FROM THE MARQUESAS TO THE SOCIETY ISLANDS.--THE GREAT BARRIER REEF.--THE
CORAL INSECT AND HIS WORK.--ATOLLS AND THEIR PECULIARITIES.--ORIGIN OF
THE POLYNESIAN PEOPLE.--ARRIVAL AT PAPÉITI.--ON SHORE IN TAHITI.--A
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ISLANDS.--WORK OF THE MISSIONARIES.--THE FRENCH
OCCUPATION.--VICTIMS FOR SACRIFICE.--OLD-TIME CUSTOMS.--PRODUCTS OF THE
SOCIETY ISLANDS.--BECHE-DE-MER FISHING.--VISIT TO THE REEF.--CURIOUS
THINGS SEEN THERE.--ADVENTURES WITH SHARKS, STINGAREES, AND OTHER
MONSTERS.--GIGANTIC CLAMS.--VISITING THE MARKET.--EATING LIVE FISHES.--A
NATIVE FEAST.--EXCURSION TO POINT VENUS.
[Illustration: COAST SCENERY, TAHITI.]
When well clear of the Marquesas the _Pera_ turned her prow to the
south-west, in the direction of Tahiti, which lay about nine hundred
miles away. The strong trade-wind bore her swiftly on her course, and on
the fourth day of the voyage the lofty peaks of Otaheite's isle rose
into view. The summits of the mountains seemed to pierce the sky, so
sharp and steep were they, and almost to their very tops they were
covered with verdure. Luxuriant forests were everywhere visible, and the
shore was fringed with a dense growth of palms that seemed to rise from
the water itself.
The central peak of Tahiti has an elevation of something more than seven
thousand feet, and from this peak there is a series of ridges radiating
towards the sea like the spokes of a wheel. Many of these ridges are so
steep on their sides that they cannot be ascended, and so narrow that
there is not room for an ordinary path. A man standing on one of these
ridges could with his right hand throw a stone into one valley, and with
his left a stone into another, whose inhabitants could communicate only
by descending to the coast, or to the lowland which borders it. The
valleys are luxuriant, and even the ridges are covered with vines and
bushes.
As the youths, with their glasses, eagerly scanned the coast they were
approaching, one of them called out that he could see a strip of calm
water close to the shore.
"We are coming to the great barrier-reef of coral," said Doctor Bronson,
"and the calm water that you see is between the reef and the shore.
[Illustration: SPECIMEN OF CORAL.]
"Tahiti is one of the best examples of an island surrounded by a coral
reef," the Doctor continued. "It extends quite around the island,
sometimes only a few yards from it, and sometimes four or five miles
distant. There are occasional openings through the reef, some wide and
deep enough to permit the passage of large ships, and others practicable
only for small boats. Inside the reef the water is calm, and a vessel
once within it has a secure harbor."
The boys could see the surf breaking on the reef with great violence,
and throwing spray high into the air. Outside was the ever-restless sea;
inside lay the placid lagoon, which reflected the sunlight as in a
mirror.
"Just think of it," said Frank; "that great reef, which resists the
waves of the ocean, and could destroy the largest ship that floats, is
built up by a tiny worm which we could crush between our fingers with
the greatest ease. The patience of the honey-bee is nothing compared to
that of the coral insect."
Fred asked what was the depth of water near the reef, both inside and
outside.
Doctor Bronson answered that it varied greatly, the inner lagoon being
sometimes only a few feet, or perhaps inches, in depth, and sometimes
two, three, or five hundred feet. Outside there is generally a great
depth of water, sometimes so much that the sounding-lead fails to find
bottom at a distance of only a few yards. "This constitutes," he added,
"one of the dangers of navigation, as a ship may be close upon a reef
without being aware of it until too late.
[Illustration: THE CORAL WORM.]
"The coral insect," he continued, "does not work at a greater depth than
two hundred feet, and he ceases operations when he reaches the surface.
When these reefs are more than two hundred feet deep it is supposed that
the bottom has slowly receded and carried the reef with it; as the
recession went on, the coral insect continued his work of building. It
reminds me of what happens sometimes to a railway in a swampy region;
the embankment for the track sinks from time to time, and a new one is
built above it. After a while sufficient earth has been thrown in to
make a solid foundation, and then the sinking ceases.
"The atoll is another curious form of the work of the coral insect,"
said the Doctor, continuing. "It is circular or oval in shape, the
island forming a rim that encloses a lake or lagoon. There is always an
opening from the sea to the lagoon, and it is generally on the leeward
side. Sometimes there are two, or even three or more openings, but this
is unusual; the island rises only a few feet above the water, and is the
work of the coral insect upon what was once the crater of a volcano; at
least that is the general belief.
"The atoll is not a desirable place for residence, as the ocean during
severe storms is liable to break across the narrow strip of land and
sweep away whatever may be standing there. Many atolls are uninhabited,
and none of them has a large population; cocoa-palms, bread-fruit, and
other tropical trees are generally found on the inhabited atolls, and
partially or wholly supply the natives with food. In some instances the
people support themselves by fishing either in the lagoon or in the
ocean outside. The lagoon forms a fairly good harbor for ships and
canoes, but sometimes the water in it is too deep for anchoring."
As the minutes rolled on, the outlines of the mountains and ridges, the
valleys and forests, grew more and more distinct. Frank and Fred
strained their eyes to discover an opening in the reef, but for some
time their earnest gaze was unrewarded. At length, however, Frank saw a
spot where the long line of spray appeared to be broken; gradually it
enlarged, and revealed a passage into the great encircling moat of
Tahiti. It was the entrance to the harbor of Papéiti, the capital of the
French possessions in this part of the Pacific.
[Illustration: ON THE SHORE OF THE LAGOON.]
The yacht glided safely through the channel and anchored in front of
Papéiti, or Papaete, as some writers have it. Two French war-ships were
lying there, and several schooners and other sailing-craft engaged in
trade among the islands. Then there were some half-dozen ships and barks
from various parts of the world, bringing cargoes of miscellaneous goods
for the Tahitian market and carrying away the produce of the islands.
Frank looked in vain for an ocean-going merchant steamer, and found, on
inquiry, that the Society Islands are not visited by any of the
steamships engaged in the navigation of the Pacific.
The Society Islands are a group, consisting of two clusters about
seventy miles apart. Some geographers apply the name to the
north-western cluster only, while the other is known as the Tahiti or
Georgian group. The latter is the larger and more populous, and is a
French colony, while the former is independent. The Spaniards claim to
have discovered Tahiti in 1606, and it was visited in 1767 by Captain
Wallis, who named it King George's Island. Two years later Captain Cook
discovered the north-western cluster, called the whole group the Society
Islands in honor of the Royal Geographical Society, and restored to
Tahiti its native name.
"Why is Tahiti sometimes called Otaheite, and why is Hawaii, in the
Sandwich Islands, sometimes called Owyhee?" Fred inquired.
[Illustration: A CABIN IN THE SUBURBS.]
"Thereby hangs a tale," replied the Doctor, "or rather a great deal of
conjecture. Some ethnographers think the islands of Polynesia were
peopled from the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago, while others think
they were peopled from Japan. Advocates of either theory have a great
number of arguments in its support. We haven't time to go over the list;
and even if we did we should not be able to settle the question. The
theory that the inhabitants of the Sandwich and Society islands came
originally from Japan is supported by the use in their languages of the
prefix O (signifying "honorable") exactly as it is used in Japan. As the
Japanese say O-yama (honorable mountain), so the Hawaiians say O-wyhee,
and the Tahitians O-taheite.
"Many Japanese sports, such as archery, wrestling, boxing,
spear-throwing, and slinging stones, were in vogue in some of the
islands at the time of their discovery; they are rapidly passing away as
the people become civilized, and in another generation or two will
hardly be heard of. In their language they are nearer like the Malay
than the Japanese; that they are of Malay origin is very clearly proven,
but exactly how they came here it is not likely we shall ever know."
While this conversation was going on the yacht was visited by a
custom-house official, who took the declaration of the captain as to her
nationality and name, and her object in visiting Tahiti, and then
returned to shore. Our friends followed him, and in a very short time
were pressing their feet against the solid earth of Papéiti. For an
account of what they saw we will again refer to Fred's journal.
"You cannot see much of Papéiti from anywhere," said Fred, "because of
the great numbers of trees that grow in and around the place. Here they
are: bread-fruit, hibiscus, cocoa-palms, and half a dozen other
varieties, so that nearly every house is hid from view until you are
close upon it. The row of shops and cafés near the water is an exception
to the rule; they are like the same kind of establishments everywhere in
a French colony, and reveal the nationality of the place at a glance.
[Illustration: THE COAST IN A STORM.]
"There are mountains in every direction excepting towards the sea, and
through a gorge at the back of the town a particularly fine mountain is
visible. Most of the houses are only one story in height, especially in
the outskirts, where the well-to-do residents have their villas. In the
town there are a few two or three storied buildings, belonging to the
foreign merchants or used for Government purposes; but these are
exceptions to the general aversion to stair-ways. Land is so cheap here
that everybody ought to have plenty of room.
"The names of the streets make us think of Paris. The principal one is
the Rue de Rivoli, and there we find the hotels, shops, and cafés, or
rather the most of them. On the Rue do Commerce are the warehouses,
where goods and provisions are stored; and the Rue de Pologne, which is
the widest and best shaded of all, is mainly given up to the Chinese
for shops and tea-houses. The Chinaman has taken root here, and
flourishes; every year the Chinese hold upon business increases, and
some of the French residents advocate the expulsion of the Mongolians,
through fear that they will soon have a monopoly of the commerce of the
islands.
"In the resident part of the town nearly every house stands in its own
garden, and the most of these gardens are prettily laid out. There are
good roads in and around the place, and we have had some charming
drives, sometimes in carriages, which we hired at one of the hotels, and
sometimes by invitation of the residents. We have had a most hospitable
reception, and everybody from the Governor down has tried to make us
enjoy our visit.
"The English consul invited us to dine at his country residence, and
afterwards treated us to a moonlight excursion on the water. It was very
pretty, as the lagoon was as calm as a mirror, and there were many boats
out at the same time. The natives seem to be a careless, fun-loving
people. Wherever there is a group of them there is always more or less
laughter going on, and they seem to be constantly playing harmless
little jokes on one another. The evenings here are delightful, and it is
the custom to go out after dinner. The favorite resort is the lawn near
the Government-house; a band from one of the ships-of-war plays there
every evening, and always has a large audience. The natives are very
fond of music, and when it is lively they fall to dancing on the green
turf.
"The population of the two clusters that form the Society group is said
to be a little less than twenty thousand, three-fourths of them
belonging to the Tahitian cluster and one-fourth to the north-western.
The native population of this island is about eight thousand. There are
about one thousand Chinese on the islands, eight hundred French, two
hundred and fifty British subjects, and one hundred and fifty Americans,
and perhaps one hundred of other nationalities.
"They tell us that we can drive in a carriage all the way around Tahiti,
a distance of one hundred and sixty miles, and that we can hardly go a
mile of this distance without coming to a stream of clear water rolling
or rippling down from the mountains. Most of these streams are simply
rivulets or brooks, but some of them are rivers too large and deep to be
forded. Some of these rivers have been bridged, but where this has not
been done they must be crossed by ferry-boats. Villages are scattered at
intervals of a few miles, and any one who undertakes the journey can be
comfortably lodged every night, especially if he sends a courier in
advance to arrange matters for him. Colonel Bush had an idea of making
the journey, but concluded it would be tiresome long before the circuit
was completed, and so the scheme was abandoned.
"One of the early missionaries brought some orange-trees here, and they
were found admirably adapted to the soil and climate of Tahiti. You see
orange-groves or orange-trees everywhere, and we have never found finer
oranges in any part of the world. It is a curious fact that the best
trees are those which have grown from seed scattered carelessly about
without any thought of planting; in nearly every case they are finer and
more productive than those which have been carefully cultivated and
transplanted.
"The French have a _jardin d'essai_, or Experimental Garden, where trees
and plants from all parts of the world are cultivated with a view to
finding those best adapted to Tahiti. As a result of this garden and
other importations, the Tahitians now have mangoes, limes, shaddocks,
citrons, guavas, custard-apples, tamarinds, peaches, figs, grapes,
pineapples, watermelons, cucumbers, cabbages, and other fruits and
vegetables of whose existence the people were entirely ignorant a
hundred years ago.
"The French Government has a garrison of about four hundred soldiers in
Tahiti, with a large staff of officials of various kinds--naval,
military, and civil. The Governor is a personage of great local
importance, as he has very liberal powers and can do pretty much as he
likes. We found him a very pleasant gentleman. He invited all our party
to a reception at the Government-house, and the officers of his staff
showed us many attentions.
[Illustration: A FRENCH BISHOP.]
"The French took possession of Tahiti in 1842; they had been waiting for
an opportunity, and it came in that year. Three Catholic missionaries
had been expelled by Queen Pomare at the instigation, so the French say,
of the English missionaries. A French fleet came to Papéiti and
threatened to bombard the town unless her Majesty should pay immediately
a large indemnity, and consent to the return of the expelled
missionaries. The Queen was quite unable to raise the money, and the
French took possession and established their protectorate.
"The protectorate continued till 1880, when the King, Pomare V., was
persuaded to cede the nominal sovereignty in consideration of a life
pension of twelve thousand dollars annually. The annexation of Tahiti as
a French colony was formally proclaimed in Papéiti March 24th, 1881.
[Illustration: VIEW IN AN ORANGE GROVE.]
"The first missionaries that came here were sent by the London Mission
Society in 1797; but they made little progress in the conversion of the
natives, and after a time were driven away in consequence of
inter-tribal wars among the people. In 1812 the King invited them to
return; they did so, and in the following year a church was established.
"The King was converted to Christianity, together with several of his
priests and subordinate chiefs, and from that time on the work of the
missionaries progressed rapidly. Long before the French took possession
the entire population were nominally Christians, and had burned their
idols and destroyed their heathen temples. There is no evidence that
they ever practised cannibalism, but they were cruel in war. Prisoners
were slaughtered in cold blood, or offered as sacrifices to the gods;
human sacrifices were common, and there were certain tribes and families
from whom, in times of peace, the victims for sacrifice were taken.
"In olden times these tribes and families were selected, and it is said
there was a third of the population whose lives might be taken at any
moment. When a victim was called for, resistance was useless, as the
whole population, even including a man's nearest neighbors, united to
carry him to the _marae_, or altar of sacrifice.
[Illustration: NATIVE BAMBOO HOUSE, TAHITI.]
"In the early days of Christianity the victims for sacrifice were taken
from among the converts, and sometimes the heathen tribes combined to
hunt down the Christians in order to offer them to the gods. It was the
story over again of the persecution of the early Christians in Rome and
elsewhere in Europe.
"When the French took possession of the islands they oppressed the
English missionaries in various ways, and had it not been for the
persistence of the natives in adhering to the men who converted them,
the representatives of the London Mission would have been driven out
altogether. The trouble was finally compromised by allowing the English
missionaries to remain under certain restrictions, and establishing a
French Protestant mission to work in harmony with the French Catholic
one.
"The great bulk of the people are Protestants, as they adhere to the
faith to which they were originally converted. The Society Islands as a
whole now contain three English missionaries, sixteen native ordained
ministers, and more than two hundred other preachers and teachers. There
are four thousand three hundred church members, fifty schools, and more
than two thousand scholars attending them. The French do not make much
interference except on the island of Tahiti, where only one English
missionary is allowed to reside. He is not, however, recognized as a
missionary to the natives, but as pastor of the Bethel Church at
Papéiti."
"That will do for statistics on that subject," said Frank. "While you
have been looking up these points in the history of the islands I've
been finding out what they produce."
"I was getting around to that," replied Fred; "but if you've found it
out I'm glad. What is it?"
[Illustration: NATIVES OF THE SOCIETY ISLANDS FISHING.]
"From all I can learn," said Frank, "the colony isn't a very prosperous
one for the French. The exports amount to about a million dollars
annually, and the imports to seven hundred thousand dollars; there are
no import duties except on fire-arms and spirits, but I am told it is
proposed to place a duty on nearly everything consumed here, so as to
make the colony self-supporting.
"The people have quite abandoned the manufacture of _tappa_, or native
cloth, and dress entirely in goods of European make. They have learned
how to distil intoxicating liquor from the orange, and this delicious
fruit threatens to be a curse to them instead of a blessing. They have
given up tattooing, which was never practised to so great an extent as
in the Marquesas; there would be no use for tattooing now, as they have
all taken to wearing clothes just as in the Sandwich Islands.
"As to the products of the islands," continued Frank, "they consist
principally of cocoanut-oil and coppra (the dried substance of the
cocoanut, from which oil is extracted after its arrival in Europe),
arrow-root, cotton, sugar, and mother-of-pearl shells. The cotton
cultivation has not been profitable; and as to the trade in sugar, it
has not been anywhere nearly so successful as in the Sandwich Islands."
[Illustration: A SEA-URCHIN.]
"You have omitted one thing from your list of products," said Doctor
Bronson, as Frank paused. "You have made no mention of beche-de-mer."
"That's so," was the reply; "but the fact is, I wanted to learn more
about it than I know now."
"I thought so," said the Doctor, smiling, "and so I've arranged that we
will go to the reef to-morrow morning to see how beche-de-mer is taken.
We must make an early start, so as to be there at daylight."
Further talk about the Society Islands was indefinitely postponed, and
the party adjourned to bed. All were up in ample season on the morrow
for the excursion to the reef.
The best time for visiting the reef is at low tide. The tides in the
Society Islands differ from those in most parts of the world, by never
varying from one day to another throughout the year. At noon and at
midnight is the height of the flood, and at six o'clock morning and
evening is the lowest of the ebb. Ordinarily the rise is about two feet;
periodically twice a year there comes a tidal-wave that breaks over the
reef with great violence, and sweeps across the lagoon to the shore.
Frank and Fred sought an explanation of this tidal peculiarity, but were
unable to obtain a satisfactory one. A resident of Papéiti said the
tides were so certain in their movements that many people were able to
tell the time of day very nearly by a glance at the reef.
[Illustration: THE BOTTOM OF THE LAGOON.]
To the student of marine life a coral reef is full of interest, and that
of Tahiti is one of the finest in the world. Here are some of the
curious things that were described by our friends:
"We saw," said Frank, "some enormous starfish with fifteen arms covered
with sharp spines of a gray and orange color. These spines were on the
top of the arms; the bottom had an array of yellow feelers like fingers,
with suckers at the ends. The boatmen cautioned us not to touch these
creatures, but their caution was not needed, as we all kept our hands at
a respectful distance.
[Illustration: SEA-ANEMONE AND HERMIT CRAB.]
"There were thousands and thousands of sea-urchins, some of them with
spikes as large as your fingers and stiff as a nail, down to little
fellows the size of a pigeon's egg, and armed with long needles like the
quills of a porcupine. It is no joke to step on one of these things when
you are bathing in the sea and have your feet unprotected. Somebody has
likened them to thistles, and says they more or less resemble hedgehogs
and porcupines. Urchin, according to the dictionary, means hedgehog, and
therefore the name is not inappropriate.
"There are sea-anemones as large as a cheese, and of all the colors you
can imagine. An amusing thing about them was that a lot of little
fishes, not more than two inches long, were playing hide and seek,
swimming around among the spines of these huge polyps. The water is very
clear, and as you look over the side of the boat into the garden of
coral with its great variety of colors, and its numerous inhabitants,
finny, shelly, and otherwise, it is like a glimpse of fairy-land.
"It made our flesh creep just a little to see the water-snakes coiling
around the branches of coral, and gliding about all unconscious of being
gazed at. Then there are gold-fish, blue-fish (not the blue-fish of
America, but a little fellow of the brightest sky-blue you ever saw),
fish of a pale green, and so on through all the scale of colors. As they
swam among the corals they reminded us of butterflies in a garden."
[Illustration: HERMIT-CRAB AND SEA-SHELL.]
Fred saw a shell travelling along in a most unexpected way, which he
could not understand until he ascertained that it was occupied by a
hermit-crab. Then there were large crabs in their own shells, and also
lobsters, which kept a sharp eye out for danger, and retired to places
of security when the boat approached.
The youths had hoped to be able to walk on the reef, but the surf was so
high that it was unsafe to venture there. Besides, the walking, even
when the reef is comparatively dry, is not of the best, as the surface
is rough, and there are many holes in the coral in which the novice may
get a dangerous fall.
Many fishing-boats were about, as the time of low tide is the best for
fishing, and the water furnishes an important part of the food of the
people. Several fishermen, nearly naked, and armed with spears, were in
the foaming waters at the outer edge of the reef, waiting, with their
weapons poised, ready to strike anything that came within their reach. A
dozen or more large fish were taken in this way while our friends were
looking on; not once did the spearmen miss hitting their mark, and Frank
and Fred both wanted to applaud them for their accuracy of aim.
Inside the lagoon other fishermen were pursuing their prey in boats, the
spearmen standing ready in the bow to embrace every opportunity of
striking. Men and women were fishing after the ordinary manner of
civilization, and with civilized hooks and lines. Formerly they used
hooks of pearl-shell and bone, and also hooks of the roots of the
ironwood-tree. But in these modern days the ordinary hooks of commerce
are almost the only ones ever seen in Tahiti.
Then there were net-fishers in great number, and with many varieties of
net. Seines, purse-nets, casting-nets, dip-nets, all were there, and all
handled with the dexterity which is only attained by long practice.
[Illustration: VIEW AMONG THE CORAL BRANCHES.]
The guide explained that some of the fishes which were excellent eating
at one time of the year were poisonous at another. The poisonous
condition is caused by their crunching the coral at the time it is said
to be in blossom, and by eating sea-centipedes, which resemble a yard
or two of black string with the smallest imaginable legs. All the
land-crabs of Tahiti are edible, but several sea-crabs are not; and
there is one variety so poisonous that it is only eaten when the eater
wishes to commit suicide.
Beautiful shells are brought up from the depths of the waters, but they
must be touched with great care, as the spines of many of them are
poisonous. One of them, scientifically known as _Conus textilis_, a
beautiful shell of cone-like shape, has been known to cause death in a
few hours, the symptoms being much like those produced by the bite of a
rattlesnake. Some of the jelly-fishes of England and America have the
same poisonous character, but in a much smaller degree.
The guide hailed a boat which was filled with sea-slugs, sea-cucumbers,
tripang, or beche-de-mer, as this article of commerce is variously
known, and the youths had an opportunity of examining the curious marine
product. They were cautioned not to touch them, as these apparently
helpless creatures, which resembled sausages or bags of India-rubber
filled with sea-water, were not as harmless as they appeared. The guide
said they ejected this water when touched; and if it fell on a wound or
scratch, or into the eye, it caused intense pain, and sometimes resulted
in temporary or even permanent blindness.
The sea-slugs were of all colors--black, red, gray, and two or three
varieties of green. The most dangerous is an olive-green one marked with
orange spots, and hence called the leopard. When it is disturbed it
throws up long filaments like threads or strings, which adhere very
tenaciously; and wherever they touch the skin they raise a burning
blister.
Most of the sea-slugs are caught in still water by divers, who use forks
with long prongs, with which they secure their prey. There is one
variety, the red one, which is taken in the surf, but all the others
prefer quiet nooks. When a canoe has been filled with these
repulsive-looking objects it proceeds to the drying establishment on
shore. There the creatures are thrown into a kettle of boiling water
sufficiently long to kill them; then they are cleaned, and stewed for
half an hour, and then placed on racks of sticks for smoking and drying.
The smoking must be kept up for three days, and longer if the weather is
damp, and then the leathery substance is ready for packing in palm-leaf
baskets for transportation to China. Great care must be taken to have it
thoroughly dried, as the least remaining moisture will spoil it during
its long voyage in the hold of a ship.
[Illustration: A FISH INSIDE A SEA-SLUG.]
Sometimes fishes are found inside the sea-slug, and it seems to be well
established that they live altogether in this contracted sea-water tank.
When taken out and placed in clear salt-water they soon die, in spite of
every precaution.
While looking over the side of the boat Fred saw a large clam, and
immediately coveted it. The guide engaged a diver who was near by, and
for a small reward the man went below for the prize.
The clam was lying with his mouth open, and evidently enjoying his
morning bath of sea-water. The diver inserted a sharply pointed stick
into the flesh of the mollusk, and the shell closed upon it instantly.
Then he severed the filaments which attached the clam to the rock, and
with one hand below the shell and another holding the stick, made his
way to the surface.
[Illustration: CORALINE.]
"Most of the diving for clams is done by the women," said the guide,
while Fred was gazing at the huge shell, nearly two feet long, which lay
before him. "Many a woman, and many a man too," continued the guide,
"has been nipped by the shell and drowned there, totally unable to
escape. In all parts of the South Pacific you will hear horrible stories
of death in this way. These clams grow to a great size, as you see; half
a shell often serves as a bath-tub for a child, and in the Catholic
churches of Polynesia it is used for holy water.
"Some years ago a native in the Paumotan Islands was diving for
pearl-oysters, and while feeling around for them accidentally thrust his
hand inside a gaping clam-shell, which closed on him instantly. The
shell was in a hole in the coral, so that he could not reach the back to
detach it; the only thing he could do was to sever his fingers with the
knife in his free hand. He thus saved himself from being drowned, but
was maimed for life."
The guide called the attention of the youths to some large eels which
were coiled up in the coral. He said they were very voracious, and many
natives had been deprived of fingers by these uncanny creatures. They
sometimes reach a length of eight or ten feet, and one poor fellow had
the whole calf of a leg bitten off by one of them.
Then there are a great many cuttle-fish, and sometimes the girls and
women are caught and overpowered by them. The danger from these
creatures is so well known that the natives rarely go out alone to dive
for them or for clams. Some of the cuttle-fish measure six feet across;
they lie in holes in the coral, and throw out their long arms to grasp
anything that comes in their reach. They cling around the body of a
diver or wrap themselves about his head, and unless speedily relieved by
his companions his death is inevitable.
"Are there any more dangers among the reefs?" said Frank, when all these
had been recounted.
"Yes," was the reply; "there are great numbers of sharks, some of them
harmless and others dangerous. The worst is a white shark, thirty feet
long, and he is so bold that he has been known to attack canoes, either
by overturning them and throwing their occupants into the water, or by
seizing an arm or leg which happened to be out-stretched, and dragging
its owner overboard.
[Illustration: OCTOPUS, OR DEVIL-FISH.]
"There is a smaller shark, six or eight feet long, which lives in caves
in the coral, and comes out in search of food. Its flesh is good to eat,
and one of these sharks is quite a prize. In some of the groups of
islands the fishermen dive into the shark caverns while the monster is
asleep, and pass a noose around his tail; then the man rises instantly
to the surface, and his companions haul up the ugly creature tail first,
stunning him with a club or hammer as he comes over the side of the
boat."
"But suppose," said one of the youths, "that after the diver has entered
the cave the shark should change his position and get across the
door-way."
"In that case," replied the guide, "his only mode of escape will be to
tickle the shark so as to induce him to move aside. He can only do this
when its tail is towards him; if he has turned the other way the man's
fate is practically sealed."
Fred concluded that he would never indulge in diving for sharks as a
means of livelihood, and Frank fully agreed with him.
[Illustration: STINGAREE, OR SEA-DEVIL.]
Then the guide told them of the stingaree, or sting-ray, which is not
unknown in American waters, but grows to a much greater size here than
on the coast of the United States. Its tail has a sharp, barbed point,
which generally breaks off when struck into the flesh; the point is
serrated on both sides, the teeth pointing backward, and so it works its
way inward like the quill of a porcupine. Other dangers of the water
were described; but it is time to return from the reef, and so we will
leave them there.
On their return to Papéiti our friends visited the market, going first
to the section where fish were offered for sale. Here is Frank's note
upon what they saw there:
"There were fishes of all sizes and kinds: bonito, rockfish, eels,
clams, oysters, mussels, turtle, salmon from the rivers, prawns, crabs,
and a great many varieties of finny and scaly things that have no name
in English. The natives are fond of raw fish, and we saw them swallowing
little fishes whole and slices of big ones just as we would dispose of a
basket of strawberries. One of the first persons we saw in the market
was a pretty girl of eighteen or twenty who was crunching live shrimps,
or letting them wriggle down her throat as readily as she would swallow
so many sugar-plums.
"Some European residents have acquired the taste for raw fish, and they
say it is delicious. We have not ventured upon it, though we take clams
and oysters raw according to the practice of our own country. The
tropical bivalves are not so good as those of temperate regions, and I
believe this is the general testimony of travellers.
"The market is well supplied with chickens, turkeys, pigeons, and
ducks, which are nearly always sold alive, as the heat of the climate
prevents their being kept more than a few hours after slaughtering. Pigs
are sold alive, and they are carried about suspended by their hind-legs
from a pole. It is painful to hear them squeal, and there ought to be a
Tahitian branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
to put a stop to this barbarity.
[Illustration: GARDEN OF A SUBURBAN RESIDENCE.]
"Most of the market-people were natives, but I observed a good many
Chinese there, especially in the section devoted to vegetables and
fruits. These people take very naturally to vegetable gardens, and their
patient industry is well rewarded by the fertile soil of Tahiti."
[Illustration: GATHERING ORANGES FOR THE FEAST.]
On reaching the hotel, our friends found an invitation to a feast which
one of the merchants was to give the next day at his country residence,
in native style. They immediately sent acceptances, and were ready at
the time appointed for the carriage which was provided by their
thoughtful host.
"When we reached the house," said Fred, "each of us was provided with a
new bathing-dress and towels, and proceeded to the river close by, where
numbers of guests were already enjoying a bath in the clear water. The
party straggled back in twos and threes; and as fast as we returned
every one of us was crowned with a wreath of flowers after the Tahitian
custom. There was a great deal of fun and laughter about this part of
the entertainment, but everybody enjoyed it, and entered heartily into
the sport of the occasion. The guests included all our party from the
yacht, the officers from the ships of war, every stranger of consequence
in Papéiti, and pretty nearly every respectable resident.
"By the time everybody had returned from the bath and received his crown
the feast was announced, and we went in procession to the dining-hall.
This proved to be a temporary building, made of a slight framework of
bamboos and banana-trees, covered with a thatch of palm-leaves and
decorated with festoons of leaves and vines.
"The building was erected over a fine piece of lawn, and the table was
spread on the grass. Instead of a table as we understand it, fresh
banana-leaves were spread on the grass, and on these the good things of
the feast were laid. On the grass at the edge of this novel table-cloth
mats made of cocoa fibre were spread, and on these mats we sat down
native fashion. It was rather awkward getting down to the floor, but of
course the awkwardness added to the fun of the occasion.
"The substantial part of the feast consisted of turkeys, chickens, and
young pigs, roasted and served cold, and then there were all kinds of
fin and shell fish, both raw and cooked. All the fruits of the island
were there, and all the vegetables, including yams, sweet-potatoes,
cucumbers, and the like. European wines took the place of the native
drink, _kava_, which is rapidly going out of use.
"Instead of plates, each of us had a pile of bread-fruit leaves which
served as plates, and in front of each guest there were four half
cocoanut-shells. One was full of drinking-water, the second full of
milk, the third contained chopped cocoanut, and the fourth sea-water.
The sea-water was emptied into the chopped cocoanut to form a sauce like
the Chinese _soy_, into which the various articles of food were dipped
before being conveyed to the mouth, and then the shell was filled with
fresh water, and used as a finger-glass.
"We enjoyed the feast very much, though all of us confessed afterwards
to a back-ache, from the novelty of our positions. After the feast there
was dancing in the spacious parlor of our host, and the festivities were
kept up until late in the evening."
[Illustration: TAMARIND-TREE AT POINT VENUS.]
An excursion was made the next day to Point Venus, which has a historic
interest, as it is the promontory where Captain Cook made the
astronomical observations by which he determined the correct position of
the Society Islands. The name of the place commemorates his observation
of the transit of Venus which he and his scientific party made here in
1769.
It was a delightful ride along the Broom-road, as it is called, shaded
by palm and bread-fruit trees, and through groves of oranges, citrons,
guavas, bananas, and other tropical productions. Our friends inspected
the light-house which is maintained here to direct the mariner
approaching Papéiti, and Frank made a sketch of the tamarind-tree
planted by Captain Cook near the spot where he made the famous
observations.
[Illustration: A GROVE OF COCOANUT TREES.]