Bloody Bill is communicative and sagacious--Unpleasant
prospects--Retrospective meditations interrupted by volcanic
agency--The pirates negotiate with a Feejee chief--Various etceteras
that are calculated to surprise and horrify.
It was many days after the events just narrated ere I recovered a
little of my wonted spirits. I could not shake off the feeling for a
long time that I was in a frightful dream, and the sight of our captain
filled me with so much horror that I kept out of his way as much as my
duties about the cabin would permit. Fortunately he took so little
notice of me that he did not observe my changed feelings towards him,
otherwise it might have been worse for me.
But I was now resolved that I would run away the very first island we
should land at, and commit myself to the hospitality of the natives
rather than remain an hour longer than I could help in the pirate
schooner. I pondered this subject a good deal, and at last made up my
mind to communicate my intention to Bloody Bill; for during several
talks I had had with him of late, I felt assured that he too would
willingly escape if possible. When I told him of my design he shook his
head. "No, no, Ralph," said he, "you must not think of running away
here. Among some of the groups of islands you might do so with safety,
but if you tried it here you would find that you had jumped out of the
fryin'-pan into the fire."
"How so, Bill?" said I; "would the natives not receive me?"
"That they would, lad; but they would eat you too."
"Eat me!" said I in surprise; "I thought the South Sea Islanders never
ate anybody except their enemies."
"Humph!" ejaculated Bill. "I s'pose 'twas yer tender-hearted friends in
England that put that notion into your head. There's a set o'
soft-hearted folk at home that I knows on who don't like to have their
feelin's ruffled, and when you tell them anything they don't like--that
shocks them, as they call it--no matter how true it be, they stop their
ears and cry out, 'Oh, that is _too_ horrible! We can't believe that!'
An' they say truth. They can't believe it 'cause they won't believe it.
Now, I believe there's thousands o' the people in England who are sich
born drivellin' _won't-believers_ that they think the black fellows
hereaways at the worst eat an enemy only now an' then, out o' spite;
whereas I know for certain, and many captains of the British and
American navies know as well as me, that the Feejee Islanders eat not
only their enemies but one another; and they do it not for spite, but
for pleasure. It's _fact_ that they prefer human flesh to any other.
But they don't like white men's flesh so well as black; they say it
makes them sick."
"Why, Bill," said I, "you told me just now that they would eat me if
they caught me."
"So I did, and so I think they would. I've only heard some o' them say
they don't like white men _so well_ as black; but if they was hungry
they wouldn't be particular. Anyhow, I'm sure they would kill you. You
see, Ralph, I've been a good while in them parts, and I've visited the
different groups of islands oftentimes as a trader. And thorough-goin'
blackguards some o' them traders are; no better than pirates, I can
tell you. One captain that I sailed with was not a chip better than the
one we're with now. He was trading with a friendly chief one day,
aboard his vessel. The chief had swum off to us with the thing for
trade tied atop of his head, for them chaps are like otters in the
water. Well, the chief was hard on the captain, and would not part with
some o' his things. When their bargainin' was over they shook hands,
and the chief jumped overboard to swim ashore; but before he got forty
yards from the ship the captain seized a musket and shot him dead. He
then hove up anchor and put to sea, and as we sailed along the shore,
he dropped six black fellows with his rifle, remarkin' that 'that would
spoil the trade for the next comers.' But, as I was sayin', I'm up to
the ways o' these fellows. One o' the laws o' the country is, that
every shipwrecked person who happens to be cast ashore, be he dead or
alive, is doomed to be roasted and eaten. There was a small tradin'
schooner wrecked off one of these islands when we were lyin' there in
harbour during a storm. The crew was lost, all but three men, who swam
ashore. The moment they landed they were seized by the natives and
carried up into the woods. We knew pretty well what their fate would
be, but we could not help them, for our crew was small, and if we had
gone ashore they would likely have killed us all. We never saw the
three men again; but we heard frightful yelling and dancing and
merrymaking that night; and one of the natives, who came aboard to
trade with us next day, told us that the _long pigs_, as he called the
men, had been roasted and eaten, and their bones were to be converted
into sail-needles. He also said that white men were bad to eat, and
that most o' the people on shore were sick."
I was very much shocked and cast down in my mind at this terrible
account of the natives, and asked Bill what he would advise me to do.
Looking round the deck to make sure that we were not overheard, he
lowered his voice and said, "There are two or three ways that we might
escape, Ralph, but none o' them's easy. If the captain would only sail
for some o' the islands near Tahiti, we might run away there well
enough, because the natives are all Christians; an' we find that
wherever the savages take up with Christianity they always give over
their bloody ways, and are safe to be trusted. I never cared for
Christianity myself," he continued in a soliloquising voice, "and I
don't well know what it means; but a man with half an eye can see what
it does for these black critters. However, the captain always keeps a
sharp lookout after us when we get to these islands, for he half
suspects that one or two o' us are tired of his company. Then we might
manage to cut the boat adrift some fine night when it's our watch on
deck, and clear off before they discovered that we were gone.' But we
would run the risk o' bein' caught by the blacks, I wouldn't like to
try that plan. But you and I will think over it, Ralph, and see what's
to be done. In the meantime it's our watch below, so I'll go and turn
in."
Bill then bade me good-night, and went below, while a comrade took his
place at the helm; but feeling no desire to enter into conversation
with him, I walked aft, and leaning over the stern, looked down into
the phosphorescent waves that gurgled around the rudder, and streamed
out like a flame of blue light in the vessel's wake. My thoughts were
very sad, and I could scarce refrain from tears as I contrasted my
present wretched position with the happy, peaceful time I had spent on
the Coral Island with my dear companions. As I thought upon Jack and
Peterkin, anxious forebodings crossed my mind, and I pictured to myself
the grief and dismay with which they would search every nook and corner
of the island, in a vain attempt to discover my dead body; for I felt
assured that if they did not see any sign of the pirate schooner or
boat when they came out of the cave to look for me, they would never
imagine that I had been carried away. I wondered, too, how Jack would
succeed in getting Peterkin out of the cave without my assistance; and
I trembled when I thought that he might lose presence of mind, and
begin to kick when he was in the tunnel! These thoughts were suddenly
interrupted and put to flight by a bright red blaze which lighted up
the horizon to the southward and cast a crimson glow far over the sea.
This appearance was accompanied by a low growling sound, as of distant
thunder, and at the same time the sky above us became black, while a
hot, stifling wind blew around us in fitful gusts.
The crew assembled hastily on deck, and most of them were under the
belief that a frightful hurricane was pending; but the captain, coming
on deck, soon explained the phenomena.
"It's only a volcano," said he. "I knew there was one hereabouts, but
thought it was extinct. Up there and furl top-gallant sails; we'll
likely have a breeze, and it's well to be ready."
As he spoke a shower began to fall, which we quickly observed was not
rain but fine ashes. As we were many miles distant from the volcano,
these must have been carried to us from it by the wind. As the captain
had predicted, a stiff breeze soon afterwards sprang up, under the
influence of which we speedily left the volcano far behind us; but
during the greater part of the night we could see its lurid glare and
hear its distant thunder. The shower did not cease to fall for several
hours, and we must have sailed under it for nearly forty miles, perhaps
farther. When we emerged from the cloud, our decks and every part of
the rigging were completely covered with a thick coat of ashes. I was
much interested in this, and recollected that Jack had often spoken of
many of the islands of the Pacific as being volcanoes, either active or
extinct, and had said that the whole region was more or less volcanic,
and that some scientific men were of opinion that the islands of the
Pacific were nothing more or less than the mountain tops of a huge
continent which had sunk under the influence of volcanic agency.
Three days after passing the volcano, we found ourselves a few miles to
windward of an island of considerable size and luxuriant aspect. It
consisted of two mountains, which seemed to be nearly four thousand
feet high. They were separated from each other by a broad valley, whose
thick-growing trees ascended a considerable distance up the mountain
sides; and rich, level plains, or meadow-land, spread round the base of
the mountains, except at the point immediately opposite the large
valley, where a river seemed to carry the trees, as it were, along with
it down to the white, sandy shore. The mountain tops, unlike those of
our Coral Island, were sharp, needle-shaped, and bare, while their
sides were more rugged and grand in outline than anything I had yet
seen in those seas. Bloody Bill was beside me when the island first
hove in sight.
"Ha!" he exclaimed, "I know that island well. They call it Emo."
"Have you been there before, then?" I inquired.
"Ay, that I have, often, and so has this schooner. 'Tis a famous island
for sandal-wood. We have taken many cargoes of it already, and have
paid for them, too; for the savages are so numerous that we dared not
try to take it by force. But our captain has tried to cheat them so
often, that they're beginnin' not to like us overmuch now. Besides, the
men behaved ill the last time we were here, and I wonder the captain is
not afraid to venture. But he's afraid o' nothing earthly, I believe."
We soon ran inside the barrier coral-reef, and let go our anchor in six
fathoms water, just opposite the mouth of a small creek, whose shores
were densely covered with mangroves and tall umbrageous trees. The
principal village of the natives lay about half a mile from this point.
Ordering the boat out, the captain jumped into it, and ordered me to
follow him. The men, fifteen in number, were well armed, and the mate
was directed to have Long Tom ready for emergencies.
"Give way, lads," cried the captain.
The oars fell into the water at the word, the boat shot from the
schooner's side, and in a few minutes reached the shore. Here, contrary
to our expectation, we were met with the utmost cordiality by Romata,
the principal chief of the island, who conducted us to his house and
gave us mats to sit upon. I observed in passing that the natives, of
whom there were two or three thousand, were totally unarmed.
After a short preliminary palaver, a feast of baked pigs and various
roots was spread before us; of which we partook sparingly, and then
proceeded to business. The captain stated his object in visiting the
island, regretted that there had been a slight misunderstanding during
the last visit, and hoped that no ill-will was borne by either party,
and that a satisfactory trade would be accomplished.
Romata answered that he had forgotten there had been any differences
between them, protested that he was delighted to see his friends again,
and assured them they should have every assistance in cutting and
embarking the wood. The terms were afterwards agreed on, and we rose to
depart. All this conversation was afterwards explained to me by Bill,
who understood the language pretty well.
Romata accompanied us on board, and explained that a great chief from
another island was then on a visit to him, and that he was to be
ceremoniously entertained on the following day. After begging to be
allowed to introduce him to us, and receiving permission, he sent his
canoe ashore to bring him off. At the same time, he gave orders to
bring on board his two favourites, a cock and a paroquet. While the
canoe was gone on this errand, I had time to regard the savage chief
attentively. He was a man of immense size, with massive but beautifully
moulded limbs and figure, only parts of which, the broad chest, and
muscular arms, were uncovered; for although the lower orders generally
wore no other clothing than a strip of cloth called _maro_ round their
loins, the chief, on particular occasions, wrapped his person hi
voluminous folds of a species of native cloth, made from the bark of
the Chinese paper-mulberry. Romata wore a magnificent black beard and
moustache, and his hair was frizzed out to such an extent that it
resembled a large turban, in which was stuck a long wooden pin! I
afterwards found that this pin served for scratching the head, for
which purpose the fingers were too short without disarranging the hair.
But Romata put himself to much greater inconvenience on account of his
hair, for we found that he slept with his head resting on a wooden
pillow, in which was cut a hollow for the neck, so that the hair of the
sleeper might not be disarranged.
In ten minutes the canoe returned, bringing the other chief, who
certainly presented a most extraordinary appearance, having painted one
half of his face red and the other half yellow, besides ornamenting it
with various designs in black! Otherwise he was much the same in
appearance as Romata, though not so powerfully built. As this chief had
never seen a ship before, except, perchance, some of the petty traders
that at long intervals visit these remote islands, he was much taken up
with the neatness and beauty of all the fittings of the schooner. He
was particularly struck with a musket which was shown to him, and asked
where the white men got hatchets hard enough to cut the tree of which
the barrel was made! While he was thus engaged, his brother chief stood
aloof, talking with the captain, and fondling a superb cock and a
little blue-headed paroquet, the favourites of which I have before
spoken. I observed that all the other natives walked in a crouching
posture while in the presence of Romata. Before our guests left us, the
captain ordered the brass gun to be uncovered and fired for their
gratification; and I have every reason to believe he did so for the
purpose of showing our superior power, in case the natives should
harbour any evil designs against us. Romata had never seen this gun
before, as it had not been uncovered on previous visits, and the
astonishment with which he viewed it was very amusing. Being desirous
of knowing its power, he begged that the captain would fire it; so a
shot was put into it. The chiefs were then directed to look at a rock
about two miles out at sea, and the gun was fired. In a second the top
of the rock was seen to burst asunder, and to fall in fragments into
the sea.
Romata was so delighted with the success of this shot that he pointed
to a man who was walking on the shore and begged the captain to fire at
him, evidently supposing that his permission was quite sufficient to
justify the captain in such an act. He was therefore surprised, and not
a little annoyed, when the captain refused to fire at the native, and
ordered the gun to be housed.
Of all the things, however, that afforded matter of amusement to these
savages, that which pleased Romata's visitor most was the ship's pump.
He never tired of examining it and pumping up the water. Indeed, so
much was he taken up with this pump, that he could not be prevailed on
to return on shore, but sent a canoe to fetch his favourite stool, on
which he seated himself, and spent the remainder of the day in pumping
the bilge-water out of the ship!
Next day the crew went ashore to cut sandal-wood, while the captain,
with one or two men, remained on board, in order to be ready, if need
be, with the brass gun, which was unhoused and conspicuously elevated,
with its capacious muzzle directed point-blank at the chiefs house. The
men were fully armed, as usual; and the captain ordered me to go with
them, to assist in the work. I was much pleased with this order, for it
freed me from the captain's company, which I could not now endure, and
it gave me an opportunity of seeing the natives.
As we wound along in single file through the rich, fragrant groves of
banana, cocoa-nut, bread-fruit, and other trees, I observed that there
were many of the plum and banyan trees, with which I had become
familiar on the Coral Island. I noticed also large quantities of
taro-roots, yams, and sweet potatoes growing in enclosures. On turning
into an open glade of the woods, we came abruptly upon a cluster of
native houses. They were built chiefly of bamboos, and were thatched
with the large, thick leaves of the pandanus; but many of them had
little more than a sloping roof and three sides with an open front,
being the most simple shelter from the weather that could well be
imagined. Within these and around them were groups of natives--men,
women, and children--who all stood up to gaze at us as we marched
along, followed by the party of men whom the chief had sent to escort
us. About half a mile inland we arrived at the spot where the
sandal-wood grew, and while the men set to work I clambered up an
adjoining hill to observe the country.
About mid-day the chief arrived with several followers, one of whom
carried a baked pig on a wooden platter, with yams and potatoes on
several plantain leaves, which he presented to the men, who sat down
under the shade of a tree to dine. The chief sat down to dine also;
but, to my surprise, instead of feeding himself, one of his wives
performed that office for him! I was seated beside Bill, and asked him
the reason of this.
"It is beneath his dignity, I believe, to feed himself," answered Bill;
"but I daresay he's not particular, except on great occasions. They've
a strange custom among them, Ralph, which is called _tabu_, and they
carry it to great lengths. If a man chooses a particular tree for his
god, the fruit o' that tree is tabued to him; and if he eats it, he is
sure to be killed by his people, and eaten, of course, for killing
means eating hereaway. Then, you see that great mop o' hair on the
chief's head? Well, he has a lot o' barbers to keep it in order; and
it's a law that whoever touches the head of a living chief or the body
of a dead one, his hands are tabued; so in that way the barbers' hands
are always tabued, and they daren't use them for their lives, but have
to be fed like big babies, as they are, sure enough!"
"That's odd, Bill. But look there," said I, pointing to a man whose
skin was of a much lighter colour than the generality of the natives.
"I've seen a few of these light-skinned fellows among the Feejeeans.
They seem to me to be of quite a different race."
"So they are," answered Bill. "These fellows come from the Tongan
Islands, which lie a long way to the eastward. They come here to build
their big war-canoes; and, as these take two and sometimes four years
to build, there's always some o' the brown-skins among the black
sarpents o' these islands."
"By the way, Bill," said I, "your mentioning serpents reminds me that I
have not seen a reptile of any kind since I came to this part of the
world."
"No more there are any," said Bill, "if ye except the niggers
themselves; there's none on the islands but a lizard or two, and some
sich harmless things. But I never seed any myself. If there's none on
the land, however, there's more than enough in the water, and that
reminds me of a wonderful brute they have here. But come, I'll show it
to you." So saying, Bill arose, and, leaving the men still busy with
the baked pig, led me into the forest. After proceeding a short
distance, we came upon a small pond of stagnant water. A native lad had
followed us, to whom we called and beckoned him to come to us. On Bill
saying a few words to him which I did not understand, the boy advanced
to the edge of the pond and gave a low, peculiar whistle. Immediately
the water became agitated, and an enormous eel thrust its head above
the surface and allowed the youth to touch it. It was about twelve feet
long, and as thick round the body as a man's thigh.
"There!" said Bill, his lip curling with contempt; "what do you think
of that for a god, Ralph? This is one o' their gods, and it has been
fed with dozens o' livin' babies already. How many more it'll get afore
it dies is hard to say."
"Babies!" said I, with an incredulous look.
"Ay, babies," returned Bill. "Your soft-hearted folk at home would say,
'Oh, horrible! impossible!' to that, and then go away as comfortable
and unconcerned as if their sayin' 'Horrible! impossible!' had made it
a lie. But I tell you, Ralph, it's a _fact_. I've seed it with my own
eyes the last time I was here, an' mayhap if you stop a while at this
accursed place, and keep a sharp look-out, you'll see it too. They
don't feed it regularly with livin' babies, but they give it one now
and then as a treat. Bah, you brute!" cried Bill in disgust, giving the
reptile a kick on the snout with his heavy boot that sent it sweltering
back in agony into its loathsome pool. I thought it lucky for Bill,
indeed for all of us, that the native youth's back happened to be
turned at the time; for I am certain that if the poor savages had come
to know that we had so rudely handled their god, we should have had to
fight our way back to the ship. As we retraced our steps I questioned
my companion further on this subject.
"How comes it, Bill, that the mothers allow such a dreadful thing to be
done?"
"Allow it? the mothers _do_ it! It seems to me that there's nothing too
fiendish or diabolical for these people to do. Why, in some of the
islands they have an institution called the _Aréoi_, and the persons
connected with that body are ready for any wickedness that mortal man
can devise. In fact they stick at nothing; and one o' their customs is
to murder their infants the moment they are born. The mothers agree to
it, and the fathers do it. And the mildest ways they have of murdering
them is by sticking them through the body with sharp splinters of
bamboo, strangling them with their thumbs, or burying them alive and
stamping them to death while under the sod."
I felt sick at heart while my companion recited these horrors.
"But it's a curious fact," he continued after a pause, during which we
walked in silence towards the spot where we had left our
comrades--"it's a curious fact, that wherever the missionaries get a
footin' all these things come to an end at once, an' the savages take
to doin' each other good and singin' psalms, just like Methodists."
"God bless the missionaries!" said I, while a feeling of enthusiasm
filled my heart, so that I could speak with difficulty. "God bless and
prosper the missionaries till they get a footing in every island of the
sea!"
"I would say Amen to that prayer, Ralph, if I could," said Bill, in a
deep, sad voice; "but it would be a mere mockery for a man to ask a
blessing for others who dare not ask one for himself. But, Ralph," he
continued, "I've not told you half o' the abominations I have seen
durin' my life in these seas. If we pull long together, lad, I'll tell
you more; and if times have not changed very much since I was here
last, it's like that you'll have a chance o' seeing a little for
yourself before long."