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Two Years with the Natives in the Western Pacific
By
Dr. Felix Speiser
With 40 illustrations from photographs and a map
PREFACE
This book is a collection of sketches written on lonely evenings
during my voyage; some of them have been published in daily papers,
and were so kindly received by the public as to encourage me to
issue them in book form. In order to retain the freshness of first
impressions, the original form has been but slightly changed, and
only so much ethnological detail has been added as will help to an
understanding of native life. The book does not pretend to give a
scientific description of the people of the New Hebrides; that will
appear later; it is meant simply to transmit some of the indelible
impressions the traveller was privileged to receive,--impressions
both stern and sweet. The author will be amply repaid if he succeeds
in giving the reader some slight idea of the charm and the terrors
of the islands. He will be proud if his words can convey a vision of
the incomparable beauty and peacefulness of the glittering lagoon,
and of the sublimity of the virgin forest; if the reader can divine
the charm of the native when gay and friendly, and his ferocity when
gloomy and hostile. I have set down some of the joys and some of the
hardships of an explorer's life; and I received so many kindnesses
from all the white colonists I met, that one great object of my
writing is to show my gratitude for their friendly help.
First of all, I would mention His Britannic Majesty's Resident,
Mr. Morton King, who followed my studies with the most sympathetic
interest, was my most hospitable host, and, I may venture to
say, my friend. I would name Mr. Colonna, Resident de France,
Judge Alexander in Port Vila, and Captain Harrowell; in Santo,
Rev. Father Bochu, the Messrs. Thomas, Mr. Fysh, Mr. Clapcott; in
Malo, Mr. M. Wells and Mr. Jacquier; in Vao, Rev. Father Jamond; in
Malekula, Rev. F. Paton, Rev. Jaffrays, Mr. Bird and Mr. Fleming;
in Ambrym, Rev. Dr. J. J. Bowie, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Decent; in
Pentecoste, Mr. Filmer; in Aoba, Mr. Albert and Rev. Grunling; in
Tanna, Rev. Macmillan and Dr. Nicholson; in Venua Lava, Mr. Choyer; in
Nitendi, Mr. Matthews. I am also indebted to the Anglican missionaries,
especially Rev. H. N. Drummond, and to Captain Sinker of the steam
yacht Southern Cross, to the supercargo and captains of the steamers
of Burns, Philp & Company. There are many more who assisted me in
various ways, often at the expense of their own comfort and interest,
and not the least of the impressions I took home with me is, that
nowhere can one find wider hospitality or friendlier helpfulness than
in these islands. This has helped me to forget so many things that
do not impress the traveller favourably.
If this book should come under the notice of any of these kind friends,
the author would be proud to think that they remember him as pleasantly
as he will recall all the friendship he received during his stay in
the New Hebrides.
BASLE, April 1913.
CONTENTS
Chap. Page
Introduction 1
I. Noumea and Port Vila 19
II. Maei, Tongoa, Epi and Malekula 28
III. The Segond Channel--Life on a Plantation 35
IV. Recruiting for Natives 53
V. Vao 85
VI. Port Olry and a "Sing-Sing" 109
VII. Santo 136
VIII. Santo (continued)--Pygmies 161
IX. Santo (continued)--Pigs 171
X. Climbing Santo Peak 179
XI. Ambrym 191
XII. Pentecoste 224
XIII. Aoba 241
XIV. Loloway--Malo--The Banks Islands 250
XV. Tanna 270
XVI. The Santa Cruz Islands 277
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Shore in Graciosa Bay Frontispiece
Facing page
Women From the Reef Islands in Carlisle Bay 3
Native Taro Field on Maevo 10
Man from Nitendi working the Loom 15
A Cannibal before his Hut on Tanna 22
Dancing Table near Port Sandwich 31
Old Man with Young Wife on Ambrym 40
Front of a Chief's House on Venua Lava 47
Man from Nitendi 54
Cannibal from Big Nambas 61
Woman on Nitendi 70
Canoe on Ureparapara 77
Dancing-Ground on Vao, with Ancestor Houses 85
Dancing-Ground on Vao 93
Woman from Tanna 99
House Fences on Vao 106
Gamal near Port Olry 115
Group of Large and Small Drums near Port Sandwich 129
View along the Shore of a Coral Island 136
Interior of a Gamal on Venua Lava 147
Wild Mountain Scenery in the District of the Pygmies 163
Irrigated Taro Field on Santo 179
Dwelling of a Trader on Ambrym 191
View from Hospital--Dip Point 199
Women cooking on Ambrym 205
Fern Trees on Ambrym 218
Group of Drums and Statues on Malekula 227
Cooking-House on Aoba 241
Fire-Rubbing 244
Tattooing on Aoba 251
Dwelling-House on Gaua 255
Ancestor-House on Gaua 258
Drum Concert on Ureparapara 261
Interior of a Gamal on Gaua 264
Men from Tanna 270
Women from Tanna 272
Canoe from Nitendi 277
Man from Nitendi, Shooting 279
Man from Nitendi, with Pearl Shell Nose 284
Man from Tucopia 287
Map 291
TWO YEARS WITH THE NATIVES IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC
INTRODUCTION
Late in the sixteenth century the Spaniards made several voyages
in search of a continent in the southern part of the great Pacific
Ocean. Alvara Mendana de Neyra, starting in 1568 from the west coast of
South America and following about the sixth degree southern latitude,
found the Solomon Islands, which he took for parts of the desired
continent. In 1595 he undertook another voyage, keeping a more
southerly course, and discovered the Queen Charlotte Islands; the
largest of these, Nitendi, he called Santa Cruz, and gave the fitting
name of Graciosa Bay to the lovely cove in which he anchored. He tried
to found a colony here, but failed. Mendana died in Santa Cruz, and
his lieutenant, Pedro Vernandez de Quiros, led the expedition home. In
Europe, Quiros succeeded in interesting the Spanish king, Philip III.,
in the idea of another voyage, so that in 1603 he was able to set sail
from Spain with three ships. Again he reached the Santa Cruz Islands,
and sailing southward from there he landed in 1606 on a larger island,
which he took for the desired Australian continent and called Tierra
Australis del Espiritu Santo; the large bay he named San Iago and San
Felipe, and his anchorage Vera Cruz. He stayed here some months and
founded the city of New Jerusalem at the mouth of the river Jordan
in the curve of the bay. Quiros claims to have made a few sailing
trips thence, southward along the east coast of the island; if he had
pushed on far enough these cruises might easily have convinced him of
the island-nature of the country. Perhaps he was aware of the truth;
certainly the lovely descriptions he gave King Philip of the beauties
of the new territory are so exaggerated that one may be pardoned
for thinking him quite capable of dignifying an island by the name
of continent.
The inevitable quarrels with the natives, and diseases and mutinies
among his crew, forced him to abandon the colony and return home. His
lieutenant, Luis Vaez de Torres, separated from him, discovered and
passed the Torres Straits, a feat of excellent seamanship. Quiros
returned to America. His high-flown descriptions of his discovery did
not help him much, for the king simply ignored him, and his reports
were buried in the archives. Quiros died in poverty and bitterness,
and the only traces of his travels are the names Espiritu Santo,
Bay San Iago and San Felipe, and Jordan, in use to this day.
No more explorers came to the islands till 1767, when a Frenchman,
Carteret, touched at Santa Cruz, and 1768, when Bougainville landed
in the northern New Hebrides, leaving his name to the treacherous
channel between Malekula and Santo.
But all these travellers were thrown into the shade by the immortal
discoverer, James Cook, who, in the New Hebrides, as everywhere else,
combined into solid scientific material all that his predecessors had
left in a state of patchwork. Cook's first voyage made possible the
observation of the transit of Venus from one of the islands of the
Pacific. His second cruise, in search of the Australian continent,
led him, coming from Tongoa, to the New Hebrides, of which he first
sighted Maevo.
Assisted by two brilliant scientists, Reinhold and George Forster,
Cook investigated the archipelago with admirable exactitude, determined
the position of the larger islands, made scientific collections of
all sorts, and gave us the first reliable descriptions of the country
and its people, so that the material he gathered is of the greatest
value even at the present day. The group had formerly been known as
the "Great Cyclades"; Cook gave it its present name of "New Hebrides."
Incited by Cook's surprising results the French Government sent La
Perouse to the islands, but he was shipwrecked in 1788 on Vanikoro, the
southern-most of the Santa Cruz group; remains of this wreck were found
on Vanikoro a few years ago. In 1789 Bligh sighted the Banks Islands,
and in 1793 d'Entrecastaux, sent by Louis XVI. to the rescue of La
Perouse, saw the islands of Santa Cruz. Since that time traffic with
the islands became more frequent; among many travellers we may mention
the French captain, Dumont d'Urville, and the Englishmen, Belcher and
Erskine, who, as well as Markham, have all left interesting accounts.
But with Markham we enter that sad period which few islands of the
Pacific escaped, in which the scum of the white race carried on
their bloodstained trade in whaling products and sandalwood. They
terrorized the natives shamelessly, and when these, naturally enough,
often resorted to cruel modes of defence, they retaliated with deeds
still more frightful, and the bad reputation they themselves made
for the natives served them as a welcome excuse for a system of
extermination. The horrors of slave-trade were added to piracy, so
that in a few decades the native race of the New Hebrides and Banks
Islands was so weakened that in many places to-day its preservation
seems hopeless.
Thus, for the financial advantage of the worst of whites, and from
indolence and short-sighted national rivalry, a race was sacrificed
which in every respect would be worth preserving, and it is a shameful
fact that even to-day such atrocities are not impossible and very
little is done to save the islanders from destruction.
The only factor opposing these conditions was the Mission, which
obtained a foothold in the islands under Bishop John Williams. He
was killed in 1839 by the natives of Erromanga, but the Protestant
missionaries, especially the Presbyterians, would not be repulsed,
and slowly advanced northward, in spite of many losses. To-day the
Presbyterian mission occupies all the New Hebrides, with the exception
of Pentecoste, Aoba and Maevo. To the north lies the field of the
Anglican mission, extending up to the Solomon Islands.
In 1848 Roman Catholic missionaries settled in Aneityum, but soon
gave up the station; in 1887 they returned and spread all over the
archipelago, with the exception of the southern islands and the
Banks group.
Of late years several representatives of free Protestant sects have
come out, but, as a rule, these settle only where they can combine
a profitable trade with their mission work.
Owing to energetic agitation on the part of the Anglican and
Presbyterian Churches, especially of Bishop Patteson and the
Rev. J. G. Paton, men-of-war were ordered to the islands on police
duty, so as to watch the labour-trade. They could not suppress
kidnapping entirely, and the transportation of the natives to
Queensland continued until within the last ten years, when it was
suppressed by the Australian Government, so that to-day the natives
are at least not taken away from their own islands, except those
recruited by the French for New Caledonia.
Unhappily, England and France could not agree as to who should annex
the New Hebrides. Violent agitation in both camps resulted in neither
power being willing to leave the islands to the other, as numerical
superiority on the French side was counter-balanced by the absolute
economical dependence of the colonists upon Australia. England put
the group under the jurisdiction of the "Western Pacific," with
a high commissioner; France retorted by the so-called purchase of
all useful land by the "Societe Francaise des Nouvelles Hebrides,"
a private company, which spent great sums on the islands in a short
time. Several propositions of exchange failed to suit either of the
powers, but both feared the interference of a third, and conditions
in the islands called urgently for a government; so, in 1887, a
dual control was established, each power furnishing a warship and a
naval commissioner, who were to unite in keeping order. This was the
beginning of the present Condominium, which was signed in 1906 and
proclaimed in 1908 in Port Vila; quite a unique form of government
and at the same time a most interesting experiment in international
administration.
The Condominium puts every Englishman or Frenchman under the laws
of his own nation, as represented by its officials; so that these
two nationalities live as they would in any colony of their own,
while all others have to take their choice between these two.
Besides the national laws, the Condominium has a few ordinances to
regulate the intercourse between the two nations, the sale of liquor
and arms to natives, recruiting and treatment of labourers, etc. As
the highest instance in the islands and as a supreme tribunal, an
international court of six members has been appointed: two Spanish,
two Dutch, one English and one French. Thus the higher officials of
the Condominium are:
One English and one French resident commissioner,
One Spanish president of the Court,
One English and one French judge,
One Dutch registrar,
One Spanish prosecuting attorney,
One Dutch native advocate,
One English and one French police commissioner.
The Santa Cruz Islands were annexed by England in 1898 and belong to
the jurisdiction of the Solomon Islands.
Geography
The New Hebrides lie between 165 deg. and 170 deg. east longitude, and reach
from 13 deg. to 20 deg. south latitude. The Santa Cruz Islands lie 116 deg.
east and 11 deg. south.
The New Hebrides and Banks Islands consist of thirteen larger islands
and a great number of islets and rocks, covering an area of about
15,900 km. The largest island is Espiritu Santo, about 107 x 57
km., with 4900 km. surface. They are divided into the Torres group,
the Banks Islands, the Central and the Southern New Hebrides. The
Banks and Torres Islands and the Southern New Hebrides are composed
of a number of isolated, scattered islands, while the Central group
forms a chain, which divides at Epi into an eastern and a western
branch, and encloses a stretch of sea, hemming it in on all sides
except the north. On the coast of this inland sea, especially on the
western islands, large coral formations have grown, changing what was
originally narrow mountain chains, running north and south, to larger
islands. Indeed, most of them seem to consist of a volcanic nucleus,
on which lie great coral banks, often 200 m. high; these usually
drop in five steep steps to the sea, and then merge into the living
coral-reef in the water. Most of the islands, therefore, appear as
typical table-islands, out of which, in the largest ones, rise the
rounded tops of the volcanic stones. They are all very mountainous;
the highest point is Santo Peak, 1500 m. high.
The tides cause very nasty tide-rips in the narrow channels between
the islands of the Central group; but inside, the sea is fairly good,
and the reefs offer plenty of anchorage for small craft. Much less
safe are the open archipelagoes of the Banks and Torres Islands and
of the Southern New Hebrides, where the swell of the open ocean is
unbroken by any land and harbours are scarce.
There are three active volcanoes on the New Hebrides--the mighty
double crater on Ambrym, the steep cone of Lopevi, and the volcano
of Tanna. There is a half-extinct volcano on Venua Lava, and many
other islands show distinct traces of former volcanic activity,
such as Meralava and Ureparapara, one side of which has broken down,
so that now there is a smooth bay where once the lava boiled.
Rivers are found only on the larger islands, where there are volcanic
rocks. In the coral rocks the rain-water oozes rapidly away, so
that fresh-water springs are not frequently found, in spite of very
considerable rainfall.
Climate
The climate is not hot and very equable. The average temperature in
Efate in 1910 was 24.335 deg. C.; the hottest month was February, with
an average of 27.295 deg., the coolest, July with 11.9 deg. C. The lowest
absolute temperature was 11.9 deg. C. in August, and the highest 35.6 deg.
C. in March. The average yearly variation, therefore, was 5.48 deg.,
and the absolute difference 23.7 deg..
The rainfall is very heavy. In December the maximum, 564 mm., was
reached, and in June the minimum, 22 mm. The total rainfall was 3.012
mm., giving a daily average of 8.3 mm.
These figures, taken from a table in the Neo-Hebridais, show that the
year is divided into a cool, dry season and a hot, damp one. From May
to October one enjoys agreeable summer days, bright and cool, with a
predominant south-east trade-wind, that rises and falls with the sun
and creates a fairly salubrious climate. From November to April the
atmosphere is heavy and damp, and one squall follows another. Often
there is no wind, or the wind changes quickly and comes in heavy gusts
from the north-west. This season is the time for cyclones, which occur
at least once a year; happily, their centre rarely touches the islands,
as they lie somewhat out of the regular cyclone track.
A similar climate, with but slightly higher temperature, prevails on
the Santa Cruz Islands.
Flora and Fauna
The vegetation of the New Hebrides is luxurious enough to make all
later visitors share Quiros' amazement. The possibilities for the
planter are nearly inexhaustible, and the greatest difficulty is
that of keeping the plantations from the constant encroachments of
the forest. Yet the flora is poorer in forms than that of Asiatic
regions, and in the southern islands it is said to be much like that
of New Caledonia.
As a rule, thick forest covers the islands; only rarely we find areas
covered with reed-grass. On Erromanga these are more frequent.
In the Santa Cruz Islands the flora seems richer than in the New
Hebrides.
Still more simple than the flora is the fauna. Of mammals there are
only the pig, dog, a flying-fox and the rat, of which the first two
have probably been imported by the natives. There are but few birds,
reptiles and amphibies, but the few species there are are very
prolific, so that we find swarms of lizards and snakes, the latter
all harmless Boidae, but occasionally of considerable size.
Crocodiles are found only in the Santa Cruz Islands, and do not grow
so large there as in the Solomon Islands.
Animal life in the sea is very rich; turtles and many kinds of fish
and Cetaceae are plentiful.
Native Population
The natives belong to the Melanesian race, which is a collective
name for the dark-skinned, curly-haired, bearded inhabitants of the
Pacific. The Melanesians are quite distinct from the Australians,
and still more so from the lank-haired, light-skinned Polynesians of
the eastern islands. Probably a mixture of Polynesians and Melanesians
are the Micronesians, who are light-skinned but curly-haired, and of
whom we find representatives in the New Hebrides. The island-nature
of the archipelago is very favourable to race-mixture; and as we know
that on some islands there were several settlements of Polynesians,
it is not surprising to find a very complex mingling of races, which
it is not an easy task to disentangle. It would seem, however, that
we have before us remnants of four races: a short, dark, curly-haired
and perhaps original race, a few varieties of the tall Melanesian
race, arrived in the islands in several migrations, an old Polynesian
element as a relic of its former migrations eastward, and a present
Polynesian element from the east.
Every traveller will notice that the lightest population is in the
south and north-east of the New Hebrides, while the darkest is in
the north-west, and the ethnological difference corresponds to this
division.
In the Banks Islands we find, probably owing to recent immigration,
more Polynesian blood than in the northern New Hebrides; in the Santa
Cruz group the process of mixing seems to be just going on.
The number of natives in the New Hebrides and Banks Islands
amounted, according to the approximate census of the British Resident
Commissioner in 1910, to 65,000. At a conservative estimate we may say
that before the coming of the whites, that is, a generation ago, it was
ten times that, i.e. 650,000. For to judge from present conditions,
the accounts of old men and the many ruined villages, it is evident
that the race must have decreased enormously.
Language
The languages belong to the Melanesian and Polynesian classes. They are
split up into numerous dialects, so widely different that natives of
different districts can hardly, if at all, understand each other. It
is evident that owing to the seclusion of the villages caused by the
general insecurity of former days, and the lack of any literature,
the language developed differently in every village.
On some islands things are so bad that one may easily walk in one day
through several districts, in each of which is spoken a language quite
unintelligible to the neighbours; there are even adjoining villages
whose natives have to learn each other's language; this makes them
fairly clever linguists. Where, by migrations, conditions have become
too complicated, the most important of the dialects has been adopted
as a kind of "lingua franca."
Under these circumstances I at once gave up the idea of learning a
native language, as I never stopped anywhere more than a few weeks; and
as the missionaries have done good work in the cause of philology, my
services were not needed. I was, therefore, dependent on interpreters
in "biche la mar," a language which contains hardly more than fifty
words, and which is spoken on the plantations, but is quite useless
for discussing any abstract subject. In nearly every village there
is some man who can speak biche la mar.
Colonization
As we have seen, colonization in the New Hebrides was begun by the
whalers, who had several stations in the southern islands. They had,
however, little intercourse with the natives, and their influence
may be considered fairly harmless.
More dangerous were the sandalwood traders, who worked chiefly in
Erromanga. They were not satisfied with buying the valuable wood
from the natives, but tried to get directly at the rich supplies
inland. Naturally, they came into conflict with the natives, and
fierce wars arose, in which the whites fought with all the weapons
unscrupulous cruelty can wield. As a result, the population of
Erromanga has decreased from between 5000 and 10,000 to 800.
Happily, the northern islands were not so rich in sandalwood, so that
contact with the whites came later, through the coprah-makers. Coprah
is dried cocoa-nut, which is used in manufacturing soap, and the
great wealth of cocoa-nut palms attracted coprah-makers as early
as the 'Seventies of the last century. They were nearly all ruined
adventurers, either escaped from the Noumea penitentiary or otherwise
the scum of the white race. Such individuals would settle near
a good anchorage close to some large village, build a straw hut,
and barter coprah for European goods and liquor. They made a very
fair profit, but were constantly quarrelling with the natives, whom
they enraged by all sorts of brutalities. The frequent murders of
such traders were excusable, to say the least, and many later ones
were acts of justifiable revenge. The traders were kept in contact
with civilization through small sailing-vessels, which brought them
new goods and bought their coprah. This easy money-making attracted
more whites, so that along the coasts of the more peaceable islands
numerous Europeans settled, and at present there are so many of these
stations that the coprah-trade is no longer very profitable.
Naturally, many of these settlers started plantations, and thus grew
up the plantation centres of Mele, Port Havannah, Port Sandwich, Epi
and the Segond Channel. Many plantations were created by the "Societe
Francaise des Nouvelles Hebrides," but owing to bad management these
have never yet brought any returns.
Thus, to the alcohol peril was added another danger to the
natives,--work on the plantations. They were kidnapped, overworked,
ill-fed; it was slavery in its worst shape, and the treatment of the
hands is best illustrated by the mortality which, in some places,
reached 44 per cent. per annum. In those days natives were plentiful
and labour easy to get, and nobody worried about the future; so the
ruin of the race began, and to-day their number hardly suffices for
the needs of the planters.
Then the slave-trade to Queensland, Fiji, even South America began,
so that the population, relatively small from the first, decreased
alarmingly, all the more so as they were decimated by dysentery,
measles, tuberculosis and other diseases.
Against all these harmful influences the missions, unsupported as they
were by any authority, could only fight by protests in the civilized
countries; these proved effectual at last, so that the missions deserve
great credit for having preserved the native race. Yet it cannot be
said that they have restored its vitality, except in Tanna. It seems
as if the system of imbibing the native with so much European culture,
and yet separating him from the whites and regulated labour, had been
noxious to the race, for nearly everywhere the Christianized natives
die out just as fast as the heathen population.
About ten years after the French, the English began planting, and
to-day nearly all arable land along the coast is cultivated. The
English suffer much less from lack of labour, which is doubtless owing
to their more humane and just treatment of the hands. In the first
place, they usually come from better stock than the French, and,
secondly, they are strictly controlled by the Government, whereas
the French Government does not even attempt to enforce its own laws.
There is now some question of importing Indian coolies; the great
expense this would entail would be a just punishment for the
short-sighted cruelty with which the most valuable product of the
islands--their population--has been destroyed. Only by compelling
each native to work for a definite period could a sufficient amount
of labour be produced to-day; but such a system, while extremely
beneficial to the race as a whole, stands but a poor chance of being
introduced.
The products of the islands are coprah, coffee, corn, cocoa and, of
late years, cotton. The chief item, however, is coprah, for the islands
seem specially suited for the growing of cocoa-nut palms. Rubber does
not seem to thrive.
In spite of the great number of officials, the Government does not
make itself much felt outside the larger settlements, at least on the
French side. There are not yet magistrates on each island, so that
the Government hears only so much about the crimes committed on the
islands as the planters care to tell, and naturally they do not tell
too much. The British Government is represented by two inspectors,
who frequently visit all the British plantations and look into labour
conditions; the activity of the French authorities is restricted to
occasional visits from the Resident.
Thus the natives have no means of complaining about the whites,
while they have to submit to any punishment they may get on the
accusation of a colonist. This would be a very one-sided affair;
happily, the missionaries represent the interests of the natives,
and the power of the Government does not reach far inland. There the
natives are quite independent, so that only a few hours away from the
coast cannibalism still flourishes. Formerly, expeditions from the
men-of-war frightened the natives; to-day they know that resistance
is easy. It is, therefore, not the merit of the Government or the
planters if the islands are fairly pacified, but only of the missions,
which work mostly through native teachers. Still, the missions have
had one bad effect: they have undermined the old native authorities
and thus created general anarchy to complete the destruction begun
by European civilization.
In the Santa Cruz Islands there is only one plantation, worked by boys
from the Solomon Islands, as the Santa Cruz natives are not yet used to
regular work. But to-day they frequently recruit for the plantations
on the Solomons, and there come into contact with civilization. There
the labour conditions are strictly watched by the British Government;
still, boys returning from there have sometimes imported diseases,
generally tuberculosis, which have reduced the population by half.
Commerce
Communications with Sydney, the commercial centre of the Western
Pacific, are established by means of a French and an English line
of steamers. A few small steamers and schooners ply at irregular
intervals between Noumea and the New Hebrides.
The English steamers fly the flag of Burns, Philp & Company, the
great Australian firm which trades with numerous island groups of the
South Seas. Their steamers touch the Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands,
stop for a few days at Vila, then call in a four weeks' cruise at
nearly all the plantations in the islands. They carry the mail and
ply a profitable trade with the planters; they also do errands for
the colonists in Sydney, procuring anything from a needle to a horse
or a house. Being practically without serious competitors they can set
any price they please on commodities, so that they are a power in the
islands and control the trade of the group; all the more so as many
planters are dependent on them for large loans. To me, Burns, Philp &
Company were extremely useful, as on board their ships I could always
find money, provisions and articles for barter, send my collections
to Vila, and occasionally travel from one island to another.
The French line is run by the Messageries Maritimes, on quite a
different plan: it is merely for mail-service and does not do any
trading. Its handsome steamer travels in three weeks from Sydney
to Noumea and Port Vila, visits about three plantations and leaves
the islands after one week. This line offers the shortest and most
comfortable connection with Sydney, taking eight days for the trip,
while the English steamers take eleven.
The port of entrance to the group is Port Vila, chosen for its
proximity to New Caledonia and Sydney; it is a good harbour, though
somewhat narrow.
CHAPTER I
NOUMEA AND PORT VILA
On April 26, 1910, I arrived at Noumea by the large and very old
mail-steamer of the Messageries Maritimes, plying between Marseilles
and Noumea, which I had boarded at Sydney.
Noumea impresses one very unfavourably. A time of rapid development has
been followed by a period of stagnation, increased by the suppression
of the penitentiary, the principal source of income to the town. The
latter has never grown to the size originally planned and laid out, and
its desolate squares and decayed houses are a depressing sight. Two or
three steamers and a few sailing-vessels are all the craft the harbour
contains; a few customs officers and discharged convicts loaf on the
pier, where some natives from the Loyalty Islands sleep or shout.
Parallel streets lead from the harbour to the hills that fence the
town to the landward. Under roofs of corrugated sheet-iron run the
sidewalks, along dark stores displaying unappetizing food, curios and
cheap millinery. At each corner is a dismal sailors' bar, smelling of
absinthe. Then we come to an empty, decayed square, where a crippled,
noseless "Gallia" stands on a fountain; some half-drunk coachmen
lounge dreaming on antediluvian cabs, and a few old convicts sprawl
on benches.
Along the hillside are the houses of the high officials and the better
class of people. There is a club, where fat officials gather to play
cards and drink absinthe and champagne; they go to the barber's, roll
cigarettes, drink some more absinthe and go to bed early, after having
visited a music-hall, in which monstrous dancing-girls from Sydney
display their charms and moving-picture shows present blood-curdling
dramas. Then there is the Governor's residence, the town hall, etc.,
and the only event in this quiet city of officials is the arrival of
the mail-steamer, when all the "beau-monde" gathers on the pier to
welcome the few passengers, whether known or unknown.
In Noumea itself there is no industry, and the great export of minerals
does not touch the town. Once, Noumea was meant to form a base of
naval operations, and strongly fortified. But after a few years
this idea was abandoned, after having cost large sums, and now the
fortifications are left to decay and the heavy, modern guns to rust.
In spite of a prohibition, one may climb up to the forts, and be
rewarded by a beautiful view of the island, which does not impress one
as tropical. The rounded hills are covered with shrubs, and only in the
valleys are there a few trees; we are surprised by the strong colouring
of the distant mountains, shining purple through the violet atmosphere.
Seaward, we see the white line of the breakers, indicating the great
barrier-reef which surrounds the isle with an almost impenetrable belt;
a few channels only lead from the shore to the open ocean.
On the 1st of May the Pacific arrived at Noumea, and her departure
for Vila, next day, ended a most tiresome stay.
It was a sad, rainy day when we left. Impatiently the passengers waited
till the freight was loaded,--houses, iron, horses, cases of tins,
etc. Of course we were six hours late, and all the whites were angry,
while the few natives did not care, but found a dry corner, rolled
themselves up in their blankets and dozed. When we finally left,
heavy squalls were rushing over the sea; in the darkness a fog came
on, so that we had soon to come to anchor. But next morning we had
passed the Loyalty Islands and were rolling in the heavy swell the
south-east trade raises on the endless surface of the Pacific.
Next day, through the light mist of a summer morning, the forms
of islands appeared, flat, bluish-grey lines, crowned with rounded
hills. Slowly finer points appeared, the ridge of mountains showed
details and we could recognize the tops of the giant banyan trees,
towering above the forest as a cathedral does over the houses of a
city. We saw the surf, breaking in the coral cliffs of flat shores,
found the entrance to the wide bay, noticed the palms with elegantly
curved trunks bending over the beach, and unexpectedly entered the
lagoon, that shone in the bright sun like a glittering sapphire.
We had passed the flat cliffs, covered only with iron-wood trees,
and now the water was bordered by high coral plateaux, from which a
luxuriant forest fell down in heavy cascades, in a thickness almost
alarming, like the eruption of a volcano, when one cloud pushes
the other before it and new ones are ever behind. It seemed as if
each tree were trying to strangle the others in a fight for life,
while the weakest, deprived of their ground, clung frantically to
the shore and would soon be pushed far out over the smooth, shining
sea. There the last dense crowns formed the beautiful fringe of the
green carpet stretched soft and thick over the earth.
Only here and there the shore was free, showing the coral strand as
a line of white that separated the blue of the sea from the green
of the forest and intensified every colour in the landscape. It was
a vision of the most magnificent luxuriance, so different from the
view which the barren shores of eastern New Caledonia offer.
The bay became narrower and we approached the port proper. Small
islands appeared, between which we had glimpses of cool bays
across glassy, deep-green water, and before us lay a broken line of
light-coloured houses along the beach, while on the plateau behind
we could see the big court-house and some villas.
A little distance off-shore we dropped anchor, and were soon surrounded
by boats, from which the inhabitants came on board. A kind planter
brought me and my belongings ashore, and I took up my quarters in
the only hotel in Port Vila, the so-called "blood-house," thus named
because of its history.
Vila is merely the administration centre, and consists of nothing but
a few stores and the houses of the Condominium officials. There is
little life, and only the arrival of the ships brings some excitement,
so that the stranger feels bored and lonely, especially as the
"blood-house " does not offer many comforts and the society there is
not of the choicest.
I immediately went to present my letters of introduction to the French
Resident. The offices of the British Residence were still on the small
island of Iariki, which I could not reach without a boat. The French
Residence is a long, flat, unattractive building; the lawn around the
house was fairly well kept, but perfectly bare, in accordance with
the French idea of salubrity, except for a few straggling bushes near
by. Fowls and horses promenaded about. But the view is one of the most
charming to be found in the islands. Just opposite is the entrance to
the bay, and the two points frame the sea most effectively, numerous
smaller capes deepening the perspective. Along their silhouettes
the eye glides into far spaces, to dive beyond the horizon into
infinity. Iariki is just in front, and we can see the well-kept park
around the British Residence, with its mixture of art and wilderness;
near by is the smooth sea shining in all colours. While the shores
are of a yellowish green, the sea is of every shade of blue, and
the green of the depths is saturated with that brilliant turquoise
tint which is enough to put one into a light and happy humour. This
being my first sight of a tropical landscape, my delight was great,
and made up for any disappointment human inefficiency had occasioned.
The French Resident, Mr. C, received me most kindly, and did me the
honour of inviting me to be his guest. I had planned to stay in Vila
a few weeks, so as to get acquainted with the country and hire boys;
but the Resident seemed to think that I only intended a short visit
to the islands, and he proposed to take me with him on a cruise
through the archipelago and to deposit me at the Segond Channel, an
invitation I could not well refuse. My objection of having no servants
was overruled by the Resident's assurance that I could easily find some
in Santo. I therefore made my preparations and got my luggage ready.
In the afternoon, Mr. C. lent me his boat to go and pay my respects
to Mr. Morton King, the British Resident. The difference between the
two residences was striking, but it would be out of place to dwell on
it here. It may be caused by the fact that the French Resident is,
as a rule, recalled every six months, while the British Resident
had been at Vila for more than three years. Mr. King received me
most cordially and also offered his hospitality, which, however,
I was unable to accept. Later on Mr. King assisted and sheltered me
in the most generous manner, so that I shall always remember his help
and friendship with sincere gratitude.
I also had the honour of making the acquaintance of the British judge
and of most of the Condominium officials.
It was a dull morning when we left Vila on board the French Government
yacht. In days gone by she had been an elegant racing-boat, but
was now somewhat decayed and none too clean; however, she had been
equipped with a motor, so that we were independent of the wind.
Besides the Resident and myself there were on board the French judge,
the police commissioner, and a crew of boys from the Loyalty Islands
near New Caledonia. These are excellent sailors and are employed in
Vila as French policemen. They are very strong and lively and great
fighters, and would be perfect material for a police force were they
not such confirmed drunkards. Because of this defect they all had
to be dismissed soon afterwards and sent back to their own country,
as in Vila, instead of arresting drunken natives, they had generally
been drunk themselves and were often fighting in the streets. But
on board ship, where they had no opportunity to get drunk, they were
very willing and always cheerful and ready for sport of any kind.
We did not travel far that first day, but stopped after a few hours'
sail in Port Havannah, north of the Bay of Mele. This port would be one
of the best harbours in the group, as it is almost entirely landlocked;
only, the water is so deep that small craft cannot anchor. Yet it
would be preferable to Port Vila, as the climate is much better, Vila
being one of the hottest, stuffiest and rainiest spots in the group,
and its harbour is becoming too small for the increased traffic of
the last few years. Port Vila only became the capital of the islands
when the English influence grew stronger, while all the land round
Port Havannah belonged to a French company.
We spent the afternoon on shore shooting pigeons. Besides a few ducks,
flying-foxes and wild pigs, pigeons are the only game in the islands;
but this pigeon-shooting is a peculiar sport and requires a special
enthusiasm to afford pleasure for any length of time. The birds are
extremely shy and generally sit on the tops of the highest trees
where a European can hardly discover them. The natives, however,
are very clever in detecting them, but when they try to show you the
pigeon it generally flies off and is lost; and if you shoot it, it is
hard to find, even for a native. The natives themselves are capable
of approaching the birds noiselessly and unseen, because of their
colour, so as to shoot them from a short distance. My pigeon-shooting
usually consisted in waiting for several hours in the forest, with
very unsatisfactory results, so that I soon gave it up.
We were all unsuccessful on this particular day, but it ended most
gaily with a dance at the house of a French planter.
We slept on board, rocked softly by the ship, against which the waves
plashed in cosy whispering. The sky was bright with stars, but below
decks it was dark and stuffy. Now and then a big fish jumped out of the
black sea, otherwise it was quiet, dull and gloomy as a dismal dream.
Next day we rose early and went shooting again. Probably because we
had been given the best wishes of an old French lady the result was as
unsatisfactory as the evening before. We then resumed our journey in
splendid weather, with a stiff breeze, and flying through blue spaces
on the bright waves, we rapidly passed several small islands, sighted
"Monument Rock," a lonely cliff that rises abruptly out of the sea
to a height of 130 m., and arrived late in the afternoon at Maei,
our destination.