Intercourse with the savages--Cannibalism prevented--The slain are
buried and the survivors depart, leaving us again alone on our Coral
Island.
After the battle was over, the savages crowded round us and gazed at us
in surprise, while they continued to pour upon us a flood of questions,
which, being wholly unintelligible, of course we could not answer.
However, by way of putting an end to it, Jack took the chief (who had
recovered from the effects of his wound) by the hand and shook it
warmly. No sooner did the blacks see that this was meant to express
good-will than they shook hands with us all round. After this ceremony
was gone through, Jack went up to the girl, who had never once moved
from the rock where she had been left, but had continued an eager
spectator of all that had passed. He made signs to her to follow him,
and then, taking the chief by the hand, was about to conduct him to the
bower, when his eye fell on the poor infant which had been thrown into
the sea and was still lying on the shore. Dropping the chief's hand, he
hastened towards it, and, to his great joy, found it to be still alive.
We also found that the mother was beginning to recover slowly.
"Here, get out o' the way," said Jack, pushing us aside, as we stooped
over the poor woman and endeavoured to restore her; "I'll soon bring
her round." So saying, he placed the infant on her bosom and laid its
warm cheek on hers. The effect was wonderful. The woman opened her
eyes, felt the child, looked at it, and with a cry of joy clasped it in
her arms, at the same time endeavouring to rise, for the purpose,
apparently, of rushing into the woods.
"There, that's all right," said Jack, once more taking the chief by the
hand. "Now, Ralph and Peterkin, make the women and these fellows follow
me to the bower. We'll entertain them as hospitably as we can."
In a few minutes the savages were all seated on the ground in front of
the bower making a hearty meal off a cold roast pig, several ducks, and
a variety of cold fish, together with an unlimited supply of
cocoa-nuts, breadfruits, yams, taro, and plums; with all of which they
seemed to be quite familiar and perfectly satisfied.
Meanwhile, we three, being thoroughly knocked up with our day's work,
took a good draught of cocoa-nut lemonade, and, throwing ourselves on
our beds, fell fast asleep. The savages, it seems, followed our
example, and in half-an-hour the whole camp was buried in repose.
How long we slept I cannot tell, but this I know, that when we lay down
the sun was setting, and when we awoke it was high in the heavens. I
awoke Jack, who started up in surprise, being unable at first to
comprehend our situation. "Now then," said he, springing up, "let's see
after breakfast. Hallo, Peterkin, lazy fellow! how long do you mean to
lie there?"
Peterkin yawned heavily. "Well," said he, opening his eyes and looking
up after some trouble, "if it isn't to-morrow morning, and me thinking
it was to-day all this time! Hallo, Venus, where did you come from? You
seem tolerably at home, anyhow! Bah! might as well speak to the cat as
to you--better, in fact, for it understands me, and you don't."
This remark was called forth by the sight of one of the elderly
females, who had seated herself on the rock in front of the bower, and
having placed her child at her feet, was busily engaged in devouring
the remains of a roast pig.
By this time the natives outside were all astir, and breakfast in an
advanced state of preparation. During the course of it we made sundry
attempts to converse with the natives by signs, but without effect. At
last we hit upon a plan of discovering their names. Jack pointed to his
breast and said "Jack" very distinctly; then he pointed to Peterkin and
to me, repeating our names at the same time. Then he pointed to himself
again and said "Jack," and laying his finger on the breast of the
chief, looked inquiringly into his face. The chief instantly understood
him, and said "Tararo" twice distinctly. Jack repeated it after him,
and the chief, nodding his head approvingly, said "Chuck," on hearing
which Peterkin exploded with laughter; but Jack turned, and with a
frown rebuked him, saying; "I must look even more indignantly at you
than I feel, Peterkin, you rascal, for these fellows don't like to be
laughed at." Then turning towards the youngest of the women, who was
seated at the door of the bower, he pointed to her; whereupon the chief
said "Avatea," and pointing towards the sun, raised his finger slowly
towards the zenith, where it remained steadily for a minute or two.
"What can that mean, I wonder?" said Jack, looking puzzled.
"Perhaps," said Peterkin, "the chief means she is an angel come down to
stay here for a while. If so, she's an uncommonly black one!"
We did not feel quite satisfied with this explanation, so Jack went up
to her and said "Avatea." The woman smiled sadly, and nodded her head,
at the same time pointing to her breast and then to the sun, in the
same manner as the chief had done. We were much puzzled to know what
this could signify, but as there was no way of solving our difficulty
we were obliged to rest content.
Jack now made signs to the natives to follow him, and taking up his
axe, he led them to a place where the battle had been fought. Here we
found the prisoners, who had passed the night on the beach, having been
totally forgotten by us, as our minds had been full of our guests, and
were ultimately overcome by sleep. They did not seem the worse for
their exposure, however, as we judged by the hearty appetite with which
they devoured the breakfast that was soon after given to them. Jack
then began to dig a hole in the sand, and after working a few seconds,
he pointed to it and to the dead bodies that lay exposed on the beach.
The natives immediately perceived what he wanted, and running for their
paddles, dug a hole in the course of half-an-hour that was quite large
enough to contain all the bodies of the slain. When it was finished
they tossed their dead enemies into it with so much indifference that
we felt assured they would not have put themselves to this trouble had
we not asked them to do so. The body of the yellow-haired chief was the
last thrown in. This wretched man would have recovered from the blow
with which Jack felled him, and, indeed, he did endeavour to rise
during the _mêlée_ that followed his fall; but one of his enemies,
happening to notice the action, dealt him a blow with his club that
killed him on the spot.
While they were about to throw the sand over this chief, one of the
savages stooped over him, and with a knife, made apparently of stone,
cut a large slice of flesh from his thigh. We knew at once that he
intended to make use of this for food, and could not repress a cry of
horror and disgust.
"Come, come, you blackguard!" cried Jack, starting up and seizing the
man by the arm, "pitch that into the hole. Do you hear?"
The savage, of course, did not understand the command, but he perfectly
understood the look of disgust with which Jack regarded the flesh, and
his fierce gaze as he pointed towards the hole. Nevertheless, he did
not obey. Jack instantly turned to Tararo and made signs to him to
enforce obedience. The chief seemed to understand the appeal, for he
stepped forward, raised his club, and was on the point of dashing out
the brains of his offending subject, when Jack sprang forward and
caught his uplifted arm.
"Stop," he shouted, "you blockhead! I don't want you to kill the man."
He then pointed again to the flesh and to the hole. The chief uttered a
few words, which had the desired effect; for the man threw the flesh
into the hole, which was immediately filled up. This man was of a
morose, sulky disposition, and during all the time he remained on the
island, regarded us, especially Jack, with a scowling visage. His name,
we found, was Mahine.
The next three or four days were spent by the savages in mending their
canoe, which had been damaged by the violent shock it had sustained on
striking the shore. This canoe was a very curious structure. It was
about thirty feet long, and had a high, towering stern. The timbers of
which it was partly composed, were fastened much in the same way as
those of our little boat were put together; but the part that seemed
most curious to us was a sort of outrigger, or long plank, which was
attached to the body of the canoe by means of two stout cross-beams.
These beams kept the plank parallel with the canoe, but not in contact
with it, for it floated in the water with an open space between; thus
forming a sort of double canoe. This we found was intended to prevent
the upsetting of the canoe, which was so narrow that it could not have
maintained an upright position without the outrigger. We could not help
wondering both at the ingenuity and the clumsiness of this contrivance.
When the canoe was ready, we assisted the natives to carry the
prisoners into it, and helped them to load it with provisions and
fruit. Peterkin also went to the plum tree for the purpose of making a
special onslaught upon the hogs, and killed no less than six of them.
These we baked and presented to our friends on the day of their
departure. On that day Tararo made a great many energetic signs to us,
which, after much consideration, we came to understand were proposals
that we should go away with him to his island; but having no desire to
do so, we shook our heads very decidedly. However, we consoled him by
presenting him with our rusty axe, which we thought we could spare,
having the excellent one which had been so providentially washed ashore
to us the day we were wrecked. We also gave him a piece of wood with
our names carved on it, and a piece of string to hang it round his neck
as an ornament.
In a few minutes more we were all assembled on the beach. Being unable
to speak to the savages, we went through the ceremony of shaking hands,
and expected they would depart; but before doing so, Tararo went up to
Jack and rubbed noses with him, after which he did the same with
Peterkin and me! Seeing that this was their mode of salutation, we
determined to conform to their custom, so we rubbed noses heartily with
the whole party, women and all! The only disagreeable part of the
process was when we came to rub noses with Mahine, and Peterkin
afterwards said that when he saw his wolfish eyes glaring so close to
his face, he felt much more inclined to _bang_ than to _rub_ his nose.
Avatea was the last to take leave of us, and we experienced a feeling
of real sorrow when she approached to bid us farewell. Besides her
modest air and gentle manners, she was the only one of the party who
exhibited the smallest sign of regret at parting from us. Going up to
Jack, she put out her flat little nose to be rubbed, and thereafter
paid the same compliment to Peterkin and me.
An hour later the canoe was out of sight, and we, with an indefinable
feeling of sadness creeping round our hearts, were seated in silence
beneath the shadow of our bower, meditating on the wonderful events of
the last few days.