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. Well 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,
bread-fruits, 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, any how. 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 the 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
melee 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 out-rigger, 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 out-rigger. 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.