On the west coast of the Tongan Island of Hoonga there is a peculiar
cave, the entrance to which is several feet beneath the surface of the
sea, even at low water. It was first discovered by a young chief,
while diving after a turtle. He told no one about it, and luckily, as
we shall see. He was secretly enamoured of a beautiful young girl, the
daughter of a certain chief, but as she was betrothed to another man,
he dared not tell her of his love. The governor of the islands was a
cruel tyrant, whose misdeeds at last incited this girl's father to
plot an insurrection. The plot unfortunately was discovered and the
chief with all his relatives, including the beautiful girl, condemned
to be taken out to sea in a canoe and drowned.
No time was to be lost. The lover hastened to the girl, informed her
of her danger, confessed his love, and begged her to come with him to
a place of safety. Soon her consenting hand was clasped in his; the
shades of evening favored their escape; while the woods afforded her
concealment until her lover had brought a canoe to a lonely part of
the beach. In this they speedily embarked, and as he paddled her
across the smooth water he related his discovery of the cavern
destined to be her asylum till an opportunity offered of conveying her
to the Fiji Islands.
When they arrived at the rock he jumped into the water, and she
followed close after; they rose into the cavern, safe from all
possibility of discovery, unless he should be watched. In the morning
he returned to Vavaoo to bring her mats to lie on, and _gnatoo_
(prepared bark of mulberry-tree) for a change of dress. He gave her as
much of his time as prudence allowed, and meanwhile pleaded his tale
of love, to which she was not deaf; and when she confessed that she,
too, had long regarded him with a favorable eye (but a sense of duty
had caused her to smother her growing fondness), his measure of
happiness was full.
This cave was a very nice place for a honeymoon, but hardly for a
permanent residence. So the young chief contrived a way of getting her
out of the cavernous prison. He told his inferior chiefs that he
wanted them to take their families and go with him to Fiji. A large
canoe was soon got ready, and as they embarked he was asked if he
would not take a Tongan wife with him. He replied, No! but that he
should probably find one by the way. They thought this a joke, but
when they came to the spot where the cave was, he asked them to wait
while he went into the sea to fetch his wife. As he dived, they began
to suspect he was insane, and as he did not soon reappear they feared
he had been devoured by a shark.
While they were deliberating what to do, all at once, to their great
surprise, he rose to the surface and brought into the canoe a
beautiful young woman who, they all supposed, had been drowned with
her family. The chief now told the story of the cave, and they
proceeded to Fiji, where they lived some years, until the cruel
governor of Tonga died, whereupon they returned to that island.