TYPEE
A ROMANCE OF THE SOUTH SEAS
By Herman Melville
Edited by Arthur Stedman
CONTENTS
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION TO THE EDITION OF 1892
TYPEE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
THE STORY OF TOBY
NOTE.
PREFACE
MORE than three years have elapsed since the occurrence of the events
recorded in this volume. The interval, with the exception of the last few
months, has been chiefly spent by the author tossing about on the wide
ocean. Sailors are the only class of men who now-a-days see anything like
stirring adventure; and many things which to fire-side people appear
strange and romantic, to them seem as common-place as a jacket out at
elbows. Yet, notwithstanding the familiarity of sailors with all sorts of
curious adventure, the incidents recorded in the following pages have
often served, when 'spun as a yarn,' not only to relieve the weariness of
many a night-watch at sea, but to excite the warmest sympathies of the
author's shipmates. He has been, therefore, led to think that his story
could scarcely fail to interest those who are less familiar than the
sailor with a life of adventure.
In his account of the singular and interesting people among whom he was
thrown, it will be observed that he chiefly treats of their more obvious
peculiarities; and, in describing their customs, refrains in most cases
from entering into explanations concerning their origin and purposes. As
writers of travels among barbarous communities are generally very diffuse
on these subjects, he deems it right to advert to what may be considered a
culpable omission. No one can be more sensible than the author of his
deficiencies in this and many other respects; but when the very peculiar
circumstances in which he was placed are understood, he feels assured that
all these omissions will be excused.
In very many published narratives no little degree of attention is
bestowed upon dates; but as the author lost all knowledge of the days of
the week, during the occurrence of the scenes herein related, he hopes
that the reader will charitably pass over his shortcomings in this
particular.
In the Polynesian words used in this volume,—except in those cases
where the spelling has been previously determined by others,—that
form of orthography has been employed, which might be supposed most easily
to convey their sound to a stranger. In several works descriptive of the
islands in the Pacific, many of the most beautiful combinations of vocal
sounds have been altogether lost to the ear of the reader by an
over-attention to the ordinary rules of spelling.
There are a few passages in the ensuing chapters which may be thought to
bear rather hard upon a reverend order of men, the account of whose
proceedings in different quarters of the globe—transmitted to us
through their own hands—very generally, and often very deservedly,
receives high commendation. Such passages will be found, however, to be
based upon facts admitting of no contradiction, and which have come
immediately under the writer's cognizance. The conclusions deduced from
these facts are unavoidable, and in stating them the author has been
influenced by no feeling of animosity, either to the individuals
themselves, or to that glorious cause which has not always been served by
the proceedings of some of its advocates.
The great interest with which the important events lately occurring at the
Sandwich, Marquesas, and Society Islands, have been regarded in America
and England, and indeed throughout the world, will, he trusts, justify a
few otherwise unwarrantable digressions.
There are some things related in the narrative which will be sure to
appear strange, or perhaps entirely incomprehensible, to the reader; but
they cannot appear more so to him than they did to the author at the time.
He has stated such matters just as they occurred, and leaves every one to
form his own opinion concerning them; trusting that his anxious desire to
speak the unvarnished truth will gain for him the confidence of his
readers. 1846.
INTRODUCTION TO THE EDITION OF 1892
By Arthur Stedman
OF the trinity of American authors whose births made the year 1819 a
notable one in our literary history,—Lowell, Whitman, and Melville,—it
is interesting to observe that the two latter were both descended, on the
fathers' and mothers' sides respectively, from have families of British
New England and Dutch New York extraction. Whitman and Van Velsor,
Melville and Gansevoort, were the several combinations which produced
these men; and it is easy to trace in the life and character of each
author the qualities derived from his joint ancestry. Here, however, the
resemblance ceases, for Whitman's forebears, while worthy country people
of good descent, were not prominent in public or private life. Melville,
on the other hand, was of distinctly patrician birth, his paternal and
maternal grandfathers having been leading characters in the Revolutionary
War; their descendants still maintaining a dignified social position.
Allan Melville, great-grandfather of Herman Melville, removed from
Scotland to America in 1748, and established himself as a merchant in
Boston. His son, Major Thomas Melville, was a leader in the famous 'Boston
Tea Party' of 1773 and afterwards became an officer in the Continental
Army. He is reported to have been a Conservative in all matters except his
opposition to unjust taxation, and he wore the old-fashioned cocked hat
and knee-breeches until his death, in 1832, thus becoming the original of
Doctor Holmes's poem, 'The Last Leaf'. Major Melville's son Allan, the
father of Herman, was an importing merchant,—first in Boston, and
later in New York. He was a man of much culture, and was an extensive
traveller for his time. He married Maria Gansevoort, daughter of General
Peter Gansevoort, best known as 'the hero of Fort Stanwix.' This fort was
situated on the present site of Rome, N.Y.; and there Gansevoort, with a
small body of men, held in check reinforcements on their way to join
Burgoyne, until the disastrous ending of the latter's campaign of 1777 was
insured. The Gansevoorts, it should be said, were at that time and
subsequently residents of Albany, N.Y.
Herman Melville was born in New York on August 1,1819, and received his
early education in that city. There he imbibed his first love of
adventure, listening, as he says in 'Redburn,' while his father 'of winter
evenings, by the well-remembered sea-coal fire in old Greenwich Street,
used to tell my brother and me of the monstrous waves at sea, mountain
high, of the masts bending like twigs, and all about Havre and Liverpool.'
The death of his father in reduced circumstances necessitated the removal
of his mother and the family of eight brothers and sisters to the village
of Lansingburg, on the Hudson River. There Herman remained until 1835,
when he attended the Albany Classical School for some months. Dr. Charles
E. West, the well-known Brooklyn educator, was then in charge of the
school, and remembers the lad's deftness in English composition, and his
struggles with mathematics.
The following year was passed at Pittsfield, Mass., where he engaged in
work on his uncle's farm, long known as the 'Van Schaack place.' This
uncle was Thomas Melville, president of the Berkshire Agricultural
Society, and a successful gentleman farmer.
Herman's roving disposition, and a desire to support himself independently
of family assistance, soon led him to ship as cabin boy in a New York
vessel bound for Liverpool. He made the voyage, visited London, and
returned in the same ship. 'Redburn: His First Voyage,' published in 1849,
is partly founded on the experiences of this trip, which was undertaken
with the full consent of his relatives, and which seems to have satisfied
his nautical ambition for a time. As told in the book, Melville met with
more than the usual hardships of a sailor-boy's first venture. It does not
seem difficult in 'Redburn' to separate the author's actual experiences
from those invented by him, this being the case in some of his other
writings.
A good part of the succeeding three years, from 1837 to 1840, was occupied
with school-teaching. While so engaged at Greenbush, now East Albany,
N.Y., he received the munificent salary of 'six dollars a quarter and
board.' He taught for one term at Pittsfield, Mass., 'boarding around'
with the families of his pupils, in true American fashion, and easily
suppressing, on one memorable occasion, the efforts of his larger scholars
to inaugurate a rebellion by physical force.
I fancy that it was the reading of Richard Henry Dana's 'Two Years Before
the Mast' which revived the spirit of adventure in Melville's breast. That
book was published in 1840, and was at once talked of everywhere. Melville
must have read it at the time, mindful of his own experience as a sailor.
At any rate, he once more signed a ship's articles, and on January 1,
1841, sailed from New Bedford harbour in the whaler Acushnet, bound for
the Pacific Ocean and the sperm fishery. He has left very little direct
information as to the events of this eighteen months' cruise, although his
whaling romance, 'Moby Dick; or, the Whale,' probably gives many pictures
of life on board the Acushnet. In the present volume he confines himself
to a general account of the captain's bad treatment of the crew, and of
his non-fulfilment of agreements. Under these considerations, Melville
decided to abandon the vessel on reaching the Marquesas Islands; and the
narrative of 'Typee' begins at this point. However, he always recognised
the immense influence the voyage had had upon his career, and in regard to
its results has said in 'Moby Dick,'—
'If I shall ever deserve any real repute in that small but high hushed
world which I might not be unreasonably ambitious of; if hereafter I shall
do anything that on the whole a man might rather have done than to have
left undone... then here I prospectively ascribe all the honour and the
glory to whaling; for a whale-ship was my Yale College and my Harvard.'
The record, then, of Melville's escape from the Dolly, otherwise the
Acushnet, the sojourn of his companion Toby and himself in the Typee
Valley on the island of Nukuheva, Toby's mysterious disappearance, and
Melville's own escape, is fully given in the succeeding pages; and rash
indeed would he be who would enter into a descriptive contest with these
inimitable pictures of aboriginal life in the 'Happy Valley.' So great an
interest has always centred in the character of Toby, whose actual
existence has been questioned, that I am glad to be able to declare him an
authentic personage, by name Richard T. Greene. He was enabled to discover
himself again to Mr. Melville through the publication of the present
volume, and their acquaintance was renewed, lasting for quite a long
period. I have seen his portrait,—a rare old daguerrotype,—and
some of his letters to our author. One of his children was named for the
latter, but Mr. Melville lost trace of him in recent years.
With the author's rescue from what Dr. T. M. Coan has styled his 'anxious
paradise,' 'Typee' ends, and its sequel, 'Omoo,' begins. Here, again, it
seems wisest to leave the remaining adventures in the South Seas to the
reader's own discovery, simply stating that, after a sojourn at the
Society Islands, Melville shipped for Honolulu. There he remained for four
months, employed as a clerk. He joined the crew of the American frigate
United States, which reached Boston, stopping on the way at one of the
Peruvian ports, in October of 1844. Once more was a narrative of his
experiences to be preserved in 'White Jacket; or, the World in a
Man-of-War.' Thus, of Melville's four most important books, three,
'Typee,' 'Omoo,' and 'White-Jacket,' are directly auto biographical, and
'Moby Dick' is partially so; while the less important 'Redburn' is between
the two classes in this respect. Melville's other prose works, as will be
shown, were, with some exceptions, unsuccessful efforts at creative
romance.
Whether our author entered on his whaling adventures in the South Seas
with a determination to make them available for literary purposes, may
never be certainly known. There was no such elaborate announcement or
advance preparation as in some later cases. I am inclined to believe that
the literary prospect was an after-thought, and that this insured a
freshness and enthusiasm of style not otherwise to be attained. Returning
to his mother's home at Lansingburg, Melville soon began the writing of
'Typee,' which was completed by the autumn of 1845. Shortly after this his
older brother, Gansevoort Melville, sailed for England as secretary of
legation to Ambassador McLane, and the manuscript was intrusted to
Gansevoort for submission to John Murray. Its immediate acceptance and
publication followed in 1846. 'Typee' was dedicated to Chief Justice
Lemuel Shaw of Massachusetts, an old friendship between the author's
family and that of Justice Shaw having been renewed about this time. Mr.
Melville became engaged to Miss Elizabeth Shaw, the only daughter of the
Chief Justice, and their marriage followed on August 4, 1847, in Boston.
The wanderings of our nautical Othello were thus brought to a conclusion.
Mr. and Mrs. Melville resided in New York City until 1850, when they
purchased a farmhouse at Pittsfield, their farm adjoining that formerly
owned by Mr. Melville's uncle, which had been inherited by the latter's
son. The new place was named 'Arrow Head,' from the numerous Indian
antiquities found in the neighbourhood. The house was so situated as to
command an uninterrupted view of Greylock Mountain and the adjacent hills.
Here Melville remained for thirteen years, occupied with his writing, and
managing his farm. An article in Putnam's Monthly entitled 'I and My
Chimney,' another called 'October Mountain,' and the introduction to the
'Piazza Tales,' present faithful pictures of Arrow Head and its
surroundings. In a letter to Nathaniel Hawthorne, given in 'Nathaniel
Hawthorne and His Wife,' his daily life is set forth. The letter is dated
June 1, 1851.
'Since you have been here I have been building some shanties of houses
(connected with the old one), and likewise some shanties of chapters and
essays. I have been ploughing and sowing and raising and printing and
praying, and now begin to come out upon a less bristling time, and to
enjoy the calm prospect of things from a fair piazza at the north of the
old farmhouse here. Not entirely yet, though, am I without something to be
urgent with. The 'Whale' is only half through the press; for, wearied with
the long delays of the printers, and disgusted with the heat and dust of
the Babylonish brick-kiln of New York, I came back to the country to feel
the grass, and end the book reclining on it, if I may.'
Mr. Hawthorne, who was then living in the red cottage at Lenox, had a week
at Arrow Head with his daughter Una the previous spring. It is recorded
that the friends 'spent most of the time in the barn, bathing in the early
spring sunshine, which streamed through the open doors, and talking
philosophy.' According to Mr. J. E. A. Smith's volume on the Berkshire
Hills, these gentlemen, both reserved in nature, though near neighbours
and often in the same company, were inclined to be shy of each other,
partly, perhaps, through the knowledge that Melville had written a very
appreciative review of 'Mosses from an Old Manse' for the New York
Literary World, edited by their mutual friends, the Duyckincks. 'But one
day,' writes Mr. Smith, 'it chanced that when they were out on a picnic
excursion, the two were compelled by a thundershower to take shelter in a
narrow recess of the rocks of Monument Mountain. Two hours of this
enforced intercourse settled the matter. They learned so much of each
other's character,... that the most intimate friendship for the future was
inevitable.' A passage in Hawthorne's 'Wonder Book' is noteworthy as
describing the number of literary neighbours in Berkshire:—
'For my part, I wish I had Pegasus here at this moment,' said the student.
'I would mount him forthwith, and gallop about the country within a
circumference of a few miles, making literary calls on my brother authors.
Dr. Dewey would be within ray reach, at the foot of the Taconic. In
Stockbridge, yonder, is Mr. James [G. P. R. James], conspicuous to all the
world on his mountain-pile of history and romance. Longfellow, I believe,
is not yet at the Oxbow, else the winged horse would neigh at him. But
here in Lenox I should find our most truthful novelist [Miss Sedgwick],
who has made the scenery and life of Berkshire all her own. On the hither
side of Pittsfield sits Herman Melville, shaping out the gigantic
conception of his 'White Whale,' while the gigantic shadow of Greylock
looms upon him from his study window. Another bound of my flying steed
would bring me to the door of Holmes, whom I mention last, because Pegasus
would certainly unseat me the next minute, and claim the poet as his
rider.'
While at Pittsfield, Mr. Melville was induced to enter the lecture field.
From 1857 to 1860 he filled many engagements in the lyceums, chiefly
speaking of his adventures in the South Seas. He lectured in cities as
widely apart as Montreal, Chicago, Baltimore, and San Francisco, sailing
to the last-named place in 1860, by way of Cape Horn, on the Meteor,
commanded, by his younger brother, Captain Thomas Melville, afterward
governor of the 'Sailor's Snug Harbor' at Staten Island, N.Y. Besides his
voyage to San Francisco, he had, in 1849 and 1856, visited England, the
Continent, and the Holy Land, partly to superintend the publication of
English editions of his works, and partly for recreation.
A pronounced feature of Melville's character was his unwillingness to
speak of himself, his adventures, or his writings in conversation. He was,
however, able to overcome this reluctance on the lecture platform. Our
author's tendency to philosophical discussion is strikingly set forth in a
letter from Dr. Titus Munson Coan to the latter's mother, written while a
student at Williams College over thirty years ago, and fortunately
preserved by her. Dr. Coan enjoyed the friendship and confidence of Mr.
Melville during most of his residence in New York. The letter reads:—
'I have made my first literary pilgrimage, a call upon Herman Melville,
the renowned author of 'Typee,' etc. He lives in a spacious farmhouse
about two miles from Pittsfield, a weary walk through the dust. But it as
well repaid. I introduced myself as a Hawaiian-American, and soon found
myself in full tide of talk, or rather of monologue. But he would not
repeat the experiences of which I had been reading with rapture in his
books. In vain I sought to hear of Typee and those paradise islands, but
he preferred to pour forth his philosophy and his theories of life. The
shade of Aristotle arose like a cold mist between myself and Fayaway. We
have quite enough of deep philosophy at Williams College, and I confess I
was disappointed in this trend of the talk. But what a talk it was!
Melville is transformed from a Marquesan to a gypsy student, the gypsy
element still remaining strong within him. And this contradiction gives
him the air of one who has suffered from opposition, both literary and
social. With his liberal views, he is apparently considered by the good
people of Pittsfield as little better than a cannibal or a 'beach-comber.'
His attitude seemed to me something like that of Ishmael; but perhaps I
judged hastily. I managed to draw him out very freely on everything but
the Marquesas Islands, and when I left him he was in full tide of
discourse on all things sacred and profane. But he seems to put away the
objective side of his life, and to shut himself up in this cold north as a
cloistered thinker.'
I have been told by Dr. Coan that his father, the Rev. Titus Coan, of the
Hawaiian Islands, personally visited the Marquesas group, found the Typee
Valley, and verified in all respects the statements made in 'Typee.' It is
known that Mr. Melville from early manhood indulged deeply in
philosophical studies, and his fondness for discussing such matters is
pointed out by Hawthorne also, in the 'English Note Books.' This habit
increased as he advanced in years, if possible.
The chief event of the residence in Pittsfield was the completion and
publication of 'Moby Dick; or, the Whale,' in 1851. How many young men
have been drawn to sea by this book is a question of interest. Meeting
with Mr. Charles Henry Webb ('John Paul') the day after Mr. Melville's
death, I asked him if he were not familiar with that author's writings. He
replied that 'Moby Dick' was responsible for his three years of life
before the mast when a lad, and added that while 'gamming' on board
another vessel he had once fallen in with a member of the boat's crew
which rescued Melville from his friendly imprisonment among the Typees.
While at Pittsfield, besides his own family, Mr. Melville's mother and
sisters resided with him. As his four children grew up he found it
necessary to obtain for them better facilities for study than the village
school afforded; and so, several years after, the household was broken up,
and he removed with his wife and children to the New York house that was
afterwards his home. This house belonged to his brother Allan, and was
exchanged for the estate at Pittsfield. In December, 1866, he was
appointed by Mr. H. A. Smyth, a former travelling companion in Europe, a
district officer in the New York Custom House. He held the position until
1886, preferring it to in-door clerical work, and then resigned, the
duties becoming too arduous for his failing strength.
In addition to his philosophical studies, Mr. Melville was much interested
in all matters relating to the fine arts, and devoted most of his leisure
hours to the two subjects. A notable collection of etchings and engravings
from the old masters was gradually made by him, those from Claude's
paintings being a specialty. After he retired from the Custom House, his
tall, stalwart figure could be seen almost daily tramping through the Fort
George district or Central Park, his roving inclination leading him to
obtain as much out-door life as possible. His evenings were spent at home
with his books, his pictures, and his family, and usually with them alone;
for, in spite of the melodramatic declarations of various English
gentlemen, Melville's seclusion in his latter years, and in fact
throughout his life, was a matter of personal choice. More and more, as he
grew older, he avoided every action on his part, and on the part of his
family, that might tend to keep his name and writings before the public. A
few friends felt at liberty to visit the recluse, and were kindly
welcomed, but he himself sought no one. His favorite companions were his
grandchildren, with whom he delighted to pass his time, and his devoted
wife, who was a constant assistant and adviser in his literary work,
chiefly done at this period for his own amusement. To her he addressed his
last little poem, the touching 'Return of the Sire de Nesle.' Various
efforts were made by the New York literary colony to draw him from his
retirement, but without success. It has been suggested that he might have
accepted a magazine editorship, but this is doubtful, as he could not bear
business details or routine work of any sort. His brother Allan was a New
York lawyer, and until his death, in 1872, managed Melville's affairs with
ability, particularly the literary accounts.
During these later years he took great pleasure in a friendly
correspondence with Mr. W. Clark Russell. Mr. Russell had taken many
occasions to mention Melville's sea-tales, his interest in them, and his
indebtedness to them. The latter felt impelled to write Mr. Russell in
regard to one of his newly published novels, and received in answer the
following letter:
July 21, 1886.
MY DEAR Mr. MELVILLE, Your letter has given me a very great and singular
pleasure. Your delightful books carry the imagination into a maritime
period so remote that, often as you have been in my mind, I could never
satisfy myself that you were still amongst the living. I am glad, indeed,
to learn from Mr. Toft that you are still hale and hearty, and I do most
heartily wish you many years yet of health and vigour.
Your books I have in the American edition. I have 'Typee, 'Omoo,'
'Redburn,' and that noble piece 'Moby Dick.' These are all I have been
able to obtain. There have been many editions of your works in this
country, particularly the lovely South Sea sketches; but the editions are
not equal to those of the American publishers. Your reputation here is
very great. It is hard to meet a man whose opinion as a reader is worth
leaving who does not speak of your works in such terms as he might
hesitate to employ, with all his patriotism, toward many renowned English
writers.
Dana is, indeed, great. There is nothing in literature more remarkable
than the impression produced by Dana's portraiture of the homely inner
life of a little brig's forecastle.
I beg that you will accept my thanks for the kindly spirit in which you
have read my books. I wish it were in my power to cross the Atlantic, for
you assuredly would be the first whom it would be my happiness to visit.
The condition of my right hand obliges me to dictate this to my son; but
painful as it is to me to hold a pen, I cannot suffer this letter to reach
the hands of a man of so admirable genitis as Herman Melville without
begging him to believe me to be, with my own hand, his most respectful and
hearty admirer, W. Clark Russell.
It should be noted here that Melville's increased reputation in England at
the period of this letter was chiefly owing to a series of articles on his
work written by Mr. Russell. I am sorry to say that few English papers
made more than a passing reference to Melville's death. The American press
discussed his life and work in numerous and lengthy reviews. At the same
time, there always has been a steady sale of his books in England, and
some of them never have been out of print in that country since the
publication of 'Typee.' One result of this friendship between the two
authors was the dedication of new volumes to each other in highly
complimentary terms—Mr. Melville's 'John Marr and Other Sailors,' of
which twenty-five copies only were printed, on the one hand, and Mr.
Russell's 'An Ocean Tragedy,' on the other, of which many thousand have
been printed, not to mention unnumbered pirated copies.
Beside Hawthorne, Mr. Richard Henry Stoddard, of American writers,
specially knew and appreciated Herman Melville. Mr. Stoddard was connected
with the New York dock department at the time of Mr. Melville's
appointment to a custom-house position, and they at once became
acquainted. For a good many years, during the period in which our author
remained in seclusion, much that appeared in print in America concerning
Melville came from the pen of Mr. Stoddard. Nevertheless, the sailor
author's presence in New York was well known to the literary guild. He was
invited to join in all new movements, but as often felt obliged to excuse
himself from doing so. The present writer lived for some time within a
short distance of his house, but found no opportunity to meet him until it
became necessary to obtain his portrait for an anthology in course of
publication. The interview was brief, and the interviewer could not help
feeling although treated with pleasant courtesy, that more important
matters were in hand than the perpetuation of a romancer's countenance to
future generations; but a friendly family acquaintance grew up from the
incident, and will remain an abiding memory.
Mr. Melville died at his home in New York City early on the morning of
September 28, 1891. His serious illness had lasted a number of months, so
that the end came as a release. True to his ruling passion, philosophy had
claimed him to the last, a set of Schopenhauer's works receiving his
attention when able to study; but this was varied with readings in the
'Mermaid Series' of old plays, in which he took much pleasure. His
library, in addition to numerous works on philosophy and the fine arts,
was composed of standard books of all classes, including, of course, a
proportion of nautical literature. Especially interesting are fifteen or
twenty first editions of Hawthorne's books inscribed to Mr. and Mrs.
Melville by the author and his wife.
The immediate acceptance of 'Typee' by John Murray was followed by an
arrangement with the London agent of an American publisher, for its
simultaneous publication in the United States. I understand that Murray
did not then publish fiction. At any rate, the book was accepted by him on
the assurance of Gansevoort Melville that it contained nothing not
actually experienced by his brother. Murray brought it out early in 1846,
in his Colonial and Home Library, as 'A Narrative of a Four Months'
Residence among the Natives of a Valley of the Marquesas Islands; or, a
Peep at Polynesian Life,' or, more briefly, 'Melville's Marquesas
Islands.' It was issued in America with the author's own title, 'Typee,'
and in the outward shape of a work of fiction. Mr. Melville found himself
famous at once. Many discussions were carried on as to the genuineness of
the author's name and the reality of the events portrayed, but English and
American critics alike recognised the book's importance as a contribution
to literature.
Melville, in a letter to Hawthorne, speaks of himself as having no
development at all until his twenty-fifth year, the time of his return
from the Pacific; but surely the process of development must have been
well advanced to permit of so virile and artistic a creation as 'Typee.'
While the narrative does not always run smoothly, yet the style for the
most part is graceful and alluring, so that we pass from one scene of
Pacific enchantment to another quite oblivious of the vast amount of
descriptive detail which is being poured out upon us. It is the varying
fortune of the hero which engrosses our attention. We follow his
adventures with breathless interest, or luxuriate with him in the leafy
bowers of the 'Happy Valley,' surrounded by joyous children of nature.
When all is ended, we then for the first time realise that we know these
people and their ways as if we too had dwelt among them.
I do not believe that 'Typee' will ever lose its position as a classic of
American Literature. The pioneer in South Sea romance—for the
mechanical descriptions of earlier voyagers are not worthy of comparison—this
book has as yet met with no superior, even in French literature; nor has
it met with a rival in any other language than the French. The character
of 'Fayaway,' and, no less, William S. Mayo's 'Kaloolah,' the enchanting
dreams of many a youthful heart, will retain their charm; and this in
spite of endless variations by modern explorers in the same domain. A
faint type of both characters may be found in the Surinam Yarico of
Captain John Gabriel Stedman, whose 'Narrative of a Five Years'
Expedition' appeared in 1796.
'Typee,' as written, contained passages reflecting with considerable
severity on the methods pursued by missionaries in the South Seas. The
manuscript was printed in a complete form in England, and created much
discussion on this account, Melville being accused of bitterness; but he
asserted his lack of prejudice. The passages referred to were omitted in
the first and all subsequent American editions. They have been restored in
the present issue, which is complete save for a few paragraphs excluded by
written direction of the author. I have, with the consent of his family,
changed the long and cumbersome sub-title of the book, calling it a
'Real-Romance of the South Seas,' as best expressing its nature.
The success of his first volume encouraged Melville to proceed in his
work, and 'Omoo,' the sequel to 'Typee,' appeared in England and America
in 1847. Here we leave, for the most part, the dreamy pictures of island
life, and find ourselves sharing the extremely realistic discomforts of a
Sydney whaler in the early forties. The rebellious crew's experiences in
the Society Islands are quite as realistic as events on board ship and
very entertaining, while the whimsical character, Dr. Long Ghost, next to
Captain Ahab in 'Moby Dick,' is Melville's most striking delineation. The
errors of the South Sea missions are pointed out with even more force than
in 'Typee,' and it is a fact that both these books have ever since been of
the greatest value to outgoing missionaries on account of the exact
information contained in them with respect to the islanders.
Melville's power in describing and investing with romance scenes and
incidents witnessed and participated in by himself, and his frequent
failure of success as an inventor of characters and situations, were early
pointed out by his critics. More recently Mr. Henry S. Salt has drawn the
same distinction very carefully in an excellent article contributed to the
Scottish Art Review. In a prefatory note to 'Mardi' (1849), Melville
declares that, as his former books have been received as romance instead
of reality, he will now try his hand at pure fiction. 'Mardi' may be
called a splendid failure. It must have been soon after the completion of
'Omoo' that Melville began to study the writings of Sir Thomas Browne.
Heretofore our author's style was rough in places, but marvellously simple
and direct. 'Mardi' is burdened with an over-rich diction, which Melville
never entirely outgrew. The scene of this romance, which opens well, is
laid in the South Seas, but everything soon becomes overdrawn and
fantastical, and the thread of the story loses itself in a mystical
allegory.
'Redburn,' already mentioned, succeeded 'Mardi' in the same year, and was
a partial return to the author's earlier style. In 'White-Jacket; or, the
World in a Man-of-War' (1850), Melville almost regained it. This book has
no equal as a picture of life aboard a sailing man-of-war, the lights and
shadows of naval existence being well contrasted.
With 'Moby Dick; or, the Whale' (1851), Melville reached the topmost notch
of his fame. The book represents, to a certain extent, the conflict
between the author's earlier and later methods of composition, but the
gigantic conception of the 'White Whale,' as Hawthorne expressed it,
permeates the whole work, and lifts it bodily into the highest domain of
romance. 'Moby Dick' contains an immense amount of information concerning
the habits of the whale and the methods of its capture, but this is
characteristically introduced in a way not to interfere with the
narrative. The chapter entitled 'Stubb Kills a Whale' ranks with the
choicest examples of descriptive literature.
'Moby Dick' appeared, and Melville enjoyed to the full the enhanced
reputation it brought him. He did not, however, take warning from 'Mardi,'
but allowed himself to plunge more deeply into the sea of philosophy and
fantasy.
'Pierre; or, the Ambiguities' (1852) was published, and there ensued a
long series of hostile criticisms, ending with a severe, though impartial,
article by Fitz-James O'Brien in Putnam's Monthly. About the same time the
whole stock of the author's books was destroyed by fire, keeping them out
of print at a critical moment; and public interest, which until then had
been on the increase, gradually began to diminish.
After this Mr. Melville contributed several short stories to Putnam's
Monthly and Harper's Magazine. Those in the former periodical were
collected in a volume as Piazza Tales (1856); and of these 'Benito Cereno'
and 'The Bell Tower' are equal to his best previous efforts.
'Israel Potter: His Fifty Years of Exile' (1855), first printed as a
serial in Putnam's, is an historical romance of the American Revolution,
based on the hero's own account of his adventures, as given in a little
volume picked up by Mr. Melville at a book-stall. The story is well told,
but the book is hardly worthy of the author of 'Typee.' 'The Confidence
Man' (1857), his last serious effort in prose fiction, does not seem to
require criticism.
Mr. Melville's pen had rested for nearly ten years, when it was again
taken up to celebrate the events of the Civil War. 'Battle Pieces and
Aspects of the War' appeared in 1866. Most of these poems originated,
according to the author, in an impulse imparted by the fall of Richmond;
but they have as subjects all the chief incidents of the struggle. The
best of them are 'The Stone Fleet,' 'In the Prison Pen,' 'The College
Colonel,' 'The March to the Sea,' 'Running the Batteries,' and 'Sheridan
at Cedar Creek.' Some of these had a wide circulation in the press, and
were preserved in various anthologies. 'Clarel, a Poem and Pilgrimage in
the Holy Land' (1876), is a long mystical poem requiring, as some one has
said, a dictionary, a cyclopaedia, and a copy of the Bible for its
elucidation. In the two privately printed volumes, the arrangement of
which occupied Mr. Melville during his last illness, there are several
fine lyrics. The titles of these books are, 'John Marr and Other Sailors'
(1888), and 'Timoleon' (1891).
There is no question that Mr. Melville's absorption in philosophical
studies was quite as responsible as the failure of his later books for his
cessation from literary productiveness. That he sometimes realised the
situation will be seen by a passage in 'Moby Dick':—
'Didn't I tell you so?' said Flask. 'Yes, you'll soon see this right
whale's head hoisted up opposite that parmacetti's.'
'In good time Flask's saying proved true. As before, the Pequod steeply
leaned over towards the sperm whale's head, now, by the counterpoise of
both heads, she regained her own keel, though sorely strained, you may
well believe. So, when on one side you hoist in Locke's head, you go over
that way; but now, on the other side, hoist in Kant's and you come back
again; but in very poor plight. Thus, some minds forever keep trimming
boat. Oh, ye foolish! throw all these thunderheads overboard, and then you
will float right and light.'
Mr. Melville would have been more than mortal if he had been indifferent
to his loss of popularity. Yet he seemed contented to preserve an entirely
independent attitude, and to trust to the verdict of the future. The
smallest amount of activity would have kept him before the public; but his
reserve would not permit this. That reinstatement of his reputation cannot
be doubted.
In the editing of this reissue of 'Melville's Works,' I have been much
indebted to the scholarly aid of Dr. Titus Munson Coan, whose familiarity
with the languages of the Pacific has enabled me to harmonise the spelling
of foreign words in 'Typee' and 'Omoo,' though without changing the
phonetic method of printing adopted by Mr. Melville. Dr. Coan has also
been most helpful with suggestions in other directions. Finally, the
delicate fancy of La Fargehas supplemented the immortal pen-portrait of
the Typee maiden with a speaking impersonation of her beauty.
New York, June, 1892.
TYPEE
CHAPTER ONE
THE SEA—LONGINGS FOR SHORE—A LAND-SICK SHIP—DESTINATION
OF THE VOYAGERS—THE MARQUESAS—ADVENTURE OF A MISSIONARY'S WIFE
AMONG THE SAVAGES—CHARACTERISTIC ANECDOTE OF THE QUEEN OF NUKUHEVA
Six months at sea! Yes, reader, as I live, six months out of sight of
land; cruising after the sperm-whale beneath the scorching sun of the
Line, and tossed on the billows of the wide-rolling Pacific—the sky
above, the sea around, and nothing else! Weeks and weeks ago our fresh
provisions were all exhausted. There is not a sweet potato left; not a
single yam. Those glorious bunches of bananas, which once decorated our
stern and quarter-deck, have, alas, disappeared! and the delicious oranges
which hung suspended from our tops and stays—they, too, are gone!
Yes, they are all departed, and there is nothing left us but salt-horse
and sea-biscuit. Oh! ye state-room sailors, who make so much ado about a
fourteen-days' passage across the Atlantic; who so pathetically relate the
privations and hardships of the sea, where, after a day of breakfasting,
lunching, dining off five courses, chatting, playing whist, and drinking
champagne-punch, it was your hard lot to be shut up in little cabinets of
mahogany and maple, and sleep for ten hours, with nothing to disturb you
but 'those good-for-nothing tars, shouting and tramping overhead',—what
would ye say to our six months out of sight of land?
Oh! for a refreshing glimpse of one blade of grass—for a snuff at
the fragrance of a handful of the loamy earth! Is there nothing fresh
around us? Is there no green thing to be seen? Yes, the inside of our
bulwarks is painted green; but what a vile and sickly hue it is, as if
nothing bearing even the semblance of verdure could flourish this weary
way from land. Even the bark that once clung to the wood we use for fuel
has been gnawed off and devoured by the captain's pig; and so long ago,
too, that the pig himself has in turn been devoured.
There is but one solitary tenant in the chicken-coop, once a gay and
dapper young cock, bearing him so bravely among the coy hens.
But look at him now; there he stands, moping all the day long on that
everlasting one leg of his. He turns with disgust from the mouldy corn
before him, and the brackish water in his little trough. He mourns no
doubt his lost companions, literally snatched from him one by one, and
never seen again. But his days of mourning will be few for Mungo, our
black cook, told me yesterday that the word had at last gone forth, and
poor Pedro's fate was sealed. His attenuated body will be laid out upon
the captain's table next Sunday, and long before night will be buried with
all the usual ceremonies beneath that worthy individual's vest. Who would
believe that there could be any one so cruel as to long for the
decapitation of the luckless Pedro; yet the sailors pray every minute,
selfish fellows, that the miserable fowl may be brought to his end. They
say the captain will never point the ship for the land so long as he has
in anticipation a mess of fresh meat. This unhappy bird can alone furnish
it; and when he is once devoured, the captain will come to his senses. I
wish thee no harm, Pedro; but as thou art doomed, sooner or later, to meet
the fate of all thy race; and if putting a period to thy existence is to
be the signal for our deliverance, why—truth to speak—I wish
thy throat cut this very moment; for, oh! how I wish to see the living
earth again! The old ship herself longs to look out upon the land from her
hawse-holes once more, and Jack Lewis said right the other day when the
captain found fault with his steering.
'Why d'ye see, Captain Vangs,' says bold Jack, 'I'm as good a helmsman as
ever put hand to spoke; but none of us can steer the old lady now. We
can't keep her full and bye, sir; watch her ever so close, she will fall
off and then, sir, when I put the helm down so gently, and try like to
coax her to the work, she won't take it kindly, but will fall round off
again; and it's all because she knows the land is under the lee, sir, and
she won't go any more to windward.' Aye, and why should she, Jack? didn't
every one of her stout timbers grow on shore, and hasn't she
sensibilities; as well as we?
Poor old ship! Her very looks denote her desires! how deplorably she
appears! The paint on her sides, burnt up by the scorching sun, is puffed
out and cracked. See the weeds she trails along with her, and what an
unsightly bunch of those horrid barnacles has formed about her
stern-piece; and every time she rises on a sea, she shows her copper torn
away, or hanging in jagged strips.
Poor old ship! I say again: for six months she has been rolling and
pitching about, never for one moment at rest. But courage, old lass, I
hope to see thee soon within a biscuit's toss of the merry land, riding
snugly at anchor in some green cove, and sheltered from the boisterous
winds.
. . . . . .
'Hurra, my lads! It's a settled thing; next week we shape our course to
the Marquesas!' The Marquesas! What strange visions of outlandish things
does the very name spirit up! Naked houris—cannibal banquets—groves
of cocoanut—coral reefs—tattooed chiefs—and bamboo
temples; sunny valleys planted with bread-fruit-trees—carved canoes
dancing on the flashing blue waters—savage woodlands guarded by
horrible idols—HEATHENISH RITES AND HUMAN SACRIFICES.
Such were the strangely jumbled anticipations that haunted me during our
passage from the cruising ground. I felt an irresistible curiosity to see
those islands which the olden voyagers had so glowingly described.
The group for which we were now steering (although among the earliest of
European discoveries in the South Seas, having been first visited in the
year 1595) still continues to be tenanted by beings as strange and
barbarous as ever. The missionaries sent on a heavenly errand, had sailed
by their lovely shores, and had abandoned them to their idols of wood and
stone. How interesting the circumstances under which they were discovered!
In the watery path of Mendanna, cruising in quest of some region of gold,
these isles had sprung up like a scene of enchantment, and for a moment
the Spaniard believed his bright dream was realized.
In honour of the Marquess de Mendoza, then viceroy of Peru—under
whose auspices the navigator sailed—he bestowed upon them the name
which denoted the rank of his patron, and gave to the world on his return
a vague and magnificent account of their beauty. But these islands,
undisturbed for years, relapsed into their previous obscurity; and it is
only recently that anything has been known concerning them. Once in the
course of a half century, to be sure, some adventurous rover would break
in upon their peaceful repose, and astonished at the unusual scene, would
be almost tempted to claim the merit of a new discovery.
Of this interesting group, but little account has ever been given, if we
except the slight mention made of them in the sketches of South-Sea
voyages. Cook, in his repeated circumnavigations of the globe, barely
touched at their shores; and all that we know about them is from a few
general narratives.
Among these, there are two that claim particular notice. Porter's 'Journal
of the Cruise of the U.S. frigate Essex, in the Pacific, during the late
War', is said to contain some interesting particulars concerning the
islanders. This is a work, however, which I have never happened to meet
with; and Stewart, the chaplain of the American sloop of war Vincennes,
has likewise devoted a portion of his book, entitled 'A Visit to the South
Seas', to the same subject.
Within the last few, years American and English vessels engaged in the
extensive whale fisheries of the Pacific have occasionally, when short of
provisions, put into the commodious harbour which there is in one of the
islands; but a fear of the natives, founded on the recollection of the
dreadful fate which many white men have received at their hands, has
deterred their crews from intermixing with the population sufficiently to
gain any insight into their peculiar customs and manners.
The Protestant Missions appear to have despaired of reclaiming these
islands from heathenism. The usage they have in every case received from
the natives has been such as to intimidate the boldest of their number.
Ellis, in his 'Polynesian Researches', gives some interesting accounts of
the abortive attempts made by the ''Tahiti Mission'' to establish a branch
Mission upon certain islands of the group. A short time before my visit to
the Marquesas, a somewhat amusing incident took place in connection with
these efforts, which I cannot avoid relating.
An intrepid missionary, undaunted by the ill-success that had attended all
previous endeavours to conciliate the savages, and believing much in the
efficacy of female influence, introduced among them his young and
beautiful wife, the first white woman who had ever visited their shores.
The islanders at first gazed in mute admiration at so unusual a prodigy,
and seemed inclined to regard it as some new divinity. But after a short
time, becoming familiar with its charming aspect, and jealous of the folds
which encircled its form, they sought to pierce the sacred veil of calico
in which it was enshrined, and in the gratification of their curiosity so
far overstepped the limits of good breeding, as deeply to offend the
lady's sense of decorum. Her sex once ascertained, their idolatry was
changed into contempt and there was no end to the contumely showered upon
her by the savages, who were exasperated at the deception which they
conceived had been practised upon them. To the horror of her affectionate
spouse, she was stripped of her garments, and given to understand that she
could no longer carry on her deceits with impunity. The gentle dame was
not sufficiently evangelical to endure this, and, fearful of further
improprieties, she forced her husband to relinquish his undertaking, and
together they returned to Tahiti.
Not thus shy of exhibiting her charms was the Island Queen herself, the
beauteous wife of Movianna, the king of Nukuheva. Between two and three
years after the adventures recorded in this volume, I chanced, while
aboard of a man-of-war to touch at these islands. The French had then held
possession of the Marquesas some time, and already prided themselves upon
the beneficial effects of their jurisdiction, as discernible in the
deportment of the natives. To be sure, in one of their efforts at reform
they had slaughtered about a hundred and fifty of them at Whitihoo—but
let that pass. At the time I mention, the French squadron was
rendezvousing in the bay of Nukuheva, and during an interview between one
of their captains and our worthy Commodore, it was suggested by the
former, that we, as the flag-ship of the American squadron, should
receive, in state, a visit from the royal pair. The French officer
likewise represented, with evident satisfaction, that under their tuition
the king and queen had imbibed proper notions of their elevated station,
and on all ceremonious occasions conducted themselves with suitable
dignity. Accordingly, preparations were made to give their majesties a
reception on board in a style corresponding with their rank.
One bright afternoon, a gig, gaily bedizened with streamers, was observed
to shove off from the side of one of the French frigates, and pull
directly for our gangway. In the stern sheets reclined Mowanna and his
consort. As they approached, we paid them all the honours due to royalty;—manning
our yards, firing a salute, and making a prodigious hubbub.
They ascended the accommodation ladder, were greeted by the Commodore, hat
in hand, and passing along the quarter-deck, the marine guard presented
arms, while the band struck up 'The King of the Cannibal Islands'. So far
all went well. The French officers grimaced and smiled in exceedingly high
spirits, wonderfully pleased with the discreet manner in which these
distinguished personages behaved themselves.
Their appearance was certainly calculated to produce an effect. His
majesty was arrayed in a magnificent military uniform, stiff with gold
lace and embroidery, while his shaven crown was concealed by a huge
chapeau bras, waving with ostrich plumes. There was one slight blemish,
however, in his appearance. A broad patch of tattooing stretched
completely across his face, in a line with his eyes, making him look as if
he wore a huge pair of goggles; and royalty in goggles suggested some
ludicrous ideas. But it was in the adornment of the fair person of his
dark-complexioned spouse that the tailors of the fleet had evinced the
gaiety of their national taste. She was habited in a gaudy tissue of
scarlet cloth, trimmed with yellow silk, which, descending a little below
the knees, exposed to view her bare legs, embellished with spiral
tattooing, and somewhat resembling two miniature Trajan's columns. Upon
her head was a fanciful turban of purple velvet, figured with silver
sprigs, and surmounted by a tuft of variegated feathers.
The ship's company, crowding into the gangway to view the sight, soon
arrested her majesty's attention. She singled out from their number an old
salt, whose bare arms and feet, and exposed breast, were covered with as
many inscriptions in India ink as the lid of an Egyptian sarcophagus.
Notwithstanding all the sly hints and remonstrances of the French
officers, she immediately approached the man, and pulling further open the
bosom of his duck frock, and rolling up the leg of his wide trousers, she
gazed with admiration at the bright blue and vermilion pricking thus
disclosed to view. She hung over the fellow, caressing him, and expressing
her delight in a variety of wild exclamations and gestures. The
embarrassment of the polite Gauls at such an unlooked-for occurrence may
be easily imagined, but picture their consternation, when all at once the
royal lady, eager to display the hieroglyphics on her own sweet form, bent
forward for a moment, and turning sharply round, threw up the skirt of her
mantle and revealed a sight from which the aghast Frenchmen retreated
precipitately, and tumbling into their boats, fled the scene of so
shocking a catastrophe.
CHAPTER TWO
PASSAGE FROM THE CRUISING GROUND TO THE MARQUESAS—SLEEPY TIMES
ABOARD SHIP—SOUTH SEA SCENERY—LAND HO—THE FRENCH
SQUADRON DISCOVERED AT ANCHOR IN THE BAY OF NUKUHEVA—STRANGE PILOT—ESCORT
OF CANOES—A FLOTILLA OF COCOANUTS—SWIMMING VISITORS—THE
DOLLY BOARDED BY THEM—STATE OF AFFAIRS THAT ENSUE
I CAN never forget the eighteen or twenty days during which the light
trade-winds were silently sweeping us towards the islands. In pursuit of
the sperm whale, we had been cruising on the line some twenty degrees to
the westward of the Gallipagos; and all that we had to do, when our course
was determined on, was to square in the yards and keep the vessel before
the breeze, and then the good ship and the steady gale did the rest
between them. The man at the wheel never vexed the old lady with any
superfluous steering, but comfortably adjusting his limbs at the tiller,
would doze away by the hour. True to her work, the Dolly headed to her
course, and like one of those characters who always do best when let
alone, she jogged on her way like a veteran old sea-pacer as she was.
What a delightful, lazy, languid time we had whilst we were thus gliding
along! There was nothing to be done; a circumstance that happily suited
our disinclination to do anything. We abandoned the fore-peak altogether,
and spreading an awning over the forecastle, slept, ate, and lounged under
it the live-long day. Every one seemed to be under the influence of some
narcotic. Even the officers aft, whose duty required them never to be
seated while keeping a deck watch, vainly endeavoured to keep on their
pins; and were obliged invariably to compromise the matter by leaning up
against the bulwarks, and gazing abstractedly over the side. Reading was
out of the question; take a book in your hand, and you were asleep in an
instant.
Although I could not avoid yielding in a great measure to the general
languor, still at times I contrived to shake off the spell, and to
appreciate the beauty of the scene around me. The sky presented a clear
expanse of the most delicate blue, except along the skirts of the horizon,
where you might see a thin drapery of pale clouds which never varied their
form or colour. The long, measured, dirge-like well of the Pacific came
rolling along, with its surface broken by little tiny waves, sparkling in
the sunshine. Every now and then a shoal of flying fish, scared from the
water under the bows, would leap into the air, and fall the next moment
like a shower of silver into the sea. Then you would see the superb
albicore, with his glittering sides, sailing aloft, and often describing
an arc in his descent, disappear on the surface of the water. Far off, the
lofty jet of the whale might be seen, and nearer at hand the prowling
shark, that villainous footpad of the seas, would come skulking along,
and, at a wary distance, regard us with his evil eye. At times, some
shapeless monster of the deep, floating on the surface, would, as we
approached, sink slowly into the blue waters, and fade away from the
sight. But the most impressive feature of the scene was the almost
unbroken silence that reigned over sky and water. Scarcely a sound could
be heard but the occasional breathing of the grampus, and the rippling at
the cut-water.
As we drew nearer the land, I hailed with delight the appearance of
innumerable sea-fowl. Screaming and whirling in spiral tracks, they would
accompany the vessel, and at times alight on our yards and stays. That
piratical-looking fellow, appropriately named the man-of-war's-hawk, with
his blood-red bill and raven plumage, would come sweeping round us in
gradually diminishing circles, till you could distinctly mark the strange
flashings of his eye; and then, as if satisfied with his observation,
would sail up into the air and disappear from the view. Soon, other
evidences of our vicinity to the land were apparent, and it was not long
before the glad announcement of its being in sight was heard from aloft,—given
with that peculiar prolongation of sound that a sailor loves—'Land
ho!'
The captain, darting on deck from the cabin, bawled lustily for his
spy-glass; the mate in still louder accents hailed the masthead with a
tremendous 'where-away?' The black cook thrust his woolly head from the
galley, and Boatswain, the dog, leaped up between the knight-heads, and
barked most furiously. Land ho! Aye, there it was. A hardly perceptible
blue irregular outline, indicating the bold contour of the lofty heights
of Nukuheva.
This island, although generally called one of the Marquesas, is by some
navigators considered as forming one of a distinct cluster, comprising the
islands of Ruhooka, Ropo, and Nukuheva; upon which three the appellation
of the Washington Group has been bestowed. They form a triangle, and lie
within the parallels of 8 degrees 38" and 9 degrees 32" South latitude and
139 degrees 20" and 140 degrees 10" West longitude from Greenwich. With
how little propriety they are to be regarded as forming a separate group
will be at once apparent, when it is considered that they lie in the
immediate vicinity of the other islands, that is to say, less than a
degree to the northwest of them; that their inhabitants speak the
Marquesan dialect, and that their laws, religion, and general customs are
identical. The only reason why they were ever thus arbitrarily
distinguished may be attributed to the singular fact, that their existence
was altogether unknown to the world until the year 1791, when they were
discovered by Captain Ingraham, of Boston, Massachusetts, nearly two
centuries after the discovery of the adjacent islands by the agent of the
Spanish Viceroy. Notwithstanding this, I shall follow the example of most
voyagers, and treat of them as forming part and parcel of Marquesas.
Nukuheva is the most important of these islands, being the only one at
which ships are much in the habit of touching, and is celebrated as being
the place where the adventurous Captain Porter refitted his ships during
the late war between England and the United States, and whence he sallied
out upon the large whaling fleet then sailing under the enemy's flag in
the surrounding seas. This island is about twenty miles in length and
nearly as many in breadth. It has three good harbours on its coast; the
largest and best of which is called by the people living in its vicinity
'Taiohae', and by Captain Porter was denominated Massachusetts Bay. Among
the adverse tribes dwelling about the shores of the other bays, and by all
voyagers, it is generally known by the name bestowed upon the island
itself—Nukuheva. Its inhabitants have become somewhat corrupted,
owing to their recent commerce with Europeans, but so far as regards their
peculiar customs and general mode of life, they retain their original
primitive character, remaining very nearly in the same state of nature in
which they were first beheld by white men. The hostile clans, residing in
the more remote sections of the island, and very seldom holding any
communication with foreigners, are in every respect unchanged from their
earliest known condition.
In the bay of Nukuheva was the anchorage we desired to reach. We had
perceived the loom of the mountains about sunset; so that after running
all night with a very light breeze, we found ourselves close in with the
island the next morning, but as the bay we sought lay on its farther side,
we were obliged to sail some distance along the shore, catching, as we
proceeded, short glimpses of blooming valleys, deep glens, waterfalls, and
waving groves hidden here and there by projecting and rocky headlands,
every moment opening to the view some new and startling scene of beauty.
Those who for the first time visit the South Sea, generally are surprised
at the appearance of the islands when beheld from the sea. From the vague
accounts we sometimes have of their beauty, many people are apt to picture
to themselves enamelled and softly swelling plains, shaded over with
delicious groves, and watered by purling brooks, and the entire country
but little elevated above the surrounding ocean. The reality is very
different; bold rock-bound coasts, with the surf beating high against the
lofty cliffs, and broken here and there into deep inlets, which open to
the view thickly-wooded valleys, separated by the spurs of mountains
clothed with tufted grass, and sweeping down towards the sea from an
elevated and furrowed interior, form the principal features of these
islands.
Towards noon we drew abreast the entrance go the harbour, and at last we
slowly swept by the intervening promontory, and entered the bay of
Nukuheva. No description can do justice to its beauty; but that beauty was
lost to me then, and I saw nothing but the tri-coloured flag of France
trailing over the stern of six vessels, whose black hulls and bristling
broadsides proclaimed their warlike character. There they were, floating
in that lovely bay, the green eminences of the shore looking down so
tranquilly upon them, as if rebuking the sternness of their aspect. To my
eye nothing could be more out of keeping than the presence of these
vessels; but we soon learnt what brought them there. The whole group of
islands had just been taken possession of by Rear-Admiral Du Petit
Thouars, in the name of the invincible French nation.
This item of information was imparted to us by a most extraordinary
individual, a genuine South-Sea vagabond, who came alongside of us in a
whale-boat as soon as we entered the bay, and, by the aid of some
benevolent persons at the gangway, was assisted on board, for our visitor
was in that interesting stage of intoxication when a man is amiable and
helpless. Although he was utterly unable to stand erect or to navigate his
body across the deck, he still magnanimously proffered his services to
pilot the ship to a good and secure anchorage. Our captain, however,
rather distrusted his ability in this respect, and refused to recognize
his claim to the character he assumed; but our gentleman was determined to
play his part, for, by dint of much scrambling, he succeeded in getting
into the weather-quarter boat, where he steadied himself by holding on to
a shroud, and then commenced issuing his commands with amazing volubility
and very peculiar gestures. Of course no one obeyed his orders; but as it
was impossible to quiet him, we swept by the ships of the squadron with
this strange fellow performing his antics in full view of all the French
officers.
We afterwards learned that our eccentric friend had been a lieutenant in
the English navy; but having disgraced his flag by some criminal conduct
in one of the principal ports on the main, he had deserted his ship, and
spent many years wandering among the islands of the Pacific, until
accidentally being at Nukuheva when the French took possession of the
place, he had been appointed pilot of the harbour by the newly constituted
authorities.
As we slowly advanced up the bay, numerous canoes pushed off from the
surrounding shores, and we were soon in the midst of quite a flotilla of
them, their savage occupants struggling to get aboard of us, and jostling
one another in their ineffectual attempts. Occasionally the projecting
out-riggers of their slight shallops running foul of one another, would
become entangled beneath the water, threatening to capsize the canoes,
when a scene of confusion would ensue that baffles description. Such
strange outcries and passionate gesticulations I never certainly heard or
saw before. You would have thought the islanders were on the point of
flying at each other's throats, whereas they were only amicably engaged in
disentangling their boats.
Scattered here and there among the canoes might be seen numbers of
cocoanuts floating closely together in circular groups, and bobbing up and
down with every wave. By some inexplicable means these cocoanuts were all
steadily approaching towards the ship. As I leaned curiously over the
side, endeavouring to solve their mysterious movements, one mass far in
advance of the rest attracted my attention. In its centre was something I
could take for nothing else than a cocoanut, but which I certainly
considered one of the most extraordinary specimens of the fruit I had ever
seen. It kept twirling and dancing about among the rest in the most
singular manner, and as it drew nearer I thought it bore a remarkable
resemblance to the brown shaven skull of one of the savages. Presently it
betrayed a pair of eyes, and soon I became aware that what I had supposed
to have been one of the fruit was nothing else than the head of an
islander, who had adopted this singular method of bringing his produce to
market. The cocoanuts were all attached to one another by strips of the
husk, partly torn from the shell and rudely fastened together. Their
proprietor inserting his head into the midst of them, impelled his
necklace of cocoanuts through the water by striking out beneath the
surface with his feet.
I was somewhat astonished to perceive that among the number of natives
that surrounded us, not a single female was to be seen. At that time I was
ignorant of the fact that by the operation of the 'taboo' the use of
canoes in all parts of the island is rigorously prohibited to the entire
sex, for whom it is death even to be seen entering one when hauled on
shore; consequently, whenever a Marquesan lady voyages by water, she puts
in requisition the paddles of her own fair body.
We had approached within a mile and a half perhaps of this foot of the
bay, when some of the islanders, who by this time had managed to scramble
aboard of us at the risk of swamping their canoes, directed our attention
to a singular commotion in the water ahead of the vessel. At first I
imagined it to be produced by a shoal of fish sporting on the surface, but
our savage friends assured us that it was caused by a shoal of
'whinhenies' (young girls), who in this manner were coming off from the
shore to welcome is. As they drew nearer, and I watched the rising and
sinking of their forms, and beheld the uplifted right arm bearing above
the water the girdle of tappa, and their long dark hair trailing beside
them as they swam, I almost fancied they could be nothing else than so
many mermaids—and very like mermaids they behaved too.
We were still some distance from the beach, and under slow headway, when
we sailed right into the midst of these swimming nymphs, and they boarded
us at every quarter; many seizing hold of the chain-plates and springing
into the chains; others, at the peril of being run over by the vessel in
her course, catching at the bob-stays, and wreathing their slender forms
about the ropes, hung suspended in the air. All of them at length
succeeded in getting up the ship's side, where they clung dripping with
the brine and glowing from the bath, their jet-black tresses streaming
over their shoulders, and half enveloping their otherwise naked forms.
There they hung, sparkling with savage vivacity, laughing gaily at one
another, and chattering away with infinite glee. Nor were they idle the
while, for each one performed the simple offices of the toilette for the
other. Their luxuriant locks, wound up and twisted into the smallest
possible compass, were freed from the briny element; the whole person
carefully dried, and from a little round shell that passed from hand to
hand, anointed with a fragrant oil: their adornments were completed by
passing a few loose folds of white tappa, in a modest cincture, around the
waist. Thus arrayed they no longer hesitated, but flung themselves lightly
over the bulwarks, and were quickly frolicking about the decks. Many of
them went forward, perching upon the headrails or running out upon the
bowsprit, while others seated themselves upon the taffrail, or reclined at
full length upon the boats. What a sight for us bachelor sailors! How
avoid so dire a temptation? For who could think of tumbling these artless
creatures overboard, when they had swum miles to welcome us?
Their appearance perfectly amazed me; their extreme youth, the light clear
brown of their complexions, their delicate features, and inexpressibly
graceful figures, their softly moulded limbs, and free unstudied action,
seemed as strange as beautiful.
The Dolly was fairly captured; and never I will say was vessel carried
before by such a dashing and irresistible party of boarders! The ship
taken, we could not do otherwise than yield ourselves prisoners, and for
the whole period that she remained in the bay, the Dolly, as well as her
crew, were completely in the hands of the mermaids.
In the evening after we had come to an anchor the deck was illuminated
with lanterns, and this picturesque band of sylphs, tricked out with
flowers, and dressed in robes of variegated tappa, got up a ball in great
style. These females are passionately fond of dancing, and in the wild
grace and spirit of the style excel everything I have ever seen. The
varied dances of the Marquesan girls are beautiful in the extreme, but
there is an abandoned voluptuousness in their character which I dare not
attempt to describe.
CHAPTER THREE
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE LATE OPERATIONS OF THE FRENCH AT THE MARQUESAS—PRUDENT
CONDUCT OF THE ADMIRAL—SENSATION PRODUCED BY THE ARRIVAL OF THE
STRANGERS—THE FIRST HORSE SEEN BY THE ISLANDERS—REFLECTIONS—MISERABLE
SUBTERFUGE OF THE FRENCH—DIGRESSION CONCERNING TAHITI—SEIZURE
OF THE ISLAND BY THE ADMIRAL—SPIRITED CONDUCT OF AN ENGLISH LADY
IT was in the summer of 1842 that we arrived at the islands; the French
had then held possession of them for several weeks. During this time they
had visited some of the principal places in the group, and had disembarked
at various points about five hundred troops. These were employed in
constructing works of defence, and otherwise providing against the attacks
of the natives, who at any moment might be expected to break out in open
hostility. The islanders looked upon the people who made this cavalier
appropriation of their shores with mingled feelings of fear and
detestation. They cordially hated them; but the impulses of their
resentment were neutralized by their dread of the floating batteries,
which lay with their fatal tubes ostentatiously pointed, not at
fortifications and redoubts, but at a handful of bamboo sheds, sheltered
in a grove of cocoanuts! A valiant warrior doubtless, but a prudent one
too, was this same Rear-Admiral Du Petit Thouars. Four heavy, doublebanked
frigates and three corvettes to frighten a parcel of naked heathen into
subjection! Sixty-eight pounders to demolish huts of cocoanut boughs, and
Congreve rockets to set on fire a few canoe sheds!
At Nukuheva, there were about one hundred soldiers ashore. They were
encamped in tents, constructed of the old sails and spare spars of the
squadron, within the limits of a redoubt mounted with a few nine-pounders,
and surrounded with a fosse. Every other day, these troops were marched
out in martial array, to a level piece of ground in the vicinity, and
there for hours went through all sorts of military evolutions, surrounded
by flocks of the natives, who looked on with savage admiration at the
show, and as savage a hatred of the actors. A regiment of the Old Guard,
reviewed on a summer's day in the Champs Elysees, could not have made a
more critically correct appearance. The officers' regimentals, resplendent
with gold lace and embroidery as if purposely calculated to dazzle the
islanders, looked as if just unpacked from their Parisian cases.
The sensation produced by the presence of the strangers had not in the
least subsided at the period of our arrival at the islands. The natives
still flocked in numbers about the encampment, and watched with the
liveliest curiosity everything that was going forward. A blacksmith's
forge, which had been set up in the shelter of a grove near the beach,
attracted so great a crowd, that it required the utmost efforts of the
sentries posted around to keep the inquisitive multitude at a sufficient
distance to allow the workmen to ply their vocation. But nothing gained so
large a share of admiration as a horse, which had been brought from
Valparaiso by the Achille, one of the vessels of the squadron. The animal,
a remarkably fine one, had been taken ashore, and stabled in a hut of
cocoanut boughs within the fortified enclosure. Occasionally it was
brought out, and, being gaily caparisoned, was ridden by one of the
officers at full speed over the hard sand beach. This performance was sure
to be hailed with loud plaudits, and the 'puarkee nuee' (big hog) was
unanimously pronounced by the islanders to be the most extraordinary
specimen of zoology that had ever come under their observation.
The expedition for the occupation of the Marquesas had sailed from Brest
in the spring of 1842, and the secret of its destination was solely in the
possession of its commander. No wonder that those who contemplated such a
signal infraction of the rights of humanity should have sought to veil the
enormity from the eyes of the world. And yet, notwithstanding their
iniquitous conduct in this and in other matters, the French have ever
plumed themselves upon being the most humane and polished of nations. A
high degree of refinement, however, does not seem to subdue our wicked
propensities so much after all; and were civilization itself to be
estimated by some of its results, it would seem perhaps better for what we
call the barbarous part of the world to remain unchanged.
One example of the shameless subterfuges under which the French stand
prepared to defend whatever cruelties they may hereafter think fit to
commit in bringing the Marquesan natives into subjection is well worthy of
being recorded. On some flimsy pretext or other Mowanna, the king of
Nukuheva, whom the invaders by extravagant presents had cajoled over to
their interests, and moved about like a mere puppet, has been set up as
the rightful sovereign of the entire island—the alleged ruler by
prescription of various clans, who for ages perhaps have treated with each
other as separate nations. To reinstate this much-injured prince in the
assumed dignities of his ancestors, the disinterested strangers have come
all the way from France: they are determined that his title shall be
acknowledged. If any tribe shall refuse to recognize the authority of the
French, by bowing down to the laced chapeau of Mowanna, let them abide the
consequences of their obstinacy. Under cover of a similar pretence, have
the outrages and massacres at Tahiti the beautiful, the queen of the South
Seas, been perpetrated.
On this buccaneering expedition, Rear Admiral Du Petit Thouars, leaving
the rest of his squadron at the Marquesas,—which had then been
occupied by his forces about five months—set sail for the doomed
island in the Reine Blanche frigate. On his arrival, as an indemnity for
alleged insults offered to the flag of his country, he demanded some
twenty or thirty thousand dollars to be placed in his hands forthwith, and
in default of payment, threatened to land and take possession of the
place.
The frigate, immediately upon coming to an anchor, got springs on her
cables, and with her guns cast loose and her men at their quarters, lay in
the circular basin of Papeete, with her broadside bearing upon the devoted
town; while her numerous cutters, hauled in order alongside, were ready to
effect a landing, under cover of her batteries. She maintained this
belligerent attitude for several days, during which time a series of
informal negotiations were pending, and wide alarm spread over the island.
Many of the Tahitians were at first disposed to resort to arms, and drive
the invaders from their shores; but more pacific and feebler counsels
ultimately prevailed. The unfortunate queen Pomare, incapable of averting
the impending calamity, terrified at the arrogance of the insolent
Frenchman, and driven at last to despair, fled by night in a canoe to
Emio.
During the continuance of the panic there occurred an instance of feminine
heroism that I cannot omit to record.
In the grounds of the famous missionary consul, Pritchard, then absent in
London, the consular flag of Britain waved as usual during the day, from a
lofty staff planted within a few yards of the beach, and in full view of
the frigate. One morning an officer, at the head of a party of men,
presented himself at the verandah of Mr Pritchard's house, and inquired in
broken English for the lady his wife. The matron soon made her appearance;
and the polite Frenchman, making one of his best bows, and playing
gracefully with the aiguillettes that danced upon his breast, proceeded in
courteous accents to deliver his mission. 'The admiral desired the flag to
be hauled down—hoped it would be perfectly agreeable—and his
men stood ready to perform the duty.' 'Tell the Pirate your master,'
replied the spirited Englishwoman, pointing to the staff, 'that if he
wishes to strike these colours, he must come and perform the act himself;
I will suffer no one else to do it.' The lady then bowed haughtily and
withdrew into the house. As the discomfited officer slowly walked away, he
looked up to the flag, and perceived that the cord by which it was
elevated to its place, led from the top of the staff, across the lawn, to
an open upper window of the mansion, where sat the lady from whom he had
just parted, tranquilly engaged in knitting. Was that flag hauled down?
Mrs Pritchard thinks not; and Rear-Admiral Du Petit Thouars is believed to
be of the same opinion.
CHAPTER FOUR
STATE OF AFFAIRS ABOARD THE SHIP—CONTENTS OF HER LARDER—LENGTH
OF SOUTH SEAMEN'S VOYAGES—ACCOUNT OF A FLYING WHALE-MAN—DETERMINATION
TO LEAVE THE VESSEL—THE BAY OF NUKUHEVA—THE TYPEES—INVASION
OF THEIR VALLEY BY PORTER—REFLECTIONS—GLEN OF TIOR—INTERVIEW
BETWEEN THE OLD KING AND THE FRENCH ADMIRAL
OUR ship had not been many days in the harbour of Nukuheva before I came
to the determination of leaving her. That my reasons for resolving to take
this step were numerous and weighty, may be inferred from the fact that I
chose rather to risk my fortunes among the savages of the island than to
endure another voyage on board the Dolly. To use the concise, pointblank
phrase of the sailors. I had made up my mind to 'run away'. Now as a
meaning is generally attached to these two words no way flattering to the
individual to whom they are applied, it behoves me, for the sake of my own
character, to offer some explanation of my conduct.
When I entered on board the Dolly, I signed as a matter of course the
ship's articles, thereby voluntarily engaging and legally binding myself
to serve in a certain capacity for the period of the voyage; and, special
considerations apart, I was of course bound to fulfill the agreement. But
in all contracts, if one party fail to perform his share of the compact,
is not the other virtually absolved from his liability? Who is there who
will not answer in the affirmative?
Having settled the principle, then, let me apply it to the particular case
in question. In numberless instances had not only the implied but the
specified conditions of the articles been violated on the part of the ship
in which I served. The usage on board of her was tyrannical; the sick had
been inhumanly neglected; the provisions had been doled out in scanty
allowance; and her cruises were unreasonably protracted. The captain was
the author of the abuses; it was in vain to think that he would either
remedy them, or alter his conduct, which was arbitrary and violent in the
extreme. His prompt reply to all complaints and remonstrances was—the
butt-end of a handspike, so convincingly administered as effectually to
silence the aggrieved party.
To whom could we apply for redress? We had left both law and equity on the
other side of the Cape; and unfortunately, with a very few exceptions, our
crew was composed of a parcel of dastardly and meanspirited wretches,
divided among themselves, and only united in enduring without resistance
the unmitigated tyranny of the captain. It would have been mere madness
for any two or three of the number, unassisted by the rest, to attempt
making a stand against his ill usage. They would only have called down
upon themselves the particular vengeance of this 'Lord of the Plank', and
subjected their shipmates to additional hardships.
But, after all, these things could have been endured awhile, had we
entertained the hope of being speedily delivered from them by the due
completion of the term of our servitude. But what a dismal prospect
awaited us in this quarter! The longevity of Cape Horn whaling voyages is
proverbial, frequently extending over a period of four or five years.
Some long-haired, bare-necked youths, who, forced by the united influences
of Captain Marryatt and hard times, embark at Nantucket for a pleasure
excursion to the Pacific, and whose anxious mothers provide them, with
bottled milk for the occasion, oftentimes return very respectable
middle-aged gentlemen.
The very preparations made for one of these expeditions are enough to
frighten one. As the vessel carries out no cargo, her hold is filled with
provisions for her own consumption. The owners, who officiate as caterers
for the voyage, supply the larder with an abundance of dainties. Delicate
morsels of beef and pork, cut on scientific principles from every part of
the animal, and of all conceivable shapes and sizes, are carefully packed
in salt, and stored away in barrels; affording a never-ending variety in
their different degrees of toughness, and in the peculiarities of their
saline properties. Choice old water too, decanted into stout
six-barrel-casks, and two pints of which is allowed every day to each soul
on board; together with ample store of sea-bread, previously reduced to a
state of petrifaction, with a view to preserve it either from decay or
consumption in the ordinary mode, are likewise provided for the
nourishment and gastronomic enjoyment of the crew.
But not to speak of the quality of these articles of sailors' fare, the
abundance in which they are put onboard a whaling vessel is almost
incredible. Oftentimes, when we had occasion to break out in the hold, and
I beheld the successive tiers of casks and barrels, whose contents were
all destined to be consumed in due course by the ship's company, my heart
has sunk within me.
Although, as a general case, a ship unlucky in falling in with whales
continues to cruise after them until she has barely sufficient provisions
remaining to take her home, turning round then quietly and making the best
of her way to her friends, yet there are instances when even this natural
obstacle to the further prosecution of the voyage is overcome by
headstrong captains, who, bartering the fruits of their hard-earned toils
for a new supply of provisions in some of the ports of Chili or Peru,
begin the voyage afresh with unabated zeal and perseverance. It is in vain
that the owners write urgent letters to him to sail for home, and for
their sake to bring back the ship, since it appears he can put nothing in
her. Not he. He has registered a vow: he will fill his vessel with good
sperm oil, or failing to do so, never again strike Yankee soundings.
I heard of one whaler, which after many years' absence was given up for
lost. The last that had been heard of her was a shadowy report of her
having touched at some of those unstable islands in the far Pacific, whose
eccentric wanderings are carefully noted in each new edition of the
South-Sea charts. After a long interval, however, 'The Perseverance'—for
that was her name—was spoken somewhere in the vicinity of the ends
of the earth, cruising along as leisurely as ever, her sails all bepatched
and be quilted with rope-yarns, her spars fished with old pipe staves, and
her rigging knotted and spliced in every possible direction. Her crew was
composed of some twenty venerable Greenwich-pensioner-looking old salts,
who just managed to hobble about deck. The ends of all the running ropes,
with the exception of the signal halyards and poop-down-haul, were rove
through snatch-blocks, and led to the capstan or windlass, so that not a
yard was braced or a sail set without the assistance of machinery.
Her hull was encrusted with barnacles, which completely encased her. Three
pet sharks followed in her wake, and every day came alongside to regale
themselves from the contents of the cook's bucket, which were pitched over
to them. A vast shoal of bonetas and albicores always kept her company.
Such was the account I heard of this vessel and the remembrance of it
always haunted me; what eventually became of her I never learned; at any
rate: he never reached home, and I suppose she is still regularly tacking
twice in the twenty-four hours somewhere off Desolate Island, or the
Devil's-Tail Peak.
Having said thus much touching the usual length of these voyages, when I
inform the reader that ours had as it were just commenced, we being only
fifteen months out, and even at that time hailed as a late arrival and
boarded for news, he will readily perceive that there was little to
encourage one in looking forward to the future, especially as I had always
had a presentiment that we should make an unfortunate voyage, and our
experience so far had justified the expectation.
I may here state, and on my faith as an honest man, that though more than
three years have elapsed since I left this same identical vessel, she
still continues; in the Pacific, and but a few days since I saw her
reported in the papers as having touched at the Sandwich Islands previous
to going on the coast of Japan.
But to return to my narrative. Placed in these circumstances then, with no
prospect of matters mending if I remained aboard the Dolly, I at once made
up my mind to leave her: to be sure it was rather an inglorious thing to
steal away privily from those at whose hands I had received wrongs and
outrages that I could not resent; but how was such a course to be avoided
when it was the only alternative left me? Having made up my mind, I
proceeded to acquire all the information I could obtain relating to the
island and its inhabitants, with a view of shaping my plans of escape
accordingly. The result of these inquiries I will now state, in order that
the ensuing narrative may be the better understood.
The bay of Nukuheva in which we were then lying is an expanse of water not
unlike in figure the space included within the limits of a horse-shoe. It
is, perhaps, nine miles in circumference. You approach it from the sea by
a narrow entrance, flanked on each side by two small twin islets which
soar conically to the height of some five hundred feet. From these the
shore recedes on both hands, and describes a deep semicircle.
From the verge of the water the land rises uniformly on all sides, with
green and sloping acclivities, until from gently rolling hill-sides and
moderate elevations it insensibly swells into lofty and majestic heights,
whose blue outlines, ranged all around, close in the view. The beautiful
aspect of the shore is heightened by deep and romantic glens, which come
down to it at almost equal distances, all apparently radiating from a
common centre, and the upper extremities of which are lost to the eye
beneath the shadow of the mountains. Down each of these little valleys
flows a clear stream, here and there assuming the form of a slender
cascade, then stealing invisibly along until it bursts upon the sight
again in larger and more noisy waterfalls, and at last demurely wanders
along to the sea.
The houses of the natives, constructed of the yellow bamboo, tastefully
twisted together in a kind of wicker-work, and thatched with the long
tapering leaves of the palmetto, are scattered irregularly along these
valleys beneath the shady branches of the cocoanut trees.
Nothing can exceed the imposing scenery of this bay. Viewed from our ship
as she lay at anchor in the middle of the harbour, it presented the
appearance of a vast natural amphitheatre in decay, and overgrown with
vines, the deep glens that furrowed it's sides appearing like enormous
fissures caused by the ravages of time. Very often when lost in admiration
at its beauty, I have experienced a pang of regret that a scene so
enchanting should be hidden from the world in these remote seas, and
seldom meet the eyes of devoted lovers of nature.
Besides this bay the shores of the island are indented by several other
extensive inlets, into which descend broad and verdant valleys. These are
inhabited by as many distinct tribes of savages, who, although speaking
kindred dialects of a common language, and having the same religion and
laws, have from time immemorial waged hereditary warfare against each
other. The intervening mountains generally two or three thousand feet
above the level of the sea geographically define the territories of each
of these hostile tribes, who never cross them, save on some expedition of
war or plunder. Immediately adjacent to Nukuheva, and only separated from
it by the mountains seen from the harbour, lies the lovely valley of
Happar, whose inmates cherish the most friendly relations with the
inhabitants of Nukuheva. On the other side of Happar, and closely
adjoining it, is the magnificent valley of the dreaded Typees, the
unappeasable enemies of both these tribes.
These celebrated warriors appear to inspire the other islanders with
unspeakable terrors. Their very name is a frightful one; for the word
'Typee' in the Marquesan dialect signifies a lover of human flesh. It is
rather singular that the title should have been bestowed upon them
exclusively, inasmuch as the natives of all this group are irreclaimable
cannibals. The name may, perhaps, have been given to denote the peculiar
ferocity of this clan, and to convey a special stigma along with it.
These same Typees enjoy a prodigious notoriety all over the islands. The
natives of Nukuheva would frequently recount in pantomime to our ship's
company their terrible feats, and would show the marks of wounds they had
received in desperate encounters with them. When ashore they would try to
frighten us by pointing, to one of their own number, and calling him a
Typee, manifesting no little surprise that we did not take to our heels at
so terrible an announcement. It was quite amusing, too, to see with what
earnestness they disclaimed all cannibal propensities on their own part,
while they denounced their enemies—the Typees—as inveterate
gourmandizers of human flesh; but this is a peculiarity to which I shall
hereafter have occasion to allude.
Although I was convinced that the inhabitants of our bay were as arrant
cannibals as any of the other tribes on the island, still I could not but
feel a particular and most unqualified repugnance to the aforesaid Typees.
Even before visiting the Marquesas, I had heard from men who had touched
at the group on former voyages some revolting stories in connection with
these savages; and fresh in my remembrance was the adventure of the master
of the Katherine, who only a few months previous, imprudently venturing
into this bay in an armed boat for the purpose of barter, was seized by
the natives, carried back a little distance into their valley, and was
only saved from a cruel death by the intervention of a young girl, who
facilitated his escape by night along the beach to Nukuheva.
I had heard too of an English vessel that many years ago, after a weary
cruise, sought to enter the bay of Nukuheva, and arriving within two or
three miles of the land, was met by a large canoe filled with natives, who
offered to lead the way to the place of their destination. The captain,
unacquainted with the localities of the island, joyfully acceded to the
proposition—the canoe paddled on, the ship followed. She was soon
conducted to a beautiful inlet, and dropped her anchor in its waters
beneath the shadows of the lofty shore. That same night the perfidious
Typees, who had thus inveigled her into their fatal bay, flocked aboard
the doomed vessel by hundreds, and at a given signal murdered every soul
on board.
I shall never forget the observation of one of our crew as we were passing
slowly by the entrance of the bay in our way to Nukuheva. As we stood
gazing over the side at the verdant headlands, Ned, pointing with his hand
in the direction of the treacherous valley, exclaimed, 'There—there's
Typee. Oh, the bloody cannibals, what a meal they'd make of us if we were
to take it into our heads to land! but they say they don't like sailor's
flesh, it's too salt. I say, maty, how should you like to be shoved ashore
there, eh?' I little thought, as I shuddered at the question, that in the
space of a few weeks I should actually be a captive in that self-same
valley.
The French, although they had gone through the ceremony of hoisting their
colours for a few hours at all the principal places of the group, had not
as yet visited the bay of Typee, anticipating a fierce resistance on the
part of the savages there, which for the present at least they wished to
avoid. Perhaps they were not a little influenced in the adoption of this
unusual policy from a recollection of the warlike reception given by the
Typees to the forces of Captain Porter, about the year 1814, when that
brave and accomplished officer endeavoured to subjugate the clan merely to
gratify the mortal hatred of his allies the Nukuhevas and Happars.
On that occasion I have been told that a considerable detachment of
sailors and marines from the frigate Essex, accompanied by at least two
thousand warriors of Happar and Nukuheva, landed in boats and canoes at
the head of the bay, and after penetrating a little distance into the
valley, met with the stoutest resistance from its inmates. Valiantly,
although with much loss, the Typees disputed every inch of ground, and
after some hard fighting obliged their assailants to retreat and abandon
their design of conquest.
The invaders, on their march back to the sea, consoled themselves for
their repulse by setting fire to every house and temple in their route;
and a long line of smoking ruins defaced the once-smiling bosom of the
valley, and proclaimed to its pagan inhabitants the spirit that reigned in
the breasts of Christian soldiers. Who can wonder at the deadly hatred of
the Typees to all foreigners after such unprovoked atrocities?
Thus it is that they whom we denominate 'savages' are made to deserve the
title. When the inhabitants of some sequestered island first descry the
'big canoe' of the European rolling through the blue waters towards their
shores, they rush down to the beach in crowds, and with open arms stand
ready to embrace the strangers. Fatal embrace! They fold to their bosom
the vipers whose sting is destined to poison all their joys; and the
instinctive feeling of love within their breast is soon converted into the
bitterest hate.
The enormities perpetrated in the South Seas upon some of the inoffensive
islanders will nigh pass belief. These things are seldom proclaimed at
home; they happen at the very ends of the earth; they are done in a
corner, and there are none to reveal them. But there is, nevertheless,
many a petty trader that has navigated the Pacific whose course from
island to island might be traced by a series of cold-blooded robberies,
kidnappings, and murders, the iniquity of which might be considered almost
sufficient to sink her guilty timbers to the bottom of the sea.
Sometimes vague accounts of such thing's reach our firesides, and we
coolly censure them as wrong, impolitic, needlessly severe, and dangerous
to the crews of other vessels. How different is our tone when we read the
highly-wrought description of the massacre of the crew of the Hobomak by
the Feejees; how we sympathize for the unhappy victims, and with what
horror do we regard the diabolical heathens, who, after all, have but
avenged the unprovoked injuries which they have received. We breathe
nothing but vengeance, and equip armed vessels to traverse thousands of
miles of ocean in order to execute summary punishment upon the offenders.
On arriving at their destination, they burn, slaughter, and destroy,
according to the tenor of written instructions, and sailing away from the
scene of devastation, call upon all Christendom to applaud their courage
and their justice.
How often is the term 'savages' incorrectly applied! None really deserving
of it were ever yet discovered by voyagers or by travellers. They have
discovered heathens and barbarians whom by horrible cruelties they have
exasperated into savages. It may be asserted without fear of
contradictions that in all the cases of outrages committed by Polynesians,
Europeans have at some time or other been the aggressors, and that the
cruel and bloodthirsty disposition of some of the islanders is mainly to
be ascribed to the influence of such examples.
But to return. Owing to the mutual hostilities of the different tribes I
have mentioned, the mountainous tracts which separate their respective
territories remain altogether uninhabited; the natives invariably dwelling
in the depths of the valleys, with a view of securing themselves from the
predatory incursions of their enemies, who often lurk along their borders,
ready to cut off any imprudent straggler, or make a descent upon the
inmates of some sequestered habitation. I several times met with very aged
men, who from this cause had never passed the confines of their native
vale, some of them having never even ascended midway up the mountains in
the whole course of their lives, and who, accordingly had little idea of
the appearance of any other part of the island, the whole of which is not
perhaps more than sixty miles in circuit. The little space in which some
of these clans pass away their days would seem almost incredible.
The glen of the Tior will furnish a curious illustration of this.
The inhabited part is not more than four miles in length, and varies in
breadth from half a mile to less than a quarter. The rocky vine-clad
cliffs on one side tower almost perpendicularly from their base to the
height of at least fifteen hundred feet; while across the vale—in
striking contrast to the scenery opposite—grass-grown elevations
rise one above another in blooming terraces. Hemmed in by these stupendous
barriers, the valley would be altogether shut out from the rest of the
world, were it not that it is accessible from the sea at one end, and by a
narrow defile at the other.
The impression produced upon the mind, when I first visited this beautiful
glen, will never be obliterated.
I had come from Nukuheva by water in the ship's boat, and when we entered
the bay of Tior it was high noon. The heat had been intense, as we had
been floating upon the long smooth swell of the ocean, for there was but
little wind. The sun's rays had expended all their fury upon us; and to
add to our discomfort, we had omitted to supply ourselves with water
previous to starting. What with heat and thirst together, I became so
impatient to get ashore, that when at last we glided towards it, I stood
up in the bow of the boat ready for a spring. As she shot two-thirds of
her length high upon the beach, propelled by three or four strong strokes
of the oars, I leaped among a parcel of juvenile savages, who stood
prepared to give us a kind reception; and with them at my heels, yelling
like so many imps, I rushed forward across the open ground in the vicinity
of the sea, and plunged, diver fashion, into the recesses of the first
grove that offered.
What a delightful sensation did I experience! I felt as if floating in
some new element, while all sort of gurgling, trickling, liquid sounds
fell upon my ear. People may say what they will about the refreshing
influences of a coldwater bath, but commend me when in a perspiration to
the shade baths of Tior, beneath the cocoanut trees, and amidst the cool
delightful atmosphere which surrounds them.
How shall I describe the scenery that met my eye, as I looked out from
this verdant recess! The narrow valley, with its steep and close adjoining
sides draperied with vines, and arched overhead with a fret-work of
interlacing boughs, nearly hidden from view by masses of leafy verdure,
seemed from where I stood like an immense arbour disclosing its vista to
the eye, whilst as I advanced it insensibly widened into the loveliest
vale eye ever beheld.
It so happened that the very day I was in Tior the French admiral,
attended by all the boats of his squadron, came down in state from
Nukuheva to take formal possession of the place. He remained in the valley
about two hours, during which time he had a ceremonious interview with the
king. The patriarch-sovereign of Tior was a man very far advanced in
years; but though age had bowed his form and rendered him almost decrepid,
his gigantic frame retained its original magnitude and grandeur of
appearance.
He advanced slowly and with evident pain, assisting his tottering steps
with the heavy warspear he held in his hand, and attended by a group of
grey-bearded chiefs, on one of whom he occasionally leaned for support.
The admiral came forward with head uncovered and extended hand, while the
old king saluted him by a stately flourish of his weapon. The next moment
they stood side by side, these two extremes of the social scale,—the
polished, splendid Frenchman, and the poor tattooed savage. They were both
tall and noble-looking men; but in other respects how strikingly
contrasted! Du Petit Thouars exhibited upon his person all the
paraphernalia of his naval rank. He wore a richly decorated admiral's
frock-coat, a laced chapeau bras, and upon his breast were a variety of
ribbons and orders; while the simple islander, with the exception of a
slight cincture about his loins, appeared in all the nakedness of nature.
At what an immeasurable distance, thought I, are these two beings removed
from each other. In the one is shown the result of long centuries of
progressive Civilization and refinement, which have gradually converted
the mere creature into the semblance of all that is elevated and grand;
while the other, after the lapse of the same period, has not advanced one
step in the career of improvement, 'Yet, after all,' quoth I to myself,
'insensible as he is to a thousand wants, and removed from harassing
cares, may not the savage be the happier man of the two?' Such were the
thoughts that arose in my mind as I gazed upon the novel spectacle before
me. In truth it was an impressive one, and little likely to be effaced. I
can recall even now with vivid distinctness every feature of the scene.
The umbrageous shades where the interview took place—the glorious
tropical vegetation around—the picturesque grouping of the mingled
throng of soldiery and natives—and even the golden-hued bunch of
bananas that I held in my hand at the time, and of which I occasionally
partook while making the aforesaid philosophical reflections.
CHAPTER FIVE
THOUGHTS PREVIOUS TO ATTEMPTING AN ESCAPE—TOBY, A FELLOW SAILOR,
AGREES TO SHARE THE ADVENTURE—LAST NIGHT ABOARD THE SHIP
HAVING fully resolved to leave the vessel clandestinely, and having
acquired all the knowledge concerning the bay that I could obtain under
the circumstances in which I was placed, I now deliberately turned over in
my mind every plan to escape that suggested itself, being determined to
act with all possible prudence in an attempt where failure would be
attended with so many disagreeable consequences. The idea of being taken
and brought back ignominiously to the ship was so inexpressibly repulsive
to me, that I was determined by no hasty and imprudent measures to render
such an event probable.
I knew that our worthy captain, who felt, such a paternal solicitude for
the welfare of his crew, would not willingly consent that one of his best
hands should encounter the perils of a sojourn among the natives of a
barbarous island; and I was certain that in the event of my disappearance,
his fatherly anxiety would prompt him to offer, by way of a reward, yard
upon yard of gaily printed calico for my apprehension. He might even have
appreciated my services at the value of a musket, in which case I felt
perfectly certain that the whole population of the bay would be
immediately upon my track, incited by the prospect of so magnificent a
bounty.
Having ascertained the fact before alluded to, that the islanders,—from
motives of precaution, dwelt altogether in the depths of the valleys, and
avoided wandering about the more elevated portions of the shore, unless
bound on some expedition of war or plunder, I concluded that if I could
effect unperceived a passage to the mountain, I might easily remain among
them, supporting myself by such fruits as came in my way until the sailing
of the ship, an event of which I could not fail to be immediately
apprised, as from my lofty position I should command a view of the entire
harbour.
The idea pleased me greatly. It seemed to combine a great deal of
practicability with no inconsiderable enjoyment in a quiet way; for how
delightful it would be to look down upon the detested old vessel from the
height of some thousand feet, and contrast the verdant scenery about me
with the recollection of her narrow decks and gloomy forecastle! Why, it
was really refreshing even to think of it; and so I straightway fell to
picturing myself seated beneath a cocoanut tree on the brow of the
mountain, with a cluster of plantains within easy reach, criticizing her
nautical evolutions as she was working her way out of the harbour.
To be sure there was one rather unpleasant drawback to these agreeable
anticipations—the possibility of falling in with a foraging party of
these same bloody-minded Typees, whose appetites, edged perhaps by the air
of so elevated a region, might prompt them to devour one. This, I must
confess, was a most disagreeable view of the matter.
Just to think of a party of these unnatural gourmands taking it into their
heads to make a convivial meal of a poor devil, who would have no means of
escape or defence: however, there was no help for it. I was willing to
encounter some risks in order to accomplish my object, and counted much
upon my ability to elude these prowling cannibals amongst the many coverts
which the mountains afforded. Besides, the chances were ten to one in my
favour that they would none of them quit their own fastnesses.
I had determined not to communicate my design of withdrawing from the
vessel to any of my shipmates, and least of all to solicit any one to
accompany me in my flight. But it so happened one night, that being upon
deck, revolving over in my mind various plans of escape, I perceived one
of the ship's company leaning over the bulwarks, apparently plunged in a
profound reverie. He was a young fellow about my own age, for whom I had
all along entertained a great regard; and Toby, such was the name by which
he went among us, for his real name he would never tell us, was every way
worthy of it. He was active, ready and obliging, of dauntless courage, and
singularly open and fearless in the expression of his feelings. I had on
more than one occasion got him out of scrapes into which this had led him;
and I know not whether it was from this cause, or a certain congeniality
of sentiment between us, that he had always shown a partiality for my
society. We had battled out many a long watch together, beguiling the
weary hours with chat, song, and story, mingled with a good many
imprecations upon the hard destiny it seemed our common fortune to
encounter.
Toby, like myself, had evidently moved in a different sphere of life, and
his conversation at times betrayed this, although he was anxious to
conceal it. He was one of that class of rovers you sometimes meet at sea,
who never reveal their origin, never allude to home, and go rambling over
the world as if pursued by some mysterious fate they cannot possibly
elude.
There was much even in the appearance of Toby calculated to draw me
towards him, for while the greater part of the crew were as coarse in
person as in mind, Toby was endowed with a remarkably prepossessing
exterior. Arrayed in his blue frock and duck trousers, he was as smart a
looking sailor as ever stepped upon a deck; he was singularly small and
slightly made, with great flexibility of limb. His naturally dark
complexion had been deepened by exposure to the tropical sun, and a mass
of jetty locks clustered about his temples, and threw a darker shade into
his large black eyes. He was a strange wayward being, moody, fitful, and
melancholy—at times almost morose. He had a quick and fiery temper
too, which, when thoroughly roused, transported him into a state bordering
on delirium.
It is strange the power that a mind of deep passion has over feebler
natures. I have seen a brawny, fellow, with no lack of ordinary courage,
fairly quail before this slender stripling, when in one of his curious
fits. But these paroxysms seldom occurred, and in them my big-hearted
shipmate vented the bile which more calm-tempered individuals get rid of
by a continual pettishness at trivial annoyances.
No one ever saw Toby laugh. I mean in the hearty abandonment of
broad-mouthed mirth. He did smile sometimes, it is true; and there was a
good deal of dry, sarcastic humour about him, which told the more from the
imperturbable gravity of his tone and manner.
Latterly I had observed that Toby's melancholy had greatly increased, and
I had frequently seen him since our arrival at the island gazing wistfully
upon the shore, when the remainder of the crew would be rioting below. I
was aware that he entertained a cordial detestation of the ship, and
believed that, should a fair chance of escape present itself, he would
embrace it willingly.
But the attempt was so perilous in the place where we then lay, that I
supposed myself the only individual on board the ship who was sufficiently
reckless to think of it. In this, however, I was mistaken.
When I perceived Toby leaning, as I have mentioned, against the bulwarks
and buried in thought, it struck me at once that the subject of his
meditations might be the same as my own. And if it be so, thought I, is he
not the very one of all my shipmates whom I would choose: for the partner
of my adventure? and why should I not have some comrade with me to divide
its dangers and alleviate its hardships? Perhaps I might be obliged to lie
concealed among the mountains for weeks. In such an event what a solace
would a companion be?
These thoughts passed rapidly through my mind, and I wondered why I had
not before considered the matter in this light. But it was not too late. A
tap upon the shoulder served to rouse Toby from his reverie; I found him
ripe for the enterprise, and a very few words sufficed for a mutual
understanding between us. In an hour's time we had arranged all the
preliminaries, and decided upon our plan of action. We then ratified our
engagement with an affectionate wedding of palms, and to elude suspicion
repaired each to his hammock, to spend the last night on board the Dolly.
The next day the starboard watch, to which we both belonged, was to be
sent ashore on liberty; and, availing ourselves of this opportunity, we
determined, as soon after landing as possible, to separate ourselves from
the rest of the men without exciting their suspicions, and strike back at
once for the mountains. Seen from the ship, their summits appeared
inaccessible, but here and there sloping spurs extended from them almost
into the sea, buttressing the lofty elevations with which they were
connected, and forming those radiating valleys I have before described.
One of these ridges, which appeared more practicable than the rest, we
determined to climb, convinced that it would conduct us to the heights
beyond. Accordingly, we carefully observed its bearings and locality from
the ship, so that when ashore we should run no chance of missing it.
In all this the leading object we had in view was to seclude ourselves
from sight until the departure of the vessel; then to take our chance as
to the reception the Nukuheva natives might give us; and after remaining
upon the island as long as we found our stay agreeable, to leave it the
first favourable opportunity that offered.
CHAPTER SIX
A SPECIMEN OF NAUTICAL ORATORY—CRITICISMS OF THE SAILORS—THE
STARBOARD WATCH ARE GIVEN A HOLIDAY—THE ESCAPE TO THE MOUNTAINS
EARLY the next morning the starboard watch were mustered upon the
quarter-deck, and our worthy captain, standing in the cabin gangway,
harangued us as follows:—
'Now, men, as we are just off a six months' cruise, and have got through
most all our work in port here, I suppose you want to go ashore. Well, I
mean to give your watch liberty today, so you may get ready as soon all
you please, and go; but understand this, I am going to give you liberty
because I suppose you would growl like so many old quarter gunners if I
didn't; at the same time, if you'll take my advice, every mother's son of
you will stay aboard and keep out of the way of the bloody cannibals
altogether. Ten to one, men, if you go ashore, you will get into some
infernal row, and that will be the end of you; for if those tattooed
scoundrels get you a little ways back into their valleys, they'll nab you—that
you may be certain of. Plenty of white men have gone ashore here and never
been seen any more. There was the old Dido, she put in here about two
years ago, and sent one watch off on liberty; they never were heard of
again for a week—the natives swore they didn't know where they were—and
only three of them ever got back to the ship again, and one with his face
damaged for life, for the cursed heathens tattooed a broad patch clean
across his figure-head. But it will be no use talking to you, for go you
will, that I see plainly; so all I have to say is, that you need not blame
me if the islanders make a meal of you. You may stand some chance of
escaping them though, if you keep close about the French encampment,—and
are back to the ship again before sunset. Keep that much in your mind, if
you forget all the rest I've been saying to you. There, go forward: bear a
hand and rig yourselves, and stand by for a call. At two bells the boat
will be manned to take you off, and the Lord have mercy on you!'
Various were the emotions depicted upon the countenances of the starboard
watch whilst listening to this address; but on its conclusion there was a
general move towards the forecastle, and we soon were all busily engaged
in getting ready for the holiday so auspiciously announced by the skipper.
During these preparations his harangue was commented upon in no very
measured terms; and one of the party, after denouncing him as a lying old
son of a seacook who begrudged a fellow a few hours' liberty, exclaimed
with an oath, 'But you don't bounce me out of my liberty, old chap, for
all your yarns; for I would go ashore if every pebble on the beach was a
live coal, and every stick a gridiron, and the cannibals stood ready to
broil me on landing.'
The spirit of this sentiment was responded to by all hands, and we
resolved that in spite of the captain's croakings we would make a glorious
day of it.
But Toby and I had our own game to play, and we availed ourselves of the
confusion which always reigns among a ship's company preparatory to going
ashore, to confer together and complete our arrangements. As our object
was to effect as rapid a flight as possible to the mountains, we
determined not to encumber ourselves with any superfluous apparel; and
accordingly, while the rest were rigging themselves out with some idea of
making a display, we were content to put on new stout duck trousers,
serviceable pumps, and heavy Havre-frocks, which with a Payta hat
completed our equipment.
When our shipmates wondered at this, Toby exclaimed in his odd grave way
that the rest might do, as they liked, but that he for one preserved his
go-ashore traps for the Spanish main, where the tie of a sailor's
neckerchief might make some difference; but as for a parcel of unbreeched
heathen, he wouldn't go to the bottom of his chest for any of them, and
was half disposed to appear among them in buff himself. The men laughed at
what they thought was one of his strange conceits, and so we escaped
suspicion.
It may appear singular that we should have been thus on our guard with our
own shipmates; but there were some among us who, had they possessed the
least inkling of our project, would, for a paltry hope of reward, have
immediately communicated it to the captain.
As soon as two bells were struck, the word was passed for the liberty-men
to get into the boat. I lingered behind in the forecastle a moment to take
a parting glance at its familiar features, and just as I was about to
ascend to the deck my eye happened to light on the bread-barge and
beef-kid, which contained the remnants of our last hasty meal. Although I
had never before thought of providing anything in the way of food for our
expedition, as I fully relied upon the fruits of the island to sustain us
wherever we might wander, yet I could not resist the inclination I felt to
provide luncheon from the relics before me. Accordingly I took a double
handful of those small, broken, flinty bits of biscuit which generally go
by the name of 'midshipmen's nuts', and thrust them into the bosom of my
frock in which same simple receptacle I had previously stowed away several
pounds of tobacco and a few yards of cotton cloth—articles with
which I intended to purchase the good-will of the natives, as soon as we
should appear among them after the departure of our vessel.
This last addition to my stock caused a considerable protuberance in
front, which I abated in a measure by shaking the bits of bread around my
waist, and distributing the plugs of tobacco among the folds of the
garment.
Hardly had I completed these arrangements when my name was sung out by a
dozen voices, and I sprung upon the deck, where I found all the party in
the boat, and impatient to shove off. I dropped over the side and seated
myself with the rest of the watch in the stern sheets, while the poor
larboarders shipped their oars, and commenced pulling us ashore.
This happened to be the rainy season at the islands, and the heavens had
nearly the whole morning betokened one of those heavy showers which during
this period so frequently occur. The large drops fell bubbling into the
water shortly after our leaving the ship, and by the time we had affected
a landing it poured down in torrents. We fled for shelter under cover of
an immense canoe-house which stood hard by the beach, and waited for the
first fury of the storm to pass.
It continued, however, without cessation; and the monotonous beating of
the rain over head began to exert a drowsy influence upon the men, who,
throwing themselves here and there upon the large war-canoes, after
chatting awhile, all fell asleep.
This was the opportunity we desired, and Toby and I availed ourselves of
it at once by stealing out of the canoe-house and plunging into the depths
of an extensive grove that was in its rear. After ten minutes' rapid
progress we gained an open space from which we could just descry the ridge
we intended to mount looming dimly through the mists of the tropical
shower, and distant from us, as we estimated, something more than a mile.
Our direct course towards it lay through a rather populous part of the
bay; but desirous as we were of evading the natives and securing an
unmolested retreat to the mountains, we determined, by taking a circuit
through some extensive thickets, to avoid their vicinity altogether.
The heavy rain that still continued to fall without intermission favoured
our enterprise, as it drove the islanders into their houses, and prevented
any casual meeting with them. Our heavy frocks soon became completely
saturated with water, and by their weight, and that of the articles we had
concealed beneath them, not a little impeded our progress. But it was no
time to pause when at any moment we might be surprised by a body of the
savages, and forced at the very outset to relinquish our undertaking.
Since leaving the canoe-house we had scarcely exchanged a single syllable
with one another; but when we entered a second narrow opening in the wood,
and again caught sight of the ridge before us, I took Toby by the arm, and
pointing along its sloping outline to the lofty heights at its extremity,
said in a low tone, 'Now, Toby, not a word, nor a glance backward, till we
stand on the summit of yonder mountain—so no more lingering but let
us shove ahead while we can, and in a few hours' time we may laugh aloud.
You are the lightest and the nimblest, so lead on, and I will follow.'
'All right, brother,' said Toby, 'quick's our play; only lets keep close
together, that's all;' and so saying with a bound like a young roe, he
cleared a brook which ran across our path, and rushed forward with a quick
step.
When we arrived within a short distance of the ridge, we were stopped by a
mass of tall yellow reeds, growing together as thickly as they could
stand, and as tough and stubborn as so many rods of steel; and we
perceived, to our chagrin, that they extended midway up the elevation we
proposed to ascend.
For a moment we gazed about us in quest of a more practicable route; it
was, however, at once apparent that there was no resource but to pierce
this thicket of canes at all hazards. We now reversed our order of march,
I, being the heaviest, taking the lead, with a view of breaking a path
through the obstruction, while Toby fell into the rear.
Two or three times I endeavoured to insinuate myself between the canes,
and by dint of coaxing and bending them to make some progress; but a
bull-frog might as well have tried to work a passage through the teeth of
a comb, and I gave up the attempt in despair.
Half wild with meeting an obstacle we had so little anticipated, I threw
myself desperately against it, crushing to the ground the canes with which
I came in contact, and, rising to my feet again, repeated the action with
like effect. Twenty minutes of this violent exercise almost exhausted me,
but it carried us some way into the thicket; when Toby, who had been
reaping the benefit of my labours by following close at my heels, proposed
to become pioneer in turn, and accordingly passed ahead with a view of
affording me a respite from my exertions. As however with his slight frame
he made but bad work of it, I was soon obliged to resume my old place
again. On we toiled, the perspiration starting from our bodies in floods,
our limbs torn and lacerated with the splintered fragments of the broken
canes, until we had proceeded perhaps as far as the middle of the brake,
when suddenly it ceased raining, and the atmosphere around us became close
and sultry beyond expression. The elasticity of the reeds quickly
recovering from the temporary pressure of our bodies, caused them to
spring back to their original position; so that they closed in upon us as
we advanced, and prevented the circulation of little air which might
otherwise have reached us. Besides this, their great height completely
shut us out from the view of surrounding objects, and we were not certain
but that we might have been going all the time in a wrong direction.
Fatigued with my long-continued efforts, and panting for breath, I felt
myself completely incapacitated for any further exertion. I rolled up the
sleeve of my frock, and squeezed the moisture it contained into my parched
mouth. But the few drops I managed to obtain gave me little relief, and I
sank down for a moment with a sort of dogged apathy, from which I was
aroused by Toby, who had devised a plan to free us from the net in which
we had become entangled.
He was laying about him lustily with his sheath-knive, lopping the canes
right and left, like a reaper, and soon made quite a clearing around us.
This sight reanimated me; and seizing my own knife, I hacked and hewed
away without mercy. But alas! the farther we advanced the thicker and
taller, and apparently the more interminable, the reeds became.
I began to think we were fairly snared, and had almost made up my mind
that without a pair of wings we should never be able to escape from the
toils; when all at once I discerned a peep of daylight through the canes
on my right, and, communicating the joyful tidings to Toby, we both fell
to with fresh spirit, and speedily opening the passage towards it we found
ourselves clear of perplexities, and in the near vicinity of the ridge.
After resting for a few moments we began the ascent, and after a little
vigorous climbing found ourselves close to its summit. Instead however of
walking along its ridge, where we should have been in full view of the
natives in the vales beneath, and at a point where they could easily
intercept us were they so inclined, we cautiously advanced on one side,
crawling on our hands and knees, and screened from observation by the
grass through which we glided, much in the fashion of a couple of
serpents. After an hour employed in this unpleasant kind of locomotion, we
started to our feet again and pursued our way boldly along the crest of
the ridge.
This salient spur of the lofty elevations that encompassed the bay rose
with a sharp angle from the valleys at its base, and presented, with the
exception of a few steep acclivities, the appearance of a vast inclined
plane, sweeping down towards the sea from the heights in the distance. We
had ascended it near the place of its termination and at its lowest point,
and now saw our route to the mountains distinctly defined along its narrow
crest, which was covered with a soft carpet of verdure, and was in many
parts only a few feet wide.
Elated with the success which had so far attended our enterprise, and
invigorated by the refreshing atmosphere we now inhaled, Toby and I in
high spirits were making our way rapidly along the ridge, when suddenly
from the valleys below which lay on either side of us we heard the distant
shouts of the natives, who had just descried us, and to whom our figures,
brought in bold relief against the sky, were plainly revealed.
Glancing our eyes into these valleys, we perceived their savage
inhabitants hurrying to and fro, seemingly under the influence of some
sudden alarm, and appearing to the eye scarcely bigger than so many
pigmies; while their white thatched dwellings, dwarfed by the distance,
looked like baby-houses. As we looked down upon the islanders from our
lofty elevation, we experienced a sense of security; feeling confident
that, should they undertake a pursuit, it would, from the start we now
had, prove entirely fruitless, unless they followed us into the mountains,
where we knew they cared not to venture.
However, we thought it as well to make the most of our time; and
accordingly, where the ground would admit of it, we ran swiftly along the
summit of the ridge, until we were brought to a stand by a steep cliff,
which at first seemed to interpose an effectual barrier to our farther
advance. By dint of much hard scrambling however, and at some risk to our
necks, we at last surmounted it, and continued our fight with unabated
celerity.
We had left the beach early in the morning, and after an uninterrupted,
though at times difficult and dangerous ascent, during which we had never
once turned our faces to the sea, we found ourselves, about three hours
before sunset, standing on the top of what seemed to be the highest land
on the island, an immense overhanging cliff composed of basaltic rocks,
hung round with parasitical plants. We must have been more than three
thousand feet above the level of the sea, and the scenery viewed from this
height was magnificent.
The lonely bay of Nukuheva, dotted here and there with the black hulls of
the vessels composing the French squadron, lay reposing at the base of a
circular range of elevations, whose verdant sides, perforated with deep
glens or diversified with smiling valleys, formed altogether the loveliest
view I ever beheld, and were I to live a hundred years, I shall never
forget the feeling of admiration which I then experienced.
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN—DISAPPOINTMENT—INVENTORY OF
ARTICLES BROUGHT FROM THE SHIP—DIVISION OF THE STOCK OF BREAD—APPEARANCE
OF THE INTERIOR OF THE ISLAND—A DISCOVERY—A RAVINE AND
WATERFALLS—A SLEEPLESS NIGHT—FURTHER DISCOVERIES—MY
ILLNESS—A MARQUESAN LANDSCAPE
MY curiosity had been not a little raised with regard to the description
of country we should meet on the other side of the mountains; and I had
supposed, with Toby, that immediately on gaining the heights we should be
enabled to view the large bays of Happar and Typee reposing at our feet on
one side, in the same way that Nukuheva lay spread out below on the other.
But here we were disappointed. Instead of finding the mountain we had
ascended sweeping down in the opposite direction into broad and capacious
valleys, the land appeared to retain its general elevation, only broken
into a series of ridges and inter-vales which so far as the eye could
reach stretched away from us, with their precipitous sides covered with
the brightest verdure, and waving here and there with the foliage of
clumps of woodland; among which, however, we perceived none of those trees
upon whose fruit we had relied with such certainty.
This was a most unlooked-for discovery, and one that promised to defeat
our plans altogether, for we could not think of descending the mountain on
the Nukuheva side in quest of food. Should we for this purpose be induced
to retrace our steps, we should run no small chance of encountering the
natives, who in that case, if they did nothing worse to us, would be
certain to convey us back to the ship for the sake of the reward in calico
and trinkets, which we had no doubt our skipper would hold out to them as
an inducement to our capture.
What was to be done? The Dolly would not sail perhaps for ten days, and
how were we to sustain life during this period? I bitterly repented our
improvidence in not providing ourselves, as we easily might have done,
with a supply of biscuits. With a rueful visage I now bethought me of the
scanty handful of bread I had stuffed into the bosom of my frock, and felt
somewhat desirous to ascertain what part of it had weathered the rather
rough usage it had experienced in ascending the mountain. I accordingly
proposed to Toby that we should enter into a joint examination of the
various articles we had brought from the ship.
With this intent we seated ourselves upon the grass; and a little curious
to see with what kind of judgement my companion had filled his frock—which
I remarked seemed about as well lined as my own—I requested him to
commence operations by spreading out its contents.
Thrusting his hand, then, into the bosom of this capacious receptacle, he
first brought to light about a pound of tobacco, whose component parts
still adhered together, the whole outside being covered with soft
particles of sea-bread. Wet and dripping, it had the appearance of having
been just recovered from the bottom of the sea. But I paid slight
attention to a substance of so little value to us in our present
situation, as soon as I perceived the indications it gave of Toby's
foresight in laying in a supply of food for the expedition.
I eagerly inquired what quantity he had brought with him, when rummaging
once more beneath his garment, he produced a small handful of something so
soft, pulpy, and discoloured, that for a few moments he was as much
puzzled as myself to tell by what possible instrumentality such a
villainous compound had become engendered in his bosom. I can only
describe it as a hash of soaked bread and bits of tobacco, brought to a
doughy consistency by the united agency of perspiration and rain. But
repulsive as it might otherwise have been, I now regarded it as an
invaluable treasure, and proceeded with great care to transfer this
paste-like mass to a large leaf which I had plucked from a bush beside me.
Toby informed me that in the morning he had placed two whole biscuits in
his bosom, with a view of munching them, should he feel so inclined,
during our flight. These were now reduced to the equivocal substance which
I had just placed on the leaf.
Another dive into the frock brought to view some four or five yards of
calico print, whose tasteful pattern was rather disfigured by the yellow
stains of the tobacco with which it had been brought in contact. In
drawing this calico slowly from his bosom inch by inch, Toby reminded me
of a juggler performing the feat of the endless ribbon. The next cast was
a small one, being a sailor's little 'ditty bag', containing needles,
thread, and other sewing utensils, then came a razor-case, followed by two
or three separate plugs of negro-head, which were fished up from the
bottom of the now empty receptacle. These various matters, being
inspected, I produced the few things which I had myself brought.
As might have been anticipated from the state of my companion's edible
supplies, I found my own in a deplorable condition, and diminished to a
quantity that would not have formed half a dozen mouthfuls for a hungry
man who was partial enough to tobacco not to mind swallowing it. A few
morsels of bread, with a fathom or two of white cotton cloth, and several
pounds of choice pigtail, composed the extent of my possessions.
Our joint stock of miscellaneous articles were now made up into a compact
bundle, which it was agreed we should carry alternately. But the sorry
remains of the biscuit were not to be disposed of so summarily: the
precarious circumstances in which we were placed made us regard them as
something on which very probably, depended the fate of our adventure.
After a brief discussion, in which we both of us expressed our resolution
of not descending into the bay until the ship's departure, I suggested to
my companion that little of it as there was, we should divide the bread
into six equal portions, each of which should be a day's allowance for
both of us. This proposition he assented to; so I took the silk kerchief
from my neck, and cutting it with my knife into half a dozen equal pieces,
proceeded to make an exact division.
At first, Toby with a degree of fastidiousness that seemed to me
ill-timed, was for picking out the minute particles of tobacco with which
the spongy mass was mixed; but against this proceeding I protested, as by
such an operation we must have greatly diminished its quantity.
When the division was accomplished, we found that a day's allowance for
the two was not a great deal more than what a table-spoon might hold. Each
separate portion we immediately rolled up in the bit of silk prepared for
it, and joining them all together into a small package, I committed them,
with solemn injunctions of fidelity, to the custody of Toby. For the
remainder of that day we resolved to fast, as we had been fortified by a
breakfast in the morning; and now starting again to our feet, we looked
about us for a shelter during the night, which, from the appearance of the
heavens, promised to be a dark and tempestuous one.
There was no place near us which would in any way answer our purpose, so
turning our backs upon Nukuheva, we commenced exploring the unknown
regions which lay upon the other side of the mountain.
In this direction, as far as our vision extended, not a sign of life, nor
anything that denoted even the transient residence of man, could be seen.
The whole landscape seemed one unbroken solitude, the interior of the
island having apparently been untenanted since the morning of the
creation; and as we advanced through this wilderness, our voices sounded
strangely in our ears, as though human accents had never before disturbed
the fearful silence of the place, interrupted only by the low murmurings
of distant waterfalls.
Our disappointment, however, in not finding the various fruits with which
we had intended to regale ourselves during our stay in these wilds, was a
good deal lessened by the consideration that from this very circumstance
we should be much less exposed to a casual meeting with the savage tribes
about us, who we knew always dwelt beneath the shadows of those trees
which supplied them with food.
We wandered along, casting eager glances into every bush we passed, until
just as we had succeeded in mounting one of the many ridges that
intersected the ground, I saw in the grass before me something like an
indistinctly traced footpath, which appeared to lead along the top of the
ridge, and to descend—with it into a deep ravine about half a mile
in advance of us.
Robinson Crusoe could not have been more startled at the footprint in the
sand than we were at this unwelcome discovery. My first impulse was to
make as rapid a retreat as possible, and bend our steps in some other
direction; but our curiosity to see whither this path might lead, prompted
us to pursue it. So on we went, the track becoming more and more visible
the farther we proceeded, until it conducted us to the verge of the
ravine, where it abruptly terminated.
'And so,' said Toby, peering down into the chasm, 'everyone that travels
this path takes a jump here, eh?'
'Not so,' said I, 'for I think they might manage to descend without it;
what say you,—shall we attempt the feat?'
'And what, in the name of caves and coal-holes, do you expect to find at
the bottom of that gulf but a broken neck—why it looks blacker than
our ship's hold, and the roar of those waterfalls down there would batter
one's brains to pieces.'
'Oh, no, Toby,' I exclaimed, laughing; 'but there's something to be seen
here, that's plain, or there would have been no path, and I am resolved to
find out what it is.'
'I will tell you what, my pleasant fellow,' rejoined Toby quickly, 'if you
are going to pry into everything you meet with here that excites your
curiosity, you will marvellously soon get knocked on the head; to a dead
certainty you will come bang upon a party of these savages in the midst of
your discovery-makings, and I doubt whether such an event would
particularly delight you, just take my advice for once, and let us 'bout
ship and steer in some other direction; besides, it's getting late and we
ought to be mooring ourselves for the night.'
'That is just the thing I have been driving at,' replied I; 'and I am
thinking that this ravine will exactly answer our purpose, for it is
roomy, secluded, well watered, and may shelter us from the weather.'
'Aye, and from sleep too, and by the same token will give us sore throats,
and rheumatisms into the bargain,' cried Toby, with evident dislike at the
idea.
'Oh, very well then, my lad,' said I, 'since you will not accompany me,
here I go alone. You will see me in the morning;' and advancing to the
edge of the cliff upon which we had been standing, I proceeded to lower
myself down by the tangled roots which clustered about all the crevices of
the rock. As I had anticipated, Toby, in spite of his previous
remonstrances, followed my example, and dropping himself with the activity
of a squirrel from point to point, he quickly outstripped me and effected
a landing at the bottom before I had accomplished two-thirds of the
descent.
The sight that now greeted us was one that will ever be vividly impressed
upon my mind. Five foaming streams, rushing through as many gorges, and
swelled and turbid by the recent rains, united together in one mad plunge
of nearly eighty feet, and fell with wild uproar into a deep black pool
scooped out of the gloomy looking rocks that lay piled around, and thence
in one collected body dashed down a narrow sloping channel which seemed to
penetrate into the very bowels of the earth. Overhead, vast roots of trees
hung down from the sides of the ravine dripping with moisture, and
trembling with the concussions produced by the fall. It was now sunset,
and the feeble uncertain light that found its way into these caverns and
woody depths heightened their strange appearance, and reminded us that in
a short time we should find ourselves in utter darkness.
As soon as I had satisfied my curiosity by gazing at this scene, I fell to
wondering how it was that what we had taken for a path should have
conducted us to so singular a place, and began to suspect that after all I
might have been deceived in supposing it to have been a trick formed by
the islanders. This was rather an agreeable reflection than otherwise, for
it diminished our dread of accidentally meeting with any of them, and I
came to the conclusion that perhaps we could not have selected a more
secure hiding-place than this very spot we had so accidentally hit upon.
Toby agreed with me in this view of the matter, and we immediately began
gathering together the limbs of trees which lay scattered about, with the
view of constructing a temporary hut for the night. This we were obliged
to build close to the foot of the cataract, for the current of water
extended very nearly to the sides of the gorge. The few moments of light
that remained we employed in covering our hut with a species of
broad-bladed grass that grew in every fissure of the ravine. Our hut, if
it deserved to be called one, consisted of six or eight of the straightest
branches we could find laid obliquely against the steep wall of rock, with
their lower ends within a foot of the stream. Into the space thus covered
over we managed to crawl, and dispose our wearied bodies as best we could.
Shall I ever forget that horrid night! As for poor Toby, I could scarcely
get a word out of him. It would have been some consolation to have heard
his voice, but he lay shivering the live-long night like a man afflicted
with the palsy, with his knees drawn up to his head, while his back was
supported against the dripping side of the rock. During this wretched
night there seemed nothing wanting to complete the perfect misery of our
condition. The rain descended in such torrents that our poor shelter
proved a mere mockery. In vain did I try to elude the incessant streams
that poured upon me; by protecting one part I only exposed another, and
the water was continually finding some new opening through which to drench
us.
I have had many a ducking in the course of my life, and in general cared
little about it; but the accumulated horrors of that night, the deathlike
coldness of the place, the appalling darkness and the dismal sense of our
forlorn condition, almost unmanned me.
It will not be doubted that the next morning we were early risers, and as
soon as I could catch the faintest glimpse of anything like daylight I
shook my companion by the arm, and told him it was sunrise. Poor Toby
lifted up his head, and after a moment's pause said, in a husky voice,
'Then, shipmate, my toplights have gone out, for it appears darker now
with my eyes open that it did when they were shut.'
'Nonsense!' exclaimed I; 'You are not awake yet.'
'Awake!' roared Toby in a rage, 'awake! You mean to insinuate I've been
asleep, do you? It is an insult to a man to suppose he could sleep in such
an infernal place as this.'
By the time I had apologized to my friend for having misconstrued his
silence, it had become somewhat more light, and we crawled out of our
lair. The rain had ceased, but everything around us was dripping with
moisture. We stripped off our saturated garments, and wrung them as dry as
we could. We contrived to make the blood circulate in our benumbed limbs
by rubbing them vigorously with our hands; and after performing our
ablutions in the stream, and putting on our still wet clothes, we began to
think it advisable to break our long fast, it being now twenty-four hours
since we had tasted food.
Accordingly our day's ration was brought out, and seating ourselves on a
detached fragment of rock, we proceeded to discuss it. First we divided it
into two equal portions, and carefully rolling one of them up for our
evening's repast, divided the remainder again as equally as possible, and
then drew lots for the first choice. I could have placed the morsel that
fell to my share upon the tip of my finger; but notwithstanding this I
took care that it should be full ten minutes before I had swallowed the
last crumb. What a true saying it is that 'appetite furnishes the best
sauce.' There was a flavour and a relish to this small particle of food
that under other circumstances it would have been impossible for the most
delicate viands to have imparted. A copious draught of the pure water
which flowed at our feet served to complete the meal, and after it we rose
sensibly refreshed, and prepared for whatever might befall us.
We now carefully examined the chasm in which we had passed the night. We
crossed the stream, and gaining the further side of the pool I have
mentioned, discovered proofs that the spot must have been visited by some
one but a short time previous to our arrival. Further observation
convinced us that it had been regularly frequented, and, as we afterwards
conjectured from particular indications, for the purpose of obtaining a
certain root, from which the natives obtained a kind of ointment.
These discoveries immediately determined us to abandon a place which had
presented no inducement for us to remain, except the promise of security;
and as we looked about us for the means of ascending again into the upper
regions, we at last found a practicable part of the rock, and half an
hour's toil carried us to the summit of the same cliff from which the
preceding evening we had descended.
I now proposed to Toby that instead of rambling about the island, exposing
ourselves to discovery at every turn, we should select some place as our
fixed abode for as long a period as our food should hold out, build
ourselves a comfortable hut, and be as prudent and circumspect as
possible. To all this my companion assented, and we at once set about
carrying the plan into execution.
With this view, after exploring without success a little glen near us, we
crossed several of the ridges of which I have before spoken; and about
noon found ourselves ascending a long and gradually rising slope, but
still without having discovered any place adapted to our purpose. Low and
heavy clouds betokened an approaching storm, and we hurried on to gain a
covert in a clump of thick bushes, which appeared to terminate the long
ascent. We threw ourselves under the lee of these bushes, and pulling up
the long grass that grew around, covered ourselves completely with it, and
awaited the shower.
But it did not come as soon as we had expected, and before many minutes my
companion was fast asleep, and I was rapidly falling into the same state
of happy forgetfulness. Just at this juncture, however, down came the rain
with the violence that put all thoughts of slumber to flight. Although in
some measure sheltered, our clothes soon became as wet as ever; this,
after all the trouble we had taken to dry them, was provoking enough: but
there was no help for it; and I recommend all adventurous youths who
abandon vessels in romantic islands during the rainy season to provide
themselves with umbrellas.
After an hour or so the shower passed away. My companion slept through it
all, or at least appeared so to do; and now that it was over I had not the
heart to awaken him. As I lay on my back completely shrouded with verdure,
the leafy branches drooping over me, my limbs buried in grass, I could not
avoid comparing our situation with that of the interesting babes in the
wood. Poor little sufferers!—no wonder their constitutions broke
down under the hardships to which they were exposed.
During the hour or two spent under the shelter of these bushes, I began to
feel symptoms which I at once attributed to the exposure of the preceding
night. Cold shiverings and a burning fever succeeded one another at
intervals, while one of my legs was swelled to such a degree, and pained
me so acutely, that I half suspected I had been bitten by some venomous
reptile, the congenial inhabitant of the chasm from which we had lately
emerged. I may here remark by the way—what I subsequently gleamed—that
all the islands of Polynesia enjoy the reputation, in common with the
Hibernian isle, of being free from the presence of any vipers; though
whether Saint Patrick ever visited them, is a question I shall not attempt
to decide.
As the feverish sensation increased upon me I tossed about, still
unwilling to disturb my slumbering companion, from whose side I removed
two or three yards. I chanced to push aside a branch, and by so doing
suddenly disclosed to my view a scene which even now I can recall with all
the vividness of the first impression. Had a glimpse of the gardens of
Paradise been revealed to me, I could scarcely have been more ravished
with the sight.
From the spot where I lay transfixed with surprise and delight, I looked
straight down into the bosom of a valley, which swept away in long wavy
undulations to the blue waters in the distance. Midway towards the sea,
and peering here and there amidst the foliage, might be seen the
palmetto-thatched houses of its inhabitants glistening in the sun that had
bleached them to a dazzling whiteness. The vale was more than three
leagues in length, and about a mile across at its greatest width.
On either side it appeared hemmed in by steep and green acclivities,
which, uniting near the spot where I lay, formed an abrupt and
semicircular termination of grassy cliffs and precipices hundreds of feet
in height, over which flowed numberless small cascades. But the crowning
beauty of the prospect was its universal verdure; and in this indeed
consists, I believe, the peculiar charm of every Polynesian landscape.
Everywhere below me, from the base of the precipice upon whose very verge
I had been unconsciously reposing, the surface of the vale presented a
mass of foliage, spread with such rich profusion that it was impossible to
determine of what description of trees it consisted.
But perhaps there was nothing about the scenery I beheld more impressive
than those silent cascades, whose slender threads of water, after leaping
down the steep cliffs, were lost amidst the rich herbage of the valley.
Over all the landscape there reigned the most hushed repose, which I
almost feared to break, lest, like the enchanted gardens in the fairy
tale, a single syllable might dissolve the spell. For a long time,
forgetful alike of my own situation, and the vicinity of my still
slumbering companion, I remained gazing around me, hardly able to
comprehend by what means I had thus suddenly been made a spectator of such
a scene.
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE IMPORTANT QUESTION, TYPEE OR HAPPAR?—A WILD GOOSE CHASE—MY
SUFFERINGS—DISHEARTENING SITUATION—A NIGHT IN A RAVINE—MORNING
MEAL—HAPPY IDEA OF TOBY—JOURNEY TOWARDS THE VALLEY
RECOVERING from my astonishment at the beautiful scene before me, I
quickly awakened Toby, and informed him of the discovery I had made.
Together we now repaired to the border of the precipice, and my
companion's admiration was equal to my own. A little reflection, however,
abated our surprise at coming so unexpectedly upon this valley, since the
large vales of Happar and Typee, lying upon this side of Nukuheva, and
extending a considerable distance from the sea towards the interior, must
necessarily terminate somewhere about this point.
The question now was as to which of those two places we were looking down
upon. Toby insisted that it was the abode of the Happar, and I that it was
tenanted by their enemies the ferocious Typees. To be sure I was not
entirely convinced by my own arguments, but Toby's proposition to descend
at once into the valley, and partake of the hospitality of its inmates,
seemed to me to be risking so much upon the strength of a mere
supposition, that I resolved to oppose it until we had more evidence to
proceed upon.
The point was one of vital importance, as the natives of Happar were not
only at peace with Nukuheva, but cultivated with its inhabitants the most
friendly relations, and enjoyed besides a reputation for gentleness and
humanity which led us to expect from them, if not a cordial reception, at
least a shelter during the short period we should remain in their
territory.
On the other hand, the very name of Typee struck a panic into my heart
which I did not attempt to disguise. The thought of voluntarily throwing
ourselves into the hands of these cruel savages, seemed to me an act of
mere madness; and almost equally so the idea of venturing into the valley,
uncertain by which of these two tribes it was inhabited. That the vale at
our feet was tenanted by one of them, was a point that appeared to us past
all doubt, since we knew that they resided in this quarter, although our
information did not enlighten us further.
My companion, however, incapable of resisting the tempting prospect which
the place held out of an abundant supply of food and other means of
enjoyment, still clung to his own inconsiderate view of the subject, nor
could all my reasoning shake it. When I reminded him that it was
impossible for either of us to know anything with certainty, and when I
dwelt upon the horrible fate we should encounter were we rashly to descend
into the valley, and discover too late the error we had committed, he
replied by detailing all the evils of our present condition, and the
sufferings we must undergo should we continue to remain where we then
were.
Anxious to draw him away from the subject, if possible—for I saw
that it would be in vain to attempt changing his mind—I directed his
attention to a long bright unwooded tract of land which, sweeping down
from the elevations in the interior, descended into the valley before us.
I then suggested to him that beyond this ridge might lie a capacious and
untenanted valley, abounding with all manner of delicious fruits; for I
had heard that there were several such upon the island, and proposed that
we should endeavour to reach it, and if we found our expectations realized
we should at once take refuge in it and remain there as long as we
pleased.
He acquiesced in the suggestion; and we immediately, therefore, began
surveying the country lying before us, with a view of determining upon the
best route for us to pursue; but it presented little choice, the whole
interval being broken into steep ridges, divided by dark ravines,
extending in parallel lines at right angles to our direct course. All
these we would be obliged to cross before we could hope to arrive at our
destination.
A weary journey! But we decided to undertake it, though, for my own part,
I felt little prepared to encounter its fatigues, shivering and burning by
turns with the ague and fever; for I know not how else to describe the
alternate sensations I experienced, and suffering not a little from the
lameness which afflicted me. Added to this was the faintness consequent on
our meagre diet—a calamity in which Toby participated to the same
extent as myself.
These circumstances, however, only augmented my anxiety to reach a place
which promised us plenty and repose, before I should be reduced to a state
which would render me altogether unable to perform the journey.
Accordingly we now commenced it by descending the almost perpendicular
side of a steep and narrow gorge, bristling with a thick growth of reeds.
Here there was but one mode for us to adopt. We seated ourselves upon the
ground, and guided our descent by catching at the canes in our path. This
velocity with which we thus slid down the side of the ravine soon brought
us to a point where we could use our feet, and in a short time we arrived
at the edge of the torrent, which rolled impetuously along the bed of the
chasm.
After taking a refreshing draught from the water of the stream, we
addressed ourselves to a much more difficult undertaking than the last.
Every foot of our late descent had to be regained in ascending the
opposite side of the gorge—an operation rendered the less agreeable
from the consideration that in these perpendicular episodes we did not
progress a hundred yards on our journey. But, ungrateful as the task was,
we set about it with exemplary patience, and after a snail-like progress
of an hour or more, had scaled perhaps one half of the distance, when the
fever which had left me for a while returned with such violence, and
accompanied by so raging a thirst, that it required all the entreaties of
Toby to prevent me from losing all the fruits of my late exertion, by
precipitating myself madly down the cliffs we had just climbed, in quest
of the water which flowed so temptingly at their base. At the moment all
my hopes and fears appeared to be merged in this one desire, careless of
the consequences that might result from its gratification. I am aware of
no feeling, either of pleasure or of pain, that so completely deprives one
of an power to resist its impulses, as this same raging thirst.
Toby earnestly conjured me to continue the ascent, assuring me that a
little more exertion would bring us to the summit, and that then in less
than five minutes we should find ourselves at the brink of the stream,
which must necessarily flow on the other side of the ridge.
'Do not,' he exclaimed, 'turn back, now that we have proceeded thus far;
for I tell you that neither of us will have the courage to repeat the
attempt, if once more we find ourselves looking up to where we now are
from the bottom of these rocks!'
I was not yet so perfectly beside myself as to be heedless of these
representations, and therefore toiled on, ineffectually endeavouring to
appease the thirst which consumed me, by thinking that in a short time I
should be able to gratify it to my heart's content.
At last we gained the top of the second elevation, the loftiest of those I
have described as extending in parallel lines between us and the valley we
desired to reach. It commanded a view of the whole intervening distance;
and, discouraged as I was by other circumstances, this prospect plunged me
into the very depths of despair. Nothing but dark and fearful chasms,
separated by sharp-crested and perpendicular ridges as far as the eye
could reach. Could we have stepped from summit to summit of these steep
but narrow elevations we could easily have accomplished the distance; but
we must penetrate to the bottom of every yawning gulf, and scale in
succession every one of the eminences before us. Even Toby, although not
suffering as I did, was not proof against the disheartening influences of
the sight.
But we did not long stand to contemplate it, impatient as I was to reach
the waters of the torrent which flowed beneath us. With an insensibility
to danger which I cannot call to mind without shuddering, we threw
ourselves down the depths of the ravine, startling its savage solitudes
with the echoes produced by the falling fragments of rock we every moment
dislodged from their places, careless of the insecurity of our footing,
and reckless whether the slight roots and twigs we clutched at sustained
us for the while, or treacherously yielded to our grasp. For my own part,
I scarcely knew whether I was helplessly falling from the heights above,
or whether the fearful rapidity with which I descended was an act of my
own volition.
In a few minutes we reached the foot of the gorge, and kneeling upon a
small ledge of dripping rocks, I bent over to the stream. What a delicious
sensation was I now to experience! I paused for a second to concentrate
all my capabilities of enjoyment, and then immerged my lips in the clear
element before me. Had the apples of Sodom turned to ashes in my mouth, I
could not have felt a more startling revulsion. A single drop of the cold
fluid seemed to freeze every drop of blood in my body; the fever that had
been burning in my veins gave place on the instant to death-like chills,
which shook me one after another like so many shocks of electricity, while
the perspiration produced by my late violent exertions congealed in icy
beads upon my forehead. My thirst was gone, and I fairly loathed the
water. Starting to my feet, the sight of those dank rocks, oozing forth
moisture at every crevice, and the dark stream shooting along its dismal
channel, sent fresh chills through my shivering frame, and I felt as
uncontrollable a desire to climb up towards the genial sunlight as I
before had to descend the ravine.
After two hours' perilous exertions we stood upon the summit of another
ridge, and it was with difficulty I could bring myself to believe that we
had ever penetrated the black and yawning chasm which then gaped at our
feet. Again we gazed upon the prospect which the height commanded, but it
was just as depressing as the one which had before met our eyes. I now
felt that in our present situation it was in vain for us to think of ever
overcoming the obstacles in our way, and I gave up all thoughts of
reaching the vale which lay beyond this series of impediments; while at
the same time I could not devise any scheme to extricate ourselves from
the difficulties in which we were involved.
The remotest idea of returning to Nukuheva, unless assured of our vessel's
departure, never once entered my mind, and indeed it was questionable
whether we could have succeeded in reaching it, divided as we were from
the bay by a distance we could not compute, and perplexed too in our
remembrance of localities by our recent wanderings. Besides, it was
unendurable the thought of retracing our steps and rendering all our
painful exertions of no avail.
There is scarcely anything when a man is in difficulties that he is more
disposed to look upon with abhorrence than a rightabout retrograde
movement—a systematic going over of the already trodden ground: and
especially if he has a love of adventure, such a course appears
indescribably repulsive, so long as there remains the least hope to be
derived from braving untried difficulties.
It was this feeling that prompted us to descend the opposite side of the
elevation we had just scaled, although with what definite object in view
it would have been impossible for either of us to tell.
Without exchanging a syllable upon the subject, Toby and myself
simultaneously renounced the design which had lured us thus far—perceiving
in each other's countenances that desponding expression which speaks more
eloquently than words.
Together we stood towards the close of this weary day in the cavity of the
third gorge we had entered, wholly incapacitated for any further exertion,
until restored to some degree of strength by food and repose.
We seated ourselves upon the least uncomfortable spot we could select, and
Toby produced from the bosom of his frock the sacred package. In silence
we partook of the small morsel of refreshment that had been left from the
morning's repast, and without once proposing to violate the sanctity of
our engagement with respect to the remainder, we rose to our feet, and
proceeded to construct some sort of shelter under which we might obtain
the sleep we so greatly needed.
Fortunately the spot was better adapted to our purpose than the one in
which we had passed the last wretched night. We cleared away the tall
reeds from the small but almost level bit of ground, and twisted them into
a low basket-like hut, which we covered with a profusion of long thick
leaves, gathered from a tree near at hand. We disposed them thickly all
around, reserving only a slight opening that barely permitted us to crawl
under the shelter we had thus obtained.
These deep recesses, though protected from the winds that assail the
summits of their lofty sides, are damp and chill to a degree that one
would hardly anticipate in such a climate; and being unprovided with
anything but our woollen frocks and thin duck trousers to resist the cold
of the place, we were the more solicitous to render our habitation for the
night as comfortable as we could. Accordingly, in addition to what we had
already done, we plucked down all the leaves within our reach and threw
them in a heap over our little hut, into which we now crept, raking after
us a reserved supply to form our couch.
That night nothing but the pain I suffered prevented me from sleeping most
refreshingly. As it was, I caught two or three naps, while Toby slept away
at my side as soundly as though he had been sandwiched between two Holland
sheets. Luckily it did not rain, and we were preserved from the misery
which a heavy shower would have occasioned us. In the morning I was
awakened by the sonorous voice of my companion ringing in my ears and
bidding me rise. I crawled out from our heap of leaves, and was astonished
at the change which a good night's rest had wrought in his appearance. He
was as blithe and joyous as a young bird, and was staying the keenness of
his morning's appetite by chewing the soft bark of a delicate branch he
held in his hand, and he recommended the like to me as an admirable
antidote against the gnawings of hunger.
For my own part, though feeling materially better than I had done the
preceding evening, I could not look at the limb that had pained me so
violently at intervals during the last twenty-four hours, without
experiencing a sense of alarm that I strove in vain to shake off.
Unwilling to disturb the flow of my comrade's spirits, I managed to stifle
the complaints to which I might otherwise have given vent, and calling
upon him good-humouredly to speed our banquet, I prepared myself for it by
washing in the stream. This operation concluded, we swallowed, or rather
absorbed, by a peculiar kind of slow sucking process, our respective
morsels of nourishment, and then entered into a discussion as to the steps
is was necessary for us to pursue.
'What's to be done now?' inquired I, rather dolefully.
'Descend into that same valley we descried yesterday.' rejoined Toby, with
a rapidity and loudness of utterance that almost led me to suspect he had
been slyly devouring the broadside of an ox in some of the adjoining
thickets. 'What else,' he continued, 'remains for us to do but that, to be
sure? Why, we shall both starve to a certainty if we remain here; and as
to your fears of those Typees—depend upon it, it is all nonsense.'
'It is impossible that the inhabitants of such a lovely place as we saw
can be anything else but good fellows; and if you choose rather to perish
with hunger in one of these soppy caverns, I for one prefer to chance a
bold descent into the valley, and risk the consequences'.
'And who is to pilot us thither,' I asked, 'even if we should decide upon
the measure you propose? Are we to go again up and down those precipices
that we crossed yesterday, until we reach the place we started from, and
then take a flying leap from the cliffs to the valley?'
'Faith, I didn't think of that,' said Toby; 'sure enough, both sides of
the valley appeared to be hemmed in by precipices, didn't they?'
'Yes,' answered I, 'as steep as the sides of a line-of-battle ship, and
about a hundred times as high.' My companion sank his head upon his
breast, and remained for a while in deep thought. Suddenly he sprang to
his feet, while his eyes lighted up with that gleam of intelligence that
marks the presence of some bright idea.
'Yes, yes,' he exclaimed; 'the streams all run in the same direction, and
must necessarily flow into the valley before they reach the sea; all we
have to do is just to follow this stream, and sooner or later it will lead
us into the vale.'
'You are right, Toby,' I exclaimed, 'you are right; it must conduct us
thither, and quickly too; for, see with what a steep inclination the water
descends.'
'It does, indeed,' burst forth my companion, overjoyed at my verification
of his theory, 'it does indeed; why, it is as plain as a pike-staff. Let
us proceed at once; come, throw away all those stupid ideas about the
Typees, and hurrah for the lovely valley of the Happars.'
'You will have it to be Happar, I see, my dear fellow; pray Heaven you may
not find yourself deceived,' observed I, with a shake of my head.
'Amen to all that, and much more,' shouted Toby, rushing forward; 'but
Happar it is, for nothing else than Happar can it be. So glorious a valley—such
forests of bread-fruit trees—such groves of cocoanut—such
wilderness of guava-bushes! Ah! shipmate! don't linger behind: in the name
of all delightful fruits, I am dying to be at them. Come on, come on;
shove ahead, there's a lively lad; never mind the rocks; kick them out of
the way, as I do; and tomorrow, old fellow, take my word for it, we shall
be in clover. Come on;' and so saying, he dashed along the ravine like a
madman, forgetting my inability to keep up with him. In a few minutes,
however, the exuberance of his spirits abated, and, pausing for a while,
he permitted me to overtake him.
CHAPTER NINE
PERILOUS PASSAGE OF THE RAVINE—DESCENT INTO THE VALLEY
The fearless confidence of Toby was contagious, and I began to adopt the
Happar side of the question. I could not, however, overcome a certain
feeling of trepidation as we made our way along these gloomy solitudes.
Our progress, at first comparatively easy, became more and more difficult.
The bed of the watercourse was covered with fragments of broken rocks,
which had fallen from above, offering so many obstructions to the course
of the rapid stream, which vexed and fretted about them,—forming at
intervals small waterfalls, pouring over into deep basins, or splashing
wildly upon heaps of stones.
From the narrowness of the gorge, and the steepness of its sides, there
was no mode of advancing but by wading through the water; stumbling every
moment over the impediments which lay hidden under its surface, or
tripping against the huge roots of trees. But the most annoying hindrance
we encountered was from a multitude of crooked boughs, which, shooting out
almost horizontally from the sides of the chasm, twisted themselves
together in fantastic masses almost to the surface of the stream,
affording us no passage except under the low arches which they formed.
Under these we were obliged to crawl on our hands and feet, sliding along
the oozy surface of the rocks, or slipping into the deep pools, and with
scarce light enough to guide us. Occasionally we would strike our heads
against some projecting limb of a tree; and while imprudently engaged in
rubbing the injured part, would fall sprawling amongst flinty fragments,
cutting and bruising ourselves, whilst the unpitying waters flowed over
our prostrate bodies. Belzoni, worming himself through the subterranean
passages of the Egyptian catacombs, could not have met with great
impediments than those we here encountered. But we struggled against them
manfully, well knowing our only hope lay in advancing.
Towards sunset we halted at a spot where we made preparations for passing
the night. Here we constructed a hut, in much the same way as before, and
crawling into it, endeavoured to forget our sufferings. My companion, I
believe, slept pretty soundly; but at day break, when we rolled out of our
dwelling, I felt nearly disqualified for any further efforts. Toby
prescribed as a remedy for my illness the contents of one of our little
silk packages, to be taken at once in a single dose. To this species of
medical treatment, however, I would by no means accede, much as he
insisted upon it; and so we partook of our usual morsel, and silently
resumed our journey. It was now the fourth day since we left Nukuheva, and
the gnawings of hunger became painfully acute. We were fain to pacify them
by chewing the tender bark of roots and twigs, which, if they did not
afford us nourishment, were at least sweet and pleasant to the taste.
Our progress along the steep watercourse was necessarily slow, and by noon
we had not advanced more than a mile. It was somewhere near this part of
the day that the noise of falling waters, which we had faintly caught in
the early morning, became more distinct; and it was not long before we
were arrested by a rocky precipice of nearly a hundred feet in depth, that
extended all across the channel, and over which the wild stream poured in
an unbroken leap. On each hand the walls of the ravine presented their
overhanging sides both above and below the fall, affording no means
whatever of avoiding the cataract by taking a circuit round it.
'What's to be done now, Toby?' said I.
'Why,' rejoined he, 'as we cannot retreat, I suppose we must keep shoving
along.'
'Very true, my dear Toby; but how do you purpose accomplishing that
desirable object?'
'By jumping from the top of the fall, if there be no other way,'
unhesitatingly replied my companion: 'it will be much the quickest way of
descent; but as you are not quite as active as I am, we will try some
other way.'
And, so saying, he crept cautiously along and peered over into the abyss,
while I remained wondering by what possible means we could overcome this
apparently insuperable obstruction. As soon as my companion had completed
his survey, I eagerly inquired the result.
'The result of my observations you wish to know, do you?' began Toby,
deliberately, with one of his odd looks: 'well, my lad, the result of my
observations is very quickly imparted. It is at present uncertain which of
our two necks will have the honour to be broken first; but about a hundred
to one would be a fair bet in favour of the man who takes the first jump.'
'Then it is an impossible thing, is it?' inquired I gloomily.
'No, shipmate; on the contrary, it is the easiest thing in life: the only
awkward point is the sort of usage which our unhappy limbs may receive
when we arrive at the bottom, and what sort of travelling trim we shall be
in afterwards. But follow me now, and I will show you the only chance we
have.' With this he conducted me to the verge of the cataract, and pointed
along the side of the ravine to a number of curious looking roots, some
three or four inches in thickness, and several feet long, which, after
twisting among the fissures of the rock, shot perpendicularly from it and
ran tapering to a point in the air, hanging over the gulf like so many
dark icicles. They covered nearly the entire surface of one side of the
gorge, the lowest of them reaching even to the water. Many were moss grown
and decayed, with their extremities snapped short off, and those in the
immediate vicinity of the fall were slippery with moisture.
Toby's scheme, and it was a desperate one, was to entrust ourselves to
these treacherous-looking roots, and by slipping down from one to another
to gain the bottom.
'Are you ready to venture it?' asked Toby, looking at me earnestly but
without saying a word as to the practicability of the plan.
'I am,' was my reply; for I saw it was our only resource if we wished to
advance, and as for retreating, all thoughts of that sort had been long
abandoned.
After I had signified my assent, Toby, without uttering a a single word,
crawled along the dripping ledge until he gained a point from whence he
could just reach one of the largest of the pendant roots; he shook it—it
quivered in his grasp, and when he let it go it twanged in the air like a
strong, wire sharply struck. Satisfied by his scrutiny, my light limbed
companion swung himself nimbly upon it, and twisting his legs round it in
sailor fashion, slipped down eight or ten feet, where his weight gave it a
motion not un-like that of a pendulum. He could not venture to descend any
further; so holding on with one hand, he with the other shook one by one
all the slender roots around him, and at last, finding one which he
thought trustworthy, shifted him self to it and continued his downward
progress.
So far so well; but I could not avoid comparing my heavier frame and
disabled condition with his light figure and remarkable activity; but
there was no help for it, and in less than a minute's time I was swinging
directly over his head. As soon as his upturned eyes caught a glimpse of
me, he exclaimed in his usual dry tone, for the danger did not seem to
daunt him in the least, 'Mate, do me the kindness not to fall until I get
out of your way;' and then swinging himself more on one side, he continued
his descent. In the mean time I cautiously transferred myself from the
limb down which I had been slipping to a couple of others that were near
it, deeming two strings to my bow better than one, and taking care to test
their strength before I trusted my weight to them.
On arriving towards the end of the second stage in this vertical journey,
and shaking the long roots which were round me, to my consternation they
snapped off one after another like so many pipe stems, and fell in
fragments against the side of the gulf, splashing at last into the waters
beneath.
As one after another the treacherous roots yielded to my grasp, and fell
into the torrent, my heart sunk within me. The branches on which I was
suspended over the yawning chasm swang to and fro in the air, and I
expected them every moment to snap in twain. Appalled at the dreadful fate
that menaced me, I clutched frantically at the only large root which
remained near me, but in vain; I could not reach it, though my fingers
were within a few inches of it. Again and again I tried to reach it, until
at length, maddened with the thought of my situation, I swayed myself
violently by striking my foot against the side of the rock, and at the
instant that I approached the large root caught desperately at it, and
transferred myself to it. It vibrated violently under the sudden weight,
but fortunately did not give way.
My brain grew dizzy with the idea of the frightful risk I had just run,
and I involuntarily closed my eyes to shut out the view of the depth
beneath me. For the instant I was safe, and I uttered a devout ejaculation
of thanksgiving for my escape.
'Pretty well done,' shouted Toby underneath me; 'you are nimbler than I
thought you to be—hopping about up there from root to root like any
young squirrel. As soon as you have diverted yourself sufficiently, I
would advise you to proceed.'
'Aye, aye, Toby, all in good time: two or three more such famous roots as
this, and I shall be with you.'
The residue of my downward progress was comparatively easy; the roots were
in greater abundance, and in one or two places jutting out points of rock
assisted me greatly. In a few moments I was standing by the side of my
companion.
Substituting a stout stick for the one I had thrown aside at the top of
the precipice, we now continued our course along the bed of the ravine.
Soon we were saluted by a sound in advance, that grew by degrees louder
and louder, as the noise of the cataract we were leaving behind gradually
died on our ears.
'Another precipice for us, Toby.'
'Very good; we can descend them, you know—come on.'
Nothing indeed appeared to depress or intimidate this intrepid fellow.
Typees or Niagaras, he was as ready to engage one as the other, and I
could not avoid a thousand times congratulating myself upon having such a
companion in an enterprise like the present.
After an hour's painful progress, we reached the verge of another fall,
still loftier than the preceding and flanked both above and below with the
same steep masses of rock, presenting, however, here and there narrow
irregular ledges, supporting a shallow soil, on which grew a variety of
bushes and trees, whose bright verdure contrasted beautifully with the
foamy waters that flowed between them.
Toby, who invariably acted as pioneer, now proceeded to reconnoitre. On
his return, he reported that the shelves of rock on our right would enable
us to gain with little risk the bottom of the cataract. Accordingly,
leaving the bed of the stream at the very point where it thundered down,
we began crawling along one of those sloping ledges until it carried us to
within a few feet of another that inclined downwards at a still sharper
angle, and upon which, by assisting each other we managed to alight in
safety. We warily crept along this, steadying ourselves by the naked roots
of the shrubs that clung to every fissure. As we proceeded, the narrow
path became still more contracted, rendering it difficult for us to
maintain our footing, until suddenly, as we reached an angle of the wall
of rock where we had expected it to widen, we perceived to our
consternation that a yard or two further on it abruptly terminated at a
place we could not possibly hope to pass.
Toby as usual led the van, and in silence I waited to learn from him how
he proposed to extricate us from this new difficulty.
'Well, my boy,' I exclaimed, after the expiration of several minutes,
during which time my companion had not uttered a word, 'what's to be done
now?'
He replied in a tranquil tone, that probably the best thing we could do in
our present strait was to get out of it as soon as possible.
'Yes, my dear Toby, but tell me how we are to get out of it.'
'Something in this sort of style,' he replied, and at the same moment to
my horror he slipped sideways off the rocks and, as I then thought, by
good fortune merely, alighted among the spreading branches of a species of
palm tree, that shooting its hardy roots along a ledge below, curved its
trunk upwards into the air, and presented a thick mass of foliage about
twenty feet below the spot where we had thus suddenly been brought to a
standstill. I involuntarily held my breath, expecting to see the form of
my companion, after being sustained for a moment by the branches of the
tree, sink through their frail support, and fall headlong to the bottom.
To my surprise and joy, however, he recovered himself, and disentangling
his limbs from the fractured branches, he peered out from his leafy bed,
and shouted lustily, 'Come on, my hearty there is no other alternative!'
and with this he ducked beneath the foliage, and slipping down the trunk,
stood in a moment at least fifty feet beneath me, upon the broad shelf of
rock from which sprung the tree he had descended.
What would I not have given at that moment to have been by his side. The
feat he had just accomplished seemed little less than miraculous, and I
could hardly credit the evidence of my senses when I saw the wide distance
that a single daring act had so suddenly placed between us.
Toby's animating 'come on' again sounded in my ears, and dreading to lose
all confidence in myself if I remained meditating upon the step, I once
more gazed down to assure myself of the relative bearing of the tree and
my own position, and then closing my eyes and uttering one comprehensive
ejaculation of prayer, I inclined myself over towards the abyss, and after
one breathless instant fell with a crash into the tree, the branches
snapping and cracking with my weight, as I sunk lower and lower among
them, until I was stopped by coming in contact with a sturdy limb.
In a few moments I was standing at the foot of the tree manipulating
myself all over with a view of ascertaining the extent of the injuries I
had received. To my surprise the only effects of my feat were a few slight
contusions too trifling to care about. The rest of our descent was easily
accomplished, and in half an hour after regaining the ravine we had
partaken of our evening morsel, built our hut as usual, and crawled under
its shelter.
The next morning, in spite of our debility and the agony of hunger under
which we were now suffering, though neither of us confessed to the fact,
we struggled along our dismal and still difficult and dangerous path,
cheered by the hope of soon catching a glimpse of the valley before us,
and towards evening the voice of a cataract which had for some time
sounded like a low deep bass to the music of the smaller waterfalls, broke
upon our ears in still louder tones, and assured us that we were
approaching its vicinity.
That evening we stood on the brink of a precipice, over which the dark
stream bounded in one final leap of full 300 feet. The sheer descent
terminated in the region we so long had sought. On each side of the fall,
two lofty and perpendicular bluffs buttressed the sides of the enormous
cliff, and projected into the sea of verdure with which the valley waved,
and a range of similar projecting eminences stood disposed in a half
circle about the head if the vale. A thick canopy of trees hung over the
very verge of the fall, leaving an arched aperture for the passage of the
waters, which imparted a strange picturesqueness to the scene.
The valley was now before us; but instead of being conducted into its
smiling bosom by the gradual descent of the deep watercourse we had thus
far pursued, all our labours now appeared to have been rendered futile by
its abrupt termination. But, bitterly disappointed, we did not entirely
despair.
As it was now near sunset we determined to pass the night where we were,
and on the morrow, refreshed by sleep, and by eating at one meal all our
stock of food, to accomplish a descent into the valley, or perish in the
attempt.
We laid ourselves down that night on a spot, the recollection of which
still makes me shudder. A small table of rock which projected over the
precipice on one side of the stream, and was drenched by the spray of the
fall, sustained a huge trunk of a tree which must have been deposited
there by some heavy freshet. It lay obliquely, with one end resting on the
rock and the other supported by the side of the ravine. Against it we
placed in a sloping direction a number of the half decayed boughs that
were strewn about, and covering the whole with twigs and leaves, awaited
the morning's light beneath such shelter as it afforded.
During the whole of this night the continual roaring of the cataract—the
dismal moaning of the gale through the trees—the pattering of the
rain, and the profound darkness, affected my spirits to a degree which
nothing had ever before produced. Wet, half famished, and chilled to the
heart with the dampness of the place, and nearly wild with the pain I
endured, I fairly cowered down to the earth under this multiplication of
hardships, and abandoned myself to frightful anticipations of evil; and my
companion, whose spirit at last was a good deal broken, scarcely uttered a
word during the whole night.
At length the day dawned upon us, and rising from our miserable pallet, we
stretched our stiffened joints, and after eating all that remained of our
bread, prepared for the last stage of our journey. I will not recount
every hair-breadth escape, and every fearful difficulty that occurred
before we succeeded in reaching the bosom of the valley. As I have already
described similar scenes, it will be sufficient to say that at length,
after great toil and great dangers, we both stood with no limbs broken at
the head of that magnificent vale which five days before had so suddenly
burst upon my sight, and almost beneath the shadow of those very cliffs
from whose summits we had gazed upon the prospect.
CHAPTER TEN
THE HEAD OF THE VALLEY—CAUTIOUS ADVANCE—A PATH—FRUIT—DISCOVERY
OF TWO OF THE NATIVES—THEIR SINGULAR CONDUCT—APPROACH TOWARDS
THE INHABITED PARTS OF THE VALE—SENSATION PRODUCED BY OUR APPEARANCE—RECEPTION
AT THE HOUSE OF ONE OF THE NATIVES
HOW to obtain the fruit which we felt convinced must grow near at hand was
our first thought.
Typee or Happar? A frightful death at the hands of the fiercest of
cannibals, or a kindly reception from a gentler race of savages? Which?
But it was too late now to discuss a question which would so soon be
answered.
The part of the valley in which we found ourselves appeared to be
altogether uninhabited. An almost impenetrable thicket extended from side
to side, without presenting a single plant affording the nourishment we
had confidently calculated upon; and with this object, we followed the
course of the stream, casting quick glances as we proceeded into the thick
jungles on each hand. My companion—to whose solicitations I had
yielded in descending into the valley—now that the step was taken,
began to manifest a degree of caution I had little expected from him. He
proposed that in the event of our finding an adequate supply of fruit, we
should remain in this unfrequented portion of the country—where we
should run little chance of being surprised by its occupants, whoever they
might be—until sufficiently recruited to resume our journey; when
laying a store of food equal to our wants, we might easily regain the bay
of Nukuheva, after the lapse of a sufficient interval to ensure the
departure of our vessel.
I objected strongly to this proposition, plausible as it was, as the
difficulties of the route would be almost insurmountable, unacquainted as
we were with the general bearings of the country, and I reminded my
companion of the hardships which we had already encountered in our
uncertain wanderings; in a word, I said that since we had deemed it
advisable to enter the valley, we ought manfully to face the consequences,
whatever they might be; the more especially as I was convinced there was
no alternative left us but to fall in with the natives at once, and boldly
risk the reception they might give us; and that as to myself, I felt the
necessity of rest and shelter, and that until I had obtained them, I
should be wholly unable to encounter such sufferings as we had lately
passed through. To the justice of these observations Toby somewhat
reluctantly assented.
We were surprised that, after moving as far as we had along the valley, we
should still meet with the same impervious thickets; and thinking, that
although the borders of the stream might be lined for some distance with
them, yet beyond there might be more open ground, I requested Toby to keep
a bright look-out upon one side, while I did the same on the other, in
order to discover some opening in the bushes, and especially to watch for
the slightest appearance of a path or anything else that might indicate
the vicinity of the islanders.
What furtive and anxious glances we cast into those dim-looking shadows!
With what apprehensions we proceeded, ignorant at what moment we might be
greeted by the javelin of some ambushed savage. At last my companion
paused, and directed my attention to a narrow opening in the foliage. We
struck into it, and it soon brought us by an indistinctly traced path to a
comparatively clear space, at the further end of which we descried a
number of the trees, the native name of which is 'annuee', and which bear
a most delicious fruit. What a race! I hobbling over the ground like some
decrepid wretch, and Toby leaping forward like a greyhound. He quickly
cleared one of the trees on which there were two or three of the fruit,
but to our chagrin they proved to be much decayed; the rinds partly opened
by the birds, and their hearts half devoured. However, we quickly
despatched them, and no ambrosia could have been more delicious.
We looked about us uncertain whither to direct our steps, since the path
we had so far followed appeared to be lost in the open space around us. At
last we resolved to enter a grove near at hand, and had advanced a few
rods, when, just upon its skirts, I picked up a slender bread-fruit shoot
perfectly green, and with the tender bark freshly stripped from it. It was
still slippery with moisture, and appeared as if it had been but that
moment thrown aside. I said nothing, but merely held it up to Toby, who
started at this undeniable evidence of the vicinity of the savages.
The plot was now thickening.—A short distance further lay a little
faggot of the same shoots bound together with a strip of bark. Could it
have been thrown down by some solitary native, who, alarmed at seeing us,
had hurried forward to carry the tidings of our approach to his
countrymen?—Typee or Happar?—But it was too late to recede, so
we moved on slowly, my companion in advance casting eager glances under
the trees on each side, until all at once I saw him recoil as if stung by
an adder. Sinking on his knee, he waved me off with one hand, while with
the other he held aside some intervening leaves, and gazed intently at
some object.
Disregarding his injunction, I quickly approached him and caught a glimpse
of two figures partly hidden by the dense foliage; they were standing
close together, and were perfectly motionless. They must have previously
perceived us, and withdrawn into the depths of the wood to elude our
observation.
My mind was at once made up. Dropping my staff, and tearing open the
package of things we had brought from the ship, I unrolled the cotton
cloth, and holding it in one hand picked with the other a twig from the
bushes beside me, and telling Toby to follow my example, I broke through
the covert and advanced, waving the branch in token of peace towards the
shrinking forms before me. They were a boy and a girl, slender and
graceful, and completely naked, with the exception of a slight girdle of
bark, from which depended at opposite points two of the russet leaves of
the bread-fruit tree. An arm of the boy, half screened from sight by her
wild tresses, was thrown about the neck of the girl, while with the other
he held one of her hands in his; and thus they stood together, their heads
inclined forward, catching the faint noise we made in our progress, and
with one foot in advance, as if half inclined to fly from our presence.
As we drew near, their alarm evidently increased. Apprehensive that they
might fly from us altogether, I stopped short and motioned them to advance
and receive the gift I extended towards them, but they would not; I then
uttered a few words of their language with which I was acquainted,
scarcely expected that they would understand me, but to show that we had
not dropped from the clouds upon them. This appeared to give them a little
confidence, so I approached nearer, presenting the cloth with one hand,
and holding the bough with the other, while they slowly retreated. At last
they suffered us to approach so near to them that we were enabled to throw
the cotton cloth across their shoulders, giving them to understand that it
was theirs, and by a variety of gestures endeavouring to make them
understand that we entertained the highest possible regard for them.
The frightened pair now stood still, whilst we endeavoured to make them
comprehend the nature of our wants. In doing this Toby went through with a
complete series of pantomimic illustrations—opening his mouth from
ear to ear, and thrusting his fingers down his throat, gnashing his teeth
and rolling his eyes about, till I verily believe the poor creatures took
us for a couple of white cannibals who were about to make a meal of them.
When, however, they understood us, they showed no inclination to relieve
our wants. At this juncture it began to rain violently, and we motioned
them to lead us to some place of shelter. With this request they appeared
willing to comply, but nothing could evince more strongly the apprehension
with which they regarded us, than the way in which, whilst walking before
us, they kept their eyes constantly turned back to watch every movement we
made, and even our very looks.
'Typee or Happar, Toby?' asked I as we walked after them.
'Of course Happar,' he replied, with a show of confidence which was
intended to disguise his doubts.
'We shall soon know,' I exclaimed; and at the same moment I stepped
forward towards our guides, and pronouncing the two names interrogatively
and pointing to the lowest part of the valley, endeavoured to come to the
point at once. They repeated the words after me again and again, but
without giving any peculiar emphasis to either, so that I was completely
at a loss to understand them; for a couple of wilier young things than we
afterwards found them to have been on this particular occasion never
probably fell in any traveller's way.
More and more curious to ascertain our fate, I now threw together in the
form of a question the words 'Happar' and 'Motarkee', the latter being
equivalent to the word 'good'. The two natives interchanged glances of
peculiar meaning with one another at this, and manifested no little
surprise; but on the repetition of the question after some consultation
together, to the great joy of Toby, they answered in the affirmative. Toby
was now in ecstasies, especially as the young savages continued to
reiterate their answer with great energy, as though desirous of impressing
us with the idea that being among the Happars, we ought to consider
ourselves perfectly secure.
Although I had some lingering doubts, I feigned great delight with Toby at
this announcement, while my companion broke out into a pantomimic
abhorrence of Typee, and immeasurable love for the particular valley in
which we were; our guides all the while gazing uneasily at one another as
if at a loss to account for our conduct.
They hurried on, and we followed them; until suddenly they set up a
strange halloo, which was answered from beyond the grove through which we
were passing, and the next moment we entered upon some open ground, at the
extremity of which we descried a long, low hut, and in front of it were
several young girls. As soon as they perceived us they fled with wild
screams into the adjoining thickets, like so many startled fawns. A few
moments after the whole valley resounded with savage outcries, and the
natives came running towards us from every direction.
Had an army of invaders made an irruption into their territory they could
not have evinced greater excitement. We were soon completely encircled by
a dense throng, and in their eager desire to behold us they almost
arrested our progress; an equal number surrounded our youthful guides, who
with amazing volubility appeared to be detailing the circumstances which
had attended their meeting with us. Every item of intelligence appeared to
redouble the astonishment of the islanders, and they gazed at us with
inquiring looks.
At last we reached a large and handsome building of bamboos, and were by
signs told to enter it, the natives opening a lane for us through which to
pass; on entering without ceremony, we threw our exhausted frames upon the
mats that covered the floor. In a moment the slight tenement was
completely full of people, whilst those who were unable to obtain
admittance gazed at us through its open cane-work.
It was now evening, and by the dim light we could just discern the savage
countenances around us, gleaming with wild curiosity and wonder; the naked
forms and tattooed limbs of brawny warriors, with here and there the
slighter figures of young girls, all engaged in a perfect storm of
conversation, of which we were of course the one only theme, whilst our
recent guides were fully occupied in answering the innumerable questions
which every one put to them. Nothing can exceed the fierce gesticulation
of these people when animated in conversation, and on this occasion they
gave loose to all their natural vivacity, shouting and dancing about in a
manner that well nigh intimidated us.
Close to where we lay, squatting upon their haunches, were some eight or
ten noble-looking chiefs—for such they subsequently proved to be—who,
more reserved than the rest, regarded us with a fixed and stern attention,
which not a little discomposed our equanimity. One of them in particular,
who appeared to be the highest in rank, placed himself directly facing me,
looking at me with a rigidity of aspect under which I absolutely quailed.
He never once opened his lips, but maintained his severe expression of
countenance, without turning his face aside for a single moment. Never
before had I been subjected to so strange and steady a glance; it revealed
nothing of the mind of the savage, but it appeared to be reading my own.
After undergoing this scrutiny till I grew absolutely nervous, with a view
of diverting it if possible, and conciliating the good opinion of the
warrior, I took some tobacco from the bosom of my frock and offered it to
him. He quietly rejected the proffered gift, and, without speaking,
motioned me to return it to its place.
In my previous intercourse with the natives of Nukuheva and Tior, I had
found that the present of a small piece of tobacco would have rendered any
of them devoted to my service. Was this act of the chief a token of his
enmity? Typee or Happar? I asked within myself. I started, for at the same
moment this identical question was asked by the strange being before me. I
turned to Toby, the flickering light of a native taper showed me his
countenance pale with trepidation at this fatal question. I paused for a
second, and I know not by what impulse it was that I answered 'Typee'. The
piece of dusky statuary nodded in approval, and then murmured 'Motarkee!'
'Motarkee,' said I, without further hesitation 'Typee motarkee.'
What a transition! The dark figures around us leaped to their feet,
clapped their hands in transport, and shouted again and again the
talismanic syllables, the utterance of which appeared to have settled
everything.
When this commotion had a little subsided, the principal chief squatted
once more before me, and throwing himself into a sudden rage, poured forth
a string of philippics, which I was at no loss to understand, from the
frequent recurrence of the word Happar, as being directed against the
natives of the adjoining valley. In all these denunciations my companion
and I acquiesced, while we extolled the character of the warlike Typees.
To be sure our panegyrics were somewhat laconic, consisting in the
repetition of that name, united with the potent adjective 'motarkee'. But
this was sufficient, and served to conciliate the good will of the
natives, with whom our congeniality of sentiment on this point did more
towards inspiring a friendly feeling than anything else that could have
happened.
At last the wrath of the chief evaporated, and in a few moments he was as
placid as ever. Laying his hand upon his breast, he gave me to understand
that his name was 'Mehevi', and that, in return, he wished me to
communicate my appellation. I hesitated for an instant, thinking that it
might be difficult for him to pronounce my real name, and then with the
most praiseworthy intentions intimated that I was known as 'Tom'. But I
could not have made a worse selection; the chief could not master it.
'Tommo,' 'Tomma', 'Tommee', everything but plain 'Tom'. As he persisted in
garnishing the word with an additional syllable, I compromised the matter
with him at the word 'Tommo'; and by that name I went during the entire
period of my stay in the valley. The same proceeding was gone through with
Toby, whose mellifluous appellation was more easily caught.
An exchange of names is equivalent to a ratification of good will and
amity among these simple people; and as we were aware of this fact, we
were delighted that it had taken place on the present occasion.
Reclining upon our mats, we now held a kind of levee, giving audience to
successive troops of the natives, who introduced themselves to us by
pronouncing their respective names, and retired in high good humour on
receiving ours in return. During this ceremony the greatest merriment
prevailed nearly every announcement on the part of the islanders being
followed by a fresh sally of gaiety, which induced me to believe that some
of them at least were innocently diverting the company at our expense, by
bestowing upon themselves a string of absurd titles, of the humour of
which we were of course entirely ignorant.
All this occupied about an hour, when the throng having a little
diminished, I turned to Mehevi and gave him to understand that we were in
need of food and sleep. Immediately the attentive chief addressed a few
words to one of the crowd, who disappeared, and returned in a few moments
with a calabash of 'poee-poee', and two or three young cocoanuts stripped
of their husks, and with their shells partly broken. We both of us
forthwith placed one of these natural goblets to our lips, and drained it
in a moment of the refreshing draught it contained. The poee-poee was then
placed before us, and even famished as I was, I paused to consider in what
manner to convey it to my mouth.
This staple article of food among the Marquese islanders is manufactured
from the produce of the bread-fruit tree. It somewhat resembles in its
plastic nature our bookbinders' paste, is of a yellow colour, and somewhat
tart to the taste.
Such was the dish, the merits of which I was now eager to discuss. I eyed
it wistfully for a moment, and then, unable any longer to stand on
ceremony, plunged my hand into the yielding mass, and to the boisterous
mirth of the natives drew it forth laden with the poee-poee, which adhered
in lengthy strings to every finger. So stubborn was its consistency, that
in conveying my heavily-weighted hand to my mouth, the connecting links
almost raised the calabash from the mats on which it had been placed. This
display of awkwardness—in which, by-the-bye, Toby kept me company—convulsed
the bystanders with uncontrollable laughter.
As soon as their merriment had somewhat subsided, Mehevi, motioning us to
be attentive, dipped the forefinger of his right hand in the dish, and
giving it a rapid and scientific twirl, drew it out coated smoothly with
the preparation. With a second peculiar flourish he prevented the
poee-poee from dropping to the ground as he raised it to his mouth, into
which the finger was inserted and drawn forth perfectly free from any
adhesive matter.
This performance was evidently intended for our instruction; so I again
essayed the feat on the principles inculcated, but with very ill success.
A starving man, however, little heeds conventional proprieties, especially
on a South-Sea Island, and accordingly Toby and I partook of the dish
after our own clumsy fashion, beplastering our faces all over with the
glutinous compound, and daubing our hands nearly to the wrist. This kind
of food is by no means disagreeable to the palate of a European, though at
first the mode of eating it may be. For my own part, after the lapse of a
few days I became accustomed to its singular flavour, and grew remarkably
fond of it.
So much for the first course; several other dishes followed it, some of
which were positively delicious. We concluded our banquet by tossing off
the contents of two more young cocoanuts, after which we regaled ourselves
with the soothing fumes of tobacco, inhaled from a quaintly carved pipe
which passed round the circle.
During the repast, the natives eyed us with intense curiosity, observing
our minutest motions, and appearing to discover abundant matter for
comment in the most trifling occurrence. Their surprise mounted the
highest, when we began to remove our uncomfortable garments, which were
saturated with rain. They scanned the whiteness of our limbs, and seemed
utterly unable to account for the contrast they presented to the swarthy
hue of our faces embrowned from a six months' exposure to the scorching
sun of the Line. They felt our skin, much in the same way that a silk
mercer would handle a remarkably fine piece of satin; and some of them
went so far in their investigation as to apply the olfactory organ.
Their singular behaviour almost led me to imagine that they never before
had beheld a white man; but a few moments' reflection convinced me that
this could not have been the case; and a more satisfactory reason for
their conduct has since suggested itself to my mind.
Deterred by the frightful stories related of its inhabitants, ships never
enter this bay, while their hostile relations with the tribes in the
adjoining valleys prevent the Typees from visiting that section of the
island where vessels occasionally lie. At long intervals, however, some
intrepid captain will touch on the skirts of the bay, with two or three
armed boats' crews and accompanied by interpreters. The natives who live
near the sea descry the strangers long before they reach their waters, and
aware of the purpose for which they come, proclaim loudly the news of
their approach. By a species of vocal telegraph the intelligence reaches
the inmost recesses of the vale in an inconceivably short space of time,
drawing nearly its whole population down to the beach laden with every
variety of fruit. The interpreter, who is invariably a 'tabooed Kanaka'*,
leaps ashore with the goods intended for barter, while the boats, with
their oars shipped, and every man on his thwart, lie just outside the
surf, heading off the shore, in readiness at the first untoward event to
escape to the open sea. As soon as the traffic is concluded, one of the
boats pulls in under cover of the muskets of the others, the fruit is
quickly thrown into her, and the transient visitors precipitately retire
from what they justly consider so dangerous a vicinity.
* The word 'Kanaka' is at the present day universally used in the South
Seas by Europeans to designate the Islanders. In the various dialects of
the principal groups it is simply a sexual designation applied to the
males; but it is now used by the natives in their intercourse with
foreigners in the same sense in which the latter employ it.
A 'Tabooed Kanaka' is an islander whose person has been made to a certain
extent sacred by the operation of a singular custom hereafter to be
explained.
The intercourse occurring with Europeans being so restricted, no wonder
that the inhabitants of the valley manifested so much curiosity with
regard to us, appearing as we did among them under such singular
circumstances. I have no doubt that we were the first white men who ever
penetrated thus far back into their territories, or at least the first who
had ever descended from the head of the vale. What had brought us thither
must have appeared a complete mystery to them, and from our ignorance of
the language it was impossible for us to enlighten them. In answer to
inquiries which the eloquence of their gestures enabled us to comprehend,
all that we could reply was, that we had come from Nukuheva, a place, be
it remembered, with which they were at open war. This intelligence
appeared to affect them with the most lively emotions. 'Nukuheva
motarkee?' they asked. Of course we replied most energetically in the
negative.
Then they plied us with a thousand questions, of which we could understand
nothing more than that they had reference to the recent movements of the
French, against whom they seemed to cherish the most fierce hatred. So
eager were they to obtain information on this point, that they still
continued to propound their queries long after we had shown that we were
utterly unable to answer them. Occasionally we caught some indistinct idea
of their meaning, when we would endeavour by every method in our power to
communicate the desired intelligence. At such times their gratification
was boundless, and they would redouble their efforts to make us comprehend
them more perfectly. But all in vain; and in the end they looked at us
despairingly, as if we were the receptacles of invaluable information; but
how to come at it they knew not.
After a while the group around us gradually dispersed, and we were left
about midnight (as we conjectured) with those who appeared to be permanent
residents of the house. These individuals now provided us with fresh mats
to lie upon, covered us with several folds of tappa, and then
extinguishing the tapers that had been burning, threw themselves down
beside us, and after a little desultory conversation were soon sound
asleep.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
MIDNIGHT REFLECTIONS—MORNING VISITORS—A WARRIOR IN COSTUME—A
SAVAGE AESCULAPIUS—PRACTICE OF THE HEALING ART—BODY SERVANT—A
DWELLING-HOUSE OF THE VALLEY DESCRIBED—PORTRAITS OF ITS INMATES
VARIOUS and conflicting were the thoughts which oppressed me during the
silent hours that followed the events related in the preceding chapter.
Toby, wearied with the fatigues of the day, slumbered heavily by my side;
but the pain under which I was suffering effectually prevented my
sleeping, and I remained distressingly alive to all the fearful
circumstances of our present situation. Was it possible that, after all
our vicissitudes, we were really in the terrible valley of Typee, and at
the mercy of its inmates, a fierce and unrelenting tribe of savages? Typee
or Happar? I shuddered when I reflected that there was no longer any room
for doubt; and that, beyond all hope of escape, we were now placed in
those very circumstances from the bare thought of which I had recoiled
with such abhorrence but a few days before. What might not be our fearful
destiny? To be sure, as yet we had been treated with no violence; nay, had
been even kindly and hospitably entertained. But what dependence could be
placed upon the fickle passions which sway the bosom of a savage? His
inconstancy and treachery are proverbial. Might it not be that beneath
these fair appearances the islanders covered some perfidious design, and
that their friendly reception of us might only precede some horrible
catastrophe? How strongly did these forebodings spring up in my mind as I
lay restlessly upon a couch of mats surrounded by the dimly revealed forms
of those whom I so greatly dreaded!
From the excitement of these fearful thoughts I sank towards morning into
an uneasy slumber; and on awaking, with a start, in the midst of an
appalling dream, looked up into the eager countenance of a number of the
natives, who were bending over me.
It was broad day; and the house was nearly filled with young females,
fancifully decorated with flowers, who gazed upon me as I rose with faces
in which childish delight and curiosity were vividly portrayed. After
waking Toby, they seated themselves round us on the mats, and gave full
play to that prying inquisitiveness which time out of mind has been
attributed to the adorable sex.
As these unsophisticated young creatures were attended by no jealous
duennas, their proceedings were altogether informal, and void of
artificial restraint. Long and minute was the investigation with which
they honoured us, and so uproarious their mirth, that I felt infinitely
sheepish; and Toby was immeasurably outraged at their familiarity.
These lively young ladies were at the same time wonderfully polite and
humane; fanning aside the insects that occasionally lighted on our brows;
presenting us with food; and compassionately regarding me in the midst of
my afflictions. But in spite of all their blandishments, my feelings of
propriety were exceedingly shocked, for I could but consider them as
having overstepped the due limits of female decorum.
Having diverted themselves to their hearts' content, our young visitants
now withdrew, and gave place to successive troops of the other sex, who
continued flocking towards the house until near noon; by which time I have
no doubt that the greater part of the inhabitants of the valley had bathed
themselves in the light of our benignant countenances.
At last, when their numbers began to diminish, a superb-looking warrior
stooped the towering plumes of his head-dress beneath the low portal, and
entered the house. I saw at once that he was some distinguished personage,
the natives regarding him with the utmost deference, and making room for
him as he approached. His aspect was imposing. The splendid long drooping
tail-feathers of the tropical bird, thickly interspersed with the gaudy
plumage of the cock, were disposed in an immense upright semicircle upon
his head, their lower extremities being fixed in a crescent of
guinea-heads which spanned the forehead. Around his neck were several
enormous necklaces of boar's tusks, polished like ivory, and disposed in
such a manner as that the longest and largest were upon his capacious
chest. Thrust forward through the large apertures in his ears were two
small and finely-shaped sperm whale teeth, presenting their cavities in
front, stuffed with freshly-plucked leaves, and curiously wrought at the
other end into strange little images and devices. These barbaric trinkets,
garnished in this manner at their open extremities, and tapering and
curving round to a point behind the ear, resembled not a little a pair of
cornucopias.
The loins of the warrior were girt about with heavy folds of a
dark-coloured tappa, hanging before and behind in clusters of braided
tassels, while anklets and bracelets of curling human hair completed his
unique costume. In his right hand he grasped a beautifully carved
paddle-spear, nearly fifteen feet in length, made of the bright koar-wood,
one end sharply pointed, and the other flattened like an oar-blade.
Hanging obliquely from his girdle by a loop of sinnate was a richly
decorated pipe; the slender reed forming its stem was coloured with a red
pigment, and round it, as well as the idol-bowl, fluttered little
streamers of the thinnest tappa.
But that which was most remarkable in the appearance of this splendid
islander was the elaborate tattooing displayed on every noble limb. All
imaginable lines and curves and figures were delineated over his whole
body, and in their grotesque variety and infinite profusion I could only
compare them to the crowded groupings of quaint patterns we sometimes see
in costly pieces of lacework. The most simple and remarkable of all these
ornaments was that which decorated the countenance of the chief. Two broad
stripes of tattooing, diverging from the centre of his shaven crown,
obliquely crossed both eyes—staining the lids—to a little
below each ear, where they united with another stripe which swept in a
straight line along the lips and formed the base of the triangle. The
warrior, from the excellence of his physical proportions, might certainly
have been regarded as one of Nature's noblemen, and the lines drawn upon
his face may possibly have denoted his exalted rank.
This warlike personage, upon entering the house, seated himself at some
distance from the spot where Toby and myself reposed, while the rest of
the savages looked alternately from us to him, as if in expectation of
something they were disappointed in not perceiving. Regarding the chief
attentively, I thought his lineaments appeared familiar to me. As soon as
his full face was turned upon me, and I again beheld its extraordinary
embellishment, and met the strange gaze to which I had been subjected the
preceding night, I immediately, in spite of the alteration in his
appearance, recognized the noble Mehevi. On addressing him, he advanced at
once in the most cordial manner, and greeting me warmly, seemed to enjoy
not a little the effect his barbaric costume had produced upon me.
I forthwith determined to secure, if possible, the good-will of this
individual, as I easily perceived he was a man of great authority in his
tribe, and one who might exert a powerful influence upon our subsequent
fate. In the endeavour I was not repulsed; for nothing could surpass the
friendliness he manifested towards both my companion and myself. He
extended his sturdy limbs by our side, and endeavoured to make us
comprehend the full extent of the kindly feelings by which he was
actuated. The almost insuperable difficulty in communicating to one
another our ideas affected the chief with no little mortification. He
evinced a great desire to be enlightened with regard to the customs and
peculiarities of the far-off country we had left behind us, and to which
under the name of Maneeka he frequently alluded.
But that which more than any other subject engaged his attention was the
late proceedings of the 'Frannee' as he called the French, in the
neighbouring bay of Nukuheva. This seemed a never-ending theme with him,
and one concerning which he was never weary of interrogating us. All the
information we succeeded in imparting to him on this subject was little
more than that we had seen six men-of-war lying in the hostile bay at the
time we had left it. When he received this intelligence, Mehevi, by the
aid of his fingers, went through a long numerical calculation, as if
estimating the number of Frenchmen the squadron might contain.
It was just after employing his faculties in this way that he happened to
notice the swelling in my limb. He immediately examined it with the utmost
attention, and after doing so, despatched a boy who happened to be
standing by with some message.
After the lapse of a few moments the stripling re-entered the house with
an aged islander, who might have been taken for old Hippocrates himself.
His head was as bald as the polished surface of a cocoanut shell, which
article it precisely resembled in smoothness and colour, while a long
silvery beard swept almost to his girdle of bark. Encircling his temples
was a bandeau of the twisted leaves of the Omoo tree, pressed closely over
the brows to shield his feeble vision from the glare of the sun. His
tottering steps were supported by a long slim staff, resembling the wand
with which a theatrical magician appears on the stage, and in one hand he
carried a freshly plaited fan of the green leaflets of the cocoanut tree.
A flowing robe of tappa, knotted over the shoulder, hung loosely round his
stooping form, and heightened the venerableness of his aspect.
Mehevi, saluting this old gentleman, motioned him to a seat between us,
and then uncovering my limb, desired him to examine it. The leech gazed
intently from me to Toby, and then proceeded to business. After diligently
observing the ailing member, he commenced manipulating it; and on the
supposition probably that the complaint had deprived the leg of all
sensation, began to pinch and hammer it in such a manner that I absolutely
roared with pain. Thinking that I was as capable of making an application
of thumps and pinches to the part as any one else, I endeavoured to resist
this species of medical treatment. But it was not so easy a matter to get
out of the clutches of the old wizard; he fastened on the unfortunate limb
as if it were something for which he had been long seeking, and muttering
some kind of incantation continued his discipline, pounding it after a
fashion that set me well nigh crazy; while Mehevi, upon the same principle
which prompts an affectionate mother to hold a struggling child in a
dentist's chair, restrained me in his powerful grasp, and actually
encouraged the wretch in this infliction of torture.
Almost frantic with rage and pain, I yelled like a bedlamite; while Toby,
throwing himself into all the attitudes of a posture-master, vainly
endeavoured to expostulate with the natives by signs and gestures. To have
looked at my companion, as, sympathizing with my sufferings, he strove to
put an end to them, one would have thought that he was the deaf and dumb
alphabet incarnated. Whether my tormentor yielded to Toby's entreaties, or
paused from sheer exhaustion, I do not know; but all at once he ceased his
operations, and at the same time the chief relinquishing his hold upon me,
I fell back, faint and breathless with the agony I had endured.
My unfortunate limb was now left much in the same condition as a
rump-steak after undergoing the castigating process which precedes
cooking. My physician, having recovered from the fatigues of his
exertions, as if anxious to make amends for the pain to which he had
subjected me, now took some herbs out of a little wallet that was
suspended from his waist, and moistening them in water, applied them to
the inflamed part, stooping over it at the same time, and either
whispering a spell, or having a little confidential chat with some
imaginary demon located in the calf of my leg. My limb was now swathed in
leafy bandages, and grateful to Providence for the cessation of
hostilities, I was suffered to rest.
Mehevi shortly after rose to depart; but before he went he spoke
authoritatively to one of the natives whom he addressed as Kory-Kory; and
from the little I could understand of what took place, pointed him out to
me as a man whose peculiar business thenceforth would be to attend upon my
person. I am not certain that I comprehended as much as this at the time,
but the subsequent conduct of my trusty body-servant fully assured me that
such must have been the case.
I could not but be amused at the manner in which the chief addressed me
upon this occasion, talking to me for at least fifteen or twenty minutes
as calmly as if I could understand every word that he said. I remarked
this peculiarity very often afterwards in many other of the islanders.
Mehevi having now departed, and the family physician having likewise made
his exit, we were left about sunset with ten or twelve natives, who by
this time I had ascertained composed the household of which Toby and I
were members. As the dwelling to which we had been first introduced was
the place of my permanent abode while I remained in the valley, and as I
was necessarily placed upon the most intimate footing with its occupants,
I may as well here enter into a little description of it and its
inhabitants. This description will apply also to nearly all the other
dwelling-places in the vale, and will furnish some idea of the generality
of the natives.
Near one side of the valley, and about midway up the ascent of a rather
abrupt rise of ground waving with the richest verdure, a number of large
stones were laid in successive courses, to the height of nearly eight
feet, and disposed in such a manner that their level surface corresponded
in shape with the habitation which was perched upon it. A narrow space,
however, was reserved in front of the dwelling, upon the summit of this
pile of stones (called by the natives a 'pi-pi'), which being enclosed by
a little picket of canes, gave it somewhat the appearance of a verandah.
The frame of the house was constructed of large bamboos planted uprightly,
and secured together at intervals by transverse stalks of the light wood
of the habiscus, lashed with thongs of bark. The rear of the tenement—built
up with successive ranges of cocoanut boughs bound one upon another, with
their leaflets cunningly woven together—inclined a little from the
vertical, and extended from the extreme edge of the 'pi-pi' to about
twenty feet from its surface; whence the shelving roof—thatched with
the long tapering leaves of the palmetto—sloped steeply off to
within about five feet of the floor; leaving the eaves drooping with
tassel-like appendages over the front of the habitation. This was
constructed of light and elegant canes in a kind of open screenwork,
tastefully adorned with bindings of variegated sinnate, which served to
hold together its various parts. The sides of the house were similarly
built; thus presenting three quarters for the circulation of the air,
while the whole was impervious to the rain.
In length this picturesque building was perhaps twelve yards, while in
breadth it could not have exceeded as many feet. So much for the exterior;
which, with its wire-like reed-twisted sides, not a little reminded me of
an immense aviary.
Stooping a little, you passed through a narrow aperture in its front; and
facing you, on entering, lay two long, perfectly straight, and
well-polished trunks of the cocoanut tree, extending the full length of
the dwelling; one of them placed closely against the rear, and the other
lying parallel with it some two yards distant, the interval between them
being spread with a multitude of gaily-worked mats, nearly all of a
different pattern. This space formed the common couch and lounging place
of the natives, answering the purpose of a divan in Oriental countries.
Here would they slumber through the hours of the night, and recline
luxuriously during the greater part of the day. The remainder of the floor
presented only the cool shining surfaces of the large stones of which the
'pi-pi' was composed.
From the ridge-pole of the house hung suspended a number of large packages
enveloped in coarse tappa; some of which contained festival dresses, and
various other matters of the wardrobe, held in high estimation. These were
easily accessible by means of a line, which, passing over the ridge-pole,
had one end attached to a bundle, while with the other, which led to the
side of the dwelling and was there secured, the package could be lowered
or elevated at pleasure.
Against the farther wall of the house were arranged in tasteful figures a
variety of spears and javelins, and other implements of savage warfare.
Outside of the habitation, and built upon the piazza-like area in its
front, was a little shed used as a sort of larder or pantry, and in which
were stored various articles of domestic use and convenience. A few yards
from the pi-pi was a large shed built of cocoanut boughs, where the
process of preparing the 'poee-poee' was carried on, and all culinary
operations attended to.
Thus much for the house, and its appurtenances; and it will be readily
acknowledged that a more commodious and appropriate dwelling for the
climate and the people could not possibly be devised. It was cool, free to
admit the air, scrupulously clean, and elevated above the dampness and
impurities of the ground.
But now to sketch the inmates; and here I claim for my tried servitor and
faithful valet Kory-Kory the precedence of a first description. As his
character will be gradually unfolded in the course of my narrative, I
shall for the present content myself with delineating his personal
appearance. Kory-Kory, though the most devoted and best natured
serving-man in the world, was, alas! a hideous object to look upon. He was
some twenty-five years of age, and about six feet in height, robust and
well made, and of the most extraordinary aspect. His head was carefully
shaven with the exception of two circular spots, about the size of a
dollar, near the top of the cranium, where the hair, permitted to grow of
an amazing length, was twisted up in two prominent knots, that gave him
the appearance of being decorated with a pair of horns. His beard, plucked
out by the root from every other part of his face, was suffered to droop
in hairy pendants, two of which garnished his under lip, and an equal
number hung from the extremity of his chin.
Kory-Kory, with a view of improving the handiwork of nature, and perhaps
prompted by a desire to add to the engaging expression of his countenance,
had seen fit to embellish his face with three broad longitudinal stripes
of tattooing, which, like those country roads that go straight forward in
defiance of all obstacles, crossed his nasal organ, descended into the
hollow of his eyes, and even skirted the borders of his mouth. Each
completely spanned his physiognomy; one extending in a line with his eyes,
another crossing the face in the vicinity of the nose, and the third
sweeping along his lips from ear to ear. His countenance thus triply
hooped, as it were, with tattooing, always reminded me of those unhappy
wretches whom I have sometimes observed gazing out sentimentally from
behind the grated bars of a prison window; whilst the entire body of my
savage valet, covered all over with representations of birds and fishes,
and a variety of most unaccountable-looking creatures, suggested to me the
idea of a pictorial museum of natural history, or an illustrated copy of
'Goldsmith's Animated Nature.'
But it seems really heartless in me to write thus of the poor islander,
when I owe perhaps to his unremitting attentions the very existence I now
enjoy. Kory-Kory, I mean thee no harm in what I say in regard to thy
outward adornings; but they were a little curious to my unaccustomed
sight, and therefore I dilate upon them. But to underrate or forget thy
faithful services is something I could never be guilty of, even in the
giddiest moment of my life.
The father of my attached follower was a native of gigantic frame, and had
once possessed prodigious physical powers; but the lofty form was now
yielding to the inroads of time, though the hand of disease seemed never
to have been laid upon the aged warrior. Marheyo—for such was his
name—appeared to have retired from all active participation in the
affairs of the valley, seldom or never accompanying the natives in their
various expeditions; and employing the greater part of his time in
throwing up a little shed just outside the house, upon which he was
engaged to my certain knowledge for four months, without appearing to make
any sensible advance. I suppose the old gentleman was in his dotage, for
he manifested in various ways the characteristics which mark this
particular stage of life.
I remember in particular his having a choice pair of ear-ornaments,
fabricated from the teeth of some sea-monster. These he would alternately
wear and take off at least fifty times in the course of the day, going and
coming from his little hut on each occasion with all the tranquillity
imaginable. Sometimes slipping them through the slits in his ears, he
would seize his spear—which in length and slightness resembled a
fishing-pole—and go stalking beneath the shadows of the neighbouring
groves, as if about to give a hostile meeting to some cannibal knight. But
he would soon return again, and hiding his weapon under the projecting
eaves of the house, and rolling his clumsy trinkets carefully in a piece
of tappa, would resume his more pacific operations as quietly as if he had
never interrupted them.
But despite his eccentricities, Marheyo was a most paternal and
warm-hearted old fellow, and in this particular not a little resembled his
son Kory-Kory. The mother of the latter was the mistress of the family,
and a notable housewife, and a most industrious old lady she was. If she
did not understand the art of making jellies, jams, custard, tea-cakes,
and such like trashy affairs, she was profoundly skilled in the mysteries
of preparing 'amar', 'poee-poee', and 'kokoo', with other substantial
matters.
She was a genuine busy-body; bustling about the house like a country
landlady at an unexpected arrival; for ever giving the young girls tasks
to perform, which the little hussies as often neglected; poking into every
corner, and rummaging over bundles of old tappa, or making a prodigious
clatter among the calabashes. Sometimes she might have been seen squatting
upon her haunches in front of a huge wooden basin, and kneading poee-poee
with terrific vehemence, dashing the stone pestle about as if she would
shiver the vessel into fragments; on other occasions, galloping about the
valley in search of a particular kind of leaf, used in some of her
recondite operations, and returning home, toiling and sweating, with a
bundle of it, under which most women would have sunk.
To tell the truth, Kory-Kory's mother was the only industrious person in
all the valley of Typee; and she could not have employed herself more
actively had she been left an exceedingly muscular and destitute widow,
with an inordinate ate supply of young children, in the bleakest part of
the civilized world. There was not the slightest necessity for the greater
portion of the labour performed by the old lady: but she seemed to work
from some irresistible impulse; her limbs continually swaying to and fro,
as if there were some indefatigable engine concealed within her body which
kept her in perpetual motion.
Never suppose that she was a termagant or a shrew for all this; she had
the kindliest heart in the world, and acted towards me in particular in a
truly maternal manner, occasionally putting some little morsel of choice
food into my hand, some outlandish kind of savage sweetmeat or pastry,
like a doting mother petting a sickly urchin with tarts and sugar plums.
Warm indeed are my remembrances of the dear, good, affectionate old Tinor!
Besides the individuals I have mentioned, there belonged to the household
three young men, dissipated, good-for-nothing, roystering blades of
savages, who were either employed in prosecuting love affairs with the
maidens of the tribe, or grew boozy on 'arva' and tobacco in the company
of congenial spirits, the scapegraces of the valley.
Among the permanent inmates of the house were likewise several lovely
damsels, who instead of thrumming pianos and reading novels, like more
enlightened young ladies, substituted for these employments the
manufacture of a fine species of tappa; but for the greater portion of the
time were skipping from house to house, gadding and gossiping with their
acquaintances.
From the rest of these, however, I must except the beauteous nymph
Fayaway, who was my peculiar favourite. Her free pliant figure was the
very perfection of female grace and beauty. Her complexion was a rich and
mantling olive, and when watching the glow upon her cheeks I could almost
swear that beneath the transparent medium there lurked the blushes of a
faint vermilion.
The face of this girl was a rounded oval, and each feature as perfectly
formed as the heart or imagination of man could desire.
Her full lips, when parted with a smile, disclosed teeth of dazzling
whiteness and when her rosy mouth opened with a burst of merriment, they
looked like the milk-white seeds of the 'arta,' a fruit of the valley,
which, when cleft in twain, shows them reposing in rows on each side,
imbedded in the red and juicy pulp. Her hair of the deepest brown, parted
irregularly in the middle, flowed in natural ringlets over her shoulders,
and whenever she chanced to stoop, fell over and hid from view her lovely
bosom. Gazing into the depths of her strange blue eyes, when she was in a
contemplative mood, they seemed most placid yet unfathomable; but when
illuminated by some lively emotion, they beamed upon the beholder like
stars. The hands of Fayaway were as soft and delicate as those of any
countess; for an entire exemption from rude labour marks the girlhood and
even prime of a Typee woman's life. Her feet, though wholly exposed, were
as diminutive and fairly shaped as those which peep from beneath the
skirts of a Lima lady's dress. The skin of this young creature, from
continual ablutions and the use of mollifying ointments, was inconceivably
smooth and soft.
I may succeed, perhaps, in particularizing some of the individual features
of Fayaway's beauty, but that general loveliness of appearance which they
all contributed to produce I will not attempt to describe. The easy
unstudied graces of a child of nature like this, breathing from infancy an
atmosphere of perpetual summer, and nurtured by the simple fruits of the
earth; enjoying a perfect freedom from care and anxiety, and removed
effectually from all injurious tendencies, strike the eye in a manner
which cannot be pourtrayed. This picture is no fancy sketch; it is drawn
from the most vivid recollections of the person delineated.
Were I asked if the beauteous form of Fayaway was altogether free from the
hideous blemish of tattooing, I should be constrained to answer that it
was not. But the practitioners of the barbarous art, so remorseless in
their inflictions upon the brawny limbs of the warriors of the tribe, seem
to be conscious that it needs not the resources of their profession to
augment the charms of the maidens of the vale.
The females are very little embellished in this way, and Fayaway, and all
the other young girls of her age, were even less so than those of their
sex more advanced in years. The reason of this peculiarity will be alluded
to hereafter. All the tattooing that the nymph in question exhibited upon
her person may be easily described. Three minute dots, no bigger than
pin-heads, decorated each lip, and at a little distance were not at all
discernible. Just upon the fall of the shoulder were drawn two parallel
lines half an inch apart, and perhaps three inches in length, the interval
being filled with delicately executed figures. These narrow bands of
tattooing, thus placed, always reminded me of those stripes of gold lace
worn by officers in undress, and which are in lieu of epaulettes to denote
their rank.
Thus much was Fayaway tattooed. The audacious hand which had gone so far
in its desecrating work stopping short, apparently wanting the heart to
proceed.
But I have omitted to describe the dress worn by this nymph of the valley.
Fayaway—I must avow the fact—for the most part clung to the
primitive and summer garb of Eden. But how becoming the costume!
It showed her fine figure to the best possible advantage; and nothing
could have been better adapted to her peculiar style of beauty. On
ordinary occasions she was habited precisely as I have described the two
youthful savages whom we had met on first entering the valley. At other
times, when rambling among the groves, or visiting at the houses of her
acquaintances, she wore a tunic of white tappa, reaching from her waist to
a little below the knees; and when exposed for any length of time to the
sun, she invariably protected herself from its rays by a floating mantle
of—the same material, loosely gathered about the person. Her gala
dress will be described hereafter.
As the beauties of our own land delight in bedecking themselves with
fanciful articles of jewellery, suspending them from their ears, hanging
them about their necks, and clasping them around their wrists; so Fayaway
and her companions were in the habit of ornamenting themselves with
similar appendages.
Flora was their jeweller. Sometimes they wore necklaces of small carnation
flowers, strung like rubies upon a fibre of tappa, or displayed in their
ears a single white bud, the stem thrust backward through the aperture,
and showing in front the delicate petals folded together in a beautiful
sphere, and looking like a drop of the purest pearl. Chaplets too,
resembling in their arrangement the strawberry coronal worn by an English
peeress, and composed of intertwined leaves and blossoms, often crowned
their temples; and bracelets and anklets of the same tasteful pattern were
frequently to be seen. Indeed, the maidens of the island were passionately
fond of flowers, and never wearied of decorating their persons with them;
a lovely trait in their character, and one that ere long will be more
fully alluded to.
Though in my eyes, at least, Fayaway was indisputably the loveliest female
I saw in Typee, yet the description I have given of her will in some
measure apply to nearly all the youthful portion of her sex in the valley.
Judge ye then, reader, what beautiful creatures they must have been.
CHAPTER TWELVE
OFFICIOUSNESS OF KORY-KORY—HIS DEVOTION—A BATH IN THE STREAM—WANT
OF REFINEMENT OF THE TYPEE DAMSELS—STROLL WITH MEHEVI—A TYPEE
HIGHWAY—THE TABOO GROVES—THE HOOLAH HOOLAH GROUND—THE TI—TIMEWORN
SAVAGES—HOSPITALITY OF MEHEVI—MIDNIGHT MUSINGS—ADVENTURES
IN THE DARK—DISTINGUISHED HONOURS PAID TO THE VISITORS—STRANGE
PROCESSION AND RETURN TO THE HOUSE OF MARHEYO
WHEN Mehevi had departed from the house, as related in the preceding
chapter, Kory-Kory commenced the functions of the post assigned him. He
brought out, various kinds of food; and, as if I were an infant, insisted
upon feeding me with his own hands. To this procedure I, of course, most
earnestly objected, but in vain; and having laid a calabash of kokoo
before me, he washed his fingers in a vessel of water, and then putting
his hands into the dish and rolling the food into little balls, put them
one after another into my mouth. All my remonstrances against this measure
only provoked so great a clamour on his part, that I was obliged to
acquiesce; and the operation of feeding being thus facilitated, the meal
was quickly despatched. As for Toby, he was allowed to help himself after
his own fashion.
The repast over, my attendant arranged the mats for repose, and, bidding
me lie down, covered me with a large robe of tappa, at the same time
looking approvingly upon me, and exclaiming 'Ki-Ki, nuee nuee, ah! moee
moee motarkee' (eat plenty, ah! sleep very good). The philosophy of this
sentiment I did not pretend to question; for deprived of sleep for several
preceding nights, and the pain of my limb having much abated, I now felt
inclined to avail myself of the opportunity afforded me.
The next morning, on waking, I found Kory-Kory stretched out on one side
of me, while my companion lay upon the other. I felt sensibly refreshed
after a night of sound repose, and immediately agreed to the proposition
of my valet that I should repair to the water and wash, although dreading
the suffering that the exertion might produce. From this apprehension,
however, I was quickly relieved; for Kory-Kory, leaping from the pi-pi,
and then backing himself up against it, like a porter in readiness to
shoulder a trunk, with loud vociferations and a superabundance of
gestures, gave me to understand that I was to mount upon his back and be
thus transported to the stream, which flowed perhaps two hundred yards
from the house.
Our appearance upon the verandah in front of the habitation drew together
quite a crowd, who stood looking on and conversing with one another in the
most animated manner. They reminded one of a group of idlers gathered
about the door of a village tavern when the equipage of some distinguished
traveller is brought round previously to his departure. As soon as I
clasped my arms about the neck of the devoted fellow, and he jogged off
with me, the crowd—composed chiefly of young girls and boys—followed
after, shouting and capering with infinite glee, and accompanied us to the
banks of the stream.
On gaining it, Kory-Kory, wading up to his hips in the water, carried me
half way across, and deposited me on a smooth black stone which rose a few
inches above the surface. The amphibious rabble at our heels plunged in
after us, and climbing to the summit of the grass-grown rocks with which
the bed of the brook was here and there broken, waited curiously to
witness our morning ablutions.
Somewhat embarrassed by the presence of the female portion of the company,
and feeling my cheeks burning with bashful timidity, I formed a primitive
basin by joining my hands together, and cooled my blushes in the water it
contained; then removing my frock, bent over and washed myself down to my
waist in the stream. As soon as Kory-Kory comprehended from my motions
that this was to be the extent of my performance, he appeared perfectly
aghast with astonishment, and rushing towards me, poured out a torrent of
words in eager deprecation of so limited an operation, enjoining me by
unmistakable signs to immerse my whole body. To this I was forced to
consent; and the honest fellow regarding me as a froward, inexperienced
child, whom it was his duty to serve at the risk of offending, lifted me
from the rocks, and tenderly bathed my limbs. This over, and resuming my
seat, I could not avoid bursting into admiration of the scene around me.
From the verdant surfaces of the large stones that lay scattered about,
the natives were now sliding off into the water, diving and ducking
beneath the surface in all directions—the young girls springing
buoyantly into the air, and revealing their naked forms to the waist, with
their long tresses dancing about their shoulders, their eyes sparkling
like drops of dew in the sun, and their gay laughter pealing forth at
every frolicsome incident. On the afternoon of the day that I took my
first bath in the valley, we received another visit from Mehevi. The noble
savage seemed to be in the same pleasant mood, and was quite as cordial in
his manner as before. After remaining about an hour, he rose from the
mats, and motioning to leave the house, invited Toby and myself to
accompany him. I pointed to my leg; but Mehevi in his turn pointed to
Kory-Kory, and removed that objection; so, mounting upon the faithful
fellow's shoulders again—like the old man of the sea astride of
Sindbad—I followed after the chief.
The nature of the route we now pursued struck me more forcibly than
anything I had yet seen, as illustrating the indolent disposition of the
islanders. The path was obviously the most beaten one in the valley,
several others leading from each side into it, and perhaps for successive
generations it had formed the principal avenue of the place. And yet,
until I grew more familiar with its impediments, it seemed as difficult to
travel as the recesses of a wilderness. Part of it swept around an abrupt
rise of ground, the surface of which was broken by frequent inequalities,
and thickly strewn with projecting masses of rocks, whose summits were
often hidden from view by the drooping foliage of the luxurious
vegetation. Sometimes directly over, sometimes evading these obstacles
with a wide circuit, the path wound along;—one moment climbing over
a sudden eminence smooth with continued wear, then descending on the other
side into a steep glen, and crossing the flinty channel of a brook. Here
it pursued the depths of a glade, occasionally obliging you to stoop
beneath vast horizontal branches; and now you stepped over huge trunks and
boughs that lay rotting across the track.
Such was the grand thoroughfare of Typee. After proceeding a little
distance along it—Kory-Kory panting and blowing with the weight of
his burden—I dismounted from his back, and grasping the long spear
of Mehevi in my hand, assisted my steps over the numerous obstacles of the
road; preferring this mode of advance to one which, from the difficulties
of the way, was equally painful to myself and my wearied servitor.
Our journey was soon at an end; for, scaling a sudden height, we came
abruptly upon the place of our destination. I wish that it were possible
to sketch in words this spot as vividly as I recollect it.
Here were situated the Taboo groves of the valley—the scene of many
a prolonged feast, of many a horrid rite. Beneath the dark shadows of the
consecrated bread-fruit trees there reigned a solemn twilight—a
cathedral-like gloom. The frightful genius of pagan worship seemed to
brood in silence over the place, breathing its spell upon every object
around. Here and there, in the depths of these awful shades, half screened
from sight by masses of overhanging foliage, rose the idolatrous altars of
the savages, built of enormous blocks of black and polished stone, placed
one upon another, without cement, to the height of twelve or fifteen feet,
and surmounted by a rustic open temple, enclosed with a low picket of
canes, within which might be seen, in various stages of decay, offerings
of bread-fruit and cocoanuts, and the putrefying relics of some recent
sacrifice.
In the midst of the wood was the hallowed 'Hoolah Hoolah' ground—set
apart for the celebration of the fantastical religious ritual of these
people—comprising an extensive oblong pi-pi, terminating at either
end in a lofty terraced altar, guarded by ranks of hideous wooden idols,
and with the two remaining sides flanked by ranges of bamboo sheds,
opening towards the interior of the quadrangle thus formed. Vast trees,
standing in the middle of this space, and throwing over it an umbrageous
shade, had their massive trunks built round with slight stages, elevated a
few feet above the ground, and railed in with canes, forming so many
rustic pulpits, from which the priests harangued their devotees.
This holiest of spots was defended from profanation by the strictest
edicts of the all-pervading 'taboo', which condemned to instant death the
sacrilegious female who should enter or touch its sacred precincts, or
even so much as press with her feet the ground made holy by the shadows
that it cast.
Access was had to the enclosure through an embowered entrance, on one
side, facing a number of towering cocoanut trees, planted at intervals
along a level area of a hundred yards. At the further extremity of this
space was to be seen a building of considerable size, reserved for the
habitation of the priests and religious attendants of the groves.
In its vicinity was another remarkable edifice, built as usual upon the
summit of a pi-pi, and at least two hundred feet in length, though not
more than twenty in breadth. The whole front of this latter structure was
completely open, and from one end to the other ran a narrow verandah,
fenced in on the edge of the pi-pi with a picket of canes. Its interior
presented the appearance of an immense lounging place, the entire floor
being strewn with successive layers of mats, lying between parallel trunks
of cocoanut trees, selected for the purpose from the straightest and most
symmetrical the vale afforded.
To this building, denominated in the language of the natives the 'Ti',
Mehevi now conducted us. Thus far we had been accompanied by a troop of
the natives of both sexes; but as soon as we approached its vicinity, the
females gradually separated themselves from the crowd, and standing aloof,
permitted us to pass on. The merciless prohibitions of the taboo extended
likewise to this edifice, and were enforced by the same dreadful penalty
that secured the Hoolah-Hoolah ground from the imaginary pollution of a
woman's presence.
On entering the house, I was surprised to see six muskets ranged against
the bamboo on one side, from the barrels of which depended as many small
canvas pouches, partly filled with powder.
Disposed about these muskets, like the cutlasses that decorate the
bulkhead of a man-of-war's cabin, were a great variety of rude spears and
paddles, javelins, and war-clubs. This then, said I to Toby, must be the
armoury of the tribe.
As we advanced further along the building, we were struck with the aspect
of four or five hideous old wretches, on whose decrepit forms time and
tattooing seemed to have obliterated every trace of humanity. Owing to the
continued operation of this latter process, which only terminates among
the warriors of the island after all the figures stretched upon their
limbs in youth have been blended together—an effect, however,
produced only in cases of extreme longevity—the bodies of these men
were of a uniform dull green colour—the hue which the tattooing
gradually assumes as the individual advances in age. Their skin had a
frightful scaly appearance, which, united with its singular colour, made
their limbs not a little resemble dusty specimens of verde-antique. Their
flesh, in parts, hung upon them in huge folds, like the overlapping plaits
on the flank of a rhinoceros. Their heads were completely bald, whilst
their faces were puckered into a thousand wrinkles, and they presented no
vestige of a beard. But the most remarkable peculiarity about them was the
appearance of their feet; the toes, like the radiating lines of the
mariner's compass, pointed to every quarter of the horizon. This was
doubtless attributable to the fact, that during nearly a hundred years of
existence the said toes never had been subjected to any artificial
confinement, and in their old age, being averse to close neighbourhood,
bid one another keep open order.
These repulsive-looking creatures appeared to have lost the use of their
lower limbs altogether; sitting upon the floor cross-legged in a state of
torpor. They never heeded us in the least, scarcely looking conscious of
our presence, while Mehevi seated us upon the mats, and Kory-Kory gave
utterance to some unintelligible gibberish.
In a few moments a boy entered with a wooden trencher of poee-poee; and in
regaling myself with its contents I was obliged again to submit to the
officious intervention of my indefatigable servitor. Various other dishes
followed, the chief manifesting the most hospitable importunity in
pressing us to partake, and to remove all bashfulness on our part, set us
no despicable example in his own person.
The repast concluded, a pipe was lighted, which passed from mouth to
mouth, and yielding to its soporific influence, the quiet of the place,
and the deepening shadows of approaching night, my companion and I sank
into a kind of drowsy repose, while the chief and Kory-Kory seemed to be
slumbering beside us.
I awoke from an uneasy nap, about midnight, as I supposed; and, raising
myself partly from the mat, became sensible that we were enveloped in
utter darkness. Toby lay still asleep, but our late companions had
disappeared. The only sound that interrupted the silence of the place was
the asthmatic breathing of the old men I have mentioned, who reposed at a
little distance from us. Besides them, as well as I could judge, there was
no one else in the house.
Apprehensive of some evil, I roused my comrade, and we were engaged in a
whispered conference concerning the unexpected withdrawal of the natives
when all at once, from the depths of the grove, in full view of us where
we lay, shoots of flame were seen to rise, and in a few moments
illuminated the surrounding trees, casting, by contrast, into still deeper
gloom the darkness around us.
While we continued gazing at this sight, dark figures appeared moving to
and fro before the flames; while others, dancing and capering about,
looked like so many demons.
Regarding this new phenomenon with no small degree of trepidation, I said
to my companion, 'What can all this mean, Toby?'
'Oh, nothing,' replied he; 'getting the fire ready, I suppose.'
'Fire!' exclaimed I, while my heart took to beating like a trip-hammer,
'what fire?'
'Why, the fire to cook us, to be sure, what else would the cannibals be
kicking up such a row about if it were not for that?'
'Oh, Toby! have done with your jokes; this is no time for them; something
is about to happen, I feel confident.'
'Jokes, indeed?' exclaimed Toby indignantly. 'Did you ever hear me joke?
Why, for what do you suppose the devils have been feeding us up in this
kind of style during the last three days, unless it were for something
that you are too much frightened at to talk about? Look at that Kory-Kory
there!—has he not been stuffing you with his confounded mushes, just
in the way they treat swine before they kill them? Depend upon it, we will
be eaten this blessed night, and there is the fire we shall be roasted
by.'
This view of the matter was not at all calculated to allay my
apprehensions, and I shuddered when I reflected that we were indeed at the
mercy of a tribe of cannibals, and that the dreadful contingency to which
Toby had alluded was by no means removed beyond the bounds of possibility.
'There! I told you so! they are coming for us!' exclaimed my companion the
next moment, as the forms of four of the islanders were seen in bold
relief against the illuminated back-ground mounting the pi-pi and
approaching towards us.
They came on noiselessly, nay stealthily, and glided along through the
gloom that surrounded us as if about to spring upon some object they were
fearful of disturbing before they should make sure of it.—Gracious
heaven! the horrible reflections which crowded upon me that moment.—A
cold sweat stood upon my brow, and spell-bound with terror I awaited my
fate!
Suddenly the silence was broken by the well-remembered tones of Mehevi,
and at the kindly accents of his voice my fears were immediately
dissipated. 'Tommo, Toby, ki ki!' (eat). He had waited to address us,
until he had assured himself that we were both awake, at which he seemed
somewhat surprised.
'Ki ki! is it?' said Toby in his gruff tones; 'Well, cook us first, will
you—but what's this?' he added, as another savage appeared, bearing
before him a large trencher of wood containing some kind of steaming meat,
as appeared from the odours it diffused, and which he deposited at the
feet of Mehevi. 'A baked baby, I dare say I but I will have none of it,
never mind what it is.—A pretty fool I should make of myself,
indeed, waked up here in the middle of the night, stuffing and guzzling,
and all to make a fat meal for a parcel of booby-minded cannibals one of
these mornings!—No, I see what they are at very plainly, so I am
resolved to starve myself into a bunch of bones and gristle, and then, if
they serve me up, they are welcome! But I say, Tommo, you are not going to
eat any of that mess there, in the dark, are you? Why, how can you tell
what it is?'
'By tasting it, to be sure,' said I, masticating a morsel that Kory-Kory
had just put in my mouth, 'and excellently good it is, too, very much like
veal.'
'A baked baby, by the soul of Captain Cook!' burst forth Toby, with
amazing vehemence; 'Veal? why there never was a calf on the island till
you landed. I tell you you are bolting down mouthfuls from a dead Happar's
carcass, as sure as you live, and no mistake!'
Emetics and lukewarm water! What a sensation in the abdominal region! Sure
enough, where could the fiends incarnate have obtained meat? But I
resolved to satisfy myself at all hazards; and turning to Mehevi, I soon
made the ready chief understand that I wished a light to be brought. When
the taper came, I gazed eagerly into the vessel, and recognized the
mutilated remains of a juvenile porker! 'Puarkee!' exclaimed Kory-Kory,
looking complacently at the dish; and from that day to this I have never
forgotten that such is the designation of a pig in the Typee lingo.
The next morning, after being again abundantly feasted by the hospitable
Mehevi, Toby and myself arose to depart. But the chief requested us to
postpone our intention. 'Abo, abo' (Wait, wait), he said and accordingly
we resumed our seats, while, assisted by the zealous Kory-Kory, he
appeared to be engaged in giving directions to a number of the natives
outside, who were busily employed in making arrangements, the nature of
which we could not comprehend. But we were not left long in our ignorance,
for a few moments only had elapsed, when the chief beckoned us to
approach, and we perceived that he had been marshalling a kind of guard of
honour to escort us on our return to the house of Marheyo.
The procession was led off by two venerable-looking savages, each provided
with a spear, from the end of which streamed a pennon of milk-white tappa.
After them went several youths, bearing aloft calabashes of poee-poee, and
followed in their turn by four stalwart fellows, sustaining long bamboos,
from the tops of which hung suspended, at least twenty feet from the
ground, large baskets of green bread-fruits. Then came a troop of boys,
carrying bunches of ripe bananas, and baskets made of the woven leaflets
of cocoanut boughs, filled with the young fruit of the tree, the naked
shells stripped of their husks peeping forth from the verdant wicker-work
that surrounded them. Last of all came a burly islander, holding over his
head a wooden trencher, in which lay disposed the remnants of our midnight
feast, hidden from view, however, by a covering of bread-fruit leaves.
Astonished as I was at this exhibition, I could not avoid smiling at its
grotesque appearance, and the associations it naturally called up. Mehevi,
it seemed, was bent on replenishing old Marheyo's larder, fearful perhaps
that without this precaution his guests might not fare as well as they
could desire.
As soon as I descended from the pi-pi, the procession formed anew,
enclosing us in its centre; where I remained part of the time, carried by
Kory-Kory, and occasionally relieving him from his burden by limping along
with spear. When we moved off in this order, the natives struck up a
musical recitative, which with various alternations, they continued until
we arrived at the place of our destination.
As we proceeded on our way, bands of young girls, darting from the
surrounding groves, hung upon our skirts, and accompanied us with shouts
of merriment and delight, which almost drowned the deep notes of the
recitative. On approaching old Marheyo's domicile, its inmates rushed out
to receive us; and while the gifts of Mehevi were being disposed of, the
superannuated warrior did the honours of his mansion with all the warmth
of hospitality evinced by an English squire when he regales his friends at
some fine old patrimonial mansion.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
ATTEMPT TO PROCURE RELIEF FROM NUKUHEVA—PERILOUS ADVENTURE OF TOBY
IN THE HAPPAR MOUNTAINS—ELOQUENCE OF KORY-KORY
AMIDST these novel scenes a week passed away almost imperceptibly. The
natives, actuated by some mysterious impulse, day after day redoubled
their attentions to us. Their manner towards us was unaccountable. Surely,
thought I, they would not act thus if they meant us any harm. But why this
excess of deferential kindness, or what equivalent can they imagine us
capable of rendering them for it?
We were fairly puzzled. But despite the apprehensions I could not dispel,
the horrible character imputed to these Typees appeared to be wholly
undeserved.
'Why, they are cannibals!' said Toby on one occasion when I eulogized the
tribe. 'Granted,' I replied, 'but a more humane, gentlemanly and amiable
set of epicures do not probably exist in the Pacific.'
But, notwithstanding the kind treatment we received, I was too familiar
with the fickle disposition of savages not to feel anxious to withdraw
from the valley, and put myself beyond the reach of that fearful death
which, under all these smiling appearances, might yet menace us. But here
there was an obstacle in the way of doing so. It was idle for me to think
of moving from the place until I should have recovered from the severe
lameness that afflicted me; indeed my malady began seriously to alarm me;
for, despite the herbal remedies of the natives, it continued to grow
worse and worse. Their mild applications, though they soothed the pain,
did not remove the disorder, and I felt convinced that without better aid
I might anticipate long and acute suffering.
But how was this aid to be procured? From the surgeons of the French
fleet, which probably still lay in the bay of Nukuheva, it might easily
have been obtained, could I have made my case known to them. But how could
that be effected?
At last, in the exigency to which I was reduced, I proposed to Toby that
he should endeavour to go round to Nukuheva, and if he could not succeed
in returning to the valley by water, in one of the boats of the squadron,
and taking me off, he might at least procure me some proper medicines, and
effect his return overland.
My companion listened to me in silence, and at first did not appear to
relish the idea. The truth was, he felt impatient to escape from the
place, and wished to avail himself of our present high favour with the
natives to make good our retreat, before we should experience some sudden
alteration in their behaviour. As he could not think of leaving me in my
helpless condition, he implored me to be of good cheer; assured me that I
should soon be better, and enabled in a few days to return with him to
Nukuheva.
Added to this, he could not bear the idea of again returning to this
dangerous place; and as for the expectation of persuading the Frenchmen to
detach a boat's crew for the purpose of rescuing me from the Typees, he
looked upon it as idle; and with arguments that I could not answer, urged
the improbability of their provoking the hostilities of the clan by any
such measure; especially, as for the purpose of quieting its
apprehensions, they had as yet refrained from making any visit to the bay.
'And even should they consent,' said Toby, 'they would only produce a
commotion in the valley, in which we might both be sacrificed by these
ferocious islanders.' This was unanswerable; but still I clung to the
belief that he might succeed in accomplishing the other part of my plan;
and at last I overcame his scruples, and he agreed to make the attempt.
As soon as we succeeded in making the natives understand our intention,
they broke out into the most vehement opposition to the measure, and for a
while I almost despaired of obtaining their consent. At the bare thought
of one of us leaving them, they manifested the most lively concern. The
grief and consternation of Kory-Kory, in particular, was unbounded; he
threw himself into a perfect paroxysm of gestures which were intended to
convey to us not only his abhorrence of Nukuheva and its uncivilized
inhabitants, but also his astonishment that after becoming acquainted with
the enlightened Typees, we should evince the least desire to withdraw,
even for a time, from their agreeable society.
However, I overbore his objections by appealing to my lameness; from which
I assured the natives I should speedily recover if Toby were permitted to
obtain the supplies I needed.
It was agreed that on the following morning my companion should depart,
accompanied by some one or two of the household, who should point out to
him an easy route, by which the bay might be reached before sunset.
At early dawn of the next day, our habitation was astir. One of the young
men mounted into an adjoining cocoanut tree, and threw down a number of
the young fruit, which old Marheyo quickly stripped of the green husks,
and strung together upon a short pole. These were intended to refresh Toby
on his route.
The preparations being completed, with no little emotion I bade my
companion adieu. He promised to return in three days at farthest; and,
bidding me keep up my spirits in the interval, turned round the corner of
the pi-pi, and, under the guidance of the venerable Marheyo, was soon out
of sight. His departure oppressed me with melancholy, and, re-entering the
dwelling, I threw myself almost in despair upon the matting of the floor.
In two hours' time the old warrior returned, and gave me to understand
that after accompanying my companion a little distance, and showing him
the route, he had left him journeying on his way.
It was about noon of this same day, a season which these people are wont
to pass in sleep, that I lay in the house, surrounded by its slumbering
inmates, and painfully affected by the strange silence which prevailed.
All at once I thought I heard a faint shout, as if proceeding from some
persons in the depth of the grove which extended in front of our
habitation.
The sounds grew louder and nearer, and gradually the whole valley rang
with wild outcries. The sleepers around me started to their feet in alarm,
and hurried outside to discover the cause of the commotion. Kory-Kory, who
had been the first to spring up, soon returned almost breathless, and
nearly frantic with the excitement under which he seemed to be labouring.
All that I could understand from him was that some accident had happened
to Toby. Apprehensive of some dreadful calamity, I rushed out of the
house, and caught sight of a tumultuous crowd, who, with shrieks and
lamentations, were just emerging from the grove bearing in their arms some
object, the sight of which produced all this transport of sorrow. As they
drew near, the men redoubled their cries, while the girls, tossing their
bare arms in the air, exclaimed plaintively, 'Awha! awha! Toby mukee
moee!'—Alas! alas! Toby is killed!
In a moment the crowd opened, and disclosed the apparently lifeless body
of my companion home between two men, the head hanging heavily against the
breast of the foremost. The whole face, neck, back, and bosom were covered
with blood, which still trickled slowly from a wound behind the temple. In
the midst of the greatest uproar and confusion the body was carried into
the house and laid on a mat. Waving the natives off to give room and air,
I bent eagerly over Toby, and, laying my hand upon the breast, ascertained
that the heart still beat. Overjoyed at this, I seized a calabash of
water, and dashed its contents upon his face, then wiping away the blood,
anxiously examined the wound. It was about three inches long, and on
removing the clotted hair from about it, showed the skull laid completely
bare. Immediately with my knife I cut away the heavy locks, and bathed the
part repeatedly in water.
In a few moments Toby revived, and opening his eyes for a second—closed
them again without speaking. Kory-Kory, who had been kneeling beside me,
now chafed his limbs gently with the palms of his hands, while a young
girl at his head kept fanning him, and I still continued to moisten his
lips and brow. Soon my poor comrade showed signs of animation, and I
succeeded in making him swallow from a cocoanut shell a few mouthfuls of
water.
Old Tinor now appeared, holding in her hand some simples she had gathered,
the juice of which she by signs besought me to squeeze into the wound.
Having done so, I thought it best to leave Toby undisturbed until he
should have had time to rally his faculties. Several times he opened his
lips, but fearful for his safety I enjoined silence. In the course of two
or three hours, however, he sat up, and was sufficiently recovered to tell
me what had occurred.
'After leaving the house with Marheyo,' said Toby, 'we struck across the
valley, and ascended the opposite heights. Just beyond them, my guide
informed me, lay the valley of Happar, while along their summits, and
skirting the head of the vale, was my route to Nukuheva. After mounting a
little way up the elevation my guide paused, and gave me to understand
that he could not accompany me any farther, and by various signs intimated
that he was afraid to approach any nearer the territories of the enemies
of his tribe. He however pointed out my path, which now lay clearly before
me, and bidding me farewell, hastily descended the mountain.
'Quite elated at being so near the Happars, I pushed up the acclivity, and
soon gained its summit. It tapered to a sharp ridge, from whence I beheld
both the hostile valleys. Here I sat down and rested for a moment,
refreshing myself with my cocoanuts. I was soon again pursuing my way
along the height, when suddenly I saw three of the islanders, who must
have just come out of Happar valley, standing in the path ahead of me.
They were each armed with a heavy spear, and one from his appearance I
took to be a chief. They sung out something, I could not understand what,
and beckoned me to come on.
'Without the least hesitation I advanced towards them, and had approached
within about a yard of the foremost, when, pointing angrily into the Typee
valley, and uttering some savage exclamation, he wheeled round his weapon
like lightning, and struck me in a moment to the ground. The blow
inflicted this wound, and took away my senses. As soon as I came to
myself, I perceived the three islanders standing a little distance off,
and apparently engaged in some violent altercation respecting me.
'My first impulse was to run for it; but, in endeavouring to rise, I fell
back, and rolled down a little grassy precipice. The shock seemed to rally
my faculties; so, starting to my feet, I fled down the path I had just
ascended. I had no need to look behind me, for, from the yells I heard, I
knew that my enemies were in full pursuit. Urged on by their fearful
outcries, and heedless of the injury I had received—though the blood
flowing from the wound trickled over into my eyes and almost blinded me—I
rushed down the mountain side with the speed of the wind. In a short time
I had descended nearly a third of the distance, and the savages had ceased
their cries, when suddenly a terrific howl burst upon my ear, and at the
same moment a heavy javelin darted past me as I fled, and stuck quivering
in a tree close to me. Another yell followed, and a second spear and a
third shot through the air within a few feet of my body, both of them
piercing the ground obliquely in advance of me. The fellows gave a roar of
rage and disappointment; but they were afraid, I suppose, of coming down
further into the Typee valley, and so abandoned the chase. I saw them
recover their weapons and turn back; and I continued my descent as fast as
I could.
'What could have caused this ferocious attack on the part of these Happars
I could not imagine, unless it were that they had seen me ascending the
mountain with Marheyo, and that the mere fact of coming from the Typee
valley was sufficient to provoke them.
'As long as I was in danger I scarcely felt the wound I had received; but
when the chase was over I began to suffer from it. I had lost my hat in
the flight, and the run scorched my bare head. I felt faint and giddy;
but, fearful of falling to the ground beyond the reach of assistance, I
staggered on as well as I could, and at last gained the level of the
valley, and then down I sank; and I knew nothing more until I found myself
lying upon these mats, and you stooping over me with the calabash of
water.'
Such was Toby's account of this sad affair. I afterwards learned that,
fortunately, he had fallen close to a spot where the natives go for fuel.
A party of them caught sight of him as he fell, and sounding the alarm,
had lifted him up; and after ineffectually endeavouring to restore him at
the brook, had hurried forward with him to the house.
This incident threw a dark cloud over our prospects. It reminded us that
we were hemmed in by hostile tribes, whose territories we could not hope
to pass, on our route to Nukuheva, without encountering the effects of
their savage resentment. There appeared to be no avenue opened to our
escape but the sea, which washed the lower extremities of the vale.
Our Typee friends availed themselves of the recent disaster of Toby to
exhort us to a due appreciation of the blessings we enjoyed among them,
contrasting their own generous reception of us with the animosity of their
neighbours. They likewise dwelt upon the cannibal propensities of the
Happars, a subject which they were perfectly aware could not fail to alarm
us; while at the same time they earnestly disclaimed all participation in
so horrid a custom. Nor did they omit to call upon us to admire the
natural loveliness of their own abode, and the lavish abundance with which
it produced all manner of luxuriant fruits; exalting it in this particular
above any of the surrounding valleys.
Kory-Kory seemed to experience so heartfelt a desire to infuse into our
minds proper views on these subjects, that, assisted in his endeavours by
the little knowledge of the language we had acquired, he actually made us
comprehend a considerable part of what he said. To facilitate our correct
apprehension of his meaning, he at first condensed his ideas into the
smallest possible compass.
'Happar keekeeno nuee,' he exclaimed, 'nuee, nuee, ki ki kannaka!—ah!
owle motarkee!' which signifies, 'Terrible fellows those Happars!—devour
an amazing quantity of men!—ah, shocking bad!' Thus far he explained
himself by a variety of gestures, during the performance of which he would
dart out of the house, and point abhorrently towards the Happar valley;
running in to us again with a rapidity that showed he was fearful he would
lose one part of his meaning before he could complete the other; and
continuing his illustrations by seizing the fleshy part of my arm in his
teeth, intimating by the operation that the people who lived over in that
direction would like nothing better than to treat me in that manner.
Having assured himself that we were fully enlightened on this point, he
proceeded to another branch of his subject. 'Ah! Typee mortakee!—nuee,
nuee mioree—nuee, nuee wai—nuee, nuee poee-poee—nuee,
nuee kokoo—ah! nuee, nuee kiki—ah! nuee, nuee, nuee!' Which
literally interpreted as before, would imply, 'Ah, Typee! isn't it a fine
place though!—no danger of starving here, I tell you!—plenty
of bread-fruit—plenty of water—plenty of pudding—ah!
plenty of everything! ah! heaps, heaps heaps!' All this was accompanied by
a running commentary of signs and gestures which it was impossible not to
comprehend.
As he continued his harangue, however, Kory-Kory, in emulation of our more
polished orators, began to launch out rather diffusely into other branches
of his subject, enlarging probably upon the moral reflections it
suggested; and proceeded in such a strain of unintelligible and stunning
gibberish, that he actually gave me the headache for the rest of the day.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
A GREAT EVENT HAPPENS IN THE VALLEY—THE ISLAND TELEGRAPH—SOMETHING
BEFALLS TOBY—FAYAWAY DISPLAYS A TENDER HEART—MELANCHOLY
REFLECTIONS—MYSTERIOUS CONDUCT OF THE ISLANDERS—DEVOTION OF
KORY-KORY—A RURAL COUCH—A LUXURY—KORY-KORY STRIKES A
LIGHT A LA TYPEE
IN the course of a few days Toby had recovered from the effects of his
adventure with the Happar warriors; the wound on his head rapidly healing
under the vegetable treatment of the good Tinor. Less fortunate than my
companion however, I still continued to languish under a complaint, the
origin and nature of which were still a mystery. Cut off as I was from all
intercourse with the civilized world, and feeling the inefficacy of
anything the natives could do to relieve me; knowing, too, that so long as
I remained in my present condition, it would be impossible for me to leave
the valley, whatever opportunity might present itself; and apprehensive
that ere long we might be exposed to some caprice on the part of the
islanders, I now gave up all hopes of recovery, and became a prey to the
most gloomy thoughts. A deep dejection fell upon me, which neither the
friendly remonstrances of my companion, the devoted attentions of
Kory-Kory nor all the soothing influences of Fayaway could remove.
One morning as I lay on the mats in the house, plunged in melancholy
reverie, and regardless of everything around me, Toby, who had left me
about an hour, returned in haste, and with great glee told me to cheer up
and be of good heart; for he believed, from what was going on among the
natives, that there were boats approaching the bay.
These tidings operated upon me like magic. The hour of our deliverance was
at hand, and starting up, I was soon convinced that something unusual was
about to occur. The word 'botee! botee!' was vociferated in all
directions; and shouts were heard in the distance, at first feebly and
faintly; but growing louder and nearer at each successive repetition,
until they were caught up by a fellow in a cocoanut tree a few yards off,
who sounding them in turn, they were reiterated from a neighbouring grove,
and so died away gradually from point to point, as the intelligence
penetrated into the farthest recess of the valley. This was the vocal
telegraph of the islanders; by means of which condensed items of
information could be carried in a very few minutes from the sea to their
remotest habitation, a distance of at least eight or nine miles. On the
present occasion it was in active operation; one piece of information
following another with inconceivable rapidity.
The greatest commotion now appeared to prevail. At every fresh item of
intelligence the natives betrayed the liveliest interest, and redoubled
the energy with which they employed themselves in collecting fruit to sell
to the expected visitors. Some were tearing off the husks from cocoanuts;
some perched in the trees were throwing down bread-fruit to their
companions, who gathered them into heaps as they fell; while others were
plying their fingers rapidly in weaving leafen baskets in which to carry
the fruit.
There were other matters too going on at the same time. Here you would see
a stout warrior polishing his spear with a bit of old tappa, or adjusting
the folds of the girdle about his waist; and there you might descry a
young damsel decorating herself with flowers, as if having in her eye some
maidenly conquest; while, as in all cases of hurry and confusion in every
part of the world, a number of individuals kept hurrying to and fro, with
amazing vigour and perseverance, doing nothing themselves, and hindering
others.
Never before had we seen the islanders in such a state of bustle and
excitement; and the scene furnished abundant evidence of the fact—that
it was only at long intervals any such events occur.
When I thought of the length of time that might intervene before a similar
chance of escape would be presented, I bitterly lamented that I had not
the power of availing myself effectually of the present opportunity.
From all that we could gather, it appeared that the natives were fearful
of arriving too late upon the beach, unless they made extraordinary
exertions. Sick and lame as I was, I would have started with Toby at once,
had not Kory-Kory not only refused to carry me, but manifested the most
invincible repugnance to our leaving the neighbourhood of the house. The
rest of the savages were equally opposed to our wishes, and seemed grieved
and astonished at the earnestness of my solicitations. I clearly perceived
that while my attendant avoided all appearance of constraining my
movements, he was nevertheless determined to thwart my wishes. He seemed
to me on this particular occasion, as well as often afterwards, to be
executing the orders of some other person with regard to me, though at the
same time feeling towards me the most lively affection.
Toby, who had made up his mind to accompany the islanders if possible, as
soon as they were in readiness to depart, and who for that reason had
refrained from showing the same anxiety that I had done, now represented
to me that it was idle for me to entertain the hope of reaching the beach
in time to profit by any opportunity that might then be presented.
'Do you not see,' said he, 'the savages themselves are fearful of being
too late, and I should hurry forward myself at once did I not think that
if I showed too much eagerness I should destroy all our hopes of reaping
any benefit from this fortunate event. If you will only endeavour to
appear tranquil or unconcerned, you will quiet their suspicions, and I
have no doubt they will then let me go with them to the beach, supposing
that I merely go out of curiosity. Should I succeed in getting down to the
boats, I will make known the condition in which I have left you, and
measures may then be taken to secure our escape.'
In the expediency of this I could not but acquiesce; and as the natives
had now completed their preparations, I watched with the liveliest
interest the reception that Toby's application might meet with. As soon as
they understood from my companion that I intended to remain, they appeared
to make no objection to his proposition, and even hailed it with pleasure.
Their singular conduct on this occasion not a little puzzled me at the
time, and imparted to subsequent events an additional mystery.
The islanders were now to be seen hurrying along the path which led to the
sea. I shook Toby warmly by the hand, and gave him my Payta hat to shield
his wounded head from the sun, as he had lost his own. He cordially
returned the pressure of my hand, and solemnly promising to return as soon
as the boats should leave the shore, sprang from my side, and the next
minute disappeared in a turn of the grove.
In spite of the unpleasant reflections that crowded upon my mind, I could
not but be entertained by the novel and animated sight which by now met my
view. One after another the natives crowded along the narrow path, laden
with every variety of fruit. Here, you might have seen one, who, after
ineffectually endeavouring to persuade a surly porker to be conducted in
leading strings, was obliged at last to seize the perverse animal in his
arms, and carry him struggling against his naked breast, and squealing
without intermission. There went two, who at a little distance might have
been taken for the Hebrew spies, on their return to Moses with the goodly
bunch of grape. One trotted before the other at a distance of a couple of
yards, while between them, from a pole resting on the shoulders, was
suspended a huge cluster of bananas, which swayed to and fro with the
rocking gait at which they proceeded. Here ran another, perspiring with
his exertions, and bearing before him a quantity of cocoanuts, who,
fearful of being too late, heeded not the fruit that dropped from his
basket, and appeared solely intent upon reaching his destination, careless
how many of his cocoanuts kept company with him.
In a short time the last straggler was seen hurrying on his way, and the
faint shouts of those in advance died insensibly upon the ear. Our part of
the valley now appeared nearly deserted by its inhabitants, Kory-Kory, his
aged father, and a few decrepit old people, being all that were left.
Towards sunset the islanders in small parties began to return from the
beach, and among them, as they drew near to the house, I sought to descry
the form of my companion. But one after another they passed the dwelling,
and I caught no glimpse of him. Supposing, however, that he would soon
appear with some of the members of the household, I quieted my
apprehensions, and waited patiently to see him advancing in company with
the beautiful Fayaway. At last, I perceived Tinor coming forward, followed
by the girls and young men who usually resided in the house of Marheyo;
but with them came not my comrade, and, filled with a thousand alarms, I
eagerly sought to discover the cause of his delay.
My earnest questions appeared to embarrass the natives greatly. All their
accounts were contradictory: one giving me to understand that Toby would
be with me in a very short time; another that he did not know where he
was; while a third, violently inveighing, against him, assured me that he
had stolen away, and would never come back. It appeared to me, at the
time, that in making these various statements they endeavoured to conceal
from me some terrible disaster, lest the knowledge of it should overpower
me.
Fearful lest some fatal calamity had overtaken him, I sought out young
Fayaway, and endeavoured to learn from her, if possible, the truth.
This gentle being had early attracted my regard, not only from her
extraordinary beauty, but from the attractive cast of her countenance,
singularly expressive of intelligence and humanity. Of all the natives she
alone seemed to appreciate the effect which the peculiarity of the
circumstances in which we were placed had produced upon the minds of my
companion and myself. In addressing me—especially when I lay
reclining upon the mats suffering from pain—there was a tenderness
in her manner which it was impossible to misunderstand or resist. Whenever
she entered the house, the expression of her face indicated the liveliest
sympathy for me; and moving towards the place where I lay, with one arm
slightly elevated in a gesture of pity, and her large glistening eyes
gazing intently into mine, she would murmur plaintively, 'Awha! awha!
Tommo,' and seat herself mournfully beside me.
Her manner convinced me that she deeply compassionated my situation, as
being removed from my country and friends, and placed beyond the reach of
all relief. Indeed, at times I was almost led to believe that her mind was
swayed by gentle impulses hardly to be anticipated from one in her
condition; that she appeared to be conscious there were ties rudely
severed, which had once bound us to our homes; that there were sisters and
brothers anxiously looking forward to our return, who were, perhaps, never
more to behold us.
In this amiable light did Fayaway appear in my eyes; and reposing full
confidence in her candour and intelligence, I now had recourse to her, in
the midst of my alarm, with regard to my companion.
My questions evidently distressed her. She looked round from one to
another of the bystanders, as if hardly knowing what answer to give me. At
last, yielding to my importunities, she overcame her scruples, and gave me
to understand that Toby had gone away with the boats which had visited the
bay, but had promised to return at the expiration of three days. At first
I accused him of perfidiously deserting me; but as I grew more composed, I
upbraided myself for imputing so cowardly an action to him, and
tranquillized myself with the belief that he had availed himself, of the
opportunity to go round to Nukuheva, in order to make some arrangement by
which I could be removed from the valley. At any rate, thought I, he will
return with the medicines I require, and then, as soon as I recover, there
will be no difficulty in the way of our departure.
Consoling myself with these reflections, I lay down that night in a
happier frame of mind than I had done for some time. The next day passed
without any allusion to Toby on the part of the natives, who seemed
desirous of avoiding all reference to the subject. This raised some
apprehensions in my breast; but when night came, I congratulated myself
that the second day had now gone by, and that on the morrow Toby would
again be with me. But the morrow came and went, and my companion did not
appear. Ah! thought I, he reckons three days from the morning of his
departure,—tomorrow he will arrive. But that weary day also closed
upon me, without his return. Even yet I would not despair; I thought that
something detained him—that he was waiting for the sailing of a
boat, at Nukuheva, and that in a day or two at farthest I should see him
again. But day after day of renewed disappointment passed by; at last hope
deserted me, and I fell a victim to despair.
Yes; thought I, gloomily, he has secured his own escape, and cares not
what calamity may befall his unfortunate comrade. Fool that I was, to
suppose that any one would willingly encounter the perils of this valley,
after having once got beyond its limits! He has gone, and has left me to
combat alone all the dangers by which I am surrounded. Thus would I
sometimes seek to derive a desperate consolation from dwelling upon the
perfidity of Toby: whilst at other times I sunk under the bitter remorse
which I felt as having by my own imprudence brought upon myself the fate
which I was sure awaited me.
At other times I thought that perhaps after all these treacherous savages
had made away with him, and thence the confusion into which they were
thrown by my questions, and their contradictory answers, or he might be a
captive in some other part of the valley, or, more dreadful still, might
have met with that fate at which my very soul shuddered. But all these
speculations were vain; no tidings of Toby ever reached me; he had gone
never to return.
The conduct of the islanders appeared inexplicable. All reference to my
lost comrade was carefully evaded, and if at any time they were forced to
make some reply to my frequent inquiries on the subject, they would
uniformly denounce him as an ungrateful runaway, who had deserted his
friend, and taken himself off to that vile and detestable place Nukuheva.
But whatever might have been his fate, now that he was gone the natives
multiplied their acts of kindness and attention towards myself, treating
me with a degree of deference which could hardly have been surpassed had I
been some celestial visitant. Kory-Kory never for one moment left my side,
unless it were to execute my wishes. The faithful fellow, twice every day,
in the cool of the morning and in the evening, insisted upon carrying me
to the stream, and bathing me in its refreshing water.
Frequently in the afternoon he would carry me to a particular part of the
stream, where the beauty of the scene produced a soothing influence upon
my mind. At this place the waters flowed between grassy banks, planted
with enormous bread-fruit trees, whose vast branches interlacing overhead,
formed a leafy canopy; near the stream were several smooth black rocks.
One of these, projecting several feet above the surface of the water, had
upon its summit a shallow cavity, which, filled with freshly-gathered
leaves, formed a delightful couch.
Here I often lay for hours, covered with a gauze-like veil of tappa, while
Fayaway, seated beside me, and holding in her hand a fan woven from the
leaflets of a young cocoanut bough, brushed aside the insects that
occasionally lighted on my face, and Kory-Kory, with a view of chasing
away my melancholy, performed a thousand antics in the water before us.
As my eye wandered along this romantic stream, it would fall upon the
half-immersed figure of a beautiful girl, standing in the transparent
water, and catching in a little net a species of diminutive shell-fish, of
which these people are extraordinarily fond. Sometimes a chattering group
would be seated upon the edge of a low rock in the midst of the brook,
busily engaged in thinning and polishing the shells of cocoanuts, by
rubbing them briskly with a small stone in the water, an operation which
soon converts them into a light and elegant drinking vessel, somewhat
resembling goblets made of tortoise shell.
But the tranquillizing influence of beautiful scenery, and the exhibition
of human life under so novel and charming an aspect were not my only
sources of consolation.
Every evening the girls of the house gathered about me on the mats, and
after chasing away Kory-Kory from my side—who nevertheless, retired
only to a little distance and watched their proceedings with the most
jealous attention—would anoint my whole body with a fragrant oil,
squeezed from a yellow root, previously pounded between a couple of
stones, and which in their language is denominated 'aka'. And most
refreshing and agreeable are the juices of the 'aka', when applied to
ones, limbs by the soft palms of sweet nymphs, whose bright eyes are
beaming upon you with kindness; and I used to hail with delight the daily
recurrence of this luxurious operation, in which I forgot all my troubles,
and buried for the time every feeling of sorrow.
Sometimes in the cool of the evening my devoted servitor would lead me out
upon the pi-pi in front of the house, and seating me near its edge,
protect my body from the annoyance of the insects which occasionally
hovered in the air, by wrapping me round with a large roll of tappa. He
then bustled about, and employed himself at least twenty minutes in
adjusting everything to secure my personal comfort.
Having perfected his arrangements, he would get my pipe, and, lighting it,
would hand it to me. Often he was obliged to strike a light for the
occasion, and as the mode he adopted was entirely different from what I
had ever seen or heard of before I will describe it.
A straight, dry, and partly decayed stick of the Hibiscus, about six feet
in length, and half as many inches in diameter, with a small, bit of wood
not more than a foot long, and scarcely an inch wide, is as invariably to
be met with in every house in Typee as a box of lucifer matches in the
corner of a kitchen cupboard at home.
The islander, placing the larger stick obliquely against some object, with
one end elevated at an angle of forty-five degrees, mounts astride of it
like an urchin about to gallop off upon a cane, and then grasping the
smaller one firmly in both hands, he rubs its pointed end slowly up and
down the extent of a few inches on the principal stick, until at last he
makes a narrow groove in the wood, with an abrupt termination at the point
furthest from him, where all the dusty particles which the friction
creates are accumulated in a little heap.
At first Kory-Kory goes to work quite leisurely, but gradually quickens
his pace, and waxing warm in the employment, drives the stick furiously
along the smoking channel, plying his hands to and fro with amazing
rapidity, the perspiration starting from every pore. As he approaches the
climax of his effort, he pants and gasps for breath, and his eyes almost
start from their sockets with the violence of his exertions. This is the
critical stage of the operation; all his previous labours are vain if he
cannot sustain the rapidity of the movement until the reluctant spark is
produced. Suddenly he stops, becoming perfectly motionless. His hands
still retain their hold of the smaller stick, which is pressed
convulsively against the further end of the channel among the fine powder
there accumulated, as if he had just pierced through and through some
little viper that was wriggling and struggling to escape from his
clutches. The next moment a delicate wreath of smoke curls spirally into
the air, the heap of dusty particles glows with fire, and Kory-Kory,
almost breathless, dismounts from his steed.
This operation appeared to me to be the most laborious species of work
performed in Typee; and had I possessed a sufficient intimacy with the
language to have conveyed my ideas upon the subject, I should certainly
have suggested to the most influential of the natives the expediency of
establishing a college of vestals to be centrally located in the valley,
for the purpose of keeping alive the indispensable article of fire; so as
to supersede the necessity of such a vast outlay of strength and good
temper, as were usually squandered on these occasions. There might,
however, be special difficulties in carrying this plan into execution.
What a striking evidence does this operation furnish of the wide
difference between the extreme of savage and civilized life. A gentleman
of Typee can bring up a numerous family of children and give them all a
highly respectable cannibal education, with infinitely less toil and
anxiety than he expends in the simple process of striking a light; whilst
a poor European artisan, who through the instrumentality of a lucifer
performs the same operation in one second, is put to his wit's end to
provide for his starving offspring that food which the children of a
Polynesian father, without troubling their parents, pluck from the
branches of every tree around them.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
KINDNESS OF MARHEYO AND THE REST OF THE ISLANDERS—A FULL DESCRIPTION
OF THE BREAD-FRUIT TREE—DIFFERENT MODES OF PREPARING THE FRUIT
ALL the inhabitants of the valley treated me with great kindness; but as
to the household of Marheyo, with whom I was now permanently domiciled,
nothing could surpass their efforts to minister to my comfort. To the
gratification of my palate they paid the most unwearied attention. They
continually invited me to partake of food, and when after eating heartily
I declined the viands they continued to offer me, they seemed to think
that my appetite stood in need of some piquant stimulant to excite its
activity.
In pursuance of this idea, old Marheyo himself would hie him away to the
sea-shore by the break of day, for the purpose of collecting various
species of rare sea-weed; some of which among these people are considered
a great luxury. After a whole day spent in this employment, he would
return about nightfall with several cocoanut shells filled with different
descriptions of kelp. In preparing these for use he manifested all the
ostentation of a professed cook, although the chief mystery of the affair
appeared to consist in pouring water in judicious quantities upon the
slimy contents of his cocoanut shells.
The first time he submitted one of these saline salads to my critical
attention I naturally thought that anything collected at such pains must
possess peculiar merits; but one mouthful was a complete dose; and great
was the consternation of the old warrior at the rapidity with which I
ejected his Epicurean treat.
How true it is, that the rarity of any particular article enhances its
value amazingly. In some part of the valley—I know not where, but
probably in the neighbourhood of the sea—the girls were sometimes in
the habit of procuring small quantities of salt, a thimble-full or so
being the result of the united labours of a party of five or six employed
for the greater part of the day. This precious commodity they brought to
the house, enveloped in multitudinous folds of leaves; and as a special
mark of the esteem in which they held me, would spread an immense leaf on
the ground, and dropping one by one a few minute particles of the salt
upon it, invite me to taste them.
From the extravagant value placed upon the article, I verily believe, that
with a bushel of common Liverpool salt all the real estate in Typee might
have been purchased. With a small pinch of it in one hand, and a quarter
section of a bread-fruit in the other, the greatest chief in the valley
would have laughed at all luxuries of a Parisian table.
The celebrity of the bread-fruit tree, and the conspicuous place it
occupies in a Typee bill of fare, induces me to give at some length a
general description of the tree, and the various modes in which the fruit
is prepared.
The bread-fruit tree, in its glorious prime, is a grand and towering
object, forming the same feature in a Marquesan landscape that the
patriarchal elm does in New England scenery. The latter tree it not a
little resembles in height, in the wide spread of its stalwart branches,
and in its venerable and imposing aspect.
The leaves of the bread-fruit are of great size, and their edges are cut
and scolloped as fantastically as those of a lady's lace collar. As they
annually tend towards decay, they almost rival in brilliant variety of
their gradually changing hues the fleeting shades of the expiring dolphin.
The autumnal tints of our American forests, glorious as they are, sink
into nothing in comparison with this tree.
The leaf, in one particular stage, when nearly all the prismatic colours
are blended on its surface, is often converted by the natives into a
superb and striking head-dress. The principal fibre traversing its length
being split open a convenient distance, and the elastic sides of the
aperture pressed apart, the head is inserted between them, the leaf
drooping on one side, with its forward half turned jauntily up on the
brows, and the remaining part spreading laterally behind the ears.
The fruit somewhat resembles in magnitude and general appearance one of
our citron melons of ordinary size; but, unlike the citron, it has no
sectional lines drawn along the outside. Its surface is dotted all over
with little conical prominences, looking not unlike the knobs, on an
antiquated church door. The rind is perhaps an eighth of an inch in
thickness; and denuded of this at the time when it is in the greatest
perfection, the fruit presents a beautiful globe of white pulp, the whole
of which may be eaten, with the exception of a slender core, which is
easily removed.
The bread-fruit, however, is never used, and is indeed altogether unfit to
be eaten, until submitted in one form or other to the action of fire.
The most simple manner in which this operation is performed, and I think,
the best, consists in placing any number of the freshly plucked fruit,
when in a particular state of greenness, among the embers of a fire, in
the same way that you would roast a potato. After the lapse of ten or
fifteen minutes, the green rind embrowns and cracks, showing through the
fissures in its sides the milk-white interior. As soon as it cools the
rind drops off, and you then have the soft round pulp in its purest and
most delicious state. Thus eaten, it has a mild and pleasing flavour.
Sometimes after having been roasted in the fire, the natives snatch it
briskly from the embers, and permitting it to slip out of the yielding
rind into a vessel of cold water, stir up the mixture, which they call
'bo-a-sho'. I never could endure this compound, and indeed the preparation
is not greatly in vogue among the more polite Typees.
There is one form, however, in which the fruit is occasionally served,
that renders it a dish fit for a king. As soon as it is taken from the
fire the exterior is removed, the core extracted, and the remaining part
is placed in a sort of shallow stone mortar, and briskly worked with a
pestle of the same substance. While one person is performing this
operation, another takes a ripe cocoanut, and breaking it in halves, which
they also do very cleverly, proceeds to grate the juicy meat into fine
particles. This is done by means of a piece of mother-of-pearl shell,
lashed firmly to the extreme end of a heavy stick, with its straight side
accurately notched like a saw. The stick is sometimes a grotesquely-formed
limb of a tree, with three or four branches twisting from its body like so
many shapeless legs, and sustaining it two or three feet from the ground.
The native, first placing a calabash beneath the nose, as it were, of his
curious-looking log-steed, for the purpose of receiving the grated
fragments as they fall, mounts astride of it as if it were a hobby-horse,
and twirling the inside of his hemispheres of cocoanut around the sharp
teeth of the mother-of-pearl shell, the pure white meat falls in snowy
showers into the receptacle provided. Having obtained a quantity
sufficient for his purpose, he places it in a bag made of the net-like
fibrous substance attached to all cocoanut trees, and compressing it over
the bread-fruit, which being now sufficiently pounded, is put into a
wooden bowl—extracts a thick creamy milk. The delicious liquid soon
bubbles round the fruit, and leaves it at last just peeping above its
surface.
This preparation is called 'kokoo', and a most luscious preparation it is.
The hobby-horse and the pestle and mortar were in great requisition during
the time I remained in the house of Marheyo, and Kory-Kory had frequent
occasion to show his skill in their use.
But the great staple articles of food into which the bread-fruit is
converted by these natives are known respectively by the names of Amar and
Poee-Poee.
At a certain season of the year, when the fruit of the hundred groves of
the valley has reached its maturity, and hangs in golden spheres from
every branch, the islanders assemble in harvest groups, and garner in the
abundance which surrounds them.
The trees are stripped of their nodding burdens, which, easily freed from
the rind and core, are gathered together in capacious wooden vessels,
where the pulpy fruit is soon worked by a stone pestle, vigorously
applied, into a blended mass of a doughy consistency, called by the
natives 'Tutao'. This is then divided into separate parcels, which, after
being made up into stout packages, enveloped in successive folds of
leaves, and bound round with thongs of bark, are stored away in large
receptacles hollowed in the earth, from whence they are drawn as occasion
may require. In this condition the Tutao sometimes remains for years, and
even is thought to improve by age. Before it is fit to be eaten, however,
it has to undergo an additional process. A primitive oven is scooped in
the ground, and its bottom being loosely covered with stones, a large fire
is kindled within it. As soon as the requisite degree of heat is attained,
the embers are removed, and the surface of the stones being covered with
thick layers of leaves, one of the large packages of Tutao is deposited
upon them and overspread with another layer of leaves. The whole is then
quickly heaped up with earth, and forms a sloping mound.
The Tutao thus baked is called 'Amar'; the action of the oven having
converted it into an amber-coloured caky substance, a little tart, but not
at all disagreeable to the taste.
By another and final process the 'Amar' is changed into 'Poee-Poee'. This
transition is rapidly effected. The Amar is placed in a vessel, and mixed
with water until it gains a proper pudding-like consistency, when, without
further preparation, it is in readiness for use. This is the form in which
the 'Tutao' is generally consumed. The singular mode of eating it I have
already described.
Were it not that the bread-fruit is thus capable of being preserved for a
length of time, the natives might be reduced to a state of starvation; for
owing to some unknown cause the trees sometimes fail to bear fruit; and on
such occasions the islanders chiefly depend upon the supplies they have
been enabled to store away.
This stately tree, which is rarely met with upon the Sandwich Islands, and
then only of a very inferior quality, and at Tahiti does not abound to a
degree that renders its fruit the principal article of food, attains its
greatest excellence in the genial climate of the Marquesan group, where it
grows to an enormous magnitude, and flourishes in the utmost abundance.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
MELANCHOLY CONDITION—OCCURRENCE AT THE TI—ANECDOTE OF MARHEYO—SHAVING
THE HEAD OF A WARRIOR
IN looking back to this period, and calling to remembrance the numberless
proofs of kindness and respect which I received from the natives of the
valley, I can scarcely understand how it was that, in the midst of so many
consolatory circumstances, my mind should still have been consumed by the
most dismal forebodings, and have remained a prey to the profoundest
melancholy. It is true that the suspicious circumstances which had
attended the disappearance of Toby were enough of themselves to excite
distrust with regard to the savages, in whose power I felt myself to be
entirely placed, especially when it was combined with the knowledge that
these very men, kind and respectful as they were to me, were, after all,
nothing better than a set of cannibals.
But my chief source of anxiety, and that which poisoned every temporary
enjoyment, was the mysterious disease in my leg, which still remained
unabated. All the herbal applications of Tinor, united with the severer
discipline of the old leech, and the affectionate nursing of Kory-Kory,
had failed to relieve me. I was almost a cripple, and the pain I endured
at intervals was agonizing. The unaccountable malady showed no signs of
amendment: on the contrary, its violence increased day by day, and
threatened the most fatal results, unless some powerful means were
employed to counteract it. It seemed as if I were destined to sink under
this grievous affliction, or at least that it would hinder me from
availing myself of any opportunity of escaping from the valley.
An incident which occurred as nearly as I can estimate about three weeks
after the disappearance of Toby, convinced me that the natives, from some
reason or other, would interpose every possible obstacle to my leaving
them.
One morning there was no little excitement evinced by the people near my
abode, and which I soon discovered proceeded from a vague report that
boats, had been seen at a great distance approaching the bay. Immediately
all was bustle and animation. It so happened that day that the pain I
suffered having somewhat abated, and feeling in much better spirits than
usual, I had complied with Kory-Kory's invitation to visit the chief
Mehevi at the place called the 'Ti', which I have before described as
being situated within the precincts of the Taboo Groves. These sacred
recesses were at no great distance from Marheyo's habitation, and lay
between it and the sea; the path that conducted to the beach passing
directly in front of the Ti, and thence skirting along the border of the
groves.
I was reposing upon the mats, within the sacred building, in company with
Mehevi and several other chiefs, when the announcement was first made. It
sent a thrill of joy through my whole frame;—perhaps Toby was about
to return. I rose at once to my feet, and my instinctive impulse was to
hurry down to the beach, equally regardless of the distance that separated
me from it, and of my disabled condition. As soon as Mehevi noticed the
effect the intelligence had produced upon me, and the impatience I
betrayed to reach the sea, his countenance assumed that inflexible
rigidity of expression which had so awed me on the afternoon of our
arrival at the house of Marheyo. As I was proceeding to leave the Ti, he
laid his hand upon my shoulder, and said gravely, 'abo, abo' (wait, wait).
Solely intent upon the one thought that occupied my mind, and heedless of
his request, I was brushing past him, when suddenly he assumed a tone of
authority, and told me to 'moee' (sit down). Though struck by the
alteration in his demeanour, the excitement under which I laboured was too
strong to permit me to obey the unexpected command, and I was still
limping towards the edge of the pi-pi with Kory-Kory clinging to one arm
in his efforts to restrain me, when the natives around started to their
feet, ranged themselves along the open front of the building, while Mehevi
looked at me scowlingly, and reiterated his commands still more sternly.
It was at this moment, when fifty savage countenances were glaring upon
me, that I first truly experienced I was indeed a captive in the valley.
The conviction rushed upon me with staggering force, and I was overwhelmed
by this confirmation of my worst fears. I saw at once that it was useless
for me to resist, and sick at heart, I reseated myself upon the mats, and
for the moment abandoned myself to despair.
I now perceived the natives one after the other hurrying past the Ti and
pursuing the route that conducted to the sea. These savages, thought I,
will soon be holding communication with some of my own countrymen perhaps,
who with ease could restore me to liberty did they know of the situation I
was in. No language can describe the wretchedness which I felt; and in the
bitterness of my soul I imprecated a thousand curses on the perfidious
Toby, who had thus abandoned me to destruction. It was in vain that
Kory-Kory tempted me with food, or lighted my pipe, or sought to attract
my attention by performing the uncouth antics that had sometimes diverted
me. I was fairly knocked down by this last misfortune, which, much as I
had feared it, I had never before had the courage calmly to contemplate.
Regardless of everything but my own sorrow, I remained in the Ti for
several hours, until shouts proceeding at intervals from the groves beyond
the house proclaimed the return of the natives from the beach.
Whether any boats visited the bay that morning or not, I never could
ascertain. The savages assured me that there had not—but I was
inclined to believe that by deceiving me in this particular they sought to
allay the violence of my grief. However that might be, this incident
showed plainly that the Typees intended to hold me a prisoner. As they
still treated me with the same sedulous attention as before, I was utterly
at a loss how to account for their singular conduct. Had I been in a
situation to instruct them in any of the rudiments of the mechanic arts,
or had I manifested a disposition to render myself in any way useful among
them, their conduct might have been attributed to some adequate motive,
but as it was, the matter seemed to me inexplicable.
During my whole stay on the island there occurred but two or three
instances where the natives applied to me with the view of availing
themselves of my superior information; and these now appear so ludicrous
that I cannot forbear relating them.
The few things we had brought from Nukuheva had been done up into a small
bundle which we had carried with us in our descent to the valley. This
bundle, the first night of our arrival, I had used as a pillow, but on the
succeeding morning, opening it for the inspection of the natives, they
gazed upon the miscellaneous contents as though I had just revealed to
them a casket of diamonds, and they insisted that so precious a treasure
should be properly secured. A line was accordingly attached to it, and the
other end being passed over the ridge-pole of the house, it was hoisted up
to the apex of the roof, where it hung suspended directly over the mats
where I usually reclined. When I desired anything from it I merely raised
my finger to a bamboo beside me, and taking hold of the string which was
there fastened, lowered the package. This was exceedingly handy, and I
took care to let the natives understand how much I applauded the
invention. Of this package the chief contents were a razor with its case,
a supply of needles and thread, a pound or two of tobacco and a few yards
of bright-coloured calico.
I should have mentioned that shortly after Toby's disappearance,
perceiving the uncertainty of the time I might be obliged to remain in the
valley—if, indeed, I ever should escape from it—and
considering that my whole wardrobe consisted of a shirt and a pair of
trousers, I resolved to doff these garments at once, in order to preserve
them in a suitable condition for wear should I again appear among
civilized beings. I was consequently obliged to assume the Typee costume,
a little altered, however, to suit my own views of propriety, and in which
I have no doubt I appeared to as much advantage as a senator of Rome
enveloped in the folds of his toga. A few folds of yellow tappa tucked
about my waist, descended to my feet in the style of a lady's petticoat,
only I did not have recourse to those voluminous paddings in the rear with
which our gentle dames are in the habit of augmenting the sublime
rotundity of their figures. This usually comprised my in-door dress;
whenever I walked out, I superadded to it an ample robe of the same
material, which completely enveloped my person, and screened it from the
rays of the sun.
One morning I made a rent in this mantle; and to show the islanders with
what facility it could be repaired, I lowered my bundle, and taking from
it a needle and thread, proceeded to stitch up the opening. They regarded
this wonderful application of science with intense admiration; and whilst
I was stitching away, old Marheyo, who was one of the lookers-on, suddenly
clapped his hand to his forehead, and rushing to a corner of the house,
drew forth a soiled and tattered strip of faded calico which he must have
procured some time or other in traffic on the beach—and besought me
eagerly to exercise a little of my art upon it. I willingly complied,
though certainly so stumpy a needle as mine never took such gigantic
strides over calico before. The repairs completed, old Marheyo gave me a
paternal hug; and divesting himself of his 'maro' (girdle), swathed the
calico about his loins, and slipping the beloved ornaments into his ears,
grasped his spear and sallied out of the house, like a valiant Templar
arrayed in a new and costly suit of armour.
I never used my razor during my stay in the island, but although a very
subordinate affair, it had been vastly admired by the Typees; and
Narmonee, a great hero among them, who was exceedingly precise in the
arrangements of his toilet and the general adjustment of is person, being
the most accurately tattooed and laboriously horrified individual in all
the valley, thought it would be a great advantage to have it applied to
the already shaven crown of his head.
The implement they usually employ is a shark's tooth, which is about as
well adapted to the purpose as a one-pronged fork for pitching hay. No
wonder, then, that the acute Narmonee perceived the advantage my razor
possessed over the usual implement. Accordingly, one day he requested as a
personal favour that I would just run over his head with the razor. In
reply, I gave him to understand that it was too dull, and could not be
used to any purpose without being previously sharpened. To assist my
meaning, I went through an imaginary honing process on the palm of my
hand. Narmonee took my meaning in an instant, and running out of the
house, returned the next moment with a huge rough mass of rock as big as a
millstone, and indicated to me that that was exactly the thing I wanted.
Of course there was nothing left for me but to proceed to business, and I
began scraping away at a great rate. He writhed and wriggled under the
infliction, but, fully convinced of my skill, endured the pain like a
martyr.
Though I never saw Narmonee in battle I will, from what I then observed,
stake my life upon his courage and fortitude. Before commencing
operations, his head had presented a surface of short bristling hairs, and
by the time I had concluded my unskilful operation it resembled not a
little a stubble field after being gone over with a harrow. However, as
the chief expressed the liveliest satisfaction at the result, I was too
wise to dissent from his opinion.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
IMPROVEMENT IN HEALTH AND SPIRITS—FELICITY OF THE TYPEES—THEIR
ENJOYMENTS COMPARED WITH THOSE OF MORE ENLIGHTENED COMMUNITIES—COMPARATIVE
WICKEDNESS OF CIVILIZED AND UNENLIGHTENED PEOPLE—A SKIRMISH IN THE
MOUNTAIN WITH THE WARRIORS OF HAPPAR
DAY after day wore on, and still there was no perceptible change in the
conduct of the islanders towards me. Gradually I lost all knowledge of the
regular recurrence of the days of the week, and sunk insensibly into that
kind of apathy which ensues after some violent outburst of despair. My
limb suddenly healed, the swelling went down, the pain subsided, and I had
every reason to suppose I should soon completely recover from the
affliction that had so long tormented me.
As soon as I was enabled to ramble about the valley in company with the
natives, troops of whom followed me whenever I sallied out of the house, I
began to experience an elasticity of mind which placed me beyond the reach
of those dismal forebodings to which I had so lately been a prey. Received
wherever I went with the most deferential kindness; regaled perpetually
with the most delightful fruits; ministered to by dark-eyed nymphs, and
enjoying besides all the services of the devoted Kory-Kory, I thought
that, for a sojourn among cannibals, no man could have well made a more
agreeable one.
To be sure there were limits set to my wanderings. Toward the sea my
progress was barred by an express prohibition of the savages; and after
having made two or three ineffectual attempts to reach it, as much to
gratify my curiosity as anything else, I gave up the idea. It was in vain
to think of reaching it by stealth, since the natives escorted me in
numbers wherever I went, and not for one single moment that I can recall
to mind was I ever permitted to be alone.
The green and precipitous elevations that stood ranged around the head of
the vale where Marheyo's habitation was situated effectually precluded all
hope of escape in that quarter, even if I could have stolen away from the
thousand eyes of the savages.
But these reflections now seldom obtruded upon me; I gave myself up to the
passing hour, and if ever disagreeable thoughts arose in my mind, I drove
them away. When I looked around the verdant recess in which I was buried,
and gazed up to the summits of the lofty eminence that hemmed me in, I was
well disposed to think that I was in the 'Happy Valley', and that beyond
those heights there was naught but a world of care and anxiety. As I
extended my wanderings in the valley and grew more familiar with the
habits of its inmates, I was fain to confess that, despite the
disadvantages of his condition, the Polynesian savage, surrounded by all
the luxurious provisions of nature, enjoyed an infinitely happier, though
certainly a less intellectual existence than the self-complacent European.
The naked wretch who shivers beneath the bleak skies, and starves among
the inhospitable wilds of Tierra-del-Fuego, might indeed be made happier
by civilization, for it would alleviate his physical wants. But the
voluptuous Indian, with every desire supplied, whom Providence has
bountifully provided with all the sources of pure and natural enjoyment,
and from whom are removed so many of the ills and pains of life—what
has he to desire at the hands of Civilization? She may 'cultivate his mind—may
elevate his thoughts,'—these I believe are the established phrases—but
will he be the happier? Let the once smiling and populous Hawaiian
islands, with their now diseased, starving, and dying natives, answer the
question. The missionaries may seek to disguise the matter as they will,
but the facts are incontrovertible; and the devoutest Christian who visits
that group with an unbiased mind, must go away mournfully asking—'Are
these, alas! the fruits of twenty-five years of enlightening?'
In a primitive state of society, the enjoyments of life, though few and
simple, are spread over a great extent, and are unalloyed; but
Civilization, for every advantage she imparts, holds a hundred evils in
reserve;—the heart-burnings, the jealousies, the social rivalries,
the family dissentions, and the thousand self-inflicted discomforts of
refined life, which make up in units the swelling aggregate of human
misery, are unknown among these unsophisticated people.
But it will be urged that these shocking unprincipled wretches are
cannibals. Very true; and a rather bad trait in their character it must be
allowed. But they are such only when they seek to gratify the passion of
revenge upon their enemies; and I ask whether the mere eating of human
flesh so very far exceeds in barbarity that custom which only a few years
since was practised in enlightened England:—a convicted traitor,
perhaps a man found guilty of honesty, patriotism, and suchlike heinous
crimes, had his head lopped off with a huge axe, his bowels dragged out
and thrown into a fire; while his body, carved into four quarters, was
with his head exposed upon pikes, and permitted to rot and fester among
the public haunts of men!
The fiend-like skill we display in the invention of all manner of
death-dealing engines, the vindictiveness with which we carry on our wars,
and the misery and desolation that follow in their train, are enough of
themselves to distinguish the white civilized man as the most ferocious
animal on the face of the earth.
His remorseless cruelty is seen in many of the institutions of our own
favoured land. There is one in particular lately adopted in one of the
States of the Union, which purports to have been dictated by the most
merciful considerations. To destroy our malefactors piece-meal, drying up
in their veins, drop by drop, the blood we are too chicken-hearted to shed
by a single blow which would at once put a period to their sufferings, is
deemed to be infinitely preferable to the old-fashioned punishment of
gibbeting—much less annoying to the victim, and more in accordance
with the refined spirit of the age; and yet how feeble is all language to
describe the horrors we inflict upon these wretches, whom we mason up in
the cells of our prisons, and condemn to perpetual solitude in the very
heart of our population.
But it is needless to multiply the examples of civilized barbarity; they
far exceed in the amount of misery they cause the crimes which we regard
with such abhorrence in our less enlightened fellow-creatures.
The term 'Savage' is, I conceive, often misapplied, and indeed, when I
consider the vices, cruelties, and enormities of every kind that spring up
in the tainted atmosphere of a feverish civilization, I am inclined to
think that so far as the relative wickedness of the parties is concerned,
four or five Marquesan Islanders sent to the United States as Missionaries
might be quite as useful as an equal number of Americans despatched to the
Islands in a similar capacity.
I once heard it given as an instance of the frightful depravity of a
certain tribe in the Pacific that they had no word in their language to
express the idea of virtue. The assertion was unfounded; but were it
otherwise, it might be met by stating that their language is almost
entirely destitute of terms to express the delightful ideas conveyed by
our endless catalogue of civilized crimes.
In the altered frame of mind to which I have referred, every object that
presented itself to my notice in the valley struck me in a new light, and
the opportunities I now enjoyed of observing the manners of its inmates,
tended to strengthen my favourable impressions. One peculiarity that fixed
my admiration was the perpetual hilarity reigning through the whole extent
of the vale.
There seemed to be no cares, griefs, troubles, or vexations, in all Typee.
The hours tripped along as gaily as the laughing couples down a country
dance.
There were none of those thousand sources of irritation that the ingenuity
of civilized man has created to mar his own felicity. There were no
foreclosures of mortgages, no protested notes, no bills payable, no debts
of honour in Typee; no unreasonable tailors and shoemakers perversely bent
on being paid; no duns of any description and battery attorneys, to foment
discord, backing their clients up to a quarrel, and then knocking their
heads together; no poor relations, everlastingly occupying the spare
bed-chamber, and diminishing the elbow room at the family table; no
destitute widows with their children starving on the cold charities of the
world; no beggars; no debtors' prisons; no proud and hard-hearted nabobs
in Typee; or to sum up all in one word—no Money! 'That root of all
evil' was not to be found in the valley.
In this secluded abode of happiness there were no cross old women, no
cruel step-dames, no withered spinsters, no lovesick maidens, no sour old
bachelors, no inattentive husbands, no melancholy young men, no blubbering
youngsters, and no squalling brats. All was mirth, fun and high good
humour. Blue devils, hypochondria, and doleful dumps, went and hid
themselves among the nooks and crannies of the rocks.
Here you would see a parcel of children frolicking together the live-long
day, and no quarrelling, no contention, among them. The same number in our
own land could not have played together for the space of an hour without
biting or scratching one another. There you might have seen a throng of
young females, not filled with envyings of each other's charms, nor
displaying the ridiculous affectations of gentility, nor yet moving in
whalebone corsets, like so many automatons, but free, inartificially
happy, and unconstrained.
There were some spots in that sunny vale where they would frequently
resort to decorate themselves with garlands of flowers. To have seen them
reclining beneath the shadows of one of the beautiful groves; the ground
about them strewn with freshly gathered buds and blossoms, employed in
weaving chaplets and necklaces, one would have thought that all the train
of Flora had gathered together to keep a festival in honour of their
mistress.
With the young men there seemed almost always some matter of diversion or
business on hand that afforded a constant variety of enjoyment. But
whether fishing, or carving canoes, or polishing their ornaments, never
was there exhibited the least sign of strife or contention among them. As
for the warriors, they maintained a tranquil dignity of demeanour,
journeying occasionally from house to house, where they were always sure
to be received with the attention bestowed upon distinguished guests. The
old men, of whom there were many in the vale, seldom stirred from their
mats, where they would recline for hours and hours, smoking and talking to
one another with all the garrulity of age.
But the continual happiness, which so far as I was able to judge appeared
to prevail in the valley, sprang principally from that all-pervading
sensation which Rousseau has told us be at one time experienced, the mere
buoyant sense of a healthful physical existence. And indeed in this
particular the Typees had ample reason to felicitate themselves, for
sickness was almost unknown. During the whole period of my stay I saw but
one invalid among them; and on their smooth skins you observed no blemish
or mark of disease.
The general repose, however, upon which I have just been descanting, was
broken in upon about this time by an event which proved that the islanders
were not entirely exempt from those occurrences which disturb the quiet of
more civilized communities.
Having now been a considerable time in the valley, I began to feel
surprised that the violent hostility subsisting between its inhabitants,
and those of the adjoining bay of Happar, should never have manifested
itself in any warlike encounter. Although the valiant Typees would often
by gesticulations declare their undying hatred against their enemies, and
the disgust they felt at their cannibal propensities; although they
dilated upon the manifold injuries they had received at their hands, yet
with a forbearance truly commendable, they appeared to sit down under
their grievances, and to refrain from making any reprisals. The Happars,
entrenched behind their mountains, and never even showing themselves on
their summits, did not appear to me to furnish adequate cause for that
excess of animosity evinced towards them by the heroic tenants of our
vale, and I was inclined to believe that the deeds of blood attributed to
them had been greatly exaggerated.
On the other hand, as the clamours of war had not up to this period
disturbed the serenity of the tribe, I began to distrust the truth of
those reports which ascribed so fierce and belligerent a character to the
Typee nation. Surely, thought I, all these terrible stories I have heard
about the inveteracy with which they carried on the feud, their deadly
intensity, of hatred and the diabolical malice with which they glutted
their revenge upon the inanimate forms of the slain, are nothing more than
fables, and I must confess that I experienced something like a sense of
regret at having my hideous anticipations thus disappointed. I felt in
some sort like a 'prentice boy who, going to the play in the expectation
of being delighted with a cut-and-thrust tragedy, is almost moved to tears
of disappointment at the exhibition of a genteel comedy.
I could not avoid thinking that I had fallen in with a greatly traduced
people, and I moralized not a little upon the disadvantage of having a bad
name, which in this instance had given a tribe of savages, who were as
pacific as so many lambkins, the reputation of a confederacy of
giant-killers.
But subsequent events proved that I had been a little too premature in
coming to this conclusion. One, day about noon, happening to be at the Ti,
I had lain down on the mats with several of the chiefs, and had gradually
sunk into a most luxurious siesta, when I was awakened by a tremendous
outcry, and starting up beheld the natives seizing their spears and
hurrying out, while the most puissant of the chiefs, grasping the six
muskets which were ranged against the bamboos, followed after, and soon
disappeared in the groves. These movements were accompanied by wild
shouts, in which 'Happar, Happar,' greatly predominated. The islanders
were now seen running past the Ti, and striking across the valley to the
Happar side. Presently I heard the sharp report of a musket from the
adjoining hills, and then a burst of voices in the same direction. At this
the women who had congregated in the groves, set up the most violent
clamours, as they invariably do here as elsewhere on every occasion of
excitement and alarm, with a view of tranquillizing their own minds and
disturbing other people. On this particular occasion they made such an
outrageous noise, and continued it with such perseverance, that for
awhile, had entire volleys of musketry been fired off in the neighbouring
mountains, I should not have been able to have heard them.
When this female commotion had a little subsided I listened eagerly for
further information. At last bang went another shot, and then a second
volley of yells from the hills. Again all was quiet, and continued so for
such a length of time that I began to think the contending armies had
agreed upon a suspension of hostilities; when pop went a third gun,
followed as before with a yell. After this, for nearly two hours nothing
occurred worthy of comment, save some straggling shouts from the hillside,
sounding like the halloos of a parcel of truant boys who had lost
themselves in the woods.
During this interval I had remained standing on the piazza of the 'Ti,'
which directly fronted the Happar mountain, and with no one near me but
Kory-Kory and the old superannuated savages I have described. These latter
never stirred from their mats, and seemed altogether unconscious that
anything unusual was going on.
As for Kory-Kory, he appeared to think that we were in the midst of great
events, and sought most zealously to impress me with a due sense of their
importance. Every sound that reached us conveyed some momentous item of
intelligence to him. At such times, as if he were gifted with second
sight, he would go through a variety of pantomimic illustrations, showing
me the precise manner in which the redoubtable Typees were at that very
moment chastising the insolence of the enemy. 'Mehevi hanna pippee nuee
Happar,' he exclaimed every five minutes, giving me to understand that
under that distinguished captain the warriors of his nation were
performing prodigies of valour.
Having heard only four reports from the muskets, I was led to believe that
they were worked by the islanders in the same manner as the Sultan
Solyman's ponderous artillery at the siege of Byzantium, one of them
taking an hour or two to load and train. At last, no sound whatever
proceeding from the mountains, I concluded that the contest had been
determined one way or the other. Such appeared, indeed, to be the case,
for in a little while a courier arrived at the 'Ti', almost breathless
with his exertions, and communicated the news of a great victory having
been achieved by his countrymen: 'Happar poo arva!—Happar poo arva!'
(the cowards had fled). Kory-Kory was in ecstasies, and commenced a
vehement harangue, which, so far as I understood it, implied that the
result exactly agreed with his expectations, and which, moreover, was
intended to convince me that it would be a perfectly useless undertaking,
even for an army of fire-eaters, to offer battle to the irresistible
heroes of our valley. In all this I of course acquiesced, and looked
forward with no little interest to the return of the conquerors, whose
victory I feared might not have been purchased without cost to themselves.
But here I was again mistaken; for Mehevi, in conducting his warlike
operations, rather inclined to the Fabian than to the Bonapartean tactics,
husbanding his resources and exposing his troops to no unnecessary
hazards. The total loss of the victors in this obstinately contested
affair was, in killed, wounded, and missing—one forefinger and part
of a thumb-nail (which the late proprietor brought along with him in his
hand), a severely contused arm, and a considerable effusion of blood
flowing from the thigh of a chief, who had received an ugly thrust from a
Happar spear. What the enemy had suffered I could not discover, but I
presume they had succeeded in taking off with them the bodies of their
slain.
Such was the issue of the battle, as far as its results came under my
observation: and as it appeared to be considered an event of prodigious
importance, I reasonably concluded that the wars of the natives were
marked by no very sanguinary traits. I afterwards learned how the skirmish
had originated. A number of the Happars had been discovered prowling for
no good purpose on the Typee side of the mountain; the alarm sounded, and
the invaders, after a protracted resistance, had been chased over the
frontier. But why had not the intrepid Mehevi carried the war into Happar?
Why had he not made a descent into the hostile vale, and brought away some
trophy of his victory—some materials for the cannibal entertainment
which I had heard usually terminated every engagement? After all, I was
much inclined to believe that these shocking festivals must occur very
rarely among the islanders, if, indeed, they ever take place.
For two or three days the late event was the theme of general comment;
after which the excitement gradually wore away, and the valley resumed its
accustomed tranquility.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
SWIMMING IN COMPANY WITH THE GIRLS OF THE VALLEY—A CANOE—EFFECTS
OF THE TABOO—A PLEASURE EXCURSION ON THE POND—BEAUTIFUL FREAK
OF FAYAWAY—MANTUA-MAKING—A STRANGER ARRIVES IN THE VALLEY—HIS
MYSTERIOUS CONDUCT—NATIVE ORATORY—THE INTERVIEW—ITS
RESULTS—DEPARTURE OF THE STRANGER
RETURNING health and peace of mind gave a new interest to everything
around me. I sought to diversify my time by as many enjoyments as lay
within my reach. Bathing in company with troops of girls formed one of my
chief amusements. We sometimes enjoyed the recreation in the waters of a
miniature lake, to which the central stream of the valley expanded. This
lovely sheet of water was almost circular in figure, and about three
hundred yards across. Its beauty was indescribable. All around its banks
waved luxuriant masses of tropical foliage, soaring high above which were
seen, here and there, the symmetrical shaft of the cocoanut tree,
surmounted by its tufts of graceful branches, drooping in the air like so
many waving ostrich plumes.
The ease and grace with which the maidens of the valley propelled
themselves through the water, and their familiarity with the element, were
truly astonishing. Sometimes they might be seen gliding along just under
the surface, without apparently moving hand or foot—then throwing
themselves on their sides, they darted through the water, revealing
glimpses of their forms, as, in the course of their rapid progress, they
shot for an instant partly into the air—at one moment they dived
deep down into the water, and the next they rose bounding to the surface.
I remember upon one occasion plunging in among a parcel of these
river-nymphs, and counting vainly on my superior strength, sought to drag
some of them under the water, but I quickly repented my temerity. The
amphibious young creatures swarmed about me like a shoal of dolphins, and
seizing hold of my devoted limbs, tumbled me about and ducked me under the
surface, until from the strange noises which rang in my ears, and the
supernatural visions dancing before my eyes, I thought I was in the land
of the spirits. I stood indeed as little chance among them as a cumbrous
whale attacked on all sides by a legion of swordfish. When at length they
relinquished their hold of me, they swam away in every direction, laughing
at my clumsy endeavours to reach them.
There was no boat on the lake; but at my solicitation and for my special
use, some of the young men attached to Marheyo's household, under the
direction of the indefatigable Kory-Kory, brought up a light and
tastefully carved canoe from the sea. It was launched upon the sheet of
water, and floated there as gracefully as a swan. But, melancholy to
relate, it produced an effect I had not anticipated. The sweet nymphs, who
had sported with me before on the lake, now all fled its vicinity. The
prohibited craft, guarded by the edicts of the 'taboo,' extended the
prohibition to the waters in which it lay.
For a few days, Kory-Kory, with one or two other youths, accompanied me in
my excursions to the lake, and while I paddled about in my light canoe,
would swim after me shouting and gambolling in pursuit. But I as ever
partial to what is termed in the 'Young Men's Own Book'—'the society
of virtuous and intelligent young ladies;' and in the absence of the
mermaids, the amusement became dull and insipid. One morning I expressed
to my faithful servitor my desire for the return of the nymphs. The honest
fellow looked at me bewildered for a moment, and then shook his head
solemnly, and murmured 'taboo! taboo!' giving me to understand that unless
the canoe was removed I could not expect to have the young ladies back
again. But to this procedure I was averse; I not only wanted the canoe to
stay where it was, but I wanted the beauteous Fayaway to get into it, and
paddle with me about the lake. This latter proposition completely
horrified Kory-Kory's notions of propriety. He inveighed against it, as
something too monstrous to be thought of. It not only shocked their
established notions of propriety, but was at variance with all their
religious ordinances.
However, although the 'taboo' was a ticklish thing to meddle with, I
determined to test its capabilities of resisting an attack. I consulted
the chief Mehevi, who endeavoured to dissuade me from my object; but I was
not to be repulsed; and accordingly increased the warmth of my
solicitations. At last he entered into a long, and I have no doubt a very
learned and eloquent exposition of the history and nature of the 'taboo'
as affecting this particular case; employing a variety of most
extraordinary words, which, from their amazing length and sonorousness, I
have every reason to believe were of a theological nature. But all that he
said failed to convince me: partly, perhaps, because I could not
comprehend a word that he uttered; but chiefly, that for the life of me I
could not understand why a woman would not have as much right to enter a
canoe as a man. At last he became a little more rational, and intimated
that, out of the abundant love he bore me, he would consult with the
priests and see what could be done.
How it was that the priesthood of Typee satisfied the affair with their
consciences, I know not; but so it was, and Fayaway dispensation from this
portion of the taboo was at length procured. Such an event I believe never
before had occurred in the valley; but it was high time the islanders
should be taught a little gallantry, and I trust that the example I set
them may produce beneficial effects. Ridiculous, indeed, that the lovely
creatures should be obliged to paddle about in the water, like so many
ducks, while a parcel of great strapping fellows skimmed over its surface
in their canoes.
The first day after Fayaway's emancipation, I had a delightful little
party on the lake—the damsels' Kory-Kory, and myself. My zealous
body-servant brought from the house a calabash of poee-poee, half a dozen
young cocoanuts—stripped of their husks—three pipes, as many
yams, and me on his back a part of the way. Something of a load; but
Kory-Kory was a very strong man for his size, and by no means brittle in
the spine. We had a very pleasant day; my trusty valet plied the paddle
and swept us gently along the margin of the water, beneath the shades of
the overhanging thickets. Fayaway and I reclined in the stern of the
canoe, on the very best terms possible with one another; the gentle nymph
occasionally placing her pipe to her lip, and exhaling the mild fumes of
the tobacco, to which her rosy breath added a fresh perfume. Strange as it
may seem, there is nothing in which a young and beautiful female appears
to more advantage than in the act of smoking. How captivating is a
Peruvian lady, swinging in her gaily-woven hammock of grass, extended
between two orange-trees, and inhaling the fragrance of a choice cigarro!
But Fayaway, holding in her delicately formed olive hand the long yellow
reed of her pipe, with its quaintly carved bowl, and every few moments
languishingly giving forth light wreaths of vapour from her mouth and
nostrils, looked still more engaging.
We floated about thus for several hours, when I looked up to the warm,
glowing, tropical sky, and then down into the transparent depths below;
and when my eye, wandering from the bewitching scenery around, fell upon
the grotesquely-tattooed form of Kory-Kory, and finally, encountered the
pensive gaze of Fayaway, I thought I had been transported to some fairy
region, so unreal did everything appear.
This lovely piece of water was the coolest spot in all the valley, and I
now made it a place of continual resort during the hottest period of the
day. One side of it lay near the termination of a long gradually expanding
gorge, which mounted to the heights that environed the vale. The strong
trade wind, met in its course by these elevations, circled and eddied
about their summits, and was sometimes driven down the steep ravine and
swept across the valley, ruffling in its passage the otherwise tranquil
surface of the lake.
One day, after we had been paddling about for some time, I disembarked
Kory-Kory, and paddled the canoe to the windward side of the lake. As I
turned the canoe, Fayaway, who was with me, seemed all at once to be
struck with some happy idea. With a wild exclamation of delight, she
disengaged from her person the ample robe of tappa which was knotted over
her shoulder (for the purpose of shielding her from the sun), and
spreading it out like a sail, stood erect with upraised arms in the head
of the canoe. We American sailors pride ourselves upon our straight, clean
spars, but a prettier little mast than Fayaway made was never shipped
aboard of any craft.
In a moment the tappa was distended by the breeze—the long brown
tresses of Fayaway streamed in the air—and the canoe glided rapidly
through the water, and shot towards the shore. Seated in the stern, I
directed its course with my paddle until it dashed up the soft sloping
bank, and Fayaway, with a light spring alighted on the ground; whilst
Kory-Kory, who had watched our manoeuvres with admiration, now clapped his
hands in transport, and shouted like a madman. Many a time afterwards was
this feat repeated.
If the reader has not observed ere this that I was the declared admirer of
Miss Fayaway, all I can say is that he is little conversant with affairs
of the heart, and I certainly shall not trouble myself to enlighten him
any farther. Out of the calico I had brought from the ship I made a dress
for this lovely girl. In it she looked, I must confess, something like an
opera-dancer.
The drapery of the latter damsel generally commences a little above the
elbows, but my island beauty's began at the waist, and terminated
sufficiently far above the ground to reveal the most bewitching ankle in
the universe.
The day that Fayaway first wore this robe was rendered memorable by a new
acquaintance being introduced to me. In the afternoon I was lying in the
house when I heard a great uproar outside; but being by this time pretty
well accustomed to the wild halloos which were almost continually ringing
through the valley, I paid little attention to it, until old Marheyo,
under the influence of some strange excitement, rushed into my presence
and communicated the astounding tidings, 'Marnoo pemi!' which being
interpreted, implied that an individual by the name of Marnoo was
approaching.
My worthy old friend evidently expected that this intelligence would
produce a great effect upon me, and for a time he stood earnestly
regarding me, as if curious to see how I should conduct myself, but as I
remained perfectly unmoved, the old gentleman darted out of the house
again, in as great a hurry as he had entered it.
'Marnoo, Marnoo,' cogitated I, 'I have never heard that name before. Some
distinguished character, I presume, from the prodigious riot the natives
are making;' the tumultuous noise drawing nearer and nearer every moment,
while 'Marnoo!—Marnoo!' was shouted by every tongue.
I made up my mind that some savage warrior of consequence, who had not yet
enjoyed the honour of an audience, was desirous of paying his respects on
the present occasion. So vain had I become by the lavish attention to
which I had been accustomed, that I felt half inclined, as a punishment
for such neglect, to give this Marnoo a cold reception, when the excited
throng came within view, convoying one of the most striking specimens of
humanity that I ever beheld.
The stranger could not have been more than twenty-five years of age, and
was a little above the ordinary height; had he a single hair's breadth
taller, the matchless symmetry of his form would have been destroyed. His
unclad limbs were beautifully formed; whilst the elegant outline of his
figure, together with his beardless cheeks, might have entitled him to the
distinction of standing for the statue of the Polynesian Apollo; and
indeed the oval of his countenance and the regularity of every feature
reminded one of an antique bust. But the marble repose of art was supplied
by a warmth and liveliness of expression only to be seen in the South Sea
Islander under the most favourable developments of nature. The hair of
Marnoo was a rich curling brown, and twined about his temples and neck in
little close curling ringlets, which danced up and down continually, when
he was animated in conversation. His cheek was of a feminine softness, and
his face was free from the least blemish of tattooing, although the rest
of his body was drawn all over with fanciful figures, which—unlike
the unconnected sketching usual among these natives—appeared to have
been executed in conformity with some general design.
The tattooing on his back in particular attracted my attention. The artist
employed must indeed have excelled in his profession. Traced along the
course of the spine was accurately delineated the slender, tapering and
diamond checkered shaft of the beautiful 'artu' tree. Branching from the
stem on each side, and disposed alternately, were the graceful branches
drooping with leaves all correctly drawn and elaborately finished. Indeed
the best specimen of the Fine Arts I had yet seen in Typee. A rear view of
the stranger might have suggested the idea of a spreading vine tacked
against a garden wall. Upon his breast, arms and legs, were exhibited an
infinite variety of figures; every one of which, however, appeared to have
reference to the general effect sought to be produced. The tattooing I
have described was of the brightest blue, and when contrasted with the
light olive-colour of the skin, produced an unique and even elegant
effect. A slight girdle of white tappa, scarcely two inches in width, but
hanging before and behind in spreading tassels, composed the entire
costume of the stranger.
He advanced surrounded by the islanders, carrying under one arm a small
roll of native cloth, and grasping in his other hand a long and richly
decorated spear. His manner was that of a traveller conscious that he is
approaching a comfortable stage in his journey. Every moment he turned
good-humouredly on the throng around him, and gave some dashing sort of
reply to their incessant queries, which appeared to convulse them with
uncontrollable mirth.
Struck by his demeanour, and the peculiarity of his appearance, so unlike
that of the shaven-crowned and face-tattooed natives in general, I
involuntarily rose as he entered the house, and proffered him a seat on
the mats beside me. But without deigning to notice the civility, or even
the more incontrovertible fact of my existence, the stranger passed on,
utterly regardless of me, and flung himself upon the further end of the
long couch that traversed the sole apartment of Marheyo's habitation.
Had the belle of the season, in the pride of her beauty and power, been
cut in a place of public resort by some supercilious exquisite, she could
not have felt greater indignation than I did at this unexpected slight.
I was thrown into utter astonishment. The conduct of the savages had
prepared me to anticipate from every newcomer the same extravagant
expressions of curiosity and regard. The singularity of his conduct,
however, only roused my desire to discover who this remarkable personage
might be, who now engrossed the attention of every one.
Tinor placed before him a calabash of poee-poee, from which the stranger
regaled himself, alternating every mouthful with some rapid exclamation,
which was eagerly caught up and echoed by the crowd that completely filled
the house. When I observed the striking devotion of the natives to him,
and their temporary withdrawal of all attention from myself, I felt not a
little piqued. The glory of Tommo is departed, thought I, and the sooner
he removes from the valley the better. These were my feelings at the
moment, and they were prompted by that glorious principle inherent in all
heroic natures—the strong-rooted determination to have the biggest
share of the pudding or to go without any of it.
Marnoo, that all-attractive personage, having satisfied his hunger and
inhaled a few whiffs from a pipe which was handed to him, launched out
into an harangue which completely enchained the attention of his auditors.
Little as I understood of the language, yet from his animated gestures and
the varying expression of his features—reflected as from so many
mirrors in the countenances around him, I could easily discover the nature
of those passions which he sought to arouse. From the frequent recurrence
of the words 'Nukuheva' and 'Frannee' (French), and some others with the
meaning of which I was acquainted, he appeared to be rehearsing to his
auditors events which had recently occurred in the neighbouring bays. But
how he had gained the knowledge of these matters I could not understand,
unless it were that he had just come from Nukuheva—a supposition
which his travel-stained appearance not a little supported. But, if a
native of that region, I could not account for his friendly reception at
the hands of the Typees.
Never, certainly, had I beheld so powerful an exhibition of natural
eloquence as Marnoo displayed during the course of his oration. The grace
of the attitudes into which he threw his flexible figure, the striking
gestures of his naked arms, and above all, the fire which shot from his
brilliant eyes, imparted an effect to the continually changing accents of
his voice, of which the most accomplished orator might have been proud. At
one moment reclining sideways upon the mat, and leaning calmly upon his
bended arm, he related circumstantially the aggressions of the French—their
hostile visits to the surrounding bays, enumerating each one in succession—Happar,
Puerka, Nukuheva, Tior,—and then starting to his feet and
precipitating himself forward with clenched hands and a countenance
distorted with passion, he poured out a tide of invectives. Falling back
into an attitude of lofty command, he exhorted the Typees to resist these
encroachments; reminding them, with a fierce glance of exultation, that as
yet the terror of their name had preserved them from attack, and with a
scornful sneer he sketched in ironical terms the wondrous intrepidity of
the French, who, with five war-canoes and hundreds of men, had not dared
to assail the naked warriors of their valley.
The effect he produced upon his audience was electric; one and all they
stood regarding him with sparkling eyes and trembling limbs, as though
they were listening to the inspired voice of a prophet.
But it soon appeared that Marnoo's powers were as versatile as they were
extraordinary. As soon as he had finished his vehement harangue, he threw
himself again upon the mats, and, singling out individuals in the crowd,
addressed them by name, in a sort of bantering style, the humour of which,
though nearly hidden from me filled the whole assembly with uproarious
delight.
He had a word for everybody; and, turning rapidly from one to another,
gave utterance to some hasty witticism, which was sure to be followed by
peals of laughter. To the females as well as to the men, he addressed his
discourse. Heaven only knows what he said to them, but he caused smiles
and blushes to mantle their ingenuous faces. I am, indeed, very much
inclined to believe that Marnoo, with his handsome person and captivating
manners, was a sad deceiver among the simple maidens of the island.
During all this time he had never, for one moment, deigned to regard me.
He appeared, indeed, to be altogether unconscious of my presence. I was
utterly at a loss how to account for this extraordinary conduct. I easily
perceived that he was a man of no little consequence among the islanders;
that he possessed uncommon talents; and was gifted with a higher degree of
knowledge than the inmates of the valley. For these reasons, I therefore
greatly feared lest having, from some cause or other, unfriendly feelings
towards me, he might exert his powerful influence to do me mischief.
It seemed evident that he was not a permanent resident of the vale, and
yet, whence could he have come? On all sides the Typees were girt in by
hostile tribes, and how could he possibly, if belonging to any of these,
be received with so much cordiality?
The personal appearance of the enigmatical stranger suggested additional
perplexities. The face, free from tattooing, and the unshaven crown, were
peculiarities I had never before remarked in any part of the island, and I
had always heard that the contrary were considered the indispensable
distinction of a Marquesan warrior. Altogether the matter was perfectly
incomprehensible to me, and I awaited its solution with no small degree of
anxiety.
At length, from certain indications, I suspected that he was making me the
subject of his remarks, although he appeared cautiously to avoid either
pronouncing my name, or looking in the direction where I lay. All at once
he rose from the mats where he had been reclining, and, still conversing,
moved towards me, his eye purposely evading mine, and seated himself
within less than a yard of me. I had hardly recovered from my surprise,
when he suddenly turned round, and, with a most benignant countenance
extended his right hand gracefully towards me. Of course I accepted the
courteous challenge, and, as soon as our palms met, he bent towards me,
and murmured in musical accents—'How you do?' 'How long you been in
this bay?' 'You like this bay?'
Had I been pierced simultaneously by three Happar spears, I could not have
started more than I did at hearing these simple questions. For a moment I
was overwhelmed with astonishment, and then answered something I know not
what; but as soon as I regained my self-possession, the thought darted
through my mind that from this individual I might obtain that information
regarding Toby which I suspected the natives had purposely withheld from
me. Accordingly I questioned him concerning the disappearance of my
companion, but he denied all knowledge of the matter. I then inquired from
whence he had come? He replied, from Nukuheva. When I expressed my
surprise, he looked at me for a moment, as if enjoying my perplexity, and
then with his strange vivacity, exclaimed,—'Ah! Me taboo,—me
go Nukuheva,—me go Tior,—me go Typee,—me go everywhere,—nobody
harm me,—me taboo.'
This explanation would have been altogether unintelligible to me, had it
not recalled to my mind something I had previously heard concerning a
singular custom among these islanders. Though the country is possessed by
various tribes, whose mutual hostilities almost wholly prelude any
intercourse between them; yet there are instances where a person having
ratified friendly relations with some individual belonging longing to the
valley, whose inmates are at war with his own, may, under particular
restrictions, venture with impunity into the country of his friend, where,
under other circumstances, he would have been treated as an enemy. In this
light are personal friendships regarded among them, and the individual so
protected is said to be 'taboo', and his person, to a certain extent, is
held as sacred. Thus the stranger informed me he had access to all the
valleys in the island.
Curious to know how he had acquired his knowledge of English, I questioned
him on the subject. At first, for some reason or other, he evaded the
inquiry, but afterwards told me that, when a boy, he had been carried to
sea by the captain of a trading vessel, with whom he had stayed three
years, living part of the time with him at Sidney in Australia, and that
at a subsequent visit to the island, the captain had, at his own request,
permitted him to remain among his countrymen. The natural quickness of the
savage had been wonderfully improved by his intercourse with the white
men, and his partial knowledge of a foreign language gave him a great
ascendancy over his less accomplished countrymen.
When I asked the now affable Marnoo why it was that he had not previously
spoken to me, he eagerly inquired what I had been led to think of him from
his conduct in that respect. I replied, that I had supposed him to be some
great chief or warrior, who had seen plenty of white men before, and did
not think it worth while to notice a poor sailor. At this declaration of
the exalted opinion I had formed of him, he appeared vastly gratified, and
gave me to understand that he had purposely behaved in that manner, in
order to increase my astonishment, as soon as he should see proper to
address me.
Marnoo now sought to learn my version of the story as to how I came to be
an inmate of the Typee valley. When I related to him the circumstances
under which Toby and I had entered it, he listened with evident interest;
but as soon as I alluded to the absence, yet unaccounted for, of my
comrade, he endeavoured to change the subject, as if it were something he
desired not to agitate. It seemed, indeed, as if everything connected with
Toby was destined to beget distrust and anxiety in my bosom.
Notwithstanding Marnoo's denial of any knowledge of his fate, I could not
avoid suspecting that he was deceiving me; and this suspicion revived
those frightful apprehensions with regard to my own fate, which, for a
short time past, had subsided in my breast.
Influenced by these feelings, I now felt a strong desire to avail myself
of the stranger's protection, and under his safeguard to return to
Nukuheva. But as soon as I hinted at this, he unhesitatingly pronounced it
to be entirely impracticable; assuring me that the Typees would never
consent to my leaving the valley. Although what he said merely confirmed
the impression which I had before entertained, still it increased my
anxiety to escape from a captivity which, however endurable, nay,
delightful it might be in some respects, involved in its issues a fate
marked by the most frightful contingencies.
I could not conceal from my mind that Toby had been treated in the same
friendly manner as I had been, and yet all their kindness terminated with
his mysterious disappearance. Might not the same fate await me?—a
fate too dreadful to think of. Stimulated by these considerations, I urged
anew my request to Marnoo; but he only set forth in stronger colours the
impossibility of my escape, and repeated his previous declaration that the
Typees would never be brought to consent to my departure.
When I endeavoured to learn from him the motives which prompted them to
hold me a prisoner, Marnoo again presumed that mysterious tone which had
tormented me with apprehension when I had questioned him with regard to
the fate of my companion.
Thus repulsed, in a manner which only served, by arousing the most
dreadful forebodings, to excite me to renewed attempts, I conjured him to
intercede for me with the natives, and endeavour to procure their consent
to my leaving them. To this he appeared strongly averse; but, yielding at
last to my importunities, he addressed several of the chiefs, who with the
rest had been eyeing us intently during the whole of our conversation. His
petition, however, was at once met with the most violent disapprobation,
manifesting itself in angry glances and gestures, and a perfect torrent of
passionate words, directed to both him and myself. Marnoo, evidently
repenting the step he had taken, earnestly deprecated the resentment of
the crowd, and, in a few moments succeeded in pacifying to some extent the
clamours which had broken out as soon as his proposition had been
understood.
With the most intense interest had I watched the reception his
intercession might receive; and a bitter pang shot through my heart at the
additional evidence, now furnished, of the unchangeable determination of
the islanders. Marnoo told me with evident alarm in his countenance, that
although admitted into the bay on a friendly footing with its inhabitants,
he could not presume to meddle with their concerns, as such procedure, if
persisted in, would at once absolve the Typees from the restraints of the
'taboo', although so long as he refrained from such conduct, it screened
him effectually from the consequences of the enmity they bore his tribe.
At this moment, Mehevi, who was present, angrily interrupted him; and the
words which he uttered in a commanding tone, evidently meant that he must
at once cease talking to me and withdraw to the other part of the house.
Marnoo immediately started up, hurriedly enjoining me not to address him
again, and as I valued my safety, to refrain from all further allusion to
the subject of my departure; and then, in compliance with the order of the
determined chief, but not before it had again been angrily repeated, he
withdrew to a distance.
I now perceived, with no small degree of apprehension, the same savage
expression in the countenances of the natives, which had startled me
during the scene at the Ti. They glanced their eyes suspiciously from
Marnoo to me, as if distrusting the nature of an intercourse carried on,
as it was, in a language they could not understand, and they seemed to
harbour the belief that already we had concerted measures calculated to
elude their vigilance.
The lively countenances of these people are wonderfully indicative of the
emotions of the soul, and the imperfections of their oral language are
more than compensated for by the nervous eloquence of their looks and
gestures. I could plainly trace, in every varying expression of their
faces, all those passions which had been thus unexpectedly aroused in
their bosoms.
It required no reflection to convince me, from what was going on, that the
injunction of Marnoo was not to be rashly slighted; and accordingly, great
as was the effort to suppress my feelings, I accosted Mehevi in a
good-humoured tone, with a view of dissipating any ill impression he might
have received. But the ireful, angry chief was not so easily mollified. He
rejected my advances with that peculiarly stern expression I have before
described, and took care by the whole of his behaviour towards me to show
the displeasure and resentment which he felt.
Marnoo, at the other extremity of the house, apparently desirous of making
a diversion in my favour, exerted himself to amuse with his pleasantries
the crowd about him; but his lively attempts were not so successful as
they had previously been, and, foiled in his efforts, he rose gravely to
depart. No one expressed any regret at this movement, so seizing his roll
of tappa, and grasping his spear, he advanced to the front of the pi-pi,
and waving his hand in adieu to the now silent throng, cast upon me a
glance of mingled pity and reproach, and flung himself into the path which
led from the house. I watched his receding figure until it was lost in the
obscurity of the grove, and then gave myself up to the most desponding
reflections.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
REFLECTIONS AFTER MARNOO'S DEPARTURE-BATTLE OF THE POP-GUNS—STRANGE
CONCEIT OF MARHEYO—PROCESS OF MAKING TAPPA
THE knowledge I had now obtained as to the intention of the savages deeply
affected me.
Marnoo, I perceived, was a man who, by reason of his superior
acquirements, and the knowledge he possessed of the events which were
taking place in the different bays of the island, was held in no little
estimation by the inhabitants of the valley. He had been received with the
most cordial welcome and respect. The natives had hung upon the accents of
his voice, and, had manifested the highest gratification at being
individually noticed by him. And yet despite all this, a few words urged
in my behalf, with the intent of obtaining my release from captivity, had
sufficed not only to banish all harmony and good-will; but, if I could
believe what he told me, had gone on to endanger his own personal safety.
How strongly rooted, then, must be the determination of the Typees with
regard to me, and how suddenly could they display the strangest passions!
The mere suggestion of my departure had estranged from me, for the time at
least, Mehevi, who was the most influential of all the chiefs, and who had
previously exhibited so many instances of his friendly sentiments. The
rest of the natives had likewise evinced their strong repugnance to my
wishes, and even Kory-Kory himself seemed to share in the general
disapprobation bestowed upon me.
In vain I racked my invention to find out some motive for them, but I
could discover none.
But however this might be, the scene which had just occurred admonished me
of the danger of trifling with the wayward and passionate spirits against
whom it was vain to struggle, and might even be fatal to do go. My only
hope was to induce the natives to believe that I was reconciled to my
detention in the valley, and by assuming a tranquil and cheerful
demeanour, to allay the suspicions which I had so unfortunately aroused.
Their confidence revived, they might in a short time remit in some degree
their watchfulness over my movements, and I should then be the better
enabled to avail myself of any opportunity which presented itself for
escape. I determined, therefore, to make the best of a bad bargain, and to
bear up manfully against whatever might betide. In this endeavour, I
succeeded beyond my own expectations. At the period of Marnoo's visit, I
had been in the valley, as nearly as I could conjecture, some two months.
Although not completely recovered from my strange illness, which still
lingered about me, I was free from pain and able to take exercise. In
short, I had every reason to anticipate a perfect recovery. Freed from
apprehension on this point, and resolved to regard the future without
flinching, I flung myself anew into all the social pleasures of the
valley, and sought to bury all regrets, and all remembrances of my
previous existence in the wild enjoyments it afforded.
In my various wanderings through the vale, and as I became better
acquainted with the character of its inhabitants, I was more and more
struck with the light-hearted joyousness that everywhere prevailed. The
minds of these simple savages, unoccupied by matters of graver moment,
were capable of deriving the utmost delight from circumstances which would
have passed unnoticed in more intelligent communities. All their
enjoyment, indeed, seemed to be made up of the little trifling incidents
of the passing hour; but these diminutive items swelled altogether to an
amount of happiness seldom experienced by more enlightened individuals,
whose pleasures are drawn from more elevated but rarer sources.
What community, for instance, of refined and intellectual mortals would
derive the least satisfaction from shooting pop-guns? The mere supposition
of such a thing being possible would excite their indignation, and yet the
whole population of Typee did little else for ten days but occupy
themselves with that childish amusement, fairly screaming, too, with the
delight it afforded them.
One day I was frolicking with a little spirited urchin, some six years
old, who chased me with a piece of bamboo about three feet long, with
which he occasionally belaboured me. Seizing the stick from him, the idea
happened to suggest itself, that I might make for the youngster, out of
the slender tube, one of those nursery muskets with which I had sometimes
seen children playing.
Accordingly, with my knife I made two parallel slits in the cane several
inches in length, and cutting loose at one end the elastic strip between
them, bent it back and slipped the point into a little notch made for the
purse. Any small substance placed against this would be projected with
considerable force through the tube, by merely springing the bent strip
out of the notch.
Had I possessed the remotest idea of the sensation this piece of ordnance
was destined to produce, I should certainly have taken out a patent for
the invention. The boy scampered away with it, half delirious with
ecstasy, and in twenty minutes afterwards I might have been seen
surrounded by a noisy crowd—venerable old graybeards—responsible
fathers of families—valiant warriors—matrons—young men—girls
and children, all holding in their hands bits of bamboo, and each
clamouring to be served first.
For three or four hours I was engaged in manufacturing pop-guns, but at
last made over my good-will and interest in the concern to a lad of
remarkably quick parts, whom I soon initiated into the art and mystery.
Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop, now resounded all over the valley. Duels, skirmishes,
pitched battles, and general engagements were to be seen on every side.
Here, as you walked along a path which led through a thicket, you fell
into a cunningly laid ambush, and became a target for a body of musketeers
whose tattooed limbs you could just see peeping into view through the
foliage. There you were assailed by the intrepid garrison of a house, who
levelled their bamboo rifles at you from between the upright canes which
composed its sides. Farther on you were fired upon by a detachment of
sharpshooters, mounted upon the top of a pi-pi.
Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop! green guavas, seeds, and berries were flying about in
every direction, and during this dangerous state of affairs I was half
afraid that, like the man and his brazen bull, I should fall a victim to
my own ingenuity. Like everything else, however, the excitement gradually
wore away, though ever after occasionally pop-guns might be heard at all
hours of the day.
It was towards the close of the pop-gun war, that I was infinitely
diverted with a strange freak of Marheyo's.
I had worn, when I quitted the ship, a pair of thick pumps, which, from
the rough usage they had received in scaling precipices and sliding down
gorges, were so dilapidated as to be altogether unfit for use—so, at
least, would have thought the generality of people, and so they most
certainly were, when considered in the light of shoes. But things
unservicable in one way, may with advantage be applied in another, that
is, if one have genius enough for the purpose. This genius Marheyo
possessed in a superlative degree, as he abundantly evinced by the use to
which he put those sorely bruised and battered old shoes.
Every article, however trivial, which belonged to me, the natives appeared
to regard as sacred; and I observed that for several days after becoming
an inmate of the house, my pumps were suffered to remain, untouched, where
I had first happened to throw them. I remembered, however, that after
awhile I had missed them from their accustomed place; but the matter gave
me no concern, supposing that Tinor—like any other tidy housewife,
having come across them in some of her domestic occupations—had
pitched the useless things out of the house. But I was soon undeceived.
One day I observed old Marheyo bustling about me with unusual activity,
and to such a degree as almost to supersede Kory-Kory in the functions of
his office. One moment he volunteered to trot off with me on his back to
the stream; and when I refused, noways daunted by the repulse, he
continued to frisk about me like a superannuated house-dog. I could not
for the life of me conjecture what possessed the old gentleman, until all
at once, availing himself of the temporary absence of the household, he
went through a variety of of uncouth gestures, pointing eagerly down to my
feet, then up to a little bundle, which swung from the ridge pole
overhead. At last I caught a faint idea of his meaning, and motioned him
to lower the package. He executed the order in the twinkling of an eye,
and unrolling a piece of tappa, displayed to my astonished gaze the
identical pumps which I thought had been destroyed long before.
I immediately comprehended his desire, and very generously gave him the
shoes, which had become quite mouldy, wondering for what earthly purpose
he could want them. The same afternoon I descried the venerable warrior
approaching the house, with a slow, stately gait, ear-rings in ears, and
spear in hand, with this highly ornamental pair of shoes suspended from
his neck by a strip of bark, and swinging backwards and forwards on his
capacious chest. In the gala costume of the tasteful Marheyo, these
calf-skin pendants ever after formed the most striking feature.
But to turn to something a little more important. Although the whole
existence of the inhabitants of the valley seemed to pass away exempt from
toil, yet there were some light employments which, although amusing rather
than laborious as occupations, contributed to their comfort and luxury.
Among these the most important was the manufacture of the native cloth,—'tappa',—so
well known, under various modifications, throughout the whole Polynesian
Archipelago. As is generally understood, this useful and sometimes elegant
article is fabricated from the bark of different trees. But, as I believe
that no description of its manufacture has ever been given, I shall state
what I know regarding it.
In the manufacture of the beautiful white tappa generally worn on the
Marquesan Islands, the preliminary operation consists in gathering a
certain quantity of the young branches of the cloth-tree. The exterior
green bark being pulled off as worthless, there remains a slender fibrous
substance, which is carefully stripped from the stick, to which it closely
adheres. When a sufficient quantity of it has been collected, the various
strips are enveloped in a covering of large leaves, which the natives use
precisely as we do wrapping-paper, and which are secured by a few turns of
a line passed round them. The package is then laid in the bed of some
running stream, with a heavy stone placed over it, to prevent its being
swept away. After it has remained for two or three days in this state, it
is drawn out, and exposed, for a short time, to the action of the air,
every distinct piece being attentively inspected, with a view of
ascertaining whether it has yet been sufficiently affected by the
operation. This is repeated again and again, until the desired result is
obtained.
When the substance is in a proper state for the next process, it betrays
evidences of incipient decomposition; the fibres are relaxed and softened,
and rendered perfectly malleable. The different strips are now extended,
one by one, in successive layers, upon some smooth surface—generally
the prostrate trunk of a cocoanut tree—and the heap thus formed is
subjected, at every new increase, to a moderate beating, with a sort of
wooden mallet, leisurely applied. The mallet is made of a hard heavy wood
resembling ebony, is about twelve inches in length, and perhaps two in
breadth, with a rounded handle at one end, and in shape is the exact
counterpart of one of our four-sided razor-strops. The flat surfaces of
the implement are marked with shallow parallel indentations, varying in
depth on the different sides, so as to be adapted to the several stages of
the operation. These marks produce the corduroy sort of stripes
discernible in the tappa in its finished state. After being beaten in the
manner I have described, the material soon becomes blended in one mass,
which, moistened occasionally with water, is at intervals hammered out, by
a kind of gold-beating process, to any degree of thinness required. In
this way the cloth is easily made to vary in strength and thickness, so as
to suit the numerous purposes to which it is applied.
When the operation last described has been concluded, the new-made tappa
is spread out on the grass to bleach and dry, and soon becomes of a
dazzling whiteness. Sometimes, in the first stages of the manufacture, the
substance is impregnated with a vegetable juice, which gives it a
permanent colour. A rich brown and a bright yellow are occasionally seen,
but the simple taste of the Typee people inclines them to prefer the
natural tint.
The notable wife of Kamehameha, the renowned conqueror and king of the
Sandwich Islands, used to pride herself in the skill she displayed in
dyeing her tappa with contrasting colours disposed in regular figures;
and, in the midst of the innovations of the times, was regarded, towards
the decline of her life, as a lady of the old school, clinging as she did
to the national cloth, in preference to the frippery of the European
calicoes. But the art of printing the tappa is unknown upon the Marquesan
Islands. In passing along the valley, I was often attracted by the noise
of the mallet, which, when employed in the manufacture of the cloth
produces at every stroke of its hard, heavy wood, a clear, ringing, and
musical sound, capable of being heard at a great distance. When several of
these implements happen to be in operation at the same time, near one
another, the effect upon the ear of a person, at a little distance, is
really charming.
CHAPTER TWENTY
HISTORY OF A DAY AS USUALLY SPENT IN TYPEE VALLEY—DANCES OF THE
MARQUESAN GIRLS
NOTHING can be more uniform and undiversified than the life of the Typees;
one tranquil day of ease and happiness follows another in quiet
succession; and with these unsophisicated savages the history of a day is
the history of a life. I will, therefore, as briefly as I can, describe
one of our days in the valley.
To begin with the morning. We were not very early risers—the sun
would be shooting his golden spikes above the Happar mountain, ere I threw
aside my tappa robe, and girding my long tunic about my waist, sallied out
with Fayaway and Kory-Kory, and the rest of the household, and bent my
steps towards the stream. Here we found congregated all those who dwelt in
our section of the valley; and here we bathed with them. The fresh morning
air and the cool flowing waters put both soul and body in a glow, and
after a half-hour employed in this recreation, we sauntered back to the
house—Tinor and Marheyo gathering dry sticks by the way for
fire-wood; some of the young men laying the cocoanut trees under
contribution as they passed beneath them; while Kory-Kory played his
outlandish pranks for my particular diversion, and Fayaway and I, not arm
in arm to be sure, but sometimes hand in hand, strolled along, with
feelings of perfect charity for all the world, and especial good-will
towards each other.
Our morning meal was soon prepared. The islanders are somewhat abstemious
at this repast; reserving the more powerful efforts of their appetite to a
later period of the day. For my own part, with the assistance of my valet,
who, as I have before stated, always officiated as spoon on these
occasions, I ate sparingly from one of Tinor's trenchers, of poee-poee;
which was devoted exclusively for my own use, being mixed with the milky
meat of ripe cocoanut. A section of a roasted bread-fruit, a small cake of
'Amar', or a mess of 'Cokoo,' two or three bananas, or a mammee-apple; an
annuee, or some other agreeable and nutritious fruit served from day to
day to diversify the meal, which was finished by tossing off the liquid
contents of a young cocoanut or two.
While partaking of this simple repast, the inmates of Marheyo's house,
after the style of the ancient Romans, reclined in sociable groups upon
the divan of mats, and digestion was promoted by cheerful conversation.
After the morning meal was concluded, pipes were lighted; and among them
my own especial pipe, a present from the noble Mehevi.
The islanders, who only smoke a whiff or two at a time, and at long
intervals, and who keep their pipes going from hand to hand continually,
regarded my systematic smoking of four or five pipefuls of tobacco in
succession, as something quite wonderful. When two or three pipes had
circulated freely, the company gradually broke up. Marheyo went to the
little hut he was forever building. Tinor began to inspect her rolls of
tappa, or employed her busy fingers in plaiting grass-mats. The girls
anointed themselves with their fragrant oils, dressed their hair, or
looked over their curious finery, and compared together their ivory
trinkets, fashioned out of boar's tusks or whale's teeth. The young men
and warriors produced their spears, paddles, canoe-gear, battle-clubs, and
war-conchs, and occupied themselves in carving, all sorts of figures upon
them with pointed bits of shell or flint, and adorning them, especially
the war-conchs, with tassels of braided bark and tufts of human hair.
Some, immediately after eating, threw themselves once more upon the
inviting mats, and resumed the employment of the previous night, sleeping
as soundly as if they had not closed their eyes for a week. Others sallied
out into the groves, for the purpose of gathering fruit or fibres of bark
and leaves; the last two being in constant requisition, and applied to a
hundred uses. A few, perhaps, among the girls, would slip into the woods
after flowers, or repair to the stream will; small calabashes and cocoanut
shells, in order to polish them by friction with a smooth stone in the
water. In truth these innocent people seemed to be at no loss for
something to occupy their time; and it would be no light task to enumerate
all their employments, or rather pleasures.
My own mornings I spent in a variety of ways. Sometimes I rambled about
from house to house, sure of receiving a cordial welcome wherever I went;
or from grove to grove, and from one shady place to another, in company
with Kory-Kory and Fayaway, and a rabble rout of merry young idlers.
Sometimes I was too indolent for exercise, and accepting one of the many
invitations I was continually receiving, stretched myself out on the mats
of some hospitable dwelling, and occupied myself pleasantly either in
watching the proceedings of those around me or taking part in them myself.
Whenever I chose to do the latter, the delight of the islanders was
boundless; and there was always a throng of competitors for the honour of
instructing me in any particular craft. I soon became quite an
accomplished hand at making tappa—could braid a grass sling as well
as the best of them—and once, with my knife, carved the handle of a
javelin so exquisitely, that I have no doubt, to this day, Karnoonoo, its
owner, preserves it as a surprising specimen of my skill. As noon
approached, all those who had wandered forth from our habitation, began to
return; and when midday was fairly come scarcely a sound was to be heard
in the valley: a deep sleep fell upon all. The luxurious siesta was hardly
ever omitted, except by old Marheyo, who was so eccentric a character,
that he seemed to be governed by no fixed principles whatever; but acting
just according to the humour of the moment, slept, ate, or tinkered away
at his little hut, without regard to the proprieties of time or place.
Frequently he might have been seen taking a nap in the sun at noon-day, or
a bath in the stream of mid-night. Once I beheld him perched eighty feet
from the ground, in the tuft of a cocoanut tree, smoking; and often I saw
him standing up to the waist in water, engaged in plucking out the stray
hairs of his beard, using a piece of muscle-shell for tweezers.
The noon-tide slumber lasted generally an hour and a half: very often
longer; and after the sleepers had arisen from their mats they again had
recourse to their pipes, and then made preparations for the most important
meal of the day.
I, however, like those gentlemen of leisure who breakfast at home and dine
at their club, almost invariably, during my intervals of health, enjoyed
the afternoon repast with the bachelor chiefs of the Ti, who were always
rejoiced to see me, and lavishly spread before me all the good things
which their larder afforded. Mehevi generally introduced among other
dainties a baked pig, an article which I have every reason to suppose was
provided for my sole gratification.
The Ti was a right jovial place. It did my heart, as well as my body, good
to visit it. Secure from female intrusion, there was no restraint upon the
hilarity of the warriors, who, like the gentlemen of Europe after the
cloth is drawn and the ladies retire, freely indulged their mirth.
After spending a considerable portion of the afternoon at the Ti, I
usually found myself, as the cool of the evening came on, either sailing
on the little lake with Fayaway, or bathing in the waters of the stream
with a number of the savages, who, at this hour, always repaired thither.
As the shadows of night approached Marheyo's household were once more
assembled under his roof: tapers were lit, long curious chants were
raised, interminable stories were told (for which one present was little
the wiser), and all sorts of social festivities served to while away the
time.
The young girls very often danced by moonlight in front of their
dwellings. There are a great variety of these dances, in which, however, I
never saw the men take part. They all consist of active, romping,
mischievous evolutions, in which every limb is brought into requisition.
Indeed, the Marquesan girls dance all over, as it were; not only do their
feet dance, but their arms, hands, fingers, ay, their very eyes, seem to
dance in their heads.
The damsels wear nothing but flowers and their compendious gala tunics;
and when they plume themselves for the dance, they look like a band of
olive-coloured Sylphides on the point of taking wing. In good sooth, they
so sway their floating forms, arch their necks, toss aloft their naked
arms, and glide, and swim, and whirl, that it was almost too much for a
quiet, sober-minded, modest young man like myself.
Unless some particular festivity was going forward, the inmates of
Marheyo's house retired to their mats rather early in the evening; but not
for the night, since, after slumbering lightly for a while, they rose
again, relit their tapers, partook of the third and last meal of the day,
at which poee-poee alone was eaten, and then, after inhaling a narcotic
whiff from a pipe of tobacco, disposed themselves for the great business
of night, sleep. With the Marquesans it might almost most be styled the
great business of life, for they pass a large portion of their time in the
arms of Somnus. The native strength of their constitution is no way shown
more emphatically than in the quantity of sleep they can endure. To many
of them, indeed, life is little else than an often interrupted and
luxurious nap.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
THE SPRING OF ARVA WAI—REMARKABLE MONUMENTAL REMAINS—SOME
IDEAS WITH REGARD TO THE HISTORY OF THE PI-PIS FOUND IN THE VALLEY
ALMOST every country has its medicinal springs famed for their healing
virtues. The Cheltenham of Typee is embosomed in the deepest solitude, and
but seldom receives a visitor. It is situated remote from any dwelling, a
little way up the mountain, near the head of the valley; and you approach
it by a pathway shaded by the most beautiful foliage, and adorned with a
thousand fragrant plants. The mineral waters of Arva Wai* ooze forth from
the crevices of a rock, and gliding down its mossy side, fall at last, in
many clustering drops, into a natural basin of stone fringed round with
grass and dewy-looking little violet-coloured flowers, as fresh and
beautiful as the perpetual moisture they enjoy can make them.
*I presume this might be translated into 'Strong Waters'. Arva is the name
bestowed upon a root the properties of which are both inebriating and
medicinal. 'Wai' is the Marquesan word for water.
The water is held in high estimation by the islanders, some of whom
consider it an agreeable as well as a medicinal beverage; they bring it
from the mountain in their calabashes, and store it away beneath heaps of
leaves in some shady nook near the house. Old Marheyo had a great love for
the waters of the spring. Every now and then he lugged off to the mountain
a great round demijohn of a calabash, and, panting with his exertions,
brought it back filled with his darling fluid.
The water tasted like a solution of a dozen disagreeable things, and was
sufficiently nauseous to have made the fortune of the proprietor, had the
spa been situated in the midst of any civilized community.
As I am no chemist, I cannot give a scientific analysis of the water. All
I know about the matter is, that one day Marheyo in my presence poured out
the last drop from his huge calabash, and I observed at the bottom of the
vessel a small quantity of gravelly sediment very much resembling our
common sand. Whether this is always found in the water, and gives it its
peculiar flavour and virtues, or whether its presence was merely
incidental, I was not able to ascertain.
One day in returning from this spring by a circuitous path, I came upon a
scene which reminded me of Stonehenge and the architectural labours of the
Druids.
At the base of one of the mountains, and surrounded on all sides by dense
groves, a series of vast terraces of stone rises, step by step, for a
considerable distance up the hill side. These terraces cannot be less than
one hundred yards in length and twenty in width. Their magnitude, however,
is less striking than the immense size of the blocks composing them. Some
of the stones, of an oblong shape, are from ten to fifteen feet in length,
and five or six feet thick. Their sides are quite smooth, but though
square, and of pretty regular formation, they bear no mark of the chisel.
They are laid together without cement, and here and there show gaps
between. The topmost terrace and the lower one are somewhat peculiar in
their construction. They have both a quadrangular depression in the
centre, leaving the rest of the terrace elevated several feet above it. In
the intervals of the stones immense trees have taken root, and their broad
boughs stretching far over, and interlacing together, support a canopy
almost impenetrable to the sun. Overgrowing the greater part of them, and
climbing from one to another, is a wilderness of vines, in whose sinewy
embrace many of the stones lie half-hidden, while in some places a thick
growth of bushes entirely covers them. There is a wild pathway which
obliquely crosses two of these terraces; and so profound is the shade, so
dense the vegetation, that a stranger to the place might pass along it
without being aware of their existence.
These structures bear every indication of a very high antiquity and
Kory-Kory, who was my authority in all matters of scientific research,
gave me to understand that they were coeval with the creation of the
world; that the great gods themselves were the builders; and that they
would endure until time shall be no more.
Kory-Kory's prompt explanation and his attributing the work to a divine
origin, at once convinced me that neither he nor the rest of his
country-men knew anything about them.
As I gazed upon this monument, doubtless the work of an extinct and
forgotten race, thus buried in the green nook of an island at the ends of
the earth, the existence of which was yesterday unknown, a stronger
feeling of awe came over me than if I had stood musing at the mighty base
of the Pyramid of Cheops. There are no inscriptions, no sculpture, no
clue, by which to conjecture its history; nothing but the dumb stones. How
many generations of the majestic trees which overshadow them have grown
and flourished and decayed since first they were erected!
These remains naturally suggest many interesting reflections. They
establish the great age of the island, an opinion which the builders of
theories concerning, the creation of the various groups in the South Seas
are not always inclined to admit. For my own part, I think it just as
probable that human beings were living in the valleys of the Marquesas
three thousand years ago as that they were inhabiting the land of Egypt.
The origin of the island of Nukuheva cannot be imputed to the coral
insect; for indefatigable as that wonderful creature is, it would be
hardly muscular enough to pile rocks one upon the other more than three
thousand feet above the level of the sea. That the land may have been
thrown up by a submarine volcano is as possible as anything else. No one
can make an affidavit to the contrary, and therefore I still say nothing
against the supposition: indeed, were geologists to assert that the whole
continent of America had in like manner been formed by the simultaneous
explosion of a train of Etnas laid under the water all the way from the
North Pole to the parallel of Cape Horn, I am the last man in the world to
contradict them.
I have already mentioned that the dwellings of the islanders were almost
invariably built upon massive stone foundations, which they call pi-pis.
The dimensions of these, however, as well as of the stones composing them,
are comparatively small: but there are other and larger erections of a
similar description comprising the 'morais', or burying grounds, and
festival-places, in nearly all the valleys of the island. Some of these
piles are so extensive, and so great a degree of labour and skill must
have been requisite in constructing them, that I can scarcely believe they
were built by the ancestors of the present inhabitants. If indeed they
were, the race has sadly deteriorated in their knowledge of the mechanic
arts. To say nothing of their habitual indolence, by what contrivance
within the reach of so simple a people could such enormous masses have
been moved or fixed in their places? and how could they with their rude
implements have chiselled and hammered them into shape?
All of these larger pi-pis—like that of the Hoolah Hoolah ground in
the Typee valley—bore incontestible marks of great age; and I am
disposed to believe that their erection may be ascribed to the same race
of men who were the builders of the still more ancient remains I have just
described.
According to Kory-Kory's account, the pi-pi upon which stands the Hoolah
Hoolah ground was built a great many moons ago, under the direction of
Monoo, a great chief and warrior, and, as it would appear, master-mason
among the Typees. It was erected for the express purpose to which it is at
present devoted, in the incredibly short period of one sun; and was
dedicated to the immortal wooden idols by a grand festival, which lasted
ten days and nights.
Among the smaller pi-pis, upon which stand the dwelling-houses of the
natives, I never observed any which intimated a recent erection. There are
in every part of the valley a great many of these massive stone
foundations which have no houses upon them. This is vastly convenient, for
whenever an enterprising islander chooses to emigrate a few hundred yards
from the place where he was born, all he has to do in order to establish
himself in some new locality, is to select one of the many unappropriated
pi-pis, and without further ceremony pitch his bamboo tent upon it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
PREPARATIONS FOR A GRAND FESTIVAL IN THE VALLEY—STRANGE DOINGS IN
THE TABOO GROVES—MONUMENT OF CALABASHES—GALA COSTUME OF THE
TYPEE DAMSELS—DEPARTURE FOR THE FESTIVAL
FROM the time that my lameness had decreased I had made a daily practice
of visiting Mehevi at the Ti, who invariably gave me a most cordial
reception. I was always accompanied in these excursions by Fayaway and the
ever-present Kory-Kory. The former, as soon as we reached the vicinity of
the Ti—which was rigorously tabooed to the whole female sex—withdrew
to a neighbouring hut, as if her feminine delicacy 'restricted' her from
approaching a habitation which might be regarded as a sort of Bachelor's
Hall.
And in good truth it might well have been so considered. Although it was
the permanent residence of several distinguished chiefs, and of the noble
Mehevi in particular, it was still at certain seasons the favourite haunt
of all the jolly, talkative, and elderly savages of the vale, who resorted
thither in the same way that similar characters frequent a tavern in
civilized countries. There they would remain hour after hour, chatting,
smoking, eating poee-poee, or busily engaged in sleeping for the good of
their constitutions.
This building appeared to be the head-quarters of the valley, where all
flying rumours concentrated; and to have seen it filled with a crowd of
the natives, all males, conversing in animated clusters, while multitudes
were continually coming and going, one would have thought it a kind of
savage Exchange, where the rise and fall of Polynesian Stock was
discussed.
Mehevi acted as supreme lord over the place, spending the greater portion
of his time there: and often when, at particular hours of the day, it was
deserted by nearly every one else except the verd-antique looking
centenarians, who were fixtures in the building, the chief himself was
sure to be found enjoying his 'otium cum dignitate'—upon the
luxurious mats which covered the floor. Whenever I made my appearance he
invariably rose, and like a gentleman doing the honours of his mansion,
invited me to repose myself wherever I pleased, and calling out 'tamaree!'
(boy), a little fellow would appear, and then retiring for an instant,
return with some savoury mess, from which the chief would press me to
regale myself. To tell the truth, Mehevi was indebted to the excellence of
his viands for the honour of my repeated visits—a matter which
cannot appear singular, when it is borne in mind that bachelors, all the
world over, are famous for serving up unexceptionable repasts.
One day, on drawing near to the Ti, I observed that extensive preparations
were going forward, plainly betokening some approaching festival. Some of
the symptoms reminded me of the stir produced among the scullions of a
large hotel, where a grand jubilee dinner is about to be given. The
natives were hurrying about hither and thither, engaged in various duties,
some lugging off to the stream enormous hollow bamboos, for the purpose of
filling them with water; others chasing furious-looking hogs through the
bushes, in their endeavours to capture them; and numbers employed in
kneading great mountains of poee-poee heaped up in huge wooden vessels.
After observing these lively indications for a while, I was attracted to a
neighbouring grove by a prodigious squeaking which I heard there. On
reaching the spot I found it proceeded from a large hog which a number of
natives were forcibly holding to the earth, while a muscular fellow, armed
with a bludgeon, was ineffectually aiming murderous blows at the skull of
the unfortunate porker. Again and again he missed his writhing and
struggling victim, but though puffing and panting with his exertions, he
still continued them; and after striking a sufficient number of blows to
have demolished an entire drove of oxen, with one crashing stroke he laid
him dead at his feet.
Without letting any blood from the body, it was immediately carried to a
fire which had been kindled near at hand and four savages taking hold of
the carcass by its legs, passed it rapidly to and fro in the flames. In a
moment the smell of burning bristles betrayed the object of this
procedure. Having got thus far in the matter, the body was removed to a
little distance and, being disembowelled, the entrails were laid aside as
choice parts, and the whole carcass thoroughly washed with water. An ample
thick green cloth, composed of the long thick leaves of a species of
palm-tree, ingeniously tacked together with little pins of bamboo, was now
spread upon the ground, in which the body being carefully rolled, it was
borne to an oven previously prepared to receive it. Here it was at once
laid upon the heated stones at the bottom, and covered with thick layers
of leaves, the whole being quickly hidden from sight by a mound of earth
raised over it.
Such is the summary style in which the Typees convert perverse-minded and
rebellious hogs into the most docile and amiable pork; a morsel of which
placed on the tongue melts like a soft smile from the lips of Beauty.
I commend their peculiar mode of proceeding to the consideration of all
butchers, cooks, and housewives. The hapless porker whose fate I have just
rehearsed, was not the only one who suffered in that memorable day. Many a
dismal grunt, many an imploring squeak, proclaimed what was going on
throughout the whole extent of the valley; and I verily believe the
first-born of every litter perished before the setting of that fatal sun.
The scene around the Ti was now most animated. Hogs and poee-poee were
baking in numerous ovens, which, heaped up with fresh earth into slight
elevations, looked like so many ant-hills. Scores of the savages were
vigorously plying their stone pestles in preparing masses of poee-poee,
and numbers were gathering green bread-fruit and young cocoanuts in the
surrounding groves; when an exceeding great multitude, with a view of
encouraging the rest in their labours, stood still, and kept shouting most
lustily without intermission.
It is a peculiarity among these people, that, when engaged in an
employment, they always make a prodigious fuss about it. So seldom do they
ever exert themselves, that when they do work they seem determined that so
meritorious an action shall not escape the observation of those around if,
for example, they have occasion to remove a stone to a little distance,
which perhaps might be carried by two able-bodied men, a whole swarm
gather about it, and, after a vast deal of palavering, lift it up among
them, every one struggling to get hold of it, and bear it off yelling and
panting as if accomplishing some mighty achievement. Seeing them on these
occasions, one is reminded of an infinity of black ants clustering about
and dragging away to some hole the leg of a deceased fly.
Having for some time attentively observed these demonstrations of good
cheer, I entered the Ti, where Mehevi sat complacently looking out upon
the busy scene, and occasionally issuing his orders. The chief appeared to
be in an extraordinary flow of spirits and gave me to understand that on
the morrow there would be grand doings in the Groves generally, and at the
Ti in particular; and urged me by no means to absent myself. In
commemoration of what event, however, or in honour of what distinguished
personage, the feast was to be given, altogether passed my comprehension.
Mehevi sought to enlighten my ignorance, but he failed as signally as when
he had endeavoured to initiate me into the perplexing arcana of the taboo.
On leaving the Ti, Kory-Kory, who had as a matter of course accompanied
me, observing that my curiosity remained unabated, resolved to make
everything plain and satisfactory. With this intent, he escorted me
through the Taboo Groves, pointing out to my notice a variety of objects,
and endeavoured to explain them in such an indescribable jargon of words,
that it almost put me in bodily pain to listen to him. In particular, he
led me to a remarkable pyramidical structure some three yards square at
the base, and perhaps ten feet in height, which had lately been thrown up,
and occupied a very conspicuous position. It was composed principally of
large empty calabashes, with a few polished cocoanut shells, and looked
not unlike a cenotaph of skulls. My cicerone perceived the astonishment
with which I gazed at this monument of savage crockery, and immediately
addressed himself in the task of enlightening me: but all in vain; and to
this hour the nature of the monument remains a complete mystery to me. As,
however, it formed so prominent a feature in the approaching revels, I
bestowed upon the latter, in my own mind, the title of the 'Feast of
Calabashes'.
The following morning, awaking rather late, I perceived the whole of
Marheyo's family busily engaged in preparing for the festival.
The old warrior himself was arranging in round balls the two grey locks of
hair that were suffered to grow from the crown of his head; his earrings
and spear, both well polished, lay beside him, while the highly decorative
pair of shoes hung suspended from a projecting cane against the side of
the house. The young men were similarly employed; and the fair damsels,
including Fayaway, were anointing themselves with 'aka', arranging their
long tresses, and performing other matters connected with the duties of
the toilet.
Having completed their preparations, the girls now exhibited themselves in
gala costume; the most conspicuous feature of which was a necklace of
beautiful white flowers, with the stems removed, and strung closely
together upon a single fibre of tappa. Corresponding ornaments were
inserted in their ears, and woven garlands upon their heads. About their
waist they wore a short tunic of spotless white tappa, and some of them
super-added to this a mantle of the same material, tied in an elaborate
bow upon the left shoulder, and falling about the figure in picturesque
folds.
Thus arrayed, I would have matched the charming Fayaway against any beauty
in the world.
People may say what they will about the taste evinced by our fashionable
ladies in dress. Their jewels, their feathers, their silks, and their
furbelows, would have sunk into utter insignificance beside the exquisite
simplicity of attire adopted by the nymphs of the vale on this festive
occasion. I should like to have seen a gallery of coronation beauties, at
Westminster Abbey, confronted for a moment by this band of island girls;
their stiffness, formality, and affectation, contrasted with the artless
vivacity and unconcealed natural graces of these savage maidens. It would
be the Venus de' Medici placed beside a milliner's doll. It was not long
before Kory-Kory and myself were left alone in the house, the rest of its
inmates having departed for the Taboo Groves. My valet was all impatience
to follow them; and was as fidgety about my dilatory movements as a diner
out waiting hat in hand at the bottom of the stairs for some lagging
companion. At last, yielding to his importunities, I set out for the Ti.
As we passed the houses peeping out from the groves through which our
route lay, I noticed that they were entirely deserted by their
inhabitants.
When we reached the rock that abruptly terminated the path, and concealed
from us the festive scene, wild shouts and a confused blending of voices
assured me that the occasion, whatever it might be, had drawn together a
great multitude. Kory-Kory, previous to mounting the elevation, paused for
a moment, like a dandy at a ball-room door, to put a hasty finish to his
toilet. During this short interval, the thought struck me that I ought
myself perhaps to be taking some little pains with my appearance.
But as I had no holiday raiment, I was not a little puzzled to devise some
means of decorating myself. However, as I felt desirous to create a
sensation, I determined to do all that lay in my power; and knowing that I
could not delight the savages more than by conforming to their style of
dress, I removed from my person the large robe of tappa which I was
accustomed to wear over my shoulders whenever I sallied into the open air,
and remained merely girt about with a short tunic descending from my waist
to my knees.
My quick-witted attendant fully appreciated the compliment I was paying to
the costume of his race, and began more sedulously to arrange the folds of
the one only garment which remained to me. Whilst he was doing this, I
caught sight of a knot of young lasses, who were sitting near us on the
grass surrounded by heaps of flowers which they were forming into
garlands. I motioned to them to bring some of their handywork to me; and
in an instant a dozen wreaths were at my disposal. One of them I put round
the apology for a hat which I had been forced to construct for myself out
of palmetto-leaves, and some of the others I converted into a splendid
girdle. These operations finished, with the slow and dignified step of a
full-dressed beau I ascended the rock.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
THE FEAST OF CALABASHES
THE whole population of the valley seemed to be gathered within the
precincts of the grove. In the distance could be seen the long front of
the Ti, its immense piazza swarming with men, arrayed in every variety of
fantastic costume, and all vociferating with animated gestures; while the
whole interval between it and the place where I stood was enlivened by
groups of females fancifully decorated, dancing, capering, and uttering
wild exclamations. As soon as they descried me they set up a shout of
welcome; and a band of them came dancing towards me, chanting as they
approached some wild recitative. The change in my garb seemed to transport
them with delight, and clustering about me on all sides, they accompanied
me towards the Ti. When however we drew near it these joyous nymphs paused
in their career, and parting on either side, permitted me to pass on to
the now densely thronged building.
So soon as I mounted to the pi-pi I saw at a glance that the revels were
fairly under way.
What lavish plenty reigned around?—Warwick feasting his retainers
with beef and ale, was a niggard to the noble Mehevi!—All along the
piazza of the Ti were arranged elaborately carved canoe-shaped vessels,
some twenty feet in length, tied with newly made poee-poee, and sheltered
from the sun by the broad leaves of the banana. At intervals were heaps of
green bread-fruit, raised in pyramidical stacks, resembling the regular
piles of heavy shot to be seen in the yard of an arsenal. Inserted into
the interstices of the huge stones which formed the pi-pi were large
boughs of trees; hanging from the branches of which, and screened from the
sun by their foliage, were innumerable little packages with leafy
coverings, containing the meat of the numerous hogs which had been slain,
done up in this manner to make it more accessible to the crowd. Leaning
against the railing on the piazza were an immense number of long, heavy
bamboos, plugged at the lower end, and with their projecting muzzles
stuffed with a wad of leaves. These were filled with water from the
stream, and each of them might hold from four to five gallons.
The banquet being thus spread, naught remained but for everyone to help
himself at his pleasure. Accordingly not a moment passed but the
transplanted boughs I have mentioned were rifled by the throng of the
fruit they certainly had never borne before. Calabashes of poee-poee were
continually being replenished from the extensive receptacle in which that
article was stored, and multitudes of little fires were kindled about the
Ti for the purpose of roasting the bread-fruit.
Within the building itself was presented a most extraordinary scene. The
immense lounge of mats lying between the parallel rows of the trunks of
cocoanut trees, and extending the entire length of the house, at least two
hundred feet, was covered by the reclining forms of a host of chiefs and
warriors who were eating at a great rate, or soothing the cares of
Polynesian life in the sedative fumes of tobacco. The smoke was inhaled
from large pipes, the bowls of which, made out of small cocoanut shells,
were curiously carved in strange heathenish devices. These were passed
from mouth to mouth by the recumbent smokers, each of whom, taking two or
three prodigious whiffs, handed the pipe to his neighbour; sometimes for
that purpose stretching indolently across the body of some dozing
individual whose exertions at the dinner-table had already induced sleep.
The tobacco used among the Typees was of a very mild and pleasing flavour,
and as I always saw it in leaves, and the natives appeared pretty well
supplied with it, I was led to believe that it must have been the growth
of the valley. Indeed Kory-Kory gave me to understand that this was the
case; but I never saw a single plant growing on the island. At Nukuheva,
and, I believe, in all the other valleys, the weed is very scarce, being
only obtained in small quantities from foreigners, and smoking is
consequently with the inhabitants of these places a very great luxury. How
it was that the Typees were so well furnished with it I cannot divine. I
should think them too indolent to devote any attention to its culture;
and, indeed, as far as my observation extended, not a single atom of the
soil was under any other cultivation than that of shower and sunshine. The
tobacco-plant, however, like the sugar-cane, may grow wild in some remote
part of the vale.
There were many in the Ti for whom the tobacco did not furnish a
sufficient stimulus, and who accordingly had recourse to 'arva', as a more
powerful agent in producing the desired effect.
'Arva' is a root very generally dispersed over the South Seas, and from it
is extracted a juice, the effects of which upon the system are at first
stimulating in a moderate degree; but it soon relaxes the muscles, and
exerting a narcotic influence produces a luxurious sleep. In the valley
this beverage was universally prepared in the following way:—Some
half-dozen young boys seated themselves in a circle around an empty wooden
vessel, each one of them being supplied with a certain quantity of the
roots of the 'arva', broken into small bits and laid by his side. A
cocoanut goblet of water was passed around the juvenile company, who
rinsing their mouths with its contents, proceeded to the business before
them. This merely consisted in thoroughly masticating the 'arva', and
throwing it mouthful after mouthful into the receptacle provided. When a
sufficient quantity had been thus obtained water was poured upon the mass,
and being stirred about with the forefinger of the right hand, the
preparation was soon in readiness for use. The 'arva' has medicinal
qualities.
Upon the Sandwich Islands it has been employed with no small success in
the treatment of scrofulous affections, and in combating the ravages of a
disease for whose frightful inroads the ill-starred inhabitants of that
group are indebted to their foreign benefactors. But the tenants of the
Typee valley, as yet exempt from these inflictions, generally employ the
'arva' as a minister to social enjoyment, and a calabash of the liquid
circulates among them as the bottle with us.
Mehevi, who was greatly delighted with the change in my costume, gave me a
cordial welcome. He had reserved for me a most delectable mess of 'cokoo',
well knowing my partiality for that dish; and had likewise selected three
or four young cocoanuts, several roasted bread-fruit, and a magnificent
bunch of bananas, for my especial comfort and gratification. These various
matters were at once placed before me; but Kory-Kory deemed the banquet
entirely insufficient for my wants until he had supplied me with one of
the leafy packages of pork, which, notwithstanding the somewhat hasty
manner in which it had been prepared, possessed a most excellent flavour,
and was surprisingly sweet and tender.
Pork is not a staple article of food among the people of the Marquesas;
consequently they pay little attention to the BREEDING of the swine. The
hogs are permitted to roam at large on the groves, where they obtain no
small part of their nourishment from the cocoanuts which continually fall
from the trees. But it is only after infinite labour and difficulty, that
the hungry animal can pierce the husk and shell so as to get at the meat.
I have frequently been amused at seeing one of them, after crunching the
obstinate nut with his teeth for a long time unsuccessfully, get into a
violent passion with it. He would then root furiously under the cocoanut,
and, with a fling of his snout, toss it before him on the ground.
Following it up, he would crunch at it again savagely for a moment, and
then next knock it on one side, pausing immediately after, as if wondering
how it could so suddenly have disappeared. In this way the persecuted
cocoanuts were often chased half across the valley.
The second day of the Feast of Calabashes was ushered in by still more
uproarious noises than the first. The skins of innumerable sheep seemed to
be resounding to the blows of an army of drummers. Startled from my
slumbers by the din, I leaped up, and found the whole household engaged in
making preparations for immediate departure. Curious to discover of what
strange events these novel sounds might be the precursors, and not a
little desirous to catch a sight of the instruments which produced the
terrific noise, I accompanied the natives as soon as they were in
readiness to depart for the Taboo Groves.
The comparatively open space that extended from the Ti toward the rock, to
which I have before alluded as forming the ascent to the place, was, with
the building itself, now altogether deserted by the men; the whole
distance being filled by bands of females, shouting and dancing under the
influence of some strange excitement.
I was amused at the appearance of four or five old women who, in a state
of utter nudity, with their arms extended flatly down their sides, and
holding themselves perfectly erect, were leaping stiffly into the air,
like so many sticks bobbing to the surface, after being pressed
perpendicularly into the water. They preserved the utmost gravity of
countenance, and continued their extraordinary movements without a single
moment's cessation. They did not appear to attract the observation of the
crowd around them, but I must candidly confess that for my own part, I
stared at them most pertinaciously.
Desirous of being enlightened in regard to the meaning of this peculiar
diversion, I turned, inquiringly to Kory-Kory; that learned Typee
immediately proceeded to explain the whole matter thoroughly. But all that
I could comprehend from what he said was, that the leaping figures before
me were bereaved widows, whose partners had been slain in battle many
moons previously; and who, at every festival, gave public evidence in this
manner of their calamities. It was evident that Kory-Kory considered this
an all-sufficient reason for so indecorous a custom; but I must say that
it did not satisfy me as to its propriety.
Leaving these afflicted females, we passed on to the Hoolah Hoolah ground.
Within the spacious quadrangle, the whole population of the valley seemed
to be assembled, and the sight presented was truly remarkable. Beneath the
sheds of bamboo which opened towards the interior of the square reclined
the principal chiefs and warriors, while a miscellaneous throng lay at
their ease under the enormous trees which spread a majestic canopy
overhead. Upon the terraces of the gigantic altars, at each end, were
deposited green bread-fruit in baskets of cocoanut leaves, large rolls of
tappa, bunches of ripe bananas, clusters of mammee-apples, the golden-hued
fruit of the artu-tree, and baked hogs, laid out in large wooden
trenchers, fancifully decorated with freshly plucked leaves, whilst a
variety of rude implements of war were piled in confused heaps before the
ranks of hideous idols. Fruits of various kinds were likewise suspended in
leafen baskets, from the tops of poles planted uprightly, and at regular
intervals, along the lower terraces of both altars. At their base were
arranged two parallel rows of cumbersome drums, standing at least fifteen
feet in height, and formed from the hollow trunks of large trees. Their
heads were covered with shark skins, and their barrels were elaborately
carved with various quaint figures and devices. At regular intervals they
were bound round by a species of sinnate of various colours, and strips of
native cloth flattened upon them here and there. Behind these instruments
were built slight platforms, upon which stood a number of young men who,
beating violently with the palms of their hands upon the drum-heads,
produced those outrageous sounds which had awakened me in the morning.
Every few minutes these musical performers hopped down from their
elevation into the crowd below, and their places were immediately supplied
by fresh recruits. Thus an incessant din was kept up that might have
startled Pandemonium.
Precisely in the middle of the quadrangle were placed perpendicularly in
the ground, a hundred or more slender, fresh-cut poles, stripped of their
bark, and decorated at the end with a floating pennon of white tappa; the
whole being fenced about with a little picket of canes. For what purpose
these angular ornaments were intended I in vain endeavoured to discover.
Another most striking feature of the performance was exhibited by a score
of old men, who sat cross-legged in the little pulpits, which encircled
the trunks of the immense trees growing in the middle of the enclosure.
These venerable gentlemen, who I presume were the priests, kept up an
uninterrupted monotonous chant, which was partly drowned in the roar of
drums. In the right hand they held a finely woven grass fan, with a heavy
black wooden handle curiously chased: these fans they kept in continual
motion.
But no attention whatever seemed to be paid to the drummers or to the old
priests; the individuals who composed the vast crowd present being
entirely taken up in chanting and laughing with one another, smoking,
drinking 'arva', and eating. For all the observation it attracted, or the
good it achieved, the whole savage orchestra might with great advantage to
its own members and the company in general, have ceased the prodigious
uproar they were making.
In vain I questioned Kory-Kory and others of the natives, as to the
meaning of the strange things that were going on; all their explanations
were conveyed in such a mass of outlandish gibberish and gesticulation
that I gave up the attempt in despair. All that day the drums resounded,
the priests chanted, and the multitude feasted and roared till sunset,
when the throng dispersed, and the Taboo Groves were again abandoned to
quiet and repose. The next day the same scene was repeated until night,
when this singular festival terminated.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
IDEAS SUGGESTED BY THE FEAST OF CALABASHES—INACCURACY OF CERTAIN
PUBLISHED ACCOUNTS OF THE ISLANDS—A REASON—NEGLECTED STATE OF
HEATHENISM IN THE VALLEY—EFFIGY OF A DEAD WARRIOR—A SINGULAR
SUPERSTITION—THE PRIEST KOLORY AND THE GOD MOA ARTUA—AMAZING
RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE—A DILAPIDATED SHRINE—KORY-KORY AND THE
IDOL—AN INFERENCE
ALTHOUGH I had been baffled in my attempts to learn the origin of the
Feast of Calabashes, yet it seemed very plain to me that it was
principally, if not wholly, of a religious character. As a religious
solemnity, however, it had not at all corresponded with the horrible
descriptions of Polynesian worship which we have received in some
published narratives, and especially in those accounts of the evangelized
islands with which the missionaries have favoured us. Did not the sacred
character of these persons render the purity of their intentions
unquestionable, I should certainly be led to suppose that they had
exaggerated the evils of Paganism, in order to enhance the merit of their
own disinterested labours.
In a certain work incidentally treating of the 'Washington, or Northern
Marquesas Islands,' I have seen the frequent immolation of human victims
upon the altars of their gods, positively and repeatedly charged upon the
inhabitants. The same work gives also a rather minute account of their
religion—enumerates a great many of their superstitions—and
makes known the particular designations of numerous orders of the
priesthood. One would almost imagine from the long list that is given of
cannibal primates, bishops, arch-deacons, prebendaries, and other inferior
ecclesiastics, that the sacerdotal order far outnumbered the rest of the
population, and that the poor natives were more severely priest-ridden
than even the inhabitants of the papal states. These accounts are likewise
calculated to leave upon the reader's mind an impression that human
victims are daily cooked and served up upon the altars; that heathenish
cruelties of every description are continually practised; and that these
ignorant Pagans are in a state of the extremest wretchedness in
consequence of the grossness of their superstitions. Be it observed,
however, that all this information is given by a man who, according to his
own statement, was only at one of the islands, and remained there but two
weeks, sleeping every night on board his ship, and taking little kid-glove
excursions ashore in the daytime, attended by an armed party.
Now, all I can say is, that in all my excursions through the valley of
Typee, I never saw any of these alleged enormities. If any of them are
practised upon the Marquesas Islands they must certainly have come to my
knowledge while living for months with a tribe of savages, wholly
unchanged from their original primitive condition, and reputed the most
ferocious in the South Seas.
The fact is, that there is a vast deal of unintentional humbuggery in some
of the accounts we have from scientific men concerning the religious
institutions of Polynesia. These learned tourists generally obtain the
greater part of their information from retired old South-Sea rovers, who
have domesticated themselves among the barbarous tribes of the Pacific.
Jack, who has long been accustomed to the long-bow, and to spin tough
yarns on the ship's forecastle, invariably officiates as showman of the
island on which he has settled, and having mastered a few dozen words of
the language, is supposed to know all about the people who speak it. A
natural desire to make himself of consequence in the eyes of the
strangers, prompts him to lay claim to a much greater knowledge of such
matters than he actually possesses. In reply to incessant queries, he
communicates not only all he knows but a good deal more, and if there be
any information deficient still he is at no loss to supply it. The avidity
with which his anecdotes are noted down tickles his vanity, and his powers
of invention increase with the credulity auditors. He knows just the sort
of information wanted, and furnishes it to any extent.
This is not a supposed case; I have met with several individuals like the
one described, and I have been present at two or three of their interviews
with strangers.
Now, when the scientific voyager arrives at home with his collection of
wonders, he attempts, perhaps, to give a description of some of the
strange people he has been visiting. Instead of representing them as a
community of lusty savages, who are leading a merry, idle, innocent life,
he enters into a very circumstantial and learned narrative of certain
unaccountable superstitions and practices, about which he knows as little
as the islanders themselves. Having had little time, and scarcely any
opportunity, to become acquainted with the customs he pretends to
describe, he writes them down one after another in an off-hand, haphazard
style; and were the book thus produced to be translated into the tongue of
the people of whom it purports to give the history, it would appear quite
as wonderful to them as it does to the American public, and much more
improbable.
For my own part, I am free to confess my almost entire inability to
gratify any curiosity that may be felt with regard to the theology of the
valley. I doubt whether the inhabitants themselves could do so. They are
either too lazy or too sensible to worry themselves about abstract points
of religious belief. While I was among them, they never held any synods or
councils to settle the principles of their faith by agitating them. An
unbounded liberty of conscience seemed to prevail. Those who pleased to do
so were allowed to repose implicit faith in an ill-favoured god with a
large bottle-nose and fat shapeless arms crossed upon his breast; whilst
others worshipped an image which, having no likeness either in heaven or
on earth, could hardly be called an idol. As the islanders always
maintained a discreet reserve with regard to my own peculiar views on
religion, I thought it would be excessively ill-bred of me to pry into
theirs.
But, although my knowledge of the religious faith of the Typees was
unavoidably limited, one of their superstitious observances with which I
became acquainted interested me greatly.
In one of the most secluded portions of the valley within a stone's cast
of Fayaway's lake—for so I christened the scene of our island
yachting—and hard by a growth of palms, which stood ranged in order
along both banks of the stream, waving their green arms as if to do honour
to its passage, was the mausoleum of a deceased, warrior chief. Like all
the other edifices of any note, it was raised upon a small pi-pi of
stones, which, being of unusual height, was a conspicuous object from a
distance. A light thatching of bleached palmetto-leaves hung over it like
a self supported canopy; for it was not until you came very near that you
saw it was supported by four slender columns of bamboo rising at each
corner to a little more than the height of a man. A clear area of a few
yards surrounded the pi-pi, and was enclosed by four trunks of cocoanut
trees resting at the angles on massive blocks of stone. The place was
sacred. The sign of the inscrutable Taboo was seen in the shape of a
mystic roll of white tappa, suspended by a twisted cord of the same
material from the top of a slight pole planted within the enclosure*. The
sanctity of the spot appeared never to have been violated. The stillness
of the grave was there, and the calm solitude around was beautiful and
touching. The soft shadows of those lofty palm-trees!—I can see them
now—hanging over the little temple, as if to keep out the intrusive
sun.
*White appears to be the sacred colour among the Marquesans.
On all sides as you approached this silent spot you caught sight of the
dead chief's effigy, seated in the stern of a canoe, which was raised on a
light frame a few inches above the level of the pi-pi. The canoe was about
seven feet in length; of a rich, dark coloured wood, handsomely carved and
adorned in many places with variegated bindings of stained sinnate, into
which were ingeniously wrought a number of sparkling seashells, and a belt
of the same shells ran all round it. The body of the figure—of
whatever material it might have been made—was effectually concealed
in a heavy robe of brown tappa, revealing; only the hands and head; the
latter skilfully carved in wood, and surmounted by a superb arch of
plumes. These plumes, in the subdued and gentle gales which found access
to this sequestered spot, were never for one moment at rest, but kept
nodding and waving over the chief's brow. The long leaves of the palmetto
drooped over the eaves, and through them you saw the warrior holding his
paddle with both hands in the act of rowing, leaning forward and inclining
his head, as if eager to hurry on his voyage. Glaring at him forever, and
face to face, was a polished human skull, which crowned the prow of the
canoe. The spectral figurehead, reversed in its position, glancing
backwards, seemed to mock the impatient attitude of the warrior.
When I first visited this singular place with Kory-Kory, he told me—or
at least I so understood him—that the chief was paddling his way to
the realms of bliss, and bread-fruit—the Polynesian heaven—where
every moment the bread-fruit trees dropped their ripened spheres to the
ground, and where there was no end to the cocoanuts and bananas: there
they reposed through the livelong eternity upon mats much finer than those
of Typee; and every day bathed their glowing limbs in rivers of cocoanut
oil. In that happy land there were plenty of plumes and feathers, and
boars'-tusks and sperm-whale teeth, far preferable to all the shining
trinkets and gay tappa of the white men; and, best of all, women far
lovelier than the daughters of earth were there in abundance. 'A very
pleasant place,' Kory-Kory said it was; 'but after all, not much
pleasanter, he thought, than Typee.' 'Did he not then,' I asked him, 'wish
to accompany the warrior?' 'Oh no: he was very happy where he was; but
supposed that some time or other he would go in his own canoe.'
Thus far, I think, I clearly comprehended Kory-Kory. But there was a
singular expression he made use of at the time, enforced by as singular a
gesture, the meaning of which I would have given much to penetrate. I am
inclined to believe it must have been a proverb he uttered; for I
afterwards heard him repeat the same words several times, and in what
appeared to me to be a somewhat: similar sense. Indeed, Kory-Kory had a
great variety of short, smart-sounding sentences, with which he frequently
enlivened his discourse; and he introduced them with an air which plainly
intimated, that in his opinion, they settled the matter in question,
whatever it might be.
Could it have been then, that when I asked him whether he desired to go to
this heaven of bread-fruit, cocoanuts, and young ladies, which he had been
describing, he answered by saying something equivalent to our old adage—'A
bird in the hand is worth two in the bush'?—if he did, Kory-Kory was
a discreet and sensible fellow, and I cannot sufficiently admire his
shrewdness.
Whenever, in the course of my rambles through the valley I happened to be
near the chief's mausoleum, I always turned aside to visit it. The place
had a peculiar charm for me; I hardly know why, but so it was. As I leaned
over the railing and gazed upon the strange effigy and watched the play of
the feathery head-dress, stirred by the same breeze which in low tones
breathed amidst the lofty palm-trees, I loved to yield myself up to the
fanciful superstition of the islanders, and could almost believe that the
grim warrior was bound heavenward. In this mood when I turned to depart, I
bade him 'God speed, and a pleasant voyage.' Aye, paddle away, brave
chieftain, to the land of spirits! To the material eye thou makest but
little progress; but with the eye of faith, I see thy canoe cleaving the
bright waves, which die away on those dimly looming shores of Paradise.
This strange superstition affords another evidence of the fact, that
however ignorant man may be, he still feels within him his immortal spirit
yearning, after the unknown future.
Although the religious theories of the islands were a complete mystery to
me, their practical every-day operation could not be concealed. I
frequently passed the little temples reposing in the shadows of the taboo
groves and beheld the offerings—mouldy fruit spread out upon a rude
altar, or hanging in half-decayed baskets around some uncouth
jolly-looking image; I was present during the continuance of the festival;
I daily beheld the grinning idols marshalled rank and file in the Hoolah
Hoolah ground, and was often in the habit of meeting those whom I supposed
to be the priests. But the temples seemed to be abandoned to solitude; the
festival had been nothing more than a jovial mingling of the tribe; the
idols were quite harmless as any other logs of wood; and the priests were
the merriest dogs in the valley.
In fact religious affairs in Typee were at a very low ebb: all such
matters sat very lightly upon the thoughtless inhabitants; and, in the
celebration of many of their strange rites, they appeared merely to seek a
sort of childish amusement.
A curious evidence of this was given in a remarkable ceremony in which I
frequently saw Mehevi and several other chefs and warriors of note take
part; but never a single female.
Among those whom I looked upon as forming the priesthood of the valley,
there was one in particular who often attracted my notice, and whom I
could not help regarding as the head of the order. He was a noble looking
man, in the prime of his life, and of a most benignant aspect. The
authority this man, whose name was Kolory, seemed to exercise over the
rest, the episcopal part he took in the Feast of Calabashes, his sleek and
complacent appearance, the mystic characters which were tattooed upon his
chest, and above all the mitre he frequently wore, in the shape of a
towering head-dress, consisting of part of a cocoanut branch, the stalk
planted uprightly on his brow, and the leaflets gathered together and
passed round the temples and behind the ears, all these pointed him out as
Lord Primate of Typee. Kolory was a sort of Knight Templar—a
soldier-priest; for he often wore the dress of a Marquesan warrior, and
always carried a long spear, which, instead of terminating in a paddle at
the lower end, after the general fashion of these weapons, was curved into
a heathenish-looking little image. This instrument, however, might perhaps
have been emblematic of his double functions. With one end in carnal
combat he transfixed the enemies of his tribe; and with the other as a
pastoral crook he kept in order his spiritual flock. But this is not all I
have to say about Kolory.
His martial grace very often carried about with him what seemed to me the
half of a broken war-club. It was swathed round with ragged bits of white
tappa, and the upper part, which was intended to represent a human head,
was embellished with a strip of scarlet cloth of European manufacture. It
required little observation to discover that this strange object was
revered as a god. By the side of the big and lusty images standing
sentinel over the altars of the Hoolah Hoolah ground, it seemed a mere
pigmy in tatters. But appearances all the world over are deceptive. Little
men are sometimes very potent, and rags sometimes cover very extensive
pretensions. In fact, this funny little image was the 'crack' god of the
island; lording it over all the wooden lubbers who looked so grim and
dreadful; its name was Moa Artua*. And it was in honour of Moa Artua, and
for the entertainment of those who believe in him, that the curious
ceremony I am about to describe was observed.
*The word 'Artua', although having some other significations, is in nearly
all the Polynesian dialects used as the general designation of the gods.
Mehevi and the chieftains of the Ti have just risen from their noontide
slumbers. There are no affairs of state to dispose of; and having eaten
two or three breakfasts in the course of the morning, the magnates of the
valley feel no appetite as yet for dinner. How are their leisure moments
to be occupied? They smoke, they chat, and at last one of their number
makes a proposition to the rest, who joyfully acquiescing, he darts out of
the house, leaps from the pi-pi, and disappears in the grove. Soon you see
him returning with Kolory, who bears the god Moa Artua in his arms, and
carries in one hand a small trough, hollowed out in the likeness of a
canoe. The priest comes along dandling his charge as if it were a
lachrymose infant he was endeavouring to put into a good humour. Presently
entering the Ti, he seats himself on the mats as composedly as a juggler
about to perform his sleight-of-hand tricks; and with the chiefs disposed
in a circle around him, commences his ceremony. In the first place he
gives Moa Artua an affectionate hug, then caressingly lays him to his
breast, and, finally, whispers something in his ear; the rest of the
company listening eagerly for a reply. But the baby-god is deaf or dumb,—perhaps
both, for never a word does, he utter. At last Kolory speaks a little
louder, and soon growing angry, comes boldly out with what he has to say
and bawls to him. He put me in mind of a choleric fellow, who, after
trying in vain to communicated a secret to a deaf man, all at once flies
into a passion and screams it out so that every one may hear. Still Moa
Artua remains as quiet as ever; and Kolory, seemingly losing his temper,
fetches him a box over the head, strips him of his tappa and red cloth,
and laying him in a state of nudity in a little trough, covers him from
sight. At this proceeding all present loudly applaud and signify their
approval by uttering the adjective 'motarkee' with violent emphasis.
Kolory however, is so desirous his conduct should meet with unqualified
approbation, that he inquires of each individual separately whether under
existing circumstances he has not done perfectly right in shutting up Moa
Artua. The invariable response is 'Aa, Aa' (yes, yes), repeated over again
and again in a manner which ought to quiet the scruples of the most
conscientious. After a few moments Kolory brings forth his doll again, and
while arraying it very carefully in the tappa and red cloth, alternately
fondles and chides it. The toilet being completed, he once more speaks to
it aloud. The whole company hereupon show the greatest interest; while the
priest holding Moa Artua to his ear interprets to them what he pretends
the god is confidentially communicating to him. Some items intelligence
appear to tickle all present amazingly; for one claps his hands in a
rapture; another shouts with merriment; and a third leaps to his feet and
capers about like a madman.
What under the sun Moa Artua on these occasions had to say to Kolory I
never could find out; but I could not help thinking that the former showed
a sad want of spirit in being disciplined into making those disclosures,
which at first he seemed bent on withholding. Whether the priest honestly
interpreted what he believed the divinity said to him, or whether he was
not all the while guilty of a vile humbug, I shall not presume to decide.
At any rate, whatever as coming from the god was imparted to those present
seemed to be generally of a complimentary nature: a fact which illustrates
the sagacity of Kolory, or else the timeserving disposition of this hardly
used deity.
Moa Artua having nothing more to say, his bearer goes to nursing him
again, in which occupation, however, he is soon interrupted by a question
put by one of the warriors to the god. Kolory hereupon snatches it up to
his ear again, and after listening attentively, once more officiates as
the organ of communication. A multitude of questions and answers having
passed between the parties, much to the satisfaction of those who propose
them, the god is put tenderly to bed in the trough, and the whole company
unite in a long chant, led off by Kolory. This ended, the ceremony is
over; the chiefs rise to their feet in high good humour, and my Lord
Archbishop, after chatting awhile, and regaling himself with a whiff or
two from a pipe of tobacco, tucks the canoe under his arm and marches off
with it.
The whole of these proceedings were like those of a parcel of children
playing with dolls and baby houses.
For a youngster scarcely ten inches high, and with so few early advantages
as he doubtless had had, Moa Artua was certainly a precocious little
fellow if he really said all that was imputed to him; but for what reason
this poor devil of a deity, thus cuffed about, cajoled, and shut up in a
box, was held in greater estimation than the full-grown and dignified
personages of the Taboo Groves, I cannot divine. And yet Mehevi, and other
chiefs of unquestionable veracity—to say nothing of the Primate
himself—assured me over and over again that Moa Artua was the
tutelary deity of Typee, and was more to be held in honour than a whole
battalion of the clumsy idols in the Hoolah Hoolah grounds.
Kory-Kory—who seemed to have devoted considerable attention to the
study of theology, as he knew the names of all the graven images in the
valley, and often repeated them over to me—likewise entertained some
rather enlarged ideas with regard to the character and pretensions of Moa
Artua. He once gave me to understand, with a gesture there was no
misconceiving, that if he (Moa Artua) were so minded he could cause a
cocoanut tree to sprout out of his (Kory-Kory's) head; and that it would
be the easiest thing in life for him (Moa Artua) to take the whole island
of Nukuheva in his mouth and dive down to the bottom of the sea with it.
But in sober seriousness, I hardly knew what to make of the religion of
the valley. There was nothing that so much perplexed the illustrious Cook,
in his intercourse with the South Sea islanders, as their sacred rites.
Although this prince of navigators was in many instances assisted by
interpreters in the prosecution of his researches, he still frankly
acknowledges that he was at a loss to obtain anything like a clear insight
into the puzzling arcana of their faith. A similar admission has been made
by other eminent voyagers: by Carteret, Byron, Kotzebue, and Vancouver.
For my own part, although hardly a day passed while I remained upon the
island that I did not witness some religious ceremony or other, it was
very much like seeing a parcel of 'Freemasons' making secret signs to each
other; I saw everything, but could comprehend nothing.
On the whole, I am inclined to believe, that the islanders in the Pacific
have no fixed and definite ideas whatever on the subject of religion. I am
persuaded that Kolory himself would be effectually posed were he called
upon to draw up the articles of his faith and pronounce the creed by which
he hoped to be saved. In truth, the Typees, so far as their actions
evince, submitted to no laws human or divine—always excepting the
thrice mysterious Taboo. The 'independent electors' of the valley were not
to be brow-beaten by chiefs, priests, idol or devils. As for the luckless
idols, they received more hard knocks than supplications. I do not wonder
that some of them looked so grim, and stood so bolt upright as if fearful
of looking to the right or the left lest they should give any one offence.
The fact is, they had to carry themselves 'PRETTY STRAIGHT,' or suffer the
consequences. Their worshippers were such a precious set of fickle-minded
and irreverent heathens, that there was no telling when they might topple
one of them over, break it to pieces, and making a fire with it on the
very altar itself, fall to roasting the offerings of bread-fruit, and at
them in spite of its teeth.
In how little reverence these unfortunate deities were held by the natives
was on one occasion most convincingly proved to me.—Walking with
Kory-Kory through the deepest recesses of the groves, I perceived a
curious looking image, about six feet in height which originally had been
placed upright against a low pi-pi, surmounted by a ruinous bamboo temple,
but having become fatigued and weak in the knees, was now carelessly
leaning against it. The idol was partly concealed by the foliage of a tree
which stood near, and whose leafy boughs drooped over the pile of stones,
as if to protect the rude fane from the decay to which it was rapidly
hastening. The image itself was nothing more than a grotesquely shaped
log, carved in the likeness of a portly naked man with the arms clasped
over the head, the jaws thrown wide apart, and its thick shapeless legs
bowed into an arch. It was much decayed. The lower part was overgrown with
a bright silky moss. Thin spears of grass sprouted from the distended
mouth, and fringed the outline of the head and arms. His godship had
literally attained a green old age. All its prominent points were bruised
and battered, or entirely rotted away. The nose had taken its departure,
and from the general appearance of the head it might have, been supposed
that the wooden divinity, in despair at the neglect of its worshippers,
had been trying to beat its own brains out against the surrounding trees.
I drew near to inspect more closely this strange object of idolatry, but
halted reverently at the distance of two or three paces, out of regard to
the religious prejudices of my valet. As soon, however, as Kory-Kory
perceived that I was in one of my inquiring, scientific moods, to my
astonishment, he sprang to the side of the idol, and pushing it away from
the stones against which it rested, endeavoured to make it stand upon its
legs. But the divinity had lost the use of them altogether; and while
Kory-Kory was trying to prop it up, placing a stick between it and the
pi-pi, the monster fell clumsily to the ground, and would have infallibly
have broken its neck had not Kory-Kory providentially broken its fall by
receiving its whole weight on his own half-crushed back. I never saw the
honest fellow in such a rage before. He leaped furiously to his feet, and
seizing the stick, began beating the poor image: every moment, or two
pausing and talking to it in the most violent manner, as if upbraiding it
for the accident. When his indignation had subsided a little he whirled
the idol about most profanely, so as to give me an opportunity of
examining it on all sides. I am quite sure I never should have presumed to
have taken such liberties with the god myself, and I was not a little
shocked at Kory-Kory's impiety.
This anecdote speaks for itself. When one of the inferior order of natives
could show such contempt for a venerable and decrepit God of the Groves,
what the state of religion must be among the people in general is easy to
be imagined. In truth, I regard the Typees as a back-slidden generation.
They are sunk in religious sloth, and require a spiritual revival. A long
prosperity of bread-fruit and cocoanuts has rendered them remiss in the
performance of their higher obligations. The wood-rot malady is spreading
among the idols—the fruit upon their altars is becoming offensive—the
temples themselves need rethatching—the tattooed clergy are
altogether too light-hearted and lazy—and their flocks are going
astray.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
GENERAL INFORMATION GATHERED AT THE FESTIVAL—PERSONAL BEAUTY OF THE
TYPEES—THEIR SUPERIORITY OVER THE INHABITANTS OF THE OTHER ISLANDS—DIVERSITY
OF COMPLEXION—A VEGETABLE COSMETIC AND OINTMENT—TESTIMONY OF
VOYAGERS TO THE UNCOMMON BEAUTY OF THE MARQUESANS—FEW EVIDENCES OF
INTERCOURSE WITH CIVILIZED BEINGS—DILAPIDATED MUSKET—PRIMITIVE
SIMPLICITY OF GOVERNMENT—REGAL DIGNITY OF MEHEVI
ALTHOUGH I had been unable during the late festival to obtain information
on many interesting subjects which had much excited my curiosity, still
that important event had not passed by without adding materially to my
general knowledge of the islanders.
I was especially struck by the physical strength and beauty which they
displayed, by their great superiority in these respects over the
inhabitants of the neighbouring bay of Nukuheva, and by the singular
contrasts they presented among themselves in their various shades of
complexion.
In beauty of form they surpassed anything I had ever seen. Not a single
instance of natural deformity was observable in all the throng attending
the revels. Occasionally I noticed among the men the scars of wounds they
had received in battle; and sometimes, though very seldom, the loss of a
finger, an eye, or an arm, attributable to the same cause. With these
exceptions, every individual appeared free from those blemishes which
sometimes mar the effect of an otherwise perfect form. But their physical
excellence did not merely consist in an exemption from these evils; nearly
every individual of their number might have been taken for a sculptor's
model.
When I remembered that these islanders derived no advantage from dress,
but appeared in all the naked simplicity of nature, I could not avoid
comparing them with the fine gentlemen and dandies who promenade such
unexceptionable figures in our frequented thoroughfares. Stripped of the
cunning artifices of the tailor, and standing forth in the garb of Eden—what
a sorry, set of round-shouldered, spindle-shanked, crane-necked varlets
would civilized men appear! Stuffed calves, padded breasts, and
scientifically cut pantaloons would then avail them nothing, and the
effect would be truly deplorable.
Nothing in the appearance of the islanders struck me more forcibly than
the whiteness of their teeth. The novelist always compares the masticators
of his heroine to ivory; but I boldly pronounce the teeth of the Typee to
be far more beautiful than ivory itself. The jaws of the oldest graybeards
among them were much better garnished than those of most of the youths of
civilized countries; while the teeth of the young and middle-aged, in
their purity and whiteness, were actually dazzling to the eye. Their
marvellous whiteness of the teeth is to be ascribed to the pure vegetable
diet of these people, and the uninterrupted healthfulness of their natural
mode of life.
The men, in almost every instance, are of lofty stature, scarcely ever
less than six feet in height, while the other sex are uncommonly
diminutive. The early period of life at which the human form arrives at
maturity in this generous tropical climate, likewise deserves to be
mentioned. A little creature, not more than thirteen years of age, and who
in other particulars might be regarded as a mere child, is often seen
nursing her own baby, whilst lads who, under less ripening skies, would be
still at school, are here responsible fathers of families.
On first entering the Typee Valley, I had been struck with the marked
contrast presented by its inhabitants with those of the bay I had
previously left. In the latter place, I had not been favourably impressed
with the personal appearance of the male portion of the population;
although with the females, excepting in some truly melancholy instances, I
had been wonderfully pleased. I had observed that even the little
intercourse Europeans had carried on with the Nukuheva natives had not
failed to leave its traces amongst them. One of the most dreadful curses
under which humanity labours had commenced its havocks, and betrayed, as
it ever does among the South Sea islanders, the most aggravated symptoms.
From this, as from all other foreign inflictions, the yet uncontaminated
tenants of the Typee Valley were wholly exempt; and long may they continue
so. Better will it be for them for ever to remain the happy and innocent
heathens and barbarians that they now are, than, like the wretched
inhabitants of the Sandwich Islands, to enjoy the mere name of Christians
without experiencing any of the vital operations of true religion, whilst,
at the same time, they are made the victims of the worst vices and evils
of civilized life.
Apart, however, from these considerations, I am inclined to believe that
there exists a radical difference between the two tribes, if indeed they
are not distinct races of men. To those who have merely touched at
Nukuheva Bay, without visiting other portions of the island, it would
hardly appear credible the diversities presented between the various small
clans inhabiting so diminutive a spot. But the hereditary hostility which
has existed between them for ages, fully accounts for this.
Not so easy, however, is it to assign an adequate cause for the endless
variety of complexions to be seen in the Typee Valley. During the
festival, I had noticed several young females whose skins were almost as
white as any Saxon damsel's; a slight dash of the mantling brown being all
that marked the difference. This comparative fairness of complexion,
though in a great degree perfectly natural, is partly the result of an
artificial process, and of an entire exclusion from the sun. The juice of
the 'papa' root found in great abundance at the head of the valley, is
held in great esteem as a cosmetic, with which many of the females daily
anoint their whole person. The habitual use of it whitens and beautifies
the skin. Those of the young girls who resort to this method of
heightening their charms, never expose themselves selves to the rays of
the sun; an observance, however, that produces little or no inconvenience,
since there are but few of the inhabited portions of the vale which are
not shaded over with a spreading canopy of boughs, so that one may journey
from house to house, scarcely deviating from the direct course, and yet
never once see his shadow cast upon the ground.
The 'papa', when used, is suffered to remain upon the skin for several
hours; being of a light green colour, it consequently imparts for the time
a similar hue to the complexion. Nothing, therefore, can be imagined more
singular than the appearance of these nearly naked damsels immediately
after the application of the cosmetic. To look at one of them you would
almost suppose she was some vegetable in an unripe state; and that,
instead of living in the shade for ever, she ought to be placed out in the
sun to ripen.
All the islanders are more or less in the habit of anointing themselves;
the women preferring the 'aker' to 'papa', and the men using the oil of
the cocoanut. Mehevi was remarkable fond of mollifying his entire cuticle
with this ointment. Sometimes he might be seen, with his whole body fairly
reeking with the perfumed oil of the nut, looking as if he had just
emerged from a soap-boiler's vat, or had undergone the process of dipping
in a tallow-chandlery. To this cause perhaps, united to their frequent
bathing and extreme cleanliness, is ascribable, in a great measure, the
marvellous purity and smoothness of skin exhibited by the natives in
general.
The prevailing tint among the women of the valley was a light olive, and
of this style of complexion Fayaway afforded the most beautiful example.
Others were still darker; while not a few were of a genuine golden colour,
and some of a swarthy hue.
As agreeing with much previously mentioned in this narrative I may here
observe that Mendanna, their discoverer, in his account of the Marquesas,
described the natives as wondrously beautiful to behold, and as nearly
resembling the people of southern Europe. The first of these islands seen
by Mendanna was La Madelena, which is not far distant from Nukuheva; and
its inhabitants in every respect resemble those dwelling on that and the
other islands of the group. Figueroa, the chronicler of Mendanna's voyage,
says, that on the morning the land was descried, when the Spaniards drew
near the shore, there sallied forth, in rude progression, about seventy
canoes, and at the same time many of the inhabitants (females I presume)
made towards the ships by swimming. He adds, that 'in complexion they were
nearly white; of good stature, and finely formed; and on their faces and
bodies were delineated representations of fishes and other devices'. The
old Don then goes on to say, 'There came, among others, two lads paddling
their canoe, whose eyes were fixed on the ship; they had beautiful faces
and the most promising animation of countenance; and were in all things so
becoming, that the pilot-mayor Quiros affirmed, nothing in his life ever
caused him so much regret as the leaving such fine creatures to be lost in
that country.'* More than two hundred years have gone by since the passage
of which the above is a translation was written; and it appears to me now,
as I read it, as fresh and true as if written but yesterday. The islanders
are still the same; and I have seen boys in the Typee Valley of whose
'beautiful faces' and promising 'animation of countenance' no one who has
not beheld them can form any adequate idea. Cook, in the account of his
voyage, pronounces the Marquesans as by far the most splendid islanders in
the South Seas. Stewart, the chaplain of the U.S. ship Vincennes, in his
'Scenes in the South Seas', expresses, in more than one place, his
amazement at the surpassing loveliness of the women; and says that many of
the Nukuheva damsels reminded him forcibly of the most celebrated beauties
in his own land. Fanning, a Yankee mariner of some reputation, likewise
records his lively impressions of the physical appearance of these people;
and Commodore David Porter of the U.S. frigate Essex, is said to have been
vastly smitten by the beauty of the ladies. Their great superiority over
all other Polynesians cannot fail to attract the notice of those who visit
the principal groups in the Pacific. The voluptuous Tahitians are the only
people who at all deserve to be compared with them; while the dark-haired
Hawaiians and the woolly-headed Feejees are immeasurably inferior to them.
The distinguishing characteristic of the Marquesan islanders, and that
which at once strikes you, is the European cast of their features—a
peculiarity seldom observable among other uncivilized people. Many of
their faces present profiles classically beautiful, and in the valley of
Typee I saw several who, like the stranger Marnoo, were in every respect
models of beauty.
* This passage, which is cited as an almost literal translation from the
original, I found in a small volume entitled 'Circumnavigation of the
Globe, in which volume are several extracts from 'Dalrymple's Historical
Collections'. The last-mentioned work I have never seen, but it is said to
contain a very correct English version of great part of the learned Doctor
Christoval Suaverde da Figueroa's History of Mendanna's Voyage, published
at Madrid, A.D. 1613.
Some of the natives present at the Feast of Calabashes had displayed a few
articles of European dress; disposed however, about their persons after
their own peculiar fashion. Among these I perceived two pieces of
cotton-cloth which poor Toby and myself had bestowed upon our youthful
guides the afternoon we entered the valley. They were evidently reserved
for gala days; and during those of the festival they rendered the young
islanders who wore them very distinguished characters. The small number
who were similarly adorned, and the great value they appeared to place
upon the most common and most trivial articles, furnished ample evidence
of the very restricted intercourse they held with vessels touching at the
island. A few cotton handkerchiefs, of a gay pattern, tied about the neck,
and suffered to fall over the shoulder; strips of fanciful calico, swathed
about the loins, were nearly all I saw.
Indeed, throughout the valley, there were few things of any kind to be
seen of European origin. All I ever saw, besides the articles just alluded
to, were the six muskets preserved in the Ti, and three or four similar
implements of warfare hung up in other houses; some small canvas bags,
partly filled with bullets and powder, and half a dozen old hatchet-heads,
with the edges blunted and battered to such a degree as to render them
utterly useless. These last seemed to be regarded as nearly worthless by
the natives; and several times they held up, one of them before me, and
throwing it aside with a gesture of disgust, manifested their contempt for
anything that could so soon become unserviceable.
But the muskets, the powder, and the bullets were held in most extravagant
esteem. The former, from their great age and the peculiarities they
exhibited, were well worthy a place in any antiquarian's armoury. I
remember in particular one that hung in the Ti, and which Mehevi—supposing
as a matter of course that I was able to repair it—had put into my
hands for that purpose. It was one of those clumsy, old-fashioned, English
pieces known generally as Tower Hill muskets, and, for aught I know, might
have been left on the island by Wallace, Carteret, Cook, or Vancouver. The
stock was half rotten and worm-eaten; the lock was as rusty and about as
well adapted to its ostensible purpose as an old door-hinge; the threading
of the screws about the trigger was completely worn away; while the barrel
shook in the wood. Such was the weapon the chief desired me to restore to
its original condition. As I did not possess the accomplishments of a
gunsmith, and was likewise destitute of the necessary tools, I was
reluctantly obliged to signify my inability to perform the task. At this
unexpected communication Mehevi regarded me, for a moment, as if he half
suspected I was some inferior sort of white man, who after all did not
know much more than a Typee. However, after a most laboured explanation of
the matter, I succeeded in making him understand the extreme difficulty of
the task. Scarcely satisfied with my apologies, however, he marched off
with the superannuated musket in something of a huff, as if he would no
longer expose it to the indignity of being manipulated by such unskilful
fingers.
During the festival I had not failed to remark the simplicity of manner,
the freedom from all restraint, and, to certain degree, the equality of
condition manifested by the natives in general. No one appeared to assume
any arrogant pretensions. There was little more than a slight difference
in costume to distinguish the chiefs from the other natives. All appeared
to mix together freely, and without any reserve; although I noticed that
the wishes of a chief, even when delivered in the mildest tone, received
the same immediate obedience which elsewhere would have been only accorded
to a peremptory command. What may be the extent of the authority of the
chiefs over the rest of the tribe, I will not venture to assert; but from
all I saw during my stay in the valley, I was induced to believe that in
matters concerning the general welfare it was very limited. The required
degree of deference towards them, however, was willingly and cheerfully
yielded; and as all authority is transmitted from father to son, I have no
doubt that one of the effects here, as elsewhere, of high birth, is to
induce respect and obedience.
The civil institutions of the Marquesas Islands appear to be in this, as
in other respects, directly the reverse of those of the Tahitian and
Hawaiian groups, where the original power of the king and chiefs was far
more despotic than that of any tyrant in civilized countries. At Tahiti it
used to be death for one of the inferior orders to approach, without
permission, under the shadow, of the king's house; or to fail in paying
the customary reverence when food destined for the king was borne past
them by his messengers. At the Sandwich Islands, Kaahumanu, the gigantic
old dowager queen—a woman of nearly four hundred pounds weight, and
who is said to be still living at Mowee—was accustomed, in some of
her terrific gusts of temper, to snatch up an ordinary sized man who had
offended her, and snap his spine across her knee. Incredible as this may
seem, it is a fact. While at Lahainaluna—the residence of this
monstrous Jezebel—a humpbacked wretch was pointed out to me, who,
some twenty-five years previously, had had the vertebrae of his backbone
very seriously discomposed by his gentle mistress.
The particular grades of rank existing among the chiefs of Typee, I could
not in all cases determine. Previous to the Feast of Calabashes I had been
puzzled what particular station to assign to Mehevi. But the important
part he took upon that occasion convinced me that he had no superior among
the inhabitants of the valley. I had invariably noticed a certain degree
of deference paid to him by all with whom I had ever seen him brought in
contact; but when I remembered that my wanderings had been confined to a
limited portion of the valley, and that towards the sea a number of
distinguished chiefs resided, some of whom had separately visited me at
Marheyo's house, and whom, until the Festival, I had never seen in the
company of Mehevi, I felt disposed to believe that his rank after all
might not be particularly elevated.
The revels, however, had brought together all the warriors whom I had seen
individually and in groups at different times and places. Among them
Mehevi moved with an easy air of superiority which was not to be mistaken;
and he whom I had only looked at as the hospitable host of the Ti, and one
of the military leaders of the tribe, now assumed in my eyes the dignity
of royal station. His striking costume, no less than his naturally
commanding figure, seemed indeed to give him pre-eminence over the rest.
The towering helmet of feathers that he wore raised him in height above
all who surrounded him; and though some others were similarly adorned, the
length and luxuriance of their plumes were inferior to his.
Mehevi was in fact the greatest of the chiefs—the head of his clan—the
sovereign of the valley; and the simplicity of the social institutions of
the people could not have been more completely proved than by the fact,
that after having been several weeks in the valley, and almost in daily
intercourse with Mehevi, I should have remained until the time of the
festival ignorant of his regal character. But a new light had now broken
in upon me. The Ti was the palace—and Mehevi the king. Both the one
and the other of a most simple and patriarchal nature: it must be allowed,
and wholly unattended by the ceremonious pomp which usually surrounds the
purple.
After having made this discovery I could not avoid congratulating myself
that Mehevi had from the first taken me as it were under his royal
protection, and that he still continued to entertain for me the warmest
regard, as far at least as I was enabled to judge from appearances. For
the future I determined to pay most assiduous court to him, hoping that
eventually through his kindness I might obtain my liberty.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
KING MEHEVI—ALLUSION TO HIS HAWAIIAN MAJESTY—CONDUCT OF
MARHEYO AND MEHEVI IN CERTAIN DELICATE MATTERS—PECULIAR SYSTEM OF
MARRIAGE—NUMBER OF POPULATION—UNIFORMITY—EMBALMING—PLACES
OF SEPULTURE—FUNERAL OBSEQUIES AT NUKUHEVA-NUMBER OF INHABITANTS IN
TYPEE—LOCATION OF THE DWELLINGS—HAPPINESS ENJOYED IN THE
VALLEY—A WARNING—SOME IDEAS WITH REGARD TO THE PRESENT STATE
OF THE HAWAIIANS—STORY OF A MISSIONARY'S WIFE—FASHIONABLE
EQUIPAGES AT OAHU—REFLECTIONS
KING MEHEVI!—A goodly sounding title—and why should I not
bestow it upon the foremost man in the valley of Typee? The republican
missionaries of Oahu cause to be gazetted in the Court Journal, published
at Honolulu, the most trivial movement of 'his gracious majesty' King
Kammehammaha III, and 'their highnesses the princes of the blood royal'.*
And who is his 'gracious majesty', and what the quality of this blood
royal'?—His 'gracious majesty' is a fat, lazy, negro-looking
blockhead, with as little character as power. He has lost the noble traits
of the barbarian, without acquiring the redeeming graces of a civilized
being; and, although a member of the Hawiian Temperance Society, is a most
inveterate dram-drinker.
*Accounts like these are sometimes copied into English and American
journals. They lead the reader to infer that the arts and customs of
civilized life are rapidly refining the natives of the Sandwich Islands.
But let no one be deceived by these accounts. The chiefs swagger about in
gold lace and broadcloth, while the great mass of the common people are
nearly as primitive in their appearance as in the days of Cook. In the
progress of events at these islands, the two classes are receding from
each other; the chiefs are daily becoming more luxurious and extravagant
in their style of living, and the common people more and more destitute of
the necessaries and decencies of life. But the end to which both will
arrive at last will be the same: the one are fast destroying themselves by
sensual indulgences, and the other are fast being destroyed by a
complication of disorders, and the want of wholesome food. The resources
of the domineering chiefs are wrung from the starving serfs, and every
additional bauble with which they bedeck themselves is purchased by the
sufferings of their bondsmen; so that the measure of gew-gaw refinement
attained by the chiefs is only an index to the actual state in which the
greater portion of the population lie grovelling.
The 'blood royal' is an extremely thick, depraved fluid; formed
principally of raw fish, bad brandy, and European sweetmeats, and is
charged with a variety of eruptive humours, which are developed in sundry
blotches and pimples upon the august face of 'majesty itself', and the
angelic countenances of the 'princes and princesses of the blood royal'!
Now, if the farcical puppet of a chief magistrate in the Sandwich Islands
be allowed the title of King, why should it be withheld from the noble
savage Mehevi, who is a thousand times more worthy of the appellation? All
hail, therefore, Mehevi, King of the Cannibal Valley, and long life and
prosperity to his Typeean majesty! May Heaven for many a year preserve
him, the uncompromising foe of Nukuheva and the French, if a hostile
attitude will secure his lovely domain from the remorseless inflictions of
South Sea civilization.
Previously to seeing the Dancing Widows I had little idea that there were
any matrimonial relations subsisting in Typee, and I should as soon have
thought of a Platonic affection being cultivated between the sexes, as of
the solemn connection of man and wife. To be sure, there were old Marheyo
and Tinor, who seemed to have a sort of nuptial understanding with one
another; but for all that, I had sometimes observed a comical-looking old
gentleman dressed in a suit of shabby tattooing, who had the audacity to
take various liberties with the lady, and that too in the very presence of
the old warrior her husband, who looked on as good-naturedly as if nothing
was happening. This behaviour, until subsequent discoveries enlightened
me, puzzled me more than anything else I witnessed in Typee.
As for Mehevi, I had supposed him a confirmed bachelor, as well as most of
the principal chiefs. At any rate, if they had wives and families, they
ought to have been ashamed of themselves; for sure I am, they never
troubled themselves about any domestic affairs. In truth, Mehevi seemed to
be the president of a club of hearty fellows, who kept 'Bachelor's Hall'
in fine style at the Ti. I had no doubt but that they regarded children as
odious incumbrances; and their ideas of domestic felicity were
sufficiently shown in the fact, that they allowed no meddlesome
housekeepers to turn topsy-turvy those snug little arrangements they had
made in their comfortable dwelling. I strongly suspected however, that
some of these jolly bachelors were carrying on love intrigues with the
maidens of the tribe; although they did not appear publicly to acknowledge
them. I happened to pop upon Mehevi three or four times when he was
romping—in a most undignified manner for a warrior king—with
one of the prettiest little witches in the valley. She lived with an old
woman and a young man, in a house near Marheyo's; and although in
appearance a mere child herself, had a noble boy about a year old, who
bore a marvellous resemblance to Mehevi, whom I should certainly have
believed to have been the father, were it not that the little fellow had
no triangle on his face—but on second thoughts, tattooing is not
hereditary. Mehevi, however, was not the only person upon whom the damsel
Moonoony smiled—the young fellow of fifteen, who permanently resided
in the home with her, was decidedly in her good graces. I sometimes beheld
both him and the chief making love at the same time. Is it possible,
thought I, that the valiant warrior can consent to give up a corner in the
thing he loves? This too was a mystery which, with others of the same
kind, was afterwards satisfactorily explained.
During the second day of the Feast of Calabashes, Kory-Kory—being
determined that I should have some understanding on these matters—had,
in the course of his explanations, directed my attention to a peculiarity
I had frequently remarked among many of the females;—principally
those of a mature age and rather matronly appearance. This consisted in
having the right hand and the left foot most elaborately tattooed; whilst
the rest of the body was wholly free from the operation of the art, with
the exception of the minutely dotted lips and slight marks on the
shoulders, to which I have previously referred as comprising the sole
tattooing exhibited by Fayaway, in common with other young girls of her
age. The hand and foot thus embellished were, according to Kory-Kory, the
distinguishing badge of wedlock, so far as that social and highly
commendable institution is known among those people. It answers, indeed,
the same purpose as the plain gold ring worn by our fairer spouses.
After Kory-Kory's explanation of the subject, I was for some time
studiously respectful in the presence of all females thus distinguished,
and never ventured to indulge in the slightest approach to flirtation with
any of their number. Married women, to be sure!—I knew better than
to offend them.
A further insight, however, into the peculiar domestic customs of the
inmates of the valley did away in a measure with the severity of my
scruples, and convinced me that I was deceived in some at least of my
conclusions. A regular system of polygamy exists among the islanders; but
of a most extraordinary nature,—a plurality of husbands, instead of
wives! and this solitary fact speaks volumes for the gentle disposition of
the male population.
Where else, indeed, could such a practice exist, even for a single day?—Imagine
a revolution brought about in a Turkish seraglio, and the harem rendered
the abode of bearded men; or conceive some beautiful woman in our own
country running distracted at the sight of her numerous lovers murdering
one another before her eyes, out of jealousy for the unequal distribution
of her favours!—Heaven defend us from such a state of things!—We
are scarcely amiable and forbearing enough to submit to it.
I was not able to learn what particular ceremony was observed in forming
the marriage contract, but am inclined to think that it must have been of
a very simple nature. Perhaps the mere 'popping the question', as it is
termed with us, might have been followed by an immediate nuptial alliance.
At any rate, I have more than one reason to believe that tedious
courtships are unknown in the valley of Typee.
The males considerably outnumber the females. This holds true of many of
the islands of Polynesia, although the reverse of what is the case in most
civilized countries. The girls are first wooed and won, at a very tender
age, by some stripling in the household in which they reside. This,
however, is a mere frolic of the affections, and no formal engagement is
contracted. By the time this first love has a little subsided, a second
suitor presents himself, of graver years, and carries both boy and girl
away to his own habitation. This disinterested and generous-hearted fellow
now weds the young couple—marrying damsel and lover at the same time—and
all three thenceforth live together as harmoniously as so many turtles. I
have heard of some men who in civilized countries rashly marry large
families with their wives, but had no idea that there was any place where
people married supplementary husbands with them. Infidelity on either side
is very rare. No man has more than one wife, and no wife of mature years
has less than two husbands,—sometimes she has three, but such
instances are not frequent. The marriage tie, whatever it may be, does not
appear to be indissoluble; for separations occasionally happen. These,
however, when they do take place, produce no unhappiness, and are preceded
by no bickerings; for the simple reason, that an ill-used wife or a
henpecked husband is not obliged to file a bill in Chancery to obtain a
divorce. As nothing stands in the way of a separation, the matrimonial
yoke sits easily and lightly, and a Typee wife lives on very pleasant and
sociable terms with her husband. On the whole, wedlock, as known among
these Typees, seems to be of a more distinct and enduring nature than is
usually the case with barbarous people. A baneful promiscuous intercourse
of the sexes is hereby avoided, and virtue, without being clamorously
invoked, is, as it were, unconsciously practised.
The contrast exhibited between the Marquesas and other islands of the
Pacific in this respect, is worthy of being noticed. At Tahiti the
marriage tie was altogether unknown; and the relation of husband and wife,
father and son, could hardly be said to exist. The Arreory Society—one
of the most singular institutions that ever existed in any part of the
world—spread universal licentiousness over the island. It was the
voluptuous character of these people which rendered the disease introduced
among them by De Bougainville's ships, in 1768, doubly destructive. It
visited them like a plague, sweeping them off by hundreds.
Notwithstanding the existence of wedlock among the Typees, the Scriptural
injunction to increase and multiply seems to be but indifferently attended
to. I never saw any of those large families in arithmetical or step-ladder
progression which one often meets with at home. I never knew of more than
two youngsters living together in the same home, and but seldom even that
number. As for the women, it was very plain that the anxieties of the
nursery but seldom disturbed the serenity of their souls; and they were
never seen going about the valley with half a score of little ones tagging
at their apron-strings, or rather at the bread-fruit-leaf they usually
wore in the rear.
The ratio of increase among all the Polynesian nations is very small; and
in some places as yet uncorrupted by intercourse with Europeans, the
births would appear not very little to outnumber the deaths; the
population in such instances remaining nearly the same for several
successive generations, even upon those islands seldom or never desolated
by wars, and among people with whom the crime of infanticide is altogether
unknown. This would seem expressively ordained by Providence to prevent
the overstocking of the islands with a race too indolent to cultivate the
ground, and who, for that reason alone, would, by any considerable
increase in their numbers, be exposed to the most deplorable misery.
During the entire period of my stay in the valley of Typee, I never saw
more than ten or twelve children under the age of six months, and only
became aware of two births.
It is to the absence of the marriage tie that the late rapid decrease of
the population of the Sandwich Islands and of Tahiti is in part to be
ascribed. The vices and diseases introduced among these unhappy people
annually swell the ordinary mortality of the islands, while, from the same
cause, the originally small number of births is proportionally decreased.
Thus the progress of the Hawaiians and Tahitians to utter extinction is
accelerated in a sort of compound ratio.
I have before had occasion to remark, that I never saw any of the ordinary
signs of a pace of sepulture in the valley, a circumstance which I
attributed, at the time, to my living in a particular part of it, and
being forbidden to extend my rambles to any considerable distance towards
the sea. I have since thought it probable, however, that the Typees,
either desirous of removing from their sight the evidences of mortality,
or prompted by a taste for rural beauty, may have some charming cemetery
situation in the shadowy recesses along the base of the mountains. At
Nukuheva, two or three large quadrangular 'pi-pis', heavily flagged,
enclosed with regular stone walls, and shaded over and almost hidden from
view by the interlacing branches of enormous trees, were pointed out to me
as burial-places. The bodies, I understood, were deposited in rude vaults
beneath the flagging, and were suffered to remain there without being
disinterred. Although nothing could be more strange and gloomy than the
aspect of these places, where the lofty trees threw their dark shadows
over rude blocks of stone, a stranger looking at them would have discerned
none of the ordinary evidences of a place of sepulture.
During my stay in the valley, as none of its inmates were so accommodating
as to die and be buried in order to gratify my curiosity with regard to
their funeral rites, I was reluctantly obliged to remain in ignorance of
them. As I have reason to believe, however, the observances of the Typees
in these matters are the same with those of all the other tribes in the
island, I will here relate a scene I chanced to witness at Nukuheva.
A young man had died, about daybreak, in a house near the beach. I had
been sent ashore that morning, and saw a good deal of the preparations
they were making for his obsequies. The body, neatly wrapped in a new
white tappa, was laid out in an open shed of cocoanut boughs, upon a bier
constructed of elastic bamboos ingeniously twisted together. This was
supported about two feet from the ground, by large canes planted uprightly
in the earth. Two females, of a dejected appearance, watched by its side,
plaintively chanting and beating the air with large grass fans whitened
with pipe-clay. In the dwelling-house adjoining a numerous company we
assembled, and various articles of food were being prepared for
consumption. Two or three individuals, distinguished by head-dresses of
beautiful tappa, and wearing a great number of ornaments, appeared to
officiate as masters of the ceremonies. By noon the entertainment had
fairly begun and we were told that it would last during the whole of the
two following days. With the exception of those who mourned by the corpse,
every one seemed disposed to drown the sense of the late bereavement in
convivial indulgence. The girls, decked out in their savage finery,
danced; the old men chanted; the warriors smoked and chatted; and the
young and lusty, of both sexes, feasted plentifully, and seemed to enjoy
themselves as pleasantly as they could have done had it been a wedding.
The islanders understand the art of embalming, and practise it with such
success that the bodies of their great chiefs are frequently preserved for
many years in the very houses where they died. I saw three of these in my
visit to the Bay of Tior. One was enveloped in immense folds of tappa,
with only the face exposed, and hung erect against the side of the
dwelling. The others were stretched out upon biers of bamboo, in open,
elevated temples, which seemed consecrated to their memory. The heads of
enemies killed in battle are invariably preserved and hung up as trophies
in the house of the conqueror. I am not acquainted with the process which
is in use, but believe that fumigation is the principal agency employed.
All the remains which I saw presented the appearance of a ham after being
suspended for some time in a smoky chimney.
But to return from the dead to the living. The late festival had drawn
together, as I had every reason to believe, the whole population of the
vale, and consequently I was enabled to make some estimate with regard to
its numbers. I should imagine that there were about two thousand
inhabitants in Typee; and no number could have been better adapted to the
extent of the valley. The valley is some nine miles in length, and may
average one in breadth; the houses being distributed at wide intervals
throughout its whole extent, principally, however, towards the head of the
vale. There are no villages; the houses stand here and there in the shadow
of the groves, or are scattered along the banks of the winding stream;
their golden-hued bamboo sides and gleaming white thatch forming a
beautiful contrast to the perpetual verdure in which they are embowered.
There are no roads of any kind in the valley. Nothing but a labyrinth of
footpaths twisting and turning among the thickets without end.
The penalty of the Fall presses very lightly upon the valley of Typee;
for, with the one solitary exception of striking a light, I scarcely saw
any piece of work performed there which caused the sweat to stand upon a
single brow. As for digging and delving for a livelihood, the thing is
altogether unknown. Nature has planted the bread-fruit and the banana, and
in her own good time she brings them to maturity, when the idle savage
stretches forth his hand, and satisfies his appetite.
Ill-fated people! I shudder when I think of the change a few years will
produce in their paradisaical abode; and probably when the most
destructive vices, and the worst attendances on civilization, shall have
driven all peace and happiness from the valley, the magnanimous French
will proclaim to the world that the Marquesas Islands have been converted
to Christianity! and this the Catholic world will doubtless consider as a
glorious event. Heaven help the 'Isles of the Sea'!—The sympathy
which Christendom feels for them, has, alas! in too many instances proved
their bane.
How little do some of these poor islanders comprehend when they look
around them, that no inconsiderable part of their disasters originate in
certain tea-party excitements, under the influence of which
benevolent-looking gentlemen in white cravats solicit alms, and old ladies
in spectacles, and young ladies in sober russet gowns, contribute
sixpences towards the creation of a fund, the object of which is to
ameliorate the spiritual condition of the Polynesians, but whose end has
almost invariably been to accomplish their temporal destruction!
Let the savages be civilized, but civilize them with benefits, and not
with evils; and let heathenism be destroyed, but not by destroying the
heathen. The Anglo-Saxon hive have extirpated Paganism from the greater
part of the North American continent; but with it they have likewise
extirpated the greater portion of the Red race. Civilization is gradually
sweeping from the earth the lingering vestiges of Paganism, and at the
same time the shrinking forms of its unhappy worshippers.
Among the islands of Polynesia, no sooner are the images overturned, the
temples demolished, and the idolators converted into NOMINAL Christians,
that disease, vice, and premature death make their appearance. The
depopulated land is then recruited from the rapacious, hordes of
enlightened individuals who settle themselves within its borders, and
clamorously announce the progress of the Truth. Neat villas, trim gardens,
shaven lawns, spires, and cupolas arise, while the poor savage soon finds
himself an interloper in the country of his fathers, and that too on the
very site of the hut where he was born. The spontaneous fruits of the
earth, which God in his wisdom had ordained for the support of the
indolent natives, remorselessly seized upon and appropriated by the
stranger, are devoured before the eyes of the starving inhabitants, or
sent on board the numerous vessels which now touch at their shores.
When the famished wretches are cut off in this manner from their natural
supplies, they are told by their benefactors to work and earn their
support by the sweat of their brows! But to no fine gentleman born to
hereditary opulence, does this manual labour come more unkindly than to
the luxurious Indian when thus robbed of the bounty of heaven. Habituated
to a life of indolence, he cannot and will not exert himself; and want,
disease, and vice, all evils of foreign growth, soon terminate his
miserable existence.
But what matters all this? Behold the glorious result!—The
abominations of Paganism have given way to the pure rites of the Christian
worship,—the ignorant savage has been supplanted by the refined
European! Look at Honolulu, the metropolis of the Sandwich Islands!—A
community of disinterested merchants, and devoted self-exiled heralds of
the Cross, located on the very spot that twenty years ago was defiled by
the presence of idolatry. What a subject for an eloquent Bible-meeting
orator! Nor has such an opportunity for a display of missionary rhetoric
been allowed to pass by unimproved!—But when these philanthropists
send us such glowing accounts of one half of their labours, why does their
modesty restrain them from publishing the other half of the good they have
wrought?—Not until I visited Honolulu was I aware of the fact that
the small remnant of the natives had been civilized into draught-horses;
and evangelized into beasts of burden. But so it is. They have been
literally broken into the traces, and are harnessed to the vehicles of
their spiritual instructors like so many dumb brutes!
. . . . . . .
Lest the slightest misconception should arise from anything thrown out in
this chapter, or indeed in any other part of the volume, let me here
observe that against the cause of missions in, the abstract no Christian
can possibly be opposed: it is in truth a just and holy cause. But if the
great end proposed by it be spiritual, the agency employed to accomplish
that end is purely earthly; and, although the object in view be the
achievement of much good, that agency may nevertheless be productive of
evil. In short, missionary undertaking, however it may blessed of heaven,
is in itself but human; and subject, like everything else, to errors and
abuses. And have not errors and abuses crept into the most sacred places,
and may there not be unworthy or incapable missionaries abroad, as well as
ecclesiastics of similar character at home? May not the unworthiness or
incapacity of those who assume apostolic functions upon the remote islands
of the sea more easily escape detection by the world at large than if it
were displayed in the heart of a city? An unwarranted confidence in the
sanctity of its apostles—a proneness to regard them as incapable of
guile—and an impatience of the least suspicion to their rectitude as
men or Christians, have ever been prevailing faults in the Church. Nor is
this to be wondered at: for subject as Christianity is to the assaults of
unprincipled foes, we are naturally disposed to regard everything like an
exposure of ecclesiastical misconduct as the offspring of malevolence or
irreligious feeling. Not even this last consideration, however shall deter
me from the honest expression of my sentiments.
There is something apparently wrong in the practical operations of the
Sandwich Islands Mission. Those who from pure religious motives contribute
to the support of this enterprise should take care to ascertain that their
donations, flowing through many devious channels, at last effect their
legitimate object, the conversion of the Hawaiians. I urge this not
because I doubt the moral probity of those who disburse the funds, but
because I know that they are not rightly applied. To read pathetic
accounts of missionary hardships, and glowing descriptions of conversion,
and baptisms, taking place beneath palm-trees, is one thing; and to go to
the Sandwich Islands and see the missionaries dwelling in picturesque and
prettily furnished coral-rock villas, whilst the miserable natives are
committing all sorts of immorality around them, is quite another.
In justice to the missionaries, however, I will willingly admit, that
where-ever evils may have resulted from their collective mismanagement of
the business of the mission, and from the want of vital piety evinced by
some of their number, still the present deplorable condition of the
Sandwich Islands is by no means wholly chargeable against them. The
demoralizing influence of a dissolute foreign population, and the frequent
visits of all descriptions of vessels, have tended not a little to
increase the evils alluded to. In a word, here, as in every case where
civilization has in any way been introduced among those whom we call
savages, she has scattered her vices, and withheld her blessings.
As wise a man as Shakespeare has said, that the bearer of evil tidings
hath but a losing office; and so I suppose will it prove with me, in
communicating to the trusting friends of the Hawiian Mission what has been
disclosed in various portions of this narrative. I am persuaded, however,
that as these disclosures will by their very nature attract attention, so
they will lead to something which will not be without ultimate benefit to
the cause of Christianity in the Sandwich Islands.
I have but one more thing to add in connection with this subject—those
things which I have stated as facts will remain facts, in spite of
whatever the bigoted or incredulous may say or write against them. My
reflections, however, on those facts may not be free from error. If such
be the case, I claim no further indulgence than should be conceded to
every man whose object is to do good.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
THE SOCIAL CONDITION AND GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE TYPEES
I HAVE already mentioned that the influence exerted over the people of the
valley by their chiefs was mild in the extreme; and as to any general rule
or standard of conduct by which the commonality were governed in their
intercourse with each other, so far as my observation extended, I should
be almost tempted to say, that none existed on the island, except, indeed,
the mysterious 'Taboo' be considered as such. During the time I lived
among the Typees, no one was ever put upon his trial for any offence
against the public. To all appearance there were no courts of law or
equity. There was no municipal police for the purpose of apprehending
vagrants and disorderly characters. In short, there were no legal
provisions whatever for the well-being and conservation of society, the
enlightened end of civilized legislation. And yet everything went on in
the valley with a harmony and smoothness unparalleled, I will venture to
assert, in the most select, refined, and pious associations of mortals in
Christendom. How are we to explain this enigma? These islanders were
heathens! savages! ay, cannibals! and how came they without the aid of
established law, to exhibit, in so eminent a degree, that social order
which is the greatest blessing and highest pride of the social state?
It may reasonably be inquired, how were these people governed? how were
their passions controlled in their everyday transactions? It must have
been by an inherent principle of honesty and charity towards each other.
They seemed to be governed by that sort of tacit common-sense law which,
say what they will of the inborn lawlessness of the human race, has its
precepts graven on every breast. The grand principles of virtue and
honour, however they may be distorted by arbitrary codes, are the same all
the world over: and where these principles are concerned, the right or
wrong of any action appears the same to the uncultivated as to the
enlightened mind. It is to this indwelling, this universally diffused
perception of what is just and noble, that the integrity of the Marquesans
in their intercourse with each other, is to be attributed. In the darkest
nights they slept securely, with all their worldly wealth around them, in
houses the doors of which were never fastened. The disquieting ideas of
theft or assassination never disturbed them.
Each islander reposed beneath his own palmetto thatching, or sat under his
own bread-fruit trees, with none to molest or alarm him. There was not a
padlock in the valley, nor anything that answered the purpose of one:
still there was no community of goods. This long spear, so elegantly
carved, and highly polished, belongs to Wormoonoo: it is far handsomer
than the one which old Marheyo so greatly prizes; it is the most valuable
article belonging to its owner. And yet I have seen it leaning against a
cocoanut tree in the grove, and there it was found when sought for. Here
is a sperm-whale tooth, graven all over with cunning devices: it is the
property of Karluna; it is the most precious of the damsel's ornaments. In
her estimation its price is far above rubies—and yet there hangs the
dental jewel by its cord of braided bark, in the girl's house, which is
far back in the valley; the door is left open, and all the inmates have
gone off to bathe in the stream.*
*The strict honesty which the inhabitants of nearly all the Polynesian
Islands manifest toward each other, is in striking contrast with the
thieving propensities some of them evince in their intercourse with
foreigners. It would almost seem that, according to their peculiar code of
morals, the pilfering of a hatchet or a wrought nail from a European, is
looked upon as a praiseworthy action. Or rather, it may be presumed, that
bearing in mind the wholesale forays made upon them by their nautical
visitors, they consider the property of the latter as a fair object of
reprisal. This consideration, while it serves to reconcile an apparent
contradiction in the moral character of the islanders, should in some
measure alter that low opinion of it which the reader of South Sea voyages
is too apt to form.
So much for the respect in which 'personal property' is held in Typee; how
secure an investment of 'real property' may be, I cannot take upon me to
say. Whether the land of the valley was the joint property of its
inhabitants, or whether it was parcelled out among a certain number of
landed proprietors who allowed everybody to 'squat' and 'poach' as much as
he or she pleased, I never could ascertain. At any rate, musty parchments
and title-deeds there were none on the island; and I am half inclined to
believe that its inhabitants hold their broad valleys in fee simple from
Nature herself; to have and to hold, so long as grass grows and water
runs; or until their French visitors, by a summary mode of conveyancing,
shall appropriate them to their own benefit and behoof.
Yesterday I saw Kory-Kory hie him away, armed with a long pole, with
which, standing on the ground, he knocked down the fruit from the topmost
boughs of the trees, and brought them home in his basket of cocoanut
leaves. Today I see an islander, whom I know to reside in a distant part
of the valley, doing the self-same thing. On the sloping bank of the
stream are a number of banana-trees I have often seen a score or two of
young people making a merry foray on the great golden clusters, and
bearing them off, one after another, to different parts of the vale,
shouting and trampling as they went. No churlish old curmudgeon could have
been the owner of that grove of bread-fruit trees, or of these gloriously
yellow bunches of bananas.
From what I have said it will be perceived that there is a vast difference
between 'personal property' and 'real estate' in the valley of Typee. Some
individuals, of course, are more wealthy than others. For example, the
ridge-pole of Marheyo's house bends under the weight of many a huge packet
of tappa; his long couch is laid with mats placed one upon the other seven
deep. Outside, Tinor has ranged along in her bamboo cupboard—or
whatever the place may be called—a goodly array of calabashes and
wooden trenchers. Now, the house just beyond the grove, and next to
Marheyo's, occupied by Ruaruga, is not quite so well furnished. There are
only three moderate-sized packages swinging overhead: there are only two
layers of mats beneath; and the calabashes and trenchers are not so
numerous, nor so tastefully stained and carved. But then, Ruaruga has a
house—not so pretty a one, to be sure—but just as commodious
as Marheyo's; and, I suppose, if he wished to vie with his neighbour's
establishment, he could do so with very little trouble. These, in short,
constituted the chief differences perceivable in the relative wealth of
the people in Typee.
Civilization does not engross all the virtues of humanity: she has not
even her full share of them. They flourish in greater abundance and attain
greater strength among many barbarous people. The hospitality of the wild
Arab, the courage of the North American Indian, and the faithful
friendship of some of the Polynesian nations, far surpass anything of a
similar kind among the polished communities of Europe. If truth and
justice, and the better principles of our nature, cannot exist unless
enforced by the statute-book, how are we to account for the social
condition of the Typees? So pure and upright were they in all the
relations of life, that entering their valley, as I did, under the most
erroneous impressions of their character, I was soon led to exclaim in
amazement: 'Are these the ferocious savages, the blood-thirsty cannibals
of whom I have heard such frightful tales! They deal more kindly with each
other, and are more humane than many who study essays on virtue and
benevolence, and who repeat every night that beautiful prayer breathed
first by the lips of the divine and gentle Jesus.' I will frankly declare
that after passing a few weeks in this valley of the Marquesas, I formed a
higher estimate of human nature than I had ever before entertained. But
alas! since then I have been one of the crew of a man-of-war, and the
pent-up wickedness of five hundred men has nearly overturned all my
previous theories.
There was one admirable trait in the general character of the Typees
which, more than anything else, secured my admiration: it was the
unanimity of feeling they displayed on every occasion. With them there
hardly appeared to be any difference of opinion upon any subject whatever.
They all thought and acted alike. I do not conceive that they could
support a debating society for a single night: there would be nothing to
dispute about; and were they to call a convention to take into
consideration the state of the tribe, its session would be a remarkably
short one. They showed this spirit of unanimity in every action of life;
everything was done in concert and good fellowship. I will give an
instance of this fraternal feeling.
One day, in returning with Kory-Kory from my accustomed visit to the Ti,
we passed by a little opening in the grove; on one side of which, my
attendant informed me, was that afternoon to be built a dwelling of
bamboo. At least a hundred of the natives were bringing materials to the
ground, some carrying in their hands one or two of the canes which were to
form the sides, others slender rods of the habiscus, strung with palmetto
leaves, for the roof. Every one contributed something to the work; and by
the united, but easy, and even indolent, labours of all, the entire work
was completed before sunset. The islanders, while employed in erecting
this tenement, reminded me of a colony of beavers at work. To be sure,
they were hardly as silent and demure as those wonderful creatures, nor
were they by any means as diligent. To tell the truth they were somewhat
inclined to be lazy, but a perfect tumult of hilarity prevailed; and they
worked together so unitedly, and seemed actuated by such an instinct of
friendliness, that it was truly beautiful to behold.
Not a single female took part in this employment: and if the degree of
consideration in which the ever-adorable sex is held by the men be—as
the philosophers affirm—a just criterion of the degree of refinement
among a people, then I may truly pronounce the Typees to be as polished a
community as ever the sun shone upon. The religious restrictions of the
taboo alone excepted, the women of the valley were allowed every possible
indulgence. Nowhere are the ladies more assiduously courted; nowhere are
they better appreciated as the contributors to our highest enjoyments; and
nowhere are they more sensible of their power. Far different from their
condition among many rude nations, where the women are made to perform all
the work while their ungallant lords and masters lie buried in sloth, the
gentle sex in the valley of Typee were exempt from toil, if toil it might
be called that, even in the tropical climate, never distilled one drop of
perspiration. Their light household occupations, together with the
manufacture of tappa, the platting of mats, and the polishing of
drinking-vessels, were the only employments pertaining to the women. And
even these resembled those pleasant avocations which fill up the elegant
morning leisure of our fashionable ladies at home. But in these
occupations, slight and agreeable though they were, the giddy young girls
very seldom engaged. Indeed these wilful care-killing damsels were averse
to all useful employment.
Like so many spoiled beauties, they ranged through the groves—bathed
in the stream—danced—flirted—played all manner of
mischievous pranks, and passed their days in one merry round of
thoughtless happiness.
During my whole stay on the island I never witnessed a single quarrel, nor
anything that in the slightest degree approached even to a dispute. The
natives appeared to form one household, whose members were bound together
by the ties of strong affection. The love of kindred I did not so much
perceive, for it seemed blended in the general love; and where all were
treated as brothers and sisters, it was hard to tell who were actually
related to each other by blood.
Let it not be supposed that I have overdrawn this picture. I have not done
so. Nor let it be urged, that the hostility of this tribe to foreigners,
and the hereditary feuds they carry on against their fellow-islanders
beyond the mountains, are facts which contradict me. Not so; these
apparent discrepancies are easily reconciled. By many a legendary tale of
violence and wrong, as well as by events which have passed before their
eyes, these people have been taught to look upon white men with
abhorrence. The cruel invasion of their country by Porter has alone
furnished them with ample provocation; and I can sympathize in the spirit
which prompts the Typee warrior to guard all the passes to his valley with
the point of his levelled spear, and, standing upon the beach, with his
back turned upon his green home, to hold at bay the intruding European.
As to the origin of the enmity of this particular clan towards the
neighbouring tribes, I cannot so confidently speak. I will not say that
their foes are the aggressors, nor will I endeavour to palliate their
conduct. But surely, if our evil passions must find vent, it is far better
to expend them on strangers and aliens, than in the bosom of the community
in which we dwell. In many polished countries civil contentions, as well
as domestic enmities, are prevalent, and the same time that the most
atrocious foreign wars are waged. How much less guilty, then, are our
islanders, who of these three sins are only chargeable with one, and that
the least criminal!
The reader will ere long have reason to suspect that the Typees are not
free from the guilt of cannibalism; and he will then, perhaps, charge me
with admiring a people against whom so odious a crime is chargeable. But
this only enormity in their character is not half so horrible as it is
usually described. According to the popular fictions, the crews of
vessels, shipwrecked on some barbarous coast, are eaten alive like so many
dainty joints by the uncivil inhabitants; and unfortunate voyagers are
lured into smiling and treacherous bays; knocked on the head with
outlandish war-clubs; and served up without any prelimary dressing. In
truth, so horrific and improbable are these accounts, that many sensible
and well-informed people will not believe that any cannibals exist; and
place every book of voyages which purports to give any account of them, on
the same shelf with Blue Beard and Jack the Giant-Killer. While others,
implicitly crediting the most extravagant fictions, firmly believe that
there are people in the world with tastes so depraved that they would
infinitely prefer a single mouthful of material humanity to a good dinner
of roast beef and plum pudding. But here, Truth, who loves to be centrally
located, is again found between the two extremes; for cannibalism to a
certain moderate extent is practised among several of the primitive tribes
in the Pacific, but it is upon the bodies of slain enemies alone, and
horrible and fearful as the custom is, immeasurably as it is to be
abhorred and condemned, still I assert that those who indulge in it are in
other respects humane and virtuous.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
FISHING PARTIES—MODE OF DISTRIBUTING THE FISH—MIDNIGHT BANQUET—TIME-KEEPING
TAPERS—UNCEREMONIOUS STYLE OF EATING THE FISH
THERE was no instance in which the social and kindly dispositions of the
Typees were more forcibly evinced than in the manner the conducted their
great fishing parties. Four times during my stay in the valley the young
men assembled near the full of the moon, and went together on these
excursions. As they were generally absent about forty-eight hours, I was
led to believe that they went out towards the open sea, some distance from
the bay. The Polynesians seldom use a hook and line, almost always
employing large well-made nets, most ingeniously fabricated from the
twisted fibres of a certain bark. I examined several of them which had
been spread to dry upon the beach at Nukuheva. They resemble very much our
own seines, and I should think they were nearly as durable.
All the South Sea Islanders are passionately fond of fish; but none of
them can be more so than the inhabitants of Typee. I could not comprehend,
therefore, why they so seldom sought it in their waters, for it was only
at stated times that the fishing parties were formed, and these occasions
were always looked forward to with no small degree of interest.
During their absence the whole population of the place were in a ferment,
and nothing was talked of but 'pehee, pehee' (fish, fish). Towards the
time when they were expected to return the vocal telegraph was put into
operation—the inhabitants, who were scattered throughout the length
of the valley, leaped upon rocks and into trees, shouting with delight at
the thoughts of the anticipated treat. As soon as the approach of the
party was announced, there was a general rush of the men towards the
beach; some of them remaining, however, about the Ti in order to get
matters in readiness for the reception of the fish, which were brought to
the Taboo Groves in immense packages of leaves, each one of them being
suspended from a pole carried on the shoulders of two men.
I was present at the Ti on one of these occasions, and the sight was most
interesting. After all the packages had arrived, they were laid in a row
under the verandah of the building and opened.
The fish were all quite small, generally about the size of a herring, and
of every variety. About one-eighth of the whole being reserved for the use
of the Ti itself, the remainder was divided into numerous smaller
packages, which were immediately dispatched in every direction to the
remotest parts of the valley. Arrived at their destination, these were in
turn portioned out, and equally distributed among the various houses of
each particular district. The fish were under a strict Taboo, until the
distribution was completed, which seemed to be effected in the most
impartial manner. By the operation of this system every man, woman, and
child in the vale, were at one and the same time partaking of this
favourite article of food.
Once I remember the party arrived at midnight; but the unseasonableness of
the tour did not repress the impatience of the islanders. The carriers
dispatched from the Ti were to be seen hurrying in all directions through
the deep groves; each individual preceded by a boy bearing a flaming torch
of dried cocoanut boughs, which from time to time was replenished from the
materials scattered along the path. The wild glare of these enormous
flambeaux, lighting up with a startling brilliancy the innermost recesses
of the vale, and seen moving rapidly along beneath the canopy of leaves,
the savage shout of the excited messengers sounding the news of their
approach, which was answered on all sides, and the strange appearance of
their naked bodies, seen against the gloomy background, produced
altogether an effect upon my mind that I shall long remember.
It was on this same occasion that Kory-Kory awakened me at the dead hour
of night, and in a sort of transport communicated the intelligence
contained in the words 'pehee perni' (fish come). As I happened to have
been in a remarkably sound and refreshing slumber, I could not imagine why
the information had not been deferred until morning, indeed, I felt very
much inclined to fly into a passion and box my valet's ears; but on second
thoughts I got quietly up, and on going outside the house was not a little
interested by the moving illumination which I beheld.
When old Marheyo received his share of the spoils, immediate preparations
were made for a midnight banquet; calabashes of poee-poee were filled to
the brim; green bread-fruit were roasted; and a huge cake of 'amar' was
cut up with a sliver of bamboo and laid out on an immense banana-leaf.
At this supper we were lighted by several of the native tapers, held in
the hands of young girls. These tapers are most ingeniously made. There is
a nut abounding in the valley, called by the Typees 'armor', closely
resembling our common horse-chestnut. The shell is broken, and the
contents extracted whole. Any number of these are strung at pleasure upon
the long elastic fibre that traverses the branches of the cocoanut tree.
Some of these tapers are eight or ten feet in length; but being perfectly
flexible, one end is held in a coil, while the other is lighted. The nut
burns with a fitful bluish flame, and the oil that it contains is
exhausted in about ten minutes. As one burns down, the next becomes
ignited, and the ashes of the former are knocked into a cocoanut shell
kept for the purpose. This primitive candle requires continual attention,
and must be constantly held in the hand. The person so employed marks the
lapse of time by the number of nuts consumed, which is easily learned by
counting the bits of tappa distributed at regular intervals along the
string.
I grieve to state so distressing a fact, but the inhabitants of Typee were
in the habit of devouring fish much in the same way that a civilized being
would eat a radish, and without any more previous preparation. They eat it
raw; scales, bones, gills, and all the inside. The fish is held by the
tail, and the head being introduced into the mouth, the animal disappears
with a rapidity that would at first nearly lead one to imagine it had been
launched bodily down the throat.
Raw fish! Shall I ever forget my sensations when I first saw my island
beauty devour one. Oh, heavens! Fayaway, how could you ever have
contracted so vile a habit? However, after the first shock had subsided,
the custom grew less odious in my eyes, and I soon accustomed myself to
the sight. Let no one imagine, however, that the lovely Fayaway was in the
habit of swallowing great vulgar-looking fishes: oh, no; with her
beautiful small hand she would clasp a delicate, little, golden-hued love
of a fish and eat it as elegantly and as innocently as though it were a
Naples biscuit. But alas! it was after all a raw fish; and all I can say
is, that Fayaway ate it in a more ladylike manner than any other girl of
the valley.
When at Rome do as the Romans do, I held to be so good a proverb, that
being in Typee I made a point of doing as the Typees did. Thus I ate
poee-poee as they did; I walked about in a garb striking for its
simplicity; and I reposed on a community of couches; besides doing many
other things in conformity with their peculiar habits; but the farthest I
ever went in the way of conformity, was on several occasions to regale
myself with raw fish. These being remarkably tender, and quite small, the
undertaking was not so disagreeable in the main, and after a few trials I
positively began to relish them; however, I subjected them to a slight
operation with a knife previously to making my repast.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE VALLEY—GOLDEN LIZARDS—TAMENESS OF THE
BIRDS—MOSQUITOES—FLIES—DOGS—A SOLITARY CAT—THE
CLIMATE—THE COCOANUT TREE—SINGULAR MODES OF CLIMBING IT—AN
AGILE YOUNG CHIEF—FEARLESSNESS OF THE CHILDREN—TOO-TOO AND THE
COCOANUT TREE—THE BIRDS OF THE VALLEY
I THINK I must enlighten the reader a little about the natural history of
the valley.
Whence, in the name of Count Buffon and Baron Cuvier, came those dogs that
I saw in Typee? Dogs!—Big hairless rats rather; all with smooth,
shining speckled hides—fat sides, and very disagreeable faces.
Whence could they have come? That they were not the indigenous production
of the region, I am firmly convinced. Indeed they seemed aware of their
being interlopers, looking fairly ashamed, and always trying to hide
themselves in some dark corner. It was plain enough they did not feel at
home in the vale—that they wished themselves well out of it, and
back to the ugly country from which they must have come.
Scurvy curs! they were my abhorrence; I should have liked nothing better
than to have been the death of every one of them. In fact, on one
occasion, I intimated the propriety of a canine crusade to Mehevi; but the
benevolent king would not consent to it. He heard me very patiently; but
when I had finished, shook his head, and told me in confidence that they
were 'taboo'.
As for the animal that made the fortune of the ex-lord-mayor Whittington,
I shall never forget the day that I was lying in the house about noon,
everybody else being fast asleep; and happening to raise my eyes, met
those of a big black spectral cat, which sat erect in the doorway, looking
at me with its frightful goggling green orbs, like one of those monstrous
imps that torment some of Teniers' saints! I am one of those unfortunate
persons to whom the sight of these animals are, at any time an
insufferable annoyance.
Thus constitutionally averse to cats in general, the unexpected apparition
of this one in particular utterly confounded me. When I had a little
recovered from the fascination of its glance, I started up; the cat fled,
and emboldened by this, I rushed out of the house in pursuit; but it had
disappeared. It was the only time I ever saw one in the valley, and how it
got there I cannot imagine. It is just possible that it might have escaped
from one of the ships at Nukuheva. It was in vain to seek information on
the subject from the natives, since none of them had seen the animal, the
appearance of which remains a mystery to me to this day.
Among the few animals which are to be met with in Typee, there was none
which I looked upon with more interest than a beautiful golden-hued
species of lizard. It measured perhaps five inches from head to tail, and
was most gracefully proportioned. Numbers of those creatures were to be
seen basking in the sunshine upon the thatching of the houses, and
multitudes at all hours of the day showed their glittering sides as they
ran frolicking between the spears of grass or raced in troops up and down
the tall shafts of the cocoanut trees. But the remarkable beauty of these
little animals and their lively ways were not their only claims upon my
admiration. They were perfectly tame and insensible to fear. Frequently,
after seating myself upon the ground in some shady place during the heat
of the day, I would be completely overrun with them. If I brushed one off
my arm, it would leap perhaps into my hair: when I tried to frighten it
away by gently pinching its leg, it would turn for protection to the very
hand that attacked it.
The birds are also remarkably tame. If you happened to see one perched
upon a branch within reach of your arm, and advanced towards it, it did
not fly away immediately, but waited quietly looking at you, until you
could almost touch it, and then took wing slowly, less alarmed at your
presence, it would seem, than desirous of removing itself from your path.
Had salt been less scarce in the valley than it was, this was the very
place to have gone birding with it. I remember that once, on an
uninhabited island of the Gallipagos, a bird alighted on my outstretched
arm, while its mate chirped from an adjoining tree. Its tameness, far from
shocking me, as a similar occurrence did Selkirk, imparted to me the most
exquisite thrill of delight I ever experienced, and with somewhat of the
same pleasure did I afterwards behold the birds and lizards of the valley
show their confidence in the kindliness of man.
Among the numerous afflictions which the Europeans have entailed upon some
of the natives of the South Seas, is the accidental introduction among
them of that enemy of all repose and ruffler of even tempers—the
Mosquito. At the Sandwich Islands and at two or three of the Society
group, there are now thriving colonies of these insects, who promise ere
long to supplant altogether the aboriginal sand-flies. They sting, buzz,
and torment, from one end of the year to the other, and by incessantly
exasperating the natives materially obstruct the benevolent labours of the
missionaries.
From this grievous visitation, however the Typees are as yet wholly
exempt; but its place is unfortunately in some degree supplied by the
occasional presence of a minute species of fly, which, without stinging,
is nevertheless productive of no little annoyance. The tameness of the
birds and lizards is as nothing when compared to the fearless confidence
of this insect. He will perch upon one of your eye-lashes, and go to roost
there if you do not disturb him, or force his way through your hair, or
along the cavity of the nostril, till you almost fancy he is resolved to
explore the very brain itself. On one occasion I was so inconsiderate as
to yawn while a number of them were hovering around me. I never repeated
the act. Some half-dozen darted into the open apartment, and began walking
about its ceiling; the sensation was dreadful. I involuntarily closed my
mouth, and the poor creatures being enveloped in inner darkness, must in
their consternation have stumbled over my palate, and been precipitated
into the gulf beneath. At any rate, though I afterwards charitably held my
mouth open for at least five minutes, with a view of affording egress to
the stragglers, none of them ever availed themselves of the opportunity.
There are no wild animals of any kind on the island unless it be decided
that the natives themselves are such. The mountains and the interior
present to the eye nothing but silent solitudes, unbroken by the roar of
beasts of prey, and enlivened by few tokens even of minute animated
existence. There are no venomous reptiles, and no snakes of any
description to be found in any of the valleys.
In a company of Marquesan natives the weather affords no topic of
conversation. It can hardly be said to have any vicissitudes. The rainy
season, it is true, brings frequent showers, but they are intermitting and
refreshing. When an islander bound on some expedition rises from his couch
in the morning, he is never solicitous to peep out and see how the sky
looks, or ascertain from what quarter the wind blows. He is always sure of
a 'fine day', and the promise of a few genial showers he hails with
pleasure. There is never any of that 'remarkable weather' on the islands
which from time immemorial has been experienced in America, and still
continues to call forth the wondering conversational exclamations of its
elderly citizens. Nor do there even occur any of those eccentric
meteorological changes which elsewhere surprise us. In the valley of Typee
ice-creams would never be rendered less acceptable by sudden frosts, nor
would picnic parties be deferred on account of inauspicious snowstorms:
for there day follows day in one unvarying round of summer and sunshine,
and the whole year is one long tropical month of June just melting into
July.
It is this genial climate which causes the cocoanuts to flourish as they
do. This invaluable fruit, brought to perfection by the rich soil of the
Marquesas, and home aloft on a stately column more than a hundred feet
from the ground, would seem at first almost inaccessible to the simple
natives. Indeed the slender, smooth, and soaring shaft, without a single
limb or protuberance of any kind to assist one in mounting it, presents an
obstacle only to be overcome by the surprising agility and ingenuity of
the islanders. It might be supposed that their indolence would lead them
patiently to await the period when the ripened nuts, slowly parting from
their stems, fall one by one to the ground. This certainly would be the
case, were it not that the young fruit, encased in a soft green husk, with
the incipient meat adhering in a jelly-like pellicle to its sides, and
containing a bumper of the most delicious nectar, is what they chiefly
prize. They have at least twenty different terms to express as many
progressive stages in the growth of the nut. Many of them reject the fruit
altogether except at a particular period of its growth, which, incredible
as it may appear, they seemed to me to be able to ascertain within an hour
or two. Others are still more capricious in their tastes; and after
gathering together a heap of the nuts of all ages, and ingeniously tapping
them, will first sip from one and then from another, as fastidiously as
some delicate wine-bibber experimenting glass in hand among his dusty
demi-johns of different vintages.
Some of the young men, with more flexible frames than their comrades, and
perhaps with more courageous souls, had a way of walking up the trunk of
the cocoanut trees which to me seemed little less than miraculous; and
when looking at them in the act, I experienced that curious perplexity a
child feels when he beholds a fly moving feet uppermost along a ceiling.
I will endeavour to describe the way in which Narnee, a noble young chief,
sometimes performed this feat for my peculiar gratification; but his
preliminary performances must also be recorded. Upon my signifying my
desire that he should pluck me the young fruit of some particular tree,
the handsome savage, throwing himself into a sudden attitude of surprise,
feigns astonishment at the apparent absurdity of the request. Maintaining
this position for a moment, the strange emotions depicted on his
countenance soften down into one of humorous resignation to my will, and
then looking wistfully up to the tufted top of the tree, he stands on
tip-toe, straining his neck and elevating his arm, as though endeavouring
to reach the fruit from the ground where he stands. As if defeated in this
childish attempt, he now sinks to the earth despondingly, beating his
breast in well-acted despair; and then, starting to his feet all at once,
and throwing back his head, raises both hands, like a school-boy about to
catch a falling ball. After continuing this for a moment or two, as if in
expectation that the fruit was going to be tossed down to him by some good
spirit in the tree-top, he turns wildly round in another fit of despair,
and scampers off to the distance of thirty or forty yards. Here he remains
awhile, eyeing the tree, the very picture of misery; but the next moment,
receiving, as it were, a flash of inspiration, he rushes again towards it,
and clasping both arms about the trunk, with one elevated a little above
the other, he presses the soles of his feet close together against the
tree, extending his legs from it until they are nearly horizontal, and his
body becomes doubled into an arch; then, hand over hand and foot over
foot, he rises from the earth with steady rapidity, and almost before you
are aware of it, has gained the cradled and embowered nest of nuts, and
with boisterous glee flings the fruit to the ground.
This mode of walking the tree is only practicable where the trunk declines
considerably from the perpendicular. This, however, is almost always the
case; some of the perfectly straight shafts of the trees leaning at an
angle of thirty degrees.
The less active among the men, and many of the children of the valley have
another method of climbing. They take a broad and stout piece of bark, and
secure each end of it to their ankles, so that when the feet thus confined
are extended apart, a space of little more than twelve inches is left
between them. This contrivance greatly facilitates the act of climbing.
The band pressed against the tree, and closely embracing it, yields a
pretty firm support; while with the arms clasped about the trunk, and at
regular intervals sustaining the body, the feet are drawn up nearly a yard
at a time, and a corresponding elevation of the hands immediately
succeeds. In this way I have seen little children, scarcely five years of
age, fearlessly climbing the slender pole of a young cocoanut tree, and
while hanging perhaps fifty feet from the ground, receiving the plaudits
of their parents beneath, who clapped their hands, and encouraged them to
mount still higher.
What, thought I, on first witnessing one of these exhibitions, would the
nervous mothers of America and England say to a similar display of
hardihood in any of their children? The Lacedemonian nation might have
approved of it, but most modern dames would have gone into hysterics at
the sight.
At the top of the cocoanut tree the numerous branches, radiating on all
sides from a common centre, form a sort of green and waving basket,
between the leaflets of which you just discern the nuts thickly clustering
together, and on the loftier trees looking no bigger from the ground than
bunches of grapes. I remember one adventurous little fellow—Too-Too
was the rascal's name—who had built himself a sort of aerial
baby-house in the picturesque tuft of a tree adjoining Marheyo's
habitation. He used to spend hours there,—rustling among the
branches, and shouting with delight every time the strong gusts of wind
rushing down from the mountain side, swayed to and fro the tall and
flexible column on which he was perched. Whenever I heard Too-Too's
musical voice sounding strangely to the ear from so great a height, and
beheld him peeping down upon me from out his leafy covert, he always
recalled to my mind Dibdin's lines—
'There's a sweet little cherub that sits up aloft,
To look out for the life of poor Jack.'
Birds—bright and beautiful birds—fly over the valley of Typee.
You see them perched aloft among the immovable boughs of the majestic
bread-fruit trees, or gently swaying on the elastic branches of the Omoo;
skimming over the palmetto thatching of the bamboo huts; passing like
spirits on the wing through the shadows of the grove, and sometimes
descending into the bosom of the valley in gleaming flights from the
mountains. Their plumage is purple and azure, crimson and white, black and
gold; with bills of every tint: bright bloody red, jet black, and ivory
white, and their eyes are bright and sparkling; they go sailing through
the air in starry throngs; but, alas! the spell of dumbness is upon them
all—there is not a single warbler in the valley!
I know not why it was, but the sight of these birds, generally the
ministers of gladness, always oppressed me with melancholy. As in their
dumb beauty they hovered by me whilst I was walking, or looked down upon
me with steady curious eyes from out the foliage, I was almost inclined to
fancy that they knew they were gazing upon a stranger, and that they
commiserated his fate.
CHAPTER THIRTY
A PROFESSOR OF THE FINE ARTS—HIS PERSECUTIONS—SOMETHING ABOUT
TATTOOING AND TABOOING—TWO ANECDOTES IN ILLUSTRATION OF THE LATTER—A
FEW THOUGHTS ON THE TYPEE DIALECT
IN one of my strolls with Kory-Kory, in passing along the border of a
thick growth of bushes, my attention was arrested by a singular noise. On
entering the thicket I witnessed for the first time the operation of
tattooing as performed by these islanders.
I beheld a man extended flat upon his back on the ground, and, despite the
forced composure of his countenance, it was evident that he was suffering
agony. His tormentor bent over him, working away for all the world like a
stone-cutter with mallet and chisel. In one hand he held a short slender
stick, pointed with a shark's tooth, on the upright end of which he tapped
with a small hammer-like piece of wood, thus puncturing the skin, and
charging it with the colouring matter in which the instrument was dipped.
A cocoanut shell containing this fluid was placed upon the ground. It is
prepared by mixing with a vegetable juice the ashes of the 'armor', or
candle-nut, always preserved for the purpose. Beside the savage, and
spread out upon a piece of soiled tappa, were a great number of curious
black-looking little implements of bone and wood, used in the various
divisions of his art. A few terminated in a single fine point, and, like
very delicate pencils, were employed in giving the finishing touches, or
in operating upon the more sensitive portions of the body, as was the case
in the present instance. Others presented several points distributed in a
line, somewhat resembling the teeth of a saw. These were employed in the
coarser parts of the work, and particularly in pricking in straight marks.
Some presented their points disposed in small figures, and being placed
upon the body, were, by a single blow of the hammer, made to leave their
indelible impression. I observed a few the handles of which were
mysteriously curved, as if intended to be introduced into the orifice of
the ear, with a view perhaps of beating the tattoo upon the tympanum.
Altogether the sight of these strange instruments recalled to mind that
display of cruel-looking mother-of-pearl-handled things which one sees in
their velvet-lined cases at the elbow of a dentist.
The artist was not at this time engaged on an original sketch, his subject
being a venerable savage, whose tattooing had become somewhat faded with
age and needed a few repairs, and accordingly he was merely employed in
touching up the works of some of the old masters of the Typee school, as
delineated upon the human canvas before him. The parts operated upon were
the eyelids, where a longitudinal streak, like the one which adorned
Kory-Kory, crossed the countenance of the victim.
In spite of all the efforts of the poor old man, sundry twitchings and
screwings of the muscles of the face denoted the exquisite sensibility of
these shutters to the windows of his soul, which he was now having
repainted. But the artist, with a heart as callous as that of an army
surgeon, continued his performance, enlivening his labours with a wild
chant, tapping away the while as merrily as a woodpecker.
So deeply engaged was he in his work, that he had not observed our
approach, until, after having, enjoyed an unmolested view of the
operation, I chose to attract his attention. As soon as he perceived me,
supposing that I sought him in his professional capacity, he seized hold
of me in a paroxysm of delight, and was an eagerness to begin the work.
When, however, I gave him to understand that he had altogether mistaken my
views, nothing could exceed his grief and disappointment. But recovering
from this, he seemed determined not to credit my assertion, and grasping
his implements, he flourished them about in fearful vicinity to my face,
going through an imaginary performance of his art, and every moment
bursting into some admiring exclamation at the beauty of his designs.
Horrified at the bare thought of being rendered hideous for life if the
wretch were to execute his purpose upon me, I struggled to get away from
him, while Kory-Kory, turning traitor, stood by, and besought me to comply
with the outrageous request. On my reiterated refusals the excited artist
got half beside himself, and was overwhelmed with sorrow at losing so
noble an opportunity of distinguishing himself in his profession.
The idea of engrafting his tattooing upon my white skin filled him with
all a painter's enthusiasm; again and again he gazed into my countenance,
and every fresh glimpse seemed to add to the vehemence of his ambition.
Not knowing to what extremities he might proceed, and shuddering at the
ruin he might inflict upon my figure-head, I now endeavoured to draw off
his attention from it, and holding out my arm in a fit of desperation,
signed to him to commence operations. But he rejected the compromise
indignantly, and still continued his attack on my face, as though nothing
short of that would satisfy him. When his forefinger swept across my
features, in laying out the borders of those parallel bands which were to
encircle my countenance, the flesh fairly crawled upon my bones. At last,
half wild with terror and indignation, I succeeded in breaking away from
the three savages, and fled towards old Marheyo's house, pursued by the
indomitable artist, who ran after me, implements in hand. Kory-Kory,
however, at last interfered and drew him off from the chase.
This incident opened my eyes to a new danger; and I now felt convinced
that in some luckless hour I should be disfigured in such a manner as
never more to have the FACE to return to my countrymen, even should an
opportunity offer.
These apprehensions were greatly increased by the desire which King Mehevi
and several of the inferior chiefs now manifested that I should be
tattooed. The pleasure of the king was first signified to me some three
days after my casual encounter with Karky the artist. Heavens! what
imprecations I showered upon that Karky. Doubtless he had plotted a
conspiracy against me and my countenance, and would never rest until his
diabolical purpose was accomplished. Several times I met him in various
parts of the valley, and, invariably, whenever he descried me, he came
running after me with his mallet and chisel, flourishing them about my
face as if he longed to begin. What an object he would have made of me!
When the king first expressed his wish to me, I made known to him my utter
abhorrence of the measure, and worked myself into such a state of
excitement, that he absolutely stared at me in amazement. It evidently
surpassed his majesty's comprehension how any sober-minded and sensible
individual could entertain the least possible objection to so beautifying
an operation.
Soon afterwards he repeated his suggestion, and meeting with a little
repulse, showed some symptoms of displeasure at my obduracy. On his a
third time renewing his request, I plainly perceived that something must
be done, or my visage was ruined for ever; I therefore screwed up my
courage to the sticking point, and declared my willingness to have both
arms tattooed from just above the wrist to the shoulder. His majesty was
greatly pleased at the proposition, and I was congratulating myself with
having thus compromised the matter, when he intimated that as a thing of
course my face was first to undergo the operation. I was fairly driven to
despair; nothing but the utter ruin of my 'face divine', as the poets call
it, would, I perceived, satisfy the inexorable Mehevi and his chiefs, or
rather, that infernal Karky, for he was at the bottom of it all.
The only consolation afforded me was a choice of patterns: I was at
perfect liberty to have my face spanned by three horizontal bars, after
the fashion of my serving-man's; or to have as many oblique stripes
slanting across it; or if, like a true courtier, I chose to model my style
on that of royalty, I might wear a sort of freemason badge upon my
countenance in the shape of a mystic triangle. However, I would have none
of these, though the king most earnestly impressed upon my mind that my
choice was wholly unrestricted. At last, seeing my unconquerable
repugnance, he ceased to importune me.
But not so some other of the savages. Hardly a day passed but I was
subjected to their annoying requests, until at last my existence became a
burden to me; the pleasures I had previously enjoyed no longer afforded me
delight, and all my former desire to escape from the valley now revived
with additional force.
A fact which I soon afterwards learned augmented my apprehension. The
whole system of tattooing was, I found, connected with their religion; and
it was evident, therefore, that they were resolved to make a convert of
me.
In the decoration of the chiefs it seems to be necessary to exercise the
most elaborate pencilling; while some of the inferior natives looked as if
they had been daubed over indiscriminately with a house-painter's brush. I
remember one fellow who prided himself hugely upon a great oblong patch,
placed high upon his back, and who always reminded me of a man with a
blister of Spanish flies, stuck between his shoulders. Another whom I
frequently met had the hollow of his eyes tattooed in two regular squares
and his visual organs being remarkably brilliant, they gleamed forth from
out this setting like a couple of diamonds inserted in ebony.
Although convinced that tattooing was a religious observance, still the
nature of the connection between it and the superstitious idolatry of the
people was a point upon which I could never obtain any information. Like
the still more important system of the 'Taboo', it always appeared
inexplicable to me.
There is a marked similarity, almost an identity, between the religious
institutions of most of the Polynesian islands, and in all exists the
mysterious 'Taboo', restricted in its uses to a greater or less extent. So
strange and complex in its arrangements is this remarkable system, that I
have in several cases met with individuals who, after residing for years
among the islands in the Pacific, and acquiring a considerable knowledge
of the language, have nevertheless been altogether unable to give any
satisfactory account of its operations. Situated as I was in the Typee
valley, I perceived every hour the effects of this all-controlling power,
without in the least comprehending it. Those effects were, indeed,
wide-spread and universal, pervading the most important as well as the
minutest transactions of life. The savage, in short, lives in the
continual observance of its dictates, which guide and control every action
of his being.
For several days after entering the valley I had been saluted at least
fifty times in the twenty-four hours with the talismanic word 'Taboo'
shrieked in my ears, at some gross violation of its provisions, of which I
had unconsciously been guilty. The day after our arrival I happened to
hand some tobacco to Toby over the head of a native who sat between us. He
started up, as if stung by an adder; while the whole company, manifesting
an equal degree of horror, simultaneously screamed out 'Taboo!' I never
again perpetrated a similar piece of ill-manners, which, indeed, was
forbidden by the canons of good breeding, as well as by the mandates of
the taboo. But it was not always so easy to perceive wherein you had
contravened the spirit of this institution. I was many times called to
order, if I may use the phrase, when I could not for the life of me
conjecture what particular offence I had committed.
One day I was strolling through a secluded portion of the valley, and
hearing the musical sound of the cloth-mallet at a little distance, I
turned down a path that conducted me in a few moments to a house where
there were some half-dozen girls employed in making tappa. This was an
operation I had frequently witnessed, and had handled the bark in all the
various stages of its preparation. On the present occasion the females
were intent upon their occupation, and after looking up and talking gaily
to me for a few moments, they resumed their employment. I regarded them
for a while in silence, and then carelessly picking up a handful of the
material that lay around, proceeded unconsciously to pick it apart. While
thus engaged, I was suddenly startled by a scream, like that of a whole
boarding-school of young ladies just on the point of going into hysterics.
Leaping up with the idea of seeing a score of Happar warriors about to
perform anew the Sabine atrocity, I found myself confronted by the company
of girls, who, having dropped their work, stood before me with starting
eyes, swelling bosoms, and fingers pointed in horror towards me.
Thinking that some venomous reptile must be concealed in the bark which I
held in my hand, I began cautiously to separate and examine it. Whilst I
did so the horrified girls re-doubled their shrieks. Their wild cries and
frightened motions actually alarmed me, and throwing down the tappa, I was
about to rush from the house, when in the same instant their clamours
ceased, and one of them, seizing me by the arm, pointed to the broken
fibres that had just fallen from my grasp, and screamed in my ears the
fatal word Taboo!
I subsequently found out that the fabric they were engaged in making was
of a peculiar kind, destined to be worn on the heads of the females, and
through every stage of its manufacture was guarded by a rigorous taboo,
which interdicted the whole masculine gender from even so much as touching
it.
Frequently in walking through the groves I observed bread-fruit and
cocoanut trees, with a wreath of leaves twined in a peculiar fashion about
their trunks. This was the mark of the taboo. The trees themselves, their
fruit, and even the shadows they cast upon the ground, were consecrated by
its presence. In the same way a pipe, which the king had bestowed upon me,
was rendered sacred in the eyes of the natives, none of whom could I ever
prevail upon to smoke from it. The bowl was encircled by a woven band of
grass, somewhat resembling those Turks' heads occasionally worked in the
handles of our whip-stalks.
A similar badge was once braided about my wrist by the royal hand of
Mehevi himself, who, as soon as he had concluded the operation, pronounced
me 'Taboo'. This occurred shortly after Toby's disappearance; and, were it
not that from the first moment I had entered the valley the natives had
treated me with uniform kindness, I should have supposed that their
conduct afterwards was to be ascribed to the fact that I had received this
sacred investiture.
The capricious operations of the taboo are not its least remarkable
feature: to enumerate them all would be impossible. Black hogs—infants
to a certain age—women in an interesting situation—young men
while the operation of tattooing their faces is going on—and certain
parts of the valley during the continuance of a shower—are alike
fenced about by the operation of the taboo.
I witnessed a striking instance of its effects in the bay of Tior, my
visit to which place has been alluded to in a former part of this
narrative. On that occasion our worthy captain formed one of the party. He
was a most insatiable sportsman. Outward bound, and off the pitch of Cape
Horn, he used to sit on the taffrail, and keep the steward loading three
or four old fowling pieces, with which he would bring down albatrosses,
Cape pigeons, jays, petrels, and divers other marine fowl, who followed
chattering in our wake. The sailors were struck aghast at his impiety, and
one and all attributed our forty days' beating about that horrid headland
to his sacrilegious slaughter of these inoffensive birds.
At Tior he evinced the same disregard for the religious prejudices of the
islanders, as he had previously shown for the superstitions of the
sailors. Having heard that there were a considerable number of fowls in
the valley the progeny of some cocks and hens accidentally left there by
an English vessel, and which, being strictly tabooed, flew about almost in
a wild state—he determined to break through all restraints, and be
the death of them. Accordingly, he provided himself with a most formidable
looking gun, and announced his landing on the beach by shooting down a
noble cock that was crowing what proved to be his own funeral dirge, on
the limb of an adjoining tree. 'Taboo', shrieked the affrighted savages.
'Oh, hang your taboo,' says the nautical sportsman; 'talk taboo to the
marines'; and bang went the piece again, and down came another victim. At
this the natives ran scampering through the groves, horror-struck at the
enormity of the act.
All that afternoon the rocky sides of the valley rang with successive
reports, and the superb plumage of many a beautiful fowl was ruffled by
the fatal bullet. Had it not been that the French admiral, with a large
party, was then in the glen, I have no doubt that the natives, although
their tribe was small and dispirited, would have inflicted summary
vengeance upon the man who thus outraged their most sacred institutions;
as it was, they contrived to annoy him not a little.
Thirsting with his exertions, the skipper directed his steps to a stream;
but the savages, who had followed at a little distance, perceiving his
object, rushed towards him and forced him away from its bank—his
lips would have polluted it. Wearied at last, he sought to enter a house
that he might rest for a while on the mats; its inmates gathered
tumultuously about the door and denied him admittance. He coaxed and
blustered by turns, but in vain; the natives were neither to be
intimidated nor appeased, and as a final resort he was obliged to call
together his boat's crew, and pull away from what he termed the most
infernal place he ever stepped upon.
Lucky was it for him and for us that we were not honoured on our departure
by a salute of stones from the hands of the exasperated Tiors. In this
way, on the neighbouring island of Ropo, were killed, but a few weeks
previously, and for a nearly similar offence, the master and three of the
crew of the K—-.
I cannot determine with anything approaching to certainty, what power it
is that imposes the taboo. When I consider the slight disparity of
condition among the islanders—the very limited and inconsiderable
prerogatives of the king and chiefs—and the loose and indefinite
functions of the priesthood, most of whom were hardly to be distinguished
from the rest of their countrymen, I am wholly at a loss where to look for
the authority which regulates this potent institution. It is imposed upon
something today, and withdrawn tomorrow; while its operations in other
cases are perpetual. Sometimes its restrictions only affect a single
individual—sometimes a particular family—sometimes a whole
tribe; and in a few instances they extend not merely over the various
clans on a single island, but over all the inhabitants of an entire group.
In illustration of this latter peculiarity, I may cite the law which
forbids a female to enter a canoe—a prohibition which prevails upon
all the northern Marquesas Islands.
The word itself (taboo) is used in more than one signification. It is
sometimes used by a parent to his child, when in the exercise of parental
authority he forbids it to perform a particular action. Anything opposed
to the ordinary customs of the islanders, although not expressly
prohibited, is said to be 'taboo'.
The Typee language is one very difficult to be acquired; it bears a close
resemblance to the other Polynesian dialects, all of which show a common
origin. The duplication of words, as 'lumee lumee', 'poee poee', 'muee
muee', is one of their peculiar features. But another, and a more annoying
one, is the different senses in which one and the same word is employed;
its various meanings all have a certain connection, which only makes the
matter more puzzling. So one brisk, lively little word is obliged, like a
servant in a poor family, to perform all sorts of duties; for instance,
one particular combination of syllables expresses the ideas of sleep,
rest, reclining, sitting, leaning, and all other things anywise analogous
thereto, the particular meaning being shown chiefly by a variety of
gestures and the eloquent expression of the countenance.
The intricacy of these dialects is another peculiarity. In the Missionary
College at Lahainaluna, on Mowee, one of the Sandwich Islands, I saw a
tabular exhibition of a Hawiian verb, conjugated through all its moods and
tenses. It covered the side of a considerable apartment, and I doubt
whether Sir William Jones himself would not have despaired of mastering
it.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
STRANGE CUSTOM OF THE ISLANDERS—THEIR CHANTING, AND THE PECULIARITY
OF THEIR VOICE—RAPTURE OF THE KING AT FIRST HEARING A SONG—A
NEW DIGNITY CONFERRED ON THE AUTHOR—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS IN THE
VALLEY—ADMIRATION OF THE SAVAGES AT BEHOLDING A PUGILISTIC
PERFORMANCE—SWIMMING INFANT—BEAUTIFUL TRESSES OF THE GIRLS—OINTMENT
FOR THE HAIR
SADLY discursive as I have already been, I must still further entreat the
reader's patience, as I am about to string together, without any attempt
at order, a few odds and ends of things not hitherto mentioned, but which
are either curious in themselves or peculiar to the Typees.
There was one singular custom observed in old Marheyo's domestic
establishment, which often excited my surprise. Every night, before
retiring, the inmates of the house gathered together on the mats, and so
squatting upon their haunches, after the universal practice of these
islanders, would commence a low, dismal and monotonous chant, accompanying
the voice with the instrumental melody produced by two small half-rotten
sticks tapped slowly together, a pair of which were held in the hands of
each person present. Thus would they employ themselves for an hour or two,
sometimes longer. Lying in the gloom which wrapped the further end of the
house, I could not avoid looking at them, although the spectacle suggested
nothing but unpleasant reflection. The flickering rays of the 'armor' nut
just served to reveal their savage lineaments, without dispelling the
darkness that hovered about them.
Sometimes when, after falling into a kind of doze, and awaking suddenly in
the midst of these doleful chantings, my eye would fall upon the
wild-looking group engaged in their strange occupation, with their naked
tattooed limbs, and shaven heads disposed in a circle, I was almost
tempted to believe that I gazed upon a set of evil beings in the act of
working at a frightful incantation.
What was the meaning or purpose of this custom, whether it was practiced
merely as a diversion, or whether it was a religious exercise, a sort of
family prayers, I never could discover.
The sounds produced by the natives on these occasions were of a most
singular description; and had I not actually been present, I never would
have believed that such curious noises could have been produced by human
beings.
To savages generally is imputed a guttural articulation. This however, is
not always the case, especially among the inhabitants of the Polynesian
Archipelago. The labial melody with which the Typee girls carry on an
ordinary conversation, giving a musical prolongation to the final syllable
of every sentence, and chirping out some of the words with a liquid,
bird-like accent, was singularly pleasing.
The men however, are not quite so harmonious in their utterance, and when
excited upon any subject, would work themselves up into a sort of wordy
paroxysm, during which all descriptions of rough-sided sounds were
projected from their mouths, with a force and rapidity which was
absolutely astonishing.
. . . . . . . .
Although these savages are remarkably fond of chanting, still they appear
to have no idea whatever of singing, at least as the art is practised in
other nations.
I shall never forget the first time I happened to roar out a stave in the
presence of noble Mehevi. It was a stanza from the 'Bavarian
broom-seller'. His Typeean majesty, with all his court, gazed upon me in
amazement, as if I had displayed some preternatural faculty which Heaven
had denied to them. The King was delighted with the verse; but the chorus
fairly transported him. At his solicitation I sang it again and again, and
nothing could be more ludicrous than his vain attempts to catch the air
and the words. The royal savage seemed to think that by screwing all the
features of his face into the end of his nose he might possibly succeed in
the undertaking, but it failed to answer the purpose; and in the end he
gave it up, and consoled himself by listening to my repetition of the
sounds fifty times over.
Previous to Mehevi's making the discovery, I had never been aware that
there was anything of the nightingale about me; but I was now promoted to
the place of court-minstrel, in which capacity I was afterwards
perpetually called upon to officiate.
. . . . . . . .
Besides the sticks and the drums, there are no other musical instruments
among the Typees, except one which might appropriately be denominated a
nasal flute. It is somewhat longer than an ordinary fife; is made of a
beautiful scarlet-coloured reed; and has four or five stops, with a large
hole near one end, which latter is held just beneath the left nostril. The
other nostril being closed by a peculiar movement of the muscles about the
nose, the breath is forced into the tube, and produces a soft dulcet sound
which is varied by the fingers running at random over the stops. This is a
favourite recreation with the females and one in which Fayaway greatly
excelled. Awkward as such an instrument may appear, it was, in Fayaway's
delicate little hands, one of the most graceful I have ever seen. A young
lady, in the act of tormenting a guitar strung about her neck by a couple
of yards of blue ribbon, is not half so engaging.
. . . . . . . .
Singing was not the only means I possessed of diverting the royal Mehevi
and his easy-going subject. Nothing afforded them more pleasure than to
see me go through the attitude of pugilistic encounter. As not one of the
natives had soul enough in him to stand up like a man, and allow me to
hammer away at him, for my own personal gratification and that of the
king, I was necessitated to fight with an imaginary enemy, whom I
invariably made to knock under to my superior prowess. Sometimes when this
sorely battered shadow retreated precipitately towards a group of the
savages, and, following him up, I rushed among them dealing my blows right
and left, they would disperse in all directions much to the enjoyment of
Mehevi, the chiefs, and themselves.
The noble art of self-defence appeared to be regarded by them as the
peculiar gift of the white man; and I make little doubt that they supposed
armies of Europeans were drawn up provided with nothing else but bony
fists and stout hearts, with which they set to in column, and pummelled
one another at the word of command.
. . . . . . . .
One day, in company with Kory-Kory, I had repaired to the stream for the
purpose of bathing, when I observed a woman sitting upon a rock in the
midst of the current, and watching with the liveliest interest the gambols
of something, which at first I took to be an uncommonly large species of
frog that was sporting in the water near her. Attracted by the novelty of
the sight, I waded towards the spot where she sat, and could hardly credit
the evidence of my senses when I beheld a little infant, the period of
whose birth could not have extended back many days, paddling about as if
it had just risen to the surface, after being hatched into existence at
the bottom. Occasionally, the delighted parent reached out her hand
towards it, when the little thing, uttering a faint cry, and striking out
its tiny limbs, would sidle for the rock, and the next moment be clasped
to its mother's bosom. This was repeated again and again, the baby
remaining in the stream about a minute at a time. Once or twice it made
wry faces at swallowing a mouthful of water, and choked a spluttered as if
on the point of strangling. At such times however, the mother snatched it
up and by a process scarcely to be mentioned obliged it to eject the
fluid. For several weeks afterwards I observed this woman bringing her
child down to the stream regularly every day, in the cool of the morning
and evening and treating it to a bath. No wonder that the South Sea
Islanders are so amphibious a race, when they are thus launched into the
water as soon as they see the light. I am convinced that it is as natural
for a human being to swim as it is for a duck. And yet in civilized
communities how many able-bodied individuals die, like so many drowning
kittens, from the occurrence of the most trivial accidents!
. . . . . . . .
The long luxuriant and glossy tresses of the Typee damsels often attracted
my admiration. A fine head of hair is the pride and joy of every woman's
heart. Whether against the express will of Providence, it is twisted upon
the crown of the head and there coiled away like a rope on a ship's deck;
whether it be stuck behind the ears and hangs down like the swag of a
small window-curtain; or whether it be permitted to flow over the
shoulders in natural ringlets, it is always the pride of the owner, and
the glory of the toilette.
The Typee girls devote much of their time to the dressing of their fair
and redundant locks. After bathing, as they sometimes do five or six times
every day, the hair is carefully dried, and if they have been in the sea,
invariably washed in fresh water, and anointed with a highly scented oil
extracted from the meat of the cocoanut. This oil is obtained in great
abundance by the following very simple process:
A large vessel of wood, with holes perforated in the bottom, is filled
with the pounded meat, and exposed to the rays of the sun. As the
oleaginous matter exudes, it falls in drops through the apertures into a
wide-mouthed calabash placed underneath. After a sufficient quantity has
thus been collected, the oil undergoes a purifying process, and is then
poured into the small spherical shells of the nuts of the moo-tree, which
are hollowed out to receive it. These nuts are then hermetically sealed
with a resinous gum, and the vegetable fragrance of their green rind soon
imparts to the oil a delightful odour. After the lapse of a few weeks the
exterior shell of the nuts becomes quite dry and hard, and assumes a
beautiful carnation tint; and when opened they are found to be about
two-thirds full of an ointment of a light yellow colour and diffusing the
sweetest perfume. This elegant little odorous globe would not be out of
place even upon the toilette of a queen. Its merits as a preparation for
the hair are undeniable—it imparts to it a superb gloss and a silky
fineness.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
APPREHENSIONS OF EVIL—FRIGHTFUL DISCOVERY—SOME REMARKS ON
CANNIBALISM—SECOND BATTLE WITH THE HAPPARS—SAVAGE SPECTACLE—MYSTERIOUS
FEAST—SUBSEQUENT DISCLOSURES
FROM the time of my casual encounter with Karky the artist, my life was
one of absolute wretchedness. Not a day passed but I was persecuted by the
solicitations of some of the natives to subject myself to the odious
operation of tattooing. Their importunities drove me half wild, for I felt
how easily they might work their will upon me regarding this or anything
else which they took into their heads. Still, however, the behaviour of
the islanders towards me was as kind as ever. Fayaway was quite as
engaging; Kory-Kory as devoted; and Mehevi the king just as gracious and
condescending as before. But I had now been three months in their valley,
as nearly as I could estimate; I had grown familiar with the narrow limits
to which my wandering had been confined; and I began bitterly to feel the
state of captivity in which I was held. There was no one with whom I could
freely converse; no one to whom I could communicate my thoughts; no one
who could sympathize with my sufferings. A thousand times I thought how
much more endurable would have been my lot had Toby still been with me.
But I was left alone, and the thought was terrible to me. Still, despite
my griefs, I did all in my power to appear composed and cheerful, well
knowing that by manifesting any uneasiness, or any desire to escape, I
should only frustrate my object.
It was during the period I was in this unhappy frame of mind that the
painful malady under which I had been labouring—after having almost
completely subsided—began again to show itself, and with symptoms as
violent as ever. This added calamity nearly unmanned me; the recurrence of
the complaint proved that without powerful remedial applications all hope
of cure was futile; and when I reflected that just beyond the elevations,
which bound me in, was the medical relief I needed, and that although so
near, it was impossible for me to avail myself of it, the thought was
misery.
In this wretched situation, every circumstance which evinced the savage
nature of the beings at whose mercy I was, augmented the fearful
apprehensions that consumed me. An occurrence which happened about this
time affected me most powerfully.
I have already mentioned that from the ridge-pole of Marheyo's house were
suspended a number of packages enveloped in tappa. Many of these I had
often seen in the hands of the natives, and their contents had been
examined in my presence. But there were three packages hanging very nearly
over the place where I lay, which from their remarkable appearance had
often excited my curiosity. Several times I had asked Kory-Kory to show me
their contents, but my servitor, who, in almost every other particular had
acceded to my wishes, refused to gratify me in this.
One day, returning unexpectedly from the 'Ti', my arrival seemed to throw
the inmates of the house into the greatest confusion. They were seated
together on the mats, and by the lines which extended from the roof to the
floor I immediately perceived that the mysterious packages were for some
purpose or another under inspection. The evident alarm the savages
betrayed filled me with forebodings of evil, and with an uncontrollable
desire to penetrate the secret so jealously guarded. Despite the efforts
of Marheyo and Kory-Kory to restrain me, I forced my way into the midst of
the circle, and just caught a glimpse of three human heads, which others
of the party were hurriedly enveloping in the coverings from which they
had been taken.
One of the three I distinctly saw. It was in a state of perfect
preservation, and from the slight glimpse I had of it, seemed to have been
subjected to some smoking operation which had reduced it to the dry, hard,
and mummy-like appearance it presented. The two long scalp locks were
twisted up into balls upon the crown of the head in the same way that the
individual had worn them during life. The sunken cheeks were rendered yet
more ghastly by the rows of glistening teeth which protruded from between
the lips, while the sockets of the eyes—filled with oval bits of
mother-of-pearl shell, with a black spot in the centre—heightened
the hideousness of its aspect.
Two of the three were heads of the islanders; but the third, to my horror,
was that of a white man. Although it had been quickly removed from my
sight, still the glimpse I had of it was enough to convince me that I
could not be mistaken.
Gracious God! what dreadful thoughts entered my head; in solving this
mystery perhaps I had solved another, and the fate of my lost companion
might be revealed in the shocking spectacle I had just witnessed. I longed
to have torn off the folds of cloth and satisfied the awful doubts under
which I laboured. But before I had recovered from the consternation into
which I had been thrown, the fatal packages were hoisted aloft, and once
more swung over my head. The natives now gathered round me tumultuously,
and laboured to convince me that what I had just seen were the heads of
three Happar warriors, who had been slain in battle. This glaring
falsehood added to my alarm, and it was not until I reflected that I had
observed the packages swinging from their elevation before Toby's
disappearance, that I could at all recover my composure.
But although this horrible apprehension had been dispelled, I had
discovered enough to fill me, in my present state of mind, with the most
bitter reflections. It was plain that I had seen the last relic of some
unfortunate wretch, who must have been massacred on the beach by the
savages, in one of those perilous trading adventures which I have before
described.
It was not, however, alone the murder of the stranger that overcame me
with gloom. I shuddered at the idea of the subsequent fate his inanimate
body might have met with. Was the same doom reserved for me? Was I
destined to perish like him—like him perhaps, to be devoured and my
head to be preserved as a fearful memento of the events? My imagination
ran riot in these horrid speculations, and I felt certain that the worst
possible evils would befall me. But whatever were my misgivings, I
studiously concealed them from the islanders, as well as the full extent
of the discovery I had made.
Although the assurances which the Typees had often given me, that they
never eat human flesh, had not convinced me that such was the case, yet,
having been so long a time in the valley without witnessing anything which
indicated the existence of the practice, I began to hope that it was an
event of very rare occurrence, and that I should be spared the horror of
witnessing it during my stay among them: but, alas, these hopes were soon
destroyed.
It is a singular fact, that in all our accounts of cannibal tribes we have
seldom received the testimony of an eye-witness account to this revolting
practice. The horrible conclusion has almost always been derived from the
second-hand evidence of Europeans, or else from the admissions of the
savages themselves, after they have in some degree become civilized. The
Polynesians are aware of the detestation in which Europeans hold this
custom, and therefore invariably deny its existence, and with the craft
peculiar to savages, endeavour to conceal every trace of it.
The excessive unwillingness betrayed by the Sandwich Islanders, even at
the present day, to allude to the unhappy fate of Cook, has often been
remarked. And so well have they succeeded in covering the event with
mystery, that to this very hour, despite all that has been said and
written on the subject, it still remains doubtful whether they wreaked
upon his murdered body the vengeance they sometimes inflicted upon their
enemies.
At Kealakekau, the scene of that tragedy, a strip of ship's copper nailed
against an upright post in the ground used to inform the traveller that
beneath reposed the 'remains' of the great circumnavigator. But I am
strongly inclined to believe not only the corpse was refused Christian
burial, but that the heart which was brought to Vancouver some time after
the event, and which the Hawaiians stoutly maintained was that of Captain
Cook, was no such thing; and that the whole affair was a piece of
imposture which was sought to be palmed off upon the credulous Englishman.
A few years since there was living on the island of Maui (one of the
Sandwich group) an old chief, who, actuated by a morbid desire for
notoriety, gave himself out among the foreign residents of the place as
the living tomb of Captain Cook's big toe!—affirming that at the
cannibal entertainment which ensued after the lamented Briton's death,
that particular portion of his body had fallen to his share. His indignant
countrymen actually caused him to be prosecuted in the native courts, on a
charge nearly equivalent to what we term defamation of character; but the
old fellow persisting in his assertion, and no invalidating proof being
adduced, the plaintiffs were cast in the suit, and the cannibal reputation
of the defendant firmly established. This result was the making of his
fortune; ever afterwards he was in the habit of giving very profitable
audiences to all curious travellers who were desirous of beholding the man
who had eaten the great navigator's great toe.
About a week after my discovery of the contents of the mysterious
packages, I happened to be at the Ti, when another war-alarm was sounded,
and the natives rushing to their arms, sallied out to resist a second
incursion of the Happar invaders. The same scene was again repeated, only
that on this occasion I heard at least fifteen reports of muskets from the
mountains during the time that the skirmish lasted. An hour or two after
its termination, loud paeans chanted through the valley announced the
approach of the victors. I stood with Kory-Kory leaning against the
railing of the pi-pi awaiting their advance, when a tumultuous crowd of
islanders emerged with wild clamours from the neighbouring groves. In the
midst of them marched four men, one preceding the other at regular
intervals of eight or ten feet, with poles of a corresponding length,
extending from shoulder to shoulder, to which were lashed with thongs of
bark three long narrow bundles, carefully wrapped in ample coverings of
freshly plucked palm-leaves, tacked together with slivers of bamboo. Here
and there upon these green winding-sheets might be seen the stains of
blood, while the warriors who carried the frightful burdens displayed upon
their naked limbs similar sanguinary marks. The shaven head of the
foremost had a deep gash upon it, and the clotted gore which had flowed
from the wound remained in dry patches around it. The savage seemed to be
sinking under the weight he bore. The bright tattooing upon his body was
covered with blood and dust; his inflamed eyes rolled in their sockets,
and his whole appearance denoted extraordinary suffering and exertion; yet
sustained by some powerful impulse, he continued to advance, while the
throng around him with wild cheers sought to encourage him. The other
three men were marked about the arms and breasts with several slight
wounds, which they somewhat ostentatiously displayed.
These four individuals, having been the most active in the late encounter,
claimed the honour of bearing the bodies of their slain enemies to the Ti.
Such was the conclusion I drew from my own observations, and, as far as I
could understand, from the explanation which Kory-Kory gave me.
The royal Mehevi walked by the side of these heroes. He carried in one
hand a musket, from the barrel of which was suspended a small canvas pouch
of powder, and in the other he grasped a short javelin, which he held
before him and regarded with fierce exultation. This javelin he had
wrested from a celebrated champion of the Happars, who had ignominiously
fled, and was pursued by his foes beyond the summit of the mountain.
When within a short distance of the Ti, the warrior with the wounded head,
who proved to be Narmonee, tottered forward two or three steps, and fell
helplessly to the ground; but not before another had caught the end of the
pole from his shoulder, and placed it upon his own.
The excited throng of islanders, who surrounded the person of the king and
the dead bodies of the enemy, approached the spot where I stood,
brandishing their rude implements of warfare, many of which were bruised
and broken, and uttering continual shouts of triumph. When the crowd drew
up opposite the Ti, I set myself to watch their proceedings most
attentively; but scarcely had they halted when my servitor, who had left
my side for an instant, touched my arm and proposed our returning to
Marheyo's house. To this I objected; but, to my surprise, Kory-Kory
reiterated his request, and with an unusual vehemence of manner. Still,
however, I refused to comply, and was retreating before him, as in his
importunity he pressed upon me, when I felt a heavy hand laid upon my
shoulder, and turning round, encountered the bulky form of Mow-Mow, a
one-eyed chief, who had just detached himself from the crowd below, and
had mounted the rear of the pi-pi upon which we stood. His cheek had been
pierced by the point of a spear, and the wound imparted a still more
frightful expression to his hideously tattooed face, already deformed by
the loss of an eye. The warrior, without uttering a syllable, pointed
fiercely in the direction of Marheyo's house, while Kory-Kory, at the same
time presenting his back, desired me to mount.
I declined this offer, but intimated my willingness to withdraw, and moved
slowly along the piazza, wondering what could be the cause of this unusual
treatment. A few minutes' consideration convinced me that the savages were
about to celebrate some hideous rite in connection with their peculiar
customs, and at which they were determined I should not be present. I
descended from the pi-pi, and attended by Kory-Kory, who on this occasion
did not show his usual commiseration for my lameness, but seemed only
anxious to hurry me on, walked away from the place. As I passed through
the noisy throng, which by this time completely environed the Ti, I looked
with fearful curiosity at the three packages, which now were deposited
upon the ground; but although I had no doubt as to their contents, still
their thick coverings prevented my actually detecting the form of a human
body.
The next morning, shortly after sunrise, the same thundering sounds which
had awakened me from sleep on the second day of the Feast of Calabashes,
assured me that the savages were on the eve of celebrating another, and,
as I fully believed, a horrible solemnity.
All the inmates of the house, with the exception of Marheyo, his son, and
Tinor, after assuming their gala dresses, departed in the direction of the
Taboo Groves.
Although I did not anticipate a compliance with my request, still, with a
view of testing the truth of my suspicions, I proposed to Kory-Kory that,
according to our usual custom in the morning, we should take a stroll to
the Ti: he positively refused; and when I renewed the request, he evinced
his determination to prevent my going there; and, to divert my mind from
the subject, he offered to accompany me to the stream. We accordingly
went, and bathed. On our coming back to the house, I was surprised to find
that all its inmates had returned, and were lounging upon the mats as
usual, although the drums still sounded from the groves.
The rest of the day I spent with Kory-Kory and Fayaway, wandering about a
part of the valley situated in an opposite direction from the Ti, and
whenever I so much as looked towards that building, although it was hidden
from view by intervening trees, and at the distance of more than a mile,
my attendant would exclaim, 'Taboo, taboo!'
At the various houses where we stopped, I found many of the inhabitants
reclining at their ease, or pursuing some light occupation, as if nothing
unusual were going forward; but amongst them all I did not perceive a
single chief or warrior. When I asked several of the people why they were
not at the 'Hoolah Hoolah' (the feast), their uniformly answered the
question in a manner which implied that it was not intended for them, but
for Mehevi, Narmonee, Mow-Mow, Kolor, Womonoo, Kalow, running over, in
their desire to make me comprehend their meaning, the names of all the
principal chiefs.
Everything, in short, strengthened my suspicions with regard to the nature
of the festival they were now celebrating; and which amounted almost to a
certainty. While in Nukuheva I had frequently been informed that the whole
tribe were never present at these cannibal banquets, but the chiefs and
priests only; and everything I now observed agreed with the account.
The sound of the drums continued without intermission the whole day, and
falling continually upon my ear, caused me a sensation of horror which I
am unable to describe. On the following day, hearing none of those noisy
indications of revelry, I concluded that the inhuman feast was terminated;
and feeling a kind of morbid curiosity to discover whether the Ti might
furnish any evidence of what had taken place there, I proposed to
Kory-Kory to walk there. To this proposition he replied by pointing with
his finger to the newly risen sun, and then up to the zenith, intimating
that our visit must be deferred until noon. Shortly after that hour we
accordingly proceeded to the Taboo Groves, and as soon as we entered their
precincts, I looked fearfully round in, quest of some memorial of the
scene which had so lately been acted there; but everything appeared as
usual. On reaching the Ti, we found Mehevi and a few chiefs reclining on
the mats, who gave me as friendly a reception as ever. No allusions of any
kind were made by them to the recent events; and I refrained, for obvious
reasons, from referring to them myself.
After staying a short time I took my leave. In passing along the piazza,
previously to descending from the pi-pi, I observed a curiously carved
vessel of wood, of considerable size, with a cover placed over it, of the
same material, and which resembled in shape a small canoe. It was
surrounded by a low railing of bamboos, the top of which was scarcely a
foot from the ground. As the vessel had been placed in its present
position since my last visit, I at once concluded that it must have some
connection with the recent festival, and, prompted by a curiosity I could
not repress, in passing it I raised one end of the cover; at the same
moment the chiefs, perceiving my design, loudly ejaculated, 'Taboo!
taboo!'
But the slight glimpse sufficed; my eyes fell upon the disordered members
of a human skeleton, the bones still fresh with moisture, and with
particles of flesh clinging to them here and there!
Kory-Kory, who had been a little in advance of me, attracted by the
exclamations of the chiefs, turned round in time to witness the expression
of horror on my countenance. He now hurried towards me, pointing at the
same time to the canoe, and exclaiming rapidly, 'Puarkee! puarkee!' (Pig,
pig). I pretended to yield to the deception, and repeated the words after
him several times, as though acquiescing in what he said. The other
savages, either deceived by my conduct or unwilling to manifest their
displeasure at what could not now be remedied, took no further notice of
the occurrence, and I immediately left the Ti.
All that night I lay awake, revolving in my mind the fearful situation in
which I was placed. The last horrid revelation had now been made, and the
full sense of my condition rushed upon my mind with a force I had never
before experienced.
Where, thought I, desponding, is there the slightest prospect of escape?
The only person who seemed to possess the ability to assist me was the
stranger Marnoo; but would he ever return to the valley? and if he did,
should I be permitted to hold any communication with him? It seemed as if
I were cut off from every source of hope, and that nothing remained but
passively to await whatever fate was in store for me. A thousand times I
endeavoured to account for the mysterious conduct of the natives.
For what conceivable purpose did they thus retain me a captive? What could
be their object in treating me with such apparent kindness, and did it not
cover some treacherous scheme? Or, if they had no other design than to
hold me a prisoner, how should I be able to pass away my days in this
narrow valley, deprived of all intercourse with civilized beings, and for
ever separated from friends and home?
One only hope remained to me. The French could not long defer a visit to
the bay, and if they should permanently locate any of their troops in the
valley, the savages could not for any length of time conceal my existence
from them. But what reason had I to suppose that I should be spared until
such an event occurred, an event which might be postponed by a hundred
different contingencies?
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
THE STRANGER AGAIN ARRIVES IN THE VALLEY—SINGULAR INTERVIEW WITH HIM—ATTEMPT
TO ESCAPE—FAILURE—MELANCHOLY SITUATION—SYMPATHY OF
MARHEYO
'MARNOO, Marnoo pemi!' Such were the welcome sounds which fell upon my ear
some ten days after the events related in the preceding chapter. Once more
the approach of the stranger was heralded, and the intelligence operated
upon me like magic. Again I should be able to converse with him in my own
language; and I resolve at all hazards to concert with him some scheme,
however desperate, to rescue me from a condition that had now become
insupportable.
As he drew near, I remembered with many misgivings the inauspicious
termination of our former interview, and when he entered the house, I
watched with intense anxiety the reception he met with from its inmates.
To my joy, his appearance was hailed with the liveliest pleasure; and
accosting me kindly, he seated himself by my side, and entered into
conversation with the natives around him. It soon appeared however, that
on this occasion he had not any intelligence of importance to communicate.
I inquired of him from whence he had just come? He replied from Pueearka,
his native valley, and that he intended to return to it the same day.
At once it struck me that, could I but reach that valley under his
protection, I might easily from thence reach Nukuheva by water; and animated
by the prospect which this plan held, out I disclosed it in a few brief
words to the stranger, and asked him how it could be best accomplished. My
heart sunk within me, when in his broken English he answered me that it
could never be effected. 'Kanaka no let you go nowhere,' he said; 'you
taboo. Why you no like to stay? Plenty moee-moee (sleep)—plenty
ki-ki (eat)—plenty wahenee (young girls)—Oh, very good place
Typee! Suppose you no like this bay, why you come? You no hear about
Typee? All white men afraid Typee, so no white men come.'
These words distressed me beyond belief; and when I had again related to
him the circumstances under which I had descended into the valley, and
sought to enlist his sympathies in my behalf by appealing to the bodily
misery I had endure, he listened with impatience, and cut me short by
exclaiming passionately, 'Me no hear you talk any more; by by Kanaka get
mad, kill you and me too. No you see he no want you to speak at all?—you
see—ah! by by you no mind—you get well, he kill you, eat you,
hang you head up there, like Happar Kanaka.—Now you listen—but
no talk any more. By by I go;—you see way I go—Ah! then some
night Kanaka all moee-moee (sleep)—you run away, you come Pueearka.
I speak Pueearka Kanaka—he no harm you—ah! then I take you my
canoe Nukuheva—and you run away ship no more.' With these words,
enforced by a vehemence of gesture I cannot describe, Marnoo started from
my side, and immediately engaged in conversation with some of the chiefs
who had entered the house.
It would have been idle for me to have attempted resuming the interview so
peremptorily terminated by Marnoo, who was evidently little disposed to
compromise his own safety by any rash endeavour to ensure mine. But the
plan he had suggested struck me as one which might possibly be
accomplished, and I resolved to act upon it as speedily as possible.
Accordingly, when he arose to depart, I accompanied him with the natives
outside of the house, with a view of carefully noting the path he would
take in leaving the valley. Just before leaping from the pi-pi he clasped
my hand, and looking significantly at me, exclaimed, 'Now you see—you
do what I tell you—ah! then you do good;—you no do so—ah!
then you die.' The next moment he waved his spear to the islanders, and
following the route that conducted to a defile in the mountains lying
opposite the Happar side, was soon out of sight.
A mode of escape was now presented to me, but how was I to avail myself of
it? I was continually surrounded by the savages; I could not stir from one
house to another without being attended by some of them; and even during
the hours devoted to slumber, the slightest movement which I made seemed
to attract the notice of those who shared the mats with me. In spite of
these obstacles, however, I determined forthwith to make the attempt. To
do so with any prospect of success, it was necessary that I should have at
least two hours start before the islanders should discover my absence; for
with such facility was any alarm spread through the valley, and so
familiar, of course, were the inhabitants with the intricacies of the
groves, that I could not hope, lame and feeble as I was, and ignorant of
the route, to secure my escape unless I had this advantage. It was also by
night alone that I could hope to accomplish my object, and then only by
adopting the utmost precaution.
The entrance to Marheyo's habitation was through a low narrow opening in
its wicker-work front. This passage, for no conceivable reason that I
could devise, was always closed after the household had retired to rest,
by drawing a heavy slide across it, composed of a dozen or more bits of
wood, ingeniously fastened together by seizings of sinnate. When any of
the inmates chose to go outside, the noise occasioned by the removing of
this rude door awakened every body else; and on more than one occasion I
had remarked that the islanders were nearly as irritable as more civilized
beings under similar circumstances.
The difficulty thus placed in my way I, determined to obviate in the
following manner. I would get up boldly in the course of the night, and
drawing the slide, issue from the house, and pretend that my object was
merely to procure a drink from the calabash, which always stood without
the dwelling on the corner of the pi-pi. On re-entering I would purposely
omit closing the passage after me, and trusting that the indolence of the
savages would prevent them from repairing my neglect, would return to my
mat, and waiting patiently until all were again asleep, I would then steal
forth, and at once take the route to Pueearka.
The very night which followed Marnoo's departure, I proceeded to put this
project into execution. About midnight, as I imagined, I arose and drew
the slide. The natives, just as I had expected, started up, while some of
them asked, 'Arware poo awa, Tommo?' (where are you going, Tommo?) 'Wai'
(water) I laconically answered, grasping the calabash. On hearing my reply
they sank back again, and in a minute or two I returned to my mat,
anxiously awaiting the result of the experiment.
One after another the savages, turning restlessly, appeared to resume
their slumbers, and rejoicing at the stillness which prevailed, I was
about to rise again from my couch, when I heard a slight rustling—a
dark form was intercepted between me and the doorway—the slide was
drawn across it, and the individual, whoever he was, returned to his mat.
This was a sad blow to me; but as it might have aroused the suspicions of
the islanders to have made another attempt that night, I was reluctantly
obliged to defer it until the next. Several times after I repeated the
same manoeuvre, but with as little success as before. As my pretence for
withdrawing from the house was to allay my thirst, Kory-Kory either
suspecting some design on my part, or else prompted by a desire to please
me, regularly every evening placed a calabash of water by my side.
Even, under these inauspicious circumstances I again and again renewed the
attempt, but when I did so, my valet always rose with me, as if determined
I should not remove myself from his observation. For the present,
therefore, I was obliged to abandon the attempt; but I endeavoured to
console myself with the idea that by this mode I might yet effect my
escape.
Shortly after Marnoo's visit I was reduced to such a state that it was
with extreme difficulty I could walk, even with the assistance of a spear,
and Kory-Kory, as formerly, was obliged to carry me daily to the stream.
For hours and hours during the warmest part of the day I lay upon my mat,
and while those around me were nearly all dozing away in careless ease, I
remained awake, gloomily pondering over the fate which it appeared now
idle for me to resist, when I thought of the loved friends who were
thousands and thousands of miles from the savage island in which I was
held a captive, when I reflected that my dreadful fate would for ever be
concealed from them, and that with hope deferred they might continue to
await my return long after my inanimate form had blended with the dust of
the valley—I could not repress a shudder of anguish.
How vividly is impressed upon my mind every minute feature of the scene
which met my view during those long days of suffering and sorrow. At my
request my mats were always spread directly facing the door, opposite
which, and at a little distance, was the hut of boughs that Marheyo was
building.
Whenever my gentle Fayaway and Kory-Kory, laying themselves down beside
me, would leave me awhile to uninterrupted repose, I took a strange
interest in the slightest movements of the eccentric old warrior. All
alone during the stillness of the tropical mid-day, he would pursue his
quiet work, sitting in the shade and weaving together the leaflets of his
cocoanut branches, or rolling upon his knee the twisted fibres of bark to
form the cords with which he tied together the thatching of his tiny
house. Frequently suspending his employment, and noticing my melancholy
eye fixed upon him, he would raise his hand with a gesture expressive of
deep commiseration, and then moving towards me slowly, would enter on
tip-toes, fearful of disturbing the slumbering natives, and, taking the
fan from my hand, would sit before me, swaying it gently to and fro, and
gazing earnestly into my face.
Just beyond the pi-pi, and disposed in a triangle before the entrance of
the house, were three magnificent bread-fruit trees. At this moment I can
recap to my mind their slender shafts, and the graceful inequalities of
their bark, on which my eye was accustomed to dwell day after day in the
midst of my solitary musings. It is strange how inanimate objects will
twine themselves into our affections, especially in the hour of
affliction. Even now, amidst all the bustle and stir of the proud and busy
city in which I am dwelling, the image of those three trees seems to come
as vividly before my eyes as if they were actually present, and I still
feel the soothing quiet pleasure which I then had in watching hour after
hour their topmost boughs waving gracefully in the breeze.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
THE ESCAPE
NEARLY three weeks had elapsed since the second visit of Marnoo, and it
must have been more than four months since I entered the valley, when one
day about noon, and whilst everything was in profound silence, Mow-Mow,
the one-eyed chief, suddenly appeared at the door, and leaning towards me
as I lay directly facing him, said in a low tone, 'Toby pemi ena' (Toby
has arrived here). Gracious heaven! What a tumult of emotions rushed upon
me at this startling intelligence! Insensible to the pain that had before
distracted me, I leaped to my feet, and called wildly to Kory-Kory who was
reposing by my side. The startled islanders sprang from their mats; the
news was quickly communicated to them; and the next moment I was making my
way to the Ti on the back of Kory-Kory; and surrounded by the excited
savages.
All that I could comprehend of the particulars which Mow-Mow rehearsed to
his audience as we proceeded, was that my long-lost companion had arrived
in a boat which had just entered the bay. These tidings made me most
anxious to be carried at once to the sea, lest some untoward circumstance
should prevent our meeting; but to this they would not consent, and
continued their course towards the royal abode. As we approached it,
Mehevi and several chiefs showed themselves from the piazza, and called
upon us loudly to come to them.
As soon as we had approached, I endeavoured to make them understand that I
was going down to the sea to meet Toby. To this the king objected, and
motioned Kory-Kory to bring me into the house. It was in vain to resist;
and in a few moments I found myself within the Ti, surrounded by a noisy
group engaged in discussing the recent intelligence. Toby's name was
frequently repeated, coupled with violent exclamations of astonishment. It
seemed as if they yet remained in doubt with regard to the fact of his
arrival, at at every fresh report that was brought from the shore they
betrayed the liveliest emotions.
Almost frenzied at being held in this state of suspense, I passionately
besought Mehevi to permit me to proceed. Whether my companion had arrived
or not, I felt a presentiment that my own fate was about to be decided.
Again and again I renewed my petition to Mehevi. He regarded me with a
fixed and serious eye, but at length yielding to my importunity,
reluctantly granted my request.
Accompanied by some fifty of the natives, I now rapidly continued my
journey; every few moments being transferred from the back of one to
another, and urging my bearer forward all the while with earnest
entreaties. As I thus hurried forward, no doubt as to the truth of the
information I had received ever crossed my mind.
I was alive only to the one overwhelming idea, that a chance of
deliverance was now afforded me, if the jealous opposition of the savages
could be overcome.
Having been prohibited from approaching the sea during the whole of my
stay in the valley, I had always associated with it the idea of escape.
Toby too—if indeed he had ever voluntarily deserted me—must
have effected this flight by the sea; and now that I was drawing near to
it myself, I indulged in hopes which I had never felt before. It was
evident that a boat had entered the bay, and I saw little reason to doubt
the truth of the report that it had brought my companion. Every time
therefore that we gained an elevation, I looked eagerly around, hoping to
behold him. In the midst of an excited throng, who by their violent
gestures and wild cries appeared to be under the influence of some
excitement as strong as my own, I was now borne along at a rapid trot,
frequently stooping my head to avoid the branches which crossed the path,
and never ceasing to implore those who carried me to accelerate their
already swift pace.
In this manner we had proceeded about four or five miles, when we were met
by a party of some twenty islanders, between whom and those who
accompanied me ensued an animated conference. Impatient of the delay
occasioned by this interruption, I was beseeching the man who carried me
to proceed without his loitering companions, when Kory-Kory, running to my
side, informed me, in three fatal words, that the news had all proved,
false—that Toby had not arrived—'Toby owlee pemi'. Heaven only
knows how, in the state of mind and body I then was, I ever sustained the
agony which this intelligence caused me; not that the news was altogether
unexpected; but I had trusted that the fact might not have been made known
until we should have arrived upon the beach. As it was, I at once foresaw
the course the savages would pursue. They had only yielded thus far to my
entreaties, that I might give a joyful welcome to my long-lost comrade;
but now that it was known he had not arrived they would at once oblige me
to turn back.
My anticipations were but too correct. In spite of the resistance I made,
they carried me into a house which was near the spot, and left me upon the
mats. Shortly afterwards several of those who had accompanied me from the
Ti, detaching themselves from the others, proceeded in the direction of
the sea. Those who remained—among whom were Marheyo, Mow-Mow,
Kory-Kory, and Tinor—gathered about the dwelling, and appeared to be
awaiting their return.
This convinced me that strangers—perhaps some of my own countrymen—had
for some cause or other entered the bay. Distracted at the idea of their
vicinity, and reckless of the pain which I suffered, I heeded not the
assurances of the islanders, that there were no boats at the beach, but
starting to my feet endeavoured to gain the door. Instantly the passage
was blocked up by several men, who commanded me to resume my seat. The
fierce looks of the irritated savages admonished me that I could gain
nothing by force, and that it was by entreaty alone that I could hope to
compass my object.
Guided by this consideration, I turned to Mow-Mow, the only chief present
whom I had been much in the habit of seeing, and carefully concealing, my
real design, tried to make him comprehend that I still believed Toby to
have arrived on the shore, and besought him to allow me to go forward to
welcome him.
To all his repeated assertions, that my companion had not been seen, I
pretended to turn a deaf ear, while I urged my solicitations with an
eloquence of gesture which the one-eyed chief appeared unable to resist.
He seemed indeed to regard me as a forward child, to whose wishes he had
not the heart to oppose force, and whom he must consequently humour. He
spoke a few words to the natives, who at once retreated from the door, and
I immediately passed out of the house.
Here I looked earnestly round for Kory-Kory; but that hitherto faithful
servitor was nowhere to be seen. Unwilling to linger even for a single
instant when every moment might be so important, I motioned to a muscular
fellow near me to take me upon his back; to my surprise he angrily
refused. I turned to another, but with a like result. A third attempt was
as unsuccessful, and I immediately perceived what had induced Mow-Mow to
grant my request, and why the other natives conducted themselves in so
strange a manner. It was evident that the chief had only given me liberty
to continue my progress towards the sea, because he supposed that I was
deprived of the means of reaching it.
Convinced by this of their determination to retain me a captive, I became
desperate; and almost insensible to the pain which I suffered, I seized a
spear which was leaning against the projecting eaves of the house, and
supporting myself with it, resumed the path that swept by the dwelling. To
my surprise, I was suffered to proceed alone; all the natives remaining in
front of the house, and engaging in earnest conversation, which every
moment became more loud and vehement; and to my unspeakable delight, I
perceived that some difference of opinion had arisen between them; that
two parties, in short, were formed, and consequently that in their divided
counsels there was some chance of my deliverance.
Before I had proceeded a hundred yards I was again surrounded by the
savages, who were still in all the heat of argument, and appeared every
moment as if they would come to blows. In the midst of this tumult old
Marheyo came to my side, and I shall never forget the benevolent
expression of his countenance. He placed his arm upon my shoulder, and
emphatically pronounced the only two English words I had taught him 'Home'
and 'Mother'. I at once understood what he meant, and eagerly expressed my
thanks to him. Fayaway and Kory-Kory were by his side, both weeping
violently; and it was not until the old man had twice repeated the command
that his son could bring himself to obey him, and take me again upon his
back. The one-eyed chief opposed his doing so, but he was overruled, and,
as it seemed to me, by some of his own party.
We proceeded onwards, and never shall I forget the ecstasy I felt when I
first heard the roar of the surf breaking upon the beach. Before long I
saw the flashing billows themselves through the opening between the trees.
Oh glorious sight and sound of ocean! with what rapture did I hail you as
familiar friends! By this time the shouts of the crowd upon the beach were
distinctly audible, and in the blended confusion of sounds I almost
fancied I could distinguish the voices of my own countrymen.
When we reached the open space which lay between the groves and the sea,
the first object that met my view was an English whale-boat, lying with
her bow pointed from the shore, and only a few fathoms distant from it. It
was manned by five islanders, dressed in shirt tunics of calico. My first
impression was that they were in the very act of pulling out from the bay;
and that, after all my exertions, I had come too late. My soul sunk within
me: but a second glance convinced me that the boat was only hanging off to
keep out of the surf; and the next moment I heard my own name shouted out
by a voice from the midst of the crowd.
Looking in the direction of the sound, I perceived, to my indescribable
joy, the tall figure of Karakoee, an Oahu Kanaka, who had often been
aboard the 'Dolly', while she lay in Nukuheva. He wore the green
shooting-jacket with gilt buttons, which had been given to him by an
officer of the Reine Blanche—the French flag-ship—and in which
I had always seen him dressed. I now remembered the Kanaka had frequently
told me that his person was tabooed in all the valleys of the island, and
the sight of him at such a moment as this filled my heart with a tumult of
delight.
Karakoee stood near the edge of the water with a large roll of
cotton-cloth thrown over one arm, and holding two or three canvas bags of
powder, while with the other hand he grasped a musket, which he appeared
to be proffering to several of the chiefs around him. But they turned with
disgust from his offers and seemed to be impatient at his presence, with
vehement gestures waving him off to his boat, and commanding him to
depart.
The Kanaka, however, still maintained his ground, and I at once perceived
that he was seeking to purchase my freedom. Animated by the idea, I called
upon him loudly to come to me; but he replied, in broken English, that the
islanders had threatened to pierce him with their spears, if he stirred a
foot towards me. At this time I was still advancing, surrounded by a dense
throng of the natives, several of whom had their hands upon me, and more
than one javelin was threateningly pointed at me. Still I perceived
clearly that many of those least friendly towards me looked irresolute and
anxious. I was still some thirty yards from Karakoee when my farther
progress was prevented by the natives, who compelled me to sit down upon
the ground, while they still retained their hold upon my arms. The din and
tumult now became tenfold, and I perceived that several of the priests
were on the spot, all of whom were evidently urging Mow-Mow and the other
chiefs to prevent my departure; and the detestable word 'Roo-ne! Roo-ne!'
which I had heard repeated a thousand times during the day, was now
shouted out on every side of me. Still I saw that the Kanaka continued his
exertions in my favour—that he was boldly debating the matter with
the savages, and was striving to entice them by displaying his cloth and
powder, and snapping the lock of his musket. But all he said or did
appeared only to augment the clamours of those around him, who seemed bent
upon driving him into the sea.
When I remembered the extravagant value placed by these people upon the
articles which were offered to them in exchange for me, and which were so
indignantly rejected, I saw a new proof of the same fixed determination of
purpose they had all along manifested with regard to me, and in despair,
and reckless of consequences, I exerted all my strength, and shaking
myself free from the grasp of those who held me, I sprang upon my feet and
rushed towards Karakoee.
The rash attempt nearly decided my fate; for, fearful that I might slip
from them, several of the islanders now raised a simultaneous shout, and
pressing upon Karakoee, they menaced him with furious gestures, and
actually forced him into the sea. Appalled at their violence, the poor
fellow, standing nearly to the waist in the surf, endeavoured to pacify
them; but at length fearful that they would do him some fatal violence, he
beckoned to his comrades to pull in at once, and take him into the boat.
It was at this agonizing moment, when I thought all hope was ended, that a
new contest arose between the two parties who had accompanied me to the
shore; blows were struck, wounds were given, and blood flowed. In the
interest excited by the fray, every one had left me except Marheyo,
Kory-Kory and poor dear Fayaway, who clung to me, sobbing indignantly. I
saw that now or never was the moment. Clasping my hands together, I looked
imploringly at Marheyo, and move towards the now almost deserted beach.
The tears were in the old man's eyes, but neither he nor Kory-Kory
attempted to hold me, and I soon reached the Kanaka, who had anxiously
watched my movements; the rowers pulled in as near as they dared to the
edge of the surf; I gave one parting embrace to Fayaway, who seemed
speechless with sorrow, and the next instant I found myself safe in the
boat, and Karakoee by my side, who told the rowers at once to give way.
Marheyo and Kory-Kory, and a great many of the women, followed me into the
water, and I was determined, as the only mark of gratitude I could show,
to give them the articles which had been brought as my ransom. I handed
the musket to Kory-Kory, with a rapid gesture which was equivalent to a
'Deed of Gift'; threw the roll of cotton to old Marheyo, pointing as I did
so to poor Fayaway, who had retired from the edge of the water and was
sitting down disconsolate on the shingles; and tumbled the powder-bags out
to the nearest young ladies, all of whom were vastly willing to take them.
This distribution did not occupy ten seconds, and before it was over the
boat was under full way; the Kanaka all the while exclaiming loudly
against what he considered a useless throwing away of valuable property.
Although it was clear that my movements had been noticed by several of the
natives, still they had not suspended the conflict in which they were
engaged, and it was not until the boat was above fifty yards from the
shore that Mow-Mow and some six or seven other warriors rushed into the
sea and hurled their javelins at us. Some of the weapons passed quite as
close to us as was desirable, but no one was wounded, and the men pulled
away gallantly. But although soon out of the reach of the spears, our
progress was extremely slow; it blew strong upon the shore, and the tide
was against us; and I saw Karakoee, who was steering the boat, give many a
look towards a jutting point of the bay round which we had to pass.
For a minute or two after our departure, the savages, who had formed into
different groups, remained perfectly motionless and silent. All at-once
the enraged chief showed by his gestures that he had resolved what course
he would take. Shouting loudly to his companions, and pointing with his
tomahawk towards the headland, he set off at full speed in that direction,
and was followed by about thirty of the natives, among whom were several
of the priests, all yelling out 'Roo-ne! Roo-ne!' at the very top of their
voices. Their intention was evidently to swim off from the headland and
intercept us in our course. The wind was freshening every minute, and was
right in our teeth, and it was one of those chopping angry seas in which
it is so difficult to row. Still the chances seemed in our favour, but
when we came within a hundred yards of the point, the active savages were
already dashing into the water, and we all feared that within five
minutes' time we should have a score of the infuriated wretches around us.
If so our doom was sealed, for these savages, unlike the feeble swimmer of
civilized countries, are, if anything, more formidable antagonists in the
water than when on the land. It was all a trial of strength; our natives
pulled till their oars bent again, and the crowd of swimmers shot through
the water despite its roughness, with fearful rapidity.
By the time we had reached the headland, the savages were spread right
across our course. Our rowers got out their knives and held them ready
between their teeth, and I seized the boat-hook. We were all aware that if
they succeeded in intercepting us they would practise upon us the
manoeuvre which has proved so fatal to many a boat's crew in these seas.
They would grapple the oars, and seizing hold of the gunwhale, capsize the
boat, and then we should be entirely at their mercy.
After a few breathless moments discerned Mow-Mow. The athletic islander,
with his tomahawk between his teeth, was dashing the water before him till
it foamed again. He was the nearest to us, and in another instant he would
have seized one of the oars. Even at the moment I felt horror at the act I
was about to commit; but it was no time for pity or compunction, and with
a true aim, and exerting all my strength, I dashed the boat-hook at him.
It struck him just below the throat, and forced him downwards. I had no
time to repeat the blow, but I saw him rise to the surface in the wake of
the boat, and never shall I forget the ferocious expression of his
countenance.
Only one other of the savages reached the boat. He seized the gunwhale,
but the knives of our rowers so mauled his wrists, that he was forced to
quit his hold, and the next minute we were past them all, and in safety.
The strong excitement which had thus far kept me up, now left me, and I
fell back fainting into the arms of Karakoee.
. . . . . . . .
The circumstances connected with my most unexpected escape may be very
briefly stated. The captain of an Australian vessel, being in distress for
men in these remote seas, had put into Nukuheva in order to recruit his
ship's company; but not a single man was to be obtained; and the barque
was about to get under weigh, when she was boarded by Karakoee, who
informed the disappointed Englishman that an American sailor was detained
by the savages in the neighbouring bay of Typee; and he offered, if
supplied with suitable articles of traffic, to undertake his release. The
Kanaka had gained his intelligence from Marnoo, to whom, after all, I was
indebted for my escape. The proposition was acceded to; and Karakoee,
taking with him five tabooed natives of Nukuheva, again repaired aboard
the barque, which in a few hours sailed to that part of the island, and
threw her main-top-sail aback right off the entrance to the Typee bay. The
whale-boat, manned by the tabooed crew, pulled towards the head of the
inlet, while the ship lay 'off and on' awaiting its return.
The events which ensued have already been detailed, and little more
remains to be related. On reaching the 'Julia' I was lifted over the side,
and my strange appearance and remarkable adventure occasioned the
liveliest interest. Every attention was bestowed upon me that humanity
could suggest. But to such a state was I reduced, that three months
elapsed before I recovered my health.
The mystery which hung over the fate of my friend and companion Toby has
never been cleared up. I still remain ignorant whether he succeeded in
leaving the valley, or perished at the hands of the islanders.
THE STORY OF TOBY
THE morning my comrade left me, as related in the narrative, he was
accompanied by a large party of the natives, some of them carrying fruit
and hogs for the purposes of traffic, as the report had spread that boats
had touched at the bay.
As they proceeded through the settled parts of the valley, numbers joined
them from every side, running with animated cries from every pathway. So
excited were the whole party, that eager as Toby was to gain the beach, it
was almost as much as he could do to keep up with them. Making the valley
ring with their shouts, they hurried along on a swift trot, those in
advance pausing now and then, and flourishing their weapons to urge the
rest forward.
Presently they came to a place where the paths crossed a bend of the main
stream of the valley. Here a strange sound came through the grove beyond,
and the Islanders halted. It was Mow-Mow, the one-eyed chief, who had gone
on before; he was striking his heavy lance against the hollow bough of a
tree.
This was a signal of alarm;—for nothing was now heard but shouts of
'Happar! Happar!'—the warriors tilting with their spears and
brandishing them in the air, and the women and boys shouting to each
other, and picking up the stones in the bed of the stream. In a moment or
two Mow-Mow and two or three other chiefs ran out from the grove, and the
din increased ten fold.
Now, thought Toby, for a fray; and being unarmed, he besought one of the
young men domiciled with Marheyo for the loan of his spear. But he was
refused; the youth roguishly telling him that the weapon was very good for
him (the Typee), but that a white man could fight much better with his
fists.
The merry humour of this young wag seemed to be shared by the rest, for in
spite of their warlike cries and gestures, everybody was capering and
laughing, as if it was one of the funniest things in the world to be
awaiting the flight of a score or two of Happar javelins from an ambush in
the thickets.
While my comrade was in vain trying to make out the meaning of all this, a
good number of the natives separated themselves from the rest and ran off
into the grove on one side, the others now keeping perfectly still, as if
awaiting the result. After a little while, however, Mow-Mow, who stood in
advance, motioned them to come on stealthily, which they did, scarcely
rustling a leaf. Thus they crept along for ten or fifteen minutes, every
now and then pausing to listen.
Toby by no means relished this sort of skulking; if there was going to be
a fight, he wanted it to begin at once. But all in good time,—for
just then, as they went prowling into the thickest of the wood, terrific
howls burst upon them on all sides, and volleys of darts and stones flew
across the path. Not an enemy was to be seen, and what was still more
surprising, not a single man dropped, though the pebbles fell among the
leaves like hail.
There was a moment's pause, when the Typees, with wild shrieks, flung
themselves into the covert, spear in hand; nor was Toby behindhand. Coming
so near getting his skull broken by the stones, and animated by an old
grudge he bore the Happars, he was among the first to dash at them. As he
broke his way through the underbush, trying, as he did so, to wrest a
spear from a young chief, the shouts of battle all of a sudden ceased, and
the wood was as still as death. The next moment, the party who had left
them so mysteriously rushed out from behind every bush and tree, and
united with the rest in long and merry peals of laughter.
It was all a sham, and Toby, who was quite out of breath with excitement,
was much incensed at being made a fool of.
It afterwards turned out that the whole affair had been concerted for his
particular benefit, though with what precise view it would be hard to
tell. My comrade was the more enraged at this boys' play, since it had
consumed so much time, every moment of which might be precious. Perhaps,
however, it was partly intended for this very purpose; and he was led to
think so, because when the natives started again, he observed that they
did not seem to be in so great a hurry as before. At last, after they had
gone some distance, Toby, thinking all the while that they never would get
to the sea, two men came running towards them, and a regular halt ensued,
followed by a noisy discussion, during which Toby's name was often
repeated. All this made him more and more anxious to learn what was going
on at the beach; but it was in vain that he now tried to push forward; the
natives held him back.
In a few moments the conference ended, and many of them ran down the path
in the direction of the water, the rest surrounding Toby, and entreating
him to 'Moee', or sit down and rest himself. As an additional inducement,
several calabashes of food, which had been brought along, were now placed
on the ground, and opened, and pipes also were lighted. Toby bridled his
impatience a while, but at last sprang to his feet and dashed forward
again. He was soon overtaken nevertheless, and again surrounded, but
without further detention was then permitted to go down to the sea.
They came out upon a bright green space between the groves and the water,
and close under the shadow of the Happar mountain, where a path was seen
winding out of sight through a gorge.
No sign of a boat, however, was beheld, nothing but a tumultuous crowd of
men and women, and some one in their midst, earnestly talking to them. As
my comrade advanced, this person came forward and proved to be no
stranger. He was an old grizzled sailor, whom Toby and myself had
frequently seen in Nukuheva, where he lived an easy devil-may-care life in
the household of Mowanna the king, going by the name of 'Jimmy'. In fact
he was the royal favourite, and had a good deal to say in his master's
councils. He wore a Manilla hat and a sort of tappa morning gown,
sufficiently loose and negligent to show the verse of a song tattooed upon
his chest, and a variety of spirited cuts by native artists in other parts
of his body. He sported a fishing rod in his hand, and carried a sooty old
pipe slung about his neck.
This old rover having retired from active life, had resided in Nukuheva
some time—could speak the language, and for that reason was
frequently employed by the French as an interpreter. He was an arrant old
gossip too; for ever coming off in his canoe to the ships in the bay, and
regaling their crews with choice little morsels of court scandal—such,
for instance, as a shameful intrigue of his majesty with a Happar damsel,
a public dancer at the feasts—and otherwise relating some incredible
tales about the Marquesas generally. I remember in particular his telling
the Dolly's crew what proved to be literally a cock-and-bull story, about
two natural prodigies which he said were then on the island. One was an
old monster of a hermit, having a marvellous reputation for sanctity, and
reputed a famous sorcerer, who lived away off in a den among the
mountains, where he hid from the world a great pair of horns that grew out
of his temples. Notwithstanding his reputation for piety, this horrid old
fellow was the terror of all the island round, being reported to come out
from his retreat, and go a man-hunting every dark night. Some anonymous
Paul Pry, too, coming down the mountain, once got a peep at his den, and
found it full of bones. In short, he was a most unheard-of monster.
The other prodigy Jimmy told us about was the younger son of a chief, who,
although but just turned of ten, had entered upon holy orders, because his
superstitious countrymen thought him especially intended for the
priesthood from the fact of his having a comb on his head like a rooster.
But this was not all; for still more wonderful to relate, the boy prided
himself upon his strange crest, being actually endowed with a cock's
voice, and frequently crowing over his peculiarity.
But to return to Toby. The moment he saw the old rover on the beach, he
ran up to him, the natives following after, and forming a circle round
them.
After welcoming him to the shore, Jimmy went on to tell him how that he
knew all about our having run away from the ship, and being among the
Typees. Indeed, he had been urged by Mowanna to come over to the valley,
and after visiting his friends there, to bring us back with him, his royal
master being exceedingly anxious to share with him the reward which had
been held out for our capture. He, however, assured Toby that he had
indignantly spurned the offer.
All this astonished my comrade not a little, as neither of us had
entertained the least idea that any white man ever visited the Typees
sociably. But Jimmy told him that such was the case nevertheless, although
he seldom came into the bay, and scarcely ever went back from the beach.
One of the priests of the valley, in some way or other connected with an
old tattooed divine in Nukuheva, was a friend of his, and through him he
was 'taboo'.
He said, moreover, that he was sometimes employed to come round to the
bay, and engage fruit for ships lying in Nukuheva. In fact, he was now on
that very errand, according to his own account, having just come across
the mountains by the way of Happar. By noon of the next day the fruit
would be heaped up in stacks on the beach, in readiness for the boats
which he then intended to bring into the bay.
Jimmy now asked Toby whether he wished to leave the island—if he
did, there was a ship in want of men lying in the other harbour, and he
would be glad to take him over, and see him on board that very day.
'No,' said Toby, 'I cannot leave the island unless my comrade goes with
me. I left him up the valley because they would not let him come down. Let
us go now and fetch him.'
'But how is he to cross the mountain with us,' replied Jimmy, 'even if we
get him down to the beach? Better let him stay till tomorrow, and I will
bring him round to Nukuheva in the boats.'
'That will never do,' said Toby, 'but come along with me now, and let us
get him down here at any rate,' and yielding to the impulse of the moment,
he started to hurry back into the valley. But hardly was his back turned,
when a dozen hands were laid on him, and he learned that he could not go a
step further.
It was in vain that he fought with them; they would not hear of his
stirring from the beach. Cut to the heart at this unexpected repulse, Toby
now conjured the sailor to go after me alone. But Jimmy replied, that in
the mood the Typees then were they would not permit him so to do, though
at the same time he was not afraid of their offering him any harm.
Little did Toby then think, as he afterwards had good reason to suspect,
that this very Jimmy was a heartless villain, who, by his arts, had just
incited the natives to restrain him as he was in the act of going after
me. Well must the old sailor have known, too, that the natives would never
consent to our leaving together, and he therefore wanted to get Toby off
alone, for a purpose which he afterwards made plain. Of all this, however,
my comrade now knew nothing.
He was still struggling with the islanders when Jimmy again came up to
him, and warned him against irritating them, saying that he was only
making matters worse for both of us, and if they became enraged, there was
no telling what might happen. At last he made Toby sit down on a broken
canoe by a pile of stones, upon which was a ruinous little shrine
supported by four upright poles, and in front partly screened by a net.
The fishing parties met there, when they came in from the sea, for their
offerings were laid before an image, upon a smooth black stone within.
This spot Jimmy said was strictly 'taboo', and no one would molest or come
near him while he stayed by its shadow. The old sailor then went off, and
began speaking very earnestly to Mow-Mow and some other chiefs, while all
the rest formed a circle round the taboo place, looking intently at Toby,
and talking to each other without ceasing.
Now, notwithstanding what Jimmy had just told him, there presently came up
to my comrade an old woman, who seated herself beside him on the canoe.
'Typee motarkee?' said she. 'Motarkee nuee,' said Toby.
She then asked him whether he was going to Nukuheva; he nodded yes; and
with a plaintive wail and her eyes filling with tears she rose and left
him.
This old woman, the sailor afterwards said, was the wife of an aged king
of a small island valley, communicating by a deep pass with the country of
the Typees. The inmates of the two valleys were related to each other by
blood, and were known by the same name. The old woman had gone down into
the Typee valley the day before, and was now with three chiefs, her sons,
on a visit to her kinsmen.
As the old king's wife left him, Jimmy again came up to Toby, and told him
that he had just talked the whole matter over with the natives, and there
was only one course for him to follow. They would not allow him to go back
into the valley, and harm would certainly come to both him and me, if he
remained much longer on the beach. 'So,' said he, 'you and I had better go
to Nukuheva now overland, and tomorrow I will bring Tommo, as they call
him, by water; they have promised to carry him down to the sea for me
early in the morning, so that there will be no delay.'
'No, no,' said Toby desperately, 'I will not leave him that way; we must
escape together.'
'Then there is no hope for you,' exclaimed the sailor, 'for if I leave you
here on the beach, as soon as I am gone you will be carried back into the
valley, and then neither of you will ever look upon the sea again.' And
with many oaths he swore that if he would only go to Nukuheva with him
that day, he would be sure to have me there the very next morning.
'But how do you know they will bring him down to the beach tomorrow, when
they will not do so today?' said Toby. But the sailor had many reasons,
all of which were so mixed up with the mysterious customs of the
islanders, that he was none the wiser. Indeed, their conduct, especially
in preventing him from returning into the valley, was absolutely
unaccountable to him; and added to everything else, was the bitter
reflection, that the old sailor, after all, might possibly be deceiving
him. And then again he had to think of me, left alone with the natives,
and by no means well. If he went with Jimmy, he might at least hope to
procure some relief for me. But might not the savages who had acted so
strangely, hurry me off somewhere before his return? Then, even if he
remained, perhaps they would not let him go back into the valley where I
was.
Thus perplexed was my poor comrade; he knew not what to do, and his
courageous spirit was of no use to him now. There he was, all by himself,
seated upon the broken canoe—the natives grouped around him at a
distance, and eyeing him more and more fixedly. 'It is getting late: said
Jimmy, who was standing behind the rest. 'Nukuheva is far off, and I
cannot cross the Happar country by night. You see how it is;—if you
come along with me, all will be well; if you do not, depend upon it,
neither of you will ever escape.'
'There is no help for it,' said Toby, at last, with a heavy heart, 'I will
have to trust you,' and he came out from the shadow of the little shrine,
and cast a long look up the valley.
'Now keep close to my side,' said the sailor, 'and let us be moving
quickly.' Tinor and Fayaway here appeared; the kindhearted old woman
embracing Toby's knees, and giving way to a flood of tears; while Fayaway,
hardly less moved, spoke some few words of English she had learned, and
held up three fingers before him—in so many days he would return.
At last Jimmy pulled Toby out of the crowd, and after calling to a young
Typee who was standing by with a young pig in his arms, all three started
for the mountains.
'I have told them that you are coming back again,' said the old fellow,
laughing, as they began the ascent, 'but they'll have to wait a long
time.' Toby turned, and saw the natives all in motion—the girls
waving their tappas in adieu, and the men their spears. As the last figure
entered the grove with one arm raised, and the three fingers spread, his
heart smote him.
As the natives had at last consented to his going, it might have been,
that some of them, at least, really counted upon his speedy return;
probably supposing, as indeed he had told them when they were coming down
the valley, that his only object in leaving them was to procure the
medicines I needed. This, Jimmy also must have told them. And as they had
done before, when my comrade, to oblige me, started on his perilous
journey to Nukuheva, they looked upon me, in his absence, as one of two
inseparable friends who was a sure guaranty for the other's return. This
is only my own supposition, however, for as to all their strange conduct,
it is still a mystery.
'You see what sort of a taboo man I am,' said the sailor, after for some
time silently following the path which led up the mountain. 'Mow-Mow made
me a present of this pig here, and the man who carries it will go right
through Happar, and down into Nukuheva with us. So long as he stays by me
he is safe, and just so it will be with you, and tomorrow with Tommo.
Cheer up, then, and rely upon me, you will see him in the morning.'
The ascent of the mountain was not very difficult, owing to its being near
to the sea, where the island ridges are comparatively low; the path, too,
was a fine one, so that in a short time all three were standing on the
summit with the two valleys at their feet. The white cascade marking the
green head of the Typee valley first caught Toby's eye; Marheyo's house
could easily be traced by them.
As Jimmy led the way along the ridge, Toby observed that the valley of the
Happars did not extend near so far inland as that of the Typees. This
accounted for our mistake in entering the latter valley as we had.
A path leading down from the mountain was soon seen, and, following it,
the party were in a short time fairly in the Happar valley.
'Now,' said Jimmy, as they hurried on, 'we taboo men have wives in all the
bays, and I am going to show you the two I have here.'
So, when they came to the house where he said they lived,—which was
close by the base of the mountain in a shady nook among the groves—he
went in, and was quite furious at finding it empty—the ladies, had
gone out. However, they soon made their appearance, and to tell the truth,
welcomed Jimmy quite cordially, as well as Toby, about whom they were very
inquisitive. Nevertheless, as the report of their arrival spread, and the
Happars began to assemble, it became evident that the appearance of a
white stranger among them was not by any means deemed so wonderful an
event as in the neighbouring valley.
The old sailor now bade his wives prepare something to eat, as he must be
in Nukuheva before dark. A meal of fish, bread-fruit, and bananas, was
accordingly served up, the party regaling themselves on the mats, in the
midst of a numerous company.
The Happars put many questions to Jimmy about Toby; and Toby himself
looked sharply at them, anxious to recognize the fellow who gave him the
wound from which he was still suffering. But this fiery gentleman, so
handy with his spear, had the delicacy, it seemed, to keep out of view.
Certainly the sight of him would not have been any added inducement to
making a stay in the valley,—some of the afternoon loungers in
Happar having politely urged Toby to spend a few days with them,—there
was a feast coming on. He, however, declined.
All this while the young Typee stuck to Jimmy like his shadow, and though
as lively a dog as any of his tribe, he was now as meek as a lamb, never
opening his mouth except to eat. Although some of the Happars looked
queerly at him, others were more civil, and seemed desirous of taking him
abroad and showing him the valley. But the Typee was not to be cajoled in
that way. How many yards he would have to remove from Jimmy before the
taboo would be powerless, it would be hard to tell, but probably he
himself knew to a fraction.
On the promise of a red cotton handkerchief, and something else which he
kept secret, this poor fellow had undertaken a rather ticklish journey,
though, as far as Toby could ascertain, it was something that had never
happened before.
The island-punch—arva—was brought in at the conclusion of the
repast, and passed round in a shallow calabash.
Now my comrade, while seated in the Happar house, began to feel more
troubled than ever at leaving me; indeed, so sad did he feel that he
talked about going back to the valley, and wanted Jimmy to escort him as
far as the mountains. But the sailor would not listen to him, and, by way
of diverting his thoughts, pressed him to drink of the arva. Knowing its
narcotic nature, he refused; but Jimmy said he would have something mixed
with it, which would convert it into an innocent beverage that would
inspirit them for the rest of their journey. So at last he was induced to
drink of it, and its effects were just as the sailor had predicted; his
spirits rose at once, and all his gloomy thoughts left him.
The old rover now began to reveal his true character, though he was hardly
suspected at the time. 'If I get you off to a ship,' said he, 'you will
surely give a poor fellow something for saving you.' In short, before they
left the house, he made Toby promise that he would give him five Spanish
dollars if he succeeded in getting any part of his wages advanced from the
vessel, aboard of which they were going; Toby, moreover, engaging to
reward him still further, as soon as my deliverance was accomplished.
A little while after this they started again, accompanied by many of the
natives, and going up the valley, took a steep path near its head, which
led to Nukuheva. Here the Happars paused and watched them as they ascended
the mountain, one group of bandit-looking fellows, shaking their spears
and casting threatening glances at the poor Typee, whose heart as well as
heels seemed much the lighter when he came to look down upon them.
On gaining the heights once more, their way led for a time along several
ridges covered with enormous ferns. At last they entered upon a wooded
tract, and here they overtook a party of Nukuheva natives, well armed, and
carrying bundles of long poles. Jimmy seemed to know them all very well,
and stopped for a while, and had a talk about the 'Wee-Wees', as the
people of Nukuheva call the Monsieurs.
The party with the poles were King Mowanna's men, and by his orders they
had been gathering them in the ravines for his allies the French.
Leaving these fellows to trudge on with their loads, Toby and his
companions now pushed forward again, as the sun was already low in the
west. They came upon the valleys of Nukuheva on one side of the bay, where
the highlands slope off into the sea. The men-of-war were still lying in
the harbour, and as Toby looked down upon them, the strange events which
had happened so recently, seemed all a dream.
They soon descended towards the beach, and found themselves in Jimmy's
house before it was well dark. Here he received another welcome from his
Nukuheva wives, and after some refreshments in the shape of cocoanut milk
and poee-poee, they entered a canoe (the Typee of course going along) and
paddled off to a whaleship which was anchored near the shore. This was the
vessel in want of men. Our own had sailed some time before. The captain
professed great pleasure at seeing Toby, but thought from his exhausted
appearance that he must be unfit for duty. However, he agreed to ship him,
as well as his comrade, as soon as he should arrive. Toby begged hard for
an armed boat, in which to go round to Typee and rescue me,
notwithstanding the promises of Jimmy. But this the captain would not hear
of, and told him to have patience, for the sailor would be faithful to his
word. When, too, he demanded the five silver dollars for Jimmy, the
captain was unwilling to give them. But Toby insisted upon it, as he now
began to think that Jimmy might be a mere mercenary, who would be sure to
prove faithless if not well paid. Accordingly he not only gave him the
money, but took care to assure him, over and over again, that as soon as
he brought me aboard he would receive a still larger sum.
Before sun-rise the next day, Jimmy and the Typee started in two of the
ship's boats, which were manned by tabooed natives. Toby, of course, was
all eagerness to go along, but the sailor told him that if he did, it
would spoil all; so, hard as it was, he was obliged to remain.
Towards evening he was on the watch, and descried the boats turning the
headland and entering the bay. He strained his eyes, and thought he saw
me; but I was not there. Descending from the mast almost distracted, he
grappled Jimmy as he struck the deck, shouting in a voice that startled
him, 'Where is Tommo?' The old fellow faltered, but soon recovering, did
all he could to soothe him, assuring him that it had proved to be
impossible to get me down to the shore that morning; assigning many
plausible reasons, and adding that early on the morrow he was going to
visit the bay again in a French boat, when, if he did not find me on the
beach—as this time he certainly expected to—he would march
right back into the valley, and carry me away at all hazards. He, however,
again refused to allow Toby to accompany him. Now, situated as Toby was,
his sole dependence for the present was upon this Jimmy, and therefore he
was fain to comfort himself as well as he could with what the old sailor
told him. The next morning, however, he had the satisfaction of seeing the
French boat start with Jimmy in it. Tonight, then, I will see him, thought
Toby; but many a long day passed before he ever saw Tommo again. Hardly
was the boat out of sight, when the captain came forward and ordered the
anchor weighed; he was going to sea.
Vain were all Toby's ravings—they were disregarded; and when he came
to himself, the sails were set, and the ship fast leaving the land.
... 'Oh!' said he to me at our meeting, 'what sleepless nights were mine.
Often I started from my hammock, dreaming you were before me, and
upbraiding me for leaving you on the island.'
. . . . . . .
There is little more to be related. Toby left this vessel at New Zealand,
and after some further adventures, arrived home in less than two years
after leaving the Marquesas. He always thought of me as dead—and I
had every reason to suppose that he too was no more; but a strange meeting
was in store for us, one which made Toby's heart all the lighter.
NOTE.
The author was more than two years in the South Seas, after escaping from
the valley, as recounted in the last chapter. Some time after returning
home the foregoing narrative was published, though it was little thought
at the time that this would be the means of revealing the existence of
Toby, who had long been given up for lost. But so it proved.
The story of his escape supplies a natural sequel to the adventure, and as
such it is now added to the volume. It was related to the author by Toby
himself, not ten days since.
New York, July, 1846.
.jpg "Moby Dick, or the Whale by Herman Melville (eBook)")
