CARY LEARNS FACTS ABOUT "CHARLIE"--A BATTLE AMONG
THE NATIVES--THE MURDER OF THE KING.
My joy at this unexpected meeting was unbounded. It was now about a
year since I had seen a white man. David inquired how I came there and
I briefly told him my story. He said he had seen casks and pieces of
boats which he had called American, and concluded that a ship had been
wrecked on some of the weather islands. In his turn he told me his
story. He had left the brig Calder some thirteen months before, bearing
presents from the captain to the king of Ambow, together with a request
that he collect all the turtle shell he could, the captain promising
to return in a few months and trade with him for it. But now the time
was so long that he had given up all hope of seeing the brig again.
In fact, he had no desire to leave the island, as he was a particular
favorite with the king and chiefs and was a chief himself. He informed
me that there were two other white men who lived with him; one came
in the Manila brig, the other had lived at the Feejees ten or twelve
years. The king of Ambow valued the white men highly, as they had
previously been troubled very much by the mountaineers coming down and
committing depredations on the sea-coast villages. They were very much
afraid of the white men's muskets, however, and had not troubled them
since they had been with them.
It being near night and David's chief being anxious to get to the
island of Ovalau, about seven miles distant, he took leave of me,
expecting to meet me again at Ambow. We then landed and hauled up our
canoes as our king had received intelligence that the king of Ambow was
not quite ready for us, having to repair some houses for our reception,
which had been partially burned a short time before. The inhabitants
of this island brought us provisions in abundance, of which we ate
heartily and then retired for the night. We spent three days here,
and on the fourth launched our canoes and made sail for Ambow, where
we arrived about ten o'clock in the forenoon and anchored, when the
natives painted themselves, dressed and tied large bundles of tappah on
their backs, as presents for the king.
When all was prepared we cast off and headed for the landing. When
within speaking distance the natives saluted each other by shouting
"Dohoah". (This word is used only to kings and chiefs.) Directly the
queens came down to welcome our queens and escort them to the house
prepared for their reception. They were very tastefully ornamented with
most beautiful and fragrant flowers, and formed a line at the water's
edge, repeating the word "myinafuandooa", which is the salutation for
the queens. We then landed and proceeded to the house prepared for us,
the king and his chiefs taking with them the loads of presents which,
after some ceremony, were presented to the king.
The next morning I met David Whippey again, who came to invite me to
the island on which he lived (Ovalau). We passed the day and evening
very agreeably at my king's house. The chiefs, hearing of my intended
visit with David, desired me to return as soon as possible. They had
become very much attached to me and desired to have me in sight always,
yet their kindly feeling toward me would not let them refuse me any
liberty I wanted. I had always made it a rule never to oppose them and
thus had got their perfect good will. The natural disposition of these
natives is good and they possess kind feelings for those whom they
like; they also possess strong passions and when enraged are savage
beyond description and would kill anyone who displeased them with as
little compunction as civilized people would kill a rat.
David spent the night with me and the next morning we started for
Ovalau. This island was very much like the rest of the group,
mountainous, well wooded, with plenty of water. A considerable portion
was under cultivation. It also abounded with beautiful flowers of
the most exquisite fragrance and all kinds of tropical fruits grew
in profusion. The natives seemed very friendly. Here I spent three
days very pleasantly and then returned to Ambow to my king, who was
delighted to think I had come back so soon, but when I told him that I
was going to stop with the king of Ambow, he was exceedingly sorrowful
and used every argument he could to induce me to return to him. I told
him, however, that I was anxious to get home and I thought my chances
here would be better than at his island. He still insisted that I had
better go home with him, and so it proved, for there was a ship touched
at his island shortly after his return. Though he had the power to
force me to go with him, he would not compel me to return against my
will, and when I bade him good-bye he took me by the hand and said:
"William, I am very sorry you are going to leave me. I shall be very
lonesome when I go home without you, but I shall always be your friend
and you will know where to find me." So we parted.
I then went to the king of Ambow and told him I intended to stop with
him, which pleased him very much. He said he was father to all white
people who came to stop with him, and so long as I was under his
protection no one would dare molest me. He told me "Charlie" stopped
a great many years with him, was a great warrior and conquered all
the islands. I inquired of some of the white men who Charlie was and
found that he was a white man who was cast away in the brig Eliza,
of Providence, on the island of Nivy, about fifty miles northeast
of Ambow. The rest of the brig's crew were taken off, but Charlie
preferred stopping among the natives and came to Ambow, bringing with
him three or four muskets and all the ammunition he could procure. When
he arrived at Ambow he was a great wonder to the natives, being the
first white man they had ever seen. The women and children were very
much afraid of him and thousands of the inhabitants came to view him.
He had not been here long before war was declared against one of
the neighboring towns, and an army was raised to go against them.
Charlie applied to the king for permission to go with them and use
his muskets, and after much persuasion was allowed to do so. When the
attack commenced Charlie singled out one of the enemy's chiefs and, as
he raised his spear to dart, he levelled at him and shot him dead. The
natives, hearing the report of the musket and seeing their chief fall,
immediately fled in the greatest confusion, the Ambow people following
and killing all who came within their reach. They plundered the town,
set fire to it, and marched home in triumph without the loss of a man.
The king then made him head chief, giving him command of the whole
tribe, and he conquered the entire group, but he was very severe with
the natives and would shoot them for the most trivial offenses. Charlie
was finally killed in a battle at the town of Uylah.
I remained at Ambow six or seven months and during this time made
several excursions with them against their enemies to different parts
of the island and to other islands. The inhabitants of the mountains
and the sea coast are most always at war with each other. The
mountaineers are very wild and savage, and often attack an unprotected
town and massacre or make prisoners of all the inhabitants. The
prisoners they eat. On one of these excursions to the island of Coroo,
in one day we took and burned seven villages. We had to march over
rocky mountains and through almost impassable woods. I was excessively
fatigued. At night we had sentinels stationed round our encampment and
the natives were drumming and singing most of the night, so that I
slept but very little.
At daylight we continued our march through dense woods, over rocks
and hills, until we arrived before the town of Angarmy, which we were
going to attack. This was a large place and had a strong fence around
it. Our army was composed of about 4,000 warriors, of whom about 100
had muskets. Before we commenced the attack our army was drawn up in
a circle, and the head chief entered the circle with a bunch of reeds
about ten inches long. Immediately all was silent. He gave a piece
of reed to each tribe, and at the same time addressed a few words of
encouragement, telling them that the town must be taken and each man
must fight well and do his duty.
After this, one of the chiefs of each tribe ran towards him, holding
his club over his head, saying: "This is the club for the enemy". After
this ceremony they divided into parties so as to attack several places
at once. As soon as we drew near enough the enemy attacked us with
arrows and showers of stones. We then opened fire with the muskets,
which frightened them so that they made offers of peace, offering all
their whales' teeth and the chief's daughter, but their offers were
declined, and when they found we were going to storm the town they fled
to the woods. We entered the town and killed forty of the inhabitants.
One man climbed a coconut tree to secrete himself. He was soon
discovered and fired upon, but they did not kill him. The tree was then
cut down by order of the chief, and the poor fellow was soon dispatched.
We then marched down to our canoes, taking with us five or six female
prisoners and some of the dead bodies for a cannibal feast after we
got home. The next morning we set sail and proceeded to Ovalau, where
we stopped for the night, and the following noon arrived at Ambow.
Before landing, all the young chiefs who had killed some of the enemy
for the first time painted themselves red and black and each one had a
staff with as many strips of white cloth fastened to the end as he had
killed enemies. They then landed and marched up to the priest's house,
where all the old chiefs and priests had assembled. They presented
their staffs to the priests, who stuck them up near the house to remain
as long as they lasted. The dead bodies were also carried before the
priest and songs of victory sung over them, after which they were
divided among each tribe.
In accordance with their custom, the young warriors did not enter any
house for several days and nights for fear of offending the spirits.
They believed that if they did not observe this ceremony they would
be killed in the next battle. At night they formed a circle, marching
round and round, singing and shouting, taking it watch and watch half
at a time. After three or four days they washed off their paint and
were at liberty to do as they pleased, believing then they would be
protected by their gods in all future wars.
A short time after this we were visited by a tribe of natives from
Raver, who came in two large double canoes, loaded with tarrow as a
present for the king. These natives were the finest looking and most
intelligent appearing of any I had ever seen. I took a fancy to go to
their island with them and make a visit, so I asked the chief to carry
me and he readily consented. I then went to the king and told him of
my intended visit. He gave me liberty to go, but requested me to be
sure to return. The next morning we started and soon arrived there, it
being only about seven or eight miles from Ambow. I found it a most
delightful place situated on the banks of a fine large river. I was
much pleased with the place and the people, and concluded to make it my
home for a while, so I applied to a young chief (brother to the king)
and told him I should like to stop with him. He seemed much pleased and
told me to take the choice of his houses, of which he had three. I took
one which was occupied by one of his wives (he had five) and lived here
very comfortably, the chief's wife treating me with great kindness.
This chief had several brothers, all great warriors; the oldest was
king, but the others wanted to be, so they got up a little conspiracy
and declared war on him. He was too strong for them, however, so they
made peace with him and went to Ambow. At this time all had been
quiet for a year. One day, in company with a Manila man, I went down
to a small island about three miles distant, fishing. We had rather
indifferent luck and concluded to stop all night. Before morning news
came to us that the king had been shot by one of his brothers who came
from Ambow in a small canoe. It being a rainy, squally evening, he
succeeded in reaching the town, unperceived, went to the king's house,
pointed his musket through the doorway and shot him, wounding him so
badly that he died in a short time. By the time the alarm could be
given the assassin had fled beyond their reach. The Umbaty (priest)
was called to save the king's life, but he was past his art and died
sincerely lamented by his subjects.
The day after his death I attended his funeral. The chief was laid
out on mats, with about one hundred fathoms of cloth wound around
him. His face was painted black as though prepared for war, and his
musket and war club lay by his side. His favorite wife sat at his head
moaning most piteously and crying aloud, "Waloa nongu turang owsar cani
lolocoo!" (Oh, my dear chief, I will soon follow you!) The rest of his
wives, three more, came in and sat down beside the corpse and moaned
bitterly--and well they might, for they were all to be strangled and
buried with him. When all was ready, pieces of cloth were twisted up
hard, a single turn taken around their necks, and a man took hold of
each end. At a signal given by a chief (brother to one of the wives)
these men hauled with all their might, and soon put an end to the
troubles of the unfortunate women. They then kissed the hands and feet
of the dead, carried them to the place appointed and interred them. The
next day all the men and women shaved their heads, and the children had
their little fingers cut off. This was done to show their sorrow and
respect for the deceased. They believed that unless they did this the
spirits of the dead would punish them by sending sickness and cutting
off their crops.