and had visited most of them, could form no conjecture in regard to the
one now in sight. Presently some of our crew began to whisper
mysteriously together, and the word was passed from one to another, that
this was no other than the ill-famed island of Angatan. I knew that an
island of that name, the subject of a thousand bug-bear stories, to
which I had often incredulously listened, was said to lie somewhere to
the north of Hao; but I had never met with any one who could give me any
definite and satisfactory information respecting it.
"According to general report, its inhabitants were cannibals, and were
in the habit of murdering and devouring all who were so unfortunate as
to be cast upon their shores, or who had the hardihood or temerity
voluntarily to land upon them. It was also said, that the island had
never been visited by white men; and, owing to the popular belief in
regard to the ferocious and warlike character of its people, it is
certain that the natives of the neighbouring groups could not, as a
general thing, be induced by any consideration to engage in a voyage
having this reputed cannibal island for its destination; voyages of this
kind having been sometimes contemplated, but never to my knowledge
actually undertaken.
"Among the other marvellous reports concerning Angatan, was one, to the
effect that its inhabitants were possessed of immense hoards of pearls
and shell, of the value of which they were utterly ignorant.
"One of our crew, a garrulous Hao-man, and an inveterate boaster,
declared that, about a year since, he had embarked for Angatan with a
party of Chain Islanders, in a large double canoe, being tempted to
incur the perils of the enterprise, by the prospect of the enormous
gains that might be realised in trading with the natives, if a friendly
intercourse could once be opened with them. They had succeeded in
reaching the island; but scarcely had they set foot upon the shore, when
they were attacked by a party of the inhabitants, who issued suddenly
from the forest, and, disregarding all their friendly signs and
gestures, fell upon them, and killed the greater part of their number,
the rest making their escape with difficulty, and solely through the
courage, presence of mind, and extraordinary exertions of the narrator,
without which they must all infallibly have perished. He described the
islanders as fierce, wild-looking men, of gigantic stature, armed with
long spears, and heavy clubs set with sharks' teeth, and wearing little
or no clothing; yet, strange to tell, around the necks of these almost
naked savages were strings of the richest pearls, instead of the common
ornaments of ovula-shells.
"Our veracious Hao-man, most solemnly asseverated the entire and literal
truth of all these particulars, and declared that the island before us
was the veritable cannibal Angatan, the singular black rock enabling
him, as he said, to identify it beyond all doubt. To this story I was
myself disposed to accord about the same degree of credit as to the
adventures of Sinbad the Sailor; but it was easy to perceive that our
crew, far from being so sceptical, were firm and unhesitating believers
in Angatan, its man-eating giants, its treasures of pearl, and the whole
catalogue of marvels current respecting it.
"I was the less inclined to repose any confidence in the man's
declarations, because all the best accounts located Angatan far to the
north of Hao and Amanu, while we had reason to believe that we were now
to the south-west of them.
"Barton's curiosity and love of adventure, were stimulated by what he
had heard; perhaps, also, the hints which had been dropped respecting
rich shell and costly pearls, were not without their due share of
influence, and he declared himself desirous of taking a closer look at
this `terra incognita,' respecting which such marvellous tales were
current. Rokoa, too, no sooner heard the first whispered conjecture of
the identity of the place before us with Angatan, than he resolved to
land, notwithstanding the evident reluctance of the crew, and the open
remonstrances and warnings of Sinbad. I suspected, I scarcely know why,
that he cherished a vague hope of being able to gain here some clue to
the fate of his missing brother. On approaching the shore, we found
that a heavy surf broke upon it, but there was a good beach, and a
landing could be effected without much difficulty. We accordingly took
in our sail, and resorting to the paddles, made for what seemed to be a
favourable spot. Soon after passing the black rock before alluded to, I
observed several figures stealing along the shore, in the covert of a
row of mangrove bushes, and apparently watching our movements. When we
had reached the edge of the surf, and were preparing to dash through it,
they came out of the thicket, and with threatening gestures warned us
away. This created such a panic among our crew, that they could not be
prevailed upon to paddle nearer. Rokoa stood up in the bow, and made
such signs and gestures as are used to indicate peaceful and friendly
intentions, while Barton displayed some of his most attractive-looking
trinkets. The people on shore now seemed to confer together, and in a
few moments, one of their number, who, from his stained tiputa of yellow
and crimson, appeared to be a chief or person of consequence, came down
to the water's edge, waving a green bough, and beckoning us to land.
Our Sinbad pronounced this sudden apparent change in their disposition
towards us, to be a treacherous pretence, designed to lure us ashore, in
order that they might plunder, kill, and devour us; but, as he did not
explain why, if such was their object, they should in the first place
have menaced us as they had done, we gave little heed to his warnings.
The party of natives did not seem greatly to outnumber us, and were not
particularly formidable in their appearance. They were, as well as we
could judge at such a distance, of no more than the ordinary stature.
With the exception of the individual already referred to, in the gay
tiputa, they wore nothing but the maro, and were armed with long spears.
Nevertheless, our crew still refused to make any nearer approach,
suspecting that more of the natives were lurking among the mangrove;
ready to sally out upon us at the proper moment if we should venture to
land.
"Rokoa, finding all attempts to overcome the cowardice of our men
unavailing, took a few trinkets in his hand, and springing overboard,
swam through the surf to the shore. The personage in the tiputa waited
to receive him, continuing to wave the green branch, and to make
amicable signs. Rokoa advanced, and greeted him in the Tahitian
fashion, by rubbing faces. The two then walked together to the skirts
of the wood, where the others still kept themselves, and Rokoa after
distributing his trinkets, came down to the beach again, and beckoned us
to come ashore, supposing that our crew might by this time be so far
reassured as to venture it. Sinbad was about to remonstrate again, when
Barton drew a pocket-pistol, with a pair of which he was provided, and
threatened to shoot him, unless he kept quiet. This effectually
silenced the croakings of the Hao-man, for the time at least and we
finally induced some of the others to take to the paddles, and push
through the surf to the spot where Rokoa awaited us. As soon as the
canoe was beached, and we were all fairly ashore, the natives came
forward, somewhat hastily, from the skirt of the wood, probably in the
expectation of receiving further presents; but our men, mistaking this
sudden advance for a hostile movement, laid hold of the canoe, and would
have put her into the water again, had not Rokoa, armed with a heavy
paddle, and backed by Barton with his pistols, interfered with so much
decision and vigour, that their fears began to take a new direction and
they came to the sensible conclusion, that they had better run the risk
of being roasted and eaten by the cannibals, than encounter the far more
immediate danger of having their heads broken by the club of their
chief, or their bodies bored through by the pistol-balls of the young
Papalangi.
"On the other hand, the leader of the party of natives spoke to them,
and restrained their impatience; then, advancing before the rest, he
waved his hand, and throwing himself into an oratorical attitude, made a
little speech, thanking Rokoa for his gifts, and welcoming us to the
island. The language which he spoke was a dialect of the Tahitian,
differing from it so slightly that I had no difficulty in understanding
what he said.
"When he had finished, Rokoa made an appropriate reply, according to the
rules of Polynesian etiquette. He commenced by paying our
gaudily-attired friend some florid compliments. He then gave a graphic
account of our voyage, describing the storm which we had encountered in
such terms, that our escape must have seemed little short of a miracle;
and concluded by stating the manner in which we had been driven from our
course, and finally reached the island. The natives listened
attentively, and signified their sense of Rokoa's eloquence by frequent
exclamations of `Maitai! Maitai!' (good! good!) and by nodding their
heads emphatically at the end of every sentence."
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.
THE CANNIBAL VILLAGE.
THE MARAE AND THE PRIEST--MOWNO AT HOME--CANNIBAL YOUNG LADIES--OLLA AND
HER FRIENDS.
"And there, with awful rites, the hoary priest,
Beside that moss-grown heathen altar stood,
His dusky form in magic cincture dressed,
And made the offering to his hideous god."
"So then," said Browne, interrupting Arthur's narrative, "these two
parties of savages, instead of going to work, knocking each others'
brains out, as one might naturally have expected, actually commenced
entertaining one another with set speeches, very much like the mayor and
aldermen of a city corporation receiving a deputation of visitors!"
"There is," replied Arthur, "an almost childish fondness of form and
ceremony among all the Polynesian tribes, as is seen at their high
feasts and festivals, their games, and religious rites. The chiefs and
priests are in the habit of making little orations upon a variety of
occasions, when this is expected of them. Formerly there existed in the
Society Islands, a class of persons called Rautis, or orators of battle,
whose exclusive business it was to exhort the people in time of war, and
on the eve of an engagement. Even during the heat of conflict they
mingled with the combatants, and strove to animate and inflame their
courage, by recounting the exploits of their ancestors, and urging every
motive calculated to excite desperate valour and contempt of death.
Some very remarkable instances of the powerful effect produced by the
eloquence of these Rautis are recorded, showing that they constituted a
by no means useless or ineffective part of a native army. The islanders
almost universally have a taste for oratory, by which they are easily
affected; and they hold those who excel in it in high estimation."
"It would appear then," said Browne, "that they are not such utter
heathens after all; I should never have given them credit for so much
taste and sensibility."
"You see, Browne," said Max, "what advantages you will enjoy over the
rest of us, when we get to Eiulo's island, as Johnny is confident we are
destined to do, one of these days. You shall then astonish the simple
inhabitants, with Pitt's reply to Walpole, or `Now is the winter of our
discontent,' and gain advancement in the state, by your oratorical
gifts. Who knows but you may rise to be prime-minister, or chief Rauti,
to his majesty the king!"
"Pray, let Arthur proceed with his story," said Morton, laughing, "I see
that Johnny is beginning to grow impatient: he probably thinks it high
time for the cannibals to be introduced, and the fighting to commence."
"Well," resumed Arthur, "as soon as the speech-making was over, the
natives, who seemed thus far, quite friendly and inoffensive, came
forward once more, and we all went through the ceremony of rubbing
faces, with a great show of cordiality, though it was easy to perceive
that our party were still under the influence of secret fears and
misgivings.
"Barton and I, received more than our due proportion of these
civilities, and from the wondering exclamations of our new acquaintances
as they examined the articles which composed our dress, and their
remarks to one another upon our complexion, I inferred that some of them
at least, had never seen a white person before. Barton, in particular,
attracted a large share of their attention, owing probably to a
complexion rather florid, and uncommonly fair, notwithstanding a two
years' residence within the tropics, which, together with his light hair
and blue eyes, afforded a striking contrast to the tawny skins and long
black elf-locks of the natives.
"The chief of the party, who had acted as spokesman, was called Mowno.
He was a young man, with a handsome, boyish face, expressive of
good-nature and indolence. Rokoa walked apart with him to make
inquiries, as I had no doubt, connected with the subject of his
brother's fate. Meanwhile Barton produced a piece of tortoise-shell,
and some pearls, which he exhibited to the natives, asking whether they
had any articles of the kind; but after carelessly looking at them, they
shook their heads, and inquired what such things were good for;
whereupon Barton, casting an annihilating glance at the disconcerted
Sinbad, significantly demanded of him what had become of those necklaces
of pearls, worn by the natives of Angatan, and whether these simple,
inoffensive people, were the gigantic cannibals, about whom he had
manufactured such enormous lies.
"After Mowno had concluded his conference with Rokoa, he led us to a
large building near the beach, in a very ruinous and decayed state, and
completely over-shadowed by aged tamanu-trees. It seemed, from its size
and peculiar structure, to be a deserted marae, or native temple. He
then sent away two of his people, who soon returned with several
clusters of cocoa-nuts, and some bananas, for our refreshment. On
learning that the supply of water which we had taken in for our voyage,
was nearly exhausted, he informed us that there was no spring or stream,
nearer than his village, which was some two miles inland, and promised
to have a supply sent us during the day. They had come down to the
shore, as we now learned, for the purpose of cutting mangrove roots,
from which they make large and powerful bows, and the whole party soon
left us at the marae, and proceeded to the beach; in about an hour we
saw them depart inland, carrying fagots of these roots, without taking
any further notice of us.
"It had fallen calm soon after sunrise, so that we could not for the
present have resumed our voyage, had we been so inclined.
"About half an hour before noon, a number of the natives whom we had
seen in the morning, again made their appearance, with several large
calabashes of water, and a quantity of taro and bread-fruit for our use.
Rokoa distributed among them some trifling presents, which they hastily
concealed among the folds of their maros. A few moments afterwards
Mowno himself emerged from the grove, attended by the remainder of the
party we had seen in the morning. There was now a further distribution
of presents, when I perceived the reason why the first comers had so
hastily concealed the trifles which had been given them. All presents,
no matter on whom bestowed, seemed to be regarded as the especial
perquisites of the chief, and a youth, who acted as Mowno's personal
attendant, presently went round among the others, collecting and taking
possession of everything which he had seen them receive. This was
submitted to without remonstrance, and apparently as a matter of course,
though by no means cheerfully.
"Soon after this somewhat autocratic proceeding, Mowno turned abruptly
to Barton, and saying that he must now return to the village, invited
him to go with him to visit it. Barton appearing to hesitate, the chief
pressed the matter so earnestly that his suspicions were aroused, and he
peremptorily declined. Mowno's angry looks evinced his displeasure, and
after walking about for a quarter of an hour in sullen silence, with
very much the demeanour of a spoiled child thwarted in his whim, he at
length made a similar request of me, letting drop at the same time, some
expression to the effect that one of us _must_ go with him. Fortunately
Rokoa, whose high spirit would have taken instant offence at the least
semblance of a threat, did not hear this. I saw plainly, that for some
reason, the young chief had set his heart upon having either Barton or
myself visit his village, and I suspected this was, in fact, the sole
object of his return. I observed, also, that his party was somewhat
more numerous, and much better armed than it had been in the morning,
and I had no doubt that, rather than suffer himself to be baffled in his
purpose, he would resort to force to accomplish it.
"After a moment's reflection, I was pretty well satisfied that I had
nothing to fear from acceding to his request, believing, as I did, that
I understood the motive of it. I thought, too, that a refusal would in
all probability lead to an instant hostile collision between the natives
and ourselves, and I finally resolved to accept, or more accurately
speaking, to yield to, the invitation. Having come to this conclusion,
I told Mowno that I would go with him, upon the condition that I should
return before night, to which he readily assented, showing extreme
satisfaction at having finally succeeded in his wishes. I gave no
credit to the alleged cannibal propensities of the islanders, and was
inclined from what I had already seen, to think much more favourably of
them than the event justified. I supposed that the curiosity of the
people of the village had been excited by the reports of those who had
seen us in the morning, respecting the pale-faced strangers, and that
Mowno's only object in insisting as he did, on having Barton or myself
go with him, was to gratify some aged chief who was too infirm to come
down to the shore to see us, or did not want to take the trouble of
doing so."
"Well, was you right in your conjecture?" inquired Browne.
"Yes, partially at least; there was, I think, no unfriendly motive as
far as Mowno was concerned. What designs others of the natives may have
entertained I will not at present undertake to say. But instead of some
superannuated chief, it was the curiosity of Mowno's young wife that was
to be gratified. On hearing his account of the white strangers, she had
despatched him forthwith back to the shore, to bring them to the
village; which commission, it seemed, he was resolved faithfully to
execute, at every hazard."
"Really," said Browne, "civilisation must have made some considerable
progress in Angatan, if the savages there make such docile and
complaisant husbands."
"This was not an ordinary case," replied Arthur; "in the first place,
Mowno was an uncommonly good-natured sort of a savage; then he had a
very pretty, persuasive little wife, and he had not yet been long enough
married, to have entirely merged the zeal and devotion of the lover, in
the easy indifference, and staid authority of the husband; but this is
anticipating.
"When I informed Rokoa of the young chief's invitation, and my
acceptance of it, he refused to consent to my going, except upon the
condition that he should accompany me, and share whatever danger might
attend the step. Mowno acquiesced in this arrangement, though I thought
he didn't seem to be altogether pleased with it. Barton, also, on
learning that Rokoa and myself had concluded to go to the village,
resolved to accompany us. Mowno was impatient to have us set out at
once, and Rokoa having given some directions to the crew, as to their
conduct during our absence, we hastily made our preparations, and in a
few moments after the matter had been decided upon, the whole party left
the shore and entered the forest. A quarter of an hour's walk brought
us to a flourishing bread-fruit plantation, which we passed through
without seeing a single dwelling, or any indications of inhabitants.
This was bounded by a wild ravine, crossing which, we entered a dense
and gloomy grove, composed almost entirely of the sacred miro, and one
other kind of tree, the branches of which sprang horizontally from the
trunk, in a series of whorls, one above another, twisting round from
left to right, and clothed with broad leaves of so dark a green as to
seem almost black. Near the centre of this grove, we came suddenly upon
a large marae, built principally of loose stones, overgrown with moss
and lichens. It was a spacious, uncovered inclosure, the front of which
consisted of a strong bamboo fence, while the three remaining sides were
of stone. Within the inclosure, at one side, was a small building,
probably the priest's dwelling, and in the centre arose a solid
pyramidal structure, on the terraced sides of which were ranged the
misshapen figures of several gigantic idols. In front of this, and
between four rude tumuli of broken coral, was a low platform, supported
by stakes, and resembling the altars used for human sacrifices, during
the ancient reign of heathenism in Tahiti. Beneath this platform, or
altar, was a pile of human skulls; and suspended from the trees, were
the shells of enormous turtles, and the skeletons of fishes. A
hideous-looking old man, whom I supposed to be the priest, sat in the
door of the small building, within the inclosure, and looking intently
at me, made strange faces as we passed by. His skin was sallow, and
singularly speckled, probably from some cutaneous disease; he had no
eyebrows, and his eyes were small and glittering like those of a snake;
in his countenance there was a mingled expression of cunning and cruelty
that made me shudder. When we were nearest to him in passing, he struck
himself violently on the breast, and cried out in a strong but dissonant
voice, pointing with his long, skeleton fingers, towards the young
chief:--`Mowno, son of Maloa, rob not the servant of Oro of a priest's
share!' so at least, I understood the words which he uttered; but the
natives hurried on, without seeming to pay any attention to him."
"That would have frightened me mortally," interrupted Johnny. "I should
have thought that they were going to make a cannibal feast of me, and
that the wicked old priest was speaking for his share."