The head of the valley—Cautious advance—A path—Fruit—Discovery of two
of the natives—Their singular conduct—Approach towards the inhabited
parts of the vale—Sensation produced by our appearance—Reception at the
house of one of the natives.
How to obtain the fruit which we felt convinced must grow near at hand
was our first thought.
Typee or Happar? A frightful death at the hands of the fiercest of
cannibals, or a kindly reception from a gentler race of savages? Which?
But it was too late now to discuss a question which would so soon be
answered.
The part of the valley in which we found ourselves appeared to be
altogether uninhabited. An almost impenetrable thicket extended from
side to side, without presenting a single plant affording the
nourishment we had confidently calculated upon; and with this object,
we followed the course of the stream, casting quick glances as we
proceeded into the thick jungles on either hand.
My companion—to whose solicitations I had yielded in descending into
the valley—now that the step was taken, began to manifest a degree of
caution I had little expected from him. He proposed that in the event
of our finding an adequate supply of fruit, we should remain in this
unfrequented portion of the valley—where we should run little chance of
being surprised by its occupants, whoever they might be—until
sufficiently recruited to resume our journey; when laying in a store of
food equal to our wants, we might easily regain the bay of Nukuheva,
after the lapse of a sufficient interval to ensure the departure of our
vessel.
I objected strongly to this proposition, plausible as it was, as the
difficulties of the route would almost be insurmountable, unacquainted
as we were with the general bearings of the country, and I reminded my
companion of the hardships which we had already encountered in our
uncertain wanderings; in a word, I said that since we had deemed it
advisable to enter the valley, we ought manfully to face the
consequences, whatever they might be; the more especially as I was
convinced there was no alternative left us but to fall in with the
natives at once, and boldly risk the reception they might give us: and
that as to myself, I felt the necessity of rest and shelter, and that
until I had obtained them, I should be wholly unable to encounter such
sufferings as we had lately passed through. To the justice of these
observations Toby somewhat reluctantly assented.
We were surprised that, after moving as far as we had along the valley,
we would still meet with the same impervious thickets; and thinking
that although the borders of the stream might be lined for some
distance with them, yet beyond there might be more open ground, I
requested Toby to keep a bright look-out upon one side, while I did the
same on the other, in order to discover some opening in the bushes, and
especially to watch for the slightest appearance of a path or anything
else that might indicate the vicinity of the islanders.
What furtive and anxious glances we cast into those dim-looking shades!
With what apprehensions we proceeded, ignorant at what moment we might
be greeted by the javelin of some ambushed savage! At last my companion
paused, and directed my attention to a narrow opening in the foliage.
We struck into it, and it soon brought us by an indistinctly traced
path to a comparatively clear space, at the farther end of which we
descried a number of the trees, the native name of which is “annuee,”
and which bear a most delicious fruit.
What a race! I hobbling over the ground like some decrepid wretch, and
Toby leaping forward like a greyhound. He quickly cleared one of the
trees on which there were two or three of the fruit, but to our chagrin
they proved to be much decayed; the rinds partly opened by the birds,
and their hearts half devoured. However, we quickly despatched them,
and no ambrosia could have been more delicious.
We looked about us uncertain whither to direct our steps, since the
path we had so far followed appeared to be lost in the open space
around us. At last we resolved to enter a grove near at hand, and had
advanced a few rods, when, just upon its skirts, I picked up a slender
bread-fruit shoot perfectly green, and with the tender bark freshly
stript from it. It was slippery with moisture, and appeared as if it
had been but that moment thrown aside. I said nothing, but merely held
it up to Toby, who started at this undeniable evidence of the vicinity
of the savages.
The plot was now thickening.—A short distance farther lay a little
faggot of the same shoots bound together with a strip of bark. Could it
have been thrown down by some solitary native, who, alarmed at seeing
us, had hurried forward to carry the tidings of our approach to his
countrymen?—Typee or Happar?—But it was too late to recede, so we moved
on slowly, my companion in advance casting eager glances under the
trees on either side, until all at once I saw him recoil as if stung by
an adder. Sinking on his knee, he waved me off with one hand, while
with the other he held aside some intervening leaves, and gazed
intently at some object.
Disregarding his injunction, I quickly approached him and caught a
glimpse of two figures partly hidden by the dense foliage; they were
standing close together, and were perfectly motionless. They must have
previously perceived us, and withdrawn into the depths of the wood to
elude our observation.
My mind was at once made up. Dropping my staff, and tearing open the
package of things we had brought from the ship, I unrolled the cotton
cloth, and holding it in one hand, plucked with the other a twig from
the bushes beside me, and telling Toby to follow my example, I broke
through the covert and advanced, waving the branch in token of peace
towards the shrinking forms before me.
They were a boy and a girl, slender and graceful, and completely naked,
with the exception of a slight girdle of bark, from which depended at
opposite points two of the russet leaves of the bread-fruit tree. An
arm of the boy, half screened from sight by her wild tresses, was
thrown about the neck of the girl, while with the other he held one of
her hands in his; and thus they stood together, their heads inclined
forward, catching the faint noise we made in our progress, and with one
foot in advance, as if half inclined to fly from our presence.
As we drew near, their alarm evidently increased. Apprehensive that
they might fly from us altogether, I stopped short and motioned them to
advance and receive the gift I extended towards them, but they would
not; I then uttered a few words of their language with which I was
acquainted, scarcely expecting that they would understand me, but to
show that we had not dropped from the clouds upon them. This appeared
to give them a little confidence, so I approached nearer, presenting
the cloth with one hand, and holding the bough with the other, while
they slowly retreated. At last they suffered us to approach so near to
them that we were enabled to throw the cotton cloth across their
shoulders, giving them to understand that it was theirs, and by a
variety of gestures endeavouring to make them understand that we
entertained the highest possible regard for them.
The frightened pair now stood still, whilst we endeavoured to make them
comprehend the nature of our wants. In doing this Toby went through
with a complete series of pantomimic illustrations—opening his mouth
from ear to ear, and thrusting his fingers down his throat, gnashing
his teeth and rolling his eyes about, till I verily believe the poor
creatures took us for a couple of white cannibals who were about to
make a meal of them. When, however, they understood us, they showed no
inclination to relieve our wants. At this juncture it began to rain
violently, and we motioned them to lead us to some place of shelter.
With this request they appeared willing to comply, but nothing could
evince more strongly the apprehension with which they regarded us, than
the way in which, whilst walking before us, they kept their eyes
constantly turned back to watch every movement we made, and even our
very looks.
“Typee or Happar, Toby?” asked I, as we walked after them.
“Of course, Happar,” he replied, with a show of confidence which was
intended to disguise his doubts.
“We shall soon know,” I exclaimed; and at the same moment I stepped
forward towards our guides, and pronouncing the two names
interrogatively, and pointing to the lowest part of the valley,
endeavoured to come to the point at once. They repeated the words after
me again and again, but without giving any peculiar emphasis to either,
so that I was completely at a loss to understand them; for a couple of
wilier young things than we afterwards found them to have been on this
particular occasion never probably fell in any traveller’s way.
More and more curious to ascertain our fate, I now threw together in
the form of a question the words “Happar” and “Mortarkee,” the latter
being equivalent to the word “good.” The two natives interchanged
glances of peculiar meaning with one another at this, and manifested no
little surprise; but on the repetition of the question, after some
consultation together, to the great joy of Toby, they answered in the
affirmative. Toby was now in ecstasies, especially as the young savages
continued to reiterate their answer with great energy, as though
desirous of impressing us with the idea that being among the Happars,
we ought to consider ourselves perfectly secure.
Although I had some lingering doubts, I feigned great delight with Toby
at this announcement, while my companion broke out into a pantomimic
abhorrence of Typee, and immeasurable love for the particular valley in
which we were; our guides all the while gazing uneasily at one another,
as if at a loss to account for our conduct.
They hurried on, and we followed them; until suddenly they set up a
strange halloo, which was answered from beyond the grove through which
we were passing, and the next moment we entered upon some open ground,
at the extremity of which we descried a long, low hut, and in front of
it were several young girls. As soon as they perceived us they fled
with wild screams into the adjoining thickets, like so many startled
fawns. A few moments after the whole valley resounded with savage
outcries, and the natives came running towards us from every direction.
Had an army of invaders made an irruption into their territory, they
could not have evinced greater excitement. We were soon completely
encircled by a dense throng, and in their eager desire to behold us,
they almost arrested our progress; an equal number surrounding our
youthful guides, who, with amazing volubility, appeared to be detailing
the circumstances which had attended their meeting with us. Every item
of intelligence appeared to redouble the astonishment of the islanders,
and they gazed at us with inquiring looks.
At last we reached a large and handsome building of bamboos, and were
by signs told to enter it, the natives opening a lane for us through
which to pass; on entering, without ceremony we threw our exhausted
frames upon the mats that covered the floor. In a moment the slight
tenement was completely full of people, whilst those who were unable to
gain admittance gazed at us through its open cane-work.
It was now evening, and by the dim light we could just discern the
savage countenances around us, gleaming with wild curiosity and wonder;
the naked forms and tattooed limbs of brawny warriors, with here and
there the slighter figures of young girls, all engaged in a perfect
storm of conversation, of which we were of course the one only theme;
whilst our recent guides were fully occupied in answering the
innumerable questions which every one put to them. Nothing can exceed
the fierce gesticulation of these people when animated in conversation,
and on this occasion they gave loose to all their natural vivacity,
shouting and dancing about in a manner that well-nigh intimidated us.
Close to where we lay, squatting upon their haunches, were some eight
or ten noble-looking chiefs—for such they subsequently proved to
be—who, more reserved than the rest, regarded us with a fixed and stern
attention, which not a little discomposed our equanimity. One of them
in particular, who appeared to be the highest in rank, placed himself
directly facing me, looking at me with a rigidity of aspect under which
I absolutely quailed. He never once opened his lips, but maintained his
severe expression of countenance, without turning his face aside for a
single moment. Never before had I been subjected to so strange and
steady a glance; it revealed nothing of the mind of the savage, but it
appeared to be reading my own.
[Illustration: WE WERE SOON COMPLETELY ENCIRCLED BY A DENSE THRONG]
After undergoing this scrutiny till I grew absolutely nervous, with a
view of diverting it if possible, and conciliating the good opinion of
the warrior, I took some tobacco from the bosom of my frock, and
offered it to him. He quietly rejected the proffered gift, and, without
speaking, motioned me to return it to its place.
In my previous intercourse with the natives of Nukuheva and Tior, I had
found that the present of a small piece of tobacco would have rendered
any of them devoted to my service. Was this act of the chief a token of
his enmity? Typee or Happar? I asked within myself. I started, for at
the same moment this identical question was asked by the strange being
before me. I turned to Toby; the flickering light of a native taper
showed me his countenance pale with trepidation at this fatal question.
I paused for a second, and I know not by what impulse it was that I
answered, “Typee.” The piece of dusky statuary nodded in approval, and
then murmured, “Mortarkee?” “Mortarkee,” said I, without further
hesitation—“Typee mortarkee.”
What a transition! The dark figures around us leaped to their feet,
clapped their hands in transport, and shouted again and again the
talismanic syllables, the utterance of which appeared to have settled
everything.
When this commotion had a little subsided, the principal chief squatted
once more before me, and throwing himself into a sudden rage, poured
forth a string of philippics, which I was at no loss to understand,
from the frequent recurrence of the word Happar, as being directed
against the natives of the adjoining valley. In all these denunciations
my companion and I acquiesced, while we extolled the character of the
warlike Typees. To be sure our panegyrics were somewhat laconic,
consisting in the repetition of that name, united with the potent
adjective, “Mortarkee.” But this was sufficient, and served to
conciliate the good-will of the natives, with whom our congeniality of
sentiment on this point did more towards inspiring a friendly feeling
than anything else that could have happened.
At last the wrath of the chief evaporated, and in a few moments he was
as placid as ever. Laying his hand upon his breast, he gave me to
understand that his name was “Mehevi,” and that, in return, he wished
me to communicate my appellation. I hesitated for an instant, thinking
that it might be difficult for him to pronounce my real name, and then,
with the most praiseworthy intentions, intimated that I was known as
“Tom.” But I could not have made a worse selection; the chief could not
master it: “Tommo,” “Tomma,” “Tommee,” everything but plain “Tom.” As
he persisted in garnishing the word with an additional syllable, I
compromised the matter with him at the word “Tommo”; and by that name I
went during the entire period of my stay in the valley. The same
proceeding was gone through with Toby, whose mellifluous appellation
was more easily caught.
An exchange of names is equivalent to a ratification of good-will and
amity among these simple people; and as we were aware of this fact, we
were delighted that it had taken place on the present occasion.
Reclining upon our mats, we now held a kind of levee, giving audience
to successive troops of the natives, who introduced themselves to us by
pronouncing their respective names, and retired in high good humour on
receiving ours in return. During the ceremony the greatest merriment
prevailed, nearly every announcement on the part of the islanders being
followed by a fresh sally of gaiety, which induced me to believe that
some of them at least were innocently diverting the company at our
expense, by bestowing upon themselves a string of absurd titles, of the
honour of which we were, of course, entirely ignorant.
All this occupied about an hour, when the throng having a little
diminished, I turned to Mehevi, and gave him to understand that we were
in need of food and sleep. Immediately the attentive chief addressed a
few words to one of the crowd, who disappeared, and returned in a few
moments with a calabash of “poee-poee,” and two or three young
cocoa-nuts stripped of their husks, and with their shells partly
broken. We both of us forthwith placed one of those natural goblets to
our lips, and drained it in a moment of the refreshing draught it
contained. The poee-poee was then placed before us, and even famished
as I was, I paused to consider in what manner to convey it to my mouth.
This staple article of food among the Marquese islanders is
manufactured from the produce of the bread-fruit tree. It somewhat
resembles in its plastic nature our bookbinders’ paste, is of a yellow
colour, and somewhat tart to the taste.
Such was the dish, the merits of which I was now eager to discuss. I
eyed it wistfully for a moment, and then, unable any longer to stand on
ceremony, plunged my hand into the yielding mass, and to the boisterous
mirth of the natives drew it forth laden with the poee-poee, which
adhered in lengthening strings to every finger. So stubborn was its
consistency, that in conveying my heavily-freighted hand to my mouth,
the connecting links almost raised the calabash from the mats on which
it had been placed. This display of awkwardness—in which, by the bye,
Toby kept me company—convulsed the bystanders with uncontrollable
laughter.
As soon as their merriment had somewhat subsided, Mehevi, motioning us
to be attentive, dipped the fore-finger of his right hand in the dish,
and giving it a rapid and scientific twirl, drew it out coated smoothly
with the preparation. With a second peculiar flourish he prevented the
poee-poee from dropping to the ground as he raised it to his mouth,
into which the finger was inserted, and was drawn forth perfectly free
of any adhesive matter. This performance was evidently intended for our
instruction; so I again essayed the feat on the principles inculcated,
but with very ill success.
A starving man, however, little heeds conventional proprieties,
especially on a South Sea island, and accordingly Toby and I partook of
the dish after our own clumsy fashion, beplastering our faces all over
with the glutinous compound, and daubing our hands nearly to the wrist.
This kind of food is by no means disagreeable to the palate of a
European, though at first the mode of eating it may be. For my own
part, after the lapse of a few days I became accustomed to its singular
flavour, and grew remarkably fond of it.
So much for the first course; several other dishes followed it, some of
which were positively delicious. We concluded our banquet by tossing
off the contents of two more young cocoa-nuts, after which we regaled
ourselves with the soothing fumes of tobacco, inhaled from a quaintly
carved pipe which passed round the circle.
During the repast, the natives eyed us with intense curiosity,
observing our minutest motions, and appearing to discover abundant
matter for comment in the most trifling occurrence. Their surprise
mounted the highest, when we began to remove our uncomfortable
garments, which were saturated with rain. They scanned the whiteness of
our limbs, and seemed utterly unable to account for the contrast they
presented to the swarthy hue of our faces, embrowned from a six months’
exposure to the scorching sun of the Line. They felt our skin, much in
the same way that a silk mercer would handle a remarkably fine piece of
satin; and some of them went so far in their investigation as to apply
the olfactory organ.
Their singular behaviour almost led me to imagine that they never
before had beheld a white man; but a few moments’ reflection convinced
me that this could not have been the case; and a more satisfactory
reason for their conduct has since suggested itself to my mind.
Deterred by the frightful stories related of its inhabitants, ships
never enter this bay, while their hostile relations with the tribes in
the adjoining valleys prevent the Typees from visiting that section of
the island where vessels occasionally lie. At long intervals, however,
some intrepid captain will touch on the skirts of the bay, with two or
three armed boats’ crews, and accompanied by an interpreter. The
natives who live near the sea descry the strangers long before they
reach their waters, and aware of the purpose for which they come,
proclaim loudly the news of their approach. By a species of vocal
telegraph the intelligence reaches the inmost recesses of the vale in
an inconceivably short space of time, drawing nearly its whole
population down to the beach laden with every variety of fruit. The
interpreter, who is invariably a “tabooed Kannaka,”[1] leaps ashore
with the goods intended for barter, while the boats, with their oars
shipped, and every man on his thwart, lie just outside the surf,
heading off from the shore, in readiness at the first untoward event to
escape to the open sea. As soon as the traffic is concluded, one of the
boats pulls in under cover of the muskets of the others, the fruit is
quickly thrown into her, and the transient visitors precipitately
retire from what they justly consider so dangerous a vicinity.
The intercourse occurring with Europeans being so restricted, no wonder
that the inhabitants of the valley manifested so much curiosity with
regard to us, appearing as we did among them under such singular
circumstances. I have no doubt that we were the first white men who
ever penetrated thus far back into their territories, or at least the
first who had ever descended from the head of the vale. What had
brought us thither must have appeared a complete mystery to them, and
from our ignorance of the language it was impossible for us to
enlighten them. In answer to inquiries which the eloquence of their
gestures enabled us to comprehend, all that we could reply was, that we
had come from Nukuheva, a place, be it remembered, with which they were
at open war. This intelligence appeared to affect them with the most
lively emotions. “Nukuheva mortarkee?” they asked. Of course we replied
most energetically in the negative.
They then plied us with a thousand questions, of which we could
understand nothing more than that they had reference to the recent
movements of the French, against whom they seemed to cherish the most
fierce hatred. So eager were they to obtain information on this point,
that they still continued to propound their queries long after we had
shown that we were utterly unable to answer them. Occasionally we
caught some indistinct idea of their meaning, when we would endeavour
by every method in our power to communicate the desired intelligence.
At such times their gratification was boundless, and they would
redouble their efforts to make us comprehend them more perfectly. But
all in vain; and in the end they looked at us despairingly, as if we
were the receptacles of invaluable information, but how to come at it
they knew not.
After awhile the group around us gradually dispersed, and we were left
about midnight (as we conjectured) with those who appeared to be
permanent residents of the house. These individuals now provided us
with fresh mats to lie upon, covered us with several folds of tappa,
and then extinguishing the tapers that had been burning, threw
themselves down beside us, and after a little desultory conversation
were soon sound asleep.