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diff --git a/77356-0.txt b/77356-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e0c1faf --- /dev/null +++ b/77356-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14264 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 77356 *** + + + + + A LADY’S CRUISE + + IN A + + FRENCH MAN-OF-WAR + + + “The morning watch was come; the vessel lay + Her course, and gently made her liquid way; + The cloven billow flashed from off her prow + In furrows formed, by that majestic plough. + + · · · · · + + ‘Huzza for Otaheite!’ was the cry. + The gentle island and the genial soil, + The friendly hearts, the feasts without a toil, + The courteous manners, but from nature caught, + The wealth unhoarded, and the love unbought. + + · · · · · + + The soil where every cottage showed a home, + The sea-spread net, the lightly launched canoe, + Which stemmed the studded archipelago + O’er whose blue bosom rose the starry isles. + And sweetly now, those untaught melodies + Broke the luxurious silence of the skies, + The sweet siesta of a summer day, + The tropic afternoon of Toobonai, + When every flower was bloom, and air was balm, + And the first breath began to stir the palm.” + + · · · · · + + —_The Island_: LORD BYRON. + +[Illustration: + + PAPEETE. CAPITAL OF TAHITI. +] + + + + + A LADY’S CRUISE + IN A + FRENCH MAN-OF-WAR + + + BY + + C. F. GORDON CUMMING + + AUTHOR OF ‘AT HOME IN FIJI,’ ‘FROM THE HEBRIDES TO + THE HIMALAYAS,’ ETC. + + + NEW EDITION, COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME + + _WITH MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS_ + + + WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS + EDINBURGH AND LONDON + MDCCCLXXXII + + + _All Rights reserved_ + + + + + INTRODUCTION. + + +When, in the spring of 1875, Sir Arthur Hamilton Gordon was appointed +first Governor of Fiji, I had the good fortune to be invited to form one +of the party who accompanied Lady Gordon to that far country. + +Two years slipped away, brimful of interest, and each month made me feel +more ‘At Home in Fiji,’ more fascinated with its lovely scenery, more +content to linger among its isles. + +Then a counter-charm was brought to bear upon the spell which held me +thus entranced. The chief magician appeared in the guise of a high +ecclesiastic of the Roman Church, clothed in purple, and wearing the +mystic ring and cross of amethyst; while his coadjutor, a French +gentleman of the noble old school, was the commander of a large French +man-of-war, which had been placed at the service of the Bishop of Samoa, +to enable him to visit all the most remote portions of his diocese. +Already this warlike mission-ship had peacefully touched at many points +of exceeding beauty and interest, and our visitors had no sooner +recognised my keen appreciation of scenery, and inveterate love of +sketching, than they formally and most cordially invited me to complete +_le tour de la mission_, and so fill fresh portfolios with reminders of +the beautiful scenes which the vessel was about to visit. + +Being duly imbued with a British conviction that such an invitation +could not possibly be a _bonâ fide_ one, I at first treated it merely as +a polite form; but when it was again and again renewed, in such terms as +to leave no possible doubt of its sincerity, and when, moreover, we +learnt that the most comfortable cabin in the ship had actually been +prepared for the invited guest, and that its owner was thoroughly in +earnest in his share of the invitation, then indeed we agreed that the +chance was too unique to be lost; and so it came to pass that on the 5th +September 1877 I started on the cruise in a French man-of-war, which +proved one of the most delightful episodes in many years of travel. + + + + + NOTE TO THE FIRST EDITION. + THE KEY TO THE PANAMA CANAL. + + +While these pages were passing through the press, I have received +details from various sources, which prove that the policy referred to at +p. 241 is being actively carried out. + +Not content with holding the Marquesas, the Paumotus, Tahiti, and the +Gambier Isles, France seems resolved to annex every desirable island +lying to the east of Samoa, thus securing possession of every good +harbour and coaling station lying between New Zealand and the coast of +South America; and also, diverting all the trade of these isles, from +Britain’s Australian colonies, to a French centre, which shall command +the great commercial highway of the future, when the Panama Canal shall +be completed. Raiatea in the Society Isles has recently been formally +annexed, and the independence of Huahine and Bora-Bora threatened. + +Now a further step is contemplated. The Austral and Hervey groups still +remain free. They are self-governed, and Christianity is firmly +established among their people. + +According to the latest information, a French man-of-war visited their +principal isles last August, to command the inhabitants to divert their +present trade from New Zealand to Tahiti, assuring them that Great +Britain had undertaken not to interfere with French action anywhere to +the east of Samoa. The islanders, who had at first received the French +vessel with all honour, no sooner got an inkling of the true object of +its visit than they became alarmed, and returned all presents which had +been made to them by the captain; who thereupon assured them that the +French admiral was on his way thither, and would soon bring them to +their bearings, and that they would have to accept a French +protectorate. + +Remembering the history of French protection in Tahiti, the Australs and +Hervey Islanders are now justly alarmed for their own independence. + + + + + CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER I. + PAGE + Letter to England announcing start from Fiji—Vague plans, 1 + + + CHAPTER II. + + Life in a French man-of-war—Convent-life in Tonga—Early + martyrs—Wesleyan mission—Roman Catholic mission—Cyclopean tombs + at Mua—Gigantic trilithon—Fines and taxes—King George Tupou, 3 + + + CHAPTER III. + + Sail from Tonga to Vavau—Volcano of Tofua—Wesleyan mission—Two + thousand miles from a doctor—Orange-groves—A lovely sea + lake—Coral caves, 24 + + + CHAPTER IV. + + Life on board ship—The Wallis Isles—Fotuna—Sunday Isle—Cyclopean + remains on Easter Isle—Stone adzes—Samoa—Pango-Pango harbour, 33 + + + CHAPTER V. + + Boat transit to Leone—Spouting caves—Council of war—Sketch of + Samoan history—Night dances, 48 + + + CHAPTER VI. + + A shore without a reef—Samoan plants—Houses—Animals—Laying + foundation-stone of a church—School festival—the Navigator’s + Isles, 61 + + + CHAPTER VII. + + Vanquished chiefs of the Puletoa faction under protection of the + union-jack—Convent school—“Bully” Hayes—Postal difficulties—House + of Godeffroy—Village of Mulinunu—Vegetables and fish—Advantages + of Anglo-American companies, 74 + + + CHAPTER VIII. + + The Ishmaelites of the Pacific—Injudicious intervention—Fa-Samoa + picnic—A torchlight walk—Training college at Malua—Apt + illustrations by native preachers—Dr Turner—Mission to the New + Hebrides—Escape to Samoa—Of many changes on many isles, 89 + + + CHAPTER IX. + + A sketch of the Samoan mission—The Rev. John Williams determines + to visit the Navigator’s Isles—Preliminary work in the Hervey + group—Discovery of Rarotonga—Conversion of its people—They help + Williams to build a ship which shall convey him to Samoa—Visit + Tonga—Proceed to Samoa—Overthrow of idolatry—Reverence for old + mats—Williams’s grave at Apia, 118 + + + CHAPTER X. + + Leave Samoa—Reach Tahiti—Grey shadows—Death of Queen Pomare—La + Loire and her passengers—A general dispersion—Life ashore at + Papeete—Admiral Serre and the royal family—Families of Salmon + and Brander—Adoption, 148 + + + CHAPTER XI. + + Papeete—Catholic mission—Protestant mission—A christening party—La + Maison Brandère—Tales of the past—Evenings in Tahiti—La + musique—Plans—Sunday, 164 + + + CHAPTER XII. + + Short sketch of a royal progress round Tahiti, 177 + + + CHAPTER XIII. + + The royal progress round Tahiti—Life day by day—_Himènes_—A + beautiful shore—Manufacture of arrowroot flowers—A deserted + cotton plantation—Tahitian dancing—The Areois—Vanilla + plantations—Fort of Taravao, 182 + + + CHAPTER XIV. + + The royal progress round Tahiti (_continued_)—French fort at + Taravou—The peninsula—Life in bird-cage houses—Torchlight + procession—Return to Papeete, 198 + + + CHAPTER XV. + + The semaphore—Immutable tides—The coral-reef—Spearing + fish—Netting—Catching sharks—A royal mausoleum—Superstitions of + East and West—Centipedes—Intoxicating drinks—Influenza—Death of + Mrs Simpson, 210 + + + CHAPTER XVI. + + The royal progress round Moorea—The Seignelay starts for the + Marquesas and Paumotus—Indecision, 226 + + + CHAPTER XVII. + + Vain regrets—Some account of the Marquesas and the Paumotu groups, 236 + + + CHAPTER XVIII. + + Tahitian hospitality—A South Sea store—A bathing picnic—The + Marquesans—Tattooing—Ancient games of Tahiti—Malay + descent—Theory of a northerly migration, 267 + + + CHAPTER XIX. + + Life in Papeete—The market—Churches—Country life in the South + Seas, 286 + + + CHAPTER XX. + + Visit to the Protestant mission on Moorea—A sketch of the early + history of the mission, 294 + + + CHAPTER XXI. + + A healing tree—Plantation life—Vanilla crops—Cat-and-dog life—A + foiled assassin—The tropics of to-day—England in days of + yore—Among the crags—Infanticide—Heathen days, 310 + + + CHAPTER XXII. + + Life on Moorea—An ancient place of sacrifice—Arrival of H.M.S. + Shah—Hospitalities on land and water, 322 + + + CHAPTER XXIII. + + The atoll group of Tetiaroa, 335 + + + CHAPTER XXIV. + + New Year’s Day in Tahiti—Ascent of Fautawa valley—Of palm salads, + screw-pines, and bread-fruit—Packing mango-stones—Return of + Gilbert Islanders—Departure of the Seignelay, 339 + + + CHAPTER XXV. + + Hurricane at the Paumotus—Mahena plantation—Watching for + vessels—Farewell to Tahiti, 353 + + + + + LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + + + PAGE + PAPEETE—CAPITAL, _Frontispiece_ + TRILITHON, TONGA, 18 + A CORAL CAVE, VAVAU, 29 + OPUNOHU BAY, MOOREA, 153 + LE DIADÈME, 169 + A ROYAL RECEPTION, HAAPITI, 229 + PAO PAO, OR COOK’S BAY, 230 + ANCIENT MARAI, 324 + MAP, _At the end_ + + + NOTE. + +The “Wa Kalou,”—_i.e._, “Fern of God,”—introduced on the cover of this +book, is a most delicate climbing fern which overtwines tall trees and +shrubs in the Pacific Isles, forming a misty veil of indescribable +loveliness. When in the state of fructification, each leaf is edged with +a dotted fringe of brown seed. In the Fijian Isles its beauty has gained +for it the name here given; and in olden days the ridge-poles of the +temples were wreathed with it, as those of chiefs’ houses are to this +day. It also finds favour for personal adornment, trailing garlands of +this exquisite green being singularly becoming to a clear brown skin. + + + + + A LADY’S CRUISE IN A FRENCH MAN-OF-WAR. + + + + + CHAPTER I. + LETTER TO ENGLAND ANNOUNCING START FROM FIJI—VAGUE PLANS. + + + NASOVA, FIJI, _5th Sept. 1877_. + +MY DEAR EISA,—I have only time for a line, to enclose a packet of seed +of a lovely shrub which bears clusters of golden bells. Also to tell you +that I am just starting for a cruise in a French man-of-war, the +Seignelay, commanded by Captain Aube, who is taking Monseigneur Elloi, +the Roman Catholic Bishop of Samoa, a round of his diocese. Both are +exceedingly pleasant, and have made themselves much liked here. The +officers are a particularly gentlemanlike set. Judge of my amazement +(accustomed to the rigid regulations of the English navy), when these, +as one man, echoed an invitation given to me by the commander, to go for +a cruise over half the South Seas, where they purpose touching at many +isles, which I could by no possibility have any other chance of seeing. +Several of these most kind friends had placed their cabins at the +disposal of the captain, that he might offer me whichever he considered +most suitable. For the first day or two after this invitation was made, +we all treated it as a pleasant joke, never imagining that it could be +quite in earnest; but when at length we all became convinced that it +really was so, we agreed that there really could be no reason for +refusing so rare a chance of an expedition, which will be to me most +delightful. + +So I am actually to embark this afternoon, Lady Gordon and dear little +sailor Jack, and Captain Knollys, accompanying me on board, to see me +fairly started. + +This evening we sail for the Friendly Isles (Tonga), and thence proceed +to the Navigator’s Isles (Samoa), where there have been serious +disturbances, and where my friend Mrs Liardet, wife of the British +Consul, has for some time had about thirty chiefs living in sanctuary in +her house. I have long promised to visit her, should an opportunity +arise, so this is an admirable one. I shall probably take a return +passage thence in a German ship, and rejoin Lady Gordon at Loma Loma, a +point in this group, about one hundred miles from here. + +My French friends urge my going on to Tahiti, the loveliest isle in the +South Seas; but the utter uncertainty of how to get back thence, either +here or to Tasmania, where Lady Gordon hopes to spend Christmas, makes +me hesitate. If I could reach the Sandwich Isles, I should then be on +the direct line of the Pacific mail-steamers; but Tahiti is utterly out +of the world, and till the Seignelay arrives there, she will not receive +her further orders, and may perhaps be sent to Valparaiso, which has no +attractions for me. So my line of march is at present somewhat +undecided. I think I shall almost certainly return here from Samoa; but +as B. long ago said, of my wandering propensities, that I was just like +a knotless thread, I may perhaps slip through, and you may hear of my +vanishing into space! + +This place is looking lovely. It has improved wonderfully in these two +years, and has become so very homelike and pleasant, that I quite grudge +leaving it, with even the vague feeling of uncertainty which attaches to +any long journey; and though we all expect to return here, after a +winter in Tasmania, still, so many contingencies may arise, that one +always feels a home in the colonies to be a very insecure tenure. + +Now I must finish my packing, which requires a good deal of +consideration in case it _should_ turn out that my locomotive demon +urges me onward, and that I _do_ visit the Hawaiian Isles, and then +Tasmania, ere returning here. + +I wish you could see my room here, now. It really is a museum—the walls +covered with trophies of all the strange Fijian things I have collected +during the last two years. I have just finished a series of about sixty +studies of Fijian pottery, representing a hundred and fifty pieces, all +different, and made without any wheel, by the wives of the poor +fishermen. Some of the forms are most artistic, and the colour is very +rich. No time for more. I will write next from Tonga. + + + + + CHAPTER II. +LIFE IN A FRENCH MAN-OF-WAR—CONVENT-LIFE IN TONGA—EARLY MARTYRS—WESLEYAN + MISSION—ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSION—CYCLOPEAN TOMBS AT MUA—GIGANTIC + TRILITHON—FINES AND TAXES—KING GEORGE TUPOU. + + + ON BOARD LE SEIGNELAY, OFF TONGATABU, + _Friday, 7th Sept. 1877_. + +DEAR LADY GORDON,—I may as well begin a letter at once, in case of a +chance of posting it by some stray ship, but as yet there is none even +on the horizon. + +Is it possible that it was only last Wednesday afternoon when you and +Jack left me on board the Seignelay to try an entirely new experiment in +ship-life—only three days since we ate our first _méringues_ in that +charming little dining-room, of which I now feel such a thoroughly old +inhabitant? I can scarcely believe it. + +Still more wonderful, is it scarcely a fortnight since I first met the +amethystine bishop, and this extraordinarily kind captain, who both seem +like real old friends, as do, indeed, all the people on board, from the +officers and quartermasters, down to Antoine, the Italian _maître +d’hôtel_, who takes me under his especial charge, and is as careful as +any old nurse? I know that if I were sick he would insist on coming to +the rescue, but as yet he has not had the smallest chance of showing me +such attentions; for though we had one really rough day, the ship is so +very large and steady, that you scarcely perceive any motion. You did +not half see her; she really is a noble vessel, and all her machinery is +so beautifully kept—such a display of polished brass and steel—brighter +than on most English men-of-war. Of course I have been duly lionised +over every corner of her, and I think the most novel sight of all, is +serving out rations, and seeing wine pumped up from huge vats, to fill +the small barrels, each of which represents eight men’s daily allowance. +What immense supplies must be laid in when such a ship starts on a long +cruise! They are sufficiently startling on board such vessels as the +Messageries Maritimes, where every soul on board drinks _vin ordinaire_ +at every meal, and where there is daily consumption of about two hundred +bottles, and the store laid in at Marseilles has to suffice for the +voyage to Yokohama, and back to Marseilles. + +The little cabin assigned to me is charming—so full of natty +contrivances to make the most of space, and all so pretty. I believe +that several of our kind friends on board have contributed to make it +so. One lent a beautifully carved mirror, another a pin-cushion of +pale-blue silk and lace. Fixed to the wall are fascinating flower-vases +of black Chilian pottery, brought from Lima, and most delicate little +_kava_ bowls from the Wallis Isles, now utilised to hold soap, sponge, +and matches. I find a whole chest of drawers empty, and various shelves, +which I know can only have been cleared at great inconvenience. A small +bookcase contains a very nice selection of French and English books—for +my especial host, M. de Gironde, has travelled a good deal in England +and in Scotland, and reads English well, as do several of the others. +Having so generously given me his cabin, he has taken up his abode in +the chart-room on the bridge, and declares he likes it far better; that +it is much cooler, and that he never was so comfortable, &c. In short +(in common with all the others), he tries to make me really feel as if I +were conferring a huge obligation on the whole party by having come. +Never were there such hospitable people. I have had a good deal of +spoiling in the course of my life, but I never had it in such perfection +as now. Every creature on board is so cordial, that it would be quite +impossible not to feel so in return. I think my French is improving! I +can now distinguish the Brétons from the Provençals, and both from the +Parisians. + +The officers are a pleasant, well-informed set, who have travelled with +their eyes open, and their relations with their fine old captain are +those of cordial sons with a father. It would be difficult for any one +accustomed to the rigid stiffness of the British navy to understand such +a condition. Even the frank kindliness with which sub-officers and men +are addressed, sounds to me as unusual as it is pleasant. Life on this +ship seems that of a happy family, with the filial and paternal +affections unusually well developed, and M. Aube is generally the centre +of a cheery group, chatting unreservedly on whatever topic may arise. + +At least two of the officers are daily invited to breakfast, and two +others to dinner in the captain’s little cabin, all coming in their +turn. And six or eight generally come in to evening tea, a ceremony +which, I suspect, has been instituted specially out of deference to my +supposed English habits. Besides the bishop and myself, M. Pinart is +also the captain’s guest, and I find him pleasant and very ready to +impart his information, which, as you know, is considerable, on all +scientific matters. The others have little jokes at his expense, and +declare that he is more of a Yankee than a Frenchman. I can only say the +combination is good. + +The feeding is excellent, beginning with early chocolate. Breakfast is +at 9 o’clock, and ends with coffee and liqueurs, especially most +delicious Chartreuse, which some of us in an irreverent whisper call “La +meilleure œuvre des moines.” Dinner, with similar ending, is at 5 +o’clock, and tea at 8. Antoine has orders to give me luncheon at 1, with +due respect to English habits; but I find this quite superfluous; so +that ceremony falls through. By the by, tell A. that his champagne-cup +produced quite a sensation. It was generally set down as being _de +l’hydromel_, and the greatest curiosity prevails concerning its +ingredients, which I, unfortunately, am not able to satisfy. + +We are now about 250 miles east of Fiji, and sighted land this +afternoon; we have just anchored off Tonga, which certainly compares +unfavourably with our beautiful Fijian isles. This is the dullest, +flattest land I have yet seen—a low shore, fringed with long lines of +cocoa-palm, which, seen from the sea, are singularly monotonous. The +king’s town, Nukualofa, consists of a long row of more or less ugly +villas, stores, and barracks, built of wood and painted white: one is +bright-green. The houses are roofed with zinc or shingle, and the +general effect is that of a new English watering-place. King George’s +palace is a rather handsome wooden building like a hotel, and is +reserved for his guests. The Government offices occupy another wooden +building, and just beyond them is the printing-office, in which a few +books, a magazine, and an almanac, are printed in the native tongue. A +large Wesleyan church, painted white, and with a very small steeple, +stands on a green hill on the site of an old fortification, and close to +it is the house of Mr Baker, Wesleyan missionary. + +About a mile and a half along the shore is another village called +Maofanga, where there is another Wesleyan church, but it is chiefly a +Roman Catholic settlement; and near a neat thatched chapel of the true +Tongan type, I see a long pleasant-looking bungalow, which I am told is +a convent, the home of a society of French Sisters. To-morrow morning I +hope to go ashore and see everything. + + * * * * * + + _Saturday Night_, + IN MY CELL, CONVENT OF THE IMMACULATE + CONCEPTION, MAOFANGA. + +You see my experiences are rapidly enlarging. I have to-day made my very +first acquaintance with conventual life, and am greatly interested by +it, and by the exceedingly ladylike kind women who, at a hint from the +bishop, invited me to stay with them as long as the ship is in harbour, +and have given me this clean, tidy wee room, which, though not +luxurious, is some degrees more so than their own simple cells. I have a +table, a chair, and a tiny bedstead. + +There are only four Sisters. The eldest, Sister Anna, is a very old +lady, but most courteous and friendly. Sœur Marie des Anges is a cosy +middle-aged woman, who has lately come from the convent at Samoa to take +care of Sœur Marie des Cinq Plaies, a sweet, pretty young woman, with a +terrible cough, and evidently fast dying of consumption. The fourth +sister, Sœur Marie-Jésu, is Irish. All are most gentle and kind, and +seem deeply interested in their schools and the care of a large number +of nice-looking women and children. I think myself most fortunate in +having been invited to stay here, instead of finding quarters in the +ugly, pretentious town of foreign houses, which, whatever advantages +they may possess, are quite opposed to all our predilections in favour +of native architecture. + +The surroundings here are calm and quiet. Through a frame of tall palms, +with ever-waving fronds, we look to the blue harbour, where the friendly +big ship lies mirrored—a ship which, to these good Sisters, is a link to +that dear home-land, _la belle France_, which they do so love, but to +which they have bidden a long farewell, in devotion to their mission +work in these far isles. The schoolroom is under the same roof, and full +of bright intelligent girls. At sunset there were vespers in the church +close by, and, as the delicate sister was ordered to stay at home, and +do her part by ringing the Angelus, we sat together and listened to the +singing, which was very good,—the Tongan rendering of Canticles and +harmonised Litanies being excellent. The harmonium is played by Père +Lamaze, who is a good musician. Another father, a fine old Bréton +priest, is the architect of a handsome wooden church now in process of +erection. (When the Seignelay touched at the Wallis Isles on their way +to Fiji, the bishop consecrated a really very fine new church there; and +as the Roman Catholic Mission in those isles is very strong, there seem +to have been wonderful rejoicings on the occasion. Among the offerings +of the people were 150 pigs, which are being gradually consumed by the +crew.) + +This morning, soon after breakfast, Captain Aube landed me, in charge of +M. Berryer and M. Pinart, to explore the hideous town. The shore-reef is +so wide that at low tide there is a broad expanse of slimy mud and sharp +coral; so it was with some difficulty that we effected a landing, just +below the king’s house, whence floated the flag of Tonga, which is red, +with a white cross on one corner. King George has a guard of two hundred +men, some of whom are arrayed in scarlet, and a detachment of these were +on duty, expecting a formal visit from the captain and the +bishop,—which, however, did not come off till the afternoon, when there +was much saluting—twenty-one guns fired from the ship, and twenty-one +returned. + +We naturally made for the highest point of this very flat town—namely, +the Wesleyan church, which, though it only stands about fifty feet above +the sea, commands a good bird’s-eye view of its surroundings—thatched +roofs just seen through luxuriant bread-fruit trees, cocoa-palms, and +large-leaved bananas, with scarlet hybiscus and rosy oleanders to give +an occasional touch of colour. + +Close to the church is the grave of the commander of an English +man-of-war, who, forty years ago, allowed his valour to overcome his +discretion, and himself led an armed force to assist the present King +George in asserting his claim to the throne. In charging a stockade he +and several of his men were killed, and an English gun was captured, +which still lies at the village of Bea, about four miles from here. + +Another very sad memory clings to this place—namely, that of the +barbarous massacre in the year 1799 of three of the very first +missionaries who ever landed in the South Pacific. A party of ten men +were sent to Tonga in 1796 by the London Mission, and for three years +they contrived to hold their ground, till, on the breaking out of a +civil war, three of their number were murdered, and the others were +compelled to fly, and conceal themselves as best they could. On this +occasion, as on almost every other when the lives of Christian teachers +have been sacrificed, the action of the savages was distinctly due to +the influence of wicked white men. The culprit at Tonga was an escaped +English convict, who, having won the ear of the king, persuaded him that +these men were wizards, and that an epidemic, which was then raging, was +due to their malignant sorceries. So, at the bidding of this scoundrel, +the poor savages murdered their true friends. + +That any should have escaped was due to the most providential and +unlooked-for arrival of a ship captured in the Spanish war and brought +to Tahiti—whence a member of that mission undertook to navigate her to +New South Wales, on condition she might call at Tongatabu, to see how it +fared with his brethren in the Friendly Isles. Thus happily were the +survivors rescued, and the mission abandoned, till the Wesleyans +ventured to reoccupy the dangerous ground, with what success we well +know, seeing that to the aid given by their Tongan converts was due much +of their wonderful progress in Fiji. On the green hill of Nukualofa are +the graves of those early martyrs, shadowed by dark, mournful casuarina +trees. + +Leaving the church, on the little grassy hill, we descended to the dead +level, and passed long rows of thatched houses embowered in flowering +shrubs, with banana and pine-apple gardens. These are the homes of the +mission students and their families,—all very tidy, and with well-kept +grass paths and green lawn all round. + +All the native houses here are oval in form, having both ends rounded. +They have the same deep thatch as the Fijian houses, generally of reeds +or wild sugar-cane. The walls are of plaited cocoa-palm leaves or reeds +interlaced. The houses have no stone foundation to raise them above the +damp earth, and in many of the poorer huts the floors are merely strewn +with dried grass instead of having neat mats, such as the poorest Fijian +would possess. Only in the wealthier houses did we see coarse mats, made +of pandanus. In the majority, however, there is an inner room screened +off to form a separate sleeping corner; and we noticed that the Tongan +pillow closely resembles that of Fiji, being merely a bit of bamboo +supported by two legs. The cooking is generally done in a hut by itself, +built over an oven in the ground; but a good many ovens are _al fresco_, +and the daily yams, or the pig of high festivals, are baked quite in +public. + +Mr Baker,[1] who is the head of the mission here, was absent, but we +called on his wife, who received us kindly, and made me a present of a +pretty Tongan basket and combs. She regretted that she could not offer +to take me for a drive, her carriage having come to grief. There are all +manner of vehicles here—wonderful in our eyes after having so long +looked with reverence on the engineer’s wheel-barrow as the only wheeled +conveyance in Fiji! There are also a number of horses, descendants of +those left here by Captain Cook, A.D. 1777, which the Tongans ride at a +hard gallop, with a tether rope round their necks in lieu of a bridle. +Finding that Nukualofa was utterly lacking in picturesque incident (at +least so it appeared to eyes satiated with Fijian beauty of scenery), we +followed a broad grass path which runs along the shore and intersects +the isle. Like everything else here, it is in apple-pie order. King +George is too wise to waste the labour of his subjects, albeit convicts; +so instead of useless stone-drill or treadmill, all Tongan criminals +labour for the good of their brethren, eminently to the improvement of +the isle. How often, in India and Ceylon, when unable to close my ears +to the monotonous word of command of some police sergeant, “Take up—put +down,” “Take up—put down,” I have watched the cruel waste of human +strength expended on lifting a heavy stone, carrying it so many paces, +and putting it down—and then doing the same thing again, and again, and +again, in the stifling heat of a tropical sun! Would that our prison +disciplinarians might borrow a hint of wisdom from this once savage +Tongan king! + +Following the pleasant path, beneath the shadow of greenest bananas, +with the sunlight streaming in mellow gold through the tall palms far +overhead, we reached the village of Maofanga, where we found the bishop +at the house of the Fathers. + +Père Lamaze then brought me here to the good Sisters, who received me +with open arms. The delicate one immediately slipped out to do a little +preliminary milking, that she might give me a cup of delicious fresh +milk, and with it she brought me some lovely blossoms from the little +garden in which the Sisters cultivate tall French lilies and a few other +flowers to mingle with the abundant pink oleanders, in their church +decorations. + +After vespers, the day’s work being done, they came to my cell, and we +all sat down on the mats and had a pleasant little gossip. I think that +a breath from the outside wicked world cannot quite have lost all charm, +and two at least of these ladies have evidently lived in good French +society. Now they have gone to their cells, and there is not a sound in +the quiet night. My door opens on to a verandah leading into the garden, +and just beyond lies a peaceful burial-ground—neatly kept graves of +Christian Tongans, some marked with simple crosses, and overgrown with +flowers. + +Now I must say good-night, as to-morrow will be a long day. + + _Monday 10th._ + +On Sunday morning I was awakened before dawn by hearing the Sisters +astir. They were lighting their own tiny chapel, where, at sunrise, they +had an early celebration, in order that they might not be obliged to +remain fasting till the later service. + +At 7.30 they brought me _café au lait_ in my cell, and at 8 we went +together to high Mass in the large native church. Of course there was a +very full congregation, as, the better to impress the native mind, all +the French sailors were paraded, to say nothing of all the officers, +who, dressed in full uniform, were ranged in a semicircle inside the +altar-rails, on show—a very trying position, especially to the excellent +captain, who, though a thoroughly good man, would scarcely be selected +as a very rigid Catholic. Indeed I cannot think that devotion to the +Church is a marked characteristic of this mission-ship. + +Accustomed only to see the good bishop in his ordinary garb of rusty +black and faded purple, it was startling to see him assume the gorgeous +Episcopal vestments of gold brocade with scarlet linings—the mitre, +which was put off and on so frequently at different parts of the +service, and all the other ecclesiastical symbols. The friendly priests, +too, were hard to recognise in their richly brocaded vestments; and I +confess that to my irreverent eyes the predominance of yellow and +scarlet, and a good many other things besides, forcibly recalled the +last gorgeous ritualistic services I had witnessed in many Buddhist +temples in Ceylon, and on the borders of Thibet. Such impressions tend +to wandering thoughts, and mine, I fear, are apt to become rather +“mixed.” Anyhow it was a relief when the scarlet and gold vestments were +replaced by purple, with beautiful white lace. All the accessories were +excellent. A native played the harmonium well, and Tongan _enfants de +chœur_ chanted the service admirably. Altogether the scenic effect was +striking. + +Chairs had been provided for all the foreigners present, and of course I +sat with the Sisters, though it would have seemed more natural to curl +up on a mat beside the native women, as we do in Fiji. These Catholic +Tongans so far retain their former customs, that they continue to sit on +the ground, although the polished wooden floor, which has replaced the +soft grass and mats of old days, is not exactly a luxurious seat. + +In the Wesleyan churches, which are here built as much as possible on +ugly foreign models, regular benches are the rule. I trust it will be +long ere our simple and suitable churches in Fiji are replaced by +buildings of that sort. I grieve to say that this is by no means the +only point in which the natives here have departed from primitive +custom. Not content with the noble work of utterly exterminating +idolatry and cannibalism, the teachers in these isles are afflicted with +an unwholesome belief in foreign garments, and by every means in their +power encourage the adoption of European cloth and unbecoming dresses; +consequently many of the Tongan men glory in full suits of black, while +some of the girls appear in gaudy and vulgar hats, trimmed with +artificial flowers. Imagine these surmounting a halo of spiral curls! + +Is it not strange that this admirable mission, which has done such +magnificent work in these isles, cannot be content to allow its Tongan +converts the same liberty in outer matters as its wise representatives +in Fiji allow their congregations? Here the “gold ring and goodly +apparel” are promoted to the foremost stiff benches. There the +distracting “care for raiment” is reduced to a minimum, and all the +people kneel together devoutly, on the soft accustomed mats, in houses +of the same type as their cool pleasant homes, without a thought that a +building of a European type, with hard uncomfortable seats, and +unbecoming foreign clothes, can render their prayer and praise more +acceptable to their Father in heaven. + +Nothing astonishes me more, in reading any of the early missionary +records of grand work done in these seas, than the frequent laudatory +allusions to the general adoption by the converts of some fearful and +wonderful head-dress, in imitation of the hideous bonnets of our +grandmothers, and worn by the wives of the early missionaries. Immense +praise was bestowed on the ingenious females who, under the direction of +those excellent women, succeeded in manufacturing coal-scuttle bonnets +of cocoa-palm leaves. Still more startling was the same monstrous form, +when cunningly joined pieces of thin tortoise-shell were the materials +used to imitate the brown silk bonnet of England! We may well rejoice +that these horrors are no longer an integral feature of Christianity in +the South Seas! It is sufficiently dreadful to see the ultra +“respectable” classes donning coats, waistcoats, and trousers. + +Immediately after service I returned to luncheon on board, to be ready +to start with Monseigneur Elloi for Mua, which is the principal Roman +Catholic station here, distant about twelve miles. A large man-of-war +boat with twelve rowers carried the bishop’s party, which consisted of +two Fathers, and four of the ship’s officers. Several others got horses +and rode across the isle. A party of Tongan students filled another +boat. Wind, tide, and current being against us, the journey took three +hours. It is a dreary coast, everywhere bound by a wide expanse of +villanous shore-reef, which makes landing simply impossible. The +approach to Mua is by a channel which seemed to me several miles long, +and is like a river cut through the reef, which edges it on either side. +Here we rowed against a sweeping current, and the men had hard work to +make way. + +On reaching Mua we found the riders awaiting us, and a great procession +of priests, headed by Père Chevron, a fine grey-haired old man, who has +been toiling here for thirty-five years. Scarlet and white-robed +acolytes and others, carried really handsome flags and banners. Their +chanting was excellent. They escorted the bishop to the beautiful Tongan +church, which is a building of purely native type, with heavy thatch, +and all the posts, beams, and other timbers are fastened together +without the use of a single nail. All are tied with strong vines from +the forests, and plaited over with sennit—_i.e._, string of divers +fibres,—of hybiscus, cocoa-palm, pandanus, and other plants, ranging in +colour through all shades of yellow, brown, and black. These are laid on +in beautiful and most intricate patterns, and form a very effective and +essentially Polynesian style of decoration. The altar, which is entirely +of native manufacture, is really very fine. It is made of various island +woods, inlaid with whales’-tooth ivory and mother-of-pearl. All the +decorations in this church are in excellent taste, and bespeak most +loving care. Here, as at Maofanga, comfort is sacrificed to appearance +by the substitution of a polished wooden floor for the accustomed mats. +I cannot say I think this an improvement, as it is a hard seat during a +long service. + +However, on this occasion I did not experience its discomfort, for, +shocking to say, in view of the example to the natives, none of us +attended the service, but all went off at once, guided by M. Pinart +(whose antiquarian instincts had already led him thither), to the tombs +of the Toui Tongas, the old kings of Tonga. They are formed of gigantic +blocks of volcanic rock, said to have been brought to these flat isles +from the Wallis group. They are laid in three courses of straight lines, +like cyclopean walls, and lie at intervals through the bush. They are +much overgrown with tangled vegetation, especially with the +widespreading roots of many banyan trees, and though wonderful, are not +sketchable. + +In olden days, when the Toui-Tonga was here laid to his rest, his +favourite wife and most valued possessions were buried with him. All his +subjects, young and old, male and female, shaved their heads and mourned +for four months. Those engaged in preparing his sacred body for the +grave were obliged to live apart for ten months, as being _tabu_ or +sacred. + +When the corpse had been deposited on this great burial-mound, all the +men, women, and children assembled, and sat round in a great circle, +bearing large torches made of dried palm-leaves. Six of the principal +men then walked several times round and round the place of burial, in +sunwise procession, waving the blazing torches on high; finally, these +were extinguished and laid on the ground. Then all the people arose and +made the sunwise circuit of the royal tombs, as has been done from the +earliest days, by men of all nations and colours,[2] and then they, too, +extinguished the emblematic torches, and laid them on the earth, in +memory of him whose flame of life had passed away for ever from the poor +dead clay. This ceremony was repeated on fourteen successive nights. + +The mystery in all antiquities of this sort lies in the problem, how a +race possessed only of stone adzes could possibly have hewn these huge +blocks in the first instance, and how they then transported them on +their frail canoes across wide distances of open sea. Tombs of the same +character were common to all these groups, and were called _marais_. +They combined the purpose of mausoleums of the chiefs, and of temples +where human and other sacrifices were offered. + +Some of them were of gigantic dimensions. Captain Cook described one at +Papara in Tahiti, which consisted of an immense pyramid, 267 feet long +by 87 wide, standing on a pavement measuring 360 feet by 354. On its +summit stood a wooden image of a bird, and a fish carved in stone, +representing the creatures especially reverenced by that tribe. + +The pyramid was, in fact, a huge cairn of round pebbles, “which, from +the regularity of their figure, seem to have been wrought.” It was faced +with great blocks of white coral, neatly squared and polished, and laid +in regular courses, forming eleven great steps, each of which was 4 feet +high, so that the height of the pile was 44 feet. Some of these stones +were upwards of 3 feet in length and 2½ in width. The pavement on which +the pyramid was built was of volcanic rock, also hewn into shape, some +of the stones being even larger than the coral blocks, and all perfectly +joined together, without mortar. + +As Captain Cook found no trace of any quarry in the neighbourhood, he +inferred that these blocks must have been carried from a considerable +distance; and even the coral with which the pyramid was faced, lies at +least three feet under the water. The question, therefore, which puzzled +him, as it does us this day, was, how did these savages, ignorant of all +mechanical appliances, and possessing no iron tools, contrive to hew +these wonderful _marais_, which were the temples and tombs of every +Polynesian group? The majority were pulled to pieces by the natives when +they abandoned idolatry, but happily for the antiquarian, some of the +tombs of the mighty dead escaped these over-zealous reformers; and +though the coral altars are no longer polluted by human blood, the grey +ruins still remain, now overgrown by forest-trees, and more solemn in +their desolation than when those hideous rites were practised by the +poor savages at the bidding of ruthless priests. + +In the course of our walk we saw some lovely little pigeons, +bright-green with purple head, and a number of larger ones, green and +yellow. Also many small bats skimming about the cocoa-palms, darting to +and fro in pursuit of the insects which make their home in the crown of +the tree. Towards dusk a multitude of fruit-bats with soft fur appeared, +flapping on heavy wing, and feeding on the flowers of various tall +trees. We also noticed a number of tree swifts, reminding us forcibly of +our own swallows: like them they skim airily about the houses, but +instead of resting under the eaves, they seek a safer home in the tall +palms. + +Returning to the village, we lingered beneath the fine old trees known +as Captain Cook’s, till summoned by the Fathers to supper at their +house, which stands close to the church. They gave us the best they +had,—namely, salt-junk and villanously cooked cabbage, whereat their +naval guests secretly groaned, and bewailed the excellent _cuisine_ they +had left on board; but to these good ascetics such fare seemed too +luxurious, so, although it was Sunday, and a great festival, they would +taste nothing but a few slices of yam. I find them most interesting +companions, having been so long in the isles, that they are familiar +with all details of native manners and customs. The old Père Chevron is +particularly pleasant. He has worked here for several years longer than +our good old friend Père Bréhéret of Levuka, to whom he bade me send his +loving greetings, which I hope you will deliver. + +After supper with the Fathers, a kind Scotchwoman, Mrs Barnard, the only +white woman in the place, came to take me to her house for the night, +where she made me most comfortable, though I could not but fear that she +and her husband had given me their own room. He is agent for a +merchant’s house in the colonies. I found my hostess was a Cameron from +Lochaber, who has retained her pure Gaelic tongue, and speaks both it +and English with the sweet intonation ascribed to the Princess of Thule. +Great was her delight when she learnt the real name of her guest, and +many a pleasant reminiscence she had to tell of certain of my own +nearest kindred.... We talked of mutual friends in the dear old north +and on the west coast, and many a touching memory was reawakened for us +both. Verily the ends of the world are bound by tender human links! + +My hostess was herself astir long before dawn, to prepare breakfast for +her countrywoman, as I was to make an early expedition with my French +friends to Haamonga, distant about eight miles, to see a wonderful +trilithon. The Fathers lent us their dogcart, but had no horse. However, +they succeeded in borrowing one, which M. Pinart volunteered to drive. +It proved a brisk trotter, and we sped along cheerily. Most of the +others rode, escorted by two _kanaques_—a word which, though it simply +means “a man,” is used by the French as a generic term for all manner of +islanders in North and South Pacific. + +It was a lovely morning and a delightful drive, over a good broad grass +road—the bush on either side fragrant with jessamine, and the trees in +many places matted with such tangles of large, brilliantly blue +convolvulus as I have seen nowhere else but in the Himalayas. The lilac +marine ipomæa abounds everywhere, and we passed dense masses of the +large-leaved white sort. From these lovely hiding-places flashed green +pigeons and blue kingfishers, startled by our approach. Tall sugar-cane, +wild ginger with scarlet blossom, and blue clitoria, with here and there +a clump of glossy bananas or quaint papawa, kept up the tropical +character of the vegetation. + +We had no difficulty in finding the great dolmen of which we were in +search. It stands on a grassy lawn, surrounded by bush, and is certainly +a remarkable object. It differs from all other trilithons I have seen or +heard of, in that the two supporting pillars are cut out at the top to +secure the transverse capstone, which is hewn. + +The height above ground is 15 feet, length 18 feet, and the width 12 +feet. Nothing whatever is known concerning its origin, and the natives +have apparently no tradition concerning it. + +This is the only rude stone monument I have seen in the Pacific, but I +am told that others have been observed in different groups, though on a +smaller scale; for instance, in the Society Isles, where the great altar +of the principal _marai_ on Huahine is a large slab of unhewn stone, +resting on three boulders. Around it are the rock-terraces which formed +the rude temple. + +At Haamonga the cyclopean trilithon stands alone. All others known to +us, such as those at Stonehenge, at Tripoli, Algeria, and in Central +America, are found in connection with circles of huge stones, to which +they have apparently been the gateway; but here there does not appear to +have been any circle, not even a detached dolmen. + +In its weird solitude it most resembles the cromlech of Byjnath in +Bengal; but what may be its story none can possibly guess. One thing +only is certain, that these grey stones were brought here by some +long-forgotten race, who little dreamt, when they raised this ponderous +monument, that a day would come when _it_ should survive as the sole +proof that _they_ ever existed. + +[Illustration: + + TRILITHON ON TONGATABU + + FRIENDLY ISLES. +] + +We have been told that within the memory of persons now living, an +enormous _kava_ bowl stood on the horizontal stone, and that most solemn +and sacred drinking festivals were held here. It is very probable that +this may have been the case, as the people would, in heathen days, very +naturally retain some tradition of reverence for the trilithon, as the +peasants of Brittany, and, I may say, of Britain, do for similar +erections to the present day, assembling for annual festivals at “the +stones,” though the origin of Carnac, Stonehenge, and Stennis, is as +unknown as that of Haamonga. + +Returning to the village we saw that the church was crowded, and that +there were a number of candidates for confirmation. Judging that the +service would occupy some time, and being anxious to see as much of the +neighbourhood as possible, we drove along the coast to a particularly +fine banyan, noted in Captain Cook’s chart, and beneath its shadow we +rested awhile, and enjoyed a very pleasant half-hour overlooking a calm, +beautiful sea. + +We reached Mua just as the congregation was dispersing, and were +troubled with some qualms on the score of our bad example, but the +considerate bishop gave us full absolution. I regret to say that a +considerable proportion of the people were like hideously-dressed-up +apes, masculine and feminine—many of the former in seedy black clothes, +and some of the latter attired in gay flimsy silk gowns, inflated with +large crinolines, and with baby hats, trimmed with pink and blue +flowers, stuck on the top of their fuzzy heads. Hitherto, as you know, +my ideas of Tongans have been derived only from the stately men and +women who have settled in Fiji, and there, like their neighbours, have +retained the graceful drapery of native cloth. Here the influence of +certain persons interested in trade is so strong, that the manufacture +of _tappa_ is discouraged by every possible means; and a heavy penalty +attaches to making it on any, except one, day in the week. It seems that +this law was passed in King George’s absence, and I am happy to learn +that he was exceedingly angry—though, as yet, the law stands unrepealed, +and the manufacture is doomed to cease altogether this year. + +Whoever is to blame, the system of taxation and fines is something +astounding. A woman who is found without a pinafore, even in her own +house, is fined two dollars, no matter how ample is her petticoat. +Should she venture beyond her threshold minus this garment, she is +liable to a fine of three dollars. If caught smoking, she is fined two +and a half dollars, and one and a half dollar costs. Imagine such +legislation for a people whose highest proof of reverence in olden days +was to strip themselves to the waist in presence of their king, or on +approaching a sacred spot, and who still consider any upper garment as +altogether superfluous—a people, moreover, whose very nature it is to be +for ever rolling up minute cigarettes for themselves and their friends! + +The most atrocious of all the regulations is one inflicting a fine of +ten dollars on any man found without a shirt, though wearing such a +_sulu_ (kilt) as would in Fiji be considered full dress, either at +church or Government House. One of the lads told us he had actually been +made to pay this fine a few days ago, having put off his shirt while +fishing. Wet or dry they must wear the unaccustomed foreign clothing, +instead of the former coating of oil, which made these people as +impervious to water as so many ducks. But whether by compulsion or for +vainglory, the hideous foreign clothes are worn during the burning heat +of the day; then, under the friendly veil of night, comfort and economy +are consulted by dispensing with superfluous garments; and so the heavy +night-dews act with double power, and chills produce violent coughs, +which too often end in consumption and death.[3] + +These people, like most kindred races when brought in contact with +civilisation, are fast dying out. I believe there are now only about +9000 in the Tongan group, 5000 on Happai, and 5000 in Vavau district. +They certainly are a very fine well-built race, with clear +yellowish-brown skin and Spanish colouring; they also resemble Spaniards +or Italians in their animation of expression,—the muscles of the +forehead working in a most remarkable manner, especially to express +wonder or interest. They have fine faces, well-developed forehead, +strong chin, and features generally like those of an average +good-looking European. Not the slightest approach to the “blubber lips +and monkey faces” of negro races, or of the isles lying nearer to the +equator. On the contrary, the mouth is well formed, and shows beautiful +teeth. The eyes are invariably dark brown, generally large and clear. +The beard, moustaches, and eyebrows are allowed to retain their natural +glossy black; but, as in Fiji, the hair is dyed of a light sienna by +frequent washing in coral-lime, and encircles the head with a yellow +halo, strangely in contrast with the dark eyes and eyebrows. Like that +of the Papuan, rather than the pure Polynesian races, it takes the form +of a mop of innumerable very fine spiral curls, of which each individual +hair twists itself into a tight corkscrew. It is crisp and glossy, and +very elastic; and if you draw it out full length, it at once springs +back to its natural form. Some of the women now allow their hair to grow +quite long. Both men and women march along with a proud overbearing gait +that always gives one an impression that they look on all other races +with something of contempt. + +Our morning’s work had given us such keen appetites that we did more +than justice to the breakfast which awaited us at the Fathers’ house, +though it must be confessed that the fare was of the coarsest; it was, +however, the very best they had to offer, and was evidently considered +quite a feast. My comrades congratulated one another that such viands +did not often fall to their lot! + +Immediately after breakfast we started on our return journey with a high +tide. Wind and current being in our favour, we flew down the river-like +passage through the wide coral-reef, which we had ascended with such +toil, and less than two hours brought us back to the good ship, and to +cordial greeting from her genial captain. He had invited King George of +Tonga and his grandson to dine on board, to meet the bishop and the +Fathers, and I was invited to join the party. The king, who ought +properly to be called Tupou or Toubo, which is the surname of all the +royal family, was received with a salute of twenty-one guns—the ship +dressed and yards manned, with sailors shouting “Vive la République!” +(an institution to which, I fancy, that most men on board are profoundly +indifferent—in fact several are declared royalists, and faithful +adherents of Henri V.) + +The Tongans were duly conducted all over the ship, and examined +machinery, guns, men’s quarters, and every detail, with apparent +interest. A long dinner followed, from which I escaped as soon as I +conveniently could. + +The king is a very fine old man, in height about 6 feet 2 inches. He was +dressed in a general’s full uniform, and his grandson in that of an +aide-de-camp—cocked-hat, &c. I confess I think that Thakombau and Maafu, +in their drapery of Fijian _tappa_, are far more imposing figures. The +king’s son, Unga, is at present seriously ill. His three sons govern the +three groups into which this island-kingdom of Tonga divides +itself—namely, Tongatabu, Happai, and Vavau. There are only about sixty +isles in all, and their area is about 600 square miles; so this is a +small matter compared with the 7000 square miles of Fiji. I am told that +here the land all belongs to the king, so that any one wishing to settle +can only do so as a tenant, leasing land from his Majesty. + +The feast being over, _le Roi kanaque_ departed amid blue and green +lights, one of which was reserved for us—_i.e._, the ecclesiastical +party—returning to the priest’s house and to the convent, where the +pleasant Sisters awaited me with kindest welcome; and we all sat on the +mats in my cell and chatted for a while. + +Now I am so very cold that I must go to bed. I think this climate must +be far more trying than that of Fiji. The heat in the daytime feels to +me greater, and every night is bitterly cold, necessitating piles of +rugs and blankets; while the dew is so drenching that the roofs always +drip as if there had been heavy rain. I do not wonder at the delicate +little Sœur Marie having fallen into consumption. It carries off many +strong natives. + + _Tuesday Night._ + +Wasn’t it just cold when I left off writing! I lay awake shivering for +two hours, though wrapped up in blanket, cloak, and big tartan plaid. I +find that the island of Tongatabu is known all over the group as the +cold isle, and I am ready to endorse the title. + +I devoted this forenoon to a sketch of this hospitable cottage-convent, +and in the afternoon went alone to see Mrs Baker, who took me to visit +the queen—a fine old lady, but very helpless, having dislocated her hip +by a fall eight years ago. She was sitting on the bare boards in a +wretched little room of a small house close to the large villa or palace +in which King George receives his guests, but in which he never lives, +preferring that his home should be _faka-Tonga_—_i.e._, adhering to +native customs so far as is consistent with keeping up appearances. But +here, again, we were struck by the uncomfortable substitution of a hard +wooden floor for the soft mats of a truly native home. As civilised +houses are glazed, the poor old queen, though much oppressed with heat, +sat beside a glass window, shaded by a filthy tattered rag which had +once been a curtain, but which in its palmiest days had been +immeasurably inferior to a handsome drapery of native cloth: indeed the +only symptom of comfort in the place was a curtain of Fijian _tappa_. + +The king and his chiefs were in council over church matters in a small +room adjoining the queen’s, so we had to talk in whispers. Various +female relations were grouped round the door, making the hot room still +hotter. I am much struck by the fact that these proud Tongans make use +of no titles. The Fijians always prefix the word _Andi_—_i.e._, Lady—to +the name of a woman of rank; but here the name is used bluntly, whether +in addressing a princess or her handmaid. + +Hearing of the grave assembly of the chiefs to discuss the affairs of +the Wesleyan Church, brought back vividly to my mind all that I had +heard in former days of this very King George, and of the prominent part +taken by him in rousing these islanders to abandon their gross +heathenism and cannibalism. So effectual has been his work, that now not +one trace of these old evils remains, and these islanders are looked +upon as old-established Christians. + +I had a pleasant walk back in the twilight, along the broad grass road +which runs parallel with the sea, and am now spending my last evening in +this peaceful convent. I am truly sorry that it is the last, for it will +feel like leaving real friends to part from these kind Sisters, who make +much of me, and do enjoy coming to sit with me in the evenings for a +little quiet chat. They bring all my meals in here, as it is against +their rules to allow me to feed with them in the refectory. In this +respect they are far more rigorous than the Fathers, who, as you know, +have invited me to supper and breakfast at their house. + + + + + CHAPTER III. +SAIL FROM TONGA TO VAVAU—VOLCANO OF TOFUA—WESLEYAN MISSION—TWO THOUSAND + MILES FROM A DOCTOR—ORANGE-GROVES—A LOVELY SEA LAKE—CORAL CAVES. + + + ON BOARD LE SEIGNELAY, + _Wednesday, 12th September 1877_. + +Here I am once more safely ensconced in my favourite niche, which is the +carriage of a big gun. Filled with red cushions, it makes a capital +sofa, and is a cosy, quiet corner, and a capital point of observation, +whence, without being in the way, I can look down on the various +manœuvres on deck—parades, gun practice, fire-parade, and so forth. We +embarked this morning early, the four Sisters, by special sanction of +the bishop, coming to see the last of me, and to breakfast with M. +Aube;—an outrageous piece of dissipation, they said, but almost like +once again setting foot in France. Four of the priests likewise escorted +the bishop, and we had an exceedingly cheerful ecclesiastical +breakfast-party, after which came a sorrowful parting, and then we +sailed away from Tonga, taking with us the Père Padel, a fine old Bréton +Father. + +We are now passing through the Happai group, and hope to-night to catch +a glimpse of the volcano of Tofua, or, as it is also called by the +natives, _Coe afi a Devolo_ (the Devil’s fire). It is a perfect volcanic +cone 2500 feet in height, densely wooded to the edge of the crater. +Strange to say, though the isle simply consists of this one active +volcano, there is said to be a lake on the summit of the mountain. It is +not stated to be a geyser; but the Tongans who visit it bring back small +black pebbles, which they strew on the graves of their dead. + +The Happai group consists of about forty small isles, some purely +volcanic, and others, as usual, combining coral on a volcanic +foundation. About twenty of these are inhabited. + + NEIAFU, VAVAU, _Thursday Evening_. + +The volcano proved to be quiescent. Not even a curl of luminous smoke +betrayed its character. The sea, however, made amends by the brilliancy +of its phosphoric lights. It was a dead calm, and from beneath the +surface shone a soft mellow glow, caused, I am told, by vast shoals of +living creatures, as though the mermaids were holding revel beneath the +waves, and had summoned all their luminous subjects to join in the +dance. I know few things in nature more fascinating than this lovely +fairy-like illumination. Its tremulous glow and occasional brilliant +shooting flashes are to me always suggestive of our own northern +lights—a sort of marine aurora. + +Our course this morning was very pretty, steaming for many miles through +narrow and intricate passages between the richly wooded headlands of +Vavau, the great island, and many outlying islets. Finally, we anchored +in what seemed like a quiet landlocked lake, at the village of Neiafu. + +The bishop went ashore at once, and was reverently welcomed by two +priests, one of whom, Père Bréton, has been here for about thirty years, +living a life so ascetic as to amaze even his brethren, so completely +does mind appear to have triumphed over matter. We sinners all agree +that having each been intrusted with the care of an excellent animal, we +are only doing our duty by feeding and otherwise caring for it to the +best of our ability. So the ascetic example is one which we reverence, +but have no intention of following, cold water and yam, day after day, +being truly uninviting. But the old man has not forgotten how to be +genial and kind to others, and is a general favourite. + +The Roman Catholic flock here is small, as is also the church, which, +however, is very neat. The Wesleyan Mission flourishes here, as it does +throughout these Friendly Isles. In the three groups—namely, Tonga, +Happai, and Vavau, it has 125 chapels, with an average attendance of +19,000 persons, of whom 8000 are church members. Four white missionaries +superintend the work of 13 native ministers, upwards of 100 +schoolmasters, and above 150 local preachers. At the Tubou Theological +College—so named in honour of King George Tubou—there are about 100 +students preparing for work as teachers or pastors. + +I landed with M. Pinart, and a half-caste Samoan woman, who could talk +some English, acted as our interpreter with the widow of the late +“governor,” a large comely woman, who invited us to her cool Tongan +house, where friendly, pleasant-looking girls peeled delicious oranges +faster than we could eat them. This whole village and district is one +orange-grove; every house is embowered in large orange-trees—the earth +is strewn with their fruit, the air fragrant. What an enchanting change +after Tonga, where there are no orange-trees, and where a sense of +stiffness and over-regulation seemed to pervade life! + +The present “governor” is a fine tall young chief, rejoicing in the name +of Wellington. He is acting for his father, Unga, King George’s +illegitimate son, whom he has declared heir to the throne, but who is at +present in very bad health. The young chief seems inclined to hold the +reins firmly and well. But at present the Vavau chiefs are in some +disgrace with King George, as they are suspected of plotting against +Unga, in favour of Maafu.[4] + +Having eaten oranges to our hearts’ content, we continued our walk to +the Wesleyan Mission, and on our way thither met the Rev. —— Fox on his +way to the ship, to see if we had a doctor on board. The latter having +already gone ashore, we returned together to the house—a quiet pleasant +home, but for the present saddened by the serious illness of the young +wife, who, a few weeks ago, gave birth to her first child. As Vavau can +furnish neither nurse nor doctor, the wife of the missionary in Happai +had, at great personal inconvenience, come thence in an open canoe to +officiate on the occasion. She had, however, been compelled to return +soon afterwards to her own nurslings, leaving the young mother and her +baby in charge of native women. A very slow recovery, accompanied with +some unfavourable symptoms, had produced such depression and alarm, that +just before our arrival, the poor husband had actually been making +arrangements for his wife’s return to Sydney for proper medical care. +But, to get there, involved, in the first instance, a journey of about +200 miles in an open canoe to reach Tonga, whence she would have to +proceed alone, in a wretched little sailing vessel, on a voyage of +upwards of 2000 miles (as the crow flies)—a serious undertaking for a +woman in robust health, but a terrible prospect for an invalid with a +young baby. + +Happily the timely arrival of the Seignelay dispelled this nightmare. M. +Thoulon, the good kind doctor (himself _père de famille_), at once +vetoed the rash arrangement, and his well-applied wisdom, and kind +encouraging words, have already restored heart to the dispirited young +wife; while a congenial talk with M. Pinart on the subject of Polynesian +dialects and races, has helped to cheer the husband, who, later, took us +to see his schools, pleasantly situated on a wooded hill, commanding a +lovely view of the landlocked harbour. Then strolling back through the +orange-groves, we returned on board, where I am now writing. The captain +and several of the officers have gone off duck-shooting, and expect good +sport. + + _Saturday Evening._ + +Yesterday morning, after a very early breakfast, I went ashore at 6.30 +with M. Pinart and Dr Thoulon. Mr Fox was waiting at the pier, and +returned with us to the mission-house, where we found the patient +already on the mend. I acted the part of interpreter for the doctor, who +was happily able to supply, as well as prescribe, all needful remedies +and tonics. So when we returned this afternoon to say good-bye, the +young mother looked like a different creature—so bright and happy. Truly +a blessed skill is that of the kindly leech! + +The previous evening Mr Fox had undertaken to borrow some horses, and +escort us to the summit of “The Pudding,” a wooded hill, commanding a +splendid map-like view of the strangely intersected land and water on +every side of us. The isles lie so close, one to the other, that we +could scarcely believe we were looking on the ocean, and not rather on a +network of clear calm lakes and rivers. All the isles appear to be +densely wooded, but at intervals along the shore we could distinguish +villages nestling among the trees. One small island has recently been +ceded to the Germans as a coaling station, and there seems some reason +for anxiety lest this small foothold should be taken further advantage +of. + +[Illustration: + + A CORAL CAVE. VAVAU. +] + +Our ride in the early morning was exceedingly pleasant. I had insured my +own comfort by bringing my side-saddle ashore. By some mistake we found +that the stirrup had been left in Fiji; but happily, on such a ship as +this, to want a thing is to have it, and I hear that a new stirrup and +strap are to be ready for me ere we reach Samoa. On the summit of the +hill we found breakfast all ready, a party of natives from the mission +having made an early start with tea, yams, ham and eggs—all of which had +been cooked gipsy-fashion. To this foundation we added the contents of a +hamper, which the thoughtful captain had directed his _maître d’hôtel_ +to send with us. So we had a royal feast, and then I settled down to do +a bird’s-eye sketch of the strange world outspread below, while gentle +and rather pretty brown girls, with sienna hair, sat by, peeling oranges +by the dozen, with which they fed us all incessantly. + +It is the part of true hospitality to peel oranges for a guest, as their +thick green skins contain so much essential oil, that the mere act of +removing them makes the hands very oily and uncomfortable. Woe betide +the rash and thirsty stranger who puts the green fruit to his lips to +suck it, as he might a golden orange in Europe. For many hours the +burning pain of almost blistered lips will remind him of his folly. + +Returning to the village, we found a large ten-oared boat waiting for +us, the captain having most kindly placed it at our disposal, to enable +us to explore the coast. Mr Fox guided us to a truly exquisite cave, +about five miles distant. Never before, in all my wanderings, had my +eyes been gladdened by such an ideal fairy grot. We rowed along the face +of beautiful crags, which we had passed on the previous day without a +suspicion of the wonderful hiding-place within them. Suddenly we steered +right into a narrow opening, and found ourselves in a great vaulted +cavern like a grand cathedral—a coral cave, with huge white stalactites +hanging in clusters from the roof, and forming a perfect gallery along +one side, from which we could almost fancy that white-veiled nuns were +looking down on us. + +The great outer cave is paved with lapis-lazuli, at least with water of +the purest ultra-marine, which was reflected in rippling shimmers of +blue and green on the white marble roof. For the sun was lowering, and +shone in glory through the western archway, lighting up the mysterious +depths of a great inner cavern, which otherwise receives but one ray of +light from a small opening far overhead, through which we saw blue sky +and green leaves. No scene-painter could have devised so romantic a +picture for any fairy pantomime. The French sailors were ecstatic in +their delight. They collected piles of old cocoa-nut fibre and dry +palm-leaves and kindled bright blazing fires, whose ruddy light glowed +on the dark crevices, which even the setting sun could not reach, and +blended with the blue and green reflected lights, and both played on the +white coral walls, and the white boat, and white figures—(for of course, +in the tropics, the sailors all wear their white suits). Soon these +active lads contrived to reach the gallery, and glided behind the +stalactite pillars, making the illusion of the nuns’ gallery still more +perfect. Altogether it was a scene of dream-like loveliness. + +All this coast is cavernous, and most tempting to explore. Very near my +fairy cave lies the one described by Byron, in “The Island,” which can +only be reached by diving— + + “A spacious cave + Whose only portal is the keyless wave + (A hollow archway by the sun unseen + Save through the billow’s glassy veil of green).” + +A huge rock, about 60 feet high, rises from the sea, with nothing to +indicate that it is hollow; but at a considerable depth beneath +low-water mark, there is an opening in the rock through which expert +divers can enter, and find themselves in a cave about 40 feet wide and +40 in height—the roof forming rude Gothic arches of very rich and varied +colour, and the whole incrusted with stalactites. The clear green water +forms the crystal pavement, but two lesser caves, branching off on +either side, afford a dry resting-place to such as here seek a temporary +refuge. The place is quite unique in its surpassing loveliness; and the +brilliant phosphoric lights which gleam with every movement of the +water, and which are reflected in pale tremulous rays, that seem to +trickle from the stalactites and lose themselves among the high arches, +give to the whole a weird ghostly effect, quite realising all one’s +fancies of a spirit-world. + +This home of the mermaids was first discovered by a young Tongan, who +was diving in pursuit of a wounded turtle. Filled with wonder and +delight, he lingered a few moments in admiration, then, recollecting how +valuable such a hiding-place might prove in days of ceaseless +intertribal war, he determined to keep his own counsel. So when he +returned to the surface he held his peace, and all his companions were +filled with wonder and admiration at the length of time he could remain +under water. + +Not very long after this, his family incurred the anger of the great +chief of Vavau, and one and all were disgraced, and in continual danger +of their lives. But the chief had a beautiful daughter, who loved this +bold young islesman, and though under any circumstances he was of too +lowly birth to dare to claim her openly in marriage, he persuaded her to +forsake her father’s house and come to that which he had prepared for +her in the romantic grotto. + +Here she remained hidden for several months, only venturing to swim to +the upper world in the starlight, and ever on the alert to dive to her +hiding-place on the slightest alarm. Of course her simple bathing-dress +of cocoa-nut oil and garlands did not suffer much from salt water; or if +it did, trails of sea-weed quickly supplied fresh clothing. Her love +brought constant supplies of fruit, to add to the fish which she herself +provided: and so the happy weeks flew by, till at last the companions of +the young man began to wonder why he left them so often, to go away all +by himself, and especially they marvelled that he invariably returned +with wet hair—(for the Tongans have the same aversion as the Fijians to +wetting their hair, and rarely do so without good cause). So at length +they tracked him, and saw that when his canoe reached the spot where he +had stayed so long under water in pursuit of the turtle, he again +plunged into the green depths, and there remained. They waited till he +had returned to the land, suspecting no danger. Then they dived beside +the great rock-mass, which seemed so solid, though it was but the crust +of a huge bubble—and soon they too discovered the opening, through which +they swam, and rising to the surface beheld the beautiful daughter of +the chief, who had been mourned as one dead. So they carried her back to +her indignant father—but what became of her hapless lover history does +not record. Doubtless he was offered in sacrifice to the gods of Vavau. + +We peered down through the crystal waters to see whether we could +discern the entrance to the lover’s cave, but failed to do so. Except at +very low tide, it is difficult for average swimmers to dive so low. We +only heard of two Englishmen who had succeeded. One was the early +traveller, Mariner, who was present at a _kava_-drinking party of the +chiefs in this cool grot; the other was the captain of an English +man-of-war, who, in passing through the low rock archway, injured his +back so seriously, that the people of Vavau believed him to have died in +consequence.[5] It appears that the passage into the cave bristles with +sharp projecting points, and it is exceedingly difficult to avoid +striking against them. A native having dived to the entrance then turns +on his back, and uses his hands as buffers to keep himself off the rocky +roof. + +Our row back to Neiafu was most lovely—sea, isles, and sky, vegetation +and cliffs, all glorified in the light of the setting sun. As we were +returning to shore, to land Mr Fox, Captain Aube hailed us, and bade us +invite him to dinner with him. I thought this very courteous, as of +course, on such an essentially Roman Catholic mission as this, there is +just a little natural feeling that it may not be discreet to show too +much honour to the Protestant minister, who, however, met with a most +cordial reception, and we had a very pleasant evening. + +This morning I was invited to accompany a party who started at daybreak +to shoot wild duck on a pretty lake at some distance; but as I had the +option of returning to the grotto, I chose the latter. So the captain +again lent me the ten-oared boat, and we made another pleasant party to +the beautiful cave: but it lost much of its beauty by being seen in the +cold shadow of early morning, instead of being illumined by the level +rays of the evening sun. We repeated the palm-leaf bonfires, but felt +that we were not exhibiting our discovery to the best advantage. +However, I got a sketch, which has the one merit of being totally unlike +anything else I ever attempted. + +We returned too late for breakfast in the captain’s cabin, so had a +cheery little party in the ward-room, then went ashore to say good-bye +to our friends, and carry away last impressions of the fragrant +orange-groves of Vavau. Then the bishop and the Fathers returned on +board, and we sailed away from the Friendly Isles. + + + + + CHAPTER IV. +LIFE ON BOARD SHIP—THE WALLIS ISLES—FOTUNA—SUNDAY ISLE—CYCLOPEAN REMAINS + ON EASTER ISLE—STONE ADZES—SAMOA—PANGO-PANGO HARBOUR. + + + FROM MY SOFA IN THE GUN-CARRIAGE, + ON BOARD THE SEIGNELAY, _Sunday, 16th_. + +MY DEAR NELL,—I have asked Lady Gordon to send you a long letter to her, +which I hope to post at Apia, so that I need not repeat what I have +already written. We are having a most delightful cruise, with everything +in our favour, and the kindness of every one on board is not to be told. + +To begin with, Monseigneur Elloi, Evêque de Tipara, is a host in +himself, so genial and pleasant, and so devoted to his brown flock. He +is terribly unhappy about all the fighting in Samoa; and I think the +incessant wear and tear of mind and body he has undergone, in going from +isle to isle, perpetually striving for peace, has greatly tended to +break down his own health, for he is now very far from well, and every +day that we touch land, and he has to officiate at a long church +service, he is utterly exhausted. It is high time he returned to France, +as he hopes to do, at the end of this cruise. + +His title puzzled us much when he arrived in Fiji, as we supposed him to +be Bishop of Samoa. But it seems that a Roman Catholic bishop cannot +bear the title of a country supposed to be semi-heathen, so they adopt +that of one of the ancient African churches, which are now virtually +extinct. + +To-day, being Sunday, the bishop called together as many of the sailors +as wished to attend, and held “a conference”—which meant that he sat on +deck, and they sat or stood all round, quite at their ease, no officers +being present, while he gave them a very nice winning little talk, +ending with a few words of prayer. There was no regular service. There +is always a tiny form of morning and evening prayer, said on parade by +one of the youngest sailors, which is very nice theoretically, but is +practically _nil_. At the word of command, Prière, a young lad, rapidly +repeats the _Ave Maria_ and _Nôtre Père qui êtes aux cieux_; he gabbles +it over at railroad speed in less than a minute; then, as an amen, comes +the next thing, _Punitions_, followed by a list of the various little +trespasses of the day, and the penalties awarded. + +At each point where the vessel has touched, she has taken or left some +of the French priests, many of whom have been working in these isles for +so many years, that they know every detail concerning them, and are +consequently very pleasant companions. One of my especial friends is a +dear old Père Padel, a cheery Bréton, who has been working in the Wallis +group for many years, with the happy result of seeing its savages +converted to most devout Catholics. He is now going to Samoa. + +Much of the charm of this voyage is due to the kindly, pleasant +relations existing between the captain and all his officers, from the +least to the greatest—all are so perfectly at ease, while so thoroughly +respectful. They are all counting the hours for their return to _la +belle France_, where several have left wife and family; and their two +years’ absence apparently seems longer to them than the four years of +our English ships would seem to be to less demonstrative Britons. + +Nothing astonishes me more than the freedom of religious discussion on +every side. Of course to the bishop and the numerous _pères_, +personally, every one is most friendly and respectful, as well they may +be; but as a matter of individual faith, _c’est toute autre chose_. + +The evening tea-parties in the captain’s cabin are particularly +pleasant. Very often the conversation turns on some literary question, +and then, from the ample library, are produced books from which M. le +Commandant reads illustrations of prose or poetry. He is himself +literary, and writes very well, in the ‘Revue des deux Mondes’ and other +papers. Monseigneur Elloi says that Captain Aube is a very distinguished +man in the French navy, and one who is certain of rapid promotion. + +He has another guest on board, M. Pinart, a scientific traveller. He +belongs to a French Protestant family, but is such a thorough +cosmopolite, that when we go about together in the native villages, and +the people ask our nationalities, I always answer for him “American.” He +is most industrious in his various lines of work, and is at present busy +copying out vocabularies of all manner of dialects. He is greatly +interested in all ethnological questions, and has a collection of +skulls, enough to supply a resurrection army. I do not think the sailors +like it very much, and they are always afraid that some trouble will +arise with the natives of various isles on the vexed subject of _les +cranes_, which our _savant_ scents out from old hiding-places in caves +and clefts of the mountains, with all the instinct of a schoolboy +hunting for bird’s nests. He has just shown me some beautiful +illustrations in colours, for the book he is bringing out on American +Indians; also many good photographs, done by himself, of objects of +interest in many lands. + +I am so sorry that the Seignelay paid her visits to Fotuna (in the +Southern New Hebrides), and to the Wallis Isles, on the way to Fiji. If +only these had been reserved for the return journey, I should have had +the rare luck of seeing them also. My kind friends are for ever +regretting this, and give me tantalising descriptions of both isles and +people. + +Apparently _les isles Wallis_, or Uvea, must be the true earthly +paradise—so green, so fertile, with people so industrious, so contented, +and so hospitable. It is a group of four or five high volcanic isles, +all richly wooded, and protected from the ocean, not only by the great +barrier-reef, but by an intricate labyrinth of lesser belts and patches, +which make navigation a matter of extreme danger, even after the +difficult entrance, by a very narrow passage, has been accomplished. The +approach to the anchorage is by a network of such dangerous channels, as +involve masterly steering for even small craft, and make it a matter of +wonder that large vessels should attempt it. Indeed a French steamer, +L’Hermite, was wrecked there not long ago, owing to one moment’s +hesitation on the part of her commander, who, meeting a strong tide +running out, shifted the helm at a critical moment, and so the vessel +was swept on to the reef—a helpless plaything for the overwhelming surf. + +The Wallis Isles lie due north of Tonga, and are the headquarters of the +Roman Catholic Bishop of Oceania, and a strong clerical staff; also of a +French sisterhood, who devote themselves to teaching children whose +lives have been spared by their own once cannibal parents, and who now +worship with them, in a handsome stone church, built by themselves, +under the direction of the Fathers, and are in every respect pattern +Catholics. + +Three days’ sail from Wallis lies Fotuna, which is a little world by +itself. It consists of a single peak, rising abruptly from the waters, +and broken up into towering masses of crag and pinnacles, seamed by deep +ravines, opening up into fertile valleys, richly cultivated. Sparkling +streams afford an abundant water-supply for the irrigation of the _taro_ +beds; bread-fruit, bananas, and palms grow luxuriantly: so it is an isle +of great natural beauty, and though only fifteen miles in circumference, +affords ample provision for its 900 inhabitants. They seem to be a +happy, healthy community, and have all adopted Christianity, either in +its Protestant or Roman form. The representative of the latter is a fine +old priest, who has devoted the greater part of his life to work on +Fotuna, and year by year adds a few inches to the walls of a very large +cathedral, which he hopes some future generation will complete. The +natives show their love for the good _padre_ by bringing him the heavy +blocks of coral-rock, which he hews at his leisure; but they are well +content to worship in less solid buildings. The majority wear, as their +badge, a little brass medal of the Virgin, or some other Christian +amulet, which, in the case of the little children, is often their only +raiment! + +Apparently the adherents of the two great Christian bodies contrive to +live in peace, instead of finding in differing faith a new occasion for +enmities, as has been the case even in Polynesian isles. But is it not +grievous that, when at length “the people who sat in darkness have seen +a great light,” it should not shine upon them in one undivided ray? + +The people of this lonely isle are especially interesting, because they, +and the inhabitants of Aniwa—a much smaller isle in the same region—are +of a totally different race from those on the other isles composing the +New Hebrides—the latter being Papuans, and these Malays, whose ancestors +drifted all the way from Tonga in a canoe. Though their colour has +darkened, they retain the dialect and the hair of their race. + +Every one on board has treasures of some sort from Fotuna—especially +very beautifully painted native cloth. I think some of the patterns are +almost more artistic than those of the Fijians. Like theirs, these are +principally geometrical; and in addition to the black and red dyes which +are there used, the artists of Fotuna introduce a good deal of yellow. +The printing is done in the same manner, the raised pattern being +carefully designed with strips of cocoa-rib or bamboo on wooden blocks, +on which the colour is stamped. It is the same principle as that of our +printing-types, and was known in Polynesia long before the art of +printing was invented in Europe. + +The most remarkable productions of Fotuna and some of its neighbouring +isles are gigantic cocoa-nuts, more than double the ordinary size. They +are immensely prized as drinking-cups. Many are 18 inches in +circumference after the husk has been removed. The largest grow on the +isle of Niufau, which is described as being merely the rim of a great +crater, from which smoke sometimes rises, and which is incrusted with +sulphur. Apparently the warmth of the soil agrees with all vegetation; +for the isle is exceedingly fertile, and the cocoa-nuts are the wonder +and envy of all beholders. + +I confess I should not care to live on one of these smouldering +volcanoes. There are a good many such, scattered about the Pacific—and +occasionally one subsides altogether. For instance, halfway between +Tonga and New Zealand lies Sunday Isle. It is a volcanic rock-mass 1600 +feet in height, and about four miles in diameter. It is exceedingly +fertile, but steam rises from all the crevices of the rocks, and the +people have only to scrape a hole in the ground, and therein place their +food that it may be baked in nature’s own oven. At one time there were a +good many settlers in this warm corner, but in an evil day a Peruvian +slave-ship touched here, and landed 200 poor creatures, captured in all +parts of the Pacific. Typhoid fever had broken out among them; so they +were thrown ashore to die, which they did, and most of the settlers +shared their fate. The others left the island on the first opportunity, +leaving only one white man with a Samoan wife and a dusky brood. These +lived on in peace and plenty for about ten years, when suddenly the +little fresh-water lake began to boil furiously, and from its midst a +fountain of fire shot high in the air. Happily this mighty rocket served +as a signal of distress, for a passing vessel descried the fiery column +and came to investigate, greatly to the relief of the Crusoe family, who +were taken on board, and for ever abandoned their home. + +Evidently this isle must lie on the same volcanic chain as the White +Sulphur Isle, which is a sulphur volcano to the north of New Zealand, +connected subterraneously with that great tract in the province of +Auckland, where geysers, solfataras, and all manner of volcanic +phenomena abound.[6] + +All these are reproduced on a smaller scale on the island of Tanna in +the New Hebrides, within 30 miles of Fotuna. It is a circular island, +about 40 miles in diameter. Near the harbour rises a volcanic mountain +about 500 feet in height, densely wooded to the very summit, though +seamed with fissures from which rise clouds of steam and sulphureous +vapours. The whole island is exceedingly fertile—cocoa-palms, +bread-fruit trees, bananas, sugar-cane, &c., grow luxuriantly, and the +yams occasionally attain a weight of 50 lb.; one root being from 40 to +50 inches long—a very neat thing in potatoes. Yet the soil which +produces this rank vegetation forms so thin a crust over the vast +furnace below, that in some places the penetrating heat is painful to +the naked foot. Nevertheless, the people have no fear of accidents; on +the contrary, wherever they find a group of hot springs they build their +huts, and, like the New Zealanders, they love to lounge on the steaming +grass or hot stones. In every village a circular space is set apart as +the _marum_, or place for holding council or feasting, and in these +districts a warm spot is selected, where, after sundown, the men may +combine the pleasures of a vapour-bath with the enjoyment of their bowl +of _kava_, while discussing the affairs of the tribe. + +The springs are in great favour as baths. They are of all +temperatures—from the tepid water in which the natives play luxuriously +for hours, to the boiling springs in which they place their food and +leave it to cook itself. Some of these natural boilers lie so close to +the shore, that the fishers who haunt the reefs, armed with long +four-pronged spears, have only to throw their prize into the +rock-caldron the moment they have secured it. No fear of tainted fish +for them! Nor need they search far for drinking water. Probably the +nearest spring is quite cold and excellent. Some of the springs are +highly medicated, and many resort to the healing waters, some of which +are especially efficacious for the cure of ulcerous sores. + +Beyond the strangely fertile crust, covering the region of horror, lies +an unveiled tract of cinders and black volcanic ash, forming a wide +barren valley from which rises the principal cone. This valley is +intersected by a multitude of fissures from which issue scalding +sulphureous fumes. Here and there beds of the purest sulphur have been +deposited, and trading vessels occasionally carry hence a cargo of this +pale primrose-coloured mineral, to be turned to good domestic uses. +Pools of boiling mud alternate with springs of cold water clear as +crystal; and in fissures lying but a few feet apart the same strange +diversity exists. One sends forth a blast of scalding steam, while in +the next a dripping spring yields its slow but continuous supply of +ice-cold water, falling drop by drop. + +The cone, which is called Asoor by the Tannese, is about 300 feet in +height. It is a gradual ascent, but fatiguing, owing to the accumulation +of fine black ash or sand, in which the foot sinks at every step. Masses +of scoria and vitreous lava, or obsidian, have been thrown up by the +volcano, and lie scattered on every side. + +On reaching the summit, you find yourself on the brink of a crater half +a mile in diameter, within which lie five secondary craters. These act +as so many chimneys for the great furnace, which roars and bellows +below, and which day and night, with deafening roar, unweariedly throws +up its fiery blast at intervals of five, seven, or ten minutes, +according as its action is more or less vehement. Some travellers have +visited it repeatedly at intervals of several years, and their accounts +of the intervals of eruption never vary beyond this slight difference. +Huge masses of black rock or liquid fire are tossed in the air, to a +height of 200 or 300 feet, often falling back within the crater, or else +hurled to the valley below. Clouds of white steam mingle with denser +clouds of the finest dark-grey dust, which is carried by the wind to all +parts of the island, coating every green leaf with a powder like fine +steel-filings, which fills the eyes and nostrils of all breathing +creatures in a most unpleasant manner. When rain falls, it absorbs this +dust, and becomes literally a mud-shower. + +From the position of the inner craters, it is obvious that even the most +foolhardy scientific traveller could hardly venture to approach them to +peer into the mysterious workings of that mighty caldron. Yet a native +legend records, that in one of the fierce battles between the tribes of +Tanna, one party was gradually driven backward, till they retreated to +the summit of the cone, and even there they still fought on, contesting +foot by foot of the sandy ridges of the inner crater, where a multitude +of these savage warriors perished, having fought to the death, unheeding +the wrath of the fire-gods. + +But of the isles visited by the Seignelay, before I had the privilege of +joining the party, there is none which I regret so much as Easter +Island, or, as the inhabitants call it, Rapa Nui, where they touched on +the way from Valparaiso, from which it is distant about 2500 miles, +without any intermediate isle. I think it must be the loneliest spot in +the Pacific, as there are apparently only two little isles anywhere +within a radius of 1000 miles. It is a volcanic island, about 11 miles +long by 4 wide. It is covered with extinct craters, in some of which are +deep pools of water. The highest point is about 1000 feet above the +sea-level. The hills are covered with hybiscus and other scrub. It is +inhabited by a race of very fair natives, like the Tahitians, and very +elaborately tattooed. + +But the isle owes its interest to its mysterious relics of a forgotten +race, who have utterly and completely died out, even from legendary +lore; while their handiwork abides, written on the rocks, which are so +covered with carving as to resemble the studio of some giant sculptor. +Colossal stone images lie half buried beneath the creeping grass and +encroaching scrub. At intervals all round the coast there are cyclopean +platforms, from 200 to 300 feet in length, and about 30 feet high, all +built of hewn stones 5 or 6 feet long, and accurately fitted, without +cement. And above these, on the headlands, are artificially levelled +platforms, paved with square blocks of black lava. On all these, stone +pedestals remain, whereon were placed the great images, which, by some +powerful force, have mostly been thrown to the ground and broken. + +The average height of the figures is about 18 feet; some of those lying +prostrate are 27 feet long, and measure 8 feet across the breast. You +can infer the size of some of the upright ones from the fact that, so +near noon as 2 P.M., they cast sufficient shadow to cover a party of +thirty persons. Some have been found which measure 37 feet. They are all +hewn of a close-grained grey lava, which is only found at Otouli, a +crater on the east side of the island. On a platform near this quarry +several gigantic images stand in perfect preservation. One of these +measures 20 feet from the shoulder to the crown of the head. + +They represent an unknown type. Very square face—short, thin upper lip, +giving a somewhat scornful expression—broad nose and ears, with pendent +lobes. All the faces look upward. The eyes are deeply sunken, and are +supposed to have originally had eyeballs of obsidian. + +All the principal images have the top of the head cut flat and crowned +with a cylindrical mass of red lava, hewn perfectly round. Some of these +crowns are 66 inches in diameter and 52 in height. The only place on the +island where this red lava is found, is the crater of Terano Hau, which +is fully eight miles from Otouli; and how these ponderous crowns were +conveyed to their position on the heads of the grey rock-kings, is one +of the mysteries of the isle. About thirty of them still lie in the +quarry where they were hewn, ready for the heads which they were never +destined to adorn. Some of these are 30 feet in circumference. + +Well may we marvel by what means those unknown sculptors transported +their ponderous works of art from one distant point to another on this +lonely volcanic isle. The statues are literally lying about in hundreds, +and the very rocks on the sea-beach are carved into strange +forms—tortoises or human faces. + +Besides these, all along the coast, there are cairns of small stones, +and on the top of each pile are laid a few white pebbles. These have +probably been burial-cairns. + +Unless the face of the island has undergone some wondrous change, those +mysterious workmen cannot even have possessed wooden rollers to aid them +in the toil of transport, for there are literally no trees—nothing but +small scrub. When Captain Cook discovered the isle, he only saw three or +four little canoes, which were built of many small pieces of wood, sewed +together with fibre, the largest piece being 6 feet long and 14 inches +wide at one end, 8 inches at the other; and this, he thought, was +probably driftwood. These canoes were from 18 to 20 feet long, and could +barely hold four people. He found that the most acceptable gift he could +bestow on the people was cocoa-nut shells, to be used as cups, since the +island produced no palms, and but few gourds. Their only drink is +brackish water, obtained by digging wells on the stony beach, through +which the salt water filters. + +Wooden tablets, covered with hieroglyphics, have been found, which might +perhaps reveal something of the old history of the race, but as yet no +one has been able to decipher them. There are also stone slabs, covered +with geometric figures, curious birds, animals, and faces, painted in +black, white, and red—doubtless these also are hieroglyphs. They are +ranged inside the quaint stone houses, of which about a hundred remain, +at one end of the isle; and are built in lines, with the doors towards +the sea. The inside measurement of these houses is about 40 feet by 13, +and the walls are upwards of 5 feet thick; they are built of flat stones +laid in layers. At about 6 feet from the ground, the slabs are so laid +as to overlap one another, till they gradually close; and the small +opening at the top is roofed with long thin slabs. + +Till a Rawlinson arises to read the hieroglyphs of Rapa Nui, its +mysteries must remain unsolved; and the cold proud faces, with the +sightless eyeballs, will continue to gaze heavenward, and the great +stone images, whether gods or heroes, must lie in fallen grandeur in +this their sea-girt shrine, with none to tell us what unknown race +devoted the labour of their lives to sculpturing the rocks on this +lonely isle. + +Unfortunately the Seignelay has no artist among her officers, so no one +has any sketches which can give me any general idea of the isle, and +though I have seen a few photographs of individual figures, I cannot +from them obtain any impression of the whole effect. I confess I wish I +had had the chance of doing a few panoramic and bird’s-eye views of the +whole scene. Though perhaps not artistic, I am quite convinced that by +no other means can a traveller so fully enable friends at home to +realise the scenes on which his own eyes have feasted. + +The only other corner of the earth, in which I can hear of anything akin +to these mysterious rock-sculptures, is the far-distant volcanic isle of +Java. If you sail almost halfway round the world, heading straight for +the west, you come to that wonderful isle, with its terrible volcanoes +and amazing wealth of vegetation. Nowhere else are there so many +distinct volcanoes in so small a space. No less than thirty-eight +separate cones cluster round the great central range of mountains, from +5000 to 13,000 feet in height. Some are active fire-craters, and throw +out molten lava; others are water-craters, containing milk-white lakes +or sulphureous geysers: in short, volcanic action is there in every form +of sublime terror, and the Javanese aborigines erected temples to +appease the fire-giants, and from the solid rocks sculptured prodigious +statues in their honour. In one spot 400 ruined shrines have been +discovered, with altars, and images—all apparently built to propitiate +the fire-gods. + +It is very risky to draw inferences from mere descriptions of any sort +of art, but so far as I can make out, these would appear to be the +productions of the true aborigines, ere Hindu influence prevailed, +leaving its mark in those marvellous Buddhist ruins at Borrobudua and +Samarang, which we so unfortunately did not see, on our way from +Singapore to Fiji. + +It is, of course, possible that the platforms and sculptures of Easter +Isle may simply have been an extraordinary development of the +_marai_—_i.e._, the tomb-temple, which was the accepted form of +ecclesiastical building throughout the south-east Pacific. They varied +considerably in form, some being great pyramids erected on a stone +platform; while on other isles (as, for instance, on Huahine, in the +Society Isles) there are stone terraces, built irregularly, right up the +face of the hill, with spaces left between them. On one of the principal +platforms a row of tall monoliths stand upright, just as did the images +on the Easter Island terraces. On Huahine these are called “the stones +of dividing,” and are said to have been set up as memorials of the +division of land among the various tribes, each stone representing the +title-deeds of a clan. To this day each tribe recognises its own stone, +and, beholding it, recollects its unwritten legend,—just as at the +present day in Fiji a messenger who is charged with a dozen different +errands, will carry in his hand a dozen small sticks or leaves, and in +fancy makes each stick represent a message. From this imaginary notebook +he will read off each detail with unerring accuracy. + +Whatever faint resemblance may suggest itself between the irregular +terraces and monoliths of Huahine, and the equally irregular terraces +and statues of Easter Isle, it is hardly conceivable that such vast +energy could have been expended on a mere memorial of tribal divisions, +especially where there was so little land to divide. Perhaps Easter Isle +was a sort of Iona—the Holy Isle of the old Druids, who there erected +the 360 great monoliths, which the followers of St Columba sanctified by +carving them into the form of crosses, but which in later years were +cast into the sea by order of a ruthless Protestant Synod, who declared +them to be “monuments of idolatrie.” + +The only traces of any forgotten race which I have had the good luck to +see on the present cruise, have been the cyclopean tombs of the old +kings of Tonga, and a huge trilithon, concerning which the present +islanders know as little as we do of Stonehenge. + +While in Tonga I endeavoured to procure some stone adzes, but could only +buy three very coarse ones without handles. They have long been in +disuse there. M. Pinart, however, succeeded in getting some better +specimens, which were carefully stowed away by some of the old people in +the recesses of their homes. + +What miraculous patience it must have required, first to make these +stone implements, and then to work with them! They were generally made +from basaltic stones, which were dug out of the earth with strong +sticks, and then roughly chipped into shape with a heavy flint. Perhaps +after many hours of severe labour the stone would break in two, and the +workman had to select another and begin again. This time he might +progress swimmingly, and spend perhaps whole days in carefully chipping, +till the rough stone began to take shape. Then he would substitute a +lighter flint, and work with still greater care, only chipping off the +first fragments,—and after all his labour, perhaps one sharp tap would +prove fatal, and the carefully chiselled axe would split in two, +revealing an unsuspected flaw in the centre. So the work must all be +begun again, and the patient, persevering savage go on with his chipping +till he succeeded in producing a perfect axe. + +Then came the slow process of smoothing it by such delicate strokes as +only removed a fine white dust, and last of all came laborious polishing +with rough coral and water and fine sand, till the axe at length became +a serviceable tool, ready to be bound with strongly plaited fibre to the +bent wooden handle. + +After this it had to be periodically ground by rubbing it on a very hard +rock. We saw several rocks in Fiji scored with deep grooves from having +constantly been used for this purpose; and of course they must exist in +all countries in which stone celts have been in use, which, I suppose, +means all corners of the round world, Britain included. I greatly doubt, +however, whether the ancient Britons ever produced such artistic carved +bowls and spears with their stone implements as these Pacific Islanders +have done. + +The men who worked with these tools needed wellnigh as much patience as +those who manufactured them. Imagine a squad of men taking from fifteen +to thirty days to fell a tree! Saith the old proverb, “Little strokes +fell great oaks,” and these were little strokes indeed! Of course a more +rapid process was to make a slow fire all round the base of the tree, +and so burn it down; but the fire so often ran up the heart of the tree, +destroying it altogether, that the slower process proved best in the +long-run. However, as a good-sized tree could thus be felled in three or +four days, the rafters of houses were often thus prepared, and the +branches burnt off. Once down, fire could be better used to divide the +tree into useful lengths; and if a canoe were required, a long narrow +line of fire was allowed to burn the whole length, its progress being +regulated by the slow dripping of water. Thus the work left for the +stone axe was considerably lessened, though it would still have puzzled +a British carpenter to work with such tools. + + _Tuesday, 18th._ + +We are enjoying the most perfect weather—a calm sea and a faint sweet +breeze. The vessel glides on her way so smoothly that we scarcely +perceive any motion, and all yesterday I was able to work up my sketch +of the grotto, sitting in a delightful improvised studio on the tiny +bridge (_la passerelle_). We are not making much way, as we are sailing +to economise fuel; but the days pass pleasantly, and there is always +some ship-life going on, which to me has all the interest of +novelty—either parade, or fire-stations, or fighting-stations, or cannon +practice (mercifully done in dumb show!) + +We are passing through a great shoal of jelly-fish—I suppose I ought to +say medusæ—filmy, transparent creatures of very varied form. Some are +like mushrooms, some like great bells, with delicately marked patterns +of pale green or pink, and long fringe of feelers. They are beautiful by +day, and at night gleam like balls of white fire. They are here in +myriads, and are of all sizes, from a teacup to a cart-wheel. There are +also a great number of flying-fish skimming on the surface of the glassy +sea. + +I am told that we are now 630 miles from Levuka in a direct line; but +our _détour_ in the Friendly Isles has made our voyage thence amount to +about 1100 miles. + +We have just sighted Mount Matafae, the highest point in the isle +Tutuila. It is a conical mountain 2300 feet high, and lies just above +Pango-Pango, the most perfect landlocked harbour in all the Samoan +group, with water six or eight fathoms deep close in shore, and +surrounded by luxuriantly wooded hills. At present we are steering +straight for Leone, where the bishop has work awaiting him. The place +had an evil name in old days, as that where M. de Langle, who +accompanied La Pérouse on his expedition in 1787, was barbarously +murdered, with eleven men of his boat’s crew,—hence the name of +“Massacre Bay,” and the character of treacherous and bloodthirsty +savages which for so many years clung to the people, till Messrs +Williams and Barff arrived here in 1830 with their trained Tahitian +teachers, and made friends with them. Then they learnt the native +version of the fray, and heard the invariable story of innocence +suffering for guilt,—namely, that a poor fellow who had gone off to the +ship to trade had been detected in some trifling act of pilfering, when +he was immediately shot and carried ashore mortally wounded. Of course +his friends determined to avenge his death, and so assembled on the +beach, armed with stones and clubs, ready to attack the invaders the +moment they attempted to land. They were only carrying out the example +given to them, and combined revenge for evil done, with prevention of +further assault. + + PANGO-PANGO HARBOUR, _Tuesday Night_. + +After all, we did come here, for the anchorage at Leone is simply an +open roadstead, and is not safe in a strong southerly gale. Captain Aube +feared the wind might shift, so the vessel merely lay to, to allow a +young priest, Père Vidal, to leap on board from his canoe, and then we +ran right to this lovely spot, where we anchored at sunset. + +It is indeed a perfect harbour. We are lying close to the shore, in +water twenty-one fathoms deep, clear as crystal, and calm as any inland +lake. Steep, richly wooded hills rise round us on every side to a height +of about 1000 feet, and you can discern no entrance from the sea. It +seems like living in a vast cup. The hills all round are covered with +bread-fruit trees, oranges, limes, pine-apples, bananas, and all the +usual wealth of tropical greenery. + +This has been a calm, peaceful evening of soft moonlight. We sat on the +_passerelle_ while one of the officers, who is an excellent violinist, +played one lovely _romance_ after another, sometimes soaring to +classical music. The others lay round him listening in rapt delight. + +The air is fragrant with the breath of many blossoms, and indeed all the +afternoon we have had delicious whiffs of true “spicy breezes,” such as +I remember vividly off Cape Comorin, but which I have not very often +experienced at any distance from the land. + + + + + CHAPTER V. + BOAT TRANSIT TO LEONE—SPOUTING CAVES—COUNCIL OF WAR—SKETCH OF SAMOAN + HISTORY—NIGHT DANCES. + + + IN THE HOUSE OF THE NATIVE CATECHIST, + LEONE, _Wednesday, 19th_. + +We have had a long delightful day, and I am tolerably tired; but before +taking to my mat, I must give you some notion of what we have seen. All +the early morning the ship was surrounded by canoes full of natives, +offering clubs, native cloth, and baskets for sale. Some of the canoes +had ornamental prows with carved birds, &c. + +After breakfast I went ashore with M. Pinart to see all we could of the +village. We were invited to enter several houses, which are much more +open and less like homes than those in Tonga or Fiji. But the people are +all in a ferment, for, as usual in poor Samoa, this is only a lull in +the course of incessant tribal war, and the people of Pango-Pango belong +to the Puletoa, who were severely beaten in a recent battle. They are, +however, keen to return to the fray, and this morning all the warriors +assembled in full conclave, holding a council of war. They arrived in +large canoes (some of their canoes carry upwards of 200 people, but +those we saw had not room for above 50). They are noble-looking men, the +fairest race in Polynesia, and truly dignified in their bearing. Some +wore crowns of green leaves, and many had blossoms of scarlet hybiscus +coquettishly stuck in their hair, which is cut short, dyed with +coral-lime, and frizzled and stiffened with a sort of _bandoline_ made +of the sticky juice of the bread-fruit tree, mixed with scented oil; so +that, instead of being straight and black, it stands round the head in a +stiff halo of tawny yellow, like that of the Fijians and Tongans. + +Is it not strange that the same curious rage for converting black hair +into gold should prevail on this side of the world, just as it has in +London in various epochs of fashion’s folly, as when the attendants of +“The Virgin Queen” dyed their raven locks with a lee of wood-ashes, +especially those of “ivy-tree bark,” or a decoction of the flowers of +broom, either of which was warranted to “cause the hair grow yellow”? Of +the various alkaline washes in use at the present day, and the good +champagne converted to a hair-wash, I need not speak. Besides, these are +mysteries which I have not yet solved. + +Here there is no deception at all in the process. It is all carried on +in open day, for the simple and cleanly purpose of exterminating wee +beasties. The head, whether male or female, that has just been +whitewashed, presents exactly the appearance of a barrister’s wig stuck +on to a bronze statue. But such work is all done on undress days; and of +course to-day every one was got up in full suits of mats and foliage, +with a good coating of fresh cocoa-nut oil, the effect of which, on a +brown skin, is admirable. The Psalmist knew what it was, when he spoke +of “oil to make him a cheerful countenance.” The man who neglects it +looks dull and lack-lustre; while he who, having anointed his flaxen +locks, has then given his face and shoulders a good polish, seems +altogether radiant. + +Of course we found our way to the House of Debate. The spokesmen were +apparently eloquent orators, very fluent, making use of much +gesticulation and very graceful action. Each carries a fly-flap, which +is his badge of office, and consists of a long bunch of fine brown +fibre, very like a horse’s tail, sometimes plaited into a multitude of +the finest braids, and all attached to a carved handle about a foot in +length. With this, when not engaged in speechifying, he disperses the +flies which presume to annoy his chief. But while talking, the fly-flap +is thrown carelessly over the right shoulder. Dainty little flaps of the +same sort are carried by many persons in preference to the fibre-fans in +common use. I observe, however, that there are fewer fans here than in +Fiji, where you are always offered one the moment you enter the poorest +hut. + +I was struck by the rapt attention with which the audience favoured each +successive speaker. The bishop was present, accompanied by the captain. +They wished to remonstrate with the big chief on the subject of certain +persecutions of Catholics, and also to urge him and his party to +submission. They are but a handful compared with the others, and the +strife seems so hopeless, and has already cost so many good lives; but I +fear the good bishop’s efforts are all in vain. Like the Hebrew +peacemaker, he “labours for peace; but when he speaks unto them thereof, +they make them ready to battle.” And now, in every village and in every +house, all the men are busy rubbing up their old guns, and preparing +ammunition, making cartridges, and so forth. + +We returned on board at noon; and after luncheon, the bishop had to +return in a ship’s boat to Leone. He most kindly invited me to accompany +him. We were a full boat-load—Père Soret and Père Vidal, two chiefs, two +other natives, one officer, and twelve French sailors. The sea was very +rough, and we shipped so much water that two men were told off to bale +incessantly. Of course our things got very wet. On these occasions the +bishop is seen in perfection; he is so cheery and pleasant to every one, +sailors and passengers, and makes the best of everything, though himself +suffering greatly. + +This sort of boating is very different from travelling on our lovely +Fijian lagoons, within the shelter of the encircling reef. Here the huge +breakers dash madly on the shore, where they spout like geysers through +a thousand perforated rocks, and we had to remain fully half a mile from +land to avoid their rush. Oh for the calm mirror-like sea-lakes over +which we have glided for the last two years, till I, for one, had +wellnigh forgotten what boating in rough water means! To-day our ten +stout rowers could with difficulty make any way, and our progress was +slow. + +We saw enough of the island (Tutuila) to agree in the general praise of +its green loveliness. Its high volcanic hills are densely wooded, and +look more tropical than those of Ovalau (Fiji). But our powers of +appreciation were considerably damped by the invading spray, and we +watched the rugged coast, chiefly with a view to knowing whether there +was one spot where a boat could land in case of need; but in the whole +run of twelve miles, there was not a single place where it would have +been possible. Even here, at this large native town, there is only a +narrow break in the rocks, where landing is tolerably safe in fine +weather. + +As we drew near we saw a large body of Samoan warriors exercising on the +shore, and hear that the people have assembled from far and near to take +measures for immediately crushing the rebels at Pango-Pango (our friends +of this morning). The chiefs here belong to the _Faipule_ faction. + +The good Fathers invited me to tea at their house, and then handed me +over to the care of Dorothea, the excellent wife of their catechist, who +had prepared the tidy inner room of her house for my reception. Here I +am most cosily established. My hostess, with about twenty of her +scholars, nice-looking girls, have hung up great screens of _tappa_ to +act as mosquito-nets; and under these they are sleeping peacefully in +the outer room. Of course I brought my own net and pillow, being too old +a traveller ever to risk a night without them; and my bed is a layer of +fine mats, beautifully clean and temptingly cool. To these I must now +betake me, so good-night. + + IN THE TEACHER’S HOUSE, _Thursday Night_. + +I started in the early morning for a long walk, taking as my guide a +graceful half-caste girl with flowing black hair. She wore a fine mat +round her waist, and a pretty patchwork pinafore, of the simple form +generally adopted here—that is, a fathom of cloth, with a hole cut out +of the centre to admit the head and neck. It is trimmed with some sort +of fringe, either of fibre or grass. Occasionally two bright-coloured +handkerchiefs, stitched together at the upper corners, supply the simple +garment, which, however, is not an indigenous product of Samoa, but was +the _tiputa_ introduced by the early Tahitian teachers. It is +practically the same as a Spanish _poncho_. All the shore here is edged +with black volcanic rock; the lava seems to have formed huge bubbles as +it cooled, and many of these have been water-worn till they are +connected one with another by innumerable channels. So the waves rush +tumultuously into these subterranean caves, and thence through hidden +passages, till they reach openings like deep wells which lie at +intervals along the shore, at some distance from the sea. Through these +chimneys the rushing waters spout in great foam-fountains, and the +effect produced is that of intermittent geysers, all along the coast. I +think some of the jets must have been fully 100 feet high—and how the +great breakers do surge and roar! No peaceful silent shore here! + +We passed a very large deserted European house, built by Mr Scott of the +Presbyterian Mission. How so large a house came to be required, or why +it was abandoned, are mysteries of which I have heard no solution. + +I returned to breakfast with the Fathers, to whose house I go for all +meals. Happily the kind forethought of Captain Aube has provided me with +a private teapot and a good supply of tea and sugar, so that I can have +a brew whenever I wish;—a great comfort, as the ecclesiastical hours are +very irregular, the Fathers being in the habit of luxuriating on dry +yam, drier biscuit, and cold water. The only attempt at cooking is that +of a nice half-caste lad, who is the bishop’s sole attendant, and +combines the duties of chorister, acolyte, episcopal valet, and cook; so +his duties in the latter capacity have to wait on the former. + +It seems we have arrived here at a most critical moment. The majority of +the chiefs of Tutuila have assembled here to hold council of war how +most effectually to subdue the rebels. The majority are in favour of +war. A few have not yet arrived. All to-day they have been sitting in +parties all round the _malæ_—that is, the village green. At intervals +one of the “talking men” stood up, and, laying his fly-flapper on his +bare shoulder, leant on a tall staff, and, without moving from the spot +where he had been sitting, threw out an oration in short, detached, +abrupt sentences. Having had his say he sat down, and each group +apparently made its own comments quietly. There were long pauses between +the speeches, which made the proceedings rather slow; but we sat by +turns with all the different parties (_we_, meaning myself, M. de +Kerraoul, and M. Pinart, who had walked across the hills from +Pango-Pango). + +After a while, the bishop was invited to speak—a great exertion, as the +audience formed such a very wide circle. He took up his position beneath +the shade of a bread-fruit tree in the centre, and though his voice was +very weak, he was distinctly heard by all—and his speech seemed +impressive. Of course he urged peace, and he has a good hope that at +least the Roman Catholic chiefs will allow themselves to be guided by +him. But the meeting closed with a bad tendency to war, which was +illustrated by various actions in the manner of bringing in the feast, +the way in which women, wearing trains of _tappa_, were going about all +day, carrying bowls of _kava_ to the orators, and other symptoms evident +to practised eyes. Many of the men wore beautiful crowns of Pearly +Nautilus shell, which are also symptomatic of warlike intentions. + +The bishop’s words, however, were not without effect. The council +assembled again to-night, and is still sitting, and I hear that after +much talk the chiefs have written a letter to the chief of Pango-Pango, +again inviting him to submit, and so avert war. + +Just now I mentioned the bowls of _kava_ with which ministering damsels +refreshed the thirsty speakers. Perhaps I should explain that it is the +identical drink which I so fully described, in writing to you from Fiji, +where it was known as _yangona_—namely, a dry root masticated, till +there remains only a fine white fibre, as free as possible from saliva. +This is placed in a large wooden bowl, and water is poured over it. It +is then strained through a fine piece of hybiscus fibre till all the +particles of root have been removed, when there remains only a turbid +yellow fluid, tasting like ginger and soap-suds, which is gently +stimulating, like weak sal-volatile, and has the advantage of rarely +resulting in intoxication, which, in any case, is a very different +affair from that produced by drinking spirits. A man must drink a good +deal of this nasty _kava_ before he can get drunk; and when he does, his +head remains quite clear,—he merely loses the use of his limbs, and has +to appeal to the compassionate bystanders to lift him to a place of +safety. If his companions were white men, they might obligingly empty +his pockets while he looked on helplessly; but South Sea Islanders would +scorn to take so base an advantage of a man in his cups. On the +contrary, they will obligingly bring him some mountain bananas, nicely +roasted in their skins, which are considered a corrective, and will then +leave him to sleep himself sober. + +Different groups have trifling differences in their method of preparing +this national beverage, and the ceremonies to be observed. In Fiji it is +considered very incorrect for a woman to touch the bowl,—chewing, +straining, and handing it round in cocoa-nut shells, should all be done +by young men, whose comrades sing wild melodies during the manufacture, +and keep up a peculiar measured hand-clapping while the chiefs are +drinking. Here, in Samoa, the girls are all Hebes. They do the brewing, +and carry round the cups, but there are no songs (_yangona-méké_), and +the only hand-clapping is done by the drinker himself as he hands back +the cup. In Fiji, the correct thing is to send the empty cup skimming +across the mat to the great central bowl. + +This afternoon a corps of sixty warriors favoured us with a very odd +sort of drill dance. Their dress consisted of kilts of black calico, +trimmed with cut-out white calico, to look like _tappa_; on their heads +a turban of Turkey red; their mouth and chin hideously blackened, which +on these very fair people produces a monstrously ugly effect. They all +had muskets, and were called soldiers; but we thought their drill was +more funny than warlike, and concluded that they would be quite as +dangerous to their friends as their foes. They have a sort of American +flag, invented by Colonel Steinberger. + +The dance was a very miserable travesty of a true native _méké_, such as +we have so often seen in the isles further west; but here the +vulgarising influence of white men is painfully evident, and one of the +prominent figures at the chief’s council was a high chiefess in a huge +crinoline, a gorgeous red dress, and a hideously unbecoming hat, trimmed +with scarlet and green ribbon and feathers: + + “Oh, wad some power the giftie gie us, + To see oursels as ithers see us!” + +Could that proud woman but have known with what different eyes we, the +great strangers representing all Europe, looked on her fine foreign +clothes, and on the pretty becoming attire of her handmaidens, with +their finely plaited and fringed mats, necklaces of scarlet berries on +their clear olive skin, and bright blossoms in their hair! + +Philosophers tell us there is always good in things evil; and so far as +outward appearance goes, the tendency to war is in favour of artistic +beauty, as these people (like the Samoans and Tongans) connect the idea +of good behaviour with pretty closely cropped heads; but when the +war-spirit revives they become defiant, and let their hair grow like a +lion’s mane, and adorn themselves with gay wreaths and garlands from the +neck and waist. When a man has allowed his hair to grow long, he twists +it up in a knot on the top of his head, but it would be considered gross +disrespect to appear thus in presence of a superior or at a religious +service. He must then untie the string and let his hair fall on his +shoulders. Rather odd, is it not, that they should have exactly the same +idea on this subject as a Chinaman, who dares not venture to appear in +presence of a superior with his pigtail twisted round his head? + +To-day the great chief’s half-caste secretary asked me most anxiously +when “Arthur Gordon” was coming from Fiji, and whether it was really +certain that he would endeavour to force the Samoans to reinstate King +Malietoa. I ventured to answer for Sir Arthur having no such intention, +which seemed to soothe the inquirer and all his anxious surroundings. +You may remember that we have twice had Samoan chiefs in Fiji. Once when +they were brought as hostages on board the Barracouta, and once as a +deputation to the British Government, to claim a protectorate from +England. In each case, though the protectorate was refused, they were +most kindly received by Sir Arthur Gordon, and amongst other attentions, +were invited to dine at Government House. So several of those here +assembled now recognised me as an old acquaintance, and are very +friendly in consequence. + +It really is too sad to see those fine manly fellows, who, if they could +but work in concert, might be such a powerful little community, now all +torn by internal conflicts and jealousies, continually fanned by the +unprincipled whites, who hope to reap their harvest in the troubles of +their neighbours. I fear it would be difficult in a few words to explain +the position of affairs, but I must give you a rough outline. + +The old original _Tui Samoa_—_i.e._, kings—were of the dynasty of Tupua. +Some generations back the Tongans came and invaded Samoa, whose people +resisted bravely, and finally expelled the foe. The Wellington of that +day was a brave chief, who was thenceforth known as _Malietoa_, the +“Good “Warrior,” a title which from that day has been borne by the chief +ruler of the isles, even if not in the direct lineal descent. The chiefs +of Savaii, and of part of Upolu, with the lesser isles of Manono and +Apolima, elected Malietoa their king. The isles of Auna and Atua +remained loyal to the Tupua family. They were, however, conquered by a +successor of Malietoa, who reigned as king of the whole group till 1840, +since which period a ceaseless strife has been waged between the +contending factions. These became aggravated in 1869 by a split in the +Malietoa camp, when, on the death of the reigning chief, his two sons +contested the succession. The chiefs of Savaii supported the claims of +the elder brother, while those of the isle Monono elected the second, +justly believing that the chiefs of Apia were becoming mere tools in the +hands of the foreigners. + +This double civil war, fomented as usual by the whites, raged till 1872, +when the United States assumed a sort of protectorate over the group, +and in the following year a republic was declared, the supreme power +being vested in the hands of a representative body of seven high chiefs. +These were called the _Taimua_—_i.e._, the “Pioneers.” + +I must tell you that the great nobles of Samoa are called _Alii_, and +the greatest care is taken to preserve their line in direct lineal +descent from the ancient chiefs. It is not necessary that the title +should descend from father to son, only that it should be bestowed on a +member of the family, who can trace back his clear pedigree to the true +source. Therefore, on the death of a high chief, the minor chiefs of the +tribe elect the member of the principal family, whom they will +henceforth acknowledge as their political head, reserving to themselves +the power of deposing him should he prove unsatisfactory. + +These minor chiefs also hold their title as head of the family by +election—a son being often passed over in favour of a cousin, and +sometimes even of one who is no blood relation, but is adopted for some +political reason. These head men are the _Faipule_, who act as local +magistrates in each village, the affairs of which they discuss in solemn +conclave. They have the name of being great orators, and much eloquence +flows in these legislative assemblies. The great chiefs never speak in +public, that office being deputed to their official spokesman. In a +general way the Samoan isles have divided themselves into ten districts, +each of which has its distinct _fono_ or parliament, and no action is +taken in any matter till the members of one council have arrived at +something very near a unanimous decision. Of course, in times of war +like the present, these matters are very irregular. + +In January 1875, a new experiment was tried. Unheeding the wisdom which +forbids having “two queens in Brentford,” the Samoans resolved to have a +king of each dynasty, who should reign jointly: so Pulepule of the +ancient Tupua race ascended the throne in company with Malietoa Laupepa; +and the number of the _Taimua_ was raised from seven to fourteen. How +long this amicable arrangement might have continued, it is impossible to +say; for on the 1st April 1875, a very serious phase of April fooling +was enacted by an American adventurer, known as Colonel Steinberger, +who, by some means not clearly explained, obtained a passage to Apia in +the United States man-of-war Tuscarora, and on landing stated that he +had been sent from Washington to organise a new government. As his sole +credentials, he presented the Samoans with four pieces of cannon and a +Gatling gun, which, he said, were a gift from President Grant. + +Utterly ignoring all the foreign consuls, including the representative +of the States, he proceeded, under protection of the American +man-of-war, to draw up a new constitution, declaring Malietoa sole king, +and himself (Steinberger) prime minister, and, in fact, supreme ruler. +This matter being settled, the Tuscarora sailed, and Steinberger +proceeded to arm the schooner Peerless (which he had purchased in San +Francisco) with guns and ammunition, and sailed to Tutuila to put down +the disturbances in that island. The American consul (Mr Foster) vainly +remonstrated against the proceeding of this unlicensed vessel flying the +American flag; and taking advantage of the arrival of H.M.S. Barracouta, +commanded by Captain Stevens, he seized the Peerless for breach of the +neutrality laws. + +Then followed a meeting of all the foreign residents, resolving to free +themselves from the tyranny of this self-constituted dictator. Many of +the Samoan chiefs joined with the foreigners in claiming British +protection—the German consul, Godeffroy’s representative, being the only +one to stand aloof. The Barracouta arrived on the 12th December; and on +the 7th February, Malietoa appealed to the United States consul to aid +him in getting rid of his arrogant premier. Mr Foster forwarded this +petition to the British consul and Captain Stevens, who, after an +interview with the king and the Samoan representatives—the _Taimua_ and +the _Faipule_—agreed to arrest Steinberger, who, accordingly, was +carried on board the Barracouta for safe keeping. + +His right hand, Jonas Coe, was however left at large, and by his advice +the Steinberger faction proceeded that night to seize the king and carry +him off to the isle of Savaii, where they forced him to sign a deed of +abdication, vesting all power of government in the _Taimua_ and +_Faipule_. Within a week Malietoa contrived to send a message to Captain +Stevens, acquainting him with these circumstances, and requesting his +further aid. The Barracouta accordingly went to the rescue, and brought +the king back to Apia, where he was landed with a salute of twenty-one +guns, and a guard of marines was told off to protect him. The town was +now full of armed mobs, who surrounded the British consulate in a +threatening manner, so that Mr Williams, the consul, was obliged to +swear in special constables for its protection. + +So matters went on till the 13th March, when the king, wishing to +explain to his people his reasons for dismissing Steinberger, summoned +all the chiefs to meet him at the neighbouring village of Mulinunu, +which lies on a green peninsula beyond Apia. Malietoa was escorted by +his principal chiefs, the consuls, and foreign residents, and Captain +Stevens, with a guard of sailors and marines; the latter with unloaded +arms, which were piled on reaching the village. Then, in their rear, +appeared a strong party of armed natives, cutting off their retreat, and +evidently meditating an attack. An officer, with a small party of +marines, advanced to parley with these men, but were received with a +volley of musketry, which killed and wounded several. Then followed a +sharp skirmish, in which the sailors fought at a great disadvantage—the +enemy being 500 strong, and concealed by the dense thickets of bananas +and sugar-cane. Eleven sailors and marines were killed and wounded, and +the assailants lost about double that number. Grave fears were +entertained that the British and American consulates would be attacked; +so they were put in a state of defence, which proved a sufficient +precaution. Next day Mr Jonas Coe was tried by his consul and +countrymen, and sentenced to be deported. So he enjoyed the privilege of +joining his chief on board H.M.S. Barracouta, which soon afterwards +sailed for New Zealand, calling at Fiji on the way (on which occasion I +made friends with the three Samoan chiefs whom Captain Stevens had +brought away as hostages for the good behaviour of their party). + +Much oil having been poured on these troubled waters by the soothing +intervention of both French and English missionaries, and especially by +the personal influence of the bishop, a superficial peace was +established, and Malietoa Laupepa once more reigned as king. How soon +disturbances have broken out, we now see too plainly.[7] + +After our evening meal at the Fathers’ house, I took a turn in the +moonlight with M. Pinart and M. de Kerraoul, hoping to see a Samoan +dance, which was to come off soon after sunset. But the council having +again met, the dance was deferred till so late that I thought it better +to come back here, where I found all the pretty little school-girls +adorned with garlands, singing and acting very pretty quaint songs and +dances, illustrating their geography, arithmetic, &c. Then about twenty +grown-up women, who had come in from the village, sprang to their feet, +and volunteered to show me some of the real old Samoan night dances—_Po +ulu faka Samoa_. These were exceedingly ungraceful, and half their point +seemed to consist in making hideous grimaces and contortions, and in +reducing wearing apparel to a minimum, consisting chiefly of green +leaves. I think that on the slightest encouragement they would have +dispensed with any. Each figure was more ungainly than its predecessor, +and seemed likely to be prolonged indefinitely; so, as it struck me that +the entertainment would scarcely meet with the approbation of the good +Fathers, should it occur to them for any reason to come over, I +suggested that the children should give us a parting song, whereupon +they sang “Malbrooke” and “Bon Soir” very prettily, though I daresay the +French words they repeated did not convey much more to their minds than +do the Latin prayers. + +Then the party dispersed, and now the school-girls are all safely stowed +away beneath their close _tappa_ mosquito-curtains, like a regiment +under tents, and I am in possession of the inner reeded room. It is a +great boon to have such a haven of refuge from the multitude of gazing +brown eyes. + +By the shouts from the _rara_ I know that the council has broken up, and +the real Samoan dance has now begun; but from the specimen given to me +by the ladies, I think it is just as well that I came away.—Now, +good-night. + + + + + CHAPTER VI. + A SHORE WITHOUT A REEF—SAMOAN PLANTS—HOUSES—ANIMALS—LAYING + FOUNDATION-STONE OF A CHURCH—SCHOOL FESTIVAL—THE NAVIGATOR’S ISLES. + + + LEONE, ISLE TUTUILA, + _Sept. 21, 1877_. + +At early dawn my pretty half-caste damsel took me to bathe in the river, +but the shore was muddy and not very attractive. We returned in time for +service in the little church, which is about to be replaced by a much +larger building, the foundations of which are already raised, and the +great event of this afternoon has been laying its first stone. + +Immediately after breakfast at the Fathers’ house, I started with M. +Pinart and M. de Kerraoul for a long, most lovely walk along the coast, +by a path winding among dark rocks and rich ferns, with great trees +overhanging the sea, which breaks in real surf below them, washing their +roots, which seem alive with myriads of crabs of all sizes, which also +wander at large among the branches, like so many birds. Many of the +lower boughs are actually fringed with shells and sea-weed, while the +growth of parasitic ferns on the upper branches is wonderful to behold. +The muddy shore of the river seemed literally moving, from the multitude +of burrowing crabs, with one large pink claw; and every now and again a +great land-crab would peer at us from some fruit-laden branch, with its +curious eyes projecting on movable stalks, which turn about at will. + +This is the first place in the Pacific where I have seen grand green +waves break on the shore. Throughout the Fijian isles they spend their +force on the barrier-reef, and only the gentlest ripple washes the +coral-sand. + +The rainfall here is greatly in excess of that in Fiji, consequently +vegetation is richer, and the intensity of green more remarkable. So far +as I can judge, the general foliage here is identical with that of the +most fertile of “our” isles. The cocoa-nuts are much larger. + +I am afraid to confess how hateful to me is the very thought of +returning to long weary winters in Britain, with six dreary months of +leafless undress. Do you realise that in all these isles there are only +two or three deciduous trees, and that the majority put forth their +wealth of young leaves almost faster than the old drop off? They are +“busy trees” indeed, laden at once with bud and blossom, ripe and unripe +fruit, and in many cases bearing several crops in a year. No wonder that +these light-hearted people care so little to weary themselves with +digging and delving, when the beautiful groves yield them fruit in +abundance, and the mountains supply uncultivated crops of nourishing +bananas and wild yams. For that matter, I suspect it is really quite as +fatiguing to climb the steep mountains in search of wild vegetables as +it would be to grow them in gardens—probably a good deal more so—for the +beautiful mountain-plantain, which is the staple article of food, grows +in all the most inaccessible valleys and clefts of the rock. As you look +up the steep hillside, so richly clothed with vegetation, the most +prominent forms are these large handsome leaves, with their huge cluster +of fruit growing upright from the centre, but to reach them you may have +to climb a couple of thousand feet—and _such_ climbing! A man would need +to be in very robust health who could face such a walk to fetch his +family food. For my own part, I should prefer to sacrifice the romance, +and plod steadily at my yam-garden. + +These mountain-plantains are the only branch of the family which carry +their fruit upright in that proud fashion; all other sorts hang drooping +below the leaves, like gigantic bunches of yellow grapes; and the native +legend tells how, long ago, all the banana tribe held their fruit +upright, but that in an evil hour they quarrelled with the +mountain-plantain, and were defeated,—hence they have ever since hung +their head in shame. + +In heathen days the Samoans seem to have been greatly averse to +unnecessary work, and even the art of making cloth of the paper-mulberry +fibre was one which their indolence long prevented them from acquiring, +though they greatly admired that which their Tahitian teachers made for +them. Now, however, they appear fairly industrious, and the women +particularly so—those of the highest rank priding themselves on being +the most skilful weavers of fans, mats, and baskets, and in making the +strongest fibre-cloth. The chief men also are willing to do their full +share of whatever work is going on, whether house-building, fishing, +working on the plantation, or preparing the oven and heating the stones +to cook the family dinner. + +Now all the chief men wear very handsome cloth, thicker and more glossy +than that made in Fiji, though less artistic in design. Fifty years ago +the regular dress of all the men was merely a girdle of leaves—a simple +form of dress, but one which was never dispensed with, as in many of the +Papuan group; indeed, one of the most humiliating punishments in heathen +days was to compel a culprit to walk naked through the village, or so to +sit for hours in some public place. To this day a leafy girdle is +considered essential as a bathing-dress—the long dracæna leaves being +those most in favour. They are so arranged as to overlap one another +like the folds of a kilt; and as they vary in colour, from brilliant +gold to richest crimson or brightest green, the effect produced is as +gay as any tartan. This is the favourite _liku_, or kilt, in Fiji even +now. + +But on great occasions in olden days, as at the present time, the +chiefs, and their wives and daughters, wore very fine mats of the most +delicate cream colour. They are made two or three yards square, and are +as soft and flexible as cloth. The best are made from the leaves of the +pandanus, scraped till there remains only a fibre thin as paper; but the +bark of the dwarf hybiscus also yields an excellent fibre for weaving +mats. Their manufacture is a high art. It is exclusively women’s work, +but is one in which few excel, and is very tedious,—the labour of +several months being expended on a mat which, when finished, may be +worth about ten dollars. + +The strong paper-like cloth commonly worn, is much less troublesome to +manufacture. There are several plants from which a good cloth-making +fibre is obtained. One of them is the magnificent giant arum, the leaves +of which often measure from 5 to 6 feet in length, by 4 in width. Its +root is large in proportion—truly a potato for a giant. How you would +delight in the cosy brown cottages whose thatched roofs just peep out +from among such leaves as these. You do realise that you are in the +tropics when you see gigantic caladium or quaint papawas, splendid +bananas with leaves 6 or 8 feet long, and tufts of tall maize or +sugar-cane 15 to 20 feet high, growing luxuriantly at every +cottage-door. + +To-day we passed through several villages, and were everywhere greeted +with the kindly salutation _Ole Alofa_ (_i.e._, “Great Love”). We were +invited to enter many houses; and though our scanty vocabularies did not +suffice for much conversation, a mutual inspection was doubtless +gratifying to both parties. The language of the Samoans is soft, and +their voices musical. To express thanks, they say _Faa-fetai_. The +familiar _Vinaka! Vinaka!_ (_i.e._, “Well done!” in Fijian) is here +rendered by _Le-lei! Le-lei!_ Good-night, is _Tofa_—_i.e._, “May you +sleep.” The Samoan language is generally described as the Italian of the +Pacific—it is so mellifluous. It is, however, a very difficult one for a +foreigner to acquire thoroughly, as it has three distinct dialects—the +language used in addressing a high chief, a middle-class gentleman, or a +peasant, being altogether different; and a further complication arises +from the politeness which leads the highest chief to speak of anything +referring to himself in the dialect which describes the lowest of the +people. In Samoa, however, as in the other Polynesian group, one +language is spoken on all the different isles, and there has at all +times been free intercourse between them—a very different state of +things from that which prevails in such groups as the New Hebrides, +where each isle has a dialect—perhaps two or three—unknown to any of its +neighbours, and where one tribe dares not set foot on the land of +another. + +Samoa has always been in many respects superior to most of her +neighbours. Not only was she free from the reproach of cannibalism, but +also, in great measure, from that of infanticide, which prevailed to so +frightful an extent in neighbouring groups. Here children were never +destroyed _after_ their birth, though it is supposed that fully +two-thirds of those born in old days, died from mismanagement in +nursing. The sick were invariably treated with kindness, and old age +lovingly tended. Such horrors as the burial of the living, as practised +in Fiji in heathen times, were never dreamt of in Samoa. + +In no land is old age more beautiful than here—partly because the +tendency is to corpulence in place of leanness; and the eyes retain +their clear, piercing brightness, and the countenance a kindly +expression, which tells of the powerful good sense for which many of +these people have been so remarkable. Certainly they are a handsome and +attractive race. + +We noticed in all these villages the same characteristic in +house-building which struck us at Pango-Pango—namely, that there is a +good deal of roof supported on posts, but little of anything answering +to a wall; so the houses resemble huge oval mushrooms, and home life is +of a very public description. There are, however, movable screens of +plaited cocoa-palm, which are put up so as to enclose the house at +night, on the same principle as the paper walls or screens which compose +the sides of a Japanese house, and which are generally removed in the +daytime. The wooden screens invariably are so. + +At night the interior of a Samoan house resembles a small camp, as large +curtains of heavy native cloth are slung from the roof and hang like +tents, within which the sleepers lie on a pile of soft fine mats, their +necks, not their heads, resting on a bamboo or wooden pillow raised on +two legs. Furniture is conspicuous by its total absence. A few baskets +for fish or vegetables hang about the walls, and a few bundles +containing cloth and mats lie in the corners. Cookery is done out of +doors in the native ovens, for Samoans have no pottery of any sort; so +the picturesque cooking-pots of a Fijian kitchen are lacking. The very +few cooking or water pots which are sometimes seen in a chief’s house +have invariably been imported from Fiji, and are prized accordingly. + +The roof itself is one of the most precious possessions of the isles. +Ponderous as it appears, it can be divided into four parts, and removed +from one place to another, should the family have occasion to flit. The +great rafters are bound together by strong creeping-plants (vines or +lianas) from the forest, and the ordinary thatching consists of +sugar-cane leaves, strung on reeds, which are laid so as to overlap one +another: sometimes a heavy cocoa-palm matting above all, secures the +roof against a very high wind. + +Some of the Samoan homes revealed very pleasant cool-looking groups of +comely lads and lasses lounging on their mats, making and smoking the +invariable tiny cigarettes, consisting of a scrap of tobacco rolled up +in a morsel of the dried banana-leaf fringe they wear round the waist. A +few were whiling away the hot hours of the day by a game with small +cocoa-nut shells: each player has five shells, with which he tries to +knock every one else’s shell from a given spot, leaving his own in their +place. They also play a game something like forfeits. They sit in a +circle, in the centre of which they spin a cocoa-nut on its thin end; +and as it falls, the person towards whom the three black eyes point is +considered to have lost. In the same way they cast lots to decide who +shall do some work or go an errand. In one village a party of lads had +assembled on the village green to play _totoga_, or reed-throwing—a game +very common in Fiji. The reeds, which are 5 or 6 feet in length, have +oval wooden heads about 4 inches long, and the skill lies in making +these skim along the grass to the furthest possible distance. + +In a green shady glade we saw a party of young men, very lightly clad, +practising spear-throwing, aiming at the soft stems of banana-trees, +which I suppose represented the bodies of their foes. In the game they +take sides, and one party tries to knock out the spears planted by the +other. Sometimes they carry very short spears, and in throwing these, +aim so as first to strike the ground, whence the shaft glides upwards +towards the mark. I am told that a feat is sometimes performed which +must involve marvellous coolness as well as dexterity. A man, armed only +with a club, stands up as a target, and allows all the others to throw +their spears at him. All these he catches with his club, and turns them +aside in quick succession. It can scarcely be called a pleasant game, +however. + +We saw several distressing cases of elephantiasis, which is here called +_fè-fê_, and, we are told, is common. It produces hideous malformations; +and the sufferers are pitiable objects, the arms and legs being +hideously swollen. The natives attribute this disease to the action of +the sun; but some Europeans who have suffered from it declare that it is +also produced by exposure to the night air, and by excessive drinking of +_kava_. Happily it is painless. Some of the Samoans suffer severely from +ulcers; and we heard of some cases of ophthalmia. + +Here and there, beneath the green shade of the plantains, close to the +houses, we noticed hillocks of white sea-sand, surmounted by a low +oblong cairn of wave-worn pebbles, with a layer of white stones on the +top. These are the graves of the household. No Highlander is more +careful to have his own bones, or those of his kindred, laid beside the +dust of his forefathers, than is the Samoan. To him the idea of a common +cemetery is repulsive. His desire is to be laid in the tomb in the +garden, on land belonging to his family. When a man of any consequence +dies, the ends of a canoe are cut off, and it is used as a coffin. This, +however, is an innovation. The true old custom was to wrap the body in +mats only—fine soft mats—and to lay it in a shallow grave, with the head +to the east and the feet towards the setting sun. The wooden pillow and +cocoa-nut cup of the dead were buried with him. Then the grave was +covered with white sand, and the cairn was raised, always about a foot +higher at the head than at the feet. + +If the deceased was a chief of any note, bonfires were kindled at short +intervals all round the grave, and the mourners sat near and fed the +fires till dawn; and this they did for ten consecutive nights. But in +the case of commoners, it sufficed to keep up a blazing fire all night +in the house, taking care that the intervening space was so cleared as +to allow the warm light to rest on the grave. The household fireplace +was, as it is still, merely a circular hollow in the middle of the +house, lined with clay, only a few inches deep, and rarely exceeding a +yard in diameter. As the house has no walls, there is no difficulty +about smoke, but considerable danger of setting fire to the surrounding +mats. Nowadays, the fire in the house burns only for warmth, and for the +convenience of lighting cigarettes; but in heathen days a blazing fire +was kindled every evening in honour of the gods, to whom the +house-father commended the family and all their interests. + +Near one of the villages we caught a glimpse of a dark olive-green +snake, the first I have seen for many a day. They are not quite so rare +here as in Fiji, but are equally innocent; and the girls take them up +without hesitation, and play with them, and even twine them round their +necks. We also saw some wood-pigeons and a few paroquets, and lovely +little honey-birds, with crimson-and-black plumage. + +As we crossed the river a frightened water-hen darted from among the +bushes—swallows skimmed lightly through the air, and several exquisite +blue-and-yellow kingfishers glanced in the sunlight, as they flashed in +pursuit of bright-coloured insects. + +Flying foxes are very numerous, and, as they hang suspended from the +boughs, head downwards, have the effect of some curious fruit. They are +excellent to eat, as we discovered in Ceylon; but most Europeans have a +prejudice against them—I cannot see why, as they feed on the best and +ripest fruits. I quite understand the objection to the little +insectivorous bats, which cluster in thousands among the rocks, clinging +one to another, till they appear like brown ropes. The smell of these is +simply disgusting. + +These are not the only night-birds of Samoa. I am told there are a good +many owls. I did not, however, see any, neither was I so fortunate as to +see the Samoan turtle-dove, with its exquisite plumage of peacock-green +blending with crimson. Green paroquets abound, and a small scarlet and +black bird. + +When these isles were first discovered, an indigenous dog was found in +the mountains—a small, dark-grey animal, with very little hair, short +crooked legs, long back, and large erect ears. It fed on bread-fruit and +yams, having no other animal on which to prey, with the exception of the +little native rat. The natives very naturally considered both dog and +rat as dainty dishes for high days. Happily they contented themselves +with these, and held cannibalism in abhorrence. The wild dog was also +found on Hawaii, Tahiti, and New Zealand. + +On some of the isles there was a native breed of pigs, lanky, +long-legged creatures. Like the rats and dogs, they made a virtue of +necessity, and were strict vegetarians. They were found in Hawaii, +Tahiti, Tonga, and the New Hebrides. These are the only three quadrupeds +that appear to have been indigenous on any of the Polynesian isles; and +now all three are extinct, having died out on the introduction of their +foreign kindred, in obedience to that sad fate which appears to rule the +destinies both of men and beasts. + +The people whose ideal quadruped was a pig, very naturally judged of all +imported animals by this standard: so a goat or a cow became known as a +horned pig; a horse, a man-carrying pig; a cat, a mewing pig. When the +first goat was landed on one of the Hervey Isles, where even pigs were +unknown, the natives called one another to come and see “the wonderful +bird with great teeth growing out of its head!” + +The most interesting aboriginal inhabitant of Samoa is a little kind of +dodo, or tooth-billed pigeon, here called _Manu-mea_.[8] Though now +rare, it is still to be found in the forests, generally hiding in the +tops of the highest trees. The natives say that it used to frequent the +ground, but that since the introduction of foreign cats and rats, which +have proved its deadly foes, it has instinctively retreated to safer +quarters. Its diminished numbers may probably, however, be attributed to +the high value set on it by the Samoan epicures. It is said to be +closely allied to the extinct dodo. Its body resembles that of a pigeon, +but its head and beak are those of a parrot. Its general plumage is +dark-red, the head and breast being grey. Eyes, legs, and feet are all +red, and the beak is reddish gold. When captured, it is generally very +savage, and bites severely, but it is occasionally tamed, and feeds on +fruit. + +Formerly the sporting world of Samoa found its chief pastime, not in +pigeon-shooting, but in pigeon-catching, which sounds a very innocent +amusement, but which was indulged in to such excess that the teachers +found it necessary to discourage it, as it led to the schools being +quite deserted, and all work at a standstill, for months at a time—the +favourite season being from June till August. The Hurlingham of Samoa +was a large circular clearing in the forest—(there were many such). +Thither the whole population of a district would resort, having +previously prepared great stores of provision. Grandfathers and little +children, but especially young men and maidens, delighted in the +dove-festival, dear to happy lovers. They erected temporary huts in the +forest, and there took up their abode for a prolonged picnic. Many an +idyl of the forest might have been sung by the flower-wreathed minstrels +of Samoa; and the wide world could offer no lovelier scene than the +exquisite tropical forests of these happy isles, where no hurtful +creature lies hidden. But I fear that even here the idyls were not free +from occasional touches of shadow; though doubtless there were reflected +lights, enough to relieve any transient shade, and lovers’ quarrels were +forgotten in new loves. + +All round the central clearing, hiding-places were constructed and +covered with green boughs. In each of these a sportsman was concealed, +holding in one hand a stick to which a tame pigeon was attached by a +string some ten yards in length. These pigeons were all trained to fly +round and round; and the wild wood-doves seeing so many of their fellows +circling round one spot, naturally supposed there was something good to +be shared, and ventured near, when, from each ambush a long slim bamboo +was thrust forth, with a net attached, and the stranger was forthwith +captured. Of course, he who caught the largest number was the hero of +the hour, and to him was presented the evening feast—at which baked +pigeons figured largely. Some, however, were preserved alive, to be +trained as decoy-birds, as this pigeon-taming was a favourite occupation +at all seasons of the year,—indeed is so at the present time; for the +Samoan takes as much pride in his doves and pigeons, as a Briton does in +his hounds and horses. The birds are trained in such habits of idleness +that they will not even feed themselves, but sit patiently waiting till +their master actually puts their daily bread—yam, banana, or +cocoa-nut—into their open mouths. + +The Samoan dove and its wooing furnished the theme for one of the +prettiest of the native dances. The girls, while gently gliding to and +fro, utter the low soft call of the female dove, their mates answering +from afar, in deeper resounding tones, and circling around, ever drawing +nearer and nearer, till the wooers and the wooed unite in a _ballet_ of +much graceful fluttering. + +We got back to Leone just in time to see the ecclesiastical procession +start from the old church to the site of the new one. At the +consecration service, the bishop wore his mitre and a very gorgeous +vestment of patchwork, presented by the Samoan ladies. I grieve to have +to record that in leading the procession round the foundations of the +new church, he made the turn _widdershins_.[9] I believe that this is +contrary to ecclesiastical custom—and of course to my Scottish mind it +suggested grievous misfortunes in store. + +An immense crowd of people had assembled, and the influence of European +bad taste was too apparent in several cases; as for instance, in the +uniform selected by a large college of young men, and provided by +themselves—namely, white trousers, magenta blouse, and sky-blue +waist-band! The girls wore white calico _sulus_[10] and pale-green +pinafores, which, with their hair dyed yellow, were becoming. But they +looked a thousand times better when, at a school festival held later, +they exchanged the white skirts for very fine cream-coloured mats +embroidered round the edge with scarlet wool, necklaces of large scarlet +berries and green leaves, and scarlet hybiscus and green leaves in their +hair. They went through some very pretty school exercises, illustrated +by much graceful action. + +Then some very fine women came up, wearing handsome new mats of hybiscus +fibre, which, when newly prepared, is pure white, and after a while +becomes creamy in hue. They presented us all with very pretty fans of +woven grass. + +Then came a presentation of much food, including about thirty pigs, +which were, ere long, devoured by the assembled multitude. + +The bishop was terribly exhausted by all this prolonged exertion and +much talking; but as an instance of his never-failing kindness to +everybody, I may tell you, that when the school-feast was over, I came +to this, my special nest, remarking to some one that I was _fatiguée_, +forgetting that the word may be interpreted as “not well.” So when the +kind bishop came home to his much needed rest, he heard this, and, tired +as he was, at once came to this house, which is at some distance, +bringing a great roll of native cloth to soften my mat couch, and +chocolate and other little delicacies, which he thought I might fancy. I +_was_ so sorry,—but it illustrates the beautiful unselfishness of that +genial nature. + +To-morrow we are to leave this lovely isle Tutuila and cross to the +great isle of Upolu, on which is situated Apia, the capital. + +This group, which in our schoolroom days we were taught to call the +Navigators Isles, but which its inhabitants know as Samoa, consists of +eight principal isles and several small islets. By far the largest are +Savaii and Upolu—the former being 250 miles in circumference, the latter +200. Both are very beautiful, having high mountain-ranges, visible at a +distance of 70 miles, and richly wooded. They are separated by a strait +about 12 miles wide, the mouth of which is, as it were, guarded by two +small islands, Manono and Aborima. + +The former lies close to Upolu, and one reef encircles both. It is the +home of some of the high chiefs, and is an exceedingly fertile little +island, clothed with the richest verdure. It is about five miles in +circumference. + +Aborima, as seen from the sea, appears to be only a huge precipitous +mass of rock, rising to a height of 200 or 300 feet. It is about two +miles in circumference, and is probably the crater of an extinct +volcano, for it is shaped like the hollow of a hand, whence it derives +its name. It is inaccessible, except at one small opening between the +steep cliffs; but passing between these you enter an amphitheatre, +which, from the base to the summit, presents an unbroken mass of +tropical vegetation—a most marvellous transformation scene from the +desolate crags of the seaboard. A charming little village nestles +beneath the fruit-bearing trees in the basin. + +This natural stronghold belongs to the chiefs of Manono, who use it in +time of war as a safe refuge for their families and storehouse for their +property. All they need do, is to guard the narrow entrance, which they +can either defend by dropping rocks on the invaders, or by so placing +ropes across it that they can overturn their canoes. So, although the +warlike men of Manono have occasionally been driven from their own isle, +they have always found a secure retreat in this lovely rock-girt +fortress, where they take good care always to have abundant stores of +food ready for emergencies. That they need such a place of refuge, you +may infer from the fact that when they were first visited by white men, +about fifty years ago, a basket was suspended from the ridge-pole of a +sort of war-temple, and in it were preserved 197 stones, which were the +record of the number of battles which the men of Manono had fought up to +that date! + +I do not know how many of these isles we are to visit. The more the +better, since all are beautiful. But whenever I admire anything, the +invariable reply is, “You like this? Ah, wait till you see Tahiti!” +Evidently it is the ideal isle. No one will believe that I am _not_ +going on. Indeed I am beginning scarcely to believe it myself. Well, +we’ll see when we reach Apia. + + + + + CHAPTER VII. + VANQUISHED CHIEFS OF THE PULETOA FACTION UNDER PROTECTION OF THE + UNION-JACK—CONVENT SCHOOL—“BULLY” HAYES—POSTAL DIFFICULTIES—HOUSE OF + GODEFFROY—VILLAGE OF MALINUNU—VEGETABLES AND FISH—ADVANTAGES OF + ANGLO-AMERICAN COMPANIES. + + + BRITISH CONSULATE, + APIA, ISLE UPOLU, _Monday, 24th_. + +We arrived here yesterday morning, and I confess that, having heard so +much of the beauty of this place, I am rather disappointed. It is not to +be compared with Levuka[11] from a picturesque point of view. A very +long village, scattered round a horse-shoe bay, with cocoa-palms _ad +libitum_, and background of rather shapeless rich green wooded hills, +part of which are under cultivation. Certainly the hills do gradually +ascend to a height of fully 4000 feet, so they are not to be despised; +but our eyes are satiated with the beauty of volcanic peaks and crags, +rising from an ocean of foliage wellnigh as rich as this. Doubtless if +we have time to explore the interior, we shall find no lack of +loveliness; indeed even from the harbour we could distinguish one grand +waterfall, like a line of flashing quicksilver on the dark-green +mountain. But to reach it, would involve a long day of hard walking, +such as I could not attempt, even were the sun less powerful than it is +to-day. This town, which is the capital of Samoa, consists of about two +hundred houses and stores—German, English, and American consulates, a +Roman Catholic college and cathedral, a Congregational chapel, and two +newspaper offices, representing the stormy politics of the isles—namely +the ‘Samoan Times’ and the ‘South Sea Gazette.’ + +The strong point of Apia is the excellence of its harbour—a point which +the German traders have made good use of, in securing their own right to +a large part of it. + +As soon as we anchored, M. Pinart escorted me, first to call on Dr and +Mrs G. A. Turner of the London Medical Mission, and then to H.B.M. +Consulate, which was my destination—the wife of the consul, Mrs Liardet, +and her mother, Mrs Bell, having been our friends in Fiji, before they +were sent to this place. We found that Mr L. had just sailed for Fiji to +consult Sir Arthur Gordon on the best course to follow in the present +critical state of affairs, when every man’s hand is seemingly against +his neighbour, and each trying to induce the natives to espouse his +individual quarrels as well as their own. So the whole community are at +loggerheads. The whites are mostly riff-raff of a very low order; and in +short, the Samoa of to-day is simply a reproduction of what Fiji was +before annexation. Many of the scamps who are now working its strings +are the identical men who, finding Fiji no longer a happy land of +misrule, have just moved on to the next group, there to repeat the +intrigues of their previous life. + +As I have explained to you, the Samoans are divided into two great +factions, betwixt whom there is war to the death; and, unfortunately, +this ill feeling is kept up by the utterly unprincipled whites—German, +English, and American—who have their own interests to serve, and are +quite unscrupulous as to the means they employ. So, thanks to their +machinations, there was a sharp skirmish about three months ago actually +in the town, close to this house, and to the convent, where the French +Sisters have a large and excellent school for girls. There appears no +doubt that it began by a treacherous onset unawares, instigated by a +scoundrelly American. The fight lasted all night, just behind this +house. Sixty men of the Puletoa faction were slain, and their heads were +cut off and sent to friendly chiefs as delicate offerings. + +You can imagine the horror of that night to the ladies here, hearing the +noise of battle, the firing of muskets, and the shouts of the warriors, +but unable to distinguish through the darkness what was going on. In the +first glimmer of dawn they looked out, and saw a great crowd of poor +terrified refugees of the Puletoa party crouching round the flag-staff +here (at the consulate), claiming British protection. The Union-jack +that was run up that morning has never since been lowered day or night, +as the conquerors have as yet given no definite promise to spare the +lives of the vanquished. Others, who had hidden in the scrub, have since +crept in, under cover of night; and from that day to the present, the +fifty men (great chiefs and their followers), besides wives and +children, are living within the very confined grounds of the consulate. + +The men never dare to venture outside these bounds, knowing that for +long the place was surrounded by guards of the enemy, watching to shoot +any of the refugees who might venture to step over the enclosure, which +at the time of the fight was only partially fenced in. The women and +children are, however, allowed to go out and forage. The principal +chiefs sleep in the dining-room and passages, and wherever they can find +room to lie down; and when I come to my room at night, I have to pick my +way in and out among the sleepers. But the majority of the followers +have built a large native house in the garden, where they sleep; and as +they dare not go out even to bathe, they have dug a deep well for their +own use; and Mrs Liardet has given them her tin-lined piano-case, which +they have converted into a very good comfortable bath. They have sunk it +near the well, and fenced it round, so it answers capitally, and has the +merit of being quite a novel use for a piano-case! + +All their arrangements are very tidy; and they are a fine, dignified +lot—especially the chiefs; and all are so very nice and respectful, that +their presence in and about the house is not half such an inconvenience +as you might imagine. Indeed Mrs Liardet and Mrs Bell have grown quite +fond of them; and they in their turn delight to play with Mrs L.’s baby, +who is a bright little laughing pet. Indeed they act as a splendid +guard, and are always quiet and well-behaved. But some of the poor +fellows have terrible coughs, which keep themselves and us awake half +the night; and being awake, they do talk a good deal, which diminishes +the chance of our falling asleep again. + +They are a handsome race, pleasant to the eye, and happily do not, like +so many of the Tongan chiefs, affect foreign dress. They either wear +fine mats, or else very thick handsome native cloth of bread-fruit or +paper-mulberry fibre. Very few wear any covering on the shoulders, so +the fine bronzed figures are seen to full advantage; and as I look down +from this verandah I see on every side of me such groups as an artist +would love to paint. Picturesque men, women, and children, bright +sunlight and gay blossoms, rich foliage, and palm-leaves flashing like +quicksilver as they wave in the breeze, framing the blue waters of the +harbour, where the foreign ships lie anchored. + +But all these poor people do look so sad, and no wonder; for even if +their lives are saved, all their property is lost, and many of these +were the wealthy nobles of the land. Some people here say that they +might now safely return to their usual life; but others, equally old +inhabitants, and equally well informed, say they are in as great danger +as ever. It seems just touch-and-go whether a few days will see the +renewal of a very bloody war, or whether all will agree to an +unconditional cession to England. There is a strong impression that if +Sir Arthur Gordon were to arrive here now, the latter would be certain; +and that it is the only possible panacea for poor Samoa’s wounds. + +Within a stone’s-throw of this house lie the grounds of the French +convent, where four nice ladylike French Sisters, and two Samoan +Sisters, devote themselves to the care of about sixty native +girls—bright, pleasant-looking lassies. The native Sisters appear to be +thoughtful and devout women. There is an atmosphere of peace and calm +within the convent grounds strangely in contrast with all the disquiet +which prevails outside. Life here is quite Dr Watts’s ideal— + + “In books, and work, and healthful play, + Let my first years be passed.” + +I can answer for the joyousness of the merry games that were played +beneath the cool green shade of banana and bread-fruit trees, and also +for the excellent work done in graver moments. Very pleasant, too, are +the sweet young voices, trained in their singing by one of the Sisters, +who is herself an admirable musician and a good vocalist. They were all +greatly interested in hearing news of the Sisters at Tonga, which I was +happily able to give them. Great is the delight of every one here at the +return of the bishop, to whom all who desire peace seem to look with +trust. + +Do you remember my telling you, when the Samoan chiefs came to Fiji to +consult Sir A. Gordon, that they brought with them two pretty, +high-caste girls, Faioo and Umoo, with whom we made great friends? I +found them both here, and they seemed overjoyed on recognising me. They +are both girls of good (Samoan) character, and daughters of high chiefs. +Their fathers, who are in the victorious government party, likewise +recognised and cordially welcomed me. + +A considerable number of the bright merry girls at the good Sisters’ +school are half-castes—the children of Samoan mothers by French, +English, or German fathers. Amongst these, two gentle, modest-looking +lassies were pointed out to me as the daughters of the notorious “Bully” +Hayes, of whose piratical exploits I have heard many a highly seasoned +yarn from the older residents in Fiji, where he occasionally appeared, +as he did in all the other groups, as a very erratic comet, coming, and +especially vanishing, when least expected, each time in a different +ship, of which by _some_ means he had contrived to get possession; +always engaged in successful trade with stolen goods; ever bland and +winning in manner, dressed like a gentleman, decidedly handsome, with +long silky brown beard; with a temper rarely ruffled, but with an iron +will, for a more thoroughgoing scoundrel never sailed the seas. The +friend who trusted to his courteous promises was his certain victim. If +he was in the way, he was as likely as not to have his throat cut, or to +be turned adrift on a desert isle. If owner of the vessel, he was +probably landed to make arrangements for the sale of his cargo, while +Bully Hayes was already on his way to some distant port to sell the said +cargo for his own benefit, and then trade with the ship, till it became +inconvenient to hold her, when she was deliberately scuttled. + +It is about twenty years since this notorious pirate first made his +appearance in the Pacific, when for some reason he was landed on the +Sandwich Isles, apparently against his will. He was then accompanied by +Mrs Hayes, the mother of these two girls, who now lives at Apia in +respected solitude. For many years her lord has cheered his voyages with +companions from all manner of isles, whom he has contrived to dispose of +so soon as metal more attractive presented itself. + +At last this inhuman miscreant has met his doom. Only a few days ago a +vessel came into port bringing the news of his death. As he was entering +his cabin he was knocked on the head with a marline-spike by his mate, +who had suffered brutal ill-treatment at his hands, and so, determined +on revenge. I doubt if even one woman was found to mourn him. It was a +meet ending to such a career. + +A messenger has just run here in hot haste to tell me that a ship is in +the act of sailing, and will take this letter. This morning we asked in +vain if there were any chance of a mail, and were assured that there was +none. I can barely catch this—so good-bye. + + _Same Evening._ + +Truly those whites of Samoa are aggravating Ishmaelites—all striving to +outwit one another, without one thought for the common weal. Ever since +we anchored here we have been trying to learn whether any vessels were +about to leave the harbour, and this very day we sent an express to the +German consul, who replied that he believed it would be three weeks +before a vessel sailed. But it seems that he represents Godeffroy’s +house, whereas this ship belongs to Hedeman & Rouget; and all these +firms are so jealous of one another, and so afraid of being asked to +carry letters that their ships all try to sneak out of harbour without +giving notice to the postal authorities. + +Dr Turner heard of this chance by the merest accident, through a +grateful patient, and sent me word immediately, but being at the other +end of a long beach, the information reached me just too late. Now weeks +may elapse before there is another chance. + +Just now I mentioned the house of Godeffroy of Hamburg.[12] This place +is the headquarters of that great firm, which absorbs the principal +trade of the Pacific. There is “neither speech nor language” where the +name of this omnivorous firm is not heard. At Cochin-China in the +north-west, Valparaiso in the south-east, and Samoa midway, they have +established centres, from which their emissaries radiate in every +direction, and their vast fleet of trading vessels are for ever on the +alert to enlarge the field of their operations. They are the Graballs of +this side of the world. Hearing of the profitable trade carried on here +by Messrs Brander & Hort of Tahiti, they decided to follow in their +footsteps, and ere long succeeded in effectually supplanting them. + +This was partly effected by artfully fostering the intertribal disputes, +which were ever smouldering among the Samoans, and then liberally +supplying the combatants with arms and ammunition from their own arsenal +at Liège (Belgium). For these useful imports they accepted payment in +broad tracts of the most fertile lands in Samoa, where they now own +about 25,000 acres of the finest alluvial soil and richest forest, all +intersected by streams and rivers, acquired at a cost of about three +shillings an acre! On this land they are establishing large plantations, +upwards of 4000 acres being devoted to cotton. To work these they employ +about 1000 “foreign labour,” imported from the multitudinous groups with +which their vessels trade. + +Here, at Apia, they own a first-class harbour, and have established a +regular shipbuilding-yard, wherein to refit old vessels and build new +ones. And in many a remote isle, in various parts of the Pacific, they +have acquired lands and harbours, to secure central points of operation. +In the Ellis group they have bought the isle of Nukufetau, on account of +its excellent harbour; and (passing onwards towards their original +establishment at Cochin) they have secured 3000 acres on the isle of +Yap, in the Pelew group, to the west of the Caroline Isles. I believe +there is not one group in the Central Pacific where they have not +established trading relations. They are said to have agents resident on +every isle where there is any possibility of gain, and where the natives +will tolerate the presence of a white man. Naturally the majority of +these are by no means men calculated to improve the people; in many +cases they are taken from the riff-raff, who in past years have sought +in the isles an asylum from civilised laws, and by long residence have +acquired a thorough knowledge of the habits and language of the natives. +These men receive no salary. They are simply provided with the materials +to build a solid house, and a supply of whatever trade is likely to +prove acceptable to the people as barter, and are expected to accumulate +an equivalent in produce within a reasonable period. No awkward +questions as to character are asked. The _sine quâ non_ is a knowledge +of the language, a power of discreet silence, and a capability of not +quarrelling with the natives. To further the latter requirement, their +employers stipulate that every agent of theirs shall have his own +“establishment,” no matter from what isle he may import his companion. +But they resolutely refuse to sanction the legal marriage of any German +subject with a native woman. + +Nor is this the only point in which this mighty anti-Christian firm +opposes itself to all efforts for the improvement of the people. To all +their widely scattered agents one clear direction is given: “Never +assist missionaries either by word or deed, but, wheresoever you may +find them, use your best influence with the natives to obstruct and +exclude them.”[13] + +It is interesting to find so plain an acknowledgment of the principles +which animate so large a section of the mercantile communities in all +quarters of the earth. In every case the opposition seems due to the +same cause—a covert hatred to the teaching which discountenances +immorality of all sorts, including that of exchanging bad goods at +fictitious prices for useful products. It matters little whether blue +beads and muskets, or opium (with a background of English artillery), be +the goods to be disposed of, the principles involved, and the consequent +antagonism to every agency for good, are necessarily the same. + +How well the agents and shipmasters carry out their instructions may be +inferred from such an experience as that of the mission-ship Morning +Star, which, a few years ago, made her way to the Kingsmill group on the +equator. A pilot came out to meet her, and made her anchor three miles +from the village, desiring that no one should venture to land without +permission from the king. The latter, on hearing that it was a +missionary ship, recalled the counsels given to him by the captains of +various trading vessels, who, he said, had all warned him that should a +missionary ever come to the isles he must on no account be permitted to +land, as he would shortly bewitch both king and people. So the wary +monarch vowed that no such sorcerer should set foot in his realms; and +he accordingly sent a message to the strangers to say, that if they +stood in need of anything he could give them, they should have it, but +they must go right away, and never come back. Thus the unrighteous +counsels prevailed, and the true friends were banished at the bidding of +the selfish money-grubbers. + +It is unfortunately only too notorious that wherever, as in those +northern isles, the natives have derived their first impressions of +civilisation from traders, they have invariably deteriorated, and the +white influence has been exerted to exclude all improving influences. On +the other hand, throughout Polynesia, the missionaries were the first to +occupy the field, where traders dared not venture, and in every case +they so tamed the fierce savages that commerce naturally followed in +their wake and under their protection. Yet even here no debt of +gratitude is considered due to the successors of those early pioneers; +and the antagonism of the traders to the missionaries is unfortunately +notorious. + +From what I have told you, you can gather that the transactions of the +house of Godeffroy are carried out on a pretty extensive scale; and as +all European goods are sold at a clear profit of a hundred per cent, +exclusive of all expenses, they contrive to heap up riches at a very +rapid rate. One of their peculiarities is, that they never insure their +ships. They pay their shipmasters very low salaries, rarely exceeding £5 +a month, but supplement this sum by allowing them a commission of three +per cent on the net profits of each voyage. + +Another peculiarity, which is particularly annoying to the white +community (and this is a point on which I speak feelingly), is that of +despatching their ships from Apia with sealed orders, which are not +opened till the vessel reaches a certain latitude, so that no one on +board knows her destination. Consequently, however great a boon the +chance of a passage might be to any person detained in the isles, or how +valuable an opportunity of sending letters, ship after ship leaves this +harbour without giving a hint of her intentions. + +The house of Godeffroy has not been the only purchaser of vast tracts of +land in these isles. The Polynesian Land Company (whose claims to +enormous tracts in the Fijian isles were somewhat upset by annexation, +and the consequent necessity of proving their titles to their broad +acres) carried on very pretty land speculations in Samoa, where they +profess to have legally acquired about 300,000 acres on the four largest +and most fertile islands. Their leader is a Mr Stewart, one of two +brothers who have struck out for themselves very remarkable careers in +these seas. The other brother was a well-known character in Tahiti, who +blew a brilliant bubble company, which for a while dazzled the world of +the South Seas—till the bubble burst, and the blower died miserably. + + H.B.M. CONSULATE, _Tuesday Night_. + +Yesterday evening we were sitting in the verandah enjoying the coolness +of the lovely evening, when we heard very pretty singing in a garden +near. Some gentlemen who were calling took me to the spot, where a large +party of Samoan girls were sitting on the grass beneath the palms and +rosy oleanders. The singing and surroundings were all attractive. Indeed +it is difficult to look on such a peaceful scene, and realise how very +recently it was a hideous battle-field; and sad indeed to think how few +days may elapse ere the grass—to-day so green—may be stained with the +blood of all these fine men. In Samoan warfare the aim of each warrior +is to secure as many heads as possible. Hence the sixty ghastly heads +which were carried from here to all parts of the group only three months +ago. But before they are so scattered, it is customary for the victors +to pile them up in a hideous pyramid, surmounted by the head of the +highest chief slain. An ugly feature in war here, is the practice of a +large body of men landing at dead of night at some distance from an +unguarded settlement, and stealing stealthily in, to surprise the +unsuspecting sleepers: then suddenly rushing into the houses, slice off +every man a head, of grey-haired patriarch or slumbering infant boy, and +dashing down to the shore, where their canoes have meanwhile arrived, +push off ere the startled villagers are sufficiently awake to arm for +defence or vengeance. Only male heads are required. It would be +considered cowardly to kill a woman. Nevertheless these are sometimes +desperately wounded in the struggle to defend their little ones from +their ruthless assassins. + +In old days, after a battle, such of the headless bodies as were +recognised received decent burial; the others were left as carrion, a +prey to the village dogs and pigs. The influence of Christianity now +secures burial for all. Strange to say, it also secures a rigid +observance of the Sabbath, on which day the belligerents, by common +consent, abstain from fighting, and allow teachers and missionaries to +pass freely in and out of their camps, holding religious services in +which all join, each no doubt invoking the aid of the God of battles on +his own behalf. I doubt whether many of the nations among whom +Christianity has been long established, would pause in their battling +from any deference to the day of rest. And though these raids and +distributions of heads savour rather of Jewish than of Christian +practices, I think the British Isles could have furnished pretty close +parallels in the days of Border forays, when a foeman’s head, stuck on a +halbert, was reckoned no mean trophy; or when one who was considered a +traitor had fallen by the headsman’s axe, and his head and quartered +body were stuck on pikes—a ghastly spectacle for all men—while his +entrails were thrown into the fire. So you need not decry the +Christianity of these poor Samoans, because the old war-spirit still +stirs in their veins. + +I have just had a visit from Mrs G. A. Turner, who most kindly called to +ask whether I would like to accompany her husband to a lovely place, +twelve miles from here, where he expects to have a large meeting of the +people. It is very tempting, and being a three days’ trip, would give me +time for some sketches; but there is so much that is interesting here, +that I have reluctantly declined. + +After luncheon Mr Pritchard took me along the shore to Malinunu, the +village on a peninsula, where the unfortunate skirmish occurred between +the Samoans and the men of the Barracouta. It is now the seat of +government, and here the _Taimua_ and the _Faipule_, who are the +triumphant faction, reign. One of their English instigators occupies the +house of Malietoa, the conquered king, and lives under the special +protection of the men whom he has beguiled. It is a tidy village of +thatched houses, smothered in bananas and tall sugar-cane. + + _Wednesday Night._ + +We have been exploring all the near neighbourhood. Passing through the +grounds of the Fathers’ house (where the good bishop gave us welcome), +we ascended a pretty steep hill to the Catholic college for young men—a +large and very orderly establishment. It was a pretty walk, through +woods and cultivated ground. Everything seems to grow here, and some +plantations are worked on a large scale with imported foreign labour. +Cotton, sugar-cane, maize, coffee, nutmegs, cinnamon, arrowroot, +tapioca, millet, barley, and even rice, of a sort which does not require +irrigation, and can be grown on high levels. Vegetables of all sorts +thrive in the French gardens, telling of industry and care; but somehow +here, as in Fiji, European flowers do not repay the trouble expended on +them, except for old association. Their place is taken by the datura, +with its heavy-scented, white, trumpet-shaped blossoms, the gay pride of +Barbadoes, various fragrant jessamines, and hybiscus of all colours. + +In all these volcanic soils, water, and water only, is needed to convert +the thirsty dust into most fertile earth. Here, what with perennial +springs and an excessive rainfall, the mountains have an abundant +water-supply; and in every ravine a clear sparkling stream is fed by +countless rills and waterfalls, cool and delicious. But so dry and +thirsty are the lower hills, that the generous streams, giving instead +of receiving, are actually absorbed ere they reach the seaboard, and +only a bed of dry stones marks the channel, by which in occasional +floods the torrents rush into the ocean. Consequently all cultivation on +the lower levels involves artificial irrigation. + +The fish supply here seems good. There are rock-fish in endless +variety,—albicore, bonito, and a sort of salmon with white flesh, and a +very delicate fish called the gar-fish, with a projecting lower jaw. +When this creature grows large and strong, it sometimes unintentionally +proves a very dangerous neighbour, as when startled by the approach of a +canoe, it is very apt to spring on board with such force as seriously to +injure any person whom it strikes with its sword-like jaw. I believe +that nude natives have actually been killed by those frightened +creatures. The fishers here still practise the somewhat unfair method of +stupefying fish by throwing into the water the bruised seeds of the +_hutu_, or Barringtonia tree. Turtle abound, both the hawk’s-bill, which +yields the tortoise-shell of commerce, and the green. Prawns, shrimps, +and eels are found in the rivers, while the coral-reefs yield all manner +of shell-fish, lobsters, and crabs. I hear that oysters are to be had, +but have not seen any. + +Speaking of the reef, the natives say that they can foretell a storm, +hours before its approach, by noticing the echini[14] crawling into snug +holes where they may lie secure, undisturbed by the raging waters. “The +sea roars and the echini listen,” is the Samoan proverb to describe +prudence. + +I have just heard with great interest that the _balolo_ (here called +_palolo_)—those curious sea-worms, concerning whose annual visit to Fiji +I wrote to you at the time—also honour the reef of Apia with a call, +just in the same mysterious manner, rising to the surface of the sea for +a couple of hours before sunrise on one given day, which the natives can +always calculate beforehand, so as to be out by midnight, watching for +the first glimmer of dawn, when, sure enough, countless myriads of black +and green worms, thin as threads, and perhaps a yard long, come to the +surface—an easy prey to the joyous crowd of men and girls, who scoop +them up in baskets, nets, gourds, anything they can get hold of, each +trying who can collect the biggest share of the writhing, wriggling +worms which, when baked in a banana-leaf, are esteemed a most delicious +dainty, and do taste something like spinach and salt water, with a +_soupçon_ of lobster. But the extraordinary thing about them is their +only rising once a year for two hours, and never mistaking their set +time, then disappearing totally till the following year. In Samoa, I am +told, the day falls in August. In Fiji a few come one morning in +October, but their grand day is about 25th November. + +This afternoon Captain Aube kindly lent us his whale-boat to take us +across the creek to Matautu, which is the further end of the settlement. +We went to make some small purchases at the various stores, chiefly to +see them. One of these belongs to the celebrated Stewart, whose partner +being an American, the firm has the advantage of flying either the +Union-jack or the Stars and Stripes, as may best suit the tide of +affairs. At present this house is divided against itself; and a few days +ago the agent of the American partner declared the place to be the sole +property of _his_ superior, and having sealed everything with the +consular seal, he ran up the Stars and Stripes. Being, however, obliged +to go to Fiji on business, Stewart’s agent has broken these precious +seals, and in the name of _his_ chief, has hoisted the ensign of +Britain. This is a fair sample of the sort of pull-devil, pull-baker way +in which business is conducted in this curious community. It leads to +endless complications, as each party invariably appeals to his consul to +visit his opponent with all the terrors of the law. At the present +moment Stewart’s store is a centre of interest, because the American +consul wishes forcibly to remove thence a certain Captain Wright, a +citizen of the United States, who defies his authority, and whom we saw +sitting peacefully in the store, under the shadow of the Union-jack. + +The coin chiefly in circulation here is the Chilian and Bolivian dollar, +of very debased silver, commonly known in the Pacific as “iron-money.” +Its introduction was one of the sharp speculations of Messrs Godeffroy, +who obtained an enormous amount at a very cheap rate, and therewith +commenced trade with the Samoans, who accept the dollar as the +equivalent of 100 cents, or the half dollar as 50 cents, whereas two +half dollars or one whole, are barely worth 75 cents. So the profit on +this little job was considerable—and if it _has_ added one more straw to +poor Samoa’s burden of trouble, that is no concern of the traders. + +On our homeward way we called on a very friendly lady, who, with her +daughters, was engaged in preparing an immense array of excellent +pastry, for a great picnic “_Fa-Samoa_”[15] which is to be given +to-morrow in honour of us, the visitors. Then we went on to the convent, +to invite the good Sisters to join us, and bring all their girls. I am +sure they will enjoy the chance of a French talk with their countrymen. + + * * * * * + +It is quite impossible to get at the truth about anything here. Another +German vessel went out of harbour this morning. No one knew she was +going till she was actually under way. I can only hope that my letter +may reach you some day, by some route! Meanwhile, good-night. + + + + + CHAPTER VIII + THE ISHMAELITES OF THE PACIFIC—INJUDICIOUS INTERVENTION—FA-SAMOA +PICNIC—A TORCHLIGHT WALK—TRAINING COLLEGE AT MALUA—APT ILLUSTRATIONS BY + NATIVE PREACHERS—DR TURNER—MISSION TO THE NEW HEBRIDES—ESCAPE TO + SAMOA—OF MANY CHANGES ON MANY ISLES. + + + BRITISH CONSULATE, + _Thursday Night, 27th September_. + +I was roused at early dawn by a French sailor appearing at my open door. +(All rooms in these countries open on to the verandah.) He brought +despatches, which he begged I would immediately translate for the +vice-consul. A most senseless row has taken place, and all the +inhabitants are in as great a turmoil as wasps whose nest has been +disturbed. + +It appears that the American consul, though personally mixed up in many +questionable transactions here, has contrived effectually to bewilder +the mind of the too sympathetic and kind captain of the Seignelay, with +the story of his woes, and of the ill-treatment and insults to which he +has been subjected. So last night he went on board to solicit armed +assistance to enable him to capture several refractory American +subjects, who refused to acknowledge his authority. + +Without a thought of possible consequences, and acting on the kind +impulse of giving the required help to an unfortunate official, Captain +Aube agreed to lend Mr Griffin the necessary force. A considerable body +of armed men were accordingly landed at 10 P.M., and were led by the +U.S. consul to Stewart’s store, whence Captain Wright had just departed. +Stewart’s agents wrote a protest against such proceedings, then walked +out of the house, locking it, and pocketing the key, leaving only a sick +man inside. They affirmed that Wright was not in the house, but added +that if a warrant were obtained from the British consulate, the U.S. +consul might search to his heart’s content. Ignoring all remonstrance, +the search-party broke open the house, and sought in vain for the bird +who had flown. + +Meanwhile another boat-load had gone in the opposite direction to search +for more delinquents, none of whom were captured. And a third party came +to demand the surrender of the house next to this one, which the bishop +claims as Church property, though Stewart’s agent has thought fit there +also to hoist the British flag. This demonstration also proved futile, +as the said agent, Mr Hunt, presented a firm front, and refused to quit +the premises. The whole thing has been a sort of Don Quixote and the +windmills business, resulting in nothing but stirring up much bad blood. +Of course immense excitement prevails in consequence of this insult +offered to a house flying the Union-jack. (Poor Union-jack! it is made +to sanction some very shady doings in these far corners of the earth.) +The Franco-Griffin party allege that the house is American property, and +that the unjustifiable proceeding was that of breaking open the U.S. +consular seals and hauling down the Stars and Stripes! + +At the best, it is a low, contemptible row; and I am dreadfully sorry +(as are all the French officers) that their kind captain’s Quixotic +kindness should have drawn him into it. But it is more difficult to +arrive at the truth here than in any other place I know of. It seems as +if every one’s chief occupation in life was to rake up stories, old and +new, against his neighbour; and these are swallowed and made much of, +without any allowance for the fact that they are retailed by vicious +foes. Some of the poison-mongers in this poor settlement were well-known +characters in Fiji, and only left it when, after annexation, it became +too warm for their comfort. I have vainly tried to impress some of my +friends with a due estimate of these men’s antecedents, but to no +purpose; and I hear their words quoted as gospel. + +So great was the hubbub and perturbation from one end of “the beach” to +the other, that our proposed picnic was very near being given up. +However, wiser counsels prevailed, and angry feelings were smoothed over +the more readily, as none of the principals were present. The party +consisted of about a dozen ladies, and half as many French officers. +Three of the sisters (Sœur Marie, Sœur St Hilaire, and Sœur Sept +Martyrs) brought their little family of about sixty Samoan girls, who +executed dances for our amusement as we sat on the pleasant turf at the +spot selected for luncheon—a grassy lawn embowered in golden alamanders +and scarlet hybiscus, and other bright blossoms, which soon adorned the +tawny heads of the scholars. The dances were monotonous and ungraceful, +as usual here, degenerating into hideous grimaces. They have none of the +attraction of the beautiful Fijian dances. Nor have these damsels such +pretty manners as the maidens in the Fijian schools. The little Doctor +was considerably astonished (though he bore the shock philosophically) +when a forward young woman danced up to him, and snatching off his hat, +transferred it to her own well cocoa-nut-oiled head, while another +patted his face with both hands, amid applausive laughter from her +companions. But these were, happily, exceptional; and many of the girls +appeared gentle and modest, and several were very pretty, with lithe +figures and splendid eyes. But they all have beautiful dark-brown eyes. + +A great feed, _Fa-Samoa_, was next spread on the grass, on layers of +fresh green banana-leaves. There were roast sucking-pigs, and pigeons +stewed in _taro_ leaves, or else baked on hot stones in earth ovens; +cray-fish, and prawns, and divers kinds of fish; pine-apples, bananas, +and oranges; salad of cocoa-palm, like most delicious celery; +bread-fruit prepared in various ways—boiled, baked, and roast in +wood-ashes; wonderful native puddings, made of ripe plantains, _taro_, +bread-fruit, and other materials, each beat up fine, and baked +separately, then all worked together with the creamy juice extracted +from ripe cocoa-nut, which, when heated, turns to oil, and is so +exceedingly rich that few people can eat much of it. However, it is +really very good—at least some preparations are. The puddings are so +very oily that each portion is tied up separately in a strip of silky +young banana-leaf, heated over the fire to make it oil-proof. + +In addition to these Samoan dainties, every lady had sent a contribution +of pastry, salad, or other good things; and the excellent _chef_ of the +Seignelay had done his part admirably, as usual. Nor had that hospitable +vessel neglected to send ample remembrance from the vineyards of France, +though the correct drink in the South Seas is the inevitable cocoa-nut +water,—and an excellent one it is, cool and refreshing, provided the nut +has just been gathered. No matter how burning the sun in which it hangs, +it is always cool when newly severed from beneath the crown of shady +leaves; but after a while it becomes slightly warm and mawkish in taste, +so a true connoisseur requires his nuts to be plucked at the last +moment. Then some ingenious native splits the thick outer husk by +striking it on a sharp upright stick, and tears it all off, except a +small green stand like an inverted bowl, which supports the nut, so that +you need not empty it till you feel inclined. Then he cuts off the top +of the nut, which is lined with the thinnest coating of white jelly. +This is the pulp just beginning to form, and in this ivory-lined cup you +find about two pints of clear sweetish water. When a row of nuts thus +prepared are placed for every guest at such a banquet as this, they +suggest a row of brownish-yellow ostrich-eggs, mounted in pale-green +enamel! + +An excellent dish, which I would introduce at home were it possible, +consists of young _taro_ leaves, stewed in the rich oily cream of +cocoa-nut kernel, mixed with salt water, which is the only substitute +for salt. Hence cocoa-nut shells containing sea-water are placed beside +each guest, that he may therein dip his food to give it a relish. To +have done quite the correct thing, our roast sucking-pigs should have +been carved with a piece of split bamboo; but I fear that in this matter +we were guilty of innovation, though we quite decided that bits of green +banana-leaf were the nicest possible plates. + +We were happily not expected to partake of the national cakes, made of +putrid bread-fruit. I told you how, in Fiji, vast stores of bananas are +buried in pits, and there left for months to ferment, after which the +pits are opened, and the pestilential odour that nearly poisons the +unaccustomed nose, announces a great feast of _mandrai_—_i.e._, bread. +In Samoa, bananas abound all the year round, so there is no need to +store them. But bread-fruit is only in season for about six months, so +the surplus crop is stored in pits lined with banana-leaves; of course +it soon ferments, but in that condition is preserved, perhaps, for +years, as the older it is, the more highly it is prized. You can perhaps +imagine how fearful is the smell of this dainty. But it is all a matter +of taste—the ripe Stilton cheese, dear to the fine old English +gentleman, is, to a Samoan, infinitely more revolting than his +unfragrant cakes are to us. + +Our surroundings were beautiful. Far below us lay the blue Pacific with +its white breakers and many tinted coral-reefs, and on every side the +spurs and ravines of great green hills, all densely clothed with richest +tropical vegetation,—huge _eevie_ trees, with roots like coils of +twisted snakes, and branches all bearded with long grey lichen, falling +in streamers and entangled by the twining vines; while all manner of +parasitic plants, orchids, and bird’s-nest ferns, nestle in every +crevice. We had come by a lovely path through groves of bread-fruit and +bananas, oranges, and other flowering trees, with here and there patches +of cultivation—tall sugar-canes and maize—then tree-ferns, matted with +purple convolvulus, and with an undergrowth of soft green grass. The +gleaming sunlight found its way through that leafy canopy, and its +dancing rays checkered the cool dark shadows with flecks of golden +green. It was all soft, and lovely, and peaceful. + +Ere the fragments of the feast, and the coffee-pots, and the crockery, +were repacked, the brief tropical day was done, and the setting sun +changed the broad blue waters into molten gold. Then we retraced our way +through the forest, no longer sunlit, but sombre and very still, save +for the sound of our own voices. But due provision had been made for the +darkness; and many friends and relations of the Samoan girls had come +out to meet us, carrying long torches of cocoa-palm leaves, which blazed +with a clear bright light, throwing a ruddy glow on all around, on +semi-nude dusky figures, glossy foliage, tall white palm-stems, and the +great buttressed roots of the chestnuts, and on the brown-thatched +cottages, whence groups of pleasant olive-coloured people looked out and +cried _Alofa!_ to which kind greeting we responded, _Ola alofa!_[16] + +And so the _Fa-Samoa_ picnic has gone off very pleasantly, and we +returned here to find all quiet, and to exchange the usual kindly +courtesies with the refugees, who now have settled down for the night, +as I must also do, that I may be ready to start at daybreak to get a +sketch of the town and bay. + + H.B.M. CONSULATE, _Saturday Night_. + +We returned this morning from a most interesting expedition to Malua, +the great college of the London Mission, of which Dr Turner, senior, is +the head. It is about twelve miles from here, and Dr G. A. Turner, of +the Medical Mission, most kindly volunteered to take M. Pinart and +myself in his boat. So he called for us yesterday morning, after an +early breakfast. We had a very beautiful row along the coast, and +received the most cordial of welcomes from the Doctor, who is a fine old +Scot, with a pretty, pleasant, Highland wife. You home people can +perhaps scarcely realise what a very great pleasure it is, in a far land +like this, to find one’s self suddenly dropped into the very heart of a +real Scotch nest of the best type, and at once to be treated like a +friend. I have found such a welcome from many of my countrymen in many +lands, but nowhere more pleasantly than in the peaceful home at Malua. + +The present Mrs Turner was the widow of Mr M‘Nair, one of the +missionaries of Erromango, whose little daughter Ella, a pretty child +eight years of age, is the pet of the family. + +You must not infer from my speaking of a college, that Malua bears the +slightest resemblance to any collegiate institution in Europe. It is +essentially South Sea, which means that it is suitable to the climate +and the people, and it consists of a large village of about sixty neat +thatched cottages, laid out in a square, at one side of which stands the +large class-room. Each cottage is the home of a student with his wife +and family, preference in the filling up of vacancies being given to +married men, both as a means of educating the women and children, and +also because the people, in applying for teachers, generally ask for one +whose wife can teach their wives and daughters.[17] + +Each cottage home is embowered in pleasant greenery and bright flowers, +for each student is required to cultivate a garden sufficient for the +requirements of his family, and to raise a surplus supply, which he may +sell to provide them with clothing. + +Dr Turner himself founded this college in the year 1844, when the +mission began to realise the extreme difficulty of keeping up a supply +of trained teachers, not only for two districts in the group itself, but +for the numerous other isles to which Samoan teachers had gone forth as +pioneers. + +Besides, those early days had passed when the foreigners had +been received as heaven-sent messengers, and hailed as the +_Papalangi_—_i.e._, those who have rent the heavens (the name still +applied to all foreigners throughout Polynesia). At first it was enough +that a teacher had learnt the leading doctrines of Christianity as +opposed to idolatry; but now these were generally accepted by all the +people, many of whom took careful notes of every sermon they heard, and +were as keen as any old wife in Scotland, in detecting any error in the +teaching of their minister. + +Small mercy would these Samoan critics have shown to such a preacher as +that young curate who, in his anxiety to improve the story of the +Prodigal Son, expatiated at such length on the peculiar sacrifice made +in the selection of _the_ fatted calf, which was no common calf, but one +which had evidently been a household pet for Years, and YEARS, and +YEARS! + +The Samoans are natural orators, and love to illustrate their subject +with facts and comparisons from every source within their ken. So the +preacher who would rivet the attention of his hearers needed to have +studied his subject well. But at that time he had no books to help him, +no commentaries to refer to, only a translation of three Gospels and a +few Scripture lessons; and many a teacher felt, what one +expressed,—namely, that he was like a man attempting to cut down a +forest with a blunt axe; or like a foolish man, always hammering, but +never hitting the nail on the head. + +The necessity of an educational institution was therefore apparent, and +the chiefs were so favourably disposed to the scheme, that they offered +to clear out of a whole village and make it over to the mission. It was, +however, considered preferable to buy a piece of land on the coast, in a +place quite apart from all other settlements; so Malua was selected, and +fifty acres of land purchased in due form. This land was reclaimed from +the bush by the students themselves, who raise yams, _taro_, and bananas +in abundance, and have also planted several thousand bread-fruit trees, +cocoa-palms, and other fruit-bearing trees; so that this noble +institution is almost, if not altogether, self-supporting. + +From its commencement to the present day, fully two thousand teachers +and native ministers have been here trained, including a considerable +number of men from far-distant Papuan Isles—from the New Hebrides, New +Caledonia, the Tokelau, and Savage Isles—all speaking different tongues, +but here meeting together to learn what they can, and then carry the +truth to their own distant isles. Oh how these perplexed teachers must +long for a new Pentecostal gift, to enable them to address these men, +each in his own language! + +It would be difficult to imagine a healthier, happier life, than that of +these students. At the first glimmer of the lovely tropical dawn, the +college bell rings to mark the hour for household prayer. (There is +probably not a house in Samoa where the family do not assemble daily for +morning and evening prayer.) Then all the students go out, either to +work in the gardens, or to fish in the calm lagoon. At eight the bell +rings again to warn them that it is time to bathe and breakfast, to be +ready for their class at nine. Classes and lectures continue till four, +when they are again free to go fishing, gardening, carpentering, or +whatever they prefer. At sunset each family meets for evening prayer; +then the men study by themselves till half-past nine, when the curfew +bell (true _couvre-feu_) warns them to put out their lights. + +On Saturday evening there is a prayer-meeting in the institution chapel, +when the students take it in turn to deliver a short address. + +Sunday is of course observed very strictly. The day begins with a +prayer-meeting at six. At morning and afternoon service all the +neighbouring villagers assemble, and the intervening and later hours are +filled up with Sunday-school for children and Bible-classes for adults. +A simple service, with a good deal of singing, ends the day. The Holy +Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month. + +The institution rules are few and simple; but for any infringement of +them the penalty is a fine, which goes towards the expense of lights. + +The course of instruction includes arithmetic, geography, natural +philosophy, writing, composition, Scripture history, and systematic and +practical theology. For lack of books, Dr Turner and his fellow-tutor +found it necessary, day by day, to write out copious notes of their +lectures, and give them to all the young men to copy. Consequently each, +on leaving the college, at the end of a four years’ course, carried with +him a large store of papers for reference. + +Thanks to the diligent labours of Dr Turner and his colleagues (who +during many years devoted about five hours daily to preparing +translations for publication), the libraries of Samoa now contain +Scripture narratives and commentaries on the Old Testament,—commentaries +on the Epistles and Gospels, Elements of Astronomy, Elements of Natural +Philosophy, and various other works. + +We were told various examples of the acute and pithy remarks of the +native teachers, and of the excellent illustrations they sometimes make +use of. Thus a hollow professor is likened to the cast-off shell of a +lobster, so perfect in every claw and feeler, even to the transparent +covering of the eyes, that the fisher, peering into the clear pools on +the reef, mistakes it for a true and excellent prize, and only learns +his error as he grasps the worthless shell. + +A strange illustration of “cutting off a right hand or a right foot, or +plucking out a right eye, that offend,” was given by a teacher at +Tutuila, who told how often he had watched the _mali’o_, or land-crab, +which by day burrows deep in the soil, but by night hurries down to the +sea to feed and drink. It is a wondrous cleanly creature; and the +Samoans declare that if on its seaward way, as it presses through the +tall grass, it should chance to come in contact with any filth, which +adheres to its legs, it will deliberately wrench them off, and thus, +self-mutilated, hobbles back to its hole, there to hide till its legs +grow again. It is positively affirmed that this most extraordinary crab +has been known deliberately to wrench off its eight legs in succession, +and then drag itself home with the greatest difficulty by means of its +nippers. I must confess I think this crab would have shown more +common-sense had he gone to the sea or the nearest stream and washed his +dirty legs. But you must allow that the illustration was an apt one. + +Those who on hearing good words hearken, and for a season dwell on them +in their hearts, but after a while return to their careless ways, are +compared to the sensitive plant, which when touched closes its leaves +and droops to the very earth, but anon rises up again as brave as ever. +A backslider is compared to a certain fish which comes from the ocean to +feed on the reef, and which for a day or two continues silvery white, +but after a while becomes dark and unwholesome. + +A little sin is as a hole in a fisherman’s basket, through which, one by +one, fall the fish for which he has toiled so eagerly. First he loses +all his little fish, and gradually, as the hole enlarges, the large fish +also escape, and at last he reaches his journey’s end with an empty +basket. + +The taint of old sins, clinging to one who would fain put away evil +things, is compared to a strongly scented oil, with which a bottle-gourd +has once been filled. Many and many a time must that gourd be washed ere +it will lose the scent, and be fit to hold water for drinking.[18] + +Still more striking is the illustration of a stately bread-fruit +tree, fair to look upon, with large glossy leaves and abundant +fruit,—a tree which in the natural course of healthy life will, when +full grown, send up from its roots strong shoots, which yield their +first crop in the second or third year, so that ere long the +patriarchal tree is the centre of a leafy fruit-bearing grove. But +there is an insignificant-looking parasitic fungus—merely a black +spot like the smut that comes on wheat—which is fatal to this fair +tree. Once it can establish itself, it spreads like a canker. The +rich green leaves turn yellow, and the disease is soon carried from +tree to tree, till the whole grove is sickly and blighted. It brings +no fruit to perfection, and ere long the trees are dead. Only one +antidote is known. It is said that there grows in the depths of the +forest a glorious lily,[19] and that if some of its bulbs are +brought and planted among the roots of the sickly trees, they will +recover. And so, when the deadly rust of sin has cankered the heart +of man, one only remedy can avail,—the life-giving influence of HIM +who is called the true Lily. + +Again, another teacher illustrates the necessity of rooting out all bad +habits, no matter how trifling they may seem, by the example of the wild +_taro_, which sends rootlets creeping in every direction, so that though +the main root may be dug up, suckers innumerable remain, which need only +time to bring them to sturdy life. + +Another parable is furnished by the sugar-cane, which grows tall and +beautiful to the eye, but unless due care is taken to clear away the +decayed leaves from around its roots, worms gather there, and pierce the +cane, and rapidly multiplying within, fatten and flourish, so that when +the husbandman gathers his cane, he finds its precious juice all gone, +and in its place a multitude of loathsome worms. Even such, said the +preacher, is the growth of little sins. + +The soul that seeks to soar heavenward is likened to the _piraki_—a +small bird, which, like the skylark, seems to lose itself in the light. +On the other hand, the snow-white tern, which, beneath its lovely white +plumage, has a dull black skin, is a meet symbol of the hypocrite, whose +fair feathers shall one day be plucked off, to reveal the false +professor. + +Some of the questions propounded by the students are equally noteworthy, +and few indeed suggest that confused wool-gathering of which every +school examiner in Britain can quote such strange examples. The question +asked by one young man was, “What is meant by Satan falling from +heaven?” And I could not help thinking of the rash Sunday-school teacher +who asked her class why, in Jacob’s dream, the angels were seen +descending by a ladder. To which replied a sharp child, “Please, ’twas +because the angels were puking, and they couldna flee!” She had charge +of her mother’s poultry, which just then were moulting, so the +comparison was forcible. + +Hitherto the students do not appear to have been troubled with any +speculative difficulties regarding the Mosaic account of Creation, +which, in Samoa, has reversed the European order, and has superseded the +“Darwinian” theory. According to the legend of the isles, “In the +beginning” the great god Tangaloa sent his daughter, in the form of a +bird, to visit the great waters, which then covered the face of the +earth. She found a rock rising above the surface, and there rested a +while ere returning to the heavens. From time to time she revisited the +rock, and carried thither some earth—and then a creeping plant. After a +while she returned, and her plant had covered the earth, which gradually +enlarged, as the waters dried up. Then the plant withered and decayed, +and as it turned into slimy nastiness, a multitude of worms appeared, +and they grew fat and flourished, and in due course of time men and +women were evolved. So, you see, the Samoans had traced the human race +back to its slimy origin, long before Dr Darwin electrified the +civilised world with his discoveries; but they have now discarded that +ignoble ancestry in favour of the Divine theory. + +A Samoan teacher often illustrates his meaning by some ingenious +allusion to the old legends and mythology of the isles. In his +expositions of the Old Testament he is greatly assisted by the number of +Samoan customs, strangely analogous to those of Syria and Palestine. Dr +Turner has collected a multitude of such identities—and also of the +striking metaphors and hyperboles dear to the Samoans. Thus, “Him that +overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God,” had strange +significance to those who believed that in Pulotu, the Samoan Paradise, +the temple of their great god was supported by human pillars, who in +this world had been great chiefs, whose highest aim had been the +attainment of this honoured office. + +“They took branches of palm-leaves and went forth to meet Him, crying +Hosanna,” suggests the green leaves and branches often carried by the +followers of a chief, and their songs in his praise. + +In rejoicing, David “dancing and leaping before the ark,” exactly +describes the leaping and dancing and strange capers which even a +high-caste chief will perform as he goes before a person or thing whom +he wishes to honour. + +Riddles, such as those propounded by Samson, are among the commonest +amusements of Samoa, and are combined with forfeits. + +With reference to King David’s prayer, when “he went in and sat before +the Lord,” it is remarked that in Samoa, as in all the Polynesian +groups, it is a mark of disrespect to stand in the presence of a +superior. To sit on the ground with the head bent down is the correct +attitude of reverence and devotion. + +In the account of David’s covenant with Jonathan, the latter “stripped +himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David,”—an action +which is the commonest expression of friendship in the South Seas. + +“He kissed him, and smelled the smell of his raiment,” is an excellent +description of the South Sea custom of greeting all friends with a +prolonged and impressive sniff. They touch noses and sniff, and then +smell the hand and the garment of the superior. + +“Children by adoption” is strangely expressive in isles where every +family has adopted children. The term “brothers” includes nephews and +cousins in Samoa as in Judea. “Endless genealogies,” and reverence for +ancestry, are equally marked features in both races. + +“Take up thy bed and walk” is easily understood, where a pile of soft +mats is the bed of the highest chief. + +“They cast off their clothes, and threw dust in the air” is a Samoan +expression of great anger. The expressions descriptive of mourning for +the dead in Syria might have been written in the South Seas. “They rent +their clothes and cut themselves.” “They disfigure their faces.” Even +so, those strange islanders deliberately cut their faces with sharks’ +teeth and other sharp instruments, and bruised their heads with stones +in token of grief. “Cut off thine hair and take up a lamentation;” “Make +great wailing for the dead;” “They mourned for him thirty days;” “They +ate the offerings of the dead;” They fast “till the sun be down,”—all +exactly describe Samoan custom. Further, “They made a very great burning +for him.” (Here they made great bonfires in honour of the dead and also +burned their own flesh with firebrands.) + +The custom alluded to by the man of Mount Ephraim, who spoke to his +mother of “the shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which +thou cursedst,” had its counterpart in heathen Samoa, where a man would +sit down and deliberately invoke curses on an unknown thief, praying +that rats might eat his fine mats and cloth; that fire might blast his +eyes and those of his god; that the shark might devour him, or the +thunder slay him; or that at least he might be afflicted with sores and +ulcers. Even to this day you may sometimes observe a tiny square of +matting, with strips of white _tappa_, hanging from a fruit tree, or a +few reeds stuck into the ground and tied together at the top +(clam-shells being buried beneath them), or some similar mark which +appeals to the superstitious fear of the possible thief, warning him of +the curses that will attach to whoever breaks the _taboo_. I have seen +this identical custom in many lands, from Ceylon eastward. + +A suspected thief was put upon oath in presence of the chiefs. Some +venerated object was brought from the temple—a sacred stone, a +trumpet-shell, or a cocoa-nut shell, which ranked as a divining-cup—and +the accused, laying his hand on this object, had to pray that the gods +would slay him if he spoke falsely. If he swore by a holy stone, a +handful of grass was laid upon it, to signify that the doom of the false +swearer would include his household, and that all his kindred would +perish, and the grass grow on the site of their dwelling. + +With reference to war customs. “The Philistine cursed David by his +gods.” “Curse ye Meroz, ... because they came not to the help of the +Lord.” So would a company of Samoan chiefs sit in conclave, and pray +that the gods would curse those who refused to help in war. “Let his +house be made a dunghill.” “They shall bring out the bones out of their +graves.” “Fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water.” All these +were literal features in Samoan warfare. “Lay ye the heads in two heaps +at the entering in of the gate,” was also quite a natural direction. The +description of the songs of the Jewish women in honour of the victor, +when “the women answered one another as they played, and said, + + Saul hath slain his thousands, + And David his ten thousands,” + +might have been written of Samoan women describing the deeds of their +warriors, and thereby often stirring up bitter anger and jealousies. + +With regard to weapons, the “sling and stone,” the “smooth stone of the +brook,” the “arrows, ... the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit,” +exactly describe those of the Pacific; while the description of Saul +encamped under a tree, “having his spear in his hand,” is a true picture +of any fine old South Sea chief. Further, it is said, “The trumpeters +stood by the king;” and though the trumpets of the Pacific are only +perforated shells, the blast blown through them in honour of a chief, or +to rally warriors in time of war, is sufficiently piercing to rouse the +dead. + +The crown and the bracelet worn by King Saul in battle seem most natural +adornments to these chiefs, whose bracelets and crowns of nautilus shell +attracted our admiration at their council of war. As our Lord spoke of +unclean spirits walking through dry places, seeking rest, so these +islanders believe that unquiet spirits roam at large in the forest, and +they propitiate them by offerings of food. + +In the New Hebrides, Dr Turner met with a curious illustration of that +strange history of Elisha giving his staff to Gehazi, and bidding him +lay it on the face of the sick child. The staff of the New Hebrides was +a polished stick of black iron-wood, which was the representative of a +god, whose ministering priest was one of the disease-makers. When +summoned to attend a case of sickness, this sacred staff was carried to +the sick man’s room, and the priest, leaning upon it, pronounced certain +charmed words, after which recovery was considered certain. + +In Samoa and other groups, all disease was supposed to be the work of +malignant wizards, therefore to them the friends of the sick applied for +healing, or at least for counsel, even as Ahaziah sent his messengers to +the priests of the god of Ekron to learn whether he would recover of his +sickness. + +For the healing of the sick, as well as conferring honour and personal +comfort, “anointing with oil” was as familiar in Judea as in Samoa. +“Thou anointest my head with oil,” might be said by any honoured guest +in these isles; while “oil to make him of a cheerful countenance” was +equally requisite. St James’s directions for the healing of the sick by +the prayers of the Church elders, and anointing with oil, literally +describe the course pursued in various parts of the Pacific—as, for +instance, in the Tokelau isles, where the friends of a sick man send for +the priest of the disease-making god, who comes, and dipping his hand in +oil, passes it gently over the sufferer, offering prayers for his +recovery. An important part of the ceremony, however, not prescribed by +St James, is the offering of fine mats to the priest. + +These are but a few of the multitude of illustrations collected by Dr +Turner.[20] There are many more, such as the occasional custom of +embalming the dead, the compulsory observance of the rite of +circumcision, contempt for nations who neglect it, marriage customs, the +punishment of death for adultery, the law of divorce; the singularly +patriarchal law which obliged each bride to be accompanied by one or +more handmaids, taken from among her near relations, and who filled the +place of secondary wives—so that a chief who owned three or four wives, +possessed such a large and troublesome harem, that the majority were +generally allowed to return to their parents; and lastly, the custom +that a widow must become the wife of her deceased husband’s brother, or, +failing him, of his nearest male relative. + +The plurality of wives appears, singularly enough, to have been little +more than a business transaction, in which the principal had very small +interest. The marriages of a high chief were simply so many speculations +in fine mats, which the bride brought as her dower, and which the +bridegroom was expected to hand over to his principal supporters, or +head men, who had arranged the match, and provided the feast. These men +were the bankers of the tribe in whose hands its property accumulated; +and of course they lost no means of adding to it, as well as of +strengthening clan connections by multiplying marriages. Hence this +question formed one of the chief difficulties of the early missionaries. + +This very practical reason for polygamy also accounted in a great +measure for the curious custom of adopting the children of living +parents, which prevailed to so extraordinary an extent. It appears that +the child was really little more than an excuse for a constant exchange +of property, its true parents constantly sending gifts of _tonga_—that +is, native property—to the adoptive parents; while these as often sent +back goodwill-offerings of _oloa_—_i.e._, foreign goods. + +When the students are considered sufficiently advanced, they are +occasionally sent to help the teacher of one of the neighbouring +villages, and practise the art of preaching, ere being appointed to the +sole charge of a congregation. Of course only the well-tried men are +promoted to the rank of native minister. + +The scale of ecclesiastical pay is certainly not such as to induce men +to enter the service of the Church for filthy lucre’s sake. A house, a +certain amount of food, and a small annual contribution in kind, the +value of which in no case exceeds £10, and is generally much less, is +certainly not an undue share of loaves and fishes, especially as no +agent of the mission is allowed to engage in any manner of trade, or +other secular occupation, beyond the cultivation of his own garden. The +annual contribution of his parishioners consists probably of +half-a-dozen mats, value from 2s. to 6s.; 30 to 40 yards of calico, +value 6d. a yard; some pieces of native cloth, worth 1s. each; a larger +piece of _tappa_, for a curtain; a shirt, a fowl, a duck, two pigs, and +a few nondescript coins of various nations and small value. + +I have heard so many unfair and untrue insinuations made by white +traders, and quoted without further inquiry by many travellers, to the +effect that many missionaries are in reality grasping and avaricious +traders, that it may be as well to mention that such false accusations +are invariably made by men who find their unjust gains somewhat lessened +by the presence of men whose standard of barter is more honourable. If a +native comes to work for a missionary, or brings him vegetables or fish +for sale, and receives in payment a larger piece of cloth, or a +knife—both of better quality than he would receive from the trader—he +naturally learns something of the fair value of his work, or his goods. + +Moreover, one of the first proofs of vitality given by these island +churches (as in every healthy branch of the Christian Church) has always +been a readiness to contribute, not only to the general expenses of the +mission in their own country, but also to sending forth teachers to the +isles which are still steeped in heathenism. As it has been most +convenient to make these payments in kind, each district has collected +its own offerings, chiefly in the form of measures of cocoa-nut oil; and +these contributions have been annually conveyed to the home market by +the mission-ship on her return cruise. Hence the nickname of “Palm-oil +Ship,” so derisively bestowed by men whose very limited notions of their +own religious duties certainly do not include any obligation to support +foreign missions. + +Another source of equally uncalled-for fault-finding has been the +receiving of payment for copies of the Bible and other books, as if the +mission, having gone to enormous expense in printing successive +editions, each of several thousand copies (and the publication of works +in an unknown tongue is at all times a troublesome matter), were to +blame in offering these for sale, at prices varying from 1s. to 2s. a +volume—that is to say, little, if at all, in excess of cost price. A +copy of every book published in the Samoan language is given gratis to +each student, and to every agent of the mission. How eagerly the +precious books have been bought up by other natives, is shown by the +fact of their having voluntarily paid several thousand pounds to acquire +copies for themselves. + +At the present moment the students at the college number eighty—all fine +young men; of these forty-two are married, and occupy the pretty cosy +cottages which form this South Sea college. There are also about twenty +big boys, and a number of small ones, all receiving a most careful +education. These are gathered from every island in the group, and +represent many of the principal families, who support the different +parties now striving for supremacy. But this is neutral ground, +respected by all parties, so politics are excluded as far as is +possible. + +After luncheon, all these assembled to meet us in the large native +church—a fine building, of white coral-lime, rounded at the ends like a +Tongan house, and with a deep thatch roof. I never saw a finer lot of +men and women, with keen intelligent faces. I fear their verdict on the +foreign lady must have been very different; for, what with my early +sketching expedition on foot, and then the long twelve miles in the +boat, in glaring light from sun and sea, I literally could scarcely keep +my eyes open; and having foolishly striven to do so, after luncheon +(when I might have obtained the blessed “forty winks” in private), I +paid the penalty when we reached the cool dark church, and had the +humiliating consciousness that the struggle was becoming vainer and more +vain, till at length the angel of sleep triumphed, and held me captive, +while M. Pinart put the students through a slight examination, simply as +a matter of form. + +Afterwards we wandered about the settlement, which is in every respect a +model one, and then we enjoyed a pleasant evening at the calm peaceful +mission-house, which stands on a grassy headland, palm-fringed, the sea +washing three sides of the lawn. It is quite an idyllic home,—a true +earthly paradise, where the useful and loving life glides on day by day, +undisturbed by the wars and rumours of war on every side. But the peace +and the home have alike been purchased by many a year of hard ungrudging +toil in the heat and burden of the day. + +For Dr Turner began his mission career in stormy times. Soon after the +Rev. John Williams had been treacherously murdered at Eromanga in the +New Hebrides, in November 1839, the London Mission Society determined to +make a renewed effort for the conversion of its fierce inveterate +cannibals. Mr and Mrs Turner were accordingly sent on this most +dangerous mission. They were joined in Samoa by Mr and Mrs Nisbet, and +together proceeded to the New Hebrides. + +The day before Mr Williams’s death, he had succeeded in landing three +Samoan teachers as pioneers, on the isle of Tanna, twenty miles from +Eromanga. To this isle the missionaries now sailed—not without grave +doubts whether they should find the teachers alive. (It was now June +1842.) They found them safe, but their work had made small progress. The +people were continually at war, and most unconscionable thieves. They +had, however, two good points—infanticide was not common, and they were +careful of their own sick, so far as they knew how. But wilder and more +savage surroundings could scarcely be conceived than those in which the +Turners and Nisbets found themselves left, when the little vessel which +had brought them from Samoa had sailed away. + +They soon discovered one serious difference between the New Hebrides and +the isles of the Eastern Pacific. In the latter, one language is +understood throughout a whole group, with only such variations as occur +between Yorkshire and Somerset. But in the New Hebrides, each island +speaks a totally different dialect, and though within sight one of +another (as Fortuna, Aneiteum, Tanna, and Eromanga) they cannot +understand one another; and the books printed for one would be totally +useless for the next. Even on the same island the different tribes are +so isolated by war and jealousies that their language remains as totally +distinct as that of the Celts and Saxons in Scotland or Wales. + +This circumstance, added to the intense jealousies of the tribes, made +it a matter of extreme difficulty, as well as danger, to attempt +visiting different villages, in which endeavour Mr Turner and Mr Nisbet +nevertheless persevered, always at the risk of their lives, being +inspired with an intense belief in the reality of their Lord’s command +(to go into _all_ the world and preach to _all_ His human creatures), +and also in His protecting care. + +So when a vessel touched the isle, and offered to carry them all away, +the mission band refused to desert their post, and for seven months +contrived to maintain their ground. But it was a constant struggle and +never-ceasing danger. During five months out of the seven the tribes +were at war, and at last the whole powerful body of sacred +medicine-men—the rain-makers and thunder-makers, and especially the +disease-makers—were filled with such jealousy of the foreigners who gave +away medicines, and so diminished _their_ gains, that they stirred up +the islanders generally to believe that the dysentery, coughs, and +influenza which had recently, for the first time, appeared in the group, +were all produced by the white men; and, strangely enough, their +assertion seemed confirmed by the fact that the tribe among whom the +missionaries were living, actually escaped these illnesses. + +So about two thousand wild savages united for a more determined +onslaught on this friendly tribe; and at last, seeing matters were +desperate, the little band of Christians, nineteen in all, were +compelled to fly for their lives. They accordingly embarked at dead of +night in an open boat and a canoe, hoping to reach the Isle Aneiteum, +preferring to face the certain hardships of such a voyage to the worse +certainty of being consigned to cannibal ovens. The sea was, however, +wild and tempestuous; and after vainly struggling for several hours to +make head against it, they were compelled to return to land, and happily +re-entered their own house before any of the natives had discovered +their flight. Matters now seemed desperate; but, as the old proverb +says, “Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.” When the villages were +blazing on every side of them, and their last hours seemed at hand, a +sail hove in sight. It proved to be The Highlander (name of good omen), +a whaler, whose captain, knowing that the Turners and Nisbets had gone +to Tanna, thought he would just run in and see if they were still alive. +The presence of the foreign ship stayed the fighting for the moment, and +enabled the mission party very quietly to make their preparations for +embarking. This was on Saturday. On Sunday, they as usual abstained from +any manner of work, and held public worship. Soon after midnight they +silently stole forth, and though their chapel and outhouses, and even +the boat-shed, were crowded with people from the neighbouring villages, +whose homes had been burnt by the enemy, not one awoke till almost all +the party were safely on board with their baggage. So this was +accomplished without the dreaded opposition. At last some men awoke, and +then messengers flew through the district to summon the chiefs. Mr +Turner asked them all to come on board to bid him farewell. Eleven did +so, and expressed their grief at all that had occurred; one fine old +chief wept like a child, but none ventured to bid the white men stay. In +truth, they said that they expected themselves to be exterminated as +soon as the vessel had departed. + +Seeing no possibility of establishing a mission on any of the +neighbouring isles, Mr Turner induced Captain Lucas to convey the whole +party to Samoa—a journey which was not without danger, owing to baffling +winds and the lack of any reliable chart. They narrowly escaped coming +to grief as they passed through the Fiji group, where the vessel was +becalmed and quickly surrounded by large war canoes, each manned by from +fifty to a hundred most formidable, armed savages. Providentially a +light breeze sprang up and carried them away from that danger; and so in +due time they reached Apia, where they found welcome and much needed +rest and comfort. + +Soon after, Mr Turner was appointed to the charge of a district in +Samoa, which gave him the care of sixteen villages; but ere long the +pressing need of teachers led to the commencement of the training +college, where, with the exception of occasional voyages to the New +Hebrides and other groups, he and his successive colleagues have ever +since found abundant work, in training native evangelists, translating +valuable books, and, so far as lay in their power (not having received a +regular medical training), in ministering to the temporal needs of the +people, administering such medicines as they could procure, and even, +under pressure of necessity, attending to surgical cases. Their chief +care, however, was to vaccinate every man, woman, and child within +reach, a precaution to which may be attributed the happy circumstance +that there has never been a case of smallpox in Samoa, though it is +visited by so many foreign ships. In many other groups, where some +chance vessel has touched, the deadly infection has been left, and in +some cases about a third of the population has died. + +Dr Turner observed that the people of Tanna are in mortal dread of a +form of witchcraft precisely similar to that so commonly practised in +Fiji in its heathen days (and perhaps, _sub rosa_, even now; for we +noticed the extreme care with which some of our followers occasionally +collected and buried every scrap of food which they, or we, had +touched). + +The Fijians believed that if they could get a fragment of the hair or +food of an enemy, or a small bit of any garment he had worn, the heathen +priest could therewith work a spell which should cause death within four +days. The priest kindled a fire and performed incantations over these +relics, approaching the spot only on his hands and knees. + +The wizard of Tanna is a professional disease-maker. He prowls about, +continually seeking for refuse of any sort which he can turn to account. +An old banana-skin, a bit of a cocoa-nut, the parings of a yam, will +answer his purpose. He wraps it in a leaf, that no one may know exactly +what he has found. He ties the parcel round his neck, and stalks about +ostentatiously through the villages. In the evening he scrapes some bark +off a certain tree, mixes it with the rubbish he has found, rolls it all +together in a leaf, like a very long cigar, and lays it close to the +fire, so that one end may gradually smoulder. As it burns, the true +owner becomes ill; and as the pain increases, he calls to his friends, +who immediately recognise the work of the disease-maker, and blow loud +blasts on the trumpet-shell, which can be heard at a distance of two or +three miles. This is a pledge that if he will stop burning the rubbish, +they will bring him offerings of their best mats, pigs, &c. + +The wizard, hearing the blast, draws away the green cigar, and waits +impatiently to see what gift his dupes will bring in the morning. They +firmly believe that if the cigar is allowed to burn to the end, the +victim must die. Should the pain return, the friends suppose the wizard +is dissatisfied with his gifts, and they blow louder than before, making +night hideous with their dismal noise, and load the disease-maker with +presents, all of which he of course readily accepts. Should the man die, +the friends merely suppose they failed to propitiate the wretch. These +wizards were the worst foes of the mission party, and were for ever +trying to work spells for their destruction, though happily without +effect. + +You can readily understand how a people deeply imbued with the faith in +this possibility of working mischief, were always ready to attribute to +the missionaries those epidemics of illness, formerly unknown, which so +strangely seem to have broken out in almost every group soon after the +arrival of white men—generally influenza, measles, smallpox, or +dysentery, each of which has invariably proved a deadly pestilence when +first attacking these races. + +I have just told you how this belief resulted in the mission being +driven from Tanna. About the same time, dysentery appeared in the +neighbouring isle of Fotuna, and led to the massacre of the Samoan +teachers who had been left there by Mr Williams. It also ravaged +Eromanga, carrying off one-third of the population, who believed that +the scourge had been introduced by some hatchets which they had received +as barter from a sandal-wood ship, and accordingly they threw them all +away. On several other islands the teachers were either murdered or +compelled to flee for their lives, solely on this account. + +What makes this more remarkable is, that these illnesses often followed +the visit of a ship which itself had a perfectly clean bill of health; +and in many cases the missionaries and other good authorities recorded +that they had no reason to believe that any white man had been to blame +for the introduction of new diseases. + +Therefore the poor islanders naturally concluded that these scourges +were introduced by malicious foreign gods; so when a Samoan family +assembled for their evening meal, the head of the house, ere tasting his +bowl of _kava_, poured a little on the ground as a drink-offering to the +gods; and every voice was hushed while he prayed that the gods of Samoa +would give increase and prosperity to the household and all pertaining +to it; that the war-gods would give strength to the people; but to such +foreign gods as might have arrived in Tongan canoes or great ships, he +said—“Here is _kava_ for you, O sailing gods; do not come ashore at this +place, but be pleased to remain on the ocean, and go to some other +land!” + +Sometimes the worshippers preferred to leave this matter in the care of +their own protecting gods. In that case they kindled a blazing fire just +before the evening meal, and offered its light to the king of gods, and +all his fellow-deities, beseeching them to keep away from Samoa all +sailing gods, lest they should come and cause disease and death. + +Dr Turner takes high rank among the apostles of the Pacific. Few men +living know better, from their own experience, how marvellous has been +the change wrought in the last forty years, by which barbarous cannibals +have been transformed into peaceful Christians. + +For instance, when he first visited the Isle of Niuē, or Savage Island +(which lies as the centre of a triangle formed by Tonga, Samoa, and the +Hervey Isles), its people were in much the same condition as Captain +Cook found them, when they rushed on his men “like savage boars,” which +was their invariable reception of all outsiders—not of white men only +(though these were invariably repulsed), but also of men whose canoes +chanced to drift from Tonga or Samoa, or even of their own countrymen +who had left the island and returned. All such were invariably killed, +chiefly from a dread lest they should introduce foreign diseases. So +great was this fear, that even when they did venture to begin trading, +they would not use anything obtained from ships till it had been hung in +quarantine in the bush for weeks. + +For sixty years after Captain Cook’s visit, these 4000 very exclusive +savages adhered to their determination that no stranger should ever live +on their isle. At the end of that time they agreed to allow Samoan +teachers to settle among them; and so successful has been the work of +these men, that the island is now peopled with model Christians. No more +wars, no fightings, no thefts, but a peaceful and happy community +(sufficiently) “clothed and in their right mind;” living in good houses +of the Samoan type, instead of filthy huts; assembling for school and +worship in large suitable buildings, and with abundant leisure to +cultivate the soil and prepare the arrowroot and other produce, with +which to purchase not only calico, hatchets, knives, &c., but also +copies of the Scriptures, hymns, and commentaries, translated into the +Savage Island dialect by the Samoan teachers, and printed at Apia. + +Like the Tongans, these very sensible savages have discovered a means of +making criminals really useful to the community. For theft and all other +offences, the chief sentences the offender to make so many fathoms of +road of neatly laid blocks of coral, filled in with small stones, and +covered with a level layer of earth. Thus a good road, shaded by a +double row of cocoa-palms, now encircles the isle—a circuit of perhaps +fifty miles. + +Do you think that Captain Cook would now recognise his “wild boars”? + +In like manner, when Dr Turner first visited the Loyalty Isles, of which +New Caledonia is the principal isle, he found hideous cannibals, without +a rag of clothing, but whitewashed from head to foot to improve their +beauty. This was the height of fashion on Maré. On his return in 1859, +he found that perhaps one side of an island had adopted Christianity, +and that clean, decently clad congregations of men and women assembled +on the shore to meet him, eager that he should hear them read the +Scriptures from books printed in their own dialect,—a strange contrast +to the other side of the same isle, still plunged in heathen +degradation, engaged in ceaseless war, feasting on the bodies of the +slain, and occasionally capturing a Christian teacher, whose zeal led +him to adventure within their reach. + +Much the same state of things prevailed on some of the New Hebrides, +where the isle of Aneiteum was the most hopeful centre of operations, +its population of upwards of 3000 persons having all professedly become +Christians, and 300 being actually church members. Fifty-six different +villages had built schools for their own use, and eleven had chapels. +Sixty of the more advanced natives ranked as teachers, and several had +gone to work on the hostile isles around. On these, also, two white +missionaries had established themselves, though still enduring a hard +struggle, and making very little way apparently. + +More recent incidents have proved how slow and difficult has been their +work. + +On the voyage I speak of, the converts presented Dr Turner with upwards +of a hundred of their discarded idols—storm-gods and rain-gods, gods of +war and of sickness, gods of the land and of the sea, of the fruits of +the earth and of all living things,—a strange motley collection of poor +dishonoured images, each of which had been an object of awe through many +a dark year, now all huddled together in the hold of the foreign ship. + +Amongst the simpler idols of Samoa were a number of smooth water-worn +stones, more or less egg-shaped—precisely similar to those still +reverenced in Indian temples, and which were so long held in honour in +the British Isles.[21] One of these was the Samoan rain-god, who was +instructed in his duties by a priest, and in times of drought was +carried to the stream and therein bathed. But should rain fall in +excess, the poor god was popped into the fire, to make him personally +aware that the land needed a drying. + +On the same principle the rain-making priests in New Caledonia do or did +dig up a dead body, and, having carried the bones to a cave, there +fastened them together to form a complete skeleton, which they hung up, +and poured water over it, supposing that the spirit of the dead would +take the hint and cause the clouds to pour rain on the thirsty land. +These priests were so far true to their pretensions that they remained +in the cave fasting till rain did fall, and some actually died at their +post. When fine weather was required, they kindled a fire beneath the +skeleton and let it burn. + +Similar as were these rain-making customs, there does not appear to have +been any link between the Samoans and these Loyalty Islanders, the +latter being about as debased a race of cannibals as could well be +imagined,—men who, not content with eating the bodies of foes slain in +battle, tied up their captives to trees, and prepared the ovens for +their reception before their very eyes. The women followed their lords +to battle, to be in readiness to seize the falling foe and carry his +body to the rear and prepare it for the feast. They themselves were +liable to be eaten if captured; and the youngest children of the tribe +shared the horrid meal. On ordinary occasions the Loyalty Islanders had +only one meal a day. The luxury of _kava_ was unknown to them, but they +indulged in copious draughts of sea-water. They wore no apology for +clothes. A chief might marry thirty wives, no matter how closely related +to him by ties of blood. The Samoans, on the contrary, rigorously +prohibited the marriage of any persons nearly related, declaring that +such unions called down the wrath of the gods. The gods of the New +Caledonians were the ancestral spirits, and their treasured relics were +the finger and toe nails of their friends. In burying the dead the head +was left above ground; and on the tenth day it was twisted off by the +mourning relatives, who preserved the skull, extracting the teeth as +separate treasures. The teeth of old women, scattered over a yam +plantation, were supposed to secure a good crop; and for the same reason +the skulls of all the old village crones were stuck on poles near the +gardens. + +I wonder if all these distinctions between the manners and customs of +the various groups, convey to your untravelled mind one-thousandth part +of the interest they possess to us, who have actually lived among so +many different races. I fear it is impossible that they should. But you +can well understand the thankfulness of such men as Dr Turner and his +colleagues, in watching the gradual change from year to year, as the +Gospel of mercy takes root in such unpromising soil; and they themselves +find loving welcome from the very men who in past years thirsted for +their blood, and shed that of so many fellow-workers. + +Fain would we have lingered at peaceful Malua, and listened to stories +of the South Seas from the lips of those who have themselves been actors +in so many thrilling scenes, extending from the far west to this centre. +But it was necessary to return to Apia this morning, so we regretfully +bade farewell to these kind new friends, who loaded us with gifts of +strange things, brought from many isles, and sped us on our way. + +Here we found all quiet. The Seignelay has had a long day of +entertaining. First the Sisters went on board, with their sixty +children, who were duly impressed with the wonders of the great ship; +afterwards all the young men from the Catholic College had their turn. + +M. de Gironde has just been here, to tell me the vessel sails for Tahiti +on Monday. He brings the kindest letters and messages from the captain +and all the party, expressive of their true wish that I should proceed +with them on the “Tour de la Mission.” Indeed the state of affairs here +is not such as to invite a prolonged stay. And there might be a +detention of months among these discordant elements, ere I found an +opportunity to return to Fiji. + + + + + CHAPTER IX. + A SKETCH OF THE SAMOAN MISSION—THE REV. JOHN WILLIAMS DETERMINES TO + VISIT THE NAVIGATOR’S ISLES—PRELIMINARY WORK IN THE HERVEY +GROUP—DISCOVERY OF RAROTONGA—CONVERSION OF ITS PEOPLE—THEY HELP WILLIAMS + TO BUILD A SHIP WHICH SHALL CONVEY HIM TO SAMOA—VISIT TONGA—PROCEED TO + SAMOA—OVERTHROW OF IDOLATRY—REVERENCE FOR OLD MATS—WILLIAMS’S GRAVE AT + APIA. + + +When I first landed in Fiji in 1875, nothing amazed me so much as the +wonderful work which has there been done by the Wesleyan Mission—a work +of which the outside world literally knew nothing. Now that my +wanderings have led me further east, I see that different regiments of +the great Christian army have each been doing their part in forwarding +their Master’s cause; and so strangely interesting are many details of +their work, which I have now heard for the first time, that I think I +cannot do better than note them down, feeling quite convinced that you +will find them as new and as full of interest as I myself have done. + +The extraordinary success of the South Sea missions is certainly to be +attributed in a great measure to that triumph of common-sense which made +the various societies agree, almost at the outset, in a great measure to +divide the field of labour, and so endeavour to avoid distracting the +minds of the simple islanders, by allowing them to perceive that their +teachers could possibly disagree among themselves. + +In the North Pacific some good working power has doubtless been lost by +the establishment in the Sandwich Isles of both an English Episcopal +Mission and American Congregationalists. The Dowager Queen Emma is a +stanch adherent of the English Church, as was also her husband, who +himself translated the prayer-book into the Hawaiian language. But the +majority of the people there (as throughout Polynesia) find the less +ceremonious forms of religious observance better adapted to their needs. + +So the American Board of Foreign Missions, which commenced its work in +1820, met with such success, that within half a century the whole group +had been evangelised, and a self-supporting native Church, with native +pastors, established. It is now extending its operations among the +islands in the north-western part of the Pacific, between the equator +and Japan. These are collectively described as Micronesia, on account of +their extremely small size, the majority being simply low atolls, few of +which rise more than ten feet above the level of the ocean. + +The south-western isles of the Pacific, which come under the general +name of Melanesia, are chiefly in the hands of the English Church +Societies, and of the Presbyterian Mission. + +The countless large groups which occupy the south-east of the ocean, and +are generally described as Polynesia, have been almost entirely +Christianised by the London and Wesleyan Missions. + +Shortly after Captain Cook’s discoveries had first drawn attention to +the existence of these unexplored regions, the London Mission, which +includes men of all the evangelical sects, began its work by sending men +to the Marquesas, the Society Isles (Tahiti and Raiatea), and to Tonga. + +Of the sad fate which befell the first Tongan missionaries, I have +already spoken. Three were murdered, and the rest compelled to fly for +their lives. Some years later, the Wesleyan Mission ventured to reoccupy +the field, when they found the people somewhat penitent. They were able +to establish themselves under the protection of some friendly chiefs, +and ere long had the satisfaction of knowing that Christianity was +striking firm deep roots in the soil which at first seemed so +unpromising. + +Truly marvellous has been the growth of the tree thus watered by the +blood of those brave pioneers. Eighty years have elapsed since their +martyrdom, at which time there was not one isle in the whole Pacific +which was not steeped in debasing heathenism and cruel wars. Now, +throughout Polynesia, idolatry is a thing of the past; none of the +present generation have even seen the wood and stone gods of their +fathers: infanticide and murder are probably less common than in Europe, +and a reverent obedience to all Christian precepts a good deal more +apparent than in civilised countries. On upwards of 300 isles (where in +the early half of this century no boat could have touched without +imminent danger), Christianity of a really practical sort now reigns. +Upwards of a quarter of a million persons show their faith in its +requirements by utterly changed lives, and at least 60,000 of these are +regular communicants. The casual traveller, who, a few years ago, would +almost inevitably have been killed had he ventured to land, is now +chiefly in danger of asserting that the natives have been trained to be +religious overmuch,—their “innocent nature” cramped; and so the chances +are, that without intending to do mischief, he throws his influence of +the moment into the opposite scale, and is perhaps the source of more +evil than he dreams of. + +Having not only succeeded in transforming the savage Tongans into +earnest Christians, but also into most zealous and capable teachers, the +Wesleyan missionaries next made their way to Fiji, where their success +was still more wonderful, and a race of most cruel cannibals has become +one of the gentlest on earth.[22] + +About the same time the Samoan Isles, which were then an almost unknown +group, were sought out by the Rev. John Williams of the London Mission, +one of the boldest and most successful of the early pioneers. He began +his work at Raiatea, in the year 1817, with such success, that when, in +1821, an opportunity presented itself of visiting the Hervey Isles (of +which nothing was known, except that such a group existed), several +converts from Raiatea volunteered to go there as pioneers. They were +accordingly landed on the isle of Aitutaki,[23] the very name of which +might have suggested encouragement. There they were favourably received +by Tamatoa, the chief, and his people. Nevertheless, as it was well +known that these were all cannibals, and constantly at war one with +another, it was not without deep anxiety that Mr Williams left the +teachers to begin the mission. When, however, in the following year, he +returned to the group, in company with Mr Bourne, they were received +with the glad tidings that the people of Aitutaki had all, without +exception, abjured idolatry, burnt their _marais_, and begun to worship +the Saviour; that they had built a large church, and rigidly hallowed +the Sabbath. On the following day nearly 2000 of these now tamed savages +assembled on the shore, and all knelt together in solemn prayer to the +Christian’s God; after which they brought thirty of their discarded +idols, and carried them on board the mission-ship, that the men of other +isles, beholding them, might know that they were no gods, but only +worthless images, and so might be led to discard their own. + +This was a satisfactory beginning for one year’s work; and a great +promise for the future lay in the fact that among the converts were six +natives from the then unknown isle of Rarotonga, who earnestly prayed +that teachers might be sent to their brethren, and that they themselves +might be allowed to accompany them. The men of Aitutaki declared the +Rarotongans to be most ferocious cannibals, and horribly treacherous, +and were sorely alarmed for the safety of any teachers who should +venture among them. Nevertheless it was agreed that the opportunity was +one not to be lost. Accordingly the mission-ship sailed in search of +Rarotonga. For eight days they sought in vain, but failed to discover +it. + +At last they found themselves off an isle which proved to be Mangaia. +There three brave Tahitian teachers, two of whom were accompanied by +their wives, volunteered to land and endeavour to establish a footing +among the people. These, however, proved such unmitigated savages that +the attempt was frustrated. Though the chiefs had invited the teachers +to land, their doing so was the signal for brutal ill-treatment of both +men and women. All their little property was at once stolen, and they +only escaped with their lives by swimming back to the ship through the +surf. + +A few months later another attempt was made to commence a mission in the +Hervey Isles. Once more the mission-ship returned to Mangaia, and two +unmarried teachers, Davida and Tiere, leaped into the sea and swam to +the shore, taking nothing with them but the cloth they wore, and a +portion of the New Testament in Tahitian, which was carefully wrapped up +and tied on their heads. Crowds had assembled on the shore, and one +warrior rushed at them with a long spear, but the lunge was arrested by +the king himself, who received them kindly, and at once led them to his +own seaside temple, in order that the people might consider their +persons sacred. This they were inclined to do; for soon after their +cruel treatment of the first teachers, a terrible epidemic had broken +out in the isle, which had carried off young and old, chiefs and +peasants. Supposing this to be a punishment sent by the God of those +strangers, they collected all the property they had stolen from them, +the calico dresses torn off the women, and the strips into which they +had torn the Bibles to make ornaments for their hair at the midnight +dances in honour of the god Tane. All these things they threw into a +chasm in the mountains into which they were in the habit of casting +their dead, and made solemn vows to the unknown God that if His servants +returned to their isle they should be well cared for. So now they +prepared a feast for the two bold swimmers, and allowed them to settle +among them in peace. + +Meanwhile Mr Williams had continued the search for Rarotonga, and had +touched at the isles of Atiu, Mauke, and Mitiaro. The story of that +voyage is more thrilling than any romance. It was as if a flash of +electric light had suddenly illumined the thick darkness. What that +darkness was you may infer from the fact that only four years previously +all these islands had been decimated by war and cannibalism. The fierce +people of Mitiaro had slain and eaten several canoe-loads of the men of +Atiu, whose kinsfolk, determined to avenge them, came over in force, and +by treachery gained access to the stronghold of the men of Mitiaro. A +fearful massacre ensued, and to this day the oven is shown into which +men and women and helpless infants were thrown alive to be cooked; the +only mercy shown was when the brains of the children were dashed on the +stones, and so they were killed ere being cast into the oven. When the +conquerors had eaten their fill, they packed basketfuls of the savoury +meat to regale their wives and families at Atiu; but ere they left the +blood-stained isle they practised one more barbarity common to heathen +warfare. In dragging the great double canoes over the sharp coral, it is +usual to lay down soft banana stumps to act as rollers, and so protect +the canoes from injury. The rollers now used were living naked men and +women, tied together hand and foot, and over their writhing bodies were +the heavy canoes drawn in triumph. + +The same terrible fate had overtaken the neighbouring isle of Mauke, +when the arrival of the mission-ship brought to these isles the blessed +Gospel of peace. The first man to step on board at Atiu was the terrible +chief, Romatane, who had led the expeditions against Mitiaro and Mauke: +he was a man of strikingly commanding aspect, with beautiful long black +hair. He was eagerly welcomed by the chief of Aitutaki, who had already +destroyed his idols and accepted the new faith; and so earnestly did +this zealous convert plead all through the long night with his brother +chief, that, ere the morrow dawned, the truth of his words seemed borne +in upon the mind of Romatane, and he vowed that never again would he +worship any God save Jehovah. He returned ashore to announce this +decision to his people, and his intention of immediately destroying his +idols and their temples. Then returning on board, he agreed to direct +the course of the vessel to the then unknown isles of Mitiaro and Mauke, +which hitherto he had visited only with fire and sword. Now it was his +voice that proclaimed the truths he had just learned, and that exhorted +the people to destroy all their idols and build a house for the worship +of the true God. At each isle he himself escorted the Tahitian teachers +and their wives to the house of the principal chief, and charged him to +care for them and hearken to their instructions. + +Thus in one short day was this mighty revolution wrought in three isles, +which had never before even seen a foreign ship. Romatane and his +brother Mana proved themselves true to their first convictions; and +among their stanch fellow-workers was one who, to this day, tells how, +at the massacre of his kinsfolk on Mauke, when he was carried away +captive, he was laid on the baskets containing the baked flesh of his +uncles and fellow-countrymen, and narrowly escaped being himself +consigned to the oven. + +The mission work progressed without a drawback. The people, almost +without demur, determined to destroy the idols they had so long revered. +Many were rescued as museum curiosities, and the mission-ship sailed +onward with those grotesque monsters hanging from her yard-arms, and +otherwise displayed as trophies, leaving in their stead earnest +converts, from Raiatea and Tahiti, to instruct these willing hearers. + +When they had almost given up in despair their search for Rarotonga, one +of the new converts told them that if they would sail to a given point +on the isle of Atiu, he could thence take bearings which would enable +him to find it. So for this starting-point they made; and, true to his +word, the islesman directed them how to steer, and after several days +they reached the beautiful isle they sought. Here they were received in +the most friendly manner; and the young king, Makea (an exceedingly +handsome man, six feet high, and beautifully tattooed), came on board +himself, and agreed to take the native teachers ashore, with their wives +and the six Christian natives who had been brought back to their own +isle. This promising beginning was, however, not without a check; for in +the early dawn the teachers returned to the ship, bringing back their +wives with garments all tattered and torn, telling of the grievous +treatment they had endured. The chiefs were exceedingly anxious that the +teachers should remain on the isle to teach them the Word of God, but +wished to annex their wives. + +It was therefore decided that, for the present, only one fine old +teacher should be left, with the six Rarotongans who had first suggested +the commencement of the mission, on their unknown isle. So well did +their work progress, that within a year the whole population had +renounced idolatry. Makea, the king, was among the earliest converts; +and when, in 1827, Mr Williams and Mr Pitman arrived with their wives +and families to settle in Rarotonga, they were received by an +enthusiastic crowd of about 3000 persons, each of whom insisted on +shaking hands so heartily, that their arms ached severely for several +hours after. All these were professedly Christians; and the new-comers +learnt that there was not a house on the isle in which the family did +not assemble morning and evening for family worship. A few days after +their arrival, they perceived a great body of people approaching bearing +heavy burdens. These proved to be fourteen immense idols, the smallest +of which was about fifteen feet high. Some of these were reserved to +decorate the rafters of the new chapel, built by the people themselves, +to contain 3000 persons; the rest were destroyed. + +While this marvellous change was being wrought on the other isles, the +brave young teachers who had swum ashore on Mangaia were steadily making +their way. Within two years one died, leaving Davida to labour alone. He +had, however, by this time made some progress; and on one glad day the +king and chiefs determined to abandon the idol shrine, where, every +evening, offerings of food were presented to the thirteen known gods, +and to the great host of the unknown. So, to the great joy of Davida, +the thirteen idols were carried to his house by their late worshippers, +and there stripped of the sacred white cloth in which priests and gods +were always clothed. They are now preserved in the museum of the London +mission, and very much resemble the wooden idols of the ancient Britons +to be seen in our antiquarian museums.[24] + +Thus, in an incredibly short space of time, was the whole system of +idolatry, with its bloody human sacrifices, overthrown in the Hervey +Isles; and how marvellous was the change wrought in every respect, has +been described by Lord Byron, Commander of H.M.S. Blonde, when he +accidentally found himself in the group,—and, recognising it as one of +those discovered by Captain Cook, approached land with extreme caution, +but was welcomed by noble-looking men, dressed in cotton shirts and very +fine mats, who produced written documents from the London Mission +Society, qualifying them to act as teachers, and then took him ashore to +a neat village with a good school and a crowded church. + +From that time forward, the Hervey Islanders have not only been true to +their own profession, but have proved zealous missionaries in carrying +the Gospel to other isles. Their theological college has already sent +forth about 150 trained men as teachers. About 50 of these are at the +present moment scattered among various remote isles of the Pacific, some +of which are still cannibal. Six of the most zealous and determined men +have gone, accompanied by their brave missionary wives, to face the +unknown perils that await them in New Guinea—where, doubtless, their +work will bear good fruit, and prove the first step in opening up that +vast island to the commerce of the civilised world.[25] + +The very first missionary effort of the Hervey Islanders was directed by +Mr Williams towards Samoa. Even before he left Raiatea, he had resolved +to visit the Navigator group, to endeavour, there also, to plant some +seed of good, which might perchance take root. Now that the work had so +prospered in the Hervey Isles, he ventured to broach the subject to his +wife, who, naturally enough, at first objected to being left alone with +her children for many months among a race of utter savages, while her +husband went off on a very long and dangerous voyage of about 200 miles, +to face perhaps still greater dangers when he reached his destination. +After a while, however, this brave woman made up her mind that it was +right he should go; and much to his astonishment, several months after +the subject had been dismissed, she volunteered her consent. + +Then came the primary difficulty of transit. They possessed no vessel +which could possibly make such a journey—only native canoes. Nothing +daunted, Mr Williams determined to try his hand at shipbuilding, though +it was a trade of which he knew little, and he had scarcely any tools. +His first great difficulty lay in making a pair of smith’s bellows. +Though he possessed only four goats, three were sacrificed for the sake +of their skins. The fourth, which was giving a little milk, was spared. +Scarcely were the bellows finished, when the rats, sole indigenous +animals, assembled in scores, and in one night devoured every particle +of leather. Having none in reserve, invention was sorely taxed, till at +last Mr Williams devised a machine which should throw out air as a pump +throws water. + +This was but one of the countless difficulties to be overcome. To obtain +planks, trees were split with wedges, and then cut up with small +hatchets. For lack of nails the planks were riveted together with wooden +pins. Sails were made of quilted mats and ropes of hybiscus bark. +Cocoa-nut husk supplied the place of oakum. A clumsy stone anchor was +contrived, and also a wooden one. In short, determination triumphed over +every difficulty; and in fifteen weeks, without any help save what the +Rarotongans could give by obeying his directions, Mr Williams had the +satisfaction of launching a seaworthy vessel of about 80 tons burden, 60 +feet in length, and 18 in breadth. To test her sailing powers, she was +to make a preliminary trip to Aitutaki, distant about 170 miles. Before +they had gone six miles, the natives let slip the foresail, which, +straining in the wind, broke the foremast, and with some difficulty they +returned to land. Having repaired the damage, they started again, +reached Aitutaki, and returned thence to Rarotonga with a cargo of pigs, +cats, and cocoa-nuts. The two first, but especially the pigs, were +invaluable in ridding the island of rats; but a cargo of cocoa-nuts +suggests coals to Newcastle, till we learn that in native warfare the +cocoa-palms and bread-fruit trees were invariably destroyed, so that the +fruitful isles were utterly ravaged. + +The Messenger of Peace being now proven seaworthy, sailed for Tahiti, +whence she was despatched to the Marquesas, and on several other mission +expeditions, ere starting on that for which she had been designed. It +was not till the year 1830, that Mr Williams, taking Mr Barff as his +colleague, and seven Tahitian teachers with their wives and children, +actually sailed in search of the almost unknown Navigator’s Isles. They +touched at the Hervey Isles on their way, and these likewise contributed +several teachers, eager to carry to Samoa the Word of Peace, which had +so recently gladdened themselves. + +Passing on thence to Tonga they received warm welcome from King George, +who had long been a zealous Christian, and whose energetic nature had +thrown itself heart and soul into the work of converting his people. +Never did finer material exist. The Tongans have ever been noted for +their strong, self-reliant, earnest character; and the same +determination which in old days made them dreaded as the most daring +pirates of the South Seas, was now called into play in quite a new +manner, and the pushing ambitious men who were ever coming to the front +in deeds of aggression, were henceforth the champions of the Christian +faith and its most zealous pioneers. + +At Tonga Mr Williams was the guest of Messrs Nathaniel Turner and Cross. +The name of the latter is familiar to us, as having shared, with the +Rev. David Cargill, the danger and honour of founding the Wesleyan +Mission in Fiji. From them they heard with joy that Taufaahau, the chief +of the Happai group,—a man of indomitable courage and determination,—had +recently visited King George at Tongatabu, in order to judge for himself +of the new religion. He then returned to his own dominions accompanied +by Tongan native teachers, and proceeded to destroy all the idols and +altars, exhorting the chiefs to follow his example. Many were naturally +indignant at this proceeding, and determined to celebrate a great +festival in honour of the gods. Turtle and other sacred fish had to be +caught for the offerings; so the highhanded chief, Taufaahau, profited +by the delay to desecrate the temple by driving a herd of pigs into the +sacred enclosure, and converting the temple itself into a sleeping-room +for his women-servants—the presence of a woman being considered +pollution to a _marae_. + +So utterly obnoxious to the gods was the female sex, that it was certain +death for any woman to set foot in a temple—and when victims were about +to be seized for sacrifice, the greatest care was taken to prevent the +approach of any female relation, lest she should touch the corpse, and +so render it unfit to be offered at the _marae_. When the worshippers +arrived with their offerings of turtle, they found the poor gods all +disrobed, hanging by the neck from the rafters; and knowing the stern +resolution of their chief, they retired, discomfited. Having given this +proof of his sincerity, Taufaahau next sent his best canoe to Tonga, to +bring Mr Thomas, the missionary whose teaching had so impressed him; and +who, in answer to this summons, started with his wife to make the +journey of 200 miles in this open canoe, in order to follow up the work +thus begun on Happai. + +At Vavau, the third group, the work seemed to have little prospect of +success, so virulent was the opposition of Finau the high chief, who +threatened death to any of his people who listened to the teachers. Yet +within two years he was himself a zealous convert, and upwards of 2000 +of his followers were in the habit of assembling for the Sunday +services. + +The teachers of the Tonga _lotu_—_i.e._, the Wesleyans—continued +steadily working, and their influence spread as a leaven of good from +isle to isle. At Tonga the Samoan party received an unlooked-for +reinforcement in the person of Fauea, a Samoan chief, who had for some +time been living in Tonga, and had there become a Christian. He +requested Mr Williams to give him a passage in his ship, and proved an +invaluable helper, directing him to steer for Savaii, the principal +isle, of which he himself proved to be a high chief, and related to +Malietoa, the greatest chief of all. + +Fauea was a man of sound judgment and of most persuasive eloquence. But +he was greatly troubled lest they should meet with violent opposition +from Tamafainga, whom the people obeyed with trembling, believing that +in him dwelt the spirit of the gods. It was therefore with unmixed +relief that he heard, on his arrival, that this dreaded opponent had +been killed a few days previously, and that there had not yet been time +for the chiefs of all the isles to meet and elect his successor in the +office of spiritual ruler. + +So the Messenger of Peace was found to have arrived in the very nick of +time, and all the people received Fauea and his _papalangi_[26] friends +with open arms. Malietoa, indeed, declared that he was engaged in a war +of vengeance, in which he could not stay his hand, but that it should be +the last; and that when peace was restored he would himself _lotu_—that +is, become a Christian—and encourage all his people to do likewise. He +and his brother Tamalelangi, or “Son of the Sky,” each promised to +protect the native teachers and their wives, and gave them a hearty +welcome as they landed; nevertheless, the old order passed away in +flames and bloodshed, all to avenge the murder of the rapacious tyrant, +who had actually been worshipped as a god, till the people could no +longer endure his outrages and oppressions, and so waylaid and slew him. + +Even at the moment when the teachers were landing on the island of +Savaii, the mountains of Upolu, on the other side of the straits, were +enveloped in flames and smoke, which told that a battle had been fought +that very morning, and that not only were the plantations being +destroyed, but that the women, children, and infirm people were all +being murdered, and their bodies burnt in their villages. This +sanguinary war continued for several months, and the country was so +desolated that for miles together not a house was left standing; and +even the villages which escaped were full of the sound of wailing and +mourning for the dead, in whose honour the living lacerated their own +flesh with broken shells and sharks’ teeth. When, finally, one party +triumphed, they made huge bonfires, into which they threw many of the +vanquished. Though the Samoans were never guilty of cannibalism, still +there was enough of barbarous cruelty in their warfare to make a +residence among them a very anxious experiment. Having done what they +could to smooth the way for the teachers, Mr Williams and his colleague +were obliged to leave them, in devout trust that their work might +prosper. + +Twenty months elapsed ere they were again able to return to Samoa, and +marvellous, far beyond their highest hopes, was the change they found. +On their first visit they had only touched at Savaii and Upolu, the most +westerly of the Navigator group. Now the first land they sighted was +Manua, the most easterly, about 250 miles distant from that on which the +teachers were established. To their astonishment a number of canoes came +out to meet them, and as they neared the vessel several natives stood up +and declared themselves to be Christians, and that they were waiting for +a _falu lotu_—a religion-ship—to bring them a teacher who could tell +them about Jesus Christ. Great was their disappointment when they heard +that Mr Williams had only been able to secure one teacher, whom he had +promised to leave on another isle. + +These people had received such knowledge as they possessed from a canoe +which had drifted all the way from Rairavae, an island upwards of 300 +miles to the south of Tahiti, and fully 2000 miles from that where it at +length arrived, after a three months’ voyage, in the course of which +twenty of the party died of the hardships they underwent. But the +survivors had carefully preserved their copy of the Tahitian translation +of the Scriptures; and on reaching the unknown isle they built a +reed-hut for their chapel, and there met daily for worship. Thus, among +the strange and precious treasures which from time to time are cast up +by the ocean on far-away isles, did the people of Manua receive the Word +of Life. + +Among those who had heard it gladly was a fine young fellow, a native of +Leone, in the Isle Tutuila, to which he begged to be conveyed in the +foreign ship, that he might teach his brethren what he had learnt. +Thither they sailed, touching at the Isles Orosenga and Ofu, where as +yet no rumour of the new teaching had been heard. + +As they approached Tutuila, they were surrounded by a vast number of +canoes filled with excessively wild-looking men, clamouring for powder +and muskets, as they were on the eve of a great war with a neighbouring +chief. No sign there of any leaven of good—in fact, the presence among +them of a resident Englishman of the “beach-combing” fraternity, was +anything but a hopeful indication. The amount of mischief done by even +the average specimens of this class has been incalculable; but many have +been miscreants of the deepest dye, whose crimes have aroused the horror +of even the vilest heathen. Many of them were desperadoes—convicts +escaped from New South Wales in stolen vessels, which they scuttled on +reaching any desirable isle, where they generally contrived to make +themselves useful in war, and so secure the protection of some chief. +One of these men, who made his way to Samoa, was said to have shot 200 +persons with his musket, smearing himself with charcoal and oil to +enable him to creep within range undetected. His delight at the end of +such a day’s sport was to seat himself on a sort of litter, smeared with +blood, surrounded by the heads of his victims, and so be carried home by +his followers, yelling savage songs of triumph. Such men as these were +not exactly calculated to improve the morals of the Pacific! + +Passing on to beautiful Leone, which bore an evil character for savage +cruelty and treachery, and the massacre of various boats’ crews, the +mission party beheld the people drawn up on the beach, in what appeared +a formidable array. They, however, lowered the boat and neared the +shore, when the chief, bidding his people sit down, waded up to his neck +till he reached the strangers, and explained that he and his followers +were no longer savage, but “sons of the word;” and went on to tell how, +twenty moons previously, some of his people had been at Savaii when the +white chief Williams had arrived there with some _tama-fai-lotu_, +“workers of religion,” and having learnt a little, they had returned +home with the news, and already fifty of the people had become +Christians. Pointing to a group who sat somewhat apart, under the shade +of the bread-fruit trees, and who each wore a strip of white native +cloth tied round one arm, he said that those were the Christians, who +had adopted that badge to distinguish them from the heathen; that they +had built a place for prayer, in a thicket of bananas; and that one of +their number from time to time crossed over to Savaii in his little +canoe, to “get some more religion” from the teachers[27] to bring back +to his own people. + +On learning that the man he was addressing was the identical “white +chief” who had visited Savaii, he made a sign to his people, who rushed +into the sea, and carried the boat and all who were in it high and dry +on the beach in their enthusiastic welcome; but when they learnt that +the religion-ship had brought no teacher for them, their disappointment +was unbounded; and so, we may well believe, was that of the zealous +apostle who had discovered these isles “white to the harvest,” but had +failed to find reapers. + +So eager was the desire to know about the better way, that there were +many places in the isles where the people, having only heard a dim +rumour of what others had learnt, had actually built places for the +worship of the unknown God, and, having prepared their food on the +Saturday, assembled there at six o’clock each Sabbath morning, and again +twice in the day, not for service, because none knew what to say, but to +sit together in reverent silence, waiting for some revelation of His +will. It seemed a strangely literal illustration of the words of the +Hebrew prophet, “The isles shall wait for His law.” + +Passing on to the beautiful little isle of Manono, and the great isles +of Savaii and Upolu, the missionaries were received with extravagant joy +by teachers and people; and by the high chiefs with more nose-rubbing +than was agreeable! They heard with delight that all the principal +chiefs and many of the people had already declared themselves +Christians, and had proved themselves in earnest by truly consistent +conduct; and that the majority of the people had resolved to follow +their good example. Upwards of a thousand sat breathlessly to hear the +white man’s words, spoken in Tahitian, and interpreted by one of the +teachers. Then Makea, the king of Rarotonga, a man of magnificent +stature, who had accompanied Mr Williams, addressed the people, and +explained how wonderful had been the change wrought in his own isles +since they embraced the _lotu_;[28] how, in old days, they had been for +ever fighting and murdering one another, till at length they had +hearkened to the voice of the teachers, and, in fear and trembling, had +brought their idols to be burnt, and had watched from afar while those +daring men had cooked their bananas on the embers. + +Here, in Samoa, there were very few idols, and no blood-stained +_maraes_, altars, or temples; human sacrifice, or indeed any sort of +sacrifice, was not required; hence the expression, “Godless as a +Samoan,” by which the men of other groups described any one who +neglected the service of the temples. The Samoans, however, were +diligent in the worship of their own ancestors, and, moreover, supposed +that the spirit of their gods animated divers birds, fishes, or +reptiles. As certain Indian tribes have adopted different animals as +their _totem-god_, so in Samoa and the Hervey Isles, each chief had his +_etu_—_i.e._, some living creature, which to him and to his people was +sacred; and foreigners, ignorant of this matter, sometimes incurred +serious danger from accidentally killing some revered reptile, or even +insect. The man who found a dead body of his representative deity, say +an owl, a heron, or a bat, would stop and wail piteously, beating his +own forehead with stones till it bled; then wrapping up the poor dead +creature with all reverence, he would solemnly bury it, with as much +care as if it had been a near relation. This was supposed to be pleasing +to the gods. When, therefore, any Samoan resolved to declare himself a +Christian, he commenced by killing and eating the familiar spirit of his +tribe, whether grasshopper, centipede, octopus, vampire-bat, snake, eel, +lizard, parrot, or other creature.[29] + +There was one chief who reverenced as his _etu_ the fractured, but +carefully mended, skull of a white man, whose firearms had won his +admiration, though the man’s crimes had led to his being clubbed. An +amusing story is told of the terror with which these simple folk first +beheld a talking cockatoo in the cabin of a vessel. With a cry of dismay +they rushed on deck and leapt overboard, declaring that the captain had +his _etu_ in the cabin, and that they had heard it talking to him. + +The story of the conversion of these much tattooed but little clothed +warriors abounds in picturesque detail. Thus, when the great chief +Malietoa promised Mr Williams that he would become a Christian so soon +as he had fully avenged the death of Tamafainga, “in whom was the spirit +of the evil gods,” before himself going forth to battle, he sent one of +his sons to help the teachers to build their chapel. On his return, when +the chapel was to be opened, he called his sons together and announced +his intention of fulfilling his promise to the white chief. With one +accord they replied that what was good for their father was good for +them, and that they too would _lotu_. This, however, he forbade, +declaring that if they obstinately insisted on so doing, he would +continue in the faith of his ancestors. “Do you not know,” he said, +“that the gods will be enraged with me and seek to destroy me? and +perhaps Jehovah may not be strong enough to protect me against them! I +purpose, therefore, to try the experiment. If He can protect me, you may +safely follow my example; but if not, then I only shall perish.” + +The young men were reluctant to obey, and asked how long they must allow +for this test. Malietoa suggested a month or six weeks; and intense was +the interest with which all his people waited and watched, lest sickness +or other evil should befall him. But when, at the end of three weeks, +all went on prosperously, it was felt that the supremacy of the +Christian’s God was established, and the sons of Malietoa would wait no +longer. So, calling together a great company of friends and kinsmen, +they proceeded solemnly to cook a large quantity of _anae_, a silvery +fish, which was the _etu_ of their tribe. These being laid on freshly +gathered leaves, were placed before each person, and the teachers +solemnly offered a prayer, ere, with fear and trembling, these young +converts nerved themselves to swallow a few morsels of the sacred fish, +hitherto held in such reverence. So intense, however, was the hold of +the old superstition, that the young men, unable to conquer their fear +lest the _etu_ should gnaw their vitals and destroy them, immediately +retired to swallow a large dose of cocoa-nut oil and salt water, which, +acting as a powerful emetic, greatly tended to counteract any malignant +influence of the offended gods. + +Soon after this, a great meeting of chiefs was convened to consult on +the fate of Papo, the venerable god of war. This renowned relic was +nothing but a strip of rotten old matting, about three yards long and +four inches wide, which was always attached to the war-canoe of the +highest chief when he went forth to battle. Now an impious voice +suggested that this venerated rag should be thrown in the fire, but a +burst of disapprobation silenced this cruel suggestion. However, all +agreed that Papo must be exterminated; so as drowning was a less +horrible death than burning, they resolved to launch a new canoe, in +which a number of high chiefs should row out to sea, and, having +fastened Papo to a heavy stone, should commit him to the deep. They had +actually started on this errand, with great ceremony, when the teachers +hurried after them in another canoe, to beg that the old war-god might +be presented to Mr Williams. The chiefs were immensely relieved by the +suggestion; and the venerable strip of matting is now to be seen in the +museum of the London Mission. + +I cannot solve the mystery of this Samoan reverence for certain ancient +mats; but I well remember our astonishment, when the Samoan chiefs came +to Fiji to consult Sir Arthur Gordon on the question of British +protection, to see with what infinite solemnity these fine stately men +presented him with a very dirty and exceedingly unfragrant and tattered +old mat, which, I believe, was to be offered to her Majesty Queenie +Vikatoria, but has, I think, found an asylum in the British Museum. What +makes this so very strange is, that the mats worn by the Samoan chiefs +and ladies are beautifully fine and glossy, of most delicate +straw-colour, and edged with handsome grass-fringe. + +Whatever may have been the origin of this form of antiquarian lunacy, +its existence is an unmistakable reality. The Samoan chief treasures +the dirty and ragged old mat of some revered ancestor as a British +regiment does the tattered colours which find their honoured rest in +some grey sanctuary. The old mat, which from generation to generation +has been jealously guarded by his clan, is his patent of nobility, and +the title-deed which proves his right to broad acres. Some of these +strips of dirty old matting, which no rag-man would pick off a +dust-heap, are known throughout the group by special names. There is +one, which is known to be upwards of 200 years old, during which +period its successive guardians have all been duly enrolled. It is +called _Moe-e-fui-fui_—_i.e._, the mat which slept beneath the +vines—in allusion to its having lain hidden for several years among +the lilac ipomeas which twine in matted tangles all along the +sea-beach. No money would induce a Samoan to sell one of these +unsavoury treasures: it is said that £100 might be offered in vain, +though I certainly cannot imagine any sane person offering 100 pence. + +However, it is simply a form of relic-worship,—and probably no whit more +foolish than the adoration of dirty clothes and kindred objects, +supposed to have been hallowed by the touch of Christian or Buddhist +saints. Indeed I am far more inclined to sympathise with the heathen +Tahitian, who wore as an amulet the toe-nail of the father whom he had +loved, than I can do with the multitudinous Christians who sanctify +their altars by the presence of some splinter of saintly bone. + +Amongst the many touching incidents of these early days, was that of one +large village in which, contrary to the general course, all the women +became Christians before any of the men did so. Mr Williams had reached +a town called Amoa, the people of which had all accepted the _lotu_, +when a party of seventy women approached in single file, each bearing a +gift. At their head walked a tall handsome woman, with a mat, dyed red, +folded about her loins, and the upper part of her body freely anointed +with sweet-oil, tinged with turmeric. On her neck and arms she wore a +necklace and bracelets of large blue beads; but her hair, alas! was all +cut off, except one little lock falling over the left cheek. Her +companions were equally picturesque,—the unmarried women being +distinguished by their wearing a white mat, and no oil and turmeric, and +by their retaining a profusion of graceful curls on one side of their +head, while the other was shaven and shorn. The poorest girls wore only +fringes of large leaves and wreaths of flowers. + +It appeared that the leader was a chiefess of high rank, who, some time +previously, had come to Amoa, and there remained for a month, diligently +attending to the instructions of the teachers. Then, returning to her +own district, she had collected all the women, and told them all she had +learnt, and so interested them in the subject, that a large number had +agreed to renounce heathen worship. They built a leaf-hut for their +church; and here the teacher from Amoa occasionally came to conduct +service. At other times the chiefess herself did so, making frequent +pilgrimages through the week to learn new lessons from the teacher, and +returning to impart this wisdom to her companions. + +Thus, within the short space of twenty moons, was Mr Williams allowed to +see the beginning of an abundant harvest, where he had but scattered the +seed; and a true grief saddened his heart when compelled to refuse the +entreaties of chiefs and people that he would fetch his family and come +to live and die among them, to teach them how to love Jesus Christ. But +when he reminded them that there were eight isles in the group, and that +he must return to England to fetch other teachers, they bade him +Godspeed,—only praying that he would hasten back, because assuredly many +of them would be dead ere his return. + +This true apostle went on his way, carrying the light to many a region +of darkness, till, in the year 1839, he reached the ill-fated shores of +Eromanga, in the New Hebrides, which was the scene of his martyrdom. +With his loved friend, James Harris, he had succeeded in obtaining a +friendly reception on the neighbouring isle of Tanna, and there left +three Samoan teachers to begin work among its hideous savages. Twenty +miles further lies Eromanga, whose people are the most hopeless +cannibals of the Pacific. As the brave men landed on the inhospitable +isle, a host of armed savages rushed out from the bushes in which they +were concealed. In an instant both were clubbed, and the bodies of the +grand apostle of the South Seas and his young disciple became food for +the miserable cannibals whom they longed to reclaim. It was the usual +tale of revenge. These Eromangans had, shortly before, been cruelly +ill-treated by a party of sandal-wood traders, who wantonly killed +several natives on their attempting to defend their women, and to save +their plantations from indiscriminate plunder. Naturally enough, these +poor savages, seeing another foreign boat land at the same spot as their +enemies had done, failed to discriminate friend from foe. + +It is impossible to overstate the amount of hindrance to mission work +and to all civilising influences which has been occasioned by the +lawless proceedings of unprincipled white men, too many of whom have +proved themselves truly white barbarians. In their greedy craving for +gain, they have so thoroughly quenched every spark of justice and honour +in their dealings with the dark-skinned races, that on some of the +Papuan Isles, the name by which the natives describe a white man means +literally “a sailing profligate.” + +The vessels employed in the labour trade—_i.e._, in “engaging” or +_securing_ men to work on plantations in Fiji or Australia—were by no +means the only culprits, though the horrible cruelties practised by many +of these in former years have been a disgrace to humanity. Nearly as +much harm was done by men engaged in the sandal-wood trade, who gloried +in defrauding the natives by every means in their power—promising +certain articles in exchange for a given amount of sandal-wood, and on +its receipt sailing away, to be no more heard of. Or perhaps they +inveigled a chief on board, and there kept him as a hostage till his +people brought large quantities of sandal-wood as his ransom; and having +secured all they could get at that particular isle, they still refused +to give up the chief—probably secured some of his followers, and carried +them to another isle, where they forced them to work for months in +cutting the coveted wood, and finally sold them to the natives, in +exchange for yams and pigs—a man fetching from five to ten live pigs, +according to his size. It is almost needless to say that the hostile +natives merely purchased the strangers as food for the cannibal oven. +Occasionally some of these unfortunates contrived to escape, and got on +board whaling-ships, where they were kindly treated, and some were even +taken back to their own isles. There were ships which fired +unscrupulously on any village which failed to bring them sandal-wood. On +one occasion three vessels engaged in this trade anchored off one of the +New Hebrides. Their men plundered the yam-gardens and stole all the +pigs, numbering several hundreds. Of course the owners resisted, and +were ruthlessly shot. Finally, many took refuge in a cave, when the +white barbarians proceeded to pull down the houses and heap up the dry +thatch and rafters at the mouth of the cave as fuel for a great bonfire. +Of course all the inmates were suffocated. Such deeds as these, of +course, led to reprisals; and Dr Turner says that, to his own knowledge, +upwards of 320 men engaged in the sandal-wood traffic perished between +the years 1839 and 1848. Such facts as these should be borne in mind, as +affording the clue to many an unprovoked outrage by brown men on white. +The tradition of past wrongs lingers long in savage races. + +Within a year of John Williams’s murder, the Rev. George Turner and Rev. +H. Nisbet attempted to commence work in the same field, but found it +impossible. Even while they were struggling to maintain their position +on the isle of Tanna, a whaling-ship touched there for water, and her +men immediately fell to quarrelling with the natives, whereupon the +vessel weighed anchor and sailed along the coast, firing promiscuously +into all the villages she passed. There would not have been much cause +for wonder if the savages (who had seen Mr Turner directing these men +where to find water) had at once turned on him and his companions and +murdered them all. As it was, they continued to brave the perils of +their position for some months ere they were compelled to fly. + +When Mr Turner revisited Eromanga in 1859, the Rev. —— Gordon, who was +then settled there, told them that a few months previously another +sandal-wood trader had got into serious trouble, and three of his men +had been killed by the natives; but he himself acknowledged that they +had earned their fate. On that occasion the Eromangans had the +discrimination to spare the righteous; but not long afterwards Mr Gordon +and his wife were cruelly murdered. + +Eleven years passed, when a message reached the Rev. J. D. Gordon +(brother of the above) praying him to come and heal some sick children +at Eromanga. As a medical missionary he at once complied, only to hear +on his arrival that the children were dead; and their father could find +no solace for his blind, ungrateful grief, but to slay the medicine-man +who had arrived too late. One blow from his tomahawk added yet another +to the grievous list of the martyrs of Eromanga. + +At the mission station at Apia, on the isle of Upolu, on the very spot +where John Williams first landed in Samoa, and where he stood to bid +what proved to be his last farewell to the people—two graves lying side +by side contain some bones brought to Samoa in 1840 by H.M.S. Favourite, +in the belief that they were those of the martyrs. It is now, however, +known that they were bones taken at random by the natives from a cave +where they are wont to deposit their own dead, under the impression that +the foreign ship wished to purchase human bones. The skull of John +Williams is buried beneath a palm-tree on Eromanga, which is doubtless +as quiet a resting-place as a foreign grave in turbulent Apia. Near it, +was buried a small bit of red sealing-wax, about an inch and a half in +length, which was found by the natives in his pocket, and supposed to be +a foreign idol. This relic was afterwards disinterred and sent home to +his children. + +I think the attempt to recover the remains of the dead from their savage +murderers is at best very unsatisfactory. We had a fair example of it in +Fiji, where great efforts were made to recover the bones of the Rev. —— +Baker, who was there killed and eaten. So successful was this endeavour +that one mission station alone has received three skulls, all positively +declared to be his! + +While both the London Mission and the Wesleyans have done such excellent +work in Samoa, it is to be regretted that a corner of rivalry should +have contrived to creep in—a rootlet of bitterness—not very serious +perhaps, but still a corner of contention. It appears that at the time +when Mr Williams first landed in Samoa, in 1830, several native teachers +from the Wesleyan Mission in Tonga had already begun to work there, and +the promise of white teachers had already been made to expectant +congregations. When, therefore, in 1835, the Rev. Peter Turner, of the +Wesleyan Mission, reached the isle of Manono, he was received with open +arms by a zealous flock; and when, shortly afterwards, he travelled +round the isles of Savaii and Upolu, he found more than 2000 persons who +were members of the Tonga _lotu_, and 40 persons who were acting as +teachers. + +At that time the Tahiti _lotu_—_i.e._, the London Mission—was only +represented by five or six Tahitian teachers, who were located at +certain towns, and confined their labours to their immediate +neighbourhood. On Mr Turner’s arrival he commenced diligently seeking +the people in all parts of the isles, with such marked result that +within twenty months upwards of 13,000 persons had joined the Tonga +_lotu_. + +The Wesleyans specially note that Mr Turner was the first resident white +missionary in Samoa. Some months after his arrival came a trading ship, +which brought Mr Pratt, as representative of the London Mission; and in +1836, six missionaries of the London Society arrived and held a public +meeting in the Tahitian chapel at Manono, when it was clearly proved +that a considerable number of Samoans had adopted the Tonga _lotu_ +before the arrival of Mr Williams, though they only met for worship +quietly in their own homes. The Tahitian teachers were the first who +began to conduct public services, but their adherents were found to be +numerically fewer than those of the Tongans. + +Stress is laid on these details, because it was alleged by the London +Mission that Messrs N. Turner and Cross had agreed with Mr Williams to +devote their efforts to the Fijian group, and leave the Navigator’s +Isles to the London Mission. Messrs Turner and Cross, on the other hand, +entirely repudiate any such compact, and state that the first they heard +of it was when the London missionaries arrived in Samoa, where their +agent was already established, in accordance with their promise to the +friendly chiefs. + +As neither party were inclined to yield, both missions continued to work +simultaneously, each acknowledging the good work done by the other, yet +regretting the division, which might so easily have been avoided. +However, it has been a sacrifice of uniformity rather than of unity; and +I suppose the Church militant must always be made up of divers +regiments. + +I believe the London Mission has at present seven congregational +ministers in Samoa, and seventy-five native teachers. Their nominal +adherents number about 30,000. The Australasian Wesleyan Mission has two +white missionaries and one native minister. These superintend the work +of 50 teachers and 85 local preachers. There are 47 chapels, with 1200 +church members, and congregations numbering altogether about 5000. + +The Roman Catholics number about 4000. + +As has been the case throughout Polynesia, many of the new converts have +become earnest missionaries; and not only have several Samoan teachers +found their way to Fiji, but when in its turn the infant Church in that +group determined to commence a mission among the savage races of New +Britain, two Samoan teachers volunteered to accompany their Fijian +brethren on this noble but dangerous enterprise. Others have gone to +settle in the very uninviting Gilbert and Kingsmill groups, close to the +equator, amongst hideous tribes of the lowest type, whose barren isles +fail to yield any manner of crop; so that for lack of better diet, the +unpalatable fruit of the pandanus, which in Samoa is only used for +stringing into necklaces, is accounted an important item of food. For +love of these poor souls these self-denying men give up their own most +lovely homes, and bid a lifelong farewell to parents and kindred. Many a +bitter scene has been enacted on these shores, when aged relatives, +clinging to these dear ones with all the demonstrative love of the warm +southern temperament, follow the mission-boat as it pushes off, and wade +up to the shoulders, weeping and wailing for those who may never come +back to them, and knowing full well how many have already fallen in the +hard-fought battle. Certainly these Samoan teachers have given good +proof of their zeal and willingness to endure hardship, as good soldiers +of the Cross. + + + NOTE ON ETU OR TOTEM WORSHIP. + + We are so much in the habit of considering this strange worship of + representative animals, in connection with the simple superstitions of + such utterly uncivilised races as these poor savages of the Pacific + Isles, or the Indian tribes of America, that it is startling to + recollect how large a place it held in the intricate mythology of so + wise and learned a people as the ancient Egyptians, who not only + excelled in all arts of peace and war, but seem to have mastered many + of those mysteries of science which still perplex the learned men of + the nineteenth century. Long ere the Greeks and Israelites had learnt + their earliest lessons from the sages from Egypt, and while Rome was + but a village of mud-huts, the banks of the Nile were graced with + buildings, which, in their stately beauty, rivalled the marvels of + Babel. Prominent among these was the temple of the sacred bull Mnevis. + The patron god of Memphis was the golden bull Apis, to whom pure white + bulls were sacrificed; while in his honour jet-black bulls were + worshipped during life, and after death were embalmed, and preserved + in sarcophagi of polished black basalt. Only their bones were + preserved, swathed in linen, and tied up so as to resemble an animal + lying down. A full-grown bull thus prepared was no bigger than a calf, + while a calf was the size of a dog. Thirty-three of these sacred + bull-mummies were found in the catacombs, each in its own sarcophagus. + + Other catacombs were entirely devoted to the mummies of sacred dogs + and cats, beetles and mice, hawks and ibis, each neatly strapped up in + linen and sealed up in a red earthenware jar. These are found packed + like the contents of some vast wine-cellar—tier behind tier, and in + layers reaching to the roof of the catacombs, some of which are large + caves, with endless ramifications; yet chamber after chamber of these + vast storehouses are all alike closely packed with this vast multitude + of mummy-jars, accumulated by countless generations of reverent + worshippers. + + Strangest of all these sepulchres of sacred creatures, are the + crocodile mummy-pits, in which are stored a vast assemblage of + crocodiles of all sizes, from the patriarch measuring twelve or + fourteen feet in length, to the poor baby only five inches long, each + wrapped up in palm-leaves. Thousands of these little demigods, about + eighteen inches long, are tied together in bundles of eight or ten, + and swathed in coarse cloth. True believers in the crocodile-headed + god Savak, kept these creatures tame in a great crocodile city near + the artificial lake Mœris, where they were fed with cake and roast + meat, washed down by draughts of mulled wine; their fore-feet were + adorned with golden bracelets, and their ears were pierced and + enriched with precious gems. But the worshippers had to fight the + battles of their gods against various irreverent neighbours, notably + against the people of Elephantine, who, so far from worshipping the + crocodile, considered it a dainty dish, to be eaten as often as it + could be captured. + + So well known to their contemporaries was this Egyptian reverence for + certain birds, beasts, and insects, that on at least one occasion it + proved a valuable aid to their foes, as when Cambyses captured a city, + by forming a vanguard of all manner of animals—cats and dogs, bulls + and goats—assured that one or other must be held sacred by the + besieged; and so it proved, for the latter dared not throw a dart lest + they should injure their “bleating gods.” + + Each of these had their especial sacred city, where their precious + remains were embalmed and their mummies stored. Dogs and ichneumons + might indeed be buried in their own cities, but hawks and shrew-mice + were generally conveyed to Buto, and ibises to Hermopolis. Onuphis was + the city specially dedicated to the worship of the asp; but all manner + of serpents were worshipped in gorgeous temples over the length and + breadth of the land, and the reptiles were fed with flour and honey by + their appointed priests, and their bodies eventually embalmed with all + possible reverence. Cat-mummies were stored in the sacred city of + Bubastis; goats at Mendes; wolves were preserved in pits near Sioux; + while the ram, sacred to the sun, was worshipped at Thebes, the sun + city. + + The death of a cat was considered so dire a misfortune, that if a + house were to take fire the Egyptians would let it burn to the ground, + if only they could rescue the cats, which, however, had an awkward + trick of jumping into the flames. Should one of these perish, all the + inmates of the house shaved their eyebrows. Should a dog die, the head + and beard were also shaved. Each species of animal had its appointed + guardians to feed and tend them, the office being hereditary. A heavy + fine attended any accident which befell these precious creatures; and + should one perish through carelessness, the life of the keeper was + forfeit, more especially if the victim were an ibis or a hawk, for + whose death there was no forgiveness. + + The hawk, whose piercing eye can so fearlessly gaze upon the sun, was + the special type of that great source of light. It was worshipped in + Heliopolis and the other sun temples, where living birds were kept in + cages, and pictures of sacred hawks, seated amidst lotus-plants, + adorned the walls. With such reverence were they treated, that when + the Egyptian hosts went forth to battle, they carried their hawks with + their armies; and should some chance to die in foreign lands, their + bodies were embalmed, and brought to Egypt to be buried in consecrated + tombs. Thus numerous hawk-mummies have been discovered at Thebes and + elsewhere. + + Hence it would appear that each of these creatures was the _totem_, or + representative animal of some tribe, which bestowed thereon all due + veneration in life and in death. Probably the _totem_ of one tribe + would receive no honour from the next. Hence the battles already + alluded to between the cities which worshipped crocodiles and those + which ate them! and the still more deadly civil wars that raged + between the worshippers of the Oxyrinchus fish and the dog-worshippers + of Cynopolis, when the latter were guilty of fishing in the Nile, and + not only capturing the holy fish, but also eating them. + + No salmon commissioners could be more wrathful at the wilful + destruction of salmon-fry than were these fish-adoring Egyptians when + tidings of the crime reached their city. Swift vengeance followed; for + the deified dogs, worshipped by the gluttonous offenders, were caught + and sacrificed to appease the wrath of the fish-gods, their flesh + affording a delicious feast for the priests. This of course led to a + prolonged civil war, and the sacking of towns and bloodshed were only + checked by the arrival of the Roman legions, who punished both + parties, and reduced them to order. Such wars continued from time to + time, even so late as the fourth century after Christ, by which time, + however, various cities (notably that of Oxyrinchus) had adopted the + new faith, and the cells set apart for sacred animals were tenanted by + the monks. + + If we follow out this subject, it may perhaps bring us nearer home + than we imagine; for just as the Australian blacks are divided into + clans bearing the name of the animal, or even the plant, from which + they believe themselves to be descended, and which they must on no + account eat or gather—and are thus known as “The Black Snakes,” “The + Swans,” “The Turtles,” “The Kangaroos,” &c.,—so our antiquarians tell + us, that many of our tattooed or painted Anglo-Saxon ancestors bore + the names of animals or plants, which doubtless were in truth the + _totem_ of their family. Thus the Bercings and Thornings traced their + descent from the birch and thorn, and the Bockings from the beech; and + the homes of these families still bear such names as Bocking, + Birchington, and Thornington. Elmington and Oakington are supposed to + have been peopled by sons of the elm and of the oak; while Ashendon + recalls the Ashings or Æscings, who bore the name of the sacred + ash-tree; and the Fearnings of Farningham were supposed to descend + from a humble fern. + + Buckingham and Berrington are said to have derived their names from + the Buccings and Berings, sons of the buck and of the bear; while the + followers of the wolf did him honour by bestowing on their children + such names as Wulfing, Eadwulf, Beowulf, or Ethelwulf. The sacred + white horse (whose image remains to this day on the downs of Westbury + and Wantage, as clearly defined as when first our Saxon ancestors + scraped the green grass from off the chalk hillside) was the symbol + reverenced by all Aryan races, and Hengest and Horsa, the leaders of + the early English, bore names which entitled them to command their + fellows. They have left their mark in such territorial names as + Hengestesdun, Horstead, Horsington, and many more. The Otterings of + Otterington owed allegiance to the otter. + + The snake was as much revered in Britain as in all other corners of + the world, and no disrespect was implied in describing him as a worm. + Hence the family of Wyrmings, and such geographical traces as + Wormington, Wormingford, and even Ormskirk and Great Orm’s (or Worm’s) + Head. The Earnings were adherents of the earn or eagle; the Everings + or Eoferings of _Eofer_, the wild boar, whose home was at Eversley. + Raveningham and Cockington are said to bear the name of the old lords + of the soil, the sons of the raven and of the cock; while the Fincings + of Finchingfield and the Thryscings of Thrushington, are said to + represent the families who adopted the Thrush and the Finch as their + _totem_. + + Altogether there appears good reason to infer that the reverence for + birds and beasts, fishes and reptiles, which excites our compassionate + wonder in reading of poor untutored savages, such as these Samoans, + was once a powerful influence in our own British Isles.[30] + + + + + CHAPTER X. +LEAVE SAMOA—REACH TAHITI—GREY SHADOWS—DEATH OF QUEEN POMARE—LA LOIRE AND +HER PASSENGERS—A GENERAL DISPERSION—LIFE ASHORE AT PAPEETE—ADMIRAL SERRE + AND THE ROYAL FAMILY—FAMILIES OF SALMON AND BRANDER—ADOPTION. + + + H.B.M. CONSULATE, APIA, + _Sunday Evening, 30th September_. + +It is finally settled that I am really going on to Tahiti. From what I +have told you, you can fully understand that Samoa would not be an +inviting place in which to lie stranded for an unlimited period; and +though I, individually, have received the greatest possible kindness +from many of the foreign residents, and from the Samoan chiefs of both +parties, still the whole atmosphere is tainted with lies and the +strivings of self-interest, and is altogether unwholesome. So I have +definitely accepted the invitation so repeatedly and heartily given, and +to-morrow I am to return on board the Seignelay. + +I have just received letters from some, and messages from all on board, +expressing cordial pleasure at my decision, especially from M. de +Gironde, whose cabin I occupy; so I really feel that I shall be a +welcome guest. + +The great difficulty will lie beyond Tahiti, but I must e’en trust to my +luck. + +It is also decided that the bishop is to proceed at once to France, both +on Church business and for medical advice. It is a good thing that he is +so soon to leave this place, where he is terribly worried by the attempt +to reconcile so many conflicting interests. He looks much worse than +when we arrived.[31] + +This morning he officiated at High Mass; and all the men and officers of +the Seignelay attended in full uniform. The service was choral, and of +course the church was crowded. I passed it on my way to a very small +Congregational chapel, where Dr Turner conducted an English service. We +met numbers of people on their way to the Protestant native churches; +and I was amused to observe how many carried their Bibles neatly folded +up in a piece of white _tappa_; just as an old wife in Scotland would +wrap hers in a white handkerchief! + +In the afternoon my hostess accompanied me to the convent, where the +children sang prettily while we sat in the pleasant garden. The sisters +bade me good-bye quite sadly. “It has been _des adieux_ all day,” said +one. + + ON BOARD LE SEIGNELAY, + _Monday, 1st October_. + +M. de Gironde came at daybreak to escort me on board. All the Puletoa +chiefs crowded round to say good-bye—and I ran down the garden for a +last word with their “orator,” a fine young fellow, who was nursing his +new-born baby in the large native house. His wife is such a nice pretty +young woman. I felt quite sorry to leave them all, not knowing what may +be the next tidings of woe. We know that war may be renewed at any +moment.[32] + + _Saturday, 6th October 1877._ + (_Tossing a good deal._) + +With a dreary waste of grey waters on every side of us, and no trace of +land save two inquisitive boobies, which have for some hours been flying +round us, it is hard to realise that to-morrow we are to enter the +far-famed harbour of Papeete, and that by this time to-morrow evening we +shall be ashore, listening to the _himènes_ of the multitude assembled +for the great feast which begins the next day—a great feast, by the +way—held in honour of the anniversary of the Protectorate! I wonder how +poor old Queen Pomare likes it! + +We left Samoa on Monday, 1st October, and the next day was also called +Monday, October 1st, to square the almanacs, so that we can say we had +done the 1700 miles in just a week. The weather has been considerably +against us, but extra steam was put on to insure catching this mail, as +great stress is evidently laid on not losing a day in reporting the +proceedings at Samoa to the Home Government. The amount of reports +written since we started has been something prodigious!... + +What with all this writing going on, and the extra motion of the vessel +from travelling at such unwonted speed, life has not been so tranquilly +pleasant as in the previous weeks. I have had quite to give up my cosy +studios on the big gun-carriage, or my quiet corner of the bridge. +Instead of these, I have found a place of refuge and a hearty welcome in +_le carré_ (the gun-room), which does not dance so actively as the +captain’s cabin, over the screw. In it at this moment a select set are +either reading or writing their home letters, ready for the ’Frisco[33] +mail, which is supposed to sail from Tahiti on Monday morning.... + +(At this point, a wave breaking over the ship, trickled down on my head +through the skylight. Hence the smudge. I wonder how you would write +with the table alternately knocking your nose and then rolling you over +to the opposite side of the cabin!) + +Every creature on board is rejoicing at the prospect of returning to the +Tahitian Elysium. To me this has been a dream ever since my nursery +days, when the big illustrated volumes of old voyages that lay in my +father’s dressing-room were the joy of many a happy hour, combined with +such sticks of barley-sugar as I can never find at any confectioner’s +nowadays! There we first read the romantic story of how Captain Cook +discovered those isles of beauty, and named them after the “Royal +Society” which had sent him to explore these unknown seas. The Tahiti of +to-day is doubtless a very different place from the Otaheite of 1774. + +Of course, in a highly organised French colony much of the old romance +must have passed away with its dangers. But the natural loveliness of +the isle cannot have changed, and I look forward with great delight to +seeing it all. + +Every one speaks in the highest terms of Mr Miller, our long-established +English consul, and his charming Peruvian wife (so Lord Pembroke +describes her). Both are intimate friends of Captain Aube and the +bishop, who will commit me to their care on arriving. I have also an +excellent introduction to Mr Green, the head of the London Mission; and +M. Vernier, of the French Protestant Mission, was once for some months +at Inveraray. I hear golden opinions both of Mrs Green and Mme. Vernier, +and of M. and Mme. Viennot, of the same mission. So amongst them all, I +have no doubt that I shall be all right. + +But I cannot quite forget what a hideous future lies beyond. The total +distance I have travelled in this large comfortable steamer, from Fiji +to Tahiti, including trips from isle to isle, has been 2985 miles. From +Tahiti (after this good ship has sped on her way to Valparaiso) there +remain two courses before me—either to go to New Zealand, 3000 miles, or +to Honolulu, 3200 miles,—in either case in a small sailing vessel, +starting at some uncertain period. There is a monthly mail to San +Francisco, but that is only a schooner of about 120 tons; and _viâ_ San +Francisco would be rather a circuitous route to Sydney! where I expect +to meet Lady Gordon somewhere about Christmas. It is a hideous prospect, +but I have too much faith in my luck to be deeply concerned about it. +The worst of it all is, that I cannot possibly receive any letters till +I arrive in Sydney, which may, I fear, be some time hence. + +[Illustration: + + OPUNOHU BAY. ISLE MOOREA. +] + +As my wardrobe will by that time be considerably the worse for wear, you +will do well to send out a box of sundry garments to await my arrival, +otherwise I shall be reduced to appearing in a graceful drapery of +_tappa_, with fringes of crimson dracæna leaves; but though the dress of +Oceania is very becoming to the young and beautiful, the world of Sydney +is hardly up to it,—and besides, I fear it would be scarcely suitable +for old grand-aunts (_presque grand’mère_), as one of my French friends +put it yesterday! It certainly is rather a shame to let you have all +this trouble, while I have the fun of exploring such strange lands; but +it is a sort of division of labour, whereby you pay your tax to the +family locomotive demon, who drives all the rest of us so hard, but +leaves you in peace in Britain, to do your share of wandering by deputy. + +Now, as it is getting late, I must turn in, as I want to be up at grey +dawn to see beautiful Moorea (the Eimeo of our childhood), and we shall +sail close past it, as we make Papeete harbour. So good-night. + + IN HARBOUR, PAPEETE, TAHITI, + _Sunday Morning, 7th Oct_. + +Well, we have reached Tahiti, but really I am beginning to fear that, +like most things to which we have long looked forward, this is likely to +prove disappointing. We came in this morning in a howling storm, _un +gros coup de vent_, and everything looked dismal. Though we coasted all +along Moorea, the envious clouds capped the whole isle, only showing a +peak here and there. Certainly such glimpses as we did catch were +weirdly grand; huge basaltic pinnacles of most fantastic shape towering +from out the sea of billowy white clouds, which drifted along those +black crags. And below the cloud canopy lay deep ravines, smothered in +densest foliage, extending right down to the grey dismal sea, which +broke in thunder on the reef. With strong wind and tide against us as we +crossed from Moorea to Tahiti, you can fancy what a relief it was when, +passing by a narrow opening through the barrier-reef, we left the great +tossing waves outside, and found ourselves in this calm harbour, which +to-day is sullen and grey as a mountain-tarn. At first we could see +literally nothing of the land; but it is now a little clearer, and +through the murky mist we see a fine massive mountain rising above a +great gorge beyond the town. But in general effect of beauty this is +certainly not equal to Ovalau, and even the town looks little better +than Levuka,[34] though it is certainly more poetic, the houses being +all smothered in foliage. But then it is fine-weather foliage—all +hybiscus and bread-fruit,—the former, of that very blue-green tint, +which in rain looks as grey as an olive-grove; while each glossy leaf of +the bread-fruit is a mirror, which exactly reflects the condition of the +weather—glancing bright in sunlight, but to-day only repeating the dull +hue of the leaden clouds. + +For indeed it is a dreary grey day, sea and sky alike dull and +colourless, all in keeping with the sad news with which the pilot +greeted us as he came on board—namely, that Queen Pomare died a +fortnight ago (on the 17th September); so we have just missed seeing the +good old queen of my infantile romantic visions. Her eldest son, Prince +Ariiaue, has been proclaimed king under the hereditary name, and is +henceforth to be known as Pomare V. + +But the people are all in deepest dule, and instead of the great +rejoicings and balls, and _himènes_, and varied delights of the _fête +Napoléon_ (or rather its republican substitute, the anniversary of the +Protectorate), on the 9th October, for which we had expected to find +joyous crowds assembled—always ready for an excuse for music and +dancing—a festival to which my friends have been looking forward all the +voyage,—instead of this, we see the crowds pouring out of the native +church, all dressed in the deepest mourning, from their crape-trimmed +black hats, to their black flowing robes, which are worn from the +throat, and with sleeves down to the wrist; they trail on the ground in +sweeping trains, and are so long in front that even the bare feet are +covered. + +There are no flowers, no fragrant wreaths, no arrowroot crowns, no snowy +plumes of _reva-reva_—even the beautiful raven tresses of the women have +all been cut off. This is mourning with a vengeance; and the Court +circular has commanded that the whole nation shall wear the garb of woe +for six months. I do hope that at least the commoners will disobey this +injunction! At present all the men appear like black crows. Apparently +many are disfigured by foreign dress-coats; and even those who retain +the national _pareo_ (which is the Tahitian word for _sulu_ or +waist-cloth) are wearing black _tappa_ or black calico; and their heads +are closely cropped. So sadly disfiguring! and so terribly subversive of +all our preconceived visions of Papeete, as the very ideal of light, and +mirth, and soft sunlit colour. + +The even tenor of life in Tahiti has received several startling shocks +since the 24th August, when the French Admiral Serre arrived here in the +steam-frigate Magicienne, bringing the new governor, M. Brunnet Millet. +But, sad to say, Madame Brunnet Millet died on the voyage from sheer +sea-sickness; and her poor husband, who adored her, became positively +imbecile from grief, so that he had to resign office immediately on his +arrival. + +His natural successor would have been M. La Barbe, who, however, had +made himself generally obnoxious to the Tahitians, and to the queen in +particular, by the injudiciously severe penalties which he enforced for +some of her son’s peccadilloes. She therefore wrote to the admiral to +say that if La Barbe became governor, she would at once leave Tahiti and +retire to Moorea, thus leaving all business at a dead-lock. Thereupon +the admiral promised that her will should be respected, and announced +that he would himself assume the office of governor, till such time as a +fresh appointment could be made in Paris. La Barbe remonstrated. The +admiral bade him be silent. He persisted, and was immediately placed +under arrest for fourteen days, at the end of which time his sword was +returned to him, and he had to put it on, and go to thank the admiral +formally for his goodness in restoring it! But as his presence in the +Isles would thenceforth have been unpleasant, he and his wife and +grown-up son, together with M. Brunnet Millet, have been shipped as +passengers on board La Loire, which is now lying alongside of us, on the +eve of sailing for France. She is a great big line-of-battle ship, +transformed into a transport, for the conveyance of convicts from France +to New Caledonia, but returns comparatively empty. So far, her passenger +list does not sound cheerful! + +The moment we reached our moorings, a boat was despatched in hot haste +to convey to the admiral the despatches concerning the little episode in +Samoa. I fear our kind captain is not free from misgivings as to the +light in which that unlucky business may be viewed by his superior +officer. + + H.B.M. CONSULATE, PAPEETE, + _Sunday Evening_. + +Alas! alas! the wretched Samoan adventure has indeed ended most +lamentably. The admiral, who from all accounts is a very severe stern +man, had no sooner read Captain Aube’s report, than he signalled for him +to go on board La Magicienne, and informed him, that as _he_ was quite +incapable of understanding his line of action at Samoa, the only thing +he could do was to send him back to France, as a passenger in La Loire, +that he might himself explain his motives at headquarters;[35] in short, +he removed him from his command of the Seignelay. + +Ten minutes later, the fine old sailor returned on board the vessel that +was no longer his, to announce this dreadful news to his officers, on +whom the blow fell like a thunderbolt. For, as I have told you, they +have all lived together on the most cordial terms; and no family, losing +a dearly loved father, could be more utterly wretched than are all on +board, both officers and men. Many fairly broke down; and I am sure I do +not wonder, for it is a lamentable break-up of _such_ a happy +ship-family. What a _bouleversement_ of all the pleasant pictures we +were conjuring up only last night! Certainly this is a very heavy +penalty for what was, at the worst, an error in judgment. + +The regret on shore is almost as great as on the vessel; for Commandant +Aube is well known here, and exceedingly popular with all the foreign +residents, who had hoped that he would be appointed Governor of Tahiti. +This is a grievous ending to our delightful voyage, and I need not tell +you how downhearted I feel about it all. I could almost wish that we had +never gone near miserable Samoa, with all its jars and hatreds. + +I must close this letter, as the little mail-schooner Nautilus sails for +San Francisco in the morning, taking as passengers Monseigneur Elloi and +M. Pinart. They hope to be able so to represent matters at Washington +and in Paris as to put the Samoan episode in the best possible light. + +I grieve to say the bishop is very ill; all these worries are very +trying to him, and he loses ground daily. The prospect of so long a +voyage in a little schooner of about 200 tons, with very mixed society, +is anything but pleasant for an invalid, and a trying change from the +comforts of the big ship. The actual distance is 4000 miles, and the +voyage may be made in twenty-five days. But with contrary winds, the +distance is sometimes increased to 6000 miles, and the voyage occupies +six weeks! So I cannot tell at what date this letter will reach +you.—Good-bye.[36] + + _Chez_ THE REV. JAMES GREEN, + LONDON MISSION, _9th Oct._ + +To-day has concluded the tragedy. Last night (after a farewell dinner +with his officers, and a few touching last words to his men, who wept +bitterly, sobbing aloud like children, and who cheered him lustily as he +left the ship) Commandant Aube came ashore to take leave of his friends +here, and at the British consulate. He was accompanied by his faithful +dog, Fox, a poor sickly hound, on whom he has lavished infinite care and +kindness throughout the voyage, but which he will leave here in charge +of a Tahitian; so he starts on this sad voyage without even his dog as a +companion. We escorted him to the shore, and sorrowfully watched his +boat making for La Loire, the old line-of-battle ship, which sailed this +morning with so sad a company. The poor Seignelay had the odious task of +towing her out of harbour; and, as the ships parted, all the men burst +into uncontrollable shouts of “Vive notre commandant!”—a spontaneous +demonstration, which must have been more satisfactory to its hero than +to the stern admiral. + +Just then an accident happened, which might have proved very serious. La +Loire accidentally slipped a great tow-rope, which got entangled in the +screw of the Seignelay; and, misunderstanding the signal to lower sail, +the ponderous old vessel nearly ran down the lighter steam-ship, which +could neither work her screw nor answer to her helm, but had to hoist +sail and run before the wind. Being unable to turn, she had to sail +straight out to sea for some hours, far out of sight. + +I watched this inexplicable movement from the semaphore—a high station +commanding a magnificent view of town and harbour, and of the distant +isle of Moorea. The old sailor in charge was as much perplexed as +myself. He decided that the Seignelay must have been despatched to the +Marquesas or elsewhere, with secret orders; while I decided that she +must have “revolutioned,” and gone off to France. However, this evening +she returned, under sail, and was able to go to the assistance of a +vessel that had drifted on to the reef; so, on the whole, it was rather +a fortunate episode, as it helped to distract the thoughts of all on +board. + +Most of the residents here, bitterly as they regret the whole business, +seem to agree that the admiral has really taken the wisest course, both +as preventing (in the sense of _prévenant_) any possible remonstrance +from England—in case she should espouse the cause of that very shady +Anglo-American Fijian-Samoan house, with its convenient variety of +flags—and perhaps, also, as saving M. Aube from harder judgment in +France. But of course none of the officers can realise what a foolish +episode that night’s work appears to every one here. + +I have not yet told you anything of my own movements. On Sunday +afternoon, M. de Gironde escorted me to the British consulate, there +duly to report myself to Mr Miller, who for thirty years has been +England’s popular representative here; indeed he has never left Tahiti +since the day he first landed here, with his bright, sensible, little +Peruvian bride. Now they have three grown-up sons, and a pleasant +daughter, married to M. Fayzeau, a French naval officer, in charge of +native affairs. He is a charming musician, and most graceful artist, and +has promised to make my way easy for several sketching expeditions. + +I had not been an hour ashore, when (on the strength of a letter of +introduction from Dr Turner of Malua) I received the very kindest +invitation from Mr and Mrs Green to come and stay with them in this +their lovely home, just out of the town, and close to the consulate—a +delightful nest, embowered in mango and bread-fruit trees, with +oleanders and hybiscus to lend colour to the whole. It is only separated +from the sea by the pleasant garden and a belt of turf; so there is +nothing to impede the view of the beautiful harbour and blue peaks of +Moorea, while the valley behind the house runs up to a background of +fine hills, which all to-day have been bathed in soft sunlight—that +clear shining that comes after rain. + +On one side of the little lawn stands a noble old banyan-tree, from the +very heart of which grows a tall cocoa-palm,—a curious tree-marriage, +greatly admired by the people; but in an evil hour an idiotic surveyor +ascended this tree to take observations, and fastened a wire to the +primary fronds, thereby of course cutting them, and so killing the palm, +which now remains a poor dead monument of ignorant stupidity. The banyan +suffers from another cause. The Tahitians believe that a decoction of +its brown filaments and rootlets is a certain remedy for some forms of +illness. They are therefore continually appealing to Mr Green for +permission to cut them; and thus the growth of the tree is considerably +checked. However, it covers a sufficient space to form a famous +playground for the children, of whom there are a cheery little flock, +though here, as in most remote colonies, the absence of all the elder +ones forms the chief drawback to the happiness of their parents. But +education in all its aspects has to be sought elsewhere than in +beautiful Tahiti, by those who do not wish their families to become +altogether insular; and my host and hostess retain far too loving +memories of their own early homes in Wiltshire and Devon to allow their +children to grow up estranged from their English kinsfolk. + +This, like the majority of houses here, is a wooden bungalow, one storey +high, with verandah, on to which all rooms alike open—by far the coolest +and most suitable form of building for the tropics. But there are a +number of two and three-storeyed houses in the town, inhabited by French +officials and foreign merchants—notably the French governor’s house, and +the unfinished “palace,” which has been in slow progress for many years. + +At the former, Admiral Serre now holds the reins. Stern though he be in +public matters, he is wonderfully kind and pleasant socially, and seems +to guide his iron hand with much wisdom in carrying out the course of +action he has marked out for himself. As you know, he had scarcely +determined on taking the government into his own hands when Queen Pomare +died quite suddenly, to the exceeding grief of her people. Great was +their anxiety as to what course the French would now adopt,—the royal +family being so much at sixes and sevens that there was very good reason +to fear that even the semblance of the ancient rule would henceforth be +dispensed with. + +Instead of this, the admiral devoted his whole energies to bringing +together its various branches—healing their breaches, inculcating +sobriety (with marvellous success so far), and generally getting them +into a satisfactory condition. Queen Pomare’s two eldest sons, Ariiaue +and Tamatoa, have been very naughty boys, in most respects. The former +has married a very handsome girl, aged seventeen—Marau Salmon; but +hitherto the marriage has not proved happy. Tamatoa was for a while King +of Raiatea; but was apt to carry on such dangerous games when he was +drunk, that his subjects drove him out of the island. He is, however, +very clever and amusing, and is blessed with an adoring wife—a very +charming and excellent woman, as good as she is bonnie; Moë is her +pretty name. Queen Pomare’s third son, Joinville, died leaving a son. +The fourth, Tevii Tapunui, is a very good fellow, but sadly lame. + +Well, by dint of coaxing and reasoning, and by turns assuming the part +of father and “governor,” the admiral first of all persuaded Ariiaue and +Marau to make up the peace, and then proclaimed them King and Queen as +Pomare V. and Marau Pomare—a ceremony of which I have just read full +particulars in the ‘Messager de Tahiti,’ which, under the heading, “Le +prince royal Ariiaue est salué roi des Iles de la Société et +dépendances,” gives a detailed account of the meeting of the Legislative +Assembly of Tahiti, convened by “M. le Contre-Amiral Serre +Commandant-en-chef, Commandant provisoire des Etablissements français de +l’Océanie, pour reconnaître et acclamer le nouveau souverain de Tahiti.” + +The Legislative Assembly received with acclamation the decisions of the +omnipotent admiral, who not only proclaimed Ariiaue king, but has +further settled the succession for two generations to come. Queen Marau +being half English, any child to which she may give birth is excluded +from the throne in favour of the little Princess Teriivaetua, daughter +of the king’s brother Tamatoa, and the charming Moë, ex-King and Queen +of Raiatea—thus securing the pure Tahitian blood-royal. Failing issue of +the little Princess Vaetua, the succession is to pass to her cousin, +Prince Terriihinoiatua, commonly called Hinoi—a very handsome boy, son +of the third royal brother, now deceased, who was known as the Prince de +Joinville. + +These decisions are said to have given great satisfaction to the +Tahitians, who, with very good reason, had feared that, on the death of +the old queen, the French would take the nominal power as well as the +real, which they have so long held. + +Pomare’s proud independent spirit must have chafed sorely under their +tutelage; but she contrived to endure it for thirty-five years. She was +just sixty-five when she died, having been born on the 28th February +1813. + +She was the only daughter of King Pomare II., who was the very first +friend of the missionaries when they attempted to get a footing in these +isles, and proved their stanch supporter to the end of his days.[37] His +daughter’s name was Aimata. In the year 1822 she married the young chief +of Tahaa, who had received the name of Pomare as a mark of special +favour from the old king. Thus Aimata became known as Pomare-Vahine;[38] +the correct designation for a married woman being thus to append the +term for wife to the name of the husband. In January 1827 she succeeded +her brother, Pomare III., and reigned supreme till 1843, when the French +assumed the Protectorate. + +Young Queen Marau Pomare is one of a large family of very handsome +half-whites—children of a high chiefess of Tahiti, who married a much +respected English Jew, Mr Salmon. She has three stalwart sons and five +most comely daughters, whose rich olive complexion, black silken +tresses, mellifluous voices, and foreign intonation in speaking English, +are all suggestive of Italy. + +The eldest daughter, who owns the formidable title of +Tetuanuireiaiteruiatea—though, happily, known to her personal friends by +the more euphonious name of Titaua—is herself a very high chiefess both +of Tahiti and Moorea, on each of which she owns several large estates. +At the early age of fourteen she married a wealthy Scotch merchant—Mr +Brander—who died a few months ago, leaving to his young widow a heavy +weight of care, in that her two eldest daughters have married Germans, +whose mercantile interests are diametrically opposed to those of the +house of Brander; and who, having vainly striven to wrest the business +from her, are now pressing for immediate division of property—a process +which necessitates a most exasperating amount of legal discussion, in +which questions of English law, native law, and, above all, the Code +Napoléon, which is the law of the Protectorate, crop up by turns.[39] + +Moetia, the second daughter of Mrs Salmon, married the American Consul, +Mr Attwater. Marau, as you already know, married her royal kinsman; +while Lois (commonly called Prie, which is a contraction of Beretanie—a +name adopted out of compliment to Britain) and Manihinihi, the two +youngest sisters (who both fully sustain the beauty of their race), live +with their mother—a very fine old lady, whose long native name I cannot +tell you, but her ordinary signature is Ariitaimai. She was a cousin of +the late queen, and is said greatly to resemble her. + +Her three sons are Taati, Naarii, and Ariipaea—all tall and +powerfully-built men. + +The system of adopting children, which prevails here, is very confusing +and very peculiar. Every family seems to have at least one belonging to +some other family. A child is generally bespoken before it is born, and +as soon as it is weaned it may be claimed by its adoptive parents, who +give it a new name, by which it is thenceforth known, and who become +responsible for it in every respect—for its feeding and its education. +The child is at perfect liberty to pass unquestioned from one home to +another; so if its second father or mother chance to annoy it, it goes +and takes up its abode with its real parents till it feels inclined to +return to the others. When these die, it inherits their property on +equal terms with their real children. You can imagine that where +relationships are very intricate to begin with, these additional +blendings of families create a most bewildering interweaving. + +Then all the intermarriages of the principal families add to the +confusion. Every one on Tahiti, Eimeo, Bora-Bora, and the Society Isles +generally, seems to be related to every one else, at least among the +high chiefs. In no corner of the earth is there a greater respect for +good ancestry—nowhere is “a lang pedigree” more prized. The most +singular point, however, is, that whereas in a proposed marriage between +two persons, both having Tahitian blood (whether pure or partial does +not matter), the greatest anxiety is manifested to prove that blood +sufficiently blue, and any suggestion on the part of a high chief of +wishing to wed a maiden of low degree calls forth a storm of indignation +from all his relations; yet if a Tahitian woman of the highest class +chooses to marry a European of very dubious rank by birth, not a voice +is raised in opposition. I believe the solution of this curious point +lies in the fact that here, as in Fiji, a child takes rank from his +mother, so that he is in many instances a much more important person +than his father. It is the same peculiarity which I pointed out to you, +when writing from Fiji, respecting the customs of its chiefs. + +I have just heard that a very leaky ship is to sail for Sydney +to-morrow, and a better one starts for New Zealand next week; so in +order to lose no chance of a letter reaching you, I shall despatch this +_viâ_ Sydney, and send you another _viâ_ New Zealand. Meanwhile, +good-bye. + + + + + CHAPTER XI. + PAPEETE—CATHOLIC MISSION—PROTESTANT MISSION—A CHRISTENING PARTY—LA + MAISON BRANDÈRE—TALES OF THE PAST—EVENINGS IN TAHITI—LA + MUSIQUE—PLANS—SUNDAY. + + + _Care of the_ REV. JAMES GREEN, + PAOFAI, PAPEETE, TAHITI, _Saturday, 13th._ + +DEAREST NELL,—It is high time I sent you a cheerier letter than the +last, which was written just after our dreary arrival in a dismal storm, +and further overshadowed by the distressing manner in which our happy +party was so summarily dispersed. With the exception of that one sad +cloud, no drawback of any sort has arisen. The cordial kindness of every +creature here, the easy luxury of very simple social life, a heavenly +climate, and the dream-like loveliness of the isles, all combine to make +up as charming a whole as can possibly be conceived. It is the sort of +place in which one is made to feel at home at once: from the moment I +landed every one seems to have tried what he or she could do for the +enjoyment of the stranger. It is a region of true hospitality. + +Certainly this is a very pretty little town. Its simple village streets +are all laid out as _boulevards_, and form pleasant shady avenues, the +commonest tree being the pretty yellow hybiscus with the claret-coloured +heart, so common in Fiji, where it is called _surya_. Here its name is +_boorau_. The names of the streets recall Parisian memories. The +shadiest and widest street is the Chinese quarter, and its poor little +wooden houses are Chinese stores and tea-shops. It rejoices in the name +of Rue de Pologne, while the principal real street is the Rue de Rivoli, +where are merchants’ stores, _cafés_, grog-shops, and even hotels of +some sort. Of course the pleasantest locations are those which face the +harbour and catch the sweet sea-breeze; and the largest stores for +provisions and dry goods are in the Rue de Commerce, each possessing its +own wharf. I fear the word wharf may suggest the dirty prosaic wharves +of England, an idea which you must banish at once; for business in its +dingy aspect is not obtrusive, and the harbour-wall is but a stone +coping for soft green turf, where girls with light rods sit fishing, and +market-boats land their cargo of gay fruit and fish, while the motley +throng pass and repass—Tahitians, French sailors and soldiers, Chinamen, +black-robed French priests, and all the nondescript nationalities from +the ships. + +There is a considerable foreign population, including, of course, a +large staff of French officials of all sorts—civil, naval, and +military—and their presence seems a _raison d’être_ for a strong corps +of _gens d’armes_, who otherwise would certainly seem an incongruous +element in the South Seas. + +By a recent census I learn that the native population of Tahiti is +somewhere about 8000; that of Moorea, 1500. That there are in the group +830 French, 144 citizens of the United States, 230 British subjects, and +about 700 Chinese. + +The French have both a Protestant and Roman Catholic Mission. The former +was made necessary by the fact that, on the establishment of the +Protectorate in 1843, the English missionaries were subjected to such +very oppressive regulations as greatly impeded their ministrations among +the people, all of whom were at that time Christians, and, moreover, +still in the fervour of first love—a love which, it is to be feared, has +now in a great measure faded to the light of common day, as might be +expected from the large influx of infidel, or at best, wholly +indifferent, foreigners. + +The Church of Rome having resolved to proselytise this already occupied +field, sent here a bishop and many priests, with a supplementary staff +of “Frères et Sœurs de Charité.” I think the Sisters are of the order St +Joseph de.... The foreigners connected with the Catholic mission number +in all about forty persons. They have had large aid and encouragement +from the French Government, who compelled the chiefs of Tahiti and +Moorea to build a church for their use in each district. Nevertheless, +out of the 8000 inhabitants, 300 nominal adherents is the maximum which +the Catholics themselves have ever claimed, but fifty is said to be +nearer the mark. + +The French Protestant Mission, however, found it desirable to send +French subjects to the support of the London Mission, of which Mr Green +is now the only representative. His coadjutors are M. Viennot, M. +Vernier, and M. Brun—all married men and _pères de famille_. The latter +is _pasteur_ of Moorea. M. Viennot has a large Protestant school both +for boys and girls of pure French and pure Tahitian blood, and of all +shades of mixed race. We went to see his charming house, which is the +most romantic nest, for a school, that you can well imagine, with wide +verandahs and a large pleasant garden. Several of the daughters of the +early English missionaries assist in teaching; and everything about the +establishment seems bright and healthy in tone. + +The third French _pasteur_, M. Vernier, was a student friend of Lord +Lorne’s at Geneva (under Merle d’Aubigné), and returned with him to +Inveraray for three months, ere resuming his own studies for a while in +Edinburgh. Consequently he retains most loving recollections of +everything linked with those very happy days; and it struck me +pleasantly, in this far-away isle, to find in his little drawing-room +many familiar photographs of Inveraray faces and places. Now his pretty +wife is mother of half-a-dozen typical French little ones, the youngest +of whom was the hero of a very pleasant dinner-party, given by his +parents the night before last, in honour of his baptism. There were +about a dozen persons present, including all the members of the +Protestant Mission, Captain Guignon of the Bossuet (a most friendly +trading vessel belonging to the firm of Messrs Tandonnet of Bordeaux), +and myself. All the time of dinner, the _petit nouveau-baptisé_ was laid +on the floor, where he rolled about laughing and crowing with delight, +while the other children played quietly beside him. It was a scene of +graceful home life, and illustrates the easy unconventional pleasures of +social existence in this sweet isle.[40] + +It certainly is very strange how one invariably finds home links in all +corners of the earth. If there was one place more unlikely than another +to do so, I should have thought it was Tahiti. But, as usual, I find +myself quite _en pays de connaissance_. The day after I landed, Mrs +Miller drove me in her nice pony-phaeton to call on Mrs Brander. I +naturally expected that our conversation would be on purely insular +subjects. Imagine my astonishment when, after the first greetings, this +beautiful Anglo-Tahitian turned the conversation to Scotland—Morayshire, +Speyside, Elgin, and many friends there—and spoke of them all from +intimate personal acquaintance! + +Then, for the first time, it flashed across me that the name which had +become so familiar to my ear as that of _la Maison Brandère_, was simply +that of a county neighbour in Scotland; and that Mr Brander of Tahiti +was none other than a half-brother of Lady Dunbar Brander,[41] who in +his early youth left Elgin and went forth to carve his fortune in +foreign lands. You know how little interest people in Britain take in +watching the career of such lads, unless they chance to come home to +spend their gold. Mr Brander did not come home. He found in the South +Seas a field for his vast energies—embarked in trade, added ship to ship +till he owned a considerable fleet, and so his connection spread from +group to group; and he bought lands and built stores on all manner of +remote isles, and in course of time amassed a gigantic fortune. His +marriage with Titaua Salmon must have tended greatly to secure his +position in these isles; and so his business went on ever increasing, +till at length mind and body broke down under the constant strain, and +he died, leaving the whole care of his immense business to his young +widow, who is only thirty-four now, the eldest of her nine children +having been born when she was fifteen! She is the mother of as pretty a +covey as you could wish to see, beginning with two lovely grown-up +married daughters and one or two grandchildren, and ending with two +darling little girls, one of whom bears the charming name of Paloma, the +dove. + +Mr Brander most wisely resolved that his wife’s brothers and his own +sons should have the advantage of a first-rate education in Britain. +Several of the boys are still at school at St Andrews, whence Alexander, +the eldest, recently came out here; but he must shortly return to +England, to look after property belonging to his father. + +In all these far countries people talk of a run to England and back as +if it was the veriest trifle!—merely a run of fifty or sixty days, _viâ_ +San Francisco, and across the United States; or, if economy has to be +considered, a voyage of 140 days in a sailing-ship round Cape Horn! + +This afternoon Mme. Fayzeau took me for an exquisite drive into the +country. We drove along the shore on a road of fine green turf, skirting +the lovely calm lagoon, and passing by an endless succession of small +wooden houses, each almost hidden in bowers of blossom and shady fruit +trees, with pleasant lawns, where merry children played, while their +elders sat or lay on mats sewing, or twining wreaths, or rolling +cigarettes—all suggesting lives of easy-going happiness without undue +care; and the air was made musical by rippling laughter and mellifluous +voices. + +I scarcely know why it is that Tahitian sounds so much more attractive +than the sterner Tongan tongue. Individual words are actually less +liquid, because of the frequent use of the aspirate. I am told, as +rather a curious fact, that whereas the Samoans and Tongans are so very +profuse in their expression of the word “thanks,” the Tahitians, like +the New Zealanders, have no equivalent for it. + +[Illustration: + + LE DIADÈME. AVENUE DE FAUTAWA. + TAHITI. +] + +For love of his master, we went to see Commandant Aube’s poor sick dog +Fox, and learnt that it died very soon after his departure. Then we +drove through a most beautiful wide avenue of dark-green trees, +something like the Caroba, or locust-trees of Malta, completely +overshadowing the broad green drive. And now we were facing the +mountains in the centre of the isle, and looked up the lovely valley of +Fautawa, at the head of which towers a magnificent hill, so +symmetrically indented as to resemble a gigantic crown. Hence its common +name, Le Diadème, though to the natives it is still Maiauo. + +Returning towards Papeete, we met many carriages and equestrians; for +here there is no lack of either. Most of the gentlemen were making their +way to a river, which is a favourite bathing-place; and I need not tell +you that a river-bath is one of the chief delights of a day in the +tropics. + +Mrs Brander had invited us all to dine at The Red House, which is her +town home—a large three-storeyed red-brick house. There, amongst other +friends, we met a very delightful old lady, Mrs Simpson—a true “mother +in Israel.” Widow of one of the early missionaries, she shared in all +his labours, and in the joy of beholding the dawn of Christianity, when +its first rays dispelled the dark night of heathenism. Many a wondrous +change have those clear observant eyes witnessed in her half-century of +working life in these fair isles, and many a tale of thrilling interest +has she to tell of scenes enacted within her own recollection. + +Of course, with the advance of civilisation, many of the picturesque +elements of earlier days have passed away. The natives no longer +assemble on shore to practise their writing lessons on the smooth +sea-beach; neither do they carry sand into the schools, that, by +spreading it on a closely-woven mat or rude table, it may serve as a +simple slate on which to work out the puzzles of arithmetic. The +advanced scholars no longer seek for smooth stones on the mountains, to +be polished with sea-sand till fine writing can be traced on them with +the spines of the echini. + +Nor are the large leaves of the plantain used as letter-paper on which +to send messages, written with a blunt stick, which bruised the delicate +leaf without cutting it, and so produced a tracing of brown writing on a +glossy green surface. These letters were rolled up like a sheet of +parchment and tied with a strip of bark. A plantain-leaf being about +fifteen inches wide, and perhaps six feet in length, would allow of a +very long message being written on one scroll, and answered very well, +provided the letter had not far to travel; but of course the leaf would +shrivel and split within a few days. Now letters are written on common +note-paper, and bear the postage-stamps of the French Republic. + +No longer are children summoned to school, and congregations to worship, +by the king’s messenger, lightly draped, but gaily wreathed, passing +swiftly round the village, blowing loud blasts on his great +trumpet-shell, and pausing at intervals to invite the presence of the +people. Now his place is filled by the very commonplace bell of +civilised life. + +In the matter of dress, too,—though we may be thankful that Prince +Alfred’s strong commendation of the graceful _sacque_ has caused it to +triumph over all varieties of changeful and unbecoming fashion, which +for a while found favour here, and which ere now have covered these +comely heads with English bonnets and close-fitting white caps (!)—the +artistic eye would certainly prefer the dress of olden days: that of the +women consisting of soft drapery of beautiful cream-coloured native +cloth, wound round the body, passed under one arm and knotted on the +other shoulder, revealing the shapely neck and arm, while gay garlands +wreathed their hair; and for ear-rings, some wore a fragrant blossom +passed through one ear, and, in the other, two or three large pearls +fastened together with finely braided human hair. + +The men, so many of whom have now adopted coat and trousers, then wore +either a very finely plaited, fringed mat, or a _pareo_—_i.e._, kilt of +native cloth, made either from the bark of the paper-mulberry or that of +the bread-fruit, or else from the filaments of the banyan-tree. Of these +the former was the whitest, and preferred for women; the latter was very +thin and brown. The cloth made from the bark of the bread-fruit was very +strong, and was dyed according to taste—either of a rich chocolate, a +brilliant yellow, or red. The two last were the favourite colours, and +were obtained from the sap and berries of different trees. Sometimes the +cloth was reversible—being black on one side and red on the other, and +varnished with vegetable gum to enrich the colour. + +Some wore this handsome material as a cloak—falling from the shoulders +in flowing drapery, very becoming to a stately chief. Others wore it as +a _tiputa_ or tippet, which resembled the poncho of South America—being +simply a long piece of cloth, with a hole cut in the centre, through +which to pass the head, the garment falling over the back and chest and +reaching to the knees. Sometimes this _tiputa_ was beautifully +ornamented; and often it was made of curiously knotted fibre—generally +that of the hybiscus, from which fine fishing-nets were also made. Those +who could afford such luxury wore head-dresses made of the long +tail-feathers of the graceful tropic bird; and the poorest wore gay +flowers. But these were discarded in favour of regular English hats, and +the scarlet feathers were used as trimming for shabby black coats. Proud +was the man who became possessed of a pair of trousers, to be displayed +alternately on legs or arms! In short, the spirit of innovation was +attended with the usual hideous incongruities. + +Instead of the big European boats of the present day, with nothing +distinctive except the form of their quaint triangular sail, there were +formerly fleets of canoes of every size up to 100 feet in length, with +grotesque carving on the raised stern and prow, and flags and streamers +of native cloth. They carried large sails of yellow matting, made from +the long leaves of the screw-pine,[42] which was much lighter than the +canvas of civilisation, but also much less durable. Here again the +picturesque element has suffered. In those days there were war canoes +and chiefs’ canoes, single canoes, and double canoes—like Siamese twins; +and in every fleet there was always a sacred canoe, that the presence of +the tribal god might not be lacking. + +The gods of Tahiti seem to have been simple enough: some were in the +form of a large bird, others were merely a hollow cylinder ornamented +with bright feathers. The blue shark was deified, and had temples +erected in his honour, and a special priesthood; he was chiefly +worshipped by fishermen, though few whose path lay over the great waters +would fail to propitiate so powerful and cruel a foe. Terrible are the +stories of canoes which have been disabled and water-logged, and of the +hungry sharks that have gathered round in shoals, and picked off the +crew one by one, till the canoe, thus lightened, could float again; and +perhaps one survivor has escaped to tell of his comrades’ fate. + +When Pomare II. determined to become a Christian, his first decided act +was to show the people with what contempt he now regarded the gods of +his ancestors, to whom the turtle had ever been held sacred. It was +invariably cooked with sacred fire within the precincts of the temple, +and a portion was always offered to the idol. A turtle having been +presented to the king, his followers were about to carry it to the +_marae_, when he called them back, and bade them prepare an oven and +bake it like ordinary food, without regard to the idol. Great was the +consternation of the attendants, who tremblingly obeyed, and watched the +king himself cut up the turtle and begin to eat. He vainly endeavoured +to induce those who were with him to share this impious feast: they +looked for some immediate manifestation of divine anger, and expected to +see the king stricken before their eyes. Great was their wonder when no +harm befell him, either on that day or on the morrow; and thus the first +step was taken towards the overthrow of the old superstition. + +It was a simple but effectual test, and one which required considerable +courage on the part of him who first dared to try it. Pomare, on this +occasion, did for the people of Tahiti what Queen Kapiolani did for +those of Hawaii, when, descending to the brink of the awesome crater, +she defied the goddess Pélé by eating the blue berries held sacred to +her, and which none dared to taste without first throwing a handful as +an offering to Pélé. + +In like manner did Pomare-Vahine, daughter of the King of Raiatea, teach +the same lesson to the chiefs of Eimeo, who had brought her a great +_faamuraa_, or feeding—_i.e._, a gift of roasted pigs, fowls, fish, +fruit, and vegetables. According to custom, the priests were present to +crave the blessing of the gods on the whole feast, by first selecting +the portions to be offered on the altars. But ere the heathen priests +could make their choice, the Christian chiefess bade her head man +consecrate the whole by thanksgiving to the Almighty. The crowd of +bystanders looked on in wonder, and the priests retired, not venturing +to claim for idol altars the food which, they felt, had thus been +offered to the Most High. + +Many such tales might I now hear and preserve for your benefit, could I +but find time to listen with an undivided mind. + +But there is so much that is new to hear and to see, that I hardly feel +able to disentangle the threads of so many subjects, which, apparently, +are all interwoven one with another. Doubtless, by degrees, they will +arrange themselves in a more orderly fashion. + +In the evening we all walked home together, by a pleasant path along the +grassy shore, passing through a dark thicket of large hybiscus trees, +then beneath tall cocoa-palms, whose every frond lay clearly shadowed by +the brilliant light of only a crescent moon. No full moon in England +could shine with so soft a radiance. + +The loveliness of the evenings here is indescribable; and well do all +the inhabitants know how to enjoy their beauty. Every one saunters forth +after dinner,—the general rendezvous being a grassy lawn under the great +trees near Government House, where the admiral’s excellent band plays +divinely, to the great delight of the Tahitians, who are themselves most +musical, and who assemble in crowds, listening in rapt delight to the +operatic airs, and then, by irresistible impulse, dancing joyously on +the turf, as valse and galop succeed one another. + +But nothing could be more orderly and respectable than this mirthful +crowd, which strikes me the more forcibly from the fact that these are +not the characteristics generally ascribed to Papeete, but are in great +measure due to the wholesome influence of Admiral Serre and his +officers, and to the excellent discipline of the ships now in harbour. +Of course when a rowdy ship comes in, it is more difficult to preserve +order; and as most accounts are written by travellers who chance on +these unlucky times (and perhaps help to cause them), the place has got +a worse name than it ever deserved. So say the old inhabitants. Its +present condition of extremely orderly good behaviour is, however, +undoubtedly an exceptional result of the admiral’s iron rule and +stringent measures for the general weal. Immediately on his arrival, he +gave orders that every damsel whose morals were recognised as lax, +should be at once deported from the gay capital. So, without further +ado, all such were shipped off to the seclusion of their various country +districts, or else to more rigid seclusion, in charge of the +police,—only coming forth to sweep the roads, which, consequently, are +in a state of exquisite cleanliness and neatness. + +It is not to be supposed that the present condition of preternatural +goodness will very long survive the departure of the admiral, as many of +the governors of the Protectorate seem rather to encourage what the more +staid residents deem unseemly frolic. Many of these governors are not +Frenchmen,—merely Creoles, whom the Tahitians dislike exceedingly, and +contemptuously describe as _Paumuto-Frane_ (Paumuto-men being Queen +Pomare’s pig-feeders, and _Frane_ being the equivalent of French). Many +gross errors and maladministrations have crept in during their rule; and +the admiral is now devoting his whole great energies to rectifying all +manner of abuses, greatly to the satisfaction of the Tahitians, with +whom he is apparently immensely popular. Moreover, he seems determined +to deal even-handed justice between the Protestant and Catholic +teachers, which the latter by no means appreciate, having so long been +greatly favoured by the Creole authorities. + +Socially, in his double capacity of admiral and governor, he does all in +his power to make things pleasant for every one. For my own part, I am +bound to say that, from the very first evening of our arrival, he has +been unvaryingly courteous, and in every respect most thoughtful for me. +We meet very often, as he and some of his suite invariably join Mrs +Miller’s party every evening at the band, after which they walk back +with us along the beautiful shore to the British consulate, where we +generally have a second concert, and much pleasant chat of the most +polyglot order—English, French, and Spanish, in about equal parts—with +iced lemonade and liqueurs to help the flow of words! + +The only drawback to my enjoyment of all this is the feeling that my +late most kind _camarades_ are so thoroughly out of it all. Like Rachel +bemoaning her little ones, they refuse to be comforted, and nothing will +induce any of them to come ashore to any place where they might by any +accident meet the admiral. Of course this is rather uncomfortable for +me; for though they all declare themselves most anxious that I should be +lionised in the best possible manner (_i.e._, officially), I fear it +must seem to them as if I had gone over to the enemy. + +Still, there is no alternative; and the kindness which is even now +arranging my future plans, is such that I can but accept it gratefully. + +Having proclaimed Ariiaue and Marau, King and Queen of the Isles, the +admiral is now making arrangements to escort them on a grand ceremonial +round of all the districts on each of the principal isles, that they may +personally receive the homage of their people. It will be a very +interesting occasion, calling forth whatever still remains of old native +customs. To my great delight, the admiral has asked me to join this +expedition. At first I treated the suggestion as a mere civil _façon de +parler_, no other lady having been invited; little Vaetua (Moë’s +daughter, the future queen) being Marau’s only companion. However, on +the following day an A.D.C. brought me an invitation in due form, and +the Millers are delighted, and say it will be the nicest thing possible +for me. So of course, now, I have definitely accepted, and am looking +forward to the ploy with the greatest possible interest. There are +twenty districts in Tahiti, and the intention is to visit two a day, +which will make our picnic expedition a ten days’ pleasure; after which +we return here to make a fresh start for the beautiful isle of Moorea. + + _Sunday Evening._ + +At eight o’clock Madame Fayzeau took me with her to the Roman Catholic +cathedral for the military Mass, at which all high officials are +expected to be present. Soldiers with fixed bayonets stand on either +side of the altar, and others down the aisle, and present arms, kneel, +stand up, &c., obedient to a loud word of command, which, indeed, is the +only word spoken aloud till the final benediction and short chant. The +organ plays the whole time, and the congregation attend to their private +devotions, or do not, as the case may be. Apparently the fact of being +present is sufficient. Very few Tahitians attend the eight o’clock Mass. +The general congregation assemble at nine, when the service is audible, +and a sermon is preached, partly in Tahitian, partly in French. + +After church we went to see the Sisters, some of whom are engaged in +nursing at the hospital, while the others teach in their own school. +Returning to the British consulate, we found a pleasant naval +breakfast-party; after which we enjoyed a calm peaceful afternoon here, +while Mr Green was engaged with some of his teachers and classes. He has +the charge of a very large native church here, where he holds forenoon +service, but frequently has occasion to visit churches in other parts of +the isle; and one of the many irritating French regulations forbids his +preaching in any church but his own without a special permit, which has +to be applied for, and granted afresh, every week, and is often delayed +till the very last moment, so that he has to wait with his horse ready +harnessed, and then probably drive much faster than he wishes, to reach +his destination in time. + +As each member of the mission has his own native work to attend to, and +as every one in the island understands Tahitian, the only foreign +service is one held on alternate Sunday evenings by Mr Green and the +French _pasteurs_. This evening it was in English, according to the +Congregational form, and ended with the Holy Communion. + +We had a lovely walk home, but remarked that the Parisian observance of +Sunday as a _jour de fête_ has superseded that very sacred reverence for +the Lord’s Day, which is so striking a feature in most of the +Christianised isles. To-night the crowd at the band was larger and +noisier than usual, owing to the presence of many French sailors, some +of whom were nearly as drunk as an average set of blue jackets, under +similar circumstances, would probably have been. + +With some anxiety, I noted a wide halo round the moon, and devoutly +trust it may not prove an evil symptom of the coming weather; for +to-morrow morning we start on our grand expedition round the isle. + +Now I must try to secure a good night’s rest, so shall close this +letter, which may take its chance of being taken to _some_ point by +_some_ vessel in the course of the next ten days. + + YOUR LOVING SISTER. + + + + + CHAPTER XII. + SHORT SKETCH OF A ROYAL PROGRESS ROUND TAHITI. + + + _Chez_ THE REV. JAMES GREEN, + PAPEETE, _25th October_ + +DEAR LADY GORDON,—I have just heard that a vessel is about to sail, and +will carry mails, so, though I have not time to write at length, I must +send a few lines by her. Though antagonisms are not perhaps so openly +virulent here as in Samoa, there is nevertheless such jealousy among the +traders that they often try to sneak out of harbour unknown to their +neighbours, and so we have just lost the chance of sending letters _viâ_ +Auckland by a fine vessel belonging to Godeffroy; but no one knew she +was going, till she actually sailed. + +We returned last night from the grand tour of this isle on the occasion +of King Pomare’s accession to the throne. Admiral Serre most kindly +arranged that I should be of the party, and really I do not think I ever +enjoyed an expedition so much in all my life. It was wonderful luck for +me just to have come in for so exceptional a chance; for, of course, +under no other circumstances could I have seen either the country or the +people to such advantage. It was really like a bit of a fairy tale, and +all fitted in so smoothly and naturally without the smallest trouble or +care of any sort, so far as I was concerned. In every respect it has +been a most delightful trip,—good weather, good roads, and most +agreeable company. I cannot tell you how often I longed to have you with +us (remembering how you love driving, and that carriages are an unknown +luxury in Fiji)! + +The admiral had a capital carriage and excellent horses, and such a +jovial great half-caste driver. And the broad grass drives along the +shore, generally skirting the sea or passing through the heavenly +orange-groves, are so delicious, and you glide along so silently through +ever-changing scenes of beauty. How you would have enjoyed it all! + +Besides the royal party and a few native chiefs, there were about twenty +French officers and the admiral’s excellent brass band, consisting of +twenty sailors, who have been trained and are kept well up to the mark +by M. D’Oncieue de la Battye, the admiral’s _chef d’étât-major_, who is +an excellent musician, and a most agreeable companion—which was +fortunate, as either he or M. Hardouin, the A.D.C., always occupied the +third seat in the carriage. Everything on the whole expedition was +admirably arranged; and although we were such a very large party, there +was always good accommodation provided, and everything was done +comfortably. + +Each district possesses a very large _cheferie_ or _fareo_,—_i.e._, a +very large native house built for public purposes—meetings, and the +accommodation of strangers. Like all the native houses here, they +consist chiefly of a heavy thatch roof, rounded at both ends, supported +on a mere framework of posts, and leaving the sides all open, save at +night, when they are screened in. They generally have good wooden +floors, often smooth enough to dance upon. + +The first of these at which we stopped was most beautifully decorated, +and tables spread for 300 persons, the chief’s family supplying that for +_les gros bonnets_—and each family in the district taking entire charge +of one table. At other places we found the feast spread in temporary +houses, but everywhere it was gracefully done. + +Our night quarters were also most comfortably arranged, and I was +especially charmed by the beds provided for us,—very large and soft, +stuffed with the silky tree-cotton; abundant pillows; real mosquito-nets +and light curtains, tied back with gay ribbons; and such pretty +coverlets of patchwork, really triumphs of art needlework. Those most in +favour have crimson patterns on a white ground, but the designs are +highly artistic. It seems that a Tahitian housewife prides herself on +her snowy linen and downy pillows—a very happy adaptation of foreign +customs. Whenever it was possible so to arrange it, Marau and I shared +the same room, which was a pleasant arrangement. + +Each morning our procession of fifteen wheeled vehicles started at 7 +A.M., preceded by native outriders carrying the gay district flag, which +made a pretty bit of colour as we passed through the green glades. A +drive of seven or eight miles brought us to our halting-point, where we +found masses of people assembled to sing _himènes_ of welcome, all, +however, dressed in black, relieved only by crowns and handkerchiefs of +yellow, or else a wreath or hat of snowy white bamboo or arrowroot +fibre, and in their hair soft plumes of snowy _reva-reva_,—a filmy +ribbon extracted from the cocoa-palm leaf. All the women were supposed +to have cut off their beautiful long black hair, as mourning for old +Queen Pomare; but happily a good many had only shammed, so now there is +no lack of glossy black tresses. Those, however, who affect deep +mourning, still wear black straw-hats trimmed with crape, and look most +lugubrious, their dark sallow complexions and raven hair giving them +such a very sombre appearance. + +All the women without exception have their dresses cut on the pattern of +the old English _sacques_ worn by our grandmothers—that is, a yoke on +the shoulders, from which the skirt falls to the feet, and trails +behind. The effect is very easy and graceful, and it is a matter of deep +congratulation that the dress in fashion in Europe at the period when +Tahiti adopted foreign garments, should have been one so suitable. It +would be impossible to devise a cooler dress, as it only touches the +neck, shoulders, and (very loosely) the arms. The one under-garment is +low-necked, short-sleeved, and of such a length as to form a sweeping +skirt, thus combining chemise and petticoat. Shoes and stockings are of +course superfluous. + +Having halted and feasted at the morning district, we started again +about two o’clock, drove seven or eight miles further, always through +lovely country, and so reached our night quarters, where we were again +received by assembled multitudes and congratulatory _himènes_. Then the +band played, as it had done at our noonday halt, to the great delight of +the people; and we strolled about, and bathed in some clear crystalline +stream, reassembling for a great native feast, which, however, was +served European fashion, as each district possesses its own crockery, +glass, knives, forks, spoons, &c. The admiral provided French wines and +bread. + +Then followed more _himène_ singing; while we sat listening, entranced, +either in the great house, or on the beautiful sea-shore, in the perfect +moonlight. _Himènes_ are a new sensation in music, utterly +indescribable—the strangest, wildest, most perplexing chants; very +musical and varied, quite impossible to catch. They are a curious and +fascinating sort of glee-chorus, in which every one seems to introduce +any variations he fancies, but always in perfect tune, and producing a +combination like most melodious cathedral chimes—rising and falling in +rippling music, and a droning undertone sounding through it all. The +whole air seems full of musical voices perfectly harmonised—now in +unison, now heard singly; one moment lulled to softest tones, then +swelling in clear ringing melody; voices now running together, now +diverging. The singers compose their own words, which sometimes describe +the most trivial details of passing events, sometimes are fragments of +most sacred hymns—according to the impulse of the moment. Perhaps this +last fact gives us a clue to the origin of the word _hymn-ene_; though I +fancy that the words sung are often those of older and less seemly songs +than the hymns taught by the early missionaries. + +This is an outline of what has been our daily life for the last ten +days. All has gone off without a single drawback, and it has been a +spell of thorough enjoyment: nothing could exceed the kindness of every +one, whether French or Tahitian. I think that of all the lovely isles I +have visited, these certainly deserve the palm. Tahiti is a miniature of +Ceylon, omitting all the great hideous coffee districts in the interior +(districts made hideous by denudation—the glorious primeval forests +having been ruthlessly sacrificed to make way for gold-producing crops). + +The lovely hills and valleys of Tahiti and Moorea have only gained in +beauty by the introduction of the fruit-bearing trees, which now form a +most important feature in the general wealth of foliage—the dense +thickets of orange-trees having all grown from those brought from Sydney +by Mr Henry, one of the early missionaries. Strangely enough, the most +healthy trees are those which have grown self-sown from the seed thrown +about carelessly by the natives, when they retired to some quiet valley +to brew their orange-rum in secret. These trees have thriven far better +than those much cared for, and transplanted. + +The splendid mango-trees, whose mass of dark foliage is now so prominent +a feature on all sides, were introduced less than twenty years ago by +the French, who have taken infinite trouble to procure all the very best +sorts, and have succeeded to perfection. + +But the special charm of these isles lies in the multitude of their +streams and rivulets. We calculated that in driving round Tahiti—a +distance of 160 miles—we crossed 150 streams, all clear as crystal. +Several of these are large rivers; and all have enchanting pools, most +tempting to bathers. + +The general form of the main isle is that of a double gourd—a large +circle divided by a rocky ridge from a small one, the centre being +composed of a tumbled wilderness of mountains rising to a height of 7000 +feet. Precipitous crags, pinnacles, and narrow ridges of black volcanic +rock, which the natives themselves never care to scale, tower in grand +forms at the head of each of the countless richly wooded valleys, to all +of which we looked up from the sea-level. There was only one point where +we rose to any height—namely, the rocky ridge which connects the +peninsula with the main isle. + +I must not write more at present lest I should lose the mail. Next week, +if all is well, the Seignelay is to take the royal party across to +beautiful Moorea, there to repeat the pleasures of the last fortnight on +a smaller scale. And very soon after our return thence, Mrs Brander +intends to despatch one of her large vessels to Honolulu to fetch +cattle, and I purpose taking passage by her, hoping that I shall thus +have time to see something of the Sandwich Isles, and there find letters +from you, with such definite plans as shall guide me whether to meet you +in Australia or New Zealand about Christmas. You will scarcely venture +to keep the children in Fiji any later in the hot season.—With all +loving greetings, yours ever, + + C. F. G. C. + + + + + CHAPTER XIII. + THE ROYAL PROGRESS ROUND TAHITI—LIFE DAY BY DAY—HIMÈNES—A BEAUTIFUL + SHORE—MANUFACTURE OF ARROWROOT FLOWERS—A DESERTED COTTON + PLANTATION—TAHITIAN DANCING—THE AREOIS—VANILLA PLANTATIONS—FORT OF + TARAVAO. + + + PAEA, TAHITI, _Monday, Oct. 15, 1877_. + +DEAREST NELL,—We have had a long and most interesting day, and I am +pretty well tired out. Still I must begin a journal letter to-night, as +we start again at daybreak, and I am sure you will wish for a detailed +account of our trip. + +This morning at 8 A.M. we started on the _grand tour de l’île_. All the +luggage of the party had been sent on ahead in heavy _fourgons_, as had +also the band of the Magicienne, consisting of twenty sailors, in a +couple of _char à bancs_. Tahitian outriders, carrying the flag of the +district, preceded Ariiaue, now King Pomare V., who led our procession, +in a high dogcart, accompanied by his brother Tamatoa, and his little +nephew Hinoi, son of the late Prince Joinville. Then followed Admiral +Serre, M. Hardouin, the A.D.C., and myself, in a comfortable open +carriage, and capital horses. Queen Marau came next, with her lovely +little sister Manihinihi, and Moë’s child, Terii-Mae-Vaetua, who is next +in the succession. Sundry and divers vehicles followed, containing about +twenty French officers, Mr Barff as interpreter, and Joseph Miller. + +The weather was perfect—not too hot; a brisk trade-wind brought the sea +roaring and tumbling in heavy breakers on the coral-reef, about a mile +from the shore, where our road skirted the calm lagoon, so blue and +peaceful and still. We drove through districts which seemed like one +vast orchard of mango, bread-fruit, banana, _faes_, large orange-trees, +lemons, guavas, citrons, papawas, vanilla, coffee, sugar-cane, maize, +and cocoa-palm,—together forming a succession of the very richest +foliage it is possible to conceive. Sometimes we amused ourselves by +counting such few trees as are not fruit-bearing. Here and there the +broad grass roads are edged with avenues of tall plantains,—very +handsome in a dead calm, but too delicate to endure the rough wooing of +these riotous trade-winds, which tear the huge leaves to ribbons, so +that the avenues are apt to have a _disjasket_ look. + +Even the commonest crops are attractive,—the Indian corn and the sugar, +each growing to a height of eight or ten feet, with long leaves like +gigantic grass, and pendent tassels of delicate pink silk. + +We halted at various points, where deputations had assembled to welcome +the king, and about eleven o’clock reached Punavia,—a lovely spot on the +sea-shore, at the mouth of a beautiful valley, above which towers Le +Diadème (that same crown-shaped mountain which I told you is so grand as +seen from Fautawa valley). + +Of course I had not failed to bring my large sketching-blocks; and, +thanks to the kindness of Mr Green, I had been able to replace my +mildewed paper by a store of French paper, sold by the Government +offices at Papeete as unfit for use; but to me, after long experience of +Fijian mildew, it proved an unspeakable prize. M. Fayzeau, himself a +graceful artist, helped me quickly to select the very best spot for a +sketch,—from near a ruined French fort on the shore. Two small forts, +further up the valley recalled the days when Tahiti made her brave but +unavailing struggle for independence. + +Ere long we were summoned to breakfast,—a native feast in a native +house, which was decorated in most original style, with large patchwork +quilts. These are the joy and pride of the Tahitian women, and so +artistic in design as to be really ornamental. + +To speak correctly, I should call this repast a _faamuraa_—_i.e._, +a feeding: our fish should have been wrapped in plantain-leaves, +and broiled on the embers; the pigs baked on hot stones in earth +ovens, where the peeled bread-fruit and bunches of _faes_, or +mountain-plantain, should likewise have been cooked; and the only +salt provided should have been a little sea-water in a cocoa-nut +shell. But Tahiti has gone ahead so fast, that I cannot answer for +how things are done nowadays. I know that, instead of vegetable +plates—_i.e._, layers of large round hybiscus-leaves—we ate off +foreign plates, with knives and forks of best electro-plate, and +drank our red wine from clearest crystal glasses, and snowy +napkins were not forgotten. + +There was a considerable consumption of raw fish, which is considered a +very great delicacy, and one for which many foreigners acquire a strong +liking. There is no accounting for tastes. King Ariiaue, who takes great +care of me at meals, has been trying to teach me this enjoyment, and on +my objecting, declares it is mere prejudice, as of course I eat oysters +raw—we might almost say alive. To this I can answer nothing, well +remembering the savage delight with which we have often knocked our own +oysters off rocks and branches, and swallowed them on the instant! But +then they are so small, and some of these fish are very large. Perhaps +one’s instinctive objection is to their size. Those most in favour are +of a most exquisite green colour. + +During breakfast, and afterwards, the glee-singers of the district sang +_himènes_, which are the national music—most strange and beautiful +part-songs. Afterwards dancing was suggested; but only a few men +volunteered to show us the _Upa-upa_—_i.e._, the old national +dance—which is merely an exceedingly ungraceful wriggle, involving +violent exertion, till every muscle quivers, and the dancer retires +panting, and in a condition of vulgar heat. It is the identical dance +which we saw at the Arab wedding at Port Said, and in various other +countries—always an unpleasant exhibition. Happily the band struck up +some gay air, which delighted the people; and it continued to play till +four o’clock, when our procession again formed, and another lovely drive +along the shore brought us to Paea. + +This is a charmingly situated hamlet of clean, comfortable houses, only +divided from the white coral-sand by a belt of green turf and fine old +iron-wood trees. Here our night quarters were assigned to us; and +certainly we are in clover. I am now sitting in “my own room”—one of +four good bed-rooms, opening off a large centre room,—all fresh and +clean, and gay with bright quilts and snowy linen. The king and queen, +and all the officers, and the band, have their quarters in different +houses. + +But the pride of the district is its very large house for public +entertainment,—a long building, rounded at both ends like the Tongan +houses, with heavy thatch, and very light bamboo sides, quite +transparent. Here dinner was laid, in European style, for 300 guests,—an +upper table at one end, where the chiefs of the district entertained the +royal party. Other tables were ranged down each side of the +building,—each family in the neighbourhood undertaking to provide for +one, and there assemble their own friends. The whole great building is +beautifully decorated in Tahitian style, with palm-leaves and +tree-ferns, and festoons of deep fringe, made of hybiscus fibre, all +dyed either yellow or white: there must be _miles_ of this fringe on +that house. Yellow is happily admitted in Court mourning; so the +majority of the people have either a yellow neck-tie, or some yellow +flowers in their hats—a symptom of mitigated affliction, to express the +pleasure that now mingles in their grief for the good queen. + +“Le Roi est mort,—Vive le Roi!” + +But everywhere we find all the people clothed in long black robes, with +black hats and cropped hair, instead of the customary bright colours, +long glossy tresses, and gay wreaths. Here, even the district flag-staff +is adorned with a deep fringe of black fibre. + +We went to dinner in most orthodox fashion, the admiral conducting +Marau, and Ariiaue taking me. The feast was warranted to be entirely _à +l’indigène_,—all native dishes; but its great charm consisted in the +table decorations, which were most ingenious and effective. Apparently +each table had a series of white marble centre-vases, which, on close +inspection, proved to be graduated lumps of the thick fleshy +banana-stalk. In these were arranged all manner of artificial flowers, +made of coloured leaves, or of the glossy white arrowroot fibre, or +bamboo fibre, which are used in making wreaths and hats; and from some +there floated a silvery plume of the lightest silky film, like fairy +ribbons. This is the snowy _reva-reva_, extracted from the interior of +young cocoa-palm leaves—a difficult operation, requiring the neatest +hand and long practice. As yet, I cannot produce more than a few inches +unbroken. The worker keeps a split stick, stuck in the ground beside +her, and into its cleft fastens one end of each ribbon as she peels it, +otherwise the faintest breath of air would blow it away. It is the +loveliest gossamer you can imagine. + +At the end of the feast Tamatoa gave the example of adorning his own hat +and those of his neighbours with these lovely plumes, and all the pretty +arrowroot and bamboo flowers. Then we adjourned to the grassy shore, and +watched the clear full moon rise from the calm sea, while the +glee-singers sang their soft beautiful choruses. A few men and one or +two women began the same hideous dance with which they had favoured the +company in the forenoon, but they met with small encouragement, and the +singers carried the day—or rather the night. + +I wish it were possible for me to describe Tahitian _himènes_ so as to +give you the faintest shadow of an idea of their fascination. But the +thing is utterly impossible. Nothing you have ever heard in any other +country bears the slightest resemblance to these wild exquisite glees, +faultless in time and harmony, though apparently each singer introduces +any variations that occur to him or her. + +The musicians sit on the grass—or the mats, as the case may be,—in two +divisions, arranged in rows so as to form two squares. A space is left +between these where the “conductor,” should there chance to be one, +walks up and down, directing the choruses. But very often there is no +leader, and apparently all sing according to their own sweet will. One +voice commences: it may be an old native tune, with genuine native words +(the meaning of which we had better not inquire), or it may be a +Scriptural story versified, and sung to an air originally imported from +Europe, but so completely Tahitianised that no mortal could recognise +it, which is all in its favour; for the wild melodies of this isle are +beyond measure fascinating. + +After one clause of solo, other voices strike in—here, there, +everywhere—in harmonious chorus. It seems as if one section devoted +themselves to pouring forth a rippling torrent of Ra, ra, ra-ra-ra! +while others burst into a flood of La, la, la-la-la! Some confine their +care to sound a deep booming bass in a long-continued drone, somewhat +suggestive (to my appreciative Highland ear) of our own bagpipes. Here +and there high falsetto notes strike in, varied from verse to verse, and +then the choruses of La and Ra come bubbling in liquid melody; while the +voices of the principal singers now join in unison, now diverge as +widely as it is possible for them to do, but all combine to produce the +quaintest, most melodious, rippling glee that ever was heard. Some +_himènes_ have an accompaniment of measured hand-clapping, by hundreds +of those present. It is curious in its way, chiefly as a triumph of +perfect time, but I do not think it attractive. The clear mellifluous +voices need no addition; and as they ring out suddenly and joyously, in +the cool evening, I can imagine no sound more inspiriting. + +To-night our party received a pleasant addition, the queen’s two +sisters, Moetia and Prie, having driven over from Papeete, on their way +to join their mother, Mrs Salmon, who, as high chiefess of the next +district, is to receive her daughter to-morrow morning. + +All the time I have been writing to you, there have been occasional +bursts of _himène_ singing, and of the far less musical accompaniment of +the _Upa-upa_; but now quiet reigns, so I may as well sleep while I can. +Good-night. + + MATAIEA, PAPEOORIRI, _Tuesday, 16th_. + +This morning we were all astir at 5 A.M., and had early coffee on the +cool verandah. All the luggage was started by 6 o’clock, and then I had +a quiet hour’s sketching from beneath one of the great iron-wood trees +(_casuarina_). At 7 o’clock our procession started; every one cheery and +good-tempered; on every side hearty greetings—“_Yarra na! Yarra na!_” +and sounds of careless laughter, and merry voices. There is certainly a +great charm in this pretty liquid language, and in the gentle +affectionate manner of the people, who seem to be overflowing with +genial kindliness. + +As usual, our path lay through such bowers of endlessly varied foliage +as to form one continuous panorama of delight. No painter’s brush could +produce such infinite shades of green as are here multiplied,—from the +delicate tender hues of the silky young banana-leaves, ranging through +every description of dark-green and bright-green, blue-green and sunlit +yellow, till the eye is fain to rest on the sombre hair-like foliage of +the iron-wood trees, which grow on the very brink of the sea, their long +tresses literally drooping to the water. + +We passed through plantations of coffee, not close-clipped as in Ceylon, +but growing tall and rank, and overshadowed by cocoa-palms, yet loaded +with bright scarlet berries. The coffee shrubs are here made to do +double duty, and serve as props for the vanilla, which is trained to +creep all over them, its fragrant pods intermingling with the coffee +cherries. + +The broad road of soft green turf next led us through groves of +luxuriant bread-fruit trees with large pale-green fruit, dark +mango-trees and orange-trees alike laden with their half-ripe crop, and +here and there we passed a fragrant rose-apple tree, the fruit of which +tastes exactly like the scent of roses. But of all heavenly perfumes, +commend me to the blossom of the Tahitian chestnut, a noble forest-tree, +with rich dark foliage, standing out in strong relief from the cool +grey-greens of the hybiscus, with the lemon-coloured blossoms, which +clothes the base of the mountains. + +Beyond that belt of cool shadow the great green hills tower in strange +fantastic form, seamed by deep valleys, down which pour crystal streams, +so numerous that the sparkling air seems to re-echo the musical voice of +many waters. Every weird fantastic rock-pinnacle is draped by clinging +vines, infinite in their variety, and all alike lovely; and the clear +sunlight playing on the golden green of the mountain-summits, tells that +even there, the same wealth of all things beautiful abounds. + +This was the panorama that rose on our left hand as we drove along the +shore. On our right, like a silver shield, lay the calm glittering +lagoon, reflecting, as in a mirror, the grand masses of white cloud, and +bounded by the long line of breakers, flashing as they dashed on the +barrier-reef. Beyond these lay outspread the vast Pacific, its deep +purple flecked with white crests, telling how briskly the trade-winds +blew outside. And far on the horizon, the rugged peaks of Moorea rose, +clear and beautiful, robed in ethereal lilac. Far above our heads the +light fronds of the cocoa-palm interlaced, forming a fairy canopy, +through which we looked up to the clearest blue heaven. I think it must +be a cold unthankful heart that could so look up, without some echo of +the _Benedicite_— + + “O ye mountains and hills, O ye seas and floods, O all ye green things + upon the earth, + Bless ye the Lord! praise Him and magnify Him for ever.” + +Two hours’ drive brought us to Papara, where a very grand reception +awaited the young king and queen. Mrs Salmon, the queen’s mother, had +assembled all her vassals in most imposing array; and a double row of +_himène_ singers lined the road, singing choruses of congratulation, +taken up alternately on the right hand and on the left. The effect was +very pretty. Many relations of the family had also assembled to greet +their royal kinsfolk. + +Very quaint handsome _tiputas_ were presented to the king and the +admiral. These are ceremonial garments, reaching from the neck to the +knee, made from the fibre of bread-fruit bark, and covered with flowers +and twists of the glossy arrowroot fibre, each stitched on separately. +To the queen, the admiral, and myself, were presented most lovely crowns +of the same silvery arrowroot; while for the gentlemen were provided +garlands and necklaces of fragrant white or yellow blossoms, and +charming hats of white bamboo fibre, manufactured by the ladies and +their attendants. + +I may as well tell you how the lovely arrowroot fibre is obtained. It is +the inner coating of the flower-stalk, which is a hollow stem like that +of hemlock, and grows to a height of about four feet. These stalks are +soaked in running water till the green outer skin begins to decay. Then +the stalk is laid on a flat wooden board, and a woman slits it open from +end to end with a sharp shell, with which she then proceeds to scrape +off every particle of green, and there remains a lovely ribbon, like +very glossy white satin, ribbed longitudinally: with a sharp thorn she +divides this into very narrow strips. And this is the material most in +use in the art-world of Tahiti, being woven by deft fingers into all +manner of pretty ornaments for hair, dress, and fans. Bamboo is prepared +in much the same manner, but is a harsher material to work, and much +less ornamental. + +The house at Papara, and the large breakfast-room, were most tastefully +decorated with great tree-ferns and bright yellow banana-leaves, plaited +to form a sort of fringe. Wild melodious _himènes_ were sung all the +time of the feast, and afterwards the band played operatic airs till 3 +o’clock, when we once more started on our journey. + +In this district much cultivation has impaired the beauty of wild +nature. Large tracts of land have been laid out for scientific planting +of cotton and coffee; and after all, the fields have been abandoned, the +crops left to run wild, and are now rank straggling bushes struggling +for life with the overmastering vines. In itself the cotton is a pretty +shrub, its yellow blossom with claret-coloured heart closely resembling +the lemon-coloured hybiscus, while its bursting pods offer their soft +white fluff to all comers. But a softer, silkier cotton for stuffing +pillows, is that obtained from the tall cotton-tree, with the scarlet +blossom and long green pod. + +We halted at the melancholy deserted plantation of Atiamano, which in +very recent years was the home of the manager for the Tahiti Cotton and +Coffee Plantation Company—a reckless speculator with the capital +intrusted to him. Never was there a truer illustration of the proverb +concerning cutting broad thongs from other men’s leather. + +Mr William Stewart, an ex-cavalry officer, arrived in Tahiti about the +year 1860, and obtained the sanction of the French governor for the +purchase of a very large property, to which he gave the name of Terre +Eugénie, and at once commenced every species of improvement. First-class +roads, high cultivation, hotels which never paid, because of the +princely hospitality freely offered to all comers in his own splendid +country-house;—these, with his genial friendliness and good fellowship, +naturally made him the most popular man in Tahiti, and one whose praises +have been sung by all travellers. To work the estates he imported about +1000 Chinamen, and 300 “foreign labour” from the Central Pacific and the +Hervey Isles; and to those he is said to have been a kind master, caring +for them in sickness as in health, by the provision of good hospitals. + +Of course there were not lacking enemies who grudged Mr Stewart his +apparent success, and many were the virulent attacks made upon him by +other settlers in the group. Specimens of very inferior cotton were +circulated in Europe, purporting to be samples of the finest growth of +Atiamano; and sensational paragraphs appeared in various American +papers, describing the infamous cruelties of which he and his overseers +were declared guilty towards their wretched labourers. So damaging were +these attacks, that Mr Stewart demanded a public inquiry, which was +granted by the French Governor, when all these accusations were proved +to be iniquitous libels. The little army of 1300 workmen were found to +be unusually healthy and happy; and the only serious complaint made to +the commissioners was by the Chinamen, who considered it most unfair of +Mr Stewart to object to their committing suicide by hanging, as the +easiest way of paying their gambling debts! + +This cloud of aspersions having been effectually disproved, everything +looked fair on the surface till, in an evil day, the shareholders began +to take alarm. No title-deeds were forthcoming. All capital had +evaporated utterly, and in 1874 the luckless manager died miserably, and +the great bubble burst. Now the whole place is falling to ruin, and a +more miserable sight I have rarely seen. A certain number of the +Chinamen still remain—they, of course, can always contrive to pick up a +living somehow—but the bulk of the large village of wooden houses, once +tenanted by master and men, now stands empty, the plantation is utterly +neglected, the cotton-fields are all overgrown with guava scrub, and the +whole place is a picture of desolation; nothing flourishes save the long +avenue of plantains, which, Tahiti fashion, are planted on either side +of the road. + +It seems strange that no enterprising person should have stepped in to +buy up the estate which, at the time of Mr Stewart’s death, was in such +good working order; but, like everything else in this country, it has +suffered from the meddling propensities of the French Government, which, +when the estate was declared bankrupt, fixed on it an upset price so +exorbitant, that no purchaser has yet been found, nor is any likely to +come forward. + +We have now got into the true orange country. Some of the trees here are +much larger than the parent trees, which we saw near Sydney; and yet, as +compared with the orange-groves of Malta, we thought the Australian +trees were perfect giants—that is to say, we could walk upright under +their lowest branches. The whole air is perfumed with the fragrant +blossoms, and boughs have been gathered to adorn our rooms. + +Here, though the dining-hall is as fine as in other districts, the +sleeping quarters are less inviting, so Marau offered me a room in the +house assigned to her. Being a native house (_i.e._, not built of wood, +as many now are), it is rather like living in a bamboo cage, exceedingly +airy and transparent; but it is lined with temporary curtains, so we are +screened from the general public. This afternoon we strolled along the +coast till we found a most delightful bathing-place, where the Anapu, a +clear delicious river, flows into the sea. The two pretty girls, +Manihinihi and Vaetua, of course bore us company, as also the queen’s +handmaid, who was laden with _pareos_ and towels; the _pareo_ being +simply a couple of fathoms of bright-coloured calico, which, knotted +over one shoulder, forms an efficient and picturesque bathing-gown. + +We returned just in time for such a fish-dinner as Greenwich never +equalled. Fish of all sorts and kinds (cooked and raw to suit all +tastes), excellent lobsters and crabs, huge fresh-water prawns, delicate +little oysters, which grow on the roots and branches of the mangrove, +which fringes some muddy parts of the shore. But most excellent of all +is another product of the briny mud, altogether new to me—a hideous but +truly delicious white cray-fish (_cankrelat de mer_, my French friends +call it, _varo_ or _wurrali_ in Tahitian). We have all registered a +solemn vow never to lose a chance of a _varo_ feast. Then there were +shell-fish and salads, and many other good things. The tables were +decorated in a manner quite in keeping with the dishes served, with +pillars of white banana root-stem, just like alabaster, with a fringe of +large prawns at the top, and a frieze of small lobsters below—a very +effective study of scarlet and white. + +After the feast we all sat out in the moonlight, listening to the +_himène_ singing, which, I need scarcely say, was lovely. But of course +some districts excel, and have finer voices, more practice, and a better +conductor. + +I have just been told that we are only thirty-five miles from Papeete. +We have taken the journey in such enjoyably short stages, that we have +certainly made the most of our distance. Now we are approaching the +southern peninsula, which is connected with this, the main isle, by a +comparatively low wide ridge. This we are to cross to-morrow. + + ON THE PENINSULA, TARAVOU, + _Wednesday, 17th_. + +This morning at daybreak the admiral went off to attend Mass, and then +examine the schools. He seems inclined to administer very even-handed +justice between the Catholics and Protestants, which does not greatly +gratify some of the priests. We spent the morning pleasantly strolling +about the village of bird-cage houses embowered in the orange-groves, +and gay with rosy oleanders and crimson hybiscus. + +At eight we started. The weather was threatening; and soon heavy rain +came on, which mocked our waterproofs, and gave us a thorough soaking, +which we all bore philosophically, only regretting that we drove through +a most lovely ferny pass at a moment when all our umbrellas were +striving to exclude the rain, in which they failed, and only succeeded +in hiding the view. + +Near the village of Papeari we found all the children of the Catholic +school, headed by a very pleasant, keen-looking young priest, drawn up +with the _himène_ singers to welcome the king and the admiral. Of course +they were all drenched, but none the less musical. At the head of the +singers stood Marau’s aunt, Minito, a true Tahitian chiefess, sister to +Mrs Salmon, and widow of Mr Sumner, a Sandwich Island half-white. + +The rain having ceased, we all walked together to Mrs Sumner’s house, +where we were partially dried—no fear of fever in this blessed climate. +We then proceeded to the large _cheferie_, where breakfast was prepared +in the usual style—the house prettily decorated with flags, tree-ferns, +and plaited cocoa-palm leaves. The tables were all adorned with +ornaments made of the solid white banana-stalk, in which were set +branches of thorny lemon, and on each thorn were stuck different +blossoms, scarlet or yellow hybiscus, canna, and gardenia. “When we were +seated, women came round bearing garlands of the delicate artificial +arrowroot flowers, and crowned every one of us. Many of the party had +already secured filmy plumes of the snowy _reva-reva_; and the majority +of the women, following the good example of Marau, no longer pretend to +have cut off their beautiful hair, but now wear it in two long jet-black +tresses, adorned with gardenias or such other fragrant blossoms as they +may find. With flowers as necklaces and ear-rings, the Court mourning is +becoming less lugubrious. + +After breakfast, _himènes_ as usual, with interludes of most hideous +dancing. There is never any variety, always the same utterly ungraceful +wriggle. Happily the band generally comes to the rescue, with some +attractive air, which puts the dancers to flight. There never seem to be +more than two or three, and these do it as a professional exhibition—as +a curious relic of olden times. + +It does seem strange (accustomed as I now am to the endlessly varied and +most graceful dances of the Fijians) to find that these Tahitians have +apparently no notion of dancing, except this _Upa-upa_, which for many +years was discountenanced by the chiefs, in their first anxiety to put +away every trace of heathenism. But under French influence it has been +revived; and though the more respectable natives consider it an +objectionable exhibition, and one in which few care to join, a certain +number of dancers crop up at every village where we halt: their +position, however, appears to be no higher than that of strolling +jugglers at English fairs. + +In heathen days the _Upa-upa_ was the distinguishing dance of an +atrocious sect called the Areois—religious fanatics and libertines of +the vilest order, who were held in reverent awe by the people, and +allowed every sort of privilege. They travelled from village to village +in very large companies, sometimes filling from fifty to eighty canoes. +Whenever they landed great sacrifices were offered to the gods; and for +so long as they chose to remain in one place, they were the honoured +guests of the chief, and had to be provided for by the villagers, whom +they entertained by acting pantomimes and reciting legends of the very +unholy gods, singing songs in their honour, wrestling, gesticulating, +and dancing, till they worked themselves up to a pitch of frenzy which +was considered religious, and the night was spent in wild orgies. Their +full dress on these occasions generally consisted only of a little +scarlet and black dye; the seeds of the vermilion-plant and charcoal +furnishing the materials. At other times they wore kilts of the yellow +dracæna and wreaths of scarlet Barringtonia. + +They were divided into distinct classes, distinguished by the manner in +which they were tattooed. The lowest class had merely a circle round the +ankle; the next had one stripe on the left side; the third was marked on +each shoulder; the fourth on both sides, round the body; the fifth was +tattooed from the fingers to the shoulders, and the leaders were adorned +with stockings of the same. The imprinting of these indelible +class-marks was part of a religious festival, at which great offerings +of food and goods were presented to the gods, and to these their +servants, and on this one occasion women, were allowed freely to partake +of the feast, and to eat of the meat which had been offered in +sacrifice, which at other times they dared not touch without incurring +the penalty of death. + +The most horrible feature of this society was, that by its primary law +no Areoi was allowed to rear his offspring. Celibacy was by no means +enjoined—very much the reverse; indeed each Areoi had an acknowledged +wife, who was a member of the society: but of the innumerable children +of these favoured sinners, not one was ever suffered to live; and any +person desiring to enter the holy brotherhood, was required in the first +instance to murder any children he might already have. The sect was +supposed to have been divinely instituted, and its members were sure of +admission to the Rohutu _noa-noa_, or fragrant paradise, in which the +blessed were to spend an eternity of feasting, with every delight that +heart or flesh could desire. + +The total extinction of this society was one of the most marked triumphs +of Christianity in this group; and the early missionaries record with +thankful wonder, that many Areois were among their earliest and most +zealous converts and steady adherents, and became hard-working and +successful teachers and native missionaries, striving with their whole +energy to counteract the evils in which they had hitherto been prime +movers. + +Such being the associations connected with this most unattractive dance, +it certainly is strange to read the regrets, expressed by various +travellers, that the missionaries should have seen fit to discourage it, +as if in so doing they had deprived the people of some delightful +pleasure. It is a very different thing from the beautiful and artistic +dances of Fiji, which the Wesleyan Mission have so wisely encouraged the +people to retain, even at their school and church festivals. + +This afternoon was clear and bright, and the drive to the isthmus and +then up the ridge was very beautiful. Part of the road lay through a +real jungle of large orange-trees laden with ripe fruit. I need not say +how we feasted; as did also herds of many pigs, that wander at large +through these enchanting thickets, and find an ample supply of fruit +which falls unheeded on the grass—true windfalls! It is from these +groves that cargoes of several hundred thousand oranges are carried to +San Francisco by every opportunity. + +Imagine the joy of some poor ragged-school child, whose one treat is an +orange at Christmas, and whose home is in the slums of any of our +horrible cities, could it but wake to find itself in this elysium. I +remember Dr Guthrie’s ragged schools coming to spend one day at Winton +Castle with dear old Lady Ruthven, and the teachers told me that there +were many children present who had never before in their short lives set +foot in the country. Would that they could all be transported for a +while to the orange-groves of Tahiti! + +To-day we also passed some large vanilla plantations, in admirable +order. The vanilla is a creeper, and is planted at the foot of some +shady shrub, up which it climbs and twines among the branches. To +economise labour and space, two crops are combined, by training the +vanilla over either coffee-bushes or the vermilion-tree, which carries +its bright seeds in small pods. The vanilla itself is a precarious crop, +requiring much watchful care at each stage of its growth, which, +however, it well repays, as it fetches four dollars per pound. Moreover, +it is a fragrant harvest. + +This place is a military station; the French have a fort here, and some +soldiers. I believe that political offenders are sent to Taravou to +expiate their supposed misdeeds within its walls. M. de Damian, +commandant of the fort, had provided comfortable quarters for the +admiral and his party at his own house, and an excellent room was most +kindly assigned to me. Marau and Ariiaue have gone on to another +village, where we are to join them in the morning. + +The French soldiers here employ some of their leisure hours in the care +of a garden, which rewards them with excellent vegetables and glorious +roses. I had the delight of arranging delicious nosegays for the +dinner-table this evening, and have a lovely bunch of roses now beside +me. + +It is again raining heavily, but we rejoice thereat, for generally a +deluge of rain at night is followed by a clear balmy morning, and all +the lovely vegetation appears in its freshest glory. + +Now I must bid you good-night. + + + + + CHAPTER XIV. +THE ROYAL PROGRESS ROUND TAHITI (_continued_)—FRENCH FORT AT TARAVOU—THE + PENINSULA—LIFE IN BIRD-CAGE HOUSES—TORCHLIGHT PROCESSION—RETURN TO + PAPEETE. + + + PUEU, _Thursday, 18th_. + +We woke this morning to find this beautiful world bathed in sunshine, +and I slipped out for a lovely early stroll along the shore. There was a +great calm, the sea literally without a ripple, reflecting the mellow +tones of the sky. I followed a wide grass road passing through a cocoa +plantation—luxuriant young palms of all ages, the ground beneath them +carpeted with succulent grasses; a combination of fresh greens +delightful to the eye. I think the heavy rain must have driven all the +land-crabs out of their holes, for truly they were legion, and all were +busily feeding, till, aware of a footstep, they darted back to their +burrows. In some spots they clustered in such numbers that the whole +bank seemed in motion. Some of these are as large as a good Scotch +“parten;” but there are also a vast number of the tiny crab, with one +large bright-coloured claw, which love the muddy shore at the mouth of +the rivers, where you may see them by the thousand, feeding busily with +a tiny claw while holding the large one before them as a shield. +Evidently, however, they know discretion to be the better part of +valour, for at the faintest movement which reveals the approach of +danger they vanish into their mud-holes faster than the twinkling of an +eye. + +Our morning halt was at Afaahiti, a small village of which the king +himself is the chief, for which reason it had been arranged that he +should sleep there last night. We found Marau and the ladies of the +village stringing wreaths of sweet white blossoms, with which they +crowned themselves and us; and then we all adjourned to breakfast in a +bamboo house, decorated in the usual style with twisted and plaited +leaves, and deep fringes of dyed fibre. _Himènes_, of course,—and then, +while the band entertained the people, we, the unquiet spirits, wandered +down to explore the shore, which is overshadowed by large trees, beneath +which we found various kinds of large shells. + +At noon we drove on to Pueu, where we were welcomed by a very large +assemblage, and conducted to the _cheferie_ or district hall, really a +splendid room, with a beautiful floor: it is like a great ball-room. All +the dining-tables were set at one end, while nine very pretty beds, with +artistic crimson and white quilts, and mosquito-nets tied up with bright +ribbons, were ranged down one side of the room. I am ashamed to say that +we all took a most uncourteous fit of laughing; for really at the first +glimpse the row of beds seemed to multiply, and we fancied we were all +to occupy this one room; but we soon discovered that only the junior +officers were to share it, and that excellent quarters had been prepared +for us all in different houses. The best house of three rooms was +assigned to the admiral, his son, and myself; and here I am now cosily +ensconced for a chat with you. My room, which opens out into the +verandah, has no doors, so my black waterproof sheet and the green +tartan plaid, inseparable companion of all my wanderings east or west, +act as good curtains. + +This is a lovely place. In the afternoon we roamed through fragrant +orange-groves, and along the beautiful shore, and I managed to secure a +sketch of the village. As a matter of course there is a large Protestant +church, of which all the population are members, and a tiny Roman +Catholic chapel, without any congregation. + +An exceedingly pretty banquet awaited us in the large _cheferie_, after +which we strolled about in the lovely moonlight, while the village +choirs sang their melodious _himènes_. At a very short distance they +sound like full-toned cathedral chimes. + + _Chez_ M. DAMIAN, TARAVOU, + _Friday, 19th_. + +At grey dawn Queen Marau came to my room to early tea, and told me that +the house which had been assigned to her and the king was so purely +native, that they had no beds—only mats and pillows—no hardship in this +delightful climate, but a curious distribution of hospitality, when to +each young lieutenant had been assigned so luxuriant a couch. + +The drive along the peninsula was most lovely. Always by the broad green +road running close to the sea, and passing through richest foliage of +all sorts and forms; crossing crystalline streams which flowed down +beautiful glens, with great shapely hills on either side, and some +lonely peak towering at the head of the dark ravine. We came to one +broad river whence the view was so lovely that the admiral most kindly +decided to let one of the carriages wait while I sketched; an +arrangement highly satisfactory to its occupants, who went off for a +bathe in the clear delicious stream, while I stood on the bridge and +worked diligently till the last of our heavy baggage-carts came across, +and proved to be the last straw which that poor bridge could bear. An +ominous crack, then a crash, and the heavy _fourgon_ had broken through +the bridge, but happily rested on the strong cross timbers, and with +infinite trouble it was unloaded and raised. Then the bridge had to be +repaired, as we were to retrace the same road in the afternoon; when the +other end gave way and broke down, happily without doing serious damage. + +A short drive brought us to Tautira, a large, very pretty village, where +the men were playing at spear-throwing. This is the first place where we +have seen any sort of game played. The admiral, according to his custom, +inspected the schools, and pronounced a verdict not altogether +encouraging on the work of a young priest, who was setting the children +to such useful tasks as copying “mon âme est souillé de péchés!”[43] off +a large black slate; they being almost as ignorant of French as he of +Tahitian. The admiral discourages the teaching of French, especially to +the girls, rightly judging that such knowledge will prove by no means to +their moral weal. + +We were, as usual, most hospitably entertained with all the village +could give, of fish and fruit, flesh and fowl. Everywhere those +excellent white cray-fish, the _varo_, are our chief delicacy. Here and +there pine-apples are produced, but they are very poor, probably +uncultivated. The _himènes_ at Tautira were exceedingly pretty, and we +left that pleasant “world’s end” with much regret. The carriage-road +does not extend round the peninsula, so we had to return to the isthmus +to start afresh. We reached Taravou in time for dinner, and found the +roses beautiful as before. + + IN A NATIVE HOUSE, TEAHAUPOO, + _Saturday, 20th_. + +Early this morning we were once more _en route_, and drove to the other +side of the peninsula, which is, if possible, even lovelier than what we +saw yesterday. Marau and the king had preceded us to the village of +Vairao, where the ladies had employed the morning in preparing garlands +of a white flower, like jessamine, with which they crowned us. This +village is poor; so instead of receiving us in a fine district house, +the people had erected very picturesque booths on three sides of a +square. The chorus-singers were grouped on the grass in the centre, +where were also heaped up the usual ceremonial offerings of fruit and +pigs—apparently for show—as there is always an ample supply of food on +the tables. + +Here, in addition to the usual vegetables, yams, and _taro_, sweet +potatoes, bread-fruit, and _faees_ roasted in wood-ashes, we had +calabashes of sticky _poi_, which is a preparation of ripe bread-fruit, +greatly in favour with the natives, and which in old times was the +principal food of this island, as it still is in Hawaii. I do not think +it was ever used in the isles further west, where the bread-fruit is a +very inferior tree to what it is in this, its native home. Most of the +_poi_ which is consumed in Hawaii is made from _taro_, and is of a +pinkish colour. Here _taro_ is the luxury, bread-fruit the staff of +life, so it alone is used. When eaten fresh with milk it tastes rather +like gooseberry-fool; but the natives prefer it fermented, and +consequently sour. + +The pulpy fruit is first pounded with a stone pestle in a wooden bowl, +till it attains the consistency of dough. It is then wrapped in leaves +and baked in an earth-oven over red-hot stones. Finally, it is beaten up +with water till it becomes a glutinous yellowish mass, indescribably +sticky, and with a slightly acid flavour. + +To the initiated there is always a malicious pleasure in watching the +undignified efforts of a new hand at dipping into this dish; for of +course there are no spoons or forks in the question; and a stranger, +seeing the neatness with which an experienced hand feeds himself, is apt +to imagine that it is all plain sailing, and so plunges recklessly into +this most adhesive paste, probably with the result of lifting the whole +calabash, instead of the mouthful he expected. The correct method is to +dip the forefinger of the right hand in the bowl, and as you draw it out +smoothly coated with _poi_, give it a series of rapid twirls to prevent +its hanging in glutinous strings; then with a final flourish, to keep it +from dripping, land the finger in the mouth, and draw it back quite free +from the paste, and ready to repeat the process. Two or more persons +generally eat out of the same bowl, in which case they have cocoa-nut +shells of fresh water beside them in which to wash their finger before +dipping again in the _poi_; but it really does not much matter, as the +preparation is so very sticky that you must of necessity appropriate +every particle you touch, so you and your neighbour are in no danger of +exchanging atoms! as you would be, in sharing a bowl of well-chewed +_kava_. + +That beverage of the isles did not appear at this native feast; in fact +I have never seen it in Tahiti, and suppose it must have died out before +the superior attractions of orange-rum and similar decoctions. On the +present occasion, cocoa-nuts were the only drink, with the exception of +pure water. As regards the latter, I was much struck by an ingenious +substitute for water-jars. At every supporting post of the booths was +fastened an upright bamboo, perhaps twelve feet in length, and pierced +from end to end, only the lowest joint being left intact. Here a spigot +was introduced, and the bamboo being filled with water, supplied drink +for all the thirsty multitude. As drinking-cups, the people here still +use cocoa-nut cups, scraped very thin and polished by constant friction +on a stone in water, till they become as light, and almost as +transparent, as tortoise-shell. The _himènes_ here were the prettiest we +have yet heard, and you can understand that we are by this time quite +connoisseurs in this peculiar music. The _Upa-upa_ was danced with +unusual zest, but was none the less ungraceful. + +Another most exquisite drive brought us to Teahaupoo, where we wandered +about, lost in admiration, while the king and the admiral were +undergoing the usual official speeches. The feast this evening was +rather dull, being spread along one side of a very long and dimly +lighted table. Of course we always require artificial light for dinner, +as, in the tropics, the sun sets all the year round at about six +o’clock, rising at about the same hour in the morning. We often think +enviously of your long summer twilight. But then, on the other hand, we +have no short, dark, winter days. Again to-night the _himène_ singing +was unusually fascinating. It varies much, and the most charming glees +are those which are most suggestive of musical chimes. + +Queen Marau offered me quarters in the large native house awarded to her +and Ariiaue. It consisted of one large room without divisions, +containing several good beds, with the usual pretty bright quilts and +mosquito-nets. We curtained off one end of the room for the king and an +old chief, and they are now sleeping peacefully, as we should also be +doing—so good-night. + + TARAVOU, _Sunday, 21st_. + +Being a light sleeper, I was awakened long before dawn by hearing +Ariiaue and his companion astir, and soon after 4 A.M. they started for +Afaahiti, the king’s own village. The rain was pouring in a pitiless, +relentless fashion; and beat in beneath the wide eaves against the open +walls of our bird-cage house. Still we would fain have stayed where we +were, and reluctantly obeyed the order to be _en voiture_ at seven +o’clock, to return to the isthmus. The rain never ceased, and all the +beauty which gladdened us yesterday was invisible. Only sheets of grey +drifting cloud, and dripping trees, dripping carriages, horses, and +umbrellas. We left Marau at Afaahiti, while we drove on to these now +familiar quarters, where I have the luxury of a large, good room. Of +course we all arrived soaked, and have spent the day in trying to get +dry. I think most of the gentlemen have managed a few hours of sleep. + + IN THE CHEFERIE, MAHAENA, _Monday, 22d_. + +An early drive brought us to Hitiaa, the house of little Hinoi’s mother, +the pretty young widow of the Prince de Joinville. Everything here was +very gracefully done, and the festival as purely native as possible. +Here the severity of Court mourning was not mitigated, and all the women +wore crowns of fibre dyed black, which looked very sombre. + +Immediately after breakfast we started for Mahaena, preceded by a party +of six or eight picturesque lancers, who had formed part of old Queen +Pomare’s body-guard. They added a pleasant feature to the beautiful +scenery as they rode along the green glades, through the usual +successions of glorious foliage;—groves of magnificent bread-fruit +trees, indigenous to those isles; next a clump of noble mango-trees, +recently imported, but now quite at home; then a group of tall palms, or +a long avenue of gigantic bananas, their leaves, sometimes twelve feet +long, meeting over our heads. Then came patches of sugar or Indian corn, +and next a plantation of vanilla, trained to climb over closely planted +tall coffee, or else over vermilion-bushes. Sometimes it is planted, +without more ado, at the root of pruned guava bushes. These grow wild +over the whole country, loaded with large, excellent fruit, and, +moreover, supply the whole fuel of the isles, and good food for cattle. +They are all self-sown,—descendants of a few plants introduced as garden +fruit trees,—and now they have overrun the isles and are looked upon by +the planters as a curse, because of the rapidity and tenacity with which +they take possession of any patch of neglected land. Yet a plant which +so generously yields food for man and beast, and abundant fuel, is +surely not altogether evil! Amongst all this wealth of food-producing +vegetation, I sometimes looked in vain for any trees that were merely +ornamental; and literally there were only the yellow hybiscus, which +yields the useful fibre, and the candle-nut, covered with clusters of +white blossoms, somewhat resembling white lilac, and bearing nuts with +oily kernels, whence the tree derives its name. + +The method of manufacturing candles from candle-nuts is delightfully +simple. First the nuts are lightly baked, to render their very hard +shell more brittle; the kernels are thus obtained whole, and a hole +being bored in each, about a dozen are strung together on the mid-rib of +a palm-leaf, which acts as the wick, and the oily nuts, each the size of +a walnut, burn slowly with a dim light and oppressive smell. + +On our arrival here, we were met by a messenger from Papeete, announcing +an outbreak of a serious form of influenza, from which the king’s aunt +died this morning. This is a great grief to the royal brothers, who at +once started to attend her funeral. Ties of family affection appear to +be very strong in Tahiti, and this sad news has cast a gloom on +everything. It is very grievous for our hosts, who had made their +preparations with great care, and were looking forward to this +opportunity of testifying their loyalty. + +The river here is lovely. Marau and I bathed together, and I spent the +afternoon sketching. During the evening _himènes_, we all sat in +pleasant groups on the shore, or strolled along to the mouth of the +river. For our night quarters, this large district house has been +divided by temporary screens, charmingly decorated with quaintly knotted +palm-leaves and tree-ferns. I share one of these divisions with the +queen, the admiral and his son occupy the next, and all the other +gentlemen have disposed of themselves at the further end. + + PAPENOO, _Tuesday, 23d_. + +Last night, for the first time, we were all devoured by fleas, and a +chorus of aggravation arose from all sides of the pretty _cheferie_. +Everything was beautifully clean, so we attribute the presence of these +unwelcome intruders to the fact that the hay, which is always laid as a +carpet on the wooden floor, must have been too old. + +We all compared notes of distress over our morning coffee—then, as +usual, forgot all save the beauty of the scenery as we drove along the +shore to Tiarei, where a temporary avenue of _faees_, or wild banana, +had been planted with infinite trouble and at a great sacrifice of fine +fruit-bearing plants. The peculiarity of the _faees_[44] is, that +instead of carrying its huge cluster of fruit pendent, beneath its broad +leaves, it carries it upright in the centre. The _faees_ invariably grow +in the most inaccessible ravines and crevices of the rock; so it must +have been a troublesome task to carry these down, without injury to the +large delicate leaves. + +We were welcomed by a large family of chiefs, and specially by a kind +old lady, who kissed us all on both cheeks, down to M. Hardouin, A.D.C., +when Marau’s untimely laughter stopped her proceeding to the remaining +eighteen officers! Though the absence of the king must have made it +rather flat for the chiefs, the official speeches were made to the +admiral, and the _himènes_ sung as usual. + +Then followed a most lovely drive, the road cut along the face of +basaltic cliffs, and here we are close to another very fine river, which +of course implies pleasant bathing and sketching. This evening we had a +delightful stroll along the shore, the wavelets breaking on a pebbly +beach. At the last moment, the moon rose glorious from the sea—a vision +of great beauty. + +We are very comfortably housed to-night in the chief’s own house. Marau +and I occupy one end, and his family have the other. + + _Chez_ REV. JAMES GREEN, PAPEETE, _Oct. 25th_. + +Late last night we returned to headquarters, and I to this pleasant +nest, very glad of the prospect of a few days’ rest. Yesterday was a +long day, for I was out sketching with the first ray of light, and +worked till it was time to start for the Haapepe district, of which the +king’s brother, Terii Tapunui is chief. He is distressingly lame, but is +a very good fellow, with a particularly nice wife, a cousin of the +charming Moë. She is noted for her skill in making pretty hats. They +received us at Point Venus, so called because Captain Cook thence +observed the transit of Venus in 1769. + +Pomare and Tamatoa rejoined the party after returning from their aunt’s +funeral; and the three brothers spent the afternoon together by +themselves—a wise course, as Tamatoa had striven so hard to drown his +grief, that he had attained a jocose-beatific condition, very annoying +to the king, who all this time has been a model of sobriety, greatly to +the delight of the admiral. + +This quiet little village presents the usual anomaly of a very large +Roman Catholic church without a congregation, standing close to the +original congregational church. The latter is a large cool building, in +which I gladly took refuge to escape from noise and heat; for several +friends who had driven down from Papeete to meet us, were so delighted +to find a smooth carpet, that they commenced dancing immediately after +late breakfast, and kept it up merrily all the afternoon. + +When the heat began to subside I found my way to the great lighthouse, +where the French officials were most obliging, and did the honours of +their lofty tower with all courtesy. From the summit there is a grand +view of mountains, including Orofena, which is the highest point of +Tahiti—height 7336 feet. At our feet lay the village, concealed by a sea +of waving palms, only their crowns visible, and rippling like running +water as the light breeze passed over them. It was a splendid +sketching-point, and I held my ground till a party of the dancers came +to summon me to the banquet. + +Then followed as pretty a scene as I have ever witnessed. We had to +drive twelve miles to Papeete; and as the nights are dark, and the moon +was not due till towards midnight, we knew that torches would be +required—but only expected the necessary number. The Tahitians had, +however, resolved on a demonstration, to show their appreciation of the +course adopted by the admiral, and their gratitude for his sympathy. So +when we had toiled up a long steep hill, about three miles from Point +Venus, we were met by a company of stalwart men carrying blazing torches +of cocoa-palm leaves, about twelve feet long. These turned and preceded +us, their numbers receiving continual reinforcements, some on horseback, +some on foot, till they mustered fully a thousand, and the ruddy glare +of the torches illumined the rich masses of foliage, gleaming on the +glossy leaves of the bread-fruit, and the bright sword-like fronds of +the palms, while the lurid smoke lent something of cloudy mystery to the +whole. Add to this, the presence of all the inhabitants, who of course +poured out from every bird-cage cottage along the road and joined the +procession, adding their quota of mirth and chatter to the general +hubbub. Of course with so many walkers we could only progress at a +foot’s pace, and nine miles of this at last became somewhat bewildering; +it seemed as if we were moving in a strange dream. A party of native +drummers added their very trying “music” to the general noise; but +happily the band fell into the spirit of the thing, and though their +afternoon’s work fully entitled them to rest, they played at intervals +all the way. + +At the outskirts of the town there was a halt, and in obedience to +municipal regulations every torch was extinguished, and we entered the +ill-lighted town in almost complete darkness. It was a wise precaution, +however, as the air was full of flying sparks, and a conflagration would +make short work of the dry wooden houses. Happily the large crowd was +quiet and orderly; and so far as I am aware, I myself am the only +sufferer from that half-hour’s darkness, during which my beloved green +plaid was abstracted from the bundle in which I had placed it. I think I +know the thief—at least I have the strongest reason to suspect a +half-caste, in no way connected with Tahiti, save by residence. But I +fear there is not the slightest hope of ever recovering it. It was a +large green plaid, of “Black Watch” tartan, which has been my +inseparable companion and delight for many a year, and in many a strange +place. I have slept in it on the top of Adam’s Peak, and in the +wonderful jungle cities of Ceylon, and it has travelled to the remotest +corners of Australasia and Polynesia, and many and varied are its +associations with people and things. + + “Oh, my plaid was dear to me!” + +and deeply do I abhor the covetous thief who has robbed me, so +infinitely beyond the value of a few fathoms of tartan; + + “For we cannot buy with gold + The old associations.” + +Quite a number of the neighbours have called here to-day, and welcomed +me back as if I were an old friend returning from a long journey. There +is a cordiality and a heartiness about them all, which is truly +delightful. How different from a return to England after a few years’ +absence, when the people you had supposed to be intimate friends vaguely +ask you “if you haven’t been somewhere abroad?” and perhaps, if they are +unusually hospitable, invite you to luncheon the following week! + + _Friday, 26th._ + +This morning Narii Salmon took me on board the Seignelay to see my old +friends and my old quarters. They welcomed me back most heartily, and +seemed really glad that I had seen the isle to such advantage—but they +themselves were all dull and sad. Time has as yet done nothing to heal +their grief, and indeed the ship seems altogether changed, even +externally, for she has been painted white, to match La Magicienne. + +I returned with Narii to breakfast with his sister, Mrs Brander; there +we were joined by the admiral, who came to make arrangements with her +for the next part of the programme; for she is as sensible as she is +handsome, which is saying much, and her opinions and suggestions carry +great weight with every one. + +Already preparations are being made for another grand expedition, for +there are several lesser isles subject to the king of Tahiti; and next +week the Seignelay is to convey the king and queen and their party to +Moorea, the beautiful island which we passed on the morning of our +arrival in Tahiti, and of which Mrs Brander is the high chiefess. + +I hear that there is a chance of letters being despatched by some +vessel, so I may as well close this.... Your loving sister. + + + + + CHAPTER XV. + THE SEMAPHORE—IMMUTABLE TIDES—THE CORAL-REEF—SPEARING +FISH—NETTING—CATCHING SHARKS—A ROYAL MAUSOLEUM—SUPERSTITIONS OF EAST AND + WEST—CENTIPEDES—INTOXICATING DRINKS—INFLUENZA—DEATH OF MRS SIMPSON. + + + _Chez_ THE REV. JAMES GREEN, _Oct. 27th_. + +I have had a day after my own heart. In the early morning Mr Green drove +me to the foot of the semaphore hill, up which I toiled, and gave myself +into the care of the old sailor who lives there, watching the horizon +for the first glimpse of a sail, and then hoists signals by which the +good folk of Papeete learn from what direction the new-comer may be +expected. Then, as she draws nearer, the signals reveal her class and +her nationality. + +I remained for several hours, working up an elaborate drawing, begun +soon after my arrival. The view of the town and harbour, as seen from +this point, is truly lovely, and the effect of a coral-reef, as you look +down on it from a height, is always fascinating. Every conceivable tint +seems to play beneath the surface—browns and golds blending with pale +aqua-marine and sparkling emerald, while turquoise and cerulean pass +into delicate lilac and purply blue. The reef appears from the semaphore +to lie in the form of a horse-shoe, so that it literally suggests a +rainbow beneath the waters. + +By the time Mr Green came to drive me back to breakfast, I was truly +glad to escape from the blazing sun, and to rest in this pleasant home +during the hot hours. + +Late in the afternoon Narii lent us a boat, in which we rowed out to the +reef, always to me one of the most enchanting ploys that can be +conceived; and here it gains an additional charm from an extraordinary +phenomenon in the tides, which I am told occurs throughout the Society +Isles, but in no other place that I ever heard of—namely, that they +never vary from one year’s end to another. Day after day they ebb and +flow with unchanging regularity. At noonday and at midnight the tide is +invariably at the full; while at sunrise and sunset—in other words, at +six o’clock morning and evening—throughout the year, it is low water. +The rise and fall rarely exceeds two feet; but periodically, at an +interval of about six months, a mighty sea comes rolling in from the +west or south-west, and, sweeping over the reef, bursts violently on the +shore. + +I do not know whether any scientific theory has been propounded +concerning this tidal eccentricity, which is perhaps the most remarkable +thing connected with the group. + +I believe some writers have tried to account for it by reference to the +trade-winds, which blow so steadily at certain hours of the day; but +these must have been very inaccurate observers, as the tides rise and +fall with equal regularity in the most sultry calm or the most riotous +sea-breeze. In fact they are sometimes rather higher in dead calms, and +on the leeward side of the isles, which are sheltered from the +trade-winds. In any case, these blow only in the daytime, and die away +entirely at night. Curiously enough, they do not even affect the +periodical flood-tides, or rather tidal waves, of which I spoke just +now, as these invariably come from the westward, whereas the trade-winds +blow steadily from the east. So punctual is the daily rise and fall of +the tides, that the accustomed eyes of the people can discern the hour +of the day by a glance at the shore or the reef, as at a marine +chronometer, which here never loses or gains time. + +The peculiar charm of this, as concerns the reef, is that the low tide, +which is the hour of delight, always occurs at the coolest hours of +morning and evening, so there is no temptation to incur sunstroke by +exposure to the noontide rays. And the reef at Tahiti is, beyond all +question, the richest I have seen. It seems to me that all the marvels +of the Fijian reef are here reproduced on a magnified scale—the +mysterious zoophytes are larger, their colours more intense, the forms +of the fish more varied and eccentric, and their scaly dress striped and +zigzagged with patterns like those on an ingenious clown, or perhaps +suggestive of quaint heraldry. + +To-night I saw some gigantic specimens of that wonderful star-fish we +first found in Fiji, with fifteen arms covered with very sharp grey and +orange spines like those of an echinus, and an underside of pale-yellow +fleshy feelers with suckers like those of the sea-anemone[45]—a +marvellously uncanny-looking compound. I also saw thousands of prickly +sea-urchins of divers sorts, from the heavy acrocladia,[46] with spikes +as large as your fingers and heavy as stone, to the very brittle species +no larger than a pigeon’s egg, and covered with piercing needles five or +six inches long—a particularly unpleasant creature to step upon, +especially with bare feet, as the natives have. These echini are of all +colours, from the richest maroon and claret to purple and blue. Some are +suggestive of large full-blown thistles, and all more or less resemble +hedgehogs or porcupines. One very delicate flat kind is pure white, and +marked on the back with a very finely traced double star. + +Some of the water-snakes are very beautifully marked with blue, gold, or +green bars on a velvety black ground; they glide and coil themselves in +and out of the coral branches. I was much struck by the immense size of +some sea-anemones, as large as a wash-hand basin: these also, are of all +sorts of colours. These are the chosen play-fellows of most exquisite +tiny fish, like morsels of black velvet, with a pattern exactly like a +fairy peacock’s feather on either gill. Not one of these exceeded two +inches in length; and I watched a shoal of about thirty playing +hide-and-seek among the feelers of the polype. You can hardly conceive +anything so fascinating as the glimpses of fairyland to be obtained by +allowing your boat to float at will in the shallowest possible water, +while you peer down into the wonder-world beneath you, where the +many-tinted corals, seaweeds, and zoophytes, form wonderful gardens, of +which the brilliant blue star-fish, and strangely beautiful +sea-anemones, are the gay blossoms. + +The butterflies which woo these flowers of the sea are shoals of the +most exquisite minute fishes, which dart through the crystal water like +rays of opal. Now it is a group of turquoise blue, like forget-me-nots +of the deep, and as they vanish among green seaweeds, out flash a merry +party primrose-coloured. Then come a little family of richest Albert +blue, which pause a moment to greet their little friends the pure +gold-fish; and as these glide in between the rock-ledges, up swims a +joyous little shoal of delicate pale-green fish, with perhaps a tiny +silvery eel or two; and some there are pure scarlet, others bright blue +streaked with scarlet. These and a thousand more, varying in form as in +colour, but all alike minute, are among the tempting beauties which make +me always wish you were with me, that I might hear your raptures of +delight. + +There are some most attractive gold-fish with broad bands of black, +which terminate in wing-like fins; and others, still more fascinating, +are silvery, with a delicate rosy flush. Some are yellow, striped with +violet; others are pure scarlet, spotted with cobalt. I think my +favourites are bright turquoise blue with a gold collar. Then there are +some very large fish of the glossiest green, and others of a dazzling +crimson. But the most _distingué_-looking fishes are those which temper +their gay colours with bands or zigzags of black velvet. Their forms are +as varied as their colours, long or short, round, flat, or triangular. + +While these flash and dart in and out of their forest sanctuary, you may +see large shells travelling over the coral-ledges, a good deal faster +than you would suppose possible, till you see that they are tenanted by +large hermit-crabs. Other crabs are in their own lawful shells, as are +also the wary lobsters; and here and there are scattered some rare +shells, such as we see in collections at home, and suppose to be quite +common in the tropics, where, however, as a rule, they are only obtained +by professional divers. Of course such as are washed up on the shore are +dead shells, utterly worthless. + +Quite apart from the mere delight to the eyes of gazing at these varied +beauties, the reef has its useful aspect in regard to the commissariat. +At every low tide a crowd of eager fishers repair thither, to see what +manner of supper awaits them. + +Here, as in all these isles where wild animals do not exist, the sea +furnishes the happy hunting-grounds of rich and poor. Swift canoes or +boats take the place of hounds and horses; and the coral-reef affords as +much delight to high and low, as a Scotch deer-forest or heathery moor +does to the wealthy few in Britain. + +Can you not fancy the thrilling excitement of standing on the brink of +the reef watching the huge green billows rolling in with thunder roar, +and curling their grand white crests ere dashing on the rock in +cataracts of foam, carrying with them many a strange creature of the +deep? For these the fisherman keeps keen watch, standing with spear all +ready poised to strike whatever may come within his reach. But more +exciting still is the fishing by torchlight on the dark moonless nights, +when a torch made of dried reeds is carried in one hand, and the spear +in the other, ready to strike the unwary fish, attracted by the glare. +Small fish are caught with a different sort of spear, consisting of six +or eight metal rods lashed to a long stick; when this is dexterously +plunged into a shoal, some fish are pretty sure to be pinched and held +firm. + +Very often large parties go together to the reef, each bearing a flaming +torch, and sometimes they fish for eels in the rivers in the same way. +In either case the effect is most picturesque. I have seen the shallow +lagoon just inside the reef all illuminated by these flashing lights, +which tell where the canoes are gliding, and just reveal the statuesque +figures at the prow, with uplifted torch and spear all ready poised: +grand studies in bronze, as perfect models as sculptor could desire, and +rich bits of colour for the artist who can render the warm ruddy glow, +reflected by a well-oiled brown skin, with a background of dark sea and +sky. + +At other times the sport lies in some form of netting. A whole company +of women assemble, laughing and chattering as only South Sea Islanders +can. Perhaps a dozen are told off to carry a great net, which they sink +when up to their necks in water; then forming a wide semicircle, they +gradually approach the shore, lifting their net so as not to tear it on +the rough coral-bed, and driving as many fish as they can enclose +towards the shallow water, whence they can scoop them up in their little +baskets, which they empty into larger ones slung from the waist. In this +way myriads of tiny silvery fish are caught. + +Sometimes the men adopt this method of driving larger fish into shallow +water, and then spear them in the way I have just described. The best +marksmen stand a little apart, watching keenly for any fish that may +escape the net, and throwing their spears at such fugitives with almost +unerring aim. It is a scene of immense excitement; and the fun of the +sport is enhanced by the prospect of an abundant supper. For this sort +of fishing seine-nets are made, 100 feet in length; or else several +large nets, about 40 feet long by 12 deep, are joined together so as to +enclose a very wide space. + +Women carry small fine casting-nets in the hand, and throw them so +dexterously as often to enclose a whole shoal of little fishes; some +kinds are no bigger than whitebait. For larger fish, akin to herrings +and salmon, various nets are made of different fibres, such as the +hybiscus, banyan, or pandanus bark or flax, the two latter being the +strongest and most durable. Sometimes two nets are thrown at the same +time—an inner net with fine mesh, and an outer one much coarser—to +resist any larger fish which might break through the inner one. They +were weighted by stones wrapped in cocoa-nut fibre, and the floats are +made of hybiscus-wood, which is found to be very buoyant. When the nets +are brought ashore, they are hung up to dry on the trees and shrubs. + +Nowadays the ordinary hooks of commerce have almost superseded the +clumsy but efficacious hooks of pearl-shell or bone. Those used in +fishing for dolphin or bonitos were formerly attached to a +mother-of-pearl shank, about six inches long, carved to resemble a fish. +Excellent wooden hooks were also made by twisting the young roots of the +casuarina or iron-wood tree, and leaving them till they had grown to a +suitable size. In old days, when sharks were considered a delicacy, they +were beguiled by large wooden hooks from twelve to fifteen inches in +length. Cuttle-fish are attracted by a bait very much resembling that +used in Fiji, where an imitation of a rat is made of cowrie-shells. I do +not know whether the Tahitians have a similar legend of the enmity +between the rat and the cuttle-fish. Here the cowrie-shells are cut into +pieces, and fastened one over another like the scales of an armadillo, +and so made into an oval ball the size of a rat. This being attached to +a strong line, is lowered from a canoe, and gently jerked so as to move +like a living creature. The cuttle-fish, which lies safely ensconced in +some hole in the rocks, throws out a long arm and lassoes its prey, the +plated armour giving it a firmer grip. Failing to draw in this unknown +variety of rat, it throws out another arm, and yet another, till at +length it slips out of its stronghold, and is drawn to the surface, +holding its prize firmly enlaced. + +It is not “all fish that comes to the net” in these seas. Many which are +wholesome at one season are downright poison during the months when the +coral is said to be in “blossom;” during which time these fish crunch it +with their strong teeth. Others become poisonous by feeding on +sea-centipedes—curious creatures which twine themselves round the coral, +and resemble yards of black string with myriad tiny legs. There are +certain fish which may be eaten with impunity on one isle, and are +positively deadly if caught on other reefs. The natives themselves have +sometimes died by rashly trusting to their experience of their own +fishing-grounds, and so venturing to eat the identical fish caught +elsewhere. There are also certain sea-crabs which it is very unsafe to +eat. Curiously enough, all varieties of land-crab are said to be good +for food; but there is a white-shelled sea-crab which generally proves +fatal, and is sometimes eaten as a means of committing suicide. + +Even shell-collectors have to be wary how they handle the treasures they +discover, as there are certain shell-fish which are armed with minute +barbs, through which they inject virulent poison into the hand that +touches them. The most dangerous of these is a beautiful cone,[47] which +has been known to cause death within a few hours. No sooner is it +touched than a thrill of sharp pain flies up to the shoulder, and soon +the body swells to an enormous size, and the hapless sufferer dies in +agony. + +Do you remember a somewhat similar case—though happily it did not prove +fatal—which occurred on our own shores, when Mr Hope G—— incautiously +picked up a large jelly-fish, which so poisoned his blood that weeks of +torture ensued? These beautiful sea-thistles (sea-nettles rather) are +not to be touched with impunity. + +The men engaged in the _bêche-de-mer_ fisheries find that those hideous +gelatinous slugs which appear so very helpless, are also capable of +inflicting severe pain. They resemble great sausages of dark-coloured +india-rubber, black, grey, red, or greenish, inflated with sea-water. +When touched, they eject this water with some violence, and if it falls +on any wound or scratch it produces dangerous and agonising +inflammation. The smallest drop squirted into the eye causes intolerable +burning pain; and many of the tripang-fishers have their sight seriously +injured from this cause. + +But more noxious by far is the olive-green variety, which is commonly +called the leopard, from being marked with orange-coloured spots. When +this creature is touched it throws up glutinous filaments like +darning-cotton, which not only adhere tenaciously to whatever they +touch, but if they come in contact with the human skin, they instantly +raise a painful burning blister and cause serious inflammation. Such +being the case, it would appear discreet to leave these ugly creatures +unmolested; but as they are accounted a great delicacy in China, and +fetch from £80 to £100 per ton, the risk is considered worth incurring. + +Another serious danger of the reef arises from the various voracious +sea-eels, which coil themselves up in the interstices of the coral and +dart out to seize any prey which comes within reach. I was severely +bitten myself one day while incautiously feeling for small fish; but +many natives have thus been maimed for life, the loss of a few fingers +being a comparative trifle. I heard of one man in the Paumotu Isles who +had the whole calf of his leg bitten off by a _vaaroa_, or long-mouthed +eel, a reptile which attains a length of eight feet or more, and roams +about the reef seeking what it may devour. It was formerly an object of +worship, in common with the conger-eel; and bloody vengeance has on more +than one occasion been taken by the heathen on such of their Christian +neighbours as have presumed to eat this incarnate god. + +About fifteen years ago, a party of about eighty persons reached Samoa, +after drifting over the wide seas for several weeks. They had been +driven away from the isle of Fakaofa, where several of their number had +been killed in consequence of having eaten congereels, which the people +of that isle held in reverence. Another fish-deity was the octopus, +which in heathen days it would have been sacrilege to eat, but which is +now recognised as excellent food. I have never tasted one myself, but I +am told that, though it looks so gelatinous, it really is tough and +unpalatable. + +The girls catch delicate young cuttle-fish in the shallows on the reef; +but sometimes the tables are turned and they are themselves caught by +overgrown monsters, which lie concealed in deep holes in the coral, and +throw out long arms covered with suckers, with which they grasp whatever +lies within reach and drag it inward. Some of these measure fully six +feet across the arms, from tip to tip; and many horrible stories are +current among the fishers of their adventures with these hideous +devil-fish. So fully do they recognise the possibility of danger, that +they rarely go out alone to dive for these, or for clam-shells. + +The latter have been known to close suddenly, and hold the invader +prisoner till he or she was drowned; and the octopii have an unpleasant +knack of throwing their arms so as to enfold an enemy, who vainly +struggles to extricate himself from their hateful clasp: his arms are +held powerless, and sometimes the hideous creature wraps itself round +his head, so that death is inevitable unless haply his comrade comes to +the rescue. + +These fishers know the value of pouring oil on the waters as well as the +poachers on our own Scottish rivers, or the oyster-fishers at Gibraltar +and the Mediterranean generally, so they invariably carry in their +canoes a measure of cocoa-nut oil. By sprinkling a few drops on the +surface of the water, it becomes so perfectly smooth that they can see +right down through its crystal depths, and detect the exact position of +the creatures below. So, when a diver remains under water longer than +usual, his friend in the canoe thus clears the surface, and, peering +into the depths, ascertains what is going on, and, if need be, dives to +the rescue. + +Of course these are not the only dangers encountered by the fishers. +There is the ever-abiding dread of sharks, especially the awful white +shark, which grows to about thirty feet in length, and is so fearless +that it is frequently known to attack canoes and drag its victims into +the water, either by seizing some carelessly outstretched limb or by +overturning the canoe. It is a hideous animal, with gigantic mouth and +with broad serrated teeth. I saw an enormous specimen hanging from the +bows of a vessel which was lying at anchor in the harbour. + +Even the small lagoon shark is not a pleasant fellow-swimmer, though it +rarely exceeds six feet in length. It ventures into very shallow water, +but makes its home in caves in the coral, in company with its kinsman. +In all these isles it is considered good food; and in many of the groups +(notably the New Hebrides and the Hervey Isles) the bold fishermen +actually dive into the shark-caverns, contrive to pass a slip-knot round +the tail of one of the sleepers, and instantly rise to the surface, when +their companions haul the ugly monster, tail first, into the canoe, +hitting him on the head with all possible speed. You can quite +understand that this sort of fishing is by no means child’s-play. +Sometimes, when a diver has entered a cave, a shark will move so as to +prevent his exit, and then his only chance of ever returning to the +surface lies in the skill with which he can tickle or stroke the +monster, so as to induce it to move aside. Of course he only dares to do +this if the creature’s tail is towards him. Should it have turned the +other way, his fate is almost inevitably sealed, as the slightest +movement on his part would reveal his presence and consign him to the +shark’s maw; and on the other hand, though he is himself wellnigh +amphibious, a delay of a few seconds must cost his life. + +One of the most unpleasant inmates of these waters is the stingaree or +sting-ray, which is a large flat fish, the spine of which is prolonged +to a sharp, barbed point, serrated on both sides. The swimmer who +unluckily comes in contact with this weapon receives a dangerous wound, +as the point probably breaks into his flesh, and works its way inward +with every breath he draws. + +Even the globe-fish is an uncomfortable neighbour. It is the hedgehog of +the sea, covered with sharp horny spikes. It possesses the curious +faculty of filling itself with air till it becomes a perfect ball, of +the consistency of oiled parchment. Verily, those denizens of the deep +are strange! + + _Tuesday, 30th._ + +This morning, after a pleasant breakfast with Mrs Brander, M. Vernier +called for me in his pony-phaeton, and we drove to visit Queen Pomare’s +tomb, or rather the house in which the royal dead of Tahiti are laid, +and left for a while, till only bones and dust remain. Then a specially +appointed official goes at dead of night and secretly carries the +remains to some place—probably a cave in the mountains—where they are +safely buried; only a very few trusted old adherents being allowed to +know where they are laid. The mausoleum is a hideous little house, +standing on a bare grass lawn by the sea. Till recently it was +surrounded by a fine old grove of sacred casuarina trees; but one +unlucky day Ariiaue was short of money (cruel report says of brandy!), +and he actually sold the venerated trees to some Goth, who cut them for +common timber. + +I fancy that the jealous mystery which enshrouds the final burial of +royal bones may be traced to lingering traditions of witchcraft, or some +kindred superstition connected with the ancient system of _taboo_, which +prevailed throughout Polynesia, and entailed divers diseases, and even +death, on those who rashly tampered with things belonging to high +chiefs. The other day a man walked past this door carrying a bunch of +roses. Mrs Green was going to take one, when a half-caste Tahitian cried +out, “Oh, take care! they were gathered in the garden of ——,” naming +some one related to the royal family. I then learnt that to take +anything belonging to royalty, or to wear a garment that has been worn +by any of them, or even to lie on their bed, or rest the head on their +pillow, is supposed to produce king’s evil. So implicit is this belief +among the older generation, that Queen Pomare always made up bundles of +her old clothes and sent them to sea to be sunk outside the reef. + +The cure for any person supposed to have incurred danger in this manner +savours of the celebrated prescription in hydrophobia, “Swallow a hair +of the dog that bit you.” The old queen was greatly attached to one of +Mrs Green’s little boys, whom, after the curious fashion of this +country, she called her adopted son, giving him a Tahitian name, by +which alone he was known to the natives. One day, after the boy had been +much with the queen, a suspicious-looking spot broke out on his cheek, +and the native attendants begged Mrs Green to go at once to the queen +and ask her to take the child into bed with her, and cover him up, which +would avert all danger.[48] + +This afternoon, for the first time since I landed, I have seen a +centipede—not one, but many, which were lying quietly hidden beneath a +mass of decaying fronds of the cocoa-palm. We put one in a bottle; but +though a large specimen for the Pacific, it is barely six inches in +length. These isles of the blest enjoy a perfect immunity from all +venomous creatures, with this one exception; and it is a very innocent +creature compared with the centipedes of other lands, especially of +Africa and South America. Unfortunately the latter have lately been +carried by foreign ships to some of the Leeward Isles, and in the same +manner scorpions have been brought to Tahiti—a very unfortunate +introduction. The centipedes, small as they are, can give an agonising +bite, which, however, is not actually dangerous to human beings. They +are chiefly fatal to poultry, especially turkeys, which swallow them in +mistake for worms, and invariably die soon afterwards. + +These horrid creatures are highly phosphorescent, and leave a trail of +light as they move at night. If crushed, they emit a glow of light, and +hence were in olden days reverenced as an incarnation of divinity; and +Veri, the centipede-god, was worshipped at Mangai, in the Hervey Isles, +where a huge banyan-tree overshadowed his _marae_, among the grey rocks, +and where to this day some say that gigantic centipedes keep guard over +the hidden treasures of the tribe of Teipe, formerly their devout +worshippers. + +Speaking of phosphorescent things, did I ever tell you about the curious +luminous fungi which are found in the mountains of Fiji? They gleam with +a pale weird blue light, and the natives occasionally play tricks at the +expense of their superstitious neighbours, suggestive of the +turnip-ghosts of our own foolish young days. + +Another new experience of this afternoon has been tasting the far-famed +orange-rum, which is supposed to have such a deteriorating effect on +those addicted to it. It is weak, insipid stuff, like mawkish vinegar. I +should be very sorry to drink a wine-glassful of it, but I should think +a bucketful would scarcely have any effect on the head, however +seriously it might disturb other organs. I am certain it is weaker than +the cider of which English haymakers drink twenty large mugs in a day +with impunity. + +But I am told that long before the introduction of oranges, and the +consequent invention of orange-rum, the Tahitians had been taught by the +Hawaiians how to distil an intoxicating spirit from the root of the _ti_ +shrub,[49] which is highly saccharine, and is generally baked, and made +into puddings. + +They invented a still of the rudest construction. For the boiler they +hollowed a lump of rock, and this they covered with an unwieldy wooden +cover, the rude stump of a tree, into which was inserted a long bamboo, +which rested in a trough of cold water, and conveyed the distilled +spirit into a gourd. This ponderous boiler was set on two layers of +stones, leaving a space for a fire, and was then filled with the baked +_ti_ root, which had been soaked till fermentation had commenced. Then +ensued wild orgies, when all the people of the district gave themselves +up to unbridled licentiousness; and having drunk till they were mad, +generally ended by quarrelling, so that it was not an uncommon thing to +find the remains of one of these rude stills overturned and scattered on +the ground, and around them the corpses of those who had ended their +drunken bout by a free fight, in which clubs and stone axes had proved +efficient weapons. + +The practice of this very unpleasant vice spread rapidly to other isles, +and was one of the serious hindrances met with by the early +missionaries. Thus, when Raiatea had for some time been looked upon as a +model island, it only needed the arrival of a trading ship, and of a +cask of spirits, to produce an outbreak on the part of King Tamatoa (not +the present man), which was instantly followed by the mass of the +people, who in their reawakened craving for spirits prepared about +twenty stills, all of which were in full operation, when Mr Williams, +returning after a short absence, found the island which he had left so +orderly and flourishing, all given up to mad drunkenness. + +Having had their bout, the people were naturally rather ashamed of +themselves, remembering how nobly their grand old chief, the original +Tamatoa, Queen Pomare’s grandfather, had kept his vow of temperance +during the fifteen years he lived after becoming a Christian. Previous +to that time he too had been a heavy drinker, and being a man of +gigantic strength, and six feet eleven inches in height, he was not +pleasant company when drunk. So it was a happy hour in which he vowed +never again to touch any intoxicating liquor, and became the most +constant attendant at school and chapel. + +When his favourite daughter Maikara, the governess of Huahine, heard of +this outbreak in Raiatea, she went over, with some of her trusted +officers, to help the orderly remnant in the isle to carry out the laws +for the destruction of all stills; and though in some districts they met +with considerable opposition, they effected their purpose thoroughly. +Not long afterwards a temperance society was formed, which seems to have +worked satisfactorily on the whole, though of course individuals +sometimes succumb to the temptations so cruelly offered by foreign +ships. + +Evidently drunkenness is no longer admired as a kingly attribute, for +the Raiateans banished the present Tamatoa, who was formerly their king, +because of his disagreeable habit of taking pot-shots at his subjects +when he was very far gone. I am happy to say he does not now indulge in +this obnoxious practice, which would be particularly dangerous to us, as +he lives in the next house, and frequently entertains us with wild +rollicking songs, which, however, are not nearly so hateful as his habit +of beating a large drum for several hours at a time! an entertainment +which must be particularly trying to his sweet gentle wife, the charming +Moë, concerning whom even the Frenchmen always speak with unbounded +respect, and whose faithful love to her jovial but very trying spouse +has continued unshaken, notwithstanding all the homage of one sort or +another with which she has been loaded, including that of the author of +‘South Sea Bubbles.’ + +Just now every one is anxious about her, for she is daily expecting a +small addition to her family, and is exceedingly ill with influenza—a +very violent form of which has recently broken out, severely affecting +lungs and throat. It is a real epidemic. A number of people have died +from it, and such a multitude are suffering, that the town seems _morne_ +and sad. Even the band is deserted and the church is empty. Tamatoa +himself, and the queen’s two sisters, Titaua Brander and Moetia +Attwater, are among the sufferers. Mrs Miller and her grown-up sons, +Mme. Fayzeau and her children, and all Mrs Green’s children, are really +very ill—high fever accompanied by utter prostration of strength being +among the symptoms. + +It is a most extraordinary fact that on every one of the Polynesian +groups the natives declare that influenza was never known till white men +came; and now it is one of the regular scourges of the Pacific, +returning almost every year in a greater or less degree, but +occasionally proving very severe and fatal, especially to old folk. It +is generally preceded by westerly or southerly winds, and passes off as +the steady trade-winds set in bringing fine settled weather. It first +appeared in Samoa in 1830, just when the first missionaries Williams and +Barff touched the group, and was of course attributed to their +machinations. In the New Hebrides, where it proved a very serious +scourge, it led to the murder of many teachers, who (as I think I have +already told you) were considered to be the disease-makers. + +Among those now suffering from it, is dear old Mrs Simpson, the “mother +of missions” in these parts, of whose “pure Biblical English” Lord +Pembroke spoke so admiringly. She is now on a visit to Mrs Brander, to +whom she has been like a second mother. There I have frequently met her, +and we have become great friends. She is planning that I am to visit her +daughter, Mme. Valles, who is married to a retired French officer, and +has a plantation on Moorea. I hope to see it in the course of a few +days. + + _Wednesday, 31st Oct._ + +Alas! the influenza has done its work quickly. Only yesterday morning I +was breakfasting with Mrs Brander on my return from a lovely early ride +with Narii, up the Fautawa valley; Mrs Simpson was unable to appear, and +afterwards a messenger came to tell Mr Green that she was very ill. In +the night I was wakened by a man with a lantern standing at my open +window; he brought tidings of her death. + +It is a most trying moment, for this real sorrow occurs just when all +those who were most devoted to the clever, good, and loving old lady, +are compelled from their position to take a leading part in the +festivities for the royal reception in Moorea. Mrs Brander, as chiefess +of the isle, has to make every sort of festal preparation—and now, in +addition to these, she has to make all arrangements for the funeral of +her loved old friend, whose body will be carried to Moorea to-morrow on +board the Seignelay. It will be a terrible shock for poor Mme. Valles, +who to-day is preparing for all the gay doings of to-morrow, little +dreaming that besides all the expected friends, whose visit would have +been such a delight, _one_ will return silent—never more to leave the +isle where her lips first taught the words of life to many.... + +We start for Moorea to-morrow morning. + + + + + CHAPTER XVI. + THE ROYAL PROGRESS ROUND MOOREA—THE SEIGNELAY STARTS FOR THE MARQUESAS + AND PAUMOTUS—INDECISION. + + + _Chez_ REV. JAMES GREEN, PAPEETE, + _Sunday, 4th Nov._ + +DEAREST NELL,—All the others have gone off to the Tahitian church. As I +find, from long experience, that attending service in an unknown tongue +tends to produce habits of the strictest inattention, I thought I might +as well stay at home and have a talk with you. We returned from Moorea +yesterday, and I am still very tired. This expedition has been very +fatiguing, and somewhat bewildering, from the manner in which everything +was hurried; there was really no time to enjoy anything; it was all a +rush to get over the ground. + +For some reason unknown, the admiral determined to accomplish the grand +round in two days, which did not allow of a halt at half the districts. +This was the more tantalising as the island is indescribably lovely, and +I longed to linger at every point. The day of our start was equally +hurried, and the people had received such very short notice, that they +were quite unprepared for the royal visit, and somewhat disconcerted in +consequence. And then the combination of mourning with ceremonial +rejoicing was a very distressing element. + +On Thursday morning one of the Seignelay boats came here to take me on +board at 7 A.M., and soon afterwards the king and queen arrived, +escorted by the admiral and many officers of La Magicienne. Mrs Brander +and all her family party soon followed. But our wonted gaiety was +altogether lacking, for there was a solemn presence in our midst, and we +all knew that beneath the Union-jack, which was spread as a pall, lay +the coffin containing the remains of one very dear to many in these +isles. Her husband was buried on Moorea, near the spot where his +daughter now lives; and now the two faithful workers have been laid side +by side in this far country + +Two hours steaming brought us to Vaianae Bay, whence we rowed ashore to +Afareaitu, a distance of about two miles. Thence the boats returned to +the Seignelay, which proceeded to the other side of the isle to find +good anchorage. + +On landing, we were received by the head men, in very fine _tiputas_ +(the much-decorated upper garment of native cloth). These they presented +to the admiral and the king. But our arrival was so premature, that the +reception was on a small scale—the people not having had time to +assemble. After breakfast I secured a rapid outline of the strange +beautiful hills, then we had to hurry away, in excellent boats, the +property of Tahitians. + +As we rowed along inside the reef, each turn revealed new marvels of +that most lovely coast, which combines the softest beauties of rich +foliage with the most weird grandeur of mountain gloom. The island is by +far the most wonderful I have ever seen. Just one confused mass of +basaltic crags and pinnacles, lofty ridges, so narrow that here and +there where some part has broken away you can see the sky through an +opening like the eye of a needle. Nature seems to have here built up +gigantic rock-fortresses, mighty bastions and towers which reach up into +heaven; pyramids, before which those of Gizeh would appear as pigmies, +and minarets such as the builders of the Kootub never dreamt of. It is +as though some huge mountain of rock had been rent asunder, and its +fragments left standing upright in stupendous splinters. Some one has +unpleasantly compared these to asses’ ears, and I am fain to confess +that the description is good, so far as outline is concerned. + +I had caught glimpses of some of these amazing stone needles and towers +as we passed Moorea on the first morning, but then they only appeared +mysteriously through the drifting vapours, which idealise and magnify +the most commonplace crags. Now there were no mists, and the huge +pinnacles stood out sharp and clear against a cloudless sky, while far +below them the riven rocks lay seamed by narrow chasms—dark sunless +ravines, moist with the spray of many waterfalls, and rich with all +green things that love warm misty shade. + +I believe that when reduced to figures, the mountains of Moorea are +found to average only half the height of those in Tahiti, the latter +rising to upwards of 7000 feet, while the highest peak of Moorea, +Afareaitu, is only 3976 feet. But the strangely varied forms of the +latter are so remarkable, that a few thousand feet more or less seem a +matter of indifference. + +I did long to crave a few moments’ halt from time to time, to secure +ever so slight an outline of some specially striking scene, but of +course I dared not suggest it, as we were evidently bound to “make good +time” (that crime in travelling, which so many mistake for a virtue). +The result was, that we reached Haapiti at 2 P.M. Mrs Brander, who had +hurried on at once to make her preparations, had counted on our not +arriving till four at the earliest, so of course nothing was ready. + +The admiral went to examine schools, and I lost no time in settling down +to a large sketch of the beautiful and fairy-like scene—the grand +mountain amphitheatre of stupendous crags and precipices, a middle +distance of richest foliage, and in the foreground, on a lawn of +greenest turf, the pretty temporary building of palm and bamboo, erected +for the banquet. The interior was lined with tree-ferns and bunches of +rosy oleander, and festooned with many hundred yards of deep fringe made +of hybiscus fibre. The thatch was entirely composed of the long glossy +fronds of birds’-nest fern,[50] which, being tough and leathery, make a +good permanent thatch, and one which lasts much longer than +banana-leaves, though, of course, it is more troublesome to arrange in +the first instance. It seems too bad to sacrifice such an incredible +number of these beautiful plants. The only consolation is, that they +grow in places so inaccessible that no human eye ever beholds them, save +that of the goat-like cragsman who explores the deep ravines in search +of the wild _faees_, which constitute the principal article of food on +these isles. + +[Illustration: + + A ROYAL RECEPTION. HAAPITI. ISLE MOOREA. +] + +Shortly before sunset all the people of the district assembled, each +with a piece of yellow native cloth thrown over their black dresses like +a shawl, to symbolise joy in sorrow. They formed an immense procession, +headed by Mrs Brander as high chiefess. She was dressed entirely in +black, only relieved by a most becoming crown of glossy white arrowroot, +with a plume of snowy _reva-reva_. Immediately after her followed the +gentlemen of her family, wearing very beautiful _tiputas_ of bread-fruit +bark cloth, covered with ornaments and flowers made of arrowroot and +bamboo fibre, and all fringed with the delicate _reva-reva_. They made +an address and sang the _himènes_ of welcome which should have greeted +the royalties on their landing. Then the chiefs presented their +beautiful garments to the principal persons present, and all the people +laid their yellow scarves and pretty hats at their feet. One of the +_tiputas_ was intended for me, but as I sat apart to see the general +picture, it was unfortunately given to some one else; but Mrs Brander +reserved for me a most delicate hand-screen of the finest fibre. + +Then followed a great dinner, admirable in every respect, the pretty +booth being illuminated by a multitude of Chinese lanterns; and the +_himène_ singing, which was continued at intervals all the evening, was +particularly good. The sleeping arrangements were less satisfactory, +there having been no time to make preparations for so large a party; so +my hostess had only reserved one tiny room for herself, two children, +two native women, and me. It was a foreign house, with windows. These +were tightly closed, and a bright lamp kept burning all night,—both +circumstances fatal to all chance of sleep,—so I preferred a shake-down +in the sitting-room. Unfortunately, my experience of the luxuries of +Tahiti had induced me to travel without my own mosquito-net; and the +attacks of these persistent foes, combined with the perpetual movement +of locomotive women, incessantly opening the door at my head and +admitting a stream of bright light, effectually banished all hope of +sleep. It was a night of feverish unrest,—a bad preparation for the +morrow. + +Again came a hurried morning start in good native boats,—the coast, +beautiful as that of yesterday. We had a strong wind and tide against +us, and made slow progress. After a severe pull of three hours, we +stopped at a point where the rowers landed to rest and get cocoa-nuts; +but hordes of mosquitoes attacked and routed us, even following us on +our way. Finally we landed, and walked the last two miles to Papetoai, +on Opunohu Bay, where the Seignelay anchored last night. + +Mrs Simpson’s body was brought ashore this morning, and as the people +were all too much fussed to mourn their old friend and clerical mother +(at least externally), the coffin was carried to the church by French +sailors; and they and their officers were the only persons present, +besides the immediate relations, at a sort of preliminary service held +by M. Brun, the Protestant pastor. + +Breakfast, chiefly consisting of omelets which had been cooked at 7 +A.M., was not served till noon; and as I had only succeeded in securing +a bit of biscuit before starting, I was so famished that one of the +officers went to forage on my account, and returned in triumph with a +yard of bread! This proved so satisfying, that, craving permission to +escape from the formal meal, I returned on board with my old shipmates, +and secured a careful drawing of the wonderfully lovely mountains ere +the rest of the party came on board. One young sailor came to great +grief in trying to climb a cocoa-nut tree—an operation which appears +very easy to the expert islanders, but sorely puzzles a foreigner. This +poor lad fell from a considerable height, breaking his arm and severely +injuring his head. So the kind doctor had his hands full, and no time to +enjoy the beautiful scenery. + +We steamed round to Pao Pao, commonly known as Cook’s Bay, which is also +very fine. Here we left the steamer, and, taking to the boats, rowed +four miles to Tiaia, which is a pretty village by the sea. On one side +of it there is a splendid grove of glossy-leaved _tamanu_ trees, and a +few fine old iron-wood trees—the casuarina—all that now remains of what +was once a very sacred grove surrounding the ancient _marae_. Now the +Christian church occupies the site where formerly human sacrifices were +offered to the cruel gods. At a distance of about two miles from this +village there is a brackish lake—Lake Temae—about a mile in length. It +contains good fish, and many wild duck haunt its sedgy and very muddy +shores. Under the impression that it was very much nearer, I joined the +exploring party. We had to make a _détour_ of some length, and found no +beauty to compensate for a very fatiguing walk of upwards of four miles, +which, combined with that of the morning, quite finished me. I could not +even sit up for the evening _himènes_, which was a matter of real +regret, as the singers here are considered the very best in the group. +Several of the women have very fine falsetto voices. + +[Illustration: + + PAO PAO, OR COOK’S BAY. ISLE MOOREA. +] + +To my great delight, in apportioning our quarters, M. Hardouin, A.D.C., +awarded me a tiny house all to myself—the owners kept only the outer +room; and when they went off to join the _himènes_ they locked the door +to keep their charge safe. Happily one of my friends on the Seignelay +had lent me a mosquito-net, so I slept the blessed, dreamless sleep of +the weary. + +In the morning at 6 A.M., as I was dressing leisurely for 7 o’clock +coffee, Queen Marau rushed in to say the admiral was all ready for a 6 +o’clock start. Thereupon followed a horrid hurry-scurry to get ready, +and a four miles’ row back to the vessel. At 7.30 she was under way, and +at 10 A.M. we were at anchor in Papeete harbour. + +Altogether this has been a most tantalising expedition, an +unsatisfactory hurrying over scenes of surpassing beauty. Mrs Brander +says that if I will stay some time longer in Tahiti she will take me +back there and let me pasture at leisure in that artists’ paradise. Fain +would I linger,—indeed all manner of delightful ploys are proposed, but +all involve time, and I have promised to meet Lady Gordon at Christmas, +either at Auckland or Sydney, according to what I hear at Honolulu, so I +must not lose the chance of the first vessel to the Sandwich Isles. + + _Tuesday, 6th._ + +It has been decided that one of Mrs Brander’s vessels, the Maramma +(_i.e._, the Moon), is to start for Honolulu on Saturday, so that +settles the time of my departure from Tahiti. It is also announced that +on Thursday the Seignelay is to be sent off to the Marquesas, to convey +a force of gendarmes to inquire into some recent outbreaks of +cannibalism. Mrs Brander has been most kindly renewing her invitation to +me to stay with her till the next trip of the Maramma to Honolulu—a +matter of two months! It is most tempting, but I feel bound to go. At +the band to-night, Mr Darsie, manager of the _Maison Brandère_, +expressed his astonishment that I should lose such a chance of seeing +the Marquesas and the Paumotus, adding that the manager of the business +for those groups was going to take the trip, and would enable me to see +everything to the greatest advantage, and the ship is to return here in +a fortnight. Certainly it would be quite delightful, but what _is_ the +use of suggesting the impossible? + + _Wednesday, 7th._ + +Early this morning we went on board the Maramma to see the cabin which +Mrs Brander has kindly reserved for me—the best in the ship. It made me +sad to look at it and to think that it is to carry me away for ever from +this supremely lovely South Sea paradise. All to-day we have had a +succession of visits from my kind friends of the Seignelay, to urge my +giving up Honolulu in favour of Les Marquises, or, if that could not be, +to _faire les adieux_. At the very last came M. de Gironde, who is +always my good genius, to try and prove that it was not too late to +change my mind, and that his cabin was at my disposal as before. Surely +there never was a ship full of such kind people. Of course it would be +quite delightful to go and see another lot of beautiful isles; but after +all, I suppose they are very much like these, and my brain already feels +overcrowded with pictures, each lovelier than the last. So, for every +reason, it seems best to stand true to my tryst, and be content with a +run to the volcanoes, and then drop down to the comparatively +commonplace scenes of Australia or New Zealand. + +This has been quite a sad day of farewells. We dined with the Verniers +and afterwards went to the admiral’s reception—a very pretty and +animated dance. + + _Thursday, 8th._ + +At nine this morning the Seignelay steamed close past our windows, and +great was the farewell waving of hats and handkerchiefs. I grieve to +part from the many kind companions of so many pleasant days (and of sad +ones too); and I would fain be going on with the good ship now, for I +sorely regret the approaching end of my travels in these parts. + +To-night we dined at Mrs Brander’s. The party included a large number of +officers from the Magicienne. It was a farewell entertainment, as Mrs +Brander’s son Aleck and Mr Darsie both go to Honolulu in the Maramma +(the latter _en route_ to England). They too are going to see the +volcanoes; but if they are rightly informed concerning the trips of the +little Hawaiian steamer, I begin to have very grave doubts of the +possibility of my visiting the southern isles at all, if I attempt to +carry out my programme, even supposing we have a fair wind and quick +passage to Honolulu, which is more than doubtful. + + _Friday, 9th._ + +A wretched sleepless night, worrying over plans. Difficulties always do +exaggerate themselves so absurdly if one lies awake. Out at daybreak to +get a sketch from the shore. It is all working against time, and my heap +of unfinished drawings is a serious nightmare. I have been struggling to +get several duplicate sketches finished for various friends, and I feel +like a graphic barrel-organ—an unreasoning machine for the +multiplication of drawings; and the ever-recurring thought arises, Why +not stay and have the delight of working from nature, as the kind +friends here advise, when after all it is more than probable that the +Christmas tryst will fall through? But anyhow, I have missed the chance +of Les Marquises, and it would seem too silly to change my mind now. + +Mrs Brander came to-day to say good-bye, but added emphatically, “You’re +not gone yet, however!” There’s no doubt that her invitation to stay on +is quite _bonâ fide_; but for two months at least! What a visitation to +inflict on any one! + +Mrs Miller drove me to call on the Bishop of Axièri, Monseigneur Tepano +Janssen, who is most kind and courteous. He showed us all over his +grounds, which are literally a garden of acclimatisation, so numerous +are the useful plants of other lands which he is endeavouring to +introduce. It is greatly due to his care that the mangoes of Tahiti have +been brought to such perfection. The conversation turned on many +subjects of interest. Amongst other things, speaking of the effect of +many mingled sounds, he told us of the deafening noise produced by the +cries of sea-birds on some of the isles where he has touched, on one of +which he witnessed a strange instance of combined action by myriads of +sea-birds and herons; the former, diving simultaneously, produced a +noise like a thunder-clap as they struck the water. The dignified herons +profited by their neighbours’ work, and waited on the shore ready to +catch the startled fish as they fled affrighted from the divers. + +This evening the admiral invited Mrs Miller, Madame Fayzeau, and myself, +to dine on board La Magicienne. She is a very fine old-fashioned +frigate, with vast accommodation, splendid broad decks of great length. +The admiral has a large dining-room, and a sitting-room the size of an +average drawing-room, with four large square windows opening into a +gallery round the stern—a charming lounge in fine weather. Commandant +Beïque has rooms equally pretty, on the same level, each with a large +square window (I cannot call them ports). They are so high above the +water that they scarcely ever have to be closed—a true boon in the +tropics. I never saw so roomy a ship. With all her big guns, five +hundred sailors, and thirty officers, there was no symptom of crowding. +Amongst the officers are two belonging to the Peruvian navy, who have +come to study the French system of navigation. One of these is +remarkable for his diminutive size and extraordinary strength; the +biggest men in the ship cannot wrestle with him, nor fight him (in +sport). + +After dinner we adjourned to Government House grounds to hear the band +play, as usual; then all walked back by the shore to the British +consulate, for a farewell evening, and finished it here in this sweet +homelike nest. I do grieve that it should be the last evening, the more +so as I am beginning to believe that what all my friends here agree in +saying must be true—namely, that when I made my vague calculation of +reaching Sydney for Christmas, it was on the principle of Jules Verne’s +‘Round the World in Eighty Days.’ They say that to attempt fitting the +Sandwich Isles volcanoes into the time is preposterous folly. I think +they are right, but it is too late to change now. What further concerns +me is the thought, which had not previously presented itself, that very +likely, after all this pushing and scrambling, and spoiling everything +by useless hurry, Lady Gordon may have given up the idea, and may stay +quietly in Fiji till she is obliged to take the children direct to +England,[51] and I may never know this till I reach Sydney. + + _Saturday, 10th._ + +Another weary night—perplexing and conflicting suggestions—the horrid +feeling of being disloyal to a tryst, yet the certainty that nowhere +else shall I find such beauty as I am leaving. Those unsketched +dolomites of Moorea—those ferny ravines all unexplored—those glorious +valleys of bread-fruit—the _himènes_ that I shall never hear again! And +every one agrees in telling me that the Hawaiian Isles are not to +compare with these in beauty,—that the hills are comparatively +shapeless, the foliage poor, the bread-fruit sickly and blighted, the +cocoa-palms mere ghosts of their southern relations, and the mangoes +miserable fruits, not worthy to bear the same name as the luscious +mangoes of Tahiti. They tell me, too, that the people are much less +attractive; that they have taken on so much blunt civilisation, that +they have lost whatever native grace they may have once possessed. Even +the same garment—the flowing _sacque_—is there worn so short and full +that it is scarcely to be recognised, and instead of floating drapery it +becomes a mere dress.[52] + +Well, I must now begin my packing. There will be time enough for writing +before we reach Honolulu. + + PAPEETE, _Saturday Afternoon_. + +Jubilate! Jubilate! The Maramma is to start in an hour, but will leave +me to revel in South Sea loveliness till her next trip. This morning, +just as I was putting the finishing touches to my packing—I must confess +very much _contre-cœur_, and quite in the vein of Eve’s lamentation, +“Must I leave thee, Paradise?”—up drove pretty Queen Marau and her +handsome sister Moetia, who carried the position by assault,—vowed it +was not too late to change a foolish plan; so leaving Moetia with her +cousin Moë, Marau made me jump into her pony-phaeton and drove me +straight off to Fautawa, where her sister Titaua, Mrs Brander, was +giving a great entertainment to all her _employés_, previous to her +son’s departure for Honolulu. Then and there she made me recant all my +previous protestations and refusals of her most hospitable invitations, +and in two seconds all was settled. I am to be her guest till the +Maramma returns, and is again sent to Honolulu. + +Now that it is all settled, I feel quite satisfied and reprieved; so +instead of a long letter written on board ship, I must despatch this as +it is. We are just hurrying to the wharf to say good-bye to our friends, +and then I look forward to a grand night’s rest, for I am thoroughly +tired. + +I have been hoping against hope that a letter might reach me here, _viâ_ +New Zealand; but the schooner thence is about a month overdue, and it is +feared she has gone on a reef. Good-bye.—Your loving sister. + + + + + CHAPTER XVII. + VAIN REGRETS—SOME ACCOUNT OF THE MARQUESAS AND THE PAUMOTU GROUPS. + + + PAPEETE, _November 11th_. + +I am certainly very glad that my good friends here supplied the moral +courage which I failed to find, and so enabled me to repent at the +eleventh hour. I do rejoice in the sense of repose, knowing that for at +least two months I may now explore the many scenes of enchantment which +lie on every side, without a thought of hurry. + +Yet even this joy is not unmixed. I do find it very hard to be truly +philosophical, and not to cry over spilt milk, when I think of the +delightful cruise to the Marquesas and Paumotus, which would so +admirably have filled up this first fortnight, had I only been able to +decide three days earlier. + +But it was not till the hospitable ship had sailed, that I found leisure +soberly to think the matter over, and to realise how very rare and +precious a chance I had so idiotically thrown away. When your eyes are +satiated with grand scenery, and each lovely group of isles seems only +to differ from the last in its degree of special beauty, you are apt to +think that really you have seen enough, and may as well pause and be +satisfied with all the exquisite pictures which crowd before your +memory. So, when these most kind friends urged me to accompany them on +this expedition, I was so absorbed in working up some of the innumerable +sketches made on the last trip, that I never took time to think out the +subject in all its bearings, and to see how impossible it would be for +me to reach Honolulu by sailing-ship, see all the wonders of the +Sandwich Isles, and then return to New Zealand or Sydney before +Christmas, as I had proposed doing. + +Neither did I at all realise how very few travellers have ever seen the +Marquesas, and how very little is known about them by the general +public, beyond the bare facts of their having been discovered by the +Spaniards in 1595, and by them named after the Marquesas de Mendoza, the +Viceroy of Peru. + +They then seem to have been forgotten till about the year 1777, when +they were visited by Captain Cook, who has recorded his admiration of +their loveliness, and declared that the inhabitants were the finest race +he had seen, “in fine shape and regular features perhaps surpassing all +other nations,” “as fair as some Europeans, and much tattooed.” He found +fine harbours, from twenty to thirty fathoms deep, close inshore, with +clear sandy bottom; good store of wood and water; and at first the +natives seemed inclined to receive the strangers kindly, but became less +cordial on further acquaintance. + +Soon afterwards the London Mission endeavoured to establish a station in +the group, but found the people such savage cannibals, that the position +was untenable, and they were forced to abandon it. From that time +forward we have only an occasional record of some American man-of-war +having touched there, invariably confirming Cook’s account of the beauty +of the people and of the isles. + +In 1837 the French sent out an exploring expedition commanded by +D’Urville, whose somewhat remarkable official orders were, +“_d’apprivoiser les hommes, et de rendre les femmes un peu plus +sauvages!_” + +The result of his report was, that the French decided on establishing +themselves in the Marquesas, the Society, and the Paumotu Isles. +Accordingly, in 1842, an expedition sailed from Brest to effect this +purpose, its destination being a secret known only to its commander. The +Marquesas were selected as the best centre of operations. A squadron of +four heavy frigates and three corvettes, commanded by Rear-Admiral Du +Petit Thouars, accordingly astonished the natives by suddenly appearing +in the lovely harbour of Taiohae, on the island of Nukuheva; and very +soon these simple folk learned the full meaning of the gay tricoloured +flags and bristling broadsides. + +The ostensible pretext for this invasion was that of reinstating +Mowanna, the friendly chief of Nukuheva, in what the French thought +proper to assume as his ancestral right—namely, that of ruling over the +whole group of twelve isles, each of which had hitherto considered +itself as a distinct world, subdivided into many antagonistic kingdoms. +However, a puppet-king was the pretext required, and Mowanna furnished +it, and was rewarded with regal honours and a gorgeous military uniform, +rich with gold lace and embroidery. + +Of course he and his tribe of Nukuhevans were vastly delighted, +perceiving that they had gained omnipotent allies; and when five hundred +troops were landed in full uniform, and daily drilled by resplendent +officers, their admiration knew no bounds. They recollected how, when in +1814, the U.S. frigate Essex, commanded by Captain Porter, had refitted +at Nukuheva, she had lent them a considerable force of sailors and +marines, to assist their own body of 2000 men in attacking a +neighbouring tribe. The latter had offered a desperate resistance, and +repulsed the allied forces, who, however, consoled themselves by burning +every village they could reach, thus giving the inhabitants good cause +to hate the white men’s ships. + +Now, with the aid of these warlike French troops, the Nukuhevans thought +themselves sure of victory, with the prospect of retaining the +supremacy. But when fortifications were commenced, and the troops +surrounded their camps with solid works of defence, making it evident +that the occupation was to be a permanent one, a feeling of detestation, +mingled with fear of the invaders, gradually increased, and was +certainly not lessened by several sharp encounters, in one of which, 150 +natives are said to have been slain. However, the reign of might +prevailed, and the tricolour has floated over the Marquesas unchallenged +from that time to the present. + +This appropriation of the Marquesas was immediately followed by that of +the Society Isles, whither the admiral proceeded in the Reine Blanche +frigate, leaving the rest of the squadron at the Marquesas. He anchored +in the harbour of Papeete, and sent a message to Queen Pomare to the +effect that, unless she immediately agreed to pay somewhere about 30,000 +dollars as an indemnity for alleged insults to the French flag, he would +bombard the defenceless town. + +The said insults were very much like those offered by the lamb to the +wolf in the old fable, the pretext raked up being simply that Queen +Pomare and all her people, having already become stanch Christians, +according to the teaching of the London Mission, had positively refused +to allow certain French priests to settle in the isles, and found a +Roman Catholic Mission, with a view to proselytising. These proving +obstinate in their determination to remain, had, with all due honour, +been conveyed on board a vessel about to sail for some distant port, +with a sensible recommendation to pursue their calling on some of the +many isles which were still heathen. + +The French admiral now insisted that, in addition to paying the +indemnity demanded, the people of Tahiti should, at their own expense, +erect a Roman Catholic church in every district where they had built one +for their congregational worship. + +The unhappy queen, terrified lest the arrogant Du Petit Thouars should +commence bombarding her helpless capital, yet utterly incapable of +complying with his unjust demands, fled by night in a canoe to the isle +of Moorea, knowing that no decisive action could be taken in her +absence. Her best friend and adviser throughout these troubles was the +British consul, Mr Pritchard. The admiral, perceiving this, caused him +to be arrested and imprisoned. After being kept for ten days in solitary +confinement, he was put on board an English vessel out at sea, and +forcibly sent away from the islands without a trial or investigation of +any kind. + +On his arrival in England the British Government naturally demanded an +explanation of such proceedings. M. Guizot replied that the French +authorities at Tahiti found they could make no progress there because of +Mr Pritchard’s great influence with the queen—in other words, his +determination, if possible, to see fair play. The French Government, +therefore, approved the action of its officials, but promised to +indemnify Mr Pritchard for what they themselves described as his illegal +imprisonment and pecuniary losses. We have, however, Mr Pritchard’s own +authority for the fact that, in the year 1880, he had never received one +single _sou_ of the promised indemnity; and England apparently +considered it the part of wisdom, if not of honour, to let the subject +drop. + +So the French pirates (for certainly in all this matter they acted as +such) compelled the poor queen and her chiefs to yield to their demands. +Some, indeed, strove to make a brave stand, and drive the invaders from +their shores; but what could these unarmed warriors do against +artillery? They retreated to their mountain fastnesses, but French +troops pursued them thither, built scientific forts, and remained +masters of the position. The good, sensible queen, who had proved +herself so wise a ruler of a happy and peaceful people up to this +terrible November 1843, was now declared incompetent to govern. The +French Protectorate was established,[53] and the Reine Blanche having +saluted the Protectorate flag, desired the queen and chiefs to do +likewise—an order which they were unable to obey, till the admiral +politely offered to lend the necessary gunpowder! Thus was this +buccaneering expedition carried out, and France established as ruler in +the three groups—the Marquesas, the Paumotus, and the Society Isles.[54] +It was a South Sea version of + + “The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold, + And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;”— + +but in this case the lamb found no deliverer. + +This bare historical outline was literally all I knew about the +Marquesas Isles, and I doubt whether you or any one else in England +knows much more. + +Now that through my ignorance I have thrown away such a chance of +visiting them, and also the Paumotus, I am told on all sides that they +are the loveliest group in the Pacific, ideal in their beauty—embodied +poems; and so I am fuming over my own folly, and telling myself that a +traveller who could let slip such a golden opportunity must have reached +second childhood, and is no longer fit to wander at large. I try to be +philosophical, and not fret over the irrevocable; but of all the +scattered leaves that I have yet suffered to float past me on that +“stream that never returneth,” none has aggravated me so sorely as this. +I am assured on all hands that I should have received a genial welcome +from the French governor and Madame —— and their little society, and +that the expedition would have been in every respect exceptionally +delightful. + +As it is, I can only gather a few faint visions of the lovely isles by +stringing together such particulars as I can learn respecting them. To +begin with, “Les isles Marquises” comprise twelve volcanic isles, thrown +up in wildly irregular black crags, the central range of the larger +isles towering to a height of 5000 feet, while in many places +inaccessible crags rise perpendicular from the sea, but are so +exquisitely draped with parasitic plants as to resemble a succession of +green waterfalls. Not that true waterfalls are lacking. On the contrary, +the mountains are furrowed with deep ravines, in each one of which flows +a sparkling river of clearest water, fed by countless cascades, which +fall from high cliffs, and, uniting in the upper valleys, leap in +rushing cataracts over the sheer precipices, by which alone they may +reach the lower levels. + +Six of these islands are inhabited—namely, Nukuheva, Hiva-oa (commonly +called Dominica), Tetuhiva, Tahuata, Uapou, and Uahuna, Of these, the +principal are Nukuheva and Dominica. + +The former is about 17 miles in length by 12 in breadth—the latter 20 by +7. The population of the group, which a few years ago was roughly +estimated at from 15,000 to 20,000, does not now exceed 5000, of whom +3000 are the inhabitants of Dominique. On all the other islands the +population was decimated about fifteen years ago by the so-called +Peruvian labour trade—in other words, remorseless kidnappers. Smallpox +was also introduced by foreign ships, and, as in all new countries where +it breaks out for the first time, swept the isles like a consuming fire, +leaving to this day the trace of its awful ravages. + +It broke out in the year 1863, and quickly spread throughout the group. +On the isle of Nukuheva it raged with frightful virulence, and carried +off a great multitude. José, a Peruvian convert who had found his way to +the Marquesas, and established himself as an evangelist, devoted himself +with untiring patience and zeal to the care of the sick, whose +panic-stricken friends forsook them, and left him alone to tend that +terrible company of miserable sufferers. Single-handed, he buried the +dead; but, thanks to his self-devotion, many recovered, and by his good +influence were won from their gross cannibalism and heathenism to the +faith he so nobly taught them by its practice. But just then the French +authorities sold all that district to Stewart & Co., a company of +English and French merchants, who converted it into cotton and coffee +plantations, and José was ordered to leave! + +The new-comers took possession of lands wellnigh depopulated by the +terrible smallpox. Silence and desolation brooded over the rich and +beautiful valleys, where bread-fruit, cocoa-palms, guavas, papaws, and +all manner of tropical fruits ripened unheeded, for there were none to +gather them. + +Thus where a few years ago the natives could be counted by thousands, +there are now only scattered villages, thinly peopled. + +Happily the ravages of constant intertribal wars are held in check by +the presence of the French. In former days the Marquesans were fierce +cannibals, and the inhabitants of each lovely valley waged war to the +death against all other tribes. + +The almost inaccessible mountain-ridges rise from the sea-level, +somewhat in the general form of a great star-fish, the space between the +arms being filled by verdant and most fertile valleys, where all manner +of fruit trees grow luxuriantly, and where the different tribes live, +each in its own territory, and well shielded by its natural position +from all incursions of its neighbours. For each valley is thus enclosed +by abrupt precipitous crags, several hundred feet in height, over which +leap cool sparkling rivulets, bringing abundant moisture to irrigate the +yam and _taro_ crops, the sugar-cane, cotton, and all the rich herbage +which flourishes beneath the dense foliage of bread-fruit and bananas. + +Embowered in this green paradise are homes built of the yellow bamboo, +whose feathery foliage waves so gracefully in every direction. The +houses are thatched with palmetto-leaves, sun-bleached to a dazzling +whiteness. They resemble the Tahitian native houses, but are built on +oblong platforms of raised stones, such as those which form the +foundation of Fijian houses, and which are a necessary protection +against the damp of these isles, whose excessive verdure tells of a +heavy rainfall. The chief wealth of the people lies in their pigs, which +were introduced by the Spaniards, who consequently were venerated as +gods. Cats and rats are also foreign importations. The group has +literally no indigenous mammalia, and indeed very few birds. + +In former years the women manufactured native cloth, as in the other +groups, but now a considerable amount of gay calico lends colour to +brighten the scene. Here, however, as in other countries, the French +prove themselves bad colonists. In most respects the Protectorate is +merely nominal, and nothing in the way of improvement flourishes. + +As I before mentioned, the first attempt of the London Mission to +establish a footing here failed signally. + +In 1797, two Englishmen—Messrs Crook and Harris—were sent out to try and +establish a footing in the Marquesas. Harris found his heart fail at the +dangers and horrors of the position, so he returned at once to Tahiti. +Mr Crook worked alone for a year, and then returned to England in search +of helpers. He does not seem to have resumed his dangerous post for some +years, and then merely visited the group. Meanwhile Tahitian converts +were sent out as teachers, but without much success, so they returned to +Tahiti. Others took up the work, and also failed to maintain their +ground. + +In 1833, three American missionaries left the Sandwich Isles, +accompanied by their wives, and contrived to endure eight months in +Nukuheva, endeavouring to tame and Christianise its brutal savages; but +they also had to give up the attempt. + +In 1834, a fresh party of English missionaries renewed the effort, and +struggled on till about 1840, when the London Mission finally abandoned +the field. + +But in 1853, a Marquesan chief, Matanui, came to the Sandwich Isles in a +whale-ship, and requested that teachers should be sent to his people. +Thereupon Mr Bicknell, an Englishman, accompanied by four Hawaiian +teachers and their wives, agreed to return with him to his island, +Fatuhiva. Five days after they arrived, a French brig anchored there, +bringing a Catholic priest, who demanded that they should be at once +sent away, and declared that the Marquesas belonged to France, and that +no English teacher would be tolerated. This statement was at once denied +by the chiefs, who refused to dismiss their teachers, though they by no +means yielded implicit obedience to their lessons, or even treated them +with uniform kindness. Nevertheless the Hawaiian teachers have held +their ground, and though discouraged and oppressed, they have continued +to work silently but steadily, training native teachers from among their +converts, establishing boarding schools, whereby to separate their +scholars from evil influence at home, organising churches, and, in +short, doing all in their power to advance the good cause. + +It was felt that a great step had been gained when the oppressive system +of _tabu_ had received its first blow by many of the high chiefs coming +to a feast at the mission, in company with their wives, as heretofore it +had been forbidden for father, mother, or grown-up child to eat one with +another—all had to feed apart; and the same senseless prohibitions +extended in endless ramifications through all actions of life. Now the +system of _tabu_ has fallen into neglect, and the Hawaiian Mission has +gained ground, notwithstanding much hindrance from the opposition and +interference of the Roman Catholic priests. + +Nevertheless, to all intents and purposes, the majority of the people +are still savages, and the present mission of the Seignelay is to +inquire into recent cases of alleged cannibalism, said to have occurred +in the interior of Dominica, where the hill-tribes and fisher-tribes +still live at constant enmity. It is said to be the most fertile island +in the group, and to have the largest population. + +The French governor is supported by sundry officials, and a detachment +of about sixty soldiers, a dozen _gens d’armes_, and a few native +police.[55] + +The Catholic Mission consists of a bishop, with a considerable number of +priests, and a sisterhood like those on Tonga, Samoa, and Tahiti. The +priests work hard, but apparently with small result. It is whispered +that the presence of a large number of very irreligious white men has a +highly demoralising influence on the natives—as we can well understand; +and even the French Government, which took such a lively interest in the +introduction of Catholicism to Tahiti, seems to take none in the +progress of the mission in the Marquesas. + +In the matter of stone and mortar a good deal has been done, well-built +churches having been erected in all the principal valleys, in the +proportion of one church to every 150 inhabitants. Unfortunately, +however, the people show small disposition to adopt any form of +Christianity. The queen Viakehu and a few of her household are devout +Catholics; and a little flock, who profess to be Christians, rally round +each of the missionaries, but the majority continue heathen, with a +deeply rooted belief in their old superstitions. I have just received a +photograph of one of the Marquesan stone idols, with two of its +worshippers. It is singularly hideous, and the head is crowned with a +circular capstone, resembling on a small scale the crowns of Easter +Island. + +But if the Catholic Mission has hitherto failed in its ostensible work, +it has at least given the natives a good example of industry; for every +available inch of ground within reach of the mission is under most +careful cultivation, and is made to grow excellent cotton. + +Though the Marquesans are too idle to do any sort of planting beyond +what is actually necessary for the cultivation of their gardens, the +example set by the mission has been followed by various settlers. +Foremost among these is Captain Hart, a man of great energy, who has +done much to advance the trading interest of the islands, and who on one +of his plantations employs forty Chinamen, and about sixty natives of +the Gilbert Islands—for here, as in all other places where white men +endeavour to cultivate the land, they find it necessary to employ +labourers imported from other isles, as they cannot extract the same +amount of work from men living on their native soil. + +Hitherto only about a hundred Chinese, and as many Gilbert Islanders, +have been imported, and cotton is the only article grown expressly for +exportation. Of course where cocoa-palms are so abundant, a considerable +amount of _coppra_,[56] is to be obtained; but the natives have +unfortunately been instructed in the art of making palm-rum, and trees +which have been tapped for this purpose rarely recover their full +strength as nut-producers. Happily, in this matter, self-interest leads +the colonists to support the missionaries in their endeavours to +dissuade the people from thus misusing the palm-trees; but, on the other +hand, foreign traders are too ready to supply more fiery stimulants, and +drunkenness prevails to a grievous extent. + +Nearly all these isles supply one indigenous article of commerce—namely, +a kind of fungus, which is much appreciated in China. It looks like +dried-up leather, but is not unpalatable when stewed or served in soup. +A considerable amount of this is obtained in most of the Marquesan +valleys. + +Of colonists, properly so called, there are very few. About fifty white +men are scattered throughout the isles. Of these, some trade; others +cultivate the soil; while a few wander aimlessly from bay to bay, island +to island, living upon whatever the natives like to give them: they are +either too lazy to work, or too dishonest to find employment. These men +include waifs from all nationalities, including Scotch, English, Irish, +American, German, Spanish, and Portuguese. Although a French colony, +there are only three or four French subjects who can be classed as +colonists; but here, as elsewhere, the frugal and diligent Chinaman +seems likely to take firm root. + +Nukuheva bay (where the Seignelay is probably now anchored) is described +as surpassingly lovely. It is a perfect harbour, with very deep water, +and forms a horse-shoe about nine miles in circumference, ending in two +lofty and abrupt headlands. The entrance is very narrow, barely half a +mile across, and is guarded on each side by small conical isles, rising +about 500 feet above the sea. All round the harbour the greenest of low +hills swell in gentle undulations, while behind these rise majestic +mountains, whence steep rocky ridges trend seaward, dividing the vast +amphitheatre into several distinct valleys, which, narrowing as they +ascend, become deep, romantic glens. Here and there snowy cascades, +gleaming through the rich verdure, tell where the precipitous crags +close in the valleys. Some of these barrier-cliffs rise perpendicularly, +to a height of perhaps 1500 feet. So rich is the growth of parasitical +plants, which cling to every crevice, that these mighty rugged crags +appear only to be green walls surmounted by black basaltic pinnacles and +cones, beyond which tower the blue peaks of some of the higher ridges, +which occupy the whole centre of the isle, rising to a height of about +4000 feet. + +There are in these sheltered vales many old men who, in all their long +lives, have never set foot out of their own little boundary. Those +vine-clad cliffs have hemmed them in, and the mountain wilderness beyond +has offered no inducement to roving. No fruit, no game; only the +certainty of excessive toil for no reward, and the possibility of +wandering unintentionally within the territory of some other tribe, ever +on the watch to slay any imprudent straggler. + +The lives of the women have been even more circumscribed, owing to an +extraordinary law of _tabu_, which prohibits a female from setting foot +in a canoe; consequently her farthest voyage is regulated by her powers +of swimming; and so, when a foreign vessel arrives in port, and the +Marquesan nymphs wish to inspect it more closely, they can only do so by +swimming. Small wonder if sailors, perceiving those fair-skinned +beauties, with their tresses of long black hair floating around them, +suppose their visitors to be a company of mermaids! From all accounts +many of these girls are really beautiful. In stature they are somewhat +diminutive, whereas the men average over six feet. As in Tahiti and +other tropical climates, the constitution ripens at a very early age, so +that mere children may be seen playing with their own babies instead of +dolls. Happily the responsibilities of housekeeping do not weigh heavily +in these isles, where nature is so generous, the climate so genial, and +food so abundant. + +I am told that the bread-fruit tree in particular flourishes in the +Marquesas to an extent unknown elsewhere, and grows to an enormous +size—the ripe fruit, either freshly gathered or in its manufactured form +of _poi_, forming the staple food of the isles. + +The Marquesans have the same love of flowers as their neighbours, and +the girls vie one with another in producing the loveliest garlands, +bracelets, and anklets, sometimes of blossoms and leaves intertwined, +but more often of single flowers, plucked from their calyx and strung +together on a thin fibre of _tappa_, while snowy buds take the place of +pearl ear-rings. The fragrant white blossoms of a large tree are those +most in favour. + +But the permanent adornment is that of tattooing, which the Marquesans +have brought to greater perfection than any other South Sea Islanders, +except perhaps the Maoris of New Zealand, their very fair skin affording +a tempting parchment for the artist’s work. The patterns are quaint, and +very elaborately worked out in every conceivable variety of curve. Some +of the older men are thus decorated from head to foot. Even the face is +not spared, a favourite pattern being a strongly marked triangle, the +base sweeping across the lips from ear to ear, whence the other lines +ascend, crossing both eyelids, to meet on the shaven crown. Other men +prefer three broad stripes carried straight across the face,—one across +the eyes, a second across the nose, a third sweeping across the mouth +from ear to ear. A really well-tattooed man is a sort of walking volume +of illustrated natural history, so numerous may be the strange creatures +of earth, sea, and air, delineated on his much-enduring skin,—birds and +butterflies, fishes and crabs, lizards and snakes, octopi and star-fish, +flowers and fruits, all traced in delicate blue lines on a most silky, +olive-coloured surface. Those who go in for artistic unity of design +sometimes have the stem of some graceful tree traced along the spine, +while the spreading branches extend on either shoulder and droop down +the sides, and delicately traced vines twine spirally round arms and +legs, birds and insects appearing among the leaves. + +I have been told that in one of the beautiful valleys lying farther +round the isle than Nukuheva harbour there are Cyclopean remains, +somewhat suggestive of the tombs of the Toui Tongas which we saw in the +Friendly Isles. Among the dense groves which clothe the base of the +mountain lie a series of vast terraces, each about a hundred yards long +by twenty wide, and disposed one above another on the mountain-side, +like gigantic steps. They are built of oblong blocks of stone, some of +which are fifteen feet long by five or six wide. Though perfectly +smooth, they bear no mark of any tool, and are laid without cement. Huge +trees have taken root in the crevices, and their interlacing boughs now +form a dense canopy above this monument of a forgotten race, concerning +which the Marquesans themselves have no tradition. So impenetrable is +the growth of vines in that green wilderness, that a stranger might pass +the spot—nay, actually cross the terraces by the native track—without +observing them. It is another of the mysteries of the stone age. + +But, on a much smaller scale, there exist in the Marquesas _marais_ +similar to those of Tahiti, which have been the temples and the tombs of +the present inhabitants ever since they knew their own history,—and even +these are sufficiently large to make one marvel how they could have been +erected by a race ignorant of all mechanical arts, and owning only such +rude stone implements. Beside the _marais_ there are a vast number of +very old stone foundations, similar to those on which the houses are +invariably raised, probably telling of a diminished population. The man +who, in the present day, wishes to build himself a bamboo house, can +therefore appropriate one of these ready-made foundations, and find the +hardest part of his house-building already accomplished. + +I cannot learn that there is any trace of active volcanic agency now +existing in the Marquesas, though in some districts sulphur-springs and +mineral waters of various kinds have been found. + +On the island of Hiva-oa (or Dominica), in the valley of Ta-oa, about +one mile and a half from the beach, and about 300 feet above the level +of the sea, there is a hole two inches in diameter, from which, when the +sea is rough, there rises a strongly sulphurous steam, accompanied by a +loud noise, like the steam-pipe of a steamer. When the water is smooth +there is only a slight noise and no steam, only a strong smell of +sulphur. + +My attention has just been called to an exceedingly interesting letter +from the Rev. Titus Coan, which appeared ten years ago in a Hawaiian +paper. He had just returned to Honolulu after visiting the Marquesas in +the little mission-ship Morning Star. He speaks of the foreign +settlement at Taiohae or Nukuheva, as having been allowed to fall into +great disrepair. The jetty, the forts, the arsenal, the fine road +sweeping round the head of the bay—in fact, all the former works and +improvements of the French—are fast going to decay, and only a few +hundred natives, in place of the thousands of a few years earlier. + +He was most courteously received by the French bishop, who gave him much +information about the people, and spoke hopefully of progress made on +the north-west isles of the group, though the pagan tribes on the +windward isles, especially on Dominica and Magdalena, were still wild +and defiant. + +Mr Coan then visited the convent, where the French Sisters devote their +lives to the training of Marquesan girls. About sixty girls board in the +large airy house, their ages ranging from four to sixteen—happy, +healthy-looking girls, lovingly taught by gentle, highly educated French +ladies, and everything done to make their lives so cheery, that there +may be no hankering for heathen pleasures. Of these girls, Mr Coan +remarks that he has rarely seen more perfect specimens of physical +organisation, brighter faces, or more active minds, than among the +Marquesan children, many of whom are beautiful, bright, and blithesome. + +A corresponding school for boys is established, under a French secular +teacher. + +Though the settlement of Taiohae cannot be reckoned as very “go-ahead,” +it certainly sounds as if it might be a singularly attractive +resting-place—the houses smothered in luxuriant foliage, both indigenous +and exotic, ornamental and fruit-bearing; banyan, iron-wood, candle-nut, +hybiscus, palms, bread-fruit, orange, citron, lemon, guava, South Sea +chestnut, and ever so many other trees, all growing in richest beauty; +and every rock and pinnacle is carpeted with mosses and grasses, or +festooned with tropical vines. The precipitous crags all around are so +thickly clothed, that they suggest green velvet draperies striped with +lines of molten silver; these are merry cascades, falling from sources +3000 feet above the valley, and forming three large streams, which dash +among rocky boulders on their seaward way. + +But Mr Coan seems to award the palm of beauty to the valley of Atuona on +Isle Hiva-oa. He says it is a broad, deep valley, umbrageous and +peaceful, and watered by a limpid, babbling stream. The trees are +magnificent, and the vines run riot in their luxuriance. The great +rampart of rocks rising in the background is the highest point of all +the islands, and it is usually wreathed with clouds. “The broken hills +form columns, spurs, pinnacles, coves, and sharp lateral ribs. Some are +round, some angular, some stratified, some laminated, some truncated, +some pointed. They lie in all positions—horizontal, tilted, +vertical—with heaps of scoria revealing their igneous origin. Rock is +piled on rock, hill upon hill, ridge upon ridge, mountain upon +mountain—serried, castellated, turreted, ... forming masses of confused +harmony, defying all the art of the limner, the pen-and-ink painter, and +the descriptive powers of man.” + +Now I do hope you sympathise in my ever-increasing regret at having +missed my chance of visiting so marvellous a scene of beauty! + +The climate, too, must be delightful. It is soft and balmy, and the +dense foliage affords such constant shade that even the rays of a +tropical sun can only trickle through in bright gleams, while the +cooling sea-breeze seems never to fail. Severe storms are rare, and +hurricanes unknown in the group. In short, the climate is equable, mild, +and wellnigh perfect. + +The mission party sailed from one beautiful isle to another, to visit +the teachers already established, and to bring them fresh helpers. They +landed on Uahuna, which, like the other isles, is high, broken, and +precipitous. Their arrival was an unexpected joy to the good Laioha and +his wife Ewa, who had been settled here about a year previously, and +already had made a considerable impression on the people. Laioha blew a +loud blast on a horn; and its echoes, reaching the villages nestled +among precipices far up the valley, soon brought together about fifty +wild men and women—some of whom had already made considerable progress +in reading and writing. + +At Paumau about a hundred people assembled under the trees, on the +beautiful shore. Many carried spears and war-clubs, whaling-spades or +shark-spears. Some had the head shaven all over; some in zones and +belts, vertical or horizontal; some on one side, some on the other; some +with a tuft of hair on the crown, some on the forehead, some on the +occiput, and some hanging over the right or the left ear. And thus it +was with the tattooing. The wildest taste and most fantastic and +capricious figures were displayed upon the face, arms, legs, and over +the whole body. Children are not tattooed; females but little, +consequently they look like another and a milder race of beings. + +To this strange crowd Mr Coan and his friends endeavoured to explain +some of the simplest doctrines of Christianity. One old warrior, heavily +tattooed, and with closely shaven head, who carried a large green leaf +to shade his eyes, was witty and sceptical, and brought up many +objections to the new creed. But presently he confessed that it was +good, and bade Mr Coan speak also to his chief. The latter, on hearing +of a heaven in which there was neither fighting nor hunger, remarked +that “it would be a good place for cowards and lazy folk, who are afraid +to fight, and too indolent to climb cocoa-palms or bread-fruit trees.” +His repartees excited laughter in the crowd; but after a while, he, like +the old warrior, declared that it was good, and that he would forsake +heathenism. + +Pressing the hand of his new white friend, he said, “_Kaoha oe_,”—“Love +to thee.” He became serious and earnest, and listened with fixed +interest to all the words then spoken; and the meeting only dispersed +when darkness overshadowed the land. A fine old lady of eighty, one of +the early converts (who at her baptism had added the name of Eve to her +own native name of Hipa-Hipa), was brought forward by her friends, and +clasping Mr Coan’s hands, placed them on her own silvery head, as she +welcomed him for his work’s sake. + +The mission-ship next proceeded to Hakahekau, on Isle Uapou, to carry +needful supplies to the Rev. S. Kauwealoha, who has laboured for several +years among its beautiful valleys and wild cannibal inhabitants. He is +described as a man of great energy and activity, both physical and +intellectual, with a large and generous heart, ever ready to put head, +heart, and hand to any work which will help others, or advance the cause +of Christ. His talents are versatile. He can work in wood, iron, stone, +and mortar; can build a good house; construct, rig, row, and sail a +boat; or act as pilot in all the harbours of the group. He will work +bareheaded and barefooted, and can swim and dive in the surf like a +porpoise. He is very intelligent, speaks and reads English tolerably, +and, by getting hold of an occasional newspaper, he manages to keep up +with the current news of the age. As a missionary he is earnest in +prayer, energetic in preaching, and firm in principle, and foreigners +and natives alike respect him. + +While the vessel was landing its stores, its passengers explored scenery +of indescribable loveliness. Passing through a valley rich with +luxuriant vegetation, they reached a point three miles in the interior, +where they commanded a general view of the sublime landscape. “Within a +vast amphitheatre of rugged hills, which send down their serrated spurs +to the shore, buttressed by bold and lofty precipices, are eight +remarkable cones, 200 to 300 feet high, and 50 to 100 feet in diameter, +standing as everlasting columns against the sky, giving to the whole the +character of a castellated fortress. The fantastic forms produced by the +force of ancient volcanic fires, by the abrading action of winds, rain, +and chemical agencies on these isles, are amazing.” + +Passing on to Isle Futuiva, the vessel anchored in Hanavave Bay, +embowered in magnificent hills, with towering rocks like lofty minarets +guarding its entrance. Mr Coan says the scene was so grand as to be +almost overpowering. He rowed for some miles along the wonderful coast, +which he believes to be almost without an equal in nature. Rocky cliffs, +towering domes, and lofty precipices, rent, grooved, and fluted, +everywhere charmed the eye; and from these bold heights, sometimes of +2000 feet, silvery cascades leaped to the sea. + +Here and there shaded dells opened along the rocky shore. Small valleys +filled with fruit-bearing trees, and murmuring with living waters, +appeared as if by enchantment. But all were desolate, for fierce bloody +war had slain the inhabitants, or driven them from these Edens of +beauty. + +For the tribes of Hanavave Bay have waged ceaseless war with those of +Omoa, and the latter seem of late years to have had the best of it. + +At Omoa (which is separated from Hanavave by dividing ridges of +inaccessible crags and precipices), the Hawaiian teachers assembled to +meet Mr Coan and his friends. The party consisted of the Rev. S. +Kauwealoha, the Rev. J. Kekela, the Rev. A. Kaukau, the Rev. T. W. +Kaiwi, the Rev. Z. Hapuku, and Mr T. W. Laioha. The names are +characteristic. So is the fact of the Rev. Z. Hapuku going out to meet +the ship, by diving through raging surf in which no boat could live, +that he might pilot the vessel to another bay, where the boats found a +landing-place on a smooth sand-beach; and the visitors were led to the +mission-house by an avenue, cut like a long tunnel, through the hybiscus +and cotton shrubs. + +At Omoa a large proportion of the native converts had assembled for +church services. About seventy persons were present. In the morning a +new pastor was ordained to the work of the ministry. In the afternoon +seventeen adults and two children were baptised, and afterwards the Holy +Communion was administered to about forty communicants, nearly all of +whom had but a few years, or even months, previously, been reclaimed +from heathenism and wild cannibal orgies. + +The schools of Omoa were examined on the following day, and about +seventy scholars were found under tuition, of whom fifty-four could +read, and many had made some progress in arithmetic and geography. + +As if in special contrast to this meeting of the Christians, the heathen +Marquesans were engaged in some curious ceremonies, in honour of a +celebrated prophetess who had died six weeks previously. Her name was +Kauakamikihei. They had built a house for her, 12 feet wide by 24 long, +and 48 feet high. On the top of this house they placed a target of white +native cloth (there called _kapa_), and supposed to represent the moon. +At this the men fired their muskets, and shouts of triumph greeted the +lucky shots. + +Afterwards a great company of tattooed savages rushed to the shore, with +wild shouts, carrying a sacred canoe, which was covered with a broad +flat frame of bamboo, on which was erected a small round house, covered +with mats. In this were placed a live pig, a dog, and a cock, also some +bread-fruit, cocoa-nuts, and a bowl of _poi_. The canoe was much +ornamented, and rigged with mast, and sail of _kapa_. With much shouting +it was launched, and pushed by bold swimmers through the roaring surf +into the open sea, where they left it and returned to shore. The canoe +drifted slowly out of the bay, but struck on the northern headland, +where it was in danger of being dashed to pieces on the rocks, when a +native ran round the harbour and once more shoved off the frail bark, +which sailed out to sea with its living freight. This ceremony was a +final offering to the god whom the dead prophetess or priestess had +served, and closed the season of _koina_ or _tabu_, which had lasted six +weeks, during which all manner of servile work or vain recreation were +alike forbidden. + +From these frequent allusions to heavy surf breaking on the shore, you +may infer that the coral barrier-reef is wanting on most of the +Marquesan isles. The fact is, that in many cases, these volcanic crags +rise so precipitously, from so great a depth, that the diligent corals +have failed to gain a resting-place, and so the sea dashes on the shore +with unabated violence. + +Strangely in contrast with these picturesque volcanic isles, is that +other group over which, also, I grieve as over a lost inheritance. + +The Paumotus (_i.e._, cloud of islands)—or, as we used to call it, the +Low or Dangerous Archipelago—is a cluster of eighty very flat +coral-isles, most of which are of the nature of atolls, some shaped like +a horse-shoe, others so nearly circular that only small canoes can enter +the calm lagoon which occupies the centre; and some are perfect rings, +having no visible connection whatever with the ocean, which, +nevertheless, finds a subterranean passage through which the waters rush +in a strong current as the tides rise and fall. Such lagoons as these +are generally encircled by a belt of swamp, which can only be crossed by +laying down pathways of long branches; these act in the same way as huge +Canadian snowshoes, and enable the light-footed natives to pass in +safety across the treacherous green surface to the margin of the lake, +where they keep small canoes in which to paddle about in search of eels +and shrimps, and various kinds of fish. The water-supply is generally +deficient, and only by sinking wells in the coral-sand can even brackish +water be obtained. There are, however, exceptions to this rule, and some +isles have good springs. But at best, the people depend greatly on their +cocoa-nuts for drink even more than for food, and happily this supply +rarely fails them. The coral-bed supplies neither soil nor water +sufficient to raise any regular crops. Here and there a sort of caladium +with edible root grows wild, but yams or _taro_ are only known as +imported luxuries. Forest-trees and scrub, however, contrive to find a +living, and form a dense growth over most of the isles; and here and +there clumps of carefully cultivated bananas, orange-trees, or +bread-fruit, tell of a richer and deeper soil, probably accumulated with +patient toil. Fig-trees and limes also flourish. + +Some of the lagoon-reefs have a diameter of about forty miles, and only +rise above the water in small isles, forming a dotted circle. + +I believe it is generally supposed that such coral-rings as these have +in many cases been the encircling reef formed round some volcanic isle, +which has gradually subsided, whereas the reef-building corals have +continually risen higher and higher, so as to remain in the shallow +water, in which alone they can live, and thus in course of ages the +condition of things becomes reversed. The once fertile isle disappears +beneath the ocean, whereas the coral-reef, rising to just below +high-water mark, gradually accumulates shells and seaweeds; the sea +deposits drift of all sorts, and, little by little, a soil is formed +which becomes fertile, and presently cocoa-nuts drift from far-away +isles, and weeds of many sorts are carried by the birds, or float on the +currents, and so the isle becomes fertile—a ring instinct with life, +rising perpendicularly from the deep sea on the outer side, and very +often on the inner side also. + +Where this is the case, and the inner lagoon appears as fathomless as +the outer sea, it is supposed that the atoll has been formed on the rim +of a sunken crater, colonies of living corals having settled on its +surface so soon as it subsided below high-water mark. This theory seems +the more probable, from the manner in which you find these circular +coral-isles densely clustered in certain localities, and none in other +groups, just as in some regions we find innumerable extinct craters +covering the whole surface of the land, and can readily imagine that +should such a district subside, each cup-like crater might soon be +covered with corals. + +As in some craters the lava-flow has rent a gap near the summit whereby +to escape, and in other craters it has found for itself a subterranean +passage, leaving the upper crust unbroken, so in these atolls, some are +perfect rings, and the tides ebb and flow within the lagoons by +submarine channels, while others have an open passage, deep enough for a +ship to sail into the inner lake. + +The principal island in the Paumotu group is that of Manga Reva, a +cluster of five isles, all within one encircling reef. The main isle is +a basaltic mass, rising 2000 feet above the sea-level. It is the most +fertile of the group, and is the headquarters of the French bishop and +his clergy. The Paumotus have a population of about 5000 persons, the +majority of whom are Roman Catholics. They are a fine independent race, +and in old days were accounted brave warriors. + +Now a large number make their living by diving for the great pearl +shell-oysters, which are found in many of the lagoons at a depth of from +ten to twenty fathoms, attached to the coral-rock by a strong +byssus—_i.e._, a bunch of silky golden-brown filaments, which the diver +cuts with his knife, and so secures his prize. This silken cable is +attached to the muscle of the fish itself, and passes through an +aperture at the hinge. An expert diver can remain under water for about +three minutes. In some of the isles women are accounted the most skilful +divers, especially in deep water, where the largest shells are found, +some actually measuring eighteen inches across—such beautiful great +shields of gleaming mother-of-pearl. + +The pearls themselves are not very abundant, and are generally found in +the less perfect shells, the inmates of which are either sickly or have +inadvertently admitted grains of coral-sand, which they have been unable +to eject. But sometimes the large healthy shells contain one beautiful +perfect pearl, not lodged in the muscle in the ordinary way, but lying +loose in the shell; and though it is certain that many are lost through +carelessness, a considerable number have taken high rank among the noted +pearls of the civilised world. I believe that those composing the +Empress Eugénie’s splendid necklace were collected in the Paumotus, and +that Queen Victoria’s pearl, which is valued at £6000, was also found +there. In heathen days all the best pearls were treasured in the idol +temples, and some of the early adventurers are known to have made a very +lucrative business by exchanging cheap muskets for bags of pearls. The +same disease or discomfort which produces these lovely gems often takes +a form less valued, but still very beautiful—large distorted pearly +lumps, often the size of two joints of the little finger, and assuming +all manner of quaint forms, sometimes resembling a human hand. I have +seen some which had been set as pins and brooches, which I thought very +attractive. + +These, however, like the pearls themselves, are the accidental prizes of +the divers. The regular article of traffic is the shell itself, which +the traders buy from the natives at an average of £15 per ton, and sell +in London at an average of over £100. They calculate that by hiring +divers and working the beds themselves, the shell can be raised at less +than £6 per ton. In former years the annual harvest of Paumotu +pearl-shell was immensely in excess of the present supply, which is said +not to average above 200 tons—the natural result of allowing the beds no +time to recruit. Doubtless there are vast beds untouched, at lower +levels, where the divers do not care to venture; and it is supposed that +the outer face of the barrier-reef is probably one vast oyster-bed, but +the bravest divers dare not venture to attempt work beneath the awful +breakers. + +Certain it is, that the colonies in the lagoons are annually replenished +by myriads of infant pearl-oysters, which have been spawned in the deep +sea, and which, in the months of December and March, may be seen +floating in with the rising tide; tiny glittering shells, a quarter or a +half inch in diameter, like fairy coins. Once in those calm waters, the +young oysters apparently have no wish again to seek the stormy outer +seas, for they are never seen floating out with the retiring tide. It +takes seven years for an oyster to attain maturity, so only those which +settle in deep water have a chance of reaching a ripe age. + +Strange to say, these creatures, which appear to be so immovably +attached to their coral-rock, are proved to be migratory. Not only do +the closely packed young oysters detach their silken cables and move off +in search of more roomy quarters, but even the heavy grown-up shells +sometimes travel from one shelf in the coral to another, probably in +search of better feeding-grounds. They are singularly capricious in the +selection of their homes; in one lagoon they are abundant, and perhaps +in the very next not an oyster is to be found: and no attempt to raise +artificial beds, even by transporting masses of rock covered with young +shells, has ever succeeded, although the surroundings are apparently +identical in every respect. Of course they will not settle anywhere near +sand, which, by any disturbing cause, might enter their shells, and +cause them as much inconvenience as do the innumerable tiny red +crabs,—uninvited guests, which take up their quarters in the +oyster-shells, to the great aggravation of the helpless owners. + +The lagoons in which these fisheries are carried on are indescribably +lovely: marine gardens, in which every detail of beauty is enhanced by +being seen through the clearest crystal waters, which lend a glamour as +of a magic glass to everything seen through them, whether sea-weed or +shell, zoophyte or coral, gliding snake or rainbow-coloured fish. Here +and there are patches of pure white coral-sand, which serve to reveal +the exquisite colour of the aqua-marine water; while the golden seaweeds +appear purple, and the corals seem to vary in hue, according to the +depth at which they lie beneath the surface. It is all illusion, for the +flowers of the sea are always disappointing when gathered. But there on +the coral-ledges lie the great oysters and many other shells, including +the huge clam, which is accounted excellent food. The pearl-oyster is +only eaten in times of scarcity, as it is very coarse and unpalatable, +though not unwholesome. + +Diving for clams generally falls to the share of the women; and many a +one has met her doom from getting nipped by the ponderous dentated +shell, and so held prisoner in the depths, never to rise again. I heard +several horrible stories on this subject in Fiji, and here new ones are +added to the list. Quite recently a poor fellow fishing on one of the +Paumotu atolls dived to the bottom of the lagoon, feeling for +pearl-oysters, when he unluckily slipped the fingers of his left hand +into a gaping clam-shell, which instantly closed and held him as if in a +vice. The shell lay in a hole in the coral, so that it was impossible to +reach the byssus by which it was moored in that safe harbour; the +wretched man, in agony of mind and of body, severed his own fingers with +his knife, and rose to the surface, having indeed escaped drowning, but +being maimed for life. There have been other cases when a diver, thus +imprisoned, has with greater deliberation contrived to insert his knife +into the shell, and so force it open sufficiently to release his other +hand. + +In gathering clams, the aim of the diver is to stab the gaping mollusc +with a sharp-pointed stake, and then with his knife cut the silky +filaments by which it adheres to the rock, after which he slips both +hands below the huge shell, and endeavours to raise it;—no easy matter, +considering what ponderous monsters many of the clams are—a single shell +making an admirable bath for a child, pure as white marble, and highly +polished by nature. In many Roman Catholic churches these large shells +are used for holy water. The smaller clams, such as are generally used +for food, are often picked up on the reef in basket-loads; and many a +careless child has playfully thrust its little fingers into a gaping +shell, an invasion promptly resented by the owner. Happily the scream of +agony generally brings some friends to the rescue: and strong as is the +armour of the poor besieged clam, it offers one weak point to the +enemy—namely, the cavity through which the byssus passes; a skilful stab +through this aperture causes the inmate to relax its hold, and so the +child is released—but many a finger is lost in this manner. The +multitude of these shell-fish annually consumed on all the isles is +something incredible, and the supply is apparently inexhaustible. It is +not generally known that these shells also occasionally yield very +valuable and lustrous pearls of peculiar brilliancy. + +But the treasury of the sea, which lies safe beyond the reach of +covetous human beings, is that clean coral-sand which glimmers far below +the coral caves where the oysters congregate, and to which, for untold +ages, have dropped the pearls which fell from the gaping shell, when the +seven-year-old oyster, having lived his appointed time, melted away in +his native brine, and let go the treasures he could no longer clasp. +What a dream of delight, even in fancy, to gather up those + + “Pale glistening pearls and rainbow-coloured shells, + Bright things that gleam unrecked of and in vain”! + +I suppose the water-babies of these seas look upon pearls as we used to +look on John o’ Groats—probably with less reverence, as being so much +more common; and perhaps they are right, for the one was only a disease, +and the other a wondrously contrived little home. + +One valuable creature which loves the white coral-sand as cordially as +the pearl-oyster dreads it, is the black _bêche-de-mer_,[57] a very +important item in the harvest of these seas, and one which affords a +living to a multitude of white men and brown. There are four different +sorts, of which the black is the largest. It resembles a gigantic leech, +and grows to a length of about thirty inches. It is a gregarious animal, +and is found in companies of brother-slugs wherever the water is +clearest and most perfect peace prevails. It is supposed to be blind, +and its movements are so slow as to be imperceptible. It has a red +cousin, which seems to enjoy tumult and noise as much as the black kind +loves calm. Its favourite home is on the outer edge of the coral-reef, +where the mighty breakers are for ever raging. + +The _bêche-de-mer_ fishers have on the whole rather a pleasant sort of +gipsy life. Having chartered a small vessel, they engage a set of +natives, both men and women, to work with them for so many moons; and as +it is just the sort of occupation which comes natural to these men, they +generally have a cheery time of it. They anchor at some favourable spot, +probably a desert island, and build a cluster of palm-leaf huts for +themselves, another in which to smoke, and so cure the fish and slugs, +and to act as storehouse. However rude may be their own shelter, the +fish-houses must be made water-tight, lest the heavy rains should beat +through, and destroy the precious store. + +The men carry with them a store of yams and cocoa-nuts, and trust to +their luck for a daily fish supply, which rarely, if ever, fails, and +has the charm of considerable variety, including most of the finny +tribes, turtles and their eggs, clams, cockles, and other +shell-fish—occasionally sea-birds’ eggs are added to the feast. Whatever +is caught is supposed to go to be handed over to the native overseer for +equal division, that none may hunger. So when the day’s work is done, a +delicious bathe is followed by a cheery supper, and then the men lie +round bright wood-fires, indulging in never-ending talk or songs, or +else dancing quaint savage _mékés_ in the moonlight. + +Every morning they start at early dawn armed with long many-pronged +forks, to collect the treasures brought in by the tide. If the sea is +calm they go to the outer edge of the reef, in search of the red +_bêche-de-mer_, which love the sea-foam; but when the surf comes +thundering in with mad violence, then the fishers have a quiet day with +the black slugs; for these they must dive perhaps to a depth of twelve +fathoms. + +As I once before mentioned to you, these creatures eject a fluid which +blisters the skin most painfully; so instead of carrying them in a +basket, it is customary for the fisher to have a miniature canoe which +he can drag over the reef by means of a rope, or float on the calm +lagoon, should he have occasion to dive; into this canoe he throws all +treasure-trove, and when it is full, empties it into one of the larger +boats. Noonday is the most favourable hour for the diver, as the sun’s +vertical rays then most clearly illumine the submarine depths where he +seeks his game. + +When a fair supply has been secured, the fishers return to the +settlement. Sometimes they busy themselves on the way by cleaning the +slugs, which is done by cutting them open with a sharp knife, so as to +let the dangerous blistering fluid and intestines fall into the sea. But +the more cautious men defer this process till they reach the shore, when +they pop the live animals into a boiling caldron, and therein stir them +diligently for some minutes, after which they can clean them with +greater safety to themselves. They are then transferred to another +caldron and stewed for half an hour, after which they are taken to the +drying-house, whence they reappear like bits of dry leather, and require +to be soaked for several days previous to use. + +It is necessary to cook the Holothuria as quickly as possible, because +so soon as they are dead they become a gelatinous mass like treacle, +with a very bad smell, and all adhere together, so that no use can be +made of them. So if caldrons are lacking, native ovens are at once +prepared: a hole is dug in the earth, and a fire kindled, whereby stones +are thoroughly heated, and on these the slugs are laid, and covered with +green leaves and old matting, and earth over all. Thus they are steamed +for an hour, till they are dried up and shrivelled, after which each is +stretched open with little bits of stick, and laid on the drying stages +in the smoking-house, over a fire of green wood, which produces a dense +smoke. This must be kept up for three days, after which this leathery +and uninviting delicacy is packed in palm-leaf baskets ready for the +China market. But it must from time to time be spread in the scorching +sun to dry it more thoroughly, as any lingering moisture will inevitably +reveal itself on the long journey, and the produce of many a month’s +hard labour has thus been rendered worthless. + +I do not think that _bêche-de-mer_ soup ever finds much favour with +Europeans, but I have eaten it myself with much satisfaction, which is +far more than I can say for turtle in any form, as prepared in the +Pacific. Turtle-steaks sound well, but I cannot say they are nice. I +think they are generally cut from turtle which have been roasted whole +in native ovens. I believe the scientific cook invariably lays the +turtle on its back, that the precious green fat and oil may not be lost; +and the prudent housekeeper preserves the surplus of a feast-day, by +cutting up slices of turtle-steak, which she stores in cocoa-nut shells, +pouring in liquid fat, and tying a heated banana-leaf over the shell, in +lieu of hermetically sealing these potted meats. As a good large turtle +weighs fully 400 lb. (and some are occasionally captured weighing from +600 to 700 lb.), you can understand that a chief may very well allow +himself to store up a portion for the morrow, without depriving his +followers of their fair share. + +But if turtle-meat is unpleasant, still more so, to my uneducated taste, +are turtle-eggs, several hundred of which are sometimes found inside a +large mother turtle. But they are generally discovered carefully buried +in the sand well above high-water mark. They are quite round and +leathery, resembling small white tennis-balls. In the breeding season, +the female turtle leaves her mate beyond the barrier-reef, and she comes +ashore, alone, at high tide, generally selecting the full moon. Having +chosen a suitable spot for her nest, she scratches a large hole in the +sand, in the middle of which she digs a funnel, two or three feet in +depth, and therein proceeds to lay about a hundred eggs, after which she +carefully covers them over with sand, and smooths away all trace of her +visit. Then she returns to the reef and there waits for the next high +tide, when she rejoins her mate. For some reason best known to herself, +she generally returns ashore either on the ninth or eighteenth night—a +fact well known to the natives, who scan the beach eagerly for the broad +track left on the smooth white sand by this midnight visitor. + +When poor Mrs Turtle becomes aware of the presence of her natural foe, +man, she generally tries to hide, and will lie motionless for hours; but +should this hope prove vain, she makes for the sea at railway speed, her +flippers acting as paddles, by which she jerks herself along. Should her +foe outstrip her in the race, he contrives to turn her over, when she +lies on her back more helpless than even a fat sheep in the like +predicament. + +I daresay that to all of you, in England, the accounts of these South +Sea groups sound so much alike, that you can scarcely sympathise with my +repining over the omission of a few. But each has its own distinctive +peculiarities, which you only realise by living in it for a while, and +making friends with its inhabitants. + +Therefore I fear that these “lines left out” will remain to me a +lifelong regret. They have all the pain that attaches to “truth seen too +late,” which is the crown of woe. + +I only hope that you will profit by my sad experience, and that should +you ever have a chance of seeing the Marquesas and the Paumotus, you +will not let it slip. But such luck as visiting a French colony in a +French man-of-war does not often present itself! + + + + + CHAPTER XVIII. + TAHITIAN HOSPITALITY—A SOUTH SEA STORE—A BATHING PICNIC—THE + MARQUESANS—TATTOOING—ANCIENT GAMES OF TAHITI—MALAY DESCENT—THEORY OF A + NORTHERLY MIGRATION. + + + LA MAISON BRANDÈRE, PAPEETE, + _Wednesday, 21st_. + +Already ten days have slipped away since we watched the Maramma sail for +Honolulu, and each morning I awake with a feeling of pleasure that I am +still in this delightful isle. Would that you could look on the lovely +scene on which my eyes rest with the first glimmer of dawn, and which +now lies outspread before me, as I sit in this cool verandah opening off +my large bedroom on the upper storey! It is a verandah all closed in +with _jalousies_, screening its occupants from the outside world; while +they, themselves unseen, look down on the brightest, most animated scene +you can imagine. + +Long before sunrise the pretty native boats, with double sails, arrive +from all parts of the isle, bringing their cargo of fish and fruit for +the market, which is held in a large building in the town. But as the +boats are unloaded, their wares are outspread on the grass just below +these windows, and the most active housewives and purveyors for the +ships come here to secure the first choice of luscious fruits and of +fishes, as beautiful to the eye as they are tempting to the palate. +These are of every shade of blue and green, scarlet and crimson, and +pale yellow with lilac stripes. The large bright-green fish are +generally eaten raw; and occasionally the purchasers, whose appetites +are sharpened by the fresh morning air, cannot resist an early breakfast +_al fresco_. The air is balmy and delicious, like a heavenly midsummer +morning in Europe; and all the girls have light woollen shawls. (Real +Scotch tartans are in high favour, and are worn in true Highland +fashion, over one shoulder and round the body.) + +The fruit-supply is brought in large baskets. Just now there are +quantities of mangoes, oranges, and Abercarder pears (_des avocats_ they +are called here, where French permeates all things, as it did in England +when the Norman conquerors changed Saxon oxen, sheep, and hens, to beef, +mutton, and fowls). But these minor fruits are trifling luxuries. The +mainstay of life is the _faees_ or wild banana, which here takes the +place of the yams and _taro_ of the groups further west. + +I think I have already described this peculiar plant, which bears its +enormous bunch of fruit growing upright from the centre of its crown of +large leaves, instead of drooping below them, as is the manner of all +other bananas and plantains. These clusters vary from two to four feet +in length; and I constantly see a bunch so long and so heavy, that it is +carried to market slung from a pole, resting on the shoulders of two +men, just as in the old pictures of the Israelitish spies bearing the +grapes of Eshcol, which were the delight of our childhood. It must be +toilsome work to carry these weighty spoils of the mountains from the +remote ravines where they chiefly flourish. + +All these heaps of golden fruit form a brilliant foreground to the +beautiful harbour beyond, which at this early hour reflects only the +pale, glowing daffodil hues of a cloudless sky, against which the +exquisite outline of Moorea stands out in clear relief. Suddenly its +delicate pearly grey is flushed with rose colour, as the first ray of +the rising sun touches those lofty summits, and veinings of tender blue +mark the course of deep glens and corries, or the shadows cast by +prominent crags and pinnacles. + +Nearer—so near, indeed, that we can distinguish friendly faces on the +decks—lie the French men-of-war; and as the light touches them, their +dead white changes to cream colour, and they and their unfurled sails, +and the clothes hung out to dry, are all reflected in the calm water. +So, too, are the various trading ships, and the great hulk of a large +iron vessel, which caught fire fifteen months ago when she was near the +Marquesas. Her crew took to their boats, and two of these arrived here +safely. A good while after, the deserted ship, still burning, drifted +down towards here. The Seignelay went out and towed in the wreck. She +had been laden with coal, and this had run into a sort of semi-fluid, +tarry condition, and to this hour it is still smouldering; and after a +shower of rain, steam and smoke still rise from the poor old hulk, which +is so red from rust that you would think she had been painted vermilion. +It is a vexed question whether she can ever be turned to account, or +whether she should not be towed outside the reef, and there sunk.[58] + +Just beyond the shipping, inside the harbour, is a small island +fortified by the French. The incongruity of ramparts and guns is hidden +by foliage of hybiscus and palms; and it forms one item in the beauty of +the scene. + +This is the view from the front of the Red House. The back windows look +over green mango-trees, and past the spire of the Roman Catholic church, +to the great purply mountains of the interior. So you see that, although +this big square three-storeyed house of very red brick, encased in +closed verandahs, is not in itself an ornamental building, its +surroundings are very lovely. And of the kindliness that reigns within +it, words fail me to tell. It is an atmosphere of genial cordiality, in +which each guest is at once made to feel as welcome, and as thoroughly +at home, as any member of the large family. It is a kindness as +unconscious, but as real and as delightful, as the balmy air we breathe, +and is as purely Tahitian. What would these warm-hearted open-handed +people think of the measured cold reception of strangers in our grey +British isles? + +To begin with, I discovered, on arriving here, that Mrs Brander had +actually given me her own charming suite of rooms, to secure my having +the fullest enjoyment of the lovely view and of the cool verandahs; so +that I virtually am in solitary possession of this whole flat, with its +large handsome drawing-room and cosy boudoir. I compare myself to one of +the hermit-crabs which curl themselves into desirable shells, to the +exclusion of the rightful owners! But my most hospitable hostess will +not allow that she suffers any inconvenience; though she and her +children have moved downstairs to share one huge room with any number of +friends and relations, who spread their soft mattresses and pillows, and +very gay quilts, and make themselves cosy for the night, just as the +fancy takes them. The fine old mother has a house near, but very often +she and the pretty sisters prefer to sleep here: so do sundry cousins +and friends. There are also a number of Tahitian women of good birth who +find a home, almost by right, in the house of every high chief, and who +in return do him, or her, such light service as may be required. But of +actual servants, as we understand the word, there are none. + +I find an element of great comfort in the presence of an English woman +who acts as housekeeper—a most unexpected discovery in Tahiti! She +brings my early breakfast of tea and fruit, and otherwise takes great +care of me. + +We have a regular European breakfast and dinner, at which, however, only +my hostess and her big brothers, with the Belgian manager and a few +French officers, generally appear. The others prefer eating _à +l’indigène_, sitting on their mats in another room, or beneath the shady +trees; in fact, the native element is pretty strong, which gives this +house half its interest. All the connections of the royal family, and a +number of pretty _demi-blanche_ girls, dressed in flowing sacques, are +continually coming and going; and once a week Mrs Brander has a +reception for all the young folk, and for as many French officers as +like to come; and they all dance and make merry,—rather more so, I +think, than at the admiral’s Wednesday receptions at Government House, +which are, nevertheless, very enjoyable. + +I had heard the praises of my hostess sung in no measured terms by all +the members of the mission, both French and English, as well as by our +consul and his family; but only since I have lived under her roof have I +realised what a very exceptional woman she is. To the affectionate +kindliness of a genuine Tahitian, she adds the Anglo-Jewish strength of +character and business capacity inherited from her father; and the +combination is one which would be truly remarkable in any woman, but is +doubly so in one of the gentle daughters of the South Seas. The born +chiefess is revealed in her large-hearted generosity to every creature +that comes within her reach; though her extreme unselfishness makes her +shrink from any expenditure that seems to tend only to her own comfort. +She appears to be always thinking what she can do for other people—rich +or poor, in all parts of the group. She has estates scattered all over +these isles, and conducts all their business herself, as well as +attending to everything connected with the great mercantile house +created by her late husband. Though she has many assistants, she is +emphatically its head, and not the smallest detail can be carried out +without her sanction. Every business transaction, whether with the +French Government, or foreign vessels requiring supplies, or her own +trading ships, passes through her hands. Everything is done by her +special order, and every business paper has to receive her signature. +But she never seems to forget anything or any one; and, moreover, has +time to prove herself a most devoted mother to her nine children—of whom +one is married in Valparaiso, another here, some of the sons are at +school in Scotland, and the baby daughters are the pets and darlings of +this house. + +Mrs Brander owns a fleet of about twenty smart trading schooners, which +run backwards and forwards between Tahiti and such points as San +Francisco, Valparaiso, and New Zealand, carrying the cargoes of all +sorts collected by other vessels (of the same fleet) in the surrounding +isles and the neighbouring groups. + +These cargoes consist chiefly of _coppra_—that is, dried cocoa-nut +kernel, broken into little bits for convenience of stowage on the far +journey to England or other lands, where it is subjected to such heavy +pressure as extracts the oil, leaving a residue of oil-cake for the +fattening of British beeves. For the _gourmet_ of China, quantities of +edible fungus and dried _bêche-de-mer_ are sent to San Francisco, whence +they are passed on to Hong-Kong. Tons of large pearl-shells, measuring +about eight inches across, with beautifully iridescent lining, go to +make buttons and such articles, in all parts of the world; true pearls +of considerable value are occasionally found in these, and a large +number of average size. Of the fruits of the isles, oranges form the +largest export, but vanilla, coffee, and various other products swell +the list. At one time cotton was a good article of export, but it +appears to have fallen into disfavour. + +The vessels return from their several destinations laden with every +conceivable variety of goods. There is nothing that luxury can desire +which does not find its way to these remote isles, from the newest scent +to the finest dress materials—not even excepting silks and velvets, +though for whose benefit these are imported, passes my comprehension. + +Truly wonderful is that compendium of all things needful, known as “a +store,” and that of _La Maison Brandère_ is the largest in Papeete. Like +“the merchant” of a Scotch village, magnified a thousandfold, the owner +of a South Sea store must be ready to supply all the most incongruous +demands which his customers can possibly invent, from white satin shoes +to ship anchors. For he has not only to provide for the island +population, but must be ready to supply any ships that happen to come +into harbour with whatever they require. Fresh meats and preserved +meats, New Zealand beef, Australian mutton, condensed milk and tinned +butter, Californian “canned” vegetables and fruits, candles and lamps, +oils of various kinds, firearms and gunpowder, hair-oil and brushes, +wines and spirits, letter-paper and ledgers, books and framed pictures, +cutlery of all sorts—from a penknife to a cutlass, or from a hair-pin to +a harpoon—wine-glasses and tumblers, necklaces and brooches, crockery +and physic: these, and a thousand other items, are all on hand, and +appear at a moment’s notice. + +And as the store is the centre of all business, it is a general +rendezvous; in fact, a sort of club, where pleasant cooling drinks are +not unknown, and where much amusing gossip may be heard, for _that_ is +an article not unknown even in Tahiti! + +Provisioning large vessels for long voyages is no easy matter here, +where all animals have to be imported, as these beautiful hills and +valleys afford very poor pasture-land, being all overrun with guava +scrub. So shiploads of cattle are despatched from the Sandwich Isles, at +very irregular intervals, by sailing ships, which sometimes are detained +so long by contrary winds and calms, that the poor beasts are almost +starved. The sheep are equally lean; and in fact, pork and fowls are +about the only satisfactory meat-supply. + + _Thursday, 22d Nov._ + +It is hard to think of you all, enduring the miseries of chill November, +while we are revelling day after day, and night after night, in an +atmosphere of balmy delight and clear blue heavens. Last night we all +went to the admiral’s big reception, _au Gouvernement_, and a very gay +scene it was, so many pretty women in very fresh, simple muslin +sacques—only a few French ladies adhering to Parisian fashions. The +ball-room has an excellent inlaid floor; and as the music is most +enlivening, and the French naval officers enjoy dancing quite as much as +any of the girls, they kept it up with great spirit. Of course the +gardens are a very great attraction, and to the non-dancers are the +favourite lounge. Good music, pleasant company, warm delicious nights, +redolent of fragrant flowers—what more could you desire? Sometimes, when +the band stops playing, we go for a moonlight row in the harbour, as far +as the entrance through the barrier-reef, just for the pleasure of +watching the breakers, and hearing their deafening roar. + +This morning, soon after sunrise, M. Viennot called for me in his +carriage, and drove me to Papawa, where he has built himself a tiny +house, near a lovely bathing-place. We found all the mission families +already assembled, with a few other friends, including M. Puèch, +commanding Le Limier, a French man-of-war. He at once set his sailors to +catch fish for our picnic; and after a preliminary luncheon, we all +scattered, to bathe, or stroll, as the case might be. + +I went off with a party of half-a-dozen handsome girls, of English and +Tahitian birth, descendants of the early missionaries, whose children +settled in the group, and married half-whites. They led the way to a +delicious stream, narrow, and deep, and clear, and very still, edged +with tall bulrushes. They supplied me with a bathing-dress like their +own—namely, a _pareo_ of crimson, or scarlet and white calico, which +they wore very gracefully draped from the neck. They wove great wreaths +of green fern to protect their heads from the sun, and, of course, did +not neglect me in the distribution. I thought they formed a most +picturesque group. + +The stream was so inviting that we determined to follow it up for some +distance. But the water, which at first only came to my shoulders, grew +deeper and deeper, till I could not feel the ground, and I had to +confess my inability to swim. So then these charming naiads clustered +round me, and floated me smoothly along, as they swam a good half-mile +to the upper stream. It was quite charming. Then they floated me back +again, and by the time we rejoined the rest of the party, the sailors +had caught a great supply of excellent little fish of many sorts, and we +had a most merry feast, after which Commandant Puèch brought me home in +his boat; and now I confess to being so tired, that I am going to bed, +notwithstanding the attraction of a pleasant moonlight expedition in the +admiral’s big barge. + + _Friday, 23d._ + +The Seignelay returned to-day from the Marquesas and the Paumotu group. +She has had a most delightful fortnight’s cruise, and my kind friends on +board add to my poignant repentance for having refused to accompany +them, by their regrets that I should have missed so excellent an +opportunity. They had perfect weather. The voyage going and coming +occupied just a week, during which they passed through the Paumotus. The +other week was spent at different islands in the Marquesas, and they say +that much of the scenery is like the island of Moorea, but greatly +glorified. Now, as Moorea is the most unique and beautiful isle I have +ever seen, you can imagine how grievous it is to think I should so +stupidly have missed seeing one still more strange and lovely. + +They also declare that the people are by far the finest race, and the +most uncivilised savages, they have ever seen anywhere. They declare +that many are still cannibal, and that all are tattooed all over the +face and body, while many of the men are clothed only in a kilt of human +hair. I think it possible that had they inspected this garment more +closely, they might have discovered it to be made of the Rhizomorpha +fibre—a glossy black parasitic weed, which is found in the forests, +clinging to old trees by means of tiny suckers. It resembles coarse +horse-hair, and in Fiji it is greatly valued as a kilt by warriors and +dancers. So perhaps in this respect the Marquesans may not differ from +our familiar Fijians. But there is no doubt that they are still in that +very early stage of civilisation, which is most interesting to the +traveller, before all distinctive angles have been rounded off—a process +which, when once commenced, progresses with startling rapidity, to the +total extinction of all individuality. + +Here in Tahiti, for instance, scarcely a trace remains of the aboriginal +manners and customs, and it is impossible for the most vivid imagination +to conjure up any sort of suggestion of Captain Cook’s Otaheiti. Not a +trace of tattooing is now to be seen, though in olden days it was +practised by almost all Tahitians, both men and women, simply as a +personal adornment. Happily they seldom disfigured their faces, but the +women tattooed their feet, up to the ankles, and marked bracelets on +their arms and wrists. The men sometimes covered the whole body with +intricate patterns, often gracefully drawn, as when a cocoa-nut palm was +designed on the leg, or a bread-fruit tree, with twining vines, on the +chest. Fishes and birds, flowers and fruits, spears and clubs, were +favourite subjects; and sometimes a battle-piece, or the offering of +sacrifice at the _marae_, were thus indelibly marked. In the character +of subjects selected, the tattooing of Tahiti seems to have been nearer +akin to that of Japan than of any other nation, though in this respect, +as in all others, the Japanese lend to their work an artistic beauty of +their own. + +In all other groups, the patterns selected were generally stars or +lines. By far the most elaborate designs are those of New Zealand and +the Marquesas; but the former invariably adhere to curved lines or +concentric circles, covering the whole face, while the latter make broad +straight lines all over the body, with occasional designs of animals. + +The only Marquesan whom I have seen here is most elaborately tattooed +from head to foot, and I am told he is a fair type of his countrymen. +All the Maoris whom we saw in New Zealand were so fully clothed, that I +can only testify to the very finely marked intricate circles on the +faces of the men, and the hideous blue lips of the women. In Samoa the +men are so marked as apparently to be clothed in dark-blue-silk +knee-breeches. In Tonga only the men were tattooed, the women never +were. In Fiji, on the other hand, men were never tattooed; but, for +women, a certain small amount was a compulsory religious act. + +In all these countries so many idolatrous ceremonies were connected with +the process, that it was invariably prohibited so soon as the people +professed Christianity. In Japan, where it has hitherto been so +practised as to be a really beautiful art, it has been declared illegal +by the same police regulations which, greatly to the discomfort of the +people, insist on every man being dressed from head to foot. But +throughout the Christianised isles, including Tahiti, the prohibition +was on the score of idolatry, and a law was passed, affixing a graduated +scale of penalty for repeated offences; a man was condemned to make so +many fathoms of road or of stone-work, and a woman to make so many mats, +or so many fathoms of native cloth, for the use of the king and of the +governor. Nevertheless, the desire to embellish nature was so great, +that many were content to work out the penalty rather than forego the +adornment. + +There never was a better illustration of the old proverb, “Il faut +souffrir pour être belle;” for it was necessarily a painful process, +followed by swelling and inflammation, which often lasted for a +considerable time, and sometimes even proved fatal. The process was +simple: the victim of vanity was made to lie flat on the ground, while +the artist sketched his design with charcoal on the skin, which was then +punctured by little bundles of needles, made of the bones of birds or +fishes, though human bones were preferred. Some were so arranged as to +resemble the teeth of a saw, and were used in producing straight lines. +Others had but one fine point for giving delicate finishing touches, and +for working on such sensitive spots as could not endure the sharper +pain. The needles having previously been dipped in a black dye, made +from the kernel of the candle-nut, reduced to charcoal and mixed with +oil, were struck sharply with a small hammer, thus puncturing the skin, +carrying with them the dye, which, seen through the transparent and very +silky skin, had the effect of being blue. + +The custom of tattooing was certainly widespread. Herodotus has recorded +its existence even among the Thracians, of whom he remarked that the +“barbarians could be exceedingly foppish after their fashion. The man +who was not tattooed amongst them was not respected.” If tattooing was +in fashion so near Phœnicia, who knows but that those roving traders may +have been the first to suggest to our fair-skinned forefathers the +attractions of blue woad as high art decoration? + +Not only have such practices as tattooing died out in Tahiti, but even +the distinctive games of the people have apparently been forgotten,—at +least I have seen none played. Yet in olden times there were many +national sports; as, for instance, one which exactly answered to golf, +and was played with sticks, slightly curved at one end, and a hard ball +made of strips of native cloth. Football was formerly as popular in +Tahiti as in Britain or Japan, the ball used being a large roll of the +stalks of banana-leaves, firmly twisted together. The players were often +women, twenty or thirty on each side; and in the scramble to seize the +ball, there was as much rough sport as in any English public school. As +the games were generally played on the beach, the ball was often thrown +into the sea, and followed by the merry crowd with shouts and ringing +laughter. + +Boxing also found favour with the lower orders; and wrestling and +archery were as highly esteemed in Tahiti as in Japan, and, moreover, +were equally associated with religious festivals, which probably is the +reason of their having fallen into disuse. The dresses worn by the +archers, with their bows and arrows, were all considered sacred, and +certain persons were appointed to keep them. Before the contest began, +the archers went to the _marae_ to perform certain religious ceremonies; +and at the end of the game, they returned thither to change their dress, +bathe, and restore their bow and arrows to their appointed keeper, +before they could venture to eat, or to enter their own homes. The bows +in use were about five feet in length; the arrows about three feet, and +the distance to which they would fly was often about 300 yards. They +were never used in war, nor for shooting at a mark, as in Fiji. + +Spear-throwing and slinging stones were games in which a target was +always set up, and generally hit with precision; but these were +exercises of war, in which the players had abundant practice. The +slingers generally formed the advance-guard in battle, and often did +much execution. The stones selected were about the size of a hen’s egg. +The slings were made of finely braided cocoa-nut husk, or filaments of +native flax, with a loop at one end for the hand, and at the other a +place for the stone. In throwing, the sling was stretched across the +back, whirled round the head, and thus the missile was discharged with +great force. + +But the game which always excited the keenest interest was wrestling. +Here, as in Japan, the announcement of a wrestling-match brought +together thousands both of men and women, all in their holiday garbs. +The wrestlers, like the archers, first repaired to the _marae_ to do +homage to the gods; then entering the ring, which was generally on some +grassy spot near the sea-shore, they fell to work in good earnest. +Sometimes the wrestlers of one island challenged those of another; or +else the challenge was from men of different districts. Their dress +consisted only of a waist-cloth, and a coating of fresh oil. The moment +a man was thrown, the friends of the conqueror commenced to dance and +sing triumphantly with an accompaniment of drums; and as the vanquished +party raised songs of defiance, the din must have been pretty +considerable. However, it subsided the moment fresh wrestlers entered +the ring, and the spectators watched the progress of the struggle in +dead silence and with intense interest. When the contest was over, the +wrestlers returned to the _marae_ to present their offerings to the +protecting gods. + +Without looking back to classical times and Greek games, it seems +strange, does it not, that these very uncivilised savages of the South +Seas should have assigned to wrestling precisely the same religious +importance as is bestowed on it by the Shintoists of Japan. Possibly +both nations retained this sacred game as practised by their common +Malay ancestors,[59] from whom, probably, both derived their custom[60] +of offering savoury meats, and making acts of homage to their deceased +relations; though the Japanese, either from inborn refinement or Chinese +influence, place on their domestic shrine only the tablets of the dead; +whereas the Tahitian preserved the ancestral skulls hidden in the roof +of his house. + +The perch for fowls,[61] so familiar in the neighbourhood of all Shinto +temples in Japan, had its counterpart in the homes of the Tahitian +chiefs; though the fowls here do not appear to have been consecrated to +the gods, but trained for fighting. The native legends assert that +cock-fighting was the most ancient native game, and the birds were +reared and tended with the utmost care. No artificial spurs were used, +and the belligerents were separated before either was injured. The +fights came off at break of day, that the birds might be perfectly cool; +and large crowds assembled to witness the contests, which sometimes were +carried on for several mornings consecutively. + +In tracing all manner of kindred customs in the isles of the North and +South Pacific, I observe, amongst minor points, how very widespread is +the passion for shampooing,—a friendly office which every old woman in +the South Seas seems as ready to perform for the wearied wayfarer as is +the professional blind man of Japan; involving an amount of manipulation +which I should suppose to be truly odious, but to which many foreigners +take kindly, and which seems to find favour in all Asiatic countries. + +I take an especial interest in all such links as seem to connect these +isles with Japan, because I have a pet theory of my own, that all these +fair Polynesian islanders have drifted here by a circuitous route _viâ_ +the North Pacific. The commonly accepted notion is, that all the groups +in the East Pacific have been peopled by Malays, who found their way +here by a directly eastward migration. It is difficult, however, to +imagine why they should have come so far, when, in coming from that +direction, Australia and New Guinea lay so much nearer to them. + +If you open the map of the world and rule a transverse line, passing +through the Sandwich Islands in the North Pacific and the Friendly Isles +in the South, you will perceive that the groups lying to the east are +the Navigators, Fiji, the Hervey Isles, Tahiti, the Paumotu, the +Marquesan, the Austral Isles, and New Zealand, every one of which is +peopled by comparatively fair-skinned races, with hair which by nature +is straight and black, although in many of the isles, as in Samoa, +custom requires that it should be dyed or bleached, cut short and +stiffened, so as to produce the effect of a wig. I am not sure if the +spiral curls of the yellow-haired Tongans and Fijians are artificially +produced, because I have never seen one individual of either race whose +hair had not been dyed with coral-lime; but I know that a Samoan girl +who refrains from “improving” nature, finds herself possessed of fine +black tresses, as silky and as beautiful as those of any Italian maiden. + +To the west of our line lies Melanesia, comprising the Marshall Isles, +the Carolines, Solomon Isles, New Guinea, New Britain, New Hebrides, New +Caledonia, and Australia. These, almost without exception, are peopled +by dark-skinned races, repulsive in their ugliness, and with hair more +or less woolly. + +All these lie between Eastern Polynesia and the Malay country, and there +seems no reason whatever to account for those hardy little warriors +passing by so many fertile isles, in search of the unknown region to the +east. Surely it is more probable that, having first overrun Formosa, and +then peopled Japan, they thence sailed to the Sandwich Isles, and so +gradually made their way to the south. We know that in old days their +vessels were very much better than those now commonly used by them; and +the voyage from Japan to Hawaii, and thence to Tahiti, would have been +by no means impossible, especially as the existing strong ocean-currents +would naturally tend to draw any ship by this course. + +It is said that even a log of wood fairly launched on the Malay coast, +would naturally drift by this circuitous water-way till it returned +westward to the shores of New Guinea. A glance at a map of +ocean-currents will, I think, make this plain to you. + +I know that this theory is contrary to that generally entertained; but +as the natives of Tahiti have always maintained that their ancestors +came from Hawaii (to which they retain the strongest links of family +affection, the principal families of the two groups being united to one +another by ties of blood), I cannot understand why learned men should +maintain that Hawaii must really mean Savaii in the Samoan group, +concerning which the Tahitians know little or nothing, except what they +have learned, by their visits to that group, in the character of native +missionaries. + +There are many points which seem to me in favour of the circuitous route +_viâ_ Japan; such, for instance, as the gradual deterioration in the art +of tattooing, in which, beyond all question, Japan excels all other +nations, and which in the Marquesas, Tahiti, New Zealand, and, I think, +also in Hawaii, retained its graceful character, gradually falling off +as it travelled westward to Fiji and Tonga. Many other points of +similarity exist, such as the use of the honorific prefix O before +proper names, as in Japan, O-yama (Respected mountain), or in addressing +any person politely. Throughout Polynesia the same custom exists. Hence +early travellers wrote of Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa, as O-whyhee, O-taheiti, +O-samoa; and the same with reference to names of persons. + +Another point which to me appears to support the theory of the +circuitous movement is, that those best acquainted with Samoan matters +assert that, beyond any doubt, the Ellice group, lying far to the _west_ +of Samoa, was peopled from thence. It is therefore only natural to infer +that the tall, comely race of light copper-coloured people who inhabit +the south-east coast of New Guinea (that is to say, due west from the +Ellice Isles), probably reached those shores about the same period, and +from the same direction. Their women are beautifully tattooed, and their +language wonderfully resembles that of the Rarotongan teachers, who have +come from the distant Hervey Isles to settle among them as pioneers, +sent by the native mission in that far easterly group; in fact, many of +their words are identical. + +Again, it is a well-established fact that Fotuna and Aniwa, two of the +southern New Hebrides, which lie due west of the Friendly Isles, were +peopled by the descendants of a party of Tongans, who drifted thither in +a large canoe and settled on these uninhabited isles. These islanders +have retained their own language, and their children when born are very +fair, but as they grow up they become almost as dark in colour as their +Papuan neighbours. Their hair is of the Polynesian type, and some allow +it to grow long and smooth by not dyeing it with lime. + +Yet another argument in favour of the migration having originally taken +a northward course, lies in the physical development of the race. Surely +it is easier to recognise a direct Malay ancestry for the warlike little +Japanese, with their reverence for the sacred swords of their demigods, +than for these stalwart Polynesians, with their firmly knit, muscular +limbs, and stately yet graceful bearing. The race increased in stature, +improved in feature, and enriched in colour on their southward +way—circumstances doubtless due to more easy and luxurious lives, with +better and more abundant food. + +Beautiful as is the rich copper colour of these islanders, their own +ideal of beauty, as showing pure blood, consists in possessing a very +fair skin; and I have often been amused, when sketching, by their +anxiety to be represented several shades lighter than nature, not from +any wish to resemble foreigners, but evidently as embodying their +tradition of good ancestry. They by no means despise the use of +cosmetics to bring about so desirable a result: the Marquesan women, for +instance, though naturally of a light copper colour, contrive to make +their skin almost white by an application of the root of the papawa +tree. + +That modifying circumstances may produce such changes, both in stature +and complexion, is now, I suppose, generally admitted; in fact it is +almost certain that in some cases where barren atolls (such as the +Kingsmill or Gilbert group, on the equator) have from accidental +circumstances been peopled by descendants of these splendid men they +have degenerated beyond recognition, and are now a short, spare, and +generally ugly race. Naturally, the change from unbounded supplies of +nutritious vegetable diet—bread-fruit, bananas, cocoa-nut, yams, sugar, +and all the luxuries of the tropics—to isles where a coarse meal, +prepared from the woody fruit of the pandanus, is the only edible form +of vegetable, has in due time produced this result. Therefore it seems +perfectly reasonable to infer that the converse occurred when an +under-fed aggressive race, engaged from their cradles in piracy and +strife, found themselves at rest in these Capuan isles, and there +yielded to the habits of indolent ease, which they so naturally +engender. + +Yet to this day the chief characteristics of the Malays are common +throughout Polynesia. In each of these groups a truly Asiatic code of +wearisome, elaborate ceremonial is observed on every possible occasion; +the smallest breach of etiquette is considered a crime; a joke of any +sort, especially of the nature of “chaff,” is an unpardonable offence; +in speech, flowery compliments which mean nothing and veil thought are +the rule—slow, deliberate oratory, in which the best speaker is he who +can talk for hours without touching his point, and then condense all he +wishes to say, in a few pithy words. + +All these islanders are distinguished by a natural grace and courtesy of +manner—sometimes dignified, at others most winning; yet under extreme +external politeness they have often nursed schemes of cold treachery and +cruelty, which they have carried out unscrupulously to the bitter end. +(I speak, of course, of the islanders as they were by nature, ere the +mellowing, transforming influence of Christianity had dawned on the +South Seas.) But to this hour the Polynesians, like the Malays, are, as +a rule, careless, easy-going, impassive beings, generally light-hearted; +all fatalists, as a matter of course; strangely indifferent to physical +pain, whether endured by themselves or inflicted on others; but when +once roused to fighting-pitch, wholly uncontrollable in their blind mad +fury. + +But the strongest proof of their Malay descent lies in the similarity of +their various languages, both to one another and to the mother tongue. +It is not merely a likeness in general construction, but many words are +almost identical, as you may gather at a glance from the following +vocabulary. In short, the whole subject is extremely interesting, but is +one which I must leave to the discussion of learned folk, whose wise +disquisitions you can study at your leisure. + + ┌──────────┬─────────┬──────────┬─────────┬──────────┬──────────┐ + │_English._│_Malay._ │_Niua and │ _New │_Rotumah._│ _Fiji._ │ + │ │ │Vaté, New │Zealand._│ │ │ + │ │ │Hebrides._│ │ │ │ + ├──────────┼─────────┼──────────┼─────────┼──────────┼──────────┤ + │Heavens │Langit │Rang │Rangi │Lang │Langi │ + │Rain │Ujan │Ua │Ua │Uas │Utha │ + │Fire │Api │Afi │Kapura │Reh │Bukawanga │ + │Head │Ulu │Uru │Matenga │Filou │Ndluna │ + │Eye │Mata │Mata │Kanohi │Math │Mata │ + │Ear │Telinga │Teringa │Taringa │Falinga │Ndalingana│ + │Teeth │Nihi │Nifo │Niho │Al │Batina │ + │Arm │Lima │Lima │Ringa │Siu │Lingana │ + │Die │Mati │Mate │Mate │Akia │Mate │ + │Come │Omai │Fano mai │Haere mai│Leum │Lako mai │ + │Stone │Batu │Fatu │Maka │Hoth │Vatu │ + │Water │Vai │Vai │Wai │Voi │Wai │ + │ │ │ │ │ │ │ + │Cocoa-nut │Nyu │Ono │... │Niu │Niu │ + │Fish │Ikan │Ika │Ika │I’e │Ika │ + │House │Bali │Fare │Whare │Ri │Vale │ + │Woman │Perampuan│Fafine │Whahine │Hoien │Alewa │ + │Man │Orang │Tangata │Tangata │Tha │Tamata │ + │Drink │Minum │Inumia │Inu │Iom │Ngunu │ + │Canoe │Sampan │Vaka │Waka │Tafang │Wanka │ + └──────────┴─────────┴──────────┴─────────┴──────────┴──────────┘ + ┌──────────┬────────┬────────┬────────────┬────────────┬─────────┬─────────┐ + │_English._│_Tonga._│_Samoa._│_Raratonga._│_Marquesas._│_Tahiti._│_Hawaii._│ + │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ + │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ + ├──────────┼────────┼────────┼────────────┼────────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ + │Heavens │Langi │Langi │Langi │Ani │Ra’i │Lani │ + │Rain │Uha │Ua │Ua │Ua │Ua │Ua │ + │Fire │Afi │Afi │A’i │Ahi │Auahi │Ahi │ + │Head │Ulu │Ulu │Mimiti │Upoko │Upoo │Po’o │ + │Eye │Mata │Mata │Mata │Mata │Mata │Maka │ + │Ear │Telinga │Taringa │Taringa │Buaina │Tari’a │Pepei ao │ + │Teeth │Nifo │Nifo │Ni’o │Niho │Niho │Niho │ + │Arm │Nima │Lima │Lima │Iima │Rima │Lima │ + │Die │Mate │Oti │Mate │Mate │Pohe │Make │ + │Come │Hau │Omai │Tae │Amai │Haere mai│Hele mai │ + │Stone │Maka │Ma’a │Toka │Kea │O fa’i │Pohaku │ + │Water │Vai │Vai │Vai │Vai │Vai or │Uai │ + │ │ │ │ │ │ Pape │ │ + │Cocoa-nut │Niu │Niu │Niu │Eehi │Haari │Niu │ + │Fish │Ika │I’a │Ika │Ika │I’a │Lawaia │ + │House │Fale │Fale │Are │Fae │Fare │Hale │ + │Woman │Fefine │Fafine │Vaine │Vahine │Vahine │Wahine │ + │Man │Tangata │Tangata │Tangata │Euata │Tane │Kanaka │ + │Drink │Inu │Inu │Inu │Inu │Inu │Inu │ + │Canoe │Vaka │Va’a │Vaka │Vaka │Va’a │Kau │ + └──────────┴────────┴────────┴────────────┴────────────┴─────────┴─────────┘ + + HERE ARE THE NUMERALS. + ┌──────────┬────────┬────────┬───────┬────────────┬────────────┬─────────┬─────────┐ + │_English._│_Malay._│_Samoa._│_Fiji._│_Rarotonga._│_Marquesas._│_Tahiti._│_Hawaii._│ + ├──────────┼────────┼────────┼───────┼────────────┼────────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ + │One │Satu │Tasi │Dua │Ta’i │Tahi │Tahi │Kahi │ + │Two │Dua or │Lua │Rua │Rua │Ua │Rua │Alua │ + │ │ Lua │ │ │ │ │ │ │ + │Three │Talu │Tolu │Tola │Toru │Tou │Toru │Akolo │ + │Four │Ha │Fa │Va │A │Fa │Ha │Aha │ + │Five │Lima │Lima │Lima │Rima │Ima │Rima │Alima │ + │Six │Onoma │Ono │Ono │Ono │Ono │Ono │Eono │ + │Seven │Pitu │Fitu │Vita │Itu │Fitu │Hitu │Ahiku │ + │Eight │Walu │Valu │Ualo │Valu │Vau │Varu │Auala │ + │Nine │Siwa │Iva │Thewa │Iua │Iva │Iva │Aiwa │ + │Ten │Sapuloh │Sefulu │Tine │Ngaulu │Onohn’u │Ahuru │Umi │ + │Eleven │Sepuloh │Sefulu │Tine ka│ │ │Ta’au │ │ + │ │ dua │ Lua │ kua │ │ │ │ │ + │Twenty │Ruapuloh│Lua Fulu│Rua │Elua ngaulu │Eua onohu’u │ │Iwakalua │ + │ │ │ │ sang │ │ │ │ │ + │ │ │ │ a │ │ │ │ │ + │ │ │ │ vula │ │ │ │ │ + └──────────┴────────┴────────┴───────┴────────────┴────────────┴─────────┴─────────┘ + + + + + CHAPTER XIX. + LIFE IN PAPEETE—THE MARKET—CHURCHES—COUNTRY LIFE IN THE SOUTH SEAS. + + + THE RED HOUSE, PAPEETE, + _Saturday, December 1st_. + +We have had a very gay week, including several festivities on board the +three French men-of-war now in harbour. On Saturday I was invited to +dine on board Le Limier, with the Greens, Viennots, and Verniers. (In +case your French fails you, I may remind you that a _limier_ is a +blood-hound; a fact which I only recollected on seeing canine heads on +all the boats.) M. Puèch is a good friend of the French Protestant +Mission, and his visit to Tahiti is a happy event for all its members. +After a pleasant dinner, we sat on deck to hear the sailors sing, and +then went off in small canoes for a nearer sight of the _pêche à +flambeaux_, which was going on in every direction near the reef—the +flashing torches and dark figures of the fishermen forming a most +picturesque scene. + +Another day we breakfasted on board Le Seignelay, and in the afternoon a +large party assembled on La Magicienne to see the boat-races. A pretty +sight, and seen from a beautiful and most luxurious ship. + +On Wednesday, the admiral held his last reception at Government House, +at which there was a very large attendance; and Mrs Brander had most +mirthful dances here on Monday, and again last night. The latter was a +farewell, and I fear that to many of the young folk it was really a very +sorrowful one. + +This morning we watched La Magicienne steam out of harbour on her way to +Valparaiso. The admiral leaves a pleasant vice-governor in M. D’Oncieue +de la Battye, who is happily allowed to retain the excellent band till +the arrival of the new governor; when the Seignelay is to convey him and +it to Valparaiso. So the Tahitians find some consolation in this +arrangement. + + _Sunday Evening._ + +I think our Sundays would seem to you rather a curious medley, so I will +give you a sketch of to-day from morning till evening. I was, as usual, +awakened at 5 A.M. by the chattering of many voices, as the boats +discharged their cargoes of fruit and rainbow-coloured fish beneath my +windows. It was an exquisite cloudless morning, and I was seized with a +sudden impulse to follow the crowd to the market, which hitherto I had +only seen in its deserted afternoon aspect. + +Passing by roads which are called streets, but are rather shady bowers +of yellow hybiscus and bread-fruit trees, I entered the covered +market-place, where were assembled as gay a throng as you could wish to +see, many of them dressed in flowing robes of the very brightest +colours; for the people here assembled are chiefly _le peuple_, whose +days of ceremonial mourning for their good old queen are drawing to a +close; so the long tresses of glossy black hair, hitherto so carefully +hidden within their jaunty little sailor hats, are now again suffered to +hang at full length in two silky plaits, and hair and hats are wreathed +with bright fragrant flowers of double Cape jessamine, orange-blossom, +scarlet hybiscus, or oleander. Many wear a delicate white jessamine star +in the ear in place of an ear-ring. The people here are not so winsome +as those in remoter districts. Too much contact with shipping and +grog-shops has of course gone far to deteriorate them, and take off the +freshness of life; but a South Sea crowd is always made up of groups +pleasant to the eye; and a party of girls dressed in long graceful +sacques of pale sea-green, or delicate pink, pure white, or bright +crimson, chatting and laughing as they roll up minute fragments of +tobacco in strips of pandanus or banana to supply the inevitable +cigarette, is always attractive. + +The men all wear _pareos_ of Manchester cotton stuff, prepared expressly +for these isles, and of the most wonderful patterns. Those most in +favour are bright crimson with a large white pattern, perhaps groups of +red crowns on circles of white, arranged on a scarlet ground, or else +rows of white crowns, alternating with groups of stars. A dark-blue +ground with circles and crosses in bright yellow, or scarlet with yellow +anchors and circles, also find great favour; and though they certainly +sound “loud” when thus described, they are singularly effective. It is +wonderful what a variety of patterns can be produced, not one of which +has ever been seen in England. With these the men wear white shirts, and +sailor’s hats, with bright-coloured silk handkerchiefs tied over them +and knotted on the ear; or else a gay garland. + +On entering the market, it struck me that many of the sellers must have +taken up their quarters over-night, for their gay quilts and pillows lay +near, as they sat on their mats snatching a hasty breakfast of fruit or +raw fish. + +The latter is always in favour. Little fish or big fish of certain sorts +are swallowed with apparently the same delight as you might hail a +basket of ripe cherries; in fact, a green banana-leaf full of skipping +shrimps, is a dainty dish for any pretty maid, who crunches the +wriggling creatures with her gleaming white teeth, or lets them hop down +her throat with the greatest coolness. + +The fish here offered for sale are of every sort and size and colour. +Large silvery fish, flat fish; long narrow fish with prolonged snouts, +excellent to eat; the _au_ or needle-fish, with long sharp-pointed head; +and gay scarlet and green and blue fishes of every colour of the +rainbow. I have seen gaudy fish in many tropical seas, but nowhere such +brilliancy as here. There are rock-fish of all sorts, bonito, good +fresh-water salmon with white flesh, eels, mussels, turtle, clams, +echini, prawns, red and white cray-fish, &c., &c. Sometimes the market +has a fair supply of poultry, turkeys, fowls, pigeons, and wild +duck,—generally a few live pigs, which are carried hanging from a pole +and squealing pitifully. They are very good, and clean feeders, being +allowed to wander at large, and find themselves in cocoa-nuts and +bread-fruit. The enterprising Chinamen, as usual, improve the vegetable +supply, especially in the matter of what I venture to call Christian +potatoes, in opposition to the indigenous potato, _alias_ yam. + +Every one brings to the morning market whatever he happens to have for +sale. Some days he has a large stock-in-trade, sometimes next to +nothing. But, be it little or be it much, he divides it into two lots, +and slings his parcels or baskets from a light bamboo-pole which rests +across his shoulder, and, light as it is, often weighs more than the +trifles suspended from it,—perhaps a few shrimps in a green leaf are +slung from one end, and a lobster from the other, or, it may be, a tiny +basket of new-laid eggs balanced by half-a-dozen silvery fishes. + +But often the burden is so heavy that the pole bends with the weight—of +perhaps two huge bunches of mountain bananas—and you think how that poor +fellow’s shoulder must have ached as he carried his spoil down the steep +mountain-path from the cleft in the rugged rock where the _faees_ had +contrived to take root. These resemble bunches of gigantic golden plums. +As a bit of colour they are glorious, but as a vegetable I cannot learn +to like them,—which is perhaps as well, as the native proverb says that +the foreigner who does appreciate _faees_, can never stay away from +Tahiti. + +As you enter the cool shady market you see hundreds of those golden +clusters hanging from ropes stretched across the building, and great +bunches of mangoes and oranges. These last lie heaped in baskets, among +cool green leaves. Sometimes a whole laden bough has been recklessly cut +off. Pine-apples, bread-fruit, cocoa-nuts, all are there, and baskets of +scarlet tomatoes, suggestive of cool salads. + +But tempting above all are the luscious mangoes, whose thin skins are +ready to burst at a touch, and yield their treasure of delight to +thirsting lips. Purple, or golden, or pale yellow, long-shaped or +egg-shaped, I know not which to prefer; each in turn seems more +delicious than any other, and the only difficulty is to stop feasting +before the basket is empty! If Tahiti owns no other debt of gratitude to +France, she at least has to thank a French governor for this excellent +fruit, which is now so thoroughly acclimatised, that it has attained a +perfection rarely equalled in any other country, and, moreover, grows so +luxuriantly and bears fruit so abundantly, as to form an important item +in the food of the people. + +Returning from the market to a pleasant early breakfast on the cool +verandah, I rested in luxurious quiet till the bells of the Roman church +close by, summoned the faithful to the nine o’clock service, which I +generally attend, in preference to walking in the heat to the large +native Congregational church—“_le temple Protestant_”—where the long +service, in a tongue to me unknown, is a weariness of flesh and spirit. +Moreover, it lacks the picturesque element which was to me so attractive +in the simple Fijian churches, where soft mats are the only furnishings +required. Here the congregation are penned in hideous pews, which make +it difficult, if not impossible, to kneel—a natural attitude of worship, +which, in the early days of Tahitian Christianity, was as common as it +now is in Fiji, but from which the modern Tahitians refrain in church, +as savouring of Romish ritual! + +At the Catholic church, the bishop preaches half in French, half in +Tahitian, that all his hearers may carry away some message in their own +tongue; and the singing by the French Sisters and their school-children +is always sweet and harmonious. I cannot say the congregation is +large—merely a small handful of natives; such of the French as are +compelled to be present at all, having already been in official +attendance at the eight o’clock military Mass, which is to me a very +distasteful form of worship. I think that good Père Collet looks on me +as rather a hopeful convert; but I tell him I only appear as the +representative of my naval friends, who all consider church-going in any +form as altogether unnecessary, neither officers nor sailors ever +attending service since our arrival here. + +After church, we went to breakfast on board Le Seignelay, and then to +see Queen Marau, whom we escorted to the Government House gardens, where +we were joined by several friends. The great attractions there are two +newly arrived Russian bears, passengers by Le Limier—nice brown beasts, +and very tame. + +We returned here just in time for the family dinner, from which, as +usual, Mrs Brander and I made our way to the evening service at the +little Congregational chapel, at which only a tiny handful of the +foreign residents assemble. All the members of the Protestant mission +officiate by turns, in French or English; and this evening M. Vernier +conducted the service in admirable English. But a strong +counter-attraction is offered by the pleasant gardens, where the band +always reserves its most attractive programme for Sunday night; and we +catch tempting snatches of lovely operatic airs as we walk homeward by +the hybiscus-shaded lanes. + + FAUTAWA VALLEY, _Thursday, 6th Dec._ + +Last Monday the whole party moved out from Papeete to this lovely +country-home. It is a delightful bungalow, built by Mr Brander—a cool +one-storeyed house, with wide shady verandahs; a pleasant garden, bright +with summer flowers; masses of cool shade; and a clear, beautiful river, +which affords a dozen delightful bathing-places of varied depth, so that +every one can select a spot according to his own heart’s desire. All the +family and their friends can swim like fishes, so of course they prefer +the deep pools, and have a favourite spot just below the house, where +they disport themselves joyously at all hours of the day; and the first +hospitable offer made to callers, is that of a _pareo_ and towels, that +they may at once enjoy this most refreshing luxury. + +I, being a foolish non-swimmer, and moreover somewhat ungregarious, have +discovered a bathing paradise for myself some way further up the stream, +where the interlacing boughs of cool blue-grey hybiscus foliage form an +immense arbour—a dressing-room of leafy shade, through which the +gurgling waters flow gently, with rippling, liquid, most musical +tones—the voice of hidden streams. Here a rivulet leaves the main river, +and its sparkling waters play over a thick velvety carpet of the +softest, greenest mosses, forming the most delightful couch you can +imagine; while from the leafy canopy overhead drop pale lemon-coloured +blossoms, which float idly down the stream; and from the wild guava +bushes I can pluck any number of ripe guavas, or, to be still more +luxurious, I may gather luscious mangoes on my way from the house. Can +you wonder that so fascinating a bower is not only my first attraction +at early dawn, but a favourite retreat at all hours? Sometimes I end the +evening with a moonlight bathe, but am inclined to think that this is +imprudent, as it is always followed by a feeling of chill, though the +water and air both feel warm and delicious. + +My hostess has presented me with a couple of sacques like those worn by +all Tahitian ladies. They are the perfection of dress in this climate, +being so delightfully cool. They are literally flowing garments, for +they only touch you at the shoulders, and thence fall in long loose +folds. So when the first ray of light gilds the high mountains in which +this lovely valley lies embosomed, I slip on one of those simple +dresses, and start barefoot across the dewy lawn and by the grassy paths +that lead to the stream. Going barefoot is only a preliminary stage of +bathing, for the grass is saturated with moisture, and an early walk +across a field is about equivalent to walking knee-deep through a river. + +Curiously enough, it is to this heavy night-dew that the royal family of +Tahiti owe their name of Pomare, which literally means “night cough.” +About four generations back the king chanced to be sleeping on the +mountains and exposed to the penetrating dew which brought on a +troublesome cough. His followers spoke of the _po mare_, and the sound +of the words pleased the royal ear; and thenceforth the king adopted +this euphonious but singular surname, which has since been borne by each +crowned head. + +This very odd custom of adopting a name to commemorate some simple +event, was common to a good many of the isles. Mr Gill mentions such +names as “Lost son,” adopted by the king of Mangaia when his son had +been stolen; a title retained long after the lad had been restored. +Another man took the name of “Deal-coffin,” because a relation had been +buried in a sailor’s chest. One chief desired to be always called “Press +me,” because those words had been uttered by a dying grandchild when in +pain; and another was called “Dim-sight,” because his grandfather +suffered from weak eyes. + +This pleasant country-home is about three miles from Papeete, and +various carriages are ready after early breakfast to convey the +gentlemen to town, whence some return to late breakfast, others not till +dinner-time. But all day long, people come and go on divers errands of +business or pleasure; and the drive is so pretty as to be in itself +quite an enjoyment. In short, life here is altogether easy and +luxurious, combined with most captivating simplicity. + +The already large family party has been increased by the arrival of a +third big brother, Ariipaea, who has been for some time living on +another of the islands. Mrs Salmon and the pretty young sisters, and +several friends, are also staying here, a most loving “family-pie.” To +Narii this happy valley has an additional charm, for it is also the home +of a certain charming “Mademoiselle Cécile,” whom he hopes ere long to +include in the family circle. + + _Chez_ THE REV. JAMES GREEN, PAPEETE, + _Friday Evening_. + +This morning early, Ariipaea drove me here, where it had been arranged +that I should meet M. Brun, the _pasteur_ of Moorea, and accompany him +to his beautiful isle. We were to have taken passage in one of a small +fleet of Moorea boats, which arrived here some days ago in order to +build a district house, which shall henceforth be the regular +headquarters of all Mooreans who have occasion to visit Papeete. The +house was finished this morning, and the event was notified by a most +deafening beating of native drums, after which all the boats set sail, +very sensibly objecting to lose the fair breeze by any delay. M. Brun +arrived in time to see them flying before the wind, like a flight of +white butterflies. + +I solaced myself by commencing a careful study of a noble bread-fruit +tree, overshadowing Queen Moë’s house, when suddenly a cry was raised +that an English man-of-war was signalled. Great was the excitement that +prevailed, as it is fully four years since the British ensign was last +seen in this harbour, and there was a general chorus of disappointment +when it was found that the visitor was only a small sloop, H.M.S. +Daring; a disappointment, however, which was followed by great +rejoicing, when it became known that she was the forerunner of H.M.S. +Shah, Admiral de Horsey’s flag-ship, which is to arrive here in a few +days. Already the small society of the place is in a ferment at the +prospect of so important a visitor; and the arrival of about fifty +English officers will compensate for the departure of the French +flag-ship. So all manner of hospitalities are already under discussion, +as we gathered from the general conversation at the band this evening. + +I shall leave this letter to go by H.M.S. Daring, in case she sails +before I return from Moorea; so shall bid you good-bye for the present. + + + + + CHAPTER XX. +VISIT TO THE PROTESTANT MISSION ON MOOREA—A SKETCH OF THE EARLY HISTORY + OF THE MISSION. + + + _Chez_ MADAME BRUN, PAPETOAI, MOOREA, + _Saturday, 8th_. + +I am safely ensconced in this most charming little home, and very glad +indeed to have reached it, for we have had rather a tiring day. Mrs +Green most kindly gave me breakfast at five, that I might be ready for a +six o’clock start; but it was fully eight before we got away, in a +Haapiti boat, which agreed to bring us to this side of the island. We +rowed out of harbour, hoping to catch a breeze, but it fell dead calm, +and for four long hours we lay just outside the reef, rocked by heavy +rollers—the water smooth as oil, and the burning heat of the sun so +intense that I almost expected that the water would really frizzle! The +thermometer at this season sometimes rises to 120° in the shade. I am +afraid that if the truth must be confessed, both M. Brun and I were +exceeding sea-sick. + +At last, to our great relief, a fresh breeze sprang up, and our little +boat literally flew over the water, and in less than two hours carried +us across to the pretty village of Tiaia, in the district of Teaharoa, +whence one hour’s rowing inside the reef, along the most lovely shore, +brought us here, where we were welcomed to this sweet French home by its +pretty clever little mistress, and three charmingly old-fashioned +children, Lucie, Henri, and Adrien, who administered refreshing hot tea +to the tired and giddy travellers; after which I, for one, yielded to +peaceful sleep, and awoke to find the watchful little trio all ready to +escort me in any direction, and show me such treasures of delight as +only true country children can discover. This is a fairy-like nest, on +the shore of the loveliest sea lake, with wooded mountains all round, +and a background of mighty rock-pinnacles, which are glorified in this +evening light, and seem like the towers and ramparts of some celestial +city. + + _Sunday, 9th._ + +To me this has been a day of intense peace. A silence which may be felt +seems to enfold this exquisite spot, and from morning till evening not a +ripple has disturbed the perfect calm of the blue waters—only the light +fronds of the cocoa-palms quiver and gleam with every faint breath of +air. + +The village is perhaps a quarter of a mile from the house, and lies +buried in a thicket of bread-fruit and mango-trees. There my hosts have +spent the greater part of the day, having held four church services, and +morning and afternoon school. But I have rejoiced in a day of quiet +idleness, spent chiefly on the lovely shore beneath the shadow of very +large trees, whose great boughs overhang the white coral +beach,—shell-strewn and crab-haunted. At high tide the silvery waters +creep upward till the far-spreading roots are half bathed in the brine, +while the other half are buried in a tangle of lilac marine convolvulus, +wherein myriads of hermit-crabs disport themselves. + +Madame Valles came to breakfast. She is the daughter of that dear old +lady Mrs Simpson, of whose death I told you in a former letter. Her +husband is a retired French naval officer, who has settled in this +beautiful valley as a planter. + +This evening several members of the congregation met here to hold a +prayer-meeting, after which they sang most harmonious sacred +_himènes_—the very first I have heard since I was last on Moorea. + +I have rarely in any land seen a nicer and more thoroughly +respectable-looking body of people than these; so gentle and courteous +in their manners, and apparently so reliable. I fancy that in this +secluded isle the people have retained more of their primitive +Christianity than they have done in Papeete, where French influence and +utter infidelity are continually acting as a leaven of evil, and where +the fervour of first love is certainly a thing of the past, as regards +the mass of the population. + +Such at least is my own impression, seeing only the surface of life, and +naturally comparing things here with the very high standard now existing +in Fiji, which has been my home for the last two years. The impulsive +children of the South Seas are readily influenced for good or for evil; +and as they quickly and whole-heartedly turned from their idols to +embrace the purer faith taught them by devout white men, so now they are +in danger of becoming even more careless than the average foreigners. I +do not, however, mean to imply that the Tahitians or any of the +islanders who have once adopted Christianity, have yet fallen away from +its practice, so far as the bulk of the people in any European nation. +In such matters as meeting for family prayer, and thanksgiving at meals, +probably a much larger proportion of Tahitians than of Britons are still +true to their early teaching. + +It really is very difficult, in presence of such peaceful, kindly +people, and such settled forms of civilised Christian life, to realise +what different scenes were witnessed by the earlier visitors of this +lovely isle at the time of its discovery by Captain Wallis in 1767, and +Captain Cook’s subsequent visit. + +It was in March 1797 that the first band of missionaries arrived here in +the Duff, landing on Tahiti near Point Venus, where at first they were +kindly welcomed by King Pomare, Queen Idia, and the chiefs, who seem to +have expected that they would prove not merely sources of wealth, by +distributing barter, but also able assistants in the art of war. + +But when the new-comers were found to be men of peace, and their mission +that of teaching, they soon fell in the estimation of the natives, and +for many years they struggled, apparently in vain, to stem the tide of +idolatry and of such evil practices as infanticide and the offering of +human victims to the feather-gods, as the Tahitians called their idols, +because they were generally adorned either with the scarlet feathers of +a small bird, or the long tail-feathers of the man-of-war or tropic +bird. + +As quicksilver attracts gold, so was it supposed that this gay plumage +became the very incarnation of the god; therefore, when a tribe went +forth to war (and of course desired that the presence of their god +should be with them) they held a solemn service at the temple, and then +took perhaps only one feather from off the principal idol, and placed it +in the ark prepared for it on the sacred canoe, which formed part of +every fleet. Then, till the close of that expedition, all worship was +addressed only to the feather-symbol, and no sacrifices or prayers were +offered at the _marae_, lest the attention of the god being divided, he +should return to the land, forsaking the warriors. + +At other times, however, he was present alike at every domestic shrine +which possessed a feather brought from the great temple. For, as other +nations have carried sacred symbolic fire from the altar, to sanctify +their domestic hearth or their family temple, so did these Tahitians +year by year assemble at the great national temple, bringing with them +offerings of the precious feathers. These the priests deposited inside +the hollow idols, distributing among the worshippers those which had +lain there since the previous year, thereby imbibing such essence of +sanctity as to convey the very presence of the god wherever they were +carried. + +Not that those were the only visible symbols of the gods. Some appeared +to their worshippers in the form of sharks; others, less terrible, took +the form of divers birds. Hence, as I described to you in one of my +letters from Samoa, so here in Tahiti and Moorea, the herons, +kingfishers, and woodpeckers which frequented the old trees round the +temples, were reverenced as incarnations of the deities, and their cries +were interpreted as oracles. + +So strong was the hold of these superstitions, that for several years +the mission seemed to make little or no progress beyond the +establishment of gardens in which various imported fruits and vegetables +were successfully raised, and the people were taught to cultivate them +systematically for their own use. Orange-trees, limes, shaddocks, +citrons, tamarinds, guavas, custard-apples, peaches, figs and vines, +pine-apples and water-melons, pumpkins and cucumbers, cabbages and other +vegetables, were thus first introduced to the island, where they are now +so thoroughly acclimatised. + +But in an evil hour a great intertribal war broke out for the bodily +possession of Oro, the national idol, and this first civilising +influence was swept away—the mission premises were laid waste, the +garden entirely destroyed, and the work of twelve years scattered to the +winds. + +King Pomare, Otu his son, and all the chiefs and warriors of the isle, +had assembled at the great _marae_ at Atehuru, where many fatted pigs +were offered on the altar, while the surrounding trees were adorned with +the ghastly corpses of human victims, all of whom had been sacrificed to +Oro. The ark containing the symbolic feather was then placed on the +sacred canoe belonging to the royal fleet. + +But on the following day Otu pretended to have had a revelation that the +idol itself wished to be removed to Tautira; and on the chiefs of +Atehuru refusing to allow this, his followers rushed to the temple, +seized the idol, carried it off to the sea, and immediately set sail. As +soon as they reached land a human sacrifice was ordered, lest Oro should +resent this very cavalier treatment; and as no captive was at hand, one +of the king’s own servants was slain, and offered as an atonement. Of +course the despoiled chiefs flew to arms, and prepared to revenge +themselves, and recapture their god. About 300 warriors came from the +isle of Eimeo, now called Moorea, to the aid of the king, and bloody +battles were fought, in which the chiefs’ army was almost invariably +successful. + +There does not appear to have been any trace of cannibalism on either +side, but the bodies of the slain were offered in sacrifice to Oro by +the victors; while, on the other hand, the king’s party did not cease +offering human sacrifices, and propitiating the idol by every means in +their power. It was recaptured by the chiefs of Atehuru, who, however, +with singular religious chivalry, allowed the king to land and deposit +his offerings near the temple, though they naturally would not admit him +within its precincts. + +Happily for the mission party, it so happened that just at this crisis a +trading vessel came into harbour and landed some men; and about the same +time another small vessel was driven ashore, with a crew of seventeen +Englishmen. Thus they mustered a force of twenty-three Europeans, who +not only put the mission-house into a state of defence, but lending +their aid to the king, rendered him material aid—a service which they +must have regretted on seeing that all prisoners of war were immediately +put to death, and their bodies savagely mutilated. Finally, the chiefs +agreed to resign the custody of the idol to the king; and so, for a +while, ended one of the many bloody struggles by which the various +nations of the earth have drained their heart’s blood for the possession +of some bit of so-called sacred wood or bone. + +Thenceforward the young King Otu carried the precious god with him, +whenever he sailed from one isle to another; and the sacred canoe on +which its ark was borne, was always deposited at some _marae_ shaded by +sombre trees, from whose boughs human victims offered sacrificially were +immediately suspended. + +While such scenes as these were the incidents of daily life, the mission +party had hardships enough to contend with. Five whole years elapsed +without either letters or supplies reaching them from England. Their +clothes were worn out, boots or shoes were wellnigh forgotten +superfluities; tea and sugar were among the luxuries of the past. At +last a small vessel arrived, specially chartered to bring the letters +and supplies which had for so long been accumulating at Port Jackson. +Imagine the rapture of seeing that little vessel arrive; and then the +dismay of discovering that almost everything she had brought was either +useless from having lain so long at Port Jackson, or saturated with salt +water owing to the wretched condition of the ship. You who live in +luxury at home, with everything of the best, and plenty of it, and with +so many daily posts as to be a positive nuisance, cannot possibly +realise the weariness of that long waiting, or the depth of that +disappointment. + +Nor was there anything cheering in daily life. The mission work seemed +to make no progress at all; the people openly mocked the white men, and +despised their teaching. + +In 1808 war broke out again more savagely than before. The altars of Oro +reeked with human blood; villages were burnt, plantations destroyed, and +the whole country reduced to desolation and ruin. The mission settlement +was ransacked, the houses burnt, the books distributed among the +warriors to be used as cartridge-paper, the printing-types melted to +make musket-balls, and every implement of iron found on the place was +converted into a destructive weapon. The gardens were again demolished, +and the students, finding the din of war more congenial than the arts of +peace, joined their brethren in arms. + +Finally, feeling that their lives were in imminent danger, and that +there was apparently nothing to be gained by remaining, the mission +party resolved to abandon Tahiti; and taking advantage of a vessel which +happily arrived in harbour, they embarked for Port Jackson, two only, Mr +Hayward and Mr Nott, resolving to remain at their several posts and face +the worst—the former at Huahine, the latter at Eimeo, to which King +Pomare had fled from his enemies. Various attempts were made on their +lives, happily without fatal result; and they continued to work as best +they could till the year 1812, when, at the invitation of King Pomare, +those who had been driven away from Tahiti returned, and made a fresh +effort to establish the mission on Eimeo. + +They were cordially welcomed by the king, and by a small number of +chiefs, who, by Pomare’s words and example, had been brought to look +with contempt on their idols, and to incline towards the new faith; and +though greatly distracted by intertribal wars, this little company +resolved to build a substantial house which should be set apart for the +worship of the true God. Thus in the summer of 1813 was the first +Christian church in the group erected in Papetoai, the very place whence +I now write. + +Thirty persons came forward to make public profession of their faith, +desiring to have their names enrolled as having rejected idol-worship. +Among those who did so was Patii, the high priest of the district, who +came to Mr Nott, and announced his intention of publicly burning all the +idols in his care. It was a promise heard with thankfulness not +unmingled with dread, for there was every probability that such an act +would lead to wild excitement among the heathen, and might possibly +result in a massacre of the Christians. However, Patii had made up his +mind, and at the appointed hour he and his friends collected a heap of +fuel on the sea-shore, near the huge _marae_ where he had so often +offered human sacrifices to these dumb idols, which he now brought +forth, and tearing off the sacred cloth in which they had hitherto been +draped, he exhibited them in their hideous nakedness, to the vast +multitudes who had hitherto assembled at his bidding to do them homage, +and who had now come to witness this act of impious sacrilege. + +Some of these ugly little gods were rudely carved human figures, and +some had tiny figures carved in relief all over one large image; others +were shapeless logs of wood, covered with finely braided cocoa-nut fibre +and scarlet feathers; while some were angular columns of basalt, quite +rough, just as they had been found. One by one were these once dreaded +idols cast into the flames by their former priest, who called on the +people to behold their helplessness, and bewailed his own folly in +having hitherto worshipped such monstrous objects. + +Whatever may have been the feelings of the spectators, the dreaded +tumult was averted, and the people dispersed quietly; indeed the example +thus given was followed by many, both on Eimeo (it is now called Moorea) +and also on Tahiti, to which two members of the mission—Messrs Scott and +Hayward—now again ventured to cross. Great was their joy when they found +that several of the natives had renounced idolatry and were earnest +worshippers of Christ, having been awakened by some words of King Pomare +to an exceeding longing for a better faith and purer life than that of +their fathers. Glimmerings of light had also found their way to the +Paumotu and other neighbouring isles, and by the close of 1814 there was +reason to believe that a total of nearly 600 persons had renounced +idol-worship and were feeling their way towards the Light. + +Naturally, such a movement was not viewed with satisfaction by the great +mass of the people. Everywhere the Christians were persecuted by their +heathen neighbours, who burnt their houses, destroyed their gardens, +spoiled their goods, and even hunted them down, that they might offer +them in sacrifice to the insulted gods. At all times it was customary to +tell off certain families or tribes, from which the appointed +victim-hunters were to select fit subjects for sacrifice; and so +numerous were those thus eligible, that on some isles about one-third of +the population lived in terror for their lives, not knowing at what +moment their doom might be sealed. In many cases whole families forsook +their homes secretly, and started in their frail canoe to seek a new +home on some unknown isle, preferring to risk the dangers of the sea, +and the chance of being eaten by strangers, to the certainty that sooner +or later their turn must come to be offered in sacrifice to their cruel +gods. + +How this terrible doom first came to be attached to any family I cannot +say, but, once decided, there was no escape. From generation to +generation the black shadow hung, like the sword of Damocles, over each +member, from the grey grandfather to the mere stripling. As he went +about his daily work, chatting with his most trusted neighbours, one of +the latter might open his hand and reveal the small sacred stone which +was his death-warrant, delivered by the priest to the man who craved +some special boon, as a symbol that the god required a human sacrifice. +Well did the doomed man know how useless was resistance. His neighbours +knew no pity, and a brief struggle invariably resulted in his being +clubbed and carried to the _marae_. + +Now the supply of victims was furnished from among those known to favour +the new faith; and many a pathetic story is still told of the +unflinching courage with which those brave martyrs met their fate, only +pleading with their murderers that they too should renounce their idols +and worship the living God. + +As in the early days of the Church, so now, homes were divided: the +believing wife was beaten by her heathen husband, children were driven +from their parents’ roofs, and friends were turned to foes—all in the +name of the gods. + +Those who worshipped the Saviour were distinguished by the name of Bure +Atua (from _bure_, to pray, and _Atua_, God). + +In spite of the persecution, their numbers steadily increased, and at +last three of the principal chiefs of Tahiti, who had hitherto been +sworn foes, resolved to unite their forces for the total annihilation of +the Bure Atua sect. A midnight meeting was appointed when the +conspirators were suddenly to fall on their sleeping, unsuspecting +neighbours, and slaughter great and small. Happily, a few hours before +the massacre was to have taken place, the Christians received a secret +hint of what was in store for them, and were able to reach the shore, +launch their canoes, and sail for Eimeo. When, at the midnight hour, +their foes reached the trysting-place, and found their victims flown, +their rage knew no bounds, and angry recriminations commenced, which +soon passed on to blows, ending in a free fight, in which one of the +principal chiefs was killed, and his followers compelled to fly. + +In those turbulent days, it needed but a beginning to kindle a fierce +war, and so it now proved. The heathen tribes having fallen out amongst +themselves, seemed to forget their enmity to the Christians, and fought +blindly among themselves. Beautiful and richly cultivated districts were +reduced to desolation, houses burnt and property plundered, and numbers +of the vanquished fled to Eimeo, to join the king and his party. Finally +the weaker tribes fled to rocky fortresses in the mountains, leaving one +tribe—the Oropaa—masters of the whole island. + +These presently sent messengers to those who had taken refuge in Eimeo, +inviting them to return to their homes in Tahiti. This they agreed to +do; but, according to native custom, King Pomare accompanied them to +reinstate them in their lands. With him came a very large train of +followers, who were chiefly Christians, and when they approached the +shore of Tahiti, the pagan party refused to let them land. However, that +point was yielded. + +On the following Sunday, about 800 of the king’s party assembled for +divine worship. Happily they had taken the precaution of assembling +armed, for in the middle of service a firing of muskets was heard, and a +large body of men, bearing the flags of the gods, and all emblems of +idolatry, were seen marching towards the place where they were +assembled. Very striking is the story of that day’s contest. When the +enemy was seen approaching, King Pomare arose and bade all remember that +they were under the special protection of Jehovah, and that, having met +to worship Him, they must not be diverted from their purpose. So all +stood up to sing the accustomed hymn, then knelt in united prayer. They +then formed themselves into three columns, the women taking their place +among the men, resolved, like them, to fight with spear and musket. Thus +they awaited the attack of the foe. The battle-field was a strip of +ground between the sea and the mountains, covered with patches of +brushwood. Under cover of these, the Christians again and again +throughout the day knelt by twos and by threes to crave the help of the +Almighty. After some hours of desperate fighting, Upufara, the highest +chief of the heathen, was killed. His party were so disheartened that a +panic seized them, and they fled from the field, never pausing till they +reached their strongholds in the mountains. + +Thus the king’s party remained in undisputed possession, and prepared, +as in old days, to follow up their victory. But King Pomare had learnt a +new lesson in war. He forbade any of his people to pursue the +vanquished, or to enter their villages, either to plunder the gardens or +molest their wives and families. He, however, selected a trustworthy +force, and bade them march to Tautira, to the temple of Oro, and totally +destroy both temple and idol, and everything connected with the old +worship. At eventide he bade the chiefs call together the congregation +which had been so ruthlessly disturbed in the morning, and all knelt +together in solemn thanksgiving for their great deliverance from so +strong a foe. + +The party whom he had despatched on so righteous a mission of +destruction, carried out his orders implicitly. They turned neither to +the right hand nor the left, till they reached Tautira, where they fully +expected that the priests and people would make a stand in defence of +their gods. They, however, met with no opposition from the crowds, who +stood silently round while they entered the temple, hitherto held so +sacred, and bringing out the idol, stripped him of his coverings, and +exposed a rude unhewn log, about six feet long, of casuarina wood. +Having utterly destroyed the temples, altars, and other idols, they +carried off the rude log which for so many years had been the national +god of Tahiti, and for the possession of which the land had, during the +last thirty years, been made desolate by incessant wars. It was now +turned to better use as a post in the king’s kitchen from which to +suspend baskets of food. Eventually it was cut up for firewood. + +The effect of the king’s clemency to the vanquished was magical. At +first it seemed to them utterly incomprehensible; but when, under cover +of night, some ventured from their hiding-places, and found their homes +and families all undisturbed, and learnt that the bodies of the slain +had received honourable burial, instead of being given to the dogs and +pigs, and that the king had proclaimed a free pardon to all, then one by +one they came down from the mountains to tender their submission to the +merciful conqueror, and to learn from him the secret of such new +principles. Then they agreed that the faith which inspired such deeds +was assuredly the best, and with one accord they determined to destroy +all their idols, and desired that the king would send messengers to +instruct them in the good way. + +Accordingly, those who had themselves been most diligent in learning, +were sent to teach these new inquirers, and proved faithful and earnest +in their work. But so great was the demand for teachers, that they were +altogether unable to meet it; and in many a remote village, the people, +having destroyed their idol temple, built a new house of prayer, where +they met together to worship the God of the Christians, concerning whom +they as yet knew so little, beyond the mercy practised by His followers. + +From this time forward, Christianity made steady progress; and when, in +the year 1817, Mr Ellis arrived as a missionary in these isles, he found +almost the entire population professing it, and apparently devout in +their practice. Family worship was established in all the principal +houses; and many had built in their gardens a small oratory, or, as they +called it, _fare bure huna_—the house for hidden prayer. + +Already the grosser crimes of heathenism had been abandoned—especially +the practice of infanticide, which had prevailed to so frightful an +extent. In every district the schools were crowded, and those who had +mastered the arts of reading and writing assisted in teaching those less +advanced. Strange pictures presented themselves in these classes, where +bright, intelligent children were often the instructors of aged men and +women, priests and warriors, to whom learning was a hard task, but one +which they were determined to master, that they might read for +themselves the wonderful book which had taught such wisdom to their +king. + +These were in truth earnest scholars. The only books that had as yet +reached them, were a spelling-book, printed in England, and a summary of +the Old and New Testaments, printed at Port Jackson. But of these there +were few copies: and many of the people, in their anxiety to possess +one, had prepared sheets of fine paper-mulberry fibre, on which, with a +reed-pen, dipped in the sap of the banana-tree, they had carefully +copied out whole pages of the reading-lessons, or fragments of the +sacred Scriptures. Others had committed the whole to memory. + +Great, therefore, was their excitement and delight when Mr Ellis arrived +at Afareaitu, bringing with him a good printing-press. Crowds besieged +the printing-office day and night, to watch the progress of setting up +the types,—the king himself preparing the first alphabet. His delight +when the first sheet was struck off, equalled that of his people; and +all felt that it was a marked day in the history of Tahiti, when her +king, with his own hands, printed the first page of the first book +published in the South Sea Isles. + +The binding of the volumes was the next interest. The supply of +millboard was small; but again the fibre of the paper-mulberry was +turned to account, several layers being pressed together to form a stiff +pasteboard, which was then coloured with the purple dye obtained from +the mountain-plantain; or else thin wooden boards were used, and covered +with the skin of whatever animal could be procured,—goat, cat, or dog: +and the new art of tanning was among the earliest industries of the +isle. + +Hitherto all books circulated in the isles had been distributed +gratuitously, but it was deemed wiser for every reason, henceforth to +exact a small payment in cocoa-nut oil, which was the article most +easily obtained by the people. So great was their anxiety to purchase +the books, that there were sometimes as many as thirty or forty canoes +drawn up on the beach, having come from different remote villages, and +having each brought several persons, whose sole object was to procure +the precious volume, not only for themselves, but for others. Some who +were thus commissioned, were the bearers of huge bundles of green +plantain-leaves, each rolled up like a parchment scroll, and being, in +fact, a written order for a copy of the book, payment for which was sent +in the form of a bamboo measure filled with oil. Many of these +messengers waited for several weeks ere the copies could be supplied; +and some of the more urgent refused to leave the mission premises till +the books were delivered to them, lest other men should slip in before +them and carry off the coveted treasures. + +When we consider that teachers were so few, and worshippers so numerous, +and that many large congregations assembled in the chapels they had +built for Christian prayer, firmly believing that HE in whose name they +had met, was there present; yet having none to lead their worship, save, +perhaps, a newly converted priest of Oro, or a professional dancer, +hitherto sunk in every form of vice,—we can the better understand the +extreme anxiety of the people to possess the books which were the +storehouses of excellent knowledge. + +Have you ever realised the innumerable difficulties under which these +early publishers had to contend? To begin with, they had themselves to +reduce barbarous and hitherto unknown tongues to a written language,—no +easy matter, considering that many of these dialects are so rich as to +possess far more words to express shades of meaning than any European +language.[62] So, beginning with the alphabet, they had to work out +equivalents for words in which the slightest change of accent conveys +totally different meanings; then they had to puzzle out very intricate +grammatical structures, and, having mastered all this, had to commence +the very difficult work of translating so large a book as the Bible—a +book, moreover, treating of spiritual truths which it was hard indeed to +render comprehensible to such very materialistic minds as these. + +Yet in the short space of about thirty years, the Scriptures have been +translated into about twenty different languages, all previously +unknown; and there is not one group throughout Polynesia, the people of +which do not now read the Scriptures in their own tongue. The same good +work is now gradually extending throughout Melanesia also; and even New +Guinea, which, ten years ago, was an unknown land, has already received +portions of the New Testament in the language spoken by at least one of +its tribes. + +Considering the extremely volatile nature of these light-hearted people, +the exceeding earnestness with which they seem to have entered into the +requirements of a spiritual religion, is very remarkable. They had, +however, been early trained to a belief in the necessity of +whole-hearted attention, and reverence in the worship of their idols. It +mattered not how large and costly might be the offerings, and how +careful the ceremonial, should the priest omit, or even misplace, any +word in the appointed prayers, or should his attention be diverted, the +prayer was unavailing; other victims must be brought, and the whole +ceremony repeated from the beginning. + +So, too, the rigid observance of the Jewish Sabbatical laws seemed a +natural requirement to a people who, from their infancy, had been taught +implicit obedience to the laws of _tabu_, or sacred seasons, when, at +the bidding of priest or chief, no fire must be kindled, no canoe +launched, and neither food nor drink might be tasted, under severest +penalties. When, therefore, the early missionaries declared one day in +seven to be strictly _tabu_, and themselves gave the example by +abstaining from every sort of secular employment, even preparing their +own food on the previous day (which was hence called the _mahana maa_, +or food-day), the natives willingly obeyed, and proved themselves +capable of such close and continuous attention to spiritual subjects as +the majority of Christians nowadays would find wellnigh impossible. + +So, too, with the custom of saying grace before eating, which is so +strictly practised by all the converts in Polynesia. It was the more +readily adopted because, in heathen days, no morsel might pass the lips +of any member of the family till the chief person present had offered a +portion to the gods, adding a few words of prayer for their protection +and blessing. In some instances they chanted a form of thanksgiving for +the good things received, as being the gift of the gods. + +I have written this story of old days somewhat at length, from a +conviction that it is probably almost unknown to you, and must surely +prove interesting, though I am fully aware that it cannot be so to you +in the same degree as it is to me, who have heard the story for the +first time on the very spot where those terrible scenes were formerly +enacted, and where the marvellous change was actually wrought. + + + + + CHAPTER XXI. + A HEALING TREE—PLANTATION LIFE—VANILLA CROPS—CAT-AND-DOG LIFE—A FOILED + ASSASSIN—THE TROPICS OF TO-DAY—ENGLAND IN DAYS OF YORE—AMONG THE + CRAGS—INFANTICIDE—HEATHEN DAYS. + + + _Chez_ MADAME BRUN, PAPETOAI, + _Monday Night_. + +Another long day in scenes of dream-like loveliness. Early as I always +awaken, the little trio were astir before me, waiting in their +bathing-dresses to escort me to the shore, dancing joyously as sunbeams, +and most carefully pioneering my path through the shallow water, so as +to avoid the very unpleasant chance of treading on sea-hedgehogs and +other spiny creatures. There are so very few places in the isles where +sea-bathing is altogether free from danger of sharks, that it is a +luxury on which we rarely venture, and therefore appreciate it all the +more. + +Immediately after early chocolate, a friendly gendarme lent me his horse +(I had brought my own saddle), and, not without some cowardly qualms, I +rode off alone in search of Madame Valles’s plantation. The road lay +along the shore—a lovely grass path, overshadowed by all manner of +beautiful trees, of which the most conspicuous is here called the +_tamanu_, an old acquaintance with a new name. In Fiji it is called +_ndelo_. It is common not only throughout Polynesia but also in the East +Indies, and in Mauritius.[63] + +In all these lands this noble tree grows and flourishes, just above +high-water mark, on what seems to us the most arid sandy shores, and +outstretches its wide branches with their rich dark foliage, casting +cool delicious shadows on the dazzling coral-sands, a boon to tired +eyes, weary of the mid-day glare. + +It is a tree for the healing of the nations. Its large glossy leaves, +when soaked in fresh water, are valuable in reducing inflammation of the +eyes; and its round green fruit contains a small grey ball, within which +lies a kernel, which yields about sixty per cent of a green-coloured +bitter oil, worth about £90 a ton in the Anglo-Indian market. It is an +invaluable remedy as a liniment in all forms of rheumatism, rheumatic +fever, bruises, stiffness, and similar ailments. Throughout the isles +its virtues are fully recognised, but it is only prepared in small +quantities for domestic use, and stored by prudent householders, in +hollow gourds, which are the correct substitute for bottles. The labour +of expressing the oil, by any hand process, is so great as to prevent an +extensive manufacture; and I am not aware that any machinery for this +purpose has found its way to the Pacific, though it does seem a pity +that so valuable a product should be wasted, as it now is. + +Wherever we go, in any of these isles, the sea-beach is strewn with +myriads of these, and other seeds, some of which, such as the gigantic +climbing-bean,[64] have been washed down by the mountain streams; while +others, such as these grey balls, and the curious square-shaped seeds of +the Barringtonia, in their outer case of nature-woven fibre, drop from +the boughs which overhang the sea. The white blossom of the _tamanu_ +trees is both fragrant and ornamental, and many a pleasant hour have I +spent on many a lovely isle, alone (save for the omnipresent army of +hermit-crabs) beneath the shade of these grand trees, beside the cool +blue waters of the Pacific. + +I had no difficulty in finding Madame Valles’s home—a lovely nest, +perched high on the hillside, with a background of grey rock-pinnacles +and crags. The house is embowered in greenery, and from its verandahs +you look through a frame of pure scarlet hybiscus to the bluest of +lagoons, divided from the purply ocean beyond by the line of gleaming +white breakers which bound the coral-reef. + +M. Valles is at present very unwell, and quite a prisoner, so double +work falls to the lot of Madame Valles, who has to do most of her own +cooking and house-work, milk her own cow, and attend with unwearied care +to that most precarious of all crops, vanilla. So you see that even in +Moorea plantation life is not luxurious. + +The great difficulty here is to obtain labour; and there is not one +regular servant or labourer on this estate. Fifteen acres of coffee have +all run wild, and grown into tall straggling bushes, from total lack of +hands to tend it. As there is no one to gather the crop of ripe red +coffee cherries, they are left to drop, and the rats eat the soft fruit, +leaving the beans untouched; so the family collect these, all ready +pulped, and devoutly wish the rats were ten times as numerous. + +But the most precious crop here is vanilla, which is both pretty and +lucrative, being worth about four dollars a pound. It is a luxuriant +creeper, and grows so freely that a branch broken off and falling on the +ground takes root of its own accord; and it climbs all over the tall +coffee shrubs, the palms, _avocat_ pear and orange trees, and everything +that comes in its way, growing best on living wood, the tendrils thence +deriving sustenance. It also flourishes best in unweeded grounds, the +roots being thereby kept cool. + +So the steep wooded hillside is densely matted with this fragrant spice, +which scents the whole air,—indeed the atmosphere of the house is +redolent of vanilla. It is like living in a spice-box, as the pods are +laid to dry in every available corner. They must be gathered unripe, and +dried in a moist warm place; sometimes they are packed under layers of +quilts to prevent them from bursting, and so losing their fragrant +essence. + +All this sounds very pleasant, and only suggests light work, yet in +truth this cultivation involves most exhausting toil. The plant is an +exotic; it lives in these isles by the will of the planter, not by +nature’s law. In its native home exquisite humming-birds hover over its +blossoms, therein darting their long bills in search of honey, and +drawing them forth, clogged with the golden pollen, which they carry to +the next flower, thus doing nature’s work of fertilisation. + +Here the flowers have no such dainty wooers, and the vanilla bears no +fruit unless fertilised by human hand. So M. and Madame Valles, and +their son, divide the steep hillside into three sections, and each +morning they patiently but wearily toil up and down, up and down, again, +and again, and again, in order to manipulate each blossom that has +expanded during the night. “Faire le mariage des fleurs,” as Madame +Valles describes her daily task, is no sinecure; it must be done during +the hottest hours of the day, when any exertion is most exhausting. It +needs a keen eye to detect each fresh blossom, and any neglected flower +withers and drops. Each day the ripening pods must be gathered, and in +dry weather the plants require frequent watering—an indescribable toil. + +This morning Madame Valles let me accompany her on her morning rounds, +whereby I realised that toil and hardship are to be found even in +paradise. + +We returned to breakfast, which was served by an old French soldier—a +garrulous old fellow, and evidently quite a “character.” Apparently his +life is a burden to him, by reason of the multitude of half-tamed +animals which swarm about the place. In the dining-room were three old +and six young cats; two large, three medium, and many small dogs,—all +hungrily clamouring for food, and only kept off the table by the free +use of a large, resounding whip. + +In the afternoon M. Brun came in search of me, and we rode to the head +of the bay, where there is a beautiful estate, and large comfortable +house, built many years ago by an English planter, who failed, and the +place was bought by Dr Michelli, an Italian, who chanced just then to be +conveying a cargo of Chinese coolies to Peru. So many died on the voyage +that he determined to halt at Tahiti, and give the survivors time to +recruit. Finding this very desirable property in the market, he +concluded that the part of wisdom was to go no further. So here he +settled with about fifty Chinamen, who work the land and give him a +third of the profits, while he rides about the mountains, and shoots +wild cattle for their common use. + +His surroundings are somewhat polyglot. The cook is an Englishman; +servants of various degree are Tahitian; while the overseer, M. +Bellemare, is a French _externe-politique_, who was exiled for firing at +the late Emperor Louis Napoléon—a crime which the Emperor seems to have +punished on the Biblical principle of heaping coals of fire, in the form +of unmerited reward; for during his lifetime M. Bellemare received a +regular pension and lived on the fat of the land—a clemency which +certainly failed to awaken one thrill of gratitude in the would-be +assassin. The pension having expired with the death of the Emperor, M. +Bellemare has been obliged to seek remunerative occupation, which he has +here found. + + _Tuesday, 11th._ + +Again a delightful sea-bathe, followed by real French chocolate, and +then the charming little trio constituted themselves my guides, and led +me by difficult, and to me undiscernible paths, over the wooded hills, +and through _la brousse_, which consists of dense guava scrub, to +various points, from which we obtained lovely views of the harbour. The +walk involved an amount of severe scrambling which, even to me, was +somewhat trying; but the children skipped along over rock and crag like +young kids, only pausing, with charmingly pretty manners, to see if I +required their aid, and bringing me all manner of treasures of fruit and +flowers. + +I fear no description can possibly convey to your mind a true picture of +the lovely woods through which we wander just where fancy leads us, +knowing that no hurtful creature of any sort lurks among the mossy rocks +or in the rich undergrowth of ferns. Here and there we come on patches +of soft green turf, delightfully suggestive of rest, beneath the broad +shadow of some great tree with buttressed roots; but more often the +broken rays of sunlight gleam in ten thousand reflected lights, dancing +and glancing as they shimmer on glossy leaves of every form and +shade—from the huge silky leaves of the wild plantain or the giant arum, +to the waving palm-fronds, which are so rarely at rest, but flash and +gleam like polished swords as they bend and twist with every breath of +air. + +It has just occurred to me that probably you have no very distinct idea +of the shape of a cocoa-palm leaf, which does not bear the slightest +resemblance to the palmettos in the greenhouse. It consists of a strong +mid-rib, about eight feet long, which, at the end next to the tree, +spreads out, very much as your two clenched fists, placed side by side, +do from your wrists. The other end tapers to a point. For a space of +about two feet the stalk is bare; then along the remaining six feet a +regiment of short swords, graduated from two feet to eighteen inches in +length, are set close together on each side of the mid-rib. Of course +the faintest stir of the leaf causes these multitudinous swordlets to +flash in the sunlight. Hence the continual effect of glittering light, +and also the extreme difficulty of securing a good photograph of a +cocoa-palm. + +A little lower than these tall queens of the coral-isles, rise +fairy-like canopies of graceful tree-ferns, often festooned with most +delicate lianas; and there are places where not these only, but the +larger trees, are literally matted together by the dense growth of the +beautiful large-leaved white convolvulus, or the smaller lilac ipomæa, +which twines round the tall stems of the palms, and overspreads the +light fronds, like some green waterfall. Many of the larger trees are +clothed with parasitic ferns; huge bird’s-nest ferns grow in the forks +of the branches, as do various orchids, the dainty children of the mist, +so that the stems are wellnigh as green as everything else in that +wilderness of lovely forms. It is a very inanimate paradise, however. I +rarely see any birds or butterflies, only a few lizards and an +occasional dragon-fly; and the voice of singing-birds, such as gladden +our hearts in humble English woods, is here mute—so we have at least +this compensation, for the lack of all the wild luxuriance which here is +so fascinating. + +I wonder if a time will ever come when these fairy isles shall have +passed through changes as marvellous as those which geologists teach us +to trace in Old England. + +Have you ever fully realised that “once upon a time” all the strange +beautiful plants which we call tropical, were growing in rank luxuriance +on English soil? I believe that the curious diapered stem of the quaint +papawa is one of our common fossil forms. In Dr Buckland’s museum at +Oxford, I remember seeing unmistakable fruit of a screw-pine (pandanus) +found in the Oolite, near Charmouth. As to the London Clay, the Isle of +Sheppey seems wholly composed of relics of tropical plants, turtles, +serpents, and shells, now unknown save in these warm isles. I have seen +a drawing of the section of a fossil fruit found there, which might have +been made from a split bread-fruit; also nuts greatly resembling those +of the cocoa and areca palms. The custard-apple is found there, and the +dracæna and yucca, and many another tropical leaf and fruit. Would that +they grew there now! + +Picture to yourself a time when the bleak Northumbrian coast was a +forest like one of these, and the coals, of which we now so gladly heap +up blazing fires, were all beautiful ferns and palms, waving in the warm +sunlight! Truly it is hard to realise. Even the dragon-flies and lizards +of those antediluvian forests are preserved, and spiders and scorpions. +As to the chalk and lias and limestone, they give us sponges and corals +and zoophytes enough to build up any number of coral-reefs; and there +are great turban echini with heavy spines, like those we find here, and +star-fish innumerable, and teeth and vertebræ of sharks and ray. + +So that there really was a time when Old England must have been as +fascinating as any South Sea isle. What she may have been in the days of +the mammoth and megatherium, and all the gruesome race, restored for our +edification at the Crystal Palace, is quite another matter; the very +idea is suggestive of nightmare! + + _Wednesday, 12th Dec._ + +This has been a grey stormy day, with heavy showers, but as Dr Michelli +had promised to escort me up the valley to the foot of the mighty crags, +I could not lose so good an opportunity; and indeed such solemn mountain +scenes only borrow fresh grandeur from the gloom, so that I almost +prefer a stormy leaden sky for such an expedition; besides, it is no +small gain to have a veiled sun, as its full rays, when refracted by the +black trap dikes, make the ascent somewhat of a toil. + +The friendly gendarme again lent me his horse to ride to the head of the +harbour, where the Doctor had other steeds ready for the mountain. +Unfortunately he himself was unwell, and so was obliged to commit me to +the care of the _externe-politique_, who fulfilled his trust admirably, +though I confess that it gave me something of an eerie feeling to find +myself at a height of 2000 feet above my fellow-men, sitting quietly +sketching among black crags and floating mists, alone with a would-be +murderer, who, glorying in his shame, entertained me at great length +with a most animated description of the whole story, nor spared me one +of his poignant regrets at the failure of his vile attempt. + +The scenery on every side was magnificent. Huge indigo-coloured +mountain-masses looming out awfully through the floating +cloud-wreaths—tremendous precipices—deep mysterious ravines—right above +me towered a gigantic square-shaped mountain, and beyond it one vast +pinnacle. You never can lose the impression of cyclopean fortifications +and watch-towers. The higher ridges are absolutely inaccessible; but +adventurous cragsmen sometimes find their way by tracks which wild goats +would shun—narrow ledges by which they can creep along the face of a +precipice, and so pass on to another ravine, or scramble from ledge to +ledge with the help of ropes. “Le jeu vaut-il la chandelle?” I should +say not. + +From the highest point we reached, I obtained a grand view of the +valley, which lay bathed in sunlight, while we were shrouded in mountain +gloom, with a storm fast gathering overhead. Far below us, beyond the +orange-groves and the cultivated lands, lay the two harbours, Pao Pao +and Opunohu—two calm lagoons lying to right and left of a mighty +rock-pyramid, which is crowned with trap ridges, so narrow as here and +there to have altogether worn away, leaving arches and apertures through +which the sky is seen, as through the eye of a needle. This is a common +feature of the ridges which form the centre of this strange isle, and +which are thus pierced in many places—a phenomenon duly accounted for in +Tahitian legends by the spear-thrusts of certain demigods and heroes. + +A few heavy rain-drops, with a prospect of abundance to follow, +compelled me to abandon this splendid sketching-ground, and return to +the lower world, where the Doctor awaited my return, to share an +excellent breakfast, with all the delicacies of Moorea. One of these, +which is perhaps unknown to you, is the Abercarder pear, or, as it is +called in India, “subaltern’s butter,” a pear-shaped fruit, the size of +a big man’s fist. Within its green rind lies the softest melting pulp, +really like vegetable butter, with a large round seed in the centre. +This fruit is either eaten with pepper and salt, or else beaten up with +lemon-juice and sugar; and it is excellent in either form. The chief +difficulty is to secure it, as all animals have a passion for it; cows, +horses, even dogs and cats, watch for the falling of the ripe fruit, and +quickly despatch it. + +After breakfast I rode back here, and found my host and hostess just +starting for the village, so I strolled along with them to see the big +coral church, memorable as having been the first built in this group, a +monument of early zeal, and a wonderful triumph of will over +difficulties. But now, whether from diminished energy or decreased +population I know not, the place is falling into disrepair, and suggests +retrogression. + +But the bird-cage homes of the people are charming, and the inmates are +charming, and the brown-eyed olive-coloured babies, and their most +careful little brothers and sisters, are especially attractive. To-day I +have seen the loveliest baby I have ever yet met with. Of Italian and +Tahitian parentage, it receives a double heritage of beauty, and the +little Aurora is destined hereafter to take her place among the fairest +maidens of Italy. + +Certainly children here have a very happy time of it. What with +idolising parents, and friends who seem always ready to play with them, +their only danger lies on the side of excessive spoiling. And yet, in +heathen days, the Tahitians were as noted for infanticide as the +Sandwich Islanders,—with the one difference that here, the poor little +unwelcome guests were disposed of at the very moment of their birth, and +if spared for even a few minutes they were generally saved; whereas in +Hawaii, the system of child-murder was much more deliberate. + +The extent to which it was practised in both groups makes one marvel how +the isles failed to be wholly depopulated. Though offspring were +generally numerous, few parents cared to rear more than three children; +a man with four was looked upon as a _taata taubuu buu_—that is, a man +with a heavy burden. The majority of Tahitian women in pagan days spoke +openly, and without the slightest shame, of having put to death +half-a-dozen helpless innocents, while some confessed to ten or twelve; +and when the missionaries and their wives implored these women to spare +their little ones, yet unborn, their words were heard with derision, and +the cruel mothers would return to boast how they had obeyed the custom +of the isles, in defiance of white men’s counsel. + +Afterwards, when these same women had become Christians, they would come +to the school festivals, at which were sometimes gathered several +hundred happy children, whose lives had been spared in obedience to a +better law; and often, with bitter tears, did these childless mothers +bewail their own dead offspring, murdered by their own hands. At one +such meeting, a venerable chief arose to address the people, and show, +by contrast with the past, how great was their present gain. Pointing to +a troop of comely lads and lasses, he said: “Large was my family, but I +alone remain. I am the father of nineteen children; all of them I have +murdered: now my heart longs for them. Had I spared them, they would now +have been men and women, knowing the word of the true God. But all died +in the service of the false gods, and now my heart is repenting—is +weeping for them.” + +One of the chief women, who, having learnt to read at the age of sixty, +had proved a most useful school teacher, was bitterly troubled in the +hour of death by the thought of her sixteen children, every one of whom +she had herself put to death. But there was scarcely a woman who had +attained middle age ere the spread of Christianity, who was not haunted +by the same sad memories; and one visitor to Tahiti has recorded his +amazement when, on his expressing his belief that statements had been +exaggerated, his friend appealed to three most respectable, +motherly-looking women, who chanced to be sitting in the room quietly +sewing, and quite at random, asked each in turn how many of her children +she had killed. With shame and evident pain, the first, with faltering +voice, replied, “I have destroyed nine;” the second said she had killed +five; the third had killed seven. So that these three women casually +selected, had killed twenty-one children! + +It seems scarcely credible that such deeds were perpetrated by the same +race whom we now see so gentle and loving; but heathenism always tended +to cruelty. + +In nothing was this more apparent than in the treatment of the sick. +Generally speaking, the best a sick man could hope for was simple +neglect. As soon as it was evident that his illness would be protracted, +a hut of cocoa-palm leaves was built for him at a little distance, and +he was carried there. For a while he was supplied with food and drink; +but his friends soon grew careless, and so often forgot him, that he +very probably died of starvation. Should he be possessed of property +coveted by his neighbours, he was very likely murdered with the most +wanton barbarity. His “friends” having determined on his death, +proceeded to his hut, armed with their spears; and, unheeding of his +cries for mercy, they treated him as a target, trying who could take +best aim, till at length some one, more merciful than the others, rushed +in and pierced him through the heart. + +At other times the sick were buried alive. Their relations dug a pit, +and then, pretending that they would carry the sufferer to the river to +bathe, they threw him into the ready-made grave, and drowned his cries +by quickly throwing in stones and earth. Sometimes the victim perceived +what was in store for him, and endeavoured to escape; but he was +invariably captured by his murderers, and carried to his untimely grave. + +Almost the first great change wrought by Christianity was in the care of +the sick, who now are nursed with the utmost tenderness, the natives +having, many years ago, formed themselves into societies for the express +purpose of building houses, where the aged and helpless, who have no +friends or children to tend them at home, may be fed and clothed, and +comforted by the ministrations of Christian teachers. + +In one respect, the people of Tahiti, like those of Samoa, proved +superior to most other Pacific islanders. There is no evidence of their +having ever been cannibals. While their neighbours in the Paumotus and +the Marquesas, in the Hervey Isles and New Zealand, and in nearly every +group throughout the Western Pacific, never lost a chance of feasting on +human flesh, these gentler savages, like those of Samoa, do not seem to +have been tempted by the hideous fare. They contented themselves with +heaping insult on the bodies of the slain, which were often brutally +mutilated. + +Nothing amazes me more than to hear travellers and others occasionally +talk with positive regret of the work of missionaries of all +denominations, throughout these various groups of isles. To hear them +speak, you would suppose that the natives, in their untutored state, +were the most innocent, loving, and attractive of mortals. Surely such +men can know nothing of the past, and of the dangers incurred by the +early teachers, to whose earnest labours in the beginning of the present +century those ungrateful talkers owe their own present safety. But even +in those days the worst dangers and the most virulent opposition +encountered by the missionaries were almost invariably stirred up by +iniquitous white men—generally sailors and shipmasters.[65] + +Certainly the Tahitians, as we now see them, are as gentle and +affectionate as it is possible for a people to be. Most kind and +hospitable, always cheerful and good-natured, easily pleased and amused, +finding matter for mirth in every trifle; so that angry words or +recriminations are rarely heard, but rather a sound of rippling +laughter, which seems here to pervade the very air. A messenger is just +going across to Tahiti to take letters, and to fetch any that may have +arrived by the schooner from San Francisco. I shall send this as a +postscript to my last, which will probably reach you at the same +time.—So good-bye. + + YOUR LOVING SISTER. + + + + + CHAPTER XXII. + LIFE ON MOOREA—AN ANCIENT PLACE OF SACRIFICE—ARRIVAL OF H.M.S. + SHAH—HOSPITALITIES ON LAND AND WATER. + + + FRENCH MISSION, PAPETOAI, _Saturday Night_. + +This has been a glorious day of unclouded sunlight, and in order that I +might enjoy it to the full, my kind hosts planned a family picnic on the +other side of the bay. There was no available boat, only a tiny canoe, +so we crossed in several detachments, till all were safely landed on the +opposite shore, where we established ourselves beneath the shade of some +noble iron-wood trees, whence the view of towering mountains, laughing +valley, and blue waters was so entrancing, that I at once settled down +to sketch, while the little ones disported themselves in the shallow +waters, therein capturing small crabs, and sea-urchins, and many other +treasures, till the kindling of a fire, and preparation of our gipsy +breakfast, afforded them fresh occupation and delight. + +What a pleasant feast they spread on the briny grass, and with what +hospitality they ministered to our numerous self-invited guests, the +hermit-crabs! Less welcome were the inevitable mosquitoes, but to-day +there was sufficient breeze to disperse them in a great measure; and +after breakfast we wandered along the shore, and the strange lady from +Beretania was introduced to the gentle inmates of many a bird-cage home! + +Oh dear, how fascinating is this simple, kindly, island life! Each day +leaves me more and more captivated by the loveliness of these isles of +paradise, where our eyes always rest on some scene of beauty, wherever +they turn. Each halting-place seems more charming than the last, and the +only sorrow is having to leave it, to pass on to another, which in its +turn becomes as attractive. Each week makes me wonder more how I shall +ever be able to settle down to a humdrum existence in well-appointed +English houses, with their regiments of fine servants, and wearisome +conventionalities of social life! I vote that, instead of my having to +do so, you should come out here and learn what true enjoyment means. + +But, alas! my days in Moorea are for the present drawing to a close, for +on our return this evening I found kind letters from Mrs Brander and +from the governor, M. D’Oncieue, telling me of the arrival of H.M.S. +Shah, and requesting that, as a good British subject, I would hasten +back to share in the festivities to be held in her honour. + + _Sunday Evening._ + +A morning of peaceful delight on the silent shore, and a long afternoon +stroll by myself, to drink in deep draughts of never-to-be-forgotten +enjoyment, of one of the loveliest spots in all this fair creation. We +had planned various pleasant expeditions for this week, but it seems +best to defer them; so I am to leave my baggage here to take its chance +of following me, and I am to ride to the other side of the island, +whence it is probable that a boat may go across to Papeete within a day +or two. + + HAAPITI, ISLE MOOREA, _Monday Night_. + +Bidding a provisional farewell to my charming hostess and my little +guides, I started in the fresh early morning, accompanied by M. Brun. +The whole ride was exquisite, though in places the beautiful forest has +suffered from ruthless carelessness, and many splendid old iron-wood +trees stand scathed and half-burnt by accidental fires. On our arrival +here, the big man of the village welcomed us to his house, and gave us +breakfast. + +You may remember that it was at this place that Mrs Brander, in her +character of high chiefess of the isle, gave such a picturesque welcome +to the young king and queen. To-day the district was in its normal +condition of quiet—no crowds, no _himènes_, no feasting, save and except +the fatted fowl which perished on our arrival. Only the natural beauty +remained, unchanged and unsurpassable. I cannot believe that even the +Marquesas can be more beautiful, nor yet the nearer isle of Bora-Bora, +of which the Tahitians speak as of a marvel of loveliness, with its +towering rock-pinnacles and lofty crags, so veiled with trailing vines +as to resemble green waterfalls. + +After breakfast we got a canoe and rowed back for a considerable +distance along the shore to a fine old _marae_—an immense platform of +huge blocks of hewn coral, on a pyramidal base, which in olden days was +a heathen altar, and also a tomb. Close by it are two smaller _marais_ +and a large sacrificial stone, enclosed by a wall of small coral blocks. +The whole place is overgrown by grand old iron-wood trees (_casuarina_). +After we had left it, we were told of a stone image, four or five feet +high, which has somehow escaped the general destruction of its fellows; +and I was very sorry to have missed seeing so interesting a survivor of +a past so recent and yet so thoroughly extinguished. + +This is the only _marae_ I have seen, the majority having been +destroyed, together with the temples and the altars, when the people, in +the zeal of first love, endeavoured to sweep away every trace of the old +idolatry. + +Mr Ellis has recorded that one huge _marae_ having been destroyed, the +natives used the stones composing it to build an immense platform, on +which was spread a great feast for all the children of the school (both +boys and girls, in number about 240) and their parents. The point of +interest lay in the fact that in heathen times it would have been death +for a girl or a woman to set foot in the _marae_, or to taste the food +which was there offered. Indeed all the better sorts of food, such as +pig and fowl, were reserved exclusively for the men and the gods; and +the fire with which men’s food was cooked was also sacred; no woman +dared to use it—her simpler fare must be cooked apart, and eaten in a +separate hut. So a united festival, such as that held on the ruins of +the _marae_, was in every sense a Christian love-feast, and strangely in +contrast with the hideous scenes previously enacted on the spot, when +the coral walls were dyed with the blood of human victims offered to the +cruel war-gods, and where, in every crevice of the noble old trees, were +seen bleaching human bones, skeletons hanging from the boughs, and +beneath them, ghastly heaps of skulls, generally those of warriors slain +in battle. + +[Illustration: + + ANCIENT MARAI AND BASALTIC NEEDLE. + ISLE MOOREA. +] + +These horribly unfragrant _marais_ were also considered as family +mausoleums, where the dried bones of great men might safely be +deposited. Nevertheless, even the sanctity of the temple did not always +protect the dead from ruthless spoliation; and in times of war the +victors not only carried off the idols of the vanquished, but also the +bones of their relations, to be converted into chisels or fish-hooks, +which was considered the lowest depth of degradation. + +To avoid this danger, the dead were laid in small houses apart, and +carefully watched, till the flesh fell from their bones, when these were +collected by a trusty hand, and carried to some safe hiding-place in the +mountains. In the case of any person of great note, this custom is still +observed, as I learnt on visiting the little seaside chapel where old +Queen Pomare was buried shortly before my arrival; and I was told her +bones had been secretly removed, only three or four of her nearest +kindred being aware of their present hiding-place. + +In olden days, however, a simple process of embalming was practised, by +means of which the wealthier families could preserve their dead for +about a year, not longer. The brain and intestines having been removed, +they were replaced by cloth saturated with aromatic oils, which were +also daily rubbed all over the corpse. Every day it was placed in a +sitting posture in the sun, that it might gradually become dried up; and +an altar was erected before it, on which were daily offered fresh +flowers, and fruit, and other food. With this the relations or priests +touched the lips of the dead several times a day, for, like the Chinese, +they averred that the departed spirit came to feast on the spiritual +essence[66] of the gross meats. + +Indeed the whole ceremony savours of Chinese custom. There was the same +passionate ceremonial wailing for the dead, the same sort of religious +service to appease the unquiet spirit, and prevent it from returning to +earth to annoy the survivors. In place of burning paper effigies of +horses, and houses, and other things likely to be useful in the +spirit-world, the Tahitian priest placed about the corpse pieces of the +stalk of the mountain-plantain, and told the dead that these were its +parents, its wife, its children, and that with these it must be +satisfied, and refrain from vexing the living. + +Here likewise, as in the Chinese cities of the dead, small low houses +were built as temporary homes for the unburied corpses, which were laid +on biers, and by day were drawn out into the sun; but by night the body +lay horizontally, and was frequently turned, lest it should dry +irregularly. When, notwithstanding all care, the poor body began to +decay, then the skull was wrapped in cloth, and carried home to be +preserved with the family gods, and duly worshipped. The bones were +either buried or carried off to the mountains in the mysterious way I +have already described. + +Although the Tahitian embalmers failed to preserve their dead for more +than a year, the Samoans seem to have been more successful, though, +apparently, only a limited number of the chiefs were thus honoured. Dr +Turner, however, has seen bodies which had certainly been embalmed for +upwards of thirty years, and were still in excellent preservation, when, +on the death of the relations whose task it was to dress and tend the +bodies, all were laid together beneath the sod. The office of embalmer +was an exclusively feminine one, and the process observed in Samoa was +exactly the same as that practised in Tahiti. The body was wrapped in +native cloth, leaving the head, face, and hands exposed; these were +occasionally anointed with scented oil and turmeric, to give a lifelike +tinge to the complexion, and so were exhibited to all comers. + +I spoke of the wailing at funerals as ceremonial, because it was not +only customary to weep frantically, rending the hair, tearing the +garments, and uttering agonising cries, but it was also _de rigueur_ to +display sympathy by inflicting on one’s self very serious wounds with +instruments made for the purpose. Several rows of shark’s teeth were +fixed in small canes, and with these the mourners smote their breasts, +their heads, even their faces. One of these useful implements formed +part of a girl’s bridal _trousseau_, that she might be ready to take her +part in whatever scene of sorrow or of joy might present itself. For, +strange to say, the same ceremonies were observed, though in a less +excessive degree, to mark great happiness; and the safe return of a +member of the family, or his escape from danger, was, and still is, +marked by the shedding of what might be mistaken for bitter tears. +Happily, however, the horrible custom of cutting and bruising one’s own +flesh is a thing of the past; and friends no longer express sympathy +with the bereaved by giving them strips of _tappa_ saturated in the +blood thus voluntarily shed, to be preserved as precious memorials of +affection! + +The one pleasant feature connected with the _marais_, as with so many +forms of heathen worship, was the beautiful grove of old trees which +surrounded them. Different tribes adopted special trees as clan badges, +and planted these round their family shrines. Thus some were +overshadowed by huge banyan trees, others by the noble _tamanu_, or +native mahogany; and others, again, were distinguished from afar by the +gorgeous blossoms of the coral-tree,[67] which dripped its blood-red +petals on the altars below it. This beautiful tree is almost +imperishable; but unluckily it shared in the fate of too many of those +sacred temple trees, which were ruthlessly cut down by the early +converts, in their iconoclastic zeal. Now the mournful casuarina (the +_noko-noko_ of Fiji), with its dark hair-like drooping needles, is +almost the only distinctive foliage which marks the resting-place of the +dead. + +We lingered at this weird and horribly suggestive spot till the evening, +and as we rode back to Haapiti, the crags and pinnacles towered in +purple majesty against a background of luminous gold, and one divided +ray from the setting sun threaded the eye of the great rock-needle. +Later, when the moon had risen, we went to the village to see the native +minister, who is going to Papeete to-morrow, and has agreed to give me a +passage in his boat. We are to start early, so I must now have a sleep. +Besides, the mosquitoes are troublesome, and the only refuge from them +is beneath my nets. So good-night. + + LA MAISON ROUGE, PAPEETE, + _December 18th_. + +Once more I find myself “at home” beneath this hospitable roof. We +started at daybreak and rowed leisurely along the lovely coast to +Afareaitu (the place where I told you that Mr Ellis, the early +missionary, established his first printing-press). At a short distance +further we came to Nuupuru, where we landed to explore another great +_marae_, likewise overgrown with casuarina and palm-trees. It stands on +the coral-shore, which there, as in most parts of the isles, is shaded +by dark trees with widespreading branches. Just behind this huge +coral-altar, rises a gigantic rock-needle—a cyclopean natural monolith, +such as might have accounted for the position of the altar, in lands +where nature-worship prevailed, which, however, does not appear to have +been the case in these isles. + +Here we left the friendly shelter of the reef and passed into the outer +ocean. Happily a fair breeze favoured us, and we entered Papeete harbour +soon after noon. Great was the amazement of my native friends as they +realised the huge proportions of H.M.S. Shah, probably the largest ship +ever seen in these waters. I believe she weighs about 7000 tons. +Certainly she makes all the other vessels in harbour look like pigmies. +The little Daring is only 700 tons; Le Limier, 1000; and my trusty old +ship Le Seignelay, 2000. The Shah carries nearly 700 men and 50 +officers, so England is well represented. My boatman rowed right under +her bows, the better to estimate her vast size. + +On landing, I found that Mrs Brander and all the family had moved back +to town on account of the arrival of so important a vessel, which, of +course, involves much work for the house of Brander. I had just time to +feed, change my dress, and accompany my hostess to the palace to +“assist” at the king’s state reception of Admiral De Horsey and his +suite, which, of course, was as stiff as stiff could be. We had a +pleasant evening, however, at the band. Lovely full moonlight. + + THE RED HOUSE, _Friday, 21st_. + +Papeete is surpassing itself in its graceful hospitalities. On +Wednesday, M. D’Oncieue had a very large reception _au Gouvernement_, +and the French admiral’s band played “God save the Queen” as the British +admiral entered. To you, doubtless, that conveys little, but to a +stranger in a far land it means much. To me, who had not heard the grand +old air since I left Australia, more than two years ago, it was most +thrilling music, for you have no idea how patriotic we become when we +reach the antipodes! + +The French and English bands played alternately the whole night, and as +all the ships were (for once) well represented, and all the dancing +world of Papeete present, in their happiest mood and prettiest toilets, +it was a most successful ball, and well kept up. The lovely moonlight +drew all the non-dancers to the gardens, much to the edification of the +crowds assembled outside the railing. I found several pleasant +acquaintances among the new-comers, and many more proved to be “friends’ +friends”—a title which in these far countries means more than you +dwellers in overcrowded Britain can possibly be expected to understand, +though you may perhaps realise the unwonted pleasure of meeting so many +real English gentlemen. + +The evening was far too beautiful for carriages, so the revellers +dispersed on foot, to walk home by bowery streets or peaceful shore. + +Yesterday Mrs Brander gave us a startling proof of her skill in +organising, and of the resources at her command. At the governor’s ball +it suddenly occurred to her to invite all present to a great native +feast on the following day, at her country-home. At daybreak she started +to commence preparations, on a scale which, in most hands, would have +involved a week’s hard labour. Messengers were despatched in every +direction to collect fowls, turkeys, sucking-pigs, vegetables, fruit, +&c., &c. A party was told off to build a green bower in which to spread +the feast. Glass, crockery, silver, and wines had to be brought from the +Red House and the store; for the ordinary service required for even so +large a party as habitually assemble at Fautawa would not go far among +such a multitude as were invited to this impromptu gathering. + +Still the question was undecided how the guests were to amuse +themselves, as feeding could not last all the evening. Happily Captain +Bedford came ashore to see my portfolio, and I ventured to ask if the +band might come to Fautawa—a favour which was cordially granted, and I +was able to drive off to Fautawa as the bearer of this excellent news. +In less than no time, the large drawing-room was cleared for dancing, +the wide verandahs gaily decorated with Chinese lanterns, and an +admirable ball-room was prepared. It was all like a transformation +scene, and accomplished so quietly. It would not be so remarkable in a +large European house, with a full complement of carefully drilled +servants; but here there really are no servants, properly so called, +only friendly “helps.” Certainly every one worked with a will on this +occasion, and all was ready ere the arrival of the first carriage, full +of middies. + +The carriages, like everything else, bore testimony to Mrs Brander’s +thoughtful and generous care. She provided conveyance for every one, +from the English admiral and French governor down to the smallest middy. +Of course her own stable could not supply the demand, so every available +trap was hired, and plied to and fro over the three miles, till all the +guests were duly assembled. You will allow that this was a truly +Tahitian phase of hospitality. + +So also was the kind forethought which provided towels and a new _pareo_ +for every guest who cared to bathe in the lovely river—an invitation +which few, if any, refused; so that a succession of joyous parties soon +found their way to all the best pools, and therein revelled. + +By the time the stragglers reassembled, a multitude of gay wreaths had +been prepared by the Tahitian maidens, and all the guests were duly +crowned. Some of the English officers were slightly taken aback by this +unwonted decoration, but all submitted meekly; and we then marched in +procession to the house of feasting, which was erected on the softest +green turf, not far from the brook. It was a long building, consisting +of a slight framework of bamboos, just sufficiently strong to support a +thatch of plaited cocoa-palm leaves; while for pillars, strong young +bananas were transplanted bodily, their broad cool leaves making a +lovely canopy of freshest green. The golden leaves of the dracæna were +strung together to form deep fringes and festoons along the rafters; +while a still deeper fringe, carefully prepared from the fibre of +hybiscus bark, and dyed pale yellow, was festooned all round the whole +building. There must have been many hundred yards of this. Just think of +the labour of preparing it! That, of course, had been done at leisure. + +In lieu of a table-cloth, fresh green banana-leaves were spread upon the +grass down the centre of the building, and on these were laid all manner +of good things, in dishes made of plaited leaves. Dainty little +sucking-pigs, turkeys, and various preparations of chicken, were, as +usual, the foundation of the feast. These had been brought in hot haste +from Mrs Brander’s farm; while fish and all manner of crustacea seemed +to have arrived by magic from the depths of the sea, the mountain +streams, the mangrove-shore, and the coral-reef—each had sent its +contribution. The delicious white _wurrali_, and their red relations, +the cray-fish and lobsters, were there—shrimps and prawns, living and +cooked, to suit all tastes. Raw fish and cooked fish, each with +appropriate sauce; shell-fish of various sorts, including the delicate +little oysters from the isthmus. Fruits of all sorts, mangoes and +melons, strawberries, oranges, and bananas; yams, _taro_, and +_kumala_—_i.e._, sweet potatoes—and sundry other vegetables. + +The obnoxious national drink of the South Seas, made from the chewed +root of _kava_, _alias_ _yangona_, seems to have quite disappeared in +Tahiti, and sweet young cocoa-nuts supplied the only native drink; but +these were supplemented by many a brimming bumper of the best foreign +wines, and champagne flowed like water. Thanks to the graceful +unaffected courtesy with which Narii and Ariipaea Salmon, and several of +the ladies of the family, themselves waited on all their guests, all +went off admirably; every one was well cared for, and mirth and laughter +reigned on all sides. Some of the naval guests, however, were not so +well accustomed, as are all the rest of us, to sitting curled up on the +fine mats, which were spread for the guests all round the leafy table; +and so obviously uncomfortable were some of the senior officers, that +the kind-hearted ladies took pity on their foreign friends, and brought +piles of cushions and pillows, to raise them; but as they could not +raise the tables also, I fear that some of the gentlemen must have voted +dining _à l’indigène_ rather a serious effort. + +I should have mentioned that in “setting the table,” a pile of large +bread-fruit leaves are laid before each person to act as plates, and to +be changed as often as may be desired. Also, in lieu of tumblers, +wine-glasses, and cruet-stands, each guest is provided with a half +cocoa-nut shell, full of drinking water, and one of milk, a third with +chopped cocoa-nut, and a fourth with salt water. The two latter are +mixed together to make a sauce in which to dip the good things that are +coming. This done, the fourth shell is filled with fresh water to act as +a finger-glass. Half a bread-fruit, nicely cooked, is laid beside each +place in lieu of bread. I fear, if I must confess the truth, that +certain dainties in the way of creams and jellies, and tipsy-cakes, such +as were not common in Tahiti in the days of Captain Cook, did find their +way to our leafy bower, and were by no means despised. + +Afterwards the band took up a good position outside the house, and a +right merry dance ensued. As the gentlemen considerably outnumbered the +ladies, great satisfaction was expressed when two very ladylike white +girls suddenly arrived, robed in loose white sacques, and of course +crowned with flowers. These turned out to be two of the middies, who +kept up their part admirably throughout the evening. + +The Shah musters a first-rate theatrical corps, and they say they would +gladly act for the amusement of their Tahitian friends, but +unfortunately their stay is too short to admit of any such ploy. + +We are all going to lunch on board to-day. + + _Friday Evening._ + +We have had a very pleasant afternoon on the great ship. Soon after +twelve we joined the royal party, for whom the admiral’s barge was +waiting, the blue jackets receiving the king with uplifted oars. (I +believe “tossed” is the correct expression.) He was treated throughout +with full royal honours—twenty-one guns on arrival and departure, yards +manned, marines and crew on parade, and all the officers in the agonies +of full uniform, with which, however, they soon contrived to dispense. I +think that as soon as Captain Bedford had got over his surprise at being +asked by the queen where she might smoke, he realised that gold lace was +superfluous! Tahitian ladies can never be happy for long without their +cigarettes, and the queen has recently received a present of an enormous +supply, which are fast disappearing in faint films of smoke! + +Our first introduction was to a large, very tame, black bear, which the +sailors captured as a baby on Vancouver’s Isle, and which now plays with +them like a very gentle big dog. It is a much nicer beast than the +Russian bears brought by the Limier. + +We were formally conducted all over the huge ship, and duly wondered at +the length of the lower deck, with the row of great guns on either side; +in short, we felt exceedingly proud of our British representative, and +the French officers and their Peruvian friends kindly abstained from +invidious comments on the recent “Huascar” affair, which had been freely +discussed here before the arrival of the giant Shah. Now all allusion to +that pugnacious little vessel was studiously avoided, and everything +connected with the big ship called forth a chorus of undivided +admiration. + +King Ariiaue was requested to touch an electric battery, and quick as +lightning a whole broadside went off. In like manner Queen Marau fired a +torpedo, which threw up the water in a gigantic fountain. We went +through the ward-room, the large airy gun-room, and the officers’ +daintily fitted-up cabins, exquisite in their neatness. The admiral has +a most charming bedroom, drawing-room, and dining-room. In the latter we +sat down to luncheon, about twenty-four persons, including the +commanders of the other vessels. + +When we returned on deck we found it transformed into a brilliant +ball-room, all draped with flags, and full of people from Papeete. As we +looked down from the upper decks and bridge, a prettier scene could not +be imagined. The dancing folk did dance to their hearts’ content; and +those who, like myself, hold the Eastern creed, that all such hard work +should be done by proxy, held possession of the higher levels, and +sometimes varied the picture by turning to the beautiful panorama on +every side of the harbour. To rest the band, there were two interludes, +when the sailors danced hornpipes, and sang capital songs with choruses, +which some of us enjoyed so much that we would fain have prolonged the +concert. Unfortunately the king was tired of the proceedings, and wanted +to hurry through the dances for which the queen had already engaged +herself; so the singing was soon stopped, and the ball resumed till the +sun had almost set behind Moorea, bathing its mountains in dreamy gold. +A few minutes later the island stood out in clear-cut lilac, floating +between a sea and sky of pale daffodil. Then we all returned ashore, and +in the evening went to hear some _himènes_, specially got up for the +edification of the strangers, who, however, by some unlucky +misunderstanding, failed to appear. But as compared with those I had +previously heard, these were very poor _himènes_, and I was almost glad +that they were not taken as samples of what those charming glees can be. + +To-morrow morning the little Daring sails for Honolulu and the great +Shah for Valparaiso. Every one regrets so speedy a departure, but the +admiral says he dares not risk remaining with 700 Englishmen in this +port, over Christmas Day, as it would be impossible to keep the men on +board, with the tempting shore so close, and that if they once landed, +some would inevitably get drunk, and have a row with the French +authorities. Our good consul is evidently much relieved by this wise, +though unpopular decision. + +It certainly is grievous that the jolly tars, of whom Britain is so +justly proud, contrive to do such scant credit to their nation or +themselves when they land in any foreign port. Here, for instance, day +after day, among the crowds who land on the shore just under my +verandah, I never hear a voice which seems to be raised in anger,—all +seem bright and happy. I wish I could say the sounds are equally +pleasant when a party of British sailors go past! _Then_ the echoes that +linger on the ear are sanguinary and repulsive; a painful contrast to +the musical speech of the natives. + +The Shah is fortunate in possessing, in the Rev. —— Reed, a chaplain who +is exceedingly popular with all on board, and who takes an immense +interest in all that concerns his flock. Besides the regular band, he +has trained one specially to accompany sacred music; and the church +choir is said to be excellent. It would have been really pleasant to +have heard our own Church service on Christmas Day. By some fatality I +have not had that privilege since leaving England; last Christmas Day +having been spent in the hateful work of transhipping on our way from +Fiji to New Zealand; and the previous one was spent in the mountains of +great Fiji. It has been the same as regards Easter. We had to sail from +Marseilles on Easter morning 1875. Easter of 1876 was spent in a little +Fijian village in the isle of Koro, and Easter 1877 among the geysers of +northern New Zealand. Where they may next find me, who can tell? + +I must close my letter that it may be sent on board the Daring at +daybreak. The pretty Tahitian girls are working all to-night to finish +arrowroot or bamboo fibre hats as parting gifts to the friends whom they +will probably never meet again. “Telle est la vie!”—Good-night. + + YOUR LOVING SISTER. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIII. + THE ATOLL GROUP OF TETIAROA. + + + FAUTAWA, TAHITI, _Christmas Day_. + +A glad Christmas to you all, dear people! Would that some good fairy +could lend me a wishing-cap, that I might look in by turns on each home +gathering in the various corners of England and Scotland. These marked +anniversaries are always trying days, which awaken longings for the +bodily presence of the dear kith and kin in the far country. But I +confess I would rather that the said wishing-cap could bring all of you +here, away from the bitter frosts and snows, to this paradise of sweet +sunlight—and (selfish as it sounds when expressed in words) away from +constant sight of the shivering ill-clad and half-starved people, whose +deep-seated poverty you can in no wise alleviate,—to these isles, where +want, at least, never appears prominently. + +The whole family party of brothers and sisters, mother, aunts, cousins, +and feudal retainers, moved out here again immediately after the +departure of the big ship, and we have resumed the pleasant existence of +delicious early bathes, and long idle days beneath the green shade by +the lovely river. + +I am sitting now in my favourite bower of dark hybiscus with +lemon-coloured blossoms, which overarches the sparkling rivulet, as it +branches from the main stream—an enchanting spot. I have just been +reading the old Christmas service, which brings back many a vision of +langsyne. There was a grand midnight Mass last night at the Catholic +church, and of course service this morning, but none at the Protestant +church, I believe. + +Now I must go in to breakfast, _alias_ luncheon, as a number of friends +are expected. This evening one of the neighbours gives a large dance, to +which, of course, we all go. Even non-dancers find such ploys attractive +when they involve a pleasant evening drive in an open carriage, and no +hot crowded rooms. + + _December 31st._ + +I have had another small cruise in the Seignelay, which was ordered to +the isles of Tetiaroa, distant about twenty-four miles, thence to bring +back the king, who went there last week in an open boat. + +It was arranged that I should sleep at the Red House, and go on board +with Queen Marau at daybreak. It proved to be rather a stormy morning, +with a good deal of sea on: the sunrise colouring was very striking,—the +mountains shrouded in heavy gloom, dark storm-clouds revealing the edge +of their silvery lining, and a luminous prismatic halo playing all round +the sun. Then the cloud-masses dispersed; dainty pink cloudlets floated +on a sky which graduated from a pale-lemon hue to the colour of a +thrush’s egg, so that the whole colouring suggested broken rainbow +lights, changing incessantly for half an hour. + +Tetiaroa is a cluster of five low coral-isles, arranged in a circle, +connected by coral-reef, thus almost forming an atoll. The isles are +quite flat, nowhere rising more than four feet above the water. By +nature barren, they have been artificially rendered fertile by the +constant importation of vegetable mould from Tahiti; so now each isle is +a dense grove of cocoa-palms, whose roots are washed by the salt spray. + +Tetiaroa is to Papeete as Brighton is to London, a favourite +bathing-place, where the Tahitians betake themselves to recruit their +languid energies by a course of strong brine, though Tahiti appears to +me too healthy to require any sanatorium. It is, however, worthy of +note, that statistics go to prove that, as a rule, all the low +coral-formations are healthy, whereas the inhabitants of high volcanic +isles are frequently subject to fever and ague. + +Though an imperfect atoll, this cluster was specially interesting to me, +as a type of the eighty isles which form the Paumotus. Judging from this +sample, I am satisfied that there is little to be seen from the deck of +a ship. Could we ascend in a balloon, we should look down on a lagoon of +shallow, very bright-green water, encircled by five palm-clad isles, +connected by bands of rainbow-tinted reef,—say a garland of green roses +and tricolour ribbon. Could our balloon float above the Paumotu group, +eighty such garlands would be seen scattered on the deep-blue ocean, +each encircled by an outer belt of submarine prismatic colour, edged +with white breakers, marking where lies the barrier-reef. + +At Tetiaroa, the only opening in the reef is so narrow as barely to +admit a canoe. We had, however, fully intended to land, but the surf was +so rough that we had to give up the idea, much to my regret, especially +as the day was devoted to heavy gun practice, which of course involves +ear-splitting noise and smoke. However, I can stand fire pretty well, so +took up a favourable position beside one of the cannons, and received +instructions in artillery practice. But I confess I was not sorry when, +after the fiftieth shot, the look-out man (who sat aloft like the sweet +little cherub) announced the approach of the king, and presently we +discerned a great crowd of natives wading across the reef, and dragging +his canoe. Ship-boats put off to meet him; and though embarkation in +such surf was no easy matter, it was safely accomplished, and a few +minutes later the Seignelay received, not his majesty alone, but also a +large number of pigs, and heaps of cocoa-nuts, presented to the lord of +the isles, as parting gifts from loving subjects. + +It was late ere we landed at Papeete, so I again slept at the Red House, +where one of the Seignelay boats called for me at daybreak, and landed +me at the beautiful avenue of Fautawa, where I had a most enjoyable +morning of quiet sketching, till Mrs Brander sent her pony-carriage to +bring me home to the noonday breakfast. + +Now the young folk are preparing for a midnight frolic. They intend to +have a very merry dance at a neighbour’s house; but as it is to be +impromptu, and the hosts are not supposed to prepare any supper, each +gentleman intends to carry a basket, ostensibly of fruit and flowers, +beneath which lie concealed sundry bottles of champagne, wherewith to +drink the New Year in. The girls are busy weaving garlands, that all may +be flower-crowned to-night. + +Mrs Brander and her mother alone represent the more thoughtful element, +and go to Papeete to attend a great native midnight service. I am too +tired to do either, so can only say to you, as to the Old Year, +“Good-night! Good-night!” + + + + + CHAPTER XXIV. + NEW YEAR’S DAY IN TAHITI—ASCENT OF FAUTAWA VALLEY—OF PALM SALADS, + SCREW-PINES, AND BREAD-FRUIT—PACKING MANGO-STONES—RETURN OF GILBERT + ISLANDERS—DEPARTURE OF THE SEIGNELAY. + + + FAUTAWA, _New Year’s Day, 1878_. + +The dancers of last night did not come home till 3.30, and at 7 A.M. the +band of La Magicienne came here to serenade Mrs Brander, and played +divinely. Many friends drove out to offer their New Year greetings, and +so, as if by magic, the lawn was soon crowded with a joyous party, all +the girls dressed in the prettiest, freshest of sacques, and their hair +wreathed with bright flowers. What could they do but dance? The band, +having pledged their hostess in her best champagne, played with a will +for a couple of hours, when they were provided with a substantial +breakfast, and then all the gentlemen drove off to another place +belonging to Mrs Brander, there to preside at a great breakfast to all +her _employés_. + +I drove into Papeete with pretty Pree, Manihinihi, and Naani, to call on +Marau, Moë, and other friends; and so we began the New Year brightly and +happily, in ideal, civilised-South-Sea fashion. + + _January 25th._ + +Ever since I arrived here, we have been planning an expedition to the +French fort at some distance up this valley, at a height of about 1600 +feet above the sea. So one beautiful morning last week, several friends +from the Seignelay arrived here before sunrise, and Ariipaea Salmon +undertook to be our guide. He had, unfortunately, hurt his foot, so he +and I were privileged to ride, the others walking. + +For a considerable distance the path winds through a dense thicket of +guavas, all self-sown, and considered by the people as great a curse as +the (equally imported) _lantanna_ in Ceylon, both plants having a fatal +facility for spreading and taking permanent possession of every +neglected corner. They are the Chinamen of the vegetable world, and are +quite as useful in their way. The guava forms the principal firewood of +Tahiti. It bears an abundant crop of excellent fruit, which is now +ripening just as the mango season is finishing; and I think the Tahitian +guava is better than those of India and Ceylon. Certainly it has a far +less sickly smell. Cattle and horses alike munch both fruit and leaves +with avidity, so I cannot see why the guava should be so generally +despised; but the fact remains, strange to say, no one here seems ever +to think of making the delicious crimson jelly which we, in England, +prize so highly. The fruit is left to drop from the trees utterly +unheeded. + +Further up the valley the track becomes steep and narrow, and in places +runs along the face of the cliff, with the rushing stream immediately +below, and overhanging boughs festooned with vines growing so rankly as +somewhat to endanger a rider. The beautiful large granadilla +passion-flower here runs riot, but its fruit is now all finished. When +ripe it resembles a good-sized pumpkin of a bright golden colour, and +contains a multitude of seeds like those of a melon, each encased in +white jelly. These lie inside a sweetish pulp about two inches thick, +which is generally thrown away, but is nevertheless quite worth cooking +as a vegetable. + +I found the drooping branches so troublesome, that I foolishly abandoned +my horse very early, and had a much longer tramp than I counted on. We +had not gone very far ere we quite lost the foot-track, and coming to a +place where two ravines and two streams meet, Ariipaea, who had not been +here for a long time, quite forgot which we were to follow; so first we +tried the right side, and clambered up a steep and difficult path, till +we were convinced that we were on the wrong track, and returning to the +junction, we tried the other ravine, crossing and recrossing the stream. + +At length, after much loss of time and energy, we concluded that our +best course was again to return to the junction and there breakfast, +trusting that by good luck it might prove to be the day on which “Père +Fautawa” (as the old soldier in charge of the fort is commonly called) +would be returning from Papeete with his rations. Fortune favoured us; +and ere we had finished the contents of our hamper (carried by French +sailors) the old man appeared, and led the way by a middle path between +the two streams. It was a very steep scramble, among great boulders and +masses of rent crag, half hidden by the wealth of tree-ferns, young +palms, wild bananas, and other tropical foliage, such as ginger, +turmeric, wild caladium, and dracæna. The stems of the large trees are +covered with parasitic ferns, especially the handsome bird’s-nest fern, +which here grows luxuriantly. + +After crossing several small streams, we climbed to the verge of a deep +ravine, at the head of which rises a precipitous cliff 600 feet high. +Over this rushes a cataract of white foam, which fades into shadowy mist +as it loses itself among the tall palms and feathery foliage of the +tree-ferns and parasitic vines which veil its base. Above the fall is +situated the French fortress. + +The interest of the place does not lie in the fort of the foreigners, +but in the fact that this was the last stronghold of the Tahitians, in +their struggle to retain their independence and resist the hated +invaders. Here it was that the last man who fell in that brave strife +was shot, betrayed by one of his countrymen, who now reaps the reward of +his treachery in the enjoyment of foreign gold and the red ribbon of the +Legion of Honour. This was the last blood shed. Now the red roses grow +undisturbed on the ramparts, and the lines of defence are so many +terraced gardens, where the solitary old soldier grows strawberries for +sale in Papeete, whither he descends once or twice a week to draw his +rations and to see the world. + +It is a lonely ending for the old man’s days, and a strange contrast to +his former barrack-life. Now he is often for days together enveloped in +mists, which enfold him in an isolated cloud-world. It is comparatively +cold, too, at this high level, where at nights the thermometer sometimes +falls below 60°. At Père Fautawa’s bidding we gathered ripe strawberries +from his little garden, the first I had seen growing for many a day.[68] + +Then while the sailors busied themselves preparing coffee, we dispersed +in search of pleasant pools for bathing, a luxury never more prized than +after such a scramble in a tropical valley. Hitherto the day had been +quite lovely, now it rapidly overcast, and heavy clouds came down and +hid the Diadème—the beautiful crown-shaped mountain, that heads the +valley. It is called by the natives Maiao, and though its height does +not exceed 4363 feet, it is one of the most remarkable forms in Tahiti. + +Ere we had finished our welcome coffee it began to pour so heavily that +I voted for camping where we were; but the others feared a freshet, such +as might make the streams impassable for days. So they voted for +starting instantly, and of course carried the day; and we descended the +steep mountain-path in blinding rain, which blurred all beauty, and +rushed in rivulets beneath our feet. We were so thoroughly saturated, +that crossing and recrossing the stream ceased to give us a moment’s +thought; and by the time we reached this house, I confess to having been +thoroughly exhausted, as was to be expected, after a scramble of fully +eight miles without any time to rest. + +Of course, as soon as we got back the weather cleared, and we had a most +lovely evening, followed by an exquisite moonlight night, and a sunrise +which, seen from Fautawa, would have been too fascinating. It was with +sore regret that I gazed upward to the sunlit peaks; while for days +afterwards I felt too utterly done to do more than creep about the +garden. + +The upper heights of the valley are wellnigh inaccessible. They +culminate in a crag-ridge about 4000 feet in height, forming a crest so +narrow as to be a mere saddle barely three feet across—literally a +gigantic crag-wall, wooded to the summit. Few are the bold spirits who +have cared to scale this barrier in their endeavour to cross the island. +Only by painful climbing from ledge to ledge, clinging to overhanging +trees, trailing screw-pine, and sturdy vines, which act as natural +ropes, is it possible to make any way. Indeed it is necessary to carry +strong ropes in case of emergency; and little help can be expected from +native guides, who never dream of expending toil so fruitlessly, unless +worried into doing so by some unrestful foreigner. I am sure I do not +wonder at their being satisfied with lower levels, seeing how enchanting +these are. I find day after day gliding by in such peaceful enjoyment, +that time passes unmarked, and the further expeditions, of which we have +sometimes talked, seem to involve too great exertion. Evidently I am +becoming indolent in these dreamy southern isles! + + _January 30th._ + +I have just been feasting on a cocoa-palm salad, which would make the +fortune of the happy _chef_ who could introduce it at an alderman’s +feast. That, fortunately for the plantations, is quite out of his power, +unless some process be discovered by which to preserve uncooked +vegetables. For this dainty consists of the embryo primary shoot of the +tree—the unborn fronds, which lie curled up within in a close compact +white mass, about the size of a man’s arm, and resembling a gigantic +stick of celery, with a flavour of filberts. Of course so costly a dish +as this (which sacrifices the life of the tree) is rarely indulged in, +save when a hurricane has snapped the crown of the tall palm, or when +some rich chief wishes to entertain a guest, regardless of expense. + +Another very agreeable product of the cocoa-palm, which you in England +can never hope to taste, is an over-ripe nut, when in the very act of +sprouting. Previous to this, a very curious change has occurred. As you +must know, the germ of the plant lies just within the three little eyes, +which we used in nursery days to call the monkey’s face. Indeed I fear +that in those days of our ignorance we imagined they were the marks left +by the stalk, quite forgetting that the nut lies in a large outer case +of that brown fibre which, in these our later days, we know as “coir.” +Well, the sharp end of the nut lies next the stalk, and the monkey-face +at the further end, so _that_ nursery theory was fallacious, like some +others. + +When the nut is fully ripe, a fibrous, spongy substance begins to form +all round the germ, and this gradually extends, absorbing both the +so-called milk and the hard kernel, till the whole shell is full of a +soft, sweet, white growth, like a very light _blanc-mange_. If at this +stage the nut escapes the _gourmet_ of the South Seas, the young germ +will soon force open one of the three eyes, and, working its way through +the fibrous husk, begin its heavenward growth; while from the other two +eyes will sprout two rootlets, which instinctively turn downwards, and +likewise penetrating the thick protecting outer case, find their way to +mother earth, and there strike root. Still the white sponge within the +nut goes on expanding, till at length it splits the hard wooden shell, +and then gradually decays, and so forms a light nourishing soil, which +acts as mother’s milk to the baby tree in its delicate early days. After +a while it needs no such provision, but flourishes, in grace and beauty, +where other trees would starve. + +I wonder that no one has ever discovered in the cocoa-palm a meet emblem +of charity. Of all plants that grow, none asks so little, or gives so +largely. It matters not how dry and barren is the shallow soil, or how +briny the coral-sand, washed by every rising tide, the hardy palm +strikes its roots among the fragments of coral, and, bending to the +gale, weathers the wild storms, and yields its generous increase as +abundantly as its more fortunate brethren in the rich soil of sheltered, +well-watered valleys. The poorest islander on the loneliest atoll, +possessed of a few cocoa-palms, can exist. They give him food and drink, +a fibrous material, all ready woven, like coarse canvas, for dress; +leaves for thatch, and oil for light, and for personal adornment and +comfort. To obtain the latter, he collects a lot of old nuts, such as +those we see for sale in England, and scraping out the kernel into some +old canoe, leaves the whole mass for some days exposed to the sun, till +the pure oil exudes, and without further trouble he stores it in any +vessels he may possess—gourds or bamboos. Of course, a European who +trades in palm-oil prefers to collect it in the form of _coppra_—_i.e._, +dried cocoa-nut—as a much larger amount of oil is obtained by pressure +of machinery. + +Another hardy child of these coral-isles is the pandanus, or screw-pine, +as it is commonly called, because its leaves, which grow in tufts at the +tips of the branches, are all set like a screw, twisting round the stem, +which is thus marked with a spiral pattern from the root upward. Like +the cocoa-palm, it grows in the clean dry coral-sand, where there is +apparently no moisture; yet when cut it is found to be full of oily sap. +The wood is close and hard, and though rarely exceeding five or six +inches in diameter, it often grows perfectly upright, for fifteen or +twenty feet, and yields excellent posts for building; they are, however, +hollow like a bamboo. The long drooping leaves are valuable for thatch, +being from three to five feet in length, and about three inches wide. +They are edged with sharp prickles, but, when torn into strips, are +useful for plaiting mats and canoe-sails. + +The women steep the leaves in sea-water, and then beat them with a +mallet till all the green skin comes off, leaving a beautifully white +silky fibre, which they dye red, yellow, and brown, and then plait into +wonderfully fine sashes, about a foot wide. It has been suggested that +this pure white fibre would prove a valuable material for paper-making, +but I have not heard of its being tried. A stronger fibre is obtained by +crushing the aerial roots, which this strange tree throws out in all +directions, forming stays by which it protects itself against the +violent gales,—a necessary precaution, where the main root grows only in +the sand. + +The flower of the pandanus is exceedingly fragrant; but though I have +seen thousands of screw-pines, I have rarely had the luck to find one in +blossom. Its fruit resembles a coarse pine-apple. When ripe it becomes +bright scarlet, and the Samoans use it for making necklaces. It is +divided into honeycomb sections. When the fruit is ripe these fall +apart, each being a separate conical lump, of which the inner end is +soft and saccharine, and can be chewed like sugar-cane. + +When the capsules are thoroughly dried, they can be cracked, and yield a +kernel, which is edible; and in the barren isles, near the equator, this +fruit is considered a valuable product. It is dried and grated, and the +sweet brown sawdust thus obtained is stored as the only substitute for +flour; and cakes of it are baked, as occasion may require, to eke out a +fish diet, which is not always forthcoming. It is said to be wholesome, +nourishing food; but in these more luxuriant southern isles I have never +seen it eaten by the natives, only by the foreign labour—_i.e._, the men +imported from the groups to the north-east, who are engaged to work on +the plantations. In their own isles they have discovered a means of +steaming and mashing the fruit which, when fermented, yields a strong +and highly intoxicating spirit. The whalers who years ago settled among +them, taught them to improve on this liquor by distillation, and also +instructed them how to obtain a fiery spirit from the innocent +palm-trees. So, thanks to their tuition, and generally civilising +influence, the Line islanders have become infinitely more debased than +they previously were. + +It does seem too bad, does it not, to extract poison from these useful +trees? But whether it be orange-rum in Tahiti, or barley-bree in the +isles nearer home, I suppose the white race will find means to procure +fire-water wherever it goes, and seems to turn every sort of plant to +the same use. What with rum from the sugar-cane, and fiery spirit from +the sweet dracæna root, and even from innocent bananas, it appears as if +every good gift of heaven was liable to be misused in like manner. + +I hear some people say that they weary of the monotony of the +cocoa-palms; and certainly a low coral-shore, with an unbroken line of +palm-trees, is somewhat dull. Here, however, there is an amazing variety +in the foliage of the seaboard. Besides the many beautiful large-leaved +shrubs, there are various handsome trees, which attain a great size, +and, as I described to you, many grow so close to the shore that their +boughs literally dip into the sea. Some of these are fruit-bearing. The +_vi_ bears bunches of large yellow plums, and the _ahia_[69] yields a +lovely pink fruit, with white juicy flesh. + +But of all the indigenous trees none can compare for beauty and value to +the bread-fruit, which, though it demands a richer soil in the first +instance, rivals the cocoa-palm in its manifold uses. Though it does not +give drink to the thirsty, or coir for ropes and matting, its resin +forms a strong glue which is useful in caulking the boats, and the bark +of the young branches yields a fibre from which strong cloth is made. +Its timber is exceedingly valuable; and its thick glossy leaves, which +are sometimes eighteen inches in length by about twelve in breadth, are +also turned to good account. + +But of course it is chiefly prized for its abundant food-supply. Each +tree yields three, sometimes four, crops annually; and as there are in +these isles about fifty recognised varieties, which ripen at different +seasons, it follows that, with a little care in cultivation, the supply +might very easily be so regulated as never to fail. A large bread-fruit +tree in full bearing is certainly a most beautiful object, with its +wealth of green or yellow fruit hanging from beneath the handsome deeply +indented leaves. A good tree will bear several hundred fruits—each about +eight inches long by six wide,—with a rough green rind, divided into a +lozenge-shaped pattern. This is sometimes peeled off before the white +pulp is cooked; but I infinitely prefer the bread-fruit roasted whole on +the embers or baked in the earth in a native oven, when the blackened +rind is scraped off, and the inside is found thoroughly cooked, and in +taste something like the thick scones known in the colonies as +“dampers,” or like the cold “chupatties” we used to eat on the march in +the Himalayas—floury but rather tough. I don’t think that these natural +loaves are to be compared to a good potato. However, they are the bread +of the favoured tropics; and nowhere else does mother nature yield so +much wholesome food for so little human toil. + +You need not, however, imagine that these good things are common +property, to be gathered and cooked by every hungry man. On the +contrary, every cocoa-palm and fruit-bearing tree on these or any other +isles that I know of, has its owner, and is very likely the sole wealth +of a whole family. So each fruit commands as regular a market-value in +the South Sea Isles, as do the apples and potatoes of the English +farmers. This is a simple fact, apparently not always recognised by +visitors and others, who occasionally write to request their friends +living here to send them cases of oranges and other fruits, as if they +supposed that these were to be had for the mere trouble of gathering and +packing! + +Speaking of gathering and packing, I have for some time past been +devoting a considerable amount of energy to collecting mango-stones, or +rather kernels, with a view to sending them to Fiji. It is only about +eighteen years since the mango-tree was introduced to these isles from +Rio Janeiro, and so wonderful is the rapidity with which it has spread, +that it now holds its place as the most marked feature in the vegetation +of this group. Every homestead is embowered in these and other +fruit-bearing trees, and for the last two months every man, woman, and +child (to say nothing of quadrupeds) seems to be for ever eating ripe, +delicious, golden mangoes; and every road, indeed the ground in every +direction, is strewn with _les noyaux_; though the people so fully +appreciate the luxury of a feast by the river-side, where they may enjoy +the juicy dainties without the smallest respect for conventional +appearances, that an immense number of the finest kernels are thrown +into the water—indeed, since I have been so anxious to collect good +sorts, I observe with annoyance that though I entreat these careless +easy-going people (_le peuple_) to throw the best stones in some corner +for me, they seem by preference (or probably by force of habit) always +to chuck them into the water. + +The French have taken immense trouble in perfecting this valuable fruit, +and have now introduced so many excellent varieties that one crop +succeeds another in rotation. The round mango is succeeded by the golden +egg, and that by a small purple, while the large long sort seems +inexhaustible. Best of all are those specially cultivated by Monseigneur +Janssen, Bishop of Axièri, who has raised a super-excellent mango with a +very large fruit, and a long stone so thin and flat as to resemble the +inner sole of a child’s shoe. + +The bishop has also been inspired with the happy thought of distributing +mango-stones in other groups, and sent off a large consignment last +month by a vessel going direct to New Caledonia. He is most kind in +helping me to collect a good assortment for Fiji: at the same time, he +warns me that taking the best seed is no sure warrant for getting +equally good plants, as no other tree exists, so faithless in +reproducing its own kind, and variety of soil produces every conceivable +variety of tree. You may take twin fruits from one tree, and plant them +a few yards to right and left of the parent tree. One will grow up +infinitely superior to its mother—the other will be all stone and fibre, +and scarcely fit for the pigs. The only certainty lies in taking grafts +of the good ones, and so utilising the stock; also in planting, the +richest soil must be selected, as the tree has a long tap-root and +strikes deep. + +Now there is abundance of rich soil in Fiji, and the ordinary vegetation +is identical with that of Tahiti; so there can be no reason why the +mango should not be acclimatised there as well as here, and it would be +a very great satisfaction to me to aid in bestowing so great a boon on +the young colony. I am sure I deserve that the attempt should succeed, +for it has already cost me an immense amount of trouble. In spite of all +precautions, of careful drying and turning, &c., a very large number of +the stones I collected in the early part of the season have already +sprouted. Some are quite respectable young trees. + +So now I am making a more systematic attempt, and have devoted several +days to driving to all the very finest gardens in the neighbourhood, +where, with the help of a pretty Tahitian boy (who rather enjoyed such a +chance of an unlimited feed), I set to work to collect the half-decayed +fruit, which lay rotting under all the best trees. I can tell you that +cleaning the stones was about the hottest, dirtiest, and most fatiguing +work I have done for many a day. However, notwithstanding the heat, I +stuck to it for six hours one day and three the next, and two hours on +several other days. And the result is a splendid lot of _noyaux_, which +every morning I turn and re-turn, in order to dry them thoroughly, +hoping to prevent their sprouting like the first lot. But in spite of +all my precautions, the large flat seeds of the finest mango have +already done so—so they, at least, can only be propagated by graffs. +Another difficulty is, that hitherto all my efforts to send plants from +Fiji to England by Wardian cases of island manufacture have proved +abortive. In every case the plants have died, so I do not feel much +encouraged to try the experiment again. + +The great difficulty lies in the length of time that must elapse ere +either plants or stones can reach Fiji; as, of course, such a chance as +that of the vessel which brought me thence, direct to this group, is of +very rare occurrence. The probability is, that the seeds which I am now +collecting will have to wait for an opportunity of being sent by sailing +vessel 2000 miles north to Honolulu; there to be transhipped to a +Pacific mail-steamer, and be carried south-west 4000 miles to Sydney; +where they would find another steamer to take them the 1700 miles to +Levuka, whence they will find their way by sundry small sailing-boats to +the various Fijian isles. A somewhat circuitous route, you must allow! + + _February 3d._ + +After all, I have found a somewhat more direct route by which to send +some of my mango-stones. Le Limier was despatched to-day on special +service to the Gilbert Isles, thence to proceed to New Caledonia, and +her very obliging captain, Commandant Puèch, offered to carry a large +case to the care of the British Consul (Mr Layard), who will forward it +to Sir Arthur Gordon by the first opportunity. So I set to work to pack +4000 carefully selected stones, laying them side by side as neatly as +though building a wall with children’s little bricks. It took me a whole +day’s work, and, considering that each seed has passed through my hands +six or eight times, while collecting, cleaning, scraping, drying, +turning, selecting, and finally packing, you will not wonder that I +looked after the departing case with a feeling of quite maternal +interest.[70] + +The mission on which Le Limier is now bound is to take back 200 of the +Arawais, inhabitants of the Gilbert Islands, who were brought here as +foreign labourers about nine years ago, on the understanding that they +would very soon be sent home again, whereas they have been detained all +these years. When Admiral Serres commenced critical inquiries on the +various abuses at which previous governors had winked, this fact became +known, and he decided that the labourers should be sent back soon after +the New Year—an announcement which filled their masters with dismay, in +view of ungathered crops, but was hailed by the Arawais with joy till +they learnt by what vessel they were to travel. Then they were filled +with alarm, believing that so large a ship would not dare to risk the +dangerous navigation between their little isles; and that they would +probably all be landed (as has often been done in similar cases) on one +or two of the principal isles, where they would be left quite as much in +a strange land as in Tahiti, and, moreover, with the certainty of being +robbed, and the probability of being eaten by hostile tribes. So a +considerable number have refused to go on this occasion. Indeed M. Puèch +is himself much perturbed as to how to accomplish this really difficult +business. + +He invited a few friends, including myself, to go on board at the last +moment, to _faire les adieux_. The vessel presented a curious +scene—picturesque, certainly, with abundance of bright colour, but more +like an emigrant ship than a man-of-war. Le Limier is so constructed +that she has not sufficient accommodation to allow of all the crew +sleeping below at one time. So these wretched Arawais, including women +and children, are taken only as deck passengers; and as the cruise, +under steam, cannot take less than from sixteen to eighteen days, during +which they must take their chance of whatever weather they may +encounter, you can understand that the voyage does not promise to be a +pleasure-trip. + +The vessel carries much extra coal, to provide against the danger of a +calm. So half her deck is loaded with this dirty store, and the 200 +Gilbert Islanders are huddled together on the main-deck. Each labourer +has a trade box, containing a few clothes, a good deal of tobacco, and +some cheap toys for children; and this is _all_ they carry home as the +fruit of their long exile. Nine years of ceaseless toil in a far +country, repaid by a little wooden box full of cheap rubbish! + +While we were on board, a little baby died on deck in its mother’s arms. +Some fellow-countrymen, who had come to see their friends start, +undertook to carry the poor little body ashore for burial. The father +opened his box of trade, and took out a few yards of coarse printed +calico, which he gave to the said friends, apparently as payment for +their trouble. The poor mother fell on her face at the gangway, wailing +piteously. She appeared utterly miserable. It was a sad beginning for a +voyage, and we all doubly regretted the departure of our friends with +such an unpleasant three weeks in prospect. + +When I saw how terribly overcrowded the vessel was, I thought Captain +Puèch must surely repent of his kindness in offering to carry the big +case of mango-stones; but on the contrary, he made it appear as though I +had done him quite a favour in letting him take charge of the precious +seeds, which, we trust, will hereafter become so valuable a boon to +Fiji. Kind, good friend, we all wished him _bon voyage_ with all our +hearts; then returning to the shore we watched the good ship sail, amid +hearty cheers from Le Seignelay, and with large bouquets on each mast, +to mark that she is homeward-bound. + + THE RED HOUSE, PAPEETE, + _Friday, February 8th_. + +The Ségond, French man-of-war, has just arrived from San Francisco, +bringing the new French governor—a fine jovial naval officer—with an +A.D.C. who, like his chief, is well known in Tahiti for his strong +liking for natives and native customs. + +So while the appointment has caused great delight to one section of the +community, others foresee a speedy relapse from the high-pressure +morality, and various reforms which, under the good admiral’s _régime_, +made Papeete so strictly respectable that its own inhabitants said the +like had never been seen under any previous rule. But everything changes +with the admiral and governor of the day, and every one here declares +that the ships in harbour during the last few months have been of such +exceptionally good type that the result has been a model era, probably +too perfect to last. + +To-morrow Le Seignelay is to sail for Valparaiso to restore M. +D’Oncieue, M. Fayzeau, and the band, to La Magicienne. So to-day Mrs +Brander gave a farewell breakfast at Fautawa to as many as could come, +after which we all adjourned here, as being more convenient for a great +reception at Government House to-night, when the good band will play for +the last time. Henceforth Papeete must be content with the feebler +efforts of a band recruited from her own citizens, but as yet not up to +the mark. + + _Saturday, February 9th._ + +Le Seignelay sailed this morning, and with most true regret I bade adieu +to the pleasant companions of the last five months. With unchanging +kindness they again offered me the hospitality of the ship, and placed a +cabin at my disposal in case I cared to visit Valparaiso; but I do not +feel tempted by that unpicturesque coast, and its very gay and +gorgeously apparelled Spanish-German society. In a very few days the +Maramma must return from the Sandwich Isles with her cargo of cattle, +and then I hope to start for the volcanoes. + + + + + CHAPTER XXV. + HURRICANE AT THE PAUMOTUS—MAHENA PLANTATION—WATCHING FOR + VESSELS—FAREWELL TO TAHITI. + + + FAUTAWA, _Tuesday, 12th_. + +News has just reached us of an awful hurricane and tidal wave which has +swept the whole group of the Paumotus, and it is not known how far its +influence has extended. Nothing of the sort has occurred in these seas +in the present century. The French Resident and Mr Boosey, one of Mrs +Brander’s agents, have just arrived in the Elgin to ask for assistance, +as the whole settlement of Anaa is a heap of hopeless ruin. It was a +flourishing little town, about half the size of Levuka; it had about 150 +houses, good stores, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, and Mormon churches, +Resident’s house, &c. The Seignelay touched there on that memorable +cruise to the Marquesas, so I missed the chance of doing a historical, +antediluvian sketch. + +Mrs Brander is most anxious about the fate of her other manager, Mr +Macgee; indeed we all are so, for he is a very good fellow, and he has +been staying with the family here for some time. He is supposed to have +been out that night in a very small vessel, which is missing. The gale +must have been appalling. It is calculated that on Anaa alone, 300,000 +cocoa-palms must have fallen, and Mrs Brander’s loss in produce, stores +and buildings, boats, three small ships and their cargoes, is reckoned +at 40,000 dollars, equal to about £10,000—a serious night’s work. + +The Ségond is to be despatched to-morrow morning, loaded with +provisions, timber, and all things likely to prove useful in this +emergency. She is to go the round of every large isle in the group, and +do what she can to help the wretched inhabitants. + +They say these tidal waves always accompany an eruption of some volcano. +I hope I shall not find that I have just missed one at Hawaii! + + MAHENA PLANTATION, POINT VENUS, + _Thursday, Feb. 14th_. + +This is another place belonging to Mrs Brander, who sent me here with +her manager, Mr Lander, a German, that I might have a few quiet days for +sketching in this neighbourhood. There is a large house here, close to +the sea, where the family occasionally come for a change. I was received +by Toetoe, a handsome, stalwart lass, daughter of a chief of Tupuai, the +romantic isle of which Byron sings in “The Island.” She introduced me to +pets of all sorts—rabbits, cows, horses, cats and dogs, especially a wee +brown dog “Moosie.” She gave me milk without limit—always a luxury—and +in the evening we wandered by grassy paths beneath the cocoa-palms; and +then in the clear moonlight started for a walk along the shore, which +here is of a firm black sand, on which large waves break in as full +force as on our own north coast. This is due to the fact that there is a +passage through the coral-reef, just opposite the house; so the sea +rolls in unchecked. + + _Monday, 18th._ + +I have been rather worried for some days by prickly-heat, from which +many persons suffer almost continually in all tropical countries. It is +a general all-overish, tingling irritation of skin, very unpleasant to +the sufferer, who, however, receives no compassion, as he is pleasantly +informed that it is a symptom of excellent health, and a safeguard +against possible fever! Sea-bathing is generally recommended as a cure, +so that sunrise and moonlight alike find me in pickle in the briny +waters, where, borrowing courage from Toetoe’s presence and good example +(she being, as a matter of course, a perfect swimmer), I venture on a +dash through the breaking waves to the pleasant calm water beyond; +where, however, our peaceful enjoyment is considerably marred by the +dread of sharks, which here venture close to the shore. + +We have made various expeditions, walking and driving, to picturesque +points on land and shore; and a day at the lighthouse enabled me to +complete my previous sketch of Orofena, the highest mountain of Tahiti. + +Now we are just starting to drive back along the coast to Papeete—a +lovely route, by which, as you may remember, I last travelled by +torchlight, on our return from the grand circuit of the isle. + + PAPEETE, _February 19th_. + +We have for some time been anxiously watching for the return of the +Maramma, Mrs Brander’s fine large ship, which is bringing cattle from +the Sandwich Isles, and which will, I hope, take me there on her next +trip, supposing no mischance has befallen her. But she is now +considerably overdue, and fears are expressed that she may have +disobeyed orders, and gone to the dangerous coast of Kauai, thence to +fetch cattle. Or she may have encountered the hurricane. + + _February 20th._ + +A vessel has just come into port from Honolulu, bringing cattle. She has +been nineteen days on the voyage, and reports that the Maramma is +following. + +In the evening the lovely moonlight tempted us to visit our old haunts, +the place where the admiral’s band used to play every evening, but +where, under the new _régime_, the hideous _upa-upa_ is now nightly +danced for the edification of the admiring crowd. There was the usual +large picturesque assemblage, but their gaiety was of a more +demonstrative type than heretofore. In short, the admiral’s excellent +restrictions, which were to inaugurate quite a new era in Tahiti, have +already melted “like snowdrift in thaw” before the cheerful presence of +the new ruler; who, on the very night of M. D’Oncieue’s departure, +summoned many damsels (friends of former days, and noted dancers of the +obnoxious native wriggle) to Government House, where they were +hospitably entertained. Of course news of this complete subversion of +six months’ compulsory reformation quickly spread to the remotest +districts, and from all parts of the island all the dancers flocked to +Papeete, where they now assemble every evening before Government House, +and the crowd thus attracted is of a sort such as ladies would not care +to mix in for long. To-night there was some rather pretty singing, but +not to be compared with the true _himènes_—and from the laughter of the +crowd it might be inferred that the words would not bear translation. + + _Friday, 22d._ + +The Ségond has returned from the Paumotus with a lamentable tale of +disaster. We are all, however, much relieved at hearing that our friend +Mr Macgee is safe; though he had a most narrow escape on the awful night +of the hurricane, when he happened to be on the isle of Kaukura, which +seems to have been the centre of the cyclone, and consequently suffered +most. He had passed this island a few days previously in the Marion, but +the sea had been too heavy to allow of so large a vessel venturing to +approach. Business compelling him to return, he did so in the May, a +smaller craft. Both vessels belong to Mrs Brander, and are named after +her daughters. + +Like the generality of the Paumotus, Kaukura consists of a circular +group of low flat islets, either detached or connected by a reef, thus +forming an atoll enclosing a calm sea-lagoon; the whole being protected +from the outer ocean by an encircling reef. An existence more calm and +peaceful than that of the dwellers in these coral-girt isles can +scarcely be conceived; and a storm such as that which has devastated the +group, is of such rare occurrence as to be little dreaded in the chances +of daily life. Eighty years are said to have elapsed since the last +hurricane occurred in these latitudes. Considering that many of these +islets are not three feet above the water-level,—that ten feet is +considered high ground, and fifteen is about the maximum elevation,—you +can understand how appalling is the danger caused by any eccentricity of +tide. + +As cocoa-nuts are the chief produce of the group, and indeed the sole +property of many families, it is customary to protect the interests of +each member of the community from all danger of poaching on the part of +his neighbour, by laying a _taboo_ on the whole crop until a given day. +I suppose I need scarcely tell you what is meant by this ceremony, +which, under slightly varied names (_tabu_ in New Zealand, _tambu_ in +Fiji, _tapu_ in Samoa, and _kapu_ in Hawaii), is common throughout the +Pacific, and implies that something has been reserved or rendered sacred +by order of the chief. In olden days the multitudinous forms of _taboo_ +were to all these islanders a heavy burden, weighing grievously upon +them in every phase of life; and the infringement of the most arbitrary +rule thus imposed was generally punished by death. Even now a formerly +declared _taboo_ carries such weight, and appeals so forcibly to the +superstitions of the people, that it is almost invariably respected. + +Thus in the matter of the cocoa-nut crop not a nut from the reserved +plantations can be touched, till, on the removal of the prohibition, all +the proprietors and their families, together with all interested in the +purchase of the nuts, or in securing payment of debts previously +contracted, assemble at the _Rahui_, as it is called, and there build +for themselves frail booths of palm-leaves—a sorry shelter at the best. + +In such a leaf-village, on one of the detached islets, all the +inhabitants of Kaukura had assembled, together with a number of traders +from other places, in all numbering nearly 200 persons, when they were +overtaken by the awful hurricane of the 6th February. For some hours +previously the greatest anxiety had prevailed. A strong easterly breeze +had for three consecutive days lashed the waters of the lagoon into +fury, then gradually veered round to the west with ever increasing +force. The outer ocean, now rising in tumultuous waves, swept in from +the westward; and, sweeping right over the barrier-reef with a roar like +thunder, broke on the shore with a force unequalled in the memory of any +islander now living. Thus the usually calm lagoon within the coral ring, +and the annular lagoon on its outer edge, were alike lashed to +tempestuous billows, dashing with awful force on either side of the low +islet; while the water from below was actually forced up through the +coral foundation, till the light sandy soil was so thoroughly saturated +as to have become a mere quicksand. + +With danger alike imminent on land and sea, it was a difficult question +which to face. The ground was apparently about to be wholly submerged, +and the alarm was such that 118 persons, including one European (George +Herder, agent for a large German mercantile house), decided to take +refuge in their boats. All these, with the exception of one man, a +native of Anaa, perished. + +The others, including Mr Macgee and a few other Europeans, fled to the +highest part of the land, which was about fifteen feet above the +ordinary water-level. The ground is there strewn with large rocks and +stumps of palm-trees. To these they clung all through the long dreary +night, while the waves from both lake and sea met and dashed right over +them in cataracts of foam. + +Throughout the long hours of darkness they battled with the raging +waters. Again and again they were dashed from the rocks or stumps to +which they clung, and endured a moment of bewildering horror, while +carried at the mercy of the swirling waters, till happily some other +object presented itself at which to clutch. Further, they were in +imminent danger from sharks, which, as they well knew, might attack them +at any moment,—a consciousness which formed a horrible item in that +night of dread. Mingling with the roar of the waters and the shrieking +of the hurricane, came the crash of falling palms, uprooted, twisted, or +snapped by the fury of the gale. + +When morning broke, the tempest abated; the waters receded to their +accustomed bounds, leaving the island a complete wreck, and its shores +strewn with the bodies of the dead. + +After a few days, a boat arrived in search of Mr Macgee, despatched from +the island of Apataki, where he had left the Marion. He found her high +and dry on the beach, but otherwise not seriously injured. Of the little +May he had himself caught a last glimpse as a huge wave lifted her up +and carried her right over the wharf, to disappear in the turmoil of +seething waters beyond. Many other small craft have been wrecked. +Amongst others the Hornet, a 42-ton schooner; the Nerine, 28-ton; and a +great number of boats, which were washed out of the lagoon and carried +out to sea. + +The isles of Niau, Anaa, and Rangiroa, _i.e._, long cloud, seem to have +suffered the most severely. On the latter almost every house has been +destroyed, one hideous detail being that the cemeteries have literally +been washed away, and the bodies, bones, and skulls lie strewn over the +isle, mingled with the corpses of the drowned, to the gratification of +such hungry pigs as have survived the deluge, and who quickly scented +out the loathsome festival. Among the bodies which shared this horrible +fate, was recognised that of a chief, who had been buried a few days +previously. + +Nor was this the only isle where the sea disturbed the resting-places of +the dead. Mr Boosey told me that on his returning to the miserable wreck +of what had been his home at Anaa, he therein found two skulls, which +the waves had sportively deposited as grim ornaments for his +dining-room. Anaa was the principal settlement in the Paumotu group. The +storm did not actually break there till the 7th February, though for +some hours previously the barometer had been falling steadily, marking a +descent from 30.10 on the morning of the 6th to 29.24 on the afternoon +of the 7th. + +This so alarmed Mr Boosey that he proceeded to move some of his goods to +a large native house built on the highest point of the island, which, +however, did not exceed twenty-five feet above the sea-level. His +neighbours, like those of Noah of old, somewhat derided his precautions; +but even he had saved comparatively little, when the sea came pouring in +over the reef in mighty waves, which swept all before them, almost +entirely covering the island. When, on the morning of the 8th, the +waters receded, a mass of broken timbers and rubbish alone remained to +mark where, but a few short hours previously, had stood about 150 +buildings of one sort or another. All the boats were destroyed, and the +whole land strewn with fallen palms, lying tossed about at every +conceivable angle. The destruction of cocoa-palms throughout the group +is reckoned at two millions; and as these are the chief wealth, indeed +the principal means of subsistence, of the people, and as it takes about +eight years for a young palm to attain maturity, you can in a measure +realise the loss thus represented, and the time that must elapse ere the +poor Paumotus recover from the effects of this terrible storm. The +Ségond reports that the sea for many miles around the group is so +encumbered with wreckage of every sort, as seriously to endanger +navigation. + + PAPEETE, _February 26th_. + +The chief interest of daily life is watching for vessels. The mail from +San Francisco is late, and of the long-looked-for ship from the Sandwich +Isles nothing further has been heard. Both ships belong to Mrs Brander. +The former—the Paloma—is called after her little daughter; the +latter—the Maramma—bears one of her own names. A hundred times a day we +look up to the semaphore to see whether the signals reveal any hint of +the returning wanderers, but no cheering sign appears. It is very trying +for my kind dear hostess, who has so much at stake, and whose eldest son +Aleck is expected to return from Honolulu in the missing cattle-ship. + +Otherwise life is running on in strangely even tenor, and I begin to +realise that in the South Seas, as in other places, delirious gaiety is +only an occasional accident, and even music is only practised by fits +and starts. Certainly it has been well for the truthfulness of my +impressions of travel that I stayed here long enough to see a little of +the _dessous des cartes_, instead of seeing everything only through the +roseate glasses of the hopeful admiral, who was so sanguine that his +multitudinous reforms would all flourish. I am glad that I have seen +Tahiti in all its phases, especially in its quiet ordinary state, which +no one travelling in a man-of-war, or in any other large ship, can ever +see, as the kindly people are always glad of the smallest pretext for +getting up festivities. + +Amongst other wrong impressions, I should certainly have carried away an +idea that _himène_ singing was the normal condition of Tahitian +life—that all the people were for ever warbling like birds, as naturally +as they breathed, and that the very air was musical. I now find that +this is by no means the case. Since the outburst of song which +everywhere greeted King Ariiaue on his accession, all the birds have +been mute. I have only heard one _himène_, and that was got up to order, +in honour of H.M.S. Shah, and a very poor specimen it was. + +But chiefly I rejoice that my prolonged stay here with this fine family +of real old Tahitian chiefs (who have treated me with the same loving +kindness they heap on one another), has not only shown me whatever still +remains of the true Tahitian element, but has also enabled me to +realise, in person, the existence of the warm-hearted unbounded +hospitality which (now necessarily wellnigh a tale of the past, in +overcrowded British isles) still flourishes and luxuriates beneath these +balmy heavens. + +But as all things must have an end, and my visit to Tahiti has already +extended to five months, I now only await the arrival of either of the +missing ships, to decide by which route to tear myself away from the +Tahitian paradise, and all the kind, kind people in it, to whom it owes +half its charm. + + _March 5th._ + +Misfortunes never do come singly, and really it seems as if every vessel +that has come in of late has brought tidings of some fresh loss. Of +those for which we watched so anxiously, the first to arrive was the +Paloma, from San Francisco. Great was the joy when she was sighted, +great the dismay when it became known that she brought no mails. It +appears that she had been becalmed on her voyage to ’Frisco, and so had +arrived late. The French consul there, sooner than allow one day’s delay +in starting the return mail, had chartered another vessel, the Bonanza, +to bring it down, at a cost to the Paloma of 2000 dollars. The latter +had to wait several days in San Francisco for cargo; and nevertheless, +though the Bonanza is accounted a swift sailer, the Paloma reached +Honolulu several days before her. She brought news that the Maramma got +into so many difficulties at the Hawaiian Isles that Aleck Brander +deemed it best to take passage by the mail-steamer up to San Francisco, +intending to return thence in the Paloma; but finding that the Bonanza +was chartered for an immediate start, he decided to come by her, and so +has only just arrived, after both the other ships had been some days in +harbour. + +The Maramma has had quite a chapter of accidents. After making an +excellent run to Honolulu, she went down to Kauai to ship cattle, when +it was discovered that she had sprung a serious leak, and had nine feet +of water in her hold. Happily she was so close inshore that she landed +all her cargo without difficulty. A Government steamer was sent down to +tow her back to Honolulu, at a cost of 3000 dollars. Another 1000 +dollars were there expended on repairs, and to this must be added 2000 +more of dead loss on the voyage,—and all this was due to one rat-hole! + +Now she is undergoing further repairs here, and will very likely be +despatched to Hawaii in a very few days, in which case she will probably +go direct to Kauai, the most beautiful, and least visited, of all the +Sandwich Isles. It is a very tempting possibility, yet the element of +doubt as to whether she really will go at all, exists so clearly, that +it seems wiser for me to take passage in the Paloma to San Francisco, +and thence return to Honolulu by mail-steamer. It is a terribly long +round; for whereas Honolulu is 2000 miles from here, San Francisco is at +least 4000, as the crow flies, and as ships go, the voyage is often one +of 5000 miles, or even more—a long voyage to undertake in a brigantine +of 230 tons! + +Aleck Brander has been giving us most interesting accounts of his +reception in Honolulu by all the royalties and high chiefs of Hawaii. As +I have before mentioned, they all count blood-relationship with the high +chiefs of Tahiti; and though they rarely meet, a visit from one to the +other is a great event. So Aleck’s first visit was celebrated by a true +native welcome, and he had the luck of seeing such traces of old +Hawaiian custom as have not yet quite died out. But it sounds odd to +hear of presentations of food, and of crouching servants, quite _à la_ +Fiji, combined with very smart American-Parisian dresses, very much +_décolletée_. At least the photographs, of which Aleck has brought a +large supply, represent the great ladies of Hawaii in very low-necked +and short-sleeved dresses of gorgeous material. Certainly the simple +robes of Tahiti are infinitely preferable. + + ON BOARD THE PALOMA, + _Saturday, 9th March_. + +The die is cast, the sad partings over, and I have bidden a long +farewell to the kindest and most affectionate community I have yet +discovered in all my wanderings. I took leave of them all yesterday +morning, for the Paloma had gone to Hitiaa, on the other side of the +island, there to load with oranges. + +My only fellow-passengers are a very kind couple, Mr and Mrs Boyd, who +are accompanied by a pretty fair-haired child. We came together from +Papeete, in a comfortable coach with canvas cover, and had a most lovely +sixty miles’ drive along the shore, with the distant hills standing out +clearer and more beautiful than I had ever yet seen them, and the +foliage seeming richer than ever, as I looked on it all with the +sorrowful feeling that it was for the last time. + +Several bridges had been washed away during a recent storm—the same +which wrought such devastation in the Paumotus—so we had to cross the +rivers at the mouth, by driving quite into the sea. It was rather +nervous work, as the horses did not like it at all. But otherwise, the +beautiful grass roads were in excellent condition, and we had four +changes of very good horses, so the drive was most delightful. + +Now the beautiful isle lies far behind us, fading into the blue +distance, and we are fairly started on our far journey. + +Small as is our ship, she is in every respect satisfactory, and as clean +and cosy as a gentleman’s yacht. I never saw so small a vessel carry so +much sail,—truly our Paloma deserves her name, for she is now flying +before the breeze like a swift white-winged carrier-pigeon, bearing many +a letter.[71] + +She also carries 270,000 oranges—a fragrant cargo. They are gathered +unripe, to be ready for the market on our arrival. Probably, if we make +a slow voyage, we shall seriously diminish their numbers! On their +account, every part of the ship is kept as cool and airy as possible. + +Our cabins are excellent. Mine is large and comfortable, and has two +windows opening on to the deck, so that they need never be shut unless +weather is very bad. The table is excellent, the service quiet and +attentive. Our Danish captain is an exceedingly good fellow, as is also +his wife, who travels with him. + +The cook and steward, and the two mates, are Swedes and Germans. Seven +Rarotongans compose the crew: all are very quiet and silent. So is +little Edith, with her cat and kitten. The canary is the only noisy +person on board, and sings joyously. + +We are starting as it were on a long yachting cruise in summer seas. + + _Saturday, April 20th_, + STILL ON BOARD THE PALOMA. + +Our summer cruise has lasted six weeks; we have made about the longest +voyage on record. We have lain becalmed for days, which both the captain +and his wife attribute to my perversity in writing letters on board! +They say it _always_ happens when passengers write, and that it ought to +be an irrevocable law that all ink-bottles are emptied when their owners +embark. Unaccountable currents have drifted us far out of our course, +and the irregular behaviour of the trade-wind has driven us right to the +west of the Sandwich Isles, and yet had not the kindness to blow us +close to Honolulu, where I might have met some vessel running in and +transhipped,—Captain Nissen would not have dared to land me himself, as +he would thereby have broken his mail contract. But we passed close to +Kauai, which, seen from the sea, is a very uninteresting-looking island; +and then we sailed so close to Niihau that we could distinguish every +house. It did seem a pity that the aggravating contract should prevent +my landing at once, instead of my having to go on all the way to San +Francisco, just to return in a steamer! We have actually made a voyage +of 6000 miles since we left Papeete! For my own part, I really have not +disliked it. We have had lovely weather; everything has gone on most +pleasantly; and what with reading, working, and painting, the days have +been well filled. + +Yesterday was Good Friday, which in Germany and Denmark is called “the +quiet day,”[72] and it was observed by the Danes and Germans, and all +the crew, by a cessation from all manner of work not positively +necessary. The Rarotongans are all Christians, and have their own books, +which they read quietly on Sundays. + +Now we are off the coast of California. We are nearing the Golden Gates, +and hope to find ourselves safe in harbour, before the dawn on Easter +morning. + + + THE END. + + + PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS. + +[Illustration: A LADY’S CRUISE IN A FRENCH MAN-OF-WAR] + +----- + +Footnote 1: + + Since the above was written, Mr Watkin has been appointed Chairman (or + as we might say, Wesleyan Bishop) of Tongatabu. + + Mr Baker has ceased to work in connection with the mission, and now + acts as Prime Minister to King George. + +Footnote 2: + + For numerous instances of this, see ‘From the Hebrides to the + Himalayas’ (C. F. Gordon Cumming), vol. i. pp. 203–210. + +Footnote 3: + + I am happy to say that the king’s good sense carried the day, and + enabled the wishes of the people to find an independent voice. In July + 1879, King George formally opened a Tongan Parliament, at which, for + the first time, representatives of the people were present, under the + new constitution, to discuss all questions relating to their own + wellbeing. Ere the close of the session, in the middle of September, + the law prohibiting the manufacture and wearing of native cloth, and + rendering certain articles of clothing compulsory, was abolished. Men + and women are now permitted to wear any clothes they please, in doors + or out, provided, of course, that they are decently clad according to + South Sea interpretation of the word. The only exception to this happy + rule of liberty is the interior of the Wesleyan Church at Nukualofa, + where it is still necessary for men to appear in full European + dress—coat, trousers, shoes, &c.—and for women to wear bonnets and + dresses! Those who cannot, or will not, comply with this regulation, + must stay outside the sanctuary. + + The prohibition against women smoking was also modified. Doubtless the + revenue will suffer from the diminution of lines, but that can + scarcely be a matter of much regret. Various other wise measures were + passed, showing that the Tongans have awakened to understand the folly + of attempting to introduce the manners and customs of foreign + countries, without reference to the requirements and necessities of + their own people. Consequently several excellent Tongan customs + relative to tenure of lands, tribes, and status of the people, are now + legalised; and the representatives have shown their strong and + sensible desire to retain all that was good in their national code of + laws, but which had been put away, together with things evil, at the + suggestion of resident foreigners. + + That the latter were so effectually prevented from unduly influencing + the young Parliament, was doubtless due to the presence of H.B.M. + Deputy-Commissioner for Tonga, A. P. Maudslay, and of Mr Wilkinson, + both of whom have been engaged in the establishment of the new + Government in Fiji, and well know the wisdom of ruling a + semi-civilised race by retaining, so far as is possible, their own + ancient feudal customs. + +Footnote 4: + + A great Tongan chief, settled in Fiji, who, up to the time of + annexation, contested with Thakombau for the supremacy. I have just + received news of his death. + +Footnote 5: + + Since my return to England, I have heard the statement corroborated. + +Footnote 6: + + _Vide_ ‘At Home in Fiji’ (C. F. Gordon Cumming), vol. ii. + +Footnote 7: + + The struggle lasted for some time. Finally, Malietoa again got the + upper hand, and was acknowledged king by the foreign Powers, General + Bartlett, U.S., being his prime minister. In August 1879, the Hon. Sir + Arthur Hamilton Gordon, Commissioner for the Western Pacific, arrived + at Apia, and concluded a treaty with the king and Government of Samoa, + declaring perpetual peace and friendship between the people of their + respective isles. The Samoans ceded to Britain the right to establish + a naval station and coaling depot, as had previously been granted by + treaty both to Germany and America. On the 8th November 1880 King + Malietoa died. He was barely forty years of age, and a man greatly + loved by all his own people. Probably but for the disturbing presence + of the meddling whites, he might still be reigning over a happy and + prosperous people. As it is, the country is once more in a state of + anarchy; and the good bishop, whose heart yearned for the peace and + prosperity of the people, has himself passed away to the world where + all is peace. + +Footnote 8: + + _Didunculus strigirostris._ + +Footnote 9: + + Or more correctly, in old Celtic parlance, _tuaphol_—that is to say, a + turn contrary to the course of the sun, keeping the left hand towards + the centre. It was only used when invoking a curse, as opposed to the + turn _deisul_, which invoked a blessing on the object round which the + turn was made. The superstition is common to all lands in whose early + mythology sun-worship held a place. See ‘From the Hebrides to the + Himalayas,’ vol. i. p. 203. + +Footnote 10: + + The _sulu_ of the Friendly and Fijian Isles, the _pareo_ of Tahiti, + the _sarong_ of the Malays, or the _comboy_ of the Singalese, is + simply a fathom of cloth wrapped round the lower limbs, and reaching + to the knee or the ankle, according to the width of the material. + +Footnote 11: + + Capital of Fiji. + +Footnote 12: + + Shortly after the above was written, the Pacific was electrified by + the sudden collapse of this huge mercantile house, which failed for + the modest sum of one million sterling. + +Footnote 13: + + _Vide_ New Zealand Blue-Book, 1874—evidence of Mr Sterndale, late + _employé_ of Mr Godeffroy. + +Footnote 14: + + Sea-urchins. + +Footnote 15: + + _Fa_ “in the manner of”— + + _Vaka-Viti_, Fiji-wise. + _Faka-Tonga_, Tonga-wise. + _Fa-Samoa_, Samoa-wise. + +Footnote 16: + + Great love to you. + +Footnote 17: + + Apparently women are held in higher estimation by the Samoans than by + some folk in the British Isles. I have just heard of a Highlander + driving a very fierce bull along a highroad. To him, quoth a friend, + “That is a dangerous-looking brute!” “Ou na!” replies the owner; “he + is just as ceevil as a sheep. He wadna hurt onybody, unless, maybe, + weemen and bairns and suchlike!” + +Footnote 18: + + The Rev. W. Wyatt Gill has recorded a multitude of most interesting + examples of such parables from nature. Moreover, happily for all + lovers of such lore, he has, during his mission career in the Hervey + Isles, found time to preserve many delightful “Myths and Songs from + the South Pacific.” It is much to be wished that the same could be + done for other groups. + +Footnote 19: + + _Crinum asiaticum._ + +Footnote 20: + + Nineteen Years in Polynesia. By the Rev. George Turner, London + Missionary Society. + +Footnote 21: + + For a few examples, to which many more might be added, see ‘From the + Hebrides to the Himalayas,’ vol. i. pp. 16, 74, 130–134. + +Footnote 22: + + _Vide_ ‘At Home in Fiji,’ by C. F. Gordon Cumming. + +Footnote 23: + + _Aitutaki_, “led by God.” + +Footnote 24: + + Notably one dug out of the peat-moss at Ballachulish, now in the + Antiquarian Museum in Edinburgh; and those in the Museum at Hull; also + those in the Berlin Museum. All these have the eyes formed of quartz + pebbles, instead of the bits of pearly shell or of obsidian used in + the manufacture of idols in the Pacific. + + The stone gods also had their counterparts in our own isles. When Dr + Turner visited the Union or Tokelau Isles in 1850, he found that the + great god, Tui Tokelau, was supposed to be embodied in a rude stone, + which was carefully wrapped up in fine mats, and never seen by any + human eyes save those of the king, who is also the high priest. Even + he might only look upon the sacred stone once a year, when the old + mats were removed and new ones supplied. Of course constant exposure + in all weather, day and night, soon decayed the mats; but the + worshippers continually offered new ones, _especially in cases of + sickness_, and these were wrapped round the idol, so that, ere the day + came round for its disrobing, it attained a prodigious size. The old + mats were considered so sacred that none might touch them; so they + were laid in a place apart, and there left to rot. The month of May + was especially devoted to the worship of this god, and the people + assembled from all the Tokelau isles to hold a great feast in its + honour, and to pray for prosperity and health, and especially _for an + abundant supply of fish_ and cocoa-nuts. + + Now turn from the Pacific to the North Atlantic, and read a statement + by the Earl of Roden, in his ‘Progress of the Reformation in Ireland.’ + He says:— + + “In the south island—_i.e._, Inniskea, off the coast of Mayo—in the + house of a man named Monigan, a stone idol, called in the Irish + _Neevougi_, has been, from time immemorial, religiously preserved and + worshipped. This god resembles in appearance a thick roll of home-spun + flannel, which arises from the custom of dedicating a dress of that + material to it whenever its aid is sought; this is sewn on by an old + woman, its priestess, whose peculiar care it is. Of the early history + of this idol no authentic information can be procured, but its power + is believed to be immense. _They pray to it in time of sickness_; it + is invoked _when a storm is desired to dash some hapless ship upon + their coast_; and again, the exercise of its power is solicited in + calming the angry waves _to admit of fishing_ or visiting the + mainland.” + + It scarcely seems possible, does it, to realise that our own ancestors + were as gross idolaters as any South Sea Islanders? Yet in the + majority of these isles the present generation have never seen an idol + of any sort; and should they ever visit our museums, they would gaze + on the gods of their own fathers as wonderingly as we do on those of + the early Britons. + +Footnote 25: + + Alas! the fate of the majority has already been sealed. In the spring + of 1881, the following brief paragraph announced that the lives of + these brave pioneers had already been sacrificed:— + + “MASSACRE OF MISSIONARIES.—Despatches received in Liverpool announce + the massacre in New Guinea of a number of missionaries belonging to + the London Missionary Society. The news was conveyed to Melbourne in a + telegram from the Rev. Mr Beswick, who himself narrowly escaped with + his life. On the 7th of March the missionaries were attacked by the + natives at Kato, in the district of Port Moresby, Hulu, and four of + them, with two of their wives, four children, and two servants, were + killed. The natives also attempted to kill four native boys who were + with the missionary party, but they saved themselves by swimming. Not + the slightest provocation was given; but it is stated in the despatch + that the perpetrators of other previous massacres on the coast have + not been punished, and this is considered to be the main cause of the + outbreak. The total number of persons killed was twelve, but the list + would have been much greater had not the remainder of the party made + their immediate escape. For fear the natives would make a further + attack upon the missionaries in the outlying districts, they were all + removed from their stations to Port Moresby.” + +Footnote 26: + + Foreign. + +Footnote 27: + + The thought of this poor savage, week by week imperilling his life by + crossing that stormy sea in his frail canoe, has often come vividly to + my mind as an illustration of the words in Deut. xxx. 11–14: “This + commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, + neither is it far off. It is not ... beyond the sea, that thou + shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, + that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, + in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.” + +Footnote 28: + + Christianity. + +Footnote 29: + + See note on _Etu_ worship at the end of this letter. + +Footnote 30: + + See an interesting article on the origin of clan names in Britain, + ‘Cornhill Magazine,’ September 1881—“Old English Clans.” + +Footnote 31: + + It is hard to have to think of that tender and loving heart as of a + mere material relic. Yet, as the heart of the Bruce, enshrined in its + golden casket, was carried by his true knight to that Holy Land which + his feet might never tread, so has the heart of this saintly + prelate—the first Bishop of Samoa—been borne by his faithful + followers, to find its resting-place in the church where for so many + years he pleaded for, and with, his people. + + It was brought from France by Père Lamaze, now consecrated Bishop of + the Isles. The heart is enclosed in a glass urn, with an outer case of + gold, ornamented with precious stones, and supported by four angels. + On the lid of this reliquary is a representation of a bishop appearing + before the judgment-seat of our Lord. + + On reaching Samoa, the casket was deposited at Vaea, while + preparations for its reception were made at Apia. On the 24th May + 1881, about six hundred Catholics assembled at sunrise at the church + at Vaea, to pay a last tribute of respect and devotion to their loved + bishop; then forming in solemn procession, they moved towards Apia. + The children from the convent school at Savalalo walked first, + followed by their teachers; next the Catholics of Apia and the + surrounding districts. These were followed by the clergy, four of whom + acted as pall-bearers, while four others carried the heart. Last of + all came the Catholic chiefs, the catechists of Vaea College, and the + natives residing at the mission-house at Apia. + + On reaching the church, a sermon was preached by Bishop Lamaze, and + the heart was then deposited in a niche in the wall, there to remain + enshrined, as a perpetual memorial to the people of Samoa of the + earnest and noble life that was spent in striving to exemplify the + holiness he preached. + +Footnote 32: + + The following paragraph is from a recent Hawaiian Gazette, showing the + course of events in Samoa:— + + “We learn, through the courtesy of Lieutenant Abbot of the Lackawanna, + some interesting particulars in relation to the political condition of + the Samoan archipelago. The chief Malietoa, whose name is identified + with the sovereignty of Samoa, is dead, and his nephew and namesake + has succeeded to his political authority and state; but a rival chief, + Kepua Tomisasu, has been contesting the succession, and previous to + the arrival of the Lackawanna there had been a series of desultory + semi-barbarous war campaigns—not resulting in any decisive action or + notable slaughter of men, but causing widespread ruin, robbery, and + unrest. The American commander Gillis now presented his good offices + in the way of reconciliation, and to establish between rival chiefs + and peoples of the same land a more harmonious and patriotic spirit. + And we are happy to say that, after many baffling discussions, a + political unity and harmony on Samoa have been effected—Malietoa II. + being proclaimed King of Samoa, and his rival, Kepua, the Premier of + Samoa, with an authority on public questions somewhat like our former + Kuhina Nui. + + “The Samoan warriors have all dispersed and returned to peaceful + pursuits. The terms of peace were drawn up and signed on board the + Lackawanna in the harbour of Apia, and a royal salute of 21 guns was + fired from the vessel in honour of the event. + + “We are glad to recognise that in this instance the commander of an + American man-of-war intervenes solely as a peacemaker, and to promote + the best welfare of a Polynesian people.” + +Footnote 33: + + Colonial abbreviation for San Francisco. + +Footnote 34: + + Capital of Fiji. + +Footnote 35: + + An explanation which resulted in the complete exoneration of Captain + Aube, and his appointment to the command of La Savoie,—a finer vessel + than that from which he had been so summarily dismissed. + +Footnote 36: + + The good bishop had the satisfaction of reaching _la belle France_, + and there effectually pleading the cause of his friend, ere he laid + down the burden of life, which he had borne with so much anxious care + for the weal of his people. He died very shortly after his return to + Europe. + +Footnote 37: + + King Pomare II. was the first person who was publicly baptised in + Tahiti. The service took place on 16th July 1819. + +Footnote 38: + + _Vahine_, a woman. + +Footnote 39: + + And in this year of 1882 still continue to crop up, greatly to the + benefit of the lawyers, who find in the affairs of the Estate Brander, + a harvest far too remunerative to be lightly abandoned. + +Footnote 40: + + Soon after my return to England, I heard that this happy home had been + invaded by ophthalmia of a virulent type, necessitating an immediate + return to France, and long and anxious care; but nevertheless + resulting in the partial blindness for life of two of those merry + boys. Even the Tahitian paradise has its thorns. + +Footnote 41: + + The late Sir Archibald Dunbar of Northfield, in the county of Elgin, + married, firstly, my father’s sister, Miss Gordon Cumming of Altyre + and Gordonstown; and secondly, Miss Brander, heiress of Pitgaveny, + whom, consequently, we have known all our lives, and loved much. + +Footnote 42: + + Pandanus. + +Footnote 43: + + My soul is defiled with sin. + +Footnote 44: + + _Musa uranascopus._ + +Footnote 45: + + _Acanthaster solaris._ + +Footnote 46: + + _Acrocladia mamillata._ + +Footnote 47: + + _Conus textilis._ + +Footnote 48: + + Let not the nations of the West sneer at these superstitions of the + East. Faith in the efficacy of the king’s touch as a cure for scrofula + was implicit both in France and England for many a long year. So early + as A.D. 481 it was practised by Clovis. And it is recorded that on + Easter Day, 1686, Louis XIV. touched 1600 persons, saying to each, “Le + roy te touche, Dieu te guérisse!” This singular divine right was first + claimed in England by Edward the Confessor in 1058, and his successors + carried it on. Charles I. did, on St John’s Day, 1633, visit Holyrood + Chapel, where “he heallit 100 persons, young and old, of the cruelles + or king’s evil.” Charles II. actually touched 92,107 such + patients—being an average of 12 per diem for twenty years. His + exchequer must have suffered by this kingly privilege, as he presented + a broad gold piece to each sufferer. The touch of Queen Elizabeth was + declared “a sure relief when all other methods have failed.” Henry + VIII., not content with miraculously curing all scrofula patients, + also healed those afflicted with cruel cramps. Dr Johnson speaks of + his earliest recollections of Queen Anne, into whose awful presence he + had been ushered in his infancy, that by her royal touch she might + cure him of his sore disease! The office appointed by the Church to be + said on these occasions was actually retained in the English liturgy + till 1719, when it was omitted by command of George I. But so late as + 1745 many of the Jacobite party came secretly to Charles Edward, to + crave his healing touch. See ‘From the Hebrides to the Himalayas’ (C. + F. Gordon Cumming), vol. i. p. 264. + +Footnote 49: + + _Dracæna terminalis._ + +Footnote 50: + + _Asplenium nidus._ + +Footnote 51: + + Which proved to be the exact state of the case. + +Footnote 52: + + All of which I found to be strictly true. Undoubtedly, the ideal + Pacific Isles lie south of the equator. + +Footnote 53: + + We can scarcely describe this proceeding as the _thin_ end of the + wedge, but it was obvious from the beginning that the assumption of + the Protectorate was merely a cloak for forcibly taking possession of + these gems of the Pacific. _The cloak was finally thrown aside in June + 1880, when King Pomare V. was persuaded by the commandant to cede the + nominal sovereignty of the isles to those who had so long held its + reality_, and to accept a life-pension of 12,000 dollars a year, which + he might enjoy in peace in his own fashion, and so escape from the + continual tutoring, which made his kingly rank a wearisome burden, + devoid of all honour. + + _The annexation of Tahiti was formally proclaimed in Papeete on 24th + March 1881_, and was made the occasion of a brilliant festival, such + as the light-hearted crowds are ever ready to welcome. Great were the + official rejoicings. From every ship in the harbour, and every corner + of the town, floated the tricolour, which likewise adorned the raven + tresses of the women and the button-holes of the men. Great was the + noise of big guns, and the amount of powder expended on salutes. An + imposing column of all branches of the service—sailors and marines, + marine artillery, with their guns, infantry, and gendarmes—marched + round the town, headed by the band: “A Tahiti, comme en France, on + aime à voir passer nos soldats,” says the ‘Messager de Tahiti.’ So the + lovely town was _en fête_. Every _himène_ chorus had arrived from + every corner of the isles, making the whole air musical. Thousands of + natives, all in their brightest, freshest dresses, kept up incessant + movement in the clear sunlight or cool shade. Everywhere games and + feasting were the order of the day. In the governor’s beautiful + gardens, a brilliant banquet for upwards of a hundred persons was + served in a great tent, all as graceful as the combined taste of + France and Tahiti could make it. Then followed a lovely garden + festival, just such as that described by “The Earl and the Doctor,” a + gay ball for the leading inhabitants, while “the people” danced no + less joyously on the green, outside the sacred precincts. Games, + music, dancing, and feasting, with a night of brilliant illuminations + and fireworks,—all these, combined with lovely surroundings and + perfect weather, made the great official festival of Tahiti a day + which the French naval officers very naturally consider one to be + remembered for ever, but which, perchance, may have caused some of the + older inhabitants an angry and bitter pang, for the independence of + their country thus lost for ever. + +Footnote 54: + + Immediately alter the declaration of the annexation of the Society + Isles, comes the news that _the French have also annexed the Gambier + Isles_, which lie to the south-west, in the direction of Pitcairn’s + Isle. _Our Gallic friends have thus secured a very admirable + semicircle of the four finest groups in the Eastern Pacific._ Here + they can now consolidate their strength, and await the influx of + commerce which must of necessity pass through this _cordon_, _when M. + Lesseps shall have opened the Panama Canal for the traffic of the + world_. + + Here French ships will touch on their way to and from the Loyalty + Isles and Cochin-China; while ships of all nations, plying between + Europe and Australasia, will necessarily pass the same way, and + contribute their quota to the wealth of the French Pacific. + + The Gambier Islands have been gradually prepared for their adoption by + France, the Catholic Mission having there ruled supreme for some + twenty years. + + Till quite recently, the Bible has been a prohibited book, but now, of + the few remaining natives, a large proportion are learning to read + Tahitian, in order to be able to study the Scriptures for themselves; + and the Protestant Mission in Tahiti has responded to this desire, by + sending copies of the New Testament for gratuitous distribution in the + group. From one cause or another, however, a very small number of + natives now exist, the islands having become wellnigh depopulated. + +Footnote 55: + + Although the French have had possession of the group for so many + years, the natives of some of the islands have never been really in + subjection to the authorities until last year, when Admiral Bergasse + du Petit Thouars visited the group, and with the aid of volunteers, + natives of Tahiti, and of the friendly isles of Marquesas, succeeded + in disarming and bringing into subjection the hostile tribes, and that + without firing a shot. + + The admiral himself headed the troops across the mountains from + village to village, arriving one night on the coast about midnight, + having been conducted by natives who knew the passes: these passes + were lighted up by the electric light from the frigate, which was + anchored in the bay. The French took 600 muskets from the natives of + the two islands, Hiva-oa and Fatuhiva. They say that the natives are + really not a bad sort of people, but their curse, like that of all the + islands, is “_drink_.” This, and the conduct of unprincipled + foreigners, has been the real cause of all the trouble. + + I affix a note which I copy from the ‘Messager de Tahiti’ for 30th of + July 1880, which is all that has appeared in the paper on the + subject:— + + “Le Contre-Amiral commandant en chef le corps expéditionnaire aux + Marquises, témoigne aux volontaires Tahitiens, aux volontaires + Marquisiens, aux militaires de toutes armes, ainsi qu’aux marins qui + ont pris part à l’expédition des Marquises, toute sa satisfaction. + + “Grâce à leur esprit militaire, à leur dévouement et à leur + discipline, l’île de Hiva-oa et celle de Fatuhiva ont été rapidement + soumises et désarmés, et la paix régne partout aux Marquises.” + +Footnote 56: + + Sun-dried nut, exported for the manufacture of oil. + +Footnote 57: + + _Holothuroides._ Chinese name, _Tripang_. + +Footnote 58: + + The question was decided in her favour. She has been refitted and + renamed and now sails the Pacific as the Annie Johnson. + +Footnote 59: + + I do not by this mean to suggest any trace of a common origin, merely + founded on ancestor-worship, which prevailed in almost all countries, + and which in the Pacific is to this day practised by the Papuan races. + The islanders of the Torres Straits, in common with those of the Line + islands, worship the skulls of their ancestors, and treasure them in + their huts as reverently as did the Tahitians in heathen days. + +Footnote 60: + + For a trace of this custom, as practised in the Marquesas, see p. 257. + +Footnote 61: + + Whence has developed the Torii. + +Footnote 62: + + This is emphatically true of Fijian. See ‘At Home in Fiji,’ vol. i. p. + 136. + +Footnote 63: + + _Calophyllum inophyllum._ + +Footnote 64: + + _Entada scandens._ + +Footnote 65: + + If any are disposed to doubt this statement, they have only to refer + to the circumstantial and thoroughly authenticated accounts published + by the various missionary societies; those, for instance, of the + American Board, which again and again, in the early days of the + mission to the Sandwich Isles, have occasion to refer to the outrages + committed by British and American seamen, who came in armed bands to + attack the mission stations, in their rage at the influence acquired + by the missionaries, and the consequent change in the morals of the + people. Again and again life and property were threatened, and the + mission premises were only saved from destruction by the timely + arrival of determined chiefs and their retainers. + +Footnote 66: + + The gods also were supposed to feed on the essence of the food offered + to them. Every evening the priest in the principal temple of Mangaia + cooked an ovenful of _taro_ for their use, and threw one root at a + time into the scrub, dedicating each to one of the gods. When the + thirteen principal deities had thus been recognised the priest threw + one more, as an offering to all the lesser gods, of whose names and + attributes he was ignorant. This ceremony exactly answers to one which + I have seen practised at the Buddhist monasteries in China, where, ere + the monks taste their own food, a small portion is set aside on a + pillar, as an offering to any saintly or divine beings whom they have + neglected in their temple-worship. + +Footnote 67: + + _Erythrina corallodendrum._ + +Footnote 68: + + The next I saw were at the British Legation in Pekin, where they were + objects of intense interest, as being probably the first ever grown in + the Celestial Empire. + +Footnote 69: + + The Malay apple, familiar to us in Fiji as the _kaveeka_. + +Footnote 70: + + Just before leaving Tahiti, I bestowed equal care on three cases + containing 6000 stones, which were carried by sailing-ship to New + Zealand and thence to Fiji. Their arrival there was anxiously + expected, and all arrangements made for their speedy distribution + throughout the group. Alas! alas! when, after long delays, the cases + were opened, they were found to contain a mass of decay; poor dead + plants, which had sprouted during the voyage, and straightway died. + When this sad news reached me, I bethought me sorrowfully of the + advice given me by Monseigneur Janssen—namely, that as plants require + light and air to enable them to sprout, I would do well to compel them + to sleep by packing them in soot, and then having the case carefully + caulked. The mess involved in such work was so horrible, that I shrank + from undertaking it, but I bequeath the good advice to my successors + in the attempt. + +Footnote 71: + + Paloma—a dove. + +Footnote 72: + + Der stille Tag. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + + + + + TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES + + + ● Typos fixed; non-standard spelling and dialect retained. + ● Used numbers for footnotes, placing them all at the end of the last + chapter. + ● Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 77356 *** |