A strange and bloody battle--The lion bearded in his den--Frightful
scenes of cruelty, and fears for the future.
We had ascertained from the teacher the direction to the spot on which
the battle was to be fought, and after a walk of two hours reached it.
The summit of a bare hill was the place chosen; for, unlike most of the
other islanders, who are addicted to bush-fighting, those of Mango are in
the habit of meeting on open ground. We arrived before the two parties
had commenced the deadly struggle, and, creeping as close up as we dared
among the rocks, we lay and watched them.
The combatants were drawn up face to face, each side ranged in rank four
deep. Those in the first row were armed with long spears; the second,
with clubs to defend the spearmen; the third row was composed of young
men with slings; and the fourth consisted of women, who carried baskets
of stones for the slingers, and clubs and spears with which to supply the
warriors. Soon after we arrived, the attack was made with great fury.
There was no science displayed. The two bodies of savages rushed
headlong upon each other and engaged in a general _melee_, and a more
dreadful set of men I have never seen. They wore grotesque war-caps made
of various substances and decorated with feathers. Their faces and
bodies were painted so as to make them look as frightful as possible; and
as they brandished their massive clubs, leaped, shouted, yelled, and
dashed each other to the ground, I thought I had never seen men look so
like demons before.
We were much surprised at the conduct of the women, who seemed to be
perfect furies, and hung about the heels of their husbands in order to
defend them. One stout young women we saw, whose husband was hard
pressed and about to be overcome: she lifted a large stone, and throwing
it at his opponent's head, felled him to the earth. But the battle did
not last long. The band most distant from us gave way and were routed,
leaving eighteen of their comrades dead upon the field. These the
victors brained as they lay; and putting some of their brains on leaves
went off with them, we were afterwards informed, to their temples, to
present them to their gods as an earnest of the human victims who were
soon to be brought there.
We hastened back to the Christian village with feelings of the deepest
sadness at the sanguinary conflict which we had just witnessed.
Next day, after breakfasting with our friend the teacher, we made
preparations for carrying out our plan. At first the teacher endeavoured
to dissuade us.
"You do not know," said he, turning to Jack, "the danger you run in
venturing amongst these ferocious savages. I feel much pity for poor
Avatea; but you are not likely to succeed in saving her, and you may die
in the attempt."
"Well," said Jack, quietly, "I am not afraid to die in a good cause."
The teacher smiled approvingly at him as he said this, and after a little
further conversation agreed to accompany us as interpreter; saying that,
although Tararo was unfriendly to him, he had hitherto treated him with
respect.
We now went on board the schooner, having resolved to sail round the
island and drop anchor opposite the heathen village. We manned her with
natives, and hoped to overawe the savages by displaying our brass gun to
advantage. The teacher soon after came on board, and setting our sails
we put to sea. In two hours more we made the cliffs reverberate with the
crash of the big gun, which we fired by way of salute, while we ran the
British ensign up to the peak and cast anchor. The commotion on shore
showed us that we had struck terror into the hearts of the natives; but
seeing that we did not offer to molest them, a canoe at length put off
and paddled cautiously towards us. The teacher showed himself, and
explaining that we were friends and wished to palaver with the chief,
desired the native to go and tell him to come on board.
We waited long and with much impatience for an answer. During this time
the native teacher conversed with us again, and told us many things
concerning the success of the gospel among those islands; and perceiving
that we were by no means so much gratified as we ought to have been at
the hearing of such good news, he pressed us more closely in regard to
our personal interest in religion, and exhorted us to consider that our
souls were certainly in as great danger as those of the wretched heathen
whom we pitied so much, if we had not already found salvation in Jesus
Christ. "Nay, further," he added, "if such be your unhappy case, you
are, in the sight of God, much worse than these savages (forgive me, my
young friends, for saying so); for they have no knowledge, no light, and
do not profess to believe; while you, on the contrary, have been brought
up in the light of the blessed gospel and call yourselves Christians.
These poor savages are indeed the enemies of our Lord; but you, if ye be
not true believers, are traitors!"
I must confess that my heart condemned me while the teacher spoke in this
earnest manner, and I knew not what to reply. Peterkin, too, did not
seem to like it, and I thought would willingly have escaped; but Jack
seemed deeply impressed, and wore an anxious expression on his naturally
grave countenance, while he assented to the teacher's remarks and put to
him many earnest questions. Meanwhile the natives who composed our crew,
having nothing particular to do, had squatted down on the deck and taken
out their little books containing the translated portions of the New
Testament, along with hymns and spelling-books, and were now busily
engaged, some vociferating the alphabet, others learning prayers off by
heart, while a few sang hymns,--all of them being utterly unmindful of
our presence. The teacher soon joined them, and soon afterwards they all
engaged in a prayer which was afterwards translated to us, and proved to
be a petition for the success of our undertaking and for the conversion
of the heathen.
While we were thus engaged a canoe put off from shore and several savages
leaped on deck, one of whom advanced to the teacher and informed him that
Tararo could not come on board that day, being busy with some religious
ceremonies before the gods, which could on no account be postponed. He
was also engaged with a friendly chief who was about to take his
departure from the island, and therefore begged that the teacher and his
friends would land and pay a visit to him. To this the teacher returned
answer that we would land immediately.
"Now, lads," said Jack, as we were about to step into our little boat,
"I'm not going to take any weapons with me, and I recommend you to take
none either. We are altogether in the power of these savages, and the
utmost we could do, if they were to attack us, would be to kill a few of
them before we were ourselves overpowered. I think that our only chance
of success lies in mild measures. Don't you think so?"
To this I assented gladly, and Peterkin replied by laying down a huge
bell-mouthed blunderbuss, and divesting himself of a pair of enormous
horse-pistols with which he had purposed to overawe the natives! We then
jumped into our boat and rowed ashore.
On reaching the beach we were received by a crowd of naked savages, who
shouted a rude welcome, and conducted us to a house or shed where a baked
pig and a variety of vegetables were prepared for us. Having partaken of
these, the teacher begged to be conducted to the chief; but there seemed
some hesitation, and after some consultation among themselves, one of the
men stood forward and spoke to the teacher.
"What says he?" inquired Jack when the savage had concluded.
"He says that the chief is just going to the temple of his god and cannot
see us yet; so we must be patient, my friend."
"Well," cried Jack, rising; "if he won't come to see me, I'll e'en go and
see him. Besides, I have a great desire to witness their proceedings at
this temple of theirs. Will you go with me, friend?"
"I cannot," said the teacher, shaking his head; "I must not go to the
heathen temples and witness their inhuman rites, except for the purpose
of condemning their wickedness and folly."
"Very good," returned Jack; "then I'll go alone, for I cannot condemn
their doings till I have seen them."
Jack arose, and we, having determined to go also, followed him through
the banana groves to a rising ground immediately behind the village, on
the top of which stood the Bure, or temple, under the dark shade of a
group of iron-wood trees. As we went through the village, I was again
led to contrast the rude huts and sheds, and their almost naked savage-
looking inhabitants, with the natives of the Christian village, who, to
use the teacher's scriptural expression, were now "clothed and in their
right mind."
As we turned into a broad path leading towards the hill, we were arrested
by the shouts of an approaching multitude in the rear. Drawing aside
into the bushes we awaited their coming up, and as they drew near we
observed that it was a procession of the natives, many of whom were
dancing and gesticulating in the most frantic manner. They had an
exceedingly hideous aspect, owing to the black, red, and yellow paints
with which their faces and naked bodies were bedaubed. In the midst of
these came a band of men carrying three or four planks, on which were
seated in rows upwards of a dozen men. I shuddered involuntarily as I
recollected the sacrifice of human victims at the island of Emo, and
turned with a look of fear to Jack as I said,--
"Oh, Jack! I have a terrible dread that they are going to commit some of
their cruel practices on these wretched men. We had better not go to the
temple. We shall only be horrified without being able to do any good,
for I fear they are going to kill them."
Jack's face wore an expression of deep compassion as he said, in a low
voice, "No fear, Ralph; the sufferings of these poor fellows are over
long ago."
I turned with a start as he spoke, and, glancing at the men, who were now
quite near to the spot where we stood, saw that they were all dead. They
were tied firmly with ropes in a sitting posture on the planks, and
seemed, as they bent their sightless eye-balls and grinning mouths over
the dancing crew below, as if they were laughing in ghastly mockery at
the utter inability of their enemies to hurt them now. These, we
discovered afterwards, were the men who had been slain in the battle of
the previous day, and were now on their way to be first presented to the
gods, and then eaten. Behind these came two men leading between them a
third, whose hands were pinioned behind his back. He walked with a firm
step, and wore a look of utter indifference on his face, as they led him
along; so that we concluded he must be a criminal who was about to
receive some slight punishment for his faults. The rear of the
procession was brought up by a shouting crowd of women and children, with
whom we mingled and followed to the temple.
Here we arrived in a few minutes. The temple was a tall circular
building, open at one side. Around it were strewn heaps of human bones
and skulls. At a table inside sat the priest, an elderly man, with a
long gray beard. He was seated on a stool, and before him lay several
knives, made of wood, bone, and splinters of bamboo, with which he
performed his office of dissecting dead bodies. Farther in lay a variety
of articles that had been dedicated to the god, and among them were many
spears and clubs. I observed among the latter some with human teeth
sticking in them, where the victims had been clubbed in their mouths.
Before this temple the bodies, which were painted with vermilion and
soot, were arranged in a sitting posture; and a man, called a "dan-vosa"
(orator), advanced, and, laying his hands on their heads, began to chide
them, apparently, in a low bantering tone. What he said we knew not,
but, as he went on, he waxed warm, and at last shouted to them at the top
of his lungs, and finally finished by kicking the bodies over and running
away, amid the shouts and laughter of the people, who now rushed forward.
Seizing the bodies by a leg, or an arm, or by the hair of the head, they
dragged them over stumps and stones and through sloughs, until they were
exhausted. The bodies were then brought back to the temple and dissected
by the priest, after which they were taken out to be baked.
Close to the temple a large fire was kindled, in which stones were heated
red hot. When ready these were spread out on the ground, and a thick
coating of leaves strewn over them to slack the heat. On this "lovo," or
oven, the bodies were then placed, covered over, and left to bake.
The crowd now ran, with terrible yells, towards a neighbouring hill or
mound, on which we observed the frame-work of a house lying ready to be
erected. Sick with horror, yet fascinated by curiosity, we staggered
after them mechanically, scarce knowing where we were going or what we
did, and feeling a sort of impression that all we saw was a dreadful
dream.
Arrived at the place, we saw the multitude crowding round a certain spot.
We pressed forward and obtained a sight of what they were doing. A large
wooden beam or post lay on the ground, beside the other parts of the
frame-work of the house, and close to the end of it was a hole about
seven feet deep and upwards of two feet wide. While we looked, the man
whom we had before observed with his hands pinioned, was carried into the
circle. His hands were now free, but his legs were tightly strapped
together. The post of the house was then placed in the hole, and the man
put in beside it. His head was a good way below the surface of the hole,
and his arms were clasped round the post. Earth was now thrown in until
all was covered over and stamped down; and this, we were afterwards told,
was a _ceremony_ usually performed at the dedication of a new temple, or
the erection of a chief's house!
"Come, come," cried Jack, on beholding this horrible tragedy, "we have
seen enough, enough, far more than enough! Let us go."
Jack's face looked ghastly pale and haggard as we hurried back to rejoin
the teacher, and I have no doubt that he felt terrible anxiety when he
considered the number and ferocity of the savages, and the weakness of
the few arms which were ready indeed to essay, but impotent to effect,
Avatea's deliverance from these ruthless men.