The pilot was on board, the topsails were loosed, and the order had been
given to heave up the anchor, when a boat was seen coming off from the
southern shore of the Mersey. A seaman sprung up the ship's side, and a
couple of chests were hoisted up after him. I was aloft. I looked down
on deck and saw Newman. I found that he had written to the captain, who
had reserved a berth for him, but it was still before the mast. He had
the promise, he told me, of a mate's berth should a vacancy occur; but
he observed, "I am not ambitious. With what I have I am content." He
asked no questions as to what I had been doing. It was not his way. He
was certainly free from vulgar curiosity; neither did he volunteer to
give me any account of himself. I told him one day what I had done with
the proceeds of the last voyage.
"Ah, you are wiser than I am, Williams," he answered, with a tone of
bitterness. "I thought so, or I should not have tried to make you my
friend. I have been seeing life, as it is called. I wanted to discover
what changes had taken place in the world during my absence--as if the
world could ever change. I found it deceitful, vain, and frivolous as
before. I have been buying experience. The whole remainder of my
possessions lies stowed away in those two chests. The most valuable
portions are a few new books for you and I to read and discuss; and this
time I have not forgotten a suit of shore going clothes, in case I have
to appear again in the character of a gentleman. And now, farewell--a
long farewell to England's shores! It may be that I shall never tread
them again! Why should I regret it? There are brighter skies and
richer lands in another hemisphere."
We had a quick run to Cape Horn, which we rounded in safety; and then
standing across the Pacific, we steered for the fishing-ground off the
coast of Japan. We were, as in our former voyage, very successful
indeed. I suspect that success in whaling, as in most other affairs of
life, depends very much on the practical knowledge, the perseverance,
and talent of those engaged in it. The master of a successful whaler
will be found to unite all these qualifications. He meets with whales,
because, exercising his judgment, and making use of the information he
has collected, he goes to the ground where they are likely to be met
with; he catches them, because he sets about it in the best way; and he
brings his ship home in safety, because he never for a moment relaxes
his care and watchfulness to guard against misfortune. For my own part,
I do not believe in luck. I have never yet met with an instance of a
lucky or an unlucky man in which I could not trace the effect to the
cause.
We were lucky, because Captain Carr was a judicious, persevering,
sensible man; and thus, in our first year's fishing, we got more than a
third full. At the end of that time we found ourselves brought up once
more off Batavia.
The captain, in the kindest way, invited Newman at once to accompany him
on shore. "Bring your drawings with you for Mynheer Von Kniper," said
he. "I doubt not that he will be glad to see them."
On receiving the invitation, Newman dived below. When he returned on
deck his appearance was completely changed. Instead of the rough
seaman, he appeared as a well-dressed gentleman, and certainly more
refined in appearance than either the captain or any of the officers.
Captain Carr looked at him with an eye of satisfaction; and it was very
pleasant to observe how perfectly free he was from any petty feeling of
jealousy at seeing himself eclipsed by one of his own men. As the boat
shoved off from the ship's side I thought to myself--"Depend on it,
there is something in store for Newman; he will not come back in the
cynical spirit in which he seemed to be after his first visit."
I had made excellent use of all my spare time during our passage out,
and had added considerably to my stock of knowledge. Newman's books
were all admirably selected, and were of excellent service to me. The
more I read, the more I wished to read--to gain information on points on
which I found myself ignorant. Happily one of the crew, a fine, steady
young man, had a Bible with him; and he having offered it to me, for the
first time in my life I began to read its sacred pages. As I read on I
was forcibly struck with its simplicity and beauty, its fulness and
minuteness, and yet the immense amount of matter it contained. I began
to compare one part with another--the prophecies with their fulfilment--
one point of the history with the rest--the great variety of subjects
and style, and yet the beautiful adaptation of the various parts with
the whole; nor did I neglect to compare sacred with profane history, or
to remark how one corroborates the other--just as modern science, the
greater advances it makes, is found to confirm more and more the troth
of the accounts given by the sacred writers. Still all this time my
heart was not turned to the right way. I had discovered a new and
inexhaustible source of interest, but that was all.
Newman did not return on board till the next day. He was much elated in
spirits when he appeared, though he tried to repress the feeling.
"Well, Jack, the tide has begun to flow at last," said he: "you shall
hear all about it. Mynheer Von Kniper was excessively pleased with the
drawings I took him, and the more so when I begged he would accept them
from me."
"`I have often thought about you,' said he; `and, I must confess, little
expected to see you return here. I rejoice to see you back, for you
must know that I have an offer to make you, which I hope you will think
fit to accept. We have been for some time in want of a commander for
one of the Colonial Government schooners, and I have ascertained from
your captain that you are in every respect fitted for the post, and that
he will give you your discharge from his ship. I have therefore great
satisfaction in offering it to you.'
"I scarcely knew how to express myself in thanking him; so I took his
hand, and shaking it heartily, told him that I was very much obliged to
him, and that I placed myself entirely under his directions. So it was
settled, and that same evening he presented me with my commission
signed, and here I am, a lieutenant commander in the Dutch Colonial
Navy! It is, in truth, a hop, step, and a jump into a post of honour I
little expected, nor can I yet realise the greatness of the change."
I congratulated Newman most sincerely on the prospects thus opened up to
him, though I regretted being so completely separated from him, as I
must expect to be, for the future. He suggested the possibility of my
following him, but that I at once saw was not likely to occur. In the
first place, Captain Carr was not likely to allow a steady hand to leave
him so early in the voyage; and probably the Dutch authorities would not
be very ready to give a berth to another Englishman on board the same
vessel; added to which, I had some misgivings as to serving under their
flag.
Newman, of course, saw the first of these objections; and probably, if
the truth were known, though he might not have been ready to confess it
to himself after the intimate terms on which we had been together, he
would have found it inconvenient while he was captain to have had me
before the mast. It must be remembered that, though my mind was
beginning to be cultivated, I was still a rough, hardy sailor in
appearance and manners. I had never in my life dreamed of aspiring to
any command, and I did not feel myself fitted for any post above that
which I then held.
While I say this I would point out that it is very necessary to be
cautious in judging from appearances. A man may have a very refined
mind under a somewhat rough exterior, and a very coarse, bad one within
a handsome, attractive outside. Generally speaking, with a few minutes'
conversation, the appearance of a person and the expression of his
countenance will show what is likely to be found within; but it is far
wiser not to place more than ordinary confidence in the companions among
whom we are thrown until they have been duly tried and found to walk
rightly in their conduct towards God and man.
Newman seemed to be in no way elated by his change of fortune, and
showed himself free from a very common littleness of mind, for he spent
the rest of the day among us forward, talking and chatting with all
hands as freely as before; and while he was packing his chests, he
managed to find some little present as a keepsake for each of us. Then
he sat himself down on his chest, and gave us an earnest lecture in his
old style on the advantages of education, and urged us all to continue
our studies as before, and to show by our conduct to each other and to
our officers the superiority of educated, intelligent men over ignorant
and uncultivated ones.
When he went aft to wish the officers good-bye, he was treated very
kindly and politely by them, all of them congratulating him on his good
fortune; and as he descended the ship's side for the last time, we gave
him three as hearty cheers as ever rose from the deck of a whaler with a
full hold; and little Jim, the smallest boy on board, blubbered as if
his heart would break at the loss of one whom he had learned to look on
as his best friend.
Before we sailed he had his schooner fitted out and manned with a
strange crew of Malays, Chinese, Dutchmen, Frenchmen, and not a few
representatives of other nations. He sent me a note insisting on my
going to see him on board. His schooner was a fine little vessel,
though built in the colony by Chinese. She measured some hundred and
fifty tons, and, well handled, was fit to go anywhere; but this would be
difficult work, I saw, with his mongrel crew. His cabin was fitted up
in the complete way I should have expected him to have planned. It was,
indeed, a very different sort of place from that in which he had long
been accustomed to live--much more like, in the handsomeness of its
fittings and its accommodation, to the luxurious cabin of the old
Rainbow, which I used to see in my youth. He himself, too, was greatly
changed in his appearance from the rough sailor he had long been. When
dressed in plain clothes, he looked like a gentleman certainly, but not
a polished one; but in a uniform which became him perfectly, he was a
very good-looking officer. He was conscious of the improvement.
"I begin to think that there are yet higher steps for me to climb,
Williams," he observed, after he had cordially welcomed me and ordered
refreshments to be brought in. "Who knows but that one day I may become
an admiral, or a governor of one of these islands? I am becoming
ambitious, I assure you. I thought it was not in me. I was till lately
perfectly contented with my lot. I proposed spending my youth knocking
about in these seas, and when I found old age creeping on me, settling
down in one of the many thousand beautiful isles of the bright Pacific
to spend the remainder of my days. Now that dream has passed away, and
I feel an anxiety to climb. I am growing more and more ambitious; for I
see that there are plenty of things in this world worth living for--
plenty of golden fruit to be plucked, if a man has but the daring to
scramble up the tree in spite of the thorns and knots in the way, and
reach out to the branches."
What did I reply to Newman? Did I offer him good advice? Alas, no! I
thought not to say to him, Do thy duty in that station of life to which
it has pleased God to call thee, regardless of this world's tinsel
prizes. Look steadily forward to another and a better world for thy
reward. This he did not. This world, and this alone, entirely occupied
his attention. He only thought of the gratification of the moment.
Blindly and obstinately he shut out from his contemplations all thoughts
of his eternal interests.
Newman's man-of-war schooner and the stout old whaler the _Drake_ left
Batavia Roads the same day. We were bound for the ground off
Navigator's and some of the neighbouring groups of islands. We were
fortunate enough to kill a couple of whales on our passage, and within
two years after leaving England had nearly filled up all our casks. I
began to consider whether I should remain in the ship, or, supposing
Captain Carr would be willing to give me my discharge, whether I should
join another ship lately come out, and thus, by saving the long voyage
home and back, more speedily accomplish what was now the aim of my
existence--to make a sum sufficient to enable me to remain at home for
the rest of my days. I was now advancing in life. I had seen a great
deal of hard service, and I began to long for rest. Such is the desire
implanted in the bosom of all men--rest for the mind, rest for the body,
rest for the soul. In youth, when health, and vigour, and animal
spirits are at their highest, it is not developed, but when age comes
on, and the body begins to feel the symptoms of decay, the mind grows
weary and the spirits flag. Then rest is sought for--rest is looked for
as the panacea for all evils. Yet who ever found rest in this world--
perfect tranquillity and joy? No one. Still that such is the fact I
had yet to learn. Yet, would a beneficent Creator have implanted the
desire in the human heart without affording the means of gratifying it?
Certain I am that He would not; but thus, in his infinite wisdom, he
shows us the vanity of this world, and points to another and a better,
where assuredly it may be found.
I took an opportunity of mentioning the subject of my thoughts to the
captain, and he promised me that, if no other of the crew left when the
ship was full, should we fall in with another wanting hands, he would
comply with my wish, and, moreover, invest my share of the profits of
the voyage as I might direct.
We had been for some time on the ground I have spoken of when we found
ourselves in a perfect calm. By slow degrees the usual sea went down,
and even the swell of the mighty ocean subsided. The crew sat lazily
about the deck--some making air-nets for hats, others pointing ropes,
working a mouse, or making a pudding, or a dolphin, or turning in a
gasket; some leaned idly over the rail, and others slept still more idly
below; while a few, not altogether unmindful of our old shipmate's
instructions, were bending over their books or using their pencils.
Some also were carving with their knives strange devices on bones, or
cutting out rings from the shell of the tortoise.
"Ah, I wish we had Ned Newman aboard here!" exclaimed one. "He would
soon set us all alive."
"Why can't you set yourselves alive?" said Tom Knowles, looking up from
his work on a rope he had in hand. "Idle chaps are always talking of
getting some one else to do what they ought to do for themselves. Just
try now. Let's try a stave at all events. Come, I'll strike up."
Old Tom's proposal pleased all hands, and soon a melody, if not very
sweet, at least harmonious, floated over the blue sea.
Whether the whales came to listen to our music, I cannot say; but while
we were all joining in chorus, the ever-exciting shout of "There she
spouts--there she spouts!" broke in upon it; and, springing to our feet,
the boats were lowered and manned, and in less than three minutes four
of them were gliding away as fast as they could be sent through the
water, after two whales which made their appearance together, not far
apart from each other.
The captain's boat got hold of the first without much difficulty; but as
he was a strong old bull, he played all sorts of antics, and other two
boats were called to assist in his capture. Meantime the third mate's
boat, in which I was, went after the other whale, which sounded just as
we got up to him. For some reason or other, he very soon appeared again
a mile ahead, and away we went in chase. Again he played us the same
trick, but this time he was longer under water, and must have gone
upwards of two miles away before he once more came up. The more sport
he seemed disposed to give us, the less inclined were we to lose him, so
after him we went as fast as before--not faster, for that would have
been difficult. As we got near, we saw that he was lying very quiet,
and we did not think he saw us, so we had out our paddles, and began
stealing up to him as cautiously as a cat does to a mouse--only in this
case it was rather more like the mouse creeping up to the cat. The
third mate was a well-built, powerful young man. Holding up his hand as
a sign to us to be cautious, he stepped forward, and there he stood,
harpoon in hand, as we glided on towards the monster. Down came the
heavy harpoon, and it was buried, socket up, in the side of the monster!
In an instant the acute pain woke him up. "Stern all!" was now the
cry, and we had to back away from him in a great hurry, as, raising his
mighty flukes, he went head down, sounding till he almost took away the
whole of our line. Fortunately he met with the bottom, perhaps a
coral-reef, and up he came, striking away head out at a great speed in
the direction he had before taken. So intent were we on the chase, that
we had little time to observe what was doing with the other whale,
though, of course, we took the bearings of the ship, as we were rapidly
whirled away till we completely lost sight of her. This was no unusual
occurrence, nor did it in the smallest degree excite our apprehension,
as we had never failed, with more or less trouble, to find our ship in
the course of the day or night. On we went, as I say, making the
smooth, bright sea hiss and bubble as the white foam frothed up over our
bows.
The instant the whale slackened his speed we hauled in the line, so as
to get up to him to thrust a lance or two into his body; but he was
evidently a knowing old fellow, for by the time we had got half of it
in, he was off again like a shot, spouting away every now and then, as
if to show us in what capital breath he was for a long-run. At last he
stopped, and began to turn slowly round. We thought that we had got
him. "Hurrah, lads!" cried Barney Brian, an old boat-steerer. "Haul in
steadily now--his last swim is over." We hauled away an the line with a
will, and the mate stood, lance in hand, ready to plunge it into his
side, when he shouted, "Stern all--veer away the line, lads!" It was
time--up went the flukes of the monster, and in another instant he was
sounding, drawing the line out of the tub at a terrific rate. We
thought we should have lost him altogether, and we looked anxiously at
the line as coil after coil disappeared, and we remembered that we had
none to bend on to the end of it. It would have been better for us if
he had broken away. Just, however, before the last coil flew out, up he
came again, and seemed inclined to go on as before. Then he stopped,
and we hauled in on the line. We had got within twenty fathoms of him
when all of a sudden an idea seemed to strike him. He slewed completely
round so as to face us. "I'll just give you a taste of my quality, and
see if I can't teach you to let me alone," he seemed to say. At all
events he must have thought it, for with open mouth, showing the
tremendous teeth in his lower jaw, and head half lifted out of the
water, he made directly at us. Never was a boat in a more perilous
position--out of sight of land, and the ship nowhere to be seen, and
thus all by ourselves to engage in single combat with a monster so
enormous! To get out of his way by mere speed was impossible, for he
could swim faster than we could pull; but we did our best to dodge him,
our undaunted mate standing ready to plunge a spear into his side should
we manage for a moment to get behind him. First, we pulled on one side
as he came towards us, and then on the other; but rapidly as we turned,
he slewed himself round, and at last, getting us under his snout, he
made a dash at the boat, and sent her spinning away twenty yards before
him, bottom uppermost, while we all lay scattered round about her,
shouting and calling to each other for help. Had he at once gone off,
and dragged the boat after him, he would have left us to perish
miserably, and this was the fate we dreaded; but instead of that, while
we lay holding onto oars, or striking out to regain the boat, he swam
round us, examining the mischief he had done. More than once I thought
he was going to make another charge at us with his open mouth, when, had
he done so, he would have killed one or more, though he might not have
swallowed any of us. That I never heard of a whale doing.
We, meantime, made all haste back to the boat, picking up whatever we
could lay hands on in our way. We were not a little hurried in our
movements by seeing two or more sharks, which had been attracted to the
spot by the blood flowing from the monster; and they would just as soon
have taken a meal off us as a nibble at him, which is all they would
have got for some time, probably.
"Never fear, my lads!" shouted Mr Trevett, the mate. "Strike out with
your feet, and heave over the boat. Quick now!--so!--over she comes!
We'll soon have her baled out."
Baling with hats and caps, as we hung round the gunwale, and striking
out with a will, to keep the sharks at a distance, we were enabled to
clear the boat sufficiently of water to allow us to get in, just as a
big shark, impatient of delay, made a dart at the mate's leg--for he was
the last in--and very nearly caught his foot. We quickly had the boat
to rights, but we found that we had lost two very valuable articles--our
tinder-box and compass; so that we could neither make a signal to the
ship nor tell in what direction to steer should thick or cloudy weather
come on. We had, however, no time to meditate on our misfortune, for
scarcely were we once more seated on the thwarts, oars in hand, than the
whale, as if waiting the signal, started off again, head out, just as he
had done before. His speed, however, was very much slackened; and
though, after we had hauled in the line a little, he made an attempt to
sound, he quickly returned to the surface, still more exhausted by the
effort.
At length we managed to get near enough to him to enable Mr Trevett to
give him a thrust with his lance. Deep in it went, the monster almost
leaping out of the water with the agony of the wound. A vital part had
been pierced. "He's in his flurry! Stern all--stern all!" was shouted.
It was time that we were out of his way; for, swimming round and round,
he beat the water with his flukes with terrific force, sufficient to
have dashed us to atoms had he touched us, throwing the life-blood over
us from his spout, and dashing the surrounding ocean, ensanguined with
the ruddy stream, into a mass of foam. This mighty convulsion was his
last effort. Over he rolled, and he was our well-earned prize.
But now we had killed him, it became a serious question how we were to
get back to the ship. In what direction was she to be found? As we
looked about, we saw that the weather, which had hitherto been so fine,
was evidently about to change. The sky was full of the unmistakable
signs of a heavy gale. Long fleecy clouds with curling ends lay
scattered over it, and darker masses were banking up rapidly in the
southward. We had now ample time to consider our position, as we lay on
to the dead whale. We had neither light nor compass, and all our
provisions were spoiled or lost. One keg of water alone had been
recovered, and we found among us a few quids of tobacco. The nearest
islands to the northward were, we knew, inhabited by the very worst
description of cannibals, and, though white men occasionally traded with
them for provisions, it was necessary to be constantly watchful to
prevent surprise. The crews of several vessels not having taken the
proper precautions, had been cut off and murdered. Night also was
rapidly approaching, and we could not possibly reach the ship, even did
we know where to find her, before dark, probably not for several hours.
However, the mate, feeling that the first object was to try and save our
lives, resolved to pull for the ship, leaving the whale with flags stuck
on its side, in the hope that we might again find it. With much regret,
therefore, we quitted our hard-earned prize, and pulled away, as we
believed, to the northward, in the direction where we had left the ship.
We had not pulled long, however, when the gloom of night came on, and
the gale which we had seen brewing burst over the ocean, quickly tearing
up its sleeping bosom into foam-crested, tumbling seas, which every
instant rose higher and higher. We soon also discovered that we could
make no head against them, and that, by attempting to do so, we should
only weary ourselves in vain.
"We must put the boat about, and run before it," said Mr Trevett.
"Hoist the lug--haul aft the sheet!" It was done, and away we flew,
careering over the fast-rising seas through the pitchy darkness of
night!
"Where are we going to?" was the question. Still no other course
remained for us to follow. To attempt to head the heavy seas now rising
was impossible. No one spoke--a fear of coming evil settled down on our
hearts. Darker and darker grew the night--the clouds seemed to come
down from the sky and settle close over our heads, meeting the troubled
wildly-leaping waves.
On we flew--the seas, as they curled and hissed up alongside of us,
tumbling over the gunwale, and making it necessary for all hands to
continue baling. Our only hope was that the ship might run before the
gale and overtake us; but then we remembered that she probably had a
whale alongside, and that the captain would not like to desert it as
long as he could hold on. All hope, therefore, of help from man
deserted us.
On we went--death every instant threatening us--a death amid that dark,
wild, troubled, storm-tossed ocean! At length the fierce roar of the
wind and sea seemed to increase. We looked out before us into the
darkness. "Breakers!--breakers ahead!" we shouted. A thrill of horror
ran through our veins. In another moment we should be dashed to a
thousand fragments among the wild rocks over which they so fiercely
broke. To attempt to haul off in such a sea would have consigned us to
an equally certain fate. The imminence of the danger seemed to sharpen
our vision. A mass of foam, which seemed to leap high up into the dark
sky, lay before us. Not a moment could a boat live attempting to pass
through it. On both sides we turned our anxious gaze, to discover if
any spot existed where the sea broke with less violence. Almost
simultaneously we shouted, "A passage on the starboard-bow!"
There appeared, if our eyes deceived us not, a dark space where the line
of huge breakers was divided. We were rushing headlong to destruction.
Not an instant was to be lost. The helm was put to port. We rose on
the crest of a vast rolling sea. Down it came, thundering on the rocks
on either side of us, throwing over them heavy showers of spray,
sufficient almost to swamp us. Still we floated unharmed. The sea
rolled on between what, in the darkness, appeared like walls of foam,
and in another instant we found ourselves floating beyond the fierce
turmoil of waters, just tossed gently by the waves, which found their
way over the reef into a large lagoon within it!
A shore fringed with trees lay before us. In five minutes we were
landed safely on it, and the boat was secured to the stump of a fallen
tree. It was too dark to allow us to attempt to penetrate into the
interior, to ascertain the sort of place on which we had been thrown;
so, returning to the boat and baling her out, we wrung our wet clothes
and lay down to seek that rest we all, after our violent exertions and
anxiety, so much needed.
It must have been nearly daylight when we went to sleep. I know not how
long we had slept. It would have been better for us had we driven sleep
far from our eyelids, and been ready to pull out and wander over the
inhospitable ocean the moment the gale abated, rather than have remained
where we were. I was the first to open my eyes, and, looking up, I saw
to my horror a nearly naked savage looking down into the boat with
prying eyes from the bank above us. He was almost jet-black, with negro
features and a full beard and moustache. His hair was frizzled out to a
great size and covered by a brownish turban. Round his waist he wore
the usual maro or kilt, with something like a shawl or plaid over his
shoulders; and in his hand he held a long formidable-looking spear.
From the turban on his head, I afterwards discovered that he was a
chief.
"Eugh! eugh!" he cried, as he saw me opening my eyes to look at him, and
his menacing attitude and ferocious aspect made a most uncomfortable
feeling creep over me.
"Up, lads, up! and shove off!" I shouted to my companions, jumping
forward myself to cut the painter. They started to their feet at my
summons, looking up with a bewildered stare at the shore; and well they
might so have done, for there stood some twenty or more fierce-looking
savages, whom the exclamation of their chief had called to his side, and
before we could get the oars out, a shower of spears came rattling down
among us. Poor Mr Trevett was pierced through, and fell with a deep
groan to the bottom of the boat; another of my companions sprung up as
he was struck, and went headlong overboard; others were badly wounded;
and one man only besides me was unhurt by the first shower of missiles.
Seeing that we still persevered in trying to get the boat off, the
savages came rushing down the bank; and though I had cut the painter,
before I could give the boat sufficient impetus to get out of their way,
they had seized the gunwale and hauled her up on the beach.
All hope of escape was now at an end. We were each of us seized by
three or four of the savages, while, by the chief's directions, two
others plunged into the water, and soon returned with the body of the
man who had fallen overboard. To my horror, our poor wounded companions
were instantly stabbed by these wretches, apparently for no other reason
than because they offered some resistance to being dragged roughly
along; and thus Brian and I were the only two who remained alive of
those who had so lately escaped from the stormy ocean. Some of the
savages, I saw, were left to take care of the boat in which the bodies
of those who had been killed were placed.
As we climbed to the top of a hill, and I looked back over the blue
ocean, now shining brightly in the morning sun, I saw that the storm had
ceased; and--I am certain my eyes did not deceive me--I saw in the
offing the white canvas of a ship, which I felt sure must be the
_Drake_, probably searching for those who were never to be found.
From the appearance of the people and their cruel proceedings, I had no
doubt but that we had fallen on one of the Feejee islands; and, from
their well-known character, I knew what our fate would probably be. I
myself had little, it might seem, to live for; but still life is _dear_
to all of us, and I considered what I could do to preserve mine. I knew
that most savages, as well as eastern nations, look upon a person
deprived of his intellect as sacred, so I at once resolved to act the
madman. On this, summoning all my strength, I gave vent to the loudest
roar I could utter, finishing with a burst of laughter; and when my
guards, in their surprise, let me go, I started forward, leaping, and
singing, and dancing, with the greatest extravagance, pointing to the
way I saw the chief was going, and pretending to conduct him with many
bows and flourishes worthy of a French dancing-master. Desperate as the
device was, it appeared to have its effect, for neither the chief nor
any of his companions again attempted to interfere with me, though they
dragged poor Brian on as before. He, of course, could not make out what
had happened to me, and I could not venture to advise him to imitate my
conduct, as I thought, very probably, should I do so, that both of us
would fail in saving our lives by it. He, however, seeing the fate
which had befallen our companions by refusing to walk on willingly,
proceeded wherever his guards chose to lead him.
After passing through woods and large patches of cultivated ground, we
reached a village of considerable size, and were led to what I supposed
was the house of the principal chief, the father of the young man who
had captured us. It stood on a raised platform of stone, and was built
entirely of wood, with elliptical ends, the beams ornamented with
coloured cocoa-nut plait. The side walls were solid, with windows, the
frames of which were bound together to represent a kind of fluting, and
which had a very ornamented appearance. The interior was divided into
several compartments by screens of native cloth dyed with turmeric; and
as the children and several of the people were painted with the same
pigment, the whole had a very yellow appearance. The front and back of
the edifice were formed of long laths, bent like a bow, and thatched
with cocoa-nut leaves, something like the front of some bathing-machines
in England. Under the roof, supported by beams, was a floor of
lattice-work, which seemed to be the store-room of the house, as bundles
of cloth and articles of various sorts were piled up there; while on the
ground were scattered different utensils for cooking or eating from--
such as bowls of glazed crockery of native manufacture, and plenty of
well-made mats. On one of the walls were hung up some strings of whale
teeth--articles which pass for money among those people.
At one end of the chief hall, on a pile of mats, sat a stout old man,
with a huge turban and large beard and moustache, and wrapped in thick
folds of native cloth. Savage as he looked, there was a good deal of
dignity and intelligence about him. Keeping up the character I had
assumed, I instantly began to salaam, as I had seen the Moors do, and to
turn about on one leg, and then to leap and spring up, and clap my
hands, singing out "Whallop-ado-ahoo!--Erin-go-bragh!" at the top of my
voice, in a way to astonish the natives, if it did not gain their
respect. My heart all the time felt as if it would break with shame and
terror--with shame, at having to behave so, and with terror, lest I
should, after all, not succeed.
The old chief and the young one, with the people who accompanied him,
had a great deal of conversation about us, I found--the old one
remarking that we had both of us "salt water in our eye," and must
submit to the law. Now, by the law, or rather custom, of the Feejees,
every person cast on shore on their coasts is killed and eaten! I had
numberless proofs of the truth of this.
The result of the conversation about me was, that I was tabooed--to be
held sacred, as it were--and that my life was to be spared. They tried
to make me understand this at the time, and I partly comprehended their
meaning. To prove their sincerity, the old chief had a number of dishes
of various sorts of vegetables and fruit brought in, with a young pig
baked whole, of which he made me partake. This I did very willingly,
for I was very hungry, and the viands looked very tempting. When I had
eaten a good meal, I jumped up and shook the old chief and his son very
heartily by the hand; and then sitting down on a mat, I threw myself
back, and began singing away at the top of my voice, as if I had been
perfectly contented with my lot. When, however, I got up to leave the
house, signs were made to me that I was to stay where I was. This, I
concluded, was that notice might be given to the people that I was
tabooed, and that they were not to interfere with me, or I should in all
probability have been clubbed by the first native I met, who might have
suspected that I had been cast upon their shore by the late gale.
I felt very anxious to ascertain what had become of Brian. He had not
been allowed to enter the chief's house with me, but, as we approached
the village, had been led off in a different direction. Suspecting the
horrible practice of the savages, and hearing nothing of him as the day
grew on, I became very much alarmed for his safety.
At night a mat was pointed out to me on which I was to sleep; but it was
long before I could close my eyes, and every instant I expected to find
myself seized and carried off by the savages. I did sleep, however, at
last, and the next morning I found myself at liberty to wander out where
I pleased. Food was first brought to me, and then, having performed
various curious antics to keep up the belief of my insanity, I left the
house and took the way up a neighbouring hill.
I had not gone far before I came to what was evidently a native temple,
shaded by tall and graceful trees. It was a high-pointed building,
formed of bamboos, and hung with strings of bones and screens of native
cloth. I saw arms of various sorts, and an altar with two human skulls
on it, made into drinking cups. I was considering how I could find my
poor companion, when, near the temple, I entered an open space with
several small erections of stone, which I discovered on examination were
ovens. In the centre of the space was what I took at first to be the
figure of a man cut out of wood, and painted over in a curious way with
many colours. I went up to it. Horror almost overcame me--I recognised
the countenance of my lost companion Brian! while some clothes hung up
on poles hard by, and some human bones scattered under them, showed me
what had been the fate of the rest of our boat's crew. I rushed
shrieking from the spot, and for many a day I had no occasion to feign
madness--I really was, I believe, out of my mind.