A HARD TRIAL FOR JACK AND TERENCE--THE DRAGON AND EOLUS SAIL FOR THE
PACIFIC--THE STRAITS OF MAGELLAN, VALPARAISO, CALLAO--PERUVIAN
KIDNAPPERS--A STRANGE TALE--SAIL FOR TAHITI--FALL IN WITH A KIDNAPPER--A
FEARFUL ATROCITY--A CORAL ISLAND--TAHITI--ITS PRESENT STATE--SAMOA.
"Those Lords of the Admiralty are the most horribly cruel, tyrannical,
hard-hearted set I ever heard of. Why could they not have appointed
another officer who is not just married? There are numbers of single
men who would have been delighted to take command of the _Dragon_; and
to think of their sending you, my dear, dear Jack, all the way out to
the Pacific, for I don't know how many years, among coral reefs and
cannibals, and all sorts of fearful dangers;" and Mrs Jack Rogers put
her handkerchief to her eyes and sobbed as if her heart would break.
Her husband, who held an official-looking letter, which he had just
read, in his hand, looked as he felt, much distressed; but at the same
time, it never occurred to him that he could possibly refuse the
appointment to the fine new screw-steamer which had just been offered
him, although her destination was the Pacific, and she might be kept out
there three or four years. It was the first trial of his married life--
a very great one--and he had had no other as yet to break him in. He in
vain tried to comfort his young wife; it was very, very hard to them
both; and, indeed, it was very difficult to discover any sort of
comfort, and the more he said the more poor Julia wept.
"Could you not say that, under your circumstances, you would rather be
appointed to the coastguard?" she exclaimed at length; "then you might
stay at home, and I should not be separated from you in the unnatural
way the Admiralty propose."
"It would be equivalent to desiring to be shelved, and I aspire to
become a post-captain and to get my flag some day," answered Jack. "Our
case is not worse than that of many others. Some friends of mine have
been sent off to sea a few days only after they have been married."
"It was a shame, then, and they had no business to go," answered Julia
indignantly. "I wonder how those horrid lords themselves would like
being separated from their wives, unless, as is possible, they are
incapable of feeling the slightest love for them."
"I assure you, my dear Julia, that, though in the aggregate they are
somewhat inconsiderate of the feelings of naval officers, they are
individually as amiable gentlemen and affectionate husbands as any other
men," said Jack. "My friend, Tom Somers, one of the most lucky dogs in
the service, who was a post-captain at five-and-twenty, tells a capital
story on the subject. He is, I must confess, impudence personified. He
was one day at the Admiralty, complaining to one of the lords, much in
the way that you are now doing, of their want of consideration for the
feelings of junior officers. The lord heard him out, and then asked him
to come and dine with him, which Tom condescended to do; and a very good
dinner, with a number of excellent wines, he enjoyed. His host produced
one bottle after the other of different descriptions, and of the
choicest. `And you like my wines?' he asked. `Excellent, all of them,
sir,' answered Tom. `I shouldn't mind dining with you once a week while
I remain on shore.' `Very well,' answered the lord: `but as I am
leaving home, and cannot have the pleasure of seeing you, I'll send you
a bottle, and you shall tell me how you like it.'
"The next day Tom received a bottle, tied significantly round with red
tape, for his host was somewhat of a wag. On tasting it, Tom poured out
a glass and drank it off, but the instant afterwards regretted his
precipitancy, for he declared that he had never tasted anything so
execrable. Just then his friend looked in upon him. `Well, Somers, how
did you like my wine?' he asked. `I can't say that I ever wish to take
another drop of it,' answered Tom. `Well, I sent you exactly the wines
you tasted at my house,' answered his visitor. `You, however, drank
them separately; I mixed them together, and you complain of the result.
Now if you take each of us lords by ourselves, you will find us as
well-disposed and amiable as most other men; but when we act together we
put aside all the gentle feelings of our nature, and form the stern,
unrelenting body you and others find us.' I believe, Julia, Tom gave a
very exact description of the Admiralty; and however much some of the
lords might be disposed to befriend me individually, I should ruin
myself in the service were I to plead that I have just married a wife,
and would rather not go to sea."
"Then is there no chance of your getting some other appointment?" asked
Julia, in a faltering tone.
"Not the slightest, I am afraid," answered Jack; "however, we must make
the best of a bad case. Some weeks may pass before the ship is ready
for sea, and perhaps before that time you will have got tired of me."
Julia gave a melancholy smile, as she looked up in her husband's face.
"I am jealous of Lucy," she said after some time; "I suppose the
Admiralty will not also be appointing Commander Adair to a ship."
"I am not so certain of that," said Jack; "I know that they talk of
sending out several to put a stop to the kidnapping system which has of
late prevailed in the Pacific, as also to keep some of the black and
brown island-chiefs in order, and they may fix on Adair as likely as on
anyone else."
"Poor Lucy!" said Julia; "I am sure I don't really wish her to share my
fate."
This conversation took place at Colonel Giffard's, where Jack and his
bride were staying. The very next day he got a letter from Adair, who
with Lucy was at Southsea, saying that he had been appointed to the
_Eolus_, to proceed forthwith to the Pacific station.
"Lucy behaves capitally, like a sailor's wife, and says she knows I
ought to go--though it is a cruel affair to us both. However, Jack, I
know that you will compassionate us, and that your wife will do her best
to comfort her when I am away. I tell her that I have hopes of coming
back in a couple of years, as I will try at the end of that time to get
superseded, which, with the help of the admiral, I hope I may succeed in
doing."
"Poor Lucy!" said Julia, "we must support each other; but when we
married, I little thought such would be our fate."
Jack, of course, took his wife down to Southsea, as, fortunately for
him, the _Dragon_ was fitting out at Portsmouth, as was also the
_Eolus_. The young ladies, having got over their first sensations of
grief when they met, wisely determined to make the most of their
husbands during the time they remained with them. The _Eolus_ was
almost ready for sea, and sailed about a fortnight after Adair had
commissioned her. Curiously enough, Desmond had been previously
appointed to her; so he once more accompanied his uncle.
The _Dragon_ was not ready till the week afterwards. Jack was glad to
get Jos Green as master, with Mr Mildmay as his first lieutenant. His
brother Tom, who had been taking a spell on shore, was appointed to her,
and, just before she sailed, Archie Gordon joined her. Dick Needham,
though eligible for a much higher rate, had joined as gunner, with Mr
Large, who had been with Jack in the _Gauntlet_, as boatswain. When it
was known that Jack was to command the _Dragon_, several old shipmates
volunteered, Jerry Bird and Tim Nolan among them. Tom was much pleased
to have his old messmate Billy Blueblazes. Dicky Duff had joined the
_Eolus_. Altogether Jack was well satisfied with his officers and
ship's company.
We cannot venture to describe the parting, as it might be too touching
to the feelings of our fair readers. Lucy, having had to undergo the
same ordeal just before, was able to console her sister-in-law. Jack's
manly heart felt very full, but he tore himself away, and, hastening on
board, ordered the ship, which was at Spithead, to be got under weigh.
Round went the men at the capstan, the merry pipe sounding, and under
all sail the _Dragon_ stood down Channel. She was directed not to use
her coal except in case of necessity. Having touched at Madeira, where
she took in a cask of wine for the admiral, and oranges enough to keep
scurvy at bay for many a month, and having sighted the Cape de Verdes in
the distance, she stood across to Rio. That city had improved greatly
since Jack was last there, the enlightened Emperor being the advocate of
liberal institutions, which have done much to advance the social as well
as the material interests of the inhabitants. Mildmay, who still,
notwithstanding he was first lieutenant, indulged his poetical fancies,
wrote a sonnet on the benign rule of the Emperor, which, unfortunately,
having been blown overboard, cannot be given.
Touching at the Falkland Islands for a supply of fresh beef and
vegetables, the _Dragon_ steered for the Straits of Magellan, which Jack
had determined to run through. She called off Sandy Point, near the
eastern entrance of the Straits, where the Chilian Government have
formed a settlement for the purpose of working a coal mine. Some
copper-coloured natives, with broad faces and high cheek-bones, and
dressed in guanaco robes and skin boots, came off to the ship,
principally to obtain some liquor, though they brought some ostrich,
fox, and guanaco skins to exchange for guns and gunpowder or spirits.
The passage of the Straits being broad and well known, the ship steamed
rapidly on till she reached Cape Pillar at the western end, beyond which
the Pacific Ocean burst on their view. Instead, however, of entering
it, she steered north into Smith's Channel, the southern end of a
passage which runs due north between the mainland and a chain of
islands, two hundred miles in length. Nothing could be grander than the
scenery which those on board the _Dragon_ beheld, as the ship threaded
her way through this intricate channel, with the islands on the left
hand, and lofty snow-capped mountains towering up on the right. As she
proceeded northward, their bases appeared covered with trees, reaching
almost to the water's edge, deep bays and gulfs running up far inland;
indeed, the whole scenery was grand and beautiful. It required careful
steering and a bright look-out ahead to avoid running on shore, a hot
tide being frequently met with which might quickly have whirled the ship
round on the rocks.
At length, a heavy gale blowing outside, in order to avoid it she ran
through a narrow passage, and entered a small harbour known as Connor
Cove. The mountains, thickly covered with trees for some distance up,
rose around the harbour, their snowy summits towering to the sky. The
scene was grand and sombre, a few sea-birds only appearing, who, with
their loud, wild shrieks increased its melancholy character. Though
several of the officers landed, they could make no progress through the
dense forest, the whole ground being one mass of rotten timber, amid
which grew ferns and moss of various descriptions. Here, though the
gale raged overhead, she lay as securely as in a dock, moored by the
stern with a hawser to a large tree on shore. The gale having ceased,
steam was again got up, and about forty miles on she entered the open
sea, and passed several Chilian towns, the most northern being Lota and
Coronel, at both of which places extensive coal-mining operations were
carried on. At the latter, the _Dragon_ took in a fresh supply of coal,
which would carry her, if properly husbanded, across the Pacific.
Steaming northward, she entered the bay of Valparaiso, which Tom, as he
looked at the barren, red, and bare hills surrounding it, with scarce a
bush except the cactus to be seen, pronounced a very odd sort of
Paradise. The town stands partly on the shores of the bay, and chiefly
on a number of hills separated by valleys, with the mighty Cordilleras
rising beyond, giving the scenery, in spite of the barren aspect of the
foreground, a grand and picturesque character. The bay was full of
vessels, showing that a considerable amount of trade is carried on in
the place. Jack and his officers received numerous invitations both
from the English merchants and the native residents of rank; a ball
being given by them in honour of the _Dragon's_ officers, at which Tom
lost his heart, as did several of his companions theirs.
"What, you don't mean to say you have forgotten the fair Feodorowna?"
said Archie, as Tom was expatiating on the beauty of the black-eyed
damsel who had attracted his admiration.
"Well, as you know, she is in another hemisphere, and as I never expect
to see her again, and she has probably forgotten me, I don't think I
ought to wear the willow for her any longer," said Tom; "and Dona
Seraphina is, you'll allow, very beautiful."
"Granted," answered Archie; "but as the ship sails tomorrow, and Dona
Seraphina will probably forget you in the course of a day or two, even
if she happens to distinguish you from the rest of us, you'll not, I
hope, break your heart about her."
"Not if we happen to touch at another port soon, and a ball is given to
us there," said Tom, with a demure look; "provided I have the luck to
meet a partner with attractions equal to Dona Seraphina's."
"You're all right, my lad," said Archie, clapping him on the back; "and
Mr Mildmay won't have to write your epitaph, `_Hic jacet_ Tom Rogers,
who died of a broken heart, etcetera, etcetera.'"
About three weeks after this the _Dragon_ entered the bay of Callao,
passing round the barren island of San Lorenzo, long the burying-place
of Protestants, who were denied sepulture on the mainland. At the
farther end of the plain, between the lofty Cordilleras and the shore,
could be seen the spires and fanes of Pizarro's "City of a thousand
towers and a hundred gates," while on the island were basking numbers of
drowsy seals and sea-lions with sleek skins and shaggy manes. The ship
came to an anchor about a mile from the mole, outside the
merchant-vessels. Jack had been looking out for the _Eolus_, and was
somewhat disappointed at not hearing of her at any of the ports at which
he had touched. As they had been ordered to cruise in company, he
determined to wait here for her. This gave an opportunity to several of
the officers to visit Lima. Those who went there pronounced the city a
very fine one, and declared that it was more worthy to be called the
Vale of Paradise than the Chilian town to the southward.
The ship had been there some days, when some time after sunset a
schooner was observed gliding into the harbour. She came to an anchor
among several other vessels which concealed her from sight. Jack, who
had been on deck enjoying the cool air of the evening, was about to turn
in, when the sentry hailed a small boat which was seen approaching. An
English voice answered, and asked leave to come on board; it was
granted, and a middle-aged seafaring man stepped up the side.
"Who are you, and what do you want, my man?" asked Jack.
"Please you, sir, I am an Englishman; my name is Ralph Hake, of
Plymouth; and I belonged till half an hour ago to a Peruvian schooner,
the _Saltador_, which now lies inside of us; but I've taken French leave
of her, and don't want to go back," answered the man.
"A very clear statement of yours; but what brought you on board this
ship?" asked Jack.
"Because I had nowhere else to go to, sir, and that's why. I'd like to
enter with you, sir; I'm sick of the craft I was serving aboard, and of
the work she was carrying on," answered the man.
"What was that?" asked Jack.
"Just kidnapping poor natives in the different islands away to the
westward whenever she could get hold of them, and bringing them here as
slaves, to labour in the mines, or at any other task their masters may
think fit to put them to," answered Hake. "You see, sir, I was left on
shore sick, from a whaler, which, as she never came back for me, was, I
suppose, lost, and as I was starving, not knowing how this craft was to
be employed, I shipped on board her, being promised high wages and
thinking I should like the trip; but when I came to see the sort of work
she was carrying on, I made up my mind to leave her on the first
opportunity, though I never found that till to-night, when, getting hold
of the dingy which was alongside, I slipped my bag into her, and pulled
away before anyone found me out. I can tell you, sir, I never saw more
cruel work than that craft carried on. When the skipper could, he
enticed the natives on board, and clapped them under hatches. Sometimes
he pretended to trade with them, and got them below under the pretence
of looking at his goods; at others, he asked them into the cabin to have
a bit of something to eat, and, making them drunk, slipped their hands
into handcuffs before they knew what was happening. At some places
where this did not answer he sent the boats' crews armed on shore, and
seized as many as he could fall in with, and not unfrequently took the
people out of fishing-canoes, which he sent to the bottom. I have known
him run down three or four canoes one after the other, to get hold of
some of the people in them, not minding what became of the rest. At one
place the people must have been Christians, for when we went on shore we
found a number of them in a large chapel, and a brown man preaching to
them. We got hold of nearly a score, and when their friends attempted
to rescue them, we shot or cut down all who interfered, and carried away
a dozen or more. When we got them on board, instead of complaining,
they sat together and sang psalms, and one of them, who I found knew a
little English, talked to me, and told me that two of their number were
elders of their church, and that he and all the rest were Christians.
When I told the skipper, he only laughed, and said that they were only
Protestants, and that when they got on shore the priests would make them
into real Christians. The native, when I told him this, sighed, and
said he hoped he and his friends would remain faithful. On another
occasion we enticed a whole fleet of canoes some distance off the shore;
when they, taking the alarm, were pulling back, he fired among them, and
when they took fright and were paddling away, we sunk the whole of them,
giving some the stem, throwing shot into others, and firing at the rest.
We picked up as many people as we could, but not a few were drowned,
and the remainder managed to swim on shore. At last, with a full cargo,
though some died on board, we came in here. I found that this was not
the first trip on this business the schooner had made, and that half a
dozen more craft were employed in the same way, so that many hundreds of
the poor natives must have been carried off from their homes to die up
among the snowy mountains of cold, starvation, and hard work, or else of
broken hearts."
"This is important information, my man; you should at once have informed
the consul, who might have taken steps to get the natives liberated,"
observed Jack.
"If I had gone on shore, sir, I should have had a sharp knife stuck
under my ribs before I was many hours older," answered Hake. "By that
time, and long before the consul could have interfered, the whole cargo
would have been miles away up the country; even now there is not one
left in the schooner."
Jack reflected on what the man had told him, and, believing the account,
gave him leave to remain on board during the night, resolving to look
into the matter the next morning. A hand was sent to secure his punt;
but it was found that when he stepped out of her he had given her a
shove, and sent her drifting away, and she was nowhere to be seen.
The next morning Jack went on shore to communicate with the acting
consul, who acknowledged that he had had information on the subject; but
though aware that several vessels had been fitted out for the purpose
mentioned, he had been unable to take any steps for putting a stop to
their proceedings.
"Then I must see what we can do!" exclaimed Jack indignantly.
"If we can find out from what islands people have been taken, and the
inhabitants ask for our protection, we shall have the right to afford
them all the assistance in our power. You may be very certain, should
you seize any vessels engaged in carrying off the natives, no one will
interfere; for their Government, even should they be aware of their
proceedings, will not dare to acknowledge that they are so, or protect
them; and I am very sure that the French will be ready to assist in
capturing the villains who may have ventured to visit any of the islands
under their rule," observed the consul.
"Then I will go to Tahiti, and ascertain what the French Government
knows about the matter," said Jack; "possibly on my way I may fall in
with some of the kidnappers, and it will be a satisfaction to release
the slaves they may have taken, and to put a stop to their proceedings."
That evening the ship sailed for the westward. A look-out was kept for
any craft which might answer to Hake's description of the vessels
engaged in the traffic. The _Dragon_ had been nearly three weeks at sea
when a vessel was seen ahead steering to the eastward. As she drew
nearer, she was seen to be a brigantine, and Hake declared that she was
one of the vessels sent out to collect natives. Hopes were entertained
that she might have some on board, and that they should have the
pleasure of releasing them and taking them back to their homes, if such
could be found. As the _Dragon_ drew nearer, Jack made a signal for the
stranger to heave-to; and as she did not appear to understand it, he
fired a shot across her bows, which had the desired effect. A boat was
lowered, and Jos Green, with Tom and Archie, were sent to examine her,
and should natives be found, to bring her close up to the ship, so that
they might be transferred on board.
Jos and his companions pulled away in high glee, fully hoping that they
should have the satisfaction of liberating some of their
fellow-creatures.
"It is too bad," observed Green, "that we should be spending our
energies on the West and East Coasts of Africa, and all the time that
these degenerate descendants of Spaniards out here in the Pacific should
be endeavouring to drag our fellow-creatures into a far worse slavery
than the Africans have to endure. These poor islanders, accustomed to
the perfect freedom of the breezes of the ocean, must perish miserably
in the course of a few months if compelled to work in the mines, or even
in the fields on the mainland."
"I think we should be right to hang up their captors at their own
yard-arms, and send their vessels to the bottom!" cried Tom indignantly.
Archie, though he doubted the legality of the proceeding, perfectly
agreed with Tom that it would be a just punishment for the kidnappers.
Six ruffianly-looking fellows, one of whom appeared to be the master,
most of them having their heads or arms bandaged up as if they had been
wounded, received them on deck. The master pointed to the Peruvian
flag, and inquired why he was stopped on his voyage.
"I'll tell you when we've examined your craft," answered Green.
"You'd better not go into the forecastle, where we have five of our men
suffering from the smallpox," said the skipper.
"And how many have you in the hold?" asked Green, who knew Spanish
sufficiently to carry on a conversation.
"We have no one there, but you had better not go into it, for some have
died there of smallpox, and you may carry the disease on board your own
ship," answered the skipper.
"We will run the risk," said Green; "take off the hatches, and I'll go
below."
As no one seemed inclined to obey him, he ordered his own men to lift
off the hatches. He and Tom, with two of the men, went below, while
Archie, with the rest, remained on deck, keeping an eye upon the
Peruvian crew, who, as Tim Nolan observed, "looked as if they were after
mischief." The hold was empty, but it was evidently fitted for
passengers, or rather for slaves.
"What are all those dark marks?" asked Tom.
"Bloodstains," answered Green, examining them; "and see, here are
bullets sticking in the deck and timbers. The wood has been splintered
in all directions; depend on it there has been some desperate work going
on. I believe that the account of the smallpox was false, and was
merely given to try and prevent us from examining the craft."
"You found no one, as I told you," said the skipper, when Green returned
on deck.
"No, but we have found enough to convince us that you have murdered the
unhappy wretches you induced to come on board," answered Green.
"You should rather say our passengers treacherously rose on us, and we
had to fight in self-defence," said the skipper, forgetting what he had
said about the smallpox.
"And your men forward are suffering from the wounds they received?" said
Green.
"Such is the case, but I was ashamed to acknowledge how nearly we were
defeated by the savages," said the master, with the greatest coolness.
Green accordingly went forward, and found five men in their bunks, all
badly-wounded, two being nearly at the last gasp.
"I will bring the surgeon to dress their hurts," said Green; "though, if
what I suspect is the case, you all deserve to be sent to the bottom;
and, depend on it, we shall endeavour to get at the truth of the story,
and you will hear more of the matter by and by."
The master shrugged his shoulders; and Green, not thinking it prudent to
leave anyone on board with such villains, returned with the midshipmen
to the ship to make his report. Jack was doubting how to proceed with
the brigantine, when her sails were let fall, and, the breeze
freshening, she stood away to windward. As the _Dragon_ had not even
her fires lighted, there was but little chance of catching her, and Jack
did not think it worth while to go in chase, as he felt pretty sure that
she would not continue her kidnapping cruise.
The next day the look-out announced that he saw a fleet of vessels
ahead. "A grove of palm trees, rather," observed Green, laughing. As
the ship rose and fell in the swell, the trees alternately disappeared
and came into sight; and, on getting nearer, a coral island hove in
view; it consisted of a ring a quarter of a mile or so in width, with a
lagoon in the centre. First was seen a line of surf, then a white sandy
beach, and beyond a belt of green ground, sparsely sprinkled with
cocoanut and pandanus trees, and here and there with a few bushes of low
growth. The ship stood along the shore at a respectful distance, a
look-out being kept for inhabitants, as Jack thought it possible that if
any of the people had escaped from the brigantine, they might have
managed to effect a landing, the natives of these islands being
generally first-rate swimmers. No one, however, was seen, and he feared
that the whole of the kidnapped people must have perished. As he was
unwilling to lose time by heaving-to to effect a landing, he stood on
towards Tahiti.
All hands were somewhat disappointed with the appearance of that island
when they first came in sight of it--jagged peaks and rugged mountains
being alone visible; for the shady groves and waterfalls, the verdant
meadows and fields, were not to be seen till the ship got close to the
entrance of the harbour. Before them appeared a line of breakers
dashing in snow-white foam on the encircling reef of coral, with a
lagoon of calm blue water within, out of which rose the shore, covered
with the richest tropical vegetation; numberless vines and creeping
plants making their way up the hillsides, amid which sparkling cascades
came falling down from the rugged mountains above.
"Well, after all, Tahiti does present a highly picturesque and beautiful
landscape," exclaimed Mildmay, taking out his notebook; "and I hope that
we shall find the inhabitants living in that Arcadian simplicity
appropriate to so lovely a region."
Alas! they found but little Arcadian simplicity when they reached the
shore; guns frowned from the surrounding heights down on the harbour;
the French flag flew from the battlements of the forts; French soldiers
were everywhere seen. It was soon, evident that the once free Tahitians
were a conquered race.
Jack lost no time in communicating with the French governor, who had
already heard that many of the natives of the outlying islands under
French protection had been carried off. He had already sent out two
men-of-war to try and catch the kidnappers, and he expressed his wish
heartily to co-operate with the English in putting a stop to so
abominable a system. Jack, being satisfied that the French would attend
to that part of the Pacific, determined to proceed to the westward,
where the appearance of an English man-of-war might effect some good.
The fires were lighted, and preparations were being made for weighing,
when a column of smoke was seen in the distance, announcing the approach
of a steamer. A French officer on board said that she must be direct
from Europe, as none of their own cruisers were expected. Jack, hoping
to obtain some news, accordingly waited for her arrival. As she
approached, she made the number of the _Eolus_. Soon, coming to an
anchor, visits were exchanged between the two ships' companies. Adair
told Jack that he had arrived at Callao the day after the _Dragon_ had
left, and that as soon as he could obtain fresh provisions and water, he
had again sailed in search of him. The _Eolus_ had come round by the
Cape, and had not entered the Pacific till three weeks after the
_Dragon_.
Jack agreed to wait till the _Eolus_ could take in provisions and water.
The feeling with which the unjustifiable capture of Tahiti by the
French had been regarded by the English had by this time subsided; and,
the officers of the two ships having been treated with all the civility
the French were able to show, they left the harbour with some regret, as
they were not likely to meet with any place so advanced in civilisation
before they reached Sydney.
A voyage across the Pacific sounds very romantic; but there are often
long distances to be traversed when no land is in sight, and there is
nothing to break the monotony of the voyage. The midshipmen of the two
ships voted it very dull, and began to believe that they should meet
with none of the wonderful adventures which they had anticipated. Mr
Mildmay confessed that he had been dreadfully disappointed; he had
expected everywhere to see bevies of graceful nymphs, dressed in
gossamer robes, their glossy hair decked with wreaths of bright flowers,
and their necks and arms adorned with coral and precious stones; instead
of which, he declared that he had seen only a set of dowdy women with
brown skins and without a particle of beauty to boast of.
"One thing, however, can be said of the inhabitants of these islands,"
observed Jack; "whereas a few years ago they were in heathen darkness,
now, thanks to the exertions of the missionaries, heathenism has
disappeared from all the islands to the southward; and if the people are
not perfect Christians, they are at all events as much so as the great
mass of people in Christendom."
Jack was right; indeed, they found missionaries established at all the
principal islands at which they touched, with large chapels, well-built
schoolhouses, and neat villages; the inhabitants being universally able
to read and write, and many of them being well informed on various
important subjects. After touching at several islands to the south and
west of Tahiti, where not a single heathen remains, the ships steered
for a harbour in one of the islands of the Samoan group. It was here
that a boat's crew of the French navigator, La Perouse, were massacred.
As they approached the islands, no sign of a harbour could be
perceived--lofty cliffs towering up before them to the sky without
apparently a break. Still the _Dragon_ stood on, followed by the
_Eolus_, two rocks appearing, one called the Tower Rock, and another on
the opposite side, the Devil's Point, so well defined that Jack had no
fears of mistaking the entrance. The sails were furled, and the steam
got up. At length the ships entered a passage between the cliffs, about
a third of a mile in width, till they reached a basin, completely
surrounded by lofty precipices, from 800 to 1000 feet in height. The
lower portion of the rocks was bare, but their summits were clothed with
the most luxuriant vegetation--magnificent tree-ferns and cocoanut-trees
growing high up in situations in which they are seldom seen in other
latitudes.
No sooner had the ships dropped their anchors than they were surrounded
by canoes full of natives, who, though they appeared to be merry
fellows, were remarkably well behaved; all of them being also decently
clothed. Several chiefs and others came on board, some of whom spoke
English; and from them it was ascertained that the whole of the people
were Christians, having long been under missionary influence. One of
Jack's chief objects in entering the harbour was to ascertain whether
any of the natives had been carried off. A strange vessel had appeared
off the coast, and had attempted to entrap some lads fishing in a canoe,
but they had been too wary to be so caught; and when a boat put off in
chase of their canoe, they had made their way to the shore, though only
just in time to escape capture.
Jack issued a notice which he desired might be sent among all the
islands of the group, warning the people against the various devices
practised by the kidnappers. After a short time the two ships again put
to sea.