diff options
Diffstat (limited to '24952-h')
| -rw-r--r-- | 24952-h/24952-h.htm | 1623 |
1 files changed, 1623 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/24952-h/24952-h.htm b/24952-h/24952-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..319641f --- /dev/null +++ b/24952-h/24952-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,1623 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" +"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Âmona; the Child; and The Beast by Louis Becke</title> + +<style type="text/css"> + +body { margin-left: 20%; + margin-right: 20%; + text-align: justify; } + +h1, h2, h3, h4, h5 {text-align: center; font-style: normal; font-weight: +normal; line-height: 1.5; margin-top: .5em; margin-bottom: .5em;} + +h1 {font-size: 300%; + margin-top: 0.6em; + margin-bottom: 0.6em; + letter-spacing: 0.12em; + word-spacing: 0.2em; + text-indent: 0em;} +h2 {font-size: 150%; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em;} +h3 {font-size: 130%; margin-top: 1em;} +h4 {font-size: 120%;} +h5 {font-size: 110%;} + +.no-break {page-break-before: avoid;} /* for epubs */ + +div.chapter {page-break-before: always; margin-top: 4em;} + +hr {width: 80%; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em;} + +p {text-indent: 1em; + margin-top: 0.25em; + margin-bottom: 0.25em; } + +a:link {color:blue; text-decoration:none} +a:visited {color:blue; text-decoration:none} +a:hover {color:red} + +</style> + +</head> + +<body> + +<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold;'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Âmona; The Child; And The Beast; And Others, by Louis Becke</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online +at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you +are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the +country where you are located before using this eBook. +</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Âmona; The Child; And The Beast; And Others<br /> +From "The Strange Adventure Of James Shervinton and Other Stories" - 1902</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Louis Becke</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Release Date: March 29, 2008 [eBook #24952]<br /> +[Most recently updated: February 6, 2021]</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: David Widger</div> +<div style='margin-top:2em;margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ÂMONA ***</div> + +<h1>Âmona; The Child; And The Beast</h1> + +<h4>From “The Strange Adventure Of James Shervinton and Other +Stories”</h4> + +<h2 class="no-break">By Louis Becke</h2> + +<h5>T. FISHER UNWIN, 1902 <br /> <br /> LONDON</h5> + +<hr /> + +<table summary="" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto"> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap01">ÂMONA; THE CHILD; AND THE BEAST</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap02">THE SNAKE AND THE BELL</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap03">SOUTH SEA NOTES</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap04">I</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap05">II</a></td> +</tr> + +</table> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap01"></a>ÂMONA; THE CHILD; AND THE BEAST</h2> + +<p> +Âmona was, as his master so frequently told him—accentuating the remark +with a blow or a kick—only “a miserable kanaka.” Of his +miserableness there was no doubt, for Denison, who lived in the same house as +he did, was a daily witness of it—and his happiness. Also, he was a +kanaka—a native of Niué, in the South Pacific; Savage Island it is called +by the traders and is named on the charts, though its five thousand sturdy, +brown-skinned inhabitants have been civilised, Christianised, and have lived +fairly cleanly for the past thirty years. +</p> + +<p> +Âmona and Denison had the distinction of being employed by Armitage, one of the +most unmitigated blackguards in the Pacific. He was a shipowner, planter, +merchant, and speculator; was looked upon by a good many people as “not a +bad sort of a fellow, you know—and the soul of hospitality.” In +addition, he was an incorrigible drunken bully, and broke his wife’s +heart within four years after she married him. Âmona was his cook. Denison was +one of his supercargoes, and (when a long boat of drunkenness made him see +weird visions of impossible creatures) manager of the business on shore, +overseer, accountant, and Jack-of-all-trades. How he managed to stay on with +such a brute I don’t know. He certainly paid him well enough, but he +(Denison) could have got another berth from other people in Samoa, Fiji, or +Tonga had he wanted it. And, although Armitage was always painfully civil to +Denison—who tried to keep his business from going to the dogs—the +man hated him as much as he despised Âmona, and would have liked to have kicked +him, as he would have liked to have kicked or strangled any one who knew the +secret of his wife’s death and his child’s lameness. And three +people in Samoa did know it—Âmona, the Niué cook, Dr. Eckhardt, and +Denison. Armitage has been dead now these five-and-twenty years—died, as +he deserved to die, alone and friendless in an Australian bush hospital out in +the God-forsaken Never-Never country, and when Denison heard of his death, he +looked at the gentle wife’s dim, faded photograph, and wondered if the +Beast saw her sweet, sad face in his dying moments. He trusted not; for in her +eyes would have shown only the holy light of love and forgiveness—things +which a man like Armitage could not have understood—even then. +</p> + +<p> +She had been married three years when she came with him to Samoa to live on +Solo-Solo Plantation, in a great white-painted bungalow, standing amid a grove +of breadfruit and coco-palms, and overlooking the sea to the north, east, and +west; to the south was the dark green of the mountain-forest. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! I think it is the fairest, sweetest picture in the world,” she +said to Denison the first time he met her. She was sitting on the verandah with +her son in her lap, and as she spoke she pressed her lips to his soft little +cheek and caressed the tiny hands. “So different from where I was born +and lived all my life—on the doll, sun-baked plains of the +Riverina—isn’t it, my pet?” +</p> + +<p> +“I am glad that you like the place, Mrs. Armitage,” the supercargo +said as he looked at the young, girlish face and thought that she, too, with +her baby, made a fair, sweet picture. How she loved the child! And how the +soft, grey-blue eyes would lose their sadness when the little one turned its +face up to hers and smiled! How came it, he wondered, that such a tender, +flower-like woman was mated to such a man as Armitage! +</p> + +<p> +Long after she was dead, Denison heard the story—one common enough. Her +father, whose station adjoined that of Armitage, got into financial +difficulties, went to Armitage for help, and practically sold his daughter to +the Beast for a couple of thousand pounds. Very likely such a man would have +sold his daughter’s mother as well if he wanted money. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +As they sat talking, Armitage rode up, half-drunk as usual. He was a big man, +good-looking. +</p> + +<p> +“Hallo, Nell! Pawing the damned kid as usual! Why the hell don’t +you let one of the girls take the little animal and let him tumble about on the +grass? You’re spoiling the child—by God, you are.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah, he’s so happy, Fred, here with me, and——” +</p> + +<p> +“Happy be damned—you’re always letting him maul you about. I +want a whisky-and-soda, and so does Denison—don’t you?” And +then the Beast, as soon as his wife with the child in her arms had left the +room, began to tell his subordinate of a “new” girl he had met that +morning in Joe D’Acosta’s saloon. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, shut up, man. Your wife is in the next room.” +</p> + +<p> +“Let her hear—and be damned to her! She knows what I do. I +don’t disguise anything from her. I’m not a sneak in that way. By +God, I’m not the man to lose any fun from sentimental reasons. Have you +seen this new girl at Joe’s? She’s a Manhiki half-caste. God, man! +She’s glorious, simply glorious!” +</p> + +<p> +“You mean Laea, I suppose. She’s a common beacher—sailor +man’s trull. Surely you wouldn’t be seen ever speaking to +<i>her?</i>” +</p> + +<p> +“Wouldn’t I! You don’t know me yet! I like the girl, and +I’ve fixed things up with her. She’s coming here as my +nursemaid—twenty dollars a month! What do you think of that?” +</p> + +<p> +“You would not insult your wife so horribly!” +</p> + +<p> +He looked at Denison sullenly, but made no answer, as the supercargo went on: +</p> + +<p> +“You’ll get the dead cut from every white man in Samoa. Not a soul +will put foot inside your store door, and Joe D’Acosta himself would +refuse to sell you a drink! Might as well shoot yourself at once.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, well, damn it all, don’t keep on preaching. I—I was more +in fun than anything else. Ha! Here’s Âmona with the drinks. Why +don’t you be a bit smarter, you damned frizzy-haired man-eater?” +</p> + +<p> +Amona’s sallow face flushed deeply, but he made no reply to the insult as +he handed a glass to his master. +</p> + +<p> +“Put the tray down there, confound you! Don’t stand there like a +blarsted mummy; clear out till we want you again.” +</p> + +<p> +The native made no answer, bent his head in silence, and stepped quietly away. +Then Armitage began to grumble at him as a “useless swine.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why,” said Denison, “Mrs. Armitage was only just telling me +that he’s worth all the rest of the servants put together. And, by Jove, +he <i>is</i> fond of your youngster—simply worships the little +chap.” +</p> + +<p> +Armitage snorted, and turned his lips down. Ten minutes later, he was asleep in +his chair. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +Nearly six months had passed—six months of wretchedness to the young +wife, whose heart was slowly breaking under the strain of living with the +Beast. Such happiness as was hers lay in the companionship of her little son, +and every evening Tom Denison would see her watching the child and the patient, +faithful Âmona, as the two played together on the smooth lawn in front of the +sitting-room, or ran races in and out among the mango-trees. She was becoming +paler and thinner every day—the Beast was getting fatter and coarser, and +more brutalised. Sometimes he would remain in Apia for a week, returning home +either boisterously drunk or sullen and scowling-faced. In the latter case, he +would come into the office where Denison worked (he had left the schooner of +which he was supercargo, and was now “overseering” Solo-Solo) and +try to grasp the muddled condition of his financial affairs. Then, with much +variegated language, he would stride away, cursing the servants and the place +and everything in general, mount his horse, and ride off again to the society +of the loafers, gamblers, and flaunting unfortunates who haunted the drinking +saloons of Apia and Matafele. +</p> + +<p> +One day came a crisis. Denison was rigging a tackle to haul a tree-trunk into +position in the plantation saw-pit, when Armitage rode up to the house. He +dismounted and went inside. Five minutes later Amona came staggering down the +path to him. His left cheek was cut to the bone by a blow from Armitage’s +fist. Denison brought him into his own room, stitched up the wound, and gave +him a glass of grog, and told him to light his pipe and rest. +</p> + +<p> +“Àmona, you’re a <i>valea</i> (fool). Why don’t you leave +this place? This man will kill you some day. How many beatings has he given +you?” He spoke in English. +</p> + +<p> +“I know not how many. But it is God’s will. And if the master some +day killeth me, it is well. And yet, but for some things, I would use my knife +on him.” +</p> + +<p> +“What things?” +</p> + +<p> +He came over to the supercargo, and, seating himself cross-legged on the floor, +placed his firm, brown, right hand on the white man’s knee. +</p> + +<p> +“For two things, good friend. The little fingers of the child are clasped +tightly around my heart, and when his father striketh me and calls me a filthy +man-eater, a dog, and a pig, I know no pain. That is one thing. And the other +thing is this—the child’s mother hath come to me when my body hath +ached from the father’s blows, and the blood hath covered my face; and +she hath bound up my wounds and wept silent tears, and together have we knelt +and called upon God to turn his heart from the grog and the foul women, and to +take away from her and the child the bitterness of these things.” +</p> + +<p> +“You’re a good fellow, Âmona,” said Denison, as he saw that +the man’s cheeks were wet with tears. +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, for sometimes my heart is bitter with anger. But God is good to me. +For the child loveth me. And the mother is of God... aye, and she will be with +Him soon.” Then he rose to his knees suddenly, and looked wistfully at +the supercargo, as he put his hand on his. “She will be dead before the +next moon is <i>ai aiga</i> (in the first quarter), for at night I lie outside +her door, and but three nights ago she cried out to me: ‘Come, Amona, +Come!’ And I went in, and she was sitting up on her bed and blood was +running from her mouth. But she bade me tell no one—not even thee. And it +was then she told me that death was near to her, for she hath a disease whose +roots lie in her chest, and which eateth away her strength. Dear friend, let me +tell thee of some things... This man is a devil.... I know he but desires to +see her die. He hath cursed her before me, and twice have I seen him take the +child from her arms, and, setting him on the floor to weep in terror, take his +wife by the hand——” +</p> + +<p> +“Stop, man; stop! That’ll do. Say no more! The beast!” +</p> + +<p> +“<i>E tonu, e tonu</i> (true, true),” said the man, quietly, and +still speaking in Samoan. “He is as a beast of the mountains, as a tiger +of the country India, which devoureth the lamb and the kid.... And so now I +have opened my heart to thee of these things——” +</p> + +<p> +A native woman rushed into the room: “Come, Âmona, come. <i>Misi +Fafine</i> (the mistress) bleeds from her mouth again.” +</p> + +<p> +The white man and the brown ran into the front sitting-room together, just as +they heard a piercing shriek of terror from the child; then came the sound of a +heavy fall. +</p> + +<p> +As they entered, Armitage strode out, jolting against them as he passed. His +face was swollen and ugly with passion—bad to look at. +</p> + +<p> +“Go and pick up the child, you frizzy-haired pig!” he muttered +hoarsely to Amona as he passed. “He fell off his mother’s +lap.” +</p> + +<p> +Mrs. Armitage was leaning back in her chair, as white as death, and trying to +speak, as with one hand she tried to stanch the rush of blood from her mouth, +and with the other pointed to her child, who was lying on his face under a +table, motionless and unconscious. +</p> + +<p> +In less than ten minutes, a native was galloping through the bush to Apia for +Dr. Eckhardt. Denison had picked up the child, who, as he came to, began to +cry. Assuring his mother that he was not much hurt, he brought him to her, and +sat beside the lounge on which she lay, holding him in his arms. He was a good +little man, and did not try to talk to her when the supercargo whispered to him +to keep silent, but lay stroking the poor mother’s thin white hand. Yet +every now and then, as he moved or Denison changed his position, he would utter +a cry of pain and say his leg pained him. +</p> + +<p> +Four hours later the German doctor arrived. Mrs. Armitage was asleep; so +Eckhardt would not awaken her at the time. The boy, however, had slept but +fitfully, and every now and then awakened with a sob of pain. The nurse +stripped him, and Eckhardt soon found out what was wrong—a serious injury +to the left hip. +</p> + +<p> +Late in the evening, as the big yellow-bearded German doctor and Denison sat in +the dining room smoking and talking, Taloi, the child’s nurse entered, +and was followed by Amona, and the woman told them the whole story. +</p> + +<p> +“<i>Misi Fafine</i> was sitting in a chair with the boy on her lap when +the master came in. His eyes were black and fierce with anger, and, stepping +up, he seized the child by the arm, and bade him get down. Then the little one +screamed in terror, and <i>Misi Fafine</i> screamed too, and the master became +as mad, for he tore the boy from his mother’s arms, and tossed him across +the room against the wall. That is all I know of this thing.” +</p> + +<p> +Denison saw nothing of Armitage till six o’clock on the following +morning, just as Eckhardt was going away. He put out his hand, Eckhardt put his +own behind his back, and, in a few blunt words, told the Beast what he thought +of him. +</p> + +<p> +“And if this was a civilised country,” he added crisply, “you +would be now in gaol. Yes, in prison. You have as good as killed your wife by +your brutality—she will not live another two months. You have so injured +your child’s hip that he may be a cripple for life. You are a damned +scoundrel, no better than the lowest ruffian of a city slum, and if you show +yourself in Joe D’Acosta’s smoking-room again, you’ll find +more than half a dozen men—Englishmen, Americans and Germans—ready +to kick you out into the <i>au ala</i>” (road). +</p> + +<p> +Armitage was no coward. He sprang forward with an oath, but Denison, who was a +third less of his employer’s weight, deftly put out his right foot and +the master of Solo Solo plantation went down. Then the supercargo sat on him +and, having a fine command of seafaring expletives, threatened to gouge his +eyes out if he did not keep quiet. +</p> + +<p> +“You go on, doctor,” he said cheerfully. “I’ll let you +know in the course of an hour or two how Mrs. Armitage and the boy are +progressing. The seat which I am now occupying, though not a very honourable +one, considering the material of which it is composed, is very comfortable for +the time being; and”—he turned and glared savagely at +Armitage’s purpled face—“You sweep! I have a great +inclination to let Eckhardt come and boot the life out of you whilst I hold you +down, you brute!” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll kill you for this,” said Armitage hoarsely. +</p> + +<p> +“Won’t give you the chance, my boy. And if you don’t promise +to go to your room quietly, I’ll call in the native servants, sling you +up like the pig you are to a pole, and have you carried into Apia, where you +stand a good show of being lynched. I’ve had enough of you. Every +one—except your blackguardly acquaintances in Matafele—would be +glad to hear that you were dead, and your wife and child freed from you.” +</p> + +<p> +Eckhardt stepped forward. “Let him up, Mr. Denison.” +</p> + +<p> +The supercargo obeyed the request. +</p> + +<p> +“Just as you please, doctor. But I think that he ought to be put in +irons, or a strait-jacket, or knocked on the head as a useless beast. If it +were not for Mrs. Armitage and her little son, I would like to kill the sweep. +His treatment of that poor fellow Amona, who is so devoted to the child, has +been most atrocious.” +</p> + +<p> +Eckhardt grasped the supercargo’s hand as Armitage shambled off +“He’s a brute, as you say, Mr. Denison. But she has some affection +for him. For myself, I would like to put a bullet through him.” +</p> + +<p> +Within three months Mrs. Armitage was dead, and a fresh martrydom began for +poor Amona. But he and the child had plenty of good friends; and then, one day, +when Armitage awakened to sanity after a long drinking bout, he found that both +Amona and the child had gone. +</p> + +<p> +Nearly a score of years later Denison met them in an Australian city. The +“baby” had grown to be a well-set-up young fellow, and Amona the +faithful was still with him—Amona with a smiling, happy face. They came +down on board Denison’s vessel with him, and “the baby” gave +him, ere they parted, that faded photograph of his dead mother. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap02"></a>THE SNAKE AND THE BELL</h2> + +<p> +When I was a child of eight years of age, a curious incident occurred in the +house in which our family lived. The locality was Mosman’s Bay, one of +the many picturesque indentations of the beautiful harbour of Sydney. In those +days the houses were few and far apart, and our own dwelling was surrounded on +all sides by the usual monotonous-hued Australian forest of iron barks and +spotted gums, traversed here and there by tracks seldom used, as the house was +far back from the main road, leading from the suburb of St. Leonards to Middle +Harbour. The building itself was in the form of a quadrangle enclosing a +courtyard, on to which nearly all the rooms opened; each room having a bell +over the door, the wires running all round the square, while the front-door +bell, which was an extra large affair, hung in the hall, the “pull” +being one of the old-fashioned kind, an iron sliding-rod suspended from the +outer wall plate, where it connected with the wire. +</p> + +<p> +One cold and windy evening about eight o’clock, my mother, my sisters, +and myself were sitting in the dining-room awaiting the arrival of my brothers +from Sydney—they attended school there, and rowed or sailed the six miles +to and fro every day, generally returning home by dusk. On this particular +evening, however, they were late, on account of the wind blowing rather freshly +from the north-east; but presently we heard the front-door bell ring gently. +</p> + +<p> +“Here they are at last,” said my mother; “but how silly of +them to go to the front door on such a windy night, tormenting boys!” +</p> + +<p> +Julia, the servant, candle in hand, went along the lengthy passage, and opened +the door. No one was there! She came back to the dining-room +smiling—“Masther Edward is afther playin’ wan av his thricks, +ma’am——” she began, when the bell again rang—this +time vigorously. My eldest sister threw down the book she was reading, and with +an impatient exclamation herself went to the door, opened it quickly, and said +sharply as she pulled it inwards— +</p> + +<p> +“Come in at once, you stupid things!” There was no answer, and she +stepped outside on the verandah. No one was visible, and again the big bell in +the hall rang! +</p> + +<p> +She shut the door angrily and returned to her seat, just as the bell gave a +curious, faint tinkle as if the tongue had been moved ever so gently. +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t take any notice of them,” said my mother, “they +will soon get tired of playing such silly pranks, and be eager for their +supper.” +</p> + +<p> +Presently the bell gave out three clear strokes. We looked at each other and +smiled. Five minutes passed, and then came eight or ten gentle strokes in quick +succession. +</p> + +<p> +“Let us catch them,” said my mother, rising, and holding her finger +up to us to preserve silence, as she stepped softly along the hall, we +following on tiptoe. +</p> + +<p> +Softly turning the handle, she suddenly threw the door wide open, just as the +bell gave another jangle. Not a soul was visible! +</p> + +<p> +My mother—one of the most placid-tempered women who ever breathed, now +became annoyed, and stepping out on the verandah, addressed herself to the +darkness— +</p> + +<p> +“Come inside at once, boys, or I shall be very angry. I know perfectly +well what you have done; you have tied a string to the bell wires, and are +pulling it. If you don’t desist you shall have no supper.” +</p> + +<p> +No answer—except from the hall bell, which gave another half-hearted +tinkle. +</p> + +<p> +“Bring a candle and the step-ladder, Julia,” said our now +thoroughly exasperated parent, “and we shall see what these foolish boys +have done to the bell-wire.” +</p> + +<p> +Julia brought the ladder; my eldest sister mounted it, and began to examine the +bell. She could see nothing unusual, no string or wire, and as she descended, +the bell swayed and gave one faint stroke! +</p> + +<p> +We all returned to the sitting room, and had scarcely been there five minutes +when we heard my three brothers coming in, in their usual way, by the back +door. They tramped into the sitting room, noisy, dirty, wet with spray, and +hungry, and demanded supper in a loud and collected voice. My mother looked at +them with a severe aspect, and said they deserved none. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, mum, what’s the matter?” said Ted; “what +<i>have</i> we been doing now, or what have we not done, that we don’t +deserve any supper, after pulling for two hours from Circular Quay, against a +howling, black north-easter?” +</p> + +<p> +“You know perfectly well what I mean. It is most inconsiderate of you to +play such silly tricks upon us.” +</p> + +<p> +Ted gazed at her in genuine astonishment. “Silly tricks, mother! What +silly tricks?” (Julia crossed herself, and trembled visibly as the bell +again rang.) +</p> + +<p> +My mother, at once satisfied that Ted and my other brothers really knew nothing +of the mysterious bell-ringing, quickly explained the cause of her anger. +</p> + +<p> +“Let us go and see if we can find out,” said Ted. “You two +boys, and you, Julia, get all the stable lanterns, light them, and we’ll +start out together—two on one side of the house and two on the other. +Some one must be up to a trick!” +</p> + +<p> +Julia, who was a huge, raw-boned Irish girl, as strong as a working bullock, +but not so graceful, again crossed herself, and began to weep. +</p> + +<p> +“What’s the matter with you?” said Ted angrily. +</p> + +<p> +“Shure, an’ there was tirrible murders committed here in the ould +convict days,” she whimpered. “The polace sargint’s wife at +Sint Leonards tould me all about it. There was three souldiers murdered down +beyant on the beach, by some convicts, whin they was atin’ their supper, +an’ there’s people near about now that saw all the blood +and——” +</p> + +<p> +“Stop it, you great lumbering idiot!” shouted Ted, as my eldest +sister began to laugh hysterically, and the youngest, made a terrified dart to +mother’s skirts. +</p> + +<p> +Ted’s angry voice and threatening visage silenced Julia for the moment, +and she tremblingly went towards the door to obey his orders when the bell gave +out such a vigorous and sustained peal that she sank down in a colossal heap on +the floor, and then went into violent hysterics. (I assure my readers that I am +not exaggerating matters in the slightest.) +</p> + +<p> +My mother, who was a thoroughly sensible woman, pushed the whole brood of us +out of the room, came after us, shut the door and locked it. <i>She</i> knew +the proper treatment for hysterics. +</p> + +<p> +“Let her stay there, boys,” she said quietly, “she will hurt +the furniture more than herself, the ridiculous creature. Now, Ted, you and +your brothers get the lanterns, and the little ones and myself will go into the +kitchen.” +</p> + +<p> +We ran out into the stables, lit three lanterns, and my next eldest brother and +myself, feeling horribly frightened, but impelled to show some courage by +Ted’s awful threats of what he would do to us if we “funked,” +told us to go round the house, beginning from the left, and meet him at the +hall door, he going round from the right. +</p> + +<p> +With shaking limbs and gasping breath we made our portion of the circuit, +sticking close to each other, and carefully avoiding looking at anything as we +hurried over the lawn, our only anxiety being to meet Ted as quickly as +possible and then get inside again. We arrived on the verandah, and in front of +the hall-door, quite five minutes before Ted appeared. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, did you see anything?” he asked, as he walked up the steps, +lantern in hand. +</p> + +<p> +“Nothing,” we answered, edging up towards the door. +</p> + +<p> +Ted looked at us contemptuously. “You miserable little curs! What are you +so frightened of? You’re no better than a pack of women and kids. +It’s the wind that has made the bell ring, or, if it’s not the +wind, it is something else which I don’t know anything about; but I want +my supper. Pull the bell, one of you.” +</p> + +<p> +Elated at so soon escaping from the horrors of the night, we seized the handle +of the bell-pull, and gave it a vigorous tug. +</p> + +<p> +“It’s stuck, Ted. It won’t pull down,” we said. +</p> + +<p> +“Granny!” said the big brother, “you’re too funky to +give it a proper pull,” and pushing us aside, he grasped the pendant +handle and gave a sharp pull. There was no answering sound. +</p> + +<p> +“It certainly is stuck,” admitted Ted, raising his lantern so as to +get a look upwards, then he gave a yell. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! look there!” +</p> + +<p> +We looked up, and saw the writhing twisting, coils of a huge carpet snake, +which had wound its body round and round the bell-wire on top of the wall +plate. Its head was downwards, and it did not seem at all alarmed at our +presence, but went on wriggling and twisting and squirming with much apparent +cheerfulness. +</p> + +<p> +Ted ran back to the stables, and returned in a few seconds with a clothes-prop, +with which he dealt the disturber of our peace a few rapid, but vigorous, +blows, breaking its spine in several places. Then the step-ladder was brought +out, and Ted, seizing the reptile by the tail, uncoiled it with some difficulty +from the wire, and threw it down upon the verandah. +</p> + +<p> +It was over nine feet in length, and very fat, and had caused all the +disturbance by endeavouring to denude itself of its old skin by dragging its +body between the bell-wire and the top of the wall. When Ted killed it the poor +harmless creature had almost accomplished its object. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap03"></a>SOUTH SEA NOTES</h2> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap04"></a>I</h2> + +<p> +That many animals, particularly cattle and deer, are very fond of salt we all +know, but it is not often that birds show any taste for it, or, if so, the +circumstance has not generally been noted. In 1881, however, the present writer +was residing on Gazelle Peninsula, the northern portion of the magnificent +island of New Britain in the South Pacific, and had many opportunities of +witnessing both cockatoos and wild pigeons drinking salt water. I was stationed +at a place called Kabaira, the then “furthest-out” trading station +on the whole island, and as I had but little to do in the way of work, I found +plenty of time to study the bird-life in the vicinity. Parrots of several +varieties, and all of beautiful plumage, were very plentiful, and immense +flocks of white cockatoos frequented the rolling, grassy downs which lay +between my home and the German head-station in Blanche Bay, twenty miles +distant, while the heavy forest of the littoral was the haunt of thousands of +pigeons. These latter, though not so large as the Samoan, or Eastern Polynesian +bird, formed a very agreeable change of diet for us white traders, and by +walking about fifty yards from one’s door, half a dozen or more could be +shot in as many minutes. +</p> + +<p> +My nearest neighbour was a German, and one day when we were walking along the +beach towards his station, we noticed some hundreds of pigeons fly down from +the forest, settle on the margin of the water, and drink with apparent +enjoyment. The harbour at this spot was almost land-locked, the water as smooth +as glass without the faintest ripple, and the birds were consequently enabled +to drink without wetting their plumage. My companion, who had lived many years +in New Britain, told me that this drinking of sea-water was common alike to +both cockatoos and pigeons, and that on some occasions the beaches would be +lined with them, the former birds not only drinking, but bathing as well, and +apparently enjoying themselves greatly. +</p> + +<p> +During the following six months, especially when the weather was calm and +rainy, I frequently noticed pigeons and cockatoos come to the salt water to +drink. At first I thought that as fresh water in many places bubbled up through +the sand at low tide, the birds were really not drinking the sea-water, but by +watching closely, I frequently saw them walk across these tiny runnels, and +make no attempt to drink. Then again, the whole of the Gazette Peninsula is out +up by countless streams of water; rain falls throughout the year as a rule, and +as I have said, there is always water percolating or bubbling up through the +sand on the beaches at low tide. What causes this unusual habit of drinking +sea-water? +</p> + +<p> +Another peculiarity of the New Britain and New Ireland pigeon is its fondness +for the Chili pepper-berry. During three months of the year, when these berries +are ripe, the birds’ crops are full of them, and very often their flesh +is so pungent, and smells so strongly of the Chili, as to be quite uneatable. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +On all of the low-lying islands of the Ellice, Kings-mill and Gilbert Groups, a +species of snipe are very plentiful. On the islands which enclose the noble +lagoon of Funafuti in the Ellice Group, they are to be met with in great +numbers, and in dull, rainy weather, an ordinarily good shot may get thirty or +forty in a few hours. One day, accompanied by a native lad, I set out to +collect hermit crabs, to be used as fish bait. These curious creatures are to +be found almost anywhere in the equatorial islands of the Pacific; their shell +houses ranging in size from a pea to an orange, and if a piece of coco-nut or +fish or any other edible matter is left out overnight, hundreds of hermits will +be found gathered around it in the morning. To extract the crabs from their +shells, which are of all shapes and kinds, is a very simple matter—the +hard casing is broken by placing them upon a large stone and striking them a +sharp blow with one of lesser size. My companion and myself soon collected a +heap of “hermits,” when presently he took one up in his hand, and +holding it close to his mouth, whistled softly. In a few moments the crab +protruded one nipper, then another, then its red antennae, and allowed the boy +to take its head between his finger and thumb and draw its entire body from its +shell casing. +</p> + +<p> +“That is the way the <i>kili</i> (snipe) gets the <i>uga</i> (crab) from +its shell,” he said. “The <i>kili</i> stands over the <i>uga</i> +and whistles softly, and the <i>uga</i> puts out his head to listen. Then the +bird seizes it in his bill, gives it a backward jerk and off flies the +shell.” +</p> + +<p> +Now I had often noticed that wherever hermit crabs were plentiful along the +outer beaches of the lagoon, I was sure to find snipe, and sometimes wondered +on what the birds fed. Taking up two or three “hermits” one by one, +I whistled gently, and in each case the creature protruded the nippers, head +and shoulders, and moved its antennæ to and fro as if pleasurably excited. +</p> + +<p> +On the following day I shot three snipe, and in the stomachs of each I found +some quite fresh and some partly digested hermit crabs. The thick, hard nippers +are broken off by the bird before he swallows the soft, tender body. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +In a recent number of <i>Chambers’s Journal</i> the present writer was +much interested in a short paragraph dealing with the commercial value of the +skin of the shark, and, having had many years’ experience as a trader and +supercargo in the South Seas, desires to add some further information on a +somewhat interesting subject. +</p> + +<p> +In all the equatorial islands of the North and South Pacific, shark fishing is +a very profitable industry to the natives, and every trading steamer or sailing +vessel coming into the ports of Sydney or Auckland from the islands of the +mid-Pacific, always brings some tons of shark fins and tails and shark skins. +The principal market for the former is Hong Kong, but the Chinese merchants of +the Australasian Colonies will always buy sharks’ fins and tails at from +6d. to 11d. per lb., the fins bringing the best price on account of the extra +amount of glutinous matter they contain, and the which are highly relished by +the richer classes of Chinese as a delicacy. The tails are also valued as an +article of food in China; and, apart from their edible qualities, have a +further value as a base for clear varnishes, &c.; and I was informed by a +Chinese tea-merchant that the glaze upon the paper coverings of tea-chests was +due to a preparation composed principally of the refuse of sharks’ fins, +tails, and skins. +</p> + +<p> +All the natives of the Gilbert, Kingsmill, and other Pacific equatorial islands +are expert shark fishermen; but the wild people of Ocean Island (Paanopa) and +Pleasant Island (Naura), two isolated spots just under the equator, surpass +them all in the art of catching jackshark. It was the fortunate experience of +the writer to live among these people for many years, and to be inducted into +the native method of shark-catching. In frail canoes, made of short pieces of +wood, sewn together with coco-nut fibre, the Ocean Islanders will venture out +with rude but ingeniously contrived <i>wooden</i> hooks, and capture sharks of +a girth (<i>not</i> length) that no untrained European would dare to attempt to +kill from a well-appointed boat, with a good crew. +</p> + +<p> +Shark-catching is one of <i>the</i> industries of the Pacific, and a very +paying industry too. Five-and-twenty years ago there were quite a dozen or more +schooners sailing out of Honolulu, in the Hawaiian Islands, to the isolated +atolls of the North Pacific—notably Palmyra and Christmas +Islands—where sharks could be caught by the thousand, and the crews, who +were engaged on a “lay,” like whalemen, made “big +money”; many of them after a six months’ cruise drawing 500 +dollars—a large sum for a native sailor. +</p> + +<p> +The work is certainly hard, but it is exciting, and the writer will always +remember with pleasure a seven months’ shark-fishing cruise he once had +in the North Pacific, the genial comrades—white men and brown—and +the bag of dollars handed over to him by the owners when the ship was paid off +in Honolulu. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap05"></a>II</h2> + +<p> +It is not generally known, except to scientists and those who are acquainted +with the subject, that a large percentage of the various species and varieties +of sea snakes are highly venomous. These snakes must not be confounded with the +very numerous species of sea eels, which, though exceedingly savage and armed +with strong needle-pointed teeth, are all non-venomous, though their bite +produces high inflammation if not at once properly attended to and cleansed by +an antiseptic. The sea snake is a true snake in many respects, having either +laminated scales or a thick corduroyed skin resembling rudimentary scales. The +head is flat, and the general structure of the body similar to that of the land +snake. Whether any of them possess the true poison glands and fangs I do not +know, for although I have killed many hundreds of them I never took sufficient +interest to make a careful examination; and I was told by a Dutch medical +gentleman, long resident on the coast of Dutch New Guinea, and who had made +some investigation on the subject, that he had failed to discover any poison +sacs or glands in any one of the several snakes he had captured. Yet in some +instances he found what at first appeared to be the two long front teeth common +to venomous land snakes, but on detailed examination these always proved to be +perfectly solid; nevertheless a bite from one of these sea serpents was +generally regarded by the natives as fatal; in my own experience I know of two +such cases, one at the island of Fotuna in the South Pacific, and the other in +Torres Straits. +</p> + +<p> +In Sigavi Harbour, on Fotuna, there is a rock to which vessels occasionally +make fast their stern moorings. In the boat which I sent away with a line to +this rock were several boys, natives of the island, who went with the crew for +amusement. One of them, aged about ten, jumped out of the boat, and in his +hurry fell on his hands and knees, right on top of a large black and white +banded sea snake, which at once bit him savagely on the wrist, causing the +blood to flow from a score of tiny punctures. The boy at once swam on shore to +be treated by a native; in the evening I heard he was suffering great agony, in +the morning the poor little fellow was dead. +</p> + +<p> +The second instance was near Raine Island, in Torres Straits. A stalwart young +Kanaka, one of the crew of a pearling lugger, was diving for clam shells on the +reef, when a snake about three feet in length suddenly shot up from below +within a foot of his face. In his anger and disgust he unthinkingly struck it +with his hand, and was quickly bitten on the forefinger. A few hours later he +was in a high fever, accompanied with twitchings of the extremities; then +tetanus ensued, followed by death in forty-eight hours. +</p> + +<p> +Although these sea snakes are common to all tropical seas, they are most +frequent about the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. On any smooth day they may +be seen disporting themselves on the surface, or rising suddenly from the +depths, erect their heads and some inches of their bodies clear from the water, +gaze at the passing vessel, and then swiftly disappear. In nearly all the +Pacific Islands the natives hold them in detestation and horror, and when one +is seen lying coiled up on a rock sunning itself or crawling over the surface +of the reef in search of food, a stone, accompanied by a curse, is always +hurled at it. In the Ellice Oroup, when catching flying-fish at night, one (or +more) of these horrid serpents is sometimes swept up in the scoop-net before it +can be avoided. They range from six inches to nearly four feet in length, and +all have one feature—a blunted tail-end. +</p> + +<p> +Quite recently much further light has been thrown on the subject by Sir James +Hector, of the Philosophical Society of Wellington, New Zealand. At one of the +Society’s meetings, held in April last, Sir James showed several +specimens of <i>hydrida</i>, some from Australasian Seas, others from the +Atlantic. The usual habitat of sea snakes, he said, were the tropical seas +generally, but some had been captured in the comparatively cold waters of the +New Zealand coast, at the Catlins River. These latter were all yellow-banded; +those from the islands of the Fijian Oroup were black-banded, and those taken +from the Australian coast grey-banded. There were, he said, no fewer than +seventy species, which, without exception, were fanged and provided with glands +secreting a virulent poison. In some of the mountainous islands of the South +Pacific, such as Samoa, Fiji, &c, there were several species of land +snakes, all of which were perfectly harmless, and were familiar to many people +in Australia and New Zealand, through being brought there in bunches of island +bananas—it was singular, he thought, that the sea snakes alone should be +so highly venomous. “They were all characterised by the flattened or +blunted tail, which they used as a steer oar, and were often found asleep on +the surface of the water, lying on their backs. In this state they were easily +and safely captured, being powerless to strike.” The present writer, who +has seen hundreds of these marine snakes daily for many years, during a long +residence in the Pacific Islands, cannot remember a single instance where he +has seen one of these dangerous creatures asleep <i>on the water</i>, though +they may frequently be found lying asleep on the coral reefs, exposing +themselves to the rays of a torrid sun. They usually select some knob or +rounded boulder, from the top of which, when awake, they can survey the small +pools beneath and discern any fish which may be imprisoned therein. In such +case they will glide down into the water with astonishing rapidity, seize their +prey, and after swallowing it, return to their sun bath. The natives of the +Paumotu Archipelago informed me, however, that they are most active in seeking +their prey at night-time, and are especially fond of flying-fish, which, as is +well known, is one of the swiftest of all ocean fishes. The sea snakes, +however, seize them with the greatest ease, by rising cautiously beneath and +fastening their keen teeth in the fish’s throat or belly. A snake, not +two feet six inches in length, I was assured, can easily swallow a flying-fish +eight inches or ten inches long. +</p> + +<p> +With regard to their habit of lying asleep on their backs on the surface of the +water, it may be that Sir James Hector is alluding to some particular species, +but whether that is so or not Sir James’s statement must of course be +considered authoritative, for there is, I believe, no higher authority on the +subject in the world. Apropos of these venomous marine serpents I may mention +that the Rev. W. W. Gill in one of his works states that he was informed by the +natives of the Cook’s Group that during the prevalence of very bad +weather, when fish were scarce, the large sea eels would actually crawl ashore, +and ascend the <i>fala</i> (pandanus or screw-pine) trees in search of the +small green lizards which live among the upper part of the foliage. At first I +regarded this merely as a bit of native extravagance of statement, but in 1882, +when I was shipwrecked on Peru (or Francis Island), one of the Gilbert Group, +the local trader, one Frank Voliero, and myself saw one of these eels engaged +in an equally extraordinary pursuit. We were one evening, after a heavy gale +from the westward had been blowing for three days, examining a rookery of whale +birds in search of eggs; the rookery was situated in a dense thicket scrub on +the north end of the island, and was quite two hundred yards from the +sea-shore, though not more than half that distance from the inside lagoon +beach. The storm had destroyed quite a number of young, half-fledged birds, +whose bodies were lying on the ground, and busily engaged in devouring one of +them was a very large sea eel, as thick as the calf of a man’s leg. +Before I could manage to secure a stick with which to kill the +repulsive-looking creature, it made off through the undergrowth at a rapid pace +in the direction of the lagoon, and when we emerged out into the open in +pursuit, ten minutes later, we were just in time to see it wriggling down the +hard, sloping beach into the water. Instinct evidently made it seek the nearest +water, for none of these large sea eels are ever found in Peru Lagoon. +</p> + +<p> +Many of the rivers and lakes of the islands of the Western Pacific are tenanted +by eels of great size, which are never, or very seldom, as far as I could +learn, interfered with by the natives, and I have never seen the people of +either the Admiralty Islands, New Ireland, or New Britain touch an eel as food. +The Maories, however, as is well known, are inordinately fond of eels, which, +with putrid shark, constitute one of their staple articles of diet. +</p> + +<p> +In the few mountainous islands of the vast Caroline Archipelago, in the +North-western Pacific, eels are very plentiful, not only in the numberless +small streams which debouch into the shallow waters enclosed by the barrier +reefs, but also far up on the mountainsides, occupying little rocky pools of +perhaps no larger dimensions than an ordinary-sized toilet basin, or swimming +up and down rivulets hardly more than two feet across. The natives of Ponapé, +the largest island of the Caroline Group, and of Kusaie (Strong’s +Island), its eastern outlier, regard the fresh-water eel with shuddering +aversion, and should a man accidentally touch one with his foot when crossing a +stream he will utter an exclamation of horror and fear. In the heathen +days—down to 1845-50—the eel (tôan) was an object of worship, and +constantly propitiated by sacrifices of food, on account of its malevolent +powers; personal contact was rigidly avoided; to touch one, even by the merest +accident, was to bring down the most dreadful calamities on the offender and +his family—bodily deformities, starvation and poverty, and death; and +although the natives of Strong’s Island are now both civilised and +Christianised, and a training college of the Boston Board of Missions has long +been established at Port Lelé, they still manifest the same superstitious dread +of the eel as in their days of heathendom. I well remember witnessing an +instance of this terror during my sojourn on the island when I was shipwrecked +there in 1874. I had taken up my residence in the picturesque little village of +Leassé, on the western or “lee” side, when I was one evening +visited by several of the ship’s company—a Fijian half-caste, a +white man, and two natives of Pleasant Island. At the moment they arrived I was +in the house of the native pastor—a man who had received an excellent +education in a missionary college at Honolulu, in the Hawaiian +Islands—instructing him and his family in the art of making <i>taka</i>, +or cinnet sandals, as practised by the natives of the Tokelau Group. Just then +the four seamen entered, each man triumphantly holding up a large eel: in an +instant there was a united howl of horror from the parson and his family, as +they made a rash for the door, overturning the lamp and nearly setting the +house on fire. In vain I followed and urged them to return, and told them that +the men had gone away and taken the <i>tôan</i> with them—nothing would +induce them to enter the house that night, and the whole family slept +elsewhere. +</p> + +<p> +One singular thing about the eels on Strong’s Island is that they +hibernate, in a fashion, on the sides or even summits of the high mountains, at +an altitude of nearly two thousand feet. Selecting, or perhaps making, a +depression in the soft, moss-covered soil, the ugly creatures fit themselves +into it compactly and remain there for weeks or even months at a time. I have +counted as many as thirty of these holes, all tenanted, within a few square +yards. Some were quite concealed by vegetable <i>débris</i> or moss, others +were exposed to view, with the broad, flat head of the slippery occupant +resting on the margin or doubled back upon its body. They showed no alarm, but +if poked with a stick would extricate themselves and crawl slowly away. +</p> + +<p> +In the streams they were very voracious, and I had a special antipathy to them, +on account of their preying so on the crayfish—a crustacean of which I +was particularly fond, and which the natives also liked very much, but were +afraid to capture for fear their hands might come in contact with the dreaded +<i>tôan</i>. +</p> + +<p> +One afternoon I was plucking a pigeon I had just shot by the margin of a +mountain stream. After removing the viscera, I put the bird in the water to +clean it properly, and was shaking it gently to and fro, when it was suddenly +torn out of my hand by a disgustingly bloated, reddish-coloured eel about four +feet in length, and quickly swallowed. That one pigeon had cost me two +hours’ tramping through the rain-soddened mountain forest, so loading my +gun I followed the thief down stream to where the water was but a few inches +deep, and then blew his head off. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + + + + +<div style='display:block;margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ÂMONA ***</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0;'>This file should be named 24952-h.htm or 24952-h.zip</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0;'>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/9/5/24952/</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will +be renamed. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United +States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part +of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project +Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ +concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, +and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following +the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use +of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for +copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very +easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation +of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project +Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may +do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected +by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark +license, especially commercial redistribution. +</div> + +<div style='margin:0.83em 0; font-size:1.1em; text-align:center'>START: FULL LICENSE<br /> +<span style='font-size:smaller'>THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE<br /> +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK</span> +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project +Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full +Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at +www.gutenberg.org/license. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or +destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your +possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a +Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound +by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person +or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this +agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ +electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the +Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection +of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual +works in the collection are in the public domain in the United +States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the +United States and you are located in the United States, we do not +claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, +displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as +all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope +that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting +free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ +works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the +Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily +comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the +same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when +you share it without charge with others. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are +in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, +check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this +agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, +distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any +other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no +representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any +country other than the United States. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other +immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear +prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work +on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the +phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, +performed, viewed, copied or distributed: +</div> + +<blockquote> + <div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> + This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most + other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions + whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms + of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online + at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you + are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws + of the country where you are located before using this eBook. + </div> +</blockquote> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is +derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not +contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the +copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in +the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are +redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project +Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply +either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or +obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ +trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any +additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms +will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works +posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the +beginning of this work. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg™ License. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including +any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access +to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format +other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official +version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website +(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense +to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means +of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain +Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the +full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works +provided that: +</div> + +<div style='margin-left:0.7em;'> + <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> + • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed + to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has + agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project + Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid + within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are + legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty + payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project + Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in + Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg + Literary Archive Foundation.” + </div> + + <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> + • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ + License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all + copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue + all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ + works. + </div> + + <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> + • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of + any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of + receipt of the work. + </div> + + <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> + • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works. + </div> +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project +Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than +are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing +from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of +the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set +forth in Section 3 below. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.F. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project +Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ +electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may +contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate +or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other +intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or +other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or +cannot be read by your equipment. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right +of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium +with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you +with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in +lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person +or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second +opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If +the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing +without further opportunities to fix the problem. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO +OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT +LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of +damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement +violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the +agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or +limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or +unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the +remaining provisions. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in +accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the +production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ +electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, +including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of +the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this +or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or +additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any +Defect you cause. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™ +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of +computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It +exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations +from people in all walks of life. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future +generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see +Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by +U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, +Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up +to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website +and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact +</div> + +<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread +public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND +DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state +visit <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/donate/">www.gutenberg.org/donate</a>. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To +donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate +</div> + +<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project +Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be +freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and +distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of +volunteer support. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in +the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not +necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper +edition. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Most people start at our website which has the main PG search +facility: <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, +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. +</div> + +</body> + +</html>
\ No newline at end of file |