there; and it was no longer of the domestic species; it had become very
numerous and entirely wild, but as yet had occasioned no sensible
diminution in the number of rats. It may be hoped, however, that as the
cats have no other food, those voracious pests of the gardens may at
length be exterminated. These cats, under the influence of a strange
climate, and in an undomesticated state, may perhaps undergo some change
of properties and habits, by which naturalists, always well pleased to
enlarge their zoological lists, may be led to consider them as an
unknown species of tiger. To obviate this error, I advertise such gentry
beforehand, that the animal in question is absolutely nothing more than
the ordinary European household cat.
Of the plants which we had introduced to the Radackers, the vine alone
had failed. Lagediak pointed out to me the spot on which we had planted
it. It had withered, but not till, from the extreme fruitfulness of the
soil, its tendrils had reached the tops of the highest trees.
I was not surprised that Kadu should have married soon after our
departure a native of the island of Ormed. The girls there are
particularly handsome, and we had some suspicion of an affair of the
heart, from the sudden change in his previous determination to accompany
us to Russia, which took place immediately after an excursion he had
made with Mr. Chamisso to Ormed. Fortunately for himself, he preferred
a quiet domestic life under his own beautiful sky, to tempting the
severity of our Northern climate, which would probably soon have
destroyed him; and fortunately for his countrymen, he remained to
cultivate among them the beneficial arts of gardening and breeding of
cattle.
The melancholy of Rarik still continuing after all this explanation, I
again inquired the cause. He then tremblingly led me by the arm to the
cocoa-tree, against which I had fastened a copper-plate, bearing the
name of my ship, and the date of my discovery of the island, and
denouncing severe punishment in case of its removal. It had
disappeared:--how easily might Rarik and Lagediak, and the crowd of
people, all equally dejected, who followed us, have excused themselves
by an assertion, that Lamari, on his predatory expedition, had carried
off this plate; but they were too honourable. Imploring my pardon, they
candidly confessed that they had been deficient in their care of
it,--that it had been stolen, and that they had been unable to discover
the thief.
Rejoiced to find that their melancholy arose from no cause more serious
than this, I cordially embraced my friends, while they wept for joy in
my arms. Their happiness was now complete, and the multitude returned
with us, shouting for joy, to Rarik's dwelling, where an _Eb_, or
artless opera, was represented; the subject,--my crew of the Rurik and
myself: each song celebrated one of us individually, and the praises of
the whole were chanted in the concluding chorus. I regretted much that I
could not understand them better. The words, _moll_ (iron), _aidarah_
(friend), _tamon_ (commander), _oa ellip_ (great boat), and Kadu's name,
were frequently repeated. The Radackers preserve their traditions in
these poetic representations; and as they assemble every evening to
amuse themselves with dancing and singing, the children, while taking
part in these innocent pleasures, learn the history of their country in
the most agreeable manner, and communicate it in their turn to
succeeding generations.
When the dramatic piece was concluded, and I had distributed all the
little presents I had brought, I returned to my vessel, my friends
promising me a visit the same day.
I now had all the boats lowered to bring ashore our tent and pendulum
apparatus. The islanders received the sailors with great alacrity,
brought them cocoa-nuts, helped them to disembark, and set up the tent,
and appeared delighted with our intention of establishing ourselves on
land.
Rarik and Lagediak were the first who visited us in the afternoon. They
rowed several times in their little canoe round the ship, contemplated
it very attentively, and with emotions of wonder, repeatedly exclaiming,
_Erico! Erico!_--a word denoting admiration. When I met them upon deck,
they forgot to salute me, stood at first riveted to the spot like
statues, till an "O, o!" stretched to a minute's length, gave vent at
last to their astonishment. I led them round, and showed them all that
could interest them, their surprise increasing with every novelty they
saw.
Lagediak inquired if the ship and all its appurtenances had been made in
Russia; and on my answering in the affirmative, exclaimed, _Tamon
Russia, ellip, ellip!_ words which my readers will now be prepared to
understand.
Lagediak soon commenced an admeasurement of the ship in all directions,
with a string he had brought for this purpose: having obtained the
dimensions of the ship's body, he next climbed the masts, to measure the
yards and sails. My friends also expressed much surprise at the great
number of men on board, and tried to count them. At the number ten, they
always made a knot on a piece of string, and then began again. In
comparison with the compliment of the Rurik, (only twenty men,) my
present crew must have appeared extremely numerous.
A crowd of the islanders soon came on board, without the least
hesitation or fear. Though very merry, and quite at home, they were all
well-behaved and modest. Incessant laughter pealed from below, where
these lovers of mirth had mingled with our sailors, in all sorts of
tricks and jests; the different parties danced and sang alternately,
each laughing heartily at the performances of the other. They exchanged
embraces and presents; of the guests especially not one was
empty-handed: they had brought their finest fruit, and little specimens
of their handiwork; and each, with unaffected cordiality, lavished the
contents of his cornucopia on a chosen friend. The setting sun gave the
signal for separation, and it was obeyed amidst mutual promises of
meeting again on the morrow.
Lagediak, after finishing his measurements, did not again move from my
side. His desire of knowledge was boundless; nor could the explanations
I was obliged to give upon the most insignificant articles satisfy his
curiosity. On learning that we could stay only a few days at Otdia, he
again became very sorrowful, and most earnestly pressed me to spend the
remainder of my life here. He left nothing untried to procure my
acquiescence in this wish: love, ambition, glory, were successively held
out as lures: I should have the most beautiful woman of the islands for
my wife,--should kill the tyrant and usurper Lamari, as he had killed
his predecessor, and should reign in his stead Tamon of Radack. As I let
him talk on without interruption, he supposed I should accede to his
plans. In his joy over this offspring of his own imagination, he jumped
about the cabin like a child, and, on quitting the ship, earnestly
enjoined me to say nothing to Rarik of our project.
Lagediak, on visiting me again the following morning, brought me roasted
fish, bread-fruit, and fresh cocoa-nuts, for breakfast: he drank coffee
with me, and appeared to think it not much amiss. He brought with him
his son, about thirteen or fourteen years of age, to present to me. This
interesting boy appeared to inherit the disposition of his amiable
father. His intelligent countenance afforded a promise, which the
modesty and propriety of his conduct confirmed: he might easily have
been educated for our most refined society.
Lagediak soon recurred to his yesterday's project of making me chief of
Radack. He sketched the plan of its execution, and entered upon the
further measures which would be requisite to give power and stability to
the new government. We were first to sail to Aur and vanquish Lamari,
and then to attack the hostile group of the Mediuro islands, the
conquest of which would render me master of the whole chain of Radack.
Animated by these valiant projects, he flourished his fist as if
already in battle, till it encountered a tea-cup, which fell in a
thousand fragments to the ground. His natural timidity suddenly banished
the heroism into which his subject had wrought him: he feared he had
done me an injury, and consequently incurred my displeasure. I
re-assured him on this head, but gave him much pain by representing the
impossibility of my remaining in Radack, as my duty called me elsewhere.
After some minutes of silent consideration, he led his son to me, and
begged I would take him with me to Russia. I was then obliged to explain
to him that I should never return to Radack, and that if his son
accompanied me, he must take leave of him for ever. This was too much
for the father's heart; he embraced his son, and would no longer think
of a separation. He was also overcome with sorrow at the idea of seeing
me for the last time; and a little self-interest probably mingled in the
melancholy look he cast upon a hatchet which I had given him, as he
exclaimed--"I shall never get any iron again!"
I now turned the conversation on the Mediuro, and expressed a wish to
know how the campaign had prospered, which Lamari, when I was last here,
was about to undertake against those islands. He understood me
perfectly, and taxed to the utmost his powers of pantomime to give me an
account of the war, in which he had himself been engaged.
Lamari's fleet, as I understood my informant, consisted of forty
vessels; and therefore, judging by the size of the boats here, the whole
army could not be above four hundred strong, including the women, who,
from the rear, lend assistance to the combatants by throwing stones at
the enemy, and by assuming the surgeon's office. This force was
collected from the whole Radack chain; the war was bloody, and lasted
six whole days. Five of the enemy were slain, and Lamari gained a
splendid victory with the loss of one man! The fleet returned
triumphant, laden with cocoa-nuts, bread-fruit, and pandanas. Kadu had
especially distinguished himself: he was armed with a sabre and lance,
and wore a white shirt, and wide trowsers, which formidable attire was
completed by a red cap on his head. All the hatchets, above a hundred
in number, which I had given to the Radackers, and which Lamari
afterwards appropriated, were fastened on long poles and distributed
among the best warriors; this gave the army of Lamari a great advantage;
so that I might take credit to myself for the happy issue of the
campaign.
Lagediak informed me further that Lamari had also determined on an
expedition to the Odia[6] group of islands, belonging to the Ralik
chain. The inhabitants of these had heard something of the treasures
which the Radackers had acquired by my visit, and their rapacity being
excited, had made an attack on the Kawen group of the Radack chain,
without the usual declaration of war, and thus taking the inhabitants by
surprise, had beaten and plundered them, and returned home laden with
booty, though the Kawen people had made a valorous resistance, and
killed two of the Odians without losing a man themselves. This appeared
to have occurred about a year before my arrival, and the vengeance of
Lamari had been hitherto delayed; the levying and provisioning an army
being here a work of time. Radack is so thinly peopled that all the
islands must send their quota of men, which, on account of the extension
of the chain, cannot be very speedily performed. For a voyage to the
Ralik chain and back, victualling for four weeks at least is necessary,
as the return is against the trade-wind. The Mogan, which is principally
used in these expeditions, is very nutritious, and the Radackers are
very moderate, so that a small quantity suffices for their support,
otherwise they could not provision their canoes for voyages of this
length.
I was surprised to find Lagediak perfectly secure of the success of this
undertaking, and expressed my fears that his countrymen might possibly
be worsted, but he continued sanguine,--for the hatchets with which his
brethren were armed, the sword, and dread-inspiring costume of Kadu,
were sources of confidence which could not be abated.
During this conversation in the cabin, several islanders came on board,
and the noise from below resembled that of the preceding day. Rarik had
also arrived, decorated with fresh garlands of flowers, and had brought
me some trifling presents. The generally-dreaded Langin, Tamon of
Egmedio, presented himself to me this day, for the first time: he
appeared glad to see me; but when on deck, the size of the ship, and the
number of the crew, impressed him with so much alarm, that his very
teeth chattered. This anguish attack continued some time, but was at
length cured by our friendly deportment.
Accompanied by Rarik and Lagediak, I rowed ashore, and found Messrs.
Preus and Lenz already busy with the pendulum. They were perfectly
satisfied with the natives, who had behaved very well, and, except by
special permission to come nearer, had kept at the appointed distance
from the tent. They usually sat in a circle round the place, where the
observations were made, and gazed with wonder at the astronomer who had
so much business with the sun, taking him no doubt for a conjuror.
In the hours of recreation, we allowed them to come to the tent, and
they always joyfully availed themselves of the permission, performing a
thousand little services, which made them appear really necessary to
us, yet remaining invariably so modest, gentle, and friendly, that my
company declared them to be, without exception, the most amiable people
on earth.
Rarik took me to his house, to witness another dramatic representation:
the subject was the war on Mediuro. Women sang, or rather screamed, the
deeds of the warriors; and the men in their dances endeavoured, by angry
gestures and brandishing their lances, to describe the valour of the
combatants. I expressed to Rarik my wish to know more of their method of
warfare; he and Lagediak in consequence assembled two troops, which they
opposed to each other at a short distance, as hostile armies; the first
rank, in both, consisting of men, and the second of women. The former
were armed with sticks instead of lances, the latter had their baskets
filled with pandana seeds for stones, and their hair, instead of being
as usual, tastefully bound up, hung dishevelled and wild about their
heads, giving them the appearance of maniacs. Rarik placed himself at
the head of one troop, and Lagediak of the other: both gave the signal
for attack, by blowing their muscle horns. The adverse forces
approached; but instead of the battle began a comic dance, in which the
two armies emulated each other in grimaces, furious gesticulations, and
a distortion of the eyes, which left only the whites visible, while the
women shrieked a war-song, which, if their opponents had been lovers of
harmony, would assuredly have put them to flight. The leaders on each
side took no share in these violent exertions, but stood still,
animating their troops by the tones of the muscle horn. When exhausted
by these efforts, the horns were silent, and the armies separated by
mutual consent, looking on while some of the most valiant from each side
came forward to challenge with threats and abuse a champion of the enemy
to single combat. This was represented by dancing and songs, and
occasional movements with the hand, as if to throw the lance, which the
antagonist sought to avoid by dexterously springing aside. The
respective armies and their leaders animated the courage of their
warriors by battle-songs, till the horns were blown again; the armies
once more slowly approached each other; the champions retired into
their ranks, and the battle was renewed with a prodigious noise; spears
waved in the air; pandana seed flew from the delicate hands of the
female warriors, over the heads of their husbands, upon the enemy, but
the armies never came near enough to be really engaged. The leaders
remained in front loudly blowing their horns, and sometimes giving
commands. At length, by accident or design, one of Lagediak's men fell;
the battle was now over, the victory decided, and the signal given for
drawing off the forces. Both armies were so exhausted, that they threw
themselves on the grass, and amidst laughing and merriment, gave
themselves up to repose.
A large sailing-boat now put ashore, and an old man with white hair and
beard was lifted from it; his shrivelled skin hung loosely over his
emaciated form, and his weakness was so extreme, that he could only
approach us by crawling on his hands and feet: Rarik and Lagediak went
to meet and welcome him. It was my old acquaintance, Langediu, Tamon of
Ormed. When our frigate lay at anchor before his island, he had not
ventured, he said, to visit us, not knowing whether we were friends or
foes; but when he heard that Totabu was arrived, he determined to make
an effort to see me once more before his death. The old man crawled up
to me and embraced me, shedding tears of joy; he talked a great deal,
and spoke of Kadu being with Lamari in Aur.
On my former visit, the traces of old age were scarcely perceptible in
Langediu; but in the intervening eight years they had increased rapidly;
still, although his body was so weak that he could only crawl on
all-fours, he retained all the faculties of his mind, all his original
vivacity and good-humour, and his facetious remarks excited the
merriment of the whole assembly. I have in many instances observed that
at Radack, old age brings with it no particular disease, and that the
mind remains unimpaired till its mortal covering sinks into the grave. A
fine climate, moderate labour, and a vegetable diet, probably all
contribute to produce this effect.
Langediu having intimated his wish to see the Oa ellip, I immediately
rowed in my boat to the ship, followed by him in his Oa warro, or war
canoe: he was much pleased with the vessel, and all that he saw, and not
less so with the little presents he received; but a circumstance
occurred that caused the honourable old man some chagrin: one of his
attendants having concluded a friendship with the cook, took advantage
of it to secrete a knife in his canoe; the cook missed the knife, and
his suspicions immediately fell on his friend. His person and canoe were
searched, and on the discovery of the stolen treasure the criminal
confessed his fault. He trembled exceedingly, probably remembering the
flogging one of his countrymen received on board the Rurik for a similar
offence. As my stay was this time to be so short, I considered the
flogging superfluous, and magnanimously forgave him, with a reproof, and
an admonition never to steal again. Poor old Langediu was much hurt. He
crawled about the ship in an agitated manner, exclaiming, _Kabuderih emo
aidarah_ (stealing not good), severely reprimanded, and threatened the
offender,--showed him all the presents received from us, observing how
much we must be shocked to be robbed, notwithstanding all our
generosity. He then led him to the guns, made him remark their great
number, and said, _Manih Emich_, _manih ni_, _ma_, (kill the island,
kill the cocoa-trees, bread-fruit trees). Probably the old man had
learned from Kadu the effect the guns would produce. After much chafing
and scolding, he ordered the offender back into the canoe, and forbade
him to come again on board:--not a word did the thief utter the whole
time, and instantly obeyed the order to quit the vessel, but the old
master could not be pacified. He frequently repeated, "_Kabuderih emo
aidarah_," and his visit afforded him no more pleasure. He took an early
leave of us, requesting that we would come to him on his island.
The face of the thief appeared familiar to me; and Lagediak, in answer
to my inquiries, informed me, laughing, that this was the brother of the
man who had been beaten on board the Rurik. The propensity to theft
appears to be a family failing. No other Radacker during our stay
attempted to purloin the smallest trifle.
In the afternoon, a large boat sailed through the Lagediak Straits into
the basin. I flattered myself with the arrival of some of my friends
from Aur, perhaps Kadu himself; but it was the gay Labugar from Eregub,
brought hither by curiosity, having seen us sail past his island.
When he heard who the strangers were, he immediately came to the ship.
His joy at seeing me again was very great; but he regretted much that
his friend Timaro, with whom he had exchanged names, was not of our
company. The spirits of Labugar had lost during eight years none of
their sprightliness; but his face looked much older, and his hair had
become grey.
The fine weather induced me on the 3rd of May to visit Langediu on the
island of Ormed; he received me with the greatest joy, and offered me
his most costly treasures as presents. The children, grand-children, and
great-grand-children of the good old man assembled round his house, and
represented a dramatic piece for my amusement, in which Langediu himself
played a principal part, and astonished me by the animation of his
action and singing. As this was one of the best representations I have
seen in Radack, I will describe it, in the hope that my readers also
will not be uninterested in it.
The number of the _dramatis personæ_ was twenty-six, thirteen men and
thirteen women, who seated themselves in the following order on a spot
of smooth turf. Ten men sat in a semicircle, and opposite to them ten
women in a semicircle also, so that by uniting the points, an entire
circle would have been formed, but a space of about six feet was left at
both ends, in each of which sat an old woman provided with a drum. This
drum, made of the hollow trunk of a tree, is about three feet long, six
inches in diameter at each end, narrowed like an hour-glass, to half
that thickness in the middle. Both ends are covered with the skin of the
shark: it is held under the arm, and struck with the palm of the hand.
In the middle of the circle, old Langediu took his station with a
handsome young woman, sitting back to back. The whole party were
elegantly adorned about the head, and the females about the body also,
with garlands of flowers. Outside the circle stood two men with muscle
horns. The hollow tones of these horns are the signal for a chorus
performed by the whole company, with violent movements of the arms and
gesticulations meant to be in consonance with the words. When this
ceased, a duet from the pair in the middle was accompanied by the drums
and horns only; Langediu fully equalling his young companion in
animation. The chorus then began again, and this alternation was
repeated several times, till the young songstress whose motions had been
growing more and more vehement, suddenly fell down as dead. Langediu's
song then became lower and more plaintive: he bent over the body, and
seemed to express the deepest sorrow; the whole circle joined in his
lamentations, and the play concluded.
Deficient as was my knowledge of the language, I was still able clearly
to understand the subject of this tragedy, which represented a marriage
ceremony. The young girl was forced to accept of a husband whom she did
not love, and preferred death to such an union. Perhaps the reason of
old Langediu's playing the part of the lover might be, to give more
probability to the young bride's objections and resolution.