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diff --git a/old/24895-h.htm.2021-01-25 b/old/24895-h.htm.2021-01-25 deleted file mode 100644 index a15a569..0000000 --- a/old/24895-h.htm.2021-01-25 +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10068 +0,0 @@ -<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
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- "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" >
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-<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en">
- <head>
- <title>
- The Call of the South, 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; }
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- <body>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
-
-The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Call Of The South, 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: The Call Of The South
- 1908
-
-Author: Louis Becke
-
-Release Date: March 22, 2008 [EBook #24895]
-Last Updated: March 8, 2018
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CALL OF THE SOUTH ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by David Widger
-
-
-
-
-
-</pre>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <h1>
- THE CALL OF THE SOUTH
- </h1>
- <h2>
- By Louis Becke
- </h2>
- <p>
- <br /> <br />
- </p>
- <h4>
- London, John Milne, 1908
- </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="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I ~ PAUL, THE DIVER </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II ~ THE OLD SEA LIFE </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III ~ THE BLIND MAN OF ADMIRALTY ISLAND
- </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV ~ NISÂN ISLAND; A TALE OF THE OLD
- TRADING DAYS </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> FIRST
- PART </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> SECOND
- PART </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> THIRD
- PART </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V ~ MUTINIES </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI ~ “MÂNI” </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII ~ AT NIGHT </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII ~ THE CRANKS OF THE <i>JULIA</i>
- BRIG </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX ~ “DANDY,” THE SHIP'S DINGO </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X ~ KALA-HOI, THE NET-MAKER </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER XI ~ THE KANAKA LABOUR TRADE IN THE
- PACIFIC </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0012"> CHAPTER XII ~ MY FRIENDS, THE ANTHROPOPHAGI
- </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0013"> CHAPTER XIII ~ ON THE “JOYS” OF RECRUITING
- “BLACKBIRDS” </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0014"> CHAPTER XIV ~ MAKING A FORTUNE IN THE SOUTH
- SEAS </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0015"> CHAPTER XV ~ THE STORY OF TOKOLMÉ </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0016"> CHAPTER XVI ~ “LANO-TÔ” </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0017"> CHAPTER XVII ~ “OMBRE CHEVALIER” </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0018"> CHAPTER XVIII ~ A RECLUSE OF THE BUSH </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0019"> CHAPTER XIX ~ TE-BARI, THE OUTLAW </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0020"> CHAPTER XX ~ “THE DANDIEST BOY THAT EVER STOOD
- UP IN A BOAT” </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0021"> CHAPTER XXI ~ THE PIT OF MAOTÂ </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0022"> CHAPTER XXII ~ VANÂKI, THE STRONG SWIMMER </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0023"> CHAPTER XXIII ~ TWO PACIFIC ISLANDS BIRDS: THE
- SOUTH SEA CORNCRAKE AND </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2H_4_0027"> THE
- SOUTH SEA CORNCRAKE </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2H_4_0028"> THE
- TOOTH-BILLED PIGEON OF SAMOA </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0024"> CHAPTER XXIV ~ A NIGHT RUN ACROSS FÂGALOA BAY
- </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0025"> CHAPTER XXV ~ A BIT OF GOOD LUCK </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0026"> CHAPTER XXVI ~ MODERN PIRATES </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0027"> CHAPTER XXVII ~ PAUTÔE </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0028"> CHAPTER XXVIII ~ THE MAN WHO KNEW EVERYTHING
- </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0029"> CHAPTER XXIX ~ THE PATTERING OF THE MULLET </a>
- </p>
- </blockquote>
- <p>
- <br /> <br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <br /> <br /> <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER I ~ PAUL, THE DIVER
- </h2>
- <p>
- “Feeling any better to-day, Paul?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Guess I'm getting round,” and the big, bronzed-faced man raised his eyes
- to mine as he lay under the awning on the after deck of his pearling
- lugger. I sat down beside him and began to talk.
- </p>
- <p>
- A mile away the white beach of a little, land-locked bay shimmered under
- the morning sun, and the drooping fronds of the cocos hung listless and
- silent, waiting for the rising of the south-east trade.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Paul,” I said, “it is very hot here. Come on shore with me to the native
- village, where it is cooler, and I will make you a big drink of
- lime-juice.”
- </p>
- <p>
- I helped him to rise—for he was weak from a bad attack of New Guinea
- fever—and two of our native crew assisted him over the side into my
- whaleboat. A quarter of an hour later we were seated on mats under the
- shade of a great wild mango tree, drinking lime-juice and listening to the
- lazy hum of the surf upon the reef, and the soft <i>croo, croo</i> of many
- “crested” pigeons in the branches above.
- </p>
- <p>
- The place was a little bay in Callie Harbour on Admiralty Island in the
- South Pacific; and Paul Fremont was one of our European divers. I was in
- charge of the supply schooner which was tender to our fleet of pearling
- luggers, and was the one man among us to whom the silent, taciturn Paul
- would talk—sometimes.
- </p>
- <p>
- And only sometimes, for usually Paul was too much occupied in his work to
- say more than “Good-morning, boss,” or “Good night,” when, after he had
- been disencumbered of his diving gear, he went aft to rest and smoke his
- pipe. But one day, however, he went down in twenty-six fathoms, stayed too
- long, and was brought up unconscious. The mate and I saw the signals go up
- for assistance, hurried on board his lugger, and were just in time to save
- his life.
- </p>
- <p>
- Two days later he came on board the tender, shook hands in his silent,
- undemonstrative way, and held out for my acceptance an old octagon
- American fifty dollar gold piece.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Got a gal, boss?” “I admitted that I had.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Pure white, I mean. One thet you like well enough to marry?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I mean to try, Paul.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “In Samoa?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No—Australia.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Guess I'd like you to give her this 'slug' I got it outer the wreck of a
- ship that was sunk off Galveston in the 'sixties,' in the war.”
- </p>
- <p>
- It would have hurt him had I declined the gift. So I thanked him, and he
- nodded silently, filled his pipe and went back to the <i>Montiara</i>.
- </p>
- <p>
- Nearly a year passed before we met again, for his lugger and six others
- went to New Guinea; and our next meeting was at Callie Harbour, where I
- found him down with malarial fever. Again I became his doctor, and ordered
- him to lie up.
- </p>
- <p>
- He nodded.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Guess I'll have ter, boss. But I jest hate loafin' around and seein' the
- other divers bringin' up shell in easy water.” For he was receiving eighty
- pounds per month wages—diving or no diving—and hated to be
- idle.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Paul,” I said, as we lay stretched out under the wild mango tree, “would
- you mind telling me about that turn-up you had with the niggers at New
- Ireland, six years ago.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ef you like, boss.” Then he added that he did not care about talking much
- at any time, as he was a mighty poor hand at the jaw-tackle.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We were startin' tryin' some new ground between New Hanover and the North
- Cape of New Ireland. There were only two luggers, and we had for our
- store-ship a thirty-ton cutter. There were two white divers besides me and
- one Manila man, and our crews were all natives of some sort or another—Tokelaus,
- Manahikians and Hawaiians. The skipper of the storeship was a Dutchman—a
- chicken-hearted swab, who turned green at the sight of a nigger with a
- bunch of spears, or a club in his hand. He used to turn-in with a brace of
- pistols in his belt and a Winchester lying on the cabin table. At sea he
- would lose his funk, but whenever we dropped anchor and natives came
- aboard his teeth would begin to chatter, and he would just jump at his own
- shadder.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We anchored in six fathoms, and in an hour or two we came across a good
- patch of black-edge shell, and we began to get the boats and pumps ready
- to start regular next morning. As I was boss, I had moored the cutter in a
- well-sheltered nook under a high bluff, and the luggers near to her. So
- far we had not seen any sign of natives—not even smoke—but
- knew that there was a big village some miles away, out o' sight of us, an'
- that the niggers were a bad lot, and would have a try at cuttin' off if
- they saw a slant.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Early next morning it set in to rain, with easterly squalls, and before
- long I saw that there was like to be a week of it, and that we should have
- to lie by and wait until it settled. About noon we sighted a dozen white
- lime-painted canoes bearing down on us, and Horn, the Dutchman, began to
- turn green as usual, and wanted me to heave up and clear out. I set on him
- and said I wanted the niggers to come alongside, an' hev a good look at us—they
- would see that we were a hard nut to crack if they meant mischief.
- </p>
- <p>
- “They came alongside, six or eight greasy-haired bucks in each canoe—and
- asked for terbacker and knives in exchange for some pigs and yams. I let
- twenty or so of 'em come aboard, bought their provisions, and let 'em have
- a good look around. Their chief was a fat, bloated feller, with a body
- like a barrel, and his face pitted with small-pox. He told me that he was
- boss of all the place around us, and had some big plantations about a mile
- back in the bush, just abreast of us, and that he would let me have all
- the food I wanted. In five days or so, he said, we should have fine
- weather for diving, and he and his crowd would help me all they could.
- </p>
- <p>
- “About a quarter of a mile away was a rocky little island of about five
- acres in extent It had a few heavy trees on it, but no scrub, and there
- were some abandoned fishermen's huts on the beach. I asked the fat hog if
- I could use it as a shore station to overhaul our boats and diving gear
- when necessary, and he agreed to let me use it as long as I liked for
- three hundred sticks of terbacker and two muskets.
- </p>
- <p>
- “They went off on shore again to the plantations, and in a little while we
- saw smoke ascendin'—they were cookin' food, and repairing their
- huts. Later on in the day they sent me a canoe load of yams, taro, and
- other stuff for the men, and asked me to come ashore and look at the
- village. I went, fur I knew that they would not try on any games so soon.
- </p>
- <p>
- “There were, in addition to the bucks, a lot of women and children there,
- makin' thatch, cookin', and repairin' the pig-proof fencin'. I stayed a
- bit, and then came on board again, an' we made snug for the night.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Next morning we landed on the island, repaired two of the huts, and
- started mendin' sails, overhauling the boats, and doin' such work that it
- was easier to do on shore than on board. Of course we kep' our arms handy,
- and old Horn kep' a good watch on board—he dassent put foot on shore
- himself—said he was skeered o' fever.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The natives sent us plenty of food, and a good many of 'em loafed around
- on the island, and some on board the luggers and cutter, cadgin' fur
- terbacker and biscuit Of course they always carried their clubs and spears
- with 'em, as is usual in New Ireland, but they were quiet and civil
- enough. Every day canoes were passin' from where we lay to the main
- village, and returnin' with other batches of bucks and women all takin'
- spells at work; an' there was any amount o' drum beating and <i>duk duk</i>{*}
- dancin', and old Horn shivered in his boots swearin' they were comin' to
- wipe us out But my native crews and I and the other white divers were used
- to the nigger customs at such times, and although we kep' a good watch
- ashore and afloat, none o' us were afraid of any trouble comin'.
- </p>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
- * The duk duk dance of Melanesia is merely a blackmailing
- ceremony by the men to obtain food from the women and the
- uninitiated.
-</pre>
- <p>
- “On the fifth night, I, another white diver, named Docky Mason, his Samoan
- wife, and a Manahiki sailor named 'Star' were sleeping on shore in one of
- the huts. In another hut were three or four New Ireland niggers, who had
- brought us some fish and were going away again in the mornin'.
- </p>
- <p>
- “About ten o'clock the sky became as black as ink—a heavy blow was
- comin' on, and we just had time to stow our loose gear up tidy, when the
- wind came down from between the mountains with a roar like thunder, and
- away went the roofs of the huts, and with it nearly everything around us
- that was not too heavy to be carried away. My own boat, which was lying on
- the beach, was lifted up bodily, sent flyin' into the water, and carried
- out to sea.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We tried to make out the cutter's and luggers' lights, but could see
- nothing and every second the wind was yellin' louder and louder like forty
- thousand cats gone mad, and the air was filled with sticks, leaves, and
- sand, and I had a mighty great fear for my little fleet; fur three miles
- away to the west, there was a long stretch o' reefs, an' I was afraid they
- had dragged and would get mussed up.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Thet's jest what did happen—though they cleared the reefs by the
- skin of their teeth. The moment they began to drag, all three slipped. The
- luggers stood away under the lee of New Ireland, stickin' in to the land,
- and tryin' to bring to for shelter, but they were a hundred miles away
- from me, down the coast, before they could bring-to and anchor, for the
- blow had settled into a hurricane, and raised such a fearful sea that they
- had to heave-to for twenty-four hours. It was two weeks before we met
- again, after they had had to tow and 'sweep' back to my little island,
- against a dead calm and a strong current, gettin' a whiff of a land breeze
- at night now an' agin', which let 'em use their canvas. As for the cutter,
- she ran before it for New Britain, and brought up at Matupi in Blanche
- Bay, two hundred miles away, where old Horn knew there was a white
- settlement of Germans—his own kidney. He was a white-livered old
- swine, but a good sailor-man—as far as any man who says 'Ja' for
- 'Yes' goes.
- </p>
- <p>
- “When daylight came my mates and I set to work to straighten up.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Docky Mason's native wife—Tia—was a 'whole waggon with a
- yaller dog under the team'. She first of all made us some hot coffee, and
- gave us a rousin' breakfast; then she made the New Ireland bucks—who
- were wantin' to swim to the mainland—turn to and put a new roof of
- coco-nut thatch over our hut, although it was still blowin' a ragin' gale.
- My! thet gal was a wonder! She hed eyes like stars, an' red lips an'
- shinin' pearly teeth, an' a tongue like a whip-lash when she got mad, an'
- Docky Mason uster let her talk to him as if he was a nigger—an' say
- nuthin'—excep' givin' a foolish laugh and then slouchin' off. And
- yet she was as gentle as a lamb to any of us fellows when we got fever, or
- had gone down under more'n twenty fathoms, and was hauled up three parts
- dead and chokin'.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, boss, we got to straights at last, although it was blowin' as hard
- as ever. We had a lot o' gear on shore in that native house, for I was
- intendin' to beach the cutter an' give her copper a scrubbin' before we
- started divin' regular.
- </p>
- <p>
- “There was near on a ton o' twist terbacker in tierces (which we used fur
- tradin' with the niggers), a ton o' biscuit in fifty pound tins, boxes o'
- red an' yaller seed beads, an' knives an' axes, an' a case o' dynamite,
- an' heaps o' things that was a direct invitation to the niggers, an' a
- challenge ter the Almighty to hev our silly throats cut. And those four or
- five bucks, whilst Tia was hustlin' them around, was jest takin' stock as
- they worked.
- </p>
- <p>
- “By sunfall the wind an' sea in the bay had gone down a bit; an' the bucks
- said that they would swim on shore (their canoe had been smashed in the
- night) and bring us some food early in the mornin'. I gave 'em a bottle o'
- Hollands, an' my kind regards for the old barrelled-belly swine of a
- chief, some terbacker fur themselves; and then, after they had gone,
- looked to our Winchesters and pistols, which the bucks hadn't seen, fur we
- always kept 'em outer sight, under our sleepin' mats.
- </p>
- <p>
- “'Paulo,' sez Tia to me, speakin' in Samoan (an' cussin' in English), 'you
- an' Docky an' “Star” are a lot o' blamed fools! You orter hev shot all
- those bucks ez soon ez they hed finished. Didn't you say that, “Star”?'
- </p>
- <p>
- “'Star' had said 'Yes' to her, but being an unobtrusive sorter o' Kanaka,
- he hadn't said nuthin' to us—thinkin' we knew better'n him what ter
- do.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We kep' a good watch all that day an' the nex' day, and then at sunset
- two bucks in a canoe came off, bringing us six cooked pigeons from the
- chief, with a message that he would come an' see us in a day or two, and
- bring men to build us better houses to live in until the luggers and the
- cutter came back.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We collared the two bucks and tied 'em up, and then Tia made one of 'em
- eat part of a pigeon—she standin' over him with a Winchester at his
- ear. He ate it, an' in ten minutes he was tyin' himself up in knots, and
- was a dead nigger in another quarter of an hour. The pigeons were all
- poisoned.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We kep' the other nigger alive an' told him that if he would tell us what
- was a-goin' on we'd let him off, and set him ashore, free.
- </p>
- <p>
- “'At dawn to-morrow,' says he, 'Baian' (the fat old chief) thought to find
- you all dead, because of the poisoned pigeons sent to you. And then he
- meant to take all the good things you have here, and set up your heads in
- his <i>duk duk</i> house.'
- </p>
- <p>
- “Before daylight came, Docky Mason an' 'Star' an' me hed fixed up things
- all serene ter give Baian and his cannibals a doin'. Fust ev all—to
- show our prisoner that we meant business, Tia held up his right hand, an'
- Docky sent a Winchester bullet through it, an' told him that he would send
- one through his skull ef he didn't do what he was told.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then we took two empty one gallon colza oil tins, and filled 'em with
- dynamite, tamped it down tight, and then ran short fuses through the
- corks, and carried 'em down to the place where our prisoner said Baian and
- his crowd would land. It was a little bay, lined on each side by pretty
- high, ragged coral boulders, covered with creepers. We stowed the tins in
- readiness, and then brought our prisoner down, and told him what to do
- when the time came. I guess thet thet nigger knew thet ef he didn't play
- straight he was a dead coon. Tia sat down jest behind him, and every now
- and then touched his backbone with the muzzle ev her pistol—jest ter
- show him she was keepin' awake. At the same time he wasn't unwillin', for
- he hed told us thet he and his dead mate were not Baian's men—they
- were slaves he had captured from a town he had raided somewhere near North
- Cape, and they were liable to be killed and eaten at any time if Baian's
- crowd ran short of pig meat or turtle.
- </p>
- <p>
- “A little bit higher up, Docky Mason, 'Star' an' me, planted ourselves
- with our Winchesters, an' one of our boats' whaler's bomb guns, which
- fired four pounds of slugs and deer shot, mixed up—the sorter thing,
- boss, thet you an' me may find mighty handy here in this very place, if we
- get rushed sudden. We made a charcoal fire, and then frayed out the ends
- of the dynamite fuses so thet they would light quickly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “When daylight came, we caught sight of nigh on fifty canoes, all crammed
- with niggers, paddlin' like blazes to where we was cached, but making no
- noise. Even if they hed we would not hev heard it, fur the wind and the
- surf beatin' on the reef would hev drowned it.
- </p>
- <p>
- “On they came and rushed their canoes into the little cove, four abreast,
- and Tia prodded our buck in the back, and told him to stand up and talk to
- Baian, who was in one of the leadin' canoes.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Up he jumps.
- </p>
- <p>
- “'Oh, Baian, Baian, great Baian,' he called, 'the two white men are dead
- in their house, and we have the woman bound hand and foot.'
- </p>
- <p>
- “'Good,' said Baian with a fat chuckle, as he put one leg over the gunwale
- of his canoe to step out, and the next moment I put a bullet through him,
- and then Docky Mason lit the first charge o' dynamite, and slings it down,
- right inter the middle of the crowded canoes, and before it went off he
- sent the second one after it.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Boss, I hev seen some dynamite explosions in my time—especially
- when I hev hed to blow up wrecks—but I hev never seen anything like
- thet. The two shots killed over thirty niggers, wounded as many more, and
- stunned a lot, who were drowned. Those who were not hurt swam out of the
- cove, and neither Docky nor me had the heart to shoot any of 'em—though
- we might hev picked off a couple of dozen afore they got outer range.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Before we could stop him our prisoner jumped down among the dead and
- wounded, got a long knife, an' in ten seconds he had Baian's' head off,
- and held it up to us, grinning like a cat, on'y not so nice, ez he hed jet
- black, betel-nut stained teeth, and red lips like a piece ev raw beef.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We hed no more trouble with the niggers after thet turn-up, you can bet
- yer life.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The buck stayed with us until the luggers came back, and a few days after
- we landed him at his own village—ez rich ez Jay Gould, for we gave
- him a musket with powder and ball, a cutlass, half a dozen pounds ev red
- beads, and two hundred sticks of terbacker. I guess thet thet nigger was
- able to buy himself all the wives he wanted, and be a 'big Injun' fur the
- end of his days.”
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER II ~ THE OLD SEA LIFE
- </h2>
- <p>
- One Sunday morning—when I was about to leave the dear old city of
- Sydney for an unpremeditated and long, long absence in cold northern
- climes, I went for a farewell stroll around the Circular Quay, and,
- standing on some high ground on the east side, looked down on the mass of
- shipping below, flying the flags of all nations, and ranging from a few
- hundred to ten thousand tons. Mail steamers, deep sea tramps, “freezers,”
- colliers—all crowded together, and among them but <i>one</i> single
- sailing vessel—a Liverpool barque of 1,000 tons, loading wool. She
- looked lost, abandoned, out of place, and my heart went out to her as my
- eyes travelled from her shapely lines and graceful sheer, to her lofty
- spars, tapering yards, and curving jibboom, the end of the latter almost
- touching the stern rail of an ugly bloated-looking German tramp steamer of
- 8,000 tons. On that very spot where I stood I, when a boy, had played at
- the foot of lofty trees—now covered by hideous ill-smelling wool
- stores—and had seen lying at the Circular Quay fifty or sixty noble
- full-rigged ships and barques, many brigs and schooners, and but <i>one</i>
- steamer, a handsome brig-rigged craft, the <i>Avoca</i>, the monthly P.
- and O. boat, which ran from Sydney to Melbourne to connect with a larger
- ship.
- </p>
- <p>
- Round the point were certainly a few other steamers, old-fashioned
- heavily-rigged men-of-war, generally paddle-wheel craft; and, out of
- sight, in Darling Harbour, a mile away, were others—coasters—none
- of them reaching five hundred tons, and all either barque- or brig-rigged,
- as was then the fashion.
- </p>
- <p>
- And they all, sailers as well as the few steamers, were manned by <i>sailor-men</i>,
- not by gangs of foreign paint-scrubbers, who generally form a steamer's
- crew of the present day—men who could no more handle a bit of canvas
- than a cow could play the Wedding March—in fact there are thousands
- of men nowadays earning wages on British ships as A.B.'s who have never
- touched canvas except in the shape of tarpaulin hatch covers, and whom it
- would be highly dangerous to put at the wheel of a sailing ship—they
- would make a wreck of her in any kind of a breeze in a few minutes.
- </p>
- <p>
- In my boyhood days, nearly all the ships that came into Sydney Harbour
- flying British colours were manned by men of British blood. Foreigners, as
- a rule, were not liked by shipmasters, and their British shipmates in the
- fo'c'stle resented their presence. One reason of this was that they would
- always “ship” at a lower rate of wage than Englishmen, and were clannish.
- I have known of captains of favourite clipper passenger ships, trading
- between London and the colonies, declining to ship a foreigner, even an
- English-speaking Dane or Scandinavian, who make good sailor-men, and are
- quiet, sober, and hardworking. Nowadays it is difficult to find any
- English deep-sea ship or steamer, in which half of the hands for'ard are
- not foreigners of some sort. And now practically the whole coasting
- mercantile marine of the Australian colonies is manned by Germans, Swedes,
- Danes, and Norwegians.
- </p>
- <p>
- When I was a young man I sailed in ships in the South Sea trade which had
- carried the same crew, voyage after voyage, for years, and there was a
- distinct feeling of comradeship existing between officers and crew that
- does not now exist. I well remember one gallant ship, the <i>All Serene</i>
- (a happy name), which was for ten years in the Sydney-China trade. She was
- about the first colonial vessel to adopt double-top-gallant yards, and
- many wise-heads prophesied all sorts of dire mishaps from the innovation.
- On this ship (she was full rigged) was a crew of nineteen men, and the
- majority of them had sailed in her for eight years, although her captain
- was a bit of a “driver”. But they got good wages, good food, and had a
- good ship under their feet—a ship with a crack record as a fast
- sailer.
- </p>
- <p>
- In contrast to the <i>All Serene</i>, was a handsome barque I once sailed
- in as a passenger from Sydney to New Caledonia, where she was to load
- nickel ore for Liverpool. Her captain and three mates were Britishers, and
- smart sailor-men enough, the steward was a Chileno, the bos'un a Swede;
- carpenter a Mecklenburger joiner (who, when told to repair the
- fore-scuttle, which had been damaged by a heavy sea, did not know where it
- was situated), the sailmaker a German, and of the twelve A.B.'s and O.S.'s
- only one—a man of sixty-five years of age, was a Britisher; the rest
- were of all nationalities. Three of them were Scandinavians and were good
- sailor-men, the others were almost useless, and only fit to scrub
- paint-work, and hardly one could be trusted at the wheel. The cook was a
- Martinique nigger, and was not only a good cook, but a thorough seaman,
- and he had the utmost contempt for what he called “dem mongrels for'ard,”
- especially those who were Dagoes. The captain and officers certainly had
- reason to knock the crew about, for during an electrical storm one night
- the ship was visited by St. Elmo's fire, and the Dagoes to a man refused
- duty, and would not go aloft, being terrified out of their wits at the
- dazzling globes of fire running along the yards, hissing and dancing, and
- illuminating the ocean for miles. They bolted below, rigged up an altar
- and cross with some stump ends of candles, and began to pray. Exasperated
- beyond endurance, the captain, officers, two Norwegians, the nigger cook
- and I, after having shortened canvas, “went” for them, knocked the
- religious paraphernalia to smithereens, and drove them on deck.
- </p>
- <p>
- The nigger cook was really a devout Roman Catholic, but his seaman's soul
- revolted at their cowardice, and he so far lost his temper as to seize a
- Portuguese by his black curly hair, throw him down, tear open his shirt,
- and seize a leaden effigy of St. Jago do Compostella, which he wore round
- his neck, and thrust it into his mouth. In after years I saw Captain
- “Bully” Hayes do the same thing, also with a Portuguese sailor; but Hayes
- made the man actually swallow the little image—after he had rolled
- it into a rough ball—saying that if St James was so efficient to
- externally protect the wearer from dangers of the sea, that he could do it
- still better in the stomach, where he (the saint) would feel much warmer.
- </p>
- <p>
- The barque, a month or so after I left her in Noumea, sailed from T'chio
- in New Caledonia, and was never heard of again. She was overmasted, and I
- have no doubt but that she capsized, and every one on board perished. Had
- she been manned by English sailors, she would have reached her destination
- in safety, for the captain and officers knew her faults and that she was a
- tricky ship to sail with an unreliable crew.
- </p>
- <p>
- In many ships in which I have sailed, in my younger days, no officer
- considered it <i>infra dig</i>. for him, when not on watch, to go for'ard
- and listen to some of the hands spinning yarns, especially when the
- subject of their discourse turned upon matters of seamanship, the
- eccentricities either of a ship herself or of her builders, etc. This
- unbending from official dignity on the part of an officer was rarely
- abused by the men—especially by the better-class sailor-man. He knew
- that “Mr. Smith” the chief officer who was then listening to his yarns and
- perhaps afterwards spinning one himself, would in a few hours become a
- different man when it was his watch on deck, and probably ask Tom Jones,
- A.B., what the blazes he meant by crawling aft to relieve the wheel like
- an old woman with palsy. And Jones, A.B., would grin with respectful
- diffidence, hurry his steps and bear no malice towards his superior.
- </p>
- <p>
- Such incidents never occur now. There is no feeling of comradeship between
- officer and “Jack”. Each distrusts the other.
- </p>
- <p>
- I have not had much experience of steamers in the South Sea trade, except
- as a passenger—most of my voyages having been made in sailing craft,
- but on one occasion my firm had to charter a steamer for six months, owing
- to the ship of which I was supercargo undergoing extensive repairs.
- </p>
- <p>
- The steamer, in addition to a general cargo, also carried 500 tons of coal
- for the use of a British warship, engaged in “patrolling” the Solomon
- Islands, and I was told to “hurry along”. The ship's company were all
- strangers to me, and I saw at once I should not have a pleasant time as
- supercargo. The crew were mostly alleged Englishmen, with a sprinkling of
- foreigners, and the latter were a useless, lazy lot of scamps. The
- engine-room staff were worse, and the captain and mate seemed too
- terrified of them to bring them to their bearings. They (the crew) were a
- bad type of “wharf rats,” and showed such insolence to the captain and
- mate that I urged both to put some of them in irons for a few days. The
- second mate was the only officer who showed any spirit, and he and I
- naturally stood together, agreeing to assist each other if matters became
- serious, for the skipper and mate were a thoroughly white-livered pair.
- </p>
- <p>
- Just off San Cristoval, the firemen came to me, and asked me to sell them
- a case of Hollands gin. I refused, and said one bottle was enough at a
- time. They threatened to break into the trade-room, and help themselves. I
- said that they would do so at their own peril—the first man that
- stepped through the doorway would get hurt. They retired, cursing me as a
- “mean hound”. The skipper said nothing. He, I am glad to say, was not an
- Englishman, though he claimed to be. He was a Dane.
- </p>
- <p>
- Arriving at a village on the coast of San Cristoval, where I had to land
- stores for a trader, we found a rather heavy surf on, and the crew refused
- to man a boat and take me on shore, on the plea that it was too dangerous;
- a native boat's crew would have smiled at the idea of danger, and so also
- would any white sailor-man who was used to surf work.
- </p>
- <p>
- Two days later, through their incapacity, they capsized a boat by letting
- her broach-to in crossing a reef, and a hundred pounds' worth of trade
- goods were lost.
- </p>
- <p>
- When we met the cruiser for whom the coals were destined, the second mate
- and I told the commander in the presence of our own skipper that we
- considered the latter unfit to have command of the steamer.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then put the mate in charge, if you consider your captain is incapable,”
- said the naval officer.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The mate is no better,” I said, “he is as incapable as the captain.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then the second mate is the man.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I cannot navigate, sir,” said the second mate.
- </p>
- <p>
- The naval commander drew me aside, and we took “sweet counsel” together.
- Then he called our ruffianly scallywags of a crew on to the main deck,
- eyed them up and down, and ignoring our captain, asked me how many pairs
- of handcuffs were on board.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Two only,” I replied.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then I'll send you half a dozen more. Clap 'em on to some of these
- fellows for a week, until they come to their senses.”
- </p>
- <p>
- In half an hour the second mate and I had the satisfaction of seeing four
- firemen and four A.B.'s in irons, which they wore for a week, living on
- biscuit and water.
- </p>
- <p>
- A few weeks later I engaged, on my own responsibility, ten good native
- seamen, and for the rest of the voyage matters went fairly well, for the
- captain plucked up courage, and became valorous when I told him that my
- natives would make short work of their white shipmates, if the latter
- again became mutinous.
- </p>
- <p>
- Against this experience I have had many pleasant ones. In one dear old
- brig, in which I sailed as supercargo for two years, we carried a double
- crew—white men and natives of Rotumah Island, and a happier ship
- never spread her canvas to the winds of the Pacific. This was purely
- because the officers were good men, the hands—white and native—good
- seamen, cheerful and obedient—not the lazy, dirty, paint-scrubbers
- one too often meets with nowadays, especially on cheaply run big
- four-masted sailing ships, flying the red ensign of Old England.
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER III ~ THE BLIND MAN OF ADMIRALTY ISLAND
- </h2>
- <p>
- We had had a stroke—or rather a series of strokes—of very bad
- luck. Our vessel, the <i>Metaris</i>, had been for two months cruising
- among the islands of what is now known as the Bismarck Archipelago, in the
- Northwestern Pacific. We had twice been on shore, once on the coast of New
- Ireland, and once on an unknown and uncharted reef between that island and
- St. Matthias Island. Then, on calling at one of our trading stations at
- New Hanover where we intended to beach the vessel for repairs, we found
- that the trader had been killed, and of the station house nothing remained
- but the charred centre-post—it had been reduced to ashes. The place
- was situated on a little palm-clad islet not three hundred acres in
- extent, and situated a mile or two from the mainland, and abreast of a
- village containing about four hundred natives, under whose protection our
- trader and his three Solomon Island labourers were living, as the little
- island belonged to them, and we had placed the trader there on account of
- its suitability, and also because the man particularly wished to be quite
- apart from the village, fearing that his Solomon Islanders would get
- themselves into trouble with the people.
- </p>
- <p>
- From the excited natives, who boarded us even before we had dropped
- anchor, we learned that about a month after we had left poor Chantrey on
- his little island a large party of marauding St. Matthias Island savages,
- in ten canoes, had suddenly appeared and swooped down upon the unfortunate
- white man and his labourers and slaughtered all four of them; then after
- loading their canoes with all the plunder they could carry, they set fire
- to the house and Chantrey's boat, and made off again within a few hours.
- </p>
- <p>
- This was a serious blow to us; for not only had we to deplore the cruel
- death of one of our best and most trusted traders, but Chantrey had a
- large stock of trade goods, a valuable boat, and had bought over five
- hundred pounds' worth of coconut oil and pearl-shell from the New Hanover
- natives,—all this had been consumed. However, it was of no use for
- us to grieve, we had work to do that was of pressing necessity, for the <i>Metaris</i>
- was leaking badly and had to be put on the beach as quickly as possible
- whilst we had fine weather. This, with the assistance of the natives, we
- at once set about and in the course of a few days had effected all the
- necessary repairs, and then steered westward for Admiralty Island, calling
- at various islands on our way, trading with the wild natives for coco-nut
- oil, copra, ivory nuts, pearl-shell and tortoise-shell, and doing very
- poorly; for a large American schooner, engaged in the same business, had
- been ahead of us, and at most of the islands we touched at we secured
- nothing more than a few hundredweight of black-edged pearl-shell. Then, to
- add to our troubles, two of our native crew were badly wounded in an
- attack made on a boat's crew who were sent on shore to cut firewood on
- what the skipper and I thought to be a chain of small uninhabited islands.
- This was a rather serious matter, for not only were the captain and
- boatswain ill with fever, but three of the crew as well.
- </p>
- <p>
- For a week we worked along the southern coast of Admiralty Island, calling
- at a number of villages and obtaining a considerable quantity of very good
- pearl-shell from the natives. But it was a harassing time, for having
- seven sick men on board we never dared to come to an anchor for fear of
- the savage and treacherous natives attempting to capture the ship. As it
- was, we had to keep a sharp look-out to prevent more than two canoes
- coming alongside at once, and then only when there was a fair breeze, so
- that we could shake them off if their occupants showed any inclination for
- mischief. We several times heard some of these gentry commenting on the
- ship being so short-handed, and this made us unusually careful, for
- although those of us who were well never moved about unarmed we could not
- have beaten back a sudden rush.
- </p>
- <p>
- At last, however, both Manson and the boatswain, and one of the native
- sailors became so ill that the former decided to make a break in the
- cruise and let all hands—sick and well—have a week's spell at
- a place he knew of, situated at the west end of the great island; and so
- one day we sailed the <i>Metaris</i> into a quiet little bay, encompassed
- by lofty well-wooded hills, and at the head of which was a fine stream of
- fresh water.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We shall soon pull ourselves together in this place,” said Manson to
- Loring (the mate) and me. “I know this little bay well, though 'tis six
- years since I was last here. There are no native villages within ten miles
- at least, and we shall be quite safe, so we need only keep an anchor watch
- at night. Man the boat, there. I must get on shore right away. I am
- feeling better already for being here. Which of you fellows will come with
- me for a bit of a look round?”
- </p>
- <p>
- I, being the supercargo, was, for the time, an idle man, but made an
- excuse of “wanting to overhaul” my trade-room—always a good standing
- excuse with most supercargoes—as I wanted Loring to have a few hours
- on shore; for although he was free of fever he was pretty well run down
- with overwork. So, after some pressure, he consented, and a few minutes
- later he and Manson were pulled on shore, and I watched them land on the
- beach, just in front of a clump of wild mango trees in full bearing,
- almost surrounded by groves of lofty coco-nut palms. A little farther on
- was an open, grassy space on which grew some wide-branched white cedar
- trees.
- </p>
- <p>
- About an hour afterwards Loring returned on board, and told me that Manson
- had gone on alone to what he described as “a sweet little lake”. It was
- only a mile away, and he thought of having a leaf house built there for
- the sick men and himself, and wanted Loring to come and have a look at it,
- but the mate declined, pleading his wish to get back to the ship and
- unbend our canvas.
- </p>
- <p>
- “As you will,” said Manson to him. “I shall be all right. I'll shoot some
- pigeons and cockatoos by-and-by, and bring them down to the beach. And
- after you have unbent the canvas, you can take the seine to the mouth of
- the creek and fill the boat with fish.” Then, gun on shoulder, he walked
- slowly away into the verdant and silent forest.
- </p>
- <p>
- After unbending our canvas, we went to dinner; and then leaving Loring in
- charge of the ship, the boatswain, two hands and myself went on shore with
- the seine to the mouth of the creek, and in a very short time netted some
- hundreds of fish much resembling the European shad.
- </p>
- <p>
- Just as we were about to push off, I heard Manson's hail close to, and
- looking round, nearly lost my balance and fell overboard in astonishment—he
- was accompanied by a woman.
- </p>
- <p>
- Springing out of the boat, I ran to meet them.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Mrs. Hollister,” said the captain, “this is my supercargo. As soon as we
- get on board I will place you in his hands, and he will give you all the
- clothing you want at present for yourself and your little girl,” and then
- as, after I had shaken hands with the lady, I stood staring at him for an
- explanation, he smiled.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I'll tell you Mrs. Hollister's strange story by-and-by, old man. Briefly
- it is this—she, her husband, and their little girl have been living
- here for over two years. Their vessel was castaway here. Now, get into the
- boat, please, Mrs. Hollister.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The woman, who was weeping silently with excitement, smiled through her
- tears, stepped into the boat, and in a few minutes we were alongside.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Make all the haste you can,” Manson said to me, “as Mrs. Hollister is
- returning on shore as soon as you can give her some clothing and boots or
- shoes. Then they are all coming on board to supper at eight o'clock.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The lady came with me to my trade-room, and we soon went to work together,
- I forbearing to ask her any questions whatever, though I was as full of
- curiosity as a woman. Like that of all trading vessels whose “run”
- embraced the islands of Polynesia as well as Melanesia and Micronesia, the
- trade-room of the <i>Metaris</i> was a general store. The shelves and
- cases were filled with all sorts of articles—tinned provisions,
- wines and spirits, firearms and ammunition, hardware and drapers' soft
- goods, “yellow-back” novels, ready-made clothing for men, women and
- children, musical instruments and grindstones—in fact just such a
- stock as one would find in a well-stocked general store in an Australian
- country town.
- </p>
- <p>
- In half an hour Mrs. Hollister had found all that she wanted, and packing
- the articles in a “trade” chest, I had it passed on deck and lowered into
- the boat. Then the lady, now smiling radiantly, shook hands with every
- one, including the steward, and descended to the boat which quickly cast
- off and made for the shore in charge of the boatswain.
- </p>
- <p>
- Then I felt that I deserved a drink, and went below again where Manson and
- Loring were awaiting me. They had anticipated my wishes, for the steward
- had just placed the necessary liquids on the cabin table.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now, boys,” said the skipper, as he opened some soda water, “after we
- have had a first drink I'll spin my yarn—and a sad enough one it is,
- too. By-the-way, steward, did you put that bottle of brandy and some soda
- water in the boat?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, sir.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “That's all right. Just fancy, you fellows—that poor chap on shore
- has not had a glass of grog for more than two years. That is, I suppose
- so. Anyway I am sending him some. And, I say, steward; I want you to
- spread yourself this evening and give us <i>the</i> very best supper you
- ever gave us. There are three white persons coming at eight o'clock. And I
- daresay they will sleep on board, so get ready three spare bunks.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Manson was usually a slow, drawling speaker—except when he had
- occasion to admonish the crew; then he was quite brilliant in the rapidity
- of his remarks—but now he was clearly a little excited and seemed to
- have shaken the fever out of his bones, for he not only drank his brandy
- and soda as if he enjoyed it, but asked the steward to bring him his pipe.
- This latter request was a sure sign that he was getting better. Then he
- began his story.
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- Although six years had passed since he had visited this part of the great
- island, Manson knew his way inland to the lake. The forest was open, and
- consisted of teak and cedar with but little undergrowth. Suddenly, as he
- was passing under the spreading branches of a great cedar, he saw
- something that made him stare with astonishment—a little white girl,
- driving before her a flock of goats! She was dressed in a loose gown of
- blue print, and wore an old-fashioned white linen sun-bonnet, and her bare
- legs and feet were tanned a deep brown. Only for a moment did he see her
- face as she faced towards him to hurry up a playful kid that had broken
- away from the flock, and then her back was again turned, and she went on,
- quite unaware of his presence.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Little girl,” he called.
- </p>
- <p>
- Something like a cry of terror escaped her lips as she turned to him.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, sir,” she cried in trembling tones, “you frightened me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I am so sorry, my dear. Who are you? Where do you live?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Just by the lake, sir, with my father and mother.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “May I come with you and see them?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, yes, sir. We have never seen any one since we came here more than two
- years ago. When did you come, sir?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Only this morning. My vessel is anchored in the little cove.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, I am so glad, so glad! My father and mother too will be so glad to
- meet you. But he cannot see you—I mean see you with his eyes—for
- he is blind. When our ship was wrecked here the lightning struck him, and
- took away his eyesight.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Deeply interested as he was, Manson forbore to question the child any
- further, and walked beside her in silence till they came in view of the
- lake.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Look, sir, there is our house. Mother and Fiji Sam, the sailor, built it,
- and I helped. Isn't it nice? See, there are my father and mother waiting
- for me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- On the margin of a lovely little lake, less than a mile in circumference,
- was a comfortably built house, semi-native, semi-European in construction,
- and surrounded by a garden of gorgeous-hued coleus, crotons, and other
- indigenous plants, and even the palings which enclosed it were of growing
- saplings, so evenly trimmed as to resemble an ivy-grown wall.
- </p>
- <p>
- Seated in front of the open door were a man and woman. The latter rose and
- came to meet Manson, who raised his hat as the lady held out her hand, and
- he told her who he was.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Come inside,” she said, in a soft, pleasant voice. “This is my husband,
- Captain Hollister. Our vessel was lost on this island twenty-eight months
- ago, and you are the first white man we have seen since then.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The blind man made his visitor welcome, but without effusion, and begged
- him to be seated. What especially struck Manson was the calm, quiet manner
- of all three. They received him as if they were used to seeing strangers,
- and betrayed no unusual agitation. Yet they were deeply thankful for his
- coming. The house consisted of three rooms, and had been made extremely
- comfortable by articles of cabin furniture. The table was laid for
- breakfast, and as Manson sat down, the little girl hurriedly milked a
- goat, and brought in a small gourd of milk. In a few minutes Hollister's
- slight reserve had worn off, and he related his strange story.
- </p>
- <p>
- His vessel (of which he was owner) was a topsail schooner of 130 tons, and
- had sailed from Singapore in a trading cruise among the Pacific Islands.
- For the first four months all went well. Many islands had been visited
- with satisfactory results, and then came disaster, swift and terrible.
- Hollister told of it in few and simple words.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We were in sight of this island and in the middle watch were becalmed.
- The night was close and sultry, and we had made all ready for a blow of
- some sort. For two hours we waited, and then in an instant the whole
- heavens were alight with chain and fork lightning. My Malay crew bolted
- below, and as they reached the fore-scuttle, two of them were struck dead,
- and flames burst out on the fore-part of the ship. I sprang forward, and
- was half-way along the deck, when I, too, was struck down. For an hour I
- was unconscious, and when I revived knew that my sight was gone for ever.
- </p>
- <p>
- “My mate was a good seaman, but old and wanting in nerve. Still, with the
- aid of some of the terrified crew, and amidst a torrential downpour of
- rain which almost immediately began to fall, he did what he could to save
- the ship. In half an hour the rain ceased, and then the wind came with
- hurricane force from the southward; the crew again bolted, and refused to
- come on deck, and the poor mate in trying to heave-to was washed away from
- the wheel, together with the Malay serang—the only man who stuck to
- him. There were now left on board alive four Malays, one Fijian A.B. named
- Sam, my wife and child and myself. And I, of course, was helpless.
- </p>
- <p>
- “'Fiji Sam' was a plucky fellow. Aided by my wife, he succeeded in putting
- the schooner before the wind and letting her drive to the N.N.W., feeling
- sure that she would be giving the land a wide berth. Unfortunately he did
- not count upon a four-knot current setting to the eastward, and just as
- daylight was breaking we tore clean over the reef at high water into a
- little bay two miles from here. The water was so deep, and the place so
- sheltered, that the schooner drifted in among the branches of the trees
- lining the beach, and lay there as quiet as if she were moored to a wharf.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Two days later the Malays seized the dinghy, taking with them provisions
- and arms, and deserted me. What became of them I do not know.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Fiji Sam found this lake, and here we built this house, after removing
- all that we could from the ship, for she was leaking, and settled down
- upon her keel. She is there still, but of no use.
- </p>
- <p>
- “When we ran ashore we had in the hold some goats and pigs, which I had
- bought at Anchorites' Island. The goats kept with us, but the pigs went
- wild, and took to the bush. In endeavouring to shoot one, poor Fiji Sam
- lost his life—his rifle caught in a vine and went off, the bullet
- passing through his body.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Not once since the wreck have we seen a single native, though on clear
- days we often see smoke about fifteen miles along the coast. Anyway, none
- have come near us—for which I am very glad.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Manson remarked that that was fortunate as they were “a bad lot”.
- </p>
- <p>
- “So we have been living here quietly for over two years. Twice only have
- we seen a sail, but only on the horizon. And I, having neither boat nor
- canoe, and being blind, was helpless.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “That is the poor fellow's story,” concluded Manson. “Of course I will
- give them a passage to Levuka, and we must otherwise do our best for them.
- Although Hollister has lost every penny he had in the world, his wife
- tells me that she owns some property in Singapore, where she also has a
- brother who is in business there. By Jove, boys, I wish you had been with
- me when I said 'Thank God, I have found you, Captain Hollister,' and the
- poor fellow sighed and turned his face away as he held out his hand to me,
- and his wife drew him to her bosom.”
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER IV ~ NISÂN ISLAND; A TALE OF THE OLD TRADING DAYS
- </h2>
- <p>
- When I was first learning the ropes as a “recruiter” in the Kanaka labour
- trade, recruiting natives to work on the plantations of Samoa and Fiji, we
- called at a group of islands called Nisân by the natives, and marked on
- the chart as the Sir Charles Hardy Islands. I thought it likely that I
- might obtain a few “recruits,” and the captain wanted fresh provisions.
- </p>
- <p>
- The group lies between the south end of New Ireland and the north end of
- the great Bougainville Island in the Solomon Archipelago, and consists of
- six low, well-wooded and fertile islands, enclosed within a barrier reef,
- forming a noble atoll, almost circular in shape. All the islands are
- thickly populated at the present day by natives, who are peaceable enough,
- and engage in <i>bêche-de-mer</i> and pearl-shell fishing. Less than forty
- years back they were notorious cannibals, and very warlike, and never
- hesitated to attempt to cut off any whaleship or trading vessel that was
- not well manned and well armed.
- </p>
- <p>
- As I had visited the group on three previous occasions in a trading vessel
- and was well known to the people, I was pretty sure of getting some
- “recruits” for Samoa, for our vessel had a good reputation. So, lowering
- our boats, the second mate and I went on shore, and were pleasantly
- received. But, alas for my hopes! I could not get a single native to
- recruit They were, they said, now doing so well at curing <i>bêche-de-mer</i>
- for a Sydney trading vessel that none of the young men cared to leave the
- island to work on a plantation for three years; in addition to this, never
- before had food been so plentiful—pigs and poultry abounded, and
- turtle were netted by hundreds at a time. In proof of their assertion as
- to the abundance of provisions, I bought from them, for trade goods worth
- about ten dollars, a boat-load of turtle, pigs, ducks, fowls, eggs and
- fish. These I sent off to the ship by the second mate, and told him to
- return for another load of bread-fruit, taro, and other vegetables and
- fruit. I also sent a note to the captain by my own boat, telling him to
- come on shore and bring our guns and plenty of cartridges, as the islands
- were alive with countless thousands of fine, heavy pigeons, which were
- paying the group their annual visit from the mountainous forests of
- Bougainville Island and New Ireland. They literally swarmed on a small
- uninhabited island, covered with bread-fruit and other trees, and used by
- the natives as a sort of pleasure resort.
- </p>
- <p>
- The two boats returned together, and leaving the second mate to buy more
- pigs and turtle—for we had eighty-five “recruits” on board to feed,
- as well as the ship's company of twenty-eight persons—the skipper
- and I started off in my boat for the little island, accompanied by several
- young Nisân “bucks” carrying old smooth-bore muskets, for they, too,
- wanted to join in the sport I had given them some tins of powder, shot,
- and a few hundred military caps. We landed on a beautiful white beach, and
- telling our boat's crew to return to the village and help the second mate,
- the skipper and I, with the Nisân natives, walked up the bank, and in a
- few minutes the guns were at work. Never before had I seen such thousands
- of pigeons in so small an area. It could hardly be called sport, for the
- birds were so thick on the trees that when a native fired at haphazard
- into the branches the heavy charge of shot would bring them down by the
- dozen—the remainder would simply fly off to the next tree. Owing to
- the dense foliage the skipper and I seldom got a shot at them on the wing,
- and had to slaughter like the natives, consoling ourselves with the fact
- that every bird would be eaten. Most of them were so fat that it was
- impossible to pluck them without the skin coming away, and from the
- boat-load we took on board the skip's cook obtained a ten-gallon keg full
- of fat.
- </p>
- <p>
- About noon we ceased, to have something to eat and drink, and chose for
- our camp a fairly open spot, higher than the rest of the island, and
- growing on which were some magnificent trees, bearing a fruit called vi.
- It is in reality a wild mango, but instead of containing the smooth
- oval-shaped seed of the mango family, it has a round, root-like and spiky
- core. The fruit, however, is of a delicious flavour, and when fully ripe
- melts in one's mouth. Whilst our native friends were grilling some birds,
- and getting us some young coco-nuts to drink, the captain and I, taking
- some short and heavy pieces of wood, began throwing them at the ripe fruit
- overhead. Suddenly my companion tripped over something and fell.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Hallo, what is this?” he exclaimed, as he rose and looked at the cause of
- his mishap.
- </p>
- <p>
- It was the end of a bar of pig-iron ballast, protruding some inches out of
- the soft soil. We worked it to and fro, and then pulled it out. Wondering
- how it came there, we left it and resumed our stick-throwing, when we
- discovered three more on the other side of the tree; they were lying amid
- the ruins of an old wall, built of coral-stone slabs. We questioned the
- natives as to how these “pigs” came to be there. They replied that, long
- before their time, a small vessel had come into the lagoon and anchored,
- and that the crew had thrown the bars of iron overboard. After the
- schooner had sailed away, the natives had dived for and recovered the
- iron, and had tried to soften the bars by fire in the hope of being able
- to turn it into axes, etc.
- </p>
- <p>
- We accepted the story as true, and thought no more about it, though we
- wondered why such useful, compact and heavy ballast should be thrown away,
- and when my boat returned to take us to the ship, we took the iron “pigs”
- with us.
- </p>
- <p>
- Arriving at Samoa, we soon rid ourselves of our eighty-five “blackbirds,”
- who had all behaved very well on the voyage, and were sorry to leave the
- ship; and that evening I paid a visit to an old friend of mine—an
- American who kept a large store in Apia, the principal port and town of
- Samoa. I was telling him all about our cruise, when an old white man,
- locally known as “Bandy Tom,” came up from the yard, and sat down on the
- verandah steps near us. Old Tom was a character, and well known all over
- Polynesia as an inveterate old loafer and beachcomber. He was a deserter
- from the navy, and for over forty years had wandered about the South
- Pacific, sometimes working honestly for a living, sometimes dishonestly,
- but usually loafing upon some native community, until they tired of him
- and made him seek fresh pastures. In his old age he had come to Samoa, and
- my friend, taking pity on the penniless old wreck, gave him employment as
- night watchman, and let him hang about the premises and do odd jobs in the
- day-time. With all his faults he was an amusing ancient, and was known for
- his “tall” yarns about his experiences with cannibals in Fiji.
- </p>
- <p>
- Bidding me “good-evening,” Bandy Tom puffed away at his pipe, and listened
- to what I was saying. When I had finished describing our visit to Nisân,
- and the finding of the ballast, he interrupted.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I can tell you where them 'pigs' come from, and all about 'em—leastways
- a good deal; for I knows more about the matter than any one else.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Parker laughed. “Bandy, you know, or pretend to know, about everything
- that has happened in the South Seas since the time of Captain Cook.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ah, you can laugh as much as you like, boss,” said the old fellow
- serenely, “but I know what I'm talkin' about I ain't the old gas-bag you
- think I am. I lived on Nisân for a year an' ten months, nigh on thirty
- years ago, gettin' <i>bêche-de-mer</i> for Captain Bobby Towns of Sydney.”
- Then turning to me he added: “I ain't got too bad a memory, for all my
- age. I can tell you the names of all the six islands, and how they lies,
- an' a good deal about the people an' the queer way they has of catchin'
- turtle in rope nets; an' I can tell you the names of the head men that was
- there in my time—which was about 'fifty or 'fifty-one. Just you try
- me an' see.”
- </p>
- <p>
- I did try him, and he very soon satisfied me that he had lived on the Sir
- Charles Hardy Islands, and knew the place well. Then he told his story,
- which I condense as much as possible.
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- FIRST PART
- </h2>
- <p>
- Bandy was landed at Nisân by Captain Robert Towns of the barque <i>Adventurer</i>
- of Sydney, to collect <i>bêche-de-mer</i>. He was well received by the
- savage inhabitants and provided with a house, and well treated generally,
- for Captain Towns, knowing the natives to be cannibals and treacherous,
- had demanded a pledge from them that Bandy should not be harmed, and
- threatened that if on his return in the following year he found the white
- man was missing, he would land his crew, and destroy them to the last man.
- Then the barque sailed. A day or so afterwards Bandy was visited by a
- native, who was very different in appearance from the Nisân people. He
- spoke to the white man in good English, and informed him that he was a
- native of the island of Rotumah, but had been living on Nisân for more
- than twenty years, had married, had a family, and was well thought of by
- the people. The two became great friends, and Taula, as the Rotumah man
- was named, took Bandy into his confidence, and told him of a tragedy that
- had occurred on Nisân about five or six years after he (Taula) had landed
- on the islands. He was one of the crew of a whaleship which, on a dark
- night, nearly ran ashore on Nisân, and in the hurry and confusion of the
- vessels going about he slipped over the side, swam on shore through the
- surf, and reached the land safely.
- </p>
- <p>
- One day, said Taula, the natives were thrown into a state of wild
- excitement by the appearance of a brigantine, which boldly dropped anchor
- abreast of the principal village. She was the first vessel that had ever
- stopped at the islands, and the savage natives instantly planned to
- capture her and massacre the crew. But they resolved to first put the
- white men off their guard. Taula, however, did not know this at the time.
- With a number of the Nisân people he went on board, taking an ample supply
- of provisions. The brigantine had a large crew and was heavily armed,
- carrying ten guns, and the natives were allowed to board in numbers. The
- captain had with him his wife, whom Taula described as being quite a young
- girl. He questioned the natives about pearl-shell and <i>bêche-de-mer</i>
- and a few hours later, by personal inspection, satisfied himself that the
- atoll abounded with both. He made a treaty with the apparently friendly
- people, and at once landed a party to build houses, etc.
- </p>
- <p>
- I must now, for reasons that will appear later on, hurry over Taula's
- story as told by him to Bandy.
- </p>
- <p>
- Eight or ten days after the arrival of the brigantine, the shore party of
- fourteen white men were treacherously attacked, and thirteen ruthlessly
- slaughtered. One who escaped was kept as a slave, and the brigantine, to
- avoid capture, hurriedly put to sea.
- </p>
- <p>
- Six months or so passed, and the vessel again appeared and anchored, this
- time on a mission of vengeance. The natives, nevertheless, were not
- alarmed, and again determined to get possession of the ship, although this
- time her decks were crowded with men. They attacked her in canoes, were
- repulsed, returned to the shore and then, with incredible audacity, sent
- the white sailor whom they had captured on board the vessel to make peace.
- But not for a moment had they relinquished the determination to capture
- the vessel, which they decided to effect by treachery, if force could not
- be used. What followed was related in detail by Taula to Bandy.
- </p>
- <p>
- Parker and I were deeply interested in Bandy's story, and at its
- conclusion I asked him if his informant knew the name of the ship and her
- nationality.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Not her name, sir; but she was an American. Taula knew the American flag,
- for the ship he ran away from was a Sag harbour whaler. The pig-iron bars
- which you found were brought ashore to make a bed for the <i>bêche-de-mer</i>
- curing pots. He showed 'em to me one day.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Both Parker and I were convinced of the truth of Bandy's story, and came
- to the conclusion that the unknown brigantine was probably a colonial
- trader, which had afterwards been lost with all hands. For we were both
- fairly well up in the past history of the South Seas—at least we
- thought so—and had never heard of this affair at the Sir Charles
- Hardy Group. But we were entirely mistaken in our assumptions.
- </p>
- <p>
- In the month of April in the year 1906, after a lapse of more than five
- and twenty years, the mystery that enshrouded the tragedy of Nisân was
- revealed to me by my coming across, in a French town, a small,
- time-stained and faded volume of 230 pages, and published by J. and J.
- Harper of New York in 1833, and entitled <i>Narrative of a Voyage to the
- Ethiopie and South Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Chinese Sea, North and
- South Pacific Ocean in the years</i> 1829, 1830, 1831, by Abby Jane
- Morrell, who accompanied her husband, Captain Benjamin Morrell, Junior, of
- the schooner <i>Antarctic</i>.
- </p>
- <p>
- Now to her story,
- </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>
- SECOND PART
- </h2>
- <p>
- Opening the faded little volume, the reader sees a wood-engraving of the
- authoress, a remarkably handsome young woman of about twenty years of age,
- dressed in the quaint fashion of those days. As a matter of fact she was
- only four and twenty when her book was published. In a brief preface she
- tells us that her object in writing a book was not for the purpose of
- exciting interest in her own experiences of a remarkable voyage, but in
- the hope that it would arouse philanthropic endeavour to ameliorate the
- condition of American seamen. Throughout the volume there is a vein of
- deep, yet unobtrusive piety, and the reader is struck with her
- self-effacement, her courage, her reverent admiration for her young sailor
- husband, and her pride in his gallant ship and sturdy crew of native-born
- American seamen. In the <i>Antarctic</i> the young couple sailed many
- seas, and visited many lands, and everywhere they seem to have been the
- recipients of unbounded hospitality and attention, especially from their
- own country people, and English merchants, and naval and military men. It
- is very evident—even if only judging from her picture—that she
- was a very charming young lady of the utmost vivacity; and in addition to
- this, she was an accomplished linguist, and otherwise highly educated. Her
- beauty, indeed, caused her many tears, owing to the “wicked and persistent
- attentions” of the American consul at Manila. This gentleman appears to
- have set himself to work to make Mrs. Morrell a widow, until at last—her
- husband being away at sea—she had to be guarded from his persistent
- advances by some of the English and American families resident in Manila.
- She tells the story in the most naive and delightful manner, and the
- reader's heart warms to the little woman. But I must not diverge from the
- subject.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I am,” she says, “the daughter of Captain John Wood, of New York, who
- died at New Orleans on the 14th of November, 1811. He was then master of
- the ship <i>Indian Hunter</i>.... He died when I was so young that if I
- pleased myself with thinking that I remember him, I could not have been a
- judge of his virtues; but it has been a source of happiness to me that he
- is spoken of by his contemporaries as a man of good sense and great
- integrity.”
- </p>
- <p>
- When fifteen years of age Miss Wood met her cousin, Captain Morrell, a
- young man who had gained a reputation for seamanship, and as a navigator.
- They were mutually attracted to each other, and in a few months were
- married. Then he sailed away on a two years' voyage, returned, and again
- set out, this time to the little known South Seas. Absent a year—during
- which time a son was born to him—he was so pleased with the
- financial results of the voyage that he determined on a second; and his
- wife insisted on accompanying him, though he pleaded with her to remain,
- and told her of the dangers and terrors of a long voyage in unknown seas,
- the islands of which were peopled by ferocious and treacherous cannibals.
- But she was not to be deterred from sharing her husband's perils, and with
- an aching heart took farewell of her infant son, whom she left in care of
- her mother, and on 2nd September, 1829, the <i>Antarctic</i> sailed from
- New York. The cruise was to last two years, and the object of it was to
- seek for new sealing grounds in the Southern Ocean, and then go northward
- to the Pacific Islands and barter with the natives for sandal-wood, <i>bêche-de-mer</i>
- pearls, and pearl-shell.
- </p>
- <p>
- The crew of the brigantine were picked men, and all of them gave Morrell a
- written pledge to abstain from drinking spirits of any kind during the
- entire voyage. Morrell, though a strict disciplinarian, seems to have had
- their respect and even affection throughout, and that he was a man of iron
- resolution and dauntless courage the book gives ample testimony.
- </p>
- <p>
- After some months' sealing at the Auckland Islands, and visiting New
- Zealand, where the Morrells were entertained by the missionary, John
- Williams, the brigantine made a highly successful cruise among the islands
- of the South Pacific, and then Morrell went to Manila to dispose of his
- valuable cargo. This he did to great advantage, and once more his
- restless, daring spirit impelled him tot make another voyage among the
- islands. This time, however, he left his wife in Manila, where she soon
- found many friends, who protected her from the annoying attentions of the
- consul, and nursed her through a severe illness.
- </p>
- <p>
- “On the seventy-fifth day after the sailing of the <i>Antarctic?</i>” she
- writes, “as I was looking with a glass from my window, as I had done for
- many days previously, I saw my husband's well-known signal at the mast
- head of an approaching vessel.... I was no sooner on board than I found
- myself in my husband's arms; but the scene was too much for my enfeebled
- frame, and I was for some time insensible. On coming to myself, I looked
- around and saw my brother, pale and emaciated. My forebodings were
- dreadful when I perceived that the number of the crew was sadly diminished
- from what it was when I was last on board. I dared not trust myself to
- make any inquiries, and all seemed desirous to avoid explanations. I could
- not rest in this state of mind, and ventured to ask what had become of the
- men. My husband, with his usual frankness, sat down and detailed to me the
- whole affair, which was as follows:—
- </p>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
- A TALE OF THE OLD TRADING DAYS
-</pre>
- <p>
- “It seems that six weeks after leaving Manila” (here I omit some
- unimportant details) “he came to six islands that were surrounded by a
- coral reef.” (The Sir Charles Hardy Group.) “Here was a-plenty of <i>bêche-de-mer</i>
- and he made up his mind to get a cargo of this, and what shell he could
- procure.... On May 21st he sent a boat's crew on shore to clear away the
- brush and prepare a place to cure the <i>bêche-de-mer</i>. The natives now
- came off to the vessel, and seemed quiet, although it was evident that
- they had never seen a white man before, and the islands bore no trace of
- ever having been visited by civilised men. The people were a large,
- savage-looking race, but Mr. Morrell was lulled to security by their civil
- and harmless (<i>sic</i>) appearance, and their fondness of visiting the
- vessel to exchange their fruits for trinkets and other commodities
- attractive to the savages in these climes. They were shown in perfect
- friendship all parts of the vessel, and appeared pleased with the
- attentions paid them.... A boat was sent on shore with the forge and all
- the blacksmith's tools, but the savages soon stole the greater part of
- them.
- </p>
- <p>
- “This was an unpropitious circumstance, but Mr. Morrell thought that he
- could easily recover them; and to accomplish this, he took six of his men,
- well armed, and marched directly to the village where the king lived. This
- was a lovely place, formed in a grove of trees. Here he met two hundred
- warriors, all painted for battle, armed with bows and arrows ready for an
- onset, waving their war plumes, and eager to engage. On turning round he
- saw nearly as many more in his rear—it was a critical moment—the
- slightest fear was sure death. Mr. Morrell addressed his comrades, and, in
- a word, told them that if they did not act in concert, and in the most
- dauntless manner, death would be inevitable. He then threw down his
- musket, drew his cutlass, and holding a pistol in his right hand, he
- pushed for the king, knowing in what reverence savages in general hold the
- person of their monarch. In an instant the pistol was at the king's
- breast, and the cutlass waved over his head. The savages had arrowed their
- bows, and were ready at the slightest signal to have shot a cloud of
- missiles at the handful of white men; but in an instant, when they saw the
- danger of their king, they dropped their bows to the ground. At this
- fortunate moment, the captain marched around the circle, and compelled
- those who had come with war-clubs to throw those down also; all which he
- ordered his men to secure and collect inta a heap. The king was then
- conducted with several of his chiefs on board the <i>Antarctic</i>, and
- kept until the next day. They were treated with every attention, but
- strictly guarded all night On the following morning he gave them a good
- breakfast, loaded them with presents—for which they seemed grateful,
- and laboured hard to convince their conqueror that they were friendly to
- him and his crew—sent them on shore, together with some of his men,
- to go on with the works which had been commenced; but feeling that a
- double caution was necessary, he sent a reinforcement to his men on shore,
- well armed.... All were cautioned to be on their guard; but everything was
- unavailing; for not long after this, a general attack was made on the men
- from the woods, in so sudden a manner that they were overthrown at once.
- Two of the crew who were in the small boat, made their escape out of reach
- of the arrows, and had the good fortune to pick up three others who had
- thrown themselves into the water for safety. On hearing the horrid yells
- of the savages, the whaleboat was sent with ten men, who, with great
- exertions, saved two more of the crew. The rest all fell, at one untimely
- moment, victims to savage barbarity! It was an awful and heart-sickening
- moment; fourteen of the crew had perished—they were murdered,
- mangled, and their corpses thrown upon the strand without the possibility
- of receiving the rites of Christian burial.... Four of the survivors were
- wounded—the heat was intolerable—the spirits of the crew were
- broken down, and a sickness came over their hearts that could not be
- controlled by the power of medicine—a sickness arising from moral
- causes, that would not yield to science nor art.
- </p>
- <p>
- “In this situation Captain Morrell made the best of his way for Manila....
- I grew pale over the narrative; it filled my dreams for many nights, and
- occupied my thoughts for many days, almost exclusively.... I dreaded the
- thought of the mention of the deed, and yet I wished I had been there. I
- might have done some good, or, if not, I might have assisted to dress the
- wounded, among whom was my own dear, heroic brother. He received an arrow
- in the breast, but his good constitution soon got over the shock; though
- he was pale even when I saw him, so many days after the event. My husband
- had now lost everything but his courage, his honour, and his perseverance;
- but the better part of the community of Manila had become his friends,
- while the American consul was delighted with our misfortunes. He was
- alone!”
- </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>
- THIRD PART
- </h2>
- <p>
- Nothing daunted by this catastrophe Captain Morrell petitioned the
- Captain-General of the Philippines for leave to take out a new crew of
- seventy additional men—sixty-six Manila men, and four Europeans.
- Everyone warned him of the danger of this—no other ship had ever
- dared take more than six Manila men as part of her complement, for they
- were treacherous, and prone to mutiny. But Morrell contested that he would
- be able to manage them and the captain-general yielded. Two English
- merchants, Messrs. Cannell and Gellis, generously lent him all the money
- he required to fit out, taking only his I.O.U. So:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “On the 18th July, 1830, the <i>Antarctic</i> again sailed for Massacre
- Islands, as my husband had named the group where he lost his men. When I
- went on board I found a crew of eighty-five men, fifty-five of them
- savages as fierce as those whom we were about to encounter, and as
- dangerous, if not properly managed. One would have thought that I should
- have shrunk from this assemblage as from those of Massacre Islands, but I
- entered my cabin with a light step; I did not fear savage men half so much
- as I did a civilised brute. I was with my husband; he was not afraid, why
- should I be? This was my reasoning, and I found it safe.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The schooner appeared as formidable as anything possibly could of her
- size; she had great guns, ten in number, small arms, boarding-pikes,
- cutlasses, pistols, and a great quantity of ammunition. She was a
- war-horse in every sense of the word, but that of animal life, and that
- she seemed partially to have, or one would have thought so, to hear the
- sailors talk of her.... She coursed over the waters with every preparation
- for fight.
- </p>
- <p>
- “On the 13th of September the <i>Antarctic</i> again reached Massacre
- Islands. I could only view the place as a Golgotha; and shuddered as we
- neared it; but I could see that most of the old crew who came hither at
- the time of the massacre were panting for revenge, although their captain
- had endeavoured to impress upon them the folly of gratifying such a
- passion if we could gain our purpose by mildness mixed with firmness.” (I
- am afraid that here the skipper of the <i>Antarctic</i> was not exactly
- open with the little lady. He certainly meant that his crew should “get
- even” with their shipmates' murderers, but doubtless told her that he “had
- endeavoured,” etc)
- </p>
- <p>
- “We had no sooner made our appearance in the harbour at Massacre Island,
- on the 14th, than we were attacked by about three hundred warriors. We
- opened a brisk fire upon them, and they immediately retreated. This was
- the first battle I ever saw where men in anger met men in earnest We were
- now perfectly safe; our Manila men were as brave as Caesar; they were
- anxious to be landed instantly, to fight these Indians at once. They felt
- as much superior, no doubt, to these ignorant savages as the philosopher
- does to the peasant. This the captain would not permit; he knew his
- superiority while on board his vessel, and he also knew that this
- superiority must be, in a manner, lost to him as soon as he landed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The firing had ceased, and the enemy had retired, when a single canoe
- appeared coming from the shore with one man in it. We could not conjecture
- what this could mean. The man was as naked as a savage and as highly
- painted, but he managed his paddle with a different hand from the savages.
- When he came alongside, he cried out to us in English, and we recognised
- Leonard Shaw, one of our old crew, whom we had supposed among the dead.
- The meeting had that joyousness about it that cannot be felt in ordinary
- life; he was dead and buried, and now was alive again! We received him as
- one might imagine; surprise, joy, wonder, took possession of us all, and
- we made him recount his adventures, which were wonderful enough.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Shaw was wounded when the others were slain; he fled to the woods, and
- succeeded at that time in escaping from death. Hunger at length induced
- him to leave the woods and attempt to give himself to the savages, but
- coming in sight of the horrid spectacle of the bodies of his friends and
- companions roasting for a cannibal feast, he rushed forth again into the
- woods with the intent rather to starve than to trust to such wretches for
- protection. For four days and nights he remained in his hiding place, when
- he was forced to go in pursuit of something to keep himself from starving.
- After some exertion he obtained three coco-nuts, which were so young that
- they did not afford much sustenance, but were sufficient to keep him alive
- fifteen days, during which time he suffered from the continually falling
- showers, which left him dripping wet. In the shade of his hiding place he
- had no chance to dry himself, and on the fifteenth day he ventured to
- stretch himself in the sun; but he did not long remain undisturbed; an
- Indian saw him, and gave the alarm, and he was at once surrounded by a
- host of savages. The poor, suffering wretch implored them to be merciful,
- but he implored in vain; one of them struck him on the back of the head
- with a war-club, and laid him senseless on the ground, and for a while
- left him as dead. When he recovered, and had gathered his scattered
- senses, he observed a chief who was not among those by whom he had been
- attacked, and made signs to him that he would be his slave if he would
- save him. The savage intimated to him to follow, which he did, and had his
- wound most cruelly dressed by the savage, who poured hot water into it,
- and filled it with sand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “As soon as the next day, while yet in agony with his wound, he was called
- up and set to work in making knives, and other implements from the iron
- hoops, and other plunder from the forge when the massacre took place. This
- was indeed hard, for the poor fellow was no mechanic, though a first-rate
- Jack-tar... however, necessity made him a blacksmith, and he got along
- pretty well.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The savages were not yet satisfied, and they made him march five or six
- miles to visit a distinguished chief. This was done in a state of nudity,
- without anything like sandals or mocassins to protect his feet from the
- flint stones and sharp shells, and under the burning rays of an
- intolerable sun. Blood marked his footsteps. The king met him and
- compelled him to debase himself by the most abject ceremonies of slavery.
- He was now overcome, and with a dogged indifference was ready to die. He
- could not, he would not walk back; his feet were lacerated, swollen, and
- almost in a state of putrefaction. The savages saw this, and took him back
- by water, but only to experience new torments. The young ones imitated
- their elders, and these graceless little rascals pulled out his beard and
- whiskers, and eyebrows and eyelashes. In order to save himself some part
- of the pain of this wretched process of their amusement, he was permitted
- to perform a part of this work with his own hands. He was indeed a
- pitiable object, but one cannot die when one wishes, and be guiltless.
- This was not all he suffered; he was almost starved to death, for they
- gave him only the offal of the fish they caught, and this but sparingly;
- he sustained himself by catching rats, and these offensive creatures were
- his principal food for a longtime. He understood that the natives did not
- suffer the rats to be killed, and therefore he had to do it secretly in
- the night time.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Thus passed the days of the poor prisoner; the wound on his head was not
- yet healed, and notwithstanding all his efforts he failed to get the sand
- out of his first wound until a short time before his deliverance, when it
- was made known to him that he was to be immolated for a feast to the king
- of the group! All things had now become matters of indifference to him,
- and he heard the horrid story with great composure. All the preparations
- for the sacrifice were got up in his presence, near the very spot where
- the accursed feast of skulls had been held. All was in readiness, and the
- people waited a long time for the king; but he did not come, and the
- ceremony was put off.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Shaw has often expressed himself on this subject, and said that he could
- not but feel some regret that his woes were not to be finished, as there
- was no hope for him, and to linger always in this state of agitation was
- worse than death; but mortals are short-sighted, for he was destined to be
- saved through the instrumentality of his friends.
- </p>
- <p>
- “His soul was again agitated by hope and fear in the extremes when the <i>Antarctic</i>
- made her appearance a second time on the coast. He feared that her arrival
- would be the signal for his destruction; but if this should not happen,
- might he not be saved? The whole population of the island he was on, and
- those of the others of the group, manned their war canoes for a formidable
- attack; and the fate of the prisoner was suspended for a season. The
- attack was commenced by the warriors in the canoes, without doubt
- confident of success; but the well-directed fire from the <i>Antarctic</i>
- soon repulsed them, and they sought the shore in paroxysms of rage, which
- was changed to fear when they found that the big guns of the schooner
- threw their shot directly into the village, and were rapidly demolishing
- their dwellings. It was in this state of fear and humility that Shaw was
- sent off to the vessel to stop the carnage and destruction; they were glad
- to have peace on any terms. They now gave up their boldness, and as it was
- the wish of all but the Manila men to spare the effusion of human blood,
- it was done as soon as safety would permit of it.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The story of Shaw's sufferings raised the indignation of every one of the
- Americans and English we had on board, and they were violently desirous to
- be led on to attack the whole of the Massacre Islands, and extirpate the
- race at once. They felt at this moment as if it would be an easy thing to
- kill the whole of the inhabitants; but Captain Morrell was not to be
- governed by any impulse of passion—he had other duties to perform;
- yet he did not reprimand the men for this feeling; thinking it might be of
- service to him hereafter.
- </p>
- <p>
- “After taking every precaution to ensure safety, by getting up his
- boarding-nettings many feet above the deck, and everything prepared for
- defence or attack, the frame of the house, brought for the purpose, was
- got up on a small uninhabited island—which had previously been
- purchased of the king in exchange for useful articles such as axes,
- shaves, and other mechanical tools, precisely such as the Indians wished
- for. The captain landed with a large force, and began to fell the trees to
- make a castle for defence. Finding two large trees, nearly six feet
- through, he prepared the limbs about forty feet from the ground, and
- raised a platform extending from one to the other, with an arrow-proof
- bulwark around it. Upon this platform were stationed a garrison of twenty
- men, with four brass swivels. The platform was covered with a watertight
- roof, and the men slept there at night upon their arms, to keep the
- natives from approaching to injure the trees or the fort by fire—the
- only way they could assail the garrison. It looked indeed like a castle—formidable
- in every respect; and the ascent to it was by a ladder, which was drawn up
- at night into this war-like habitation. The next step was to clear the
- woods from around the castle, in order to prevent a lurking enemy from
- coming within arrow-shot of the fort Next, the house was raised, and made
- quite a fine appearance, being one hundred and fifty feet long, forty feet
- broad, and very high. The castle protected the house and the workmen in
- it, and both house and castle were so near the sea-board that the <i>Antarctic</i>
- while riding at anchor, protected both. The castle was well stocked with
- provisions in case of a siege.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The next day, after all was in order for business, a large number of
- canoes made their appearance near Massacre Island. Shaw said that this
- fleet belonged to another island (of the group) and he had never known
- them to stop there before. My husband, having some suspicions, did not
- suffer the crew to go on shore next morning at the usual time; and about
- eight o'clock one of the chiefs came off, as usual, to offer us fruits,
- but no boat was sent to meet him. He waited some time for us, and then
- directed his course to our island, which my husband had named Wallace
- Island, in memory of the officer who had bravely fallen in fight on the
- day of the massacre. This was surprising as not a single native had set
- foot on that island since our works were begun; but we were not kept long
- in suspense, for we saw about a hundred war-canoes start from the back
- side of Massacre Island, and make towards Wallace Island. We knew that war
- was their object, and the <i>Antarctic</i> was prepared for battle. The
- chief who had come to sell us fruit, came in front of the castle—the
- first man. He gave the war-whoop, and about two hundred warriors, who had
- concealed themselves in the woods during the darkness of the night, rushed
- forward. The castle was attacked on both sides, and the Indians discharged
- their arrows at the building in the air, till they were stuck, like
- porcupines' quills, in every part of the roof. The garrison was firm, and
- waked in silence until the assailants were within a short distance, when
- they opened a tremendous fire with their swivels, loaded with canister
- shot; the men were ready with their muskets also, and the <i>Antarctic</i>
- opened her fire of large guns, all with a direct and deadly aim at the
- leaders of the savage band. The execution was very great, and in a short
- time the enemy beat a precipitate retreat, taking with them their wounded,
- and as many of their dead as they could. The ground was strewed with
- implements of war, which the savages had thrown away in their flight, or
- which had belonged to the slain. The enemy did not expect such a
- reception, and they were prodigiously frightened; the sound of the cannon
- alarmed every woman and child in the group, as it echoed through the
- forest, or died upon the wave; they had never heard such a roar before,
- for in our first fight there was no necessity for such energy. The Indians
- took to the water, leaving only a few in their canoes to get them off,
- while the garrison hoisted the American flag, and were greeted by cheers
- from those on board the schooner, who were in high spirits at their
- victory, which was achieved without the loss of a man on our part, and
- only two wounded. The music struck up 'Yankee Doodle,' 'Rule Britannia,'
- etc., and the crew could hardly restrain their joy to think that they had
- beaten their enemy so easily.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The boats were all manned, and most of the crew went on shore to mark the
- devastation which had been made. I saw all this without any sensation of
- fear, so easy is it for a woman to catch the spirit of those near her. If
- I had a few months before this time read of such a battle I should have
- trembled at the detail of the incidents; but seeing all the animation and
- courage which were displayed, and noticing at the same time how coolly all
- was done, every particle of fear left me, and I stood quite as collected
- as any heroine of former days. Still I could not but deplore the sacrifice
- of the poor, misguided, ignorant creatures, who wore the human form, and
- had souls to save. Must the ignorant always be taught civilisation through
- blood?—situated as we were, no other course could be taken.
- </p>
- <p>
- “On the morning of the 19th, to our great surprise, the chief who had
- previously come out to bring us fruit, and had done so on the morning of
- our great battle, came again in his canoe, and called for Shaw, on the
- edge of the reef, with his usual air of kindness and friendship, offering
- fruit, and intimating a desire for trade, as though nothing had happened.
- The offer seemed fair, but all believed him to be treacherous. The small
- boat was sent to meet him, but Shaw, who we feared was now an object of
- vengeance, was not sent in her. She was armed for fear of the worst, and
- the coxswain had orders to kill the chief if he should discover any
- treachery in him. As our boat came alongside the canoe, the crew saw a
- bearded arrow attached to a bow, ready for the purpose of revenge. Just as
- the savage was about to bend his bow, the coxswain levelled his piece, and
- shot the traitor through the body; his wound was mortal, but he did not
- expire immediately. At this instant a fleet of canoes made their
- appearance to protect their chief. The small boat lost one of her oars in
- the fight, and we were obliged to man two large boats and send them to the
- place of contest The large boats were armed with swivels and muskets, and
- a furious engagement ensued. The natives were driven from the water, but
- succeeded in taking off their wounded chief, who expired as he reached the
- shore.
- </p>
- <p>
- “After the death of Hennean, the name of the chief we had slain, the
- inhabitants of Massacre Island fled to some other place, and left all
- things as they were before our attack upon them, and our men roamed over
- it at will. The skulls of several of our slaughtered men were found at
- Hennean's door, trophies of his bloody prowess. These were now buried with
- the honours of war; the colours of the <i>Antarctic</i> were lowered
- half-mast, minute guns were fired, and dirges were played by our band, in
- honour of those who had fallen untimely on Massacre Island. This was all
- that feeling or affection could bestow. Those so inhumanly murdered had at
- last the rites of burial performed for them; millions have perished
- without such honours...it is the last sad office that can be paid.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We now commenced collecting and curing <i>bêche-de-mer</i> and should
- have succeeded to our wishes, if we had not been continually harassed by
- the natives as soon as we began our efforts. We continued to work in this
- way until the 28th of October, when we found that the natives were still
- hostile, and on that day one of our men was attacked on Massacre Island,
- but escaped death through great presence of mind, and shot the man, who
- was the brother of the chief Hennean. Our man's name was Thomas Holmes, a
- cool, deliberate Englishman. Such an instance of self-possession, in such
- great danger as that in which he was placed, would have given immortality
- to a greater man. We felt ourselves much harassed and vexed by the
- persevering savages, and finding it impossible to make them understand our
- motives and intentions, we came to the conclusion to leave the place
- forthwith. This was painful, after such struggles and sacrifices and
- misfortunes; but there was no other course to pursue. Accordingly, on the
- 3rd of November, 1830, we set fire to our house and castle, and departed
- by the light of them, taking the <i>bêche-de-mer</i> we had collected and
- cured.”
- </p>
- <p>
- So ends Mrs. Morrell's story of the tragedy of “Massacre Island”. She has
- much else to relate of the subsequent cruise of the <i>Antarctic</i> in
- the South Pacific and the East Indies, and finally the happy conclusion of
- an adventurous voyage, when the vessel returned safely to New York.
- </p>
- <p>
- If the reader has been sufficiently interested in her story to desire to
- know where in the South Pacific her “Massacre Island” is situated, he will
- find it in any modern map or atlas, almost midway between New Ireland and
- Bougainville Island, the largest of the Solomon group, and in lat. 4° 50'
- S., long. 154° 20' E. In conclusion, I may mention that further relics of
- the visit of the <i>Antarctic</i> came to light about fifteen years ago,
- when some of the natives brought three or four round shot to the local
- trader then living on Nisân. They had found them buried under some coral
- stone <i>débris</i> when searching for robber crabs.
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER V ~ MUTINIES
- </h2>
- <p>
- Mutinies, even at the present day, are common enough. The facts concerning
- many of them never come to light, it is so often to the advantage of the
- after-guard of a ship to hush matters up. I know of one instance in which
- the crew of a ship loading guano phosphates at Howland Island imprisoned
- the captain, three mates and the steward in the cabin for some days; then
- hauled them on deck, triced up the whole five and gave them a hundred
- lashes each, in revenge for the diabolical cruelties that had been
- inflicted upon them day by day for long months. Then they liberated their
- tormentors, took to the boats and dispersed themselves on board other
- guano ships loading at How-land Island, leaving their former captain and
- officers to shift for themselves. This was one of the mutinies that never
- came to light, or at least the mutineers escaped punishment.
- </p>
- <p>
- I have witnessed three mutinies—in the last of which I took part,
- although I was not a member of the ship's crew.
- </p>
- <p>
- My first experience occurred when I was a boy, and has been alluded to by
- the late Lord Pembroke in his “Introduction” to the first book I had
- published—a collection of tales entitled <i>By Reef and Palm</i>. It
- was a poor sort of an affair, but filled my boyish heart with a glorious
- delight—in fact it was an enjoyable mutiny in some respects, for
- what might have been a tragedy was turned into a comedy.
- </p>
- <p>
- With a brother two years older I was sent to San Francisco by our parents
- to begin life in a commercial house, and subsequently (of course) make our
- fortunes.
- </p>
- <p>
- Our passages were taken at Newcastle (New South Wales) on the barque <i>Lizzie
- and Rosa</i>, commanded by a little red-headed Irishman, to whose care we
- were committed. His wife (who sailed with him) was a most lovable woman,
- generous to a fault. <i>He</i> was about the meanest specimen of an
- Irishman that ever was born, was a savage little bully, boasted of being a
- Fenian, and his insignificant appearance on his quarter deck, as he
- strutted up and down, irresistibly suggested a monkey on a stick, and my
- brother and myself took a quick dislike to him, as also did the other
- passengers, of whom there were thirty—cabin and steerage. His wife
- (who was the daughter of a distinguished Irish prelate) was actually
- afraid of the little man, who snarled and snapped at her as if she were a
- disobedient child. (Both of them are long since dead, so I can write
- freely of their characteristics.)
- </p>
- <p>
- The barque had formerly been a French corvette—the <i>Felix Bernaboo</i>.
- She was old, ill-found and leaky, and from the day we left Newcastle the
- pumps were kept going, and a week later the crew came aft and demanded
- that the ship should return to port.
- </p>
- <p>
- The little man succeeded in quieting them for the time by giving them
- better food, and we continued on our course, meeting with such a series of
- adverse gales that it was forty-one days before we sighted the island of
- Rurutu in the South Pacific. By this time the crew and steerage passengers
- were in a very angry frame of mind; the former were overworked and
- exhausted, and the latter were furious at the miserly allowance of food
- doled out to them by the equally miserly captain.
- </p>
- <p>
- At Rurutu the natives brought off two boat-loads of fresh provisions, but
- the captain bought only one small pig for the cabin passengers. The
- steerage passengers bought up everything else, and in a few minutes the
- crew came aft and asked the captain to buy them some decent food in place
- of the decayed pork and weevily biscuit upon which they had been existing.
- He refused, and ordered them for'ard, and then the mate, a hot-tempered
- Yorkshireman named Oliver, lost his temper, and told the captain that the
- men were starving. Angry words followed, and the mate knocked the little
- man down.
- </p>
- <p>
- Picking himself up, he went below, and reappeared with a brace of
- old-fashioned Colt's revolvers, one of which—after declaring he
- would “die like an Irishman”—he pointed at the mate, and calling
- upon him to surrender and be put in irons, he fired towards his head.
- Fortunately the bullet missed. The sympathetic crew made a rush aft,
- seized the skipper, and after knocking him about rather severely, held him
- under the force pump, and nearly drowned him. Only for the respect that
- the crew had for his wife, I really believe they would have killed him,
- for they were wrought up to a pitch of fury by his tyranny and meanness.
- The boatswain carried him below, locked him up in one of the state-rooms,
- and there he was kept in confinement till the barque reached Honolulu,
- twenty days later, the mate acting as skipper. At Honolulu, the mate and
- all the crew were tried for mutiny, but the court acquitted them all,
- mainly through the testimony of the passengers.
- </p>
- <p>
- That was my first experience of a mutiny. My brother and I enjoyed it
- immensely, especially the attempted shooting of the good old mate, and the
- subsequent spectacle of the evil-tempered, vindictive little skipper being
- held under the force pump.
- </p>
- <p>
- My third experience of a mutiny I take next (as it arose from a similar
- cause to the first). I was a passenger on a brig bound from Samoa to the
- Gilbert Islands (Equatorial Pacific). The master was a German, brutal and
- overbearing to a degree, and the two mates were no better. One was an
- American “tough,” the other a lazy, foul-mouthed Swede. All three men were
- heavy drinkers, and we were hardly out of Apia before the Swede (second
- mate) broke a sailor's jaw with an iron belaying pin. The crew were nearly
- all natives—steady men, and fairly good seamen. Five of them were
- Gilbert Islanders, and three natives of Niué (Savage Island), and it was
- one of these latter whose jaw was broken. They were an entirely new crew
- and had shipped in ignorance of the character of the captain. I had often
- heard of him as a brutal fellow, and the brig (the <i>Alfreda</i> of
- Hamburg) had long had an evil name. She was a labour-ship (“black-birder”)
- and I had taken passage in her only because I was anxious to get to the
- Marshall Islands as quickly as possible.
- </p>
- <p>
- There were but five Europeans on board—captain, two mates, bos'un
- and myself. The bos'un was, although hard on the crew, not brutal, and he
- never struck them.
- </p>
- <p>
- We had not been out three days when the captain, in a fit of rage, knocked
- a Gilbert Islander down for dropping a wet paint-brush on the deck. Then
- he kicked him about the head until the poor fellow was insensible.
- </p>
- <p>
- From that time out not a day passed but one or more of the crew were
- struck or kicked. The second mate's conduct filled me with fury and
- loathing, for, in addition to his cruelty, his language was nothing but a
- string of curses and blasphemy. Within a week I saw that the Gilbert
- Islanders were getting into a dangerous frame of mind.
- </p>
- <p>
- These natives are noted all over the Pacific for their courage, and seeing
- that mischief was brewing, I spoke to the bos'un about it. He agreed with
- me, but said it was no use speaking to the skipper.
- </p>
- <p>
- To me the captain and officers were civil enough, that is, in a gruff sort
- of way, so I decided to speak to the former. I must mention that I spoke
- the Gilbert and Savage Island dialects, and so heard the natives talk.
- However, I said nothing of that to the German. I merely said to him that
- he was running a great risk in knocking the men about, and added that
- their countrymen might try to cut off the brig out of revenge. He snorted
- with contempt, and both he and the mates continued to “haze” the now sulky
- and brooding natives.
- </p>
- <p>
- One calm Sunday night we were in sight of Funafuti lagoon, and also of a
- schooner which I knew to be the <i>Hazeldine</i> of San Francisco. She,
- like us, was becalmed.
- </p>
- <p>
- In the middle watch I went on deck and found the skipper and second mate
- drunk. The mate, who was below, was about half-drunk. All three men had
- been drinking heavily for some days, and the second mate was hardly able
- to keep his feet. The captain was asleep on the skylight, lying on his
- back, snoring like a pig, and I saw the butt of his revolver showing in
- the inner pocket of his coat.
- </p>
- <p>
- Presently rain began to fall, and the second mate called one of the hands
- and told him to bring him his oil-skin coat. The man brought it, and then
- the brutal Swede, accusing him of having been slow, struck him a fearful
- blow in the face and knocked him off the poop. Then the brute followed him
- and began kicking him with drunken fury, then fell on the top of him and
- lay there.
- </p>
- <p>
- I went for'ard and found all the natives on deck, very excited and armed
- with knives. Addressing them, I begged them to keep quiet and listen to
- me.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The captain and mates are all drunk,” I said, “and now is your chance to
- leave the ship. Funafuti is only a league away. Get your clothes together
- as quickly as possible, then lower away the port quarter-boat. I, too, am
- leaving this ship, and I want you to put me on board the <i>Hazeldine</i>.
- Then you can go on shore. Now, put up your knives and don't hurt those
- three men, beasts as they are.”
- </p>
- <p>
- As I was speaking, Max the bos'un came for'ard and listened. (I thought he
- was asleep.) He did not interfere, merely giving me an expressive look.
- Then he said to me:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ask them to lock me up in the deck-house”.
- </p>
- <p>
- Very quietly this was done, and then, whilst I got together my personal
- belongings in the cabin, the boat was lowered. The Yankee mate was sound
- asleep in his bunk, but one of the Nuié men took the key of his door and
- locked it from the outside. Presently I heard a sound of breaking wood,
- and going on deck, found that the Gilbert Islanders had stove-in the
- starboard quarter-boat and the long-boat (the latter was on deck). Then I
- saw that the second mate was lashed (bound hand and foot) to the
- pump-rail, and the captain was lashed to one of the fife-rail stanchions.
- His face was streaming with blood, and I thought he was dead, but found
- that he had only been struck with a belaying pin, which had broken his
- nose.
- </p>
- <p>
- “He drew a lot of blood from us,” said one of the natives to me, “and so I
- have drawn some from him.”
- </p>
- <p>
- I hurried to the deck-house and told the bos'un what had occurred. He was
- a level-headed young man, and taking up a carpenter's broad axe, smashed
- the door of the deck-house. Then he looked at me and smiled.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You see, I'm gaining my liberty—captain and officers tied up, and
- no one to look after the ship.”
- </p>
- <p>
- I understood perfectly, and shaking hands with him and wishing him a
- better ship, I went over the side into the boat, and left the brig
- floating quietly on the placid surface of the ocean.
- </p>
- <p>
- The eight native sailors made no noise, although they were all wildly
- excited and jubilant, but as we shoved off, they called out “Good-bye,
- bos'un”.
- </p>
- <p>
- An hour afterwards I was on board the <i>Hazeldine</i> and telling my
- story to her skipper, who was an old friend. Then I bade good-bye to the
- natives, who started off for Funafuti with many expressions of goodwill to
- their fellow-mutineer.
- </p>
- <p>
- At daylight a breeze came away from the eastward, and at breakfast time
- the <i>Hazeldine</i> was out of sight of the <i>Alfreda</i>.
- </p>
- <p>
- I learnt a few months later that the skipper had succeeded in bringing her
- into Funafuti Lagoon, where he managed to obtain another crew.
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER VI ~ “MÂNI”
- </h2>
- <p>
- Mâni was a half-caste—father a Martinique nigger, mother a Samoan—twenty-two
- years of age, and lived at Moatâ, a little village two miles from Apia in
- Samoa.
- </p>
- <p>
- Mâni's husband was a Frenchman named François Renault, who, when he was
- sober, worked as a boat-builder and carpenter, for the German “factory” at
- Mataféle. And when he was away form home I would hear Mâni laughing, and
- see her playing with her two dark-skinned little girls, and talking to
- them in a curious mixture of Samoan-French. They were merry mites with big
- rolling eyes, and unmistakably “kinky” hair—like their mother.
- </p>
- <p>
- It was a fortnight after the great gale of 15th March, 1889, when the six
- German and American warships were wrecked, that Mâni came to my house with
- a basket of fresh-water fish she had netted far up in a deep mountain
- pool. She looked very happy. “Frank,” she said, had not beaten her for two
- whole weeks, and had promised not to beat her any more. And he was working
- very steadily now.
- </p>
- <p>
- “That is good to hear, Mâni.”
- </p>
- <p>
- She smiled as she nodded her frizzy head, tossed her <i>tiputa</i> (open
- blouse) over one shoulder, and sat down on the verandah steps to clean the
- fish.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, he will beat me no more—at least not whilst the shipwrecked
- sailors remain in Samoa. When they go I shall run away with the children—to
- some town in Savai'i where he cannot find me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It happened in this way,” she went on confidentially: “a week ago two
- American sailors came to the house and asked for water, for they were
- thirsty and the sun was hot I told them that the Moatâ water was brackish,
- and I husked and gave them two young coco-nuts each. And then Frank, who
- had been drinking, ran out of the house and cursed and struck me. Then one
- of the sailors felled him to the earth, and the other dragged him up by
- his collar, and both kicked him so much that he wept.
- </p>
- <p>
- “'Doth he often beat thee?' said one of the sailors to me. And I said
- 'Yes'.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then they beat him again, saying it was for my sake. And then one of them
- shook him and said: 'O thou dog, to so misuse thine own wife! Now listen.
- In three days' time we two of the <i>Trenton</i> will have a day's
- liberty, and we shall come here and see if thou hast again beaten thy
- wife. And if thou hast but so much as <i>mata pio'd</i> her we shall each
- kick thee one hundred times.'”
- </p>
- <p>
- (<i>Mata pio</i>, I must explain, is Samoan for looking “cross-eyed” or
- unpleasantly at a person.)
- </p>
- <p>
- “And Frank was very much afraid, and promised he would no longer harm me,
- and held out his hand to them weepingly, but they would not take it, and
- swore at him. And then they each gave my babies a quarter of a dollar, and
- I, because my heart was glad, gave them each a ring of tortoiseshell.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Did they come back, Mâni?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Mâni, at heart, was a flirt. She raised her big black eyes with their long
- curling lashes to me, and then closed them for a moment demurely.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes,” she replied, “they came back. And when I told them that my husband
- was now kind to me, and was at work, they laughed, and left for him a long
- piece of strong tobacco tied round with tarred rope. And they said, 'Tell
- him we will come again by-and-by, and see how he behaveth to thee'.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Mâni,” said in English, as she finished the last of the fish, “why do you
- speak Samoan to me when you know English so well? Where did you learn it?
- Your husband always speaks French to you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Mâni told me her story. In her short life of two-and-twenty years she had
- had some strange experiences.
- </p>
- <p>
- “My father was Jean Galoup. He was a negro of St. Pierre, in Martinique,
- and came to Samoa in a French barque, which was wrecked on Tutuila. He was
- one of the sailors. When the captain and the other sailors made ready to
- go away in the boats he refused to go, and being a strong, powerful man
- they dared not force him. So he remained on Tutuila and married my mother,
- and became a Samoan, and made much money by selling food to the
- whaleships. Then, when I was twelve years old, my mother died, and my
- father took me to his own country—to Martinique. It took us two
- years to get there, for we went through many countries—to Sydney
- first, then to China, and to India, and then to Marseilles in France. But
- always in English ships. That is how I have learned to speak English.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We lived for three years in Martinique, and then one day, as my father
- was clearing some land at the foot of Mont Pelée, he was bitten by <i>fer-de-lance</i>
- and died, and I was left alone.
- </p>
- <p>
- “There was a young carpenter at St. Pierre, named François Renault, who
- had one day met me in the market-place, and after that often came to see
- my father and me. He said he loved me, and so when my father was dead, we
- went to the priest and we were married.
- </p>
- <p>
- “My husband had heard much of Samoa from my father, and said to me: 'Let
- us go there and live'.
- </p>
- <p>
- “So we came here, and then Frank fell into evil ways, for he was cross
- with me because he saw that the pure-blooded Samoan girls were prettier
- than me, and had long straight hair and lighter skins. And because he
- could not put me away he began to treat me cruelly. And I love him no
- more. But yet will I stay by him if he doeth right.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The fates were kind to Mâni a few months later. Her husband went to sea
- and never returned, and Mâni, after waiting a year, was duly married by
- the consul to a respectable old trader on Savai'i, who wanted a wife with
- a “character”—the which is not always obtainable with a bride in the
- South Seas.
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER VII ~ AT NIGHT
- </h2>
- <p>
- The day's work was finished. Outside a cluster of rudely built
- palm-thatched huts, just above the curving white beach, and under the
- lengthening shadows of the silent cocos, two white men (my partner and
- myself) and a party of brown-skinned Polynesians were seated together
- smoking, and waiting for their evening meal. Now and then one would speak,
- and another would answer in low, lazy tones. From an open shed under a
- great jack-fruit tree a little distance away there came the murmur of
- women's voices and, now and then, a laugh. They were the wives of the
- brown men, and were cooking supper for their husbands and the two white
- men. Half a cable length from the beach a schooner lay at anchor upon the
- still lagoon, whose waters gleamed red under the rays of the sinking sun.
- Covered with awnings fore and after she showed no sign of life, and
- rested-as motionless as were the pendent branches of the lofty cocos on
- the shore.
- </p>
- <p>
- Presently a figure appeared on deck and went for'ard, and then a bright
- light shone from the fore-stay.
- </p>
- <p>
- My partner turned and called to the women, speaking in Hawaiian, and bade
- two of them take their own and the ship-keeper's supper on board, and stay
- for the night Then he spoke to the men in English.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Who keeps watch to-night with the other man?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Me, sir,” and a native rose to his feet.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then off you go with your wife and Terese, and don't set the ship on fire
- when you and your wife, and Harry and his begin squabbling as usual over
- your game of <i>tahia</i>."{*}
- </p>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
- * “Tahia” is a gambling game played with small round stones;
- it resembles our “knuckle-bones”.
-</pre>
- <p>
- The man laughed; the women, pretending to be shocked, each placed one hand
- over her eyes, and with suppressed giggles went down to the beach with the
- man, carrying a basket of steaming food. Launching a light canoe they
- pushed off, and as the man paddled the women sang in the soft Hawaiian
- tongue.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Happy beggars,” said my comrade to me, as he stood up and stretched his
- lengthy, stalwart figure, “work all day, and sit up gambling and singing
- hymns—when they are not intriguing with each other's husbands and
- wives.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The place was Providence Atoll in the North Pacific, a group of seventeen
- uninhabited islands lying midway between the Marshall and Caroline
- Archipelagoes—that is to say, that they had been uninhabited for
- some years, until we came there with our gang of natives to catch sharks
- and make coco-nut oil. There was no one to deny us, for the man who
- claimed the islands, Captain “Bully” Hayes, had given us the right of
- possession for two years, we to pay him a certain percentage of our
- profits on the oil we made, and the sharks' fins and tails we cured. The
- story of Providence Atoll (the “Arrecifos” of the early Spanish
- navigators, and the “Ujilang” of the native of Micronesia) cannot here be
- told—suffice it to say that less than fifty years before over a
- thousand people dwelt on the seventeen islands in some twelve or fourteen
- villages. Then came some dread disease which swept them away, and when
- Hayes sailed into the great lagoon in 1860—his was the first ship
- that ever entered it—he found less than a score of survivors. These
- he treated kindly; but for some reason soon removed them to Ponapé in the
- Carolines, and then years passed without the island being visited by any
- one except Hayes, who used it as a rendezvous, and brought other natives
- there to make oil for him. Then, in a year or so, these, too, he took
- away, for he was a restless man, and had many irons in the fire. Yet there
- was a fortune there, as its present German owners know, for the great
- chain of islands is covered with coco-nut trees which yield many thousands
- of pounds' worth of copra annually.
- </p>
- <p>
- My partner and I had been working the islands for some months, and had
- done fairly well. Our native crew devoted themselves alternately to shark
- catching and oil making. The lagoon swarmed with sharks, the fins and
- tails of which when dried were worth from sixty to eighty pounds sterling
- per ton. (Nowadays the entire skins of sharks are bought by some of the
- traders on several of the Pacific Islands on behalf of a firm in Germany,
- who have a secret method of tanning and softening them, and rendering them
- fit for many purposes for which leather is used—travelling bags,
- coverings for trunks, etc.)
- </p>
- <p>
- The women helped to make the oil, caught fish, robber-crabs and turtle for
- the whole party, and we were a happy family indeed. We usually lived on
- shore, some distance from the spot where we dried the shark-fins, for the
- odour was appalling, especially after rain, and during a calm night. We
- dried them by hanging them on long lines of coir cinnet between the
- coco-palms of a little island half a mile from our camp.
- </p>
- <p>
- But we did not always work. There were many wild pigs—the progeny of
- domestic stock left by Captain Hayes—on the larger islands, and we
- would have great “drives” every few weeks, the skipper and I with our
- rifles, and our crew of fifteen, with their wives and children, armed with
- spears. 'Twas great fun, and we revelled in it like children. Sometimes we
- would bring the ship's dog with us. He was a mongrel Newfoundland, and
- very game, but was nearly shot several times by getting in the way, for
- although all the islands are very low, the undergrowth in parts is very
- dense. If we failed to secure a pig we were certain of getting some dozens
- of large robber-crabs, the most delicious of all crustaceans when either
- baked or boiled. Then, too, we had the luxury of a vegetable garden, in
- which we grew melons, pumpkins, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, etc. The seed
- (which was Californian) had been given to me by an American skipper, and
- great was our delight to have fresh European vegetables, for the islands
- produced nothing in that way, except coconuts and some jack-fruit. The
- lagoon teemed with an immense variety of fish, none of which were
- poisonous, and both green and hawk-bill turtle were captured almost daily.
- </p>
- <p>
- How those natives of ours could eat! One morning some of the children
- brought five hundred turtle eggs into camp; they were all eaten at three
- meals.
- </p>
- <p>
- That calm, quiet night the heat was somewhat oppressive, but about ten
- o'clock a faint air from the eastward began to gently rustle the tops of
- the loftiest palms on the inner beaches, though we felt it not, owing to
- the dense undergrowth at the back of the camp. Then, too, the mosquitoes
- were troublesome, and a nanny-goat, who had lost her kid (in the oven)
- kept up such an incessant blaring that we could stand it no longer, and
- decided to walk across the island—less than a mile—to the
- weather side, where we should not only get the breeze, but be free of the
- curse of mosquitoes.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Over to the windward beach,” we called out to our natives.
- </p>
- <p>
- In an instant, men, women and children were on their feet. Torches of
- dried coco-nut leaves were deftly woven by the women, sleeping mats rolled
- up and given to the children to carry, baskets of cold baked fish and
- vegetables hurriedly taken down from where they hung under the eaves of
- the thatched huts, and away we trooped eastward along the narrow path, the
- red glare of the torches shining upon the smooth, copper-bronzed and
- half-nude figures of the native men and women. Singing as we went, half an
- hour's walk brought us near to the sea. And with the hum of the surf came
- the cool breeze, as we reached the open, and saw before us the gently
- heaving ocean, sleeping under the light of the myriad stars.
- </p>
- <p>
- We loved those quiet nights on the weather side of Arrecifos. Our natives
- had built some thatched-roofed, open-sided huts as a protection in case of
- rain, and under the shelter of one of these the skipper and I would, when
- it rained during the night, lie on our mats and smoke and yarn and watch
- the women and children with lighted torches catching crayfish on the reef,
- heedless of the rain which fell upon them. Then, when they had caught all
- they wanted, they would troop on shore again, come into the huts, change
- their soaking waist girdles of leaves for waist-cloths of gaily-coloured
- print or navy-blue calico, and set to work to cook the crayfish, always
- bringing us the best. Then came a general gossip and story-telling or
- singing in our hut for an hour or so, and then some one would yawn and the
- rest would laugh, bid us good-night, go off to their mats, and the skipper
- and I would be asleep ere we knew it.
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER VIII ~ THE CRANKS OF THE <i>JULIA</i> BRIG
- </h2>
- <p>
- We were bound from Tahiti to the Gilbert Islands, seeking a cargo of
- native labourers for Stewart's great plantation at Tahiti, and had worked
- our way from island to island up northward through the group with fair
- success (having obtained ninety odd stalwart, brown-skinned savages), when
- between Apaian Island and Butaritari Island we spoke a lumbering,
- fat-sided old brig—the <i>Isabella</i> of Sydney.
- </p>
- <p>
- The <i>Isabella</i> was owned by a firm of Chinese merchants in Sydney;
- and as her skipper (Evers) and her supercargo (Dick Warren) were old
- acquaintances of mine and also of the captain of my ship, we both lowered
- boats and exchanged visits.
- </p>
- <p>
- Warren and I had not met for over two years, since he and I had been
- shipmates in a labour vessel sailing out of Samoa—he as mate and I
- as “recruiter”—so we had much to talk about.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, by-the-way,” he remarked as we were saying good-bye, “of course you
- have heard of that shipload of unwashed saints who have been cruising
- around the South Seas in search of a Promised Land?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, I believe that they have gone off to Tonga or Fiji, trying to light
- upon 'the Home Beautiful,' and are very hard up. The people in Fiji will
- have nothing to do with that crowd—if they have gone there.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “They have not. They turned back for Honolulu, and are now at Butaritari
- and in an awful mess. Some of the saints came on board and wanted me to
- give them a passage to Sydney. You must go and have a look at them and
- their rotten old brig, the <i>Julia</i>. Oh, they are a lovely lot—full
- of piety and as dirty as Indian fakirs. Ah Sam, our agent at Butaritari,
- will tell you all about them. He has had such a sickener of the holy men
- that it will do you good to hear him talk. What the poor devils are going
- to do I don't know. I gave them a little provisions—all I could
- spare, but their appearance so disgusted me that I was not too civil to
- them. They cannot get away from Butaritari as the old brig is not
- seaworthy, and there is nothing in the way of food to be had in the island
- except coco-nuts and fish—manna is out of season in the South Seas
- just now. Good-bye, old man, and good luck.”
- </p>
- <p>
- On the following day we sighted Butaritari Island—one of the largest
- atolls in the North Pacific, and inhabited by a distinctly unamiable and
- cantankerous race of Malayo-Polynesians whose principal amusement in their
- lighter hours is to get drunk on sour toddy and lacerate each other's
- bodies with sharks' teeth swords. In addition to Ah Sam, the agent for the
- Chinese trading firm, there were two European traders who had married
- native women and eked out a lonely existence by buying copra (dried
- coco-nut) and sharks' fins when they were sober enough to attend to
- business—which was infrequent. However, Butaritari was a good
- recruiting ground for ships engaged in the labour traffic, owing to the
- continuous internecine wars, for the vanquished parties, after their
- coco-nut trees had been cut down and their canoes destroyed had the choice
- of remaining and having their throats cut or going away in a labour ship
- to Tahiti, Samoa or the Sandwich Islands.
- </p>
- <p>
- Entering the passage through the reef, we sailed slowly across the
- splendid lagoon, whose waters were as calm as those of a lake, and dropped
- anchor abreast of the principal village and quite near the ship of the
- saints. She was a woe-begone, battered-looking old brig of two hundred
- tons or so. She showed no colours in response to ours, and we could see no
- one on deck. Presently, however, we saw a man emerge from below, then a
- woman, and presently a second man, and in a few minutes she showed the
- Ecuadorian flag. Then all three sat on chairs under the ragged awning and
- stared listlessly at our ship.
- </p>
- <p>
- Ah Sam came off from the shore and boarded us. He was a long, melancholy
- Chinaman, had thirty-five hairs of a beard, and, poor fellow, was dying of
- consumption. He told us the local news, and then I asked him about the
- cargo of saints, many more of whom were now visible on the after-deck of
- their disreputable old crate.
- </p>
- <p>
- Ah Sam's thin lips parted in a ghastly smile, as he set down his whisky
- and soda, and lit a cigar. We were seated under the awning, which had just
- been spread, and so had a good view of the <i>Julia</i>.
- </p>
- <p>
- The brig, he said, had managed to crawl into the lagoon three months
- previously, and in working up to an anchorage struck on one of the coral
- mushrooms with which the atoll is studded. Ah Sam and the two white
- traders went off with their boats' crews of natives to render assistance,
- and after some hours' hard work succeeded in getting her off and towing
- her up to the spot where she was then anchored. Then the saints gathered
- on the after-deck and held a thanksgiving meeting, at the conclusion of
- which, the thirsty and impatient traders asked the captain to give them
- and their boats' crews a few bottles of liquor in return for their
- services in pulling his brig off the rocks, and when he reproachfully told
- them that the <i>Julia</i> was a temperance ship and that drink was a
- curse and that God would reward them for their kindness, they used most
- awful language and went off, cursing the captain and the saints for a lot
- of mean blackguards and consigning them to everlasting torments.
- </p>
- <p>
- On the following day all the Hawaiian crew bolted on shore and took up
- their quarters with the natives. The captain came on shore and tried to
- get other natives in their place, but failed—for he had no money to
- pay wages, but offered instead the privilege of becoming members of what
- Ah Sam called some “dam fool society”.
- </p>
- <p>
- There were, said Ah Sam, in addition to the captain and his wife,
- originally twenty-five passengers, but half of them had left the ship at
- various ports.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And now,” he concluded, pointing a long yellow forefinger at the rest of
- the saints, “the rest of them will be coming to see you presently—the
- tam teives—to see wha' they can cadge from you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You don't like them, Ah Sam?” observed our skipper, with a twinkle in his
- eye.
- </p>
- <p>
- Ah Sam's reply could not be put upon paper. For a Chinaman he could swear
- in English most fluently. Then he bade us good-bye for the present, said
- he would do all he could to help me get some “recruits,” and invited us to
- dinner with him in the evening. He was a good-natured, hospitable fellow,
- and we accepted the invitation with pleasure.
- </p>
- <p>
- A few minutes after he had gone on shore the brigantine's boat came
- alongside, and her captain and three of his passengers stepped on board.
- He introduced himself as Captain Lynch Richards, and his friends as
- Brothers So-and-So of the “Islands Brothers' Association of Christians “.
- They were a dull, melancholy looking lot, Richards alone showing some
- mental and physical activity. Declining spirituous refreshments, they all
- had tea and something to eat. Then they asked me if I would let them have
- some provisions, and accept trade goods in payment.
- </p>
- <p>
- As they had no money—except about one hundred dollars between them—I
- let them have what provisions we could spare, and then accepted their
- invitation to visit the <i>Julia</i>.
- </p>
- <p>
- I went with them in their own boat—two of the saints pulling—and
- as they flopped the blades of their oars into the water and I studied
- their appearance, I could not but agree with Dick Warren's description—“as
- dirty as Indian fakirs,” for not only were their garments dirty, but their
- faces looked as if they had not come into contact with soap and water for
- a twelvemonth. Richards, the skipper, was a comparatively young man, and
- seemed to have given some little attention to his attire, for he was
- wearing a decent suit of navy blue with a clean collar and tie.
- </p>
- <p>
- Getting alongside we clambered on deck—there was no side ladder—and
- I was taken into the cabin where Richards introduced me to his wife. She
- was a pretty, fragile-looking young woman of about five and twenty years
- of age, and looked so worn out and unhappy that my heart was filled with
- pity. During the brief conversation we held I asked her if she and her
- husband would come on board our vessel in the afternoon and have tea, and
- mentioned that we had piles and piles of books and magazines on the ship
- to which she could help herself.
- </p>
- <p>
- Her eyes filled with tears. “I guess I should like to,” she said as she
- looked at her husband.
- </p>
- <p>
- Then I was introduced to the rest of the company in turn, as they sat all
- round the cabin, half a dozen of them on the transom lockers reminding me
- somehow of dejected and meditative storks. Glad of an excuse to get out of
- the stuffy and ill-ventilated cabin and the uninspiring society of the
- unwashed Brethren, I eagerly assented to the captain's suggestion to have
- a look round the ship before we “talked business,” <i>i.e</i>., concerning
- the trade goods I was to select in payment for the provisions with which I
- had supplied him. One of the Brethren, an elderly, goat-faced person, came
- with us, and we returned on deck.
- </p>
- <p>
- Never before had I seen anything like the <i>Julia</i>. She was an old,
- soft-pine-built ex-Puget Sound lumberman, literally tumbling to decay,
- aloft and below. Her splintering decks, to preserve them somewhat from the
- torrid sun, were covered over with old native mats, and her spars, from
- want of attention, were splitting open in great gaping cracks, and were as
- black as those of a collier. How such a craft made the voyage from San
- Francisco to Honolulu, and from there far to the south of the Line and
- then back north to the Gilbert Group, was a marvel.
- </p>
- <p>
- I was taken down the hold and showed what the “cranks” called their trade
- goods and asked to select what I thought was a fair thing in exchange for
- the provisions I had given them. Heavens! Such a collection of utter,
- utter rubbish! second-hand musical boxes in piles, gaudy lithographs, iron
- bedsteads, “brown paper” boots and shoes eaten half away by cockroaches.
- Sets of cheap and nasty toilet ware, two huge cases of common and much
- damaged wax dolls, barrels of rotted dried apples, and decayed pork, an
- ice-making plant, bales and bales of second-hand clothing—men's,
- women's and children's—cheap and poisonous sweets in jars, thousands
- of twopenny looking-glasses, penny whistles, accordions that wouldn't
- accord, as the cockroaches had eaten them up except the wood and metal
- work, school slates and pencils, and a box of Bibles and Moody and Sankey
- hymn-books. And the smell was something awful! I asked the captain what
- was the cause of it—it overpowered even the horrible odour of the
- decayed pork and rotted apples. He replied placidly that he thought it
- came from a hundred kegs of salted salmon bellies which were stowed below
- everything else, and that he “guessed some of them hed busted”.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It is enough to breed a pestilence,” I said; “why do you not all turn-to,
- get the stuff up and heave it overboard? You must excuse me, captain, but
- for Heaven's sake let us get on deck.”
- </p>
- <p>
- On returning to the poop we found that the skipper of our vessel had come
- on board, and was conversing with Mrs. Richards. I took him aside and told
- him of what I had seen, and suggested that we should make them a present
- of the provisions. He quite agreed with me, so turning to Captain Richards
- and the goat-faced old man and several other of the Brethren who had
- joined them, I said that the captain and I hoped that they would accept
- the provisions from us, as we felt sure that our owners would not mind.
- And I also added that we would send them a few bags of flour and some
- other things during the course of the day. And then the captain, knowing
- that Captain Richards and his wife were coming to have tea with us, took
- pity on the Brethren and said, he hoped they would all come to breakfast
- in the morning.
- </p>
- <p>
- Poor beggars. Grateful! Of course they were, and although they were sheer
- lunatics—religious lunatics such as the United States produces by
- tens of thousands every year—we felt sincerely sorry for them when
- they told us their miserable story. The spokesman was an old fellow of
- sixty with long flowing hair—the brother-in-law of the man with the
- goat's face—and an enthusiast But mad—mad as a hatter.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The Islands Brothers' Association of Christians” had its genesis in
- Philadelphia. It was formed “by a few pious men to found a settlement in
- the South Seas, till the soil, build a temple, instruct the savages, and
- live in peace and happiness”. Twenty-eight persons joined and seven
- thousand dollars were raised in one way and another—mostly from
- other lunatics. Many “sympathisers” gave goods, food, etc., to help the
- cause (hence the awful rubbish in the hold), and at 'Frisco they spent one
- thousand five hundred dollars in buying “trade goods to barter with the
- simple natives”. At 'Frisco the <i>Julia</i>, then lying condemned, was
- bought for a thousand dollars—she was not worth three hundred
- dollars, and was put under the Ecuadorian flag. “God sent them friends in
- Captain Richards and his wife,” ambled on the old man. Richards became a
- “Brother” and joined them to sail the ship and find an island “rich and
- fertile in God's gifts to man, and with a pleasant people dwelling
- thereon”.
- </p>
- <p>
- With a scratch crew of 'Frisco dead beats the brig reached Honolulu. The
- crew at once cleared out, and several of the “Brothers,” with their wives,
- returned to America—they had had enough of it. After some weeks'
- delay Richards managed to get four Hawaiian sailors to ship, and the
- vessel sailed again for the Isle Beautiful. He didn't know exactly where
- to look for it, but he and the “Brothers” had been told that there were
- any amount of them lying around in the South Seas, and they would have
- some trouble in making a choice out of so many.
- </p>
- <p>
- The story of their insane wanderings after the <i>Julia</i> went south of
- the equator would have been diverting had it not been so distressing. The
- mate, who we gathered was both a good seaman and a competent navigator,
- was drowned through the capsizing of a boat on the reef of some island
- between the Gilbert Group and Rarotonga, and with his death what little
- discipline, and cohesiveness had formerly existed gradually vanished.
- Richards apparently knew how to handle his ship, but as a navigator he was
- nowhere. Incredible as it may seem, his general chart of the North and
- South Pacific was thirty years old, and was so torn, stained and greasy as
- to be all but undecipherable. As the weary weeks went by and they went
- from island to island, only to be turned away by the inhabitants, they at
- last began to realise the folly of the venture, and most of them wanted to
- return to San Francisco. But Richards clung to the belief that they only
- wanted patience to find a suitable island where the natives would be glad
- to receive them, and where they could settle down in peace. Failing that,
- he had the idea that there were numbers of fertile and uninhabited
- islands, one of which would suit the Brethren almost as well. But as time
- went on he too grew despondent, and turned the brig's head northward for
- Honolulu; and one day he blundered across Butaritari Island and entered
- the lagoon in the hope of at least getting, some provisions. And again the
- crew bolted and left the Brethren to shift for themselves. Week after
- week, month after month went by, the provisions were all gone except
- weevily biscuit and rotten pork, and they passed their time in wandering
- about the beaches of the lagoon and waiting for assistance. And yet there
- wore two or three of them who still believed in the vision of the Isle
- Beautiful and were still hopeful that they might get there. “All we want
- is another crew,” these said to us.
- </p>
- <p>
- Our skipper shook his head, and then talked to them plainly, calling upon
- me to corroborate him.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You will never get a crew. No sailor-man would ever come to sea in a
- crate like this. And you'll find no islands anywhere in the Pacific where
- you can settle down, unless you can pay for it. The natives will chivvy
- you off if you try to land. I know them—you don't. The people in
- America who encouraged you in this business were howling lunatics. Your
- ship is falling to pieces, and I warn you that if you once leave this
- lagoon in her, you will never see land again.”
- </p>
- <p>
- They were silent, and then the old man began to weep, and said they would
- there and then pray for guidance.
- </p>
- <p>
- “All right,” said the skipper, “go ahead, and I'll get my mate and the
- carpenter to come and tell you their opinion of the state of this brig.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The mate and carpenter made an examination, told Captain Richards in front
- of his passengers that the ship was utterly unseaworthy, and that he would
- be a criminal if he tried to put to sea again. That settled the business,
- especially after they had asked me to value their trade goods, and I told
- them frankly that they were literally not worth valuing, and to throw them
- overboard.
- </p>
- <p>
- Ten days later the Brotherhood broke up—an American trading schooner
- came into the lagoon and her captain offered to take them to Jakuit in the
- Marshall Islands, where they were certain of getting a passage to Honolulu
- in some whaleship. They all accepted with the exception of Richards and
- his wife who refused to leave the <i>Julia</i>. The poor fellow had his
- pride and would not desert his ship. However, as his wife was ailing, he
- had a small house built on shore and managed to make a few hundred dollars
- by boat-building. But every day he would go off and have a look round the
- old brig to see if everything on board was all right Then one night there
- came a series of heavy squalls which raised a lumpy sea in the lagoon, and
- when morning broke only her top-masts were visible—she had gone down
- at her anchors.
- </p>
- <p>
- Richards and his fellow-cranks were the forerunners of other bands of
- ignorant enthusiasts who in later years endeavoured to foist themselves
- upon the natives of the Pacific Islands and met with similar and
- well-merited disaster. Like the ill-fated “La Nouvelle France” colony of
- the notorious Marquis de Ray, all these land-stealing ventures set about
- their exploits under the cloak of religion. One, under a pretended
- concession from the Mexican Government, founded a “Christian Redemption
- Colony” of scallywags, loafers and loose women at Magdalena Bay in Lower
- California, and succeeded in getting many thousands of pounds from foolish
- people. Then came a party of Mormon Evangelists who actually bought and
- paid for land in Samoa and conducted themselves decently and are probably
- living there now. After them came the wretched <i>Percy Edward</i> band of
- pilgrims to found a “happy home” in the South Seas. They called themselves
- the “United Brotherhood of the South Sea Islands”. In another volume, in
- an article describing my personal experiences of the disastrous “Nouvelle
- France” expedition to New Ireland,{*} I have alluded to the <i>Percy
- Edward</i> affair in these words, which I may be permitted to quote: “The
- <i>Percy Edward</i> was a wretched old tub of a brigantine (formerly a
- Tahiti-San Francisco mail packet). She was bought in the latter port by a
- number of people who intended 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.... The result of the
- Marquis de Ray's expedition ought to have made the American enthusiasts
- reflect a little before they started. But having the idea that they could
- 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 principles of true Socialism), they sailed—only
- to be quickly disillusionised. For there were no islands anywhere in the
- North and South Pacific 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 unto
- 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
- considerably chivvied about by the white and native inhabitants of the
- various islands touched at, the forlorn expedition reach Fiji. Here fifty
- of the idealists elected to remain and work for their living under a
- Government... But the remaining fifty-eight stuck to the <i>Percy Edward</i>,
- and her decayed salt junk and putrid 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 reaching New Caledonia
- and settling her keel on the bottom of Nouméa 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 abandon her and go on shore and get a good square
- meal. What became of them at Nouméa I did not hear, but do know that in
- their wanderings they received much charitable assistance from British
- shipmasters and missionaries—in some cases their passages were paid
- to the United States—the natural and proper country for the ignorant
- religious 'crank'.”
- </p>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
- * Ridan the Devil: T. Fisher Unwin, London.
-</pre>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER IX ~ “DANDY,” THE SHIP'S DINGO
- </h2>
- <p>
- We anchored under Cape Bedford (North Queensland) one day, and the skipper
- and I went on shore to bathe in one of the native-made rocky water-holes
- near the Cape. We found a native police patrol camped there, and the
- officer asked us if we would like to have a dingo pup for a pet. His
- troopers had caught two of them the previous day. We said we should like
- to possess a dingo.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Bring him here, Dandy,” said the officer to one of his black troopers,
- and Dandy, with a grin on his sooty face, brought to us a lanky-legged pup
- about three months old. Its colour was a dirty yellowish red, but it gave
- promise of turning out a dog—of a kind. The captain put out his hand
- to stroke it, and as quick as lightning it closed its fang-like teeth upon
- his thumb. With a bull-like bellow of rage, the skipper was about to hurl
- the savage little beast over the cliffs into the sea, when I stayed his
- hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “He'll make a bully ship-dog,” I urged, “just the right kind of pup to
- chivvy the niggers over the side when we get to the Louisiades and
- Solomons. Please don't choke the little beggar, Ross. 'Twas only fear, not
- rage, that made him go for you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- We made a temporary muzzle from a bit of fishing line; bade the officer
- good-bye, and went off to the ship.
- </p>
- <p>
- We were nearly a month beating up to the Solomons, and in that time we
- gained some knowledge of Dandy's character. (We named him after the black
- trooper.) He was fawningly, sneakingly, offensively affectionate—when
- he was hungry, which was nearly always; as ferocious and as spiteful as a
- tiger cat when his stomach was full; then, with a snarling yelp, he would
- put his tail beneath his legs and trot for'ard, turning his head and
- showing his teeth. Crawling under the barrel of the windlass he would lie
- there and go to sleep, only opening his eyes now and then to roll them
- about vindictively when any one passed by. Then when he was hungry again,
- he would crawl out and slouch aft with a “please-do-be-kind-to-a-poor-dog”
- expression on his treacherous face. Twice when we were sailing close to
- the land he jumped overboard, and made for the shore, though he couldn't
- swim very well and only went round and round in circles. On each occasion
- a native sailor jumped over after him and brought him back, and each time
- he bit his rescuer.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Never mind him, sir,” said the mate to Ross one day, when the angry
- skipper fired three shots at Dandy for killing the ship's cat—missed
- him and nearly killed the steward, who had put his head out of the galley
- door to see the fun—“there's money in that dog. I wouldn't mind
- bettin' half-a-sov that Charley Nyberg, the trader on Santa Anna, will
- give five pounds for him. He'll go for every nigger he's sooled on to. You
- mark my words.”
- </p>
- <p>
- In the fore-hold we had a hundred tons of coal destined for one of H.M.
- cruisers then surveying in the Solomon Group. We put Dandy down there to
- catch rats, and gave him nothing but water. Here he showed his blood. We
- could hear the scraping about of coal, and the screams of the captured
- rodents, as Dandy tore round the hold after them. In three days there were
- no more rats left, and Dandy began to utter his weird, blood-curdling
- howls—he wanted to come on deck. We lashed him down under the force
- pump, and gave him a thorough wash-down. He shook himself, showed his
- teeth at us and tore off to the galley in search of food. The cook gave
- him a large tinful of rancid fat, which was at once devoured, then he fled
- to his retreat under the windlass, and began to growl and moan. By-and-by
- we made Santa Anna.
- </p>
- <p>
- Charley Nyberg, after he had tried the dog by setting him on to two
- Solomon Island “bucks” who were loafing around his house, and seen how the
- beast could bite, said he would give us thirteen dollars and a fat hog for
- him. We agreed, and Dandy was taken on shore and chained up outside the
- cook-house to keep away thieving natives.
- </p>
- <p>
- About nine o'clock that evening, as the skipper and I were sitting on
- deck, we heard a fearful yell from Charley's house—a few hundred
- yards away from where we were anchored. The yell was followed by a wild
- clamour from many hundreds of native throats, and we saw several scores of
- people rushing towards the trader's dwelling. Then came the sound of two
- shots in quick succession.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Haul the boat alongside,” roared our skipper, “there's mischief going on
- on shore.”
- </p>
- <p>
- In a minute we, with the boat's crew, had seized our arms, tumbled into
- the boat and were racing for the beach.
- </p>
- <p>
- Jumping out, we tore to the house. It seemed pretty quiet. Charley was in
- his sitting-room, binding up his wife's hand, and smoking in an
- unconcerned sort of a way.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What is wrong, Charley?” we asked.
- </p>
- <p>
- “That infernal mongrel of yours nearly bit my wife's hand off. Did it when
- she tried to stroke him. I soon settled him. If you go to the back you
- will see some native women preparing the brute for the oven. The niggers
- here like baked dog. Guess you fellows will have to give me back that
- thirteen dollars. But you can keep the hog.”
- </p>
- <p>
- So Dandy came to a just and fitting end.
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER X ~ KALA-HOI, THE NET-MAKER
- </h2>
- <p>
- Old Kala-hoi, the net-maker, had ceased work for the day, and was seated
- on a mat outside his little house, smoking his pipe, looking dreamily out
- upon the blue waters of Leone Bay, on Tutuila Island, and enjoying the
- cool evening breeze that blew upon his bare limbs and played with the two
- scanty tufts of snow-white hair that grew just above his ears.
- </p>
- <p>
- As he sat and smoked in quiet content, Marsh (the mate of our vessel) and
- I discerned him from the beach, as we stepped out of the boat We were both
- tired—Marsh with weighing and stowing bags of copra in the steaming
- hold, and I with paying the natives for it in trade goods—a task
- that had taken me from dawn till supper time. Then, as the smell of the
- copra and the heat of the cabin were not conducive to the enjoyment of
- supper, we first had a bathe alongside the ship, got into clean pyjamas
- and came on shore to have a chat with old Kala-hoi.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Got anything to eat, Kala-hoi?” we asked, as we sat down on the mat, in
- front of the ancient, who smilingly bade us welcome.
- </p>
- <p>
- “My oven is made; and in it are a fat mullet, four breadfruit, some <i>taro</i>
- and plenty of <i>ifi</i> (chestnuts). For to-day is Saturday, and I have
- cooked for to-morrow as well as for to-night.” Then lapsing into his
- native Hawaiian (which both my companion and I understood), he added, “And
- most heartily are ye welcome. In a little while the oven will be ready for
- uncovering and we shall eat.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But how will you do for food to-morrow, Kala-hoi?” inquired Marsh, with a
- smile and speaking in English.
- </p>
- <p>
- “To-morrow is not yet. When it comes I shall have more food. I have but to
- ask of others and it is given willingly. And even if it were not so, I
- would but have to pluck some more breadfruit or dig some taro and kill a
- fowl—and cook again to night.” And then with true native courtesy he
- changed the subject and asked us if we had enjoyed our swim. Not much, we
- replied, the sea-water was too warm from the heat of the sun.
- </p>
- <p>
- He nodded. “Aye, the day has been hot and windless until now, when the
- cool land breeze comes down between the valleys from the mountains. But
- why did ye not bathe in the stream in the fresh water, as I have just
- done. It is a good thing to do, for it makes hunger as well as cleanses
- the skin, and that the salt water will not do.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Marsh and I lit our pipes. The old man rose, went into his house and
- returned with a large mat and two bamboo pillows, telling us it would be
- more comfortable to lie down and rest our backs, for he knew that we had
- “toiled much during the day”. Then he resumed his own mat again, and
- crossed his hands on his tatooed knees, for although not a Samoan he was
- tatooed in the Samoan fashion. Beside him was a Samoan Bible, for he was a
- deeply religious old fellow, and could both read and write.
- </p>
- <p>
- “How comes it, Kala, that thou livest all alone half a league from the
- village?” asked Marsh.
- </p>
- <p>
- Kala-hoi showed his still white and perfect teeth in a smile.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ah, why? Because, O friend, this is mine own land. I am, as thou knowest,
- of Maui, in Hawaii, and though for thirty and nine years have I lived in
- Samoa, yet now that my wife and two sons are dead, I would be by myself.
- This land, which measures two hundred fathoms on three sides, and one
- hundred at the beach, was given to me by Mauga, King of Tutuila, because,
- ten years ago, when his son was shot in the thigh with a round bullet, I
- cut it out from where it had lodged against the bone.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “How old are you, Kala-hoi?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I know not. But I am old, very old. Yet I am young—still young. I
- was a grown man when Wilkes, the American Commodore, came to Samoa. And I
- went on board the <i>Vincennes</i> when she came to Apia, and because I
- spoke English well, <i>le alii Saua</i> ('the cruel captain'), as we
- called him,{*} made much of me, and treated me with some honour. Ah, he
- was a stern man, and his eye was as the eye of an eagle.”
- </p>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
- * Wilkes was called “the cruel captain” by the Samoans on
- account of his iron discipline.
-</pre>
- <p>
- Marsh nodded acquiescence. “Aye, he was a strong, stern man. More than a
- score of years after thou hadst seen him here in Samoa, he was like to
- have brought about a bloody war between my country and his. Yet he did but
- what was right and just—to my mind. And I am an Englishman.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Kala-hoi blew a stream of smoke through his nostrils.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Aye, indeed, a stern man, and with a bitter tongue. But because of his
- cruelty to his men was he punished, for in Fiji the <i>kai tagata</i>
- (cannibals) killed his nephew. And yet he spoke always kindly to me, and
- gave me ten Mexican dollars because I did much interpretation for him with
- the chiefs of Samoa.... One day there came on board the ship two white
- men; they were <i>papalagi tà fea</i> (beachcombers) and were like Samoans,
- for they wore no clothes, and were tatooed from their waists to their
- knees as I am. They went to the forepart of the ship and began talking to
- the sailors. They were very saucy men and proud of their appearance. The
- Commodore sent for them, and he looked at them with scorn—one was an
- Englishman, the other a Dane. This they told him.
- </p>
- <p>
- “'O ye brute beasts,' he said, and he spat over the side of the ship
- contempt 'Were ye Americans I would trice ye both up and give ye each a
- hundred lashes, for so degrading thyselves. Out of my ship, ye filthy
- tatooed swine. Thou art a disgrace to thy race!' So terrified were they
- that they could not speak, and went away in shame.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Thou hast seen many things in thy time, Kala-hoi.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Nay, friend. Not such things as thou hast seen—such as the sun at
- midnight, of which thou hast told me, and which had any man but thou said
- it, I would have cried 'Liar!'”
- </p>
- <p>
- Marsh laughed—“Yet 'tis true, old Kala-hoi. I have seen the sun at
- midnight, many, many times.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Aye. Thou sayest, and I believe. Now, let me uncover my oven so that we
- may eat. 'Tis a fine fat mullet.”
- </p>
- <p>
- After we had eaten, the kindly old man brought us a bowl of water in which
- to lave our hands, and then a spotless white towel, for he had associated
- much with Europeans in his younger days and had adopted many of their
- customs. On Sundays he always wore to church coat, trousers, shirt, collar
- and necktie and boots (minus socks) and covered his bald pate with a wide
- hat or <i>fala</i> leaf. Moreover, he was a deacon.
- </p>
- <p>
- Presently we heard voices, and a party of young people of both sexes
- appeared. They had been bathing in the stream and were now returning to
- the village. In most of them I recognised “customers” of mine during the
- day—they were carrying baskets and bundles containing the goods
- bought from the ship. They all sat down around us, began to make
- cigarettes of strong twist tobacco, roll it in strips of dried banana
- leaf, and gossip. Then Kala-hoi—although he was a deacon—asked
- the girls if they would make us a bowl of kava. They were only too
- pleased, and so Kala-hoi again rose, went to his house and brought out a
- root of kava, the kava-bowl and some gourds of water, and gave them to the
- giggling maidens who, securing a mat for themselves, withdrew a little
- distance and proceeded to make the drink, the young men attending upon
- them to-cut the kava into thin, flaky strips, and leaving us three to
- ourselves. Night had come, and the bay was very quiet. Here and there on
- the opposite side lights began to gleam through the lines of palms on the
- beach from isolated native houses, as the people ate their evening meal by
- the bright flame of a pile of coco-nut shells or a lamp of coco-nut oil.
- </p>
- <p>
- Marsh wanted the old man to talk.
- </p>
- <p>
- “How long since is it that thy wife and sons died, Kala-hoi?”
- </p>
- <p>
- The old man placed his brown, shapely hand on the seaman's knee, and
- answered softly:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “'Tis twenty years”.
- </p>
- <p>
- “They died together, did they not?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Nay—not together, but on the same day. Thou hast heard something of
- it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Only something. And if it doth not hurt thee to speak of it, I should
- like to know how such a great misfortune came to thee.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The net-maker looked into the white man's face, and read sympathy in his
- eyes.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Friend, this was the way of it. Because of my usefulness to him as an
- interpreter of English, Taula, chief of Samatau, gave me his niece, Moé,
- in marriage. She was a strong girl, and handsome, but had a sharp tongue.
- Yet she loved me, and I loved her.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We were happy. We lived at the town of Tufu on the <i>itu papa</i>”
- (iron-bound coast) “of Savai'i. Moé bore me boy twins. They grew up
- strong, hardy and courageous, though, like their mother, they were
- quick-tempered, and resented reproof, even from me, their father. And
- often they quarrelled and fought.
- </p>
- <p>
- “When they were become sixteen years of age, they were tatooed in the
- Samoan fashion, and that cost me much in money and presents. But Tui, who
- was the elder by a little while, was jealous that his brother Gâlu had
- been tatooed first. And yet the two loved each other—as I will show
- thee.
- </p>
- <p>
- “One day my wife and the two boys went into the mountains to get wild
- bananas. They cut three heavy bunches and were returning home, when Gâlu
- and Tui began to quarrel, on the steep mountain path. They came to blows,
- and their mother, in trying to separate them, lost her footing and fell
- far below on to a bed of lava. She died quickly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The two boys descended and held her dead body in their arms for a long
- while, and wept together over her face. Then they carried her down the
- mountain side into the village, and said to the people:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “'We, Tui and Gâlu, have killed our mother through our quarrelling. Tell
- our father Kala-hoi, that we fear to meet him, and now go to expiate our
- crime.'
- </p>
- <p>
- “They ran away swiftly; they climbed the mountain side, and, with arms
- around each other, sprang over the cliff from which their mother had
- fallen. And when I, and many others with me, found them, they were both
- dead.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Thou hast had a bitter sorrow, Kala-hoi.” “Aye, a bitter sorrow. But yet
- in my dreams I see them all. And sometimes, even in my work, as I make my
- nets, I hear the boys' voices, quarrelling, and my wife saying, 'Be still,
- ye boys, lest I call thy father to chastise thee both '.”
- </p>
- <p>
- As the girls brought us the kava Marsh put his hand on the old, smooth,
- brown pate, and saw that the eyes of the net-maker were filled with tears.
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XI ~ THE KANAKA LABOUR TRADE IN THE PACIFIC
- </h2>
- <p>
- The <i>fiat</i> has gone forth from the Australian Commonwealth, and the
- Kanaka labour trade, as far as the Australian Colonies are concerned, has
- ceased to exist. For, during the month of November, 1906, the Queensland
- Government began to deport to their various islands in the Solomon and New
- Hebrides Groups, the last of the Melanesian native labourers employed on
- the Queensland sugar plantations.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Kanaka labour traffic, generally termed “black-birding,” began about
- 1863, when sugar and cotton planters found that natives of the South Sea
- Islands could be secured at a much less cost than Chinese or Indian
- coolies. The genesis of the traffic was a tragedy, and filled the world
- with horror.
- </p>
- <p>
- Three armed Peruvian ships, manned by gangs of cut-throats, appeared in
- the South Pacific, and seized over four hundred unfortunate natives in the
- old African slave-trading fashion, and carried them away to work the guano
- deposits on the Chincha Islands. Not a score of them returned to their
- island homes—the rest perished under the lash and brutality of their
- cruel taskmasters.
- </p>
- <p>
- Towards 1870 the demand for South Sea Islanders became very great. They
- were wanted in the Sandwich Islands, in Tahiti and Samoa; for, naturally
- enough, with their ample food supply, the natives of these islands do not
- like plantation work, or if employed demand a high rate of pay. Then, too,
- the Queensland and Fijian sugar planters joined in the quest, and at one
- time there were over fifty vessels engaged in securing Kanakas from the
- Gilbert Islands, the Solomon and New Hebrides Groups, and the great
- islands near New Guinea.
- </p>
- <p>
- At that time there was no Government supervision of the traffic. Any
- irresponsible person could fit out a ship, and bring a cargo of human
- beings into port—obtained by means fair or foul—and no
- questions were asked.
- </p>
- <p>
- Very soon came the news of the infamous story of the brig <i>Carl</i> and
- her fiendish owner, a Dr. Murray, who with half a dozen other scoundrels
- committed the most awful crimes—shooting down in cold blood scores
- of natives who refused to be coerced into “recruiting”. Some of these
- ruffians went to the scaffold or to long terms of imprisonment; and from
- that time the British Government in a maundering way set to work to effect
- some sort of supervision of the British ships employed in the
- “blackbirding” trade.
- </p>
- <p>
- A fleet of five small gunboats (sailing vessels) were built in Sydney, and
- were ordered to “overhaul and inspect every blackbirder,” and ascertain if
- the “blackbirds” were really willing recruits, or had been deported
- against their will, and were “to be sold as slaves”. And many atrocious
- deeds came to light, with the result, as far as Queensland was concerned,
- that every labour ship had to carry a Government agent, who was supposed
- to see that no abuses occurred. Some of these Government agents were
- conscientious men, and did their duty well; others were mere tools of the
- greedy planters, and lent themselves to all sorts of villainies to obtain
- “recruits” and get an <i>in camera</i> bonus of twenty pounds for every
- native they could entice on board.
- </p>
- <p>
- Owing to my knowledge of Polynesian and Melane-sian dialects, I was
- frequently employed as “recruiter” on many “blackbirders”—French
- vessels from Noumea in New Caledonia, Hawaiian vessels from Honolulu, and
- German and English vessels sailing from Samoa and Fiji, and in no instance
- did I ever have any serious trouble with my “blackbirds” after they were
- once on board the ship of which I was “recruiter”.
- </p>
- <p>
- Let me now describe an ordinary cruise of a “blackbirder” vessel—an
- honest ship with an honest skipper and crew, and, above all, a straight
- “recruiter”—a man who takes his life in his hands when he steps out,
- unarmed, from his boat, and seeks for “recruits” from a crowd of the
- wildest savages imaginable.
- </p>
- <p>
- Labour ships carry a double crew—one to work the ship, the other to
- man the boats, of which there are usually four on ordinary-sized vessels.
- They are whale-boats, specially adapted for surf work. The boats' crews
- are invariably natives—Rotumah men, Samoans, or Savage Islanders.
- The ship's working crew also are in most cases natives, and the captain
- and officers are, of course, white men.
- </p>
- <p>
- The 'tween decks are fitted to accommodate so many “blackbirds,” and, at
- the present day, British labour ships are models of cleanliness, for the
- Government supervision is very rigid; but in former days the hold of a
- “blackbirder” often presented a horrid spectacle—the unfortunate
- “recruits” being packed so closely together, and at night time the odour
- from their steaming bodies was absolutely revolting as it ascended from
- the open hatch, over which stood two sentries on the alert; for sometimes
- the “blackbirds” would rise and attempt to murder the ship's company. In
- many cases they did so successfully—especially when the “blackbirds”
- came from the same island, or group of islands, and spoke the same
- language. When there were, say, a hundred or two hundred “recruits” from
- various islands, dissimilar in their language and customs, there was no
- fear of such an event, and the captain and officers and “recruiter” went
- to sleep with a feeling of security.
- </p>
- <p>
- Let us now suppose that a “blackbirder” (obnoxious name to many
- recruiters) from Samoa, Fiji, or Queensland, has reached one of the New
- Hebrides, or Solomon Islands. Possibly she may anchor—if there is an
- anchorage; but most likely she will “lie off and on,” and send away her
- boats to the various villages.
- </p>
- <p>
- On one occasion I “worked” the entire length of one side of the great
- island of San Cristoval, visiting nearly every village from Cape Recherché
- to Cape Surville. This took nearly three weeks, the ship following the
- boats along the coast. We would leave the ship at daylight, and pull in
- shore, landing wherever we saw a smoke signal, or a village. When I had
- engaged, say, half a dozen recruits, I would send them off on board, and
- continue on my way. At sunset I would return on board, the boats would be
- hoisted up, and the ship either anchor, or heave-to for the night. On this
- particular trip the boats were only twice fired at, but no one man of my
- crews was hit.
- </p>
- <p>
- The boats are known as “landing” and “covering” boats. The former is in
- command of an officer and the recruiter, carries five hands (all armed)
- and also the boxes of “trade” goods to be exhibited to the natives as
- specimens of the rest of the goods on board, or perhaps some will be
- immediately handed over as an “advance” to any native willing to recruit
- as a labourer in Queensland or elsewhere for three years, at the
- magnificent wage of six pounds per annum, generally paid in rubbishing
- articles, worth about thirty shillings.
- </p>
- <p>
- The “covering” boat is in charge of an officer, or reliable seaman. She
- follows the “landing” boat at a short distance, and her duty is to cover
- her retreat if the natives should attack the landing boat by at once
- opening fire, and giving those in that boat a chance of pushing off and
- getting out of danger, and also she sometimes receives on board the
- “recruits” as they are engaged by the recruiter—if the latter has
- not been knocked on the head or speared.
- </p>
- <p>
- On nearing the beach, where the natives are waiting, the officer in the
- landing-boat swings her round with his steer oar, and the crew back her
- in, stern first, on to the beach. The recruiter then steps out, and the
- crew carry the trade chests on shore; then the boat pushes off a little,
- just enough to keep afloat, and obtrusive natives, who may mean treachery,
- are not allowed to come too near the oars, or take hold of the gunwale,
- Meanwhile the covering boat has drawn in close to the first boat, and the
- crew, with their hands on their rifles, keep a keen watch on the landing
- boat and the wretched recruiter.
- </p>
- <p>
- The recruiter, if he is a wise man, will not display any arms openly. To
- do so makes the savage natives either sulky or afraid, and I never let
- them see mine, which I, however, always kept handy in a harmless-looking
- canvas bag, which also contained some tobacco, cut up in small pieces, to
- throw to the women and children—to put them in a good temper.
- </p>
- <p>
- The recruiter opens his trade box, and then asks if there is any man or
- woman who desires to become rich in three years by working on a plantation
- in Fiji, Queensland, or Samoa.
- </p>
- <p>
- If he can speak the language, and does not lose his nerve by being
- surrounded by hundreds of ferocious and armed savages, and knowing that at
- any instant he may be cut down from behind by a tomahawk, or speared, or
- clubbed, he will get along all right, and soon find men willing to recruit
- Especially is this so if he is a man personally known to the natives, and
- has a good reputation for treating his “blackbirds” well on board the
- ship. The ship and her captain, too, enter largely into the matter of a
- native making up his mind to “recruit,” or refuse to do so.
- </p>
- <p>
- Sometimes there may be among the crowd of natives several who have already
- been to Queensland, or elsewhere, and desire to return. These may be
- desirable recruits, or, on the other hand, may be the reverse, and have
- bad records. I usually tried to shunt these fellows from again recruiting,
- as they often made mischief on board, would plan to capture the ship, and
- such other diversions, but I always found them useful as touts in gaining
- me new recruits, by offering these scamps a suitable present for each man
- they brought me.
- </p>
- <p>
- I always made it a practice never to recruit a married man, unless his
- wife—or an alleged wife—came with him, nor would I take them
- if they had young children—who would simply be made slaves of in
- their absence. It required the utmost tact and discretion to get at the
- truth in many cases, and very often on going on board after a day of toil
- and danger I would be sound asleep, when a young couple would swim off—lovers
- who had eloped—and beg me to take them away in the ship. This I
- would never do until I had seen the local chief, and was assured that no
- objection would be made to their leaving.
- </p>
- <p>
- (When I was recruiting “black labour” for the French and German planters
- in Samoa and Tahiti, I was, of course, sailing in ships of those
- nationalities, and had no worrying Government agent to harass and hinder
- me by his interference, for only ships under British colours were
- compelled to carry “Government agents”.)
- </p>
- <p>
- But I must return to the recruiter standing on the beach, surrounded by a
- crowd of savages, exercising his patience and brains.
- </p>
- <p>
- Perhaps at the end of an hour or so eight or ten men are recruited, and
- told to either get into one of the boats or go off to the ship in canoes.
- The business on shore is then finished, the harassed recruiter wipes his
- perspiring brow, says farewell to the people, closes his trade chest, and
- steps into his landing boat. The officer cries to the crew, “Give way,
- lads,” and off goes the boat.
- </p>
- <p>
- Then the covering boat comes into position astern of the landing boat, for
- one never knew the moment that some enraged native on shore might, for
- having been rejected as “undesirable,” take a snipe-shot at one of the
- boats. Only two men pull in the covering boat—the rest of the crew
- sit on the thwarts, with their rifles ready, facing aft, until the boats
- are out of range.
- </p>
- <p>
- That is what is the ordinary day's work among the Solomon, New Hebrides,
- and other island groups of the Western Pacific But very often it was—and
- is now—very different. The recruiter may be at work, when he is
- struck down treacherously from behind, and hundreds of concealed savages
- rush out, bent on slaughter. Perhaps the eye of some ever-watchful man in
- the covering boat has seen crouching figures in the dense undergrowth of
- the shores of the bay, and at once fires his rifle, and the recruiter
- jumps for his boat, and then there is a cracking of Winchesters from the
- covering boat, and a responsive banging of overloaded muskets from the
- shore.
- </p>
- <p>
- Only once was I badly hurt when “recruiting”. I had visited a rather big
- village, but could not secure a single recruit, and I had told the officer
- to put off, as it was no use our wasting our time. I then got into the
- boat and was stooping down to get a drink from the water-beaker, when a
- sudden fusillade of muskets and arrows was opened upon us from three
- sides, and I was struck on the right side of the neck by a round iron
- bullet, which travelled round just under the skin, and stopped under my
- left ear. Some of my crew were badly hit, one man having his wrist broken
- by an iron bullet, and another received a heavy lead bullet in the
- stomach, and three bamboo arrows in his chest, thigh and shoulder. He was
- more afraid of the arrows than the really dangerous wound in his stomach,
- for he thought they were poisoned, and that he would die of lockjaw—like
- the lamented Commodore Goodenough, who was shot to death with poisoned
- arrows at Nukapu in the Santa Cruz Group.
- </p>
- <p>
- The skipper nicked out the bullet in my neck with his pen-knife, and
- beyond two very unsightly scars on each side of my neck, I have nothing of
- which to complain, and much to be thankful for; for had I been in ever so
- little a more erect position, the ball would have broken my neck—and
- some compositors in printing establishments earned a little less money.
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XII ~ MY FRIENDS, THE ANTHROPOPHAGI
- </h2>
- <p>
- Mr. Rudyard Kipling has spoken of what he terms “the Great American Pie
- Belt,” which runs through certain parts of the United States, the people
- of which live largely on pumpkin pie; in the South Pacific there is what
- may be vulgarly termed the Great “Long Pork” Belt, running through many
- groups of islands, the savage inhabitants of which are notorious
- cannibals. This belt extends from the New Hebrides north-westerly to the
- Solomon Archipelago, thence more westerly to New Ireland and New Britain,
- the coasts of Dutch, German, and British New Guinea; and then, turning
- south, embraces a considerable portion of the coast line of Northern
- Australia. Forty years ago Fiji could have been included, but cannibalism
- in that group had long since ceased; as also in New Caledonia and the
- Loyalty Islands.
- </p>
- <p>
- The British, French and German Governments are doing their best to stamp
- out the practice. Ships of war patrol the various groups, and wherever
- possible, headhunting and man-eating excursions are suppressed; but some
- of the islands are of such a vast extent that only the coastal tribes are
- affected. In the interior—practically unknown to any white man—there
- is a very numerous population of mountaineer tribes, who are all
- cannibals, and will remain so for perhaps another fifty years, unless, as
- was done in Fiji by Sir Arthur Gordon (now Lord Stanmore), a large armed
- force is sent to subdue these people, destroy their towns, and bring them
- to settle on the coast, where they may be subjected to missionary (and
- police) influence.
- </p>
- <p>
- During my trading and “blackbirding” voyages, I made the acquaintance, and
- indeed in some cases the friendship, of many cannibals, and at one time,
- when I was doing shore duty, I lived for six months in a large cannibal
- village on the north coast of the great island of New Britain, or Tombara,
- as the natives call it I had not the slightest fear of being converted
- into “Long Pig” (<i>puaka kumi</i>) for the chief, a hideous, but yet not
- bad-natured savage, named Bobâran, in consideration for certain gifts of
- muskets, powder, bullets, etc, and tobacco, became responsible for my
- safety with his own people during my stay, but would not, of course,
- guarantee to protect me from the people of other districts (even though he
- might not be at enmity with them) if I ventured into their territory.
- </p>
- <p>
- This was the usual agreement made by white traders who established
- themselves on shore under the <i>ægis</i> of a native ruler. Very rarely
- was this confidence abused. Generally the white men, sailors or traders
- who have been (and are even now) killed and eaten, have been cut off by
- savages other than those among whom they lived—very often by
- mountaineers.
- </p>
- <p>
- Bobâran and all his people were noted cannibals. He was continually at war
- with his neighbours on the opposite side of the bay, where there were
- three populous towns, and there was much fighting, and losses on both
- sides. During my stay there were over thirty people eaten at, or in the
- immediate vicinity of, my village. Some of these were taken alive, and
- then slaughtered on being brought in; others had been killed in battle.
- But about eighteen months before I came to live at this place, Bobâran had
- had a party of twenty of his people cut off by the enemy—and every
- one of these were eaten.
- </p>
- <p>
- I parted from Bobâran on very friendly terms. I should have stayed longer,
- but was suffering from malarial fever.
- </p>
- <p>
- After recruiting my health in New Zealand, I joined a labour vessel,
- sailing out of Samoa, and during the ten months I served on her as
- recruiter I had some exceedingly exciting adventures with cannibals among
- the islands off the coast of German New Guinea, and on the mainland.
- </p>
- <p>
- On our way to the “blackbirding grounds” we sighted the lofty Rossel
- Island—the scene of one of the most awful cannibal tragedies ever
- known. It is one of the Louisiade Archipelago, and is at the extreme south
- end of British New Guinea. It presents a most enchanting appearance, owing
- to its verdured mountains (9,000 feet), countless cataracts, and beautiful
- bays fringed with coco-palms and other tropical trees, amidst which stand
- the thatched-roofed houses of the natives. I will tell the story of Rossel
- Island in as few words as possible:—
- </p>
- <p>
- In 1852 a Peruvian barque, carrying 325 Chinese coolies for Tahiti, was
- wrecked on the island; the captain and crew took to the four boats, and
- left the Chinamen to shift for themselves. Hundreds of savage natives
- rushed the vessel, killed a few of the coolies, and drove the rest on
- shore, where for some days they were not molested, the natives being too
- busy in plundering the ship. But after this was completed they turned
- their attention to their captives, marshalled them together, made them
- enter canoes and carried them off to a small, but fertile island. Here
- they were told to occupy a deserted village, and do as they pleased, but
- not to attempt to leave the island. The poor Chinamen were overjoyed,
- little dreaming of what was to befal them. The island abounded with
- vegetables and fruit, and the shipwrecked men found no lack of food. But
- they discovered that they were prisoners—every canoe had been
- removed. This at first caused them no alarm, but when at the end of a week
- their jailers appeared and carried off ten of their number, they became
- restless. And then almost every day, two, three or more were taken away,
- and never returned. Then the poor wretches discovered that their comrades
- were being killed and eaten day by day!
- </p>
- <p>
- To escape from the island was impossible, for it was four miles from the
- mainland, and they had no canoes, and the water was literally alive with
- sharks. Some of them, wild with terror, built a raft out of dead timber,
- and tried to put to sea. They were seen by the Rossel Islanders, pursued
- and captured, and slaughtered for the cannibal ovens, which were now never
- idle. Some poor creatures, who could swim, tried to cross to another
- little island two miles away, but were devoured by sharks. Without arms to
- defend their lives, they saw themselves decimated week by week, for
- whenever the natives came to seize some of their number for their ovens
- they came in force.
- </p>
- <p>
- Six or seven months passed, and then one day the French corvette <i>Phoque</i>
- (if I am not mistaken in the name) appeared off the island. She had been
- sent by the Governor of New Caledonia to ascertain if any of the Chinamen
- were still on the island, or if all had escaped. Two only survived. They
- were seen running along the beach to meet the boats from the corvette, and
- were taken on board half-demented—all the rest had gone into the
- stomach of the cannibals or the sharks.
- </p>
- <p>
- At the present time the natives of Rossel Island are subjects of King
- Edward VII., and are included in the government of the Possession of
- British New Guinea; have, I believe, a resident missionary, and several
- traders, and are well behaved They would cast up their eyes in pious
- horror if any visitor now suggested that they had once been addicted to
- “long pig “.
- </p>
- <p>
- Ten days after passing Rossel Island, we were among the islands of Dampier
- and Vitiaz Straits, which separate the western end of New Britain from the
- east coast of New Guinea. It was an absolutely new ground for recruiting
- “blackbirds” and our voyage was in reality but an experiment. We (the
- officers and I) knew that the natives were a dangerous lot of savage
- cannibals, speaking many dialects, and had hitherto only been in
- communication with an occasional whaleship, or a trading, pearling, or, in
- the “old” colonial days, a sandal-wood-seeking vessel. But we had no fear
- of being cut off. We had a fine craft, with a high freeboard, so that if
- we were rushed by canoes, the boarders would find some trouble in
- clambering on deck; on the main deck we carried four six-pounders, which
- were always kept in good order and could be loaded with grape in a few
- minutes. Then our double crew were all well armed with Sharp's carbines
- and the latest pattern of Colt's revolvers; and, above all, the captain
- had confidence in his crew and officers, and they in him. I, the
- recruiter, had with me as interpreter a very smart native of Ysabel Island
- (Solomon Group) who, five years before, had been wrecked on Rook Island,
- in Vitiaz Straits, had lived among the cannibal natives for a year, and
- then been rescued by an Austrian man-of-war engaged on an exploration
- voyage. He said that he could make himself well understood by the natives—and
- this I found to be correct.
- </p>
- <p>
- We anchored in a charming little bay on Rook Island (Baga), and at once
- some hundreds of natives came off and boarded us in the most fearless
- manner. They at once recognised my interpreter, and danced about him and
- yelled their delight at seeing him again. Every one of these savages was
- armed with half a dozen spears, a jade-headed club, or powerful bows and
- arrows, and a wooden shield. They were a much finer type of savage than
- the natives of New Britain, lighter in colour, and had not so many
- repulsive characteristics. Neither were they absolutely nude—each
- man wearing a girdle of dracaena leaves, and although they were betel-nut
- chewers, and carried their baskets of areca nuts and leaves and powdered
- lime around their necks, they did not expectorate the disgusting scarlet
- juice all over our decks as the New Britain natives would have done.
- </p>
- <p>
- We noticed that many of them had recently inflicted wounds, and learned
- from them that a few days previously they had had a great fight with the
- natives of Tupinier Island (twenty miles to the east) and had been badly
- beaten, losing sixteen men. But, they proudly added, they had been able to
- carry off eleven of the enemy's dead, and had only just finished eating
- them. The chiefs brother, they said, had been badly wounded by a bullet in
- the thigh (the Tupinier natives had a few muskets) and was suffering great
- pain, as the “doctors” could not get it out.
- </p>
- <p>
- Now here was a chance for me—something which would perhaps lead to
- our getting a number of these cannibals to recruit for Samoa. I considered
- myself a good amateur surgeon (I had had plenty of practice) and at once
- volunteered to go on shore, look at the injured gentleman and see what I
- could do. My friend Bobâran in New Britain I had cured of an eczemic
- disorder by a very simple remedy, and he had been a grateful patient. Here
- was another chance, and possibly another grateful patient; and this being
- a case of a gunshot wound, I was rather keen on attending to it, for the
- Polynesians and Melanesians will stand any amount of cutting about and
- never flinch (and there are no coroners in the South Seas to ask silly
- questions if the patient dies from a mistake of the operator).
- </p>
- <p>
- Morel (the captain), the interpreter and myself went on shore. The beach
- was crowded with women and children, as well as men—a sure sign that
- no treachery was intended—and nearly all of them tried to embrace my
- interpreter. The clamour these cannibals made was terrific, the children
- being especially vociferous. Several of them seized my hands, and
- literally dragged me along to the house of the wounded man; others
- possessed themselves of Morel and the interpreter, and in a few minutes
- the whole lot of us tumbled, or rather fell, into the house. Then, in an
- instant, there was silence—the excited women and children withdrew
- and left the captain, the interpreter, some male cannibals and myself with
- my patient, who was sitting up, placidly chewing betel-nut.
- </p>
- <p>
- In ten minutes Morel and I got out the bullet, then dressed and bandaged
- the wound, and gave the man a powerful opiate. Leaving him with his
- friends, Morel and I went for a walk through the village. Everywhere the
- natives were very civil, offering us coco-nuts and food, and even the
- women and children did not show much fear at our presence.
- </p>
- <p>
- Returning to the house, we found our wounded friend was awake, and sitting
- up on his mat He smiled affably at us, and rubbed noses with me—a
- practice I have never before seen among the Melanesians of this part of
- the Pacific. Then he told us that his womenfolk were preparing us a meal
- which would soon be ready. I asked him gravely (through the interpreter)
- not to serve us any human flesh. He replied quite calmly that there was
- none left—the last had been eaten five days before.
- </p>
- <p>
- Presently the meal was carried in—baked pork, an immense fish of the
- mullet kind, yams, taro, and an enormous quantity of sugar-cane and
- pineapples. The women did not eat with us, but sat apart. Our friend,
- whose name was Dârro, had six wives, four of whom were present He had also
- a number of female slaves, taken from an island in Vitiaz Straits. These
- were rather light-skinned, and some quite good-looking, and all wore
- girdles of dracaena leaves. Neither Dârro nor his people smoked, though
- they knew the use of pipe and tobacco, and at one time had been given both
- by a sandal-wooding ship. I promised to give them a present of a ten pound
- case of plug tobacco, and a gross of clay pipes—I was thinking of
- “recruits”. I sent off to the brig for the present, and when it arrived,
- and I had given nearly one hundred and fifty cannibals a pipe and a plug
- of tobacco each, the interpreter and I got to work on Dârro on the subject
- of our mission.
- </p>
- <p>
- Alas! He would not entertain the idea of any of his fighting men going to
- an unknown land for three years. We could have perhaps a score or so of
- women—widows or slaves. Would that suit us? No, I said. We did not
- want single women or widows. There must be a man to each woman.
- </p>
- <p>
- Dârro was “very sorry” (so was I). But perhaps I and the captain would
- accept two of the youngest of his female slaves as a token of his regard
- for us?
- </p>
- <p>
- Morel and I consulted, and then we asked Dârro if he could not give us two
- slave couples—two men and two women who would be willing to marry,
- and also willing to go to a country and work, a country where they would
- be well treated, and paid for their labour. And at the end of three years
- they would be brought back to Dârro, if they so desired.
- </p>
- <p>
- Dârro smiled and gave some orders, and two strapping young men and two
- pleasant-faced young women were brought for my inspection. All were
- smiling, and I felt that a bishop and a brass band or surpliced choristers
- ought to have been present.
- </p>
- <p>
- These were the only “blackbirds” we secured on that voyage from Rook
- Island; but three and a half years later, when these two couples returned
- to Dârro, with a “vast” wealth of trade goods, estimated at “trade” prices
- at seventy-two pounds, Dârro never refused to let some of his young men
- “recruit” for Fiji or Samoa.
- </p>
- <p>
- I never saw him again, but he sent messages to me by other “blackbirding”
- vessels, saying that he would like me to come and stay with him.
- </p>
- <p>
- And, although he had told me that he had personally partaken of the flesh
- of over ninety men, I shall always remember him as a very gentlemanly man,
- courteous, hospitable and friendly, and who was horror-struck when my
- interpreter told him that in England cousins intermarried.
- </p>
- <p>
- “That is a horrid, an unutterable thing. It is inconceivable to us. It is
- vile, wicked and shameless. How can you clever white men do such
- disgusting things?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Dârro and his savage people knew the terrors of the abuse of the laws of
- consanguinity.
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XIII ~ ON THE “JOYS” OF RECRUITING “BLACKBIRDS”
- </h2>
- <p>
- A few years ago I was written to by an English lady, living in the
- Midlands, asking me if I could assist her nephew—a young man of
- three and twenty years of age—towards obtaining a berth as
- Government agent or as “recruiter” on a Queensland vessel employed in the
- Kanaka labour trade.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I am told that it is a very gentlemanly employment, that many of those
- engaged in it are, or have been, naval officers and have a recognised
- status in society. Also that the work is really nothing—merely the
- supervision of coloured men going to the Queensland plantations. The
- climate is, I am told, delightful, and would suit Walter, whose lungs, as
- you know, are weak. Is the salary large?” etc.
- </p>
- <p>
- I had to write and disillusionise the lady, and as I wrote I recalled one
- of my experiences in the Kanaka labour trade.
- </p>
- <p>
- Early in the seventies, I was in Nouméa, New Caledonia, looking for a
- berth as recruiter in the Kanaka labour trade; but there were many older
- and much more experienced men than myself engaged on the same quest, and
- my efforts were in vain.
- </p>
- <p>
- One morning, however, I met a Captain Poore, who was the owner and master
- of a small vessel, just about to leave Nouméa on a trading voyage along
- the east coast of New Guinea, and among the islands between Astrolabe Bay
- and the West Cape of New Britain. He did not want a supercargo; but said
- that he would be very glad if I would join him, and if the voyage was a
- success he would pay me for such help as I might be able to render him. I
- accepted his offer, and in a few days we left Nouméa.
- </p>
- <p>
- Poore and I were soon on very friendly terms. He was a man of vast
- experience in the South Seas, and, except that he was subject to
- occasional violent outbursts of temper when anything went wrong, was an
- easy man to get on with, and a pleasant comrade.
- </p>
- <p>
- The mate was the only other European on board, besides the captain and
- myself, all the crew, including the boatswain, being either Polynesians or
- Melanesians. The whole ten of them were fairly good seamen and worked
- well.
- </p>
- <p>
- A few days after leaving Nouméa, Poore took me into his confidence, and
- told me that, although he certainly intended to make a trading and
- recruiting voyage, he had another object in view, and that was to satisfy
- himself as to the location of some immense copper deposits that had been
- discovered on Rook Island—midway between New Britain and New Guinea—by
- some shipwrecked seamen.
- </p>
- <p>
- Twenty-two days out from Nouméa, the <i>Samana</i>, as the schooner was
- named, anchored in a well-sheltered and densely-wooded little bay on the
- east side of Rook Island. The place was uninhabited, though, far back,
- from the lofty mountains of the interior, we could see several columns of
- smoke arising, showing the position of mountaineer villages.
- </p>
- <p>
- It was then ten o'clock in the morning, and Poore, feeling certain that in
- this part of the coast there were no native villages, determined to go
- ashore, and do a little prospecting. (I must mention that, owing to light
- weather and calms, we had been obliged to anchor where we had to avoid
- being drifted on shore by the fierce currents, which everywhere sweep and
- eddy around Rook Island, and that we were quite twenty miles from the
- place where the copper lode had been discovered.)
- </p>
- <p>
- Taking with us two of the native seamen, Poore and I set off on shore
- shortly after ten o'clock, and landed on a rough, shingly beach. The
- extent of littoral on this part of the island was very small, a bold lofty
- chain of mountains coming down to within a mile of the sea, and running
- parallel with the coast as far as we could see. The vegetation was dense,
- and in some places came down to the water's edge, and although the country
- showed a tropical luxuriance of beauty about the seashore, the dark,
- gloomy, and silent mountain valleys which everywhere opened up from the
- coast, gave it a repellent appearance in general.
- </p>
- <p>
- Leaving the natives (who were armed with rifles and tomahawks) in charge
- of the boat, and telling them to pull along the shore and stop when we
- stopped, Poore and I set out to walk.
- </p>
- <p>
- My companion was armed with a Henry-Winchester carbine, and I with a
- sixteen-bore breech-loading shotgun and a tomahawk. I had brought the gun
- instead of a rifle, feeling sure that I could get some cockatoos or
- pigeons on our way back, for we had heard and seen many flying about as
- soon as we had anchored. At the last moment I put into my canvas game bag
- four round bullet cartridges, as Poore said there were many wild pigs on
- the island.
- </p>
- <p>
- On rounding the eastern point of the bay we were delighted to come across
- a beautiful beach of hard white sand, fringed with coco-nut palms, and
- beyond was a considerable stretch of open park-like country. Just as Poore
- and I were setting off inland to examine the base of a spur about a mile
- distant, one of the men said he could see the mouth of a river farther on
- along the beach.
- </p>
- <p>
- This changed our plans, and sending the boat on ahead, we kept to the
- beach, and soon reached the river—or rather creek. It was narrow but
- deep, the boat entered it easily and went up it for a mile, we walking
- along the bank, which was free of undergrowth, but covered with high,
- coarse, reed-like grass. Then the boat's progress was barred by a huge
- fallen tree, which spanned the stream. Here we spelled for half an hour,
- and had something to eat, and then again Poore and I set out, following
- the upward course of the creek. Finding it was leading us away from the
- spur we wished to examine, we stopped to decide what to do, and then heard
- the sound of two gun-shots in quick succession, coming from the direction
- of the place in which the boat was lying. We were at once filled with
- alarm, knowing that the men must be in danger of some sort, and that
- neither of them could have fired at a wild pig, no matter how tempting a
- shot it offered, for we had told them not to do so.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Perhaps they have fallen foul of an alligator,” said Poore, “all the
- creeks on Rook Island are full of them. Come along, and let us see what is
- wrong.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Running through the open, timber country, and then through the long grass
- on the banks of the stream, we had reached about half-way to the boat when
- we heard a savage yell—or rather yells—for it seemed to come
- from a hundred throats, and in an instant we both felt sure that the boat
- had been attacked.
- </p>
- <p>
- Madly forcing our way through the infernal reed-like grass, which every
- now and then caused us to trip and fall, we had just reached a bend of the
- creek, which gave us a clear sight of its course for about three hundred
- yards, when Poore tripped over a fallen tree branch; I fell on the top of
- him, and my face struck his upturned right foot with such violence that
- the blood poured from my nose in a torrent, and for half a minute I was
- stunned.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Good God, look at that!” cried Poore, pointing down stream.
- </p>
- <p>
- Crossing a shallow part of the creek were a party of sixty or seventy
- savages, all armed with spears and clubs. Four of them who were leading
- were carrying on poles from their shoulders the naked and headless bodies
- of our two unfortunate sailors, and the decapitated heads were in either
- hand of an enormously fat man, who from his many shell armlets and other
- adornments was evidently the leader. So close were they—less than
- fifty yards—that we easily recognised one of the bodies by its light
- yellow skin as that of Anteru (Andrew), a native of Rotumah, and one of
- the best men we had on the <i>Samana</i>.
- </p>
- <p>
- Before I could stay his hand and point out the folly of it, Poore stood up
- and shot the fat savage through the stomach, and I saw the blood spurt
- from his side, as the heavy, flat-nosed bullet ploughed its way clean
- through the man, who, still clutching the two heads in his ensanguined
- hands, stood upright for a few seconds, and then fell with a splash into
- the stream.
- </p>
- <p>
- Yells of rage and astonishment came from the savages, as Poore, now wild
- with fury, began to fire at them indiscriminately, until the magazine of
- his rifle was emptied; but he was so excited that only two or three of
- them were hit. Then his senses came back to him.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Quick, into the creek, and over to the other side, or they'll cut us
- off.”
- </p>
- <p>
- We clambered down the bank into the water, and then, by some mischance,
- Poore, who was a bad swimmer, dropped his rifle, and began uttering the
- most fearful oaths, when I told him that it was no use my trying to dive
- for it, unless he could hold my shot gun, which I was carrying in my left
- hand. We had scarcely reached the opposite bank, when thin, slender spears
- began to whizz about us, and one, no thicker than a lead pencil, caught
- Poore in the cheek, obliquely, and its point came out quite a yard from
- where it had entered, and literally pinned him to the ground.
- </p>
- <p>
- I have heard some very strong language in the South Seas, but I have never
- heard anything so awful as that of Poore when I drew out the spear, and we
- started to run for our lives down the opposite bank of the creek.
- </p>
- <p>
- For some minutes we panted along through the long grass, hearing nothing;
- and then, as we came to an open spot and stopped to gain breath, we were
- assailed by a shower of spears from the other side of the creek, and Poore
- was again hit—a spear ripping open the flesh between the forefinger
- and thumb of his left hand. He seized my gun, and fired both barrels into
- the long grass on the other side, and wild yells showed that some of our
- pursuers were at least damaged by the heavy No. I shot intended for
- cockatoos.
- </p>
- <p>
- Then all became silent, and we again started, taking all available cover,
- and hoping we were not pursued.
- </p>
- <p>
- We were mistaken, for presently we caught sight of a score of our enemies
- a hundred yards ahead, running at top speed, evidently intending to cross
- lower down and cut us off, or else secure the boat Poore took two quick
- shots at them, but they were too far off, and gave us a yell of derision.
- Putting my hand into the game bag to get out two cartridges, I was
- horrified to find it empty, every one had fallen out; my companion used
- more lurid language, and we pressed on. At last we reached the boat, and
- found her floating bottom up—the natives had been too quick for us.
- </p>
- <p>
- To have attempted to right her would have meant our being speared by the
- savages, who, of course, were watching our every movement. There was
- nothing else to do but to keep on, cross the mouth of the creek, and make
- for the ship.
- </p>
- <p>
- Scarcely had we run fifty yards when we saw the grass on the other side
- move—the natives were keeping up the chase. Another ten minutes
- brought us to the mouth of the stream, and then to our great joy we saw
- that the tide had ebbed, and that right before us was a stretch of bare
- sand, extending out half a mile. As we emerged into the open we saw our
- pursuers standing on the opposite bank. Poore pointed his empty gun at
- them, and they at once vanished.
- </p>
- <p>
- We stopped five minutes to gain breath, and then kept straight on across
- the sand, till we sighted the schooner. We were seen almost at once, and a
- boat was quickly manned and sent to us, and in a quarter of an hour we
- were on board again.
- </p>
- <p>
- That was one of the joys of the “gentlemanly” employment of “recruiting”
- in the South Seas.
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XIV ~ MAKING A FORTUNE IN THE SOUTH SEAS
- </h2>
- <p>
- A short time ago I came across in a daily newspaper the narrative of a
- traveller in the South Seas full of illuminating remarks on the ease with
- which any one can now acquire a fortune in the Pacific Islands; it
- afforded me considerable reflection, mixed with a keen regret that I had
- squandered over a quarter of a century of my life in the most stupid
- manner, by ignoring the golden opportunities that must have been jostling
- me wherever I went. The articles were very cleverly penned, and really
- made very pretty reading—so pretty, in fact, that I was moved to
- briefly narrate my experience of the subject in the columns of the <i>Westminster
- Gazette</i> with the result that many a weary, struggling trader in the
- Solomon Islands, the New Hebrides and other groups of islands in the South
- Pacific rose up and called me blessed when they read my article, for I
- sent five and twenty copies of the paper to as many traders. Others
- doubtless obtained the journal from the haughty brass-bound pursers (there
- are no “supercargoes” now) of the Sydney and Auckland steamers. For the
- steamers, with their high-collared, clerkly pursers, have supplanted for
- good the trim schooners, with their brown-faced, pyjama-clad supercargoes,
- and the romance of the South Seas has gone. But it has not gone in the
- imagination of some people.
- </p>
- <p>
- I must mention that my copies of the <i>Westminster Gazette</i> crossed no
- less than nine letters written to me by old friends and comrades from
- various islands in the Pacific, asking me to do what I had done—put
- the true condition of affairs in Polynesia before the public, and help to
- keep unsuitable and moneyless men from going out to the South Sea Islands
- to starve. For they had read the illuminating series of articles to which
- I refer, and felt very savage.
- </p>
- <p>
- In a cabin-trunk of mine I have some hundreds of letters, written to me
- during the past ten years by people from all parts of the world, who
- wanted to go to the South Seas and lead an idyllic life and make fortunes,
- and wished me to show them how to go about it. Many of these letters are
- amusing, some are pathetic; some, which were so obviously insane, I did
- not answer. The rest I did. I cannot reproduce them in print. I am keeping
- them to read to my friends in heaven. Even an old ex-South Sea trader may
- get there—if he can dodge the other place. <i>Quien sabe?</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- Twenty-one of these letters reached me in France during February, March
- and April of last year. They were written by men and women who had been
- reading the above-mentioned series of brilliant articles. (I regret to
- state that fourteen only had a penny stamp thereon, and I had to pay four
- francs postal dues.) The articles were, as I have said, very charmingly
- written, especially the descriptive passages. But nearly every person that
- the “Special Commissioner” met in the South Seas seems to have been very
- energetically and wickedly employed in “pulling the 'Special
- Commissioner's leg”.
- </p>
- <p>
- The late Lord Pembroke described two classes of people—“those who
- know and don't write, and those who write and don't know”.
- </p>
- <p>
- Let me cull a few only of the statements in one of the articles entitled
- “The Trader's Prospects”. It is an article so nicely written that it is
- hard to shake off the glamour of it and get to facts. It says:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “The salaries paid by a big Australian firm to its traders may run from
- £50 to £200 a year, with board (that is, the run of the store) and a
- house.”
- </p>
- <p>
- There are possibly fifty men in the Pacific Islands who are receiving £200
- a year from trading firms. Five pounds per month, with a specified ration
- list, and 5 per cent, commission on his sales is the usual thing—and
- has been so for the past fifteen years. As for taking “the run of the
- store,” he would be quickly asked to take another run. The trader who
- works for a firm has a struggle to exist.
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- “In the Solomons and New Hebrides you can start trading on a capital of
- £100 or so, and make cent, per cent, on island produce.”
- </p>
- <p>
- A man would want at least £500 to £600 to start even in the smallest way.
- Here are some of his requirements, which he must buy before leaving Sydney
- or Auckland to start as an independent trader in Melanesia or Polynesia:
- Trade goods, £400; provisions for twelve months, £100; boat with all gear,
- from £25 to £60; tools, firearms, etc, £15 to £30. Then there is passage
- money, £15 to £20; freight on his goods, say £40. If he lands anywhere in
- Polynesia—Samoa, Tonga, Cook's Islands, or elsewhere—he will
- have Customs duties to pay, house rent, and a trading licence. And
- everywhere he will find keen competition and measly profits, unless he
- lives like a Chinaman on rice and fish.
- </p>
- <p>
- “In British New Guinea you can dig gold in hand-fuls out of the mangrove
- swamps” (O ye gods!) “and prospect for any other mineral you may choose.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Gold-mining in British New Guinea is carried out under the most trying
- conditions of toil and hardships, The fitting out of a prospecting-party
- of four costs quite £500 to £1,000. And only very experienced diggers
- tackle mining in the Possession. And his Honour the Administrator will not
- let improperly equipped parties into the Possession.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It is the simplest thing in the world” to become a pearl sheller. “You
- charter a schooner—or even a cutter—if you are a smart seaman
- and know the Pacific, use her for general trading... and every now and
- then go and look up some one of the innumerable reefs and low atolla...
- Some are beds of treasure, full of pearl-shell, that sells at £100 to £200
- the ton,” etc.
- </p>
- <p>
- All very pretty! Here is the “simplicity” of it—taking it at so much
- <i>per month</i>: Charter of small schooner of one hundred tons, £200 to
- £300; wages of captain and crew, £40; cost of provisions and wear and tear
- of canvas, running gear, etc., £60 (diving suits and gear for two divers,
- and boat would have to be bought at a cost of some hundreds of pounds);
- wages per month of each diver from £50 to £75, with often a commission on
- the shell they raise. Then you can go a-sailing, and <i>cherchez</i>
- around for your treasure beds. If you dive in Dutch waters, the gunboats
- collar you and your ship; if you go into British waters you will find that
- the business is under strict inspection by Commonwealth officials who keep
- a properly sharp eye on your doings. If you wish to go into the French
- Paumotus you have first to visit Tahiti, and apply for and pay 2,500
- francs for a half-yearly licence to dive. (Most likely you won't get it)
- If you try without this licence to buy even a single pearl from the
- natives, you will get into trouble—as my ship did in the
- “seventies,” when the gunboat <i>Vaudreuil</i> swooped down on us, sent a
- prize crew aboard, put some of us in irons, and towed us to Tahiti, where
- we lay in Papeite harbour for three months, until legal proceedings were
- finished and the ship was liberated.
- </p>
- <p>
- “About £150 would be the lowest sum with which such a work” (scooping up
- the treasure) “could be carried out. This would provide a small schooner
- or a cutter from Auckland for a few months with all necessary stores. She
- would require two men, competent to navigate, two A.B.'s, and a diver, in
- order to be run safely and comfortably; and the wages of these would be an
- extra cost A couple of experienced yachtsmen could, of course, manage the
- affair more cheaply.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Some of these recent nine letters which I received contained some very
- interesting facts. One man, an old trader in Polynesia, wrote me as
- follows: “Some of these poor beggars actually land in Polynesian ports
- with a trunk or two of glass beads, penny looking-glasses, twopenny knives
- and other weird rubbish, and are aghast to see large stores stocked with
- thousands of pounds' worth of goods of all kinds, goods which are sold to
- the natives at a very low margin of profit, for competition is very keen.
- In the Society Islands the Chinese storekeepers undersell us whites—they
- live cheaper.” And “in Levuka and Suva, in Fiji, in Rarotonga and other
- islands there are scores of broken-down white men. They cannot be called
- 'beachcombers,' for there is nothing on the beach for them to comb. They
- live on the charity of the traders and natives. If they were sailor-men
- they could perhaps get fifteen dollars a month on the schooners. Why they
- come here is a mystery.... Most of them seem to be clerks or
- school-teachers. One is a violin teacher. Another young fellow brought out
- a typewriting machine; he is now yardman at a Suva hotel. A third is a
- married man with two young children. He is a French polisher, wife a
- milliner. They came from Belfast, and landed with eleven pounds! Hotel
- expenses swallowed all that in three weeks. Money is being collected to
- send them to Auckland,” and so on. There is always so much mischief being
- done by globe-trotting tourists and ill-informed and irresponsible
- novelists who scurry through the Southern Seas on a liner, and then
- publish their hasty impressions. According to them, any one with a modicum
- of common sense can shake the South Sea Pagoda Tree and become bloatedly
- wealthy in a year or so.
- </p>
- <p>
- Did the “Special Commissioner” know that these articles would lead to much
- misery and suffering? No, of course not. They were written in good faith,
- but without knowledge. For instance, the wild statement about looking up
- “some one of the innumerable reefs and low atolls... beds of treasure,
- full of pearl-shell that sells at £100 to £200 the ton,” etc.—there
- is not one single reef or atoll either in the North or South Pacific that
- has not been carefully prospected for pearl-shell during the past
- thirty-five years.
- </p>
- <p>
- Then as to gold-mining in British New Guinea, “where you can dig gold in
- handfuls out of the mangrove swamps”.
- </p>
- <p>
- Diggers who go to New Guinea have to go through the formality of first
- paying their passages to that country from Australia. Then, on arrival,
- they have to arrange the important matter of engaging native carriers to
- take their outfit to the Mambaré River gold-fields—a tedious and
- expensive item. And only experienced men of sterling physique can stand
- the awful labour and hardships of gold-mining in the Possession. Deadly
- malarial fever adds to the diggers' hard lot in New Guinea, and the
- natives, when not savage and treacherous, are as unreliable and as lazy as
- a Spanish priest.
- </p>
- <p>
- In conclusion, I can assure my readers that there is no prospect for any
- man of limited means to make money in the South Seas as a trader. Any
- assertions to the contrary have no basis of fact in them. In cotton and
- coco-nut planting there are good openings for men of the right stamp; in
- the second industry, however, one has to wait six years before his trees
- are in full bearing.
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XV ~ THE STORY OF TOKOLMÉ
- </h2>
- <p>
- Early one morning some native hunters came on board our vessel and asked
- me to come with them to the mountain forest of the island of Ponapé in
- quest of wild boar. Glad to escape from the ship, which lay in a small
- land-locked harbour on the south-eastern side of the island, I quickly put
- together my gear, stepped into one of the long red-painted canoes
- alongside, and pushed off with my companions—men whom I had known
- for some years and who always looked to me to join them in at least one of
- their hunting trips whenever our brig visited their district on a trading
- cruise. Half an hour's paddling across the still waters of the harbour
- brought us to a narrow creek, lined on each side with dense mangroves.
- Following its upward course for the third of a mile, we came to and landed
- at a point of high land, where the-dull and monotonous mangroves gave
- place to giant cedar trees and lofty palms. Here were two or three small
- native huts, used by the hunters as a rendezvous. Early as it was, some of
- their women-folk had arrived from the village, and cooked and made ready a
- meal of baked fish and chickens. Then after the inevitable smoke and
- discussion as to the route to be taken, and telling the women to expect us
- back at nightfall, we shouldered our rifles and hunting spears, and
- started off in single file along a winding track that followed the
- turnings of the now clear and brawling little stream. At first we
- experienced considerable trouble in ridding ourselves of over a dozen
- mongrel curs; they had followed the men from the village (two miles
- distant) and the women had fastened all of them in, in one of the huts,
- but the brutes had torn a hole through the cane-work side of the hut and
- came after us in full cry. Kicking and pelting them with sticks had no
- effect—they merely yelped and snarled and darted off into the
- undergrowth, only to reappear somewhere ahead of us. Finally my companions
- became so exasperated that, forgetting they were newly-made converts to
- Christianity, they burst out into torrents of abuse, invoking all the old
- heathen gods to smite the dogs individually and collectively, and not let
- them spoil our sport. This proving of no effect, an exasperated and
- stalwart young native named Nâ, who was the owner of one of the most ugly
- and persistent of the animals, asked me to lend him my Winchester, and,
- waiting for a favourable chance, shot the brute dead. In an instant the
- rest of the pack vanished without a sound, and we saw no more of them till
- we returned to the huts in the evening.
- </p>
- <p>
- These natives (seven in all) were, with the exception of a man of fifty
- years of age, all young men, and fine types of the Micronesian. Although
- much slighter in build than the average Polynesian of the south-eastern
- islands of the Pacific, they were extremely muscular and sinewy, and as
- active and fleet of foot as wild goats. Their skins, where not tanned a
- darker hue by the sun, were of a light reddish-brown, and the blue
- tatooing on their bodies showed out very clearly; most of them had a very
- Semitic and regular cast of features, and their straight black hair and
- fine white teeth imparted a very pleasing appearance. Unlike some of the
- natives of the Micronesian Archipelago on the islands farther to the
- westward they dislike the disgusting practice of chewing the betel-nut,
- and in general may be regarded as a very cleanly and highly intelligent
- race of people. Somewhat suspicious, if not sullen, with the European
- stranger on first acquaintance, they do not display that spirit of
- hospitality and courtesy that seems to be inherent with the Samoans,
- Tahitians and the Marquesans. From the time when their existence was first
- made known to the world by the discoveries of the early Spanish voyagers
- to the South Seas they have been addicted to warfare, and the inhabitants
- of Ponapé in particular had an evil reputation for the horrible cruelties
- the victors inflicted upon the vanquished in battle, even though the
- victims were frequently their own kith and kin. When, less than twenty
- years ago, Spain reasserted her claims to the Caroline Islands (of which
- Ponapé is the largest and most fertile) and placed garrisons on several of
- the islands, the natives of Ponapé made a savage and determined
- resistance, and in one instance wiped out two companies of troops and
- their officers. A few years ago, however, the entire archipelago passed
- into the hands of Germany—Spain accepting a monetary compensation
- for parting with territory that never belonged to her—and at the
- present time these once valorous and warlike savages are learning the ways
- of civilisation and—as might be expected—rapidly diminishing
- in numbers.
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- After ridding ourselves of the dogs we pressed steadily onward and upward,
- till we no longer heard the hum of the surf beating upon the barrier reef,
- and then when the sun was almost overhead we emerged from the deep,
- darkened aisles of the silent forest into a small cleared space on the
- summit of a spur and saw displayed before us one of the loveliest
- panoramas in the universe. For of all the many beautiful island gems which
- lie upon the blue bosom of the North Pacific, there is none that exceeds
- in beauty and fertility the Isle of Ascension, as Ponapé is sometimes
- called—that being the name used by the Spaniards.
- </p>
- <p>
- Three thousand feet below we could see for many miles the trend of the
- coast north and south. Within the wavering line of roaring white surf,
- which marked the barrier reef, lay the quiet green waters of the narrow
- lagoon encompassing the whole of this part of Ponapé, studded with many
- small islands—some rocky and precipitous, some so low-lying and so
- thickly palm-clad that they, seemed, with their girdles of shining beach,
- to be but floating gardens of verdure, so soft and ephemeral that even the
- gentle breath of the rising trade wind at early morn would cause them to
- vanish like some desert mirage.
- </p>
- <p>
- To the southward was the small, land-locked harbour of Roân Kiti, whose
- gleaming waters were as yet undisturbed by the faintest ripple, and the
- two American whaleships and my own vessel which floated on its placid
- bosom, lay so still and quiet, that one could have thought them to be
- abandoned by their crews were it not that one of the whalers began to
- loose and dry sails, for it had rained heavily during the night. These two
- ships were from New Bedford, and they had put into the little harbour to
- wood and water, and give their sea-worn crews a fortnight's rest ere they
- sailed northward away from the bright isles of the Pacific to the cold,
- wintry seas of the Siberian coast and the Kurile Islands, where they would
- cruise for “bowhead” whales, before returning home to America.
- </p>
- <p>
- Here, because the White Man both felt and looked tired after the long
- climb, and because the Brown Men wanted to make a drink of green kava, we
- decided to rest for an hour or two—some of the men suggesting that
- we should not return till the following day. Food we had brought with us,
- and everywhere on the tops of the mountains water was to be found in small
- rocky pools. So whilst one of the men cut up a rugged root of green kava
- and began to pound it with a smooth stone, the White Man, well content,
- laid down his gun, sat upon a boulder of stone and looked around him. I
- was pleased at the view of sea and verdant shore far below, and pleased
- too at the prospect of some good sport; for everywhere, on our way up to
- the mountains, we had seen the tracks of many a wild pig, and here, on the
- summit of this spur, could rest awhile, before descending into a deep
- valley on the eastern side of the island, where we knew we would find the
- wild pigs feeding along the banks of a mountain stream which debouched
- into Roân Kiti harbour, four miles away.
- </p>
- <p>
- “How is this place named, and how came it to be clear of the forest
- trees?” I asked one of my native friends, a handsome young man, about
- thirty years of age, whose naked, smooth, and red-brown skin, from neck to
- waist, showed by its tatooing that he was of chiefly lineage.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Tokolmé it is called,” he replied. “It was once a place of great
- strength; a fortress was made here in the mountains, in the olden time—in
- the old days, long before white men came to Ponapé. See, all around us,
- half-buried in the ground, are some of the blocks of stone which were
- carried up from the face of the mountain which overlooks Metalanien “—he
- pointed to several huge basaltic prisms lying near—“these stones
- were the lower course of the fort; the upper part was of wood, great
- forest trees, cut down and squared into lengths of two fathoms. And it is
- because of the cutting down of these trees, which were very old and took
- many hundred years to grow, that the place where we now sit, and all
- around us, is so clear. For the blood of many hundreds of men have sunk
- into it, and because it was the blood of innocent people, there be now
- nothing that will grow upon it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The place was certainly quite bare of trees, though encompassed by the
- forest on all sides lower down. One reason for this may have been that in
- addition to the large basaltic prisms, the ground was thickly covered with
- a layer of smaller and broken stones to which time and the action of the
- weather had given a comparatively smooth surface.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Tell me of it, Rai,” I said.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Presently, friend, after we have had the drink of kava and eaten some
- food. Ah, this green kava of ours is good to drink, not like the weak,
- dried root that the women of Samoa chew and mix with much water in a
- wooden bowl. What goodness can there be in that? Here, we take the root
- fresh from the soil when it is full of juice, beat it to a pulp and add
- but little water.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It is good, Rai,” I admitted, “but give me only a little. It is too
- strong for me and a full bowl would cause me to stagger and fall.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He laughed good-naturedly as he handed me a half coco-nut shell containing
- a little of the thick greenish-yellow liquid. And then, after all had
- drunk in turn, the baskets of cold baked food were opened and we ate; and
- then as we lit our pipes and smoked Rai told us the story of Tokolmé.
- </p>
- <p>
- “In those days, before the white men came here to this country, though
- they had been to islands not many days' sail from here by canoe, there
- were but two great chiefs of Ponapé—now there are seven—one
- was Lirou, who ruled all this part of the land, and who dwelt at Roân Kiti
- with two thousand people, and the other was Roka, king of all the northern
- coast and ruler of many villages. Roka was a great voyager and had sailed
- as far to the east as Kusaie, which is two hundred leagues from here, and
- his people were proud of him and his great daring and of the slaves that
- he brought back with him from Kusaie.{*}
- </p>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
- * Strongs Island.
-</pre>
- <p>
- “Here in Tokolmé lived three hundred and two-score people, who owed
- allegiance neither to Lirou nor Roka, for their ancestors had come to
- Ponapé from Yap, an island far to the westward. After many years of
- fighting on the coast they made peace with Lirou's father, who gave them
- all this piece of country as a free gift, and without tribute, and many of
- their young men and women intermarried with ours, for the language and
- customs of Yap are akin to those of Ponapé.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Soon after peace was made and Tolan, chief of the strangers, had built
- the village and made plantations, he died, and as he left no son, his
- daughter Leâ became chieftainess, although she was but fourteen years of
- age.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Lirou, who was a haughty, overbearing young man, sent presents, and asked
- her in marriage, and great was his anger when she refused, saying that she
- had no desire to leave her people now that her father was dead.
- </p>
- <p>
- “'See,' he said to his father, 'see the insult put upon thee by these
- proud ones of Yap—these dog-eating strangers who drifted to our land
- as a log drifts upon the ocean. Thou hast given them fair lands with
- running water, and great forest trees, and this girl refuses to marry me.
- Am I as nothing that I should be so treated? Shall I, Lirou, be laughed
- at? Am I a boy or a grown man?'
- </p>
- <p>
- “The old chief, who desired peace, sought in vain to soothe him. 'Wait for
- another year,' he said, 'and it may be that she will be of a different
- mind. And already thou hast two wives—why seek another?'
- </p>
- <p>
- “'Because it is my will,' replied Lirou fiercely, and he went away,
- nursing his wrath.
- </p>
- <p>
- “One day a party of Roka's young men and women went in several canoes to
- the group of small islands near the mainland called Pâkin to catch turtle;
- whilst the men were away out on the reef at night with their turtle nets a
- number of Lirou's men came to the huts where the women were and watched
- them cooking food to give to their husbands on their return. Rain was
- falling heavily, and Lirou's men came into the houses, unasked, and sat
- down and then began to jest with the women somewhat rudely. This made them
- somewhat afraid, for they were all married, and to jest with the wife of
- another man is looked upon as an evil thing. But their husbands being a
- league away the women could do nothing and went on with their cooking in
- silence. Presently, Lirou's men who had brought with them some gourds of
- the grog called <i>rarait</i>, which is made from sugar-cane, began to
- drink it and pressed the women to do so also. When they refused to do so,
- the men became still more rude and bade the women serve them with some of
- the food they had prepared. This was a great insult, but being in fear,
- they obeyed. Then, as the grog made them bolder, some of the men laid
- hands on the women and there was a great outcry and struggle, and a young
- woman named Sipi-nah fell or was thrown against a great burning log, and
- her face so badly burned that she cried out in agony and ran outside,
- followed by all the other women. They ran along the beach in the pouring
- rain till they were abreast of the place where their husbands were fishing
- and called to them to return. When the fishermen saw what had befallen
- Sipi-nah they were filled with rage, for she was a blood-relation of
- Roka's, and hastening back to the houses they rushed in upon Lirou's
- people, slew three of them, put their heads in baskets and brought them to
- Roka.
- </p>
- <p>
- “From this thing came a long war which was called 'the war of the face of
- Sipi-nah,' and a great battle was fought in canoes on the lagoon. Lirou's
- father with many hundreds of his people were slain, and the rest fled to
- Roân Kiti pursued by King Roka, who burnt the town. Then Lirou (who, now
- that his father was killed, was chief) sued for peace, and promised Roka a
- yearly tribute of three thousand plates of turtle shell, and five new
- canoes. So Roka, being satisfied, sailed away, and there was peace. Had he
- so desired it he could have utterly swept away all Lirou's people and
- burned their villages and destroyed every one of their plantations, but
- although he was a great fighting man he was not cruel. Yet he said to
- Sipi-nah, after peace was made: 'I pray thee, come near me no more; for
- although I have revenged myself upon those who have ill-used and insulted
- thee and me, my hand will again incline to the spear if I look upon thy
- scarred face again. And I want no more wars.'
- </p>
- <p>
- “The son of Lirou (who now took his father's name) and his people began,
- with heavy hearts, to rebuild the town. After the council house was
- finished, Lirou told them to cease work and called together his head men
- and spoke.
- </p>
- <p>
- “'Why should we labour to build more houses here?' he said. 'See, this is
- my mind. Only for one year shall I pay this heavy tribute to Roka Then
- shall I defy him.'
- </p>
- <p>
- “The head men were silent.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Lirou laughed. 'Have no fear. I am no boaster. But we cannot fight him
- here in Roân Kiti, which is open to the sea, and never can we make it a
- strong fort, for here we have no <i>falat</i>,{*} nor yet any great forest
- trees. But at Tokolmé are many thousands of the great stones and mighty
- trees in plenty. Ah, my father was a foolish man to give such a place to
- people who fought against us. Are we fools, to build here another weak
- town, and let Roka bear the more heavily upon us? Answer me!'
- </p>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
- * “Falat” is the natives' name for the huge prisms of basalt
- with which the mysterious and Cyclopean walls, canals,
- vaults, and forts are constructed on the island of Ponapé.
-</pre>
- <p>
- “'What wouldst thou have, O chief,' asked one of the head men.
- </p>
- <p>
- “'I would have Tokolmé. It is mine inheritance. There can we make a strong
- fort, and from there shall we have entrance to the sea by the river. Are
- we to let these dogs from Yap deny us?'
- </p>
- <p>
- “'Let us ask them to give us, as an act of friendship, all the trees, and
- all the <i>felat</i> we desire,' said one of the head men.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Lirou laughed scornfully. 'And we to toil for years in carrying the trees
- and stones from Tokolmé, a league away. Bah! Let us fall upon them as they
- sleep—and spare no one.'
- </p>
- <p>
- “'Nay, nay,' said a sub-chief, named Kol, who had taken one of the Yap
- girls to wife, 'that is an evil thought, and foul treachery. We be at
- peace with them. I, for one, will have no part in such wickedness.' And
- others said the same, but some were with Lirou.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then, after many angry words had been spoken—some for fair dealing,
- and some for murder—Lirou said to the chief Kol and two others: 'Go
- to the girl Leâ and her head men with presents, and say this: We of Roân
- Kiti are like to be hard pressed by Roka when the time comes for the
- payment of our tribute. If we yield it not, then are we all dead men. So
- give back to us Tokolmé, and take from us Roân Kiti, where ye may for ever
- dwell in peace, for Roka hath no ill-will against ye.'
- </p>
- <p>
- “So Kol and two other chiefs, with many slaves bearing presents, went to
- Tokolmé. But before they set out, Kol sent secretly a messenger to Leâ,
- with these words: 'Though I shall presently come to thee with fair words
- from Lirou, I bid thee and all thy people take heed, and beware of what
- thou doest; and keep good watch by night, for Lirou hath an evil mind.'
- </p>
- <p>
- “This message was given to Lea, and her head men rewarded the messenger,
- and then held council together, and told Lea what answer she should give.
- </p>
- <p>
- “This was the answer that she gave to Kol, speaking smilingly, and yet
- with dignity:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “'Say to the chief Lirou that I thank him for the rich presents he hath
- sent me, and that I would that I could yield to his wish, and give unto
- him this tract of country that his father gave to mine—so that he
- might build a strong place of refuge against the King Roka But it cannot
- be, for we, too, fear Roka. And we are but a few, and some day it might
- happen that he would fall upon us, and sweep us away as a dead leaf is
- swept from the branch of a young tree by the strong breath of the storm.'
- </p>
- <p>
- “So Kol returned to Lirou, and gave him the answer of Leâ, and then Lirou
- and those of his head men who meant ill to Leâ and her people, met
- together in secret, and plotted their destruction.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And again Kol, who loved the Yap girl he had married, sent a message to
- Leâ, warning her to beware of treachery. And then it was that the Yap
- people began to build a strong fort, and at night kept a good watch.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then Lirou again sent messengers asking that Leâ would let him cut down a
- score of great trees, and Leâ sent answer to him: 'Thou art welcome. Cut
- down one score—or ten score. I give them freely.' This did she for
- the sake of peace and good-will, though she and her people knew that Lirou
- meant harm. But whilst a hundred of Lirou's men were cutting the trees the
- Yap people worked at their fort from dawn till dark, and Lirou's heart was
- black with rage, for these men of Yap were cunning fort builders, and he
- saw that, when it was finished, it could never be taken by assault. But he
- and his chiefs continued to speak fair words, and send presents to Leâ and
- her people, and she sent back presents in return. Then again Lirou
- besought her to become his wife, saying that such an alliance would
- strengthen the friendship between his people and hers; but Leâ again
- refused him, though with pleasant words, and Lirou said with a smooth
- face: 'Forgive me. I shall pester thee no more, for I see that thou dost
- not care for me.'
- </p>
- <p>
- “When two months had passed two score of great trees had been felled and
- cut into lengths of five fathoms each, and then squared. These were to be
- the main timbers of the outer wall of Lirou's fort—so he said. But
- he did not mean to have them carried away, for now he and his chiefs had
- completed their plans to destroy the people of Yap, and this cutting of
- the trees was but a subterfuge, designed to throw Leâ and her advisers off
- their guard.
- </p>
- <p>
- “One day Lirou and his chiefs, dressed in very gay attire, came into
- Tokolmé, each carrying in his hand a tame ring-dove which is a token of
- peace and amity, and desired speech of Leâ. She came forth, and ordered
- fine mats, trimmed with scarlet parrots' feathers, to be spread for them
- upon the ground and received them as honoured guests.
- </p>
- <p>
- “'We come,' said Lirou, lifting her hand to his forehead, 'to beg thee and
- all thy people to come to a great feast that will be ready to-morrow, to
- celebrate the carrying away of the wood thou hast so generously given unto
- me.'
- </p>
- <p>
- “'It is well,' said Leâ; 'I thank thee. We shall come.'
- </p>
- <p>
- “Little did Leâ and her people know that during the night, as it rained
- heavily, some of Lirou's warriors had hidden clubs and spears and axes of
- stone near where the logs lay and where the feast was to be given. They
- were hidden under a great heap of chips and shavings that came from the
- fallen trees.
- </p>
- <p>
- “At dawn on the day of the feast, three hundred of Lirou's men, all
- dressed very gaily, marched past Tokolmé, carrying no arms, but bearing
- baskets of food. They were going, they said, with presents to King Roka to
- tell him that Lirou would hold faithfully to his promise of tribute.
- </p>
- <p>
- “'But why,' asked the men of Yap, 'do ye go to-day—which is the day
- of the feast?'
- </p>
- <p>
- “'Because the heart of Lirou is glad, and he desires peace with all men—even
- Roka. And whilst he and those of our people who remain feast with ye men
- of Yap, and make merriment, we, the tribute messengers, go unto Roka with
- words of goodwill.'
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now these words were lies, for when the three hundred men had marched a
- quarter of a league past Tokolmé, they halted at a place in the forest
- where they had arms concealed. Then they waited for a certain signal from
- Lirou, who had said:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “'When thou hearest the sound of a conch shell at the beginning of the
- feast, march quickly back and form a circle around us and the people of
- Yap, but let not one of ye be seen. Then when there comes a second blast
- rush in, and see that no one escapes. Spare no one but the girl Lea.'
- </p>
- <p>
- “When the sun was a little high Lirou and all his people—men, women
- and children—came and made ready the feast On each of the squared
- logs was spread out baked hogs, fowls, pigeons, turtle and fish, and all
- manner of fruits in abundance, and then also there were placed in the
- centre of the clearing twenty stone mortars for making kava.
- </p>
- <p>
- “When all was ready, Leâ and her people were bidden to come, and they all
- came out of the fort, dressed very gaily and singing as is customary for
- guests to do. And Lirou stepped out from among his people and took Leâ by
- the hand and seated her on a fine mat in the place of honour, and as she
- sat with Lirou beside her, a man blew a loud, long blast upon a conch
- shell and the feast began.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Rai's story had interested me keenly, but I was now guilty of a breach of
- native etiquette—I had to interrupt him to ask how it was that the
- man Kol and others who were friendly to the Yap people did not give them a
- final warning of the intended massacre.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ah, I forgot to tell thee that Lirou was as cunning as he was cruel, and
- ten days before the giving of the feast he had sent away Kol and some
- others whom he knew to be well disposed to the people of Yap. He sent them
- to the islands of Pakin—ten leagues from Ponapé, and desired them to
- catch turtle for him. But with them he sent a trusty man, whom he took
- into his confidence, and said, 'Tell Rairik, Chief of Pakin, to make some
- pretext, and prevent Kol from returning to Ponapé for a full moon. And say
- also that if he yields not to my wish I shall destroy him and his
- people.'”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ah,” I said, “Lirou was a Napoleon.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Who was he?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, a great Franki chief, who was as lying and as treacherous and cruel
- and merciless as Lirou. Some day I will tell thee of him. Now, about the
- feast.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ah, the feast After a little while, Lirou, whilst the people ate, said
- softly to Leâ, 'Wilt thou not honour me and be my wife? I promise thee
- that I shall send away my other wives, and thou alone shalt rule my house
- and me.'
- </p>
- <p>
- “Leâ was displeased, and her eyes flashed with anger as she drew away from
- him, and then Lirou seized her by her wrist, and threw up his left hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “A long, loud blast sounded from the conch, and then Lirou's men, who were
- feasting, sprang to the great heap of chips, and seized their weapons. And
- then began a cruel slaughter—for what could three hundred unarmed
- people do against so many! But yet some of the men of Yap fought most
- bravely, and tearing clubs or short stabbing spears from their treacherous
- enemies, they killed over two score of Lirou's people.
- </p>
- <p>
- “As Leâ beheld the murdering of her kith and kin, she cried piteously to
- Lirou to at least spare the women and children, but he laughed and bade
- her be silent Some of the women and children tried to escape to the fort,
- but they were met by the men who had been in ambush, and slain ruthlessly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “When all was over, the bodies were taken to a high cliff, and cast down
- into the valley below. Then Lirou and his men entered the fort, and made
- great rejoicing over their victory.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Leâ sat on a mat with her face in her hands, dumb with grief, and Lirou
- bade her go to her sleeping-place, telling her to rest, and that he would
- have speech with her later on when he was in the mood. She obeyed, and
- when she was unobserved she picked up a short, broad-bladed dagger of <i>talit</i>
- (obsidian) and hid it in her girdle, and then lay down and pretended to
- sleep. But through the cane lattice-work of her sleeping-place she watched
- Lirou.
- </p>
- <p>
- “After Lirou had viewed the fort outside and inside, he sent a man to Leâ,
- bidding her come to him.
- </p>
- <p>
- “She rose and came slowly to him, with her head bent, and stood before
- him. Then suddenly she sprang at him, and thrust the dagger into his
- heart. He fell and died quickly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then Leâ leapt over a part of the stone wall where it was low, and ran
- towards the river, pursued by some of Lirou's mea But she was fleet of
- foot, crossed the river, and escaped into the jungle and rested awhile.
- Then she passed out of the jungle into the rough mountain country, and
- that night she reached King Roka's town.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Roka made her very welcome, and was filled with anger when she told her
- story.
- </p>
- <p>
- “'I will quickly punish these cruel murderers,' he said; 'as for thee,
- Leâ, make this thy home and dwell with us.'
- </p>
- <p>
- “Roka gathered together his fighting men. Half he sent to Roân Kiti by
- water, and half he himself led across the mountains. They fell upon
- Lirou's people at night, and slew nearly half of the men, and drove all
- the rest into the mountains, where they remained for many months, broken
- and hunted men.
- </p>
- <p>
- “That is the story of Tokolmé.”
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0016" id="link2HCH0016">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XVI ~ “LANO-TÔ”
- </h2>
- <p>
- A white rain squall came crashing through the mountain forest, and then
- went humming northward across the quiet lake, down over the wooded
- littoral and far out to sea Silence once more, and then a mountain cock,
- who had scorned the sweeping rain, uttered his shrill, cackling, and
- defiant crow, as he shook the water from his black and golden back and
- long snaky neck, and savage, fierce-eyed head.
- </p>
- <p>
- Between two wide-flanking buttresses of a mighty <i>tamana</i> tree I had
- taken shelter, and was comfortably seated on the thick carpet of soft dry
- leaves, when I heard my name called, and looking up, I saw, a few yards
- away, the grave face of an elderly Samoan, named Mârisi (Maurice). We were
- old acquaintances.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Talofa, Mârisi. What doest thou up here at Lano-to?” I said, as I shook
- hands and offered him my pipe for a draw.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I and my nephew Mana-ese and his wife have come here to trap pigeons. For
- three days we have been here. Our little hut is close by. Wilt come and
- rest, and eat?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Aye, indeed, for I am tired. And this Lake of Lano-to is a fine place
- whereat to rest.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Mârisi nodded. “That is true. Nowhere in all Samoa, except from the top of
- the dead fire mountain in Savai'i, can one see so far and so much that is
- good to look upon. Come, friend.”
- </p>
- <p>
- I had shot some pigeons, which Mârisi took from me, and began to pluck as
- he led the way along a narrow path that wound round the edge of the
- crater, which held the lake in its rugged but verdure-clad bosom. In a few
- minutes we came to an open-sided hut, with a thatched roof. It stood on
- the verge of a little tree-clad bluff, overlooking the lake, two hundred
- feet below. Seated upon some of the coarse mats of coco-nut leaf called <i>tapa'au</i>
- was a fine, stalwart young Samoan engaged in feeding some wild pigeons in
- a large wicker-work cage. He greeted me in the usual hospitable native
- manner, and taking some fine mats from one of the house beams, his uncle
- and I seated ourselves, whilst he went to seek his wife, to bid her make
- ready an <i>umu</i> (earth oven). Whilst he was away, my host and I
- plucked the pigeons, and also a fat wild duck which Mârisi had shot in the
- lake that morning. In half an hour the young couple returned, the woman
- carrying a basket of taro, and the man a bunch of cooking bananas. Very
- quickly the oven of hot stones was ready, and the game, taro and bananas
- covered up with leaves.
- </p>
- <p>
- I had crossed to Lano-tô from the village of Safata on the south side of
- Upolu and was on my way to Apia The previous night I had slept in the bush
- on the summit of the range. Mârisi gravely told me that I had been foolish—the
- mountain forest was full of ghosts, etc.
- </p>
- <p>
- Mârisi himself lived in Apia, and he gave me two weeks' local gossip. He
- and his nephew and niece had come to remain at the lake for a few days,
- for they had a commission to catch and tame ten pigeons for some district
- chief, whose daughter was about to be married.
- </p>
- <p>
- We had a delightful meal, followed by a bowl of kava (mixed with water
- from the lake), and as I was not pressed for time I accepted my host's
- invitation to remain for the night, and part of the following day.
- </p>
- <p>
- This was my fourth or fifth visit to this beautiful mountain lake of
- Lano-to (<i>i.e.</i>, the Deep Lake), and the oftener I came the more its
- beauty grew upon me. Alas! its sweet solitude is now disturbed by the
- cheap Cockney and Yankee tourist globe-trotter who come there in the
- American excursion steamers. In the olden days only natives frequented the
- spot—very rarely was a white man seen. To reach it from Apia takes
- about five hours on foot, but there is now a regular road on which one can
- travel two-thirds of the way on horseback.
- </p>
- <p>
- The surface of the water, which is a little over two hundred feet from the
- rugged rim of the crater, is according to Captain Zemsch, two thousand
- three hundred feet above the sea, the distance across the crater is nearly
- one thousand two hundred yards. The water is always cold, but not too cold
- to bathe in, and during the rainy season—November to March—is
- frequented by hundreds of wild duck. All the forest about teems with
- pigeons, which love the vicinity of Lano-to, on account of the numbers of
- <i>masa'oi</i> trees there, on the rich fruit of which they feed, and all
- day long, from dawn to dark, their deep <i>croo!</i> may be heard mingling
- with the plaintive cry of the ringdove.
- </p>
- <p>
- The view from the crater is of matchless beauty—I know of nothing to
- equal it, except it be Pago Pago harbour in Tutuila, looking southwards
- from the mountain tops. Here at Lano-tô you can see the coast line east
- and west for twenty miles. Westwards looms the purple dome of Savai'i,
- thirty miles away. Directly beneath you is Apia, though you can see
- nothing of it except perhaps some small black spots floating on the smooth
- water inside the reef. They are ships at anchor. Six leagues to the
- westward the white line of reef trends away from the shore, makes a sharp
- turn, and then runs southward. Within this bend the water is a brilliant
- green, and resting upon it are two small islands. One is Manono, a
- veritable garden, lined with strips of shining beaches and fringed with
- cocos. It is the home of the noble families of Samoa, and most of the past
- great chiefs are buried there. Beyond is the small but lofty crater island
- of Apolima—a place ever impregnable to assault by natives. Its red,
- southern face starts steep-to from the sea, the top is crowned with palms,
- and on the northern side what was once the crater is now a romantic bay,
- with an opening through the reef, and a tiny, happy little village
- nestling under the swaying palms. 'Tis one of the sweetest spots in all
- the wide Pacific. And, thank Heaven, it has but seldom been defiled by the
- globe-trotter. The passage is difficult even for a canoe. One English
- lady, however (the Countess of Jersey), I believe once visited it.
- </p>
- <p>
- Under the myriad stars, set in a sky of deepest blue, Mârisi and I lie
- outside the huts upon our sleeping mats, and talk of the old Samoan days,
- till it is far into the quiet, voiceless night.
- </p>
- <p>
- At dawn we are called inside by the woman, who chides us for sleeping in
- the dew.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Listen,” says Mârisi, raising his hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is the faint, musical gabble of the wild ducks, as they swim across the
- lake.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What now?” asks the woman, as her husband looks to his gun. “Hast no
- patience to sit and smoke till I make an oven and get thee food? The <i>pato</i>
- (ducks) can wait And first feed the pigeons—thou lazy fellow.”
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0017" id="link2HCH0017">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XVII ~ “OMBRE CHEVALIER”
- </h2>
- <p>
- Once, after many years' wanderings in the North and South Pacific as shore
- trader, supercargo and “recruiter” in the Kanaka labour trade, I became
- home-sick and returned to my native Australia, with a vague idea of
- settling down. I began the “settling down” by going to some newly opened
- gold-fields in North Queensland, wandering about from the Charters Towers
- “rush” to the Palmer River and Hodgkinson River rushes. The party of
- diggers I joined were good sterling fellows, and although we did not load
- ourselves with nuggets and gold dust, we did fairly well at times,
- especially in the far north of the colony where most of the alluvial
- gold-fields were rich, and new-comers especially had no trouble in getting
- on to a good show. I was the youngest of the party, and consequently the
- most inexperienced, but my mates good-naturedly overlooked my shortcomings
- as a prospector and digger, especially as I had constituted myself the
- “tucker” provider when our usual rations of salt beef ran out. I had
- brought with me a Winchester rifle, a shot gun and plenty of ammunition
- for both, and plenty of fishing tackle. So, at such times, instead of
- working at the claim, I would take my rifle or gun or fishing lines and
- sally forth at early dawn, and would generally succeed in bringing back
- something to the camp to serve instead of beef. In the summer months game,
- such as it was, was fairly plentiful, and nearly all the rivers of North
- Queensland abound in fish.
- </p>
- <p>
- In the open country we sometimes shot more plain turkeys than we could
- eat. When on horseback one could approach within a few yards of a bird
- before it would take to flight, but on foot it was difficult to get within
- range of one, unless a rifle was used. In the rainy season all the water
- holes and lagoons literally teemed with black duck, wood-duck, the black
- and white Burdekin duck, teal, spur-winged plover, herons and other birds,
- and a single shot would account for a dozen. My mates, however, like all
- diggers, believed in and wanted beef—mutton we scarcely ever tasted,
- except when near a township where there was a butcher, for sheep do not
- thrive in that part of the colony and are generally brought over in mobs
- from the Peak Downs District or Southern Queensland.
- </p>
- <p>
- Our party at first numbered four, but at Townsville (Cleveland Bay) one of
- our number left us to return to New Zealand on account of the death of his
- father. And we were a very happy party, and although at times I wearied of
- the bush and longed for a sight of the sea again, the gold-fever had taken
- possession of me entirely and I was content.
- </p>
- <p>
- Once a party of three of us were prospecting in the vicinity of Scarr's
- (or Carr's) Creek, a tributary of the Upper Burdekin River. It was in
- June, and the nights were very cold, and so we were pleased to come across
- a well-sheltered little pocket, a few hundred yards from the creek, which
- at this part of its course ran very swiftly between high, broken walls of
- granite. Timber was abundant, and as we intended to thoroughly prospect
- the creek up to its head, we decided to camp at the pocket for two or
- three weeks, and put up a bark hut, instead of shivering at night under a
- tent without a fire. The first day we spent in stripping bark, piled it
- up, and then weighted it down heavily with logs. During the next few days,
- whilst my mates were building the hut, I had to scour the country in
- search of game, for our supply of meat had run out, and although there
- were plenty of cattle running in the vicinity, we did not care to shoot a
- beast, although we were pretty sure that C———, the owner
- of the nearest cattle station, would cheerfully have given us permission
- to do so had we been able to have communicated with him. But as his
- station was forty miles away, and all our horses were in poor condition
- from overwork, we had to content ourselves with a chance kangaroo, rock
- wallaby, and such birds as we could shoot, which latter were few and far
- between. The country was very rough, and although the granite ranges and
- boulder-covered spurs held plenty of fat rock wallabies, it was
- heart-breaking work to get within shot. Still, we managed to turn in at
- nights feeling satisfied with our supper, for we always managed to shoot
- something, and fortunately had plenty of flour, tea, sugar, and tobacco,
- and were very hopeful that we should get on to “something good” by careful
- prospecting.
- </p>
- <p>
- On the day that we arrived at the pocket, I went down the steep bank of
- the creek to get water, and was highly pleased to see that it contained
- fish. At the foot of a waterfall there was a deep pool, and in it I saw
- numbers of fish, very like grayling, in fact some Queenslanders call them
- grayling. Hurrying back to the camp with the water, I got out my fishing
- tackle (last used in the Burdekin River for bream), and then arose the
- question of bait. Taking my gun I was starting off to look for a bird of
- some sort, when one of my mates told me that a bit of wallaby was as good
- as anything, and cut me off a piece from the ham of one I had shot the
- previous day. The flesh was of a very dark red hue, and looked right
- enough, and as I had often caught fish in both the Upper and Lower
- Burdekin with raw beef, I was very hopeful of getting a nice change of
- diet for our supper.
- </p>
- <p>
- I was not disappointed, for the fish literally jumped at the bait, and I
- had a delightful half-hour, catching enough in that time to provide us
- with breakfast as well as supper. None of my catch were over half a pound,
- many not half that weight, but hungry men are not particular about the
- size of fish. My mates were pleased enough, and whilst we were enjoying
- our supper before a blazing fire—for night was coming on—we
- heard a loud coo-e-e from down the creek, and presently C———,
- the owner of the cattle station, and two of his stockmen with a black boy,
- rode up and joined us. They had come to muster cattle in the ranges at the
- head of the creek, and had come to our “pocket” to camp for the night. C———
- told us that we need never have hesitated about killing a beast. “It is to
- my interest to give prospecting parties all the beef they want,” he said;
- “a payable gold-field about here would suit me very well—the more
- diggers that come, the more cattle I can sell, instead of sending them to
- Charters Towers and Townsville. So, when you run short of meat, knock over
- a beast. I won't grumble. I'll round up the first mob we come across
- to-morrow, and get you one and bring it here for you to kill, as your
- horses are knocked up.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The night turned out very cold, and although we were in a sheltered place,
- the wind was blowing half a gale, and so keen that we felt it through our
- blankets. However it soon died away, and we were just going comfortably to
- sleep, when a dingo began to howl near us, and was quickly answered by
- another somewhere down the creek. Although there were but two of them,
- they howled enough for a whole pack, and the detestable creatures kept us
- awake for the greater part of the night. As there was a cattle camp quite
- near, in a sandalwood scrub, and the cattle were very wild, we did not
- like to alarm them by firing a shot or two, which would have scared them
- as well as the dingoes. The latter, C——— told us, were a
- great nuisance in this part of the run, would not take a poisoned bait,
- and had an unpleasant trick of biting off the tails of very young calves,
- especially if the mother was separated with her calf from a mob of cattle.
- </p>
- <p>
- At daylight I rose to boil a billy of tea. My feet were icy cold, and I
- saw that there had been a black frost in the night I also discovered that
- my string of fish for breakfast was gone. I had hung them up to a low
- branch not thirty yards from where I had slept. C———'s
- black boy told me with a grin that the dogs had taken them, and showed me
- the tracks of three or four through the frosty grass. <i>He</i> had slept
- like a pig all night, and all the dingoes in Australia would not awaken a
- black fellow with a full stomach of beef, damper and tea. C———
- laughed at my chagrin, and told me that native dogs, when game is scarce,
- will catch fish if they are hungry, and can get nothing else. He had once
- seen, he told me, two native dogs acting in a very curious manner in a
- waterhole on the Etheridge River. There had been a rather long drought,
- and for miles the bed of the river was dry, except for intermittent
- waterholes. These were all full of fish, many of which had died, owing to
- the water in the shallower pools becoming too hot for them to exist
- Dismounting, he laid himself down on the bank, and soon saw that the dogs
- were catching fish, which they chased to the edge of the pool, seized them
- and carried them up on the sand to devour. They made a full meal; then the
- pair trotted across the river bed, and lay down under a Leichhardt tree to
- sleep it off. The Etheridge and Gilbert Rivers aboriginals also assured C———
- that their own dogs—bred from dingoes—were very keen on
- catching fish, and sometimes were badly wounded in their mouths by the
- serrated spur or back fin of catfish. C——— and his party
- went off after breakfast, and returned in the afternoon with a small mob
- of cattle, and my mates, picking out an eighteen months' old heifer, shot
- her, and set to work, and we soon had the animal skinned, cleaned and hung
- up, ready for cutting up and salting early on the following morning. We
- carefully burnt the offal, hide and head, on account of the dingoes, and
- finished up a good day's work by a necessary bathe in the clear, but too
- cold water of the creek. We turned in early, tired out, and scarcely had
- we rolled ourselves in our blankets when a dismal howl made us “say
- things,” and in half an hour all the dingoes in North Queensland seemed to
- have gathered around the camp to distract us. The noise they made was
- something diabolical, coming from both sides of the creek, and from the
- ranges. In reality there were not more than five or six at the outside,
- but any one would imagine that there were droves of them. Not liking to
- discharge our guns on account of C———'s mustering, we
- could only curse our tormentors throughout the night. On the following
- evening, however, knowing that C——— had finished
- mustering in our vicinity, we hung a leg bone of the heifer from the
- branch of a tree on the opposite side of the creek, where we could see it
- plainly by daylight from our bank—about sixty yards distant Again we
- had a harrowing night, but stood it without firing a shot, though one
- brute came within a few yards of our camp fire, attracted by the smell of
- the salted meat, but he was off before any one of us could cover him.
- However, in the morning we were rewarded.
- </p>
- <p>
- Creeping to the bank of the creek at daylight we looked across, and saw
- three dogs sitting under the leg bone, which was purposely slung out of
- reach. We fired together, and the biggest of the three dropped—the
- other two vanished like a streak of lightning. The one we killed was a
- male and had a good coat—a rather unusual thing for a dingo, as the
- skin is often covered with sores. From that time, till we broke up camp,
- we were not often troubled by their howling near us—a gun shot would
- quickly silence their dismally infernal howls.
- </p>
- <p>
- During July we got a little gold fifteen miles from the head of the creek,
- but not enough to pay us for our time and labour. However, it was a fine
- healthy occupation, and our little bark hut in the lonely ranges was a
- very comfortable home, especially during wet weather, and on cold nights.
- A good many birds came about towards the end of the month, and we twice
- rode to the Burdekin and had a couple of days with the bream, filling our
- pack bags with fish, which cured well with salt in the dry air. Although
- Scarr's creek was full of “grayling” they were too small for salting; but
- were delicious eating when fried. During our stay we got enough opossum
- skins to make a fine eight-feet square rug. Then early one morning we said
- good-bye to the pocket, and mounting our horses set our faces towards
- Cleveland Bay, where, with many regrets, I had to part with my mates who
- were going to try the Gulf country with other parties of diggers. They
- tried hard to induce me to go with them, but letters had come to me from
- old comrades in Samoa and the Caroline Islands, tempting me to return.
- And, of course, they did not tempt in vain; for to us old hands who have
- toiled by reef and palm the isles of the southern seas are for ever
- calling as the East called to Kipling's soldier man. But another six
- months passed before I left North Queensland and once more found myself
- sailing out of Sydney Heads on board one of my old ships and in my old
- berth as supercargo, though, alas! with a strange skipper who knew not
- Joseph, and with whom I and every one else on board was in constant
- friction. However, that is another story.
- </p>
- <p>
- After bidding my mates farewell I returned to the Charters Towers district
- and picked up a new mate—an old and experienced digger who had found
- some patches of alluvial gold on the head waters of a tributary of the
- Burdekin River and was returning there. My new mate was named Gilfillan.
- He was a hardworking, blue-eyed Scotsman and had had many and strange
- experiences in all parts of the world—had been one of the civilian
- fighters in the Indian Mutiny, fur-seal hunting on the Pribiloff Islands
- in an American schooner, and shooting buffaloes for their hides in the
- Northern Territory of South Australia, where he had twice been speared by
- the blacks.
- </p>
- <p>
- On reaching the head waters of the creek on which Gilfillan had washed out
- nearly a hundred ounces of gold some months previously, we found to our
- disgust over fifty diggers in possession of the ground, which they had
- practically worked out—some one had discovered Gilfillan's old
- workings and the place was at once “rushed”. My mate took matters very
- philosophically—did not even swear—and we decided to make for
- the Don River in the Port Denison district, where, it was rumoured, some
- rich patches of alluvial gold had just been discovered.
- </p>
- <p>
- We both had good horses and a pack horse, and as C———'s
- station lay on our route and I had a standing invitation to pay him a
- visit (given to me when he had met our party at Scares Creek), I suggested
- that we should go there and spell for a few days. So there we went and C———
- made us heartily welcome; and he also told us that the new rush on the Don
- River had turned out a “rank duffer,” and that we would only be wearing
- ourselves and our horse-flesh out by going there. He pressed us to stay
- for a week at least, and as we now had no fixed plans for the future we
- were glad to do so. He was expecting a party of visitors from Charters
- Towers, and as he wanted to give them something additional to the usual
- fare of beef and mutton, in the way of fish and game, he asked us to join
- him for a day's fishing in the Burdekin River.
- </p>
- <p>
- The station was right on the bank of the river, but at a spot where
- neither game nor fish were at all plentiful; so long before sunrise on the
- following morning, under a bright moon and clear sky, we started,
- accompanied by a black boy, leading a pack horse, for the junction of the
- Kirk River with the Burdekin, where there was excellent fishing, and where
- also we were sure of getting teal and wood-duck.
- </p>
- <p>
- A two hours' easy ride along the grassy, open timbered high banks of the
- great river brought us to the junction. The Kirk, when running along its
- course, is a wide, sandy-bottomed stream, with here and there deep rocky
- pools, and its whole course is fringed with the everlasting and ever-green
- sheoaks. We unsaddled in a delightfully picturesque spot, near the meeting
- of the waters, and in a few minutes, whilst the billy was boiling for tea,
- C———and I were looking to our short bamboo rods and
- lines, and our guns. Then, after hobbling out the horses, and eating a
- breakfast of cold beef and damper, we started to walk through the high,
- dew-soaked grass to a deep, boulder-margined pool in which the waters of
- both rivers mingled.
- </p>
- <p>
- The black boy who was leading when we emerged on the water side of the
- fringe of sheoaks, suddenly halted and silently pointed ahead—a
- magnificent specimen of the “gigantic” crane was stalking sedately through
- a shallow pool—his brilliant black and orange plumage and scarlet
- legs glistening in the rays of the early sun as he scanned the sandy
- bottom for fish. We had no desire to shoot such a noble creature; and let
- him take flight in his slow, laboured manner. And, for our reward, the
- next moment “Peter,” the black boy, brought down two out of three black
- duck, which came flying right for his gun from across the river.
- </p>
- <p>
- Both rivers had long been low, and although the streams were running in
- the centre of the beds of each, there were countless isolated pools
- covered with blue-flowered water-lilies, in which teal and other
- water-birds were feeding. But for the time we gave them no heed.
- </p>
- <p>
- From one of the pools we took our bait—small fish the size of
- white-bait, with big, staring eyes, and bodies of a transparent pink with
- silvery scales. They were easily caught by running one's hand through the
- weedy edges, and in ten minutes we had secured a quart-pot full.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Peter,” who regarded our rods with contempt, was the first to reach the
- boulders at the edge of the big pool, which in the centre had a fair
- current; at the sides, the water, although deep, was quiet. Squatting down
- on a rock, he cast in his baited hand-line, and in ten seconds he was
- nonchalantly pulling in a fine two pound bream. He leisurely unhooked it,
- dropped it into a small hole in the rocks, and then began to cut up a
- pipeful of tobacco, before rebaiting!
- </p>
- <p>
- The water was literally alive with fish, feeding on the bottom. There were
- two kinds of bream—one a rather slow-moving fish, with large, dark
- brown scales, a perch-like mouth, and wide tail, and with the sides and
- belly a dull white; the other a very active game fellow, of a more
- graceful shape, with a small mouth, and very hard, bony gill plates. These
- latter fought splendidly, and their mouths being so strong they would
- often break the hooks and get away—as our rods were very primitive,
- without reels, and only had about twenty feet of line. Then there were the
- very handsome and beautifully marked fish, like an English grayling (some
- of which I had caught at Scan's Creek); they took the hook freely. The
- largest I have ever seen would not weigh more than three-quarters of a
- pound, but their lack of size is compensated for by their extra delicate
- flavour. (In some of the North Queensland inland rivers I have seen the
- aborigines net these fish in hundreds in shallow pools.) Some bushmen
- persisted, so Gilfillan told me, in calling these fish “fresh water
- mullet,” or “speckled mullet”.
- </p>
- <p>
- The first species of bream inhabit both clear and muddy water; but the
- second I have never seen caught anywhere but in clear or running water,
- when the river was low.
- </p>
- <p>
- But undoubtedly the best eating fresh-water fish in the Burdekin and other
- Australian rivers is the cat-fish, or as some people call it, the
- Jew-fish. It is scaleless, and almost finless, with a dangerously barbed
- dorsal spine, which, if it inflicts a wound on the hand, causes days of
- intense suffering. Its flesh is delicate and firm, and with the exception
- of the vertebrae, has no long bones. Rarely caught (except when small) in
- clear water, it abounds when the water is muddy, and disturbed through
- floods, and when a river becomes a “banker,” cat-fish can always be caught
- where the water has reached its highest. They then come to feed literally
- upon the land—that is grass land, then under flood water. A fish
- bait they will not take—as a rule—but are fond of earthworms,
- frogs, crickets, or locusts, etc.
- </p>
- <p>
- Another very beautiful but almost useless fish met with in the Upper
- Burdekin and its tributaries is the silvery bream, or as it is more
- generally called, the “bony” bream. They swim about in companies of some
- hundreds, and frequent the still water of deep pools, will not take a
- bait, and are only seen when the water is clear. Then it is a delightful
- sight for any one to lie upon the bank of some ti-tree-fringed creek or
- pool, when the sun illumines the water and reveals the bottom, and watch a
- school of these fish swimming closely and very slowly together, passing
- over submerged logs, roots of trees or rocks, their scales of pure silver
- gleaming in the sunlight as they make a simultaneous side movement. I
- tried every possible bait for these fish, but never succeeded in getting a
- bite, but have netted them frequently. Their flesh, though delicate, can
- hardly be eaten, owing to the thousands of tiny bones which run through
- it, interlacing in the most extraordinary manner. The blacks, however
- “make no bones” about devouring them.
- </p>
- <p>
- By 11 A.M. we had caught all the fish our pack-bags could hold—bream,
- alleged grayling, and half a dozen “gars”—the latter a beautifully
- shaped fish like the sea-water garfish, but with a much flatter-sided body
- of shining silver with a green back, the tail and fins tipped with yellow.
- </p>
- <p>
- We shot but few duck, but on our way home in the afternoon “Peter” and
- Gilfillan each got a fine plain turkey—shooting from the saddle—and
- almost as we reached the station slip-rails “Peter,” who had a wonderful
- eye, got a third just as it rose out of the long dry grass in the paddock.
- </p>
- <p>
- And on the following day, when C———'s guests arrived
- (and after we had congratulated ourselves upon having plenty for them to
- eat), they produced from their buggies eleven turkeys, seven wood-duck,
- and a string of “squatter” pigeons!
- </p>
- <p>
- “Thought we'd better bring you some fresh tucker, old man,” said one of
- them to C——-. “And we have brought you a case of Tennant's
- ale.” “The world is very beautiful,” said C———, stroking
- his grey beard, and speaking in solemn tones, “and this is a thirsty day.
- Come in, boys. We'll put the Tennant's in the water-barrels to cool.”
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- The first occasion on which I ever saw and caught one of the beautiful
- fish herein described as grayling was on a day many months previous to our
- former party camping on Scarr's Creek. We had camped on a creek running
- into the Herbert River, near the foot of a range of wild, jagged and
- distorted peaks and crags of granite. Then there were several other
- parties of prospectors camped near us, and, it being a Sunday, we were
- amusing ourselves in various ways. Some had gone shooting, others were
- washing clothes or bathing in the creek, and one of my mates (a Scotsman
- named Alick Longmuir) came fishing with me. Like Gilfillan, he was a
- quiet, somewhat taciturn man. He had been twenty-two years in Australia,
- sometimes mining, at others following his profession of surveyor. He had
- received his education in France and Germany, and not only spoke the
- languages of those countries fluently, but was well-read in their
- literature. Consequently we all stood in a certain awe of him as a man of
- parts; for besides being a scholar he was a splendid bushman and rider and
- had a great reputation as the best wrestler in Queensland. Even-tempered,
- good-natured and possessed of a fund of caustic humour, he was a great
- favourite with the diggers, and when he sometimes “broke loose” and went
- on a terrific “spree” (his only fault) he made matters remarkably lively,
- poured out his hard-earned money like water for a week or so—then
- stopped suddenly, pulled himself together in an extraordinary manner, and
- went about his work again as usual, with a face as solemn as that of an
- owl.
- </p>
- <p>
- A little distance from the camp we made our way down through rugged,
- creeper-covered boulders to the creek, to a fairly open stretch of water
- which ran over its rocky bed into a series of small but deep pools. We
- baited our lines with small grey grasshoppers, and cast together.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I wonder what we shall get here, Alick,” I began, and then came a tug and
- then the sweet, delightful thrill of a game fish making a run. There is
- nothing like it in all the world—the joy of it transcends the first
- kiss of young lovers.
- </p>
- <p>
- I landed my fish—a gleaming shaft of mottled grey and silver with
- specks of iridescent blue on its head, back and sides, and as I grasped
- its quivering form and held it up to view my heart beat fast with delight.
- </p>
- <p>
- “<i>Ombre chevalier!</i>” I murmured to myself.
- </p>
- <p>
- Vanished the monotony of the Bush and the long, weary rides over the
- sun-baked plains and the sound of the pick and shovel on the gravel in the
- deep gullies amid the stark, desolate ranges, and I am standing in the
- doorway of a peaceful Mission House on a fair island in the far South Seas—standing
- with a string of fish in my hand, and before me dear old Père Grandseigne
- with his flowing beard of snowy white and his kindly blue eyes smiling
- into mine as he extends his brown sun-burnt hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ah, my dear young friend! and so thou hast brought me these fish—<i>ombres
- chevaliers</i>, we call them in France. Are they not beautiful! What do
- you call them in England?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I have never been in England, Father; so I cannot tell you. And never
- before have I seen fish like these. They are new to me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ah, indeed, my son,” and the old Marist smiles as he motions me to a
- seat, “new to you. So?... Here, on this island, my sainted colleague
- Channel, who gave up his life for Christ forty years ago under the clubs
- of the savages, fished, as thou hast fished in that same mountain stream;
- and his blood has sanctified its waters. For upon its bank, as he cast his
- line one eve he was slain by the poor savages to whom he had come bearing
- the love of Christ and salvation. After we have supped to-night, I shall
- tell thee the story.”
- </p>
- <p>
- And after the Angelus bells had called, and as the cocos swayed and
- rustled to the night breeze and the surf beat upon the reef in Singâvi
- Bay, we sat together on the verandah of the quiet Mission House on the
- hill above, which the martyred Channel had named “Calvary,” and I listened
- to the old man's story of his beloved comrade's death.
- </p>
- <p>
- As Longmuir and I lay on our blankets under the starlit sky of the far
- north of Queensland that night, and the horse-bells tinkled and our mates
- slept, we talked.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Aye, lad,” he said, sleepily, “the auld <i>padre</i> gave them the Breton
- name—<i>ombre chevalier</i>. In Scotland and England—if ever
- ye hae the good luck to go there—ye will hear talk of graylin'. Aye,
- the bonny graylin'... an' the purple heather... an' the cry o' the
- whaups.... Lad, ye hae much to see an' hear yet, for all the cruising ye
- hae done.... Aye, the graylin', an' the white mantle o' the mountain
- mist... an' the voices o' the night... Lad, it's just gran'.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Sleep, and then again the tinkle of the horse-bells at dawn.
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0018" id="link2HCH0018">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XVIII ~ A RECLUSE OF THE BUSH
- </h2>
- <p>
- The bank of the tidal river was very, very quiet as I walked down to it
- through the tall spear grass and sat down upon the smooth, weather-worn
- bole of a great blackbutt tree, cast up by the river when in flood long
- years agone. Before me the water swirled and eddied and bubbled past on
- its way to mingle with the ocean waves, as they were sweeping in across
- the wide and shallow bar, two miles away.
- </p>
- <p>
- The sun had dropped behind the rugged line of purple mountains to the
- west, and, as I watched by its after glow five black swans floating
- towards me upon the swiftly-flowing water, a footstep sounded near me, and
- a man with a gun and a bundle on his shoulder bade me “good-evening,” and
- then asked me if I had come from Port ——— (a little
- township five miles away).
- </p>
- <p>
- Yes, I replied, I had.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Is the steamer in from Sydney?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No. I heard that she is not expected in for a couple of days yet. There
- has been bad weather on the coast.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The man uttered an exclamation of annoyance, and laying down his gun, sat
- beside me, pulled out and lit his pipe, and gazed meditatively across the
- darkening river. He was a tall, bearded fellow, and dressed in the usual
- style affected by the timber-getters and other bushmen of the district
- Presently he began to talk.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Are you going back to Port ——— to-night, mister?” he
- asked, civilly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No,” and I pointed to my gun, bag, and billy can, “I have just come from
- there. I am waiting here till the tide is low enough for me to cross to
- the other side. I am going to the Warra Swamp for a couple of days'
- shooting and fishing, and to-night I'll camp over there in the wild apple
- scrub,” pointing to a dark line of timber on the opposite side.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Do you mind my coming with you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Certainly not—glad of your company. Where are you going?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, I was going to Port ———, to sell these platypus
- skins to the skipper of the steamer; but I don't want to loaf about the
- town for a couple o' days for the sake of getting two pounds five
- shillings for fifteen skins. So I'll get back to my humphy. It's four
- miles the other side o' Warra.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then by all means come and camp with me tonight,” I said “I've plenty of
- tea and sugar and tucker, and after we get to the apple scrub over there
- we'll have supper. Then in the morning we'll make an early start It is
- only ten miles from there to Warra Swamp, and I'm in no hurry to get
- there.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The stranger nodded, and then, seeking out a suitable tree, tied his
- bundle of skins to a high branch, so that it should be out of the reach of
- dingoes, and said they would be safe enough until his return on his way to
- the Port Half an hour later, the tide being low enough, we crossed the
- river, and under the bright light of myriad stars made our way along the
- spit of sand to the scrub. Here we lit our camp fire under the trees,
- boiled our billy of tea, and ate our cold beef and bread. Then we lay down
- upon the soft, sweet-smelling carpet of dead leaves, and yarned for a
- couple of hours before sleeping.
- </p>
- <p>
- By the light of the fire I saw that my companion was a man of about forty
- years of age, although he looked much older, his long untrimmed brown
- beard and un-kept hair being thickly streaked with grey. He was quiet in
- manner and speech, and the latter was entirely free from the Great
- Australian Adjective. His story, as far as he told it to me, was a simple
- one, yet with an element of tragedy in it.
- </p>
- <p>
- Fifteen years before, he and his brother had taken up a selection on the
- Brunswick River, near the Queensland border, and were doing fairly well.
- One day they felled a big gum tree to split for fencing rails. As it
- crashed towards the ground, it struck a dead limb of another great tree,
- which was sent flying towards where the brothers stood; it struck the
- elder one on the head, and killed him instantly. There were no neighbours
- nearer than thirty miles, so alone the survivor buried his brother. Then
- came two months of utter loneliness, and Joyce abandoned his selection to
- the bush, selling his few head of cattle and horses to his nearest
- neighbour for a small sum, keeping only one horse for himself. Then for
- two or three years he worked as a “hatter” (i.e., single-handed) in
- various tin-mining districts of the New England district.
- </p>
- <p>
- One day during his many solitary prospecting trips, he came across a
- long-abandoned selection and house, near the Warra Swamp (I knew the spot
- <i>well</i>). He took a fancy to the place, and settled down there, and
- for many years had lived there all alone, quite content.
- </p>
- <p>
- Sometimes he would obtain a few weeks' work on the cattle stations in the
- district, when mustering and branding was going on, by which he would earn
- a few pounds, but he was always glad to get back to his lonely home again.
- He had made a little money also, he said, by trapping platypus, which were
- plentiful, and sometimes, too, he would prospect the head waters of the
- creeks, and get a little fine gold.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I'm comfortable enough, you see,” he added; “lots to eat and drink, and
- putting by a little cash as well. Then I haven't to depend upon the
- storekeepers at Port ——— for anything, except powder and
- shot, flour, salt, tea and sugar. There's lots of game and fish all about
- me, and when I want a bit of fresh beef and some more to salt down, I can
- get it without breaking the law, or paying for it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “How is that?” I inquired.
- </p>
- <p>
- “There are any amount of wild cattle running in the ranges—all
- clean-skins” (unbranded), “and no one claims them. One squatter once tried
- to get some of them down into his run in the open country—he might
- as well have tried to yard a mob of dingoes.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then how do you manage to get a beast?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Easy enough. I have an old police rifle, and every three months or so,
- when my stock of beef is low, I saddle my old pack moke, and start off to
- the ranges. I know all the cattle tracks leading to the camping and
- drinking places, and generally manage to kill my beast at or near a
- waterhole. Then I cut off the best parts only, and leave the rest for the
- hawks and dingoes. I camp there for the night, and get back with my load
- of fresh beef the next day. Some I dry-salt, some I put in brine.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Early in the morning we started on our ten miles' tramp through the
- coastal scrub, or rather forest Our course led us away from the sea, and
- nearly parallel to the river, and I thoroughly enjoyed the walk, and my
- companion's interesting talk. He had a wonderful knowledge of the bush,
- and of the habits of wild animals and birds, much of which he had acquired
- from the aborigines of the Brunswick River district As we were walking
- along, I inquired how he managed to get platypus without shooting them. He
- hesitated, and half smiled, and I at once apologised, and said I didn't
- intend to be inquisitive. He nodded, and said no more; but he afterwards
- told me he caught them by netting sections of the river at night.
- </p>
- <p>
- After we had made about five miles we came to the first crossing above the
- bar. This my acquaintance always used when he visited Port ———
- (taking the track along the bank on the other side), for the bar was only
- crossable at especially low tides. Here, although the water was brackish,
- we saw swarms of “block-headed” mullet and grey bream swimming close in to
- the sandy bank, and, had we cared to do so, could have caught a bagful in
- a few minutes But we pushed on for another two miles, and on our way shot
- three “bronze wing” pigeons.
- </p>
- <p>
- We reached the Warra Swamp at noon, and camped for dinner in a shady
- “bangalow” grove, so as not to disturb the ducks, whose delightful gabble
- and piping was plainly audible. We grilled our birds, and made our tea.
- Whilst we were having a smoke, a truly magnificent white-headed fish eagle
- lit on the top of a dead tree, three hundred yards away—a splendid
- shot for a rifle. It remained for some minutes, then rose and went off
- seaward. Joyce told me that the bird and its mate were very familiar to
- him for a year past, but that he “hadn't the heart to take a shot at them”—for
- which he deserved to be commended.
- </p>
- <p>
- Presently, seeing me cutting some young supplejack vines, my new
- acquaintance asked me their purpose. I told him that I meant to make a
- light raft out of dead timber to save me from swimming after any ducks
- that I might shoot, and that the supplejack was for lashing. Then, to my
- surprise and pleasure, he proposed that I should go on to his “humphy,”
- and camp there for the night, and he would return to the swamp with me in
- the morning, join me in a day's shooting and fishing, and then come on
- with me to the township on the following day.
- </p>
- <p>
- Gladly accepting his offer, two hours' easy walking brought us to his home—a
- roughly-built slab shanty with a bark roof, enclosed in a good-sized
- paddock, in which his old pack horse, several goats and a cow and calf
- were feeding. At the side of the house was a small but well-tended
- vegetable garden, in which were also some huge water-melons—quite
- ripe, and just the very thing after our fourteen miles' walk. One-half of
- the house and roof was covered with scarlet runner bean plants, all in
- full bearing, and altogether the exterior of the place was very pleasing.
- Before we reached the door two dogs, which were inside, began a terrific
- din—they knew their master's step. The interior of the house—which
- was of two rooms—was clean and orderly, the walls of slabs being
- papered from top to bottom with pictures from illustrated papers, and the
- floor was of hardened clay. Two or three rough chairs, a bench and a table
- comprised the furniture, and yet the place had a home-like look.
- </p>
- <p>
- My host asked me if I could “do” with a drink of bottled-beer; I suggested
- a slice of water-melon.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ah, you're right But those outside are too hot. Here's a cool one,” and
- going into the other room he produced a monster. It was delicious!
- </p>
- <p>
- After a bathe in the creek near by, we had a hearty supper, and then sat
- outside yarning and smoking till turn-in time.
- </p>
- <p>
- Soon after a sunrise breakfast, we started for the swamp, taking the old
- packhorse with us, my host leaving food and water for the dogs, who howled
- disconsolately as we went off.
- </p>
- <p>
- At the swamp we had a glorious day's sport, although there were altogether
- too many black snakes about for my taste. We camped there that night, and
- returned to the port next day with a heavy load of black duck, some
- “whistlers,” and a few brace of pigeons.
- </p>
- <p>
- I bade farewell to my good-natured host with a feeling of regret Some
- years later, on my next visit to Australia, I heard that he had returned
- to his boyhood's home—Gippsland in Victoria—and had married
- and settled down. He was one of the most contented men I ever met, and a
- good sportsman.
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0019" id="link2HCH0019">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XIX ~ TE-BARI, THE OUTLAW
- </h2>
- <p>
- The Island of Upolu, in the Samoan group, averages less than fifteen miles
- in width, and it is a delightful experience to cross from Apia, or any
- other town on the north, to the south side. The view to be obtained from
- the summit of the range that traverses the island from east to west is
- incomparably beautiful—I have never seen anything to equal it
- anywhere in the Pacific Isles.
- </p>
- <p>
- A few years after the Germans had begun cotton planting in Samoa, I
- brought to Apia ninety native labourers from the Solomon Islands to work
- on the big plantation at Mulifanua. I also brought with me something I
- would gladly have left behind—the effects of a very severe attack of
- malarial fever.
- </p>
- <p>
- A week or so after I had reached Apia I gave myself a few days' leave,
- intending to walk across the island to the town of Siumu, where I had many
- native friends, and try and work some of the fever poison out of my
- system.
- </p>
- <p>
- Starting long before sunrise, I was well past Vailima Mountain—the
- destined future home of Stevenson—by six o'clock. After resting for
- an hour at each of the bush villages of Magiagi and Tanumamanono—soon
- to be the scene of a cruel massacre in the civil war then raging—I
- began the long, gradual ascent from the littoral to the main range,
- inhaling deeply of the cool morning air, and listening to the melodious <i>croo!
- croo!</i> of the great blue pigeons, and the plaintive cry of the
- ringdoves, so well termed manu-tagi (the weeping bird) by the imaginative
- Samoans.
- </p>
- <p>
- Walking but slowly, for I was not strong enough for rapid exercise, I
- reached the summit of the first spur, and again spelled, resting upon a
- thick carpet of cool, dead leaves. With me was a boy from Tanumamanono
- named Suisuega-le-moni (The Seeker after Truth), who carried a basket
- containing some cooked food, and fifty cartridges for my gun. “Sui,” as he
- was called for brevity, was an old acquaintance of mine and one of the
- most unmitigated young imps that ever ate <i>taro</i> as handsome “as a
- picture,” and a most notorious scandalmonger and spy. He was only thirteen
- years of age, and was of rebel blood, and, child as he was, he knew that
- his head stood very insecurely upon his shoulders, and that it would be
- promptly removed therefrom if any of King Malietoa's troops could catch
- him spying in <i>flagrante delicto</i>. Two years before, he had attached
- himself to me, and had made a voyage with me to the Caroline Islands,
- during which he had acquired an enormous vocabulary of sailors' bad
- language. This gave him great local kudos.
- </p>
- <p>
- Sui was to accompany me to the top of the range, and then return, as
- otherwise he would be in hostile territory.
- </p>
- <p>
- By four o'clock in the afternoon we had gained a clear spot on the crest
- of the range, from where we had a most glorious view of the south coast
- imaginable. Three thousand feet below us were the russet-hued thatched
- roofs of the houses of Siumu Village; beyond, the pale green water that
- lay between the barrier reef and the mainland, then the long curving line
- of the reef itself with its seething surf, and, beyond that again, the
- deep, deep blue of the Pacific, sparkling brightly in the westering sun.
- </p>
- <p>
- Leaning my gun against one of the many buttresses of a mighty <i>masa'oi</i>
- tree, I was drinking in the beauty of the scene, when we heard the shrill,
- cackling scream of a mountain cock, evidently quite near. Giving the boy
- my gun, I told him to go and shoot it; then sitting down on the carpet of
- leaves, I awaited his return with the bird, half-resolved to spend the
- night where I was, for I was very tired and began to feel the premonitory
- chills of an attack of ague.
- </p>
- <p>
- In ten minutes the sound of a gun-shot reverberated through the forest
- aisles, and presently I heard Sui returning. He was running, and holding
- by its neck one of the biggest mountain cocks I ever saw. As he ran, he
- kept glancing back over his shoulder, and when he reached me and threw
- down gun and bird, I saw that he was trembling from head to foot.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What is the matter?” I asked; “hast seen an <i>aitu vao</i> (evil spirit
- of the forest)?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Aye, truly,” he said shudderingly, “I have seen a devil indeed, and the
- marrow in my bones has gone—I have seen Te-bari, the Tâfito."{*}
- </p>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
- * The Samoans term all the natives of the Equatorial Islands
- “Tâfito”.
-</pre>
- <p>
- I sprang to my feet and seized him by the wrist.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Where was he?” I asked.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Quite near me. I had just shot the wild <i>moa vao</i> (mountain cock)
- and had picked it up when I heard a voice say in Samoan—but thickly
- as foreigners speak: 'It was a brave shot, boy'. Then I looked up and saw
- Te-bari. He was standing against the bole of a <i>masa'oi</i> tree,
- leaning on his rifle. Round his earless head was bound a strip of <i>ie
- mumu</i> (red Turkey twill), and as I stood and trembled he laughed, and
- his great white teeth gleamed, and my heart died within me, and——”
- </p>
- <p>
- I do not want to disgust my readers, but truth compels me to say that the
- boy there and then became violently sick; then he began to sob with
- terror, stopping every now and then to glance around at the now darkening
- forest aisles of grey-barked, ghostly and moss-covered trees.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Sui,” I said, “go back to your home. I have no fear of Te-bari.”
- </p>
- <p>
- In two seconds the boy, who had faced rifle fire time and time again, fled
- homewards. Te-bari the outlaw was too much for him.
- </p>
- <p>
- Personally I had no reason to fear meeting the man. In the first place I
- was an Englishman, and Te-bari was known to profess a liking for
- Englishmen, though he would eagerly cut the throat of a German or a Samoan
- if he could get his brawny hands upon it; in the second place, although I
- had never seen the man, I was sure that he would have heard of me from
- some of his fellow islanders on the plantations, for during my three
- years' “recruiting” in the Kingsmill and Gilbert Groups, I have brought
- many hundreds of them to Samoa, Fiji and Tahiti.
- </p>
- <p>
- Something of his story was known to me. He was a native of the great
- square-shaped atoll of Maiana, and went to sea in a whaler when he was
- quite a lad, and soon rose to be boat-steerer. One day a Portuguese
- harpooner struck him in the face and drew blood—a deadly insult to a
- Line Islander. Te-bari plunged his knife into the man's heart. He was
- ironed, and put in the sail-locker; during the night three of the
- Portuguese sprang in upon him and cut off his ears. A few days later when
- the ship was at anchor at the Bonin Islands, Te-bari freed himself of his
- handcuffs and swam on shore Early on the following morning one of the
- boats was getting fresh water. She was in charge of the fourth mate—a
- Portuguese black. Suddenly a nude figure leapt among the men, and clove
- the officer's head in twain with a tomahawk.
- </p>
- <p>
- One day Te-bari reappeared among his people at Maiana and took service
- with a white trader, who always spoke of him as a quiet, hardworking young
- man, but with a dangerous temper when roused by a fancied wrong. In due
- time Te-bari took a wife—took her in a very literal sense, by
- killing her husband and escaping with her to the neighbouring island of
- Taputeauea (Drummond's Island). She was a pretty, graceful creature of
- sixteen years of age. Then one day there came along the German labour brig
- <i>Adolphe</i> seeking “blackbirds” for Samoa, and Te-bari and his pretty
- wife with fifty other “Tâfitos” were landed at one of the plantations in
- Upolu.
- </p>
- <p>
- Young Madame Te-bari was not as good as she ought to have been, and one
- day the watchful husband saw one of the German overseers give her a thick
- necklace of fine red beads. Te-bari tore them from her neck, and threw
- them into the German's face. For this he received a flogging and was
- mercilessly kicked into insensibility as well When he recovered he was
- transferred to another plantation—minus the naughty Nireeungo, who
- became “Mrs.” Peter Clausen. A month passed, and it was rumoured “on the
- beach” that “No-Ears,” as Te-bari was called, had escaped and taken to the
- bush with a brand-new Snider carbine, and as many cartridges as he could
- carry, and Mr. Peter Clausen was advised to look out for himself. He
- snorted contemptuously.
- </p>
- <p>
- Two young Samoan “bucks” were sent out to capture Te-bari, and bring him
- back, dead or alive, and receive therefor one hundred bright new Chile
- dollars. They never returned, and when their bodies were found in a deep
- mountain gully, it was known that the earless one was the richer by a
- sixteen-shot Winchester with fifty cartridges, and a Swiss Vetterli rifle,
- together with some twist tobacco, and the two long <i>nifa oti</i> or
- “death knives,” with which these valorous, but misguided young men
- intended to remove the earless head of the “Tâfito pig” from his brawny,
- muscular shoulders.
- </p>
- <p>
- Te-bari made his way, encumbered as he was with his armoury, along the
- crest of the mountain range, till he was within striking distance of his
- enemy, Clausen, and the alleged Frau Clausen—<i>née</i> Nireeungo.
- He hid on the outskirts of the plantation, and soon got in touch with some
- of his former comrades. They gave him food, and much useful information.
- </p>
- <p>
- One night, during heavy rain, when every one was asleep on the plantation,
- Te-bari entered the overseer's house by the window. A lamp was burning,
- and by its light he saw his faithless spouse sleeping alone. Clausen—lucky
- Clausen—had been sent into Apia an hour before to get some medicine
- for one of the manager's children. Te-bari was keenly disappointed. He
- would only have half of his revenge. He crept up to the sleeper, and made
- one swift blow with the heavy <i>nifa oti</i> Then he became very busy for
- a few minutes, and a few hours later was back in the mountains, smoking
- Clausen's tobacco, and drinking some of Clausen's corn schnapps.
- </p>
- <p>
- When Clausen rode up to his house at three o'clock in the morning, he
- found the lamp was burning brightly. Nireeungo was lying on the bed,
- covered over with a quilt of navy blue. He called to her, but she made no
- answer, and Clausen called her a sleepy little pig. Then he turned to the
- side table to take a drink of schnapps—on the edge of it was
- Nireeungo's head with its two long plaits of jet-black hair hanging down,
- and dripping an ensanguined stream upon the matted floor.
- </p>
- <p>
- Clausen cleared out of Samoa the very next day. Te-bari had got upon his
- nerves.
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- The forest was dark by the time I had lit a fire between two of the wide
- buttresses of the great tree, and I was shaking from head to foot with
- ague. The attack, however, only lasted an hour, and then came the usual
- delicious after-glow of warmth as the blood began to course riotously
- through one's veins and give that temporary and fictitious strength
- accompanied by hunger, that is one of the features of malarial fever.
- </p>
- <p>
- Sitting up, I began to pluck the mountain cock, intending to grill the
- chest part as soon as the fire was fit. Then I heard a footstep on the
- leaves, and looking up I saw Te-bari standing before me.
- </p>
- <p>
- “<i>Ti-â ka po</i>” (good evening), I said quietly, in his own language,
- “will you eat with me?”
- </p>
- <p>
- He came over to me, still grasping his rifle, and peered into my face.
- Then he put out his hand, and sat down quietly in front of me. Except for
- a girdle of dracaena leaves around his waist he was naked, but he seemed
- well-nourished, and, in fact, fat.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Will you smoke?” I said presently, passing him a plug of tobacco and my
- sheath knife, for I saw that a wooden pipe was stuck in his girdle of
- leaves. He accepted it eagerly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Do you know me, white man?” he asked abruptly, speaking in the Line
- Islands tongue.
- </p>
- <p>
- I nodded. “You are Te-bari of Maiana. The boy was frightened of you and
- ran away.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He showed his gleaming white teeth in a semi-mirthful, semi-tigerish grin.
- “Yes, he was afraid. I would have shot him; but I did not because he was
- with you. What is your name, white man?”
- </p>
- <p>
- I told him.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ah, I have heard of you. You were with Kapitan Ebba (Captain Ever) in the
- <i>Leota?</i>”
- </p>
- <p>
- He filled his pipe, lit it, and then extended his hand to me for the
- halt-plucked bird, and said he would finish it Then he looked at me
- inquiringly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You have the shaking sickness of the western islands. It is not good for
- you to lie here on the leaves. Come with me. I shall give you good food to
- eat, and coco-nut toddy to drink.”
- </p>
- <p>
- I asked him where he got his toddy from, as there were no coco-nut trees
- growing so high up in the mountains. He laughed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I have a sweetheart in Siumu. She brings it to me. You shall see her
- to-night. Come.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stooping down, he lifted me up on his right shoulder as if I were a child,
- and then, with his own rifle and my gun and bag and the mountain cock
- tucked under his left arm, he set off at a rapid pace towards one of the
- higher spurs of the range. Nearly an hour later I found myself in a cave,
- overlooking the sea. On the floor were a number of fine Samoan mats and a
- well-carved <i>aluga</i> (bamboo pillow).
- </p>
- <p>
- I stretched myself out upon the mats, again shivering with ague, and
- Te-bari covered me over with a thick <i>tappa</i> cloth. Then he lit a
- fire just outside the cave, and came back to me.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You are hungry,” he said, as he expanded his big mouth and grinned
- pleasantly. Then from the roof of the cave he took down a basket
- containing cold baked pigeons, fish and yams.
- </p>
- <p>
- I ate greedily and soon after fell asleep. When I awoke it seemed to be
- daylight—in reality it was only a little past midnight, but a full
- bright moon was shining into the cave. Seated near me were my host and a
- young woman—the “sweetheart”. I recognised her at once as Sa Laea,
- the widow of a man killed in the fighting a few months previously. She was
- about five and twenty years of age, very handsome, and quiet in her
- demeanour. As far as I knew she had an excellent reputation, and I was
- astonished at her consorting with an outlawed murderer. She came over and
- shook hands, asked if I felt better, and should she “lomi-lomi” (massage)
- me. I thanked her and gladly accepted her offer.
- </p>
- <p>
- An hour before dawn she bade me good-bye, urging me to remain, and rest
- with her earless lover for a day or two, instead of coming on to Siumu,
- where there was an outbreak of measles.
- </p>
- <p>
- “When I come to-morrow night,” she said, “I will bring a piece of kava
- root and make kava for you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The news about the measles decided me. I resolved to at least spend
- another day and night with my host. He was pleased.
- </p>
- <p>
- Soon after breakfast he showed me around. His retreat was practically
- impregnable. One man with a supply of breech-loading ammunition could beat
- off a hundred foes. On the roof of the cave was a hole large enough to let
- a man pass through, and from the top itself there was a most glorious
- view. A mile away on the starboard hand, and showing through the forest
- green, was a curving streak of bright red—it was the road, or rather
- track, that led to Siumu. We filled our pipes, sat down and talked.
- </p>
- <p>
- How long had he lived there? I asked. Five months. He had found the cave
- one day when in chase of a wild sow and her litter. Afraid of being shot
- by the Siumu people? No, he was on good terms with <i>them</i>. Very often
- he would shoot a wild pig and carry it to a certain spot on the road, and
- leave it for the villagers. But he could not go into the village itself.
- It was too risky—some one might be tempted to get those hundred
- Chile dollars from the Germans. Food? There was plenty. Hundreds of wild
- pigs in the mountains, and thousands of pigeons. The pigs he shot with his
- Snider, the pigeons he snared, for he had no shot gun, and would very much
- like to have one. Twice every week Sa Laea brought him food. Tobacco too,
- sometimes, when she could buy it or beg it from the trader at Siumu.
- Sometimes he would cross over to the northern watershed and catch a
- basketful of the big speckled trout which teem in the mountain pools. Some
- of these he would send by Sa Laea to the chief of Siumu, who would send
- him in return a piece of kava, and some young drinking coconuts as a token
- of good-will. Once when he went to fish he found a young Samoan and two
- girls about to net a pool. The man fired at him with his pigeon gun and
- the pellets struck him in the chest. Then he (Te-bari) shot the man
- through the chest with his Winchester. No, he did not harm the girls—he
- let them run away.
- </p>
- <p>
- Sa Laea was a very good girl. Whenever he trapped a <i>manu-mea</i> (the
- rare <i>Didunculus</i>, or tooth-billed pigeon) she would take it to Apia
- and sell it for five dollars—sometimes ten. He was saving this
- money. When he had forty dollars he and Sa Laea were going to leave Samoa
- and go to Maiana. Kapitan Cameron had promised Sa Laea to take them there
- when they had forty dollars. Perhaps when his schooner next came to Siumu
- they would have enough money, etc.
- </p>
- <p>
- During the day I shot a number of pigeons, and when Sa Laea appeared soon
- after sunset we had them cooked and ready. We made a delicious meal, but
- before eating the lady offered up the usual evening prayer in Samoan, and
- Te-bari the Earless sat with closed eyes like a saint, and gave forth a
- sonorous <i>A-mene!</i> when his ladylove ceased.
- </p>
- <p>
- I left my outlaw friend next morning. Sa Laea came with me, for I had
- promised to buy him a pigeon gun (costing ten dollars), a bag of shot,
- powder and caps. I fulfilled my promise and the woman bade me farewell
- with protestations of gratitude.
- </p>
- <p>
- A few months later Te-bari and Sa Laea left the island in Captain
- Cameron's schooner, the <i>Manahiki</i>. I trust they “lived happily ever
- afterwards”.
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0020" id="link2HCH0020">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XX ~ “THE DANDIEST BOY THAT EVER STOOD UP IN A BOAT”
- </h2>
- <p>
- Nine years had come and gone since I had last seen Nukutavake and its
- amiable brown^skinned people, and now as I again stepped on shore and
- scanned the faces of those assembled on the beach to meet me, I missed
- many that I had loved in the old, bright days when I was trading in the
- Paumotus. For Death, in the hideous shape of small-pox, had been busy,
- taking the young and strong and passing by the old and feeble.
- </p>
- <p>
- It was a Sunday, and the little isle was quiet—as quiet as the ocean
- of shining silver on which our schooner lay becalmed, eight miles beyond
- the foaming surf of the barrier reef.
- </p>
- <p>
- Teveiva, the old native pastor, was the first one to greet me, and the
- tears rolled down his cheeks as he spoke to me in his native Tahitian,
- bade me welcome, and asked me had I come to sojourn with “we of
- Nukutavake, for a little while”.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Would that it were so, old friend. But I have only come on shore for a
- few hours, whilst the ship is becalmed—to greet old friends dear to
- my heart, and never forgotten since the days I lived among ye, nigh upon a
- half-score years ago. But, alas, it grieves me that many are gone.”
- </p>
- <p>
- A low sob came from the people, as they pressed around their friend of
- bygone years, some clasping my hands and some pressing their faces to mine
- And so, hand in hand, and followed by the people, the old teacher and I
- walked slowly along the shady path of drooping palms, and came to and
- entered the quiet mission house, through the open windows of which came
- the sigh of the surf, and the faint call of sea-birds.
- </p>
- <p>
- Some women, low-voiced and gentle, brought food, and young drinking nuts
- upon platters of leaf, and silently placed them before the White Man, who
- touched the food with his hand and drank a little of a coco-nut, and then
- turned to Teveiva and said:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “O friend, I cannot eat because of the sorrow that hath come upon thee.
- Tell me how it befel.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Speaking slowly, and with many tears, the old teacher told of how a ship
- from Tahiti had brought the dread disease to the island, and how in a
- little less than two months one in every three of the three hundred and
- ten people had died, and of the long drought that followed upon the
- sickness, when for a whole year the sky was as brass, and the hot sun beat
- down upon the land, and withered up the coco-palms and pandanus trees; and
- only for the night dews all that was green would have perished. And now
- because of the long drought men were weak, and sickening, and women and
- children were feint from want of food.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It is as if God hath deserted us,” said the old man.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Nay,” I assured him, “have no fear. Rain is near. It will come from the
- westward as it has come to many islands which for a year have been eaten
- up with drought and hunger like this land of Nukutavake. Have no fear, I
- say. Wind and much heavy rain will soon come from the west.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Then I wrote a few lines to the skipper.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Send this letter to the ship by my boat,” I said to Teveiva, “and the
- captain will fill the boat with food. It is the ship's gift to the
- people.”
- </p>
- <p>
- And then for the first time since the island had been smitten, the poor
- women and children laughed joyously, and the men sprang to their feet, and
- with loud shouts ran to the boat with the messenger who carried the
- letter.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Come, old friend,” I said to the teacher, “walk with me round the island.
- I would once more look upon the lagoon and sit with you a little while as
- we have sat many times before, under the great <i>toa</i> tree that grows
- upon the point on the weather side.”
- </p>
- <p>
- And so we two passed out of the mission house, and hand in hand, like
- children, went into the quiet village and along the sandy path that wound
- through the vista of serried, grey-boled palms, till we came to the white,
- inner beach of the calm lagoon, which shone and glistened like burnished
- silver. On the beach were some canoes.
- </p>
- <p>
- Half a cable length from the shore, a tiny, palm-clad islet floated on
- that shining lake, and the drooping fronds of the palms cast their shadows
- upon the crystal water. Between the red-brown boles of the trees there
- showed something white. The old man pointed to it and said:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “Wilt come and look at the white man's grave? 'Tis well kept—as we
- promised his mother should be done.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Teveiva launched a canoe and we paddled gently over to the isle, which was
- barely half an acre in extent From the beach there ran a narrow path,
- neatly gravelled and bordered with many-hued crotons; it led to a low
- square enclosure of coral stone cemented with lime. Within the walls
- bright crotons grew thickly, and in the centre stood a plain slab of
- marble on which was carved:—
- </p>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
- Walter Tallis,
- boat-steerer of the ship <i>asia</i>.
-
- Died, December 25, 1869, aged 21.
- Erected by his Mother.
-</pre>
- <p>
- I sat on the wall, and looked thoughtfully at the marble slab.
- </p>
- <p>
- “'Tis twelve years since, Teveiva.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Aye, since last Christmas Day. And every year his mother sends a letter
- and asks, 'Is my boy's grave well kept?' and I write and say, 'It is well
- tended. One day in every week the women and girls come and weed the path,
- and see that the plants thrive. This have we always done since thou sent
- the marble slab.' She sends her letters to the English missionary at
- Papeite, and he sends mine to her in far away Beretania (Britain).”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Poor fellow,” I thought; “it was just such a day as this—hot and
- calm—when we laid him here under the palms.”
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- On that day, twelve years before, the <i>Asia</i> lay becalmed off the
- island, and the skipper lowered his boat and came on shore to buy some
- fresh provisions He was a cheery old fellow, with snow-white hair, and was
- brimming over with good spirits, for the <i>Asia</i> had had extraordinary
- good luck.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Over a thousand barrels of sparm oil under hatches already, and the <i>Asia</i>
- not out nine months,” he said to me, “and we haven't lost a boat, nor any
- whale we fastened to yet And this boy here,” and he turned and clapped his
- hand on the shoulder of a young, handsome and stalwart youth, who had come
- with him, “is my boat-steerer, Walter Tallis, and the dandiest lad with an
- iron that ever stood up in a boat's bow. Forty-two years have I been
- fishin', and until Walter here shipped on the old <i>Asia</i>, thought
- that the Almighty never made a good boat-steerer or boat-header outer eny
- one but a Yankee or a Portugee—or maybe a Walker Injun. But Walter,
- though he <i>is</i> a Britisher, was born fer whale-killin'—and
- thet's a fact.”
- </p>
- <p>
- I shook hands with the young man, who laughed as he said:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “Captain Allen is always buttering me up. But there are as good, and
- better men than me with an iron on board the <i>Asia</i>. But I certainly
- have had wonderful luck—for a Britisher,” and he smiled slyly at his
- captain.
- </p>
- <p>
- Suddenly, we were chatting and smoking on the verandah, there came a
- thrilling cry from the crew of the whaleboat, lying on the beach fifty
- yards away.
- </p>
- <p>
- “<i>Blo-o-w! bl-o-o-w!</i>”
- </p>
- <p>
- And from the throats of three hundred natives came a roar “<i>Te folau! te
- folau!</i>” (“A whale! a whale!”)
- </p>
- <p>
- The skipper and his boat-steerer sprang to their feet and looked seaward,
- and there, less than a mile from the shore, was a mighty bull cachalot,
- leisurely making his way through the glassy sea, swimming with head up,
- and lazily rolling from side to side as if his one hundred tons of bulk
- were as light as the weight of a flying-fish.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now, mister, you shall see what Walter and I can do with that fish,”
- cried the skipper to me. “And when we've settled him, and the other boats
- are towing him off to the ship, Walter and I will come on shore again and
- hev something to eat—if you will invite us.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The boat flashed out from the beach, swept out of the passage through the
- reef, and in twenty minutes was within striking distance of the mighty
- cetacean. And, watching from the verandah, I saw the young harpooner stand
- up and bury his first harpoon to the socket, following it instantly with a
- second. Then slowly sank the huge head, and up came the vast flukes in the
- air, and Leviathan sounded into the ocean depths as the line spun through
- the stem notch, and the boat sped over the mirror-like sea. In ten minutes
- she was hidden from view by a point of land, and the last that we on the
- shore saw was “the dandiest lad that ever stood up in a boat's bow” going
- aft to the steer-oar, and the old white-headed skipper taking his place to
- use the deadly lance. And then at the same time that the captain's boat
- disappeared from view, I noticed that the <i>Asia</i> had lowered her four
- other boats, which were pulling with furious speed in the direction which
- the “fast” boat had taken.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Something must have gone wrong with the captain's boat,” I thought.
- </p>
- <p>
- Something had gone wrong, for half an hour later one of the four “loose”
- boats pulled into the beach, and the old skipper, with tears streaming
- down his rugged cheeks, stepped out, trembling from head to foot.
- </p>
- <p>
- “My dandy boy, my poor boatsteerer,” he said huskily to me—“that
- darned whale fluked us, and near cut him in half. Poor lad, he didn't
- suffer; for death came sudden. An' he is the only son of his mother. Can I
- bring him to your house?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Very tenderly and slowly the whaleboat's crew carried the crushed and
- mutilated form of the “dandiest boy” to the house, and whilst I helped the
- <i>Asia's</i> cooper make a coffin, Teveiva sat outside with the
- heartbroken old skipper, and spoke to him in his broken English of the
- Life Beyond. And so Walter Tallis, the last of an old Dorset family, was
- laid to rest in the little isle in the quiet lagoon.
- </p>
- <p>
- For two days our schooner lay in sight of the island; and then, as
- midnight came, the blue sky became black, and the ship was snugged down
- for the coming storm. The skipper sent up a rocket so that it might be
- seen by the people on shore—to verify my prophecy about a change in
- the weather.
- </p>
- <p>
- Came then the wind and the sweet, blessed rain, and as the schooner, under
- reefed canvas, plunged to the rising sea, the folk of Nukutavake, I felt
- certain, stood outside their houses, and let the cooling Heaven-sent
- streams drench their smooth, copper-coloured skins, whilst good old
- Teveiva gave thanks to God.
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0021" id="link2HCH0021">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XXI ~ THE PIT OF MAOTÂ
- </h2>
- <p>
- For the Samoans I have always had a great admiration and affection.
- Practically I began my island career in Samoa. More than a score of years
- before Robert Louis Stevenson went to die on the verdured slopes of
- Vailima Mountain, where he now rests, I was gaining my living by running a
- small trading cutter between the beautiful islands of Upolu, Savai'i, and
- Tutuila, and the people ever had my strong sympathies in their struggle
- against Germany for independence. Even so far back as 1865, German agents
- were at work throughout the group, sowing the seeds of discord,
- encouraging the chiefs of King Malietoa to rebel, so that they could set
- up a German puppet in his place. And unfortunately they have succeeded
- only too well, and Samoa, with the exception of the Island of Tutuila, is
- now German territory. But it is as well, for the people are kindly treated
- by their new masters.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Samoans were always a warlike race. When not unitedly repelling
- invasion by the all-conquering Tongans who sent fleet after fleet to
- subjugate the country, they were warring among themselves upon various
- pretexts—successions to chiefly titles, land disputes, abuse of
- neutral territory, and often upon the most trivial pretexts. In my own
- time I witnessed a sanguinary naval encounter between the people of the
- island of Manono, and a war-party of ten great canoes from the district of
- Lepâ on the island of Upolu. I saw sixteen decapitated heads brought on
- shore, and personally attended many of the wounded. And all this occurred
- through the Lepâ people having at a dance in their village sung a song in
- which a satirical allusion was made to the Manono people having once been
- reduced to eating shell-fish. The result was an immediate challenge from
- Manono, and in all nearly one hundred men lost their lives, villages were
- burnt, canoes destroyed, and thousands of coco-nut and bread-fruit trees
- cut down and plantations ruined.
- </p>
- <p>
- Sometimes in battle the Samoans were extremely chivalrous, at others they
- were demons incarnate, as merciless, cold-blooded, and cruel as the
- Russian police who slaughter women and children in the streets of the
- capital of the Great White Czar, and I shall now endeavour to describe one
- such terrible act, which after many years is still spoken of with bated
- breath, and even amidst the suppressed sobs and falling tears of the
- descendants of those who suffered.
- </p>
- <p>
- On the north coast of Upolu there is a populous town and district named
- Fasito'otai. It is part of the A'ana division of Upolu, and is noted, even
- in Samoa, a paradise of Nature, for its extraordinary fertility and
- beauty.
- </p>
- <p>
- The A'ana people at this time were suffering from the tyranny of Manono, a
- small island which boasted of the fact of its being the birthplace and
- home of nearly all the ruling chiefs of Samoa, and the extraordinary
- respect with which people of chiefly lineage are treated by Samoans,
- generally led them to suffer the greatest indignities and oppressions by
- the haughty and warlike Manonoans, who exacted under threats a continuous
- tribute of food, fine mats and canoes. Finally, a valorous young chief
- named Tausaga—though himself connected with Manono—revolted,
- and he and his people refused to pay further tribute to Manono, and a
- bloody struggle was entered upon.
- </p>
- <p>
- For some months the war continued. No mercy was shown on either side to
- the vanquished, and there is now a song which tells of how Palu, a girl of
- seventeen, with a spear thrust half through her bosom by her
- brother-in-law, a chief of Manono, shot him through the chest with a horse
- pistol, and then breaking off the spear, knelt beside the dying man,
- kissed him as her “brother” and then decapitated him, threw the head to
- her people with a cry of triumph—and died.
- </p>
- <p>
- At first the A'ana people were victorious, and the haughty Manonoans were
- driven off into their fleets of war canoes time and time again. Then
- Manono made alliance with other powerful chiefs of Savai'i and Upolu
- against A'ana, and two thousand of them, after great slaughter, occupied
- the town of Fasito'otai, and the A'ana people retired to inland
- fortresses, resolved to fight to the very last Among the leaders of the
- defeated people were two white men—an Englishman and an American—whose
- valour was so much admired, even by the Manono people, that they were
- openly solicited to desert the A'ana people, and come over to the other
- side, where great honours and gifts of lands awaited them. To their
- credit, these two unknown men rejected the offer with scorn, and announced
- their intention to die with the people with whom they had lived for so
- many years. At their instance, many of the Manono warriors who had been
- captured had been spared, and kept prisoners, instead of being ruthlessly
- decapitated in the usual Samoan fashion, and their heads exhibited, with
- much ignominy, from one village to another, as trophies.
- </p>
- <p>
- For two years the struggle continued, the Manonoans generally proving
- victorious in many bloody battles. Then Fasito'otai was surprised in the
- night, and two-thirds of its defenders, including many women and children,
- slaughtered. Among those who died were the two white men. They fell with
- thirty young men, who covered the retreat of the survivors of the
- defending force.
- </p>
- <p>
- The extraordinary valour which the A'ana people had displayed, exasperated
- the Manono warriors to deeds of unnamable violence to whatever prisoners
- fell into their cruel hands. One man—an old Manono chief—who
- had taken part in the struggle, told me with shame that he saw babies
- impaled on bayonets and spears carried exultingly from one village to
- another.
- </p>
- <p>
- Broken and disorganised, the beaten A'ana people dispersed in parties
- large and small. Some sought refuge in the mountain forests, others put to
- sea in frail canoes, and mostly all perished, but one party of seventeen
- in three canoes succeeded in reaching Uea (Wallis Island), three hundred
- miles to the westward of Samoa Among them was a boy of seven years of age,
- who afterwards sailed with me in a labour vessel. He well remembered the
- horrors of that awful voyage, and told me of his seeing his father “take a
- knife and open a vein in his arm so that a baby girl, who was dying of
- hunger, could drink”.
- </p>
- <p>
- Relentless in their hate of the vanquished foe, the Manono warriors
- established a cordon around them from the mountain range that traverses
- the centre of Upolu to the sea, and at last, after many engagements, drove
- them to the beach, where a final battle was fought. Exhausted,
- famine-stricken, and utterly disheartened by their continuous reverses,
- the unfortunate A'ana people were easily overcome, and the fighting
- survivors surrendered, appealing to their enemies to at least spare the
- lives of their women and children.
- </p>
- <p>
- But no mercy was shown. As night began to fall, the Manonoans began to dig
- a huge pit at a village named Maotâ, a mile from the scene of the battle,
- and as some dug, others carried an enormous quantity of dead logs of
- timber to the spot. By midnight the dreadful funeral pyre was completed.
- </p>
- <p>
- In case that it might be thought by my readers that I am exaggerating the
- horrors of “The Pit of Maotâ,” I will not here relate what I, personally,
- was told by people who were present at the awful deed, but repeat the
- words of Mr. Stair, an English missionary of the London Missionary
- Society, whose book, entitled Old Samoa, tells the story in quiet, yet
- dramatic language, and although in regard to some minor details he was
- misinformed, his account on the whole is correct, and is the same as was
- told to me by men who had actually participated in the tragedy.
- </p>
- <p>
- The awful preparations were completed, and then the victors, seizing those
- of their captives who were bound on account of their strength and had a
- few hours previously surrendered, hurried them to the fatal pit, in which
- the huge pile of timber had been lit. And as the flames roared and
- ascended, and the darkness of the surrounding forest was made as light as
- day, the first ten victims of four hundred and sixty-two were cast in to
- burn, amid the howls and yells of their savage captors.
- </p>
- <p>
- Mr. Stair says: “This dreadful butchery was continued during one or two
- days and nights, fresh timber being heaped on from time to time, as it was
- with difficulty that the fire could be kept burning, from the number of
- victims who were ruthlessly sacrificed there.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The captives from Fasito'otai were selected for the first offerings, and
- after them followed others in quick succession, night and day, early and
- late, until the last wretched victim had been consumed. Most heartrending
- were the descriptions I received from persons who had actually looked on
- the fearful scenes enacted there.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Innocent children skipped joyfully along the pathway by the side of their
- conductors and murderers,{*} deceived by the cruel lie that they were to
- be spared, and were then on their way to bathe; when suddenly the blazing
- pile (in the Pit of Noatâ) with the horrid sight of their companions and
- friends being thrown alive into the midst, told them the dreadful truth;
- whilst their terror was increased by the yells of savage triumph of the
- murderers, or the fearful cries of the tortured victims which reached
- their ears.”
- </p>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
- * I was told that the poor children were led away as they
- thought to be given si mea ai vela—“something hot” (to
- eat).—[L.B.]
-</pre>
- <p>
- When I first saw the dreadful Tito (pit) of Moatâ, it was at the close of
- a calm, windless day. I had been pigeon-shooting in the mountain forest,
- and was accompanied by a stalwart young Samoan warrior. As we were
- returning to Fasito'otai, he asked me if I would come a little out of the
- way and look at the “Tito,” a place he said “that is to our hearts, and
- is, holy ground”. He spoke so reverently that I was much impressed.
- </p>
- <p>
- Following a winding path we suddenly came in view of the pit. The sides
- were almost covered with many beautiful varieties of crotons, planted
- there by loving hands, and it was very evident to me that the place was
- indeed holy ground. At the bottom of the pit was a dreadful reminder of
- the past—a large circle of black charcoal running round the sides,
- and enclosing in the centre a large space which at first I thought was
- snow-white sand, but on descending into the pit with uncovered head, and
- looking closer, found it was composed of tiny white coral pebbles. Hardly
- a single leaf or twig marred the purity of the whiteness of the cover
- under which lay the ashes of nearly five hundred human beings. Every
- Saturday the women and children of Fasito'otai and the adjacent villages
- visited the place, and reverently removed every bit of <i>débris</i>, and
- the layer of stones, carefully selected of an equal size, was renewed two
- or three times a year as they became discoloured by the action of the
- rain. Encompassing the wooded margin of the pit were numbers of orange,
- lime and banana trees, all in full fruit. These were never touched—to
- do so would have been sacrilege, for they were sacred to the dead. All
- around us were hundreds of wood-doves and pigeons, and their peaceful
- notes filled the forest with saddening melody. “No one ever fires a gun
- here,” said my companion softly, “it is forbidden. And it is to my mind
- that the birds know that it is a sacred place and holy ground.”
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0022" id="link2HCH0022">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XXII ~ VANÂKI, THE STRONG SWIMMER
- </h2>
- <p>
- On the afternoon of the 4th of June, 1885, the Hawaiian labour schooner <i>Mana</i>,
- of which I was “recruiter” was beating through Apolima Straits, which
- divide the islands of Upolu and Savai'i. The south-east trade was blowing
- very strongly and a three-knot current setting against the wind had raised
- a short, confused sea, and our decks were continually flooded. But we had
- to thrash through it with all the sail we could possibly carry, for among
- the sixty-two Gilbert Islands “recruits” I had on board three had
- developed symptoms of what we feared was small-pox, and we were anxious to
- reach the anchorage off the town of Mulifanua at the west end of Upolu
- before dark. At Mulifanua there was a large German cotton plantation,
- employing four hundred “recruited” labourers, and on the staff of European
- employés was a resident doctor. In the ordinary course of things we should
- have gone on to Apia, which was twenty miles farther on, and our port of
- destination, and handed over my cargo of “recruits” to the manager of the
- German firm there; but as Mulifanua Plantation was also owned by them, and
- my “recruits” would probably be sent there eventually, the captain and I
- decided to land the entire lot at that place, instead of taking them to
- Apia, where the European community would be very rough upon us if the
- disease on board did turn out to be small-pox.
- </p>
- <p>
- As the skipper and I were standing aft, watching the showers of spray that
- flew over the schooner every time a head sea smacked her in the face, one
- of the hands shouted out that there was a man in the water, close to on
- the weather bow. Hauling our head sheets to windward we head-reached
- towards him, and in a few minutes the man, who was swimming in the most
- gallant fashion, was alongside, and clambered on board. He was a rather
- dark-skinned Polynesian, young, and of extremely powerful physique.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Thanks, good friends,” he said, speaking in halting Samoan. “'Tis a high
- sea in which to swim. Yet,” and here he glanced around him at the land on
- both sides, “I was half-way across.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Come below,” I said, “and take food and drink, and I will give you a <i>lava-lava</i>
- (waistcloth).” (He was nude.)
- </p>
- <p>
- He thanked me, and then again his keen dark eyes were fixed upon Savai'i—three
- miles distant.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Art bound to Savai'i?” he asked quickly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Nay. We beat against the wind. To-night we anchor at Mulifanua.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ah!” and his face changed, “then I must leave, for it is to Savai'i I
- go,” and he was about to go over the rail when we held him back.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Wait, friend. In a little time the ship will be close in to the passage
- through the reef at Saleleloga” (a town of Savai'i), “and then as we put
- the ship about, thou canst go on thy way. Why swim two leagues and tempt
- the sharks when there is no need. Come below and eat and drink, and have
- no fear. We shall take thee as near to the passage as we can.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The skipper came below with us, and after providing our visitor with a
- navy blue waistcloth, we gave him a stiff tumbler of rum, and some bread
- and meat. He ate quickly and then asked for a smoke, and in a few minutes
- more we asked him who he was, and why he was swimming across the straits.
- We spoke in Samoan. “Friends,” he said, “I will tell the truth. I am one
- of the <i>kau galuega</i> (labourers) on Mulifanua Plantation. Yesterday
- being the Sabbath, and there being no work, I went into the lands of the
- Samoan village to steal young nuts and <i>taro</i>. I had thrown down and
- husked a score, and was creeping back to my quarters by a side path
- through the grove, when I was set upon by three young Samoan <i>manaia</i>
- (bloods) who began beating me with clubs—seeking to murder me. We
- fought, and I, knowing that death was upon me, killed one man with a blow
- of my <i>tori nui</i>{*} (husking stick) of iron-wood, and then drove it
- deep into the chest of another. Then I fled, and gaining the beach, ran
- into the sea so that I might swim to Savai'i, for there will I be safe
- from pursuit” “'Tis a long swim, man—'tis five leagues.” He laughed
- and expanded his brawny chest “What is that to me? I have swam ten leagues
- many times.”
- </p>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
- * A heavy, pointed stick of hardwood, used for husking coco-
- nuts.
-</pre>
- <p>
- “Where do you belong?” asked the skipper in English.
- </p>
- <p>
- He answered partly in the same language and partly in his curious Samoan.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I am of Anuda.{*} My name is Vanà ki. Two years ago I came to Samoa in a
- German labour ship to work on the plantations, for I wanted to see other
- places and earn money, and then return to Anuda and speak of the things I
- had seen. It was a foolish thing of me. The German <i>suis</i> (overseers)
- are harsh men. I worked very hard on little food. It was for that I had to
- steal. And I am but one man from Anuda, and there are four hundred others
- from many islands—black-skinned, man-eating, woolly-haired pigs from
- the Solomon and New Hebrides, and fierce fellows like these Tafito{**} men
- from the Gilbert Islands such as I now see here on this ship. No one of
- them can speak my tongue of Anuda. And now I am a free man.”
- </p>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
- * Anuda or Cherry Island is an outlier of the Santa Cruz
- Group, in the South Pacific. The natives are more of the
- Polynesian than the Melanesian type, and are a fine,
- stalwart race.
-
- ** Tafitos—natives of the Pacific Equatorial Islands such
- as the Gilbert Group.
-</pre>
- <p>
- “You are a plucky fellow,” said the captain, “and deserve good luck. Here,
- take this dollar, and tie it up in the corner of your waistcloth. You can
- buy yourself some tobacco from the white trader at Salelelogo.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ah, yes, indeed. But” (and here he dropped into Samoan again, and turned
- to me) “I would that the good captain would take me as a sailor for his
- next voyage. I was for five years with Captain Macleod of Nouméa. And I am
- a good man—honest, and no boaster.”
- </p>
- <p>
- I shook my head. “It cannot be. From Mulifanua we go to Apia And there
- will be news there of what thou hast done yesterday, and we cannot hide a
- man on this small ship.” And then I asked the captain what he thought of
- the request.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We ought to try and work it,” said the skipper. “If he was five years
- with Jock Macleod he's all right.”
- </p>
- <p>
- We questioned him further, and he satisfied us as to his <i>bona-fides</i>,
- giving us the names of many men—captains and traders—known to
- us intimately.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Vanâki,” I said, “this is what may be done, but you must be quick, for
- presently we shall be close to the passage off Saleleloga, and must go
- about When you land, go to Miti-loa the chief, and talk to him privately.
- There is bad blood between his people and those of Mulifanua——”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I know it It has been so for two years past.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now, listen. Miti-loa and the captain here and I are good friends. Tell
- him that you have seen us. Hide nothing from him of yesterday. He is a
- strong man.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I know it Who does not, in this part of Samoa know of Miti-loa?” {*}
- </p>
- <p>
- “That is true. And Miti knows us two <i>papalagi</i>{**} well. Stay with
- him, work for him, and do all that he may ask. He will ask but little—perhaps
- nothing. In twenty days from now, this ship will be at Apia ready for sea
- again. We go to the Tokelaus” (Gilbert Islands) “or else to the Solomons,
- and if thou comest on board in the night who is to know of it but Miti-loa
- and thyself?”
- </p>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
- * Miti-loa—“Long Dream “.
-
- ** White men—foreigners.
-</pre>
- <p>
- The mate put his head under the flap of the skylight “Close on to the
- reef, sir. Time to go about.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “All right, Carey. Put her round Now Vanâki, up on deck, and over you go.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Vanâki nodded and smiled, and followed us. Then quickly he took off his <i>lava-lava</i>,
- deftly wrapped it about his head like an Indian turban, and held out his
- hand in farewell, and every one on board cheered as he I leapt over the
- side, and began his swim to the land.
- </p>
- <p>
- From the cross-trees I watched him through my glasses, saw him enter the
- passage into smooth water, and disdaining to rest on any of the exposed
- and isolated projections of reef which lined the passage, continue his
- course towards the village. Then a rain squall hid him from view, but we
- knew that he was safe.
- </p>
- <p>
- That evening we landed our “recruits” at Mulifanua, and after thoroughly
- disinfecting the ship, we sailed a few days later for Apia. Here we were
- again chartered to proceed to the New Hebrides and Solomon Islands for
- another cruise.
- </p>
- <p>
- As we were refitting, I received a letter from Miti-loa, telling me that
- Vanâki was safe, and would be with us in a few days. When he did arrive,
- he came with Miti-loa himself in his <i>taumalua</i> (native boat) and a
- score of his people. Vanâki was so well made-up as a Samoan that when he
- stepped on deck the skipper and I did not recognise him. We sent him
- below, and told him to keep quiet until we were well under way.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ah,” said Miti-loa to us, “what a man is he! Such a swimmer was never
- before seen. My young men have made much of him, and I would he would stay
- with me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Vanâki turned out an acquisition to our ship's company, and soon became a
- favourite with every one. He was highly delighted when he was placed on
- the articles at the usual rate of wages paid to native seamen—£3 per
- month. Our crew were natives from all parts of Polynesia, but English was
- the language used by them generally to each other. Like all vessels in the
- labour trade we carried a double crew—one to man the boats when
- recruiting, and one to work the ship when lying “off and on” at any island
- where we could not anchor, and Vanâki was greatly pleased when I told him
- that he should have a place in my boat, instead of being put in the
- “covering"{*} boat.
- </p>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
- * The “covering” boat is that which stands by to open fire
- if the “landing” boat is attacked.
-</pre>
- <p>
- We made a splendid run down to the Solomons from Samoa, and when in sight
- of San Cristoval, spoke a French labour vessel from Nouméa, recruiting for
- the French New Hebrides Company. Her captain and his “recruiter” (both
- Englishmen) paid us a visit. They were old acquaintances of our captain
- and myself, and as they came alongside in their smart whaleboat and Vanâki
- saw their faces, he gave a weird yell of delight, and rubbed noses with
- them the moment they stepped on deck.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Hallo, Vanâki, my lad,” said the skipper of <i>La Metise</i>, shaking his
- hand, “how are you?” Then turning to us he said: “Vanâki was with me when
- I was mate with Captain Macleod, in the old <i>Aurore</i> of Nouméa. He's
- a rattling good fellow for a native, and I wish I had him with me now.
- Wherever did you pick him up?”
- </p>
- <p>
- We told him, and Houston laughed when I narrated the story of Vanâki's
- swim.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, that's nothing for him to do. Why, the beggar once swam from the
- Banks Group across to the Torres Islands. Has he never told you about it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No. And I would hardly believe him if he did. Why, the two groups are
- fifty miles apart.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, from Tog in the Torres Islands to Ureparapara in the Banks Group is a
- little over forty miles. But you must wheedle the yarn out of him. He's a
- bit sensitive of talking about it, on account of his at first being told
- he was a liar by several people. But Macleod, two traders who were
- passengers with us, and all the crew of the <i>Aurore</i> know the story
- to be true. We sent an account of it to the Sydney papers.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I'll get him to tell me some day,” I said “I once heard of a native woman
- swimming from Nanomaga in the Ellice Group to Nanomea—thirty-five
- miles—but never believed it for a long time.”
- </p>
- <p>
- After spending half an hour with us, our friends went back to their ship,
- each having shaken hands warmly with Vanâki, and wished him good luck.
- </p>
- <p>
- It was some days before the captain and I had time to hear Vanâki's story,
- which I relate as nearly as possible in his own words.
- </p>
- <p>
- First of all, however, I must mention that Ureparapara or Bligh Island is
- a well-wooded, fertile spot, about sixteen miles in circumference, and is
- an extinct crater. It is now the seat of a successful mission. Tog is much
- smaller, well-wooded, and inhabited, and about nine hundred feet high. At
- certain times of the year a strong current sets in a northerly and
- westerly direction, and it is due to this fact that Vanâki accomplished
- his swim. Now for his story.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I was in the port watch of the <i>Aurore</i>. We came to Ureparapara in
- the month of June to 'recruit' and got four men. Whilst we were there,
- Captain Houston (who was then mate of the <i>Aurore</i>) asked me if I
- would dive under the ship and look at her copper; for a week before we had
- touched a reef. So I dived, and found that five sheets of copper were gone
- from the port side about half a fathom from the keel. So the captain took
- five new sheets of copper, and punched the nail holes, and gave me one
- sheet at a time, and I nailed them on securely. In three hours it was
- done, for the ship was in quiet, clear water, and I knew what to do. The
- captain then said to me laughingly that he feared I had but tacked on the
- sheets loosely, and that they would come off. My heart was sore at this,
- and so I asked Mr. Houston, who is a good diver, to go and look. And he
- dived and looked, and then five other of the crew—natives—dived
- and looked, and they all said that the work was well and truly done—all
- the nails driven home, and the sheets smooth, and without a crinkle. This
- pleased the captain greatly, and he gave me a small gold piece, and told
- me that I could go on shore, and spend it at the white trader's store.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now I did a foolish thing. I bought from the trader two bottles of
- strange grog called <i>arrak</i>. It was very strong—stronger than
- rum—and soon I and two others who drank it became very drunk, and
- lay on the ground like pigs. Mr. Houston came and found me, and brought me
- on board, and I was laid on the after-deck under the awning.
- </p>
- <p>
- “At sunset the ship sailed. I was still asleep, and heard nothing, though
- in a little while it began to blow, and much rain fell The captain let me
- lie on the lee side, so that the rain might beat upon me, and bring me to
- life again.
- </p>
- <p>
- “When four bells struck I awoke. I was ashamed. Waiting until the wheel
- was relieved, I crept along the deck unseen, for it was very dark, and goy
- up on the top of the top-gallant fo'c'stle, and again lay down. The ship
- was running before the wind under close-reefed sails, and the sea was so
- great that she pitched heavily every now and then, and much water came
- over the bows. This did me good, and I soon began to feel able to go below
- and turn in in my bunk. Then presently, as I was about to rise, the ship
- made a great plunge, and a mighty sea fell upon her, and I was swept away.
- No one saw me go, for no one knew that I was there, and the night was
- very, very dark.
- </p>
- <p>
- “When I came to the surface, I could see the ship's lights, and cried out,
- but no one heard me, for the wind and sea made a great noise; and then,
- too, there was sweeping rain In a little while the lights were gone, and I
- was alone.
- </p>
- <p>
- “'Now,' I said to myself, 'Vanâki, thou art a fool, and will go into the
- belly of a shark because of becoming drunk.' And then my heart came back
- to me, and I swam on easily over the sea, hoping that I would be missed,
- and the ship heave-to, and send a boat. But I looked in vain.
- </p>
- <p>
- “By-and-by the sky cleared, and the stars came out, but the wind still
- blew fiercely, and the seas swept me along so quickly that I knew it would
- be folly for me to try and face them, and try to swim back to Ureparapara.
- </p>
- <p>
- “'I will swim to Tog,' I said; 'if the sharks spare me I can do it.' For
- now that the sky was clear, and I could see the stars my fear died away;
- and so I turned a little, and swam to the west a little by the north.
- </p>
- <p>
- “There was a strong current with me, and hour by hour as I swam the wind
- became less, and the sea died away.
- </p>
- <p>
- “When daylight came I was not tired, and rested on my back. And as I
- rested, two green turtle rose near me. They looked at me, and I was glad,
- for I knew that where turtle were there would be no sharks. I am not
- afraid of sharks, but what is a man to do with a shark in the open sea
- without a knife?
- </p>
- <p>
- “Towards noon there came rain I lay on my back and put my hollowed hands
- together, and caught enough to satisfy my great thirst. The rain did not
- last long.
- </p>
- <p>
- “A little after noon I saw the land—the island of Tog. It was but
- three leagues away.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then I swam into a great and swift tide-rip, which carried me to the
- eastward. It was so strong that I feared it would take me away from the
- island, but soon it turned and swept me to the westward. And then I saw
- the land becoming nearer and nearer.
- </p>
- <p>
- “When the sun was nearly touching the sea-rim, I was so close to the
- south-end of Tog, that I could see the spars of a ship lying at anchor in
- the bay called Pio. And then when the sun had set I could see the lights
- of many canoes catching flying-fish by torchlight.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I swam on and came to the ship. It was the <i>Aurore</i>.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I clambered up the side-ladder, and stood on deck, and the man who was on
- anchor watch—an ignorant Tokelau—shouted out in fear, and ran
- to tell the captain, and Mr. Houston.
- </p>
- <p>
- “They brought me below and made much of me, and gave me something to drink
- which made me sleep for many hours.
- </p>
- <p>
- “When I awakened I was strong and well, but my eyes were <i>malai</i>
- (bloodshot). That is all.”
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0023" id="link2HCH0023">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XXIII ~ TWO PACIFIC ISLANDS BIRDS: THE SOUTH SEA CORNCRAKE AND THE
- TOOTH-BILLED PIGEON
- </h2>
- <p>
- <a name="link2H_4_0027" id="link2H_4_0027">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- THE SOUTH SEA CORNCRAKE
- </h2>
- <p>
- Although I had often heard of the “corncrake” or landrail of the British
- Isles, I did not see one until a few years ago, on my first visit to
- Ireland, when a field labourer in County Louth brought me a couple, which
- he had killed in a field of oats. I looked at them with interest, and at
- once recognised a striking likeness in shape, markings and plumage to an
- old acquaintance—the shy and rather rare “banana-bird” of some of
- the Polynesian and Melanesian Islands. I had frequently when in Ireland
- heard at night, during the summer months, the repeated and harsh “crake,
- crake,” of many of these birds, issuing from the fields of growing corn,
- and was very curious to see one, for the unmelodious cry was exactly like
- that of the <i>kili vao</i>, or “banana-bird” of the Pacific Islands. And
- when I saw the two corncrakes I found them to be practically the same
- bird, though but half the size of the <i>kili vao</i>.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Kili vao</i> in native means bush-snipe, as distinct from <i>kili fusi</i>,
- swamp snipe. It feeds upon ripe bananas, and papaws (mamee apples), and
- such other sweet fruit, that when over-ripe fall to the ground. It is very
- seldom seen in the day-time, when the sun is strong, though its hoarse
- frog-like note may often be heard in cultivated banana plantations, or on
- the mountain sides, where the wild banana thrives. At early dawn, or
- towards sunset, however, they come out from their retreats, and search for
- fallen bananas, papaws or guavas, and I have spent many a delightful
- half-hour watching them from my own hiding-place. Although they have such
- thick, long and clumsy legs, and coarse splay feet they run to and fro
- with marvelous speed, continually uttering their insistent croak. Usually
- they were in pairs, male and female, although I once saw a male and three
- female birds together. The former can easily be recognised, for it is
- considerably larger than its mate, and the coloration of the plumage on
- the back and about the eyes is more pronounced, and the beautiful
- quail-like semi-circular belly markings are more clearly defined. When
- disturbed, and if unable to run into hiding among the dead banana leaves,
- they rise and present a ludicrous appearance, for their legs hang down
- almost straight, and their flight is slow, clumsy and laborious, and
- seldom extends more than fifty yards.
- </p>
- <p>
- The natives of the Banks and Santa Cruz Groups (north of the New Hebrides)
- assert that the <i>kili</i> is a ventriloquist, and delights to “fool” any
- one attempting to capture it. “If you hear it call from the right, it is
- hiding to the left; and its mate is perhaps only two fathoms away from
- you, hiding under the fallen banana leaves, and pretending to be dead. And
- you will never find either, unless it is a dark night, and you suddenly
- light a big torch of dried coco-nut leaves; then they become dazed and
- stupid, and will let you catch them with your hand.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Whilst one cannot accept the ventriloquial theory, there can be no doubt
- of the extraordinary cunning in hiding, and noiseless speed on foot of
- these birds when disturbed. One afternoon, near sunset, I was returning
- from pigeon-shooting on Ureparapara (Banks Group) when in walking along
- the margin of a taro-swamp, which was surrounded by banana trees, a big <i>kili</i>
- rose right in front of me, and before I could bring my gun to shoulder, my
- native boy hurled his shoulder-stick at it and brought it down, dead. Then
- he called to me to be ready for a shot at the mate, which, he said, was
- close by in hiding.
- </p>
- <p>
- Walking very gently, he carefully scanned the dead leaves at the foot of
- the banana trees, and silently pointed to a heap which was soddened by
- rain.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It is underneath there,” he whispered, then flung himself upon the heap
- of leaves, and in a few seconds dragged out the prize—a fine
- full-grown female bird, beautifully marked. I put her in my game-bag.
- During our two-mile walk to the village she behaved in a disgusting
- manner, and so befouled herself (after the manner of a young Australian
- curlew when captured) that she presented a repellent appearance, and had
- such a disgusting odour that I was at first inclined to throw her—game-bag
- and all—away. However, my native boy washed her, and then we put her
- in a native pigeon cage. In the morning she was quite clean and dry, but
- persistently hid her head when any one approached, refused to take food
- and died two days later, although I kept the cage in a dark place.
- </p>
- <p>
- These birds are excellent eating when not too fat; but when the papaws are
- ripe they become grossly unwieldy, and the whole body is covered with
- thick yellow fat, and the flesh has the strong sweet taste of the papaw.
- At this time, so the natives say, they are actually unable to rise for
- flight, and are easily captured by the women and children at work in the
- banana and taro plantations.
- </p>
- <p>
- (Apropos of this common tendency of the flesh of birds to acquire the
- taste of their principal article of food, I may mention that in those
- Melanesian Islands where the small Chili pepper grows wild, the pigeons at
- certain times of the year feed almost exclusively upon the ripe berries,
- and their flesh is so pungent as to be almost uneatable. At one place on
- the littoral of New Britain, there is a patch of country covered with
- pepper trees, and it is visited by thousands of pigeons, who devour the
- berries, although their ordinary food of sweet berries was available in
- profusion in the mountain forests.)
- </p>
- <p>
- On some of the Melanesian islands there is a variety of the banana-bird
- which frequents the yam and sweet potato plantation, digs into the
- hillocks with its power-fill feet, and feeds upon the tubers, as does the
- rare toothed-billed pigeon.
- </p>
- <p>
- One day, when I was residing in the Caroline Islands, a pair of live birds
- were brought to me by the natives, who had snared them. They were in
- beautiful plumage, and I determined to try and keep them.
- </p>
- <p>
- The natives quickly made me an enclosure about twenty feet square of
- bamboo slats about an inch or two apart, driving them into the ground, and
- making a “roof” of the same material, sufficiently high to permit of three
- young banana trees being planted therein. Then we quickly covered the
- ground with dead banana leaves, small sticks and other <i>débris</i>, and
- after making it as “natural” as possible, laid down some ripe bananas, and
- turned the birds into the enclosure. In ten seconds they had disappeared
- under the heap of leaves as silently as a beaver or a platypus takes to
- the water.
- </p>
- <p>
- During the night I listened carefully outside the enclosure, but the
- captives made neither sound nor appearance. They were still “foxing,” or
- as my Samoan servant called it, <i>le toga-fiti e mate</i> (pretending to
- be dead).
- </p>
- <p>
- All the following day there was not the slightest movement of the leaves,
- but an hour after sunset, when I was on my verandah, smoking and chatting
- with a fellow trader, a native boy came to us, grinning with pleasure, and
- told us that the birds were feeding. I had a torch of dried coco-nut
- leaves all in readiness. It was lit, and as the bright flame burst out,
- and illuminated the enclosure, I felt a thrill of delight—both birds
- were vigorously feeding upon a very ripe and “squashy” custard apple,
- disregarding the bananas. The light quite dazed them, and they at once
- ceased eating, and sat down in a terrified manner, with their necks
- outstretched, and their bills on the ground. We at once withdrew. In the
- morning, I was charmed to hear them “craking,” and from that time forward
- they fed well, and afforded me many a happy hour in watching their antics.
- I was in great hopes of their breeding, for they had made a great pile of
- <i>débris</i> between the banana trees, into which in the day-time they
- would always scamper when any one passed, and my natives told me that the
- end of the rainy season was the incubating period. As it was within a few
- weeks of that time, I was filled with pleasurable anticipations, and
- counted the days. Alas, for my hopes! One night, a predatory village pig,
- smelling the fruit which was always placed in the enclosure daily, rooted
- a huge hole underneath the bambods, and in the morning my pets were gone,
- and nevermore did I hear their hoarse crake! crake!—ever pleasing to
- me during the night.
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2H_4_0028" id="link2H_4_0028">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- THE TOOTH-BILLED PIGEON OF SAMOA—(<i>Didunculus Strigirostris</i>)
- </h2>
- <p>
- The recent volcanic outburst on the island of Savai'i in the Samoan Group,
- after a period of quiescence of about two hundred years, has, so a
- Californian paper states, revealed the fact that one of the rarest and
- most interesting birds in the world, and long supposed to be peculiar to
- the Samoan Islands, and all but extinct, is by no means so in the latter
- respect, for the convulsion in the centre of the island, where the
- volcanic mountain stands nearly 4,000 feet high, has driven quite a number
- of the birds to the littoral of the south coast. So at least it was
- reported to the San Francisco journal by a white trader residing on the
- south side of Savai'i during the outbreak.
- </p>
- <p>
- For quite a week before the first tremors and groan-ings of the mountain
- were felt and heard, the natives said that they had seen <i>Manu Mea</i>
- (tooth-billed pigeons) making their way down to the coast. Several were
- killed and eaten by children.
- </p>
- <p>
- Before entering into my own experiences and knowledge of this
- extraordinary bird, gained during a seven years' residence in Samoa,
- principally on the island of Upolu, I cannot do better than quote from Dr.
- Stair's book, <i>Old Samoa</i>, his description of the bird. Very happily,
- his work was sent to me some years ago, and I was delighted to find in it
- an account of the <i>Manu Mea</i> (red bird) and its habits. In some
- respects he was misinformed, notably in that in which he was told that the
- <i>Didunculus</i> was peculiar to the Samoan Islands; for the bird
- certainly is known in some of the Solomon Islands, and also in the
- Admiralty Group—two thousand miles to the north-west of Samoa. Here,
- however, is what Dr. Stair remarks:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “One of the curiosities of Samoan natural history is <i>Le Manu Mea</i>,
- or red bird of the natives, the tooth-billed pigeon (<i>Didunculus
- Strigirostris</i>, Peale), and is peculiar to the Samoan Islands. This
- remarkable bird, so long a puzzle to the scientific world, is only found
- in Samoa, and even there it has become so scarce that it is rapidly
- becoming extinct, as it falls an easy prey to the numerous wild cats
- ranging the forests. It was first described and made known to the
- scientific world by Sir William Jardine, in 1845, under the name of <i>Gnathodon
- Strigirostris</i>, from a specimen purchased by Lady Hervey in Edinburgh,
- amongst a number of Australian skins. Its appearance excited great
- interest and curiosity, but its true habitat was unknown until some time
- after, when it was announced by Mr. Strickland before the British
- Association at York, that Mr. Titian Peale, of the United States Exploring
- Expedition, had discovered a new bird allied to the dodo, which he
- proposed to name <i>Didunculus Strigirostris</i>. From the specimen in Sir
- William Jardine's possession the bird was figured by Mr. Gould in his <i>Birds
- of Australia</i>, and its distinctive characteristics shown; but nothing
- was known of its habitat. At that time the only specimens known to exist
- out of Samoa were the two in the United States, taken there by Commodore
- Wilkes, and the one in the collection of Sir William Jardine, in
- Edinburgh. The history of this last bird is singular, and may be alluded
- to here.
- </p>
- <p>
- “To residents in Samoa the <i>Manu Mea</i>, or red bird, was well known by
- repute, but as far as I know, no specimen had ever been obtained by any
- resident on the islands until the year 1843, when two fine birds, male and
- female, were brought to me by a native who had captured them on the nest I
- was delighted with my prize, and kept them carefully, but could get no
- information whatever as to what class they belonged. After a time one was
- unfortunately killed, and not being able to gain any knowledge respecting
- the bird, I sent the surviving one to Sydney, by a friend, in 1843, hoping
- it would be recognised and described; but nothing was known of it there,
- and my friend left it with a bird dealer in Sydney, and returned to report
- his want of success. It died in Sydney, and the skin was subsequently sent
- to England with other skins for sale, including the skin of an Aptéryx,
- from Samoa. Later on the skin of the <i>Manu Mea</i> was purchased by Lady
- Hervey, and subsequently it came into the possession of Sir William
- Jar-dine, by whom it was described. Still nothing was known of its habitat—but
- this bird which I had originally sent to Sydney from Samoa was the means
- of bringing it under the notice of the scientific world, and thus in some
- indirect manner of obtaining the object I had in view.
- </p>
- <p>
- “After my return to England, in 1846, the late Dr. Gray, of the British
- Museum, showed me a drawing of the bird, which I at once recognised; as
- also a drawing of a species of Aptéryx which had been purchased in the
- same lot of skins. A native of Samoa, who was with me, at once recognised
- both birds. Dr. Gray and Mr. Mitchell (of the Zoological Gardens in
- London) were much interested in the descriptions I gave them, and urged
- that strong efforts should be made to procure living specimens. But no
- steps were taken to obtain the bird until fourteen years after, when,
- having returned to Australia, I was surprised to see a notice in the <i>Melbourne
- Argus</i>, of August 3, 1862, to the effect that the then Governor of
- Victoria, Sir Henry Barkley, had received a communication from the
- Zoological Society, London, soliciting his co-operation in endeavouring to
- ascertain further particulars as to the habitat of a bird they were
- desirous of obtaining; forwarding drawings and particulars as far as known
- at the same time; offering a large sum for living specimens or skins
- delivered in London. I at once recognised that the bird sought after was
- the <i>Manu Mea</i>, and gave the desired information and addresses of
- friends in Samoa, through whose instrumentality a living specimen was
- safely received in London, <i>via</i> Sydney, on April 10, 1864, the
- Secretary of the Zoological Society subsequently writing to Dr. Bennett of
- Sydney, saying, 'The <i>La Hogue</i> arrived on April 10, and I am
- delighted to be able to tell you that the <i>Didunculus</i> is now alive,
- and in good health in the gardens, and Mr. Bartlett assures me is likely
- to do well'.
- </p>
- <p>
- “In appearance the bird may be described as about the size of a large
- wood-pigeon, with similar legs and feet, but the form of its body more
- nearly resembles that of the partridge. The remarkable feature of the bird
- is that whilst its legs are those of a pigeon, the beak is that of the
- parrot family, the upper mandible being hooked like the parrot's, the
- under one being deeply serrated; hence the name, tooth-billed pigeon. This
- peculiar formation of the beak very materially assists the bird in feeding
- on the potato-loke root, or rather fruit, of the <i>soi</i>, or wild yam,
- of which it is fond. The bird holds the tuber firmly with its feet, and
- then rasps it upwards with its parrot-like beak, the lower mandible of
- which is deeply grooved. It is a very shy bird, being seldom found except
- in the retired parts of the forest, away from the coast settlements. It
- has great power of wing, and when flying makes a noise, which, as heard in
- the distance, closely resembles distant thunder, for which I have on
- several occasions mistaken it. It both roosts and feeds on the ground, as
- also on stumps or low bushes, and hence becomes an easy prey to the wild
- cats of the forest. These birds also build their nests on low bushes or
- stumps, and are thus easily captured. During the breeding season the male
- and female relieve each other with great regularity, and guard their nests
- so carefully that they fall an easy prey to the fowler; as in the case of
- one bird being taken its companion is sure to be found there shortly
- after. They were also captured with birdlime, or shot with arrows, the
- fowler concealing himself near an open space, on which some <i>soi</i>,
- their favourite food, had been scattered.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The plumage of the bird may be thus described. The head, neck, breast,
- and upper part of the back is of greenish black. The back, wings, tail,
- and under tail coverts of a chocolate red. The legs and feet are of bright
- scarlet; the mandibles, orange red, shaded off near the tips with bright
- yellow.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Less than twenty years ago I was residing on the eastern end of Upolu
- (Samoa), and during my shooting excursions on the range of mountains that
- traverses the island from east to west, saw several <i>Didunculi</i>, and,
- I regret to say, shot two. For I had no ornithological knowledge whatever,
- and although I knew that the Samoans regarded the <i>Manu Mea</i> as a
- rare bird, I had no idea that European savants and museums would be glad
- to obtain even a stuffed specimen. The late Earl of Pembroke, to whom I
- wrote on the subject from Australia, strongly urged me to endeavour to
- secure at least one living specimen; so also did Sir George Grey. But
- although I—like Mr. Stair—wrote to many native friends in
- Samoa, offering a high price for a bird, I had no success; civil war had
- broken out, and the people had other matters to think of beside
- bird-catching. I was, however, told a year later that two fine specimens
- had been taken on the north-west coast of Upolu, that one had been so
- injured in trapping that it died, and the other was liberated by a
- mischievous child.
- </p>
- <p>
- I have never heard one of these birds sound a note, but a native teacher
- on Tutuila told me that in the mating season they utter a short, husky
- hoot, more like a cough than the cry of a bird.
- </p>
- <p>
- A full month after I first landed in Samoa, I was shooting in the
- mountains at the back of the village of Tiavea in Upolu, when a large, and
- to me unknown, bird rose from the leaf-strewn ground quite near me, making
- almost as much noise in its flight as a hornbill. A native who was with
- me, fired at the same time as I did, and the bird fell. Scarcely had the
- native stooped to pick it up, exclaiming that it was a <i>Manu Mea</i>
- when a second appeared, half-running, half-flying along the ground. This,
- alas! I also killed They were male and female, and my companion and I made
- a search of an hour to discover their resting place (it was not the
- breeding season), but the native said that the <i>Manu Mea</i> scooped out
- a retreat in a rotten tree or among loose stones, covered with dry moss.
- But we searched in vain, nor did we even see any wild yams growing about,
- so evidently the pair were some distance from their home, or were making a
- journey in search of food.
- </p>
- <p>
- During one of my trips on foot across Upolu, with a party of natives, we
- sat down to rest on the side of a steep mountain path leading to the
- village of Siumu. Some hundreds of feet below us was a comparatively open
- patch of ground—an abandoned yam plantation, and just as we were
- about to resume our journey, we saw two <i>Manu Mea</i> appear. Keeping
- perfectly quiet, we watched them moving about, scratching up the leaves,
- and picking at the ground in an aimless, perfunctory sort of manner with
- their heavy, thick bills. The natives told me that they were searching,
- not for yams, but for a sweet berry called <i>masa'oi</i>, upon which the
- wild pigeons feed.
- </p>
- <p>
- In a few minutes the birds must have become aware of our presence, for
- they suddenly vanished.
- </p>
- <p>
- I have always regretted in connection with the two birds I shot, that not
- only was I unaware of their value, even when dead, but that there was then
- living in Apia a Dr. Forbes, medical officer to the staff of the German
- factory. Had I sent them to him, he could have cured the skins at least,
- for he was, I believe, an ardent naturalist.
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0024" id="link2HCH0024">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XXIV ~ A NIGHT RUN ACROSS FÂGALOA BAY
- </h2>
- <p>
- When I was supercargo of the brig <i>Palestine</i>, we were one day
- beating along the eastern shore of the great island of Tombara (New
- Ireland) or, as it is now called by its German possessors, <i>Neu
- Mecklenburg</i>, when an accident happened to one of our hands—a
- smart young A.B. named Rogers. The brig was “going about” in a stiff
- squall, when the jib-sheet block caught poor Rogers in the side, and broke
- three of his ribs.
- </p>
- <p>
- There were then no white men living on the east coast of New Ireland, or
- we should have landed him there to recover, and picked him up again on our
- return from the Caroline Islands, so we decided to run down to Gerrit
- Denys Island, where we had heard there was a German doctor living. He was
- a naturalist, and had been established there for over a year, although the
- natives were as savage and warlike a lot as could be found anywhere in
- Melanesia.
- </p>
- <p>
- We reached the island, anchored, and the naturalist came on board. He was
- not a professional-looking man. Here is my description, of him, written
- fifteen years ago:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “He was bootless, and his pants and many-pocketed jumper of coarse
- dungaree were exceedingly dirty, and looked as if they had been cut out
- with a knife and fork instead of scissors, they were so marvellously
- ill-fitting. His head-gear was an ancient Panama hat, which flopped about,
- and almost concealed his red-bearded face, as if trying to apologise for
- the rest of his apparel; and the thin gold-rimmed spectacles he wore made
- a curious contrast to his bare and sun-burnt feet, which were as brown as
- those of a native. His manner, however, was that of a man perfectly at
- ease with himself and his clear, steely blue eyes, showed an infinite
- courage and resolution.”
- </p>
- <p>
- At first he was very reluctant to have Rogers brought on shore, but
- finally yielded, being at heart a good-natured man. So we bade Rogers
- good-bye, made the doctor a present of some provisions, and a few cases of
- beer, and told him we should be back in six weeks.
- </p>
- <p>
- When we returned, Rogers came on board with the German. He was quite
- recovered, and he and his host were evidently on very friendly terms, and
- bade farewell to each other with some show of feeling.
- </p>
- <p>
- After we had left the island, Rogers came aft, and told us his experiences
- with the German doctor.
- </p>
- <p>
- “He's a right good sort of a chap, and treated me well, and did all he
- could for me, sirs—but although he is a nice cove, I'm glad to get
- away from him, and be aboard the brig again. For I can hardly believe that
- I haven't had a horrid, blarsted nightmare for the past six weeks.”
- </p>
- <p>
- And then he shuddered.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What was wrong with him, Rogers?” asked the skipper.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why, he ain't no naturalist—I mean like them butterfly-hunting
- coves like you see in the East Indies. He's a head-hunter—buys heads—fresh
- 'uns by preference, an' smokes an' cures 'em hisself, and sells 'em to the
- museums in Europe. So help me God, sirs, I've seen him put fresh human
- heads into a barrel of pickle, then he takes 'em out after a week or so,
- and cleans out the brains, and smokes the heads, and sorter varnishes and
- embalms 'em like. An' when he wasn't a picklin' or embalmin' or
- varnishin', he was a-writing in half a dozen log books. I never knew what
- he was a-doin' until one day I went into his workshop—as he called
- it—and saw him bargaining with some niggers for a fresh cut-off
- head, which he said was not worth much because the skull was badly
- fractured, and would not set up well.
- </p>
- <p>
- “He was pretty mad with me at first for comin' in upon him, and surprisin'
- him like, but after a while he took me into his confidence, and said as
- how he was engaged in a perfeckly legitimate business, and as the heads
- was dead he was not hurtin' 'em by preparing 'em for museums and
- scientific purposes. And he says to me, 'You English peoples have got many
- peautiful preserved heads of the New Zealand Maories in your museums, but
- ach, Gott, there is not in England such peautiful heads as I haf mineself
- brebared here on dis islandt And already I haf send me away fifty-seven,
- and in two months I shall haf brebared sixteen more, for which I shall get
- me five hundred marks each.'”
- </p>
- <p>
- Rogers told us that when he one day expressed his horror at his host's
- “business,” the German retorted that it was only forty or fifty years
- since that many English officials in the Australian colonies did a
- remarkably good business in buying smoked Maori heads, and selling them to
- the Continental museums. (This was true enough.) Rogers furthermore told
- us that the doctor “cured” his heads in a smoke-box, and had “a regular
- chemist's shop” in which were a number of large bottles of pyroligneous
- acid, prepared by a London firm.
- </p>
- <p>
- This distinguished savant left Gerrit Denys Island about a year later in a
- schooner bound for Singapore. She was found floating bottom up off the
- Admiralty Group, and a Hong-Kong newspaper, in recording the event,
- mentioned that “the unfortunate gentleman (Dr. Ludwig S———)
- had with him an interesting and extremely valuable ethnographical
- collection “.
- </p>
- <p>
- Rogers's horrible story had a great interest for me; for it had been my
- lot to see many human heads just severed from the body, and I was always
- fascinated by the peculiar expression of the features of those
- unfortunates who had been decapitated suddenly by one swift blow. “Death,”
- “Peace,” “Immortality,” say the closed eyelids and the calm, quiet lips to
- the beholder.
- </p>
- <p>
- I little imagined that within two years I should have a rather similar
- experience to that of Rogers, though in my case it was a very brief one.
- Yet it was all too long for me, and I shall always remember it as the
- weirdest experience of my life.
- </p>
- <p>
- I have elsewhere in this volume spoken of the affectionate regard I have
- always had for the Samoan people, with whom I passed some of the happiest
- years of my life. I have lived among them in peace and in war, have
- witnessed many chivalrous and heroic deeds, and yet have seen acts of the
- most terrible cruelty to the living, the mutilation and dishonouring of
- the dead killed in combat, and other deeds that filled me with horror and
- repulsion. And yet the perpetrators were all professing Christians—either
- Protestant or Roman Catholic—and would no more think of omitting
- daily morning and evening prayer, and attending service in church or
- chapel every Sunday, than they would their daily bathe in sea or river.
- </p>
- <p>
- Always shall I remember one incident that occurred during the civil war
- between King Malietoa and his rebel subjects at the town of Saluafata. The
- <i>olo</i> or trenches, of the king's troops had been carried by the
- rebels, among whom was a young warrior who had often distinguished himself
- by his reckless bravery. At the time of the assault I was in the rebel
- lines, for I was on very friendly terms with both sides, and each knew
- that I would not betray the secrets of the other, and that my only object
- was to render aid to the wounded.
- </p>
- <p>
- This young man, Tolu, told me, before joining in the assault, that he had
- a brother, a cousin, and an uncle in the enemy's trenches, and that he
- trusted he should not meet any one of them, for he feared that he might
- turn <i>pala'ai</i> (coward) and not “do his duty”. He was a Roman
- Catholic, and had been educated by the Marist Brothers, but all his
- relatives, with the exception of one sister, were Protestants—members
- of the Church established by the London Missionary Society.
- </p>
- <p>
- An American trader named Parter and I watched the assault, and saw the
- place carried by the rebels, and went in after them. Among the dead was
- Tolu, and we were told that he had shot himself in grief at having cut
- down his brother, whom he did not recognise.
- </p>
- <p>
- Now as to my own weird experience.
- </p>
- <p>
- There had been severe fighting in the Fâgaloa district of the Island of
- Upolu, and many villages were in flames when I left the Port of Tiavea in
- my boat for Fâgaloa Bay, a few miles along the shore. I was then engaged
- in making a trip along the north coast, visiting almost every village, and
- making arrangements for the purchase of the coming crop of copra (dried
- coco-nut). I was everywhere well received by both Malietoa's people and
- the rebels, but did but little business. The natives were too occupied in
- fighting to devote much time to husking and drying coco-nuts, except when
- they wanted to get money to buy arms and ammunition.
- </p>
- <p>
- My boat's crew consisted of four natives of Savage Island (Niué), many of
- whom are settled in Samoa, where they have ample employment as boatmen and
- seamen. They did not at all relish the sound of bullets whizzing over the
- boat, as we sometimes could not help crossing the line of fire, and they
- had a horror of travelling at night-time, imploring me not to run the risk
- of being slaughtered by a volley from the shore—as how could the
- natives know in the darkness that we were not enemies.
- </p>
- <p>
- Fâgaloa Bay is deep, narrow and very beautiful. Small villages a few miles
- apart may be seen standing in the midst of groves of coco-nut palms, and
- orange, banana and bread-fruit trees, and everywhere bright mountain
- streams of crystal water debouch into the lovely bay.
- </p>
- <p>
- On Sunday afternoon I sailed into the bay and landed at the village of
- Samamea on the east side, intending to remain for the night We found the
- people plunged in grief—a party of rebels had surprised a village
- two miles inland, and ruthlessly slaughtered all the inhabitants as well
- as a party of nearly a score of visitors from the town of Salimu, on the
- west side of the bay. So sudden was the onslaught of the rebels that no
- one in the doomed village escaped except a boy of ten years of age. After
- being decapitated, the bodies of the victims were thrown into the houses,
- and the village set on fire.
- </p>
- <p>
- The people of Samamea hurriedly set out to pursue the raiding rebels, and
- an engagement ensued, in which the latter were badly beaten, and fled so
- hurriedly that they had to abandon all the heads they had taken the
- previous day in order to save their own.
- </p>
- <p>
- The chief of Samamea, in whose house I had my supper, gave me many details
- of the fighting, and then afterwards asked me if I would come and look at
- the heads that had been recovered from the enemy. They were in the “town
- house” and were covered over with sheets of navy blue cloth, or matting. A
- number of natives were seated round the house, conversing in whispers, or
- weeping silently.
- </p>
- <p>
- “These,” said the chief to me, pointing to a number of heads placed apart
- from the others, “are the heads of the Salimu people—seventeen in
- all, men, women and three children. We have sent word to Salimu to the
- relatives to come for them. I cannot send them myself, for no men can be
- spared, and we have our own dead to attend to as well, and may ourselves
- be attacked at any time.”'
- </p>
- <p>
- A few hours later messengers arrived from Salimu. They had walked along
- the shore, for the bay was very rough—it had been blowing hard for
- two days—and, the wind being right ahead, they would not launch a
- canoe—it would only have been swamped.
- </p>
- <p>
- Taken to see the heads of their relatives and friends, the messengers gave
- way to most uncontrollable grief, and their cries were so distressing that
- I went for a walk on the beach—to be out of hearing.
- </p>
- <p>
- When I returned to the village I found the visitors from Salimu and the
- chief of Samamea awaiting to interview me. The chief, acting as their
- spokeman, asked me if I would lend them my boat to take the heads of their
- people to Salimu. He had not a single canoe he could spare, except very
- small ones, which would be useless in such weather, whereas my whaleboat
- would make nothing of it.
- </p>
- <p>
- I could not refuse their request—it would have been ungracious of
- me, and it only meant a half-hour's run across the bay, for Salimu was
- exactly abreast of Samamea. So I said I would gladly sail them over in my
- boat at sunset, when I should be ready.
- </p>
- <p>
- The heads were placed in baskets, and reverently carried down to the
- beach, and placed in the boat, and with our lug-sail close reefed we
- pushed off just after dark.
- </p>
- <p>
- There were nine persons in the boat—the four Salimu people, my crew
- of four and myself. The night was starlight and rather cold, for every now
- and then a chilly rain squall would sweep down from the mountains.
- </p>
- <p>
- As we spun along before the breeze no one spoke, except in low tones. Our
- dreadful cargo was amidships, each basket being covered from view, but
- every now and then the boat would ship some water, and when I told one of
- my men to bale out, he did so with shuddering horror, for the water was
- much blood-stained.
- </p>
- <p>
- When we were more than half-way across, and could see the lights and fires
- of Salimu, a rain squall overtook us, and at the same moment the boat
- struck some floating object with a crash, and then slid over it, and as it
- passed astern I saw what was either a log or plank about twenty feet long.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Boat is stove in, for'ard!” cried one of my men, and indeed that was very
- evident, for the water was pouring in—she had carried away her stem,
- and started all the forward timber ends.
- </p>
- <p>
- To have attempted to stop the inrush of water effectually would have been
- waste, of time, but I called to my men to come aft as far as they could,
- so as to let the boat's head lift; and whilst two of them kept on baling,
- the others shook out the reef in our lug, and the boat went along at a
- great speed, half full of water as she was, and down by the stern. The
- water still rushed in, and I told the Samoans to move the baskets of heads
- farther aft, so that the men could bale out quicker.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We'll be all right in ten minutes, boys,” I cried to my men, as I
- steered; “I'll run her slap up on the beach by the church.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Presently one of the Samoans touched my arm, and said in a whisper that we
- were surrounded by a swarm of sharks. He had noticed them, he said, before
- the boat struck.
- </p>
- <p>
- “They smell the bloodied water,” he muttered.
- </p>
- <p>
- A glance over the side filled me with terror. There were literally scores
- of sharks, racing along on both sides of the boat, some almost on the
- surface, others some feet down, and the phosphorescence of the water added
- to the horror of the scene. At first I was in hopes that they were
- harmless porpoises, but they were so close that some of them could have
- been touched with one's hand. Most fortunately I was steering with a
- rudder, and not a steer oar. The latter would have been torn out of my
- hands by the brutes—the boat have broached-to and we all have met
- with a horrible death. Presently one of the weeping women noticed them,
- and uttered a scream of terror.
- </p>
- <p>
- “<i>Le malie, le malic!</i>” (“The sharks, the sharks!”) she cried.
- </p>
- <p>
- My crew then became terribly frightened, and urged me to let them throw
- the baskets of heads overboard, but the Samoans became frantic at the
- suggestion, all of them weeping.
- </p>
- <p>
- So we kept on, the boat making good progress, although we could only keep
- her afloat by continuous baling of the ensanguined water. In five minutes
- more my heart leapt with joy—we were in shallow water, only a cable
- length from Salimu beach, and then in another blinding rain squall we ran
- on shore, and our broken bows ploughed into the sand, amid the cries of
- some hundreds of natives, many of whom held lighted torches.
- </p>
- <p>
- All of us in the boat were so overwrought that for some minutes we were
- unable to speak, and it took a full bottle of brandy to steady the nerves
- of my crew and myself. I shall never forget that night run across Fâgaloa
- Bay.
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0025" id="link2HCH0025">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XXV ~ A BIT OF GOOD LUCK
- </h2>
- <p>
- Between the southern end of the great island of New Guinea and the Solomon
- Group there is a cluster of islands marked on the chart as “Woodlark
- Islands,” but the native name is Mayu. Practically they were not
- discovered until 1836, when the master of the Sydney sandal-wooding barque
- <i>Woodlark</i> made a survey of the group. The southern part of the
- cluster consists of a number of small well-wooded islands, all inhabited
- by a race of Papuans, who, said Captain Grimes of the <i>Woodlark</i>, had
- certainly never before seen a white man, although they had long years
- before seen ships in the far distance.
- </p>
- <p>
- It was on these islands that I met with the most profitable bit of trading
- that ever befel me during more than a quarter of a century's experience in
- the South Seas.
- </p>
- <p>
- Nearly thirty years passed since Grimes's visit without the natives seeing
- more than half a dozen ships. These were American or Hobart Town whalers,
- and none of them came to an anchor—they laid off and on, and
- bartered with the natives for fresh provisions, but from the many
- inquiries I made, I am sure that no one from these ships put foot on
- shore; for the inhabitants were not to be trusted, being warlike, savage
- and treacherous.
- </p>
- <p>
- The master of one of these ships was told by the natives—or rather
- made to understand, for no one of them knew a word of English—that
- about twelve months previously a large vessel had run on shore one wild
- night on the south side of the group and that all on board had perished.
- Fourteen bodies had been washed on shore at a little island named Elaue,
- all dreadfully battered about, and the ship herself had disappeared and
- nothing remained of her but pieces of wreckage. She had evidently struck
- on the reef near Elaue with tremendous violence, then slipped off and
- sunk. The natives asked the captain to come on shore and be shown the spot
- where the men had been buried, but he was too cautious a man to trust
- himself among them.
- </p>
- <p>
- On his reporting the matter to the colonial shipping authorities at
- Sydney, he learned that two vessels were missing—one a Dutch barque
- of seven hundred tons which left Sydney for Dutch New Guinea, and the
- other a full-rigged English ship bound to Shanghai. No tidings had been
- heard of them for over eighteen months, and it was concluded that the
- vessel lost on Woodlark Island was one or the other, as that island lay in
- the course both would have taken.
- </p>
- <p>
- In 1868-69 there was a great outburst of trading operations in the
- North-West Pacific Islands—then in most instances a <i>terra
- incognita</i>, and there was a keen rivalry between the English and German
- trading firms to get a footing on such new islands as promised them a
- lucrative return for their ventures. Scores of adventurous white men lost
- their lives in a few months, some by the deadly malarial fever, others by
- the treacherous and cannibalistic savages. But others quickly took their
- places—nothing daunted—for the coco-nut oil trade, the then
- staple industry of the North-West Pacific, was very profitable and men
- made fortunes rapidly. What mattered it if every returning ship brought
- news of some bloody tragedy—such and such a brig or schooner having
- been cut off and all hands murdered, cooked and eaten, the vessel
- plundered and then burnt? Such things occur in the North-West Pacific in
- the present times, but the outside world now hears of them through the
- press and also of the punitive expeditions by war-ships of England, France
- or Germany.
- </p>
- <p>
- Then in those old days we traders would merely say to one another that
- “So-and-So 'had gone'”. He and his ship's company had been cut off at
- such-and-such a place, and the matter, in the eager rush for wealth, would
- be forgotten.
- </p>
- <p>
- At that time I was in Levuka—the old capital of Fiji—supercargo
- of a little topsail schooner of seventy-five tons. She was owned and
- sailed by a man named White, an extremely adventurous and daring fellow,
- though very quiet—almost solemn—in his manner.
- </p>
- <p>
- We had been trading among the windward islands of the Fiji Group for six
- months and had not done at all well. White was greatly dissatisfied and
- wanted to break new ground. Every few weeks a vessel would sail into the
- little port of Levuka with a valuable cargo of coco-nut oil in casks,
- dunnaged with ivory-nuts, the latter worth in those days £40 a ton. And
- both oil and ivory-nuts had been secured from the wild savages of the
- North-West in exchange for rubbishy hoop-iron knives, old “Tower” muskets
- with ball and cheap powder, common beads and other worthless articles on
- which there was a profit of thousands per cent. (In fact, I well remember
- one instance in which the master of the Sydney brig <i>E. K. Bateson</i>,
- after four months' absence, returned with a cargo which was sold for
- £5,000. His expenses (including the value of the trade goods he had
- bartered) his crew's wages, provisions, and the wear and tear of the
- ship's gear, came to under £400.)
- </p>
- <p>
- White, who was a very wide-awake energetic man, despite his solemnity, one
- day came on board and told me that he had made up his mind to join in the
- rush to the islands to the North-West between New Guinea and the Solomons.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I have,” he said, “just been talking to the skipper of that French
- missionary brig, the <i>Anonyme</i>. He has just come back from the
- North-West, and told me that he had landed a French priest{*} at Mayu
- (Woodlark Island). He—the priest—remained on shore some days
- to establish a mission, and told Rabalau, the skipper of the brig, that
- the natives were very friendly and said that they would be glad to have a
- resident missionary, but that they wanted a trader still more.
- Furthermore, they have been making oil for over a year in expectation of a
- ship coming, but none had come. And Rabalau says that they have over a
- hundred tuns of oil, and can't make any more as they have nothing to put
- it in. Some of it is in old canoes, some in thousands of big bamboos, and
- some in hollowed-out trees. And they have whips of ivory nuts and are just
- dying to get muskets, tobacco and beads. And not a soul in Levuka except
- Rabalau and I know it. You see, I lent him twenty bolts of canvas and a
- lot of running gear last year, and now he wants to do me a good turn. Now,
- I say that Woodlark is the place for us. Anyway, I've bought all the oil
- casks I could get, and a lot more in shooks, and so let us bustle and get
- ready to be out of this unholy Levuka at daylight.”
- </p>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
- * This was Monseigneur d'Anthipelles the head of the Marist
- Brothers in Oceania.
-</pre>
- <hr />
- <p>
- We did “bustle”. In twenty-four hours we were clear of Levuka reef and
- spinning along to the W.N. W. before the strong south-east trade, for our
- run of 1,600 miles. 'Day and night the little schooner raced over the seas
- at a great rate, and we made the passage in seven days, dropping anchor
- off the largest village in the island—Guasap.
- </p>
- <p>
- In ten minutes our decks were literally packed with excited natives, all
- armed, but friendly. Had they chosen to kill us and seize the schooner, it
- would have been an easy task, for we numbered only eight persons—captain,
- mate, bos'un, four native seamen, and myself.
- </p>
- <p>
- We learned from the natives that two months previously there had been a
- terrible hurricane which lasted for three days and devastated two-thirds
- of the islands. Thousands of coco-nut trees had been blown down, and the
- sea had swept away many villages on the coast. So violent was the surf
- that the wreck of the sunken ship on Elaue Island had been cast up in
- fragments on the reef, and the natives had secured a quantity of iron
- work, copper, and Muntz metal bolts. These articles I at once bargained
- for, after I had seen the collection, and for two old Tower muskets, value
- five shillings each, obtained the lot—worth £250.
- </p>
- <p>
- I had arranged with the chief and his head men to buy their oil in the
- morning. And White and I found it hard to keep our countenances when they
- joyfully accepted to fill every cask we had on the ship each for twenty
- sticks of twist tobacco, a cupful of fine red beads and a fathom of red
- Turkey twill! Or for five casks I would give a musket, a tin of powder,
- twenty bullets, and twenty caps!
- </p>
- <p>
- In ten minutes I had secured eighty tuns of oil (worth £30 a tun) for
- trade goods that cost White less than £20. And the beauty of it was that
- the natives were so impressed by the liberality of my terms that they said
- they would supply the ship with all the fresh provisions—pigs,
- fowls, turtle and vegetables that I asked for, without payment.
- </p>
- <p>
- As White and I, after our palaver with the head men, were about to return
- on board, we noticed two children who were wearing a number of silver
- coins, strung on cinnet (coir) fibre, around their necks. We called them
- to us, looked at the coins and found that they were rupees and English
- five-shilling pieces.
- </p>
- <p>
- I asked one of our Fijian seamen, who acted as interpreter, to ask the
- children from where they got the coins.
- </p>
- <p>
- “On the reef,” they replied, “there are thousands of them cast up with the
- wreckage of the ship that sank a long time ago. Most of them are like
- these”—showing a five-shilling piece; “but there are much more
- smaller ones like these,”—showing a rupee.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Are there any <i>sama sama</i> (yellow) ones?” I asked.
- </p>
- <p>
- No, they said, they had not found any <i>sama sama</i> ones. But they
- could bring me basketfuls of those like which they showed me.
- </p>
- <p>
- White's usually solemn eyes were now gleaming with excitement I drew him
- and the Fiji man aside, and said to the latter quietly:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “Sam, don't let these people think that these coins are of any more value
- than the copper bolts. Tell them that for every one hundred pieces they
- bring on board—no matter what size they may be—I will give
- them a cupful of fine red beads—full measure. Or, if they do not
- care for beads, I will give two sticks of tobacco, or a six-inch butcher
- knife of good, hard steel.”
- </p>
- <p>
- (The three last words made White smile—and whisper to me, “'A good,
- hard steal' some people would say—but not me”.)
- </p>
- <p>
- “And Sam,” I went on, “you shall have an <i>alofa</i> (present) of two
- hundred dollars if you manage this carefully, and don't let these people
- think that we particularly care about these pieces of soft white metal. We
- came to Mayu for oil—understand?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Sam did understand: and in a few minutes every boy and girl in Guasap were
- out on the reef picking up the money. That day they brought us over £200
- in English and Indian silver, together with about £12 in Dutch coins.
- (From this latter circumstance White and I concluded that the wrecked
- vessel was the missing Dutch barque.)
- </p>
- <p>
- On the following morning the reef at low tide presented an extraordinary
- spectacle. Every woman, boy and girl from Guasap and the adjacent villages
- were searching for the coins, and their clamour was terrific. Whilst all
- this was going on, White, and the mate, and crew were receiving the oil
- from the shore, putting it into our casks, driving the hoops, and stowing
- them in the hold, working in such a state of suppressed excitement that we
- were unable to exchange a word with each other, for as each cask was
- filled I, on the after-deck, paid for it, shunted off the seller, and took
- another one in hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- At four o'clock in the afternoon we ceased work on board and went on shore
- to “buy money”.
- </p>
- <p>
- The village square was crowded with women and children, every one of whom
- had money—mostly in English five-shilling pieces. Some of these
- coins were bent and twisted into the most curious shape, some were
- imbedded in lumps of coral, and nearly all gave evidence of the terrific
- fury of the seas which had cast them up upon the reef from a depth of
- seven fathoms of water. Many were merely round lumps, having been rolled
- over and over among the sand and coral. These I demurred to accepting on
- the terms agreed upon for undamaged coins, and the natives cheerfully
- agreed to my decision.
- </p>
- <p>
- That day we bought silver coin, damaged and undamaged, to the value of
- £350, for trade goods worth about £17 or £18.
- </p>
- <p>
- And for the following two weeks, whilst White and our crew were hammering
- and coopering away at the oil casks, and stowing them under hatches, I was
- paying out the trade goods for the oil, and “buying money”.
- </p>
- <p>
- We remained at Mayu for a month, until there was no more money to be found—except
- a few coins (or rather what had once been coins); and then with a ship
- full of oil, and with £2,100 worth of money, we left and sailed for
- Sydney.
- </p>
- <p>
- White sold the money <i>en bloc</i> to the Sydney mint for £1,850. The oil
- realised £2,400, and the copper, etc., £250. My share came to over £400—exclusive
- of four months' wages—making nearly £500. This was the best bit of
- trading luck that I ever met with.
- </p>
- <p>
- I must add that even up to 1895 silver coins from the Dutch barque were
- still being found by the natives of Woodlark Islands.
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0026" id="link2HCH0026">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XXVI ~ MODERN PIRATES
- </h2>
- <p>
- Piracy, as most people are aware, is not yet quite extinct in Chinese and
- East Indian waters, despite the efforts that have been made to utterly
- stamp it out. But it is not generally known that along the shores of Dutch
- New Guinea, on both sides of the great island, there are still vigorous
- communities of native pirates, who will not hesitate to attack even armed
- trading vessels. These savages combine the business of head-hunting with
- piracy, and although they do not possess modern firearms, and their crafts
- are simply huge canoes, they show the most determined courage, even when
- attacking a vessel manned by Europeans.
- </p>
- <p>
- The annual reports of the Governors of Dutch, German and British New
- Guinea, detailing the murderous doings of these head-hunting pirates, are
- as interesting reading as the tales of Rajah Brooke and Stamford Raffles,
- and the practical suppression of piracy in the East Indian Archipelago,
- but seldom attract more than a few lines of comment in the public press.
- </p>
- <p>
- In writing of pirates of the present day, I shall not go beyond my own
- beat of the North and South Pacific, and speak only of events within my
- own personal knowledge and observation. Before entering into an account of
- some of the doings of the New Guinea “Tugeri,” or head-hunter pirates, I
- shall tell the story of two notable acts of piracy committed by white men
- in the South Pacific, less than ten years ago. The English newspapers gave
- some attention to one case, for the two principal criminals concerned were
- tried at Brest, and the case was known as the “Rorique tragedy”. Much
- comment was made on the statement that the King of the Belgians went to
- France, after the prisoners had been sentenced to death (they were
- Belgian), to personally intercede for them. The French press stigmatised
- His Majesty's action as a scandal (one journal suggesting that perhaps the
- pirates were pretty women in men's garb); but no doubt King Leopold is a
- very tender-hearted man, despite the remarks of unkind English people on
- the subject of the eccentricities of the Belgian officers in the Congo
- Free State—such as cutting off the hands of a few thousands of
- stupid negroes who failed to bring in sufficient rubber. There are even
- people who openly state that the Sultan of Turkey dislikes Armenians, and
- has caused some of them to be hurt. But I am getting away from my subject
- The story of the Roriques, and the tragedy of the <i>Niuroahiti</i> which
- was the name of the vessel they seized, is one of the many grisly episodes
- with which the history of the South Seas is so prolific. Briefly it is as
- follows:—
- </p>
- <p>
- About the end of 1891 the two brothers arrived at Papeite, the capital of
- Tahiti, from the Paumotu Group, where, it was subsequently learned, they
- had been put on shore by the captain of an island trader, who strongly
- suspected them of plotting with the crew to murder him and seize the ship.
- Nothing of this incident, however, was known at Tahiti among the white
- residents with whom they soon ingratiated themselves; they were
- exceedingly agreeable-mannered men, and the elder brother, who was a
- remarkably handsome man of about thirty-five, was an excellent linguist,
- speaking German, French, Italian, English, Dutch, Spanish and Zulu
- fluently. Although they had with them no property beyond firearms, their
- <i>bonhomie</i> and the generally accepted belief that they were men of
- means, made them the recipients of much hospitality and kindness.
- Eventually the younger man was given a position as a trader on one of the
- pearl-shell lagoon islands in the Paumotu Group, while the other took the
- berth of mate in the schooner <i>Niuroahiti</i>, a smart little
- native-built vessel owned by a Tahitian prince. The schooner was under the
- command of a half-caste, and her complement consisted, besides the
- captain, of Mr. William Gibson, the supercargo, Rorique the first mate, a
- second mate, four Society Island natives, and the cook, a Frenchman named
- Hippolyte Miret. The <i>Niuroahiti</i> traded between Tahiti and the
- Paumotus, and when she sailed on her last voyage she was bound to the
- Island of Kaukura, where the younger Rorique was stationed as trader. She
- never returned, but it was ascertained that she had called at Kaukura, and
- then left again with the second brother Rorique as passenger.
- </p>
- <p>
- Long, long months passed, and the Australian relatives and friends of
- young Gibson, a cheery, adventurous young fellow, began to think, with the
- owner of the <i>Niuroakiti</i>, that she had met a fate common enough in
- the South Sea trade—turned turtle in a squall, and gone to the
- bottom with all hands.
- </p>
- <p>
- About this time I was on a trading cruise in the Caroline Islands, and one
- day we spoke a Fiji schooner. I went on board for a chat with the skipper,
- and told him of the <i>Niuroakiti</i> affair, of which I had heard a month
- before.
- </p>
- <p>
- “By Jove,” he exclaimed, “I met a schooner exactly like her about ten days
- ago. She was going to the W.N.W.—Ponapê way—and showed French
- colours. I bore up to speak her, but she evidently didn't want it, hoisted
- her squaresail and stood away.”
- </p>
- <p>
- From this I was sure that the vessel was the <i>Niuroakiti</i>, and
- therefore sent a letter to the Spanish governor at Ponapê, relating the
- affair. It reached him just in time.
- </p>
- <p>
- The <i>Niuroakiti</i> was then lying in Jakoits harbour in Ponapé, and was
- to sail on the following day for Macao. She was promptly seized, and the
- brothers Rorique put in irons, and taken on board the Spanish cruiser <i>Le
- Gaspi</i> for conveyance to Manila Hippolyte Miret, the cook, confessed to
- the Spanish authorities that the brothers Rorique had shot dead in their
- sleep the captain, Mr. Gibson, the second mate, and the four native
- sailors.
- </p>
- <p>
- The trial was a long one, but the evidence was most damning and
- convincing, although the brothers passionately declared that Miret's story
- was a pure invention. Sentence of death was passed, but was afterwards
- commuted to imprisonment for life, and the Roriques are now in chains in
- Cayenne.
- </p>
- <p>
- The second case was of a very dreadful character, and has an additional
- interest from the fact that out of all the participators—the pirates
- and their victims—only one was left alive to tell the tale, and he
- was found in a dying condition on one of the Galapagos Islands, and only
- lived a few days. The story was told to me by the captain of the
- brigantine <i>Isaac Revels</i>, of San Francisco, who put into the
- Galapagos to repair his ship, which had started a butt-end and was leaking
- seriously. He had just anchored between Narborough and Albemarle Islands
- when he saw a man sitting on the shore, and waving his hands to the ship.
- A boat was lowered, and the man brought on board. He was in a ravenous
- state of hunger, and half-demented; but after he had been carefully
- attended to he was able to give some account of himself. He was a young
- Colombian Indian, could speak no English, and only a mongrel, halting kind
- of Spanish. The Portuguese cook of the Isaac Revels, however, understood
- him. This was his story:—
- </p>
- <p>
- He was one of the peons of a wealthy Ecuadorian gentleman, who with
- another equally rich friend sailed from Guayaquil for the Galapagos
- Islands (which belong to Ecuador), and the largest of which, Albemarle
- Island, they had leased from that Government for sheep and
- cattle-breeding. They took with them a few thousand silver dollars, which
- the peon saw placed in “an iron box” (safe).
- </p>
- <p>
- One of the merchants had with him his two young daughters. The vessel was
- a small brig, and the captain and crew mostly Chilenos. One night, when
- the brig was half-way across to the Galapagos (600 miles from Ecuador) the
- peon, who was on deck asleep, was suddenly seized, pitched down into the
- fo'c'stle, and the scuttle closed. Here he was left alone until dawn, and
- then ordered on deck, aft. The captain pointed a pistol at his head, and
- threatened to shoot him dead if he ever spoke of what had happened in the
- night. The man—although he knew nothing of what had happened—promised
- to be secret, and was then given fifty dollars, and put in the mate's
- watch. He saw numerous blood-stains on the after-deck, and soon after was
- told by one of the hands that all the four passengers had been murdered,
- and thrown overboard. The captain, mate and four men, it appeared, had
- first made ready a boat, provisioned, and lowered it They made some noise,
- which aroused the male passengers, one of whom came on deck to see what
- was the matter. He was at once seized, but being a very powerful man, made
- a most determined fight. His friend rushed up from below with a revolver
- in his hand, and shot two of the assailants dead, and wounded the mate.
- But they were assailed on all sides—shot at and struck with various
- weapons, and then thrown overboard to drown. Then the pirates, after a
- hurried consultation, went below, and forcing open the girls' cabin door,
- ruthlessly shot them, carried them on deck, and cast them over the side.
- It had been their intention to have sent all four away in the boat, but
- the resistance made so enraged them that they murdered them instead.
- </p>
- <p>
- For some days the pirates kept on a due west course towards the Galapagos.
- A barrel of spirits was broached, and night and day captain and crew were
- drunk. When Albemarle Island was sighted, every one except the peon and a
- boy was more or less intoxicated. A boat had been lowered, and was towing
- astern—for what purpose the peon did not know. At night it fell a
- dead calm, and a strong current set the brig dangerously close in shore.
- The captain ordered some of the hands into her to tow the brig out of
- danger; they refused, and shots were exchanged, but after a while peace
- was restored. The peon and the boy were then told to get into the boat,
- and bale her out, as she was leaky. They did so, and whilst so engaged a
- sudden squall struck the brig, and the boat's towline either parted, or
- was purposely cast off.
- </p>
- <p>
- When the squall cleared, the peon and boy in the drifting boat could see
- nothing whatever of the brig—she had probably capsized—and the
- two unfortunate beings soon after daylight found themselves so close to
- the breakers on Narborough Island that they were unable to pull her clear—she
- being very heavy. She soon struck, and was rolled over and over, and the
- Chileno boy drowned. The peon also received internal injuries, but managed
- to reach the shore.
- </p>
- <p>
- The people on board the <i>Isaac Revels</i> did all they could for the
- poor fellow, but he only survived a few days.
- </p>
- <p>
- In another article in this volume I have told of my fruitless efforts to
- induce some of the Rook Island cannibals to “recruit” with me. It was on
- that voyage I first saw a party of New Guinea head-hunting pirates, and I
- shall never forget the experience.
- </p>
- <p>
- After leaving Rook Island, we stood over to the coast of German New
- Guinea, and sailed along it for three hundred miles to the Dutch boundary
- (longitude 141 east of Greenwich) for we were in hopes of getting a full
- cargo of native labourers from some of the many islands which stud the
- coast. No other “labour” ship had ever been so far north, and Morel (the
- skipper) and I were keenly anxious to find a new ground. We had a fine
- vessel, with a high freeboard, a well-armed and splendid crew, and had no
- fear of being cut off by the natives. (I may here mention that I was
- grievously disappointed, for owing to the lack of a competent interpreter
- I failed to get a single recruit But in other respects the voyage was a
- success, for I did some very satisfactory trading business)
- </p>
- <p>
- After visiting many of the islands, we anchored in what is now named in
- the German charts Krauel Bay, on the mainland. There were a few scattered
- villages on the shore, and some of the natives boarded us. They were all
- well-armed, with their usual weapons, but were very shy, distrustful and
- nervous.
- </p>
- <p>
- Early one morning five large canoes appeared in the offing—evidently
- having come from the Schouten Islands group, about ten miles to the
- eastward. The moment they were seen by the natives on shore, the villages
- were abandoned, and the people fled into the bush.
- </p>
- <p>
- In a most gallant style the five canoes came straight into the bay, and
- brought-to within a few hundred fathoms of our ship, and the first thing
- we noticed was a number of decapitated heads hanging over the sides of
- each craft, as boat-fenders are hung over the gunwale of a boat. This was
- intended to impress the White Men.
- </p>
- <p>
- We certainly were impressed, but were yet quite ready to make short work
- of our visitors if they attempted mischief. Our ship's high freeboard
- alone would have made it very difficult for them to rush us, and the crew
- were so well-armed that, although we numbered but twenty-eight, we could
- have wiped out over five hundred possible assailants with ease had they
- attempted to board and capture the ship.
- </p>
- <p>
- Some of the leaders of this party of pirates came on board our vessel, and
- Morel and I soon established very friendly relations with them. They told
- us that they had been two months out from their own territory (in Dutch
- New Guinea) had raided over thirty villages, and taken two hundred and
- fifteen heads, and were now returning home—well satisfied.
- </p>
- <p>
- Morel and I went on board one of the great canoes, and were received in a
- very friendly manner, and shown many heads—some partly dried, some
- too fresh, and unpleasant-looking.
- </p>
- <p>
- These head-hunting pirates were not cannibals, and behaved in an extremely
- decorous manner when they visited our ship. A finer, more stalwart, proud,
- self-possessed, and dignified lot of savages—if they could be so
- termed—I had never before seen.
- </p>
- <p>
- They left Krauel bay two days later, without interfering with the people
- on shore, and Morel and I shook hands, and rubbed noses with the leading
- head-hunters, when we said farewell.
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0027" id="link2HCH0027">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XXVII ~ PAUTÔE
- </h2>
- <p>
- “Please, good White Man, wilt have me for <i>tavini</i> (servant)?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Marsh, the trader, and the Reverend Harry Copley, the resident missionary
- on Motumoe, first looked at the speaker, then at each other, and then
- laughed hilariously.
- </p>
- <p>
- A native girl, about thirteen years of age, was standing in the trader's
- doorway, clad only in a girdle of many-hued dracaena leaves. Her long,
- glossy black hair fell about her smooth red-brown shoulders like a mantle,
- and her big, deer-like eyes were filled with an eager expectancy.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Come hither, Pautôe,” said the missionary, speaking to the girl in the
- bastard Samoan dialect of the island. “And so thou dost want to become
- servant to Marsi?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Pautôe's eyes sparkled.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Aye,” she replied, “I would be second <i>tavini</i> to him. No wages do I
- want, only let him give me my food, and a mat upon which to sleep, and I
- shall do much work for him—truly, much work.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The missionary drew her to him and patted her shoulder.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Dost like sardines, Pautôe?”
- </p>
- <p>
- She clasped her hands over her bosom, and looked at him demurely from
- underneath her beautiful long-lashed eyes, and then her red lips parted
- and she showed her even, pearly teeth as she smiled.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Give her a tin of sardines, and a biscuit or two, Marsh,” said the
- parson, “she's one of my pupils at the Mission House. You remember Bret
- Harte's story, <i>The Right Eye of the Spanish Commander</i>, and the
- little Indian maid Paquita? Well, this youngster is my Paquita. She's a
- most intelligent girl.” He paused a moment and then added regretfully:
- “Unfortunately my wife dislikes her intensely—thinks she's too
- forward. As a matter of fact a more lovable child never breathed.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Marsh nodded. He was not surprised at Mrs. Copley disliking the child, for
- she—a thin, sharp-vis-aged and austere lady of forty years of age—was
- childless, and older than her cheerful, kind-hearted husband by twelve
- years. The natives bore her no love, and had given her the contemptuous
- nickname of <i>Le Matua moa e le fua</i>—“the eggless old hen”.
- </p>
- <p>
- Marsh himself told me this story. He and I had been shipmates together in
- many cruises until he tired of the sea, and, having saved a little money,
- started business as a trader among the Equatorial Islands—and I lost
- a good comrade and friend.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I wish you would take the child, Marsh,” said the missionary presently.
- “She is an orphan, and——”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I'll take her, of course. She can help Leota, I daresay, and I'll give
- her a few dollars a month. But why isn't she dressed in the usual flaming
- style of your other pupils—skirt, blouse, brown paper-soled boots,
- and a sixpenny poke bonnet with artificial flowers, and otherwise made up
- as one of the 'brands plucked from the burning' whose photographs glorify
- the parish magazines in the old country?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Copley's blue-grey eyes twinkled. “Ah, that's the rub with my wife. Pautôe
- won't 'put 'em on'. She is not a native of this island, as you can no
- doubt see. Look at her now—almost straight nose, but Semitic, thin
- nostrils, long silky hair, small hands and feet. Where do you think she
- hails from?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Somewhere to the eastward—Marquesas Group, perhaps.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “That is my idea, too. Do you know her story?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No. Who is she?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ah, that no one knows. Early one morning twelve or thirteen years ago—long
- before I came here—the natives saw a small topsail-schooner becalmed
- off the island. Several canoes put off, and the people, as they drew near
- the vessel, were surprised and alarmed to see a number of armed men on
- deck, one of whom hailed them, and told them not to come on board, but
- that one canoe only might come alongside. But the natives hesitated, till
- the man stooped down and then held up a baby girl about a year old, and
- said:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “'If you will take this child on shore and care for it I will give you a
- case of tobacco, a bag of bullets, two muskets and a keg of powder, some
- knives, axes and two fifty-pound tins of ship biscuit. The child's mother
- is dead, and there is no woman on board to care for it.'
- </p>
- <p>
- “For humanity's sake alone the natives would have taken the infant, and
- said so, but at the same time they did not refuse the offer of the
- presents. So one of the canoes went alongside, the babe was passed down,
- and then the presents. Then the people were told to shove off. A few hours
- later a breeze sprang up, and the schooner stood away to the westward.
- That was how the youngster came here.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I wonder what had occurred?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “A tragedy of some sort—piracy and murder most likely. One of the
- natives named Rahili who went out to the vessel, was an ex-sailor, who
- spoke and could also read and write English well, and he noticed that
- although the schooner was much weather-worn as if she had been a long
- while at sea, there was a newly-painted name on her stern—<i>Meta</i>.
- That in itself was suspicious. I sent an account of the affair to the
- colonial papers, but nothing was known of any vessel named the <i>Meta</i>.
- Since then the child had lived first with one family, and then another. As
- I have said, she is extremely intelligent, but has a curiously independent
- spirit—'refractory' my wife calls it—and does not associate
- with the other native girls. One day, not long ago, she got into serious
- trouble through her temper getting the better of her. Lisa, my native
- assistant's daughter is, as I daresay you know, a very conceited,
- domineering young lady, and puts on very grand airs—all these native
- teachers and their wives and daughters are alike with regard to the 'side'
- they put on—and my wife has made so much of her that the girl has
- become a perfect female prig. Well, it seems that Pautôe refused to attend
- my wife's sewing class (which Lisa bosses) saying that she was going out
- on the reef to get crayfish. Thereupon Lisa called her a <i>laakau tafea</i>
- (a log of wood that had drifted on shore) and Pautôe, resenting the insult
- and the jeers and laughter of the other children, seized Mademoiselle Lisa
- by the hair, tore her blouse off her and called her 'a fat-faced, pig-eyed
- monster'.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Marsh laughed. “Description terse, but correct.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “The deacons expelled her from school, and ordered her a whipping, but the
- chief and I interfered, and stopped it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The trader nodded approval. “Of course you did, Copley; just what any one
- who knows you would expect you to do. But although I am quite willing to
- give the child a home, I can't be a schoolmaster to her.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Of course not. You are doing more than any other man would do for her.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Twelve months had passed, and Marsh had never had reason to regret his
- kindness to the orphan. To him she was wonderfully gentle and obedient,
- and from the very first had acceded to his wish to dress herself in
- semi-European fashion. The trader's household consisted of himself and his
- two servants, a Samoan man named Âli (Harry) and his wife, Leota. For some
- years they had followed his fortunes as a trader in the South Seas, and
- both were intensely devoted to him. A childless couple, Marsh at first had
- feared that they would resent the intrusion of Pautôe into his home But he
- was mistaken; for both Âli and Leota had but one motive for existence, and
- that was to please him—the now grown man, who eleven years before,
- when he was a mere youth, had run away from his ship in Samoa, and they
- had hidden him from pursuit And then when “Tikki” (Dick) Marsh, by his
- industrious habits, was enabled to begin life as a trader, they had come
- with him, sharing his good and his bad luck with him, and serving him
- loyally and devotedly in his wanderings throughout the Isles of the
- Pacific. So, when Pautôe came they took her to themselves as a matter of
- duty; then, as they began to know the girl, and saw the intense admiration
- she had for Marsh, they loved her, and took her deep into their warm
- hearts. And Pautôe would sometimes tell them that she knew not whom she
- loved most—“Tikki” or themselves.
- </p>
- <p>
- Matters, from a business point of view, had not for two years prospered
- with Marsh on Motumoe. Successive seasons of drought had destroyed the
- cocoanut crop, and so one day he told Copley, who keenly sympathised with
- him, that he must leave the island. This was a twelvemonth after Pautôe
- had come to stay with him.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I shall miss you very much, Marsh,” said the missionary, “miss you more
- than you can imagine. My monthly visits to you here have been a great
- solace and pleasure to me. I have often wished that, instead of being
- thirty miles apart, we were but two or three, so that I could have come
- and seen you every few days.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Then he added: “Poor little Pautôe will break her heart over your going
- away”.
- </p>
- <p>
- “But I have no intention of leaving her behind, Copley. I am not so hard
- pressed that I cannot keep the youngster. I am thinking of putting her to
- school in Samoa for a few years.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “That is very generous of you, Marsh. I would have much liked to have
- taken her into my own house, but—my wife, you know.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Two weeks later Marsh left the island in an American whaleship, which was
- to touch at Samoa There he intended to buy a small cutter, and then
- proceed to the Western Pacific, where he hoped to better his fortunes by
- trading throughout the various islands of the wild New Hebrides and
- Solomon Groups.
- </p>
- <p>
- During the voyage to Samoa he one day asked Pautôe if she would not like
- to go to school in Samoa with white and half-caste girls, some of her own
- age, and others older.
- </p>
- <p>
- Such an extraordinary change came over the poor child's face that Marsh
- was astounded. For some seconds she did not speak, but breathed quickly
- and spasmodically as if she were physically exhausted, then her whole
- frame trembled violently. Then a sob broke from her.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Be not angry with me, Tikki,... but I would rather die than stay in
- Samoa,... away from thee and Ali and Leota. Oh, master——” she
- ceased speaking and sobbed so unrestrainedly that Marsh was moved. He
- waited till she had somewhat calmed herself, and then said gravely:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “'Twill be a great thing for thee, Pautôe, this school. Thou wilt be
- taught much that is good, and the English lady who has the school will be
- kind——”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Nay, nay, Tikki,” she cried brokenly, “send me not away, I beseech thee.
- Let me go with thee, and Âli and Leota, to those new, wild lands. Oh, cast
- me not away from thee. Where thou goest, let me go.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Marsh smiled. “Thou art another Ruth, little one. In such words did Ruth
- speak to Naomi when she went to another country. Dost know the story?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Aye, I know the story, and I have no fear of wild lands. Only have I fear
- of seeing no more all those I love if thou dost leave me to die in Samoa.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Again the trader smiled as he bade her dry her tears.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Thou shalt come with us, little one Now, go tell Leota.”
- </p>
- <p>
- For many months Marsh remained in Apia, unable to find a suitable vessel.
- Then, not caring to remain in such a noisy and expensive port—he
- rented a native house at a charmingly situated village called Laulii,
- about ten miles from Apia, and standing at the head of a tiny bay, almost
- landlocked by verdant hills. So much was he pleased with the place, that
- he half formed a resolution to settle there permanently, or at least for a
- year or two.
- </p>
- <p>
- Âli and Leota were delighted to learn this, for although they were willing
- to go anywhere in the world with their beloved “Tikki,” they, like all
- Samoans, were passionately fond of their own beautiful land, with its
- lofty mountains and forests, and clear running streams.
- </p>
- <p>
- And Pautôe, too, was intensely happy, for to her Samoa was a dream-land of
- light and beauty. Never before had she seen mountains, except in pictures
- shown her by Mr. Copley or Marsh, and never before had she seen a stream
- of running water. For Motumoe, where she had lived all her young life, was
- an atoll—low, flat, and sandy, and although densely covered with
- coco palms, there were but few other trees of any height And now, in
- Samoa, she was never tired of wandering alone in the deep, silent forest,
- treading with ecstasy the thick carpet of fallen leaves, gazing upwards at
- the canopy of branches, and listening with a thrilled delight to the
- booming notes of the great blue-plumaged, red-breasted pigeons, and the
- plaintive answering cries of the ring-doves. Then, too, in the forest at
- the back of the village were ruins of ancient dwellings of stone, build by
- hands unknown, preserved from decay by a binding net-work of ivy-like
- creepers and vines, and the haunt and resting-place of the wild boar and
- his mate, and their savage, quick-footed progeny. And sometimes she would
- hear the shrill, cackling scream of a wild mountain cock, and see the
- great, fierce-eyed bird, half-running, half-flying over the leaf-strewn
- ground. And to her the forest became a deep and holy mystery, to adore and
- to love.
- </p>
- <p>
- Quite near to Laulii was another village—Lautonga, in which there
- lived a young American trader named Lester Meredith—like Marsh, an
- ex-sailor. He was an extremely reserved, quiet man, but he and Marsh soon
- became friends, and they exchanged almost daily visits. Meredith, like
- Marsh, was an unmarried man, and one day the local chief of the district
- jocularly reproached them.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Thou, Tikki, art near to two-score years, and yet hast no wife, and thou,
- Lesta, art one score and five and yet live alone. Why is it so? Ye are
- both fine, handsome men, and pleasing to the eyes of women.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Marsh laughed. “O Tofia, thou would-be matchmaker! I am no marrying man.
- Once, indeed, I gave my heart to a woman in mine own country of England,
- but although she loved me, her people were both rich and proud, and I was
- poor. So she became wife to another man.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Pautôe, who was listening intently to the men's talk, set her white teeth,
- and clenched her shapely little hands, and then said slowly:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “Didst kill the other man, Tikki?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Marsh and Meredith both laughed, and the former shook his head, and then
- Tofia turned to Meredith:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “Lesta, hast never thought of Maliea, the daughter of Tonu? There is no
- handsomer girl in Samoa, and she is of good family. And she would like to
- marry thee.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Meredith smiled, and then said jestingly, “Nay, Tofia, I care not for
- Maliea. I shall wait for Pautôe. Wilt have me, little one?”
- </p>
- <p>
- The girl looked at him steadily, and then answered gravely:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “Aye, if Tikki is willing that I should. But yet I will not be separated
- from him.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then you and I will have to become partners, Meredith,” said Marsh, his
- eyes twinkling with amusement.
- </p>
- <p>
- A few days after this Meredith returned from a visit to Apia.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Marsh,” he said to his friend, “I think it would be a good thing for us
- both if we really did go into partnership, and put our little capitals
- together. Are you so disposed?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Quite. There is nothing I should like better.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Good. Well, now I have some news. I have just been looking at a little
- schooner in Apia harbour. She arrived a few days ago, leaking, and the
- owner will sell her for $ 1,800. She will suit us very well. I overhauled
- her, and except that she is old and leaks badly, from having been ashore,
- she is well worth the money. You and I can easily put her on the beach
- here, get at the leak, and recopper her at a cost of a few hundred
- dollars. We can have her ready for sea in three weeks. You, Âli and myself
- can do all the work ourselves.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Marsh was delighted, and in less than an hour the two men, accompanied by
- Âli and Tofia, were on the way to Apia, much to the wonder of Leota and
- Pautôe, who were not then let into the secret—the newly-made
- partners intending to give them a pleasant surprise.
- </p>
- <p>
- On boarding the little craft, Marsh was much pleased with her, and during
- the day the business of transferring the vessel to her new owners was
- completed at the American Consulate, the money paid over, and the partners
- put in possession.
- </p>
- <p>
- The same evening, Âli, a splendid diver, succeeded in finding and partly
- stopping the main leak, which was on the bilge on the port side, and
- preparations were made to sail early in the morning for Laulii.
- </p>
- <p>
- The partners were seated in the little cabin, smoking, and talking over
- their plans for the future, when the former master and owner of the
- schooner came on board to see, as he said, “how they were getting on”.
- </p>
- <p>
- He was a good-natured, intelligent old man, and had had a life-long
- experience in the South Seas. By birth he was a Genoese, but he was
- intensely proud of being a naturalised British subject, and, from his
- youth, having sailed under the red ensign of Old England. Marsh and
- Meredith made him very welcome, and he, being mightily pleased at having
- sold <i>The Dove</i> (as the schooner was called), and also having dined
- exceedingly well at the one hotel then in Apia, became very talkative.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I can tell you, gentlemen, that <i>The Dove</i>, although she is not a
- new ship, is as strong and sound as if she were only just built. I have
- had her now for nearly thirteen years, and have made my little fortune by
- her, and I could kiss her, from the end of her jibboom to the upper rudder
- gudgeon. But I am an old man now, and want to go back to my own country to
- die among my people—or else”—and here he twisted his long
- moustaches and laughed hilariously—“settle down in England, and
- become a grand man like old General Rosas of South America, and die pious,
- and have a bishop and a mile-long procession at my funeral.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The partners joined the old sailor in his laugh, and then Marsh said
- casually, and to make conversation:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “By-the-way, Captain, where did you buy <i>The Dove?</i>”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I didn't buy her, my bold breezy lads. And I didn't steal her, as many a
- ship is stolen in the South Seas. I came by her honestly enough.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “A present?” said Meredith interrogatively.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Wrong, my lad—neither was she a present” Then the ancient squared
- his broad shoulders, helped himself to some refreshment (more than was
- needed for his good) and clapping Marsh on the shoulder, said: “I'll tell
- you the yarn, my lads—for you are only lads, aren't you? Well, here
- it is:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “About twelve or thirteen years ago I was mate of a San Francisco trading
- brig, the <i>Lola Montez</i>, and one afternoon, when we were running down
- the east coast of New Caledonia, we sighted a vessel drifting in shore—this
- very same schooner. The skipper of the brig sent me with a boat's crew to
- take possession of her—for we could see that no one was on board.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I boarded her and found that her decks had been swept by a heavy sea—which,
- I suppose, had carried away every one on board. I overhauled the cabin,
- but could not find her papers, but her name was on the stern—<i>Meta</i>.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Marsh started, and was about to speak, but the old skipper went on:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “During the night heavy weather came on, and the <i>Lola Montez</i> and
- the <i>Meta</i> parted company. The <i>Lola</i> was never heard of again—she
- was old and as rotten as an over-ripe pear, and I suppose her seams
- opened, and she went down.
- </p>
- <p>
- “So I stuck to the <i>Meta</i> brought her to Sydney, and re-named her <i>The
- Dove</i>. And she's a bully little ship, I can tell you. I think that she
- was built in the Marquesas Islands, for all her knees and stringers are of
- <i>ngiia</i> wood (<i>lignum vitae</i>) cut in the Marquesan fashion, and
- set so closely together that any one would think she was meant for a
- Greenland whaler. Then there is another thing about her that you will
- notice, and which makes me feel sure that she was built by a whaleman, and
- that is the carvings of whales on each end of the windlass barrel, and on
- every deck stanchion there are the same, although you can hardly see them
- now—they are so much covered up by yearly coatings of paint for over
- a dozen years.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Meredith rose suddenly from his seat. “You'll excuse me, but I feel tired,
- and must turn in.” The visitor took the hint, and did not stay. Wishing
- the partners good luck, he got into his boat, and pushed off for the
- shore. Then Meredith turned to Marsh, and said quietly:—“Marsh, I
- know that you can trust Âli, but what of Tofia?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “He's all right, I think. But what is the matter?” “I'll let you know
- presently. But first tell Tofia that he had better go on shore to sleep.
- You and I are going to have a quiet talk, and then do a little overhauling
- of this cabin.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Wondering what possibly was afoot, Marsh got rid of the friendly chief by
- asking him to go on shore and buy some fresh provisions, but not to
- trouble about bringing them off until daylight, as he and his partner were
- tired, and wanted to turn in.
- </p>
- <p>
- Leaving Âli on deck to keep watch, the two men went below, and sat down at
- the cabin table.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Marsh,” began the young American, “I have a mighty queer yarn to tell you—I
- know that this schooner, once the <i>Meta</i>, and now <i>The Dove</i>,
- was originally the <i>Juliette</i>, and was built by my father at Nukahiva
- in the Marquesas. Now, I'll get through the story as quickly as possible,
- but as I don't want to be interrupted I'll ask Âli not to let any chance
- visitor come aboard to-night.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He went on deck, and on returning first filled and lit his pipe in his
- cool, leisurely manner, and resumed his story.
- </p>
- <p>
- “My father, as I one day told you, was a whaling skipper, and was lost at
- sea about thirteen years ago—that is all I ever did say about him, I
- think. He was a hard old man, and there was no love between us, so that is
- why I have not spoken of him. He used me very roughly, and when my mother
- died I left him after a stormy scene. That was eighteen or nineteen years
- ago, and I never saw him again.
- </p>
- <p>
- “When my poor mother died, he sold his ship and went to the Marquesas
- Islands, and opened a business there as a trader. He had made a lot of
- money at sperm whaling; and, I suppose, thought that as I had left him,
- swearing I never wished to see him again, that he would spend the rest of
- his days in the South Seas—money grubbing to the last.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Sometimes I heard of him as being very prosperous. Once, when I was told
- that he had been badly hurt by a gun accident, I wrote to him and asked if
- he would care for me to come and stay with him. This I did for the sake of
- my dead mother. Nearly a year and a half passed before I got an answer—an
- answer that cut me to the quick:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “'I want no undutiful son near me. I do well by myself'.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Several years went by, and then when I was mate of a trading schooner in
- the Fijis I was handed a letter by the American Consul. It was two years
- old, and was from my father—a long, long letter, written in such a
- kindly manner, and with such affectionate expressions that I forgave the
- old man all the savage and unmerited thrashings he had given me when I
- sailed with him as a lad.
- </p>
- <p>
- “In this letter he told me that he wanted to see me again—that made
- me feel good—and that he had built a schooner which he had named <i>Juliette</i>
- after my mother, who was a French <i>Canadienne</i>. He described the
- labour and trouble he had taken over her, the knees and stringers of <i>ngiia</i>
- wood, and the carvings of sperm whales he had had cut on the windlass
- butts and stanchions. Then he went on to say that he had been having a lot
- of trouble with the French naval authorities, who wanted to drive all
- Englishmen and Americans out of the group, and had made up his mind to
- leave the Marquesas and settle down again either in Samoa or Tonga, where
- he hoped I would join him and forget how hardly he had used me in the
- past.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The gun accident, he wrote, had rendered him all but blind, and he had
- engaged a man named Krause, a German, as mate, and to navigate the <i>Juliette</i>
- to Tonga or Samoa. Krause, he said, was a man he did not like, nor trust;
- but as he was a good sailor-man and could navigate, he had engaged him, as
- he could get no one else at Nukahiva.
- </p>
- <p>
- “With my father were a party of Marquesan natives—a chief and his
- wife and her infant, and two young men. The schooner's crew were four
- Dagoes—deserters from some ship. He did not care about taking them,
- but had no choice.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Some ten days before the German and the crew came on board, my father
- secretly took all his money—$8,000 in gold—and, aided by the
- Marquesan chief, made a secure hiding-place for it by removing the skin in
- the transoms, and then packing it in oakum and wedging each package in
- between the timbers. Then he carefully relaid the skin, and repainted the
- whole. He said, 'If anything happens to me through treachery, no one will
- ever discover that money, although they will get a couple of thousand of
- Mexican silver dollars in my chest'.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, the <i>Juliette</i> sailed, and was never again heard of.
- </p>
- <p>
- “That brings my story to an end, and if this is the <i>Juliette</i>, and
- the money has not been taken, it is within six feet of us—there,”
- and he pointed calmly to the transoms.
- </p>
- <p>
- Marsh was greatly excited.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We shall soon see, Meredith. But first let me say that I am sure that
- this is your father's missing schooner, and that she is the vessel that
- thirteen years ago called at Motumoe, and those who sailed her sent Pautôe
- on shore when she was an infant.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Then he hurriedly related the story as told to him by Mr. Copley.
- </p>
- <p>
- Meredith nodded. “No doubt the missionary was right and my father's fears
- were well-founded. I suppose the German and the Dagoes murdered him and
- the four Marquesans. Krause, of course, would know that my poor father had
- money on board. And I daresay that the Dagoes spared the child out of
- piety—their Holy Roman consciences wouldn't let 'em cut the throat
- of a probably unbaptised child. Now, Marsh, if you'll clear away the
- cushions and all the other gear from the transoms, I'll get an auger and
- an axe, and we'll investigate.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Rising from his seat in his usual leisurely manner, he went on deck, and
- returned in a few minutes with a couple of augers, an axe, two wedges, and
- a heavy hammer.
- </p>
- <p>
- Marsh had cleared away the cushions and some boxes of provisions, and was
- eagerly awaiting him.
- </p>
- <p>
- Meredith, first of all, took the axe, and, with the back of the head,
- struck the casing of the transoms.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It's all right, Marsh. Either the money, or something else is there right
- enough, I believe. Bore away on your side.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The two augers were quickly biting away through the hard wood of the
- casing, and in less than two minutes Marsh felt the point of his break
- through the inner skin, and then enter something soft; then it clogged,
- and finally stuck. Reversing the auger, he withdrew it, and saw that on
- the end were some threads of oakum and canvas, which he excitedly showed
- to his partner, who nodded, and went on boring in an unmoved manner, until
- the point of his auger penetrated the planking, stuck, and then came a
- sound of it striking loose metal. The wedges were then driven in between
- the planking, and one strip prised off, and there before them was the
- money in small canvas bags, each bag parcelled round with oakum, which was
- also packed tightly between the skin and timbers, forming a compact mass.
- </p>
- <p>
- Removing one bag only, Marsh placed it aside, then they replaced the
- plank, plugged the auger holes, and hid the marks from view by stacking
- the provision cases along the transoms.
- </p>
- <p>
- Âli was called below, and told of the discovery. He, of course, was highly
- delighted, and his eyes gleamed when Meredith unfastened the bag, and
- poured out a stream of gold coin upon the cabin table.
- </p>
- <p>
- That night the partners did not sleep. They talked over their plans for
- the future, and decided to take the schooner to San Francisco, sell her,
- and buy a larger vessel and a cargo of trade goods. Meredith was to
- command, and Tahiti in the Society Group was to be their headquarters.
- Here Marsh (with the faithful Âli and Leota, and, of course, Pautôe) was
- to buy land and form a trading station, whilst the vessel was to cruise
- throughout the South Seas, trading for oil, pearl-shell and other island
- produce.
- </p>
- <p>
- Soon after daylight the anchor of the <i>Juliette</i> was lifted and she
- sailed out of Apia harbour, and by noon, Leota and Pautôe were astonished
- to see the little craft bring-to abreast of Laulii village, and Marsh and
- Meredith come on shore.
- </p>
- <p>
- Later on in the day, when the house was free of the kindly, but somewhat
- intrusive native visitors, the partners told the strange story of the <i>Juliette</i>
- to Leota and Pautôe, and of their plans for the future.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Pautôe,” said Meredith, “in three years' time will you marry me, and sail
- with me in the new ship?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Aye, that will I, Lesta. Did I not say so before?”
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0028" id="link2HCH0028">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XXVIII ~ THE MAN WHO KNEW EVERYTHING
- </h2>
- <p>
- The Man Who Knew Everything came to Samoa in November, when dark days were
- on the land, and the nearing Christmas time seemed likely to be as that of
- the preceding one, when burning villages and the crackle of musketry, and
- the battle cries of opposing factions, engaged in slaughtering one
- another, turned the once restful and beautiful Samoa into a hell of evil
- passions, misery and suffering. For the poor King Malietoa was making a
- game fight with his scanty and ill-armed troops against the better-armed
- rebel forces, who were supplied, <i>sub rosa</i>, with all the arms and
- ammunition they desired by the German commercial agents of Bismarck, who
- had impressed upon that statesman the necessity of making Samoa the base
- of German trading enterprise in the South Seas by stirring up rebellion
- throughout the group to such an extent that Germany, under the plea of
- humanity, would intervene—buy out the British and American
- interests, and force the natives to accept a German protectorate.
- </p>
- <p>
- At this time the white population of Apia numbered about two hundred, of
- whom one half were Germans—the rest were principally English and
- Americans. For two years past a very bitter feeling had existed between
- the staff of the great German trading firm, and the British and American
- community. The latter had their places of business in Apia, and the suburb
- of Matautu, the Germans occupied the suburb of Matafele, and although
- there was a business intercourse between the people of the three
- nationalities, there was absolutely none of a social character. The
- British and American traders and residents were supporters of King
- Malietoa, the Germans backed up the rebel party, and the natives
- themselves were equally divided into pro-British, and pro-Germans.
- </p>
- <p>
- At this time—when the Man Who Knew Everything arrived in Samoa from
- New Zealand—I was living on shore. The vessel in which I was
- employed as “recruiter” in the Kanaka labour trade was laid up in Apia
- harbour. Two months previously we had brought a cargo of native labourers
- from the Gilbert Islands to be indentured to the cotton planters in Samoa,
- and finding the country in such a disturbed state, with business
- paralysed, and no further demand for a fresh cargo of Kanaka “recruits,”
- we decided to pay off most of the ship's company, and let the brigantine
- lie up till the end of the rainy and bad weather season—from the end
- of November till March, The skipper and a few of the native crew remained
- on board, but I took up my quarters on shore, at a little Samoan village
- named Lelepa—two miles from Apia. Here I was the “paying guest” of
- our boatswain—a stalwart native of the island of Rarotonga. He had
- sailed with me on several vessels during a period of some years; and on
- one of our visits to Apia had married a Samoan girl of a good family.
- </p>
- <p>
- Having much spare time on my hands I occupied it in deep-sea fishing and
- shooting, and in making boat voyages along the coast, visiting a number of
- native villages, where I was well-known to the people, who always made me
- and my boat's crew very welcome—for the Samoans are naturally a most
- hospitable race, and love visiting and social intercourse. On these
- excursions Marama (the native boatswain) and some other of the ship's crew
- sometimes came with me; on other occasions my party would be made up of
- the two half-caste sons of the American Consul, two or three Samoans and
- myself.
- </p>
- <p>
- Towards the end of November there arrived from Auckland (N.Z.) the trading
- schooner <i>Dauntless</i>. She brought one passenger whose acquaintance I
- soon made, and whom I will call Marchmont. He was a fine, well-set-up
- young fellow of about five and twenty years of age, and I was delighted to
- find that he was a good all-round sportsman—I could never induce any
- of the white traders or merchants of Apia to join me in any of my many
- delightful trips. Marchmont was making a tour through the Pacific Islands,
- partly on business, and partly on pleasure. He was visiting the various
- groups on behalf of a Liverpool firm, who were buying up land suitable for
- cotton-growing, and was to spend two months in Samoa.
- </p>
- <p>
- He and I soon made arrangements for a series of fishing and shooting trips
- along the south coast of Upolu, where the country was quiet, and as yet
- undisturbed by the war. But, although Marchmont was a most estimable and
- companionable man in many respects, he had some serious defects in his
- character, which, from a sportsman's point of view, were most
- objectionable, and were soon to bring him into trouble. One was that he
- was most intensely self-opinionated, and angrily resented being
- contradicted—even when he knew he was in the wrong; another was his
- bad temper—whenever he did anything particularly foolish he would
- not stand a little good-natured “chaff”—he either flew into a
- violent rage and “said things” or sulked like a boy of ten years of age.
- Then, too, another regrettable feature about him was the fact that he,
- being a young man of wealth, had the idea that he should always be
- deferred to, never argued with upon any subject, and his advice sought
- upon everything pertaining to sport. These unpromising traits in his
- character soon got him into hot water, and before he had been a week in
- Samoa he was nicknamed by both whites and natives “Misi Ulu Poto—mâsani
- mea uma,”—“Mr. Wise Head—the Man Who Knows Everything”. The
- term stuck—and Marchmont took it quite seriously, as a well-deserved
- compliment to his abilities.
- </p>
- <p>
- My new acquaintance, I must mention, had a most extensive and costly
- sporting outfit—all of it was certainly good, but much of it quite
- useless for such places as Samoa and other Polynesian Islands. Of rifles
- and guns he had about a dozen, with an enormous quantity of ammunition and
- fittings, bags, water-proofing, tents, fishing-boots, spirit stoves,
- hatchets in leather covers, hunting knives, etc., etc.; and his fishing
- gear alone must have run into a tidy sum of money. This latter especially
- interested me, but there was nothing in it that I would have exchanged for
- any of my own—that is, few-deep-sea fishing, a sport in which I was
- always very keen during a past residence of fifteen years in the South
- Seas. When I showed my gear to Marchmont he criticised it with great
- cheerfulness and freedom, and somewhat irritated me by frequently
- ejaculating “Bosh!” when I explained why in fishing at a depth of 100 to
- 150 fathoms for a certain species of <i>Ruvettus</i> (a nocturnal-feeding
- fish that attains a weight of over 100 lb.) a heavy wooden hook was always
- used by the natives in preference to a steel hook of European manufacture.
- I saw that it was impossible to convince him, so dropped the subject; and
- showed him other gear of mine—flying-fish tackle, barb-less
- pearl-shell hooks for bonito, etc., etc He “bosh-ed” nearly everything,
- and wound up by saying that he wondered why people of sense accepted the
- dicta of natives in sporting matters generally.
- </p>
- <p>
- “But I imagine that they do know a little about such things,” I observed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Bosh!—they pretend to, that's all. Now, I've never yet met a Kanaka
- who could show me anything, and I've been to Tonga, Fiji and Tahiti.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Early one morning, I sent off my whaleboat with Marama in charge to
- proceed round the south end of Upolu, and meet Marchmont and me at a
- village on the lee side of the island named Siumu, which is about eighteen
- miles distant from, and almost opposite to Apia, across the range that
- traverses the island. An hour or so later Marchmont and I set out,
- accompanied by two boys to carry our game bags, provisions, etc. Each of
- them wore suspended from his neck a large white cowrie shell—the
- Samoan badge of neutrality—for we had to pass first through King
- Malietoa's lines, and then through those of the besieging rebel forces.
- </p>
- <p>
- It was a lovely day, and in half an hour we were in the delightful gloom
- of the sweet-smelling mountain forest. In passing through King Malietoa's
- trenches, the local chief of Apia, Se'u Manu, who was in command,
- requested me to stay and drink kava with him. Politeness required consent,
- and we were delayed an hour; this made the Man Who Knew Everything very
- cross and rather rude, and the stalwart chief (afterwards to become famous
- for his magnanimous conduct to his German foes, when their squadron was
- destroyed in the great <i>Calliope</i> gale of March, 1889) looked at him
- with mild surprise, wondering at his discourtesy. However, his temper
- balanced itself a little while after leaving the lines, when he brought
- down a brace of fine pigeons with a right and left shot, and a few minutes
- later knocked over a mountain cock with my Winchester. It was a very
- clever shot—for the wild cock of Samoa, the descendant of the
- domestic rooster, is a hard bird to shoot even with a shot gun—and
- my friend was much elated. He really was a first-class shot with either
- gun or rifle, though he had had but little experience with the latter.
- </p>
- <p>
- A few miles farther brought us to the little mountain village of
- Tagiamamanono. It was occupied by the rebel troops from the Island of
- Savai'i. Their chiefs were very courteous, and, of course, we were asked
- to “stay and rest and drink kava”. To refuse would have been looked upon
- as boorish and insulting, so I cheerfully acquiesced, and Marchmont and I
- were escorted to a large house, where I formally presented him to our
- hosts as a traveller from “Peretania,” whom I was “showing around Samoa”.
- Any man of fine physique attracts the Samoans, and a number of pretty
- girls who were preparing the kava cast many admiring glances at my friend,
- and commented audibly on his good looks.
- </p>
- <p>
- Presently, as we were all smoking and exchanging compliments in the
- high-flown, stilted Samoan style, there entered the house a strapping
- young warrior, carrying a wickerwork cage, in which were two of the rare
- and famous <i>Manu Mea</i> (red-bird) of Samoa—the <i>Didunculus</i>
- or tooth-billed pigeon. These were the property of the young chief
- commanding the rebel troops, and had simply been brought into the house as
- a mark of respect and attention to Marchmont and me. Money cannot always
- buy these birds, and the rebel chief looked upon them as mascottes. No one
- but himself, or the young man who was their custodian, dared touch them,
- for a Samoan chief's property—like his person—is sacred and
- inviolate from touch except by persons of higher rank than himself. I
- hurriedly and quietly explained this to Marchmont.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Bosh! Look here! You tell him that I want to buy those birds, and will
- give him a sovereign each for them.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I shall do no such thing. I know what I am talking about, and you don't.
- Fifty sovereigns would not buy those birds—so don't say anything
- more on the subject. If you do, you will give offence—and these
- Samoans are very touchy.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Bah—that's all bosh, my dear fellow. Any way, I'll give five pounds
- for the pair,” and to my horror, and before I could stay him, he took out
- five sovereigns, and “skidded” them along the matted floor towards the
- chief, a particularly irascible young man named Asi (Sandalwood).
- </p>
- <p>
- “There, my friend, are five good English sovereigns for your birds. I
- suppose I can trust you to send them to the English Consul at Apia for me.
- Eh?”
- </p>
- <p>
- There was a dead silence. Asi spoke English perfectly, but hitherto, out
- of politeness, had only addressed me in Samoan. His eyes flashed with
- quick anger at Marchmont, then he looked at me reproachfully, made a sign
- to the custodian of the birds, and rising proudly to his feet, said to me
- in Samoan:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “I will drink kava with you alone, friend. Will you come to my own house,”
- and he motioned me to precede him. Never before had I seen a naturally
- passionate man exhibit such a sense of dignity and self-restraint under
- what was, to him, a stupid insult.
- </p>
- <p>
- I turned to Marchmont: “Look what you have done, confound you for an ass!
- If you are beginning this way in Samoa you will get yourself into no end
- of trouble. Have you no sense?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I have sense enough to see that you are making a lot of fuss over
- nothing. Tell the beastly savage that he can keep his wretched birds. I
- would only have wrung their necks and had them cooked.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The young warrior who held the cage, set it down, and striding up beside
- the Man Who Knew Everything dealt him an open-handed back-hand blow on the
- side of the head—a favourite trick of Samoan wrestlers and fighters—and
- Marchmont went down upon the matted floor with a smash. I thought he was
- killed—he lay so motionless—and in an instant there flashed
- across my memory a story told to me by a medical missionary in Samoa, of
- how one of these terrific back-handed “smacks” dealt by a native had
- broken a man's neck.
- </p>
- <p>
- However, in a few minutes, Marchmont recovered, and rose to his feet,
- spoiling for a fight The natives regarded him with a sullen but assumed
- indifference, and drew back, looking at me inquiringly. The matter might
- have ended seriously, but for two things—Marchmont was at heart a
- gentleman, and in response to my urgent request to him to apologise for
- the gross affront he had put upon our host—did so frankly by first
- extending his hand to the man who had knocked him down. And then, as he
- never did things by halves, he came with me to Asi and said, as he shook
- hands with him:—
- </p>
- <p>
- “By Jove, Mr. Asi, that man of yours could knock down a bullock. I never
- had such a thundering smack in my life.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The chief smiled, then said gravely, in English, that he was sorry that
- such an unpleasant incident had occurred. Then, after—with its many
- attendant ceremonies—we had drunk our bowls of kava, and were
- smoking and chatting, Asi asked Marchmont to let him examine his gun and
- rifle (Marchmont had a Soper rifle and one of Manton's best make of guns;
- I had my Winchester and a fairly good gun). The moment Asi saw the Soper
- rifle his eyes lit up, and he produced another from one of the house beams
- overhead, and said regretfully that he had no cartridges left, and was
- using a Snider instead. Marchmont promptly offered to give him fifty.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You must not do that,” I said, “it will get us into serious trouble. Asi”—and
- I turned to the chief—“will understand why we must not give him
- cartridges to be used for warfare. It would be a great breach of faith for
- us to do so—would it not?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Keenly anxious as he was to obtain possession of the ammunition, the
- chief, with a sigh of regret, acquiesced, but Marchmont sulked, and for
- quite two hours after we had left the rebel village did not exchange a
- word with me.
- </p>
- <p>
- After getting over the range, and whilst we were descending the slope to
- the southern littoral, some mongrel curs that belonged to our carriers,
- and had gone on ahead of us, put up a wild sow with seven suckers, and at
- once started off in pursuit. The old, razor-backed sow doubled and came
- flying past us, with her nimble-footed and striped progeny following.
- Marchmont and I both fired simultaneously—at the sow. I missed her,
- but my charge of No 3 shot tumbled over one of the piglets, which was at
- her heels, and Marchmont's Soper bullet took her in the belly, and passed
- clean through her. But although she went down for a few moments she was up
- again like a Jack-in-the-box, and with an angry squeal scurried along the
- thick carpet of dead leaves, and then darted into the buttressed recesses
- of a great <i>masa'oi</i> (cedar) tree, which was evidently her home,
- followed by two or three game mongrels.
- </p>
- <p>
- Dropping his rifle, Marchmont ran to the trees, seized the nearest cur by
- the tail, and slung it away down the side of the slope, then he kicked the
- others out of his way, and kneeling down peered into the dark recess
- formed by two of the buttresses.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Come out of that,” I shouted, “you'll get bitten if you go near her. What
- are you trying to do? Get out, and give the dogs a chance to turn her
- out.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Bosh! Mind your own business. I know what I'm about. She's lying inside,
- as dead as a brickbat I'll have her out in a jiffy,” and then his head and
- shoulders disappeared—then came a wild, blood-curdling yell of rage
- and pain, and the Man Who Knew Everything backed out with the infuriated
- sow's teeth deeply imbedded into both sides of his right hand; his left
- gripped her by the loose and pendulous skin of her throat. One of the
- native boys darted to his aid, and with one blow of his hatchet split open
- the animal's skull.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, of all the born idiots——” I began, when I stopped, for
- I saw that Marchmont's face was very pale, and that he was suffering
- excruciating pain. A pig bite is always dangerous and that which he had
- sustained was a serious one. Fortunately, it was bleeding profusely, and
- as quickly as possible we procured water, and thoroughly cleansed, and
- then bound up his hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- As soon as we got to Siumu I hurried to the house of the one white trader,
- and was lucky in getting a bottle of that good old-fashioned remedy—Friar's
- balsam. I poured it into a clean basin, and Marchmont unhesitatingly put
- in his hand, and let it stay there. The agony was great, and the language
- that poured from the patient was of an extremely lurid character. But he
- had wonderful grit, and I had to laugh when he began abusing himself for
- being such an idiot. He then allowed a native woman to cover the entire
- hand with a huge poultice, made of the beaten-up pulp of wild oranges—a
- splendid antiseptic. But it was a week before he could use his hand again,
- and his temper was something abominable. However, we managed to put in the
- time very pleasantly by paying a round of visits to the villages along the
- coast, and were entertained and feasted to our heart's content by the
- natives. Then followed some days' grand pig hunting and pigeon shooting in
- the mountains, amidst some of the most lovely tropical scenery in the
- world. Marchmont killed a grand old tusker, and presented the tusks to the
- local chief, who in return gave him a very old kava bowl—a valuable
- article to Samoans. He was, as usual, incredulous when I told him that it
- was worth £10, and that Theodor Weber, the German Consul General, who was
- a collector, would be only too glad to get it at that price.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What, for that thing?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, for that thing. Quite apart from its size, its age makes it
- valuable. I daresay that more than half a century has passed since the
- tree from which it was made was felled by stone axes, and the bowl cut out
- from a solid piece.” It was fifteen inches high, two feet in diameter, and
- the four legs and exterior were black with age, whilst the interior, from
- constant use of kava, was coated with a bright yellow enamel. The labour
- of cutting out such a vessel with such implements—it being, legs and
- bowl, in one piece—must have taken long months. Then came the filing
- down with strips of shark skin, which had first been softened, and then
- allowed to dry and contract over pieces of wood, round and flat; then the
- final polishing with the rough underside of wild fig-leaves, and then its
- final presentation, with such ceremony, to the chief who had ordered it to
- be made.
- </p>
- <p>
- I explained all this to Marchgiont, and he actually believed me and did
- not say “Bosh!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I thought that you made a fearfully long-winded oration on my behalf when
- the chief gave me the thing,” he remarked.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I did. I can tell you, Marchmont, that I should have felt highly
- flattered if he had presented it to me. He seems to have taken a violent
- fancy to you. But, for Heaven's sake, don't think that, because he has
- been told that you are a rich man, he has any ulterior motive. And don't,
- I beg of you, offer him money. He has a reason for showing his liking for
- you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- I knew what that reason was. Suisala, the chief of Siumu, had, from the
- very first, expressed to me his admiration of Marchmont's stalwart,
- athletic figure, and his fair complexion, and was anxious to confer on him
- a very great honour—that of exchanging names. Suisala was of one of
- the oldest and most chiefly families in Samoa, and was proud of the fact
- that the French navigator Bougainville had taken especial notice of his
- grandfather (who was also a Suisala) and who had been presented with a
- fowling piece and ammunition by the French officer. As I have before
- mentioned, physical strength and manliness always attract the Samoan mind,
- and the chief of Siumu had, as I afterwards explained to March-mont,
- fallen a victim to his “fatal beauty”.
- </p>
- <p>
- One morning, a few days after the presentation of the <i>tanoa</i>
- (kava-bowl) to the Man Who Knew Everything, a schooner appeared outside
- the reef and hove-to, there being no harbour at Siumu. She was an American
- vessel, and had come to buy copra from, and land goods for, the local
- trader. There was a rather heavy sea running on the reef at the time, and
- the work of shipping the copra and landing the stores proved so difficult
- and tedious that I lent my boat and crew to help. Unfortunately Marama was
- laid up with influenza, so could not take charge of the boat; I also was
- on the sick list, with a heavy cold. However, my crew were to be trusted,
- and they made several trips during the morning. Marchmont, after lunch,
- wanted to board the schooner, and also offered to take charge of the boat
- and crew for the rest of the day. Knowing that he was not used to surf
- work, I declined his offer, but told him he could go off on board if he
- did not mind a wetting. He was quite nettled, and angrily asked me if I
- thought he could not take a whaleboat through a bit of surf as well as
- either Marama or myself. I replied frankly that I did not.
- </p>
- <p>
- He snorted with contempt “Bosh. I've taken boats through surf five times
- as bad as it is now—a tinker could manage a boat in the little sea
- that is running now. You fellows are all alike—you think that you
- and your natives know everything.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, then, do as you like,” I replied angrily, “but if you smash that boat
- it means a loss of £50, and——”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Hang your £50! If I hurt your boat, I'll pay for the damage. But don't
- begin to preach at me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- With great misgivings, I saw the boat start off, manned by eight men,
- using native paddles, instead of oars, as was customary in surf work.
- Marchmont, certainly, by good luck, managed to get her over the reef, for
- I could see that he was quite unused to handling a steer oar. However, my
- native crew, by watching the sea and taking no heed of the steersman, shot
- the boat over the reef into deep water beyond. But in getting alongside
- the schooner he nearly swamped, and I was told began abusing my crew for a
- set of blockheads. This, of course, made them sulky—to be abused for
- incompetence by an incompetent stranger, was hard to bear, especially as
- the men, like all the natives of their islands (Rotumah and Niue), were
- splendid fellows at boat work.
- </p>
- <p>
- However, the boat at last cast off, and headed for the shore, and then I
- saw something that filled me with wrath. As the lug sail was being
- hoisted, March-mont drew in his steer-oar, and shipped the rudder, and in
- another minute the boat was bounding over the rolling seas at a great rate
- towards the white breakers on the reef, but steering so wildly that I
- foresaw disaster. The crew, in vain, urged Marchmont to ship the steer-oar
- again, but he told them to mind their own business, and sat there, calm
- and strong, in his mighty conceit.
- </p>
- <p>
- On came the boat, and we on shore watched her as she rose stern up to a
- big comber, then down she sank from view into the trough, broached to, and
- the next roller fell upon and smothered her, and rolled her over and over
- into the wild boil of surf on the reef.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Man Who Knew Everything came off badly, and was brought on shore full
- of salt water, and unconscious. He had been dashed against the jagged
- coral, and from his left thigh down to his foot had been terribly
- lacerated; then as the crew swam to his assistance—for his clothing
- had caught in the coral, and he was under water and drowning—and
- brought him to the surface, the despised steer-oar (perhaps out of
- revenge) came hurtling along on a swirling sea, and the haft of it struck
- him a fearful blow on the head, nearly fracturing his skull.
- </p>
- <p>
- Fearing his injuries would prove fatal, I sent a canoe off to the schooner
- with a message to the captain to come on shore, but the vessel, having
- finished her business, was off under full sail, and did not see the canoe.
- Then the trader and I did our best for the poor fellow, who, as soon as he
- regained consciousness, began to suffer agonies from the poison of the
- wounds inflicted by the coral. We sent a runner to Apia for a doctor, and
- early next morning one arrived.
- </p>
- <p>
- Marchmont was quite a month recovering, and when he was fully
- convalescent, he kept his opinions to himself, and I think that the lesson
- he had received did him good. He afterwards told me that he determined to
- sail the boat in with a rudder purely to annoy me, and was sorry for it.
- </p>
- <p>
- When he was able to get about again as usual, the devil of restlessness
- again took possession of him and he was soon in trouble again—through
- the bursting of a gun. I was away from Apia at the time—at the
- little island of Manono, buying yams for the ship which was getting ready
- for sea again—when I received a letter from a friend giving me the
- Apia gossip, and was not surprised that Marchmont figured therein.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Your friend Marchmont,” so ran the letter, “is around, as usual, and in
- great form, though he had a narrow squeak of having his head blown off
- last week through his gun bursting while out pigeon-shooting up by Lano-to
- lake. It seems that it was raining at the time, and the track down the
- mountain to the lake was very slippery. He had Johnny Coe the half-caste,
- and two Samoans with him. Was carrying his gun under his arm and going
- down the track in his usual careless, cock-a-hoopy style when he tripped
- over a root of a tree and went down, flat on his face, into the red
- slippery soil. He picked himself up again quick enough, and began swearing
- at the top of his voice, when a lot of ducks rose from the lake and came
- dead on towards him. Without waiting to see if his gun was all right,
- although it was covered with mud, he pulled the trigger of his right
- barrel, and it burst; one of the fragments gave him a nasty jagged wound
- on the chin and the Samoan buck got a lot of small splinters in his face.
- After the idiot had pulled himself together he examined his gun and found
- that the left barrel was plugged up with hard red earth. No doubt the
- other one had also been choked up, for Johnny Coe said that when he fell
- the muzzle of the gun was rammed some inches into the ground.”
- </p>
- <p>
- When I returned to Apia with a cutter load of yams, I called on Marchmont
- and found him his old self. He casually mentioned his mishap and cursed
- the greasy mountain track as the cause. At the same time he told me that
- he was beginning to like the country and that the natives were “not a bad
- lot of fellows—if you know how to take 'em”.
- </p>
- <p>
- Then came his final exploit.
- </p>
- <p>
- There is, in the waters of the Pacific Isles, a species of the trevalli,
- or rudder fish, which attains an enormous size and weight. It is a good
- eating fish, like all the trevalli tribe, and much thought of by both
- Europeans and natives, for, being an exceedingly wary fish, it is not
- often caught, at least in Samoa. In the Live Islands, where it is more
- common, it is called <i>La'heu</i> and in Fiji <i>Sanka</i>. One evening
- Lama, one of the Coe half-caste boys, and I succeeded in hooking and
- capturing one of these fish, weighing a little over 100 lb. In the morning
- the Man Who Knew Everything came to look at it, was much interested, and
- said he would have a try for one himself after lunch.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No use trying in clear daylight,” I said; “after dusk, at night (if not
- moonlight), or before daybreak is the time.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Bosh!” was his acidulous comment “I've caught the same fish in New
- Zealand in broad daylight.” I shook my head, knowing that he was wrong. He
- became angry, and remarked that he had found that all white men who had
- lived in foreign countries for a few years accepted the rubbishy dictum of
- natives regarding sporting matters of any kind as infallible. Refusing to
- show me the tackle he intended using, at two o'clock he hired a native
- canoe, and paddled off alone into Apia Harbour. Then he began to fish for
- <i>La'heu</i>, using a mullet as bait. In five minutes he was fast to a
- good-sized and lusty shark, which promptly upset the canoe, went off with
- the line and left him to swim. The officer of the deck of the French
- gunboat <i>Vaudreuil</i>, then lying in the port, sent a boat and picked
- him up. This annoyed him greatly, as he wanted, like an idiot, to swim on
- shore—a thing that a native would not always care to do in a
- shark-infested place like Apia Harbour, especially during the rainy season
- (as it then was), when the dreaded <i>tanifa</i> sharks come into all bays
- or ports into which rivers or streams debouch.
- </p>
- <p>
- That evening, however, Marchmont condescended to look at the tackle I used
- for <i>La'heu</i>, said it was clumsy, and only fit for sharks, but, on
- the whole, there were “some good ideas” about it; also that he would have
- another try that night. I suggested that either one of the Coe lads or
- Lama should go with him, to which he said “Bosh!” Then, after sunset, I
- sent some of my boat's-crew to catch flying-fish for bait. They brought a
- couple of dozen, and I told Marchmont that he should bait with a whole
- flying-fish, make his line ready for casting, and then throw over some
- “burley”—half a dozen flying-fish chopped into small pieces. He
- would not show me the tackle he intended using, so I was quite in the dark
- as to what manner of gear it was. But I ascertained later on that it was
- good and strong enough to hold any deep sea fish, and the hook was of the
- right sort—a six-inch flatted, with curved shank, and swivel mounted
- on to three feet of fine twisted steel seizing wire. My obstinate friend
- had a keen eye, even when he was most disparaging in his remarks, and had
- copied my <i>La'heu</i> tackle most successfully, although he had
- “bosh-ed” it when I first showed it to him.
- </p>
- <p>
- Refusing to let any one accompany him, although the local pilot candidly
- informed him that he was a dunderhead to go fishing alone at night in Apia
- Harbour, Marchmont started off about 2 A.M. in an ordinary native canoe,
- meant to hold not more than three persons when in smooth water. It was a
- calm night, but rainy, and the crew of the French gunboat noticed him
- fishing near the ship about 2.30. A little while after, the officer of the
- watch saw a heavy rain squall coming down from the mountain gorges, and
- good-naturedly called out to the fisherman to either come alongside or
- paddle ashore, to avoid being swamped. The clever man replied in French,
- somewhat ungraciously, that he could quite well look after himself. A
- little after 3 A.M. the squall ceased, and as neither Marchmont nor the
- canoe was visible, the French sailors concluded that he had taken their
- officer's advice and gone on shore.
- </p>
- <p>
- About seven o'clock in the morning, as I was bathing in the little river
- that runs into Apia Harbour, a native servant girl of the local resident
- medical missionary came to the bank and called to me, and told me a
- startling story. My obstinate friend had been picked up at sea, four miles
- from Apia Harbour, by a <i>taumualua</i> (native-built whaleboat). He was
- in a state of exhaustion and collapse, and when brought into Apia was more
- dead than alive, and the doctor was quickly summoned I at once went to see
- him, but was not admitted to his room, and for three days he had to lie
- up, suffering from shock—and, I trust, a feeling of humility for
- being such an obstinate blockhead.
- </p>
- <p>
- His story was simple enough: During the heavy rain squall his bait was
- taken by some large and powerful fish (he maintained that it was a <i>La'heu</i>,
- though most probably it was a shark), and thirty or forty yards of line
- flew out before he could get the pull of it. When he did, he foolishly
- made the loose part fast to the canoe seat amidships, and the canoe
- promptly capsized, and the fore end of the outrigger unshipped. Clinging
- to the side of the frail craft, he shouted to the gunboat for help, but no
- one heard in the noise of the wind and heavy rain, and in ten minutes he
- found himself in the passage between the reefs, and rapidly being towed
- out to sea. He tried to sever the line by biting it through (he had lost
- his knife), but only succeeded in losing a tooth. Then, as the canoe was
- being dragged through the water broadside on, a heavy sea submerged her
- and the line parted, the shark or whatever it was going off. Never losing
- his pluck, he tried in the darkness to secure the loose end of the
- outrigger, but failed, owing to the heavy, lumpy seas. Then for two
- anxious, miserable hours he clung to the canoe, expecting every moment to
- find himself minus his legs by the jaws of a shark, and when sighted and
- picked up by the native boat he was barely conscious.
- </p>
- <p>
- He learnt a lesson that did him good. He never again went out alone in a
- canoe at night, and for many days after his recovery he never uttered the
- word “Bosh!”
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0029" id="link2HCH0029">
- <!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XXIX ~ THE PATTERING OF THE MULLET
- </h2>
- <p>
- It is a night of myriad stars, shining from a dome of deepest blue. The
- lofty, white-barked swamp gums stand silent and ghost-like on the river's
- bank, and the river itself is almost as silent as it flows to meet the
- roaring surf on the bar of the rock-bound coast fifteen miles away, where
- when the south-east wind blows lustily by day and dies away at night the
- long billows of the blue Pacific roll on unceasingly.
- </p>
- <p>
- Overhead, far up in the topmost boughs of one of the giant gums some
- opossums squeal angrily at an intruding native bear, which, like
- themselves, has climbed to feed upon the young and tender eucalyptus
- leaves. Below, a prowling dingo steals slowly over the thick carpet of
- leaves, then sitting on his haunches gazes at the prone figures of two men
- stretched out upon their blankets at the foot of the great tree. His
- green, hungry eyes have discerned a pair of saddle-bags and his keen
- nostrils tell him that therein are salt beef and damper. He sinks gently
- down upon the yielding leaves and for a minute watches the motionless
- forms; then he rises and creeps, creeps along. A horse bell tinkles from
- beyond the scrub and in an instant the wild dog lies flat again. Did he
- not see one of the men move? No, all is quiet, and once more he creeps
- forward. Then from beneath the tree there comes a flash and a report and a
- bullet flies and the night prowler leaps in the air with a snarling yelp
- and falls writhing in his death agony, as from the sand flats in the river
- arises the clamour of startled wild fowl and the rush and whirr of a
- thousand wings. Then silence again, save for the long-drawn wail of a
- curlew.
- </p>
- <p>
- One of the men rises, kicks together the dying camp fire and throws on a
- handful of sticks and leaves. It blazes up and a long spear of light
- shoots waveringly across the smooth current of the river.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Get him, Harry?” sleepily asks his companion as he sits up and feels for
- his pipe.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes—couldn't miss him. He's lying there. Great Scott! Didn't he
- jump.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Poor beggar—smelt the tucker, I suppose. Well, better a dead dog
- than a torn saddle-bag. Hear the horses?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, they're all right—feeding outside the timber belt How's the
- time, Ted?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Three o'clock. What a deuce of a row those duck and plover kicked up when
- you fired! We ought to get a shot or two at them when daylight comes.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Harry,” a big, bearded fellow of six feet, nodded as he lit his pipe.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, we ought to get all we want up along the blind creeks, and we'll
- have to shift camp soon. It's going to rain before daybreak, and we might
- as well stay here over to-morrow and give the horses a spell.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It's clouding over a bit, but I don't think it means rain.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I do. Listen,” and he held up his hand towards the river.
- </p>
- <p>
- His companion listened, and a low and curious sound—like rain and
- yet not like rain—a gentle and incessant pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat,
- pit-a-pat, then a break for a few seconds, then again, sometimes sounding
- loud and near, at others faintly and far away.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Sounds like a thousand people knockin' their finger nails on tables. Why,
- it must be rainin' somewhere close to on the river.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, it's the pattering of mullet, heading up the river—thousands,
- tens of thousands, aye hundreds of thousands. It is a sure sign of heavy
- rain. We'll see them presently when they come abreast of us. That queer <i>lip,
- lap, lip, lap</i> you hear is made by their tails. They sail along with
- heads well up out of the water—the blacks tell me that they smell
- the coming rain—then swim on an even keel for perhaps twenty yards
- or so, and the upper lobe of their tails keeps a constant flapping on the
- water. You know how clearly you can hear the flip of a single fish's tail
- in a pond on a quiet night? Well, to-night you'll hear the sound of fifty
- thousand. Once, when I was prospecting in the Shoalhaven River district I
- camped with some net fishermen near the Heads. It was a calm, quiet night
- like this, and something awakened me It sounded like heavy rain falling on
- big leaves. 'Is it raining, mate?' I said to one of the fishermen. 'No,'
- he replied, 'but there's a heavy thunderstorm gathering; and that noise
- you hear is mullet coming up from the Heads, three miles away.' That was
- the first time I ever saw fish packed so closely together—it was a
- wonderful sight, and when they began to pass us they stretched in a solid
- line almost across the river and the noise they made was deafening. But we
- must hurry up, lad, shift our traps a bit back into the scrub and up with
- the tent. Then we'll come back and have a look at the fish, and get some
- for breakfast.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The two hardy prospectors (for such they were) were old and experienced
- bushmen, and soon had their tent up, and their saddles, blankets and guns
- and provisions under its shelter, just as the first low muttering of
- thunder hushed the squealing opossums overhead into silence. But, as it
- died away, the noise of the myriad mullet sounded nearer and nearer as
- they swam steadily onward up the river.
- </p>
- <p>
- Ten minutes passed, and then a heavy thunder-clap shook the mighty trees
- and echoed and re-echoed among the spurs and gullies of the coastal range
- twenty miles away; another and another, and from the now leaden sky the
- rain fell in torrents and continued to pour unceasingly for an hour.
- Inside the tent the men sat and smoked and waited Then the downfall ceased
- with a “snap,” the sky cleared as if by magic, revealing the stars now
- paling before the coming dawn, and the cries of birds resounded through
- the dripping bush.
- </p>
- <p>
- Picking up a prospecting dish the elder man told his “mate” that it was
- time to start. Louder than ever now sounded the noise made by the densely
- packed masses of fish, and as the rays of the rising sun, aided by a
- gentle air, dispelled the river mist, the younger man gave a gasp of
- astonishment when they reached the bank and he looked down—from
- shore to shore the water was agitated and churned into foam showing a
- broad sheet of flapping fins and tails and silvery scales. So close were
- the fish to the bank and so overcrowded that hundreds stranded upon the
- sand.
- </p>
- <p>
- The big man stepped down, picked up a dozen and put them into the dish;
- then he and his companion sat on the bank and watched the passage of the
- thousands till the last of them had rounded a bend of the river and the
- waters flowed silently once more.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
-
-
-
-
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diff --git a/old/old-2025-02-19/24895-0.txt b/old/old-2025-02-19/24895-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b328b78..0000000 --- a/old/old-2025-02-19/24895-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8731 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Call Of The South, 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: The Call Of The South - 1908 - -Author: Louis Becke - -Release Date: March 22, 2008 [EBook #24895] -[Last Updated: August 4, 2022] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CALL OF THE SOUTH *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger - - - - - - - - -THE CALL OF THE SOUTH - -By Louis Becke - -London, John Milne, 1908 - - - - -CHAPTER I ~ PAUL, THE DIVER - -“Feeling any better to-day, Paul?” - -“Guess I'm getting round,” and the big, bronzed-faced man raised -his eyes to mine as he lay under the awning on the after deck of his -pearling lugger. I sat down beside him and began to talk. - -A mile away the white beach of a little, land-locked bay shimmered under -the morning sun, and the drooping fronds of the cocos hung listless and -silent, waiting for the rising of the south-east trade. - -“Paul,” I said, “it is very hot here. Come on shore with me to the -native village, where it is cooler, and I will make you a big drink of -lime-juice.” - -I helped him to rise--for he was weak from a bad attack of New Guinea -fever--and two of our native crew assisted him over the side into my -whaleboat. A quarter of an hour later we were seated on mats under the -shade of a great wild mango tree, drinking lime-juice and listening to -the lazy hum of the surf upon the reef, and the soft _croo, croo_ of -many “crested” pigeons in the branches above. - -The place was a little bay in Callie Harbour on Admiralty Island in the -South Pacific; and Paul Fremont was one of our European divers. I was in -charge of the supply schooner which was tender to our fleet of pearling -luggers, and was the one man among us to whom the silent, taciturn Paul -would talk--sometimes. - -And only sometimes, for usually Paul was too much occupied in his work -to say more than “Good-morning, boss,” or “Good night,” when, after he -had been disencumbered of his diving gear, he went aft to rest and smoke -his pipe. But one day, however, he went down in twenty-six fathoms, -stayed too long, and was brought up unconscious. The mate and I saw the -signals go up for assistance, hurried on board his lugger, and were just -in time to save his life. - -Two days later he came on board the tender, shook hands in his silent, -undemonstrative way, and held out for my acceptance an old octagon -American fifty dollar gold piece. - -“Got a gal, boss?” - -I admitted that I had. - -“Pure white, I mean. One thet you like well enough to marry?” - -“I mean to try, Paul.” - -“In Samoa?” - -“No--Australia.” - -“Guess I'd like you to give her this 'slug' I got it outer the wreck of -a ship that was sunk off Galveston in the 'sixties,' in the war.” - -It would have hurt him had I declined the gift. So I thanked him, and he -nodded silently, filled his pipe and went back to the _Montiara_. - -Nearly a year passed before we met again, for his lugger and six others -went to New Guinea; and our next meeting was at Callie Harbour, where -I found him down with malarial fever. Again I became his doctor, and -ordered him to lie up. - -He nodded. - -“Guess I'll have ter, boss. But I jest hate loafin' around and seein' -the other divers bringin' up shell in easy water.” For he was receiving -eighty pounds per month wages--diving or no diving--and hated to be -idle. - -“Paul,” I said, as we lay stretched out under the wild mango tree, -“would you mind telling me about that turn-up you had with the niggers -at New Ireland, six years ago.” - -“Ef you like, boss.” Then he added that he did not care about talking -much at any time, as he was a mighty poor hand at the jaw-tackle. - -“We were startin' tryin' some new ground between New Hanover and the -North Cape of New Ireland. There were only two luggers, and we had for -our store-ship a thirty-ton cutter. There were two white divers besides -me and one Manila man, and our crews were all natives of some sort -or another--Tokelaus, Manahikians and Hawaiians. The skipper of the -storeship was a Dutchman--a chicken-hearted swab, who turned green at -the sight of a nigger with a bunch of spears, or a club in his hand. -He used to turn-in with a brace of pistols in his belt and a Winchester -lying on the cabin table. At sea he would lose his funk, but whenever we -dropped anchor and natives came aboard his teeth would begin to chatter, -and he would just jump at his own shadder. - -“We anchored in six fathoms, and in an hour or two we came across a good -patch of black-edge shell, and we began to get the boats and pumps ready -to start regular next morning. As I was boss, I had moored the cutter in -a well-sheltered nook under a high bluff, and the luggers near to her. -So far we had not seen any sign of natives--not even smoke--but knew -that there was a big village some miles away, out o' sight of us, an' -that the niggers were a bad lot, and would have a try at cuttin' off if -they saw a slant. - -“Early next morning it set in to rain, with easterly squalls, and before -long I saw that there was like to be a week of it, and that we should -have to lie by and wait until it settled. About noon we sighted a dozen -white lime-painted canoes bearing down on us, and Horn, the Dutchman, -began to turn green as usual, and wanted me to heave up and clear out. -I set on him and said I wanted the niggers to come alongside, an' hev a -good look at us--they would see that we were a hard nut to crack if they -meant mischief. - -“They came alongside, six or eight greasy-haired bucks in each -canoe--and asked for terbacker and knives in exchange for some pigs and -yams. I let twenty or so of 'em come aboard, bought their provisions, -and let 'em have a good look around. Their chief was a fat, bloated -feller, with a body like a barrel, and his face pitted with small-pox. -He told me that he was boss of all the place around us, and had some big -plantations about a mile back in the bush, just abreast of us, and that -he would let me have all the food I wanted. In five days or so, he said, -we should have fine weather for diving, and he and his crowd would help -me all they could. - -“About a quarter of a mile away was a rocky little island of about five -acres in extent. It had a few heavy trees on it, but no scrub, and there -were some abandoned fishermen's huts on the beach. I asked the fat hog -if I could use it as a shore station to overhaul our boats and diving -gear when necessary, and he agreed to let me use it as long as I liked -for three hundred sticks of terbacker and two muskets. - -“They went off on shore again to the plantations, and in a little while -we saw smoke ascendin'--they were cookin' food, and repairing their -huts. Later on in the day they sent me a canoe load of yams, taro, and -other stuff for the men, and asked me to come ashore and look at the -village. I went, fur I knew that they would not try on any games so -soon. - -“There were, in addition to the bucks, a lot of women and children -there, makin' thatch, cookin', and repairin' the pig-proof fencin'. I -stayed a bit, and then came on board again, an' we made snug for the -night. - -“Next morning we landed on the island, repaired two of the huts, and -started mendin' sails, overhauling the boats, and doin' such work that -it was easier to do on shore than on board. Of course we kep' our arms -handy, and old Horn kep' a good watch on board--he dassent put foot on -shore himself--said he was skeered o' fever. - -“The natives sent us plenty of food, and a good many of 'em loafed -around on the island, and some on board the luggers and cutter, cadgin' -fur terbacker and biscuit. Of course they always carried their clubs and -spears with 'em, as is usual in New Ireland, but they were quiet and -civil enough. Every day canoes were passin' from where we lay to the -main village, and returnin' with other batches of bucks and women all -takin' spells at work; an' there was any amount o' drum beating and _duk -duk_{*} dancin', and old Horn shivered in his boots swearin' they were -comin' to wipe us out. But my native crews and I and the other white -divers were used to the nigger customs at such times, and although -we kep' a good watch ashore and afloat, none o' us were afraid of any -trouble comin'. - - * The duk duk dance of Melanesia is merely a blackmailing - ceremony by the men to obtain food from the women and the - uninitiated. - -“On the fifth night, I, another white diver, named Docky Mason, his -Samoan wife, and a Manahiki sailor named 'Star' were sleeping on shore -in one of the huts. In another hut were three or four New Ireland -niggers, who had brought us some fish and were going away again in the -mornin'. - -“About ten o'clock the sky became as black as ink--a heavy blow was -comin' on, and we just had time to stow our loose gear up tidy, when the -wind came down from between the mountains with a roar like thunder, and -away went the roofs of the huts, and with it nearly everything around us -that was not too heavy to be carried away. My own boat, which was lying -on the beach, was lifted up bodily, sent flyin' into the water, and -carried out to sea. - -“We tried to make out the cutter's and luggers' lights, but could see -nothing and every second the wind was yellin' louder and louder like -forty thousand cats gone mad, and the air was filled with sticks, -leaves, and sand, and I had a mighty great fear for my little fleet; fur -three miles away to the west, there was a long stretch o' reefs, an' I -was afraid they had dragged and would get mussed up. - -“Thet's jest what did happen--though they cleared the reefs by the skin -of their teeth. The moment they began to drag, all three slipped. The -luggers stood away under the lee of New Ireland, stickin' in to the -land, and tryin' to bring to for shelter, but they were a hundred miles -away from me, down the coast, before they could bring-to and anchor, -for the blow had settled into a hurricane, and raised such a fearful sea -that they had to heave-to for twenty-four hours. It was two weeks before -we met again, after they had had to tow and 'sweep' back to my little -island, against a dead calm and a strong current, gettin' a whiff of a -land breeze at night now an' agin', which let 'em use their canvas. As -for the cutter, she ran before it for New Britain, and brought up at -Matupi in Blanche Bay, two hundred miles away, where old Horn knew -there was a white settlement of Germans--his own kidney. He was a -white-livered old swine, but a good sailor-man--as far as any man who -says 'Ja' for 'Yes' goes. - -“When daylight came my mates and I set to work to straighten up. - -“Docky Mason's native wife--Tia--was a 'whole waggon with a yaller dog -under the team'. She first of all made us some hot coffee, and gave us a -rousin' breakfast; then she made the New Ireland bucks--who were wantin' -to swim to the mainland--turn to and put a new roof of coco-nut thatch -over our hut, although it was still blowin' a ragin' gale. My! thet gal -was a wonder! She hed eyes like stars, an' red lips an' shinin' pearly -teeth, an' a tongue like a whip-lash when she got mad, an' Docky Mason -uster let her talk to him as if he was a nigger--an' say nuthin'--excep' -givin' a foolish laugh and then slouchin' off. And yet she was as gentle -as a lamb to any of us fellows when we got fever, or had gone down under -more'n twenty fathoms, and was hauled up three parts dead and chokin'. - -“Well, boss, we got to straights at last, although it was blowin' as -hard as ever. We had a lot o' gear on shore in that native house, for I -was intendin' to beach the cutter an' give her copper a scrubbin' before -we started divin' regular. - -“There was near on a ton o' twist terbacker in tierces (which we used -fur tradin' with the niggers), a ton o' biscuit in fifty pound tins, -boxes o' red an' yaller seed beads, an' knives an' axes, an' a case -o' dynamite, an' heaps o' things that was a direct invitation to the -niggers, an' a challenge ter the Almighty to hev our silly throats cut. -And those four or five bucks, whilst Tia was hustlin' them around, was -jest takin' stock as they worked. - -“By sunfall the wind an' sea in the bay had gone down a bit; an' the -bucks said that they would swim on shore (their canoe had been smashed -in the night) and bring us some food early in the mornin'. I gave 'em -a bottle o' Hollands, an' my kind regards for the old barrelled-belly -swine of a chief, some terbacker fur themselves; and then, after they -had gone, looked to our Winchesters and pistols, which the bucks hadn't -seen, fur we always kept 'em outer sight, under our sleepin' mats. - -“'Paulo,' sez Tia to me, speakin' in Samoan (an' cussin' in English), -'you an' Docky an' “Star” are a lot o' blamed fools! You orter hev -shot all those bucks ez soon ez they hed finished. Didn't you say that, -“Star”?' - -“'Star' had said 'Yes' to her, but being an unobtrusive sorter o' -Kanaka, he hadn't said nuthin' to us--thinkin' we knew better'n him what -ter do. - -“We kep' a good watch all that day an' the nex' day, and then at sunset -two bucks in a canoe came off, bringing us six cooked pigeons from the -chief, with a message that he would come an' see us in a day or two, and -bring men to build us better houses to live in until the luggers and the -cutter came back. - -“We collared the two bucks and tied 'em up, and then Tia made one of -'em eat part of a pigeon--she standin' over him with a Winchester at his -ear. He ate it, an' in ten minutes he was tyin' himself up in knots, and -was a dead nigger in another quarter of an hour. The pigeons were all -poisoned. - -“We kep' the other nigger alive an' told him that if he would tell us -what was a-goin' on we'd let him off, and set him ashore, free. - -“'At dawn to-morrow,' says he, 'Baian' (the fat old chief) thought to -find you all dead, because of the poisoned pigeons sent to you. And -then he meant to take all the good things you have here, and set up your -heads in his _duk duk_ house.' - -“Before daylight came, Docky Mason an' 'Star' an' me hed fixed up things -all serene ter give Baian and his cannibals a doin'. Fust ev all--to -show our prisoner that we meant business, Tia held up his right hand, -an' Docky sent a Winchester bullet through it, an' told him that he -would send one through his skull ef he didn't do what he was told. - -“Then we took two empty one gallon colza oil tins, and filled 'em with -dynamite, tamped it down tight, and then ran short fuses through the -corks, and carried 'em down to the place where our prisoner said Baian -and his crowd would land. It was a little bay, lined on each side by -pretty high, ragged coral boulders, covered with creepers. We stowed the -tins in readiness, and then brought our prisoner down, and told him -what to do when the time came. I guess thet thet nigger knew thet ef he -didn't play straight he was a dead coon. Tia sat down jest behind him, -and every now and then touched his backbone with the muzzle ev her -pistol--jest ter show him she was keepin' awake. At the same time he -wasn't unwillin', for he hed told us thet he and his dead mate were not -Baian's men--they were slaves he had captured from a town he had raided -somewhere near North Cape, and they were liable to be killed and eaten -at any time if Baian's crowd ran short of pig meat or turtle. - -“A little bit higher up, Docky Mason, 'Star' an' me, planted ourselves -with our Winchesters, an' one of our boats' whaler's bomb guns, which -fired four pounds of slugs and deer shot, mixed up--the sorter thing, -boss, thet you an' me may find mighty handy here in this very place, if -we get rushed sudden. We made a charcoal fire, and then frayed out the -ends of the dynamite fuses so thet they would light quickly. - -“When daylight came, we caught sight of nigh on fifty canoes, all -crammed with niggers, paddlin' like blazes to where we was cached, but -making no noise. Even if they hed we would not hev heard it, fur the -wind and the surf beatin' on the reef would hev drowned it. - -“On they came and rushed their canoes into the little cove, four -abreast, and Tia prodded our buck in the back, and told him to stand up -and talk to Baian, who was in one of the leadin' canoes. - -“Up he jumps. - -“'Oh, Baian, Baian, great Baian,' he called, 'the two white men are dead -in their house, and we have the woman bound hand and foot.' - -“'Good,' said Baian with a fat chuckle, as he put one leg over the -gunwale of his canoe to step out, and the next moment I put a bullet -through him, and then Docky Mason lit the first charge o' dynamite, and -slings it down, right inter the middle of the crowded canoes, and before -it went off he sent the second one after it. - -“Boss, I hev seen some dynamite explosions in my time--especially when I -hev hed to blow up wrecks--but I hev never seen anything like thet. The -two shots killed over thirty niggers, wounded as many more, and stunned -a lot, who were drowned. Those who were not hurt swam out of the cove, -and neither Docky nor me had the heart to shoot any of 'em--though we -might hev picked off a couple of dozen afore they got outer range. - -“Before we could stop him our prisoner jumped down among the dead and -wounded, got a long knife, an' in ten seconds he had Baian's' head off, -and held it up to us, grinning like a cat, on'y not so nice, ez he hed -jet black, betel-nut stained teeth, and red lips like a piece ev raw -beef. - -“We hed no more trouble with the niggers after thet turn-up, you can bet -yer life. - -“The buck stayed with us until the luggers came back, and a few days -after we landed him at his own village--ez rich ez Jay Gould, for we -gave him a musket with powder and ball, a cutlass, half a dozen pounds -ev red beads, and two hundred sticks of terbacker. I guess thet thet -nigger was able to buy himself all the wives he wanted, and be a 'big -Injun' fur the end of his days.” - - - - -CHAPTER II ~ THE OLD SEA LIFE - -One Sunday morning--when I was about to leave the dear old city of -Sydney for an unpremeditated and long, long absence in cold northern -climes, I went for a farewell stroll around the Circular Quay, and, -standing on some high ground on the east side, looked down on the mass -of shipping below, flying the flags of all nations, and ranging from -a few hundred to ten thousand tons. Mail steamers, deep sea tramps, -“freezers,” colliers--all crowded together, and among them but _one_ -single sailing vessel--a Liverpool barque of 1,000 tons, loading wool. -She looked lost, abandoned, out of place, and my heart went out to her -as my eyes travelled from her shapely lines and graceful sheer, to her -lofty spars, tapering yards, and curving jibboom, the end of the latter -almost touching the stern rail of an ugly bloated-looking German tramp -steamer of 8,000 tons. On that very spot where I stood I, when a -boy, had played at the foot of lofty trees--now covered by hideous -ill-smelling wool stores--and had seen lying at the Circular Quay fifty -or sixty noble full-rigged ships and barques, many brigs and schooners, -and but _one_ steamer, a handsome brig-rigged craft, the _Avoca_, the -monthly P. and O. boat, which ran from Sydney to Melbourne to connect -with a larger ship. - -Round the point were certainly a few other steamers, old-fashioned -heavily-rigged men-of-war, generally paddle-wheel craft; and, out of -sight, in Darling Harbour, a mile away, were others--coasters--none of -them reaching five hundred tons, and all either barque- or brig-rigged, -as was then the fashion. - -And they all, sailers as well as the few steamers, were manned by -_sailor-men_, not by gangs of foreign paint-scrubbers, who generally -form a steamer's crew of the present day--men who could no more handle a -bit of canvas than a cow could play the Wedding March--in fact there are -thousands of men nowadays earning wages on British ships as A.B.'s who -have never touched canvas except in the shape of tarpaulin hatch covers, -and whom it would be highly dangerous to put at the wheel of a sailing -ship--they would make a wreck of her in any kind of a breeze in a few -minutes. - -In my boyhood days, nearly all the ships that came into Sydney Harbour -flying British colours were manned by men of British blood. Foreigners, -as a rule, were not liked by shipmasters, and their British shipmates in -the fo'c'stle resented their presence. One reason of this was that they -would always “ship” at a lower rate of wage than Englishmen, and were -clannish. I have known of captains of favourite clipper passenger ships, -trading between London and the colonies, declining to ship a foreigner, -even an English-speaking Dane or Scandinavian, who make good sailor-men, -and are quiet, sober, and hardworking. Nowadays it is difficult to find -any English deep-sea ship or steamer, in which half of the hands for'ard -are not foreigners of some sort. And now practically the whole coasting -mercantile marine of the Australian colonies is manned by Germans, -Swedes, Danes, and Norwegians. - -When I was a young man I sailed in ships in the South Sea trade which -had carried the same crew, voyage after voyage, for years, and there -was a distinct feeling of comradeship existing between officers and -crew that does not now exist. I well remember one gallant ship, the -_All Serene_ (a happy name), which was for ten years in the -Sydney-China trade. She was about the first colonial vessel to adopt -double-top-gallant yards, and many wise-heads prophesied all sorts of -dire mishaps from the innovation. On this ship (she was full rigged) was -a crew of nineteen men, and the majority of them had sailed in her for -eight years, although her captain was a bit of a “driver”. But they got -good wages, good food, and had a good ship under their feet--a ship with -a crack record as a fast sailer. - -In contrast to the _All Serene_, was a handsome barque I once sailed -in as a passenger from Sydney to New Caledonia, where she was to load -nickel ore for Liverpool. Her captain and three mates were Britishers, -and smart sailor-men enough, the steward was a Chileno, the bos'un a -Swede; carpenter a Mecklenburger joiner (who, when told to repair the -fore-scuttle, which had been damaged by a heavy sea, did not know where -it was situated), the sailmaker a German, and of the twelve A.B.'s and -O.S.'s only one--a man of sixty-five years of age, was a Britisher; the -rest were of all nationalities. Three of them were Scandinavians and -were good sailor-men, the others were almost useless, and only fit to -scrub paint-work, and hardly one could be trusted at the wheel. The cook -was a Martinique nigger, and was not only a good cook, but a thorough -seaman, and he had the utmost contempt for what he called “dem mongrels -for'ard,” especially those who were Dagoes. The captain and officers -certainly had reason to knock the crew about, for during an electrical -storm one night the ship was visited by St. Elmo's fire, and the Dagoes -to a man refused duty, and would not go aloft, being terrified out -of their wits at the dazzling globes of fire running along the yards, -hissing and dancing, and illuminating the ocean for miles. They bolted -below, rigged up an altar and cross with some stump ends of candles, and -began to pray. Exasperated beyond endurance, the captain, officers, two -Norwegians, the nigger cook and I, after having shortened canvas, “went” - for them, knocked the religious paraphernalia to smithereens, and drove -them on deck. - -The nigger cook was really a devout Roman Catholic, but his seaman's -soul revolted at their cowardice, and he so far lost his temper as to -seize a Portuguese by his black curly hair, throw him down, tear open -his shirt, and seize a leaden effigy of St. Jago do Compostella, which -he wore round his neck, and thrust it into his mouth. In after years -I saw Captain “Bully” Hayes do the same thing, also with a Portuguese -sailor; but Hayes made the man actually swallow the little image--after -he had rolled it into a rough ball--saying that if St James was so -efficient to externally protect the wearer from dangers of the sea, that -he could do it still better in the stomach, where he (the saint) would -feel much warmer. - -The barque, a month or so after I left her in Noumea, sailed from T'chio -in New Caledonia, and was never heard of again. She was overmasted, and -I have no doubt but that she capsized, and every one on board perished. -Had she been manned by English sailors, she would have reached her -destination in safety, for the captain and officers knew her faults and -that she was a tricky ship to sail with an unreliable crew. - -In many ships in which I have sailed, in my younger days, no officer -considered it _infra dig_. for him, when not on watch, to go for'ard and -listen to some of the hands spinning yarns, especially when the subject -of their discourse turned upon matters of seamanship, the eccentricities -either of a ship herself or of her builders, etc. This unbending from -official dignity on the part of an officer was rarely abused by the -men--especially by the better-class sailor-man. He knew that “Mr. -Smith” the chief officer who was then listening to his yarns and perhaps -afterwards spinning one himself, would in a few hours become a different -man when it was his watch on deck, and probably ask Tom Jones, A.B., -what the blazes he meant by crawling aft to relieve the wheel like -an old woman with palsy. And Jones, A.B., would grin with respectful -diffidence, hurry his steps and bear no malice towards his superior. - -Such incidents never occur now. There is no feeling of comradeship -between officer and “Jack”. Each distrusts the other. - -I have not had much experience of steamers in the South Sea trade, -except as a passenger--most of my voyages having been made in sailing -craft, but on one occasion my firm had to charter a steamer for six -months, owing to the ship of which I was supercargo undergoing extensive -repairs. - -The steamer, in addition to a general cargo, also carried 500 tons -of coal for the use of a British warship, engaged in “patrolling” the -Solomon Islands, and I was told to “hurry along”. The ship's company -were all strangers to me, and I saw at once I should not have a pleasant -time as supercargo. The crew were mostly alleged Englishmen, with a -sprinkling of foreigners, and the latter were a useless, lazy lot of -scamps. The engine-room staff were worse, and the captain and mate -seemed too terrified of them to bring them to their bearings. They (the -crew) were a bad type of “wharf rats,” and showed such insolence to the -captain and mate that I urged both to put some of them in irons for a -few days. The second mate was the only officer who showed any spirit, -and he and I naturally stood together, agreeing to assist each other -if matters became serious, for the skipper and mate were a thoroughly -white-livered pair. - -Just off San Cristoval, the firemen came to me, and asked me to sell -them a case of Hollands gin. I refused, and said one bottle was enough -at a time. They threatened to break into the trade-room, and help -themselves. I said that they would do so at their own peril--the first -man that stepped through the doorway would get hurt. They retired, -cursing me as a “mean hound”. The skipper said nothing. He, I am glad to -say, was not an Englishman, though he claimed to be. He was a Dane. - -Arriving at a village on the coast of San Cristoval, where I had to -land stores for a trader, we found a rather heavy surf on, and the crew -refused to man a boat and take me on shore, on the plea that it was too -dangerous; a native boat's crew would have smiled at the idea of danger, -and so also would any white sailor-man who was used to surf work. - -Two days later, through their incapacity, they capsized a boat by -letting her broach-to in crossing a reef, and a hundred pounds' worth of -trade goods were lost. - -When we met the cruiser for whom the coals were destined, the second -mate and I told the commander in the presence of our own skipper that we -considered the latter unfit to have command of the steamer. - -“Then put the mate in charge, if you consider your captain is -incapable,” said the naval officer. - -“The mate is no better,” I said, “he is as incapable as the captain.” - -“Then the second mate is the man.” - -“I cannot navigate, sir,” said the second mate. - -The naval commander drew me aside, and we took “sweet counsel” together. -Then he called our ruffianly scallywags of a crew on to the main deck, -eyed them up and down, and ignoring our captain, asked me how many pairs -of handcuffs were on board. - -“Two only,” I replied. - -“Then I'll send you half a dozen more. Clap 'em on to some of these -fellows for a week, until they come to their senses.” - -In half an hour the second mate and I had the satisfaction of seeing -four firemen and four A.B.'s in irons, which they wore for a week, -living on biscuit and water. - -A few weeks later I engaged, on my own responsibility, ten good native -seamen, and for the rest of the voyage matters went fairly well, for the -captain plucked up courage, and became valorous when I told him that my -natives would make short work of their white shipmates, if the latter -again became mutinous. - -Against this experience I have had many pleasant ones. In one dear old -brig, in which I sailed as supercargo for two years, we carried a double -crew--white men and natives of Rotumah Island, and a happier ship never -spread her canvas to the winds of the Pacific. This was purely because -the officers were good men, the hands--white and native--good seamen, -cheerful and obedient--not the lazy, dirty, paint-scrubbers one too -often meets with nowadays, especially on cheaply run big four-masted -sailing ships, flying the red ensign of Old England. - - - - -CHAPTER III ~ THE BLIND MAN OF ADMIRALTY ISLAND - -We had had a stroke--or rather a series of strokes--of very bad luck. -Our vessel, the _Metaris_, had been for two months cruising among -the islands of what is now known as the Bismarck Archipelago, in the -Northwestern Pacific. We had twice been on shore, once on the coast -of New Ireland, and once on an unknown and uncharted reef between that -island and St. Matthias Island. Then, on calling at one of our trading -stations at New Hanover where we intended to beach the vessel for -repairs, we found that the trader had been killed, and of the station -house nothing remained but the charred centre-post--it had been reduced -to ashes. The place was situated on a little palm-clad islet not three -hundred acres in extent, and situated a mile or two from the mainland, -and abreast of a village containing about four hundred natives, under -whose protection our trader and his three Solomon Island labourers were -living, as the little island belonged to them, and we had placed the -trader there on account of its suitability, and also because the man -particularly wished to be quite apart from the village, fearing that his -Solomon Islanders would get themselves into trouble with the people. - -From the excited natives, who boarded us even before we had dropped -anchor, we learned that about a month after we had left poor Chantrey -on his little island a large party of marauding St. Matthias Island -savages, in ten canoes, had suddenly appeared and swooped down upon -the unfortunate white man and his labourers and slaughtered all four of -them; then after loading their canoes with all the plunder they could -carry, they set fire to the house and Chantrey's boat, and made off -again within a few hours. - -This was a serious blow to us; for not only had we to deplore the cruel -death of one of our best and most trusted traders, but Chantrey had a -large stock of trade goods, a valuable boat, and had bought over five -hundred pounds' worth of coconut oil and pearl-shell from the New -Hanover natives,--all this had been consumed. However, it was of no use -for us to grieve, we had work to do that was of pressing necessity, -for the _Metaris_ was leaking badly and had to be put on the beach -as quickly as possible whilst we had fine weather. This, with the -assistance of the natives, we at once set about and in the course of -a few days had effected all the necessary repairs, and then steered -westward for Admiralty Island, calling at various islands on our way, -trading with the wild natives for coco-nut oil, copra, ivory nuts, -pearl-shell and tortoise-shell, and doing very poorly; for a large -American schooner, engaged in the same business, had been ahead of us, -and at most of the islands we touched at we secured nothing more than -a few hundredweight of black-edged pearl-shell. Then, to add to our -troubles, two of our native crew were badly wounded in an attack made on -a boat's crew who were sent on shore to cut firewood on what the skipper -and I thought to be a chain of small uninhabited islands. This was a -rather serious matter, for not only were the captain and boatswain ill -with fever, but three of the crew as well. - -For a week we worked along the southern coast of Admiralty Island, -calling at a number of villages and obtaining a considerable quantity of -very good pearl-shell from the natives. But it was a harassing time, for -having seven sick men on board we never dared to come to an anchor for -fear of the savage and treacherous natives attempting to capture the -ship. As it was, we had to keep a sharp look-out to prevent more than -two canoes coming alongside at once, and then only when there was a fair -breeze, so that we could shake them off if their occupants showed any -inclination for mischief. We several times heard some of these gentry -commenting on the ship being so short-handed, and this made us unusually -careful, for although those of us who were well never moved about -unarmed we could not have beaten back a sudden rush. - -At last, however, both Manson and the boatswain, and one of the native -sailors became so ill that the former decided to make a break in the -cruise and let all hands--sick and well--have a week's spell at a place -he knew of, situated at the west end of the great island; and so one day -we sailed the _Metaris_ into a quiet little bay, encompassed by lofty -well-wooded hills, and at the head of which was a fine stream of fresh -water. - -“We shall soon pull ourselves together in this place,” said Manson to -Loring (the mate) and me. “I know this little bay well, though 'tis six -years since I was last here. There are no native villages within ten -miles at least, and we shall be quite safe, so we need only keep an -anchor watch at night. Man the boat, there. I must get on shore right -away. I am feeling better already for being here. Which of you fellows -will come with me for a bit of a look round?” - -I, being the supercargo, was, for the time, an idle man, but made an -excuse of “wanting to overhaul” my trade-room--always a good standing -excuse with most supercargoes--as I wanted Loring to have a few hours -on shore; for although he was free of fever he was pretty well run down -with overwork. So, after some pressure, he consented, and a few minutes -later he and Manson were pulled on shore, and I watched them land on -the beach, just in front of a clump of wild mango trees in full bearing, -almost surrounded by groves of lofty coco-nut palms. A little farther on -was an open, grassy space on which grew some wide-branched white cedar -trees. - -About an hour afterwards Loring returned on board, and told me that -Manson had gone on alone to what he described as “a sweet little lake”. -It was only a mile away, and he thought of having a leaf house built -there for the sick men and himself, and wanted Loring to come and have a -look at it, but the mate declined, pleading his wish to get back to the -ship and unbend our canvas. - -“As you will,” said Manson to him. “I shall be all right. I'll shoot -some pigeons and cockatoos by-and-by, and bring them down to the beach. -And after you have unbent the canvas, you can take the seine to the -mouth of the creek and fill the boat with fish.” Then, gun on shoulder, -he walked slowly away into the verdant and silent forest. - -After unbending our canvas, we went to dinner; and then leaving Loring -in charge of the ship, the boatswain, two hands and myself went on -shore with the seine to the mouth of the creek, and in a very short time -netted some hundreds of fish much resembling the European shad. - -Just as we were about to push off, I heard Manson's hail close to, -and looking round, nearly lost my balance and fell overboard in -astonishment--he was accompanied by a woman. - -Springing out of the boat, I ran to meet them. - -“Mrs. Hollister,” said the captain, “this is my supercargo. As soon as -we get on board I will place you in his hands, and he will give you all -the clothing you want at present for yourself and your little girl,” and -then as, after I had shaken hands with the lady, I stood staring at him -for an explanation, he smiled. - -“I'll tell you Mrs. Hollister's strange story by-and-by, old man. -Briefly it is this--she, her husband, and their little girl have been -living here for over two years. Their vessel was castaway here. Now, get -into the boat, please, Mrs. Hollister.” - -The woman, who was weeping silently with excitement, smiled through her -tears, stepped into the boat, and in a few minutes we were alongside. - -“Make all the haste you can,” Manson said to me, “as Mrs. Hollister is -returning on shore as soon as you can give her some clothing and boots -or shoes. Then they are all coming on board to supper at eight o'clock.” - -The lady came with me to my trade-room, and we soon went to work -together, I forbearing to ask her any questions whatever, though I was -as full of curiosity as a woman. Like that of all trading vessels -whose “run” embraced the islands of Polynesia as well as Melanesia and -Micronesia, the trade-room of the _Metaris_ was a general store. -The shelves and cases were filled with all sorts of articles--tinned -provisions, wines and spirits, firearms and ammunition, hardware and -drapers' soft goods, “yellow-back” novels, ready-made clothing for men, -women and children, musical instruments and grindstones--in fact just -such a stock as one would find in a well-stocked general store in an -Australian country town. - -In half an hour Mrs. Hollister had found all that she wanted, and -packing the articles in a “trade” chest, I had it passed on deck and -lowered into the boat. Then the lady, now smiling radiantly, shook hands -with every one, including the steward, and descended to the boat which -quickly cast off and made for the shore in charge of the boatswain. - -Then I felt that I deserved a drink, and went below again where Manson -and Loring were awaiting me. They had anticipated my wishes, for the -steward had just placed the necessary liquids on the cabin table. - -“Now, boys,” said the skipper, as he opened some soda water, “after we -have had a first drink I'll spin my yarn--and a sad enough one it is, -too. By-the-way, steward, did you put that bottle of brandy and some -soda water in the boat?” - -“Yes, sir.” - -“That's all right. Just fancy, you fellows--that poor chap on shore has -not had a glass of grog for more than two years. That is, I suppose so. -Anyway I am sending him some. And, I say, steward; I want you to spread -yourself this evening and give us _the_ very best supper you ever gave -us. There are three white persons coming at eight o'clock. And I daresay -they will sleep on board, so get ready three spare bunks.” - -Manson was usually a slow, drawling speaker--except when he had occasion -to admonish the crew; then he was quite brilliant in the rapidity of -his remarks--but now he was clearly a little excited and seemed to have -shaken the fever out of his bones, for he not only drank his brandy and -soda as if he enjoyed it, but asked the steward to bring him his pipe. -This latter request was a sure sign that he was getting better. Then he -began his story. - -***** - -Although six years had passed since he had visited this part of the -great island, Manson knew his way inland to the lake. The forest was -open, and consisted of teak and cedar with but little undergrowth. -Suddenly, as he was passing under the spreading branches of a great -cedar, he saw something that made him stare with astonishment--a little -white girl, driving before her a flock of goats! She was dressed in -a loose gown of blue print, and wore an old-fashioned white linen -sun-bonnet, and her bare legs and feet were tanned a deep brown. Only -for a moment did he see her face as she faced towards him to hurry up a -playful kid that had broken away from the flock, and then her back was -again turned, and she went on, quite unaware of his presence. - -“Little girl,” he called. - -Something like a cry of terror escaped her lips as she turned to him. - -“Oh, sir,” she cried in trembling tones, “you frightened me.” - -“I am so sorry, my dear. Who are you? Where do you live?” - -“Just by the lake, sir, with my father and mother.” - -“May I come with you and see them?” - -“Oh, yes, sir. We have never seen any one since we came here more than -two years ago. When did you come, sir?” - -“Only this morning. My vessel is anchored in the little cove.” - -“Oh, I am so glad, so glad! My father and mother too will be so glad to -meet you. But he cannot see you--I mean see you with his eyes--for he is -blind. When our ship was wrecked here the lightning struck him, and took -away his eyesight.” - -Deeply interested as he was, Manson forbore to question the child any -further, and walked beside her in silence till they came in view of the -lake. - -“Look, sir, there is our house. Mother and Fiji Sam, the sailor, built -it, and I helped. Isn't it nice? See, there are my father and mother -waiting for me.” - -On the margin of a lovely little lake, less than a mile in -circumference, was a comfortably built house, semi-native, semi-European -in construction, and surrounded by a garden of gorgeous-hued coleus, -crotons, and other indigenous plants, and even the palings which -enclosed it were of growing saplings, so evenly trimmed as to resemble -an ivy-grown wall. - -Seated in front of the open door were a man and woman. The latter rose -and came to meet Manson, who raised his hat as the lady held out her -hand, and he told her who he was. - -“Come inside,” she said, in a soft, pleasant voice. “This is my husband, -Captain Hollister. Our vessel was lost on this island twenty-eight -months ago, and you are the first white man we have seen since then.” - -The blind man made his visitor welcome, but without effusion, and begged -him to be seated. What especially struck Manson was the calm, quiet -manner of all three. They received him as if they were used to seeing -strangers, and betrayed no unusual agitation. Yet they were deeply -thankful for his coming. The house consisted of three rooms, and had -been made extremely comfortable by articles of cabin furniture. The -table was laid for breakfast, and as Manson sat down, the little girl -hurriedly milked a goat, and brought in a small gourd of milk. In a -few minutes Hollister's slight reserve had worn off, and he related his -strange story. - -His vessel (of which he was owner) was a topsail schooner of 130 tons, -and had sailed from Singapore in a trading cruise among the Pacific -Islands. For the first four months all went well. Many islands had been -visited with satisfactory results, and then came disaster, swift and -terrible. Hollister told of it in few and simple words. - -“We were in sight of this island and in the middle watch were becalmed. -The night was close and sultry, and we had made all ready for a blow -of some sort. For two hours we waited, and then in an instant the whole -heavens were alight with chain and fork lightning. My Malay crew bolted -below, and as they reached the fore-scuttle, two of them were struck -dead, and flames burst out on the fore-part of the ship. I sprang -forward, and was half-way along the deck, when I, too, was struck down. -For an hour I was unconscious, and when I revived knew that my sight was -gone for ever. - -“My mate was a good seaman, but old and wanting in nerve. Still, with -the aid of some of the terrified crew, and amidst a torrential downpour -of rain which almost immediately began to fall, he did what he could to -save the ship. In half an hour the rain ceased, and then the wind came -with hurricane force from the southward; the crew again bolted, and -refused to come on deck, and the poor mate in trying to heave-to was -washed away from the wheel, together with the Malay serang--the only man -who stuck to him. There were now left on board alive four Malays, one -Fijian A.B. named Sam, my wife and child and myself. And I, of course, -was helpless. - -“'Fiji Sam' was a plucky fellow. Aided by my wife, he succeeded in -putting the schooner before the wind and letting her drive to the -N.N.W., feeling sure that she would be giving the land a wide berth. -Unfortunately he did not count upon a four-knot current setting to the -eastward, and just as daylight was breaking we tore clean over the reef -at high water into a little bay two miles from here. The water was so -deep, and the place so sheltered, that the schooner drifted in among the -branches of the trees lining the beach, and lay there as quiet as if she -were moored to a wharf. - -“Two days later the Malays seized the dinghy, taking with them -provisions and arms, and deserted me. What became of them I do not know. - -“Fiji Sam found this lake, and here we built this house, after removing -all that we could from the ship, for she was leaking, and settled down -upon her keel. She is there still, but of no use. - -“When we ran ashore we had in the hold some goats and pigs, which I had -bought at Anchorites' Island. The goats kept with us, but the pigs went -wild, and took to the bush. In endeavouring to shoot one, poor Fiji -Sam lost his life--his rifle caught in a vine and went off, the bullet -passing through his body. - -“Not once since the wreck have we seen a single native, though on clear -days we often see smoke about fifteen miles along the coast. Anyway, -none have come near us--for which I am very glad.” - -Manson remarked that that was fortunate as they were “a bad lot”. - -“So we have been living here quietly for over two years. Twice only have -we seen a sail, but only on the horizon. And I, having neither boat nor -canoe, and being blind, was helpless.” - -“That is the poor fellow's story,” concluded Manson. “Of course I will -give them a passage to Levuka, and we must otherwise do our best for -them. Although Hollister has lost every penny he had in the world, his -wife tells me that she owns some property in Singapore, where she also -has a brother who is in business there. By Jove, boys, I wish you -had been with me when I said 'Thank God, I have found you, Captain -Hollister,' and the poor fellow sighed and turned his face away as he -held out his hand to me, and his wife drew him to her bosom.” - - - - -CHAPTER IV ~ NISÂN ISLAND; A TALE OF THE OLD TRADING DAYS - -When I was first learning the ropes as a “recruiter” in the Kanaka -labour trade, recruiting natives to work on the plantations of Samoa and -Fiji, we called at a group of islands called Nisân by the natives, -and marked on the chart as the Sir Charles Hardy Islands. I thought -it likely that I might obtain a few “recruits,” and the captain wanted -fresh provisions. - -The group lies between the south end of New Ireland and the north end of -the great Bougainville Island in the Solomon Archipelago, and consists -of six low, well-wooded and fertile islands, enclosed within a barrier -reef, forming a noble atoll, almost circular in shape. All the islands -are thickly populated at the present day by natives, who are peaceable -enough, and engage in _bêche-de-mer_ and pearl-shell fishing. Less than -forty years back they were notorious cannibals, and very warlike, and -never hesitated to attempt to cut off any whaleship or trading vessel -that was not well manned and well armed. - -As I had visited the group on three previous occasions in a trading -vessel and was well known to the people, I was pretty sure of getting -some “recruits” for Samoa, for our vessel had a good reputation. So, -lowering our boats, the second mate and I went on shore, and were -pleasantly received. But, alas for my hopes! I could not get a single -native to recruit. They were, they said, now doing so well at curing -_bêche-de-mer_ for a Sydney trading vessel that none of the young men -cared to leave the island to work on a plantation for three years; in -addition to this, never before had food been so plentiful--pigs and -poultry abounded, and turtle were netted by hundreds at a time. In proof -of their assertion as to the abundance of provisions, I bought from -them, for trade goods worth about ten dollars, a boat-load of turtle, -pigs, ducks, fowls, eggs and fish. These I sent off to the ship by the -second mate, and told him to return for another load of bread-fruit, -taro, and other vegetables and fruit. I also sent a note to the captain -by my own boat, telling him to come on shore and bring our guns and -plenty of cartridges, as the islands were alive with countless thousands -of fine, heavy pigeons, which were paying the group their annual visit -from the mountainous forests of Bougainville Island and New Ireland. -They literally swarmed on a small uninhabited island, covered with -bread-fruit and other trees, and used by the natives as a sort of -pleasure resort. - -The two boats returned together, and leaving the second mate to buy more -pigs and turtle--for we had eighty-five “recruits” on board to feed, as -well as the ship's company of twenty-eight persons--the skipper and I -started off in my boat for the little island, accompanied by several -young Nisân “bucks” carrying old smooth-bore muskets, for they, too, -wanted to join in the sport I had given them some tins of powder, shot, -and a few hundred military caps. We landed on a beautiful white beach, -and telling our boat's crew to return to the village and help the second -mate, the skipper and I, with the Nisân natives, walked up the bank, -and in a few minutes the guns were at work. Never before had I seen -such thousands of pigeons in so small an area. It could hardly be called -sport, for the birds were so thick on the trees that when a native fired -at haphazard into the branches the heavy charge of shot would bring them -down by the dozen--the remainder would simply fly off to the next tree. -Owing to the dense foliage the skipper and I seldom got a shot at them -on the wing, and had to slaughter like the natives, consoling ourselves -with the fact that every bird would be eaten. Most of them were so fat -that it was impossible to pluck them without the skin coming away, -and from the boat-load we took on board the skip's cook obtained a -ten-gallon keg full of fat. - -About noon we ceased, to have something to eat and drink, and chose for -our camp a fairly open spot, higher than the rest of the island, and -growing on which were some magnificent trees, bearing a fruit called -vi. It is in reality a wild mango, but instead of containing the smooth -oval-shaped seed of the mango family, it has a round, root-like and -spiky core. The fruit, however, is of a delicious flavour, and when -fully ripe melts in one's mouth. Whilst our native friends were grilling -some birds, and getting us some young coco-nuts to drink, the captain -and I, taking some short and heavy pieces of wood, began throwing them -at the ripe fruit overhead. Suddenly my companion tripped over something -and fell. - -“Hallo, what is this?” he exclaimed, as he rose and looked at the cause -of his mishap. - -It was the end of a bar of pig-iron ballast, protruding some inches -out of the soft soil. We worked it to and fro, and then pulled it out. -Wondering how it came there, we left it and resumed our stick-throwing, -when we discovered three more on the other side of the tree; they were -lying amid the ruins of an old wall, built of coral-stone slabs. We -questioned the natives as to how these “pigs” came to be there. They -replied that, long before their time, a small vessel had come into -the lagoon and anchored, and that the crew had thrown the bars of iron -overboard. After the schooner had sailed away, the natives had dived for -and recovered the iron, and had tried to soften the bars by fire in the -hope of being able to turn it into axes, etc. - -We accepted the story as true, and thought no more about it, though we -wondered why such useful, compact and heavy ballast should be thrown -away, and when my boat returned to take us to the ship, we took the iron -“pigs” with us. - -Arriving at Samoa, we soon rid ourselves of our eighty-five -“blackbirds,” who had all behaved very well on the voyage, and were -sorry to leave the ship; and that evening I paid a visit to an old -friend of mine--an American who kept a large store in Apia, the -principal port and town of Samoa. I was telling him all about our -cruise, when an old white man, locally known as “Bandy Tom,” came up -from the yard, and sat down on the verandah steps near us. Old Tom was a -character, and well known all over Polynesia as an inveterate old loafer -and beachcomber. He was a deserter from the navy, and for over forty -years had wandered about the South Pacific, sometimes working honestly -for a living, sometimes dishonestly, but usually loafing upon some -native community, until they tired of him and made him seek fresh -pastures. In his old age he had come to Samoa, and my friend, taking -pity on the penniless old wreck, gave him employment as night watchman, -and let him hang about the premises and do odd jobs in the day-time. -With all his faults he was an amusing ancient, and was known for his -“tall” yarns about his experiences with cannibals in Fiji. - -Bidding me “good-evening,” Bandy Tom puffed away at his pipe, and -listened to what I was saying. When I had finished describing our visit -to Nisân, and the finding of the ballast, he interrupted. - -“I can tell you where them 'pigs' come from, and all about -'em--leastways a good deal; for I knows more about the matter than any -one else.” - -Parker laughed. “Bandy, you know, or pretend to know, about everything -that has happened in the South Seas since the time of Captain Cook.” - -“Ah, you can laugh as much as you like, boss,” said the old fellow -serenely, “but I know what I'm talkin' about I ain't the old gas-bag you -think I am. I lived on Nisân for a year an' ten months, nigh on thirty -years ago, gettin' _bêche-de-mer_ for Captain Bobby Towns of Sydney.” - Then turning to me he added: “I ain't got too bad a memory, for all my -age. I can tell you the names of all the six islands, and how they lies, -an' a good deal about the people an' the queer way they has of catchin' -turtle in rope nets; an' I can tell you the names of the head men that -was there in my time--which was about 'fifty or 'fifty-one. Just you try -me an' see.” - -I did try him, and he very soon satisfied me that he had lived on the -Sir Charles Hardy Islands, and knew the place well. Then he told his -story, which I condense as much as possible. - - - - -FIRST PART - -Bandy was landed at Nisân by Captain Robert Towns of the barque -_Adventurer_ of Sydney, to collect _bêche-de-mer_. He was well received -by the savage inhabitants and provided with a house, and well treated -generally, for Captain Towns, knowing the natives to be cannibals and -treacherous, had demanded a pledge from them that Bandy should not be -harmed, and threatened that if on his return in the following year he -found the white man was missing, he would land his crew, and destroy -them to the last man. Then the barque sailed. A day or so afterwards -Bandy was visited by a native, who was very different in appearance -from the Nisân people. He spoke to the white man in good English, and -informed him that he was a native of the island of Rotumah, but had been -living on Nisân for more than twenty years, had married, had a family, -and was well thought of by the people. The two became great friends, and -Taula, as the Rotumah man was named, took Bandy into his confidence, and -told him of a tragedy that had occurred on Nisân about five or six years -after he (Taula) had landed on the islands. He was one of the crew of a -whaleship which, on a dark night, nearly ran ashore on Nisân, and in the -hurry and confusion of the vessels going about he slipped over the side, -swam on shore through the surf, and reached the land safely. - -One day, said Taula, the natives were thrown into a state of wild -excitement by the appearance of a brigantine, which boldly dropped -anchor abreast of the principal village. She was the first vessel -that had ever stopped at the islands, and the savage natives instantly -planned to capture her and massacre the crew. But they resolved to first -put the white men off their guard. Taula, however, did not know this at -the time. With a number of the Nisân people he went on board, taking -an ample supply of provisions. The brigantine had a large crew and was -heavily armed, carrying ten guns, and the natives were allowed to board -in numbers. The captain had with him his wife, whom Taula described as -being quite a young girl. He questioned the natives about pearl-shell -and _bêche-de-mer_ and a few hours later, by personal inspection, -satisfied himself that the atoll abounded with both. He made a treaty -with the apparently friendly people, and at once landed a party to build -houses, etc. - -I must now, for reasons that will appear later on, hurry over Taula's -story as told by him to Bandy. - -Eight or ten days after the arrival of the brigantine, the shore -party of fourteen white men were treacherously attacked, and thirteen -ruthlessly slaughtered. One who escaped was kept as a slave, and the -brigantine, to avoid capture, hurriedly put to sea. - -Six months or so passed, and the vessel again appeared and anchored, -this time on a mission of vengeance. The natives, nevertheless, were not -alarmed, and again determined to get possession of the ship, although -this time her decks were crowded with men. They attacked her in canoes, -were repulsed, returned to the shore and then, with incredible audacity, -sent the white sailor whom they had captured on board the vessel to make -peace. But not for a moment had they relinquished the determination to -capture the vessel, which they decided to effect by treachery, if force -could not be used. What followed was related in detail by Taula to -Bandy. - -Parker and I were deeply interested in Bandy's story, and at its -conclusion I asked him if his informant knew the name of the ship and -her nationality. - -“Not her name, sir; but she was an American. Taula knew the American -flag, for the ship he ran away from was a Sag harbour whaler. The -pig-iron bars which you found were brought ashore to make a bed for the -_bêche-de-mer_ curing pots. He showed 'em to me one day.” - -Both Parker and I were convinced of the truth of Bandy's story, and came -to the conclusion that the unknown brigantine was probably a colonial -trader, which had afterwards been lost with all hands. For we were -both fairly well up in the past history of the South Seas--at least we -thought so--and had never heard of this affair at the Sir Charles Hardy -Group. But we were entirely mistaken in our assumptions. - -In the month of April in the year 1906, after a lapse of more than five -and twenty years, the mystery that enshrouded the tragedy of Nisân -was revealed to me by my coming across, in a French town, a small, -time-stained and faded volume of 230 pages, and published by J. and J. -Harper of New York in 1833, and entitled _Narrative of a Voyage to the -Ethiopie and South Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Chinese Sea, North -and South Pacific Ocean in the years_ 1829, 1830, 1831, by Abby Jane -Morrell, who accompanied her husband, Captain Benjamin Morrell, Junior, -of the schooner _Antarctic_. - -Now to her story, - - - - -SECOND PART - -Opening the faded little volume, the reader sees a wood-engraving of the -authoress, a remarkably handsome young woman of about twenty years of -age, dressed in the quaint fashion of those days. As a matter of fact -she was only four and twenty when her book was published. In a brief -preface she tells us that her object in writing a book was not for the -purpose of exciting interest in her own experiences of a remarkable -voyage, but in the hope that it would arouse philanthropic endeavour to -ameliorate the condition of American seamen. Throughout the volume there -is a vein of deep, yet unobtrusive piety, and the reader is struck with -her self-effacement, her courage, her reverent admiration for her young -sailor husband, and her pride in his gallant ship and sturdy crew of -native-born American seamen. In the _Antarctic_ the young couple sailed -many seas, and visited many lands, and everywhere they seem to have been -the recipients of unbounded hospitality and attention, especially from -their own country people, and English merchants, and naval and military -men. It is very evident--even if only judging from her picture--that she -was a very charming young lady of the utmost vivacity; and in addition -to this, she was an accomplished linguist, and otherwise highly -educated. Her beauty, indeed, caused her many tears, owing to the -“wicked and persistent attentions” of the American consul at Manila. -This gentleman appears to have set himself to work to make Mrs. Morrell -a widow, until at last--her husband being away at sea--she had to be -guarded from his persistent advances by some of the English and American -families resident in Manila. She tells the story in the most naive and -delightful manner, and the reader's heart warms to the little woman. But -I must not diverge from the subject. - -“I am,” she says, “the daughter of Captain John Wood, of New York, who -died at New Orleans on the 14th of November, 1811. He was then master -of the ship _Indian Hunter_.... He died when I was so young that if I -pleased myself with thinking that I remember him, I could not have been -a judge of his virtues; but it has been a source of happiness to me that -he is spoken of by his contemporaries as a man of good sense and great -integrity.” - -When fifteen years of age Miss Wood met her cousin, Captain Morrell, -a young man who had gained a reputation for seamanship, and as a -navigator. They were mutually attracted to each other, and in a few -months were married. Then he sailed away on a two years' voyage, -returned, and again set out, this time to the little known South Seas. -Absent a year--during which time a son was born to him--he was so -pleased with the financial results of the voyage that he determined on -a second; and his wife insisted on accompanying him, though he pleaded -with her to remain, and told her of the dangers and terrors of a long -voyage in unknown seas, the islands of which were peopled by ferocious -and treacherous cannibals. But she was not to be deterred from sharing -her husband's perils, and with an aching heart took farewell of her -infant son, whom she left in care of her mother, and on 2nd September, -1829, the _Antarctic_ sailed from New York. The cruise was to last two -years, and the object of it was to seek for new sealing grounds in the -Southern Ocean, and then go northward to the Pacific Islands and -barter with the natives for sandal-wood, _bêche-de-mer_ pearls, and -pearl-shell. - -The crew of the brigantine were picked men, and all of them gave Morrell -a written pledge to abstain from drinking spirits of any kind during the -entire voyage. Morrell, though a strict disciplinarian, seems to have -had their respect and even affection throughout, and that he was a man -of iron resolution and dauntless courage the book gives ample testimony. - -After some months' sealing at the Auckland Islands, and visiting New -Zealand, where the Morrells were entertained by the missionary, John -Williams, the brigantine made a highly successful cruise among the -islands of the South Pacific, and then Morrell went to Manila to dispose -of his valuable cargo. This he did to great advantage, and once more his -restless, daring spirit impelled him tot make another voyage among the -islands. This time, however, he left his wife in Manila, where she soon -found many friends, who protected her from the annoying attentions of -the consul, and nursed her through a severe illness. - -“On the seventy-fifth day after the sailing of the _Antarctic?_” she -writes, “as I was looking with a glass from my window, as I had done for -many days previously, I saw my husband's well-known signal at the mast -head of an approaching vessel.... I was no sooner on board than I found -myself in my husband's arms; but the scene was too much for my enfeebled -frame, and I was for some time insensible. On coming to myself, I looked -around and saw my brother, pale and emaciated. My forebodings were -dreadful when I perceived that the number of the crew was sadly -diminished from what it was when I was last on board. I dared not -trust myself to make any inquiries, and all seemed desirous to avoid -explanations. I could not rest in this state of mind, and ventured to -ask what had become of the men. My husband, with his usual frankness, -sat down and detailed to me the whole affair, which was as follows:-- - - - A TALE OF THE OLD TRADING DAYS - -“It seems that six weeks after leaving Manila” (here I omit some -unimportant details) “he came to six islands that were surrounded by -a coral reef.” (The Sir Charles Hardy Group.) “Here was a-plenty of -_bêche-de-mer_ and he made up his mind to get a cargo of this, and what -shell he could procure.... On May 21st he sent a boat's crew on shore to -clear away the brush and prepare a place to cure the _bêche-de-mer_. The -natives now came off to the vessel, and seemed quiet, although it was -evident that they had never seen a white man before, and the islands -bore no trace of ever having been visited by civilised men. The people -were a large, savage-looking race, but Mr. Morrell was lulled to -security by their civil and harmless (_sic_) appearance, and their -fondness of visiting the vessel to exchange their fruits for trinkets -and other commodities attractive to the savages in these climes. They -were shown in perfect friendship all parts of the vessel, and appeared -pleased with the attentions paid them.... A boat was sent on shore with -the forge and all the blacksmith's tools, but the savages soon stole the -greater part of them. - -“This was an unpropitious circumstance, but Mr. Morrell thought that he -could easily recover them; and to accomplish this, he took six of his -men, well armed, and marched directly to the village where the king -lived. This was a lovely place, formed in a grove of trees. Here he met -two hundred warriors, all painted for battle, armed with bows and arrows -ready for an onset, waving their war plumes, and eager to engage. On -turning round he saw nearly as many more in his rear--it was a critical -moment--the slightest fear was sure death. Mr. Morrell addressed his -comrades, and, in a word, told them that if they did not act in concert, -and in the most dauntless manner, death would be inevitable. He then -threw down his musket, drew his cutlass, and holding a pistol in his -right hand, he pushed for the king, knowing in what reverence savages in -general hold the person of their monarch. In an instant the pistol was -at the king's breast, and the cutlass waved over his head. The savages -had arrowed their bows, and were ready at the slightest signal to have -shot a cloud of missiles at the handful of white men; but in an instant, -when they saw the danger of their king, they dropped their bows to the -ground. At this fortunate moment, the captain marched around the circle, -and compelled those who had come with war-clubs to throw those down -also; all which he ordered his men to secure and collect inta a heap. -The king was then conducted with several of his chiefs on board the -_Antarctic_, and kept until the next day. They were treated with every -attention, but strictly guarded all night. On the following morning he -gave them a good breakfast, loaded them with presents--for which they -seemed grateful, and laboured hard to convince their conqueror that they -were friendly to him and his crew--sent them on shore, together with -some of his men, to go on with the works which had been commenced; but -feeling that a double caution was necessary, he sent a reinforcement -to his men on shore, well armed.... All were cautioned to be on their -guard; but everything was unavailing; for not long after this, a general -attack was made on the men from the woods, in so sudden a manner that -they were overthrown at once. Two of the crew who were in the small -boat, made their escape out of reach of the arrows, and had the good -fortune to pick up three others who had thrown themselves into the water -for safety. On hearing the horrid yells of the savages, the whaleboat -was sent with ten men, who, with great exertions, saved two more of -the crew. The rest all fell, at one untimely moment, victims to savage -barbarity! It was an awful and heart-sickening moment; fourteen of the -crew had perished--they were murdered, mangled, and their corpses -thrown upon the strand without the possibility of receiving the rites -of Christian burial.... Four of the survivors were wounded--the heat was -intolerable--the spirits of the crew were broken down, and a sickness -came over their hearts that could not be controlled by the power of -medicine--a sickness arising from moral causes, that would not yield to -science nor art. - -“In this situation Captain Morrell made the best of his way for -Manila.... I grew pale over the narrative; it filled my dreams for many -nights, and occupied my thoughts for many days, almost exclusively.... -I dreaded the thought of the mention of the deed, and yet I wished I -had been there. I might have done some good, or, if not, I might have -assisted to dress the wounded, among whom was my own dear, heroic -brother. He received an arrow in the breast, but his good constitution -soon got over the shock; though he was pale even when I saw him, so -many days after the event. My husband had now lost everything but his -courage, his honour, and his perseverance; but the better part of the -community of Manila had become his friends, while the American consul -was delighted with our misfortunes. He was alone!” - - - - -THIRD PART - -Nothing daunted by this catastrophe Captain Morrell petitioned the -Captain-General of the Philippines for leave to take out a new crew -of seventy additional men--sixty-six Manila men, and four Europeans. -Everyone warned him of the danger of this--no other ship had ever dared -take more than six Manila men as part of her complement, for they were -treacherous, and prone to mutiny. But Morrell contested that he would -be able to manage them and the captain-general yielded. Two English -merchants, Messrs. Cannell and Gellis, generously lent him all the money -he required to fit out, taking only his I.O.U. So:-- - -“On the 18th July, 1830, the _Antarctic_ again sailed for Massacre -Islands, as my husband had named the group where he lost his men. When -I went on board I found a crew of eighty-five men, fifty-five of them -savages as fierce as those whom we were about to encounter, and as -dangerous, if not properly managed. One would have thought that I should -have shrunk from this assemblage as from those of Massacre Islands, but -I entered my cabin with a light step; I did not fear savage men half -so much as I did a civilised brute. I was with my husband; he was not -afraid, why should I be? This was my reasoning, and I found it safe. - -“The schooner appeared as formidable as anything possibly could of her -size; she had great guns, ten in number, small arms, boarding-pikes, -cutlasses, pistols, and a great quantity of ammunition. She was a -war-horse in every sense of the word, but that of animal life, and that -she seemed partially to have, or one would have thought so, to hear -the sailors talk of her.... She coursed over the waters with every -preparation for fight. - -“On the 13th of September the _Antarctic_ again reached Massacre -Islands. I could only view the place as a Golgotha; and shuddered as we -neared it; but I could see that most of the old crew who came hither -at the time of the massacre were panting for revenge, although their -captain had endeavoured to impress upon them the folly of gratifying -such a passion if we could gain our purpose by mildness mixed with -firmness.” (I am afraid that here the skipper of the _Antarctic_ was -not exactly open with the little lady. He certainly meant that his crew -should “get even” with their shipmates' murderers, but doubtless told -her that he “had endeavoured,” etc) - -“We had no sooner made our appearance in the harbour at Massacre Island, -on the 14th, than we were attacked by about three hundred warriors. We -opened a brisk fire upon them, and they immediately retreated. This was -the first battle I ever saw where men in anger met men in earnest. We -were now perfectly safe; our Manila men were as brave as Caesar; they -were anxious to be landed instantly, to fight these Indians at once. -They felt as much superior, no doubt, to these ignorant savages as the -philosopher does to the peasant. This the captain would not permit; he -knew his superiority while on board his vessel, and he also knew that -this superiority must be, in a manner, lost to him as soon as he landed. - -“The firing had ceased, and the enemy had retired, when a single -canoe appeared coming from the shore with one man in it. We could not -conjecture what this could mean. The man was as naked as a savage and as -highly painted, but he managed his paddle with a different hand from the -savages. When he came alongside, he cried out to us in English, and we -recognised Leonard Shaw, one of our old crew, whom we had supposed among -the dead. The meeting had that joyousness about it that cannot be felt -in ordinary life; he was dead and buried, and now was alive again! -We received him as one might imagine; surprise, joy, wonder, took -possession of us all, and we made him recount his adventures, which were -wonderful enough. - -“Shaw was wounded when the others were slain; he fled to the woods, and -succeeded at that time in escaping from death. Hunger at length induced -him to leave the woods and attempt to give himself to the savages, but -coming in sight of the horrid spectacle of the bodies of his friends and -companions roasting for a cannibal feast, he rushed forth again into the -woods with the intent rather to starve than to trust to such wretches -for protection. For four days and nights he remained in his hiding -place, when he was forced to go in pursuit of something to keep himself -from starving. After some exertion he obtained three coco-nuts, which -were so young that they did not afford much sustenance, but were -sufficient to keep him alive fifteen days, during which time he suffered -from the continually falling showers, which left him dripping wet. In -the shade of his hiding place he had no chance to dry himself, and on -the fifteenth day he ventured to stretch himself in the sun; but he did -not long remain undisturbed; an Indian saw him, and gave the alarm, -and he was at once surrounded by a host of savages. The poor, suffering -wretch implored them to be merciful, but he implored in vain; one of -them struck him on the back of the head with a war-club, and laid him -senseless on the ground, and for a while left him as dead. When he -recovered, and had gathered his scattered senses, he observed a chief -who was not among those by whom he had been attacked, and made signs -to him that he would be his slave if he would save him. The savage -intimated to him to follow, which he did, and had his wound most cruelly -dressed by the savage, who poured hot water into it, and filled it with -sand. - -“As soon as the next day, while yet in agony with his wound, he was -called up and set to work in making knives, and other implements from -the iron hoops, and other plunder from the forge when the massacre took -place. This was indeed hard, for the poor fellow was no mechanic, though -a first-rate Jack-tar... however, necessity made him a blacksmith, and -he got along pretty well. - -“The savages were not yet satisfied, and they made him march five or -six miles to visit a distinguished chief. This was done in a state of -nudity, without anything like sandals or mocassins to protect his feet -from the flint stones and sharp shells, and under the burning rays of -an intolerable sun. Blood marked his footsteps. The king met him -and compelled him to debase himself by the most abject ceremonies of -slavery. He was now overcome, and with a dogged indifference was ready -to die. He could not, he would not walk back; his feet were lacerated, -swollen, and almost in a state of putrefaction. The savages saw this, -and took him back by water, but only to experience new torments. The -young ones imitated their elders, and these graceless little rascals -pulled out his beard and whiskers, and eyebrows and eyelashes. In order -to save himself some part of the pain of this wretched process of their -amusement, he was permitted to perform a part of this work with his -own hands. He was indeed a pitiable object, but one cannot die when one -wishes, and be guiltless. This was not all he suffered; he was almost -starved to death, for they gave him only the offal of the fish they -caught, and this but sparingly; he sustained himself by catching rats, -and these offensive creatures were his principal food for a longtime. -He understood that the natives did not suffer the rats to be killed, and -therefore he had to do it secretly in the night time. - -“Thus passed the days of the poor prisoner; the wound on his head was -not yet healed, and notwithstanding all his efforts he failed to get the -sand out of his first wound until a short time before his deliverance, -when it was made known to him that he was to be immolated for a feast to -the king of the group! All things had now become matters of indifference -to him, and he heard the horrid story with great composure. All the -preparations for the sacrifice were got up in his presence, near the -very spot where the accursed feast of skulls had been held. All was in -readiness, and the people waited a long time for the king; but he did -not come, and the ceremony was put off. - -“Shaw has often expressed himself on this subject, and said that he -could not but feel some regret that his woes were not to be finished, -as there was no hope for him, and to linger always in this state of -agitation was worse than death; but mortals are short-sighted, for he -was destined to be saved through the instrumentality of his friends. - -“His soul was again agitated by hope and fear in the extremes when the -_Antarctic_ made her appearance a second time on the coast. He feared -that her arrival would be the signal for his destruction; but if this -should not happen, might he not be saved? The whole population of the -island he was on, and those of the others of the group, manned their -war canoes for a formidable attack; and the fate of the prisoner was -suspended for a season. The attack was commenced by the warriors in the -canoes, without doubt confident of success; but the well-directed fire -from the _Antarctic_ soon repulsed them, and they sought the shore in -paroxysms of rage, which was changed to fear when they found that the -big guns of the schooner threw their shot directly into the village, and -were rapidly demolishing their dwellings. It was in this state of fear -and humility that Shaw was sent off to the vessel to stop the carnage -and destruction; they were glad to have peace on any terms. They now -gave up their boldness, and as it was the wish of all but the Manila -men to spare the effusion of human blood, it was done as soon as safety -would permit of it. - -“The story of Shaw's sufferings raised the indignation of every one -of the Americans and English we had on board, and they were violently -desirous to be led on to attack the whole of the Massacre Islands, and -extirpate the race at once. They felt at this moment as if it would be -an easy thing to kill the whole of the inhabitants; but Captain Morrell -was not to be governed by any impulse of passion--he had other duties to -perform; yet he did not reprimand the men for this feeling; thinking it -might be of service to him hereafter. - -“After taking every precaution to ensure safety, by getting up his -boarding-nettings many feet above the deck, and everything prepared for -defence or attack, the frame of the house, brought for the purpose, -was got up on a small uninhabited island--which had previously been -purchased of the king in exchange for useful articles such as axes, -shaves, and other mechanical tools, precisely such as the Indians wished -for. The captain landed with a large force, and began to fell the trees -to make a castle for defence. Finding two large trees, nearly six feet -through, he prepared the limbs about forty feet from the ground, and -raised a platform extending from one to the other, with an arrow-proof -bulwark around it. Upon this platform were stationed a garrison of -twenty men, with four brass swivels. The platform was covered with a -watertight roof, and the men slept there at night upon their arms, to -keep the natives from approaching to injure the trees or the fort by -fire--the only way they could assail the garrison. It looked indeed like -a castle--formidable in every respect; and the ascent to it was by a -ladder, which was drawn up at night into this war-like habitation. The -next step was to clear the woods from around the castle, in order to -prevent a lurking enemy from coming within arrow-shot of the fort -Next, the house was raised, and made quite a fine appearance, being one -hundred and fifty feet long, forty feet broad, and very high. The castle -protected the house and the workmen in it, and both house and castle -were so near the sea-board that the _Antarctic_ while riding at anchor, -protected both. The castle was well stocked with provisions in case of a -siege. - -“The next day, after all was in order for business, a large number of -canoes made their appearance near Massacre Island. Shaw said that this -fleet belonged to another island (of the group) and he had never known -them to stop there before. My husband, having some suspicions, did not -suffer the crew to go on shore next morning at the usual time; and about -eight o'clock one of the chiefs came off, as usual, to offer us fruits, -but no boat was sent to meet him. He waited some time for us, and then -directed his course to our island, which my husband had named Wallace -Island, in memory of the officer who had bravely fallen in fight on the -day of the massacre. This was surprising as not a single native had set -foot on that island since our works were begun; but we were not kept -long in suspense, for we saw about a hundred war-canoes start from the -back side of Massacre Island, and make towards Wallace Island. We knew -that war was their object, and the _Antarctic_ was prepared for -battle. The chief who had come to sell us fruit, came in front of the -castle--the first man. He gave the war-whoop, and about two hundred -warriors, who had concealed themselves in the woods during the darkness -of the night, rushed forward. The castle was attacked on both sides, -and the Indians discharged their arrows at the building in the air, till -they were stuck, like porcupines' quills, in every part of the roof. The -garrison was firm, and waked in silence until the assailants were within -a short distance, when they opened a tremendous fire with their swivels, -loaded with canister shot; the men were ready with their muskets also, -and the _Antarctic_ opened her fire of large guns, all with a direct -and deadly aim at the leaders of the savage band. The execution was very -great, and in a short time the enemy beat a precipitate retreat, taking -with them their wounded, and as many of their dead as they could. The -ground was strewed with implements of war, which the savages had thrown -away in their flight, or which had belonged to the slain. The enemy did -not expect such a reception, and they were prodigiously frightened; the -sound of the cannon alarmed every woman and child in the group, as it -echoed through the forest, or died upon the wave; they had never heard -such a roar before, for in our first fight there was no necessity for -such energy. The Indians took to the water, leaving only a few in their -canoes to get them off, while the garrison hoisted the American flag, -and were greeted by cheers from those on board the schooner, who were in -high spirits at their victory, which was achieved without the loss of -a man on our part, and only two wounded. The music struck up 'Yankee -Doodle,' 'Rule Britannia,' etc., and the crew could hardly restrain -their joy to think that they had beaten their enemy so easily. - -“The boats were all manned, and most of the crew went on shore to -mark the devastation which had been made. I saw all this without any -sensation of fear, so easy is it for a woman to catch the spirit of -those near her. If I had a few months before this time read of such a -battle I should have trembled at the detail of the incidents; but seeing -all the animation and courage which were displayed, and noticing at the -same time how coolly all was done, every particle of fear left me, and -I stood quite as collected as any heroine of former days. Still I -could not but deplore the sacrifice of the poor, misguided, ignorant -creatures, who wore the human form, and had souls to save. Must the -ignorant always be taught civilisation through blood?--situated as we -were, no other course could be taken. - -“On the morning of the 19th, to our great surprise, the chief who had -previously come out to bring us fruit, and had done so on the morning of -our great battle, came again in his canoe, and called for Shaw, on -the edge of the reef, with his usual air of kindness and friendship, -offering fruit, and intimating a desire for trade, as though nothing had -happened. The offer seemed fair, but all believed him to be treacherous. -The small boat was sent to meet him, but Shaw, who we feared was now an -object of vengeance, was not sent in her. She was armed for fear of -the worst, and the coxswain had orders to kill the chief if he should -discover any treachery in him. As our boat came alongside the canoe, -the crew saw a bearded arrow attached to a bow, ready for the purpose -of revenge. Just as the savage was about to bend his bow, the coxswain -levelled his piece, and shot the traitor through the body; his wound was -mortal, but he did not expire immediately. At this instant a fleet of -canoes made their appearance to protect their chief. The small boat lost -one of her oars in the fight, and we were obliged to man two large boats -and send them to the place of contest. The large boats were armed with -swivels and muskets, and a furious engagement ensued. The natives were -driven from the water, but succeeded in taking off their wounded chief, -who expired as he reached the shore. - -“After the death of Hennean, the name of the chief we had slain, the -inhabitants of Massacre Island fled to some other place, and left all -things as they were before our attack upon them, and our men roamed over -it at will. The skulls of several of our slaughtered men were found at -Hennean's door, trophies of his bloody prowess. These were now buried -with the honours of war; the colours of the _Antarctic_ were lowered -half-mast, minute guns were fired, and dirges were played by our band, -in honour of those who had fallen untimely on Massacre Island. This was -all that feeling or affection could bestow. Those so inhumanly murdered -had at last the rites of burial performed for them; millions have -perished without such honours...it is the last sad office that can be -paid. - -“We now commenced collecting and curing _bêche-de-mer_ and should have -succeeded to our wishes, if we had not been continually harassed by the -natives as soon as we began our efforts. We continued to work in this -way until the 28th of October, when we found that the natives were still -hostile, and on that day one of our men was attacked on Massacre Island, -but escaped death through great presence of mind, and shot the man, who -was the brother of the chief Hennean. Our man's name was Thomas Holmes, -a cool, deliberate Englishman. Such an instance of self-possession, -in such great danger as that in which he was placed, would have given -immortality to a greater man. We felt ourselves much harassed and vexed -by the persevering savages, and finding it impossible to make them -understand our motives and intentions, we came to the conclusion to -leave the place forthwith. This was painful, after such struggles and -sacrifices and misfortunes; but there was no other course to pursue. -Accordingly, on the 3rd of November, 1830, we set fire to our house and -castle, and departed by the light of them, taking the _bêche-de-mer_ we -had collected and cured.” - -So ends Mrs. Morrell's story of the tragedy of “Massacre Island”. She -has much else to relate of the subsequent cruise of the _Antarctic_ in -the South Pacific and the East Indies, and finally the happy conclusion -of an adventurous voyage, when the vessel returned safely to New York. - -If the reader has been sufficiently interested in her story to desire -to know where in the South Pacific her “Massacre Island” is situated, -he will find it in any modern map or atlas, almost midway between New -Ireland and Bougainville Island, the largest of the Solomon group, and -in lat. 4° 50' S., long. 154° 20' E. In conclusion, I may mention that -further relics of the visit of the _Antarctic_ came to light about -fifteen years ago, when some of the natives brought three or four round -shot to the local trader then living on Nisân. They had found them -buried under some coral stone _débris_ when searching for robber crabs. - - - - -CHAPTER V ~ MUTINIES - -Mutinies, even at the present day, are common enough. The facts -concerning many of them never come to light, it is so often to the -advantage of the after-guard of a ship to hush matters up. I know of one -instance in which the crew of a ship loading guano phosphates at Howland -Island imprisoned the captain, three mates and the steward in the cabin -for some days; then hauled them on deck, triced up the whole five and -gave them a hundred lashes each, in revenge for the diabolical cruelties -that had been inflicted upon them day by day for long months. Then they -liberated their tormentors, took to the boats and dispersed themselves -on board other guano ships loading at How-land Island, leaving their -former captain and officers to shift for themselves. This was one of -the mutinies that never came to light, or at least the mutineers escaped -punishment. - -I have witnessed three mutinies--in the last of which I took part, -although I was not a member of the ship's crew. - -My first experience occurred when I was a boy, and has been alluded to -by the late Lord Pembroke in his “Introduction” to the first book I had -published--a collection of tales entitled _By Reef and Palm_. It was -a poor sort of an affair, but filled my boyish heart with a glorious -delight--in fact it was an enjoyable mutiny in some respects, for what -might have been a tragedy was turned into a comedy. - -With a brother two years older I was sent to San Francisco by our -parents to begin life in a commercial house, and subsequently (of -course) make our fortunes. - -Our passages were taken at Newcastle (New South Wales) on the barque -_Lizzie and Rosa_, commanded by a little red-headed Irishman, to whose -care we were committed. His wife (who sailed with him) was a most -lovable woman, generous to a fault. _He_ was about the meanest specimen -of an Irishman that ever was born, was a savage little bully, boasted of -being a Fenian, and his insignificant appearance on his quarter deck, as -he strutted up and down, irresistibly suggested a monkey on a stick, and -my brother and myself took a quick dislike to him, as also did the other -passengers, of whom there were thirty--cabin and steerage. His wife (who -was the daughter of a distinguished Irish prelate) was actually afraid -of the little man, who snarled and snapped at her as if she were a -disobedient child. (Both of them are long since dead, so I can write -freely of their characteristics.) - -The barque had formerly been a French corvette--the _Felix Bernaboo_. -She was old, ill-found and leaky, and from the day we left Newcastle the -pumps were kept going, and a week later the crew came aft and demanded -that the ship should return to port. - -The little man succeeded in quieting them for the time by giving them -better food, and we continued on our course, meeting with such a series -of adverse gales that it was forty-one days before we sighted the island -of Rurutu in the South Pacific. By this time the crew and steerage -passengers were in a very angry frame of mind; the former were -overworked and exhausted, and the latter were furious at the miserly -allowance of food doled out to them by the equally miserly captain. - -At Rurutu the natives brought off two boat-loads of fresh provisions, -but the captain bought only one small pig for the cabin passengers. The -steerage passengers bought up everything else, and in a few minutes -the crew came aft and asked the captain to buy them some decent food in -place of the decayed pork and weevily biscuit upon which they had been -existing. He refused, and ordered them for'ard, and then the mate, a -hot-tempered Yorkshireman named Oliver, lost his temper, and told the -captain that the men were starving. Angry words followed, and the mate -knocked the little man down. - -Picking himself up, he went below, and reappeared with a brace of -old-fashioned Colt's revolvers, one of which--after declaring he would -“die like an Irishman”--he pointed at the mate, and calling upon him to -surrender and be put in irons, he fired towards his head. Fortunately -the bullet missed. The sympathetic crew made a rush aft, seized the -skipper, and after knocking him about rather severely, held him under -the force pump, and nearly drowned him. Only for the respect that the -crew had for his wife, I really believe they would have killed him, for -they were wrought up to a pitch of fury by his tyranny and meanness. The -boatswain carried him below, locked him up in one of the state-rooms, -and there he was kept in confinement till the barque reached Honolulu, -twenty days later, the mate acting as skipper. At Honolulu, the mate and -all the crew were tried for mutiny, but the court acquitted them all, -mainly through the testimony of the passengers. - -That was my first experience of a mutiny. My brother and I enjoyed it -immensely, especially the attempted shooting of the good old mate, and -the subsequent spectacle of the evil-tempered, vindictive little skipper -being held under the force pump. - -My third experience of a mutiny I take next (as it arose from a similar -cause to the first). I was a passenger on a brig bound from Samoa to the -Gilbert Islands (Equatorial Pacific). The master was a German, brutal -and overbearing to a degree, and the two mates were no better. One was -an American “tough,” the other a lazy, foul-mouthed Swede. All three -men were heavy drinkers, and we were hardly out of Apia before the Swede -(second mate) broke a sailor's jaw with an iron belaying pin. The crew -were nearly all natives--steady men, and fairly good seamen. Five of -them were Gilbert Islanders, and three natives of Niué (Savage Island), -and it was one of these latter whose jaw was broken. They were an -entirely new crew and had shipped in ignorance of the character of the -captain. I had often heard of him as a brutal fellow, and the brig (the -_Alfreda_ of Hamburg) had long had an evil name. She was a labour-ship -(“black-birder”) and I had taken passage in her only because I was -anxious to get to the Marshall Islands as quickly as possible. - -There were but five Europeans on board--captain, two mates, bos'un and -myself. The bos'un was, although hard on the crew, not brutal, and he -never struck them. - -We had not been out three days when the captain, in a fit of rage, -knocked a Gilbert Islander down for dropping a wet paint-brush on -the deck. Then he kicked him about the head until the poor fellow was -insensible. - -From that time out not a day passed but one or more of the crew were -struck or kicked. The second mate's conduct filled me with fury and -loathing, for, in addition to his cruelty, his language was nothing but -a string of curses and blasphemy. Within a week I saw that the Gilbert -Islanders were getting into a dangerous frame of mind. - -These natives are noted all over the Pacific for their courage, and -seeing that mischief was brewing, I spoke to the bos'un about it. He -agreed with me, but said it was no use speaking to the skipper. - -To me the captain and officers were civil enough, that is, in a gruff -sort of way, so I decided to speak to the former. I must mention that I -spoke the Gilbert and Savage Island dialects, and so heard the natives -talk. However, I said nothing of that to the German. I merely said to -him that he was running a great risk in knocking the men about, and -added that their countrymen might try to cut off the brig out of -revenge. He snorted with contempt, and both he and the mates continued -to “haze” the now sulky and brooding natives. - -One calm Sunday night we were in sight of Funafuti lagoon, and also of a -schooner which I knew to be the _Hazeldine_ of San Francisco. She, like -us, was becalmed. - -In the middle watch I went on deck and found the skipper and second mate -drunk. The mate, who was below, was about half-drunk. All three men had -been drinking heavily for some days, and the second mate was hardly able -to keep his feet. The captain was asleep on the skylight, lying on his -back, snoring like a pig, and I saw the butt of his revolver showing in -the inner pocket of his coat. - -Presently rain began to fall, and the second mate called one of the -hands and told him to bring him his oil-skin coat. The man brought it, -and then the brutal Swede, accusing him of having been slow, struck him -a fearful blow in the face and knocked him off the poop. Then the brute -followed him and began kicking him with drunken fury, then fell on the -top of him and lay there. - -I went for'ard and found all the natives on deck, very excited and armed -with knives. Addressing them, I begged them to keep quiet and listen to -me. - -“The captain and mates are all drunk,” I said, “and now is your chance -to leave the ship. Funafuti is only a league away. Get your clothes -together as quickly as possible, then lower away the port quarter-boat. -I, too, am leaving this ship, and I want you to put me on board the -_Hazeldine_. Then you can go on shore. Now, put up your knives and don't -hurt those three men, beasts as they are.” - -As I was speaking, Max the bos'un came for'ard and listened. (I thought -he was asleep.) He did not interfere, merely giving me an expressive -look. Then he said to me:-- - -“Ask them to lock me up in the deck-house”. - -Very quietly this was done, and then, whilst I got together my personal -belongings in the cabin, the boat was lowered. The Yankee mate was sound -asleep in his bunk, but one of the Nuié men took the key of his door and -locked it from the outside. Presently I heard a sound of breaking wood, -and going on deck, found that the Gilbert Islanders had stove-in the -starboard quarter-boat and the long-boat (the latter was on deck). -Then I saw that the second mate was lashed (bound hand and foot) to -the pump-rail, and the captain was lashed to one of the fife-rail -stanchions. His face was streaming with blood, and I thought he was -dead, but found that he had only been struck with a belaying pin, which -had broken his nose. - -“He drew a lot of blood from us,” said one of the natives to me, “and so -I have drawn some from him.” - -I hurried to the deck-house and told the bos'un what had occurred. He -was a level-headed young man, and taking up a carpenter's broad axe, -smashed the door of the deck-house. Then he looked at me and smiled. - -“You see, I'm gaining my liberty--captain and officers tied up, and no -one to look after the ship.” - -I understood perfectly, and shaking hands with him and wishing him -a better ship, I went over the side into the boat, and left the brig -floating quietly on the placid surface of the ocean. - -The eight native sailors made no noise, although they were all wildly -excited and jubilant, but as we shoved off, they called out “Good-bye, -bos'un”. - -An hour afterwards I was on board the _Hazeldine_ and telling my story -to her skipper, who was an old friend. Then I bade good-bye to the -natives, who started off for Funafuti with many expressions of goodwill -to their fellow-mutineer. - -At daylight a breeze came away from the eastward, and at breakfast time -the _Hazeldine_ was out of sight of the _Alfreda_. - -I learnt a few months later that the skipper had succeeded in bringing -her into Funafuti Lagoon, where he managed to obtain another crew. - - - - -CHAPTER VI ~ “MÂNI” - -Mâni was a half-caste--father a Martinique nigger, mother a -Samoan--twenty-two years of age, and lived at Moatâ, a little village -two miles from Apia in Samoa. - -Mâni's husband was a Frenchman named François Renault, who, when he was -sober, worked as a boat-builder and carpenter, for the German “factory” - at Mataféle. And when he was away form home I would hear Mâni laughing, -and see her playing with her two dark-skinned little girls, and talking -to them in a curious mixture of Samoan-French. They were merry mites -with big rolling eyes, and unmistakably “kinky” hair--like their mother. - -It was a fortnight after the great gale of 15th March, 1889, when the -six German and American warships were wrecked, that Mâni came to my -house with a basket of fresh-water fish she had netted far up in a deep -mountain pool. She looked very happy. “Frank,” she said, had not beaten -her for two whole weeks, and had promised not to beat her any more. And -he was working very steadily now. - -“That is good to hear, Mâni.” - -She smiled as she nodded her frizzy head, tossed her _tiputa_ (open -blouse) over one shoulder, and sat down on the verandah steps to clean -the fish. - -“Yes, he will beat me no more--at least not whilst the shipwrecked -sailors remain in Samoa. When they go I shall run away with the -children--to some town in Savai'i where he cannot find me.” - -“It happened in this way,” she went on confidentially: “a week ago two -American sailors came to the house and asked for water, for they -were thirsty and the sun was hot I told them that the Moatâ water was -brackish, and I husked and gave them two young coco-nuts each. And then -Frank, who had been drinking, ran out of the house and cursed and struck -me. Then one of the sailors felled him to the earth, and the other -dragged him up by his collar, and both kicked him so much that he wept. - -“'Doth he often beat thee?' said one of the sailors to me. And I said -'Yes'. - -“Then they beat him again, saying it was for my sake. And then one of -them shook him and said: 'O thou dog, to so misuse thine own wife! Now -listen. In three days' time we two of the _Trenton_ will have a day's -liberty, and we shall come here and see if thou hast again beaten thy -wife. And if thou hast but so much as _mata pio'd_ her we shall each -kick thee one hundred times.'” - -(_Mata pio_, I must explain, is Samoan for looking “cross-eyed” or -unpleasantly at a person.) - -“And Frank was very much afraid, and promised he would no longer harm -me, and held out his hand to them weepingly, but they would not take -it, and swore at him. And then they each gave my babies a quarter of -a dollar, and I, because my heart was glad, gave them each a ring of -tortoiseshell.” - -“Did they come back, Mâni?” - -Mâni, at heart, was a flirt. She raised her big black eyes with their -long curling lashes to me, and then closed them for a moment demurely. - -“Yes,” she replied, “they came back. And when I told them that my -husband was now kind to me, and was at work, they laughed, and left for -him a long piece of strong tobacco tied round with tarred rope. And they -said, 'Tell him we will come again by-and-by, and see how he behaveth to -thee'.” - -“Mâni,” said in English, as she finished the last of the fish, “why -do you speak Samoan to me when you know English so well? Where did you -learn it? Your husband always speaks French to you.” - -Mâni told me her story. In her short life of two-and-twenty years she -had had some strange experiences. - -“My father was Jean Galoup. He was a negro of St. Pierre, in Martinique, -and came to Samoa in a French barque, which was wrecked on Tutuila. -He was one of the sailors. When the captain and the other sailors made -ready to go away in the boats he refused to go, and being a strong, -powerful man they dared not force him. So he remained on Tutuila and -married my mother, and became a Samoan, and made much money by selling -food to the whaleships. Then, when I was twelve years old, my mother -died, and my father took me to his own country--to Martinique. It took -us two years to get there, for we went through many countries--to Sydney -first, then to China, and to India, and then to Marseilles in France. -But always in English ships. That is how I have learned to speak -English. - -“We lived for three years in Martinique, and then one day, as my father -was clearing some land at the foot of Mont Pelée, he was bitten by -_fer-de-lance_ and died, and I was left alone. - -“There was a young carpenter at St. Pierre, named François Renault, who -had one day met me in the market-place, and after that often came to see -my father and me. He said he loved me, and so when my father was dead, -we went to the priest and we were married. - -“My husband had heard much of Samoa from my father, and said to me: 'Let -us go there and live'. - -“So we came here, and then Frank fell into evil ways, for he was cross -with me because he saw that the pure-blooded Samoan girls were prettier -than me, and had long straight hair and lighter skins. And because he -could not put me away he began to treat me cruelly. And I love him no -more. But yet will I stay by him if he doeth right.” - -The fates were kind to Mâni a few months later. Her husband went to sea -and never returned, and Mâni, after waiting a year, was duly married -by the consul to a respectable old trader on Savai'i, who wanted a wife -with a “character”--the which is not always obtainable with a bride in -the South Seas. - - - - -CHAPTER VII ~ AT NIGHT - -The day's work was finished. Outside a cluster of rudely built -palm-thatched huts, just above the curving white beach, and under the -lengthening shadows of the silent cocos, two white men (my partner and -myself) and a party of brown-skinned Polynesians were seated together -smoking, and waiting for their evening meal. Now and then one would -speak, and another would answer in low, lazy tones. From an open shed -under a great jack-fruit tree a little distance away there came the -murmur of women's voices and, now and then, a laugh. They were the wives -of the brown men, and were cooking supper for their husbands and the two -white men. Half a cable length from the beach a schooner lay at anchor -upon the still lagoon, whose waters gleamed red under the rays of the -sinking sun. Covered with awnings fore and after she showed no sign of -life, and rested-as motionless as were the pendent branches of the lofty -cocos on the shore. - -Presently a figure appeared on deck and went for'ard, and then a bright -light shone from the fore-stay. - -My partner turned and called to the women, speaking in Hawaiian, and -bade two of them take their own and the ship-keeper's supper on board, -and stay for the night. Then he spoke to the men in English. - -“Who keeps watch to-night with the other man?” - -“Me, sir,” and a native rose to his feet. - -“Then off you go with your wife and Terese, and don't set the ship on -fire when you and your wife, and Harry and his begin squabbling as usual -over your game of _tahia_.”{*} - - * “Tahia” is a gambling game played with small round stones; - it resembles our “knuckle-bones”. - -The man laughed; the women, pretending to be shocked, each placed one -hand over her eyes, and with suppressed giggles went down to the beach -with the man, carrying a basket of steaming food. Launching a light -canoe they pushed off, and as the man paddled the women sang in the soft -Hawaiian tongue. - -“Happy beggars,” said my comrade to me, as he stood up and stretched his -lengthy, stalwart figure, “work all day, and sit up gambling and singing -hymns--when they are not intriguing with each other's husbands and -wives.” - -The place was Providence Atoll in the North Pacific, a group of -seventeen uninhabited islands lying midway between the Marshall and -Caroline Archipelagoes--that is to say, that they had been uninhabited -for some years, until we came there with our gang of natives to catch -sharks and make coco-nut oil. There was no one to deny us, for the man -who claimed the islands, Captain “Bully” Hayes, had given us the right -of possession for two years, we to pay him a certain percentage of our -profits on the oil we made, and the sharks' fins and tails we cured. -The story of Providence Atoll (the “Arrecifos” of the early Spanish -navigators, and the “Ujilang” of the native of Micronesia) cannot here -be told--suffice it to say that less than fifty years before over -a thousand people dwelt on the seventeen islands in some twelve or -fourteen villages. Then came some dread disease which swept them away, -and when Hayes sailed into the great lagoon in 1860--his was the first -ship that ever entered it--he found less than a score of survivors. -These he treated kindly; but for some reason soon removed them to Ponapé -in the Carolines, and then years passed without the island being visited -by any one except Hayes, who used it as a rendezvous, and brought other -natives there to make oil for him. Then, in a year or so, these, too, -he took away, for he was a restless man, and had many irons in the fire. -Yet there was a fortune there, as its present German owners know, for -the great chain of islands is covered with coco-nut trees which yield -many thousands of pounds' worth of copra annually. - -My partner and I had been working the islands for some months, and had -done fairly well. Our native crew devoted themselves alternately to -shark catching and oil making. The lagoon swarmed with sharks, the fins -and tails of which when dried were worth from sixty to eighty pounds -sterling per ton. (Nowadays the entire skins of sharks are bought by -some of the traders on several of the Pacific Islands on behalf of a -firm in Germany, who have a secret method of tanning and softening -them, and rendering them fit for many purposes for which leather is -used--travelling bags, coverings for trunks, etc.) - -The women helped to make the oil, caught fish, robber-crabs and turtle -for the whole party, and we were a happy family indeed. We usually lived -on shore, some distance from the spot where we dried the shark-fins, for -the odour was appalling, especially after rain, and during a calm night. -We dried them by hanging them on long lines of coir cinnet between the -coco-palms of a little island half a mile from our camp. - -But we did not always work. There were many wild pigs--the progeny of -domestic stock left by Captain Hayes--on the larger islands, and we -would have great “drives” every few weeks, the skipper and I with our -rifles, and our crew of fifteen, with their wives and children, armed -with spears. 'Twas great fun, and we revelled in it like children. -Sometimes we would bring the ship's dog with us. He was a mongrel -Newfoundland, and very game, but was nearly shot several times by -getting in the way, for although all the islands are very low, the -undergrowth in parts is very dense. If we failed to secure a pig we were -certain of getting some dozens of large robber-crabs, the most delicious -of all crustaceans when either baked or boiled. Then, too, we had -the luxury of a vegetable garden, in which we grew melons, pumpkins, -cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, etc. The seed (which was Californian) had -been given to me by an American skipper, and great was our delight to -have fresh European vegetables, for the islands produced nothing in -that way, except coconuts and some jack-fruit. The lagoon teemed with -an immense variety of fish, none of which were poisonous, and both green -and hawk-bill turtle were captured almost daily. - -How those natives of ours could eat! One morning some of the children -brought five hundred turtle eggs into camp; they were all eaten at three -meals. - -That calm, quiet night the heat was somewhat oppressive, but about ten -o'clock a faint air from the eastward began to gently rustle the tops of -the loftiest palms on the inner beaches, though we felt it not, owing to -the dense undergrowth at the back of the camp. Then, too, the mosquitoes -were troublesome, and a nanny-goat, who had lost her kid (in the oven) -kept up such an incessant blaring that we could stand it no longer, -and decided to walk across the island--less than a mile--to the weather -side, where we should not only get the breeze, but be free of the curse -of mosquitoes. - -“Over to the windward beach,” we called out to our natives. - -In an instant, men, women and children were on their feet. Torches of -dried coco-nut leaves were deftly woven by the women, sleeping mats -rolled up and given to the children to carry, baskets of cold baked fish -and vegetables hurriedly taken down from where they hung under the eaves -of the thatched huts, and away we trooped eastward along the -narrow path, the red glare of the torches shining upon the smooth, -copper-bronzed and half-nude figures of the native men and women. -Singing as we went, half an hour's walk brought us near to the sea. And -with the hum of the surf came the cool breeze, as we reached the open, -and saw before us the gently heaving ocean, sleeping under the light of -the myriad stars. - -We loved those quiet nights on the weather side of Arrecifos. Our -natives had built some thatched-roofed, open-sided huts as a protection -in case of rain, and under the shelter of one of these the skipper and -I would, when it rained during the night, lie on our mats and smoke -and yarn and watch the women and children with lighted torches catching -crayfish on the reef, heedless of the rain which fell upon them. Then, -when they had caught all they wanted, they would troop on shore again, -come into the huts, change their soaking waist girdles of leaves for -waist-cloths of gaily-coloured print or navy-blue calico, and set to -work to cook the crayfish, always bringing us the best. Then came a -general gossip and story-telling or singing in our hut for an hour -or so, and then some one would yawn and the rest would laugh, bid us -good-night, go off to their mats, and the skipper and I would be asleep -ere we knew it. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII ~ THE CRANKS OF THE _JULIA_ BRIG - -We were bound from Tahiti to the Gilbert Islands, seeking a cargo of -native labourers for Stewart's great plantation at Tahiti, and had -worked our way from island to island up northward through the group -with fair success (having obtained ninety odd stalwart, brown-skinned -savages), when between Apaian Island and Butaritari Island we spoke a -lumbering, fat-sided old brig--the _Isabella_ of Sydney. - -The _Isabella_ was owned by a firm of Chinese merchants in Sydney; -and as her skipper (Evers) and her supercargo (Dick Warren) were old -acquaintances of mine and also of the captain of my ship, we both -lowered boats and exchanged visits. - -Warren and I had not met for over two years, since he and I had been -shipmates in a labour vessel sailing out of Samoa--he as mate and I as -“recruiter”--so we had much to talk about. - -“Oh, by-the-way,” he remarked as we were saying good-bye, “of course you -have heard of that shipload of unwashed saints who have been cruising -around the South Seas in search of a Promised Land?” - -“Yes, I believe that they have gone off to Tonga or Fiji, trying to -light upon 'the Home Beautiful,' and are very hard up. The people in -Fiji will have nothing to do with that crowd--if they have gone there.” - -“They have not. They turned back for Honolulu, and are now at Butaritari -and in an awful mess. Some of the saints came on board and wanted me to -give them a passage to Sydney. You must go and have a look at them and -their rotten old brig, the _Julia_. Oh, they are a lovely lot--full of -piety and as dirty as Indian fakirs. Ah Sam, our agent at Butaritari, -will tell you all about them. He has had such a sickener of the holy -men that it will do you good to hear him talk. What the poor devils are -going to do I don't know. I gave them a little provisions--all I could -spare, but their appearance so disgusted me that I was not too civil -to them. They cannot get away from Butaritari as the old brig is not -seaworthy, and there is nothing in the way of food to be had in the -island except coco-nuts and fish--manna is out of season in the South -Seas just now. Good-bye, old man, and good luck.” - -On the following day we sighted Butaritari Island--one of the largest -atolls in the North Pacific, and inhabited by a distinctly unamiable -and cantankerous race of Malayo-Polynesians whose principal amusement -in their lighter hours is to get drunk on sour toddy and lacerate each -other's bodies with sharks' teeth swords. In addition to Ah Sam, the -agent for the Chinese trading firm, there were two European traders who -had married native women and eked out a lonely existence by buying copra -(dried coco-nut) and sharks' fins when they were sober enough to attend -to business--which was infrequent. However, Butaritari was a good -recruiting ground for ships engaged in the labour traffic, owing to the -continuous internecine wars, for the vanquished parties, after their -coco-nut trees had been cut down and their canoes destroyed had the -choice of remaining and having their throats cut or going away in a -labour ship to Tahiti, Samoa or the Sandwich Islands. - -Entering the passage through the reef, we sailed slowly across the -splendid lagoon, whose waters were as calm as those of a lake, and -dropped anchor abreast of the principal village and quite near the ship -of the saints. She was a woe-begone, battered-looking old brig of two -hundred tons or so. She showed no colours in response to ours, and we -could see no one on deck. Presently, however, we saw a man emerge from -below, then a woman, and presently a second man, and in a few minutes -she showed the Ecuadorian flag. Then all three sat on chairs under the -ragged awning and stared listlessly at our ship. - -Ah Sam came off from the shore and boarded us. He was a long, melancholy -Chinaman, had thirty-five hairs of a beard, and, poor fellow, was dying -of consumption. He told us the local news, and then I asked him -about the cargo of saints, many more of whom were now visible on the -after-deck of their disreputable old crate. - -Ah Sam's thin lips parted in a ghastly smile, as he set down his whisky -and soda, and lit a cigar. We were seated under the awning, which had -just been spread, and so had a good view of the _Julia_. - -The brig, he said, had managed to crawl into the lagoon three months -previously, and in working up to an anchorage struck on one of the coral -mushrooms with which the atoll is studded. Ah Sam and the two -white traders went off with their boats' crews of natives to render -assistance, and after some hours' hard work succeeded in getting her -off and towing her up to the spot where she was then anchored. Then the -saints gathered on the after-deck and held a thanksgiving meeting, at -the conclusion of which, the thirsty and impatient traders asked the -captain to give them and their boats' crews a few bottles of liquor in -return for their services in pulling his brig off the rocks, and when he -reproachfully told them that the _Julia_ was a temperance ship and that -drink was a curse and that God would reward them for their kindness, -they used most awful language and went off, cursing the captain and the -saints for a lot of mean blackguards and consigning them to everlasting -torments. - -On the following day all the Hawaiian crew bolted on shore and took up -their quarters with the natives. The captain came on shore and tried to -get other natives in their place, but failed--for he had no money to pay -wages, but offered instead the privilege of becoming members of what Ah -Sam called some “dam fool society”. - -There were, said Ah Sam, in addition to the captain and his wife, -originally twenty-five passengers, but half of them had left the ship at -various ports. - -“And now,” he concluded, pointing a long yellow forefinger at the -rest of the saints, “the rest of them will be coming to see you -presently--the tam teives--to see wha' they can cadge from you.” - -“You don't like them, Ah Sam?” observed our skipper, with a twinkle in -his eye. - -Ah Sam's reply could not be put upon paper. For a Chinaman he could -swear in English most fluently. Then he bade us good-bye for the -present, said he would do all he could to help me get some “recruits,” - and invited us to dinner with him in the evening. He was a good-natured, -hospitable fellow, and we accepted the invitation with pleasure. - -A few minutes after he had gone on shore the brigantine's boat came -alongside, and her captain and three of his passengers stepped on board. -He introduced himself as Captain Lynch Richards, and his friends as -Brothers So-and-So of the “Islands Brothers' Association of Christians -“. They were a dull, melancholy looking lot, Richards alone showing some -mental and physical activity. Declining spirituous refreshments, they -all had tea and something to eat. Then they asked me if I would let them -have some provisions, and accept trade goods in payment. - -As they had no money--except about one hundred dollars between them--I -let them have what provisions we could spare, and then accepted their -invitation to visit the _Julia_. - -I went with them in their own boat--two of the saints pulling--and as -they flopped the blades of their oars into the water and I studied their -appearance, I could not but agree with Dick Warren's description--“as -dirty as Indian fakirs,” for not only were their garments dirty, but -their faces looked as if they had not come into contact with soap and -water for a twelvemonth. Richards, the skipper, was a comparatively -young man, and seemed to have given some little attention to his attire, -for he was wearing a decent suit of navy blue with a clean collar and -tie. - -Getting alongside we clambered on deck--there was no side ladder--and I -was taken into the cabin where Richards introduced me to his wife. She -was a pretty, fragile-looking young woman of about five and twenty years -of age, and looked so worn out and unhappy that my heart was filled with -pity. During the brief conversation we held I asked her if she and her -husband would come on board our vessel in the afternoon and have tea, -and mentioned that we had piles and piles of books and magazines on the -ship to which she could help herself. - -Her eyes filled with tears. “I guess I should like to,” she said as she -looked at her husband. - -Then I was introduced to the rest of the company in turn, as they -sat all round the cabin, half a dozen of them on the transom lockers -reminding me somehow of dejected and meditative storks. Glad of an -excuse to get out of the stuffy and ill-ventilated cabin and the -uninspiring society of the unwashed Brethren, I eagerly assented to the -captain's suggestion to have a look round the ship before we “talked -business,” _i.e_., concerning the trade goods I was to select in payment -for the provisions with which I had supplied him. One of the Brethren, -an elderly, goat-faced person, came with us, and we returned on deck. - -Never before had I seen anything like the _Julia_. She was an old, -soft-pine-built ex-Puget Sound lumberman, literally tumbling to decay, -aloft and below. Her splintering decks, to preserve them somewhat from -the torrid sun, were covered over with old native mats, and her spars, -from want of attention, were splitting open in great gaping cracks, and -were as black as those of a collier. How such a craft made the voyage -from San Francisco to Honolulu, and from there far to the south of the -Line and then back north to the Gilbert Group, was a marvel. - -I was taken down the hold and showed what the “cranks” called their -trade goods and asked to select what I thought was a fair thing in -exchange for the provisions I had given them. Heavens! Such a collection -of utter, utter rubbish! second-hand musical boxes in piles, gaudy -lithographs, iron bedsteads, “brown paper” boots and shoes eaten half -away by cockroaches. Sets of cheap and nasty toilet ware, two huge cases -of common and much damaged wax dolls, barrels of rotted dried apples, -and decayed pork, an ice-making plant, bales and bales of second-hand -clothing--men's, women's and children's--cheap and poisonous sweets in -jars, thousands of twopenny looking-glasses, penny whistles, accordions -that wouldn't accord, as the cockroaches had eaten them up except the -wood and metal work, school slates and pencils, and a box of Bibles and -Moody and Sankey hymn-books. And the smell was something awful! I asked -the captain what was the cause of it--it overpowered even the horrible -odour of the decayed pork and rotted apples. He replied placidly that he -thought it came from a hundred kegs of salted salmon bellies which were -stowed below everything else, and that he “guessed some of them hed -busted”. - -“It is enough to breed a pestilence,” I said; “why do you not all -turn-to, get the stuff up and heave it overboard? You must excuse me, -captain, but for Heaven's sake let us get on deck.” - -On returning to the poop we found that the skipper of our vessel had -come on board, and was conversing with Mrs. Richards. I took him aside -and told him of what I had seen, and suggested that we should make them -a present of the provisions. He quite agreed with me, so turning to -Captain Richards and the goat-faced old man and several other of the -Brethren who had joined them, I said that the captain and I hoped that -they would accept the provisions from us, as we felt sure that our -owners would not mind. And I also added that we would send them a few -bags of flour and some other things during the course of the day. And -then the captain, knowing that Captain Richards and his wife were coming -to have tea with us, took pity on the Brethren and said, he hoped they -would all come to breakfast in the morning. - -Poor beggars. Grateful! Of course they were, and although they were -sheer lunatics--religious lunatics such as the United States produces by -tens of thousands every year--we felt sincerely sorry for them when they -told us their miserable story. The spokesman was an old fellow of sixty -with long flowing hair--the brother-in-law of the man with the goat's -face--and an enthusiast. But mad--mad as a hatter. - -“The Islands Brothers' Association of Christians” had its genesis in -Philadelphia. It was formed “by a few pious men to found a settlement in -the South Seas, till the soil, build a temple, instruct the savages, -and live in peace and happiness”. Twenty-eight persons joined and seven -thousand dollars were raised in one way and another--mostly from other -lunatics. Many “sympathisers” gave goods, food, etc., to help the cause -(hence the awful rubbish in the hold), and at 'Frisco they spent one -thousand five hundred dollars in buying “trade goods to barter with -the simple natives”. At 'Frisco the _Julia_, then lying condemned, was -bought for a thousand dollars--she was not worth three hundred dollars, -and was put under the Ecuadorian flag. “God sent them friends in -Captain Richards and his wife,” ambled on the old man. Richards became a -“Brother” and joined them to sail the ship and find an island “rich -and fertile in God's gifts to man, and with a pleasant people dwelling -thereon”. - -With a scratch crew of 'Frisco dead beats the brig reached Honolulu. -The crew at once cleared out, and several of the “Brothers,” with their -wives, returned to America--they had had enough of it. After some weeks' -delay Richards managed to get four Hawaiian sailors to ship, and the -vessel sailed again for the Isle Beautiful. He didn't know exactly where -to look for it, but he and the “Brothers” had been told that there were -any amount of them lying around in the South Seas, and they would have -some trouble in making a choice out of so many. - -The story of their insane wanderings after the _Julia_ went south of the -equator would have been diverting had it not been so distressing. The -mate, who we gathered was both a good seaman and a competent navigator, -was drowned through the capsizing of a boat on the reef of some island -between the Gilbert Group and Rarotonga, and with his death what little -discipline, and cohesiveness had formerly existed gradually vanished. -Richards apparently knew how to handle his ship, but as a navigator he -was nowhere. Incredible as it may seem, his general chart of the North -and South Pacific was thirty years old, and was so torn, stained and -greasy as to be all but undecipherable. As the weary weeks went by -and they went from island to island, only to be turned away by the -inhabitants, they at last began to realise the folly of the venture, and -most of them wanted to return to San Francisco. But Richards clung to -the belief that they only wanted patience to find a suitable island -where the natives would be glad to receive them, and where they could -settle down in peace. Failing that, he had the idea that there were -numbers of fertile and uninhabited islands, one of which would suit the -Brethren almost as well. But as time went on he too grew despondent, and -turned the brig's head northward for Honolulu; and one day he blundered -across Butaritari Island and entered the lagoon in the hope of at least -getting, some provisions. And again the crew bolted and left the Brethren -to shift for themselves. Week after week, month after month went by, -the provisions were all gone except weevily biscuit and rotten pork, and -they passed their time in wandering about the beaches of the lagoon -and waiting for assistance. And yet there were two or three of them -who still believed in the vision of the Isle Beautiful and were still -hopeful that they might get there. “All we want is another crew,” these -said to us. - -Our skipper shook his head, and then talked to them plainly, calling -upon me to corroborate him. - -“You will never get a crew. No sailor-man would ever come to sea in -a crate like this. And you'll find no islands anywhere in the Pacific -where you can settle down, unless you can pay for it. The natives will -chivvy you off if you try to land. I know them--you don't. The people in -America who encouraged you in this business were howling lunatics. Your -ship is falling to pieces, and I warn you that if you once leave this -lagoon in her, you will never see land again.” - -They were silent, and then the old man began to weep, and said they -would there and then pray for guidance. - -“All right,” said the skipper, “go ahead, and I'll get my mate and the -carpenter to come and tell you their opinion of the state of this brig.” - -The mate and carpenter made an examination, told Captain Richards in -front of his passengers that the ship was utterly unseaworthy, and that -he would be a criminal if he tried to put to sea again. That settled the -business, especially after they had asked me to value their trade goods, -and I told them frankly that they were literally not worth valuing, and -to throw them overboard. - -Ten days later the Brotherhood broke up--an American trading schooner -came into the lagoon and her captain offered to take them to Jakuit in -the Marshall Islands, where they were certain of getting a passage to -Honolulu in some whaleship. They all accepted with the exception of -Richards and his wife who refused to leave the _Julia_. The poor fellow -had his pride and would not desert his ship. However, as his wife was -ailing, he had a small house built on shore and managed to make a few -hundred dollars by boat-building. But every day he would go off and have -a look round the old brig to see if everything on board was all right. -Then one night there came a series of heavy squalls which raised a -lumpy sea in the lagoon, and when morning broke only her top-masts were -visible--she had gone down at her anchors. - -Richards and his fellow-cranks were the forerunners of other bands of -ignorant enthusiasts who in later years endeavoured to foist themselves -upon the natives of the Pacific Islands and met with similar and -well-merited disaster. Like the ill-fated “La Nouvelle France” colony of -the notorious Marquis de Ray, all these land-stealing ventures set -about their exploits under the cloak of religion. One, under a pretended -concession from the Mexican Government, founded a “Christian Redemption -Colony” of scallywags, loafers and loose women at Magdalena Bay in -Lower California, and succeeded in getting many thousands of pounds from -foolish people. Then came a party of Mormon Evangelists who actually -bought and paid for land in Samoa and conducted themselves decently -and are probably living there now. After them came the wretched _Percy -Edward_ band of pilgrims to found a “happy home” in the South Seas. They -called themselves the “United Brotherhood of the South Sea Islands”. In -another volume, in an article describing my personal experiences of -the disastrous “Nouvelle France” expedition to New Ireland,{*} I have -alluded to the _Percy Edward_ affair in these words, which I may be -permitted to quote: “The _Percy Edward_ was a wretched old tub of a -brigantine (formerly a Tahiti-San Francisco mail packet). She was -bought in the latter port by a number of people who intended 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.... The result of the Marquis de Ray's expedition -ought to have made the American enthusiasts reflect a little before they -started. But having the idea that they could 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 -principles of true Socialism), they sailed--only to be quickly -disillusionised. For there were no islands anywhere in the North and -South Pacific 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 unto 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 -considerably chivvied about by the white and native inhabitants of the -various islands touched at, the forlorn expedition reach Fiji. Here -fifty of the idealists elected to remain and work for their living -under a Government... But the remaining fifty-eight stuck to the _Percy -Edward_, and her decayed salt junk and putrid 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 reaching New -Caledonia and settling her keel on the bottom of Nouméa 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 abandon her and go on shore and get a good square -meal. What became of them at Nouméa I did not hear, but do know that in -their wanderings they received much charitable assistance from British -shipmasters and missionaries--in some cases their passages were paid -to the United States--the natural and proper country for the ignorant -religious 'crank'.” - - * Ridan the Devil: T. Fisher Unwin, London. - - - - -CHAPTER IX ~ “DANDY,” THE SHIP'S DINGO - -We anchored under Cape Bedford (North Queensland) one day, and the -skipper and I went on shore to bathe in one of the native-made rocky -water-holes near the Cape. We found a native police patrol camped there, -and the officer asked us if we would like to have a dingo pup for a pet. -His troopers had caught two of them the previous day. We said we should -like to possess a dingo. - -“Bring him here, Dandy,” said the officer to one of his black troopers, -and Dandy, with a grin on his sooty face, brought to us a lanky-legged -pup about three months old. Its colour was a dirty yellowish red, but -it gave promise of turning out a dog--of a kind. The captain put out -his hand to stroke it, and as quick as lightning it closed its fang-like -teeth upon his thumb. With a bull-like bellow of rage, the skipper was -about to hurl the savage little beast over the cliffs into the sea, when -I stayed his hand. - -“He'll make a bully ship-dog,” I urged, “just the right kind of pup -to chivvy the niggers over the side when we get to the Louisiades and -Solomons. Please don't choke the little beggar, Ross. 'Twas only fear, -not rage, that made him go for you.” - -We made a temporary muzzle from a bit of fishing line; bade the officer -good-bye, and went off to the ship. - -We were nearly a month beating up to the Solomons, and in that time -we gained some knowledge of Dandy's character. (We named him after -the black trooper.) He was fawningly, sneakingly, offensively -affectionate--when he was hungry, which was nearly always; as ferocious -and as spiteful as a tiger cat when his stomach was full; then, with a -snarling yelp, he would put his tail beneath his legs and trot for'ard, -turning his head and showing his teeth. Crawling under the barrel of the -windlass he would lie there and go to sleep, only opening his eyes now -and then to roll them about vindictively when any one passed by. Then -when he was hungry again, he would crawl out and slouch aft with a -“please-do-be-kind-to-a-poor-dog” expression on his treacherous face. -Twice when we were sailing close to the land he jumped overboard, and -made for the shore, though he couldn't swim very well and only went -round and round in circles. On each occasion a native sailor jumped over -after him and brought him back, and each time he bit his rescuer. - -“Never mind him, sir,” said the mate to Ross one day, when the angry -skipper fired three shots at Dandy for killing the ship's cat--missed -him and nearly killed the steward, who had put his head out of the -galley door to see the fun--“there's money in that dog. I wouldn't mind -bettin' half-a-sov that Charley Nyberg, the trader on Santa Anna, will -give five pounds for him. He'll go for every nigger he's sooled on to. -You mark my words.” - -In the fore-hold we had a hundred tons of coal destined for one of H.M. -cruisers then surveying in the Solomon Group. We put Dandy down there to -catch rats, and gave him nothing but water. Here he showed his blood. We -could hear the scraping about of coal, and the screams of the captured -rodents, as Dandy tore round the hold after them. In three days -there were no more rats left, and Dandy began to utter his weird, -blood-curdling howls--he wanted to come on deck. We lashed him down -under the force pump, and gave him a thorough wash-down. He shook -himself, showed his teeth at us and tore off to the galley in search of -food. The cook gave him a large tinful of rancid fat, which was at once -devoured, then he fled to his retreat under the windlass, and began to -growl and moan. By-and-by we made Santa Anna. - -Charley Nyberg, after he had tried the dog by setting him on to two -Solomon Island “bucks” who were loafing around his house, and seen how -the beast could bite, said he would give us thirteen dollars and a fat -hog for him. We agreed, and Dandy was taken on shore and chained up -outside the cook-house to keep away thieving natives. - -About nine o'clock that evening, as the skipper and I were sitting on -deck, we heard a fearful yell from Charley's house--a few hundred -yards away from where we were anchored. The yell was followed by a wild -clamour from many hundreds of native throats, and we saw several scores -of people rushing towards the trader's dwelling. Then came the sound of -two shots in quick succession. - -“Haul the boat alongside,” roared our skipper, “there's mischief going -on on shore.” - -In a minute we, with the boat's crew, had seized our arms, tumbled into -the boat and were racing for the beach. - -Jumping out, we tore to the house. It seemed pretty quiet. Charley -was in his sitting-room, binding up his wife's hand, and smoking in an -unconcerned sort of a way. - -“What is wrong, Charley?” we asked. - -“That infernal mongrel of yours nearly bit my wife's hand off. Did it -when she tried to stroke him. I soon settled him. If you go to the back -you will see some native women preparing the brute for the oven. The -niggers here like baked dog. Guess you fellows will have to give me back -that thirteen dollars. But you can keep the hog.” - -So Dandy came to a just and fitting end. - - - - -CHAPTER X ~ KALA-HOI, THE NET-MAKER - -Old Kala-hoi, the net-maker, had ceased work for the day, and was seated -on a mat outside his little house, smoking his pipe, looking dreamily -out upon the blue waters of Leone Bay, on Tutuila Island, and enjoying -the cool evening breeze that blew upon his bare limbs and played with -the two scanty tufts of snow-white hair that grew just above his ears. - -As he sat and smoked in quiet content, Marsh (the mate of our vessel) -and I discerned him from the beach, as we stepped out of the boat. We -were both tired--Marsh with weighing and stowing bags of copra in the -steaming hold, and I with paying the natives for it in trade goods--a -task that had taken me from dawn till supper time. Then, as the smell of -the copra and the heat of the cabin were not conducive to the enjoyment -of supper, we first had a bathe alongside the ship, got into clean -pyjamas and came on shore to have a chat with old Kala-hoi. - -“Got anything to eat, Kala-hoi?” we asked, as we sat down on the mat, in -front of the ancient, who smilingly bade us welcome. - -“My oven is made; and in it are a fat mullet, four breadfruit, some -_taro_ and plenty of _ifi_ (chestnuts). For to-day is Saturday, and I -have cooked for to-morrow as well as for to-night.” Then lapsing into -his native Hawaiian (which both my companion and I understood), he -added, “And most heartily are ye welcome. In a little while the oven -will be ready for uncovering and we shall eat.” - -“But how will you do for food to-morrow, Kala-hoi?” inquired Marsh, with -a smile and speaking in English. - -“To-morrow is not yet. When it comes I shall have more food. I have but -to ask of others and it is given willingly. And even if it were not so, -I would but have to pluck some more breadfruit or dig some taro and kill -a fowl--and cook again to night.” And then with true native courtesy he -changed the subject and asked us if we had enjoyed our swim. Not much, -we replied, the sea-water was too warm from the heat of the sun. - -He nodded. “Aye, the day has been hot and windless until now, when the -cool land breeze comes down between the valleys from the mountains. But -why did ye not bathe in the stream in the fresh water, as I have just -done. It is a good thing to do, for it makes hunger as well as cleanses -the skin, and that the salt water will not do.” - -Marsh and I lit our pipes. The old man rose, went into his house and -returned with a large mat and two bamboo pillows, telling us it would be -more comfortable to lie down and rest our backs, for he knew that we -had “toiled much during the day”. Then he resumed his own mat again, and -crossed his hands on his tatooed knees, for although not a Samoan he was -tatooed in the Samoan fashion. Beside him was a Samoan Bible, for he was -a deeply religious old fellow, and could both read and write. - -“How comes it, Kala, that thou livest all alone half a league from the -village?” asked Marsh. - -Kala-hoi showed his still white and perfect teeth in a smile. - -“Ah, why? Because, O friend, this is mine own land. I am, as thou -knowest, of Maui, in Hawaii, and though for thirty and nine years have -I lived in Samoa, yet now that my wife and two sons are dead, I would be -by myself. This land, which measures two hundred fathoms on three sides, -and one hundred at the beach, was given to me by Mauga, King of Tutuila, -because, ten years ago, when his son was shot in the thigh with a round -bullet, I cut it out from where it had lodged against the bone.” - -“How old are you, Kala-hoi?” - -“I know not. But I am old, very old. Yet I am young--still young. I was -a grown man when Wilkes, the American Commodore, came to Samoa. And I -went on board the _Vincennes_ when she came to Apia, and because I spoke -English well, _le alii Saua_ ['the cruel captain'), as we called him,{*} -made much of me, and treated me with some honour. Ah, he was a stern -man, and his eye was as the eye of an eagle.” - - * Wilkes was called “the cruel captain” by the Samoans on - account of his iron discipline. - -Marsh nodded acquiescence. “Aye, he was a strong, stern man. More than -a score of years after thou hadst seen him here in Samoa, he was like to -have brought about a bloody war between my country and his. Yet he did -but what was right and just--to my mind. And I am an Englishman.” - -Kala-hoi blew a stream of smoke through his nostrils. - -“Aye, indeed, a stern man, and with a bitter tongue. But because of -his cruelty to his men was he punished, for in Fiji the _kai tagata_ -(cannibals) killed his nephew. And yet he spoke always kindly to me, and -gave me ten Mexican dollars because I did much interpretation for him -with the chiefs of Samoa.... One day there came on board the ship two -white men; they were _papalagi tàfea_ (beachcombers) and were like -Samoans, for they wore no clothes, and were tatooed from their waists -to their knees as I am. They went to the forepart of the ship and began -talking to the sailors. They were very saucy men and proud of their -appearance. The Commodore sent for them, and he looked at them with -scorn--one was an Englishman, the other a Dane. This they told him. - -“'O ye brute beasts,' he said, and he spat over the side of the ship -contempt. 'Were ye Americans I would trice ye both up and give ye each -a hundred lashes, for so degrading thyselves. Out of my ship, ye filthy -tatooed swine. Thou art a disgrace to thy race!' So terrified were they -that they could not speak, and went away in shame.” - -“Thou hast seen many things in thy time, Kala-hoi.” - -“Nay, friend. Not such things as thou hast seen--such as the sun at -midnight, of which thou hast told me, and which had any man but thou -said it, I would have cried 'Liar!'” - -Marsh laughed--“Yet 'tis true, old Kala-hoi. I have seen the sun at -midnight, many, many times.” - -“Aye. Thou sayest, and I believe. Now, let me uncover my oven so that we -may eat. 'Tis a fine fat mullet.” - -After we had eaten, the kindly old man brought us a bowl of water in -which to lave our hands, and then a spotless white towel, for he had -associated much with Europeans in his younger days and had adopted many -of their customs. On Sundays he always wore to church coat, trousers, -shirt, collar and necktie and boots (minus socks) and covered his bald -pate with a wide hat or _fala_ leaf. Moreover, he was a deacon. - -Presently we heard voices, and a party of young people of both sexes -appeared. They had been bathing in the stream and were now returning to -the village. In most of them I recognised “customers” of mine during the -day--they were carrying baskets and bundles containing the goods bought -from the ship. They all sat down around us, began to make cigarettes -of strong twist tobacco, roll it in strips of dried banana leaf, and -gossip. Then Kala-hoi--although he was a deacon--asked the girls if -they would make us a bowl of kava. They were only too pleased, and so -Kala-hoi again rose, went to his house and brought out a root of kava, -the kava-bowl and some gourds of water, and gave them to the giggling -maidens who, securing a mat for themselves, withdrew a little distance -and proceeded to make the drink, the young men attending upon them -to-cut the kava into thin, flaky strips, and leaving us three to -ourselves. Night had come, and the bay was very quiet. Here and there -on the opposite side lights began to gleam through the lines of palms on -the beach from isolated native houses, as the people ate their evening -meal by the bright flame of a pile of coco-nut shells or a lamp of -coco-nut oil. - -Marsh wanted the old man to talk. - -“How long since is it that thy wife and sons died, Kala-hoi?” - -The old man placed his brown, shapely hand on the seaman's knee, and -answered softly:-- - -“'Tis twenty years”. - -“They died together, did they not?” - -“Nay--not together, but on the same day. Thou hast heard something of -it?” - -“Only something. And if it doth not hurt thee to speak of it, I should -like to know how such a great misfortune came to thee.” - -The net-maker looked into the white man's face, and read sympathy in his -eyes. - -“Friend, this was the way of it. Because of my usefulness to him as an -interpreter of English, Taula, chief of Samatau, gave me his niece, -Moé, in marriage. She was a strong girl, and handsome, but had a sharp -tongue. Yet she loved me, and I loved her. - -“We were happy. We lived at the town of Tufu on the _itu papa_” - (iron-bound coast) “of Savai'i. Moé bore me boy twins. They grew up -strong, hardy and courageous, though, like their mother, they were -quick-tempered, and resented reproof, even from me, their father. And -often they quarrelled and fought. - -“When they were become sixteen years of age, they were tatooed in the -Samoan fashion, and that cost me much in money and presents. But Tui, -who was the elder by a little while, was jealous that his brother Gâlu -had been tatooed first. And yet the two loved each other--as I will show -thee. - -“One day my wife and the two boys went into the mountains to get wild -bananas. They cut three heavy bunches and were returning home, when -Gâlu and Tui began to quarrel, on the steep mountain path. They came to -blows, and their mother, in trying to separate them, lost her footing -and fell far below on to a bed of lava. She died quickly. - -“The two boys descended and held her dead body in their arms for a long -while, and wept together over her face. Then they carried her down the -mountain side into the village, and said to the people:-- - -“'We, Tui and Gâlu, have killed our mother through our quarrelling. Tell -our father Kala-hoi, that we fear to meet him, and now go to expiate our -crime.' - -“They ran away swiftly; they climbed the mountain side, and, with arms -around each other, sprang over the cliff from which their mother had -fallen. And when I, and many others with me, found them, they were both -dead.” - -“Thou hast had a bitter sorrow, Kala-hoi.” “Aye, a bitter sorrow. But -yet in my dreams I see them all. And sometimes, even in my work, as I -make my nets, I hear the boys' voices, quarrelling, and my wife saying, -'Be still, ye boys, lest I call thy father to chastise thee both '.” - -As the girls brought us the kava Marsh put his hand on the old, smooth, -brown pate, and saw that the eyes of the net-maker were filled with -tears. - - - - -CHAPTER XI ~ THE KANAKA LABOUR TRADE IN THE PACIFIC - -The _fiat_ has gone forth from the Australian Commonwealth, and the -Kanaka labour trade, as far as the Australian Colonies are concerned, -has ceased to exist. For, during the month of November, 1906, the -Queensland Government began to deport to their various islands in the -Solomon and New Hebrides Groups, the last of the Melanesian native -labourers employed on the Queensland sugar plantations. - -The Kanaka labour traffic, generally termed “black-birding,” began about -1863, when sugar and cotton planters found that natives of the South -Sea Islands could be secured at a much less cost than Chinese or Indian -coolies. The genesis of the traffic was a tragedy, and filled the world -with horror. - -Three armed Peruvian ships, manned by gangs of cut-throats, appeared in -the South Pacific, and seized over four hundred unfortunate natives in -the old African slave-trading fashion, and carried them away to work the -guano deposits on the Chincha Islands. Not a score of them returned to -their island homes--the rest perished under the lash and brutality of -their cruel taskmasters. - -Towards 1870 the demand for South Sea Islanders became very great. They -were wanted in the Sandwich Islands, in Tahiti and Samoa; for, naturally -enough, with their ample food supply, the natives of these islands do -not like plantation work, or if employed demand a high rate of pay. -Then, too, the Queensland and Fijian sugar planters joined in the -quest, and at one time there were over fifty vessels engaged in securing -Kanakas from the Gilbert Islands, the Solomon and New Hebrides Groups, -and the great islands near New Guinea. - -At that time there was no Government supervision of the traffic. Any -irresponsible person could fit out a ship, and bring a cargo of human -beings into port--obtained by means fair or foul--and no questions were -asked. - -Very soon came the news of the infamous story of the brig _Carl_ and -her fiendish owner, a Dr. Murray, who with half a dozen other scoundrels -committed the most awful crimes--shooting down in cold blood scores -of natives who refused to be coerced into “recruiting”. Some of these -ruffians went to the scaffold or to long terms of imprisonment; and -from that time the British Government in a maundering way set to work -to effect some sort of supervision of the British ships employed in the -“blackbirding” trade. - -A fleet of five small gunboats (sailing vessels) were built in Sydney, -and were ordered to “overhaul and inspect every blackbirder,” and -ascertain if the “blackbirds” were really willing recruits, or had been -deported against their will, and were “to be sold as slaves”. And many -atrocious deeds came to light, with the result, as far as Queensland was -concerned, that every labour ship had to carry a Government agent, who -was supposed to see that no abuses occurred. Some of these Government -agents were conscientious men, and did their duty well; others were -mere tools of the greedy planters, and lent themselves to all sorts of -villainies to obtain “recruits” and get an _in camera_ bonus of twenty -pounds for every native they could entice on board. - -Owing to my knowledge of Polynesian and Melane-sian dialects, I was -frequently employed as “recruiter” on many “blackbirders”--French -vessels from Noumea in New Caledonia, Hawaiian vessels from Honolulu, -and German and English vessels sailing from Samoa and Fiji, and in no -instance did I ever have any serious trouble with my “blackbirds” after -they were once on board the ship of which I was “recruiter”. - -Let me now describe an ordinary cruise of a “blackbirder” vessel--an -honest ship with an honest skipper and crew, and, above all, a straight -“recruiter”--a man who takes his life in his hands when he steps out, -unarmed, from his boat, and seeks for “recruits” from a crowd of the -wildest savages imaginable. - -Labour ships carry a double crew--one to work the ship, the other to man -the boats, of which there are usually four on ordinary-sized vessels. -They are whale-boats, specially adapted for surf work. The boats' crews -are invariably natives--Rotumah men, Samoans, or Savage Islanders. The -ship's working crew also are in most cases natives, and the captain and -officers are, of course, white men. - -The 'tween decks are fitted to accommodate so many “blackbirds,” and, at -the present day, British labour ships are models of cleanliness, for the -Government supervision is very rigid; but in former days the hold of -a “blackbirder” often presented a horrid spectacle--the unfortunate -“recruits” being packed so closely together, and at night time the odour -from their steaming bodies was absolutely revolting as it ascended -from the open hatch, over which stood two sentries on the alert; for -sometimes the “blackbirds” would rise and attempt to murder the ship's -company. In many cases they did so successfully--especially when the -“blackbirds” came from the same island, or group of islands, and spoke -the same language. When there were, say, a hundred or two hundred -“recruits” from various islands, dissimilar in their language and -customs, there was no fear of such an event, and the captain and -officers and “recruiter” went to sleep with a feeling of security. - -Let us now suppose that a “blackbirder” (obnoxious name to many -recruiters) from Samoa, Fiji, or Queensland, has reached one of the New -Hebrides, or Solomon Islands. Possibly she may anchor--if there is an -anchorage; but most likely she will “lie off and on,” and send away her -boats to the various villages. - -On one occasion I “worked” the entire length of one side of the great -island of San Cristoval, visiting nearly every village from Cape -Recherché to Cape Surville. This took nearly three weeks, the ship -following the boats along the coast. We would leave the ship at -daylight, and pull in shore, landing wherever we saw a smoke signal, or -a village. When I had engaged, say, half a dozen recruits, I would send -them off on board, and continue on my way. At sunset I would return on -board, the boats would be hoisted up, and the ship either anchor, or -heave-to for the night. On this particular trip the boats were only -twice fired at, but no one man of my crews was hit. - -The boats are known as “landing” and “covering” boats. The former is in -command of an officer and the recruiter, carries five hands (all armed) -and also the boxes of “trade” goods to be exhibited to the natives as -specimens of the rest of the goods on board, or perhaps some will be -immediately handed over as an “advance” to any native willing to -recruit as a labourer in Queensland or elsewhere for three years, at the -magnificent wage of six pounds per annum, generally paid in rubbishing -articles, worth about thirty shillings. - -The “covering” boat is in charge of an officer, or reliable seaman. She -follows the “landing” boat at a short distance, and her duty is to cover -her retreat if the natives should attack the landing boat by at once -opening fire, and giving those in that boat a chance of pushing off -and getting out of danger, and also she sometimes receives on board the -“recruits” as they are engaged by the recruiter--if the latter has not -been knocked on the head or speared. - -On nearing the beach, where the natives are waiting, the officer in the -landing-boat swings her round with his steer oar, and the crew back her -in, stern first, on to the beach. The recruiter then steps out, and the -crew carry the trade chests on shore; then the boat pushes off a -little, just enough to keep afloat, and obtrusive natives, who may mean -treachery, are not allowed to come too near the oars, or take hold of -the gunwale, Meanwhile the covering boat has drawn in close to the first -boat, and the crew, with their hands on their rifles, keep a keen watch -on the landing boat and the wretched recruiter. - -The recruiter, if he is a wise man, will not display any arms openly. To -do so makes the savage natives either sulky or afraid, and I never let -them see mine, which I, however, always kept handy in a harmless-looking -canvas bag, which also contained some tobacco, cut up in small pieces, -to throw to the women and children--to put them in a good temper. - -The recruiter opens his trade box, and then asks if there is any man -or woman who desires to become rich in three years by working on a -plantation in Fiji, Queensland, or Samoa. - -If he can speak the language, and does not lose his nerve by being -surrounded by hundreds of ferocious and armed savages, and knowing that -at any instant he may be cut down from behind by a tomahawk, or speared, -or clubbed, he will get along all right, and soon find men willing to -recruit. Especially is this so if he is a man personally known to the -natives, and has a good reputation for treating his “blackbirds” well -on board the ship. The ship and her captain, too, enter largely into the -matter of a native making up his mind to “recruit,” or refuse to do so. - -Sometimes there may be among the crowd of natives several who have -already been to Queensland, or elsewhere, and desire to return. These -may be desirable recruits, or, on the other hand, may be the reverse, -and have bad records. I usually tried to shunt these fellows from again -recruiting, as they often made mischief on board, would plan to capture -the ship, and such other diversions, but I always found them useful as -touts in gaining me new recruits, by offering these scamps a suitable -present for each man they brought me. - -I always made it a practice never to recruit a married man, unless his -wife--or an alleged wife--came with him, nor would I take them if they -had young children--who would simply be made slaves of in their absence. -It required the utmost tact and discretion to get at the truth in many -cases, and very often on going on board after a day of toil and danger -I would be sound asleep, when a young couple would swim off--lovers who -had eloped--and beg me to take them away in the ship. This I would never -do until I had seen the local chief, and was assured that no objection -would be made to their leaving. - -(When I was recruiting “black labour” for the French and German planters -in Samoa and Tahiti, I was, of course, sailing in ships of those -nationalities, and had no worrying Government agent to harass and -hinder me by his interference, for only ships under British colours were -compelled to carry “Government agents”.) - -But I must return to the recruiter standing on the beach, surrounded by -a crowd of savages, exercising his patience and brains. - -Perhaps at the end of an hour or so eight or ten men are recruited, -and told to either get into one of the boats or go off to the ship in -canoes. The business on shore is then finished, the harassed recruiter -wipes his perspiring brow, says farewell to the people, closes his trade -chest, and steps into his landing boat. The officer cries to the crew, -“Give way, lads,” and off goes the boat. - -Then the covering boat comes into position astern of the landing boat, -for one never knew the moment that some enraged native on shore might, -for having been rejected as “undesirable,” take a snipe-shot at one of -the boats. Only two men pull in the covering boat--the rest of the crew -sit on the thwarts, with their rifles ready, facing aft, until the boats -are out of range. - -That is what is the ordinary day's work among the Solomon, New Hebrides, -and other island groups of the Western Pacific. But very often it -was--and is now--very different. The recruiter may be at work, when -he is struck down treacherously from behind, and hundreds of -concealed savages rush out, bent on slaughter. Perhaps the eye of some -ever-watchful man in the covering boat has seen crouching figures in the -dense undergrowth of the shores of the bay, and at once fires his rifle, -and the recruiter jumps for his boat, and then there is a cracking -of Winchesters from the covering boat, and a responsive banging of -overloaded muskets from the shore. - -Only once was I badly hurt when “recruiting”. I had visited a rather -big village, but could not secure a single recruit, and I had told the -officer to put off, as it was no use our wasting our time. I then -got into the boat and was stooping down to get a drink from the -water-beaker, when a sudden fusillade of muskets and arrows was opened -upon us from three sides, and I was struck on the right side of the neck -by a round iron bullet, which travelled round just under the skin, -and stopped under my left ear. Some of my crew were badly hit, one man -having his wrist broken by an iron bullet, and another received a heavy -lead bullet in the stomach, and three bamboo arrows in his chest, thigh -and shoulder. He was more afraid of the arrows than the really dangerous -wound in his stomach, for he thought they were poisoned, and that he -would die of lockjaw--like the lamented Commodore Goodenough, who was -shot to death with poisoned arrows at Nukapu in the Santa Cruz Group. - -The skipper nicked out the bullet in my neck with his pen-knife, and -beyond two very unsightly scars on each side of my neck, I have nothing -of which to complain, and much to be thankful for; for had I been in -ever so little a more erect position, the ball would have broken my -neck--and some compositors in printing establishments earned a little -less money. - - - - -CHAPTER XII ~ MY FRIENDS, THE ANTHROPOPHAGI - -Mr. Rudyard Kipling has spoken of what he terms “the Great American Pie -Belt,” which runs through certain parts of the United States, the people -of which live largely on pumpkin pie; in the South Pacific there is what -may be vulgarly termed the Great “Long Pork” Belt, running through -many groups of islands, the savage inhabitants of which are notorious -cannibals. This belt extends from the New Hebrides north-westerly to -the Solomon Archipelago, thence more westerly to New Ireland and New -Britain, the coasts of Dutch, German, and British New Guinea; and then, -turning south, embraces a considerable portion of the coast line of -Northern Australia. Forty years ago Fiji could have been included, -but cannibalism in that group had long since ceased; as also in New -Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands. - -The British, French and German Governments are doing their best to stamp -out the practice. Ships of war patrol the various groups, and wherever -possible, headhunting and man-eating excursions are suppressed; but some -of the islands are of such a vast extent that only the coastal tribes -are affected. In the interior--practically unknown to any white -man--there is a very numerous population of mountaineer tribes, who -are all cannibals, and will remain so for perhaps another fifty years, -unless, as was done in Fiji by Sir Arthur Gordon (now Lord Stanmore), a -large armed force is sent to subdue these people, destroy their towns, -and bring them to settle on the coast, where they may be subjected to -missionary (and police) influence. - -During my trading and “blackbirding” voyages, I made the acquaintance, -and indeed in some cases the friendship, of many cannibals, and at one -time, when I was doing shore duty, I lived for six months in a large -cannibal village on the north coast of the great island of New Britain, -or Tombara, as the natives call it I had not the slightest fear of being -converted into “Long Pig” (_puaka kumi_) for the chief, a hideous, but -yet not bad-natured savage, named Bobâran, in consideration for certain -gifts of muskets, powder, bullets, etc, and tobacco, became responsible -for my safety with his own people during my stay, but would not, of -course, guarantee to protect me from the people of other districts (even -though he might not be at enmity with them) if I ventured into their -territory. - -This was the usual agreement made by white traders who established -themselves on shore under the _ægis_ of a native ruler. Very rarely was -this confidence abused. Generally the white men, sailors or traders -who have been (and are even now) killed and eaten, have been cut off -by savages other than those among whom they lived--very often by -mountaineers. - -Bobâran and all his people were noted cannibals. He was continually at -war with his neighbours on the opposite side of the bay, where there -were three populous towns, and there was much fighting, and losses on -both sides. During my stay there were over thirty people eaten at, or in -the immediate vicinity of, my village. Some of these were taken alive, -and then slaughtered on being brought in; others had been killed in -battle. But about eighteen months before I came to live at this -place, Bobâran had had a party of twenty of his people cut off by the -enemy--and every one of these were eaten. - -I parted from Bobâran on very friendly terms. I should have stayed -longer, but was suffering from malarial fever. - -After recruiting my health in New Zealand, I joined a labour vessel, -sailing out of Samoa, and during the ten months I served on her as -recruiter I had some exceedingly exciting adventures with cannibals -among the islands off the coast of German New Guinea, and on the -mainland. - -On our way to the “blackbirding grounds” we sighted the lofty Rossel -Island--the scene of one of the most awful cannibal tragedies ever -known. It is one of the Louisiade Archipelago, and is at the extreme -south end of British New Guinea. It presents a most enchanting -appearance, owing to its verdured mountains (9,000 feet), countless -cataracts, and beautiful bays fringed with coco-palms and other tropical -trees, amidst which stand the thatched-roofed houses of the natives. I -will tell the story of Rossel Island in as few words as possible:-- - -In 1852 a Peruvian barque, carrying 325 Chinese coolies for Tahiti, was -wrecked on the island; the captain and crew took to the four boats, and -left the Chinamen to shift for themselves. Hundreds of savage natives -rushed the vessel, killed a few of the coolies, and drove the rest on -shore, where for some days they were not molested, the natives being too -busy in plundering the ship. But after this was completed they turned -their attention to their captives, marshalled them together, made them -enter canoes and carried them off to a small, but fertile island. Here -they were told to occupy a deserted village, and do as they pleased, but -not to attempt to leave the island. The poor Chinamen were overjoyed, -little dreaming of what was to befal them. The island abounded with -vegetables and fruit, and the shipwrecked men found no lack of food. But -they discovered that they were prisoners--every canoe had been removed. -This at first caused them no alarm, but when at the end of a week -their jailers appeared and carried off ten of their number, they became -restless. And then almost every day, two, three or more were taken -away, and never returned. Then the poor wretches discovered that their -comrades were being killed and eaten day by day! - -To escape from the island was impossible, for it was four miles from the -mainland, and they had no canoes, and the water was literally alive with -sharks. Some of them, wild with terror, built a raft out of dead timber, -and tried to put to sea. They were seen by the Rossel Islanders, pursued -and captured, and slaughtered for the cannibal ovens, which were now -never idle. Some poor creatures, who could swim, tried to cross to -another little island two miles away, but were devoured by sharks. -Without arms to defend their lives, they saw themselves decimated week -by week, for whenever the natives came to seize some of their number for -their ovens they came in force. - -Six or seven months passed, and then one day the French corvette -_Phoque_ (if I am not mistaken in the name) appeared off the island. She -had been sent by the Governor of New Caledonia to ascertain if any of -the Chinamen were still on the island, or if all had escaped. Two only -survived. They were seen running along the beach to meet the boats from -the corvette, and were taken on board half-demented--all the rest had -gone into the stomach of the cannibals or the sharks. - -At the present time the natives of Rossel Island are subjects of King -Edward VII., and are included in the government of the Possession of -British New Guinea; have, I believe, a resident missionary, and several -traders, and are well behaved. They would cast up their eyes in pious -horror if any visitor now suggested that they had once been addicted to -“long pig “. - -Ten days after passing Rossel Island, we were among the islands of -Dampier and Vitiaz Straits, which separate the western end of New -Britain from the east coast of New Guinea. It was an absolutely new -ground for recruiting “blackbirds” and our voyage was in reality but -an experiment. We (the officers and I) knew that the natives were a -dangerous lot of savage cannibals, speaking many dialects, and had -hitherto only been in communication with an occasional whaleship, or a -trading, pearling, or, in the “old” colonial days, a sandal-wood-seeking -vessel. But we had no fear of being cut off. We had a fine craft, with a -high freeboard, so that if we were rushed by canoes, the boarders would -find some trouble in clambering on deck; on the main deck we carried -four six-pounders, which were always kept in good order and could be -loaded with grape in a few minutes. Then our double crew were all well -armed with Sharp's carbines and the latest pattern of Colt's revolvers; -and, above all, the captain had confidence in his crew and officers, and -they in him. I, the recruiter, had with me as interpreter a very smart -native of Ysabel Island (Solomon Group) who, five years before, had been -wrecked on Rook Island, in Vitiaz Straits, had lived among the cannibal -natives for a year, and then been rescued by an Austrian man-of-war -engaged on an exploration voyage. He said that he could make himself -well understood by the natives--and this I found to be correct. - -We anchored in a charming little bay on Rook Island (Baga), and at once -some hundreds of natives came off and boarded us in the most fearless -manner. They at once recognised my interpreter, and danced about him and -yelled their delight at seeing him again. Every one of these savages was -armed with half a dozen spears, a jade-headed club, or powerful bows and -arrows, and a wooden shield. They were a much finer type of savage -than the natives of New Britain, lighter in colour, and had not so many -repulsive characteristics. Neither were they absolutely nude--each man -wearing a girdle of dracaena leaves, and although they were betel-nut -chewers, and carried their baskets of areca nuts and leaves and powdered -lime around their necks, they did not expectorate the disgusting scarlet -juice all over our decks as the New Britain natives would have done. - -We noticed that many of them had recently inflicted wounds, and learned -from them that a few days previously they had had a great fight with the -natives of Tupinier Island (twenty miles to the east) and had been badly -beaten, losing sixteen men. But, they proudly added, they had been able -to carry off eleven of the enemy's dead, and had only just finished -eating them. The chiefs brother, they said, had been badly wounded by -a bullet in the thigh (the Tupinier natives had a few muskets) and was -suffering great pain, as the “doctors” could not get it out. - -Now here was a chance for me--something which would perhaps lead to our -getting a number of these cannibals to recruit for Samoa. I considered -myself a good amateur surgeon (I had had plenty of practice) and at once -volunteered to go on shore, look at the injured gentleman and see what -I could do. My friend Bobâran in New Britain I had cured of an eczemic -disorder by a very simple remedy, and he had been a grateful patient. -Here was another chance, and possibly another grateful patient; and this -being a case of a gunshot wound, I was rather keen on attending to it, -for the Polynesians and Melanesians will stand any amount of cutting -about and never flinch (and there are no coroners in the South Seas to -ask silly questions if the patient dies from a mistake of the operator). - -Morel (the captain), the interpreter and myself went on shore. The beach -was crowded with women and children, as well as men--a sure sign that -no treachery was intended--and nearly all of them tried to embrace my -interpreter. The clamour these cannibals made was terrific, the children -being especially vociferous. Several of them seized my hands, and -literally dragged me along to the house of the wounded man; others -possessed themselves of Morel and the interpreter, and in a few minutes -the whole lot of us tumbled, or rather fell, into the house. Then, in an -instant, there was silence--the excited women and children withdrew and -left the captain, the interpreter, some male cannibals and myself with -my patient, who was sitting up, placidly chewing betel-nut. - -In ten minutes Morel and I got out the bullet, then dressed and bandaged -the wound, and gave the man a powerful opiate. Leaving him with his -friends, Morel and I went for a walk through the village. Everywhere the -natives were very civil, offering us coco-nuts and food, and even the -women and children did not show much fear at our presence. - -Returning to the house, we found our wounded friend was awake, and -sitting up on his mat. He smiled affably at us, and rubbed noses with -me--a practice I have never before seen among the Melanesians of this -part of the Pacific. Then he told us that his womenfolk were preparing -us a meal which would soon be ready. I asked him gravely (through the -interpreter) not to serve us any human flesh. He replied quite calmly -that there was none left--the last had been eaten five days before. - -Presently the meal was carried in--baked pork, an immense fish of the -mullet kind, yams, taro, and an enormous quantity of sugar-cane and -pineapples. The women did not eat with us, but sat apart. Our friend, -whose name was Dârro, had six wives, four of whom were present. He had -also a number of female slaves, taken from an island in Vitiaz Straits. -These were rather light-skinned, and some quite good-looking, and all -wore girdles of dracaena leaves. Neither Dârro nor his people smoked, -though they knew the use of pipe and tobacco, and at one time had been -given both by a sandal-wooding ship. I promised to give them a present -of a ten pound case of plug tobacco, and a gross of clay pipes--I was -thinking of “recruits”. I sent off to the brig for the present, and when -it arrived, and I had given nearly one hundred and fifty cannibals a -pipe and a plug of tobacco each, the interpreter and I got to work on -Dârro on the subject of our mission. - -Alas! He would not entertain the idea of any of his fighting men going -to an unknown land for three years. We could have perhaps a score or so -of women--widows or slaves. Would that suit us? No, I said. We did not -want single women or widows. There must be a man to each woman. - -Dârro was “very sorry” (so was I). But perhaps I and the captain would -accept two of the youngest of his female slaves as a token of his regard -for us? - -Morel and I consulted, and then we asked Dârro if he could not give us -two slave couples--two men and two women who would be willing to marry, -and also willing to go to a country and work, a country where they would -be well treated, and paid for their labour. And at the end of three -years they would be brought back to Dârro, if they so desired. - -Dârro smiled and gave some orders, and two strapping young men and two -pleasant-faced young women were brought for my inspection. All were -smiling, and I felt that a bishop and a brass band or surpliced -choristers ought to have been present. - -These were the only “blackbirds” we secured on that voyage from Rook -Island; but three and a half years later, when these two couples -returned to Dârro, with a “vast” wealth of trade goods, estimated at -“trade” prices at seventy-two pounds, Dârro never refused to let some of -his young men “recruit” for Fiji or Samoa. - -I never saw him again, but he sent messages to me by other -“blackbirding” vessels, saying that he would like me to come and stay -with him. - -And, although he had told me that he had personally partaken of -the flesh of over ninety men, I shall always remember him as a very -gentlemanly man, courteous, hospitable and friendly, and who was -horror-struck when my interpreter told him that in England cousins -intermarried. - -“That is a horrid, an unutterable thing. It is inconceivable to us. -It is vile, wicked and shameless. How can you clever white men do such -disgusting things?” - -Dârro and his savage people knew the terrors of the abuse of the laws of -consanguinity. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII ~ ON THE “JOYS” OF RECRUITING “BLACKBIRDS” - -A few years ago I was written to by an English lady, living in the -Midlands, asking me if I could assist her nephew--a young man of three -and twenty years of age--towards obtaining a berth as Government agent -or as “recruiter” on a Queensland vessel employed in the Kanaka labour -trade. - -“I am told that it is a very gentlemanly employment, that many of those -engaged in it are, or have been, naval officers and have a recognised -status in society. Also that the work is really nothing--merely the -supervision of coloured men going to the Queensland plantations. The -climate is, I am told, delightful, and would suit Walter, whose lungs, -as you know, are weak. Is the salary large?” etc. - -I had to write and disillusionise the lady, and as I wrote I recalled -one of my experiences in the Kanaka labour trade. - -Early in the seventies, I was in Nouméa, New Caledonia, looking for a -berth as recruiter in the Kanaka labour trade; but there were many older -and much more experienced men than myself engaged on the same quest, and -my efforts were in vain. - -One morning, however, I met a Captain Poore, who was the owner and -master of a small vessel, just about to leave Nouméa on a trading -voyage along the east coast of New Guinea, and among the islands between -Astrolabe Bay and the West Cape of New Britain. He did not want a -supercargo; but said that he would be very glad if I would join him, and -if the voyage was a success he would pay me for such help as I might -be able to render him. I accepted his offer, and in a few days we left -Nouméa. - -Poore and I were soon on very friendly terms. He was a man of vast -experience in the South Seas, and, except that he was subject to -occasional violent outbursts of temper when anything went wrong, was an -easy man to get on with, and a pleasant comrade. - -The mate was the only other European on board, besides the captain and -myself, all the crew, including the boatswain, being either Polynesians -or Melanesians. The whole ten of them were fairly good seamen and worked -well. - -A few days after leaving Nouméa, Poore took me into his confidence, -and told me that, although he certainly intended to make a trading -and recruiting voyage, he had another object in view, and that was to -satisfy himself as to the location of some immense copper deposits that -had been discovered on Rook Island--midway between New Britain and New -Guinea--by some shipwrecked seamen. - -Twenty-two days out from Nouméa, the _Samana_, as the schooner was -named, anchored in a well-sheltered and densely-wooded little bay on the -east side of Rook Island. The place was uninhabited, though, far back, -from the lofty mountains of the interior, we could see several columns -of smoke arising, showing the position of mountaineer villages. - -It was then ten o'clock in the morning, and Poore, feeling certain that -in this part of the coast there were no native villages, determined to -go ashore, and do a little prospecting. (I must mention that, owing to -light weather and calms, we had been obliged to anchor where we had to -avoid being drifted on shore by the fierce currents, which everywhere -sweep and eddy around Rook Island, and that we were quite twenty miles -from the place where the copper lode had been discovered.) - -Taking with us two of the native seamen, Poore and I set off on shore -shortly after ten o'clock, and landed on a rough, shingly beach. The -extent of littoral on this part of the island was very small, a bold -lofty chain of mountains coming down to within a mile of the sea, and -running parallel with the coast as far as we could see. The vegetation -was dense, and in some places came down to the water's edge, and -although the country showed a tropical luxuriance of beauty about the -seashore, the dark, gloomy, and silent mountain valleys which everywhere -opened up from the coast, gave it a repellent appearance in general. - -Leaving the natives (who were armed with rifles and tomahawks) in charge -of the boat, and telling them to pull along the shore and stop when we -stopped, Poore and I set out to walk. - -My companion was armed with a Henry-Winchester carbine, and I with a -sixteen-bore breech-loading shotgun and a tomahawk. I had brought the -gun instead of a rifle, feeling sure that I could get some cockatoos or -pigeons on our way back, for we had heard and seen many flying about as -soon as we had anchored. At the last moment I put into my canvas game -bag four round bullet cartridges, as Poore said there were many wild -pigs on the island. - -On rounding the eastern point of the bay we were delighted to come -across a beautiful beach of hard white sand, fringed with coco-nut -palms, and beyond was a considerable stretch of open park-like country. -Just as Poore and I were setting off inland to examine the base of a -spur about a mile distant, one of the men said he could see the mouth of -a river farther on along the beach. - -This changed our plans, and sending the boat on ahead, we kept to the -beach, and soon reached the river--or rather creek. It was narrow but -deep, the boat entered it easily and went up it for a mile, we walking -along the bank, which was free of undergrowth, but covered with high, -coarse, reed-like grass. Then the boat's progress was barred by a huge -fallen tree, which spanned the stream. Here we spelled for half an hour, -and had something to eat, and then again Poore and I set out, following -the upward course of the creek. Finding it was leading us away from the -spur we wished to examine, we stopped to decide what to do, and then -heard the sound of two gun-shots in quick succession, coming from the -direction of the place in which the boat was lying. We were at once -filled with alarm, knowing that the men must be in danger of some sort, -and that neither of them could have fired at a wild pig, no matter how -tempting a shot it offered, for we had told them not to do so. - -“Perhaps they have fallen foul of an alligator,” said Poore, “all the -creeks on Rook Island are full of them. Come along, and let us see what -is wrong.” - -Running through the open, timber country, and then through the long -grass on the banks of the stream, we had reached about half-way to the -boat when we heard a savage yell--or rather yells--for it seemed to come -from a hundred throats, and in an instant we both felt sure that the -boat had been attacked. - -Madly forcing our way through the infernal reed-like grass, which every -now and then caused us to trip and fall, we had just reached a bend of -the creek, which gave us a clear sight of its course for about three -hundred yards, when Poore tripped over a fallen tree branch; I fell on -the top of him, and my face struck his upturned right foot with such -violence that the blood poured from my nose in a torrent, and for half a -minute I was stunned. - -“Good God, look at that!” cried Poore, pointing down stream. - -Crossing a shallow part of the creek were a party of sixty or seventy -savages, all armed with spears and clubs. Four of them who were leading -were carrying on poles from their shoulders the naked and headless -bodies of our two unfortunate sailors, and the decapitated heads were -in either hand of an enormously fat man, who from his many shell armlets -and other adornments was evidently the leader. So close were they--less -than fifty yards--that we easily recognised one of the bodies by its -light yellow skin as that of Anteru (Andrew), a native of Rotumah, and -one of the best men we had on the _Samana_. - -Before I could stay his hand and point out the folly of it, Poore stood -up and shot the fat savage through the stomach, and I saw the blood -spurt from his side, as the heavy, flat-nosed bullet ploughed its -way clean through the man, who, still clutching the two heads in his -ensanguined hands, stood upright for a few seconds, and then fell with a -splash into the stream. - -Yells of rage and astonishment came from the savages, as Poore, now wild -with fury, began to fire at them indiscriminately, until the magazine of -his rifle was emptied; but he was so excited that only two or three of -them were hit. Then his senses came back to him. - -“Quick, into the creek, and over to the other side, or they'll cut us -off.” - -We clambered down the bank into the water, and then, by some mischance, -Poore, who was a bad swimmer, dropped his rifle, and began uttering the -most fearful oaths, when I told him that it was no use my trying to dive -for it, unless he could hold my shot gun, which I was carrying in my -left hand. We had scarcely reached the opposite bank, when thin, slender -spears began to whizz about us, and one, no thicker than a lead pencil, -caught Poore in the cheek, obliquely, and its point came out quite a -yard from where it had entered, and literally pinned him to the ground. - -I have heard some very strong language in the South Seas, but I have -never heard anything so awful as that of Poore when I drew out the -spear, and we started to run for our lives down the opposite bank of the -creek. - -For some minutes we panted along through the long grass, hearing -nothing; and then, as we came to an open spot and stopped to gain -breath, we were assailed by a shower of spears from the other side -of the creek, and Poore was again hit--a spear ripping open the flesh -between the forefinger and thumb of his left hand. He seized my gun, and -fired both barrels into the long grass on the other side, and wild yells -showed that some of our pursuers were at least damaged by the heavy No. -I shot intended for cockatoos. - -Then all became silent, and we again started, taking all available -cover, and hoping we were not pursued. - -We were mistaken, for presently we caught sight of a score of our -enemies a hundred yards ahead, running at top speed, evidently intending -to cross lower down and cut us off, or else secure the boat. Poore took -two quick shots at them, but they were too far off, and gave us a -yell of derision. Putting my hand into the game bag to get out two -cartridges, I was horrified to find it empty, every one had fallen out; -my companion used more lurid language, and we pressed on. At last we -reached the boat, and found her floating bottom up--the natives had been -too quick for us. - -To have attempted to right her would have meant our being speared by -the savages, who, of course, were watching our every movement. There -was nothing else to do but to keep on, cross the mouth of the creek, and -make for the ship. - -Scarcely had we run fifty yards when we saw the grass on the other side -move--the natives were keeping up the chase. Another ten minutes brought -us to the mouth of the stream, and then to our great joy we saw that -the tide had ebbed, and that right before us was a stretch of bare -sand, extending out half a mile. As we emerged into the open we saw our -pursuers standing on the opposite bank. Poore pointed his empty gun at -them, and they at once vanished. - -We stopped five minutes to gain breath, and then kept straight on across -the sand, till we sighted the schooner. We were seen almost at once, and -a boat was quickly manned and sent to us, and in a quarter of an hour we -were on board again. - -That was one of the joys of the “gentlemanly” employment of “recruiting” - in the South Seas. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV ~ MAKING A FORTUNE IN THE SOUTH SEAS - -A short time ago I came across in a daily newspaper the narrative of -a traveller in the South Seas full of illuminating remarks on the ease -with which any one can now acquire a fortune in the Pacific Islands; it -afforded me considerable reflection, mixed with a keen regret that I -had squandered over a quarter of a century of my life in the most -stupid manner, by ignoring the golden opportunities that must have been -jostling me wherever I went. The articles were very cleverly penned, and -really made very pretty reading--so pretty, in fact, that I was moved -to briefly narrate my experience of the subject in the columns of the -_Westminster Gazette_ with the result that many a weary, struggling -trader in the Solomon Islands, the New Hebrides and other groups of -islands in the South Pacific rose up and called me blessed when they -read my article, for I sent five and twenty copies of the paper to as -many traders. Others doubtless obtained the journal from the haughty -brass-bound pursers (there are no “supercargoes” now) of the Sydney and -Auckland steamers. For the steamers, with their high-collared, clerkly -pursers, have supplanted for good the trim schooners, with their -brown-faced, pyjama-clad supercargoes, and the romance of the South Seas -has gone. But it has not gone in the imagination of some people. - -I must mention that my copies of the _Westminster Gazette_ crossed no -less than nine letters written to me by old friends and comrades from -various islands in the Pacific, asking me to do what I had done--put the -true condition of affairs in Polynesia before the public, and help -to keep unsuitable and moneyless men from going out to the South Sea -Islands to starve. For they had read the illuminating series of articles -to which I refer, and felt very savage. - -In a cabin-trunk of mine I have some hundreds of letters, written to -me during the past ten years by people from all parts of the world, -who wanted to go to the South Seas and lead an idyllic life and make -fortunes, and wished me to show them how to go about it. Many of these -letters are amusing, some are pathetic; some, which were so obviously -insane, I did not answer. The rest I did. I cannot reproduce them in -print. I am keeping them to read to my friends in heaven. Even an old -ex-South Sea trader may get there--if he can dodge the other place. -_Quien sabe?_ - -Twenty-one of these letters reached me in France during February, March -and April of last year. They were written by men and women who had been -reading the above-mentioned series of brilliant articles. (I regret to -state that fourteen only had a penny stamp thereon, and I had to pay -four francs postal dues.) The articles were, as I have said, very -charmingly written, especially the descriptive passages. But nearly -every person that the “Special Commissioner” met in the South Seas seems -to have been very energetically and wickedly employed in “pulling the -'Special Commissioner's leg”. - -The late Lord Pembroke described two classes of people--“those who know -and don't write, and those who write and don't know”. - -Let me cull a few only of the statements in one of the articles entitled -“The Trader's Prospects”. It is an article so nicely written that it is -hard to shake off the glamour of it and get to facts. It says:-- - -“The salaries paid by a big Australian firm to its traders may run from -£50 to £200 a year, with board (that is, the run of the store) and a -house.” - -There are possibly fifty men in the Pacific Islands who are receiving -£200 a year from trading firms. Five pounds per month, with a specified -ration list, and 5 per cent, commission on his sales is the usual -thing--and has been so for the past fifteen years. As for taking “the -run of the store,” he would be quickly asked to take another run. The -trader who works for a firm has a struggle to exist. - -***** - -“In the Solomons and New Hebrides you can start trading on a capital of -£100 or so, and make cent, per cent, on island produce.” - -A man would want at least £500 to £600 to start even in the smallest -way. Here are some of his requirements, which he must buy before leaving -Sydney or Auckland to start as an independent trader in Melanesia or -Polynesia: Trade goods, £400; provisions for twelve months, £100; boat -with all gear, from £25 to £60; tools, firearms, etc, £15 to £30. Then -there is passage money, £15 to £20; freight on his goods, say £40. If -he lands anywhere in Polynesia--Samoa, Tonga, Cook's Islands, or -elsewhere--he will have Customs duties to pay, house rent, and a -trading licence. And everywhere he will find keen competition and measly -profits, unless he lives like a Chinaman on rice and fish. - -“In British New Guinea you can dig gold in hand-fuls out of the mangrove -swamps” (O ye gods!) “and prospect for any other mineral you may -choose.” - -Gold-mining in British New Guinea is carried out under the most trying -conditions of toil and hardships, The fitting out of a prospecting-party -of four costs quite £500 to £1,000. And only very experienced diggers -tackle mining in the Possession. And his Honour the Administrator will -not let improperly equipped parties into the Possession. - -“It is the simplest thing in the world” to become a pearl sheller. “You -charter a schooner--or even a cutter--if you are a smart seaman and know -the Pacific, use her for general trading... and every now and then go -and look up some one of the innumerable reefs and low atolla... Some are -beds of treasure, full of pearl-shell, that sells at £100 to £200 the -ton,” etc. - -All very pretty! Here is the “simplicity” of it--taking it at so much -_per month_: Charter of small schooner of one hundred tons, £200 to -£300; wages of captain and crew, £40; cost of provisions and wear and -tear of canvas, running gear, etc., £60 (diving suits and gear for two -divers, and boat would have to be bought at a cost of some hundreds of -pounds); wages per month of each diver from £50 to £75, with often -a commission on the shell they raise. Then you can go a-sailing, and -_cherchez_ around for your treasure beds. If you dive in Dutch waters, -the gunboats collar you and your ship; if you go into British waters you -will find that the business is under strict inspection by Commonwealth -officials who keep a properly sharp eye on your doings. If you wish to -go into the French Paumotus you have first to visit Tahiti, and apply -for and pay 2,500 francs for a half-yearly licence to dive. (Most likely -you won't get it) If you try without this licence to buy even a single -pearl from the natives, you will get into trouble--as my ship did in -the “seventies,” when the gunboat _Vaudreuil_ swooped down on us, sent -a prize crew aboard, put some of us in irons, and towed us to -Tahiti, where we lay in Papeite harbour for three months, until legal -proceedings were finished and the ship was liberated. - -“About £150 would be the lowest sum with which such a work” (scooping up -the treasure) “could be carried out. This would provide a small schooner -or a cutter from Auckland for a few months with all necessary stores. -She would require two men, competent to navigate, two A.B.'s, and a -diver, in order to be run safely and comfortably; and the wages of -these would be an extra cost. A couple of experienced yachtsmen could, of -course, manage the affair more cheaply.” - -Some of these recent nine letters which I received contained some very -interesting facts. One man, an old trader in Polynesia, wrote me as -follows: “Some of these poor beggars actually land in Polynesian ports -with a trunk or two of glass beads, penny looking-glasses, twopenny -knives and other weird rubbish, and are aghast to see large stores -stocked with thousands of pounds' worth of goods of all kinds, goods -which are sold to the natives at a very low margin of profit, -for competition is very keen. In the Society Islands the Chinese -storekeepers undersell us whites--they live cheaper.” And “in Levuka -and Suva, in Fiji, in Rarotonga and other islands there are scores of -broken-down white men. They cannot be called 'beachcombers,' for there -is nothing on the beach for them to comb. They live on the charity of -the traders and natives. If they were sailor-men they could perhaps -get fifteen dollars a month on the schooners. Why they come here is a -mystery.... Most of them seem to be clerks or school-teachers. One is a -violin teacher. Another young fellow brought out a typewriting machine; -he is now yardman at a Suva hotel. A third is a married man with two -young children. He is a French polisher, wife a milliner. They came from -Belfast, and landed with eleven pounds! Hotel expenses swallowed all -that in three weeks. Money is being collected to send them to Auckland,” - and so on. There is always so much mischief being done by globe-trotting -tourists and ill-informed and irresponsible novelists who scurry through -the Southern Seas on a liner, and then publish their hasty impressions. -According to them, any one with a modicum of common sense can shake the -South Sea Pagoda Tree and become bloatedly wealthy in a year or so. - -Did the “Special Commissioner” know that these articles would lead to -much misery and suffering? No, of course not. They were written in good -faith, but without knowledge. For instance, the wild statement about -looking up “some one of the innumerable reefs and low atolls... beds -of treasure, full of pearl-shell that sells at £100 to £200 the ton,” - etc.--there is not one single reef or atoll either in the North or South -Pacific that has not been carefully prospected for pearl-shell during -the past thirty-five years. - -Then as to gold-mining in British New Guinea, “where you can dig gold in -handfuls out of the mangrove swamps”. - -Diggers who go to New Guinea have to go through the formality of first -paying their passages to that country from Australia. Then, on arrival, -they have to arrange the important matter of engaging native carriers -to take their outfit to the Mambaré River gold-fields--a tedious and -expensive item. And only experienced men of sterling physique can stand -the awful labour and hardships of gold-mining in the Possession. Deadly -malarial fever adds to the diggers' hard lot in New Guinea, and the -natives, when not savage and treacherous, are as unreliable and as lazy -as a Spanish priest. - -In conclusion, I can assure my readers that there is no prospect for any -man of limited means to make money in the South Seas as a trader. Any -assertions to the contrary have no basis of fact in them. In cotton and -coco-nut planting there are good openings for men of the right stamp; in -the second industry, however, one has to wait six years before his trees -are in full bearing. - - - - -CHAPTER XV ~ THE STORY OF TOKOLMÉ - -Early one morning some native hunters came on board our vessel and asked -me to come with them to the mountain forest of the island of Ponapé in -quest of wild boar. Glad to escape from the ship, which lay in a small -land-locked harbour on the south-eastern side of the island, I quickly -put together my gear, stepped into one of the long red-painted canoes -alongside, and pushed off with my companions--men whom I had known for -some years and who always looked to me to join them in at least one -of their hunting trips whenever our brig visited their district on a -trading cruise. Half an hour's paddling across the still waters of the -harbour brought us to a narrow creek, lined on each side with dense -mangroves. Following its upward course for the third of a mile, we came -to and landed at a point of high land, where the-dull and monotonous -mangroves gave place to giant cedar trees and lofty palms. Here were two -or three small native huts, used by the hunters as a rendezvous. Early -as it was, some of their women-folk had arrived from the village, and -cooked and made ready a meal of baked fish and chickens. Then after the -inevitable smoke and discussion as to the route to be taken, and telling -the women to expect us back at nightfall, we shouldered our rifles and -hunting spears, and started off in single file along a winding track -that followed the turnings of the now clear and brawling little stream. -At first we experienced considerable trouble in ridding ourselves of -over a dozen mongrel curs; they had followed the men from the village -(two miles distant) and the women had fastened all of them in, in one of -the huts, but the brutes had torn a hole through the cane-work side of -the hut and came after us in full cry. Kicking and pelting them with -sticks had no effect--they merely yelped and snarled and darted off -into the undergrowth, only to reappear somewhere ahead of us. Finally my -companions became so exasperated that, forgetting they were newly-made -converts to Christianity, they burst out into torrents of abuse, -invoking all the old heathen gods to smite the dogs individually and -collectively, and not let them spoil our sport. This proving of no -effect, an exasperated and stalwart young native named Nâ, who was the -owner of one of the most ugly and persistent of the animals, asked me to -lend him my Winchester, and, waiting for a favourable chance, shot the -brute dead. In an instant the rest of the pack vanished without a sound, -and we saw no more of them till we returned to the huts in the evening. - -These natives (seven in all) were, with the exception of a man of fifty -years of age, all young men, and fine types of the Micronesian. Although -much slighter in build than the average Polynesian of the south-eastern -islands of the Pacific, they were extremely muscular and sinewy, and as -active and fleet of foot as wild goats. Their skins, where not tanned -a darker hue by the sun, were of a light reddish-brown, and the blue -tatooing on their bodies showed out very clearly; most of them had a -very Semitic and regular cast of features, and their straight black hair -and fine white teeth imparted a very pleasing appearance. Unlike some of -the natives of the Micronesian Archipelago on the islands farther to the -westward they dislike the disgusting practice of chewing the betel-nut, -and in general may be regarded as a very cleanly and highly intelligent -race of people. Somewhat suspicious, if not sullen, with the European -stranger on first acquaintance, they do not display that spirit of -hospitality and courtesy that seems to be inherent with the Samoans, -Tahitians and the Marquesans. From the time when their existence was -first made known to the world by the discoveries of the early Spanish -voyagers to the South Seas they have been addicted to warfare, and -the inhabitants of Ponapé in particular had an evil reputation for the -horrible cruelties the victors inflicted upon the vanquished in battle, -even though the victims were frequently their own kith and kin. When, -less than twenty years ago, Spain reasserted her claims to the Caroline -Islands (of which Ponapé is the largest and most fertile) and placed -garrisons on several of the islands, the natives of Ponapé made a savage -and determined resistance, and in one instance wiped out two companies -of troops and their officers. A few years ago, however, the entire -archipelago passed into the hands of Germany--Spain accepting a monetary -compensation for parting with territory that never belonged to her--and -at the present time these once valorous and warlike savages are learning -the ways of civilisation and--as might be expected--rapidly diminishing -in numbers. - -***** - -After ridding ourselves of the dogs we pressed steadily onward and -upward, till we no longer heard the hum of the surf beating upon the -barrier reef, and then when the sun was almost overhead we emerged from -the deep, darkened aisles of the silent forest into a small cleared -space on the summit of a spur and saw displayed before us one of the -loveliest panoramas in the universe. For of all the many beautiful -island gems which lie upon the blue bosom of the North Pacific, there -is none that exceeds in beauty and fertility the Isle of Ascension, as -Ponapé is sometimes called--that being the name used by the Spaniards. - -Three thousand feet below we could see for many miles the trend of the -coast north and south. Within the wavering line of roaring white surf, -which marked the barrier reef, lay the quiet green waters of the narrow -lagoon encompassing the whole of this part of Ponapé, studded with many -small islands--some rocky and precipitous, some so low-lying and so -thickly palm-clad that they, seemed, with their girdles of shining -beach, to be but floating gardens of verdure, so soft and ephemeral -that even the gentle breath of the rising trade wind at early morn would -cause them to vanish like some desert mirage. - -To the southward was the small, land-locked harbour of Roân Kiti, whose -gleaming waters were as yet undisturbed by the faintest ripple, and the -two American whaleships and my own vessel which floated on its placid -bosom, lay so still and quiet, that one could have thought them to be -abandoned by their crews were it not that one of the whalers began to -loose and dry sails, for it had rained heavily during the night. These -two ships were from New Bedford, and they had put into the little -harbour to wood and water, and give their sea-worn crews a fortnight's -rest ere they sailed northward away from the bright isles of the Pacific -to the cold, wintry seas of the Siberian coast and the Kurile Islands, -where they would cruise for “bowhead” whales, before returning home to -America. - -Here, because the White Man both felt and looked tired after the long -climb, and because the Brown Men wanted to make a drink of green kava, -we decided to rest for an hour or two--some of the men suggesting that -we should not return till the following day. Food we had brought with -us, and everywhere on the tops of the mountains water was to be found -in small rocky pools. So whilst one of the men cut up a rugged root of -green kava and began to pound it with a smooth stone, the White Man, -well content, laid down his gun, sat upon a boulder of stone and looked -around him. I was pleased at the view of sea and verdant shore -far below, and pleased too at the prospect of some good sport; for -everywhere, on our way up to the mountains, we had seen the tracks -of many a wild pig, and here, on the summit of this spur, could rest -awhile, before descending into a deep valley on the eastern side of -the island, where we knew we would find the wild pigs feeding along the -banks of a mountain stream which debouched into Roân Kiti harbour, four -miles away. - -“How is this place named, and how came it to be clear of the forest -trees?” I asked one of my native friends, a handsome young man, about -thirty years of age, whose naked, smooth, and red-brown skin, from neck -to waist, showed by its tatooing that he was of chiefly lineage. - -“Tokolmé it is called,” he replied. “It was once a place of great -strength; a fortress was made here in the mountains, in the olden -time--in the old days, long before white men came to Ponapé. See, all -around us, half-buried in the ground, are some of the blocks of stone -which were carried up from the face of the mountain which overlooks -Metalanien “--he pointed to several huge basaltic prisms lying -near--“these stones were the lower course of the fort; the upper part -was of wood, great forest trees, cut down and squared into lengths of -two fathoms. And it is because of the cutting down of these trees, which -were very old and took many hundred years to grow, that the place -where we now sit, and all around us, is so clear. For the blood of -many hundreds of men have sunk into it, and because it was the blood of -innocent people, there be now nothing that will grow upon it.” - -The place was certainly quite bare of trees, though encompassed by the -forest on all sides lower down. One reason for this may have been that -in addition to the large basaltic prisms, the ground was thickly covered -with a layer of smaller and broken stones to which time and the action -of the weather had given a comparatively smooth surface. - -“Tell me of it, Rai,” I said. - -“Presently, friend, after we have had the drink of kava and eaten some -food. Ah, this green kava of ours is good to drink, not like the weak, -dried root that the women of Samoa chew and mix with much water in a -wooden bowl. What goodness can there be in that? Here, we take the root -fresh from the soil when it is full of juice, beat it to a pulp and add -but little water.” - -“It is good, Rai,” I admitted, “but give me only a little. It is too -strong for me and a full bowl would cause me to stagger and fall.” - -He laughed good-naturedly as he handed me a half coco-nut shell -containing a little of the thick greenish-yellow liquid. And then, after -all had drunk in turn, the baskets of cold baked food were opened and -we ate; and then as we lit our pipes and smoked Rai told us the story of -Tokolmé. - -“In those days, before the white men came here to this country, though -they had been to islands not many days' sail from here by canoe, there -were but two great chiefs of Ponapé--now there are seven--one was Lirou, -who ruled all this part of the land, and who dwelt at Roân Kiti with two -thousand people, and the other was Roka, king of all the northern coast -and ruler of many villages. Roka was a great voyager and had sailed as -far to the east as Kusaie, which is two hundred leagues from here, and -his people were proud of him and his great daring and of the slaves that -he brought back with him from Kusaie.{*} - - * Strongs Island. - -“Here in Tokolmé lived three hundred and two-score people, who owed -allegiance neither to Lirou nor Roka, for their ancestors had come to -Ponapé from Yap, an island far to the westward. After many years of -fighting on the coast they made peace with Lirou's father, who gave them -all this piece of country as a free gift, and without tribute, and many -of their young men and women intermarried with ours, for the language -and customs of Yap are akin to those of Ponapé. - -“Soon after peace was made and Tolan, chief of the strangers, had built -the village and made plantations, he died, and as he left no son, his -daughter Leâ became chieftainess, although she was but fourteen years of -age. - -“Lirou, who was a haughty, overbearing young man, sent presents, and -asked her in marriage, and great was his anger when she refused, saying -that she had no desire to leave her people now that her father was dead. - -“'See,' he said to his father, 'see the insult put upon thee by these -proud ones of Yap--these dog-eating strangers who drifted to our land -as a log drifts upon the ocean. Thou hast given them fair lands with -running water, and great forest trees, and this girl refuses to marry -me. Am I as nothing that I should be so treated? Shall I, Lirou, be -laughed at? Am I a boy or a grown man?' - -“The old chief, who desired peace, sought in vain to soothe him. -'Wait for another year,' he said, 'and it may be that she will be of a -different mind. And already thou hast two wives--why seek another?' - -“'Because it is my will,' replied Lirou fiercely, and he went away, -nursing his wrath. - -“One day a party of Roka's young men and women went in several canoes -to the group of small islands near the mainland called Pâkin to catch -turtle; whilst the men were away out on the reef at night with their -turtle nets a number of Lirou's men came to the huts where the women -were and watched them cooking food to give to their husbands on their -return. Rain was falling heavily, and Lirou's men came into the houses, -unasked, and sat down and then began to jest with the women somewhat -rudely. This made them somewhat afraid, for they were all married, and -to jest with the wife of another man is looked upon as an evil thing. -But their husbands being a league away the women could do nothing and -went on with their cooking in silence. Presently, Lirou's men who had -brought with them some gourds of the grog called _rarait_, which is made -from sugar-cane, began to drink it and pressed the women to do so also. -When they refused to do so, the men became still more rude and bade the -women serve them with some of the food they had prepared. This was a -great insult, but being in fear, they obeyed. Then, as the grog made -them bolder, some of the men laid hands on the women and there was a -great outcry and struggle, and a young woman named Sipi-nah fell or was -thrown against a great burning log, and her face so badly burned that -she cried out in agony and ran outside, followed by all the other women. -They ran along the beach in the pouring rain till they were abreast -of the place where their husbands were fishing and called to them to -return. When the fishermen saw what had befallen Sipi-nah they were -filled with rage, for she was a blood-relation of Roka's, and hastening -back to the houses they rushed in upon Lirou's people, slew three of -them, put their heads in baskets and brought them to Roka. - -“From this thing came a long war which was called 'the war of the face -of Sipi-nah,' and a great battle was fought in canoes on the lagoon. -Lirou's father with many hundreds of his people were slain, and the rest -fled to Roân Kiti pursued by King Roka, who burnt the town. Then Lirou -(who, now that his father was killed, was chief) sued for peace, and -promised Roka a yearly tribute of three thousand plates of turtle shell, -and five new canoes. So Roka, being satisfied, sailed away, and there -was peace. Had he so desired it he could have utterly swept away all -Lirou's people and burned their villages and destroyed every one of -their plantations, but although he was a great fighting man he was not -cruel. Yet he said to Sipi-nah, after peace was made: 'I pray thee, come -near me no more; for although I have revenged myself upon those who have -ill-used and insulted thee and me, my hand will again incline to the -spear if I look upon thy scarred face again. And I want no more wars.' - -“The son of Lirou (who now took his father's name) and his people began, -with heavy hearts, to rebuild the town. After the council house was -finished, Lirou told them to cease work and called together his head men -and spoke. - -“'Why should we labour to build more houses here?' he said. 'See, this -is my mind. Only for one year shall I pay this heavy tribute to Roka. -Then shall I defy him.' - -“The head men were silent. - -“Lirou laughed. 'Have no fear. I am no boaster. But we cannot fight him -here in Roân Kiti, which is open to the sea, and never can we make it -a strong fort, for here we have no _falat_,{*} nor yet any great forest -trees. But at Tokolmé are many thousands of the great stones and mighty -trees in plenty. Ah, my father was a foolish man to give such a place to -people who fought against us. Are we fools, to build here another weak -town, and let Roka bear the more heavily upon us? Answer me!' - - * “Falat” is the natives' name for the huge prisms of basalt - with which the mysterious and Cyclopean walls, canals, - vaults, and forts are constructed on the island of Ponapé. - -“'What wouldst thou have, O chief,' asked one of the head men. - -“'I would have Tokolmé. It is mine inheritance. There can we make a -strong fort, and from there shall we have entrance to the sea by the -river. Are we to let these dogs from Yap deny us?' - -“'Let us ask them to give us, as an act of friendship, all the trees, -and all the _felat_ we desire,' said one of the head men. - -“Lirou laughed scornfully. 'And we to toil for years in carrying the -trees and stones from Tokolmé, a league away. Bah! Let us fall upon them -as they sleep--and spare no one.' - -“'Nay, nay,' said a sub-chief, named Kol, who had taken one of the Yap -girls to wife, 'that is an evil thought, and foul treachery. We be at -peace with them. I, for one, will have no part in such wickedness.' And -others said the same, but some were with Lirou. - -“Then, after many angry words had been spoken--some for fair dealing, -and some for murder--Lirou said to the chief Kol and two others: 'Go to -the girl Leâ and her head men with presents, and say this: We of Roân -Kiti are like to be hard pressed by Roka when the time comes for the -payment of our tribute. If we yield it not, then are we all dead men. -So give back to us Tokolmé, and take from us Roân Kiti, where ye may for -ever dwell in peace, for Roka hath no ill-will against ye.' - -“So Kol and two other chiefs, with many slaves bearing presents, went to -Tokolmé. But before they set out, Kol sent secretly a messenger to Leâ, -with these words: 'Though I shall presently come to thee with fair -words from Lirou, I bid thee and all thy people take heed, and beware -of what thou doest; and keep good watch by night, for Lirou hath an evil -mind.' - -“This message was given to Lea, and her head men rewarded the messenger, -and then held council together, and told Lea what answer she should -give. - -“This was the answer that she gave to Kol, speaking smilingly, and yet -with dignity:-- - -“'Say to the chief Lirou that I thank him for the rich presents he hath -sent me, and that I would that I could yield to his wish, and give unto -him this tract of country that his father gave to mine--so that he might -build a strong place of refuge against the King Roka. But it cannot be, -for we, too, fear Roka. And we are but a few, and some day it might -happen that he would fall upon us, and sweep us away as a dead leaf -is swept from the branch of a young tree by the strong breath of the -storm.' - -“So Kol returned to Lirou, and gave him the answer of Leâ, and then -Lirou and those of his head men who meant ill to Leâ and her people, met -together in secret, and plotted their destruction. - -“And again Kol, who loved the Yap girl he had married, sent a message -to Leâ, warning her to beware of treachery. And then it was that the Yap -people began to build a strong fort, and at night kept a good watch. - -“Then Lirou again sent messengers asking that Leâ would let him cut down -a score of great trees, and Leâ sent answer to him: 'Thou art welcome. -Cut down one score--or ten score. I give them freely.' This did she for -the sake of peace and good-will, though she and her people knew that -Lirou meant harm. But whilst a hundred of Lirou's men were cutting -the trees the Yap people worked at their fort from dawn till dark, and -Lirou's heart was black with rage, for these men of Yap were cunning -fort builders, and he saw that, when it was finished, it could never be -taken by assault. But he and his chiefs continued to speak fair words, -and send presents to Leâ and her people, and she sent back presents in -return. Then again Lirou besought her to become his wife, saying that -such an alliance would strengthen the friendship between his people and -hers; but Leâ again refused him, though with pleasant words, and Lirou -said with a smooth face: 'Forgive me. I shall pester thee no more, for I -see that thou dost not care for me.' - -“When two months had passed two score of great trees had been felled and -cut into lengths of five fathoms each, and then squared. These were to -be the main timbers of the outer wall of Lirou's fort--so he said. But -he did not mean to have them carried away, for now he and his chiefs had -completed their plans to destroy the people of Yap, and this cutting of -the trees was but a subterfuge, designed to throw Leâ and her advisers -off their guard. - -“One day Lirou and his chiefs, dressed in very gay attire, came into -Tokolmé, each carrying in his hand a tame ring-dove which is a token of -peace and amity, and desired speech of Leâ. She came forth, and ordered -fine mats, trimmed with scarlet parrots' feathers, to be spread for them -upon the ground and received them as honoured guests. - -“'We come,' said Lirou, lifting her hand to his forehead, 'to beg -thee and all thy people to come to a great feast that will be ready -to-morrow, to celebrate the carrying away of the wood thou hast so -generously given unto me.' - -“'It is well,' said Leâ; 'I thank thee. We shall come.' - -“Little did Leâ and her people know that during the night, as it rained -heavily, some of Lirou's warriors had hidden clubs and spears and axes -of stone near where the logs lay and where the feast was to be given. -They were hidden under a great heap of chips and shavings that came from -the fallen trees. - -“At dawn on the day of the feast, three hundred of Lirou's men, all -dressed very gaily, marched past Tokolmé, carrying no arms, but bearing -baskets of food. They were going, they said, with presents to King Roka -to tell him that Lirou would hold faithfully to his promise of tribute. - -“'But why,' asked the men of Yap, 'do ye go to-day--which is the day of -the feast?' - -“'Because the heart of Lirou is glad, and he desires peace with all -men--even Roka. And whilst he and those of our people who remain feast -with ye men of Yap, and make merriment, we, the tribute messengers, go -unto Roka with words of goodwill.' - -“Now these words were lies, for when the three hundred men had marched -a quarter of a league past Tokolmé, they halted at a place in the forest -where they had arms concealed. Then they waited for a certain signal -from Lirou, who had said:-- - -“'When thou hearest the sound of a conch shell at the beginning of the -feast, march quickly back and form a circle around us and the people of -Yap, but let not one of ye be seen. Then when there comes a second blast -rush in, and see that no one escapes. Spare no one but the girl Lea.' - -“When the sun was a little high Lirou and all his people--men, women and -children--came and made ready the feast. On each of the squared logs was -spread out baked hogs, fowls, pigeons, turtle and fish, and all manner -of fruits in abundance, and then also there were placed in the centre of -the clearing twenty stone mortars for making kava. - -“When all was ready, Leâ and her people were bidden to come, and they -all came out of the fort, dressed very gaily and singing as is customary -for guests to do. And Lirou stepped out from among his people and took -Leâ by the hand and seated her on a fine mat in the place of honour, and -as she sat with Lirou beside her, a man blew a loud, long blast upon a -conch shell and the feast began.” - -Rai's story had interested me keenly, but I was now guilty of a breach -of native etiquette--I had to interrupt him to ask how it was that the -man Kol and others who were friendly to the Yap people did not give them -a final warning of the intended massacre. - -“Ah, I forgot to tell thee that Lirou was as cunning as he was cruel, -and ten days before the giving of the feast he had sent away Kol and -some others whom he knew to be well disposed to the people of Yap. He -sent them to the islands of Pakin--ten leagues from Ponapé, and desired -them to catch turtle for him. But with them he sent a trusty man, whom -he took into his confidence, and said, 'Tell Rairik, Chief of Pakin, to -make some pretext, and prevent Kol from returning to Ponapé for a full -moon. And say also that if he yields not to my wish I shall destroy him -and his people.'” - -“Ah,” I said, “Lirou was a Napoleon.” - -“Who was he?” - -“Oh, a great Franki chief, who was as lying and as treacherous and cruel -and merciless as Lirou. Some day I will tell thee of him. Now, about the -feast.” - -“Ah, the feast. After a little while, Lirou, whilst the people ate, said -softly to Leâ, 'Wilt thou not honour me and be my wife? I promise thee -that I shall send away my other wives, and thou alone shalt rule my -house and me.' - -“Leâ was displeased, and her eyes flashed with anger as she drew away -from him, and then Lirou seized her by her wrist, and threw up his left -hand. - -“A long, loud blast sounded from the conch, and then Lirou's men, who -were feasting, sprang to the great heap of chips, and seized their -weapons. And then began a cruel slaughter--for what could three hundred -unarmed people do against so many! But yet some of the men of Yap fought -most bravely, and tearing clubs or short stabbing spears from their -treacherous enemies, they killed over two score of Lirou's people. - -“As Leâ beheld the murdering of her kith and kin, she cried piteously to -Lirou to at least spare the women and children, but he laughed and bade -her be silent. Some of the women and children tried to escape to the -fort, but they were met by the men who had been in ambush, and slain -ruthlessly. - -“When all was over, the bodies were taken to a high cliff, and cast down -into the valley below. Then Lirou and his men entered the fort, and made -great rejoicing over their victory. - -“Leâ sat on a mat with her face in her hands, dumb with grief, and Lirou -bade her go to her sleeping-place, telling her to rest, and that he -would have speech with her later on when he was in the mood. She obeyed, -and when she was unobserved she picked up a short, broad-bladed dagger -of _talit_ (obsidian) and hid it in her girdle, and then lay down -and pretended to sleep. But through the cane lattice-work of her -sleeping-place she watched Lirou. - -“After Lirou had viewed the fort outside and inside, he sent a man to -Leâ, bidding her come to him. - -“She rose and came slowly to him, with her head bent, and stood before -him. Then suddenly she sprang at him, and thrust the dagger into his -heart. He fell and died quickly. - -“Then Leâ leapt over a part of the stone wall where it was low, and ran -towards the river, pursued by some of Lirou's men. But she was fleet of -foot, crossed the river, and escaped into the jungle and rested awhile. -Then she passed out of the jungle into the rough mountain country, and -that night she reached King Roka's town. - -“Roka made her very welcome, and was filled with anger when she told her -story. - -“'I will quickly punish these cruel murderers,' he said; 'as for thee, -Leâ, make this thy home and dwell with us.' - -“Roka gathered together his fighting men. Half he sent to Roân Kiti -by water, and half he himself led across the mountains. They fell upon -Lirou's people at night, and slew nearly half of the men, and drove all -the rest into the mountains, where they remained for many months, broken -and hunted men. - -“That is the story of Tokolmé.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVI ~ “LANO-TÔ” - -A white rain squall came crashing through the mountain forest, and -then went humming northward across the quiet lake, down over the wooded -littoral and far out to sea. Silence once more, and then a mountain cock, -who had scorned the sweeping rain, uttered his shrill, cackling, and -defiant crow, as he shook the water from his black and golden back and -long snaky neck, and savage, fierce-eyed head. - -Between two wide-flanking buttresses of a mighty _tamana_ tree I had -taken shelter, and was comfortably seated on the thick carpet of soft -dry leaves, when I heard my name called, and looking up, I saw, a few -yards away, the grave face of an elderly Samoan, named Mârisi (Maurice). -We were old acquaintances. - -“Talofa, Mârisi. What doest thou up here at Lano-to?” I said, as I shook -hands and offered him my pipe for a draw. - -“I and my nephew Mana-ese and his wife have come here to trap pigeons. -For three days we have been here. Our little hut is close by. Wilt come -and rest, and eat?” - -“Aye, indeed, for I am tired. And this Lake of Lano-to is a fine place -whereat to rest.” - -Mârisi nodded. “That is true. Nowhere in all Samoa, except from the top -of the dead fire mountain in Savai'i, can one see so far and so much -that is good to look upon. Come, friend.” - -I had shot some pigeons, which Mârisi took from me, and began to pluck -as he led the way along a narrow path that wound round the edge of the -crater, which held the lake in its rugged but verdure-clad bosom. In a -few minutes we came to an open-sided hut, with a thatched roof. It stood -on the verge of a little tree-clad bluff, overlooking the lake, two -hundred feet below. Seated upon some of the coarse mats of coco-nut leaf -called _tapa'au_ was a fine, stalwart young Samoan engaged in feeding -some wild pigeons in a large wicker-work cage. He greeted me in the -usual hospitable native manner, and taking some fine mats from one of -the house beams, his uncle and I seated ourselves, whilst he went to -seek his wife, to bid her make ready an _umu_ (earth oven). Whilst he -was away, my host and I plucked the pigeons, and also a fat wild duck -which Mârisi had shot in the lake that morning. In half an hour the -young couple returned, the woman carrying a basket of taro, and the -man a bunch of cooking bananas. Very quickly the oven of hot stones was -ready, and the game, taro and bananas covered up with leaves. - -I had crossed to Lano-tô from the village of Safata on the south side -of Upolu and was on my way to Apia The previous night I had slept in the -bush on the summit of the range. Mârisi gravely told me that I had been -foolish--the mountain forest was full of ghosts, etc. - -Mârisi himself lived in Apia, and he gave me two weeks' local gossip. He -and his nephew and niece had come to remain at the lake for a few -days, for they had a commission to catch and tame ten pigeons for some -district chief, whose daughter was about to be married. - -We had a delightful meal, followed by a bowl of kava (mixed with water -from the lake), and as I was not pressed for time I accepted my host's -invitation to remain for the night, and part of the following day. - -This was my fourth or fifth visit to this beautiful mountain lake of -Lano-to (_i.e._, the Deep Lake), and the oftener I came the more its -beauty grew upon me. Alas! its sweet solitude is now disturbed by the -cheap Cockney and Yankee tourist globe-trotter who come there in the -American excursion steamers. In the olden days only natives frequented -the spot--very rarely was a white man seen. To reach it from Apia takes -about five hours on foot, but there is now a regular road on which one -can travel two-thirds of the way on horseback. - -The surface of the water, which is a little over two hundred feet -from the rugged rim of the crater, is according to Captain Zemsch, -two thousand three hundred feet above the sea, the distance across the -crater is nearly one thousand two hundred yards. The water is -always cold, but not too cold to bathe in, and during the rainy -season--November to March--is frequented by hundreds of wild duck. All -the forest about teems with pigeons, which love the vicinity of Lano-to, -on account of the numbers of _masa'oi_ trees there, on the rich fruit of -which they feed, and all day long, from dawn to dark, their deep _croo!_ -may be heard mingling with the plaintive cry of the ringdove. - -The view from the crater is of matchless beauty--I know of nothing to -equal it, except it be Pago Pago harbour in Tutuila, looking southwards -from the mountain tops. Here at Lano-tô you can see the coast line east -and west for twenty miles. Westwards looms the purple dome of Savai'i, -thirty miles away. Directly beneath you is Apia, though you can see -nothing of it except perhaps some small black spots floating on the -smooth water inside the reef. They are ships at anchor. Six leagues to -the westward the white line of reef trends away from the shore, makes -a sharp turn, and then runs southward. Within this bend the water is -a brilliant green, and resting upon it are two small islands. One is -Manono, a veritable garden, lined with strips of shining beaches and -fringed with cocos. It is the home of the noble families of Samoa, and -most of the past great chiefs are buried there. Beyond is the small but -lofty crater island of Apolima--a place ever impregnable to assault by -natives. Its red, southern face starts steep-to from the sea, the top is -crowned with palms, and on the northern side what was once the crater is -now a romantic bay, with an opening through the reef, and a tiny, -happy little village nestling under the swaying palms. 'Tis one of the -sweetest spots in all the wide Pacific. And, thank Heaven, it has but -seldom been defiled by the globe-trotter. The passage is difficult -even for a canoe. One English lady, however (the Countess of Jersey), I -believe once visited it. - -Under the myriad stars, set in a sky of deepest blue, Mârisi and I lie -outside the huts upon our sleeping mats, and talk of the old Samoan -days, till it is far into the quiet, voiceless night. - -At dawn we are called inside by the woman, who chides us for sleeping in -the dew. - -“Listen,” says Mârisi, raising his hand. - -It is the faint, musical gabble of the wild ducks, as they swim across -the lake. - -“What now?” asks the woman, as her husband looks to his gun. “Hast no -patience to sit and smoke till I make an oven and get thee food? The -_pato_ (ducks) can wait. And first feed the pigeons--thou lazy fellow.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVII ~ “OMBRE CHEVALIER” - -Once, after many years' wanderings in the North and South Pacific as -shore trader, supercargo and “recruiter” in the Kanaka labour trade, I -became home-sick and returned to my native Australia, with a vague idea -of settling down. I began the “settling down” by going to some newly -opened gold-fields in North Queensland, wandering about from the -Charters Towers “rush” to the Palmer River and Hodgkinson River rushes. -The party of diggers I joined were good sterling fellows, and although -we did not load ourselves with nuggets and gold dust, we did fairly well -at times, especially in the far north of the colony where most of the -alluvial gold-fields were rich, and new-comers especially had no trouble -in getting on to a good show. I was the youngest of the party, and -consequently the most inexperienced, but my mates good-naturedly -overlooked my shortcomings as a prospector and digger, especially as I -had constituted myself the “tucker” provider when our usual rations of -salt beef ran out. I had brought with me a Winchester rifle, a shot gun -and plenty of ammunition for both, and plenty of fishing tackle. So, at -such times, instead of working at the claim, I would take my rifle or -gun or fishing lines and sally forth at early dawn, and would generally -succeed in bringing back something to the camp to serve instead of beef. -In the summer months game, such as it was, was fairly plentiful, and -nearly all the rivers of North Queensland abound in fish. - -In the open country we sometimes shot more plain turkeys than we could -eat. When on horseback one could approach within a few yards of a bird -before it would take to flight, but on foot it was difficult to get -within range of one, unless a rifle was used. In the rainy season all -the water holes and lagoons literally teemed with black duck, wood-duck, -the black and white Burdekin duck, teal, spur-winged plover, herons -and other birds, and a single shot would account for a dozen. My mates, -however, like all diggers, believed in and wanted beef--mutton we -scarcely ever tasted, except when near a township where there was a -butcher, for sheep do not thrive in that part of the colony and are -generally brought over in mobs from the Peak Downs District or Southern -Queensland. - -Our party at first numbered four, but at Townsville (Cleveland Bay) one -of our number left us to return to New Zealand on account of the death -of his father. And we were a very happy party, and although at times -I wearied of the bush and longed for a sight of the sea again, the -gold-fever had taken possession of me entirely and I was content. - -Once a party of three of us were prospecting in the vicinity of Scarr's -(or Carr's) Creek, a tributary of the Upper Burdekin River. It was in -June, and the nights were very cold, and so we were pleased to come -across a well-sheltered little pocket, a few hundred yards from the -creek, which at this part of its course ran very swiftly between high, -broken walls of granite. Timber was abundant, and as we intended to -thoroughly prospect the creek up to its head, we decided to camp at -the pocket for two or three weeks, and put up a bark hut, instead of -shivering at night under a tent without a fire. The first day we spent -in stripping bark, piled it up, and then weighted it down heavily with -logs. During the next few days, whilst my mates were building the hut, -I had to scour the country in search of game, for our supply of meat -had run out, and although there were plenty of cattle running in the -vicinity, we did not care to shoot a beast, although we were pretty sure -that C------, the owner of the nearest cattle station, would cheerfully -have given us permission to do so had we been able to have communicated -with him. But as his station was forty miles away, and all our horses -were in poor condition from overwork, we had to content ourselves with -a chance kangaroo, rock wallaby, and such birds as we could shoot, -which latter were few and far between. The country was very rough, and -although the granite ranges and boulder-covered spurs held plenty of fat -rock wallabies, it was heart-breaking work to get within shot. Still, we -managed to turn in at nights feeling satisfied with our supper, for we -always managed to shoot something, and fortunately had plenty of flour, -tea, sugar, and tobacco, and were very hopeful that we should get on to -“something good” by careful prospecting. - -On the day that we arrived at the pocket, I went down the steep bank of -the creek to get water, and was highly pleased to see that it contained -fish. At the foot of a waterfall there was a deep pool, and in it I saw -numbers of fish, very like grayling, in fact some Queenslanders call -them grayling. Hurrying back to the camp with the water, I got out my -fishing tackle (last used in the Burdekin River for bream), and then -arose the question of bait. Taking my gun I was starting off to look for -a bird of some sort, when one of my mates told me that a bit of wallaby -was as good as anything, and cut me off a piece from the ham of one I -had shot the previous day. The flesh was of a very dark red hue, and -looked right enough, and as I had often caught fish in both the Upper -and Lower Burdekin with raw beef, I was very hopeful of getting a nice -change of diet for our supper. - -I was not disappointed, for the fish literally jumped at the bait, and -I had a delightful half-hour, catching enough in that time to provide -us with breakfast as well as supper. None of my catch were over half -a pound, many not half that weight, but hungry men are not particular -about the size of fish. My mates were pleased enough, and whilst we were -enjoying our supper before a blazing fire--for night was coming on--we -heard a loud coo-e-e from down the creek, and presently C------, the -owner of the cattle station, and two of his stockmen with a black boy, -rode up and joined us. They had come to muster cattle in the ranges -at the head of the creek, and had come to our “pocket” to camp for the -night. C------ told us that we need never have hesitated about killing -a beast. “It is to my interest to give prospecting parties all the beef -they want,” he said; “a payable gold-field about here would suit me very -well--the more diggers that come, the more cattle I can sell, instead of -sending them to Charters Towers and Townsville. So, when you run short -of meat, knock over a beast. I won't grumble. I'll round up the first -mob we come across to-morrow, and get you one and bring it here for you -to kill, as your horses are knocked up.” - -The night turned out very cold, and although we were in a sheltered -place, the wind was blowing half a gale, and so keen that we felt it -through our blankets. However it soon died away, and we were just -going comfortably to sleep, when a dingo began to howl near us, and was -quickly answered by another somewhere down the creek. Although there -were but two of them, they howled enough for a whole pack, and the -detestable creatures kept us awake for the greater part of the night. -As there was a cattle camp quite near, in a sandalwood scrub, and the -cattle were very wild, we did not like to alarm them by firing a shot -or two, which would have scared them as well as the dingoes. The latter, -C------ told us, were a great nuisance in this part of the run, would -not take a poisoned bait, and had an unpleasant trick of biting off the -tails of very young calves, especially if the mother was separated with -her calf from a mob of cattle. - -At daylight I rose to boil a billy of tea. My feet were icy cold, and -I saw that there had been a black frost in the night I also discovered -that my string of fish for breakfast was gone. I had hung them up to a -low branch not thirty yards from where I had slept. C------'s black -boy told me with a grin that the dogs had taken them, and showed me the -tracks of three or four through the frosty grass. _He_ had slept like a -pig all night, and all the dingoes in Australia would not awaken a black -fellow with a full stomach of beef, damper and tea. C------ -laughed at my chagrin, and told me that native dogs, when game is -scarce, will catch fish if they are hungry, and can get nothing else. -He had once seen, he told me, two native dogs acting in a very curious -manner in a waterhole on the Etheridge River. There had been a rather -long drought, and for miles the bed of the river was dry, except for -intermittent waterholes. These were all full of fish, many of which had -died, owing to the water in the shallower pools becoming too hot for -them to exist Dismounting, he laid himself down on the bank, and soon -saw that the dogs were catching fish, which they chased to the edge of -the pool, seized them and carried them up on the sand to devour. They -made a full meal; then the pair trotted across the river bed, and lay -down under a Leichhardt tree to sleep it off. The Etheridge and Gilbert -Rivers aboriginals also assured C------ that their own dogs--bred from -dingoes--were very keen on catching fish, and sometimes were badly -wounded in their mouths by the serrated spur or back fin of catfish. -C------ and his party went off after breakfast, and returned in the -afternoon with a small mob of cattle, and my mates, picking out an -eighteen months' old heifer, shot her, and set to work, and we soon -had the animal skinned, cleaned and hung up, ready for cutting up and -salting early on the following morning. We carefully burnt the offal, -hide and head, on account of the dingoes, and finished up a good day's -work by a necessary bathe in the clear, but too cold water of the creek. -We turned in early, tired out, and scarcely had we rolled ourselves in -our blankets when a dismal howl made us “say things,” and in half an -hour all the dingoes in North Queensland seemed to have gathered around -the camp to distract us. The noise they made was something diabolical, -coming from both sides of the creek, and from the ranges. In reality -there were not more than five or six at the outside, but any one would -imagine that there were droves of them. Not liking to discharge our guns -on account of C------'s mustering, we could only curse our tormentors -throughout the night. On the following evening, however, knowing that -C------ had finished mustering in our vicinity, we hung a leg bone of -the heifer from the branch of a tree on the opposite side of the creek, -where we could see it plainly by daylight from our bank--about sixty -yards distant. Again we had a harrowing night, but stood it without -firing a shot, though one brute came within a few yards of our camp -fire, attracted by the smell of the salted meat, but he was off before -any one of us could cover him. However, in the morning we were rewarded. - -Creeping to the bank of the creek at daylight we looked across, and saw -three dogs sitting under the leg bone, which was purposely slung out -of reach. We fired together, and the biggest of the three dropped--the -other two vanished like a streak of lightning. The one we killed was -a male and had a good coat--a rather unusual thing for a dingo, as the -skin is often covered with sores. From that time, till we broke up camp, -we were not often troubled by their howling near us--a gun shot would -quickly silence their dismally infernal howls. - -During July we got a little gold fifteen miles from the head of the -creek, but not enough to pay us for our time and labour. However, it was -a fine healthy occupation, and our little bark hut in the lonely ranges -was a very comfortable home, especially during wet weather, and on cold -nights. A good many birds came about towards the end of the month, and -we twice rode to the Burdekin and had a couple of days with the bream, -filling our pack bags with fish, which cured well with salt in the dry -air. Although Scarr's creek was full of “grayling” they were too small -for salting; but were delicious eating when fried. During our stay we -got enough opossum skins to make a fine eight-feet square rug. Then -early one morning we said good-bye to the pocket, and mounting our -horses set our faces towards Cleveland Bay, where, with many regrets, -I had to part with my mates who were going to try the Gulf country with -other parties of diggers. They tried hard to induce me to go with them, -but letters had come to me from old comrades in Samoa and the Caroline -Islands, tempting me to return. And, of course, they did not tempt in -vain; for to us old hands who have toiled by reef and palm the isles of -the southern seas are for ever calling as the East called to Kipling's -soldier man. But another six months passed before I left North -Queensland and once more found myself sailing out of Sydney Heads on -board one of my old ships and in my old berth as supercargo, though, -alas! with a strange skipper who knew not Joseph, and with whom I and -every one else on board was in constant friction. However, that is -another story. - -After bidding my mates farewell I returned to the Charters Towers -district and picked up a new mate--an old and experienced digger who had -found some patches of alluvial gold on the head waters of a tributary -of the Burdekin River and was returning there. My new mate was named -Gilfillan. He was a hardworking, blue-eyed Scotsman and had had many -and strange experiences in all parts of the world--had been one of -the civilian fighters in the Indian Mutiny, fur-seal hunting on the -Pribiloff Islands in an American schooner, and shooting buffaloes for -their hides in the Northern Territory of South Australia, where he had -twice been speared by the blacks. - -On reaching the head waters of the creek on which Gilfillan had washed -out nearly a hundred ounces of gold some months previously, we found to -our disgust over fifty diggers in possession of the ground, which they -had practically worked out--some one had discovered Gilfillan's old -workings and the place was at once “rushed”. My mate took matters very -philosophically--did not even swear--and we decided to make for the Don -River in the Port Denison district, where, it was rumoured, some rich -patches of alluvial gold had just been discovered. - -We both had good horses and a pack horse, and as C------'s station lay -on our route and I had a standing invitation to pay him a visit (given -to me when he had met our party at Scares Creek), I suggested that we -should go there and spell for a few days. So there we went and C------ -made us heartily welcome; and he also told us that the new rush on the -Don River had turned out a “rank duffer,” and that we would only be -wearing ourselves and our horse-flesh out by going there. He pressed us -to stay for a week at least, and as we now had no fixed plans for the -future we were glad to do so. He was expecting a party of visitors from -Charters Towers, and as he wanted to give them something additional to -the usual fare of beef and mutton, in the way of fish and game, he asked -us to join him for a day's fishing in the Burdekin River. - -The station was right on the bank of the river, but at a spot where -neither game nor fish were at all plentiful; so long before sunrise on -the following morning, under a bright moon and clear sky, we started, -accompanied by a black boy, leading a pack horse, for the junction of -the Kirk River with the Burdekin, where there was excellent fishing, and -where also we were sure of getting teal and wood-duck. - -A two hours' easy ride along the grassy, open timbered high banks of the -great river brought us to the junction. The Kirk, when running along its -course, is a wide, sandy-bottomed stream, with here and there deep -rocky pools, and its whole course is fringed with the everlasting and -ever-green sheoaks. We unsaddled in a delightfully picturesque spot, -near the meeting of the waters, and in a few minutes, whilst the billy -was boiling for tea, C------and I were looking to our short bamboo rods -and lines, and our guns. Then, after hobbling out the horses, and eating -a breakfast of cold beef and damper, we started to walk through the -high, dew-soaked grass to a deep, boulder-margined pool in which the -waters of both rivers mingled. - -The black boy who was leading when we emerged on the water side of -the fringe of sheoaks, suddenly halted and silently pointed ahead--a -magnificent specimen of the “gigantic” crane was stalking sedately -through a shallow pool--his brilliant black and orange plumage and -scarlet legs glistening in the rays of the early sun as he scanned the -sandy bottom for fish. We had no desire to shoot such a noble creature; -and let him take flight in his slow, laboured manner. And, for our -reward, the next moment “Peter,” the black boy, brought down two out of -three black duck, which came flying right for his gun from across the -river. - -Both rivers had long been low, and although the streams were running -in the centre of the beds of each, there were countless isolated -pools covered with blue-flowered water-lilies, in which teal and other -water-birds were feeding. But for the time we gave them no heed. - -From one of the pools we took our bait--small fish the size of -white-bait, with big, staring eyes, and bodies of a transparent pink -with silvery scales. They were easily caught by running one's hand -through the weedy edges, and in ten minutes we had secured a quart-pot -full. - -“Peter,” who regarded our rods with contempt, was the first to reach -the boulders at the edge of the big pool, which in the centre had a fair -current; at the sides, the water, although deep, was quiet. Squatting -down on a rock, he cast in his baited hand-line, and in ten seconds -he was nonchalantly pulling in a fine two pound bream. He leisurely -unhooked it, dropped it into a small hole in the rocks, and then began -to cut up a pipeful of tobacco, before rebaiting! - -The water was literally alive with fish, feeding on the bottom. There -were two kinds of bream--one a rather slow-moving fish, with large, dark -brown scales, a perch-like mouth, and wide tail, and with the sides -and belly a dull white; the other a very active game fellow, of a more -graceful shape, with a small mouth, and very hard, bony gill plates. -These latter fought splendidly, and their mouths being so strong -they would often break the hooks and get away--as our rods were very -primitive, without reels, and only had about twenty feet of line. -Then there were the very handsome and beautifully marked fish, like an -English grayling (some of which I had caught at Scan's Creek); they took -the hook freely. The largest I have ever seen would not weigh more than -three-quarters of a pound, but their lack of size is compensated for by -their extra delicate flavour. (In some of the North Queensland inland -rivers I have seen the aborigines net these fish in hundreds in shallow -pools.) Some bushmen persisted, so Gilfillan told me, in calling these -fish “fresh water mullet,” or “speckled mullet”. - -The first species of bream inhabit both clear and muddy water; but the -second I have never seen caught anywhere but in clear or running water, -when the river was low. - -But undoubtedly the best eating fresh-water fish in the Burdekin and -other Australian rivers is the cat-fish, or as some people call it, the -Jew-fish. It is scaleless, and almost finless, with a dangerously barbed -dorsal spine, which, if it inflicts a wound on the hand, causes days -of intense suffering. Its flesh is delicate and firm, and with the -exception of the vertebrae, has no long bones. Rarely caught (except -when small) in clear water, it abounds when the water is muddy, and -disturbed through floods, and when a river becomes a “banker,” cat-fish -can always be caught where the water has reached its highest. They then -come to feed literally upon the land--that is grass land, then under -flood water. A fish bait they will not take--as a rule--but are fond of -earthworms, frogs, crickets, or locusts, etc. - -Another very beautiful but almost useless fish met with in the Upper -Burdekin and its tributaries is the silvery bream, or as it is more -generally called, the “bony” bream. They swim about in companies of some -hundreds, and frequent the still water of deep pools, will not take a -bait, and are only seen when the water is clear. Then it is a delightful -sight for any one to lie upon the bank of some ti-tree-fringed creek or -pool, when the sun illumines the water and reveals the bottom, and -watch a school of these fish swimming closely and very slowly together, -passing over submerged logs, roots of trees or rocks, their scales of -pure silver gleaming in the sunlight as they make a simultaneous -side movement. I tried every possible bait for these fish, but never -succeeded in getting a bite, but have netted them frequently. Their -flesh, though delicate, can hardly be eaten, owing to the thousands of -tiny bones which run through it, interlacing in the most extraordinary -manner. The blacks, however “make no bones” about devouring them. - -By 11 A.M. we had caught all the fish our pack-bags could hold--bream, -alleged grayling, and half a dozen “gars”--the latter a beautifully -shaped fish like the sea-water garfish, but with a much flatter-sided -body of shining silver with a green back, the tail and fins tipped with -yellow. - -We shot but few duck, but on our way home in the afternoon “Peter” and -Gilfillan each got a fine plain turkey--shooting from the saddle--and -almost as we reached the station slip-rails “Peter,” who had a wonderful -eye, got a third just as it rose out of the long dry grass in the -paddock. - -And on the following day, when C------'s guests arrived (and after we -had congratulated ourselves upon having plenty for them to eat), they -produced from their buggies eleven turkeys, seven wood-duck, and a -string of “squatter” pigeons! - -“Thought we'd better bring you some fresh tucker, old man,” said one of -them to C-----. “And we have brought you a case of Tennant's ale.” “The -world is very beautiful,” said C------, stroking his grey beard, and -speaking in solemn tones, “and this is a thirsty day. Come in, boys. -We'll put the Tennant's in the water-barrels to cool.” - -***** - -The first occasion on which I ever saw and caught one of the beautiful -fish herein described as grayling was on a day many months previous -to our former party camping on Scarr's Creek. We had camped on a creek -running into the Herbert River, near the foot of a range of wild, jagged -and distorted peaks and crags of granite. Then there were several other -parties of prospectors camped near us, and, it being a Sunday, we were -amusing ourselves in various ways. Some had gone shooting, others were -washing clothes or bathing in the creek, and one of my mates (a Scotsman -named Alick Longmuir) came fishing with me. Like Gilfillan, he was a -quiet, somewhat taciturn man. He had been twenty-two years in Australia, -sometimes mining, at others following his profession of surveyor. He -had received his education in France and Germany, and not only spoke -the languages of those countries fluently, but was well-read in their -literature. Consequently we all stood in a certain awe of him as a man -of parts; for besides being a scholar he was a splendid bushman and -rider and had a great reputation as the best wrestler in Queensland. -Even-tempered, good-natured and possessed of a fund of caustic humour, -he was a great favourite with the diggers, and when he sometimes “broke -loose” and went on a terrific “spree” (his only fault) he made matters -remarkably lively, poured out his hard-earned money like water for -a week or so--then stopped suddenly, pulled himself together in an -extraordinary manner, and went about his work again as usual, with a -face as solemn as that of an owl. - -A little distance from the camp we made our way down through rugged, -creeper-covered boulders to the creek, to a fairly open stretch of water -which ran over its rocky bed into a series of small but deep pools. We -baited our lines with small grey grasshoppers, and cast together. - -“I wonder what we shall get here, Alick,” I began, and then came a tug -and then the sweet, delightful thrill of a game fish making a run. There -is nothing like it in all the world--the joy of it transcends the first -kiss of young lovers. - -I landed my fish--a gleaming shaft of mottled grey and silver with -specks of iridescent blue on its head, back and sides, and as I grasped -its quivering form and held it up to view my heart beat fast with -delight. - -“_Ombre chevalier!_” I murmured to myself. - -Vanished the monotony of the Bush and the long, weary rides over the -sun-baked plains and the sound of the pick and shovel on the gravel in -the deep gullies amid the stark, desolate ranges, and I am standing -in the doorway of a peaceful Mission House on a fair island in the far -South Seas--standing with a string of fish in my hand, and before me -dear old Père Grandseigne with his flowing beard of snowy white and -his kindly blue eyes smiling into mine as he extends his brown sun-burnt -hand. - -“Ah, my dear young friend! and so thou hast brought me these -fish--_ombres chevaliers_, we call them in France. Are they not -beautiful! What do you call them in England?” - -“I have never been in England, Father; so I cannot tell you. And never -before have I seen fish like these. They are new to me.” - -“Ah, indeed, my son,” and the old Marist smiles as he motions me to a -seat, “new to you. So?... Here, on this island, my sainted colleague -Channel, who gave up his life for Christ forty years ago under the -clubs of the savages, fished, as thou hast fished in that same mountain -stream; and his blood has sanctified its waters. For upon its bank, as -he cast his line one eve he was slain by the poor savages to whom he -had come bearing the love of Christ and salvation. After we have supped -to-night, I shall tell thee the story.” - -And after the Angelus bells had called, and as the cocos swayed and -rustled to the night breeze and the surf beat upon the reef in Singâvi -Bay, we sat together on the verandah of the quiet Mission House on -the hill above, which the martyred Channel had named “Calvary,” and I -listened to the old man's story of his beloved comrade's death. - -As Longmuir and I lay on our blankets under the starlit sky of the far -north of Queensland that night, and the horse-bells tinkled and our -mates slept, we talked. - -“Aye, lad,” he said, sleepily, “the auld _padre_ gave them the Breton -name--_ombre chevalier_. In Scotland and England--if ever ye hae the -good luck to go there--ye will hear talk of graylin'. Aye, the bonny -graylin'... an' the purple heather... an' the cry o' the whaups.... Lad, -ye hae much to see an' hear yet, for all the cruising ye hae done.... -Aye, the graylin', an' the white mantle o' the mountain mist... an' the -voices o' the night... Lad, it's just gran'.” - -Sleep, and then again the tinkle of the horse-bells at dawn. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII ~ A RECLUSE OF THE BUSH - -The bank of the tidal river was very, very quiet as I walked down to it -through the tall spear grass and sat down upon the smooth, weather-worn -bole of a great blackbutt tree, cast up by the river when in flood long -years agone. Before me the water swirled and eddied and bubbled past on -its way to mingle with the ocean waves, as they were sweeping in across -the wide and shallow bar, two miles away. - -The sun had dropped behind the rugged line of purple mountains to the -west, and, as I watched by its after glow five black swans floating -towards me upon the swiftly-flowing water, a footstep sounded near -me, and a man with a gun and a bundle on his shoulder bade me -“good-evening,” and then asked me if I had come from Port ------ -(a little township five miles away). - -Yes, I replied, I had. - -“Is the steamer in from Sydney?” - -“No. I heard that she is not expected in for a couple of days yet. There -has been bad weather on the coast.” - -The man uttered an exclamation of annoyance, and laying down his gun, -sat beside me, pulled out and lit his pipe, and gazed meditatively -across the darkening river. He was a tall, bearded fellow, and dressed -in the usual style affected by the timber-getters and other bushmen of -the district. Presently he began to talk. - -“Are you going back to Port ------ to-night, mister?” he asked, civilly. - -“No,” and I pointed to my gun, bag, and billy can, “I have just come -from there. I am waiting here till the tide is low enough for me to -cross to the other side. I am going to the Warra Swamp for a couple of -days' shooting and fishing, and to-night I'll camp over there in the -wild apple scrub,” pointing to a dark line of timber on the opposite -side. - -“Do you mind my coming with you?” - -“Certainly not--glad of your company. Where are you going?” - -“Well, I was going to Port ------, to sell these platypus skins to the -skipper of the steamer; but I don't want to loaf about the town for a -couple o' days for the sake of getting two pounds five shillings for -fifteen skins. So I'll get back to my humphy. It's four miles the other -side o' Warra.” - -“Then by all means come and camp with me tonight,” I said “I've plenty -of tea and sugar and tucker, and after we get to the apple scrub over -there we'll have supper. Then in the morning we'll make an early start. -It is only ten miles from there to Warra Swamp, and I'm in no hurry to -get there.” - -The stranger nodded, and then, seeking out a suitable tree, tied his -bundle of skins to a high branch, so that it should be out of the reach -of dingoes, and said they would be safe enough until his return on -his way to the Port. Half an hour later, the tide being low enough, we -crossed the river, and under the bright light of myriad stars made our -way along the spit of sand to the scrub. Here we lit our camp fire under -the trees, boiled our billy of tea, and ate our cold beef and bread. -Then we lay down upon the soft, sweet-smelling carpet of dead leaves, -and yarned for a couple of hours before sleeping. - -By the light of the fire I saw that my companion was a man of about -forty years of age, although he looked much older, his long untrimmed -brown beard and un-kept hair being thickly streaked with grey. He was -quiet in manner and speech, and the latter was entirely free from the -Great Australian Adjective. His story, as far as he told it to me, was a -simple one, yet with an element of tragedy in it. - -Fifteen years before, he and his brother had taken up a selection on the -Brunswick River, near the Queensland border, and were doing fairly well. -One day they felled a big gum tree to split for fencing rails. As it -crashed towards the ground, it struck a dead limb of another great tree, -which was sent flying towards where the brothers stood; it struck -the elder one on the head, and killed him instantly. There were no -neighbours nearer than thirty miles, so alone the survivor buried his -brother. Then came two months of utter loneliness, and Joyce abandoned -his selection to the bush, selling his few head of cattle and horses -to his nearest neighbour for a small sum, keeping only one horse for -himself. Then for two or three years he worked as a “hatter” (i.e., -single-handed) in various tin-mining districts of the New England -district. - -One day during his many solitary prospecting trips, he came across a -long-abandoned selection and house, near the Warra Swamp (I knew the -spot _well_). He took a fancy to the place, and settled down there, and -for many years had lived there all alone, quite content. - -Sometimes he would obtain a few weeks' work on the cattle stations in -the district, when mustering and branding was going on, by which he -would earn a few pounds, but he was always glad to get back to his -lonely home again. He had made a little money also, he said, by trapping -platypus, which were plentiful, and sometimes, too, he would prospect -the head waters of the creeks, and get a little fine gold. - -“I'm comfortable enough, you see,” he added; “lots to eat and drink, -and putting by a little cash as well. Then I haven't to depend upon the -storekeepers at Port ------ for anything, except powder and shot, flour, -salt, tea and sugar. There's lots of game and fish all about me, and -when I want a bit of fresh beef and some more to salt down, I can get it -without breaking the law, or paying for it.” - -“How is that?” I inquired. - -“There are any amount of wild cattle running in the ranges--all -clean-skins” (unbranded), “and no one claims them. One squatter once -tried to get some of them down into his run in the open country--he -might as well have tried to yard a mob of dingoes.” - -“Then how do you manage to get a beast?” - -“Easy enough. I have an old police rifle, and every three months or so, -when my stock of beef is low, I saddle my old pack moke, and start off -to the ranges. I know all the cattle tracks leading to the camping and -drinking places, and generally manage to kill my beast at or near a -waterhole. Then I cut off the best parts only, and leave the rest for -the hawks and dingoes. I camp there for the night, and get back with my -load of fresh beef the next day. Some I dry-salt, some I put in brine.” - -Early in the morning we started on our ten miles' tramp through the -coastal scrub, or rather forest. Our course led us away from the sea, and -nearly parallel to the river, and I thoroughly enjoyed the walk, and my -companion's interesting talk. He had a wonderful knowledge of the -bush, and of the habits of wild animals and birds, much of which he had -acquired from the aborigines of the Brunswick River district. As we -were walking along, I inquired how he managed to get platypus without -shooting them. He hesitated, and half smiled, and I at once apologised, -and said I didn't intend to be inquisitive. He nodded, and said no more; -but he afterwards told me he caught them by netting sections of the -river at night. - -After we had made about five miles we came to the first crossing above -the bar. This my acquaintance always used when he visited Port ------ -(taking the track along the bank on the other side), for the bar was -only crossable at especially low tides. Here, although the water was -brackish, we saw swarms of “block-headed” mullet and grey bream swimming -close in to the sandy bank, and, had we cared to do so, could have -caught a bagful in a few minutes. But we pushed on for another two miles, -and on our way shot three “bronze wing” pigeons. - -We reached the Warra Swamp at noon, and camped for dinner in a shady -“bangalow” grove, so as not to disturb the ducks, whose delightful -gabble and piping was plainly audible. We grilled our birds, and made -our tea. Whilst we were having a smoke, a truly magnificent white-headed -fish eagle lit on the top of a dead tree, three hundred yards away--a -splendid shot for a rifle. It remained for some minutes, then rose and -went off seaward. Joyce told me that the bird and its mate were very -familiar to him for a year past, but that he “hadn't the heart to take a -shot at them”--for which he deserved to be commended. - -Presently, seeing me cutting some young supplejack vines, my new -acquaintance asked me their purpose. I told him that I meant to make a -light raft out of dead timber to save me from swimming after any ducks -that I might shoot, and that the supplejack was for lashing. Then, to my -surprise and pleasure, he proposed that I should go on to his “humphy,” - and camp there for the night, and he would return to the swamp with me -in the morning, join me in a day's shooting and fishing, and then come -on with me to the township on the following day. - -Gladly accepting his offer, two hours' easy walking brought us to -his home--a roughly-built slab shanty with a bark roof, enclosed in a -good-sized paddock, in which his old pack horse, several goats and a -cow and calf were feeding. At the side of the house was a small -but well-tended vegetable garden, in which were also some huge -water-melons--quite ripe, and just the very thing after our fourteen -miles' walk. One-half of the house and roof was covered with scarlet -runner bean plants, all in full bearing, and altogether the exterior of -the place was very pleasing. Before we reached the door two dogs, which -were inside, began a terrific din--they knew their master's step. The -interior of the house--which was of two rooms--was clean and orderly, -the walls of slabs being papered from top to bottom with pictures from -illustrated papers, and the floor was of hardened clay. Two or three -rough chairs, a bench and a table comprised the furniture, and yet the -place had a home-like look. - -My host asked me if I could “do” with a drink of bottled-beer; I -suggested a slice of water-melon. - -“Ah, you're right. But those outside are too hot. Here's a cool one,” and -going into the other room he produced a monster. It was delicious! - -After a bathe in the creek near by, we had a hearty supper, and then sat -outside yarning and smoking till turn-in time. - -Soon after a sunrise breakfast, we started for the swamp, taking the -old packhorse with us, my host leaving food and water for the dogs, who -howled disconsolately as we went off. - -At the swamp we had a glorious day's sport, although there were -altogether too many black snakes about for my taste. We camped there -that night, and returned to the port next day with a heavy load of black -duck, some “whistlers,” and a few brace of pigeons. - -I bade farewell to my good-natured host with a feeling of regret. Some -years later, on my next visit to Australia, I heard that he had returned -to his boyhood's home--Gippsland in Victoria--and had married and -settled down. He was one of the most contented men I ever met, and a -good sportsman. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX ~ TE-BARI, THE OUTLAW - -The Island of Upolu, in the Samoan group, averages less than fifteen -miles in width, and it is a delightful experience to cross from Apia, or -any other town on the north, to the south side. The view to be obtained -from the summit of the range that traverses the island from east to -west is incomparably beautiful--I have never seen anything to equal it -anywhere in the Pacific Isles. - -A few years after the Germans had begun cotton planting in Samoa, I -brought to Apia ninety native labourers from the Solomon Islands to work -on the big plantation at Mulifanua. I also brought with me something I -would gladly have left behind--the effects of a very severe attack of -malarial fever. - -A week or so after I had reached Apia I gave myself a few days' leave, -intending to walk across the island to the town of Siumu, where I had -many native friends, and try and work some of the fever poison out of my -system. - -Starting long before sunrise, I was well past Vailima Mountain--the -destined future home of Stevenson--by six o'clock. After resting for an -hour at each of the bush villages of Magiagi and Tanumamanono--soon to -be the scene of a cruel massacre in the civil war then raging--I began -the long, gradual ascent from the littoral to the main range, inhaling -deeply of the cool morning air, and listening to the melodious -_croo! croo!_ of the great blue pigeons, and the plaintive cry of -the ringdoves, so well termed manu-tagi (the weeping bird) by the -imaginative Samoans. - -Walking but slowly, for I was not strong enough for rapid exercise, I -reached the summit of the first spur, and again spelled, resting upon a -thick carpet of cool, dead leaves. With me was a boy from Tanumamanono -named Suisuega-le-moni (The Seeker after Truth), who carried a basket -containing some cooked food, and fifty cartridges for my gun. “Sui,” as -he was called for brevity, was an old acquaintance of mine and one of -the most unmitigated young imps that ever ate _taro_ as handsome “as -a picture,” and a most notorious scandalmonger and spy. He was only -thirteen years of age, and was of rebel blood, and, child as he was, he -knew that his head stood very insecurely upon his shoulders, and that -it would be promptly removed therefrom if any of King Malietoa's troops -could catch him spying in _flagrante delicto_. Two years before, he had -attached himself to me, and had made a voyage with me to the Caroline -Islands, during which he had acquired an enormous vocabulary of sailors' -bad language. This gave him great local kudos. - -Sui was to accompany me to the top of the range, and then return, as -otherwise he would be in hostile territory. - -By four o'clock in the afternoon we had gained a clear spot on the crest -of the range, from where we had a most glorious view of the south coast -imaginable. Three thousand feet below us were the russet-hued thatched -roofs of the houses of Siumu Village; beyond, the pale green water that -lay between the barrier reef and the mainland, then the long curving -line of the reef itself with its seething surf, and, beyond that again, -the deep, deep blue of the Pacific, sparkling brightly in the westering -sun. - -Leaning my gun against one of the many buttresses of a mighty _masa'oi_ -tree, I was drinking in the beauty of the scene, when we heard the -shrill, cackling scream of a mountain cock, evidently quite near. Giving -the boy my gun, I told him to go and shoot it; then sitting down on the -carpet of leaves, I awaited his return with the bird, half-resolved to -spend the night where I was, for I was very tired and began to feel the -premonitory chills of an attack of ague. - -In ten minutes the sound of a gun-shot reverberated through the forest -aisles, and presently I heard Sui returning. He was running, and holding -by its neck one of the biggest mountain cocks I ever saw. As he ran, he -kept glancing back over his shoulder, and when he reached me and threw -down gun and bird, I saw that he was trembling from head to foot. - -“What is the matter?” I asked; “hast seen an _aitu vao_ (evil spirit of -the forest)?” - -“Aye, truly,” he said shudderingly, “I have seen a devil indeed, and the -marrow in my bones has gone--I have seen Te-bari, the Tâfito."{*} - - * The Samoans term all the natives of the Equatorial Islands - “Tâfito”. - -I sprang to my feet and seized him by the wrist. - -“Where was he?” I asked. - -“Quite near me. I had just shot the wild _moa vao_ (mountain cock) and -had picked it up when I heard a voice say in Samoan--but thickly as -foreigners speak: 'It was a brave shot, boy'. Then I looked up and saw -Te-bari. He was standing against the bole of a _masa'oi_ tree, leaning -on his rifle. Round his earless head was bound a strip of _ie mumu_ (red -Turkey twill), and as I stood and trembled he laughed, and his great -white teeth gleamed, and my heart died within me, and----” - -I do not want to disgust my readers, but truth compels me to say that -the boy there and then became violently sick; then he began to sob -with terror, stopping every now and then to glance around at the now -darkening forest aisles of grey-barked, ghostly and moss-covered trees. - -“Sui,” I said, “go back to your home. I have no fear of Te-bari.” - -In two seconds the boy, who had faced rifle fire time and time again, -fled homewards. Te-bari the outlaw was too much for him. - -Personally I had no reason to fear meeting the man. In the first place -I was an Englishman, and Te-bari was known to profess a liking for -Englishmen, though he would eagerly cut the throat of a German or a -Samoan if he could get his brawny hands upon it; in the second place, -although I had never seen the man, I was sure that he would have heard -of me from some of his fellow islanders on the plantations, for during -my three years' “recruiting” in the Kingsmill and Gilbert Groups, I have -brought many hundreds of them to Samoa, Fiji and Tahiti. - -Something of his story was known to me. He was a native of the great -square-shaped atoll of Maiana, and went to sea in a whaler when he was -quite a lad, and soon rose to be boat-steerer. One day a Portuguese -harpooner struck him in the face and drew blood--a deadly insult to a -Line Islander. Te-bari plunged his knife into the man's heart. He -was ironed, and put in the sail-locker; during the night three of the -Portuguese sprang in upon him and cut off his ears. A few days later -when the ship was at anchor at the Bonin Islands, Te-bari freed himself -of his handcuffs and swam on shore. Early on the following morning one -of the boats was getting fresh water. She was in charge of the fourth -mate--a Portuguese black. Suddenly a nude figure leapt among the men, -and clove the officer's head in twain with a tomahawk. - -One day Te-bari reappeared among his people at Maiana and took service -with a white trader, who always spoke of him as a quiet, hardworking -young man, but with a dangerous temper when roused by a fancied wrong. -In due time Te-bari took a wife--took her in a very literal sense, by -killing her husband and escaping with her to the neighbouring island of -Taputeauea (Drummond's Island). She was a pretty, graceful creature of -sixteen years of age. Then one day there came along the German labour -brig _Adolphe_ seeking “blackbirds” for Samoa, and Te-bari and his -pretty wife with fifty other “Tâfitos” were landed at one of the -plantations in Upolu. - -Young Madame Te-bari was not as good as she ought to have been, and -one day the watchful husband saw one of the German overseers give her a -thick necklace of fine red beads. Te-bari tore them from her neck, and -threw them into the German's face. For this he received a flogging and -was mercilessly kicked into insensibility as well. When he recovered he -was transferred to another plantation--minus the naughty Nireeungo, who -became “Mrs.” Peter Clausen. A month passed, and it was rumoured “on the -beach” that “No-Ears,” as Te-bari was called, had escaped and taken to -the bush with a brand-new Snider carbine, and as many cartridges as he -could carry, and Mr. Peter Clausen was advised to look out for himself. -He snorted contemptuously. - -Two young Samoan “bucks” were sent out to capture Te-bari, and bring him -back, dead or alive, and receive therefor one hundred bright new Chile -dollars. They never returned, and when their bodies were found in a deep -mountain gully, it was known that the earless one was the richer by -a sixteen-shot Winchester with fifty cartridges, and a Swiss Vetterli -rifle, together with some twist tobacco, and the two long _nifa oti_ -or “death knives,” with which these valorous, but misguided young men -intended to remove the earless head of the “Tâfito pig” from his brawny, -muscular shoulders. - -Te-bari made his way, encumbered as he was with his armoury, along the -crest of the mountain range, till he was within striking distance of his -enemy, Clausen, and the alleged Frau Clausen--_née_ Nireeungo. He hid on -the outskirts of the plantation, and soon got in touch with some of his -former comrades. They gave him food, and much useful information. - -One night, during heavy rain, when every one was asleep on the -plantation, Te-bari entered the overseer's house by the window. A lamp -was burning, and by its light he saw his faithless spouse sleeping -alone. Clausen--lucky Clausen--had been sent into Apia an hour before to -get some medicine for one of the manager's children. Te-bari was keenly -disappointed. He would only have half of his revenge. He crept up to -the sleeper, and made one swift blow with the heavy _nifa oti_ Then he -became very busy for a few minutes, and a few hours later was back in -the mountains, smoking Clausen's tobacco, and drinking some of Clausen's -corn schnapps. - -When Clausen rode up to his house at three o'clock in the morning, he -found the lamp was burning brightly. Nireeungo was lying on the bed, -covered over with a quilt of navy blue. He called to her, but she made -no answer, and Clausen called her a sleepy little pig. Then he turned -to the side table to take a drink of schnapps--on the edge of it was -Nireeungo's head with its two long plaits of jet-black hair hanging -down, and dripping an ensanguined stream upon the matted floor. - -Clausen cleared out of Samoa the very next day. Te-bari had got upon his -nerves. - -***** - -The forest was dark by the time I had lit a fire between two of the wide -buttresses of the great tree, and I was shaking from head to foot with -ague. The attack, however, only lasted an hour, and then came the usual -delicious after-glow of warmth as the blood began to course riotously -through one's veins and give that temporary and fictitious strength -accompanied by hunger, that is one of the features of malarial fever. - -Sitting up, I began to pluck the mountain cock, intending to grill the -chest part as soon as the fire was fit. Then I heard a footstep on the -leaves, and looking up I saw Te-bari standing before me. - -“_Ti-â ka po_” (good evening), I said quietly, in his own language, -“will you eat with me?” - -He came over to me, still grasping his rifle, and peered into my face. -Then he put out his hand, and sat down quietly in front of me. Except -for a girdle of dracaena leaves around his waist he was naked, but he -seemed well-nourished, and, in fact, fat. - -“Will you smoke?” I said presently, passing him a plug of tobacco and -my sheath knife, for I saw that a wooden pipe was stuck in his girdle of -leaves. He accepted it eagerly. - -“Do you know me, white man?” he asked abruptly, speaking in the Line -Islands tongue. - -I nodded. “You are Te-bari of Maiana. The boy was frightened of you and -ran away.” - -He showed his gleaming white teeth in a semi-mirthful, semi-tigerish -grin. “Yes, he was afraid. I would have shot him; but I did not because -he was with you. What is your name, white man?” - -I told him. - -“Ah, I have heard of you. You were with Kapitan Ebba (Captain Ever) in -the _Leota?_” - -He filled his pipe, lit it, and then extended his hand to me for the -halt-plucked bird, and said he would finish it. Then he looked at me -inquiringly. - -“You have the shaking sickness of the western islands. It is not good -for you to lie here on the leaves. Come with me. I shall give you good -food to eat, and coco-nut toddy to drink.” - -I asked him where he got his toddy from, as there were no coco-nut trees -growing so high up in the mountains. He laughed. - -“I have a sweetheart in Siumu. She brings it to me. You shall see her -to-night. Come.” - -Stooping down, he lifted me up on his right shoulder as if I were a -child, and then, with his own rifle and my gun and bag and the mountain -cock tucked under his left arm, he set off at a rapid pace towards one -of the higher spurs of the range. Nearly an hour later I found myself in -a cave, overlooking the sea. On the floor were a number of fine Samoan -mats and a well-carved _aluga_ (bamboo pillow). - -I stretched myself out upon the mats, again shivering with ague, and -Te-bari covered me over with a thick _tappa_ cloth. Then he lit a fire -just outside the cave, and came back to me. - -“You are hungry,” he said, as he expanded his big mouth and grinned -pleasantly. Then from the roof of the cave he took down a basket -containing cold baked pigeons, fish and yams. - -I ate greedily and soon after fell asleep. When I awoke it seemed to -be daylight--in reality it was only a little past midnight, but a full -bright moon was shining into the cave. Seated near me were my host and a -young woman--the “sweetheart”. I recognised her at once as Sa Laea, the -widow of a man killed in the fighting a few months previously. She was -about five and twenty years of age, very handsome, and quiet in her -demeanour. As far as I knew she had an excellent reputation, and I was -astonished at her consorting with an outlawed murderer. She came over -and shook hands, asked if I felt better, and should she “lomi-lomi” - (massage) me. I thanked her and gladly accepted her offer. - -An hour before dawn she bade me good-bye, urging me to remain, and rest -with her earless lover for a day or two, instead of coming on to Siumu, -where there was an outbreak of measles. - -“When I come to-morrow night,” she said, “I will bring a piece of kava -root and make kava for you.” - -The news about the measles decided me. I resolved to at least spend -another day and night with my host. He was pleased. - -Soon after breakfast he showed me around. His retreat was practically -impregnable. One man with a supply of breech-loading ammunition could -beat off a hundred foes. On the roof of the cave was a hole large enough -to let a man pass through, and from the top itself there was a most -glorious view. A mile away on the starboard hand, and showing through -the forest green, was a curving streak of bright red--it was the road, -or rather track, that led to Siumu. We filled our pipes, sat down and -talked. - -How long had he lived there? I asked. Five months. He had found the cave -one day when in chase of a wild sow and her litter. Afraid of being shot -by the Siumu people? No, he was on good terms with _them_. Very often he -would shoot a wild pig and carry it to a certain spot on the road, and -leave it for the villagers. But he could not go into the village itself. -It was too risky--some one might be tempted to get those hundred Chile -dollars from the Germans. Food? There was plenty. Hundreds of wild pigs -in the mountains, and thousands of pigeons. The pigs he shot with his -Snider, the pigeons he snared, for he had no shot gun, and would very -much like to have one. Twice every week Sa Laea brought him food. -Tobacco too, sometimes, when she could buy it or beg it from the trader -at Siumu. Sometimes he would cross over to the northern watershed and -catch a basketful of the big speckled trout which teem in the mountain -pools. Some of these he would send by Sa Laea to the chief of Siumu, -who would send him in return a piece of kava, and some young drinking -coconuts as a token of good-will. Once when he went to fish he found -a young Samoan and two girls about to net a pool. The man fired at him -with his pigeon gun and the pellets struck him in the chest. Then he -(Te-bari) shot the man through the chest with his Winchester. No, he did -not harm the girls--he let them run away. - -Sa Laea was a very good girl. Whenever he trapped a _manu-mea_ (the rare -_Didunculus_, or tooth-billed pigeon) she would take it to Apia and sell -it for five dollars--sometimes ten. He was saving this money. When he -had forty dollars he and Sa Laea were going to leave Samoa and go to -Maiana. Kapitan Cameron had promised Sa Laea to take them there when -they had forty dollars. Perhaps when his schooner next came to Siumu -they would have enough money, etc. - -During the day I shot a number of pigeons, and when Sa Laea appeared -soon after sunset we had them cooked and ready. We made a delicious -meal, but before eating the lady offered up the usual evening prayer in -Samoan, and Te-bari the Earless sat with closed eyes like a saint, and -gave forth a sonorous _A-mene!_ when his ladylove ceased. - -I left my outlaw friend next morning. Sa Laea came with me, for I had -promised to buy him a pigeon gun (costing ten dollars), a bag of shot, -powder and caps. I fulfilled my promise and the woman bade me farewell -with protestations of gratitude. - -A few months later Te-bari and Sa Laea left the island in Captain -Cameron's schooner, the _Manahiki_. I trust they “lived happily ever -afterwards”. - - - - -CHAPTER XX ~ “THE DANDIEST BOY THAT EVER STOOD UP IN A BOAT” - -Nine years had come and gone since I had last seen Nukutavake and its -amiable brown-skinned people, and now as I again stepped on shore and -scanned the faces of those assembled on the beach to meet me, I missed -many that I had loved in the old, bright days when I was trading in the -Paumotus. For Death, in the hideous shape of small-pox, had been busy, -taking the young and strong and passing by the old and feeble. - -It was a Sunday, and the little isle was quiet--as quiet as the ocean -of shining silver on which our schooner lay becalmed, eight miles beyond -the foaming surf of the barrier reef. - -Teveiva, the old native pastor, was the first one to greet me, and the -tears rolled down his cheeks as he spoke to me in his native Tahitian, -bade me welcome, and asked me had I come to sojourn with “we of -Nukutavake, for a little while”. - -“Would that it were so, old friend. But I have only come on shore for a -few hours, whilst the ship is becalmed--to greet old friends dear to my -heart, and never forgotten since the days I lived among ye, nigh upon a -half-score years ago. But, alas, it grieves me that many are gone.” - -A low sob came from the people, as they pressed around their friend of -bygone years, some clasping my hands and some pressing their faces to -mine. And so, hand in hand, and followed by the people, the old teacher -and I walked slowly along the shady path of drooping palms, and came to -and entered the quiet mission house, through the open windows of which -came the sigh of the surf, and the faint call of sea-birds. - -Some women, low-voiced and gentle, brought food, and young drinking nuts -upon platters of leaf, and silently placed them before the White Man, -who touched the food with his hand and drank a little of a coco-nut, and -then turned to Teveiva and said:-- - -“O friend, I cannot eat because of the sorrow that hath come upon thee. -Tell me how it befel.” - -Speaking slowly, and with many tears, the old teacher told of how a ship -from Tahiti had brought the dread disease to the island, and how in a -little less than two months one in every three of the three hundred -and ten people had died, and of the long drought that followed upon the -sickness, when for a whole year the sky was as brass, and the hot sun -beat down upon the land, and withered up the coco-palms and pandanus -trees; and only for the night dews all that was green would have -perished. And now because of the long drought men were weak, and -sickening, and women and children were feint from want of food. - -“It is as if God hath deserted us,” said the old man. - -“Nay,” I assured him, “have no fear. Rain is near. It will come from the -westward as it has come to many islands which for a year have been eaten -up with drought and hunger like this land of Nukutavake. Have no fear, I -say. Wind and much heavy rain will soon come from the west.” - -Then I wrote a few lines to the skipper. - -“Send this letter to the ship by my boat,” I said to Teveiva, “and -the captain will fill the boat with food. It is the ship's gift to the -people.” - -And then for the first time since the island had been smitten, the poor -women and children laughed joyously, and the men sprang to their feet, -and with loud shouts ran to the boat with the messenger who carried the -letter. - -“Come, old friend,” I said to the teacher, “walk with me round the -island. I would once more look upon the lagoon and sit with you a little -while as we have sat many times before, under the great _toa_ tree that -grows upon the point on the weather side.” - -And so we two passed out of the mission house, and hand in hand, like -children, went into the quiet village and along the sandy path that -wound through the vista of serried, grey-boled palms, till we came to -the white, inner beach of the calm lagoon, which shone and glistened -like burnished silver. On the beach were some canoes. - -Half a cable length from the shore, a tiny, palm-clad islet floated -on that shining lake, and the drooping fronds of the palms cast their -shadows upon the crystal water. Between the red-brown boles of the trees -there showed something white. The old man pointed to it and said:-- - -“Wilt come and look at the white man's grave? 'Tis well kept--as we -promised his mother should be done.” - -Teveiva launched a canoe and we paddled gently over to the isle, which -was barely half an acre in extent. From the beach there ran a narrow -path, neatly gravelled and bordered with many-hued crotons; it led to a -low square enclosure of coral stone cemented with lime. Within the walls -bright crotons grew thickly, and in the centre stood a plain slab of -marble on which was carved:-- - - Walter Tallis, - boat-steerer of the ship _asia_. - - Died, December 25, 1869, aged 21. - Erected by his Mother. - - - -I sat on the wall, and looked thoughtfully at the marble slab. - -“'Tis twelve years since, Teveiva.” - -“Aye, since last Christmas Day. And every year his mother sends a letter -and asks, 'Is my boy's grave well kept?' and I write and say, 'It is -well tended. One day in every week the women and girls come and weed -the path, and see that the plants thrive. This have we always done -since thou sent the marble slab.' She sends her letters to the English -missionary at Papeite, and he sends mine to her in far away Beretania -(Britain).” - -“Poor fellow,” I thought; “it was just such a day as this--hot and -calm--when we laid him here under the palms.” - -***** - -On that day, twelve years before, the _Asia_ lay becalmed off the -island, and the skipper lowered his boat and came on shore to buy some -fresh provisions. He was a cheery old fellow, with snow-white hair, -and was brimming over with good spirits, for the _Asia_ had had -extraordinary good luck. - -“Over a thousand barrels of sparm oil under hatches already, and the -_Asia_ not out nine months,” he said to me, “and we haven't lost a boat, -nor any whale we fastened to yet. And this boy here,” and he turned -and clapped his hand on the shoulder of a young, handsome and stalwart -youth, who had come with him, “is my boat-steerer, Walter Tallis, -and the dandiest lad with an iron that ever stood up in a boat's bow. -Forty-two years have I been fishin', and until Walter here shipped on -the old _Asia_, thought that the Almighty never made a good boat-steerer -or boat-header outer eny one but a Yankee or a Portugee--or maybe a -Walker Injun. But Walter, though he _is_ a Britisher, was born fer -whale-killin'--and thet's a fact.” - -I shook hands with the young man, who laughed as he said:-- - -“Captain Allen is always buttering me up. But there are as good, and -better men than me with an iron on board the _Asia_. But I certainly -have had wonderful luck--for a Britisher,” and he smiled slyly at his -captain. - -Suddenly, we were chatting and smoking on the verandah, there came a -thrilling cry from the crew of the whaleboat, lying on the beach fifty -yards away. - -“_Blo-o-w! bl-o-o-w!_” - -And from the throats of three hundred natives came a roar “_Te folau! te -folau!_” (“A whale! a whale!”) - -The skipper and his boat-steerer sprang to their feet and looked -seaward, and there, less than a mile from the shore, was a mighty bull -cachalot, leisurely making his way through the glassy sea, swimming with -head up, and lazily rolling from side to side as if his one hundred tons -of bulk were as light as the weight of a flying-fish. - -“Now, mister, you shall see what Walter and I can do with that fish,” - cried the skipper to me. “And when we've settled him, and the other -boats are towing him off to the ship, Walter and I will come on shore -again and hev something to eat--if you will invite us.” - -The boat flashed out from the beach, swept out of the passage through -the reef, and in twenty minutes was within striking distance of the -mighty cetacean. And, watching from the verandah, I saw the young -harpooner stand up and bury his first harpoon to the socket, following -it instantly with a second. Then slowly sank the huge head, and up came -the vast flukes in the air, and Leviathan sounded into the ocean depths -as the line spun through the stem notch, and the boat sped over the -mirror-like sea. In ten minutes she was hidden from view by a point of -land, and the last that we on the shore saw was “the dandiest lad that -ever stood up in a boat's bow” going aft to the steer-oar, and the old -white-headed skipper taking his place to use the deadly lance. And -then at the same time that the captain's boat disappeared from view, -I noticed that the _Asia_ had lowered her four other boats, which were -pulling with furious speed in the direction which the “fast” boat had -taken. - -“Something must have gone wrong with the captain's boat,” I thought. - -Something had gone wrong, for half an hour later one of the four “loose” - boats pulled into the beach, and the old skipper, with tears streaming -down his rugged cheeks, stepped out, trembling from head to foot. - -“My dandy boy, my poor boatsteerer,” he said huskily to me--“that darned -whale fluked us, and near cut him in half. Poor lad, he didn't suffer; -for death came sudden. An' he is the only son of his mother. Can I bring -him to your house?” - -Very tenderly and slowly the whaleboat's crew carried the crushed and -mutilated form of the “dandiest boy” to the house, and whilst I -helped the _Asia's_ cooper make a coffin, Teveiva sat outside with the -heartbroken old skipper, and spoke to him in his broken English of the -Life Beyond. And so Walter Tallis, the last of an old Dorset family, was -laid to rest in the little isle in the quiet lagoon. - -For two days our schooner lay in sight of the island; and then, as -midnight came, the blue sky became black, and the ship was snugged down -for the coming storm. The skipper sent up a rocket so that it might be -seen by the people on shore--to verify my prophecy about a change in the -weather. - -Came then the wind and the sweet, blessed rain, and as the schooner, -under reefed canvas, plunged to the rising sea, the folk of Nukutavake, -I felt certain, stood outside their houses, and let the cooling -Heaven-sent streams drench their smooth, copper-coloured skins, whilst -good old Teveiva gave thanks to God. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI ~ THE PIT OF MAOT - -For the Samoans I have always had a great admiration and affection. -Practically I began my island career in Samoa. More than a score of -years before Robert Louis Stevenson went to die on the verdured slopes -of Vailima Mountain, where he now rests, I was gaining my living by -running a small trading cutter between the beautiful islands of Upolu, -Savai'i, and Tutuila, and the people ever had my strong sympathies in -their struggle against Germany for independence. Even so far back as -1865, German agents were at work throughout the group, sowing the seeds -of discord, encouraging the chiefs of King Malietoa to rebel, so that -they could set up a German puppet in his place. And unfortunately they -have succeeded only too well, and Samoa, with the exception of the -Island of Tutuila, is now German territory. But it is as well, for the -people are kindly treated by their new masters. - -The Samoans were always a warlike race. When not unitedly repelling -invasion by the all-conquering Tongans who sent fleet after fleet to -subjugate the country, they were warring among themselves upon various -pretexts--successions to chiefly titles, land disputes, abuse of neutral -territory, and often upon the most trivial pretexts. In my own time I -witnessed a sanguinary naval encounter between the people of the island -of Manono, and a war-party of ten great canoes from the district of -Lepâ on the island of Upolu. I saw sixteen decapitated heads brought -on shore, and personally attended many of the wounded. And all this -occurred through the Lepâ people having at a dance in their village -sung a song in which a satirical allusion was made to the Manono -people having once been reduced to eating shell-fish. The result was an -immediate challenge from Manono, and in all nearly one hundred men lost -their lives, villages were burnt, canoes destroyed, and thousands of -coco-nut and bread-fruit trees cut down and plantations ruined. - -Sometimes in battle the Samoans were extremely chivalrous, at others -they were demons incarnate, as merciless, cold-blooded, and cruel as the -Russian police who slaughter women and children in the streets of the -capital of the Great White Czar, and I shall now endeavour to describe -one such terrible act, which after many years is still spoken of with -bated breath, and even amidst the suppressed sobs and falling tears of -the descendants of those who suffered. - -On the north coast of Upolu there is a populous town and district named -Fasito'otai. It is part of the A'ana division of Upolu, and is noted, -even in Samoa, a paradise of Nature, for its extraordinary fertility and -beauty. - -The A'ana people at this time were suffering from the tyranny of Manono, -a small island which boasted of the fact of its being the birthplace -and home of nearly all the ruling chiefs of Samoa, and the extraordinary -respect with which people of chiefly lineage are treated by Samoans, -generally led them to suffer the greatest indignities and oppressions -by the haughty and warlike Manonoans, who exacted under threats a -continuous tribute of food, fine mats and canoes. Finally, a -valorous young chief named Tausaga--though himself connected with -Manono--revolted, and he and his people refused to pay further tribute -to Manono, and a bloody struggle was entered upon. - -For some months the war continued. No mercy was shown on either side to -the vanquished, and there is now a song which tells of how Palu, a -girl of seventeen, with a spear thrust half through her bosom by her -brother-in-law, a chief of Manono, shot him through the chest with a -horse pistol, and then breaking off the spear, knelt beside the dying -man, kissed him as her “brother” and then decapitated him, threw the -head to her people with a cry of triumph--and died. - -At first the A'ana people were victorious, and the haughty Manonoans -were driven off into their fleets of war canoes time and time again. -Then Manono made alliance with other powerful chiefs of Savai'i and -Upolu against A'ana, and two thousand of them, after great slaughter, -occupied the town of Fasito'otai, and the A'ana people retired to inland -fortresses, resolved to fight to the very last. Among the leaders of the -defeated people were two white men--an Englishman and an American--whose -valour was so much admired, even by the Manono people, that they were -openly solicited to desert the A'ana people, and come over to the other -side, where great honours and gifts of lands awaited them. To their -credit, these two unknown men rejected the offer with scorn, and -announced their intention to die with the people with whom they had -lived for so many years. At their instance, many of the Manono warriors -who had been captured had been spared, and kept prisoners, instead of -being ruthlessly decapitated in the usual Samoan fashion, and their -heads exhibited, with much ignominy, from one village to another, as -trophies. - -For two years the struggle continued, the Manonoans generally proving -victorious in many bloody battles. Then Fasito'otai was surprised in -the night, and two-thirds of its defenders, including many women and -children, slaughtered. Among those who died were the two white men. They -fell with thirty young men, who covered the retreat of the survivors of -the defending force. - -The extraordinary valour which the A'ana people had displayed, -exasperated the Manono warriors to deeds of unnamable violence to -whatever prisoners fell into their cruel hands. One man--an old Manono -chief--who had taken part in the struggle, told me with shame that he -saw babies impaled on bayonets and spears carried exultingly from one -village to another. - -Broken and disorganised, the beaten A'ana people dispersed in parties -large and small. Some sought refuge in the mountain forests, others -put to sea in frail canoes, and mostly all perished, but one party of -seventeen in three canoes succeeded in reaching Uea (Wallis Island), -three hundred miles to the westward of Samoa. Among them was a boy of -seven years of age, who afterwards sailed with me in a labour vessel. -He well remembered the horrors of that awful voyage, and told me of his -seeing his father “take a knife and open a vein in his arm so that a -baby girl, who was dying of hunger, could drink”. - -Relentless in their hate of the vanquished foe, the Manono warriors -established a cordon around them from the mountain range that traverses -the centre of Upolu to the sea, and at last, after many engagements, -drove them to the beach, where a final battle was fought. Exhausted, -famine-stricken, and utterly disheartened by their continuous reverses, -the unfortunate A'ana people were easily overcome, and the fighting -survivors surrendered, appealing to their enemies to at least spare the -lives of their women and children. - -But no mercy was shown. As night began to fall, the Manonoans began to -dig a huge pit at a village named Maotâ, a mile from the scene of the -battle, and as some dug, others carried an enormous quantity of dead -logs of timber to the spot. By midnight the dreadful funeral pyre was -completed. - -In case that it might be thought by my readers that I am exaggerating -the horrors of “The Pit of Maotâ,” I will not here relate what I, -personally, was told by people who were present at the awful deed, -but repeat the words of Mr. Stair, an English missionary of the London -Missionary Society, whose book, entitled Old Samoa, tells the story -in quiet, yet dramatic language, and although in regard to some minor -details he was misinformed, his account on the whole is correct, and is -the same as was told to me by men who had actually participated in the -tragedy. - -The awful preparations were completed, and then the victors, seizing -those of their captives who were bound on account of their strength and -had a few hours previously surrendered, hurried them to the fatal pit, -in which the huge pile of timber had been lit. And as the flames roared -and ascended, and the darkness of the surrounding forest was made as -light as day, the first ten victims of four hundred and sixty-two were -cast in to burn, amid the howls and yells of their savage captors. - -Mr. Stair says: “This dreadful butchery was continued during one or two -days and nights, fresh timber being heaped on from time to time, as it -was with difficulty that the fire could be kept burning, from the number -of victims who were ruthlessly sacrificed there. - -“The captives from Fasito'otai were selected for the first offerings, -and after them followed others in quick succession, night and day, -early and late, until the last wretched victim had been consumed. Most -heartrending were the descriptions I received from persons who had -actually looked on the fearful scenes enacted there. - -“Innocent children skipped joyfully along the pathway by the side of -their conductors and murderers,{*} deceived by the cruel lie that they -were to be spared, and were then on their way to bathe; when suddenly -the blazing pile (in the Pit of Noatâ) with the horrid sight of their -companions and friends being thrown alive into the midst, told them the -dreadful truth; whilst their terror was increased by the yells of savage -triumph of the murderers, or the fearful cries of the tortured victims -which reached their ears.” - - * I was told that the poor children were led away as they - thought to be given si mea ai vela--“something hot” (to - eat).--[L.B.] - -When I first saw the dreadful Tito (pit) of Moatâ, it was at the close -of a calm, windless day. I had been pigeon-shooting in the mountain -forest, and was accompanied by a stalwart young Samoan warrior. As we -were returning to Fasito'otai, he asked me if I would come a little -out of the way and look at the “Tito,” a place he said “that is to our -hearts, and is, holy ground”. He spoke so reverently that I was much -impressed. - -Following a winding path we suddenly came in view of the pit. The sides -were almost covered with many beautiful varieties of crotons, planted -there by loving hands, and it was very evident to me that the place was -indeed holy ground. At the bottom of the pit was a dreadful reminder of -the past--a large circle of black charcoal running round the sides, -and enclosing in the centre a large space which at first I thought was -snow-white sand, but on descending into the pit with uncovered head, -and looking closer, found it was composed of tiny white coral pebbles. -Hardly a single leaf or twig marred the purity of the whiteness of the -cover under which lay the ashes of nearly five hundred human beings. -Every Saturday the women and children of Fasito'otai and the adjacent -villages visited the place, and reverently removed every bit of -_débris_, and the layer of stones, carefully selected of an equal size, -was renewed two or three times a year as they became discoloured by -the action of the rain. Encompassing the wooded margin of the pit were -numbers of orange, lime and banana trees, all in full fruit. These were -never touched--to do so would have been sacrilege, for they were sacred -to the dead. All around us were hundreds of wood-doves and pigeons, and -their peaceful notes filled the forest with saddening melody. “No one -ever fires a gun here,” said my companion softly, “it is forbidden. And -it is to my mind that the birds know that it is a sacred place and holy -ground.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXII ~ VANÂKI, THE STRONG SWIMMER - -On the afternoon of the 4th of June, 1885, the Hawaiian labour schooner -_Mana_, of which I was “recruiter” was beating through Apolima Straits, -which divide the islands of Upolu and Savai'i. The south-east trade was -blowing very strongly and a three-knot current setting against the -wind had raised a short, confused sea, and our decks were continually -flooded. But we had to thrash through it with all the sail we could -possibly carry, for among the sixty-two Gilbert Islands “recruits” I had -on board three had developed symptoms of what we feared was small-pox, -and we were anxious to reach the anchorage off the town of Mulifanua at -the west end of Upolu before dark. At Mulifanua there was a large German -cotton plantation, employing four hundred “recruited” labourers, and on -the staff of European employés was a resident doctor. In the ordinary -course of things we should have gone on to Apia, which was twenty miles -farther on, and our port of destination, and handed over my cargo of -“recruits” to the manager of the German firm there; but as Mulifanua -Plantation was also owned by them, and my “recruits” would probably be -sent there eventually, the captain and I decided to land the entire -lot at that place, instead of taking them to Apia, where the European -community would be very rough upon us if the disease on board did turn -out to be small-pox. - -As the skipper and I were standing aft, watching the showers of spray -that flew over the schooner every time a head sea smacked her in the -face, one of the hands shouted out that there was a man in the water, -close to on the weather bow. Hauling our head sheets to windward we -head-reached towards him, and in a few minutes the man, who was swimming -in the most gallant fashion, was alongside, and clambered on board. He -was a rather dark-skinned Polynesian, young, and of extremely powerful -physique. - -“Thanks, good friends,” he said, speaking in halting Samoan. “'Tis a -high sea in which to swim. Yet,” and here he glanced around him at the -land on both sides, “I was half-way across.” - -“Come below,” I said, “and take food and drink, and I will give you a -_lava-lava_ (waistcloth).” (He was nude.) - -He thanked me, and then again his keen dark eyes were fixed upon -Savai'i--three miles distant. - -“Art bound to Savai'i?” he asked quickly. - -“Nay. We beat against the wind. To-night we anchor at Mulifanua.” - -“Ah!” and his face changed, “then I must leave, for it is to Savai'i I -go,” and he was about to go over the rail when we held him back. - -“Wait, friend. In a little time the ship will be close in to the passage -through the reef at Saleleloga” (a town of Savai'i), “and then as we put -the ship about, thou canst go on thy way. Why swim two leagues and tempt -the sharks when there is no need. Come below and eat and drink, and have -no fear. We shall take thee as near to the passage as we can.” - -The skipper came below with us, and after providing our visitor with a -navy blue waistcloth, we gave him a stiff tumbler of rum, and some -bread and meat. He ate quickly and then asked for a smoke, and in a few -minutes more we asked him who he was, and why he was swimming across the -straits. We spoke in Samoan. “Friends,” he said, “I will tell the truth. -I am one of the _kau galuega_ (labourers) on Mulifanua Plantation. -Yesterday being the Sabbath, and there being no work, I went into the -lands of the Samoan village to steal young nuts and _taro_. I had thrown -down and husked a score, and was creeping back to my quarters by a -side path through the grove, when I was set upon by three young Samoan -_manaia_ (bloods) who began beating me with clubs--seeking to murder me. -We fought, and I, knowing that death was upon me, killed one man with a -blow of my _tori nui_{*} (husking stick) of iron-wood, and then drove it -deep into the chest of another. Then I fled, and gaining the beach, ran -into the sea so that I might swim to Savai'i, for there will I be safe -from pursuit” “'Tis a long swim, man--'tis five leagues.” He laughed and -expanded his brawny chest “What is that to me? I have swam ten leagues -many times.” - - * A heavy, pointed stick of hardwood, used for husking coco- - nuts. - -“Where do you belong?” asked the skipper in English. - -He answered partly in the same language and partly in his curious -Samoan. - -“I am of Anuda.{*} My name is Vanàki. Two years ago I came to Samoa in a -German labour ship to work on the plantations, for I wanted to see other -places and earn money, and then return to Anuda and speak of the things -I had seen. It was a foolish thing of me. The German _suis_ (overseers) -are harsh men. I worked very hard on little food. It was for that I had -to steal. And I am but one man from Anuda, and there are four hundred -others from many islands--black-skinned, man-eating, woolly-haired -pigs from the Solomon and New Hebrides, and fierce fellows like these -Tafito{**} men from the Gilbert Islands such as I now see here on this -ship. No one of them can speak my tongue of Anuda. And now I am a free -man.” - - * Anuda or Cherry Island is an outlier of the Santa Cruz - Group, in the South Pacific. The natives are more of the - Polynesian than the Melanesian type, and are a fine, - stalwart race. - - ** Tafitos--natives of the Pacific Equatorial Islands such - as the Gilbert Group. - -“You are a plucky fellow,” said the captain, “and deserve good luck. -Here, take this dollar, and tie it up in the corner of your waistcloth. -You can buy yourself some tobacco from the white trader at Salelelogo.” - -“Ah, yes, indeed. But” (and here he dropped into Samoan again, and -turned to me) “I would that the good captain would take me as a sailor -for his next voyage. I was for five years with Captain Macleod of -Nouméa. And I am a good man--honest, and no boaster.” - -I shook my head. “It cannot be. From Mulifanua we go to Apia. And there -will be news there of what thou hast done yesterday, and we cannot hide -a man on this small ship.” And then I asked the captain what he thought -of the request. - -“We ought to try and work it,” said the skipper. “If he was five years -with Jock Macleod he's all right.” - -We questioned him further, and he satisfied us as to his _bona-fides_, -giving us the names of many men--captains and traders--known to us -intimately. - -“Vanâki,” I said, “this is what may be done, but you must be quick, for -presently we shall be close to the passage off Saleleloga, and must -go about. When you land, go to Miti-loa the chief, and talk to -him privately. There is bad blood between his people and those of -Mulifanua----” - -“I know it. It has been so for two years past.” - -“Now, listen. Miti-loa and the captain here and I are good friends. Tell -him that you have seen us. Hide nothing from him of yesterday. He is a -strong man.” - -“I know it. Who does not, in this part of Samoa know of Miti-loa?” {*} - -“That is true. And Miti knows us two _papalagi_{**} well. Stay with -him, work for him, and do all that he may ask. He will ask but -little--perhaps nothing. In twenty days from now, this ship will be at -Apia ready for sea again. We go to the Tokelaus” (Gilbert Islands) “or -else to the Solomons, and if thou comest on board in the night who is to -know of it but Miti-loa and thyself?” - - * Miti-loa--“Long Dream “. - - ** White men--foreigners. - -The mate put his head under the flap of the skylight “Close on to the -reef, sir. Time to go about.” - -“All right, Carey. Put her round. Now Vanâki, up on deck, and over you -go.” - -Vanâki nodded and smiled, and followed us. Then quickly he took off his -_lava-lava_, deftly wrapped it about his head like an Indian turban, and -held out his hand in farewell, and every one on board cheered as he I -leapt over the side, and began his swim to the land. - -From the cross-trees I watched him through my glasses, saw him enter the -passage into smooth water, and disdaining to rest on any of the exposed -and isolated projections of reef which lined the passage, continue his -course towards the village. Then a rain squall hid him from view, but we -knew that he was safe. - -That evening we landed our “recruits” at Mulifanua, and after thoroughly -disinfecting the ship, we sailed a few days later for Apia. Here we were -again chartered to proceed to the New Hebrides and Solomon Islands for -another cruise. - -As we were refitting, I received a letter from Miti-loa, telling me that -Vanâki was safe, and would be with us in a few days. When he did arrive, -he came with Miti-loa himself in his _taumalua_ (native boat) and a -score of his people. Vanâki was so well made-up as a Samoan that when -he stepped on deck the skipper and I did not recognise him. We sent him -below, and told him to keep quiet until we were well under way. - -“Ah,” said Miti-loa to us, “what a man is he! Such a swimmer was never -before seen. My young men have made much of him, and I would he would -stay with me.” - -Vanâki turned out an acquisition to our ship's company, and soon became -a favourite with every one. He was highly delighted when he was placed -on the articles at the usual rate of wages paid to native seamen--£3 per -month. Our crew were natives from all parts of Polynesia, but English -was the language used by them generally to each other. Like all vessels -in the labour trade we carried a double crew--one to man the boats when -recruiting, and one to work the ship when lying “off and on” at any -island where we could not anchor, and Vanâki was greatly pleased when I -told him that he should have a place in my boat, instead of being put in -the “covering"{*} boat. - - * The “covering” boat is that which stands by to open fire - if the “landing” boat is attacked. - -We made a splendid run down to the Solomons from Samoa, and when in -sight of San Cristoval, spoke a French labour vessel from Nouméa, -recruiting for the French New Hebrides Company. Her captain and -his “recruiter” (both Englishmen) paid us a visit. They were old -acquaintances of our captain and myself, and as they came alongside in -their smart whaleboat and Vanâki saw their faces, he gave a weird yell -of delight, and rubbed noses with them the moment they stepped on deck. - -“Hallo, Vanâki, my lad,” said the skipper of _La Metise_, shaking his -hand, “how are you?” Then turning to us he said: “Vanâki was with me -when I was mate with Captain Macleod, in the old _Aurore_ of Nouméa. -He's a rattling good fellow for a native, and I wish I had him with me -now. Wherever did you pick him up?” - -We told him, and Houston laughed when I narrated the story of Vanâki's -swim. - -“Oh, that's nothing for him to do. Why, the beggar once swam from the -Banks Group across to the Torres Islands. Has he never told you about -it?” - -“No. And I would hardly believe him if he did. Why, the two groups are -fifty miles apart.” - -“No, from Tog in the Torres Islands to Ureparapara in the Banks Group -is a little over forty miles. But you must wheedle the yarn out of him. -He's a bit sensitive of talking about it, on account of his at first -being told he was a liar by several people. But Macleod, two traders who -were passengers with us, and all the crew of the _Aurore_ know the story -to be true. We sent an account of it to the Sydney papers.” - -“I'll get him to tell me some day,” I said “I once heard of a native -woman swimming from Nanomaga in the Ellice Group to Nanomea--thirty-five -miles--but never believed it for a long time.” - -After spending half an hour with us, our friends went back to their -ship, each having shaken hands warmly with Vanâki, and wished him good -luck. - -It was some days before the captain and I had time to hear Vanâki's -story, which I relate as nearly as possible in his own words. - -First of all, however, I must mention that Ureparapara or Bligh Island -is a well-wooded, fertile spot, about sixteen miles in circumference, -and is an extinct crater. It is now the seat of a successful mission. -Tog is much smaller, well-wooded, and inhabited, and about nine hundred -feet high. At certain times of the year a strong current sets in a -northerly and westerly direction, and it is due to this fact that Vanâki -accomplished his swim. Now for his story. - -“I was in the port watch of the _Aurore_. We came to Ureparapara in -the month of June to 'recruit' and got four men. Whilst we were there, -Captain Houston (who was then mate of the _Aurore_) asked me if I would -dive under the ship and look at her copper; for a week before we had -touched a reef. So I dived, and found that five sheets of copper were -gone from the port side about half a fathom from the keel. So the -captain took five new sheets of copper, and punched the nail holes, and -gave me one sheet at a time, and I nailed them on securely. In three -hours it was done, for the ship was in quiet, clear water, and I knew -what to do. The captain then said to me laughingly that he feared I had -but tacked on the sheets loosely, and that they would come off. My heart -was sore at this, and so I asked Mr. Houston, who is a good diver, to -go and look. And he dived and looked, and then five other of the -crew--natives--dived and looked, and they all said that the work was -well and truly done--all the nails driven home, and the sheets smooth, -and without a crinkle. This pleased the captain greatly, and he gave me -a small gold piece, and told me that I could go on shore, and spend it -at the white trader's store. - -“Now I did a foolish thing. I bought from the trader two bottles of -strange grog called _arrak_. It was very strong--stronger than rum--and -soon I and two others who drank it became very drunk, and lay on the -ground like pigs. Mr. Houston came and found me, and brought me on -board, and I was laid on the after-deck under the awning. - -“At sunset the ship sailed. I was still asleep, and heard nothing, -though in a little while it began to blow, and much rain fell The -captain let me lie on the lee side, so that the rain might beat upon me, -and bring me to life again. - -“When four bells struck I awoke. I was ashamed. Waiting until the wheel -was relieved, I crept along the deck unseen, for it was very dark, and -goy up on the top of the top-gallant fo'c'stle, and again lay down. The -ship was running before the wind under close-reefed sails, and the sea -was so great that she pitched heavily every now and then, and much water -came over the bows. This did me good, and I soon began to feel able to -go below and turn in in my bunk. Then presently, as I was about to rise, -the ship made a great plunge, and a mighty sea fell upon her, and I was -swept away. No one saw me go, for no one knew that I was there, and the -night was very, very dark. - -“When I came to the surface, I could see the ship's lights, and cried -out, but no one heard me, for the wind and sea made a great noise; and -then, too, there was sweeping rain. In a little while the lights were -gone, and I was alone. - -“'Now,' I said to myself, 'Vanâki, thou art a fool, and will go into the -belly of a shark because of becoming drunk.' And then my heart came back -to me, and I swam on easily over the sea, hoping that I would be missed, -and the ship heave-to, and send a boat. But I looked in vain. - -“By-and-by the sky cleared, and the stars came out, but the wind still -blew fiercely, and the seas swept me along so quickly that I knew it -would be folly for me to try and face them, and try to swim back to -Ureparapara. - -“'I will swim to Tog,' I said; 'if the sharks spare me I can do it.' -For now that the sky was clear, and I could see the stars my fear died -away; and so I turned a little, and swam to the west a little by the -north. - -“There was a strong current with me, and hour by hour as I swam the wind -became less, and the sea died away. - -“When daylight came I was not tired, and rested on my back. And as I -rested, two green turtles rose near me. They looked at me, and I was -glad, for I knew that where turtle were there would be no sharks. I am -not afraid of sharks, but what is a man to do with a shark in the open -sea without a knife? - -“Towards noon there came rain. I lay on my back and put my hollowed hands -together, and caught enough to satisfy my great thirst. The rain did not -last long. - -“A little after noon I saw the land--the island of Tog. It was but three -leagues away. - -“Then I swam into a great and swift tide-rip, which carried me to the -eastward. It was so strong that I feared it would take me away from the -island, but soon it turned and swept me to the westward. And then I saw -the land becoming nearer and nearer. - -“When the sun was nearly touching the sea-rim, I was so close to the -south-end of Tog, that I could see the spars of a ship lying at anchor -in the bay called Pio. And then when the sun had set I could see the -lights of many canoes catching flying-fish by torchlight. - -“I swam on and came to the ship. It was the _Aurore_. - -“I clambered up the side-ladder, and stood on deck, and the man who was -on anchor watch--an ignorant Tokelau--shouted out in fear, and ran to -tell the captain, and Mr. Houston. - -“They brought me below and made much of me, and gave me something to -drink which made me sleep for many hours. - -“When I awakened I was strong and well, but my eyes were _malai_ -(bloodshot). That is all.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII ~ TWO PACIFIC ISLANDS BIRDS: THE SOUTH SEA CORNCRAKE AND -THE TOOTH-BILLED PIGEON - - - - -THE SOUTH SEA CORNCRAKE - -Although I had often heard of the “corncrake” or landrail of the British -Isles, I did not see one until a few years ago, on my first visit to -Ireland, when a field labourer in County Louth brought me a couple, -which he had killed in a field of oats. I looked at them with interest, -and at once recognised a striking likeness in shape, markings and -plumage to an old acquaintance--the shy and rather rare “banana-bird” of -some of the Polynesian and Melanesian Islands. I had frequently when in -Ireland heard at night, during the summer months, the repeated and -harsh “crake, crake,” of many of these birds, issuing from the fields of -growing corn, and was very curious to see one, for the unmelodious cry -was exactly like that of the _kili vao_, or “banana-bird” of the -Pacific Islands. And when I saw the two corncrakes I found them to be -practically the same bird, though but half the size of the _kili vao_. - -_Kili vao_ in native means bush-snipe, as distinct from _kili fusi_, -swamp snipe. It feeds upon ripe bananas, and papaws (mamee apples), and -such other sweet fruit, that when over-ripe fall to the ground. It is -very seldom seen in the day-time, when the sun is strong, though -its hoarse frog-like note may often be heard in cultivated banana -plantations, or on the mountain sides, where the wild banana thrives. -At early dawn, or towards sunset, however, they come out from their -retreats, and search for fallen bananas, papaws or guavas, and I -have spent many a delightful half-hour watching them from my own -hiding-place. Although they have such thick, long and clumsy legs, and -coarse splay feet they run to and fro with marvelous speed, continually -uttering their insistent croak. Usually they were in pairs, male and -female, although I once saw a male and three female birds together. The -former can easily be recognised, for it is considerably larger than its -mate, and the coloration of the plumage on the back and about the eyes -is more pronounced, and the beautiful quail-like semi-circular belly -markings are more clearly defined. When disturbed, and if unable to -run into hiding among the dead banana leaves, they rise and present -a ludicrous appearance, for their legs hang down almost straight, and -their flight is slow, clumsy and laborious, and seldom extends more than -fifty yards. - -The natives of the Banks and Santa Cruz Groups (north of the New -Hebrides) assert that the _kili_ is a ventriloquist, and delights to -“fool” any one attempting to capture it. “If you hear it call from -the right, it is hiding to the left; and its mate is perhaps only -two fathoms away from you, hiding under the fallen banana leaves, and -pretending to be dead. And you will never find either, unless it is a -dark night, and you suddenly light a big torch of dried coco-nut leaves; -then they become dazed and stupid, and will let you catch them with your -hand.” - -Whilst one cannot accept the ventriloquial theory, there can be no doubt -of the extraordinary cunning in hiding, and noiseless speed on foot of -these birds when disturbed. One afternoon, near sunset, I was returning -from pigeon-shooting on Ureparapara (Banks Group) when in walking along -the margin of a taro-swamp, which was surrounded by banana trees, a big -_kili_ rose right in front of me, and before I could bring my gun to -shoulder, my native boy hurled his shoulder-stick at it and brought it -down, dead. Then he called to me to be ready for a shot at the mate, -which, he said, was close by in hiding. - -Walking very gently, he carefully scanned the dead leaves at the foot of -the banana trees, and silently pointed to a heap which was soddened by -rain. - -“It is underneath there,” he whispered, then flung himself upon the -heap of leaves, and in a few seconds dragged out the prize--a fine -full-grown female bird, beautifully marked. I put her in my game-bag. -During our two-mile walk to the village she behaved in a disgusting -manner, and so befouled herself (after the manner of a young Australian -curlew when captured) that she presented a repellent appearance, and -had such a disgusting odour that I was at first inclined to throw -her--game-bag and all--away. However, my native boy washed her, and then -we put her in a native pigeon cage. In the morning she was quite clean -and dry, but persistently hid her head when any one approached, refused -to take food and died two days later, although I kept the cage in a dark -place. - -These birds are excellent eating when not too fat; but when the papaws -are ripe they become grossly unwieldy, and the whole body is covered -with thick yellow fat, and the flesh has the strong sweet taste of the -papaw. At this time, so the natives say, they are actually unable to -rise for flight, and are easily captured by the women and children at -work in the banana and taro plantations. - -(Apropos of this common tendency of the flesh of birds to acquire the -taste of their principal article of food, I may mention that in those -Melanesian Islands where the small Chili pepper grows wild, the pigeons -at certain times of the year feed almost exclusively upon the ripe -berries, and their flesh is so pungent as to be almost uneatable. At -one place on the littoral of New Britain, there is a patch of country -covered with pepper trees, and it is visited by thousands of pigeons, -who devour the berries, although their ordinary food of sweet berries -was available in profusion in the mountain forests.) - -On some of the Melanesian islands there is a variety of the banana-bird -which frequents the yam and sweet potato plantation, digs into the -hillocks with its power-fill feet, and feeds upon the tubers, as does -the rare toothed-billed pigeon. - -One day, when I was residing in the Caroline Islands, a pair of live -birds were brought to me by the natives, who had snared them. They were -in beautiful plumage, and I determined to try and keep them. - -The natives quickly made me an enclosure about twenty feet square of -bamboo slats about an inch or two apart, driving them into the ground, -and making a “roof” of the same material, sufficiently high to permit of -three young banana trees being planted therein. Then we quickly covered -the ground with dead banana leaves, small sticks and other _débris_, and -after making it as “natural” as possible, laid down some ripe bananas, -and turned the birds into the enclosure. In ten seconds they had -disappeared under the heap of leaves as silently as a beaver or a -platypus takes to the water. - -During the night I listened carefully outside the enclosure, but the -captives made neither sound nor appearance. They were still “foxing,” or -as my Samoan servant called it, _le toga-fiti e mate_ (pretending to be -dead). - -All the following day there was not the slightest movement of the -leaves, but an hour after sunset, when I was on my verandah, smoking and -chatting with a fellow trader, a native boy came to us, grinning with -pleasure, and told us that the birds were feeding. I had a torch of -dried coco-nut leaves all in readiness. It was lit, and as the bright -flame burst out, and illuminated the enclosure, I felt a thrill of -delight--both birds were vigorously feeding upon a very ripe and -“squashy” custard apple, disregarding the bananas. The light quite -dazed them, and they at once ceased eating, and sat down in a terrified -manner, with their necks outstretched, and their bills on the ground. We -at once withdrew. In the morning, I was charmed to hear them “craking,” - and from that time forward they fed well, and afforded me many a happy -hour in watching their antics. I was in great hopes of their breeding, -for they had made a great pile of _débris_ between the banana trees, -into which in the day-time they would always scamper when any one -passed, and my natives told me that the end of the rainy season was -the incubating period. As it was within a few weeks of that time, I was -filled with pleasurable anticipations, and counted the days. Alas, for -my hopes! One night, a predatory village pig, smelling the fruit which -was always placed in the enclosure daily, rooted a huge hole underneath -the bambods, and in the morning my pets were gone, and nevermore did I -hear their hoarse crake! crake!--ever pleasing to me during the night. - -***** - - - - -THE TOOTH-BILLED PIGEON OF SAMOA--(_Didunculus Strigirostris_) - -The recent volcanic outburst on the island of Savai'i in the Samoan -Group, after a period of quiescence of about two hundred years, has, so -a Californian paper states, revealed the fact that one of the rarest and -most interesting birds in the world, and long supposed to be peculiar to -the Samoan Islands, and all but extinct, is by no means so in the latter -respect, for the convulsion in the centre of the island, where the -volcanic mountain stands nearly 4,000 feet high, has driven quite a -number of the birds to the littoral of the south coast. So at least it -was reported to the San Francisco journal by a white trader residing on -the south side of Savai'i during the outbreak. - -For quite a week before the first tremors and groan-ings of the mountain -were felt and heard, the natives said that they had seen _Manu Mea_ -(tooth-billed pigeons) making their way down to the coast. Several were -killed and eaten by children. - -Before entering into my own experiences and knowledge of this -extraordinary bird, gained during a seven years' residence in Samoa, -principally on the island of Upolu, I cannot do better than quote -from Dr. Stair's book, _Old Samoa_, his description of the bird. Very -happily, his work was sent to me some years ago, and I was delighted to -find in it an account of the _Manu Mea_ (red bird) and its habits. In -some respects he was misinformed, notably in that in which he was told -that the _Didunculus_ was peculiar to the Samoan Islands; for the bird -certainly is known in some of the Solomon Islands, and also in the -Admiralty Group--two thousand miles to the north-west of Samoa. Here, -however, is what Dr. Stair remarks:-- - -“One of the curiosities of Samoan natural history is _Le Manu Mea_, -or red bird of the natives, the tooth-billed pigeon (_Didunculus -Strigirostris_, Peale), and is peculiar to the Samoan Islands. This -remarkable bird, so long a puzzle to the scientific world, is only found -in Samoa, and even there it has become so scarce that it is rapidly -becoming extinct, as it falls an easy prey to the numerous wild cats -ranging the forests. It was first described and made known to the -scientific world by Sir William Jardine, in 1845, under the name of -_Gnathodon Strigirostris_, from a specimen purchased by Lady Hervey in -Edinburgh, amongst a number of Australian skins. Its appearance excited -great interest and curiosity, but its true habitat was unknown until -some time after, when it was announced by Mr. Strickland before the -British Association at York, that Mr. Titian Peale, of the United States -Exploring Expedition, had discovered a new bird allied to the dodo, -which he proposed to name _Didunculus Strigirostris_. From the specimen -in Sir William Jardine's possession the bird was figured by Mr. Gould in -his _Birds of Australia_, and its distinctive characteristics shown; but -nothing was known of its habitat. At that time the only specimens known -to exist out of Samoa were the two in the United States, taken there by -Commodore Wilkes, and the one in the collection of Sir William Jardine, -in Edinburgh. The history of this last bird is singular, and may be -alluded to here. - -“To residents in Samoa the _Manu Mea_, or red bird, was well known by -repute, but as far as I know, no specimen had ever been obtained by any -resident on the islands until the year 1843, when two fine birds, male -and female, were brought to me by a native who had captured them on the -nest I was delighted with my prize, and kept them carefully, but could -get no information whatever as to what class they belonged. After a time -one was unfortunately killed, and not being able to gain any knowledge -respecting the bird, I sent the surviving one to Sydney, by a friend, in -1843, hoping it would be recognised and described; but nothing was known -of it there, and my friend left it with a bird dealer in Sydney, and -returned to report his want of success. It died in Sydney, and the skin -was subsequently sent to England with other skins for sale, including -the skin of an Aptéryx, from Samoa. Later on the skin of the _Manu -Mea_ was purchased by Lady Hervey, and subsequently it came into the -possession of Sir William Jar-dine, by whom it was described. Still -nothing was known of its habitat--but this bird which I had originally -sent to Sydney from Samoa was the means of bringing it under the notice -of the scientific world, and thus in some indirect manner of obtaining -the object I had in view. - -“After my return to England, in 1846, the late Dr. Gray, of the British -Museum, showed me a drawing of the bird, which I at once recognised; as -also a drawing of a species of Aptéryx which had been purchased in -the same lot of skins. A native of Samoa, who was with me, at once -recognised both birds. Dr. Gray and Mr. Mitchell (of the Zoological -Gardens in London) were much interested in the descriptions I gave -them, and urged that strong efforts should be made to procure living -specimens. But no steps were taken to obtain the bird until fourteen -years after, when, having returned to Australia, I was surprised to see -a notice in the _Melbourne Argus_, of August 3, 1862, to the effect -that the then Governor of Victoria, Sir Henry Barkley, had received -a communication from the Zoological Society, London, soliciting his -co-operation in endeavouring to ascertain further particulars as to the -habitat of a bird they were desirous of obtaining; forwarding drawings -and particulars as far as known at the same time; offering a large sum -for living specimens or skins delivered in London. I at once recognised -that the bird sought after was the _Manu Mea_, and gave the desired -information and addresses of friends in Samoa, through whose -instrumentality a living specimen was safely received in London, _via_ -Sydney, on April 10, 1864, the Secretary of the Zoological Society -subsequently writing to Dr. Bennett of Sydney, saying, 'The _La Hogue_ -arrived on April 10, and I am delighted to be able to tell you that the -_Didunculus_ is now alive, and in good health in the gardens, and Mr. -Bartlett assures me is likely to do well'. - -“In appearance the bird may be described as about the size of a large -wood-pigeon, with similar legs and feet, but the form of its body more -nearly resembles that of the partridge. The remarkable feature of the -bird is that whilst its legs are those of a pigeon, the beak is that of -the parrot family, the upper mandible being hooked like the parrot's, -the under one being deeply serrated; hence the name, tooth-billed -pigeon. This peculiar formation of the beak very materially assists the -bird in feeding on the potato-loke root, or rather fruit, of the _soi_, -or wild yam, of which it is fond. The bird holds the tuber firmly with -its feet, and then rasps it upwards with its parrot-like beak, the lower -mandible of which is deeply grooved. It is a very shy bird, being seldom -found except in the retired parts of the forest, away from the coast -settlements. It has great power of wing, and when flying makes a noise, -which, as heard in the distance, closely resembles distant thunder, for -which I have on several occasions mistaken it. It both roosts and feeds -on the ground, as also on stumps or low bushes, and hence becomes an -easy prey to the wild cats of the forest. These birds also build their -nests on low bushes or stumps, and are thus easily captured. During -the breeding season the male and female relieve each other with great -regularity, and guard their nests so carefully that they fall an easy -prey to the fowler; as in the case of one bird being taken its companion -is sure to be found there shortly after. They were also captured with -birdlime, or shot with arrows, the fowler concealing himself near -an open space, on which some _soi_, their favourite food, had been -scattered. - -“The plumage of the bird may be thus described. The head, neck, breast, -and upper part of the back is of greenish black. The back, wings, tail, -and under tail coverts of a chocolate red. The legs and feet are of -bright scarlet; the mandibles, orange red, shaded off near the tips with -bright yellow.” - -Less than twenty years ago I was residing on the eastern end of Upolu -(Samoa), and during my shooting excursions on the range of mountains -that traverses the island from east to west, saw several _Didunculi_, -and, I regret to say, shot two. For I had no ornithological knowledge -whatever, and although I knew that the Samoans regarded the _Manu Mea_ -as a rare bird, I had no idea that European savants and museums would -be glad to obtain even a stuffed specimen. The late Earl of Pembroke, -to whom I wrote on the subject from Australia, strongly urged me to -endeavour to secure at least one living specimen; so also did Sir George -Grey. But although I--like Mr. Stair--wrote to many native friends in -Samoa, offering a high price for a bird, I had no success; civil war -had broken out, and the people had other matters to think of beside -bird-catching. I was, however, told a year later that two fine specimens -had been taken on the north-west coast of Upolu, that one had been -so injured in trapping that it died, and the other was liberated by a -mischievous child. - -I have never heard one of these birds sound a note, but a native teacher -on Tutuila told me that in the mating season they utter a short, husky -hoot, more like a cough than the cry of a bird. - -A full month after I first landed in Samoa, I was shooting in the -mountains at the back of the village of Tiavea in Upolu, when a large, -and to me unknown, bird rose from the leaf-strewn ground quite near me, -making almost as much noise in its flight as a hornbill. A native -who was with me, fired at the same time as I did, and the bird fell. -Scarcely had the native stooped to pick it up, exclaiming that it was a -_Manu Mea_ when a second appeared, half-running, half-flying along the -ground. This, alas! I also killed. They were male and female, and my -companion and I made a search of an hour to discover their resting place -(it was not the breeding season), but the native said that the _Manu -Mea_ scooped out a retreat in a rotten tree or among loose stones, -covered with dry moss. But we searched in vain, nor did we even see any -wild yams growing about, so evidently the pair were some distance from -their home, or were making a journey in search of food. - -During one of my trips on foot across Upolu, with a party of natives, -we sat down to rest on the side of a steep mountain path leading to the -village of Siumu. Some hundreds of feet below us was a comparatively -open patch of ground--an abandoned yam plantation, and just as we were -about to resume our journey, we saw two _Manu Mea_ appear. Keeping -perfectly quiet, we watched them moving about, scratching up the leaves, -and picking at the ground in an aimless, perfunctory sort of manner with -their heavy, thick bills. The natives told me that they were searching, -not for yams, but for a sweet berry called _masa'oi_, upon which the -wild pigeons feed. - -In a few minutes the birds must have become aware of our presence, for -they suddenly vanished. - -I have always regretted in connection with the two birds I shot, that -not only was I unaware of their value, even when dead, but that there -was then living in Apia a Dr. Forbes, medical officer to the staff of -the German factory. Had I sent them to him, he could have cured the -skins at least, for he was, I believe, an ardent naturalist. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV ~ A NIGHT RUN ACROSS FÂGALOA BAY - -When I was supercargo of the brig _Palestine_, we were one day beating -along the eastern shore of the great island of Tombara (New Ireland) or, -as it is now called by its German possessors, _Neu Mecklenburg_, when an -accident happened to one of our hands--a smart young A.B. named Rogers. -The brig was “going about” in a stiff squall, when the jib-sheet block -caught poor Rogers in the side, and broke three of his ribs. - -There were then no white men living on the east coast of New Ireland, or -we should have landed him there to recover, and picked him up again -on our return from the Caroline Islands, so we decided to run down -to Gerrit Denys Island, where we had heard there was a German doctor -living. He was a naturalist, and had been established there for over a -year, although the natives were as savage and warlike a lot as could be -found anywhere in Melanesia. - -We reached the island, anchored, and the naturalist came on board. He -was not a professional-looking man. Here is my description, of him, -written fifteen years ago:-- - -“He was bootless, and his pants and many-pocketed jumper of coarse -dungaree were exceedingly dirty, and looked as if they had been cut out -with a knife and fork instead of scissors, they were so marvellously -ill-fitting. His head-gear was an ancient Panama hat, which flopped -about, and almost concealed his red-bearded face, as if trying to -apologise for the rest of his apparel; and the thin gold-rimmed -spectacles he wore made a curious contrast to his bare and sun-burnt -feet, which were as brown as those of a native. His manner, however, was -that of a man perfectly at ease with himself and his clear, steely blue -eyes, showed an infinite courage and resolution.” - -At first he was very reluctant to have Rogers brought on shore, but -finally yielded, being at heart a good-natured man. So we bade Rogers -good-bye, made the doctor a present of some provisions, and a few cases -of beer, and told him we should be back in six weeks. - -When we returned, Rogers came on board with the German. He was quite -recovered, and he and his host were evidently on very friendly terms, -and bade farewell to each other with some show of feeling. - -After we had left the island, Rogers came aft, and told us his -experiences with the German doctor. - -“He's a right good sort of a chap, and treated me well, and did all he -could for me, sirs--but although he is a nice cove, I'm glad to get away -from him, and be aboard the brig again. For I can hardly believe that I -haven't had a horrid, blarsted nightmare for the past six weeks.” - -And then he shuddered. - -“What was wrong with him, Rogers?” asked the skipper. - -“Why, he ain't no naturalist--I mean like them butterfly-hunting coves -like you see in the East Indies. He's a head-hunter--buys heads--fresh -'uns by preference, an' smokes an' cures 'em hisself, and sells 'em to -the museums in Europe. So help me God, sirs, I've seen him put fresh -human heads into a barrel of pickle, then he takes 'em out after a -week or so, and cleans out the brains, and smokes the heads, and -sorter varnishes and embalms 'em like. An' when he wasn't a picklin' or -embalmin' or varnishin', he was a-writing in half a dozen log books. -I never knew what he was a-doin' until one day I went into his -workshop--as he called it--and saw him bargaining with some niggers for -a fresh cut-off head, which he said was not worth much because the skull -was badly fractured, and would not set up well. - -“He was pretty mad with me at first for comin' in upon him, and -surprisin' him like, but after a while he took me into his confidence, -and said as how he was engaged in a perfeckly legitimate business, -and as the heads was dead he was not hurtin' 'em by preparing 'em for -museums and scientific purposes. And he says to me, 'You English peoples -have got many peautiful preserved heads of the New Zealand Maories in -your museums, but ach, Gott, there is not in England such peautiful -heads as I haf mineself brebared here on dis islandt. And already I haf -send me away fifty-seven, and in two months I shall haf brebared sixteen -more, for which I shall get me five hundred marks each.'” - -Rogers told us that when he one day expressed his horror at his host's -“business,” the German retorted that it was only forty or fifty years -since that many English officials in the Australian colonies did a -remarkably good business in buying smoked Maori heads, and selling them -to the Continental museums. (This was true enough.) Rogers furthermore -told us that the doctor “cured” his heads in a smoke-box, and had “a -regular chemist's shop” in which were a number of large bottles of -pyroligneous acid, prepared by a London firm. - -This distinguished savant left Gerrit Denys Island about a year later in -a schooner bound for Singapore. She was found floating bottom up off -the Admiralty Group, and a Hong-Kong newspaper, in recording the event, -mentioned that “the unfortunate gentleman (Dr. Ludwig S------) had with -him an interesting and extremely valuable ethnographical collection “. - -Rogers's horrible story had a great interest for me; for it had been my -lot to see many human heads just severed from the body, and I was -always fascinated by the peculiar expression of the features of those -unfortunates who had been decapitated suddenly by one swift blow. -“Death,” “Peace,” “Immortality,” say the closed eyelids and the calm, -quiet lips to the beholder. - -I little imagined that within two years I should have a rather similar -experience to that of Rogers, though in my case it was a very brief one. -Yet it was all too long for me, and I shall always remember it as the -weirdest experience of my life. - -I have elsewhere in this volume spoken of the affectionate regard I -have always had for the Samoan people, with whom I passed some of the -happiest years of my life. I have lived among them in peace and in war, -have witnessed many chivalrous and heroic deeds, and yet have seen -acts of the most terrible cruelty to the living, the mutilation and -dishonouring of the dead killed in combat, and other deeds that -filled me with horror and repulsion. And yet the perpetrators were all -professing Christians--either Protestant or Roman Catholic--and would no -more think of omitting daily morning and evening prayer, and attending -service in church or chapel every Sunday, than they would their daily -bathe in sea or river. - -Always shall I remember one incident that occurred during the civil war -between King Malietoa and his rebel subjects at the town of Saluafata. -The _olo_ or trenches, of the king's troops had been carried by the -rebels, among whom was a young warrior who had often distinguished -himself by his reckless bravery. At the time of the assault I was in the -rebel lines, for I was on very friendly terms with both sides, and each -knew that I would not betray the secrets of the other, and that my only -object was to render aid to the wounded. - -This young man, Tolu, told me, before joining in the assault, that he -had a brother, a cousin, and an uncle in the enemy's trenches, and that -he trusted he should not meet any one of them, for he feared that he -might turn _pala'ai_ (coward) and not “do his duty”. He was a Roman -Catholic, and had been educated by the Marist Brothers, but all his -relatives, with the exception of one sister, were Protestants--members -of the Church established by the London Missionary Society. - -An American trader named Parter and I watched the assault, and saw the -place carried by the rebels, and went in after them. Among the dead was -Tolu, and we were told that he had shot himself in grief at having cut -down his brother, whom he did not recognise. - -Now as to my own weird experience. - -There had been severe fighting in the Fâgaloa district of the Island of -Upolu, and many villages were in flames when I left the Port of Tiavea -in my boat for Fâgaloa Bay, a few miles along the shore. I was then -engaged in making a trip along the north coast, visiting almost every -village, and making arrangements for the purchase of the coming crop -of copra (dried coco-nut). I was everywhere well received by both -Malietoa's people and the rebels, but did but little business. The -natives were too occupied in fighting to devote much time to husking and -drying coco-nuts, except when they wanted to get money to buy arms and -ammunition. - -My boat's crew consisted of four natives of Savage Island (Niué), -many of whom are settled in Samoa, where they have ample employment -as boatmen and seamen. They did not at all relish the sound of bullets -whizzing over the boat, as we sometimes could not help crossing the line -of fire, and they had a horror of travelling at night-time, imploring me -not to run the risk of being slaughtered by a volley from the shore--as -how could the natives know in the darkness that we were not enemies. - -Fâgaloa Bay is deep, narrow and very beautiful. Small villages a few -miles apart may be seen standing in the midst of groves of coco-nut -palms, and orange, banana and bread-fruit trees, and everywhere bright -mountain streams of crystal water debouch into the lovely bay. - -On Sunday afternoon I sailed into the bay and landed at the village of -Samamea on the east side, intending to remain for the night. We found the -people plunged in grief--a party of rebels had surprised a village two -miles inland, and ruthlessly slaughtered all the inhabitants as well as -a party of nearly a score of visitors from the town of Salimu, on the -west side of the bay. So sudden was the onslaught of the rebels that -no one in the doomed village escaped except a boy of ten years of age. -After being decapitated, the bodies of the victims were thrown into the -houses, and the village set on fire. - -The people of Samamea hurriedly set out to pursue the raiding rebels, -and an engagement ensued, in which the latter were badly beaten, and -fled so hurriedly that they had to abandon all the heads they had taken -the previous day in order to save their own. - -The chief of Samamea, in whose house I had my supper, gave me many -details of the fighting, and then afterwards asked me if I would come -and look at the heads that had been recovered from the enemy. They -were in the “town house” and were covered over with sheets of navy blue -cloth, or matting. A number of natives were seated round the house, -conversing in whispers, or weeping silently. - -“These,” said the chief to me, pointing to a number of heads placed -apart from the others, “are the heads of the Salimu people--seventeen in -all, men, women and three children. We have sent word to Salimu to the -relatives to come for them. I cannot send them myself, for no men can be -spared, and we have our own dead to attend to as well, and may ourselves -be attacked at any time.”' - -A few hours later messengers arrived from Salimu. They had walked along -the shore, for the bay was very rough--it had been blowing hard for two -days--and, the wind being right ahead, they would not launch a canoe--it -would only have been swamped. - -Taken to see the heads of their relatives and friends, the messengers -gave way to most uncontrollable grief, and their cries were so -distressing that I went for a walk on the beach--to be out of hearing. - -When I returned to the village I found the visitors from Salimu and the -chief of Samamea awaiting to interview me. The chief, acting as their -spokeman, asked me if I would lend them my boat to take the heads of -their people to Salimu. He had not a single canoe he could spare, except -very small ones, which would be useless in such weather, whereas my -whaleboat would make nothing of it. - -I could not refuse their request--it would have been ungracious of -me, and it only meant a half-hour's run across the bay, for Salimu was -exactly abreast of Samamea. So I said I would gladly sail them over in -my boat at sunset, when I should be ready. - -The heads were placed in baskets, and reverently carried down to the -beach, and placed in the boat, and with our lug-sail close reefed we -pushed off just after dark. - -There were nine persons in the boat--the four Salimu people, my crew of -four and myself. The night was starlight and rather cold, for every now -and then a chilly rain squall would sweep down from the mountains. - -As we spun along before the breeze no one spoke, except in low tones. -Our dreadful cargo was amidships, each basket being covered from view, -but every now and then the boat would ship some water, and when I told -one of my men to bale out, he did so with shuddering horror, for the -water was much blood-stained. - -When we were more than half-way across, and could see the lights and -fires of Salimu, a rain squall overtook us, and at the same moment the -boat struck some floating object with a crash, and then slid over it, -and as it passed astern I saw what was either a log or plank about -twenty feet long. - -“Boat is stove in, for'ard!” cried one of my men, and indeed that was -very evident, for the water was pouring in--she had carried away her -stem, and started all the forward timber ends. - -To have attempted to stop the inrush of water effectually would have -been waste, of time, but I called to my men to come aft as far as they -could, so as to let the boat's head lift; and whilst two of them kept -on baling, the others shook out the reef in our lug, and the boat went -along at a great speed, half full of water as she was, and down by the -stern. The water still rushed in, and I told the Samoans to move the -baskets of heads farther aft, so that the men could bale out quicker. - -“We'll be all right in ten minutes, boys,” I cried to my men, as I -steered; “I'll run her slap up on the beach by the church.” - -Presently one of the Samoans touched my arm, and said in a whisper that -we were surrounded by a swarm of sharks. He had noticed them, he said, -before the boat struck. - -“They smell the bloodied water,” he muttered. - -A glance over the side filled me with terror. There were literally -scores of sharks, racing along on both sides of the boat, some almost on -the surface, others some feet down, and the phosphorescence of the water -added to the horror of the scene. At first I was in hopes that they were -harmless porpoises, but they were so close that some of them could have -been touched with one's hand. Most fortunately I was steering with a -rudder, and not a steer oar. The latter would have been torn out of my -hands by the brutes--the boat have broached-to and we all have met with -a horrible death. Presently one of the weeping women noticed them, and -uttered a scream of terror. - -“_Le malie, le malic!_” (“The sharks, the sharks!”) she cried. - -My crew then became terribly frightened, and urged me to let them throw -the baskets of heads overboard, but the Samoans became frantic at the -suggestion, all of them weeping. - -So we kept on, the boat making good progress, although we could only -keep her afloat by continuous baling of the ensanguined water. In five -minutes more my heart leapt with joy--we were in shallow water, only a -cable length from Salimu beach, and then in another blinding rain squall -we ran on shore, and our broken bows ploughed into the sand, amid the -cries of some hundreds of natives, many of whom held lighted torches. - -All of us in the boat were so overwrought that for some minutes we -were unable to speak, and it took a full bottle of brandy to steady the -nerves of my crew and myself. I shall never forget that night run across -Fâgaloa Bay. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV ~ A BIT OF GOOD LUCK - -Between the southern end of the great island of New Guinea and the -Solomon Group there is a cluster of islands marked on the chart as -“Woodlark Islands,” but the native name is Mayu. Practically they were -not discovered until 1836, when the master of the Sydney sandal-wooding -barque _Woodlark_ made a survey of the group. The southern part of the -cluster consists of a number of small well-wooded islands, all inhabited -by a race of Papuans, who, said Captain Grimes of the _Woodlark_, had -certainly never before seen a white man, although they had long years -before seen ships in the far distance. - -It was on these islands that I met with the most profitable bit of -trading that ever befel me during more than a quarter of a century's -experience in the South Seas. - -Nearly thirty years passed since Grimes's visit without the natives -seeing more than half a dozen ships. These were American or Hobart Town -whalers, and none of them came to an anchor--they laid off and on, -and bartered with the natives for fresh provisions, but from the many -inquiries I made, I am sure that no one from these ships put foot on -shore; for the inhabitants were not to be trusted, being warlike, savage -and treacherous. - -The master of one of these ships was told by the natives--or rather made -to understand, for no one of them knew a word of English--that about -twelve months previously a large vessel had run on shore one wild night -on the south side of the group and that all on board had perished. -Fourteen bodies had been washed on shore at a little island named Elaue, -all dreadfully battered about, and the ship herself had disappeared and -nothing remained of her but pieces of wreckage. She had evidently struck -on the reef near Elaue with tremendous violence, then slipped off and -sunk. The natives asked the captain to come on shore and be shown the -spot where the men had been buried, but he was too cautious a man to -trust himself among them. - -On his reporting the matter to the colonial shipping authorities at -Sydney, he learned that two vessels were missing--one a Dutch barque of -seven hundred tons which left Sydney for Dutch New Guinea, and the other -a full-rigged English ship bound to Shanghai. No tidings had been heard -of them for over eighteen months, and it was concluded that the vessel -lost on Woodlark Island was one or the other, as that island lay in the -course both would have taken. - -In 1868-69 there was a great outburst of trading operations in the -North-West Pacific Islands--then in most instances a _terra incognita_, -and there was a keen rivalry between the English and German trading -firms to get a footing on such new islands as promised them a lucrative -return for their ventures. Scores of adventurous white men lost their -lives in a few months, some by the deadly malarial fever, others by the -treacherous and cannibalistic savages. But others quickly took their -places--nothing daunted--for the coco-nut oil trade, the then staple -industry of the North-West Pacific, was very profitable and men made -fortunes rapidly. What mattered it if every returning ship brought news -of some bloody tragedy--such and such a brig or schooner having been cut -off and all hands murdered, cooked and eaten, the vessel plundered and -then burnt? Such things occur in the North-West Pacific in the present -times, but the outside world now hears of them through the press and -also of the punitive expeditions by war-ships of England, France or -Germany. - -Then in those old days we traders would merely say to one another that -“So-and-So 'had gone'”. He and his ship's company had been cut off at -such-and-such a place, and the matter, in the eager rush for wealth, -would be forgotten. - -At that time I was in Levuka--the old capital of Fiji--supercargo of a -little topsail schooner of seventy-five tons. She was owned and sailed -by a man named White, an extremely adventurous and daring fellow, though -very quiet--almost solemn--in his manner. - -We had been trading among the windward islands of the Fiji Group for six -months and had not done at all well. White was greatly dissatisfied and -wanted to break new ground. Every few weeks a vessel would sail into the -little port of Levuka with a valuable cargo of coco-nut oil in casks, -dunnaged with ivory-nuts, the latter worth in those days £40 a ton. And -both oil and ivory-nuts had been secured from the wild savages of -the North-West in exchange for rubbishy hoop-iron knives, old “Tower” - muskets with ball and cheap powder, common beads and other worthless -articles on which there was a profit of thousands per cent. (In fact, I -well remember one instance in which the master of the Sydney brig _E. -K. Bateson_, after four months' absence, returned with a cargo which was -sold for £5,000. His expenses (including the value of the trade goods he -had bartered) his crew's wages, provisions, and the wear and tear of the -ship's gear, came to under £400.) - -White, who was a very wide-awake energetic man, despite his solemnity, -one day came on board and told me that he had made up his mind to join -in the rush to the islands to the North-West between New Guinea and the -Solomons. - -“I have,” he said, “just been talking to the skipper of that French -missionary brig, the _Anonyme_. He has just come back from the -North-West, and told me that he had landed a French priest{*} at Mayu -(Woodlark Island). He--the priest--remained on shore some days to -establish a mission, and told Rabalau, the skipper of the brig, that the -natives were very friendly and said that they would be glad to have -a resident missionary, but that they wanted a trader still more. -Furthermore, they have been making oil for over a year in expectation of -a ship coming, but none had come. And Rabalau says that they have over a -hundred tuns of oil, and can't make any more as they have nothing to put -it in. Some of it is in old canoes, some in thousands of big bamboos, -and some in hollowed-out trees. And they have whips of ivory nuts and -are just dying to get muskets, tobacco and beads. And not a soul in -Levuka except Rabalau and I know it. You see, I lent him twenty bolts of -canvas and a lot of running gear last year, and now he wants to do me -a good turn. Now, I say that Woodlark is the place for us. Anyway, I've -bought all the oil casks I could get, and a lot more in shooks, and -so let us bustle and get ready to be out of this unholy Levuka at -daylight.” - - * This was Monseigneur d'Anthipelles the head of the Marist - Brothers in Oceania. - -***** - -We did “bustle”. In twenty-four hours we were clear of Levuka reef and -spinning along to the W.N. W. before the strong south-east trade, for -our run of 1,600 miles. 'Day and night the little schooner raced -over the seas at a great rate, and we made the passage in seven days, -dropping anchor off the largest village in the island--Guasap. - -In ten minutes our decks were literally packed with excited natives, all -armed, but friendly. Had they chosen to kill us and seize the -schooner, it would have been an easy task, for we numbered only eight -persons--captain, mate, bos'un, four native seamen, and myself. - -We learned from the natives that two months previously there had been a -terrible hurricane which lasted for three days and devastated two-thirds -of the islands. Thousands of coco-nut trees had been blown down, and the -sea had swept away many villages on the coast. So violent was the surf -that the wreck of the sunken ship on Elaue Island had been cast up in -fragments on the reef, and the natives had secured a quantity of iron -work, copper, and Muntz metal bolts. These articles I at once bargained -for, after I had seen the collection, and for two old Tower muskets, -value five shillings each, obtained the lot--worth £250. - -I had arranged with the chief and his head men to buy their oil in the -morning. And White and I found it hard to keep our countenances when -they joyfully accepted to fill every cask we had on the ship each for -twenty sticks of twist tobacco, a cupful of fine red beads and a fathom -of red Turkey twill! Or for five casks I would give a musket, a tin of -powder, twenty bullets, and twenty caps! - -In ten minutes I had secured eighty tuns of oil (worth £30 a tun) for -trade goods that cost White less than £20. And the beauty of it was that -the natives were so impressed by the liberality of my terms that they -said they would supply the ship with all the fresh provisions--pigs, -fowls, turtle and vegetables that I asked for, without payment. - -As White and I, after our palaver with the head men, were about to -return on board, we noticed two children who were wearing a number of -silver coins, strung on cinnet (coir) fibre, around their necks. We -called them to us, looked at the coins and found that they were rupees -and English five-shilling pieces. - -I asked one of our Fijian seamen, who acted as interpreter, to ask the -children from where they got the coins. - -“On the reef,” they replied, “there are thousands of them cast up with -the wreckage of the ship that sank a long time ago. Most of them are -like these”--showing a five-shilling piece; “but there are much more -smaller ones like these,”--showing a rupee. - -“Are there any _sama sama_ (yellow) ones?” I asked. - -No, they said, they had not found any _sama sama_ ones. But they could -bring me basketfuls of those like which they showed me. - -White's usually solemn eyes were now gleaming with excitement I drew him -and the Fiji man aside, and said to the latter quietly:-- - -“Sam, don't let these people think that these coins are of any more -value than the copper bolts. Tell them that for every one hundred pieces -they bring on board--no matter what size they may be--I will give them -a cupful of fine red beads--full measure. Or, if they do not care for -beads, I will give two sticks of tobacco, or a six-inch butcher knife of -good, hard steel.” - -(The three last words made White smile--and whisper to me, “'A good, -hard steal' some people would say--but not me”.) - -“And Sam,” I went on, “you shall have an _alofa_ (present) of two -hundred dollars if you manage this carefully, and don't let these people -think that we particularly care about these pieces of soft white metal. -We came to Mayu for oil--understand?” - -Sam did understand: and in a few minutes every boy and girl in Guasap -were out on the reef picking up the money. That day they brought us -over £200 in English and Indian silver, together with about £12 in Dutch -coins. (From this latter circumstance White and I concluded that the -wrecked vessel was the missing Dutch barque.) - -On the following morning the reef at low tide presented an extraordinary -spectacle. Every woman, boy and girl from Guasap and the adjacent -villages were searching for the coins, and their clamour was terrific. -Whilst all this was going on, White, and the mate, and crew were -receiving the oil from the shore, putting it into our casks, driving -the hoops, and stowing them in the hold, working in such a state of -suppressed excitement that we were unable to exchange a word with each -other, for as each cask was filled I, on the after-deck, paid for it, -shunted off the seller, and took another one in hand. - -At four o'clock in the afternoon we ceased work on board and went on -shore to “buy money”. - -The village square was crowded with women and children, every one of -whom had money--mostly in English five-shilling pieces. Some of these -coins were bent and twisted into the most curious shape, some were -imbedded in lumps of coral, and nearly all gave evidence of the terrific -fury of the seas which had cast them up upon the reef from a depth of -seven fathoms of water. Many were merely round lumps, having been rolled -over and over among the sand and coral. These I demurred to accepting -on the terms agreed upon for undamaged coins, and the natives cheerfully -agreed to my decision. - -That day we bought silver coin, damaged and undamaged, to the value of -£350, for trade goods worth about £17 or £18. - -And for the following two weeks, whilst White and our crew were -hammering and coopering away at the oil casks, and stowing them under -hatches, I was paying out the trade goods for the oil, and “buying -money”. - -We remained at Mayu for a month, until there was no more money to be -found--except a few coins (or rather what had once been coins); and then -with a ship full of oil, and with £2,100 worth of money, we left and -sailed for Sydney. - -White sold the money _en bloc_ to the Sydney mint for £1,850. The oil -realised £2,400, and the copper, etc., £250. My share came to over -£400--exclusive of four months' wages--making nearly £500. This was the -best bit of trading luck that I ever met with. - -I must add that even up to 1895 silver coins from the Dutch barque were -still being found by the natives of Woodlark Islands. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI ~ MODERN PIRATES - -Piracy, as most people are aware, is not yet quite extinct in Chinese -and East Indian waters, despite the efforts that have been made to -utterly stamp it out. But it is not generally known that along the -shores of Dutch New Guinea, on both sides of the great island, there are -still vigorous communities of native pirates, who will not hesitate to -attack even armed trading vessels. These savages combine the business -of head-hunting with piracy, and although they do not possess modern -firearms, and their crafts are simply huge canoes, they show the most -determined courage, even when attacking a vessel manned by Europeans. - -The annual reports of the Governors of Dutch, German and British New -Guinea, detailing the murderous doings of these head-hunting pirates, -are as interesting reading as the tales of Rajah Brooke and Stamford -Raffles, and the practical suppression of piracy in the East Indian -Archipelago, but seldom attract more than a few lines of comment in the -public press. - -In writing of pirates of the present day, I shall not go beyond my own -beat of the North and South Pacific, and speak only of events within my -own personal knowledge and observation. Before entering into an account -of some of the doings of the New Guinea “Tugeri,” or head-hunter -pirates, I shall tell the story of two notable acts of piracy committed -by white men in the South Pacific, less than ten years ago. The English -newspapers gave some attention to one case, for the two principal -criminals concerned were tried at Brest, and the case was known as the -“Rorique tragedy”. Much comment was made on the statement that the King -of the Belgians went to France, after the prisoners had been sentenced -to death (they were Belgian), to personally intercede for them. The -French press stigmatised His Majesty's action as a scandal (one journal -suggesting that perhaps the pirates were pretty women in men's garb); -but no doubt King Leopold is a very tender-hearted man, despite the -remarks of unkind English people on the subject of the eccentricities -of the Belgian officers in the Congo Free State--such as cutting off -the hands of a few thousands of stupid negroes who failed to bring -in sufficient rubber. There are even people who openly state that the -Sultan of Turkey dislikes Armenians, and has caused some of them to be -hurt. But I am getting away from my subject The story of the Roriques, -and the tragedy of the _Niuroahiti_ which was the name of the vessel -they seized, is one of the many grisly episodes with which the history -of the South Seas is so prolific. Briefly it is as follows:-- - -About the end of 1891 the two brothers arrived at Papeite, the capital -of Tahiti, from the Paumotu Group, where, it was subsequently learned, -they had been put on shore by the captain of an island trader, who -strongly suspected them of plotting with the crew to murder him and -seize the ship. Nothing of this incident, however, was known at Tahiti -among the white residents with whom they soon ingratiated themselves; -they were exceedingly agreeable-mannered men, and the elder brother, -who was a remarkably handsome man of about thirty-five, was an excellent -linguist, speaking German, French, Italian, English, Dutch, Spanish and -Zulu fluently. Although they had with them no property beyond firearms, -their _bonhomie_ and the generally accepted belief that they were men -of means, made them the recipients of much hospitality and kindness. -Eventually the younger man was given a position as a trader on one of -the pearl-shell lagoon islands in the Paumotu Group, while the other -took the berth of mate in the schooner _Niuroahiti_, a smart little -native-built vessel owned by a Tahitian prince. The schooner was under -the command of a half-caste, and her complement consisted, besides the -captain, of Mr. William Gibson, the supercargo, Rorique the first mate, -a second mate, four Society Island natives, and the cook, a Frenchman -named Hippolyte Miret. The _Niuroahiti_ traded between Tahiti and the -Paumotus, and when she sailed on her last voyage she was bound to the -Island of Kaukura, where the younger Rorique was stationed as trader. -She never returned, but it was ascertained that she had called at -Kaukura, and then left again with the second brother Rorique as -passenger. - -Long, long months passed, and the Australian relatives and friends of -young Gibson, a cheery, adventurous young fellow, began to think, with -the owner of the _Niuroakiti_, that she had met a fate common enough in -the South Sea trade--turned turtle in a squall, and gone to the bottom -with all hands. - -About this time I was on a trading cruise in the Caroline Islands, and -one day we spoke a Fiji schooner. I went on board for a chat with the -skipper, and told him of the _Niuroakiti_ affair, of which I had heard a -month before. - -“By Jove,” he exclaimed, “I met a schooner exactly like her about ten -days ago. She was going to the W.N.W.--Ponapê way--and showed French -colours. I bore up to speak her, but she evidently didn't want it, -hoisted her squaresail and stood away.” - -From this I was sure that the vessel was the _Niuroakiti_, and therefore -sent a letter to the Spanish governor at Ponapê, relating the affair. It -reached him just in time. - -The _Niuroakiti_ was then lying in Jakoits harbour in Ponapé, and was -to sail on the following day for Macao. She was promptly seized, and the -brothers Rorique put in irons, and taken on board the Spanish cruiser -_Le Gaspi_ for conveyance to Manila Hippolyte Miret, the cook, confessed -to the Spanish authorities that the brothers Rorique had shot dead -in their sleep the captain, Mr. Gibson, the second mate, and the four -native sailors. - -The trial was a long one, but the evidence was most damning and -convincing, although the brothers passionately declared that Miret's -story was a pure invention. Sentence of death was passed, but was -afterwards commuted to imprisonment for life, and the Roriques are now -in chains in Cayenne. - -The second case was of a very dreadful character, and has an additional -interest from the fact that out of all the participators--the pirates -and their victims--only one was left alive to tell the tale, and he was -found in a dying condition on one of the Galapagos Islands, and only -lived a few days. The story was told to me by the captain of the -brigantine _Isaac Revels_, of San Francisco, who put into the Galapagos -to repair his ship, which had started a butt-end and was leaking -seriously. He had just anchored between Narborough and Albemarle Islands -when he saw a man sitting on the shore, and waving his hands to the -ship. A boat was lowered, and the man brought on board. He was in a -ravenous state of hunger, and half-demented; but after he had been -carefully attended to he was able to give some account of himself. -He was a young Colombian Indian, could speak no English, and only a -mongrel, halting kind of Spanish. The Portuguese cook of the Isaac -Revels, however, understood him. This was his story:-- - -He was one of the peons of a wealthy Ecuadorian gentleman, who with -another equally rich friend sailed from Guayaquil for the Galapagos -Islands (which belong to Ecuador), and the largest of which, -Albemarle Island, they had leased from that Government for sheep and -cattle-breeding. They took with them a few thousand silver dollars, -which the peon saw placed in “an iron box” (safe). - -One of the merchants had with him his two young daughters. The vessel -was a small brig, and the captain and crew mostly Chilenos. One night, -when the brig was half-way across to the Galapagos (600 miles from -Ecuador) the peon, who was on deck asleep, was suddenly seized, pitched -down into the fo'c'stle, and the scuttle closed. Here he was left alone -until dawn, and then ordered on deck, aft. The captain pointed a pistol -at his head, and threatened to shoot him dead if he ever spoke of what -had happened in the night. The man--although he knew nothing of what had -happened--promised to be secret, and was then given fifty dollars, and -put in the mate's watch. He saw numerous blood-stains on the after-deck, -and soon after was told by one of the hands that all the four passengers -had been murdered, and thrown overboard. The captain, mate and four men, -it appeared, had first made ready a boat, provisioned, and lowered it. -They made some noise, which aroused the male passengers, one of whom -came on deck to see what was the matter. He was at once seized, but -being a very powerful man, made a most determined fight. His friend -rushed up from below with a revolver in his hand, and shot two of the -assailants dead, and wounded the mate. But they were assailed on -all sides--shot at and struck with various weapons, and then thrown -overboard to drown. Then the pirates, after a hurried consultation, went -below, and forcing open the girls' cabin door, ruthlessly shot them, -carried them on deck, and cast them over the side. It had been their -intention to have sent all four away in the boat, but the resistance -made so enraged them that they murdered them instead. - -For some days the pirates kept on a due west course towards the -Galapagos. A barrel of spirits was broached, and night and day captain -and crew were drunk. When Albemarle Island was sighted, every one -except the peon and a boy was more or less intoxicated. A boat had been -lowered, and was towing astern--for what purpose the peon did not -know. At night it fell a dead calm, and a strong current set the brig -dangerously close in shore. The captain ordered some of the hands -into her to tow the brig out of danger; they refused, and shots were -exchanged, but after a while peace was restored. The peon and the boy -were then told to get into the boat, and bale her out, as she was leaky. -They did so, and whilst so engaged a sudden squall struck the brig, and -the boat's towline either parted, or was purposely cast off. - -When the squall cleared, the peon and boy in the drifting boat could -see nothing whatever of the brig--she had probably capsized--and the two -unfortunate beings soon after daylight found themselves so close to -the breakers on Narborough Island that they were unable to pull her -clear--she being very heavy. She soon struck, and was rolled over and -over, and the Chileno boy drowned. The peon also received internal -injuries, but managed to reach the shore. - -The people on board the _Isaac Revels_ did all they could for the poor -fellow, but he only survived a few days. - -In another article in this volume I have told of my fruitless efforts to -induce some of the Rook Island cannibals to “recruit” with me. It was on -that voyage I first saw a party of New Guinea head-hunting pirates, and -I shall never forget the experience. - -After leaving Rook Island, we stood over to the coast of German New -Guinea, and sailed along it for three hundred miles to the Dutch -boundary (longitude 141 east of Greenwich) for we were in hopes of -getting a full cargo of native labourers from some of the many islands -which stud the coast. No other “labour” ship had ever been so far north, -and Morel (the skipper) and I were keenly anxious to find a new ground. -We had a fine vessel, with a high freeboard, a well-armed and splendid -crew, and had no fear of being cut off by the natives. (I may here -mention that I was grievously disappointed, for owing to the lack of -a competent interpreter I failed to get a single recruit. But in other -respects the voyage was a success, for I did some very satisfactory -trading business) - -After visiting many of the islands, we anchored in what is now named -in the German charts Krauel Bay, on the mainland. There were a few -scattered villages on the shore, and some of the natives boarded us. -They were all well-armed, with their usual weapons, but were very shy, -distrustful and nervous. - -Early one morning five large canoes appeared in the offing--evidently -having come from the Schouten Islands group, about ten miles to the -eastward. The moment they were seen by the natives on shore, the -villages were abandoned, and the people fled into the bush. - -In a most gallant style the five canoes came straight into the bay, and -brought-to within a few hundred fathoms of our ship, and the first thing -we noticed was a number of decapitated heads hanging over the sides of -each craft, as boat-fenders are hung over the gunwale of a boat. This -was intended to impress the White Men. - -We certainly were impressed, but were yet quite ready to make short work -of our visitors if they attempted mischief. Our ship's high freeboard -alone would have made it very difficult for them to rush us, and the -crew were so well-armed that, although we numbered but twenty-eight, we -could have wiped out over five hundred possible assailants with ease had -they attempted to board and capture the ship. - -Some of the leaders of this party of pirates came on board our vessel, -and Morel and I soon established very friendly relations with them. They -told us that they had been two months out from their own territory (in -Dutch New Guinea) had raided over thirty villages, and taken two hundred -and fifteen heads, and were now returning home--well satisfied. - -Morel and I went on board one of the great canoes, and were received in -a very friendly manner, and shown many heads--some partly dried, some -too fresh, and unpleasant-looking. - -These head-hunting pirates were not cannibals, and behaved in an -extremely decorous manner when they visited our ship. A finer, more -stalwart, proud, self-possessed, and dignified lot of savages--if they -could be so termed--I had never before seen. - -They left Krauel bay two days later, without interfering with the people -on shore, and Morel and I shook hands, and rubbed noses with the leading -head-hunters, when we said farewell. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII ~ PAUTÔE - -“Please, good White Man, wilt have me for _tavini_ (servant)?” - -Marsh, the trader, and the Reverend Harry Copley, the resident -missionary on Motumoe, first looked at the speaker, then at each other, -and then laughed hilariously. - -A native girl, about thirteen years of age, was standing in the trader's -doorway, clad only in a girdle of many-hued dracaena leaves. Her long, -glossy black hair fell about her smooth red-brown shoulders like -a mantle, and her big, deer-like eyes were filled with an eager -expectancy. - -“Come hither, Pautôe,” said the missionary, speaking to the girl in the -bastard Samoan dialect of the island. “And so thou dost want to become -servant to Marsi?” - -Pautôe's eyes sparkled. - -“Aye,” she replied, “I would be second _tavini_ to him. No wages do I -want, only let him give me my food, and a mat upon which to sleep, and I -shall do much work for him--truly, much work.” - -The missionary drew her to him and patted her shoulder. - -“Dost like sardines, Pautôe?” - -She clasped her hands over her bosom, and looked at him demurely from -underneath her beautiful long-lashed eyes, and then her red lips parted -and she showed her even, pearly teeth as she smiled. - -“Give her a tin of sardines, and a biscuit or two, Marsh,” said the -parson, “she's one of my pupils at the Mission House. You remember Bret -Harte's story, _The Right Eye of the Spanish Commander_, and the little -Indian maid Paquita? Well, this youngster is my Paquita. She's a most -intelligent girl.” He paused a moment and then added regretfully: -“Unfortunately my wife dislikes her intensely--thinks she's too forward. -As a matter of fact a more lovable child never breathed.” - -Marsh nodded. He was not surprised at Mrs. Copley disliking the child, -for she--a thin, sharp-vis-aged and austere lady of forty years of -age--was childless, and older than her cheerful, kind-hearted husband -by twelve years. The natives bore her no love, and had given her the -contemptuous nickname of _Le Matua moa e le fua_--“the eggless old -hen”. - -Marsh himself told me this story. He and I had been shipmates together -in many cruises until he tired of the sea, and, having saved a little -money, started business as a trader among the Equatorial Islands--and I -lost a good comrade and friend. - -“I wish you would take the child, Marsh,” said the missionary presently. -“She is an orphan, and----” - -“I'll take her, of course. She can help Leota, I daresay, and I'll -give her a few dollars a month. But why isn't she dressed in the usual -flaming style of your other pupils--skirt, blouse, brown paper-soled -boots, and a sixpenny poke bonnet with artificial flowers, and -otherwise made up as one of the 'brands plucked from the burning' whose -photographs glorify the parish magazines in the old country?” - -Copley's blue-grey eyes twinkled. “Ah, that's the rub with my wife. -Pautôe won't 'put 'em on'. She is not a native of this island, as you -can no doubt see. Look at her now--almost straight nose, but Semitic, -thin nostrils, long silky hair, small hands and feet. Where do you think -she hails from?” - -“Somewhere to the eastward--Marquesas Group, perhaps.” - -“That is my idea, too. Do you know her story?” - -“No. Who is she?” - -“Ah, that no one knows. Early one morning twelve or thirteen years -ago--long before I came here--the natives saw a small topsail-schooner -becalmed off the island. Several canoes put off, and the people, as -they drew near the vessel, were surprised and alarmed to see a number of -armed men on deck, one of whom hailed them, and told them not to come -on board, but that one canoe only might come alongside. But the natives -hesitated, till the man stooped down and then held up a baby girl about -a year old, and said:-- - -“'If you will take this child on shore and care for it I will give you a -case of tobacco, a bag of bullets, two muskets and a keg of powder, -some knives, axes and two fifty-pound tins of ship biscuit. The child's -mother is dead, and there is no woman on board to care for it.' - -“For humanity's sake alone the natives would have taken the infant, -and said so, but at the same time they did not refuse the offer of the -presents. So one of the canoes went alongside, the babe was passed down, -and then the presents. Then the people were told to shove off. A few -hours later a breeze sprang up, and the schooner stood away to the -westward. That was how the youngster came here.” - -“I wonder what had occurred?” - -“A tragedy of some sort--piracy and murder most likely. One of the -natives named Rahili who went out to the vessel, was an ex-sailor, who -spoke and could also read and write English well, and he noticed that -although the schooner was much weather-worn as if she had been a long -while at sea, there was a newly-painted name on her stern--_Meta_. -That in itself was suspicious. I sent an account of the affair to the -colonial papers, but nothing was known of any vessel named the _Meta_. -Since then the child had lived first with one family, and then another. -As I have said, she is extremely intelligent, but has a curiously -independent spirit--'refractory' my wife calls it--and does not -associate with the other native girls. One day, not long ago, she got -into serious trouble through her temper getting the better of her. -Lisa, my native assistant's daughter is, as I daresay you know, a very -conceited, domineering young lady, and puts on very grand airs--all -these native teachers and their wives and daughters are alike with -regard to the 'side' they put on--and my wife has made so much of her -that the girl has become a perfect female prig. Well, it seems that -Pautôe refused to attend my wife's sewing class (which Lisa bosses) -saying that she was going out on the reef to get crayfish. Thereupon -Lisa called her a _laakau tafea_ (a log of wood that had drifted on -shore) and Pautôe, resenting the insult and the jeers and laughter -of the other children, seized Mademoiselle Lisa by the hair, tore her -blouse off her and called her 'a fat-faced, pig-eyed monster'.” - -Marsh laughed. “Description terse, but correct.” - -“The deacons expelled her from school, and ordered her a whipping, but -the chief and I interfered, and stopped it.” - -The trader nodded approval. “Of course you did, Copley; just what -any one who knows you would expect you to do. But although I am quite -willing to give the child a home, I can't be a schoolmaster to her.” - -“Of course not. You are doing more than any other man would do for her.” - -Twelve months had passed, and Marsh had never had reason to regret his -kindness to the orphan. To him she was wonderfully gentle and obedient, -and from the very first had acceded to his wish to dress herself in -semi-European fashion. The trader's household consisted of himself and -his two servants, a Samoan man named Âli (Harry) and his wife, Leota. -For some years they had followed his fortunes as a trader in the South -Seas, and both were intensely devoted to him. A childless couple, Marsh -at first had feared that they would resent the intrusion of Pautôe into -his home. But he was mistaken; for both Âli and Leota had but one motive -for existence, and that was to please him--the now grown man, who eleven -years before, when he was a mere youth, had run away from his ship in -Samoa, and they had hidden him from pursuit. And then when “Tikki” (Dick) -Marsh, by his industrious habits, was enabled to begin life as a trader, -they had come with him, sharing his good and his bad luck with him, and -serving him loyally and devotedly in his wanderings throughout the Isles -of the Pacific. So, when Pautôe came they took her to themselves as -a matter of duty; then, as they began to know the girl, and saw the -intense admiration she had for Marsh, they loved her, and took her deep -into their warm hearts. And Pautôe would sometimes tell them that she -knew not whom she loved most--“Tikki” or themselves. - -Matters, from a business point of view, had not for two years prospered -with Marsh on Motumoe. Successive seasons of drought had destroyed the -cocoanut crop, and so one day he told Copley, who keenly sympathised -with him, that he must leave the island. This was a twelvemonth after -Pautôe had come to stay with him. - -“I shall miss you very much, Marsh,” said the missionary, “miss you more -than you can imagine. My monthly visits to you here have been a great -solace and pleasure to me. I have often wished that, instead of being -thirty miles apart, we were but two or three, so that I could have come -and seen you every few days.” - -Then he added: “Poor little Pautôe will break her heart over your going -away”. - -“But I have no intention of leaving her behind, Copley. I am not so hard -pressed that I cannot keep the youngster. I am thinking of putting her -to school in Samoa for a few years.” - -“That is very generous of you, Marsh. I would have much liked to have -taken her into my own house, but--my wife, you know.” - -Two weeks later Marsh left the island in an American whaleship, which -was to touch at Samoa. There he intended to buy a small cutter, and then -proceed to the Western Pacific, where he hoped to better his fortunes -by trading throughout the various islands of the wild New Hebrides and -Solomon Groups. - -During the voyage to Samoa he one day asked Pautôe if she would not like -to go to school in Samoa with white and half-caste girls, some of her -own age, and others older. - -Such an extraordinary change came over the poor child's face that Marsh -was astounded. For some seconds she did not speak, but breathed quickly -and spasmodically as if she were physically exhausted, then her whole -frame trembled violently. Then a sob broke from her. - -“Be not angry with me, Tikki,... but I would rather die than stay in -Samoa,... away from thee and Ali and Leota. Oh, master----” she ceased -speaking and sobbed so unrestrainedly that Marsh was moved. He waited -till she had somewhat calmed herself, and then said gravely:-- - -“'Twill be a great thing for thee, Pautôe, this school. Thou wilt be -taught much that is good, and the English lady who has the school will -be kind----” - -“Nay, nay, Tikki,” she cried brokenly, “send me not away, I beseech -thee. Let me go with thee, and Âli and Leota, to those new, wild lands. -Oh, cast me not away from thee. Where thou goest, let me go.” - -Marsh smiled. “Thou art another Ruth, little one. In such words did Ruth -speak to Naomi when she went to another country. Dost know the story?” - -“Aye, I know the story, and I have no fear of wild lands. Only have I -fear of seeing no more all those I love if thou dost leave me to die in -Samoa.” - -Again the trader smiled as he bade her dry her tears. - -“Thou shalt come with us, little one Now, go tell Leota.” - -For many months Marsh remained in Apia, unable to find a suitable -vessel. Then, not caring to remain in such a noisy and expensive -port--he rented a native house at a charmingly situated village called -Laulii, about ten miles from Apia, and standing at the head of a tiny -bay, almost landlocked by verdant hills. So much was he pleased with the -place, that he half formed a resolution to settle there permanently, or -at least for a year or two. - -Âli and Leota were delighted to learn this, for although they were -willing to go anywhere in the world with their beloved “Tikki,” they, -like all Samoans, were passionately fond of their own beautiful land, -with its lofty mountains and forests, and clear running streams. - -And Pautôe, too, was intensely happy, for to her Samoa was a dream-land -of light and beauty. Never before had she seen mountains, except in -pictures shown her by Mr. Copley or Marsh, and never before had she -seen a stream of running water. For Motumoe, where she had lived all -her young life, was an atoll--low, flat, and sandy, and although densely -covered with coco palms, there were but few other trees of any height. -And now, in Samoa, she was never tired of wandering alone in the deep, -silent forest, treading with ecstasy the thick carpet of fallen leaves, -gazing upwards at the canopy of branches, and listening with a thrilled -delight to the booming notes of the great blue-plumaged, red-breasted -pigeons, and the plaintive answering cries of the ring-doves. Then, too, -in the forest at the back of the village were ruins of ancient dwellings -of stone, build by hands unknown, preserved from decay by a binding -net-work of ivy-like creepers and vines, and the haunt and resting-place -of the wild boar and his mate, and their savage, quick-footed progeny. -And sometimes she would hear the shrill, cackling scream of a wild -mountain cock, and see the great, fierce-eyed bird, half-running, -half-flying over the leaf-strewn ground. And to her the forest became a -deep and holy mystery, to adore and to love. - -Quite near to Laulii was another village--Lautonga, in which there lived -a young American trader named Lester Meredith--like Marsh, an ex-sailor. -He was an extremely reserved, quiet man, but he and Marsh soon became -friends, and they exchanged almost daily visits. Meredith, like Marsh, -was an unmarried man, and one day the local chief of the district -jocularly reproached them. - -“Thou, Tikki, art near to two-score years, and yet hast no wife, and -thou, Lesta, art one score and five and yet live alone. Why is it so? Ye -are both fine, handsome men, and pleasing to the eyes of women.” - -Marsh laughed. “O Tofia, thou would-be matchmaker! I am no marrying man. -Once, indeed, I gave my heart to a woman in mine own country of England, -but although she loved me, her people were both rich and proud, and I -was poor. So she became wife to another man.” - -Pautôe, who was listening intently to the men's talk, set her white -teeth, and clenched her shapely little hands, and then said slowly:-- - -“Didst kill the other man, Tikki?” - -Marsh and Meredith both laughed, and the former shook his head, and then -Tofia turned to Meredith:-- - -“Lesta, hast never thought of Maliea, the daughter of Tonu? There is no -handsomer girl in Samoa, and she is of good family. And she would like -to marry thee.” - -Meredith smiled, and then said jestingly, “Nay, Tofia, I care not for -Maliea. I shall wait for Pautôe. Wilt have me, little one?” - -The girl looked at him steadily, and then answered gravely:-- - -“Aye, if Tikki is willing that I should. But yet I will not be separated -from him.” - -“Then you and I will have to become partners, Meredith,” said Marsh, his -eyes twinkling with amusement. - -A few days after this Meredith returned from a visit to Apia. - -“Marsh,” he said to his friend, “I think it would be a good thing for us -both if we really did go into partnership, and put our little capitals -together. Are you so disposed?” - -“Quite. There is nothing I should like better.” - -“Good. Well, now I have some news. I have just been looking at a little -schooner in Apia harbour. She arrived a few days ago, leaking, and -the owner will sell her for $ 1,800. She will suit us very well. I -overhauled her, and except that she is old and leaks badly, from having -been ashore, she is well worth the money. You and I can easily put her -on the beach here, get at the leak, and recopper her at a cost of a few -hundred dollars. We can have her ready for sea in three weeks. You, Âli -and myself can do all the work ourselves.” - -Marsh was delighted, and in less than an hour the two men, accompanied -by Âli and Tofia, were on the way to Apia, much to the wonder of Leota -and Pautôe, who were not then let into the secret--the newly-made -partners intending to give them a pleasant surprise. - -On boarding the little craft, Marsh was much pleased with her, and -during the day the business of transferring the vessel to her new owners -was completed at the American Consulate, the money paid over, and the -partners put in possession. - -The same evening, Âli, a splendid diver, succeeded in finding and partly -stopping the main leak, which was on the bilge on the port side, and -preparations were made to sail early in the morning for Laulii. - -The partners were seated in the little cabin, smoking, and talking over -their plans for the future, when the former master and owner of the -schooner came on board to see, as he said, “how they were getting on”. - -He was a good-natured, intelligent old man, and had had a life-long -experience in the South Seas. By birth he was a Genoese, but he was -intensely proud of being a naturalised British subject, and, from his -youth, having sailed under the red ensign of Old England. Marsh and -Meredith made him very welcome, and he, being mightily pleased at having -sold _The Dove_ (as the schooner was called), and also having dined -exceedingly well at the one hotel then in Apia, became very talkative. - -“I can tell you, gentlemen, that _The Dove_, although she is not a new -ship, is as strong and sound as if she were only just built. I have had -her now for nearly thirteen years, and have made my little fortune by -her, and I could kiss her, from the end of her jibboom to the upper -rudder gudgeon. But I am an old man now, and want to go back to my own -country to die among my people--or else”--and here he twisted his long -moustaches and laughed hilariously--“settle down in England, and become -a grand man like old General Rosas of South America, and die pious, and -have a bishop and a mile-long procession at my funeral.” - -The partners joined the old sailor in his laugh, and then Marsh said -casually, and to make conversation:-- - -“By-the-way, Captain, where did you buy _The Dove?_” - -“I didn't buy her, my bold breezy lads. And I didn't steal her, as many -a ship is stolen in the South Seas. I came by her honestly enough.” - -“A present?” said Meredith interrogatively. - -“Wrong, my lad--neither was she a present” Then the ancient squared -his broad shoulders, helped himself to some refreshment (more than was -needed for his good) and clapping Marsh on the shoulder, said: “I'll -tell you the yarn, my lads--for you are only lads, aren't you? Well, -here it is:-- - -“About twelve or thirteen years ago I was mate of a San Francisco -trading brig, the _Lola Montez_, and one afternoon, when we were running -down the east coast of New Caledonia, we sighted a vessel drifting in -shore--this very same schooner. The skipper of the brig sent me with a -boat's crew to take possession of her--for we could see that no one was -on board. - -“I boarded her and found that her decks had been swept by a heavy -sea--which, I suppose, had carried away every one on board. I overhauled -the cabin, but could not find her papers, but her name was on the -stern--_Meta_.” - -Marsh started, and was about to speak, but the old skipper went on:-- - -“During the night heavy weather came on, and the _Lola Montez_ and the -_Meta_ parted company. The _Lola_ was never heard of again--she was old -and as rotten as an over-ripe pear, and I suppose her seams opened, and -she went down. - -“So I stuck to the _Meta_ brought her to Sydney, and re-named her _The -Dove_. And she's a bully little ship, I can tell you. I think that she -was built in the Marquesas Islands, for all her knees and stringers are -of _ngiia_ wood (_lignum vitae_) cut in the Marquesan fashion, and -set so closely together that any one would think she was meant for a -Greenland whaler. Then there is another thing about her that you will -notice, and which makes me feel sure that she was built by a whaleman, -and that is the carvings of whales on each end of the windlass barrel, -and on every deck stanchion there are the same, although you can hardly -see them now--they are so much covered up by yearly coatings of paint -for over a dozen years.” - -Meredith rose suddenly from his seat. “You'll excuse me, but I feel -tired, and must turn in.” The visitor took the hint, and did not stay. -Wishing the partners good luck, he got into his boat, and pushed off for -the shore. Then Meredith turned to Marsh, and said quietly:--“Marsh, I -know that you can trust Âli, but what of Tofia?” - -“He's all right, I think. But what is the matter?” “I'll let you know -presently. But first tell Tofia that he had better go on shore to -sleep. You and I are going to have a quiet talk, and then do a little -overhauling of this cabin.” - -Wondering what possibly was afoot, Marsh got rid of the friendly chief -by asking him to go on shore and buy some fresh provisions, but not to -trouble about bringing them off until daylight, as he and his partner -were tired, and wanted to turn in. - -Leaving Âli on deck to keep watch, the two men went below, and sat down -at the cabin table. - -“Marsh,” began the young American, “I have a mighty queer yarn to tell -you--I know that this schooner, once the _Meta_, and now _The Dove_, was -originally the _Juliette_, and was built by my father at Nukahiva in the -Marquesas. Now, I'll get through the story as quickly as possible, but -as I don't want to be interrupted I'll ask Âli not to let any chance -visitor come aboard to-night.” - -He went on deck, and on returning first filled and lit his pipe in his -cool, leisurely manner, and resumed his story. - -“My father, as I one day told you, was a whaling skipper, and was lost -at sea about thirteen years ago--that is all I ever did say about him, I -think. He was a hard old man, and there was no love between us, so that -is why I have not spoken of him. He used me very roughly, and when -my mother died I left him after a stormy scene. That was eighteen or -nineteen years ago, and I never saw him again. - -“When my poor mother died, he sold his ship and went to the Marquesas -Islands, and opened a business there as a trader. He had made a lot of -money at sperm whaling; and, I suppose, thought that as I had left him, -swearing I never wished to see him again, that he would spend the rest -of his days in the South Seas--money grubbing to the last. - -“Sometimes I heard of him as being very prosperous. Once, when I was -told that he had been badly hurt by a gun accident, I wrote to him and -asked if he would care for me to come and stay with him. This I did for -the sake of my dead mother. Nearly a year and a half passed before I got -an answer--an answer that cut me to the quick:-- - -“'I want no undutiful son near me. I do well by myself'. - -“Several years went by, and then when I was mate of a trading schooner -in the Fijis I was handed a letter by the American Consul. It was two -years old, and was from my father--a long, long letter, written in such -a kindly manner, and with such affectionate expressions that I forgave -the old man all the savage and unmerited thrashings he had given me when -I sailed with him as a lad. - -“In this letter he told me that he wanted to see me again--that made -me feel good--and that he had built a schooner which he had named -_Juliette_ after my mother, who was a French _Canadienne_. He described -the labour and trouble he had taken over her, the knees and stringers -of _ngiia_ wood, and the carvings of sperm whales he had had cut on the -windlass butts and stanchions. Then he went on to say that he had been -having a lot of trouble with the French naval authorities, who wanted to -drive all Englishmen and Americans out of the group, and had made up -his mind to leave the Marquesas and settle down again either in Samoa or -Tonga, where he hoped I would join him and forget how hardly he had used -me in the past. - -“The gun accident, he wrote, had rendered him all but blind, and he -had engaged a man named Krause, a German, as mate, and to navigate the -_Juliette_ to Tonga or Samoa. Krause, he said, was a man he did not -like, nor trust; but as he was a good sailor-man and could navigate, he -had engaged him, as he could get no one else at Nukahiva. - -“With my father were a party of Marquesan natives--a chief and his -wife and her infant, and two young men. The schooner's crew were four -Dagoes--deserters from some ship. He did not care about taking them, but -had no choice. - -“Some ten days before the German and the crew came on board, my father -secretly took all his money--$8,000 in gold--and, aided by the Marquesan -chief, made a secure hiding-place for it by removing the skin in the -transoms, and then packing it in oakum and wedging each package in -between the timbers. Then he carefully relaid the skin, and repainted -the whole. He said, 'If anything happens to me through treachery, no -one will ever discover that money, although they will get a couple of -thousand of Mexican silver dollars in my chest'. - -“Well, the _Juliette_ sailed, and was never again heard of. - -“That brings my story to an end, and if this is the _Juliette_, and the -money has not been taken, it is within six feet of us--there,” and he -pointed calmly to the transoms. - -Marsh was greatly excited. - -“We shall soon see, Meredith. But first let me say that I am sure that -this is your father's missing schooner, and that she is the vessel that -thirteen years ago called at Motumoe, and those who sailed her sent -Pautôe on shore when she was an infant.” - -Then he hurriedly related the story as told to him by Mr. Copley. - -Meredith nodded. “No doubt the missionary was right and my father's -fears were well-founded. I suppose the German and the Dagoes murdered -him and the four Marquesans. Krause, of course, would know that my poor -father had money on board. And I daresay that the Dagoes spared the -child out of piety--their Holy Roman consciences wouldn't let 'em cut -the throat of a probably unbaptised child. Now, Marsh, if you'll clear -away the cushions and all the other gear from the transoms, I'll get an -auger and an axe, and we'll investigate.” - -Rising from his seat in his usual leisurely manner, he went on deck, and -returned in a few minutes with a couple of augers, an axe, two wedges, -and a heavy hammer. - -Marsh had cleared away the cushions and some boxes of provisions, and -was eagerly awaiting him. - -Meredith, first of all, took the axe, and, with the back of the head, -struck the casing of the transoms. - -“It's all right, Marsh. Either the money, or something else is there -right enough, I believe. Bore away on your side.” - -The two augers were quickly biting away through the hard wood of the -casing, and in less than two minutes Marsh felt the point of his break -through the inner skin, and then enter something soft; then it clogged, -and finally stuck. Reversing the auger, he withdrew it, and saw that on -the end were some threads of oakum and canvas, which he excitedly showed -to his partner, who nodded, and went on boring in an unmoved manner, -until the point of his auger penetrated the planking, stuck, and then -came a sound of it striking loose metal. The wedges were then driven in -between the planking, and one strip prised off, and there before them -was the money in small canvas bags, each bag parcelled round with oakum, -which was also packed tightly between the skin and timbers, forming a -compact mass. - -Removing one bag only, Marsh placed it aside, then they replaced the -plank, plugged the auger holes, and hid the marks from view by stacking -the provision cases along the transoms. - -Âli was called below, and told of the discovery. He, of course, was -highly delighted, and his eyes gleamed when Meredith unfastened the bag, -and poured out a stream of gold coin upon the cabin table. - -That night the partners did not sleep. They talked over their plans for -the future, and decided to take the schooner to San Francisco, sell -her, and buy a larger vessel and a cargo of trade goods. Meredith was to -command, and Tahiti in the Society Group was to be their headquarters. -Here Marsh (with the faithful Âli and Leota, and, of course, Pautôe) was -to buy land and form a trading station, whilst the vessel was to cruise -throughout the South Seas, trading for oil, pearl-shell and other island -produce. - -Soon after daylight the anchor of the _Juliette_ was lifted and -she sailed out of Apia harbour, and by noon, Leota and Pautôe were -astonished to see the little craft bring-to abreast of Laulii village, -and Marsh and Meredith come on shore. - -Later on in the day, when the house was free of the kindly, but somewhat -intrusive native visitors, the partners told the strange story of the -_Juliette_ to Leota and Pautôe, and of their plans for the future. - -“Pautôe,” said Meredith, “in three years' time will you marry me, and -sail with me in the new ship?” - -“Aye, that will I, Lesta. Did I not say so before?” - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII ~ THE MAN WHO KNEW EVERYTHING - -The Man Who Knew Everything came to Samoa in November, when dark days -were on the land, and the nearing Christmas time seemed likely to be -as that of the preceding one, when burning villages and the crackle -of musketry, and the battle cries of opposing factions, engaged in -slaughtering one another, turned the once restful and beautiful Samoa -into a hell of evil passions, misery and suffering. For the poor King -Malietoa was making a game fight with his scanty and ill-armed troops -against the better-armed rebel forces, who were supplied, _sub rosa_, -with all the arms and ammunition they desired by the German commercial -agents of Bismarck, who had impressed upon that statesman the necessity -of making Samoa the base of German trading enterprise in the South Seas -by stirring up rebellion throughout the group to such an extent that -Germany, under the plea of humanity, would intervene--buy out the -British and American interests, and force the natives to accept a German -protectorate. - -At this time the white population of Apia numbered about two hundred, -of whom one half were Germans--the rest were principally English and -Americans. For two years past a very bitter feeling had existed between -the staff of the great German trading firm, and the British and American -community. The latter had their places of business in Apia, and the -suburb of Matautu, the Germans occupied the suburb of Matafele, and -although there was a business intercourse between the people of the -three nationalities, there was absolutely none of a social character. -The British and American traders and residents were supporters of -King Malietoa, the Germans backed up the rebel party, and the natives -themselves were equally divided into pro-British, and pro-Germans. - -At this time--when the Man Who Knew Everything arrived in Samoa from New -Zealand--I was living on shore. The vessel in which I was employed as -“recruiter” in the Kanaka labour trade was laid up in Apia harbour. Two -months previously we had brought a cargo of native labourers from the -Gilbert Islands to be indentured to the cotton planters in Samoa, and -finding the country in such a disturbed state, with business paralysed, -and no further demand for a fresh cargo of Kanaka “recruits,” we decided -to pay off most of the ship's company, and let the brigantine lie -up till the end of the rainy and bad weather season--from the end of -November till March, The skipper and a few of the native crew remained -on board, but I took up my quarters on shore, at a little Samoan village -named Lelepa--two miles from Apia. Here I was the “paying guest” of our -boatswain--a stalwart native of the island of Rarotonga. He had sailed -with me on several vessels during a period of some years; and on one of -our visits to Apia had married a Samoan girl of a good family. - -Having much spare time on my hands I occupied it in deep-sea fishing and -shooting, and in making boat voyages along the coast, visiting a number -of native villages, where I was well-known to the people, who always -made me and my boat's crew very welcome--for the Samoans are naturally a -most hospitable race, and love visiting and social intercourse. On these -excursions Marama (the native boatswain) and some other of the ship's -crew sometimes came with me; on other occasions my party would be made -up of the two half-caste sons of the American Consul, two or three -Samoans and myself. - -Towards the end of November there arrived from Auckland (N.Z.) -the trading schooner _Dauntless_. She brought one passenger whose -acquaintance I soon made, and whom I will call Marchmont. He was a fine, -well-set-up young fellow of about five and twenty years of age, and I -was delighted to find that he was a good all-round sportsman--I could -never induce any of the white traders or merchants of Apia to join me in -any of my many delightful trips. Marchmont was making a tour through -the Pacific Islands, partly on business, and partly on pleasure. He -was visiting the various groups on behalf of a Liverpool firm, who were -buying up land suitable for cotton-growing, and was to spend two months -in Samoa. - -He and I soon made arrangements for a series of fishing and shooting -trips along the south coast of Upolu, where the country was quiet, -and as yet undisturbed by the war. But, although Marchmont was a most -estimable and companionable man in many respects, he had some serious -defects in his character, which, from a sportsman's point of view, were -most objectionable, and were soon to bring him into trouble. One was -that he was most intensely self-opinionated, and angrily resented being -contradicted--even when he knew he was in the wrong; another was his bad -temper--whenever he did anything particularly foolish he would not stand -a little good-natured “chaff”--he either flew into a violent rage and -“said things” or sulked like a boy of ten years of age. Then, too, -another regrettable feature about him was the fact that he, being a -young man of wealth, had the idea that he should always be deferred -to, never argued with upon any subject, and his advice sought upon -everything pertaining to sport. These unpromising traits in his -character soon got him into hot water, and before he had been a week in -Samoa he was nicknamed by both whites and natives “Misi Ulu Poto--mâsani -mea uma,”--“Mr. Wise Head--the Man Who Knows Everything”. The term -stuck--and Marchmont took it quite seriously, as a well-deserved -compliment to his abilities. - -My new acquaintance, I must mention, had a most extensive and costly -sporting outfit--all of it was certainly good, but much of it quite -useless for such places as Samoa and other Polynesian Islands. Of rifles -and guns he had about a dozen, with an enormous quantity of ammunition -and fittings, bags, water-proofing, tents, fishing-boots, spirit stoves, -hatchets in leather covers, hunting knives, etc., etc.; and his -fishing gear alone must have run into a tidy sum of money. This latter -especially interested me, but there was nothing in it that I would have -exchanged for any of my own--that is, few-deep-sea fishing, a sport in -which I was always very keen during a past residence of fifteen years in -the South Seas. When I showed my gear to Marchmont he criticised it with -great cheerfulness and freedom, and somewhat irritated me by frequently -ejaculating “Bosh!” when I explained why in fishing at a depth of 100 -to 150 fathoms for a certain species of _Ruvettus_ (a nocturnal-feeding -fish that attains a weight of over 100 lb.) a heavy wooden hook was -always used by the natives in preference to a steel hook of European -manufacture. I saw that it was impossible to convince him, so dropped -the subject; and showed him other gear of mine--flying-fish tackle, -barb-less pearl-shell hooks for bonito, etc., etc He “bosh-ed” nearly -everything, and wound up by saying that he wondered why people of sense -accepted the dicta of natives in sporting matters generally. - -“But I imagine that they do know a little about such things,” I -observed. - -“Bosh!--they pretend to, that's all. Now, I've never yet met a Kanaka -who could show me anything, and I've been to Tonga, Fiji and Tahiti.” - -Early one morning, I sent off my whaleboat with Marama in charge to -proceed round the south end of Upolu, and meet Marchmont and me at -a village on the lee side of the island named Siumu, which is about -eighteen miles distant from, and almost opposite to Apia, across the -range that traverses the island. An hour or so later Marchmont and I set -out, accompanied by two boys to carry our game bags, provisions, -etc. Each of them wore suspended from his neck a large white cowrie -shell--the Samoan badge of neutrality--for we had to pass first through -King Malietoa's lines, and then through those of the besieging rebel -forces. - -It was a lovely day, and in half an hour we were in the delightful -gloom of the sweet-smelling mountain forest. In passing through King -Malietoa's trenches, the local chief of Apia, Se'u Manu, who was in -command, requested me to stay and drink kava with him. Politeness -required consent, and we were delayed an hour; this made the Man Who -Knew Everything very cross and rather rude, and the stalwart chief -(afterwards to become famous for his magnanimous conduct to his German -foes, when their squadron was destroyed in the great _Calliope_ gale -of March, 1889) looked at him with mild surprise, wondering at his -discourtesy. However, his temper balanced itself a little while after -leaving the lines, when he brought down a brace of fine pigeons with -a right and left shot, and a few minutes later knocked over a mountain -cock with my Winchester. It was a very clever shot--for the wild cock of -Samoa, the descendant of the domestic rooster, is a hard bird to shoot -even with a shot gun--and my friend was much elated. He really was a -first-class shot with either gun or rifle, though he had had but little -experience with the latter. - -A few miles farther brought us to the little mountain village of -Tagiamamanono. It was occupied by the rebel troops from the Island of -Savai'i. Their chiefs were very courteous, and, of course, we were asked -to “stay and rest and drink kava”. To refuse would have been looked -upon as boorish and insulting, so I cheerfully acquiesced, and Marchmont -and I were escorted to a large house, where I formally presented him to -our hosts as a traveller from “Peretania,” whom I was “showing around -Samoa”. Any man of fine physique attracts the Samoans, and a number of -pretty girls who were preparing the kava cast many admiring glances at -my friend, and commented audibly on his good looks. - -Presently, as we were all smoking and exchanging compliments in the -high-flown, stilted Samoan style, there entered the house a strapping -young warrior, carrying a wickerwork cage, in which were two of the -rare and famous _Manu Mea_ (red-bird) of Samoa--the _Didunculus_ -or tooth-billed pigeon. These were the property of the young chief -commanding the rebel troops, and had simply been brought into the house -as a mark of respect and attention to Marchmont and me. Money cannot -always buy these birds, and the rebel chief looked upon them as -mascottes. No one but himself, or the young man who was their custodian, -dared touch them, for a Samoan chief's property--like his person--is -sacred and inviolate from touch except by persons of higher rank than -himself. I hurriedly and quietly explained this to Marchmont. - -“Bosh! Look here! You tell him that I want to buy those birds, and will -give him a sovereign each for them.” - -“I shall do no such thing. I know what I am talking about, and you -don't. Fifty sovereigns would not buy those birds--so don't say anything -more on the subject. If you do, you will give offence--and these Samoans -are very touchy.” - -“Bah--that's all bosh, my dear fellow. Any way, I'll give five pounds -for the pair,” and to my horror, and before I could stay him, he took -out five sovereigns, and “skidded” them along the matted floor towards -the chief, a particularly irascible young man named Asi (Sandalwood). - -“There, my friend, are five good English sovereigns for your birds. I -suppose I can trust you to send them to the English Consul at Apia for -me. Eh?” - -There was a dead silence. Asi spoke English perfectly, but hitherto, out -of politeness, had only addressed me in Samoan. His eyes flashed with -quick anger at Marchmont, then he looked at me reproachfully, made a -sign to the custodian of the birds, and rising proudly to his feet, said -to me in Samoan:-- - -“I will drink kava with you alone, friend. Will you come to my own -house,” and he motioned me to precede him. Never before had I seen -a naturally passionate man exhibit such a sense of dignity and -self-restraint under what was, to him, a stupid insult. - -I turned to Marchmont: “Look what you have done, confound you for an -ass! If you are beginning this way in Samoa you will get yourself into -no end of trouble. Have you no sense?” - -“I have sense enough to see that you are making a lot of fuss over -nothing. Tell the beastly savage that he can keep his wretched birds. I -would only have wrung their necks and had them cooked.” - -The young warrior who held the cage, set it down, and striding up beside -the Man Who Knew Everything dealt him an open-handed back-hand blow -on the side of the head--a favourite trick of Samoan wrestlers and -fighters--and Marchmont went down upon the matted floor with a smash. -I thought he was killed--he lay so motionless--and in an instant there -flashed across my memory a story told to me by a medical missionary -in Samoa, of how one of these terrific back-handed “smacks” dealt by a -native had broken a man's neck. - -However, in a few minutes, Marchmont recovered, and rose to his feet, -spoiling for a fight. The natives regarded him with a sullen but assumed -indifference, and drew back, looking at me inquiringly. The matter -might have ended seriously, but for two things--Marchmont was at heart a -gentleman, and in response to my urgent request to him to apologise -for the gross affront he had put upon our host--did so frankly by first -extending his hand to the man who had knocked him down. And then, as he -never did things by halves, he came with me to Asi and said, as he shook -hands with him:-- - -“By Jove, Mr. Asi, that man of yours could knock down a bullock. I never -had such a thundering smack in my life.” - -The chief smiled, then said gravely, in English, that he was sorry that -such an unpleasant incident had occurred. Then, after--with its many -attendant ceremonies--we had drunk our bowls of kava, and were smoking -and chatting, Asi asked Marchmont to let him examine his gun and rifle -(Marchmont had a Soper rifle and one of Manton's best make of guns; I -had my Winchester and a fairly good gun). The moment Asi saw the Soper -rifle his eyes lit up, and he produced another from one of the house -beams overhead, and said regretfully that he had no cartridges left, -and was using a Snider instead. Marchmont promptly offered to give him -fifty. - -“You must not do that,” I said, “it will get us into serious trouble. -Asi”--and I turned to the chief--“will understand why we must not give -him cartridges to be used for warfare. It would be a great breach of -faith for us to do so--would it not?” - -Keenly anxious as he was to obtain possession of the ammunition, the -chief, with a sigh of regret, acquiesced, but Marchmont sulked, and for -quite two hours after we had left the rebel village did not exchange a -word with me. - -After getting over the range, and whilst we were descending the slope to -the southern littoral, some mongrel curs that belonged to our carriers, -and had gone on ahead of us, put up a wild sow with seven suckers, and -at once started off in pursuit. The old, razor-backed sow doubled -and came flying past us, with her nimble-footed and striped progeny -following. Marchmont and I both fired simultaneously--at the sow. I -missed her, but my charge of No 3 shot tumbled over one of the piglets, -which was at her heels, and Marchmont's Soper bullet took her in the -belly, and passed clean through her. But although she went down for a -few moments she was up again like a Jack-in-the-box, and with an angry -squeal scurried along the thick carpet of dead leaves, and then darted -into the buttressed recesses of a great _masa'oi_ (cedar) tree, which -was evidently her home, followed by two or three game mongrels. - -Dropping his rifle, Marchmont ran to the trees, seized the nearest -cur by the tail, and slung it away down the side of the slope, then he -kicked the others out of his way, and kneeling down peered into the dark -recess formed by two of the buttresses. - -“Come out of that,” I shouted, “you'll get bitten if you go near her. -What are you trying to do? Get out, and give the dogs a chance to turn -her out.” - -“Bosh! Mind your own business. I know what I'm about. She's lying -inside, as dead as a brickbat I'll have her out in a jiffy,” and then -his head and shoulders disappeared--then came a wild, blood-curdling -yell of rage and pain, and the Man Who Knew Everything backed out with -the infuriated sow's teeth deeply imbedded into both sides of his -right hand; his left gripped her by the loose and pendulous skin of her -throat. One of the native boys darted to his aid, and with one blow of -his hatchet split open the animal's skull. - -“Well, of all the born idiots----” I began, when I stopped, for I -saw that Marchmont's face was very pale, and that he was suffering -excruciating pain. A pig bite is always dangerous and that which he had -sustained was a serious one. Fortunately, it was bleeding profusely, and -as quickly as possible we procured water, and thoroughly cleansed, and -then bound up his hand. - -As soon as we got to Siumu I hurried to the house of the one white -trader, and was lucky in getting a bottle of that good old-fashioned -remedy--Friar's balsam. I poured it into a clean basin, and Marchmont -unhesitatingly put in his hand, and let it stay there. The agony was -great, and the language that poured from the patient was of an extremely -lurid character. But he had wonderful grit, and I had to laugh when he -began abusing himself for being such an idiot. He then allowed a -native woman to cover the entire hand with a huge poultice, made of the -beaten-up pulp of wild oranges--a splendid antiseptic. But it was a -week before he could use his hand again, and his temper was something -abominable. However, we managed to put in the time very pleasantly -by paying a round of visits to the villages along the coast, and were -entertained and feasted to our heart's content by the natives. Then -followed some days' grand pig hunting and pigeon shooting in the -mountains, amidst some of the most lovely tropical scenery in the world. -Marchmont killed a grand old tusker, and presented the tusks to the -local chief, who in return gave him a very old kava bowl--a valuable -article to Samoans. He was, as usual, incredulous when I told him that -it was worth £10, and that Theodor Weber, the German Consul General, who -was a collector, would be only too glad to get it at that price. - -“What, for that thing?” - -“Yes, for that thing. Quite apart from its size, its age makes it -valuable. I daresay that more than half a century has passed since the -tree from which it was made was felled by stone axes, and the bowl -cut out from a solid piece.” It was fifteen inches high, two feet in -diameter, and the four legs and exterior were black with age, whilst -the interior, from constant use of kava, was coated with a bright yellow -enamel. The labour of cutting out such a vessel with such implements--it -being, legs and bowl, in one piece--must have taken long months. Then -came the filing down with strips of shark skin, which had first been -softened, and then allowed to dry and contract over pieces of wood, -round and flat; then the final polishing with the rough underside of -wild fig-leaves, and then its final presentation, with such ceremony, to -the chief who had ordered it to be made. - -I explained all this to Marchgiont, and he actually believed me and did -not say “Bosh!” - -“I thought that you made a fearfully long-winded oration on my behalf -when the chief gave me the thing,” he remarked. - -“I did. I can tell you, Marchmont, that I should have felt highly -flattered if he had presented it to me. He seems to have taken a violent -fancy to you. But, for Heaven's sake, don't think that, because he -has been told that you are a rich man, he has any ulterior motive. And -don't, I beg of you, offer him money. He has a reason for showing his -liking for you.” - -I knew what that reason was. Suisala, the chief of Siumu, had, from -the very first, expressed to me his admiration of Marchmont's stalwart, -athletic figure, and his fair complexion, and was anxious to confer on -him a very great honour--that of exchanging names. Suisala was of one of -the oldest and most chiefly families in Samoa, and was proud of the fact -that the French navigator Bougainville had taken especial notice of his -grandfather (who was also a Suisala) and who had been presented with -a fowling piece and ammunition by the French officer. As I have before -mentioned, physical strength and manliness always attract the Samoan -mind, and the chief of Siumu had, as I afterwards explained to -March-mont, fallen a victim to his “fatal beauty”. - -One morning, a few days after the presentation of the _tanoa_ -(kava-bowl) to the Man Who Knew Everything, a schooner appeared outside -the reef and hove-to, there being no harbour at Siumu. She was an -American vessel, and had come to buy copra from, and land goods for, the -local trader. There was a rather heavy sea running on the reef at the -time, and the work of shipping the copra and landing the stores -proved so difficult and tedious that I lent my boat and crew to help. -Unfortunately Marama was laid up with influenza, so could not take -charge of the boat; I also was on the sick list, with a heavy cold. -However, my crew were to be trusted, and they made several trips during -the morning. Marchmont, after lunch, wanted to board the schooner, and -also offered to take charge of the boat and crew for the rest of the -day. Knowing that he was not used to surf work, I declined his offer, -but told him he could go off on board if he did not mind a wetting. He -was quite nettled, and angrily asked me if I thought he could not take -a whaleboat through a bit of surf as well as either Marama or myself. I -replied frankly that I did not. - -He snorted with contempt “Bosh. I've taken boats through surf five times -as bad as it is now--a tinker could manage a boat in the little sea that -is running now. You fellows are all alike--you think that you and your -natives know everything.” - -“Oh, then, do as you like,” I replied angrily, “but if you smash that -boat it means a loss of £50, and----” - -“Hang your £50! If I hurt your boat, I'll pay for the damage. But don't -begin to preach at me.” - -With great misgivings, I saw the boat start off, manned by eight men, -using native paddles, instead of oars, as was customary in surf work. -Marchmont, certainly, by good luck, managed to get her over the reef, -for I could see that he was quite unused to handling a steer oar. -However, my native crew, by watching the sea and taking no heed of the -steersman, shot the boat over the reef into deep water beyond. But in -getting alongside the schooner he nearly swamped, and I was told began -abusing my crew for a set of blockheads. This, of course, made them -sulky--to be abused for incompetence by an incompetent stranger, was -hard to bear, especially as the men, like all the natives of their -islands (Rotumah and Niue), were splendid fellows at boat work. - -However, the boat at last cast off, and headed for the shore, and then -I saw something that filled me with wrath. As the lug sail was being -hoisted, March-mont drew in his steer-oar, and shipped the rudder, and -in another minute the boat was bounding over the rolling seas at a great -rate towards the white breakers on the reef, but steering so wildly -that I foresaw disaster. The crew, in vain, urged Marchmont to ship the -steer-oar again, but he told them to mind their own business, and sat -there, calm and strong, in his mighty conceit. - -On came the boat, and we on shore watched her as she rose stern up to a -big comber, then down she sank from view into the trough, broached to, -and the next roller fell upon and smothered her, and rolled her over and -over into the wild boil of surf on the reef. - -The Man Who Knew Everything came off badly, and was brought on shore -full of salt water, and unconscious. He had been dashed against the -jagged coral, and from his left thigh down to his foot had been terribly -lacerated; then as the crew swam to his assistance--for his clothing had -caught in the coral, and he was under water and drowning--and brought -him to the surface, the despised steer-oar (perhaps out of revenge) -came hurtling along on a swirling sea, and the haft of it struck him a -fearful blow on the head, nearly fracturing his skull. - -Fearing his injuries would prove fatal, I sent a canoe off to the -schooner with a message to the captain to come on shore, but the vessel, -having finished her business, was off under full sail, and did not see -the canoe. Then the trader and I did our best for the poor fellow, who, -as soon as he regained consciousness, began to suffer agonies from the -poison of the wounds inflicted by the coral. We sent a runner to Apia -for a doctor, and early next morning one arrived. - -Marchmont was quite a month recovering, and when he was fully -convalescent, he kept his opinions to himself, and I think that the -lesson he had received did him good. He afterwards told me that he -determined to sail the boat in with a rudder purely to annoy me, and was -sorry for it. - -When he was able to get about again as usual, the devil of restlessness -again took possession of him and he was soon in trouble again--through -the bursting of a gun. I was away from Apia at the time--at the little -island of Manono, buying yams for the ship which was getting ready for -sea again--when I received a letter from a friend giving me the Apia -gossip, and was not surprised that Marchmont figured therein. - -“Your friend Marchmont,” so ran the letter, “is around, as usual, and in -great form, though he had a narrow squeak of having his head blown -off last week through his gun bursting while out pigeon-shooting up by -Lano-to lake. It seems that it was raining at the time, and the track -down the mountain to the lake was very slippery. He had Johnny Coe the -half-caste, and two Samoans with him. Was carrying his gun under his arm -and going down the track in his usual careless, cock-a-hoopy style when -he tripped over a root of a tree and went down, flat on his face, into -the red slippery soil. He picked himself up again quick enough, and -began swearing at the top of his voice, when a lot of ducks rose from -the lake and came dead on towards him. Without waiting to see if his gun -was all right, although it was covered with mud, he pulled the trigger -of his right barrel, and it burst; one of the fragments gave him a -nasty jagged wound on the chin and the Samoan buck got a lot of small -splinters in his face. After the idiot had pulled himself together he -examined his gun and found that the left barrel was plugged up with hard -red earth. No doubt the other one had also been choked up, for Johnny -Coe said that when he fell the muzzle of the gun was rammed some inches -into the ground.” - -When I returned to Apia with a cutter load of yams, I called on -Marchmont and found him his old self. He casually mentioned his mishap -and cursed the greasy mountain track as the cause. At the same time he -told me that he was beginning to like the country and that the natives -were “not a bad lot of fellows--if you know how to take 'em”. - -Then came his final exploit. - -There is, in the waters of the Pacific Isles, a species of the trevalli, -or rudder fish, which attains an enormous size and weight. It is a good -eating fish, like all the trevalli tribe, and much thought of by both -Europeans and natives, for, being an exceedingly wary fish, it is not -often caught, at least in Samoa. In the Live Islands, where it is more -common, it is called _La'heu_ and in Fiji _Sanka_. One evening Lama, one -of the Coe half-caste boys, and I succeeded in hooking and capturing one -of these fish, weighing a little over 100 lb. In the morning the Man -Who Knew Everything came to look at it, was much interested, and said he -would have a try for one himself after lunch. - -“No use trying in clear daylight,” I said; “after dusk, at night (if not -moonlight), or before daybreak is the time.” - -“Bosh!” was his acidulous comment “I've caught the same fish in New -Zealand in broad daylight.” I shook my head, knowing that he was wrong. -He became angry, and remarked that he had found that all white men who -had lived in foreign countries for a few years accepted the rubbishy -dictum of natives regarding sporting matters of any kind as infallible. -Refusing to show me the tackle he intended using, at two o'clock he -hired a native canoe, and paddled off alone into Apia Harbour. Then he -began to fish for _La'heu_, using a mullet as bait. In five minutes -he was fast to a good-sized and lusty shark, which promptly upset the -canoe, went off with the line and left him to swim. The officer of the -deck of the French gunboat _Vaudreuil_, then lying in the port, sent a -boat and picked him up. This annoyed him greatly, as he wanted, like an -idiot, to swim on shore--a thing that a native would not always care to -do in a shark-infested place like Apia Harbour, especially during the -rainy season (as it then was), when the dreaded _tanifa_ sharks come -into all bays or ports into which rivers or streams debouch. - -That evening, however, Marchmont condescended to look at the tackle I -used for _La'heu_, said it was clumsy, and only fit for sharks, but, -on the whole, there were “some good ideas” about it; also that he would -have another try that night. I suggested that either one of the Coe lads -or Lama should go with him, to which he said “Bosh!” Then, after sunset, -I sent some of my boat's-crew to catch flying-fish for bait. They -brought a couple of dozen, and I told Marchmont that he should bait with -a whole flying-fish, make his line ready for casting, and then throw -over some “burley”--half a dozen flying-fish chopped into small pieces. -He would not show me the tackle he intended using, so I was quite in the -dark as to what manner of gear it was. But I ascertained later on that -it was good and strong enough to hold any deep sea fish, and the hook -was of the right sort--a six-inch flatted, with curved shank, and -swivel mounted on to three feet of fine twisted steel seizing wire. My -obstinate friend had a keen eye, even when he was most disparaging -in his remarks, and had copied my _La'heu_ tackle most successfully, -although he had “bosh-ed” it when I first showed it to him. - -Refusing to let any one accompany him, although the local pilot candidly -informed him that he was a dunderhead to go fishing alone at night in -Apia Harbour, Marchmont started off about 2 A.M. in an ordinary native -canoe, meant to hold not more than three persons when in smooth water. -It was a calm night, but rainy, and the crew of the French gunboat -noticed him fishing near the ship about 2.30. A little while after, -the officer of the watch saw a heavy rain squall coming down from the -mountain gorges, and good-naturedly called out to the fisherman to -either come alongside or paddle ashore, to avoid being swamped. The -clever man replied in French, somewhat ungraciously, that he could quite -well look after himself. A little after 3 A.M. the squall ceased, and -as neither Marchmont nor the canoe was visible, the French sailors -concluded that he had taken their officer's advice and gone on shore. - -About seven o'clock in the morning, as I was bathing in the little river -that runs into Apia Harbour, a native servant girl of the local resident -medical missionary came to the bank and called to me, and told me a -startling story. My obstinate friend had been picked up at sea, four -miles from Apia Harbour, by a _taumualua_ (native-built whaleboat). He -was in a state of exhaustion and collapse, and when brought into Apia -was more dead than alive, and the doctor was quickly summoned I at once -went to see him, but was not admitted to his room, and for three days he -had to lie up, suffering from shock--and, I trust, a feeling of humility -for being such an obstinate blockhead. - -His story was simple enough: During the heavy rain squall his bait -was taken by some large and powerful fish (he maintained that it was -a _La'heu_, though most probably it was a shark), and thirty or forty -yards of line flew out before he could get the pull of it. When he did, -he foolishly made the loose part fast to the canoe seat amidships, -and the canoe promptly capsized, and the fore end of the outrigger -unshipped. Clinging to the side of the frail craft, he shouted to the -gunboat for help, but no one heard in the noise of the wind and heavy -rain, and in ten minutes he found himself in the passage between the -reefs, and rapidly being towed out to sea. He tried to sever the line by -biting it through (he had lost his knife), but only succeeded in -losing a tooth. Then, as the canoe was being dragged through the water -broadside on, a heavy sea submerged her and the line parted, the shark -or whatever it was going off. Never losing his pluck, he tried in the -darkness to secure the loose end of the outrigger, but failed, owing to -the heavy, lumpy seas. Then for two anxious, miserable hours he clung to -the canoe, expecting every moment to find himself minus his legs by the -jaws of a shark, and when sighted and picked up by the native boat he -was barely conscious. - -He learnt a lesson that did him good. He never again went out alone in -a canoe at night, and for many days after his recovery he never uttered -the word “Bosh!” - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX ~ THE PATTERING OF THE MULLET - -It is a night of myriad stars, shining from a dome of deepest blue. -The lofty, white-barked swamp gums stand silent and ghost-like on the -river's bank, and the river itself is almost as silent as it flows to -meet the roaring surf on the bar of the rock-bound coast fifteen miles -away, where when the south-east wind blows lustily by day and dies away -at night the long billows of the blue Pacific roll on unceasingly. - -Overhead, far up in the topmost boughs of one of the giant gums some -opossums squeal angrily at an intruding native bear, which, like -themselves, has climbed to feed upon the young and tender eucalyptus -leaves. Below, a prowling dingo steals slowly over the thick carpet of -leaves, then sitting on his haunches gazes at the prone figures of two -men stretched out upon their blankets at the foot of the great tree. -His green, hungry eyes have discerned a pair of saddle-bags and his keen -nostrils tell him that therein are salt beef and damper. He sinks gently -down upon the yielding leaves and for a minute watches the motionless -forms; then he rises and creeps, creeps along. A horse bell tinkles from -beyond the scrub and in an instant the wild dog lies flat again. Did he -not see one of the men move? No, all is quiet, and once more he creeps -forward. Then from beneath the tree there comes a flash and a report and -a bullet flies and the night prowler leaps in the air with a snarling -yelp and falls writhing in his death agony, as from the sand flats in -the river arises the clamour of startled wild fowl and the rush and -whirr of a thousand wings. Then silence again, save for the long-drawn -wail of a curlew. - -One of the men rises, kicks together the dying camp fire and throws on -a handful of sticks and leaves. It blazes up and a long spear of light -shoots waveringly across the smooth current of the river. - -“Get him, Harry?” sleepily asks his companion as he sits up and feels -for his pipe. - -“Yes--couldn't miss him. He's lying there. Great Scott! Didn't he jump.” - -“Poor beggar--smelt the tucker, I suppose. Well, better a dead dog than -a torn saddle-bag. Hear the horses?” - -“Yes, they're all right--feeding outside the timber belt How's the time, -Ted?” - -“Three o'clock. What a deuce of a row those duck and plover kicked up -when you fired! We ought to get a shot or two at them when daylight -comes.” - -“Harry,” a big, bearded fellow of six feet, nodded as he lit his pipe. - -“Yes, we ought to get all we want up along the blind creeks, and we'll -have to shift camp soon. It's going to rain before daybreak, and we -might as well stay here over to-morrow and give the horses a spell.” - -“It's clouding over a bit, but I don't think it means rain.” - -“I do. Listen,” and he held up his hand towards the river. - -His companion listened, and a low and curious sound--like rain and yet -not like rain--a gentle and incessant pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat, -then a break for a few seconds, then again, sometimes sounding loud and -near, at others faintly and far away. - -“Sounds like a thousand people knockin' their finger nails on tables. -Why, it must be rainin' somewhere close to on the river.” - -“No, it's the pattering of mullet, heading up the river--thousands, -tens of thousands, aye hundreds of thousands. It is a sure sign of heavy -rain. We'll see them presently when they come abreast of us. That queer -_lip, lap, lip, lap_ you hear is made by their tails. They sail along -with heads well up out of the water--the blacks tell me that they smell -the coming rain--then swim on an even keel for perhaps twenty yards or -so, and the upper lobe of their tails keeps a constant flapping on the -water. You know how clearly you can hear the flip of a single fish's -tail in a pond on a quiet night? Well, to-night you'll hear the sound -of fifty thousand. Once, when I was prospecting in the Shoalhaven River -district I camped with some net fishermen near the Heads. It was a calm, -quiet night like this, and something awakened me. It sounded like heavy -rain falling on big leaves. 'Is it raining, mate?' I said to one of -the fishermen. 'No,' he replied, 'but there's a heavy thunderstorm -gathering; and that noise you hear is mullet coming up from the Heads, -three miles away.' That was the first time I ever saw fish packed so -closely together--it was a wonderful sight, and when they began to pass -us they stretched in a solid line almost across the river and the noise -they made was deafening. But we must hurry up, lad, shift our traps a -bit back into the scrub and up with the tent. Then we'll come back and -have a look at the fish, and get some for breakfast.” - -The two hardy prospectors (for such they were) were old and experienced -bushmen, and soon had their tent up, and their saddles, blankets and -guns and provisions under its shelter, just as the first low muttering -of thunder hushed the squealing opossums overhead into silence. But, as -it died away, the noise of the myriad mullet sounded nearer and nearer -as they swam steadily onward up the river. - -Ten minutes passed, and then a heavy thunder-clap shook the mighty trees -and echoed and re-echoed among the spurs and gullies of the coastal -range twenty miles away; another and another, and from the now leaden -sky the rain fell in torrents and continued to pour unceasingly for -an hour. Inside the tent the men sat and smoked and waited. Then the -downfall ceased with a “snap,” the sky cleared as if by magic, revealing -the stars now paling before the coming dawn, and the cries of birds -resounded through the dripping bush. - -Picking up a prospecting dish the elder man told his “mate” that it -was time to start. Louder than ever now sounded the noise made by the -densely packed masses of fish, and as the rays of the rising sun, aided -by a gentle air, dispelled the river mist, the younger man gave a gasp -of astonishment when they reached the bank and he looked down--from -shore to shore the water was agitated and churned into foam showing a -broad sheet of flapping fins and tails and silvery scales. So close were -the fish to the bank and so overcrowded that hundreds stranded upon the -sand. - -The big man stepped down, picked up a dozen and put them into the dish; -then he and his companion sat on the bank and watched the passage of the -thousands till the last of them had rounded a bend of the river and the -waters flowed silently once more. - - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Call Of The South, by Louis Becke - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CALL OF THE SOUTH *** - -***** This file should be named 24895-0.txt or 24895-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/8/9/24895/ - -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/old/old-2025-02-19/24895-0.zip b/old/old-2025-02-19/24895-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index f3aa734..0000000 --- a/old/old-2025-02-19/24895-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/old-2025-02-19/24895-8.txt b/old/old-2025-02-19/24895-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2e717ae..0000000 --- a/old/old-2025-02-19/24895-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8728 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Call Of The South, 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: The Call Of The South - 1908 - -Author: Louis Becke - -Release Date: March 22, 2008 [EBook #24895] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CALL OF THE SOUTH *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger - - - - - - - - -THE CALL OF THE SOUTH - -By Louis Becke - -London, John Milne, 1908 - - - - -CHAPTER I ~ PAUL, THE DIVER - -"Feeling any better to-day, Paul?" - -"Guess I'm getting round," and the big, bronzed-faced man raised -his eyes to mine as he lay under the awning on the after deck of his -pearling lugger. I sat down beside him and began to talk. - -A mile away the white beach of a little, land-locked bay shimmered under -the morning sun, and the drooping fronds of the cocos hung listless and -silent, waiting for the rising of the south-east trade. - -"Paul," I said, "it is very hot here. Come on shore with me to the -native village, where it is cooler, and I will make you a big drink of -lime-juice." - -I helped him to rise--for he was weak from a bad attack of New Guinea -fever--and two of our native crew assisted him over the side into my -whaleboat. A quarter of an hour later we were seated on mats under the -shade of a great wild mango tree, drinking lime-juice and listening to -the lazy hum of the surf upon the reef, and the soft _croo, croo_ of -many "crested" pigeons in the branches above. - -The place was a little bay in Callie Harbour on Admiralty Island in the -South Pacific; and Paul Fremont was one of our European divers. I was in -charge of the supply schooner which was tender to our fleet of pearling -luggers, and was the one man among us to whom the silent, taciturn Paul -would talk--sometimes. - -And only sometimes, for usually Paul was too much occupied in his work -to say more than "Good-morning, boss," or "Good night," when, after he -had been disencumbered of his diving gear, he went aft to rest and smoke -his pipe. But one day, however, he went down in twenty-six fathoms, -stayed too long, and was brought up unconscious. The mate and I saw the -signals go up for assistance, hurried on board his lugger, and were just -in time to save his life. - -Two days later he came on board the tender, shook hands in his silent, -undemonstrative way, and held out for my acceptance an old octagon -American fifty dollar gold piece. - -"Got a gal, boss?" "I admitted that I had. - -"Pure white, I mean. One thet you like well enough to marry?" - -"I mean to try, Paul." - -"In Samoa?" - -"No--Australia." - -"Guess I'd like you to give her this 'slug' I got it outer the wreck of -a ship that was sunk off Galveston in the 'sixties,' in the war." - -It would have hurt him had I declined the gift. So I thanked him, and he -nodded silently, filled his pipe and went back to the _Montiara_. - -Nearly a year passed before we met again, for his lugger and six others -went to New Guinea; and our next meeting was at Callie Harbour, where -I found him down with malarial fever. Again I became his doctor, and -ordered him to lie up. - -He nodded. - -"Guess I'll have ter, boss. But I jest hate loafin' around and seein' -the other divers bringin' up shell in easy water." For he was receiving -eighty pounds per month wages--diving or no diving--and hated to be -idle. - -"Paul," I said, as we lay stretched out under the wild mango tree, -"would you mind telling me about that turn-up you had with the niggers -at New Ireland, six years ago." - -"Ef you like, boss." Then he added that he did not care about talking -much at any time, as he was a mighty poor hand at the jaw-tackle. - -"We were startin' tryin' some new ground between New Hanover and the -North Cape of New Ireland. There were only two luggers, and we had for -our store-ship a thirty-ton cutter. There were two white divers besides -me and one Manila man, and our crews were all natives of some sort -or another--Tokelaus, Manahikians and Hawaiians. The skipper of the -storeship was a Dutchman--a chicken-hearted swab, who turned green at -the sight of a nigger with a bunch of spears, or a club in his hand. -He used to turn-in with a brace of pistols in his belt and a Winchester -lying on the cabin table. At sea he would lose his funk, but whenever we -dropped anchor and natives came aboard his teeth would begin to chatter, -and he would just jump at his own shadder. - -"We anchored in six fathoms, and in an hour or two we came across a good -patch of black-edge shell, and we began to get the boats and pumps ready -to start regular next morning. As I was boss, I had moored the cutter in -a well-sheltered nook under a high bluff, and the luggers near to her. -So far we had not seen any sign of natives--not even smoke--but knew -that there was a big village some miles away, out o' sight of us, an' -that the niggers were a bad lot, and would have a try at cuttin' off if -they saw a slant. - -"Early next morning it set in to rain, with easterly squalls, and before -long I saw that there was like to be a week of it, and that we should -have to lie by and wait until it settled. About noon we sighted a dozen -white lime-painted canoes bearing down on us, and Horn, the Dutchman, -began to turn green as usual, and wanted me to heave up and clear out. -I set on him and said I wanted the niggers to come alongside, an' hev a -good look at us--they would see that we were a hard nut to crack if they -meant mischief. - -"They came alongside, six or eight greasy-haired bucks in each -canoe--and asked for terbacker and knives in exchange for some pigs and -yams. I let twenty or so of 'em come aboard, bought their provisions, -and let 'em have a good look around. Their chief was a fat, bloated -feller, with a body like a barrel, and his face pitted with small-pox. -He told me that he was boss of all the place around us, and had some big -plantations about a mile back in the bush, just abreast of us, and that -he would let me have all the food I wanted. In five days or so, he said, -we should have fine weather for diving, and he and his crowd would help -me all they could. - -"About a quarter of a mile away was a rocky little island of about five -acres in extent It had a few heavy trees on it, but no scrub, and there -were some abandoned fishermen's huts on the beach. I asked the fat hog -if I could use it as a shore station to overhaul our boats and diving -gear when necessary, and he agreed to let me use it as long as I liked -for three hundred sticks of terbacker and two muskets. - -"They went off on shore again to the plantations, and in a little while -we saw smoke ascendin'--they were cookin' food, and repairing their -huts. Later on in the day they sent me a canoe load of yams, taro, and -other stuff for the men, and asked me to come ashore and look at the -village. I went, fur I knew that they would not try on any games so -soon. - -"There were, in addition to the bucks, a lot of women and children -there, makin' thatch, cookin', and repairin' the pig-proof fencin'. I -stayed a bit, and then came on board again, an' we made snug for the -night. - -"Next morning we landed on the island, repaired two of the huts, and -started mendin' sails, overhauling the boats, and doin' such work that -it was easier to do on shore than on board. Of course we kep' our arms -handy, and old Horn kep' a good watch on board--he dassent put foot on -shore himself--said he was skeered o' fever. - -"The natives sent us plenty of food, and a good many of 'em loafed -around on the island, and some on board the luggers and cutter, cadgin' -fur terbacker and biscuit Of course they always carried their clubs and -spears with 'em, as is usual in New Ireland, but they were quiet and -civil enough. Every day canoes were passin' from where we lay to the -main village, and returnin' with other batches of bucks and women all -takin' spells at work; an' there was any amount o' drum beating and _duk -duk_{*} dancin', and old Horn shivered in his boots swearin' they were -comin' to wipe us out But my native crews and I and the other white -divers were used to the nigger customs at such times, and although -we kep' a good watch ashore and afloat, none o' us were afraid of any -trouble comin'. - - * The duk duk dance of Melanesia is merely a blackmailing - ceremony by the men to obtain food from the women and the - uninitiated. - -"On the fifth night, I, another white diver, named Docky Mason, his -Samoan wife, and a Manahiki sailor named 'Star' were sleeping on shore -in one of the huts. In another hut were three or four New Ireland -niggers, who had brought us some fish and were going away again in the -mornin'. - -"About ten o'clock the sky became as black as ink--a heavy blow was -comin' on, and we just had time to stow our loose gear up tidy, when the -wind came down from between the mountains with a roar like thunder, and -away went the roofs of the huts, and with it nearly everything around us -that was not too heavy to be carried away. My own boat, which was lying -on the beach, was lifted up bodily, sent flyin' into the water, and -carried out to sea. - -"We tried to make out the cutter's and luggers' lights, but could see -nothing and every second the wind was yellin' louder and louder like -forty thousand cats gone mad, and the air was filled with sticks, -leaves, and sand, and I had a mighty great fear for my little fleet; fur -three miles away to the west, there was a long stretch o' reefs, an' I -was afraid they had dragged and would get mussed up. - -"Thet's jest what did happen--though they cleared the reefs by the skin -of their teeth. The moment they began to drag, all three slipped. The -luggers stood away under the lee of New Ireland, stickin' in to the -land, and tryin' to bring to for shelter, but they were a hundred miles -away from me, down the coast, before they could bring-to and anchor, -for the blow had settled into a hurricane, and raised such a fearful sea -that they had to heave-to for twenty-four hours. It was two weeks before -we met again, after they had had to tow and 'sweep' back to my little -island, against a dead calm and a strong current, gettin' a whiff of a -land breeze at night now an' agin', which let 'em use their canvas. As -for the cutter, she ran before it for New Britain, and brought up at -Matupi in Blanche Bay, two hundred miles away, where old Horn knew -there was a white settlement of Germans--his own kidney. He was a -white-livered old swine, but a good sailor-man--as far as any man who -says 'Ja' for 'Yes' goes. - -"When daylight came my mates and I set to work to straighten up. - -"Docky Mason's native wife--Tia--was a 'whole waggon with a yaller dog -under the team'. She first of all made us some hot coffee, and gave us a -rousin' breakfast; then she made the New Ireland bucks--who were wantin' -to swim to the mainland--turn to and put a new roof of coco-nut thatch -over our hut, although it was still blowin' a ragin' gale. My! thet gal -was a wonder! She hed eyes like stars, an' red lips an' shinin' pearly -teeth, an' a tongue like a whip-lash when she got mad, an' Docky Mason -uster let her talk to him as if he was a nigger--an' say nuthin'--excep' -givin' a foolish laugh and then slouchin' off. And yet she was as gentle -as a lamb to any of us fellows when we got fever, or had gone down under -more'n twenty fathoms, and was hauled up three parts dead and chokin'. - -"Well, boss, we got to straights at last, although it was blowin' as -hard as ever. We had a lot o' gear on shore in that native house, for I -was intendin' to beach the cutter an' give her copper a scrubbin' before -we started divin' regular. - -"There was near on a ton o' twist terbacker in tierces (which we used -fur tradin' with the niggers), a ton o' biscuit in fifty pound tins, -boxes o' red an' yaller seed beads, an' knives an' axes, an' a case -o' dynamite, an' heaps o' things that was a direct invitation to the -niggers, an' a challenge ter the Almighty to hev our silly throats cut. -And those four or five bucks, whilst Tia was hustlin' them around, was -jest takin' stock as they worked. - -"By sunfall the wind an' sea in the bay had gone down a bit; an' the -bucks said that they would swim on shore (their canoe had been smashed -in the night) and bring us some food early in the mornin'. I gave 'em -a bottle o' Hollands, an' my kind regards for the old barrelled-belly -swine of a chief, some terbacker fur themselves; and then, after they -had gone, looked to our Winchesters and pistols, which the bucks hadn't -seen, fur we always kept 'em outer sight, under our sleepin' mats. - -"'Paulo,' sez Tia to me, speakin' in Samoan (an' cussin' in English), -'you an' Docky an' "Star" are a lot o' blamed fools! You orter hev -shot all those bucks ez soon ez they hed finished. Didn't you say that, -"Star"?' - -"'Star' had said 'Yes' to her, but being an unobtrusive sorter o' -Kanaka, he hadn't said nuthin' to us--thinkin' we knew better'n him what -ter do. - -"We kep' a good watch all that day an' the nex' day, and then at sunset -two bucks in a canoe came off, bringing us six cooked pigeons from the -chief, with a message that he would come an' see us in a day or two, and -bring men to build us better houses to live in until the luggers and the -cutter came back. - -"We collared the two bucks and tied 'em up, and then Tia made one of -'em eat part of a pigeon--she standin' over him with a Winchester at his -ear. He ate it, an' in ten minutes he was tyin' himself up in knots, and -was a dead nigger in another quarter of an hour. The pigeons were all -poisoned. - -"We kep' the other nigger alive an' told him that if he would tell us -what was a-goin' on we'd let him off, and set him ashore, free. - -"'At dawn to-morrow,' says he, 'Baian' (the fat old chief) thought to -find you all dead, because of the poisoned pigeons sent to you. And -then he meant to take all the good things you have here, and set up your -heads in his _duk duk_ house.' - -"Before daylight came, Docky Mason an' 'Star' an' me hed fixed up things -all serene ter give Baian and his cannibals a doin'. Fust ev all--to -show our prisoner that we meant business, Tia held up his right hand, -an' Docky sent a Winchester bullet through it, an' told him that he -would send one through his skull ef he didn't do what he was told. - -"Then we took two empty one gallon colza oil tins, and filled 'em with -dynamite, tamped it down tight, and then ran short fuses through the -corks, and carried 'em down to the place where our prisoner said Baian -and his crowd would land. It was a little bay, lined on each side by -pretty high, ragged coral boulders, covered with creepers. We stowed the -tins in readiness, and then brought our prisoner down, and told him -what to do when the time came. I guess thet thet nigger knew thet ef he -didn't play straight he was a dead coon. Tia sat down jest behind him, -and every now and then touched his backbone with the muzzle ev her -pistol--jest ter show him she was keepin' awake. At the same time he -wasn't unwillin', for he hed told us thet he and his dead mate were not -Baian's men--they were slaves he had captured from a town he had raided -somewhere near North Cape, and they were liable to be killed and eaten -at any time if Baian's crowd ran short of pig meat or turtle. - -"A little bit higher up, Docky Mason, 'Star' an' me, planted ourselves -with our Winchesters, an' one of our boats' whaler's bomb guns, which -fired four pounds of slugs and deer shot, mixed up--the sorter thing, -boss, thet you an' me may find mighty handy here in this very place, if -we get rushed sudden. We made a charcoal fire, and then frayed out the -ends of the dynamite fuses so thet they would light quickly. - -"When daylight came, we caught sight of nigh on fifty canoes, all -crammed with niggers, paddlin' like blazes to where we was cached, but -making no noise. Even if they hed we would not hev heard it, fur the -wind and the surf beatin' on the reef would hev drowned it. - -"On they came and rushed their canoes into the little cove, four -abreast, and Tia prodded our buck in the back, and told him to stand up -and talk to Baian, who was in one of the leadin' canoes. - -"Up he jumps. - -"'Oh, Baian, Baian, great Baian,' he called, 'the two white men are dead -in their house, and we have the woman bound hand and foot.' - -"'Good,' said Baian with a fat chuckle, as he put one leg over the -gunwale of his canoe to step out, and the next moment I put a bullet -through him, and then Docky Mason lit the first charge o' dynamite, and -slings it down, right inter the middle of the crowded canoes, and before -it went off he sent the second one after it. - -"Boss, I hev seen some dynamite explosions in my time--especially when I -hev hed to blow up wrecks--but I hev never seen anything like thet. The -two shots killed over thirty niggers, wounded as many more, and stunned -a lot, who were drowned. Those who were not hurt swam out of the cove, -and neither Docky nor me had the heart to shoot any of 'em--though we -might hev picked off a couple of dozen afore they got outer range. - -"Before we could stop him our prisoner jumped down among the dead and -wounded, got a long knife, an' in ten seconds he had Baian's' head off, -and held it up to us, grinning like a cat, on'y not so nice, ez he hed -jet black, betel-nut stained teeth, and red lips like a piece ev raw -beef. - -"We hed no more trouble with the niggers after thet turn-up, you can bet -yer life. - -"The buck stayed with us until the luggers came back, and a few days -after we landed him at his own village--ez rich ez Jay Gould, for we -gave him a musket with powder and ball, a cutlass, half a dozen pounds -ev red beads, and two hundred sticks of terbacker. I guess thet thet -nigger was able to buy himself all the wives he wanted, and be a 'big -Injun' fur the end of his days." - - - - -CHAPTER II ~ THE OLD SEA LIFE - -One Sunday morning--when I was about to leave the dear old city of -Sydney for an unpremeditated and long, long absence in cold northern -climes, I went for a farewell stroll around the Circular Quay, and, -standing on some high ground on the east side, looked down on the mass -of shipping below, flying the flags of all nations, and ranging from -a few hundred to ten thousand tons. Mail steamers, deep sea tramps, -"freezers," colliers--all crowded together, and among them but _one_ -single sailing vessel--a Liverpool barque of 1,000 tons, loading wool. -She looked lost, abandoned, out of place, and my heart went out to her -as my eyes travelled from her shapely lines and graceful sheer, to her -lofty spars, tapering yards, and curving jibboom, the end of the latter -almost touching the stern rail of an ugly bloated-looking German tramp -steamer of 8,000 tons. On that very spot where I stood I, when a -boy, had played at the foot of lofty trees--now covered by hideous -ill-smelling wool stores--and had seen lying at the Circular Quay fifty -or sixty noble full-rigged ships and barques, many brigs and schooners, -and but _one_ steamer, a handsome brig-rigged craft, the _Avoca_, the -monthly P. and O. boat, which ran from Sydney to Melbourne to connect -with a larger ship. - -Round the point were certainly a few other steamers, old-fashioned -heavily-rigged men-of-war, generally paddle-wheel craft; and, out of -sight, in Darling Harbour, a mile away, were others--coasters--none of -them reaching five hundred tons, and all either barque- or brig-rigged, -as was then the fashion. - -And they all, sailers as well as the few steamers, were manned by -_sailor-men_, not by gangs of foreign paint-scrubbers, who generally -form a steamer's crew of the present day--men who could no more handle a -bit of canvas than a cow could play the Wedding March--in fact there are -thousands of men nowadays earning wages on British ships as A.B.'s who -have never touched canvas except in the shape of tarpaulin hatch covers, -and whom it would be highly dangerous to put at the wheel of a sailing -ship--they would make a wreck of her in any kind of a breeze in a few -minutes. - -In my boyhood days, nearly all the ships that came into Sydney Harbour -flying British colours were manned by men of British blood. Foreigners, -as a rule, were not liked by shipmasters, and their British shipmates in -the fo'c'stle resented their presence. One reason of this was that they -would always "ship" at a lower rate of wage than Englishmen, and were -clannish. I have known of captains of favourite clipper passenger ships, -trading between London and the colonies, declining to ship a foreigner, -even an English-speaking Dane or Scandinavian, who make good sailor-men, -and are quiet, sober, and hardworking. Nowadays it is difficult to find -any English deep-sea ship or steamer, in which half of the hands for'ard -are not foreigners of some sort. And now practically the whole coasting -mercantile marine of the Australian colonies is manned by Germans, -Swedes, Danes, and Norwegians. - -When I was a young man I sailed in ships in the South Sea trade which -had carried the same crew, voyage after voyage, for years, and there -was a distinct feeling of comradeship existing between officers and -crew that does not now exist. I well remember one gallant ship, the -_All Serene_ (a happy name), which was for ten years in the -Sydney-China trade. She was about the first colonial vessel to adopt -double-top-gallant yards, and many wise-heads prophesied all sorts of -dire mishaps from the innovation. On this ship (she was full rigged) was -a crew of nineteen men, and the majority of them had sailed in her for -eight years, although her captain was a bit of a "driver". But they got -good wages, good food, and had a good ship under their feet--a ship with -a crack record as a fast sailer. - -In contrast to the _All Serene_, was a handsome barque I once sailed -in as a passenger from Sydney to New Caledonia, where she was to load -nickel ore for Liverpool. Her captain and three mates were Britishers, -and smart sailor-men enough, the steward was a Chileno, the bos'un a -Swede; carpenter a Mecklenburger joiner (who, when told to repair the -fore-scuttle, which had been damaged by a heavy sea, did not know where -it was situated), the sailmaker a German, and of the twelve A.B.'s and -O.S.'s only one--a man of sixty-five years of age, was a Britisher; the -rest were of all nationalities. Three of them were Scandinavians and -were good sailor-men, the others were almost useless, and only fit to -scrub paint-work, and hardly one could be trusted at the wheel. The cook -was a Martinique nigger, and was not only a good cook, but a thorough -seaman, and he had the utmost contempt for what he called "dem mongrels -for'ard," especially those who were Dagoes. The captain and officers -certainly had reason to knock the crew about, for during an electrical -storm one night the ship was visited by St. Elmo's fire, and the Dagoes -to a man refused duty, and would not go aloft, being terrified out -of their wits at the dazzling globes of fire running along the yards, -hissing and dancing, and illuminating the ocean for miles. They bolted -below, rigged up an altar and cross with some stump ends of candles, and -began to pray. Exasperated beyond endurance, the captain, officers, two -Norwegians, the nigger cook and I, after having shortened canvas, "went" -for them, knocked the religious paraphernalia to smithereens, and drove -them on deck. - -The nigger cook was really a devout Roman Catholic, but his seaman's -soul revolted at their cowardice, and he so far lost his temper as to -seize a Portuguese by his black curly hair, throw him down, tear open -his shirt, and seize a leaden effigy of St. Jago do Compostella, which -he wore round his neck, and thrust it into his mouth. In after years -I saw Captain "Bully" Hayes do the same thing, also with a Portuguese -sailor; but Hayes made the man actually swallow the little image--after -he had rolled it into a rough ball--saying that if St James was so -efficient to externally protect the wearer from dangers of the sea, that -he could do it still better in the stomach, where he (the saint) would -feel much warmer. - -The barque, a month or so after I left her in Noumea, sailed from T'chio -in New Caledonia, and was never heard of again. She was overmasted, and -I have no doubt but that she capsized, and every one on board perished. -Had she been manned by English sailors, she would have reached her -destination in safety, for the captain and officers knew her faults and -that she was a tricky ship to sail with an unreliable crew. - -In many ships in which I have sailed, in my younger days, no officer -considered it _infra dig_. for him, when not on watch, to go for'ard and -listen to some of the hands spinning yarns, especially when the subject -of their discourse turned upon matters of seamanship, the eccentricities -either of a ship herself or of her builders, etc. This unbending from -official dignity on the part of an officer was rarely abused by the -men--especially by the better-class sailor-man. He knew that "Mr. -Smith" the chief officer who was then listening to his yarns and perhaps -afterwards spinning one himself, would in a few hours become a different -man when it was his watch on deck, and probably ask Tom Jones, A.B., -what the blazes he meant by crawling aft to relieve the wheel like -an old woman with palsy. And Jones, A.B., would grin with respectful -diffidence, hurry his steps and bear no malice towards his superior. - -Such incidents never occur now. There is no feeling of comradeship -between officer and "Jack". Each distrusts the other. - -I have not had much experience of steamers in the South Sea trade, -except as a passenger--most of my voyages having been made in sailing -craft, but on one occasion my firm had to charter a steamer for six -months, owing to the ship of which I was supercargo undergoing extensive -repairs. - -The steamer, in addition to a general cargo, also carried 500 tons -of coal for the use of a British warship, engaged in "patrolling" the -Solomon Islands, and I was told to "hurry along". The ship's company -were all strangers to me, and I saw at once I should not have a pleasant -time as supercargo. The crew were mostly alleged Englishmen, with a -sprinkling of foreigners, and the latter were a useless, lazy lot of -scamps. The engine-room staff were worse, and the captain and mate -seemed too terrified of them to bring them to their bearings. They (the -crew) were a bad type of "wharf rats," and showed such insolence to the -captain and mate that I urged both to put some of them in irons for a -few days. The second mate was the only officer who showed any spirit, -and he and I naturally stood together, agreeing to assist each other -if matters became serious, for the skipper and mate were a thoroughly -white-livered pair. - -Just off San Cristoval, the firemen came to me, and asked me to sell -them a case of Hollands gin. I refused, and said one bottle was enough -at a time. They threatened to break into the trade-room, and help -themselves. I said that they would do so at their own peril--the first -man that stepped through the doorway would get hurt. They retired, -cursing me as a "mean hound". The skipper said nothing. He, I am glad to -say, was not an Englishman, though he claimed to be. He was a Dane. - -Arriving at a village on the coast of San Cristoval, where I had to -land stores for a trader, we found a rather heavy surf on, and the crew -refused to man a boat and take me on shore, on the plea that it was too -dangerous; a native boat's crew would have smiled at the idea of danger, -and so also would any white sailor-man who was used to surf work. - -Two days later, through their incapacity, they capsized a boat by -letting her broach-to in crossing a reef, and a hundred pounds' worth of -trade goods were lost. - -When we met the cruiser for whom the coals were destined, the second -mate and I told the commander in the presence of our own skipper that we -considered the latter unfit to have command of the steamer. - -"Then put the mate in charge, if you consider your captain is -incapable," said the naval officer. - -"The mate is no better," I said, "he is as incapable as the captain." - -"Then the second mate is the man." - -"I cannot navigate, sir," said the second mate. - -The naval commander drew me aside, and we took "sweet counsel" together. -Then he called our ruffianly scallywags of a crew on to the main deck, -eyed them up and down, and ignoring our captain, asked me how many pairs -of handcuffs were on board. - -"Two only," I replied. - -"Then I'll send you half a dozen more. Clap 'em on to some of these -fellows for a week, until they come to their senses." - -In half an hour the second mate and I had the satisfaction of seeing -four firemen and four A.B.'s in irons, which they wore for a week, -living on biscuit and water. - -A few weeks later I engaged, on my own responsibility, ten good native -seamen, and for the rest of the voyage matters went fairly well, for the -captain plucked up courage, and became valorous when I told him that my -natives would make short work of their white shipmates, if the latter -again became mutinous. - -Against this experience I have had many pleasant ones. In one dear old -brig, in which I sailed as supercargo for two years, we carried a double -crew--white men and natives of Rotumah Island, and a happier ship never -spread her canvas to the winds of the Pacific. This was purely because -the officers were good men, the hands--white and native--good seamen, -cheerful and obedient--not the lazy, dirty, paint-scrubbers one too -often meets with nowadays, especially on cheaply run big four-masted -sailing ships, flying the red ensign of Old England. - - - - -CHAPTER III ~ THE BLIND MAN OF ADMIRALTY ISLAND - -We had had a stroke--or rather a series of strokes--of very bad luck. -Our vessel, the _Metaris_, had been for two months cruising among -the islands of what is now known as the Bismarck Archipelago, in the -Northwestern Pacific. We had twice been on shore, once on the coast -of New Ireland, and once on an unknown and uncharted reef between that -island and St. Matthias Island. Then, on calling at one of our trading -stations at New Hanover where we intended to beach the vessel for -repairs, we found that the trader had been killed, and of the station -house nothing remained but the charred centre-post--it had been reduced -to ashes. The place was situated on a little palm-clad islet not three -hundred acres in extent, and situated a mile or two from the mainland, -and abreast of a village containing about four hundred natives, under -whose protection our trader and his three Solomon Island labourers were -living, as the little island belonged to them, and we had placed the -trader there on account of its suitability, and also because the man -particularly wished to be quite apart from the village, fearing that his -Solomon Islanders would get themselves into trouble with the people. - -From the excited natives, who boarded us even before we had dropped -anchor, we learned that about a month after we had left poor Chantrey -on his little island a large party of marauding St. Matthias Island -savages, in ten canoes, had suddenly appeared and swooped down upon -the unfortunate white man and his labourers and slaughtered all four of -them; then after loading their canoes with all the plunder they could -carry, they set fire to the house and Chantrey's boat, and made off -again within a few hours. - -This was a serious blow to us; for not only had we to deplore the cruel -death of one of our best and most trusted traders, but Chantrey had a -large stock of trade goods, a valuable boat, and had bought over five -hundred pounds' worth of coconut oil and pearl-shell from the New -Hanover natives,--all this had been consumed. However, it was of no use -for us to grieve, we had work to do that was of pressing necessity, -for the _Metaris_ was leaking badly and had to be put on the beach -as quickly as possible whilst we had fine weather. This, with the -assistance of the natives, we at once set about and in the course of -a few days had effected all the necessary repairs, and then steered -westward for Admiralty Island, calling at various islands on our way, -trading with the wild natives for coco-nut oil, copra, ivory nuts, -pearl-shell and tortoise-shell, and doing very poorly; for a large -American schooner, engaged in the same business, had been ahead of us, -and at most of the islands we touched at we secured nothing more than -a few hundredweight of black-edged pearl-shell. Then, to add to our -troubles, two of our native crew were badly wounded in an attack made on -a boat's crew who were sent on shore to cut firewood on what the skipper -and I thought to be a chain of small uninhabited islands. This was a -rather serious matter, for not only were the captain and boatswain ill -with fever, but three of the crew as well. - -For a week we worked along the southern coast of Admiralty Island, -calling at a number of villages and obtaining a considerable quantity of -very good pearl-shell from the natives. But it was a harassing time, for -having seven sick men on board we never dared to come to an anchor for -fear of the savage and treacherous natives attempting to capture the -ship. As it was, we had to keep a sharp look-out to prevent more than -two canoes coming alongside at once, and then only when there was a fair -breeze, so that we could shake them off if their occupants showed any -inclination for mischief. We several times heard some of these gentry -commenting on the ship being so short-handed, and this made us unusually -careful, for although those of us who were well never moved about -unarmed we could not have beaten back a sudden rush. - -At last, however, both Manson and the boatswain, and one of the native -sailors became so ill that the former decided to make a break in the -cruise and let all hands--sick and well--have a week's spell at a place -he knew of, situated at the west end of the great island; and so one day -we sailed the _Metaris_ into a quiet little bay, encompassed by lofty -well-wooded hills, and at the head of which was a fine stream of fresh -water. - -"We shall soon pull ourselves together in this place," said Manson to -Loring (the mate) and me. "I know this little bay well, though 'tis six -years since I was last here. There are no native villages within ten -miles at least, and we shall be quite safe, so we need only keep an -anchor watch at night. Man the boat, there. I must get on shore right -away. I am feeling better already for being here. Which of you fellows -will come with me for a bit of a look round?" - -I, being the supercargo, was, for the time, an idle man, but made an -excuse of "wanting to overhaul" my trade-room--always a good standing -excuse with most supercargoes--as I wanted Loring to have a few hours -on shore; for although he was free of fever he was pretty well run down -with overwork. So, after some pressure, he consented, and a few minutes -later he and Manson were pulled on shore, and I watched them land on -the beach, just in front of a clump of wild mango trees in full bearing, -almost surrounded by groves of lofty coco-nut palms. A little farther on -was an open, grassy space on which grew some wide-branched white cedar -trees. - -About an hour afterwards Loring returned on board, and told me that -Manson had gone on alone to what he described as "a sweet little lake". -It was only a mile away, and he thought of having a leaf house built -there for the sick men and himself, and wanted Loring to come and have a -look at it, but the mate declined, pleading his wish to get back to the -ship and unbend our canvas. - -"As you will," said Manson to him. "I shall be all right. I'll shoot -some pigeons and cockatoos by-and-by, and bring them down to the beach. -And after you have unbent the canvas, you can take the seine to the -mouth of the creek and fill the boat with fish." Then, gun on shoulder, -he walked slowly away into the verdant and silent forest. - -After unbending our canvas, we went to dinner; and then leaving Loring -in charge of the ship, the boatswain, two hands and myself went on -shore with the seine to the mouth of the creek, and in a very short time -netted some hundreds of fish much resembling the European shad. - -Just as we were about to push off, I heard Manson's hail close to, -and looking round, nearly lost my balance and fell overboard in -astonishment--he was accompanied by a woman. - -Springing out of the boat, I ran to meet them. - -"Mrs. Hollister," said the captain, "this is my supercargo. As soon as -we get on board I will place you in his hands, and he will give you all -the clothing you want at present for yourself and your little girl," and -then as, after I had shaken hands with the lady, I stood staring at him -for an explanation, he smiled. - -"I'll tell you Mrs. Hollister's strange story by-and-by, old man. -Briefly it is this--she, her husband, and their little girl have been -living here for over two years. Their vessel was castaway here. Now, get -into the boat, please, Mrs. Hollister." - -The woman, who was weeping silently with excitement, smiled through her -tears, stepped into the boat, and in a few minutes we were alongside. - -"Make all the haste you can," Manson said to me, "as Mrs. Hollister is -returning on shore as soon as you can give her some clothing and boots -or shoes. Then they are all coming on board to supper at eight o'clock." - -The lady came with me to my trade-room, and we soon went to work -together, I forbearing to ask her any questions whatever, though I was -as full of curiosity as a woman. Like that of all trading vessels -whose "run" embraced the islands of Polynesia as well as Melanesia and -Micronesia, the trade-room of the _Metaris_ was a general store. -The shelves and cases were filled with all sorts of articles--tinned -provisions, wines and spirits, firearms and ammunition, hardware and -drapers' soft goods, "yellow-back" novels, ready-made clothing for men, -women and children, musical instruments and grindstones--in fact just -such a stock as one would find in a well-stocked general store in an -Australian country town. - -In half an hour Mrs. Hollister had found all that she wanted, and -packing the articles in a "trade" chest, I had it passed on deck and -lowered into the boat. Then the lady, now smiling radiantly, shook hands -with every one, including the steward, and descended to the boat which -quickly cast off and made for the shore in charge of the boatswain. - -Then I felt that I deserved a drink, and went below again where Manson -and Loring were awaiting me. They had anticipated my wishes, for the -steward had just placed the necessary liquids on the cabin table. - -"Now, boys," said the skipper, as he opened some soda water, "after we -have had a first drink I'll spin my yarn--and a sad enough one it is, -too. By-the-way, steward, did you put that bottle of brandy and some -soda water in the boat?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"That's all right. Just fancy, you fellows--that poor chap on shore has -not had a glass of grog for more than two years. That is, I suppose so. -Anyway I am sending him some. And, I say, steward; I want you to spread -yourself this evening and give us _the_ very best supper you ever gave -us. There are three white persons coming at eight o'clock. And I daresay -they will sleep on board, so get ready three spare bunks." - -Manson was usually a slow, drawling speaker--except when he had occasion -to admonish the crew; then he was quite brilliant in the rapidity of -his remarks--but now he was clearly a little excited and seemed to have -shaken the fever out of his bones, for he not only drank his brandy and -soda as if he enjoyed it, but asked the steward to bring him his pipe. -This latter request was a sure sign that he was getting better. Then he -began his story. - -***** - -Although six years had passed since he had visited this part of the -great island, Manson knew his way inland to the lake. The forest was -open, and consisted of teak and cedar with but little undergrowth. -Suddenly, as he was passing under the spreading branches of a great -cedar, he saw something that made him stare with astonishment--a little -white girl, driving before her a flock of goats! She was dressed in -a loose gown of blue print, and wore an old-fashioned white linen -sun-bonnet, and her bare legs and feet were tanned a deep brown. Only -for a moment did he see her face as she faced towards him to hurry up a -playful kid that had broken away from the flock, and then her back was -again turned, and she went on, quite unaware of his presence. - -"Little girl," he called. - -Something like a cry of terror escaped her lips as she turned to him. - -"Oh, sir," she cried in trembling tones, "you frightened me." - -"I am so sorry, my dear. Who are you? Where do you live?" - -"Just by the lake, sir, with my father and mother." - -"May I come with you and see them?" - -"Oh, yes, sir. We have never seen any one since we came here more than -two years ago. When did you come, sir?" - -"Only this morning. My vessel is anchored in the little cove." - -"Oh, I am so glad, so glad! My father and mother too will be so glad to -meet you. But he cannot see you--I mean see you with his eyes--for he is -blind. When our ship was wrecked here the lightning struck him, and took -away his eyesight." - -Deeply interested as he was, Manson forbore to question the child any -further, and walked beside her in silence till they came in view of the -lake. - -"Look, sir, there is our house. Mother and Fiji Sam, the sailor, built -it, and I helped. Isn't it nice? See, there are my father and mother -waiting for me." - -On the margin of a lovely little lake, less than a mile in -circumference, was a comfortably built house, semi-native, semi-European -in construction, and surrounded by a garden of gorgeous-hued coleus, -crotons, and other indigenous plants, and even the palings which -enclosed it were of growing saplings, so evenly trimmed as to resemble -an ivy-grown wall. - -Seated in front of the open door were a man and woman. The latter rose -and came to meet Manson, who raised his hat as the lady held out her -hand, and he told her who he was. - -"Come inside," she said, in a soft, pleasant voice. "This is my husband, -Captain Hollister. Our vessel was lost on this island twenty-eight -months ago, and you are the first white man we have seen since then." - -The blind man made his visitor welcome, but without effusion, and begged -him to be seated. What especially struck Manson was the calm, quiet -manner of all three. They received him as if they were used to seeing -strangers, and betrayed no unusual agitation. Yet they were deeply -thankful for his coming. The house consisted of three rooms, and had -been made extremely comfortable by articles of cabin furniture. The -table was laid for breakfast, and as Manson sat down, the little girl -hurriedly milked a goat, and brought in a small gourd of milk. In a -few minutes Hollister's slight reserve had worn off, and he related his -strange story. - -His vessel (of which he was owner) was a topsail schooner of 130 tons, -and had sailed from Singapore in a trading cruise among the Pacific -Islands. For the first four months all went well. Many islands had been -visited with satisfactory results, and then came disaster, swift and -terrible. Hollister told of it in few and simple words. - -"We were in sight of this island and in the middle watch were becalmed. -The night was close and sultry, and we had made all ready for a blow -of some sort. For two hours we waited, and then in an instant the whole -heavens were alight with chain and fork lightning. My Malay crew bolted -below, and as they reached the fore-scuttle, two of them were struck -dead, and flames burst out on the fore-part of the ship. I sprang -forward, and was half-way along the deck, when I, too, was struck down. -For an hour I was unconscious, and when I revived knew that my sight was -gone for ever. - -"My mate was a good seaman, but old and wanting in nerve. Still, with -the aid of some of the terrified crew, and amidst a torrential downpour -of rain which almost immediately began to fall, he did what he could to -save the ship. In half an hour the rain ceased, and then the wind came -with hurricane force from the southward; the crew again bolted, and -refused to come on deck, and the poor mate in trying to heave-to was -washed away from the wheel, together with the Malay serang--the only man -who stuck to him. There were now left on board alive four Malays, one -Fijian A.B. named Sam, my wife and child and myself. And I, of course, -was helpless. - -"'Fiji Sam' was a plucky fellow. Aided by my wife, he succeeded in -putting the schooner before the wind and letting her drive to the -N.N.W., feeling sure that she would be giving the land a wide berth. -Unfortunately he did not count upon a four-knot current setting to the -eastward, and just as daylight was breaking we tore clean over the reef -at high water into a little bay two miles from here. The water was so -deep, and the place so sheltered, that the schooner drifted in among the -branches of the trees lining the beach, and lay there as quiet as if she -were moored to a wharf. - -"Two days later the Malays seized the dinghy, taking with them -provisions and arms, and deserted me. What became of them I do not know. - -"Fiji Sam found this lake, and here we built this house, after removing -all that we could from the ship, for she was leaking, and settled down -upon her keel. She is there still, but of no use. - -"When we ran ashore we had in the hold some goats and pigs, which I had -bought at Anchorites' Island. The goats kept with us, but the pigs went -wild, and took to the bush. In endeavouring to shoot one, poor Fiji -Sam lost his life--his rifle caught in a vine and went off, the bullet -passing through his body. - -"Not once since the wreck have we seen a single native, though on clear -days we often see smoke about fifteen miles along the coast. Anyway, -none have come near us--for which I am very glad." - -Manson remarked that that was fortunate as they were "a bad lot". - -"So we have been living here quietly for over two years. Twice only have -we seen a sail, but only on the horizon. And I, having neither boat nor -canoe, and being blind, was helpless." - -"That is the poor fellow's story," concluded Manson. "Of course I will -give them a passage to Levuka, and we must otherwise do our best for -them. Although Hollister has lost every penny he had in the world, his -wife tells me that she owns some property in Singapore, where she also -has a brother who is in business there. By Jove, boys, I wish you -had been with me when I said 'Thank God, I have found you, Captain -Hollister,' and the poor fellow sighed and turned his face away as he -held out his hand to me, and his wife drew him to her bosom." - - - - -CHAPTER IV ~ NISÂN ISLAND; A TALE OF THE OLD TRADING DAYS - -When I was first learning the ropes as a "recruiter" in the Kanaka -labour trade, recruiting natives to work on the plantations of Samoa and -Fiji, we called at a group of islands called Nisân by the natives, -and marked on the chart as the Sir Charles Hardy Islands. I thought -it likely that I might obtain a few "recruits," and the captain wanted -fresh provisions. - -The group lies between the south end of New Ireland and the north end of -the great Bougainville Island in the Solomon Archipelago, and consists -of six low, well-wooded and fertile islands, enclosed within a barrier -reef, forming a noble atoll, almost circular in shape. All the islands -are thickly populated at the present day by natives, who are peaceable -enough, and engage in _bêche-de-mer_ and pearl-shell fishing. Less than -forty years back they were notorious cannibals, and very warlike, and -never hesitated to attempt to cut off any whaleship or trading vessel -that was not well manned and well armed. - -As I had visited the group on three previous occasions in a trading -vessel and was well known to the people, I was pretty sure of getting -some "recruits" for Samoa, for our vessel had a good reputation. So, -lowering our boats, the second mate and I went on shore, and were -pleasantly received. But, alas for my hopes! I could not get a single -native to recruit They were, they said, now doing so well at curing -_bêche-de-mer_ for a Sydney trading vessel that none of the young men -cared to leave the island to work on a plantation for three years; in -addition to this, never before had food been so plentiful--pigs and -poultry abounded, and turtle were netted by hundreds at a time. In proof -of their assertion as to the abundance of provisions, I bought from -them, for trade goods worth about ten dollars, a boat-load of turtle, -pigs, ducks, fowls, eggs and fish. These I sent off to the ship by the -second mate, and told him to return for another load of bread-fruit, -taro, and other vegetables and fruit. I also sent a note to the captain -by my own boat, telling him to come on shore and bring our guns and -plenty of cartridges, as the islands were alive with countless thousands -of fine, heavy pigeons, which were paying the group their annual visit -from the mountainous forests of Bougainville Island and New Ireland. -They literally swarmed on a small uninhabited island, covered with -bread-fruit and other trees, and used by the natives as a sort of -pleasure resort. - -The two boats returned together, and leaving the second mate to buy more -pigs and turtle--for we had eighty-five "recruits" on board to feed, as -well as the ship's company of twenty-eight persons--the skipper and I -started off in my boat for the little island, accompanied by several -young Nisân "bucks" carrying old smooth-bore muskets, for they, too, -wanted to join in the sport I had given them some tins of powder, shot, -and a few hundred military caps. We landed on a beautiful white beach, -and telling our boat's crew to return to the village and help the second -mate, the skipper and I, with the Nisân natives, walked up the bank, -and in a few minutes the guns were at work. Never before had I seen -such thousands of pigeons in so small an area. It could hardly be called -sport, for the birds were so thick on the trees that when a native fired -at haphazard into the branches the heavy charge of shot would bring them -down by the dozen--the remainder would simply fly off to the next tree. -Owing to the dense foliage the skipper and I seldom got a shot at them -on the wing, and had to slaughter like the natives, consoling ourselves -with the fact that every bird would be eaten. Most of them were so fat -that it was impossible to pluck them without the skin coming away, -and from the boat-load we took on board the skip's cook obtained a -ten-gallon keg full of fat. - -About noon we ceased, to have something to eat and drink, and chose for -our camp a fairly open spot, higher than the rest of the island, and -growing on which were some magnificent trees, bearing a fruit called -vi. It is in reality a wild mango, but instead of containing the smooth -oval-shaped seed of the mango family, it has a round, root-like and -spiky core. The fruit, however, is of a delicious flavour, and when -fully ripe melts in one's mouth. Whilst our native friends were grilling -some birds, and getting us some young coco-nuts to drink, the captain -and I, taking some short and heavy pieces of wood, began throwing them -at the ripe fruit overhead. Suddenly my companion tripped over something -and fell. - -"Hallo, what is this?" he exclaimed, as he rose and looked at the cause -of his mishap. - -It was the end of a bar of pig-iron ballast, protruding some inches -out of the soft soil. We worked it to and fro, and then pulled it out. -Wondering how it came there, we left it and resumed our stick-throwing, -when we discovered three more on the other side of the tree; they were -lying amid the ruins of an old wall, built of coral-stone slabs. We -questioned the natives as to how these "pigs" came to be there. They -replied that, long before their time, a small vessel had come into -the lagoon and anchored, and that the crew had thrown the bars of iron -overboard. After the schooner had sailed away, the natives had dived for -and recovered the iron, and had tried to soften the bars by fire in the -hope of being able to turn it into axes, etc. - -We accepted the story as true, and thought no more about it, though we -wondered why such useful, compact and heavy ballast should be thrown -away, and when my boat returned to take us to the ship, we took the iron -"pigs" with us. - -Arriving at Samoa, we soon rid ourselves of our eighty-five -"blackbirds," who had all behaved very well on the voyage, and were -sorry to leave the ship; and that evening I paid a visit to an old -friend of mine--an American who kept a large store in Apia, the -principal port and town of Samoa. I was telling him all about our -cruise, when an old white man, locally known as "Bandy Tom," came up -from the yard, and sat down on the verandah steps near us. Old Tom was a -character, and well known all over Polynesia as an inveterate old loafer -and beachcomber. He was a deserter from the navy, and for over forty -years had wandered about the South Pacific, sometimes working honestly -for a living, sometimes dishonestly, but usually loafing upon some -native community, until they tired of him and made him seek fresh -pastures. In his old age he had come to Samoa, and my friend, taking -pity on the penniless old wreck, gave him employment as night watchman, -and let him hang about the premises and do odd jobs in the day-time. -With all his faults he was an amusing ancient, and was known for his -"tall" yarns about his experiences with cannibals in Fiji. - -Bidding me "good-evening," Bandy Tom puffed away at his pipe, and -listened to what I was saying. When I had finished describing our visit -to Nisân, and the finding of the ballast, he interrupted. - -"I can tell you where them 'pigs' come from, and all about -'em--leastways a good deal; for I knows more about the matter than any -one else." - -Parker laughed. "Bandy, you know, or pretend to know, about everything -that has happened in the South Seas since the time of Captain Cook." - -"Ah, you can laugh as much as you like, boss," said the old fellow -serenely, "but I know what I'm talkin' about I ain't the old gas-bag you -think I am. I lived on Nisân for a year an' ten months, nigh on thirty -years ago, gettin' _bêche-de-mer_ for Captain Bobby Towns of Sydney." -Then turning to me he added: "I ain't got too bad a memory, for all my -age. I can tell you the names of all the six islands, and how they lies, -an' a good deal about the people an' the queer way they has of catchin' -turtle in rope nets; an' I can tell you the names of the head men that -was there in my time--which was about 'fifty or 'fifty-one. Just you try -me an' see." - -I did try him, and he very soon satisfied me that he had lived on the -Sir Charles Hardy Islands, and knew the place well. Then he told his -story, which I condense as much as possible. - - - - -FIRST PART - -Bandy was landed at Nisân by Captain Robert Towns of the barque -_Adventurer_ of Sydney, to collect _bêche-de-mer_. He was well received -by the savage inhabitants and provided with a house, and well treated -generally, for Captain Towns, knowing the natives to be cannibals and -treacherous, had demanded a pledge from them that Bandy should not be -harmed, and threatened that if on his return in the following year he -found the white man was missing, he would land his crew, and destroy -them to the last man. Then the barque sailed. A day or so afterwards -Bandy was visited by a native, who was very different in appearance -from the Nisân people. He spoke to the white man in good English, and -informed him that he was a native of the island of Rotumah, but had been -living on Nisân for more than twenty years, had married, had a family, -and was well thought of by the people. The two became great friends, and -Taula, as the Rotumah man was named, took Bandy into his confidence, and -told him of a tragedy that had occurred on Nisân about five or six years -after he (Taula) had landed on the islands. He was one of the crew of a -whaleship which, on a dark night, nearly ran ashore on Nisân, and in the -hurry and confusion of the vessels going about he slipped over the side, -swam on shore through the surf, and reached the land safely. - -One day, said Taula, the natives were thrown into a state of wild -excitement by the appearance of a brigantine, which boldly dropped -anchor abreast of the principal village. She was the first vessel -that had ever stopped at the islands, and the savage natives instantly -planned to capture her and massacre the crew. But they resolved to first -put the white men off their guard. Taula, however, did not know this at -the time. With a number of the Nisân people he went on board, taking -an ample supply of provisions. The brigantine had a large crew and was -heavily armed, carrying ten guns, and the natives were allowed to board -in numbers. The captain had with him his wife, whom Taula described as -being quite a young girl. He questioned the natives about pearl-shell -and _bêche-de-mer_ and a few hours later, by personal inspection, -satisfied himself that the atoll abounded with both. He made a treaty -with the apparently friendly people, and at once landed a party to build -houses, etc. - -I must now, for reasons that will appear later on, hurry over Taula's -story as told by him to Bandy. - -Eight or ten days after the arrival of the brigantine, the shore -party of fourteen white men were treacherously attacked, and thirteen -ruthlessly slaughtered. One who escaped was kept as a slave, and the -brigantine, to avoid capture, hurriedly put to sea. - -Six months or so passed, and the vessel again appeared and anchored, -this time on a mission of vengeance. The natives, nevertheless, were not -alarmed, and again determined to get possession of the ship, although -this time her decks were crowded with men. They attacked her in canoes, -were repulsed, returned to the shore and then, with incredible audacity, -sent the white sailor whom they had captured on board the vessel to make -peace. But not for a moment had they relinquished the determination to -capture the vessel, which they decided to effect by treachery, if force -could not be used. What followed was related in detail by Taula to -Bandy. - -Parker and I were deeply interested in Bandy's story, and at its -conclusion I asked him if his informant knew the name of the ship and -her nationality. - -"Not her name, sir; but she was an American. Taula knew the American -flag, for the ship he ran away from was a Sag harbour whaler. The -pig-iron bars which you found were brought ashore to make a bed for the -_bêche-de-mer_ curing pots. He showed 'em to me one day." - -Both Parker and I were convinced of the truth of Bandy's story, and came -to the conclusion that the unknown brigantine was probably a colonial -trader, which had afterwards been lost with all hands. For we were -both fairly well up in the past history of the South Seas--at least we -thought so--and had never heard of this affair at the Sir Charles Hardy -Group. But we were entirely mistaken in our assumptions. - -In the month of April in the year 1906, after a lapse of more than five -and twenty years, the mystery that enshrouded the tragedy of Nisân -was revealed to me by my coming across, in a French town, a small, -time-stained and faded volume of 230 pages, and published by J. and J. -Harper of New York in 1833, and entitled _Narrative of a Voyage to the -Ethiopie and South Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Chinese Sea, North -and South Pacific Ocean in the years_ 1829, 1830, 1831, by Abby Jane -Morrell, who accompanied her husband, Captain Benjamin Morrell, Junior, -of the schooner _Antarctic_. - -Now to her story, - - - - -SECOND PART - -Opening the faded little volume, the reader sees a wood-engraving of the -authoress, a remarkably handsome young woman of about twenty years of -age, dressed in the quaint fashion of those days. As a matter of fact -she was only four and twenty when her book was published. In a brief -preface she tells us that her object in writing a book was not for the -purpose of exciting interest in her own experiences of a remarkable -voyage, but in the hope that it would arouse philanthropic endeavour to -ameliorate the condition of American seamen. Throughout the volume there -is a vein of deep, yet unobtrusive piety, and the reader is struck with -her self-effacement, her courage, her reverent admiration for her young -sailor husband, and her pride in his gallant ship and sturdy crew of -native-born American seamen. In the _Antarctic_ the young couple sailed -many seas, and visited many lands, and everywhere they seem to have been -the recipients of unbounded hospitality and attention, especially from -their own country people, and English merchants, and naval and military -men. It is very evident--even if only judging from her picture--that she -was a very charming young lady of the utmost vivacity; and in addition -to this, she was an accomplished linguist, and otherwise highly -educated. Her beauty, indeed, caused her many tears, owing to the -"wicked and persistent attentions" of the American consul at Manila. -This gentleman appears to have set himself to work to make Mrs. Morrell -a widow, until at last--her husband being away at sea--she had to be -guarded from his persistent advances by some of the English and American -families resident in Manila. She tells the story in the most naive and -delightful manner, and the reader's heart warms to the little woman. But -I must not diverge from the subject. - -"I am," she says, "the daughter of Captain John Wood, of New York, who -died at New Orleans on the 14th of November, 1811. He was then master -of the ship _Indian Hunter_.... He died when I was so young that if I -pleased myself with thinking that I remember him, I could not have been -a judge of his virtues; but it has been a source of happiness to me that -he is spoken of by his contemporaries as a man of good sense and great -integrity." - -When fifteen years of age Miss Wood met her cousin, Captain Morrell, -a young man who had gained a reputation for seamanship, and as a -navigator. They were mutually attracted to each other, and in a few -months were married. Then he sailed away on a two years' voyage, -returned, and again set out, this time to the little known South Seas. -Absent a year--during which time a son was born to him--he was so -pleased with the financial results of the voyage that he determined on -a second; and his wife insisted on accompanying him, though he pleaded -with her to remain, and told her of the dangers and terrors of a long -voyage in unknown seas, the islands of which were peopled by ferocious -and treacherous cannibals. But she was not to be deterred from sharing -her husband's perils, and with an aching heart took farewell of her -infant son, whom she left in care of her mother, and on 2nd September, -1829, the _Antarctic_ sailed from New York. The cruise was to last two -years, and the object of it was to seek for new sealing grounds in the -Southern Ocean, and then go northward to the Pacific Islands and -barter with the natives for sandal-wood, _bêche-de-mer_ pearls, and -pearl-shell. - -The crew of the brigantine were picked men, and all of them gave Morrell -a written pledge to abstain from drinking spirits of any kind during the -entire voyage. Morrell, though a strict disciplinarian, seems to have -had their respect and even affection throughout, and that he was a man -of iron resolution and dauntless courage the book gives ample testimony. - -After some months' sealing at the Auckland Islands, and visiting New -Zealand, where the Morrells were entertained by the missionary, John -Williams, the brigantine made a highly successful cruise among the -islands of the South Pacific, and then Morrell went to Manila to dispose -of his valuable cargo. This he did to great advantage, and once more his -restless, daring spirit impelled him tot make another voyage among the -islands. This time, however, he left his wife in Manila, where she soon -found many friends, who protected her from the annoying attentions of -the consul, and nursed her through a severe illness. - -"On the seventy-fifth day after the sailing of the _Antarctic?_" she -writes, "as I was looking with a glass from my window, as I had done for -many days previously, I saw my husband's well-known signal at the mast -head of an approaching vessel.... I was no sooner on board than I found -myself in my husband's arms; but the scene was too much for my enfeebled -frame, and I was for some time insensible. On coming to myself, I looked -around and saw my brother, pale and emaciated. My forebodings were -dreadful when I perceived that the number of the crew was sadly -diminished from what it was when I was last on board. I dared not -trust myself to make any inquiries, and all seemed desirous to avoid -explanations. I could not rest in this state of mind, and ventured to -ask what had become of the men. My husband, with his usual frankness, -sat down and detailed to me the whole affair, which was as follows:-- - - - A TALE OF THE OLD TRADING DAYS - -"It seems that six weeks after leaving Manila" (here I omit some -unimportant details) "he came to six islands that were surrounded by -a coral reef." (The Sir Charles Hardy Group.) "Here was a-plenty of -_bêche-de-mer_ and he made up his mind to get a cargo of this, and what -shell he could procure.... On May 21st he sent a boat's crew on shore to -clear away the brush and prepare a place to cure the _bêche-de-mer_. The -natives now came off to the vessel, and seemed quiet, although it was -evident that they had never seen a white man before, and the islands -bore no trace of ever having been visited by civilised men. The people -were a large, savage-looking race, but Mr. Morrell was lulled to -security by their civil and harmless (_sic_) appearance, and their -fondness of visiting the vessel to exchange their fruits for trinkets -and other commodities attractive to the savages in these climes. They -were shown in perfect friendship all parts of the vessel, and appeared -pleased with the attentions paid them.... A boat was sent on shore with -the forge and all the blacksmith's tools, but the savages soon stole the -greater part of them. - -"This was an unpropitious circumstance, but Mr. Morrell thought that he -could easily recover them; and to accomplish this, he took six of his -men, well armed, and marched directly to the village where the king -lived. This was a lovely place, formed in a grove of trees. Here he met -two hundred warriors, all painted for battle, armed with bows and arrows -ready for an onset, waving their war plumes, and eager to engage. On -turning round he saw nearly as many more in his rear--it was a critical -moment--the slightest fear was sure death. Mr. Morrell addressed his -comrades, and, in a word, told them that if they did not act in concert, -and in the most dauntless manner, death would be inevitable. He then -threw down his musket, drew his cutlass, and holding a pistol in his -right hand, he pushed for the king, knowing in what reverence savages in -general hold the person of their monarch. In an instant the pistol was -at the king's breast, and the cutlass waved over his head. The savages -had arrowed their bows, and were ready at the slightest signal to have -shot a cloud of missiles at the handful of white men; but in an instant, -when they saw the danger of their king, they dropped their bows to the -ground. At this fortunate moment, the captain marched around the circle, -and compelled those who had come with war-clubs to throw those down -also; all which he ordered his men to secure and collect inta a heap. -The king was then conducted with several of his chiefs on board the -_Antarctic_, and kept until the next day. They were treated with every -attention, but strictly guarded all night On the following morning he -gave them a good breakfast, loaded them with presents--for which they -seemed grateful, and laboured hard to convince their conqueror that they -were friendly to him and his crew--sent them on shore, together with -some of his men, to go on with the works which had been commenced; but -feeling that a double caution was necessary, he sent a reinforcement -to his men on shore, well armed.... All were cautioned to be on their -guard; but everything was unavailing; for not long after this, a general -attack was made on the men from the woods, in so sudden a manner that -they were overthrown at once. Two of the crew who were in the small -boat, made their escape out of reach of the arrows, and had the good -fortune to pick up three others who had thrown themselves into the water -for safety. On hearing the horrid yells of the savages, the whaleboat -was sent with ten men, who, with great exertions, saved two more of -the crew. The rest all fell, at one untimely moment, victims to savage -barbarity! It was an awful and heart-sickening moment; fourteen of the -crew had perished--they were murdered, mangled, and their corpses -thrown upon the strand without the possibility of receiving the rites -of Christian burial.... Four of the survivors were wounded--the heat was -intolerable--the spirits of the crew were broken down, and a sickness -came over their hearts that could not be controlled by the power of -medicine--a sickness arising from moral causes, that would not yield to -science nor art. - -"In this situation Captain Morrell made the best of his way for -Manila.... I grew pale over the narrative; it filled my dreams for many -nights, and occupied my thoughts for many days, almost exclusively.... -I dreaded the thought of the mention of the deed, and yet I wished I -had been there. I might have done some good, or, if not, I might have -assisted to dress the wounded, among whom was my own dear, heroic -brother. He received an arrow in the breast, but his good constitution -soon got over the shock; though he was pale even when I saw him, so -many days after the event. My husband had now lost everything but his -courage, his honour, and his perseverance; but the better part of the -community of Manila had become his friends, while the American consul -was delighted with our misfortunes. He was alone!" - - - - -THIRD PART - -Nothing daunted by this catastrophe Captain Morrell petitioned the -Captain-General of the Philippines for leave to take out a new crew -of seventy additional men--sixty-six Manila men, and four Europeans. -Everyone warned him of the danger of this--no other ship had ever dared -take more than six Manila men as part of her complement, for they were -treacherous, and prone to mutiny. But Morrell contested that he would -be able to manage them and the captain-general yielded. Two English -merchants, Messrs. Cannell and Gellis, generously lent him all the money -he required to fit out, taking only his I.O.U. So:-- - -"On the 18th July, 1830, the _Antarctic_ again sailed for Massacre -Islands, as my husband had named the group where he lost his men. When -I went on board I found a crew of eighty-five men, fifty-five of them -savages as fierce as those whom we were about to encounter, and as -dangerous, if not properly managed. One would have thought that I should -have shrunk from this assemblage as from those of Massacre Islands, but -I entered my cabin with a light step; I did not fear savage men half -so much as I did a civilised brute. I was with my husband; he was not -afraid, why should I be? This was my reasoning, and I found it safe. - -"The schooner appeared as formidable as anything possibly could of her -size; she had great guns, ten in number, small arms, boarding-pikes, -cutlasses, pistols, and a great quantity of ammunition. She was a -war-horse in every sense of the word, but that of animal life, and that -she seemed partially to have, or one would have thought so, to hear -the sailors talk of her.... She coursed over the waters with every -preparation for fight. - -"On the 13th of September the _Antarctic_ again reached Massacre -Islands. I could only view the place as a Golgotha; and shuddered as we -neared it; but I could see that most of the old crew who came hither -at the time of the massacre were panting for revenge, although their -captain had endeavoured to impress upon them the folly of gratifying -such a passion if we could gain our purpose by mildness mixed with -firmness." (I am afraid that here the skipper of the _Antarctic_ was -not exactly open with the little lady. He certainly meant that his crew -should "get even" with their shipmates' murderers, but doubtless told -her that he "had endeavoured," etc) - -"We had no sooner made our appearance in the harbour at Massacre Island, -on the 14th, than we were attacked by about three hundred warriors. We -opened a brisk fire upon them, and they immediately retreated. This was -the first battle I ever saw where men in anger met men in earnest We -were now perfectly safe; our Manila men were as brave as Caesar; they -were anxious to be landed instantly, to fight these Indians at once. -They felt as much superior, no doubt, to these ignorant savages as the -philosopher does to the peasant. This the captain would not permit; he -knew his superiority while on board his vessel, and he also knew that -this superiority must be, in a manner, lost to him as soon as he landed. - -"The firing had ceased, and the enemy had retired, when a single -canoe appeared coming from the shore with one man in it. We could not -conjecture what this could mean. The man was as naked as a savage and as -highly painted, but he managed his paddle with a different hand from the -savages. When he came alongside, he cried out to us in English, and we -recognised Leonard Shaw, one of our old crew, whom we had supposed among -the dead. The meeting had that joyousness about it that cannot be felt -in ordinary life; he was dead and buried, and now was alive again! -We received him as one might imagine; surprise, joy, wonder, took -possession of us all, and we made him recount his adventures, which were -wonderful enough. - -"Shaw was wounded when the others were slain; he fled to the woods, and -succeeded at that time in escaping from death. Hunger at length induced -him to leave the woods and attempt to give himself to the savages, but -coming in sight of the horrid spectacle of the bodies of his friends and -companions roasting for a cannibal feast, he rushed forth again into the -woods with the intent rather to starve than to trust to such wretches -for protection. For four days and nights he remained in his hiding -place, when he was forced to go in pursuit of something to keep himself -from starving. After some exertion he obtained three coco-nuts, which -were so young that they did not afford much sustenance, but were -sufficient to keep him alive fifteen days, during which time he suffered -from the continually falling showers, which left him dripping wet. In -the shade of his hiding place he had no chance to dry himself, and on -the fifteenth day he ventured to stretch himself in the sun; but he did -not long remain undisturbed; an Indian saw him, and gave the alarm, -and he was at once surrounded by a host of savages. The poor, suffering -wretch implored them to be merciful, but he implored in vain; one of -them struck him on the back of the head with a war-club, and laid him -senseless on the ground, and for a while left him as dead. When he -recovered, and had gathered his scattered senses, he observed a chief -who was not among those by whom he had been attacked, and made signs -to him that he would be his slave if he would save him. The savage -intimated to him to follow, which he did, and had his wound most cruelly -dressed by the savage, who poured hot water into it, and filled it with -sand. - -"As soon as the next day, while yet in agony with his wound, he was -called up and set to work in making knives, and other implements from -the iron hoops, and other plunder from the forge when the massacre took -place. This was indeed hard, for the poor fellow was no mechanic, though -a first-rate Jack-tar... however, necessity made him a blacksmith, and -he got along pretty well. - -"The savages were not yet satisfied, and they made him march five or -six miles to visit a distinguished chief. This was done in a state of -nudity, without anything like sandals or mocassins to protect his feet -from the flint stones and sharp shells, and under the burning rays of -an intolerable sun. Blood marked his footsteps. The king met him -and compelled him to debase himself by the most abject ceremonies of -slavery. He was now overcome, and with a dogged indifference was ready -to die. He could not, he would not walk back; his feet were lacerated, -swollen, and almost in a state of putrefaction. The savages saw this, -and took him back by water, but only to experience new torments. The -young ones imitated their elders, and these graceless little rascals -pulled out his beard and whiskers, and eyebrows and eyelashes. In order -to save himself some part of the pain of this wretched process of their -amusement, he was permitted to perform a part of this work with his -own hands. He was indeed a pitiable object, but one cannot die when one -wishes, and be guiltless. This was not all he suffered; he was almost -starved to death, for they gave him only the offal of the fish they -caught, and this but sparingly; he sustained himself by catching rats, -and these offensive creatures were his principal food for a longtime. -He understood that the natives did not suffer the rats to be killed, and -therefore he had to do it secretly in the night time. - -"Thus passed the days of the poor prisoner; the wound on his head was -not yet healed, and notwithstanding all his efforts he failed to get the -sand out of his first wound until a short time before his deliverance, -when it was made known to him that he was to be immolated for a feast to -the king of the group! All things had now become matters of indifference -to him, and he heard the horrid story with great composure. All the -preparations for the sacrifice were got up in his presence, near the -very spot where the accursed feast of skulls had been held. All was in -readiness, and the people waited a long time for the king; but he did -not come, and the ceremony was put off. - -"Shaw has often expressed himself on this subject, and said that he -could not but feel some regret that his woes were not to be finished, -as there was no hope for him, and to linger always in this state of -agitation was worse than death; but mortals are short-sighted, for he -was destined to be saved through the instrumentality of his friends. - -"His soul was again agitated by hope and fear in the extremes when the -_Antarctic_ made her appearance a second time on the coast. He feared -that her arrival would be the signal for his destruction; but if this -should not happen, might he not be saved? The whole population of the -island he was on, and those of the others of the group, manned their -war canoes for a formidable attack; and the fate of the prisoner was -suspended for a season. The attack was commenced by the warriors in the -canoes, without doubt confident of success; but the well-directed fire -from the _Antarctic_ soon repulsed them, and they sought the shore in -paroxysms of rage, which was changed to fear when they found that the -big guns of the schooner threw their shot directly into the village, and -were rapidly demolishing their dwellings. It was in this state of fear -and humility that Shaw was sent off to the vessel to stop the carnage -and destruction; they were glad to have peace on any terms. They now -gave up their boldness, and as it was the wish of all but the Manila -men to spare the effusion of human blood, it was done as soon as safety -would permit of it. - -"The story of Shaw's sufferings raised the indignation of every one -of the Americans and English we had on board, and they were violently -desirous to be led on to attack the whole of the Massacre Islands, and -extirpate the race at once. They felt at this moment as if it would be -an easy thing to kill the whole of the inhabitants; but Captain Morrell -was not to be governed by any impulse of passion--he had other duties to -perform; yet he did not reprimand the men for this feeling; thinking it -might be of service to him hereafter. - -"After taking every precaution to ensure safety, by getting up his -boarding-nettings many feet above the deck, and everything prepared for -defence or attack, the frame of the house, brought for the purpose, -was got up on a small uninhabited island--which had previously been -purchased of the king in exchange for useful articles such as axes, -shaves, and other mechanical tools, precisely such as the Indians wished -for. The captain landed with a large force, and began to fell the trees -to make a castle for defence. Finding two large trees, nearly six feet -through, he prepared the limbs about forty feet from the ground, and -raised a platform extending from one to the other, with an arrow-proof -bulwark around it. Upon this platform were stationed a garrison of -twenty men, with four brass swivels. The platform was covered with a -watertight roof, and the men slept there at night upon their arms, to -keep the natives from approaching to injure the trees or the fort by -fire--the only way they could assail the garrison. It looked indeed like -a castle--formidable in every respect; and the ascent to it was by a -ladder, which was drawn up at night into this war-like habitation. The -next step was to clear the woods from around the castle, in order to -prevent a lurking enemy from coming within arrow-shot of the fort -Next, the house was raised, and made quite a fine appearance, being one -hundred and fifty feet long, forty feet broad, and very high. The castle -protected the house and the workmen in it, and both house and castle -were so near the sea-board that the _Antarctic_ while riding at anchor, -protected both. The castle was well stocked with provisions in case of a -siege. - -"The next day, after all was in order for business, a large number of -canoes made their appearance near Massacre Island. Shaw said that this -fleet belonged to another island (of the group) and he had never known -them to stop there before. My husband, having some suspicions, did not -suffer the crew to go on shore next morning at the usual time; and about -eight o'clock one of the chiefs came off, as usual, to offer us fruits, -but no boat was sent to meet him. He waited some time for us, and then -directed his course to our island, which my husband had named Wallace -Island, in memory of the officer who had bravely fallen in fight on the -day of the massacre. This was surprising as not a single native had set -foot on that island since our works were begun; but we were not kept -long in suspense, for we saw about a hundred war-canoes start from the -back side of Massacre Island, and make towards Wallace Island. We knew -that war was their object, and the _Antarctic_ was prepared for -battle. The chief who had come to sell us fruit, came in front of the -castle--the first man. He gave the war-whoop, and about two hundred -warriors, who had concealed themselves in the woods during the darkness -of the night, rushed forward. The castle was attacked on both sides, -and the Indians discharged their arrows at the building in the air, till -they were stuck, like porcupines' quills, in every part of the roof. The -garrison was firm, and waked in silence until the assailants were within -a short distance, when they opened a tremendous fire with their swivels, -loaded with canister shot; the men were ready with their muskets also, -and the _Antarctic_ opened her fire of large guns, all with a direct -and deadly aim at the leaders of the savage band. The execution was very -great, and in a short time the enemy beat a precipitate retreat, taking -with them their wounded, and as many of their dead as they could. The -ground was strewed with implements of war, which the savages had thrown -away in their flight, or which had belonged to the slain. The enemy did -not expect such a reception, and they were prodigiously frightened; the -sound of the cannon alarmed every woman and child in the group, as it -echoed through the forest, or died upon the wave; they had never heard -such a roar before, for in our first fight there was no necessity for -such energy. The Indians took to the water, leaving only a few in their -canoes to get them off, while the garrison hoisted the American flag, -and were greeted by cheers from those on board the schooner, who were in -high spirits at their victory, which was achieved without the loss of -a man on our part, and only two wounded. The music struck up 'Yankee -Doodle,' 'Rule Britannia,' etc., and the crew could hardly restrain -their joy to think that they had beaten their enemy so easily. - -"The boats were all manned, and most of the crew went on shore to -mark the devastation which had been made. I saw all this without any -sensation of fear, so easy is it for a woman to catch the spirit of -those near her. If I had a few months before this time read of such a -battle I should have trembled at the detail of the incidents; but seeing -all the animation and courage which were displayed, and noticing at the -same time how coolly all was done, every particle of fear left me, and -I stood quite as collected as any heroine of former days. Still I -could not but deplore the sacrifice of the poor, misguided, ignorant -creatures, who wore the human form, and had souls to save. Must the -ignorant always be taught civilisation through blood?--situated as we -were, no other course could be taken. - -"On the morning of the 19th, to our great surprise, the chief who had -previously come out to bring us fruit, and had done so on the morning of -our great battle, came again in his canoe, and called for Shaw, on -the edge of the reef, with his usual air of kindness and friendship, -offering fruit, and intimating a desire for trade, as though nothing had -happened. The offer seemed fair, but all believed him to be treacherous. -The small boat was sent to meet him, but Shaw, who we feared was now an -object of vengeance, was not sent in her. She was armed for fear of -the worst, and the coxswain had orders to kill the chief if he should -discover any treachery in him. As our boat came alongside the canoe, -the crew saw a bearded arrow attached to a bow, ready for the purpose -of revenge. Just as the savage was about to bend his bow, the coxswain -levelled his piece, and shot the traitor through the body; his wound was -mortal, but he did not expire immediately. At this instant a fleet of -canoes made their appearance to protect their chief. The small boat lost -one of her oars in the fight, and we were obliged to man two large boats -and send them to the place of contest The large boats were armed with -swivels and muskets, and a furious engagement ensued. The natives were -driven from the water, but succeeded in taking off their wounded chief, -who expired as he reached the shore. - -"After the death of Hennean, the name of the chief we had slain, the -inhabitants of Massacre Island fled to some other place, and left all -things as they were before our attack upon them, and our men roamed over -it at will. The skulls of several of our slaughtered men were found at -Hennean's door, trophies of his bloody prowess. These were now buried -with the honours of war; the colours of the _Antarctic_ were lowered -half-mast, minute guns were fired, and dirges were played by our band, -in honour of those who had fallen untimely on Massacre Island. This was -all that feeling or affection could bestow. Those so inhumanly murdered -had at last the rites of burial performed for them; millions have -perished without such honours...it is the last sad office that can be -paid. - -"We now commenced collecting and curing _bêche-de-mer_ and should have -succeeded to our wishes, if we had not been continually harassed by the -natives as soon as we began our efforts. We continued to work in this -way until the 28th of October, when we found that the natives were still -hostile, and on that day one of our men was attacked on Massacre Island, -but escaped death through great presence of mind, and shot the man, who -was the brother of the chief Hennean. Our man's name was Thomas Holmes, -a cool, deliberate Englishman. Such an instance of self-possession, -in such great danger as that in which he was placed, would have given -immortality to a greater man. We felt ourselves much harassed and vexed -by the persevering savages, and finding it impossible to make them -understand our motives and intentions, we came to the conclusion to -leave the place forthwith. This was painful, after such struggles and -sacrifices and misfortunes; but there was no other course to pursue. -Accordingly, on the 3rd of November, 1830, we set fire to our house and -castle, and departed by the light of them, taking the _bêche-de-mer_ we -had collected and cured." - -So ends Mrs. Morrell's story of the tragedy of "Massacre Island". She -has much else to relate of the subsequent cruise of the _Antarctic_ in -the South Pacific and the East Indies, and finally the happy conclusion -of an adventurous voyage, when the vessel returned safely to New York. - -If the reader has been sufficiently interested in her story to desire -to know where in the South Pacific her "Massacre Island" is situated, -he will find it in any modern map or atlas, almost midway between New -Ireland and Bougainville Island, the largest of the Solomon group, and -in lat. 4° 50' S., long. 154° 20' E. In conclusion, I may mention that -further relics of the visit of the _Antarctic_ came to light about -fifteen years ago, when some of the natives brought three or four round -shot to the local trader then living on Nisân. They had found them -buried under some coral stone _débris_ when searching for robber crabs. - - - - -CHAPTER V ~ MUTINIES - -Mutinies, even at the present day, are common enough. The facts -concerning many of them never come to light, it is so often to the -advantage of the after-guard of a ship to hush matters up. I know of one -instance in which the crew of a ship loading guano phosphates at Howland -Island imprisoned the captain, three mates and the steward in the cabin -for some days; then hauled them on deck, triced up the whole five and -gave them a hundred lashes each, in revenge for the diabolical cruelties -that had been inflicted upon them day by day for long months. Then they -liberated their tormentors, took to the boats and dispersed themselves -on board other guano ships loading at How-land Island, leaving their -former captain and officers to shift for themselves. This was one of -the mutinies that never came to light, or at least the mutineers escaped -punishment. - -I have witnessed three mutinies--in the last of which I took part, -although I was not a member of the ship's crew. - -My first experience occurred when I was a boy, and has been alluded to -by the late Lord Pembroke in his "Introduction" to the first book I had -published--a collection of tales entitled _By Reef and Palm_. It was -a poor sort of an affair, but filled my boyish heart with a glorious -delight--in fact it was an enjoyable mutiny in some respects, for what -might have been a tragedy was turned into a comedy. - -With a brother two years older I was sent to San Francisco by our -parents to begin life in a commercial house, and subsequently (of -course) make our fortunes. - -Our passages were taken at Newcastle (New South Wales) on the barque -_Lizzie and Rosa_, commanded by a little red-headed Irishman, to whose -care we were committed. His wife (who sailed with him) was a most -lovable woman, generous to a fault. _He_ was about the meanest specimen -of an Irishman that ever was born, was a savage little bully, boasted of -being a Fenian, and his insignificant appearance on his quarter deck, as -he strutted up and down, irresistibly suggested a monkey on a stick, and -my brother and myself took a quick dislike to him, as also did the other -passengers, of whom there were thirty--cabin and steerage. His wife (who -was the daughter of a distinguished Irish prelate) was actually afraid -of the little man, who snarled and snapped at her as if she were a -disobedient child. (Both of them are long since dead, so I can write -freely of their characteristics.) - -The barque had formerly been a French corvette--the _Felix Bernaboo_. -She was old, ill-found and leaky, and from the day we left Newcastle the -pumps were kept going, and a week later the crew came aft and demanded -that the ship should return to port. - -The little man succeeded in quieting them for the time by giving them -better food, and we continued on our course, meeting with such a series -of adverse gales that it was forty-one days before we sighted the island -of Rurutu in the South Pacific. By this time the crew and steerage -passengers were in a very angry frame of mind; the former were -overworked and exhausted, and the latter were furious at the miserly -allowance of food doled out to them by the equally miserly captain. - -At Rurutu the natives brought off two boat-loads of fresh provisions, -but the captain bought only one small pig for the cabin passengers. The -steerage passengers bought up everything else, and in a few minutes -the crew came aft and asked the captain to buy them some decent food in -place of the decayed pork and weevily biscuit upon which they had been -existing. He refused, and ordered them for'ard, and then the mate, a -hot-tempered Yorkshireman named Oliver, lost his temper, and told the -captain that the men were starving. Angry words followed, and the mate -knocked the little man down. - -Picking himself up, he went below, and reappeared with a brace of -old-fashioned Colt's revolvers, one of which--after declaring he would -"die like an Irishman"--he pointed at the mate, and calling upon him to -surrender and be put in irons, he fired towards his head. Fortunately -the bullet missed. The sympathetic crew made a rush aft, seized the -skipper, and after knocking him about rather severely, held him under -the force pump, and nearly drowned him. Only for the respect that the -crew had for his wife, I really believe they would have killed him, for -they were wrought up to a pitch of fury by his tyranny and meanness. The -boatswain carried him below, locked him up in one of the state-rooms, -and there he was kept in confinement till the barque reached Honolulu, -twenty days later, the mate acting as skipper. At Honolulu, the mate and -all the crew were tried for mutiny, but the court acquitted them all, -mainly through the testimony of the passengers. - -That was my first experience of a mutiny. My brother and I enjoyed it -immensely, especially the attempted shooting of the good old mate, and -the subsequent spectacle of the evil-tempered, vindictive little skipper -being held under the force pump. - -My third experience of a mutiny I take next (as it arose from a similar -cause to the first). I was a passenger on a brig bound from Samoa to the -Gilbert Islands (Equatorial Pacific). The master was a German, brutal -and overbearing to a degree, and the two mates were no better. One was -an American "tough," the other a lazy, foul-mouthed Swede. All three -men were heavy drinkers, and we were hardly out of Apia before the Swede -(second mate) broke a sailor's jaw with an iron belaying pin. The crew -were nearly all natives--steady men, and fairly good seamen. Five of -them were Gilbert Islanders, and three natives of Niué (Savage Island), -and it was one of these latter whose jaw was broken. They were an -entirely new crew and had shipped in ignorance of the character of the -captain. I had often heard of him as a brutal fellow, and the brig (the -_Alfreda_ of Hamburg) had long had an evil name. She was a labour-ship -("black-birder") and I had taken passage in her only because I was -anxious to get to the Marshall Islands as quickly as possible. - -There were but five Europeans on board--captain, two mates, bos'un and -myself. The bos'un was, although hard on the crew, not brutal, and he -never struck them. - -We had not been out three days when the captain, in a fit of rage, -knocked a Gilbert Islander down for dropping a wet paint-brush on -the deck. Then he kicked him about the head until the poor fellow was -insensible. - -From that time out not a day passed but one or more of the crew were -struck or kicked. The second mate's conduct filled me with fury and -loathing, for, in addition to his cruelty, his language was nothing but -a string of curses and blasphemy. Within a week I saw that the Gilbert -Islanders were getting into a dangerous frame of mind. - -These natives are noted all over the Pacific for their courage, and -seeing that mischief was brewing, I spoke to the bos'un about it. He -agreed with me, but said it was no use speaking to the skipper. - -To me the captain and officers were civil enough, that is, in a gruff -sort of way, so I decided to speak to the former. I must mention that I -spoke the Gilbert and Savage Island dialects, and so heard the natives -talk. However, I said nothing of that to the German. I merely said to -him that he was running a great risk in knocking the men about, and -added that their countrymen might try to cut off the brig out of -revenge. He snorted with contempt, and both he and the mates continued -to "haze" the now sulky and brooding natives. - -One calm Sunday night we were in sight of Funafuti lagoon, and also of a -schooner which I knew to be the _Hazeldine_ of San Francisco. She, like -us, was becalmed. - -In the middle watch I went on deck and found the skipper and second mate -drunk. The mate, who was below, was about half-drunk. All three men had -been drinking heavily for some days, and the second mate was hardly able -to keep his feet. The captain was asleep on the skylight, lying on his -back, snoring like a pig, and I saw the butt of his revolver showing in -the inner pocket of his coat. - -Presently rain began to fall, and the second mate called one of the -hands and told him to bring him his oil-skin coat. The man brought it, -and then the brutal Swede, accusing him of having been slow, struck him -a fearful blow in the face and knocked him off the poop. Then the brute -followed him and began kicking him with drunken fury, then fell on the -top of him and lay there. - -I went for'ard and found all the natives on deck, very excited and armed -with knives. Addressing them, I begged them to keep quiet and listen to -me. - -"The captain and mates are all drunk," I said, "and now is your chance -to leave the ship. Funafuti is only a league away. Get your clothes -together as quickly as possible, then lower away the port quarter-boat. -I, too, am leaving this ship, and I want you to put me on board the -_Hazeldine_. Then you can go on shore. Now, put up your knives and don't -hurt those three men, beasts as they are." - -As I was speaking, Max the bos'un came for'ard and listened. (I thought -he was asleep.) He did not interfere, merely giving me an expressive -look. Then he said to me:-- - -"Ask them to lock me up in the deck-house". - -Very quietly this was done, and then, whilst I got together my personal -belongings in the cabin, the boat was lowered. The Yankee mate was sound -asleep in his bunk, but one of the Nuié men took the key of his door and -locked it from the outside. Presently I heard a sound of breaking wood, -and going on deck, found that the Gilbert Islanders had stove-in the -starboard quarter-boat and the long-boat (the latter was on deck). -Then I saw that the second mate was lashed (bound hand and foot) to -the pump-rail, and the captain was lashed to one of the fife-rail -stanchions. His face was streaming with blood, and I thought he was -dead, but found that he had only been struck with a belaying pin, which -had broken his nose. - -"He drew a lot of blood from us," said one of the natives to me, "and so -I have drawn some from him." - -I hurried to the deck-house and told the bos'un what had occurred. He -was a level-headed young man, and taking up a carpenter's broad axe, -smashed the door of the deck-house. Then he looked at me and smiled. - -"You see, I'm gaining my liberty--captain and officers tied up, and no -one to look after the ship." - -I understood perfectly, and shaking hands with him and wishing him -a better ship, I went over the side into the boat, and left the brig -floating quietly on the placid surface of the ocean. - -The eight native sailors made no noise, although they were all wildly -excited and jubilant, but as we shoved off, they called out "Good-bye, -bos'un". - -An hour afterwards I was on board the _Hazeldine_ and telling my story -to her skipper, who was an old friend. Then I bade good-bye to the -natives, who started off for Funafuti with many expressions of goodwill -to their fellow-mutineer. - -At daylight a breeze came away from the eastward, and at breakfast time -the _Hazeldine_ was out of sight of the _Alfreda_. - -I learnt a few months later that the skipper had succeeded in bringing -her into Funafuti Lagoon, where he managed to obtain another crew. - - - - -CHAPTER VI ~ "MÂNI" - -Mâni was a half-caste--father a Martinique nigger, mother a -Samoan--twenty-two years of age, and lived at Moatâ, a little village -two miles from Apia in Samoa. - -Mâni's husband was a Frenchman named François Renault, who, when he was -sober, worked as a boat-builder and carpenter, for the German "factory" -at Mataféle. And when he was away form home I would hear Mâni laughing, -and see her playing with her two dark-skinned little girls, and talking -to them in a curious mixture of Samoan-French. They were merry mites -with big rolling eyes, and unmistakably "kinky" hair--like their mother. - -It was a fortnight after the great gale of 15th March, 1889, when the -six German and American warships were wrecked, that Mâni came to my -house with a basket of fresh-water fish she had netted far up in a deep -mountain pool. She looked very happy. "Frank," she said, had not beaten -her for two whole weeks, and had promised not to beat her any more. And -he was working very steadily now. - -"That is good to hear, Mâni." - -She smiled as she nodded her frizzy head, tossed her _tiputa_ (open -blouse) over one shoulder, and sat down on the verandah steps to clean -the fish. - -"Yes, he will beat me no more--at least not whilst the shipwrecked -sailors remain in Samoa. When they go I shall run away with the -children--to some town in Savai'i where he cannot find me." - -"It happened in this way," she went on confidentially: "a week ago two -American sailors came to the house and asked for water, for they -were thirsty and the sun was hot I told them that the Moatâ water was -brackish, and I husked and gave them two young coco-nuts each. And then -Frank, who had been drinking, ran out of the house and cursed and struck -me. Then one of the sailors felled him to the earth, and the other -dragged him up by his collar, and both kicked him so much that he wept. - -"'Doth he often beat thee?' said one of the sailors to me. And I said -'Yes'. - -"Then they beat him again, saying it was for my sake. And then one of -them shook him and said: 'O thou dog, to so misuse thine own wife! Now -listen. In three days' time we two of the _Trenton_ will have a day's -liberty, and we shall come here and see if thou hast again beaten thy -wife. And if thou hast but so much as _mata pio'd_ her we shall each -kick thee one hundred times.'" - -(_Mata pio_, I must explain, is Samoan for looking "cross-eyed" or -unpleasantly at a person.) - -"And Frank was very much afraid, and promised he would no longer harm -me, and held out his hand to them weepingly, but they would not take -it, and swore at him. And then they each gave my babies a quarter of -a dollar, and I, because my heart was glad, gave them each a ring of -tortoiseshell." - -"Did they come back, Mâni?" - -Mâni, at heart, was a flirt. She raised her big black eyes with their -long curling lashes to me, and then closed them for a moment demurely. - -"Yes," she replied, "they came back. And when I told them that my -husband was now kind to me, and was at work, they laughed, and left for -him a long piece of strong tobacco tied round with tarred rope. And they -said, 'Tell him we will come again by-and-by, and see how he behaveth to -thee'." - -"Mâni," said in English, as she finished the last of the fish, "why -do you speak Samoan to me when you know English so well? Where did you -learn it? Your husband always speaks French to you." - -Mâni told me her story. In her short life of two-and-twenty years she -had had some strange experiences. - -"My father was Jean Galoup. He was a negro of St. Pierre, in Martinique, -and came to Samoa in a French barque, which was wrecked on Tutuila. -He was one of the sailors. When the captain and the other sailors made -ready to go away in the boats he refused to go, and being a strong, -powerful man they dared not force him. So he remained on Tutuila and -married my mother, and became a Samoan, and made much money by selling -food to the whaleships. Then, when I was twelve years old, my mother -died, and my father took me to his own country--to Martinique. It took -us two years to get there, for we went through many countries--to Sydney -first, then to China, and to India, and then to Marseilles in France. -But always in English ships. That is how I have learned to speak -English. - -"We lived for three years in Martinique, and then one day, as my father -was clearing some land at the foot of Mont Pelée, he was bitten by -_fer-de-lance_ and died, and I was left alone. - -"There was a young carpenter at St. Pierre, named François Renault, who -had one day met me in the market-place, and after that often came to see -my father and me. He said he loved me, and so when my father was dead, -we went to the priest and we were married. - -"My husband had heard much of Samoa from my father, and said to me: 'Let -us go there and live'. - -"So we came here, and then Frank fell into evil ways, for he was cross -with me because he saw that the pure-blooded Samoan girls were prettier -than me, and had long straight hair and lighter skins. And because he -could not put me away he began to treat me cruelly. And I love him no -more. But yet will I stay by him if he doeth right." - -The fates were kind to Mâni a few months later. Her husband went to sea -and never returned, and Mâni, after waiting a year, was duly married -by the consul to a respectable old trader on Savai'i, who wanted a wife -with a "character"--the which is not always obtainable with a bride in -the South Seas. - - - - -CHAPTER VII ~ AT NIGHT - -The day's work was finished. Outside a cluster of rudely built -palm-thatched huts, just above the curving white beach, and under the -lengthening shadows of the silent cocos, two white men (my partner and -myself) and a party of brown-skinned Polynesians were seated together -smoking, and waiting for their evening meal. Now and then one would -speak, and another would answer in low, lazy tones. From an open shed -under a great jack-fruit tree a little distance away there came the -murmur of women's voices and, now and then, a laugh. They were the wives -of the brown men, and were cooking supper for their husbands and the two -white men. Half a cable length from the beach a schooner lay at anchor -upon the still lagoon, whose waters gleamed red under the rays of the -sinking sun. Covered with awnings fore and after she showed no sign of -life, and rested-as motionless as were the pendent branches of the lofty -cocos on the shore. - -Presently a figure appeared on deck and went for'ard, and then a bright -light shone from the fore-stay. - -My partner turned and called to the women, speaking in Hawaiian, and -bade two of them take their own and the ship-keeper's supper on board, -and stay for the night Then he spoke to the men in English. - -"Who keeps watch to-night with the other man?" - -"Me, sir," and a native rose to his feet. - -"Then off you go with your wife and Terese, and don't set the ship on -fire when you and your wife, and Harry and his begin squabbling as usual -over your game of _tahia_."{*} - - * "Tahia" is a gambling game played with small round stones; - it resembles our "knuckle-bones". - -The man laughed; the women, pretending to be shocked, each placed one -hand over her eyes, and with suppressed giggles went down to the beach -with the man, carrying a basket of steaming food. Launching a light -canoe they pushed off, and as the man paddled the women sang in the soft -Hawaiian tongue. - -"Happy beggars," said my comrade to me, as he stood up and stretched his -lengthy, stalwart figure, "work all day, and sit up gambling and singing -hymns--when they are not intriguing with each other's husbands and -wives." - -The place was Providence Atoll in the North Pacific, a group of -seventeen uninhabited islands lying midway between the Marshall and -Caroline Archipelagoes--that is to say, that they had been uninhabited -for some years, until we came there with our gang of natives to catch -sharks and make coco-nut oil. There was no one to deny us, for the man -who claimed the islands, Captain "Bully" Hayes, had given us the right -of possession for two years, we to pay him a certain percentage of our -profits on the oil we made, and the sharks' fins and tails we cured. -The story of Providence Atoll (the "Arrecifos" of the early Spanish -navigators, and the "Ujilang" of the native of Micronesia) cannot here -be told--suffice it to say that less than fifty years before over -a thousand people dwelt on the seventeen islands in some twelve or -fourteen villages. Then came some dread disease which swept them away, -and when Hayes sailed into the great lagoon in 1860--his was the first -ship that ever entered it--he found less than a score of survivors. -These he treated kindly; but for some reason soon removed them to Ponapé -in the Carolines, and then years passed without the island being visited -by any one except Hayes, who used it as a rendezvous, and brought other -natives there to make oil for him. Then, in a year or so, these, too, -he took away, for he was a restless man, and had many irons in the fire. -Yet there was a fortune there, as its present German owners know, for -the great chain of islands is covered with coco-nut trees which yield -many thousands of pounds' worth of copra annually. - -My partner and I had been working the islands for some months, and had -done fairly well. Our native crew devoted themselves alternately to -shark catching and oil making. The lagoon swarmed with sharks, the fins -and tails of which when dried were worth from sixty to eighty pounds -sterling per ton. (Nowadays the entire skins of sharks are bought by -some of the traders on several of the Pacific Islands on behalf of a -firm in Germany, who have a secret method of tanning and softening -them, and rendering them fit for many purposes for which leather is -used--travelling bags, coverings for trunks, etc.) - -The women helped to make the oil, caught fish, robber-crabs and turtle -for the whole party, and we were a happy family indeed. We usually lived -on shore, some distance from the spot where we dried the shark-fins, for -the odour was appalling, especially after rain, and during a calm night. -We dried them by hanging them on long lines of coir cinnet between the -coco-palms of a little island half a mile from our camp. - -But we did not always work. There were many wild pigs--the progeny of -domestic stock left by Captain Hayes--on the larger islands, and we -would have great "drives" every few weeks, the skipper and I with our -rifles, and our crew of fifteen, with their wives and children, armed -with spears. 'Twas great fun, and we revelled in it like children. -Sometimes we would bring the ship's dog with us. He was a mongrel -Newfoundland, and very game, but was nearly shot several times by -getting in the way, for although all the islands are very low, the -undergrowth in parts is very dense. If we failed to secure a pig we were -certain of getting some dozens of large robber-crabs, the most delicious -of all crustaceans when either baked or boiled. Then, too, we had -the luxury of a vegetable garden, in which we grew melons, pumpkins, -cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, etc. The seed (which was Californian) had -been given to me by an American skipper, and great was our delight to -have fresh European vegetables, for the islands produced nothing in -that way, except coconuts and some jack-fruit. The lagoon teemed with -an immense variety of fish, none of which were poisonous, and both green -and hawk-bill turtle were captured almost daily. - -How those natives of ours could eat! One morning some of the children -brought five hundred turtle eggs into camp; they were all eaten at three -meals. - -That calm, quiet night the heat was somewhat oppressive, but about ten -o'clock a faint air from the eastward began to gently rustle the tops of -the loftiest palms on the inner beaches, though we felt it not, owing to -the dense undergrowth at the back of the camp. Then, too, the mosquitoes -were troublesome, and a nanny-goat, who had lost her kid (in the oven) -kept up such an incessant blaring that we could stand it no longer, -and decided to walk across the island--less than a mile--to the weather -side, where we should not only get the breeze, but be free of the curse -of mosquitoes. - -"Over to the windward beach," we called out to our natives. - -In an instant, men, women and children were on their feet. Torches of -dried coco-nut leaves were deftly woven by the women, sleeping mats -rolled up and given to the children to carry, baskets of cold baked fish -and vegetables hurriedly taken down from where they hung under the eaves -of the thatched huts, and away we trooped eastward along the -narrow path, the red glare of the torches shining upon the smooth, -copper-bronzed and half-nude figures of the native men and women. -Singing as we went, half an hour's walk brought us near to the sea. And -with the hum of the surf came the cool breeze, as we reached the open, -and saw before us the gently heaving ocean, sleeping under the light of -the myriad stars. - -We loved those quiet nights on the weather side of Arrecifos. Our -natives had built some thatched-roofed, open-sided huts as a protection -in case of rain, and under the shelter of one of these the skipper and -I would, when it rained during the night, lie on our mats and smoke -and yarn and watch the women and children with lighted torches catching -crayfish on the reef, heedless of the rain which fell upon them. Then, -when they had caught all they wanted, they would troop on shore again, -come into the huts, change their soaking waist girdles of leaves for -waist-cloths of gaily-coloured print or navy-blue calico, and set to -work to cook the crayfish, always bringing us the best. Then came a -general gossip and story-telling or singing in our hut for an hour -or so, and then some one would yawn and the rest would laugh, bid us -good-night, go off to their mats, and the skipper and I would be asleep -ere we knew it. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII ~ THE CRANKS OF THE _JULIA_ BRIG - -We were bound from Tahiti to the Gilbert Islands, seeking a cargo of -native labourers for Stewart's great plantation at Tahiti, and had -worked our way from island to island up northward through the group -with fair success (having obtained ninety odd stalwart, brown-skinned -savages), when between Apaian Island and Butaritari Island we spoke a -lumbering, fat-sided old brig--the _Isabella_ of Sydney. - -The _Isabella_ was owned by a firm of Chinese merchants in Sydney; -and as her skipper (Evers) and her supercargo (Dick Warren) were old -acquaintances of mine and also of the captain of my ship, we both -lowered boats and exchanged visits. - -Warren and I had not met for over two years, since he and I had been -shipmates in a labour vessel sailing out of Samoa--he as mate and I as -"recruiter"--so we had much to talk about. - -"Oh, by-the-way," he remarked as we were saying good-bye, "of course you -have heard of that shipload of unwashed saints who have been cruising -around the South Seas in search of a Promised Land?" - -"Yes, I believe that they have gone off to Tonga or Fiji, trying to -light upon 'the Home Beautiful,' and are very hard up. The people in -Fiji will have nothing to do with that crowd--if they have gone there." - -"They have not. They turned back for Honolulu, and are now at Butaritari -and in an awful mess. Some of the saints came on board and wanted me to -give them a passage to Sydney. You must go and have a look at them and -their rotten old brig, the _Julia_. Oh, they are a lovely lot--full of -piety and as dirty as Indian fakirs. Ah Sam, our agent at Butaritari, -will tell you all about them. He has had such a sickener of the holy -men that it will do you good to hear him talk. What the poor devils are -going to do I don't know. I gave them a little provisions--all I could -spare, but their appearance so disgusted me that I was not too civil -to them. They cannot get away from Butaritari as the old brig is not -seaworthy, and there is nothing in the way of food to be had in the -island except coco-nuts and fish--manna is out of season in the South -Seas just now. Good-bye, old man, and good luck." - -On the following day we sighted Butaritari Island--one of the largest -atolls in the North Pacific, and inhabited by a distinctly unamiable -and cantankerous race of Malayo-Polynesians whose principal amusement -in their lighter hours is to get drunk on sour toddy and lacerate each -other's bodies with sharks' teeth swords. In addition to Ah Sam, the -agent for the Chinese trading firm, there were two European traders who -had married native women and eked out a lonely existence by buying copra -(dried coco-nut) and sharks' fins when they were sober enough to attend -to business--which was infrequent. However, Butaritari was a good -recruiting ground for ships engaged in the labour traffic, owing to the -continuous internecine wars, for the vanquished parties, after their -coco-nut trees had been cut down and their canoes destroyed had the -choice of remaining and having their throats cut or going away in a -labour ship to Tahiti, Samoa or the Sandwich Islands. - -Entering the passage through the reef, we sailed slowly across the -splendid lagoon, whose waters were as calm as those of a lake, and -dropped anchor abreast of the principal village and quite near the ship -of the saints. She was a woe-begone, battered-looking old brig of two -hundred tons or so. She showed no colours in response to ours, and we -could see no one on deck. Presently, however, we saw a man emerge from -below, then a woman, and presently a second man, and in a few minutes -she showed the Ecuadorian flag. Then all three sat on chairs under the -ragged awning and stared listlessly at our ship. - -Ah Sam came off from the shore and boarded us. He was a long, melancholy -Chinaman, had thirty-five hairs of a beard, and, poor fellow, was dying -of consumption. He told us the local news, and then I asked him -about the cargo of saints, many more of whom were now visible on the -after-deck of their disreputable old crate. - -Ah Sam's thin lips parted in a ghastly smile, as he set down his whisky -and soda, and lit a cigar. We were seated under the awning, which had -just been spread, and so had a good view of the _Julia_. - -The brig, he said, had managed to crawl into the lagoon three months -previously, and in working up to an anchorage struck on one of the coral -mushrooms with which the atoll is studded. Ah Sam and the two -white traders went off with their boats' crews of natives to render -assistance, and after some hours' hard work succeeded in getting her -off and towing her up to the spot where she was then anchored. Then the -saints gathered on the after-deck and held a thanksgiving meeting, at -the conclusion of which, the thirsty and impatient traders asked the -captain to give them and their boats' crews a few bottles of liquor in -return for their services in pulling his brig off the rocks, and when he -reproachfully told them that the _Julia_ was a temperance ship and that -drink was a curse and that God would reward them for their kindness, -they used most awful language and went off, cursing the captain and the -saints for a lot of mean blackguards and consigning them to everlasting -torments. - -On the following day all the Hawaiian crew bolted on shore and took up -their quarters with the natives. The captain came on shore and tried to -get other natives in their place, but failed--for he had no money to pay -wages, but offered instead the privilege of becoming members of what Ah -Sam called some "dam fool society". - -There were, said Ah Sam, in addition to the captain and his wife, -originally twenty-five passengers, but half of them had left the ship at -various ports. - -"And now," he concluded, pointing a long yellow forefinger at the -rest of the saints, "the rest of them will be coming to see you -presently--the tam teives--to see wha' they can cadge from you." - -"You don't like them, Ah Sam?" observed our skipper, with a twinkle in -his eye. - -Ah Sam's reply could not be put upon paper. For a Chinaman he could -swear in English most fluently. Then he bade us good-bye for the -present, said he would do all he could to help me get some "recruits," -and invited us to dinner with him in the evening. He was a good-natured, -hospitable fellow, and we accepted the invitation with pleasure. - -A few minutes after he had gone on shore the brigantine's boat came -alongside, and her captain and three of his passengers stepped on board. -He introduced himself as Captain Lynch Richards, and his friends as -Brothers So-and-So of the "Islands Brothers' Association of Christians -". They were a dull, melancholy looking lot, Richards alone showing some -mental and physical activity. Declining spirituous refreshments, they -all had tea and something to eat. Then they asked me if I would let them -have some provisions, and accept trade goods in payment. - -As they had no money--except about one hundred dollars between them--I -let them have what provisions we could spare, and then accepted their -invitation to visit the _Julia_. - -I went with them in their own boat--two of the saints pulling--and as -they flopped the blades of their oars into the water and I studied their -appearance, I could not but agree with Dick Warren's description--"as -dirty as Indian fakirs," for not only were their garments dirty, but -their faces looked as if they had not come into contact with soap and -water for a twelvemonth. Richards, the skipper, was a comparatively -young man, and seemed to have given some little attention to his attire, -for he was wearing a decent suit of navy blue with a clean collar and -tie. - -Getting alongside we clambered on deck--there was no side ladder--and I -was taken into the cabin where Richards introduced me to his wife. She -was a pretty, fragile-looking young woman of about five and twenty years -of age, and looked so worn out and unhappy that my heart was filled with -pity. During the brief conversation we held I asked her if she and her -husband would come on board our vessel in the afternoon and have tea, -and mentioned that we had piles and piles of books and magazines on the -ship to which she could help herself. - -Her eyes filled with tears. "I guess I should like to," she said as she -looked at her husband. - -Then I was introduced to the rest of the company in turn, as they -sat all round the cabin, half a dozen of them on the transom lockers -reminding me somehow of dejected and meditative storks. Glad of an -excuse to get out of the stuffy and ill-ventilated cabin and the -uninspiring society of the unwashed Brethren, I eagerly assented to the -captain's suggestion to have a look round the ship before we "talked -business," _i.e_., concerning the trade goods I was to select in payment -for the provisions with which I had supplied him. One of the Brethren, -an elderly, goat-faced person, came with us, and we returned on deck. - -Never before had I seen anything like the _Julia_. She was an old, -soft-pine-built ex-Puget Sound lumberman, literally tumbling to decay, -aloft and below. Her splintering decks, to preserve them somewhat from -the torrid sun, were covered over with old native mats, and her spars, -from want of attention, were splitting open in great gaping cracks, and -were as black as those of a collier. How such a craft made the voyage -from San Francisco to Honolulu, and from there far to the south of the -Line and then back north to the Gilbert Group, was a marvel. - -I was taken down the hold and showed what the "cranks" called their -trade goods and asked to select what I thought was a fair thing in -exchange for the provisions I had given them. Heavens! Such a collection -of utter, utter rubbish! second-hand musical boxes in piles, gaudy -lithographs, iron bedsteads, "brown paper" boots and shoes eaten half -away by cockroaches. Sets of cheap and nasty toilet ware, two huge cases -of common and much damaged wax dolls, barrels of rotted dried apples, -and decayed pork, an ice-making plant, bales and bales of second-hand -clothing--men's, women's and children's--cheap and poisonous sweets in -jars, thousands of twopenny looking-glasses, penny whistles, accordions -that wouldn't accord, as the cockroaches had eaten them up except the -wood and metal work, school slates and pencils, and a box of Bibles and -Moody and Sankey hymn-books. And the smell was something awful! I asked -the captain what was the cause of it--it overpowered even the horrible -odour of the decayed pork and rotted apples. He replied placidly that he -thought it came from a hundred kegs of salted salmon bellies which were -stowed below everything else, and that he "guessed some of them hed -busted". - -"It is enough to breed a pestilence," I said; "why do you not all -turn-to, get the stuff up and heave it overboard? You must excuse me, -captain, but for Heaven's sake let us get on deck." - -On returning to the poop we found that the skipper of our vessel had -come on board, and was conversing with Mrs. Richards. I took him aside -and told him of what I had seen, and suggested that we should make them -a present of the provisions. He quite agreed with me, so turning to -Captain Richards and the goat-faced old man and several other of the -Brethren who had joined them, I said that the captain and I hoped that -they would accept the provisions from us, as we felt sure that our -owners would not mind. And I also added that we would send them a few -bags of flour and some other things during the course of the day. And -then the captain, knowing that Captain Richards and his wife were coming -to have tea with us, took pity on the Brethren and said, he hoped they -would all come to breakfast in the morning. - -Poor beggars. Grateful! Of course they were, and although they were -sheer lunatics--religious lunatics such as the United States produces by -tens of thousands every year--we felt sincerely sorry for them when they -told us their miserable story. The spokesman was an old fellow of sixty -with long flowing hair--the brother-in-law of the man with the goat's -face--and an enthusiast But mad--mad as a hatter. - -"The Islands Brothers' Association of Christians" had its genesis in -Philadelphia. It was formed "by a few pious men to found a settlement in -the South Seas, till the soil, build a temple, instruct the savages, -and live in peace and happiness". Twenty-eight persons joined and seven -thousand dollars were raised in one way and another--mostly from other -lunatics. Many "sympathisers" gave goods, food, etc., to help the cause -(hence the awful rubbish in the hold), and at 'Frisco they spent one -thousand five hundred dollars in buying "trade goods to barter with -the simple natives". At 'Frisco the _Julia_, then lying condemned, was -bought for a thousand dollars--she was not worth three hundred dollars, -and was put under the Ecuadorian flag. "God sent them friends in -Captain Richards and his wife," ambled on the old man. Richards became a -"Brother" and joined them to sail the ship and find an island "rich -and fertile in God's gifts to man, and with a pleasant people dwelling -thereon". - -With a scratch crew of 'Frisco dead beats the brig reached Honolulu. -The crew at once cleared out, and several of the "Brothers," with their -wives, returned to America--they had had enough of it. After some weeks' -delay Richards managed to get four Hawaiian sailors to ship, and the -vessel sailed again for the Isle Beautiful. He didn't know exactly where -to look for it, but he and the "Brothers" had been told that there were -any amount of them lying around in the South Seas, and they would have -some trouble in making a choice out of so many. - -The story of their insane wanderings after the _Julia_ went south of the -equator would have been diverting had it not been so distressing. The -mate, who we gathered was both a good seaman and a competent navigator, -was drowned through the capsizing of a boat on the reef of some island -between the Gilbert Group and Rarotonga, and with his death what little -discipline, and cohesiveness had formerly existed gradually vanished. -Richards apparently knew how to handle his ship, but as a navigator he -was nowhere. Incredible as it may seem, his general chart of the North -and South Pacific was thirty years old, and was so torn, stained and -greasy as to be all but undecipherable. As the weary weeks went by -and they went from island to island, only to be turned away by the -inhabitants, they at last began to realise the folly of the venture, and -most of them wanted to return to San Francisco. But Richards clung to -the belief that they only wanted patience to find a suitable island -where the natives would be glad to receive them, and where they could -settle down in peace. Failing that, he had the idea that there were -numbers of fertile and uninhabited islands, one of which would suit the -Brethren almost as well. But as time went on he too grew despondent, and -turned the brig's head northward for Honolulu; and one day he blundered -across Butaritari Island and entered the lagoon in the hope of at least -getting, some provisions. And again the crew bolted and left the Brethren -to shift for themselves. Week after week, month after month went by, -the provisions were all gone except weevily biscuit and rotten pork, and -they passed their time in wandering about the beaches of the lagoon -and waiting for assistance. And yet there wore two or three of them -who still believed in the vision of the Isle Beautiful and were still -hopeful that they might get there. "All we want is another crew," these -said to us. - -Our skipper shook his head, and then talked to them plainly, calling -upon me to corroborate him. - -"You will never get a crew. No sailor-man would ever come to sea in -a crate like this. And you'll find no islands anywhere in the Pacific -where you can settle down, unless you can pay for it. The natives will -chivvy you off if you try to land. I know them--you don't. The people in -America who encouraged you in this business were howling lunatics. Your -ship is falling to pieces, and I warn you that if you once leave this -lagoon in her, you will never see land again." - -They were silent, and then the old man began to weep, and said they -would there and then pray for guidance. - -"All right," said the skipper, "go ahead, and I'll get my mate and the -carpenter to come and tell you their opinion of the state of this brig." - -The mate and carpenter made an examination, told Captain Richards in -front of his passengers that the ship was utterly unseaworthy, and that -he would be a criminal if he tried to put to sea again. That settled the -business, especially after they had asked me to value their trade goods, -and I told them frankly that they were literally not worth valuing, and -to throw them overboard. - -Ten days later the Brotherhood broke up--an American trading schooner -came into the lagoon and her captain offered to take them to Jakuit in -the Marshall Islands, where they were certain of getting a passage to -Honolulu in some whaleship. They all accepted with the exception of -Richards and his wife who refused to leave the _Julia_. The poor fellow -had his pride and would not desert his ship. However, as his wife was -ailing, he had a small house built on shore and managed to make a few -hundred dollars by boat-building. But every day he would go off and have -a look round the old brig to see if everything on board was all right -Then one night there came a series of heavy squalls which raised a -lumpy sea in the lagoon, and when morning broke only her top-masts were -visible--she had gone down at her anchors. - -Richards and his fellow-cranks were the forerunners of other bands of -ignorant enthusiasts who in later years endeavoured to foist themselves -upon the natives of the Pacific Islands and met with similar and -well-merited disaster. Like the ill-fated "La Nouvelle France" colony of -the notorious Marquis de Ray, all these land-stealing ventures set -about their exploits under the cloak of religion. One, under a pretended -concession from the Mexican Government, founded a "Christian Redemption -Colony" of scallywags, loafers and loose women at Magdalena Bay in -Lower California, and succeeded in getting many thousands of pounds from -foolish people. Then came a party of Mormon Evangelists who actually -bought and paid for land in Samoa and conducted themselves decently -and are probably living there now. After them came the wretched _Percy -Edward_ band of pilgrims to found a "happy home" in the South Seas. They -called themselves the "United Brotherhood of the South Sea Islands". In -another volume, in an article describing my personal experiences of -the disastrous "Nouvelle France" expedition to New Ireland,{*} I have -alluded to the _Percy Edward_ affair in these words, which I may be -permitted to quote: "The _Percy Edward_ was a wretched old tub of a -brigantine (formerly a Tahiti-San Francisco mail packet). She was -bought in the latter port by a number of people who intended 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.... The result of the Marquis de Ray's expedition -ought to have made the American enthusiasts reflect a little before they -started. But having the idea that they could 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 -principles of true Socialism), they sailed--only to be quickly -disillusionised. For there were no islands anywhere in the North and -South Pacific 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 unto 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 -considerably chivvied about by the white and native inhabitants of the -various islands touched at, the forlorn expedition reach Fiji. Here -fifty of the idealists elected to remain and work for their living -under a Government... But the remaining fifty-eight stuck to the _Percy -Edward_, and her decayed salt junk and putrid 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 reaching New -Caledonia and settling her keel on the bottom of Nouméa 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 abandon her and go on shore and get a good square -meal. What became of them at Nouméa I did not hear, but do know that in -their wanderings they received much charitable assistance from British -shipmasters and missionaries--in some cases their passages were paid -to the United States--the natural and proper country for the ignorant -religious 'crank'." - - * Ridan the Devil: T. Fisher Unwin, London. - - - - -CHAPTER IX ~ "DANDY," THE SHIP'S DINGO - -We anchored under Cape Bedford (North Queensland) one day, and the -skipper and I went on shore to bathe in one of the native-made rocky -water-holes near the Cape. We found a native police patrol camped there, -and the officer asked us if we would like to have a dingo pup for a pet. -His troopers had caught two of them the previous day. We said we should -like to possess a dingo. - -"Bring him here, Dandy," said the officer to one of his black troopers, -and Dandy, with a grin on his sooty face, brought to us a lanky-legged -pup about three months old. Its colour was a dirty yellowish red, but -it gave promise of turning out a dog--of a kind. The captain put out -his hand to stroke it, and as quick as lightning it closed its fang-like -teeth upon his thumb. With a bull-like bellow of rage, the skipper was -about to hurl the savage little beast over the cliffs into the sea, when -I stayed his hand. - -"He'll make a bully ship-dog," I urged, "just the right kind of pup -to chivvy the niggers over the side when we get to the Louisiades and -Solomons. Please don't choke the little beggar, Ross. 'Twas only fear, -not rage, that made him go for you." - -We made a temporary muzzle from a bit of fishing line; bade the officer -good-bye, and went off to the ship. - -We were nearly a month beating up to the Solomons, and in that time -we gained some knowledge of Dandy's character. (We named him after -the black trooper.) He was fawningly, sneakingly, offensively -affectionate--when he was hungry, which was nearly always; as ferocious -and as spiteful as a tiger cat when his stomach was full; then, with a -snarling yelp, he would put his tail beneath his legs and trot for'ard, -turning his head and showing his teeth. Crawling under the barrel of the -windlass he would lie there and go to sleep, only opening his eyes now -and then to roll them about vindictively when any one passed by. Then -when he was hungry again, he would crawl out and slouch aft with a -"please-do-be-kind-to-a-poor-dog" expression on his treacherous face. -Twice when we were sailing close to the land he jumped overboard, and -made for the shore, though he couldn't swim very well and only went -round and round in circles. On each occasion a native sailor jumped over -after him and brought him back, and each time he bit his rescuer. - -"Never mind him, sir," said the mate to Ross one day, when the angry -skipper fired three shots at Dandy for killing the ship's cat--missed -him and nearly killed the steward, who had put his head out of the -galley door to see the fun--"there's money in that dog. I wouldn't mind -bettin' half-a-sov that Charley Nyberg, the trader on Santa Anna, will -give five pounds for him. He'll go for every nigger he's sooled on to. -You mark my words." - -In the fore-hold we had a hundred tons of coal destined for one of H.M. -cruisers then surveying in the Solomon Group. We put Dandy down there to -catch rats, and gave him nothing but water. Here he showed his blood. We -could hear the scraping about of coal, and the screams of the captured -rodents, as Dandy tore round the hold after them. In three days -there were no more rats left, and Dandy began to utter his weird, -blood-curdling howls--he wanted to come on deck. We lashed him down -under the force pump, and gave him a thorough wash-down. He shook -himself, showed his teeth at us and tore off to the galley in search of -food. The cook gave him a large tinful of rancid fat, which was at once -devoured, then he fled to his retreat under the windlass, and began to -growl and moan. By-and-by we made Santa Anna. - -Charley Nyberg, after he had tried the dog by setting him on to two -Solomon Island "bucks" who were loafing around his house, and seen how -the beast could bite, said he would give us thirteen dollars and a fat -hog for him. We agreed, and Dandy was taken on shore and chained up -outside the cook-house to keep away thieving natives. - -About nine o'clock that evening, as the skipper and I were sitting on -deck, we heard a fearful yell from Charley's house--a few hundred -yards away from where we were anchored. The yell was followed by a wild -clamour from many hundreds of native throats, and we saw several scores -of people rushing towards the trader's dwelling. Then came the sound of -two shots in quick succession. - -"Haul the boat alongside," roared our skipper, "there's mischief going -on on shore." - -In a minute we, with the boat's crew, had seized our arms, tumbled into -the boat and were racing for the beach. - -Jumping out, we tore to the house. It seemed pretty quiet. Charley -was in his sitting-room, binding up his wife's hand, and smoking in an -unconcerned sort of a way. - -"What is wrong, Charley?" we asked. - -"That infernal mongrel of yours nearly bit my wife's hand off. Did it -when she tried to stroke him. I soon settled him. If you go to the back -you will see some native women preparing the brute for the oven. The -niggers here like baked dog. Guess you fellows will have to give me back -that thirteen dollars. But you can keep the hog." - -So Dandy came to a just and fitting end. - - - - -CHAPTER X ~ KALA-HOI, THE NET-MAKER - -Old Kala-hoi, the net-maker, had ceased work for the day, and was seated -on a mat outside his little house, smoking his pipe, looking dreamily -out upon the blue waters of Leone Bay, on Tutuila Island, and enjoying -the cool evening breeze that blew upon his bare limbs and played with -the two scanty tufts of snow-white hair that grew just above his ears. - -As he sat and smoked in quiet content, Marsh (the mate of our vessel) -and I discerned him from the beach, as we stepped out of the boat We -were both tired--Marsh with weighing and stowing bags of copra in the -steaming hold, and I with paying the natives for it in trade goods--a -task that had taken me from dawn till supper time. Then, as the smell of -the copra and the heat of the cabin were not conducive to the enjoyment -of supper, we first had a bathe alongside the ship, got into clean -pyjamas and came on shore to have a chat with old Kala-hoi. - -"Got anything to eat, Kala-hoi?" we asked, as we sat down on the mat, in -front of the ancient, who smilingly bade us welcome. - -"My oven is made; and in it are a fat mullet, four breadfruit, some -_taro_ and plenty of _ifi_ (chestnuts). For to-day is Saturday, and I -have cooked for to-morrow as well as for to-night." Then lapsing into -his native Hawaiian (which both my companion and I understood), he -added, "And most heartily are ye welcome. In a little while the oven -will be ready for uncovering and we shall eat." - -"But how will you do for food to-morrow, Kala-hoi?" inquired Marsh, with -a smile and speaking in English. - -"To-morrow is not yet. When it comes I shall have more food. I have but -to ask of others and it is given willingly. And even if it were not so, -I would but have to pluck some more breadfruit or dig some taro and kill -a fowl--and cook again to night." And then with true native courtesy he -changed the subject and asked us if we had enjoyed our swim. Not much, -we replied, the sea-water was too warm from the heat of the sun. - -He nodded. "Aye, the day has been hot and windless until now, when the -cool land breeze comes down between the valleys from the mountains. But -why did ye not bathe in the stream in the fresh water, as I have just -done. It is a good thing to do, for it makes hunger as well as cleanses -the skin, and that the salt water will not do." - -Marsh and I lit our pipes. The old man rose, went into his house and -returned with a large mat and two bamboo pillows, telling us it would be -more comfortable to lie down and rest our backs, for he knew that we -had "toiled much during the day". Then he resumed his own mat again, and -crossed his hands on his tatooed knees, for although not a Samoan he was -tatooed in the Samoan fashion. Beside him was a Samoan Bible, for he was -a deeply religious old fellow, and could both read and write. - -"How comes it, Kala, that thou livest all alone half a league from the -village?" asked Marsh. - -Kala-hoi showed his still white and perfect teeth in a smile. - -"Ah, why? Because, O friend, this is mine own land. I am, as thou -knowest, of Maui, in Hawaii, and though for thirty and nine years have -I lived in Samoa, yet now that my wife and two sons are dead, I would be -by myself. This land, which measures two hundred fathoms on three sides, -and one hundred at the beach, was given to me by Mauga, King of Tutuila, -because, ten years ago, when his son was shot in the thigh with a round -bullet, I cut it out from where it had lodged against the bone." - -"How old are you, Kala-hoi?" - -"I know not. But I am old, very old. Yet I am young--still young. I was -a grown man when Wilkes, the American Commodore, came to Samoa. And I -went on board the _Vincennes_ when she came to Apia, and because I spoke -English well, _le alii Saua_ ('the cruel captain'), as we called him,{*} -made much of me, and treated me with some honour. Ah, he was a stern -man, and his eye was as the eye of an eagle." - - * Wilkes was called "the cruel captain" by the Samoans on - account of his iron discipline. - -Marsh nodded acquiescence. "Aye, he was a strong, stern man. More than -a score of years after thou hadst seen him here in Samoa, he was like to -have brought about a bloody war between my country and his. Yet he did -but what was right and just--to my mind. And I am an Englishman." - -Kala-hoi blew a stream of smoke through his nostrils. - -"Aye, indeed, a stern man, and with a bitter tongue. But because of -his cruelty to his men was he punished, for in Fiji the _kai tagata_ -(cannibals) killed his nephew. And yet he spoke always kindly to me, and -gave me ten Mexican dollars because I did much interpretation for him -with the chiefs of Samoa.... One day there came on board the ship two -white men; they were _papalagi tàfea_ (beachcombers) and were like -Samoans, for they wore no clothes, and were tatooed from their waists -to their knees as I am. They went to the forepart of the ship and began -talking to the sailors. They were very saucy men and proud of their -appearance. The Commodore sent for them, and he looked at them with -scorn--one was an Englishman, the other a Dane. This they told him. - -"'O ye brute beasts,' he said, and he spat over the side of the ship -contempt 'Were ye Americans I would trice ye both up and give ye each -a hundred lashes, for so degrading thyselves. Out of my ship, ye filthy -tatooed swine. Thou art a disgrace to thy race!' So terrified were they -that they could not speak, and went away in shame." - -"Thou hast seen many things in thy time, Kala-hoi." - -"Nay, friend. Not such things as thou hast seen--such as the sun at -midnight, of which thou hast told me, and which had any man but thou -said it, I would have cried 'Liar!'" - -Marsh laughed--"Yet 'tis true, old Kala-hoi. I have seen the sun at -midnight, many, many times." - -"Aye. Thou sayest, and I believe. Now, let me uncover my oven so that we -may eat. 'Tis a fine fat mullet." - -After we had eaten, the kindly old man brought us a bowl of water in -which to lave our hands, and then a spotless white towel, for he had -associated much with Europeans in his younger days and had adopted many -of their customs. On Sundays he always wore to church coat, trousers, -shirt, collar and necktie and boots (minus socks) and covered his bald -pate with a wide hat or _fala_ leaf. Moreover, he was a deacon. - -Presently we heard voices, and a party of young people of both sexes -appeared. They had been bathing in the stream and were now returning to -the village. In most of them I recognised "customers" of mine during the -day--they were carrying baskets and bundles containing the goods bought -from the ship. They all sat down around us, began to make cigarettes -of strong twist tobacco, roll it in strips of dried banana leaf, and -gossip. Then Kala-hoi--although he was a deacon--asked the girls if -they would make us a bowl of kava. They were only too pleased, and so -Kala-hoi again rose, went to his house and brought out a root of kava, -the kava-bowl and some gourds of water, and gave them to the giggling -maidens who, securing a mat for themselves, withdrew a little distance -and proceeded to make the drink, the young men attending upon them -to-cut the kava into thin, flaky strips, and leaving us three to -ourselves. Night had come, and the bay was very quiet. Here and there -on the opposite side lights began to gleam through the lines of palms on -the beach from isolated native houses, as the people ate their evening -meal by the bright flame of a pile of coco-nut shells or a lamp of -coco-nut oil. - -Marsh wanted the old man to talk. - -"How long since is it that thy wife and sons died, Kala-hoi?" - -The old man placed his brown, shapely hand on the seaman's knee, and -answered softly:-- - -"'Tis twenty years". - -"They died together, did they not?" - -"Nay--not together, but on the same day. Thou hast heard something of -it?" - -"Only something. And if it doth not hurt thee to speak of it, I should -like to know how such a great misfortune came to thee." - -The net-maker looked into the white man's face, and read sympathy in his -eyes. - -"Friend, this was the way of it. Because of my usefulness to him as an -interpreter of English, Taula, chief of Samatau, gave me his niece, -Moé, in marriage. She was a strong girl, and handsome, but had a sharp -tongue. Yet she loved me, and I loved her. - -"We were happy. We lived at the town of Tufu on the _itu papa_" -(iron-bound coast) "of Savai'i. Moé bore me boy twins. They grew up -strong, hardy and courageous, though, like their mother, they were -quick-tempered, and resented reproof, even from me, their father. And -often they quarrelled and fought. - -"When they were become sixteen years of age, they were tatooed in the -Samoan fashion, and that cost me much in money and presents. But Tui, -who was the elder by a little while, was jealous that his brother Gâlu -had been tatooed first. And yet the two loved each other--as I will show -thee. - -"One day my wife and the two boys went into the mountains to get wild -bananas. They cut three heavy bunches and were returning home, when -Gâlu and Tui began to quarrel, on the steep mountain path. They came to -blows, and their mother, in trying to separate them, lost her footing -and fell far below on to a bed of lava. She died quickly. - -"The two boys descended and held her dead body in their arms for a long -while, and wept together over her face. Then they carried her down the -mountain side into the village, and said to the people:-- - -"'We, Tui and Gâlu, have killed our mother through our quarrelling. Tell -our father Kala-hoi, that we fear to meet him, and now go to expiate our -crime.' - -"They ran away swiftly; they climbed the mountain side, and, with arms -around each other, sprang over the cliff from which their mother had -fallen. And when I, and many others with me, found them, they were both -dead." - -"Thou hast had a bitter sorrow, Kala-hoi." "Aye, a bitter sorrow. But -yet in my dreams I see them all. And sometimes, even in my work, as I -make my nets, I hear the boys' voices, quarrelling, and my wife saying, -'Be still, ye boys, lest I call thy father to chastise thee both '." - -As the girls brought us the kava Marsh put his hand on the old, smooth, -brown pate, and saw that the eyes of the net-maker were filled with -tears. - - - - -CHAPTER XI ~ THE KANAKA LABOUR TRADE IN THE PACIFIC - -The _fiat_ has gone forth from the Australian Commonwealth, and the -Kanaka labour trade, as far as the Australian Colonies are concerned, -has ceased to exist. For, during the month of November, 1906, the -Queensland Government began to deport to their various islands in the -Solomon and New Hebrides Groups, the last of the Melanesian native -labourers employed on the Queensland sugar plantations. - -The Kanaka labour traffic, generally termed "black-birding," began about -1863, when sugar and cotton planters found that natives of the South -Sea Islands could be secured at a much less cost than Chinese or Indian -coolies. The genesis of the traffic was a tragedy, and filled the world -with horror. - -Three armed Peruvian ships, manned by gangs of cut-throats, appeared in -the South Pacific, and seized over four hundred unfortunate natives in -the old African slave-trading fashion, and carried them away to work the -guano deposits on the Chincha Islands. Not a score of them returned to -their island homes--the rest perished under the lash and brutality of -their cruel taskmasters. - -Towards 1870 the demand for South Sea Islanders became very great. They -were wanted in the Sandwich Islands, in Tahiti and Samoa; for, naturally -enough, with their ample food supply, the natives of these islands do -not like plantation work, or if employed demand a high rate of pay. -Then, too, the Queensland and Fijian sugar planters joined in the -quest, and at one time there were over fifty vessels engaged in securing -Kanakas from the Gilbert Islands, the Solomon and New Hebrides Groups, -and the great islands near New Guinea. - -At that time there was no Government supervision of the traffic. Any -irresponsible person could fit out a ship, and bring a cargo of human -beings into port--obtained by means fair or foul--and no questions were -asked. - -Very soon came the news of the infamous story of the brig _Carl_ and -her fiendish owner, a Dr. Murray, who with half a dozen other scoundrels -committed the most awful crimes--shooting down in cold blood scores -of natives who refused to be coerced into "recruiting". Some of these -ruffians went to the scaffold or to long terms of imprisonment; and -from that time the British Government in a maundering way set to work -to effect some sort of supervision of the British ships employed in the -"blackbirding" trade. - -A fleet of five small gunboats (sailing vessels) were built in Sydney, -and were ordered to "overhaul and inspect every blackbirder," and -ascertain if the "blackbirds" were really willing recruits, or had been -deported against their will, and were "to be sold as slaves". And many -atrocious deeds came to light, with the result, as far as Queensland was -concerned, that every labour ship had to carry a Government agent, who -was supposed to see that no abuses occurred. Some of these Government -agents were conscientious men, and did their duty well; others were -mere tools of the greedy planters, and lent themselves to all sorts of -villainies to obtain "recruits" and get an _in camera_ bonus of twenty -pounds for every native they could entice on board. - -Owing to my knowledge of Polynesian and Melane-sian dialects, I was -frequently employed as "recruiter" on many "blackbirders"--French -vessels from Noumea in New Caledonia, Hawaiian vessels from Honolulu, -and German and English vessels sailing from Samoa and Fiji, and in no -instance did I ever have any serious trouble with my "blackbirds" after -they were once on board the ship of which I was "recruiter". - -Let me now describe an ordinary cruise of a "blackbirder" vessel--an -honest ship with an honest skipper and crew, and, above all, a straight -"recruiter"--a man who takes his life in his hands when he steps out, -unarmed, from his boat, and seeks for "recruits" from a crowd of the -wildest savages imaginable. - -Labour ships carry a double crew--one to work the ship, the other to man -the boats, of which there are usually four on ordinary-sized vessels. -They are whale-boats, specially adapted for surf work. The boats' crews -are invariably natives--Rotumah men, Samoans, or Savage Islanders. The -ship's working crew also are in most cases natives, and the captain and -officers are, of course, white men. - -The 'tween decks are fitted to accommodate so many "blackbirds," and, at -the present day, British labour ships are models of cleanliness, for the -Government supervision is very rigid; but in former days the hold of -a "blackbirder" often presented a horrid spectacle--the unfortunate -"recruits" being packed so closely together, and at night time the odour -from their steaming bodies was absolutely revolting as it ascended -from the open hatch, over which stood two sentries on the alert; for -sometimes the "blackbirds" would rise and attempt to murder the ship's -company. In many cases they did so successfully--especially when the -"blackbirds" came from the same island, or group of islands, and spoke -the same language. When there were, say, a hundred or two hundred -"recruits" from various islands, dissimilar in their language and -customs, there was no fear of such an event, and the captain and -officers and "recruiter" went to sleep with a feeling of security. - -Let us now suppose that a "blackbirder" (obnoxious name to many -recruiters) from Samoa, Fiji, or Queensland, has reached one of the New -Hebrides, or Solomon Islands. Possibly she may anchor--if there is an -anchorage; but most likely she will "lie off and on," and send away her -boats to the various villages. - -On one occasion I "worked" the entire length of one side of the great -island of San Cristoval, visiting nearly every village from Cape -Recherché to Cape Surville. This took nearly three weeks, the ship -following the boats along the coast. We would leave the ship at -daylight, and pull in shore, landing wherever we saw a smoke signal, or -a village. When I had engaged, say, half a dozen recruits, I would send -them off on board, and continue on my way. At sunset I would return on -board, the boats would be hoisted up, and the ship either anchor, or -heave-to for the night. On this particular trip the boats were only -twice fired at, but no one man of my crews was hit. - -The boats are known as "landing" and "covering" boats. The former is in -command of an officer and the recruiter, carries five hands (all armed) -and also the boxes of "trade" goods to be exhibited to the natives as -specimens of the rest of the goods on board, or perhaps some will be -immediately handed over as an "advance" to any native willing to -recruit as a labourer in Queensland or elsewhere for three years, at the -magnificent wage of six pounds per annum, generally paid in rubbishing -articles, worth about thirty shillings. - -The "covering" boat is in charge of an officer, or reliable seaman. She -follows the "landing" boat at a short distance, and her duty is to cover -her retreat if the natives should attack the landing boat by at once -opening fire, and giving those in that boat a chance of pushing off -and getting out of danger, and also she sometimes receives on board the -"recruits" as they are engaged by the recruiter--if the latter has not -been knocked on the head or speared. - -On nearing the beach, where the natives are waiting, the officer in the -landing-boat swings her round with his steer oar, and the crew back her -in, stern first, on to the beach. The recruiter then steps out, and the -crew carry the trade chests on shore; then the boat pushes off a -little, just enough to keep afloat, and obtrusive natives, who may mean -treachery, are not allowed to come too near the oars, or take hold of -the gunwale, Meanwhile the covering boat has drawn in close to the first -boat, and the crew, with their hands on their rifles, keep a keen watch -on the landing boat and the wretched recruiter. - -The recruiter, if he is a wise man, will not display any arms openly. To -do so makes the savage natives either sulky or afraid, and I never let -them see mine, which I, however, always kept handy in a harmless-looking -canvas bag, which also contained some tobacco, cut up in small pieces, -to throw to the women and children--to put them in a good temper. - -The recruiter opens his trade box, and then asks if there is any man -or woman who desires to become rich in three years by working on a -plantation in Fiji, Queensland, or Samoa. - -If he can speak the language, and does not lose his nerve by being -surrounded by hundreds of ferocious and armed savages, and knowing that -at any instant he may be cut down from behind by a tomahawk, or speared, -or clubbed, he will get along all right, and soon find men willing to -recruit Especially is this so if he is a man personally known to the -natives, and has a good reputation for treating his "blackbirds" well -on board the ship. The ship and her captain, too, enter largely into the -matter of a native making up his mind to "recruit," or refuse to do so. - -Sometimes there may be among the crowd of natives several who have -already been to Queensland, or elsewhere, and desire to return. These -may be desirable recruits, or, on the other hand, may be the reverse, -and have bad records. I usually tried to shunt these fellows from again -recruiting, as they often made mischief on board, would plan to capture -the ship, and such other diversions, but I always found them useful as -touts in gaining me new recruits, by offering these scamps a suitable -present for each man they brought me. - -I always made it a practice never to recruit a married man, unless his -wife--or an alleged wife--came with him, nor would I take them if they -had young children--who would simply be made slaves of in their absence. -It required the utmost tact and discretion to get at the truth in many -cases, and very often on going on board after a day of toil and danger -I would be sound asleep, when a young couple would swim off--lovers who -had eloped--and beg me to take them away in the ship. This I would never -do until I had seen the local chief, and was assured that no objection -would be made to their leaving. - -(When I was recruiting "black labour" for the French and German planters -in Samoa and Tahiti, I was, of course, sailing in ships of those -nationalities, and had no worrying Government agent to harass and -hinder me by his interference, for only ships under British colours were -compelled to carry "Government agents".) - -But I must return to the recruiter standing on the beach, surrounded by -a crowd of savages, exercising his patience and brains. - -Perhaps at the end of an hour or so eight or ten men are recruited, -and told to either get into one of the boats or go off to the ship in -canoes. The business on shore is then finished, the harassed recruiter -wipes his perspiring brow, says farewell to the people, closes his trade -chest, and steps into his landing boat. The officer cries to the crew, -"Give way, lads," and off goes the boat. - -Then the covering boat comes into position astern of the landing boat, -for one never knew the moment that some enraged native on shore might, -for having been rejected as "undesirable," take a snipe-shot at one of -the boats. Only two men pull in the covering boat--the rest of the crew -sit on the thwarts, with their rifles ready, facing aft, until the boats -are out of range. - -That is what is the ordinary day's work among the Solomon, New Hebrides, -and other island groups of the Western Pacific But very often it -was--and is now--very different. The recruiter may be at work, when -he is struck down treacherously from behind, and hundreds of -concealed savages rush out, bent on slaughter. Perhaps the eye of some -ever-watchful man in the covering boat has seen crouching figures in the -dense undergrowth of the shores of the bay, and at once fires his rifle, -and the recruiter jumps for his boat, and then there is a cracking -of Winchesters from the covering boat, and a responsive banging of -overloaded muskets from the shore. - -Only once was I badly hurt when "recruiting". I had visited a rather -big village, but could not secure a single recruit, and I had told the -officer to put off, as it was no use our wasting our time. I then -got into the boat and was stooping down to get a drink from the -water-beaker, when a sudden fusillade of muskets and arrows was opened -upon us from three sides, and I was struck on the right side of the neck -by a round iron bullet, which travelled round just under the skin, -and stopped under my left ear. Some of my crew were badly hit, one man -having his wrist broken by an iron bullet, and another received a heavy -lead bullet in the stomach, and three bamboo arrows in his chest, thigh -and shoulder. He was more afraid of the arrows than the really dangerous -wound in his stomach, for he thought they were poisoned, and that he -would die of lockjaw--like the lamented Commodore Goodenough, who was -shot to death with poisoned arrows at Nukapu in the Santa Cruz Group. - -The skipper nicked out the bullet in my neck with his pen-knife, and -beyond two very unsightly scars on each side of my neck, I have nothing -of which to complain, and much to be thankful for; for had I been in -ever so little a more erect position, the ball would have broken my -neck--and some compositors in printing establishments earned a little -less money. - - - - -CHAPTER XII ~ MY FRIENDS, THE ANTHROPOPHAGI - -Mr. Rudyard Kipling has spoken of what he terms "the Great American Pie -Belt," which runs through certain parts of the United States, the people -of which live largely on pumpkin pie; in the South Pacific there is what -may be vulgarly termed the Great "Long Pork" Belt, running through -many groups of islands, the savage inhabitants of which are notorious -cannibals. This belt extends from the New Hebrides north-westerly to -the Solomon Archipelago, thence more westerly to New Ireland and New -Britain, the coasts of Dutch, German, and British New Guinea; and then, -turning south, embraces a considerable portion of the coast line of -Northern Australia. Forty years ago Fiji could have been included, -but cannibalism in that group had long since ceased; as also in New -Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands. - -The British, French and German Governments are doing their best to stamp -out the practice. Ships of war patrol the various groups, and wherever -possible, headhunting and man-eating excursions are suppressed; but some -of the islands are of such a vast extent that only the coastal tribes -are affected. In the interior--practically unknown to any white -man--there is a very numerous population of mountaineer tribes, who -are all cannibals, and will remain so for perhaps another fifty years, -unless, as was done in Fiji by Sir Arthur Gordon (now Lord Stanmore), a -large armed force is sent to subdue these people, destroy their towns, -and bring them to settle on the coast, where they may be subjected to -missionary (and police) influence. - -During my trading and "blackbirding" voyages, I made the acquaintance, -and indeed in some cases the friendship, of many cannibals, and at one -time, when I was doing shore duty, I lived for six months in a large -cannibal village on the north coast of the great island of New Britain, -or Tombara, as the natives call it I had not the slightest fear of being -converted into "Long Pig" (_puaka kumi_) for the chief, a hideous, but -yet not bad-natured savage, named Bobâran, in consideration for certain -gifts of muskets, powder, bullets, etc, and tobacco, became responsible -for my safety with his own people during my stay, but would not, of -course, guarantee to protect me from the people of other districts (even -though he might not be at enmity with them) if I ventured into their -territory. - -This was the usual agreement made by white traders who established -themselves on shore under the _ægis_ of a native ruler. Very rarely was -this confidence abused. Generally the white men, sailors or traders -who have been (and are even now) killed and eaten, have been cut off -by savages other than those among whom they lived--very often by -mountaineers. - -Bobâran and all his people were noted cannibals. He was continually at -war with his neighbours on the opposite side of the bay, where there -were three populous towns, and there was much fighting, and losses on -both sides. During my stay there were over thirty people eaten at, or in -the immediate vicinity of, my village. Some of these were taken alive, -and then slaughtered on being brought in; others had been killed in -battle. But about eighteen months before I came to live at this -place, Bobâran had had a party of twenty of his people cut off by the -enemy--and every one of these were eaten. - -I parted from Bobâran on very friendly terms. I should have stayed -longer, but was suffering from malarial fever. - -After recruiting my health in New Zealand, I joined a labour vessel, -sailing out of Samoa, and during the ten months I served on her as -recruiter I had some exceedingly exciting adventures with cannibals -among the islands off the coast of German New Guinea, and on the -mainland. - -On our way to the "blackbirding grounds" we sighted the lofty Rossel -Island--the scene of one of the most awful cannibal tragedies ever -known. It is one of the Louisiade Archipelago, and is at the extreme -south end of British New Guinea. It presents a most enchanting -appearance, owing to its verdured mountains (9,000 feet), countless -cataracts, and beautiful bays fringed with coco-palms and other tropical -trees, amidst which stand the thatched-roofed houses of the natives. I -will tell the story of Rossel Island in as few words as possible:-- - -In 1852 a Peruvian barque, carrying 325 Chinese coolies for Tahiti, was -wrecked on the island; the captain and crew took to the four boats, and -left the Chinamen to shift for themselves. Hundreds of savage natives -rushed the vessel, killed a few of the coolies, and drove the rest on -shore, where for some days they were not molested, the natives being too -busy in plundering the ship. But after this was completed they turned -their attention to their captives, marshalled them together, made them -enter canoes and carried them off to a small, but fertile island. Here -they were told to occupy a deserted village, and do as they pleased, but -not to attempt to leave the island. The poor Chinamen were overjoyed, -little dreaming of what was to befal them. The island abounded with -vegetables and fruit, and the shipwrecked men found no lack of food. But -they discovered that they were prisoners--every canoe had been removed. -This at first caused them no alarm, but when at the end of a week -their jailers appeared and carried off ten of their number, they became -restless. And then almost every day, two, three or more were taken -away, and never returned. Then the poor wretches discovered that their -comrades were being killed and eaten day by day! - -To escape from the island was impossible, for it was four miles from the -mainland, and they had no canoes, and the water was literally alive with -sharks. Some of them, wild with terror, built a raft out of dead timber, -and tried to put to sea. They were seen by the Rossel Islanders, pursued -and captured, and slaughtered for the cannibal ovens, which were now -never idle. Some poor creatures, who could swim, tried to cross to -another little island two miles away, but were devoured by sharks. -Without arms to defend their lives, they saw themselves decimated week -by week, for whenever the natives came to seize some of their number for -their ovens they came in force. - -Six or seven months passed, and then one day the French corvette -_Phoque_ (if I am not mistaken in the name) appeared off the island. She -had been sent by the Governor of New Caledonia to ascertain if any of -the Chinamen were still on the island, or if all had escaped. Two only -survived. They were seen running along the beach to meet the boats from -the corvette, and were taken on board half-demented--all the rest had -gone into the stomach of the cannibals or the sharks. - -At the present time the natives of Rossel Island are subjects of King -Edward VII., and are included in the government of the Possession of -British New Guinea; have, I believe, a resident missionary, and several -traders, and are well behaved They would cast up their eyes in pious -horror if any visitor now suggested that they had once been addicted to -"long pig ". - -Ten days after passing Rossel Island, we were among the islands of -Dampier and Vitiaz Straits, which separate the western end of New -Britain from the east coast of New Guinea. It was an absolutely new -ground for recruiting "blackbirds" and our voyage was in reality but -an experiment. We (the officers and I) knew that the natives were a -dangerous lot of savage cannibals, speaking many dialects, and had -hitherto only been in communication with an occasional whaleship, or a -trading, pearling, or, in the "old" colonial days, a sandal-wood-seeking -vessel. But we had no fear of being cut off. We had a fine craft, with a -high freeboard, so that if we were rushed by canoes, the boarders would -find some trouble in clambering on deck; on the main deck we carried -four six-pounders, which were always kept in good order and could be -loaded with grape in a few minutes. Then our double crew were all well -armed with Sharp's carbines and the latest pattern of Colt's revolvers; -and, above all, the captain had confidence in his crew and officers, and -they in him. I, the recruiter, had with me as interpreter a very smart -native of Ysabel Island (Solomon Group) who, five years before, had been -wrecked on Rook Island, in Vitiaz Straits, had lived among the cannibal -natives for a year, and then been rescued by an Austrian man-of-war -engaged on an exploration voyage. He said that he could make himself -well understood by the natives--and this I found to be correct. - -We anchored in a charming little bay on Rook Island (Baga), and at once -some hundreds of natives came off and boarded us in the most fearless -manner. They at once recognised my interpreter, and danced about him and -yelled their delight at seeing him again. Every one of these savages was -armed with half a dozen spears, a jade-headed club, or powerful bows and -arrows, and a wooden shield. They were a much finer type of savage -than the natives of New Britain, lighter in colour, and had not so many -repulsive characteristics. Neither were they absolutely nude--each man -wearing a girdle of dracaena leaves, and although they were betel-nut -chewers, and carried their baskets of areca nuts and leaves and powdered -lime around their necks, they did not expectorate the disgusting scarlet -juice all over our decks as the New Britain natives would have done. - -We noticed that many of them had recently inflicted wounds, and learned -from them that a few days previously they had had a great fight with the -natives of Tupinier Island (twenty miles to the east) and had been badly -beaten, losing sixteen men. But, they proudly added, they had been able -to carry off eleven of the enemy's dead, and had only just finished -eating them. The chiefs brother, they said, had been badly wounded by -a bullet in the thigh (the Tupinier natives had a few muskets) and was -suffering great pain, as the "doctors" could not get it out. - -Now here was a chance for me--something which would perhaps lead to our -getting a number of these cannibals to recruit for Samoa. I considered -myself a good amateur surgeon (I had had plenty of practice) and at once -volunteered to go on shore, look at the injured gentleman and see what -I could do. My friend Bobâran in New Britain I had cured of an eczemic -disorder by a very simple remedy, and he had been a grateful patient. -Here was another chance, and possibly another grateful patient; and this -being a case of a gunshot wound, I was rather keen on attending to it, -for the Polynesians and Melanesians will stand any amount of cutting -about and never flinch (and there are no coroners in the South Seas to -ask silly questions if the patient dies from a mistake of the operator). - -Morel (the captain), the interpreter and myself went on shore. The beach -was crowded with women and children, as well as men--a sure sign that -no treachery was intended--and nearly all of them tried to embrace my -interpreter. The clamour these cannibals made was terrific, the children -being especially vociferous. Several of them seized my hands, and -literally dragged me along to the house of the wounded man; others -possessed themselves of Morel and the interpreter, and in a few minutes -the whole lot of us tumbled, or rather fell, into the house. Then, in an -instant, there was silence--the excited women and children withdrew and -left the captain, the interpreter, some male cannibals and myself with -my patient, who was sitting up, placidly chewing betel-nut. - -In ten minutes Morel and I got out the bullet, then dressed and bandaged -the wound, and gave the man a powerful opiate. Leaving him with his -friends, Morel and I went for a walk through the village. Everywhere the -natives were very civil, offering us coco-nuts and food, and even the -women and children did not show much fear at our presence. - -Returning to the house, we found our wounded friend was awake, and -sitting up on his mat He smiled affably at us, and rubbed noses with -me--a practice I have never before seen among the Melanesians of this -part of the Pacific. Then he told us that his womenfolk were preparing -us a meal which would soon be ready. I asked him gravely (through the -interpreter) not to serve us any human flesh. He replied quite calmly -that there was none left--the last had been eaten five days before. - -Presently the meal was carried in--baked pork, an immense fish of the -mullet kind, yams, taro, and an enormous quantity of sugar-cane and -pineapples. The women did not eat with us, but sat apart. Our friend, -whose name was Dârro, had six wives, four of whom were present He had -also a number of female slaves, taken from an island in Vitiaz Straits. -These were rather light-skinned, and some quite good-looking, and all -wore girdles of dracaena leaves. Neither Dârro nor his people smoked, -though they knew the use of pipe and tobacco, and at one time had been -given both by a sandal-wooding ship. I promised to give them a present -of a ten pound case of plug tobacco, and a gross of clay pipes--I was -thinking of "recruits". I sent off to the brig for the present, and when -it arrived, and I had given nearly one hundred and fifty cannibals a -pipe and a plug of tobacco each, the interpreter and I got to work on -Dârro on the subject of our mission. - -Alas! He would not entertain the idea of any of his fighting men going -to an unknown land for three years. We could have perhaps a score or so -of women--widows or slaves. Would that suit us? No, I said. We did not -want single women or widows. There must be a man to each woman. - -Dârro was "very sorry" (so was I). But perhaps I and the captain would -accept two of the youngest of his female slaves as a token of his regard -for us? - -Morel and I consulted, and then we asked Dârro if he could not give us -two slave couples--two men and two women who would be willing to marry, -and also willing to go to a country and work, a country where they would -be well treated, and paid for their labour. And at the end of three -years they would be brought back to Dârro, if they so desired. - -Dârro smiled and gave some orders, and two strapping young men and two -pleasant-faced young women were brought for my inspection. All were -smiling, and I felt that a bishop and a brass band or surpliced -choristers ought to have been present. - -These were the only "blackbirds" we secured on that voyage from Rook -Island; but three and a half years later, when these two couples -returned to Dârro, with a "vast" wealth of trade goods, estimated at -"trade" prices at seventy-two pounds, Dârro never refused to let some of -his young men "recruit" for Fiji or Samoa. - -I never saw him again, but he sent messages to me by other -"blackbirding" vessels, saying that he would like me to come and stay -with him. - -And, although he had told me that he had personally partaken of -the flesh of over ninety men, I shall always remember him as a very -gentlemanly man, courteous, hospitable and friendly, and who was -horror-struck when my interpreter told him that in England cousins -intermarried. - -"That is a horrid, an unutterable thing. It is inconceivable to us. -It is vile, wicked and shameless. How can you clever white men do such -disgusting things?" - -Dârro and his savage people knew the terrors of the abuse of the laws of -consanguinity. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII ~ ON THE "JOYS" OF RECRUITING "BLACKBIRDS" - -A few years ago I was written to by an English lady, living in the -Midlands, asking me if I could assist her nephew--a young man of three -and twenty years of age--towards obtaining a berth as Government agent -or as "recruiter" on a Queensland vessel employed in the Kanaka labour -trade. - -"I am told that it is a very gentlemanly employment, that many of those -engaged in it are, or have been, naval officers and have a recognised -status in society. Also that the work is really nothing--merely the -supervision of coloured men going to the Queensland plantations. The -climate is, I am told, delightful, and would suit Walter, whose lungs, -as you know, are weak. Is the salary large?" etc. - -I had to write and disillusionise the lady, and as I wrote I recalled -one of my experiences in the Kanaka labour trade. - -Early in the seventies, I was in Nouméa, New Caledonia, looking for a -berth as recruiter in the Kanaka labour trade; but there were many older -and much more experienced men than myself engaged on the same quest, and -my efforts were in vain. - -One morning, however, I met a Captain Poore, who was the owner and -master of a small vessel, just about to leave Nouméa on a trading -voyage along the east coast of New Guinea, and among the islands between -Astrolabe Bay and the West Cape of New Britain. He did not want a -supercargo; but said that he would be very glad if I would join him, and -if the voyage was a success he would pay me for such help as I might -be able to render him. I accepted his offer, and in a few days we left -Nouméa. - -Poore and I were soon on very friendly terms. He was a man of vast -experience in the South Seas, and, except that he was subject to -occasional violent outbursts of temper when anything went wrong, was an -easy man to get on with, and a pleasant comrade. - -The mate was the only other European on board, besides the captain and -myself, all the crew, including the boatswain, being either Polynesians -or Melanesians. The whole ten of them were fairly good seamen and worked -well. - -A few days after leaving Nouméa, Poore took me into his confidence, -and told me that, although he certainly intended to make a trading -and recruiting voyage, he had another object in view, and that was to -satisfy himself as to the location of some immense copper deposits that -had been discovered on Rook Island--midway between New Britain and New -Guinea--by some shipwrecked seamen. - -Twenty-two days out from Nouméa, the _Samana_, as the schooner was -named, anchored in a well-sheltered and densely-wooded little bay on the -east side of Rook Island. The place was uninhabited, though, far back, -from the lofty mountains of the interior, we could see several columns -of smoke arising, showing the position of mountaineer villages. - -It was then ten o'clock in the morning, and Poore, feeling certain that -in this part of the coast there were no native villages, determined to -go ashore, and do a little prospecting. (I must mention that, owing to -light weather and calms, we had been obliged to anchor where we had to -avoid being drifted on shore by the fierce currents, which everywhere -sweep and eddy around Rook Island, and that we were quite twenty miles -from the place where the copper lode had been discovered.) - -Taking with us two of the native seamen, Poore and I set off on shore -shortly after ten o'clock, and landed on a rough, shingly beach. The -extent of littoral on this part of the island was very small, a bold -lofty chain of mountains coming down to within a mile of the sea, and -running parallel with the coast as far as we could see. The vegetation -was dense, and in some places came down to the water's edge, and -although the country showed a tropical luxuriance of beauty about the -seashore, the dark, gloomy, and silent mountain valleys which everywhere -opened up from the coast, gave it a repellent appearance in general. - -Leaving the natives (who were armed with rifles and tomahawks) in charge -of the boat, and telling them to pull along the shore and stop when we -stopped, Poore and I set out to walk. - -My companion was armed with a Henry-Winchester carbine, and I with a -sixteen-bore breech-loading shotgun and a tomahawk. I had brought the -gun instead of a rifle, feeling sure that I could get some cockatoos or -pigeons on our way back, for we had heard and seen many flying about as -soon as we had anchored. At the last moment I put into my canvas game -bag four round bullet cartridges, as Poore said there were many wild -pigs on the island. - -On rounding the eastern point of the bay we were delighted to come -across a beautiful beach of hard white sand, fringed with coco-nut -palms, and beyond was a considerable stretch of open park-like country. -Just as Poore and I were setting off inland to examine the base of a -spur about a mile distant, one of the men said he could see the mouth of -a river farther on along the beach. - -This changed our plans, and sending the boat on ahead, we kept to the -beach, and soon reached the river--or rather creek. It was narrow but -deep, the boat entered it easily and went up it for a mile, we walking -along the bank, which was free of undergrowth, but covered with high, -coarse, reed-like grass. Then the boat's progress was barred by a huge -fallen tree, which spanned the stream. Here we spelled for half an hour, -and had something to eat, and then again Poore and I set out, following -the upward course of the creek. Finding it was leading us away from the -spur we wished to examine, we stopped to decide what to do, and then -heard the sound of two gun-shots in quick succession, coming from the -direction of the place in which the boat was lying. We were at once -filled with alarm, knowing that the men must be in danger of some sort, -and that neither of them could have fired at a wild pig, no matter how -tempting a shot it offered, for we had told them not to do so. - -"Perhaps they have fallen foul of an alligator," said Poore, "all the -creeks on Rook Island are full of them. Come along, and let us see what -is wrong." - -Running through the open, timber country, and then through the long -grass on the banks of the stream, we had reached about half-way to the -boat when we heard a savage yell--or rather yells--for it seemed to come -from a hundred throats, and in an instant we both felt sure that the -boat had been attacked. - -Madly forcing our way through the infernal reed-like grass, which every -now and then caused us to trip and fall, we had just reached a bend of -the creek, which gave us a clear sight of its course for about three -hundred yards, when Poore tripped over a fallen tree branch; I fell on -the top of him, and my face struck his upturned right foot with such -violence that the blood poured from my nose in a torrent, and for half a -minute I was stunned. - -"Good God, look at that!" cried Poore, pointing down stream. - -Crossing a shallow part of the creek were a party of sixty or seventy -savages, all armed with spears and clubs. Four of them who were leading -were carrying on poles from their shoulders the naked and headless -bodies of our two unfortunate sailors, and the decapitated heads were -in either hand of an enormously fat man, who from his many shell armlets -and other adornments was evidently the leader. So close were they--less -than fifty yards--that we easily recognised one of the bodies by its -light yellow skin as that of Anteru (Andrew), a native of Rotumah, and -one of the best men we had on the _Samana_. - -Before I could stay his hand and point out the folly of it, Poore stood -up and shot the fat savage through the stomach, and I saw the blood -spurt from his side, as the heavy, flat-nosed bullet ploughed its -way clean through the man, who, still clutching the two heads in his -ensanguined hands, stood upright for a few seconds, and then fell with a -splash into the stream. - -Yells of rage and astonishment came from the savages, as Poore, now wild -with fury, began to fire at them indiscriminately, until the magazine of -his rifle was emptied; but he was so excited that only two or three of -them were hit. Then his senses came back to him. - -"Quick, into the creek, and over to the other side, or they'll cut us -off." - -We clambered down the bank into the water, and then, by some mischance, -Poore, who was a bad swimmer, dropped his rifle, and began uttering the -most fearful oaths, when I told him that it was no use my trying to dive -for it, unless he could hold my shot gun, which I was carrying in my -left hand. We had scarcely reached the opposite bank, when thin, slender -spears began to whizz about us, and one, no thicker than a lead pencil, -caught Poore in the cheek, obliquely, and its point came out quite a -yard from where it had entered, and literally pinned him to the ground. - -I have heard some very strong language in the South Seas, but I have -never heard anything so awful as that of Poore when I drew out the -spear, and we started to run for our lives down the opposite bank of the -creek. - -For some minutes we panted along through the long grass, hearing -nothing; and then, as we came to an open spot and stopped to gain -breath, we were assailed by a shower of spears from the other side -of the creek, and Poore was again hit--a spear ripping open the flesh -between the forefinger and thumb of his left hand. He seized my gun, and -fired both barrels into the long grass on the other side, and wild yells -showed that some of our pursuers were at least damaged by the heavy No. -I shot intended for cockatoos. - -Then all became silent, and we again started, taking all available -cover, and hoping we were not pursued. - -We were mistaken, for presently we caught sight of a score of our -enemies a hundred yards ahead, running at top speed, evidently intending -to cross lower down and cut us off, or else secure the boat Poore took -two quick shots at them, but they were too far off, and gave us a -yell of derision. Putting my hand into the game bag to get out two -cartridges, I was horrified to find it empty, every one had fallen out; -my companion used more lurid language, and we pressed on. At last we -reached the boat, and found her floating bottom up--the natives had been -too quick for us. - -To have attempted to right her would have meant our being speared by -the savages, who, of course, were watching our every movement. There -was nothing else to do but to keep on, cross the mouth of the creek, and -make for the ship. - -Scarcely had we run fifty yards when we saw the grass on the other side -move--the natives were keeping up the chase. Another ten minutes brought -us to the mouth of the stream, and then to our great joy we saw that -the tide had ebbed, and that right before us was a stretch of bare -sand, extending out half a mile. As we emerged into the open we saw our -pursuers standing on the opposite bank. Poore pointed his empty gun at -them, and they at once vanished. - -We stopped five minutes to gain breath, and then kept straight on across -the sand, till we sighted the schooner. We were seen almost at once, and -a boat was quickly manned and sent to us, and in a quarter of an hour we -were on board again. - -That was one of the joys of the "gentlemanly" employment of "recruiting" -in the South Seas. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV ~ MAKING A FORTUNE IN THE SOUTH SEAS - -A short time ago I came across in a daily newspaper the narrative of -a traveller in the South Seas full of illuminating remarks on the ease -with which any one can now acquire a fortune in the Pacific Islands; it -afforded me considerable reflection, mixed with a keen regret that I -had squandered over a quarter of a century of my life in the most -stupid manner, by ignoring the golden opportunities that must have been -jostling me wherever I went. The articles were very cleverly penned, and -really made very pretty reading--so pretty, in fact, that I was moved -to briefly narrate my experience of the subject in the columns of the -_Westminster Gazette_ with the result that many a weary, struggling -trader in the Solomon Islands, the New Hebrides and other groups of -islands in the South Pacific rose up and called me blessed when they -read my article, for I sent five and twenty copies of the paper to as -many traders. Others doubtless obtained the journal from the haughty -brass-bound pursers (there are no "supercargoes" now) of the Sydney and -Auckland steamers. For the steamers, with their high-collared, clerkly -pursers, have supplanted for good the trim schooners, with their -brown-faced, pyjama-clad supercargoes, and the romance of the South Seas -has gone. But it has not gone in the imagination of some people. - -I must mention that my copies of the _Westminster Gazette_ crossed no -less than nine letters written to me by old friends and comrades from -various islands in the Pacific, asking me to do what I had done--put the -true condition of affairs in Polynesia before the public, and help -to keep unsuitable and moneyless men from going out to the South Sea -Islands to starve. For they had read the illuminating series of articles -to which I refer, and felt very savage. - -In a cabin-trunk of mine I have some hundreds of letters, written to -me during the past ten years by people from all parts of the world, -who wanted to go to the South Seas and lead an idyllic life and make -fortunes, and wished me to show them how to go about it. Many of these -letters are amusing, some are pathetic; some, which were so obviously -insane, I did not answer. The rest I did. I cannot reproduce them in -print. I am keeping them to read to my friends in heaven. Even an old -ex-South Sea trader may get there--if he can dodge the other place. -_Quien sabe?_ - -Twenty-one of these letters reached me in France during February, March -and April of last year. They were written by men and women who had been -reading the above-mentioned series of brilliant articles. (I regret to -state that fourteen only had a penny stamp thereon, and I had to pay -four francs postal dues.) The articles were, as I have said, very -charmingly written, especially the descriptive passages. But nearly -every person that the "Special Commissioner" met in the South Seas seems -to have been very energetically and wickedly employed in "pulling the -'Special Commissioner's leg". - -The late Lord Pembroke described two classes of people--"those who know -and don't write, and those who write and don't know". - -Let me cull a few only of the statements in one of the articles entitled -"The Trader's Prospects". It is an article so nicely written that it is -hard to shake off the glamour of it and get to facts. It says:-- - -"The salaries paid by a big Australian firm to its traders may run from -£50 to £200 a year, with board (that is, the run of the store) and a -house." - -There are possibly fifty men in the Pacific Islands who are receiving -£200 a year from trading firms. Five pounds per month, with a specified -ration list, and 5 per cent, commission on his sales is the usual -thing--and has been so for the past fifteen years. As for taking "the -run of the store," he would be quickly asked to take another run. The -trader who works for a firm has a struggle to exist. - -***** - -"In the Solomons and New Hebrides you can start trading on a capital of -£100 or so, and make cent, per cent, on island produce." - -A man would want at least £500 to £600 to start even in the smallest -way. Here are some of his requirements, which he must buy before leaving -Sydney or Auckland to start as an independent trader in Melanesia or -Polynesia: Trade goods, £400; provisions for twelve months, £100; boat -with all gear, from £25 to £60; tools, firearms, etc, £15 to £30. Then -there is passage money, £15 to £20; freight on his goods, say £40. If -he lands anywhere in Polynesia--Samoa, Tonga, Cook's Islands, or -elsewhere--he will have Customs duties to pay, house rent, and a -trading licence. And everywhere he will find keen competition and measly -profits, unless he lives like a Chinaman on rice and fish. - -"In British New Guinea you can dig gold in hand-fuls out of the mangrove -swamps" (O ye gods!) "and prospect for any other mineral you may -choose." - -Gold-mining in British New Guinea is carried out under the most trying -conditions of toil and hardships, The fitting out of a prospecting-party -of four costs quite £500 to £1,000. And only very experienced diggers -tackle mining in the Possession. And his Honour the Administrator will -not let improperly equipped parties into the Possession. - -"It is the simplest thing in the world" to become a pearl sheller. "You -charter a schooner--or even a cutter--if you are a smart seaman and know -the Pacific, use her for general trading... and every now and then go -and look up some one of the innumerable reefs and low atolla... Some are -beds of treasure, full of pearl-shell, that sells at £100 to £200 the -ton," etc. - -All very pretty! Here is the "simplicity" of it--taking it at so much -_per month_: Charter of small schooner of one hundred tons, £200 to -£300; wages of captain and crew, £40; cost of provisions and wear and -tear of canvas, running gear, etc., £60 (diving suits and gear for two -divers, and boat would have to be bought at a cost of some hundreds of -pounds); wages per month of each diver from £50 to £75, with often -a commission on the shell they raise. Then you can go a-sailing, and -_cherchez_ around for your treasure beds. If you dive in Dutch waters, -the gunboats collar you and your ship; if you go into British waters you -will find that the business is under strict inspection by Commonwealth -officials who keep a properly sharp eye on your doings. If you wish to -go into the French Paumotus you have first to visit Tahiti, and apply -for and pay 2,500 francs for a half-yearly licence to dive. (Most likely -you won't get it) If you try without this licence to buy even a single -pearl from the natives, you will get into trouble--as my ship did in -the "seventies," when the gunboat _Vaudreuil_ swooped down on us, sent -a prize crew aboard, put some of us in irons, and towed us to -Tahiti, where we lay in Papeite harbour for three months, until legal -proceedings were finished and the ship was liberated. - -"About £150 would be the lowest sum with which such a work" (scooping up -the treasure) "could be carried out. This would provide a small schooner -or a cutter from Auckland for a few months with all necessary stores. -She would require two men, competent to navigate, two A.B.'s, and a -diver, in order to be run safely and comfortably; and the wages of -these would be an extra cost A couple of experienced yachtsmen could, of -course, manage the affair more cheaply." - -Some of these recent nine letters which I received contained some very -interesting facts. One man, an old trader in Polynesia, wrote me as -follows: "Some of these poor beggars actually land in Polynesian ports -with a trunk or two of glass beads, penny looking-glasses, twopenny -knives and other weird rubbish, and are aghast to see large stores -stocked with thousands of pounds' worth of goods of all kinds, goods -which are sold to the natives at a very low margin of profit, -for competition is very keen. In the Society Islands the Chinese -storekeepers undersell us whites--they live cheaper." And "in Levuka -and Suva, in Fiji, in Rarotonga and other islands there are scores of -broken-down white men. They cannot be called 'beachcombers,' for there -is nothing on the beach for them to comb. They live on the charity of -the traders and natives. If they were sailor-men they could perhaps -get fifteen dollars a month on the schooners. Why they come here is a -mystery.... Most of them seem to be clerks or school-teachers. One is a -violin teacher. Another young fellow brought out a typewriting machine; -he is now yardman at a Suva hotel. A third is a married man with two -young children. He is a French polisher, wife a milliner. They came from -Belfast, and landed with eleven pounds! Hotel expenses swallowed all -that in three weeks. Money is being collected to send them to Auckland," -and so on. There is always so much mischief being done by globe-trotting -tourists and ill-informed and irresponsible novelists who scurry through -the Southern Seas on a liner, and then publish their hasty impressions. -According to them, any one with a modicum of common sense can shake the -South Sea Pagoda Tree and become bloatedly wealthy in a year or so. - -Did the "Special Commissioner" know that these articles would lead to -much misery and suffering? No, of course not. They were written in good -faith, but without knowledge. For instance, the wild statement about -looking up "some one of the innumerable reefs and low atolls... beds -of treasure, full of pearl-shell that sells at £100 to £200 the ton," -etc.--there is not one single reef or atoll either in the North or South -Pacific that has not been carefully prospected for pearl-shell during -the past thirty-five years. - -Then as to gold-mining in British New Guinea, "where you can dig gold in -handfuls out of the mangrove swamps". - -Diggers who go to New Guinea have to go through the formality of first -paying their passages to that country from Australia. Then, on arrival, -they have to arrange the important matter of engaging native carriers -to take their outfit to the Mambaré River gold-fields--a tedious and -expensive item. And only experienced men of sterling physique can stand -the awful labour and hardships of gold-mining in the Possession. Deadly -malarial fever adds to the diggers' hard lot in New Guinea, and the -natives, when not savage and treacherous, are as unreliable and as lazy -as a Spanish priest. - -In conclusion, I can assure my readers that there is no prospect for any -man of limited means to make money in the South Seas as a trader. Any -assertions to the contrary have no basis of fact in them. In cotton and -coco-nut planting there are good openings for men of the right stamp; in -the second industry, however, one has to wait six years before his trees -are in full bearing. - - - - -CHAPTER XV ~ THE STORY OF TOKOLMÉ - -Early one morning some native hunters came on board our vessel and asked -me to come with them to the mountain forest of the island of Ponapé in -quest of wild boar. Glad to escape from the ship, which lay in a small -land-locked harbour on the south-eastern side of the island, I quickly -put together my gear, stepped into one of the long red-painted canoes -alongside, and pushed off with my companions--men whom I had known for -some years and who always looked to me to join them in at least one -of their hunting trips whenever our brig visited their district on a -trading cruise. Half an hour's paddling across the still waters of the -harbour brought us to a narrow creek, lined on each side with dense -mangroves. Following its upward course for the third of a mile, we came -to and landed at a point of high land, where the-dull and monotonous -mangroves gave place to giant cedar trees and lofty palms. Here were two -or three small native huts, used by the hunters as a rendezvous. Early -as it was, some of their women-folk had arrived from the village, and -cooked and made ready a meal of baked fish and chickens. Then after the -inevitable smoke and discussion as to the route to be taken, and telling -the women to expect us back at nightfall, we shouldered our rifles and -hunting spears, and started off in single file along a winding track -that followed the turnings of the now clear and brawling little stream. -At first we experienced considerable trouble in ridding ourselves of -over a dozen mongrel curs; they had followed the men from the village -(two miles distant) and the women had fastened all of them in, in one of -the huts, but the brutes had torn a hole through the cane-work side of -the hut and came after us in full cry. Kicking and pelting them with -sticks had no effect--they merely yelped and snarled and darted off -into the undergrowth, only to reappear somewhere ahead of us. Finally my -companions became so exasperated that, forgetting they were newly-made -converts to Christianity, they burst out into torrents of abuse, -invoking all the old heathen gods to smite the dogs individually and -collectively, and not let them spoil our sport. This proving of no -effect, an exasperated and stalwart young native named Nâ, who was the -owner of one of the most ugly and persistent of the animals, asked me to -lend him my Winchester, and, waiting for a favourable chance, shot the -brute dead. In an instant the rest of the pack vanished without a sound, -and we saw no more of them till we returned to the huts in the evening. - -These natives (seven in all) were, with the exception of a man of fifty -years of age, all young men, and fine types of the Micronesian. Although -much slighter in build than the average Polynesian of the south-eastern -islands of the Pacific, they were extremely muscular and sinewy, and as -active and fleet of foot as wild goats. Their skins, where not tanned -a darker hue by the sun, were of a light reddish-brown, and the blue -tatooing on their bodies showed out very clearly; most of them had a -very Semitic and regular cast of features, and their straight black hair -and fine white teeth imparted a very pleasing appearance. Unlike some of -the natives of the Micronesian Archipelago on the islands farther to the -westward they dislike the disgusting practice of chewing the betel-nut, -and in general may be regarded as a very cleanly and highly intelligent -race of people. Somewhat suspicious, if not sullen, with the European -stranger on first acquaintance, they do not display that spirit of -hospitality and courtesy that seems to be inherent with the Samoans, -Tahitians and the Marquesans. From the time when their existence was -first made known to the world by the discoveries of the early Spanish -voyagers to the South Seas they have been addicted to warfare, and -the inhabitants of Ponapé in particular had an evil reputation for the -horrible cruelties the victors inflicted upon the vanquished in battle, -even though the victims were frequently their own kith and kin. When, -less than twenty years ago, Spain reasserted her claims to the Caroline -Islands (of which Ponapé is the largest and most fertile) and placed -garrisons on several of the islands, the natives of Ponapé made a savage -and determined resistance, and in one instance wiped out two companies -of troops and their officers. A few years ago, however, the entire -archipelago passed into the hands of Germany--Spain accepting a monetary -compensation for parting with territory that never belonged to her--and -at the present time these once valorous and warlike savages are learning -the ways of civilisation and--as might be expected--rapidly diminishing -in numbers. - -***** - -After ridding ourselves of the dogs we pressed steadily onward and -upward, till we no longer heard the hum of the surf beating upon the -barrier reef, and then when the sun was almost overhead we emerged from -the deep, darkened aisles of the silent forest into a small cleared -space on the summit of a spur and saw displayed before us one of the -loveliest panoramas in the universe. For of all the many beautiful -island gems which lie upon the blue bosom of the North Pacific, there -is none that exceeds in beauty and fertility the Isle of Ascension, as -Ponapé is sometimes called--that being the name used by the Spaniards. - -Three thousand feet below we could see for many miles the trend of the -coast north and south. Within the wavering line of roaring white surf, -which marked the barrier reef, lay the quiet green waters of the narrow -lagoon encompassing the whole of this part of Ponapé, studded with many -small islands--some rocky and precipitous, some so low-lying and so -thickly palm-clad that they, seemed, with their girdles of shining -beach, to be but floating gardens of verdure, so soft and ephemeral -that even the gentle breath of the rising trade wind at early morn would -cause them to vanish like some desert mirage. - -To the southward was the small, land-locked harbour of Roân Kiti, whose -gleaming waters were as yet undisturbed by the faintest ripple, and the -two American whaleships and my own vessel which floated on its placid -bosom, lay so still and quiet, that one could have thought them to be -abandoned by their crews were it not that one of the whalers began to -loose and dry sails, for it had rained heavily during the night. These -two ships were from New Bedford, and they had put into the little -harbour to wood and water, and give their sea-worn crews a fortnight's -rest ere they sailed northward away from the bright isles of the Pacific -to the cold, wintry seas of the Siberian coast and the Kurile Islands, -where they would cruise for "bowhead" whales, before returning home to -America. - -Here, because the White Man both felt and looked tired after the long -climb, and because the Brown Men wanted to make a drink of green kava, -we decided to rest for an hour or two--some of the men suggesting that -we should not return till the following day. Food we had brought with -us, and everywhere on the tops of the mountains water was to be found -in small rocky pools. So whilst one of the men cut up a rugged root of -green kava and began to pound it with a smooth stone, the White Man, -well content, laid down his gun, sat upon a boulder of stone and looked -around him. I was pleased at the view of sea and verdant shore -far below, and pleased too at the prospect of some good sport; for -everywhere, on our way up to the mountains, we had seen the tracks -of many a wild pig, and here, on the summit of this spur, could rest -awhile, before descending into a deep valley on the eastern side of -the island, where we knew we would find the wild pigs feeding along the -banks of a mountain stream which debouched into Roân Kiti harbour, four -miles away. - -"How is this place named, and how came it to be clear of the forest -trees?" I asked one of my native friends, a handsome young man, about -thirty years of age, whose naked, smooth, and red-brown skin, from neck -to waist, showed by its tatooing that he was of chiefly lineage. - -"Tokolmé it is called," he replied. "It was once a place of great -strength; a fortress was made here in the mountains, in the olden -time--in the old days, long before white men came to Ponapé. See, all -around us, half-buried in the ground, are some of the blocks of stone -which were carried up from the face of the mountain which overlooks -Metalanien "--he pointed to several huge basaltic prisms lying -near--"these stones were the lower course of the fort; the upper part -was of wood, great forest trees, cut down and squared into lengths of -two fathoms. And it is because of the cutting down of these trees, which -were very old and took many hundred years to grow, that the place -where we now sit, and all around us, is so clear. For the blood of -many hundreds of men have sunk into it, and because it was the blood of -innocent people, there be now nothing that will grow upon it." - -The place was certainly quite bare of trees, though encompassed by the -forest on all sides lower down. One reason for this may have been that -in addition to the large basaltic prisms, the ground was thickly covered -with a layer of smaller and broken stones to which time and the action -of the weather had given a comparatively smooth surface. - -"Tell me of it, Rai," I said. - -"Presently, friend, after we have had the drink of kava and eaten some -food. Ah, this green kava of ours is good to drink, not like the weak, -dried root that the women of Samoa chew and mix with much water in a -wooden bowl. What goodness can there be in that? Here, we take the root -fresh from the soil when it is full of juice, beat it to a pulp and add -but little water." - -"It is good, Rai," I admitted, "but give me only a little. It is too -strong for me and a full bowl would cause me to stagger and fall." - -He laughed good-naturedly as he handed me a half coco-nut shell -containing a little of the thick greenish-yellow liquid. And then, after -all had drunk in turn, the baskets of cold baked food were opened and -we ate; and then as we lit our pipes and smoked Rai told us the story of -Tokolmé. - -"In those days, before the white men came here to this country, though -they had been to islands not many days' sail from here by canoe, there -were but two great chiefs of Ponapé--now there are seven--one was Lirou, -who ruled all this part of the land, and who dwelt at Roân Kiti with two -thousand people, and the other was Roka, king of all the northern coast -and ruler of many villages. Roka was a great voyager and had sailed as -far to the east as Kusaie, which is two hundred leagues from here, and -his people were proud of him and his great daring and of the slaves that -he brought back with him from Kusaie.{*} - - * Strongs Island. - -"Here in Tokolmé lived three hundred and two-score people, who owed -allegiance neither to Lirou nor Roka, for their ancestors had come to -Ponapé from Yap, an island far to the westward. After many years of -fighting on the coast they made peace with Lirou's father, who gave them -all this piece of country as a free gift, and without tribute, and many -of their young men and women intermarried with ours, for the language -and customs of Yap are akin to those of Ponapé. - -"Soon after peace was made and Tolan, chief of the strangers, had built -the village and made plantations, he died, and as he left no son, his -daughter Leâ became chieftainess, although she was but fourteen years of -age. - -"Lirou, who was a haughty, overbearing young man, sent presents, and -asked her in marriage, and great was his anger when she refused, saying -that she had no desire to leave her people now that her father was dead. - -"'See,' he said to his father, 'see the insult put upon thee by these -proud ones of Yap--these dog-eating strangers who drifted to our land -as a log drifts upon the ocean. Thou hast given them fair lands with -running water, and great forest trees, and this girl refuses to marry -me. Am I as nothing that I should be so treated? Shall I, Lirou, be -laughed at? Am I a boy or a grown man?' - -"The old chief, who desired peace, sought in vain to soothe him. -'Wait for another year,' he said, 'and it may be that she will be of a -different mind. And already thou hast two wives--why seek another?' - -"'Because it is my will,' replied Lirou fiercely, and he went away, -nursing his wrath. - -"One day a party of Roka's young men and women went in several canoes -to the group of small islands near the mainland called Pâkin to catch -turtle; whilst the men were away out on the reef at night with their -turtle nets a number of Lirou's men came to the huts where the women -were and watched them cooking food to give to their husbands on their -return. Rain was falling heavily, and Lirou's men came into the houses, -unasked, and sat down and then began to jest with the women somewhat -rudely. This made them somewhat afraid, for they were all married, and -to jest with the wife of another man is looked upon as an evil thing. -But their husbands being a league away the women could do nothing and -went on with their cooking in silence. Presently, Lirou's men who had -brought with them some gourds of the grog called _rarait_, which is made -from sugar-cane, began to drink it and pressed the women to do so also. -When they refused to do so, the men became still more rude and bade the -women serve them with some of the food they had prepared. This was a -great insult, but being in fear, they obeyed. Then, as the grog made -them bolder, some of the men laid hands on the women and there was a -great outcry and struggle, and a young woman named Sipi-nah fell or was -thrown against a great burning log, and her face so badly burned that -she cried out in agony and ran outside, followed by all the other women. -They ran along the beach in the pouring rain till they were abreast -of the place where their husbands were fishing and called to them to -return. When the fishermen saw what had befallen Sipi-nah they were -filled with rage, for she was a blood-relation of Roka's, and hastening -back to the houses they rushed in upon Lirou's people, slew three of -them, put their heads in baskets and brought them to Roka. - -"From this thing came a long war which was called 'the war of the face -of Sipi-nah,' and a great battle was fought in canoes on the lagoon. -Lirou's father with many hundreds of his people were slain, and the rest -fled to Roân Kiti pursued by King Roka, who burnt the town. Then Lirou -(who, now that his father was killed, was chief) sued for peace, and -promised Roka a yearly tribute of three thousand plates of turtle shell, -and five new canoes. So Roka, being satisfied, sailed away, and there -was peace. Had he so desired it he could have utterly swept away all -Lirou's people and burned their villages and destroyed every one of -their plantations, but although he was a great fighting man he was not -cruel. Yet he said to Sipi-nah, after peace was made: 'I pray thee, come -near me no more; for although I have revenged myself upon those who have -ill-used and insulted thee and me, my hand will again incline to the -spear if I look upon thy scarred face again. And I want no more wars.' - -"The son of Lirou (who now took his father's name) and his people began, -with heavy hearts, to rebuild the town. After the council house was -finished, Lirou told them to cease work and called together his head men -and spoke. - -"'Why should we labour to build more houses here?' he said. 'See, this -is my mind. Only for one year shall I pay this heavy tribute to Roka -Then shall I defy him.' - -"The head men were silent. - -"Lirou laughed. 'Have no fear. I am no boaster. But we cannot fight him -here in Roân Kiti, which is open to the sea, and never can we make it -a strong fort, for here we have no _falat_,{*} nor yet any great forest -trees. But at Tokolmé are many thousands of the great stones and mighty -trees in plenty. Ah, my father was a foolish man to give such a place to -people who fought against us. Are we fools, to build here another weak -town, and let Roka bear the more heavily upon us? Answer me!' - - * "Falat" is the natives' name for the huge prisms of basalt - with which the mysterious and Cyclopean walls, canals, - vaults, and forts are constructed on the island of Ponapé. - -"'What wouldst thou have, O chief,' asked one of the head men. - -"'I would have Tokolmé. It is mine inheritance. There can we make a -strong fort, and from there shall we have entrance to the sea by the -river. Are we to let these dogs from Yap deny us?' - -"'Let us ask them to give us, as an act of friendship, all the trees, -and all the _felat_ we desire,' said one of the head men. - -"Lirou laughed scornfully. 'And we to toil for years in carrying the -trees and stones from Tokolmé, a league away. Bah! Let us fall upon them -as they sleep--and spare no one.' - -"'Nay, nay,' said a sub-chief, named Kol, who had taken one of the Yap -girls to wife, 'that is an evil thought, and foul treachery. We be at -peace with them. I, for one, will have no part in such wickedness.' And -others said the same, but some were with Lirou. - -"Then, after many angry words had been spoken--some for fair dealing, -and some for murder--Lirou said to the chief Kol and two others: 'Go to -the girl Leâ and her head men with presents, and say this: We of Roân -Kiti are like to be hard pressed by Roka when the time comes for the -payment of our tribute. If we yield it not, then are we all dead men. -So give back to us Tokolmé, and take from us Roân Kiti, where ye may for -ever dwell in peace, for Roka hath no ill-will against ye.' - -"So Kol and two other chiefs, with many slaves bearing presents, went to -Tokolmé. But before they set out, Kol sent secretly a messenger to Leâ, -with these words: 'Though I shall presently come to thee with fair -words from Lirou, I bid thee and all thy people take heed, and beware -of what thou doest; and keep good watch by night, for Lirou hath an evil -mind.' - -"This message was given to Lea, and her head men rewarded the messenger, -and then held council together, and told Lea what answer she should -give. - -"This was the answer that she gave to Kol, speaking smilingly, and yet -with dignity:-- - -"'Say to the chief Lirou that I thank him for the rich presents he hath -sent me, and that I would that I could yield to his wish, and give unto -him this tract of country that his father gave to mine--so that he might -build a strong place of refuge against the King Roka But it cannot be, -for we, too, fear Roka. And we are but a few, and some day it might -happen that he would fall upon us, and sweep us away as a dead leaf -is swept from the branch of a young tree by the strong breath of the -storm.' - -"So Kol returned to Lirou, and gave him the answer of Leâ, and then -Lirou and those of his head men who meant ill to Leâ and her people, met -together in secret, and plotted their destruction. - -"And again Kol, who loved the Yap girl he had married, sent a message -to Leâ, warning her to beware of treachery. And then it was that the Yap -people began to build a strong fort, and at night kept a good watch. - -"Then Lirou again sent messengers asking that Leâ would let him cut down -a score of great trees, and Leâ sent answer to him: 'Thou art welcome. -Cut down one score--or ten score. I give them freely.' This did she for -the sake of peace and good-will, though she and her people knew that -Lirou meant harm. But whilst a hundred of Lirou's men were cutting -the trees the Yap people worked at their fort from dawn till dark, and -Lirou's heart was black with rage, for these men of Yap were cunning -fort builders, and he saw that, when it was finished, it could never be -taken by assault. But he and his chiefs continued to speak fair words, -and send presents to Leâ and her people, and she sent back presents in -return. Then again Lirou besought her to become his wife, saying that -such an alliance would strengthen the friendship between his people and -hers; but Leâ again refused him, though with pleasant words, and Lirou -said with a smooth face: 'Forgive me. I shall pester thee no more, for I -see that thou dost not care for me.' - -"When two months had passed two score of great trees had been felled and -cut into lengths of five fathoms each, and then squared. These were to -be the main timbers of the outer wall of Lirou's fort--so he said. But -he did not mean to have them carried away, for now he and his chiefs had -completed their plans to destroy the people of Yap, and this cutting of -the trees was but a subterfuge, designed to throw Leâ and her advisers -off their guard. - -"One day Lirou and his chiefs, dressed in very gay attire, came into -Tokolmé, each carrying in his hand a tame ring-dove which is a token of -peace and amity, and desired speech of Leâ. She came forth, and ordered -fine mats, trimmed with scarlet parrots' feathers, to be spread for them -upon the ground and received them as honoured guests. - -"'We come,' said Lirou, lifting her hand to his forehead, 'to beg -thee and all thy people to come to a great feast that will be ready -to-morrow, to celebrate the carrying away of the wood thou hast so -generously given unto me.' - -"'It is well,' said Leâ; 'I thank thee. We shall come.' - -"Little did Leâ and her people know that during the night, as it rained -heavily, some of Lirou's warriors had hidden clubs and spears and axes -of stone near where the logs lay and where the feast was to be given. -They were hidden under a great heap of chips and shavings that came from -the fallen trees. - -"At dawn on the day of the feast, three hundred of Lirou's men, all -dressed very gaily, marched past Tokolmé, carrying no arms, but bearing -baskets of food. They were going, they said, with presents to King Roka -to tell him that Lirou would hold faithfully to his promise of tribute. - -"'But why,' asked the men of Yap, 'do ye go to-day--which is the day of -the feast?' - -"'Because the heart of Lirou is glad, and he desires peace with all -men--even Roka. And whilst he and those of our people who remain feast -with ye men of Yap, and make merriment, we, the tribute messengers, go -unto Roka with words of goodwill.' - -"Now these words were lies, for when the three hundred men had marched -a quarter of a league past Tokolmé, they halted at a place in the forest -where they had arms concealed. Then they waited for a certain signal -from Lirou, who had said:-- - -"'When thou hearest the sound of a conch shell at the beginning of the -feast, march quickly back and form a circle around us and the people of -Yap, but let not one of ye be seen. Then when there comes a second blast -rush in, and see that no one escapes. Spare no one but the girl Lea.' - -"When the sun was a little high Lirou and all his people--men, women and -children--came and made ready the feast On each of the squared logs was -spread out baked hogs, fowls, pigeons, turtle and fish, and all manner -of fruits in abundance, and then also there were placed in the centre of -the clearing twenty stone mortars for making kava. - -"When all was ready, Leâ and her people were bidden to come, and they -all came out of the fort, dressed very gaily and singing as is customary -for guests to do. And Lirou stepped out from among his people and took -Leâ by the hand and seated her on a fine mat in the place of honour, and -as she sat with Lirou beside her, a man blew a loud, long blast upon a -conch shell and the feast began." - -Rai's story had interested me keenly, but I was now guilty of a breach -of native etiquette--I had to interrupt him to ask how it was that the -man Kol and others who were friendly to the Yap people did not give them -a final warning of the intended massacre. - -"Ah, I forgot to tell thee that Lirou was as cunning as he was cruel, -and ten days before the giving of the feast he had sent away Kol and -some others whom he knew to be well disposed to the people of Yap. He -sent them to the islands of Pakin--ten leagues from Ponapé, and desired -them to catch turtle for him. But with them he sent a trusty man, whom -he took into his confidence, and said, 'Tell Rairik, Chief of Pakin, to -make some pretext, and prevent Kol from returning to Ponapé for a full -moon. And say also that if he yields not to my wish I shall destroy him -and his people.'" - -"Ah," I said, "Lirou was a Napoleon." - -"Who was he?" - -"Oh, a great Franki chief, who was as lying and as treacherous and cruel -and merciless as Lirou. Some day I will tell thee of him. Now, about the -feast." - -"Ah, the feast After a little while, Lirou, whilst the people ate, said -softly to Leâ, 'Wilt thou not honour me and be my wife? I promise thee -that I shall send away my other wives, and thou alone shalt rule my -house and me.' - -"Leâ was displeased, and her eyes flashed with anger as she drew away -from him, and then Lirou seized her by her wrist, and threw up his left -hand. - -"A long, loud blast sounded from the conch, and then Lirou's men, who -were feasting, sprang to the great heap of chips, and seized their -weapons. And then began a cruel slaughter--for what could three hundred -unarmed people do against so many! But yet some of the men of Yap fought -most bravely, and tearing clubs or short stabbing spears from their -treacherous enemies, they killed over two score of Lirou's people. - -"As Leâ beheld the murdering of her kith and kin, she cried piteously to -Lirou to at least spare the women and children, but he laughed and bade -her be silent Some of the women and children tried to escape to the -fort, but they were met by the men who had been in ambush, and slain -ruthlessly. - -"When all was over, the bodies were taken to a high cliff, and cast down -into the valley below. Then Lirou and his men entered the fort, and made -great rejoicing over their victory. - -"Leâ sat on a mat with her face in her hands, dumb with grief, and Lirou -bade her go to her sleeping-place, telling her to rest, and that he -would have speech with her later on when he was in the mood. She obeyed, -and when she was unobserved she picked up a short, broad-bladed dagger -of _talit_ (obsidian) and hid it in her girdle, and then lay down -and pretended to sleep. But through the cane lattice-work of her -sleeping-place she watched Lirou. - -"After Lirou had viewed the fort outside and inside, he sent a man to -Leâ, bidding her come to him. - -"She rose and came slowly to him, with her head bent, and stood before -him. Then suddenly she sprang at him, and thrust the dagger into his -heart. He fell and died quickly. - -"Then Leâ leapt over a part of the stone wall where it was low, and ran -towards the river, pursued by some of Lirou's mea But she was fleet of -foot, crossed the river, and escaped into the jungle and rested awhile. -Then she passed out of the jungle into the rough mountain country, and -that night she reached King Roka's town. - -"Roka made her very welcome, and was filled with anger when she told her -story. - -"'I will quickly punish these cruel murderers,' he said; 'as for thee, -Leâ, make this thy home and dwell with us.' - -"Roka gathered together his fighting men. Half he sent to Roân Kiti -by water, and half he himself led across the mountains. They fell upon -Lirou's people at night, and slew nearly half of the men, and drove all -the rest into the mountains, where they remained for many months, broken -and hunted men. - -"That is the story of Tokolmé." - - - - -CHAPTER XVI ~ "LANO-TÔ" - -A white rain squall came crashing through the mountain forest, and -then went humming northward across the quiet lake, down over the wooded -littoral and far out to sea Silence once more, and then a mountain cock, -who had scorned the sweeping rain, uttered his shrill, cackling, and -defiant crow, as he shook the water from his black and golden back and -long snaky neck, and savage, fierce-eyed head. - -Between two wide-flanking buttresses of a mighty _tamana_ tree I had -taken shelter, and was comfortably seated on the thick carpet of soft -dry leaves, when I heard my name called, and looking up, I saw, a few -yards away, the grave face of an elderly Samoan, named Mârisi (Maurice). -We were old acquaintances. - -"Talofa, Mârisi. What doest thou up here at Lano-to?" I said, as I shook -hands and offered him my pipe for a draw. - -"I and my nephew Mana-ese and his wife have come here to trap pigeons. -For three days we have been here. Our little hut is close by. Wilt come -and rest, and eat?" - -"Aye, indeed, for I am tired. And this Lake of Lano-to is a fine place -whereat to rest." - -Mârisi nodded. "That is true. Nowhere in all Samoa, except from the top -of the dead fire mountain in Savai'i, can one see so far and so much -that is good to look upon. Come, friend." - -I had shot some pigeons, which Mârisi took from me, and began to pluck -as he led the way along a narrow path that wound round the edge of the -crater, which held the lake in its rugged but verdure-clad bosom. In a -few minutes we came to an open-sided hut, with a thatched roof. It stood -on the verge of a little tree-clad bluff, overlooking the lake, two -hundred feet below. Seated upon some of the coarse mats of coco-nut leaf -called _tapa'au_ was a fine, stalwart young Samoan engaged in feeding -some wild pigeons in a large wicker-work cage. He greeted me in the -usual hospitable native manner, and taking some fine mats from one of -the house beams, his uncle and I seated ourselves, whilst he went to -seek his wife, to bid her make ready an _umu_ (earth oven). Whilst he -was away, my host and I plucked the pigeons, and also a fat wild duck -which Mârisi had shot in the lake that morning. In half an hour the -young couple returned, the woman carrying a basket of taro, and the -man a bunch of cooking bananas. Very quickly the oven of hot stones was -ready, and the game, taro and bananas covered up with leaves. - -I had crossed to Lano-tô from the village of Safata on the south side -of Upolu and was on my way to Apia The previous night I had slept in the -bush on the summit of the range. Mârisi gravely told me that I had been -foolish--the mountain forest was full of ghosts, etc. - -Mârisi himself lived in Apia, and he gave me two weeks' local gossip. He -and his nephew and niece had come to remain at the lake for a few -days, for they had a commission to catch and tame ten pigeons for some -district chief, whose daughter was about to be married. - -We had a delightful meal, followed by a bowl of kava (mixed with water -from the lake), and as I was not pressed for time I accepted my host's -invitation to remain for the night, and part of the following day. - -This was my fourth or fifth visit to this beautiful mountain lake of -Lano-to (_i.e._, the Deep Lake), and the oftener I came the more its -beauty grew upon me. Alas! its sweet solitude is now disturbed by the -cheap Cockney and Yankee tourist globe-trotter who come there in the -American excursion steamers. In the olden days only natives frequented -the spot--very rarely was a white man seen. To reach it from Apia takes -about five hours on foot, but there is now a regular road on which one -can travel two-thirds of the way on horseback. - -The surface of the water, which is a little over two hundred feet -from the rugged rim of the crater, is according to Captain Zemsch, -two thousand three hundred feet above the sea, the distance across the -crater is nearly one thousand two hundred yards. The water is -always cold, but not too cold to bathe in, and during the rainy -season--November to March--is frequented by hundreds of wild duck. All -the forest about teems with pigeons, which love the vicinity of Lano-to, -on account of the numbers of _masa'oi_ trees there, on the rich fruit of -which they feed, and all day long, from dawn to dark, their deep _croo!_ -may be heard mingling with the plaintive cry of the ringdove. - -The view from the crater is of matchless beauty--I know of nothing to -equal it, except it be Pago Pago harbour in Tutuila, looking southwards -from the mountain tops. Here at Lano-tô you can see the coast line east -and west for twenty miles. Westwards looms the purple dome of Savai'i, -thirty miles away. Directly beneath you is Apia, though you can see -nothing of it except perhaps some small black spots floating on the -smooth water inside the reef. They are ships at anchor. Six leagues to -the westward the white line of reef trends away from the shore, makes -a sharp turn, and then runs southward. Within this bend the water is -a brilliant green, and resting upon it are two small islands. One is -Manono, a veritable garden, lined with strips of shining beaches and -fringed with cocos. It is the home of the noble families of Samoa, and -most of the past great chiefs are buried there. Beyond is the small but -lofty crater island of Apolima--a place ever impregnable to assault by -natives. Its red, southern face starts steep-to from the sea, the top is -crowned with palms, and on the northern side what was once the crater is -now a romantic bay, with an opening through the reef, and a tiny, -happy little village nestling under the swaying palms. 'Tis one of the -sweetest spots in all the wide Pacific. And, thank Heaven, it has but -seldom been defiled by the globe-trotter. The passage is difficult -even for a canoe. One English lady, however (the Countess of Jersey), I -believe once visited it. - -Under the myriad stars, set in a sky of deepest blue, Mârisi and I lie -outside the huts upon our sleeping mats, and talk of the old Samoan -days, till it is far into the quiet, voiceless night. - -At dawn we are called inside by the woman, who chides us for sleeping in -the dew. - -"Listen," says Mârisi, raising his hand. - -It is the faint, musical gabble of the wild ducks, as they swim across -the lake. - -"What now?" asks the woman, as her husband looks to his gun. "Hast no -patience to sit and smoke till I make an oven and get thee food? The -_pato_ (ducks) can wait And first feed the pigeons--thou lazy fellow." - - - - -CHAPTER XVII ~ "OMBRE CHEVALIER" - -Once, after many years' wanderings in the North and South Pacific as -shore trader, supercargo and "recruiter" in the Kanaka labour trade, I -became home-sick and returned to my native Australia, with a vague idea -of settling down. I began the "settling down" by going to some newly -opened gold-fields in North Queensland, wandering about from the -Charters Towers "rush" to the Palmer River and Hodgkinson River rushes. -The party of diggers I joined were good sterling fellows, and although -we did not load ourselves with nuggets and gold dust, we did fairly well -at times, especially in the far north of the colony where most of the -alluvial gold-fields were rich, and new-comers especially had no trouble -in getting on to a good show. I was the youngest of the party, and -consequently the most inexperienced, but my mates good-naturedly -overlooked my shortcomings as a prospector and digger, especially as I -had constituted myself the "tucker" provider when our usual rations of -salt beef ran out. I had brought with me a Winchester rifle, a shot gun -and plenty of ammunition for both, and plenty of fishing tackle. So, at -such times, instead of working at the claim, I would take my rifle or -gun or fishing lines and sally forth at early dawn, and would generally -succeed in bringing back something to the camp to serve instead of beef. -In the summer months game, such as it was, was fairly plentiful, and -nearly all the rivers of North Queensland abound in fish. - -In the open country we sometimes shot more plain turkeys than we could -eat. When on horseback one could approach within a few yards of a bird -before it would take to flight, but on foot it was difficult to get -within range of one, unless a rifle was used. In the rainy season all -the water holes and lagoons literally teemed with black duck, wood-duck, -the black and white Burdekin duck, teal, spur-winged plover, herons -and other birds, and a single shot would account for a dozen. My mates, -however, like all diggers, believed in and wanted beef--mutton we -scarcely ever tasted, except when near a township where there was a -butcher, for sheep do not thrive in that part of the colony and are -generally brought over in mobs from the Peak Downs District or Southern -Queensland. - -Our party at first numbered four, but at Townsville (Cleveland Bay) one -of our number left us to return to New Zealand on account of the death -of his father. And we were a very happy party, and although at times -I wearied of the bush and longed for a sight of the sea again, the -gold-fever had taken possession of me entirely and I was content. - -Once a party of three of us were prospecting in the vicinity of Scarr's -(or Carr's) Creek, a tributary of the Upper Burdekin River. It was in -June, and the nights were very cold, and so we were pleased to come -across a well-sheltered little pocket, a few hundred yards from the -creek, which at this part of its course ran very swiftly between high, -broken walls of granite. Timber was abundant, and as we intended to -thoroughly prospect the creek up to its head, we decided to camp at -the pocket for two or three weeks, and put up a bark hut, instead of -shivering at night under a tent without a fire. The first day we spent -in stripping bark, piled it up, and then weighted it down heavily with -logs. During the next few days, whilst my mates were building the hut, -I had to scour the country in search of game, for our supply of meat -had run out, and although there were plenty of cattle running in the -vicinity, we did not care to shoot a beast, although we were pretty sure -that C------, the owner of the nearest cattle station, would cheerfully -have given us permission to do so had we been able to have communicated -with him. But as his station was forty miles away, and all our horses -were in poor condition from overwork, we had to content ourselves with -a chance kangaroo, rock wallaby, and such birds as we could shoot, -which latter were few and far between. The country was very rough, and -although the granite ranges and boulder-covered spurs held plenty of fat -rock wallabies, it was heart-breaking work to get within shot. Still, we -managed to turn in at nights feeling satisfied with our supper, for we -always managed to shoot something, and fortunately had plenty of flour, -tea, sugar, and tobacco, and were very hopeful that we should get on to -"something good" by careful prospecting. - -On the day that we arrived at the pocket, I went down the steep bank of -the creek to get water, and was highly pleased to see that it contained -fish. At the foot of a waterfall there was a deep pool, and in it I saw -numbers of fish, very like grayling, in fact some Queenslanders call -them grayling. Hurrying back to the camp with the water, I got out my -fishing tackle (last used in the Burdekin River for bream), and then -arose the question of bait. Taking my gun I was starting off to look for -a bird of some sort, when one of my mates told me that a bit of wallaby -was as good as anything, and cut me off a piece from the ham of one I -had shot the previous day. The flesh was of a very dark red hue, and -looked right enough, and as I had often caught fish in both the Upper -and Lower Burdekin with raw beef, I was very hopeful of getting a nice -change of diet for our supper. - -I was not disappointed, for the fish literally jumped at the bait, and -I had a delightful half-hour, catching enough in that time to provide -us with breakfast as well as supper. None of my catch were over half -a pound, many not half that weight, but hungry men are not particular -about the size of fish. My mates were pleased enough, and whilst we were -enjoying our supper before a blazing fire--for night was coming on--we -heard a loud coo-e-e from down the creek, and presently C------, the -owner of the cattle station, and two of his stockmen with a black boy, -rode up and joined us. They had come to muster cattle in the ranges -at the head of the creek, and had come to our "pocket" to camp for the -night. C------ told us that we need never have hesitated about killing -a beast. "It is to my interest to give prospecting parties all the beef -they want," he said; "a payable gold-field about here would suit me very -well--the more diggers that come, the more cattle I can sell, instead of -sending them to Charters Towers and Townsville. So, when you run short -of meat, knock over a beast. I won't grumble. I'll round up the first -mob we come across to-morrow, and get you one and bring it here for you -to kill, as your horses are knocked up." - -The night turned out very cold, and although we were in a sheltered -place, the wind was blowing half a gale, and so keen that we felt it -through our blankets. However it soon died away, and we were just -going comfortably to sleep, when a dingo began to howl near us, and was -quickly answered by another somewhere down the creek. Although there -were but two of them, they howled enough for a whole pack, and the -detestable creatures kept us awake for the greater part of the night. -As there was a cattle camp quite near, in a sandalwood scrub, and the -cattle were very wild, we did not like to alarm them by firing a shot -or two, which would have scared them as well as the dingoes. The latter, -C------ told us, were a great nuisance in this part of the run, would -not take a poisoned bait, and had an unpleasant trick of biting off the -tails of very young calves, especially if the mother was separated with -her calf from a mob of cattle. - -At daylight I rose to boil a billy of tea. My feet were icy cold, and -I saw that there had been a black frost in the night I also discovered -that my string of fish for breakfast was gone. I had hung them up to a -low branch not thirty yards from where I had slept. C------'s black -boy told me with a grin that the dogs had taken them, and showed me the -tracks of three or four through the frosty grass. _He_ had slept like a -pig all night, and all the dingoes in Australia would not awaken a black -fellow with a full stomach of beef, damper and tea. C------ -laughed at my chagrin, and told me that native dogs, when game is -scarce, will catch fish if they are hungry, and can get nothing else. -He had once seen, he told me, two native dogs acting in a very curious -manner in a waterhole on the Etheridge River. There had been a rather -long drought, and for miles the bed of the river was dry, except for -intermittent waterholes. These were all full of fish, many of which had -died, owing to the water in the shallower pools becoming too hot for -them to exist Dismounting, he laid himself down on the bank, and soon -saw that the dogs were catching fish, which they chased to the edge of -the pool, seized them and carried them up on the sand to devour. They -made a full meal; then the pair trotted across the river bed, and lay -down under a Leichhardt tree to sleep it off. The Etheridge and Gilbert -Rivers aboriginals also assured C------ that their own dogs--bred from -dingoes--were very keen on catching fish, and sometimes were badly -wounded in their mouths by the serrated spur or back fin of catfish. -C------ and his party went off after breakfast, and returned in the -afternoon with a small mob of cattle, and my mates, picking out an -eighteen months' old heifer, shot her, and set to work, and we soon -had the animal skinned, cleaned and hung up, ready for cutting up and -salting early on the following morning. We carefully burnt the offal, -hide and head, on account of the dingoes, and finished up a good day's -work by a necessary bathe in the clear, but too cold water of the creek. -We turned in early, tired out, and scarcely had we rolled ourselves in -our blankets when a dismal howl made us "say things," and in half an -hour all the dingoes in North Queensland seemed to have gathered around -the camp to distract us. The noise they made was something diabolical, -coming from both sides of the creek, and from the ranges. In reality -there were not more than five or six at the outside, but any one would -imagine that there were droves of them. Not liking to discharge our guns -on account of C------'s mustering, we could only curse our tormentors -throughout the night. On the following evening, however, knowing that -C------ had finished mustering in our vicinity, we hung a leg bone of -the heifer from the branch of a tree on the opposite side of the creek, -where we could see it plainly by daylight from our bank--about sixty -yards distant Again we had a harrowing night, but stood it without -firing a shot, though one brute came within a few yards of our camp -fire, attracted by the smell of the salted meat, but he was off before -any one of us could cover him. However, in the morning we were rewarded. - -Creeping to the bank of the creek at daylight we looked across, and saw -three dogs sitting under the leg bone, which was purposely slung out -of reach. We fired together, and the biggest of the three dropped--the -other two vanished like a streak of lightning. The one we killed was -a male and had a good coat--a rather unusual thing for a dingo, as the -skin is often covered with sores. From that time, till we broke up camp, -we were not often troubled by their howling near us--a gun shot would -quickly silence their dismally infernal howls. - -During July we got a little gold fifteen miles from the head of the -creek, but not enough to pay us for our time and labour. However, it was -a fine healthy occupation, and our little bark hut in the lonely ranges -was a very comfortable home, especially during wet weather, and on cold -nights. A good many birds came about towards the end of the month, and -we twice rode to the Burdekin and had a couple of days with the bream, -filling our pack bags with fish, which cured well with salt in the dry -air. Although Scarr's creek was full of "grayling" they were too small -for salting; but were delicious eating when fried. During our stay we -got enough opossum skins to make a fine eight-feet square rug. Then -early one morning we said good-bye to the pocket, and mounting our -horses set our faces towards Cleveland Bay, where, with many regrets, -I had to part with my mates who were going to try the Gulf country with -other parties of diggers. They tried hard to induce me to go with them, -but letters had come to me from old comrades in Samoa and the Caroline -Islands, tempting me to return. And, of course, they did not tempt in -vain; for to us old hands who have toiled by reef and palm the isles of -the southern seas are for ever calling as the East called to Kipling's -soldier man. But another six months passed before I left North -Queensland and once more found myself sailing out of Sydney Heads on -board one of my old ships and in my old berth as supercargo, though, -alas! with a strange skipper who knew not Joseph, and with whom I and -every one else on board was in constant friction. However, that is -another story. - -After bidding my mates farewell I returned to the Charters Towers -district and picked up a new mate--an old and experienced digger who had -found some patches of alluvial gold on the head waters of a tributary -of the Burdekin River and was returning there. My new mate was named -Gilfillan. He was a hardworking, blue-eyed Scotsman and had had many -and strange experiences in all parts of the world--had been one of -the civilian fighters in the Indian Mutiny, fur-seal hunting on the -Pribiloff Islands in an American schooner, and shooting buffaloes for -their hides in the Northern Territory of South Australia, where he had -twice been speared by the blacks. - -On reaching the head waters of the creek on which Gilfillan had washed -out nearly a hundred ounces of gold some months previously, we found to -our disgust over fifty diggers in possession of the ground, which they -had practically worked out--some one had discovered Gilfillan's old -workings and the place was at once "rushed". My mate took matters very -philosophically--did not even swear--and we decided to make for the Don -River in the Port Denison district, where, it was rumoured, some rich -patches of alluvial gold had just been discovered. - -We both had good horses and a pack horse, and as C------'s station lay -on our route and I had a standing invitation to pay him a visit (given -to me when he had met our party at Scares Creek), I suggested that we -should go there and spell for a few days. So there we went and C------ -made us heartily welcome; and he also told us that the new rush on the -Don River had turned out a "rank duffer," and that we would only be -wearing ourselves and our horse-flesh out by going there. He pressed us -to stay for a week at least, and as we now had no fixed plans for the -future we were glad to do so. He was expecting a party of visitors from -Charters Towers, and as he wanted to give them something additional to -the usual fare of beef and mutton, in the way of fish and game, he asked -us to join him for a day's fishing in the Burdekin River. - -The station was right on the bank of the river, but at a spot where -neither game nor fish were at all plentiful; so long before sunrise on -the following morning, under a bright moon and clear sky, we started, -accompanied by a black boy, leading a pack horse, for the junction of -the Kirk River with the Burdekin, where there was excellent fishing, and -where also we were sure of getting teal and wood-duck. - -A two hours' easy ride along the grassy, open timbered high banks of the -great river brought us to the junction. The Kirk, when running along its -course, is a wide, sandy-bottomed stream, with here and there deep -rocky pools, and its whole course is fringed with the everlasting and -ever-green sheoaks. We unsaddled in a delightfully picturesque spot, -near the meeting of the waters, and in a few minutes, whilst the billy -was boiling for tea, C------and I were looking to our short bamboo rods -and lines, and our guns. Then, after hobbling out the horses, and eating -a breakfast of cold beef and damper, we started to walk through the -high, dew-soaked grass to a deep, boulder-margined pool in which the -waters of both rivers mingled. - -The black boy who was leading when we emerged on the water side of -the fringe of sheoaks, suddenly halted and silently pointed ahead--a -magnificent specimen of the "gigantic" crane was stalking sedately -through a shallow pool--his brilliant black and orange plumage and -scarlet legs glistening in the rays of the early sun as he scanned the -sandy bottom for fish. We had no desire to shoot such a noble creature; -and let him take flight in his slow, laboured manner. And, for our -reward, the next moment "Peter," the black boy, brought down two out of -three black duck, which came flying right for his gun from across the -river. - -Both rivers had long been low, and although the streams were running -in the centre of the beds of each, there were countless isolated -pools covered with blue-flowered water-lilies, in which teal and other -water-birds were feeding. But for the time we gave them no heed. - -From one of the pools we took our bait--small fish the size of -white-bait, with big, staring eyes, and bodies of a transparent pink -with silvery scales. They were easily caught by running one's hand -through the weedy edges, and in ten minutes we had secured a quart-pot -full. - -"Peter," who regarded our rods with contempt, was the first to reach -the boulders at the edge of the big pool, which in the centre had a fair -current; at the sides, the water, although deep, was quiet. Squatting -down on a rock, he cast in his baited hand-line, and in ten seconds -he was nonchalantly pulling in a fine two pound bream. He leisurely -unhooked it, dropped it into a small hole in the rocks, and then began -to cut up a pipeful of tobacco, before rebaiting! - -The water was literally alive with fish, feeding on the bottom. There -were two kinds of bream--one a rather slow-moving fish, with large, dark -brown scales, a perch-like mouth, and wide tail, and with the sides -and belly a dull white; the other a very active game fellow, of a more -graceful shape, with a small mouth, and very hard, bony gill plates. -These latter fought splendidly, and their mouths being so strong -they would often break the hooks and get away--as our rods were very -primitive, without reels, and only had about twenty feet of line. -Then there were the very handsome and beautifully marked fish, like an -English grayling (some of which I had caught at Scan's Creek); they took -the hook freely. The largest I have ever seen would not weigh more than -three-quarters of a pound, but their lack of size is compensated for by -their extra delicate flavour. (In some of the North Queensland inland -rivers I have seen the aborigines net these fish in hundreds in shallow -pools.) Some bushmen persisted, so Gilfillan told me, in calling these -fish "fresh water mullet," or "speckled mullet". - -The first species of bream inhabit both clear and muddy water; but the -second I have never seen caught anywhere but in clear or running water, -when the river was low. - -But undoubtedly the best eating fresh-water fish in the Burdekin and -other Australian rivers is the cat-fish, or as some people call it, the -Jew-fish. It is scaleless, and almost finless, with a dangerously barbed -dorsal spine, which, if it inflicts a wound on the hand, causes days -of intense suffering. Its flesh is delicate and firm, and with the -exception of the vertebrae, has no long bones. Rarely caught (except -when small) in clear water, it abounds when the water is muddy, and -disturbed through floods, and when a river becomes a "banker," cat-fish -can always be caught where the water has reached its highest. They then -come to feed literally upon the land--that is grass land, then under -flood water. A fish bait they will not take--as a rule--but are fond of -earthworms, frogs, crickets, or locusts, etc. - -Another very beautiful but almost useless fish met with in the Upper -Burdekin and its tributaries is the silvery bream, or as it is more -generally called, the "bony" bream. They swim about in companies of some -hundreds, and frequent the still water of deep pools, will not take a -bait, and are only seen when the water is clear. Then it is a delightful -sight for any one to lie upon the bank of some ti-tree-fringed creek or -pool, when the sun illumines the water and reveals the bottom, and -watch a school of these fish swimming closely and very slowly together, -passing over submerged logs, roots of trees or rocks, their scales of -pure silver gleaming in the sunlight as they make a simultaneous -side movement. I tried every possible bait for these fish, but never -succeeded in getting a bite, but have netted them frequently. Their -flesh, though delicate, can hardly be eaten, owing to the thousands of -tiny bones which run through it, interlacing in the most extraordinary -manner. The blacks, however "make no bones" about devouring them. - -By 11 A.M. we had caught all the fish our pack-bags could hold--bream, -alleged grayling, and half a dozen "gars"--the latter a beautifully -shaped fish like the sea-water garfish, but with a much flatter-sided -body of shining silver with a green back, the tail and fins tipped with -yellow. - -We shot but few duck, but on our way home in the afternoon "Peter" and -Gilfillan each got a fine plain turkey--shooting from the saddle--and -almost as we reached the station slip-rails "Peter," who had a wonderful -eye, got a third just as it rose out of the long dry grass in the -paddock. - -And on the following day, when C------'s guests arrived (and after we -had congratulated ourselves upon having plenty for them to eat), they -produced from their buggies eleven turkeys, seven wood-duck, and a -string of "squatter" pigeons! - -"Thought we'd better bring you some fresh tucker, old man," said one of -them to C-----. "And we have brought you a case of Tennant's ale." "The -world is very beautiful," said C------, stroking his grey beard, and -speaking in solemn tones, "and this is a thirsty day. Come in, boys. -We'll put the Tennant's in the water-barrels to cool." - -***** - -The first occasion on which I ever saw and caught one of the beautiful -fish herein described as grayling was on a day many months previous -to our former party camping on Scarr's Creek. We had camped on a creek -running into the Herbert River, near the foot of a range of wild, jagged -and distorted peaks and crags of granite. Then there were several other -parties of prospectors camped near us, and, it being a Sunday, we were -amusing ourselves in various ways. Some had gone shooting, others were -washing clothes or bathing in the creek, and one of my mates (a Scotsman -named Alick Longmuir) came fishing with me. Like Gilfillan, he was a -quiet, somewhat taciturn man. He had been twenty-two years in Australia, -sometimes mining, at others following his profession of surveyor. He -had received his education in France and Germany, and not only spoke -the languages of those countries fluently, but was well-read in their -literature. Consequently we all stood in a certain awe of him as a man -of parts; for besides being a scholar he was a splendid bushman and -rider and had a great reputation as the best wrestler in Queensland. -Even-tempered, good-natured and possessed of a fund of caustic humour, -he was a great favourite with the diggers, and when he sometimes "broke -loose" and went on a terrific "spree" (his only fault) he made matters -remarkably lively, poured out his hard-earned money like water for -a week or so--then stopped suddenly, pulled himself together in an -extraordinary manner, and went about his work again as usual, with a -face as solemn as that of an owl. - -A little distance from the camp we made our way down through rugged, -creeper-covered boulders to the creek, to a fairly open stretch of water -which ran over its rocky bed into a series of small but deep pools. We -baited our lines with small grey grasshoppers, and cast together. - -"I wonder what we shall get here, Alick," I began, and then came a tug -and then the sweet, delightful thrill of a game fish making a run. There -is nothing like it in all the world--the joy of it transcends the first -kiss of young lovers. - -I landed my fish--a gleaming shaft of mottled grey and silver with -specks of iridescent blue on its head, back and sides, and as I grasped -its quivering form and held it up to view my heart beat fast with -delight. - -"_Ombre chevalier!_" I murmured to myself. - -Vanished the monotony of the Bush and the long, weary rides over the -sun-baked plains and the sound of the pick and shovel on the gravel in -the deep gullies amid the stark, desolate ranges, and I am standing -in the doorway of a peaceful Mission House on a fair island in the far -South Seas--standing with a string of fish in my hand, and before me -dear old Père Grandseigne with his flowing beard of snowy white and -his kindly blue eyes smiling into mine as he extends his brown sun-burnt -hand. - -"Ah, my dear young friend! and so thou hast brought me these -fish--_ombres chevaliers_, we call them in France. Are they not -beautiful! What do you call them in England?" - -"I have never been in England, Father; so I cannot tell you. And never -before have I seen fish like these. They are new to me." - -"Ah, indeed, my son," and the old Marist smiles as he motions me to a -seat, "new to you. So?... Here, on this island, my sainted colleague -Channel, who gave up his life for Christ forty years ago under the -clubs of the savages, fished, as thou hast fished in that same mountain -stream; and his blood has sanctified its waters. For upon its bank, as -he cast his line one eve he was slain by the poor savages to whom he -had come bearing the love of Christ and salvation. After we have supped -to-night, I shall tell thee the story." - -And after the Angelus bells had called, and as the cocos swayed and -rustled to the night breeze and the surf beat upon the reef in Singâvi -Bay, we sat together on the verandah of the quiet Mission House on -the hill above, which the martyred Channel had named "Calvary," and I -listened to the old man's story of his beloved comrade's death. - -As Longmuir and I lay on our blankets under the starlit sky of the far -north of Queensland that night, and the horse-bells tinkled and our -mates slept, we talked. - -"Aye, lad," he said, sleepily, "the auld _padre_ gave them the Breton -name--_ombre chevalier_. In Scotland and England--if ever ye hae the -good luck to go there--ye will hear talk of graylin'. Aye, the bonny -graylin'... an' the purple heather... an' the cry o' the whaups.... Lad, -ye hae much to see an' hear yet, for all the cruising ye hae done.... -Aye, the graylin', an' the white mantle o' the mountain mist... an' the -voices o' the night... Lad, it's just gran'." - -Sleep, and then again the tinkle of the horse-bells at dawn. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII ~ A RECLUSE OF THE BUSH - -The bank of the tidal river was very, very quiet as I walked down to it -through the tall spear grass and sat down upon the smooth, weather-worn -bole of a great blackbutt tree, cast up by the river when in flood long -years agone. Before me the water swirled and eddied and bubbled past on -its way to mingle with the ocean waves, as they were sweeping in across -the wide and shallow bar, two miles away. - -The sun had dropped behind the rugged line of purple mountains to the -west, and, as I watched by its after glow five black swans floating -towards me upon the swiftly-flowing water, a footstep sounded near -me, and a man with a gun and a bundle on his shoulder bade me -"good-evening," and then asked me if I had come from Port ------ -(a little township five miles away). - -Yes, I replied, I had. - -"Is the steamer in from Sydney?" - -"No. I heard that she is not expected in for a couple of days yet. There -has been bad weather on the coast." - -The man uttered an exclamation of annoyance, and laying down his gun, -sat beside me, pulled out and lit his pipe, and gazed meditatively -across the darkening river. He was a tall, bearded fellow, and dressed -in the usual style affected by the timber-getters and other bushmen of -the district Presently he began to talk. - -"Are you going back to Port ------ to-night, mister?" he asked, civilly. - -"No," and I pointed to my gun, bag, and billy can, "I have just come -from there. I am waiting here till the tide is low enough for me to -cross to the other side. I am going to the Warra Swamp for a couple of -days' shooting and fishing, and to-night I'll camp over there in the -wild apple scrub," pointing to a dark line of timber on the opposite -side. - -"Do you mind my coming with you?" - -"Certainly not--glad of your company. Where are you going?" - -"Well, I was going to Port ------, to sell these platypus skins to the -skipper of the steamer; but I don't want to loaf about the town for a -couple o' days for the sake of getting two pounds five shillings for -fifteen skins. So I'll get back to my humphy. It's four miles the other -side o' Warra." - -"Then by all means come and camp with me tonight," I said "I've plenty -of tea and sugar and tucker, and after we get to the apple scrub over -there we'll have supper. Then in the morning we'll make an early start -It is only ten miles from there to Warra Swamp, and I'm in no hurry to -get there." - -The stranger nodded, and then, seeking out a suitable tree, tied his -bundle of skins to a high branch, so that it should be out of the reach -of dingoes, and said they would be safe enough until his return on -his way to the Port Half an hour later, the tide being low enough, we -crossed the river, and under the bright light of myriad stars made our -way along the spit of sand to the scrub. Here we lit our camp fire under -the trees, boiled our billy of tea, and ate our cold beef and bread. -Then we lay down upon the soft, sweet-smelling carpet of dead leaves, -and yarned for a couple of hours before sleeping. - -By the light of the fire I saw that my companion was a man of about -forty years of age, although he looked much older, his long untrimmed -brown beard and un-kept hair being thickly streaked with grey. He was -quiet in manner and speech, and the latter was entirely free from the -Great Australian Adjective. His story, as far as he told it to me, was a -simple one, yet with an element of tragedy in it. - -Fifteen years before, he and his brother had taken up a selection on the -Brunswick River, near the Queensland border, and were doing fairly well. -One day they felled a big gum tree to split for fencing rails. As it -crashed towards the ground, it struck a dead limb of another great tree, -which was sent flying towards where the brothers stood; it struck -the elder one on the head, and killed him instantly. There were no -neighbours nearer than thirty miles, so alone the survivor buried his -brother. Then came two months of utter loneliness, and Joyce abandoned -his selection to the bush, selling his few head of cattle and horses -to his nearest neighbour for a small sum, keeping only one horse for -himself. Then for two or three years he worked as a "hatter" (i.e., -single-handed) in various tin-mining districts of the New England -district. - -One day during his many solitary prospecting trips, he came across a -long-abandoned selection and house, near the Warra Swamp (I knew the -spot _well_). He took a fancy to the place, and settled down there, and -for many years had lived there all alone, quite content. - -Sometimes he would obtain a few weeks' work on the cattle stations in -the district, when mustering and branding was going on, by which he -would earn a few pounds, but he was always glad to get back to his -lonely home again. He had made a little money also, he said, by trapping -platypus, which were plentiful, and sometimes, too, he would prospect -the head waters of the creeks, and get a little fine gold. - -"I'm comfortable enough, you see," he added; "lots to eat and drink, -and putting by a little cash as well. Then I haven't to depend upon the -storekeepers at Port ------ for anything, except powder and shot, flour, -salt, tea and sugar. There's lots of game and fish all about me, and -when I want a bit of fresh beef and some more to salt down, I can get it -without breaking the law, or paying for it." - -"How is that?" I inquired. - -"There are any amount of wild cattle running in the ranges--all -clean-skins" (unbranded), "and no one claims them. One squatter once -tried to get some of them down into his run in the open country--he -might as well have tried to yard a mob of dingoes." - -"Then how do you manage to get a beast?" - -"Easy enough. I have an old police rifle, and every three months or so, -when my stock of beef is low, I saddle my old pack moke, and start off -to the ranges. I know all the cattle tracks leading to the camping and -drinking places, and generally manage to kill my beast at or near a -waterhole. Then I cut off the best parts only, and leave the rest for -the hawks and dingoes. I camp there for the night, and get back with my -load of fresh beef the next day. Some I dry-salt, some I put in brine." - -Early in the morning we started on our ten miles' tramp through the -coastal scrub, or rather forest Our course led us away from the sea, and -nearly parallel to the river, and I thoroughly enjoyed the walk, and my -companion's interesting talk. He had a wonderful knowledge of the -bush, and of the habits of wild animals and birds, much of which he had -acquired from the aborigines of the Brunswick River district As we -were walking along, I inquired how he managed to get platypus without -shooting them. He hesitated, and half smiled, and I at once apologised, -and said I didn't intend to be inquisitive. He nodded, and said no more; -but he afterwards told me he caught them by netting sections of the -river at night. - -After we had made about five miles we came to the first crossing above -the bar. This my acquaintance always used when he visited Port ------ -(taking the track along the bank on the other side), for the bar was -only crossable at especially low tides. Here, although the water was -brackish, we saw swarms of "block-headed" mullet and grey bream swimming -close in to the sandy bank, and, had we cared to do so, could have -caught a bagful in a few minutes But we pushed on for another two miles, -and on our way shot three "bronze wing" pigeons. - -We reached the Warra Swamp at noon, and camped for dinner in a shady -"bangalow" grove, so as not to disturb the ducks, whose delightful -gabble and piping was plainly audible. We grilled our birds, and made -our tea. Whilst we were having a smoke, a truly magnificent white-headed -fish eagle lit on the top of a dead tree, three hundred yards away--a -splendid shot for a rifle. It remained for some minutes, then rose and -went off seaward. Joyce told me that the bird and its mate were very -familiar to him for a year past, but that he "hadn't the heart to take a -shot at them"--for which he deserved to be commended. - -Presently, seeing me cutting some young supplejack vines, my new -acquaintance asked me their purpose. I told him that I meant to make a -light raft out of dead timber to save me from swimming after any ducks -that I might shoot, and that the supplejack was for lashing. Then, to my -surprise and pleasure, he proposed that I should go on to his "humphy," -and camp there for the night, and he would return to the swamp with me -in the morning, join me in a day's shooting and fishing, and then come -on with me to the township on the following day. - -Gladly accepting his offer, two hours' easy walking brought us to -his home--a roughly-built slab shanty with a bark roof, enclosed in a -good-sized paddock, in which his old pack horse, several goats and a -cow and calf were feeding. At the side of the house was a small -but well-tended vegetable garden, in which were also some huge -water-melons--quite ripe, and just the very thing after our fourteen -miles' walk. One-half of the house and roof was covered with scarlet -runner bean plants, all in full bearing, and altogether the exterior of -the place was very pleasing. Before we reached the door two dogs, which -were inside, began a terrific din--they knew their master's step. The -interior of the house--which was of two rooms--was clean and orderly, -the walls of slabs being papered from top to bottom with pictures from -illustrated papers, and the floor was of hardened clay. Two or three -rough chairs, a bench and a table comprised the furniture, and yet the -place had a home-like look. - -My host asked me if I could "do" with a drink of bottled-beer; I -suggested a slice of water-melon. - -"Ah, you're right But those outside are too hot. Here's a cool one," and -going into the other room he produced a monster. It was delicious! - -After a bathe in the creek near by, we had a hearty supper, and then sat -outside yarning and smoking till turn-in time. - -Soon after a sunrise breakfast, we started for the swamp, taking the -old packhorse with us, my host leaving food and water for the dogs, who -howled disconsolately as we went off. - -At the swamp we had a glorious day's sport, although there were -altogether too many black snakes about for my taste. We camped there -that night, and returned to the port next day with a heavy load of black -duck, some "whistlers," and a few brace of pigeons. - -I bade farewell to my good-natured host with a feeling of regret Some -years later, on my next visit to Australia, I heard that he had returned -to his boyhood's home--Gippsland in Victoria--and had married and -settled down. He was one of the most contented men I ever met, and a -good sportsman. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX ~ TE-BARI, THE OUTLAW - -The Island of Upolu, in the Samoan group, averages less than fifteen -miles in width, and it is a delightful experience to cross from Apia, or -any other town on the north, to the south side. The view to be obtained -from the summit of the range that traverses the island from east to -west is incomparably beautiful--I have never seen anything to equal it -anywhere in the Pacific Isles. - -A few years after the Germans had begun cotton planting in Samoa, I -brought to Apia ninety native labourers from the Solomon Islands to work -on the big plantation at Mulifanua. I also brought with me something I -would gladly have left behind--the effects of a very severe attack of -malarial fever. - -A week or so after I had reached Apia I gave myself a few days' leave, -intending to walk across the island to the town of Siumu, where I had -many native friends, and try and work some of the fever poison out of my -system. - -Starting long before sunrise, I was well past Vailima Mountain--the -destined future home of Stevenson--by six o'clock. After resting for an -hour at each of the bush villages of Magiagi and Tanumamanono--soon to -be the scene of a cruel massacre in the civil war then raging--I began -the long, gradual ascent from the littoral to the main range, inhaling -deeply of the cool morning air, and listening to the melodious -_croo! croo!_ of the great blue pigeons, and the plaintive cry of -the ringdoves, so well termed manu-tagi (the weeping bird) by the -imaginative Samoans. - -Walking but slowly, for I was not strong enough for rapid exercise, I -reached the summit of the first spur, and again spelled, resting upon a -thick carpet of cool, dead leaves. With me was a boy from Tanumamanono -named Suisuega-le-moni (The Seeker after Truth), who carried a basket -containing some cooked food, and fifty cartridges for my gun. "Sui," as -he was called for brevity, was an old acquaintance of mine and one of -the most unmitigated young imps that ever ate _taro_ as handsome "as -a picture," and a most notorious scandalmonger and spy. He was only -thirteen years of age, and was of rebel blood, and, child as he was, he -knew that his head stood very insecurely upon his shoulders, and that -it would be promptly removed therefrom if any of King Malietoa's troops -could catch him spying in _flagrante delicto_. Two years before, he had -attached himself to me, and had made a voyage with me to the Caroline -Islands, during which he had acquired an enormous vocabulary of sailors' -bad language. This gave him great local kudos. - -Sui was to accompany me to the top of the range, and then return, as -otherwise he would be in hostile territory. - -By four o'clock in the afternoon we had gained a clear spot on the crest -of the range, from where we had a most glorious view of the south coast -imaginable. Three thousand feet below us were the russet-hued thatched -roofs of the houses of Siumu Village; beyond, the pale green water that -lay between the barrier reef and the mainland, then the long curving -line of the reef itself with its seething surf, and, beyond that again, -the deep, deep blue of the Pacific, sparkling brightly in the westering -sun. - -Leaning my gun against one of the many buttresses of a mighty _masa'oi_ -tree, I was drinking in the beauty of the scene, when we heard the -shrill, cackling scream of a mountain cock, evidently quite near. Giving -the boy my gun, I told him to go and shoot it; then sitting down on the -carpet of leaves, I awaited his return with the bird, half-resolved to -spend the night where I was, for I was very tired and began to feel the -premonitory chills of an attack of ague. - -In ten minutes the sound of a gun-shot reverberated through the forest -aisles, and presently I heard Sui returning. He was running, and holding -by its neck one of the biggest mountain cocks I ever saw. As he ran, he -kept glancing back over his shoulder, and when he reached me and threw -down gun and bird, I saw that he was trembling from head to foot. - -"What is the matter?" I asked; "hast seen an _aitu vao_ (evil spirit of -the forest)?" - -"Aye, truly," he said shudderingly, "I have seen a devil indeed, and the -marrow in my bones has gone--I have seen Te-bari, the Tâfito."{*} - - * The Samoans term all the natives of the Equatorial Islands - "Tâfito". - -I sprang to my feet and seized him by the wrist. - -"Where was he?" I asked. - -"Quite near me. I had just shot the wild _moa vao_ (mountain cock) and -had picked it up when I heard a voice say in Samoan--but thickly as -foreigners speak: 'It was a brave shot, boy'. Then I looked up and saw -Te-bari. He was standing against the bole of a _masa'oi_ tree, leaning -on his rifle. Round his earless head was bound a strip of _ie mumu_ (red -Turkey twill), and as I stood and trembled he laughed, and his great -white teeth gleamed, and my heart died within me, and----" - -I do not want to disgust my readers, but truth compels me to say that -the boy there and then became violently sick; then he began to sob -with terror, stopping every now and then to glance around at the now -darkening forest aisles of grey-barked, ghostly and moss-covered trees. - -"Sui," I said, "go back to your home. I have no fear of Te-bari." - -In two seconds the boy, who had faced rifle fire time and time again, -fled homewards. Te-bari the outlaw was too much for him. - -Personally I had no reason to fear meeting the man. In the first place -I was an Englishman, and Te-bari was known to profess a liking for -Englishmen, though he would eagerly cut the throat of a German or a -Samoan if he could get his brawny hands upon it; in the second place, -although I had never seen the man, I was sure that he would have heard -of me from some of his fellow islanders on the plantations, for during -my three years' "recruiting" in the Kingsmill and Gilbert Groups, I have -brought many hundreds of them to Samoa, Fiji and Tahiti. - -Something of his story was known to me. He was a native of the great -square-shaped atoll of Maiana, and went to sea in a whaler when he was -quite a lad, and soon rose to be boat-steerer. One day a Portuguese -harpooner struck him in the face and drew blood--a deadly insult to a -Line Islander. Te-bari plunged his knife into the man's heart. He -was ironed, and put in the sail-locker; during the night three of the -Portuguese sprang in upon him and cut off his ears. A few days later -when the ship was at anchor at the Bonin Islands, Te-bari freed himself -of his handcuffs and swam on shore Early on the following morning one -of the boats was getting fresh water. She was in charge of the fourth -mate--a Portuguese black. Suddenly a nude figure leapt among the men, -and clove the officer's head in twain with a tomahawk. - -One day Te-bari reappeared among his people at Maiana and took service -with a white trader, who always spoke of him as a quiet, hardworking -young man, but with a dangerous temper when roused by a fancied wrong. -In due time Te-bari took a wife--took her in a very literal sense, by -killing her husband and escaping with her to the neighbouring island of -Taputeauea (Drummond's Island). She was a pretty, graceful creature of -sixteen years of age. Then one day there came along the German labour -brig _Adolphe_ seeking "blackbirds" for Samoa, and Te-bari and his -pretty wife with fifty other "Tâfitos" were landed at one of the -plantations in Upolu. - -Young Madame Te-bari was not as good as she ought to have been, and -one day the watchful husband saw one of the German overseers give her a -thick necklace of fine red beads. Te-bari tore them from her neck, and -threw them into the German's face. For this he received a flogging and -was mercilessly kicked into insensibility as well When he recovered he -was transferred to another plantation--minus the naughty Nireeungo, who -became "Mrs." Peter Clausen. A month passed, and it was rumoured "on the -beach" that "No-Ears," as Te-bari was called, had escaped and taken to -the bush with a brand-new Snider carbine, and as many cartridges as he -could carry, and Mr. Peter Clausen was advised to look out for himself. -He snorted contemptuously. - -Two young Samoan "bucks" were sent out to capture Te-bari, and bring him -back, dead or alive, and receive therefor one hundred bright new Chile -dollars. They never returned, and when their bodies were found in a deep -mountain gully, it was known that the earless one was the richer by -a sixteen-shot Winchester with fifty cartridges, and a Swiss Vetterli -rifle, together with some twist tobacco, and the two long _nifa oti_ -or "death knives," with which these valorous, but misguided young men -intended to remove the earless head of the "Tâfito pig" from his brawny, -muscular shoulders. - -Te-bari made his way, encumbered as he was with his armoury, along the -crest of the mountain range, till he was within striking distance of his -enemy, Clausen, and the alleged Frau Clausen--_née_ Nireeungo. He hid on -the outskirts of the plantation, and soon got in touch with some of his -former comrades. They gave him food, and much useful information. - -One night, during heavy rain, when every one was asleep on the -plantation, Te-bari entered the overseer's house by the window. A lamp -was burning, and by its light he saw his faithless spouse sleeping -alone. Clausen--lucky Clausen--had been sent into Apia an hour before to -get some medicine for one of the manager's children. Te-bari was keenly -disappointed. He would only have half of his revenge. He crept up to -the sleeper, and made one swift blow with the heavy _nifa oti_ Then he -became very busy for a few minutes, and a few hours later was back in -the mountains, smoking Clausen's tobacco, and drinking some of Clausen's -corn schnapps. - -When Clausen rode up to his house at three o'clock in the morning, he -found the lamp was burning brightly. Nireeungo was lying on the bed, -covered over with a quilt of navy blue. He called to her, but she made -no answer, and Clausen called her a sleepy little pig. Then he turned -to the side table to take a drink of schnapps--on the edge of it was -Nireeungo's head with its two long plaits of jet-black hair hanging -down, and dripping an ensanguined stream upon the matted floor. - -Clausen cleared out of Samoa the very next day. Te-bari had got upon his -nerves. - -***** - -The forest was dark by the time I had lit a fire between two of the wide -buttresses of the great tree, and I was shaking from head to foot with -ague. The attack, however, only lasted an hour, and then came the usual -delicious after-glow of warmth as the blood began to course riotously -through one's veins and give that temporary and fictitious strength -accompanied by hunger, that is one of the features of malarial fever. - -Sitting up, I began to pluck the mountain cock, intending to grill the -chest part as soon as the fire was fit. Then I heard a footstep on the -leaves, and looking up I saw Te-bari standing before me. - -"_Ti-â ka po_" (good evening), I said quietly, in his own language, -"will you eat with me?" - -He came over to me, still grasping his rifle, and peered into my face. -Then he put out his hand, and sat down quietly in front of me. Except -for a girdle of dracaena leaves around his waist he was naked, but he -seemed well-nourished, and, in fact, fat. - -"Will you smoke?" I said presently, passing him a plug of tobacco and -my sheath knife, for I saw that a wooden pipe was stuck in his girdle of -leaves. He accepted it eagerly. - -"Do you know me, white man?" he asked abruptly, speaking in the Line -Islands tongue. - -I nodded. "You are Te-bari of Maiana. The boy was frightened of you and -ran away." - -He showed his gleaming white teeth in a semi-mirthful, semi-tigerish -grin. "Yes, he was afraid. I would have shot him; but I did not because -he was with you. What is your name, white man?" - -I told him. - -"Ah, I have heard of you. You were with Kapitan Ebba (Captain Ever) in -the _Leota?_" - -He filled his pipe, lit it, and then extended his hand to me for the -halt-plucked bird, and said he would finish it Then he looked at me -inquiringly. - -"You have the shaking sickness of the western islands. It is not good -for you to lie here on the leaves. Come with me. I shall give you good -food to eat, and coco-nut toddy to drink." - -I asked him where he got his toddy from, as there were no coco-nut trees -growing so high up in the mountains. He laughed. - -"I have a sweetheart in Siumu. She brings it to me. You shall see her -to-night. Come." - -Stooping down, he lifted me up on his right shoulder as if I were a -child, and then, with his own rifle and my gun and bag and the mountain -cock tucked under his left arm, he set off at a rapid pace towards one -of the higher spurs of the range. Nearly an hour later I found myself in -a cave, overlooking the sea. On the floor were a number of fine Samoan -mats and a well-carved _aluga_ (bamboo pillow). - -I stretched myself out upon the mats, again shivering with ague, and -Te-bari covered me over with a thick _tappa_ cloth. Then he lit a fire -just outside the cave, and came back to me. - -"You are hungry," he said, as he expanded his big mouth and grinned -pleasantly. Then from the roof of the cave he took down a basket -containing cold baked pigeons, fish and yams. - -I ate greedily and soon after fell asleep. When I awoke it seemed to -be daylight--in reality it was only a little past midnight, but a full -bright moon was shining into the cave. Seated near me were my host and a -young woman--the "sweetheart". I recognised her at once as Sa Laea, the -widow of a man killed in the fighting a few months previously. She was -about five and twenty years of age, very handsome, and quiet in her -demeanour. As far as I knew she had an excellent reputation, and I was -astonished at her consorting with an outlawed murderer. She came over -and shook hands, asked if I felt better, and should she "lomi-lomi" -(massage) me. I thanked her and gladly accepted her offer. - -An hour before dawn she bade me good-bye, urging me to remain, and rest -with her earless lover for a day or two, instead of coming on to Siumu, -where there was an outbreak of measles. - -"When I come to-morrow night," she said, "I will bring a piece of kava -root and make kava for you." - -The news about the measles decided me. I resolved to at least spend -another day and night with my host. He was pleased. - -Soon after breakfast he showed me around. His retreat was practically -impregnable. One man with a supply of breech-loading ammunition could -beat off a hundred foes. On the roof of the cave was a hole large enough -to let a man pass through, and from the top itself there was a most -glorious view. A mile away on the starboard hand, and showing through -the forest green, was a curving streak of bright red--it was the road, -or rather track, that led to Siumu. We filled our pipes, sat down and -talked. - -How long had he lived there? I asked. Five months. He had found the cave -one day when in chase of a wild sow and her litter. Afraid of being shot -by the Siumu people? No, he was on good terms with _them_. Very often he -would shoot a wild pig and carry it to a certain spot on the road, and -leave it for the villagers. But he could not go into the village itself. -It was too risky--some one might be tempted to get those hundred Chile -dollars from the Germans. Food? There was plenty. Hundreds of wild pigs -in the mountains, and thousands of pigeons. The pigs he shot with his -Snider, the pigeons he snared, for he had no shot gun, and would very -much like to have one. Twice every week Sa Laea brought him food. -Tobacco too, sometimes, when she could buy it or beg it from the trader -at Siumu. Sometimes he would cross over to the northern watershed and -catch a basketful of the big speckled trout which teem in the mountain -pools. Some of these he would send by Sa Laea to the chief of Siumu, -who would send him in return a piece of kava, and some young drinking -coconuts as a token of good-will. Once when he went to fish he found -a young Samoan and two girls about to net a pool. The man fired at him -with his pigeon gun and the pellets struck him in the chest. Then he -(Te-bari) shot the man through the chest with his Winchester. No, he did -not harm the girls--he let them run away. - -Sa Laea was a very good girl. Whenever he trapped a _manu-mea_ (the rare -_Didunculus_, or tooth-billed pigeon) she would take it to Apia and sell -it for five dollars--sometimes ten. He was saving this money. When he -had forty dollars he and Sa Laea were going to leave Samoa and go to -Maiana. Kapitan Cameron had promised Sa Laea to take them there when -they had forty dollars. Perhaps when his schooner next came to Siumu -they would have enough money, etc. - -During the day I shot a number of pigeons, and when Sa Laea appeared -soon after sunset we had them cooked and ready. We made a delicious -meal, but before eating the lady offered up the usual evening prayer in -Samoan, and Te-bari the Earless sat with closed eyes like a saint, and -gave forth a sonorous _A-mene!_ when his ladylove ceased. - -I left my outlaw friend next morning. Sa Laea came with me, for I had -promised to buy him a pigeon gun (costing ten dollars), a bag of shot, -powder and caps. I fulfilled my promise and the woman bade me farewell -with protestations of gratitude. - -A few months later Te-bari and Sa Laea left the island in Captain -Cameron's schooner, the _Manahiki_. I trust they "lived happily ever -afterwards". - - - - -CHAPTER XX ~ "THE DANDIEST BOY THAT EVER STOOD UP IN A BOAT" - -Nine years had come and gone since I had last seen Nukutavake and its -amiable brown^skinned people, and now as I again stepped on shore and -scanned the faces of those assembled on the beach to meet me, I missed -many that I had loved in the old, bright days when I was trading in the -Paumotus. For Death, in the hideous shape of small-pox, had been busy, -taking the young and strong and passing by the old and feeble. - -It was a Sunday, and the little isle was quiet--as quiet as the ocean -of shining silver on which our schooner lay becalmed, eight miles beyond -the foaming surf of the barrier reef. - -Teveiva, the old native pastor, was the first one to greet me, and the -tears rolled down his cheeks as he spoke to me in his native Tahitian, -bade me welcome, and asked me had I come to sojourn with "we of -Nukutavake, for a little while". - -"Would that it were so, old friend. But I have only come on shore for a -few hours, whilst the ship is becalmed--to greet old friends dear to my -heart, and never forgotten since the days I lived among ye, nigh upon a -half-score years ago. But, alas, it grieves me that many are gone." - -A low sob came from the people, as they pressed around their friend of -bygone years, some clasping my hands and some pressing their faces to -mine And so, hand in hand, and followed by the people, the old teacher -and I walked slowly along the shady path of drooping palms, and came to -and entered the quiet mission house, through the open windows of which -came the sigh of the surf, and the faint call of sea-birds. - -Some women, low-voiced and gentle, brought food, and young drinking nuts -upon platters of leaf, and silently placed them before the White Man, -who touched the food with his hand and drank a little of a coco-nut, and -then turned to Teveiva and said:-- - -"O friend, I cannot eat because of the sorrow that hath come upon thee. -Tell me how it befel." - -Speaking slowly, and with many tears, the old teacher told of how a ship -from Tahiti had brought the dread disease to the island, and how in a -little less than two months one in every three of the three hundred -and ten people had died, and of the long drought that followed upon the -sickness, when for a whole year the sky was as brass, and the hot sun -beat down upon the land, and withered up the coco-palms and pandanus -trees; and only for the night dews all that was green would have -perished. And now because of the long drought men were weak, and -sickening, and women and children were feint from want of food. - -"It is as if God hath deserted us," said the old man. - -"Nay," I assured him, "have no fear. Rain is near. It will come from the -westward as it has come to many islands which for a year have been eaten -up with drought and hunger like this land of Nukutavake. Have no fear, I -say. Wind and much heavy rain will soon come from the west." - -Then I wrote a few lines to the skipper. - -"Send this letter to the ship by my boat," I said to Teveiva, "and -the captain will fill the boat with food. It is the ship's gift to the -people." - -And then for the first time since the island had been smitten, the poor -women and children laughed joyously, and the men sprang to their feet, -and with loud shouts ran to the boat with the messenger who carried the -letter. - -"Come, old friend," I said to the teacher, "walk with me round the -island. I would once more look upon the lagoon and sit with you a little -while as we have sat many times before, under the great _toa_ tree that -grows upon the point on the weather side." - -And so we two passed out of the mission house, and hand in hand, like -children, went into the quiet village and along the sandy path that -wound through the vista of serried, grey-boled palms, till we came to -the white, inner beach of the calm lagoon, which shone and glistened -like burnished silver. On the beach were some canoes. - -Half a cable length from the shore, a tiny, palm-clad islet floated -on that shining lake, and the drooping fronds of the palms cast their -shadows upon the crystal water. Between the red-brown boles of the trees -there showed something white. The old man pointed to it and said:-- - -"Wilt come and look at the white man's grave? 'Tis well kept--as we -promised his mother should be done." - -Teveiva launched a canoe and we paddled gently over to the isle, which -was barely half an acre in extent From the beach there ran a narrow -path, neatly gravelled and bordered with many-hued crotons; it led to a -low square enclosure of coral stone cemented with lime. Within the walls -bright crotons grew thickly, and in the centre stood a plain slab of -marble on which was carved:-- - - Walter Tallis, - boat-steerer of the ship _asia_. - - Died, December 25, 1869, aged 21. - Erected by his Mother. - - - -I sat on the wall, and looked thoughtfully at the marble slab. - -"'Tis twelve years since, Teveiva." - -"Aye, since last Christmas Day. And every year his mother sends a letter -and asks, 'Is my boy's grave well kept?' and I write and say, 'It is -well tended. One day in every week the women and girls come and weed -the path, and see that the plants thrive. This have we always done -since thou sent the marble slab.' She sends her letters to the English -missionary at Papeite, and he sends mine to her in far away Beretania -(Britain)." - -"Poor fellow," I thought; "it was just such a day as this--hot and -calm--when we laid him here under the palms." - -***** - -On that day, twelve years before, the _Asia_ lay becalmed off the -island, and the skipper lowered his boat and came on shore to buy some -fresh provisions He was a cheery old fellow, with snow-white hair, -and was brimming over with good spirits, for the _Asia_ had had -extraordinary good luck. - -"Over a thousand barrels of sparm oil under hatches already, and the -_Asia_ not out nine months," he said to me, "and we haven't lost a boat, -nor any whale we fastened to yet And this boy here," and he turned -and clapped his hand on the shoulder of a young, handsome and stalwart -youth, who had come with him, "is my boat-steerer, Walter Tallis, -and the dandiest lad with an iron that ever stood up in a boat's bow. -Forty-two years have I been fishin', and until Walter here shipped on -the old _Asia_, thought that the Almighty never made a good boat-steerer -or boat-header outer eny one but a Yankee or a Portugee--or maybe a -Walker Injun. But Walter, though he _is_ a Britisher, was born fer -whale-killin'--and thet's a fact." - -I shook hands with the young man, who laughed as he said:-- - -"Captain Allen is always buttering me up. But there are as good, and -better men than me with an iron on board the _Asia_. But I certainly -have had wonderful luck--for a Britisher," and he smiled slyly at his -captain. - -Suddenly, we were chatting and smoking on the verandah, there came a -thrilling cry from the crew of the whaleboat, lying on the beach fifty -yards away. - -"_Blo-o-w! bl-o-o-w!_" - -And from the throats of three hundred natives came a roar "_Te folau! te -folau!_" ("A whale! a whale!") - -The skipper and his boat-steerer sprang to their feet and looked -seaward, and there, less than a mile from the shore, was a mighty bull -cachalot, leisurely making his way through the glassy sea, swimming with -head up, and lazily rolling from side to side as if his one hundred tons -of bulk were as light as the weight of a flying-fish. - -"Now, mister, you shall see what Walter and I can do with that fish," -cried the skipper to me. "And when we've settled him, and the other -boats are towing him off to the ship, Walter and I will come on shore -again and hev something to eat--if you will invite us." - -The boat flashed out from the beach, swept out of the passage through -the reef, and in twenty minutes was within striking distance of the -mighty cetacean. And, watching from the verandah, I saw the young -harpooner stand up and bury his first harpoon to the socket, following -it instantly with a second. Then slowly sank the huge head, and up came -the vast flukes in the air, and Leviathan sounded into the ocean depths -as the line spun through the stem notch, and the boat sped over the -mirror-like sea. In ten minutes she was hidden from view by a point of -land, and the last that we on the shore saw was "the dandiest lad that -ever stood up in a boat's bow" going aft to the steer-oar, and the old -white-headed skipper taking his place to use the deadly lance. And -then at the same time that the captain's boat disappeared from view, -I noticed that the _Asia_ had lowered her four other boats, which were -pulling with furious speed in the direction which the "fast" boat had -taken. - -"Something must have gone wrong with the captain's boat," I thought. - -Something had gone wrong, for half an hour later one of the four "loose" -boats pulled into the beach, and the old skipper, with tears streaming -down his rugged cheeks, stepped out, trembling from head to foot. - -"My dandy boy, my poor boatsteerer," he said huskily to me--"that darned -whale fluked us, and near cut him in half. Poor lad, he didn't suffer; -for death came sudden. An' he is the only son of his mother. Can I bring -him to your house?" - -Very tenderly and slowly the whaleboat's crew carried the crushed and -mutilated form of the "dandiest boy" to the house, and whilst I -helped the _Asia's_ cooper make a coffin, Teveiva sat outside with the -heartbroken old skipper, and spoke to him in his broken English of the -Life Beyond. And so Walter Tallis, the last of an old Dorset family, was -laid to rest in the little isle in the quiet lagoon. - -For two days our schooner lay in sight of the island; and then, as -midnight came, the blue sky became black, and the ship was snugged down -for the coming storm. The skipper sent up a rocket so that it might be -seen by the people on shore--to verify my prophecy about a change in the -weather. - -Came then the wind and the sweet, blessed rain, and as the schooner, -under reefed canvas, plunged to the rising sea, the folk of Nukutavake, -I felt certain, stood outside their houses, and let the cooling -Heaven-sent streams drench their smooth, copper-coloured skins, whilst -good old Teveiva gave thanks to God. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI ~ THE PIT OF MAOT - -For the Samoans I have always had a great admiration and affection. -Practically I began my island career in Samoa. More than a score of -years before Robert Louis Stevenson went to die on the verdured slopes -of Vailima Mountain, where he now rests, I was gaining my living by -running a small trading cutter between the beautiful islands of Upolu, -Savai'i, and Tutuila, and the people ever had my strong sympathies in -their struggle against Germany for independence. Even so far back as -1865, German agents were at work throughout the group, sowing the seeds -of discord, encouraging the chiefs of King Malietoa to rebel, so that -they could set up a German puppet in his place. And unfortunately they -have succeeded only too well, and Samoa, with the exception of the -Island of Tutuila, is now German territory. But it is as well, for the -people are kindly treated by their new masters. - -The Samoans were always a warlike race. When not unitedly repelling -invasion by the all-conquering Tongans who sent fleet after fleet to -subjugate the country, they were warring among themselves upon various -pretexts--successions to chiefly titles, land disputes, abuse of neutral -territory, and often upon the most trivial pretexts. In my own time I -witnessed a sanguinary naval encounter between the people of the island -of Manono, and a war-party of ten great canoes from the district of -Lepâ on the island of Upolu. I saw sixteen decapitated heads brought -on shore, and personally attended many of the wounded. And all this -occurred through the Lepâ people having at a dance in their village -sung a song in which a satirical allusion was made to the Manono -people having once been reduced to eating shell-fish. The result was an -immediate challenge from Manono, and in all nearly one hundred men lost -their lives, villages were burnt, canoes destroyed, and thousands of -coco-nut and bread-fruit trees cut down and plantations ruined. - -Sometimes in battle the Samoans were extremely chivalrous, at others -they were demons incarnate, as merciless, cold-blooded, and cruel as the -Russian police who slaughter women and children in the streets of the -capital of the Great White Czar, and I shall now endeavour to describe -one such terrible act, which after many years is still spoken of with -bated breath, and even amidst the suppressed sobs and falling tears of -the descendants of those who suffered. - -On the north coast of Upolu there is a populous town and district named -Fasito'otai. It is part of the A'ana division of Upolu, and is noted, -even in Samoa, a paradise of Nature, for its extraordinary fertility and -beauty. - -The A'ana people at this time were suffering from the tyranny of Manono, -a small island which boasted of the fact of its being the birthplace -and home of nearly all the ruling chiefs of Samoa, and the extraordinary -respect with which people of chiefly lineage are treated by Samoans, -generally led them to suffer the greatest indignities and oppressions -by the haughty and warlike Manonoans, who exacted under threats a -continuous tribute of food, fine mats and canoes. Finally, a -valorous young chief named Tausaga--though himself connected with -Manono--revolted, and he and his people refused to pay further tribute -to Manono, and a bloody struggle was entered upon. - -For some months the war continued. No mercy was shown on either side to -the vanquished, and there is now a song which tells of how Palu, a -girl of seventeen, with a spear thrust half through her bosom by her -brother-in-law, a chief of Manono, shot him through the chest with a -horse pistol, and then breaking off the spear, knelt beside the dying -man, kissed him as her "brother" and then decapitated him, threw the -head to her people with a cry of triumph--and died. - -At first the A'ana people were victorious, and the haughty Manonoans -were driven off into their fleets of war canoes time and time again. -Then Manono made alliance with other powerful chiefs of Savai'i and -Upolu against A'ana, and two thousand of them, after great slaughter, -occupied the town of Fasito'otai, and the A'ana people retired to inland -fortresses, resolved to fight to the very last Among the leaders of the -defeated people were two white men--an Englishman and an American--whose -valour was so much admired, even by the Manono people, that they were -openly solicited to desert the A'ana people, and come over to the other -side, where great honours and gifts of lands awaited them. To their -credit, these two unknown men rejected the offer with scorn, and -announced their intention to die with the people with whom they had -lived for so many years. At their instance, many of the Manono warriors -who had been captured had been spared, and kept prisoners, instead of -being ruthlessly decapitated in the usual Samoan fashion, and their -heads exhibited, with much ignominy, from one village to another, as -trophies. - -For two years the struggle continued, the Manonoans generally proving -victorious in many bloody battles. Then Fasito'otai was surprised in -the night, and two-thirds of its defenders, including many women and -children, slaughtered. Among those who died were the two white men. They -fell with thirty young men, who covered the retreat of the survivors of -the defending force. - -The extraordinary valour which the A'ana people had displayed, -exasperated the Manono warriors to deeds of unnamable violence to -whatever prisoners fell into their cruel hands. One man--an old Manono -chief--who had taken part in the struggle, told me with shame that he -saw babies impaled on bayonets and spears carried exultingly from one -village to another. - -Broken and disorganised, the beaten A'ana people dispersed in parties -large and small. Some sought refuge in the mountain forests, others -put to sea in frail canoes, and mostly all perished, but one party of -seventeen in three canoes succeeded in reaching Uea (Wallis Island), -three hundred miles to the westward of Samoa Among them was a boy of -seven years of age, who afterwards sailed with me in a labour vessel. -He well remembered the horrors of that awful voyage, and told me of his -seeing his father "take a knife and open a vein in his arm so that a -baby girl, who was dying of hunger, could drink". - -Relentless in their hate of the vanquished foe, the Manono warriors -established a cordon around them from the mountain range that traverses -the centre of Upolu to the sea, and at last, after many engagements, -drove them to the beach, where a final battle was fought. Exhausted, -famine-stricken, and utterly disheartened by their continuous reverses, -the unfortunate A'ana people were easily overcome, and the fighting -survivors surrendered, appealing to their enemies to at least spare the -lives of their women and children. - -But no mercy was shown. As night began to fall, the Manonoans began to -dig a huge pit at a village named Maotâ, a mile from the scene of the -battle, and as some dug, others carried an enormous quantity of dead -logs of timber to the spot. By midnight the dreadful funeral pyre was -completed. - -In case that it might be thought by my readers that I am exaggerating -the horrors of "The Pit of Maotâ," I will not here relate what I, -personally, was told by people who were present at the awful deed, -but repeat the words of Mr. Stair, an English missionary of the London -Missionary Society, whose book, entitled Old Samoa, tells the story -in quiet, yet dramatic language, and although in regard to some minor -details he was misinformed, his account on the whole is correct, and is -the same as was told to me by men who had actually participated in the -tragedy. - -The awful preparations were completed, and then the victors, seizing -those of their captives who were bound on account of their strength and -had a few hours previously surrendered, hurried them to the fatal pit, -in which the huge pile of timber had been lit. And as the flames roared -and ascended, and the darkness of the surrounding forest was made as -light as day, the first ten victims of four hundred and sixty-two were -cast in to burn, amid the howls and yells of their savage captors. - -Mr. Stair says: "This dreadful butchery was continued during one or two -days and nights, fresh timber being heaped on from time to time, as it -was with difficulty that the fire could be kept burning, from the number -of victims who were ruthlessly sacrificed there. - -"The captives from Fasito'otai were selected for the first offerings, -and after them followed others in quick succession, night and day, -early and late, until the last wretched victim had been consumed. Most -heartrending were the descriptions I received from persons who had -actually looked on the fearful scenes enacted there. - -"Innocent children skipped joyfully along the pathway by the side of -their conductors and murderers,{*} deceived by the cruel lie that they -were to be spared, and were then on their way to bathe; when suddenly -the blazing pile (in the Pit of Noatâ) with the horrid sight of their -companions and friends being thrown alive into the midst, told them the -dreadful truth; whilst their terror was increased by the yells of savage -triumph of the murderers, or the fearful cries of the tortured victims -which reached their ears." - - * I was told that the poor children were led away as they - thought to be given si mea ai vela--"something hot" (to - eat).--[L.B.] - -When I first saw the dreadful Tito (pit) of Moatâ, it was at the close -of a calm, windless day. I had been pigeon-shooting in the mountain -forest, and was accompanied by a stalwart young Samoan warrior. As we -were returning to Fasito'otai, he asked me if I would come a little -out of the way and look at the "Tito," a place he said "that is to our -hearts, and is, holy ground". He spoke so reverently that I was much -impressed. - -Following a winding path we suddenly came in view of the pit. The sides -were almost covered with many beautiful varieties of crotons, planted -there by loving hands, and it was very evident to me that the place was -indeed holy ground. At the bottom of the pit was a dreadful reminder of -the past--a large circle of black charcoal running round the sides, -and enclosing in the centre a large space which at first I thought was -snow-white sand, but on descending into the pit with uncovered head, -and looking closer, found it was composed of tiny white coral pebbles. -Hardly a single leaf or twig marred the purity of the whiteness of the -cover under which lay the ashes of nearly five hundred human beings. -Every Saturday the women and children of Fasito'otai and the adjacent -villages visited the place, and reverently removed every bit of -_débris_, and the layer of stones, carefully selected of an equal size, -was renewed two or three times a year as they became discoloured by -the action of the rain. Encompassing the wooded margin of the pit were -numbers of orange, lime and banana trees, all in full fruit. These were -never touched--to do so would have been sacrilege, for they were sacred -to the dead. All around us were hundreds of wood-doves and pigeons, and -their peaceful notes filled the forest with saddening melody. "No one -ever fires a gun here," said my companion softly, "it is forbidden. And -it is to my mind that the birds know that it is a sacred place and holy -ground." - - - - -CHAPTER XXII ~ VANÂKI, THE STRONG SWIMMER - -On the afternoon of the 4th of June, 1885, the Hawaiian labour schooner -_Mana_, of which I was "recruiter" was beating through Apolima Straits, -which divide the islands of Upolu and Savai'i. The south-east trade was -blowing very strongly and a three-knot current setting against the -wind had raised a short, confused sea, and our decks were continually -flooded. But we had to thrash through it with all the sail we could -possibly carry, for among the sixty-two Gilbert Islands "recruits" I had -on board three had developed symptoms of what we feared was small-pox, -and we were anxious to reach the anchorage off the town of Mulifanua at -the west end of Upolu before dark. At Mulifanua there was a large German -cotton plantation, employing four hundred "recruited" labourers, and on -the staff of European employés was a resident doctor. In the ordinary -course of things we should have gone on to Apia, which was twenty miles -farther on, and our port of destination, and handed over my cargo of -"recruits" to the manager of the German firm there; but as Mulifanua -Plantation was also owned by them, and my "recruits" would probably be -sent there eventually, the captain and I decided to land the entire -lot at that place, instead of taking them to Apia, where the European -community would be very rough upon us if the disease on board did turn -out to be small-pox. - -As the skipper and I were standing aft, watching the showers of spray -that flew over the schooner every time a head sea smacked her in the -face, one of the hands shouted out that there was a man in the water, -close to on the weather bow. Hauling our head sheets to windward we -head-reached towards him, and in a few minutes the man, who was swimming -in the most gallant fashion, was alongside, and clambered on board. He -was a rather dark-skinned Polynesian, young, and of extremely powerful -physique. - -"Thanks, good friends," he said, speaking in halting Samoan. "'Tis a -high sea in which to swim. Yet," and here he glanced around him at the -land on both sides, "I was half-way across." - -"Come below," I said, "and take food and drink, and I will give you a -_lava-lava_ (waistcloth)." (He was nude.) - -He thanked me, and then again his keen dark eyes were fixed upon -Savai'i--three miles distant. - -"Art bound to Savai'i?" he asked quickly. - -"Nay. We beat against the wind. To-night we anchor at Mulifanua." - -"Ah!" and his face changed, "then I must leave, for it is to Savai'i I -go," and he was about to go over the rail when we held him back. - -"Wait, friend. In a little time the ship will be close in to the passage -through the reef at Saleleloga" (a town of Savai'i), "and then as we put -the ship about, thou canst go on thy way. Why swim two leagues and tempt -the sharks when there is no need. Come below and eat and drink, and have -no fear. We shall take thee as near to the passage as we can." - -The skipper came below with us, and after providing our visitor with a -navy blue waistcloth, we gave him a stiff tumbler of rum, and some -bread and meat. He ate quickly and then asked for a smoke, and in a few -minutes more we asked him who he was, and why he was swimming across the -straits. We spoke in Samoan. "Friends," he said, "I will tell the truth. -I am one of the _kau galuega_ (labourers) on Mulifanua Plantation. -Yesterday being the Sabbath, and there being no work, I went into the -lands of the Samoan village to steal young nuts and _taro_. I had thrown -down and husked a score, and was creeping back to my quarters by a -side path through the grove, when I was set upon by three young Samoan -_manaia_ (bloods) who began beating me with clubs--seeking to murder me. -We fought, and I, knowing that death was upon me, killed one man with a -blow of my _tori nui_{*} (husking stick) of iron-wood, and then drove it -deep into the chest of another. Then I fled, and gaining the beach, ran -into the sea so that I might swim to Savai'i, for there will I be safe -from pursuit" "'Tis a long swim, man--'tis five leagues." He laughed and -expanded his brawny chest "What is that to me? I have swam ten leagues -many times." - - * A heavy, pointed stick of hardwood, used for husking coco- - nuts. - -"Where do you belong?" asked the skipper in English. - -He answered partly in the same language and partly in his curious -Samoan. - -"I am of Anuda.{*} My name is Vanàki. Two years ago I came to Samoa in a -German labour ship to work on the plantations, for I wanted to see other -places and earn money, and then return to Anuda and speak of the things -I had seen. It was a foolish thing of me. The German _suis_ (overseers) -are harsh men. I worked very hard on little food. It was for that I had -to steal. And I am but one man from Anuda, and there are four hundred -others from many islands--black-skinned, man-eating, woolly-haired -pigs from the Solomon and New Hebrides, and fierce fellows like these -Tafito{**} men from the Gilbert Islands such as I now see here on this -ship. No one of them can speak my tongue of Anuda. And now I am a free -man." - - * Anuda or Cherry Island is an outlier of the Santa Cruz - Group, in the South Pacific. The natives are more of the - Polynesian than the Melanesian type, and are a fine, - stalwart race. - - ** Tafitos--natives of the Pacific Equatorial Islands such - as the Gilbert Group. - -"You are a plucky fellow," said the captain, "and deserve good luck. -Here, take this dollar, and tie it up in the corner of your waistcloth. -You can buy yourself some tobacco from the white trader at Salelelogo." - -"Ah, yes, indeed. But" (and here he dropped into Samoan again, and -turned to me) "I would that the good captain would take me as a sailor -for his next voyage. I was for five years with Captain Macleod of -Nouméa. And I am a good man--honest, and no boaster." - -I shook my head. "It cannot be. From Mulifanua we go to Apia And there -will be news there of what thou hast done yesterday, and we cannot hide -a man on this small ship." And then I asked the captain what he thought -of the request. - -"We ought to try and work it," said the skipper. "If he was five years -with Jock Macleod he's all right." - -We questioned him further, and he satisfied us as to his _bona-fides_, -giving us the names of many men--captains and traders--known to us -intimately. - -"Vanâki," I said, "this is what may be done, but you must be quick, for -presently we shall be close to the passage off Saleleloga, and must -go about When you land, go to Miti-loa the chief, and talk to -him privately. There is bad blood between his people and those of -Mulifanua----" - -"I know it It has been so for two years past." - -"Now, listen. Miti-loa and the captain here and I are good friends. Tell -him that you have seen us. Hide nothing from him of yesterday. He is a -strong man." - -"I know it Who does not, in this part of Samoa know of Miti-loa?" {*} - -"That is true. And Miti knows us two _papalagi_{**} well. Stay with -him, work for him, and do all that he may ask. He will ask but -little--perhaps nothing. In twenty days from now, this ship will be at -Apia ready for sea again. We go to the Tokelaus" (Gilbert Islands) "or -else to the Solomons, and if thou comest on board in the night who is to -know of it but Miti-loa and thyself?" - - * Miti-loa--"Long Dream ". - - ** White men--foreigners. - -The mate put his head under the flap of the skylight "Close on to the -reef, sir. Time to go about." - -"All right, Carey. Put her round Now Vanâki, up on deck, and over you -go." - -Vanâki nodded and smiled, and followed us. Then quickly he took off his -_lava-lava_, deftly wrapped it about his head like an Indian turban, and -held out his hand in farewell, and every one on board cheered as he I -leapt over the side, and began his swim to the land. - -From the cross-trees I watched him through my glasses, saw him enter the -passage into smooth water, and disdaining to rest on any of the exposed -and isolated projections of reef which lined the passage, continue his -course towards the village. Then a rain squall hid him from view, but we -knew that he was safe. - -That evening we landed our "recruits" at Mulifanua, and after thoroughly -disinfecting the ship, we sailed a few days later for Apia. Here we were -again chartered to proceed to the New Hebrides and Solomon Islands for -another cruise. - -As we were refitting, I received a letter from Miti-loa, telling me that -Vanâki was safe, and would be with us in a few days. When he did arrive, -he came with Miti-loa himself in his _taumalua_ (native boat) and a -score of his people. Vanâki was so well made-up as a Samoan that when -he stepped on deck the skipper and I did not recognise him. We sent him -below, and told him to keep quiet until we were well under way. - -"Ah," said Miti-loa to us, "what a man is he! Such a swimmer was never -before seen. My young men have made much of him, and I would he would -stay with me." - -Vanâki turned out an acquisition to our ship's company, and soon became -a favourite with every one. He was highly delighted when he was placed -on the articles at the usual rate of wages paid to native seamen--£3 per -month. Our crew were natives from all parts of Polynesia, but English -was the language used by them generally to each other. Like all vessels -in the labour trade we carried a double crew--one to man the boats when -recruiting, and one to work the ship when lying "off and on" at any -island where we could not anchor, and Vanâki was greatly pleased when I -told him that he should have a place in my boat, instead of being put in -the "covering"{*} boat. - - * The "covering" boat is that which stands by to open fire - if the "landing" boat is attacked. - -We made a splendid run down to the Solomons from Samoa, and when in -sight of San Cristoval, spoke a French labour vessel from Nouméa, -recruiting for the French New Hebrides Company. Her captain and -his "recruiter" (both Englishmen) paid us a visit. They were old -acquaintances of our captain and myself, and as they came alongside in -their smart whaleboat and Vanâki saw their faces, he gave a weird yell -of delight, and rubbed noses with them the moment they stepped on deck. - -"Hallo, Vanâki, my lad," said the skipper of _La Metise_, shaking his -hand, "how are you?" Then turning to us he said: "Vanâki was with me -when I was mate with Captain Macleod, in the old _Aurore_ of Nouméa. -He's a rattling good fellow for a native, and I wish I had him with me -now. Wherever did you pick him up?" - -We told him, and Houston laughed when I narrated the story of Vanâki's -swim. - -"Oh, that's nothing for him to do. Why, the beggar once swam from the -Banks Group across to the Torres Islands. Has he never told you about -it?" - -"No. And I would hardly believe him if he did. Why, the two groups are -fifty miles apart." - -"No, from Tog in the Torres Islands to Ureparapara in the Banks Group -is a little over forty miles. But you must wheedle the yarn out of him. -He's a bit sensitive of talking about it, on account of his at first -being told he was a liar by several people. But Macleod, two traders who -were passengers with us, and all the crew of the _Aurore_ know the story -to be true. We sent an account of it to the Sydney papers." - -"I'll get him to tell me some day," I said "I once heard of a native -woman swimming from Nanomaga in the Ellice Group to Nanomea--thirty-five -miles--but never believed it for a long time." - -After spending half an hour with us, our friends went back to their -ship, each having shaken hands warmly with Vanâki, and wished him good -luck. - -It was some days before the captain and I had time to hear Vanâki's -story, which I relate as nearly as possible in his own words. - -First of all, however, I must mention that Ureparapara or Bligh Island -is a well-wooded, fertile spot, about sixteen miles in circumference, -and is an extinct crater. It is now the seat of a successful mission. -Tog is much smaller, well-wooded, and inhabited, and about nine hundred -feet high. At certain times of the year a strong current sets in a -northerly and westerly direction, and it is due to this fact that Vanâki -accomplished his swim. Now for his story. - -"I was in the port watch of the _Aurore_. We came to Ureparapara in -the month of June to 'recruit' and got four men. Whilst we were there, -Captain Houston (who was then mate of the _Aurore_) asked me if I would -dive under the ship and look at her copper; for a week before we had -touched a reef. So I dived, and found that five sheets of copper were -gone from the port side about half a fathom from the keel. So the -captain took five new sheets of copper, and punched the nail holes, and -gave me one sheet at a time, and I nailed them on securely. In three -hours it was done, for the ship was in quiet, clear water, and I knew -what to do. The captain then said to me laughingly that he feared I had -but tacked on the sheets loosely, and that they would come off. My heart -was sore at this, and so I asked Mr. Houston, who is a good diver, to -go and look. And he dived and looked, and then five other of the -crew--natives--dived and looked, and they all said that the work was -well and truly done--all the nails driven home, and the sheets smooth, -and without a crinkle. This pleased the captain greatly, and he gave me -a small gold piece, and told me that I could go on shore, and spend it -at the white trader's store. - -"Now I did a foolish thing. I bought from the trader two bottles of -strange grog called _arrak_. It was very strong--stronger than rum--and -soon I and two others who drank it became very drunk, and lay on the -ground like pigs. Mr. Houston came and found me, and brought me on -board, and I was laid on the after-deck under the awning. - -"At sunset the ship sailed. I was still asleep, and heard nothing, -though in a little while it began to blow, and much rain fell The -captain let me lie on the lee side, so that the rain might beat upon me, -and bring me to life again. - -"When four bells struck I awoke. I was ashamed. Waiting until the wheel -was relieved, I crept along the deck unseen, for it was very dark, and -goy up on the top of the top-gallant fo'c'stle, and again lay down. The -ship was running before the wind under close-reefed sails, and the sea -was so great that she pitched heavily every now and then, and much water -came over the bows. This did me good, and I soon began to feel able to -go below and turn in in my bunk. Then presently, as I was about to rise, -the ship made a great plunge, and a mighty sea fell upon her, and I was -swept away. No one saw me go, for no one knew that I was there, and the -night was very, very dark. - -"When I came to the surface, I could see the ship's lights, and cried -out, but no one heard me, for the wind and sea made a great noise; and -then, too, there was sweeping rain In a little while the lights were -gone, and I was alone. - -"'Now,' I said to myself, 'Vanâki, thou art a fool, and will go into the -belly of a shark because of becoming drunk.' And then my heart came back -to me, and I swam on easily over the sea, hoping that I would be missed, -and the ship heave-to, and send a boat. But I looked in vain. - -"By-and-by the sky cleared, and the stars came out, but the wind still -blew fiercely, and the seas swept me along so quickly that I knew it -would be folly for me to try and face them, and try to swim back to -Ureparapara. - -"'I will swim to Tog,' I said; 'if the sharks spare me I can do it.' -For now that the sky was clear, and I could see the stars my fear died -away; and so I turned a little, and swam to the west a little by the -north. - -"There was a strong current with me, and hour by hour as I swam the wind -became less, and the sea died away. - -"When daylight came I was not tired, and rested on my back. And as I -rested, two green turtle rose near me. They looked at me, and I was -glad, for I knew that where turtle were there would be no sharks. I am -not afraid of sharks, but what is a man to do with a shark in the open -sea without a knife? - -"Towards noon there came rain I lay on my back and put my hollowed hands -together, and caught enough to satisfy my great thirst. The rain did not -last long. - -"A little after noon I saw the land--the island of Tog. It was but three -leagues away. - -"Then I swam into a great and swift tide-rip, which carried me to the -eastward. It was so strong that I feared it would take me away from the -island, but soon it turned and swept me to the westward. And then I saw -the land becoming nearer and nearer. - -"When the sun was nearly touching the sea-rim, I was so close to the -south-end of Tog, that I could see the spars of a ship lying at anchor -in the bay called Pio. And then when the sun had set I could see the -lights of many canoes catching flying-fish by torchlight. - -"I swam on and came to the ship. It was the _Aurore_. - -"I clambered up the side-ladder, and stood on deck, and the man who was -on anchor watch--an ignorant Tokelau--shouted out in fear, and ran to -tell the captain, and Mr. Houston. - -"They brought me below and made much of me, and gave me something to -drink which made me sleep for many hours. - -"When I awakened I was strong and well, but my eyes were _malai_ -(bloodshot). That is all." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII ~ TWO PACIFIC ISLANDS BIRDS: THE SOUTH SEA CORNCRAKE AND -THE TOOTH-BILLED PIGEON - - - - -THE SOUTH SEA CORNCRAKE - -Although I had often heard of the "corncrake" or landrail of the British -Isles, I did not see one until a few years ago, on my first visit to -Ireland, when a field labourer in County Louth brought me a couple, -which he had killed in a field of oats. I looked at them with interest, -and at once recognised a striking likeness in shape, markings and -plumage to an old acquaintance--the shy and rather rare "banana-bird" of -some of the Polynesian and Melanesian Islands. I had frequently when in -Ireland heard at night, during the summer months, the repeated and -harsh "crake, crake," of many of these birds, issuing from the fields of -growing corn, and was very curious to see one, for the unmelodious cry -was exactly like that of the _kili vao_, or "banana-bird" of the -Pacific Islands. And when I saw the two corncrakes I found them to be -practically the same bird, though but half the size of the _kili vao_. - -_Kili vao_ in native means bush-snipe, as distinct from _kili fusi_, -swamp snipe. It feeds upon ripe bananas, and papaws (mamee apples), and -such other sweet fruit, that when over-ripe fall to the ground. It is -very seldom seen in the day-time, when the sun is strong, though -its hoarse frog-like note may often be heard in cultivated banana -plantations, or on the mountain sides, where the wild banana thrives. -At early dawn, or towards sunset, however, they come out from their -retreats, and search for fallen bananas, papaws or guavas, and I -have spent many a delightful half-hour watching them from my own -hiding-place. Although they have such thick, long and clumsy legs, and -coarse splay feet they run to and fro with marvelous speed, continually -uttering their insistent croak. Usually they were in pairs, male and -female, although I once saw a male and three female birds together. The -former can easily be recognised, for it is considerably larger than its -mate, and the coloration of the plumage on the back and about the eyes -is more pronounced, and the beautiful quail-like semi-circular belly -markings are more clearly defined. When disturbed, and if unable to -run into hiding among the dead banana leaves, they rise and present -a ludicrous appearance, for their legs hang down almost straight, and -their flight is slow, clumsy and laborious, and seldom extends more than -fifty yards. - -The natives of the Banks and Santa Cruz Groups (north of the New -Hebrides) assert that the _kili_ is a ventriloquist, and delights to -"fool" any one attempting to capture it. "If you hear it call from -the right, it is hiding to the left; and its mate is perhaps only -two fathoms away from you, hiding under the fallen banana leaves, and -pretending to be dead. And you will never find either, unless it is a -dark night, and you suddenly light a big torch of dried coco-nut leaves; -then they become dazed and stupid, and will let you catch them with your -hand." - -Whilst one cannot accept the ventriloquial theory, there can be no doubt -of the extraordinary cunning in hiding, and noiseless speed on foot of -these birds when disturbed. One afternoon, near sunset, I was returning -from pigeon-shooting on Ureparapara (Banks Group) when in walking along -the margin of a taro-swamp, which was surrounded by banana trees, a big -_kili_ rose right in front of me, and before I could bring my gun to -shoulder, my native boy hurled his shoulder-stick at it and brought it -down, dead. Then he called to me to be ready for a shot at the mate, -which, he said, was close by in hiding. - -Walking very gently, he carefully scanned the dead leaves at the foot of -the banana trees, and silently pointed to a heap which was soddened by -rain. - -"It is underneath there," he whispered, then flung himself upon the -heap of leaves, and in a few seconds dragged out the prize--a fine -full-grown female bird, beautifully marked. I put her in my game-bag. -During our two-mile walk to the village she behaved in a disgusting -manner, and so befouled herself (after the manner of a young Australian -curlew when captured) that she presented a repellent appearance, and -had such a disgusting odour that I was at first inclined to throw -her--game-bag and all--away. However, my native boy washed her, and then -we put her in a native pigeon cage. In the morning she was quite clean -and dry, but persistently hid her head when any one approached, refused -to take food and died two days later, although I kept the cage in a dark -place. - -These birds are excellent eating when not too fat; but when the papaws -are ripe they become grossly unwieldy, and the whole body is covered -with thick yellow fat, and the flesh has the strong sweet taste of the -papaw. At this time, so the natives say, they are actually unable to -rise for flight, and are easily captured by the women and children at -work in the banana and taro plantations. - -(Apropos of this common tendency of the flesh of birds to acquire the -taste of their principal article of food, I may mention that in those -Melanesian Islands where the small Chili pepper grows wild, the pigeons -at certain times of the year feed almost exclusively upon the ripe -berries, and their flesh is so pungent as to be almost uneatable. At -one place on the littoral of New Britain, there is a patch of country -covered with pepper trees, and it is visited by thousands of pigeons, -who devour the berries, although their ordinary food of sweet berries -was available in profusion in the mountain forests.) - -On some of the Melanesian islands there is a variety of the banana-bird -which frequents the yam and sweet potato plantation, digs into the -hillocks with its power-fill feet, and feeds upon the tubers, as does -the rare toothed-billed pigeon. - -One day, when I was residing in the Caroline Islands, a pair of live -birds were brought to me by the natives, who had snared them. They were -in beautiful plumage, and I determined to try and keep them. - -The natives quickly made me an enclosure about twenty feet square of -bamboo slats about an inch or two apart, driving them into the ground, -and making a "roof" of the same material, sufficiently high to permit of -three young banana trees being planted therein. Then we quickly covered -the ground with dead banana leaves, small sticks and other _débris_, and -after making it as "natural" as possible, laid down some ripe bananas, -and turned the birds into the enclosure. In ten seconds they had -disappeared under the heap of leaves as silently as a beaver or a -platypus takes to the water. - -During the night I listened carefully outside the enclosure, but the -captives made neither sound nor appearance. They were still "foxing," or -as my Samoan servant called it, _le toga-fiti e mate_ (pretending to be -dead). - -All the following day there was not the slightest movement of the -leaves, but an hour after sunset, when I was on my verandah, smoking and -chatting with a fellow trader, a native boy came to us, grinning with -pleasure, and told us that the birds were feeding. I had a torch of -dried coco-nut leaves all in readiness. It was lit, and as the bright -flame burst out, and illuminated the enclosure, I felt a thrill of -delight--both birds were vigorously feeding upon a very ripe and -"squashy" custard apple, disregarding the bananas. The light quite -dazed them, and they at once ceased eating, and sat down in a terrified -manner, with their necks outstretched, and their bills on the ground. We -at once withdrew. In the morning, I was charmed to hear them "craking," -and from that time forward they fed well, and afforded me many a happy -hour in watching their antics. I was in great hopes of their breeding, -for they had made a great pile of _débris_ between the banana trees, -into which in the day-time they would always scamper when any one -passed, and my natives told me that the end of the rainy season was -the incubating period. As it was within a few weeks of that time, I was -filled with pleasurable anticipations, and counted the days. Alas, for -my hopes! One night, a predatory village pig, smelling the fruit which -was always placed in the enclosure daily, rooted a huge hole underneath -the bambods, and in the morning my pets were gone, and nevermore did I -hear their hoarse crake! crake!--ever pleasing to me during the night. - -***** - - - - -THE TOOTH-BILLED PIGEON OF SAMOA--(_Didunculus Strigirostris_) - -The recent volcanic outburst on the island of Savai'i in the Samoan -Group, after a period of quiescence of about two hundred years, has, so -a Californian paper states, revealed the fact that one of the rarest and -most interesting birds in the world, and long supposed to be peculiar to -the Samoan Islands, and all but extinct, is by no means so in the latter -respect, for the convulsion in the centre of the island, where the -volcanic mountain stands nearly 4,000 feet high, has driven quite a -number of the birds to the littoral of the south coast. So at least it -was reported to the San Francisco journal by a white trader residing on -the south side of Savai'i during the outbreak. - -For quite a week before the first tremors and groan-ings of the mountain -were felt and heard, the natives said that they had seen _Manu Mea_ -(tooth-billed pigeons) making their way down to the coast. Several were -killed and eaten by children. - -Before entering into my own experiences and knowledge of this -extraordinary bird, gained during a seven years' residence in Samoa, -principally on the island of Upolu, I cannot do better than quote -from Dr. Stair's book, _Old Samoa_, his description of the bird. Very -happily, his work was sent to me some years ago, and I was delighted to -find in it an account of the _Manu Mea_ (red bird) and its habits. In -some respects he was misinformed, notably in that in which he was told -that the _Didunculus_ was peculiar to the Samoan Islands; for the bird -certainly is known in some of the Solomon Islands, and also in the -Admiralty Group--two thousand miles to the north-west of Samoa. Here, -however, is what Dr. Stair remarks:-- - -"One of the curiosities of Samoan natural history is _Le Manu Mea_, -or red bird of the natives, the tooth-billed pigeon (_Didunculus -Strigirostris_, Peale), and is peculiar to the Samoan Islands. This -remarkable bird, so long a puzzle to the scientific world, is only found -in Samoa, and even there it has become so scarce that it is rapidly -becoming extinct, as it falls an easy prey to the numerous wild cats -ranging the forests. It was first described and made known to the -scientific world by Sir William Jardine, in 1845, under the name of -_Gnathodon Strigirostris_, from a specimen purchased by Lady Hervey in -Edinburgh, amongst a number of Australian skins. Its appearance excited -great interest and curiosity, but its true habitat was unknown until -some time after, when it was announced by Mr. Strickland before the -British Association at York, that Mr. Titian Peale, of the United States -Exploring Expedition, had discovered a new bird allied to the dodo, -which he proposed to name _Didunculus Strigirostris_. From the specimen -in Sir William Jardine's possession the bird was figured by Mr. Gould in -his _Birds of Australia_, and its distinctive characteristics shown; but -nothing was known of its habitat. At that time the only specimens known -to exist out of Samoa were the two in the United States, taken there by -Commodore Wilkes, and the one in the collection of Sir William Jardine, -in Edinburgh. The history of this last bird is singular, and may be -alluded to here. - -"To residents in Samoa the _Manu Mea_, or red bird, was well known by -repute, but as far as I know, no specimen had ever been obtained by any -resident on the islands until the year 1843, when two fine birds, male -and female, were brought to me by a native who had captured them on the -nest I was delighted with my prize, and kept them carefully, but could -get no information whatever as to what class they belonged. After a time -one was unfortunately killed, and not being able to gain any knowledge -respecting the bird, I sent the surviving one to Sydney, by a friend, in -1843, hoping it would be recognised and described; but nothing was known -of it there, and my friend left it with a bird dealer in Sydney, and -returned to report his want of success. It died in Sydney, and the skin -was subsequently sent to England with other skins for sale, including -the skin of an Aptéryx, from Samoa. Later on the skin of the _Manu -Mea_ was purchased by Lady Hervey, and subsequently it came into the -possession of Sir William Jar-dine, by whom it was described. Still -nothing was known of its habitat--but this bird which I had originally -sent to Sydney from Samoa was the means of bringing it under the notice -of the scientific world, and thus in some indirect manner of obtaining -the object I had in view. - -"After my return to England, in 1846, the late Dr. Gray, of the British -Museum, showed me a drawing of the bird, which I at once recognised; as -also a drawing of a species of Aptéryx which had been purchased in -the same lot of skins. A native of Samoa, who was with me, at once -recognised both birds. Dr. Gray and Mr. Mitchell (of the Zoological -Gardens in London) were much interested in the descriptions I gave -them, and urged that strong efforts should be made to procure living -specimens. But no steps were taken to obtain the bird until fourteen -years after, when, having returned to Australia, I was surprised to see -a notice in the _Melbourne Argus_, of August 3, 1862, to the effect -that the then Governor of Victoria, Sir Henry Barkley, had received -a communication from the Zoological Society, London, soliciting his -co-operation in endeavouring to ascertain further particulars as to the -habitat of a bird they were desirous of obtaining; forwarding drawings -and particulars as far as known at the same time; offering a large sum -for living specimens or skins delivered in London. I at once recognised -that the bird sought after was the _Manu Mea_, and gave the desired -information and addresses of friends in Samoa, through whose -instrumentality a living specimen was safely received in London, _via_ -Sydney, on April 10, 1864, the Secretary of the Zoological Society -subsequently writing to Dr. Bennett of Sydney, saying, 'The _La Hogue_ -arrived on April 10, and I am delighted to be able to tell you that the -_Didunculus_ is now alive, and in good health in the gardens, and Mr. -Bartlett assures me is likely to do well'. - -"In appearance the bird may be described as about the size of a large -wood-pigeon, with similar legs and feet, but the form of its body more -nearly resembles that of the partridge. The remarkable feature of the -bird is that whilst its legs are those of a pigeon, the beak is that of -the parrot family, the upper mandible being hooked like the parrot's, -the under one being deeply serrated; hence the name, tooth-billed -pigeon. This peculiar formation of the beak very materially assists the -bird in feeding on the potato-loke root, or rather fruit, of the _soi_, -or wild yam, of which it is fond. The bird holds the tuber firmly with -its feet, and then rasps it upwards with its parrot-like beak, the lower -mandible of which is deeply grooved. It is a very shy bird, being seldom -found except in the retired parts of the forest, away from the coast -settlements. It has great power of wing, and when flying makes a noise, -which, as heard in the distance, closely resembles distant thunder, for -which I have on several occasions mistaken it. It both roosts and feeds -on the ground, as also on stumps or low bushes, and hence becomes an -easy prey to the wild cats of the forest. These birds also build their -nests on low bushes or stumps, and are thus easily captured. During -the breeding season the male and female relieve each other with great -regularity, and guard their nests so carefully that they fall an easy -prey to the fowler; as in the case of one bird being taken its companion -is sure to be found there shortly after. They were also captured with -birdlime, or shot with arrows, the fowler concealing himself near -an open space, on which some _soi_, their favourite food, had been -scattered. - -"The plumage of the bird may be thus described. The head, neck, breast, -and upper part of the back is of greenish black. The back, wings, tail, -and under tail coverts of a chocolate red. The legs and feet are of -bright scarlet; the mandibles, orange red, shaded off near the tips with -bright yellow." - -Less than twenty years ago I was residing on the eastern end of Upolu -(Samoa), and during my shooting excursions on the range of mountains -that traverses the island from east to west, saw several _Didunculi_, -and, I regret to say, shot two. For I had no ornithological knowledge -whatever, and although I knew that the Samoans regarded the _Manu Mea_ -as a rare bird, I had no idea that European savants and museums would -be glad to obtain even a stuffed specimen. The late Earl of Pembroke, -to whom I wrote on the subject from Australia, strongly urged me to -endeavour to secure at least one living specimen; so also did Sir George -Grey. But although I--like Mr. Stair--wrote to many native friends in -Samoa, offering a high price for a bird, I had no success; civil war -had broken out, and the people had other matters to think of beside -bird-catching. I was, however, told a year later that two fine specimens -had been taken on the north-west coast of Upolu, that one had been -so injured in trapping that it died, and the other was liberated by a -mischievous child. - -I have never heard one of these birds sound a note, but a native teacher -on Tutuila told me that in the mating season they utter a short, husky -hoot, more like a cough than the cry of a bird. - -A full month after I first landed in Samoa, I was shooting in the -mountains at the back of the village of Tiavea in Upolu, when a large, -and to me unknown, bird rose from the leaf-strewn ground quite near me, -making almost as much noise in its flight as a hornbill. A native -who was with me, fired at the same time as I did, and the bird fell. -Scarcely had the native stooped to pick it up, exclaiming that it was a -_Manu Mea_ when a second appeared, half-running, half-flying along the -ground. This, alas! I also killed They were male and female, and my -companion and I made a search of an hour to discover their resting place -(it was not the breeding season), but the native said that the _Manu -Mea_ scooped out a retreat in a rotten tree or among loose stones, -covered with dry moss. But we searched in vain, nor did we even see any -wild yams growing about, so evidently the pair were some distance from -their home, or were making a journey in search of food. - -During one of my trips on foot across Upolu, with a party of natives, -we sat down to rest on the side of a steep mountain path leading to the -village of Siumu. Some hundreds of feet below us was a comparatively -open patch of ground--an abandoned yam plantation, and just as we were -about to resume our journey, we saw two _Manu Mea_ appear. Keeping -perfectly quiet, we watched them moving about, scratching up the leaves, -and picking at the ground in an aimless, perfunctory sort of manner with -their heavy, thick bills. The natives told me that they were searching, -not for yams, but for a sweet berry called _masa'oi_, upon which the -wild pigeons feed. - -In a few minutes the birds must have become aware of our presence, for -they suddenly vanished. - -I have always regretted in connection with the two birds I shot, that -not only was I unaware of their value, even when dead, but that there -was then living in Apia a Dr. Forbes, medical officer to the staff of -the German factory. Had I sent them to him, he could have cured the -skins at least, for he was, I believe, an ardent naturalist. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV ~ A NIGHT RUN ACROSS FÂGALOA BAY - -When I was supercargo of the brig _Palestine_, we were one day beating -along the eastern shore of the great island of Tombara (New Ireland) or, -as it is now called by its German possessors, _Neu Mecklenburg_, when an -accident happened to one of our hands--a smart young A.B. named Rogers. -The brig was "going about" in a stiff squall, when the jib-sheet block -caught poor Rogers in the side, and broke three of his ribs. - -There were then no white men living on the east coast of New Ireland, or -we should have landed him there to recover, and picked him up again -on our return from the Caroline Islands, so we decided to run down -to Gerrit Denys Island, where we had heard there was a German doctor -living. He was a naturalist, and had been established there for over a -year, although the natives were as savage and warlike a lot as could be -found anywhere in Melanesia. - -We reached the island, anchored, and the naturalist came on board. He -was not a professional-looking man. Here is my description, of him, -written fifteen years ago:-- - -"He was bootless, and his pants and many-pocketed jumper of coarse -dungaree were exceedingly dirty, and looked as if they had been cut out -with a knife and fork instead of scissors, they were so marvellously -ill-fitting. His head-gear was an ancient Panama hat, which flopped -about, and almost concealed his red-bearded face, as if trying to -apologise for the rest of his apparel; and the thin gold-rimmed -spectacles he wore made a curious contrast to his bare and sun-burnt -feet, which were as brown as those of a native. His manner, however, was -that of a man perfectly at ease with himself and his clear, steely blue -eyes, showed an infinite courage and resolution." - -At first he was very reluctant to have Rogers brought on shore, but -finally yielded, being at heart a good-natured man. So we bade Rogers -good-bye, made the doctor a present of some provisions, and a few cases -of beer, and told him we should be back in six weeks. - -When we returned, Rogers came on board with the German. He was quite -recovered, and he and his host were evidently on very friendly terms, -and bade farewell to each other with some show of feeling. - -After we had left the island, Rogers came aft, and told us his -experiences with the German doctor. - -"He's a right good sort of a chap, and treated me well, and did all he -could for me, sirs--but although he is a nice cove, I'm glad to get away -from him, and be aboard the brig again. For I can hardly believe that I -haven't had a horrid, blarsted nightmare for the past six weeks." - -And then he shuddered. - -"What was wrong with him, Rogers?" asked the skipper. - -"Why, he ain't no naturalist--I mean like them butterfly-hunting coves -like you see in the East Indies. He's a head-hunter--buys heads--fresh -'uns by preference, an' smokes an' cures 'em hisself, and sells 'em to -the museums in Europe. So help me God, sirs, I've seen him put fresh -human heads into a barrel of pickle, then he takes 'em out after a -week or so, and cleans out the brains, and smokes the heads, and -sorter varnishes and embalms 'em like. An' when he wasn't a picklin' or -embalmin' or varnishin', he was a-writing in half a dozen log books. -I never knew what he was a-doin' until one day I went into his -workshop--as he called it--and saw him bargaining with some niggers for -a fresh cut-off head, which he said was not worth much because the skull -was badly fractured, and would not set up well. - -"He was pretty mad with me at first for comin' in upon him, and -surprisin' him like, but after a while he took me into his confidence, -and said as how he was engaged in a perfeckly legitimate business, -and as the heads was dead he was not hurtin' 'em by preparing 'em for -museums and scientific purposes. And he says to me, 'You English peoples -have got many peautiful preserved heads of the New Zealand Maories in -your museums, but ach, Gott, there is not in England such peautiful -heads as I haf mineself brebared here on dis islandt And already I haf -send me away fifty-seven, and in two months I shall haf brebared sixteen -more, for which I shall get me five hundred marks each.'" - -Rogers told us that when he one day expressed his horror at his host's -"business," the German retorted that it was only forty or fifty years -since that many English officials in the Australian colonies did a -remarkably good business in buying smoked Maori heads, and selling them -to the Continental museums. (This was true enough.) Rogers furthermore -told us that the doctor "cured" his heads in a smoke-box, and had "a -regular chemist's shop" in which were a number of large bottles of -pyroligneous acid, prepared by a London firm. - -This distinguished savant left Gerrit Denys Island about a year later in -a schooner bound for Singapore. She was found floating bottom up off -the Admiralty Group, and a Hong-Kong newspaper, in recording the event, -mentioned that "the unfortunate gentleman (Dr. Ludwig S------) had with -him an interesting and extremely valuable ethnographical collection ". - -Rogers's horrible story had a great interest for me; for it had been my -lot to see many human heads just severed from the body, and I was -always fascinated by the peculiar expression of the features of those -unfortunates who had been decapitated suddenly by one swift blow. -"Death," "Peace," "Immortality," say the closed eyelids and the calm, -quiet lips to the beholder. - -I little imagined that within two years I should have a rather similar -experience to that of Rogers, though in my case it was a very brief one. -Yet it was all too long for me, and I shall always remember it as the -weirdest experience of my life. - -I have elsewhere in this volume spoken of the affectionate regard I -have always had for the Samoan people, with whom I passed some of the -happiest years of my life. I have lived among them in peace and in war, -have witnessed many chivalrous and heroic deeds, and yet have seen -acts of the most terrible cruelty to the living, the mutilation and -dishonouring of the dead killed in combat, and other deeds that -filled me with horror and repulsion. And yet the perpetrators were all -professing Christians--either Protestant or Roman Catholic--and would no -more think of omitting daily morning and evening prayer, and attending -service in church or chapel every Sunday, than they would their daily -bathe in sea or river. - -Always shall I remember one incident that occurred during the civil war -between King Malietoa and his rebel subjects at the town of Saluafata. -The _olo_ or trenches, of the king's troops had been carried by the -rebels, among whom was a young warrior who had often distinguished -himself by his reckless bravery. At the time of the assault I was in the -rebel lines, for I was on very friendly terms with both sides, and each -knew that I would not betray the secrets of the other, and that my only -object was to render aid to the wounded. - -This young man, Tolu, told me, before joining in the assault, that he -had a brother, a cousin, and an uncle in the enemy's trenches, and that -he trusted he should not meet any one of them, for he feared that he -might turn _pala'ai_ (coward) and not "do his duty". He was a Roman -Catholic, and had been educated by the Marist Brothers, but all his -relatives, with the exception of one sister, were Protestants--members -of the Church established by the London Missionary Society. - -An American trader named Parter and I watched the assault, and saw the -place carried by the rebels, and went in after them. Among the dead was -Tolu, and we were told that he had shot himself in grief at having cut -down his brother, whom he did not recognise. - -Now as to my own weird experience. - -There had been severe fighting in the Fâgaloa district of the Island of -Upolu, and many villages were in flames when I left the Port of Tiavea -in my boat for Fâgaloa Bay, a few miles along the shore. I was then -engaged in making a trip along the north coast, visiting almost every -village, and making arrangements for the purchase of the coming crop -of copra (dried coco-nut). I was everywhere well received by both -Malietoa's people and the rebels, but did but little business. The -natives were too occupied in fighting to devote much time to husking and -drying coco-nuts, except when they wanted to get money to buy arms and -ammunition. - -My boat's crew consisted of four natives of Savage Island (Niué), -many of whom are settled in Samoa, where they have ample employment -as boatmen and seamen. They did not at all relish the sound of bullets -whizzing over the boat, as we sometimes could not help crossing the line -of fire, and they had a horror of travelling at night-time, imploring me -not to run the risk of being slaughtered by a volley from the shore--as -how could the natives know in the darkness that we were not enemies. - -Fâgaloa Bay is deep, narrow and very beautiful. Small villages a few -miles apart may be seen standing in the midst of groves of coco-nut -palms, and orange, banana and bread-fruit trees, and everywhere bright -mountain streams of crystal water debouch into the lovely bay. - -On Sunday afternoon I sailed into the bay and landed at the village of -Samamea on the east side, intending to remain for the night We found the -people plunged in grief--a party of rebels had surprised a village two -miles inland, and ruthlessly slaughtered all the inhabitants as well as -a party of nearly a score of visitors from the town of Salimu, on the -west side of the bay. So sudden was the onslaught of the rebels that -no one in the doomed village escaped except a boy of ten years of age. -After being decapitated, the bodies of the victims were thrown into the -houses, and the village set on fire. - -The people of Samamea hurriedly set out to pursue the raiding rebels, -and an engagement ensued, in which the latter were badly beaten, and -fled so hurriedly that they had to abandon all the heads they had taken -the previous day in order to save their own. - -The chief of Samamea, in whose house I had my supper, gave me many -details of the fighting, and then afterwards asked me if I would come -and look at the heads that had been recovered from the enemy. They -were in the "town house" and were covered over with sheets of navy blue -cloth, or matting. A number of natives were seated round the house, -conversing in whispers, or weeping silently. - -"These," said the chief to me, pointing to a number of heads placed -apart from the others, "are the heads of the Salimu people--seventeen in -all, men, women and three children. We have sent word to Salimu to the -relatives to come for them. I cannot send them myself, for no men can be -spared, and we have our own dead to attend to as well, and may ourselves -be attacked at any time."' - -A few hours later messengers arrived from Salimu. They had walked along -the shore, for the bay was very rough--it had been blowing hard for two -days--and, the wind being right ahead, they would not launch a canoe--it -would only have been swamped. - -Taken to see the heads of their relatives and friends, the messengers -gave way to most uncontrollable grief, and their cries were so -distressing that I went for a walk on the beach--to be out of hearing. - -When I returned to the village I found the visitors from Salimu and the -chief of Samamea awaiting to interview me. The chief, acting as their -spokeman, asked me if I would lend them my boat to take the heads of -their people to Salimu. He had not a single canoe he could spare, except -very small ones, which would be useless in such weather, whereas my -whaleboat would make nothing of it. - -I could not refuse their request--it would have been ungracious of -me, and it only meant a half-hour's run across the bay, for Salimu was -exactly abreast of Samamea. So I said I would gladly sail them over in -my boat at sunset, when I should be ready. - -The heads were placed in baskets, and reverently carried down to the -beach, and placed in the boat, and with our lug-sail close reefed we -pushed off just after dark. - -There were nine persons in the boat--the four Salimu people, my crew of -four and myself. The night was starlight and rather cold, for every now -and then a chilly rain squall would sweep down from the mountains. - -As we spun along before the breeze no one spoke, except in low tones. -Our dreadful cargo was amidships, each basket being covered from view, -but every now and then the boat would ship some water, and when I told -one of my men to bale out, he did so with shuddering horror, for the -water was much blood-stained. - -When we were more than half-way across, and could see the lights and -fires of Salimu, a rain squall overtook us, and at the same moment the -boat struck some floating object with a crash, and then slid over it, -and as it passed astern I saw what was either a log or plank about -twenty feet long. - -"Boat is stove in, for'ard!" cried one of my men, and indeed that was -very evident, for the water was pouring in--she had carried away her -stem, and started all the forward timber ends. - -To have attempted to stop the inrush of water effectually would have -been waste, of time, but I called to my men to come aft as far as they -could, so as to let the boat's head lift; and whilst two of them kept -on baling, the others shook out the reef in our lug, and the boat went -along at a great speed, half full of water as she was, and down by the -stern. The water still rushed in, and I told the Samoans to move the -baskets of heads farther aft, so that the men could bale out quicker. - -"We'll be all right in ten minutes, boys," I cried to my men, as I -steered; "I'll run her slap up on the beach by the church." - -Presently one of the Samoans touched my arm, and said in a whisper that -we were surrounded by a swarm of sharks. He had noticed them, he said, -before the boat struck. - -"They smell the bloodied water," he muttered. - -A glance over the side filled me with terror. There were literally -scores of sharks, racing along on both sides of the boat, some almost on -the surface, others some feet down, and the phosphorescence of the water -added to the horror of the scene. At first I was in hopes that they were -harmless porpoises, but they were so close that some of them could have -been touched with one's hand. Most fortunately I was steering with a -rudder, and not a steer oar. The latter would have been torn out of my -hands by the brutes--the boat have broached-to and we all have met with -a horrible death. Presently one of the weeping women noticed them, and -uttered a scream of terror. - -"_Le malie, le malic!_" ("The sharks, the sharks!") she cried. - -My crew then became terribly frightened, and urged me to let them throw -the baskets of heads overboard, but the Samoans became frantic at the -suggestion, all of them weeping. - -So we kept on, the boat making good progress, although we could only -keep her afloat by continuous baling of the ensanguined water. In five -minutes more my heart leapt with joy--we were in shallow water, only a -cable length from Salimu beach, and then in another blinding rain squall -we ran on shore, and our broken bows ploughed into the sand, amid the -cries of some hundreds of natives, many of whom held lighted torches. - -All of us in the boat were so overwrought that for some minutes we -were unable to speak, and it took a full bottle of brandy to steady the -nerves of my crew and myself. I shall never forget that night run across -Fâgaloa Bay. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV ~ A BIT OF GOOD LUCK - -Between the southern end of the great island of New Guinea and the -Solomon Group there is a cluster of islands marked on the chart as -"Woodlark Islands," but the native name is Mayu. Practically they were -not discovered until 1836, when the master of the Sydney sandal-wooding -barque _Woodlark_ made a survey of the group. The southern part of the -cluster consists of a number of small well-wooded islands, all inhabited -by a race of Papuans, who, said Captain Grimes of the _Woodlark_, had -certainly never before seen a white man, although they had long years -before seen ships in the far distance. - -It was on these islands that I met with the most profitable bit of -trading that ever befel me during more than a quarter of a century's -experience in the South Seas. - -Nearly thirty years passed since Grimes's visit without the natives -seeing more than half a dozen ships. These were American or Hobart Town -whalers, and none of them came to an anchor--they laid off and on, -and bartered with the natives for fresh provisions, but from the many -inquiries I made, I am sure that no one from these ships put foot on -shore; for the inhabitants were not to be trusted, being warlike, savage -and treacherous. - -The master of one of these ships was told by the natives--or rather made -to understand, for no one of them knew a word of English--that about -twelve months previously a large vessel had run on shore one wild night -on the south side of the group and that all on board had perished. -Fourteen bodies had been washed on shore at a little island named Elaue, -all dreadfully battered about, and the ship herself had disappeared and -nothing remained of her but pieces of wreckage. She had evidently struck -on the reef near Elaue with tremendous violence, then slipped off and -sunk. The natives asked the captain to come on shore and be shown the -spot where the men had been buried, but he was too cautious a man to -trust himself among them. - -On his reporting the matter to the colonial shipping authorities at -Sydney, he learned that two vessels were missing--one a Dutch barque of -seven hundred tons which left Sydney for Dutch New Guinea, and the other -a full-rigged English ship bound to Shanghai. No tidings had been heard -of them for over eighteen months, and it was concluded that the vessel -lost on Woodlark Island was one or the other, as that island lay in the -course both would have taken. - -In 1868-69 there was a great outburst of trading operations in the -North-West Pacific Islands--then in most instances a _terra incognita_, -and there was a keen rivalry between the English and German trading -firms to get a footing on such new islands as promised them a lucrative -return for their ventures. Scores of adventurous white men lost their -lives in a few months, some by the deadly malarial fever, others by the -treacherous and cannibalistic savages. But others quickly took their -places--nothing daunted--for the coco-nut oil trade, the then staple -industry of the North-West Pacific, was very profitable and men made -fortunes rapidly. What mattered it if every returning ship brought news -of some bloody tragedy--such and such a brig or schooner having been cut -off and all hands murdered, cooked and eaten, the vessel plundered and -then burnt? Such things occur in the North-West Pacific in the present -times, but the outside world now hears of them through the press and -also of the punitive expeditions by war-ships of England, France or -Germany. - -Then in those old days we traders would merely say to one another that -"So-and-So 'had gone'". He and his ship's company had been cut off at -such-and-such a place, and the matter, in the eager rush for wealth, -would be forgotten. - -At that time I was in Levuka--the old capital of Fiji--supercargo of a -little topsail schooner of seventy-five tons. She was owned and sailed -by a man named White, an extremely adventurous and daring fellow, though -very quiet--almost solemn--in his manner. - -We had been trading among the windward islands of the Fiji Group for six -months and had not done at all well. White was greatly dissatisfied and -wanted to break new ground. Every few weeks a vessel would sail into the -little port of Levuka with a valuable cargo of coco-nut oil in casks, -dunnaged with ivory-nuts, the latter worth in those days £40 a ton. And -both oil and ivory-nuts had been secured from the wild savages of -the North-West in exchange for rubbishy hoop-iron knives, old "Tower" -muskets with ball and cheap powder, common beads and other worthless -articles on which there was a profit of thousands per cent. (In fact, I -well remember one instance in which the master of the Sydney brig _E. -K. Bateson_, after four months' absence, returned with a cargo which was -sold for £5,000. His expenses (including the value of the trade goods he -had bartered) his crew's wages, provisions, and the wear and tear of the -ship's gear, came to under £400.) - -White, who was a very wide-awake energetic man, despite his solemnity, -one day came on board and told me that he had made up his mind to join -in the rush to the islands to the North-West between New Guinea and the -Solomons. - -"I have," he said, "just been talking to the skipper of that French -missionary brig, the _Anonyme_. He has just come back from the -North-West, and told me that he had landed a French priest{*} at Mayu -(Woodlark Island). He--the priest--remained on shore some days to -establish a mission, and told Rabalau, the skipper of the brig, that the -natives were very friendly and said that they would be glad to have -a resident missionary, but that they wanted a trader still more. -Furthermore, they have been making oil for over a year in expectation of -a ship coming, but none had come. And Rabalau says that they have over a -hundred tuns of oil, and can't make any more as they have nothing to put -it in. Some of it is in old canoes, some in thousands of big bamboos, -and some in hollowed-out trees. And they have whips of ivory nuts and -are just dying to get muskets, tobacco and beads. And not a soul in -Levuka except Rabalau and I know it. You see, I lent him twenty bolts of -canvas and a lot of running gear last year, and now he wants to do me -a good turn. Now, I say that Woodlark is the place for us. Anyway, I've -bought all the oil casks I could get, and a lot more in shooks, and -so let us bustle and get ready to be out of this unholy Levuka at -daylight." - - * This was Monseigneur d'Anthipelles the head of the Marist - Brothers in Oceania. - -***** - -We did "bustle". In twenty-four hours we were clear of Levuka reef and -spinning along to the W.N. W. before the strong south-east trade, for -our run of 1,600 miles. 'Day and night the little schooner raced -over the seas at a great rate, and we made the passage in seven days, -dropping anchor off the largest village in the island--Guasap. - -In ten minutes our decks were literally packed with excited natives, all -armed, but friendly. Had they chosen to kill us and seize the -schooner, it would have been an easy task, for we numbered only eight -persons--captain, mate, bos'un, four native seamen, and myself. - -We learned from the natives that two months previously there had been a -terrible hurricane which lasted for three days and devastated two-thirds -of the islands. Thousands of coco-nut trees had been blown down, and the -sea had swept away many villages on the coast. So violent was the surf -that the wreck of the sunken ship on Elaue Island had been cast up in -fragments on the reef, and the natives had secured a quantity of iron -work, copper, and Muntz metal bolts. These articles I at once bargained -for, after I had seen the collection, and for two old Tower muskets, -value five shillings each, obtained the lot--worth £250. - -I had arranged with the chief and his head men to buy their oil in the -morning. And White and I found it hard to keep our countenances when -they joyfully accepted to fill every cask we had on the ship each for -twenty sticks of twist tobacco, a cupful of fine red beads and a fathom -of red Turkey twill! Or for five casks I would give a musket, a tin of -powder, twenty bullets, and twenty caps! - -In ten minutes I had secured eighty tuns of oil (worth £30 a tun) for -trade goods that cost White less than £20. And the beauty of it was that -the natives were so impressed by the liberality of my terms that they -said they would supply the ship with all the fresh provisions--pigs, -fowls, turtle and vegetables that I asked for, without payment. - -As White and I, after our palaver with the head men, were about to -return on board, we noticed two children who were wearing a number of -silver coins, strung on cinnet (coir) fibre, around their necks. We -called them to us, looked at the coins and found that they were rupees -and English five-shilling pieces. - -I asked one of our Fijian seamen, who acted as interpreter, to ask the -children from where they got the coins. - -"On the reef," they replied, "there are thousands of them cast up with -the wreckage of the ship that sank a long time ago. Most of them are -like these"--showing a five-shilling piece; "but there are much more -smaller ones like these,"--showing a rupee. - -"Are there any _sama sama_ (yellow) ones?" I asked. - -No, they said, they had not found any _sama sama_ ones. But they could -bring me basketfuls of those like which they showed me. - -White's usually solemn eyes were now gleaming with excitement I drew him -and the Fiji man aside, and said to the latter quietly:-- - -"Sam, don't let these people think that these coins are of any more -value than the copper bolts. Tell them that for every one hundred pieces -they bring on board--no matter what size they may be--I will give them -a cupful of fine red beads--full measure. Or, if they do not care for -beads, I will give two sticks of tobacco, or a six-inch butcher knife of -good, hard steel." - -(The three last words made White smile--and whisper to me, "'A good, -hard steal' some people would say--but not me".) - -"And Sam," I went on, "you shall have an _alofa_ (present) of two -hundred dollars if you manage this carefully, and don't let these people -think that we particularly care about these pieces of soft white metal. -We came to Mayu for oil--understand?" - -Sam did understand: and in a few minutes every boy and girl in Guasap -were out on the reef picking up the money. That day they brought us -over £200 in English and Indian silver, together with about £12 in Dutch -coins. (From this latter circumstance White and I concluded that the -wrecked vessel was the missing Dutch barque.) - -On the following morning the reef at low tide presented an extraordinary -spectacle. Every woman, boy and girl from Guasap and the adjacent -villages were searching for the coins, and their clamour was terrific. -Whilst all this was going on, White, and the mate, and crew were -receiving the oil from the shore, putting it into our casks, driving -the hoops, and stowing them in the hold, working in such a state of -suppressed excitement that we were unable to exchange a word with each -other, for as each cask was filled I, on the after-deck, paid for it, -shunted off the seller, and took another one in hand. - -At four o'clock in the afternoon we ceased work on board and went on -shore to "buy money". - -The village square was crowded with women and children, every one of -whom had money--mostly in English five-shilling pieces. Some of these -coins were bent and twisted into the most curious shape, some were -imbedded in lumps of coral, and nearly all gave evidence of the terrific -fury of the seas which had cast them up upon the reef from a depth of -seven fathoms of water. Many were merely round lumps, having been rolled -over and over among the sand and coral. These I demurred to accepting -on the terms agreed upon for undamaged coins, and the natives cheerfully -agreed to my decision. - -That day we bought silver coin, damaged and undamaged, to the value of -£350, for trade goods worth about £17 or £18. - -And for the following two weeks, whilst White and our crew were -hammering and coopering away at the oil casks, and stowing them under -hatches, I was paying out the trade goods for the oil, and "buying -money". - -We remained at Mayu for a month, until there was no more money to be -found--except a few coins (or rather what had once been coins); and then -with a ship full of oil, and with £2,100 worth of money, we left and -sailed for Sydney. - -White sold the money _en bloc_ to the Sydney mint for £1,850. The oil -realised £2,400, and the copper, etc., £250. My share came to over -£400--exclusive of four months' wages--making nearly £500. This was the -best bit of trading luck that I ever met with. - -I must add that even up to 1895 silver coins from the Dutch barque were -still being found by the natives of Woodlark Islands. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI ~ MODERN PIRATES - -Piracy, as most people are aware, is not yet quite extinct in Chinese -and East Indian waters, despite the efforts that have been made to -utterly stamp it out. But it is not generally known that along the -shores of Dutch New Guinea, on both sides of the great island, there are -still vigorous communities of native pirates, who will not hesitate to -attack even armed trading vessels. These savages combine the business -of head-hunting with piracy, and although they do not possess modern -firearms, and their crafts are simply huge canoes, they show the most -determined courage, even when attacking a vessel manned by Europeans. - -The annual reports of the Governors of Dutch, German and British New -Guinea, detailing the murderous doings of these head-hunting pirates, -are as interesting reading as the tales of Rajah Brooke and Stamford -Raffles, and the practical suppression of piracy in the East Indian -Archipelago, but seldom attract more than a few lines of comment in the -public press. - -In writing of pirates of the present day, I shall not go beyond my own -beat of the North and South Pacific, and speak only of events within my -own personal knowledge and observation. Before entering into an account -of some of the doings of the New Guinea "Tugeri," or head-hunter -pirates, I shall tell the story of two notable acts of piracy committed -by white men in the South Pacific, less than ten years ago. The English -newspapers gave some attention to one case, for the two principal -criminals concerned were tried at Brest, and the case was known as the -"Rorique tragedy". Much comment was made on the statement that the King -of the Belgians went to France, after the prisoners had been sentenced -to death (they were Belgian), to personally intercede for them. The -French press stigmatised His Majesty's action as a scandal (one journal -suggesting that perhaps the pirates were pretty women in men's garb); -but no doubt King Leopold is a very tender-hearted man, despite the -remarks of unkind English people on the subject of the eccentricities -of the Belgian officers in the Congo Free State--such as cutting off -the hands of a few thousands of stupid negroes who failed to bring -in sufficient rubber. There are even people who openly state that the -Sultan of Turkey dislikes Armenians, and has caused some of them to be -hurt. But I am getting away from my subject The story of the Roriques, -and the tragedy of the _Niuroahiti_ which was the name of the vessel -they seized, is one of the many grisly episodes with which the history -of the South Seas is so prolific. Briefly it is as follows:-- - -About the end of 1891 the two brothers arrived at Papeite, the capital -of Tahiti, from the Paumotu Group, where, it was subsequently learned, -they had been put on shore by the captain of an island trader, who -strongly suspected them of plotting with the crew to murder him and -seize the ship. Nothing of this incident, however, was known at Tahiti -among the white residents with whom they soon ingratiated themselves; -they were exceedingly agreeable-mannered men, and the elder brother, -who was a remarkably handsome man of about thirty-five, was an excellent -linguist, speaking German, French, Italian, English, Dutch, Spanish and -Zulu fluently. Although they had with them no property beyond firearms, -their _bonhomie_ and the generally accepted belief that they were men -of means, made them the recipients of much hospitality and kindness. -Eventually the younger man was given a position as a trader on one of -the pearl-shell lagoon islands in the Paumotu Group, while the other -took the berth of mate in the schooner _Niuroahiti_, a smart little -native-built vessel owned by a Tahitian prince. The schooner was under -the command of a half-caste, and her complement consisted, besides the -captain, of Mr. William Gibson, the supercargo, Rorique the first mate, -a second mate, four Society Island natives, and the cook, a Frenchman -named Hippolyte Miret. The _Niuroahiti_ traded between Tahiti and the -Paumotus, and when she sailed on her last voyage she was bound to the -Island of Kaukura, where the younger Rorique was stationed as trader. -She never returned, but it was ascertained that she had called at -Kaukura, and then left again with the second brother Rorique as -passenger. - -Long, long months passed, and the Australian relatives and friends of -young Gibson, a cheery, adventurous young fellow, began to think, with -the owner of the _Niuroakiti_, that she had met a fate common enough in -the South Sea trade--turned turtle in a squall, and gone to the bottom -with all hands. - -About this time I was on a trading cruise in the Caroline Islands, and -one day we spoke a Fiji schooner. I went on board for a chat with the -skipper, and told him of the _Niuroakiti_ affair, of which I had heard a -month before. - -"By Jove," he exclaimed, "I met a schooner exactly like her about ten -days ago. She was going to the W.N.W.--Ponapê way--and showed French -colours. I bore up to speak her, but she evidently didn't want it, -hoisted her squaresail and stood away." - -From this I was sure that the vessel was the _Niuroakiti_, and therefore -sent a letter to the Spanish governor at Ponapê, relating the affair. It -reached him just in time. - -The _Niuroakiti_ was then lying in Jakoits harbour in Ponapé, and was -to sail on the following day for Macao. She was promptly seized, and the -brothers Rorique put in irons, and taken on board the Spanish cruiser -_Le Gaspi_ for conveyance to Manila Hippolyte Miret, the cook, confessed -to the Spanish authorities that the brothers Rorique had shot dead -in their sleep the captain, Mr. Gibson, the second mate, and the four -native sailors. - -The trial was a long one, but the evidence was most damning and -convincing, although the brothers passionately declared that Miret's -story was a pure invention. Sentence of death was passed, but was -afterwards commuted to imprisonment for life, and the Roriques are now -in chains in Cayenne. - -The second case was of a very dreadful character, and has an additional -interest from the fact that out of all the participators--the pirates -and their victims--only one was left alive to tell the tale, and he was -found in a dying condition on one of the Galapagos Islands, and only -lived a few days. The story was told to me by the captain of the -brigantine _Isaac Revels_, of San Francisco, who put into the Galapagos -to repair his ship, which had started a butt-end and was leaking -seriously. He had just anchored between Narborough and Albemarle Islands -when he saw a man sitting on the shore, and waving his hands to the -ship. A boat was lowered, and the man brought on board. He was in a -ravenous state of hunger, and half-demented; but after he had been -carefully attended to he was able to give some account of himself. -He was a young Colombian Indian, could speak no English, and only a -mongrel, halting kind of Spanish. The Portuguese cook of the Isaac -Revels, however, understood him. This was his story:-- - -He was one of the peons of a wealthy Ecuadorian gentleman, who with -another equally rich friend sailed from Guayaquil for the Galapagos -Islands (which belong to Ecuador), and the largest of which, -Albemarle Island, they had leased from that Government for sheep and -cattle-breeding. They took with them a few thousand silver dollars, -which the peon saw placed in "an iron box" (safe). - -One of the merchants had with him his two young daughters. The vessel -was a small brig, and the captain and crew mostly Chilenos. One night, -when the brig was half-way across to the Galapagos (600 miles from -Ecuador) the peon, who was on deck asleep, was suddenly seized, pitched -down into the fo'c'stle, and the scuttle closed. Here he was left alone -until dawn, and then ordered on deck, aft. The captain pointed a pistol -at his head, and threatened to shoot him dead if he ever spoke of what -had happened in the night. The man--although he knew nothing of what had -happened--promised to be secret, and was then given fifty dollars, and -put in the mate's watch. He saw numerous blood-stains on the after-deck, -and soon after was told by one of the hands that all the four passengers -had been murdered, and thrown overboard. The captain, mate and four men, -it appeared, had first made ready a boat, provisioned, and lowered it -They made some noise, which aroused the male passengers, one of whom -came on deck to see what was the matter. He was at once seized, but -being a very powerful man, made a most determined fight. His friend -rushed up from below with a revolver in his hand, and shot two of the -assailants dead, and wounded the mate. But they were assailed on -all sides--shot at and struck with various weapons, and then thrown -overboard to drown. Then the pirates, after a hurried consultation, went -below, and forcing open the girls' cabin door, ruthlessly shot them, -carried them on deck, and cast them over the side. It had been their -intention to have sent all four away in the boat, but the resistance -made so enraged them that they murdered them instead. - -For some days the pirates kept on a due west course towards the -Galapagos. A barrel of spirits was broached, and night and day captain -and crew were drunk. When Albemarle Island was sighted, every one -except the peon and a boy was more or less intoxicated. A boat had been -lowered, and was towing astern--for what purpose the peon did not -know. At night it fell a dead calm, and a strong current set the brig -dangerously close in shore. The captain ordered some of the hands -into her to tow the brig out of danger; they refused, and shots were -exchanged, but after a while peace was restored. The peon and the boy -were then told to get into the boat, and bale her out, as she was leaky. -They did so, and whilst so engaged a sudden squall struck the brig, and -the boat's towline either parted, or was purposely cast off. - -When the squall cleared, the peon and boy in the drifting boat could -see nothing whatever of the brig--she had probably capsized--and the two -unfortunate beings soon after daylight found themselves so close to -the breakers on Narborough Island that they were unable to pull her -clear--she being very heavy. She soon struck, and was rolled over and -over, and the Chileno boy drowned. The peon also received internal -injuries, but managed to reach the shore. - -The people on board the _Isaac Revels_ did all they could for the poor -fellow, but he only survived a few days. - -In another article in this volume I have told of my fruitless efforts to -induce some of the Rook Island cannibals to "recruit" with me. It was on -that voyage I first saw a party of New Guinea head-hunting pirates, and -I shall never forget the experience. - -After leaving Rook Island, we stood over to the coast of German New -Guinea, and sailed along it for three hundred miles to the Dutch -boundary (longitude 141 east of Greenwich) for we were in hopes of -getting a full cargo of native labourers from some of the many islands -which stud the coast. No other "labour" ship had ever been so far north, -and Morel (the skipper) and I were keenly anxious to find a new ground. -We had a fine vessel, with a high freeboard, a well-armed and splendid -crew, and had no fear of being cut off by the natives. (I may here -mention that I was grievously disappointed, for owing to the lack of -a competent interpreter I failed to get a single recruit But in other -respects the voyage was a success, for I did some very satisfactory -trading business) - -After visiting many of the islands, we anchored in what is now named -in the German charts Krauel Bay, on the mainland. There were a few -scattered villages on the shore, and some of the natives boarded us. -They were all well-armed, with their usual weapons, but were very shy, -distrustful and nervous. - -Early one morning five large canoes appeared in the offing--evidently -having come from the Schouten Islands group, about ten miles to the -eastward. The moment they were seen by the natives on shore, the -villages were abandoned, and the people fled into the bush. - -In a most gallant style the five canoes came straight into the bay, and -brought-to within a few hundred fathoms of our ship, and the first thing -we noticed was a number of decapitated heads hanging over the sides of -each craft, as boat-fenders are hung over the gunwale of a boat. This -was intended to impress the White Men. - -We certainly were impressed, but were yet quite ready to make short work -of our visitors if they attempted mischief. Our ship's high freeboard -alone would have made it very difficult for them to rush us, and the -crew were so well-armed that, although we numbered but twenty-eight, we -could have wiped out over five hundred possible assailants with ease had -they attempted to board and capture the ship. - -Some of the leaders of this party of pirates came on board our vessel, -and Morel and I soon established very friendly relations with them. They -told us that they had been two months out from their own territory (in -Dutch New Guinea) had raided over thirty villages, and taken two hundred -and fifteen heads, and were now returning home--well satisfied. - -Morel and I went on board one of the great canoes, and were received in -a very friendly manner, and shown many heads--some partly dried, some -too fresh, and unpleasant-looking. - -These head-hunting pirates were not cannibals, and behaved in an -extremely decorous manner when they visited our ship. A finer, more -stalwart, proud, self-possessed, and dignified lot of savages--if they -could be so termed--I had never before seen. - -They left Krauel bay two days later, without interfering with the people -on shore, and Morel and I shook hands, and rubbed noses with the leading -head-hunters, when we said farewell. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII ~ PAUTÔE - -"Please, good White Man, wilt have me for _tavini_ (servant)?" - -Marsh, the trader, and the Reverend Harry Copley, the resident -missionary on Motumoe, first looked at the speaker, then at each other, -and then laughed hilariously. - -A native girl, about thirteen years of age, was standing in the trader's -doorway, clad only in a girdle of many-hued dracaena leaves. Her long, -glossy black hair fell about her smooth red-brown shoulders like -a mantle, and her big, deer-like eyes were filled with an eager -expectancy. - -"Come hither, Pautôe," said the missionary, speaking to the girl in the -bastard Samoan dialect of the island. "And so thou dost want to become -servant to Marsi?" - -Pautôe's eyes sparkled. - -"Aye," she replied, "I would be second _tavini_ to him. No wages do I -want, only let him give me my food, and a mat upon which to sleep, and I -shall do much work for him--truly, much work." - -The missionary drew her to him and patted her shoulder. - -"Dost like sardines, Pautôe?" - -She clasped her hands over her bosom, and looked at him demurely from -underneath her beautiful long-lashed eyes, and then her red lips parted -and she showed her even, pearly teeth as she smiled. - -"Give her a tin of sardines, and a biscuit or two, Marsh," said the -parson, "she's one of my pupils at the Mission House. You remember Bret -Harte's story, _The Right Eye of the Spanish Commander_, and the little -Indian maid Paquita? Well, this youngster is my Paquita. She's a most -intelligent girl." He paused a moment and then added regretfully: -"Unfortunately my wife dislikes her intensely--thinks she's too forward. -As a matter of fact a more lovable child never breathed." - -Marsh nodded. He was not surprised at Mrs. Copley disliking the child, -for she--a thin, sharp-vis-aged and austere lady of forty years of -age--was childless, and older than her cheerful, kind-hearted husband -by twelve years. The natives bore her no love, and had given her the -contemptuous nickname of _Le Matua moa e le fua_--"the eggless old -hen". - -Marsh himself told me this story. He and I had been shipmates together -in many cruises until he tired of the sea, and, having saved a little -money, started business as a trader among the Equatorial Islands--and I -lost a good comrade and friend. - -"I wish you would take the child, Marsh," said the missionary presently. -"She is an orphan, and----" - -"I'll take her, of course. She can help Leota, I daresay, and I'll -give her a few dollars a month. But why isn't she dressed in the usual -flaming style of your other pupils--skirt, blouse, brown paper-soled -boots, and a sixpenny poke bonnet with artificial flowers, and -otherwise made up as one of the 'brands plucked from the burning' whose -photographs glorify the parish magazines in the old country?" - -Copley's blue-grey eyes twinkled. "Ah, that's the rub with my wife. -Pautôe won't 'put 'em on'. She is not a native of this island, as you -can no doubt see. Look at her now--almost straight nose, but Semitic, -thin nostrils, long silky hair, small hands and feet. Where do you think -she hails from?" - -"Somewhere to the eastward--Marquesas Group, perhaps." - -"That is my idea, too. Do you know her story?" - -"No. Who is she?" - -"Ah, that no one knows. Early one morning twelve or thirteen years -ago--long before I came here--the natives saw a small topsail-schooner -becalmed off the island. Several canoes put off, and the people, as -they drew near the vessel, were surprised and alarmed to see a number of -armed men on deck, one of whom hailed them, and told them not to come -on board, but that one canoe only might come alongside. But the natives -hesitated, till the man stooped down and then held up a baby girl about -a year old, and said:-- - -"'If you will take this child on shore and care for it I will give you a -case of tobacco, a bag of bullets, two muskets and a keg of powder, -some knives, axes and two fifty-pound tins of ship biscuit. The child's -mother is dead, and there is no woman on board to care for it.' - -"For humanity's sake alone the natives would have taken the infant, -and said so, but at the same time they did not refuse the offer of the -presents. So one of the canoes went alongside, the babe was passed down, -and then the presents. Then the people were told to shove off. A few -hours later a breeze sprang up, and the schooner stood away to the -westward. That was how the youngster came here." - -"I wonder what had occurred?" - -"A tragedy of some sort--piracy and murder most likely. One of the -natives named Rahili who went out to the vessel, was an ex-sailor, who -spoke and could also read and write English well, and he noticed that -although the schooner was much weather-worn as if she had been a long -while at sea, there was a newly-painted name on her stern--_Meta_. -That in itself was suspicious. I sent an account of the affair to the -colonial papers, but nothing was known of any vessel named the _Meta_. -Since then the child had lived first with one family, and then another. -As I have said, she is extremely intelligent, but has a curiously -independent spirit--'refractory' my wife calls it--and does not -associate with the other native girls. One day, not long ago, she got -into serious trouble through her temper getting the better of her. -Lisa, my native assistant's daughter is, as I daresay you know, a very -conceited, domineering young lady, and puts on very grand airs--all -these native teachers and their wives and daughters are alike with -regard to the 'side' they put on--and my wife has made so much of her -that the girl has become a perfect female prig. Well, it seems that -Pautôe refused to attend my wife's sewing class (which Lisa bosses) -saying that she was going out on the reef to get crayfish. Thereupon -Lisa called her a _laakau tafea_ (a log of wood that had drifted on -shore) and Pautôe, resenting the insult and the jeers and laughter -of the other children, seized Mademoiselle Lisa by the hair, tore her -blouse off her and called her 'a fat-faced, pig-eyed monster'." - -Marsh laughed. "Description terse, but correct." - -"The deacons expelled her from school, and ordered her a whipping, but -the chief and I interfered, and stopped it." - -The trader nodded approval. "Of course you did, Copley; just what -any one who knows you would expect you to do. But although I am quite -willing to give the child a home, I can't be a schoolmaster to her." - -"Of course not. You are doing more than any other man would do for her." - -Twelve months had passed, and Marsh had never had reason to regret his -kindness to the orphan. To him she was wonderfully gentle and obedient, -and from the very first had acceded to his wish to dress herself in -semi-European fashion. The trader's household consisted of himself and -his two servants, a Samoan man named Âli (Harry) and his wife, Leota. -For some years they had followed his fortunes as a trader in the South -Seas, and both were intensely devoted to him. A childless couple, Marsh -at first had feared that they would resent the intrusion of Pautôe into -his home But he was mistaken; for both Âli and Leota had but one motive -for existence, and that was to please him--the now grown man, who eleven -years before, when he was a mere youth, had run away from his ship in -Samoa, and they had hidden him from pursuit And then when "Tikki" (Dick) -Marsh, by his industrious habits, was enabled to begin life as a trader, -they had come with him, sharing his good and his bad luck with him, and -serving him loyally and devotedly in his wanderings throughout the Isles -of the Pacific. So, when Pautôe came they took her to themselves as -a matter of duty; then, as they began to know the girl, and saw the -intense admiration she had for Marsh, they loved her, and took her deep -into their warm hearts. And Pautôe would sometimes tell them that she -knew not whom she loved most--"Tikki" or themselves. - -Matters, from a business point of view, had not for two years prospered -with Marsh on Motumoe. Successive seasons of drought had destroyed the -cocoanut crop, and so one day he told Copley, who keenly sympathised -with him, that he must leave the island. This was a twelvemonth after -Pautôe had come to stay with him. - -"I shall miss you very much, Marsh," said the missionary, "miss you more -than you can imagine. My monthly visits to you here have been a great -solace and pleasure to me. I have often wished that, instead of being -thirty miles apart, we were but two or three, so that I could have come -and seen you every few days." - -Then he added: "Poor little Pautôe will break her heart over your going -away". - -"But I have no intention of leaving her behind, Copley. I am not so hard -pressed that I cannot keep the youngster. I am thinking of putting her -to school in Samoa for a few years." - -"That is very generous of you, Marsh. I would have much liked to have -taken her into my own house, but--my wife, you know." - -Two weeks later Marsh left the island in an American whaleship, which -was to touch at Samoa There he intended to buy a small cutter, and then -proceed to the Western Pacific, where he hoped to better his fortunes -by trading throughout the various islands of the wild New Hebrides and -Solomon Groups. - -During the voyage to Samoa he one day asked Pautôe if she would not like -to go to school in Samoa with white and half-caste girls, some of her -own age, and others older. - -Such an extraordinary change came over the poor child's face that Marsh -was astounded. For some seconds she did not speak, but breathed quickly -and spasmodically as if she were physically exhausted, then her whole -frame trembled violently. Then a sob broke from her. - -"Be not angry with me, Tikki,... but I would rather die than stay in -Samoa,... away from thee and Ali and Leota. Oh, master----" she ceased -speaking and sobbed so unrestrainedly that Marsh was moved. He waited -till she had somewhat calmed herself, and then said gravely:-- - -"'Twill be a great thing for thee, Pautôe, this school. Thou wilt be -taught much that is good, and the English lady who has the school will -be kind----" - -"Nay, nay, Tikki," she cried brokenly, "send me not away, I beseech -thee. Let me go with thee, and Âli and Leota, to those new, wild lands. -Oh, cast me not away from thee. Where thou goest, let me go." - -Marsh smiled. "Thou art another Ruth, little one. In such words did Ruth -speak to Naomi when she went to another country. Dost know the story?" - -"Aye, I know the story, and I have no fear of wild lands. Only have I -fear of seeing no more all those I love if thou dost leave me to die in -Samoa." - -Again the trader smiled as he bade her dry her tears. - -"Thou shalt come with us, little one Now, go tell Leota." - -For many months Marsh remained in Apia, unable to find a suitable -vessel. Then, not caring to remain in such a noisy and expensive -port--he rented a native house at a charmingly situated village called -Laulii, about ten miles from Apia, and standing at the head of a tiny -bay, almost landlocked by verdant hills. So much was he pleased with the -place, that he half formed a resolution to settle there permanently, or -at least for a year or two. - -Âli and Leota were delighted to learn this, for although they were -willing to go anywhere in the world with their beloved "Tikki," they, -like all Samoans, were passionately fond of their own beautiful land, -with its lofty mountains and forests, and clear running streams. - -And Pautôe, too, was intensely happy, for to her Samoa was a dream-land -of light and beauty. Never before had she seen mountains, except in -pictures shown her by Mr. Copley or Marsh, and never before had she -seen a stream of running water. For Motumoe, where she had lived all -her young life, was an atoll--low, flat, and sandy, and although densely -covered with coco palms, there were but few other trees of any height -And now, in Samoa, she was never tired of wandering alone in the deep, -silent forest, treading with ecstasy the thick carpet of fallen leaves, -gazing upwards at the canopy of branches, and listening with a thrilled -delight to the booming notes of the great blue-plumaged, red-breasted -pigeons, and the plaintive answering cries of the ring-doves. Then, too, -in the forest at the back of the village were ruins of ancient dwellings -of stone, build by hands unknown, preserved from decay by a binding -net-work of ivy-like creepers and vines, and the haunt and resting-place -of the wild boar and his mate, and their savage, quick-footed progeny. -And sometimes she would hear the shrill, cackling scream of a wild -mountain cock, and see the great, fierce-eyed bird, half-running, -half-flying over the leaf-strewn ground. And to her the forest became a -deep and holy mystery, to adore and to love. - -Quite near to Laulii was another village--Lautonga, in which there lived -a young American trader named Lester Meredith--like Marsh, an ex-sailor. -He was an extremely reserved, quiet man, but he and Marsh soon became -friends, and they exchanged almost daily visits. Meredith, like Marsh, -was an unmarried man, and one day the local chief of the district -jocularly reproached them. - -"Thou, Tikki, art near to two-score years, and yet hast no wife, and -thou, Lesta, art one score and five and yet live alone. Why is it so? Ye -are both fine, handsome men, and pleasing to the eyes of women." - -Marsh laughed. "O Tofia, thou would-be matchmaker! I am no marrying man. -Once, indeed, I gave my heart to a woman in mine own country of England, -but although she loved me, her people were both rich and proud, and I -was poor. So she became wife to another man." - -Pautôe, who was listening intently to the men's talk, set her white -teeth, and clenched her shapely little hands, and then said slowly:-- - -"Didst kill the other man, Tikki?" - -Marsh and Meredith both laughed, and the former shook his head, and then -Tofia turned to Meredith:-- - -"Lesta, hast never thought of Maliea, the daughter of Tonu? There is no -handsomer girl in Samoa, and she is of good family. And she would like -to marry thee." - -Meredith smiled, and then said jestingly, "Nay, Tofia, I care not for -Maliea. I shall wait for Pautôe. Wilt have me, little one?" - -The girl looked at him steadily, and then answered gravely:-- - -"Aye, if Tikki is willing that I should. But yet I will not be separated -from him." - -"Then you and I will have to become partners, Meredith," said Marsh, his -eyes twinkling with amusement. - -A few days after this Meredith returned from a visit to Apia. - -"Marsh," he said to his friend, "I think it would be a good thing for us -both if we really did go into partnership, and put our little capitals -together. Are you so disposed?" - -"Quite. There is nothing I should like better." - -"Good. Well, now I have some news. I have just been looking at a little -schooner in Apia harbour. She arrived a few days ago, leaking, and -the owner will sell her for $ 1,800. She will suit us very well. I -overhauled her, and except that she is old and leaks badly, from having -been ashore, she is well worth the money. You and I can easily put her -on the beach here, get at the leak, and recopper her at a cost of a few -hundred dollars. We can have her ready for sea in three weeks. You, Âli -and myself can do all the work ourselves." - -Marsh was delighted, and in less than an hour the two men, accompanied -by Âli and Tofia, were on the way to Apia, much to the wonder of Leota -and Pautôe, who were not then let into the secret--the newly-made -partners intending to give them a pleasant surprise. - -On boarding the little craft, Marsh was much pleased with her, and -during the day the business of transferring the vessel to her new owners -was completed at the American Consulate, the money paid over, and the -partners put in possession. - -The same evening, Âli, a splendid diver, succeeded in finding and partly -stopping the main leak, which was on the bilge on the port side, and -preparations were made to sail early in the morning for Laulii. - -The partners were seated in the little cabin, smoking, and talking over -their plans for the future, when the former master and owner of the -schooner came on board to see, as he said, "how they were getting on". - -He was a good-natured, intelligent old man, and had had a life-long -experience in the South Seas. By birth he was a Genoese, but he was -intensely proud of being a naturalised British subject, and, from his -youth, having sailed under the red ensign of Old England. Marsh and -Meredith made him very welcome, and he, being mightily pleased at having -sold _The Dove_ (as the schooner was called), and also having dined -exceedingly well at the one hotel then in Apia, became very talkative. - -"I can tell you, gentlemen, that _The Dove_, although she is not a new -ship, is as strong and sound as if she were only just built. I have had -her now for nearly thirteen years, and have made my little fortune by -her, and I could kiss her, from the end of her jibboom to the upper -rudder gudgeon. But I am an old man now, and want to go back to my own -country to die among my people--or else"--and here he twisted his long -moustaches and laughed hilariously--"settle down in England, and become -a grand man like old General Rosas of South America, and die pious, and -have a bishop and a mile-long procession at my funeral." - -The partners joined the old sailor in his laugh, and then Marsh said -casually, and to make conversation:-- - -"By-the-way, Captain, where did you buy _The Dove?_" - -"I didn't buy her, my bold breezy lads. And I didn't steal her, as many -a ship is stolen in the South Seas. I came by her honestly enough." - -"A present?" said Meredith interrogatively. - -"Wrong, my lad--neither was she a present" Then the ancient squared -his broad shoulders, helped himself to some refreshment (more than was -needed for his good) and clapping Marsh on the shoulder, said: "I'll -tell you the yarn, my lads--for you are only lads, aren't you? Well, -here it is:-- - -"About twelve or thirteen years ago I was mate of a San Francisco -trading brig, the _Lola Montez_, and one afternoon, when we were running -down the east coast of New Caledonia, we sighted a vessel drifting in -shore--this very same schooner. The skipper of the brig sent me with a -boat's crew to take possession of her--for we could see that no one was -on board. - -"I boarded her and found that her decks had been swept by a heavy -sea--which, I suppose, had carried away every one on board. I overhauled -the cabin, but could not find her papers, but her name was on the -stern--_Meta_." - -Marsh started, and was about to speak, but the old skipper went on:-- - -"During the night heavy weather came on, and the _Lola Montez_ and the -_Meta_ parted company. The _Lola_ was never heard of again--she was old -and as rotten as an over-ripe pear, and I suppose her seams opened, and -she went down. - -"So I stuck to the _Meta_ brought her to Sydney, and re-named her _The -Dove_. And she's a bully little ship, I can tell you. I think that she -was built in the Marquesas Islands, for all her knees and stringers are -of _ngiia_ wood (_lignum vitae_) cut in the Marquesan fashion, and -set so closely together that any one would think she was meant for a -Greenland whaler. Then there is another thing about her that you will -notice, and which makes me feel sure that she was built by a whaleman, -and that is the carvings of whales on each end of the windlass barrel, -and on every deck stanchion there are the same, although you can hardly -see them now--they are so much covered up by yearly coatings of paint -for over a dozen years." - -Meredith rose suddenly from his seat. "You'll excuse me, but I feel -tired, and must turn in." The visitor took the hint, and did not stay. -Wishing the partners good luck, he got into his boat, and pushed off for -the shore. Then Meredith turned to Marsh, and said quietly:--"Marsh, I -know that you can trust Âli, but what of Tofia?" - -"He's all right, I think. But what is the matter?" "I'll let you know -presently. But first tell Tofia that he had better go on shore to -sleep. You and I are going to have a quiet talk, and then do a little -overhauling of this cabin." - -Wondering what possibly was afoot, Marsh got rid of the friendly chief -by asking him to go on shore and buy some fresh provisions, but not to -trouble about bringing them off until daylight, as he and his partner -were tired, and wanted to turn in. - -Leaving Âli on deck to keep watch, the two men went below, and sat down -at the cabin table. - -"Marsh," began the young American, "I have a mighty queer yarn to tell -you--I know that this schooner, once the _Meta_, and now _The Dove_, was -originally the _Juliette_, and was built by my father at Nukahiva in the -Marquesas. Now, I'll get through the story as quickly as possible, but -as I don't want to be interrupted I'll ask Âli not to let any chance -visitor come aboard to-night." - -He went on deck, and on returning first filled and lit his pipe in his -cool, leisurely manner, and resumed his story. - -"My father, as I one day told you, was a whaling skipper, and was lost -at sea about thirteen years ago--that is all I ever did say about him, I -think. He was a hard old man, and there was no love between us, so that -is why I have not spoken of him. He used me very roughly, and when -my mother died I left him after a stormy scene. That was eighteen or -nineteen years ago, and I never saw him again. - -"When my poor mother died, he sold his ship and went to the Marquesas -Islands, and opened a business there as a trader. He had made a lot of -money at sperm whaling; and, I suppose, thought that as I had left him, -swearing I never wished to see him again, that he would spend the rest -of his days in the South Seas--money grubbing to the last. - -"Sometimes I heard of him as being very prosperous. Once, when I was -told that he had been badly hurt by a gun accident, I wrote to him and -asked if he would care for me to come and stay with him. This I did for -the sake of my dead mother. Nearly a year and a half passed before I got -an answer--an answer that cut me to the quick:-- - -"'I want no undutiful son near me. I do well by myself'. - -"Several years went by, and then when I was mate of a trading schooner -in the Fijis I was handed a letter by the American Consul. It was two -years old, and was from my father--a long, long letter, written in such -a kindly manner, and with such affectionate expressions that I forgave -the old man all the savage and unmerited thrashings he had given me when -I sailed with him as a lad. - -"In this letter he told me that he wanted to see me again--that made -me feel good--and that he had built a schooner which he had named -_Juliette_ after my mother, who was a French _Canadienne_. He described -the labour and trouble he had taken over her, the knees and stringers -of _ngiia_ wood, and the carvings of sperm whales he had had cut on the -windlass butts and stanchions. Then he went on to say that he had been -having a lot of trouble with the French naval authorities, who wanted to -drive all Englishmen and Americans out of the group, and had made up -his mind to leave the Marquesas and settle down again either in Samoa or -Tonga, where he hoped I would join him and forget how hardly he had used -me in the past. - -"The gun accident, he wrote, had rendered him all but blind, and he -had engaged a man named Krause, a German, as mate, and to navigate the -_Juliette_ to Tonga or Samoa. Krause, he said, was a man he did not -like, nor trust; but as he was a good sailor-man and could navigate, he -had engaged him, as he could get no one else at Nukahiva. - -"With my father were a party of Marquesan natives--a chief and his -wife and her infant, and two young men. The schooner's crew were four -Dagoes--deserters from some ship. He did not care about taking them, but -had no choice. - -"Some ten days before the German and the crew came on board, my father -secretly took all his money--$8,000 in gold--and, aided by the Marquesan -chief, made a secure hiding-place for it by removing the skin in the -transoms, and then packing it in oakum and wedging each package in -between the timbers. Then he carefully relaid the skin, and repainted -the whole. He said, 'If anything happens to me through treachery, no -one will ever discover that money, although they will get a couple of -thousand of Mexican silver dollars in my chest'. - -"Well, the _Juliette_ sailed, and was never again heard of. - -"That brings my story to an end, and if this is the _Juliette_, and the -money has not been taken, it is within six feet of us--there," and he -pointed calmly to the transoms. - -Marsh was greatly excited. - -"We shall soon see, Meredith. But first let me say that I am sure that -this is your father's missing schooner, and that she is the vessel that -thirteen years ago called at Motumoe, and those who sailed her sent -Pautôe on shore when she was an infant." - -Then he hurriedly related the story as told to him by Mr. Copley. - -Meredith nodded. "No doubt the missionary was right and my father's -fears were well-founded. I suppose the German and the Dagoes murdered -him and the four Marquesans. Krause, of course, would know that my poor -father had money on board. And I daresay that the Dagoes spared the -child out of piety--their Holy Roman consciences wouldn't let 'em cut -the throat of a probably unbaptised child. Now, Marsh, if you'll clear -away the cushions and all the other gear from the transoms, I'll get an -auger and an axe, and we'll investigate." - -Rising from his seat in his usual leisurely manner, he went on deck, and -returned in a few minutes with a couple of augers, an axe, two wedges, -and a heavy hammer. - -Marsh had cleared away the cushions and some boxes of provisions, and -was eagerly awaiting him. - -Meredith, first of all, took the axe, and, with the back of the head, -struck the casing of the transoms. - -"It's all right, Marsh. Either the money, or something else is there -right enough, I believe. Bore away on your side." - -The two augers were quickly biting away through the hard wood of the -casing, and in less than two minutes Marsh felt the point of his break -through the inner skin, and then enter something soft; then it clogged, -and finally stuck. Reversing the auger, he withdrew it, and saw that on -the end were some threads of oakum and canvas, which he excitedly showed -to his partner, who nodded, and went on boring in an unmoved manner, -until the point of his auger penetrated the planking, stuck, and then -came a sound of it striking loose metal. The wedges were then driven in -between the planking, and one strip prised off, and there before them -was the money in small canvas bags, each bag parcelled round with oakum, -which was also packed tightly between the skin and timbers, forming a -compact mass. - -Removing one bag only, Marsh placed it aside, then they replaced the -plank, plugged the auger holes, and hid the marks from view by stacking -the provision cases along the transoms. - -Âli was called below, and told of the discovery. He, of course, was -highly delighted, and his eyes gleamed when Meredith unfastened the bag, -and poured out a stream of gold coin upon the cabin table. - -That night the partners did not sleep. They talked over their plans for -the future, and decided to take the schooner to San Francisco, sell -her, and buy a larger vessel and a cargo of trade goods. Meredith was to -command, and Tahiti in the Society Group was to be their headquarters. -Here Marsh (with the faithful Âli and Leota, and, of course, Pautôe) was -to buy land and form a trading station, whilst the vessel was to cruise -throughout the South Seas, trading for oil, pearl-shell and other island -produce. - -Soon after daylight the anchor of the _Juliette_ was lifted and -she sailed out of Apia harbour, and by noon, Leota and Pautôe were -astonished to see the little craft bring-to abreast of Laulii village, -and Marsh and Meredith come on shore. - -Later on in the day, when the house was free of the kindly, but somewhat -intrusive native visitors, the partners told the strange story of the -_Juliette_ to Leota and Pautôe, and of their plans for the future. - -"Pautôe," said Meredith, "in three years' time will you marry me, and -sail with me in the new ship?" - -"Aye, that will I, Lesta. Did I not say so before?" - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII ~ THE MAN WHO KNEW EVERYTHING - -The Man Who Knew Everything came to Samoa in November, when dark days -were on the land, and the nearing Christmas time seemed likely to be -as that of the preceding one, when burning villages and the crackle -of musketry, and the battle cries of opposing factions, engaged in -slaughtering one another, turned the once restful and beautiful Samoa -into a hell of evil passions, misery and suffering. For the poor King -Malietoa was making a game fight with his scanty and ill-armed troops -against the better-armed rebel forces, who were supplied, _sub rosa_, -with all the arms and ammunition they desired by the German commercial -agents of Bismarck, who had impressed upon that statesman the necessity -of making Samoa the base of German trading enterprise in the South Seas -by stirring up rebellion throughout the group to such an extent that -Germany, under the plea of humanity, would intervene--buy out the -British and American interests, and force the natives to accept a German -protectorate. - -At this time the white population of Apia numbered about two hundred, -of whom one half were Germans--the rest were principally English and -Americans. For two years past a very bitter feeling had existed between -the staff of the great German trading firm, and the British and American -community. The latter had their places of business in Apia, and the -suburb of Matautu, the Germans occupied the suburb of Matafele, and -although there was a business intercourse between the people of the -three nationalities, there was absolutely none of a social character. -The British and American traders and residents were supporters of -King Malietoa, the Germans backed up the rebel party, and the natives -themselves were equally divided into pro-British, and pro-Germans. - -At this time--when the Man Who Knew Everything arrived in Samoa from New -Zealand--I was living on shore. The vessel in which I was employed as -"recruiter" in the Kanaka labour trade was laid up in Apia harbour. Two -months previously we had brought a cargo of native labourers from the -Gilbert Islands to be indentured to the cotton planters in Samoa, and -finding the country in such a disturbed state, with business paralysed, -and no further demand for a fresh cargo of Kanaka "recruits," we decided -to pay off most of the ship's company, and let the brigantine lie -up till the end of the rainy and bad weather season--from the end of -November till March, The skipper and a few of the native crew remained -on board, but I took up my quarters on shore, at a little Samoan village -named Lelepa--two miles from Apia. Here I was the "paying guest" of our -boatswain--a stalwart native of the island of Rarotonga. He had sailed -with me on several vessels during a period of some years; and on one of -our visits to Apia had married a Samoan girl of a good family. - -Having much spare time on my hands I occupied it in deep-sea fishing and -shooting, and in making boat voyages along the coast, visiting a number -of native villages, where I was well-known to the people, who always -made me and my boat's crew very welcome--for the Samoans are naturally a -most hospitable race, and love visiting and social intercourse. On these -excursions Marama (the native boatswain) and some other of the ship's -crew sometimes came with me; on other occasions my party would be made -up of the two half-caste sons of the American Consul, two or three -Samoans and myself. - -Towards the end of November there arrived from Auckland (N.Z.) -the trading schooner _Dauntless_. She brought one passenger whose -acquaintance I soon made, and whom I will call Marchmont. He was a fine, -well-set-up young fellow of about five and twenty years of age, and I -was delighted to find that he was a good all-round sportsman--I could -never induce any of the white traders or merchants of Apia to join me in -any of my many delightful trips. Marchmont was making a tour through -the Pacific Islands, partly on business, and partly on pleasure. He -was visiting the various groups on behalf of a Liverpool firm, who were -buying up land suitable for cotton-growing, and was to spend two months -in Samoa. - -He and I soon made arrangements for a series of fishing and shooting -trips along the south coast of Upolu, where the country was quiet, -and as yet undisturbed by the war. But, although Marchmont was a most -estimable and companionable man in many respects, he had some serious -defects in his character, which, from a sportsman's point of view, were -most objectionable, and were soon to bring him into trouble. One was -that he was most intensely self-opinionated, and angrily resented being -contradicted--even when he knew he was in the wrong; another was his bad -temper--whenever he did anything particularly foolish he would not stand -a little good-natured "chaff"--he either flew into a violent rage and -"said things" or sulked like a boy of ten years of age. Then, too, -another regrettable feature about him was the fact that he, being a -young man of wealth, had the idea that he should always be deferred -to, never argued with upon any subject, and his advice sought upon -everything pertaining to sport. These unpromising traits in his -character soon got him into hot water, and before he had been a week in -Samoa he was nicknamed by both whites and natives "Misi Ulu Poto--mâsani -mea uma,"--"Mr. Wise Head--the Man Who Knows Everything". The term -stuck--and Marchmont took it quite seriously, as a well-deserved -compliment to his abilities. - -My new acquaintance, I must mention, had a most extensive and costly -sporting outfit--all of it was certainly good, but much of it quite -useless for such places as Samoa and other Polynesian Islands. Of rifles -and guns he had about a dozen, with an enormous quantity of ammunition -and fittings, bags, water-proofing, tents, fishing-boots, spirit stoves, -hatchets in leather covers, hunting knives, etc., etc.; and his -fishing gear alone must have run into a tidy sum of money. This latter -especially interested me, but there was nothing in it that I would have -exchanged for any of my own--that is, few-deep-sea fishing, a sport in -which I was always very keen during a past residence of fifteen years in -the South Seas. When I showed my gear to Marchmont he criticised it with -great cheerfulness and freedom, and somewhat irritated me by frequently -ejaculating "Bosh!" when I explained why in fishing at a depth of 100 -to 150 fathoms for a certain species of _Ruvettus_ (a nocturnal-feeding -fish that attains a weight of over 100 lb.) a heavy wooden hook was -always used by the natives in preference to a steel hook of European -manufacture. I saw that it was impossible to convince him, so dropped -the subject; and showed him other gear of mine--flying-fish tackle, -barb-less pearl-shell hooks for bonito, etc., etc He "bosh-ed" nearly -everything, and wound up by saying that he wondered why people of sense -accepted the dicta of natives in sporting matters generally. - -"But I imagine that they do know a little about such things," I -observed. - -"Bosh!--they pretend to, that's all. Now, I've never yet met a Kanaka -who could show me anything, and I've been to Tonga, Fiji and Tahiti." - -Early one morning, I sent off my whaleboat with Marama in charge to -proceed round the south end of Upolu, and meet Marchmont and me at -a village on the lee side of the island named Siumu, which is about -eighteen miles distant from, and almost opposite to Apia, across the -range that traverses the island. An hour or so later Marchmont and I set -out, accompanied by two boys to carry our game bags, provisions, -etc. Each of them wore suspended from his neck a large white cowrie -shell--the Samoan badge of neutrality--for we had to pass first through -King Malietoa's lines, and then through those of the besieging rebel -forces. - -It was a lovely day, and in half an hour we were in the delightful -gloom of the sweet-smelling mountain forest. In passing through King -Malietoa's trenches, the local chief of Apia, Se'u Manu, who was in -command, requested me to stay and drink kava with him. Politeness -required consent, and we were delayed an hour; this made the Man Who -Knew Everything very cross and rather rude, and the stalwart chief -(afterwards to become famous for his magnanimous conduct to his German -foes, when their squadron was destroyed in the great _Calliope_ gale -of March, 1889) looked at him with mild surprise, wondering at his -discourtesy. However, his temper balanced itself a little while after -leaving the lines, when he brought down a brace of fine pigeons with -a right and left shot, and a few minutes later knocked over a mountain -cock with my Winchester. It was a very clever shot--for the wild cock of -Samoa, the descendant of the domestic rooster, is a hard bird to shoot -even with a shot gun--and my friend was much elated. He really was a -first-class shot with either gun or rifle, though he had had but little -experience with the latter. - -A few miles farther brought us to the little mountain village of -Tagiamamanono. It was occupied by the rebel troops from the Island of -Savai'i. Their chiefs were very courteous, and, of course, we were asked -to "stay and rest and drink kava". To refuse would have been looked -upon as boorish and insulting, so I cheerfully acquiesced, and Marchmont -and I were escorted to a large house, where I formally presented him to -our hosts as a traveller from "Peretania," whom I was "showing around -Samoa". Any man of fine physique attracts the Samoans, and a number of -pretty girls who were preparing the kava cast many admiring glances at -my friend, and commented audibly on his good looks. - -Presently, as we were all smoking and exchanging compliments in the -high-flown, stilted Samoan style, there entered the house a strapping -young warrior, carrying a wickerwork cage, in which were two of the -rare and famous _Manu Mea_ (red-bird) of Samoa--the _Didunculus_ -or tooth-billed pigeon. These were the property of the young chief -commanding the rebel troops, and had simply been brought into the house -as a mark of respect and attention to Marchmont and me. Money cannot -always buy these birds, and the rebel chief looked upon them as -mascottes. No one but himself, or the young man who was their custodian, -dared touch them, for a Samoan chief's property--like his person--is -sacred and inviolate from touch except by persons of higher rank than -himself. I hurriedly and quietly explained this to Marchmont. - -"Bosh! Look here! You tell him that I want to buy those birds, and will -give him a sovereign each for them." - -"I shall do no such thing. I know what I am talking about, and you -don't. Fifty sovereigns would not buy those birds--so don't say anything -more on the subject. If you do, you will give offence--and these Samoans -are very touchy." - -"Bah--that's all bosh, my dear fellow. Any way, I'll give five pounds -for the pair," and to my horror, and before I could stay him, he took -out five sovereigns, and "skidded" them along the matted floor towards -the chief, a particularly irascible young man named Asi (Sandalwood). - -"There, my friend, are five good English sovereigns for your birds. I -suppose I can trust you to send them to the English Consul at Apia for -me. Eh?" - -There was a dead silence. Asi spoke English perfectly, but hitherto, out -of politeness, had only addressed me in Samoan. His eyes flashed with -quick anger at Marchmont, then he looked at me reproachfully, made a -sign to the custodian of the birds, and rising proudly to his feet, said -to me in Samoan:-- - -"I will drink kava with you alone, friend. Will you come to my own -house," and he motioned me to precede him. Never before had I seen -a naturally passionate man exhibit such a sense of dignity and -self-restraint under what was, to him, a stupid insult. - -I turned to Marchmont: "Look what you have done, confound you for an -ass! If you are beginning this way in Samoa you will get yourself into -no end of trouble. Have you no sense?" - -"I have sense enough to see that you are making a lot of fuss over -nothing. Tell the beastly savage that he can keep his wretched birds. I -would only have wrung their necks and had them cooked." - -The young warrior who held the cage, set it down, and striding up beside -the Man Who Knew Everything dealt him an open-handed back-hand blow -on the side of the head--a favourite trick of Samoan wrestlers and -fighters--and Marchmont went down upon the matted floor with a smash. -I thought he was killed--he lay so motionless--and in an instant there -flashed across my memory a story told to me by a medical missionary -in Samoa, of how one of these terrific back-handed "smacks" dealt by a -native had broken a man's neck. - -However, in a few minutes, Marchmont recovered, and rose to his feet, -spoiling for a fight The natives regarded him with a sullen but assumed -indifference, and drew back, looking at me inquiringly. The matter -might have ended seriously, but for two things--Marchmont was at heart a -gentleman, and in response to my urgent request to him to apologise -for the gross affront he had put upon our host--did so frankly by first -extending his hand to the man who had knocked him down. And then, as he -never did things by halves, he came with me to Asi and said, as he shook -hands with him:-- - -"By Jove, Mr. Asi, that man of yours could knock down a bullock. I never -had such a thundering smack in my life." - -The chief smiled, then said gravely, in English, that he was sorry that -such an unpleasant incident had occurred. Then, after--with its many -attendant ceremonies--we had drunk our bowls of kava, and were smoking -and chatting, Asi asked Marchmont to let him examine his gun and rifle -(Marchmont had a Soper rifle and one of Manton's best make of guns; I -had my Winchester and a fairly good gun). The moment Asi saw the Soper -rifle his eyes lit up, and he produced another from one of the house -beams overhead, and said regretfully that he had no cartridges left, -and was using a Snider instead. Marchmont promptly offered to give him -fifty. - -"You must not do that," I said, "it will get us into serious trouble. -Asi"--and I turned to the chief--"will understand why we must not give -him cartridges to be used for warfare. It would be a great breach of -faith for us to do so--would it not?" - -Keenly anxious as he was to obtain possession of the ammunition, the -chief, with a sigh of regret, acquiesced, but Marchmont sulked, and for -quite two hours after we had left the rebel village did not exchange a -word with me. - -After getting over the range, and whilst we were descending the slope to -the southern littoral, some mongrel curs that belonged to our carriers, -and had gone on ahead of us, put up a wild sow with seven suckers, and -at once started off in pursuit. The old, razor-backed sow doubled -and came flying past us, with her nimble-footed and striped progeny -following. Marchmont and I both fired simultaneously--at the sow. I -missed her, but my charge of No 3 shot tumbled over one of the piglets, -which was at her heels, and Marchmont's Soper bullet took her in the -belly, and passed clean through her. But although she went down for a -few moments she was up again like a Jack-in-the-box, and with an angry -squeal scurried along the thick carpet of dead leaves, and then darted -into the buttressed recesses of a great _masa'oi_ (cedar) tree, which -was evidently her home, followed by two or three game mongrels. - -Dropping his rifle, Marchmont ran to the trees, seized the nearest -cur by the tail, and slung it away down the side of the slope, then he -kicked the others out of his way, and kneeling down peered into the dark -recess formed by two of the buttresses. - -"Come out of that," I shouted, "you'll get bitten if you go near her. -What are you trying to do? Get out, and give the dogs a chance to turn -her out." - -"Bosh! Mind your own business. I know what I'm about. She's lying -inside, as dead as a brickbat I'll have her out in a jiffy," and then -his head and shoulders disappeared--then came a wild, blood-curdling -yell of rage and pain, and the Man Who Knew Everything backed out with -the infuriated sow's teeth deeply imbedded into both sides of his -right hand; his left gripped her by the loose and pendulous skin of her -throat. One of the native boys darted to his aid, and with one blow of -his hatchet split open the animal's skull. - -"Well, of all the born idiots----" I began, when I stopped, for I -saw that Marchmont's face was very pale, and that he was suffering -excruciating pain. A pig bite is always dangerous and that which he had -sustained was a serious one. Fortunately, it was bleeding profusely, and -as quickly as possible we procured water, and thoroughly cleansed, and -then bound up his hand. - -As soon as we got to Siumu I hurried to the house of the one white -trader, and was lucky in getting a bottle of that good old-fashioned -remedy--Friar's balsam. I poured it into a clean basin, and Marchmont -unhesitatingly put in his hand, and let it stay there. The agony was -great, and the language that poured from the patient was of an extremely -lurid character. But he had wonderful grit, and I had to laugh when he -began abusing himself for being such an idiot. He then allowed a -native woman to cover the entire hand with a huge poultice, made of the -beaten-up pulp of wild oranges--a splendid antiseptic. But it was a -week before he could use his hand again, and his temper was something -abominable. However, we managed to put in the time very pleasantly -by paying a round of visits to the villages along the coast, and were -entertained and feasted to our heart's content by the natives. Then -followed some days' grand pig hunting and pigeon shooting in the -mountains, amidst some of the most lovely tropical scenery in the world. -Marchmont killed a grand old tusker, and presented the tusks to the -local chief, who in return gave him a very old kava bowl--a valuable -article to Samoans. He was, as usual, incredulous when I told him that -it was worth £10, and that Theodor Weber, the German Consul General, who -was a collector, would be only too glad to get it at that price. - -"What, for that thing?" - -"Yes, for that thing. Quite apart from its size, its age makes it -valuable. I daresay that more than half a century has passed since the -tree from which it was made was felled by stone axes, and the bowl -cut out from a solid piece." It was fifteen inches high, two feet in -diameter, and the four legs and exterior were black with age, whilst -the interior, from constant use of kava, was coated with a bright yellow -enamel. The labour of cutting out such a vessel with such implements--it -being, legs and bowl, in one piece--must have taken long months. Then -came the filing down with strips of shark skin, which had first been -softened, and then allowed to dry and contract over pieces of wood, -round and flat; then the final polishing with the rough underside of -wild fig-leaves, and then its final presentation, with such ceremony, to -the chief who had ordered it to be made. - -I explained all this to Marchgiont, and he actually believed me and did -not say "Bosh!" - -"I thought that you made a fearfully long-winded oration on my behalf -when the chief gave me the thing," he remarked. - -"I did. I can tell you, Marchmont, that I should have felt highly -flattered if he had presented it to me. He seems to have taken a violent -fancy to you. But, for Heaven's sake, don't think that, because he -has been told that you are a rich man, he has any ulterior motive. And -don't, I beg of you, offer him money. He has a reason for showing his -liking for you." - -I knew what that reason was. Suisala, the chief of Siumu, had, from -the very first, expressed to me his admiration of Marchmont's stalwart, -athletic figure, and his fair complexion, and was anxious to confer on -him a very great honour--that of exchanging names. Suisala was of one of -the oldest and most chiefly families in Samoa, and was proud of the fact -that the French navigator Bougainville had taken especial notice of his -grandfather (who was also a Suisala) and who had been presented with -a fowling piece and ammunition by the French officer. As I have before -mentioned, physical strength and manliness always attract the Samoan -mind, and the chief of Siumu had, as I afterwards explained to -March-mont, fallen a victim to his "fatal beauty". - -One morning, a few days after the presentation of the _tanoa_ -(kava-bowl) to the Man Who Knew Everything, a schooner appeared outside -the reef and hove-to, there being no harbour at Siumu. She was an -American vessel, and had come to buy copra from, and land goods for, the -local trader. There was a rather heavy sea running on the reef at the -time, and the work of shipping the copra and landing the stores -proved so difficult and tedious that I lent my boat and crew to help. -Unfortunately Marama was laid up with influenza, so could not take -charge of the boat; I also was on the sick list, with a heavy cold. -However, my crew were to be trusted, and they made several trips during -the morning. Marchmont, after lunch, wanted to board the schooner, and -also offered to take charge of the boat and crew for the rest of the -day. Knowing that he was not used to surf work, I declined his offer, -but told him he could go off on board if he did not mind a wetting. He -was quite nettled, and angrily asked me if I thought he could not take -a whaleboat through a bit of surf as well as either Marama or myself. I -replied frankly that I did not. - -He snorted with contempt "Bosh. I've taken boats through surf five times -as bad as it is now--a tinker could manage a boat in the little sea that -is running now. You fellows are all alike--you think that you and your -natives know everything." - -"Oh, then, do as you like," I replied angrily, "but if you smash that -boat it means a loss of £50, and----" - -"Hang your £50! If I hurt your boat, I'll pay for the damage. But don't -begin to preach at me." - -With great misgivings, I saw the boat start off, manned by eight men, -using native paddles, instead of oars, as was customary in surf work. -Marchmont, certainly, by good luck, managed to get her over the reef, -for I could see that he was quite unused to handling a steer oar. -However, my native crew, by watching the sea and taking no heed of the -steersman, shot the boat over the reef into deep water beyond. But in -getting alongside the schooner he nearly swamped, and I was told began -abusing my crew for a set of blockheads. This, of course, made them -sulky--to be abused for incompetence by an incompetent stranger, was -hard to bear, especially as the men, like all the natives of their -islands (Rotumah and Niue), were splendid fellows at boat work. - -However, the boat at last cast off, and headed for the shore, and then -I saw something that filled me with wrath. As the lug sail was being -hoisted, March-mont drew in his steer-oar, and shipped the rudder, and -in another minute the boat was bounding over the rolling seas at a great -rate towards the white breakers on the reef, but steering so wildly -that I foresaw disaster. The crew, in vain, urged Marchmont to ship the -steer-oar again, but he told them to mind their own business, and sat -there, calm and strong, in his mighty conceit. - -On came the boat, and we on shore watched her as she rose stern up to a -big comber, then down she sank from view into the trough, broached to, -and the next roller fell upon and smothered her, and rolled her over and -over into the wild boil of surf on the reef. - -The Man Who Knew Everything came off badly, and was brought on shore -full of salt water, and unconscious. He had been dashed against the -jagged coral, and from his left thigh down to his foot had been terribly -lacerated; then as the crew swam to his assistance--for his clothing had -caught in the coral, and he was under water and drowning--and brought -him to the surface, the despised steer-oar (perhaps out of revenge) -came hurtling along on a swirling sea, and the haft of it struck him a -fearful blow on the head, nearly fracturing his skull. - -Fearing his injuries would prove fatal, I sent a canoe off to the -schooner with a message to the captain to come on shore, but the vessel, -having finished her business, was off under full sail, and did not see -the canoe. Then the trader and I did our best for the poor fellow, who, -as soon as he regained consciousness, began to suffer agonies from the -poison of the wounds inflicted by the coral. We sent a runner to Apia -for a doctor, and early next morning one arrived. - -Marchmont was quite a month recovering, and when he was fully -convalescent, he kept his opinions to himself, and I think that the -lesson he had received did him good. He afterwards told me that he -determined to sail the boat in with a rudder purely to annoy me, and was -sorry for it. - -When he was able to get about again as usual, the devil of restlessness -again took possession of him and he was soon in trouble again--through -the bursting of a gun. I was away from Apia at the time--at the little -island of Manono, buying yams for the ship which was getting ready for -sea again--when I received a letter from a friend giving me the Apia -gossip, and was not surprised that Marchmont figured therein. - -"Your friend Marchmont," so ran the letter, "is around, as usual, and in -great form, though he had a narrow squeak of having his head blown -off last week through his gun bursting while out pigeon-shooting up by -Lano-to lake. It seems that it was raining at the time, and the track -down the mountain to the lake was very slippery. He had Johnny Coe the -half-caste, and two Samoans with him. Was carrying his gun under his arm -and going down the track in his usual careless, cock-a-hoopy style when -he tripped over a root of a tree and went down, flat on his face, into -the red slippery soil. He picked himself up again quick enough, and -began swearing at the top of his voice, when a lot of ducks rose from -the lake and came dead on towards him. Without waiting to see if his gun -was all right, although it was covered with mud, he pulled the trigger -of his right barrel, and it burst; one of the fragments gave him a -nasty jagged wound on the chin and the Samoan buck got a lot of small -splinters in his face. After the idiot had pulled himself together he -examined his gun and found that the left barrel was plugged up with hard -red earth. No doubt the other one had also been choked up, for Johnny -Coe said that when he fell the muzzle of the gun was rammed some inches -into the ground." - -When I returned to Apia with a cutter load of yams, I called on -Marchmont and found him his old self. He casually mentioned his mishap -and cursed the greasy mountain track as the cause. At the same time he -told me that he was beginning to like the country and that the natives -were "not a bad lot of fellows--if you know how to take 'em". - -Then came his final exploit. - -There is, in the waters of the Pacific Isles, a species of the trevalli, -or rudder fish, which attains an enormous size and weight. It is a good -eating fish, like all the trevalli tribe, and much thought of by both -Europeans and natives, for, being an exceedingly wary fish, it is not -often caught, at least in Samoa. In the Live Islands, where it is more -common, it is called _La'heu_ and in Fiji _Sanka_. One evening Lama, one -of the Coe half-caste boys, and I succeeded in hooking and capturing one -of these fish, weighing a little over 100 lb. In the morning the Man -Who Knew Everything came to look at it, was much interested, and said he -would have a try for one himself after lunch. - -"No use trying in clear daylight," I said; "after dusk, at night (if not -moonlight), or before daybreak is the time." - -"Bosh!" was his acidulous comment "I've caught the same fish in New -Zealand in broad daylight." I shook my head, knowing that he was wrong. -He became angry, and remarked that he had found that all white men who -had lived in foreign countries for a few years accepted the rubbishy -dictum of natives regarding sporting matters of any kind as infallible. -Refusing to show me the tackle he intended using, at two o'clock he -hired a native canoe, and paddled off alone into Apia Harbour. Then he -began to fish for _La'heu_, using a mullet as bait. In five minutes -he was fast to a good-sized and lusty shark, which promptly upset the -canoe, went off with the line and left him to swim. The officer of the -deck of the French gunboat _Vaudreuil_, then lying in the port, sent a -boat and picked him up. This annoyed him greatly, as he wanted, like an -idiot, to swim on shore--a thing that a native would not always care to -do in a shark-infested place like Apia Harbour, especially during the -rainy season (as it then was), when the dreaded _tanifa_ sharks come -into all bays or ports into which rivers or streams debouch. - -That evening, however, Marchmont condescended to look at the tackle I -used for _La'heu_, said it was clumsy, and only fit for sharks, but, -on the whole, there were "some good ideas" about it; also that he would -have another try that night. I suggested that either one of the Coe lads -or Lama should go with him, to which he said "Bosh!" Then, after sunset, -I sent some of my boat's-crew to catch flying-fish for bait. They -brought a couple of dozen, and I told Marchmont that he should bait with -a whole flying-fish, make his line ready for casting, and then throw -over some "burley"--half a dozen flying-fish chopped into small pieces. -He would not show me the tackle he intended using, so I was quite in the -dark as to what manner of gear it was. But I ascertained later on that -it was good and strong enough to hold any deep sea fish, and the hook -was of the right sort--a six-inch flatted, with curved shank, and -swivel mounted on to three feet of fine twisted steel seizing wire. My -obstinate friend had a keen eye, even when he was most disparaging -in his remarks, and had copied my _La'heu_ tackle most successfully, -although he had "bosh-ed" it when I first showed it to him. - -Refusing to let any one accompany him, although the local pilot candidly -informed him that he was a dunderhead to go fishing alone at night in -Apia Harbour, Marchmont started off about 2 A.M. in an ordinary native -canoe, meant to hold not more than three persons when in smooth water. -It was a calm night, but rainy, and the crew of the French gunboat -noticed him fishing near the ship about 2.30. A little while after, -the officer of the watch saw a heavy rain squall coming down from the -mountain gorges, and good-naturedly called out to the fisherman to -either come alongside or paddle ashore, to avoid being swamped. The -clever man replied in French, somewhat ungraciously, that he could quite -well look after himself. A little after 3 A.M. the squall ceased, and -as neither Marchmont nor the canoe was visible, the French sailors -concluded that he had taken their officer's advice and gone on shore. - -About seven o'clock in the morning, as I was bathing in the little river -that runs into Apia Harbour, a native servant girl of the local resident -medical missionary came to the bank and called to me, and told me a -startling story. My obstinate friend had been picked up at sea, four -miles from Apia Harbour, by a _taumualua_ (native-built whaleboat). He -was in a state of exhaustion and collapse, and when brought into Apia -was more dead than alive, and the doctor was quickly summoned I at once -went to see him, but was not admitted to his room, and for three days he -had to lie up, suffering from shock--and, I trust, a feeling of humility -for being such an obstinate blockhead. - -His story was simple enough: During the heavy rain squall his bait -was taken by some large and powerful fish (he maintained that it was -a _La'heu_, though most probably it was a shark), and thirty or forty -yards of line flew out before he could get the pull of it. When he did, -he foolishly made the loose part fast to the canoe seat amidships, -and the canoe promptly capsized, and the fore end of the outrigger -unshipped. Clinging to the side of the frail craft, he shouted to the -gunboat for help, but no one heard in the noise of the wind and heavy -rain, and in ten minutes he found himself in the passage between the -reefs, and rapidly being towed out to sea. He tried to sever the line by -biting it through (he had lost his knife), but only succeeded in -losing a tooth. Then, as the canoe was being dragged through the water -broadside on, a heavy sea submerged her and the line parted, the shark -or whatever it was going off. Never losing his pluck, he tried in the -darkness to secure the loose end of the outrigger, but failed, owing to -the heavy, lumpy seas. Then for two anxious, miserable hours he clung to -the canoe, expecting every moment to find himself minus his legs by the -jaws of a shark, and when sighted and picked up by the native boat he -was barely conscious. - -He learnt a lesson that did him good. He never again went out alone in -a canoe at night, and for many days after his recovery he never uttered -the word "Bosh!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX ~ THE PATTERING OF THE MULLET - -It is a night of myriad stars, shining from a dome of deepest blue. -The lofty, white-barked swamp gums stand silent and ghost-like on the -river's bank, and the river itself is almost as silent as it flows to -meet the roaring surf on the bar of the rock-bound coast fifteen miles -away, where when the south-east wind blows lustily by day and dies away -at night the long billows of the blue Pacific roll on unceasingly. - -Overhead, far up in the topmost boughs of one of the giant gums some -opossums squeal angrily at an intruding native bear, which, like -themselves, has climbed to feed upon the young and tender eucalyptus -leaves. Below, a prowling dingo steals slowly over the thick carpet of -leaves, then sitting on his haunches gazes at the prone figures of two -men stretched out upon their blankets at the foot of the great tree. -His green, hungry eyes have discerned a pair of saddle-bags and his keen -nostrils tell him that therein are salt beef and damper. He sinks gently -down upon the yielding leaves and for a minute watches the motionless -forms; then he rises and creeps, creeps along. A horse bell tinkles from -beyond the scrub and in an instant the wild dog lies flat again. Did he -not see one of the men move? No, all is quiet, and once more he creeps -forward. Then from beneath the tree there comes a flash and a report and -a bullet flies and the night prowler leaps in the air with a snarling -yelp and falls writhing in his death agony, as from the sand flats in -the river arises the clamour of startled wild fowl and the rush and -whirr of a thousand wings. Then silence again, save for the long-drawn -wail of a curlew. - -One of the men rises, kicks together the dying camp fire and throws on -a handful of sticks and leaves. It blazes up and a long spear of light -shoots waveringly across the smooth current of the river. - -"Get him, Harry?" sleepily asks his companion as he sits up and feels -for his pipe. - -"Yes--couldn't miss him. He's lying there. Great Scott! Didn't he jump." - -"Poor beggar--smelt the tucker, I suppose. Well, better a dead dog than -a torn saddle-bag. Hear the horses?" - -"Yes, they're all right--feeding outside the timber belt How's the time, -Ted?" - -"Three o'clock. What a deuce of a row those duck and plover kicked up -when you fired! We ought to get a shot or two at them when daylight -comes." - -"Harry," a big, bearded fellow of six feet, nodded as he lit his pipe. - -"Yes, we ought to get all we want up along the blind creeks, and we'll -have to shift camp soon. It's going to rain before daybreak, and we -might as well stay here over to-morrow and give the horses a spell." - -"It's clouding over a bit, but I don't think it means rain." - -"I do. Listen," and he held up his hand towards the river. - -His companion listened, and a low and curious sound--like rain and yet -not like rain--a gentle and incessant pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat, -then a break for a few seconds, then again, sometimes sounding loud and -near, at others faintly and far away. - -"Sounds like a thousand people knockin' their finger nails on tables. -Why, it must be rainin' somewhere close to on the river." - -"No, it's the pattering of mullet, heading up the river--thousands, -tens of thousands, aye hundreds of thousands. It is a sure sign of heavy -rain. We'll see them presently when they come abreast of us. That queer -_lip, lap, lip, lap_ you hear is made by their tails. They sail along -with heads well up out of the water--the blacks tell me that they smell -the coming rain--then swim on an even keel for perhaps twenty yards or -so, and the upper lobe of their tails keeps a constant flapping on the -water. You know how clearly you can hear the flip of a single fish's -tail in a pond on a quiet night? Well, to-night you'll hear the sound -of fifty thousand. Once, when I was prospecting in the Shoalhaven River -district I camped with some net fishermen near the Heads. It was a calm, -quiet night like this, and something awakened me It sounded like heavy -rain falling on big leaves. 'Is it raining, mate?' I said to one of -the fishermen. 'No,' he replied, 'but there's a heavy thunderstorm -gathering; and that noise you hear is mullet coming up from the Heads, -three miles away.' That was the first time I ever saw fish packed so -closely together--it was a wonderful sight, and when they began to pass -us they stretched in a solid line almost across the river and the noise -they made was deafening. But we must hurry up, lad, shift our traps a -bit back into the scrub and up with the tent. Then we'll come back and -have a look at the fish, and get some for breakfast." - -The two hardy prospectors (for such they were) were old and experienced -bushmen, and soon had their tent up, and their saddles, blankets and -guns and provisions under its shelter, just as the first low muttering -of thunder hushed the squealing opossums overhead into silence. But, as -it died away, the noise of the myriad mullet sounded nearer and nearer -as they swam steadily onward up the river. - -Ten minutes passed, and then a heavy thunder-clap shook the mighty trees -and echoed and re-echoed among the spurs and gullies of the coastal -range twenty miles away; another and another, and from the now leaden -sky the rain fell in torrents and continued to pour unceasingly for -an hour. Inside the tent the men sat and smoked and waited Then the -downfall ceased with a "snap," the sky cleared as if by magic, revealing -the stars now paling before the coming dawn, and the cries of birds -resounded through the dripping bush. - -Picking up a prospecting dish the elder man told his "mate" that it -was time to start. Louder than ever now sounded the noise made by the -densely packed masses of fish, and as the rays of the rising sun, aided -by a gentle air, dispelled the river mist, the younger man gave a gasp -of astonishment when they reached the bank and he looked down--from -shore to shore the water was agitated and churned into foam showing a -broad sheet of flapping fins and tails and silvery scales. So close were -the fish to the bank and so overcrowded that hundreds stranded upon the -sand. - -The big man stepped down, picked up a dozen and put them into the dish; -then he and his companion sat on the bank and watched the passage of the -thousands till the last of them had rounded a bend of the river and the -waters flowed silently once more. - - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Call Of The South, by Louis Becke - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CALL OF THE SOUTH *** - -***** This file should be named 24895-8.txt or 24895-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/8/9/24895/ - -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: The Call Of The South - 1908 - -Author: Louis Becke - -Release Date: March 22, 2008 [EBook #24895] -[Last Updated: August 4, 2022] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CALL OF THE SOUTH *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger - - - - - -</pre> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <h1> - THE CALL OF THE SOUTH - </h1> - <h2> - By Louis Becke - </h2> - <p> - <br /> <br /> - </p> - <h4> - London, John Milne, 1908 - </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="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I ~ PAUL, THE DIVER </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II ~ THE OLD SEA LIFE </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III ~ THE BLIND MAN OF ADMIRALTY ISLAND - </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV ~ NISÂN ISLAND; A TALE OF THE OLD - TRADING DAYS </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> FIRST - PART </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> SECOND - PART </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> THIRD - PART </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V ~ MUTINIES </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI ~ “MÂNI” </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII ~ AT NIGHT </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII ~ THE CRANKS OF THE <i>JULIA</i> - BRIG </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX ~ “DANDY,” THE SHIP'S DINGO </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X ~ KALA-HOI, THE NET-MAKER </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER XI ~ THE KANAKA LABOUR TRADE IN THE - PACIFIC </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0012"> CHAPTER XII ~ MY FRIENDS, THE ANTHROPOPHAGI - </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0013"> CHAPTER XIII ~ ON THE “JOYS” OF RECRUITING - “BLACKBIRDS” </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0014"> CHAPTER XIV ~ MAKING A FORTUNE IN THE SOUTH - SEAS </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0015"> CHAPTER XV ~ THE STORY OF TOKOLMÉ </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0016"> CHAPTER XVI ~ “LANO-TÔ” </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0017"> CHAPTER XVII ~ “OMBRE CHEVALIER” </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0018"> CHAPTER XVIII ~ A RECLUSE OF THE BUSH </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0019"> CHAPTER XIX ~ TE-BARI, THE OUTLAW </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0020"> CHAPTER XX ~ “THE DANDIEST BOY THAT EVER STOOD - UP IN A BOAT” </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0021"> CHAPTER XXI ~ THE PIT OF MAOTÂ </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0022"> CHAPTER XXII ~ VANÂKI, THE STRONG SWIMMER </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0023"> CHAPTER XXIII ~ TWO PACIFIC ISLANDS BIRDS: THE - SOUTH SEA CORNCRAKE AND </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0027"> THE - SOUTH SEA CORNCRAKE </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0028"> THE - TOOTH-BILLED PIGEON OF SAMOA </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0024"> CHAPTER XXIV ~ A NIGHT RUN ACROSS FÂGALOA BAY - </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0025"> CHAPTER XXV ~ A BIT OF GOOD LUCK </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0026"> CHAPTER XXVI ~ MODERN PIRATES </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0027"> CHAPTER XXVII ~ PAUTÔE </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0028"> CHAPTER XXVIII ~ THE MAN WHO KNEW EVERYTHING - </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0029"> CHAPTER XXIX ~ THE PATTERING OF THE MULLET </a> - </p> - </blockquote> - <p> - <br /> <br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <br /> <br /> <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER I ~ PAUL, THE DIVER - </h2> - <p> - “Feeling any better to-day, Paul?” - </p> - <p> - “Guess I'm getting round,” and the big, bronzed-faced man raised his eyes - to mine as he lay under the awning on the after deck of his pearling - lugger. I sat down beside him and began to talk. - </p> - <p> - A mile away the white beach of a little, land-locked bay shimmered under - the morning sun, and the drooping fronds of the cocos hung listless and - silent, waiting for the rising of the south-east trade. - </p> - <p> - “Paul,” I said, “it is very hot here. Come on shore with me to the native - village, where it is cooler, and I will make you a big drink of - lime-juice.” - </p> - <p> - I helped him to rise—for he was weak from a bad attack of New Guinea - fever—and two of our native crew assisted him over the side into my - whaleboat. A quarter of an hour later we were seated on mats under the - shade of a great wild mango tree, drinking lime-juice and listening to the - lazy hum of the surf upon the reef, and the soft <i>croo, croo</i> of many - “crested” pigeons in the branches above. - </p> - <p> - The place was a little bay in Callie Harbour on Admiralty Island in the - South Pacific; and Paul Fremont was one of our European divers. I was in - charge of the supply schooner which was tender to our fleet of pearling - luggers, and was the one man among us to whom the silent, taciturn Paul - would talk—sometimes. - </p> - <p> - And only sometimes, for usually Paul was too much occupied in his work to - say more than “Good-morning, boss,” or “Good night,” when, after he had - been disencumbered of his diving gear, he went aft to rest and smoke his - pipe. But one day, however, he went down in twenty-six fathoms, stayed too - long, and was brought up unconscious. The mate and I saw the signals go up - for assistance, hurried on board his lugger, and were just in time to save - his life. - </p> - <p> - Two days later he came on board the tender, shook hands in his silent, - undemonstrative way, and held out for my acceptance an old octagon - American fifty dollar gold piece. - </p> - <p> - “Got a gal, boss?”</p> - - <p>I admitted that I had. - </p> - <p> - “Pure white, I mean. One thet you like well enough to marry?” - </p> - <p> - “I mean to try, Paul.” - </p> - <p> - “In Samoa?” - </p> - <p> - “No—Australia.” - </p> - <p> - “Guess I'd like you to give her this 'slug' I got it outer the wreck of a - ship that was sunk off Galveston in the 'sixties,' in the war.” - </p> - <p> - It would have hurt him had I declined the gift. So I thanked him, and he - nodded silently, filled his pipe and went back to the <i>Montiara</i>. - </p> - <p> - Nearly a year passed before we met again, for his lugger and six others - went to New Guinea; and our next meeting was at Callie Harbour, where I - found him down with malarial fever. Again I became his doctor, and ordered - him to lie up. - </p> - <p> - He nodded. - </p> - <p> - “Guess I'll have ter, boss. But I jest hate loafin' around and seein' the - other divers bringin' up shell in easy water.” For he was receiving eighty - pounds per month wages—diving or no diving—and hated to be - idle. - </p> - <p> - “Paul,” I said, as we lay stretched out under the wild mango tree, “would - you mind telling me about that turn-up you had with the niggers at New - Ireland, six years ago.” - </p> - <p> - “Ef you like, boss.” Then he added that he did not care about talking much - at any time, as he was a mighty poor hand at the jaw-tackle. - </p> - <p> - “We were startin' tryin' some new ground between New Hanover and the North - Cape of New Ireland. There were only two luggers, and we had for our - store-ship a thirty-ton cutter. There were two white divers besides me and - one Manila man, and our crews were all natives of some sort or another—Tokelaus, - Manahikians and Hawaiians. The skipper of the storeship was a Dutchman—a - chicken-hearted swab, who turned green at the sight of a nigger with a - bunch of spears, or a club in his hand. He used to turn-in with a brace of - pistols in his belt and a Winchester lying on the cabin table. At sea he - would lose his funk, but whenever we dropped anchor and natives came - aboard his teeth would begin to chatter, and he would just jump at his own - shadder. - </p> - <p> - “We anchored in six fathoms, and in an hour or two we came across a good - patch of black-edge shell, and we began to get the boats and pumps ready - to start regular next morning. As I was boss, I had moored the cutter in a - well-sheltered nook under a high bluff, and the luggers near to her. So - far we had not seen any sign of natives—not even smoke—but - knew that there was a big village some miles away, out o' sight of us, an' - that the niggers were a bad lot, and would have a try at cuttin' off if - they saw a slant. - </p> - <p> - “Early next morning it set in to rain, with easterly squalls, and before - long I saw that there was like to be a week of it, and that we should have - to lie by and wait until it settled. About noon we sighted a dozen white - lime-painted canoes bearing down on us, and Horn, the Dutchman, began to - turn green as usual, and wanted me to heave up and clear out. I set on him - and said I wanted the niggers to come alongside, an' hev a good look at us—they - would see that we were a hard nut to crack if they meant mischief. - </p> - <p> - “They came alongside, six or eight greasy-haired bucks in each canoe—and - asked for terbacker and knives in exchange for some pigs and yams. I let - twenty or so of 'em come aboard, bought their provisions, and let 'em have - a good look around. Their chief was a fat, bloated feller, with a body - like a barrel, and his face pitted with small-pox. He told me that he was - boss of all the place around us, and had some big plantations about a mile - back in the bush, just abreast of us, and that he would let me have all - the food I wanted. In five days or so, he said, we should have fine - weather for diving, and he and his crowd would help me all they could. - </p> - <p> - “About a quarter of a mile away was a rocky little island of about five - acres in extent. It had a few heavy trees on it, but no scrub, and there - were some abandoned fishermen's huts on the beach. I asked the fat hog if - I could use it as a shore station to overhaul our boats and diving gear - when necessary, and he agreed to let me use it as long as I liked for - three hundred sticks of terbacker and two muskets. - </p> - <p> - “They went off on shore again to the plantations, and in a little while we - saw smoke ascendin'—they were cookin' food, and repairing their - huts. Later on in the day they sent me a canoe load of yams, taro, and - other stuff for the men, and asked me to come ashore and look at the - village. I went, fur I knew that they would not try on any games so soon. - </p> - <p> - “There were, in addition to the bucks, a lot of women and children there, - makin' thatch, cookin', and repairin' the pig-proof fencin'. I stayed a - bit, and then came on board again, an' we made snug for the night. - </p> - <p> - “Next morning we landed on the island, repaired two of the huts, and - started mendin' sails, overhauling the boats, and doin' such work that it - was easier to do on shore than on board. Of course we kep' our arms handy, - and old Horn kep' a good watch on board—he dassent put foot on shore - himself—said he was skeered o' fever. - </p> - <p> - “The natives sent us plenty of food, and a good many of 'em loafed around - on the island, and some on board the luggers and cutter, cadgin' fur - terbacker and biscuit. Of course they always carried their clubs and spears - with 'em, as is usual in New Ireland, but they were quiet and civil - enough. Every day canoes were passin' from where we lay to the main - village, and returnin' with other batches of bucks and women all takin' - spells at work; an' there was any amount o' drum beating and <i>duk duk</i>{*} - dancin', and old Horn shivered in his boots swearin' they were comin' to - wipe us out. But my native crews and I and the other white divers were used - to the nigger customs at such times, and although we kep' a good watch - ashore and afloat, none o' us were afraid of any trouble comin'. - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - * The duk duk dance of Melanesia is merely a blackmailing - ceremony by the men to obtain food from the women and the - uninitiated. -</pre> - <p> - “On the fifth night, I, another white diver, named Docky Mason, his Samoan - wife, and a Manahiki sailor named 'Star' were sleeping on shore in one of - the huts. In another hut were three or four New Ireland niggers, who had - brought us some fish and were going away again in the mornin'. - </p> - <p> - “About ten o'clock the sky became as black as ink—a heavy blow was - comin' on, and we just had time to stow our loose gear up tidy, when the - wind came down from between the mountains with a roar like thunder, and - away went the roofs of the huts, and with it nearly everything around us - that was not too heavy to be carried away. My own boat, which was lying on - the beach, was lifted up bodily, sent flyin' into the water, and carried - out to sea. - </p> - <p> - “We tried to make out the cutter's and luggers' lights, but could see - nothing and every second the wind was yellin' louder and louder like forty - thousand cats gone mad, and the air was filled with sticks, leaves, and - sand, and I had a mighty great fear for my little fleet; fur three miles - away to the west, there was a long stretch o' reefs, an' I was afraid they - had dragged and would get mussed up. - </p> - <p> - “Thet's jest what did happen—though they cleared the reefs by the - skin of their teeth. The moment they began to drag, all three slipped. The - luggers stood away under the lee of New Ireland, stickin' in to the land, - and tryin' to bring to for shelter, but they were a hundred miles away - from me, down the coast, before they could bring-to and anchor, for the - blow had settled into a hurricane, and raised such a fearful sea that they - had to heave-to for twenty-four hours. It was two weeks before we met - again, after they had had to tow and 'sweep' back to my little island, - against a dead calm and a strong current, gettin' a whiff of a land breeze - at night now an' agin', which let 'em use their canvas. As for the cutter, - she ran before it for New Britain, and brought up at Matupi in Blanche - Bay, two hundred miles away, where old Horn knew there was a white - settlement of Germans—his own kidney. He was a white-livered old - swine, but a good sailor-man—as far as any man who says 'Ja' for - 'Yes' goes. - </p> - <p> - “When daylight came my mates and I set to work to straighten up. - </p> - <p> - “Docky Mason's native wife—Tia—was a 'whole waggon with a - yaller dog under the team'. She first of all made us some hot coffee, and - gave us a rousin' breakfast; then she made the New Ireland bucks—who - were wantin' to swim to the mainland—turn to and put a new roof of - coco-nut thatch over our hut, although it was still blowin' a ragin' gale. - My! thet gal was a wonder! She hed eyes like stars, an' red lips an' - shinin' pearly teeth, an' a tongue like a whip-lash when she got mad, an' - Docky Mason uster let her talk to him as if he was a nigger—an' say - nuthin'—excep' givin' a foolish laugh and then slouchin' off. And - yet she was as gentle as a lamb to any of us fellows when we got fever, or - had gone down under more'n twenty fathoms, and was hauled up three parts - dead and chokin'. - </p> - <p> - “Well, boss, we got to straights at last, although it was blowin' as hard - as ever. We had a lot o' gear on shore in that native house, for I was - intendin' to beach the cutter an' give her copper a scrubbin' before we - started divin' regular. - </p> - <p> - “There was near on a ton o' twist terbacker in tierces (which we used fur - tradin' with the niggers), a ton o' biscuit in fifty pound tins, boxes o' - red an' yaller seed beads, an' knives an' axes, an' a case o' dynamite, - an' heaps o' things that was a direct invitation to the niggers, an' a - challenge ter the Almighty to hev our silly throats cut. And those four or - five bucks, whilst Tia was hustlin' them around, was jest takin' stock as - they worked. - </p> - <p> - “By sunfall the wind an' sea in the bay had gone down a bit; an' the bucks - said that they would swim on shore (their canoe had been smashed in the - night) and bring us some food early in the mornin'. I gave 'em a bottle o' - Hollands, an' my kind regards for the old barrelled-belly swine of a - chief, some terbacker fur themselves; and then, after they had gone, - looked to our Winchesters and pistols, which the bucks hadn't seen, fur we - always kept 'em outer sight, under our sleepin' mats. - </p> - <p> - “'Paulo,' sez Tia to me, speakin' in Samoan (an' cussin' in English), 'you - an' Docky an' “Star” are a lot o' blamed fools! You orter hev shot all - those bucks ez soon ez they hed finished. Didn't you say that, “Star”?' - </p> - <p> - “'Star' had said 'Yes' to her, but being an unobtrusive sorter o' Kanaka, - he hadn't said nuthin' to us—thinkin' we knew better'n him what ter - do. - </p> - <p> - “We kep' a good watch all that day an' the nex' day, and then at sunset - two bucks in a canoe came off, bringing us six cooked pigeons from the - chief, with a message that he would come an' see us in a day or two, and - bring men to build us better houses to live in until the luggers and the - cutter came back. - </p> - <p> - “We collared the two bucks and tied 'em up, and then Tia made one of 'em - eat part of a pigeon—she standin' over him with a Winchester at his - ear. He ate it, an' in ten minutes he was tyin' himself up in knots, and - was a dead nigger in another quarter of an hour. The pigeons were all - poisoned. - </p> - <p> - “We kep' the other nigger alive an' told him that if he would tell us what - was a-goin' on we'd let him off, and set him ashore, free. - </p> - <p> - “'At dawn to-morrow,' says he, 'Baian' (the fat old chief) thought to find - you all dead, because of the poisoned pigeons sent to you. And then he - meant to take all the good things you have here, and set up your heads in - his <i>duk duk</i> house.' - </p> - <p> - “Before daylight came, Docky Mason an' 'Star' an' me hed fixed up things - all serene ter give Baian and his cannibals a doin'. Fust ev all—to - show our prisoner that we meant business, Tia held up his right hand, an' - Docky sent a Winchester bullet through it, an' told him that he would send - one through his skull ef he didn't do what he was told. - </p> - <p> - “Then we took two empty one gallon colza oil tins, and filled 'em with - dynamite, tamped it down tight, and then ran short fuses through the - corks, and carried 'em down to the place where our prisoner said Baian and - his crowd would land. It was a little bay, lined on each side by pretty - high, ragged coral boulders, covered with creepers. We stowed the tins in - readiness, and then brought our prisoner down, and told him what to do - when the time came. I guess thet thet nigger knew thet ef he didn't play - straight he was a dead coon. Tia sat down jest behind him, and every now - and then touched his backbone with the muzzle ev her pistol—jest ter - show him she was keepin' awake. At the same time he wasn't unwillin', for - he hed told us thet he and his dead mate were not Baian's men—they - were slaves he had captured from a town he had raided somewhere near North - Cape, and they were liable to be killed and eaten at any time if Baian's - crowd ran short of pig meat or turtle. - </p> - <p> - “A little bit higher up, Docky Mason, 'Star' an' me, planted ourselves - with our Winchesters, an' one of our boats' whaler's bomb guns, which - fired four pounds of slugs and deer shot, mixed up—the sorter thing, - boss, thet you an' me may find mighty handy here in this very place, if we - get rushed sudden. We made a charcoal fire, and then frayed out the ends - of the dynamite fuses so thet they would light quickly. - </p> - <p> - “When daylight came, we caught sight of nigh on fifty canoes, all crammed - with niggers, paddlin' like blazes to where we was cached, but making no - noise. Even if they hed we would not hev heard it, fur the wind and the - surf beatin' on the reef would hev drowned it. - </p> - <p> - “On they came and rushed their canoes into the little cove, four abreast, - and Tia prodded our buck in the back, and told him to stand up and talk to - Baian, who was in one of the leadin' canoes. - </p> - <p> - “Up he jumps. - </p> - <p> - “'Oh, Baian, Baian, great Baian,' he called, 'the two white men are dead - in their house, and we have the woman bound hand and foot.' - </p> - <p> - “'Good,' said Baian with a fat chuckle, as he put one leg over the gunwale - of his canoe to step out, and the next moment I put a bullet through him, - and then Docky Mason lit the first charge o' dynamite, and slings it down, - right inter the middle of the crowded canoes, and before it went off he - sent the second one after it. - </p> - <p> - “Boss, I hev seen some dynamite explosions in my time—especially - when I hev hed to blow up wrecks—but I hev never seen anything like - thet. The two shots killed over thirty niggers, wounded as many more, and - stunned a lot, who were drowned. Those who were not hurt swam out of the - cove, and neither Docky nor me had the heart to shoot any of 'em—though - we might hev picked off a couple of dozen afore they got outer range. - </p> - <p> - “Before we could stop him our prisoner jumped down among the dead and - wounded, got a long knife, an' in ten seconds he had Baian's' head off, - and held it up to us, grinning like a cat, on'y not so nice, ez he hed jet - black, betel-nut stained teeth, and red lips like a piece ev raw beef. - </p> - <p> - “We hed no more trouble with the niggers after thet turn-up, you can bet - yer life. - </p> - <p> - “The buck stayed with us until the luggers came back, and a few days after - we landed him at his own village—ez rich ez Jay Gould, for we gave - him a musket with powder and ball, a cutlass, half a dozen pounds ev red - beads, and two hundred sticks of terbacker. I guess thet thet nigger was - able to buy himself all the wives he wanted, and be a 'big Injun' fur the - end of his days.” - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER II ~ THE OLD SEA LIFE - </h2> - <p> - One Sunday morning—when I was about to leave the dear old city of - Sydney for an unpremeditated and long, long absence in cold northern - climes, I went for a farewell stroll around the Circular Quay, and, - standing on some high ground on the east side, looked down on the mass of - shipping below, flying the flags of all nations, and ranging from a few - hundred to ten thousand tons. Mail steamers, deep sea tramps, “freezers,” - colliers—all crowded together, and among them but <i>one</i> single - sailing vessel—a Liverpool barque of 1,000 tons, loading wool. She - looked lost, abandoned, out of place, and my heart went out to her as my - eyes travelled from her shapely lines and graceful sheer, to her lofty - spars, tapering yards, and curving jibboom, the end of the latter almost - touching the stern rail of an ugly bloated-looking German tramp steamer of - 8,000 tons. On that very spot where I stood I, when a boy, had played at - the foot of lofty trees—now covered by hideous ill-smelling wool - stores—and had seen lying at the Circular Quay fifty or sixty noble - full-rigged ships and barques, many brigs and schooners, and but <i>one</i> - steamer, a handsome brig-rigged craft, the <i>Avoca</i>, the monthly P. - and O. boat, which ran from Sydney to Melbourne to connect with a larger - ship. - </p> - <p> - Round the point were certainly a few other steamers, old-fashioned - heavily-rigged men-of-war, generally paddle-wheel craft; and, out of - sight, in Darling Harbour, a mile away, were others—coasters—none - of them reaching five hundred tons, and all either barque- or brig-rigged, - as was then the fashion. - </p> - <p> - And they all, sailers as well as the few steamers, were manned by <i>sailor-men</i>, - not by gangs of foreign paint-scrubbers, who generally form a steamer's - crew of the present day—men who could no more handle a bit of canvas - than a cow could play the Wedding March—in fact there are thousands - of men nowadays earning wages on British ships as A.B.'s who have never - touched canvas except in the shape of tarpaulin hatch covers, and whom it - would be highly dangerous to put at the wheel of a sailing ship—they - would make a wreck of her in any kind of a breeze in a few minutes. - </p> - <p> - In my boyhood days, nearly all the ships that came into Sydney Harbour - flying British colours were manned by men of British blood. Foreigners, as - a rule, were not liked by shipmasters, and their British shipmates in the - fo'c'stle resented their presence. One reason of this was that they would - always “ship” at a lower rate of wage than Englishmen, and were clannish. - I have known of captains of favourite clipper passenger ships, trading - between London and the colonies, declining to ship a foreigner, even an - English-speaking Dane or Scandinavian, who make good sailor-men, and are - quiet, sober, and hardworking. Nowadays it is difficult to find any - English deep-sea ship or steamer, in which half of the hands for'ard are - not foreigners of some sort. And now practically the whole coasting - mercantile marine of the Australian colonies is manned by Germans, Swedes, - Danes, and Norwegians. - </p> - <p> - When I was a young man I sailed in ships in the South Sea trade which had - carried the same crew, voyage after voyage, for years, and there was a - distinct feeling of comradeship existing between officers and crew that - does not now exist. I well remember one gallant ship, the <i>All Serene</i> - (a happy name), which was for ten years in the Sydney-China trade. She was - about the first colonial vessel to adopt double-top-gallant yards, and - many wise-heads prophesied all sorts of dire mishaps from the innovation. - On this ship (she was full rigged) was a crew of nineteen men, and the - majority of them had sailed in her for eight years, although her captain - was a bit of a “driver”. But they got good wages, good food, and had a - good ship under their feet—a ship with a crack record as a fast - sailer. - </p> - <p> - In contrast to the <i>All Serene</i>, was a handsome barque I once sailed - in as a passenger from Sydney to New Caledonia, where she was to load - nickel ore for Liverpool. Her captain and three mates were Britishers, and - smart sailor-men enough, the steward was a Chileno, the bos'un a Swede; - carpenter a Mecklenburger joiner (who, when told to repair the - fore-scuttle, which had been damaged by a heavy sea, did not know where it - was situated), the sailmaker a German, and of the twelve A.B.'s and O.S.'s - only one—a man of sixty-five years of age, was a Britisher; the rest - were of all nationalities. Three of them were Scandinavians and were good - sailor-men, the others were almost useless, and only fit to scrub - paint-work, and hardly one could be trusted at the wheel. The cook was a - Martinique nigger, and was not only a good cook, but a thorough seaman, - and he had the utmost contempt for what he called “dem mongrels for'ard,” - especially those who were Dagoes. The captain and officers certainly had - reason to knock the crew about, for during an electrical storm one night - the ship was visited by St. Elmo's fire, and the Dagoes to a man refused - duty, and would not go aloft, being terrified out of their wits at the - dazzling globes of fire running along the yards, hissing and dancing, and - illuminating the ocean for miles. They bolted below, rigged up an altar - and cross with some stump ends of candles, and began to pray. Exasperated - beyond endurance, the captain, officers, two Norwegians, the nigger cook - and I, after having shortened canvas, “went” for them, knocked the - religious paraphernalia to smithereens, and drove them on deck. - </p> - <p> - The nigger cook was really a devout Roman Catholic, but his seaman's soul - revolted at their cowardice, and he so far lost his temper as to seize a - Portuguese by his black curly hair, throw him down, tear open his shirt, - and seize a leaden effigy of St. Jago do Compostella, which he wore round - his neck, and thrust it into his mouth. In after years I saw Captain - “Bully” Hayes do the same thing, also with a Portuguese sailor; but Hayes - made the man actually swallow the little image—after he had rolled - it into a rough ball—saying that if St James was so efficient to - externally protect the wearer from dangers of the sea, that he could do it - still better in the stomach, where he (the saint) would feel much warmer. - </p> - <p> - The barque, a month or so after I left her in Noumea, sailed from T'chio - in New Caledonia, and was never heard of again. She was overmasted, and I - have no doubt but that she capsized, and every one on board perished. Had - she been manned by English sailors, she would have reached her destination - in safety, for the captain and officers knew her faults and that she was a - tricky ship to sail with an unreliable crew. - </p> - <p> - In many ships in which I have sailed, in my younger days, no officer - considered it <i>infra dig</i>. for him, when not on watch, to go for'ard - and listen to some of the hands spinning yarns, especially when the - subject of their discourse turned upon matters of seamanship, the - eccentricities either of a ship herself or of her builders, etc. This - unbending from official dignity on the part of an officer was rarely - abused by the men—especially by the better-class sailor-man. He knew - that “Mr. Smith” the chief officer who was then listening to his yarns and - perhaps afterwards spinning one himself, would in a few hours become a - different man when it was his watch on deck, and probably ask Tom Jones, - A.B., what the blazes he meant by crawling aft to relieve the wheel like - an old woman with palsy. And Jones, A.B., would grin with respectful - diffidence, hurry his steps and bear no malice towards his superior. - </p> - <p> - Such incidents never occur now. There is no feeling of comradeship between - officer and “Jack”. Each distrusts the other. - </p> - <p> - I have not had much experience of steamers in the South Sea trade, except - as a passenger—most of my voyages having been made in sailing craft, - but on one occasion my firm had to charter a steamer for six months, owing - to the ship of which I was supercargo undergoing extensive repairs. - </p> - <p> - The steamer, in addition to a general cargo, also carried 500 tons of coal - for the use of a British warship, engaged in “patrolling” the Solomon - Islands, and I was told to “hurry along”. The ship's company were all - strangers to me, and I saw at once I should not have a pleasant time as - supercargo. The crew were mostly alleged Englishmen, with a sprinkling of - foreigners, and the latter were a useless, lazy lot of scamps. The - engine-room staff were worse, and the captain and mate seemed too - terrified of them to bring them to their bearings. They (the crew) were a - bad type of “wharf rats,” and showed such insolence to the captain and - mate that I urged both to put some of them in irons for a few days. The - second mate was the only officer who showed any spirit, and he and I - naturally stood together, agreeing to assist each other if matters became - serious, for the skipper and mate were a thoroughly white-livered pair. - </p> - <p> - Just off San Cristoval, the firemen came to me, and asked me to sell them - a case of Hollands gin. I refused, and said one bottle was enough at a - time. They threatened to break into the trade-room, and help themselves. I - said that they would do so at their own peril—the first man that - stepped through the doorway would get hurt. They retired, cursing me as a - “mean hound”. The skipper said nothing. He, I am glad to say, was not an - Englishman, though he claimed to be. He was a Dane. - </p> - <p> - Arriving at a village on the coast of San Cristoval, where I had to land - stores for a trader, we found a rather heavy surf on, and the crew refused - to man a boat and take me on shore, on the plea that it was too dangerous; - a native boat's crew would have smiled at the idea of danger, and so also - would any white sailor-man who was used to surf work. - </p> - <p> - Two days later, through their incapacity, they capsized a boat by letting - her broach-to in crossing a reef, and a hundred pounds' worth of trade - goods were lost. - </p> - <p> - When we met the cruiser for whom the coals were destined, the second mate - and I told the commander in the presence of our own skipper that we - considered the latter unfit to have command of the steamer. - </p> - <p> - “Then put the mate in charge, if you consider your captain is incapable,” - said the naval officer. - </p> - <p> - “The mate is no better,” I said, “he is as incapable as the captain.” - </p> - <p> - “Then the second mate is the man.” - </p> - <p> - “I cannot navigate, sir,” said the second mate. - </p> - <p> - The naval commander drew me aside, and we took “sweet counsel” together. - Then he called our ruffianly scallywags of a crew on to the main deck, - eyed them up and down, and ignoring our captain, asked me how many pairs - of handcuffs were on board. - </p> - <p> - “Two only,” I replied. - </p> - <p> - “Then I'll send you half a dozen more. Clap 'em on to some of these - fellows for a week, until they come to their senses.” - </p> - <p> - In half an hour the second mate and I had the satisfaction of seeing four - firemen and four A.B.'s in irons, which they wore for a week, living on - biscuit and water. - </p> - <p> - A few weeks later I engaged, on my own responsibility, ten good native - seamen, and for the rest of the voyage matters went fairly well, for the - captain plucked up courage, and became valorous when I told him that my - natives would make short work of their white shipmates, if the latter - again became mutinous. - </p> - <p> - Against this experience I have had many pleasant ones. In one dear old - brig, in which I sailed as supercargo for two years, we carried a double - crew—white men and natives of Rotumah Island, and a happier ship - never spread her canvas to the winds of the Pacific. This was purely - because the officers were good men, the hands—white and native—good - seamen, cheerful and obedient—not the lazy, dirty, paint-scrubbers - one too often meets with nowadays, especially on cheaply run big - four-masted sailing ships, flying the red ensign of Old England. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER III ~ THE BLIND MAN OF ADMIRALTY ISLAND - </h2> - <p> - We had had a stroke—or rather a series of strokes—of very bad - luck. Our vessel, the <i>Metaris</i>, had been for two months cruising - among the islands of what is now known as the Bismarck Archipelago, in the - Northwestern Pacific. We had twice been on shore, once on the coast of New - Ireland, and once on an unknown and uncharted reef between that island and - St. Matthias Island. Then, on calling at one of our trading stations at - New Hanover where we intended to beach the vessel for repairs, we found - that the trader had been killed, and of the station house nothing remained - but the charred centre-post—it had been reduced to ashes. The place - was situated on a little palm-clad islet not three hundred acres in - extent, and situated a mile or two from the mainland, and abreast of a - village containing about four hundred natives, under whose protection our - trader and his three Solomon Island labourers were living, as the little - island belonged to them, and we had placed the trader there on account of - its suitability, and also because the man particularly wished to be quite - apart from the village, fearing that his Solomon Islanders would get - themselves into trouble with the people. - </p> - <p> - From the excited natives, who boarded us even before we had dropped - anchor, we learned that about a month after we had left poor Chantrey on - his little island a large party of marauding St. Matthias Island savages, - in ten canoes, had suddenly appeared and swooped down upon the unfortunate - white man and his labourers and slaughtered all four of them; then after - loading their canoes with all the plunder they could carry, they set fire - to the house and Chantrey's boat, and made off again within a few hours. - </p> - <p> - This was a serious blow to us; for not only had we to deplore the cruel - death of one of our best and most trusted traders, but Chantrey had a - large stock of trade goods, a valuable boat, and had bought over five - hundred pounds' worth of coconut oil and pearl-shell from the New Hanover - natives,—all this had been consumed. However, it was of no use for - us to grieve, we had work to do that was of pressing necessity, for the <i>Metaris</i> - was leaking badly and had to be put on the beach as quickly as possible - whilst we had fine weather. This, with the assistance of the natives, we - at once set about and in the course of a few days had effected all the - necessary repairs, and then steered westward for Admiralty Island, calling - at various islands on our way, trading with the wild natives for coco-nut - oil, copra, ivory nuts, pearl-shell and tortoise-shell, and doing very - poorly; for a large American schooner, engaged in the same business, had - been ahead of us, and at most of the islands we touched at we secured - nothing more than a few hundredweight of black-edged pearl-shell. Then, to - add to our troubles, two of our native crew were badly wounded in an - attack made on a boat's crew who were sent on shore to cut firewood on - what the skipper and I thought to be a chain of small uninhabited islands. - This was a rather serious matter, for not only were the captain and - boatswain ill with fever, but three of the crew as well. - </p> - <p> - For a week we worked along the southern coast of Admiralty Island, calling - at a number of villages and obtaining a considerable quantity of very good - pearl-shell from the natives. But it was a harassing time, for having - seven sick men on board we never dared to come to an anchor for fear of - the savage and treacherous natives attempting to capture the ship. As it - was, we had to keep a sharp look-out to prevent more than two canoes - coming alongside at once, and then only when there was a fair breeze, so - that we could shake them off if their occupants showed any inclination for - mischief. We several times heard some of these gentry commenting on the - ship being so short-handed, and this made us unusually careful, for - although those of us who were well never moved about unarmed we could not - have beaten back a sudden rush. - </p> - <p> - At last, however, both Manson and the boatswain, and one of the native - sailors became so ill that the former decided to make a break in the - cruise and let all hands—sick and well—have a week's spell at - a place he knew of, situated at the west end of the great island; and so - one day we sailed the <i>Metaris</i> into a quiet little bay, encompassed - by lofty well-wooded hills, and at the head of which was a fine stream of - fresh water. - </p> - <p> - “We shall soon pull ourselves together in this place,” said Manson to - Loring (the mate) and me. “I know this little bay well, though 'tis six - years since I was last here. There are no native villages within ten miles - at least, and we shall be quite safe, so we need only keep an anchor watch - at night. Man the boat, there. I must get on shore right away. I am - feeling better already for being here. Which of you fellows will come with - me for a bit of a look round?” - </p> - <p> - I, being the supercargo, was, for the time, an idle man, but made an - excuse of “wanting to overhaul” my trade-room—always a good standing - excuse with most supercargoes—as I wanted Loring to have a few hours - on shore; for although he was free of fever he was pretty well run down - with overwork. So, after some pressure, he consented, and a few minutes - later he and Manson were pulled on shore, and I watched them land on the - beach, just in front of a clump of wild mango trees in full bearing, - almost surrounded by groves of lofty coco-nut palms. A little farther on - was an open, grassy space on which grew some wide-branched white cedar - trees. - </p> - <p> - About an hour afterwards Loring returned on board, and told me that Manson - had gone on alone to what he described as “a sweet little lake”. It was - only a mile away, and he thought of having a leaf house built there for - the sick men and himself, and wanted Loring to come and have a look at it, - but the mate declined, pleading his wish to get back to the ship and - unbend our canvas. - </p> - <p> - “As you will,” said Manson to him. “I shall be all right. I'll shoot some - pigeons and cockatoos by-and-by, and bring them down to the beach. And - after you have unbent the canvas, you can take the seine to the mouth of - the creek and fill the boat with fish.” Then, gun on shoulder, he walked - slowly away into the verdant and silent forest. - </p> - <p> - After unbending our canvas, we went to dinner; and then leaving Loring in - charge of the ship, the boatswain, two hands and myself went on shore with - the seine to the mouth of the creek, and in a very short time netted some - hundreds of fish much resembling the European shad. - </p> - <p> - Just as we were about to push off, I heard Manson's hail close to, and - looking round, nearly lost my balance and fell overboard in astonishment—he - was accompanied by a woman. - </p> - <p> - Springing out of the boat, I ran to meet them. - </p> - <p> - “Mrs. Hollister,” said the captain, “this is my supercargo. As soon as we - get on board I will place you in his hands, and he will give you all the - clothing you want at present for yourself and your little girl,” and then - as, after I had shaken hands with the lady, I stood staring at him for an - explanation, he smiled. - </p> - <p> - “I'll tell you Mrs. Hollister's strange story by-and-by, old man. Briefly - it is this—she, her husband, and their little girl have been living - here for over two years. Their vessel was castaway here. Now, get into the - boat, please, Mrs. Hollister.” - </p> - <p> - The woman, who was weeping silently with excitement, smiled through her - tears, stepped into the boat, and in a few minutes we were alongside. - </p> - <p> - “Make all the haste you can,” Manson said to me, “as Mrs. Hollister is - returning on shore as soon as you can give her some clothing and boots or - shoes. Then they are all coming on board to supper at eight o'clock.” - </p> - <p> - The lady came with me to my trade-room, and we soon went to work together, - I forbearing to ask her any questions whatever, though I was as full of - curiosity as a woman. Like that of all trading vessels whose “run” - embraced the islands of Polynesia as well as Melanesia and Micronesia, the - trade-room of the <i>Metaris</i> was a general store. The shelves and - cases were filled with all sorts of articles—tinned provisions, - wines and spirits, firearms and ammunition, hardware and drapers' soft - goods, “yellow-back” novels, ready-made clothing for men, women and - children, musical instruments and grindstones—in fact just such a - stock as one would find in a well-stocked general store in an Australian - country town. - </p> - <p> - In half an hour Mrs. Hollister had found all that she wanted, and packing - the articles in a “trade” chest, I had it passed on deck and lowered into - the boat. Then the lady, now smiling radiantly, shook hands with every - one, including the steward, and descended to the boat which quickly cast - off and made for the shore in charge of the boatswain. - </p> - <p> - Then I felt that I deserved a drink, and went below again where Manson and - Loring were awaiting me. They had anticipated my wishes, for the steward - had just placed the necessary liquids on the cabin table. - </p> - <p> - “Now, boys,” said the skipper, as he opened some soda water, “after we - have had a first drink I'll spin my yarn—and a sad enough one it is, - too. By-the-way, steward, did you put that bottle of brandy and some soda - water in the boat?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, sir.” - </p> - <p> - “That's all right. Just fancy, you fellows—that poor chap on shore - has not had a glass of grog for more than two years. That is, I suppose - so. Anyway I am sending him some. And, I say, steward; I want you to - spread yourself this evening and give us <i>the</i> very best supper you - ever gave us. There are three white persons coming at eight o'clock. And I - daresay they will sleep on board, so get ready three spare bunks.” - </p> - <p> - Manson was usually a slow, drawling speaker—except when he had - occasion to admonish the crew; then he was quite brilliant in the rapidity - of his remarks—but now he was clearly a little excited and seemed to - have shaken the fever out of his bones, for he not only drank his brandy - and soda as if he enjoyed it, but asked the steward to bring him his pipe. - This latter request was a sure sign that he was getting better. Then he - began his story. - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - Although six years had passed since he had visited this part of the great - island, Manson knew his way inland to the lake. The forest was open, and - consisted of teak and cedar with but little undergrowth. Suddenly, as he - was passing under the spreading branches of a great cedar, he saw - something that made him stare with astonishment—a little white girl, - driving before her a flock of goats! She was dressed in a loose gown of - blue print, and wore an old-fashioned white linen sun-bonnet, and her bare - legs and feet were tanned a deep brown. Only for a moment did he see her - face as she faced towards him to hurry up a playful kid that had broken - away from the flock, and then her back was again turned, and she went on, - quite unaware of his presence. - </p> - <p> - “Little girl,” he called. - </p> - <p> - Something like a cry of terror escaped her lips as she turned to him. - </p> - <p> - “Oh, sir,” she cried in trembling tones, “you frightened me.” - </p> - <p> - “I am so sorry, my dear. Who are you? Where do you live?” - </p> - <p> - “Just by the lake, sir, with my father and mother.” - </p> - <p> - “May I come with you and see them?” - </p> - <p> - “Oh, yes, sir. We have never seen any one since we came here more than two - years ago. When did you come, sir?” - </p> - <p> - “Only this morning. My vessel is anchored in the little cove.” - </p> - <p> - “Oh, I am so glad, so glad! My father and mother too will be so glad to - meet you. But he cannot see you—I mean see you with his eyes—for - he is blind. When our ship was wrecked here the lightning struck him, and - took away his eyesight.” - </p> - <p> - Deeply interested as he was, Manson forbore to question the child any - further, and walked beside her in silence till they came in view of the - lake. - </p> - <p> - “Look, sir, there is our house. Mother and Fiji Sam, the sailor, built it, - and I helped. Isn't it nice? See, there are my father and mother waiting - for me.” - </p> - <p> - On the margin of a lovely little lake, less than a mile in circumference, - was a comfortably built house, semi-native, semi-European in construction, - and surrounded by a garden of gorgeous-hued coleus, crotons, and other - indigenous plants, and even the palings which enclosed it were of growing - saplings, so evenly trimmed as to resemble an ivy-grown wall. - </p> - <p> - Seated in front of the open door were a man and woman. The latter rose and - came to meet Manson, who raised his hat as the lady held out her hand, and - he told her who he was. - </p> - <p> - “Come inside,” she said, in a soft, pleasant voice. “This is my husband, - Captain Hollister. Our vessel was lost on this island twenty-eight months - ago, and you are the first white man we have seen since then.” - </p> - <p> - The blind man made his visitor welcome, but without effusion, and begged - him to be seated. What especially struck Manson was the calm, quiet manner - of all three. They received him as if they were used to seeing strangers, - and betrayed no unusual agitation. Yet they were deeply thankful for his - coming. The house consisted of three rooms, and had been made extremely - comfortable by articles of cabin furniture. The table was laid for - breakfast, and as Manson sat down, the little girl hurriedly milked a - goat, and brought in a small gourd of milk. In a few minutes Hollister's - slight reserve had worn off, and he related his strange story. - </p> - <p> - His vessel (of which he was owner) was a topsail schooner of 130 tons, and - had sailed from Singapore in a trading cruise among the Pacific Islands. - For the first four months all went well. Many islands had been visited - with satisfactory results, and then came disaster, swift and terrible. - Hollister told of it in few and simple words. - </p> - <p> - “We were in sight of this island and in the middle watch were becalmed. - The night was close and sultry, and we had made all ready for a blow of - some sort. For two hours we waited, and then in an instant the whole - heavens were alight with chain and fork lightning. My Malay crew bolted - below, and as they reached the fore-scuttle, two of them were struck dead, - and flames burst out on the fore-part of the ship. I sprang forward, and - was half-way along the deck, when I, too, was struck down. For an hour I - was unconscious, and when I revived knew that my sight was gone for ever. - </p> - <p> - “My mate was a good seaman, but old and wanting in nerve. Still, with the - aid of some of the terrified crew, and amidst a torrential downpour of - rain which almost immediately began to fall, he did what he could to save - the ship. In half an hour the rain ceased, and then the wind came with - hurricane force from the southward; the crew again bolted, and refused to - come on deck, and the poor mate in trying to heave-to was washed away from - the wheel, together with the Malay serang—the only man who stuck to - him. There were now left on board alive four Malays, one Fijian A.B. named - Sam, my wife and child and myself. And I, of course, was helpless. - </p> - <p> - “'Fiji Sam' was a plucky fellow. Aided by my wife, he succeeded in putting - the schooner before the wind and letting her drive to the N.N.W., feeling - sure that she would be giving the land a wide berth. Unfortunately he did - not count upon a four-knot current setting to the eastward, and just as - daylight was breaking we tore clean over the reef at high water into a - little bay two miles from here. The water was so deep, and the place so - sheltered, that the schooner drifted in among the branches of the trees - lining the beach, and lay there as quiet as if she were moored to a wharf. - </p> - <p> - “Two days later the Malays seized the dinghy, taking with them provisions - and arms, and deserted me. What became of them I do not know. - </p> - <p> - “Fiji Sam found this lake, and here we built this house, after removing - all that we could from the ship, for she was leaking, and settled down - upon her keel. She is there still, but of no use. - </p> - <p> - “When we ran ashore we had in the hold some goats and pigs, which I had - bought at Anchorites' Island. The goats kept with us, but the pigs went - wild, and took to the bush. In endeavouring to shoot one, poor Fiji Sam - lost his life—his rifle caught in a vine and went off, the bullet - passing through his body. - </p> - <p> - “Not once since the wreck have we seen a single native, though on clear - days we often see smoke about fifteen miles along the coast. Anyway, none - have come near us—for which I am very glad.” - </p> - <p> - Manson remarked that that was fortunate as they were “a bad lot”. - </p> - <p> - “So we have been living here quietly for over two years. Twice only have - we seen a sail, but only on the horizon. And I, having neither boat nor - canoe, and being blind, was helpless.” - </p> - <p> - “That is the poor fellow's story,” concluded Manson. “Of course I will - give them a passage to Levuka, and we must otherwise do our best for them. - Although Hollister has lost every penny he had in the world, his wife - tells me that she owns some property in Singapore, where she also has a - brother who is in business there. By Jove, boys, I wish you had been with - me when I said 'Thank God, I have found you, Captain Hollister,' and the - poor fellow sighed and turned his face away as he held out his hand to me, - and his wife drew him to her bosom.” - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER IV ~ NISÂN ISLAND; A TALE OF THE OLD TRADING DAYS - </h2> - <p> - When I was first learning the ropes as a “recruiter” in the Kanaka labour - trade, recruiting natives to work on the plantations of Samoa and Fiji, we - called at a group of islands called Nisân by the natives, and marked on - the chart as the Sir Charles Hardy Islands. I thought it likely that I - might obtain a few “recruits,” and the captain wanted fresh provisions. - </p> - <p> - The group lies between the south end of New Ireland and the north end of - the great Bougainville Island in the Solomon Archipelago, and consists of - six low, well-wooded and fertile islands, enclosed within a barrier reef, - forming a noble atoll, almost circular in shape. All the islands are - thickly populated at the present day by natives, who are peaceable enough, - and engage in <i>bêche-de-mer</i> and pearl-shell fishing. Less than forty - years back they were notorious cannibals, and very warlike, and never - hesitated to attempt to cut off any whaleship or trading vessel that was - not well manned and well armed. - </p> - <p> - As I had visited the group on three previous occasions in a trading vessel - and was well known to the people, I was pretty sure of getting some - “recruits” for Samoa, for our vessel had a good reputation. So, lowering - our boats, the second mate and I went on shore, and were pleasantly - received. But, alas for my hopes! I could not get a single native to - recruit. They were, they said, now doing so well at curing <i>bêche-de-mer</i> - for a Sydney trading vessel that none of the young men cared to leave the - island to work on a plantation for three years; in addition to this, never - before had food been so plentiful—pigs and poultry abounded, and - turtle were netted by hundreds at a time. In proof of their assertion as - to the abundance of provisions, I bought from them, for trade goods worth - about ten dollars, a boat-load of turtle, pigs, ducks, fowls, eggs and - fish. These I sent off to the ship by the second mate, and told him to - return for another load of bread-fruit, taro, and other vegetables and - fruit. I also sent a note to the captain by my own boat, telling him to - come on shore and bring our guns and plenty of cartridges, as the islands - were alive with countless thousands of fine, heavy pigeons, which were - paying the group their annual visit from the mountainous forests of - Bougainville Island and New Ireland. They literally swarmed on a small - uninhabited island, covered with bread-fruit and other trees, and used by - the natives as a sort of pleasure resort. - </p> - <p> - The two boats returned together, and leaving the second mate to buy more - pigs and turtle—for we had eighty-five “recruits” on board to feed, - as well as the ship's company of twenty-eight persons—the skipper - and I started off in my boat for the little island, accompanied by several - young Nisân “bucks” carrying old smooth-bore muskets, for they, too, - wanted to join in the sport I had given them some tins of powder, shot, - and a few hundred military caps. We landed on a beautiful white beach, and - telling our boat's crew to return to the village and help the second mate, - the skipper and I, with the Nisân natives, walked up the bank, and in a - few minutes the guns were at work. Never before had I seen such thousands - of pigeons in so small an area. It could hardly be called sport, for the - birds were so thick on the trees that when a native fired at haphazard - into the branches the heavy charge of shot would bring them down by the - dozen—the remainder would simply fly off to the next tree. Owing to - the dense foliage the skipper and I seldom got a shot at them on the wing, - and had to slaughter like the natives, consoling ourselves with the fact - that every bird would be eaten. Most of them were so fat that it was - impossible to pluck them without the skin coming away, and from the - boat-load we took on board the skip's cook obtained a ten-gallon keg full - of fat. - </p> - <p> - About noon we ceased, to have something to eat and drink, and chose for - our camp a fairly open spot, higher than the rest of the island, and - growing on which were some magnificent trees, bearing a fruit called vi. - It is in reality a wild mango, but instead of containing the smooth - oval-shaped seed of the mango family, it has a round, root-like and spiky - core. The fruit, however, is of a delicious flavour, and when fully ripe - melts in one's mouth. Whilst our native friends were grilling some birds, - and getting us some young coco-nuts to drink, the captain and I, taking - some short and heavy pieces of wood, began throwing them at the ripe fruit - overhead. Suddenly my companion tripped over something and fell. - </p> - <p> - “Hallo, what is this?” he exclaimed, as he rose and looked at the cause of - his mishap. - </p> - <p> - It was the end of a bar of pig-iron ballast, protruding some inches out of - the soft soil. We worked it to and fro, and then pulled it out. Wondering - how it came there, we left it and resumed our stick-throwing, when we - discovered three more on the other side of the tree; they were lying amid - the ruins of an old wall, built of coral-stone slabs. We questioned the - natives as to how these “pigs” came to be there. They replied that, long - before their time, a small vessel had come into the lagoon and anchored, - and that the crew had thrown the bars of iron overboard. After the - schooner had sailed away, the natives had dived for and recovered the - iron, and had tried to soften the bars by fire in the hope of being able - to turn it into axes, etc. - </p> - <p> - We accepted the story as true, and thought no more about it, though we - wondered why such useful, compact and heavy ballast should be thrown away, - and when my boat returned to take us to the ship, we took the iron “pigs” - with us. - </p> - <p> - Arriving at Samoa, we soon rid ourselves of our eighty-five “blackbirds,” - who had all behaved very well on the voyage, and were sorry to leave the - ship; and that evening I paid a visit to an old friend of mine—an - American who kept a large store in Apia, the principal port and town of - Samoa. I was telling him all about our cruise, when an old white man, - locally known as “Bandy Tom,” came up from the yard, and sat down on the - verandah steps near us. Old Tom was a character, and well known all over - Polynesia as an inveterate old loafer and beachcomber. He was a deserter - from the navy, and for over forty years had wandered about the South - Pacific, sometimes working honestly for a living, sometimes dishonestly, - but usually loafing upon some native community, until they tired of him - and made him seek fresh pastures. In his old age he had come to Samoa, and - my friend, taking pity on the penniless old wreck, gave him employment as - night watchman, and let him hang about the premises and do odd jobs in the - day-time. With all his faults he was an amusing ancient, and was known for - his “tall” yarns about his experiences with cannibals in Fiji. - </p> - <p> - Bidding me “good-evening,” Bandy Tom puffed away at his pipe, and listened - to what I was saying. When I had finished describing our visit to Nisân, - and the finding of the ballast, he interrupted. - </p> - <p> - “I can tell you where them 'pigs' come from, and all about 'em—leastways - a good deal; for I knows more about the matter than any one else.” - </p> - <p> - Parker laughed. “Bandy, you know, or pretend to know, about everything - that has happened in the South Seas since the time of Captain Cook.” - </p> - <p> - “Ah, you can laugh as much as you like, boss,” said the old fellow - serenely, “but I know what I'm talkin' about I ain't the old gas-bag you - think I am. I lived on Nisân for a year an' ten months, nigh on thirty - years ago, gettin' <i>bêche-de-mer</i> for Captain Bobby Towns of Sydney.” - Then turning to me he added: “I ain't got too bad a memory, for all my - age. I can tell you the names of all the six islands, and how they lies, - an' a good deal about the people an' the queer way they has of catchin' - turtle in rope nets; an' I can tell you the names of the head men that was - there in my time—which was about 'fifty or 'fifty-one. Just you try - me an' see.” - </p> - <p> - I did try him, and he very soon satisfied me that he had lived on the Sir - Charles Hardy Islands, and knew the place well. Then he told his story, - which I condense as much as possible. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - FIRST PART - </h2> - <p> - Bandy was landed at Nisân by Captain Robert Towns of the barque <i>Adventurer</i> - of Sydney, to collect <i>bêche-de-mer</i>. He was well received by the - savage inhabitants and provided with a house, and well treated generally, - for Captain Towns, knowing the natives to be cannibals and treacherous, - had demanded a pledge from them that Bandy should not be harmed, and - threatened that if on his return in the following year he found the white - man was missing, he would land his crew, and destroy them to the last man. - Then the barque sailed. A day or so afterwards Bandy was visited by a - native, who was very different in appearance from the Nisân people. He - spoke to the white man in good English, and informed him that he was a - native of the island of Rotumah, but had been living on Nisân for more - than twenty years, had married, had a family, and was well thought of by - the people. The two became great friends, and Taula, as the Rotumah man - was named, took Bandy into his confidence, and told him of a tragedy that - had occurred on Nisân about five or six years after he (Taula) had landed - on the islands. He was one of the crew of a whaleship which, on a dark - night, nearly ran ashore on Nisân, and in the hurry and confusion of the - vessels going about he slipped over the side, swam on shore through the - surf, and reached the land safely. - </p> - <p> - One day, said Taula, the natives were thrown into a state of wild - excitement by the appearance of a brigantine, which boldly dropped anchor - abreast of the principal village. She was the first vessel that had ever - stopped at the islands, and the savage natives instantly planned to - capture her and massacre the crew. But they resolved to first put the - white men off their guard. Taula, however, did not know this at the time. - With a number of the Nisân people he went on board, taking an ample supply - of provisions. The brigantine had a large crew and was heavily armed, - carrying ten guns, and the natives were allowed to board in numbers. The - captain had with him his wife, whom Taula described as being quite a young - girl. He questioned the natives about pearl-shell and <i>bêche-de-mer</i> - and a few hours later, by personal inspection, satisfied himself that the - atoll abounded with both. He made a treaty with the apparently friendly - people, and at once landed a party to build houses, etc. - </p> - <p> - I must now, for reasons that will appear later on, hurry over Taula's - story as told by him to Bandy. - </p> - <p> - Eight or ten days after the arrival of the brigantine, the shore party of - fourteen white men were treacherously attacked, and thirteen ruthlessly - slaughtered. One who escaped was kept as a slave, and the brigantine, to - avoid capture, hurriedly put to sea. - </p> - <p> - Six months or so passed, and the vessel again appeared and anchored, this - time on a mission of vengeance. The natives, nevertheless, were not - alarmed, and again determined to get possession of the ship, although this - time her decks were crowded with men. They attacked her in canoes, were - repulsed, returned to the shore and then, with incredible audacity, sent - the white sailor whom they had captured on board the vessel to make peace. - But not for a moment had they relinquished the determination to capture - the vessel, which they decided to effect by treachery, if force could not - be used. What followed was related in detail by Taula to Bandy. - </p> - <p> - Parker and I were deeply interested in Bandy's story, and at its - conclusion I asked him if his informant knew the name of the ship and her - nationality. - </p> - <p> - “Not her name, sir; but she was an American. Taula knew the American flag, - for the ship he ran away from was a Sag harbour whaler. The pig-iron bars - which you found were brought ashore to make a bed for the <i>bêche-de-mer</i> - curing pots. He showed 'em to me one day.” - </p> - <p> - Both Parker and I were convinced of the truth of Bandy's story, and came - to the conclusion that the unknown brigantine was probably a colonial - trader, which had afterwards been lost with all hands. For we were both - fairly well up in the past history of the South Seas—at least we - thought so—and had never heard of this affair at the Sir Charles - Hardy Group. But we were entirely mistaken in our assumptions. - </p> - <p> - In the month of April in the year 1906, after a lapse of more than five - and twenty years, the mystery that enshrouded the tragedy of Nisân was - revealed to me by my coming across, in a French town, a small, - time-stained and faded volume of 230 pages, and published by J. and J. - Harper of New York in 1833, and entitled <i>Narrative of a Voyage to the - Ethiopie and South Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Chinese Sea, North and - South Pacific Ocean in the years</i> 1829, 1830, 1831, by Abby Jane - Morrell, who accompanied her husband, Captain Benjamin Morrell, Junior, of - the schooner <i>Antarctic</i>. - </p> - <p> - Now to her story, - </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> - SECOND PART - </h2> - <p> - Opening the faded little volume, the reader sees a wood-engraving of the - authoress, a remarkably handsome young woman of about twenty years of age, - dressed in the quaint fashion of those days. As a matter of fact she was - only four and twenty when her book was published. In a brief preface she - tells us that her object in writing a book was not for the purpose of - exciting interest in her own experiences of a remarkable voyage, but in - the hope that it would arouse philanthropic endeavour to ameliorate the - condition of American seamen. Throughout the volume there is a vein of - deep, yet unobtrusive piety, and the reader is struck with her - self-effacement, her courage, her reverent admiration for her young sailor - husband, and her pride in his gallant ship and sturdy crew of native-born - American seamen. In the <i>Antarctic</i> the young couple sailed many - seas, and visited many lands, and everywhere they seem to have been the - recipients of unbounded hospitality and attention, especially from their - own country people, and English merchants, and naval and military men. It - is very evident—even if only judging from her picture—that she - was a very charming young lady of the utmost vivacity; and in addition to - this, she was an accomplished linguist, and otherwise highly educated. Her - beauty, indeed, caused her many tears, owing to the “wicked and persistent - attentions” of the American consul at Manila. This gentleman appears to - have set himself to work to make Mrs. Morrell a widow, until at last—her - husband being away at sea—she had to be guarded from his persistent - advances by some of the English and American families resident in Manila. - She tells the story in the most naive and delightful manner, and the - reader's heart warms to the little woman. But I must not diverge from the - subject. - </p> - <p> - “I am,” she says, “the daughter of Captain John Wood, of New York, who - died at New Orleans on the 14th of November, 1811. He was then master of - the ship <i>Indian Hunter</i>.... He died when I was so young that if I - pleased myself with thinking that I remember him, I could not have been a - judge of his virtues; but it has been a source of happiness to me that he - is spoken of by his contemporaries as a man of good sense and great - integrity.” - </p> - <p> - When fifteen years of age Miss Wood met her cousin, Captain Morrell, a - young man who had gained a reputation for seamanship, and as a navigator. - They were mutually attracted to each other, and in a few months were - married. Then he sailed away on a two years' voyage, returned, and again - set out, this time to the little known South Seas. Absent a year—during - which time a son was born to him—he was so pleased with the - financial results of the voyage that he determined on a second; and his - wife insisted on accompanying him, though he pleaded with her to remain, - and told her of the dangers and terrors of a long voyage in unknown seas, - the islands of which were peopled by ferocious and treacherous cannibals. - But she was not to be deterred from sharing her husband's perils, and with - an aching heart took farewell of her infant son, whom she left in care of - her mother, and on 2nd September, 1829, the <i>Antarctic</i> sailed from - New York. The cruise was to last two years, and the object of it was to - seek for new sealing grounds in the Southern Ocean, and then go northward - to the Pacific Islands and barter with the natives for sandal-wood, <i>bêche-de-mer</i> - pearls, and pearl-shell. - </p> - <p> - The crew of the brigantine were picked men, and all of them gave Morrell a - written pledge to abstain from drinking spirits of any kind during the - entire voyage. Morrell, though a strict disciplinarian, seems to have had - their respect and even affection throughout, and that he was a man of iron - resolution and dauntless courage the book gives ample testimony. - </p> - <p> - After some months' sealing at the Auckland Islands, and visiting New - Zealand, where the Morrells were entertained by the missionary, John - Williams, the brigantine made a highly successful cruise among the islands - of the South Pacific, and then Morrell went to Manila to dispose of his - valuable cargo. This he did to great advantage, and once more his - restless, daring spirit impelled him tot make another voyage among the - islands. This time, however, he left his wife in Manila, where she soon - found many friends, who protected her from the annoying attentions of the - consul, and nursed her through a severe illness. - </p> - <p> - “On the seventy-fifth day after the sailing of the <i>Antarctic?</i>” she - writes, “as I was looking with a glass from my window, as I had done for - many days previously, I saw my husband's well-known signal at the mast - head of an approaching vessel.... I was no sooner on board than I found - myself in my husband's arms; but the scene was too much for my enfeebled - frame, and I was for some time insensible. On coming to myself, I looked - around and saw my brother, pale and emaciated. My forebodings were - dreadful when I perceived that the number of the crew was sadly diminished - from what it was when I was last on board. I dared not trust myself to - make any inquiries, and all seemed desirous to avoid explanations. I could - not rest in this state of mind, and ventured to ask what had become of the - men. My husband, with his usual frankness, sat down and detailed to me the - whole affair, which was as follows:— - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - A TALE OF THE OLD TRADING DAYS -</pre> - <p> - “It seems that six weeks after leaving Manila” (here I omit some - unimportant details) “he came to six islands that were surrounded by a - coral reef.” (The Sir Charles Hardy Group.) “Here was a-plenty of <i>bêche-de-mer</i> - and he made up his mind to get a cargo of this, and what shell he could - procure.... On May 21st he sent a boat's crew on shore to clear away the - brush and prepare a place to cure the <i>bêche-de-mer</i>. The natives now - came off to the vessel, and seemed quiet, although it was evident that - they had never seen a white man before, and the islands bore no trace of - ever having been visited by civilised men. The people were a large, - savage-looking race, but Mr. Morrell was lulled to security by their civil - and harmless (<i>sic</i>) appearance, and their fondness of visiting the - vessel to exchange their fruits for trinkets and other commodities - attractive to the savages in these climes. They were shown in perfect - friendship all parts of the vessel, and appeared pleased with the - attentions paid them.... A boat was sent on shore with the forge and all - the blacksmith's tools, but the savages soon stole the greater part of - them. - </p> - <p> - “This was an unpropitious circumstance, but Mr. Morrell thought that he - could easily recover them; and to accomplish this, he took six of his men, - well armed, and marched directly to the village where the king lived. This - was a lovely place, formed in a grove of trees. Here he met two hundred - warriors, all painted for battle, armed with bows and arrows ready for an - onset, waving their war plumes, and eager to engage. On turning round he - saw nearly as many more in his rear—it was a critical moment—the - slightest fear was sure death. Mr. Morrell addressed his comrades, and, in - a word, told them that if they did not act in concert, and in the most - dauntless manner, death would be inevitable. He then threw down his - musket, drew his cutlass, and holding a pistol in his right hand, he - pushed for the king, knowing in what reverence savages in general hold the - person of their monarch. In an instant the pistol was at the king's - breast, and the cutlass waved over his head. The savages had arrowed their - bows, and were ready at the slightest signal to have shot a cloud of - missiles at the handful of white men; but in an instant, when they saw the - danger of their king, they dropped their bows to the ground. At this - fortunate moment, the captain marched around the circle, and compelled - those who had come with war-clubs to throw those down also; all which he - ordered his men to secure and collect inta a heap. The king was then - conducted with several of his chiefs on board the <i>Antarctic</i>, and - kept until the next day. They were treated with every attention, but - strictly guarded all night. On the following morning he gave them a good - breakfast, loaded them with presents—for which they seemed grateful, - and laboured hard to convince their conqueror that they were friendly to - him and his crew—sent them on shore, together with some of his men, - to go on with the works which had been commenced; but feeling that a - double caution was necessary, he sent a reinforcement to his men on shore, - well armed.... All were cautioned to be on their guard; but everything was - unavailing; for not long after this, a general attack was made on the men - from the woods, in so sudden a manner that they were overthrown at once. - Two of the crew who were in the small boat, made their escape out of reach - of the arrows, and had the good fortune to pick up three others who had - thrown themselves into the water for safety. On hearing the horrid yells - of the savages, the whaleboat was sent with ten men, who, with great - exertions, saved two more of the crew. The rest all fell, at one untimely - moment, victims to savage barbarity! It was an awful and heart-sickening - moment; fourteen of the crew had perished—they were murdered, - mangled, and their corpses thrown upon the strand without the possibility - of receiving the rites of Christian burial.... Four of the survivors were - wounded—the heat was intolerable—the spirits of the crew were - broken down, and a sickness came over their hearts that could not be - controlled by the power of medicine—a sickness arising from moral - causes, that would not yield to science nor art. - </p> - <p> - “In this situation Captain Morrell made the best of his way for Manila.... - I grew pale over the narrative; it filled my dreams for many nights, and - occupied my thoughts for many days, almost exclusively.... I dreaded the - thought of the mention of the deed, and yet I wished I had been there. I - might have done some good, or, if not, I might have assisted to dress the - wounded, among whom was my own dear, heroic brother. He received an arrow - in the breast, but his good constitution soon got over the shock; though - he was pale even when I saw him, so many days after the event. My husband - had now lost everything but his courage, his honour, and his perseverance; - but the better part of the community of Manila had become his friends, - while the American consul was delighted with our misfortunes. He was - alone!” - </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> - THIRD PART - </h2> - <p> - Nothing daunted by this catastrophe Captain Morrell petitioned the - Captain-General of the Philippines for leave to take out a new crew of - seventy additional men—sixty-six Manila men, and four Europeans. - Everyone warned him of the danger of this—no other ship had ever - dared take more than six Manila men as part of her complement, for they - were treacherous, and prone to mutiny. But Morrell contested that he would - be able to manage them and the captain-general yielded. Two English - merchants, Messrs. Cannell and Gellis, generously lent him all the money - he required to fit out, taking only his I.O.U. So:— - </p> - <p> - “On the 18th July, 1830, the <i>Antarctic</i> again sailed for Massacre - Islands, as my husband had named the group where he lost his men. When I - went on board I found a crew of eighty-five men, fifty-five of them - savages as fierce as those whom we were about to encounter, and as - dangerous, if not properly managed. One would have thought that I should - have shrunk from this assemblage as from those of Massacre Islands, but I - entered my cabin with a light step; I did not fear savage men half so much - as I did a civilised brute. I was with my husband; he was not afraid, why - should I be? This was my reasoning, and I found it safe. - </p> - <p> - “The schooner appeared as formidable as anything possibly could of her - size; she had great guns, ten in number, small arms, boarding-pikes, - cutlasses, pistols, and a great quantity of ammunition. She was a - war-horse in every sense of the word, but that of animal life, and that - she seemed partially to have, or one would have thought so, to hear the - sailors talk of her.... She coursed over the waters with every preparation - for fight. - </p> - <p> - “On the 13th of September the <i>Antarctic</i> again reached Massacre - Islands. I could only view the place as a Golgotha; and shuddered as we - neared it; but I could see that most of the old crew who came hither at - the time of the massacre were panting for revenge, although their captain - had endeavoured to impress upon them the folly of gratifying such a - passion if we could gain our purpose by mildness mixed with firmness.” (I - am afraid that here the skipper of the <i>Antarctic</i> was not exactly - open with the little lady. He certainly meant that his crew should “get - even” with their shipmates' murderers, but doubtless told her that he “had - endeavoured,” etc) - </p> - <p> - “We had no sooner made our appearance in the harbour at Massacre Island, - on the 14th, than we were attacked by about three hundred warriors. We - opened a brisk fire upon them, and they immediately retreated. This was - the first battle I ever saw where men in anger met men in earnest. We were - now perfectly safe; our Manila men were as brave as Caesar; they were - anxious to be landed instantly, to fight these Indians at once. They felt - as much superior, no doubt, to these ignorant savages as the philosopher - does to the peasant. This the captain would not permit; he knew his - superiority while on board his vessel, and he also knew that this - superiority must be, in a manner, lost to him as soon as he landed. - </p> - <p> - “The firing had ceased, and the enemy had retired, when a single canoe - appeared coming from the shore with one man in it. We could not conjecture - what this could mean. The man was as naked as a savage and as highly - painted, but he managed his paddle with a different hand from the savages. - When he came alongside, he cried out to us in English, and we recognised - Leonard Shaw, one of our old crew, whom we had supposed among the dead. - The meeting had that joyousness about it that cannot be felt in ordinary - life; he was dead and buried, and now was alive again! We received him as - one might imagine; surprise, joy, wonder, took possession of us all, and - we made him recount his adventures, which were wonderful enough. - </p> - <p> - “Shaw was wounded when the others were slain; he fled to the woods, and - succeeded at that time in escaping from death. Hunger at length induced - him to leave the woods and attempt to give himself to the savages, but - coming in sight of the horrid spectacle of the bodies of his friends and - companions roasting for a cannibal feast, he rushed forth again into the - woods with the intent rather to starve than to trust to such wretches for - protection. For four days and nights he remained in his hiding place, when - he was forced to go in pursuit of something to keep himself from starving. - After some exertion he obtained three coco-nuts, which were so young that - they did not afford much sustenance, but were sufficient to keep him alive - fifteen days, during which time he suffered from the continually falling - showers, which left him dripping wet. In the shade of his hiding place he - had no chance to dry himself, and on the fifteenth day he ventured to - stretch himself in the sun; but he did not long remain undisturbed; an - Indian saw him, and gave the alarm, and he was at once surrounded by a - host of savages. The poor, suffering wretch implored them to be merciful, - but he implored in vain; one of them struck him on the back of the head - with a war-club, and laid him senseless on the ground, and for a while - left him as dead. When he recovered, and had gathered his scattered - senses, he observed a chief who was not among those by whom he had been - attacked, and made signs to him that he would be his slave if he would - save him. The savage intimated to him to follow, which he did, and had his - wound most cruelly dressed by the savage, who poured hot water into it, - and filled it with sand. - </p> - <p> - “As soon as the next day, while yet in agony with his wound, he was called - up and set to work in making knives, and other implements from the iron - hoops, and other plunder from the forge when the massacre took place. This - was indeed hard, for the poor fellow was no mechanic, though a first-rate - Jack-tar... however, necessity made him a blacksmith, and he got along - pretty well. - </p> - <p> - “The savages were not yet satisfied, and they made him march five or six - miles to visit a distinguished chief. This was done in a state of nudity, - without anything like sandals or mocassins to protect his feet from the - flint stones and sharp shells, and under the burning rays of an - intolerable sun. Blood marked his footsteps. The king met him and - compelled him to debase himself by the most abject ceremonies of slavery. - He was now overcome, and with a dogged indifference was ready to die. He - could not, he would not walk back; his feet were lacerated, swollen, and - almost in a state of putrefaction. The savages saw this, and took him back - by water, but only to experience new torments. The young ones imitated - their elders, and these graceless little rascals pulled out his beard and - whiskers, and eyebrows and eyelashes. In order to save himself some part - of the pain of this wretched process of their amusement, he was permitted - to perform a part of this work with his own hands. He was indeed a - pitiable object, but one cannot die when one wishes, and be guiltless. - This was not all he suffered; he was almost starved to death, for they - gave him only the offal of the fish they caught, and this but sparingly; - he sustained himself by catching rats, and these offensive creatures were - his principal food for a longtime. He understood that the natives did not - suffer the rats to be killed, and therefore he had to do it secretly in - the night time. - </p> - <p> - “Thus passed the days of the poor prisoner; the wound on his head was not - yet healed, and notwithstanding all his efforts he failed to get the sand - out of his first wound until a short time before his deliverance, when it - was made known to him that he was to be immolated for a feast to the king - of the group! All things had now become matters of indifference to him, - and he heard the horrid story with great composure. All the preparations - for the sacrifice were got up in his presence, near the very spot where - the accursed feast of skulls had been held. All was in readiness, and the - people waited a long time for the king; but he did not come, and the - ceremony was put off. - </p> - <p> - “Shaw has often expressed himself on this subject, and said that he could - not but feel some regret that his woes were not to be finished, as there - was no hope for him, and to linger always in this state of agitation was - worse than death; but mortals are short-sighted, for he was destined to be - saved through the instrumentality of his friends. - </p> - <p> - “His soul was again agitated by hope and fear in the extremes when the <i>Antarctic</i> - made her appearance a second time on the coast. He feared that her arrival - would be the signal for his destruction; but if this should not happen, - might he not be saved? The whole population of the island he was on, and - those of the others of the group, manned their war canoes for a formidable - attack; and the fate of the prisoner was suspended for a season. The - attack was commenced by the warriors in the canoes, without doubt - confident of success; but the well-directed fire from the <i>Antarctic</i> - soon repulsed them, and they sought the shore in paroxysms of rage, which - was changed to fear when they found that the big guns of the schooner - threw their shot directly into the village, and were rapidly demolishing - their dwellings. It was in this state of fear and humility that Shaw was - sent off to the vessel to stop the carnage and destruction; they were glad - to have peace on any terms. They now gave up their boldness, and as it was - the wish of all but the Manila men to spare the effusion of human blood, - it was done as soon as safety would permit of it. - </p> - <p> - “The story of Shaw's sufferings raised the indignation of every one of the - Americans and English we had on board, and they were violently desirous to - be led on to attack the whole of the Massacre Islands, and extirpate the - race at once. They felt at this moment as if it would be an easy thing to - kill the whole of the inhabitants; but Captain Morrell was not to be - governed by any impulse of passion—he had other duties to perform; - yet he did not reprimand the men for this feeling; thinking it might be of - service to him hereafter. - </p> - <p> - “After taking every precaution to ensure safety, by getting up his - boarding-nettings many feet above the deck, and everything prepared for - defence or attack, the frame of the house, brought for the purpose, was - got up on a small uninhabited island—which had previously been - purchased of the king in exchange for useful articles such as axes, - shaves, and other mechanical tools, precisely such as the Indians wished - for. The captain landed with a large force, and began to fell the trees to - make a castle for defence. Finding two large trees, nearly six feet - through, he prepared the limbs about forty feet from the ground, and - raised a platform extending from one to the other, with an arrow-proof - bulwark around it. Upon this platform were stationed a garrison of twenty - men, with four brass swivels. The platform was covered with a watertight - roof, and the men slept there at night upon their arms, to keep the - natives from approaching to injure the trees or the fort by fire—the - only way they could assail the garrison. It looked indeed like a castle—formidable - in every respect; and the ascent to it was by a ladder, which was drawn up - at night into this war-like habitation. The next step was to clear the - woods from around the castle, in order to prevent a lurking enemy from - coming within arrow-shot of the fort Next, the house was raised, and made - quite a fine appearance, being one hundred and fifty feet long, forty feet - broad, and very high. The castle protected the house and the workmen in - it, and both house and castle were so near the sea-board that the <i>Antarctic</i> - while riding at anchor, protected both. The castle was well stocked with - provisions in case of a siege. - </p> - <p> - “The next day, after all was in order for business, a large number of - canoes made their appearance near Massacre Island. Shaw said that this - fleet belonged to another island (of the group) and he had never known - them to stop there before. My husband, having some suspicions, did not - suffer the crew to go on shore next morning at the usual time; and about - eight o'clock one of the chiefs came off, as usual, to offer us fruits, - but no boat was sent to meet him. He waited some time for us, and then - directed his course to our island, which my husband had named Wallace - Island, in memory of the officer who had bravely fallen in fight on the - day of the massacre. This was surprising as not a single native had set - foot on that island since our works were begun; but we were not kept long - in suspense, for we saw about a hundred war-canoes start from the back - side of Massacre Island, and make towards Wallace Island. We knew that war - was their object, and the <i>Antarctic</i> was prepared for battle. The - chief who had come to sell us fruit, came in front of the castle—the - first man. He gave the war-whoop, and about two hundred warriors, who had - concealed themselves in the woods during the darkness of the night, rushed - forward. The castle was attacked on both sides, and the Indians discharged - their arrows at the building in the air, till they were stuck, like - porcupines' quills, in every part of the roof. The garrison was firm, and - waked in silence until the assailants were within a short distance, when - they opened a tremendous fire with their swivels, loaded with canister - shot; the men were ready with their muskets also, and the <i>Antarctic</i> - opened her fire of large guns, all with a direct and deadly aim at the - leaders of the savage band. The execution was very great, and in a short - time the enemy beat a precipitate retreat, taking with them their wounded, - and as many of their dead as they could. The ground was strewed with - implements of war, which the savages had thrown away in their flight, or - which had belonged to the slain. The enemy did not expect such a - reception, and they were prodigiously frightened; the sound of the cannon - alarmed every woman and child in the group, as it echoed through the - forest, or died upon the wave; they had never heard such a roar before, - for in our first fight there was no necessity for such energy. The Indians - took to the water, leaving only a few in their canoes to get them off, - while the garrison hoisted the American flag, and were greeted by cheers - from those on board the schooner, who were in high spirits at their - victory, which was achieved without the loss of a man on our part, and - only two wounded. The music struck up 'Yankee Doodle,' 'Rule Britannia,' - etc., and the crew could hardly restrain their joy to think that they had - beaten their enemy so easily. - </p> - <p> - “The boats were all manned, and most of the crew went on shore to mark the - devastation which had been made. I saw all this without any sensation of - fear, so easy is it for a woman to catch the spirit of those near her. If - I had a few months before this time read of such a battle I should have - trembled at the detail of the incidents; but seeing all the animation and - courage which were displayed, and noticing at the same time how coolly all - was done, every particle of fear left me, and I stood quite as collected - as any heroine of former days. Still I could not but deplore the sacrifice - of the poor, misguided, ignorant creatures, who wore the human form, and - had souls to save. Must the ignorant always be taught civilisation through - blood?—situated as we were, no other course could be taken. - </p> - <p> - “On the morning of the 19th, to our great surprise, the chief who had - previously come out to bring us fruit, and had done so on the morning of - our great battle, came again in his canoe, and called for Shaw, on the - edge of the reef, with his usual air of kindness and friendship, offering - fruit, and intimating a desire for trade, as though nothing had happened. - The offer seemed fair, but all believed him to be treacherous. The small - boat was sent to meet him, but Shaw, who we feared was now an object of - vengeance, was not sent in her. She was armed for fear of the worst, and - the coxswain had orders to kill the chief if he should discover any - treachery in him. As our boat came alongside the canoe, the crew saw a - bearded arrow attached to a bow, ready for the purpose of revenge. Just as - the savage was about to bend his bow, the coxswain levelled his piece, and - shot the traitor through the body; his wound was mortal, but he did not - expire immediately. At this instant a fleet of canoes made their - appearance to protect their chief. The small boat lost one of her oars in - the fight, and we were obliged to man two large boats and send them to the - place of contest. The large boats were armed with swivels and muskets, and - a furious engagement ensued. The natives were driven from the water, but - succeeded in taking off their wounded chief, who expired as he reached the - shore. - </p> - <p> - “After the death of Hennean, the name of the chief we had slain, the - inhabitants of Massacre Island fled to some other place, and left all - things as they were before our attack upon them, and our men roamed over - it at will. The skulls of several of our slaughtered men were found at - Hennean's door, trophies of his bloody prowess. These were now buried with - the honours of war; the colours of the <i>Antarctic</i> were lowered - half-mast, minute guns were fired, and dirges were played by our band, in - honour of those who had fallen untimely on Massacre Island. This was all - that feeling or affection could bestow. Those so inhumanly murdered had at - last the rites of burial performed for them; millions have perished - without such honours...it is the last sad office that can be paid. - </p> - <p> - “We now commenced collecting and curing <i>bêche-de-mer</i> and should - have succeeded to our wishes, if we had not been continually harassed by - the natives as soon as we began our efforts. We continued to work in this - way until the 28th of October, when we found that the natives were still - hostile, and on that day one of our men was attacked on Massacre Island, - but escaped death through great presence of mind, and shot the man, who - was the brother of the chief Hennean. Our man's name was Thomas Holmes, a - cool, deliberate Englishman. Such an instance of self-possession, in such - great danger as that in which he was placed, would have given immortality - to a greater man. We felt ourselves much harassed and vexed by the - persevering savages, and finding it impossible to make them understand our - motives and intentions, we came to the conclusion to leave the place - forthwith. This was painful, after such struggles and sacrifices and - misfortunes; but there was no other course to pursue. Accordingly, on the - 3rd of November, 1830, we set fire to our house and castle, and departed - by the light of them, taking the <i>bêche-de-mer</i> we had collected and - cured.” - </p> - <p> - So ends Mrs. Morrell's story of the tragedy of “Massacre Island”. She has - much else to relate of the subsequent cruise of the <i>Antarctic</i> in - the South Pacific and the East Indies, and finally the happy conclusion of - an adventurous voyage, when the vessel returned safely to New York. - </p> - <p> - If the reader has been sufficiently interested in her story to desire to - know where in the South Pacific her “Massacre Island” is situated, he will - find it in any modern map or atlas, almost midway between New Ireland and - Bougainville Island, the largest of the Solomon group, and in lat. 4° 50' - S., long. 154° 20' E. In conclusion, I may mention that further relics of - the visit of the <i>Antarctic</i> came to light about fifteen years ago, - when some of the natives brought three or four round shot to the local - trader then living on Nisân. They had found them buried under some coral - stone <i>débris</i> when searching for robber crabs. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER V ~ MUTINIES - </h2> - <p> - Mutinies, even at the present day, are common enough. The facts concerning - many of them never come to light, it is so often to the advantage of the - after-guard of a ship to hush matters up. I know of one instance in which - the crew of a ship loading guano phosphates at Howland Island imprisoned - the captain, three mates and the steward in the cabin for some days; then - hauled them on deck, triced up the whole five and gave them a hundred - lashes each, in revenge for the diabolical cruelties that had been - inflicted upon them day by day for long months. Then they liberated their - tormentors, took to the boats and dispersed themselves on board other - guano ships loading at How-land Island, leaving their former captain and - officers to shift for themselves. This was one of the mutinies that never - came to light, or at least the mutineers escaped punishment. - </p> - <p> - I have witnessed three mutinies—in the last of which I took part, - although I was not a member of the ship's crew. - </p> - <p> - My first experience occurred when I was a boy, and has been alluded to by - the late Lord Pembroke in his “Introduction” to the first book I had - published—a collection of tales entitled <i>By Reef and Palm</i>. It - was a poor sort of an affair, but filled my boyish heart with a glorious - delight—in fact it was an enjoyable mutiny in some respects, for - what might have been a tragedy was turned into a comedy. - </p> - <p> - With a brother two years older I was sent to San Francisco by our parents - to begin life in a commercial house, and subsequently (of course) make our - fortunes. - </p> - <p> - Our passages were taken at Newcastle (New South Wales) on the barque <i>Lizzie - and Rosa</i>, commanded by a little red-headed Irishman, to whose care we - were committed. His wife (who sailed with him) was a most lovable woman, - generous to a fault. <i>He</i> was about the meanest specimen of an - Irishman that ever was born, was a savage little bully, boasted of being a - Fenian, and his insignificant appearance on his quarter deck, as he - strutted up and down, irresistibly suggested a monkey on a stick, and my - brother and myself took a quick dislike to him, as also did the other - passengers, of whom there were thirty—cabin and steerage. His wife - (who was the daughter of a distinguished Irish prelate) was actually - afraid of the little man, who snarled and snapped at her as if she were a - disobedient child. (Both of them are long since dead, so I can write - freely of their characteristics.) - </p> - <p> - The barque had formerly been a French corvette—the <i>Felix Bernaboo</i>. - She was old, ill-found and leaky, and from the day we left Newcastle the - pumps were kept going, and a week later the crew came aft and demanded - that the ship should return to port. - </p> - <p> - The little man succeeded in quieting them for the time by giving them - better food, and we continued on our course, meeting with such a series of - adverse gales that it was forty-one days before we sighted the island of - Rurutu in the South Pacific. By this time the crew and steerage passengers - were in a very angry frame of mind; the former were overworked and - exhausted, and the latter were furious at the miserly allowance of food - doled out to them by the equally miserly captain. - </p> - <p> - At Rurutu the natives brought off two boat-loads of fresh provisions, but - the captain bought only one small pig for the cabin passengers. The - steerage passengers bought up everything else, and in a few minutes the - crew came aft and asked the captain to buy them some decent food in place - of the decayed pork and weevily biscuit upon which they had been existing. - He refused, and ordered them for'ard, and then the mate, a hot-tempered - Yorkshireman named Oliver, lost his temper, and told the captain that the - men were starving. Angry words followed, and the mate knocked the little - man down. - </p> - <p> - Picking himself up, he went below, and reappeared with a brace of - old-fashioned Colt's revolvers, one of which—after declaring he - would “die like an Irishman”—he pointed at the mate, and calling - upon him to surrender and be put in irons, he fired towards his head. - Fortunately the bullet missed. The sympathetic crew made a rush aft, - seized the skipper, and after knocking him about rather severely, held him - under the force pump, and nearly drowned him. Only for the respect that - the crew had for his wife, I really believe they would have killed him, - for they were wrought up to a pitch of fury by his tyranny and meanness. - The boatswain carried him below, locked him up in one of the state-rooms, - and there he was kept in confinement till the barque reached Honolulu, - twenty days later, the mate acting as skipper. At Honolulu, the mate and - all the crew were tried for mutiny, but the court acquitted them all, - mainly through the testimony of the passengers. - </p> - <p> - That was my first experience of a mutiny. My brother and I enjoyed it - immensely, especially the attempted shooting of the good old mate, and the - subsequent spectacle of the evil-tempered, vindictive little skipper being - held under the force pump. - </p> - <p> - My third experience of a mutiny I take next (as it arose from a similar - cause to the first). I was a passenger on a brig bound from Samoa to the - Gilbert Islands (Equatorial Pacific). The master was a German, brutal and - overbearing to a degree, and the two mates were no better. One was an - American “tough,” the other a lazy, foul-mouthed Swede. All three men were - heavy drinkers, and we were hardly out of Apia before the Swede (second - mate) broke a sailor's jaw with an iron belaying pin. The crew were nearly - all natives—steady men, and fairly good seamen. Five of them were - Gilbert Islanders, and three natives of Niué (Savage Island), and it was - one of these latter whose jaw was broken. They were an entirely new crew - and had shipped in ignorance of the character of the captain. I had often - heard of him as a brutal fellow, and the brig (the <i>Alfreda</i> of - Hamburg) had long had an evil name. She was a labour-ship (“black-birder”) - and I had taken passage in her only because I was anxious to get to the - Marshall Islands as quickly as possible. - </p> - <p> - There were but five Europeans on board—captain, two mates, bos'un - and myself. The bos'un was, although hard on the crew, not brutal, and he - never struck them. - </p> - <p> - We had not been out three days when the captain, in a fit of rage, knocked - a Gilbert Islander down for dropping a wet paint-brush on the deck. Then - he kicked him about the head until the poor fellow was insensible. - </p> - <p> - From that time out not a day passed but one or more of the crew were - struck or kicked. The second mate's conduct filled me with fury and - loathing, for, in addition to his cruelty, his language was nothing but a - string of curses and blasphemy. Within a week I saw that the Gilbert - Islanders were getting into a dangerous frame of mind. - </p> - <p> - These natives are noted all over the Pacific for their courage, and seeing - that mischief was brewing, I spoke to the bos'un about it. He agreed with - me, but said it was no use speaking to the skipper. - </p> - <p> - To me the captain and officers were civil enough, that is, in a gruff sort - of way, so I decided to speak to the former. I must mention that I spoke - the Gilbert and Savage Island dialects, and so heard the natives talk. - However, I said nothing of that to the German. I merely said to him that - he was running a great risk in knocking the men about, and added that - their countrymen might try to cut off the brig out of revenge. He snorted - with contempt, and both he and the mates continued to “haze” the now sulky - and brooding natives. - </p> - <p> - One calm Sunday night we were in sight of Funafuti lagoon, and also of a - schooner which I knew to be the <i>Hazeldine</i> of San Francisco. She, - like us, was becalmed. - </p> - <p> - In the middle watch I went on deck and found the skipper and second mate - drunk. The mate, who was below, was about half-drunk. All three men had - been drinking heavily for some days, and the second mate was hardly able - to keep his feet. The captain was asleep on the skylight, lying on his - back, snoring like a pig, and I saw the butt of his revolver showing in - the inner pocket of his coat. - </p> - <p> - Presently rain began to fall, and the second mate called one of the hands - and told him to bring him his oil-skin coat. The man brought it, and then - the brutal Swede, accusing him of having been slow, struck him a fearful - blow in the face and knocked him off the poop. Then the brute followed him - and began kicking him with drunken fury, then fell on the top of him and - lay there. - </p> - <p> - I went for'ard and found all the natives on deck, very excited and armed - with knives. Addressing them, I begged them to keep quiet and listen to - me. - </p> - <p> - “The captain and mates are all drunk,” I said, “and now is your chance to - leave the ship. Funafuti is only a league away. Get your clothes together - as quickly as possible, then lower away the port quarter-boat. I, too, am - leaving this ship, and I want you to put me on board the <i>Hazeldine</i>. - Then you can go on shore. Now, put up your knives and don't hurt those - three men, beasts as they are.” - </p> - <p> - As I was speaking, Max the bos'un came for'ard and listened. (I thought he - was asleep.) He did not interfere, merely giving me an expressive look. - Then he said to me:— - </p> - <p> - “Ask them to lock me up in the deck-house”. - </p> - <p> - Very quietly this was done, and then, whilst I got together my personal - belongings in the cabin, the boat was lowered. The Yankee mate was sound - asleep in his bunk, but one of the Nuié men took the key of his door and - locked it from the outside. Presently I heard a sound of breaking wood, - and going on deck, found that the Gilbert Islanders had stove-in the - starboard quarter-boat and the long-boat (the latter was on deck). Then I - saw that the second mate was lashed (bound hand and foot) to the - pump-rail, and the captain was lashed to one of the fife-rail stanchions. - His face was streaming with blood, and I thought he was dead, but found - that he had only been struck with a belaying pin, which had broken his - nose. - </p> - <p> - “He drew a lot of blood from us,” said one of the natives to me, “and so I - have drawn some from him.” - </p> - <p> - I hurried to the deck-house and told the bos'un what had occurred. He was - a level-headed young man, and taking up a carpenter's broad axe, smashed - the door of the deck-house. Then he looked at me and smiled. - </p> - <p> - “You see, I'm gaining my liberty—captain and officers tied up, and - no one to look after the ship.” - </p> - <p> - I understood perfectly, and shaking hands with him and wishing him a - better ship, I went over the side into the boat, and left the brig - floating quietly on the placid surface of the ocean. - </p> - <p> - The eight native sailors made no noise, although they were all wildly - excited and jubilant, but as we shoved off, they called out “Good-bye, - bos'un”. - </p> - <p> - An hour afterwards I was on board the <i>Hazeldine</i> and telling my - story to her skipper, who was an old friend. Then I bade good-bye to the - natives, who started off for Funafuti with many expressions of goodwill to - their fellow-mutineer. - </p> - <p> - At daylight a breeze came away from the eastward, and at breakfast time - the <i>Hazeldine</i> was out of sight of the <i>Alfreda</i>. - </p> - <p> - I learnt a few months later that the skipper had succeeded in bringing her - into Funafuti Lagoon, where he managed to obtain another crew. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER VI ~ “MÂNI” - </h2> - <p> - Mâni was a half-caste—father a Martinique nigger, mother a Samoan—twenty-two - years of age, and lived at Moatâ, a little village two miles from Apia in - Samoa. - </p> - <p> - Mâni's husband was a Frenchman named François Renault, who, when he was - sober, worked as a boat-builder and carpenter, for the German “factory” at - Mataféle. And when he was away form home I would hear Mâni laughing, and - see her playing with her two dark-skinned little girls, and talking to - them in a curious mixture of Samoan-French. They were merry mites with big - rolling eyes, and unmistakably “kinky” hair—like their mother. - </p> - <p> - It was a fortnight after the great gale of 15th March, 1889, when the six - German and American warships were wrecked, that Mâni came to my house with - a basket of fresh-water fish she had netted far up in a deep mountain - pool. She looked very happy. “Frank,” she said, had not beaten her for two - whole weeks, and had promised not to beat her any more. And he was working - very steadily now. - </p> - <p> - “That is good to hear, Mâni.” - </p> - <p> - She smiled as she nodded her frizzy head, tossed her <i>tiputa</i> (open - blouse) over one shoulder, and sat down on the verandah steps to clean the - fish. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, he will beat me no more—at least not whilst the shipwrecked - sailors remain in Samoa. When they go I shall run away with the children—to - some town in Savai'i where he cannot find me.” - </p> - <p> - “It happened in this way,” she went on confidentially: “a week ago two - American sailors came to the house and asked for water, for they were - thirsty and the sun was hot I told them that the Moatâ water was brackish, - and I husked and gave them two young coco-nuts each. And then Frank, who - had been drinking, ran out of the house and cursed and struck me. Then one - of the sailors felled him to the earth, and the other dragged him up by - his collar, and both kicked him so much that he wept. - </p> - <p> - “'Doth he often beat thee?' said one of the sailors to me. And I said - 'Yes'. - </p> - <p> - “Then they beat him again, saying it was for my sake. And then one of them - shook him and said: 'O thou dog, to so misuse thine own wife! Now listen. - In three days' time we two of the <i>Trenton</i> will have a day's - liberty, and we shall come here and see if thou hast again beaten thy - wife. And if thou hast but so much as <i>mata pio'd</i> her we shall each - kick thee one hundred times.'” - </p> - <p> - (<i>Mata pio</i>, I must explain, is Samoan for looking “cross-eyed” or - unpleasantly at a person.) - </p> - <p> - “And Frank was very much afraid, and promised he would no longer harm me, - and held out his hand to them weepingly, but they would not take it, and - swore at him. And then they each gave my babies a quarter of a dollar, and - I, because my heart was glad, gave them each a ring of tortoiseshell.” - </p> - <p> - “Did they come back, Mâni?” - </p> - <p> - Mâni, at heart, was a flirt. She raised her big black eyes with their long - curling lashes to me, and then closed them for a moment demurely. - </p> - <p> - “Yes,” she replied, “they came back. And when I told them that my husband - was now kind to me, and was at work, they laughed, and left for him a long - piece of strong tobacco tied round with tarred rope. And they said, 'Tell - him we will come again by-and-by, and see how he behaveth to thee'.” - </p> - <p> - “Mâni,” said in English, as she finished the last of the fish, “why do you - speak Samoan to me when you know English so well? Where did you learn it? - Your husband always speaks French to you.” - </p> - <p> - Mâni told me her story. In her short life of two-and-twenty years she had - had some strange experiences. - </p> - <p> - “My father was Jean Galoup. He was a negro of St. Pierre, in Martinique, - and came to Samoa in a French barque, which was wrecked on Tutuila. He was - one of the sailors. When the captain and the other sailors made ready to - go away in the boats he refused to go, and being a strong, powerful man - they dared not force him. So he remained on Tutuila and married my mother, - and became a Samoan, and made much money by selling food to the - whaleships. Then, when I was twelve years old, my mother died, and my - father took me to his own country—to Martinique. It took us two - years to get there, for we went through many countries—to Sydney - first, then to China, and to India, and then to Marseilles in France. But - always in English ships. That is how I have learned to speak English. - </p> - <p> - “We lived for three years in Martinique, and then one day, as my father - was clearing some land at the foot of Mont Pelée, he was bitten by <i>fer-de-lance</i> - and died, and I was left alone. - </p> - <p> - “There was a young carpenter at St. Pierre, named François Renault, who - had one day met me in the market-place, and after that often came to see - my father and me. He said he loved me, and so when my father was dead, we - went to the priest and we were married. - </p> - <p> - “My husband had heard much of Samoa from my father, and said to me: 'Let - us go there and live'. - </p> - <p> - “So we came here, and then Frank fell into evil ways, for he was cross - with me because he saw that the pure-blooded Samoan girls were prettier - than me, and had long straight hair and lighter skins. And because he - could not put me away he began to treat me cruelly. And I love him no - more. But yet will I stay by him if he doeth right.” - </p> - <p> - The fates were kind to Mâni a few months later. Her husband went to sea - and never returned, and Mâni, after waiting a year, was duly married by - the consul to a respectable old trader on Savai'i, who wanted a wife with - a “character”—the which is not always obtainable with a bride in the - South Seas. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER VII ~ AT NIGHT - </h2> - <p> - The day's work was finished. Outside a cluster of rudely built - palm-thatched huts, just above the curving white beach, and under the - lengthening shadows of the silent cocos, two white men (my partner and - myself) and a party of brown-skinned Polynesians were seated together - smoking, and waiting for their evening meal. Now and then one would speak, - and another would answer in low, lazy tones. From an open shed under a - great jack-fruit tree a little distance away there came the murmur of - women's voices and, now and then, a laugh. They were the wives of the - brown men, and were cooking supper for their husbands and the two white - men. Half a cable length from the beach a schooner lay at anchor upon the - still lagoon, whose waters gleamed red under the rays of the sinking sun. - Covered with awnings fore and after she showed no sign of life, and - rested-as motionless as were the pendent branches of the lofty cocos on - the shore. - </p> - <p> - Presently a figure appeared on deck and went for'ard, and then a bright - light shone from the fore-stay. - </p> - <p> - My partner turned and called to the women, speaking in Hawaiian, and bade - two of them take their own and the ship-keeper's supper on board, and stay - for the night. Then he spoke to the men in English. - </p> - <p> - “Who keeps watch to-night with the other man?” - </p> - <p> - “Me, sir,” and a native rose to his feet. - </p> - <p> - “Then off you go with your wife and Terese, and don't set the ship on fire - when you and your wife, and Harry and his begin squabbling as usual over - your game of <i>tahia</i>."{*} - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - * “Tahia” is a gambling game played with small round stones; - it resembles our “knuckle-bones”. -</pre> - <p> - The man laughed; the women, pretending to be shocked, each placed one hand - over her eyes, and with suppressed giggles went down to the beach with the - man, carrying a basket of steaming food. Launching a light canoe they - pushed off, and as the man paddled the women sang in the soft Hawaiian - tongue. - </p> - <p> - “Happy beggars,” said my comrade to me, as he stood up and stretched his - lengthy, stalwart figure, “work all day, and sit up gambling and singing - hymns—when they are not intriguing with each other's husbands and - wives.” - </p> - <p> - The place was Providence Atoll in the North Pacific, a group of seventeen - uninhabited islands lying midway between the Marshall and Caroline - Archipelagoes—that is to say, that they had been uninhabited for - some years, until we came there with our gang of natives to catch sharks - and make coco-nut oil. There was no one to deny us, for the man who - claimed the islands, Captain “Bully” Hayes, had given us the right of - possession for two years, we to pay him a certain percentage of our - profits on the oil we made, and the sharks' fins and tails we cured. The - story of Providence Atoll (the “Arrecifos” of the early Spanish - navigators, and the “Ujilang” of the native of Micronesia) cannot here be - told—suffice it to say that less than fifty years before over a - thousand people dwelt on the seventeen islands in some twelve or fourteen - villages. Then came some dread disease which swept them away, and when - Hayes sailed into the great lagoon in 1860—his was the first ship - that ever entered it—he found less than a score of survivors. These - he treated kindly; but for some reason soon removed them to Ponapé in the - Carolines, and then years passed without the island being visited by any - one except Hayes, who used it as a rendezvous, and brought other natives - there to make oil for him. Then, in a year or so, these, too, he took - away, for he was a restless man, and had many irons in the fire. Yet there - was a fortune there, as its present German owners know, for the great - chain of islands is covered with coco-nut trees which yield many thousands - of pounds' worth of copra annually. - </p> - <p> - My partner and I had been working the islands for some months, and had - done fairly well. Our native crew devoted themselves alternately to shark - catching and oil making. The lagoon swarmed with sharks, the fins and - tails of which when dried were worth from sixty to eighty pounds sterling - per ton. (Nowadays the entire skins of sharks are bought by some of the - traders on several of the Pacific Islands on behalf of a firm in Germany, - who have a secret method of tanning and softening them, and rendering them - fit for many purposes for which leather is used—travelling bags, - coverings for trunks, etc.) - </p> - <p> - The women helped to make the oil, caught fish, robber-crabs and turtle for - the whole party, and we were a happy family indeed. We usually lived on - shore, some distance from the spot where we dried the shark-fins, for the - odour was appalling, especially after rain, and during a calm night. We - dried them by hanging them on long lines of coir cinnet between the - coco-palms of a little island half a mile from our camp. - </p> - <p> - But we did not always work. There were many wild pigs—the progeny of - domestic stock left by Captain Hayes—on the larger islands, and we - would have great “drives” every few weeks, the skipper and I with our - rifles, and our crew of fifteen, with their wives and children, armed with - spears. 'Twas great fun, and we revelled in it like children. Sometimes we - would bring the ship's dog with us. He was a mongrel Newfoundland, and - very game, but was nearly shot several times by getting in the way, for - although all the islands are very low, the undergrowth in parts is very - dense. If we failed to secure a pig we were certain of getting some dozens - of large robber-crabs, the most delicious of all crustaceans when either - baked or boiled. Then, too, we had the luxury of a vegetable garden, in - which we grew melons, pumpkins, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, etc. The seed - (which was Californian) had been given to me by an American skipper, and - great was our delight to have fresh European vegetables, for the islands - produced nothing in that way, except coconuts and some jack-fruit. The - lagoon teemed with an immense variety of fish, none of which were - poisonous, and both green and hawk-bill turtle were captured almost daily. - </p> - <p> - How those natives of ours could eat! One morning some of the children - brought five hundred turtle eggs into camp; they were all eaten at three - meals. - </p> - <p> - That calm, quiet night the heat was somewhat oppressive, but about ten - o'clock a faint air from the eastward began to gently rustle the tops of - the loftiest palms on the inner beaches, though we felt it not, owing to - the dense undergrowth at the back of the camp. Then, too, the mosquitoes - were troublesome, and a nanny-goat, who had lost her kid (in the oven) - kept up such an incessant blaring that we could stand it no longer, and - decided to walk across the island—less than a mile—to the - weather side, where we should not only get the breeze, but be free of the - curse of mosquitoes. - </p> - <p> - “Over to the windward beach,” we called out to our natives. - </p> - <p> - In an instant, men, women and children were on their feet. Torches of - dried coco-nut leaves were deftly woven by the women, sleeping mats rolled - up and given to the children to carry, baskets of cold baked fish and - vegetables hurriedly taken down from where they hung under the eaves of - the thatched huts, and away we trooped eastward along the narrow path, the - red glare of the torches shining upon the smooth, copper-bronzed and - half-nude figures of the native men and women. Singing as we went, half an - hour's walk brought us near to the sea. And with the hum of the surf came - the cool breeze, as we reached the open, and saw before us the gently - heaving ocean, sleeping under the light of the myriad stars. - </p> - <p> - We loved those quiet nights on the weather side of Arrecifos. Our natives - had built some thatched-roofed, open-sided huts as a protection in case of - rain, and under the shelter of one of these the skipper and I would, when - it rained during the night, lie on our mats and smoke and yarn and watch - the women and children with lighted torches catching crayfish on the reef, - heedless of the rain which fell upon them. Then, when they had caught all - they wanted, they would troop on shore again, come into the huts, change - their soaking waist girdles of leaves for waist-cloths of gaily-coloured - print or navy-blue calico, and set to work to cook the crayfish, always - bringing us the best. Then came a general gossip and story-telling or - singing in our hut for an hour or so, and then some one would yawn and the - rest would laugh, bid us good-night, go off to their mats, and the skipper - and I would be asleep ere we knew it. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER VIII ~ THE CRANKS OF THE <i>JULIA</i> BRIG - </h2> - <p> - We were bound from Tahiti to the Gilbert Islands, seeking a cargo of - native labourers for Stewart's great plantation at Tahiti, and had worked - our way from island to island up northward through the group with fair - success (having obtained ninety odd stalwart, brown-skinned savages), when - between Apaian Island and Butaritari Island we spoke a lumbering, - fat-sided old brig—the <i>Isabella</i> of Sydney. - </p> - <p> - The <i>Isabella</i> was owned by a firm of Chinese merchants in Sydney; - and as her skipper (Evers) and her supercargo (Dick Warren) were old - acquaintances of mine and also of the captain of my ship, we both lowered - boats and exchanged visits. - </p> - <p> - Warren and I had not met for over two years, since he and I had been - shipmates in a labour vessel sailing out of Samoa—he as mate and I - as “recruiter”—so we had much to talk about. - </p> - <p> - “Oh, by-the-way,” he remarked as we were saying good-bye, “of course you - have heard of that shipload of unwashed saints who have been cruising - around the South Seas in search of a Promised Land?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, I believe that they have gone off to Tonga or Fiji, trying to light - upon 'the Home Beautiful,' and are very hard up. The people in Fiji will - have nothing to do with that crowd—if they have gone there.” - </p> - <p> - “They have not. They turned back for Honolulu, and are now at Butaritari - and in an awful mess. Some of the saints came on board and wanted me to - give them a passage to Sydney. You must go and have a look at them and - their rotten old brig, the <i>Julia</i>. Oh, they are a lovely lot—full - of piety and as dirty as Indian fakirs. Ah Sam, our agent at Butaritari, - will tell you all about them. He has had such a sickener of the holy men - that it will do you good to hear him talk. What the poor devils are going - to do I don't know. I gave them a little provisions—all I could - spare, but their appearance so disgusted me that I was not too civil to - them. They cannot get away from Butaritari as the old brig is not - seaworthy, and there is nothing in the way of food to be had in the island - except coco-nuts and fish—manna is out of season in the South Seas - just now. Good-bye, old man, and good luck.” - </p> - <p> - On the following day we sighted Butaritari Island—one of the largest - atolls in the North Pacific, and inhabited by a distinctly unamiable and - cantankerous race of Malayo-Polynesians whose principal amusement in their - lighter hours is to get drunk on sour toddy and lacerate each other's - bodies with sharks' teeth swords. In addition to Ah Sam, the agent for the - Chinese trading firm, there were two European traders who had married - native women and eked out a lonely existence by buying copra (dried - coco-nut) and sharks' fins when they were sober enough to attend to - business—which was infrequent. However, Butaritari was a good - recruiting ground for ships engaged in the labour traffic, owing to the - continuous internecine wars, for the vanquished parties, after their - coco-nut trees had been cut down and their canoes destroyed had the choice - of remaining and having their throats cut or going away in a labour ship - to Tahiti, Samoa or the Sandwich Islands. - </p> - <p> - Entering the passage through the reef, we sailed slowly across the - splendid lagoon, whose waters were as calm as those of a lake, and dropped - anchor abreast of the principal village and quite near the ship of the - saints. She was a woe-begone, battered-looking old brig of two hundred - tons or so. She showed no colours in response to ours, and we could see no - one on deck. Presently, however, we saw a man emerge from below, then a - woman, and presently a second man, and in a few minutes she showed the - Ecuadorian flag. Then all three sat on chairs under the ragged awning and - stared listlessly at our ship. - </p> - <p> - Ah Sam came off from the shore and boarded us. He was a long, melancholy - Chinaman, had thirty-five hairs of a beard, and, poor fellow, was dying of - consumption. He told us the local news, and then I asked him about the - cargo of saints, many more of whom were now visible on the after-deck of - their disreputable old crate. - </p> - <p> - Ah Sam's thin lips parted in a ghastly smile, as he set down his whisky - and soda, and lit a cigar. We were seated under the awning, which had just - been spread, and so had a good view of the <i>Julia</i>. - </p> - <p> - The brig, he said, had managed to crawl into the lagoon three months - previously, and in working up to an anchorage struck on one of the coral - mushrooms with which the atoll is studded. Ah Sam and the two white - traders went off with their boats' crews of natives to render assistance, - and after some hours' hard work succeeded in getting her off and towing - her up to the spot where she was then anchored. Then the saints gathered - on the after-deck and held a thanksgiving meeting, at the conclusion of - which, the thirsty and impatient traders asked the captain to give them - and their boats' crews a few bottles of liquor in return for their - services in pulling his brig off the rocks, and when he reproachfully told - them that the <i>Julia</i> was a temperance ship and that drink was a - curse and that God would reward them for their kindness, they used most - awful language and went off, cursing the captain and the saints for a lot - of mean blackguards and consigning them to everlasting torments. - </p> - <p> - On the following day all the Hawaiian crew bolted on shore and took up - their quarters with the natives. The captain came on shore and tried to - get other natives in their place, but failed—for he had no money to - pay wages, but offered instead the privilege of becoming members of what - Ah Sam called some “dam fool society”. - </p> - <p> - There were, said Ah Sam, in addition to the captain and his wife, - originally twenty-five passengers, but half of them had left the ship at - various ports. - </p> - <p> - “And now,” he concluded, pointing a long yellow forefinger at the rest of - the saints, “the rest of them will be coming to see you presently—the - tam teives—to see wha' they can cadge from you.” - </p> - <p> - “You don't like them, Ah Sam?” observed our skipper, with a twinkle in his - eye. - </p> - <p> - Ah Sam's reply could not be put upon paper. For a Chinaman he could swear - in English most fluently. Then he bade us good-bye for the present, said - he would do all he could to help me get some “recruits,” and invited us to - dinner with him in the evening. He was a good-natured, hospitable fellow, - and we accepted the invitation with pleasure. - </p> - <p> - A few minutes after he had gone on shore the brigantine's boat came - alongside, and her captain and three of his passengers stepped on board. - He introduced himself as Captain Lynch Richards, and his friends as - Brothers So-and-So of the “Islands Brothers' Association of Christians “. - They were a dull, melancholy looking lot, Richards alone showing some - mental and physical activity. Declining spirituous refreshments, they all - had tea and something to eat. Then they asked me if I would let them have - some provisions, and accept trade goods in payment. - </p> - <p> - As they had no money—except about one hundred dollars between them—I - let them have what provisions we could spare, and then accepted their - invitation to visit the <i>Julia</i>. - </p> - <p> - I went with them in their own boat—two of the saints pulling—and - as they flopped the blades of their oars into the water and I studied - their appearance, I could not but agree with Dick Warren's description—“as - dirty as Indian fakirs,” for not only were their garments dirty, but their - faces looked as if they had not come into contact with soap and water for - a twelvemonth. Richards, the skipper, was a comparatively young man, and - seemed to have given some little attention to his attire, for he was - wearing a decent suit of navy blue with a clean collar and tie. - </p> - <p> - Getting alongside we clambered on deck—there was no side ladder—and - I was taken into the cabin where Richards introduced me to his wife. She - was a pretty, fragile-looking young woman of about five and twenty years - of age, and looked so worn out and unhappy that my heart was filled with - pity. During the brief conversation we held I asked her if she and her - husband would come on board our vessel in the afternoon and have tea, and - mentioned that we had piles and piles of books and magazines on the ship - to which she could help herself. - </p> - <p> - Her eyes filled with tears. “I guess I should like to,” she said as she - looked at her husband. - </p> - <p> - Then I was introduced to the rest of the company in turn, as they sat all - round the cabin, half a dozen of them on the transom lockers reminding me - somehow of dejected and meditative storks. Glad of an excuse to get out of - the stuffy and ill-ventilated cabin and the uninspiring society of the - unwashed Brethren, I eagerly assented to the captain's suggestion to have - a look round the ship before we “talked business,” <i>i.e</i>., concerning - the trade goods I was to select in payment for the provisions with which I - had supplied him. One of the Brethren, an elderly, goat-faced person, came - with us, and we returned on deck. - </p> - <p> - Never before had I seen anything like the <i>Julia</i>. She was an old, - soft-pine-built ex-Puget Sound lumberman, literally tumbling to decay, - aloft and below. Her splintering decks, to preserve them somewhat from the - torrid sun, were covered over with old native mats, and her spars, from - want of attention, were splitting open in great gaping cracks, and were as - black as those of a collier. How such a craft made the voyage from San - Francisco to Honolulu, and from there far to the south of the Line and - then back north to the Gilbert Group, was a marvel. - </p> - <p> - I was taken down the hold and showed what the “cranks” called their trade - goods and asked to select what I thought was a fair thing in exchange for - the provisions I had given them. Heavens! Such a collection of utter, - utter rubbish! second-hand musical boxes in piles, gaudy lithographs, iron - bedsteads, “brown paper” boots and shoes eaten half away by cockroaches. - Sets of cheap and nasty toilet ware, two huge cases of common and much - damaged wax dolls, barrels of rotted dried apples, and decayed pork, an - ice-making plant, bales and bales of second-hand clothing—men's, - women's and children's—cheap and poisonous sweets in jars, thousands - of twopenny looking-glasses, penny whistles, accordions that wouldn't - accord, as the cockroaches had eaten them up except the wood and metal - work, school slates and pencils, and a box of Bibles and Moody and Sankey - hymn-books. And the smell was something awful! I asked the captain what - was the cause of it—it overpowered even the horrible odour of the - decayed pork and rotted apples. He replied placidly that he thought it - came from a hundred kegs of salted salmon bellies which were stowed below - everything else, and that he “guessed some of them hed busted”. - </p> - <p> - “It is enough to breed a pestilence,” I said; “why do you not all turn-to, - get the stuff up and heave it overboard? You must excuse me, captain, but - for Heaven's sake let us get on deck.” - </p> - <p> - On returning to the poop we found that the skipper of our vessel had come - on board, and was conversing with Mrs. Richards. I took him aside and told - him of what I had seen, and suggested that we should make them a present - of the provisions. He quite agreed with me, so turning to Captain Richards - and the goat-faced old man and several other of the Brethren who had - joined them, I said that the captain and I hoped that they would accept - the provisions from us, as we felt sure that our owners would not mind. - And I also added that we would send them a few bags of flour and some - other things during the course of the day. And then the captain, knowing - that Captain Richards and his wife were coming to have tea with us, took - pity on the Brethren and said, he hoped they would all come to breakfast - in the morning. - </p> - <p> - Poor beggars. Grateful! Of course they were, and although they were sheer - lunatics—religious lunatics such as the United States produces by - tens of thousands every year—we felt sincerely sorry for them when - they told us their miserable story. The spokesman was an old fellow of - sixty with long flowing hair—the brother-in-law of the man with the - goat's face—and an enthusiast. But mad—mad as a hatter. - </p> - <p> - “The Islands Brothers' Association of Christians” had its genesis in - Philadelphia. It was formed “by a few pious men to found a settlement in - the South Seas, till the soil, build a temple, instruct the savages, and - live in peace and happiness”. Twenty-eight persons joined and seven - thousand dollars were raised in one way and another—mostly from - other lunatics. Many “sympathisers” gave goods, food, etc., to help the - cause (hence the awful rubbish in the hold), and at 'Frisco they spent one - thousand five hundred dollars in buying “trade goods to barter with the - simple natives”. At 'Frisco the <i>Julia</i>, then lying condemned, was - bought for a thousand dollars—she was not worth three hundred - dollars, and was put under the Ecuadorian flag. “God sent them friends in - Captain Richards and his wife,” ambled on the old man. Richards became a - “Brother” and joined them to sail the ship and find an island “rich and - fertile in God's gifts to man, and with a pleasant people dwelling - thereon”. - </p> - <p> - With a scratch crew of 'Frisco dead beats the brig reached Honolulu. The - crew at once cleared out, and several of the “Brothers,” with their wives, - returned to America—they had had enough of it. After some weeks' - delay Richards managed to get four Hawaiian sailors to ship, and the - vessel sailed again for the Isle Beautiful. He didn't know exactly where - to look for it, but he and the “Brothers” had been told that there were - any amount of them lying around in the South Seas, and they would have - some trouble in making a choice out of so many. - </p> - <p> - The story of their insane wanderings after the <i>Julia</i> went south of - the equator would have been diverting had it not been so distressing. The - mate, who we gathered was both a good seaman and a competent navigator, - was drowned through the capsizing of a boat on the reef of some island - between the Gilbert Group and Rarotonga, and with his death what little - discipline, and cohesiveness had formerly existed gradually vanished. - Richards apparently knew how to handle his ship, but as a navigator he was - nowhere. Incredible as it may seem, his general chart of the North and - South Pacific was thirty years old, and was so torn, stained and greasy as - to be all but undecipherable. As the weary weeks went by and they went - from island to island, only to be turned away by the inhabitants, they at - last began to realise the folly of the venture, and most of them wanted to - return to San Francisco. But Richards clung to the belief that they only - wanted patience to find a suitable island where the natives would be glad - to receive them, and where they could settle down in peace. Failing that, - he had the idea that there were numbers of fertile and uninhabited - islands, one of which would suit the Brethren almost as well. But as time - went on he too grew despondent, and turned the brig's head northward for - Honolulu; and one day he blundered across Butaritari Island and entered - the lagoon in the hope of at least getting, some provisions. And again the - crew bolted and left the Brethren to shift for themselves. Week after - week, month after month went by, the provisions were all gone except - weevily biscuit and rotten pork, and they passed their time in wandering - about the beaches of the lagoon and waiting for assistance. And yet there - were two or three of them who still believed in the vision of the Isle - Beautiful and were still hopeful that they might get there. “All we want - is another crew,” these said to us. - </p> - <p> - Our skipper shook his head, and then talked to them plainly, calling upon - me to corroborate him. - </p> - <p> - “You will never get a crew. No sailor-man would ever come to sea in a - crate like this. And you'll find no islands anywhere in the Pacific where - you can settle down, unless you can pay for it. The natives will chivvy - you off if you try to land. I know them—you don't. The people in - America who encouraged you in this business were howling lunatics. Your - ship is falling to pieces, and I warn you that if you once leave this - lagoon in her, you will never see land again.” - </p> - <p> - They were silent, and then the old man began to weep, and said they would - there and then pray for guidance. - </p> - <p> - “All right,” said the skipper, “go ahead, and I'll get my mate and the - carpenter to come and tell you their opinion of the state of this brig.” - </p> - <p> - The mate and carpenter made an examination, told Captain Richards in front - of his passengers that the ship was utterly unseaworthy, and that he would - be a criminal if he tried to put to sea again. That settled the business, - especially after they had asked me to value their trade goods, and I told - them frankly that they were literally not worth valuing, and to throw them - overboard. - </p> - <p> - Ten days later the Brotherhood broke up—an American trading schooner - came into the lagoon and her captain offered to take them to Jakuit in the - Marshall Islands, where they were certain of getting a passage to Honolulu - in some whaleship. They all accepted with the exception of Richards and - his wife who refused to leave the <i>Julia</i>. The poor fellow had his - pride and would not desert his ship. However, as his wife was ailing, he - had a small house built on shore and managed to make a few hundred dollars - by boat-building. But every day he would go off and have a look round the - old brig to see if everything on board was all right. Then one night there - came a series of heavy squalls which raised a lumpy sea in the lagoon, and - when morning broke only her top-masts were visible—she had gone down - at her anchors. - </p> - <p> - Richards and his fellow-cranks were the forerunners of other bands of - ignorant enthusiasts who in later years endeavoured to foist themselves - upon the natives of the Pacific Islands and met with similar and - well-merited disaster. Like the ill-fated “La Nouvelle France” colony of - the notorious Marquis de Ray, all these land-stealing ventures set about - their exploits under the cloak of religion. One, under a pretended - concession from the Mexican Government, founded a “Christian Redemption - Colony” of scallywags, loafers and loose women at Magdalena Bay in Lower - California, and succeeded in getting many thousands of pounds from foolish - people. Then came a party of Mormon Evangelists who actually bought and - paid for land in Samoa and conducted themselves decently and are probably - living there now. After them came the wretched <i>Percy Edward</i> band of - pilgrims to found a “happy home” in the South Seas. They called themselves - the “United Brotherhood of the South Sea Islands”. In another volume, in - an article describing my personal experiences of the disastrous “Nouvelle - France” expedition to New Ireland,{*} I have alluded to the <i>Percy - Edward</i> affair in these words, which I may be permitted to quote: “The - <i>Percy Edward</i> was a wretched old tub of a brigantine (formerly a - Tahiti-San Francisco mail packet). She was bought in the latter port by a - number of people who intended 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.... The result of the - Marquis de Ray's expedition ought to have made the American enthusiasts - reflect a little before they started. But having the idea that they could - 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 principles of true Socialism), they sailed—only - to be quickly disillusionised. For there were no islands anywhere in the - North and South Pacific 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 unto - 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 - considerably chivvied about by the white and native inhabitants of the - various islands touched at, the forlorn expedition reach Fiji. Here fifty - of the idealists elected to remain and work for their living under a - Government... But the remaining fifty-eight stuck to the <i>Percy Edward</i>, - and her decayed salt junk and putrid 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 reaching New Caledonia - and settling her keel on the bottom of Nouméa 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 abandon her and go on shore and get a good square - meal. What became of them at Nouméa I did not hear, but do know that in - their wanderings they received much charitable assistance from British - shipmasters and missionaries—in some cases their passages were paid - to the United States—the natural and proper country for the ignorant - religious 'crank'.” - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - * Ridan the Devil: T. Fisher Unwin, London. -</pre> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER IX ~ “DANDY,” THE SHIP'S DINGO - </h2> - <p> - We anchored under Cape Bedford (North Queensland) one day, and the skipper - and I went on shore to bathe in one of the native-made rocky water-holes - near the Cape. We found a native police patrol camped there, and the - officer asked us if we would like to have a dingo pup for a pet. His - troopers had caught two of them the previous day. We said we should like - to possess a dingo. - </p> - <p> - “Bring him here, Dandy,” said the officer to one of his black troopers, - and Dandy, with a grin on his sooty face, brought to us a lanky-legged pup - about three months old. Its colour was a dirty yellowish red, but it gave - promise of turning out a dog—of a kind. The captain put out his hand - to stroke it, and as quick as lightning it closed its fang-like teeth upon - his thumb. With a bull-like bellow of rage, the skipper was about to hurl - the savage little beast over the cliffs into the sea, when I stayed his - hand. - </p> - <p> - “He'll make a bully ship-dog,” I urged, “just the right kind of pup to - chivvy the niggers over the side when we get to the Louisiades and - Solomons. Please don't choke the little beggar, Ross. 'Twas only fear, not - rage, that made him go for you.” - </p> - <p> - We made a temporary muzzle from a bit of fishing line; bade the officer - good-bye, and went off to the ship. - </p> - <p> - We were nearly a month beating up to the Solomons, and in that time we - gained some knowledge of Dandy's character. (We named him after the black - trooper.) He was fawningly, sneakingly, offensively affectionate—when - he was hungry, which was nearly always; as ferocious and as spiteful as a - tiger cat when his stomach was full; then, with a snarling yelp, he would - put his tail beneath his legs and trot for'ard, turning his head and - showing his teeth. Crawling under the barrel of the windlass he would lie - there and go to sleep, only opening his eyes now and then to roll them - about vindictively when any one passed by. Then when he was hungry again, - he would crawl out and slouch aft with a “please-do-be-kind-to-a-poor-dog” - expression on his treacherous face. Twice when we were sailing close to - the land he jumped overboard, and made for the shore, though he couldn't - swim very well and only went round and round in circles. On each occasion - a native sailor jumped over after him and brought him back, and each time - he bit his rescuer. - </p> - <p> - “Never mind him, sir,” said the mate to Ross one day, when the angry - skipper fired three shots at Dandy for killing the ship's cat—missed - him and nearly killed the steward, who had put his head out of the galley - door to see the fun—“there's money in that dog. I wouldn't mind - bettin' half-a-sov that Charley Nyberg, the trader on Santa Anna, will - give five pounds for him. He'll go for every nigger he's sooled on to. You - mark my words.” - </p> - <p> - In the fore-hold we had a hundred tons of coal destined for one of H.M. - cruisers then surveying in the Solomon Group. We put Dandy down there to - catch rats, and gave him nothing but water. Here he showed his blood. We - could hear the scraping about of coal, and the screams of the captured - rodents, as Dandy tore round the hold after them. In three days there were - no more rats left, and Dandy began to utter his weird, blood-curdling - howls—he wanted to come on deck. We lashed him down under the force - pump, and gave him a thorough wash-down. He shook himself, showed his - teeth at us and tore off to the galley in search of food. The cook gave - him a large tinful of rancid fat, which was at once devoured, then he fled - to his retreat under the windlass, and began to growl and moan. By-and-by - we made Santa Anna. - </p> - <p> - Charley Nyberg, after he had tried the dog by setting him on to two - Solomon Island “bucks” who were loafing around his house, and seen how the - beast could bite, said he would give us thirteen dollars and a fat hog for - him. We agreed, and Dandy was taken on shore and chained up outside the - cook-house to keep away thieving natives. - </p> - <p> - About nine o'clock that evening, as the skipper and I were sitting on - deck, we heard a fearful yell from Charley's house—a few hundred - yards away from where we were anchored. The yell was followed by a wild - clamour from many hundreds of native throats, and we saw several scores of - people rushing towards the trader's dwelling. Then came the sound of two - shots in quick succession. - </p> - <p> - “Haul the boat alongside,” roared our skipper, “there's mischief going on - on shore.” - </p> - <p> - In a minute we, with the boat's crew, had seized our arms, tumbled into - the boat and were racing for the beach. - </p> - <p> - Jumping out, we tore to the house. It seemed pretty quiet. Charley was in - his sitting-room, binding up his wife's hand, and smoking in an - unconcerned sort of a way. - </p> - <p> - “What is wrong, Charley?” we asked. - </p> - <p> - “That infernal mongrel of yours nearly bit my wife's hand off. Did it when - she tried to stroke him. I soon settled him. If you go to the back you - will see some native women preparing the brute for the oven. The niggers - here like baked dog. Guess you fellows will have to give me back that - thirteen dollars. But you can keep the hog.” - </p> - <p> - So Dandy came to a just and fitting end. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER X ~ KALA-HOI, THE NET-MAKER - </h2> - <p> - Old Kala-hoi, the net-maker, had ceased work for the day, and was seated - on a mat outside his little house, smoking his pipe, looking dreamily out - upon the blue waters of Leone Bay, on Tutuila Island, and enjoying the - cool evening breeze that blew upon his bare limbs and played with the two - scanty tufts of snow-white hair that grew just above his ears. - </p> - <p> - As he sat and smoked in quiet content, Marsh (the mate of our vessel) and - I discerned him from the beach, as we stepped out of the boat. We were both - tired—Marsh with weighing and stowing bags of copra in the steaming - hold, and I with paying the natives for it in trade goods—a task - that had taken me from dawn till supper time. Then, as the smell of the - copra and the heat of the cabin were not conducive to the enjoyment of - supper, we first had a bathe alongside the ship, got into clean pyjamas - and came on shore to have a chat with old Kala-hoi. - </p> - <p> - “Got anything to eat, Kala-hoi?” we asked, as we sat down on the mat, in - front of the ancient, who smilingly bade us welcome. - </p> - <p> - “My oven is made; and in it are a fat mullet, four breadfruit, some <i>taro</i> - and plenty of <i>ifi</i> (chestnuts). For to-day is Saturday, and I have - cooked for to-morrow as well as for to-night.” Then lapsing into his - native Hawaiian (which both my companion and I understood), he added, “And - most heartily are ye welcome. In a little while the oven will be ready for - uncovering and we shall eat.” - </p> - <p> - “But how will you do for food to-morrow, Kala-hoi?” inquired Marsh, with a - smile and speaking in English. - </p> - <p> - “To-morrow is not yet. When it comes I shall have more food. I have but to - ask of others and it is given willingly. And even if it were not so, I - would but have to pluck some more breadfruit or dig some taro and kill a - fowl—and cook again to night.” And then with true native courtesy he - changed the subject and asked us if we had enjoyed our swim. Not much, we - replied, the sea-water was too warm from the heat of the sun. - </p> - <p> - He nodded. “Aye, the day has been hot and windless until now, when the - cool land breeze comes down between the valleys from the mountains. But - why did ye not bathe in the stream in the fresh water, as I have just - done. It is a good thing to do, for it makes hunger as well as cleanses - the skin, and that the salt water will not do.” - </p> - <p> - Marsh and I lit our pipes. The old man rose, went into his house and - returned with a large mat and two bamboo pillows, telling us it would be - more comfortable to lie down and rest our backs, for he knew that we had - “toiled much during the day”. Then he resumed his own mat again, and - crossed his hands on his tatooed knees, for although not a Samoan he was - tatooed in the Samoan fashion. Beside him was a Samoan Bible, for he was a - deeply religious old fellow, and could both read and write. - </p> - <p> - “How comes it, Kala, that thou livest all alone half a league from the - village?” asked Marsh. - </p> - <p> - Kala-hoi showed his still white and perfect teeth in a smile. - </p> - <p> - “Ah, why? Because, O friend, this is mine own land. I am, as thou knowest, - of Maui, in Hawaii, and though for thirty and nine years have I lived in - Samoa, yet now that my wife and two sons are dead, I would be by myself. - This land, which measures two hundred fathoms on three sides, and one - hundred at the beach, was given to me by Mauga, King of Tutuila, because, - ten years ago, when his son was shot in the thigh with a round bullet, I - cut it out from where it had lodged against the bone.” - </p> - <p> - “How old are you, Kala-hoi?” - </p> - <p> - “I know not. But I am old, very old. Yet I am young—still young. I - was a grown man when Wilkes, the American Commodore, came to Samoa. And I - went on board the <i>Vincennes</i> when she came to Apia, and because I - spoke English well, <i>le alii Saua</i> ('the cruel captain'), as we - called him,{*} made much of me, and treated me with some honour. Ah, he - was a stern man, and his eye was as the eye of an eagle.” - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - * Wilkes was called “the cruel captain” by the Samoans on - account of his iron discipline. -</pre> - <p> - Marsh nodded acquiescence. “Aye, he was a strong, stern man. More than a - score of years after thou hadst seen him here in Samoa, he was like to - have brought about a bloody war between my country and his. Yet he did but - what was right and just—to my mind. And I am an Englishman.” - </p> - <p> - Kala-hoi blew a stream of smoke through his nostrils. - </p> - <p> - “Aye, indeed, a stern man, and with a bitter tongue. But because of his - cruelty to his men was he punished, for in Fiji the <i>kai tagata</i> - (cannibals) killed his nephew. And yet he spoke always kindly to me, and - gave me ten Mexican dollars because I did much interpretation for him with - the chiefs of Samoa.... One day there came on board the ship two white - men; they were <i>papalagi tà fea</i> (beachcombers) and were like Samoans, - for they wore no clothes, and were tatooed from their waists to their - knees as I am. They went to the forepart of the ship and began talking to - the sailors. They were very saucy men and proud of their appearance. The - Commodore sent for them, and he looked at them with scorn—one was an - Englishman, the other a Dane. This they told him. - </p> - <p> - “'O ye brute beasts,' he said, and he spat over the side of the ship - contempt. 'Were ye Americans I would trice ye both up and give ye each a - hundred lashes, for so degrading thyselves. Out of my ship, ye filthy - tatooed swine. Thou art a disgrace to thy race!' So terrified were they - that they could not speak, and went away in shame.” - </p> - <p> - “Thou hast seen many things in thy time, Kala-hoi.” - </p> - <p> - “Nay, friend. Not such things as thou hast seen—such as the sun at - midnight, of which thou hast told me, and which had any man but thou said - it, I would have cried 'Liar!'” - </p> - <p> - Marsh laughed—“Yet 'tis true, old Kala-hoi. I have seen the sun at - midnight, many, many times.” - </p> - <p> - “Aye. Thou sayest, and I believe. Now, let me uncover my oven so that we - may eat. 'Tis a fine fat mullet.” - </p> - <p> - After we had eaten, the kindly old man brought us a bowl of water in which - to lave our hands, and then a spotless white towel, for he had associated - much with Europeans in his younger days and had adopted many of their - customs. On Sundays he always wore to church coat, trousers, shirt, collar - and necktie and boots (minus socks) and covered his bald pate with a wide - hat or <i>fala</i> leaf. Moreover, he was a deacon. - </p> - <p> - Presently we heard voices, and a party of young people of both sexes - appeared. They had been bathing in the stream and were now returning to - the village. In most of them I recognised “customers” of mine during the - day—they were carrying baskets and bundles containing the goods - bought from the ship. They all sat down around us, began to make - cigarettes of strong twist tobacco, roll it in strips of dried banana - leaf, and gossip. Then Kala-hoi—although he was a deacon—asked - the girls if they would make us a bowl of kava. They were only too - pleased, and so Kala-hoi again rose, went to his house and brought out a - root of kava, the kava-bowl and some gourds of water, and gave them to the - giggling maidens who, securing a mat for themselves, withdrew a little - distance and proceeded to make the drink, the young men attending upon - them to-cut the kava into thin, flaky strips, and leaving us three to - ourselves. Night had come, and the bay was very quiet. Here and there on - the opposite side lights began to gleam through the lines of palms on the - beach from isolated native houses, as the people ate their evening meal by - the bright flame of a pile of coco-nut shells or a lamp of coco-nut oil. - </p> - <p> - Marsh wanted the old man to talk. - </p> - <p> - “How long since is it that thy wife and sons died, Kala-hoi?” - </p> - <p> - The old man placed his brown, shapely hand on the seaman's knee, and - answered softly:— - </p> - <p> - “'Tis twenty years”. - </p> - <p> - “They died together, did they not?” - </p> - <p> - “Nay—not together, but on the same day. Thou hast heard something of - it?” - </p> - <p> - “Only something. And if it doth not hurt thee to speak of it, I should - like to know how such a great misfortune came to thee.” - </p> - <p> - The net-maker looked into the white man's face, and read sympathy in his - eyes. - </p> - <p> - “Friend, this was the way of it. Because of my usefulness to him as an - interpreter of English, Taula, chief of Samatau, gave me his niece, Moé, - in marriage. She was a strong girl, and handsome, but had a sharp tongue. - Yet she loved me, and I loved her. - </p> - <p> - “We were happy. We lived at the town of Tufu on the <i>itu papa</i>” - (iron-bound coast) “of Savai'i. Moé bore me boy twins. They grew up - strong, hardy and courageous, though, like their mother, they were - quick-tempered, and resented reproof, even from me, their father. And - often they quarrelled and fought. - </p> - <p> - “When they were become sixteen years of age, they were tatooed in the - Samoan fashion, and that cost me much in money and presents. But Tui, who - was the elder by a little while, was jealous that his brother Gâlu had - been tatooed first. And yet the two loved each other—as I will show - thee. - </p> - <p> - “One day my wife and the two boys went into the mountains to get wild - bananas. They cut three heavy bunches and were returning home, when Gâlu - and Tui began to quarrel, on the steep mountain path. They came to blows, - and their mother, in trying to separate them, lost her footing and fell - far below on to a bed of lava. She died quickly. - </p> - <p> - “The two boys descended and held her dead body in their arms for a long - while, and wept together over her face. Then they carried her down the - mountain side into the village, and said to the people:— - </p> - <p> - “'We, Tui and Gâlu, have killed our mother through our quarrelling. Tell - our father Kala-hoi, that we fear to meet him, and now go to expiate our - crime.' - </p> - <p> - “They ran away swiftly; they climbed the mountain side, and, with arms - around each other, sprang over the cliff from which their mother had - fallen. And when I, and many others with me, found them, they were both - dead.” - </p> - <p> - “Thou hast had a bitter sorrow, Kala-hoi.” “Aye, a bitter sorrow. But yet - in my dreams I see them all. And sometimes, even in my work, as I make my - nets, I hear the boys' voices, quarrelling, and my wife saying, 'Be still, - ye boys, lest I call thy father to chastise thee both '.” - </p> - <p> - As the girls brought us the kava Marsh put his hand on the old, smooth, - brown pate, and saw that the eyes of the net-maker were filled with tears. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XI ~ THE KANAKA LABOUR TRADE IN THE PACIFIC - </h2> - <p> - The <i>fiat</i> has gone forth from the Australian Commonwealth, and the - Kanaka labour trade, as far as the Australian Colonies are concerned, has - ceased to exist. For, during the month of November, 1906, the Queensland - Government began to deport to their various islands in the Solomon and New - Hebrides Groups, the last of the Melanesian native labourers employed on - the Queensland sugar plantations. - </p> - <p> - The Kanaka labour traffic, generally termed “black-birding,” began about - 1863, when sugar and cotton planters found that natives of the South Sea - Islands could be secured at a much less cost than Chinese or Indian - coolies. The genesis of the traffic was a tragedy, and filled the world - with horror. - </p> - <p> - Three armed Peruvian ships, manned by gangs of cut-throats, appeared in - the South Pacific, and seized over four hundred unfortunate natives in the - old African slave-trading fashion, and carried them away to work the guano - deposits on the Chincha Islands. Not a score of them returned to their - island homes—the rest perished under the lash and brutality of their - cruel taskmasters. - </p> - <p> - Towards 1870 the demand for South Sea Islanders became very great. They - were wanted in the Sandwich Islands, in Tahiti and Samoa; for, naturally - enough, with their ample food supply, the natives of these islands do not - like plantation work, or if employed demand a high rate of pay. Then, too, - the Queensland and Fijian sugar planters joined in the quest, and at one - time there were over fifty vessels engaged in securing Kanakas from the - Gilbert Islands, the Solomon and New Hebrides Groups, and the great - islands near New Guinea. - </p> - <p> - At that time there was no Government supervision of the traffic. Any - irresponsible person could fit out a ship, and bring a cargo of human - beings into port—obtained by means fair or foul—and no - questions were asked. - </p> - <p> - Very soon came the news of the infamous story of the brig <i>Carl</i> and - her fiendish owner, a Dr. Murray, who with half a dozen other scoundrels - committed the most awful crimes—shooting down in cold blood scores - of natives who refused to be coerced into “recruiting”. Some of these - ruffians went to the scaffold or to long terms of imprisonment; and from - that time the British Government in a maundering way set to work to effect - some sort of supervision of the British ships employed in the - “blackbirding” trade. - </p> - <p> - A fleet of five small gunboats (sailing vessels) were built in Sydney, and - were ordered to “overhaul and inspect every blackbirder,” and ascertain if - the “blackbirds” were really willing recruits, or had been deported - against their will, and were “to be sold as slaves”. And many atrocious - deeds came to light, with the result, as far as Queensland was concerned, - that every labour ship had to carry a Government agent, who was supposed - to see that no abuses occurred. Some of these Government agents were - conscientious men, and did their duty well; others were mere tools of the - greedy planters, and lent themselves to all sorts of villainies to obtain - “recruits” and get an <i>in camera</i> bonus of twenty pounds for every - native they could entice on board. - </p> - <p> - Owing to my knowledge of Polynesian and Melane-sian dialects, I was - frequently employed as “recruiter” on many “blackbirders”—French - vessels from Noumea in New Caledonia, Hawaiian vessels from Honolulu, and - German and English vessels sailing from Samoa and Fiji, and in no instance - did I ever have any serious trouble with my “blackbirds” after they were - once on board the ship of which I was “recruiter”. - </p> - <p> - Let me now describe an ordinary cruise of a “blackbirder” vessel—an - honest ship with an honest skipper and crew, and, above all, a straight - “recruiter”—a man who takes his life in his hands when he steps out, - unarmed, from his boat, and seeks for “recruits” from a crowd of the - wildest savages imaginable. - </p> - <p> - Labour ships carry a double crew—one to work the ship, the other to - man the boats, of which there are usually four on ordinary-sized vessels. - They are whale-boats, specially adapted for surf work. The boats' crews - are invariably natives—Rotumah men, Samoans, or Savage Islanders. - The ship's working crew also are in most cases natives, and the captain - and officers are, of course, white men. - </p> - <p> - The 'tween decks are fitted to accommodate so many “blackbirds,” and, at - the present day, British labour ships are models of cleanliness, for the - Government supervision is very rigid; but in former days the hold of a - “blackbirder” often presented a horrid spectacle—the unfortunate - “recruits” being packed so closely together, and at night time the odour - from their steaming bodies was absolutely revolting as it ascended from - the open hatch, over which stood two sentries on the alert; for sometimes - the “blackbirds” would rise and attempt to murder the ship's company. In - many cases they did so successfully—especially when the “blackbirds” - came from the same island, or group of islands, and spoke the same - language. When there were, say, a hundred or two hundred “recruits” from - various islands, dissimilar in their language and customs, there was no - fear of such an event, and the captain and officers and “recruiter” went - to sleep with a feeling of security. - </p> - <p> - Let us now suppose that a “blackbirder” (obnoxious name to many - recruiters) from Samoa, Fiji, or Queensland, has reached one of the New - Hebrides, or Solomon Islands. Possibly she may anchor—if there is an - anchorage; but most likely she will “lie off and on,” and send away her - boats to the various villages. - </p> - <p> - On one occasion I “worked” the entire length of one side of the great - island of San Cristoval, visiting nearly every village from Cape Recherché - to Cape Surville. This took nearly three weeks, the ship following the - boats along the coast. We would leave the ship at daylight, and pull in - shore, landing wherever we saw a smoke signal, or a village. When I had - engaged, say, half a dozen recruits, I would send them off on board, and - continue on my way. At sunset I would return on board, the boats would be - hoisted up, and the ship either anchor, or heave-to for the night. On this - particular trip the boats were only twice fired at, but no one man of my - crews was hit. - </p> - <p> - The boats are known as “landing” and “covering” boats. The former is in - command of an officer and the recruiter, carries five hands (all armed) - and also the boxes of “trade” goods to be exhibited to the natives as - specimens of the rest of the goods on board, or perhaps some will be - immediately handed over as an “advance” to any native willing to recruit - as a labourer in Queensland or elsewhere for three years, at the - magnificent wage of six pounds per annum, generally paid in rubbishing - articles, worth about thirty shillings. - </p> - <p> - The “covering” boat is in charge of an officer, or reliable seaman. She - follows the “landing” boat at a short distance, and her duty is to cover - her retreat if the natives should attack the landing boat by at once - opening fire, and giving those in that boat a chance of pushing off and - getting out of danger, and also she sometimes receives on board the - “recruits” as they are engaged by the recruiter—if the latter has - not been knocked on the head or speared. - </p> - <p> - On nearing the beach, where the natives are waiting, the officer in the - landing-boat swings her round with his steer oar, and the crew back her - in, stern first, on to the beach. The recruiter then steps out, and the - crew carry the trade chests on shore; then the boat pushes off a little, - just enough to keep afloat, and obtrusive natives, who may mean treachery, - are not allowed to come too near the oars, or take hold of the gunwale, - Meanwhile the covering boat has drawn in close to the first boat, and the - crew, with their hands on their rifles, keep a keen watch on the landing - boat and the wretched recruiter. - </p> - <p> - The recruiter, if he is a wise man, will not display any arms openly. To - do so makes the savage natives either sulky or afraid, and I never let - them see mine, which I, however, always kept handy in a harmless-looking - canvas bag, which also contained some tobacco, cut up in small pieces, to - throw to the women and children—to put them in a good temper. - </p> - <p> - The recruiter opens his trade box, and then asks if there is any man or - woman who desires to become rich in three years by working on a plantation - in Fiji, Queensland, or Samoa. - </p> - <p> - If he can speak the language, and does not lose his nerve by being - surrounded by hundreds of ferocious and armed savages, and knowing that at - any instant he may be cut down from behind by a tomahawk, or speared, or - clubbed, he will get along all right, and soon find men willing to recruit - Especially is this so if he is a man personally known to the natives, and - has a good reputation for treating his “blackbirds” well on board the - ship. The ship and her captain, too, enter largely into the matter of a - native making up his mind to “recruit,” or refuse to do so. - </p> - <p> - Sometimes there may be among the crowd of natives several who have already - been to Queensland, or elsewhere, and desire to return. These may be - desirable recruits, or, on the other hand, may be the reverse, and have - bad records. I usually tried to shunt these fellows from again recruiting, - as they often made mischief on board, would plan to capture the ship, and - such other diversions, but I always found them useful as touts in gaining - me new recruits, by offering these scamps a suitable present for each man - they brought me. - </p> - <p> - I always made it a practice never to recruit a married man, unless his - wife—or an alleged wife—came with him, nor would I take them - if they had young children—who would simply be made slaves of in - their absence. It required the utmost tact and discretion to get at the - truth in many cases, and very often on going on board after a day of toil - and danger I would be sound asleep, when a young couple would swim off—lovers - who had eloped—and beg me to take them away in the ship. This I - would never do until I had seen the local chief, and was assured that no - objection would be made to their leaving. - </p> - <p> - (When I was recruiting “black labour” for the French and German planters - in Samoa and Tahiti, I was, of course, sailing in ships of those - nationalities, and had no worrying Government agent to harass and hinder - me by his interference, for only ships under British colours were - compelled to carry “Government agents”.) - </p> - <p> - But I must return to the recruiter standing on the beach, surrounded by a - crowd of savages, exercising his patience and brains. - </p> - <p> - Perhaps at the end of an hour or so eight or ten men are recruited, and - told to either get into one of the boats or go off to the ship in canoes. - The business on shore is then finished, the harassed recruiter wipes his - perspiring brow, says farewell to the people, closes his trade chest, and - steps into his landing boat. The officer cries to the crew, “Give way, - lads,” and off goes the boat. - </p> - <p> - Then the covering boat comes into position astern of the landing boat, for - one never knew the moment that some enraged native on shore might, for - having been rejected as “undesirable,” take a snipe-shot at one of the - boats. Only two men pull in the covering boat—the rest of the crew - sit on the thwarts, with their rifles ready, facing aft, until the boats - are out of range. - </p> - <p> - That is what is the ordinary day's work among the Solomon, New Hebrides, - and other island groups of the Western Pacific. But very often it was—and - is now—very different. The recruiter may be at work, when he is - struck down treacherously from behind, and hundreds of concealed savages - rush out, bent on slaughter. Perhaps the eye of some ever-watchful man in - the covering boat has seen crouching figures in the dense undergrowth of - the shores of the bay, and at once fires his rifle, and the recruiter - jumps for his boat, and then there is a cracking of Winchesters from the - covering boat, and a responsive banging of overloaded muskets from the - shore. - </p> - <p> - Only once was I badly hurt when “recruiting”. I had visited a rather big - village, but could not secure a single recruit, and I had told the officer - to put off, as it was no use our wasting our time. I then got into the - boat and was stooping down to get a drink from the water-beaker, when a - sudden fusillade of muskets and arrows was opened upon us from three - sides, and I was struck on the right side of the neck by a round iron - bullet, which travelled round just under the skin, and stopped under my - left ear. Some of my crew were badly hit, one man having his wrist broken - by an iron bullet, and another received a heavy lead bullet in the - stomach, and three bamboo arrows in his chest, thigh and shoulder. He was - more afraid of the arrows than the really dangerous wound in his stomach, - for he thought they were poisoned, and that he would die of lockjaw—like - the lamented Commodore Goodenough, who was shot to death with poisoned - arrows at Nukapu in the Santa Cruz Group. - </p> - <p> - The skipper nicked out the bullet in my neck with his pen-knife, and - beyond two very unsightly scars on each side of my neck, I have nothing of - which to complain, and much to be thankful for; for had I been in ever so - little a more erect position, the ball would have broken my neck—and - some compositors in printing establishments earned a little less money. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XII ~ MY FRIENDS, THE ANTHROPOPHAGI - </h2> - <p> - Mr. Rudyard Kipling has spoken of what he terms “the Great American Pie - Belt,” which runs through certain parts of the United States, the people - of which live largely on pumpkin pie; in the South Pacific there is what - may be vulgarly termed the Great “Long Pork” Belt, running through many - groups of islands, the savage inhabitants of which are notorious - cannibals. This belt extends from the New Hebrides north-westerly to the - Solomon Archipelago, thence more westerly to New Ireland and New Britain, - the coasts of Dutch, German, and British New Guinea; and then, turning - south, embraces a considerable portion of the coast line of Northern - Australia. Forty years ago Fiji could have been included, but cannibalism - in that group had long since ceased; as also in New Caledonia and the - Loyalty Islands. - </p> - <p> - The British, French and German Governments are doing their best to stamp - out the practice. Ships of war patrol the various groups, and wherever - possible, headhunting and man-eating excursions are suppressed; but some - of the islands are of such a vast extent that only the coastal tribes are - affected. In the interior—practically unknown to any white man—there - is a very numerous population of mountaineer tribes, who are all - cannibals, and will remain so for perhaps another fifty years, unless, as - was done in Fiji by Sir Arthur Gordon (now Lord Stanmore), a large armed - force is sent to subdue these people, destroy their towns, and bring them - to settle on the coast, where they may be subjected to missionary (and - police) influence. - </p> - <p> - During my trading and “blackbirding” voyages, I made the acquaintance, and - indeed in some cases the friendship, of many cannibals, and at one time, - when I was doing shore duty, I lived for six months in a large cannibal - village on the north coast of the great island of New Britain, or Tombara, - as the natives call it I had not the slightest fear of being converted - into “Long Pig” (<i>puaka kumi</i>) for the chief, a hideous, but yet not - bad-natured savage, named Bobâran, in consideration for certain gifts of - muskets, powder, bullets, etc, and tobacco, became responsible for my - safety with his own people during my stay, but would not, of course, - guarantee to protect me from the people of other districts (even though he - might not be at enmity with them) if I ventured into their territory. - </p> - <p> - This was the usual agreement made by white traders who established - themselves on shore under the <i>ægis</i> of a native ruler. Very rarely - was this confidence abused. Generally the white men, sailors or traders - who have been (and are even now) killed and eaten, have been cut off by - savages other than those among whom they lived—very often by - mountaineers. - </p> - <p> - Bobâran and all his people were noted cannibals. He was continually at war - with his neighbours on the opposite side of the bay, where there were - three populous towns, and there was much fighting, and losses on both - sides. During my stay there were over thirty people eaten at, or in the - immediate vicinity of, my village. Some of these were taken alive, and - then slaughtered on being brought in; others had been killed in battle. - But about eighteen months before I came to live at this place, Bobâran had - had a party of twenty of his people cut off by the enemy—and every - one of these were eaten. - </p> - <p> - I parted from Bobâran on very friendly terms. I should have stayed longer, - but was suffering from malarial fever. - </p> - <p> - After recruiting my health in New Zealand, I joined a labour vessel, - sailing out of Samoa, and during the ten months I served on her as - recruiter I had some exceedingly exciting adventures with cannibals among - the islands off the coast of German New Guinea, and on the mainland. - </p> - <p> - On our way to the “blackbirding grounds” we sighted the lofty Rossel - Island—the scene of one of the most awful cannibal tragedies ever - known. It is one of the Louisiade Archipelago, and is at the extreme south - end of British New Guinea. It presents a most enchanting appearance, owing - to its verdured mountains (9,000 feet), countless cataracts, and beautiful - bays fringed with coco-palms and other tropical trees, amidst which stand - the thatched-roofed houses of the natives. I will tell the story of Rossel - Island in as few words as possible:— - </p> - <p> - In 1852 a Peruvian barque, carrying 325 Chinese coolies for Tahiti, was - wrecked on the island; the captain and crew took to the four boats, and - left the Chinamen to shift for themselves. Hundreds of savage natives - rushed the vessel, killed a few of the coolies, and drove the rest on - shore, where for some days they were not molested, the natives being too - busy in plundering the ship. But after this was completed they turned - their attention to their captives, marshalled them together, made them - enter canoes and carried them off to a small, but fertile island. Here - they were told to occupy a deserted village, and do as they pleased, but - not to attempt to leave the island. The poor Chinamen were overjoyed, - little dreaming of what was to befal them. The island abounded with - vegetables and fruit, and the shipwrecked men found no lack of food. But - they discovered that they were prisoners—every canoe had been - removed. This at first caused them no alarm, but when at the end of a week - their jailers appeared and carried off ten of their number, they became - restless. And then almost every day, two, three or more were taken away, - and never returned. Then the poor wretches discovered that their comrades - were being killed and eaten day by day! - </p> - <p> - To escape from the island was impossible, for it was four miles from the - mainland, and they had no canoes, and the water was literally alive with - sharks. Some of them, wild with terror, built a raft out of dead timber, - and tried to put to sea. They were seen by the Rossel Islanders, pursued - and captured, and slaughtered for the cannibal ovens, which were now never - idle. Some poor creatures, who could swim, tried to cross to another - little island two miles away, but were devoured by sharks. Without arms to - defend their lives, they saw themselves decimated week by week, for - whenever the natives came to seize some of their number for their ovens - they came in force. - </p> - <p> - Six or seven months passed, and then one day the French corvette <i>Phoque</i> - (if I am not mistaken in the name) appeared off the island. She had been - sent by the Governor of New Caledonia to ascertain if any of the Chinamen - were still on the island, or if all had escaped. Two only survived. They - were seen running along the beach to meet the boats from the corvette, and - were taken on board half-demented—all the rest had gone into the - stomach of the cannibals or the sharks. - </p> - <p> - At the present time the natives of Rossel Island are subjects of King - Edward VII., and are included in the government of the Possession of - British New Guinea; have, I believe, a resident missionary, and several - traders, and are well behaved. They would cast up their eyes in pious - horror if any visitor now suggested that they had once been addicted to - “long pig “. - </p> - <p> - Ten days after passing Rossel Island, we were among the islands of Dampier - and Vitiaz Straits, which separate the western end of New Britain from the - east coast of New Guinea. It was an absolutely new ground for recruiting - “blackbirds” and our voyage was in reality but an experiment. We (the - officers and I) knew that the natives were a dangerous lot of savage - cannibals, speaking many dialects, and had hitherto only been in - communication with an occasional whaleship, or a trading, pearling, or, in - the “old” colonial days, a sandal-wood-seeking vessel. But we had no fear - of being cut off. We had a fine craft, with a high freeboard, so that if - we were rushed by canoes, the boarders would find some trouble in - clambering on deck; on the main deck we carried four six-pounders, which - were always kept in good order and could be loaded with grape in a few - minutes. Then our double crew were all well armed with Sharp's carbines - and the latest pattern of Colt's revolvers; and, above all, the captain - had confidence in his crew and officers, and they in him. I, the - recruiter, had with me as interpreter a very smart native of Ysabel Island - (Solomon Group) who, five years before, had been wrecked on Rook Island, - in Vitiaz Straits, had lived among the cannibal natives for a year, and - then been rescued by an Austrian man-of-war engaged on an exploration - voyage. He said that he could make himself well understood by the natives—and - this I found to be correct. - </p> - <p> - We anchored in a charming little bay on Rook Island (Baga), and at once - some hundreds of natives came off and boarded us in the most fearless - manner. They at once recognised my interpreter, and danced about him and - yelled their delight at seeing him again. Every one of these savages was - armed with half a dozen spears, a jade-headed club, or powerful bows and - arrows, and a wooden shield. They were a much finer type of savage than - the natives of New Britain, lighter in colour, and had not so many - repulsive characteristics. Neither were they absolutely nude—each - man wearing a girdle of dracaena leaves, and although they were betel-nut - chewers, and carried their baskets of areca nuts and leaves and powdered - lime around their necks, they did not expectorate the disgusting scarlet - juice all over our decks as the New Britain natives would have done. - </p> - <p> - We noticed that many of them had recently inflicted wounds, and learned - from them that a few days previously they had had a great fight with the - natives of Tupinier Island (twenty miles to the east) and had been badly - beaten, losing sixteen men. But, they proudly added, they had been able to - carry off eleven of the enemy's dead, and had only just finished eating - them. The chiefs brother, they said, had been badly wounded by a bullet in - the thigh (the Tupinier natives had a few muskets) and was suffering great - pain, as the “doctors” could not get it out. - </p> - <p> - Now here was a chance for me—something which would perhaps lead to - our getting a number of these cannibals to recruit for Samoa. I considered - myself a good amateur surgeon (I had had plenty of practice) and at once - volunteered to go on shore, look at the injured gentleman and see what I - could do. My friend Bobâran in New Britain I had cured of an eczemic - disorder by a very simple remedy, and he had been a grateful patient. Here - was another chance, and possibly another grateful patient; and this being - a case of a gunshot wound, I was rather keen on attending to it, for the - Polynesians and Melanesians will stand any amount of cutting about and - never flinch (and there are no coroners in the South Seas to ask silly - questions if the patient dies from a mistake of the operator). - </p> - <p> - Morel (the captain), the interpreter and myself went on shore. The beach - was crowded with women and children, as well as men—a sure sign that - no treachery was intended—and nearly all of them tried to embrace my - interpreter. The clamour these cannibals made was terrific, the children - being especially vociferous. Several of them seized my hands, and - literally dragged me along to the house of the wounded man; others - possessed themselves of Morel and the interpreter, and in a few minutes - the whole lot of us tumbled, or rather fell, into the house. Then, in an - instant, there was silence—the excited women and children withdrew - and left the captain, the interpreter, some male cannibals and myself with - my patient, who was sitting up, placidly chewing betel-nut. - </p> - <p> - In ten minutes Morel and I got out the bullet, then dressed and bandaged - the wound, and gave the man a powerful opiate. Leaving him with his - friends, Morel and I went for a walk through the village. Everywhere the - natives were very civil, offering us coco-nuts and food, and even the - women and children did not show much fear at our presence. - </p> - <p> - Returning to the house, we found our wounded friend was awake, and sitting - up on his mat. He smiled affably at us, and rubbed noses with me—a - practice I have never before seen among the Melanesians of this part of - the Pacific. Then he told us that his womenfolk were preparing us a meal - which would soon be ready. I asked him gravely (through the interpreter) - not to serve us any human flesh. He replied quite calmly that there was - none left—the last had been eaten five days before. - </p> - <p> - Presently the meal was carried in—baked pork, an immense fish of the - mullet kind, yams, taro, and an enormous quantity of sugar-cane and - pineapples. The women did not eat with us, but sat apart. Our friend, - whose name was Dârro, had six wives, four of whom were present. He had also - a number of female slaves, taken from an island in Vitiaz Straits. These - were rather light-skinned, and some quite good-looking, and all wore - girdles of dracaena leaves. Neither Dârro nor his people smoked, though - they knew the use of pipe and tobacco, and at one time had been given both - by a sandal-wooding ship. I promised to give them a present of a ten pound - case of plug tobacco, and a gross of clay pipes—I was thinking of - “recruits”. I sent off to the brig for the present, and when it arrived, - and I had given nearly one hundred and fifty cannibals a pipe and a plug - of tobacco each, the interpreter and I got to work on Dârro on the subject - of our mission. - </p> - <p> - Alas! He would not entertain the idea of any of his fighting men going to - an unknown land for three years. We could have perhaps a score or so of - women—widows or slaves. Would that suit us? No, I said. We did not - want single women or widows. There must be a man to each woman. - </p> - <p> - Dârro was “very sorry” (so was I). But perhaps I and the captain would - accept two of the youngest of his female slaves as a token of his regard - for us? - </p> - <p> - Morel and I consulted, and then we asked Dârro if he could not give us two - slave couples—two men and two women who would be willing to marry, - and also willing to go to a country and work, a country where they would - be well treated, and paid for their labour. And at the end of three years - they would be brought back to Dârro, if they so desired. - </p> - <p> - Dârro smiled and gave some orders, and two strapping young men and two - pleasant-faced young women were brought for my inspection. All were - smiling, and I felt that a bishop and a brass band or surpliced choristers - ought to have been present. - </p> - <p> - These were the only “blackbirds” we secured on that voyage from Rook - Island; but three and a half years later, when these two couples returned - to Dârro, with a “vast” wealth of trade goods, estimated at “trade” prices - at seventy-two pounds, Dârro never refused to let some of his young men - “recruit” for Fiji or Samoa. - </p> - <p> - I never saw him again, but he sent messages to me by other “blackbirding” - vessels, saying that he would like me to come and stay with him. - </p> - <p> - And, although he had told me that he had personally partaken of the flesh - of over ninety men, I shall always remember him as a very gentlemanly man, - courteous, hospitable and friendly, and who was horror-struck when my - interpreter told him that in England cousins intermarried. - </p> - <p> - “That is a horrid, an unutterable thing. It is inconceivable to us. It is - vile, wicked and shameless. How can you clever white men do such - disgusting things?” - </p> - <p> - Dârro and his savage people knew the terrors of the abuse of the laws of - consanguinity. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XIII ~ ON THE “JOYS” OF RECRUITING “BLACKBIRDS” - </h2> - <p> - A few years ago I was written to by an English lady, living in the - Midlands, asking me if I could assist her nephew—a young man of - three and twenty years of age—towards obtaining a berth as - Government agent or as “recruiter” on a Queensland vessel employed in the - Kanaka labour trade. - </p> - <p> - “I am told that it is a very gentlemanly employment, that many of those - engaged in it are, or have been, naval officers and have a recognised - status in society. Also that the work is really nothing—merely the - supervision of coloured men going to the Queensland plantations. The - climate is, I am told, delightful, and would suit Walter, whose lungs, as - you know, are weak. Is the salary large?” etc. - </p> - <p> - I had to write and disillusionise the lady, and as I wrote I recalled one - of my experiences in the Kanaka labour trade. - </p> - <p> - Early in the seventies, I was in Nouméa, New Caledonia, looking for a - berth as recruiter in the Kanaka labour trade; but there were many older - and much more experienced men than myself engaged on the same quest, and - my efforts were in vain. - </p> - <p> - One morning, however, I met a Captain Poore, who was the owner and master - of a small vessel, just about to leave Nouméa on a trading voyage along - the east coast of New Guinea, and among the islands between Astrolabe Bay - and the West Cape of New Britain. He did not want a supercargo; but said - that he would be very glad if I would join him, and if the voyage was a - success he would pay me for such help as I might be able to render him. I - accepted his offer, and in a few days we left Nouméa. - </p> - <p> - Poore and I were soon on very friendly terms. He was a man of vast - experience in the South Seas, and, except that he was subject to - occasional violent outbursts of temper when anything went wrong, was an - easy man to get on with, and a pleasant comrade. - </p> - <p> - The mate was the only other European on board, besides the captain and - myself, all the crew, including the boatswain, being either Polynesians or - Melanesians. The whole ten of them were fairly good seamen and worked - well. - </p> - <p> - A few days after leaving Nouméa, Poore took me into his confidence, and - told me that, although he certainly intended to make a trading and - recruiting voyage, he had another object in view, and that was to satisfy - himself as to the location of some immense copper deposits that had been - discovered on Rook Island—midway between New Britain and New Guinea—by - some shipwrecked seamen. - </p> - <p> - Twenty-two days out from Nouméa, the <i>Samana</i>, as the schooner was - named, anchored in a well-sheltered and densely-wooded little bay on the - east side of Rook Island. The place was uninhabited, though, far back, - from the lofty mountains of the interior, we could see several columns of - smoke arising, showing the position of mountaineer villages. - </p> - <p> - It was then ten o'clock in the morning, and Poore, feeling certain that in - this part of the coast there were no native villages, determined to go - ashore, and do a little prospecting. (I must mention that, owing to light - weather and calms, we had been obliged to anchor where we had to avoid - being drifted on shore by the fierce currents, which everywhere sweep and - eddy around Rook Island, and that we were quite twenty miles from the - place where the copper lode had been discovered.) - </p> - <p> - Taking with us two of the native seamen, Poore and I set off on shore - shortly after ten o'clock, and landed on a rough, shingly beach. The - extent of littoral on this part of the island was very small, a bold lofty - chain of mountains coming down to within a mile of the sea, and running - parallel with the coast as far as we could see. The vegetation was dense, - and in some places came down to the water's edge, and although the country - showed a tropical luxuriance of beauty about the seashore, the dark, - gloomy, and silent mountain valleys which everywhere opened up from the - coast, gave it a repellent appearance in general. - </p> - <p> - Leaving the natives (who were armed with rifles and tomahawks) in charge - of the boat, and telling them to pull along the shore and stop when we - stopped, Poore and I set out to walk. - </p> - <p> - My companion was armed with a Henry-Winchester carbine, and I with a - sixteen-bore breech-loading shotgun and a tomahawk. I had brought the gun - instead of a rifle, feeling sure that I could get some cockatoos or - pigeons on our way back, for we had heard and seen many flying about as - soon as we had anchored. At the last moment I put into my canvas game bag - four round bullet cartridges, as Poore said there were many wild pigs on - the island. - </p> - <p> - On rounding the eastern point of the bay we were delighted to come across - a beautiful beach of hard white sand, fringed with coco-nut palms, and - beyond was a considerable stretch of open park-like country. Just as Poore - and I were setting off inland to examine the base of a spur about a mile - distant, one of the men said he could see the mouth of a river farther on - along the beach. - </p> - <p> - This changed our plans, and sending the boat on ahead, we kept to the - beach, and soon reached the river—or rather creek. It was narrow but - deep, the boat entered it easily and went up it for a mile, we walking - along the bank, which was free of undergrowth, but covered with high, - coarse, reed-like grass. Then the boat's progress was barred by a huge - fallen tree, which spanned the stream. Here we spelled for half an hour, - and had something to eat, and then again Poore and I set out, following - the upward course of the creek. Finding it was leading us away from the - spur we wished to examine, we stopped to decide what to do, and then heard - the sound of two gun-shots in quick succession, coming from the direction - of the place in which the boat was lying. We were at once filled with - alarm, knowing that the men must be in danger of some sort, and that - neither of them could have fired at a wild pig, no matter how tempting a - shot it offered, for we had told them not to do so. - </p> - <p> - “Perhaps they have fallen foul of an alligator,” said Poore, “all the - creeks on Rook Island are full of them. Come along, and let us see what is - wrong.” - </p> - <p> - Running through the open, timber country, and then through the long grass - on the banks of the stream, we had reached about half-way to the boat when - we heard a savage yell—or rather yells—for it seemed to come - from a hundred throats, and in an instant we both felt sure that the boat - had been attacked. - </p> - <p> - Madly forcing our way through the infernal reed-like grass, which every - now and then caused us to trip and fall, we had just reached a bend of the - creek, which gave us a clear sight of its course for about three hundred - yards, when Poore tripped over a fallen tree branch; I fell on the top of - him, and my face struck his upturned right foot with such violence that - the blood poured from my nose in a torrent, and for half a minute I was - stunned. - </p> - <p> - “Good God, look at that!” cried Poore, pointing down stream. - </p> - <p> - Crossing a shallow part of the creek were a party of sixty or seventy - savages, all armed with spears and clubs. Four of them who were leading - were carrying on poles from their shoulders the naked and headless bodies - of our two unfortunate sailors, and the decapitated heads were in either - hand of an enormously fat man, who from his many shell armlets and other - adornments was evidently the leader. So close were they—less than - fifty yards—that we easily recognised one of the bodies by its light - yellow skin as that of Anteru (Andrew), a native of Rotumah, and one of - the best men we had on the <i>Samana</i>. - </p> - <p> - Before I could stay his hand and point out the folly of it, Poore stood up - and shot the fat savage through the stomach, and I saw the blood spurt - from his side, as the heavy, flat-nosed bullet ploughed its way clean - through the man, who, still clutching the two heads in his ensanguined - hands, stood upright for a few seconds, and then fell with a splash into - the stream. - </p> - <p> - Yells of rage and astonishment came from the savages, as Poore, now wild - with fury, began to fire at them indiscriminately, until the magazine of - his rifle was emptied; but he was so excited that only two or three of - them were hit. Then his senses came back to him. - </p> - <p> - “Quick, into the creek, and over to the other side, or they'll cut us - off.” - </p> - <p> - We clambered down the bank into the water, and then, by some mischance, - Poore, who was a bad swimmer, dropped his rifle, and began uttering the - most fearful oaths, when I told him that it was no use my trying to dive - for it, unless he could hold my shot gun, which I was carrying in my left - hand. We had scarcely reached the opposite bank, when thin, slender spears - began to whizz about us, and one, no thicker than a lead pencil, caught - Poore in the cheek, obliquely, and its point came out quite a yard from - where it had entered, and literally pinned him to the ground. - </p> - <p> - I have heard some very strong language in the South Seas, but I have never - heard anything so awful as that of Poore when I drew out the spear, and we - started to run for our lives down the opposite bank of the creek. - </p> - <p> - For some minutes we panted along through the long grass, hearing nothing; - and then, as we came to an open spot and stopped to gain breath, we were - assailed by a shower of spears from the other side of the creek, and Poore - was again hit—a spear ripping open the flesh between the forefinger - and thumb of his left hand. He seized my gun, and fired both barrels into - the long grass on the other side, and wild yells showed that some of our - pursuers were at least damaged by the heavy No. I shot intended for - cockatoos. - </p> - <p> - Then all became silent, and we again started, taking all available cover, - and hoping we were not pursued. - </p> - <p> - We were mistaken, for presently we caught sight of a score of our enemies - a hundred yards ahead, running at top speed, evidently intending to cross - lower down and cut us off, or else secure the boat. Poore took two quick - shots at them, but they were too far off, and gave us a yell of derision. - Putting my hand into the game bag to get out two cartridges, I was - horrified to find it empty, every one had fallen out; my companion used - more lurid language, and we pressed on. At last we reached the boat, and - found her floating bottom up—the natives had been too quick for us. - </p> - <p> - To have attempted to right her would have meant our being speared by the - savages, who, of course, were watching our every movement. There was - nothing else to do but to keep on, cross the mouth of the creek, and make - for the ship. - </p> - <p> - Scarcely had we run fifty yards when we saw the grass on the other side - move—the natives were keeping up the chase. Another ten minutes - brought us to the mouth of the stream, and then to our great joy we saw - that the tide had ebbed, and that right before us was a stretch of bare - sand, extending out half a mile. As we emerged into the open we saw our - pursuers standing on the opposite bank. Poore pointed his empty gun at - them, and they at once vanished. - </p> - <p> - We stopped five minutes to gain breath, and then kept straight on across - the sand, till we sighted the schooner. We were seen almost at once, and a - boat was quickly manned and sent to us, and in a quarter of an hour we - were on board again. - </p> - <p> - That was one of the joys of the “gentlemanly” employment of “recruiting” - in the South Seas. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XIV ~ MAKING A FORTUNE IN THE SOUTH SEAS - </h2> - <p> - A short time ago I came across in a daily newspaper the narrative of a - traveller in the South Seas full of illuminating remarks on the ease with - which any one can now acquire a fortune in the Pacific Islands; it - afforded me considerable reflection, mixed with a keen regret that I had - squandered over a quarter of a century of my life in the most stupid - manner, by ignoring the golden opportunities that must have been jostling - me wherever I went. The articles were very cleverly penned, and really - made very pretty reading—so pretty, in fact, that I was moved to - briefly narrate my experience of the subject in the columns of the <i>Westminster - Gazette</i> with the result that many a weary, struggling trader in the - Solomon Islands, the New Hebrides and other groups of islands in the South - Pacific rose up and called me blessed when they read my article, for I - sent five and twenty copies of the paper to as many traders. Others - doubtless obtained the journal from the haughty brass-bound pursers (there - are no “supercargoes” now) of the Sydney and Auckland steamers. For the - steamers, with their high-collared, clerkly pursers, have supplanted for - good the trim schooners, with their brown-faced, pyjama-clad supercargoes, - and the romance of the South Seas has gone. But it has not gone in the - imagination of some people. - </p> - <p> - I must mention that my copies of the <i>Westminster Gazette</i> crossed no - less than nine letters written to me by old friends and comrades from - various islands in the Pacific, asking me to do what I had done—put - the true condition of affairs in Polynesia before the public, and help to - keep unsuitable and moneyless men from going out to the South Sea Islands - to starve. For they had read the illuminating series of articles to which - I refer, and felt very savage. - </p> - <p> - In a cabin-trunk of mine I have some hundreds of letters, written to me - during the past ten years by people from all parts of the world, who - wanted to go to the South Seas and lead an idyllic life and make fortunes, - and wished me to show them how to go about it. Many of these letters are - amusing, some are pathetic; some, which were so obviously insane, I did - not answer. The rest I did. I cannot reproduce them in print. I am keeping - them to read to my friends in heaven. Even an old ex-South Sea trader may - get there—if he can dodge the other place. <i>Quien sabe?</i> - </p> - <p> - Twenty-one of these letters reached me in France during February, March - and April of last year. They were written by men and women who had been - reading the above-mentioned series of brilliant articles. (I regret to - state that fourteen only had a penny stamp thereon, and I had to pay four - francs postal dues.) The articles were, as I have said, very charmingly - written, especially the descriptive passages. But nearly every person that - the “Special Commissioner” met in the South Seas seems to have been very - energetically and wickedly employed in “pulling the 'Special - Commissioner's leg”. - </p> - <p> - The late Lord Pembroke described two classes of people—“those who - know and don't write, and those who write and don't know”. - </p> - <p> - Let me cull a few only of the statements in one of the articles entitled - “The Trader's Prospects”. It is an article so nicely written that it is - hard to shake off the glamour of it and get to facts. It says:— - </p> - <p> - “The salaries paid by a big Australian firm to its traders may run from - £50 to £200 a year, with board (that is, the run of the store) and a - house.” - </p> - <p> - There are possibly fifty men in the Pacific Islands who are receiving £200 - a year from trading firms. Five pounds per month, with a specified ration - list, and 5 per cent, commission on his sales is the usual thing—and - has been so for the past fifteen years. As for taking “the run of the - store,” he would be quickly asked to take another run. The trader who - works for a firm has a struggle to exist. - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - “In the Solomons and New Hebrides you can start trading on a capital of - £100 or so, and make cent, per cent, on island produce.” - </p> - <p> - A man would want at least £500 to £600 to start even in the smallest way. - Here are some of his requirements, which he must buy before leaving Sydney - or Auckland to start as an independent trader in Melanesia or Polynesia: - Trade goods, £400; provisions for twelve months, £100; boat with all gear, - from £25 to £60; tools, firearms, etc, £15 to £30. Then there is passage - money, £15 to £20; freight on his goods, say £40. If he lands anywhere in - Polynesia—Samoa, Tonga, Cook's Islands, or elsewhere—he will - have Customs duties to pay, house rent, and a trading licence. And - everywhere he will find keen competition and measly profits, unless he - lives like a Chinaman on rice and fish. - </p> - <p> - “In British New Guinea you can dig gold in hand-fuls out of the mangrove - swamps” (O ye gods!) “and prospect for any other mineral you may choose.” - </p> - <p> - Gold-mining in British New Guinea is carried out under the most trying - conditions of toil and hardships, The fitting out of a prospecting-party - of four costs quite £500 to £1,000. And only very experienced diggers - tackle mining in the Possession. And his Honour the Administrator will not - let improperly equipped parties into the Possession. - </p> - <p> - “It is the simplest thing in the world” to become a pearl sheller. “You - charter a schooner—or even a cutter—if you are a smart seaman - and know the Pacific, use her for general trading... and every now and - then go and look up some one of the innumerable reefs and low atolla... - Some are beds of treasure, full of pearl-shell, that sells at £100 to £200 - the ton,” etc. - </p> - <p> - All very pretty! Here is the “simplicity” of it—taking it at so much - <i>per month</i>: Charter of small schooner of one hundred tons, £200 to - £300; wages of captain and crew, £40; cost of provisions and wear and tear - of canvas, running gear, etc., £60 (diving suits and gear for two divers, - and boat would have to be bought at a cost of some hundreds of pounds); - wages per month of each diver from £50 to £75, with often a commission on - the shell they raise. Then you can go a-sailing, and <i>cherchez</i> - around for your treasure beds. If you dive in Dutch waters, the gunboats - collar you and your ship; if you go into British waters you will find that - the business is under strict inspection by Commonwealth officials who keep - a properly sharp eye on your doings. If you wish to go into the French - Paumotus you have first to visit Tahiti, and apply for and pay 2,500 - francs for a half-yearly licence to dive. (Most likely you won't get it) - If you try without this licence to buy even a single pearl from the - natives, you will get into trouble—as my ship did in the - “seventies,” when the gunboat <i>Vaudreuil</i> swooped down on us, sent a - prize crew aboard, put some of us in irons, and towed us to Tahiti, where - we lay in Papeite harbour for three months, until legal proceedings were - finished and the ship was liberated. - </p> - <p> - “About £150 would be the lowest sum with which such a work” (scooping up - the treasure) “could be carried out. This would provide a small schooner - or a cutter from Auckland for a few months with all necessary stores. She - would require two men, competent to navigate, two A.B.'s, and a diver, in - order to be run safely and comfortably; and the wages of these would be an - extra cost. A couple of experienced yachtsmen could, of course, manage the - affair more cheaply.” - </p> - <p> - Some of these recent nine letters which I received contained some very - interesting facts. One man, an old trader in Polynesia, wrote me as - follows: “Some of these poor beggars actually land in Polynesian ports - with a trunk or two of glass beads, penny looking-glasses, twopenny knives - and other weird rubbish, and are aghast to see large stores stocked with - thousands of pounds' worth of goods of all kinds, goods which are sold to - the natives at a very low margin of profit, for competition is very keen. - In the Society Islands the Chinese storekeepers undersell us whites—they - live cheaper.” And “in Levuka and Suva, in Fiji, in Rarotonga and other - islands there are scores of broken-down white men. They cannot be called - 'beachcombers,' for there is nothing on the beach for them to comb. They - live on the charity of the traders and natives. If they were sailor-men - they could perhaps get fifteen dollars a month on the schooners. Why they - come here is a mystery.... Most of them seem to be clerks or - school-teachers. One is a violin teacher. Another young fellow brought out - a typewriting machine; he is now yardman at a Suva hotel. A third is a - married man with two young children. He is a French polisher, wife a - milliner. They came from Belfast, and landed with eleven pounds! Hotel - expenses swallowed all that in three weeks. Money is being collected to - send them to Auckland,” and so on. There is always so much mischief being - done by globe-trotting tourists and ill-informed and irresponsible - novelists who scurry through the Southern Seas on a liner, and then - publish their hasty impressions. According to them, any one with a modicum - of common sense can shake the South Sea Pagoda Tree and become bloatedly - wealthy in a year or so. - </p> - <p> - Did the “Special Commissioner” know that these articles would lead to much - misery and suffering? No, of course not. They were written in good faith, - but without knowledge. For instance, the wild statement about looking up - “some one of the innumerable reefs and low atolls... beds of treasure, - full of pearl-shell that sells at £100 to £200 the ton,” etc.—there - is not one single reef or atoll either in the North or South Pacific that - has not been carefully prospected for pearl-shell during the past - thirty-five years. - </p> - <p> - Then as to gold-mining in British New Guinea, “where you can dig gold in - handfuls out of the mangrove swamps”. - </p> - <p> - Diggers who go to New Guinea have to go through the formality of first - paying their passages to that country from Australia. Then, on arrival, - they have to arrange the important matter of engaging native carriers to - take their outfit to the Mambaré River gold-fields—a tedious and - expensive item. And only experienced men of sterling physique can stand - the awful labour and hardships of gold-mining in the Possession. Deadly - malarial fever adds to the diggers' hard lot in New Guinea, and the - natives, when not savage and treacherous, are as unreliable and as lazy as - a Spanish priest. - </p> - <p> - In conclusion, I can assure my readers that there is no prospect for any - man of limited means to make money in the South Seas as a trader. Any - assertions to the contrary have no basis of fact in them. In cotton and - coco-nut planting there are good openings for men of the right stamp; in - the second industry, however, one has to wait six years before his trees - are in full bearing. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XV ~ THE STORY OF TOKOLMÉ - </h2> - <p> - Early one morning some native hunters came on board our vessel and asked - me to come with them to the mountain forest of the island of Ponapé in - quest of wild boar. Glad to escape from the ship, which lay in a small - land-locked harbour on the south-eastern side of the island, I quickly put - together my gear, stepped into one of the long red-painted canoes - alongside, and pushed off with my companions—men whom I had known - for some years and who always looked to me to join them in at least one of - their hunting trips whenever our brig visited their district on a trading - cruise. Half an hour's paddling across the still waters of the harbour - brought us to a narrow creek, lined on each side with dense mangroves. - Following its upward course for the third of a mile, we came to and landed - at a point of high land, where the-dull and monotonous mangroves gave - place to giant cedar trees and lofty palms. Here were two or three small - native huts, used by the hunters as a rendezvous. Early as it was, some of - their women-folk had arrived from the village, and cooked and made ready a - meal of baked fish and chickens. Then after the inevitable smoke and - discussion as to the route to be taken, and telling the women to expect us - back at nightfall, we shouldered our rifles and hunting spears, and - started off in single file along a winding track that followed the - turnings of the now clear and brawling little stream. At first we - experienced considerable trouble in ridding ourselves of over a dozen - mongrel curs; they had followed the men from the village (two miles - distant) and the women had fastened all of them in, in one of the huts, - but the brutes had torn a hole through the cane-work side of the hut and - came after us in full cry. Kicking and pelting them with sticks had no - effect—they merely yelped and snarled and darted off into the - undergrowth, only to reappear somewhere ahead of us. Finally my companions - became so exasperated that, forgetting they were newly-made converts to - Christianity, they burst out into torrents of abuse, invoking all the old - heathen gods to smite the dogs individually and collectively, and not let - them spoil our sport. This proving of no effect, an exasperated and - stalwart young native named Nâ, who was the owner of one of the most ugly - and persistent of the animals, asked me to lend him my Winchester, and, - waiting for a favourable chance, shot the brute dead. In an instant the - rest of the pack vanished without a sound, and we saw no more of them till - we returned to the huts in the evening. - </p> - <p> - These natives (seven in all) were, with the exception of a man of fifty - years of age, all young men, and fine types of the Micronesian. Although - much slighter in build than the average Polynesian of the south-eastern - islands of the Pacific, they were extremely muscular and sinewy, and as - active and fleet of foot as wild goats. Their skins, where not tanned a - darker hue by the sun, were of a light reddish-brown, and the blue - tatooing on their bodies showed out very clearly; most of them had a very - Semitic and regular cast of features, and their straight black hair and - fine white teeth imparted a very pleasing appearance. Unlike some of the - natives of the Micronesian Archipelago on the islands farther to the - westward they dislike the disgusting practice of chewing the betel-nut, - and in general may be regarded as a very cleanly and highly intelligent - race of people. Somewhat suspicious, if not sullen, with the European - stranger on first acquaintance, they do not display that spirit of - hospitality and courtesy that seems to be inherent with the Samoans, - Tahitians and the Marquesans. From the time when their existence was first - made known to the world by the discoveries of the early Spanish voyagers - to the South Seas they have been addicted to warfare, and the inhabitants - of Ponapé in particular had an evil reputation for the horrible cruelties - the victors inflicted upon the vanquished in battle, even though the - victims were frequently their own kith and kin. When, less than twenty - years ago, Spain reasserted her claims to the Caroline Islands (of which - Ponapé is the largest and most fertile) and placed garrisons on several of - the islands, the natives of Ponapé made a savage and determined - resistance, and in one instance wiped out two companies of troops and - their officers. A few years ago, however, the entire archipelago passed - into the hands of Germany—Spain accepting a monetary compensation - for parting with territory that never belonged to her—and at the - present time these once valorous and warlike savages are learning the ways - of civilisation and—as might be expected—rapidly diminishing - in numbers. - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - After ridding ourselves of the dogs we pressed steadily onward and upward, - till we no longer heard the hum of the surf beating upon the barrier reef, - and then when the sun was almost overhead we emerged from the deep, - darkened aisles of the silent forest into a small cleared space on the - summit of a spur and saw displayed before us one of the loveliest - panoramas in the universe. For of all the many beautiful island gems which - lie upon the blue bosom of the North Pacific, there is none that exceeds - in beauty and fertility the Isle of Ascension, as Ponapé is sometimes - called—that being the name used by the Spaniards. - </p> - <p> - Three thousand feet below we could see for many miles the trend of the - coast north and south. Within the wavering line of roaring white surf, - which marked the barrier reef, lay the quiet green waters of the narrow - lagoon encompassing the whole of this part of Ponapé, studded with many - small islands—some rocky and precipitous, some so low-lying and so - thickly palm-clad that they, seemed, with their girdles of shining beach, - to be but floating gardens of verdure, so soft and ephemeral that even the - gentle breath of the rising trade wind at early morn would cause them to - vanish like some desert mirage. - </p> - <p> - To the southward was the small, land-locked harbour of Roân Kiti, whose - gleaming waters were as yet undisturbed by the faintest ripple, and the - two American whaleships and my own vessel which floated on its placid - bosom, lay so still and quiet, that one could have thought them to be - abandoned by their crews were it not that one of the whalers began to - loose and dry sails, for it had rained heavily during the night. These two - ships were from New Bedford, and they had put into the little harbour to - wood and water, and give their sea-worn crews a fortnight's rest ere they - sailed northward away from the bright isles of the Pacific to the cold, - wintry seas of the Siberian coast and the Kurile Islands, where they would - cruise for “bowhead” whales, before returning home to America. - </p> - <p> - Here, because the White Man both felt and looked tired after the long - climb, and because the Brown Men wanted to make a drink of green kava, we - decided to rest for an hour or two—some of the men suggesting that - we should not return till the following day. Food we had brought with us, - and everywhere on the tops of the mountains water was to be found in small - rocky pools. So whilst one of the men cut up a rugged root of green kava - and began to pound it with a smooth stone, the White Man, well content, - laid down his gun, sat upon a boulder of stone and looked around him. I - was pleased at the view of sea and verdant shore far below, and pleased - too at the prospect of some good sport; for everywhere, on our way up to - the mountains, we had seen the tracks of many a wild pig, and here, on the - summit of this spur, could rest awhile, before descending into a deep - valley on the eastern side of the island, where we knew we would find the - wild pigs feeding along the banks of a mountain stream which debouched - into Roân Kiti harbour, four miles away. - </p> - <p> - “How is this place named, and how came it to be clear of the forest - trees?” I asked one of my native friends, a handsome young man, about - thirty years of age, whose naked, smooth, and red-brown skin, from neck to - waist, showed by its tatooing that he was of chiefly lineage. - </p> - <p> - “Tokolmé it is called,” he replied. “It was once a place of great - strength; a fortress was made here in the mountains, in the olden time—in - the old days, long before white men came to Ponapé. See, all around us, - half-buried in the ground, are some of the blocks of stone which were - carried up from the face of the mountain which overlooks Metalanien “—he - pointed to several huge basaltic prisms lying near—“these stones - were the lower course of the fort; the upper part was of wood, great - forest trees, cut down and squared into lengths of two fathoms. And it is - because of the cutting down of these trees, which were very old and took - many hundred years to grow, that the place where we now sit, and all - around us, is so clear. For the blood of many hundreds of men have sunk - into it, and because it was the blood of innocent people, there be now - nothing that will grow upon it.” - </p> - <p> - The place was certainly quite bare of trees, though encompassed by the - forest on all sides lower down. One reason for this may have been that in - addition to the large basaltic prisms, the ground was thickly covered with - a layer of smaller and broken stones to which time and the action of the - weather had given a comparatively smooth surface. - </p> - <p> - “Tell me of it, Rai,” I said. - </p> - <p> - “Presently, friend, after we have had the drink of kava and eaten some - food. Ah, this green kava of ours is good to drink, not like the weak, - dried root that the women of Samoa chew and mix with much water in a - wooden bowl. What goodness can there be in that? Here, we take the root - fresh from the soil when it is full of juice, beat it to a pulp and add - but little water.” - </p> - <p> - “It is good, Rai,” I admitted, “but give me only a little. It is too - strong for me and a full bowl would cause me to stagger and fall.” - </p> - <p> - He laughed good-naturedly as he handed me a half coco-nut shell containing - a little of the thick greenish-yellow liquid. And then, after all had - drunk in turn, the baskets of cold baked food were opened and we ate; and - then as we lit our pipes and smoked Rai told us the story of Tokolmé. - </p> - <p> - “In those days, before the white men came here to this country, though - they had been to islands not many days' sail from here by canoe, there - were but two great chiefs of Ponapé—now there are seven—one - was Lirou, who ruled all this part of the land, and who dwelt at Roân Kiti - with two thousand people, and the other was Roka, king of all the northern - coast and ruler of many villages. Roka was a great voyager and had sailed - as far to the east as Kusaie, which is two hundred leagues from here, and - his people were proud of him and his great daring and of the slaves that - he brought back with him from Kusaie.{*} - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - * Strongs Island. -</pre> - <p> - “Here in Tokolmé lived three hundred and two-score people, who owed - allegiance neither to Lirou nor Roka, for their ancestors had come to - Ponapé from Yap, an island far to the westward. After many years of - fighting on the coast they made peace with Lirou's father, who gave them - all this piece of country as a free gift, and without tribute, and many of - their young men and women intermarried with ours, for the language and - customs of Yap are akin to those of Ponapé. - </p> - <p> - “Soon after peace was made and Tolan, chief of the strangers, had built - the village and made plantations, he died, and as he left no son, his - daughter Leâ became chieftainess, although she was but fourteen years of - age. - </p> - <p> - “Lirou, who was a haughty, overbearing young man, sent presents, and asked - her in marriage, and great was his anger when she refused, saying that she - had no desire to leave her people now that her father was dead. - </p> - <p> - “'See,' he said to his father, 'see the insult put upon thee by these - proud ones of Yap—these dog-eating strangers who drifted to our land - as a log drifts upon the ocean. Thou hast given them fair lands with - running water, and great forest trees, and this girl refuses to marry me. - Am I as nothing that I should be so treated? Shall I, Lirou, be laughed - at? Am I a boy or a grown man?' - </p> - <p> - “The old chief, who desired peace, sought in vain to soothe him. 'Wait for - another year,' he said, 'and it may be that she will be of a different - mind. And already thou hast two wives—why seek another?' - </p> - <p> - “'Because it is my will,' replied Lirou fiercely, and he went away, - nursing his wrath. - </p> - <p> - “One day a party of Roka's young men and women went in several canoes to - the group of small islands near the mainland called Pâkin to catch turtle; - whilst the men were away out on the reef at night with their turtle nets a - number of Lirou's men came to the huts where the women were and watched - them cooking food to give to their husbands on their return. Rain was - falling heavily, and Lirou's men came into the houses, unasked, and sat - down and then began to jest with the women somewhat rudely. This made them - somewhat afraid, for they were all married, and to jest with the wife of - another man is looked upon as an evil thing. But their husbands being a - league away the women could do nothing and went on with their cooking in - silence. Presently, Lirou's men who had brought with them some gourds of - the grog called <i>rarait</i>, which is made from sugar-cane, began to - drink it and pressed the women to do so also. When they refused to do so, - the men became still more rude and bade the women serve them with some of - the food they had prepared. This was a great insult, but being in fear, - they obeyed. Then, as the grog made them bolder, some of the men laid - hands on the women and there was a great outcry and struggle, and a young - woman named Sipi-nah fell or was thrown against a great burning log, and - her face so badly burned that she cried out in agony and ran outside, - followed by all the other women. They ran along the beach in the pouring - rain till they were abreast of the place where their husbands were fishing - and called to them to return. When the fishermen saw what had befallen - Sipi-nah they were filled with rage, for she was a blood-relation of - Roka's, and hastening back to the houses they rushed in upon Lirou's - people, slew three of them, put their heads in baskets and brought them to - Roka. - </p> - <p> - “From this thing came a long war which was called 'the war of the face of - Sipi-nah,' and a great battle was fought in canoes on the lagoon. Lirou's - father with many hundreds of his people were slain, and the rest fled to - Roân Kiti pursued by King Roka, who burnt the town. Then Lirou (who, now - that his father was killed, was chief) sued for peace, and promised Roka a - yearly tribute of three thousand plates of turtle shell, and five new - canoes. So Roka, being satisfied, sailed away, and there was peace. Had he - so desired it he could have utterly swept away all Lirou's people and - burned their villages and destroyed every one of their plantations, but - although he was a great fighting man he was not cruel. Yet he said to - Sipi-nah, after peace was made: 'I pray thee, come near me no more; for - although I have revenged myself upon those who have ill-used and insulted - thee and me, my hand will again incline to the spear if I look upon thy - scarred face again. And I want no more wars.' - </p> - <p> - “The son of Lirou (who now took his father's name) and his people began, - with heavy hearts, to rebuild the town. After the council house was - finished, Lirou told them to cease work and called together his head men - and spoke. - </p> - <p> - “'Why should we labour to build more houses here?' he said. 'See, this is - my mind. Only for one year shall I pay this heavy tribute to Roka. Then - shall I defy him.' - </p> - <p> - “The head men were silent. - </p> - <p> - “Lirou laughed. 'Have no fear. I am no boaster. But we cannot fight him - here in Roân Kiti, which is open to the sea, and never can we make it a - strong fort, for here we have no <i>falat</i>,{*} nor yet any great forest - trees. But at Tokolmé are many thousands of the great stones and mighty - trees in plenty. Ah, my father was a foolish man to give such a place to - people who fought against us. Are we fools, to build here another weak - town, and let Roka bear the more heavily upon us? Answer me!' - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - * “Falat” is the natives' name for the huge prisms of basalt - with which the mysterious and Cyclopean walls, canals, - vaults, and forts are constructed on the island of Ponapé. -</pre> - <p> - “'What wouldst thou have, O chief,' asked one of the head men. - </p> - <p> - “'I would have Tokolmé. It is mine inheritance. There can we make a strong - fort, and from there shall we have entrance to the sea by the river. Are - we to let these dogs from Yap deny us?' - </p> - <p> - “'Let us ask them to give us, as an act of friendship, all the trees, and - all the <i>felat</i> we desire,' said one of the head men. - </p> - <p> - “Lirou laughed scornfully. 'And we to toil for years in carrying the trees - and stones from Tokolmé, a league away. Bah! Let us fall upon them as they - sleep—and spare no one.' - </p> - <p> - “'Nay, nay,' said a sub-chief, named Kol, who had taken one of the Yap - girls to wife, 'that is an evil thought, and foul treachery. We be at - peace with them. I, for one, will have no part in such wickedness.' And - others said the same, but some were with Lirou. - </p> - <p> - “Then, after many angry words had been spoken—some for fair dealing, - and some for murder—Lirou said to the chief Kol and two others: 'Go - to the girl Leâ and her head men with presents, and say this: We of Roân - Kiti are like to be hard pressed by Roka when the time comes for the - payment of our tribute. If we yield it not, then are we all dead men. So - give back to us Tokolmé, and take from us Roân Kiti, where ye may for ever - dwell in peace, for Roka hath no ill-will against ye.' - </p> - <p> - “So Kol and two other chiefs, with many slaves bearing presents, went to - Tokolmé. But before they set out, Kol sent secretly a messenger to Leâ, - with these words: 'Though I shall presently come to thee with fair words - from Lirou, I bid thee and all thy people take heed, and beware of what - thou doest; and keep good watch by night, for Lirou hath an evil mind.' - </p> - <p> - “This message was given to Lea, and her head men rewarded the messenger, - and then held council together, and told Lea what answer she should give. - </p> - <p> - “This was the answer that she gave to Kol, speaking smilingly, and yet - with dignity:— - </p> - <p> - “'Say to the chief Lirou that I thank him for the rich presents he hath - sent me, and that I would that I could yield to his wish, and give unto - him this tract of country that his father gave to mine—so that he - might build a strong place of refuge against the King Roka. But it cannot - be, for we, too, fear Roka. And we are but a few, and some day it might - happen that he would fall upon us, and sweep us away as a dead leaf is - swept from the branch of a young tree by the strong breath of the storm.' - </p> - <p> - “So Kol returned to Lirou, and gave him the answer of Leâ, and then Lirou - and those of his head men who meant ill to Leâ and her people, met - together in secret, and plotted their destruction. - </p> - <p> - “And again Kol, who loved the Yap girl he had married, sent a message to - Leâ, warning her to beware of treachery. And then it was that the Yap - people began to build a strong fort, and at night kept a good watch. - </p> - <p> - “Then Lirou again sent messengers asking that Leâ would let him cut down a - score of great trees, and Leâ sent answer to him: 'Thou art welcome. Cut - down one score—or ten score. I give them freely.' This did she for - the sake of peace and good-will, though she and her people knew that Lirou - meant harm. But whilst a hundred of Lirou's men were cutting the trees the - Yap people worked at their fort from dawn till dark, and Lirou's heart was - black with rage, for these men of Yap were cunning fort builders, and he - saw that, when it was finished, it could never be taken by assault. But he - and his chiefs continued to speak fair words, and send presents to Leâ and - her people, and she sent back presents in return. Then again Lirou - besought her to become his wife, saying that such an alliance would - strengthen the friendship between his people and hers; but Leâ again - refused him, though with pleasant words, and Lirou said with a smooth - face: 'Forgive me. I shall pester thee no more, for I see that thou dost - not care for me.' - </p> - <p> - “When two months had passed two score of great trees had been felled and - cut into lengths of five fathoms each, and then squared. These were to be - the main timbers of the outer wall of Lirou's fort—so he said. But - he did not mean to have them carried away, for now he and his chiefs had - completed their plans to destroy the people of Yap, and this cutting of - the trees was but a subterfuge, designed to throw Leâ and her advisers off - their guard. - </p> - <p> - “One day Lirou and his chiefs, dressed in very gay attire, came into - Tokolmé, each carrying in his hand a tame ring-dove which is a token of - peace and amity, and desired speech of Leâ. She came forth, and ordered - fine mats, trimmed with scarlet parrots' feathers, to be spread for them - upon the ground and received them as honoured guests. - </p> - <p> - “'We come,' said Lirou, lifting her hand to his forehead, 'to beg thee and - all thy people to come to a great feast that will be ready to-morrow, to - celebrate the carrying away of the wood thou hast so generously given unto - me.' - </p> - <p> - “'It is well,' said Leâ; 'I thank thee. We shall come.' - </p> - <p> - “Little did Leâ and her people know that during the night, as it rained - heavily, some of Lirou's warriors had hidden clubs and spears and axes of - stone near where the logs lay and where the feast was to be given. They - were hidden under a great heap of chips and shavings that came from the - fallen trees. - </p> - <p> - “At dawn on the day of the feast, three hundred of Lirou's men, all - dressed very gaily, marched past Tokolmé, carrying no arms, but bearing - baskets of food. They were going, they said, with presents to King Roka to - tell him that Lirou would hold faithfully to his promise of tribute. - </p> - <p> - “'But why,' asked the men of Yap, 'do ye go to-day—which is the day - of the feast?' - </p> - <p> - “'Because the heart of Lirou is glad, and he desires peace with all men—even - Roka. And whilst he and those of our people who remain feast with ye men - of Yap, and make merriment, we, the tribute messengers, go unto Roka with - words of goodwill.' - </p> - <p> - “Now these words were lies, for when the three hundred men had marched a - quarter of a league past Tokolmé, they halted at a place in the forest - where they had arms concealed. Then they waited for a certain signal from - Lirou, who had said:— - </p> - <p> - “'When thou hearest the sound of a conch shell at the beginning of the - feast, march quickly back and form a circle around us and the people of - Yap, but let not one of ye be seen. Then when there comes a second blast - rush in, and see that no one escapes. Spare no one but the girl Lea.' - </p> - <p> - “When the sun was a little high Lirou and all his people—men, women - and children—came and made ready the feast. On each of the squared - logs was spread out baked hogs, fowls, pigeons, turtle and fish, and all - manner of fruits in abundance, and then also there were placed in the - centre of the clearing twenty stone mortars for making kava. - </p> - <p> - “When all was ready, Leâ and her people were bidden to come, and they all - came out of the fort, dressed very gaily and singing as is customary for - guests to do. And Lirou stepped out from among his people and took Leâ by - the hand and seated her on a fine mat in the place of honour, and as she - sat with Lirou beside her, a man blew a loud, long blast upon a conch - shell and the feast began.” - </p> - <p> - Rai's story had interested me keenly, but I was now guilty of a breach of - native etiquette—I had to interrupt him to ask how it was that the - man Kol and others who were friendly to the Yap people did not give them a - final warning of the intended massacre. - </p> - <p> - “Ah, I forgot to tell thee that Lirou was as cunning as he was cruel, and - ten days before the giving of the feast he had sent away Kol and some - others whom he knew to be well disposed to the people of Yap. He sent them - to the islands of Pakin—ten leagues from Ponapé, and desired them to - catch turtle for him. But with them he sent a trusty man, whom he took - into his confidence, and said, 'Tell Rairik, Chief of Pakin, to make some - pretext, and prevent Kol from returning to Ponapé for a full moon. And say - also that if he yields not to my wish I shall destroy him and his - people.'” - </p> - <p> - “Ah,” I said, “Lirou was a Napoleon.” - </p> - <p> - “Who was he?” - </p> - <p> - “Oh, a great Franki chief, who was as lying and as treacherous and cruel - and merciless as Lirou. Some day I will tell thee of him. Now, about the - feast.” - </p> - <p> - “Ah, the feast. After a little while, Lirou, whilst the people ate, said - softly to Leâ, 'Wilt thou not honour me and be my wife? I promise thee - that I shall send away my other wives, and thou alone shalt rule my house - and me.' - </p> - <p> - “Leâ was displeased, and her eyes flashed with anger as she drew away from - him, and then Lirou seized her by her wrist, and threw up his left hand. - </p> - <p> - “A long, loud blast sounded from the conch, and then Lirou's men, who were - feasting, sprang to the great heap of chips, and seized their weapons. And - then began a cruel slaughter—for what could three hundred unarmed - people do against so many! But yet some of the men of Yap fought most - bravely, and tearing clubs or short stabbing spears from their treacherous - enemies, they killed over two score of Lirou's people. - </p> - <p> - “As Leâ beheld the murdering of her kith and kin, she cried piteously to - Lirou to at least spare the women and children, but he laughed and bade - her be silent. Some of the women and children tried to escape to the fort, - but they were met by the men who had been in ambush, and slain ruthlessly. - </p> - <p> - “When all was over, the bodies were taken to a high cliff, and cast down - into the valley below. Then Lirou and his men entered the fort, and made - great rejoicing over their victory. - </p> - <p> - “Leâ sat on a mat with her face in her hands, dumb with grief, and Lirou - bade her go to her sleeping-place, telling her to rest, and that he would - have speech with her later on when he was in the mood. She obeyed, and - when she was unobserved she picked up a short, broad-bladed dagger of <i>talit</i> - (obsidian) and hid it in her girdle, and then lay down and pretended to - sleep. But through the cane lattice-work of her sleeping-place she watched - Lirou. - </p> - <p> - “After Lirou had viewed the fort outside and inside, he sent a man to Leâ, - bidding her come to him. - </p> - <p> - “She rose and came slowly to him, with her head bent, and stood before - him. Then suddenly she sprang at him, and thrust the dagger into his - heart. He fell and died quickly. - </p> - <p> - “Then Leâ leapt over a part of the stone wall where it was low, and ran - towards the river, pursued by some of Lirou's men. But she was fleet of - foot, crossed the river, and escaped into the jungle and rested awhile. - Then she passed out of the jungle into the rough mountain country, and - that night she reached King Roka's town. - </p> - <p> - “Roka made her very welcome, and was filled with anger when she told her - story. - </p> - <p> - “'I will quickly punish these cruel murderers,' he said; 'as for thee, - Leâ, make this thy home and dwell with us.' - </p> - <p> - “Roka gathered together his fighting men. Half he sent to Roân Kiti by - water, and half he himself led across the mountains. They fell upon - Lirou's people at night, and slew nearly half of the men, and drove all - the rest into the mountains, where they remained for many months, broken - and hunted men. - </p> - <p> - “That is the story of Tokolmé.” - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0016" id="link2HCH0016"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XVI ~ “LANO-TÔ” - </h2> - <p> - A white rain squall came crashing through the mountain forest, and then - went humming northward across the quiet lake, down over the wooded - littoral and far out to sea. Silence once more, and then a mountain cock, - who had scorned the sweeping rain, uttered his shrill, cackling, and - defiant crow, as he shook the water from his black and golden back and - long snaky neck, and savage, fierce-eyed head. - </p> - <p> - Between two wide-flanking buttresses of a mighty <i>tamana</i> tree I had - taken shelter, and was comfortably seated on the thick carpet of soft dry - leaves, when I heard my name called, and looking up, I saw, a few yards - away, the grave face of an elderly Samoan, named Mârisi (Maurice). We were - old acquaintances. - </p> - <p> - “Talofa, Mârisi. What doest thou up here at Lano-to?” I said, as I shook - hands and offered him my pipe for a draw. - </p> - <p> - “I and my nephew Mana-ese and his wife have come here to trap pigeons. For - three days we have been here. Our little hut is close by. Wilt come and - rest, and eat?” - </p> - <p> - “Aye, indeed, for I am tired. And this Lake of Lano-to is a fine place - whereat to rest.” - </p> - <p> - Mârisi nodded. “That is true. Nowhere in all Samoa, except from the top of - the dead fire mountain in Savai'i, can one see so far and so much that is - good to look upon. Come, friend.” - </p> - <p> - I had shot some pigeons, which Mârisi took from me, and began to pluck as - he led the way along a narrow path that wound round the edge of the - crater, which held the lake in its rugged but verdure-clad bosom. In a few - minutes we came to an open-sided hut, with a thatched roof. It stood on - the verge of a little tree-clad bluff, overlooking the lake, two hundred - feet below. Seated upon some of the coarse mats of coco-nut leaf called <i>tapa'au</i> - was a fine, stalwart young Samoan engaged in feeding some wild pigeons in - a large wicker-work cage. He greeted me in the usual hospitable native - manner, and taking some fine mats from one of the house beams, his uncle - and I seated ourselves, whilst he went to seek his wife, to bid her make - ready an <i>umu</i> (earth oven). Whilst he was away, my host and I - plucked the pigeons, and also a fat wild duck which Mârisi had shot in the - lake that morning. In half an hour the young couple returned, the woman - carrying a basket of taro, and the man a bunch of cooking bananas. Very - quickly the oven of hot stones was ready, and the game, taro and bananas - covered up with leaves. - </p> - <p> - I had crossed to Lano-tô from the village of Safata on the south side of - Upolu and was on my way to Apia The previous night I had slept in the bush - on the summit of the range. Mârisi gravely told me that I had been foolish—the - mountain forest was full of ghosts, etc. - </p> - <p> - Mârisi himself lived in Apia, and he gave me two weeks' local gossip. He - and his nephew and niece had come to remain at the lake for a few days, - for they had a commission to catch and tame ten pigeons for some district - chief, whose daughter was about to be married. - </p> - <p> - We had a delightful meal, followed by a bowl of kava (mixed with water - from the lake), and as I was not pressed for time I accepted my host's - invitation to remain for the night, and part of the following day. - </p> - <p> - This was my fourth or fifth visit to this beautiful mountain lake of - Lano-to (<i>i.e.</i>, the Deep Lake), and the oftener I came the more its - beauty grew upon me. Alas! its sweet solitude is now disturbed by the - cheap Cockney and Yankee tourist globe-trotter who come there in the - American excursion steamers. In the olden days only natives frequented the - spot—very rarely was a white man seen. To reach it from Apia takes - about five hours on foot, but there is now a regular road on which one can - travel two-thirds of the way on horseback. - </p> - <p> - The surface of the water, which is a little over two hundred feet from the - rugged rim of the crater, is according to Captain Zemsch, two thousand - three hundred feet above the sea, the distance across the crater is nearly - one thousand two hundred yards. The water is always cold, but not too cold - to bathe in, and during the rainy season—November to March—is - frequented by hundreds of wild duck. All the forest about teems with - pigeons, which love the vicinity of Lano-to, on account of the numbers of - <i>masa'oi</i> trees there, on the rich fruit of which they feed, and all - day long, from dawn to dark, their deep <i>croo!</i> may be heard mingling - with the plaintive cry of the ringdove. - </p> - <p> - The view from the crater is of matchless beauty—I know of nothing to - equal it, except it be Pago Pago harbour in Tutuila, looking southwards - from the mountain tops. Here at Lano-tô you can see the coast line east - and west for twenty miles. Westwards looms the purple dome of Savai'i, - thirty miles away. Directly beneath you is Apia, though you can see - nothing of it except perhaps some small black spots floating on the smooth - water inside the reef. They are ships at anchor. Six leagues to the - westward the white line of reef trends away from the shore, makes a sharp - turn, and then runs southward. Within this bend the water is a brilliant - green, and resting upon it are two small islands. One is Manono, a - veritable garden, lined with strips of shining beaches and fringed with - cocos. It is the home of the noble families of Samoa, and most of the past - great chiefs are buried there. Beyond is the small but lofty crater island - of Apolima—a place ever impregnable to assault by natives. Its red, - southern face starts steep-to from the sea, the top is crowned with palms, - and on the northern side what was once the crater is now a romantic bay, - with an opening through the reef, and a tiny, happy little village - nestling under the swaying palms. 'Tis one of the sweetest spots in all - the wide Pacific. And, thank Heaven, it has but seldom been defiled by the - globe-trotter. The passage is difficult even for a canoe. One English - lady, however (the Countess of Jersey), I believe once visited it. - </p> - <p> - Under the myriad stars, set in a sky of deepest blue, Mârisi and I lie - outside the huts upon our sleeping mats, and talk of the old Samoan days, - till it is far into the quiet, voiceless night. - </p> - <p> - At dawn we are called inside by the woman, who chides us for sleeping in - the dew. - </p> - <p> - “Listen,” says Mârisi, raising his hand. - </p> - <p> - It is the faint, musical gabble of the wild ducks, as they swim across the - lake. - </p> - <p> - “What now?” asks the woman, as her husband looks to his gun. “Hast no - patience to sit and smoke till I make an oven and get thee food? The <i>pato</i> - (ducks) can wait. And first feed the pigeons—thou lazy fellow.” - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0017" id="link2HCH0017"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XVII ~ “OMBRE CHEVALIER” - </h2> - <p> - Once, after many years' wanderings in the North and South Pacific as shore - trader, supercargo and “recruiter” in the Kanaka labour trade, I became - home-sick and returned to my native Australia, with a vague idea of - settling down. I began the “settling down” by going to some newly opened - gold-fields in North Queensland, wandering about from the Charters Towers - “rush” to the Palmer River and Hodgkinson River rushes. The party of - diggers I joined were good sterling fellows, and although we did not load - ourselves with nuggets and gold dust, we did fairly well at times, - especially in the far north of the colony where most of the alluvial - gold-fields were rich, and new-comers especially had no trouble in getting - on to a good show. I was the youngest of the party, and consequently the - most inexperienced, but my mates good-naturedly overlooked my shortcomings - as a prospector and digger, especially as I had constituted myself the - “tucker” provider when our usual rations of salt beef ran out. I had - brought with me a Winchester rifle, a shot gun and plenty of ammunition - for both, and plenty of fishing tackle. So, at such times, instead of - working at the claim, I would take my rifle or gun or fishing lines and - sally forth at early dawn, and would generally succeed in bringing back - something to the camp to serve instead of beef. In the summer months game, - such as it was, was fairly plentiful, and nearly all the rivers of North - Queensland abound in fish. - </p> - <p> - In the open country we sometimes shot more plain turkeys than we could - eat. When on horseback one could approach within a few yards of a bird - before it would take to flight, but on foot it was difficult to get within - range of one, unless a rifle was used. In the rainy season all the water - holes and lagoons literally teemed with black duck, wood-duck, the black - and white Burdekin duck, teal, spur-winged plover, herons and other birds, - and a single shot would account for a dozen. My mates, however, like all - diggers, believed in and wanted beef—mutton we scarcely ever tasted, - except when near a township where there was a butcher, for sheep do not - thrive in that part of the colony and are generally brought over in mobs - from the Peak Downs District or Southern Queensland. - </p> - <p> - Our party at first numbered four, but at Townsville (Cleveland Bay) one of - our number left us to return to New Zealand on account of the death of his - father. And we were a very happy party, and although at times I wearied of - the bush and longed for a sight of the sea again, the gold-fever had taken - possession of me entirely and I was content. - </p> - <p> - Once a party of three of us were prospecting in the vicinity of Scarr's - (or Carr's) Creek, a tributary of the Upper Burdekin River. It was in - June, and the nights were very cold, and so we were pleased to come across - a well-sheltered little pocket, a few hundred yards from the creek, which - at this part of its course ran very swiftly between high, broken walls of - granite. Timber was abundant, and as we intended to thoroughly prospect - the creek up to its head, we decided to camp at the pocket for two or - three weeks, and put up a bark hut, instead of shivering at night under a - tent without a fire. The first day we spent in stripping bark, piled it - up, and then weighted it down heavily with logs. During the next few days, - whilst my mates were building the hut, I had to scour the country in - search of game, for our supply of meat had run out, and although there - were plenty of cattle running in the vicinity, we did not care to shoot a - beast, although we were pretty sure that C———, the owner - of the nearest cattle station, would cheerfully have given us permission - to do so had we been able to have communicated with him. But as his - station was forty miles away, and all our horses were in poor condition - from overwork, we had to content ourselves with a chance kangaroo, rock - wallaby, and such birds as we could shoot, which latter were few and far - between. The country was very rough, and although the granite ranges and - boulder-covered spurs held plenty of fat rock wallabies, it was - heart-breaking work to get within shot. Still, we managed to turn in at - nights feeling satisfied with our supper, for we always managed to shoot - something, and fortunately had plenty of flour, tea, sugar, and tobacco, - and were very hopeful that we should get on to “something good” by careful - prospecting. - </p> - <p> - On the day that we arrived at the pocket, I went down the steep bank of - the creek to get water, and was highly pleased to see that it contained - fish. At the foot of a waterfall there was a deep pool, and in it I saw - numbers of fish, very like grayling, in fact some Queenslanders call them - grayling. Hurrying back to the camp with the water, I got out my fishing - tackle (last used in the Burdekin River for bream), and then arose the - question of bait. Taking my gun I was starting off to look for a bird of - some sort, when one of my mates told me that a bit of wallaby was as good - as anything, and cut me off a piece from the ham of one I had shot the - previous day. The flesh was of a very dark red hue, and looked right - enough, and as I had often caught fish in both the Upper and Lower - Burdekin with raw beef, I was very hopeful of getting a nice change of - diet for our supper. - </p> - <p> - I was not disappointed, for the fish literally jumped at the bait, and I - had a delightful half-hour, catching enough in that time to provide us - with breakfast as well as supper. None of my catch were over half a pound, - many not half that weight, but hungry men are not particular about the - size of fish. My mates were pleased enough, and whilst we were enjoying - our supper before a blazing fire—for night was coming on—we - heard a loud coo-e-e from down the creek, and presently C———, - the owner of the cattle station, and two of his stockmen with a black boy, - rode up and joined us. They had come to muster cattle in the ranges at the - head of the creek, and had come to our “pocket” to camp for the night. C——— - told us that we need never have hesitated about killing a beast. “It is to - my interest to give prospecting parties all the beef they want,” he said; - “a payable gold-field about here would suit me very well—the more - diggers that come, the more cattle I can sell, instead of sending them to - Charters Towers and Townsville. So, when you run short of meat, knock over - a beast. I won't grumble. I'll round up the first mob we come across - to-morrow, and get you one and bring it here for you to kill, as your - horses are knocked up.” - </p> - <p> - The night turned out very cold, and although we were in a sheltered place, - the wind was blowing half a gale, and so keen that we felt it through our - blankets. However it soon died away, and we were just going comfortably to - sleep, when a dingo began to howl near us, and was quickly answered by - another somewhere down the creek. Although there were but two of them, - they howled enough for a whole pack, and the detestable creatures kept us - awake for the greater part of the night. As there was a cattle camp quite - near, in a sandalwood scrub, and the cattle were very wild, we did not - like to alarm them by firing a shot or two, which would have scared them - as well as the dingoes. The latter, C——— told us, were a - great nuisance in this part of the run, would not take a poisoned bait, - and had an unpleasant trick of biting off the tails of very young calves, - especially if the mother was separated with her calf from a mob of cattle. - </p> - <p> - At daylight I rose to boil a billy of tea. My feet were icy cold, and I - saw that there had been a black frost in the night I also discovered that - my string of fish for breakfast was gone. I had hung them up to a low - branch not thirty yards from where I had slept. C———'s - black boy told me with a grin that the dogs had taken them, and showed me - the tracks of three or four through the frosty grass. <i>He</i> had slept - like a pig all night, and all the dingoes in Australia would not awaken a - black fellow with a full stomach of beef, damper and tea. C——— - laughed at my chagrin, and told me that native dogs, when game is scarce, - will catch fish if they are hungry, and can get nothing else. He had once - seen, he told me, two native dogs acting in a very curious manner in a - waterhole on the Etheridge River. There had been a rather long drought, - and for miles the bed of the river was dry, except for intermittent - waterholes. These were all full of fish, many of which had died, owing to - the water in the shallower pools becoming too hot for them to exist - Dismounting, he laid himself down on the bank, and soon saw that the dogs - were catching fish, which they chased to the edge of the pool, seized them - and carried them up on the sand to devour. They made a full meal; then the - pair trotted across the river bed, and lay down under a Leichhardt tree to - sleep it off. The Etheridge and Gilbert Rivers aboriginals also assured C——— - that their own dogs—bred from dingoes—were very keen on - catching fish, and sometimes were badly wounded in their mouths by the - serrated spur or back fin of catfish. C——— and his party - went off after breakfast, and returned in the afternoon with a small mob - of cattle, and my mates, picking out an eighteen months' old heifer, shot - her, and set to work, and we soon had the animal skinned, cleaned and hung - up, ready for cutting up and salting early on the following morning. We - carefully burnt the offal, hide and head, on account of the dingoes, and - finished up a good day's work by a necessary bathe in the clear, but too - cold water of the creek. We turned in early, tired out, and scarcely had - we rolled ourselves in our blankets when a dismal howl made us “say - things,” and in half an hour all the dingoes in North Queensland seemed to - have gathered around the camp to distract us. The noise they made was - something diabolical, coming from both sides of the creek, and from the - ranges. In reality there were not more than five or six at the outside, - but any one would imagine that there were droves of them. Not liking to - discharge our guns on account of C———'s mustering, we - could only curse our tormentors throughout the night. On the following - evening, however, knowing that C——— had finished - mustering in our vicinity, we hung a leg bone of the heifer from the - branch of a tree on the opposite side of the creek, where we could see it - plainly by daylight from our bank—about sixty yards distant. Again we - had a harrowing night, but stood it without firing a shot, though one - brute came within a few yards of our camp fire, attracted by the smell of - the salted meat, but he was off before any one of us could cover him. - However, in the morning we were rewarded. - </p> - <p> - Creeping to the bank of the creek at daylight we looked across, and saw - three dogs sitting under the leg bone, which was purposely slung out of - reach. We fired together, and the biggest of the three dropped—the - other two vanished like a streak of lightning. The one we killed was a - male and had a good coat—a rather unusual thing for a dingo, as the - skin is often covered with sores. From that time, till we broke up camp, - we were not often troubled by their howling near us—a gun shot would - quickly silence their dismally infernal howls. - </p> - <p> - During July we got a little gold fifteen miles from the head of the creek, - but not enough to pay us for our time and labour. However, it was a fine - healthy occupation, and our little bark hut in the lonely ranges was a - very comfortable home, especially during wet weather, and on cold nights. - A good many birds came about towards the end of the month, and we twice - rode to the Burdekin and had a couple of days with the bream, filling our - pack bags with fish, which cured well with salt in the dry air. Although - Scarr's creek was full of “grayling” they were too small for salting; but - were delicious eating when fried. During our stay we got enough opossum - skins to make a fine eight-feet square rug. Then early one morning we said - good-bye to the pocket, and mounting our horses set our faces towards - Cleveland Bay, where, with many regrets, I had to part with my mates who - were going to try the Gulf country with other parties of diggers. They - tried hard to induce me to go with them, but letters had come to me from - old comrades in Samoa and the Caroline Islands, tempting me to return. - And, of course, they did not tempt in vain; for to us old hands who have - toiled by reef and palm the isles of the southern seas are for ever - calling as the East called to Kipling's soldier man. But another six - months passed before I left North Queensland and once more found myself - sailing out of Sydney Heads on board one of my old ships and in my old - berth as supercargo, though, alas! with a strange skipper who knew not - Joseph, and with whom I and every one else on board was in constant - friction. However, that is another story. - </p> - <p> - After bidding my mates farewell I returned to the Charters Towers district - and picked up a new mate—an old and experienced digger who had found - some patches of alluvial gold on the head waters of a tributary of the - Burdekin River and was returning there. My new mate was named Gilfillan. - He was a hardworking, blue-eyed Scotsman and had had many and strange - experiences in all parts of the world—had been one of the civilian - fighters in the Indian Mutiny, fur-seal hunting on the Pribiloff Islands - in an American schooner, and shooting buffaloes for their hides in the - Northern Territory of South Australia, where he had twice been speared by - the blacks. - </p> - <p> - On reaching the head waters of the creek on which Gilfillan had washed out - nearly a hundred ounces of gold some months previously, we found to our - disgust over fifty diggers in possession of the ground, which they had - practically worked out—some one had discovered Gilfillan's old - workings and the place was at once “rushed”. My mate took matters very - philosophically—did not even swear—and we decided to make for - the Don River in the Port Denison district, where, it was rumoured, some - rich patches of alluvial gold had just been discovered. - </p> - <p> - We both had good horses and a pack horse, and as C———'s - station lay on our route and I had a standing invitation to pay him a - visit (given to me when he had met our party at Scares Creek), I suggested - that we should go there and spell for a few days. So there we went and C——— - made us heartily welcome; and he also told us that the new rush on the Don - River had turned out a “rank duffer,” and that we would only be wearing - ourselves and our horse-flesh out by going there. He pressed us to stay - for a week at least, and as we now had no fixed plans for the future we - were glad to do so. He was expecting a party of visitors from Charters - Towers, and as he wanted to give them something additional to the usual - fare of beef and mutton, in the way of fish and game, he asked us to join - him for a day's fishing in the Burdekin River. - </p> - <p> - The station was right on the bank of the river, but at a spot where - neither game nor fish were at all plentiful; so long before sunrise on the - following morning, under a bright moon and clear sky, we started, - accompanied by a black boy, leading a pack horse, for the junction of the - Kirk River with the Burdekin, where there was excellent fishing, and where - also we were sure of getting teal and wood-duck. - </p> - <p> - A two hours' easy ride along the grassy, open timbered high banks of the - great river brought us to the junction. The Kirk, when running along its - course, is a wide, sandy-bottomed stream, with here and there deep rocky - pools, and its whole course is fringed with the everlasting and ever-green - sheoaks. We unsaddled in a delightfully picturesque spot, near the meeting - of the waters, and in a few minutes, whilst the billy was boiling for tea, - C———and I were looking to our short bamboo rods and - lines, and our guns. Then, after hobbling out the horses, and eating a - breakfast of cold beef and damper, we started to walk through the high, - dew-soaked grass to a deep, boulder-margined pool in which the waters of - both rivers mingled. - </p> - <p> - The black boy who was leading when we emerged on the water side of the - fringe of sheoaks, suddenly halted and silently pointed ahead—a - magnificent specimen of the “gigantic” crane was stalking sedately through - a shallow pool—his brilliant black and orange plumage and scarlet - legs glistening in the rays of the early sun as he scanned the sandy - bottom for fish. We had no desire to shoot such a noble creature; and let - him take flight in his slow, laboured manner. And, for our reward, the - next moment “Peter,” the black boy, brought down two out of three black - duck, which came flying right for his gun from across the river. - </p> - <p> - Both rivers had long been low, and although the streams were running in - the centre of the beds of each, there were countless isolated pools - covered with blue-flowered water-lilies, in which teal and other - water-birds were feeding. But for the time we gave them no heed. - </p> - <p> - From one of the pools we took our bait—small fish the size of - white-bait, with big, staring eyes, and bodies of a transparent pink with - silvery scales. They were easily caught by running one's hand through the - weedy edges, and in ten minutes we had secured a quart-pot full. - </p> - <p> - “Peter,” who regarded our rods with contempt, was the first to reach the - boulders at the edge of the big pool, which in the centre had a fair - current; at the sides, the water, although deep, was quiet. Squatting down - on a rock, he cast in his baited hand-line, and in ten seconds he was - nonchalantly pulling in a fine two pound bream. He leisurely unhooked it, - dropped it into a small hole in the rocks, and then began to cut up a - pipeful of tobacco, before rebaiting! - </p> - <p> - The water was literally alive with fish, feeding on the bottom. There were - two kinds of bream—one a rather slow-moving fish, with large, dark - brown scales, a perch-like mouth, and wide tail, and with the sides and - belly a dull white; the other a very active game fellow, of a more - graceful shape, with a small mouth, and very hard, bony gill plates. These - latter fought splendidly, and their mouths being so strong they would - often break the hooks and get away—as our rods were very primitive, - without reels, and only had about twenty feet of line. Then there were the - very handsome and beautifully marked fish, like an English grayling (some - of which I had caught at Scan's Creek); they took the hook freely. The - largest I have ever seen would not weigh more than three-quarters of a - pound, but their lack of size is compensated for by their extra delicate - flavour. (In some of the North Queensland inland rivers I have seen the - aborigines net these fish in hundreds in shallow pools.) Some bushmen - persisted, so Gilfillan told me, in calling these fish “fresh water - mullet,” or “speckled mullet”. - </p> - <p> - The first species of bream inhabit both clear and muddy water; but the - second I have never seen caught anywhere but in clear or running water, - when the river was low. - </p> - <p> - But undoubtedly the best eating fresh-water fish in the Burdekin and other - Australian rivers is the cat-fish, or as some people call it, the - Jew-fish. It is scaleless, and almost finless, with a dangerously barbed - dorsal spine, which, if it inflicts a wound on the hand, causes days of - intense suffering. Its flesh is delicate and firm, and with the exception - of the vertebrae, has no long bones. Rarely caught (except when small) in - clear water, it abounds when the water is muddy, and disturbed through - floods, and when a river becomes a “banker,” cat-fish can always be caught - where the water has reached its highest. They then come to feed literally - upon the land—that is grass land, then under flood water. A fish - bait they will not take—as a rule—but are fond of earthworms, - frogs, crickets, or locusts, etc. - </p> - <p> - Another very beautiful but almost useless fish met with in the Upper - Burdekin and its tributaries is the silvery bream, or as it is more - generally called, the “bony” bream. They swim about in companies of some - hundreds, and frequent the still water of deep pools, will not take a - bait, and are only seen when the water is clear. Then it is a delightful - sight for any one to lie upon the bank of some ti-tree-fringed creek or - pool, when the sun illumines the water and reveals the bottom, and watch a - school of these fish swimming closely and very slowly together, passing - over submerged logs, roots of trees or rocks, their scales of pure silver - gleaming in the sunlight as they make a simultaneous side movement. I - tried every possible bait for these fish, but never succeeded in getting a - bite, but have netted them frequently. Their flesh, though delicate, can - hardly be eaten, owing to the thousands of tiny bones which run through - it, interlacing in the most extraordinary manner. The blacks, however - “make no bones” about devouring them. - </p> - <p> - By 11 A.M. we had caught all the fish our pack-bags could hold—bream, - alleged grayling, and half a dozen “gars”—the latter a beautifully - shaped fish like the sea-water garfish, but with a much flatter-sided body - of shining silver with a green back, the tail and fins tipped with yellow. - </p> - <p> - We shot but few duck, but on our way home in the afternoon “Peter” and - Gilfillan each got a fine plain turkey—shooting from the saddle—and - almost as we reached the station slip-rails “Peter,” who had a wonderful - eye, got a third just as it rose out of the long dry grass in the paddock. - </p> - <p> - And on the following day, when C———'s guests arrived - (and after we had congratulated ourselves upon having plenty for them to - eat), they produced from their buggies eleven turkeys, seven wood-duck, - and a string of “squatter” pigeons! - </p> - <p> - “Thought we'd better bring you some fresh tucker, old man,” said one of - them to C——-. “And we have brought you a case of Tennant's - ale.” “The world is very beautiful,” said C———, stroking - his grey beard, and speaking in solemn tones, “and this is a thirsty day. - Come in, boys. We'll put the Tennant's in the water-barrels to cool.” - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - The first occasion on which I ever saw and caught one of the beautiful - fish herein described as grayling was on a day many months previous to our - former party camping on Scarr's Creek. We had camped on a creek running - into the Herbert River, near the foot of a range of wild, jagged and - distorted peaks and crags of granite. Then there were several other - parties of prospectors camped near us, and, it being a Sunday, we were - amusing ourselves in various ways. Some had gone shooting, others were - washing clothes or bathing in the creek, and one of my mates (a Scotsman - named Alick Longmuir) came fishing with me. Like Gilfillan, he was a - quiet, somewhat taciturn man. He had been twenty-two years in Australia, - sometimes mining, at others following his profession of surveyor. He had - received his education in France and Germany, and not only spoke the - languages of those countries fluently, but was well-read in their - literature. Consequently we all stood in a certain awe of him as a man of - parts; for besides being a scholar he was a splendid bushman and rider and - had a great reputation as the best wrestler in Queensland. Even-tempered, - good-natured and possessed of a fund of caustic humour, he was a great - favourite with the diggers, and when he sometimes “broke loose” and went - on a terrific “spree” (his only fault) he made matters remarkably lively, - poured out his hard-earned money like water for a week or so—then - stopped suddenly, pulled himself together in an extraordinary manner, and - went about his work again as usual, with a face as solemn as that of an - owl. - </p> - <p> - A little distance from the camp we made our way down through rugged, - creeper-covered boulders to the creek, to a fairly open stretch of water - which ran over its rocky bed into a series of small but deep pools. We - baited our lines with small grey grasshoppers, and cast together. - </p> - <p> - “I wonder what we shall get here, Alick,” I began, and then came a tug and - then the sweet, delightful thrill of a game fish making a run. There is - nothing like it in all the world—the joy of it transcends the first - kiss of young lovers. - </p> - <p> - I landed my fish—a gleaming shaft of mottled grey and silver with - specks of iridescent blue on its head, back and sides, and as I grasped - its quivering form and held it up to view my heart beat fast with delight. - </p> - <p> - “<i>Ombre chevalier!</i>” I murmured to myself. - </p> - <p> - Vanished the monotony of the Bush and the long, weary rides over the - sun-baked plains and the sound of the pick and shovel on the gravel in the - deep gullies amid the stark, desolate ranges, and I am standing in the - doorway of a peaceful Mission House on a fair island in the far South Seas—standing - with a string of fish in my hand, and before me dear old Père Grandseigne - with his flowing beard of snowy white and his kindly blue eyes smiling - into mine as he extends his brown sun-burnt hand. - </p> - <p> - “Ah, my dear young friend! and so thou hast brought me these fish—<i>ombres - chevaliers</i>, we call them in France. Are they not beautiful! What do - you call them in England?” - </p> - <p> - “I have never been in England, Father; so I cannot tell you. And never - before have I seen fish like these. They are new to me.” - </p> - <p> - “Ah, indeed, my son,” and the old Marist smiles as he motions me to a - seat, “new to you. So?... Here, on this island, my sainted colleague - Channel, who gave up his life for Christ forty years ago under the clubs - of the savages, fished, as thou hast fished in that same mountain stream; - and his blood has sanctified its waters. For upon its bank, as he cast his - line one eve he was slain by the poor savages to whom he had come bearing - the love of Christ and salvation. After we have supped to-night, I shall - tell thee the story.” - </p> - <p> - And after the Angelus bells had called, and as the cocos swayed and - rustled to the night breeze and the surf beat upon the reef in Singâvi - Bay, we sat together on the verandah of the quiet Mission House on the - hill above, which the martyred Channel had named “Calvary,” and I listened - to the old man's story of his beloved comrade's death. - </p> - <p> - As Longmuir and I lay on our blankets under the starlit sky of the far - north of Queensland that night, and the horse-bells tinkled and our mates - slept, we talked. - </p> - <p> - “Aye, lad,” he said, sleepily, “the auld <i>padre</i> gave them the Breton - name—<i>ombre chevalier</i>. In Scotland and England—if ever - ye hae the good luck to go there—ye will hear talk of graylin'. Aye, - the bonny graylin'... an' the purple heather... an' the cry o' the - whaups.... Lad, ye hae much to see an' hear yet, for all the cruising ye - hae done.... Aye, the graylin', an' the white mantle o' the mountain - mist... an' the voices o' the night... Lad, it's just gran'.” - </p> - <p> - Sleep, and then again the tinkle of the horse-bells at dawn. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0018" id="link2HCH0018"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XVIII ~ A RECLUSE OF THE BUSH - </h2> - <p> - The bank of the tidal river was very, very quiet as I walked down to it - through the tall spear grass and sat down upon the smooth, weather-worn - bole of a great blackbutt tree, cast up by the river when in flood long - years agone. Before me the water swirled and eddied and bubbled past on - its way to mingle with the ocean waves, as they were sweeping in across - the wide and shallow bar, two miles away. - </p> - <p> - The sun had dropped behind the rugged line of purple mountains to the - west, and, as I watched by its after glow five black swans floating - towards me upon the swiftly-flowing water, a footstep sounded near me, and - a man with a gun and a bundle on his shoulder bade me “good-evening,” and - then asked me if I had come from Port ——— (a little - township five miles away). - </p> - <p> - Yes, I replied, I had. - </p> - <p> - “Is the steamer in from Sydney?” - </p> - <p> - “No. I heard that she is not expected in for a couple of days yet. There - has been bad weather on the coast.” - </p> - <p> - The man uttered an exclamation of annoyance, and laying down his gun, sat - beside me, pulled out and lit his pipe, and gazed meditatively across the - darkening river. He was a tall, bearded fellow, and dressed in the usual - style affected by the timber-getters and other bushmen of the district. - Presently he began to talk. - </p> - <p> - “Are you going back to Port ——— to-night, mister?” he - asked, civilly. - </p> - <p> - “No,” and I pointed to my gun, bag, and billy can, “I have just come from - there. I am waiting here till the tide is low enough for me to cross to - the other side. I am going to the Warra Swamp for a couple of days' - shooting and fishing, and to-night I'll camp over there in the wild apple - scrub,” pointing to a dark line of timber on the opposite side. - </p> - <p> - “Do you mind my coming with you?” - </p> - <p> - “Certainly not—glad of your company. Where are you going?” - </p> - <p> - “Well, I was going to Port ———, to sell these platypus - skins to the skipper of the steamer; but I don't want to loaf about the - town for a couple o' days for the sake of getting two pounds five - shillings for fifteen skins. So I'll get back to my humphy. It's four - miles the other side o' Warra.” - </p> - <p> - “Then by all means come and camp with me tonight,” I said “I've plenty of - tea and sugar and tucker, and after we get to the apple scrub over there - we'll have supper. Then in the morning we'll make an early start. It is - only ten miles from there to Warra Swamp, and I'm in no hurry to get - there.” - </p> - <p> - The stranger nodded, and then, seeking out a suitable tree, tied his - bundle of skins to a high branch, so that it should be out of the reach of - dingoes, and said they would be safe enough until his return on his way to - the Port. Half an hour later, the tide being low enough, we crossed the - river, and under the bright light of myriad stars made our way along the - spit of sand to the scrub. Here we lit our camp fire under the trees, - boiled our billy of tea, and ate our cold beef and bread. Then we lay down - upon the soft, sweet-smelling carpet of dead leaves, and yarned for a - couple of hours before sleeping. - </p> - <p> - By the light of the fire I saw that my companion was a man of about forty - years of age, although he looked much older, his long untrimmed brown - beard and un-kept hair being thickly streaked with grey. He was quiet in - manner and speech, and the latter was entirely free from the Great - Australian Adjective. His story, as far as he told it to me, was a simple - one, yet with an element of tragedy in it. - </p> - <p> - Fifteen years before, he and his brother had taken up a selection on the - Brunswick River, near the Queensland border, and were doing fairly well. - One day they felled a big gum tree to split for fencing rails. As it - crashed towards the ground, it struck a dead limb of another great tree, - which was sent flying towards where the brothers stood; it struck the - elder one on the head, and killed him instantly. There were no neighbours - nearer than thirty miles, so alone the survivor buried his brother. Then - came two months of utter loneliness, and Joyce abandoned his selection to - the bush, selling his few head of cattle and horses to his nearest - neighbour for a small sum, keeping only one horse for himself. Then for - two or three years he worked as a “hatter” (i.e., single-handed) in - various tin-mining districts of the New England district. - </p> - <p> - One day during his many solitary prospecting trips, he came across a - long-abandoned selection and house, near the Warra Swamp (I knew the spot - <i>well</i>). He took a fancy to the place, and settled down there, and - for many years had lived there all alone, quite content. - </p> - <p> - Sometimes he would obtain a few weeks' work on the cattle stations in the - district, when mustering and branding was going on, by which he would earn - a few pounds, but he was always glad to get back to his lonely home again. - He had made a little money also, he said, by trapping platypus, which were - plentiful, and sometimes, too, he would prospect the head waters of the - creeks, and get a little fine gold. - </p> - <p> - “I'm comfortable enough, you see,” he added; “lots to eat and drink, and - putting by a little cash as well. Then I haven't to depend upon the - storekeepers at Port ——— for anything, except powder and - shot, flour, salt, tea and sugar. There's lots of game and fish all about - me, and when I want a bit of fresh beef and some more to salt down, I can - get it without breaking the law, or paying for it.” - </p> - <p> - “How is that?” I inquired. - </p> - <p> - “There are any amount of wild cattle running in the ranges—all - clean-skins” (unbranded), “and no one claims them. One squatter once tried - to get some of them down into his run in the open country—he might - as well have tried to yard a mob of dingoes.” - </p> - <p> - “Then how do you manage to get a beast?” - </p> - <p> - “Easy enough. I have an old police rifle, and every three months or so, - when my stock of beef is low, I saddle my old pack moke, and start off to - the ranges. I know all the cattle tracks leading to the camping and - drinking places, and generally manage to kill my beast at or near a - waterhole. Then I cut off the best parts only, and leave the rest for the - hawks and dingoes. I camp there for the night, and get back with my load - of fresh beef the next day. Some I dry-salt, some I put in brine.” - </p> - <p> - Early in the morning we started on our ten miles' tramp through the - coastal scrub, or rather forest. Our course led us away from the sea, and - nearly parallel to the river, and I thoroughly enjoyed the walk, and my - companion's interesting talk. He had a wonderful knowledge of the bush, - and of the habits of wild animals and birds, much of which he had acquired - from the aborigines of the Brunswick River district. As we were walking - along, I inquired how he managed to get platypus without shooting them. He - hesitated, and half smiled, and I at once apologised, and said I didn't - intend to be inquisitive. He nodded, and said no more; but he afterwards - told me he caught them by netting sections of the river at night. - </p> - <p> - After we had made about five miles we came to the first crossing above the - bar. This my acquaintance always used when he visited Port ——— - (taking the track along the bank on the other side), for the bar was only - crossable at especially low tides. Here, although the water was brackish, - we saw swarms of “block-headed” mullet and grey bream swimming close in to - the sandy bank, and, had we cared to do so, could have caught a bagful in - a few minutes. But we pushed on for another two miles, and on our way shot - three “bronze wing” pigeons. - </p> - <p> - We reached the Warra Swamp at noon, and camped for dinner in a shady - “bangalow” grove, so as not to disturb the ducks, whose delightful gabble - and piping was plainly audible. We grilled our birds, and made our tea. - Whilst we were having a smoke, a truly magnificent white-headed fish eagle - lit on the top of a dead tree, three hundred yards away—a splendid - shot for a rifle. It remained for some minutes, then rose and went off - seaward. Joyce told me that the bird and its mate were very familiar to - him for a year past, but that he “hadn't the heart to take a shot at them”—for - which he deserved to be commended. - </p> - <p> - Presently, seeing me cutting some young supplejack vines, my new - acquaintance asked me their purpose. I told him that I meant to make a - light raft out of dead timber to save me from swimming after any ducks - that I might shoot, and that the supplejack was for lashing. Then, to my - surprise and pleasure, he proposed that I should go on to his “humphy,” - and camp there for the night, and he would return to the swamp with me in - the morning, join me in a day's shooting and fishing, and then come on - with me to the township on the following day. - </p> - <p> - Gladly accepting his offer, two hours' easy walking brought us to his home—a - roughly-built slab shanty with a bark roof, enclosed in a good-sized - paddock, in which his old pack horse, several goats and a cow and calf - were feeding. At the side of the house was a small but well-tended - vegetable garden, in which were also some huge water-melons—quite - ripe, and just the very thing after our fourteen miles' walk. One-half of - the house and roof was covered with scarlet runner bean plants, all in - full bearing, and altogether the exterior of the place was very pleasing. - Before we reached the door two dogs, which were inside, began a terrific - din—they knew their master's step. The interior of the house—which - was of two rooms—was clean and orderly, the walls of slabs being - papered from top to bottom with pictures from illustrated papers, and the - floor was of hardened clay. Two or three rough chairs, a bench and a table - comprised the furniture, and yet the place had a home-like look. - </p> - <p> - My host asked me if I could “do” with a drink of bottled-beer; I suggested - a slice of water-melon. - </p> - <p> - “Ah, you're right. But those outside are too hot. Here's a cool one,” and - going into the other room he produced a monster. It was delicious! - </p> - <p> - After a bathe in the creek near by, we had a hearty supper, and then sat - outside yarning and smoking till turn-in time. - </p> - <p> - Soon after a sunrise breakfast, we started for the swamp, taking the old - packhorse with us, my host leaving food and water for the dogs, who howled - disconsolately as we went off. - </p> - <p> - At the swamp we had a glorious day's sport, although there were altogether - too many black snakes about for my taste. We camped there that night, and - returned to the port next day with a heavy load of black duck, some - “whistlers,” and a few brace of pigeons. - </p> - <p> - I bade farewell to my good-natured host with a feeling of regret. Some - years later, on my next visit to Australia, I heard that he had returned - to his boyhood's home—Gippsland in Victoria—and had married - and settled down. He was one of the most contented men I ever met, and a - good sportsman. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0019" id="link2HCH0019"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XIX ~ TE-BARI, THE OUTLAW - </h2> - <p> - The Island of Upolu, in the Samoan group, averages less than fifteen miles - in width, and it is a delightful experience to cross from Apia, or any - other town on the north, to the south side. The view to be obtained from - the summit of the range that traverses the island from east to west is - incomparably beautiful—I have never seen anything to equal it - anywhere in the Pacific Isles. - </p> - <p> - A few years after the Germans had begun cotton planting in Samoa, I - brought to Apia ninety native labourers from the Solomon Islands to work - on the big plantation at Mulifanua. I also brought with me something I - would gladly have left behind—the effects of a very severe attack of - malarial fever. - </p> - <p> - A week or so after I had reached Apia I gave myself a few days' leave, - intending to walk across the island to the town of Siumu, where I had many - native friends, and try and work some of the fever poison out of my - system. - </p> - <p> - Starting long before sunrise, I was well past Vailima Mountain—the - destined future home of Stevenson—by six o'clock. After resting for - an hour at each of the bush villages of Magiagi and Tanumamanono—soon - to be the scene of a cruel massacre in the civil war then raging—I - began the long, gradual ascent from the littoral to the main range, - inhaling deeply of the cool morning air, and listening to the melodious <i>croo! - croo!</i> of the great blue pigeons, and the plaintive cry of the - ringdoves, so well termed manu-tagi (the weeping bird) by the imaginative - Samoans. - </p> - <p> - Walking but slowly, for I was not strong enough for rapid exercise, I - reached the summit of the first spur, and again spelled, resting upon a - thick carpet of cool, dead leaves. With me was a boy from Tanumamanono - named Suisuega-le-moni (The Seeker after Truth), who carried a basket - containing some cooked food, and fifty cartridges for my gun. “Sui,” as he - was called for brevity, was an old acquaintance of mine and one of the - most unmitigated young imps that ever ate <i>taro</i> as handsome “as a - picture,” and a most notorious scandalmonger and spy. He was only thirteen - years of age, and was of rebel blood, and, child as he was, he knew that - his head stood very insecurely upon his shoulders, and that it would be - promptly removed therefrom if any of King Malietoa's troops could catch - him spying in <i>flagrante delicto</i>. Two years before, he had attached - himself to me, and had made a voyage with me to the Caroline Islands, - during which he had acquired an enormous vocabulary of sailors' bad - language. This gave him great local kudos. - </p> - <p> - Sui was to accompany me to the top of the range, and then return, as - otherwise he would be in hostile territory. - </p> - <p> - By four o'clock in the afternoon we had gained a clear spot on the crest - of the range, from where we had a most glorious view of the south coast - imaginable. Three thousand feet below us were the russet-hued thatched - roofs of the houses of Siumu Village; beyond, the pale green water that - lay between the barrier reef and the mainland, then the long curving line - of the reef itself with its seething surf, and, beyond that again, the - deep, deep blue of the Pacific, sparkling brightly in the westering sun. - </p> - <p> - Leaning my gun against one of the many buttresses of a mighty <i>masa'oi</i> - tree, I was drinking in the beauty of the scene, when we heard the shrill, - cackling scream of a mountain cock, evidently quite near. Giving the boy - my gun, I told him to go and shoot it; then sitting down on the carpet of - leaves, I awaited his return with the bird, half-resolved to spend the - night where I was, for I was very tired and began to feel the premonitory - chills of an attack of ague. - </p> - <p> - In ten minutes the sound of a gun-shot reverberated through the forest - aisles, and presently I heard Sui returning. He was running, and holding - by its neck one of the biggest mountain cocks I ever saw. As he ran, he - kept glancing back over his shoulder, and when he reached me and threw - down gun and bird, I saw that he was trembling from head to foot. - </p> - <p> - “What is the matter?” I asked; “hast seen an <i>aitu vao</i> (evil spirit - of the forest)?” - </p> - <p> - “Aye, truly,” he said shudderingly, “I have seen a devil indeed, and the - marrow in my bones has gone—I have seen Te-bari, the Tâfito."{*} - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - * The Samoans term all the natives of the Equatorial Islands - “Tâfito”. -</pre> - <p> - I sprang to my feet and seized him by the wrist. - </p> - <p> - “Where was he?” I asked. - </p> - <p> - “Quite near me. I had just shot the wild <i>moa vao</i> (mountain cock) - and had picked it up when I heard a voice say in Samoan—but thickly - as foreigners speak: 'It was a brave shot, boy'. Then I looked up and saw - Te-bari. He was standing against the bole of a <i>masa'oi</i> tree, - leaning on his rifle. Round his earless head was bound a strip of <i>ie - mumu</i> (red Turkey twill), and as I stood and trembled he laughed, and - his great white teeth gleamed, and my heart died within me, and——” - </p> - <p> - I do not want to disgust my readers, but truth compels me to say that the - boy there and then became violently sick; then he began to sob with - terror, stopping every now and then to glance around at the now darkening - forest aisles of grey-barked, ghostly and moss-covered trees. - </p> - <p> - “Sui,” I said, “go back to your home. I have no fear of Te-bari.” - </p> - <p> - In two seconds the boy, who had faced rifle fire time and time again, fled - homewards. Te-bari the outlaw was too much for him. - </p> - <p> - Personally I had no reason to fear meeting the man. In the first place I - was an Englishman, and Te-bari was known to profess a liking for - Englishmen, though he would eagerly cut the throat of a German or a Samoan - if he could get his brawny hands upon it; in the second place, although I - had never seen the man, I was sure that he would have heard of me from - some of his fellow islanders on the plantations, for during my three - years' “recruiting” in the Kingsmill and Gilbert Groups, I have brought - many hundreds of them to Samoa, Fiji and Tahiti. - </p> - <p> - Something of his story was known to me. He was a native of the great - square-shaped atoll of Maiana, and went to sea in a whaler when he was - quite a lad, and soon rose to be boat-steerer. One day a Portuguese - harpooner struck him in the face and drew blood—a deadly insult to a - Line Islander. Te-bari plunged his knife into the man's heart. He was - ironed, and put in the sail-locker; during the night three of the - Portuguese sprang in upon him and cut off his ears. A few days later when - the ship was at anchor at the Bonin Islands, Te-bari freed himself of his - handcuffs and swam on shore. Early on the following morning one of the - boats was getting fresh water. She was in charge of the fourth mate—a - Portuguese black. Suddenly a nude figure leapt among the men, and clove - the officer's head in twain with a tomahawk. - </p> - <p> - One day Te-bari reappeared among his people at Maiana and took service - with a white trader, who always spoke of him as a quiet, hardworking young - man, but with a dangerous temper when roused by a fancied wrong. In due - time Te-bari took a wife—took her in a very literal sense, by - killing her husband and escaping with her to the neighbouring island of - Taputeauea (Drummond's Island). She was a pretty, graceful creature of - sixteen years of age. Then one day there came along the German labour brig - <i>Adolphe</i> seeking “blackbirds” for Samoa, and Te-bari and his pretty - wife with fifty other “Tâfitos” were landed at one of the plantations in - Upolu. - </p> - <p> - Young Madame Te-bari was not as good as she ought to have been, and one - day the watchful husband saw one of the German overseers give her a thick - necklace of fine red beads. Te-bari tore them from her neck, and threw - them into the German's face. For this he received a flogging and was - mercilessly kicked into insensibility as well. When he recovered he was - transferred to another plantation—minus the naughty Nireeungo, who - became “Mrs.” Peter Clausen. A month passed, and it was rumoured “on the - beach” that “No-Ears,” as Te-bari was called, had escaped and taken to the - bush with a brand-new Snider carbine, and as many cartridges as he could - carry, and Mr. Peter Clausen was advised to look out for himself. He - snorted contemptuously. - </p> - <p> - Two young Samoan “bucks” were sent out to capture Te-bari, and bring him - back, dead or alive, and receive therefor one hundred bright new Chile - dollars. They never returned, and when their bodies were found in a deep - mountain gully, it was known that the earless one was the richer by a - sixteen-shot Winchester with fifty cartridges, and a Swiss Vetterli rifle, - together with some twist tobacco, and the two long <i>nifa oti</i> or - “death knives,” with which these valorous, but misguided young men - intended to remove the earless head of the “Tâfito pig” from his brawny, - muscular shoulders. - </p> - <p> - Te-bari made his way, encumbered as he was with his armoury, along the - crest of the mountain range, till he was within striking distance of his - enemy, Clausen, and the alleged Frau Clausen—<i>née</i> Nireeungo. - He hid on the outskirts of the plantation, and soon got in touch with some - of his former comrades. They gave him food, and much useful information. - </p> - <p> - One night, during heavy rain, when every one was asleep on the plantation, - Te-bari entered the overseer's house by the window. A lamp was burning, - and by its light he saw his faithless spouse sleeping alone. Clausen—lucky - Clausen—had been sent into Apia an hour before to get some medicine - for one of the manager's children. Te-bari was keenly disappointed. He - would only have half of his revenge. He crept up to the sleeper, and made - one swift blow with the heavy <i>nifa oti</i> Then he became very busy for - a few minutes, and a few hours later was back in the mountains, smoking - Clausen's tobacco, and drinking some of Clausen's corn schnapps. - </p> - <p> - When Clausen rode up to his house at three o'clock in the morning, he - found the lamp was burning brightly. Nireeungo was lying on the bed, - covered over with a quilt of navy blue. He called to her, but she made no - answer, and Clausen called her a sleepy little pig. Then he turned to the - side table to take a drink of schnapps—on the edge of it was - Nireeungo's head with its two long plaits of jet-black hair hanging down, - and dripping an ensanguined stream upon the matted floor. - </p> - <p> - Clausen cleared out of Samoa the very next day. Te-bari had got upon his - nerves. - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - The forest was dark by the time I had lit a fire between two of the wide - buttresses of the great tree, and I was shaking from head to foot with - ague. The attack, however, only lasted an hour, and then came the usual - delicious after-glow of warmth as the blood began to course riotously - through one's veins and give that temporary and fictitious strength - accompanied by hunger, that is one of the features of malarial fever. - </p> - <p> - Sitting up, I began to pluck the mountain cock, intending to grill the - chest part as soon as the fire was fit. Then I heard a footstep on the - leaves, and looking up I saw Te-bari standing before me. - </p> - <p> - “<i>Ti-â ka po</i>” (good evening), I said quietly, in his own language, - “will you eat with me?” - </p> - <p> - He came over to me, still grasping his rifle, and peered into my face. - Then he put out his hand, and sat down quietly in front of me. Except for - a girdle of dracaena leaves around his waist he was naked, but he seemed - well-nourished, and, in fact, fat. - </p> - <p> - “Will you smoke?” I said presently, passing him a plug of tobacco and my - sheath knife, for I saw that a wooden pipe was stuck in his girdle of - leaves. He accepted it eagerly. - </p> - <p> - “Do you know me, white man?” he asked abruptly, speaking in the Line - Islands tongue. - </p> - <p> - I nodded. “You are Te-bari of Maiana. The boy was frightened of you and - ran away.” - </p> - <p> - He showed his gleaming white teeth in a semi-mirthful, semi-tigerish grin. - “Yes, he was afraid. I would have shot him; but I did not because he was - with you. What is your name, white man?” - </p> - <p> - I told him. - </p> - <p> - “Ah, I have heard of you. You were with Kapitan Ebba (Captain Ever) in the - <i>Leota?</i>” - </p> - <p> - He filled his pipe, lit it, and then extended his hand to me for the - halt-plucked bird, and said he would finish it. Then he looked at me - inquiringly. - </p> - <p> - “You have the shaking sickness of the western islands. It is not good for - you to lie here on the leaves. Come with me. I shall give you good food to - eat, and coco-nut toddy to drink.” - </p> - <p> - I asked him where he got his toddy from, as there were no coco-nut trees - growing so high up in the mountains. He laughed. - </p> - <p> - “I have a sweetheart in Siumu. She brings it to me. You shall see her - to-night. Come.” - </p> - <p> - Stooping down, he lifted me up on his right shoulder as if I were a child, - and then, with his own rifle and my gun and bag and the mountain cock - tucked under his left arm, he set off at a rapid pace towards one of the - higher spurs of the range. Nearly an hour later I found myself in a cave, - overlooking the sea. On the floor were a number of fine Samoan mats and a - well-carved <i>aluga</i> (bamboo pillow). - </p> - <p> - I stretched myself out upon the mats, again shivering with ague, and - Te-bari covered me over with a thick <i>tappa</i> cloth. Then he lit a - fire just outside the cave, and came back to me. - </p> - <p> - “You are hungry,” he said, as he expanded his big mouth and grinned - pleasantly. Then from the roof of the cave he took down a basket - containing cold baked pigeons, fish and yams. - </p> - <p> - I ate greedily and soon after fell asleep. When I awoke it seemed to be - daylight—in reality it was only a little past midnight, but a full - bright moon was shining into the cave. Seated near me were my host and a - young woman—the “sweetheart”. I recognised her at once as Sa Laea, - the widow of a man killed in the fighting a few months previously. She was - about five and twenty years of age, very handsome, and quiet in her - demeanour. As far as I knew she had an excellent reputation, and I was - astonished at her consorting with an outlawed murderer. She came over and - shook hands, asked if I felt better, and should she “lomi-lomi” (massage) - me. I thanked her and gladly accepted her offer. - </p> - <p> - An hour before dawn she bade me good-bye, urging me to remain, and rest - with her earless lover for a day or two, instead of coming on to Siumu, - where there was an outbreak of measles. - </p> - <p> - “When I come to-morrow night,” she said, “I will bring a piece of kava - root and make kava for you.” - </p> - <p> - The news about the measles decided me. I resolved to at least spend - another day and night with my host. He was pleased. - </p> - <p> - Soon after breakfast he showed me around. His retreat was practically - impregnable. One man with a supply of breech-loading ammunition could beat - off a hundred foes. On the roof of the cave was a hole large enough to let - a man pass through, and from the top itself there was a most glorious - view. A mile away on the starboard hand, and showing through the forest - green, was a curving streak of bright red—it was the road, or rather - track, that led to Siumu. We filled our pipes, sat down and talked. - </p> - <p> - How long had he lived there? I asked. Five months. He had found the cave - one day when in chase of a wild sow and her litter. Afraid of being shot - by the Siumu people? No, he was on good terms with <i>them</i>. Very often - he would shoot a wild pig and carry it to a certain spot on the road, and - leave it for the villagers. But he could not go into the village itself. - It was too risky—some one might be tempted to get those hundred - Chile dollars from the Germans. Food? There was plenty. Hundreds of wild - pigs in the mountains, and thousands of pigeons. The pigs he shot with his - Snider, the pigeons he snared, for he had no shot gun, and would very much - like to have one. Twice every week Sa Laea brought him food. Tobacco too, - sometimes, when she could buy it or beg it from the trader at Siumu. - Sometimes he would cross over to the northern watershed and catch a - basketful of the big speckled trout which teem in the mountain pools. Some - of these he would send by Sa Laea to the chief of Siumu, who would send - him in return a piece of kava, and some young drinking coconuts as a token - of good-will. Once when he went to fish he found a young Samoan and two - girls about to net a pool. The man fired at him with his pigeon gun and - the pellets struck him in the chest. Then he (Te-bari) shot the man - through the chest with his Winchester. No, he did not harm the girls—he - let them run away. - </p> - <p> - Sa Laea was a very good girl. Whenever he trapped a <i>manu-mea</i> (the - rare <i>Didunculus</i>, or tooth-billed pigeon) she would take it to Apia - and sell it for five dollars—sometimes ten. He was saving this - money. When he had forty dollars he and Sa Laea were going to leave Samoa - and go to Maiana. Kapitan Cameron had promised Sa Laea to take them there - when they had forty dollars. Perhaps when his schooner next came to Siumu - they would have enough money, etc. - </p> - <p> - During the day I shot a number of pigeons, and when Sa Laea appeared soon - after sunset we had them cooked and ready. We made a delicious meal, but - before eating the lady offered up the usual evening prayer in Samoan, and - Te-bari the Earless sat with closed eyes like a saint, and gave forth a - sonorous <i>A-mene!</i> when his ladylove ceased. - </p> - <p> - I left my outlaw friend next morning. Sa Laea came with me, for I had - promised to buy him a pigeon gun (costing ten dollars), a bag of shot, - powder and caps. I fulfilled my promise and the woman bade me farewell - with protestations of gratitude. - </p> - <p> - A few months later Te-bari and Sa Laea left the island in Captain - Cameron's schooner, the <i>Manahiki</i>. I trust they “lived happily ever - afterwards”. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0020" id="link2HCH0020"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XX ~ “THE DANDIEST BOY THAT EVER STOOD UP IN A BOAT” - </h2> - <p> - Nine years had come and gone since I had last seen Nukutavake and its - amiable brown-skinned people, and now as I again stepped on shore and - scanned the faces of those assembled on the beach to meet me, I missed - many that I had loved in the old, bright days when I was trading in the - Paumotus. For Death, in the hideous shape of small-pox, had been busy, - taking the young and strong and passing by the old and feeble. - </p> - <p> - It was a Sunday, and the little isle was quiet—as quiet as the ocean - of shining silver on which our schooner lay becalmed, eight miles beyond - the foaming surf of the barrier reef. - </p> - <p> - Teveiva, the old native pastor, was the first one to greet me, and the - tears rolled down his cheeks as he spoke to me in his native Tahitian, - bade me welcome, and asked me had I come to sojourn with “we of - Nukutavake, for a little while”. - </p> - <p> - “Would that it were so, old friend. But I have only come on shore for a - few hours, whilst the ship is becalmed—to greet old friends dear to - my heart, and never forgotten since the days I lived among ye, nigh upon a - half-score years ago. But, alas, it grieves me that many are gone.” - </p> - <p> - A low sob came from the people, as they pressed around their friend of - bygone years, some clasping my hands and some pressing their faces to mine - And so, hand in hand, and followed by the people, the old teacher and I - walked slowly along the shady path of drooping palms, and came to and - entered the quiet mission house, through the open windows of which came - the sigh of the surf, and the faint call of sea-birds. - </p> - <p> - Some women, low-voiced and gentle, brought food, and young drinking nuts - upon platters of leaf, and silently placed them before the White Man, who - touched the food with his hand and drank a little of a coco-nut, and then - turned to Teveiva and said:— - </p> - <p> - “O friend, I cannot eat because of the sorrow that hath come upon thee. - Tell me how it befel.” - </p> - <p> - Speaking slowly, and with many tears, the old teacher told of how a ship - from Tahiti had brought the dread disease to the island, and how in a - little less than two months one in every three of the three hundred and - ten people had died, and of the long drought that followed upon the - sickness, when for a whole year the sky was as brass, and the hot sun beat - down upon the land, and withered up the coco-palms and pandanus trees; and - only for the night dews all that was green would have perished. And now - because of the long drought men were weak, and sickening, and women and - children were feint from want of food. - </p> - <p> - “It is as if God hath deserted us,” said the old man. - </p> - <p> - “Nay,” I assured him, “have no fear. Rain is near. It will come from the - westward as it has come to many islands which for a year have been eaten - up with drought and hunger like this land of Nukutavake. Have no fear, I - say. Wind and much heavy rain will soon come from the west.” - </p> - <p> - Then I wrote a few lines to the skipper. - </p> - <p> - “Send this letter to the ship by my boat,” I said to Teveiva, “and the - captain will fill the boat with food. It is the ship's gift to the - people.” - </p> - <p> - And then for the first time since the island had been smitten, the poor - women and children laughed joyously, and the men sprang to their feet, and - with loud shouts ran to the boat with the messenger who carried the - letter. - </p> - <p> - “Come, old friend,” I said to the teacher, “walk with me round the island. - I would once more look upon the lagoon and sit with you a little while as - we have sat many times before, under the great <i>toa</i> tree that grows - upon the point on the weather side.” - </p> - <p> - And so we two passed out of the mission house, and hand in hand, like - children, went into the quiet village and along the sandy path that wound - through the vista of serried, grey-boled palms, till we came to the white, - inner beach of the calm lagoon, which shone and glistened like burnished - silver. On the beach were some canoes. - </p> - <p> - Half a cable length from the shore, a tiny, palm-clad islet floated on - that shining lake, and the drooping fronds of the palms cast their shadows - upon the crystal water. Between the red-brown boles of the trees there - showed something white. The old man pointed to it and said:— - </p> - <p> - “Wilt come and look at the white man's grave? 'Tis well kept—as we - promised his mother should be done.” - </p> - <p> - Teveiva launched a canoe and we paddled gently over to the isle, which was - barely half an acre in extent. From the beach there ran a narrow path, - neatly gravelled and bordered with many-hued crotons; it led to a low - square enclosure of coral stone cemented with lime. Within the walls - bright crotons grew thickly, and in the centre stood a plain slab of - marble on which was carved:— - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Walter Tallis, - boat-steerer of the ship <i>asia</i>. - - Died, December 25, 1869, aged 21. - Erected by his Mother. -</pre> - <p> - I sat on the wall, and looked thoughtfully at the marble slab. - </p> - <p> - “'Tis twelve years since, Teveiva.” - </p> - <p> - “Aye, since last Christmas Day. And every year his mother sends a letter - and asks, 'Is my boy's grave well kept?' and I write and say, 'It is well - tended. One day in every week the women and girls come and weed the path, - and see that the plants thrive. This have we always done since thou sent - the marble slab.' She sends her letters to the English missionary at - Papeite, and he sends mine to her in far away Beretania (Britain).” - </p> - <p> - “Poor fellow,” I thought; “it was just such a day as this—hot and - calm—when we laid him here under the palms.” - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - On that day, twelve years before, the <i>Asia</i> lay becalmed off the - island, and the skipper lowered his boat and came on shore to buy some - fresh provisions. He was a cheery old fellow, with snow-white hair, and was - brimming over with good spirits, for the <i>Asia</i> had had extraordinary - good luck. - </p> - <p> - “Over a thousand barrels of sparm oil under hatches already, and the <i>Asia</i> - not out nine months,” he said to me, “and we haven't lost a boat, nor any - whale we fastened to yet. And this boy here,” and he turned and clapped his - hand on the shoulder of a young, handsome and stalwart youth, who had come - with him, “is my boat-steerer, Walter Tallis, and the dandiest lad with an - iron that ever stood up in a boat's bow. Forty-two years have I been - fishin', and until Walter here shipped on the old <i>Asia</i>, thought - that the Almighty never made a good boat-steerer or boat-header outer eny - one but a Yankee or a Portugee—or maybe a Walker Injun. But Walter, - though he <i>is</i> a Britisher, was born fer whale-killin'—and - thet's a fact.” - </p> - <p> - I shook hands with the young man, who laughed as he said:— - </p> - <p> - “Captain Allen is always buttering me up. But there are as good, and - better men than me with an iron on board the <i>Asia</i>. But I certainly - have had wonderful luck—for a Britisher,” and he smiled slyly at his - captain. - </p> - <p> - Suddenly, we were chatting and smoking on the verandah, there came a - thrilling cry from the crew of the whaleboat, lying on the beach fifty - yards away. - </p> - <p> - “<i>Blo-o-w! bl-o-o-w!</i>” - </p> - <p> - And from the throats of three hundred natives came a roar “<i>Te folau! te - folau!</i>” (“A whale! a whale!”) - </p> - <p> - The skipper and his boat-steerer sprang to their feet and looked seaward, - and there, less than a mile from the shore, was a mighty bull cachalot, - leisurely making his way through the glassy sea, swimming with head up, - and lazily rolling from side to side as if his one hundred tons of bulk - were as light as the weight of a flying-fish. - </p> - <p> - “Now, mister, you shall see what Walter and I can do with that fish,” - cried the skipper to me. “And when we've settled him, and the other boats - are towing him off to the ship, Walter and I will come on shore again and - hev something to eat—if you will invite us.” - </p> - <p> - The boat flashed out from the beach, swept out of the passage through the - reef, and in twenty minutes was within striking distance of the mighty - cetacean. And, watching from the verandah, I saw the young harpooner stand - up and bury his first harpoon to the socket, following it instantly with a - second. Then slowly sank the huge head, and up came the vast flukes in the - air, and Leviathan sounded into the ocean depths as the line spun through - the stem notch, and the boat sped over the mirror-like sea. In ten minutes - she was hidden from view by a point of land, and the last that we on the - shore saw was “the dandiest lad that ever stood up in a boat's bow” going - aft to the steer-oar, and the old white-headed skipper taking his place to - use the deadly lance. And then at the same time that the captain's boat - disappeared from view, I noticed that the <i>Asia</i> had lowered her four - other boats, which were pulling with furious speed in the direction which - the “fast” boat had taken. - </p> - <p> - “Something must have gone wrong with the captain's boat,” I thought. - </p> - <p> - Something had gone wrong, for half an hour later one of the four “loose” - boats pulled into the beach, and the old skipper, with tears streaming - down his rugged cheeks, stepped out, trembling from head to foot. - </p> - <p> - “My dandy boy, my poor boatsteerer,” he said huskily to me—“that - darned whale fluked us, and near cut him in half. Poor lad, he didn't - suffer; for death came sudden. An' he is the only son of his mother. Can I - bring him to your house?” - </p> - <p> - Very tenderly and slowly the whaleboat's crew carried the crushed and - mutilated form of the “dandiest boy” to the house, and whilst I helped the - <i>Asia's</i> cooper make a coffin, Teveiva sat outside with the - heartbroken old skipper, and spoke to him in his broken English of the - Life Beyond. And so Walter Tallis, the last of an old Dorset family, was - laid to rest in the little isle in the quiet lagoon. - </p> - <p> - For two days our schooner lay in sight of the island; and then, as - midnight came, the blue sky became black, and the ship was snugged down - for the coming storm. The skipper sent up a rocket so that it might be - seen by the people on shore—to verify my prophecy about a change in - the weather. - </p> - <p> - Came then the wind and the sweet, blessed rain, and as the schooner, under - reefed canvas, plunged to the rising sea, the folk of Nukutavake, I felt - certain, stood outside their houses, and let the cooling Heaven-sent - streams drench their smooth, copper-coloured skins, whilst good old - Teveiva gave thanks to God. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0021" id="link2HCH0021"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XXI ~ THE PIT OF MAOTÂ - </h2> - <p> - For the Samoans I have always had a great admiration and affection. - Practically I began my island career in Samoa. More than a score of years - before Robert Louis Stevenson went to die on the verdured slopes of - Vailima Mountain, where he now rests, I was gaining my living by running a - small trading cutter between the beautiful islands of Upolu, Savai'i, and - Tutuila, and the people ever had my strong sympathies in their struggle - against Germany for independence. Even so far back as 1865, German agents - were at work throughout the group, sowing the seeds of discord, - encouraging the chiefs of King Malietoa to rebel, so that they could set - up a German puppet in his place. And unfortunately they have succeeded - only too well, and Samoa, with the exception of the Island of Tutuila, is - now German territory. But it is as well, for the people are kindly treated - by their new masters. - </p> - <p> - The Samoans were always a warlike race. When not unitedly repelling - invasion by the all-conquering Tongans who sent fleet after fleet to - subjugate the country, they were warring among themselves upon various - pretexts—successions to chiefly titles, land disputes, abuse of - neutral territory, and often upon the most trivial pretexts. In my own - time I witnessed a sanguinary naval encounter between the people of the - island of Manono, and a war-party of ten great canoes from the district of - Lepâ on the island of Upolu. I saw sixteen decapitated heads brought on - shore, and personally attended many of the wounded. And all this occurred - through the Lepâ people having at a dance in their village sung a song in - which a satirical allusion was made to the Manono people having once been - reduced to eating shell-fish. The result was an immediate challenge from - Manono, and in all nearly one hundred men lost their lives, villages were - burnt, canoes destroyed, and thousands of coco-nut and bread-fruit trees - cut down and plantations ruined. - </p> - <p> - Sometimes in battle the Samoans were extremely chivalrous, at others they - were demons incarnate, as merciless, cold-blooded, and cruel as the - Russian police who slaughter women and children in the streets of the - capital of the Great White Czar, and I shall now endeavour to describe one - such terrible act, which after many years is still spoken of with bated - breath, and even amidst the suppressed sobs and falling tears of the - descendants of those who suffered. - </p> - <p> - On the north coast of Upolu there is a populous town and district named - Fasito'otai. It is part of the A'ana division of Upolu, and is noted, even - in Samoa, a paradise of Nature, for its extraordinary fertility and - beauty. - </p> - <p> - The A'ana people at this time were suffering from the tyranny of Manono, a - small island which boasted of the fact of its being the birthplace and - home of nearly all the ruling chiefs of Samoa, and the extraordinary - respect with which people of chiefly lineage are treated by Samoans, - generally led them to suffer the greatest indignities and oppressions by - the haughty and warlike Manonoans, who exacted under threats a continuous - tribute of food, fine mats and canoes. Finally, a valorous young chief - named Tausaga—though himself connected with Manono—revolted, - and he and his people refused to pay further tribute to Manono, and a - bloody struggle was entered upon. - </p> - <p> - For some months the war continued. No mercy was shown on either side to - the vanquished, and there is now a song which tells of how Palu, a girl of - seventeen, with a spear thrust half through her bosom by her - brother-in-law, a chief of Manono, shot him through the chest with a horse - pistol, and then breaking off the spear, knelt beside the dying man, - kissed him as her “brother” and then decapitated him, threw the head to - her people with a cry of triumph—and died. - </p> - <p> - At first the A'ana people were victorious, and the haughty Manonoans were - driven off into their fleets of war canoes time and time again. Then - Manono made alliance with other powerful chiefs of Savai'i and Upolu - against A'ana, and two thousand of them, after great slaughter, occupied - the town of Fasito'otai, and the A'ana people retired to inland - fortresses, resolved to fight to the very last. Among the leaders of the - defeated people were two white men—an Englishman and an American—whose - valour was so much admired, even by the Manono people, that they were - openly solicited to desert the A'ana people, and come over to the other - side, where great honours and gifts of lands awaited them. To their - credit, these two unknown men rejected the offer with scorn, and announced - their intention to die with the people with whom they had lived for so - many years. At their instance, many of the Manono warriors who had been - captured had been spared, and kept prisoners, instead of being ruthlessly - decapitated in the usual Samoan fashion, and their heads exhibited, with - much ignominy, from one village to another, as trophies. - </p> - <p> - For two years the struggle continued, the Manonoans generally proving - victorious in many bloody battles. Then Fasito'otai was surprised in the - night, and two-thirds of its defenders, including many women and children, - slaughtered. Among those who died were the two white men. They fell with - thirty young men, who covered the retreat of the survivors of the - defending force. - </p> - <p> - The extraordinary valour which the A'ana people had displayed, exasperated - the Manono warriors to deeds of unnamable violence to whatever prisoners - fell into their cruel hands. One man—an old Manono chief—who - had taken part in the struggle, told me with shame that he saw babies - impaled on bayonets and spears carried exultingly from one village to - another. - </p> - <p> - Broken and disorganised, the beaten A'ana people dispersed in parties - large and small. Some sought refuge in the mountain forests, others put to - sea in frail canoes, and mostly all perished, but one party of seventeen - in three canoes succeeded in reaching Uea (Wallis Island), three hundred - miles to the westward of Samoa. Among them was a boy of seven years of age, - who afterwards sailed with me in a labour vessel. He well remembered the - horrors of that awful voyage, and told me of his seeing his father “take a - knife and open a vein in his arm so that a baby girl, who was dying of - hunger, could drink”. - </p> - <p> - Relentless in their hate of the vanquished foe, the Manono warriors - established a cordon around them from the mountain range that traverses - the centre of Upolu to the sea, and at last, after many engagements, drove - them to the beach, where a final battle was fought. Exhausted, - famine-stricken, and utterly disheartened by their continuous reverses, - the unfortunate A'ana people were easily overcome, and the fighting - survivors surrendered, appealing to their enemies to at least spare the - lives of their women and children. - </p> - <p> - But no mercy was shown. As night began to fall, the Manonoans began to dig - a huge pit at a village named Maotâ, a mile from the scene of the battle, - and as some dug, others carried an enormous quantity of dead logs of - timber to the spot. By midnight the dreadful funeral pyre was completed. - </p> - <p> - In case that it might be thought by my readers that I am exaggerating the - horrors of “The Pit of Maotâ,” I will not here relate what I, personally, - was told by people who were present at the awful deed, but repeat the - words of Mr. Stair, an English missionary of the London Missionary - Society, whose book, entitled Old Samoa, tells the story in quiet, yet - dramatic language, and although in regard to some minor details he was - misinformed, his account on the whole is correct, and is the same as was - told to me by men who had actually participated in the tragedy. - </p> - <p> - The awful preparations were completed, and then the victors, seizing those - of their captives who were bound on account of their strength and had a - few hours previously surrendered, hurried them to the fatal pit, in which - the huge pile of timber had been lit. And as the flames roared and - ascended, and the darkness of the surrounding forest was made as light as - day, the first ten victims of four hundred and sixty-two were cast in to - burn, amid the howls and yells of their savage captors. - </p> - <p> - Mr. Stair says: “This dreadful butchery was continued during one or two - days and nights, fresh timber being heaped on from time to time, as it was - with difficulty that the fire could be kept burning, from the number of - victims who were ruthlessly sacrificed there. - </p> - <p> - “The captives from Fasito'otai were selected for the first offerings, and - after them followed others in quick succession, night and day, early and - late, until the last wretched victim had been consumed. Most heartrending - were the descriptions I received from persons who had actually looked on - the fearful scenes enacted there. - </p> - <p> - “Innocent children skipped joyfully along the pathway by the side of their - conductors and murderers,{*} deceived by the cruel lie that they were to - be spared, and were then on their way to bathe; when suddenly the blazing - pile (in the Pit of Noatâ) with the horrid sight of their companions and - friends being thrown alive into the midst, told them the dreadful truth; - whilst their terror was increased by the yells of savage triumph of the - murderers, or the fearful cries of the tortured victims which reached - their ears.” - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - * I was told that the poor children were led away as they - thought to be given si mea ai vela—“something hot” (to - eat).—[L.B.] -</pre> - <p> - When I first saw the dreadful Tito (pit) of Moatâ, it was at the close of - a calm, windless day. I had been pigeon-shooting in the mountain forest, - and was accompanied by a stalwart young Samoan warrior. As we were - returning to Fasito'otai, he asked me if I would come a little out of the - way and look at the “Tito,” a place he said “that is to our hearts, and - is, holy ground”. He spoke so reverently that I was much impressed. - </p> - <p> - Following a winding path we suddenly came in view of the pit. The sides - were almost covered with many beautiful varieties of crotons, planted - there by loving hands, and it was very evident to me that the place was - indeed holy ground. At the bottom of the pit was a dreadful reminder of - the past—a large circle of black charcoal running round the sides, - and enclosing in the centre a large space which at first I thought was - snow-white sand, but on descending into the pit with uncovered head, and - looking closer, found it was composed of tiny white coral pebbles. Hardly - a single leaf or twig marred the purity of the whiteness of the cover - under which lay the ashes of nearly five hundred human beings. Every - Saturday the women and children of Fasito'otai and the adjacent villages - visited the place, and reverently removed every bit of <i>débris</i>, and - the layer of stones, carefully selected of an equal size, was renewed two - or three times a year as they became discoloured by the action of the - rain. Encompassing the wooded margin of the pit were numbers of orange, - lime and banana trees, all in full fruit. These were never touched—to - do so would have been sacrilege, for they were sacred to the dead. All - around us were hundreds of wood-doves and pigeons, and their peaceful - notes filled the forest with saddening melody. “No one ever fires a gun - here,” said my companion softly, “it is forbidden. And it is to my mind - that the birds know that it is a sacred place and holy ground.” - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0022" id="link2HCH0022"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XXII ~ VANÂKI, THE STRONG SWIMMER - </h2> - <p> - On the afternoon of the 4th of June, 1885, the Hawaiian labour schooner <i>Mana</i>, - of which I was “recruiter” was beating through Apolima Straits, which - divide the islands of Upolu and Savai'i. The south-east trade was blowing - very strongly and a three-knot current setting against the wind had raised - a short, confused sea, and our decks were continually flooded. But we had - to thrash through it with all the sail we could possibly carry, for among - the sixty-two Gilbert Islands “recruits” I had on board three had - developed symptoms of what we feared was small-pox, and we were anxious to - reach the anchorage off the town of Mulifanua at the west end of Upolu - before dark. At Mulifanua there was a large German cotton plantation, - employing four hundred “recruited” labourers, and on the staff of European - employés was a resident doctor. In the ordinary course of things we should - have gone on to Apia, which was twenty miles farther on, and our port of - destination, and handed over my cargo of “recruits” to the manager of the - German firm there; but as Mulifanua Plantation was also owned by them, and - my “recruits” would probably be sent there eventually, the captain and I - decided to land the entire lot at that place, instead of taking them to - Apia, where the European community would be very rough upon us if the - disease on board did turn out to be small-pox. - </p> - <p> - As the skipper and I were standing aft, watching the showers of spray that - flew over the schooner every time a head sea smacked her in the face, one - of the hands shouted out that there was a man in the water, close to on - the weather bow. Hauling our head sheets to windward we head-reached - towards him, and in a few minutes the man, who was swimming in the most - gallant fashion, was alongside, and clambered on board. He was a rather - dark-skinned Polynesian, young, and of extremely powerful physique. - </p> - <p> - “Thanks, good friends,” he said, speaking in halting Samoan. “'Tis a high - sea in which to swim. Yet,” and here he glanced around him at the land on - both sides, “I was half-way across.” - </p> - <p> - “Come below,” I said, “and take food and drink, and I will give you a <i>lava-lava</i> - (waistcloth).” (He was nude.) - </p> - <p> - He thanked me, and then again his keen dark eyes were fixed upon Savai'i—three - miles distant. - </p> - <p> - “Art bound to Savai'i?” he asked quickly. - </p> - <p> - “Nay. We beat against the wind. To-night we anchor at Mulifanua.” - </p> - <p> - “Ah!” and his face changed, “then I must leave, for it is to Savai'i I - go,” and he was about to go over the rail when we held him back. - </p> - <p> - “Wait, friend. In a little time the ship will be close in to the passage - through the reef at Saleleloga” (a town of Savai'i), “and then as we put - the ship about, thou canst go on thy way. Why swim two leagues and tempt - the sharks when there is no need. Come below and eat and drink, and have - no fear. We shall take thee as near to the passage as we can.” - </p> - <p> - The skipper came below with us, and after providing our visitor with a - navy blue waistcloth, we gave him a stiff tumbler of rum, and some bread - and meat. He ate quickly and then asked for a smoke, and in a few minutes - more we asked him who he was, and why he was swimming across the straits. - We spoke in Samoan. “Friends,” he said, “I will tell the truth. I am one - of the <i>kau galuega</i> (labourers) on Mulifanua Plantation. Yesterday - being the Sabbath, and there being no work, I went into the lands of the - Samoan village to steal young nuts and <i>taro</i>. I had thrown down and - husked a score, and was creeping back to my quarters by a side path - through the grove, when I was set upon by three young Samoan <i>manaia</i> - (bloods) who began beating me with clubs—seeking to murder me. We - fought, and I, knowing that death was upon me, killed one man with a blow - of my <i>tori nui</i>{*} (husking stick) of iron-wood, and then drove it - deep into the chest of another. Then I fled, and gaining the beach, ran - into the sea so that I might swim to Savai'i, for there will I be safe - from pursuit” “'Tis a long swim, man—'tis five leagues.” He laughed - and expanded his brawny chest “What is that to me? I have swam ten leagues - many times.” - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - * A heavy, pointed stick of hardwood, used for husking coco- - nuts. -</pre> - <p> - “Where do you belong?” asked the skipper in English. - </p> - <p> - He answered partly in the same language and partly in his curious Samoan. - </p> - <p> - “I am of Anuda.{*} My name is Vanà ki. Two years ago I came to Samoa in a - German labour ship to work on the plantations, for I wanted to see other - places and earn money, and then return to Anuda and speak of the things I - had seen. It was a foolish thing of me. The German <i>suis</i> (overseers) - are harsh men. I worked very hard on little food. It was for that I had to - steal. And I am but one man from Anuda, and there are four hundred others - from many islands—black-skinned, man-eating, woolly-haired pigs from - the Solomon and New Hebrides, and fierce fellows like these Tafito{**} men - from the Gilbert Islands such as I now see here on this ship. No one of - them can speak my tongue of Anuda. And now I am a free man.” - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - * Anuda or Cherry Island is an outlier of the Santa Cruz - Group, in the South Pacific. The natives are more of the - Polynesian than the Melanesian type, and are a fine, - stalwart race. - - ** Tafitos—natives of the Pacific Equatorial Islands such - as the Gilbert Group. -</pre> - <p> - “You are a plucky fellow,” said the captain, “and deserve good luck. Here, - take this dollar, and tie it up in the corner of your waistcloth. You can - buy yourself some tobacco from the white trader at Salelelogo.” - </p> - <p> - “Ah, yes, indeed. But” (and here he dropped into Samoan again, and turned - to me) “I would that the good captain would take me as a sailor for his - next voyage. I was for five years with Captain Macleod of Nouméa. And I am - a good man—honest, and no boaster.” - </p> - <p> - I shook my head. “It cannot be. From Mulifanua we go to Apia. And there - will be news there of what thou hast done yesterday, and we cannot hide a - man on this small ship.” And then I asked the captain what he thought of - the request. - </p> - <p> - “We ought to try and work it,” said the skipper. “If he was five years - with Jock Macleod he's all right.” - </p> - <p> - We questioned him further, and he satisfied us as to his <i>bona-fides</i>, - giving us the names of many men—captains and traders—known to - us intimately. - </p> - <p> - “Vanâki,” I said, “this is what may be done, but you must be quick, for - presently we shall be close to the passage off Saleleloga, and must go - about. When you land, go to Miti-loa the chief, and talk to him privately. - There is bad blood between his people and those of Mulifanua——” - </p> - <p> - “I know it. It has been so for two years past.” - </p> - <p> - “Now, listen. Miti-loa and the captain here and I are good friends. Tell - him that you have seen us. Hide nothing from him of yesterday. He is a - strong man.” - </p> - <p> - “I know it. Who does not, in this part of Samoa know of Miti-loa?” {*} - </p> - <p> - “That is true. And Miti knows us two <i>papalagi</i>{**} well. Stay with - him, work for him, and do all that he may ask. He will ask but little—perhaps - nothing. In twenty days from now, this ship will be at Apia ready for sea - again. We go to the Tokelaus” (Gilbert Islands) “or else to the Solomons, - and if thou comest on board in the night who is to know of it but Miti-loa - and thyself?” - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - * Miti-loa—“Long Dream “. - - ** White men—foreigners. -</pre> - <p> - The mate put his head under the flap of the skylight “Close on to the - reef, sir. Time to go about.” - </p> - <p> - “All right, Carey. Put her round. Now Vanâki, up on deck, and over you go.” - </p> - <p> - Vanâki nodded and smiled, and followed us. Then quickly he took off his <i>lava-lava</i>, - deftly wrapped it about his head like an Indian turban, and held out his - hand in farewell, and every one on board cheered as he I leapt over the - side, and began his swim to the land. - </p> - <p> - From the cross-trees I watched him through my glasses, saw him enter the - passage into smooth water, and disdaining to rest on any of the exposed - and isolated projections of reef which lined the passage, continue his - course towards the village. Then a rain squall hid him from view, but we - knew that he was safe. - </p> - <p> - That evening we landed our “recruits” at Mulifanua, and after thoroughly - disinfecting the ship, we sailed a few days later for Apia. Here we were - again chartered to proceed to the New Hebrides and Solomon Islands for - another cruise. - </p> - <p> - As we were refitting, I received a letter from Miti-loa, telling me that - Vanâki was safe, and would be with us in a few days. When he did arrive, - he came with Miti-loa himself in his <i>taumalua</i> (native boat) and a - score of his people. Vanâki was so well made-up as a Samoan that when he - stepped on deck the skipper and I did not recognise him. We sent him - below, and told him to keep quiet until we were well under way. - </p> - <p> - “Ah,” said Miti-loa to us, “what a man is he! Such a swimmer was never - before seen. My young men have made much of him, and I would he would stay - with me.” - </p> - <p> - Vanâki turned out an acquisition to our ship's company, and soon became a - favourite with every one. He was highly delighted when he was placed on - the articles at the usual rate of wages paid to native seamen—£3 per - month. Our crew were natives from all parts of Polynesia, but English was - the language used by them generally to each other. Like all vessels in the - labour trade we carried a double crew—one to man the boats when - recruiting, and one to work the ship when lying “off and on” at any island - where we could not anchor, and Vanâki was greatly pleased when I told him - that he should have a place in my boat, instead of being put in the - “covering"{*} boat. - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - * The “covering” boat is that which stands by to open fire - if the “landing” boat is attacked. -</pre> - <p> - We made a splendid run down to the Solomons from Samoa, and when in sight - of San Cristoval, spoke a French labour vessel from Nouméa, recruiting for - the French New Hebrides Company. Her captain and his “recruiter” (both - Englishmen) paid us a visit. They were old acquaintances of our captain - and myself, and as they came alongside in their smart whaleboat and Vanâki - saw their faces, he gave a weird yell of delight, and rubbed noses with - them the moment they stepped on deck. - </p> - <p> - “Hallo, Vanâki, my lad,” said the skipper of <i>La Metise</i>, shaking his - hand, “how are you?” Then turning to us he said: “Vanâki was with me when - I was mate with Captain Macleod, in the old <i>Aurore</i> of Nouméa. He's - a rattling good fellow for a native, and I wish I had him with me now. - Wherever did you pick him up?” - </p> - <p> - We told him, and Houston laughed when I narrated the story of Vanâki's - swim. - </p> - <p> - “Oh, that's nothing for him to do. Why, the beggar once swam from the - Banks Group across to the Torres Islands. Has he never told you about it?” - </p> - <p> - “No. And I would hardly believe him if he did. Why, the two groups are - fifty miles apart.” - </p> - <p> - “No, from Tog in the Torres Islands to Ureparapara in the Banks Group is a - little over forty miles. But you must wheedle the yarn out of him. He's a - bit sensitive of talking about it, on account of his at first being told - he was a liar by several people. But Macleod, two traders who were - passengers with us, and all the crew of the <i>Aurore</i> know the story - to be true. We sent an account of it to the Sydney papers.” - </p> - <p> - “I'll get him to tell me some day,” I said “I once heard of a native woman - swimming from Nanomaga in the Ellice Group to Nanomea—thirty-five - miles—but never believed it for a long time.” - </p> - <p> - After spending half an hour with us, our friends went back to their ship, - each having shaken hands warmly with Vanâki, and wished him good luck. - </p> - <p> - It was some days before the captain and I had time to hear Vanâki's story, - which I relate as nearly as possible in his own words. - </p> - <p> - First of all, however, I must mention that Ureparapara or Bligh Island is - a well-wooded, fertile spot, about sixteen miles in circumference, and is - an extinct crater. It is now the seat of a successful mission. Tog is much - smaller, well-wooded, and inhabited, and about nine hundred feet high. At - certain times of the year a strong current sets in a northerly and - westerly direction, and it is due to this fact that Vanâki accomplished - his swim. Now for his story. - </p> - <p> - “I was in the port watch of the <i>Aurore</i>. We came to Ureparapara in - the month of June to 'recruit' and got four men. Whilst we were there, - Captain Houston (who was then mate of the <i>Aurore</i>) asked me if I - would dive under the ship and look at her copper; for a week before we had - touched a reef. So I dived, and found that five sheets of copper were gone - from the port side about half a fathom from the keel. So the captain took - five new sheets of copper, and punched the nail holes, and gave me one - sheet at a time, and I nailed them on securely. In three hours it was - done, for the ship was in quiet, clear water, and I knew what to do. The - captain then said to me laughingly that he feared I had but tacked on the - sheets loosely, and that they would come off. My heart was sore at this, - and so I asked Mr. Houston, who is a good diver, to go and look. And he - dived and looked, and then five other of the crew—natives—dived - and looked, and they all said that the work was well and truly done—all - the nails driven home, and the sheets smooth, and without a crinkle. This - pleased the captain greatly, and he gave me a small gold piece, and told - me that I could go on shore, and spend it at the white trader's store. - </p> - <p> - “Now I did a foolish thing. I bought from the trader two bottles of - strange grog called <i>arrak</i>. It was very strong—stronger than - rum—and soon I and two others who drank it became very drunk, and - lay on the ground like pigs. Mr. Houston came and found me, and brought me - on board, and I was laid on the after-deck under the awning. - </p> - <p> - “At sunset the ship sailed. I was still asleep, and heard nothing, though - in a little while it began to blow, and much rain fell The captain let me - lie on the lee side, so that the rain might beat upon me, and bring me to - life again. - </p> - <p> - “When four bells struck I awoke. I was ashamed. Waiting until the wheel - was relieved, I crept along the deck unseen, for it was very dark, and goy - up on the top of the top-gallant fo'c'stle, and again lay down. The ship - was running before the wind under close-reefed sails, and the sea was so - great that she pitched heavily every now and then, and much water came - over the bows. This did me good, and I soon began to feel able to go below - and turn in in my bunk. Then presently, as I was about to rise, the ship - made a great plunge, and a mighty sea fell upon her, and I was swept away. - No one saw me go, for no one knew that I was there, and the night was - very, very dark. - </p> - <p> - “When I came to the surface, I could see the ship's lights, and cried out, - but no one heard me, for the wind and sea made a great noise; and then, - too, there was sweeping rain. In a little while the lights were gone, and I - was alone. - </p> - <p> - “'Now,' I said to myself, 'Vanâki, thou art a fool, and will go into the - belly of a shark because of becoming drunk.' And then my heart came back - to me, and I swam on easily over the sea, hoping that I would be missed, - and the ship heave-to, and send a boat. But I looked in vain. - </p> - <p> - “By-and-by the sky cleared, and the stars came out, but the wind still - blew fiercely, and the seas swept me along so quickly that I knew it would - be folly for me to try and face them, and try to swim back to Ureparapara. - </p> - <p> - “'I will swim to Tog,' I said; 'if the sharks spare me I can do it.' For - now that the sky was clear, and I could see the stars my fear died away; - and so I turned a little, and swam to the west a little by the north. - </p> - <p> - “There was a strong current with me, and hour by hour as I swam the wind - became less, and the sea died away. - </p> - <p> - “When daylight came I was not tired, and rested on my back. And as I - rested, two green turtles rose near me. They looked at me, and I was glad, - for I knew that where turtle were there would be no sharks. I am not - afraid of sharks, but what is a man to do with a shark in the open sea - without a knife? - </p> - <p> - “Towards noon there came rain. I lay on my back and put my hollowed hands - together, and caught enough to satisfy my great thirst. The rain did not - last long. - </p> - <p> - “A little after noon I saw the land—the island of Tog. It was but - three leagues away. - </p> - <p> - “Then I swam into a great and swift tide-rip, which carried me to the - eastward. It was so strong that I feared it would take me away from the - island, but soon it turned and swept me to the westward. And then I saw - the land becoming nearer and nearer. - </p> - <p> - “When the sun was nearly touching the sea-rim, I was so close to the - south-end of Tog, that I could see the spars of a ship lying at anchor in - the bay called Pio. And then when the sun had set I could see the lights - of many canoes catching flying-fish by torchlight. - </p> - <p> - “I swam on and came to the ship. It was the <i>Aurore</i>. - </p> - <p> - “I clambered up the side-ladder, and stood on deck, and the man who was on - anchor watch—an ignorant Tokelau—shouted out in fear, and ran - to tell the captain, and Mr. Houston. - </p> - <p> - “They brought me below and made much of me, and gave me something to drink - which made me sleep for many hours. - </p> - <p> - “When I awakened I was strong and well, but my eyes were <i>malai</i> - (bloodshot). That is all.” - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0023" id="link2HCH0023"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XXIII ~ TWO PACIFIC ISLANDS BIRDS: THE SOUTH SEA CORNCRAKE AND THE - TOOTH-BILLED PIGEON - </h2> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0027" id="link2H_4_0027"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - THE SOUTH SEA CORNCRAKE - </h2> - <p> - Although I had often heard of the “corncrake” or landrail of the British - Isles, I did not see one until a few years ago, on my first visit to - Ireland, when a field labourer in County Louth brought me a couple, which - he had killed in a field of oats. I looked at them with interest, and at - once recognised a striking likeness in shape, markings and plumage to an - old acquaintance—the shy and rather rare “banana-bird” of some of - the Polynesian and Melanesian Islands. I had frequently when in Ireland - heard at night, during the summer months, the repeated and harsh “crake, - crake,” of many of these birds, issuing from the fields of growing corn, - and was very curious to see one, for the unmelodious cry was exactly like - that of the <i>kili vao</i>, or “banana-bird” of the Pacific Islands. And - when I saw the two corncrakes I found them to be practically the same - bird, though but half the size of the <i>kili vao</i>. - </p> - <p> - <i>Kili vao</i> in native means bush-snipe, as distinct from <i>kili fusi</i>, - swamp snipe. It feeds upon ripe bananas, and papaws (mamee apples), and - such other sweet fruit, that when over-ripe fall to the ground. It is very - seldom seen in the day-time, when the sun is strong, though its hoarse - frog-like note may often be heard in cultivated banana plantations, or on - the mountain sides, where the wild banana thrives. At early dawn, or - towards sunset, however, they come out from their retreats, and search for - fallen bananas, papaws or guavas, and I have spent many a delightful - half-hour watching them from my own hiding-place. Although they have such - thick, long and clumsy legs, and coarse splay feet they run to and fro - with marvelous speed, continually uttering their insistent croak. Usually - they were in pairs, male and female, although I once saw a male and three - female birds together. The former can easily be recognised, for it is - considerably larger than its mate, and the coloration of the plumage on - the back and about the eyes is more pronounced, and the beautiful - quail-like semi-circular belly markings are more clearly defined. When - disturbed, and if unable to run into hiding among the dead banana leaves, - they rise and present a ludicrous appearance, for their legs hang down - almost straight, and their flight is slow, clumsy and laborious, and - seldom extends more than fifty yards. - </p> - <p> - The natives of the Banks and Santa Cruz Groups (north of the New Hebrides) - assert that the <i>kili</i> is a ventriloquist, and delights to “fool” any - one attempting to capture it. “If you hear it call from the right, it is - hiding to the left; and its mate is perhaps only two fathoms away from - you, hiding under the fallen banana leaves, and pretending to be dead. And - you will never find either, unless it is a dark night, and you suddenly - light a big torch of dried coco-nut leaves; then they become dazed and - stupid, and will let you catch them with your hand.” - </p> - <p> - Whilst one cannot accept the ventriloquial theory, there can be no doubt - of the extraordinary cunning in hiding, and noiseless speed on foot of - these birds when disturbed. One afternoon, near sunset, I was returning - from pigeon-shooting on Ureparapara (Banks Group) when in walking along - the margin of a taro-swamp, which was surrounded by banana trees, a big <i>kili</i> - rose right in front of me, and before I could bring my gun to shoulder, my - native boy hurled his shoulder-stick at it and brought it down, dead. Then - he called to me to be ready for a shot at the mate, which, he said, was - close by in hiding. - </p> - <p> - Walking very gently, he carefully scanned the dead leaves at the foot of - the banana trees, and silently pointed to a heap which was soddened by - rain. - </p> - <p> - “It is underneath there,” he whispered, then flung himself upon the heap - of leaves, and in a few seconds dragged out the prize—a fine - full-grown female bird, beautifully marked. I put her in my game-bag. - During our two-mile walk to the village she behaved in a disgusting - manner, and so befouled herself (after the manner of a young Australian - curlew when captured) that she presented a repellent appearance, and had - such a disgusting odour that I was at first inclined to throw her—game-bag - and all—away. However, my native boy washed her, and then we put her - in a native pigeon cage. In the morning she was quite clean and dry, but - persistently hid her head when any one approached, refused to take food - and died two days later, although I kept the cage in a dark place. - </p> - <p> - These birds are excellent eating when not too fat; but when the papaws are - ripe they become grossly unwieldy, and the whole body is covered with - thick yellow fat, and the flesh has the strong sweet taste of the papaw. - At this time, so the natives say, they are actually unable to rise for - flight, and are easily captured by the women and children at work in the - banana and taro plantations. - </p> - <p> - (Apropos of this common tendency of the flesh of birds to acquire the - taste of their principal article of food, I may mention that in those - Melanesian Islands where the small Chili pepper grows wild, the pigeons at - certain times of the year feed almost exclusively upon the ripe berries, - and their flesh is so pungent as to be almost uneatable. At one place on - the littoral of New Britain, there is a patch of country covered with - pepper trees, and it is visited by thousands of pigeons, who devour the - berries, although their ordinary food of sweet berries was available in - profusion in the mountain forests.) - </p> - <p> - On some of the Melanesian islands there is a variety of the banana-bird - which frequents the yam and sweet potato plantation, digs into the - hillocks with its power-fill feet, and feeds upon the tubers, as does the - rare toothed-billed pigeon. - </p> - <p> - One day, when I was residing in the Caroline Islands, a pair of live birds - were brought to me by the natives, who had snared them. They were in - beautiful plumage, and I determined to try and keep them. - </p> - <p> - The natives quickly made me an enclosure about twenty feet square of - bamboo slats about an inch or two apart, driving them into the ground, and - making a “roof” of the same material, sufficiently high to permit of three - young banana trees being planted therein. Then we quickly covered the - ground with dead banana leaves, small sticks and other <i>débris</i>, and - after making it as “natural” as possible, laid down some ripe bananas, and - turned the birds into the enclosure. In ten seconds they had disappeared - under the heap of leaves as silently as a beaver or a platypus takes to - the water. - </p> - <p> - During the night I listened carefully outside the enclosure, but the - captives made neither sound nor appearance. They were still “foxing,” or - as my Samoan servant called it, <i>le toga-fiti e mate</i> (pretending to - be dead). - </p> - <p> - All the following day there was not the slightest movement of the leaves, - but an hour after sunset, when I was on my verandah, smoking and chatting - with a fellow trader, a native boy came to us, grinning with pleasure, and - told us that the birds were feeding. I had a torch of dried coco-nut - leaves all in readiness. It was lit, and as the bright flame burst out, - and illuminated the enclosure, I felt a thrill of delight—both birds - were vigorously feeding upon a very ripe and “squashy” custard apple, - disregarding the bananas. The light quite dazed them, and they at once - ceased eating, and sat down in a terrified manner, with their necks - outstretched, and their bills on the ground. We at once withdrew. In the - morning, I was charmed to hear them “craking,” and from that time forward - they fed well, and afforded me many a happy hour in watching their antics. - I was in great hopes of their breeding, for they had made a great pile of - <i>débris</i> between the banana trees, into which in the day-time they - would always scamper when any one passed, and my natives told me that the - end of the rainy season was the incubating period. As it was within a few - weeks of that time, I was filled with pleasurable anticipations, and - counted the days. Alas, for my hopes! One night, a predatory village pig, - smelling the fruit which was always placed in the enclosure daily, rooted - a huge hole underneath the bambods, and in the morning my pets were gone, - and nevermore did I hear their hoarse crake! crake!—ever pleasing to - me during the night. - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0028" id="link2H_4_0028"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - THE TOOTH-BILLED PIGEON OF SAMOA—(<i>Didunculus Strigirostris</i>) - </h2> - <p> - The recent volcanic outburst on the island of Savai'i in the Samoan Group, - after a period of quiescence of about two hundred years, has, so a - Californian paper states, revealed the fact that one of the rarest and - most interesting birds in the world, and long supposed to be peculiar to - the Samoan Islands, and all but extinct, is by no means so in the latter - respect, for the convulsion in the centre of the island, where the - volcanic mountain stands nearly 4,000 feet high, has driven quite a number - of the birds to the littoral of the south coast. So at least it was - reported to the San Francisco journal by a white trader residing on the - south side of Savai'i during the outbreak. - </p> - <p> - For quite a week before the first tremors and groan-ings of the mountain - were felt and heard, the natives said that they had seen <i>Manu Mea</i> - (tooth-billed pigeons) making their way down to the coast. Several were - killed and eaten by children. - </p> - <p> - Before entering into my own experiences and knowledge of this - extraordinary bird, gained during a seven years' residence in Samoa, - principally on the island of Upolu, I cannot do better than quote from Dr. - Stair's book, <i>Old Samoa</i>, his description of the bird. Very happily, - his work was sent to me some years ago, and I was delighted to find in it - an account of the <i>Manu Mea</i> (red bird) and its habits. In some - respects he was misinformed, notably in that in which he was told that the - <i>Didunculus</i> was peculiar to the Samoan Islands; for the bird - certainly is known in some of the Solomon Islands, and also in the - Admiralty Group—two thousand miles to the north-west of Samoa. Here, - however, is what Dr. Stair remarks:— - </p> - <p> - “One of the curiosities of Samoan natural history is <i>Le Manu Mea</i>, - or red bird of the natives, the tooth-billed pigeon (<i>Didunculus - Strigirostris</i>, Peale), and is peculiar to the Samoan Islands. This - remarkable bird, so long a puzzle to the scientific world, is only found - in Samoa, and even there it has become so scarce that it is rapidly - becoming extinct, as it falls an easy prey to the numerous wild cats - ranging the forests. It was first described and made known to the - scientific world by Sir William Jardine, in 1845, under the name of <i>Gnathodon - Strigirostris</i>, from a specimen purchased by Lady Hervey in Edinburgh, - amongst a number of Australian skins. Its appearance excited great - interest and curiosity, but its true habitat was unknown until some time - after, when it was announced by Mr. Strickland before the British - Association at York, that Mr. Titian Peale, of the United States Exploring - Expedition, had discovered a new bird allied to the dodo, which he - proposed to name <i>Didunculus Strigirostris</i>. From the specimen in Sir - William Jardine's possession the bird was figured by Mr. Gould in his <i>Birds - of Australia</i>, and its distinctive characteristics shown; but nothing - was known of its habitat. At that time the only specimens known to exist - out of Samoa were the two in the United States, taken there by Commodore - Wilkes, and the one in the collection of Sir William Jardine, in - Edinburgh. The history of this last bird is singular, and may be alluded - to here. - </p> - <p> - “To residents in Samoa the <i>Manu Mea</i>, or red bird, was well known by - repute, but as far as I know, no specimen had ever been obtained by any - resident on the islands until the year 1843, when two fine birds, male and - female, were brought to me by a native who had captured them on the nest I - was delighted with my prize, and kept them carefully, but could get no - information whatever as to what class they belonged. After a time one was - unfortunately killed, and not being able to gain any knowledge respecting - the bird, I sent the surviving one to Sydney, by a friend, in 1843, hoping - it would be recognised and described; but nothing was known of it there, - and my friend left it with a bird dealer in Sydney, and returned to report - his want of success. It died in Sydney, and the skin was subsequently sent - to England with other skins for sale, including the skin of an Aptéryx, - from Samoa. Later on the skin of the <i>Manu Mea</i> was purchased by Lady - Hervey, and subsequently it came into the possession of Sir William - Jar-dine, by whom it was described. Still nothing was known of its habitat—but - this bird which I had originally sent to Sydney from Samoa was the means - of bringing it under the notice of the scientific world, and thus in some - indirect manner of obtaining the object I had in view. - </p> - <p> - “After my return to England, in 1846, the late Dr. Gray, of the British - Museum, showed me a drawing of the bird, which I at once recognised; as - also a drawing of a species of Aptéryx which had been purchased in the - same lot of skins. A native of Samoa, who was with me, at once recognised - both birds. Dr. Gray and Mr. Mitchell (of the Zoological Gardens in - London) were much interested in the descriptions I gave them, and urged - that strong efforts should be made to procure living specimens. But no - steps were taken to obtain the bird until fourteen years after, when, - having returned to Australia, I was surprised to see a notice in the <i>Melbourne - Argus</i>, of August 3, 1862, to the effect that the then Governor of - Victoria, Sir Henry Barkley, had received a communication from the - Zoological Society, London, soliciting his co-operation in endeavouring to - ascertain further particulars as to the habitat of a bird they were - desirous of obtaining; forwarding drawings and particulars as far as known - at the same time; offering a large sum for living specimens or skins - delivered in London. I at once recognised that the bird sought after was - the <i>Manu Mea</i>, and gave the desired information and addresses of - friends in Samoa, through whose instrumentality a living specimen was - safely received in London, <i>via</i> Sydney, on April 10, 1864, the - Secretary of the Zoological Society subsequently writing to Dr. Bennett of - Sydney, saying, 'The <i>La Hogue</i> arrived on April 10, and I am - delighted to be able to tell you that the <i>Didunculus</i> is now alive, - and in good health in the gardens, and Mr. Bartlett assures me is likely - to do well'. - </p> - <p> - “In appearance the bird may be described as about the size of a large - wood-pigeon, with similar legs and feet, but the form of its body more - nearly resembles that of the partridge. The remarkable feature of the bird - is that whilst its legs are those of a pigeon, the beak is that of the - parrot family, the upper mandible being hooked like the parrot's, the - under one being deeply serrated; hence the name, tooth-billed pigeon. This - peculiar formation of the beak very materially assists the bird in feeding - on the potato-loke root, or rather fruit, of the <i>soi</i>, or wild yam, - of which it is fond. The bird holds the tuber firmly with its feet, and - then rasps it upwards with its parrot-like beak, the lower mandible of - which is deeply grooved. It is a very shy bird, being seldom found except - in the retired parts of the forest, away from the coast settlements. It - has great power of wing, and when flying makes a noise, which, as heard in - the distance, closely resembles distant thunder, for which I have on - several occasions mistaken it. It both roosts and feeds on the ground, as - also on stumps or low bushes, and hence becomes an easy prey to the wild - cats of the forest. These birds also build their nests on low bushes or - stumps, and are thus easily captured. During the breeding season the male - and female relieve each other with great regularity, and guard their nests - so carefully that they fall an easy prey to the fowler; as in the case of - one bird being taken its companion is sure to be found there shortly - after. They were also captured with birdlime, or shot with arrows, the - fowler concealing himself near an open space, on which some <i>soi</i>, - their favourite food, had been scattered. - </p> - <p> - “The plumage of the bird may be thus described. The head, neck, breast, - and upper part of the back is of greenish black. The back, wings, tail, - and under tail coverts of a chocolate red. The legs and feet are of bright - scarlet; the mandibles, orange red, shaded off near the tips with bright - yellow.” - </p> - <p> - Less than twenty years ago I was residing on the eastern end of Upolu - (Samoa), and during my shooting excursions on the range of mountains that - traverses the island from east to west, saw several <i>Didunculi</i>, and, - I regret to say, shot two. For I had no ornithological knowledge whatever, - and although I knew that the Samoans regarded the <i>Manu Mea</i> as a - rare bird, I had no idea that European savants and museums would be glad - to obtain even a stuffed specimen. The late Earl of Pembroke, to whom I - wrote on the subject from Australia, strongly urged me to endeavour to - secure at least one living specimen; so also did Sir George Grey. But - although I—like Mr. Stair—wrote to many native friends in - Samoa, offering a high price for a bird, I had no success; civil war had - broken out, and the people had other matters to think of beside - bird-catching. I was, however, told a year later that two fine specimens - had been taken on the north-west coast of Upolu, that one had been so - injured in trapping that it died, and the other was liberated by a - mischievous child. - </p> - <p> - I have never heard one of these birds sound a note, but a native teacher - on Tutuila told me that in the mating season they utter a short, husky - hoot, more like a cough than the cry of a bird. - </p> - <p> - A full month after I first landed in Samoa, I was shooting in the - mountains at the back of the village of Tiavea in Upolu, when a large, and - to me unknown, bird rose from the leaf-strewn ground quite near me, making - almost as much noise in its flight as a hornbill. A native who was with - me, fired at the same time as I did, and the bird fell. Scarcely had the - native stooped to pick it up, exclaiming that it was a <i>Manu Mea</i> - when a second appeared, half-running, half-flying along the ground. This, - alas! I also killed. They were male and female, and my companion and I made - a search of an hour to discover their resting place (it was not the - breeding season), but the native said that the <i>Manu Mea</i> scooped out - a retreat in a rotten tree or among loose stones, covered with dry moss. - But we searched in vain, nor did we even see any wild yams growing about, - so evidently the pair were some distance from their home, or were making a - journey in search of food. - </p> - <p> - During one of my trips on foot across Upolu, with a party of natives, we - sat down to rest on the side of a steep mountain path leading to the - village of Siumu. Some hundreds of feet below us was a comparatively open - patch of ground—an abandoned yam plantation, and just as we were - about to resume our journey, we saw two <i>Manu Mea</i> appear. Keeping - perfectly quiet, we watched them moving about, scratching up the leaves, - and picking at the ground in an aimless, perfunctory sort of manner with - their heavy, thick bills. The natives told me that they were searching, - not for yams, but for a sweet berry called <i>masa'oi</i>, upon which the - wild pigeons feed. - </p> - <p> - In a few minutes the birds must have become aware of our presence, for - they suddenly vanished. - </p> - <p> - I have always regretted in connection with the two birds I shot, that not - only was I unaware of their value, even when dead, but that there was then - living in Apia a Dr. Forbes, medical officer to the staff of the German - factory. Had I sent them to him, he could have cured the skins at least, - for he was, I believe, an ardent naturalist. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0024" id="link2HCH0024"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XXIV ~ A NIGHT RUN ACROSS FÂGALOA BAY - </h2> - <p> - When I was supercargo of the brig <i>Palestine</i>, we were one day - beating along the eastern shore of the great island of Tombara (New - Ireland) or, as it is now called by its German possessors, <i>Neu - Mecklenburg</i>, when an accident happened to one of our hands—a - smart young A.B. named Rogers. The brig was “going about” in a stiff - squall, when the jib-sheet block caught poor Rogers in the side, and broke - three of his ribs. - </p> - <p> - There were then no white men living on the east coast of New Ireland, or - we should have landed him there to recover, and picked him up again on our - return from the Caroline Islands, so we decided to run down to Gerrit - Denys Island, where we had heard there was a German doctor living. He was - a naturalist, and had been established there for over a year, although the - natives were as savage and warlike a lot as could be found anywhere in - Melanesia. - </p> - <p> - We reached the island, anchored, and the naturalist came on board. He was - not a professional-looking man. Here is my description, of him, written - fifteen years ago:— - </p> - <p> - “He was bootless, and his pants and many-pocketed jumper of coarse - dungaree were exceedingly dirty, and looked as if they had been cut out - with a knife and fork instead of scissors, they were so marvellously - ill-fitting. His head-gear was an ancient Panama hat, which flopped about, - and almost concealed his red-bearded face, as if trying to apologise for - the rest of his apparel; and the thin gold-rimmed spectacles he wore made - a curious contrast to his bare and sun-burnt feet, which were as brown as - those of a native. His manner, however, was that of a man perfectly at - ease with himself and his clear, steely blue eyes, showed an infinite - courage and resolution.” - </p> - <p> - At first he was very reluctant to have Rogers brought on shore, but - finally yielded, being at heart a good-natured man. So we bade Rogers - good-bye, made the doctor a present of some provisions, and a few cases of - beer, and told him we should be back in six weeks. - </p> - <p> - When we returned, Rogers came on board with the German. He was quite - recovered, and he and his host were evidently on very friendly terms, and - bade farewell to each other with some show of feeling. - </p> - <p> - After we had left the island, Rogers came aft, and told us his experiences - with the German doctor. - </p> - <p> - “He's a right good sort of a chap, and treated me well, and did all he - could for me, sirs—but although he is a nice cove, I'm glad to get - away from him, and be aboard the brig again. For I can hardly believe that - I haven't had a horrid, blarsted nightmare for the past six weeks.” - </p> - <p> - And then he shuddered. - </p> - <p> - “What was wrong with him, Rogers?” asked the skipper. - </p> - <p> - “Why, he ain't no naturalist—I mean like them butterfly-hunting - coves like you see in the East Indies. He's a head-hunter—buys heads—fresh - 'uns by preference, an' smokes an' cures 'em hisself, and sells 'em to the - museums in Europe. So help me God, sirs, I've seen him put fresh human - heads into a barrel of pickle, then he takes 'em out after a week or so, - and cleans out the brains, and smokes the heads, and sorter varnishes and - embalms 'em like. An' when he wasn't a picklin' or embalmin' or - varnishin', he was a-writing in half a dozen log books. I never knew what - he was a-doin' until one day I went into his workshop—as he called - it—and saw him bargaining with some niggers for a fresh cut-off - head, which he said was not worth much because the skull was badly - fractured, and would not set up well. - </p> - <p> - “He was pretty mad with me at first for comin' in upon him, and surprisin' - him like, but after a while he took me into his confidence, and said as - how he was engaged in a perfeckly legitimate business, and as the heads - was dead he was not hurtin' 'em by preparing 'em for museums and - scientific purposes. And he says to me, 'You English peoples have got many - peautiful preserved heads of the New Zealand Maories in your museums, but - ach, Gott, there is not in England such peautiful heads as I haf mineself - brebared here on dis islandt. And already I haf send me away fifty-seven, - and in two months I shall haf brebared sixteen more, for which I shall get - me five hundred marks each.'” - </p> - <p> - Rogers told us that when he one day expressed his horror at his host's - “business,” the German retorted that it was only forty or fifty years - since that many English officials in the Australian colonies did a - remarkably good business in buying smoked Maori heads, and selling them to - the Continental museums. (This was true enough.) Rogers furthermore told - us that the doctor “cured” his heads in a smoke-box, and had “a regular - chemist's shop” in which were a number of large bottles of pyroligneous - acid, prepared by a London firm. - </p> - <p> - This distinguished savant left Gerrit Denys Island about a year later in a - schooner bound for Singapore. She was found floating bottom up off the - Admiralty Group, and a Hong-Kong newspaper, in recording the event, - mentioned that “the unfortunate gentleman (Dr. Ludwig S———) - had with him an interesting and extremely valuable ethnographical - collection “. - </p> - <p> - Rogers's horrible story had a great interest for me; for it had been my - lot to see many human heads just severed from the body, and I was always - fascinated by the peculiar expression of the features of those - unfortunates who had been decapitated suddenly by one swift blow. “Death,” - “Peace,” “Immortality,” say the closed eyelids and the calm, quiet lips to - the beholder. - </p> - <p> - I little imagined that within two years I should have a rather similar - experience to that of Rogers, though in my case it was a very brief one. - Yet it was all too long for me, and I shall always remember it as the - weirdest experience of my life. - </p> - <p> - I have elsewhere in this volume spoken of the affectionate regard I have - always had for the Samoan people, with whom I passed some of the happiest - years of my life. I have lived among them in peace and in war, have - witnessed many chivalrous and heroic deeds, and yet have seen acts of the - most terrible cruelty to the living, the mutilation and dishonouring of - the dead killed in combat, and other deeds that filled me with horror and - repulsion. And yet the perpetrators were all professing Christians—either - Protestant or Roman Catholic—and would no more think of omitting - daily morning and evening prayer, and attending service in church or - chapel every Sunday, than they would their daily bathe in sea or river. - </p> - <p> - Always shall I remember one incident that occurred during the civil war - between King Malietoa and his rebel subjects at the town of Saluafata. The - <i>olo</i> or trenches, of the king's troops had been carried by the - rebels, among whom was a young warrior who had often distinguished himself - by his reckless bravery. At the time of the assault I was in the rebel - lines, for I was on very friendly terms with both sides, and each knew - that I would not betray the secrets of the other, and that my only object - was to render aid to the wounded. - </p> - <p> - This young man, Tolu, told me, before joining in the assault, that he had - a brother, a cousin, and an uncle in the enemy's trenches, and that he - trusted he should not meet any one of them, for he feared that he might - turn <i>pala'ai</i> (coward) and not “do his duty”. He was a Roman - Catholic, and had been educated by the Marist Brothers, but all his - relatives, with the exception of one sister, were Protestants—members - of the Church established by the London Missionary Society. - </p> - <p> - An American trader named Parter and I watched the assault, and saw the - place carried by the rebels, and went in after them. Among the dead was - Tolu, and we were told that he had shot himself in grief at having cut - down his brother, whom he did not recognise. - </p> - <p> - Now as to my own weird experience. - </p> - <p> - There had been severe fighting in the Fâgaloa district of the Island of - Upolu, and many villages were in flames when I left the Port of Tiavea in - my boat for Fâgaloa Bay, a few miles along the shore. I was then engaged - in making a trip along the north coast, visiting almost every village, and - making arrangements for the purchase of the coming crop of copra (dried - coco-nut). I was everywhere well received by both Malietoa's people and - the rebels, but did but little business. The natives were too occupied in - fighting to devote much time to husking and drying coco-nuts, except when - they wanted to get money to buy arms and ammunition. - </p> - <p> - My boat's crew consisted of four natives of Savage Island (Niué), many of - whom are settled in Samoa, where they have ample employment as boatmen and - seamen. They did not at all relish the sound of bullets whizzing over the - boat, as we sometimes could not help crossing the line of fire, and they - had a horror of travelling at night-time, imploring me not to run the risk - of being slaughtered by a volley from the shore—as how could the - natives know in the darkness that we were not enemies. - </p> - <p> - Fâgaloa Bay is deep, narrow and very beautiful. Small villages a few miles - apart may be seen standing in the midst of groves of coco-nut palms, and - orange, banana and bread-fruit trees, and everywhere bright mountain - streams of crystal water debouch into the lovely bay. - </p> - <p> - On Sunday afternoon I sailed into the bay and landed at the village of - Samamea on the east side, intending to remain for the night. We found the - people plunged in grief—a party of rebels had surprised a village - two miles inland, and ruthlessly slaughtered all the inhabitants as well - as a party of nearly a score of visitors from the town of Salimu, on the - west side of the bay. So sudden was the onslaught of the rebels that no - one in the doomed village escaped except a boy of ten years of age. After - being decapitated, the bodies of the victims were thrown into the houses, - and the village set on fire. - </p> - <p> - The people of Samamea hurriedly set out to pursue the raiding rebels, and - an engagement ensued, in which the latter were badly beaten, and fled so - hurriedly that they had to abandon all the heads they had taken the - previous day in order to save their own. - </p> - <p> - The chief of Samamea, in whose house I had my supper, gave me many details - of the fighting, and then afterwards asked me if I would come and look at - the heads that had been recovered from the enemy. They were in the “town - house” and were covered over with sheets of navy blue cloth, or matting. A - number of natives were seated round the house, conversing in whispers, or - weeping silently. - </p> - <p> - “These,” said the chief to me, pointing to a number of heads placed apart - from the others, “are the heads of the Salimu people—seventeen in - all, men, women and three children. We have sent word to Salimu to the - relatives to come for them. I cannot send them myself, for no men can be - spared, and we have our own dead to attend to as well, and may ourselves - be attacked at any time.”' - </p> - <p> - A few hours later messengers arrived from Salimu. They had walked along - the shore, for the bay was very rough—it had been blowing hard for - two days—and, the wind being right ahead, they would not launch a - canoe—it would only have been swamped. - </p> - <p> - Taken to see the heads of their relatives and friends, the messengers gave - way to most uncontrollable grief, and their cries were so distressing that - I went for a walk on the beach—to be out of hearing. - </p> - <p> - When I returned to the village I found the visitors from Salimu and the - chief of Samamea awaiting to interview me. The chief, acting as their - spokeman, asked me if I would lend them my boat to take the heads of their - people to Salimu. He had not a single canoe he could spare, except very - small ones, which would be useless in such weather, whereas my whaleboat - would make nothing of it. - </p> - <p> - I could not refuse their request—it would have been ungracious of - me, and it only meant a half-hour's run across the bay, for Salimu was - exactly abreast of Samamea. So I said I would gladly sail them over in my - boat at sunset, when I should be ready. - </p> - <p> - The heads were placed in baskets, and reverently carried down to the - beach, and placed in the boat, and with our lug-sail close reefed we - pushed off just after dark. - </p> - <p> - There were nine persons in the boat—the four Salimu people, my crew - of four and myself. The night was starlight and rather cold, for every now - and then a chilly rain squall would sweep down from the mountains. - </p> - <p> - As we spun along before the breeze no one spoke, except in low tones. Our - dreadful cargo was amidships, each basket being covered from view, but - every now and then the boat would ship some water, and when I told one of - my men to bale out, he did so with shuddering horror, for the water was - much blood-stained. - </p> - <p> - When we were more than half-way across, and could see the lights and fires - of Salimu, a rain squall overtook us, and at the same moment the boat - struck some floating object with a crash, and then slid over it, and as it - passed astern I saw what was either a log or plank about twenty feet long. - </p> - <p> - “Boat is stove in, for'ard!” cried one of my men, and indeed that was very - evident, for the water was pouring in—she had carried away her stem, - and started all the forward timber ends. - </p> - <p> - To have attempted to stop the inrush of water effectually would have been - waste, of time, but I called to my men to come aft as far as they could, - so as to let the boat's head lift; and whilst two of them kept on baling, - the others shook out the reef in our lug, and the boat went along at a - great speed, half full of water as she was, and down by the stern. The - water still rushed in, and I told the Samoans to move the baskets of heads - farther aft, so that the men could bale out quicker. - </p> - <p> - “We'll be all right in ten minutes, boys,” I cried to my men, as I - steered; “I'll run her slap up on the beach by the church.” - </p> - <p> - Presently one of the Samoans touched my arm, and said in a whisper that we - were surrounded by a swarm of sharks. He had noticed them, he said, before - the boat struck. - </p> - <p> - “They smell the bloodied water,” he muttered. - </p> - <p> - A glance over the side filled me with terror. There were literally scores - of sharks, racing along on both sides of the boat, some almost on the - surface, others some feet down, and the phosphorescence of the water added - to the horror of the scene. At first I was in hopes that they were - harmless porpoises, but they were so close that some of them could have - been touched with one's hand. Most fortunately I was steering with a - rudder, and not a steer oar. The latter would have been torn out of my - hands by the brutes—the boat have broached-to and we all have met - with a horrible death. Presently one of the weeping women noticed them, - and uttered a scream of terror. - </p> - <p> - “<i>Le malie, le malic!</i>” (“The sharks, the sharks!”) she cried. - </p> - <p> - My crew then became terribly frightened, and urged me to let them throw - the baskets of heads overboard, but the Samoans became frantic at the - suggestion, all of them weeping. - </p> - <p> - So we kept on, the boat making good progress, although we could only keep - her afloat by continuous baling of the ensanguined water. In five minutes - more my heart leapt with joy—we were in shallow water, only a cable - length from Salimu beach, and then in another blinding rain squall we ran - on shore, and our broken bows ploughed into the sand, amid the cries of - some hundreds of natives, many of whom held lighted torches. - </p> - <p> - All of us in the boat were so overwrought that for some minutes we were - unable to speak, and it took a full bottle of brandy to steady the nerves - of my crew and myself. I shall never forget that night run across Fâgaloa - Bay. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0025" id="link2HCH0025"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XXV ~ A BIT OF GOOD LUCK - </h2> - <p> - Between the southern end of the great island of New Guinea and the Solomon - Group there is a cluster of islands marked on the chart as “Woodlark - Islands,” but the native name is Mayu. Practically they were not - discovered until 1836, when the master of the Sydney sandal-wooding barque - <i>Woodlark</i> made a survey of the group. The southern part of the - cluster consists of a number of small well-wooded islands, all inhabited - by a race of Papuans, who, said Captain Grimes of the <i>Woodlark</i>, had - certainly never before seen a white man, although they had long years - before seen ships in the far distance. - </p> - <p> - It was on these islands that I met with the most profitable bit of trading - that ever befel me during more than a quarter of a century's experience in - the South Seas. - </p> - <p> - Nearly thirty years passed since Grimes's visit without the natives seeing - more than half a dozen ships. These were American or Hobart Town whalers, - and none of them came to an anchor—they laid off and on, and - bartered with the natives for fresh provisions, but from the many - inquiries I made, I am sure that no one from these ships put foot on - shore; for the inhabitants were not to be trusted, being warlike, savage - and treacherous. - </p> - <p> - The master of one of these ships was told by the natives—or rather - made to understand, for no one of them knew a word of English—that - about twelve months previously a large vessel had run on shore one wild - night on the south side of the group and that all on board had perished. - Fourteen bodies had been washed on shore at a little island named Elaue, - all dreadfully battered about, and the ship herself had disappeared and - nothing remained of her but pieces of wreckage. She had evidently struck - on the reef near Elaue with tremendous violence, then slipped off and - sunk. The natives asked the captain to come on shore and be shown the spot - where the men had been buried, but he was too cautious a man to trust - himself among them. - </p> - <p> - On his reporting the matter to the colonial shipping authorities at - Sydney, he learned that two vessels were missing—one a Dutch barque - of seven hundred tons which left Sydney for Dutch New Guinea, and the - other a full-rigged English ship bound to Shanghai. No tidings had been - heard of them for over eighteen months, and it was concluded that the - vessel lost on Woodlark Island was one or the other, as that island lay in - the course both would have taken. - </p> - <p> - In 1868-69 there was a great outburst of trading operations in the - North-West Pacific Islands—then in most instances a <i>terra - incognita</i>, and there was a keen rivalry between the English and German - trading firms to get a footing on such new islands as promised them a - lucrative return for their ventures. Scores of adventurous white men lost - their lives in a few months, some by the deadly malarial fever, others by - the treacherous and cannibalistic savages. But others quickly took their - places—nothing daunted—for the coco-nut oil trade, the then - staple industry of the North-West Pacific, was very profitable and men - made fortunes rapidly. What mattered it if every returning ship brought - news of some bloody tragedy—such and such a brig or schooner having - been cut off and all hands murdered, cooked and eaten, the vessel - plundered and then burnt? Such things occur in the North-West Pacific in - the present times, but the outside world now hears of them through the - press and also of the punitive expeditions by war-ships of England, France - or Germany. - </p> - <p> - Then in those old days we traders would merely say to one another that - “So-and-So 'had gone'”. He and his ship's company had been cut off at - such-and-such a place, and the matter, in the eager rush for wealth, would - be forgotten. - </p> - <p> - At that time I was in Levuka—the old capital of Fiji—supercargo - of a little topsail schooner of seventy-five tons. She was owned and - sailed by a man named White, an extremely adventurous and daring fellow, - though very quiet—almost solemn—in his manner. - </p> - <p> - We had been trading among the windward islands of the Fiji Group for six - months and had not done at all well. White was greatly dissatisfied and - wanted to break new ground. Every few weeks a vessel would sail into the - little port of Levuka with a valuable cargo of coco-nut oil in casks, - dunnaged with ivory-nuts, the latter worth in those days £40 a ton. And - both oil and ivory-nuts had been secured from the wild savages of the - North-West in exchange for rubbishy hoop-iron knives, old “Tower” muskets - with ball and cheap powder, common beads and other worthless articles on - which there was a profit of thousands per cent. (In fact, I well remember - one instance in which the master of the Sydney brig <i>E. K. Bateson</i>, - after four months' absence, returned with a cargo which was sold for - £5,000. His expenses (including the value of the trade goods he had - bartered) his crew's wages, provisions, and the wear and tear of the - ship's gear, came to under £400.) - </p> - <p> - White, who was a very wide-awake energetic man, despite his solemnity, one - day came on board and told me that he had made up his mind to join in the - rush to the islands to the North-West between New Guinea and the Solomons. - </p> - <p> - “I have,” he said, “just been talking to the skipper of that French - missionary brig, the <i>Anonyme</i>. He has just come back from the - North-West, and told me that he had landed a French priest{*} at Mayu - (Woodlark Island). He—the priest—remained on shore some days - to establish a mission, and told Rabalau, the skipper of the brig, that - the natives were very friendly and said that they would be glad to have a - resident missionary, but that they wanted a trader still more. - Furthermore, they have been making oil for over a year in expectation of a - ship coming, but none had come. And Rabalau says that they have over a - hundred tuns of oil, and can't make any more as they have nothing to put - it in. Some of it is in old canoes, some in thousands of big bamboos, and - some in hollowed-out trees. And they have whips of ivory nuts and are just - dying to get muskets, tobacco and beads. And not a soul in Levuka except - Rabalau and I know it. You see, I lent him twenty bolts of canvas and a - lot of running gear last year, and now he wants to do me a good turn. Now, - I say that Woodlark is the place for us. Anyway, I've bought all the oil - casks I could get, and a lot more in shooks, and so let us bustle and get - ready to be out of this unholy Levuka at daylight.” - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - * This was Monseigneur d'Anthipelles the head of the Marist - Brothers in Oceania. -</pre> - <hr /> - <p> - We did “bustle”. In twenty-four hours we were clear of Levuka reef and - spinning along to the W.N. W. before the strong south-east trade, for our - run of 1,600 miles. 'Day and night the little schooner raced over the seas - at a great rate, and we made the passage in seven days, dropping anchor - off the largest village in the island—Guasap. - </p> - <p> - In ten minutes our decks were literally packed with excited natives, all - armed, but friendly. Had they chosen to kill us and seize the schooner, it - would have been an easy task, for we numbered only eight persons—captain, - mate, bos'un, four native seamen, and myself. - </p> - <p> - We learned from the natives that two months previously there had been a - terrible hurricane which lasted for three days and devastated two-thirds - of the islands. Thousands of coco-nut trees had been blown down, and the - sea had swept away many villages on the coast. So violent was the surf - that the wreck of the sunken ship on Elaue Island had been cast up in - fragments on the reef, and the natives had secured a quantity of iron - work, copper, and Muntz metal bolts. These articles I at once bargained - for, after I had seen the collection, and for two old Tower muskets, value - five shillings each, obtained the lot—worth £250. - </p> - <p> - I had arranged with the chief and his head men to buy their oil in the - morning. And White and I found it hard to keep our countenances when they - joyfully accepted to fill every cask we had on the ship each for twenty - sticks of twist tobacco, a cupful of fine red beads and a fathom of red - Turkey twill! Or for five casks I would give a musket, a tin of powder, - twenty bullets, and twenty caps! - </p> - <p> - In ten minutes I had secured eighty tuns of oil (worth £30 a tun) for - trade goods that cost White less than £20. And the beauty of it was that - the natives were so impressed by the liberality of my terms that they said - they would supply the ship with all the fresh provisions—pigs, - fowls, turtle and vegetables that I asked for, without payment. - </p> - <p> - As White and I, after our palaver with the head men, were about to return - on board, we noticed two children who were wearing a number of silver - coins, strung on cinnet (coir) fibre, around their necks. We called them - to us, looked at the coins and found that they were rupees and English - five-shilling pieces. - </p> - <p> - I asked one of our Fijian seamen, who acted as interpreter, to ask the - children from where they got the coins. - </p> - <p> - “On the reef,” they replied, “there are thousands of them cast up with the - wreckage of the ship that sank a long time ago. Most of them are like - these”—showing a five-shilling piece; “but there are much more - smaller ones like these,”—showing a rupee. - </p> - <p> - “Are there any <i>sama sama</i> (yellow) ones?” I asked. - </p> - <p> - No, they said, they had not found any <i>sama sama</i> ones. But they - could bring me basketfuls of those like which they showed me. - </p> - <p> - White's usually solemn eyes were now gleaming with excitement I drew him - and the Fiji man aside, and said to the latter quietly:— - </p> - <p> - “Sam, don't let these people think that these coins are of any more value - than the copper bolts. Tell them that for every one hundred pieces they - bring on board—no matter what size they may be—I will give - them a cupful of fine red beads—full measure. Or, if they do not - care for beads, I will give two sticks of tobacco, or a six-inch butcher - knife of good, hard steel.” - </p> - <p> - (The three last words made White smile—and whisper to me, “'A good, - hard steal' some people would say—but not me”.) - </p> - <p> - “And Sam,” I went on, “you shall have an <i>alofa</i> (present) of two - hundred dollars if you manage this carefully, and don't let these people - think that we particularly care about these pieces of soft white metal. We - came to Mayu for oil—understand?” - </p> - <p> - Sam did understand: and in a few minutes every boy and girl in Guasap were - out on the reef picking up the money. That day they brought us over £200 - in English and Indian silver, together with about £12 in Dutch coins. - (From this latter circumstance White and I concluded that the wrecked - vessel was the missing Dutch barque.) - </p> - <p> - On the following morning the reef at low tide presented an extraordinary - spectacle. Every woman, boy and girl from Guasap and the adjacent villages - were searching for the coins, and their clamour was terrific. Whilst all - this was going on, White, and the mate, and crew were receiving the oil - from the shore, putting it into our casks, driving the hoops, and stowing - them in the hold, working in such a state of suppressed excitement that we - were unable to exchange a word with each other, for as each cask was - filled I, on the after-deck, paid for it, shunted off the seller, and took - another one in hand. - </p> - <p> - At four o'clock in the afternoon we ceased work on board and went on shore - to “buy money”. - </p> - <p> - The village square was crowded with women and children, every one of whom - had money—mostly in English five-shilling pieces. Some of these - coins were bent and twisted into the most curious shape, some were - imbedded in lumps of coral, and nearly all gave evidence of the terrific - fury of the seas which had cast them up upon the reef from a depth of - seven fathoms of water. Many were merely round lumps, having been rolled - over and over among the sand and coral. These I demurred to accepting on - the terms agreed upon for undamaged coins, and the natives cheerfully - agreed to my decision. - </p> - <p> - That day we bought silver coin, damaged and undamaged, to the value of - £350, for trade goods worth about £17 or £18. - </p> - <p> - And for the following two weeks, whilst White and our crew were hammering - and coopering away at the oil casks, and stowing them under hatches, I was - paying out the trade goods for the oil, and “buying money”. - </p> - <p> - We remained at Mayu for a month, until there was no more money to be found—except - a few coins (or rather what had once been coins); and then with a ship - full of oil, and with £2,100 worth of money, we left and sailed for - Sydney. - </p> - <p> - White sold the money <i>en bloc</i> to the Sydney mint for £1,850. The oil - realised £2,400, and the copper, etc., £250. My share came to over £400—exclusive - of four months' wages—making nearly £500. This was the best bit of - trading luck that I ever met with. - </p> - <p> - I must add that even up to 1895 silver coins from the Dutch barque were - still being found by the natives of Woodlark Islands. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0026" id="link2HCH0026"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XXVI ~ MODERN PIRATES - </h2> - <p> - Piracy, as most people are aware, is not yet quite extinct in Chinese and - East Indian waters, despite the efforts that have been made to utterly - stamp it out. But it is not generally known that along the shores of Dutch - New Guinea, on both sides of the great island, there are still vigorous - communities of native pirates, who will not hesitate to attack even armed - trading vessels. These savages combine the business of head-hunting with - piracy, and although they do not possess modern firearms, and their crafts - are simply huge canoes, they show the most determined courage, even when - attacking a vessel manned by Europeans. - </p> - <p> - The annual reports of the Governors of Dutch, German and British New - Guinea, detailing the murderous doings of these head-hunting pirates, are - as interesting reading as the tales of Rajah Brooke and Stamford Raffles, - and the practical suppression of piracy in the East Indian Archipelago, - but seldom attract more than a few lines of comment in the public press. - </p> - <p> - In writing of pirates of the present day, I shall not go beyond my own - beat of the North and South Pacific, and speak only of events within my - own personal knowledge and observation. Before entering into an account of - some of the doings of the New Guinea “Tugeri,” or head-hunter pirates, I - shall tell the story of two notable acts of piracy committed by white men - in the South Pacific, less than ten years ago. The English newspapers gave - some attention to one case, for the two principal criminals concerned were - tried at Brest, and the case was known as the “Rorique tragedy”. Much - comment was made on the statement that the King of the Belgians went to - France, after the prisoners had been sentenced to death (they were - Belgian), to personally intercede for them. The French press stigmatised - His Majesty's action as a scandal (one journal suggesting that perhaps the - pirates were pretty women in men's garb); but no doubt King Leopold is a - very tender-hearted man, despite the remarks of unkind English people on - the subject of the eccentricities of the Belgian officers in the Congo - Free State—such as cutting off the hands of a few thousands of - stupid negroes who failed to bring in sufficient rubber. There are even - people who openly state that the Sultan of Turkey dislikes Armenians, and - has caused some of them to be hurt. But I am getting away from my subject - The story of the Roriques, and the tragedy of the <i>Niuroahiti</i> which - was the name of the vessel they seized, is one of the many grisly episodes - with which the history of the South Seas is so prolific. Briefly it is as - follows:— - </p> - <p> - About the end of 1891 the two brothers arrived at Papeite, the capital of - Tahiti, from the Paumotu Group, where, it was subsequently learned, they - had been put on shore by the captain of an island trader, who strongly - suspected them of plotting with the crew to murder him and seize the ship. - Nothing of this incident, however, was known at Tahiti among the white - residents with whom they soon ingratiated themselves; they were - exceedingly agreeable-mannered men, and the elder brother, who was a - remarkably handsome man of about thirty-five, was an excellent linguist, - speaking German, French, Italian, English, Dutch, Spanish and Zulu - fluently. Although they had with them no property beyond firearms, their - <i>bonhomie</i> and the generally accepted belief that they were men of - means, made them the recipients of much hospitality and kindness. - Eventually the younger man was given a position as a trader on one of the - pearl-shell lagoon islands in the Paumotu Group, while the other took the - berth of mate in the schooner <i>Niuroahiti</i>, a smart little - native-built vessel owned by a Tahitian prince. The schooner was under the - command of a half-caste, and her complement consisted, besides the - captain, of Mr. William Gibson, the supercargo, Rorique the first mate, a - second mate, four Society Island natives, and the cook, a Frenchman named - Hippolyte Miret. The <i>Niuroahiti</i> traded between Tahiti and the - Paumotus, and when she sailed on her last voyage she was bound to the - Island of Kaukura, where the younger Rorique was stationed as trader. She - never returned, but it was ascertained that she had called at Kaukura, and - then left again with the second brother Rorique as passenger. - </p> - <p> - Long, long months passed, and the Australian relatives and friends of - young Gibson, a cheery, adventurous young fellow, began to think, with the - owner of the <i>Niuroakiti</i>, that she had met a fate common enough in - the South Sea trade—turned turtle in a squall, and gone to the - bottom with all hands. - </p> - <p> - About this time I was on a trading cruise in the Caroline Islands, and one - day we spoke a Fiji schooner. I went on board for a chat with the skipper, - and told him of the <i>Niuroakiti</i> affair, of which I had heard a month - before. - </p> - <p> - “By Jove,” he exclaimed, “I met a schooner exactly like her about ten days - ago. She was going to the W.N.W.—Ponapê way—and showed French - colours. I bore up to speak her, but she evidently didn't want it, hoisted - her squaresail and stood away.” - </p> - <p> - From this I was sure that the vessel was the <i>Niuroakiti</i>, and - therefore sent a letter to the Spanish governor at Ponapê, relating the - affair. It reached him just in time. - </p> - <p> - The <i>Niuroakiti</i> was then lying in Jakoits harbour in Ponapé, and was - to sail on the following day for Macao. She was promptly seized, and the - brothers Rorique put in irons, and taken on board the Spanish cruiser <i>Le - Gaspi</i> for conveyance to Manila Hippolyte Miret, the cook, confessed to - the Spanish authorities that the brothers Rorique had shot dead in their - sleep the captain, Mr. Gibson, the second mate, and the four native - sailors. - </p> - <p> - The trial was a long one, but the evidence was most damning and - convincing, although the brothers passionately declared that Miret's story - was a pure invention. Sentence of death was passed, but was afterwards - commuted to imprisonment for life, and the Roriques are now in chains in - Cayenne. - </p> - <p> - The second case was of a very dreadful character, and has an additional - interest from the fact that out of all the participators—the pirates - and their victims—only one was left alive to tell the tale, and he - was found in a dying condition on one of the Galapagos Islands, and only - lived a few days. The story was told to me by the captain of the - brigantine <i>Isaac Revels</i>, of San Francisco, who put into the - Galapagos to repair his ship, which had started a butt-end and was leaking - seriously. He had just anchored between Narborough and Albemarle Islands - when he saw a man sitting on the shore, and waving his hands to the ship. - A boat was lowered, and the man brought on board. He was in a ravenous - state of hunger, and half-demented; but after he had been carefully - attended to he was able to give some account of himself. He was a young - Colombian Indian, could speak no English, and only a mongrel, halting kind - of Spanish. The Portuguese cook of the Isaac Revels, however, understood - him. This was his story:— - </p> - <p> - He was one of the peons of a wealthy Ecuadorian gentleman, who with - another equally rich friend sailed from Guayaquil for the Galapagos - Islands (which belong to Ecuador), and the largest of which, Albemarle - Island, they had leased from that Government for sheep and - cattle-breeding. They took with them a few thousand silver dollars, which - the peon saw placed in “an iron box” (safe). - </p> - <p> - One of the merchants had with him his two young daughters. The vessel was - a small brig, and the captain and crew mostly Chilenos. One night, when - the brig was half-way across to the Galapagos (600 miles from Ecuador) the - peon, who was on deck asleep, was suddenly seized, pitched down into the - fo'c'stle, and the scuttle closed. Here he was left alone until dawn, and - then ordered on deck, aft. The captain pointed a pistol at his head, and - threatened to shoot him dead if he ever spoke of what had happened in the - night. The man—although he knew nothing of what had happened—promised - to be secret, and was then given fifty dollars, and put in the mate's - watch. He saw numerous blood-stains on the after-deck, and soon after was - told by one of the hands that all the four passengers had been murdered, - and thrown overboard. The captain, mate and four men, it appeared, had - first made ready a boat, provisioned, and lowered it. They made some noise, - which aroused the male passengers, one of whom came on deck to see what - was the matter. He was at once seized, but being a very powerful man, made - a most determined fight. His friend rushed up from below with a revolver - in his hand, and shot two of the assailants dead, and wounded the mate. - But they were assailed on all sides—shot at and struck with various - weapons, and then thrown overboard to drown. Then the pirates, after a - hurried consultation, went below, and forcing open the girls' cabin door, - ruthlessly shot them, carried them on deck, and cast them over the side. - It had been their intention to have sent all four away in the boat, but - the resistance made so enraged them that they murdered them instead. - </p> - <p> - For some days the pirates kept on a due west course towards the Galapagos. - A barrel of spirits was broached, and night and day captain and crew were - drunk. When Albemarle Island was sighted, every one except the peon and a - boy was more or less intoxicated. A boat had been lowered, and was towing - astern—for what purpose the peon did not know. At night it fell a - dead calm, and a strong current set the brig dangerously close in shore. - The captain ordered some of the hands into her to tow the brig out of - danger; they refused, and shots were exchanged, but after a while peace - was restored. The peon and the boy were then told to get into the boat, - and bale her out, as she was leaky. They did so, and whilst so engaged a - sudden squall struck the brig, and the boat's towline either parted, or - was purposely cast off. - </p> - <p> - When the squall cleared, the peon and boy in the drifting boat could see - nothing whatever of the brig—she had probably capsized—and the - two unfortunate beings soon after daylight found themselves so close to - the breakers on Narborough Island that they were unable to pull her clear—she - being very heavy. She soon struck, and was rolled over and over, and the - Chileno boy drowned. The peon also received internal injuries, but managed - to reach the shore. - </p> - <p> - The people on board the <i>Isaac Revels</i> did all they could for the - poor fellow, but he only survived a few days. - </p> - <p> - In another article in this volume I have told of my fruitless efforts to - induce some of the Rook Island cannibals to “recruit” with me. It was on - that voyage I first saw a party of New Guinea head-hunting pirates, and I - shall never forget the experience. - </p> - <p> - After leaving Rook Island, we stood over to the coast of German New - Guinea, and sailed along it for three hundred miles to the Dutch boundary - (longitude 141 east of Greenwich) for we were in hopes of getting a full - cargo of native labourers from some of the many islands which stud the - coast. No other “labour” ship had ever been so far north, and Morel (the - skipper) and I were keenly anxious to find a new ground. We had a fine - vessel, with a high freeboard, a well-armed and splendid crew, and had no - fear of being cut off by the natives. (I may here mention that I was - grievously disappointed, for owing to the lack of a competent interpreter - I failed to get a single recruit. But in other respects the voyage was a - success, for I did some very satisfactory trading business) - </p> - <p> - After visiting many of the islands, we anchored in what is now named in - the German charts Krauel Bay, on the mainland. There were a few scattered - villages on the shore, and some of the natives boarded us. They were all - well-armed, with their usual weapons, but were very shy, distrustful and - nervous. - </p> - <p> - Early one morning five large canoes appeared in the offing—evidently - having come from the Schouten Islands group, about ten miles to the - eastward. The moment they were seen by the natives on shore, the villages - were abandoned, and the people fled into the bush. - </p> - <p> - In a most gallant style the five canoes came straight into the bay, and - brought-to within a few hundred fathoms of our ship, and the first thing - we noticed was a number of decapitated heads hanging over the sides of - each craft, as boat-fenders are hung over the gunwale of a boat. This was - intended to impress the White Men. - </p> - <p> - We certainly were impressed, but were yet quite ready to make short work - of our visitors if they attempted mischief. Our ship's high freeboard - alone would have made it very difficult for them to rush us, and the crew - were so well-armed that, although we numbered but twenty-eight, we could - have wiped out over five hundred possible assailants with ease had they - attempted to board and capture the ship. - </p> - <p> - Some of the leaders of this party of pirates came on board our vessel, and - Morel and I soon established very friendly relations with them. They told - us that they had been two months out from their own territory (in Dutch - New Guinea) had raided over thirty villages, and taken two hundred and - fifteen heads, and were now returning home—well satisfied. - </p> - <p> - Morel and I went on board one of the great canoes, and were received in a - very friendly manner, and shown many heads—some partly dried, some - too fresh, and unpleasant-looking. - </p> - <p> - These head-hunting pirates were not cannibals, and behaved in an extremely - decorous manner when they visited our ship. A finer, more stalwart, proud, - self-possessed, and dignified lot of savages—if they could be so - termed—I had never before seen. - </p> - <p> - They left Krauel bay two days later, without interfering with the people - on shore, and Morel and I shook hands, and rubbed noses with the leading - head-hunters, when we said farewell. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0027" id="link2HCH0027"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XXVII ~ PAUTÔE - </h2> - <p> - “Please, good White Man, wilt have me for <i>tavini</i> (servant)?” - </p> - <p> - Marsh, the trader, and the Reverend Harry Copley, the resident missionary - on Motumoe, first looked at the speaker, then at each other, and then - laughed hilariously. - </p> - <p> - A native girl, about thirteen years of age, was standing in the trader's - doorway, clad only in a girdle of many-hued dracaena leaves. Her long, - glossy black hair fell about her smooth red-brown shoulders like a mantle, - and her big, deer-like eyes were filled with an eager expectancy. - </p> - <p> - “Come hither, Pautôe,” said the missionary, speaking to the girl in the - bastard Samoan dialect of the island. “And so thou dost want to become - servant to Marsi?” - </p> - <p> - Pautôe's eyes sparkled. - </p> - <p> - “Aye,” she replied, “I would be second <i>tavini</i> to him. No wages do I - want, only let him give me my food, and a mat upon which to sleep, and I - shall do much work for him—truly, much work.” - </p> - <p> - The missionary drew her to him and patted her shoulder. - </p> - <p> - “Dost like sardines, Pautôe?” - </p> - <p> - She clasped her hands over her bosom, and looked at him demurely from - underneath her beautiful long-lashed eyes, and then her red lips parted - and she showed her even, pearly teeth as she smiled. - </p> - <p> - “Give her a tin of sardines, and a biscuit or two, Marsh,” said the - parson, “she's one of my pupils at the Mission House. You remember Bret - Harte's story, <i>The Right Eye of the Spanish Commander</i>, and the - little Indian maid Paquita? Well, this youngster is my Paquita. She's a - most intelligent girl.” He paused a moment and then added regretfully: - “Unfortunately my wife dislikes her intensely—thinks she's too - forward. As a matter of fact a more lovable child never breathed.” - </p> - <p> - Marsh nodded. He was not surprised at Mrs. Copley disliking the child, for - she—a thin, sharp-vis-aged and austere lady of forty years of age—was - childless, and older than her cheerful, kind-hearted husband by twelve - years. The natives bore her no love, and had given her the contemptuous - nickname of <i>Le Matua moa e le fua</i>—“the eggless old hen”. - </p> - <p> - Marsh himself told me this story. He and I had been shipmates together in - many cruises until he tired of the sea, and, having saved a little money, - started business as a trader among the Equatorial Islands—and I lost - a good comrade and friend. - </p> - <p> - “I wish you would take the child, Marsh,” said the missionary presently. - “She is an orphan, and——” - </p> - <p> - “I'll take her, of course. She can help Leota, I daresay, and I'll give - her a few dollars a month. But why isn't she dressed in the usual flaming - style of your other pupils—skirt, blouse, brown paper-soled boots, - and a sixpenny poke bonnet with artificial flowers, and otherwise made up - as one of the 'brands plucked from the burning' whose photographs glorify - the parish magazines in the old country?” - </p> - <p> - Copley's blue-grey eyes twinkled. “Ah, that's the rub with my wife. Pautôe - won't 'put 'em on'. She is not a native of this island, as you can no - doubt see. Look at her now—almost straight nose, but Semitic, thin - nostrils, long silky hair, small hands and feet. Where do you think she - hails from?” - </p> - <p> - “Somewhere to the eastward—Marquesas Group, perhaps.” - </p> - <p> - “That is my idea, too. Do you know her story?” - </p> - <p> - “No. Who is she?” - </p> - <p> - “Ah, that no one knows. Early one morning twelve or thirteen years ago—long - before I came here—the natives saw a small topsail-schooner becalmed - off the island. Several canoes put off, and the people, as they drew near - the vessel, were surprised and alarmed to see a number of armed men on - deck, one of whom hailed them, and told them not to come on board, but - that one canoe only might come alongside. But the natives hesitated, till - the man stooped down and then held up a baby girl about a year old, and - said:— - </p> - <p> - “'If you will take this child on shore and care for it I will give you a - case of tobacco, a bag of bullets, two muskets and a keg of powder, some - knives, axes and two fifty-pound tins of ship biscuit. The child's mother - is dead, and there is no woman on board to care for it.' - </p> - <p> - “For humanity's sake alone the natives would have taken the infant, and - said so, but at the same time they did not refuse the offer of the - presents. So one of the canoes went alongside, the babe was passed down, - and then the presents. Then the people were told to shove off. A few hours - later a breeze sprang up, and the schooner stood away to the westward. - That was how the youngster came here.” - </p> - <p> - “I wonder what had occurred?” - </p> - <p> - “A tragedy of some sort—piracy and murder most likely. One of the - natives named Rahili who went out to the vessel, was an ex-sailor, who - spoke and could also read and write English well, and he noticed that - although the schooner was much weather-worn as if she had been a long - while at sea, there was a newly-painted name on her stern—<i>Meta</i>. - That in itself was suspicious. I sent an account of the affair to the - colonial papers, but nothing was known of any vessel named the <i>Meta</i>. - Since then the child had lived first with one family, and then another. As - I have said, she is extremely intelligent, but has a curiously independent - spirit—'refractory' my wife calls it—and does not associate - with the other native girls. One day, not long ago, she got into serious - trouble through her temper getting the better of her. Lisa, my native - assistant's daughter is, as I daresay you know, a very conceited, - domineering young lady, and puts on very grand airs—all these native - teachers and their wives and daughters are alike with regard to the 'side' - they put on—and my wife has made so much of her that the girl has - become a perfect female prig. Well, it seems that Pautôe refused to attend - my wife's sewing class (which Lisa bosses) saying that she was going out - on the reef to get crayfish. Thereupon Lisa called her a <i>laakau tafea</i> - (a log of wood that had drifted on shore) and Pautôe, resenting the insult - and the jeers and laughter of the other children, seized Mademoiselle Lisa - by the hair, tore her blouse off her and called her 'a fat-faced, pig-eyed - monster'.” - </p> - <p> - Marsh laughed. “Description terse, but correct.” - </p> - <p> - “The deacons expelled her from school, and ordered her a whipping, but the - chief and I interfered, and stopped it.” - </p> - <p> - The trader nodded approval. “Of course you did, Copley; just what any one - who knows you would expect you to do. But although I am quite willing to - give the child a home, I can't be a schoolmaster to her.” - </p> - <p> - “Of course not. You are doing more than any other man would do for her.” - </p> - <p> - Twelve months had passed, and Marsh had never had reason to regret his - kindness to the orphan. To him she was wonderfully gentle and obedient, - and from the very first had acceded to his wish to dress herself in - semi-European fashion. The trader's household consisted of himself and his - two servants, a Samoan man named Âli (Harry) and his wife, Leota. For some - years they had followed his fortunes as a trader in the South Seas, and - both were intensely devoted to him. A childless couple, Marsh at first had - feared that they would resent the intrusion of Pautôe into his home. But he - was mistaken; for both Âli and Leota had but one motive for existence, and - that was to please him—the now grown man, who eleven years before, - when he was a mere youth, had run away from his ship in Samoa, and they - had hidden him from pursuit. And then when “Tikki” (Dick) Marsh, by his - industrious habits, was enabled to begin life as a trader, they had come - with him, sharing his good and his bad luck with him, and serving him - loyally and devotedly in his wanderings throughout the Isles of the - Pacific. So, when Pautôe came they took her to themselves as a matter of - duty; then, as they began to know the girl, and saw the intense admiration - she had for Marsh, they loved her, and took her deep into their warm - hearts. And Pautôe would sometimes tell them that she knew not whom she - loved most—“Tikki” or themselves. - </p> - <p> - Matters, from a business point of view, had not for two years prospered - with Marsh on Motumoe. Successive seasons of drought had destroyed the - cocoanut crop, and so one day he told Copley, who keenly sympathised with - him, that he must leave the island. This was a twelvemonth after Pautôe - had come to stay with him. - </p> - <p> - “I shall miss you very much, Marsh,” said the missionary, “miss you more - than you can imagine. My monthly visits to you here have been a great - solace and pleasure to me. I have often wished that, instead of being - thirty miles apart, we were but two or three, so that I could have come - and seen you every few days.” - </p> - <p> - Then he added: “Poor little Pautôe will break her heart over your going - away”. - </p> - <p> - “But I have no intention of leaving her behind, Copley. I am not so hard - pressed that I cannot keep the youngster. I am thinking of putting her to - school in Samoa for a few years.” - </p> - <p> - “That is very generous of you, Marsh. I would have much liked to have - taken her into my own house, but—my wife, you know.” - </p> - <p> - Two weeks later Marsh left the island in an American whaleship, which was - to touch at Samoa. There he intended to buy a small cutter, and then - proceed to the Western Pacific, where he hoped to better his fortunes by - trading throughout the various islands of the wild New Hebrides and - Solomon Groups. - </p> - <p> - During the voyage to Samoa he one day asked Pautôe if she would not like - to go to school in Samoa with white and half-caste girls, some of her own - age, and others older. - </p> - <p> - Such an extraordinary change came over the poor child's face that Marsh - was astounded. For some seconds she did not speak, but breathed quickly - and spasmodically as if she were physically exhausted, then her whole - frame trembled violently. Then a sob broke from her. - </p> - <p> - “Be not angry with me, Tikki,... but I would rather die than stay in - Samoa,... away from thee and Ali and Leota. Oh, master——” she - ceased speaking and sobbed so unrestrainedly that Marsh was moved. He - waited till she had somewhat calmed herself, and then said gravely:— - </p> - <p> - “'Twill be a great thing for thee, Pautôe, this school. Thou wilt be - taught much that is good, and the English lady who has the school will be - kind——” - </p> - <p> - “Nay, nay, Tikki,” she cried brokenly, “send me not away, I beseech thee. - Let me go with thee, and Âli and Leota, to those new, wild lands. Oh, cast - me not away from thee. Where thou goest, let me go.” - </p> - <p> - Marsh smiled. “Thou art another Ruth, little one. In such words did Ruth - speak to Naomi when she went to another country. Dost know the story?” - </p> - <p> - “Aye, I know the story, and I have no fear of wild lands. Only have I fear - of seeing no more all those I love if thou dost leave me to die in Samoa.” - </p> - <p> - Again the trader smiled as he bade her dry her tears. - </p> - <p> - “Thou shalt come with us, little one Now, go tell Leota.” - </p> - <p> - For many months Marsh remained in Apia, unable to find a suitable vessel. - Then, not caring to remain in such a noisy and expensive port—he - rented a native house at a charmingly situated village called Laulii, - about ten miles from Apia, and standing at the head of a tiny bay, almost - landlocked by verdant hills. So much was he pleased with the place, that - he half formed a resolution to settle there permanently, or at least for a - year or two. - </p> - <p> - Âli and Leota were delighted to learn this, for although they were willing - to go anywhere in the world with their beloved “Tikki,” they, like all - Samoans, were passionately fond of their own beautiful land, with its - lofty mountains and forests, and clear running streams. - </p> - <p> - And Pautôe, too, was intensely happy, for to her Samoa was a dream-land of - light and beauty. Never before had she seen mountains, except in pictures - shown her by Mr. Copley or Marsh, and never before had she seen a stream - of running water. For Motumoe, where she had lived all her young life, was - an atoll—low, flat, and sandy, and although densely covered with - coco palms, there were but few other trees of any height. And now, in - Samoa, she was never tired of wandering alone in the deep, silent forest, - treading with ecstasy the thick carpet of fallen leaves, gazing upwards at - the canopy of branches, and listening with a thrilled delight to the - booming notes of the great blue-plumaged, red-breasted pigeons, and the - plaintive answering cries of the ring-doves. Then, too, in the forest at - the back of the village were ruins of ancient dwellings of stone, build by - hands unknown, preserved from decay by a binding net-work of ivy-like - creepers and vines, and the haunt and resting-place of the wild boar and - his mate, and their savage, quick-footed progeny. And sometimes she would - hear the shrill, cackling scream of a wild mountain cock, and see the - great, fierce-eyed bird, half-running, half-flying over the leaf-strewn - ground. And to her the forest became a deep and holy mystery, to adore and - to love. - </p> - <p> - Quite near to Laulii was another village—Lautonga, in which there - lived a young American trader named Lester Meredith—like Marsh, an - ex-sailor. He was an extremely reserved, quiet man, but he and Marsh soon - became friends, and they exchanged almost daily visits. Meredith, like - Marsh, was an unmarried man, and one day the local chief of the district - jocularly reproached them. - </p> - <p> - “Thou, Tikki, art near to two-score years, and yet hast no wife, and thou, - Lesta, art one score and five and yet live alone. Why is it so? Ye are - both fine, handsome men, and pleasing to the eyes of women.” - </p> - <p> - Marsh laughed. “O Tofia, thou would-be matchmaker! I am no marrying man. - Once, indeed, I gave my heart to a woman in mine own country of England, - but although she loved me, her people were both rich and proud, and I was - poor. So she became wife to another man.” - </p> - <p> - Pautôe, who was listening intently to the men's talk, set her white teeth, - and clenched her shapely little hands, and then said slowly:— - </p> - <p> - “Didst kill the other man, Tikki?” - </p> - <p> - Marsh and Meredith both laughed, and the former shook his head, and then - Tofia turned to Meredith:— - </p> - <p> - “Lesta, hast never thought of Maliea, the daughter of Tonu? There is no - handsomer girl in Samoa, and she is of good family. And she would like to - marry thee.” - </p> - <p> - Meredith smiled, and then said jestingly, “Nay, Tofia, I care not for - Maliea. I shall wait for Pautôe. Wilt have me, little one?” - </p> - <p> - The girl looked at him steadily, and then answered gravely:— - </p> - <p> - “Aye, if Tikki is willing that I should. But yet I will not be separated - from him.” - </p> - <p> - “Then you and I will have to become partners, Meredith,” said Marsh, his - eyes twinkling with amusement. - </p> - <p> - A few days after this Meredith returned from a visit to Apia. - </p> - <p> - “Marsh,” he said to his friend, “I think it would be a good thing for us - both if we really did go into partnership, and put our little capitals - together. Are you so disposed?” - </p> - <p> - “Quite. There is nothing I should like better.” - </p> - <p> - “Good. Well, now I have some news. I have just been looking at a little - schooner in Apia harbour. She arrived a few days ago, leaking, and the - owner will sell her for $ 1,800. She will suit us very well. I overhauled - her, and except that she is old and leaks badly, from having been ashore, - she is well worth the money. You and I can easily put her on the beach - here, get at the leak, and recopper her at a cost of a few hundred - dollars. We can have her ready for sea in three weeks. You, Âli and myself - can do all the work ourselves.” - </p> - <p> - Marsh was delighted, and in less than an hour the two men, accompanied by - Âli and Tofia, were on the way to Apia, much to the wonder of Leota and - Pautôe, who were not then let into the secret—the newly-made - partners intending to give them a pleasant surprise. - </p> - <p> - On boarding the little craft, Marsh was much pleased with her, and during - the day the business of transferring the vessel to her new owners was - completed at the American Consulate, the money paid over, and the partners - put in possession. - </p> - <p> - The same evening, Âli, a splendid diver, succeeded in finding and partly - stopping the main leak, which was on the bilge on the port side, and - preparations were made to sail early in the morning for Laulii. - </p> - <p> - The partners were seated in the little cabin, smoking, and talking over - their plans for the future, when the former master and owner of the - schooner came on board to see, as he said, “how they were getting on”. - </p> - <p> - He was a good-natured, intelligent old man, and had had a life-long - experience in the South Seas. By birth he was a Genoese, but he was - intensely proud of being a naturalised British subject, and, from his - youth, having sailed under the red ensign of Old England. Marsh and - Meredith made him very welcome, and he, being mightily pleased at having - sold <i>The Dove</i> (as the schooner was called), and also having dined - exceedingly well at the one hotel then in Apia, became very talkative. - </p> - <p> - “I can tell you, gentlemen, that <i>The Dove</i>, although she is not a - new ship, is as strong and sound as if she were only just built. I have - had her now for nearly thirteen years, and have made my little fortune by - her, and I could kiss her, from the end of her jibboom to the upper rudder - gudgeon. But I am an old man now, and want to go back to my own country to - die among my people—or else”—and here he twisted his long - moustaches and laughed hilariously—“settle down in England, and - become a grand man like old General Rosas of South America, and die pious, - and have a bishop and a mile-long procession at my funeral.” - </p> - <p> - The partners joined the old sailor in his laugh, and then Marsh said - casually, and to make conversation:— - </p> - <p> - “By-the-way, Captain, where did you buy <i>The Dove?</i>” - </p> - <p> - “I didn't buy her, my bold breezy lads. And I didn't steal her, as many a - ship is stolen in the South Seas. I came by her honestly enough.” - </p> - <p> - “A present?” said Meredith interrogatively. - </p> - <p> - “Wrong, my lad—neither was she a present” Then the ancient squared - his broad shoulders, helped himself to some refreshment (more than was - needed for his good) and clapping Marsh on the shoulder, said: “I'll tell - you the yarn, my lads—for you are only lads, aren't you? Well, here - it is:— - </p> - <p> - “About twelve or thirteen years ago I was mate of a San Francisco trading - brig, the <i>Lola Montez</i>, and one afternoon, when we were running down - the east coast of New Caledonia, we sighted a vessel drifting in shore—this - very same schooner. The skipper of the brig sent me with a boat's crew to - take possession of her—for we could see that no one was on board. - </p> - <p> - “I boarded her and found that her decks had been swept by a heavy sea—which, - I suppose, had carried away every one on board. I overhauled the cabin, - but could not find her papers, but her name was on the stern—<i>Meta</i>.” - </p> - <p> - Marsh started, and was about to speak, but the old skipper went on:— - </p> - <p> - “During the night heavy weather came on, and the <i>Lola Montez</i> and - the <i>Meta</i> parted company. The <i>Lola</i> was never heard of again—she - was old and as rotten as an over-ripe pear, and I suppose her seams - opened, and she went down. - </p> - <p> - “So I stuck to the <i>Meta</i> brought her to Sydney, and re-named her <i>The - Dove</i>. And she's a bully little ship, I can tell you. I think that she - was built in the Marquesas Islands, for all her knees and stringers are of - <i>ngiia</i> wood (<i>lignum vitae</i>) cut in the Marquesan fashion, and - set so closely together that any one would think she was meant for a - Greenland whaler. Then there is another thing about her that you will - notice, and which makes me feel sure that she was built by a whaleman, and - that is the carvings of whales on each end of the windlass barrel, and on - every deck stanchion there are the same, although you can hardly see them - now—they are so much covered up by yearly coatings of paint for over - a dozen years.” - </p> - <p> - Meredith rose suddenly from his seat. “You'll excuse me, but I feel tired, - and must turn in.” The visitor took the hint, and did not stay. Wishing - the partners good luck, he got into his boat, and pushed off for the - shore. Then Meredith turned to Marsh, and said quietly:—“Marsh, I - know that you can trust Âli, but what of Tofia?” - </p> - <p> - “He's all right, I think. But what is the matter?” “I'll let you know - presently. But first tell Tofia that he had better go on shore to sleep. - You and I are going to have a quiet talk, and then do a little overhauling - of this cabin.” - </p> - <p> - Wondering what possibly was afoot, Marsh got rid of the friendly chief by - asking him to go on shore and buy some fresh provisions, but not to - trouble about bringing them off until daylight, as he and his partner were - tired, and wanted to turn in. - </p> - <p> - Leaving Âli on deck to keep watch, the two men went below, and sat down at - the cabin table. - </p> - <p> - “Marsh,” began the young American, “I have a mighty queer yarn to tell you—I - know that this schooner, once the <i>Meta</i>, and now <i>The Dove</i>, - was originally the <i>Juliette</i>, and was built by my father at Nukahiva - in the Marquesas. Now, I'll get through the story as quickly as possible, - but as I don't want to be interrupted I'll ask Âli not to let any chance - visitor come aboard to-night.” - </p> - <p> - He went on deck, and on returning first filled and lit his pipe in his - cool, leisurely manner, and resumed his story. - </p> - <p> - “My father, as I one day told you, was a whaling skipper, and was lost at - sea about thirteen years ago—that is all I ever did say about him, I - think. He was a hard old man, and there was no love between us, so that is - why I have not spoken of him. He used me very roughly, and when my mother - died I left him after a stormy scene. That was eighteen or nineteen years - ago, and I never saw him again. - </p> - <p> - “When my poor mother died, he sold his ship and went to the Marquesas - Islands, and opened a business there as a trader. He had made a lot of - money at sperm whaling; and, I suppose, thought that as I had left him, - swearing I never wished to see him again, that he would spend the rest of - his days in the South Seas—money grubbing to the last. - </p> - <p> - “Sometimes I heard of him as being very prosperous. Once, when I was told - that he had been badly hurt by a gun accident, I wrote to him and asked if - he would care for me to come and stay with him. This I did for the sake of - my dead mother. Nearly a year and a half passed before I got an answer—an - answer that cut me to the quick:— - </p> - <p> - “'I want no undutiful son near me. I do well by myself'. - </p> - <p> - “Several years went by, and then when I was mate of a trading schooner in - the Fijis I was handed a letter by the American Consul. It was two years - old, and was from my father—a long, long letter, written in such a - kindly manner, and with such affectionate expressions that I forgave the - old man all the savage and unmerited thrashings he had given me when I - sailed with him as a lad. - </p> - <p> - “In this letter he told me that he wanted to see me again—that made - me feel good—and that he had built a schooner which he had named <i>Juliette</i> - after my mother, who was a French <i>Canadienne</i>. He described the - labour and trouble he had taken over her, the knees and stringers of <i>ngiia</i> - wood, and the carvings of sperm whales he had had cut on the windlass - butts and stanchions. Then he went on to say that he had been having a lot - of trouble with the French naval authorities, who wanted to drive all - Englishmen and Americans out of the group, and had made up his mind to - leave the Marquesas and settle down again either in Samoa or Tonga, where - he hoped I would join him and forget how hardly he had used me in the - past. - </p> - <p> - “The gun accident, he wrote, had rendered him all but blind, and he had - engaged a man named Krause, a German, as mate, and to navigate the <i>Juliette</i> - to Tonga or Samoa. Krause, he said, was a man he did not like, nor trust; - but as he was a good sailor-man and could navigate, he had engaged him, as - he could get no one else at Nukahiva. - </p> - <p> - “With my father were a party of Marquesan natives—a chief and his - wife and her infant, and two young men. The schooner's crew were four - Dagoes—deserters from some ship. He did not care about taking them, - but had no choice. - </p> - <p> - “Some ten days before the German and the crew came on board, my father - secretly took all his money—$8,000 in gold—and, aided by the - Marquesan chief, made a secure hiding-place for it by removing the skin in - the transoms, and then packing it in oakum and wedging each package in - between the timbers. Then he carefully relaid the skin, and repainted the - whole. He said, 'If anything happens to me through treachery, no one will - ever discover that money, although they will get a couple of thousand of - Mexican silver dollars in my chest'. - </p> - <p> - “Well, the <i>Juliette</i> sailed, and was never again heard of. - </p> - <p> - “That brings my story to an end, and if this is the <i>Juliette</i>, and - the money has not been taken, it is within six feet of us—there,” - and he pointed calmly to the transoms. - </p> - <p> - Marsh was greatly excited. - </p> - <p> - “We shall soon see, Meredith. But first let me say that I am sure that - this is your father's missing schooner, and that she is the vessel that - thirteen years ago called at Motumoe, and those who sailed her sent Pautôe - on shore when she was an infant.” - </p> - <p> - Then he hurriedly related the story as told to him by Mr. Copley. - </p> - <p> - Meredith nodded. “No doubt the missionary was right and my father's fears - were well-founded. I suppose the German and the Dagoes murdered him and - the four Marquesans. Krause, of course, would know that my poor father had - money on board. And I daresay that the Dagoes spared the child out of - piety—their Holy Roman consciences wouldn't let 'em cut the throat - of a probably unbaptised child. Now, Marsh, if you'll clear away the - cushions and all the other gear from the transoms, I'll get an auger and - an axe, and we'll investigate.” - </p> - <p> - Rising from his seat in his usual leisurely manner, he went on deck, and - returned in a few minutes with a couple of augers, an axe, two wedges, and - a heavy hammer. - </p> - <p> - Marsh had cleared away the cushions and some boxes of provisions, and was - eagerly awaiting him. - </p> - <p> - Meredith, first of all, took the axe, and, with the back of the head, - struck the casing of the transoms. - </p> - <p> - “It's all right, Marsh. Either the money, or something else is there right - enough, I believe. Bore away on your side.” - </p> - <p> - The two augers were quickly biting away through the hard wood of the - casing, and in less than two minutes Marsh felt the point of his break - through the inner skin, and then enter something soft; then it clogged, - and finally stuck. Reversing the auger, he withdrew it, and saw that on - the end were some threads of oakum and canvas, which he excitedly showed - to his partner, who nodded, and went on boring in an unmoved manner, until - the point of his auger penetrated the planking, stuck, and then came a - sound of it striking loose metal. The wedges were then driven in between - the planking, and one strip prised off, and there before them was the - money in small canvas bags, each bag parcelled round with oakum, which was - also packed tightly between the skin and timbers, forming a compact mass. - </p> - <p> - Removing one bag only, Marsh placed it aside, then they replaced the - plank, plugged the auger holes, and hid the marks from view by stacking - the provision cases along the transoms. - </p> - <p> - Âli was called below, and told of the discovery. He, of course, was highly - delighted, and his eyes gleamed when Meredith unfastened the bag, and - poured out a stream of gold coin upon the cabin table. - </p> - <p> - That night the partners did not sleep. They talked over their plans for - the future, and decided to take the schooner to San Francisco, sell her, - and buy a larger vessel and a cargo of trade goods. Meredith was to - command, and Tahiti in the Society Group was to be their headquarters. - Here Marsh (with the faithful Âli and Leota, and, of course, Pautôe) was - to buy land and form a trading station, whilst the vessel was to cruise - throughout the South Seas, trading for oil, pearl-shell and other island - produce. - </p> - <p> - Soon after daylight the anchor of the <i>Juliette</i> was lifted and she - sailed out of Apia harbour, and by noon, Leota and Pautôe were astonished - to see the little craft bring-to abreast of Laulii village, and Marsh and - Meredith come on shore. - </p> - <p> - Later on in the day, when the house was free of the kindly, but somewhat - intrusive native visitors, the partners told the strange story of the <i>Juliette</i> - to Leota and Pautôe, and of their plans for the future. - </p> - <p> - “Pautôe,” said Meredith, “in three years' time will you marry me, and sail - with me in the new ship?” - </p> - <p> - “Aye, that will I, Lesta. Did I not say so before?” - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0028" id="link2HCH0028"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XXVIII ~ THE MAN WHO KNEW EVERYTHING - </h2> - <p> - The Man Who Knew Everything came to Samoa in November, when dark days were - on the land, and the nearing Christmas time seemed likely to be as that of - the preceding one, when burning villages and the crackle of musketry, and - the battle cries of opposing factions, engaged in slaughtering one - another, turned the once restful and beautiful Samoa into a hell of evil - passions, misery and suffering. For the poor King Malietoa was making a - game fight with his scanty and ill-armed troops against the better-armed - rebel forces, who were supplied, <i>sub rosa</i>, with all the arms and - ammunition they desired by the German commercial agents of Bismarck, who - had impressed upon that statesman the necessity of making Samoa the base - of German trading enterprise in the South Seas by stirring up rebellion - throughout the group to such an extent that Germany, under the plea of - humanity, would intervene—buy out the British and American - interests, and force the natives to accept a German protectorate. - </p> - <p> - At this time the white population of Apia numbered about two hundred, of - whom one half were Germans—the rest were principally English and - Americans. For two years past a very bitter feeling had existed between - the staff of the great German trading firm, and the British and American - community. The latter had their places of business in Apia, and the suburb - of Matautu, the Germans occupied the suburb of Matafele, and although - there was a business intercourse between the people of the three - nationalities, there was absolutely none of a social character. The - British and American traders and residents were supporters of King - Malietoa, the Germans backed up the rebel party, and the natives - themselves were equally divided into pro-British, and pro-Germans. - </p> - <p> - At this time—when the Man Who Knew Everything arrived in Samoa from - New Zealand—I was living on shore. The vessel in which I was - employed as “recruiter” in the Kanaka labour trade was laid up in Apia - harbour. Two months previously we had brought a cargo of native labourers - from the Gilbert Islands to be indentured to the cotton planters in Samoa, - and finding the country in such a disturbed state, with business - paralysed, and no further demand for a fresh cargo of Kanaka “recruits,” - we decided to pay off most of the ship's company, and let the brigantine - lie up till the end of the rainy and bad weather season—from the end - of November till March, The skipper and a few of the native crew remained - on board, but I took up my quarters on shore, at a little Samoan village - named Lelepa—two miles from Apia. Here I was the “paying guest” of - our boatswain—a stalwart native of the island of Rarotonga. He had - sailed with me on several vessels during a period of some years; and on - one of our visits to Apia had married a Samoan girl of a good family. - </p> - <p> - Having much spare time on my hands I occupied it in deep-sea fishing and - shooting, and in making boat voyages along the coast, visiting a number of - native villages, where I was well-known to the people, who always made me - and my boat's crew very welcome—for the Samoans are naturally a most - hospitable race, and love visiting and social intercourse. On these - excursions Marama (the native boatswain) and some other of the ship's crew - sometimes came with me; on other occasions my party would be made up of - the two half-caste sons of the American Consul, two or three Samoans and - myself. - </p> - <p> - Towards the end of November there arrived from Auckland (N.Z.) the trading - schooner <i>Dauntless</i>. She brought one passenger whose acquaintance I - soon made, and whom I will call Marchmont. He was a fine, well-set-up - young fellow of about five and twenty years of age, and I was delighted to - find that he was a good all-round sportsman—I could never induce any - of the white traders or merchants of Apia to join me in any of my many - delightful trips. Marchmont was making a tour through the Pacific Islands, - partly on business, and partly on pleasure. He was visiting the various - groups on behalf of a Liverpool firm, who were buying up land suitable for - cotton-growing, and was to spend two months in Samoa. - </p> - <p> - He and I soon made arrangements for a series of fishing and shooting trips - along the south coast of Upolu, where the country was quiet, and as yet - undisturbed by the war. But, although Marchmont was a most estimable and - companionable man in many respects, he had some serious defects in his - character, which, from a sportsman's point of view, were most - objectionable, and were soon to bring him into trouble. One was that he - was most intensely self-opinionated, and angrily resented being - contradicted—even when he knew he was in the wrong; another was his - bad temper—whenever he did anything particularly foolish he would - not stand a little good-natured “chaff”—he either flew into a - violent rage and “said things” or sulked like a boy of ten years of age. - Then, too, another regrettable feature about him was the fact that he, - being a young man of wealth, had the idea that he should always be - deferred to, never argued with upon any subject, and his advice sought - upon everything pertaining to sport. These unpromising traits in his - character soon got him into hot water, and before he had been a week in - Samoa he was nicknamed by both whites and natives “Misi Ulu Poto—mâsani - mea uma,”—“Mr. Wise Head—the Man Who Knows Everything”. The - term stuck—and Marchmont took it quite seriously, as a well-deserved - compliment to his abilities. - </p> - <p> - My new acquaintance, I must mention, had a most extensive and costly - sporting outfit—all of it was certainly good, but much of it quite - useless for such places as Samoa and other Polynesian Islands. Of rifles - and guns he had about a dozen, with an enormous quantity of ammunition and - fittings, bags, water-proofing, tents, fishing-boots, spirit stoves, - hatchets in leather covers, hunting knives, etc., etc.; and his fishing - gear alone must have run into a tidy sum of money. This latter especially - interested me, but there was nothing in it that I would have exchanged for - any of my own—that is, few-deep-sea fishing, a sport in which I was - always very keen during a past residence of fifteen years in the South - Seas. When I showed my gear to Marchmont he criticised it with great - cheerfulness and freedom, and somewhat irritated me by frequently - ejaculating “Bosh!” when I explained why in fishing at a depth of 100 to - 150 fathoms for a certain species of <i>Ruvettus</i> (a nocturnal-feeding - fish that attains a weight of over 100 lb.) a heavy wooden hook was always - used by the natives in preference to a steel hook of European manufacture. - I saw that it was impossible to convince him, so dropped the subject; and - showed him other gear of mine—flying-fish tackle, barb-less - pearl-shell hooks for bonito, etc., etc He “bosh-ed” nearly everything, - and wound up by saying that he wondered why people of sense accepted the - dicta of natives in sporting matters generally. - </p> - <p> - “But I imagine that they do know a little about such things,” I observed. - </p> - <p> - “Bosh!—they pretend to, that's all. Now, I've never yet met a Kanaka - who could show me anything, and I've been to Tonga, Fiji and Tahiti.” - </p> - <p> - Early one morning, I sent off my whaleboat with Marama in charge to - proceed round the south end of Upolu, and meet Marchmont and me at a - village on the lee side of the island named Siumu, which is about eighteen - miles distant from, and almost opposite to Apia, across the range that - traverses the island. An hour or so later Marchmont and I set out, - accompanied by two boys to carry our game bags, provisions, etc. Each of - them wore suspended from his neck a large white cowrie shell—the - Samoan badge of neutrality—for we had to pass first through King - Malietoa's lines, and then through those of the besieging rebel forces. - </p> - <p> - It was a lovely day, and in half an hour we were in the delightful gloom - of the sweet-smelling mountain forest. In passing through King Malietoa's - trenches, the local chief of Apia, Se'u Manu, who was in command, - requested me to stay and drink kava with him. Politeness required consent, - and we were delayed an hour; this made the Man Who Knew Everything very - cross and rather rude, and the stalwart chief (afterwards to become famous - for his magnanimous conduct to his German foes, when their squadron was - destroyed in the great <i>Calliope</i> gale of March, 1889) looked at him - with mild surprise, wondering at his discourtesy. However, his temper - balanced itself a little while after leaving the lines, when he brought - down a brace of fine pigeons with a right and left shot, and a few minutes - later knocked over a mountain cock with my Winchester. It was a very - clever shot—for the wild cock of Samoa, the descendant of the - domestic rooster, is a hard bird to shoot even with a shot gun—and - my friend was much elated. He really was a first-class shot with either - gun or rifle, though he had had but little experience with the latter. - </p> - <p> - A few miles farther brought us to the little mountain village of - Tagiamamanono. It was occupied by the rebel troops from the Island of - Savai'i. Their chiefs were very courteous, and, of course, we were asked - to “stay and rest and drink kava”. To refuse would have been looked upon - as boorish and insulting, so I cheerfully acquiesced, and Marchmont and I - were escorted to a large house, where I formally presented him to our - hosts as a traveller from “Peretania,” whom I was “showing around Samoa”. - Any man of fine physique attracts the Samoans, and a number of pretty - girls who were preparing the kava cast many admiring glances at my friend, - and commented audibly on his good looks. - </p> - <p> - Presently, as we were all smoking and exchanging compliments in the - high-flown, stilted Samoan style, there entered the house a strapping - young warrior, carrying a wickerwork cage, in which were two of the rare - and famous <i>Manu Mea</i> (red-bird) of Samoa—the <i>Didunculus</i> - or tooth-billed pigeon. These were the property of the young chief - commanding the rebel troops, and had simply been brought into the house as - a mark of respect and attention to Marchmont and me. Money cannot always - buy these birds, and the rebel chief looked upon them as mascottes. No one - but himself, or the young man who was their custodian, dared touch them, - for a Samoan chief's property—like his person—is sacred and - inviolate from touch except by persons of higher rank than himself. I - hurriedly and quietly explained this to Marchmont. - </p> - <p> - “Bosh! Look here! You tell him that I want to buy those birds, and will - give him a sovereign each for them.” - </p> - <p> - “I shall do no such thing. I know what I am talking about, and you don't. - Fifty sovereigns would not buy those birds—so don't say anything - more on the subject. If you do, you will give offence—and these - Samoans are very touchy.” - </p> - <p> - “Bah—that's all bosh, my dear fellow. Any way, I'll give five pounds - for the pair,” and to my horror, and before I could stay him, he took out - five sovereigns, and “skidded” them along the matted floor towards the - chief, a particularly irascible young man named Asi (Sandalwood). - </p> - <p> - “There, my friend, are five good English sovereigns for your birds. I - suppose I can trust you to send them to the English Consul at Apia for me. - Eh?” - </p> - <p> - There was a dead silence. Asi spoke English perfectly, but hitherto, out - of politeness, had only addressed me in Samoan. His eyes flashed with - quick anger at Marchmont, then he looked at me reproachfully, made a sign - to the custodian of the birds, and rising proudly to his feet, said to me - in Samoan:— - </p> - <p> - “I will drink kava with you alone, friend. Will you come to my own house,” - and he motioned me to precede him. Never before had I seen a naturally - passionate man exhibit such a sense of dignity and self-restraint under - what was, to him, a stupid insult. - </p> - <p> - I turned to Marchmont: “Look what you have done, confound you for an ass! - If you are beginning this way in Samoa you will get yourself into no end - of trouble. Have you no sense?” - </p> - <p> - “I have sense enough to see that you are making a lot of fuss over - nothing. Tell the beastly savage that he can keep his wretched birds. I - would only have wrung their necks and had them cooked.” - </p> - <p> - The young warrior who held the cage, set it down, and striding up beside - the Man Who Knew Everything dealt him an open-handed back-hand blow on the - side of the head—a favourite trick of Samoan wrestlers and fighters—and - Marchmont went down upon the matted floor with a smash. I thought he was - killed—he lay so motionless—and in an instant there flashed - across my memory a story told to me by a medical missionary in Samoa, of - how one of these terrific back-handed “smacks” dealt by a native had - broken a man's neck. - </p> - <p> - However, in a few minutes, Marchmont recovered, and rose to his feet, - spoiling for a fight. The natives regarded him with a sullen but assumed - indifference, and drew back, looking at me inquiringly. The matter might - have ended seriously, but for two things—Marchmont was at heart a - gentleman, and in response to my urgent request to him to apologise for - the gross affront he had put upon our host—did so frankly by first - extending his hand to the man who had knocked him down. And then, as he - never did things by halves, he came with me to Asi and said, as he shook - hands with him:— - </p> - <p> - “By Jove, Mr. Asi, that man of yours could knock down a bullock. I never - had such a thundering smack in my life.” - </p> - <p> - The chief smiled, then said gravely, in English, that he was sorry that - such an unpleasant incident had occurred. Then, after—with its many - attendant ceremonies—we had drunk our bowls of kava, and were - smoking and chatting, Asi asked Marchmont to let him examine his gun and - rifle (Marchmont had a Soper rifle and one of Manton's best make of guns; - I had my Winchester and a fairly good gun). The moment Asi saw the Soper - rifle his eyes lit up, and he produced another from one of the house beams - overhead, and said regretfully that he had no cartridges left, and was - using a Snider instead. Marchmont promptly offered to give him fifty. - </p> - <p> - “You must not do that,” I said, “it will get us into serious trouble. Asi”—and - I turned to the chief—“will understand why we must not give him - cartridges to be used for warfare. It would be a great breach of faith for - us to do so—would it not?” - </p> - <p> - Keenly anxious as he was to obtain possession of the ammunition, the - chief, with a sigh of regret, acquiesced, but Marchmont sulked, and for - quite two hours after we had left the rebel village did not exchange a - word with me. - </p> - <p> - After getting over the range, and whilst we were descending the slope to - the southern littoral, some mongrel curs that belonged to our carriers, - and had gone on ahead of us, put up a wild sow with seven suckers, and at - once started off in pursuit. The old, razor-backed sow doubled and came - flying past us, with her nimble-footed and striped progeny following. - Marchmont and I both fired simultaneously—at the sow. I missed her, - but my charge of No 3 shot tumbled over one of the piglets, which was at - her heels, and Marchmont's Soper bullet took her in the belly, and passed - clean through her. But although she went down for a few moments she was up - again like a Jack-in-the-box, and with an angry squeal scurried along the - thick carpet of dead leaves, and then darted into the buttressed recesses - of a great <i>masa'oi</i> (cedar) tree, which was evidently her home, - followed by two or three game mongrels. - </p> - <p> - Dropping his rifle, Marchmont ran to the trees, seized the nearest cur by - the tail, and slung it away down the side of the slope, then he kicked the - others out of his way, and kneeling down peered into the dark recess - formed by two of the buttresses. - </p> - <p> - “Come out of that,” I shouted, “you'll get bitten if you go near her. What - are you trying to do? Get out, and give the dogs a chance to turn her - out.” - </p> - <p> - “Bosh! Mind your own business. I know what I'm about. She's lying inside, - as dead as a brickbat I'll have her out in a jiffy,” and then his head and - shoulders disappeared—then came a wild, blood-curdling yell of rage - and pain, and the Man Who Knew Everything backed out with the infuriated - sow's teeth deeply imbedded into both sides of his right hand; his left - gripped her by the loose and pendulous skin of her throat. One of the - native boys darted to his aid, and with one blow of his hatchet split open - the animal's skull. - </p> - <p> - “Well, of all the born idiots——” I began, when I stopped, for - I saw that Marchmont's face was very pale, and that he was suffering - excruciating pain. A pig bite is always dangerous and that which he had - sustained was a serious one. Fortunately, it was bleeding profusely, and - as quickly as possible we procured water, and thoroughly cleansed, and - then bound up his hand. - </p> - <p> - As soon as we got to Siumu I hurried to the house of the one white trader, - and was lucky in getting a bottle of that good old-fashioned remedy—Friar's - balsam. I poured it into a clean basin, and Marchmont unhesitatingly put - in his hand, and let it stay there. The agony was great, and the language - that poured from the patient was of an extremely lurid character. But he - had wonderful grit, and I had to laugh when he began abusing himself for - being such an idiot. He then allowed a native woman to cover the entire - hand with a huge poultice, made of the beaten-up pulp of wild oranges—a - splendid antiseptic. But it was a week before he could use his hand again, - and his temper was something abominable. However, we managed to put in the - time very pleasantly by paying a round of visits to the villages along the - coast, and were entertained and feasted to our heart's content by the - natives. Then followed some days' grand pig hunting and pigeon shooting in - the mountains, amidst some of the most lovely tropical scenery in the - world. Marchmont killed a grand old tusker, and presented the tusks to the - local chief, who in return gave him a very old kava bowl—a valuable - article to Samoans. He was, as usual, incredulous when I told him that it - was worth £10, and that Theodor Weber, the German Consul General, who was - a collector, would be only too glad to get it at that price. - </p> - <p> - “What, for that thing?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, for that thing. Quite apart from its size, its age makes it - valuable. I daresay that more than half a century has passed since the - tree from which it was made was felled by stone axes, and the bowl cut out - from a solid piece.” It was fifteen inches high, two feet in diameter, and - the four legs and exterior were black with age, whilst the interior, from - constant use of kava, was coated with a bright yellow enamel. The labour - of cutting out such a vessel with such implements—it being, legs and - bowl, in one piece—must have taken long months. Then came the filing - down with strips of shark skin, which had first been softened, and then - allowed to dry and contract over pieces of wood, round and flat; then the - final polishing with the rough underside of wild fig-leaves, and then its - final presentation, with such ceremony, to the chief who had ordered it to - be made. - </p> - <p> - I explained all this to Marchgiont, and he actually believed me and did - not say “Bosh!” - </p> - <p> - “I thought that you made a fearfully long-winded oration on my behalf when - the chief gave me the thing,” he remarked. - </p> - <p> - “I did. I can tell you, Marchmont, that I should have felt highly - flattered if he had presented it to me. He seems to have taken a violent - fancy to you. But, for Heaven's sake, don't think that, because he has - been told that you are a rich man, he has any ulterior motive. And don't, - I beg of you, offer him money. He has a reason for showing his liking for - you.” - </p> - <p> - I knew what that reason was. Suisala, the chief of Siumu, had, from the - very first, expressed to me his admiration of Marchmont's stalwart, - athletic figure, and his fair complexion, and was anxious to confer on him - a very great honour—that of exchanging names. Suisala was of one of - the oldest and most chiefly families in Samoa, and was proud of the fact - that the French navigator Bougainville had taken especial notice of his - grandfather (who was also a Suisala) and who had been presented with a - fowling piece and ammunition by the French officer. As I have before - mentioned, physical strength and manliness always attract the Samoan mind, - and the chief of Siumu had, as I afterwards explained to March-mont, - fallen a victim to his “fatal beauty”. - </p> - <p> - One morning, a few days after the presentation of the <i>tanoa</i> - (kava-bowl) to the Man Who Knew Everything, a schooner appeared outside - the reef and hove-to, there being no harbour at Siumu. She was an American - vessel, and had come to buy copra from, and land goods for, the local - trader. There was a rather heavy sea running on the reef at the time, and - the work of shipping the copra and landing the stores proved so difficult - and tedious that I lent my boat and crew to help. Unfortunately Marama was - laid up with influenza, so could not take charge of the boat; I also was - on the sick list, with a heavy cold. However, my crew were to be trusted, - and they made several trips during the morning. Marchmont, after lunch, - wanted to board the schooner, and also offered to take charge of the boat - and crew for the rest of the day. Knowing that he was not used to surf - work, I declined his offer, but told him he could go off on board if he - did not mind a wetting. He was quite nettled, and angrily asked me if I - thought he could not take a whaleboat through a bit of surf as well as - either Marama or myself. I replied frankly that I did not. - </p> - <p> - He snorted with contempt. “Bosh. I've taken boats through surf five times - as bad as it is now—a tinker could manage a boat in the little sea - that is running now. You fellows are all alike—you think that you - and your natives know everything.” - </p> - <p> - “Oh, then, do as you like,” I replied angrily, “but if you smash that boat - it means a loss of £50, and——” - </p> - <p> - “Hang your £50! If I hurt your boat, I'll pay for the damage. But don't - begin to preach at me.” - </p> - <p> - With great misgivings, I saw the boat start off, manned by eight men, - using native paddles, instead of oars, as was customary in surf work. - Marchmont, certainly, by good luck, managed to get her over the reef, for - I could see that he was quite unused to handling a steer oar. However, my - native crew, by watching the sea and taking no heed of the steersman, shot - the boat over the reef into deep water beyond. But in getting alongside - the schooner he nearly swamped, and I was told began abusing my crew for a - set of blockheads. This, of course, made them sulky—to be abused for - incompetence by an incompetent stranger, was hard to bear, especially as - the men, like all the natives of their islands (Rotumah and Niue), were - splendid fellows at boat work. - </p> - <p> - However, the boat at last cast off, and headed for the shore, and then I - saw something that filled me with wrath. As the lug sail was being - hoisted, March-mont drew in his steer-oar, and shipped the rudder, and in - another minute the boat was bounding over the rolling seas at a great rate - towards the white breakers on the reef, but steering so wildly that I - foresaw disaster. The crew, in vain, urged Marchmont to ship the steer-oar - again, but he told them to mind their own business, and sat there, calm - and strong, in his mighty conceit. - </p> - <p> - On came the boat, and we on shore watched her as she rose stern up to a - big comber, then down she sank from view into the trough, broached to, and - the next roller fell upon and smothered her, and rolled her over and over - into the wild boil of surf on the reef. - </p> - <p> - The Man Who Knew Everything came off badly, and was brought on shore full - of salt water, and unconscious. He had been dashed against the jagged - coral, and from his left thigh down to his foot had been terribly - lacerated; then as the crew swam to his assistance—for his clothing - had caught in the coral, and he was under water and drowning—and - brought him to the surface, the despised steer-oar (perhaps out of - revenge) came hurtling along on a swirling sea, and the haft of it struck - him a fearful blow on the head, nearly fracturing his skull. - </p> - <p> - Fearing his injuries would prove fatal, I sent a canoe off to the schooner - with a message to the captain to come on shore, but the vessel, having - finished her business, was off under full sail, and did not see the canoe. - Then the trader and I did our best for the poor fellow, who, as soon as he - regained consciousness, began to suffer agonies from the poison of the - wounds inflicted by the coral. We sent a runner to Apia for a doctor, and - early next morning one arrived. - </p> - <p> - Marchmont was quite a month recovering, and when he was fully - convalescent, he kept his opinions to himself, and I think that the lesson - he had received did him good. He afterwards told me that he determined to - sail the boat in with a rudder purely to annoy me, and was sorry for it. - </p> - <p> - When he was able to get about again as usual, the devil of restlessness - again took possession of him and he was soon in trouble again—through - the bursting of a gun. I was away from Apia at the time—at the - little island of Manono, buying yams for the ship which was getting ready - for sea again—when I received a letter from a friend giving me the - Apia gossip, and was not surprised that Marchmont figured therein. - </p> - <p> - “Your friend Marchmont,” so ran the letter, “is around, as usual, and in - great form, though he had a narrow squeak of having his head blown off - last week through his gun bursting while out pigeon-shooting up by Lano-to - lake. It seems that it was raining at the time, and the track down the - mountain to the lake was very slippery. He had Johnny Coe the half-caste, - and two Samoans with him. Was carrying his gun under his arm and going - down the track in his usual careless, cock-a-hoopy style when he tripped - over a root of a tree and went down, flat on his face, into the red - slippery soil. He picked himself up again quick enough, and began swearing - at the top of his voice, when a lot of ducks rose from the lake and came - dead on towards him. Without waiting to see if his gun was all right, - although it was covered with mud, he pulled the trigger of his right - barrel, and it burst; one of the fragments gave him a nasty jagged wound - on the chin and the Samoan buck got a lot of small splinters in his face. - After the idiot had pulled himself together he examined his gun and found - that the left barrel was plugged up with hard red earth. No doubt the - other one had also been choked up, for Johnny Coe said that when he fell - the muzzle of the gun was rammed some inches into the ground.” - </p> - <p> - When I returned to Apia with a cutter load of yams, I called on Marchmont - and found him his old self. He casually mentioned his mishap and cursed - the greasy mountain track as the cause. At the same time he told me that - he was beginning to like the country and that the natives were “not a bad - lot of fellows—if you know how to take 'em”. - </p> - <p> - Then came his final exploit. - </p> - <p> - There is, in the waters of the Pacific Isles, a species of the trevalli, - or rudder fish, which attains an enormous size and weight. It is a good - eating fish, like all the trevalli tribe, and much thought of by both - Europeans and natives, for, being an exceedingly wary fish, it is not - often caught, at least in Samoa. In the Live Islands, where it is more - common, it is called <i>La'heu</i> and in Fiji <i>Sanka</i>. One evening - Lama, one of the Coe half-caste boys, and I succeeded in hooking and - capturing one of these fish, weighing a little over 100 lb. In the morning - the Man Who Knew Everything came to look at it, was much interested, and - said he would have a try for one himself after lunch. - </p> - <p> - “No use trying in clear daylight,” I said; “after dusk, at night (if not - moonlight), or before daybreak is the time.” - </p> - <p> - “Bosh!” was his acidulous comment “I've caught the same fish in New - Zealand in broad daylight.” I shook my head, knowing that he was wrong. He - became angry, and remarked that he had found that all white men who had - lived in foreign countries for a few years accepted the rubbishy dictum of - natives regarding sporting matters of any kind as infallible. Refusing to - show me the tackle he intended using, at two o'clock he hired a native - canoe, and paddled off alone into Apia Harbour. Then he began to fish for - <i>La'heu</i>, using a mullet as bait. In five minutes he was fast to a - good-sized and lusty shark, which promptly upset the canoe, went off with - the line and left him to swim. The officer of the deck of the French - gunboat <i>Vaudreuil</i>, then lying in the port, sent a boat and picked - him up. This annoyed him greatly, as he wanted, like an idiot, to swim on - shore—a thing that a native would not always care to do in a - shark-infested place like Apia Harbour, especially during the rainy season - (as it then was), when the dreaded <i>tanifa</i> sharks come into all bays - or ports into which rivers or streams debouch. - </p> - <p> - That evening, however, Marchmont condescended to look at the tackle I used - for <i>La'heu</i>, said it was clumsy, and only fit for sharks, but, on - the whole, there were “some good ideas” about it; also that he would have - another try that night. I suggested that either one of the Coe lads or - Lama should go with him, to which he said “Bosh!” Then, after sunset, I - sent some of my boat's-crew to catch flying-fish for bait. They brought a - couple of dozen, and I told Marchmont that he should bait with a whole - flying-fish, make his line ready for casting, and then throw over some - “burley”—half a dozen flying-fish chopped into small pieces. He - would not show me the tackle he intended using, so I was quite in the dark - as to what manner of gear it was. But I ascertained later on that it was - good and strong enough to hold any deep sea fish, and the hook was of the - right sort—a six-inch flatted, with curved shank, and swivel mounted - on to three feet of fine twisted steel seizing wire. My obstinate friend - had a keen eye, even when he was most disparaging in his remarks, and had - copied my <i>La'heu</i> tackle most successfully, although he had - “bosh-ed” it when I first showed it to him. - </p> - <p> - Refusing to let any one accompany him, although the local pilot candidly - informed him that he was a dunderhead to go fishing alone at night in Apia - Harbour, Marchmont started off about 2 A.M. in an ordinary native canoe, - meant to hold not more than three persons when in smooth water. It was a - calm night, but rainy, and the crew of the French gunboat noticed him - fishing near the ship about 2.30. A little while after, the officer of the - watch saw a heavy rain squall coming down from the mountain gorges, and - good-naturedly called out to the fisherman to either come alongside or - paddle ashore, to avoid being swamped. The clever man replied in French, - somewhat ungraciously, that he could quite well look after himself. A - little after 3 A.M. the squall ceased, and as neither Marchmont nor the - canoe was visible, the French sailors concluded that he had taken their - officer's advice and gone on shore. - </p> - <p> - About seven o'clock in the morning, as I was bathing in the little river - that runs into Apia Harbour, a native servant girl of the local resident - medical missionary came to the bank and called to me, and told me a - startling story. My obstinate friend had been picked up at sea, four miles - from Apia Harbour, by a <i>taumualua</i> (native-built whaleboat). He was - in a state of exhaustion and collapse, and when brought into Apia was more - dead than alive, and the doctor was quickly summoned I at once went to see - him, but was not admitted to his room, and for three days he had to lie - up, suffering from shock—and, I trust, a feeling of humility for - being such an obstinate blockhead. - </p> - <p> - His story was simple enough: During the heavy rain squall his bait was - taken by some large and powerful fish (he maintained that it was a <i>La'heu</i>, - though most probably it was a shark), and thirty or forty yards of line - flew out before he could get the pull of it. When he did, he foolishly - made the loose part fast to the canoe seat amidships, and the canoe - promptly capsized, and the fore end of the outrigger unshipped. Clinging - to the side of the frail craft, he shouted to the gunboat for help, but no - one heard in the noise of the wind and heavy rain, and in ten minutes he - found himself in the passage between the reefs, and rapidly being towed - out to sea. He tried to sever the line by biting it through (he had lost - his knife), but only succeeded in losing a tooth. Then, as the canoe was - being dragged through the water broadside on, a heavy sea submerged her - and the line parted, the shark or whatever it was going off. Never losing - his pluck, he tried in the darkness to secure the loose end of the - outrigger, but failed, owing to the heavy, lumpy seas. Then for two - anxious, miserable hours he clung to the canoe, expecting every moment to - find himself minus his legs by the jaws of a shark, and when sighted and - picked up by the native boat he was barely conscious. - </p> - <p> - He learnt a lesson that did him good. He never again went out alone in a - canoe at night, and for many days after his recovery he never uttered the - word “Bosh!” - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0029" id="link2HCH0029"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XXIX ~ THE PATTERING OF THE MULLET - </h2> - <p> - It is a night of myriad stars, shining from a dome of deepest blue. The - lofty, white-barked swamp gums stand silent and ghost-like on the river's - bank, and the river itself is almost as silent as it flows to meet the - roaring surf on the bar of the rock-bound coast fifteen miles away, where - when the south-east wind blows lustily by day and dies away at night the - long billows of the blue Pacific roll on unceasingly. - </p> - <p> - Overhead, far up in the topmost boughs of one of the giant gums some - opossums squeal angrily at an intruding native bear, which, like - themselves, has climbed to feed upon the young and tender eucalyptus - leaves. Below, a prowling dingo steals slowly over the thick carpet of - leaves, then sitting on his haunches gazes at the prone figures of two men - stretched out upon their blankets at the foot of the great tree. His - green, hungry eyes have discerned a pair of saddle-bags and his keen - nostrils tell him that therein are salt beef and damper. He sinks gently - down upon the yielding leaves and for a minute watches the motionless - forms; then he rises and creeps, creeps along. A horse bell tinkles from - beyond the scrub and in an instant the wild dog lies flat again. Did he - not see one of the men move? No, all is quiet, and once more he creeps - forward. Then from beneath the tree there comes a flash and a report and a - bullet flies and the night prowler leaps in the air with a snarling yelp - and falls writhing in his death agony, as from the sand flats in the river - arises the clamour of startled wild fowl and the rush and whirr of a - thousand wings. Then silence again, save for the long-drawn wail of a - curlew. - </p> - <p> - One of the men rises, kicks together the dying camp fire and throws on a - handful of sticks and leaves. It blazes up and a long spear of light - shoots waveringly across the smooth current of the river. - </p> - <p> - “Get him, Harry?” sleepily asks his companion as he sits up and feels for - his pipe. - </p> - <p> - “Yes—couldn't miss him. He's lying there. Great Scott! Didn't he - jump.” - </p> - <p> - “Poor beggar—smelt the tucker, I suppose. Well, better a dead dog - than a torn saddle-bag. Hear the horses?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, they're all right—feeding outside the timber belt How's the - time, Ted?” - </p> - <p> - “Three o'clock. What a deuce of a row those duck and plover kicked up when - you fired! We ought to get a shot or two at them when daylight comes.” - </p> - <p> - “Harry,” a big, bearded fellow of six feet, nodded as he lit his pipe. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, we ought to get all we want up along the blind creeks, and we'll - have to shift camp soon. It's going to rain before daybreak, and we might - as well stay here over to-morrow and give the horses a spell.” - </p> - <p> - “It's clouding over a bit, but I don't think it means rain.” - </p> - <p> - “I do. Listen,” and he held up his hand towards the river. - </p> - <p> - His companion listened, and a low and curious sound—like rain and - yet not like rain—a gentle and incessant pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat, - pit-a-pat, then a break for a few seconds, then again, sometimes sounding - loud and near, at others faintly and far away. - </p> - <p> - “Sounds like a thousand people knockin' their finger nails on tables. Why, - it must be rainin' somewhere close to on the river.” - </p> - <p> - “No, it's the pattering of mullet, heading up the river—thousands, - tens of thousands, aye hundreds of thousands. It is a sure sign of heavy - rain. We'll see them presently when they come abreast of us. That queer <i>lip, - lap, lip, lap</i> you hear is made by their tails. They sail along with - heads well up out of the water—the blacks tell me that they smell - the coming rain—then swim on an even keel for perhaps twenty yards - or so, and the upper lobe of their tails keeps a constant flapping on the - water. You know how clearly you can hear the flip of a single fish's tail - in a pond on a quiet night? Well, to-night you'll hear the sound of fifty - thousand. Once, when I was prospecting in the Shoalhaven River district I - camped with some net fishermen near the Heads. It was a calm, quiet night - like this, and something awakened me. It sounded like heavy rain falling on - big leaves. 'Is it raining, mate?' I said to one of the fishermen. 'No,' - he replied, 'but there's a heavy thunderstorm gathering; and that noise - you hear is mullet coming up from the Heads, three miles away.' That was - the first time I ever saw fish packed so closely together—it was a - wonderful sight, and when they began to pass us they stretched in a solid - line almost across the river and the noise they made was deafening. But we - must hurry up, lad, shift our traps a bit back into the scrub and up with - the tent. Then we'll come back and have a look at the fish, and get some - for breakfast.” - </p> - <p> - The two hardy prospectors (for such they were) were old and experienced - bushmen, and soon had their tent up, and their saddles, blankets and guns - and provisions under its shelter, just as the first low muttering of - thunder hushed the squealing opossums overhead into silence. But, as it - died away, the noise of the myriad mullet sounded nearer and nearer as - they swam steadily onward up the river. - </p> - <p> - Ten minutes passed, and then a heavy thunder-clap shook the mighty trees - and echoed and re-echoed among the spurs and gullies of the coastal range - twenty miles away; another and another, and from the now leaden sky the - rain fell in torrents and continued to pour unceasingly for an hour. - Inside the tent the men sat and smoked and waited. Then the downfall ceased - with a “snap,” the sky cleared as if by magic, revealing the stars now - paling before the coming dawn, and the cries of birds resounded through - the dripping bush. - </p> - <p> - Picking up a prospecting dish the elder man told his “mate” that it was - time to start. Louder than ever now sounded the noise made by the densely - packed masses of fish, and as the rays of the rising sun, aided by a - gentle air, dispelled the river mist, the younger man gave a gasp of - astonishment when they reached the bank and he looked down—from - shore to shore the water was agitated and churned into foam showing a - broad sheet of flapping fins and tails and silvery scales. So close were - the fish to the bank and so overcrowded that hundreds stranded upon the - sand. - </p> - <p> - The big man stepped down, picked up a dozen and put them into the dish; - then he and his companion sat on the bank and watched the passage of the - thousands till the last of them had rounded a bend of the river and the - waters flowed silently once more. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Call Of The South, by Louis Becke - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CALL OF THE SOUTH *** - -***** This file should be named 24895-h.htm or 24895-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/8/9/24895/ - -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: The Call Of The South - 1908 - -Author: Louis Becke - -Release Date: March 22, 2008 [EBook #24895] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CALL OF THE SOUTH *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger - - - - - - - - -THE CALL OF THE SOUTH - -By Louis Becke - -London, John Milne, 1908 - - - - -CHAPTER I ~ PAUL, THE DIVER - -"Feeling any better to-day, Paul?" - -"Guess I'm getting round," and the big, bronzed-faced man raised -his eyes to mine as he lay under the awning on the after deck of his -pearling lugger. I sat down beside him and began to talk. - -A mile away the white beach of a little, land-locked bay shimmered under -the morning sun, and the drooping fronds of the cocos hung listless and -silent, waiting for the rising of the south-east trade. - -"Paul," I said, "it is very hot here. Come on shore with me to the -native village, where it is cooler, and I will make you a big drink of -lime-juice." - -I helped him to rise--for he was weak from a bad attack of New Guinea -fever--and two of our native crew assisted him over the side into my -whaleboat. A quarter of an hour later we were seated on mats under the -shade of a great wild mango tree, drinking lime-juice and listening to -the lazy hum of the surf upon the reef, and the soft _croo, croo_ of -many "crested" pigeons in the branches above. - -The place was a little bay in Callie Harbour on Admiralty Island in the -South Pacific; and Paul Fremont was one of our European divers. I was in -charge of the supply schooner which was tender to our fleet of pearling -luggers, and was the one man among us to whom the silent, taciturn Paul -would talk--sometimes. - -And only sometimes, for usually Paul was too much occupied in his work -to say more than "Good-morning, boss," or "Good night," when, after he -had been disencumbered of his diving gear, he went aft to rest and smoke -his pipe. But one day, however, he went down in twenty-six fathoms, -stayed too long, and was brought up unconscious. The mate and I saw the -signals go up for assistance, hurried on board his lugger, and were just -in time to save his life. - -Two days later he came on board the tender, shook hands in his silent, -undemonstrative way, and held out for my acceptance an old octagon -American fifty dollar gold piece. - -"Got a gal, boss?" "I admitted that I had. - -"Pure white, I mean. One thet you like well enough to marry?" - -"I mean to try, Paul." - -"In Samoa?" - -"No--Australia." - -"Guess I'd like you to give her this 'slug' I got it outer the wreck of -a ship that was sunk off Galveston in the 'sixties,' in the war." - -It would have hurt him had I declined the gift. So I thanked him, and he -nodded silently, filled his pipe and went back to the _Montiara_. - -Nearly a year passed before we met again, for his lugger and six others -went to New Guinea; and our next meeting was at Callie Harbour, where -I found him down with malarial fever. Again I became his doctor, and -ordered him to lie up. - -He nodded. - -"Guess I'll have ter, boss. But I jest hate loafin' around and seein' -the other divers bringin' up shell in easy water." For he was receiving -eighty pounds per month wages--diving or no diving--and hated to be -idle. - -"Paul," I said, as we lay stretched out under the wild mango tree, -"would you mind telling me about that turn-up you had with the niggers -at New Ireland, six years ago." - -"Ef you like, boss." Then he added that he did not care about talking -much at any time, as he was a mighty poor hand at the jaw-tackle. - -"We were startin' tryin' some new ground between New Hanover and the -North Cape of New Ireland. There were only two luggers, and we had for -our store-ship a thirty-ton cutter. There were two white divers besides -me and one Manila man, and our crews were all natives of some sort -or another--Tokelaus, Manahikians and Hawaiians. The skipper of the -storeship was a Dutchman--a chicken-hearted swab, who turned green at -the sight of a nigger with a bunch of spears, or a club in his hand. -He used to turn-in with a brace of pistols in his belt and a Winchester -lying on the cabin table. At sea he would lose his funk, but whenever we -dropped anchor and natives came aboard his teeth would begin to chatter, -and he would just jump at his own shadder. - -"We anchored in six fathoms, and in an hour or two we came across a good -patch of black-edge shell, and we began to get the boats and pumps ready -to start regular next morning. As I was boss, I had moored the cutter in -a well-sheltered nook under a high bluff, and the luggers near to her. -So far we had not seen any sign of natives--not even smoke--but knew -that there was a big village some miles away, out o' sight of us, an' -that the niggers were a bad lot, and would have a try at cuttin' off if -they saw a slant. - -"Early next morning it set in to rain, with easterly squalls, and before -long I saw that there was like to be a week of it, and that we should -have to lie by and wait until it settled. About noon we sighted a dozen -white lime-painted canoes bearing down on us, and Horn, the Dutchman, -began to turn green as usual, and wanted me to heave up and clear out. -I set on him and said I wanted the niggers to come alongside, an' hev a -good look at us--they would see that we were a hard nut to crack if they -meant mischief. - -"They came alongside, six or eight greasy-haired bucks in each -canoe--and asked for terbacker and knives in exchange for some pigs and -yams. I let twenty or so of 'em come aboard, bought their provisions, -and let 'em have a good look around. Their chief was a fat, bloated -feller, with a body like a barrel, and his face pitted with small-pox. -He told me that he was boss of all the place around us, and had some big -plantations about a mile back in the bush, just abreast of us, and that -he would let me have all the food I wanted. In five days or so, he said, -we should have fine weather for diving, and he and his crowd would help -me all they could. - -"About a quarter of a mile away was a rocky little island of about five -acres in extent It had a few heavy trees on it, but no scrub, and there -were some abandoned fishermen's huts on the beach. I asked the fat hog -if I could use it as a shore station to overhaul our boats and diving -gear when necessary, and he agreed to let me use it as long as I liked -for three hundred sticks of terbacker and two muskets. - -"They went off on shore again to the plantations, and in a little while -we saw smoke ascendin'--they were cookin' food, and repairing their -huts. Later on in the day they sent me a canoe load of yams, taro, and -other stuff for the men, and asked me to come ashore and look at the -village. I went, fur I knew that they would not try on any games so -soon. - -"There were, in addition to the bucks, a lot of women and children -there, makin' thatch, cookin', and repairin' the pig-proof fencin'. I -stayed a bit, and then came on board again, an' we made snug for the -night. - -"Next morning we landed on the island, repaired two of the huts, and -started mendin' sails, overhauling the boats, and doin' such work that -it was easier to do on shore than on board. Of course we kep' our arms -handy, and old Horn kep' a good watch on board--he dassent put foot on -shore himself--said he was skeered o' fever. - -"The natives sent us plenty of food, and a good many of 'em loafed -around on the island, and some on board the luggers and cutter, cadgin' -fur terbacker and biscuit Of course they always carried their clubs and -spears with 'em, as is usual in New Ireland, but they were quiet and -civil enough. Every day canoes were passin' from where we lay to the -main village, and returnin' with other batches of bucks and women all -takin' spells at work; an' there was any amount o' drum beating and _duk -duk_{*} dancin', and old Horn shivered in his boots swearin' they were -comin' to wipe us out But my native crews and I and the other white -divers were used to the nigger customs at such times, and although -we kep' a good watch ashore and afloat, none o' us were afraid of any -trouble comin'. - - * The duk duk dance of Melanesia is merely a blackmailing - ceremony by the men to obtain food from the women and the - uninitiated. - -"On the fifth night, I, another white diver, named Docky Mason, his -Samoan wife, and a Manahiki sailor named 'Star' were sleeping on shore -in one of the huts. In another hut were three or four New Ireland -niggers, who had brought us some fish and were going away again in the -mornin'. - -"About ten o'clock the sky became as black as ink--a heavy blow was -comin' on, and we just had time to stow our loose gear up tidy, when the -wind came down from between the mountains with a roar like thunder, and -away went the roofs of the huts, and with it nearly everything around us -that was not too heavy to be carried away. My own boat, which was lying -on the beach, was lifted up bodily, sent flyin' into the water, and -carried out to sea. - -"We tried to make out the cutter's and luggers' lights, but could see -nothing and every second the wind was yellin' louder and louder like -forty thousand cats gone mad, and the air was filled with sticks, -leaves, and sand, and I had a mighty great fear for my little fleet; fur -three miles away to the west, there was a long stretch o' reefs, an' I -was afraid they had dragged and would get mussed up. - -"Thet's jest what did happen--though they cleared the reefs by the skin -of their teeth. The moment they began to drag, all three slipped. The -luggers stood away under the lee of New Ireland, stickin' in to the -land, and tryin' to bring to for shelter, but they were a hundred miles -away from me, down the coast, before they could bring-to and anchor, -for the blow had settled into a hurricane, and raised such a fearful sea -that they had to heave-to for twenty-four hours. It was two weeks before -we met again, after they had had to tow and 'sweep' back to my little -island, against a dead calm and a strong current, gettin' a whiff of a -land breeze at night now an' agin', which let 'em use their canvas. As -for the cutter, she ran before it for New Britain, and brought up at -Matupi in Blanche Bay, two hundred miles away, where old Horn knew -there was a white settlement of Germans--his own kidney. He was a -white-livered old swine, but a good sailor-man--as far as any man who -says 'Ja' for 'Yes' goes. - -"When daylight came my mates and I set to work to straighten up. - -"Docky Mason's native wife--Tia--was a 'whole waggon with a yaller dog -under the team'. She first of all made us some hot coffee, and gave us a -rousin' breakfast; then she made the New Ireland bucks--who were wantin' -to swim to the mainland--turn to and put a new roof of coco-nut thatch -over our hut, although it was still blowin' a ragin' gale. My! thet gal -was a wonder! She hed eyes like stars, an' red lips an' shinin' pearly -teeth, an' a tongue like a whip-lash when she got mad, an' Docky Mason -uster let her talk to him as if he was a nigger--an' say nuthin'--excep' -givin' a foolish laugh and then slouchin' off. And yet she was as gentle -as a lamb to any of us fellows when we got fever, or had gone down under -more'n twenty fathoms, and was hauled up three parts dead and chokin'. - -"Well, boss, we got to straights at last, although it was blowin' as -hard as ever. We had a lot o' gear on shore in that native house, for I -was intendin' to beach the cutter an' give her copper a scrubbin' before -we started divin' regular. - -"There was near on a ton o' twist terbacker in tierces (which we used -fur tradin' with the niggers), a ton o' biscuit in fifty pound tins, -boxes o' red an' yaller seed beads, an' knives an' axes, an' a case -o' dynamite, an' heaps o' things that was a direct invitation to the -niggers, an' a challenge ter the Almighty to hev our silly throats cut. -And those four or five bucks, whilst Tia was hustlin' them around, was -jest takin' stock as they worked. - -"By sunfall the wind an' sea in the bay had gone down a bit; an' the -bucks said that they would swim on shore (their canoe had been smashed -in the night) and bring us some food early in the mornin'. I gave 'em -a bottle o' Hollands, an' my kind regards for the old barrelled-belly -swine of a chief, some terbacker fur themselves; and then, after they -had gone, looked to our Winchesters and pistols, which the bucks hadn't -seen, fur we always kept 'em outer sight, under our sleepin' mats. - -"'Paulo,' sez Tia to me, speakin' in Samoan (an' cussin' in English), -'you an' Docky an' "Star" are a lot o' blamed fools! You orter hev -shot all those bucks ez soon ez they hed finished. Didn't you say that, -"Star"?' - -"'Star' had said 'Yes' to her, but being an unobtrusive sorter o' -Kanaka, he hadn't said nuthin' to us--thinkin' we knew better'n him what -ter do. - -"We kep' a good watch all that day an' the nex' day, and then at sunset -two bucks in a canoe came off, bringing us six cooked pigeons from the -chief, with a message that he would come an' see us in a day or two, and -bring men to build us better houses to live in until the luggers and the -cutter came back. - -"We collared the two bucks and tied 'em up, and then Tia made one of -'em eat part of a pigeon--she standin' over him with a Winchester at his -ear. He ate it, an' in ten minutes he was tyin' himself up in knots, and -was a dead nigger in another quarter of an hour. The pigeons were all -poisoned. - -"We kep' the other nigger alive an' told him that if he would tell us -what was a-goin' on we'd let him off, and set him ashore, free. - -"'At dawn to-morrow,' says he, 'Baian' (the fat old chief) thought to -find you all dead, because of the poisoned pigeons sent to you. And -then he meant to take all the good things you have here, and set up your -heads in his _duk duk_ house.' - -"Before daylight came, Docky Mason an' 'Star' an' me hed fixed up things -all serene ter give Baian and his cannibals a doin'. Fust ev all--to -show our prisoner that we meant business, Tia held up his right hand, -an' Docky sent a Winchester bullet through it, an' told him that he -would send one through his skull ef he didn't do what he was told. - -"Then we took two empty one gallon colza oil tins, and filled 'em with -dynamite, tamped it down tight, and then ran short fuses through the -corks, and carried 'em down to the place where our prisoner said Baian -and his crowd would land. It was a little bay, lined on each side by -pretty high, ragged coral boulders, covered with creepers. We stowed the -tins in readiness, and then brought our prisoner down, and told him -what to do when the time came. I guess thet thet nigger knew thet ef he -didn't play straight he was a dead coon. Tia sat down jest behind him, -and every now and then touched his backbone with the muzzle ev her -pistol--jest ter show him she was keepin' awake. At the same time he -wasn't unwillin', for he hed told us thet he and his dead mate were not -Baian's men--they were slaves he had captured from a town he had raided -somewhere near North Cape, and they were liable to be killed and eaten -at any time if Baian's crowd ran short of pig meat or turtle. - -"A little bit higher up, Docky Mason, 'Star' an' me, planted ourselves -with our Winchesters, an' one of our boats' whaler's bomb guns, which -fired four pounds of slugs and deer shot, mixed up--the sorter thing, -boss, thet you an' me may find mighty handy here in this very place, if -we get rushed sudden. We made a charcoal fire, and then frayed out the -ends of the dynamite fuses so thet they would light quickly. - -"When daylight came, we caught sight of nigh on fifty canoes, all -crammed with niggers, paddlin' like blazes to where we was cached, but -making no noise. Even if they hed we would not hev heard it, fur the -wind and the surf beatin' on the reef would hev drowned it. - -"On they came and rushed their canoes into the little cove, four -abreast, and Tia prodded our buck in the back, and told him to stand up -and talk to Baian, who was in one of the leadin' canoes. - -"Up he jumps. - -"'Oh, Baian, Baian, great Baian,' he called, 'the two white men are dead -in their house, and we have the woman bound hand and foot.' - -"'Good,' said Baian with a fat chuckle, as he put one leg over the -gunwale of his canoe to step out, and the next moment I put a bullet -through him, and then Docky Mason lit the first charge o' dynamite, and -slings it down, right inter the middle of the crowded canoes, and before -it went off he sent the second one after it. - -"Boss, I hev seen some dynamite explosions in my time--especially when I -hev hed to blow up wrecks--but I hev never seen anything like thet. The -two shots killed over thirty niggers, wounded as many more, and stunned -a lot, who were drowned. Those who were not hurt swam out of the cove, -and neither Docky nor me had the heart to shoot any of 'em--though we -might hev picked off a couple of dozen afore they got outer range. - -"Before we could stop him our prisoner jumped down among the dead and -wounded, got a long knife, an' in ten seconds he had Baian's' head off, -and held it up to us, grinning like a cat, on'y not so nice, ez he hed -jet black, betel-nut stained teeth, and red lips like a piece ev raw -beef. - -"We hed no more trouble with the niggers after thet turn-up, you can bet -yer life. - -"The buck stayed with us until the luggers came back, and a few days -after we landed him at his own village--ez rich ez Jay Gould, for we -gave him a musket with powder and ball, a cutlass, half a dozen pounds -ev red beads, and two hundred sticks of terbacker. I guess thet thet -nigger was able to buy himself all the wives he wanted, and be a 'big -Injun' fur the end of his days." - - - - -CHAPTER II ~ THE OLD SEA LIFE - -One Sunday morning--when I was about to leave the dear old city of -Sydney for an unpremeditated and long, long absence in cold northern -climes, I went for a farewell stroll around the Circular Quay, and, -standing on some high ground on the east side, looked down on the mass -of shipping below, flying the flags of all nations, and ranging from -a few hundred to ten thousand tons. Mail steamers, deep sea tramps, -"freezers," colliers--all crowded together, and among them but _one_ -single sailing vessel--a Liverpool barque of 1,000 tons, loading wool. -She looked lost, abandoned, out of place, and my heart went out to her -as my eyes travelled from her shapely lines and graceful sheer, to her -lofty spars, tapering yards, and curving jibboom, the end of the latter -almost touching the stern rail of an ugly bloated-looking German tramp -steamer of 8,000 tons. On that very spot where I stood I, when a -boy, had played at the foot of lofty trees--now covered by hideous -ill-smelling wool stores--and had seen lying at the Circular Quay fifty -or sixty noble full-rigged ships and barques, many brigs and schooners, -and but _one_ steamer, a handsome brig-rigged craft, the _Avoca_, the -monthly P. and O. boat, which ran from Sydney to Melbourne to connect -with a larger ship. - -Round the point were certainly a few other steamers, old-fashioned -heavily-rigged men-of-war, generally paddle-wheel craft; and, out of -sight, in Darling Harbour, a mile away, were others--coasters--none of -them reaching five hundred tons, and all either barque- or brig-rigged, -as was then the fashion. - -And they all, sailers as well as the few steamers, were manned by -_sailor-men_, not by gangs of foreign paint-scrubbers, who generally -form a steamer's crew of the present day--men who could no more handle a -bit of canvas than a cow could play the Wedding March--in fact there are -thousands of men nowadays earning wages on British ships as A.B.'s who -have never touched canvas except in the shape of tarpaulin hatch covers, -and whom it would be highly dangerous to put at the wheel of a sailing -ship--they would make a wreck of her in any kind of a breeze in a few -minutes. - -In my boyhood days, nearly all the ships that came into Sydney Harbour -flying British colours were manned by men of British blood. Foreigners, -as a rule, were not liked by shipmasters, and their British shipmates in -the fo'c'stle resented their presence. One reason of this was that they -would always "ship" at a lower rate of wage than Englishmen, and were -clannish. I have known of captains of favourite clipper passenger ships, -trading between London and the colonies, declining to ship a foreigner, -even an English-speaking Dane or Scandinavian, who make good sailor-men, -and are quiet, sober, and hardworking. Nowadays it is difficult to find -any English deep-sea ship or steamer, in which half of the hands for'ard -are not foreigners of some sort. And now practically the whole coasting -mercantile marine of the Australian colonies is manned by Germans, -Swedes, Danes, and Norwegians. - -When I was a young man I sailed in ships in the South Sea trade which -had carried the same crew, voyage after voyage, for years, and there -was a distinct feeling of comradeship existing between officers and -crew that does not now exist. I well remember one gallant ship, the -_All Serene_ (a happy name), which was for ten years in the -Sydney-China trade. She was about the first colonial vessel to adopt -double-top-gallant yards, and many wise-heads prophesied all sorts of -dire mishaps from the innovation. On this ship (she was full rigged) was -a crew of nineteen men, and the majority of them had sailed in her for -eight years, although her captain was a bit of a "driver". But they got -good wages, good food, and had a good ship under their feet--a ship with -a crack record as a fast sailer. - -In contrast to the _All Serene_, was a handsome barque I once sailed -in as a passenger from Sydney to New Caledonia, where she was to load -nickel ore for Liverpool. Her captain and three mates were Britishers, -and smart sailor-men enough, the steward was a Chileno, the bos'un a -Swede; carpenter a Mecklenburger joiner (who, when told to repair the -fore-scuttle, which had been damaged by a heavy sea, did not know where -it was situated), the sailmaker a German, and of the twelve A.B.'s and -O.S.'s only one--a man of sixty-five years of age, was a Britisher; the -rest were of all nationalities. Three of them were Scandinavians and -were good sailor-men, the others were almost useless, and only fit to -scrub paint-work, and hardly one could be trusted at the wheel. The cook -was a Martinique nigger, and was not only a good cook, but a thorough -seaman, and he had the utmost contempt for what he called "dem mongrels -for'ard," especially those who were Dagoes. The captain and officers -certainly had reason to knock the crew about, for during an electrical -storm one night the ship was visited by St. Elmo's fire, and the Dagoes -to a man refused duty, and would not go aloft, being terrified out -of their wits at the dazzling globes of fire running along the yards, -hissing and dancing, and illuminating the ocean for miles. They bolted -below, rigged up an altar and cross with some stump ends of candles, and -began to pray. Exasperated beyond endurance, the captain, officers, two -Norwegians, the nigger cook and I, after having shortened canvas, "went" -for them, knocked the religious paraphernalia to smithereens, and drove -them on deck. - -The nigger cook was really a devout Roman Catholic, but his seaman's -soul revolted at their cowardice, and he so far lost his temper as to -seize a Portuguese by his black curly hair, throw him down, tear open -his shirt, and seize a leaden effigy of St. Jago do Compostella, which -he wore round his neck, and thrust it into his mouth. In after years -I saw Captain "Bully" Hayes do the same thing, also with a Portuguese -sailor; but Hayes made the man actually swallow the little image--after -he had rolled it into a rough ball--saying that if St James was so -efficient to externally protect the wearer from dangers of the sea, that -he could do it still better in the stomach, where he (the saint) would -feel much warmer. - -The barque, a month or so after I left her in Noumea, sailed from T'chio -in New Caledonia, and was never heard of again. She was overmasted, and -I have no doubt but that she capsized, and every one on board perished. -Had she been manned by English sailors, she would have reached her -destination in safety, for the captain and officers knew her faults and -that she was a tricky ship to sail with an unreliable crew. - -In many ships in which I have sailed, in my younger days, no officer -considered it _infra dig_. for him, when not on watch, to go for'ard and -listen to some of the hands spinning yarns, especially when the subject -of their discourse turned upon matters of seamanship, the eccentricities -either of a ship herself or of her builders, etc. This unbending from -official dignity on the part of an officer was rarely abused by the -men--especially by the better-class sailor-man. He knew that "Mr. -Smith" the chief officer who was then listening to his yarns and perhaps -afterwards spinning one himself, would in a few hours become a different -man when it was his watch on deck, and probably ask Tom Jones, A.B., -what the blazes he meant by crawling aft to relieve the wheel like -an old woman with palsy. And Jones, A.B., would grin with respectful -diffidence, hurry his steps and bear no malice towards his superior. - -Such incidents never occur now. There is no feeling of comradeship -between officer and "Jack". Each distrusts the other. - -I have not had much experience of steamers in the South Sea trade, -except as a passenger--most of my voyages having been made in sailing -craft, but on one occasion my firm had to charter a steamer for six -months, owing to the ship of which I was supercargo undergoing extensive -repairs. - -The steamer, in addition to a general cargo, also carried 500 tons -of coal for the use of a British warship, engaged in "patrolling" the -Solomon Islands, and I was told to "hurry along". The ship's company -were all strangers to me, and I saw at once I should not have a pleasant -time as supercargo. The crew were mostly alleged Englishmen, with a -sprinkling of foreigners, and the latter were a useless, lazy lot of -scamps. The engine-room staff were worse, and the captain and mate -seemed too terrified of them to bring them to their bearings. They (the -crew) were a bad type of "wharf rats," and showed such insolence to the -captain and mate that I urged both to put some of them in irons for a -few days. The second mate was the only officer who showed any spirit, -and he and I naturally stood together, agreeing to assist each other -if matters became serious, for the skipper and mate were a thoroughly -white-livered pair. - -Just off San Cristoval, the firemen came to me, and asked me to sell -them a case of Hollands gin. I refused, and said one bottle was enough -at a time. They threatened to break into the trade-room, and help -themselves. I said that they would do so at their own peril--the first -man that stepped through the doorway would get hurt. They retired, -cursing me as a "mean hound". The skipper said nothing. He, I am glad to -say, was not an Englishman, though he claimed to be. He was a Dane. - -Arriving at a village on the coast of San Cristoval, where I had to -land stores for a trader, we found a rather heavy surf on, and the crew -refused to man a boat and take me on shore, on the plea that it was too -dangerous; a native boat's crew would have smiled at the idea of danger, -and so also would any white sailor-man who was used to surf work. - -Two days later, through their incapacity, they capsized a boat by -letting her broach-to in crossing a reef, and a hundred pounds' worth of -trade goods were lost. - -When we met the cruiser for whom the coals were destined, the second -mate and I told the commander in the presence of our own skipper that we -considered the latter unfit to have command of the steamer. - -"Then put the mate in charge, if you consider your captain is -incapable," said the naval officer. - -"The mate is no better," I said, "he is as incapable as the captain." - -"Then the second mate is the man." - -"I cannot navigate, sir," said the second mate. - -The naval commander drew me aside, and we took "sweet counsel" together. -Then he called our ruffianly scallywags of a crew on to the main deck, -eyed them up and down, and ignoring our captain, asked me how many pairs -of handcuffs were on board. - -"Two only," I replied. - -"Then I'll send you half a dozen more. Clap 'em on to some of these -fellows for a week, until they come to their senses." - -In half an hour the second mate and I had the satisfaction of seeing -four firemen and four A.B.'s in irons, which they wore for a week, -living on biscuit and water. - -A few weeks later I engaged, on my own responsibility, ten good native -seamen, and for the rest of the voyage matters went fairly well, for the -captain plucked up courage, and became valorous when I told him that my -natives would make short work of their white shipmates, if the latter -again became mutinous. - -Against this experience I have had many pleasant ones. In one dear old -brig, in which I sailed as supercargo for two years, we carried a double -crew--white men and natives of Rotumah Island, and a happier ship never -spread her canvas to the winds of the Pacific. This was purely because -the officers were good men, the hands--white and native--good seamen, -cheerful and obedient--not the lazy, dirty, paint-scrubbers one too -often meets with nowadays, especially on cheaply run big four-masted -sailing ships, flying the red ensign of Old England. - - - - -CHAPTER III ~ THE BLIND MAN OF ADMIRALTY ISLAND - -We had had a stroke--or rather a series of strokes--of very bad luck. -Our vessel, the _Metaris_, had been for two months cruising among -the islands of what is now known as the Bismarck Archipelago, in the -Northwestern Pacific. We had twice been on shore, once on the coast -of New Ireland, and once on an unknown and uncharted reef between that -island and St. Matthias Island. Then, on calling at one of our trading -stations at New Hanover where we intended to beach the vessel for -repairs, we found that the trader had been killed, and of the station -house nothing remained but the charred centre-post--it had been reduced -to ashes. The place was situated on a little palm-clad islet not three -hundred acres in extent, and situated a mile or two from the mainland, -and abreast of a village containing about four hundred natives, under -whose protection our trader and his three Solomon Island labourers were -living, as the little island belonged to them, and we had placed the -trader there on account of its suitability, and also because the man -particularly wished to be quite apart from the village, fearing that his -Solomon Islanders would get themselves into trouble with the people. - -From the excited natives, who boarded us even before we had dropped -anchor, we learned that about a month after we had left poor Chantrey -on his little island a large party of marauding St. Matthias Island -savages, in ten canoes, had suddenly appeared and swooped down upon -the unfortunate white man and his labourers and slaughtered all four of -them; then after loading their canoes with all the plunder they could -carry, they set fire to the house and Chantrey's boat, and made off -again within a few hours. - -This was a serious blow to us; for not only had we to deplore the cruel -death of one of our best and most trusted traders, but Chantrey had a -large stock of trade goods, a valuable boat, and had bought over five -hundred pounds' worth of coconut oil and pearl-shell from the New -Hanover natives,--all this had been consumed. However, it was of no use -for us to grieve, we had work to do that was of pressing necessity, -for the _Metaris_ was leaking badly and had to be put on the beach -as quickly as possible whilst we had fine weather. This, with the -assistance of the natives, we at once set about and in the course of -a few days had effected all the necessary repairs, and then steered -westward for Admiralty Island, calling at various islands on our way, -trading with the wild natives for coco-nut oil, copra, ivory nuts, -pearl-shell and tortoise-shell, and doing very poorly; for a large -American schooner, engaged in the same business, had been ahead of us, -and at most of the islands we touched at we secured nothing more than -a few hundredweight of black-edged pearl-shell. Then, to add to our -troubles, two of our native crew were badly wounded in an attack made on -a boat's crew who were sent on shore to cut firewood on what the skipper -and I thought to be a chain of small uninhabited islands. This was a -rather serious matter, for not only were the captain and boatswain ill -with fever, but three of the crew as well. - -For a week we worked along the southern coast of Admiralty Island, -calling at a number of villages and obtaining a considerable quantity of -very good pearl-shell from the natives. But it was a harassing time, for -having seven sick men on board we never dared to come to an anchor for -fear of the savage and treacherous natives attempting to capture the -ship. As it was, we had to keep a sharp look-out to prevent more than -two canoes coming alongside at once, and then only when there was a fair -breeze, so that we could shake them off if their occupants showed any -inclination for mischief. We several times heard some of these gentry -commenting on the ship being so short-handed, and this made us unusually -careful, for although those of us who were well never moved about -unarmed we could not have beaten back a sudden rush. - -At last, however, both Manson and the boatswain, and one of the native -sailors became so ill that the former decided to make a break in the -cruise and let all hands--sick and well--have a week's spell at a place -he knew of, situated at the west end of the great island; and so one day -we sailed the _Metaris_ into a quiet little bay, encompassed by lofty -well-wooded hills, and at the head of which was a fine stream of fresh -water. - -"We shall soon pull ourselves together in this place," said Manson to -Loring (the mate) and me. "I know this little bay well, though 'tis six -years since I was last here. There are no native villages within ten -miles at least, and we shall be quite safe, so we need only keep an -anchor watch at night. Man the boat, there. I must get on shore right -away. I am feeling better already for being here. Which of you fellows -will come with me for a bit of a look round?" - -I, being the supercargo, was, for the time, an idle man, but made an -excuse of "wanting to overhaul" my trade-room--always a good standing -excuse with most supercargoes--as I wanted Loring to have a few hours -on shore; for although he was free of fever he was pretty well run down -with overwork. So, after some pressure, he consented, and a few minutes -later he and Manson were pulled on shore, and I watched them land on -the beach, just in front of a clump of wild mango trees in full bearing, -almost surrounded by groves of lofty coco-nut palms. A little farther on -was an open, grassy space on which grew some wide-branched white cedar -trees. - -About an hour afterwards Loring returned on board, and told me that -Manson had gone on alone to what he described as "a sweet little lake". -It was only a mile away, and he thought of having a leaf house built -there for the sick men and himself, and wanted Loring to come and have a -look at it, but the mate declined, pleading his wish to get back to the -ship and unbend our canvas. - -"As you will," said Manson to him. "I shall be all right. I'll shoot -some pigeons and cockatoos by-and-by, and bring them down to the beach. -And after you have unbent the canvas, you can take the seine to the -mouth of the creek and fill the boat with fish." Then, gun on shoulder, -he walked slowly away into the verdant and silent forest. - -After unbending our canvas, we went to dinner; and then leaving Loring -in charge of the ship, the boatswain, two hands and myself went on -shore with the seine to the mouth of the creek, and in a very short time -netted some hundreds of fish much resembling the European shad. - -Just as we were about to push off, I heard Manson's hail close to, -and looking round, nearly lost my balance and fell overboard in -astonishment--he was accompanied by a woman. - -Springing out of the boat, I ran to meet them. - -"Mrs. Hollister," said the captain, "this is my supercargo. As soon as -we get on board I will place you in his hands, and he will give you all -the clothing you want at present for yourself and your little girl," and -then as, after I had shaken hands with the lady, I stood staring at him -for an explanation, he smiled. - -"I'll tell you Mrs. Hollister's strange story by-and-by, old man. -Briefly it is this--she, her husband, and their little girl have been -living here for over two years. Their vessel was castaway here. Now, get -into the boat, please, Mrs. Hollister." - -The woman, who was weeping silently with excitement, smiled through her -tears, stepped into the boat, and in a few minutes we were alongside. - -"Make all the haste you can," Manson said to me, "as Mrs. Hollister is -returning on shore as soon as you can give her some clothing and boots -or shoes. Then they are all coming on board to supper at eight o'clock." - -The lady came with me to my trade-room, and we soon went to work -together, I forbearing to ask her any questions whatever, though I was -as full of curiosity as a woman. Like that of all trading vessels -whose "run" embraced the islands of Polynesia as well as Melanesia and -Micronesia, the trade-room of the _Metaris_ was a general store. -The shelves and cases were filled with all sorts of articles--tinned -provisions, wines and spirits, firearms and ammunition, hardware and -drapers' soft goods, "yellow-back" novels, ready-made clothing for men, -women and children, musical instruments and grindstones--in fact just -such a stock as one would find in a well-stocked general store in an -Australian country town. - -In half an hour Mrs. Hollister had found all that she wanted, and -packing the articles in a "trade" chest, I had it passed on deck and -lowered into the boat. Then the lady, now smiling radiantly, shook hands -with every one, including the steward, and descended to the boat which -quickly cast off and made for the shore in charge of the boatswain. - -Then I felt that I deserved a drink, and went below again where Manson -and Loring were awaiting me. They had anticipated my wishes, for the -steward had just placed the necessary liquids on the cabin table. - -"Now, boys," said the skipper, as he opened some soda water, "after we -have had a first drink I'll spin my yarn--and a sad enough one it is, -too. By-the-way, steward, did you put that bottle of brandy and some -soda water in the boat?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"That's all right. Just fancy, you fellows--that poor chap on shore has -not had a glass of grog for more than two years. That is, I suppose so. -Anyway I am sending him some. And, I say, steward; I want you to spread -yourself this evening and give us _the_ very best supper you ever gave -us. There are three white persons coming at eight o'clock. And I daresay -they will sleep on board, so get ready three spare bunks." - -Manson was usually a slow, drawling speaker--except when he had occasion -to admonish the crew; then he was quite brilliant in the rapidity of -his remarks--but now he was clearly a little excited and seemed to have -shaken the fever out of his bones, for he not only drank his brandy and -soda as if he enjoyed it, but asked the steward to bring him his pipe. -This latter request was a sure sign that he was getting better. Then he -began his story. - -***** - -Although six years had passed since he had visited this part of the -great island, Manson knew his way inland to the lake. The forest was -open, and consisted of teak and cedar with but little undergrowth. -Suddenly, as he was passing under the spreading branches of a great -cedar, he saw something that made him stare with astonishment--a little -white girl, driving before her a flock of goats! She was dressed in -a loose gown of blue print, and wore an old-fashioned white linen -sun-bonnet, and her bare legs and feet were tanned a deep brown. Only -for a moment did he see her face as she faced towards him to hurry up a -playful kid that had broken away from the flock, and then her back was -again turned, and she went on, quite unaware of his presence. - -"Little girl," he called. - -Something like a cry of terror escaped her lips as she turned to him. - -"Oh, sir," she cried in trembling tones, "you frightened me." - -"I am so sorry, my dear. Who are you? Where do you live?" - -"Just by the lake, sir, with my father and mother." - -"May I come with you and see them?" - -"Oh, yes, sir. We have never seen any one since we came here more than -two years ago. When did you come, sir?" - -"Only this morning. My vessel is anchored in the little cove." - -"Oh, I am so glad, so glad! My father and mother too will be so glad to -meet you. But he cannot see you--I mean see you with his eyes--for he is -blind. When our ship was wrecked here the lightning struck him, and took -away his eyesight." - -Deeply interested as he was, Manson forbore to question the child any -further, and walked beside her in silence till they came in view of the -lake. - -"Look, sir, there is our house. Mother and Fiji Sam, the sailor, built -it, and I helped. Isn't it nice? See, there are my father and mother -waiting for me." - -On the margin of a lovely little lake, less than a mile in -circumference, was a comfortably built house, semi-native, semi-European -in construction, and surrounded by a garden of gorgeous-hued coleus, -crotons, and other indigenous plants, and even the palings which -enclosed it were of growing saplings, so evenly trimmed as to resemble -an ivy-grown wall. - -Seated in front of the open door were a man and woman. The latter rose -and came to meet Manson, who raised his hat as the lady held out her -hand, and he told her who he was. - -"Come inside," she said, in a soft, pleasant voice. "This is my husband, -Captain Hollister. Our vessel was lost on this island twenty-eight -months ago, and you are the first white man we have seen since then." - -The blind man made his visitor welcome, but without effusion, and begged -him to be seated. What especially struck Manson was the calm, quiet -manner of all three. They received him as if they were used to seeing -strangers, and betrayed no unusual agitation. Yet they were deeply -thankful for his coming. The house consisted of three rooms, and had -been made extremely comfortable by articles of cabin furniture. The -table was laid for breakfast, and as Manson sat down, the little girl -hurriedly milked a goat, and brought in a small gourd of milk. In a -few minutes Hollister's slight reserve had worn off, and he related his -strange story. - -His vessel (of which he was owner) was a topsail schooner of 130 tons, -and had sailed from Singapore in a trading cruise among the Pacific -Islands. For the first four months all went well. Many islands had been -visited with satisfactory results, and then came disaster, swift and -terrible. Hollister told of it in few and simple words. - -"We were in sight of this island and in the middle watch were becalmed. -The night was close and sultry, and we had made all ready for a blow -of some sort. For two hours we waited, and then in an instant the whole -heavens were alight with chain and fork lightning. My Malay crew bolted -below, and as they reached the fore-scuttle, two of them were struck -dead, and flames burst out on the fore-part of the ship. I sprang -forward, and was half-way along the deck, when I, too, was struck down. -For an hour I was unconscious, and when I revived knew that my sight was -gone for ever. - -"My mate was a good seaman, but old and wanting in nerve. Still, with -the aid of some of the terrified crew, and amidst a torrential downpour -of rain which almost immediately began to fall, he did what he could to -save the ship. In half an hour the rain ceased, and then the wind came -with hurricane force from the southward; the crew again bolted, and -refused to come on deck, and the poor mate in trying to heave-to was -washed away from the wheel, together with the Malay serang--the only man -who stuck to him. There were now left on board alive four Malays, one -Fijian A.B. named Sam, my wife and child and myself. And I, of course, -was helpless. - -"'Fiji Sam' was a plucky fellow. Aided by my wife, he succeeded in -putting the schooner before the wind and letting her drive to the -N.N.W., feeling sure that she would be giving the land a wide berth. -Unfortunately he did not count upon a four-knot current setting to the -eastward, and just as daylight was breaking we tore clean over the reef -at high water into a little bay two miles from here. The water was so -deep, and the place so sheltered, that the schooner drifted in among the -branches of the trees lining the beach, and lay there as quiet as if she -were moored to a wharf. - -"Two days later the Malays seized the dinghy, taking with them -provisions and arms, and deserted me. What became of them I do not know. - -"Fiji Sam found this lake, and here we built this house, after removing -all that we could from the ship, for she was leaking, and settled down -upon her keel. She is there still, but of no use. - -"When we ran ashore we had in the hold some goats and pigs, which I had -bought at Anchorites' Island. The goats kept with us, but the pigs went -wild, and took to the bush. In endeavouring to shoot one, poor Fiji -Sam lost his life--his rifle caught in a vine and went off, the bullet -passing through his body. - -"Not once since the wreck have we seen a single native, though on clear -days we often see smoke about fifteen miles along the coast. Anyway, -none have come near us--for which I am very glad." - -Manson remarked that that was fortunate as they were "a bad lot". - -"So we have been living here quietly for over two years. Twice only have -we seen a sail, but only on the horizon. And I, having neither boat nor -canoe, and being blind, was helpless." - -"That is the poor fellow's story," concluded Manson. "Of course I will -give them a passage to Levuka, and we must otherwise do our best for -them. Although Hollister has lost every penny he had in the world, his -wife tells me that she owns some property in Singapore, where she also -has a brother who is in business there. By Jove, boys, I wish you -had been with me when I said 'Thank God, I have found you, Captain -Hollister,' and the poor fellow sighed and turned his face away as he -held out his hand to me, and his wife drew him to her bosom." - - - - -CHAPTER IV ~ NISAN ISLAND; A TALE OF THE OLD TRADING DAYS - -When I was first learning the ropes as a "recruiter" in the Kanaka -labour trade, recruiting natives to work on the plantations of Samoa and -Fiji, we called at a group of islands called Nisan by the natives, -and marked on the chart as the Sir Charles Hardy Islands. I thought -it likely that I might obtain a few "recruits," and the captain wanted -fresh provisions. - -The group lies between the south end of New Ireland and the north end of -the great Bougainville Island in the Solomon Archipelago, and consists -of six low, well-wooded and fertile islands, enclosed within a barrier -reef, forming a noble atoll, almost circular in shape. All the islands -are thickly populated at the present day by natives, who are peaceable -enough, and engage in _beche-de-mer_ and pearl-shell fishing. Less than -forty years back they were notorious cannibals, and very warlike, and -never hesitated to attempt to cut off any whaleship or trading vessel -that was not well manned and well armed. - -As I had visited the group on three previous occasions in a trading -vessel and was well known to the people, I was pretty sure of getting -some "recruits" for Samoa, for our vessel had a good reputation. So, -lowering our boats, the second mate and I went on shore, and were -pleasantly received. But, alas for my hopes! I could not get a single -native to recruit They were, they said, now doing so well at curing -_beche-de-mer_ for a Sydney trading vessel that none of the young men -cared to leave the island to work on a plantation for three years; in -addition to this, never before had food been so plentiful--pigs and -poultry abounded, and turtle were netted by hundreds at a time. In proof -of their assertion as to the abundance of provisions, I bought from -them, for trade goods worth about ten dollars, a boat-load of turtle, -pigs, ducks, fowls, eggs and fish. These I sent off to the ship by the -second mate, and told him to return for another load of bread-fruit, -taro, and other vegetables and fruit. I also sent a note to the captain -by my own boat, telling him to come on shore and bring our guns and -plenty of cartridges, as the islands were alive with countless thousands -of fine, heavy pigeons, which were paying the group their annual visit -from the mountainous forests of Bougainville Island and New Ireland. -They literally swarmed on a small uninhabited island, covered with -bread-fruit and other trees, and used by the natives as a sort of -pleasure resort. - -The two boats returned together, and leaving the second mate to buy more -pigs and turtle--for we had eighty-five "recruits" on board to feed, as -well as the ship's company of twenty-eight persons--the skipper and I -started off in my boat for the little island, accompanied by several -young Nisan "bucks" carrying old smooth-bore muskets, for they, too, -wanted to join in the sport I had given them some tins of powder, shot, -and a few hundred military caps. We landed on a beautiful white beach, -and telling our boat's crew to return to the village and help the second -mate, the skipper and I, with the Nisan natives, walked up the bank, -and in a few minutes the guns were at work. Never before had I seen -such thousands of pigeons in so small an area. It could hardly be called -sport, for the birds were so thick on the trees that when a native fired -at haphazard into the branches the heavy charge of shot would bring them -down by the dozen--the remainder would simply fly off to the next tree. -Owing to the dense foliage the skipper and I seldom got a shot at them -on the wing, and had to slaughter like the natives, consoling ourselves -with the fact that every bird would be eaten. Most of them were so fat -that it was impossible to pluck them without the skin coming away, -and from the boat-load we took on board the skip's cook obtained a -ten-gallon keg full of fat. - -About noon we ceased, to have something to eat and drink, and chose for -our camp a fairly open spot, higher than the rest of the island, and -growing on which were some magnificent trees, bearing a fruit called -vi. It is in reality a wild mango, but instead of containing the smooth -oval-shaped seed of the mango family, it has a round, root-like and -spiky core. The fruit, however, is of a delicious flavour, and when -fully ripe melts in one's mouth. Whilst our native friends were grilling -some birds, and getting us some young coco-nuts to drink, the captain -and I, taking some short and heavy pieces of wood, began throwing them -at the ripe fruit overhead. Suddenly my companion tripped over something -and fell. - -"Hallo, what is this?" he exclaimed, as he rose and looked at the cause -of his mishap. - -It was the end of a bar of pig-iron ballast, protruding some inches -out of the soft soil. We worked it to and fro, and then pulled it out. -Wondering how it came there, we left it and resumed our stick-throwing, -when we discovered three more on the other side of the tree; they were -lying amid the ruins of an old wall, built of coral-stone slabs. We -questioned the natives as to how these "pigs" came to be there. They -replied that, long before their time, a small vessel had come into -the lagoon and anchored, and that the crew had thrown the bars of iron -overboard. After the schooner had sailed away, the natives had dived for -and recovered the iron, and had tried to soften the bars by fire in the -hope of being able to turn it into axes, etc. - -We accepted the story as true, and thought no more about it, though we -wondered why such useful, compact and heavy ballast should be thrown -away, and when my boat returned to take us to the ship, we took the iron -"pigs" with us. - -Arriving at Samoa, we soon rid ourselves of our eighty-five -"blackbirds," who had all behaved very well on the voyage, and were -sorry to leave the ship; and that evening I paid a visit to an old -friend of mine--an American who kept a large store in Apia, the -principal port and town of Samoa. I was telling him all about our -cruise, when an old white man, locally known as "Bandy Tom," came up -from the yard, and sat down on the verandah steps near us. Old Tom was a -character, and well known all over Polynesia as an inveterate old loafer -and beachcomber. He was a deserter from the navy, and for over forty -years had wandered about the South Pacific, sometimes working honestly -for a living, sometimes dishonestly, but usually loafing upon some -native community, until they tired of him and made him seek fresh -pastures. In his old age he had come to Samoa, and my friend, taking -pity on the penniless old wreck, gave him employment as night watchman, -and let him hang about the premises and do odd jobs in the day-time. -With all his faults he was an amusing ancient, and was known for his -"tall" yarns about his experiences with cannibals in Fiji. - -Bidding me "good-evening," Bandy Tom puffed away at his pipe, and -listened to what I was saying. When I had finished describing our visit -to Nisan, and the finding of the ballast, he interrupted. - -"I can tell you where them 'pigs' come from, and all about -'em--leastways a good deal; for I knows more about the matter than any -one else." - -Parker laughed. "Bandy, you know, or pretend to know, about everything -that has happened in the South Seas since the time of Captain Cook." - -"Ah, you can laugh as much as you like, boss," said the old fellow -serenely, "but I know what I'm talkin' about I ain't the old gas-bag you -think I am. I lived on Nisan for a year an' ten months, nigh on thirty -years ago, gettin' _beche-de-mer_ for Captain Bobby Towns of Sydney." -Then turning to me he added: "I ain't got too bad a memory, for all my -age. I can tell you the names of all the six islands, and how they lies, -an' a good deal about the people an' the queer way they has of catchin' -turtle in rope nets; an' I can tell you the names of the head men that -was there in my time--which was about 'fifty or 'fifty-one. Just you try -me an' see." - -I did try him, and he very soon satisfied me that he had lived on the -Sir Charles Hardy Islands, and knew the place well. Then he told his -story, which I condense as much as possible. - - - - -FIRST PART - -Bandy was landed at Nisan by Captain Robert Towns of the barque -_Adventurer_ of Sydney, to collect _beche-de-mer_. He was well received -by the savage inhabitants and provided with a house, and well treated -generally, for Captain Towns, knowing the natives to be cannibals and -treacherous, had demanded a pledge from them that Bandy should not be -harmed, and threatened that if on his return in the following year he -found the white man was missing, he would land his crew, and destroy -them to the last man. Then the barque sailed. A day or so afterwards -Bandy was visited by a native, who was very different in appearance -from the Nisan people. He spoke to the white man in good English, and -informed him that he was a native of the island of Rotumah, but had been -living on Nisan for more than twenty years, had married, had a family, -and was well thought of by the people. The two became great friends, and -Taula, as the Rotumah man was named, took Bandy into his confidence, and -told him of a tragedy that had occurred on Nisan about five or six years -after he (Taula) had landed on the islands. He was one of the crew of a -whaleship which, on a dark night, nearly ran ashore on Nisan, and in the -hurry and confusion of the vessels going about he slipped over the side, -swam on shore through the surf, and reached the land safely. - -One day, said Taula, the natives were thrown into a state of wild -excitement by the appearance of a brigantine, which boldly dropped -anchor abreast of the principal village. She was the first vessel -that had ever stopped at the islands, and the savage natives instantly -planned to capture her and massacre the crew. But they resolved to first -put the white men off their guard. Taula, however, did not know this at -the time. With a number of the Nisan people he went on board, taking -an ample supply of provisions. The brigantine had a large crew and was -heavily armed, carrying ten guns, and the natives were allowed to board -in numbers. The captain had with him his wife, whom Taula described as -being quite a young girl. He questioned the natives about pearl-shell -and _beche-de-mer_ and a few hours later, by personal inspection, -satisfied himself that the atoll abounded with both. He made a treaty -with the apparently friendly people, and at once landed a party to build -houses, etc. - -I must now, for reasons that will appear later on, hurry over Taula's -story as told by him to Bandy. - -Eight or ten days after the arrival of the brigantine, the shore -party of fourteen white men were treacherously attacked, and thirteen -ruthlessly slaughtered. One who escaped was kept as a slave, and the -brigantine, to avoid capture, hurriedly put to sea. - -Six months or so passed, and the vessel again appeared and anchored, -this time on a mission of vengeance. The natives, nevertheless, were not -alarmed, and again determined to get possession of the ship, although -this time her decks were crowded with men. They attacked her in canoes, -were repulsed, returned to the shore and then, with incredible audacity, -sent the white sailor whom they had captured on board the vessel to make -peace. But not for a moment had they relinquished the determination to -capture the vessel, which they decided to effect by treachery, if force -could not be used. What followed was related in detail by Taula to -Bandy. - -Parker and I were deeply interested in Bandy's story, and at its -conclusion I asked him if his informant knew the name of the ship and -her nationality. - -"Not her name, sir; but she was an American. Taula knew the American -flag, for the ship he ran away from was a Sag harbour whaler. The -pig-iron bars which you found were brought ashore to make a bed for the -_beche-de-mer_ curing pots. He showed 'em to me one day." - -Both Parker and I were convinced of the truth of Bandy's story, and came -to the conclusion that the unknown brigantine was probably a colonial -trader, which had afterwards been lost with all hands. For we were -both fairly well up in the past history of the South Seas--at least we -thought so--and had never heard of this affair at the Sir Charles Hardy -Group. But we were entirely mistaken in our assumptions. - -In the month of April in the year 1906, after a lapse of more than five -and twenty years, the mystery that enshrouded the tragedy of Nisan -was revealed to me by my coming across, in a French town, a small, -time-stained and faded volume of 230 pages, and published by J. and J. -Harper of New York in 1833, and entitled _Narrative of a Voyage to the -Ethiopie and South Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Chinese Sea, North -and South Pacific Ocean in the years_ 1829, 1830, 1831, by Abby Jane -Morrell, who accompanied her husband, Captain Benjamin Morrell, Junior, -of the schooner _Antarctic_. - -Now to her story, - - - - -SECOND PART - -Opening the faded little volume, the reader sees a wood-engraving of the -authoress, a remarkably handsome young woman of about twenty years of -age, dressed in the quaint fashion of those days. As a matter of fact -she was only four and twenty when her book was published. In a brief -preface she tells us that her object in writing a book was not for the -purpose of exciting interest in her own experiences of a remarkable -voyage, but in the hope that it would arouse philanthropic endeavour to -ameliorate the condition of American seamen. Throughout the volume there -is a vein of deep, yet unobtrusive piety, and the reader is struck with -her self-effacement, her courage, her reverent admiration for her young -sailor husband, and her pride in his gallant ship and sturdy crew of -native-born American seamen. In the _Antarctic_ the young couple sailed -many seas, and visited many lands, and everywhere they seem to have been -the recipients of unbounded hospitality and attention, especially from -their own country people, and English merchants, and naval and military -men. It is very evident--even if only judging from her picture--that she -was a very charming young lady of the utmost vivacity; and in addition -to this, she was an accomplished linguist, and otherwise highly -educated. Her beauty, indeed, caused her many tears, owing to the -"wicked and persistent attentions" of the American consul at Manila. -This gentleman appears to have set himself to work to make Mrs. Morrell -a widow, until at last--her husband being away at sea--she had to be -guarded from his persistent advances by some of the English and American -families resident in Manila. She tells the story in the most naive and -delightful manner, and the reader's heart warms to the little woman. But -I must not diverge from the subject. - -"I am," she says, "the daughter of Captain John Wood, of New York, who -died at New Orleans on the 14th of November, 1811. He was then master -of the ship _Indian Hunter_.... He died when I was so young that if I -pleased myself with thinking that I remember him, I could not have been -a judge of his virtues; but it has been a source of happiness to me that -he is spoken of by his contemporaries as a man of good sense and great -integrity." - -When fifteen years of age Miss Wood met her cousin, Captain Morrell, -a young man who had gained a reputation for seamanship, and as a -navigator. They were mutually attracted to each other, and in a few -months were married. Then he sailed away on a two years' voyage, -returned, and again set out, this time to the little known South Seas. -Absent a year--during which time a son was born to him--he was so -pleased with the financial results of the voyage that he determined on -a second; and his wife insisted on accompanying him, though he pleaded -with her to remain, and told her of the dangers and terrors of a long -voyage in unknown seas, the islands of which were peopled by ferocious -and treacherous cannibals. But she was not to be deterred from sharing -her husband's perils, and with an aching heart took farewell of her -infant son, whom she left in care of her mother, and on 2nd September, -1829, the _Antarctic_ sailed from New York. The cruise was to last two -years, and the object of it was to seek for new sealing grounds in the -Southern Ocean, and then go northward to the Pacific Islands and -barter with the natives for sandal-wood, _beche-de-mer_ pearls, and -pearl-shell. - -The crew of the brigantine were picked men, and all of them gave Morrell -a written pledge to abstain from drinking spirits of any kind during the -entire voyage. Morrell, though a strict disciplinarian, seems to have -had their respect and even affection throughout, and that he was a man -of iron resolution and dauntless courage the book gives ample testimony. - -After some months' sealing at the Auckland Islands, and visiting New -Zealand, where the Morrells were entertained by the missionary, John -Williams, the brigantine made a highly successful cruise among the -islands of the South Pacific, and then Morrell went to Manila to dispose -of his valuable cargo. This he did to great advantage, and once more his -restless, daring spirit impelled him tot make another voyage among the -islands. This time, however, he left his wife in Manila, where she soon -found many friends, who protected her from the annoying attentions of -the consul, and nursed her through a severe illness. - -"On the seventy-fifth day after the sailing of the _Antarctic?_" she -writes, "as I was looking with a glass from my window, as I had done for -many days previously, I saw my husband's well-known signal at the mast -head of an approaching vessel.... I was no sooner on board than I found -myself in my husband's arms; but the scene was too much for my enfeebled -frame, and I was for some time insensible. On coming to myself, I looked -around and saw my brother, pale and emaciated. My forebodings were -dreadful when I perceived that the number of the crew was sadly -diminished from what it was when I was last on board. I dared not -trust myself to make any inquiries, and all seemed desirous to avoid -explanations. I could not rest in this state of mind, and ventured to -ask what had become of the men. My husband, with his usual frankness, -sat down and detailed to me the whole affair, which was as follows:-- - - - A TALE OF THE OLD TRADING DAYS - -"It seems that six weeks after leaving Manila" (here I omit some -unimportant details) "he came to six islands that were surrounded by -a coral reef." (The Sir Charles Hardy Group.) "Here was a-plenty of -_beche-de-mer_ and he made up his mind to get a cargo of this, and what -shell he could procure.... On May 21st he sent a boat's crew on shore to -clear away the brush and prepare a place to cure the _beche-de-mer_. The -natives now came off to the vessel, and seemed quiet, although it was -evident that they had never seen a white man before, and the islands -bore no trace of ever having been visited by civilised men. The people -were a large, savage-looking race, but Mr. Morrell was lulled to -security by their civil and harmless (_sic_) appearance, and their -fondness of visiting the vessel to exchange their fruits for trinkets -and other commodities attractive to the savages in these climes. They -were shown in perfect friendship all parts of the vessel, and appeared -pleased with the attentions paid them.... A boat was sent on shore with -the forge and all the blacksmith's tools, but the savages soon stole the -greater part of them. - -"This was an unpropitious circumstance, but Mr. Morrell thought that he -could easily recover them; and to accomplish this, he took six of his -men, well armed, and marched directly to the village where the king -lived. This was a lovely place, formed in a grove of trees. Here he met -two hundred warriors, all painted for battle, armed with bows and arrows -ready for an onset, waving their war plumes, and eager to engage. On -turning round he saw nearly as many more in his rear--it was a critical -moment--the slightest fear was sure death. Mr. Morrell addressed his -comrades, and, in a word, told them that if they did not act in concert, -and in the most dauntless manner, death would be inevitable. He then -threw down his musket, drew his cutlass, and holding a pistol in his -right hand, he pushed for the king, knowing in what reverence savages in -general hold the person of their monarch. In an instant the pistol was -at the king's breast, and the cutlass waved over his head. The savages -had arrowed their bows, and were ready at the slightest signal to have -shot a cloud of missiles at the handful of white men; but in an instant, -when they saw the danger of their king, they dropped their bows to the -ground. At this fortunate moment, the captain marched around the circle, -and compelled those who had come with war-clubs to throw those down -also; all which he ordered his men to secure and collect inta a heap. -The king was then conducted with several of his chiefs on board the -_Antarctic_, and kept until the next day. They were treated with every -attention, but strictly guarded all night On the following morning he -gave them a good breakfast, loaded them with presents--for which they -seemed grateful, and laboured hard to convince their conqueror that they -were friendly to him and his crew--sent them on shore, together with -some of his men, to go on with the works which had been commenced; but -feeling that a double caution was necessary, he sent a reinforcement -to his men on shore, well armed.... All were cautioned to be on their -guard; but everything was unavailing; for not long after this, a general -attack was made on the men from the woods, in so sudden a manner that -they were overthrown at once. Two of the crew who were in the small -boat, made their escape out of reach of the arrows, and had the good -fortune to pick up three others who had thrown themselves into the water -for safety. On hearing the horrid yells of the savages, the whaleboat -was sent with ten men, who, with great exertions, saved two more of -the crew. The rest all fell, at one untimely moment, victims to savage -barbarity! It was an awful and heart-sickening moment; fourteen of the -crew had perished--they were murdered, mangled, and their corpses -thrown upon the strand without the possibility of receiving the rites -of Christian burial.... Four of the survivors were wounded--the heat was -intolerable--the spirits of the crew were broken down, and a sickness -came over their hearts that could not be controlled by the power of -medicine--a sickness arising from moral causes, that would not yield to -science nor art. - -"In this situation Captain Morrell made the best of his way for -Manila.... I grew pale over the narrative; it filled my dreams for many -nights, and occupied my thoughts for many days, almost exclusively.... -I dreaded the thought of the mention of the deed, and yet I wished I -had been there. I might have done some good, or, if not, I might have -assisted to dress the wounded, among whom was my own dear, heroic -brother. He received an arrow in the breast, but his good constitution -soon got over the shock; though he was pale even when I saw him, so -many days after the event. My husband had now lost everything but his -courage, his honour, and his perseverance; but the better part of the -community of Manila had become his friends, while the American consul -was delighted with our misfortunes. He was alone!" - - - - -THIRD PART - -Nothing daunted by this catastrophe Captain Morrell petitioned the -Captain-General of the Philippines for leave to take out a new crew -of seventy additional men--sixty-six Manila men, and four Europeans. -Everyone warned him of the danger of this--no other ship had ever dared -take more than six Manila men as part of her complement, for they were -treacherous, and prone to mutiny. But Morrell contested that he would -be able to manage them and the captain-general yielded. Two English -merchants, Messrs. Cannell and Gellis, generously lent him all the money -he required to fit out, taking only his I.O.U. So:-- - -"On the 18th July, 1830, the _Antarctic_ again sailed for Massacre -Islands, as my husband had named the group where he lost his men. When -I went on board I found a crew of eighty-five men, fifty-five of them -savages as fierce as those whom we were about to encounter, and as -dangerous, if not properly managed. One would have thought that I should -have shrunk from this assemblage as from those of Massacre Islands, but -I entered my cabin with a light step; I did not fear savage men half -so much as I did a civilised brute. I was with my husband; he was not -afraid, why should I be? This was my reasoning, and I found it safe. - -"The schooner appeared as formidable as anything possibly could of her -size; she had great guns, ten in number, small arms, boarding-pikes, -cutlasses, pistols, and a great quantity of ammunition. She was a -war-horse in every sense of the word, but that of animal life, and that -she seemed partially to have, or one would have thought so, to hear -the sailors talk of her.... She coursed over the waters with every -preparation for fight. - -"On the 13th of September the _Antarctic_ again reached Massacre -Islands. I could only view the place as a Golgotha; and shuddered as we -neared it; but I could see that most of the old crew who came hither -at the time of the massacre were panting for revenge, although their -captain had endeavoured to impress upon them the folly of gratifying -such a passion if we could gain our purpose by mildness mixed with -firmness." (I am afraid that here the skipper of the _Antarctic_ was -not exactly open with the little lady. He certainly meant that his crew -should "get even" with their shipmates' murderers, but doubtless told -her that he "had endeavoured," etc) - -"We had no sooner made our appearance in the harbour at Massacre Island, -on the 14th, than we were attacked by about three hundred warriors. We -opened a brisk fire upon them, and they immediately retreated. This was -the first battle I ever saw where men in anger met men in earnest We -were now perfectly safe; our Manila men were as brave as Caesar; they -were anxious to be landed instantly, to fight these Indians at once. -They felt as much superior, no doubt, to these ignorant savages as the -philosopher does to the peasant. This the captain would not permit; he -knew his superiority while on board his vessel, and he also knew that -this superiority must be, in a manner, lost to him as soon as he landed. - -"The firing had ceased, and the enemy had retired, when a single -canoe appeared coming from the shore with one man in it. We could not -conjecture what this could mean. The man was as naked as a savage and as -highly painted, but he managed his paddle with a different hand from the -savages. When he came alongside, he cried out to us in English, and we -recognised Leonard Shaw, one of our old crew, whom we had supposed among -the dead. The meeting had that joyousness about it that cannot be felt -in ordinary life; he was dead and buried, and now was alive again! -We received him as one might imagine; surprise, joy, wonder, took -possession of us all, and we made him recount his adventures, which were -wonderful enough. - -"Shaw was wounded when the others were slain; he fled to the woods, and -succeeded at that time in escaping from death. Hunger at length induced -him to leave the woods and attempt to give himself to the savages, but -coming in sight of the horrid spectacle of the bodies of his friends and -companions roasting for a cannibal feast, he rushed forth again into the -woods with the intent rather to starve than to trust to such wretches -for protection. For four days and nights he remained in his hiding -place, when he was forced to go in pursuit of something to keep himself -from starving. After some exertion he obtained three coco-nuts, which -were so young that they did not afford much sustenance, but were -sufficient to keep him alive fifteen days, during which time he suffered -from the continually falling showers, which left him dripping wet. In -the shade of his hiding place he had no chance to dry himself, and on -the fifteenth day he ventured to stretch himself in the sun; but he did -not long remain undisturbed; an Indian saw him, and gave the alarm, -and he was at once surrounded by a host of savages. The poor, suffering -wretch implored them to be merciful, but he implored in vain; one of -them struck him on the back of the head with a war-club, and laid him -senseless on the ground, and for a while left him as dead. When he -recovered, and had gathered his scattered senses, he observed a chief -who was not among those by whom he had been attacked, and made signs -to him that he would be his slave if he would save him. The savage -intimated to him to follow, which he did, and had his wound most cruelly -dressed by the savage, who poured hot water into it, and filled it with -sand. - -"As soon as the next day, while yet in agony with his wound, he was -called up and set to work in making knives, and other implements from -the iron hoops, and other plunder from the forge when the massacre took -place. This was indeed hard, for the poor fellow was no mechanic, though -a first-rate Jack-tar... however, necessity made him a blacksmith, and -he got along pretty well. - -"The savages were not yet satisfied, and they made him march five or -six miles to visit a distinguished chief. This was done in a state of -nudity, without anything like sandals or mocassins to protect his feet -from the flint stones and sharp shells, and under the burning rays of -an intolerable sun. Blood marked his footsteps. The king met him -and compelled him to debase himself by the most abject ceremonies of -slavery. He was now overcome, and with a dogged indifference was ready -to die. He could not, he would not walk back; his feet were lacerated, -swollen, and almost in a state of putrefaction. The savages saw this, -and took him back by water, but only to experience new torments. The -young ones imitated their elders, and these graceless little rascals -pulled out his beard and whiskers, and eyebrows and eyelashes. In order -to save himself some part of the pain of this wretched process of their -amusement, he was permitted to perform a part of this work with his -own hands. He was indeed a pitiable object, but one cannot die when one -wishes, and be guiltless. This was not all he suffered; he was almost -starved to death, for they gave him only the offal of the fish they -caught, and this but sparingly; he sustained himself by catching rats, -and these offensive creatures were his principal food for a longtime. -He understood that the natives did not suffer the rats to be killed, and -therefore he had to do it secretly in the night time. - -"Thus passed the days of the poor prisoner; the wound on his head was -not yet healed, and notwithstanding all his efforts he failed to get the -sand out of his first wound until a short time before his deliverance, -when it was made known to him that he was to be immolated for a feast to -the king of the group! All things had now become matters of indifference -to him, and he heard the horrid story with great composure. All the -preparations for the sacrifice were got up in his presence, near the -very spot where the accursed feast of skulls had been held. All was in -readiness, and the people waited a long time for the king; but he did -not come, and the ceremony was put off. - -"Shaw has often expressed himself on this subject, and said that he -could not but feel some regret that his woes were not to be finished, -as there was no hope for him, and to linger always in this state of -agitation was worse than death; but mortals are short-sighted, for he -was destined to be saved through the instrumentality of his friends. - -"His soul was again agitated by hope and fear in the extremes when the -_Antarctic_ made her appearance a second time on the coast. He feared -that her arrival would be the signal for his destruction; but if this -should not happen, might he not be saved? The whole population of the -island he was on, and those of the others of the group, manned their -war canoes for a formidable attack; and the fate of the prisoner was -suspended for a season. The attack was commenced by the warriors in the -canoes, without doubt confident of success; but the well-directed fire -from the _Antarctic_ soon repulsed them, and they sought the shore in -paroxysms of rage, which was changed to fear when they found that the -big guns of the schooner threw their shot directly into the village, and -were rapidly demolishing their dwellings. It was in this state of fear -and humility that Shaw was sent off to the vessel to stop the carnage -and destruction; they were glad to have peace on any terms. They now -gave up their boldness, and as it was the wish of all but the Manila -men to spare the effusion of human blood, it was done as soon as safety -would permit of it. - -"The story of Shaw's sufferings raised the indignation of every one -of the Americans and English we had on board, and they were violently -desirous to be led on to attack the whole of the Massacre Islands, and -extirpate the race at once. They felt at this moment as if it would be -an easy thing to kill the whole of the inhabitants; but Captain Morrell -was not to be governed by any impulse of passion--he had other duties to -perform; yet he did not reprimand the men for this feeling; thinking it -might be of service to him hereafter. - -"After taking every precaution to ensure safety, by getting up his -boarding-nettings many feet above the deck, and everything prepared for -defence or attack, the frame of the house, brought for the purpose, -was got up on a small uninhabited island--which had previously been -purchased of the king in exchange for useful articles such as axes, -shaves, and other mechanical tools, precisely such as the Indians wished -for. The captain landed with a large force, and began to fell the trees -to make a castle for defence. Finding two large trees, nearly six feet -through, he prepared the limbs about forty feet from the ground, and -raised a platform extending from one to the other, with an arrow-proof -bulwark around it. Upon this platform were stationed a garrison of -twenty men, with four brass swivels. The platform was covered with a -watertight roof, and the men slept there at night upon their arms, to -keep the natives from approaching to injure the trees or the fort by -fire--the only way they could assail the garrison. It looked indeed like -a castle--formidable in every respect; and the ascent to it was by a -ladder, which was drawn up at night into this war-like habitation. The -next step was to clear the woods from around the castle, in order to -prevent a lurking enemy from coming within arrow-shot of the fort -Next, the house was raised, and made quite a fine appearance, being one -hundred and fifty feet long, forty feet broad, and very high. The castle -protected the house and the workmen in it, and both house and castle -were so near the sea-board that the _Antarctic_ while riding at anchor, -protected both. The castle was well stocked with provisions in case of a -siege. - -"The next day, after all was in order for business, a large number of -canoes made their appearance near Massacre Island. Shaw said that this -fleet belonged to another island (of the group) and he had never known -them to stop there before. My husband, having some suspicions, did not -suffer the crew to go on shore next morning at the usual time; and about -eight o'clock one of the chiefs came off, as usual, to offer us fruits, -but no boat was sent to meet him. He waited some time for us, and then -directed his course to our island, which my husband had named Wallace -Island, in memory of the officer who had bravely fallen in fight on the -day of the massacre. This was surprising as not a single native had set -foot on that island since our works were begun; but we were not kept -long in suspense, for we saw about a hundred war-canoes start from the -back side of Massacre Island, and make towards Wallace Island. We knew -that war was their object, and the _Antarctic_ was prepared for -battle. The chief who had come to sell us fruit, came in front of the -castle--the first man. He gave the war-whoop, and about two hundred -warriors, who had concealed themselves in the woods during the darkness -of the night, rushed forward. The castle was attacked on both sides, -and the Indians discharged their arrows at the building in the air, till -they were stuck, like porcupines' quills, in every part of the roof. The -garrison was firm, and waked in silence until the assailants were within -a short distance, when they opened a tremendous fire with their swivels, -loaded with canister shot; the men were ready with their muskets also, -and the _Antarctic_ opened her fire of large guns, all with a direct -and deadly aim at the leaders of the savage band. The execution was very -great, and in a short time the enemy beat a precipitate retreat, taking -with them their wounded, and as many of their dead as they could. The -ground was strewed with implements of war, which the savages had thrown -away in their flight, or which had belonged to the slain. The enemy did -not expect such a reception, and they were prodigiously frightened; the -sound of the cannon alarmed every woman and child in the group, as it -echoed through the forest, or died upon the wave; they had never heard -such a roar before, for in our first fight there was no necessity for -such energy. The Indians took to the water, leaving only a few in their -canoes to get them off, while the garrison hoisted the American flag, -and were greeted by cheers from those on board the schooner, who were in -high spirits at their victory, which was achieved without the loss of -a man on our part, and only two wounded. The music struck up 'Yankee -Doodle,' 'Rule Britannia,' etc., and the crew could hardly restrain -their joy to think that they had beaten their enemy so easily. - -"The boats were all manned, and most of the crew went on shore to -mark the devastation which had been made. I saw all this without any -sensation of fear, so easy is it for a woman to catch the spirit of -those near her. If I had a few months before this time read of such a -battle I should have trembled at the detail of the incidents; but seeing -all the animation and courage which were displayed, and noticing at the -same time how coolly all was done, every particle of fear left me, and -I stood quite as collected as any heroine of former days. Still I -could not but deplore the sacrifice of the poor, misguided, ignorant -creatures, who wore the human form, and had souls to save. Must the -ignorant always be taught civilisation through blood?--situated as we -were, no other course could be taken. - -"On the morning of the 19th, to our great surprise, the chief who had -previously come out to bring us fruit, and had done so on the morning of -our great battle, came again in his canoe, and called for Shaw, on -the edge of the reef, with his usual air of kindness and friendship, -offering fruit, and intimating a desire for trade, as though nothing had -happened. The offer seemed fair, but all believed him to be treacherous. -The small boat was sent to meet him, but Shaw, who we feared was now an -object of vengeance, was not sent in her. She was armed for fear of -the worst, and the coxswain had orders to kill the chief if he should -discover any treachery in him. As our boat came alongside the canoe, -the crew saw a bearded arrow attached to a bow, ready for the purpose -of revenge. Just as the savage was about to bend his bow, the coxswain -levelled his piece, and shot the traitor through the body; his wound was -mortal, but he did not expire immediately. At this instant a fleet of -canoes made their appearance to protect their chief. The small boat lost -one of her oars in the fight, and we were obliged to man two large boats -and send them to the place of contest The large boats were armed with -swivels and muskets, and a furious engagement ensued. The natives were -driven from the water, but succeeded in taking off their wounded chief, -who expired as he reached the shore. - -"After the death of Hennean, the name of the chief we had slain, the -inhabitants of Massacre Island fled to some other place, and left all -things as they were before our attack upon them, and our men roamed over -it at will. The skulls of several of our slaughtered men were found at -Hennean's door, trophies of his bloody prowess. These were now buried -with the honours of war; the colours of the _Antarctic_ were lowered -half-mast, minute guns were fired, and dirges were played by our band, -in honour of those who had fallen untimely on Massacre Island. This was -all that feeling or affection could bestow. Those so inhumanly murdered -had at last the rites of burial performed for them; millions have -perished without such honours...it is the last sad office that can be -paid. - -"We now commenced collecting and curing _beche-de-mer_ and should have -succeeded to our wishes, if we had not been continually harassed by the -natives as soon as we began our efforts. We continued to work in this -way until the 28th of October, when we found that the natives were still -hostile, and on that day one of our men was attacked on Massacre Island, -but escaped death through great presence of mind, and shot the man, who -was the brother of the chief Hennean. Our man's name was Thomas Holmes, -a cool, deliberate Englishman. Such an instance of self-possession, -in such great danger as that in which he was placed, would have given -immortality to a greater man. We felt ourselves much harassed and vexed -by the persevering savages, and finding it impossible to make them -understand our motives and intentions, we came to the conclusion to -leave the place forthwith. This was painful, after such struggles and -sacrifices and misfortunes; but there was no other course to pursue. -Accordingly, on the 3rd of November, 1830, we set fire to our house and -castle, and departed by the light of them, taking the _beche-de-mer_ we -had collected and cured." - -So ends Mrs. Morrell's story of the tragedy of "Massacre Island". She -has much else to relate of the subsequent cruise of the _Antarctic_ in -the South Pacific and the East Indies, and finally the happy conclusion -of an adventurous voyage, when the vessel returned safely to New York. - -If the reader has been sufficiently interested in her story to desire -to know where in the South Pacific her "Massacre Island" is situated, -he will find it in any modern map or atlas, almost midway between New -Ireland and Bougainville Island, the largest of the Solomon group, and -in lat. 4 deg. 50' S., long. 154 deg. 20' E. In conclusion, I may mention that -further relics of the visit of the _Antarctic_ came to light about -fifteen years ago, when some of the natives brought three or four round -shot to the local trader then living on Nisan. They had found them -buried under some coral stone _debris_ when searching for robber crabs. - - - - -CHAPTER V ~ MUTINIES - -Mutinies, even at the present day, are common enough. The facts -concerning many of them never come to light, it is so often to the -advantage of the after-guard of a ship to hush matters up. I know of one -instance in which the crew of a ship loading guano phosphates at Howland -Island imprisoned the captain, three mates and the steward in the cabin -for some days; then hauled them on deck, triced up the whole five and -gave them a hundred lashes each, in revenge for the diabolical cruelties -that had been inflicted upon them day by day for long months. Then they -liberated their tormentors, took to the boats and dispersed themselves -on board other guano ships loading at How-land Island, leaving their -former captain and officers to shift for themselves. This was one of -the mutinies that never came to light, or at least the mutineers escaped -punishment. - -I have witnessed three mutinies--in the last of which I took part, -although I was not a member of the ship's crew. - -My first experience occurred when I was a boy, and has been alluded to -by the late Lord Pembroke in his "Introduction" to the first book I had -published--a collection of tales entitled _By Reef and Palm_. It was -a poor sort of an affair, but filled my boyish heart with a glorious -delight--in fact it was an enjoyable mutiny in some respects, for what -might have been a tragedy was turned into a comedy. - -With a brother two years older I was sent to San Francisco by our -parents to begin life in a commercial house, and subsequently (of -course) make our fortunes. - -Our passages were taken at Newcastle (New South Wales) on the barque -_Lizzie and Rosa_, commanded by a little red-headed Irishman, to whose -care we were committed. His wife (who sailed with him) was a most -lovable woman, generous to a fault. _He_ was about the meanest specimen -of an Irishman that ever was born, was a savage little bully, boasted of -being a Fenian, and his insignificant appearance on his quarter deck, as -he strutted up and down, irresistibly suggested a monkey on a stick, and -my brother and myself took a quick dislike to him, as also did the other -passengers, of whom there were thirty--cabin and steerage. His wife (who -was the daughter of a distinguished Irish prelate) was actually afraid -of the little man, who snarled and snapped at her as if she were a -disobedient child. (Both of them are long since dead, so I can write -freely of their characteristics.) - -The barque had formerly been a French corvette--the _Felix Bernaboo_. -She was old, ill-found and leaky, and from the day we left Newcastle the -pumps were kept going, and a week later the crew came aft and demanded -that the ship should return to port. - -The little man succeeded in quieting them for the time by giving them -better food, and we continued on our course, meeting with such a series -of adverse gales that it was forty-one days before we sighted the island -of Rurutu in the South Pacific. By this time the crew and steerage -passengers were in a very angry frame of mind; the former were -overworked and exhausted, and the latter were furious at the miserly -allowance of food doled out to them by the equally miserly captain. - -At Rurutu the natives brought off two boat-loads of fresh provisions, -but the captain bought only one small pig for the cabin passengers. The -steerage passengers bought up everything else, and in a few minutes -the crew came aft and asked the captain to buy them some decent food in -place of the decayed pork and weevily biscuit upon which they had been -existing. He refused, and ordered them for'ard, and then the mate, a -hot-tempered Yorkshireman named Oliver, lost his temper, and told the -captain that the men were starving. Angry words followed, and the mate -knocked the little man down. - -Picking himself up, he went below, and reappeared with a brace of -old-fashioned Colt's revolvers, one of which--after declaring he would -"die like an Irishman"--he pointed at the mate, and calling upon him to -surrender and be put in irons, he fired towards his head. Fortunately -the bullet missed. The sympathetic crew made a rush aft, seized the -skipper, and after knocking him about rather severely, held him under -the force pump, and nearly drowned him. Only for the respect that the -crew had for his wife, I really believe they would have killed him, for -they were wrought up to a pitch of fury by his tyranny and meanness. The -boatswain carried him below, locked him up in one of the state-rooms, -and there he was kept in confinement till the barque reached Honolulu, -twenty days later, the mate acting as skipper. At Honolulu, the mate and -all the crew were tried for mutiny, but the court acquitted them all, -mainly through the testimony of the passengers. - -That was my first experience of a mutiny. My brother and I enjoyed it -immensely, especially the attempted shooting of the good old mate, and -the subsequent spectacle of the evil-tempered, vindictive little skipper -being held under the force pump. - -My third experience of a mutiny I take next (as it arose from a similar -cause to the first). I was a passenger on a brig bound from Samoa to the -Gilbert Islands (Equatorial Pacific). The master was a German, brutal -and overbearing to a degree, and the two mates were no better. One was -an American "tough," the other a lazy, foul-mouthed Swede. All three -men were heavy drinkers, and we were hardly out of Apia before the Swede -(second mate) broke a sailor's jaw with an iron belaying pin. The crew -were nearly all natives--steady men, and fairly good seamen. Five of -them were Gilbert Islanders, and three natives of Niue (Savage Island), -and it was one of these latter whose jaw was broken. They were an -entirely new crew and had shipped in ignorance of the character of the -captain. I had often heard of him as a brutal fellow, and the brig (the -_Alfreda_ of Hamburg) had long had an evil name. She was a labour-ship -("black-birder") and I had taken passage in her only because I was -anxious to get to the Marshall Islands as quickly as possible. - -There were but five Europeans on board--captain, two mates, bos'un and -myself. The bos'un was, although hard on the crew, not brutal, and he -never struck them. - -We had not been out three days when the captain, in a fit of rage, -knocked a Gilbert Islander down for dropping a wet paint-brush on -the deck. Then he kicked him about the head until the poor fellow was -insensible. - -From that time out not a day passed but one or more of the crew were -struck or kicked. The second mate's conduct filled me with fury and -loathing, for, in addition to his cruelty, his language was nothing but -a string of curses and blasphemy. Within a week I saw that the Gilbert -Islanders were getting into a dangerous frame of mind. - -These natives are noted all over the Pacific for their courage, and -seeing that mischief was brewing, I spoke to the bos'un about it. He -agreed with me, but said it was no use speaking to the skipper. - -To me the captain and officers were civil enough, that is, in a gruff -sort of way, so I decided to speak to the former. I must mention that I -spoke the Gilbert and Savage Island dialects, and so heard the natives -talk. However, I said nothing of that to the German. I merely said to -him that he was running a great risk in knocking the men about, and -added that their countrymen might try to cut off the brig out of -revenge. He snorted with contempt, and both he and the mates continued -to "haze" the now sulky and brooding natives. - -One calm Sunday night we were in sight of Funafuti lagoon, and also of a -schooner which I knew to be the _Hazeldine_ of San Francisco. She, like -us, was becalmed. - -In the middle watch I went on deck and found the skipper and second mate -drunk. The mate, who was below, was about half-drunk. All three men had -been drinking heavily for some days, and the second mate was hardly able -to keep his feet. The captain was asleep on the skylight, lying on his -back, snoring like a pig, and I saw the butt of his revolver showing in -the inner pocket of his coat. - -Presently rain began to fall, and the second mate called one of the -hands and told him to bring him his oil-skin coat. The man brought it, -and then the brutal Swede, accusing him of having been slow, struck him -a fearful blow in the face and knocked him off the poop. Then the brute -followed him and began kicking him with drunken fury, then fell on the -top of him and lay there. - -I went for'ard and found all the natives on deck, very excited and armed -with knives. Addressing them, I begged them to keep quiet and listen to -me. - -"The captain and mates are all drunk," I said, "and now is your chance -to leave the ship. Funafuti is only a league away. Get your clothes -together as quickly as possible, then lower away the port quarter-boat. -I, too, am leaving this ship, and I want you to put me on board the -_Hazeldine_. Then you can go on shore. Now, put up your knives and don't -hurt those three men, beasts as they are." - -As I was speaking, Max the bos'un came for'ard and listened. (I thought -he was asleep.) He did not interfere, merely giving me an expressive -look. Then he said to me:-- - -"Ask them to lock me up in the deck-house". - -Very quietly this was done, and then, whilst I got together my personal -belongings in the cabin, the boat was lowered. The Yankee mate was sound -asleep in his bunk, but one of the Nuie men took the key of his door and -locked it from the outside. Presently I heard a sound of breaking wood, -and going on deck, found that the Gilbert Islanders had stove-in the -starboard quarter-boat and the long-boat (the latter was on deck). -Then I saw that the second mate was lashed (bound hand and foot) to -the pump-rail, and the captain was lashed to one of the fife-rail -stanchions. His face was streaming with blood, and I thought he was -dead, but found that he had only been struck with a belaying pin, which -had broken his nose. - -"He drew a lot of blood from us," said one of the natives to me, "and so -I have drawn some from him." - -I hurried to the deck-house and told the bos'un what had occurred. He -was a level-headed young man, and taking up a carpenter's broad axe, -smashed the door of the deck-house. Then he looked at me and smiled. - -"You see, I'm gaining my liberty--captain and officers tied up, and no -one to look after the ship." - -I understood perfectly, and shaking hands with him and wishing him -a better ship, I went over the side into the boat, and left the brig -floating quietly on the placid surface of the ocean. - -The eight native sailors made no noise, although they were all wildly -excited and jubilant, but as we shoved off, they called out "Good-bye, -bos'un". - -An hour afterwards I was on board the _Hazeldine_ and telling my story -to her skipper, who was an old friend. Then I bade good-bye to the -natives, who started off for Funafuti with many expressions of goodwill -to their fellow-mutineer. - -At daylight a breeze came away from the eastward, and at breakfast time -the _Hazeldine_ was out of sight of the _Alfreda_. - -I learnt a few months later that the skipper had succeeded in bringing -her into Funafuti Lagoon, where he managed to obtain another crew. - - - - -CHAPTER VI ~ "MANI" - -Mani was a half-caste--father a Martinique nigger, mother a -Samoan--twenty-two years of age, and lived at Moata, a little village -two miles from Apia in Samoa. - -Mani's husband was a Frenchman named Francois Renault, who, when he was -sober, worked as a boat-builder and carpenter, for the German "factory" -at Matafele. And when he was away form home I would hear Mani laughing, -and see her playing with her two dark-skinned little girls, and talking -to them in a curious mixture of Samoan-French. They were merry mites -with big rolling eyes, and unmistakably "kinky" hair--like their mother. - -It was a fortnight after the great gale of 15th March, 1889, when the -six German and American warships were wrecked, that Mani came to my -house with a basket of fresh-water fish she had netted far up in a deep -mountain pool. She looked very happy. "Frank," she said, had not beaten -her for two whole weeks, and had promised not to beat her any more. And -he was working very steadily now. - -"That is good to hear, Mani." - -She smiled as she nodded her frizzy head, tossed her _tiputa_ (open -blouse) over one shoulder, and sat down on the verandah steps to clean -the fish. - -"Yes, he will beat me no more--at least not whilst the shipwrecked -sailors remain in Samoa. When they go I shall run away with the -children--to some town in Savai'i where he cannot find me." - -"It happened in this way," she went on confidentially: "a week ago two -American sailors came to the house and asked for water, for they -were thirsty and the sun was hot I told them that the Moata water was -brackish, and I husked and gave them two young coco-nuts each. And then -Frank, who had been drinking, ran out of the house and cursed and struck -me. Then one of the sailors felled him to the earth, and the other -dragged him up by his collar, and both kicked him so much that he wept. - -"'Doth he often beat thee?' said one of the sailors to me. And I said -'Yes'. - -"Then they beat him again, saying it was for my sake. And then one of -them shook him and said: 'O thou dog, to so misuse thine own wife! Now -listen. In three days' time we two of the _Trenton_ will have a day's -liberty, and we shall come here and see if thou hast again beaten thy -wife. And if thou hast but so much as _mata pio'd_ her we shall each -kick thee one hundred times.'" - -(_Mata pio_, I must explain, is Samoan for looking "cross-eyed" or -unpleasantly at a person.) - -"And Frank was very much afraid, and promised he would no longer harm -me, and held out his hand to them weepingly, but they would not take -it, and swore at him. And then they each gave my babies a quarter of -a dollar, and I, because my heart was glad, gave them each a ring of -tortoiseshell." - -"Did they come back, Mani?" - -Mani, at heart, was a flirt. She raised her big black eyes with their -long curling lashes to me, and then closed them for a moment demurely. - -"Yes," she replied, "they came back. And when I told them that my -husband was now kind to me, and was at work, they laughed, and left for -him a long piece of strong tobacco tied round with tarred rope. And they -said, 'Tell him we will come again by-and-by, and see how he behaveth to -thee'." - -"Mani," said in English, as she finished the last of the fish, "why -do you speak Samoan to me when you know English so well? Where did you -learn it? Your husband always speaks French to you." - -Mani told me her story. In her short life of two-and-twenty years she -had had some strange experiences. - -"My father was Jean Galoup. He was a negro of St. Pierre, in Martinique, -and came to Samoa in a French barque, which was wrecked on Tutuila. -He was one of the sailors. When the captain and the other sailors made -ready to go away in the boats he refused to go, and being a strong, -powerful man they dared not force him. So he remained on Tutuila and -married my mother, and became a Samoan, and made much money by selling -food to the whaleships. Then, when I was twelve years old, my mother -died, and my father took me to his own country--to Martinique. It took -us two years to get there, for we went through many countries--to Sydney -first, then to China, and to India, and then to Marseilles in France. -But always in English ships. That is how I have learned to speak -English. - -"We lived for three years in Martinique, and then one day, as my father -was clearing some land at the foot of Mont Pelee, he was bitten by -_fer-de-lance_ and died, and I was left alone. - -"There was a young carpenter at St. Pierre, named Francois Renault, who -had one day met me in the market-place, and after that often came to see -my father and me. He said he loved me, and so when my father was dead, -we went to the priest and we were married. - -"My husband had heard much of Samoa from my father, and said to me: 'Let -us go there and live'. - -"So we came here, and then Frank fell into evil ways, for he was cross -with me because he saw that the pure-blooded Samoan girls were prettier -than me, and had long straight hair and lighter skins. And because he -could not put me away he began to treat me cruelly. And I love him no -more. But yet will I stay by him if he doeth right." - -The fates were kind to Mani a few months later. Her husband went to sea -and never returned, and Mani, after waiting a year, was duly married -by the consul to a respectable old trader on Savai'i, who wanted a wife -with a "character"--the which is not always obtainable with a bride in -the South Seas. - - - - -CHAPTER VII ~ AT NIGHT - -The day's work was finished. Outside a cluster of rudely built -palm-thatched huts, just above the curving white beach, and under the -lengthening shadows of the silent cocos, two white men (my partner and -myself) and a party of brown-skinned Polynesians were seated together -smoking, and waiting for their evening meal. Now and then one would -speak, and another would answer in low, lazy tones. From an open shed -under a great jack-fruit tree a little distance away there came the -murmur of women's voices and, now and then, a laugh. They were the wives -of the brown men, and were cooking supper for their husbands and the two -white men. Half a cable length from the beach a schooner lay at anchor -upon the still lagoon, whose waters gleamed red under the rays of the -sinking sun. Covered with awnings fore and after she showed no sign of -life, and rested-as motionless as were the pendent branches of the lofty -cocos on the shore. - -Presently a figure appeared on deck and went for'ard, and then a bright -light shone from the fore-stay. - -My partner turned and called to the women, speaking in Hawaiian, and -bade two of them take their own and the ship-keeper's supper on board, -and stay for the night Then he spoke to the men in English. - -"Who keeps watch to-night with the other man?" - -"Me, sir," and a native rose to his feet. - -"Then off you go with your wife and Terese, and don't set the ship on -fire when you and your wife, and Harry and his begin squabbling as usual -over your game of _tahia_."{*} - - * "Tahia" is a gambling game played with small round stones; - it resembles our "knuckle-bones". - -The man laughed; the women, pretending to be shocked, each placed one -hand over her eyes, and with suppressed giggles went down to the beach -with the man, carrying a basket of steaming food. Launching a light -canoe they pushed off, and as the man paddled the women sang in the soft -Hawaiian tongue. - -"Happy beggars," said my comrade to me, as he stood up and stretched his -lengthy, stalwart figure, "work all day, and sit up gambling and singing -hymns--when they are not intriguing with each other's husbands and -wives." - -The place was Providence Atoll in the North Pacific, a group of -seventeen uninhabited islands lying midway between the Marshall and -Caroline Archipelagoes--that is to say, that they had been uninhabited -for some years, until we came there with our gang of natives to catch -sharks and make coco-nut oil. There was no one to deny us, for the man -who claimed the islands, Captain "Bully" Hayes, had given us the right -of possession for two years, we to pay him a certain percentage of our -profits on the oil we made, and the sharks' fins and tails we cured. -The story of Providence Atoll (the "Arrecifos" of the early Spanish -navigators, and the "Ujilang" of the native of Micronesia) cannot here -be told--suffice it to say that less than fifty years before over -a thousand people dwelt on the seventeen islands in some twelve or -fourteen villages. Then came some dread disease which swept them away, -and when Hayes sailed into the great lagoon in 1860--his was the first -ship that ever entered it--he found less than a score of survivors. -These he treated kindly; but for some reason soon removed them to Ponape -in the Carolines, and then years passed without the island being visited -by any one except Hayes, who used it as a rendezvous, and brought other -natives there to make oil for him. Then, in a year or so, these, too, -he took away, for he was a restless man, and had many irons in the fire. -Yet there was a fortune there, as its present German owners know, for -the great chain of islands is covered with coco-nut trees which yield -many thousands of pounds' worth of copra annually. - -My partner and I had been working the islands for some months, and had -done fairly well. Our native crew devoted themselves alternately to -shark catching and oil making. The lagoon swarmed with sharks, the fins -and tails of which when dried were worth from sixty to eighty pounds -sterling per ton. (Nowadays the entire skins of sharks are bought by -some of the traders on several of the Pacific Islands on behalf of a -firm in Germany, who have a secret method of tanning and softening -them, and rendering them fit for many purposes for which leather is -used--travelling bags, coverings for trunks, etc.) - -The women helped to make the oil, caught fish, robber-crabs and turtle -for the whole party, and we were a happy family indeed. We usually lived -on shore, some distance from the spot where we dried the shark-fins, for -the odour was appalling, especially after rain, and during a calm night. -We dried them by hanging them on long lines of coir cinnet between the -coco-palms of a little island half a mile from our camp. - -But we did not always work. There were many wild pigs--the progeny of -domestic stock left by Captain Hayes--on the larger islands, and we -would have great "drives" every few weeks, the skipper and I with our -rifles, and our crew of fifteen, with their wives and children, armed -with spears. 'Twas great fun, and we revelled in it like children. -Sometimes we would bring the ship's dog with us. He was a mongrel -Newfoundland, and very game, but was nearly shot several times by -getting in the way, for although all the islands are very low, the -undergrowth in parts is very dense. If we failed to secure a pig we were -certain of getting some dozens of large robber-crabs, the most delicious -of all crustaceans when either baked or boiled. Then, too, we had -the luxury of a vegetable garden, in which we grew melons, pumpkins, -cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, etc. The seed (which was Californian) had -been given to me by an American skipper, and great was our delight to -have fresh European vegetables, for the islands produced nothing in -that way, except coconuts and some jack-fruit. The lagoon teemed with -an immense variety of fish, none of which were poisonous, and both green -and hawk-bill turtle were captured almost daily. - -How those natives of ours could eat! One morning some of the children -brought five hundred turtle eggs into camp; they were all eaten at three -meals. - -That calm, quiet night the heat was somewhat oppressive, but about ten -o'clock a faint air from the eastward began to gently rustle the tops of -the loftiest palms on the inner beaches, though we felt it not, owing to -the dense undergrowth at the back of the camp. Then, too, the mosquitoes -were troublesome, and a nanny-goat, who had lost her kid (in the oven) -kept up such an incessant blaring that we could stand it no longer, -and decided to walk across the island--less than a mile--to the weather -side, where we should not only get the breeze, but be free of the curse -of mosquitoes. - -"Over to the windward beach," we called out to our natives. - -In an instant, men, women and children were on their feet. Torches of -dried coco-nut leaves were deftly woven by the women, sleeping mats -rolled up and given to the children to carry, baskets of cold baked fish -and vegetables hurriedly taken down from where they hung under the eaves -of the thatched huts, and away we trooped eastward along the -narrow path, the red glare of the torches shining upon the smooth, -copper-bronzed and half-nude figures of the native men and women. -Singing as we went, half an hour's walk brought us near to the sea. And -with the hum of the surf came the cool breeze, as we reached the open, -and saw before us the gently heaving ocean, sleeping under the light of -the myriad stars. - -We loved those quiet nights on the weather side of Arrecifos. Our -natives had built some thatched-roofed, open-sided huts as a protection -in case of rain, and under the shelter of one of these the skipper and -I would, when it rained during the night, lie on our mats and smoke -and yarn and watch the women and children with lighted torches catching -crayfish on the reef, heedless of the rain which fell upon them. Then, -when they had caught all they wanted, they would troop on shore again, -come into the huts, change their soaking waist girdles of leaves for -waist-cloths of gaily-coloured print or navy-blue calico, and set to -work to cook the crayfish, always bringing us the best. Then came a -general gossip and story-telling or singing in our hut for an hour -or so, and then some one would yawn and the rest would laugh, bid us -good-night, go off to their mats, and the skipper and I would be asleep -ere we knew it. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII ~ THE CRANKS OF THE _JULIA_ BRIG - -We were bound from Tahiti to the Gilbert Islands, seeking a cargo of -native labourers for Stewart's great plantation at Tahiti, and had -worked our way from island to island up northward through the group -with fair success (having obtained ninety odd stalwart, brown-skinned -savages), when between Apaian Island and Butaritari Island we spoke a -lumbering, fat-sided old brig--the _Isabella_ of Sydney. - -The _Isabella_ was owned by a firm of Chinese merchants in Sydney; -and as her skipper (Evers) and her supercargo (Dick Warren) were old -acquaintances of mine and also of the captain of my ship, we both -lowered boats and exchanged visits. - -Warren and I had not met for over two years, since he and I had been -shipmates in a labour vessel sailing out of Samoa--he as mate and I as -"recruiter"--so we had much to talk about. - -"Oh, by-the-way," he remarked as we were saying good-bye, "of course you -have heard of that shipload of unwashed saints who have been cruising -around the South Seas in search of a Promised Land?" - -"Yes, I believe that they have gone off to Tonga or Fiji, trying to -light upon 'the Home Beautiful,' and are very hard up. The people in -Fiji will have nothing to do with that crowd--if they have gone there." - -"They have not. They turned back for Honolulu, and are now at Butaritari -and in an awful mess. Some of the saints came on board and wanted me to -give them a passage to Sydney. You must go and have a look at them and -their rotten old brig, the _Julia_. Oh, they are a lovely lot--full of -piety and as dirty as Indian fakirs. Ah Sam, our agent at Butaritari, -will tell you all about them. He has had such a sickener of the holy -men that it will do you good to hear him talk. What the poor devils are -going to do I don't know. I gave them a little provisions--all I could -spare, but their appearance so disgusted me that I was not too civil -to them. They cannot get away from Butaritari as the old brig is not -seaworthy, and there is nothing in the way of food to be had in the -island except coco-nuts and fish--manna is out of season in the South -Seas just now. Good-bye, old man, and good luck." - -On the following day we sighted Butaritari Island--one of the largest -atolls in the North Pacific, and inhabited by a distinctly unamiable -and cantankerous race of Malayo-Polynesians whose principal amusement -in their lighter hours is to get drunk on sour toddy and lacerate each -other's bodies with sharks' teeth swords. In addition to Ah Sam, the -agent for the Chinese trading firm, there were two European traders who -had married native women and eked out a lonely existence by buying copra -(dried coco-nut) and sharks' fins when they were sober enough to attend -to business--which was infrequent. However, Butaritari was a good -recruiting ground for ships engaged in the labour traffic, owing to the -continuous internecine wars, for the vanquished parties, after their -coco-nut trees had been cut down and their canoes destroyed had the -choice of remaining and having their throats cut or going away in a -labour ship to Tahiti, Samoa or the Sandwich Islands. - -Entering the passage through the reef, we sailed slowly across the -splendid lagoon, whose waters were as calm as those of a lake, and -dropped anchor abreast of the principal village and quite near the ship -of the saints. She was a woe-begone, battered-looking old brig of two -hundred tons or so. She showed no colours in response to ours, and we -could see no one on deck. Presently, however, we saw a man emerge from -below, then a woman, and presently a second man, and in a few minutes -she showed the Ecuadorian flag. Then all three sat on chairs under the -ragged awning and stared listlessly at our ship. - -Ah Sam came off from the shore and boarded us. He was a long, melancholy -Chinaman, had thirty-five hairs of a beard, and, poor fellow, was dying -of consumption. He told us the local news, and then I asked him -about the cargo of saints, many more of whom were now visible on the -after-deck of their disreputable old crate. - -Ah Sam's thin lips parted in a ghastly smile, as he set down his whisky -and soda, and lit a cigar. We were seated under the awning, which had -just been spread, and so had a good view of the _Julia_. - -The brig, he said, had managed to crawl into the lagoon three months -previously, and in working up to an anchorage struck on one of the coral -mushrooms with which the atoll is studded. Ah Sam and the two -white traders went off with their boats' crews of natives to render -assistance, and after some hours' hard work succeeded in getting her -off and towing her up to the spot where she was then anchored. Then the -saints gathered on the after-deck and held a thanksgiving meeting, at -the conclusion of which, the thirsty and impatient traders asked the -captain to give them and their boats' crews a few bottles of liquor in -return for their services in pulling his brig off the rocks, and when he -reproachfully told them that the _Julia_ was a temperance ship and that -drink was a curse and that God would reward them for their kindness, -they used most awful language and went off, cursing the captain and the -saints for a lot of mean blackguards and consigning them to everlasting -torments. - -On the following day all the Hawaiian crew bolted on shore and took up -their quarters with the natives. The captain came on shore and tried to -get other natives in their place, but failed--for he had no money to pay -wages, but offered instead the privilege of becoming members of what Ah -Sam called some "dam fool society". - -There were, said Ah Sam, in addition to the captain and his wife, -originally twenty-five passengers, but half of them had left the ship at -various ports. - -"And now," he concluded, pointing a long yellow forefinger at the -rest of the saints, "the rest of them will be coming to see you -presently--the tam teives--to see wha' they can cadge from you." - -"You don't like them, Ah Sam?" observed our skipper, with a twinkle in -his eye. - -Ah Sam's reply could not be put upon paper. For a Chinaman he could -swear in English most fluently. Then he bade us good-bye for the -present, said he would do all he could to help me get some "recruits," -and invited us to dinner with him in the evening. He was a good-natured, -hospitable fellow, and we accepted the invitation with pleasure. - -A few minutes after he had gone on shore the brigantine's boat came -alongside, and her captain and three of his passengers stepped on board. -He introduced himself as Captain Lynch Richards, and his friends as -Brothers So-and-So of the "Islands Brothers' Association of Christians -". They were a dull, melancholy looking lot, Richards alone showing some -mental and physical activity. Declining spirituous refreshments, they -all had tea and something to eat. Then they asked me if I would let them -have some provisions, and accept trade goods in payment. - -As they had no money--except about one hundred dollars between them--I -let them have what provisions we could spare, and then accepted their -invitation to visit the _Julia_. - -I went with them in their own boat--two of the saints pulling--and as -they flopped the blades of their oars into the water and I studied their -appearance, I could not but agree with Dick Warren's description--"as -dirty as Indian fakirs," for not only were their garments dirty, but -their faces looked as if they had not come into contact with soap and -water for a twelvemonth. Richards, the skipper, was a comparatively -young man, and seemed to have given some little attention to his attire, -for he was wearing a decent suit of navy blue with a clean collar and -tie. - -Getting alongside we clambered on deck--there was no side ladder--and I -was taken into the cabin where Richards introduced me to his wife. She -was a pretty, fragile-looking young woman of about five and twenty years -of age, and looked so worn out and unhappy that my heart was filled with -pity. During the brief conversation we held I asked her if she and her -husband would come on board our vessel in the afternoon and have tea, -and mentioned that we had piles and piles of books and magazines on the -ship to which she could help herself. - -Her eyes filled with tears. "I guess I should like to," she said as she -looked at her husband. - -Then I was introduced to the rest of the company in turn, as they -sat all round the cabin, half a dozen of them on the transom lockers -reminding me somehow of dejected and meditative storks. Glad of an -excuse to get out of the stuffy and ill-ventilated cabin and the -uninspiring society of the unwashed Brethren, I eagerly assented to the -captain's suggestion to have a look round the ship before we "talked -business," _i.e_., concerning the trade goods I was to select in payment -for the provisions with which I had supplied him. One of the Brethren, -an elderly, goat-faced person, came with us, and we returned on deck. - -Never before had I seen anything like the _Julia_. She was an old, -soft-pine-built ex-Puget Sound lumberman, literally tumbling to decay, -aloft and below. Her splintering decks, to preserve them somewhat from -the torrid sun, were covered over with old native mats, and her spars, -from want of attention, were splitting open in great gaping cracks, and -were as black as those of a collier. How such a craft made the voyage -from San Francisco to Honolulu, and from there far to the south of the -Line and then back north to the Gilbert Group, was a marvel. - -I was taken down the hold and showed what the "cranks" called their -trade goods and asked to select what I thought was a fair thing in -exchange for the provisions I had given them. Heavens! Such a collection -of utter, utter rubbish! second-hand musical boxes in piles, gaudy -lithographs, iron bedsteads, "brown paper" boots and shoes eaten half -away by cockroaches. Sets of cheap and nasty toilet ware, two huge cases -of common and much damaged wax dolls, barrels of rotted dried apples, -and decayed pork, an ice-making plant, bales and bales of second-hand -clothing--men's, women's and children's--cheap and poisonous sweets in -jars, thousands of twopenny looking-glasses, penny whistles, accordions -that wouldn't accord, as the cockroaches had eaten them up except the -wood and metal work, school slates and pencils, and a box of Bibles and -Moody and Sankey hymn-books. And the smell was something awful! I asked -the captain what was the cause of it--it overpowered even the horrible -odour of the decayed pork and rotted apples. He replied placidly that he -thought it came from a hundred kegs of salted salmon bellies which were -stowed below everything else, and that he "guessed some of them hed -busted". - -"It is enough to breed a pestilence," I said; "why do you not all -turn-to, get the stuff up and heave it overboard? You must excuse me, -captain, but for Heaven's sake let us get on deck." - -On returning to the poop we found that the skipper of our vessel had -come on board, and was conversing with Mrs. Richards. I took him aside -and told him of what I had seen, and suggested that we should make them -a present of the provisions. He quite agreed with me, so turning to -Captain Richards and the goat-faced old man and several other of the -Brethren who had joined them, I said that the captain and I hoped that -they would accept the provisions from us, as we felt sure that our -owners would not mind. And I also added that we would send them a few -bags of flour and some other things during the course of the day. And -then the captain, knowing that Captain Richards and his wife were coming -to have tea with us, took pity on the Brethren and said, he hoped they -would all come to breakfast in the morning. - -Poor beggars. Grateful! Of course they were, and although they were -sheer lunatics--religious lunatics such as the United States produces by -tens of thousands every year--we felt sincerely sorry for them when they -told us their miserable story. The spokesman was an old fellow of sixty -with long flowing hair--the brother-in-law of the man with the goat's -face--and an enthusiast But mad--mad as a hatter. - -"The Islands Brothers' Association of Christians" had its genesis in -Philadelphia. It was formed "by a few pious men to found a settlement in -the South Seas, till the soil, build a temple, instruct the savages, -and live in peace and happiness". Twenty-eight persons joined and seven -thousand dollars were raised in one way and another--mostly from other -lunatics. Many "sympathisers" gave goods, food, etc., to help the cause -(hence the awful rubbish in the hold), and at 'Frisco they spent one -thousand five hundred dollars in buying "trade goods to barter with -the simple natives". At 'Frisco the _Julia_, then lying condemned, was -bought for a thousand dollars--she was not worth three hundred dollars, -and was put under the Ecuadorian flag. "God sent them friends in -Captain Richards and his wife," ambled on the old man. Richards became a -"Brother" and joined them to sail the ship and find an island "rich -and fertile in God's gifts to man, and with a pleasant people dwelling -thereon". - -With a scratch crew of 'Frisco dead beats the brig reached Honolulu. -The crew at once cleared out, and several of the "Brothers," with their -wives, returned to America--they had had enough of it. After some weeks' -delay Richards managed to get four Hawaiian sailors to ship, and the -vessel sailed again for the Isle Beautiful. He didn't know exactly where -to look for it, but he and the "Brothers" had been told that there were -any amount of them lying around in the South Seas, and they would have -some trouble in making a choice out of so many. - -The story of their insane wanderings after the _Julia_ went south of the -equator would have been diverting had it not been so distressing. The -mate, who we gathered was both a good seaman and a competent navigator, -was drowned through the capsizing of a boat on the reef of some island -between the Gilbert Group and Rarotonga, and with his death what little -discipline, and cohesiveness had formerly existed gradually vanished. -Richards apparently knew how to handle his ship, but as a navigator he -was nowhere. Incredible as it may seem, his general chart of the North -and South Pacific was thirty years old, and was so torn, stained and -greasy as to be all but undecipherable. As the weary weeks went by -and they went from island to island, only to be turned away by the -inhabitants, they at last began to realise the folly of the venture, and -most of them wanted to return to San Francisco. But Richards clung to -the belief that they only wanted patience to find a suitable island -where the natives would be glad to receive them, and where they could -settle down in peace. Failing that, he had the idea that there were -numbers of fertile and uninhabited islands, one of which would suit the -Brethren almost as well. But as time went on he too grew despondent, and -turned the brig's head northward for Honolulu; and one day he blundered -across Butaritari Island and entered the lagoon in the hope of at least -getting, some provisions. And again the crew bolted and left the Brethren -to shift for themselves. Week after week, month after month went by, -the provisions were all gone except weevily biscuit and rotten pork, and -they passed their time in wandering about the beaches of the lagoon -and waiting for assistance. And yet there wore two or three of them -who still believed in the vision of the Isle Beautiful and were still -hopeful that they might get there. "All we want is another crew," these -said to us. - -Our skipper shook his head, and then talked to them plainly, calling -upon me to corroborate him. - -"You will never get a crew. No sailor-man would ever come to sea in -a crate like this. And you'll find no islands anywhere in the Pacific -where you can settle down, unless you can pay for it. The natives will -chivvy you off if you try to land. I know them--you don't. The people in -America who encouraged you in this business were howling lunatics. Your -ship is falling to pieces, and I warn you that if you once leave this -lagoon in her, you will never see land again." - -They were silent, and then the old man began to weep, and said they -would there and then pray for guidance. - -"All right," said the skipper, "go ahead, and I'll get my mate and the -carpenter to come and tell you their opinion of the state of this brig." - -The mate and carpenter made an examination, told Captain Richards in -front of his passengers that the ship was utterly unseaworthy, and that -he would be a criminal if he tried to put to sea again. That settled the -business, especially after they had asked me to value their trade goods, -and I told them frankly that they were literally not worth valuing, and -to throw them overboard. - -Ten days later the Brotherhood broke up--an American trading schooner -came into the lagoon and her captain offered to take them to Jakuit in -the Marshall Islands, where they were certain of getting a passage to -Honolulu in some whaleship. They all accepted with the exception of -Richards and his wife who refused to leave the _Julia_. The poor fellow -had his pride and would not desert his ship. However, as his wife was -ailing, he had a small house built on shore and managed to make a few -hundred dollars by boat-building. But every day he would go off and have -a look round the old brig to see if everything on board was all right -Then one night there came a series of heavy squalls which raised a -lumpy sea in the lagoon, and when morning broke only her top-masts were -visible--she had gone down at her anchors. - -Richards and his fellow-cranks were the forerunners of other bands of -ignorant enthusiasts who in later years endeavoured to foist themselves -upon the natives of the Pacific Islands and met with similar and -well-merited disaster. Like the ill-fated "La Nouvelle France" colony of -the notorious Marquis de Ray, all these land-stealing ventures set -about their exploits under the cloak of religion. One, under a pretended -concession from the Mexican Government, founded a "Christian Redemption -Colony" of scallywags, loafers and loose women at Magdalena Bay in -Lower California, and succeeded in getting many thousands of pounds from -foolish people. Then came a party of Mormon Evangelists who actually -bought and paid for land in Samoa and conducted themselves decently -and are probably living there now. After them came the wretched _Percy -Edward_ band of pilgrims to found a "happy home" in the South Seas. They -called themselves the "United Brotherhood of the South Sea Islands". In -another volume, in an article describing my personal experiences of -the disastrous "Nouvelle France" expedition to New Ireland,{*} I have -alluded to the _Percy Edward_ affair in these words, which I may be -permitted to quote: "The _Percy Edward_ was a wretched old tub of a -brigantine (formerly a Tahiti-San Francisco mail packet). She was -bought in the latter port by a number of people who intended 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.... The result of the Marquis de Ray's expedition -ought to have made the American enthusiasts reflect a little before they -started. But having the idea that they could 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 -principles of true Socialism), they sailed--only to be quickly -disillusionised. For there were no islands anywhere in the North and -South Pacific 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 unto 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 -considerably chivvied about by the white and native inhabitants of the -various islands touched at, the forlorn expedition reach Fiji. Here -fifty of the idealists elected to remain and work for their living -under a Government... But the remaining fifty-eight stuck to the _Percy -Edward_, and her decayed salt junk and putrid 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 reaching New -Caledonia and settling 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 abandon her and go on shore and get a good square -meal. What became of them at Noumea I did not hear, but do know that in -their wanderings they received much charitable assistance from British -shipmasters and missionaries--in some cases their passages were paid -to the United States--the natural and proper country for the ignorant -religious 'crank'." - - * Ridan the Devil: T. Fisher Unwin, London. - - - - -CHAPTER IX ~ "DANDY," THE SHIP'S DINGO - -We anchored under Cape Bedford (North Queensland) one day, and the -skipper and I went on shore to bathe in one of the native-made rocky -water-holes near the Cape. We found a native police patrol camped there, -and the officer asked us if we would like to have a dingo pup for a pet. -His troopers had caught two of them the previous day. We said we should -like to possess a dingo. - -"Bring him here, Dandy," said the officer to one of his black troopers, -and Dandy, with a grin on his sooty face, brought to us a lanky-legged -pup about three months old. Its colour was a dirty yellowish red, but -it gave promise of turning out a dog--of a kind. The captain put out -his hand to stroke it, and as quick as lightning it closed its fang-like -teeth upon his thumb. With a bull-like bellow of rage, the skipper was -about to hurl the savage little beast over the cliffs into the sea, when -I stayed his hand. - -"He'll make a bully ship-dog," I urged, "just the right kind of pup -to chivvy the niggers over the side when we get to the Louisiades and -Solomons. Please don't choke the little beggar, Ross. 'Twas only fear, -not rage, that made him go for you." - -We made a temporary muzzle from a bit of fishing line; bade the officer -good-bye, and went off to the ship. - -We were nearly a month beating up to the Solomons, and in that time -we gained some knowledge of Dandy's character. (We named him after -the black trooper.) He was fawningly, sneakingly, offensively -affectionate--when he was hungry, which was nearly always; as ferocious -and as spiteful as a tiger cat when his stomach was full; then, with a -snarling yelp, he would put his tail beneath his legs and trot for'ard, -turning his head and showing his teeth. Crawling under the barrel of the -windlass he would lie there and go to sleep, only opening his eyes now -and then to roll them about vindictively when any one passed by. Then -when he was hungry again, he would crawl out and slouch aft with a -"please-do-be-kind-to-a-poor-dog" expression on his treacherous face. -Twice when we were sailing close to the land he jumped overboard, and -made for the shore, though he couldn't swim very well and only went -round and round in circles. On each occasion a native sailor jumped over -after him and brought him back, and each time he bit his rescuer. - -"Never mind him, sir," said the mate to Ross one day, when the angry -skipper fired three shots at Dandy for killing the ship's cat--missed -him and nearly killed the steward, who had put his head out of the -galley door to see the fun--"there's money in that dog. I wouldn't mind -bettin' half-a-sov that Charley Nyberg, the trader on Santa Anna, will -give five pounds for him. He'll go for every nigger he's sooled on to. -You mark my words." - -In the fore-hold we had a hundred tons of coal destined for one of H.M. -cruisers then surveying in the Solomon Group. We put Dandy down there to -catch rats, and gave him nothing but water. Here he showed his blood. We -could hear the scraping about of coal, and the screams of the captured -rodents, as Dandy tore round the hold after them. In three days -there were no more rats left, and Dandy began to utter his weird, -blood-curdling howls--he wanted to come on deck. We lashed him down -under the force pump, and gave him a thorough wash-down. He shook -himself, showed his teeth at us and tore off to the galley in search of -food. The cook gave him a large tinful of rancid fat, which was at once -devoured, then he fled to his retreat under the windlass, and began to -growl and moan. By-and-by we made Santa Anna. - -Charley Nyberg, after he had tried the dog by setting him on to two -Solomon Island "bucks" who were loafing around his house, and seen how -the beast could bite, said he would give us thirteen dollars and a fat -hog for him. We agreed, and Dandy was taken on shore and chained up -outside the cook-house to keep away thieving natives. - -About nine o'clock that evening, as the skipper and I were sitting on -deck, we heard a fearful yell from Charley's house--a few hundred -yards away from where we were anchored. The yell was followed by a wild -clamour from many hundreds of native throats, and we saw several scores -of people rushing towards the trader's dwelling. Then came the sound of -two shots in quick succession. - -"Haul the boat alongside," roared our skipper, "there's mischief going -on on shore." - -In a minute we, with the boat's crew, had seized our arms, tumbled into -the boat and were racing for the beach. - -Jumping out, we tore to the house. It seemed pretty quiet. Charley -was in his sitting-room, binding up his wife's hand, and smoking in an -unconcerned sort of a way. - -"What is wrong, Charley?" we asked. - -"That infernal mongrel of yours nearly bit my wife's hand off. Did it -when she tried to stroke him. I soon settled him. If you go to the back -you will see some native women preparing the brute for the oven. The -niggers here like baked dog. Guess you fellows will have to give me back -that thirteen dollars. But you can keep the hog." - -So Dandy came to a just and fitting end. - - - - -CHAPTER X ~ KALA-HOI, THE NET-MAKER - -Old Kala-hoi, the net-maker, had ceased work for the day, and was seated -on a mat outside his little house, smoking his pipe, looking dreamily -out upon the blue waters of Leone Bay, on Tutuila Island, and enjoying -the cool evening breeze that blew upon his bare limbs and played with -the two scanty tufts of snow-white hair that grew just above his ears. - -As he sat and smoked in quiet content, Marsh (the mate of our vessel) -and I discerned him from the beach, as we stepped out of the boat We -were both tired--Marsh with weighing and stowing bags of copra in the -steaming hold, and I with paying the natives for it in trade goods--a -task that had taken me from dawn till supper time. Then, as the smell of -the copra and the heat of the cabin were not conducive to the enjoyment -of supper, we first had a bathe alongside the ship, got into clean -pyjamas and came on shore to have a chat with old Kala-hoi. - -"Got anything to eat, Kala-hoi?" we asked, as we sat down on the mat, in -front of the ancient, who smilingly bade us welcome. - -"My oven is made; and in it are a fat mullet, four breadfruit, some -_taro_ and plenty of _ifi_ (chestnuts). For to-day is Saturday, and I -have cooked for to-morrow as well as for to-night." Then lapsing into -his native Hawaiian (which both my companion and I understood), he -added, "And most heartily are ye welcome. In a little while the oven -will be ready for uncovering and we shall eat." - -"But how will you do for food to-morrow, Kala-hoi?" inquired Marsh, with -a smile and speaking in English. - -"To-morrow is not yet. When it comes I shall have more food. I have but -to ask of others and it is given willingly. And even if it were not so, -I would but have to pluck some more breadfruit or dig some taro and kill -a fowl--and cook again to night." And then with true native courtesy he -changed the subject and asked us if we had enjoyed our swim. Not much, -we replied, the sea-water was too warm from the heat of the sun. - -He nodded. "Aye, the day has been hot and windless until now, when the -cool land breeze comes down between the valleys from the mountains. But -why did ye not bathe in the stream in the fresh water, as I have just -done. It is a good thing to do, for it makes hunger as well as cleanses -the skin, and that the salt water will not do." - -Marsh and I lit our pipes. The old man rose, went into his house and -returned with a large mat and two bamboo pillows, telling us it would be -more comfortable to lie down and rest our backs, for he knew that we -had "toiled much during the day". Then he resumed his own mat again, and -crossed his hands on his tatooed knees, for although not a Samoan he was -tatooed in the Samoan fashion. Beside him was a Samoan Bible, for he was -a deeply religious old fellow, and could both read and write. - -"How comes it, Kala, that thou livest all alone half a league from the -village?" asked Marsh. - -Kala-hoi showed his still white and perfect teeth in a smile. - -"Ah, why? Because, O friend, this is mine own land. I am, as thou -knowest, of Maui, in Hawaii, and though for thirty and nine years have -I lived in Samoa, yet now that my wife and two sons are dead, I would be -by myself. This land, which measures two hundred fathoms on three sides, -and one hundred at the beach, was given to me by Mauga, King of Tutuila, -because, ten years ago, when his son was shot in the thigh with a round -bullet, I cut it out from where it had lodged against the bone." - -"How old are you, Kala-hoi?" - -"I know not. But I am old, very old. Yet I am young--still young. I was -a grown man when Wilkes, the American Commodore, came to Samoa. And I -went on board the _Vincennes_ when she came to Apia, and because I spoke -English well, _le alii Saua_ ('the cruel captain'), as we called him,{*} -made much of me, and treated me with some honour. Ah, he was a stern -man, and his eye was as the eye of an eagle." - - * Wilkes was called "the cruel captain" by the Samoans on - account of his iron discipline. - -Marsh nodded acquiescence. "Aye, he was a strong, stern man. More than -a score of years after thou hadst seen him here in Samoa, he was like to -have brought about a bloody war between my country and his. Yet he did -but what was right and just--to my mind. And I am an Englishman." - -Kala-hoi blew a stream of smoke through his nostrils. - -"Aye, indeed, a stern man, and with a bitter tongue. But because of -his cruelty to his men was he punished, for in Fiji the _kai tagata_ -(cannibals) killed his nephew. And yet he spoke always kindly to me, and -gave me ten Mexican dollars because I did much interpretation for him -with the chiefs of Samoa.... One day there came on board the ship two -white men; they were _papalagi tafea_ (beachcombers) and were like -Samoans, for they wore no clothes, and were tatooed from their waists -to their knees as I am. They went to the forepart of the ship and began -talking to the sailors. They were very saucy men and proud of their -appearance. The Commodore sent for them, and he looked at them with -scorn--one was an Englishman, the other a Dane. This they told him. - -"'O ye brute beasts,' he said, and he spat over the side of the ship -contempt 'Were ye Americans I would trice ye both up and give ye each -a hundred lashes, for so degrading thyselves. Out of my ship, ye filthy -tatooed swine. Thou art a disgrace to thy race!' So terrified were they -that they could not speak, and went away in shame." - -"Thou hast seen many things in thy time, Kala-hoi." - -"Nay, friend. Not such things as thou hast seen--such as the sun at -midnight, of which thou hast told me, and which had any man but thou -said it, I would have cried 'Liar!'" - -Marsh laughed--"Yet 'tis true, old Kala-hoi. I have seen the sun at -midnight, many, many times." - -"Aye. Thou sayest, and I believe. Now, let me uncover my oven so that we -may eat. 'Tis a fine fat mullet." - -After we had eaten, the kindly old man brought us a bowl of water in -which to lave our hands, and then a spotless white towel, for he had -associated much with Europeans in his younger days and had adopted many -of their customs. On Sundays he always wore to church coat, trousers, -shirt, collar and necktie and boots (minus socks) and covered his bald -pate with a wide hat or _fala_ leaf. Moreover, he was a deacon. - -Presently we heard voices, and a party of young people of both sexes -appeared. They had been bathing in the stream and were now returning to -the village. In most of them I recognised "customers" of mine during the -day--they were carrying baskets and bundles containing the goods bought -from the ship. They all sat down around us, began to make cigarettes -of strong twist tobacco, roll it in strips of dried banana leaf, and -gossip. Then Kala-hoi--although he was a deacon--asked the girls if -they would make us a bowl of kava. They were only too pleased, and so -Kala-hoi again rose, went to his house and brought out a root of kava, -the kava-bowl and some gourds of water, and gave them to the giggling -maidens who, securing a mat for themselves, withdrew a little distance -and proceeded to make the drink, the young men attending upon them -to-cut the kava into thin, flaky strips, and leaving us three to -ourselves. Night had come, and the bay was very quiet. Here and there -on the opposite side lights began to gleam through the lines of palms on -the beach from isolated native houses, as the people ate their evening -meal by the bright flame of a pile of coco-nut shells or a lamp of -coco-nut oil. - -Marsh wanted the old man to talk. - -"How long since is it that thy wife and sons died, Kala-hoi?" - -The old man placed his brown, shapely hand on the seaman's knee, and -answered softly:-- - -"'Tis twenty years". - -"They died together, did they not?" - -"Nay--not together, but on the same day. Thou hast heard something of -it?" - -"Only something. And if it doth not hurt thee to speak of it, I should -like to know how such a great misfortune came to thee." - -The net-maker looked into the white man's face, and read sympathy in his -eyes. - -"Friend, this was the way of it. Because of my usefulness to him as an -interpreter of English, Taula, chief of Samatau, gave me his niece, -Moe, in marriage. She was a strong girl, and handsome, but had a sharp -tongue. Yet she loved me, and I loved her. - -"We were happy. We lived at the town of Tufu on the _itu papa_" -(iron-bound coast) "of Savai'i. Moe bore me boy twins. They grew up -strong, hardy and courageous, though, like their mother, they were -quick-tempered, and resented reproof, even from me, their father. And -often they quarrelled and fought. - -"When they were become sixteen years of age, they were tatooed in the -Samoan fashion, and that cost me much in money and presents. But Tui, -who was the elder by a little while, was jealous that his brother Galu -had been tatooed first. And yet the two loved each other--as I will show -thee. - -"One day my wife and the two boys went into the mountains to get wild -bananas. They cut three heavy bunches and were returning home, when -Galu and Tui began to quarrel, on the steep mountain path. They came to -blows, and their mother, in trying to separate them, lost her footing -and fell far below on to a bed of lava. She died quickly. - -"The two boys descended and held her dead body in their arms for a long -while, and wept together over her face. Then they carried her down the -mountain side into the village, and said to the people:-- - -"'We, Tui and Galu, have killed our mother through our quarrelling. Tell -our father Kala-hoi, that we fear to meet him, and now go to expiate our -crime.' - -"They ran away swiftly; they climbed the mountain side, and, with arms -around each other, sprang over the cliff from which their mother had -fallen. And when I, and many others with me, found them, they were both -dead." - -"Thou hast had a bitter sorrow, Kala-hoi." "Aye, a bitter sorrow. But -yet in my dreams I see them all. And sometimes, even in my work, as I -make my nets, I hear the boys' voices, quarrelling, and my wife saying, -'Be still, ye boys, lest I call thy father to chastise thee both '." - -As the girls brought us the kava Marsh put his hand on the old, smooth, -brown pate, and saw that the eyes of the net-maker were filled with -tears. - - - - -CHAPTER XI ~ THE KANAKA LABOUR TRADE IN THE PACIFIC - -The _fiat_ has gone forth from the Australian Commonwealth, and the -Kanaka labour trade, as far as the Australian Colonies are concerned, -has ceased to exist. For, during the month of November, 1906, the -Queensland Government began to deport to their various islands in the -Solomon and New Hebrides Groups, the last of the Melanesian native -labourers employed on the Queensland sugar plantations. - -The Kanaka labour traffic, generally termed "black-birding," began about -1863, when sugar and cotton planters found that natives of the South -Sea Islands could be secured at a much less cost than Chinese or Indian -coolies. The genesis of the traffic was a tragedy, and filled the world -with horror. - -Three armed Peruvian ships, manned by gangs of cut-throats, appeared in -the South Pacific, and seized over four hundred unfortunate natives in -the old African slave-trading fashion, and carried them away to work the -guano deposits on the Chincha Islands. Not a score of them returned to -their island homes--the rest perished under the lash and brutality of -their cruel taskmasters. - -Towards 1870 the demand for South Sea Islanders became very great. They -were wanted in the Sandwich Islands, in Tahiti and Samoa; for, naturally -enough, with their ample food supply, the natives of these islands do -not like plantation work, or if employed demand a high rate of pay. -Then, too, the Queensland and Fijian sugar planters joined in the -quest, and at one time there were over fifty vessels engaged in securing -Kanakas from the Gilbert Islands, the Solomon and New Hebrides Groups, -and the great islands near New Guinea. - -At that time there was no Government supervision of the traffic. Any -irresponsible person could fit out a ship, and bring a cargo of human -beings into port--obtained by means fair or foul--and no questions were -asked. - -Very soon came the news of the infamous story of the brig _Carl_ and -her fiendish owner, a Dr. Murray, who with half a dozen other scoundrels -committed the most awful crimes--shooting down in cold blood scores -of natives who refused to be coerced into "recruiting". Some of these -ruffians went to the scaffold or to long terms of imprisonment; and -from that time the British Government in a maundering way set to work -to effect some sort of supervision of the British ships employed in the -"blackbirding" trade. - -A fleet of five small gunboats (sailing vessels) were built in Sydney, -and were ordered to "overhaul and inspect every blackbirder," and -ascertain if the "blackbirds" were really willing recruits, or had been -deported against their will, and were "to be sold as slaves". And many -atrocious deeds came to light, with the result, as far as Queensland was -concerned, that every labour ship had to carry a Government agent, who -was supposed to see that no abuses occurred. Some of these Government -agents were conscientious men, and did their duty well; others were -mere tools of the greedy planters, and lent themselves to all sorts of -villainies to obtain "recruits" and get an _in camera_ bonus of twenty -pounds for every native they could entice on board. - -Owing to my knowledge of Polynesian and Melane-sian dialects, I was -frequently employed as "recruiter" on many "blackbirders"--French -vessels from Noumea in New Caledonia, Hawaiian vessels from Honolulu, -and German and English vessels sailing from Samoa and Fiji, and in no -instance did I ever have any serious trouble with my "blackbirds" after -they were once on board the ship of which I was "recruiter". - -Let me now describe an ordinary cruise of a "blackbirder" vessel--an -honest ship with an honest skipper and crew, and, above all, a straight -"recruiter"--a man who takes his life in his hands when he steps out, -unarmed, from his boat, and seeks for "recruits" from a crowd of the -wildest savages imaginable. - -Labour ships carry a double crew--one to work the ship, the other to man -the boats, of which there are usually four on ordinary-sized vessels. -They are whale-boats, specially adapted for surf work. The boats' crews -are invariably natives--Rotumah men, Samoans, or Savage Islanders. The -ship's working crew also are in most cases natives, and the captain and -officers are, of course, white men. - -The 'tween decks are fitted to accommodate so many "blackbirds," and, at -the present day, British labour ships are models of cleanliness, for the -Government supervision is very rigid; but in former days the hold of -a "blackbirder" often presented a horrid spectacle--the unfortunate -"recruits" being packed so closely together, and at night time the odour -from their steaming bodies was absolutely revolting as it ascended -from the open hatch, over which stood two sentries on the alert; for -sometimes the "blackbirds" would rise and attempt to murder the ship's -company. In many cases they did so successfully--especially when the -"blackbirds" came from the same island, or group of islands, and spoke -the same language. When there were, say, a hundred or two hundred -"recruits" from various islands, dissimilar in their language and -customs, there was no fear of such an event, and the captain and -officers and "recruiter" went to sleep with a feeling of security. - -Let us now suppose that a "blackbirder" (obnoxious name to many -recruiters) from Samoa, Fiji, or Queensland, has reached one of the New -Hebrides, or Solomon Islands. Possibly she may anchor--if there is an -anchorage; but most likely she will "lie off and on," and send away her -boats to the various villages. - -On one occasion I "worked" the entire length of one side of the great -island of San Cristoval, visiting nearly every village from Cape -Recherche to Cape Surville. This took nearly three weeks, the ship -following the boats along the coast. We would leave the ship at -daylight, and pull in shore, landing wherever we saw a smoke signal, or -a village. When I had engaged, say, half a dozen recruits, I would send -them off on board, and continue on my way. At sunset I would return on -board, the boats would be hoisted up, and the ship either anchor, or -heave-to for the night. On this particular trip the boats were only -twice fired at, but no one man of my crews was hit. - -The boats are known as "landing" and "covering" boats. The former is in -command of an officer and the recruiter, carries five hands (all armed) -and also the boxes of "trade" goods to be exhibited to the natives as -specimens of the rest of the goods on board, or perhaps some will be -immediately handed over as an "advance" to any native willing to -recruit as a labourer in Queensland or elsewhere for three years, at the -magnificent wage of six pounds per annum, generally paid in rubbishing -articles, worth about thirty shillings. - -The "covering" boat is in charge of an officer, or reliable seaman. She -follows the "landing" boat at a short distance, and her duty is to cover -her retreat if the natives should attack the landing boat by at once -opening fire, and giving those in that boat a chance of pushing off -and getting out of danger, and also she sometimes receives on board the -"recruits" as they are engaged by the recruiter--if the latter has not -been knocked on the head or speared. - -On nearing the beach, where the natives are waiting, the officer in the -landing-boat swings her round with his steer oar, and the crew back her -in, stern first, on to the beach. The recruiter then steps out, and the -crew carry the trade chests on shore; then the boat pushes off a -little, just enough to keep afloat, and obtrusive natives, who may mean -treachery, are not allowed to come too near the oars, or take hold of -the gunwale, Meanwhile the covering boat has drawn in close to the first -boat, and the crew, with their hands on their rifles, keep a keen watch -on the landing boat and the wretched recruiter. - -The recruiter, if he is a wise man, will not display any arms openly. To -do so makes the savage natives either sulky or afraid, and I never let -them see mine, which I, however, always kept handy in a harmless-looking -canvas bag, which also contained some tobacco, cut up in small pieces, -to throw to the women and children--to put them in a good temper. - -The recruiter opens his trade box, and then asks if there is any man -or woman who desires to become rich in three years by working on a -plantation in Fiji, Queensland, or Samoa. - -If he can speak the language, and does not lose his nerve by being -surrounded by hundreds of ferocious and armed savages, and knowing that -at any instant he may be cut down from behind by a tomahawk, or speared, -or clubbed, he will get along all right, and soon find men willing to -recruit Especially is this so if he is a man personally known to the -natives, and has a good reputation for treating his "blackbirds" well -on board the ship. The ship and her captain, too, enter largely into the -matter of a native making up his mind to "recruit," or refuse to do so. - -Sometimes there may be among the crowd of natives several who have -already been to Queensland, or elsewhere, and desire to return. These -may be desirable recruits, or, on the other hand, may be the reverse, -and have bad records. I usually tried to shunt these fellows from again -recruiting, as they often made mischief on board, would plan to capture -the ship, and such other diversions, but I always found them useful as -touts in gaining me new recruits, by offering these scamps a suitable -present for each man they brought me. - -I always made it a practice never to recruit a married man, unless his -wife--or an alleged wife--came with him, nor would I take them if they -had young children--who would simply be made slaves of in their absence. -It required the utmost tact and discretion to get at the truth in many -cases, and very often on going on board after a day of toil and danger -I would be sound asleep, when a young couple would swim off--lovers who -had eloped--and beg me to take them away in the ship. This I would never -do until I had seen the local chief, and was assured that no objection -would be made to their leaving. - -(When I was recruiting "black labour" for the French and German planters -in Samoa and Tahiti, I was, of course, sailing in ships of those -nationalities, and had no worrying Government agent to harass and -hinder me by his interference, for only ships under British colours were -compelled to carry "Government agents".) - -But I must return to the recruiter standing on the beach, surrounded by -a crowd of savages, exercising his patience and brains. - -Perhaps at the end of an hour or so eight or ten men are recruited, -and told to either get into one of the boats or go off to the ship in -canoes. The business on shore is then finished, the harassed recruiter -wipes his perspiring brow, says farewell to the people, closes his trade -chest, and steps into his landing boat. The officer cries to the crew, -"Give way, lads," and off goes the boat. - -Then the covering boat comes into position astern of the landing boat, -for one never knew the moment that some enraged native on shore might, -for having been rejected as "undesirable," take a snipe-shot at one of -the boats. Only two men pull in the covering boat--the rest of the crew -sit on the thwarts, with their rifles ready, facing aft, until the boats -are out of range. - -That is what is the ordinary day's work among the Solomon, New Hebrides, -and other island groups of the Western Pacific But very often it -was--and is now--very different. The recruiter may be at work, when -he is struck down treacherously from behind, and hundreds of -concealed savages rush out, bent on slaughter. Perhaps the eye of some -ever-watchful man in the covering boat has seen crouching figures in the -dense undergrowth of the shores of the bay, and at once fires his rifle, -and the recruiter jumps for his boat, and then there is a cracking -of Winchesters from the covering boat, and a responsive banging of -overloaded muskets from the shore. - -Only once was I badly hurt when "recruiting". I had visited a rather -big village, but could not secure a single recruit, and I had told the -officer to put off, as it was no use our wasting our time. I then -got into the boat and was stooping down to get a drink from the -water-beaker, when a sudden fusillade of muskets and arrows was opened -upon us from three sides, and I was struck on the right side of the neck -by a round iron bullet, which travelled round just under the skin, -and stopped under my left ear. Some of my crew were badly hit, one man -having his wrist broken by an iron bullet, and another received a heavy -lead bullet in the stomach, and three bamboo arrows in his chest, thigh -and shoulder. He was more afraid of the arrows than the really dangerous -wound in his stomach, for he thought they were poisoned, and that he -would die of lockjaw--like the lamented Commodore Goodenough, who was -shot to death with poisoned arrows at Nukapu in the Santa Cruz Group. - -The skipper nicked out the bullet in my neck with his pen-knife, and -beyond two very unsightly scars on each side of my neck, I have nothing -of which to complain, and much to be thankful for; for had I been in -ever so little a more erect position, the ball would have broken my -neck--and some compositors in printing establishments earned a little -less money. - - - - -CHAPTER XII ~ MY FRIENDS, THE ANTHROPOPHAGI - -Mr. Rudyard Kipling has spoken of what he terms "the Great American Pie -Belt," which runs through certain parts of the United States, the people -of which live largely on pumpkin pie; in the South Pacific there is what -may be vulgarly termed the Great "Long Pork" Belt, running through -many groups of islands, the savage inhabitants of which are notorious -cannibals. This belt extends from the New Hebrides north-westerly to -the Solomon Archipelago, thence more westerly to New Ireland and New -Britain, the coasts of Dutch, German, and British New Guinea; and then, -turning south, embraces a considerable portion of the coast line of -Northern Australia. Forty years ago Fiji could have been included, -but cannibalism in that group had long since ceased; as also in New -Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands. - -The British, French and German Governments are doing their best to stamp -out the practice. Ships of war patrol the various groups, and wherever -possible, headhunting and man-eating excursions are suppressed; but some -of the islands are of such a vast extent that only the coastal tribes -are affected. In the interior--practically unknown to any white -man--there is a very numerous population of mountaineer tribes, who -are all cannibals, and will remain so for perhaps another fifty years, -unless, as was done in Fiji by Sir Arthur Gordon (now Lord Stanmore), a -large armed force is sent to subdue these people, destroy their towns, -and bring them to settle on the coast, where they may be subjected to -missionary (and police) influence. - -During my trading and "blackbirding" voyages, I made the acquaintance, -and indeed in some cases the friendship, of many cannibals, and at one -time, when I was doing shore duty, I lived for six months in a large -cannibal village on the north coast of the great island of New Britain, -or Tombara, as the natives call it I had not the slightest fear of being -converted into "Long Pig" (_puaka kumi_) for the chief, a hideous, but -yet not bad-natured savage, named Bobaran, in consideration for certain -gifts of muskets, powder, bullets, etc, and tobacco, became responsible -for my safety with his own people during my stay, but would not, of -course, guarantee to protect me from the people of other districts (even -though he might not be at enmity with them) if I ventured into their -territory. - -This was the usual agreement made by white traders who established -themselves on shore under the _aegis_ of a native ruler. Very rarely was -this confidence abused. Generally the white men, sailors or traders -who have been (and are even now) killed and eaten, have been cut off -by savages other than those among whom they lived--very often by -mountaineers. - -Bobaran and all his people were noted cannibals. He was continually at -war with his neighbours on the opposite side of the bay, where there -were three populous towns, and there was much fighting, and losses on -both sides. During my stay there were over thirty people eaten at, or in -the immediate vicinity of, my village. Some of these were taken alive, -and then slaughtered on being brought in; others had been killed in -battle. But about eighteen months before I came to live at this -place, Bobaran had had a party of twenty of his people cut off by the -enemy--and every one of these were eaten. - -I parted from Bobaran on very friendly terms. I should have stayed -longer, but was suffering from malarial fever. - -After recruiting my health in New Zealand, I joined a labour vessel, -sailing out of Samoa, and during the ten months I served on her as -recruiter I had some exceedingly exciting adventures with cannibals -among the islands off the coast of German New Guinea, and on the -mainland. - -On our way to the "blackbirding grounds" we sighted the lofty Rossel -Island--the scene of one of the most awful cannibal tragedies ever -known. It is one of the Louisiade Archipelago, and is at the extreme -south end of British New Guinea. It presents a most enchanting -appearance, owing to its verdured mountains (9,000 feet), countless -cataracts, and beautiful bays fringed with coco-palms and other tropical -trees, amidst which stand the thatched-roofed houses of the natives. I -will tell the story of Rossel Island in as few words as possible:-- - -In 1852 a Peruvian barque, carrying 325 Chinese coolies for Tahiti, was -wrecked on the island; the captain and crew took to the four boats, and -left the Chinamen to shift for themselves. Hundreds of savage natives -rushed the vessel, killed a few of the coolies, and drove the rest on -shore, where for some days they were not molested, the natives being too -busy in plundering the ship. But after this was completed they turned -their attention to their captives, marshalled them together, made them -enter canoes and carried them off to a small, but fertile island. Here -they were told to occupy a deserted village, and do as they pleased, but -not to attempt to leave the island. The poor Chinamen were overjoyed, -little dreaming of what was to befal them. The island abounded with -vegetables and fruit, and the shipwrecked men found no lack of food. But -they discovered that they were prisoners--every canoe had been removed. -This at first caused them no alarm, but when at the end of a week -their jailers appeared and carried off ten of their number, they became -restless. And then almost every day, two, three or more were taken -away, and never returned. Then the poor wretches discovered that their -comrades were being killed and eaten day by day! - -To escape from the island was impossible, for it was four miles from the -mainland, and they had no canoes, and the water was literally alive with -sharks. Some of them, wild with terror, built a raft out of dead timber, -and tried to put to sea. They were seen by the Rossel Islanders, pursued -and captured, and slaughtered for the cannibal ovens, which were now -never idle. Some poor creatures, who could swim, tried to cross to -another little island two miles away, but were devoured by sharks. -Without arms to defend their lives, they saw themselves decimated week -by week, for whenever the natives came to seize some of their number for -their ovens they came in force. - -Six or seven months passed, and then one day the French corvette -_Phoque_ (if I am not mistaken in the name) appeared off the island. She -had been sent by the Governor of New Caledonia to ascertain if any of -the Chinamen were still on the island, or if all had escaped. Two only -survived. They were seen running along the beach to meet the boats from -the corvette, and were taken on board half-demented--all the rest had -gone into the stomach of the cannibals or the sharks. - -At the present time the natives of Rossel Island are subjects of King -Edward VII., and are included in the government of the Possession of -British New Guinea; have, I believe, a resident missionary, and several -traders, and are well behaved They would cast up their eyes in pious -horror if any visitor now suggested that they had once been addicted to -"long pig ". - -Ten days after passing Rossel Island, we were among the islands of -Dampier and Vitiaz Straits, which separate the western end of New -Britain from the east coast of New Guinea. It was an absolutely new -ground for recruiting "blackbirds" and our voyage was in reality but -an experiment. We (the officers and I) knew that the natives were a -dangerous lot of savage cannibals, speaking many dialects, and had -hitherto only been in communication with an occasional whaleship, or a -trading, pearling, or, in the "old" colonial days, a sandal-wood-seeking -vessel. But we had no fear of being cut off. We had a fine craft, with a -high freeboard, so that if we were rushed by canoes, the boarders would -find some trouble in clambering on deck; on the main deck we carried -four six-pounders, which were always kept in good order and could be -loaded with grape in a few minutes. Then our double crew were all well -armed with Sharp's carbines and the latest pattern of Colt's revolvers; -and, above all, the captain had confidence in his crew and officers, and -they in him. I, the recruiter, had with me as interpreter a very smart -native of Ysabel Island (Solomon Group) who, five years before, had been -wrecked on Rook Island, in Vitiaz Straits, had lived among the cannibal -natives for a year, and then been rescued by an Austrian man-of-war -engaged on an exploration voyage. He said that he could make himself -well understood by the natives--and this I found to be correct. - -We anchored in a charming little bay on Rook Island (Baga), and at once -some hundreds of natives came off and boarded us in the most fearless -manner. They at once recognised my interpreter, and danced about him and -yelled their delight at seeing him again. Every one of these savages was -armed with half a dozen spears, a jade-headed club, or powerful bows and -arrows, and a wooden shield. They were a much finer type of savage -than the natives of New Britain, lighter in colour, and had not so many -repulsive characteristics. Neither were they absolutely nude--each man -wearing a girdle of dracaena leaves, and although they were betel-nut -chewers, and carried their baskets of areca nuts and leaves and powdered -lime around their necks, they did not expectorate the disgusting scarlet -juice all over our decks as the New Britain natives would have done. - -We noticed that many of them had recently inflicted wounds, and learned -from them that a few days previously they had had a great fight with the -natives of Tupinier Island (twenty miles to the east) and had been badly -beaten, losing sixteen men. But, they proudly added, they had been able -to carry off eleven of the enemy's dead, and had only just finished -eating them. The chiefs brother, they said, had been badly wounded by -a bullet in the thigh (the Tupinier natives had a few muskets) and was -suffering great pain, as the "doctors" could not get it out. - -Now here was a chance for me--something which would perhaps lead to our -getting a number of these cannibals to recruit for Samoa. I considered -myself a good amateur surgeon (I had had plenty of practice) and at once -volunteered to go on shore, look at the injured gentleman and see what -I could do. My friend Bobaran in New Britain I had cured of an eczemic -disorder by a very simple remedy, and he had been a grateful patient. -Here was another chance, and possibly another grateful patient; and this -being a case of a gunshot wound, I was rather keen on attending to it, -for the Polynesians and Melanesians will stand any amount of cutting -about and never flinch (and there are no coroners in the South Seas to -ask silly questions if the patient dies from a mistake of the operator). - -Morel (the captain), the interpreter and myself went on shore. The beach -was crowded with women and children, as well as men--a sure sign that -no treachery was intended--and nearly all of them tried to embrace my -interpreter. The clamour these cannibals made was terrific, the children -being especially vociferous. Several of them seized my hands, and -literally dragged me along to the house of the wounded man; others -possessed themselves of Morel and the interpreter, and in a few minutes -the whole lot of us tumbled, or rather fell, into the house. Then, in an -instant, there was silence--the excited women and children withdrew and -left the captain, the interpreter, some male cannibals and myself with -my patient, who was sitting up, placidly chewing betel-nut. - -In ten minutes Morel and I got out the bullet, then dressed and bandaged -the wound, and gave the man a powerful opiate. Leaving him with his -friends, Morel and I went for a walk through the village. Everywhere the -natives were very civil, offering us coco-nuts and food, and even the -women and children did not show much fear at our presence. - -Returning to the house, we found our wounded friend was awake, and -sitting up on his mat He smiled affably at us, and rubbed noses with -me--a practice I have never before seen among the Melanesians of this -part of the Pacific. Then he told us that his womenfolk were preparing -us a meal which would soon be ready. I asked him gravely (through the -interpreter) not to serve us any human flesh. He replied quite calmly -that there was none left--the last had been eaten five days before. - -Presently the meal was carried in--baked pork, an immense fish of the -mullet kind, yams, taro, and an enormous quantity of sugar-cane and -pineapples. The women did not eat with us, but sat apart. Our friend, -whose name was Darro, had six wives, four of whom were present He had -also a number of female slaves, taken from an island in Vitiaz Straits. -These were rather light-skinned, and some quite good-looking, and all -wore girdles of dracaena leaves. Neither Darro nor his people smoked, -though they knew the use of pipe and tobacco, and at one time had been -given both by a sandal-wooding ship. I promised to give them a present -of a ten pound case of plug tobacco, and a gross of clay pipes--I was -thinking of "recruits". I sent off to the brig for the present, and when -it arrived, and I had given nearly one hundred and fifty cannibals a -pipe and a plug of tobacco each, the interpreter and I got to work on -Darro on the subject of our mission. - -Alas! He would not entertain the idea of any of his fighting men going -to an unknown land for three years. We could have perhaps a score or so -of women--widows or slaves. Would that suit us? No, I said. We did not -want single women or widows. There must be a man to each woman. - -Darro was "very sorry" (so was I). But perhaps I and the captain would -accept two of the youngest of his female slaves as a token of his regard -for us? - -Morel and I consulted, and then we asked Darro if he could not give us -two slave couples--two men and two women who would be willing to marry, -and also willing to go to a country and work, a country where they would -be well treated, and paid for their labour. And at the end of three -years they would be brought back to Darro, if they so desired. - -Darro smiled and gave some orders, and two strapping young men and two -pleasant-faced young women were brought for my inspection. All were -smiling, and I felt that a bishop and a brass band or surpliced -choristers ought to have been present. - -These were the only "blackbirds" we secured on that voyage from Rook -Island; but three and a half years later, when these two couples -returned to Darro, with a "vast" wealth of trade goods, estimated at -"trade" prices at seventy-two pounds, Darro never refused to let some of -his young men "recruit" for Fiji or Samoa. - -I never saw him again, but he sent messages to me by other -"blackbirding" vessels, saying that he would like me to come and stay -with him. - -And, although he had told me that he had personally partaken of -the flesh of over ninety men, I shall always remember him as a very -gentlemanly man, courteous, hospitable and friendly, and who was -horror-struck when my interpreter told him that in England cousins -intermarried. - -"That is a horrid, an unutterable thing. It is inconceivable to us. -It is vile, wicked and shameless. How can you clever white men do such -disgusting things?" - -Darro and his savage people knew the terrors of the abuse of the laws of -consanguinity. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII ~ ON THE "JOYS" OF RECRUITING "BLACKBIRDS" - -A few years ago I was written to by an English lady, living in the -Midlands, asking me if I could assist her nephew--a young man of three -and twenty years of age--towards obtaining a berth as Government agent -or as "recruiter" on a Queensland vessel employed in the Kanaka labour -trade. - -"I am told that it is a very gentlemanly employment, that many of those -engaged in it are, or have been, naval officers and have a recognised -status in society. Also that the work is really nothing--merely the -supervision of coloured men going to the Queensland plantations. The -climate is, I am told, delightful, and would suit Walter, whose lungs, -as you know, are weak. Is the salary large?" etc. - -I had to write and disillusionise the lady, and as I wrote I recalled -one of my experiences in the Kanaka labour trade. - -Early in the seventies, I was in Noumea, New Caledonia, looking for a -berth as recruiter in the Kanaka labour trade; but there were many older -and much more experienced men than myself engaged on the same quest, and -my efforts were in vain. - -One morning, however, I met a Captain Poore, who was the owner and -master of a small vessel, just about to leave Noumea on a trading -voyage along the east coast of New Guinea, and among the islands between -Astrolabe Bay and the West Cape of New Britain. He did not want a -supercargo; but said that he would be very glad if I would join him, and -if the voyage was a success he would pay me for such help as I might -be able to render him. I accepted his offer, and in a few days we left -Noumea. - -Poore and I were soon on very friendly terms. He was a man of vast -experience in the South Seas, and, except that he was subject to -occasional violent outbursts of temper when anything went wrong, was an -easy man to get on with, and a pleasant comrade. - -The mate was the only other European on board, besides the captain and -myself, all the crew, including the boatswain, being either Polynesians -or Melanesians. The whole ten of them were fairly good seamen and worked -well. - -A few days after leaving Noumea, Poore took me into his confidence, -and told me that, although he certainly intended to make a trading -and recruiting voyage, he had another object in view, and that was to -satisfy himself as to the location of some immense copper deposits that -had been discovered on Rook Island--midway between New Britain and New -Guinea--by some shipwrecked seamen. - -Twenty-two days out from Noumea, the _Samana_, as the schooner was -named, anchored in a well-sheltered and densely-wooded little bay on the -east side of Rook Island. The place was uninhabited, though, far back, -from the lofty mountains of the interior, we could see several columns -of smoke arising, showing the position of mountaineer villages. - -It was then ten o'clock in the morning, and Poore, feeling certain that -in this part of the coast there were no native villages, determined to -go ashore, and do a little prospecting. (I must mention that, owing to -light weather and calms, we had been obliged to anchor where we had to -avoid being drifted on shore by the fierce currents, which everywhere -sweep and eddy around Rook Island, and that we were quite twenty miles -from the place where the copper lode had been discovered.) - -Taking with us two of the native seamen, Poore and I set off on shore -shortly after ten o'clock, and landed on a rough, shingly beach. The -extent of littoral on this part of the island was very small, a bold -lofty chain of mountains coming down to within a mile of the sea, and -running parallel with the coast as far as we could see. The vegetation -was dense, and in some places came down to the water's edge, and -although the country showed a tropical luxuriance of beauty about the -seashore, the dark, gloomy, and silent mountain valleys which everywhere -opened up from the coast, gave it a repellent appearance in general. - -Leaving the natives (who were armed with rifles and tomahawks) in charge -of the boat, and telling them to pull along the shore and stop when we -stopped, Poore and I set out to walk. - -My companion was armed with a Henry-Winchester carbine, and I with a -sixteen-bore breech-loading shotgun and a tomahawk. I had brought the -gun instead of a rifle, feeling sure that I could get some cockatoos or -pigeons on our way back, for we had heard and seen many flying about as -soon as we had anchored. At the last moment I put into my canvas game -bag four round bullet cartridges, as Poore said there were many wild -pigs on the island. - -On rounding the eastern point of the bay we were delighted to come -across a beautiful beach of hard white sand, fringed with coco-nut -palms, and beyond was a considerable stretch of open park-like country. -Just as Poore and I were setting off inland to examine the base of a -spur about a mile distant, one of the men said he could see the mouth of -a river farther on along the beach. - -This changed our plans, and sending the boat on ahead, we kept to the -beach, and soon reached the river--or rather creek. It was narrow but -deep, the boat entered it easily and went up it for a mile, we walking -along the bank, which was free of undergrowth, but covered with high, -coarse, reed-like grass. Then the boat's progress was barred by a huge -fallen tree, which spanned the stream. Here we spelled for half an hour, -and had something to eat, and then again Poore and I set out, following -the upward course of the creek. Finding it was leading us away from the -spur we wished to examine, we stopped to decide what to do, and then -heard the sound of two gun-shots in quick succession, coming from the -direction of the place in which the boat was lying. We were at once -filled with alarm, knowing that the men must be in danger of some sort, -and that neither of them could have fired at a wild pig, no matter how -tempting a shot it offered, for we had told them not to do so. - -"Perhaps they have fallen foul of an alligator," said Poore, "all the -creeks on Rook Island are full of them. Come along, and let us see what -is wrong." - -Running through the open, timber country, and then through the long -grass on the banks of the stream, we had reached about half-way to the -boat when we heard a savage yell--or rather yells--for it seemed to come -from a hundred throats, and in an instant we both felt sure that the -boat had been attacked. - -Madly forcing our way through the infernal reed-like grass, which every -now and then caused us to trip and fall, we had just reached a bend of -the creek, which gave us a clear sight of its course for about three -hundred yards, when Poore tripped over a fallen tree branch; I fell on -the top of him, and my face struck his upturned right foot with such -violence that the blood poured from my nose in a torrent, and for half a -minute I was stunned. - -"Good God, look at that!" cried Poore, pointing down stream. - -Crossing a shallow part of the creek were a party of sixty or seventy -savages, all armed with spears and clubs. Four of them who were leading -were carrying on poles from their shoulders the naked and headless -bodies of our two unfortunate sailors, and the decapitated heads were -in either hand of an enormously fat man, who from his many shell armlets -and other adornments was evidently the leader. So close were they--less -than fifty yards--that we easily recognised one of the bodies by its -light yellow skin as that of Anteru (Andrew), a native of Rotumah, and -one of the best men we had on the _Samana_. - -Before I could stay his hand and point out the folly of it, Poore stood -up and shot the fat savage through the stomach, and I saw the blood -spurt from his side, as the heavy, flat-nosed bullet ploughed its -way clean through the man, who, still clutching the two heads in his -ensanguined hands, stood upright for a few seconds, and then fell with a -splash into the stream. - -Yells of rage and astonishment came from the savages, as Poore, now wild -with fury, began to fire at them indiscriminately, until the magazine of -his rifle was emptied; but he was so excited that only two or three of -them were hit. Then his senses came back to him. - -"Quick, into the creek, and over to the other side, or they'll cut us -off." - -We clambered down the bank into the water, and then, by some mischance, -Poore, who was a bad swimmer, dropped his rifle, and began uttering the -most fearful oaths, when I told him that it was no use my trying to dive -for it, unless he could hold my shot gun, which I was carrying in my -left hand. We had scarcely reached the opposite bank, when thin, slender -spears began to whizz about us, and one, no thicker than a lead pencil, -caught Poore in the cheek, obliquely, and its point came out quite a -yard from where it had entered, and literally pinned him to the ground. - -I have heard some very strong language in the South Seas, but I have -never heard anything so awful as that of Poore when I drew out the -spear, and we started to run for our lives down the opposite bank of the -creek. - -For some minutes we panted along through the long grass, hearing -nothing; and then, as we came to an open spot and stopped to gain -breath, we were assailed by a shower of spears from the other side -of the creek, and Poore was again hit--a spear ripping open the flesh -between the forefinger and thumb of his left hand. He seized my gun, and -fired both barrels into the long grass on the other side, and wild yells -showed that some of our pursuers were at least damaged by the heavy No. -I shot intended for cockatoos. - -Then all became silent, and we again started, taking all available -cover, and hoping we were not pursued. - -We were mistaken, for presently we caught sight of a score of our -enemies a hundred yards ahead, running at top speed, evidently intending -to cross lower down and cut us off, or else secure the boat Poore took -two quick shots at them, but they were too far off, and gave us a -yell of derision. Putting my hand into the game bag to get out two -cartridges, I was horrified to find it empty, every one had fallen out; -my companion used more lurid language, and we pressed on. At last we -reached the boat, and found her floating bottom up--the natives had been -too quick for us. - -To have attempted to right her would have meant our being speared by -the savages, who, of course, were watching our every movement. There -was nothing else to do but to keep on, cross the mouth of the creek, and -make for the ship. - -Scarcely had we run fifty yards when we saw the grass on the other side -move--the natives were keeping up the chase. Another ten minutes brought -us to the mouth of the stream, and then to our great joy we saw that -the tide had ebbed, and that right before us was a stretch of bare -sand, extending out half a mile. As we emerged into the open we saw our -pursuers standing on the opposite bank. Poore pointed his empty gun at -them, and they at once vanished. - -We stopped five minutes to gain breath, and then kept straight on across -the sand, till we sighted the schooner. We were seen almost at once, and -a boat was quickly manned and sent to us, and in a quarter of an hour we -were on board again. - -That was one of the joys of the "gentlemanly" employment of "recruiting" -in the South Seas. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV ~ MAKING A FORTUNE IN THE SOUTH SEAS - -A short time ago I came across in a daily newspaper the narrative of -a traveller in the South Seas full of illuminating remarks on the ease -with which any one can now acquire a fortune in the Pacific Islands; it -afforded me considerable reflection, mixed with a keen regret that I -had squandered over a quarter of a century of my life in the most -stupid manner, by ignoring the golden opportunities that must have been -jostling me wherever I went. The articles were very cleverly penned, and -really made very pretty reading--so pretty, in fact, that I was moved -to briefly narrate my experience of the subject in the columns of the -_Westminster Gazette_ with the result that many a weary, struggling -trader in the Solomon Islands, the New Hebrides and other groups of -islands in the South Pacific rose up and called me blessed when they -read my article, for I sent five and twenty copies of the paper to as -many traders. Others doubtless obtained the journal from the haughty -brass-bound pursers (there are no "supercargoes" now) of the Sydney and -Auckland steamers. For the steamers, with their high-collared, clerkly -pursers, have supplanted for good the trim schooners, with their -brown-faced, pyjama-clad supercargoes, and the romance of the South Seas -has gone. But it has not gone in the imagination of some people. - -I must mention that my copies of the _Westminster Gazette_ crossed no -less than nine letters written to me by old friends and comrades from -various islands in the Pacific, asking me to do what I had done--put the -true condition of affairs in Polynesia before the public, and help -to keep unsuitable and moneyless men from going out to the South Sea -Islands to starve. For they had read the illuminating series of articles -to which I refer, and felt very savage. - -In a cabin-trunk of mine I have some hundreds of letters, written to -me during the past ten years by people from all parts of the world, -who wanted to go to the South Seas and lead an idyllic life and make -fortunes, and wished me to show them how to go about it. Many of these -letters are amusing, some are pathetic; some, which were so obviously -insane, I did not answer. The rest I did. I cannot reproduce them in -print. I am keeping them to read to my friends in heaven. Even an old -ex-South Sea trader may get there--if he can dodge the other place. -_Quien sabe?_ - -Twenty-one of these letters reached me in France during February, March -and April of last year. They were written by men and women who had been -reading the above-mentioned series of brilliant articles. (I regret to -state that fourteen only had a penny stamp thereon, and I had to pay -four francs postal dues.) The articles were, as I have said, very -charmingly written, especially the descriptive passages. But nearly -every person that the "Special Commissioner" met in the South Seas seems -to have been very energetically and wickedly employed in "pulling the -'Special Commissioner's leg". - -The late Lord Pembroke described two classes of people--"those who know -and don't write, and those who write and don't know". - -Let me cull a few only of the statements in one of the articles entitled -"The Trader's Prospects". It is an article so nicely written that it is -hard to shake off the glamour of it and get to facts. It says:-- - -"The salaries paid by a big Australian firm to its traders may run from -L50 to L200 a year, with board (that is, the run of the store) and a -house." - -There are possibly fifty men in the Pacific Islands who are receiving -L200 a year from trading firms. Five pounds per month, with a specified -ration list, and 5 per cent, commission on his sales is the usual -thing--and has been so for the past fifteen years. As for taking "the -run of the store," he would be quickly asked to take another run. The -trader who works for a firm has a struggle to exist. - -***** - -"In the Solomons and New Hebrides you can start trading on a capital of -L100 or so, and make cent, per cent, on island produce." - -A man would want at least L500 to L600 to start even in the smallest -way. Here are some of his requirements, which he must buy before leaving -Sydney or Auckland to start as an independent trader in Melanesia or -Polynesia: Trade goods, L400; provisions for twelve months, L100; boat -with all gear, from L25 to L60; tools, firearms, etc, L15 to L30. Then -there is passage money, L15 to L20; freight on his goods, say L40. If -he lands anywhere in Polynesia--Samoa, Tonga, Cook's Islands, or -elsewhere--he will have Customs duties to pay, house rent, and a -trading licence. And everywhere he will find keen competition and measly -profits, unless he lives like a Chinaman on rice and fish. - -"In British New Guinea you can dig gold in hand-fuls out of the mangrove -swamps" (O ye gods!) "and prospect for any other mineral you may -choose." - -Gold-mining in British New Guinea is carried out under the most trying -conditions of toil and hardships, The fitting out of a prospecting-party -of four costs quite L500 to L1,000. And only very experienced diggers -tackle mining in the Possession. And his Honour the Administrator will -not let improperly equipped parties into the Possession. - -"It is the simplest thing in the world" to become a pearl sheller. "You -charter a schooner--or even a cutter--if you are a smart seaman and know -the Pacific, use her for general trading... and every now and then go -and look up some one of the innumerable reefs and low atolla... Some are -beds of treasure, full of pearl-shell, that sells at L100 to L200 the -ton," etc. - -All very pretty! Here is the "simplicity" of it--taking it at so much -_per month_: Charter of small schooner of one hundred tons, L200 to -L300; wages of captain and crew, L40; cost of provisions and wear and -tear of canvas, running gear, etc., L60 (diving suits and gear for two -divers, and boat would have to be bought at a cost of some hundreds of -pounds); wages per month of each diver from L50 to L75, with often -a commission on the shell they raise. Then you can go a-sailing, and -_cherchez_ around for your treasure beds. If you dive in Dutch waters, -the gunboats collar you and your ship; if you go into British waters you -will find that the business is under strict inspection by Commonwealth -officials who keep a properly sharp eye on your doings. If you wish to -go into the French Paumotus you have first to visit Tahiti, and apply -for and pay 2,500 francs for a half-yearly licence to dive. (Most likely -you won't get it) If you try without this licence to buy even a single -pearl from the natives, you will get into trouble--as my ship did in -the "seventies," when the gunboat _Vaudreuil_ swooped down on us, sent -a prize crew aboard, put some of us in irons, and towed us to -Tahiti, where we lay in Papeite harbour for three months, until legal -proceedings were finished and the ship was liberated. - -"About L150 would be the lowest sum with which such a work" (scooping up -the treasure) "could be carried out. This would provide a small schooner -or a cutter from Auckland for a few months with all necessary stores. -She would require two men, competent to navigate, two A.B.'s, and a -diver, in order to be run safely and comfortably; and the wages of -these would be an extra cost A couple of experienced yachtsmen could, of -course, manage the affair more cheaply." - -Some of these recent nine letters which I received contained some very -interesting facts. One man, an old trader in Polynesia, wrote me as -follows: "Some of these poor beggars actually land in Polynesian ports -with a trunk or two of glass beads, penny looking-glasses, twopenny -knives and other weird rubbish, and are aghast to see large stores -stocked with thousands of pounds' worth of goods of all kinds, goods -which are sold to the natives at a very low margin of profit, -for competition is very keen. In the Society Islands the Chinese -storekeepers undersell us whites--they live cheaper." And "in Levuka -and Suva, in Fiji, in Rarotonga and other islands there are scores of -broken-down white men. They cannot be called 'beachcombers,' for there -is nothing on the beach for them to comb. They live on the charity of -the traders and natives. If they were sailor-men they could perhaps -get fifteen dollars a month on the schooners. Why they come here is a -mystery.... Most of them seem to be clerks or school-teachers. One is a -violin teacher. Another young fellow brought out a typewriting machine; -he is now yardman at a Suva hotel. A third is a married man with two -young children. He is a French polisher, wife a milliner. They came from -Belfast, and landed with eleven pounds! Hotel expenses swallowed all -that in three weeks. Money is being collected to send them to Auckland," -and so on. There is always so much mischief being done by globe-trotting -tourists and ill-informed and irresponsible novelists who scurry through -the Southern Seas on a liner, and then publish their hasty impressions. -According to them, any one with a modicum of common sense can shake the -South Sea Pagoda Tree and become bloatedly wealthy in a year or so. - -Did the "Special Commissioner" know that these articles would lead to -much misery and suffering? No, of course not. They were written in good -faith, but without knowledge. For instance, the wild statement about -looking up "some one of the innumerable reefs and low atolls... beds -of treasure, full of pearl-shell that sells at L100 to L200 the ton," -etc.--there is not one single reef or atoll either in the North or South -Pacific that has not been carefully prospected for pearl-shell during -the past thirty-five years. - -Then as to gold-mining in British New Guinea, "where you can dig gold in -handfuls out of the mangrove swamps". - -Diggers who go to New Guinea have to go through the formality of first -paying their passages to that country from Australia. Then, on arrival, -they have to arrange the important matter of engaging native carriers -to take their outfit to the Mambare River gold-fields--a tedious and -expensive item. And only experienced men of sterling physique can stand -the awful labour and hardships of gold-mining in the Possession. Deadly -malarial fever adds to the diggers' hard lot in New Guinea, and the -natives, when not savage and treacherous, are as unreliable and as lazy -as a Spanish priest. - -In conclusion, I can assure my readers that there is no prospect for any -man of limited means to make money in the South Seas as a trader. Any -assertions to the contrary have no basis of fact in them. In cotton and -coco-nut planting there are good openings for men of the right stamp; in -the second industry, however, one has to wait six years before his trees -are in full bearing. - - - - -CHAPTER XV ~ THE STORY OF TOKOLME - -Early one morning some native hunters came on board our vessel and asked -me to come with them to the mountain forest of the island of Ponape in -quest of wild boar. Glad to escape from the ship, which lay in a small -land-locked harbour on the south-eastern side of the island, I quickly -put together my gear, stepped into one of the long red-painted canoes -alongside, and pushed off with my companions--men whom I had known for -some years and who always looked to me to join them in at least one -of their hunting trips whenever our brig visited their district on a -trading cruise. Half an hour's paddling across the still waters of the -harbour brought us to a narrow creek, lined on each side with dense -mangroves. Following its upward course for the third of a mile, we came -to and landed at a point of high land, where the-dull and monotonous -mangroves gave place to giant cedar trees and lofty palms. Here were two -or three small native huts, used by the hunters as a rendezvous. Early -as it was, some of their women-folk had arrived from the village, and -cooked and made ready a meal of baked fish and chickens. Then after the -inevitable smoke and discussion as to the route to be taken, and telling -the women to expect us back at nightfall, we shouldered our rifles and -hunting spears, and started off in single file along a winding track -that followed the turnings of the now clear and brawling little stream. -At first we experienced considerable trouble in ridding ourselves of -over a dozen mongrel curs; they had followed the men from the village -(two miles distant) and the women had fastened all of them in, in one of -the huts, but the brutes had torn a hole through the cane-work side of -the hut and came after us in full cry. Kicking and pelting them with -sticks had no effect--they merely yelped and snarled and darted off -into the undergrowth, only to reappear somewhere ahead of us. Finally my -companions became so exasperated that, forgetting they were newly-made -converts to Christianity, they burst out into torrents of abuse, -invoking all the old heathen gods to smite the dogs individually and -collectively, and not let them spoil our sport. This proving of no -effect, an exasperated and stalwart young native named Na, who was the -owner of one of the most ugly and persistent of the animals, asked me to -lend him my Winchester, and, waiting for a favourable chance, shot the -brute dead. In an instant the rest of the pack vanished without a sound, -and we saw no more of them till we returned to the huts in the evening. - -These natives (seven in all) were, with the exception of a man of fifty -years of age, all young men, and fine types of the Micronesian. Although -much slighter in build than the average Polynesian of the south-eastern -islands of the Pacific, they were extremely muscular and sinewy, and as -active and fleet of foot as wild goats. Their skins, where not tanned -a darker hue by the sun, were of a light reddish-brown, and the blue -tatooing on their bodies showed out very clearly; most of them had a -very Semitic and regular cast of features, and their straight black hair -and fine white teeth imparted a very pleasing appearance. Unlike some of -the natives of the Micronesian Archipelago on the islands farther to the -westward they dislike the disgusting practice of chewing the betel-nut, -and in general may be regarded as a very cleanly and highly intelligent -race of people. Somewhat suspicious, if not sullen, with the European -stranger on first acquaintance, they do not display that spirit of -hospitality and courtesy that seems to be inherent with the Samoans, -Tahitians and the Marquesans. From the time when their existence was -first made known to the world by the discoveries of the early Spanish -voyagers to the South Seas they have been addicted to warfare, and -the inhabitants of Ponape in particular had an evil reputation for the -horrible cruelties the victors inflicted upon the vanquished in battle, -even though the victims were frequently their own kith and kin. When, -less than twenty years ago, Spain reasserted her claims to the Caroline -Islands (of which Ponape is the largest and most fertile) and placed -garrisons on several of the islands, the natives of Ponape made a savage -and determined resistance, and in one instance wiped out two companies -of troops and their officers. A few years ago, however, the entire -archipelago passed into the hands of Germany--Spain accepting a monetary -compensation for parting with territory that never belonged to her--and -at the present time these once valorous and warlike savages are learning -the ways of civilisation and--as might be expected--rapidly diminishing -in numbers. - -***** - -After ridding ourselves of the dogs we pressed steadily onward and -upward, till we no longer heard the hum of the surf beating upon the -barrier reef, and then when the sun was almost overhead we emerged from -the deep, darkened aisles of the silent forest into a small cleared -space on the summit of a spur and saw displayed before us one of the -loveliest panoramas in the universe. For of all the many beautiful -island gems which lie upon the blue bosom of the North Pacific, there -is none that exceeds in beauty and fertility the Isle of Ascension, as -Ponape is sometimes called--that being the name used by the Spaniards. - -Three thousand feet below we could see for many miles the trend of the -coast north and south. Within the wavering line of roaring white surf, -which marked the barrier reef, lay the quiet green waters of the narrow -lagoon encompassing the whole of this part of Ponape, studded with many -small islands--some rocky and precipitous, some so low-lying and so -thickly palm-clad that they, seemed, with their girdles of shining -beach, to be but floating gardens of verdure, so soft and ephemeral -that even the gentle breath of the rising trade wind at early morn would -cause them to vanish like some desert mirage. - -To the southward was the small, land-locked harbour of Roan Kiti, whose -gleaming waters were as yet undisturbed by the faintest ripple, and the -two American whaleships and my own vessel which floated on its placid -bosom, lay so still and quiet, that one could have thought them to be -abandoned by their crews were it not that one of the whalers began to -loose and dry sails, for it had rained heavily during the night. These -two ships were from New Bedford, and they had put into the little -harbour to wood and water, and give their sea-worn crews a fortnight's -rest ere they sailed northward away from the bright isles of the Pacific -to the cold, wintry seas of the Siberian coast and the Kurile Islands, -where they would cruise for "bowhead" whales, before returning home to -America. - -Here, because the White Man both felt and looked tired after the long -climb, and because the Brown Men wanted to make a drink of green kava, -we decided to rest for an hour or two--some of the men suggesting that -we should not return till the following day. Food we had brought with -us, and everywhere on the tops of the mountains water was to be found -in small rocky pools. So whilst one of the men cut up a rugged root of -green kava and began to pound it with a smooth stone, the White Man, -well content, laid down his gun, sat upon a boulder of stone and looked -around him. I was pleased at the view of sea and verdant shore -far below, and pleased too at the prospect of some good sport; for -everywhere, on our way up to the mountains, we had seen the tracks -of many a wild pig, and here, on the summit of this spur, could rest -awhile, before descending into a deep valley on the eastern side of -the island, where we knew we would find the wild pigs feeding along the -banks of a mountain stream which debouched into Roan Kiti harbour, four -miles away. - -"How is this place named, and how came it to be clear of the forest -trees?" I asked one of my native friends, a handsome young man, about -thirty years of age, whose naked, smooth, and red-brown skin, from neck -to waist, showed by its tatooing that he was of chiefly lineage. - -"Tokolme it is called," he replied. "It was once a place of great -strength; a fortress was made here in the mountains, in the olden -time--in the old days, long before white men came to Ponape. See, all -around us, half-buried in the ground, are some of the blocks of stone -which were carried up from the face of the mountain which overlooks -Metalanien "--he pointed to several huge basaltic prisms lying -near--"these stones were the lower course of the fort; the upper part -was of wood, great forest trees, cut down and squared into lengths of -two fathoms. And it is because of the cutting down of these trees, which -were very old and took many hundred years to grow, that the place -where we now sit, and all around us, is so clear. For the blood of -many hundreds of men have sunk into it, and because it was the blood of -innocent people, there be now nothing that will grow upon it." - -The place was certainly quite bare of trees, though encompassed by the -forest on all sides lower down. One reason for this may have been that -in addition to the large basaltic prisms, the ground was thickly covered -with a layer of smaller and broken stones to which time and the action -of the weather had given a comparatively smooth surface. - -"Tell me of it, Rai," I said. - -"Presently, friend, after we have had the drink of kava and eaten some -food. Ah, this green kava of ours is good to drink, not like the weak, -dried root that the women of Samoa chew and mix with much water in a -wooden bowl. What goodness can there be in that? Here, we take the root -fresh from the soil when it is full of juice, beat it to a pulp and add -but little water." - -"It is good, Rai," I admitted, "but give me only a little. It is too -strong for me and a full bowl would cause me to stagger and fall." - -He laughed good-naturedly as he handed me a half coco-nut shell -containing a little of the thick greenish-yellow liquid. And then, after -all had drunk in turn, the baskets of cold baked food were opened and -we ate; and then as we lit our pipes and smoked Rai told us the story of -Tokolme. - -"In those days, before the white men came here to this country, though -they had been to islands not many days' sail from here by canoe, there -were but two great chiefs of Ponape--now there are seven--one was Lirou, -who ruled all this part of the land, and who dwelt at Roan Kiti with two -thousand people, and the other was Roka, king of all the northern coast -and ruler of many villages. Roka was a great voyager and had sailed as -far to the east as Kusaie, which is two hundred leagues from here, and -his people were proud of him and his great daring and of the slaves that -he brought back with him from Kusaie.{*} - - * Strongs Island. - -"Here in Tokolme lived three hundred and two-score people, who owed -allegiance neither to Lirou nor Roka, for their ancestors had come to -Ponape from Yap, an island far to the westward. After many years of -fighting on the coast they made peace with Lirou's father, who gave them -all this piece of country as a free gift, and without tribute, and many -of their young men and women intermarried with ours, for the language -and customs of Yap are akin to those of Ponape. - -"Soon after peace was made and Tolan, chief of the strangers, had built -the village and made plantations, he died, and as he left no son, his -daughter Lea became chieftainess, although she was but fourteen years of -age. - -"Lirou, who was a haughty, overbearing young man, sent presents, and -asked her in marriage, and great was his anger when she refused, saying -that she had no desire to leave her people now that her father was dead. - -"'See,' he said to his father, 'see the insult put upon thee by these -proud ones of Yap--these dog-eating strangers who drifted to our land -as a log drifts upon the ocean. Thou hast given them fair lands with -running water, and great forest trees, and this girl refuses to marry -me. Am I as nothing that I should be so treated? Shall I, Lirou, be -laughed at? Am I a boy or a grown man?' - -"The old chief, who desired peace, sought in vain to soothe him. -'Wait for another year,' he said, 'and it may be that she will be of a -different mind. And already thou hast two wives--why seek another?' - -"'Because it is my will,' replied Lirou fiercely, and he went away, -nursing his wrath. - -"One day a party of Roka's young men and women went in several canoes -to the group of small islands near the mainland called Pakin to catch -turtle; whilst the men were away out on the reef at night with their -turtle nets a number of Lirou's men came to the huts where the women -were and watched them cooking food to give to their husbands on their -return. Rain was falling heavily, and Lirou's men came into the houses, -unasked, and sat down and then began to jest with the women somewhat -rudely. This made them somewhat afraid, for they were all married, and -to jest with the wife of another man is looked upon as an evil thing. -But their husbands being a league away the women could do nothing and -went on with their cooking in silence. Presently, Lirou's men who had -brought with them some gourds of the grog called _rarait_, which is made -from sugar-cane, began to drink it and pressed the women to do so also. -When they refused to do so, the men became still more rude and bade the -women serve them with some of the food they had prepared. This was a -great insult, but being in fear, they obeyed. Then, as the grog made -them bolder, some of the men laid hands on the women and there was a -great outcry and struggle, and a young woman named Sipi-nah fell or was -thrown against a great burning log, and her face so badly burned that -she cried out in agony and ran outside, followed by all the other women. -They ran along the beach in the pouring rain till they were abreast -of the place where their husbands were fishing and called to them to -return. When the fishermen saw what had befallen Sipi-nah they were -filled with rage, for she was a blood-relation of Roka's, and hastening -back to the houses they rushed in upon Lirou's people, slew three of -them, put their heads in baskets and brought them to Roka. - -"From this thing came a long war which was called 'the war of the face -of Sipi-nah,' and a great battle was fought in canoes on the lagoon. -Lirou's father with many hundreds of his people were slain, and the rest -fled to Roan Kiti pursued by King Roka, who burnt the town. Then Lirou -(who, now that his father was killed, was chief) sued for peace, and -promised Roka a yearly tribute of three thousand plates of turtle shell, -and five new canoes. So Roka, being satisfied, sailed away, and there -was peace. Had he so desired it he could have utterly swept away all -Lirou's people and burned their villages and destroyed every one of -their plantations, but although he was a great fighting man he was not -cruel. Yet he said to Sipi-nah, after peace was made: 'I pray thee, come -near me no more; for although I have revenged myself upon those who have -ill-used and insulted thee and me, my hand will again incline to the -spear if I look upon thy scarred face again. And I want no more wars.' - -"The son of Lirou (who now took his father's name) and his people began, -with heavy hearts, to rebuild the town. After the council house was -finished, Lirou told them to cease work and called together his head men -and spoke. - -"'Why should we labour to build more houses here?' he said. 'See, this -is my mind. Only for one year shall I pay this heavy tribute to Roka -Then shall I defy him.' - -"The head men were silent. - -"Lirou laughed. 'Have no fear. I am no boaster. But we cannot fight him -here in Roan Kiti, which is open to the sea, and never can we make it -a strong fort, for here we have no _falat_,{*} nor yet any great forest -trees. But at Tokolme are many thousands of the great stones and mighty -trees in plenty. Ah, my father was a foolish man to give such a place to -people who fought against us. Are we fools, to build here another weak -town, and let Roka bear the more heavily upon us? Answer me!' - - * "Falat" is the natives' name for the huge prisms of basalt - with which the mysterious and Cyclopean walls, canals, - vaults, and forts are constructed on the island of Ponape. - -"'What wouldst thou have, O chief,' asked one of the head men. - -"'I would have Tokolme. It is mine inheritance. There can we make a -strong fort, and from there shall we have entrance to the sea by the -river. Are we to let these dogs from Yap deny us?' - -"'Let us ask them to give us, as an act of friendship, all the trees, -and all the _felat_ we desire,' said one of the head men. - -"Lirou laughed scornfully. 'And we to toil for years in carrying the -trees and stones from Tokolme, a league away. Bah! Let us fall upon them -as they sleep--and spare no one.' - -"'Nay, nay,' said a sub-chief, named Kol, who had taken one of the Yap -girls to wife, 'that is an evil thought, and foul treachery. We be at -peace with them. I, for one, will have no part in such wickedness.' And -others said the same, but some were with Lirou. - -"Then, after many angry words had been spoken--some for fair dealing, -and some for murder--Lirou said to the chief Kol and two others: 'Go to -the girl Lea and her head men with presents, and say this: We of Roan -Kiti are like to be hard pressed by Roka when the time comes for the -payment of our tribute. If we yield it not, then are we all dead men. -So give back to us Tokolme, and take from us Roan Kiti, where ye may for -ever dwell in peace, for Roka hath no ill-will against ye.' - -"So Kol and two other chiefs, with many slaves bearing presents, went to -Tokolme. But before they set out, Kol sent secretly a messenger to Lea, -with these words: 'Though I shall presently come to thee with fair -words from Lirou, I bid thee and all thy people take heed, and beware -of what thou doest; and keep good watch by night, for Lirou hath an evil -mind.' - -"This message was given to Lea, and her head men rewarded the messenger, -and then held council together, and told Lea what answer she should -give. - -"This was the answer that she gave to Kol, speaking smilingly, and yet -with dignity:-- - -"'Say to the chief Lirou that I thank him for the rich presents he hath -sent me, and that I would that I could yield to his wish, and give unto -him this tract of country that his father gave to mine--so that he might -build a strong place of refuge against the King Roka But it cannot be, -for we, too, fear Roka. And we are but a few, and some day it might -happen that he would fall upon us, and sweep us away as a dead leaf -is swept from the branch of a young tree by the strong breath of the -storm.' - -"So Kol returned to Lirou, and gave him the answer of Lea, and then -Lirou and those of his head men who meant ill to Lea and her people, met -together in secret, and plotted their destruction. - -"And again Kol, who loved the Yap girl he had married, sent a message -to Lea, warning her to beware of treachery. And then it was that the Yap -people began to build a strong fort, and at night kept a good watch. - -"Then Lirou again sent messengers asking that Lea would let him cut down -a score of great trees, and Lea sent answer to him: 'Thou art welcome. -Cut down one score--or ten score. I give them freely.' This did she for -the sake of peace and good-will, though she and her people knew that -Lirou meant harm. But whilst a hundred of Lirou's men were cutting -the trees the Yap people worked at their fort from dawn till dark, and -Lirou's heart was black with rage, for these men of Yap were cunning -fort builders, and he saw that, when it was finished, it could never be -taken by assault. But he and his chiefs continued to speak fair words, -and send presents to Lea and her people, and she sent back presents in -return. Then again Lirou besought her to become his wife, saying that -such an alliance would strengthen the friendship between his people and -hers; but Lea again refused him, though with pleasant words, and Lirou -said with a smooth face: 'Forgive me. I shall pester thee no more, for I -see that thou dost not care for me.' - -"When two months had passed two score of great trees had been felled and -cut into lengths of five fathoms each, and then squared. These were to -be the main timbers of the outer wall of Lirou's fort--so he said. But -he did not mean to have them carried away, for now he and his chiefs had -completed their plans to destroy the people of Yap, and this cutting of -the trees was but a subterfuge, designed to throw Lea and her advisers -off their guard. - -"One day Lirou and his chiefs, dressed in very gay attire, came into -Tokolme, each carrying in his hand a tame ring-dove which is a token of -peace and amity, and desired speech of Lea. She came forth, and ordered -fine mats, trimmed with scarlet parrots' feathers, to be spread for them -upon the ground and received them as honoured guests. - -"'We come,' said Lirou, lifting her hand to his forehead, 'to beg -thee and all thy people to come to a great feast that will be ready -to-morrow, to celebrate the carrying away of the wood thou hast so -generously given unto me.' - -"'It is well,' said Lea; 'I thank thee. We shall come.' - -"Little did Lea and her people know that during the night, as it rained -heavily, some of Lirou's warriors had hidden clubs and spears and axes -of stone near where the logs lay and where the feast was to be given. -They were hidden under a great heap of chips and shavings that came from -the fallen trees. - -"At dawn on the day of the feast, three hundred of Lirou's men, all -dressed very gaily, marched past Tokolme, carrying no arms, but bearing -baskets of food. They were going, they said, with presents to King Roka -to tell him that Lirou would hold faithfully to his promise of tribute. - -"'But why,' asked the men of Yap, 'do ye go to-day--which is the day of -the feast?' - -"'Because the heart of Lirou is glad, and he desires peace with all -men--even Roka. And whilst he and those of our people who remain feast -with ye men of Yap, and make merriment, we, the tribute messengers, go -unto Roka with words of goodwill.' - -"Now these words were lies, for when the three hundred men had marched -a quarter of a league past Tokolme, they halted at a place in the forest -where they had arms concealed. Then they waited for a certain signal -from Lirou, who had said:-- - -"'When thou hearest the sound of a conch shell at the beginning of the -feast, march quickly back and form a circle around us and the people of -Yap, but let not one of ye be seen. Then when there comes a second blast -rush in, and see that no one escapes. Spare no one but the girl Lea.' - -"When the sun was a little high Lirou and all his people--men, women and -children--came and made ready the feast On each of the squared logs was -spread out baked hogs, fowls, pigeons, turtle and fish, and all manner -of fruits in abundance, and then also there were placed in the centre of -the clearing twenty stone mortars for making kava. - -"When all was ready, Lea and her people were bidden to come, and they -all came out of the fort, dressed very gaily and singing as is customary -for guests to do. And Lirou stepped out from among his people and took -Lea by the hand and seated her on a fine mat in the place of honour, and -as she sat with Lirou beside her, a man blew a loud, long blast upon a -conch shell and the feast began." - -Rai's story had interested me keenly, but I was now guilty of a breach -of native etiquette--I had to interrupt him to ask how it was that the -man Kol and others who were friendly to the Yap people did not give them -a final warning of the intended massacre. - -"Ah, I forgot to tell thee that Lirou was as cunning as he was cruel, -and ten days before the giving of the feast he had sent away Kol and -some others whom he knew to be well disposed to the people of Yap. He -sent them to the islands of Pakin--ten leagues from Ponape, and desired -them to catch turtle for him. But with them he sent a trusty man, whom -he took into his confidence, and said, 'Tell Rairik, Chief of Pakin, to -make some pretext, and prevent Kol from returning to Ponape for a full -moon. And say also that if he yields not to my wish I shall destroy him -and his people.'" - -"Ah," I said, "Lirou was a Napoleon." - -"Who was he?" - -"Oh, a great Franki chief, who was as lying and as treacherous and cruel -and merciless as Lirou. Some day I will tell thee of him. Now, about the -feast." - -"Ah, the feast After a little while, Lirou, whilst the people ate, said -softly to Lea, 'Wilt thou not honour me and be my wife? I promise thee -that I shall send away my other wives, and thou alone shalt rule my -house and me.' - -"Lea was displeased, and her eyes flashed with anger as she drew away -from him, and then Lirou seized her by her wrist, and threw up his left -hand. - -"A long, loud blast sounded from the conch, and then Lirou's men, who -were feasting, sprang to the great heap of chips, and seized their -weapons. And then began a cruel slaughter--for what could three hundred -unarmed people do against so many! But yet some of the men of Yap fought -most bravely, and tearing clubs or short stabbing spears from their -treacherous enemies, they killed over two score of Lirou's people. - -"As Lea beheld the murdering of her kith and kin, she cried piteously to -Lirou to at least spare the women and children, but he laughed and bade -her be silent Some of the women and children tried to escape to the -fort, but they were met by the men who had been in ambush, and slain -ruthlessly. - -"When all was over, the bodies were taken to a high cliff, and cast down -into the valley below. Then Lirou and his men entered the fort, and made -great rejoicing over their victory. - -"Lea sat on a mat with her face in her hands, dumb with grief, and Lirou -bade her go to her sleeping-place, telling her to rest, and that he -would have speech with her later on when he was in the mood. She obeyed, -and when she was unobserved she picked up a short, broad-bladed dagger -of _talit_ (obsidian) and hid it in her girdle, and then lay down -and pretended to sleep. But through the cane lattice-work of her -sleeping-place she watched Lirou. - -"After Lirou had viewed the fort outside and inside, he sent a man to -Lea, bidding her come to him. - -"She rose and came slowly to him, with her head bent, and stood before -him. Then suddenly she sprang at him, and thrust the dagger into his -heart. He fell and died quickly. - -"Then Lea leapt over a part of the stone wall where it was low, and ran -towards the river, pursued by some of Lirou's mea But she was fleet of -foot, crossed the river, and escaped into the jungle and rested awhile. -Then she passed out of the jungle into the rough mountain country, and -that night she reached King Roka's town. - -"Roka made her very welcome, and was filled with anger when she told her -story. - -"'I will quickly punish these cruel murderers,' he said; 'as for thee, -Lea, make this thy home and dwell with us.' - -"Roka gathered together his fighting men. Half he sent to Roan Kiti -by water, and half he himself led across the mountains. They fell upon -Lirou's people at night, and slew nearly half of the men, and drove all -the rest into the mountains, where they remained for many months, broken -and hunted men. - -"That is the story of Tokolme." - - - - -CHAPTER XVI ~ "LANO-TO" - -A white rain squall came crashing through the mountain forest, and -then went humming northward across the quiet lake, down over the wooded -littoral and far out to sea Silence once more, and then a mountain cock, -who had scorned the sweeping rain, uttered his shrill, cackling, and -defiant crow, as he shook the water from his black and golden back and -long snaky neck, and savage, fierce-eyed head. - -Between two wide-flanking buttresses of a mighty _tamana_ tree I had -taken shelter, and was comfortably seated on the thick carpet of soft -dry leaves, when I heard my name called, and looking up, I saw, a few -yards away, the grave face of an elderly Samoan, named Marisi (Maurice). -We were old acquaintances. - -"Talofa, Marisi. What doest thou up here at Lano-to?" I said, as I shook -hands and offered him my pipe for a draw. - -"I and my nephew Mana-ese and his wife have come here to trap pigeons. -For three days we have been here. Our little hut is close by. Wilt come -and rest, and eat?" - -"Aye, indeed, for I am tired. And this Lake of Lano-to is a fine place -whereat to rest." - -Marisi nodded. "That is true. Nowhere in all Samoa, except from the top -of the dead fire mountain in Savai'i, can one see so far and so much -that is good to look upon. Come, friend." - -I had shot some pigeons, which Marisi took from me, and began to pluck -as he led the way along a narrow path that wound round the edge of the -crater, which held the lake in its rugged but verdure-clad bosom. In a -few minutes we came to an open-sided hut, with a thatched roof. It stood -on the verge of a little tree-clad bluff, overlooking the lake, two -hundred feet below. Seated upon some of the coarse mats of coco-nut leaf -called _tapa'au_ was a fine, stalwart young Samoan engaged in feeding -some wild pigeons in a large wicker-work cage. He greeted me in the -usual hospitable native manner, and taking some fine mats from one of -the house beams, his uncle and I seated ourselves, whilst he went to -seek his wife, to bid her make ready an _umu_ (earth oven). Whilst he -was away, my host and I plucked the pigeons, and also a fat wild duck -which Marisi had shot in the lake that morning. In half an hour the -young couple returned, the woman carrying a basket of taro, and the -man a bunch of cooking bananas. Very quickly the oven of hot stones was -ready, and the game, taro and bananas covered up with leaves. - -I had crossed to Lano-to from the village of Safata on the south side -of Upolu and was on my way to Apia The previous night I had slept in the -bush on the summit of the range. Marisi gravely told me that I had been -foolish--the mountain forest was full of ghosts, etc. - -Marisi himself lived in Apia, and he gave me two weeks' local gossip. He -and his nephew and niece had come to remain at the lake for a few -days, for they had a commission to catch and tame ten pigeons for some -district chief, whose daughter was about to be married. - -We had a delightful meal, followed by a bowl of kava (mixed with water -from the lake), and as I was not pressed for time I accepted my host's -invitation to remain for the night, and part of the following day. - -This was my fourth or fifth visit to this beautiful mountain lake of -Lano-to (_i.e._, the Deep Lake), and the oftener I came the more its -beauty grew upon me. Alas! its sweet solitude is now disturbed by the -cheap Cockney and Yankee tourist globe-trotter who come there in the -American excursion steamers. In the olden days only natives frequented -the spot--very rarely was a white man seen. To reach it from Apia takes -about five hours on foot, but there is now a regular road on which one -can travel two-thirds of the way on horseback. - -The surface of the water, which is a little over two hundred feet -from the rugged rim of the crater, is according to Captain Zemsch, -two thousand three hundred feet above the sea, the distance across the -crater is nearly one thousand two hundred yards. The water is -always cold, but not too cold to bathe in, and during the rainy -season--November to March--is frequented by hundreds of wild duck. All -the forest about teems with pigeons, which love the vicinity of Lano-to, -on account of the numbers of _masa'oi_ trees there, on the rich fruit of -which they feed, and all day long, from dawn to dark, their deep _croo!_ -may be heard mingling with the plaintive cry of the ringdove. - -The view from the crater is of matchless beauty--I know of nothing to -equal it, except it be Pago Pago harbour in Tutuila, looking southwards -from the mountain tops. Here at Lano-to you can see the coast line east -and west for twenty miles. Westwards looms the purple dome of Savai'i, -thirty miles away. Directly beneath you is Apia, though you can see -nothing of it except perhaps some small black spots floating on the -smooth water inside the reef. They are ships at anchor. Six leagues to -the westward the white line of reef trends away from the shore, makes -a sharp turn, and then runs southward. Within this bend the water is -a brilliant green, and resting upon it are two small islands. One is -Manono, a veritable garden, lined with strips of shining beaches and -fringed with cocos. It is the home of the noble families of Samoa, and -most of the past great chiefs are buried there. Beyond is the small but -lofty crater island of Apolima--a place ever impregnable to assault by -natives. Its red, southern face starts steep-to from the sea, the top is -crowned with palms, and on the northern side what was once the crater is -now a romantic bay, with an opening through the reef, and a tiny, -happy little village nestling under the swaying palms. 'Tis one of the -sweetest spots in all the wide Pacific. And, thank Heaven, it has but -seldom been defiled by the globe-trotter. The passage is difficult -even for a canoe. One English lady, however (the Countess of Jersey), I -believe once visited it. - -Under the myriad stars, set in a sky of deepest blue, Marisi and I lie -outside the huts upon our sleeping mats, and talk of the old Samoan -days, till it is far into the quiet, voiceless night. - -At dawn we are called inside by the woman, who chides us for sleeping in -the dew. - -"Listen," says Marisi, raising his hand. - -It is the faint, musical gabble of the wild ducks, as they swim across -the lake. - -"What now?" asks the woman, as her husband looks to his gun. "Hast no -patience to sit and smoke till I make an oven and get thee food? The -_pato_ (ducks) can wait And first feed the pigeons--thou lazy fellow." - - - - -CHAPTER XVII ~ "OMBRE CHEVALIER" - -Once, after many years' wanderings in the North and South Pacific as -shore trader, supercargo and "recruiter" in the Kanaka labour trade, I -became home-sick and returned to my native Australia, with a vague idea -of settling down. I began the "settling down" by going to some newly -opened gold-fields in North Queensland, wandering about from the -Charters Towers "rush" to the Palmer River and Hodgkinson River rushes. -The party of diggers I joined were good sterling fellows, and although -we did not load ourselves with nuggets and gold dust, we did fairly well -at times, especially in the far north of the colony where most of the -alluvial gold-fields were rich, and new-comers especially had no trouble -in getting on to a good show. I was the youngest of the party, and -consequently the most inexperienced, but my mates good-naturedly -overlooked my shortcomings as a prospector and digger, especially as I -had constituted myself the "tucker" provider when our usual rations of -salt beef ran out. I had brought with me a Winchester rifle, a shot gun -and plenty of ammunition for both, and plenty of fishing tackle. So, at -such times, instead of working at the claim, I would take my rifle or -gun or fishing lines and sally forth at early dawn, and would generally -succeed in bringing back something to the camp to serve instead of beef. -In the summer months game, such as it was, was fairly plentiful, and -nearly all the rivers of North Queensland abound in fish. - -In the open country we sometimes shot more plain turkeys than we could -eat. When on horseback one could approach within a few yards of a bird -before it would take to flight, but on foot it was difficult to get -within range of one, unless a rifle was used. In the rainy season all -the water holes and lagoons literally teemed with black duck, wood-duck, -the black and white Burdekin duck, teal, spur-winged plover, herons -and other birds, and a single shot would account for a dozen. My mates, -however, like all diggers, believed in and wanted beef--mutton we -scarcely ever tasted, except when near a township where there was a -butcher, for sheep do not thrive in that part of the colony and are -generally brought over in mobs from the Peak Downs District or Southern -Queensland. - -Our party at first numbered four, but at Townsville (Cleveland Bay) one -of our number left us to return to New Zealand on account of the death -of his father. And we were a very happy party, and although at times -I wearied of the bush and longed for a sight of the sea again, the -gold-fever had taken possession of me entirely and I was content. - -Once a party of three of us were prospecting in the vicinity of Scarr's -(or Carr's) Creek, a tributary of the Upper Burdekin River. It was in -June, and the nights were very cold, and so we were pleased to come -across a well-sheltered little pocket, a few hundred yards from the -creek, which at this part of its course ran very swiftly between high, -broken walls of granite. Timber was abundant, and as we intended to -thoroughly prospect the creek up to its head, we decided to camp at -the pocket for two or three weeks, and put up a bark hut, instead of -shivering at night under a tent without a fire. The first day we spent -in stripping bark, piled it up, and then weighted it down heavily with -logs. During the next few days, whilst my mates were building the hut, -I had to scour the country in search of game, for our supply of meat -had run out, and although there were plenty of cattle running in the -vicinity, we did not care to shoot a beast, although we were pretty sure -that C------, the owner of the nearest cattle station, would cheerfully -have given us permission to do so had we been able to have communicated -with him. But as his station was forty miles away, and all our horses -were in poor condition from overwork, we had to content ourselves with -a chance kangaroo, rock wallaby, and such birds as we could shoot, -which latter were few and far between. The country was very rough, and -although the granite ranges and boulder-covered spurs held plenty of fat -rock wallabies, it was heart-breaking work to get within shot. Still, we -managed to turn in at nights feeling satisfied with our supper, for we -always managed to shoot something, and fortunately had plenty of flour, -tea, sugar, and tobacco, and were very hopeful that we should get on to -"something good" by careful prospecting. - -On the day that we arrived at the pocket, I went down the steep bank of -the creek to get water, and was highly pleased to see that it contained -fish. At the foot of a waterfall there was a deep pool, and in it I saw -numbers of fish, very like grayling, in fact some Queenslanders call -them grayling. Hurrying back to the camp with the water, I got out my -fishing tackle (last used in the Burdekin River for bream), and then -arose the question of bait. Taking my gun I was starting off to look for -a bird of some sort, when one of my mates told me that a bit of wallaby -was as good as anything, and cut me off a piece from the ham of one I -had shot the previous day. The flesh was of a very dark red hue, and -looked right enough, and as I had often caught fish in both the Upper -and Lower Burdekin with raw beef, I was very hopeful of getting a nice -change of diet for our supper. - -I was not disappointed, for the fish literally jumped at the bait, and -I had a delightful half-hour, catching enough in that time to provide -us with breakfast as well as supper. None of my catch were over half -a pound, many not half that weight, but hungry men are not particular -about the size of fish. My mates were pleased enough, and whilst we were -enjoying our supper before a blazing fire--for night was coming on--we -heard a loud coo-e-e from down the creek, and presently C------, the -owner of the cattle station, and two of his stockmen with a black boy, -rode up and joined us. They had come to muster cattle in the ranges -at the head of the creek, and had come to our "pocket" to camp for the -night. C------ told us that we need never have hesitated about killing -a beast. "It is to my interest to give prospecting parties all the beef -they want," he said; "a payable gold-field about here would suit me very -well--the more diggers that come, the more cattle I can sell, instead of -sending them to Charters Towers and Townsville. So, when you run short -of meat, knock over a beast. I won't grumble. I'll round up the first -mob we come across to-morrow, and get you one and bring it here for you -to kill, as your horses are knocked up." - -The night turned out very cold, and although we were in a sheltered -place, the wind was blowing half a gale, and so keen that we felt it -through our blankets. However it soon died away, and we were just -going comfortably to sleep, when a dingo began to howl near us, and was -quickly answered by another somewhere down the creek. Although there -were but two of them, they howled enough for a whole pack, and the -detestable creatures kept us awake for the greater part of the night. -As there was a cattle camp quite near, in a sandalwood scrub, and the -cattle were very wild, we did not like to alarm them by firing a shot -or two, which would have scared them as well as the dingoes. The latter, -C------ told us, were a great nuisance in this part of the run, would -not take a poisoned bait, and had an unpleasant trick of biting off the -tails of very young calves, especially if the mother was separated with -her calf from a mob of cattle. - -At daylight I rose to boil a billy of tea. My feet were icy cold, and -I saw that there had been a black frost in the night I also discovered -that my string of fish for breakfast was gone. I had hung them up to a -low branch not thirty yards from where I had slept. C------'s black -boy told me with a grin that the dogs had taken them, and showed me the -tracks of three or four through the frosty grass. _He_ had slept like a -pig all night, and all the dingoes in Australia would not awaken a black -fellow with a full stomach of beef, damper and tea. C------ -laughed at my chagrin, and told me that native dogs, when game is -scarce, will catch fish if they are hungry, and can get nothing else. -He had once seen, he told me, two native dogs acting in a very curious -manner in a waterhole on the Etheridge River. There had been a rather -long drought, and for miles the bed of the river was dry, except for -intermittent waterholes. These were all full of fish, many of which had -died, owing to the water in the shallower pools becoming too hot for -them to exist Dismounting, he laid himself down on the bank, and soon -saw that the dogs were catching fish, which they chased to the edge of -the pool, seized them and carried them up on the sand to devour. They -made a full meal; then the pair trotted across the river bed, and lay -down under a Leichhardt tree to sleep it off. The Etheridge and Gilbert -Rivers aboriginals also assured C------ that their own dogs--bred from -dingoes--were very keen on catching fish, and sometimes were badly -wounded in their mouths by the serrated spur or back fin of catfish. -C------ and his party went off after breakfast, and returned in the -afternoon with a small mob of cattle, and my mates, picking out an -eighteen months' old heifer, shot her, and set to work, and we soon -had the animal skinned, cleaned and hung up, ready for cutting up and -salting early on the following morning. We carefully burnt the offal, -hide and head, on account of the dingoes, and finished up a good day's -work by a necessary bathe in the clear, but too cold water of the creek. -We turned in early, tired out, and scarcely had we rolled ourselves in -our blankets when a dismal howl made us "say things," and in half an -hour all the dingoes in North Queensland seemed to have gathered around -the camp to distract us. The noise they made was something diabolical, -coming from both sides of the creek, and from the ranges. In reality -there were not more than five or six at the outside, but any one would -imagine that there were droves of them. Not liking to discharge our guns -on account of C------'s mustering, we could only curse our tormentors -throughout the night. On the following evening, however, knowing that -C------ had finished mustering in our vicinity, we hung a leg bone of -the heifer from the branch of a tree on the opposite side of the creek, -where we could see it plainly by daylight from our bank--about sixty -yards distant Again we had a harrowing night, but stood it without -firing a shot, though one brute came within a few yards of our camp -fire, attracted by the smell of the salted meat, but he was off before -any one of us could cover him. However, in the morning we were rewarded. - -Creeping to the bank of the creek at daylight we looked across, and saw -three dogs sitting under the leg bone, which was purposely slung out -of reach. We fired together, and the biggest of the three dropped--the -other two vanished like a streak of lightning. The one we killed was -a male and had a good coat--a rather unusual thing for a dingo, as the -skin is often covered with sores. From that time, till we broke up camp, -we were not often troubled by their howling near us--a gun shot would -quickly silence their dismally infernal howls. - -During July we got a little gold fifteen miles from the head of the -creek, but not enough to pay us for our time and labour. However, it was -a fine healthy occupation, and our little bark hut in the lonely ranges -was a very comfortable home, especially during wet weather, and on cold -nights. A good many birds came about towards the end of the month, and -we twice rode to the Burdekin and had a couple of days with the bream, -filling our pack bags with fish, which cured well with salt in the dry -air. Although Scarr's creek was full of "grayling" they were too small -for salting; but were delicious eating when fried. During our stay we -got enough opossum skins to make a fine eight-feet square rug. Then -early one morning we said good-bye to the pocket, and mounting our -horses set our faces towards Cleveland Bay, where, with many regrets, -I had to part with my mates who were going to try the Gulf country with -other parties of diggers. They tried hard to induce me to go with them, -but letters had come to me from old comrades in Samoa and the Caroline -Islands, tempting me to return. And, of course, they did not tempt in -vain; for to us old hands who have toiled by reef and palm the isles of -the southern seas are for ever calling as the East called to Kipling's -soldier man. But another six months passed before I left North -Queensland and once more found myself sailing out of Sydney Heads on -board one of my old ships and in my old berth as supercargo, though, -alas! with a strange skipper who knew not Joseph, and with whom I and -every one else on board was in constant friction. However, that is -another story. - -After bidding my mates farewell I returned to the Charters Towers -district and picked up a new mate--an old and experienced digger who had -found some patches of alluvial gold on the head waters of a tributary -of the Burdekin River and was returning there. My new mate was named -Gilfillan. He was a hardworking, blue-eyed Scotsman and had had many -and strange experiences in all parts of the world--had been one of -the civilian fighters in the Indian Mutiny, fur-seal hunting on the -Pribiloff Islands in an American schooner, and shooting buffaloes for -their hides in the Northern Territory of South Australia, where he had -twice been speared by the blacks. - -On reaching the head waters of the creek on which Gilfillan had washed -out nearly a hundred ounces of gold some months previously, we found to -our disgust over fifty diggers in possession of the ground, which they -had practically worked out--some one had discovered Gilfillan's old -workings and the place was at once "rushed". My mate took matters very -philosophically--did not even swear--and we decided to make for the Don -River in the Port Denison district, where, it was rumoured, some rich -patches of alluvial gold had just been discovered. - -We both had good horses and a pack horse, and as C------'s station lay -on our route and I had a standing invitation to pay him a visit (given -to me when he had met our party at Scares Creek), I suggested that we -should go there and spell for a few days. So there we went and C------ -made us heartily welcome; and he also told us that the new rush on the -Don River had turned out a "rank duffer," and that we would only be -wearing ourselves and our horse-flesh out by going there. He pressed us -to stay for a week at least, and as we now had no fixed plans for the -future we were glad to do so. He was expecting a party of visitors from -Charters Towers, and as he wanted to give them something additional to -the usual fare of beef and mutton, in the way of fish and game, he asked -us to join him for a day's fishing in the Burdekin River. - -The station was right on the bank of the river, but at a spot where -neither game nor fish were at all plentiful; so long before sunrise on -the following morning, under a bright moon and clear sky, we started, -accompanied by a black boy, leading a pack horse, for the junction of -the Kirk River with the Burdekin, where there was excellent fishing, and -where also we were sure of getting teal and wood-duck. - -A two hours' easy ride along the grassy, open timbered high banks of the -great river brought us to the junction. The Kirk, when running along its -course, is a wide, sandy-bottomed stream, with here and there deep -rocky pools, and its whole course is fringed with the everlasting and -ever-green sheoaks. We unsaddled in a delightfully picturesque spot, -near the meeting of the waters, and in a few minutes, whilst the billy -was boiling for tea, C------and I were looking to our short bamboo rods -and lines, and our guns. Then, after hobbling out the horses, and eating -a breakfast of cold beef and damper, we started to walk through the -high, dew-soaked grass to a deep, boulder-margined pool in which the -waters of both rivers mingled. - -The black boy who was leading when we emerged on the water side of -the fringe of sheoaks, suddenly halted and silently pointed ahead--a -magnificent specimen of the "gigantic" crane was stalking sedately -through a shallow pool--his brilliant black and orange plumage and -scarlet legs glistening in the rays of the early sun as he scanned the -sandy bottom for fish. We had no desire to shoot such a noble creature; -and let him take flight in his slow, laboured manner. And, for our -reward, the next moment "Peter," the black boy, brought down two out of -three black duck, which came flying right for his gun from across the -river. - -Both rivers had long been low, and although the streams were running -in the centre of the beds of each, there were countless isolated -pools covered with blue-flowered water-lilies, in which teal and other -water-birds were feeding. But for the time we gave them no heed. - -From one of the pools we took our bait--small fish the size of -white-bait, with big, staring eyes, and bodies of a transparent pink -with silvery scales. They were easily caught by running one's hand -through the weedy edges, and in ten minutes we had secured a quart-pot -full. - -"Peter," who regarded our rods with contempt, was the first to reach -the boulders at the edge of the big pool, which in the centre had a fair -current; at the sides, the water, although deep, was quiet. Squatting -down on a rock, he cast in his baited hand-line, and in ten seconds -he was nonchalantly pulling in a fine two pound bream. He leisurely -unhooked it, dropped it into a small hole in the rocks, and then began -to cut up a pipeful of tobacco, before rebaiting! - -The water was literally alive with fish, feeding on the bottom. There -were two kinds of bream--one a rather slow-moving fish, with large, dark -brown scales, a perch-like mouth, and wide tail, and with the sides -and belly a dull white; the other a very active game fellow, of a more -graceful shape, with a small mouth, and very hard, bony gill plates. -These latter fought splendidly, and their mouths being so strong -they would often break the hooks and get away--as our rods were very -primitive, without reels, and only had about twenty feet of line. -Then there were the very handsome and beautifully marked fish, like an -English grayling (some of which I had caught at Scan's Creek); they took -the hook freely. The largest I have ever seen would not weigh more than -three-quarters of a pound, but their lack of size is compensated for by -their extra delicate flavour. (In some of the North Queensland inland -rivers I have seen the aborigines net these fish in hundreds in shallow -pools.) Some bushmen persisted, so Gilfillan told me, in calling these -fish "fresh water mullet," or "speckled mullet". - -The first species of bream inhabit both clear and muddy water; but the -second I have never seen caught anywhere but in clear or running water, -when the river was low. - -But undoubtedly the best eating fresh-water fish in the Burdekin and -other Australian rivers is the cat-fish, or as some people call it, the -Jew-fish. It is scaleless, and almost finless, with a dangerously barbed -dorsal spine, which, if it inflicts a wound on the hand, causes days -of intense suffering. Its flesh is delicate and firm, and with the -exception of the vertebrae, has no long bones. Rarely caught (except -when small) in clear water, it abounds when the water is muddy, and -disturbed through floods, and when a river becomes a "banker," cat-fish -can always be caught where the water has reached its highest. They then -come to feed literally upon the land--that is grass land, then under -flood water. A fish bait they will not take--as a rule--but are fond of -earthworms, frogs, crickets, or locusts, etc. - -Another very beautiful but almost useless fish met with in the Upper -Burdekin and its tributaries is the silvery bream, or as it is more -generally called, the "bony" bream. They swim about in companies of some -hundreds, and frequent the still water of deep pools, will not take a -bait, and are only seen when the water is clear. Then it is a delightful -sight for any one to lie upon the bank of some ti-tree-fringed creek or -pool, when the sun illumines the water and reveals the bottom, and -watch a school of these fish swimming closely and very slowly together, -passing over submerged logs, roots of trees or rocks, their scales of -pure silver gleaming in the sunlight as they make a simultaneous -side movement. I tried every possible bait for these fish, but never -succeeded in getting a bite, but have netted them frequently. Their -flesh, though delicate, can hardly be eaten, owing to the thousands of -tiny bones which run through it, interlacing in the most extraordinary -manner. The blacks, however "make no bones" about devouring them. - -By 11 A.M. we had caught all the fish our pack-bags could hold--bream, -alleged grayling, and half a dozen "gars"--the latter a beautifully -shaped fish like the sea-water garfish, but with a much flatter-sided -body of shining silver with a green back, the tail and fins tipped with -yellow. - -We shot but few duck, but on our way home in the afternoon "Peter" and -Gilfillan each got a fine plain turkey--shooting from the saddle--and -almost as we reached the station slip-rails "Peter," who had a wonderful -eye, got a third just as it rose out of the long dry grass in the -paddock. - -And on the following day, when C------'s guests arrived (and after we -had congratulated ourselves upon having plenty for them to eat), they -produced from their buggies eleven turkeys, seven wood-duck, and a -string of "squatter" pigeons! - -"Thought we'd better bring you some fresh tucker, old man," said one of -them to C-----. "And we have brought you a case of Tennant's ale." "The -world is very beautiful," said C------, stroking his grey beard, and -speaking in solemn tones, "and this is a thirsty day. Come in, boys. -We'll put the Tennant's in the water-barrels to cool." - -***** - -The first occasion on which I ever saw and caught one of the beautiful -fish herein described as grayling was on a day many months previous -to our former party camping on Scarr's Creek. We had camped on a creek -running into the Herbert River, near the foot of a range of wild, jagged -and distorted peaks and crags of granite. Then there were several other -parties of prospectors camped near us, and, it being a Sunday, we were -amusing ourselves in various ways. Some had gone shooting, others were -washing clothes or bathing in the creek, and one of my mates (a Scotsman -named Alick Longmuir) came fishing with me. Like Gilfillan, he was a -quiet, somewhat taciturn man. He had been twenty-two years in Australia, -sometimes mining, at others following his profession of surveyor. He -had received his education in France and Germany, and not only spoke -the languages of those countries fluently, but was well-read in their -literature. Consequently we all stood in a certain awe of him as a man -of parts; for besides being a scholar he was a splendid bushman and -rider and had a great reputation as the best wrestler in Queensland. -Even-tempered, good-natured and possessed of a fund of caustic humour, -he was a great favourite with the diggers, and when he sometimes "broke -loose" and went on a terrific "spree" (his only fault) he made matters -remarkably lively, poured out his hard-earned money like water for -a week or so--then stopped suddenly, pulled himself together in an -extraordinary manner, and went about his work again as usual, with a -face as solemn as that of an owl. - -A little distance from the camp we made our way down through rugged, -creeper-covered boulders to the creek, to a fairly open stretch of water -which ran over its rocky bed into a series of small but deep pools. We -baited our lines with small grey grasshoppers, and cast together. - -"I wonder what we shall get here, Alick," I began, and then came a tug -and then the sweet, delightful thrill of a game fish making a run. There -is nothing like it in all the world--the joy of it transcends the first -kiss of young lovers. - -I landed my fish--a gleaming shaft of mottled grey and silver with -specks of iridescent blue on its head, back and sides, and as I grasped -its quivering form and held it up to view my heart beat fast with -delight. - -"_Ombre chevalier!_" I murmured to myself. - -Vanished the monotony of the Bush and the long, weary rides over the -sun-baked plains and the sound of the pick and shovel on the gravel in -the deep gullies amid the stark, desolate ranges, and I am standing -in the doorway of a peaceful Mission House on a fair island in the far -South Seas--standing with a string of fish in my hand, and before me -dear old Pere Grandseigne with his flowing beard of snowy white and -his kindly blue eyes smiling into mine as he extends his brown sun-burnt -hand. - -"Ah, my dear young friend! and so thou hast brought me these -fish--_ombres chevaliers_, we call them in France. Are they not -beautiful! What do you call them in England?" - -"I have never been in England, Father; so I cannot tell you. And never -before have I seen fish like these. They are new to me." - -"Ah, indeed, my son," and the old Marist smiles as he motions me to a -seat, "new to you. So?... Here, on this island, my sainted colleague -Channel, who gave up his life for Christ forty years ago under the -clubs of the savages, fished, as thou hast fished in that same mountain -stream; and his blood has sanctified its waters. For upon its bank, as -he cast his line one eve he was slain by the poor savages to whom he -had come bearing the love of Christ and salvation. After we have supped -to-night, I shall tell thee the story." - -And after the Angelus bells had called, and as the cocos swayed and -rustled to the night breeze and the surf beat upon the reef in Singavi -Bay, we sat together on the verandah of the quiet Mission House on -the hill above, which the martyred Channel had named "Calvary," and I -listened to the old man's story of his beloved comrade's death. - -As Longmuir and I lay on our blankets under the starlit sky of the far -north of Queensland that night, and the horse-bells tinkled and our -mates slept, we talked. - -"Aye, lad," he said, sleepily, "the auld _padre_ gave them the Breton -name--_ombre chevalier_. In Scotland and England--if ever ye hae the -good luck to go there--ye will hear talk of graylin'. Aye, the bonny -graylin'... an' the purple heather... an' the cry o' the whaups.... Lad, -ye hae much to see an' hear yet, for all the cruising ye hae done.... -Aye, the graylin', an' the white mantle o' the mountain mist... an' the -voices o' the night... Lad, it's just gran'." - -Sleep, and then again the tinkle of the horse-bells at dawn. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII ~ A RECLUSE OF THE BUSH - -The bank of the tidal river was very, very quiet as I walked down to it -through the tall spear grass and sat down upon the smooth, weather-worn -bole of a great blackbutt tree, cast up by the river when in flood long -years agone. Before me the water swirled and eddied and bubbled past on -its way to mingle with the ocean waves, as they were sweeping in across -the wide and shallow bar, two miles away. - -The sun had dropped behind the rugged line of purple mountains to the -west, and, as I watched by its after glow five black swans floating -towards me upon the swiftly-flowing water, a footstep sounded near -me, and a man with a gun and a bundle on his shoulder bade me -"good-evening," and then asked me if I had come from Port ------ -(a little township five miles away). - -Yes, I replied, I had. - -"Is the steamer in from Sydney?" - -"No. I heard that she is not expected in for a couple of days yet. There -has been bad weather on the coast." - -The man uttered an exclamation of annoyance, and laying down his gun, -sat beside me, pulled out and lit his pipe, and gazed meditatively -across the darkening river. He was a tall, bearded fellow, and dressed -in the usual style affected by the timber-getters and other bushmen of -the district Presently he began to talk. - -"Are you going back to Port ------ to-night, mister?" he asked, civilly. - -"No," and I pointed to my gun, bag, and billy can, "I have just come -from there. I am waiting here till the tide is low enough for me to -cross to the other side. I am going to the Warra Swamp for a couple of -days' shooting and fishing, and to-night I'll camp over there in the -wild apple scrub," pointing to a dark line of timber on the opposite -side. - -"Do you mind my coming with you?" - -"Certainly not--glad of your company. Where are you going?" - -"Well, I was going to Port ------, to sell these platypus skins to the -skipper of the steamer; but I don't want to loaf about the town for a -couple o' days for the sake of getting two pounds five shillings for -fifteen skins. So I'll get back to my humphy. It's four miles the other -side o' Warra." - -"Then by all means come and camp with me tonight," I said "I've plenty -of tea and sugar and tucker, and after we get to the apple scrub over -there we'll have supper. Then in the morning we'll make an early start -It is only ten miles from there to Warra Swamp, and I'm in no hurry to -get there." - -The stranger nodded, and then, seeking out a suitable tree, tied his -bundle of skins to a high branch, so that it should be out of the reach -of dingoes, and said they would be safe enough until his return on -his way to the Port Half an hour later, the tide being low enough, we -crossed the river, and under the bright light of myriad stars made our -way along the spit of sand to the scrub. Here we lit our camp fire under -the trees, boiled our billy of tea, and ate our cold beef and bread. -Then we lay down upon the soft, sweet-smelling carpet of dead leaves, -and yarned for a couple of hours before sleeping. - -By the light of the fire I saw that my companion was a man of about -forty years of age, although he looked much older, his long untrimmed -brown beard and un-kept hair being thickly streaked with grey. He was -quiet in manner and speech, and the latter was entirely free from the -Great Australian Adjective. His story, as far as he told it to me, was a -simple one, yet with an element of tragedy in it. - -Fifteen years before, he and his brother had taken up a selection on the -Brunswick River, near the Queensland border, and were doing fairly well. -One day they felled a big gum tree to split for fencing rails. As it -crashed towards the ground, it struck a dead limb of another great tree, -which was sent flying towards where the brothers stood; it struck -the elder one on the head, and killed him instantly. There were no -neighbours nearer than thirty miles, so alone the survivor buried his -brother. Then came two months of utter loneliness, and Joyce abandoned -his selection to the bush, selling his few head of cattle and horses -to his nearest neighbour for a small sum, keeping only one horse for -himself. Then for two or three years he worked as a "hatter" (i.e., -single-handed) in various tin-mining districts of the New England -district. - -One day during his many solitary prospecting trips, he came across a -long-abandoned selection and house, near the Warra Swamp (I knew the -spot _well_). He took a fancy to the place, and settled down there, and -for many years had lived there all alone, quite content. - -Sometimes he would obtain a few weeks' work on the cattle stations in -the district, when mustering and branding was going on, by which he -would earn a few pounds, but he was always glad to get back to his -lonely home again. He had made a little money also, he said, by trapping -platypus, which were plentiful, and sometimes, too, he would prospect -the head waters of the creeks, and get a little fine gold. - -"I'm comfortable enough, you see," he added; "lots to eat and drink, -and putting by a little cash as well. Then I haven't to depend upon the -storekeepers at Port ------ for anything, except powder and shot, flour, -salt, tea and sugar. There's lots of game and fish all about me, and -when I want a bit of fresh beef and some more to salt down, I can get it -without breaking the law, or paying for it." - -"How is that?" I inquired. - -"There are any amount of wild cattle running in the ranges--all -clean-skins" (unbranded), "and no one claims them. One squatter once -tried to get some of them down into his run in the open country--he -might as well have tried to yard a mob of dingoes." - -"Then how do you manage to get a beast?" - -"Easy enough. I have an old police rifle, and every three months or so, -when my stock of beef is low, I saddle my old pack moke, and start off -to the ranges. I know all the cattle tracks leading to the camping and -drinking places, and generally manage to kill my beast at or near a -waterhole. Then I cut off the best parts only, and leave the rest for -the hawks and dingoes. I camp there for the night, and get back with my -load of fresh beef the next day. Some I dry-salt, some I put in brine." - -Early in the morning we started on our ten miles' tramp through the -coastal scrub, or rather forest Our course led us away from the sea, and -nearly parallel to the river, and I thoroughly enjoyed the walk, and my -companion's interesting talk. He had a wonderful knowledge of the -bush, and of the habits of wild animals and birds, much of which he had -acquired from the aborigines of the Brunswick River district As we -were walking along, I inquired how he managed to get platypus without -shooting them. He hesitated, and half smiled, and I at once apologised, -and said I didn't intend to be inquisitive. He nodded, and said no more; -but he afterwards told me he caught them by netting sections of the -river at night. - -After we had made about five miles we came to the first crossing above -the bar. This my acquaintance always used when he visited Port ------ -(taking the track along the bank on the other side), for the bar was -only crossable at especially low tides. Here, although the water was -brackish, we saw swarms of "block-headed" mullet and grey bream swimming -close in to the sandy bank, and, had we cared to do so, could have -caught a bagful in a few minutes But we pushed on for another two miles, -and on our way shot three "bronze wing" pigeons. - -We reached the Warra Swamp at noon, and camped for dinner in a shady -"bangalow" grove, so as not to disturb the ducks, whose delightful -gabble and piping was plainly audible. We grilled our birds, and made -our tea. Whilst we were having a smoke, a truly magnificent white-headed -fish eagle lit on the top of a dead tree, three hundred yards away--a -splendid shot for a rifle. It remained for some minutes, then rose and -went off seaward. Joyce told me that the bird and its mate were very -familiar to him for a year past, but that he "hadn't the heart to take a -shot at them"--for which he deserved to be commended. - -Presently, seeing me cutting some young supplejack vines, my new -acquaintance asked me their purpose. I told him that I meant to make a -light raft out of dead timber to save me from swimming after any ducks -that I might shoot, and that the supplejack was for lashing. Then, to my -surprise and pleasure, he proposed that I should go on to his "humphy," -and camp there for the night, and he would return to the swamp with me -in the morning, join me in a day's shooting and fishing, and then come -on with me to the township on the following day. - -Gladly accepting his offer, two hours' easy walking brought us to -his home--a roughly-built slab shanty with a bark roof, enclosed in a -good-sized paddock, in which his old pack horse, several goats and a -cow and calf were feeding. At the side of the house was a small -but well-tended vegetable garden, in which were also some huge -water-melons--quite ripe, and just the very thing after our fourteen -miles' walk. One-half of the house and roof was covered with scarlet -runner bean plants, all in full bearing, and altogether the exterior of -the place was very pleasing. Before we reached the door two dogs, which -were inside, began a terrific din--they knew their master's step. The -interior of the house--which was of two rooms--was clean and orderly, -the walls of slabs being papered from top to bottom with pictures from -illustrated papers, and the floor was of hardened clay. Two or three -rough chairs, a bench and a table comprised the furniture, and yet the -place had a home-like look. - -My host asked me if I could "do" with a drink of bottled-beer; I -suggested a slice of water-melon. - -"Ah, you're right But those outside are too hot. Here's a cool one," and -going into the other room he produced a monster. It was delicious! - -After a bathe in the creek near by, we had a hearty supper, and then sat -outside yarning and smoking till turn-in time. - -Soon after a sunrise breakfast, we started for the swamp, taking the -old packhorse with us, my host leaving food and water for the dogs, who -howled disconsolately as we went off. - -At the swamp we had a glorious day's sport, although there were -altogether too many black snakes about for my taste. We camped there -that night, and returned to the port next day with a heavy load of black -duck, some "whistlers," and a few brace of pigeons. - -I bade farewell to my good-natured host with a feeling of regret Some -years later, on my next visit to Australia, I heard that he had returned -to his boyhood's home--Gippsland in Victoria--and had married and -settled down. He was one of the most contented men I ever met, and a -good sportsman. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX ~ TE-BARI, THE OUTLAW - -The Island of Upolu, in the Samoan group, averages less than fifteen -miles in width, and it is a delightful experience to cross from Apia, or -any other town on the north, to the south side. The view to be obtained -from the summit of the range that traverses the island from east to -west is incomparably beautiful--I have never seen anything to equal it -anywhere in the Pacific Isles. - -A few years after the Germans had begun cotton planting in Samoa, I -brought to Apia ninety native labourers from the Solomon Islands to work -on the big plantation at Mulifanua. I also brought with me something I -would gladly have left behind--the effects of a very severe attack of -malarial fever. - -A week or so after I had reached Apia I gave myself a few days' leave, -intending to walk across the island to the town of Siumu, where I had -many native friends, and try and work some of the fever poison out of my -system. - -Starting long before sunrise, I was well past Vailima Mountain--the -destined future home of Stevenson--by six o'clock. After resting for an -hour at each of the bush villages of Magiagi and Tanumamanono--soon to -be the scene of a cruel massacre in the civil war then raging--I began -the long, gradual ascent from the littoral to the main range, inhaling -deeply of the cool morning air, and listening to the melodious -_croo! croo!_ of the great blue pigeons, and the plaintive cry of -the ringdoves, so well termed manu-tagi (the weeping bird) by the -imaginative Samoans. - -Walking but slowly, for I was not strong enough for rapid exercise, I -reached the summit of the first spur, and again spelled, resting upon a -thick carpet of cool, dead leaves. With me was a boy from Tanumamanono -named Suisuega-le-moni (The Seeker after Truth), who carried a basket -containing some cooked food, and fifty cartridges for my gun. "Sui," as -he was called for brevity, was an old acquaintance of mine and one of -the most unmitigated young imps that ever ate _taro_ as handsome "as -a picture," and a most notorious scandalmonger and spy. He was only -thirteen years of age, and was of rebel blood, and, child as he was, he -knew that his head stood very insecurely upon his shoulders, and that -it would be promptly removed therefrom if any of King Malietoa's troops -could catch him spying in _flagrante delicto_. Two years before, he had -attached himself to me, and had made a voyage with me to the Caroline -Islands, during which he had acquired an enormous vocabulary of sailors' -bad language. This gave him great local kudos. - -Sui was to accompany me to the top of the range, and then return, as -otherwise he would be in hostile territory. - -By four o'clock in the afternoon we had gained a clear spot on the crest -of the range, from where we had a most glorious view of the south coast -imaginable. Three thousand feet below us were the russet-hued thatched -roofs of the houses of Siumu Village; beyond, the pale green water that -lay between the barrier reef and the mainland, then the long curving -line of the reef itself with its seething surf, and, beyond that again, -the deep, deep blue of the Pacific, sparkling brightly in the westering -sun. - -Leaning my gun against one of the many buttresses of a mighty _masa'oi_ -tree, I was drinking in the beauty of the scene, when we heard the -shrill, cackling scream of a mountain cock, evidently quite near. Giving -the boy my gun, I told him to go and shoot it; then sitting down on the -carpet of leaves, I awaited his return with the bird, half-resolved to -spend the night where I was, for I was very tired and began to feel the -premonitory chills of an attack of ague. - -In ten minutes the sound of a gun-shot reverberated through the forest -aisles, and presently I heard Sui returning. He was running, and holding -by its neck one of the biggest mountain cocks I ever saw. As he ran, he -kept glancing back over his shoulder, and when he reached me and threw -down gun and bird, I saw that he was trembling from head to foot. - -"What is the matter?" I asked; "hast seen an _aitu vao_ (evil spirit of -the forest)?" - -"Aye, truly," he said shudderingly, "I have seen a devil indeed, and the -marrow in my bones has gone--I have seen Te-bari, the Tafito."{*} - - * The Samoans term all the natives of the Equatorial Islands - "Tafito". - -I sprang to my feet and seized him by the wrist. - -"Where was he?" I asked. - -"Quite near me. I had just shot the wild _moa vao_ (mountain cock) and -had picked it up when I heard a voice say in Samoan--but thickly as -foreigners speak: 'It was a brave shot, boy'. Then I looked up and saw -Te-bari. He was standing against the bole of a _masa'oi_ tree, leaning -on his rifle. Round his earless head was bound a strip of _ie mumu_ (red -Turkey twill), and as I stood and trembled he laughed, and his great -white teeth gleamed, and my heart died within me, and----" - -I do not want to disgust my readers, but truth compels me to say that -the boy there and then became violently sick; then he began to sob -with terror, stopping every now and then to glance around at the now -darkening forest aisles of grey-barked, ghostly and moss-covered trees. - -"Sui," I said, "go back to your home. I have no fear of Te-bari." - -In two seconds the boy, who had faced rifle fire time and time again, -fled homewards. Te-bari the outlaw was too much for him. - -Personally I had no reason to fear meeting the man. In the first place -I was an Englishman, and Te-bari was known to profess a liking for -Englishmen, though he would eagerly cut the throat of a German or a -Samoan if he could get his brawny hands upon it; in the second place, -although I had never seen the man, I was sure that he would have heard -of me from some of his fellow islanders on the plantations, for during -my three years' "recruiting" in the Kingsmill and Gilbert Groups, I have -brought many hundreds of them to Samoa, Fiji and Tahiti. - -Something of his story was known to me. He was a native of the great -square-shaped atoll of Maiana, and went to sea in a whaler when he was -quite a lad, and soon rose to be boat-steerer. One day a Portuguese -harpooner struck him in the face and drew blood--a deadly insult to a -Line Islander. Te-bari plunged his knife into the man's heart. He -was ironed, and put in the sail-locker; during the night three of the -Portuguese sprang in upon him and cut off his ears. A few days later -when the ship was at anchor at the Bonin Islands, Te-bari freed himself -of his handcuffs and swam on shore Early on the following morning one -of the boats was getting fresh water. She was in charge of the fourth -mate--a Portuguese black. Suddenly a nude figure leapt among the men, -and clove the officer's head in twain with a tomahawk. - -One day Te-bari reappeared among his people at Maiana and took service -with a white trader, who always spoke of him as a quiet, hardworking -young man, but with a dangerous temper when roused by a fancied wrong. -In due time Te-bari took a wife--took her in a very literal sense, by -killing her husband and escaping with her to the neighbouring island of -Taputeauea (Drummond's Island). She was a pretty, graceful creature of -sixteen years of age. Then one day there came along the German labour -brig _Adolphe_ seeking "blackbirds" for Samoa, and Te-bari and his -pretty wife with fifty other "Tafitos" were landed at one of the -plantations in Upolu. - -Young Madame Te-bari was not as good as she ought to have been, and -one day the watchful husband saw one of the German overseers give her a -thick necklace of fine red beads. Te-bari tore them from her neck, and -threw them into the German's face. For this he received a flogging and -was mercilessly kicked into insensibility as well When he recovered he -was transferred to another plantation--minus the naughty Nireeungo, who -became "Mrs." Peter Clausen. A month passed, and it was rumoured "on the -beach" that "No-Ears," as Te-bari was called, had escaped and taken to -the bush with a brand-new Snider carbine, and as many cartridges as he -could carry, and Mr. Peter Clausen was advised to look out for himself. -He snorted contemptuously. - -Two young Samoan "bucks" were sent out to capture Te-bari, and bring him -back, dead or alive, and receive therefor one hundred bright new Chile -dollars. They never returned, and when their bodies were found in a deep -mountain gully, it was known that the earless one was the richer by -a sixteen-shot Winchester with fifty cartridges, and a Swiss Vetterli -rifle, together with some twist tobacco, and the two long _nifa oti_ -or "death knives," with which these valorous, but misguided young men -intended to remove the earless head of the "Tafito pig" from his brawny, -muscular shoulders. - -Te-bari made his way, encumbered as he was with his armoury, along the -crest of the mountain range, till he was within striking distance of his -enemy, Clausen, and the alleged Frau Clausen--_nee_ Nireeungo. He hid on -the outskirts of the plantation, and soon got in touch with some of his -former comrades. They gave him food, and much useful information. - -One night, during heavy rain, when every one was asleep on the -plantation, Te-bari entered the overseer's house by the window. A lamp -was burning, and by its light he saw his faithless spouse sleeping -alone. Clausen--lucky Clausen--had been sent into Apia an hour before to -get some medicine for one of the manager's children. Te-bari was keenly -disappointed. He would only have half of his revenge. He crept up to -the sleeper, and made one swift blow with the heavy _nifa oti_ Then he -became very busy for a few minutes, and a few hours later was back in -the mountains, smoking Clausen's tobacco, and drinking some of Clausen's -corn schnapps. - -When Clausen rode up to his house at three o'clock in the morning, he -found the lamp was burning brightly. Nireeungo was lying on the bed, -covered over with a quilt of navy blue. He called to her, but she made -no answer, and Clausen called her a sleepy little pig. Then he turned -to the side table to take a drink of schnapps--on the edge of it was -Nireeungo's head with its two long plaits of jet-black hair hanging -down, and dripping an ensanguined stream upon the matted floor. - -Clausen cleared out of Samoa the very next day. Te-bari had got upon his -nerves. - -***** - -The forest was dark by the time I had lit a fire between two of the wide -buttresses of the great tree, and I was shaking from head to foot with -ague. The attack, however, only lasted an hour, and then came the usual -delicious after-glow of warmth as the blood began to course riotously -through one's veins and give that temporary and fictitious strength -accompanied by hunger, that is one of the features of malarial fever. - -Sitting up, I began to pluck the mountain cock, intending to grill the -chest part as soon as the fire was fit. Then I heard a footstep on the -leaves, and looking up I saw Te-bari standing before me. - -"_Ti-a ka po_" (good evening), I said quietly, in his own language, -"will you eat with me?" - -He came over to me, still grasping his rifle, and peered into my face. -Then he put out his hand, and sat down quietly in front of me. Except -for a girdle of dracaena leaves around his waist he was naked, but he -seemed well-nourished, and, in fact, fat. - -"Will you smoke?" I said presently, passing him a plug of tobacco and -my sheath knife, for I saw that a wooden pipe was stuck in his girdle of -leaves. He accepted it eagerly. - -"Do you know me, white man?" he asked abruptly, speaking in the Line -Islands tongue. - -I nodded. "You are Te-bari of Maiana. The boy was frightened of you and -ran away." - -He showed his gleaming white teeth in a semi-mirthful, semi-tigerish -grin. "Yes, he was afraid. I would have shot him; but I did not because -he was with you. What is your name, white man?" - -I told him. - -"Ah, I have heard of you. You were with Kapitan Ebba (Captain Ever) in -the _Leota?_" - -He filled his pipe, lit it, and then extended his hand to me for the -halt-plucked bird, and said he would finish it Then he looked at me -inquiringly. - -"You have the shaking sickness of the western islands. It is not good -for you to lie here on the leaves. Come with me. I shall give you good -food to eat, and coco-nut toddy to drink." - -I asked him where he got his toddy from, as there were no coco-nut trees -growing so high up in the mountains. He laughed. - -"I have a sweetheart in Siumu. She brings it to me. You shall see her -to-night. Come." - -Stooping down, he lifted me up on his right shoulder as if I were a -child, and then, with his own rifle and my gun and bag and the mountain -cock tucked under his left arm, he set off at a rapid pace towards one -of the higher spurs of the range. Nearly an hour later I found myself in -a cave, overlooking the sea. On the floor were a number of fine Samoan -mats and a well-carved _aluga_ (bamboo pillow). - -I stretched myself out upon the mats, again shivering with ague, and -Te-bari covered me over with a thick _tappa_ cloth. Then he lit a fire -just outside the cave, and came back to me. - -"You are hungry," he said, as he expanded his big mouth and grinned -pleasantly. Then from the roof of the cave he took down a basket -containing cold baked pigeons, fish and yams. - -I ate greedily and soon after fell asleep. When I awoke it seemed to -be daylight--in reality it was only a little past midnight, but a full -bright moon was shining into the cave. Seated near me were my host and a -young woman--the "sweetheart". I recognised her at once as Sa Laea, the -widow of a man killed in the fighting a few months previously. She was -about five and twenty years of age, very handsome, and quiet in her -demeanour. As far as I knew she had an excellent reputation, and I was -astonished at her consorting with an outlawed murderer. She came over -and shook hands, asked if I felt better, and should she "lomi-lomi" -(massage) me. I thanked her and gladly accepted her offer. - -An hour before dawn she bade me good-bye, urging me to remain, and rest -with her earless lover for a day or two, instead of coming on to Siumu, -where there was an outbreak of measles. - -"When I come to-morrow night," she said, "I will bring a piece of kava -root and make kava for you." - -The news about the measles decided me. I resolved to at least spend -another day and night with my host. He was pleased. - -Soon after breakfast he showed me around. His retreat was practically -impregnable. One man with a supply of breech-loading ammunition could -beat off a hundred foes. On the roof of the cave was a hole large enough -to let a man pass through, and from the top itself there was a most -glorious view. A mile away on the starboard hand, and showing through -the forest green, was a curving streak of bright red--it was the road, -or rather track, that led to Siumu. We filled our pipes, sat down and -talked. - -How long had he lived there? I asked. Five months. He had found the cave -one day when in chase of a wild sow and her litter. Afraid of being shot -by the Siumu people? No, he was on good terms with _them_. Very often he -would shoot a wild pig and carry it to a certain spot on the road, and -leave it for the villagers. But he could not go into the village itself. -It was too risky--some one might be tempted to get those hundred Chile -dollars from the Germans. Food? There was plenty. Hundreds of wild pigs -in the mountains, and thousands of pigeons. The pigs he shot with his -Snider, the pigeons he snared, for he had no shot gun, and would very -much like to have one. Twice every week Sa Laea brought him food. -Tobacco too, sometimes, when she could buy it or beg it from the trader -at Siumu. Sometimes he would cross over to the northern watershed and -catch a basketful of the big speckled trout which teem in the mountain -pools. Some of these he would send by Sa Laea to the chief of Siumu, -who would send him in return a piece of kava, and some young drinking -coconuts as a token of good-will. Once when he went to fish he found -a young Samoan and two girls about to net a pool. The man fired at him -with his pigeon gun and the pellets struck him in the chest. Then he -(Te-bari) shot the man through the chest with his Winchester. No, he did -not harm the girls--he let them run away. - -Sa Laea was a very good girl. Whenever he trapped a _manu-mea_ (the rare -_Didunculus_, or tooth-billed pigeon) she would take it to Apia and sell -it for five dollars--sometimes ten. He was saving this money. When he -had forty dollars he and Sa Laea were going to leave Samoa and go to -Maiana. Kapitan Cameron had promised Sa Laea to take them there when -they had forty dollars. Perhaps when his schooner next came to Siumu -they would have enough money, etc. - -During the day I shot a number of pigeons, and when Sa Laea appeared -soon after sunset we had them cooked and ready. We made a delicious -meal, but before eating the lady offered up the usual evening prayer in -Samoan, and Te-bari the Earless sat with closed eyes like a saint, and -gave forth a sonorous _A-mene!_ when his ladylove ceased. - -I left my outlaw friend next morning. Sa Laea came with me, for I had -promised to buy him a pigeon gun (costing ten dollars), a bag of shot, -powder and caps. I fulfilled my promise and the woman bade me farewell -with protestations of gratitude. - -A few months later Te-bari and Sa Laea left the island in Captain -Cameron's schooner, the _Manahiki_. I trust they "lived happily ever -afterwards". - - - - -CHAPTER XX ~ "THE DANDIEST BOY THAT EVER STOOD UP IN A BOAT" - -Nine years had come and gone since I had last seen Nukutavake and its -amiable brown^skinned people, and now as I again stepped on shore and -scanned the faces of those assembled on the beach to meet me, I missed -many that I had loved in the old, bright days when I was trading in the -Paumotus. For Death, in the hideous shape of small-pox, had been busy, -taking the young and strong and passing by the old and feeble. - -It was a Sunday, and the little isle was quiet--as quiet as the ocean -of shining silver on which our schooner lay becalmed, eight miles beyond -the foaming surf of the barrier reef. - -Teveiva, the old native pastor, was the first one to greet me, and the -tears rolled down his cheeks as he spoke to me in his native Tahitian, -bade me welcome, and asked me had I come to sojourn with "we of -Nukutavake, for a little while". - -"Would that it were so, old friend. But I have only come on shore for a -few hours, whilst the ship is becalmed--to greet old friends dear to my -heart, and never forgotten since the days I lived among ye, nigh upon a -half-score years ago. But, alas, it grieves me that many are gone." - -A low sob came from the people, as they pressed around their friend of -bygone years, some clasping my hands and some pressing their faces to -mine And so, hand in hand, and followed by the people, the old teacher -and I walked slowly along the shady path of drooping palms, and came to -and entered the quiet mission house, through the open windows of which -came the sigh of the surf, and the faint call of sea-birds. - -Some women, low-voiced and gentle, brought food, and young drinking nuts -upon platters of leaf, and silently placed them before the White Man, -who touched the food with his hand and drank a little of a coco-nut, and -then turned to Teveiva and said:-- - -"O friend, I cannot eat because of the sorrow that hath come upon thee. -Tell me how it befel." - -Speaking slowly, and with many tears, the old teacher told of how a ship -from Tahiti had brought the dread disease to the island, and how in a -little less than two months one in every three of the three hundred -and ten people had died, and of the long drought that followed upon the -sickness, when for a whole year the sky was as brass, and the hot sun -beat down upon the land, and withered up the coco-palms and pandanus -trees; and only for the night dews all that was green would have -perished. And now because of the long drought men were weak, and -sickening, and women and children were feint from want of food. - -"It is as if God hath deserted us," said the old man. - -"Nay," I assured him, "have no fear. Rain is near. It will come from the -westward as it has come to many islands which for a year have been eaten -up with drought and hunger like this land of Nukutavake. Have no fear, I -say. Wind and much heavy rain will soon come from the west." - -Then I wrote a few lines to the skipper. - -"Send this letter to the ship by my boat," I said to Teveiva, "and -the captain will fill the boat with food. It is the ship's gift to the -people." - -And then for the first time since the island had been smitten, the poor -women and children laughed joyously, and the men sprang to their feet, -and with loud shouts ran to the boat with the messenger who carried the -letter. - -"Come, old friend," I said to the teacher, "walk with me round the -island. I would once more look upon the lagoon and sit with you a little -while as we have sat many times before, under the great _toa_ tree that -grows upon the point on the weather side." - -And so we two passed out of the mission house, and hand in hand, like -children, went into the quiet village and along the sandy path that -wound through the vista of serried, grey-boled palms, till we came to -the white, inner beach of the calm lagoon, which shone and glistened -like burnished silver. On the beach were some canoes. - -Half a cable length from the shore, a tiny, palm-clad islet floated -on that shining lake, and the drooping fronds of the palms cast their -shadows upon the crystal water. Between the red-brown boles of the trees -there showed something white. The old man pointed to it and said:-- - -"Wilt come and look at the white man's grave? 'Tis well kept--as we -promised his mother should be done." - -Teveiva launched a canoe and we paddled gently over to the isle, which -was barely half an acre in extent From the beach there ran a narrow -path, neatly gravelled and bordered with many-hued crotons; it led to a -low square enclosure of coral stone cemented with lime. Within the walls -bright crotons grew thickly, and in the centre stood a plain slab of -marble on which was carved:-- - - Walter Tallis, - boat-steerer of the ship _asia_. - - Died, December 25, 1869, aged 21. - Erected by his Mother. - - - -I sat on the wall, and looked thoughtfully at the marble slab. - -"'Tis twelve years since, Teveiva." - -"Aye, since last Christmas Day. And every year his mother sends a letter -and asks, 'Is my boy's grave well kept?' and I write and say, 'It is -well tended. One day in every week the women and girls come and weed -the path, and see that the plants thrive. This have we always done -since thou sent the marble slab.' She sends her letters to the English -missionary at Papeite, and he sends mine to her in far away Beretania -(Britain)." - -"Poor fellow," I thought; "it was just such a day as this--hot and -calm--when we laid him here under the palms." - -***** - -On that day, twelve years before, the _Asia_ lay becalmed off the -island, and the skipper lowered his boat and came on shore to buy some -fresh provisions He was a cheery old fellow, with snow-white hair, -and was brimming over with good spirits, for the _Asia_ had had -extraordinary good luck. - -"Over a thousand barrels of sparm oil under hatches already, and the -_Asia_ not out nine months," he said to me, "and we haven't lost a boat, -nor any whale we fastened to yet And this boy here," and he turned -and clapped his hand on the shoulder of a young, handsome and stalwart -youth, who had come with him, "is my boat-steerer, Walter Tallis, -and the dandiest lad with an iron that ever stood up in a boat's bow. -Forty-two years have I been fishin', and until Walter here shipped on -the old _Asia_, thought that the Almighty never made a good boat-steerer -or boat-header outer eny one but a Yankee or a Portugee--or maybe a -Walker Injun. But Walter, though he _is_ a Britisher, was born fer -whale-killin'--and thet's a fact." - -I shook hands with the young man, who laughed as he said:-- - -"Captain Allen is always buttering me up. But there are as good, and -better men than me with an iron on board the _Asia_. But I certainly -have had wonderful luck--for a Britisher," and he smiled slyly at his -captain. - -Suddenly, we were chatting and smoking on the verandah, there came a -thrilling cry from the crew of the whaleboat, lying on the beach fifty -yards away. - -"_Blo-o-w! bl-o-o-w!_" - -And from the throats of three hundred natives came a roar "_Te folau! te -folau!_" ("A whale! a whale!") - -The skipper and his boat-steerer sprang to their feet and looked -seaward, and there, less than a mile from the shore, was a mighty bull -cachalot, leisurely making his way through the glassy sea, swimming with -head up, and lazily rolling from side to side as if his one hundred tons -of bulk were as light as the weight of a flying-fish. - -"Now, mister, you shall see what Walter and I can do with that fish," -cried the skipper to me. "And when we've settled him, and the other -boats are towing him off to the ship, Walter and I will come on shore -again and hev something to eat--if you will invite us." - -The boat flashed out from the beach, swept out of the passage through -the reef, and in twenty minutes was within striking distance of the -mighty cetacean. And, watching from the verandah, I saw the young -harpooner stand up and bury his first harpoon to the socket, following -it instantly with a second. Then slowly sank the huge head, and up came -the vast flukes in the air, and Leviathan sounded into the ocean depths -as the line spun through the stem notch, and the boat sped over the -mirror-like sea. In ten minutes she was hidden from view by a point of -land, and the last that we on the shore saw was "the dandiest lad that -ever stood up in a boat's bow" going aft to the steer-oar, and the old -white-headed skipper taking his place to use the deadly lance. And -then at the same time that the captain's boat disappeared from view, -I noticed that the _Asia_ had lowered her four other boats, which were -pulling with furious speed in the direction which the "fast" boat had -taken. - -"Something must have gone wrong with the captain's boat," I thought. - -Something had gone wrong, for half an hour later one of the four "loose" -boats pulled into the beach, and the old skipper, with tears streaming -down his rugged cheeks, stepped out, trembling from head to foot. - -"My dandy boy, my poor boatsteerer," he said huskily to me--"that darned -whale fluked us, and near cut him in half. Poor lad, he didn't suffer; -for death came sudden. An' he is the only son of his mother. Can I bring -him to your house?" - -Very tenderly and slowly the whaleboat's crew carried the crushed and -mutilated form of the "dandiest boy" to the house, and whilst I -helped the _Asia's_ cooper make a coffin, Teveiva sat outside with the -heartbroken old skipper, and spoke to him in his broken English of the -Life Beyond. And so Walter Tallis, the last of an old Dorset family, was -laid to rest in the little isle in the quiet lagoon. - -For two days our schooner lay in sight of the island; and then, as -midnight came, the blue sky became black, and the ship was snugged down -for the coming storm. The skipper sent up a rocket so that it might be -seen by the people on shore--to verify my prophecy about a change in the -weather. - -Came then the wind and the sweet, blessed rain, and as the schooner, -under reefed canvas, plunged to the rising sea, the folk of Nukutavake, -I felt certain, stood outside their houses, and let the cooling -Heaven-sent streams drench their smooth, copper-coloured skins, whilst -good old Teveiva gave thanks to God. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI ~ THE PIT OF MAOTA - -For the Samoans I have always had a great admiration and affection. -Practically I began my island career in Samoa. More than a score of -years before Robert Louis Stevenson went to die on the verdured slopes -of Vailima Mountain, where he now rests, I was gaining my living by -running a small trading cutter between the beautiful islands of Upolu, -Savai'i, and Tutuila, and the people ever had my strong sympathies in -their struggle against Germany for independence. Even so far back as -1865, German agents were at work throughout the group, sowing the seeds -of discord, encouraging the chiefs of King Malietoa to rebel, so that -they could set up a German puppet in his place. And unfortunately they -have succeeded only too well, and Samoa, with the exception of the -Island of Tutuila, is now German territory. But it is as well, for the -people are kindly treated by their new masters. - -The Samoans were always a warlike race. When not unitedly repelling -invasion by the all-conquering Tongans who sent fleet after fleet to -subjugate the country, they were warring among themselves upon various -pretexts--successions to chiefly titles, land disputes, abuse of neutral -territory, and often upon the most trivial pretexts. In my own time I -witnessed a sanguinary naval encounter between the people of the island -of Manono, and a war-party of ten great canoes from the district of -Lepa on the island of Upolu. I saw sixteen decapitated heads brought -on shore, and personally attended many of the wounded. And all this -occurred through the Lepa people having at a dance in their village -sung a song in which a satirical allusion was made to the Manono -people having once been reduced to eating shell-fish. The result was an -immediate challenge from Manono, and in all nearly one hundred men lost -their lives, villages were burnt, canoes destroyed, and thousands of -coco-nut and bread-fruit trees cut down and plantations ruined. - -Sometimes in battle the Samoans were extremely chivalrous, at others -they were demons incarnate, as merciless, cold-blooded, and cruel as the -Russian police who slaughter women and children in the streets of the -capital of the Great White Czar, and I shall now endeavour to describe -one such terrible act, which after many years is still spoken of with -bated breath, and even amidst the suppressed sobs and falling tears of -the descendants of those who suffered. - -On the north coast of Upolu there is a populous town and district named -Fasito'otai. It is part of the A'ana division of Upolu, and is noted, -even in Samoa, a paradise of Nature, for its extraordinary fertility and -beauty. - -The A'ana people at this time were suffering from the tyranny of Manono, -a small island which boasted of the fact of its being the birthplace -and home of nearly all the ruling chiefs of Samoa, and the extraordinary -respect with which people of chiefly lineage are treated by Samoans, -generally led them to suffer the greatest indignities and oppressions -by the haughty and warlike Manonoans, who exacted under threats a -continuous tribute of food, fine mats and canoes. Finally, a -valorous young chief named Tausaga--though himself connected with -Manono--revolted, and he and his people refused to pay further tribute -to Manono, and a bloody struggle was entered upon. - -For some months the war continued. No mercy was shown on either side to -the vanquished, and there is now a song which tells of how Palu, a -girl of seventeen, with a spear thrust half through her bosom by her -brother-in-law, a chief of Manono, shot him through the chest with a -horse pistol, and then breaking off the spear, knelt beside the dying -man, kissed him as her "brother" and then decapitated him, threw the -head to her people with a cry of triumph--and died. - -At first the A'ana people were victorious, and the haughty Manonoans -were driven off into their fleets of war canoes time and time again. -Then Manono made alliance with other powerful chiefs of Savai'i and -Upolu against A'ana, and two thousand of them, after great slaughter, -occupied the town of Fasito'otai, and the A'ana people retired to inland -fortresses, resolved to fight to the very last Among the leaders of the -defeated people were two white men--an Englishman and an American--whose -valour was so much admired, even by the Manono people, that they were -openly solicited to desert the A'ana people, and come over to the other -side, where great honours and gifts of lands awaited them. To their -credit, these two unknown men rejected the offer with scorn, and -announced their intention to die with the people with whom they had -lived for so many years. At their instance, many of the Manono warriors -who had been captured had been spared, and kept prisoners, instead of -being ruthlessly decapitated in the usual Samoan fashion, and their -heads exhibited, with much ignominy, from one village to another, as -trophies. - -For two years the struggle continued, the Manonoans generally proving -victorious in many bloody battles. Then Fasito'otai was surprised in -the night, and two-thirds of its defenders, including many women and -children, slaughtered. Among those who died were the two white men. They -fell with thirty young men, who covered the retreat of the survivors of -the defending force. - -The extraordinary valour which the A'ana people had displayed, -exasperated the Manono warriors to deeds of unnamable violence to -whatever prisoners fell into their cruel hands. One man--an old Manono -chief--who had taken part in the struggle, told me with shame that he -saw babies impaled on bayonets and spears carried exultingly from one -village to another. - -Broken and disorganised, the beaten A'ana people dispersed in parties -large and small. Some sought refuge in the mountain forests, others -put to sea in frail canoes, and mostly all perished, but one party of -seventeen in three canoes succeeded in reaching Uea (Wallis Island), -three hundred miles to the westward of Samoa Among them was a boy of -seven years of age, who afterwards sailed with me in a labour vessel. -He well remembered the horrors of that awful voyage, and told me of his -seeing his father "take a knife and open a vein in his arm so that a -baby girl, who was dying of hunger, could drink". - -Relentless in their hate of the vanquished foe, the Manono warriors -established a cordon around them from the mountain range that traverses -the centre of Upolu to the sea, and at last, after many engagements, -drove them to the beach, where a final battle was fought. Exhausted, -famine-stricken, and utterly disheartened by their continuous reverses, -the unfortunate A'ana people were easily overcome, and the fighting -survivors surrendered, appealing to their enemies to at least spare the -lives of their women and children. - -But no mercy was shown. As night began to fall, the Manonoans began to -dig a huge pit at a village named Maota, a mile from the scene of the -battle, and as some dug, others carried an enormous quantity of dead -logs of timber to the spot. By midnight the dreadful funeral pyre was -completed. - -In case that it might be thought by my readers that I am exaggerating -the horrors of "The Pit of Maota," I will not here relate what I, -personally, was told by people who were present at the awful deed, -but repeat the words of Mr. Stair, an English missionary of the London -Missionary Society, whose book, entitled Old Samoa, tells the story -in quiet, yet dramatic language, and although in regard to some minor -details he was misinformed, his account on the whole is correct, and is -the same as was told to me by men who had actually participated in the -tragedy. - -The awful preparations were completed, and then the victors, seizing -those of their captives who were bound on account of their strength and -had a few hours previously surrendered, hurried them to the fatal pit, -in which the huge pile of timber had been lit. And as the flames roared -and ascended, and the darkness of the surrounding forest was made as -light as day, the first ten victims of four hundred and sixty-two were -cast in to burn, amid the howls and yells of their savage captors. - -Mr. Stair says: "This dreadful butchery was continued during one or two -days and nights, fresh timber being heaped on from time to time, as it -was with difficulty that the fire could be kept burning, from the number -of victims who were ruthlessly sacrificed there. - -"The captives from Fasito'otai were selected for the first offerings, -and after them followed others in quick succession, night and day, -early and late, until the last wretched victim had been consumed. Most -heartrending were the descriptions I received from persons who had -actually looked on the fearful scenes enacted there. - -"Innocent children skipped joyfully along the pathway by the side of -their conductors and murderers,{*} deceived by the cruel lie that they -were to be spared, and were then on their way to bathe; when suddenly -the blazing pile (in the Pit of Noata) with the horrid sight of their -companions and friends being thrown alive into the midst, told them the -dreadful truth; whilst their terror was increased by the yells of savage -triumph of the murderers, or the fearful cries of the tortured victims -which reached their ears." - - * I was told that the poor children were led away as they - thought to be given si mea ai vela--"something hot" (to - eat).--[L.B.] - -When I first saw the dreadful Tito (pit) of Moata, it was at the close -of a calm, windless day. I had been pigeon-shooting in the mountain -forest, and was accompanied by a stalwart young Samoan warrior. As we -were returning to Fasito'otai, he asked me if I would come a little -out of the way and look at the "Tito," a place he said "that is to our -hearts, and is, holy ground". He spoke so reverently that I was much -impressed. - -Following a winding path we suddenly came in view of the pit. The sides -were almost covered with many beautiful varieties of crotons, planted -there by loving hands, and it was very evident to me that the place was -indeed holy ground. At the bottom of the pit was a dreadful reminder of -the past--a large circle of black charcoal running round the sides, -and enclosing in the centre a large space which at first I thought was -snow-white sand, but on descending into the pit with uncovered head, -and looking closer, found it was composed of tiny white coral pebbles. -Hardly a single leaf or twig marred the purity of the whiteness of the -cover under which lay the ashes of nearly five hundred human beings. -Every Saturday the women and children of Fasito'otai and the adjacent -villages visited the place, and reverently removed every bit of -_debris_, and the layer of stones, carefully selected of an equal size, -was renewed two or three times a year as they became discoloured by -the action of the rain. Encompassing the wooded margin of the pit were -numbers of orange, lime and banana trees, all in full fruit. These were -never touched--to do so would have been sacrilege, for they were sacred -to the dead. All around us were hundreds of wood-doves and pigeons, and -their peaceful notes filled the forest with saddening melody. "No one -ever fires a gun here," said my companion softly, "it is forbidden. And -it is to my mind that the birds know that it is a sacred place and holy -ground." - - - - -CHAPTER XXII ~ VANAKI, THE STRONG SWIMMER - -On the afternoon of the 4th of June, 1885, the Hawaiian labour schooner -_Mana_, of which I was "recruiter" was beating through Apolima Straits, -which divide the islands of Upolu and Savai'i. The south-east trade was -blowing very strongly and a three-knot current setting against the -wind had raised a short, confused sea, and our decks were continually -flooded. But we had to thrash through it with all the sail we could -possibly carry, for among the sixty-two Gilbert Islands "recruits" I had -on board three had developed symptoms of what we feared was small-pox, -and we were anxious to reach the anchorage off the town of Mulifanua at -the west end of Upolu before dark. At Mulifanua there was a large German -cotton plantation, employing four hundred "recruited" labourers, and on -the staff of European employes was a resident doctor. In the ordinary -course of things we should have gone on to Apia, which was twenty miles -farther on, and our port of destination, and handed over my cargo of -"recruits" to the manager of the German firm there; but as Mulifanua -Plantation was also owned by them, and my "recruits" would probably be -sent there eventually, the captain and I decided to land the entire -lot at that place, instead of taking them to Apia, where the European -community would be very rough upon us if the disease on board did turn -out to be small-pox. - -As the skipper and I were standing aft, watching the showers of spray -that flew over the schooner every time a head sea smacked her in the -face, one of the hands shouted out that there was a man in the water, -close to on the weather bow. Hauling our head sheets to windward we -head-reached towards him, and in a few minutes the man, who was swimming -in the most gallant fashion, was alongside, and clambered on board. He -was a rather dark-skinned Polynesian, young, and of extremely powerful -physique. - -"Thanks, good friends," he said, speaking in halting Samoan. "'Tis a -high sea in which to swim. Yet," and here he glanced around him at the -land on both sides, "I was half-way across." - -"Come below," I said, "and take food and drink, and I will give you a -_lava-lava_ (waistcloth)." (He was nude.) - -He thanked me, and then again his keen dark eyes were fixed upon -Savai'i--three miles distant. - -"Art bound to Savai'i?" he asked quickly. - -"Nay. We beat against the wind. To-night we anchor at Mulifanua." - -"Ah!" and his face changed, "then I must leave, for it is to Savai'i I -go," and he was about to go over the rail when we held him back. - -"Wait, friend. In a little time the ship will be close in to the passage -through the reef at Saleleloga" (a town of Savai'i), "and then as we put -the ship about, thou canst go on thy way. Why swim two leagues and tempt -the sharks when there is no need. Come below and eat and drink, and have -no fear. We shall take thee as near to the passage as we can." - -The skipper came below with us, and after providing our visitor with a -navy blue waistcloth, we gave him a stiff tumbler of rum, and some -bread and meat. He ate quickly and then asked for a smoke, and in a few -minutes more we asked him who he was, and why he was swimming across the -straits. We spoke in Samoan. "Friends," he said, "I will tell the truth. -I am one of the _kau galuega_ (labourers) on Mulifanua Plantation. -Yesterday being the Sabbath, and there being no work, I went into the -lands of the Samoan village to steal young nuts and _taro_. I had thrown -down and husked a score, and was creeping back to my quarters by a -side path through the grove, when I was set upon by three young Samoan -_manaia_ (bloods) who began beating me with clubs--seeking to murder me. -We fought, and I, knowing that death was upon me, killed one man with a -blow of my _tori nui_{*} (husking stick) of iron-wood, and then drove it -deep into the chest of another. Then I fled, and gaining the beach, ran -into the sea so that I might swim to Savai'i, for there will I be safe -from pursuit" "'Tis a long swim, man--'tis five leagues." He laughed and -expanded his brawny chest "What is that to me? I have swam ten leagues -many times." - - * A heavy, pointed stick of hardwood, used for husking coco- - nuts. - -"Where do you belong?" asked the skipper in English. - -He answered partly in the same language and partly in his curious -Samoan. - -"I am of Anuda.{*} My name is Vanaki. Two years ago I came to Samoa in a -German labour ship to work on the plantations, for I wanted to see other -places and earn money, and then return to Anuda and speak of the things -I had seen. It was a foolish thing of me. The German _suis_ (overseers) -are harsh men. I worked very hard on little food. It was for that I had -to steal. And I am but one man from Anuda, and there are four hundred -others from many islands--black-skinned, man-eating, woolly-haired -pigs from the Solomon and New Hebrides, and fierce fellows like these -Tafito{**} men from the Gilbert Islands such as I now see here on this -ship. No one of them can speak my tongue of Anuda. And now I am a free -man." - - * Anuda or Cherry Island is an outlier of the Santa Cruz - Group, in the South Pacific. The natives are more of the - Polynesian than the Melanesian type, and are a fine, - stalwart race. - - ** Tafitos--natives of the Pacific Equatorial Islands such - as the Gilbert Group. - -"You are a plucky fellow," said the captain, "and deserve good luck. -Here, take this dollar, and tie it up in the corner of your waistcloth. -You can buy yourself some tobacco from the white trader at Salelelogo." - -"Ah, yes, indeed. But" (and here he dropped into Samoan again, and -turned to me) "I would that the good captain would take me as a sailor -for his next voyage. I was for five years with Captain Macleod of -Noumea. And I am a good man--honest, and no boaster." - -I shook my head. "It cannot be. From Mulifanua we go to Apia And there -will be news there of what thou hast done yesterday, and we cannot hide -a man on this small ship." And then I asked the captain what he thought -of the request. - -"We ought to try and work it," said the skipper. "If he was five years -with Jock Macleod he's all right." - -We questioned him further, and he satisfied us as to his _bona-fides_, -giving us the names of many men--captains and traders--known to us -intimately. - -"Vanaki," I said, "this is what may be done, but you must be quick, for -presently we shall be close to the passage off Saleleloga, and must -go about When you land, go to Miti-loa the chief, and talk to -him privately. There is bad blood between his people and those of -Mulifanua----" - -"I know it It has been so for two years past." - -"Now, listen. Miti-loa and the captain here and I are good friends. Tell -him that you have seen us. Hide nothing from him of yesterday. He is a -strong man." - -"I know it Who does not, in this part of Samoa know of Miti-loa?" {*} - -"That is true. And Miti knows us two _papalagi_{**} well. Stay with -him, work for him, and do all that he may ask. He will ask but -little--perhaps nothing. In twenty days from now, this ship will be at -Apia ready for sea again. We go to the Tokelaus" (Gilbert Islands) "or -else to the Solomons, and if thou comest on board in the night who is to -know of it but Miti-loa and thyself?" - - * Miti-loa--"Long Dream ". - - ** White men--foreigners. - -The mate put his head under the flap of the skylight "Close on to the -reef, sir. Time to go about." - -"All right, Carey. Put her round Now Vanaki, up on deck, and over you -go." - -Vanaki nodded and smiled, and followed us. Then quickly he took off his -_lava-lava_, deftly wrapped it about his head like an Indian turban, and -held out his hand in farewell, and every one on board cheered as he I -leapt over the side, and began his swim to the land. - -From the cross-trees I watched him through my glasses, saw him enter the -passage into smooth water, and disdaining to rest on any of the exposed -and isolated projections of reef which lined the passage, continue his -course towards the village. Then a rain squall hid him from view, but we -knew that he was safe. - -That evening we landed our "recruits" at Mulifanua, and after thoroughly -disinfecting the ship, we sailed a few days later for Apia. Here we were -again chartered to proceed to the New Hebrides and Solomon Islands for -another cruise. - -As we were refitting, I received a letter from Miti-loa, telling me that -Vanaki was safe, and would be with us in a few days. When he did arrive, -he came with Miti-loa himself in his _taumalua_ (native boat) and a -score of his people. Vanaki was so well made-up as a Samoan that when -he stepped on deck the skipper and I did not recognise him. We sent him -below, and told him to keep quiet until we were well under way. - -"Ah," said Miti-loa to us, "what a man is he! Such a swimmer was never -before seen. My young men have made much of him, and I would he would -stay with me." - -Vanaki turned out an acquisition to our ship's company, and soon became -a favourite with every one. He was highly delighted when he was placed -on the articles at the usual rate of wages paid to native seamen--L3 per -month. Our crew were natives from all parts of Polynesia, but English -was the language used by them generally to each other. Like all vessels -in the labour trade we carried a double crew--one to man the boats when -recruiting, and one to work the ship when lying "off and on" at any -island where we could not anchor, and Vanaki was greatly pleased when I -told him that he should have a place in my boat, instead of being put in -the "covering"{*} boat. - - * The "covering" boat is that which stands by to open fire - if the "landing" boat is attacked. - -We made a splendid run down to the Solomons from Samoa, and when in -sight of San Cristoval, spoke a French labour vessel from Noumea, -recruiting for the French New Hebrides Company. Her captain and -his "recruiter" (both Englishmen) paid us a visit. They were old -acquaintances of our captain and myself, and as they came alongside in -their smart whaleboat and Vanaki saw their faces, he gave a weird yell -of delight, and rubbed noses with them the moment they stepped on deck. - -"Hallo, Vanaki, my lad," said the skipper of _La Metise_, shaking his -hand, "how are you?" Then turning to us he said: "Vanaki was with me -when I was mate with Captain Macleod, in the old _Aurore_ of Noumea. -He's a rattling good fellow for a native, and I wish I had him with me -now. Wherever did you pick him up?" - -We told him, and Houston laughed when I narrated the story of Vanaki's -swim. - -"Oh, that's nothing for him to do. Why, the beggar once swam from the -Banks Group across to the Torres Islands. Has he never told you about -it?" - -"No. And I would hardly believe him if he did. Why, the two groups are -fifty miles apart." - -"No, from Tog in the Torres Islands to Ureparapara in the Banks Group -is a little over forty miles. But you must wheedle the yarn out of him. -He's a bit sensitive of talking about it, on account of his at first -being told he was a liar by several people. But Macleod, two traders who -were passengers with us, and all the crew of the _Aurore_ know the story -to be true. We sent an account of it to the Sydney papers." - -"I'll get him to tell me some day," I said "I once heard of a native -woman swimming from Nanomaga in the Ellice Group to Nanomea--thirty-five -miles--but never believed it for a long time." - -After spending half an hour with us, our friends went back to their -ship, each having shaken hands warmly with Vanaki, and wished him good -luck. - -It was some days before the captain and I had time to hear Vanaki's -story, which I relate as nearly as possible in his own words. - -First of all, however, I must mention that Ureparapara or Bligh Island -is a well-wooded, fertile spot, about sixteen miles in circumference, -and is an extinct crater. It is now the seat of a successful mission. -Tog is much smaller, well-wooded, and inhabited, and about nine hundred -feet high. At certain times of the year a strong current sets in a -northerly and westerly direction, and it is due to this fact that Vanaki -accomplished his swim. Now for his story. - -"I was in the port watch of the _Aurore_. We came to Ureparapara in -the month of June to 'recruit' and got four men. Whilst we were there, -Captain Houston (who was then mate of the _Aurore_) asked me if I would -dive under the ship and look at her copper; for a week before we had -touched a reef. So I dived, and found that five sheets of copper were -gone from the port side about half a fathom from the keel. So the -captain took five new sheets of copper, and punched the nail holes, and -gave me one sheet at a time, and I nailed them on securely. In three -hours it was done, for the ship was in quiet, clear water, and I knew -what to do. The captain then said to me laughingly that he feared I had -but tacked on the sheets loosely, and that they would come off. My heart -was sore at this, and so I asked Mr. Houston, who is a good diver, to -go and look. And he dived and looked, and then five other of the -crew--natives--dived and looked, and they all said that the work was -well and truly done--all the nails driven home, and the sheets smooth, -and without a crinkle. This pleased the captain greatly, and he gave me -a small gold piece, and told me that I could go on shore, and spend it -at the white trader's store. - -"Now I did a foolish thing. I bought from the trader two bottles of -strange grog called _arrak_. It was very strong--stronger than rum--and -soon I and two others who drank it became very drunk, and lay on the -ground like pigs. Mr. Houston came and found me, and brought me on -board, and I was laid on the after-deck under the awning. - -"At sunset the ship sailed. I was still asleep, and heard nothing, -though in a little while it began to blow, and much rain fell The -captain let me lie on the lee side, so that the rain might beat upon me, -and bring me to life again. - -"When four bells struck I awoke. I was ashamed. Waiting until the wheel -was relieved, I crept along the deck unseen, for it was very dark, and -goy up on the top of the top-gallant fo'c'stle, and again lay down. The -ship was running before the wind under close-reefed sails, and the sea -was so great that she pitched heavily every now and then, and much water -came over the bows. This did me good, and I soon began to feel able to -go below and turn in in my bunk. Then presently, as I was about to rise, -the ship made a great plunge, and a mighty sea fell upon her, and I was -swept away. No one saw me go, for no one knew that I was there, and the -night was very, very dark. - -"When I came to the surface, I could see the ship's lights, and cried -out, but no one heard me, for the wind and sea made a great noise; and -then, too, there was sweeping rain In a little while the lights were -gone, and I was alone. - -"'Now,' I said to myself, 'Vanaki, thou art a fool, and will go into the -belly of a shark because of becoming drunk.' And then my heart came back -to me, and I swam on easily over the sea, hoping that I would be missed, -and the ship heave-to, and send a boat. But I looked in vain. - -"By-and-by the sky cleared, and the stars came out, but the wind still -blew fiercely, and the seas swept me along so quickly that I knew it -would be folly for me to try and face them, and try to swim back to -Ureparapara. - -"'I will swim to Tog,' I said; 'if the sharks spare me I can do it.' -For now that the sky was clear, and I could see the stars my fear died -away; and so I turned a little, and swam to the west a little by the -north. - -"There was a strong current with me, and hour by hour as I swam the wind -became less, and the sea died away. - -"When daylight came I was not tired, and rested on my back. And as I -rested, two green turtle rose near me. They looked at me, and I was -glad, for I knew that where turtle were there would be no sharks. I am -not afraid of sharks, but what is a man to do with a shark in the open -sea without a knife? - -"Towards noon there came rain I lay on my back and put my hollowed hands -together, and caught enough to satisfy my great thirst. The rain did not -last long. - -"A little after noon I saw the land--the island of Tog. It was but three -leagues away. - -"Then I swam into a great and swift tide-rip, which carried me to the -eastward. It was so strong that I feared it would take me away from the -island, but soon it turned and swept me to the westward. And then I saw -the land becoming nearer and nearer. - -"When the sun was nearly touching the sea-rim, I was so close to the -south-end of Tog, that I could see the spars of a ship lying at anchor -in the bay called Pio. And then when the sun had set I could see the -lights of many canoes catching flying-fish by torchlight. - -"I swam on and came to the ship. It was the _Aurore_. - -"I clambered up the side-ladder, and stood on deck, and the man who was -on anchor watch--an ignorant Tokelau--shouted out in fear, and ran to -tell the captain, and Mr. Houston. - -"They brought me below and made much of me, and gave me something to -drink which made me sleep for many hours. - -"When I awakened I was strong and well, but my eyes were _malai_ -(bloodshot). That is all." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII ~ TWO PACIFIC ISLANDS BIRDS: THE SOUTH SEA CORNCRAKE AND -THE TOOTH-BILLED PIGEON - - - - -THE SOUTH SEA CORNCRAKE - -Although I had often heard of the "corncrake" or landrail of the British -Isles, I did not see one until a few years ago, on my first visit to -Ireland, when a field labourer in County Louth brought me a couple, -which he had killed in a field of oats. I looked at them with interest, -and at once recognised a striking likeness in shape, markings and -plumage to an old acquaintance--the shy and rather rare "banana-bird" of -some of the Polynesian and Melanesian Islands. I had frequently when in -Ireland heard at night, during the summer months, the repeated and -harsh "crake, crake," of many of these birds, issuing from the fields of -growing corn, and was very curious to see one, for the unmelodious cry -was exactly like that of the _kili vao_, or "banana-bird" of the -Pacific Islands. And when I saw the two corncrakes I found them to be -practically the same bird, though but half the size of the _kili vao_. - -_Kili vao_ in native means bush-snipe, as distinct from _kili fusi_, -swamp snipe. It feeds upon ripe bananas, and papaws (mamee apples), and -such other sweet fruit, that when over-ripe fall to the ground. It is -very seldom seen in the day-time, when the sun is strong, though -its hoarse frog-like note may often be heard in cultivated banana -plantations, or on the mountain sides, where the wild banana thrives. -At early dawn, or towards sunset, however, they come out from their -retreats, and search for fallen bananas, papaws or guavas, and I -have spent many a delightful half-hour watching them from my own -hiding-place. Although they have such thick, long and clumsy legs, and -coarse splay feet they run to and fro with marvelous speed, continually -uttering their insistent croak. Usually they were in pairs, male and -female, although I once saw a male and three female birds together. The -former can easily be recognised, for it is considerably larger than its -mate, and the coloration of the plumage on the back and about the eyes -is more pronounced, and the beautiful quail-like semi-circular belly -markings are more clearly defined. When disturbed, and if unable to -run into hiding among the dead banana leaves, they rise and present -a ludicrous appearance, for their legs hang down almost straight, and -their flight is slow, clumsy and laborious, and seldom extends more than -fifty yards. - -The natives of the Banks and Santa Cruz Groups (north of the New -Hebrides) assert that the _kili_ is a ventriloquist, and delights to -"fool" any one attempting to capture it. "If you hear it call from -the right, it is hiding to the left; and its mate is perhaps only -two fathoms away from you, hiding under the fallen banana leaves, and -pretending to be dead. And you will never find either, unless it is a -dark night, and you suddenly light a big torch of dried coco-nut leaves; -then they become dazed and stupid, and will let you catch them with your -hand." - -Whilst one cannot accept the ventriloquial theory, there can be no doubt -of the extraordinary cunning in hiding, and noiseless speed on foot of -these birds when disturbed. One afternoon, near sunset, I was returning -from pigeon-shooting on Ureparapara (Banks Group) when in walking along -the margin of a taro-swamp, which was surrounded by banana trees, a big -_kili_ rose right in front of me, and before I could bring my gun to -shoulder, my native boy hurled his shoulder-stick at it and brought it -down, dead. Then he called to me to be ready for a shot at the mate, -which, he said, was close by in hiding. - -Walking very gently, he carefully scanned the dead leaves at the foot of -the banana trees, and silently pointed to a heap which was soddened by -rain. - -"It is underneath there," he whispered, then flung himself upon the -heap of leaves, and in a few seconds dragged out the prize--a fine -full-grown female bird, beautifully marked. I put her in my game-bag. -During our two-mile walk to the village she behaved in a disgusting -manner, and so befouled herself (after the manner of a young Australian -curlew when captured) that she presented a repellent appearance, and -had such a disgusting odour that I was at first inclined to throw -her--game-bag and all--away. However, my native boy washed her, and then -we put her in a native pigeon cage. In the morning she was quite clean -and dry, but persistently hid her head when any one approached, refused -to take food and died two days later, although I kept the cage in a dark -place. - -These birds are excellent eating when not too fat; but when the papaws -are ripe they become grossly unwieldy, and the whole body is covered -with thick yellow fat, and the flesh has the strong sweet taste of the -papaw. At this time, so the natives say, they are actually unable to -rise for flight, and are easily captured by the women and children at -work in the banana and taro plantations. - -(Apropos of this common tendency of the flesh of birds to acquire the -taste of their principal article of food, I may mention that in those -Melanesian Islands where the small Chili pepper grows wild, the pigeons -at certain times of the year feed almost exclusively upon the ripe -berries, and their flesh is so pungent as to be almost uneatable. At -one place on the littoral of New Britain, there is a patch of country -covered with pepper trees, and it is visited by thousands of pigeons, -who devour the berries, although their ordinary food of sweet berries -was available in profusion in the mountain forests.) - -On some of the Melanesian islands there is a variety of the banana-bird -which frequents the yam and sweet potato plantation, digs into the -hillocks with its power-fill feet, and feeds upon the tubers, as does -the rare toothed-billed pigeon. - -One day, when I was residing in the Caroline Islands, a pair of live -birds were brought to me by the natives, who had snared them. They were -in beautiful plumage, and I determined to try and keep them. - -The natives quickly made me an enclosure about twenty feet square of -bamboo slats about an inch or two apart, driving them into the ground, -and making a "roof" of the same material, sufficiently high to permit of -three young banana trees being planted therein. Then we quickly covered -the ground with dead banana leaves, small sticks and other _debris_, and -after making it as "natural" as possible, laid down some ripe bananas, -and turned the birds into the enclosure. In ten seconds they had -disappeared under the heap of leaves as silently as a beaver or a -platypus takes to the water. - -During the night I listened carefully outside the enclosure, but the -captives made neither sound nor appearance. They were still "foxing," or -as my Samoan servant called it, _le toga-fiti e mate_ (pretending to be -dead). - -All the following day there was not the slightest movement of the -leaves, but an hour after sunset, when I was on my verandah, smoking and -chatting with a fellow trader, a native boy came to us, grinning with -pleasure, and told us that the birds were feeding. I had a torch of -dried coco-nut leaves all in readiness. It was lit, and as the bright -flame burst out, and illuminated the enclosure, I felt a thrill of -delight--both birds were vigorously feeding upon a very ripe and -"squashy" custard apple, disregarding the bananas. The light quite -dazed them, and they at once ceased eating, and sat down in a terrified -manner, with their necks outstretched, and their bills on the ground. We -at once withdrew. In the morning, I was charmed to hear them "craking," -and from that time forward they fed well, and afforded me many a happy -hour in watching their antics. I was in great hopes of their breeding, -for they had made a great pile of _debris_ between the banana trees, -into which in the day-time they would always scamper when any one -passed, and my natives told me that the end of the rainy season was -the incubating period. As it was within a few weeks of that time, I was -filled with pleasurable anticipations, and counted the days. Alas, for -my hopes! One night, a predatory village pig, smelling the fruit which -was always placed in the enclosure daily, rooted a huge hole underneath -the bambods, and in the morning my pets were gone, and nevermore did I -hear their hoarse crake! crake!--ever pleasing to me during the night. - -***** - - - - -THE TOOTH-BILLED PIGEON OF SAMOA--(_Didunculus Strigirostris_) - -The recent volcanic outburst on the island of Savai'i in the Samoan -Group, after a period of quiescence of about two hundred years, has, so -a Californian paper states, revealed the fact that one of the rarest and -most interesting birds in the world, and long supposed to be peculiar to -the Samoan Islands, and all but extinct, is by no means so in the latter -respect, for the convulsion in the centre of the island, where the -volcanic mountain stands nearly 4,000 feet high, has driven quite a -number of the birds to the littoral of the south coast. So at least it -was reported to the San Francisco journal by a white trader residing on -the south side of Savai'i during the outbreak. - -For quite a week before the first tremors and groan-ings of the mountain -were felt and heard, the natives said that they had seen _Manu Mea_ -(tooth-billed pigeons) making their way down to the coast. Several were -killed and eaten by children. - -Before entering into my own experiences and knowledge of this -extraordinary bird, gained during a seven years' residence in Samoa, -principally on the island of Upolu, I cannot do better than quote -from Dr. Stair's book, _Old Samoa_, his description of the bird. Very -happily, his work was sent to me some years ago, and I was delighted to -find in it an account of the _Manu Mea_ (red bird) and its habits. In -some respects he was misinformed, notably in that in which he was told -that the _Didunculus_ was peculiar to the Samoan Islands; for the bird -certainly is known in some of the Solomon Islands, and also in the -Admiralty Group--two thousand miles to the north-west of Samoa. Here, -however, is what Dr. Stair remarks:-- - -"One of the curiosities of Samoan natural history is _Le Manu Mea_, -or red bird of the natives, the tooth-billed pigeon (_Didunculus -Strigirostris_, Peale), and is peculiar to the Samoan Islands. This -remarkable bird, so long a puzzle to the scientific world, is only found -in Samoa, and even there it has become so scarce that it is rapidly -becoming extinct, as it falls an easy prey to the numerous wild cats -ranging the forests. It was first described and made known to the -scientific world by Sir William Jardine, in 1845, under the name of -_Gnathodon Strigirostris_, from a specimen purchased by Lady Hervey in -Edinburgh, amongst a number of Australian skins. Its appearance excited -great interest and curiosity, but its true habitat was unknown until -some time after, when it was announced by Mr. Strickland before the -British Association at York, that Mr. Titian Peale, of the United States -Exploring Expedition, had discovered a new bird allied to the dodo, -which he proposed to name _Didunculus Strigirostris_. From the specimen -in Sir William Jardine's possession the bird was figured by Mr. Gould in -his _Birds of Australia_, and its distinctive characteristics shown; but -nothing was known of its habitat. At that time the only specimens known -to exist out of Samoa were the two in the United States, taken there by -Commodore Wilkes, and the one in the collection of Sir William Jardine, -in Edinburgh. The history of this last bird is singular, and may be -alluded to here. - -"To residents in Samoa the _Manu Mea_, or red bird, was well known by -repute, but as far as I know, no specimen had ever been obtained by any -resident on the islands until the year 1843, when two fine birds, male -and female, were brought to me by a native who had captured them on the -nest I was delighted with my prize, and kept them carefully, but could -get no information whatever as to what class they belonged. After a time -one was unfortunately killed, and not being able to gain any knowledge -respecting the bird, I sent the surviving one to Sydney, by a friend, in -1843, hoping it would be recognised and described; but nothing was known -of it there, and my friend left it with a bird dealer in Sydney, and -returned to report his want of success. It died in Sydney, and the skin -was subsequently sent to England with other skins for sale, including -the skin of an Apteryx, from Samoa. Later on the skin of the _Manu -Mea_ was purchased by Lady Hervey, and subsequently it came into the -possession of Sir William Jar-dine, by whom it was described. Still -nothing was known of its habitat--but this bird which I had originally -sent to Sydney from Samoa was the means of bringing it under the notice -of the scientific world, and thus in some indirect manner of obtaining -the object I had in view. - -"After my return to England, in 1846, the late Dr. Gray, of the British -Museum, showed me a drawing of the bird, which I at once recognised; as -also a drawing of a species of Apteryx which had been purchased in -the same lot of skins. A native of Samoa, who was with me, at once -recognised both birds. Dr. Gray and Mr. Mitchell (of the Zoological -Gardens in London) were much interested in the descriptions I gave -them, and urged that strong efforts should be made to procure living -specimens. But no steps were taken to obtain the bird until fourteen -years after, when, having returned to Australia, I was surprised to see -a notice in the _Melbourne Argus_, of August 3, 1862, to the effect -that the then Governor of Victoria, Sir Henry Barkley, had received -a communication from the Zoological Society, London, soliciting his -co-operation in endeavouring to ascertain further particulars as to the -habitat of a bird they were desirous of obtaining; forwarding drawings -and particulars as far as known at the same time; offering a large sum -for living specimens or skins delivered in London. I at once recognised -that the bird sought after was the _Manu Mea_, and gave the desired -information and addresses of friends in Samoa, through whose -instrumentality a living specimen was safely received in London, _via_ -Sydney, on April 10, 1864, the Secretary of the Zoological Society -subsequently writing to Dr. Bennett of Sydney, saying, 'The _La Hogue_ -arrived on April 10, and I am delighted to be able to tell you that the -_Didunculus_ is now alive, and in good health in the gardens, and Mr. -Bartlett assures me is likely to do well'. - -"In appearance the bird may be described as about the size of a large -wood-pigeon, with similar legs and feet, but the form of its body more -nearly resembles that of the partridge. The remarkable feature of the -bird is that whilst its legs are those of a pigeon, the beak is that of -the parrot family, the upper mandible being hooked like the parrot's, -the under one being deeply serrated; hence the name, tooth-billed -pigeon. This peculiar formation of the beak very materially assists the -bird in feeding on the potato-loke root, or rather fruit, of the _soi_, -or wild yam, of which it is fond. The bird holds the tuber firmly with -its feet, and then rasps it upwards with its parrot-like beak, the lower -mandible of which is deeply grooved. It is a very shy bird, being seldom -found except in the retired parts of the forest, away from the coast -settlements. It has great power of wing, and when flying makes a noise, -which, as heard in the distance, closely resembles distant thunder, for -which I have on several occasions mistaken it. It both roosts and feeds -on the ground, as also on stumps or low bushes, and hence becomes an -easy prey to the wild cats of the forest. These birds also build their -nests on low bushes or stumps, and are thus easily captured. During -the breeding season the male and female relieve each other with great -regularity, and guard their nests so carefully that they fall an easy -prey to the fowler; as in the case of one bird being taken its companion -is sure to be found there shortly after. They were also captured with -birdlime, or shot with arrows, the fowler concealing himself near -an open space, on which some _soi_, their favourite food, had been -scattered. - -"The plumage of the bird may be thus described. The head, neck, breast, -and upper part of the back is of greenish black. The back, wings, tail, -and under tail coverts of a chocolate red. The legs and feet are of -bright scarlet; the mandibles, orange red, shaded off near the tips with -bright yellow." - -Less than twenty years ago I was residing on the eastern end of Upolu -(Samoa), and during my shooting excursions on the range of mountains -that traverses the island from east to west, saw several _Didunculi_, -and, I regret to say, shot two. For I had no ornithological knowledge -whatever, and although I knew that the Samoans regarded the _Manu Mea_ -as a rare bird, I had no idea that European savants and museums would -be glad to obtain even a stuffed specimen. The late Earl of Pembroke, -to whom I wrote on the subject from Australia, strongly urged me to -endeavour to secure at least one living specimen; so also did Sir George -Grey. But although I--like Mr. Stair--wrote to many native friends in -Samoa, offering a high price for a bird, I had no success; civil war -had broken out, and the people had other matters to think of beside -bird-catching. I was, however, told a year later that two fine specimens -had been taken on the north-west coast of Upolu, that one had been -so injured in trapping that it died, and the other was liberated by a -mischievous child. - -I have never heard one of these birds sound a note, but a native teacher -on Tutuila told me that in the mating season they utter a short, husky -hoot, more like a cough than the cry of a bird. - -A full month after I first landed in Samoa, I was shooting in the -mountains at the back of the village of Tiavea in Upolu, when a large, -and to me unknown, bird rose from the leaf-strewn ground quite near me, -making almost as much noise in its flight as a hornbill. A native -who was with me, fired at the same time as I did, and the bird fell. -Scarcely had the native stooped to pick it up, exclaiming that it was a -_Manu Mea_ when a second appeared, half-running, half-flying along the -ground. This, alas! I also killed They were male and female, and my -companion and I made a search of an hour to discover their resting place -(it was not the breeding season), but the native said that the _Manu -Mea_ scooped out a retreat in a rotten tree or among loose stones, -covered with dry moss. But we searched in vain, nor did we even see any -wild yams growing about, so evidently the pair were some distance from -their home, or were making a journey in search of food. - -During one of my trips on foot across Upolu, with a party of natives, -we sat down to rest on the side of a steep mountain path leading to the -village of Siumu. Some hundreds of feet below us was a comparatively -open patch of ground--an abandoned yam plantation, and just as we were -about to resume our journey, we saw two _Manu Mea_ appear. Keeping -perfectly quiet, we watched them moving about, scratching up the leaves, -and picking at the ground in an aimless, perfunctory sort of manner with -their heavy, thick bills. The natives told me that they were searching, -not for yams, but for a sweet berry called _masa'oi_, upon which the -wild pigeons feed. - -In a few minutes the birds must have become aware of our presence, for -they suddenly vanished. - -I have always regretted in connection with the two birds I shot, that -not only was I unaware of their value, even when dead, but that there -was then living in Apia a Dr. Forbes, medical officer to the staff of -the German factory. Had I sent them to him, he could have cured the -skins at least, for he was, I believe, an ardent naturalist. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV ~ A NIGHT RUN ACROSS FAGALOA BAY - -When I was supercargo of the brig _Palestine_, we were one day beating -along the eastern shore of the great island of Tombara (New Ireland) or, -as it is now called by its German possessors, _Neu Mecklenburg_, when an -accident happened to one of our hands--a smart young A.B. named Rogers. -The brig was "going about" in a stiff squall, when the jib-sheet block -caught poor Rogers in the side, and broke three of his ribs. - -There were then no white men living on the east coast of New Ireland, or -we should have landed him there to recover, and picked him up again -on our return from the Caroline Islands, so we decided to run down -to Gerrit Denys Island, where we had heard there was a German doctor -living. He was a naturalist, and had been established there for over a -year, although the natives were as savage and warlike a lot as could be -found anywhere in Melanesia. - -We reached the island, anchored, and the naturalist came on board. He -was not a professional-looking man. Here is my description, of him, -written fifteen years ago:-- - -"He was bootless, and his pants and many-pocketed jumper of coarse -dungaree were exceedingly dirty, and looked as if they had been cut out -with a knife and fork instead of scissors, they were so marvellously -ill-fitting. His head-gear was an ancient Panama hat, which flopped -about, and almost concealed his red-bearded face, as if trying to -apologise for the rest of his apparel; and the thin gold-rimmed -spectacles he wore made a curious contrast to his bare and sun-burnt -feet, which were as brown as those of a native. His manner, however, was -that of a man perfectly at ease with himself and his clear, steely blue -eyes, showed an infinite courage and resolution." - -At first he was very reluctant to have Rogers brought on shore, but -finally yielded, being at heart a good-natured man. So we bade Rogers -good-bye, made the doctor a present of some provisions, and a few cases -of beer, and told him we should be back in six weeks. - -When we returned, Rogers came on board with the German. He was quite -recovered, and he and his host were evidently on very friendly terms, -and bade farewell to each other with some show of feeling. - -After we had left the island, Rogers came aft, and told us his -experiences with the German doctor. - -"He's a right good sort of a chap, and treated me well, and did all he -could for me, sirs--but although he is a nice cove, I'm glad to get away -from him, and be aboard the brig again. For I can hardly believe that I -haven't had a horrid, blarsted nightmare for the past six weeks." - -And then he shuddered. - -"What was wrong with him, Rogers?" asked the skipper. - -"Why, he ain't no naturalist--I mean like them butterfly-hunting coves -like you see in the East Indies. He's a head-hunter--buys heads--fresh -'uns by preference, an' smokes an' cures 'em hisself, and sells 'em to -the museums in Europe. So help me God, sirs, I've seen him put fresh -human heads into a barrel of pickle, then he takes 'em out after a -week or so, and cleans out the brains, and smokes the heads, and -sorter varnishes and embalms 'em like. An' when he wasn't a picklin' or -embalmin' or varnishin', he was a-writing in half a dozen log books. -I never knew what he was a-doin' until one day I went into his -workshop--as he called it--and saw him bargaining with some niggers for -a fresh cut-off head, which he said was not worth much because the skull -was badly fractured, and would not set up well. - -"He was pretty mad with me at first for comin' in upon him, and -surprisin' him like, but after a while he took me into his confidence, -and said as how he was engaged in a perfeckly legitimate business, -and as the heads was dead he was not hurtin' 'em by preparing 'em for -museums and scientific purposes. And he says to me, 'You English peoples -have got many peautiful preserved heads of the New Zealand Maories in -your museums, but ach, Gott, there is not in England such peautiful -heads as I haf mineself brebared here on dis islandt And already I haf -send me away fifty-seven, and in two months I shall haf brebared sixteen -more, for which I shall get me five hundred marks each.'" - -Rogers told us that when he one day expressed his horror at his host's -"business," the German retorted that it was only forty or fifty years -since that many English officials in the Australian colonies did a -remarkably good business in buying smoked Maori heads, and selling them -to the Continental museums. (This was true enough.) Rogers furthermore -told us that the doctor "cured" his heads in a smoke-box, and had "a -regular chemist's shop" in which were a number of large bottles of -pyroligneous acid, prepared by a London firm. - -This distinguished savant left Gerrit Denys Island about a year later in -a schooner bound for Singapore. She was found floating bottom up off -the Admiralty Group, and a Hong-Kong newspaper, in recording the event, -mentioned that "the unfortunate gentleman (Dr. Ludwig S------) had with -him an interesting and extremely valuable ethnographical collection ". - -Rogers's horrible story had a great interest for me; for it had been my -lot to see many human heads just severed from the body, and I was -always fascinated by the peculiar expression of the features of those -unfortunates who had been decapitated suddenly by one swift blow. -"Death," "Peace," "Immortality," say the closed eyelids and the calm, -quiet lips to the beholder. - -I little imagined that within two years I should have a rather similar -experience to that of Rogers, though in my case it was a very brief one. -Yet it was all too long for me, and I shall always remember it as the -weirdest experience of my life. - -I have elsewhere in this volume spoken of the affectionate regard I -have always had for the Samoan people, with whom I passed some of the -happiest years of my life. I have lived among them in peace and in war, -have witnessed many chivalrous and heroic deeds, and yet have seen -acts of the most terrible cruelty to the living, the mutilation and -dishonouring of the dead killed in combat, and other deeds that -filled me with horror and repulsion. And yet the perpetrators were all -professing Christians--either Protestant or Roman Catholic--and would no -more think of omitting daily morning and evening prayer, and attending -service in church or chapel every Sunday, than they would their daily -bathe in sea or river. - -Always shall I remember one incident that occurred during the civil war -between King Malietoa and his rebel subjects at the town of Saluafata. -The _olo_ or trenches, of the king's troops had been carried by the -rebels, among whom was a young warrior who had often distinguished -himself by his reckless bravery. At the time of the assault I was in the -rebel lines, for I was on very friendly terms with both sides, and each -knew that I would not betray the secrets of the other, and that my only -object was to render aid to the wounded. - -This young man, Tolu, told me, before joining in the assault, that he -had a brother, a cousin, and an uncle in the enemy's trenches, and that -he trusted he should not meet any one of them, for he feared that he -might turn _pala'ai_ (coward) and not "do his duty". He was a Roman -Catholic, and had been educated by the Marist Brothers, but all his -relatives, with the exception of one sister, were Protestants--members -of the Church established by the London Missionary Society. - -An American trader named Parter and I watched the assault, and saw the -place carried by the rebels, and went in after them. Among the dead was -Tolu, and we were told that he had shot himself in grief at having cut -down his brother, whom he did not recognise. - -Now as to my own weird experience. - -There had been severe fighting in the Fagaloa district of the Island of -Upolu, and many villages were in flames when I left the Port of Tiavea -in my boat for Fagaloa Bay, a few miles along the shore. I was then -engaged in making a trip along the north coast, visiting almost every -village, and making arrangements for the purchase of the coming crop -of copra (dried coco-nut). I was everywhere well received by both -Malietoa's people and the rebels, but did but little business. The -natives were too occupied in fighting to devote much time to husking and -drying coco-nuts, except when they wanted to get money to buy arms and -ammunition. - -My boat's crew consisted of four natives of Savage Island (Niue), -many of whom are settled in Samoa, where they have ample employment -as boatmen and seamen. They did not at all relish the sound of bullets -whizzing over the boat, as we sometimes could not help crossing the line -of fire, and they had a horror of travelling at night-time, imploring me -not to run the risk of being slaughtered by a volley from the shore--as -how could the natives know in the darkness that we were not enemies. - -Fagaloa Bay is deep, narrow and very beautiful. Small villages a few -miles apart may be seen standing in the midst of groves of coco-nut -palms, and orange, banana and bread-fruit trees, and everywhere bright -mountain streams of crystal water debouch into the lovely bay. - -On Sunday afternoon I sailed into the bay and landed at the village of -Samamea on the east side, intending to remain for the night We found the -people plunged in grief--a party of rebels had surprised a village two -miles inland, and ruthlessly slaughtered all the inhabitants as well as -a party of nearly a score of visitors from the town of Salimu, on the -west side of the bay. So sudden was the onslaught of the rebels that -no one in the doomed village escaped except a boy of ten years of age. -After being decapitated, the bodies of the victims were thrown into the -houses, and the village set on fire. - -The people of Samamea hurriedly set out to pursue the raiding rebels, -and an engagement ensued, in which the latter were badly beaten, and -fled so hurriedly that they had to abandon all the heads they had taken -the previous day in order to save their own. - -The chief of Samamea, in whose house I had my supper, gave me many -details of the fighting, and then afterwards asked me if I would come -and look at the heads that had been recovered from the enemy. They -were in the "town house" and were covered over with sheets of navy blue -cloth, or matting. A number of natives were seated round the house, -conversing in whispers, or weeping silently. - -"These," said the chief to me, pointing to a number of heads placed -apart from the others, "are the heads of the Salimu people--seventeen in -all, men, women and three children. We have sent word to Salimu to the -relatives to come for them. I cannot send them myself, for no men can be -spared, and we have our own dead to attend to as well, and may ourselves -be attacked at any time."' - -A few hours later messengers arrived from Salimu. They had walked along -the shore, for the bay was very rough--it had been blowing hard for two -days--and, the wind being right ahead, they would not launch a canoe--it -would only have been swamped. - -Taken to see the heads of their relatives and friends, the messengers -gave way to most uncontrollable grief, and their cries were so -distressing that I went for a walk on the beach--to be out of hearing. - -When I returned to the village I found the visitors from Salimu and the -chief of Samamea awaiting to interview me. The chief, acting as their -spokeman, asked me if I would lend them my boat to take the heads of -their people to Salimu. He had not a single canoe he could spare, except -very small ones, which would be useless in such weather, whereas my -whaleboat would make nothing of it. - -I could not refuse their request--it would have been ungracious of -me, and it only meant a half-hour's run across the bay, for Salimu was -exactly abreast of Samamea. So I said I would gladly sail them over in -my boat at sunset, when I should be ready. - -The heads were placed in baskets, and reverently carried down to the -beach, and placed in the boat, and with our lug-sail close reefed we -pushed off just after dark. - -There were nine persons in the boat--the four Salimu people, my crew of -four and myself. The night was starlight and rather cold, for every now -and then a chilly rain squall would sweep down from the mountains. - -As we spun along before the breeze no one spoke, except in low tones. -Our dreadful cargo was amidships, each basket being covered from view, -but every now and then the boat would ship some water, and when I told -one of my men to bale out, he did so with shuddering horror, for the -water was much blood-stained. - -When we were more than half-way across, and could see the lights and -fires of Salimu, a rain squall overtook us, and at the same moment the -boat struck some floating object with a crash, and then slid over it, -and as it passed astern I saw what was either a log or plank about -twenty feet long. - -"Boat is stove in, for'ard!" cried one of my men, and indeed that was -very evident, for the water was pouring in--she had carried away her -stem, and started all the forward timber ends. - -To have attempted to stop the inrush of water effectually would have -been waste, of time, but I called to my men to come aft as far as they -could, so as to let the boat's head lift; and whilst two of them kept -on baling, the others shook out the reef in our lug, and the boat went -along at a great speed, half full of water as she was, and down by the -stern. The water still rushed in, and I told the Samoans to move the -baskets of heads farther aft, so that the men could bale out quicker. - -"We'll be all right in ten minutes, boys," I cried to my men, as I -steered; "I'll run her slap up on the beach by the church." - -Presently one of the Samoans touched my arm, and said in a whisper that -we were surrounded by a swarm of sharks. He had noticed them, he said, -before the boat struck. - -"They smell the bloodied water," he muttered. - -A glance over the side filled me with terror. There were literally -scores of sharks, racing along on both sides of the boat, some almost on -the surface, others some feet down, and the phosphorescence of the water -added to the horror of the scene. At first I was in hopes that they were -harmless porpoises, but they were so close that some of them could have -been touched with one's hand. Most fortunately I was steering with a -rudder, and not a steer oar. The latter would have been torn out of my -hands by the brutes--the boat have broached-to and we all have met with -a horrible death. Presently one of the weeping women noticed them, and -uttered a scream of terror. - -"_Le malie, le malic!_" ("The sharks, the sharks!") she cried. - -My crew then became terribly frightened, and urged me to let them throw -the baskets of heads overboard, but the Samoans became frantic at the -suggestion, all of them weeping. - -So we kept on, the boat making good progress, although we could only -keep her afloat by continuous baling of the ensanguined water. In five -minutes more my heart leapt with joy--we were in shallow water, only a -cable length from Salimu beach, and then in another blinding rain squall -we ran on shore, and our broken bows ploughed into the sand, amid the -cries of some hundreds of natives, many of whom held lighted torches. - -All of us in the boat were so overwrought that for some minutes we -were unable to speak, and it took a full bottle of brandy to steady the -nerves of my crew and myself. I shall never forget that night run across -Fagaloa Bay. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV ~ A BIT OF GOOD LUCK - -Between the southern end of the great island of New Guinea and the -Solomon Group there is a cluster of islands marked on the chart as -"Woodlark Islands," but the native name is Mayu. Practically they were -not discovered until 1836, when the master of the Sydney sandal-wooding -barque _Woodlark_ made a survey of the group. The southern part of the -cluster consists of a number of small well-wooded islands, all inhabited -by a race of Papuans, who, said Captain Grimes of the _Woodlark_, had -certainly never before seen a white man, although they had long years -before seen ships in the far distance. - -It was on these islands that I met with the most profitable bit of -trading that ever befel me during more than a quarter of a century's -experience in the South Seas. - -Nearly thirty years passed since Grimes's visit without the natives -seeing more than half a dozen ships. These were American or Hobart Town -whalers, and none of them came to an anchor--they laid off and on, -and bartered with the natives for fresh provisions, but from the many -inquiries I made, I am sure that no one from these ships put foot on -shore; for the inhabitants were not to be trusted, being warlike, savage -and treacherous. - -The master of one of these ships was told by the natives--or rather made -to understand, for no one of them knew a word of English--that about -twelve months previously a large vessel had run on shore one wild night -on the south side of the group and that all on board had perished. -Fourteen bodies had been washed on shore at a little island named Elaue, -all dreadfully battered about, and the ship herself had disappeared and -nothing remained of her but pieces of wreckage. She had evidently struck -on the reef near Elaue with tremendous violence, then slipped off and -sunk. The natives asked the captain to come on shore and be shown the -spot where the men had been buried, but he was too cautious a man to -trust himself among them. - -On his reporting the matter to the colonial shipping authorities at -Sydney, he learned that two vessels were missing--one a Dutch barque of -seven hundred tons which left Sydney for Dutch New Guinea, and the other -a full-rigged English ship bound to Shanghai. No tidings had been heard -of them for over eighteen months, and it was concluded that the vessel -lost on Woodlark Island was one or the other, as that island lay in the -course both would have taken. - -In 1868-69 there was a great outburst of trading operations in the -North-West Pacific Islands--then in most instances a _terra incognita_, -and there was a keen rivalry between the English and German trading -firms to get a footing on such new islands as promised them a lucrative -return for their ventures. Scores of adventurous white men lost their -lives in a few months, some by the deadly malarial fever, others by the -treacherous and cannibalistic savages. But others quickly took their -places--nothing daunted--for the coco-nut oil trade, the then staple -industry of the North-West Pacific, was very profitable and men made -fortunes rapidly. What mattered it if every returning ship brought news -of some bloody tragedy--such and such a brig or schooner having been cut -off and all hands murdered, cooked and eaten, the vessel plundered and -then burnt? Such things occur in the North-West Pacific in the present -times, but the outside world now hears of them through the press and -also of the punitive expeditions by war-ships of England, France or -Germany. - -Then in those old days we traders would merely say to one another that -"So-and-So 'had gone'". He and his ship's company had been cut off at -such-and-such a place, and the matter, in the eager rush for wealth, -would be forgotten. - -At that time I was in Levuka--the old capital of Fiji--supercargo of a -little topsail schooner of seventy-five tons. She was owned and sailed -by a man named White, an extremely adventurous and daring fellow, though -very quiet--almost solemn--in his manner. - -We had been trading among the windward islands of the Fiji Group for six -months and had not done at all well. White was greatly dissatisfied and -wanted to break new ground. Every few weeks a vessel would sail into the -little port of Levuka with a valuable cargo of coco-nut oil in casks, -dunnaged with ivory-nuts, the latter worth in those days L40 a ton. And -both oil and ivory-nuts had been secured from the wild savages of -the North-West in exchange for rubbishy hoop-iron knives, old "Tower" -muskets with ball and cheap powder, common beads and other worthless -articles on which there was a profit of thousands per cent. (In fact, I -well remember one instance in which the master of the Sydney brig _E. -K. Bateson_, after four months' absence, returned with a cargo which was -sold for L5,000. His expenses (including the value of the trade goods he -had bartered) his crew's wages, provisions, and the wear and tear of the -ship's gear, came to under L400.) - -White, who was a very wide-awake energetic man, despite his solemnity, -one day came on board and told me that he had made up his mind to join -in the rush to the islands to the North-West between New Guinea and the -Solomons. - -"I have," he said, "just been talking to the skipper of that French -missionary brig, the _Anonyme_. He has just come back from the -North-West, and told me that he had landed a French priest{*} at Mayu -(Woodlark Island). He--the priest--remained on shore some days to -establish a mission, and told Rabalau, the skipper of the brig, that the -natives were very friendly and said that they would be glad to have -a resident missionary, but that they wanted a trader still more. -Furthermore, they have been making oil for over a year in expectation of -a ship coming, but none had come. And Rabalau says that they have over a -hundred tuns of oil, and can't make any more as they have nothing to put -it in. Some of it is in old canoes, some in thousands of big bamboos, -and some in hollowed-out trees. And they have whips of ivory nuts and -are just dying to get muskets, tobacco and beads. And not a soul in -Levuka except Rabalau and I know it. You see, I lent him twenty bolts of -canvas and a lot of running gear last year, and now he wants to do me -a good turn. Now, I say that Woodlark is the place for us. Anyway, I've -bought all the oil casks I could get, and a lot more in shooks, and -so let us bustle and get ready to be out of this unholy Levuka at -daylight." - - * This was Monseigneur d'Anthipelles the head of the Marist - Brothers in Oceania. - -***** - -We did "bustle". In twenty-four hours we were clear of Levuka reef and -spinning along to the W.N. W. before the strong south-east trade, for -our run of 1,600 miles. 'Day and night the little schooner raced -over the seas at a great rate, and we made the passage in seven days, -dropping anchor off the largest village in the island--Guasap. - -In ten minutes our decks were literally packed with excited natives, all -armed, but friendly. Had they chosen to kill us and seize the -schooner, it would have been an easy task, for we numbered only eight -persons--captain, mate, bos'un, four native seamen, and myself. - -We learned from the natives that two months previously there had been a -terrible hurricane which lasted for three days and devastated two-thirds -of the islands. Thousands of coco-nut trees had been blown down, and the -sea had swept away many villages on the coast. So violent was the surf -that the wreck of the sunken ship on Elaue Island had been cast up in -fragments on the reef, and the natives had secured a quantity of iron -work, copper, and Muntz metal bolts. These articles I at once bargained -for, after I had seen the collection, and for two old Tower muskets, -value five shillings each, obtained the lot--worth L250. - -I had arranged with the chief and his head men to buy their oil in the -morning. And White and I found it hard to keep our countenances when -they joyfully accepted to fill every cask we had on the ship each for -twenty sticks of twist tobacco, a cupful of fine red beads and a fathom -of red Turkey twill! Or for five casks I would give a musket, a tin of -powder, twenty bullets, and twenty caps! - -In ten minutes I had secured eighty tuns of oil (worth L30 a tun) for -trade goods that cost White less than L20. And the beauty of it was that -the natives were so impressed by the liberality of my terms that they -said they would supply the ship with all the fresh provisions--pigs, -fowls, turtle and vegetables that I asked for, without payment. - -As White and I, after our palaver with the head men, were about to -return on board, we noticed two children who were wearing a number of -silver coins, strung on cinnet (coir) fibre, around their necks. We -called them to us, looked at the coins and found that they were rupees -and English five-shilling pieces. - -I asked one of our Fijian seamen, who acted as interpreter, to ask the -children from where they got the coins. - -"On the reef," they replied, "there are thousands of them cast up with -the wreckage of the ship that sank a long time ago. Most of them are -like these"--showing a five-shilling piece; "but there are much more -smaller ones like these,"--showing a rupee. - -"Are there any _sama sama_ (yellow) ones?" I asked. - -No, they said, they had not found any _sama sama_ ones. But they could -bring me basketfuls of those like which they showed me. - -White's usually solemn eyes were now gleaming with excitement I drew him -and the Fiji man aside, and said to the latter quietly:-- - -"Sam, don't let these people think that these coins are of any more -value than the copper bolts. Tell them that for every one hundred pieces -they bring on board--no matter what size they may be--I will give them -a cupful of fine red beads--full measure. Or, if they do not care for -beads, I will give two sticks of tobacco, or a six-inch butcher knife of -good, hard steel." - -(The three last words made White smile--and whisper to me, "'A good, -hard steal' some people would say--but not me".) - -"And Sam," I went on, "you shall have an _alofa_ (present) of two -hundred dollars if you manage this carefully, and don't let these people -think that we particularly care about these pieces of soft white metal. -We came to Mayu for oil--understand?" - -Sam did understand: and in a few minutes every boy and girl in Guasap -were out on the reef picking up the money. That day they brought us -over L200 in English and Indian silver, together with about L12 in Dutch -coins. (From this latter circumstance White and I concluded that the -wrecked vessel was the missing Dutch barque.) - -On the following morning the reef at low tide presented an extraordinary -spectacle. Every woman, boy and girl from Guasap and the adjacent -villages were searching for the coins, and their clamour was terrific. -Whilst all this was going on, White, and the mate, and crew were -receiving the oil from the shore, putting it into our casks, driving -the hoops, and stowing them in the hold, working in such a state of -suppressed excitement that we were unable to exchange a word with each -other, for as each cask was filled I, on the after-deck, paid for it, -shunted off the seller, and took another one in hand. - -At four o'clock in the afternoon we ceased work on board and went on -shore to "buy money". - -The village square was crowded with women and children, every one of -whom had money--mostly in English five-shilling pieces. Some of these -coins were bent and twisted into the most curious shape, some were -imbedded in lumps of coral, and nearly all gave evidence of the terrific -fury of the seas which had cast them up upon the reef from a depth of -seven fathoms of water. Many were merely round lumps, having been rolled -over and over among the sand and coral. These I demurred to accepting -on the terms agreed upon for undamaged coins, and the natives cheerfully -agreed to my decision. - -That day we bought silver coin, damaged and undamaged, to the value of -L350, for trade goods worth about L17 or L18. - -And for the following two weeks, whilst White and our crew were -hammering and coopering away at the oil casks, and stowing them under -hatches, I was paying out the trade goods for the oil, and "buying -money". - -We remained at Mayu for a month, until there was no more money to be -found--except a few coins (or rather what had once been coins); and then -with a ship full of oil, and with L2,100 worth of money, we left and -sailed for Sydney. - -White sold the money _en bloc_ to the Sydney mint for L1,850. The oil -realised L2,400, and the copper, etc., L250. My share came to over -L400--exclusive of four months' wages--making nearly L500. This was the -best bit of trading luck that I ever met with. - -I must add that even up to 1895 silver coins from the Dutch barque were -still being found by the natives of Woodlark Islands. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI ~ MODERN PIRATES - -Piracy, as most people are aware, is not yet quite extinct in Chinese -and East Indian waters, despite the efforts that have been made to -utterly stamp it out. But it is not generally known that along the -shores of Dutch New Guinea, on both sides of the great island, there are -still vigorous communities of native pirates, who will not hesitate to -attack even armed trading vessels. These savages combine the business -of head-hunting with piracy, and although they do not possess modern -firearms, and their crafts are simply huge canoes, they show the most -determined courage, even when attacking a vessel manned by Europeans. - -The annual reports of the Governors of Dutch, German and British New -Guinea, detailing the murderous doings of these head-hunting pirates, -are as interesting reading as the tales of Rajah Brooke and Stamford -Raffles, and the practical suppression of piracy in the East Indian -Archipelago, but seldom attract more than a few lines of comment in the -public press. - -In writing of pirates of the present day, I shall not go beyond my own -beat of the North and South Pacific, and speak only of events within my -own personal knowledge and observation. Before entering into an account -of some of the doings of the New Guinea "Tugeri," or head-hunter -pirates, I shall tell the story of two notable acts of piracy committed -by white men in the South Pacific, less than ten years ago. The English -newspapers gave some attention to one case, for the two principal -criminals concerned were tried at Brest, and the case was known as the -"Rorique tragedy". Much comment was made on the statement that the King -of the Belgians went to France, after the prisoners had been sentenced -to death (they were Belgian), to personally intercede for them. The -French press stigmatised His Majesty's action as a scandal (one journal -suggesting that perhaps the pirates were pretty women in men's garb); -but no doubt King Leopold is a very tender-hearted man, despite the -remarks of unkind English people on the subject of the eccentricities -of the Belgian officers in the Congo Free State--such as cutting off -the hands of a few thousands of stupid negroes who failed to bring -in sufficient rubber. There are even people who openly state that the -Sultan of Turkey dislikes Armenians, and has caused some of them to be -hurt. But I am getting away from my subject The story of the Roriques, -and the tragedy of the _Niuroahiti_ which was the name of the vessel -they seized, is one of the many grisly episodes with which the history -of the South Seas is so prolific. Briefly it is as follows:-- - -About the end of 1891 the two brothers arrived at Papeite, the capital -of Tahiti, from the Paumotu Group, where, it was subsequently learned, -they had been put on shore by the captain of an island trader, who -strongly suspected them of plotting with the crew to murder him and -seize the ship. Nothing of this incident, however, was known at Tahiti -among the white residents with whom they soon ingratiated themselves; -they were exceedingly agreeable-mannered men, and the elder brother, -who was a remarkably handsome man of about thirty-five, was an excellent -linguist, speaking German, French, Italian, English, Dutch, Spanish and -Zulu fluently. Although they had with them no property beyond firearms, -their _bonhomie_ and the generally accepted belief that they were men -of means, made them the recipients of much hospitality and kindness. -Eventually the younger man was given a position as a trader on one of -the pearl-shell lagoon islands in the Paumotu Group, while the other -took the berth of mate in the schooner _Niuroahiti_, a smart little -native-built vessel owned by a Tahitian prince. The schooner was under -the command of a half-caste, and her complement consisted, besides the -captain, of Mr. William Gibson, the supercargo, Rorique the first mate, -a second mate, four Society Island natives, and the cook, a Frenchman -named Hippolyte Miret. The _Niuroahiti_ traded between Tahiti and the -Paumotus, and when she sailed on her last voyage she was bound to the -Island of Kaukura, where the younger Rorique was stationed as trader. -She never returned, but it was ascertained that she had called at -Kaukura, and then left again with the second brother Rorique as -passenger. - -Long, long months passed, and the Australian relatives and friends of -young Gibson, a cheery, adventurous young fellow, began to think, with -the owner of the _Niuroakiti_, that she had met a fate common enough in -the South Sea trade--turned turtle in a squall, and gone to the bottom -with all hands. - -About this time I was on a trading cruise in the Caroline Islands, and -one day we spoke a Fiji schooner. I went on board for a chat with the -skipper, and told him of the _Niuroakiti_ affair, of which I had heard a -month before. - -"By Jove," he exclaimed, "I met a schooner exactly like her about ten -days ago. She was going to the W.N.W.--Ponape way--and showed French -colours. I bore up to speak her, but she evidently didn't want it, -hoisted her squaresail and stood away." - -From this I was sure that the vessel was the _Niuroakiti_, and therefore -sent a letter to the Spanish governor at Ponape, relating the affair. It -reached him just in time. - -The _Niuroakiti_ was then lying in Jakoits harbour in Ponape, and was -to sail on the following day for Macao. She was promptly seized, and the -brothers Rorique put in irons, and taken on board the Spanish cruiser -_Le Gaspi_ for conveyance to Manila Hippolyte Miret, the cook, confessed -to the Spanish authorities that the brothers Rorique had shot dead -in their sleep the captain, Mr. Gibson, the second mate, and the four -native sailors. - -The trial was a long one, but the evidence was most damning and -convincing, although the brothers passionately declared that Miret's -story was a pure invention. Sentence of death was passed, but was -afterwards commuted to imprisonment for life, and the Roriques are now -in chains in Cayenne. - -The second case was of a very dreadful character, and has an additional -interest from the fact that out of all the participators--the pirates -and their victims--only one was left alive to tell the tale, and he was -found in a dying condition on one of the Galapagos Islands, and only -lived a few days. The story was told to me by the captain of the -brigantine _Isaac Revels_, of San Francisco, who put into the Galapagos -to repair his ship, which had started a butt-end and was leaking -seriously. He had just anchored between Narborough and Albemarle Islands -when he saw a man sitting on the shore, and waving his hands to the -ship. A boat was lowered, and the man brought on board. He was in a -ravenous state of hunger, and half-demented; but after he had been -carefully attended to he was able to give some account of himself. -He was a young Colombian Indian, could speak no English, and only a -mongrel, halting kind of Spanish. The Portuguese cook of the Isaac -Revels, however, understood him. This was his story:-- - -He was one of the peons of a wealthy Ecuadorian gentleman, who with -another equally rich friend sailed from Guayaquil for the Galapagos -Islands (which belong to Ecuador), and the largest of which, -Albemarle Island, they had leased from that Government for sheep and -cattle-breeding. They took with them a few thousand silver dollars, -which the peon saw placed in "an iron box" (safe). - -One of the merchants had with him his two young daughters. The vessel -was a small brig, and the captain and crew mostly Chilenos. One night, -when the brig was half-way across to the Galapagos (600 miles from -Ecuador) the peon, who was on deck asleep, was suddenly seized, pitched -down into the fo'c'stle, and the scuttle closed. Here he was left alone -until dawn, and then ordered on deck, aft. The captain pointed a pistol -at his head, and threatened to shoot him dead if he ever spoke of what -had happened in the night. The man--although he knew nothing of what had -happened--promised to be secret, and was then given fifty dollars, and -put in the mate's watch. He saw numerous blood-stains on the after-deck, -and soon after was told by one of the hands that all the four passengers -had been murdered, and thrown overboard. The captain, mate and four men, -it appeared, had first made ready a boat, provisioned, and lowered it -They made some noise, which aroused the male passengers, one of whom -came on deck to see what was the matter. He was at once seized, but -being a very powerful man, made a most determined fight. His friend -rushed up from below with a revolver in his hand, and shot two of the -assailants dead, and wounded the mate. But they were assailed on -all sides--shot at and struck with various weapons, and then thrown -overboard to drown. Then the pirates, after a hurried consultation, went -below, and forcing open the girls' cabin door, ruthlessly shot them, -carried them on deck, and cast them over the side. It had been their -intention to have sent all four away in the boat, but the resistance -made so enraged them that they murdered them instead. - -For some days the pirates kept on a due west course towards the -Galapagos. A barrel of spirits was broached, and night and day captain -and crew were drunk. When Albemarle Island was sighted, every one -except the peon and a boy was more or less intoxicated. A boat had been -lowered, and was towing astern--for what purpose the peon did not -know. At night it fell a dead calm, and a strong current set the brig -dangerously close in shore. The captain ordered some of the hands -into her to tow the brig out of danger; they refused, and shots were -exchanged, but after a while peace was restored. The peon and the boy -were then told to get into the boat, and bale her out, as she was leaky. -They did so, and whilst so engaged a sudden squall struck the brig, and -the boat's towline either parted, or was purposely cast off. - -When the squall cleared, the peon and boy in the drifting boat could -see nothing whatever of the brig--she had probably capsized--and the two -unfortunate beings soon after daylight found themselves so close to -the breakers on Narborough Island that they were unable to pull her -clear--she being very heavy. She soon struck, and was rolled over and -over, and the Chileno boy drowned. The peon also received internal -injuries, but managed to reach the shore. - -The people on board the _Isaac Revels_ did all they could for the poor -fellow, but he only survived a few days. - -In another article in this volume I have told of my fruitless efforts to -induce some of the Rook Island cannibals to "recruit" with me. It was on -that voyage I first saw a party of New Guinea head-hunting pirates, and -I shall never forget the experience. - -After leaving Rook Island, we stood over to the coast of German New -Guinea, and sailed along it for three hundred miles to the Dutch -boundary (longitude 141 east of Greenwich) for we were in hopes of -getting a full cargo of native labourers from some of the many islands -which stud the coast. No other "labour" ship had ever been so far north, -and Morel (the skipper) and I were keenly anxious to find a new ground. -We had a fine vessel, with a high freeboard, a well-armed and splendid -crew, and had no fear of being cut off by the natives. (I may here -mention that I was grievously disappointed, for owing to the lack of -a competent interpreter I failed to get a single recruit But in other -respects the voyage was a success, for I did some very satisfactory -trading business) - -After visiting many of the islands, we anchored in what is now named -in the German charts Krauel Bay, on the mainland. There were a few -scattered villages on the shore, and some of the natives boarded us. -They were all well-armed, with their usual weapons, but were very shy, -distrustful and nervous. - -Early one morning five large canoes appeared in the offing--evidently -having come from the Schouten Islands group, about ten miles to the -eastward. The moment they were seen by the natives on shore, the -villages were abandoned, and the people fled into the bush. - -In a most gallant style the five canoes came straight into the bay, and -brought-to within a few hundred fathoms of our ship, and the first thing -we noticed was a number of decapitated heads hanging over the sides of -each craft, as boat-fenders are hung over the gunwale of a boat. This -was intended to impress the White Men. - -We certainly were impressed, but were yet quite ready to make short work -of our visitors if they attempted mischief. Our ship's high freeboard -alone would have made it very difficult for them to rush us, and the -crew were so well-armed that, although we numbered but twenty-eight, we -could have wiped out over five hundred possible assailants with ease had -they attempted to board and capture the ship. - -Some of the leaders of this party of pirates came on board our vessel, -and Morel and I soon established very friendly relations with them. They -told us that they had been two months out from their own territory (in -Dutch New Guinea) had raided over thirty villages, and taken two hundred -and fifteen heads, and were now returning home--well satisfied. - -Morel and I went on board one of the great canoes, and were received in -a very friendly manner, and shown many heads--some partly dried, some -too fresh, and unpleasant-looking. - -These head-hunting pirates were not cannibals, and behaved in an -extremely decorous manner when they visited our ship. A finer, more -stalwart, proud, self-possessed, and dignified lot of savages--if they -could be so termed--I had never before seen. - -They left Krauel bay two days later, without interfering with the people -on shore, and Morel and I shook hands, and rubbed noses with the leading -head-hunters, when we said farewell. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII ~ PAUTOE - -"Please, good White Man, wilt have me for _tavini_ (servant)?" - -Marsh, the trader, and the Reverend Harry Copley, the resident -missionary on Motumoe, first looked at the speaker, then at each other, -and then laughed hilariously. - -A native girl, about thirteen years of age, was standing in the trader's -doorway, clad only in a girdle of many-hued dracaena leaves. Her long, -glossy black hair fell about her smooth red-brown shoulders like -a mantle, and her big, deer-like eyes were filled with an eager -expectancy. - -"Come hither, Pautoe," said the missionary, speaking to the girl in the -bastard Samoan dialect of the island. "And so thou dost want to become -servant to Marsi?" - -Pautoe's eyes sparkled. - -"Aye," she replied, "I would be second _tavini_ to him. No wages do I -want, only let him give me my food, and a mat upon which to sleep, and I -shall do much work for him--truly, much work." - -The missionary drew her to him and patted her shoulder. - -"Dost like sardines, Pautoe?" - -She clasped her hands over her bosom, and looked at him demurely from -underneath her beautiful long-lashed eyes, and then her red lips parted -and she showed her even, pearly teeth as she smiled. - -"Give her a tin of sardines, and a biscuit or two, Marsh," said the -parson, "she's one of my pupils at the Mission House. You remember Bret -Harte's story, _The Right Eye of the Spanish Commander_, and the little -Indian maid Paquita? Well, this youngster is my Paquita. She's a most -intelligent girl." He paused a moment and then added regretfully: -"Unfortunately my wife dislikes her intensely--thinks she's too forward. -As a matter of fact a more lovable child never breathed." - -Marsh nodded. He was not surprised at Mrs. Copley disliking the child, -for she--a thin, sharp-vis-aged and austere lady of forty years of -age--was childless, and older than her cheerful, kind-hearted husband -by twelve years. The natives bore her no love, and had given her the -contemptuous nickname of _Le Matua moa e le fua_--"the eggless old -hen". - -Marsh himself told me this story. He and I had been shipmates together -in many cruises until he tired of the sea, and, having saved a little -money, started business as a trader among the Equatorial Islands--and I -lost a good comrade and friend. - -"I wish you would take the child, Marsh," said the missionary presently. -"She is an orphan, and----" - -"I'll take her, of course. She can help Leota, I daresay, and I'll -give her a few dollars a month. But why isn't she dressed in the usual -flaming style of your other pupils--skirt, blouse, brown paper-soled -boots, and a sixpenny poke bonnet with artificial flowers, and -otherwise made up as one of the 'brands plucked from the burning' whose -photographs glorify the parish magazines in the old country?" - -Copley's blue-grey eyes twinkled. "Ah, that's the rub with my wife. -Pautoe won't 'put 'em on'. She is not a native of this island, as you -can no doubt see. Look at her now--almost straight nose, but Semitic, -thin nostrils, long silky hair, small hands and feet. Where do you think -she hails from?" - -"Somewhere to the eastward--Marquesas Group, perhaps." - -"That is my idea, too. Do you know her story?" - -"No. Who is she?" - -"Ah, that no one knows. Early one morning twelve or thirteen years -ago--long before I came here--the natives saw a small topsail-schooner -becalmed off the island. Several canoes put off, and the people, as -they drew near the vessel, were surprised and alarmed to see a number of -armed men on deck, one of whom hailed them, and told them not to come -on board, but that one canoe only might come alongside. But the natives -hesitated, till the man stooped down and then held up a baby girl about -a year old, and said:-- - -"'If you will take this child on shore and care for it I will give you a -case of tobacco, a bag of bullets, two muskets and a keg of powder, -some knives, axes and two fifty-pound tins of ship biscuit. The child's -mother is dead, and there is no woman on board to care for it.' - -"For humanity's sake alone the natives would have taken the infant, -and said so, but at the same time they did not refuse the offer of the -presents. So one of the canoes went alongside, the babe was passed down, -and then the presents. Then the people were told to shove off. A few -hours later a breeze sprang up, and the schooner stood away to the -westward. That was how the youngster came here." - -"I wonder what had occurred?" - -"A tragedy of some sort--piracy and murder most likely. One of the -natives named Rahili who went out to the vessel, was an ex-sailor, who -spoke and could also read and write English well, and he noticed that -although the schooner was much weather-worn as if she had been a long -while at sea, there was a newly-painted name on her stern--_Meta_. -That in itself was suspicious. I sent an account of the affair to the -colonial papers, but nothing was known of any vessel named the _Meta_. -Since then the child had lived first with one family, and then another. -As I have said, she is extremely intelligent, but has a curiously -independent spirit--'refractory' my wife calls it--and does not -associate with the other native girls. One day, not long ago, she got -into serious trouble through her temper getting the better of her. -Lisa, my native assistant's daughter is, as I daresay you know, a very -conceited, domineering young lady, and puts on very grand airs--all -these native teachers and their wives and daughters are alike with -regard to the 'side' they put on--and my wife has made so much of her -that the girl has become a perfect female prig. Well, it seems that -Pautoe refused to attend my wife's sewing class (which Lisa bosses) -saying that she was going out on the reef to get crayfish. Thereupon -Lisa called her a _laakau tafea_ (a log of wood that had drifted on -shore) and Pautoe, resenting the insult and the jeers and laughter -of the other children, seized Mademoiselle Lisa by the hair, tore her -blouse off her and called her 'a fat-faced, pig-eyed monster'." - -Marsh laughed. "Description terse, but correct." - -"The deacons expelled her from school, and ordered her a whipping, but -the chief and I interfered, and stopped it." - -The trader nodded approval. "Of course you did, Copley; just what -any one who knows you would expect you to do. But although I am quite -willing to give the child a home, I can't be a schoolmaster to her." - -"Of course not. You are doing more than any other man would do for her." - -Twelve months had passed, and Marsh had never had reason to regret his -kindness to the orphan. To him she was wonderfully gentle and obedient, -and from the very first had acceded to his wish to dress herself in -semi-European fashion. The trader's household consisted of himself and -his two servants, a Samoan man named Ali (Harry) and his wife, Leota. -For some years they had followed his fortunes as a trader in the South -Seas, and both were intensely devoted to him. A childless couple, Marsh -at first had feared that they would resent the intrusion of Pautoe into -his home But he was mistaken; for both Ali and Leota had but one motive -for existence, and that was to please him--the now grown man, who eleven -years before, when he was a mere youth, had run away from his ship in -Samoa, and they had hidden him from pursuit And then when "Tikki" (Dick) -Marsh, by his industrious habits, was enabled to begin life as a trader, -they had come with him, sharing his good and his bad luck with him, and -serving him loyally and devotedly in his wanderings throughout the Isles -of the Pacific. So, when Pautoe came they took her to themselves as -a matter of duty; then, as they began to know the girl, and saw the -intense admiration she had for Marsh, they loved her, and took her deep -into their warm hearts. And Pautoe would sometimes tell them that she -knew not whom she loved most--"Tikki" or themselves. - -Matters, from a business point of view, had not for two years prospered -with Marsh on Motumoe. Successive seasons of drought had destroyed the -cocoanut crop, and so one day he told Copley, who keenly sympathised -with him, that he must leave the island. This was a twelvemonth after -Pautoe had come to stay with him. - -"I shall miss you very much, Marsh," said the missionary, "miss you more -than you can imagine. My monthly visits to you here have been a great -solace and pleasure to me. I have often wished that, instead of being -thirty miles apart, we were but two or three, so that I could have come -and seen you every few days." - -Then he added: "Poor little Pautoe will break her heart over your going -away". - -"But I have no intention of leaving her behind, Copley. I am not so hard -pressed that I cannot keep the youngster. I am thinking of putting her -to school in Samoa for a few years." - -"That is very generous of you, Marsh. I would have much liked to have -taken her into my own house, but--my wife, you know." - -Two weeks later Marsh left the island in an American whaleship, which -was to touch at Samoa There he intended to buy a small cutter, and then -proceed to the Western Pacific, where he hoped to better his fortunes -by trading throughout the various islands of the wild New Hebrides and -Solomon Groups. - -During the voyage to Samoa he one day asked Pautoe if she would not like -to go to school in Samoa with white and half-caste girls, some of her -own age, and others older. - -Such an extraordinary change came over the poor child's face that Marsh -was astounded. For some seconds she did not speak, but breathed quickly -and spasmodically as if she were physically exhausted, then her whole -frame trembled violently. Then a sob broke from her. - -"Be not angry with me, Tikki,... but I would rather die than stay in -Samoa,... away from thee and Ali and Leota. Oh, master----" she ceased -speaking and sobbed so unrestrainedly that Marsh was moved. He waited -till she had somewhat calmed herself, and then said gravely:-- - -"'Twill be a great thing for thee, Pautoe, this school. Thou wilt be -taught much that is good, and the English lady who has the school will -be kind----" - -"Nay, nay, Tikki," she cried brokenly, "send me not away, I beseech -thee. Let me go with thee, and Ali and Leota, to those new, wild lands. -Oh, cast me not away from thee. Where thou goest, let me go." - -Marsh smiled. "Thou art another Ruth, little one. In such words did Ruth -speak to Naomi when she went to another country. Dost know the story?" - -"Aye, I know the story, and I have no fear of wild lands. Only have I -fear of seeing no more all those I love if thou dost leave me to die in -Samoa." - -Again the trader smiled as he bade her dry her tears. - -"Thou shalt come with us, little one Now, go tell Leota." - -For many months Marsh remained in Apia, unable to find a suitable -vessel. Then, not caring to remain in such a noisy and expensive -port--he rented a native house at a charmingly situated village called -Laulii, about ten miles from Apia, and standing at the head of a tiny -bay, almost landlocked by verdant hills. So much was he pleased with the -place, that he half formed a resolution to settle there permanently, or -at least for a year or two. - -Ali and Leota were delighted to learn this, for although they were -willing to go anywhere in the world with their beloved "Tikki," they, -like all Samoans, were passionately fond of their own beautiful land, -with its lofty mountains and forests, and clear running streams. - -And Pautoe, too, was intensely happy, for to her Samoa was a dream-land -of light and beauty. Never before had she seen mountains, except in -pictures shown her by Mr. Copley or Marsh, and never before had she -seen a stream of running water. For Motumoe, where she had lived all -her young life, was an atoll--low, flat, and sandy, and although densely -covered with coco palms, there were but few other trees of any height -And now, in Samoa, she was never tired of wandering alone in the deep, -silent forest, treading with ecstasy the thick carpet of fallen leaves, -gazing upwards at the canopy of branches, and listening with a thrilled -delight to the booming notes of the great blue-plumaged, red-breasted -pigeons, and the plaintive answering cries of the ring-doves. Then, too, -in the forest at the back of the village were ruins of ancient dwellings -of stone, build by hands unknown, preserved from decay by a binding -net-work of ivy-like creepers and vines, and the haunt and resting-place -of the wild boar and his mate, and their savage, quick-footed progeny. -And sometimes she would hear the shrill, cackling scream of a wild -mountain cock, and see the great, fierce-eyed bird, half-running, -half-flying over the leaf-strewn ground. And to her the forest became a -deep and holy mystery, to adore and to love. - -Quite near to Laulii was another village--Lautonga, in which there lived -a young American trader named Lester Meredith--like Marsh, an ex-sailor. -He was an extremely reserved, quiet man, but he and Marsh soon became -friends, and they exchanged almost daily visits. Meredith, like Marsh, -was an unmarried man, and one day the local chief of the district -jocularly reproached them. - -"Thou, Tikki, art near to two-score years, and yet hast no wife, and -thou, Lesta, art one score and five and yet live alone. Why is it so? Ye -are both fine, handsome men, and pleasing to the eyes of women." - -Marsh laughed. "O Tofia, thou would-be matchmaker! I am no marrying man. -Once, indeed, I gave my heart to a woman in mine own country of England, -but although she loved me, her people were both rich and proud, and I -was poor. So she became wife to another man." - -Pautoe, who was listening intently to the men's talk, set her white -teeth, and clenched her shapely little hands, and then said slowly:-- - -"Didst kill the other man, Tikki?" - -Marsh and Meredith both laughed, and the former shook his head, and then -Tofia turned to Meredith:-- - -"Lesta, hast never thought of Maliea, the daughter of Tonu? There is no -handsomer girl in Samoa, and she is of good family. And she would like -to marry thee." - -Meredith smiled, and then said jestingly, "Nay, Tofia, I care not for -Maliea. I shall wait for Pautoe. Wilt have me, little one?" - -The girl looked at him steadily, and then answered gravely:-- - -"Aye, if Tikki is willing that I should. But yet I will not be separated -from him." - -"Then you and I will have to become partners, Meredith," said Marsh, his -eyes twinkling with amusement. - -A few days after this Meredith returned from a visit to Apia. - -"Marsh," he said to his friend, "I think it would be a good thing for us -both if we really did go into partnership, and put our little capitals -together. Are you so disposed?" - -"Quite. There is nothing I should like better." - -"Good. Well, now I have some news. I have just been looking at a little -schooner in Apia harbour. She arrived a few days ago, leaking, and -the owner will sell her for $ 1,800. She will suit us very well. I -overhauled her, and except that she is old and leaks badly, from having -been ashore, she is well worth the money. You and I can easily put her -on the beach here, get at the leak, and recopper her at a cost of a few -hundred dollars. We can have her ready for sea in three weeks. You, Ali -and myself can do all the work ourselves." - -Marsh was delighted, and in less than an hour the two men, accompanied -by Ali and Tofia, were on the way to Apia, much to the wonder of Leota -and Pautoe, who were not then let into the secret--the newly-made -partners intending to give them a pleasant surprise. - -On boarding the little craft, Marsh was much pleased with her, and -during the day the business of transferring the vessel to her new owners -was completed at the American Consulate, the money paid over, and the -partners put in possession. - -The same evening, Ali, a splendid diver, succeeded in finding and partly -stopping the main leak, which was on the bilge on the port side, and -preparations were made to sail early in the morning for Laulii. - -The partners were seated in the little cabin, smoking, and talking over -their plans for the future, when the former master and owner of the -schooner came on board to see, as he said, "how they were getting on". - -He was a good-natured, intelligent old man, and had had a life-long -experience in the South Seas. By birth he was a Genoese, but he was -intensely proud of being a naturalised British subject, and, from his -youth, having sailed under the red ensign of Old England. Marsh and -Meredith made him very welcome, and he, being mightily pleased at having -sold _The Dove_ (as the schooner was called), and also having dined -exceedingly well at the one hotel then in Apia, became very talkative. - -"I can tell you, gentlemen, that _The Dove_, although she is not a new -ship, is as strong and sound as if she were only just built. I have had -her now for nearly thirteen years, and have made my little fortune by -her, and I could kiss her, from the end of her jibboom to the upper -rudder gudgeon. But I am an old man now, and want to go back to my own -country to die among my people--or else"--and here he twisted his long -moustaches and laughed hilariously--"settle down in England, and become -a grand man like old General Rosas of South America, and die pious, and -have a bishop and a mile-long procession at my funeral." - -The partners joined the old sailor in his laugh, and then Marsh said -casually, and to make conversation:-- - -"By-the-way, Captain, where did you buy _The Dove?_" - -"I didn't buy her, my bold breezy lads. And I didn't steal her, as many -a ship is stolen in the South Seas. I came by her honestly enough." - -"A present?" said Meredith interrogatively. - -"Wrong, my lad--neither was she a present" Then the ancient squared -his broad shoulders, helped himself to some refreshment (more than was -needed for his good) and clapping Marsh on the shoulder, said: "I'll -tell you the yarn, my lads--for you are only lads, aren't you? Well, -here it is:-- - -"About twelve or thirteen years ago I was mate of a San Francisco -trading brig, the _Lola Montez_, and one afternoon, when we were running -down the east coast of New Caledonia, we sighted a vessel drifting in -shore--this very same schooner. The skipper of the brig sent me with a -boat's crew to take possession of her--for we could see that no one was -on board. - -"I boarded her and found that her decks had been swept by a heavy -sea--which, I suppose, had carried away every one on board. I overhauled -the cabin, but could not find her papers, but her name was on the -stern--_Meta_." - -Marsh started, and was about to speak, but the old skipper went on:-- - -"During the night heavy weather came on, and the _Lola Montez_ and the -_Meta_ parted company. The _Lola_ was never heard of again--she was old -and as rotten as an over-ripe pear, and I suppose her seams opened, and -she went down. - -"So I stuck to the _Meta_ brought her to Sydney, and re-named her _The -Dove_. And she's a bully little ship, I can tell you. I think that she -was built in the Marquesas Islands, for all her knees and stringers are -of _ngiia_ wood (_lignum vitae_) cut in the Marquesan fashion, and -set so closely together that any one would think she was meant for a -Greenland whaler. Then there is another thing about her that you will -notice, and which makes me feel sure that she was built by a whaleman, -and that is the carvings of whales on each end of the windlass barrel, -and on every deck stanchion there are the same, although you can hardly -see them now--they are so much covered up by yearly coatings of paint -for over a dozen years." - -Meredith rose suddenly from his seat. "You'll excuse me, but I feel -tired, and must turn in." The visitor took the hint, and did not stay. -Wishing the partners good luck, he got into his boat, and pushed off for -the shore. Then Meredith turned to Marsh, and said quietly:--"Marsh, I -know that you can trust Ali, but what of Tofia?" - -"He's all right, I think. But what is the matter?" "I'll let you know -presently. But first tell Tofia that he had better go on shore to -sleep. You and I are going to have a quiet talk, and then do a little -overhauling of this cabin." - -Wondering what possibly was afoot, Marsh got rid of the friendly chief -by asking him to go on shore and buy some fresh provisions, but not to -trouble about bringing them off until daylight, as he and his partner -were tired, and wanted to turn in. - -Leaving Ali on deck to keep watch, the two men went below, and sat down -at the cabin table. - -"Marsh," began the young American, "I have a mighty queer yarn to tell -you--I know that this schooner, once the _Meta_, and now _The Dove_, was -originally the _Juliette_, and was built by my father at Nukahiva in the -Marquesas. Now, I'll get through the story as quickly as possible, but -as I don't want to be interrupted I'll ask Ali not to let any chance -visitor come aboard to-night." - -He went on deck, and on returning first filled and lit his pipe in his -cool, leisurely manner, and resumed his story. - -"My father, as I one day told you, was a whaling skipper, and was lost -at sea about thirteen years ago--that is all I ever did say about him, I -think. He was a hard old man, and there was no love between us, so that -is why I have not spoken of him. He used me very roughly, and when -my mother died I left him after a stormy scene. That was eighteen or -nineteen years ago, and I never saw him again. - -"When my poor mother died, he sold his ship and went to the Marquesas -Islands, and opened a business there as a trader. He had made a lot of -money at sperm whaling; and, I suppose, thought that as I had left him, -swearing I never wished to see him again, that he would spend the rest -of his days in the South Seas--money grubbing to the last. - -"Sometimes I heard of him as being very prosperous. Once, when I was -told that he had been badly hurt by a gun accident, I wrote to him and -asked if he would care for me to come and stay with him. This I did for -the sake of my dead mother. Nearly a year and a half passed before I got -an answer--an answer that cut me to the quick:-- - -"'I want no undutiful son near me. I do well by myself'. - -"Several years went by, and then when I was mate of a trading schooner -in the Fijis I was handed a letter by the American Consul. It was two -years old, and was from my father--a long, long letter, written in such -a kindly manner, and with such affectionate expressions that I forgave -the old man all the savage and unmerited thrashings he had given me when -I sailed with him as a lad. - -"In this letter he told me that he wanted to see me again--that made -me feel good--and that he had built a schooner which he had named -_Juliette_ after my mother, who was a French _Canadienne_. He described -the labour and trouble he had taken over her, the knees and stringers -of _ngiia_ wood, and the carvings of sperm whales he had had cut on the -windlass butts and stanchions. Then he went on to say that he had been -having a lot of trouble with the French naval authorities, who wanted to -drive all Englishmen and Americans out of the group, and had made up -his mind to leave the Marquesas and settle down again either in Samoa or -Tonga, where he hoped I would join him and forget how hardly he had used -me in the past. - -"The gun accident, he wrote, had rendered him all but blind, and he -had engaged a man named Krause, a German, as mate, and to navigate the -_Juliette_ to Tonga or Samoa. Krause, he said, was a man he did not -like, nor trust; but as he was a good sailor-man and could navigate, he -had engaged him, as he could get no one else at Nukahiva. - -"With my father were a party of Marquesan natives--a chief and his -wife and her infant, and two young men. The schooner's crew were four -Dagoes--deserters from some ship. He did not care about taking them, but -had no choice. - -"Some ten days before the German and the crew came on board, my father -secretly took all his money--$8,000 in gold--and, aided by the Marquesan -chief, made a secure hiding-place for it by removing the skin in the -transoms, and then packing it in oakum and wedging each package in -between the timbers. Then he carefully relaid the skin, and repainted -the whole. He said, 'If anything happens to me through treachery, no -one will ever discover that money, although they will get a couple of -thousand of Mexican silver dollars in my chest'. - -"Well, the _Juliette_ sailed, and was never again heard of. - -"That brings my story to an end, and if this is the _Juliette_, and the -money has not been taken, it is within six feet of us--there," and he -pointed calmly to the transoms. - -Marsh was greatly excited. - -"We shall soon see, Meredith. But first let me say that I am sure that -this is your father's missing schooner, and that she is the vessel that -thirteen years ago called at Motumoe, and those who sailed her sent -Pautoe on shore when she was an infant." - -Then he hurriedly related the story as told to him by Mr. Copley. - -Meredith nodded. "No doubt the missionary was right and my father's -fears were well-founded. I suppose the German and the Dagoes murdered -him and the four Marquesans. Krause, of course, would know that my poor -father had money on board. And I daresay that the Dagoes spared the -child out of piety--their Holy Roman consciences wouldn't let 'em cut -the throat of a probably unbaptised child. Now, Marsh, if you'll clear -away the cushions and all the other gear from the transoms, I'll get an -auger and an axe, and we'll investigate." - -Rising from his seat in his usual leisurely manner, he went on deck, and -returned in a few minutes with a couple of augers, an axe, two wedges, -and a heavy hammer. - -Marsh had cleared away the cushions and some boxes of provisions, and -was eagerly awaiting him. - -Meredith, first of all, took the axe, and, with the back of the head, -struck the casing of the transoms. - -"It's all right, Marsh. Either the money, or something else is there -right enough, I believe. Bore away on your side." - -The two augers were quickly biting away through the hard wood of the -casing, and in less than two minutes Marsh felt the point of his break -through the inner skin, and then enter something soft; then it clogged, -and finally stuck. Reversing the auger, he withdrew it, and saw that on -the end were some threads of oakum and canvas, which he excitedly showed -to his partner, who nodded, and went on boring in an unmoved manner, -until the point of his auger penetrated the planking, stuck, and then -came a sound of it striking loose metal. The wedges were then driven in -between the planking, and one strip prised off, and there before them -was the money in small canvas bags, each bag parcelled round with oakum, -which was also packed tightly between the skin and timbers, forming a -compact mass. - -Removing one bag only, Marsh placed it aside, then they replaced the -plank, plugged the auger holes, and hid the marks from view by stacking -the provision cases along the transoms. - -Ali was called below, and told of the discovery. He, of course, was -highly delighted, and his eyes gleamed when Meredith unfastened the bag, -and poured out a stream of gold coin upon the cabin table. - -That night the partners did not sleep. They talked over their plans for -the future, and decided to take the schooner to San Francisco, sell -her, and buy a larger vessel and a cargo of trade goods. Meredith was to -command, and Tahiti in the Society Group was to be their headquarters. -Here Marsh (with the faithful Ali and Leota, and, of course, Pautoe) was -to buy land and form a trading station, whilst the vessel was to cruise -throughout the South Seas, trading for oil, pearl-shell and other island -produce. - -Soon after daylight the anchor of the _Juliette_ was lifted and -she sailed out of Apia harbour, and by noon, Leota and Pautoe were -astonished to see the little craft bring-to abreast of Laulii village, -and Marsh and Meredith come on shore. - -Later on in the day, when the house was free of the kindly, but somewhat -intrusive native visitors, the partners told the strange story of the -_Juliette_ to Leota and Pautoe, and of their plans for the future. - -"Pautoe," said Meredith, "in three years' time will you marry me, and -sail with me in the new ship?" - -"Aye, that will I, Lesta. Did I not say so before?" - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII ~ THE MAN WHO KNEW EVERYTHING - -The Man Who Knew Everything came to Samoa in November, when dark days -were on the land, and the nearing Christmas time seemed likely to be -as that of the preceding one, when burning villages and the crackle -of musketry, and the battle cries of opposing factions, engaged in -slaughtering one another, turned the once restful and beautiful Samoa -into a hell of evil passions, misery and suffering. For the poor King -Malietoa was making a game fight with his scanty and ill-armed troops -against the better-armed rebel forces, who were supplied, _sub rosa_, -with all the arms and ammunition they desired by the German commercial -agents of Bismarck, who had impressed upon that statesman the necessity -of making Samoa the base of German trading enterprise in the South Seas -by stirring up rebellion throughout the group to such an extent that -Germany, under the plea of humanity, would intervene--buy out the -British and American interests, and force the natives to accept a German -protectorate. - -At this time the white population of Apia numbered about two hundred, -of whom one half were Germans--the rest were principally English and -Americans. For two years past a very bitter feeling had existed between -the staff of the great German trading firm, and the British and American -community. The latter had their places of business in Apia, and the -suburb of Matautu, the Germans occupied the suburb of Matafele, and -although there was a business intercourse between the people of the -three nationalities, there was absolutely none of a social character. -The British and American traders and residents were supporters of -King Malietoa, the Germans backed up the rebel party, and the natives -themselves were equally divided into pro-British, and pro-Germans. - -At this time--when the Man Who Knew Everything arrived in Samoa from New -Zealand--I was living on shore. The vessel in which I was employed as -"recruiter" in the Kanaka labour trade was laid up in Apia harbour. Two -months previously we had brought a cargo of native labourers from the -Gilbert Islands to be indentured to the cotton planters in Samoa, and -finding the country in such a disturbed state, with business paralysed, -and no further demand for a fresh cargo of Kanaka "recruits," we decided -to pay off most of the ship's company, and let the brigantine lie -up till the end of the rainy and bad weather season--from the end of -November till March, The skipper and a few of the native crew remained -on board, but I took up my quarters on shore, at a little Samoan village -named Lelepa--two miles from Apia. Here I was the "paying guest" of our -boatswain--a stalwart native of the island of Rarotonga. He had sailed -with me on several vessels during a period of some years; and on one of -our visits to Apia had married a Samoan girl of a good family. - -Having much spare time on my hands I occupied it in deep-sea fishing and -shooting, and in making boat voyages along the coast, visiting a number -of native villages, where I was well-known to the people, who always -made me and my boat's crew very welcome--for the Samoans are naturally a -most hospitable race, and love visiting and social intercourse. On these -excursions Marama (the native boatswain) and some other of the ship's -crew sometimes came with me; on other occasions my party would be made -up of the two half-caste sons of the American Consul, two or three -Samoans and myself. - -Towards the end of November there arrived from Auckland (N.Z.) -the trading schooner _Dauntless_. She brought one passenger whose -acquaintance I soon made, and whom I will call Marchmont. He was a fine, -well-set-up young fellow of about five and twenty years of age, and I -was delighted to find that he was a good all-round sportsman--I could -never induce any of the white traders or merchants of Apia to join me in -any of my many delightful trips. Marchmont was making a tour through -the Pacific Islands, partly on business, and partly on pleasure. He -was visiting the various groups on behalf of a Liverpool firm, who were -buying up land suitable for cotton-growing, and was to spend two months -in Samoa. - -He and I soon made arrangements for a series of fishing and shooting -trips along the south coast of Upolu, where the country was quiet, -and as yet undisturbed by the war. But, although Marchmont was a most -estimable and companionable man in many respects, he had some serious -defects in his character, which, from a sportsman's point of view, were -most objectionable, and were soon to bring him into trouble. One was -that he was most intensely self-opinionated, and angrily resented being -contradicted--even when he knew he was in the wrong; another was his bad -temper--whenever he did anything particularly foolish he would not stand -a little good-natured "chaff"--he either flew into a violent rage and -"said things" or sulked like a boy of ten years of age. Then, too, -another regrettable feature about him was the fact that he, being a -young man of wealth, had the idea that he should always be deferred -to, never argued with upon any subject, and his advice sought upon -everything pertaining to sport. These unpromising traits in his -character soon got him into hot water, and before he had been a week in -Samoa he was nicknamed by both whites and natives "Misi Ulu Poto--masani -mea uma,"--"Mr. Wise Head--the Man Who Knows Everything". The term -stuck--and Marchmont took it quite seriously, as a well-deserved -compliment to his abilities. - -My new acquaintance, I must mention, had a most extensive and costly -sporting outfit--all of it was certainly good, but much of it quite -useless for such places as Samoa and other Polynesian Islands. Of rifles -and guns he had about a dozen, with an enormous quantity of ammunition -and fittings, bags, water-proofing, tents, fishing-boots, spirit stoves, -hatchets in leather covers, hunting knives, etc., etc.; and his -fishing gear alone must have run into a tidy sum of money. This latter -especially interested me, but there was nothing in it that I would have -exchanged for any of my own--that is, few-deep-sea fishing, a sport in -which I was always very keen during a past residence of fifteen years in -the South Seas. When I showed my gear to Marchmont he criticised it with -great cheerfulness and freedom, and somewhat irritated me by frequently -ejaculating "Bosh!" when I explained why in fishing at a depth of 100 -to 150 fathoms for a certain species of _Ruvettus_ (a nocturnal-feeding -fish that attains a weight of over 100 lb.) a heavy wooden hook was -always used by the natives in preference to a steel hook of European -manufacture. I saw that it was impossible to convince him, so dropped -the subject; and showed him other gear of mine--flying-fish tackle, -barb-less pearl-shell hooks for bonito, etc., etc He "bosh-ed" nearly -everything, and wound up by saying that he wondered why people of sense -accepted the dicta of natives in sporting matters generally. - -"But I imagine that they do know a little about such things," I -observed. - -"Bosh!--they pretend to, that's all. Now, I've never yet met a Kanaka -who could show me anything, and I've been to Tonga, Fiji and Tahiti." - -Early one morning, I sent off my whaleboat with Marama in charge to -proceed round the south end of Upolu, and meet Marchmont and me at -a village on the lee side of the island named Siumu, which is about -eighteen miles distant from, and almost opposite to Apia, across the -range that traverses the island. An hour or so later Marchmont and I set -out, accompanied by two boys to carry our game bags, provisions, -etc. Each of them wore suspended from his neck a large white cowrie -shell--the Samoan badge of neutrality--for we had to pass first through -King Malietoa's lines, and then through those of the besieging rebel -forces. - -It was a lovely day, and in half an hour we were in the delightful -gloom of the sweet-smelling mountain forest. In passing through King -Malietoa's trenches, the local chief of Apia, Se'u Manu, who was in -command, requested me to stay and drink kava with him. Politeness -required consent, and we were delayed an hour; this made the Man Who -Knew Everything very cross and rather rude, and the stalwart chief -(afterwards to become famous for his magnanimous conduct to his German -foes, when their squadron was destroyed in the great _Calliope_ gale -of March, 1889) looked at him with mild surprise, wondering at his -discourtesy. However, his temper balanced itself a little while after -leaving the lines, when he brought down a brace of fine pigeons with -a right and left shot, and a few minutes later knocked over a mountain -cock with my Winchester. It was a very clever shot--for the wild cock of -Samoa, the descendant of the domestic rooster, is a hard bird to shoot -even with a shot gun--and my friend was much elated. He really was a -first-class shot with either gun or rifle, though he had had but little -experience with the latter. - -A few miles farther brought us to the little mountain village of -Tagiamamanono. It was occupied by the rebel troops from the Island of -Savai'i. Their chiefs were very courteous, and, of course, we were asked -to "stay and rest and drink kava". To refuse would have been looked -upon as boorish and insulting, so I cheerfully acquiesced, and Marchmont -and I were escorted to a large house, where I formally presented him to -our hosts as a traveller from "Peretania," whom I was "showing around -Samoa". Any man of fine physique attracts the Samoans, and a number of -pretty girls who were preparing the kava cast many admiring glances at -my friend, and commented audibly on his good looks. - -Presently, as we were all smoking and exchanging compliments in the -high-flown, stilted Samoan style, there entered the house a strapping -young warrior, carrying a wickerwork cage, in which were two of the -rare and famous _Manu Mea_ (red-bird) of Samoa--the _Didunculus_ -or tooth-billed pigeon. These were the property of the young chief -commanding the rebel troops, and had simply been brought into the house -as a mark of respect and attention to Marchmont and me. Money cannot -always buy these birds, and the rebel chief looked upon them as -mascottes. No one but himself, or the young man who was their custodian, -dared touch them, for a Samoan chief's property--like his person--is -sacred and inviolate from touch except by persons of higher rank than -himself. I hurriedly and quietly explained this to Marchmont. - -"Bosh! Look here! You tell him that I want to buy those birds, and will -give him a sovereign each for them." - -"I shall do no such thing. I know what I am talking about, and you -don't. Fifty sovereigns would not buy those birds--so don't say anything -more on the subject. If you do, you will give offence--and these Samoans -are very touchy." - -"Bah--that's all bosh, my dear fellow. Any way, I'll give five pounds -for the pair," and to my horror, and before I could stay him, he took -out five sovereigns, and "skidded" them along the matted floor towards -the chief, a particularly irascible young man named Asi (Sandalwood). - -"There, my friend, are five good English sovereigns for your birds. I -suppose I can trust you to send them to the English Consul at Apia for -me. Eh?" - -There was a dead silence. Asi spoke English perfectly, but hitherto, out -of politeness, had only addressed me in Samoan. His eyes flashed with -quick anger at Marchmont, then he looked at me reproachfully, made a -sign to the custodian of the birds, and rising proudly to his feet, said -to me in Samoan:-- - -"I will drink kava with you alone, friend. Will you come to my own -house," and he motioned me to precede him. Never before had I seen -a naturally passionate man exhibit such a sense of dignity and -self-restraint under what was, to him, a stupid insult. - -I turned to Marchmont: "Look what you have done, confound you for an -ass! If you are beginning this way in Samoa you will get yourself into -no end of trouble. Have you no sense?" - -"I have sense enough to see that you are making a lot of fuss over -nothing. Tell the beastly savage that he can keep his wretched birds. I -would only have wrung their necks and had them cooked." - -The young warrior who held the cage, set it down, and striding up beside -the Man Who Knew Everything dealt him an open-handed back-hand blow -on the side of the head--a favourite trick of Samoan wrestlers and -fighters--and Marchmont went down upon the matted floor with a smash. -I thought he was killed--he lay so motionless--and in an instant there -flashed across my memory a story told to me by a medical missionary -in Samoa, of how one of these terrific back-handed "smacks" dealt by a -native had broken a man's neck. - -However, in a few minutes, Marchmont recovered, and rose to his feet, -spoiling for a fight The natives regarded him with a sullen but assumed -indifference, and drew back, looking at me inquiringly. The matter -might have ended seriously, but for two things--Marchmont was at heart a -gentleman, and in response to my urgent request to him to apologise -for the gross affront he had put upon our host--did so frankly by first -extending his hand to the man who had knocked him down. And then, as he -never did things by halves, he came with me to Asi and said, as he shook -hands with him:-- - -"By Jove, Mr. Asi, that man of yours could knock down a bullock. I never -had such a thundering smack in my life." - -The chief smiled, then said gravely, in English, that he was sorry that -such an unpleasant incident had occurred. Then, after--with its many -attendant ceremonies--we had drunk our bowls of kava, and were smoking -and chatting, Asi asked Marchmont to let him examine his gun and rifle -(Marchmont had a Soper rifle and one of Manton's best make of guns; I -had my Winchester and a fairly good gun). The moment Asi saw the Soper -rifle his eyes lit up, and he produced another from one of the house -beams overhead, and said regretfully that he had no cartridges left, -and was using a Snider instead. Marchmont promptly offered to give him -fifty. - -"You must not do that," I said, "it will get us into serious trouble. -Asi"--and I turned to the chief--"will understand why we must not give -him cartridges to be used for warfare. It would be a great breach of -faith for us to do so--would it not?" - -Keenly anxious as he was to obtain possession of the ammunition, the -chief, with a sigh of regret, acquiesced, but Marchmont sulked, and for -quite two hours after we had left the rebel village did not exchange a -word with me. - -After getting over the range, and whilst we were descending the slope to -the southern littoral, some mongrel curs that belonged to our carriers, -and had gone on ahead of us, put up a wild sow with seven suckers, and -at once started off in pursuit. The old, razor-backed sow doubled -and came flying past us, with her nimble-footed and striped progeny -following. Marchmont and I both fired simultaneously--at the sow. I -missed her, but my charge of No 3 shot tumbled over one of the piglets, -which was at her heels, and Marchmont's Soper bullet took her in the -belly, and passed clean through her. But although she went down for a -few moments she was up again like a Jack-in-the-box, and with an angry -squeal scurried along the thick carpet of dead leaves, and then darted -into the buttressed recesses of a great _masa'oi_ (cedar) tree, which -was evidently her home, followed by two or three game mongrels. - -Dropping his rifle, Marchmont ran to the trees, seized the nearest -cur by the tail, and slung it away down the side of the slope, then he -kicked the others out of his way, and kneeling down peered into the dark -recess formed by two of the buttresses. - -"Come out of that," I shouted, "you'll get bitten if you go near her. -What are you trying to do? Get out, and give the dogs a chance to turn -her out." - -"Bosh! Mind your own business. I know what I'm about. She's lying -inside, as dead as a brickbat I'll have her out in a jiffy," and then -his head and shoulders disappeared--then came a wild, blood-curdling -yell of rage and pain, and the Man Who Knew Everything backed out with -the infuriated sow's teeth deeply imbedded into both sides of his -right hand; his left gripped her by the loose and pendulous skin of her -throat. One of the native boys darted to his aid, and with one blow of -his hatchet split open the animal's skull. - -"Well, of all the born idiots----" I began, when I stopped, for I -saw that Marchmont's face was very pale, and that he was suffering -excruciating pain. A pig bite is always dangerous and that which he had -sustained was a serious one. Fortunately, it was bleeding profusely, and -as quickly as possible we procured water, and thoroughly cleansed, and -then bound up his hand. - -As soon as we got to Siumu I hurried to the house of the one white -trader, and was lucky in getting a bottle of that good old-fashioned -remedy--Friar's balsam. I poured it into a clean basin, and Marchmont -unhesitatingly put in his hand, and let it stay there. The agony was -great, and the language that poured from the patient was of an extremely -lurid character. But he had wonderful grit, and I had to laugh when he -began abusing himself for being such an idiot. He then allowed a -native woman to cover the entire hand with a huge poultice, made of the -beaten-up pulp of wild oranges--a splendid antiseptic. But it was a -week before he could use his hand again, and his temper was something -abominable. However, we managed to put in the time very pleasantly -by paying a round of visits to the villages along the coast, and were -entertained and feasted to our heart's content by the natives. Then -followed some days' grand pig hunting and pigeon shooting in the -mountains, amidst some of the most lovely tropical scenery in the world. -Marchmont killed a grand old tusker, and presented the tusks to the -local chief, who in return gave him a very old kava bowl--a valuable -article to Samoans. He was, as usual, incredulous when I told him that -it was worth L10, and that Theodor Weber, the German Consul General, who -was a collector, would be only too glad to get it at that price. - -"What, for that thing?" - -"Yes, for that thing. Quite apart from its size, its age makes it -valuable. I daresay that more than half a century has passed since the -tree from which it was made was felled by stone axes, and the bowl -cut out from a solid piece." It was fifteen inches high, two feet in -diameter, and the four legs and exterior were black with age, whilst -the interior, from constant use of kava, was coated with a bright yellow -enamel. The labour of cutting out such a vessel with such implements--it -being, legs and bowl, in one piece--must have taken long months. Then -came the filing down with strips of shark skin, which had first been -softened, and then allowed to dry and contract over pieces of wood, -round and flat; then the final polishing with the rough underside of -wild fig-leaves, and then its final presentation, with such ceremony, to -the chief who had ordered it to be made. - -I explained all this to Marchgiont, and he actually believed me and did -not say "Bosh!" - -"I thought that you made a fearfully long-winded oration on my behalf -when the chief gave me the thing," he remarked. - -"I did. I can tell you, Marchmont, that I should have felt highly -flattered if he had presented it to me. He seems to have taken a violent -fancy to you. But, for Heaven's sake, don't think that, because he -has been told that you are a rich man, he has any ulterior motive. And -don't, I beg of you, offer him money. He has a reason for showing his -liking for you." - -I knew what that reason was. Suisala, the chief of Siumu, had, from -the very first, expressed to me his admiration of Marchmont's stalwart, -athletic figure, and his fair complexion, and was anxious to confer on -him a very great honour--that of exchanging names. Suisala was of one of -the oldest and most chiefly families in Samoa, and was proud of the fact -that the French navigator Bougainville had taken especial notice of his -grandfather (who was also a Suisala) and who had been presented with -a fowling piece and ammunition by the French officer. As I have before -mentioned, physical strength and manliness always attract the Samoan -mind, and the chief of Siumu had, as I afterwards explained to -March-mont, fallen a victim to his "fatal beauty". - -One morning, a few days after the presentation of the _tanoa_ -(kava-bowl) to the Man Who Knew Everything, a schooner appeared outside -the reef and hove-to, there being no harbour at Siumu. She was an -American vessel, and had come to buy copra from, and land goods for, the -local trader. There was a rather heavy sea running on the reef at the -time, and the work of shipping the copra and landing the stores -proved so difficult and tedious that I lent my boat and crew to help. -Unfortunately Marama was laid up with influenza, so could not take -charge of the boat; I also was on the sick list, with a heavy cold. -However, my crew were to be trusted, and they made several trips during -the morning. Marchmont, after lunch, wanted to board the schooner, and -also offered to take charge of the boat and crew for the rest of the -day. Knowing that he was not used to surf work, I declined his offer, -but told him he could go off on board if he did not mind a wetting. He -was quite nettled, and angrily asked me if I thought he could not take -a whaleboat through a bit of surf as well as either Marama or myself. I -replied frankly that I did not. - -He snorted with contempt "Bosh. I've taken boats through surf five times -as bad as it is now--a tinker could manage a boat in the little sea that -is running now. You fellows are all alike--you think that you and your -natives know everything." - -"Oh, then, do as you like," I replied angrily, "but if you smash that -boat it means a loss of L50, and----" - -"Hang your L50! If I hurt your boat, I'll pay for the damage. But don't -begin to preach at me." - -With great misgivings, I saw the boat start off, manned by eight men, -using native paddles, instead of oars, as was customary in surf work. -Marchmont, certainly, by good luck, managed to get her over the reef, -for I could see that he was quite unused to handling a steer oar. -However, my native crew, by watching the sea and taking no heed of the -steersman, shot the boat over the reef into deep water beyond. But in -getting alongside the schooner he nearly swamped, and I was told began -abusing my crew for a set of blockheads. This, of course, made them -sulky--to be abused for incompetence by an incompetent stranger, was -hard to bear, especially as the men, like all the natives of their -islands (Rotumah and Niue), were splendid fellows at boat work. - -However, the boat at last cast off, and headed for the shore, and then -I saw something that filled me with wrath. As the lug sail was being -hoisted, March-mont drew in his steer-oar, and shipped the rudder, and -in another minute the boat was bounding over the rolling seas at a great -rate towards the white breakers on the reef, but steering so wildly -that I foresaw disaster. The crew, in vain, urged Marchmont to ship the -steer-oar again, but he told them to mind their own business, and sat -there, calm and strong, in his mighty conceit. - -On came the boat, and we on shore watched her as she rose stern up to a -big comber, then down she sank from view into the trough, broached to, -and the next roller fell upon and smothered her, and rolled her over and -over into the wild boil of surf on the reef. - -The Man Who Knew Everything came off badly, and was brought on shore -full of salt water, and unconscious. He had been dashed against the -jagged coral, and from his left thigh down to his foot had been terribly -lacerated; then as the crew swam to his assistance--for his clothing had -caught in the coral, and he was under water and drowning--and brought -him to the surface, the despised steer-oar (perhaps out of revenge) -came hurtling along on a swirling sea, and the haft of it struck him a -fearful blow on the head, nearly fracturing his skull. - -Fearing his injuries would prove fatal, I sent a canoe off to the -schooner with a message to the captain to come on shore, but the vessel, -having finished her business, was off under full sail, and did not see -the canoe. Then the trader and I did our best for the poor fellow, who, -as soon as he regained consciousness, began to suffer agonies from the -poison of the wounds inflicted by the coral. We sent a runner to Apia -for a doctor, and early next morning one arrived. - -Marchmont was quite a month recovering, and when he was fully -convalescent, he kept his opinions to himself, and I think that the -lesson he had received did him good. He afterwards told me that he -determined to sail the boat in with a rudder purely to annoy me, and was -sorry for it. - -When he was able to get about again as usual, the devil of restlessness -again took possession of him and he was soon in trouble again--through -the bursting of a gun. I was away from Apia at the time--at the little -island of Manono, buying yams for the ship which was getting ready for -sea again--when I received a letter from a friend giving me the Apia -gossip, and was not surprised that Marchmont figured therein. - -"Your friend Marchmont," so ran the letter, "is around, as usual, and in -great form, though he had a narrow squeak of having his head blown -off last week through his gun bursting while out pigeon-shooting up by -Lano-to lake. It seems that it was raining at the time, and the track -down the mountain to the lake was very slippery. He had Johnny Coe the -half-caste, and two Samoans with him. Was carrying his gun under his arm -and going down the track in his usual careless, cock-a-hoopy style when -he tripped over a root of a tree and went down, flat on his face, into -the red slippery soil. He picked himself up again quick enough, and -began swearing at the top of his voice, when a lot of ducks rose from -the lake and came dead on towards him. Without waiting to see if his gun -was all right, although it was covered with mud, he pulled the trigger -of his right barrel, and it burst; one of the fragments gave him a -nasty jagged wound on the chin and the Samoan buck got a lot of small -splinters in his face. After the idiot had pulled himself together he -examined his gun and found that the left barrel was plugged up with hard -red earth. No doubt the other one had also been choked up, for Johnny -Coe said that when he fell the muzzle of the gun was rammed some inches -into the ground." - -When I returned to Apia with a cutter load of yams, I called on -Marchmont and found him his old self. He casually mentioned his mishap -and cursed the greasy mountain track as the cause. At the same time he -told me that he was beginning to like the country and that the natives -were "not a bad lot of fellows--if you know how to take 'em". - -Then came his final exploit. - -There is, in the waters of the Pacific Isles, a species of the trevalli, -or rudder fish, which attains an enormous size and weight. It is a good -eating fish, like all the trevalli tribe, and much thought of by both -Europeans and natives, for, being an exceedingly wary fish, it is not -often caught, at least in Samoa. In the Live Islands, where it is more -common, it is called _La'heu_ and in Fiji _Sanka_. One evening Lama, one -of the Coe half-caste boys, and I succeeded in hooking and capturing one -of these fish, weighing a little over 100 lb. In the morning the Man -Who Knew Everything came to look at it, was much interested, and said he -would have a try for one himself after lunch. - -"No use trying in clear daylight," I said; "after dusk, at night (if not -moonlight), or before daybreak is the time." - -"Bosh!" was his acidulous comment "I've caught the same fish in New -Zealand in broad daylight." I shook my head, knowing that he was wrong. -He became angry, and remarked that he had found that all white men who -had lived in foreign countries for a few years accepted the rubbishy -dictum of natives regarding sporting matters of any kind as infallible. -Refusing to show me the tackle he intended using, at two o'clock he -hired a native canoe, and paddled off alone into Apia Harbour. Then he -began to fish for _La'heu_, using a mullet as bait. In five minutes -he was fast to a good-sized and lusty shark, which promptly upset the -canoe, went off with the line and left him to swim. The officer of the -deck of the French gunboat _Vaudreuil_, then lying in the port, sent a -boat and picked him up. This annoyed him greatly, as he wanted, like an -idiot, to swim on shore--a thing that a native would not always care to -do in a shark-infested place like Apia Harbour, especially during the -rainy season (as it then was), when the dreaded _tanifa_ sharks come -into all bays or ports into which rivers or streams debouch. - -That evening, however, Marchmont condescended to look at the tackle I -used for _La'heu_, said it was clumsy, and only fit for sharks, but, -on the whole, there were "some good ideas" about it; also that he would -have another try that night. I suggested that either one of the Coe lads -or Lama should go with him, to which he said "Bosh!" Then, after sunset, -I sent some of my boat's-crew to catch flying-fish for bait. They -brought a couple of dozen, and I told Marchmont that he should bait with -a whole flying-fish, make his line ready for casting, and then throw -over some "burley"--half a dozen flying-fish chopped into small pieces. -He would not show me the tackle he intended using, so I was quite in the -dark as to what manner of gear it was. But I ascertained later on that -it was good and strong enough to hold any deep sea fish, and the hook -was of the right sort--a six-inch flatted, with curved shank, and -swivel mounted on to three feet of fine twisted steel seizing wire. My -obstinate friend had a keen eye, even when he was most disparaging -in his remarks, and had copied my _La'heu_ tackle most successfully, -although he had "bosh-ed" it when I first showed it to him. - -Refusing to let any one accompany him, although the local pilot candidly -informed him that he was a dunderhead to go fishing alone at night in -Apia Harbour, Marchmont started off about 2 A.M. in an ordinary native -canoe, meant to hold not more than three persons when in smooth water. -It was a calm night, but rainy, and the crew of the French gunboat -noticed him fishing near the ship about 2.30. A little while after, -the officer of the watch saw a heavy rain squall coming down from the -mountain gorges, and good-naturedly called out to the fisherman to -either come alongside or paddle ashore, to avoid being swamped. The -clever man replied in French, somewhat ungraciously, that he could quite -well look after himself. A little after 3 A.M. the squall ceased, and -as neither Marchmont nor the canoe was visible, the French sailors -concluded that he had taken their officer's advice and gone on shore. - -About seven o'clock in the morning, as I was bathing in the little river -that runs into Apia Harbour, a native servant girl of the local resident -medical missionary came to the bank and called to me, and told me a -startling story. My obstinate friend had been picked up at sea, four -miles from Apia Harbour, by a _taumualua_ (native-built whaleboat). He -was in a state of exhaustion and collapse, and when brought into Apia -was more dead than alive, and the doctor was quickly summoned I at once -went to see him, but was not admitted to his room, and for three days he -had to lie up, suffering from shock--and, I trust, a feeling of humility -for being such an obstinate blockhead. - -His story was simple enough: During the heavy rain squall his bait -was taken by some large and powerful fish (he maintained that it was -a _La'heu_, though most probably it was a shark), and thirty or forty -yards of line flew out before he could get the pull of it. When he did, -he foolishly made the loose part fast to the canoe seat amidships, -and the canoe promptly capsized, and the fore end of the outrigger -unshipped. Clinging to the side of the frail craft, he shouted to the -gunboat for help, but no one heard in the noise of the wind and heavy -rain, and in ten minutes he found himself in the passage between the -reefs, and rapidly being towed out to sea. He tried to sever the line by -biting it through (he had lost his knife), but only succeeded in -losing a tooth. Then, as the canoe was being dragged through the water -broadside on, a heavy sea submerged her and the line parted, the shark -or whatever it was going off. Never losing his pluck, he tried in the -darkness to secure the loose end of the outrigger, but failed, owing to -the heavy, lumpy seas. Then for two anxious, miserable hours he clung to -the canoe, expecting every moment to find himself minus his legs by the -jaws of a shark, and when sighted and picked up by the native boat he -was barely conscious. - -He learnt a lesson that did him good. He never again went out alone in -a canoe at night, and for many days after his recovery he never uttered -the word "Bosh!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX ~ THE PATTERING OF THE MULLET - -It is a night of myriad stars, shining from a dome of deepest blue. -The lofty, white-barked swamp gums stand silent and ghost-like on the -river's bank, and the river itself is almost as silent as it flows to -meet the roaring surf on the bar of the rock-bound coast fifteen miles -away, where when the south-east wind blows lustily by day and dies away -at night the long billows of the blue Pacific roll on unceasingly. - -Overhead, far up in the topmost boughs of one of the giant gums some -opossums squeal angrily at an intruding native bear, which, like -themselves, has climbed to feed upon the young and tender eucalyptus -leaves. Below, a prowling dingo steals slowly over the thick carpet of -leaves, then sitting on his haunches gazes at the prone figures of two -men stretched out upon their blankets at the foot of the great tree. -His green, hungry eyes have discerned a pair of saddle-bags and his keen -nostrils tell him that therein are salt beef and damper. He sinks gently -down upon the yielding leaves and for a minute watches the motionless -forms; then he rises and creeps, creeps along. A horse bell tinkles from -beyond the scrub and in an instant the wild dog lies flat again. Did he -not see one of the men move? No, all is quiet, and once more he creeps -forward. Then from beneath the tree there comes a flash and a report and -a bullet flies and the night prowler leaps in the air with a snarling -yelp and falls writhing in his death agony, as from the sand flats in -the river arises the clamour of startled wild fowl and the rush and -whirr of a thousand wings. Then silence again, save for the long-drawn -wail of a curlew. - -One of the men rises, kicks together the dying camp fire and throws on -a handful of sticks and leaves. It blazes up and a long spear of light -shoots waveringly across the smooth current of the river. - -"Get him, Harry?" sleepily asks his companion as he sits up and feels -for his pipe. - -"Yes--couldn't miss him. He's lying there. Great Scott! Didn't he jump." - -"Poor beggar--smelt the tucker, I suppose. Well, better a dead dog than -a torn saddle-bag. Hear the horses?" - -"Yes, they're all right--feeding outside the timber belt How's the time, -Ted?" - -"Three o'clock. What a deuce of a row those duck and plover kicked up -when you fired! We ought to get a shot or two at them when daylight -comes." - -"Harry," a big, bearded fellow of six feet, nodded as he lit his pipe. - -"Yes, we ought to get all we want up along the blind creeks, and we'll -have to shift camp soon. It's going to rain before daybreak, and we -might as well stay here over to-morrow and give the horses a spell." - -"It's clouding over a bit, but I don't think it means rain." - -"I do. Listen," and he held up his hand towards the river. - -His companion listened, and a low and curious sound--like rain and yet -not like rain--a gentle and incessant pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat, -then a break for a few seconds, then again, sometimes sounding loud and -near, at others faintly and far away. - -"Sounds like a thousand people knockin' their finger nails on tables. -Why, it must be rainin' somewhere close to on the river." - -"No, it's the pattering of mullet, heading up the river--thousands, -tens of thousands, aye hundreds of thousands. It is a sure sign of heavy -rain. We'll see them presently when they come abreast of us. That queer -_lip, lap, lip, lap_ you hear is made by their tails. They sail along -with heads well up out of the water--the blacks tell me that they smell -the coming rain--then swim on an even keel for perhaps twenty yards or -so, and the upper lobe of their tails keeps a constant flapping on the -water. You know how clearly you can hear the flip of a single fish's -tail in a pond on a quiet night? Well, to-night you'll hear the sound -of fifty thousand. Once, when I was prospecting in the Shoalhaven River -district I camped with some net fishermen near the Heads. It was a calm, -quiet night like this, and something awakened me It sounded like heavy -rain falling on big leaves. 'Is it raining, mate?' I said to one of -the fishermen. 'No,' he replied, 'but there's a heavy thunderstorm -gathering; and that noise you hear is mullet coming up from the Heads, -three miles away.' That was the first time I ever saw fish packed so -closely together--it was a wonderful sight, and when they began to pass -us they stretched in a solid line almost across the river and the noise -they made was deafening. But we must hurry up, lad, shift our traps a -bit back into the scrub and up with the tent. Then we'll come back and -have a look at the fish, and get some for breakfast." - -The two hardy prospectors (for such they were) were old and experienced -bushmen, and soon had their tent up, and their saddles, blankets and -guns and provisions under its shelter, just as the first low muttering -of thunder hushed the squealing opossums overhead into silence. But, as -it died away, the noise of the myriad mullet sounded nearer and nearer -as they swam steadily onward up the river. - -Ten minutes passed, and then a heavy thunder-clap shook the mighty trees -and echoed and re-echoed among the spurs and gullies of the coastal -range twenty miles away; another and another, and from the now leaden -sky the rain fell in torrents and continued to pour unceasingly for -an hour. Inside the tent the men sat and smoked and waited Then the -downfall ceased with a "snap," the sky cleared as if by magic, revealing -the stars now paling before the coming dawn, and the cries of birds -resounded through the dripping bush. - -Picking up a prospecting dish the elder man told his "mate" that it -was time to start. Louder than ever now sounded the noise made by the -densely packed masses of fish, and as the rays of the rising sun, aided -by a gentle air, dispelled the river mist, the younger man gave a gasp -of astonishment when they reached the bank and he looked down--from -shore to shore the water was agitated and churned into foam showing a -broad sheet of flapping fins and tails and silvery scales. So close were -the fish to the bank and so overcrowded that hundreds stranded upon the -sand. - -The big man stepped down, picked up a dozen and put them into the dish; -then he and his companion sat on the bank and watched the passage of the -thousands till the last of them had rounded a bend of the river and the -waters flowed silently once more. - - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Call Of The South, by Louis Becke - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CALL OF THE SOUTH *** - -***** This file should be named 24895.txt or 24895.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/8/9/24895/ - -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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