Tom from me, will yo'?' + </p> + <p> + Mrs Laurance sprang to her feet and placed her hands on the Brown + 'Woman's' shoulders. + </p> + <p> + 'Tell me,' she said, 'did he ever talk of me?' + </p> + <p> + 'Yes,' said the truthful Melanie. 'He tell me that yo' have hair like + gold, and that your eye was blue like the sky.' + </p> + <p> + 'No more?' + </p> + <p> + Melanie shook her black locks. 'No more. My man never talk too much. You + like to eat some roast pigeon now?' + </p> + <p> + The White Lady turned her head aside and sobbed. 'And for a soulless being + like this!' Then she remembered that Masters was not to blame, and waited, + trembling and sobbing, for the two men to return. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Masters, having finished his business on board the barque, held out his + hand to Laurance. + </p> + <p> + 'Good-bye, Harry. Nothing can be done. Tom Masters was drowned off + Beveridge Reef years ago, and Harry Laurance married his widow; and Tom + Patterson is another man, who has a native wife, and—' + </p> + <p> + He wrung Laurance's hand, sprang up the companion-way and called to his + boat's crew,— + </p> + <p> + 'Haul the boat alongside, boys. I'm going to Pito-fanua again; and you + beggars will have to pull like hell.... Good-bye, Harry, old fellow. Send + your boat ashore for your wife... and God bless you both!' + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0021" id="link2H_4_0021"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + WITH HOOK AND LINE ON AN AUSTRAL RIVER + </h2> + <p> + The English visitor to the Eastern Colonies of Australia, who is in search + of sport with either rod or hand line, can always obtain excellent fishing + in the summer months, even in such traffic-disturbed harbours as Sydney, + Newcastle and other ports; but on the tidal rivers of the eastern and + southern seaboard he can catch more fish than he can carry home, during + nine months of the year. In the true winter months deep sea fishing is not + much favoured, except during the prevalence of westerly winds, when for + days at a time the Pacific is as smooth as a lake; but in the rivers, from + Mallacoota Inlet, which is a few miles over the Victorian boundary, to the + Tweed River on the north, the stranger may fairly revel, not only in the + delights of splendid fishing, but in the charms of beautiful scenery. He + needs no guide, will be put to but little expense, for the country hotel + accommodation is good and cheap; and, should he visit some of the northern + rivers, where the towns—or rather small settlements—are few + and far between, he will find the settlers the embodiment of British + hospitality. Some five years ago the writer formed one of the crew of a + little steamer of fifty tons, named the <i>Jenny Lind</i>, which was sent + out along the coast in the futile endeavour to revive the coast whaling + industry. Through stress of weather we had frequently to make a dash for + shelter, towing our one whale-boat, to one of the many tidal rivers on the + coast between Sydney and Gabo Island. Here we would remain until the + weather broke, and our crew would literally cover the deck with an + extraordinary variety of fish in the course of a few hours. Then, at low + tide, we could always fill a couple of corn sacks with excellent oysters, + and get bucketfuls of large prawns by means of a scoop net improvised from + a piece of mosquito netting. Game, too, was very plentiful on the lagoons. + The settlers were generally glad to see us, and gave us so freely of milk, + butter, pumpkins, etc., that, despite the rough handling we always had at + sea from the weather, we grew quite fat. But as the greater part of my + fishing experience was gained on the northern rivers of the colony of New + South Wales, it is of them I shall write. Eighteen hours' run by steamer + from Sydney is the Hastings River, on the southern bank of which, a mile + from the bar, is the old-time town of Port Macquarie—a quaint, + sleepy little place of six hundred inhabitants, who spend their days in + fishing and waiting for better times. There are two or three fairly good + hotels, very pretty scenery along the coast and up the river, and a + stranger can pass a month without suffering from <i>ennui</i>—that + is, of course, if he be fond of fishing and shooting; if he is not, he + should avoid going there, for it is the dullest coast town in New South + Wales. The southern shore, from the steamer wharf to opposite the bar, is + lined with a hard beach, on which, at high tide or slack water at low + tide, one may sit down in comfort and have great sport with bream, whiting + and flathead. As soon as the tide turns, however, and is well on the ebb + or flow, further fishing is impossible, for the river rushes out to sea + with great velocity, and the incoming tide is almost as swift. On the + other side of the harbour is a long, sandy point called the North Shore, + about a mile in length. This, at the north end, is met by a somewhat dense + scrub, which lines the right bank of the river for a couple of miles, and + affords a splendid shade to anyone fishing on the river bank. The outer or + ocean beach is but a few minutes' walk from the river, and a magnificent + beach it is, trending in one great unbroken curve to Point Plomer, seven + miles from the township. + </p> + <p> + Before ascending the river on a fishing trip one has to be provided with a + plentiful supply of cockles, or 'pippies,' as they are called locally. + These can only be obtained on the northern ocean beach, and not the least + enjoyable part of a day's sport consists in getting them. They are + triangular in shape, with smooth shells of every imaginable colour, though + a rich purple is commonest. As the backwash leaves the sands bare, these + bivalves may be seen in thick but irregular patches protruding from the + sand. Sometimes, if the tide is not low enough, one may get rolled over by + the surf if he happen to have his back turned seaward. Generally I was + accompanied by two boys, known as 'Condon's Twins.' They were my + landlord's sons, and certainly two of the smartest young sportsmen—although + only twelve years old—I ever met with. Both were very small for + their age, and I was always in doubt as to which was which. They were + always delighted to come with me, and did not mind being soused by a + roller now and then when filling my 'pippy' bag. Pippies are the best bait + one can have for whiting (except prawns) in Australia, for, unlike the + English whiting, it will not touch fish bait of any sort, although, when + very hungry, it will sometimes take to octopus flesh. Bream, whether black + or silvery, flathead, trevally, Jew-fish, and, indeed, all other fish + obtained in Australia, are not so dainty, for, although they like + 'pippies' and prawns best, they will take raw meat, fish, or octopus bait + with readiness. Certain species of sea and river mullet are like them in + this respect, and good sport may be had from them with a rod in the hot + months, as Dick and Fred, the twins aforesaid, well knew, for often would + their irate father wrath-fully ask them why they wasted their time + catching 'them worthless mullet.' + </p> + <p> + But let me give an idea of one of many days' fishing on the Hastings, + spent with the 'Twins.' Having filled a sugar-bag with 'pippies' on the + ocean beach, we put on our boots and make our way through the belt of + scrub to where our boat is lying, tied to the protruding roots of a tree. + Each of us is armed with a green stick, and we pick our way pretty + carefully, for black snake are plentiful, and to tread on one means death. + The density of the foliage overhead is such that but little sunlight can + pierce through it, and the ground is soft to our feet with the thick + carpet of fallen leaves beneath. No sound but the murmuring of the sea and + the hoarse notes of countless gulls breaks the silence, for this side of + the river is uninhabited, and its solitude disturbed only by some settler + who has ridden down the coast to look for straying cattle, or by a fishing + party from the town. Our boat, which we had hauled up and then tied to the + tree, is now afloat, for the tide has risen, and the long stretches of + yellow sandbanks which line the channel on the further side are covered + now with a foot of water. As we drift up the river, eating our lunch, and + letting the boat take care of herself, a huge, misshapen thing comes round + a low point, emitting horrid groanings and wheezings. It is a steam + stern-wheel punt, loaded with mighty logs of black-butt and tallow wood, + from fifty feet to seventy feet in length, cut far up the Hastings and the + Maria and Wilson Rivers, and destined for the saw-mill at Port Macquarie. + </p> + <p> + In another hour we are at our landing-place, a selector's abandoned + homestead, built of rough slabs, and standing about fifty yards back from + the river and the narrow line of brown, winding beach. The roof had long + since fallen in, and the fences and outbuildings lay low, covered with + vines and creepers. The intense solitude of the place, the motionless + forest of lofty, grey-boled swamp gums that encompassed it on all sides + but one, and the wide stretch of river before it were calculated to + inspire melancholy in anyone but an ardent fisherman. Scarcely have we + hauled our boat up on the sand, and deposited our provisions and water in + the roofless house, when we hear a commotion in the river—a swarm of + fish called 'tailer' are making havoc among a 'school' of small mullet, + many of which fling themselves out upon the sand. Presently all is quiet + again, and we get our lines ready. + </p> + <p> + For whiting and silvery bream, rather fine lines are used; but we each + have a heavy line for flathead, for these fish are caught in the tidal + rivers on a sandy bottom up to three feet and four feet in length. They + are in colour, both on back and belly, much like a sole, of great width + across the shoulders, and then taper away to a very fine tail. The head is + perfectly flat, very thin, and armed on each side with very sharp bones + pointing tailward. A stab from one of these causes intense inflammation. + The fins are small—so small as to appear almost rudimentary—yet + the fish swims, or rather darts, along the bottom with amazing rapidity. + They love to lie along the banks a few feet from the shore, where, + concealed in the sand, they can dart out upon and seize their prey in + their enormous 'gripsack'mouths. The approach of a boat, or a person + walking along the sand, will cause them to at once speed like lightning + into deep water, leaving behind them a wake of sand and mud, which is + washed off their backs in their flight. Still, although not a pleasing + fish to look at, the flathead is of a delicious and delicate flavour. + There are some variations in their shades of colour, from a pale, delicate + grey to a very dark brown, according to their habitat, and, although most + frequent in very shallow water, they are often caught in great quantities + off the coast in from ten to fifteen fathoms of water. Gut or wire + snoodings are indispensable when fishing for flathead, else the fish + invariably severs the line with his fine needle-pointed teeth, which are + set very closely together. Nothing comes amiss to them as food; but they + have a great love for small mullet or whiting, or a piece of octopus + tentacle. + </p> + <p> + Baiting our heavy lines with mullet—two hooks with brass-wire snoods + to each line—we throw out about thirty yards, then, leaving two or + three fathoms loose upon the shore, we each thrust a stick firmly into the + sand, and take a turn of the line round it. As the largest flathead + invariably darts upon the bait, and then makes a bolt with it, this plan + is a good one to follow, unless, of course, they are biting freely; in + that case the smaller lines for bream and whiting, etc., are hauled in, + for there is more real sport in landing a 10-lb. flathead than there is in + catching smaller fish, for he is very game, and fights fiercely for his + life. + </p> + <p> + Having disposed our big lines, we bait the smaller ones with 'pippies,' + and not two minutes at the outside elapse after the sinkers have touched + bottom when we know we are to have a good time, for each of us has hooked + a fish, and three whiting are kicking on the sand before five minutes have + expired. Then for another hour we throw out and haul in again as quickly + as possible, landing whiting from 6 oz. to nearly 2 lb. weight. One of the + 'Twins' has five hooks on his line, and occasionally lands three fish + together, and now and again we get small bream and an occasional 'tailer' + of 2 lb. or 3 lb. As the sun mounts higher the breeze dies away, the heat + becomes very great, and we have frequent recourse to our water jar—in + one case mixing it with whisky. Then the whiting cease to bite as suddenly + as they have begun, and move off into deeper water. Just as we are + debating as to whether we shall take the boat out into mid-stream, Twin + Dick gives a yell, as his stick is suddenly whipped out of the sand, and + the loose line lying beside it rushes away into the water. But Dick is an + old hand, and lets his fish have his first bolt, and then turns him. 'By + jingo! sir, he's a big fellow,' he cries, as he hauls in the line, now as + taut as a telegraph wire, and then the other twin comes to his aid, and in + a few minutes the outline of the fish is seen, coming in straight ahead, + as quick as they can pull him. When he is within ten feet of the beach the + boys run up the bank and land him safely, as he turns his body into a + circle in his attempts to shake out the hook. Being called upon to + estimate his weight, I give it as 11 lb., much to the Twins' sorrow—they + think it 15 lb. Half an hour passes, and we catch but half a dozen silvery + bream and some small baby whiting, for now the sun is beating down upon + our heads, and our naked feet begin to burn and sting; so we adjourn to + the old house and rest awhile, leaving our big lines securely tied. But, + though the breeze for which we wait comes along by two o'clock, the fish + do not, and so, after disinterring our takes from the wet sand, wherein we + had buried them as they were caught, to prevent them being spoilt by the + sun, we get aboard again and pull across to the opposite bank of the + river. Here, in much deeper water, about fifteen feet right under the + clayey bank, we can see hundreds of fine bream, and now and then some + small Jew-fish. Taking off our sinkers, we have as good and more exciting + sport among the bream than we had with the whiting, catching between four + and five dozen by six o'clock. Then, after boiling the billy and eating + some fearfully tough corned meat, we get into the boat again, hoist our + sail, and land at the little township just after dark. Such was one of + many similar days' sport on the Hastings, which, with the Bellinger, the + Nambucca, the Macleay and the Clarence Rivers, affords good fishing + practically all the year round. Then, besides these tidal rivers, there + are at frequent intervals along the coast, tidal lagoons and 'blind' + creeks where fish congregate in really incredible quantities. Such places + as Lake Illawarra and Lake Macquarie are fishing resorts well known to the + tourist; but along the northern coast, where the population is scantier + and access by rail or steamer more difficult, there is an absolutely new + field open to the sportsman—in fact, these places are seldom visited + for either fishing or shooting by people from Sydney. During November and + December the bars of these rivers are literally black with incredible + numbers of coarse sea-salmon—a fish much like the English sea bass—which, + making their way over the bars, swim up the rivers and remain there for + about a week. Although these fish, which weigh from 8 lb. to 10 lb., do + not take a bait, and are rather too coarse to eat, their roes are very + good, especially when smoked. They are captured with the greatest of ease, + either by spearing or by the hand, for sometimes they are in such dense + masses that they are unable to maoeuvre in small bays, and the urchins of + coastal towns hail their yearly advent with delight. They usually make + their first appearance about November 20th (I presume they resort to the + rivers to spawn), and are always followed by a great number of very large + sharks and saw-fish,{*} which commit dreadful havoc in their serried and + helpless ranks. Following the sea-salmon, the rivers are next visited in + January by shoals of very large sea-mullet—blue-black backs, silvery + bellies and sides, and yellow fins and tails. These, too, will not take a + bait, but are caught in nets, and, if a steamer happens to be on the eve + of leaving for Sydney, many hundreds of baskets are sent away; but they + barely pay the cost of freight and commission, I believe. There are + several varieties of sea-mullet, one or two of which will take the hook + freely, and I have often caught them off the rocky coast of New South + Wales with a rod when the sea has been smooth. The arrival of the big + sea-mullet denotes that the season for Jew-fish is at its height, and if + the stranger to Australian waters wants exciting sport, let him try + Jew-fishing at night. In deep water off the coast these great fish are + occasionally caught during daylight, but a dull, cloudy night is best, + when they may be caught from the beach or river bank in shallow water. + Very stout lines and heavy hooks are used, for a 90-lb. or 100-lb. + Jew-fish is very common. Baiting with a whole mullet or whiting, or one of + the arms of an octopus, the most amateurish fisherman cannot fail to hook + two or three Jew-fish in a night. (Even in Sydney Harbour I have seen some + very large ones caught by people fishing from ferry wharves.) They are + very powerful, and also very game, and when they rise to the surface make + a terrific splashing. At one place on the Hastings River, called + Blackman's Point, a party of four of us took thirteen fish, the heaviest + of which was 62 lb. and the lightest 9 lb. Next morning, however, the + Blackman's Point ferryman, who always set a line from his punt when he + turned in, showed us one of over 90 lb. When they grow to such a size as + this they are not eaten locally, as the flesh is very often full of thin, + thread-like worms. The young fish, however, are very palatable. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The 'saw-fish' of the Australian tidal rivers is very + distinct from the sword-fish of the deep sea. +</pre> + <p> + The saw-fish, to which I have before alluded as harrying the swarms of + sea-salmon, also make havoc with the Jew-fish, and very often are caught + on Jew-fish lines. They are terrible customers to get foul of (I do not + confound them with the sword-fish) when fishing from a small boat. Their + huge broad bill of hard bone, set on both sides with its terrible sharp + spikes, their great length and enormous strength, render it impossible to + even get them alongside, and there is no help for it but either to cut the + line or pull up anchor and land him on the shore. Even then the task of + despatching one of these creatures is no child's play on a dark night, for + they lash their long tails about with such fury that a broken leg might be + the result of coming too close. In the rivers of Northern Queensland the + saw-fish attain an enormous size, and the Chinese fishermen about Cooktown + and Townsville often have their nets destroyed by a sawfish enfolding + himself in them. Alligators, by the way, do the same thing there, and are + sometimes captured, perfectly helpless, in the folds of the nets, in which + they have rolled themselves over and over again, tearing it beyond repair + with their feet, but eventually yielding to their fate. + </p> + <p> + The schnapper, the best of all Australian fish, is too well known to here + enter into a detailed description. Most town-bred Australians generally + regard it as a purely ocean-loving fish, or at least only frequenting very + deep waters in deep harbours, such as Sydney, Jervis Bay and Twofold Bay. + This is quite a mistake, for in many of the rivers, twenty or more miles + up from the sea, the writer and many other people have not only caught + these beautiful fish, but seen fishermen haul in their nets filled with + them. But they seldom remain long, preferring the blue depths of ocean to + the muddy bottoms of tidal rivers, for they are rock-haunting and + surf-loving. + </p> + <p> + Of late years the northern bar harbours and rivers of New South Wales have + been visited by a fish that in my boyhood's days was unknown even to the + oldest fisherman—the bonito. Although in shape and size they exactly + resemble the ocean bonito of tropic seas, these new arrivals are lighter + in colour, with bands of marbled grey along the sides and belly. They bite + freely at a running bait—i.e., when a line is towed astern—and + are very good when eaten quite fresh, but, like all of the mackerel tribe, + rapidly deteriorate soon after they are caught. The majority of the coast + settlers will not eat them, being under the idea that, as they are all but + scaleless, they are 'poisonous.' This silly impression also prevails with + regard to many other scaleless fish on the Australian coast, some of + which, such as the trevally, are among the best and most delicate in + flavour. The black and white rock cod is also regarded with aversion by + the untutored settlers of the small coast settlements, yet these fish are + sold in Sydney, like the schnapper, at prohibitive prices. + </p> + <p> + In conclusion, let me advise anyone who is contemplating a visit to + Australia, and means to devote any of his time to either river or lake + fishing, to take his rods with him; all the rest of his tackle he can buy + as cheap in the colonies as he can in England. Rods are but little used in + salt-water fishing in Australia, and are terribly expensive to buy. Those + who do use a rod are usually satisfied with a bamboo—a very good rod + it makes, too, although inconvenient to carry when travelling—but + the generality of people use hand lines. And the visitor must not be + persuaded that he can get really good river fishing without going some + distance from Sydney or Melbourne. That there is some excellent sport to + be obtained in Port Jackson in summer is true, but it is lacking in a very + essential thing—the quietude that is dear to the heart of every true + fisherman. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0022" id="link2H_4_0022"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE WRECK OF THE LEONORA: A MEMORY OF 'BULLY' HAYES + </h2> + <p> + The brig <i>Leonora</i>, owned and commanded by the notorious Captain + 'Bully' Hayes, has, perhaps, been more written and talked about than any + other vessel, except the <i>Bounty</i>, that ever sailed the South Seas, + and her career was as eventful as that of her captain. It was my fortune + to fill the distinguished position of supercargo to that eminent gentleman + for two years, and, as may be imagined by those who have read anything of + Hayes's strange life and doings in the Pacific and the China Seas, I found + the berth a remarkably curious one. How and why I became supercargo to the + famous alleged pirate is another story; but, in justice to 'Bully's' + memory, I may here at once say that the man was <i>not</i> the remorseless + ruffian that his enemies and many writers of tales of the South Seas have + painted him; furthermore, he was one of the best sailor-men that ever trod + a deck. Had he lived in the times of Drake or Dampier, he would have been + a hero, for he was a man born to command and lead. <i>Inter alia</i>, he + was also clever with his fists, and my soul was possessed of the deepest + admiration for him in this respect from the very first day I stepped on + board the <i>Leonora</i>, in Milli Lagoon, in the Marshall Islands, for it + was my privilege to see him knock out three men, one after another, in + twice as many minutes. These men were 'toughs' from a New Bedford whaler, + and had been put ashore at Milli Lagoon by their captain as dangerous and + useless characters. They came on board the <i>Leonora</i> and asked + 'Bully' to ship them. He refused in such unnecessary language that the + leader of the three, in fatuous ignorance of the man to whom he was + speaking, threatened to 'put a head on him'; whereupon Hayes at once had + the deck cleared, and, taking them in turn, knocked each man out in the + first round. Then he gave them a glass of grog all round, a bottle of + arnica to cure the malformations he had caused on their countenances, and + sent them ashore. + </p> + <p> + But this is not the story of the wreck of the <i>Leonora</i>. + </p> + <p> + We had made Strong's Island from Ponapé, in the Western Carolines, to wood + and water and land some cattle, and for two weeks we lay at anchor in the + beautiful harbour of Lêlé. We found the island in a very disturbed and + excited state, for a few weeks previously two American sperm whalers had + touched at Lêlé and landed five white men, with a retinue of nearly one + hundred savage natives from Pleasant Island, an isolated spot situated in + 0.25 S., and these people—white and brown—so terrified the + Strong's Islanders that the old King Togusa was in abject fear of them. We + (Hayes and myself) soon learnt their story, which was that they had been + compelled to fly for their lives from Pleasant Island on account of an + engagement between the various clans of that place. The two chiefs under + whose protection these men lived had been badly beaten, and the victors + gave the five white traders a short notice to clear out or be shot. They + at once put to sea in their several whale-boats, but when some three + hundred miles away from the island, on their way to Ponapé—the North + Pacific Cave of Adullam—they were sighted and picked up by the two + whalers, the <i>St George</i> and the <i>Europa</i>, the captains of + which, not caring for their company all the way to Ponapé, landed them at + Strong's Island. They were now awaiting a chance to continue their voyage + to Ponapé in a passing whaler, and in the meantime their savage followers + were harrying the unfortunate Strong's Islanders to death, robbing their + plantations, abducting their women and knocking them about generally. + </p> + <p> + These wild people were the most noisy and intractable lot of natives I had + ever seen, wearing only a girdle of leaves around their waists, and all + armed with Snider carbines and short stabbing knives made from cutlasses + broken in halves. But, although they bullied the weak and effeminate + Strong's Islanders, they were yet very obedient to their white masters, to + whom they were all more or less related through the native wives whom the + traders had married. The women were very tall and handsome, and every bit + as handy with their knives as the men in a quarrel. + </p> + <p> + Hayes, of course, was well known to both the white men and natives, and at + once began his good offices by threatening to open fire on the houses and + boats of the former if they did not at once cease to persecute the king + and his subjects. This threat he made in the presence and hearing of the + king himself, who was deeply grateful, and at once said he would make him + a present of two tuns of oil. The five hairy ruffians were considerably + startled at first; but Hayes, I regret to say, turning to one of them, + named Pedro Diaz, said in Spanish, 'Don't be scared, Peter. I'm not going + back on you fellows; but at the same time you'll have to quit knocking + these poor devils about. So just go ashore and take away your people's + rifles—it means a couple of tuns of oil for me—its just as + well in the hold of the <i>Leonora</i> as in that of the missionary brig + <i>Morning Star</i>. The missionaries would only promise King Togusa + credit in heaven. I'll give him enough grog to keep him drunk for a month + of Sundays on earth; and as he never possibly could get to heaven, I am + treating him better than the missionaries, who would simply be obtaining + his oil under false pretences.' + </p> + <p> + On the following day the king sent off his gift of oil; the five white men + and he became reconciled, and the abducted Strong's Island women were + returned to their parents or husbands as a guarantee of good faith. In the + evening the traders came on board and made an arrangement with Hayes to + proceed in the brig to Arrecifos (Providence Island), a large atoll to the + north-west, of which Hayes had taken possession. Here they were to live as + long as they liked, paying Hayes a certain quantity of coco-nut oil as + tribute, and resisting, by force of arms, any attempt to take possession + of the atoll by the German trading company of Godeffroy, should it be made + by any one of the three, armed German brigs belonging to the firm, and + then cruising in the North Pacific. + </p> + <p> + Two days later we bade farewell to the old king and his pretty young wife, + Se, and the <i>Leonora</i> sailed out of Lêlé. We were first to call at + South Harbour, six miles to leeward, where we were to take in yams, pigs + and other provisions for the voyage to Providence Island, as we had now + over one hundred additional people on board. + </p> + <p> + We ran out of Lêlé at daylight, and at seven o'clock in the morning + dropped our anchor in fourteen fathoms in South Harbour, or Utwé,{*} as + the natives called it. As quickly as possible the ship's boats, aided by + those belonging to the traders, set to work to bring off the yams and + pigs, for which, as they were brought on deck by their native owners, I + weighed and paid. By dusk we had finished, and I was just dressing to go + to supper aboard one of the American whale-ships which were lying near us, + when the trade wind, which had been lusty enough all day, suddenly fell—a + very dangerous sign at that season of the year. In a few minutes Hayes + sent a boat over to the whalers, telling the captains that a blow was + coming on from the westward, and advising them to clear out to sea. But + the American captains decided not to risk towing out through the narrow + passage; and as they were in a much better position than the <i>Leonora</i>, + they did wisely, for in less than a quarter of an hour a mountainous swell + began rolling in, and it soon became evident that even with our own four + boats, and the seven belonging to the traders, we could not tow out. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The Port Lottin of Dupurrcy. +</pre> + <p> + As quickly as possible Hayes had our royal and top-gallant yards sent + down, the boats slung in-board from the davits on the deck, the Pleasant + Islanders sent below, and every preparation made to ride out the blow, + which we were in hopes would not last more than six hours or so. So far + not a breath of wind had come, but the brig was rolling so badly that we + quite expected to see her go over on her beam ends and stay there. At + sunset the air was so close and oppressive that one could scarcely + breathe, and the natives in the hold became half suffocated, and could + only be kept down by the white traders and some of our officers + threatening to shoot the first man that tried to get on deck. Many of + them, however, besought to be allowed to swim ashore and remain till + morning, and Hayes told them they could go. Some ten men and six women at + once came up; and, although it was now dark, and the sharks consequently + much more to be dreaded, sprang overboard, and swam in towards the native + village of Utwé. + </p> + <p> + For another twenty minutes or more we remained anxiously awaiting. The sky + was as black as pitch, and there was now a tremendously high sea, and the + din and thunder of the surf on the reef a couple of cables' length away + was most appalling. I had never heard anything like it before, nor have I + since; and the weird sound of the huge seas as they tumbled and roared + upon the hollow crust of the reef made my hair stand upon end like priming + wires. The tide was low, and perhaps that had something to do with the + wild, resounding clamour of the seas upon the long line of reef; but there + was a strange humming note underlying it all, which was new to many of our + ship's company, and seemed to fill even the rest of the Pleasant Islanders + who remained on board with a sense of dread, for they earnestly besought + Hayes to let them come on deck, for, they said, 'the belly of the world + was about to burst.' + </p> + <p> + To this, most fortunately for themselves, Hayes consented, and in a few + minutes they swarmed up on deck, each man carrying his Snider and + cutlass-knife, and the women and children loaded up with their + sleeping-mats and other gear. Some of the women crawled under the long + boat, which was lying on the port side, and made themselves comfortable; + and the men brought their arms to me to stow in the trade room, for fear + of their getting wet, and then returned to their white masters, who were + grouped together on deck. + </p> + <p> + Then, quite suddenly, the jumping, tumbling sea began to subside, and + through the darkness we heard the skipper of one of the American whalers + hail us. + </p> + <p> + 'What are you, going to do, Captain Hayes? I guess we're in a pretty tight + place. I'd try to tow out if I could see the hole in the wall. We're going + to get it mighty hot presently. It's coming on fast.' + </p> + <p> + 'That's so,' Hayes replied, with a laugh; 'but we can't stop it. And, say, + look here, captain, as you fellows are lying further out than I am, you + might each start a cask of oil to run when the seas begin to break. It + won't help you much, but it will me.' + </p> + <p> + The whale-ship captain laughed, and said that he was afraid that his six + hundred barrels of oil would start themselves if the sea began to break—meaning + that his ship would go ashore. + </p> + <p> + The previous heavy rolling of the brig had nearly made a wreck of my trade + room, for everything had been jerked off the shelves, and cases of liquor, + powder, cartridges, concertinas and women's hats, etc., were lying burst + open on the floor; so, calling a couple of native sailors to help me, I + was just going below, when I heard Captain Hayes's sharp tones calling out + to our officers to stand by. + </p> + <p> + From the north-west there came a peculiar droning, humming sound, mingled + with a subdued crashing and roaring of the mountain forest, which lay + about a quarter of a mile astern of us—the noise one hears when a + mighty bush fire is raging in Australia, and a sudden gust of wind adds to + its devastation—and then in another half a minute the brig spun + round like a top to the fury of the first blast, and we were enveloped in + a blinding shower of leaves, twigs and salty spray. She brought up to her + anchors with a jerk that nearly threw everyone off his feet, and then in + an incredibly short time the sea again began to rise, and the brig to + plunge and take water in over the bows and waist—not heavy seas, but + sheets of water nipped off by the force of the wind and falling on the + decks in drenching showers. + </p> + <p> + Just as I was hurrying below, Hayes stopped me. + </p> + <p> + 'Don't bother about the trade room. Get all the arms and ammunition you + can ready for the boats. I'm afraid that we won't see this through. The + blubber-hunters are all right; but we are not. We have to ride short. I + can't give her more than another ten fathoms of cable—there are a + lot of coral boulders right aft. If the wind hauls round a couple of + points we may clear them, but it isn't going to; and we'll get smothered + in the seas in another ten minutes—if the cables don't part before + then.' + </p> + <p> + Seldom was a ship sent to destruction in such a short time as the <i>Leonora</i>. + I had not been five minutes in the main cabin before a heavy sea came over + the bows with a crash, carried away the for'ard deckhouse, which it swept + overboard, killed four people, and poured into the cabin. I heard Hayes + call out to the mate to give her another ten fathoms of cable, and then, + assisted by half a dozen native women and a young Easter Island half-caste + girl named Lalia, wife to one of the five white traders, began packing our + arms and ammunition into two or three strong trade boxes. In another chest + we stowed the ship's chronometers, Hayes's instruments, and all the charts + upon which we could lay hands, together with about six thousand silver + dollars in bags, the ship's books and some silver plate. The women, who + were the officers' and traders' wives, were fearfully terrified; all but + Lalia, who was a fine, courageous girl. Taking a cutlass from the rack in + the cabin she stood over them; and, cursing freely in French, English, + Spanish and whalers' language, threatened to murder every one of them if + they did not hurry. We got the first box of arms safely up the companion, + and Hayes saw it lowered into one of the traders' whale-boats, which was + standing by under the stern. Then, as a tremendous crashing sea came over + the waist, all the women but Lalia bolted and left us alone. Lalia + laughed. + </p> + <p> + 'That's the long-boat gone, sir; and all those Pleasant Islands women are + drown, I hope—the damned savage beasts, I hate them.' + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The <i>Leonora</i> carried four guns. +</pre> + <p> + I learnt afterwards that the crash was caused by the two guns on the + starboard side taking a run to port, and carrying away the port ones with + them over the side through the bulwarks.{*} The long-boat was washed + overboard by the same sea, but half a dozen of our Rotumah Island sailors + had jumped overboard after her, and, using canoe paddles, saved her from + being dashed on the reef. She was soon brought alongside, fully manned, + and awaiting Hayes's orders. + </p> + <p> + The captain now called to me to stand by to take charge of her, when a + second fearful sea came over the waist, and fairly buried the ship, and + Hung, the Chinese carpenter and myself were only saved from going + overboard, by being entangled in the falls of one of the quarter-boats. As + for the long-boat, it was swept away out of sight, but succeeded in + reaching the shore safely, with the loss of one man. + </p> + <p> + By this time the seas were breaking over the brig with terrible force, and + when they came over the bows they swept her flush decks like a torrent. + Presently she gave such a terrible roll to port that we thought she was + going over altogether, and the third mate reported that six + four-hundred-gallon water tanks, which were stored in the 'tween decks + amidships, had gone adrift to the port side. Then Hayes told the carpenter + to cut away the masts. A few slashes at the rigging, and a couple of + snicks at the spars themselves, sent the sticks over the side quick + enough; the brig stood up again and rode easier. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, the boat of one of the traders named Terry—an old + ex-man-of-war's man—had come off, manned by half a dozen of his + stalwart half-caste sons, and although it was still pitch dark, and the + din of the gale sounded like fifty railway locomotives whistling in + unison, and the brig was only revealed to the brave fellows by the white + light of the foam-whipped sea, they ran the boat under the counter, and + stood by while a number of women and children jumped, or were pitched + overboard, to them. These were quickly rescued, and then that boat, too, + vanished. + </p> + <p> + Again the wind lulled for about five minutes, and Hayes and old Harry + Terry urged the rest of the remaining women to jump overboard and make for + the shore, as the brig's decks were now awash, and every third or fourth + sea swept along her, fore and aft, with irresistible force. One woman—a + stout, powerfully-built native of Ocean Island—whose infant child + was lashed to her naked back with bands of coir cinnet, rushed up to the + captain, and crying, 'Kâpeni, ka maté a maté '—('Captain, if I die, + I die')—put her arms round his neck, rubbed noses with him, and + leaped over the stern rail into the seething surf. She was found the next + morning lying dead on a little beach, having bled to death from the wounds + she had received from the jagged coral rocks, but the baby was alive, for + with her dying hands the poor creature had placed it under shelter, and + covered it over with grass and leaves, where it was found, sleeping + soundly, by a native sailor. + </p> + <p> + There was not now the slightest hope of saving the ship, unless the sea + went down; and Hayes, who was as cool as if he were taking his morning + coffee, told the rest of the crew, who were now all gathered together aft, + to get ashore the best way they could. Three of the white traders were + still aboard, awaiting the return of their boats, which, manned by their + faithful Pleasant Islanders, we now and again could dimly discern, as they + appeared on the summit of the heaving seas, waiting for a chance to pull + up astern and rescue their masters. + </p> + <p> + There were still two chests full of valuables in the main cabin to be got + on deck, and Lalia (sweet Lalia), the young woman of whom I have before + spoken, although her husband had gone ashore, refused to jump to the + boats, and said she would stay and help us to save them. + </p> + <p> + 'Go, ashore, Lalia. Go to your husband,' said Hayes, sternly pushing her + to the stern rail; 'he is an old man, and cannot come off again in his + boat for you. Perhaps he is drowned.' + </p> + <p> + The girl laughed and said it was all the better—she would get + another and a younger husband; she would stay with the <i>men</i> on board + and not swim ashore with the old women. Then she ran below. In a few + minutes she reappeared, with a fine powerful Pleasant Island native named + Karta, carrying our Chinese steward, who was paralysed with drink and + terror. Hayes took the man up in his arms and, seeing one of the boats + close to, threw him overboard without further ado. Then Lalia and I again + went below for another of the boxes, and, aided by Karta, we had got it + half-way up the companion ladder when the brig rose her stern high to a + mountain sea, and then came down with a terrific crash on to a coral + boulder, ripping her rudder from the stern post, and sending it clean + through the deck. Lalia fell backwards into the cabin, and the heavy chest + slipped down on the top of her, crushing her left foot cruelly against the + companion lining, and jamming her slender body underneath. Karta and + myself tried hard to free the poor tortured girl, but without avail, and + then some of our Rotumah Island sailors, hearing our cries for help, ran + down, and by our united exertions, we got her clear, put her in the + steward's bunk—as she had fainted—and lugged the chest on + deck. + </p> + <p> + One of the traders' whale-boats was lying close to, and the chest was, by + the merest chance, dropped into her just as the brig came down again on + the coral boulder with a thundering crash and smashed a big hole into her + timbers under her starboard counter. In a few minutes she began to fill. + </p> + <p> + 'It's all up with her, boys,' cried the philosophical 'Bully.' 'Jump for + the boats all of you; but wait for a rising sea, or you'll get smashed up + on the coral. Bo'sun, take a look round below, and see that there are no + more women there. We must take care of the women, boys.' + </p> + <p> + Karta, the brave Pleasant Islander, a Manila man named Sarréo, and myself + then went below for Lalia. She was sitting up in the steward's bunk, + stripped to the waist, and only awaiting help to get on deck. Already the + main cabin had three feet of water in it, and just as we lifted the girl + out, another sea came in over deck and nearly filled it; and with it came + the bruised and battered dead body of a little native boy, who, crouching + up under the shelter of the companion, had been killed by the wheel + falling upon and crushing him when the rudder was carried away. + </p> + <p> + Half-drowned, we managed to struggle on deck, Karta carrying the girl, and + the Manila man and I helping each other together. The brig was now quite + under water for'ard, but her after part was hanging on the coral boulder + under it, though every succeeding sea rolled her from side to side. Hayes + snatched the girl from Karta's arms just as the ship lobbed over to + starboard on her bilge, then a thumping sea came thundering down, and + swept the lot of us over the stern. + </p> + <p> + The poor Manila man was never seen again—barring a small portion of + his anatomy; to wit, his right arm and shoulder, the rest having been + assimilated by Jack Shark. Hayes got ashore by himself, and the writer of + this narrative, with Karta, the Pleasant Islander, and Lalia, the trader's + wife, came ashore on the wreck of a boat that had been carried on top of + the after-deck house. + </p> + <p> + We were all badly knocked about. Karta had a fearful gash in his leg from + a piece of coral. This he had bound up, whilst swimming, with a strip of + his grass-cloth girdle. Lalia, in addition to her dreadfully crushed foot, + had her right arm badly cut; and the writer was so generally excoriated + and done-up that he would never have reached the shore, but for the + gallant Karta and the brave-hearted Lalia, who both held him up when he + wanted to let go and drown quietly. + </p> + <p> + At dawn the gale had ceased, and whilst we, the survivors of the <i>Leonora</i> + stood up and stretched our aching limbs we saw, as we glanced seaward, the + two 'blubber hunters,' who had ridden out the storm safely, heave-up and + sail through the passage. I don't think either of the captains was wanting + in humane feeling; but both were, no doubt, very much afraid that as + 'Bully' Hayes had lost his ship, he would not be particular about taking + another near to hand. And they were quite correct. Hayes and his third + mate, some of the white traders, and twenty or so of our crew were quite + willing to seize one of the whalers, and sail to Arrecifos. But the Yankee + skippers knew too much of 'Bully,' and left us to ourselves on Strong's + Island; and many a tragedy resulted, for the crew and passengers of the <i>Leonora</i> + with some few exceptions, were not particular as to their doings, and + mutiny, treachery, murder, and sudden death, were the outcome of the wreck + of the <i>Leonora</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0023" id="link2H_4_0023"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + AN OLD COLONIAL MUTINY + </h2> + <p> + The following notice one day appeared among the official records of the + earlier days (1800) of the colony of New South Wales:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Whereas the persons undermentioned and described did, in + the month of November, by force of arms, violently take away + from His Majesty's settlement at Dalrymple a colonial brig + or vessel called the <i>Venus</i>, the property of Mr Robert + Campbell, a merchant of this territory, and the said vessel + then containing stores, the property of His Majesty, and a + quantity of necessary stores, the property of the officers + of that settlement, and sundry other property, belonging to + private individuals.' +</pre> + <p> + Then follows the description of the crew, from which it will be seen that + there was every factor towards some criminal deed on board the <i>Venus</i>. + First of all the chief mate is mentioned:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Benjamin Burnet Kelly, chief mate; says he is an American. + He arrived in this colony as chief mate of the <i>Albion</i>, a + South Sea whaler (Captain Bunker); Richard Edwards, second + mate; Joseph Redmonds, seaman, a mulatto or mestizo of South + America 299 (came out from England in the <i>Venus</i>); Darra, + cook, a Malay man, both ears missing; Thomas Ford and + William Porter Evans, boys of 14 and 16 (Evans is a native + of Rose Hill in this colony); Richard Thompson, a soldier; + Thomas Richard Evans, a convict, formerly a gunner's mate on + H.M.S. <i>Calcutta</i> (sentenced to fourteen years for desertion + and striking an officer); John Lancaster or Lancashire, a + convict, a very dangerous person; Charlotte Badger, convict, + a very corpulent person (has an infant in arms); Kitty + Hegarty, convict, very handsome woman, with white teeth and + fresh complexion, much inclined to smile, a great talker.' +</pre> + <p> + Then comes an official proclamation, signed 'G. Blaxcell, Secretary, + Government House, Sydney,' cautioning 'all governors and officers in + command at any of His Majesty's ports, and the Honourable East India + Company's magistrates or officers in command, at home or abroad, at + whatever port the said brig may be taken into, or met with at sea, against + any frauds or deceptions that may be practised by the offending parties,' + and asking that they might be seized and brought to condign punishment. + </p> + <p> + The <i>Venus</i>, under the command of Mr S. Rodman Chace, sailed out of + Sydney Cove (as Port Jackson was then called) for Twofold Bay at the time + before mentioned. Here she remained at anchor for about five weeks, and + here it was that the first trouble began. + </p> + <p> + Captain Chace had been ashore, and about dusk was returning in his boat to + the ship, when he heard sounds of great hilarity proceeding from those on + board. On coming alongside and gaining the deck, he found that the two + convict ladies were entertaining Mr Benjamin Burnet Kelly, the mate, with + a dancing exhibition, the musical accompaniment to which was given by + Darra, the earless Malayan cook, who was seated on a tub on the main-hatch + playing a battered violin. Lying around the deck, in various stages of + drunkenness, were the male convicts and some of the crew, and the genial + Mr Kelly presided over a bucket of rum, pannikins of which were offered to + the ladies at frequent intervals by the two faithful cup-bearers,—Ford + and Evans. + </p> + <p> + Chace at once put an end to the harmony by seizing the bucket of rum and + throwing it overboard, and the drunken people about him being incapable of + offering much resistance, he put them in irons and tumbled them below. + Kelly, who was a big, truculent-looking man, then produced a bowie knife + of alarming dimensions and challenged Chace to combat, but was quickly + awed by a pistol being placed at his breast by his superior officer. He + then promised to return to his duty, provided—here he began to weep, + that—the captain did not harm Kitty Hegarty, for whom he professed + an ardent attachment. + </p> + <p> + As the <i>Venus</i> carried despatches for the Governor of Van Diemen's + Land, Captain Chace was eager to reach his destination, Port Dalrymple, + with all speed, and therefore was in a very anxious state of mind after + the disturbance mentioned, particularly as the mate Kelly, and the + convicts on board, seemed to have some sort of secret understanding. + However, the <i>Venus</i> arrived there safely, and Captain Chace duly + delivered his despatches to Lieutenant House, the Marine officer in + charge. Feeling sure that there was now no further danger to be + apprehended, he spent the night with an old shipmate, the captain of the + schooner <i>Governor Hunter</i>. After breakfast, accompanied by Mr House, + he got into his boat and set out for his ship. He had left instructions + with the mate to get up anchor at six o'clock and come up the river, and + about seven o'clock, as he and Mr House were being pulled towards her in + the boat, they saw that she was under weigh, and coming up. + </p> + <p> + 'There's not much use in us going down, as your ship is coming up, Chace,' + said Mr House. 'Let us go ashore here in this cove and wait for her.' + </p> + <p> + The master agreed to this, and the boat turned into a little sandy-beached + cove, where they lost sight of the ship, which, with the light breeze then + blowing, would not pass abreast of the cove for another hour. + </p> + <p> + About an hour passed, and then they heard the sound of oars, and the <i>Venus</i> + boat was seen sweeping round the headland of the cove. The crew seemed + thoroughly exhausted, and many of them were cut and bleeding. In a few + moments they told their story, which was, that just after the ship got + under weigh, Kelly and the convicts sprang upon the second mate, stunned + him and pitched him below. Then, before those of the crew who were not in + league with the mutineers could offer any resistance, they were set upon + by the pilot, Thompson, the soldier, Darra, the earless cook and the two + women, all of whom were armed with pistols and swords. + </p> + <p> + 'Into the boat, all of you fellows,' said Kelly, pointing a pistol at the + five seamen; 'into the boat; quick! or you are all dead men!' + </p> + <p> + The boat was towing astern, and the five seamen, seeing that the <i>Venus</i> + was now in the absolute possession of the mutineers, and that Kelly would + not hesitate to shoot them if they disobeyed him, went into the boat + quietly. + </p> + <p> + As soon as the mutineers cast off the boat's painter, Kelly came aft with + Kitty Hegarty, and placing his arms around her waist, jocularly called out + to the men in the boat to 'look at the pirate's bride, and give his + compliments and “Mrs Kelly's” compliments to Captain Chace, Lieutenant + House, and the Lieutenant-Governor.' He also charged them to tell + Lieutenant House that he was much obliged to him for lending Chace (on a + former occasion) the <i>Narrative of Lieutenant Bligh and the Mutiny of + the Bounty</i>, which had so much interested him (Kelly) and 'Kitty' that + they had 'decided to do Fletcher Christian's trick, and take a cruise + among the South Seas.' He then, with much accompanying laughter from merry + Miss Hegarty, put a wooden bucket on her head, and called out to the + people in the boat to look at 'Her Majesty, Queen Kitty Hegarty of the + Cannibal Islands.' Immediately after this badinage he ordered Thompson, + who was at the helm, to put it hard up; and then wore ship and sailed out + seawards. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + News of the mutiny was at once sent to Lieutenant-Governor Paterson. But + the mutineers were not heard of for a long time. Then it was learnt that + Kelly had sailed the <i>Venus</i> to the coast of New Zealand and, by + means of selling a number of casks of rum to the Maoris, had acquired a + quantity of small arms, and two brass cannons, each throwing a 6-lb. shot. + At one of the places they touched at, Thompson, with the aid of Kelly, + abducted a handsome young Maori girl. She was a niece of Te Morenga, a + chief in the Bay of Islands district. The unfortunate girl, however, so + fretted, and lost so much of her attractiveness, that her scoundrelly + abductor sold her to a chief named Hukori, of Mercury Bay, or, if he did + not sell her, she eventually came into Hukori's possession. On their + voyage up the Hauraki Gulf, they raided one or two small Maori <i>hapus</i> + and carried off another girl, the daughter of the chief Te Haupa, or, as + he was better known, Te Totara. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Early in the following year Captain Bierney, of the London brig <i>Commerce</i>, + reported to the Governor of New South Wales that the <i>Venus</i> had + anchored at Te Puna, in New Zealand, and that Kelly had invited a number + of Maoris on board to an orgie. For some time a great state of drunkenness + had prevailed on board; for the <i>Venus</i>, among other stores, carried + a large quantity of wines and spirits, intended for the use of the + military at Van Diemen's Land. Her sails and running gear were in a very + bad state, and not the slightest discipline was maintained. + </p> + <p> + In answer to the mutineers' invitation, a number of Maoris came on board, + and Kelly, addressing the leading chiefs, told them that he was perfectly + well aware of the fact that he and those with him were incapable of + offering resistance if his visitors attempted to cut off the ship. But, he + said, he had determined to abandon the ship, and therefore he had invited + them on board so that they might take what they wanted from her; and if + they had no objection, he and his wife wished to live ashore with them for + the future. He then broached a cask of rum and invited them to drink it. + </p> + <p> + The Maoris appeared to have fallen in with his suggestion with alacrity, + and the chief gave the leading mutineer and his wife a large <i>whare</i> + to live in, and also two slaves as servants. + </p> + <p> + The rest of the tale is incomplete in its details. Of the fate of the <i>Venus</i> + nothing is known. Probably she was burnt by the Maoris. Kelly, Kitty + Hegarty, Charlotte Badger and her child, Thompson, and two others, lived + among the natives for some time. Then the woman Kitty Hegarty died + suddenly while Kelly was away on a warlike excursion with his Maori + friends, and was hastily buried. It was alleged that she was killed by + some women, one of whom was anxious to possess Kelly for her husband. + Kelly himself was captured by a king's ship in 1808, and sent to England, + where he was hanged for piracy. Lancaster was also captured by the master + of an American whale-ship, <i>The Brothers</i> of Nantucket, and taken to + Sydney and hanged. The rest of the mutineers either met with violent + deaths at the hands of the Maoris, or succeeded in living their lives out + as pakeha-Maoris. + </p> + <p> + Of the other woman—Charlotte Badger—and her child nothing + further was known, save that in 1808 she and the child were offered a + passage to Port Jackson by Captain Bunker; but she declined, saying she + would rather live with the Maoris than return to New South Wales to be + hanged. This was not unnatural. + </p> + <p> + But, long afterwards, in the year 1826, an American whale-ship, the <i>Lafayette</i> + of Salem, reported an incident of her cruise that showed some light on the + end of Charlotte Badger. + </p> + <p> + In May 1826, the <i>Lafayette</i> was off 'an unknown island in the South + Seas. It was covered with trees, was about three miles long, and was + inhabited by a small number of natives. The position of this island was in + 22 deg. 30 min. south, 176 deg. 19. min. west.' The weather being calm at + the time and the natives, by the signs and gestures they made to the ship, + evidently friendly, the captain and second mate's boats were lowered, and, + with well-armed crews, pulled ashore. Only some forty or fifty natives of + a light brown colour were on the island, and these, meeting the white men + as they landed, conducted them to their houses with every demonstration of + friendliness. Among the number was a native of Oahu (Hawaii), named Hula, + who had formed one of the crew of the London privateer <i>Port-au-prince</i>, + a vessel that had been cut off by the natives of the Haabai Group, in the + Friendly Islands, twenty years previously. He spoke English well, and + informed Captain Barthing of the <i>Lafayette</i> that the island formed + one of the Tonga Group (it is now known as Pylstaart Island), and that his + was the second ship that had ever visited the place. Another ship, he + said, had called at the island about ten years before (this would be about + 1816); that he had gone off on board, and had seen a very big, stout + woman, with a little girl about eight years of age with her. At first he + thought, from her dark skin, that she was a native, but the crew of the + ship (which was a Nantucket whaler) told him that she was an Englishwoman, + who had escaped from captivity with the Maoris. + </p> + <p> + No doubt this was the woman Badger, described in the official account of + the mutiny of the <i>Venus</i> as 'a very corpulent person.' + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0024" id="link2H_4_0024"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + A BOATING ADVENTURE IN THE CAROLINES + </h2> + <p> + In the year 1874 we were cruising leisurely through the Western Carolines, + in the North Pacific, trading at such islands as we touched at, and making + for the Pelew Group, still farther to the westward. But at that season of + the year the winds were very light, a strong ocean current set + continuously to the eastward, and there was every indication of a solid + calm setting in, and lasting, as they do in these latitudes, for a week. + Now, part of our cargo consisted of dried sharks' fins, and the smell from + these was so strong that every one of the three white men on board was + suffering from severe headache. We had a number of native passengers, and, + as they lived in the hold, we could not close the hatches; they, however, + did not mind the nauseating odour in the least. So, for three or four + days, we crawled along, raising the wooded peaks of Ascension Island + (Ponapé) one afternoon, and drifting back to the east so much in the night + as to lose them at sunrise. Then followed another day of a sky of brass + above and a steaming wide expanse of oily sea below, and then, at + nightfall, a sweet, cooling breeze from the north-east, and general + happiness, accentuated by a native woman playing a dissolute-looking + accordion, and singing 'Voici le Sabre,' in Tahitian French. No one cared + to sleep that night. Dawn came almost ere we knew it, and again the blue + peaks of Ascension loomed up right ahead. + </p> + <p> + Just as we had finished coffee, and our attention was drawn to a number of + boobies and whale-birds resting upon some floating substance half a mile + distant, we discovered a couple of sail ahead, and then another, and + another, all whalers, and, as they were under easy-cruising canvas—being + on the sperm whaling ground—we soon began to overhaul them. One was + a small, full-rigged ship, the others were barques. As we slipped along + after them I ran our little vessel close to the floating object I have + before mentioned, and saw it was a ship's lower mast, which looked, from + the scarcity of marine growth upon it, to have been in the water but a + short time. Shortly after, we passed some more wreckage, all of which + evidently had belonged to a good lump of the vessel. + </p> + <p> + About eleven o'clock we were close to one of the barques—a four-boat + ship, and also carrying a nine-foot dinghy at her stern. She hoisted the + Hawaiian colours in response to ours, and, as the breeze was very light, I + hailed her skipper and we began to talk. Our skipper wanted some + pump-leather; he wanted some white sugar. + </p> + <p> + 'Come aboard,' he said, 'and have dinner with me. I'll give you a barrel + of 'Frisco potatoes to take back.' + </p> + <p> + We lowered our whale-boat, and, taking two hands, I pulled alongside the + barque. Although under the Hawaiian flag, her officers were nearly all + Americans, and, as is always the case in the South Seas, we were soon on + friendly terms. The four ships were all making for Jakoits Harbour, in + Ponapé, to wood and water; and I said we would keep company with them. Our + own skipper, I must mention, was just recovering from wild, weird visions + of impossible, imaginary animals, superinduced by Hollands gin, and I + wanted to put him ashore at Ponapé for a week or so. + </p> + <p> + After dinner the American captain put a barrel of potatoes into our boat, + and I bade him good-bye for the time. The breeze was now freshening, and, + as he decided to get into Jakoits before dark, the barque made sail, and + was soon a good distance ahead of our vessel. + </p> + <p> + Between four and five o'clock we saw the foremost whaler—the ship—brace + up sharp, and almost immediately the other three followed suit. We soon + discovered the cause—whales had been sighted, coming down from + windward. The 'pod' or school was nearest to us, and we could see them + quite plainly from the deck. Every now and then one of them would 'breach' + and send up a white mass of foam, and by their course I saw that they + would pass between us and the barque—the ship nearest to us. In less + than five minutes there were more than a dozen boats lowered from the four + vessels, all pulling their hardest to reach the whales first. The + creatures came along very leisurely, then, when about a mile from the + schooner, hove-to for a short time; their keen hearing told them of danger + ahead, for three or four of them sounded, and then made off to windward. + These were followed by all the boats from the other three vessels, and two + from the barque, the remaining two belonging to the latter pulling across + our bows, close together and within a hundred yards of us. + </p> + <p> + The rest of the whales—some cows, with their calves, and a bull—after + lying quiet for a short time, also sounded, but soon rose again, quite + close to the two boats. That of the chief mate got 'fast' first to one of + the cows, and away they flew at twelve or thirteen knots. The second boat + was making for the bull, which seemed very uneasy, and was swimming at a + great speed round and round the remaining cows and calves, with his head + high out of the water as if to guard them from danger, when the monstrous + creature again sounded and the boat-header instantly turned his attention + to a cow, which lay perfectly motionless on the water, apparently too + terrified to move. + </p> + <p> + Half a dozen strokes sent the boat to within striking distance and the + boat-header called to his boat-steerer to 'Stand up.' The boat-steerer, + who pulls bow oar before a whale is struck, and goes aft after striking, + is also the harpooner, and at the order to stand up, takes in his oar and + seizes his harpoon. After he has darted the iron, and the boat is backed + astern, he comes aft to steer, and the officer takes his place for'ard, + ready to lance the whale at the fitting time. There is no reason or sense + in this procedure, it is merely whaling custom. + </p> + <p> + Just as the boat-steerer stood up, iron in hand, the bull rose right under + the boat's stern, lifted her clean out of the water with his head, and + then, as he swept onward, gave her an underclip with his mighty flukes, + smashing her in like an egg-shell and sending men, oars, tub and lines, + and broken timbers, broadcast into the air. Then, with the lady by his + side, he raced away. + </p> + <p> + Most fortunately, our own boat was still towing astern, for as we were so + near the land we had not bothered about hoisting her up again, knowing + that we should want her to tow us into Jakoits if the wind fell light when + going through the passage. + </p> + <p> + The mate, two Penrhyn Island natives and myself were but a few moments in + hauling her alongside, jumping in, and pulling to the assistance of the + whale-boat's crew, some of whom we could see clinging to the wreckage. The + officer in charge was a little wiry Western Island Portuguese, and as we + came up he called out to us that one of the men was killed and had sunk, + and another, whom he was supporting, had his leg broken and was + unconscious. We lifted them into the boat as quickly as possible, laid the + injured man on his back and started for the schooner. We had scarcely + pulled a dozen strokes when, to our profound astonishment, we saw her + suddenly keep away from us. + </p> + <p> + 'The captain's come on deck again,' cried one or our native hands to me. + </p> + <p> + Sure enough, the skipper was on deck, and at the wheel, and took not the + slightest heed of our repeated hails, except that he merely turned his + head, gave us a brief glance, eased off the main-sheet a bit, and let the + schooner spin away towards the land. We learnt next evening that he had + suddenly emerged on deck from his bunk, given the helmsman a cuff on the + head, and driven him, the steward and the other remaining hand up for'ard. + They and the native passengers, who knew something of his performances + when in liquor, were too frightened to do anything, and let him have his + own way. + </p> + <p> + We pulled after the schooner as hard as we could for a quarter of an hour, + then gave it up and steered for the barque, which was now a couple of + miles away. She had been working to windward after the chief mate's and + fourth mate's boats—both of which had quickly killed their + respective whales—when the disaster to the second officer's boat was + seen, and she was now coming towards us. The fourth boat was miles + distant, chasing the main body of the 'pod,' in company with those of the + other barques and the ship. + </p> + <p> + By this time it was all but dark; a short, choppy sea had risen, the wind + came in sharp, angry puffs every now and then, and we made scarcely any + headway against it. The barque seemed to be almost standing still, though + she was really coming along at a ripping pace. Presently she showed a + light, and we felt relieved. Just then the man with the broken leg called + to his officer, and asked for a smoke, and I was filling my pipe for him + when the boat struck something hard with a crash, shipped a sea aft, and + at once capsized, several of us being taken underneath her. + </p> + <p> + The Portuguese, who was a gallant little fellow, had, with one of the + Penrhyn Islanders, got the wounded man clear, and presently we all found + ourselves clinging to the boat, which was floating bottom-up and badly + bilged. Fortunately, none of us were hurt, but our position was a + dangerous one, and we kept hailing repeatedly, fearing that the barque + would run by us in the darkness, and that the blue sharks would discover + us. Then, to our joy, we saw her close to, bearing right down upon us, and + now came the added terror that she would run us down, unless those on + board could be made to hear our cries and realise our situation. + </p> + <p> + Again we raised our voices, and shouted till our lungs were exhausted, but + no answer came, the only sounds we heard being the thrapping and swash of + the waves against our boat. Five minutes—which seemed hours—passed, + and then we suddenly lost sight of the barque's headlight, and saw the + dull gleam of those aft shining through the cabin ports. + </p> + <p> + 'Thank God!' said the whaler officer, 'he's bringing to.' + </p> + <p> + Scarcely had he spoken when we heard a hail distinctly. + </p> + <p> + 'Boat ahoy, there, where are you?' + </p> + <p> + 'In the water. We're capsized,' I answered. + </p> + <p> + No response came; then again they hailed, and again we shouted unitedly, + but no reply, and presently we saw a blue light was being burnt on the + starboard side—they were looking for us in the wrong quarter. For + some minutes our suspense was horrible, for, if the captain thought he had + overshot our boat (knowing nothing of the second disaster), he would, we + feared, go off on the other tack. Again they hailed, and again we + answered, though we were now feeling pretty well done up, and the + Portuguese was alternately praying to the saints and consigning his + captain to hell. + </p> + <p> + 'Hurrah!' cried Tom, one of my Penrhyn Island boys, 'she's filling away + again, and coming down; they've heard us, safe enough.' + </p> + <p> + It so happened that they had not heard us at all; but the captain, at the + earnest request of the ship's cooper, who believed that we had been + swamped, and were to leeward, decided to keep away for a short time, and + then again bring-to. Not only was he anxious for us, but for the other + boats, and the dead whales as well; for he feared that, unless he could + get the latter alongside by daylight, and start to cut-in, the sharks + would devour the best part of them. + </p> + <p> + A few more minutes passed, and now we saw the barque looming through the + night, and apparently again coming right on top of us. We shouted and + screamed till our voices broke into hoarse groans; and then there happened + a strange thing. That which had caused our misfortune proved our + salvation. We heard a crashing sound, followed by loud cries of alarm, and + then saw the ship lying flat aback, canting heavily over to port. + Presently she righted, and then made a stern-board, and came so close to + us that one of the hands not only heard our cries but saw us in the water. + </p> + <p> + In an instant the captain called to us to cheer up, and said a boat was + coming. 'The ship struck some wreckage, and is making water,' he added. + </p> + <p> + We were taken aboard in two trips, the poor, broken-legged sailor + suffering terribly. He had been kept from drowning by one of the Penrhyn + men, who stuck to him like a brick through all the time we were in the + water. Neither of these brave islanders had lost heart for a moment, + though Harry, the elder of the two, was in consumption and not at all + strong. + </p> + <p> + As soon as we had sufficiently recovered to be able to talk and tell our + story, we were pleased to hear from the captain that the ship was not + badly injured, and that the pumps—short-handed as he then was—could + easily keep the water down; also that all the other boats were safe, and + had signalled that they had each 'killed,' and were lying by their whales. + </p> + <p> + Early in the morning the four ships were within a few miles of each other, + and each had one or more whales alongside, cutting-in. The schooner, too, + was in sight, lying becalmed under the lee of Ponapé. The captain of the + whaler lent me one of his boats, paid me a fair price for the loss of our + own, and otherwise treated us handsomely. He was highly pleased at having + such 'greasy luck,' i.e., getting three fish, and, besides presenting me + with another barrel of potatoes, gave me four bolts of canvas, and each of + our natives came away with a small case of tobacco, and five dollars in + silver. + </p> + <p> + We had a long pull to the schooner, and our arrival was hailed with cries + of delight. The skipper, we were pleased to learn, was nearly dead, having + been severely beaten by the women passengers on board, one of whom, + creeping up behind him as he was steering, threw a piece of <i>tappa</i> + cloth over his head, while the others bore him to the deck and tied him up + and hammered him. He told me a few days afterwards that he had not the + slightest recollection of leaving us in the boat. + </p> + <p> + The wreckage upon which the whale-ship struck was, so her captain + imagined, the same which had capsized our boat. As far as he could make + out in the darkness, it was a long and wide piece of decking, belonging to + a large ship. Our boat, very probably, had gone half her length on top of + the edge of it, and was then washed off again after she had bilged; and + the strong current had set us clear. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0025" id="link2H_4_0025"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + A CHRISTMAS EVE IN THE FAR SOUTH SEAS + </h2> + <p> + Donald MacBride and myself were the only Britishers living on one of the + North Pacific island lagoons when Christmas of 1880 drew near, and we + determined to celebrate it in a manner that would fill our German and + American trading rivals throughout the group with envy. MacBride was a + bony, red-headed Scotchman, with a large heart and a small, jealous, + half-caste wife. The latter acquisition ruled him with a rod of iron, much + to his financial and moral benefit, but nevertheless agreed with me that + we—Donald, she and myself—ought to show the Americans and the + 'Dutchmen' how an English Christmas should be celebrated. But as Sera was + a half-caste native of the Pelews, and had never been to a civilised + country, she also concurred with me that Donald and myself should run the + show, which, although I was not a married man, was to take place in my + house on account of the greater space available. Donald, she said, wanted + to have a 'hakkise'; so we bought a nanny-goat from Ludwig Wolfen, the + German trader at Molok, and one evening—the 23rd of December—I + helped Sera to drive and drag the unsuspecting creature home to her + husband's place to the slaughter. (I may as well say at once that + MacBride's nanny-goat haggis was a hideous failure, and my boat's crew, to + whom it was handed over, with many strong expressions about MacBride's + beastly provincial taste, said that it <i>smelt</i> good, like shark's + liver, but was not at all so juicy.) + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, Wolfen, a fat, good-hearted Teuton, with a face like a full + moon in a fog, called upon me, and remarked in a squashy tone of voice, + superinduced by too many years of lager beer, and its resultant adipose + tissue, that he and Peter Huysmans, his neighbour, would feel very much + hurt if we did not invite them to participate in the festivities. I said + that 'Blazy-head' (for so we called dear old MacBride) and myself would be + delighted; whereupon Wolfen, who had once, when he was a sailor on an + English ship, spent a Christmas in a public-house somewhere in the + vicinity of the East India Docks, said that the correct thing for us to do + would be to have a Christmas cake; also, he suggested we should invite Tom + Devine and Charley de Buis, the two American traders who lived across the + lagoon, to join the party. Being aware of the fact that, from trade + jealousies, there had hitherto been a somewhat notorious bitterness of + feeling between my German fellow-trader and the two Americans, I shook his + hand warmly, said that I was delighted to see that he could forgive and + forget, and that I should that moment send my boat across the lagoon to + Devine and Charley de Buis with a written invitation, and ask them to + favour us with their company; also, that as Mrs Charley—who was a + Samoan half-caste girl—was skilled in baking bread, perhaps she + would lend Mesdames MacBride, Wolfen and Huysmans her assistance in making + a Christmas cake, the size of which should cause the native population to + sit up and respect us as men of more than ordinary intelligence and + patriotism. + </p> + <p> + On the evening of the 24th, three whale-boats, attended by a flotilla of + small native canoes, sailed into the little sandy-beached nook upon the + shores of which the trading station was situated. The three boats were + steered by the Messrs Peter Huysmans, Charles de Buis and Thomas Devine, + who were accompanied by their wives, children and numerous female + relatives, all of the latter being clad in their holiday attire of new + mats, and with their hair excessively anointed with scented coco-nut oil, + scarlet hibiscus flowers behind their ears, and necklaces of + sweet-smelling pieces of pandanus drupes. + </p> + <p> + MacBride, Mrs MacBride and I received them the moment they stepped out of + the boats, and then Ludwig Wolfen, who was disposed in the background with + an accordion, and seated on a gin case, played 'The Star Spangled Banner,' + to the accompaniment of several native drums, beaten by his wife and her + sister and brothers. Then my boatman—a stalwart Maori half-caste—advanced + from out the thronging crowd of natives which surrounded us, and planted + in the sand a British red ensign attached to a tall bamboo pole, and + called for three cheers for the Queen of England, and three for the + President of the United States. This at once gave offence to Ludwig + Wolfen, who asked what was the matter with the Emperor of Germany; + whereupon Bill Grey (the Maori) took off his coat and asked him what he + meant, and a fierce encounter was only avoided by half a dozen strapping + natives seizing Billy and making him sit down on the sand, while the + wrathful Ludwig was hustled by Donald MacBride and Mrs Ludwig and + threatened with a hammering if he insulted the gathering by his ill-timed + and injudicious remarks about a foreign potentate. (Ludwig, I regret to + say, had begun his Christmas on the previous evening.) + </p> + <p> + But we were all too merry, and too filled with right good down comradeship + to let such a trifle as this disturb the harmony of our first Christmas + foregathering; and presently Bill Grey, his dark, handsome face wreathed + in a sunny smile, came up to the sulky and rightly-indignant trader with + outstretched hand, and said he was sorry. And Wolfen, good-hearted German + that he was, grasped it warmly, and said he was sorry too; and then we all + trooped up to the house and sat down, only to rise up again with our + glasses clinking together as we drank to our wives and ourselves and the + coming Christmas, and to the brown smiling faces of the people around us, + who wondered why we grew merry so suddenly; for sometimes, as they knew, + we had all quarrelled with one another, and bitter words had passed; for + so it ever is, and ever shall be, even in the far South Seas, when + questions of 'trade' and 'money' come between good fellowship and old-time + <i>camaraderie</i>. And then sweet, dark-eyed Sera, MacBride's young wife, + took up her guitar and sang us love songs in the old Lusitanian tongue of + her father; and Tom Devine, the ex-boat-steerer, and Charley de Buis, the + reckless; and Peter Huysmans, the red-faced, white-haired old Dutchman, + all joined hands and danced around the rough table; while Billy Grey and + Ludwig Wolfen stood on the top of it and sang, or tried to sing, 'Home + Sweet Home'; and the writer of this memory of those old Pacific days sat + in a chair in the doorway and wondered where we should all be the next + year. For, as we sang and danced, and the twang, twang of Sera's guitar + sounded through the silent night without, Tom Devine, the American, held + up his hand to MacBride, and silence fell. + </p> + <p> + 'Boys,' he said, 'let us drink to the memory of the far-off faces of those + dear ones whom we never may see again!' + </p> + <p> + He paused a moment, and then caught sight of Sera as she bent over her + guitar with downcast eyes; 'And to those who are with us now—our + wives and our children, and our friends! Drink, my boys; and the first man + who, either to-night or to-morrow, talks about business and dirty, filthy + dollars, shall get fired out right away before he knows where he is; for + this is Christmas time—and, Sera MacBride, why the devil don't you + play something and keep me from making a fool of myself?' + </p> + <p> + So Sera, with a twist of her lithe body and a merry gleam in her full, big + eyes, sang another song; and then long, bony MacBride came over to her and + kissed her on her fair, smooth forehead, whispered something that we did + not hear, and pointed to Charley de Buis, who stood, glass in hand, at the + furthest corner of the big room, his thin, suntanned face as grave and + sober as that of an English judge. + </p> + <p> + 'Gentlemen'—(then <i>sotto voce</i> to the chairman in the doorway, + 'Just fancy us South Sea loafers calling ourselves gentlemen!')—'gentlemen, + we are here to spend a good time, and I move that we quit speech-making + and start the women on that cake. Tom Devine and myself are, as you know, + members of two of the First Families in America, and only came to the + South Seas to wear out our old clothes—' + </p> + <p> + 'Shut up,' said Devine; 'we don't want to hear anything about the First + American families; this is an English Christmas, with full-blooded South + Sea trimmings. Off you go, you women, and start on the cake.' + </p> + <p> + So Charley de Buis 'shut up,' and then the women, headed by Sera and Mary + Devine, trooped off to the cook-house to beat up eggs for the cake, and + left us to ourselves. When it drew near midnight they returned, and Peter + Huysmans arose, and, twisting his grizzled moustaches, said,— + </p> + <p> + 'Mine boys, will you led me dell you dot now is coming der morn ven Jesus + Christ vos born? And vill you blease, Mary Devine, dell dose natives + outside to stop those damdt drums vile I speaks? Und come here you, + MacBride, mit your red het, und you, Ludwig Wolfen, and you Tom Devine, + und you Charley de Buis, you wicked damdt devil, und you, Tom Denison, you + saucy Australian boy, mit your curlt moustache and your svell vite tuck + suit; und led us join our hands together, and agree to have no more + quarrellings und no more angry vorts. For vy should ve quarrel, as our + good friendt says, over dirty dollars, ven dere is room enough for us all + on dis lagoon to get a decent livings? Und den ve should try und remember + dot ve, none of us, is going to live for ever, and ven ve is dead, ve is + dead a damdt long time. But now, mine friendts, I vill say no more, vor I + am dry; so here's to all our good healths, and let us bromise one another + not to haf no more angry vorts.' + </p> + <p> + And so we all gathered around the big table, and, grasping each other's + hands, raised our glasses and drank together without speaking, for there + was something—we knew not what—that lay behind Dutch Peter's + little speech which made us <i>think</i>. Presently, when a big and gaudy + German-made cuckoo clock in the room struck twelve, even reckless Charley + de Buis forgot his old joke about Tom Denison's 'damned old squawking + British duck,' as he called the little painted bird, and we all went + outside, and sat smoking our pipes on the wide verandah, and watching the + flashing torchlights of the fishing canoes as they paddled slowly to and + fro over the smooth waters of the sleeping lagoon. Then, almost ere we + knew it, the quick red sun had turned the long, black line of palms on + Karolyne to purple, and then to shining green, and Christmas Day had come. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + To-night, as a chill December wind wails through the leafless elms and + chestnuts of this quiet Kentish village, I think of that far-away + Christmas eve, and the rough, honest, sun-browned faces of the men who + were around me, and pressed my hand when Peter Huysmans spoke of home and + Christmas, and Tom Devine of 'the dear faces whom we never might see + again.' For only one, with the writer, is left. MacBride and his gentle, + sweet-voiced Sera went to their death a year or two later in the savage + and murderous Solomons; Wolfen and his wife and children perished at sea + when the <i>Sadie Foster</i> schooner turned turtle off the Marshalls; and + Devine and Charley de Buis, comrades to the last, sailed away to the + Moluccas in a ten-ton boat and were never heard of again—their fate + is one of the many mysteries of the deep. Peter Huysmans is alive and + well, and only a year ago I grasped his now trembling hand in mighty + London, and spoke of our meeting on Milli Lagoon. + </p> + <p> + And then again, in a garish and tinselled City bar, we raised our glasses + and drank to the memory of those who had gone before. + </p> + <p> + THE END <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Rídan The Devil And Other Stories, by Louis Becke + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RÍDAN THE DEVIL AND OTHER STORIES *** + +***** This file should be named 24835-h.htm or 24835-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/8/3/24835/ + +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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