CHAPTER XXVIII.

NOTES ON FIJIAN FOLK-LORE—LEGEND OF THE RAT AND CUTTLE-FISH:

THE CRANE AND THE CRAB: ESSAY OF ROAST PIG: OF GIGANTIC

BIRDS—SERPENTS WORSHIPPED AS INCARNATE GODS—SACRED STONES

WORSHIPPED—MYTHOLOGY AND WITCHCRAFT.

It has been a matter of great regret to me that I found so very few

opportunities of hearing the legends and fables which I believe abound

throughout these isles. The few persons who have chanced to learn them

from the natives were generally too busy to tell them,—still more, unable

to spare time to write them down, as I invariably asked them to do. Those

I did hear were fanciful, and often poetic.

When I was staying on the island of Ngau, I succeeded in buying some

curious specimens of the bait used for cuttle-fish. It is a very fair

imitation of a rat, made of the backs of two brown cowries, with a heavy

stone between them,—a small brown cowrie to represent the head, and a

wooden tail. The shells are bored and tied together with sinnet. Wishing

to learn the origin of so quaint a device, we inquired of our host,

Zacheusa—a fine old Fijian teacher, who did good work among the Kai

Tholos in the early days of the _lotu_, and who knows many legends. What

he told us was as follows:—

“A rat one day fell off a canoe into the sea, and landed on the head of

a cuttle-fish, greatly to the alarm of both. The cuttle-fish was going

to shake off the rat, when the latter prayed him to show mercy on him,

and to carry him to a place where his grandfather and grandmother were

waiting for him. So the kind cuttle-fish swam on and on, till he was very

weary; but the rat enjoyed this new mode of travel, and urged him to go

on further and further. At last they neared a grassy bank, which was just

where the rat wished to land; but being an ungenerous animal himself,

he feared the cuttle-fish would play him some trick, so he cried, ‘Oh,

please, do not land me there: I shall surely die.’ But the cuttle-fish,

being weary of him, swam straight to the bank, whereupon the rat jumped

ashore, and instead of thanking his kind deliverer, he ran away jeering.

So now the cuttle-fish hates the rat, and is always on the watch to seize

him and punish him.” And this is why the fisher-folk of Ngau make rats of

cowrie-shells to bait their nets.

Here is a kindred fable, quoted from Sir Arthur Gordon’s private journal:—

“_In Camp, Nasaucoko, July 18, 1876_....—After yangona in the evening,

all the party began to tell fables. ‘The crane and the crab,’ say the

Fijians, ‘quarrelled as to their powers of racing. The crab said he would

go the fastest, and that the crane might fly across from point to point,

while he went round by the shore. The crane flew off, and the crab stayed

quietly in his hole, trusting to the multitude of his brethren to deceive

the crane. The crane flew to the first point, and seeing a crab-hole, put

down his ear, and heard a buzzing noise. “That slave is here before me,”

said he, and flew on to the next point. Here the same thing happened,

till at last, on reaching a point above Serua, the crane fell exhausted,

and was drowned in the sea.’

“Ratu Tabusakiu capped this by an almost exactly similar story,—only in

this case the competition was between a crane and a butterfly. The latter

challenged the crane to fly to Tonga, tempting him to do so by asking if

he was fond of shrimps. The butterfly kept resting on the crane’s back,

without the crane knowing it, and whenever the bird looked round and said

to himself, ‘That _kaisi_ (lowborn) fellow is gone; I can rest and fly

slowly now, without fear of his overtaking me,’ the butterfly would leave

his back and fly a little way ahead, saying, ‘Here I am, cousin,’ till

the poor bird died exhausted; and the butterfly, who had no longer his

back to rest on, perished also.”

Equally charming is a legend told to me in the mountains of Viti Levu,

which suggests that Charles Lamb must have visited Fiji ere he wrote

the ‘Essays of Elia,’ for here is a native version of the “Essay of

Roast Pig”! The legend tells how, many many years ago, there had been

a fight at Nandronga, and the dead bodies of the slain were laid under

the overhanging eaves of a house till the living had time to bury them.

The house accidentally took fire and was burnt down, and the bodies were

of course roasted. The chief ordered that they should be removed, and

the men who lifted them burnt their fingers: they instinctively put

their hands to their mouths, licked, and liked the flavour. They called

to their friends, who followed suit; and thus the people of the isles

discovered how excellent a thing is roast flesh,—a fact which they had

previously had no chance of testing, as, with the exception of a small

rat, no animal of any sort existed on any of the isles, till the men

of Tonga imported pigs. Thus it was that cannibalism originated in the

isles. So says the legend of Nandronga.

A few legends, forming the subject of popular _mékés_, have happily been

preserved by the Rev. Thomas Williams. One of these tells of a crab so

large that it grasped a man in its claw, but he fortunately slipped

through between the forceps, and so escaped injury. Another man ventured

to climb on to the monster’s back, and paid dear for his temerity, being

dashed to pieces by a stroke from a claw. That must have been a curiously

constructed crab! He quotes another which tells of a gigantic bird called

“Duck of the Rock,” which carried off Tutu Wathi Wathi, the beautiful

wife of the god Okova, and sister to Rokoua, while she was fishing on the

reef at Nai Thombo Thombo. The gods started in a large canoe to search

for the lady, and they came to an island inhabited only by goddesses, who

spent their lives in pleasant sport. Rokoua suggested that they might as

well remain here, and give up their vain quest for Okova’s lost love;

but the faithful husband scouted the idea, and insisted on sailing to

the Yasawas, the most westerly isles of the group. Here they found the

cave in which lived the terrible bird. But the cave was empty, for the

bird was fishing; and they found only one little finger of Tutu Wathi

Wathi. Yet this Okova cherished as a special relic, and swore to avenge

her death. Presently they saw the devourer approach, and his vast wings

darkened the face of the sun. In his beak he carried five large turtles,

and in his talons ten porpoises, which he at once proceeded to eat. Then

Okova prayed to three other gods to aid him by causing the wind to blow;

and immediately a gust blew back the feathers of the monster’s tail, and

Rokoua instantly struck his spear through it vitals. So great was the

bird that, though the spear was very long, it was entirely lost in its

body. They took one of its smallest feathers to make a new canoe sail,

not venturing to risk the use of a large feather. They then cast the dead

bird into the sea, causing such a surge as to “flood the foundation of

the sky.” So having accomplished their just vengeance, they sailed safely

back to Nai Thombo Thombo.

It seems strange, in writing of a country so recently pagan, to have no

occasion to allude to the religion of the past. This is partly because

the idols were few and insignificant. The different gods dwelt enshrined

in all manner of animals—fish, birds, reptiles,—and even plants. The

hawk, the shark, the land-crab, fowl, eel, and, above all, the serpent,

were thus held in reverence.

Of the latter, very few specimens are to be found in Fiji (so few, that

during my two years of continual travel and observation in the isles,

I have only seen two, both of which were gliding among rocks on the

sea-shore). These reptiles were worshipped under different names in

the various isles of the group. In some places, when one was found it

was anointed with cocoa-nut oil, and left at liberty. In others it was

reverently carried to the temple, and there laid on a bed of native cloth

and solemnly anointed and fed.

Under this form was worshipped Ndengei, the supreme god and creator of

all things. He it was who sent a great deluge to punish the sin of his

rebellious people; he also revealed fire by teaching two of his human

sons to rub two pieces of wood together. His temple was at Raki Raki, a

cave on the north-east of Viti Levu, whither the people carried great

offerings. One sacrifice is recorded of two hundred pigs and one hundred

turtles. But the most acceptable sacrifices were human; and men have

been known to slay their own wives, rather than fail to propitiate the

giver of yams. The offerings were laid before the mouth of the cave, and

the priests crawled in on hands and knees. If the prayer were granted,

they reappeared all wet to show that needful rain-showers would fall. Of

course if the omen failed, subsequent sins were alleged as the cause of

failure in the compact.

Ndengei was supposed to love silence, therefore the noisy bats near his

cave were banished; the potters were likewise dismissed to small islands,

purposely created for them; and women going to fetch water from the

sacred mount were enjoined to be silent, else their food would turn into

serpents.

There appears reason to suppose that the serpent was commonly worshipped

throughout the Pacific—certainly in the Friendly or Tongan Isles. When

(A.D. 1830) Mr Williams visited this group, he touched at a small isle

near Tongatabu, and found a nest of sea-snakes. He bade his men kill the

largest as a specimen. At the next island where they touched they carried

it ashore, and prepared to dry it, but the fishermen (who were preparing

their nets) raised a terrific yell, and seizing their clubs rushed upon

the Christian natives, shouting, “You have killed our god!” Williams

stepped between the two parties, and with difficulty restrained their

violence, on condition that the reptile should at once be carried back

to the boat.

The Fijian gods seemed to have fully appreciated the blessings of

quiet. Raitumaibulu, lord of life, god of the crops, was especially

careful of his own comfort in this respect. During the month of December

(midsummer), when he came to earth to cause all fruit-bearing trees to

blossom, the people were forbidden to make any unnecessary noise: they

might not blow the trumpet, nor beat drums, nor dance, nor sing (not even

at sea); they might neither cultivate the soil nor make war, lest the

god should be disturbed in his operations, and deliver over the land to

famine. Here we mark the connection, common to all mythologies, between

the old serpent and the fruits of the earth. This Ceres of Fiji had no

serpent car to bring him to earth, but he himself took the form of a

serpent, and dwelt in a small cave near Mbau, where the people flocked to

do him homage.

A legend attaches to this cave, which makes us wish that more attention

could be given to the folk-lore of these isles ere it utterly fades away,

like the grey mists of night before the beams of morning. Perhaps it is

already too late, for the _lotu_ (Christianity) has brought in such a

flood of newer stories, that doubtless the old fables have fallen into

disrepute, and probably (just as in Scotland) the dread of a sneer or a

rebuke from their teachers will cause those who know them best to shrink

from uttering them. The legend I allude to was happily recorded by Mr

Waterhouse, senior, one of the earliest and most able of the Wesleyan

missionaries. Such men as these had little spare time, and probably less

inclination, to take much trouble in collecting foolish stories. However,

enough have been recorded to make us wish for more; and here is a sample

of Fijian folk-lore.

I have told you how the lord of the crops lay enshrined in the likeness

of a great serpent. But there was a sceptical chief, named Keroika, who

would not believe in this divinity, and rashly determined to test the

matter. So, taking with him a cargo of small fish, he proceeded in his

canoe to the sacred cave. There he was greeted by a serpent of average

size, who told him he was son of the god: Keroika made him an offering

of fish, and prayed for an interview with his father. Another serpent

came out to see what was going on. He proved to be a grandson, and he

likewise received a gift of fish, and a request to induce his grandfather

to appear. And after a while an immense serpent came forth, and Keroika

knew that it was the Raitumaibulu himself. So he made obeisance,

and presented his offering of fish, which was graciously accepted

by the serpent-god; but as he turned to retreat to his cave Keroika

treacherously shot him with an arrow, and then, horror-stricken at what

he had done, fled in terror from the spot, but he was pursued by a

terrible voice, crying, “Nought but serpents! Nought but serpents!” These

ominous words were still ringing in his ears when he reached his home,

where, determined to conquer his foolish fear, he called for dinner. But

when the servants uncovered the cooking-pot, and were about to lift out

the food, they started back in horror—the pot was full of serpents. At

least, thought the chief, I will drink; but as he raised a jar to his

lips he poured out serpents instead of water. Hungry and thirsty, he

threw himself wearily on his mat, hoping to find solace in sleep, but

from every corner hissing snakes glided round him, and the wretched man

fled from his house in terror. As he passed the temple he saw a crowd

collected to hear the priest make a revelation, which was that the god

had been wounded by a citizen, and that in consequence evil would surely

befall the city. So, finding there was no use in further concealment, he

confessed his crime, made large offerings to propitiate the angry god,

and received pardon.

When the Rev. John Hunt visited the island of Vatulele, he was invited

by one of the chiefs to visit a cave about seven miles distant, in which

dwelt the gods of the island. He found a cave about twenty feet in

height and sixty in length, communicating with an inner cave, in both

of which the receding tide leaves a clear pool, inhabited by a variety

of crustacea somewhat larger than a shrimp: these are common enough at

certain places, and are brown till cooked, when they become red. Those in

this cave are all red, and probably are therefore deemed supernatural.

Their mother is said to be of immense size, and dwells by herself in the

inner cave; but the children, who are called Ura, answer to their name,

and appear at the call of their worshippers—or rather did so in heathen

days.

Although an idol visibly representing a deity was almost unknown, the

personal appearance of the gods was minutely recorded. Thus Thangawalu

was a giant sixty feet in height, with a forehead eight span high.

Another had but one tooth, which was in the lower jaw, but rose above his

head. He had wings instead of arms, and on these were claws wherewith to

hook his victims. One had eight arms, and was a skilful mechanic. Another

had eight eyes, and was full of wisdom. One had eighty stomachs. Another

had two bodies, male and female, united like the Siamese twins. There

was a leper god, and a murderer; a god of war, and one whose sole delight

was to steal women of high birth.

The carpenters, the fishermen, and agriculturists, each worshipped

special deities.

In addition to the principal gods, there was a vast number of little

gods, answering to our fairies, who were called “children of the waters.”

There were also numerous objects of veneration which recall our own

Scotch relics. Such was _wairua_, which was an oval stone, the size of

a swan’s egg, which, with several smaller stones, children of the god,

lay in the hollow of a small tree beside the stream at Namusi in Viti

Levu. There was another stone at Mbau which gave birth to a little stone

whenever a woman of rank was confined in the town. This sympathetic deity

has been removed, but its children still mark the spot where it formerly

lay. At Ovalau there was formerly a black stone, which was once a sacred

pig killed and baked by sacrilegious hands, but which, on being taken out

of the oven, was found to have assumed this form. There were also groves

of sacred trees at Mbau, and in several other places—too many of which

have been destroyed by iconoclastic zeal.

Certain war-clubs were treated with reverence approaching to worship;

and the men who had wielded them with the mightiest arm, and had been

specially distinguished in battle, ranked as heroes and demi-gods,

henceforth to be honoured with libations at every ceremonial-drinking of

yangona. As the water was poured into the yangona-bowl, a herald cried

aloud: “Prepare a libation to the Loa-loa—to the Veidoti,” &c., &c.,

mentioning all the chief temples reverenced by the tribe. “Prepare a

libation to the chieftains who have died on the water, or died on the

land! Be gracious, ye lords, the gods, that the rain may cease” (or

whatever prayer was to be offered). Then, as the cup was filled for the

highest chief present, the herald once more cried: “Let the gods be

gracious, and send us a wind from the west or from the east,” according

to the requirements of the day. Then as the king or high chief took the

cup, he poured the libation on the ground ere he drank. Of course this

ceremony has passed away with the old faith in the gods.

As to notions concerning a future life, I fancy that the traditions

concerning the way of approach to the spirit-world varied in different

parts of the group. In Vanua Levu we were told that the beautiful

headland of Nai Thombo Thombo, the northernmost point of the isle, was

the spot where the gods were wont to assemble, and whence the spirits

of the dead departed to seek the abode of Ndengei. It is a very eerie

spot, with precipitous cliffs towering above dense masses of foliage, and

casting a deep gloomy shade—the awful stillness of which is unbroken by

the cry of any living thing.

The way to Mbula, as the Fijian Paradise is called, was long and

difficult, and many enemies sought to waylay the spirits and take them

captive. One of these, called Nangga Nangga, was so bitter a foe to all

who had eschewed wedded bliss, that it is said not one of these hapless

ones has ever reached his bourne. Seized by the vengeful demon, he was

dashed to pieces on a large black stone.

At Nai Thombo Thombo the fortunate man, whose wives had so loved him as

to submit to be strangled on his death, was rejoined by their spirits,

and together they embarked in the canoe which was appointed to carry

them to the presence of the judge—notice of their approach being given

by a parrot, which cried once for each spirit of the party, and so gave

warning to a demon named Samuyalo, “the killer of souls,” who lay in wait

and endeavoured to club them. If he succeeded in killing them, he feasted

spiritually; but if he only wounded them, they were doomed to wander

sadly among the mountains.

Those who escaped the club of the soul destroyer passed on to one of the

highest peaks of the Kauvandra mountains, where the path to Mbula ends

abruptly at the brink of a precipice, the base of which is washed by

a deep lake. Here an old man and his son induced the wayfarers to sit

on an overhanging oar, whence they were thrown headlong into the deep

waters below, through which they passed to Muri Muria, which was a minor

paradise in Mbula.

The true abode of bliss was Mburotu, a blessed region of scented groves

and pleasant glades, where all things most highly prized by the Fijians

were said to abound. Here they cultivated pleasant gardens, lived in

families, ate and drank, and even fought. Moreover, like Mohammedan

saints, they were supposed to attain exceeding great stature. But the

primary idea connected with death seems to have been that of simple rest,

as expressed in one of their songs—

“A mate na vawa rawa;

Me bula—na ka ni cava?

A mate na cegu.”

Death is easy;

Of what use is life?

To die is rest.

Those spirits who had failed to please the gods were subjected to divers

punishments. Some were laid in rows on their faces, and converted into

_taro_ beds. Men who had failed to slay a foe were sentenced for evermore

to beat a heap of filth with a club, this being the most degrading

punishment. Others were roasted and eaten by hungry gods.

Opinions were divided as to the souls of inanimate objects. Some people

professed to have seen the souls of canoes, houses, plants, pots, and

other things swimming on the stream of the Kauvandra well, which bore

them to the regions of immortality; and others averred that they had seen

footmarks of the ghosts of pigs and dogs round the same well.

Mburotu (which the Tongans called Bulotu and the Samoans Pulotu) was the

abode of the gods, into which favoured mortals were admitted. The legends

concerning it tell of a speaking tree which was there, and a fountain of

life. The Tongan legend tells how Maui, the chief of the gods, fished up

Tonga from the bottom of the sea, and how some of the minor gods fled

from Bulotu and took up their abode on Tonga. To punish this rebellion

they were made subject to death, and forbidden ever to re-enter Bulotu;

and great was their wonder and sorrow when they realised the change that

had come over them. But they made the best of matters, and became the

parents of the noble Tongan race.

The Fijians believe that sometimes, as they sail from the Windward Isles

towards Khandavu, they see Burotu, with the sun shining brightly on it.

But when they steer towards it, it fades away, and grows fainter and

fainter, till it vanishes utterly, and they sail in silent wonder over

the spot where they distinctly saw it standing, green and beautiful, in

the midst of the waters.

In the course of our wanderings through the isles, we have heard some

curious statistics concerning the practice of witchcraft, which in many

details are almost identical with the superstitions which, as you well

know, were once so common in the British Isles, and still linger there

in many a corner little suspected.[64] Thus a person having a grudge

against his neighbour will try to obtain something which he has touched—a

bit of his dress, the refuse of his food, or, above all, a piece of his

hair,—and having uttered certain charmed words, will conceal this about

the house—generally in the thatch—with a conviction that, ere long, the

victim will waste away. Should he bathe in running water before the

fourth day, the charm is broken, as it also would be should the charm be

discovered. Of course, persons professing Christianity are supposed to

lose faith in such matters; but in truth such superstitions are slow to

die out. There are also certain magical leaves which, being carefully

rolled up in a bamboo and buried in a man’s garden, insure his being

bewitched. In heathen days, the help of the priest was sought in laying

on the charm; and a common method pursued was to bury a cocoa-nut beneath

the temple hearth, where a fire was constantly burning: then, as the nut

dried up and perished, so would the person represented sicken and die.

Here, as in Scotland, there were professional witches, whose power for

evil was always to be purchased. Persons believing themselves to be in

danger from any such, invariably applied to some dealer in witchcraft,

who wrought counter spells. Should the wizard be detected in his evil

deed—burying or hiding the charm—he was summarily clubbed, and his house

burnt.

Strange ordeals were also common, as proofs of guilt or innocence. So

were divers methods of divination.

Very curious, too, are the various forms of _tambu_ or prohibition, made

use of to protect the gardens from robbery—such as planting a cluster

of reeds, the tops of which are all inserted in one cocoa-nut. The rash

thief who defies this _tambu_ is certain to be afflicted with boils.

Seers used formerly to be in high repute, and the class of visions that

we know as “second sight” were common.

Among the graceful forms of superstition, is that of courteously

exclaiming _mbula_ (“life to you”) to a person who sneezes, who

invariably replies _mole_—“thanks.”

From these few meagre notes you may gather that there is abundant

interesting material to be collected in these isles, should any one be

found possessing unbounded leisure, perfect knowledge of the people and

of their language, and a disposition to devote both to the search for

these fast-fading traces of the past.

APPENDIX.

GOVERNMENT AND THE FIJIANS.

Among the many difficult problems which awaited solution when Sir

Arthur Gordon assumed the task of government, none seemed more hopeless

than that of devising a system of native taxation which should be at

once just and remunerative. The atrocious wrongs connected with the

poll-tax, devised by Thakombau’s government, had led to its abolition in

favour of a labour-tax, the working of which, however, was found to be

impracticable. It was therefore necessary to devise some system which

should be more acceptable to the people, and more satisfactory in its

results. After mature consideration, Sir Arthur decided to adopt the

course so strongly recommended by Mr Thurston—namely, to cause every

district to make a garden or plantation, the produce of which should be

sold to the highest bidder. From the money thus received the Government

should claim the sum at which the district had been assessed, and the

surplus should be restored to the cultivators. The promulgation of this

scheme led to a storm of the most virulent abuse. It was said that

Government was about to absorb the whole trade of the isles; that the

measure was cruelly antagonistic to every interest of the white planters;

that it was certain to prove a gigantic failure; and, in short, it was

about as unpopular a measure as was ever devised.

Sir Arthur is, however, one who has been well described as “doing his

own thinking for himself.” Unheeding the storm of tongues, he caused the

chiefs to establish gardens in every district, and though, at first, from

many causes beyond control, they seemed in danger of utter failure,

which should fulfil the prophecies of the unfriendly, after a while they

prospered to such a degree as to astonish even the keenest advocates

of the scheme, and became not only a large source of revenue, but also

produced a surplus which has greatly enriched the several districts.

The matter is one of such importance to the colony that a few further

particulars may prove interesting.

The following extracts from the ‘Fiji Times’ reveal something of the

manner in which the poll-tax was collected, and the labour market

supplied, immediately prior to annexation—_i.e._, in 1874.

“The native poll-tax, and the manner of enforcing it, is

creating considerable dissatisfaction on all sides. Only last

week, it appears, a whole town was summoned for arrears of

taxes. Nineteen men and twenty women were sentenced, in default

of payment, to hard labour—the former for 35 weeks, and the

latter to 19 weeks; subsequently they were hired to planters

at 1s. per week, until the amount of the tax, together with

5s. for summons, and 10s. for serving it in each case (although

only one summons was issued), be fully paid. This is collecting

taxes with a vengeance, and such proceedings are eminently

calculated to engender ill-feeling on the side of the natives,

and to create disturbances in retaliation for such extraordinary

treatment. It is no wonder that Her Britannic Majesty’s Consul

and the Commodore were everywhere met by natives, imploring to

be relieved from the severe rule of the _de facto_ Government,

and beseeching those high officers to annex the islands to Great

Britain.

“We know that but a few weeks back one minor chief proposed, and

was with difficulty prevented from, the commission of suicide,

simply because he and his people were deprived of liberty under

these most atrocious regulations.”

“_To the Editor of the ‘Fiji Times.’_

“LEVUKA, _September 19, 1874_.

“SIR,—At the risk of being troublesome, I have again to draw

attention to the manner in which this Government are oppressing

the unfortunate Ra Coast natives. From two labour boats which

arrived here this morning from that district, I gather the

following reliable information. My informant states labourers

are obtained as follows:—

“‘Any men and women whose taxes are in arrear are summoned to

appear before the warden, to answer to the same. The usual

method pursued is to send a general summons, embracing perhaps

all the adult population of a large town, and 1s. mileage is

charged individually for service of summons—a summons which in

many cases has never been served. These unfortunate natives

are compelled to attend the court, and, in the absence of any

advocate, are mulct in the sum of 5 or 1 dol., as the case

may be (male or female), together with the costs of court,

including the mileage, which amounts to about 4 dollars per

man: of course they cannot pay, and are then sentenced to

work out the amount, at the rate of 1s. per week, and are

compelled to engage with planters for one year. Then what

follows? Husbands and wives are dragged away from their homes,

their little surroundings become lost and destroyed. They have

to endure a bitter and compulsory bondage of twelve months,

with the prospect of returning to their cold and desolate

hearths—with fresh taxes in view, _ad infinitum_.’”

Another correspondent writes—

“I am informed that the wretched natives who are unable to

pay their taxes are made to work on plantations at the rate

of forty days for 4s., sixty days for 6s. At this rate, the

unfortunate wretches would have to work for 280 days in the

year to pay the yearly tax imposed upon a man and his wife.”

And yet another—

“The vile atrocious wrongs which have been perpetrated in

connection with the labour traffic and the collection of

taxes upon the helpless, frightened natives—of both sexes—by

a cowardly set of officials, assisted by a brutal, licentious

soldiery, and connived at by the executive, because the

money—blood money, with God’s curse surely stamped upon every

coin—flows into the treasury, are a foul blot, even upon the

worst Government with which this unhappy country has been

afflicted; and yet, sir, we are met on all sides with the

canting cry, ‘Oh! what a good thing for these poor natives to

be taken away to the cotton plantations. You must civilise them

first, and then Christianise them.’”

In Sir Arthur Gordon’s report on this subject, he says:

“The tax imposed on natives by Cakobau’s government was a

uniform poll tax of £1 per man and 4s. per woman throughout the

group. I, however, find it difficult, and indeed impossible,

to suppose that revenue was the object contemplated in the

imposition of this tax, or that its payment was ever seriously

looked for. If any such expectations existed, they were doomed

to disappointment. The largest sum ever obtained in any one

year from a population of, at one time, certainly not less than

150,000, was £6000, and of this sum a large part, as I will

presently explain, was not, in fact, received from natives as

payment of their tax, or indeed from natives at all.

“I believe that the main design of the native poll-tax, when

first imposed, and as it existed on the arrival of the British

Commissioners in Fiji in 1874, was that of furnishing through

its instrumentality a large supply of labour to the plantations

of the white settlers. And in this respect it no doubt worked

successfully. The unknown consequences of disobedience to the

‘Matanitu’ (the equivalent of the Indian ‘Sircar’) exercised a

mysterious terror over the minds of the natives, which induced

them in many cases, in consideration of the advance of their

taxes on the part of a planter, to contract with him for a year

or more of gratuitous service. These, however, were of course

the exceptions. In the majority of cases, the tax was simply

not paid, and could not be paid. When this happened the legal

penalty for default was six months’ imprisonment, which was

spent in labour on the plantation of any settler who would pay

to the Government the amount of the defaulter’s tax. But though

six months was the limit allowed by law for such assignment,

the magistrates of that day were not very scrupulous in their

reading of the Act, and sentences of a year, and even eighteen

months, seem to have been pronounced; while by the imposition

of heavy costs, and the assumption that the default of their

payment might be similarly punished by ‘imprisonment on a

plantation,’ even these periods were almost indefinitely

extended.

“Sir H. Robinson felt strongly the impossibility of maintaining

such a system, which he rightly described as one by which the

services of the entire male population of whole districts

had been in effect sold to European planters in other and

distant islands. He at once abolished it, and substituted an

arrangement by which all but adult males were excused from

taxation, and the tax of these men fixed at twenty days’ labour

in the year, redeemable by money payments of various amounts,

according to the supposed wealth, or poverty, of the district

in which they lived.

“This, therefore, was the problem which I had presented to me:

Should I continue the labour-tax of 1874; should I re-enact and

attempt to enforce the direct tax in money of the old Fijian

Government; or should I endeavour to provide some substitute

for the existing system which should bring larger returns to

the treasury, and yet be neither oppressive nor opposed to the

traditionary habits and feelings of the people?

“The labour-tax in its existing form was clearly unsustainable.

It is impossible to transport the whole population for twenty

days to those places where public works are being carried on.

Such places are few, and in most districts of the colony there

are really no public works on which the inhabitants can be

employed. In such cases either works have to be invented which

are not needed, and which lead to an employment—(or rather a

waste)—of labour in no way beneficial to the colony, as well as

an expense of supervision wholly thrown away, or the tax must

be quietly permitted to fall into disuse.

“The practical alternative, therefore, was the renewal of the

poll-tax of the old Fijian Government, or the substitution of

some as yet untried system.

“If the idea of re-enacting a poll-tax be abandoned, no other

direct money-tax could be imposed. In fact, there is a species

of absurdity in the imposition of pecuniary taxation on a

population, nine-tenths of which possess no money. I know

it has been said that if they do not possess money, they,

at least, might all become possessed of it by engaging to

work for planters. I confess I am unable to see the force of

this assumption. The ordinary wages given by a planter to an

able-bodied man were, in 1875, 1s. a week, or £2, 12s. per

annum. This is a small sum from which to pay a tax ranging from

£1 downwards, even if the wages be paid in money, and not, as

was invariably the case, in ‘trade,’ of often questionable

value. Whether it is to the native’s advantage to leave

his _taro_ patch and yam plantations, his own village, his

generally comfortable home, and his family, to work on some

distant estate for 52s. a-year, may be questioned; nor do I

think he can reasonably be expected to do so, except under

strong compulsion.”

Sir Arthur proceeds to give some of the reasons which led to his deciding

on the “district garden” scheme. With regard to its practical working, he

adds—

“The receipts from the native taxes, which in 1875, under the

old system of collection, amounted to but £3499, 2s. 5d.,

reached in 1876 (during only a part of which year the new

scheme was in operation) the sum of £9342, 16s. 3d., in 1877

that of £15,149, 14s. 8d., and in 1878 amounted to nearly

£19,000. The exact figures for this last year have not yet

reached me.

“The expenses incurred in 1877 in collecting and shipping the

produce to Levuka, and in payment of the eighteen persons

engaged in these duties, amounted to £1341, 11s. 9d. A further

expenditure was also incurred for the purchase and gratuitous

distribution of seed, tools, bags, &c., amounting to £386, 5s.

10d. I have not yet received the accounts for 1878, but if the

expenses be assumed as equal to those of 1877, there will be a

clear profit to the Treasury on this tax of over £17,000, while

the expenses of collection will not have reached £2000.

“Let us turn, however, to the more important question of the

social influence of the new law.

“To answer this question, the nature and working of its

machinery must be first described.

“The amount of the tax to be paid by each province, estimated

in pounds sterling, is annually assessed by the Legislative

Council, the assessment being based, as regards each province,

on mixed considerations of the amount of the population, the

nature and productiveness of the soil, and the degree of

civilisation which the province has attained.

“There are twelve such provinces, not including the two

highland districts of Viti Levu.

“Tenders are called for, for the purchase of the articles of

produce in which the tax may be paid.

“These articles have hitherto been: _coppra_, cotton,

candle-nuts, tobacco, and maize; to these, coffee, which the

natives have now begun to grow largely, will soon be added.

_Bêche de mer_ has also been accepted from some places.

“The highest tender is accepted in the case of each article,

and to the successful tenderer all the produce delivered or

collected in discharge of the tax is transferred on its receipt

by Government.

“The amount of the assessment fixed, and the prices offered

for various articles of produce by the successful tenderer or

tenderers, are intimated to the Roko Tui or native governor of

each province.

“The apportionment of the shares to be borne by each district

in the province, and the selection of the article or articles

of produce to be contributed, are then made, nominally and

according to law, by a Board appointed under the Ordinance, but

practically by the _Bose vaka Yasana_, or Provincial Council,

which, as I have previously explained, consists of chiefs of

districts, styled ‘_Bulis_,’ under the presidency of the Roko

Tui, frequently, though not always, aided by the presence of

the Governor’s Commissioner.

“The next stage is the apportionment of the tax of each

district by the _Bose ni Tikina_, or District Council,

consisting of the town chief of the district, under the

presidency of the _Buli_. By this body the share of each

several township in the district is determined.

“Lastly, the individual share of produce to be contributed or

work done by each family in each village is settled by the town

chief, aided by the elders of the township.

“The mode in which the articles are raised is left to the

people themselves to determine, and the methods adopted have

been very various. In some places each village has grown its

own tax produce along with what it grew for sale or domestic

use; in others, several villages have combined to grow their

produce in one large plantation. These latter are what, by

those who wish to discredit the scheme, are called ‘Government

gardens,’ but, in fact, no such gardens exist. The soil and the

produce both belong to the people themselves.

“This machinery recognises the primitive community system,

on which all political and social institutions in Fiji are

based, and which, even in the matter of taxation, I found to

be still in use as regarded the rates for local purposes,

such as payment of school-masters and village police, which,

quite irrespectively of the Government (and, as some would

say, illegally), were imposed by the Provincial Councils in a

species of voluntary assessment.

“This species of taxation is, consequently, familiar to the

natives, and thoroughly understood by them,—a fact which

causes the pressure of the impost to be more lightly felt

than it would be if demanded directly from the individual by

the Government. It, moreover, renders the natives themselves,

to a very large extent, active and responsible agents in the

collection of revenue.

“Both of these are, I need hardly say, points of very

considerable importance.

“But these were not the only results which the system was

aimed to effect, nor are they the only objects which have been

attained by its adoption.

“As was anticipated by the framers of the Ordinance, the

cultivation of articles of export by the natives has been

largely promoted.

“Fijians are by no means habitually indolent, as by many

careless observers they are supposed to be; and they are

passionately fond of agriculture: but their cultivation,

though very neat and careful, is chiefly that of food

plantations and articles for domestic use.

“Sugar, tobacco, and the paper mulberry are, and have long

been, almost universally grown in addition to root crops and

plantains; but they are not, as a rule, grown with a view to

exportation; although cocoa-nuts have been manufactured into

_coppra_, and yams in large quantities have long been sold, or

rather bartered, by the natives, to the white traders.

“Under the new system, the area of native cultivation is

rapidly increasing, and the lesson which it was desired to

inculcate has been already more than partially learnt.

“Another consequence of the adoption of this law has been that

of giving to the people a juster idea of the value of the

produce which they raise.

“When a money-tax was insisted on, it was necessary that at

certain fixed periods every man should make a payment in cash

to the tax collector.

“Very few natives (except perhaps in the province of Lau) hoard

or possess coin. Their wealth consists in the accumulation of

masses of property, not in money; and as the day on which the

coin had to be produced came round, an unscrupulous itinerant

trader (and such traders are not always remarkable for a high

tone of commercial morality) could obtain almost anything,

and almost any amount of anything in the possession or under

the control of natives, in exchange for the coveted and

indispensable piece of coin necessary to pay the tax. That coin

the trader sold as an article of barter on his own terms, and

those terms were usually hard ones.

“Even at the best of times, when this pressure did not exist,

the native only received about half the price which the very

same traders, with the knowledge they still will obtain a

handsome profit by their purchase, are now ready to give to the

Government for a similar amount of produce.

“This has opened the eyes of the natives, and in their private

trading transactions they now in many cases ask and obtain

prices more nearly resembling the true market value of the

article; while for the surplus produce raised by them of those

articles in which the tax is paid, beyond what is required to

meet it, the Government practically obtains for them a price

equal to that which it receives itself from the contractor for

the tax produce; and that too paid in cash, and not (as had

previously been the case) in goods which the trader valued at

his own discretion. As I have before observed, the details of

last year’s operations have not yet reached me, but I know

that several hundred pounds were in this manner gained by one

locality alone in 1877.

“Since this paragraph was written—indeed this very morning—I

have received letters from Fiji which inform me that the

amount of tax produce sent in during 1878 in payment of taxes,

in excess of the amount required to meet the demands of the

assessment, and which has been sold for the benefit of those

contributing to it, has realised between £1500 and £2000.

“It may seem strange when thus speaking of apparently large

transactions between the natives and white traders, that there

should have been any difficulty on the part of the former in

finding money to pay a money-tax; but in point of fact hardly

any money was received by them. Objectionable as it seems to

be thought by some to receive produce instead of money _from_

the natives, these same parties see no objection to forcing

_on_ the natives as payment for their produce imported goods

estimated at a wholly fictitious value.

“A native, we will suppose, makes and wishes to dispose of

_coppra_, which he offers to the white trader who ‘works’ that

district. Say he has got half a ton. This, according to present

prices paid to the Government, would be worth £6, 10s.

“The trader probably offers about £3 (until, perhaps, very

lately, it certainly would not have been more, and probably

less), and this he pays in cloth, knives, &c., of which he

estimates the value at perhaps double the proper amount; so

that he obtains £6, 10s. worth of produce from the native for

goods worth £1, 10s.

“The native was often aware he was imposed on; but until the

new system of taxation was introduced he had no alternative but

to take what was offered, or leave his produce unsold.

“He can now sell at the prices which have been publicly

tendered.

“The system of making an unduly large profit is so regularly

recognised, that, in most of the shops in Levuka itself, there

was in 1875 a ‘native price’ on articles, which was usually

_double_ the amount which would be asked of a European. There

is still, I am informed, a ‘native price;’ but whether the

disproportion between it and that asked of white customers is

as great as formerly, I am not aware.

“The action of the Government affords a most valuable

protection to the native producer, by insuring him a market

where he will receive cash for his produce at a fair rate; and,

paradoxical as it may seem, it is, nevertheless, strictly true

that the reception by the Government of produce in payment of

taxes has been an important step towards the introduction of

cash transactions in the dealings between the traders and the

natives....

“It does not require half an eye to perceive that the people

have thriven under the new system. Everywhere the increased

areas of cultivation, the enlarged towns, the good new

houses, the well-kept roads, the cheerful and healthy-looking

population, present the strongest possible contrast to the

aspect of the country in 1875. This was fully admitted to

me, not long before I left Fiji, by a leading planter, who

said that nobody who had eyes in his head could deny that

the natives were very much better off than they were three

years ago; but he added (and there was much significance in

the admission), that this was by no means an advantage to the

planter, whose difficulties in obtaining labour were thereby

materially increased.

“Not three years have since passed by, and already we see that

it has secured an ample revenue, that it has stimulated the

industry, and has doubled the produce, of the colony; that

under it the population are more prosperous than they have

been for a long time, and are, notwithstanding the incessant

efforts of mischief-makers, content and trustful, as they will,

I firmly believe, continue to be.

“I am especially desirous that it should not be forgotten

that this is but one in a series of measures which should be

regarded together as a whole, and which have for their objects

the preservation and social development of the native race.

“A. H. G.”

THE END.

[Illustration: FIJI ARCHIPELAGO

A. C. ARMSTRONG & SON. NEW YORK.]

FOOTNOTES

[1] The present population of Fiji, in 1880, is estimated at 110,000

natives, 1902 Europeans, and 3200 Polynesians.

[2] From a Paper read before the Royal Colonial Institute, 18th March

1879.

[3] The revenue for 1879 was estimated at £75,150.

[4] In Morayshire.

[5] Set all awry, in token of the death of her Commander.

[6] _Méké_ describes either a song or a dance, or both combined.

[7] Acanthaster solaris.

[8] This little beginning promises to become an extensive movement, a

visit from Bishop Selwyn having stirred up interest in the matter. I

hear that the Chief Justice, and a considerable number of young men, now

attend the afternoon meeting as teachers, with the happiest results, the

immigrants fully appreciating the kindly feeling thus shown to them.

[9] More probably derived from the same root as the Maori word _kuri_,

dog.

[10] _Ivi_—Inocarpus edulis.

[11] _Ndelo_—Calophyllum-inophyllum.

[12] _Vutu_—Barringtonia.

[13] _Tavola_—Terminalia.

[14] This statement was repeated so often, that at last Dr Macgregor,

curious to discover a cause for so strange a fact, took the trouble to

weigh six ounces of the root, which he gave to be chewed in the usual

manner. When deposited in the bowl he weighed it again, and found

it had increased to seventeen ounces! The inference is obvious, and

needs no comment. After this discovery the drinking of yangona (_Piper

methisticum_) fell greatly out of favour with the gentlemen of our party,

and was principally reserved for ceremonial occasions.

[15] That such fears would not be groundless, you may readily infer from

the following horrible story reported last year in the ‘Levuka Times’:

“News reaches us from windward of a sad accident which has resulted in

the death of upwards of twenty people. It appears that a canoe left Loma

Loma with twenty-five natives on board, bound for Totoya. They were going

about when a sudden squall sent the sail against the mast, capsizing the

canoe. The unfortunate passengers clung to the _cama_, and might have

escaped with consequences no worse than those which would have attended

discomfort and exposure, but for the horrible fact that the capsize

occurred in a locality infested with sharks. These ravenous monsters

seized their victims one by one, devouring twenty-three out of the

twenty-five unfortunates whose lives were thus placed at their mercy. Of

the two who escaped, one is a woman; but her situation is very critical,

the whole of the flesh having been taken off one leg. The matter is

altogether too dreadful to admit of comment.”

[16] A Hunter’s Life in South Africa. By Roualeyn Gordon Cumming.

[17] _Palolo viridis._

[18] Viti Levu—pronounce Veetee Layvoo.

[19] Before we left the isle, Captain Knollys succeeded in drilling a

set of men to carry Lady Gordon in a wicker-chair; and on the occasion

of certain special festivities in the town a second chair was rigged up

for me. So probably future residents will have chairs and bearers, as a

matter of course.

[20] _I.e._, the root of the _drala_-tree.

[21] It was at this town that Jackson (an Englishman, who, thirty

years ago, was detained among these people for two years) witnessed an

incident of peculiar interest, as an illustration of sacrifice to the

Earth spirits,—a custom which British antiquarians tell us was formerly

practised by our own pagan ancestors, and of which traces have till very

recently lingered among us. A new house was about to be built for the

chief, Tui Drekete, and the people assembled from all tributary villages

to bring their offerings, and dance and make merry. A series of large

holes were dug, to receive the main posts of the house; and as soon as

these were reared, a number of wretched men were led to the spot, and

one was compelled to descend into each hole, and therein stand upright,

with his arms clasped round it. The earth was then filled in, and the

miserable victims were thus buried alive, deriving what comfort they

might from the belief that the task thus assigned to them was one of

much honour, as insuring stability to the chiefs house. The same idea

prevailed with respect to launching a chiefs canoe, when the bodies of

living men were substituted for ordinary rollers—a scene which Jackson

also witnessed, and quotes to prove how cruelly the tributary tribes

were treated by these Rewa chiefs, one of whom he accompanied to a

neighbouring isle. They came to a place called Na ara Bale (meaning “to

drag over,” literally corresponding to our own Tarbert), a low, narrow

isthmus, joining two islands together. By dragging the canoes across

this half-mile of dry land, they were saved a long row round the island.

On landing, they found the villagers entertaining the people of another

village which had fallen under the displeasure of Rewa, and at the

bidding of the chief these people allowed their guests to be surprised in

the night, when forty were captured; and each being bound hand and foot

to the stems of banana-trees, were then laid as rollers, face uppermost,

along the path by which the canoes were to be dragged across the isthmus.

The shrieks of the victims were drowned by the hauling songs of their

captors, and, with one exception, all were crushed to death. One poor

wretch lingered awhile in torture till the ovens were made ready, in

which all were cooked, the guests of the previous day affording the feast

for this.

[22] The ridge-pole of a new house is frequently wreathed with long

trails of the exquisite God-fern, the _Wa Kalo_.

[23] I think the most incongruous instance that has come under our notice

of this adoption of certain English goods, was when a large number of

the wild heathen mountaineers assembled to meet the Governor—many of

them atoning for lack of raiment by the care bestowed on their mass of

hair dressed in upright spiral curls, which makes the head resemble a

gigantic mop. Of course during the interview they remained bareheaded (as

essential a mark of respect in Fiji as is a huge turban in India). But

when they subsequently replaced the accustomed veil of thin gauze-like

_tappa_, they proceeded to tie it up with red tape, little dreaming what

visions of dull routine were therewith connected in the minds of the

white strangers.

[24] Mr Mandslay told us of some very quaint _mékés_ sung by the children

at Nandi. They were reciting their lesson in natural history, and related

many novel facts wholly unknown to science, concerning birds and insects,

whose cries and songs they imitated. They specially described the

mosquito, by humming and buzzing, all in measured time, and with uniform

action, clapping their arms, and legs, and bodies, as if smarting from

bites. Then, as if irritated beyond endurance, they threw their arms

wildly about, till in despair they ceased, as if nerved for endurance,

and resigned themselves to listen to the mosquito’s songs, whereupon the

mosquitoes applauded their patience, and shouted _Vinaka! Vinaka!_ (good!

good!) The mosquito, it seems, is the only creature that truly mourns for

man, for he can no longer drink his blood and sing songs to him; whereas

other beasts rejoice over his death as that of a foe, more especially

the ants, to whom his teeth are as precious as those of a whale are to a

Fijian!

[25] In Northern China I find the same greeting, “_Ypaisui!_” “May you

live a thousand years!”

[26] These are tales of the past. We must now look nearer home to find

such barbarity. In the long series of atrocities which, within the

last few months, have distressed Ireland (the shooting of landlords

and burning of property), one incident has forcibly reminded me of

pre-Christian days in Fiji, when a poor fellow having been put in charge

of a house from which the tenant had been evicted, five or six men in

masks entered the house, seized him and nailed him to the door by his

ears, which they then cut off. And among the trifling incidents of daily

life, we hear of ladies and clergymen being pelted with large stones, and

pursued for long distances, solely for having ventured to examine the

Protestant schools. Whether do you consider Ireland or Fiji the safer

place of residence in this year of grace 1880?

[27] We happily escaped any severe hurricane during the two years I

remained in the group; but the following extract from the ‘Times’ tells

of a storm at the close of 1879 which proves that the oft-told stories of

devastation and ruin which at last we heard almost incredulously, were

only too true. The labours of years were all swept away in a few hours,

and crops of every sort totally destroyed.

“CYCLONE IN THE PACIFIC.—A storm in December did very great damage in

Fiji. The banana plantations were laid level with the ground. At Naida

a tidal wave went two miles into the bush, sweeping away and destroying

everything before it. The cutter Alarm was washed up into the bush. The

Byron, cutter, foundered at Nunda Point, and the owner, Mr M’Pherson,

and one Fijian were drowned. Among the drowned was also J. B. Grundy,

manager to Mr William Bailey. S. L. P. Winter and two Fijians were lost

in a half-decked boat at Bau. Two natives were drowned and every house

blown down at Radmarre and Madroch. The whole country is described as

denuded of timber, and the native food crops destroyed. Her Majesty’s

ship Emerald, which had on board Sir Arthur Gordon and suite, _en route_

for Rototumah, encountered a cyclone off that island, but managed to

weather it safely. The Stanley, of Queensland, 113 tons register, caught

the full force of the late gale. She had 150 islanders on board for Fiji,

who were kept under battened hatches for thirty hours at a time. Fifty

subsequently died, and one committed suicide on being discharged from

Levuka Hospital. Ten more deaths were expected.”

[28] “We shall meet again.”

[29] A few weeks after his arrival in Ceylon, Sir William Hackett died at

the dreary rest-house in Newera Elya. Enfeebled by long residence in the

tropics, he was unable to rally from an attack of illness which he deemed

too trivial for care. So passed away a just judge, and a man who had made

himself greatly respected in the little infant colony, whose code of laws

he had been selected to draw up and administer.

[30] In old heathen days the tattooing of a woman was as important and

compulsory a religious ceremony as the circumcision of a lad. Special

penalties in the future world awaited the woman who contrived to evade

this rite. Retributive furies armed with sharp shells would fall on her

and tear her flesh for ever and ever.

[31] At a great meeting of chiefs at Bau in January 1880, on the return

of Sir Arthur Gordon from England, the _menu_ included 104 pigs and a

large shark, cooked whole; I suppose the latter is the modern substitute

for the _bokola_ of old days, without which a feast would have been

thought poor indeed. The speech made by the Vuni Valu on this occasion is

worthy of note. At the conclusion he said, addressing the still powerful

chiefs: “Now you have plenty of money, the native officials receive their

salaries regularly, the people are flourishing and have plenty of goods.

You chiefs are at rest mentally, not as of old. Need I ask you, Is it

a good thing to be under Great Britain? Would any one like to change

again, I ask? Let any one who will, speak, lest it should be said we have

been deceived or robbed. It is not so. We still hold our positions. The

chiefs still are chiefs, whilst the people are better off than they ever

were before. If we had not given ourselves to Great Britain, we should

probably have been at war among ourselves long ago. Let no man say we

have given away our rights. No; we have secured them.”

[32] I believe the annexation of Rotumah to England has now been decided

on.

[33] _Casurina._

[34] I regret to have to add the name of Dr Cruikshank to the number of

those who have passed away in their prime. He died at Levuka in 1880.

[35] I sent home seed, or morsels of seed-bearing frond, of many rare and

beautiful ferns, but notwithstanding all the care bestowed on them by

experienced gardeners, I do not believe that one has survived the voyage.

[36] Since writing the above, I have seen two springs of pure cold water

on the summit of the dormant volcano of Fuji Yama, in Japan, at an

altitude of about 13,000 feet; also those in Haleakala, the great extinct

volcano in the Sandwich Isles—altitude 10,000 feet—whence it would appear

to be the nature of extinct volcanoes to produce such springs.

[37] The demon drink did its work, and this magnificent chief died not

long after the above was written. He is succeeded in his rank and office

by Ratu Lala, his son by Andi Eleanor—a fine young fellow, who has been

brought up in the special care of Mr Thurston, and has received a sound

English education at Sydney. A short account of his installation as Roko

of the district will be found at the close of this letter.

[38] In truth, such scenes as these often carried me back in fancy

to our own Northern Isles as they must have appeared 1300 years ago,

when St Columba came over from Ireland to Scotland in his open canoe,

covered with hides, to preach Christianity to the wild heathen tribes

of Caledonia; the “painted men” (whether tattooed or merely dyed,

matters little), whom he found living in huts, probably more miserable

than these, and clothed, not as here in paper-cloth, but in the skins

of wolves and wild deer, and possibly wearing, as their most treasured

ornament, a wild boar’s tusk, much as these people do. We know that the

celebrated monastery on Iona was merely a collection of huts clustered

round just such a humble wattled church as the one here described; and

having seen these, I can readily accept the tradition which ascribes to

St Columba the foundation of three hundred churches, half in Scotland,

and the rest in Ireland. For wherever he or his disciples travelled, they

established new monasteries on the model of Iona, and these in their turn

sent forth teachers, who preached everywhere; and each tribe or clan

that accepted the new faith, built for itself a church of wattle-work;

and the building was kept up, and the priest was supported by voluntary

contributions of the clansmen, paid either in kind or in labour, just as

the teachers of a Fijian village are paid to-day. And as in the olden

days a very few advanced villages would make a mighty effort to build a

stone church, such as the famous _Candida Casa_ of St Ninian in Galloway,

or the “White Kirk of Buchan,” so here, with far less reason or comfort,

a zealous tribe will (happily in but few instances) exert itself to the

utmost to distinguish itself by building a “White Church” of coral-lime—a

landmark to be discerned from afar.

[39] At the request of Professor Liversidge, of the Sydney University, I

asked Dr Bromlow, of H.M.S. Sapphire, to take water from these springs

for analysis. The following table gives the proportion of salts in a

million parts of water, or milligrammes per litre:—

Silica, insoluble, 131.33

” soluble, 5.78

Alumina and traces of iron, 74.92

Chlorine, 4506.06

Calcium, 1428.84

Magnesium, 3.04

Potassium, 72.03

Sodium, 1298.28

Sulphuric acid, 219.29

Undetermined or loss, 73.34

From the foregoing it will be seen that the greater part of the salts in

solution consists of the chlorides of calcium and sodium.

[40] This ceremony is called _bole bole_, meaning to challenge.

[41] This is by no means an exceptional instance. A favour conferred

seems to be generally considered as giving a claim to further kindness.

The experience of the missionaries has always been, that if their medical

skill availed to restore the sick to health, their patients considered

themselves entitled to receive food and raiment, and also to have a

right to demand anything else they fancied. Mr Calvert quotes the case

of a native whose hand was shattered by the bursting or a musket. The

captain of a small fishing vessel took pity on the sufferer, had his hand

amputated, and kept him on board for two months. At parting, the patient

told the captain that he must give him a musket, in consideration of his

having stayed on board so long; and on this being refused, the man went

ashore and proved his sense of obligation by burning the drying-houses in

which his benefactor stored his fish.

[42] Last year this flock had increased to about two thousand five

hundred head; and so excellent is the quality of fine long silky hair

yielded, that at the great International Exhibition, held at Sydney in

1880, the second award for Angora hair was made to R. B. Leefe of Nananu.

[43] By recent accounts, I hear that much of this cotton has again been

taken into cultivation, and that large areas of the flat land near the

Raki Raki river have now been ploughed and turned into a sugar plantation.

[44] Since the above was written, the home at Nananu has shared in this

too common fate. A few months later, the family were awakened by sudden

cry of fire, and, as usual with houses of such combustible material,

a few moments sufficed to reduce the pleasant Robinson Crusoe home to

ashes. The long-treasured piano, books, knick-knacks, all irreplaceable

treasures, were gone, and the family left with only the night-dresses in

which they stood. Of course it does not take long to rebuild a house in

the Fijian style, and perhaps the new house is better than the ramshackle

old place; but in so remote a home, new ornaments and books and keepsakes

accumulate slowly; “and we cannot buy with gold the old associations.”

[45] We flattered ourselves that our description and illustration were

fully understood; but evidently the design had originated in some other

district; for when, a few weeks later, the specimens I had ordered were

sent to Nasova, I received a dozen hideous articles of ponderous weight,

utterly worthless. These people can only carry out their own ideas.

[46] _Solanum anthropophagorum._ It was also commonly used by the

cannibal Maoris of New Zealand.

[47] Tin can.

[48] This fine chief died suddenly during the great meeting of chiefs at

Ban in January 1880.

[49] Wheels are no longer unknown in Levuka. A passable road having at

length been constructed along the beach, a covered cab now plies to and

fro between the furthest point of the settlement and the Government

offices at Nasova, a distance of nearly two miles, carrying passengers

at 6d. a-head. Among further symptoms of progress in 1880, I note the

opening of a hotel on the upper Rewa River, and another in Taviuni; also

the establishment of regular steam communication all over the group, as

also with Tonga, New Zealand, and Sydney.

[50] _Metrosideros tomentosa._

[51] During ten years of travel among brown and yellow races of every

hue, continually spending long days alone with my paint-box in most wild

and remote places, I have always done so fearlessly, being convinced

that among these people a white woman leads a charmed life. While

revising these pages I have received awful proof to the contrary from the

following paragraph in the ‘Times:’—

“AN ENGLISH LADY MURDERED IN NEW ZEALAND.—New Zealand newspapers to hand

by the last mail contain details of the murder of Miss Mary Beatrice

Dobie, daughter of the late Major H. M. Dobie, of the Madras Army, by a

Maori at Taranaki, New Zealand, on the 25th of November. Miss Dobie, who

was twenty-six years of age, formerly resided at Irthington, Cumberland,

with her mother and sisters. At the time of the murder she was staying

with her brother-in-law, Major Goring, and her mother. On the afternoon

of the 25th of November, Miss Dobie had gone out for a walk towards

Te Ngamu, and as she did not return a search-party was organised, and

bonfires were lighted along the coast-line. The body was found forty

yards off the main road. The throat was cut from ear to ear and life was

extinct. Near the body was a bunch of wild-flowers, evidently gathered by

the deceased. The ground showed traces of a desperate struggle, and the

flax-bushes were bespattered with blood. The spot is a very lonely one,

about a hundred yards from an uninhabited house at Te Ngamu. An inquest

was held, at which evidence was given implicating a Maori named Tuhi, who

subsequently confessed to the crime. Miss Dobie, who was well known in

Auckland, had gone to the place where she lost her life for the purpose

of sketching Ngamu Bay. She was an ardent admirer of New Zealand scenery,

and many of her sketches have appeared in the ‘Graphic.’”

This sad story comes home to me the more vividly as this attractive and

accomplished lady visited Fiji with an elder sister shortly after my

departure. They were for some time guests of Sir Arthur Gordon at Nasova,

whence they made expeditions to many parts of the group, and afterwards

proceeded to New Zealand to join their relations.

[52] He did, however, return with us to Fiji, and shortly afterwards was

sent home in command of his men. He died in Edinburgh, not long after his

return.

[53] Here is the analysis of a famous sulphur-bath at Sulphur Point,

about a mile from Ohinemutu. The cures it has effected are so wonderful

and undoubted that it is generally known as The Painkiller.

_Analysis._—Sulphate of potash, 2.96; of soda, 34.37; chloride of sodium,

59.16; of calcium, 3.33; of magnesia, 1.27; of iron, 0.25; silica, 16.09;

hydrochloric acid, 7.60; sulphuretted hydrogen, 2.01: traces of phosphate

of alumina, lithium, and iodine;—total, 127.04.

[54] Since the above was written I have spent two months in the Hawaiian

Isles, and have lived a never-to-be-forgotten week on the very brink

of the great active crater. I consider that it is wellnigh impossible

to compare the two scenes, and that in order to obtain a just idea of

volcanic forces it is highly desirable to visit both—that is to say,

such an active volcano as that on Hawaii, and such groups of geysers and

solfataras as those of New Zealand. In the former, nature admits you, as

it were, to her mighty arsenal, and suffers you to stand and gaze while

she is in the very act of forging the strong ribs of the earth. There

she shows you sometimes a vast lake of molten fire—liquid lava—sometimes

dancing fire-fountains—sometimes all beauty, at others all awe; blackness

of darkness, sulphureous fumes, fearful detonations; sometimes a column

of fire shooting heavenwards, and falling to earth to pour down the

mountain-side in overwhelming streams of fluid fire. Her finished works,

too, the varied lava-beds, whether smooth or contorted, are unlike any

other scenes in creation.

But nowhere on Hawaii have I seen or heard of anything in the slightest

degree resembling the strange and beautiful objects to be seen in the

volcanic region of New Zealand—which, like that of the Yellowstone in

America, seems to be nature’s laboratory, where chemical experiments of

all sorts are being tried on a gigantic scale, producing things of beauty

in infinite variety.

[55] Lygodium reticulatum.

[56] Lady Rachel.

[57] News has recently been received that four of these native teachers

have been treacherously murdered and eaten by the cannibal people of the

Duke of York Island, on which they, with their wives and little ones,

had settled in the hope of forming a separate mission. The murderers

threatened also to kill and eat the widows and orphans, and urged the

natives of New Britain likewise to dispose of their teachers, and

especially of the white missionary. The latter, being a Christian of the

muscular type, deemed it wise, once for all, to teach these murderers

that the shedding of blood involves punishment in kind; so mustering

his little band of Fijian and Samoan catechists, he crossed over to the

offending isle, rescued the widows and orphans, and routed the horde of

savages, who received a somewhat severe lesson on this occasion. These

distressing tidings reached Fiji just as a fresh detachment of teachers

was about to start for New Britain. Their determination was in no degree

shaken. One of them expressed the feeling of all when he said: “If the

people of New Britain kill and eat my body, I shall go to a place where

there is no more pain or death; it is all right.” One of the wives was

asked whether she still intended to accompany her husband to a scene of

so great danger; she replied: “I am like the outrigger of a canoe—where

the canoe goes, there you will surely find the outrigger!” Brave

helpmeets these!

[58] The Walai. _Entada scandens._

[59] Great was the dismay and alarm of all the men who have gone into

coffee when a most promising estate was recently found to be infested

with that most grievous plague, the leaf disease. The estate was taken

possession of by Government. All the bushes were burnt, the land strewed

with lime, and the place put into strictest quarantine, no man being

permitted to set foot on it without a pass. It is hoped that these

stringent measures may have proved effectual in stamping out the disease,

which otherwise would blast all hope of success in this new undertaking.

[60] Alas! a very few hours ended the struggle for life. Ere the vessel

reached Sydney, one more of the little band, who in the spring of 1875

left England so full of high hope, had passed away, and his body was

committed to the deep.

[61] It may be considered a sure symptom of a reviving faith in the

commercial prospects of Fiji, that sundry capitalists in New South Wales

are at this moment, 1880, engaged in the erection of large sugar-mills on

the Rewa, Raki Raki, and Taviuni, while others are in prospect. That on

the Rewa is the property of the Colonial Sugar Refining Company. All its

appliances are to be of the most perfect description, and it is estimated

that its prime cost will be £100,000, that it will give employment to 100

white men, and be capable of turning out 500 tons of sugar per month.

So at least we may now hope that the broad acres of sugar-cane will no

longer be left rotting in the ground for want of mills; and carriage will

be made easy by the use of steam-punts capable of navigating the rivers,

and so collecting produce.

It will be strange indeed if the speaking results of collecting native

taxes in kind, instead of, as heretofore, in coin, does not give an

impetus to cultivators throughout the group. Mr J. B. Thurston, the

Colonial Secretary, who from the time of annexation has been the

strenuous advocate of this policy, says that when, about four years ago,

he distributed his first thirty bushels of maize to be sown in native

gardens, he was laughed at, and asked if he ever expected to see a bushel

of that maize grown? Last year he answered the question by exporting

30,000 bushels, and sees no reason why the amount should not ere long

become 300,000. Already the people have been taught to raise coffee,

cotton, and sugar on these district gardens, with the result that where

five years ago the revenue derived from native taxes was almost nil, it

last year amounted to £22,500.

[62] The question whether it is desirable to introduce rabbits into the

group is one that has caused much discussion. There are a multitude of

small isles on which they might be reared with profit; but with the

melancholy example of the devastation caused by their introduction into

Australia, the danger is one not to be lightly incurred. We hear of

large, once flourishing, stations in Victoria, which have been literally

abandoned owing to the multitude of rabbits, where the attempt to raise

crops has been given up as hopeless. One estate, not far from Melbourne,

formerly supported thirty thousand sheep. Now it scarcely yields grass

for five goats; and the man left in charge of the deserted house and

farm-buildings has to buy meat for himself and fodder for his horse. No

wonder that the planters of Fiji do not care to introduce the rabbit here.

[63] The sea-island cotton from Mago has now earned a world-wide

reputation. It has gained the gold medal both at the Paris and

Philadelphia International Exhibitions. That Fijian cotton should receive

such high honour in America is indeed a triumph.

[64] Our police records have quite recently reported cases in which waxen

images have been moulded to represent persons against whom some miscreant

had a grudge. So late as 1870 a man at Beauly in Scotland was proved to

have made an image of clay, which he buried near the house of a farmer to

whom he owed a grudge, fully believing that, as the rain washed away the

clay, so his enemy would pine and die. And in the same district a woman

was found sticking lumps of mud on the trees with the same object. In

1872, two onions, stuck full of pins, and ticketed with the name of the

intended victim, were found hidden in a chimney corner in Somerset. And

as regards other forms of witchcraft, I have just heard (Aug. 1880) from

a large landowner in Skye, that he has had a letter from his tenants,

signed by several influential members of the Free Church, complaining of

a family—a mother and five daughters—who, by evil arts, take away the

milk from their cows. Of this elaborate proofs are given. The case was

mentioned to another man of the same district, who was asked what he

thought of it. He answered—“He couldn’t say. His own cow had recently

been thus charmed; but he knew another _skeely_ woman, and sent for her.

She came and made a turn round the cow, and twined red worsted in its

tail, and the milk came back. For this he paid her five shillings, but

she told him that her charm would only work for three months, and if

after that the cow ought still to be giving milk, she must be sent for

again!”

For many curious statistics on these subjects, see ‘From the Hebrides to

the Himalayas,’ by C. F. Gordon Cumming.

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