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                <title>Typee</title>
                <author><name reg="Melville, Herman">Herman Melville</name></author>
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                <publisher>Project Gutenberg TEI Edition 1</publisher>
                <date value="2009-05-01">May 1,  2009</date>
                <idno type='etext-no'>28656</idno>
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                <bibl>Herman Melville: Typee. New York: Dodd, Mead.</bibl>
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<pb/><anchor id='Pgii'/>
<anchor id="frontis"/>
<pgIf output='txt'><then><p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: FAYAWAY AND I HAD A DELIGHTFUL LITTLE PARTY ON THE LAKE]</p>
</then><else><pgIf output="pdf"><then><p><figure url="images/frontis.jpg" rend="width: 100%"><head><hi rend="font-size: small">FAYAWAY AND I HAD A
  DELIGHTFUL LITTLE PARTY ON THE LAKE</hi>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<hi rend='italic'>Page 142</hi></head></figure></p></then>
<else><p><figure url="images/frontisth.jpg"><head><xref url="images/frontis.jpg"><hi rend="font-size: small">FAYAWAY AND I HAD A
  DELIGHTFUL LITTLE PARTY ON THE LAKE</hi></xref>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<ref target="Pg142"><hi rend='italic'>Page 142</hi></ref></head>
  <figDesc>Illustration: FAYAWAY AND I HAD A DELIGHTFUL LITTLE PARTY ON THE LAKE</figDesc></figure></p></else></pgIf>
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<pb/><anchor id='Pgiii'/>
    <docTitle>
        <titlePart rend="font-size: xx-large">TYPEE</titlePart>
    </docTitle>
    <lb/>
    <byline rend="font-size: x-large"><docAuthor>HERMAN MELVILLE</docAuthor></byline>
    <lb/><lb/><lb/>
    <titlePart><hi rend="font-size: large">ILLUSTRATIONS BY</hi><lb/>
    <hi rend="font-size: x-large">MEAD SCHAEFFER</hi></titlePart>
    <lb/><lb/>
    <docImprint><hi rend="font-size: large">DODD, MEAD</hi><hi rend="font-size: small"> AND </hi><hi rend="font-size: large">COMPANY</hi><lb/>
    PUBLISHERS&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;NEW YORK</docImprint>
    <pb/><anchor id='Pgiv'/>
</titlePage>    
    
<div type="contents" rend="page-break-before: right">
<pb n='v'/><anchor id='Pgv'/>
<index index="pdf"/>
<head>CONTENTS</head>
<pgIf output="pdf">
    <then>
<divGen type="toc"/>        
    </then>
    <else>
<table rend="tblcolumns: 'r lw(56m) r'; latexcolumns: 'llr">
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><hi rend="font-size: x-small">&nbsp;&nbsp;CHAPTER</hi></cell>
        <cell></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><hi rend="font-size: x-small">PAGE</hi></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">I</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>A Land-sick Ship</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg001">1</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">The sea—Longings for shore—A land-sick ship—Destination of the voyagers</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">II</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>To the Marquesas</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg005">5</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">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 cocoa-nuts—Swimming visitors—The <name type="ship" rend="italic">Dolly</name> boarded by them—State
            of affairs that ensue.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">III</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Affairs Aboard</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg014">14</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">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.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">IV</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Last Night Aboard</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg021">21</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">Thoughts previous to attempting an escape—Toby, a fellow-sailor,
            agrees to share the adventure—Last night aboard the ship.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">V</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>The Escape</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg026">26</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">A specimen of nautical oratory—Criticisms of the sailors—The starboard
            watch are given a holiday—The escape to the mountains.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">VI</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Disappointment</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg034">34</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">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.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">VII</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>A Wild-goose Chase</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg045">45</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">The important question, Typee or Happar?—A wild-goose chase—My
            sufferings—Disheartening situation—A night in the ravine—Morning
            meal—Happy idea of Toby—Journey towards the valley.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">VIII</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Into the Valley</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg054">54</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">Perilous passage of the ravine—Descent into the valley.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">IX</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Cautious Advance</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg063">63</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">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.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <pb n='vi'/><anchor id='Pgvi'/>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">X</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Morning Visitors</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg075">75</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">Midnight reflections—Morning visitors—A warrior in costume—A savage
Æsculapius—Practice of the healing art—Body-servant—A dwelling-house
of the valley described—Portraits of its inmates.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">XI</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Adventure in the Dark</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg090">90</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">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—Adventure in the
dark—Distinguished honours paid to the visitors—Strange procession,
and return to the house of Marheyo.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">XII</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Adventure of Toby</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg101">101</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">Attempt to procure relief from Nukuheva—Perilous adventure of Toby
in the Happar Mountains—Eloquence of Kory-Kory.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">XIII</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>A Great Event</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg109">109</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">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 <hi rend='italic'>à la</hi> Typee.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">XIV</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Kindness of the Islanders</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg120">120</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">Kindness of Marheyo and the rest of the islanders—A full description
of the bread-fruit tree—Different modes of preparing the fruit.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">XV</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Melancholy Condition</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg126">126</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">Melancholy condition—Occurrence at the Ti—Anecdote of Marheyo—Shaving
the head of a warrior.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">XVI</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Improvement</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg132">132</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">Improvement in health and spirits—Felicity of the Typees—A skirmish
in the mountain with the warriors of Happar.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">XVII</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>A Stranger Arrives</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg140">140</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">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 <anchor id="corrvi"/><corr sic="Mysterious">mysterious</corr>
conduct—Native oratory—The interview—Its results—Departure of the
stranger.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">XVIII</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Battle of the Pop-guns</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg155">155</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">Reflection after Marnoo’s departure—Battle of the pop-guns—Strange
conceit of Marheyo—Process of making tappa.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">XIX</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Dances</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg162">162</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">History of a day as usually spent in the Typee valley—Dances of the
Marquesan girls.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <pb n='vii'/><anchor id='Pgvii'/>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">XX</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Monuments</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg167">167</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">The spring of Arva Wai—Remarkable monumental remains—Some ideas
            with regard to the history of the pi-pis found in the valley.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">XXI</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>A Festival</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg171">171</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">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.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">XXII</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>The Feast of Calabashes</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg178">178</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">The Feast of Calabashes.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">XXIII</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Religion of the Typees</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg185">185</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">Ideas suggested by the Feast of Calabashes—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.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">XXIV</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Beauty of the Typees</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg196">196</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">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.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">XXV</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Marriage Customs</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg204">204</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">King Mehevi—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.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">XXVI</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Social Conditions</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg210">210</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">The social condition and general character of the Typees.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">XXVII</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Fishing Parties</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg216">216</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">Fishing parties—Mode of distributing the fish—Midnight banquet—Timekeeping
            tapers—Unceremonious style of eating the fish.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">XXVIII</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Natural History</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg220">220</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">Natural history of the valley—Golden lizards—Tameness of the birds—Mosquitoes—Flies—Dogs—A
            solitary cat—The climate—The cocoa-nut
            tree—Singular modes of climbing it—An agile young chief—Fearlessness
            of the children—Too-too and the cocoa-nut tree—The birds of the valley.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">XXIX</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Tattooing</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg228">228</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">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.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <pb n='viii'/><anchor id='Pgviii'/>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">XXX</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Music</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg238">238</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">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.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">XXXI</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Cannibalism</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg244">244</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">Apprehensions of evil—Frightful discovery—Some remarks on cannibalism—Second
            battle with the Happars—Savage spectacle—Mysterious
            feast—Subsequent disclosures.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">XXXII</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Attempt To Escape</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg254">254</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">The stranger again arrives in the valley—Singular interview with him—Attempt
            to escape—Failure—Melancholy situation—Sympathy of Marheyo.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right">XXXIII</cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>The Escape</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg260">260</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small">The escape</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Sequel</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg270">270</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell rend="font-size: small"><hi rend='smallcaps'>Note</hi>.—The Author of <q>Typee</q> 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.</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Appendix</hi></cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg285">285</ref></cell>
    </row>
</table>
    </else>
</pgIf>
</div><div type="illustrations" rend="page-break-before: right">
<pb n='ix'/><anchor id='Pgix'/>
<index index="toc"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>ILLUSTRATIONS</head>
<table rend="tblcolumns: 'lw(1m) lw(54m) r'; latexcolumns: 'lp{6cm}r'">
    <row>
        <cell></cell>
        <cell>Fayaway and I had a delightful little party on the</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="frontis"><hi rend='italic'>Frontispiece</hi></ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell></cell>
        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;lake</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><hi rend="font-size: x-small">FACING&nbsp;PAGE</hi></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell></cell>
        <cell>I found him ripe for the enterprise, and a very few<lb/>&nbsp;&nbsp;words sufficed for a
        mutual understanding between us</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus1">22</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell></cell>
        <cell>At last we gained the top of the second elevation</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus2">48</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell></cell>
        <cell>We were soon completely encircled by a dense throng</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus3">68</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell></cell>
        <cell>The body was carried into the house and laid on a mat</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus4">104</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell></cell>
        <cell>Thus arrayed, I would have matched the charming<lb/>&nbsp;&nbsp;Fayaway against
            any beauty in the world </cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus5">174</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell></cell>
        <cell>Mehevi</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus6">200</ref></cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell></cell>
        <cell>About midnight I arose and drew the slide</cell>
        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus7">256</ref></cell>
    </row>
</table>
<pb/><anchor id='Pgx'/>

</div><div rend="page-break-before: right">
<pb/><anchor id='Pgxi'/>

<p rend="font-size: large; center">
TYPEE
</p>

<pb/><anchor id='Pgxii'/>

</div></front>
<body rend="page-break-before: right">
    <pb n='1'/><anchor id='Pg001'/>
<head>TYPEE</head>    
    <div>
<index index="toc" level1="I. A Land-sick Ship"/><index index="pdf"/>
        <head>CHAPTER I</head>

<argument><p>
The sea—Longings for shore—A land-sick ship—Destination of the voyagers.
</p></argument>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='2'/><anchor id='Pg002'/>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 <anchor id="corr002"/><corr sic="attentuated">attenuated</corr>
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,
Peter; 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
hawseholes once more, as Jack Lewis said right the other day when
the captain found fault with his steering.
</p>

<p>
<q>Why, d’ye see, Captain Vangs,</q> says bold Jack, <q>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.</q> Ay,
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?
</p>

<p>
Poor old ship! Her very looks denote her desires: how deplorable
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 these horrid barnacles has formed
<pb n='3'/><anchor id='Pg003'/>about her stern-piece; and every time she rises on a sea, she shows
her copper torn away or hanging in jagged strips.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<milestone unit="tb" rend="stars: 10"/>

<p>
<q>Hurrah, my lads! It’s a settled thing; next week we shape our
course to the <anchor id="corr003"/><corr sic="quote mark missing">Marquesas!</corr></q> The Marquesas! What strange visions of
outlandish things does the very name spirit up! Lovely houris—cannibal
banquets—groves of cocoa-nuts—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—<hi rend='italic'>heathenish rites and human sacrifices</hi>.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='4'/><anchor id='Pg004'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
Indeed, there is no cluster of islands in the Pacific that has been any
length of time discovered, of which so little has hitherto been known
as the Marquesas, and it is a pleasing reflection that this narrative of
mine will do something towards withdrawing the veil from regions so
romantic and beautiful.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="2" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='5'/><anchor id='Pg005'/>
<index index="toc" level1="II. To the Marquesas"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER II</head>

<argument><p>
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 cocoa-nuts—Swimming visitors—The <name type="ship" rend="italic">Dolly</name> boarded by them—State
of affairs that ensue.
</p></argument>

<p>
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 <name type="ship">Dolly</name> 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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='6'/><anchor id='Pg006'/>the question; take a book in your hand, and you were asleep in an
instant.
</p>

<p>
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
swell 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 after 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 villanous
footpad of the seas, would come skulking along, and, at a wary distance,
regard us with an evil eye. At times, some shapeless monster
of the deep, floating on the surface, would, as we approach, 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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='7'/><anchor id='Pg007'/>land were apparent, and it was not long before the glad announcement
of it being in sight was heard from aloft,—given with that peculiar
prolongation of sound that a sailor loves—<q>Land ho!</q>
</p>

<p>
The captain, darting on deck from the cabin, bawled lustily for his
spy-glass; the mate in still louder accents hailed the mast-head with
a tremendous <q>Where-away?</q> 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! Ay, there it was. A
hardly perceptible blue irregular outline, indicating the bold contour
of the lofty heights of Nukuheva.
</p>

<p>
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 Roohka, 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° <anchor id="corr007"/><corr sic='38"'>38</corr>&#x2032; and 9° <corr sic='32"'>32</corr>&#x2032;
south latitude, and 139° 20&#x2032; and 140° 10&#x2032; 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 north-west 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 the Marquesas.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='8'/><anchor id='Pg008'/>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, <q>Tyohee,</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
Those who for the first time visit the South Seas, 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
<pb n='9'/><anchor id='Pg009'/>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.
</p>

<p>
Towards noon we drew abreast the entrance to 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.
</p>

<p>
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 recognise 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
<pb n='10'/><anchor id='Pg010'/>this strange fellow performing his antics in full view of all the French
officers.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 one another’s throats,
whereas they were only amicably engaged in disentangling their
boats.
</p>

<p>
Scattered here and there among the canoes might be seen numbers
of cocoa-nuts floating closely together in circular groups, and bobbing
up and down with every wave. By some inexplicable means these
cocoa-nuts 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 cocoa-nut,
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
<pb n='11'/><anchor id='Pg011'/>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 cocoa-nuts
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
cocoa-nuts through the water by striking out beneath the surface with
his feet.
</p>

<p>
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
<q>taboo,</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
We had approached within a mile and a half perhaps of the 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 <q>whinhenies</q> (young girls), who in this manner were coming
off from the shore to welcome us. 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.
</p>

<p>
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 chainplates
and springing into the chains; others, at the peril of being run
<pb n='12'/><anchor id='Pg012'/>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 toilet 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 head-rails or running out upon the
bow-sprit, while others seated themselves upon the taffrail, or reclined at
full length upon the boats.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
The <name type="ship">Dolly</name> 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 <name type="ship">Dolly</name>,
as well as her crew, were completely in the hands of the mermaids.
</p>

<p>
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 their style excel everything that I have
<pb n='13'/><anchor id='Pg013'/>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.
</p>

<p>
Our ship was now wholly given up to every species of riot and debauchery.
The grossest licentiousness and the most shameful inebriety
prevailed, with occasional and but short-lived interruptions,
through the whole period of her stay. Alas for the poor savages when
exposed to the influence of these polluting examples! Unsophisticated
and confiding, they are easily led into every vice, and humanity
weeps over the ruin thus remorselessly inflicted upon them by their
European civilizers. Thrice happy are they who, inhabiting some
yet undiscovered island in the midst of the ocean, have never been
brought into contaminating contact with the white man.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="3" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='14'/><anchor id='Pg014'/>
<index index="toc" level1="III. Affairs Aboard"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER III</head>

<argument><p>
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.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
It was in the summer of 1842, that we arrived at the islands. 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 <name type="ship">Dolly</name>. To use
the concise, point-blank phrase of the sailors, I had made up my mind
to <q>run away.</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
When I entered on board the <name type="ship">Dolly</name>, 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 fulfil 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?
</p>

<p>
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 these abuses; it was in vain
<pb n='15'/><anchor id='Pg015'/>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 hand-spike, so
convincingly administered as effectually to silence the aggrieved party.
</p>

<p>
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
mean-spirited 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 <q>Lord of the Plank,</q> and subjected their shipmates
to additional hardships.
</p>

<p>
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 terms 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.
</p>

<p>
Some long-haired, bare-necked youths, who, forced by the united
influences of a roving spirit 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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='16'/><anchor id='Pg016'/>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.
</p>

<p>
But not to speak of the quality of these articles of sailors’ fare, the
abundance in which they are put on board 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<name type="ship">Perseverance</name>—for that was her name—was spoken somewhere in the
vicinity of the ends of the earth, cruising along as leisurely as ever,
<pb n='17'/><anchor id='Pg017'/>her sails all bepatched and bequilted 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 she never reached home, and I suppose she is still
regularly tacking twice in the twenty-four hours somewhere off Buggerry
Island, or the Devil’s-Tail Peak.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
I may here state, and on my faith as an honest man, that some
time after arriving home from my adventures, I learned that this vessel
was still in the Pacific, and that she had met with very poor success
in the fishery. Very many of her crew, also, left her; and her
voyage lasted about five years.
</p>

<p>
But to return to my narrative. Placed in these circumstances, then,
with no prospect of matters mending if I remained aboard the <name type="ship">Dolly</name>,
I at once made up my mind to leave her: to be sure, it was rather an
<pb n='18'/><anchor id='Pg018'/>inglorious thing to steal away privately 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.
</p>

<p>
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 either 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.
</p>

<p>
From the verge of the water the land rises uniformly on all sides,
with green and sloping acclivities, until from gently rolling hillsides
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.
</p>

<p>
The houses of the natives, constructed of the yellow bamboo, tastefully
twisted together in a kind of wickerwork, and thatched with the
long tapering leaves of the palmetto, are scattered irregularly along
these valleys beneath the shady branches of the <anchor id="corr018"/><corr sic="coacoa-nut">cocoa-nut</corr> trees.
</p>

<p>
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
pre<pb n='19'/><anchor id='Pg019'/>sented the appearance of a vast natural amphitheatre in decay, and
overgrown with vines, the deep glens that furrowed its 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
These celebrated warriors appear to inspire the other islanders with
unspeakable terrors. Their very name is a frightful one; for the
word <q>Typee</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='20'/><anchor id='Pg020'/>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 gormandizers of human flesh; but this is a peculiarity
to which I shall hereafter have occasion to allude.
</p>

<p>
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 <name type="ship">Katherine</name>, 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.
</p>

<p>
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 and 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.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="4" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='21'/><anchor id='Pg021'/>
<index index="toc" level1="IV. Last Night Aboard"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER IV</head>

<argument><p>
Thoughts previous to attempting an escape—Toby, a fellow-sailor, agrees to
share the adventure—Last night aboard the ship.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
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 of 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
Having ascertained the fact before alluded to, that the islanders,
from motives of precaution, dwelt together 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 mountains, 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
<pb n='22'/><anchor id='Pg022'/>fail to be immediately apprized, as from my lofty position I should
command a view of the entire harbour.
</p>

<p>
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 cocoa-nut
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.
</p>

<p>
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 the most disagreeable view of the matter.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='23'/><anchor id='Pg023'/>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.
</p>
    <anchor id="illus1"/>
<pgIf output='txt'><then><p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: I FOUND HIM RIPE FOR THE ENTERPRISE, AND A VERY FEW WORDS SUFFICED FOR A
MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN US]</p>
</then><else><pgIf output="pdf"><then><p><figure url="images/illus1.jpg" rend="width: 100%"><head><hi rend="font-size: small">I FOUND HIM RIPE FOR THE ENTERPRISE, AND A VERY FEW WORDS SUFFICED FOR A
MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN US</hi></head></figure></p></then>
    <else><p><figure url="images/illus1th.jpg"><head><xref url="images/illus1.jpg"><hi rend="font-size: small">I FOUND HIM RIPE FOR THE ENTERPRISE, AND A VERY FEW WORDS SUFFICED FOR A
MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN US</hi></xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: I FOUND HIM RIPE FOR THE ENTERPRISE, AND A VERY FEW WORDS SUFFICED FOR A
MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN US</figDesc></figure></p></else></pgIf>
</else></pgIf>
<p>
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 <anchor id="corr023"/><corr sic="home.">home,</corr>
and go rambling over the world as if pursued by some mysterious
fate they cannot possibly elude.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 furious
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.
</p>

<pb n='24'/><anchor id='Pg024'/>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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?
</p>

<p>
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 <name type="ship">Dolly</name>.
</p>

<p>
The next day the starboard watch, to which we both belonged,
was to be sent ashore on liberty; and, availing ourselves of this
<pb n='25'/><anchor id='Pg025'/>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, the
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="5" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='26'/><anchor id='Pg026'/>
<index index="toc" level1="V. The Escape"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER V</head>

<argument><p>
A specimen of nautical oratory—Criticisms of the sailors—The starboard
watch are given a holiday—The escape to the mountains.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
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:—
</p>

<p>
<q>Now, men, as we are just off a six month’s 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 to-day, so you may get ready
as soon as 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 these 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 <name type="ship">Dido</name>, 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 <anchor id="corr026"/><corr sic="tatooed">tattooed</corr> 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
<pb n='27'/><anchor id='Pg027'/>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!</q>
</p>

<p>
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 sea-cook who begrudged a fellow
a few hours’ liberty, exclaimed with an oath, <q>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.</q>
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='28'/><anchor id='Pg028'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
As soon as two bells 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 a 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 <q>midshipmen’s
nuts,</q> and thrust them into the bosom of my frock; in which same
ample 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<pb n='29'/><anchor id='Pg029'/>

<p>
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 effected 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.
</p>

<p>
It continued, however, without cessation; and the monotonous beating
of the rain overhead 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='30'/><anchor id='Pg030'/>by the arm, and pointing along its sloping outline to the lofty heights
at its extremity, said, in a low tone, <q>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.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>All right, brother,</q> said Toby, <q>quick’s our play, only let’s keep
close together, that’s all</q>; 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='31'/><anchor id='Pg031'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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
the 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
He was laying about him lustily with his sheath-knife, 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.
</p>

<p>
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,
<pb n='32'/><anchor id='Pg032'/>we both fell to with fresh spirit, and speedily opening a passage towards
it, we found ourselves clear of perplexities, and in the near vicinity of
the ridge.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
This salient spur of the lofty elevations that encompassed the bay,
rose with 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='33'/><anchor id='Pg033'/>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, proved entirely fruitless, unless they followed us into the mountains,
where we knew they cared not to venture.
</p>

<p>
However, we thought it was 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 flight
with unabated celerity.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="6" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='34'/><anchor id='Pg034'/>
<index index="toc" level1="VI. Disappointment"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER VI</head>

<argument><p>
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.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
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 as 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
What was to be done? The <name type="ship">Dolly</name> would not sail perhaps for ten
<pb n='35'/><anchor id='Pg035'/>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 biscuit. 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 judgment 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.
</p>

<p>
Thrusting his hand, then, into the bosom of his 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.
</p>

<p>
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 villanous 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
<pb n='36'/><anchor id='Pg036'/>he feel so inclined, during our flight. These were now reduced to the
equivocal substance which I had just placed on the leaf.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>ditty bag,</q>
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 a few things which I had
myself brought.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<pb n='37'/><anchor id='Pg037'/>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
We wandered along, casting eager glances into every bush we passed,
<pb n='38'/><anchor id='Pg038'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
<q>And so,</q> said Toby, peering down into the chasm, <q>every one that
travels this path takes a jump here, eh?</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>Not so,</q> said I, <q>for I think they might manage to descend without
it; what say you,—shall we attempt the feat?</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>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.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>Oh, no, Toby,</q> I exclaimed, laughing; <q>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.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>I will tell you what, my pleasant fellow,</q> rejoined Toby, quickly,
<q>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.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>That is just the thing I have been driving at,</q> replied I; <q>and I
am thinking that this ravine will exactly answer our purpose, for it is
<pb n='39'/><anchor id='Pg039'/>roomy, secluded, well watered, and may shelter us from the weather.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>Ay, and from sleep too, and by the same token will give us sore
throats, and rheumatism into the bargain,</q> cried Toby, with evident
dislike at the idea.
</p>

<p>
<q>Oh, very well then, my lad,</q> said I, <q>since you will not accompany
me, here I go, alone. You will see me in the morning</q>; 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
track 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
<pb n='40'/><anchor id='Pg040'/>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 lowered 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 death-like coldness of the place, the appalling darkness and the
dismal sense of our forlorn condition, almost unmanned me.
</p>

<p>
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, <q>Then, shipmate, my toplights have gone out, for it
<pb n='41'/><anchor id='Pg041'/>appears darker now with my eyes open than it did when they were shut.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>Nonsense!</q> exclaimed I; <q>you are not awake yet.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>Awake!</q> roared Toby, in a rage; <q>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 a place as this.</q>
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 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 <q>appetite furnishes the best sauce</q>! 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.
</p>

<p>
We now carefully examined the chasm in which we had passed the
night. We crossed the stream, and gaining the farther 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,
<pb n='42'/><anchor id='Pg042'/>as we afterwards conjectured from particular indications, for the purpose
of obtaining a certain root, from which the natives obtained a kind
of ointment.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 a 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
roman<pb n='43'/><anchor id='Pg043'/>tic islands during the rainy season, to provide themselves with umbrellas.
</p>

<p>
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, and 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.
</p>

<p>
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 learned—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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
From the spot where I lay tranfixed 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
<pb n='44'/><anchor id='Pg044'/>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.
</p>

<p>
On either side it appeared hemmed in by steep and green acclivities,
which, uniting near the spot where I lay, formed an abrupt and semi-circular
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="7" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='45'/><anchor id='Pg045'/>
<index index="toc" level1="VII. A Wild-goose Chase"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER VII</head>

<argument><p>
The important question, Typee or Happar?—A wild-goose chase—My sufferings—Disheartening
situation—A night in the ravine—Morning meal—Happy
idea of Toby—Journey towards the valley.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 Happars,
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.
</p>

<p>
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 beside 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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='46'/><anchor id='Pg046'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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 dealt 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<pb n='47'/><anchor id='Pg047'/>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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. The 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.
</p>

<p>
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 awhile 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
<pb n='48'/><anchor id='Pg048'/>might result from its gratification. I am aware of no feeling, either
of pleasure or of pain, that so completely deprives one of all power
to resist its impulses, as this same raging thirst.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
<q>Do not,</q> he exclaimed, <q>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!</q>
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
insecu<pb n='49'/><anchor id='Pg049'/>rity 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.
</p>
    <anchor id="illus2"/>
<pgIf output='txt'><then><p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: AT LAST WE GAINED THE TOP OF THE 
    SECOND ELEVATION]</p>
</then><else><pgIf output="pdf"><then><p><figure url="images/illus2.jpg" rend="width: 100 %"><head><hi rend="font-size: small">AT LAST WE GAINED THE TOP OF THE SECOND
ELEVATION</hi></head></figure></p></then>
<else><p><figure url="images/illus2th.jpg"><head><xref url="images/illus2.jpg"><hi rend="font-size: small">AT LAST WE GAINED THE TOP OF THE SECOND
      ELEVATION</hi></xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: AT LAST WE GAINED THE TOP OF THE SECOND ELEVATION</figDesc></figure></p></else></pgIf>
</else></pgIf>
<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<pb n='50'/><anchor id='Pg050'/>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
There is scarcely anything when a man is in difficulties that he is
more disposed to look upon with abhorrence than a right-about 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 a small but almost level bit of ground, and twisted
<pb n='51'/><anchor id='Pg051'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='52'/><anchor id='Pg052'/>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 it was necessary for us to pursue.
</p>

<p>
<q>What’s to be done now?</q> inquired I, rather dolefully.
</p>

<p>
<q><anchor id="corr052"/><corr sic="Decend">Descend</corr> into that same valley we descried yesterday,</q> 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. <q>What else,</q> he continued, <q>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.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>And who is to pilot us thither,</q> I asked, <q>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?</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>’Faith, I didn’t think of that,</q> said Toby; <q>sure enough, both
sides of the valley appeared to be hemmed in by precipices, didn’t
they?</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>Yes,</q> answered I; <q>as steep as the sides of a line-of-battle ship,
and about a hundred times as high.</q> My companion sank his head
upon his breast, and remained for awhile 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.
</p>

<p>
<q>Yes, yes,</q> he exclaimed; <q>the streams all run in the same direction,
and must necessarily flow into the valley before they reach the
<pb n='53'/><anchor id='Pg053'/>sea; all we have to do is just to follow this stream, and sooner or later,
it will lead us into the vale.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>You are right, Toby,</q> I exclaimed, <q>you are right; it must
conduct us thither, and quickly too; for, see with what a steep inclination
the water descends.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>It does, indeed,</q> burst forth my companion, overjoyed at my verification
of his theory, <q>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!</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>You will have it to be Happar, I see, my dear fellow; pray Heaven,
you may not find yourself deceived,</q> observed I, with a shake of my
head.
</p>

<p>
<q>Amen to all that, and much more,</q> shouted Toby, rushing forward;
<q>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
cocoa-nut—such wildernesses 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 to-morrow, old
fellow, take my word for it, we shall be in clover. Come on</q>; 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 awhile, he permitted me
to overtake him.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="8" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='54'/><anchor id='Pg054'/>
<index index="toc" level1="VIII. Into the Valley"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER VIII</head>

<argument><p>
Perilous passage of the ravine—Descent into the valley
</p>
</argument>
<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 greater impediments
than those we here encountered. But we struggled against them manfully,
well knowing our only hope lay in advancing.
</p>

<pb n='55'/><anchor id='Pg055'/>

<p>
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 daybreak,
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
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.
</p>

<p>
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 either
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.
</p>

<p>
<q>What’s to be done now, Toby?</q> said I.
</p>

<p>
<q>Why,</q> rejoined he, <q>as we cannot retreat, I suppose we must keep
shoving along.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>Very true, my dear Toby; but how do you purpose accomplishing
that desirable object?</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>By jumping from the top of the fall, if there be no other way,</q>
unhesitatingly replied my companion; <q>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.</q>
</p>

<pb n='56'/><anchor id='Pg056'/>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
<q>The result of my observations you wish to know, do you?</q> began
Toby, deliberately, with one of his odd looks: <q>well, my lad, the result
of my observation 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.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>Then it is an impossible thing, is it?</q> inquired I, gloomily.
</p>

<p>
<q>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.</q>
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
<q>Are you ready to venture it?</q> asked Toby, looking at me earnestly,
but without saying a word as to the practicability of the plan.
</p>

<p>
<q>I am,</q> was my reply; for I saw it was our only resource if we
<pb n='57'/><anchor id='Pg057'/>wished to advance, and as for retreating, all thoughts of that sort had
been long abandoned.
</p>

<p>
After I had signified my assent, Toby, without uttering 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 unlike that of a pendulum. He
could not venture to descend any farther; 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 himself to it
and continued his downward progress.
</p>

<p>
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, <q>Mate, do me the kindness not to
fall until I get out of your way</q>; and then swinging himself more on
one side, he continued his descent. In the meantime, 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
As one after another the treacherous roots yielded to my grasp,
<pb n='58'/><anchor id='Pg058'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
<q>Pretty well done,</q> shouted Toby underneath me; <q>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.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>Ay, ay, Toby, all in good time: two or three more such famous roots
as this, and I shall be with you.</q>
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
<q>Another precipice for us, Toby.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>Very good; we can descend them, you know—come on.</q>
</p>

<p>
Nothing indeed appeared to depress or intimidate this intrepid
<pb n='59'/><anchor id='Pg059'/>fellow. Typee 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 these sloping ledges until
it carried us to within a few feet of another that inclined downward
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 farther on it
abruptly terminated at a place we could not possibly hope to pass.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
<q>Well, my boy,</q> I exclaimed, after the expiration of several minutes,
during which time my companion had not uttered a word: <q>what’s
to be done now?</q>
</p>

<p>
He replied in a tranquil tone that probably the best thing we could
do in the present strait was to get out of it as soon as possible.
</p>

<p>
<q>Yes, my dear Toby, but tell me <hi rend='italic'>how</hi> we are to get out of it.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>Something in this sort of style,</q> he replied; and at the same moment,
to my horror, he slipped sideways off the rock, and, as I then thought,
<pb n='60'/><anchor id='Pg060'/>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 stand-still. I voluntarily 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, <q>Come
on, my hearty, there is no other alternative!</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
Toby’s animating <q>come on!</q> 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 crackling with my
weight, as I sunk lower and lower among them until I was stopped by
coming in contact with a sturdy limb.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='61'/><anchor id='Pg061'/>the ravine, we had partaken of our evening morsel, built our hut as
usual, and crawled under its shelter.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 either
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 of 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='62'/><anchor id='Pg062'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
I will not recount every <anchor id="corr062"/><corr sic="hairbreath">hairbreadth</corr> 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.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="9" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='63'/><anchor id='Pg063'/>
<index index="toc" level1="IX. Cautious Advance"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER IX</head>

<argument><p>
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.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
How to obtain the fruit which we felt convinced must grow near at
hand was our first thought.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 either hand.
</p>

<p>
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 valley—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 in 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.
</p>

<p>
I objected strongly to this proposition, plausible as it was, as the
difficulties of the route would almost be insurmountable, unacquainted
as we were with the general bearings of the country, and I reminded
<pb n='64'/><anchor id='Pg064'/>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.
</p>

<p>
We were surprised that, after moving as far as we had along the
valley, we would 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.
</p>

<p>
What furtive and anxious glances we cast into those dim-looking
shades! 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 farther
end of which we descried a number of the trees, the native name
of which is <q>annuee,</q> and which bear a most delicious fruit.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
We looked about us uncertain whither to direct our steps, since
<pb n='65'/><anchor id='Pg065'/>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
stript from it. It was 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.
</p>

<p>
The plot was now thickening.—A short distance farther 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 either 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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, plucked 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.
</p>

<p>
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,
<pb n='66'/><anchor id='Pg066'/>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.
</p>

<p>
As we drew near, their alarm evidently <anchor id="corr066"/><corr sic="inceased">increased</corr>. 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 expecting 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
<q>Typee or Happar, Toby?</q> asked I, as we walked after them.
</p>

<pb n='67'/><anchor id='Pg067'/>

<p>
<q>Of course, Happar,</q> he replied, with a show of confidence which
was intended to disguise his doubts.
</p>

<p>
<q>We shall soon know,</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
More and more curious to ascertain our fate, I now threw together
in the form of a question the words <q>Happar</q> and <q>Mortarkee,</q> the
latter being equivalent to the word <q>good.</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='68'/><anchor id='Pg068'/>many startled fawns. A few moments after the whole valley resounded
with savage outcries, and the natives came running towards us from
every direction.
</p>

<p>
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 surrounding
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.
</p>

<p>
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 gain admittance gazed at us through its open cane-work.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='69'/><anchor id='Pg069'/>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.
</p>
    <anchor id="illus3"/>
    <pgIf output="txt">
        <then><p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: WE WERE SOON COMPLETELY ENCIRCLED BY A DENSE THRONG]</p></then>
        <else><pgIf output="pdf"><then><p><figure url="images/illus3.jpg" rend="width: 100%"><head><hi rend="font-size: small">WE WERE SOON COMPLETELY ENCIRCLED BY A DENSE
        THRONG</hi></head></figure></p></then>
        <else><p><figure url="images/illus3th.jpg"><head><xref url="images/illus3.jpg"><hi rend="font-size: small">WE WERE SOON COMPLETELY ENCIRCLED BY A DENSE
                THRONG</hi></xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: WE WERE SOON COMPLETELY ENCIRCLED BY A DENSE THRONG</figDesc></figure></p></else></pgIf>
        </else>
    </pgIf>
<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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, <q>Typee.</q> The piece of dusky statuary nodded
in approval, and then murmured, <q>Mortarkee?</q> <q>Mortarkee,</q> said
I, without further hesitation—<q>Typee mortarkee.</q>
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
some<pb n='70'/><anchor id='Pg070'/>what laconic, consisting in the repetition of that name, united with
the potent adjective, <q>Mortarkee.</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>Mehevi,</q> 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 <q>Tom.</q> But I could not have made a worse
selection; the chief could not master it: <q>Tommo,</q> <q>Tomma,</q>
<q>Tommee,</q> everything but plain <q>Tom.</q> As he persisted in garnishing
the word with an additional syllable, I compromised the matter
with him at the word <q>Tommo</q>; 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 the 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 honour of which we were, of course, entirely ignorant.
</p>

<p>
All this occupied about an hour, when the throng having a little
<pb n='71'/><anchor id='Pg071'/>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 <q>poee-poee,</q> and two or
three young cocoa-nuts stripped of their husks, and with their shells
partly broken. We both of us forthwith placed one of those 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 lengthening strings to every finger. So stubborn
was its consistency, that in conveying my heavily-freighted 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.
</p>

<p>
As soon as their merriment had somewhat subsided, Mehevi, motioning
us to be attentive, dipped the fore-finger 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 was drawn forth
perfectly free of 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.
</p>

<pb n='72'/><anchor id='Pg072'/>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 cocoa-nuts, after which we
regaled ourselves with the soothing fumes of tobacco, inhaled from a
quaintly carved pipe which passed round the circle.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='73'/><anchor id='Pg073'/>armed boats’ crews, and accompanied by an interpreter. 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 <q>tabooed Kannaka,</q><note place="foot"><p>The word <q>kannaka</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
A <q>tabooed kannaka</q> is an islander whose person has been made, to a certain
extent, sacred by the operation of a singular custom hereafter to be
explained.</p></note> 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 from 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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='74'/><anchor id='Pg074'/>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. <q>Nukuheva mortarkee?</q> they asked. Of
course we replied most energetically in the negative.
</p>

<p>
They then 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.
</p>

<p>
After awhile 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.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="10" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='75'/><anchor id='Pg075'/>
<index index="toc" level1="X. Morning Visitors"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER X</head>

<argument><p>
Midnight reflections—Morning visitors—A warrior in costume—A savage
Æsculapius—Practice
of the healing art—Body-servant—A dwelling-house
of the valley described—Portraits of its inmates.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
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?
</p>

<p>
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 if 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.
</p>

<p>
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 countenances of
a number of the natives, who were bending over me.
</p>

<pb n='76'/><anchor id='Pg076'/>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 not but
consider them as having overstepped the due limits of female decorum.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
As 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-beads which spanned the
<pb n='77'/><anchor id='Pg077'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 either 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,
<pb n='78'/><anchor id='Pg078'/>and the lines drawn upon his face may possibly have denoted his exalted
rank.
</p>

<p>
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, recognised 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.
</p>

<p>
I forthwith determined to secure, if possible, the goodwill 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.
</p>

<p>
But that which more than any other subject engaged his attention,
was the late proceedings of the <q>Franee,</q> 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
<pb n='79'/><anchor id='Pg079'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 cocoa-nut
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 cocoa-nut tree. A flowing robe of tappa,
knotted over the shoulder, hung loosely round his stooping form, and
heightened the venerableness of his aspect.
</p>

<p>
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 the 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
fash<pb n='80'/><anchor id='Pg080'/>ion 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 henceforth 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.
</p>

<p>
I could not but be amused at the manner in which the chief
ad<pb n='81'/><anchor id='Pg081'/>dressed 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.
</p>

<p>
Mehevi having now departed, and the family physician having likewise
made his exit, we were left about sunset with the 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.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>pi-pi</q>),
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
cocoa-nut 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 <q>pi-pi</q> 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
<pb n='82'/><anchor id='Pg082'/>kind of open screen-work, 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 cocoa-nut 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 <q>pi-pi</q> was composed.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
cocoa-<pb n='83'/><anchor id='Pg083'/>nut boughs, where the process of preparing the <q>poee-poee</q> was carried
on, and all culinary operations attended to.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 upper lip, and an equal number hung from the extremity of
his chin.
</p>

<p>
Kory-Kory, with the 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
<pb n='84'/><anchor id='Pg084'/>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
<hi rend='italic'>Animated Nature</hi>.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='85'/><anchor id='Pg085'/>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 protecting 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.
</p>

<p>
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, custards,
tea-cakes, and such like trashy affairs, she was profoundly skilled
in the mysteries of preparing <q>amar,</q> <q>poee-poee,</q> and <q>kokoo,</q> 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,
under which most women would have sunk.
</p>

<p>
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 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
deemed 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.
</p>

<pb n='86'/><anchor id='Pg086'/>

<p>
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!
</p>

<p>
Besides the individuals I have mentioned, there belong 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 <q>arva</q> and tobacco in the
company of congenial spirits, the scapegraces of the valley.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 a dazzling whiteness; and when her rosy
mouth opened with a burst of merriment, they looked like the milk-white
seeds of the <q>arta,</q> a fruit of the valley, which, when cleft in
twain, shows them reposing in rows on either side, embedded 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.
<pb n='87'/><anchor id='Pg087'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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 portrayed. This picture is no
fancy sketch; it is drawn from the most vivid recollections of the
person delineated.
</p>

<p>
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 this 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.
</p>

<p>
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 pinheads, decorated either lip, and at a little distance
were not at all discernible. Just upon the fall of the shoulder
<pb n='88'/><anchor id='Pg088'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
But I have neglected to describe the dress worn by this nymph of the
valley.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
As the beauties of our own land delight in bedecking themselves with
fanciful articles of jewelry, 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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='89'/><anchor id='Pg089'/>an English peeress, and composed of
    <anchor id="corr089"/><corr sic="interwined">intertwined</corr> 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 of character, and one that
ere long will be more fully alluded to.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="11" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='90'/><anchor id='Pg090'/>
<index index="toc" level1="XI. Adventure in the Dark"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER XI</head>

<argument><p>
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—Adventure in the
dark—Distinguished honours paid to the visitors—Strange procession,
and return to the house of Marheyo.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
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 us 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 hand 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 clamor 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.
</p>

<p>
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, <q>Ki-Ki, muee
muee, ah! moee moee mortarkee,</q> (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 in my
limb having much abated, I now felt inclined to avail myself of the
opportunity afforded me.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='91'/><anchor id='Pg091'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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 previous 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.
</p>

<p>
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. I felt
somewhat embarrassed by the presence of the female portion of the
company, but, nevertheless, removed my frock, 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 toward
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 rock, and tenderly bathed my
<pb n='92'/><anchor id='Pg092'/>limbs. This over, and resuming my seat, I could not avoid bursting
into admiration of the scene around me.
</p>

<p>
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, 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.
</p>

<p>
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
Sinbad—I followed after the chief.
</p>

<p>
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 either 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
hori<pb n='93'/><anchor id='Pg093'/>zontal branches; and now you stepped over huge trunks and boughs that
lay rotting across the track.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 cocoa-nuts, and the
putrefying relics of some recent sacrifice.
</p>

<p>
In the midst of the wood was the hallowed <q>hoolah hoolah</q> 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
<pb n='94'/><anchor id='Pg094'/>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.
</p>

<p>
This holiest of spots was defended from profanation by the strictest
edicts of the all-pervading <q>taboo,</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
Access was had to the enclosure through an embowered entrance on
one side, facing a number of towering cocoa-nut trees, planted at intervals
along a level area of a hundred yards. At the farther 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 grove.
</p>

<p>
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 cocoa-nut trees, selected for the purpose from
the straightest and most symmetrical the vale afforded.
</p>

<p>
To this building, denominated in the language of the natives, the
<q>Ti,</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
On entering the house, I was surprised to see six muskets ranged
against the bamboo on one side, from the barrels of which depended
<pb n='95'/><anchor id='Pg095'/>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.
</p>

<p>
As we advanced farther along the building, we were struck with the
aspect of four or five hideous old wretches, on whose decrepid 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
In a few moments, a boy entered with a wooden trencher of
poee-<pb n='96'/><anchor id='Pg096'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
Regarding this new phenomenon with no small degree of trepidation,
I said to my companion, <q>What can all this mean, Toby?</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>Oh, nothing,</q> replied he; <q>getting the fire ready, I suppose.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>Fire!</q> exclaimed I, while my heart took to beating like a trip-hammer,
<q>what fire?</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>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?</q>
</p>

<pb n='97'/><anchor id='Pg097'/>

<p>
<q>Oh, Toby! have done with your jokes; this is no time for them:
something is about to happen, I feel confident.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>Jokes, indeed!</q> exclaimed Toby, indignantly. <q>Did you ever
hear me joke? Why, for what do you suppose the devils have been
feeding us up in this kind of style for 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.</q>
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
<q>There! I told you so! they are coming for us!</q> exclaimed my companion
the next moment, as the forms of four of the islanders were
seen in bold relief against the illuminated background, mounting the
pi-pi, and approaching us.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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. <q>Tommo, Toby, ki ki!</q> (eat). He had waited to
address us, until he had assured himself that we were both awake, at
which he seemed somewhat surprised.
</p>

<p>
<q>Ki ki! is it?</q> said Toby, in his gruff tones; <q>well, cook us first,
will you—but what’s this?</q> he added, as another savage appeared,
bearing before him a large trencher of wood, containing some kind of
<pb n='98'/><anchor id='Pg098'/>steaming meat, as appeared from the odours it diffused, and which
he deposited at the feet of Mehevi. <q>A baked baby, I dare say! 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 bloody-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?</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>By tasting it, to be sure,</q> said I, masticating a morsel that Kory-Kory
had just put in my mouth; <q>and excellently good it is, too, very
much like veal.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>A baked baby, by the soul of Captain Cook!</q> burst forth Toby,
with amazing vehemence. <q>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!</q>
</p>

<p>
Emetics and lukewarm water! What a sensation in the abdominal
regions! 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! <q>Puarkee!</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
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. <q>Abo, abo</q> (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
<pb n='99'/><anchor id='Pg099'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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-fruit.
Then came a troop of boys, carrying bunches of ripe bananas,
and baskets made of woven leaflets of cocoa-nut 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 a 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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='100'/><anchor id='Pg100'/>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.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="12" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='101'/><anchor id='Pg101'/>
<index index="toc" level1="XII. Adventure of Toby"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER XII</head>

<argument><p>
Attempt to procure relief from Nukuheva—Perilous adventure of Toby in
the Happar Mountains—Eloquence of Kory-Kory.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
Amidst these novel scenes a week passed away almost imperceptibly.
The natives, actuated by some mysterious impulse, day after day redoubled
their attention 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?
</p>

<p>
We were fairly puzzled. But, despite the apprehensions I could
not dispel, the horrible character imputed to these Typees appeared to
be wholly undeserved.
</p>

<p>
<q>Why, they are cannibals!</q> said Toby, on one occasion when I
eulogized the tribe.
</p>

<p>
<q>Granted,</q> I replied, <q>but a more humane, gentlemanly, and
amiable set of epicures do not probably exist in the Pacific.</q>
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='102'/><anchor id='Pg102'/>easily have been obtained, could I have made my case known to them.
But how could that be effected?
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 alterations 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.
</p>

<p>
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. <q>And even should they consent,</q> said Toby,
<q>they would only produce a commotion in the valley, in which we
might both be sacrificed by these ferocious islanders.</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='103'/><anchor id='Pg103'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
At early dawn of the next day, our habitation was astir. One of
the young men mounted into an adjoining cocoa-nut 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.
</p>

<p>
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
around 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
pre<pb n='104'/><anchor id='Pg104'/>vailed. 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.
</p>

<p>
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, <q>Awha! awha! Toby muckee moee!</q>—Alas!
alas! Toby is killed!
</p>

<p>
In a moment the crowd opened, and disclosed the apparently lifeless
body of my companion borne between two men, the head hanging
heavily against the breast of the foremost. The whole face, neck, 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.
</p>

<p>
In a few moments Toby revived, and opening his eyes for a second,
closed them again, without speaking. Kory-Kory, who had been
kneel<pb n='105'/><anchor id='Pg105'/>ing 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 cocoa-nut
shell a few mouthfuls of water.
</p>
    <anchor id="illus4"/>
<pgIf output='txt'><then>
  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: THE BODY WAS CARRIED INTO THE HOUSE AND LAID ON A MAT]</p>
</then><else><pgIf output="pdf"><then><p><figure url="images/illus4.jpg" rend="width: 100%"><head><hi rend="font-size: small">THE BODY WAS CARRIED INTO THE HOUSE AND LAID ON A
MAT</hi></head></figure></p></then>
<else><p><figure url="images/illus4th.jpg"><head><xref url="images/illus4.jpg"><hi rend="font-size: small">THE BODY WAS CARRIED INTO THE HOUSE AND LAID ON A
      MAT</hi></xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: THE BODY WAS CARRIED INTO THE HOUSE AND LAID ON A MAT</figDesc></figure></p></else></pgIf>
</else></pgIf>
<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
<q>After leaving the house with Marheyo,</q> said Toby, <q rend="post: none">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.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q rend="post: none">Quite elated at being so near the Happars, I pushed up the acclivity,
and soon gained its summit. It tapered up 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 cocoa-nuts. 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.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q rend="post: none">Without the least hesitation I advanced towards them, and had
ap<pb n='106'/><anchor id='Pg106'/>proached 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.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q rend="post: none">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 farther 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.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q rend="post: none">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.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>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 sun scorched my bare head. I felt
<pb n='107'/><anchor id='Pg107'/>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 sunk; and I knew nothing more
until I found myself lying upon these mats, and you stooping over me
with the calabash of water.</q>
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 extremity of
the vale.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
<q>Happar keekeeno nuee,</q> he exclaimed; <q>nuee, nuee, ki ki
kan<pb n='108'/><anchor id='Pg108'/>naka!—ah! owle motarkee!</q> which signifies, <q>Terrible fellows those
Happars!—devour an amazing quantity of men!—ah, shocking bad!</q>
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 the rapidity
that showed he was fearful we 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.
</p>

<p>
Having assured himself that we were fully enlightened on this
point, he proceeded to another branch of the subject. <q>Ah! Typee
me! arkee!—nuee, nuee mioree—nuee, nuee wai nuee, nuee poee
poee—nuee, nuee kokoo—ah! nuee, nuee kiki—ah! nuee, nuee, nuee!</q>
Which, liberally interpreted as before, would imply, <q>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!</q> All this was accompanied
by a running commentary of signs and gestures which it was impossible
not to comprehend.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="13" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='109'/><anchor id='Pg109'/>
<index index="toc" level1="XIII. A Great Event"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER XIII</head>

<argument><p>
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 <hi rend='italic'>à la</hi> Typee.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
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 was 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>botee! botee!</q>
was vociferated in all directions; and shouts were heard in the distance,
at first feebly and faintly, but growing louder and nearer at
<pb n='110'/><anchor id='Pg110'/>each successive repetition, until they were caught up by a fellow in
a cocoa-nut 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
recesses 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.
</p>

<p>
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 cocoa-nuts; some, perched in the trees, were throwing down bread-fruit
to their companions, who gathered them in heaps as they fell;
while others were plying their fingers rapidly in weaving leafen
baskets in which to carry the fruit.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<pb n='111'/><anchor id='Pg111'/>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
<q>Do you not see,</q> said he, <q>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.</q>
</p>

<p>
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
re<pb n='112'/><anchor id='Pg112'/>main, they appeared to make no objection to this 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
In spite of the unpleasant reflections that crowded upon my mind,
I could not but be entertained by the novel and animated sight which
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 <anchor id="corr112"/><corr sic="preverse">perverse</corr> animal in his arms, and carry him struggling
again 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 grapes. One
trotted before the other at a distance of a couple of yards, while between
them, from a pole resting on their 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 cocoa-nuts, 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 cocoa-nuts kept company with him.
</p>

<p>
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,
<pb n='113'/><anchor id='Pg113'/>Kory-Kory, his aged father, and a few decrepid old people being all
that were left.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
Fearful lest some fatal calamity had overtaken him, I sought out
young Fayaway, and endeavoured to learn from her, if possible, the
truth.
</p>

<p>
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.
<pb n='114'/><anchor id='Pg114'/>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, <q>Awha! awha! Tommo,</q> and seat herself mournfully beside
me.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='115'/><anchor id='Pg115'/>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—to-morrow 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.
</p>

<p>
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 perfidy of Toby; whilst, at other times, I sunk under
the bitter remorse which I felt at having, by my own imprudence,
brought upon myself the fate which I was sure awaited me.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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,
<pb n='116'/><anchor id='Pg116'/>who had deserted his friend, and taken himself off to that vile and detestable
place Nukuheva.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
Here I often laid 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 cocoa-nut 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.
</p>

<p>
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 extravagantly 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 cocoa-nuts,
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.
</p>

<pb n='117'/><anchor id='Pg117'/>

<p>
But the tranquillizing influences of beautiful scenery, and the exhibition
of human life under so novel and charming an aspect, were not
my only sources of consolation.
</p>

<p>
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 body with a fragrant oil,
squeezed from a yellow root, previously pounded between a couple of
stones, and which in their language is denominated <q>aka.</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
A straight, dry, and partly-decayed stick of the Habiscus, about
six feet in length, and half as many inches in diameter, with a smaller
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.
</p>

<p>
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
termina<pb n='118'/><anchor id='Pg118'/>tion at the point farthest from him, where all the dusty particles which
the friction creates are accumulated in a little heap.
</p>

<p>
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, becomes
perfectly motionless. His hands still retain their hold of the smaller
stick, which is pressed convulsively against the farther 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.
</p>

<p>
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 in 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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='119'/><anchor id='Pg119'/>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.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="14" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='120'/><anchor id='Pg120'/>
<index index="toc" level1="XIV. Kindness of the Islanders"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER XIV</head>

<argument><p>
Kindness of Marheyo and the rest of the islanders—A full description of
the bread-fruit tree—Different modes of preparing the fruit.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 seaweed; 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 cocoa-nut shells
filled with different descriptions of <anchor id="corr120"/><corr sic="kemp">kelp</corr>. 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 cocoa-nut shells.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='121'/><anchor id='Pg121'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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 the luxuries of a Parisian
table.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 the 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<pb n='122'/><anchor id='Pg122'/>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 a 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.
</p>

<p>
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
<q>bo-a-sho.</q> I never could endure this compound, and indeed the preparation
is not greatly in vogue among the more polite Typees.
</p>

<p>
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 cocoa-nut, and breaking it in half,
<pb n='123'/><anchor id='Pg123'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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 one of his hemispheres of cocoa-nut 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 cocoa-nut 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.
</p>

<p>
This preparation is called <q>kokoo,</q> and a most lucious 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
<anchor id="corr123"/><corr sic="As">At</corr> 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
<pb n='124'/><anchor id='Pg124'/>pulpy fruit is soon worked by a stone pestle, vigorously applied, into
a blended mass of a doughy consistency called by the natives <q>Tutao.</q>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
The Tutao thus baked is called <q>Amar</q>; 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.
</p>

<p>
By another and final process the <q>Amar</q> is changed into <q>Poee-Poee.</q>
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 <q>Tutao</q> is generally consumed.
The singular mode of eating it I have already described.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='125'/><anchor id='Pg125'/>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.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="15" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='126'/><anchor id='Pg126'/>
<index index="toc" level1="XV. Melancholy Condition"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER XV</head>

<argument><p>
Melancholy condition—Occurrence at the Ti—Anecdote of Marheyo—Shaving
the head of a warrior.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
An incident which occurred as nearly as I can estimate about three
weeks after the disappearance of Toby, convinced me that the natives,
<pb n='127'/><anchor id='Pg127'/>from some reason or other, would interpose every possible obstacle to
my leaving them.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>Ti,</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
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, <q>abo, abo</q> (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 reassumed a tone of authority, and told
me to <q>moee</q> (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 me started to their
<pb n='128'/><anchor id='Pg128'/>feet, ranged themselves along the open front of the building, while Mehevi
looked at me scowlingly, and reiterated his commands still more
sternly.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='129'/><anchor id='Pg129'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 a bright-coloured calico.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='130'/><anchor id='Pg130'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>maro</q> (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.
</p>

<p>
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 his
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.
</p>

<pb n='131'/><anchor id='Pg131'/>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="16" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='132'/><anchor id='Pg132'/>
<index index="toc" level1="XVI. Improvement"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER XVI</head>

<argument><p>
Improvement in health and spirits—Felicity of the Typees—A skirmish in the
mountain with the warriors of Happar.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
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
outbreak 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
The green and precipitous elevations that stood ranged around the
head of the vale where Marheyo’s habitation was situated, effectually
<pb n='133'/><anchor id='Pg133'/>precluded all hope of escape in that quarter, even if I could have
stolen away from the thousand eyes of the savages.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>Happy Valley,</q> and that beyond those heights there was
nought but a world of care and anxiety.
</p>

<p>
In this frame of mind, every object that presented itself to my
notice struck me in a new light, and the opportunities I now enjoyed
of observing the manners of the natives, 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.
</p>

<p>
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;
no assault 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
debtor’s prisons; no proud and hard-hearted nabobs in Typee; or, to
sum up all in one word—no Money! That <q>root of all evil</q> was not
to be found in the valley.
</p>

<p>
In this secluded abode of happiness there were no cross old women,
no cruel step-dames, no withered spinsters, no love-sick maidens, no sour
old bachelors, no inattentive husbands, no melancholy young men, no
<pb n='134'/><anchor id='Pg134'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
But the continual happiness which, so far as I was able to judge,
<pb n='135'/><anchor id='Pg135'/>appeared to prevail in the valley, sprung principally from that all-pervading
sensation which Rousseau has told us he 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 clear skins you observed no blemish or mark of disease.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
patiently 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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='136'/><anchor id='Pg136'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>Happar, Happar,</q> greatly predominated.
The islanders were now to be 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.
</p>

<p>
When this female commotion had a little subsided I listened
ea<pb n='137'/><anchor id='Pg137'/>gerly 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.
</p>

<p>
During this interval I had remained standing on the piazza of the
<q>Ti,</q> which directly fronted the Happar mountain, and with no one
near me but Kory-Kory and the old superannuated savages I have before
described. These latter never stirred from their mats, and seemed
altogether unconscious that anything unusual was going on.
</p>

<p>
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. <q>Mehevi hanna pippee nuee Happar,</q> he exclaimed every
five minutes, giving me to understand that under that distinguished
captain the warriors of his nation were performing prodigies of
valour.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>Ti,</q> almost
breathless with his exertions, and communicated the news of a great
victory having been achieved by his countrymen: <q>Happar poo
arva!—<pb n='138'/><anchor id='Pg138'/>Happar poo arva!</q> (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.
</p>

<p>
But here I was again mistaken; for Mehevi, in conducting his warlike
operations, rather inclined to the Fabian than to the Buonapartean
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.
</p>

<p>
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 not he 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
<pb n='139'/><anchor id='Pg139'/>to believe that these shocking festivals must occur very rarely among
the islanders, if, indeed, they ever take place.
</p>

<p>
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 tranquillity.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="17" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='140'/><anchor id='Pg140'/>
<index index="toc" level1="XVII. A Stranger Arrives"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER XVII</head>

<argument><p>
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.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
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, into 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 cocoa-nut tree, surmounted by its tuft
of graceful branches, drooping in the air like so many waving ostrich
plumes.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
tem<pb n='141'/><anchor id='Pg141'/>erity. 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 spirits. I stood indeed as
little chance among them as a cumbrous whale attacked on all sides by
a legion of sword-fish. When at length they relinquished their hold of
me, they swam away in every direction, laughing at my clumsy endeavours
to reach them.
</p>

<p>
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 in the lake, now all fled
its vicinity. The prohibited craft, guarded by the edicts of the <q>taboo,</q>
extended the prohibition to the waters in which it lay.
</p>

<p>
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 this was far from contenting me. Indeed, I soon began to weary
of it, and longed more than ever for the pleasant society of the mermaids,
in whose absence the amusement was 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 <q><hi rend='italic'>taboo!
taboo!</hi></q> 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
<pb n='142'/><anchor id='Pg142'/>too monstrous to be thought of. It not only shocked their established
notions of propriety, but was at variance with all their religious ordinances.
</p>

<p>
However, although the <q>taboo</q> 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 persuade 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 <q>taboo</q> 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 should 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.
</p>

<p>
How it was that the priesthood of Typee satisfied the affair with their
consciences, I know not; but so it was, and Fayaway’s 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.
</p>

<p>
The first day after Fayaway’s emancipation, I had a delightful little
party on the lake—the damsel, Kory-Kory, and myself. My zealous
body-servant brought from the house a calabash of poee-poee, half a
dozen young cocoa-nuts—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
<pb n='143'/><anchor id='Pg143'/>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, the gentle nymph occasionally placing
her pipe to her lips, 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.
</p>

<p>
We boated 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='144'/><anchor id='Pg144'/>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 up-raised
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.
</p>

<p>
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 manœuvres with admiration, now
clapped his hands in transport, and shouted like a madman. Many a
time afterwards was this feat repeated.
</p>

<p>
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 a dress was made 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.
</p>

<p>
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,
<q>Marnoo pemi!</q> 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
<pb n='145'/><anchor id='Pg145'/>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.
</p>

<p>
<q>Marnoo, Marnoo,</q> cogitated I, <q>I have never heard that name before.
Some distinguished character, I presume, from the prodigious
riot the natives are making</q>; the tumultuous noise drawing nearer and
nearer every moment, while <q>Marnoo!—Marnoo!</q> was shouted by
every tongue.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
The stranger could not have been more than twenty-five years of
age, and was a little above the ordinary height; had he been 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 me 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.
</p>

<pb n='146'/><anchor id='Pg146'/>

<p>
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 <q>artu</q> tree.
Branching from the stem on either side, and disposed alternately, were
the graceful branches drooping with leaves all correctly drawn, and
elaborately finished. Indeed, this piece of tattooing was 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.
</p>

<p>
He advanced surrounded by the islanders, carrying under one arm
a small roll of the 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 to the throng around him,
and gave some dashing sort of reply to their incessant queries, which
appeared to convulse them with uncontrollable mirth.
</p>

<p>
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 farther
end of the long couch that traversed the sole apartment of Marheyo’s
habitation.
</p>

<p>
Had the belle of the season, in the pride of her beauty and power,
<pb n='147'/><anchor id='Pg147'/>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.
</p>

<p>
I was thrown into utter astonishment. The conduct of the savages
had prepared me to anticipate from every new-comer the same extravagant
expression 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
Marnoo, this 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.
</p>

<p>
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, <q>Nukuheva</q> and <q>Franee</q>
(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 neighboring 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
<pb n='148'/><anchor id='Pg148'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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 visit 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
He had a word for everybody; and, turning rapidly from one to
another, gave utterance to some hasty witticism, which was sure to
<pb n='149'/><anchor id='Pg149'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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?
</p>

<p>
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 distinctions of a Marquesan warrior. Altogether
the matter was perfectly incomprehensible to me, and I awaited
its solution with no small degree of anxiety.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='150'/><anchor id='Pg150'/>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,—<q>How you do? How long have you been in this bay?
You like this bay?</q>
</p>

<p>
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,—<q>Ah! me taboo,—me
go Nukuheva,—me go Tior,—me go Typee,—me go everywhere,—nobody
harm me,—taboo.</q>
</p>

<p>
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 preclude any intercourse between them, yet there are instances
where a person having ratified friendly relations with some individual
belonging 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 <anchor id="corr150"/><corr sic="enemy">enemy.</corr> In this light are personal friendships regarded
among them, and the individual so protected is said to be <q>taboo</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
Curious to know how he had acquired his knowledge of English, I
<pb n='151'/><anchor id='Pg151'/>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 Sydney, 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='152'/><anchor id='Pg152'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
When I endeavoured to learn from him the motives which prompted
them to hold me a prisoner, Marnoo again assumed that mysterious
tone which had tormented me with apprehensions when I had questioned
him with regard to the fate of my companion.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
With the most intense interest had I watched the reception his
<pb n='153'/><anchor id='Pg153'/>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 a procedure, if persisted in, would at once absolve
the Typees from the restraints of the <q>taboo,</q> although so long as
he refrained from any such conduct, it screened him effectually from
the consequences of the enmity they bore his tribe.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='154'/><anchor id='Pg154'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="18" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='155'/><anchor id='Pg155'/>
<index index="toc" level1="XVIII. Battle of the Pop-guns"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER XVIII</head>

<argument><p>
Reflection after Marnoo’s departure—Battle of the pop-guns—Strange conceit
of Marheyo—Process of making tappa.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
The knowledge I had now obtained as to the intention of the savages
deeply affected me.
</p>

<p>
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 nigh to endanger
his own personal safety.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
In vain I racked my invention to find out some motive for the
strange desire these people manifested to retain me among them; but
I could discover none.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='156'/><anchor id='Pg156'/>to do so. 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 apprehensions 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='157'/><anchor id='Pg157'/>but occupy themselves with that childish amusement, fairly screaming,
too, with the delight it afforded them.
</p>

<p>
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 purpose.
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.
</p>

<p>
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 twenty minutes afterwards I might have
been seen surrounded by a noisy crowd—venerable old greybeards—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.
</p>

<p>
For three or four hours I was engaged in manufacturing pop-guns,
but at last made over my good-will and interests in the concern to a
lad of remarkably quick parts, whom I soon initiated into the art and
mystery.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='158'/><anchor id='Pg158'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
It was towards the close of the pop-gun war, that I was infinitely
diverted with a strange freak of Marheyo’s.
</p>

<p>
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
unserviceable in one way, may with advantage be applied in another—that
is, if one has genius enough for the purpose. This genius Marheyo
possessed in a superlative degree, as he abundantly evinced by the
use to which he put these sorely bruised and battered old shoes.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='159'/><anchor id='Pg159'/>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 uncouth gestures, pointing
eagerly down to my feet, and 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
The same afternoon I descried the venerable warrior approaching
the house, with a slow, stately gait, earrings 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.
</p>

<p>
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 labourious as occupations, contributed to
their comfort and luxury. Among these, the most important was the
manufacture of the native cloth—<q>tappa</q>—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.
</p>

<p>
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
ex<pb n='160'/><anchor id='Pg160'/>terior 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.
</p>

<p>
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 cocoa-nut 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 descernible 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.
</p>

<pb n='161'/><anchor id='Pg161'/>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
The notable wife of Kammahammaha, 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.
</p>

<p>
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,
and near one another, the effect upon the ear of a person, at a little
distance, is really charming.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="19" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='162'/><anchor id='Pg162'/>
<index index="toc" level1="XIX. Dances"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER XIX</head>

<argument><p>
History of a day as usually spent in the Typee valley—Dances of the Marquesan
girls.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
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 unsophisticated 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.
</p>

<p>
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 firewood; some of the
young men laying the cocoa-nut 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.
</p>

<p>
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 cocoa-nut. A section of a roasted
<pb n='163'/><anchor id='Pg163'/>bread-fruit, a small cake of <q>Amar,</q> or a mess of <q>Kokoo,</q> two or three
bananas, or a Mawmee 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 cocoa-nut or
two.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
After the morning meal was concluded, pipes were lighted; and
among them my own special 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 for ever 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 with small calabashes and
cocoa-<pb n='164'/><anchor id='Pg164'/>nut 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.
</p>

<p>
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 honor 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 mid-day 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, eat, 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 at midnight. Once I beheld him perched
eighty feet from the ground, in the tuft of a cocoa-nut 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.
</p>

<pb n='165'/><anchor id='Pg165'/>

<p>
The noontide 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.
</p>

<p>
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 produced,
among other dainties, a baked pig, an article which, I have
every reason to suppose, was provided for my sole gratification.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 and 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
The damsels wear nothing but flowers and their compendious gala
<pb n='166'/><anchor id='Pg166'/>tunics; and when they plume themselves for the dance, one would almost
think that they were about to take wing.
</p>

<p>
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 awhile, 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 the night—sleep. With the Marquesans it might
almost 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.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="20" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='167'/><anchor id='Pg167'/>
<index index="toc" level1="XX. Monuments"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER XX</head>

<argument><p>
The spring of Arva Wai—Remarkable monumental remains—Some ideas
with regard to the history of the pi-pis found in the valley.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
The mineral waters of Arva Wai<note place="foot">I presume this might be translated into <q>Strong Waters.</q> Arva is the
name bestowed upon a root, the properties of which are both inebriating and
medicinal. <q>Wai</q> is the Marquesan word for water.</note> 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='168'/><anchor id='Pg168'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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 Druid.
</p>

<p>
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 hillside. 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 its existence.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='169'/><anchor id='Pg169'/>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 countrymen knew
anything about them.
</p>

<p>
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
end 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 those majestic
trees which overshadow them have grown and flourished and decayed
since first they were erected!
</p>

<p>
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 will 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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='170'/><anchor id='Pg170'/>composing them, are comparatively small: but there are other and
larger erections of a similar description comprising the <q>morais,</q> 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?
</p>

<p>
All of these larger pi-pis—like that of the Hoolah Hoolah ground in
the Typee valley—bore incontestable 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="21" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='171'/><anchor id='Pg171'/>
<index index="toc" level1="XXI. A Festival"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER XXI</head>

<argument><p>
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.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
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 restrained her from approaching a habitation which
might be regarded as a sort of Bachelor’s Hall.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
This building appeared to be the headquarters 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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='172'/><anchor id='Pg172'/>himself was sure to be found enjoying his <q>otium cum dignitate</q> 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 <q>tammaree!</q> (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 unexceptional repasts.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
After observing these lively indications for awhile, 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.
</p>

<p>
Without letting any blood from the body, it was immediately carried
to a fire which had been kindled near at hand, and four savages
<pb n='173'/><anchor id='Pg173'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 on 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.
</p>

<p>
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 cocoa-nuts in the surrounding groves; while an exceeding great
multitude, with a view of encouraging the rest in their labours, stood
still, and kept shouting most lustily without intermission.
</p>

<p>
It is a peculiarity among these people, that when engaged in any
employment they always make a prodigious fuss about it. So seldom
<pb n='174'/><anchor id='Pg174'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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 himself. 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.
</p>

<p>
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 cocoa-nut shells, and looked not unlike a cenotaph
of skulls. My cicerone perceived the astonishment with which I gazed
<pb n='175'/><anchor id='Pg175'/>at this monument of savage crockery, and immediately addressed himself
to 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 <q>Feast of
Calabashes.</q>
</p>
    <anchor id="illus5"/>
<pgIf output='txt'><then>
  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: THUS ARRAYED, I WOULD HAVE MATCHED THE CHARMING FAYAWAY AGAINST ANY
BEAUTY IN THE WORLD]</p>
</then><else><pgIf output="pdf"><then><p><figure url="images/illus5.jpg" rend="width: 100%"><head><hi rend="font-size: small">THUS ARRAYED, I WOULD HAVE MATCHED THE CHARMING FAYAWAY AGAINST ANY
BEAUTY IN THE WORLD</hi></head></figure></p></then>
<else><p><figure url="images/illus5th.jpg"><head><xref url="images/illus5.jpg"><hi rend="font-size: small">THUS ARRAYED, I WOULD HAVE MATCHED THE CHARMING FAYAWAY AGAINST ANY
BEAUTY IN THE WORLD</hi></xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: THUS ARRAYED, I WOULD HAVE MATCHED THE CHARMING FAYAWAY AGAINST ANY BEAUTY IN THE WORLD</figDesc></figure></p></else></pgIf>
</else></pgIf>
<p>
The following morning, awakening 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 <q>aka,</q> arranging their long tresses, and performing other
matters connected with the duties of the toilet.
</p>

<p>
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 superadded 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.
</p>

<p>
Thus arrayed, I would have matched the charming Fayaway against
any beauty in the world.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='176'/><anchor id='Pg176'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 girls, who were
sitting near us on the grass surrounded by heaps of flowers, which they
<pb n='177'/><anchor id='Pg177'/>were forming into garlands. I motioned to them to bring some of
their handy-work 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 a slow and dignified step of a full-dressed beau I
ascended the rock.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="22" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='178'/><anchor id='Pg178'/>
<index index="toc" level1="XXII. The Feast of Calabashes"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER XXII</head>

<argument><p>
The Feast of Calabashes.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
So soon as I mounted to the pi-pi I saw at a glance that the revels
were fairly under way.
</p>

<p>
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, filled 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
numer<pb n='179'/><anchor id='Pg179'/>ous hogs which had been slain, done up in this manner to make it
more accessible to the crowd. Leaning against the railing of 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.
</p>

<p>
The banquet being thus spread, nought remained but for every one
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.
</p>

<p>
Within the building itself was presented a most extraordinary scene.
The immense lounge of mats lying between the parallel rows of the
trunks of cocoa-nut 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 cocoa-nut 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.
</p>

<p>
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
for<pb n='180'/><anchor id='Pg180'/>eigners, 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.
</p>

<p>
There were many in the Ti for whom the tobacco did not furnish
a sufficient stimulus, and who accordingly had recourse to <q>arva,</q>
as a more powerful agent in producing the desired effect.
</p>

<p>
<q>Arva</q> 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 <q>arva,</q> broken into small bits and laid by
his side. A cocoa-nut goblet of water was passed around the juvenile
company, who rinsing their mouth with its contents, proceeded to the
business before them. This merely consisted in thoroughly masticating
the <q>arva,</q> 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 <q>arva</q> has medicinal qualities.
</p>

<p>
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 which for so many years has been gradually depopulating
those fine and interesting islands. But the tenants of the
Typee valley, as yet exempt from these inflictions, generally employ
<pb n='181'/><anchor id='Pg181'/>the <q>arva</q> as a minister to social enjoyment, and a calabash of the
liquid circulates among them as the bottle with us.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>cockoo,</q> well knowing my partiality for that dish; and had
likewise selected three or four young cocoa-nuts, 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.
</p>

<p>
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 in the groves, where
they obtain no small portion of their nourishment from the cocoa-nuts
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 cocoa-nut, 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 the next knock it on one
side, pausing immediately after, as if wondering how it could so
suddenly have disappeared. In this way the persecuted cocoa-nuts
were often chased half across the valley.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='182'/><anchor id='Pg182'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
side, 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='183'/><anchor id='Pg183'/>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 either end, were deposited green bread-fruit in baskets of
cocoa-nut leaves, large rolls of tappa, bunches of white 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.
</p>

<p>
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 singular ornaments were intended, I in vain endeavoured
to discover.
</p>

<p>
Another most striking feature of the performance was exhibited by
a score of old men, who sat cross-legged in the little pulpits, which
en<pb n='184'/><anchor id='Pg184'/>circled 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 nearly 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.
</p>

<p>
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 chatting 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="23" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='185'/><anchor id='Pg185'/>
<index index="toc" level1="XXIII. Religion of the Typees"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER XXIII</head>

<argument><p>
Ideas suggested by the Feast of Calabashes—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.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
Yet, notwithstanding all I observed on this occasion, 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 in me
to pry into theirs.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='186'/><anchor id='Pg186'/>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 cocoa-nut 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.<note place="foot">White appears to be the sacred colour among the Marquesans.</note> 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.
</p>

<p>
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 sea-shells, 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 dropped over the eaves, and
through them you saw the warrior, holding his paddle with both hands
<pb n='187'/><anchor id='Pg187'/>in the act of rowing, leaning forward and inclining his head, as if
eager to hurry on his voyage. Glaring at him for ever, and face to
face, was a polished human skull, which crowned the prow of the
canoe. The spectral figure-head, reversed in its position, glancing
backwards, seemed to mock the impatient attitude of the warrior.
</p>

<p>
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 cocoa-nuts and bananas;
there they reposed through the live-long eternity upon mats
much finer than those of Typee; and every day bathed their glowing
limbs in rivers of cocoa-nut 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. <q>A very pleasant place,</q> Kory-Kory said it was;
<q>but, after all, not much pleasanter, he thought, than Typee.</q> <q>Did
he not, then,</q> I asked him, <q>wish to accompany the warrior?</q> <q>Oh,
no; he was very happy where he was; but supposed that some time
or other he would go in his own canoe.</q>
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
Could it have been, then, that when I asked him whether he desired
to go to this heaven of bread-fruit, cocoa-nuts, and young ladies, which
<pb n='188'/><anchor id='Pg188'/>he had been describing, he answered by saying something equivalent
to our old adage—<q>A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush!</q>—if
he did, Kory-Kory was a discreet and sensible fellow, and I cannot
sufficiently admire his shrewdness.
</p>

<p>
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, <q>God speed, and
a pleasant voyage.</q> Ay, 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 images. 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 as harmless as any other
logs of wood; and the priests were the merriest dogs in the valley.
</p>

<p>
In fact, religious affairs in Typee were at a very low ebb. All such
<pb n='189'/><anchor id='Pg189'/>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.
</p>

<p>
A curious evidence of this was given in a remarkable ceremony,
in which I frequently saw Mehevi and several other chiefs and warriors
of note take part; but never a single female.
</p>

<p>
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 cocoa-nut 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
tranfixed 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
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
<pb n='190'/><anchor id='Pg190'/>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 <q>crack</q> god of the island;
lording it over all the wooden lubbers who looked so grim and
dreadful; its name was Moa Artua.<note place="foot">The word <q>Artua,</q> although having some other significations, is in nearly
all the Polynesian dialects used as the general designation of the gods.</note> 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.
</p>

<p>
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 dangling 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.
</p>

<p>
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 communicate
a secret to a deaf man, all at once flies into a passion and screams
<pb n='191'/><anchor id='Pg191'/>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 <q>motarkee</q> 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 <q>Aa, Aa</q> (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 of 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.
</p>

<p>
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 time-serving disposition of this hardly-used deity.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='192'/><anchor id='Pg192'/>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.
</p>

<p>
The whole of these proceedings were like those of a parcel of children
playing with dolls and baby-houses.
</p>

<p>
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 cocoa-nut 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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='193'/><anchor id='Pg193'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>Freemasons</q> making
secret signs to each other: I saw everything, but could comprehend
nothing.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>independent
electors</q> of the valley were not to be browbeaten by chiefs, priests,
idols, 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 <q><hi rend='italic'>pretty straight</hi>,</q> 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 eat them
in spite of its teeth.
</p>

<p>
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
origi<pb n='194'/><anchor id='Pg194'/>nally 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.
</p>

<p>
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
of 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, by placing
a stick between it and pi-pi, the monster fell clumsily to the ground,
and would 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
<pb n='195'/><anchor id='Pg195'/>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.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="24" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='196'/><anchor id='Pg196'/>
<index index="toc" level1="XXIV. Beauty of the Typees"/><index index="pdf"/>
    <head>CHAPTER XXIV</head>

<argument><p>
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.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 unexceptional figures in our frequented thoroughfares.
<pb n='197'/><anchor id='Pg197'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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 Typees to be far more beautiful than ivory itself. The jaws of
the oldest greybeards among them were much better garnished than
those 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. This 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.
</p>

<p>
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, 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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,
<pb n='198'/><anchor id='Pg198'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>papa</q> 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
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.
</p>

<p>
The <q>papa,</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
All the islanders are more or less in the habit of anointing themselves;
the women preferring the <q>aker</q> or <q>papa,</q> and the men using
the oil of the cocoa-nut. Mehevi was remarkably fond of mollifying
<pb n='199'/><anchor id='Pg199'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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. <anchor id="corr199"/><corr sic="Figneroa">Figueroa</corr>,
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 procession, about seventy canoes, and at the same
time many of the inhabitants (females, I presume) made towards the
ships by swimming. He adds, that <q>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.</q>
The old Don then goes on to say, <q>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.</q>
</p>

<p>
Some of the natives present at the Feast of Calabashes had displayed
a few articles of European dress, disposed, however, about their
per<pb n='200'/><anchor id='Pg200'/>sons after their own peculiar fashion. Among these I perceived the
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 shoulders, strips of fanciful calico, swathed about the
loins, were nearly all I saw.
</p>

<p>
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 worthless. 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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='201'/><anchor id='Pg201'/>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.
</p>
    <anchor id="illus6"/>
<pgIf output='txt'><then>
  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: MEHEVI]</p>
</then><else><pgIf output="pdf"><then><p><figure url="images/illus6.jpg" rend="width: 100%"><head><hi rend="font-size: small">MEHEVI</hi></head></figure></p></then>
<else><p><figure url="images/illus6th.jpg"><head><xref url="images/illus6.jpg"><hi rend="font-size: small">MEHEVI</hi></xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: MEHEVI</figDesc></figure></p></else></pgIf>
</else></pgIf>
<p>
During the festival, I had not failed to remark the simplicity of
manner, the freedom from all restraint, and, to a 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.
</p>

<p>
The particular grades of rank existing among the chiefs of Typee,
I could not in all cases determine. Previous to the Feast of
Cala<pb n='202'/><anchor id='Pg202'/>bashes, 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.
</p>

<p>
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 far inferior to his.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
After having made this discovery I could not avoid congratulating
<pb n='203'/><anchor id='Pg203'/>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.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="25" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='204'/><anchor id='Pg204'/>
<index index="toc" level1="XXV. Marriage Customs"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER XXV</head>

<argument><p>
King Mehevi—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.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
King Mehevi!—A goodly sounding title!—and why should I not
bestow it upon the foremost man in the valley? All hail, therefore,
Mehevi, king over all the Typees! and long life and prosperity to his
tropical majesty! But to be sober again after this loyal burst.
</p>

<p>
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 connexion of man and wife. To be sure,
there were old Marheyo and Tinor, who seemed to live together quite
sociably; but for all that, I had sometimes observed a comical-looking
old gentleman, dressed in a suit of shabby tattooing, who appeared
to be equally at home. This behaviour, until subsequent discoveries
enlightened me, puzzled me more than anything else I witnessed in
Typee.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>Bachelor’s Hall</q> 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.
<pb n='205'/><anchor id='Pg205'/>I strongly suspected, however, that some of those 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. Mehevi, however, was not the only person upon whom the
damsel Moonoony smiled—the young fellow of fifteen, who permanently
resided in the house with her, was decidedly in her good graces.
This too was a mystery which, with others of the same kind, was afterwards
satisfactorily explained.
</p>

<p>
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 marked 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; while 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
these people. It answers, indeed, the same purpose as the plain gold
ring worn by our fairer spouses.
</p>

<p>
After Kory-Kory’s explanation of the subject, I was for some time
studiously respectful in the presence of all females thus distinguished,
<pb n='206'/><anchor id='Pg206'/>and never ventured to indulge in the slightest approach to flirtation
with any of their number.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>popping the
question,</q> as it is termed with us, might have been followed by an
immediate nuptial alliance. At any rate, tedious courtships are unknown
in the valley of Typee.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='207'/><anchor id='Pg207'/>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 hen-pecked 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 husbands.
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.
</p>

<p>
But, notwithstanding its existence among them, 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.
</p>

<p>
I have before had occasion to remark that I never saw any of the
ordinary signs of a place 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 ramble 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 situated in the shadowy recesses along the base of
the mountains. At Nukuheva, two or three large quadrangular
<q>pi-pis,</q> 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,
<pb n='208'/><anchor id='Pg208'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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, that the
observances of the Typees in these matters are the same with those
of all other tribes on the island, I will here relate a scene I chanced
to witness at Nukuheva.
</p>

<p>
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 new white tappa, was laid out in an open shed of cocoa-nut
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 were 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
<pb n='209'/><anchor id='Pg209'/>seemed to enjoy themselves as pleasantly as they could have done had
it been a wedding.
</p>

<p>
The islanders understand the art of embalming, and practice 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="26" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='210'/><anchor id='Pg210'/>
<index index="toc" level1="XXVI. Social Conditions"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER XXVI
</head>

<argument><p>
The social condition and general character of the Typees.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
There seemed to be no rogues of any kind in Typee. In the darkest
nights the natives 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, 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 Warmoonoo—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 cocoa-nut 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 Kurluna. 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.<note place="foot">The strict honesty which the inhabitants of nearly all the Polynesian
Islands manifest towards 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.</note>
</p>

<pb n='211'/><anchor id='Pg211'/>

<p>
So much for the respect in which such matters are held in Typee.
As to the land of the valley, whether it was the joint property of its
inhabitants, or whether it was parcelled out among a certain number
of landed proprietors, who allowed everybody to roam over it as much
as they pleased, I never could ascertain. At any rate, musty parchments
and title-deeds there were none in the island; and I am half
inclined to believe that its inhabitants hold their broad valleys in
fee simple from nature herself.
</p>

<p>
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 cocoa-nut leaves. To-day 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 were 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 tramping 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.
</p>

<p>
From what I have said, it will be perceived that there is a vast
difference between <q>personal property</q> and <q>real estate</q> 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
<pb n='212'/><anchor id='Pg212'/>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, constitute the chief
differences perceivable in the relative wealth of the people in Typee.
</p>

<p>
They lived in great harmony with each other. I will give an instance
of their fraternal feeling.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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,
<pb n='213'/><anchor id='Pg213'/>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 that 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='214'/><anchor id='Pg214'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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, at 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!
</p>

<p>
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 preliminary 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
<pb n='215'/><anchor id='Pg215'/>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.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="27" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='216'/><anchor id='Pg216'/>
<index index="toc" level1="XXVII. Fishing Parties"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER XXVII</head>

<argument><p>
Fishing parties—Mode of distributing the fish—Midnight banquet—Timekeeping
tapers—Unceremonious style of eating the fish.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
There was no instance in which the social and kindly dispositions of
the Typees were more forcibly evinced than in the manner they 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 resembled very much our own seines, and I
should think they were very nearly as durable.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
During their absence, the whole population of the place were in a
ferment, and nothing was talked of but <q>pehee, pehee</q> (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,
<pb n='217'/><anchor id='Pg217'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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 of colour. 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 despatched in
every direction to the remotest part 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.
</p>

<p>
Once, I remember, the party arrived at midnight; but the unseasonableness
of the hour did not repress the impatience of the islanders.
The carriers despatched 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 cocoa-nut 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.
</p>

<p>
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
intel<pb n='218'/><anchor id='Pg218'/>ligence contained in the words <q>pehee perni</q> (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.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>amar</q> was cut up with a sliver of bamboo, and laid
out on an immense banana leaf.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>armor,</q>
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
cocoa-nut 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 cocoa-nut 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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='219'/><anchor id='Pg219'/>mouth, the animal disappears with a rapidity that would at first
nearly lead one to imagine it had been launched bodily down the
throat.
</p>

<p>
Raw fish! Shall I ever forget my sensation 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.
</p>

<p>
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 my knife previously to making
my repast.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="28" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='220'/><anchor id='Pg220'/>
<index index="toc" level1="XXVIII. Natural History"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER XXVIII</head>

<argument><p>
Natural history of the valley—Golden lizards—Tameness of the birds—Mosquitoes—Flies—Dogs—A
solitary cat—The climate—The cocoa-nut
tree—Singular modes of climbing it—An agile young chief—Fearlessness
of the children—Too-too and the cocoa-nut tree—The birds of the valley.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
There were some curious-looking dogs in the valley. 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.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>taboo.</q>
</p>

<p>
As for the animal that made the fortune of my 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 tormented some of the olden saints! I am one
of those unfortunate persons, to whom the sight of these animals is at
any time an insufferable annoyance.
</p>

<p>
Thus constitutionally averse to cats in general, the unexpected apparition
of this one in particular utterly confounded me. When I had
<pb n='221'/><anchor id='Pg221'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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 cocoa-nut 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
I remember that once, on an uninhabited island of the Gallipagos, a
bird alighted on my outstretched arm, while its mate chirped from
<pb n='222'/><anchor id='Pg222'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
compartment, 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.
</p>

<p>
There are no wild animals of any kind on the island, unless it be
de<pb n='223'/><anchor id='Pg223'/>cided 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.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>fine day,</q> and the promise of a few
genial showers he hails with pleasure. There is never any of that
<q>remarkable weather</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
It is this genial climate which causes the cocoa-nuts to flourish as
they do. This invaluable fruit, brought to perfection by the rich soil
of the Marquesas, and borne 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
<pb n='224'/><anchor id='Pg224'/>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 demijohns of different vintages.
</p>

<p>
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 cocoa-nut 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.
</p>

<p>
I will endeavour to describe the way in which Narnee, a noble young
chief, sometimes performed this feat for my particular 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 arms, 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 schoolboy about to catch a falling
<pb n='225'/><anchor id='Pg225'/>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 after 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 either 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 cocoa-nut 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.
</p>

<p>
What, thought I, on first witnessing one of these exhibitions, would
<pb n='226'/><anchor id='Pg226'/>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.
</p>

<p>
At the top of the cocoa-nut 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 aërial 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—
</p>

<lg>
<l>There’s a sweet little cherub that sits up aloft,</l>
<l>To look out for the life of poor Jack.</l>
</lg>

<p>
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!
</p>

<pb n='227'/><anchor id='Pg227'/>

<p>
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.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="29" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='228'/><anchor id='Pg228'/>
<index index="toc" level1="XXIX. Tattooing"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER XXIX</head>

<argument><p>
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.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 cocoa-nut shell containing
this fluid was placed upon the ground. It is prepared by
mixing with a vegetable juice the ashes of the <q>armor,</q> 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 of 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,
<pb n='229'/><anchor id='Pg229'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 all 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.
</p>

<p>
Horrified at the bare thought of being rendered hideous for life
<pb n='230'/><anchor id='Pg230'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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 figurehead, 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.
</p>

<p>
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 <hi rend='italic'>face</hi> to return to my countrymen,
even should an opportunity offer.
</p>

<p>
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.
Sev<pb n='231'/><anchor id='Pg231'/>eral 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!
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
Soon afterwards he repeated his suggestion, and meeting with a
like 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 <q>face divine,</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
But not so some other of the savages. Hardly a day passed but I
<pb n='232'/><anchor id='Pg232'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>Taboo,</q> it
always appeared inexplicable to me.
</p>

<p>
There is a marked similarity, almost an identity, between the religious
institutions of most of the Polynesian islands, and in all exists
the mysterious <q>Taboo,</q> 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
<pb n='233'/><anchor id='Pg233'/>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.
</p>

<p>
For several days after entering the valley I had been saluted at
least fifty times in the twenty-four hours with the talismanic word <q>Taboo</q>
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 <q>Taboo!</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
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 awhile 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
<pb n='234'/><anchor id='Pg234'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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 redoubled 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 <q>Taboo!</q>
</p>

<p>
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
vigorous taboo, which interdicted the whole masculine gender from
even so much as touching it.
</p>

<p>
Frequently in walking through the groves I observed bread-fruit
and cocoa-nut 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.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>Taboo.</q> 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 received this sacred investiture.
</p>

<pb n='235'/><anchor id='Pg235'/>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
I witnessed a striking instance of its effects in the bay of Tior, my
visit to which place occurred a few days before leaving the ship. 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.
</p>

<p>
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. <q>Taboo,</q>
shrieked the affrighted savages. <q>Oh, hang your taboo,</q> says the
nautical sportsman; <q>talk taboo to the marines</q>; 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.
</p>

<p>
All that afternoon the rocky sides of the valley rang with successive
reports, and the superb plumage of many a beautiful fowl was ruffled
<pb n='236'/><anchor id='Pg236'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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 awhile 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.
</p>

<p>
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——.
</p>

<p>
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 to-day, and withdrawn to-morrow;
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,
<pb n='237'/><anchor id='Pg237'/>I may cite the law which forbids a female to enter a canoe—a prohibition
which prevails upon all the northern Marquesas Islands.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>taboo.</q>
</p>

<p>
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 <q>lumee lumee,</q> <q>poee
poee,</q> <q>muee muee,</q> is one of their peculiar features. But another,
and a more annoying one, is the different sense 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 anyways analogous thereto, the particular meaning
being shown chiefly by a variety of gestures, and the eloquent expression
of the countenance.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="30" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='238'/><anchor id='Pg238'/>
<index index="toc" level1="XXX. Music"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER XXX</head>

<argument><p>
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.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 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 farther end of the house, I could not avoid looking at
them, although the spectacle suggested nothing but unpleasant reflections.
The flickering rays of the <q>armor</q> nut just served to reveal
their savage lineaments, without dispelling the darkness that hovered
about them.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='239'/><anchor id='Pg239'/>was almost tempted to believe that I gazed upon a set of evil beings
in the act of working a frightful incantation.
</p>

<p>
What was the meaning or purpose of this custom, whether it was
practised merely as a diversion, or whether it was a religious exercise,
a sort of family prayers, I never could discover.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<milestone unit="tb" rend="stars: 10"/>

<p>
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 among other nations.
</p>

<p>
I never shall forget the first time I happened to roar out a stave in
the presence of the noble Mehevi. It was a stanza from the <q>Bavarian
Broom-seller.</q> His Typean 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
<pb n='240'/><anchor id='Pg240'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<milestone unit="tb" rend="stars: 10"/>

<p>
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.
</p>

<milestone unit="tb" rend="stars: 10"/>

<p>
Singing was not the only means I possessed of diverting the royal
Mehevi and his easy-going subjects. Nothing afforded them more
pleasure than to see me go through the attitudes of a 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
<pb n='241'/><anchor id='Pg241'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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 but 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.
</p>

<milestone unit="tb" rend="stars: 10"/>

<p>
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 and 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 afterward I observed the 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
is<pb n='242'/><anchor id='Pg242'/>landers 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 <anchor id="corr242"/><corr sic="as">is</corr> 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!
</p>

<milestone unit="tb" rend="stars: 10"/>

<p>
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 up on the crown of the head and there coiled away; whether
it be built up in a great tower, with combs and pins, or is plastered
over the head in sleek, shiny folds; 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.
</p>

<p>
The Typee girls devote much of their time to the dressing of their
hair 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 cocoa-nut. This
oil is obtained in great abundance, by the following very simple process:—
</p>

<p>
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
a 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
<pb n='243'/><anchor id='Pg243'/>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.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="31" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='244'/><anchor id='Pg244'/>
<index index="toc" level1="XXXI. Cannibalism"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER XXXI</head>

<argument><p>
Apprehensions of evil—Frightful discovery—Some remarks on cannibalism—Second
battle with the Happars—Savage spectacle—Mysterious feast—Subsequent
disclosures.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
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 toward me was as kind as
ever. Faraway 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 wanderings
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='245'/><anchor id='Pg245'/>medical relief I needed, and that, although so near, it was impossible
for me to avail myself of it, the thought was misery.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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, always refused
to gratify me in this.
</p>

<p>
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 other, 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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='246'/><anchor id='Pg246'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
Gracious God! what dreadful thoughts entered my mind. 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 event? My imagination ran riot in these horrid speculations,
and I felt certain that the worst possible evils would befall me. But
<pb n='247'/><anchor id='Pg247'/>whatever were my misgivings, I studiously concealed them from the
islanders, as well as the full extent of the discovery I had made.
</p>

<p>
Although the assurances which the Typees had often given me, that
they never ate 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.
</p>

<p>
It is a singular fact, that in all our accounts of cannibal tribes we
have seldom received the testimony of an eye-witness to the 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.
</p>

<p>
But to my story.
</p>

<p>
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 pæans 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
nar<pb n='248'/><anchor id='Pg248'/>row 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
The excited throng of islanders, who surrounded the person of the
king and the dead bodies of the enemy, approached the spot where I
<pb n='249'/><anchor id='Pg249'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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 connexion 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.
</p>

<p>
The next morning, shortly after sunrise, the same thundering sounds
<pb n='250'/><anchor id='Pg250'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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, <q>Taboo, taboo!</q>
</p>

<p>
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 <q>Hoolah Hoolah</q> (the feast),
they 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.
</p>

<p>
Everything, in short, strengthened my suspicions with regard to
<pb n='251'/><anchor id='Pg251'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 connexion 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
<pb n='252'/><anchor id='Pg252'/>ejaculated, <q>Taboo! taboo!</q> 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!
</p>

<p>
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, <q>Puarkee!
puarkee!</q> (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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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?
</p>

<p>
One only hope remained to me. The French could not long defer
<pb n='253'/><anchor id='Pg253'/>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?
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="32" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='254'/><anchor id='Pg254'/>
<index index="toc" level1="XXXII. Attempt To Escape"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER XXXII</head>

<argument><p>
The stranger again arrives in the valley—Singular interview with him—Attempt
to escape—Failure—Melancholy situation—Sympathy of Marheyo.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
<q>Marnoo, Marnoo pemi!</q> Such were the welcome sounds which
fell upon my ear some ten days after the event 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 resolved, at all
hazards, to concert with him some scheme, however desperate, to rescue
me from a condition that had now become insupportable.
</p>

<p>
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
last come? He replied, from Pueearka, his native valley, and that he
intended to return to it the same day.
</p>

<p>
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. <q>Kannaka no let you
go nowhere,</q> he said, <q>you taboo. Why you no like to stay? Plenty
moee-moee (sleep)—plenty ki-ki (eat)—plenty whihenee (young
girls). Oh, very good place, Typee! Suppose you no like this bay,
<pb n='255'/><anchor id='Pg255'/>why you come? You no hear about Typee? All white men afraid
Typee, so no white men come.</q>
</p>

<p>
These words distressed me beyond belief; and when I 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 endured, he listened to me with impatience, and cut
me short by exclaiming, passionately, <q>Me no hear you talk any more;
by by Kannaka get mad, kill you and me too. No, you see he no want
you to speak to me 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 Kannaka.
Now you listen—but no talk any more. By by I go;—you see
way I go. Ah! then some night Kannaka all moee-moee (sleep)—you
run away—you come Pueearka. I speak Pueearka Kannaka—he no
harm you—ah! then I take you my canoe Nukuheva, and you no run
away ship no more.</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
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 endeavours 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.
</p>

<p>
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,
<q>Now you see you do what I tell you—ah! then you do good;—you
no do so—ah! then you die.</q> The next moment he waved his
spear in adieu 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.
</p>

<pb n='256'/><anchor id='Pg256'/>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 everybody else; and
on more than one occasion I had remarked that the islanders were
nearly as irritable as more civilized beings under similar circumstances.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='257'/><anchor id='Pg257'/>were again asleep, I would then steal forth, and at once take the route
to Pueearka.
</p>
    <anchor id="illus7"/>
<pgIf output='txt'><then>
  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: ABOUT MIDNIGHT I AROSE AND DREW THE SLIDE]</p>
</then><else><pgIf output="pdf"><then><p><figure url="images/illus7.jpg" rend="width: 100%"><head><hi rend="font-size: small">ABOUT MIDNIGHT I AROSE AND DREW THE
SLIDE</hi></head></figure></p></then>
<else><p><figure url="images/illus7th.jpg"><head><xref url="images/illus7.jpg"><hi rend="font-size: small">ABOUT MIDNIGHT I AROSE AND DREW THE
      SLIDE</hi></xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: ABOUT MIDNIGHT I AROSE AND DREW THE SLIDE</figDesc></figure></p></else></pgIf>
</else></pgIf>
<p>
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, <q>Arware poo awa, Tommo?</q> (where
are you going, Tommo?) <q>Wai,</q> (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.
</p>

<p>
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 manœuvre, 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<pb n='258'/><anchor id='Pg258'/>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 cocoa-nut 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.
</p>

<p>
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 recall to my mind their slender shafts, and the graceful inequalities
of their bark, on which my eye was accustomed to dwell,
<pb n='259'/><anchor id='Pg259'/>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.
</p>

</div><div type="chapter" n="33" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='260'/><anchor id='Pg260'/>
<index index="toc" level1="XXXIII. The Escape"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>CHAPTER XXXIII</head>

<argument><p>
The escape.
</p>
</argument>
<p>
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 forward towards me as I lay directly facing him, said, in
a low tone, <q>Toby pemi ena,</q> (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.
</p>

<p>
All that I could comprehend of the particulars which Mow-Mow
rehearsed to his auditors 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.
</p>

<p>
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, and at every fresh
re<pb n='261'/><anchor id='Pg261'/>port that was brought from the shore they betrayed the liveliest emotions.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 his 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='262'/><anchor id='Pg262'/>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—<q>Toby
owlee permi.</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='263'/><anchor id='Pg263'/>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 froward 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='264'/><anchor id='Pg264'/>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 one expressive English word
I had taught him—<q>Home.</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
We proceeded onwards, and never shall I forget the ecstacy 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.
</p>

<p>
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 short
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.
</p>

<p>
Looking in the direction of the sound, I perceived, to my indescribable
joy, the tall figure of Karakoee, an Oahu Kannaka, who had
often been aboard the <name type="ship">Dolly</name> while she lay in Nukuheva. He wore
the green shooting-jacket, with gilt buttons, which had been given to
<pb n='265'/><anchor id='Pg265'/>him by an officer of the <name type="ship">Reine Blanche</name>—the French flag-ship—and in
which I had always seen him dressed. I now remembered the Kannaka
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
The Kannaka, 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.
</p>

<p>
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—<q>Roo-ne! Roo-ne!</q> which I had heard repeated a thousand
times during the day, was now shouted on every side of me. Still
I saw that the Kannaka 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
<pb n='266'/><anchor id='Pg266'/>the clamours of those around him, who seemed bent upon driving him
into the sea.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 convulsively. I saw that now or never was the
moment. Clasping my hands together, I looked imploringly at Marheyo,
and moved 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 Kannaka, 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
<pb n='267'/><anchor id='Pg267'/>of gratitude I could show, to give them the articles which had been
brought as my ransom. I handed the musket to Kory-Kory, in doing
which he would fain have taken hold of me, 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
beach, 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 Kannaka all the while exclaiming loudly against what he
considered a useless throwing away of valuable property.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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, <q>Roo-ne!
Roo-ne!</q> 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
<pb n='268'/><anchor id='Pg268'/>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 swimmers 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.
</p>

<p>
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 manœuvre which proved so fatal to many a boat’s
crew in these seas. They would grapple the oars, and, seizing hold of
the gunwale, capsize the boat, and then we should be entirely at their
mercy.
</p>

<p>
After a few breathless moments I 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 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.
</p>

<p>
Only one other of the savages reached the boat. He seized the
gunwale, 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.
</p>

<milestone unit="tb" rend="stars: 10"/>

<p>
The circumstances connected with my most unexpected escape may be
very briefly stated. The captain of an Australian vessel being in
<pb n='269'/><anchor id='Pg269'/>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 Kannaka 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 <q>off and on</q> awaiting its return.
</p>

<p>
The events which ensued have already been detailed, and little more
remains to be related. On reaching the <name type="ship">Julia</name>, 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>
</div>
<div type="chapter" rend="page-break-before: always">
<pb n='270'/><anchor id='Pg270'/>
<index index="toc"/><index index="pdf" level1="SEQUEL"/>
<head>SEQUEL</head>

<head type="sub">CONTAINING</head>

<head>THE STORY OF TOBY</head>

<p rend="display">
<hi rend='smallcaps'>Note.</hi>—The Author of <q>Typee</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
Presently they came to a place where the path 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.
</p>

<p>
This was a signal of alarm;—for nothing was now heard but
shouts of <q>Happar! Happar!</q>—the warriors tilting with their spears
<pb n='271'/><anchor id='Pg271'/>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 tenfold.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 about 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
There was a moment’s pause, when the Typees, with wild shrieks,
flung themselves into the covert, spear in hand; nor was Toby behind-hand.
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,
<pb n='272'/><anchor id='Pg272'/>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.
</p>

<p>
It was all a sham, and Toby, who was quite out of breath with
excitement, was much incensed at being made a fool of.
</p>

<p>
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 boy’s 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.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>Moee,</q> 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 awhile, 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.
</p>

<p>
They came out on 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.
</p>

<pb n='273'/><anchor id='Pg273'/>

<p>
No sign of a boat, however, was beheld; nothing but a <anchor id="corr273"/><corr sic="tumultous">tumultuous</corr>
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 <q>Jimmy.</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
This old rover having retired from active life, had resided in Nukuheva
some time—he 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 <name type="ship">Dolly’s</name> 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, his 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.
</p>

<p>
The other prodigy Jimmy told us about, was the younger son of a
<pb n='274'/><anchor id='Pg274'/>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 this strange crest, being actually
endowed with a cock’s voice, and frequently crowing over his peculiarity.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 <q>taboo.</q>
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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,
<pb n='275'/><anchor id='Pg275'/>and he would be glad to take him over, and see him on board that
very day.
</p>

<p>
<q>No,</q> said Toby; <q>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.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>But how is he to cross the mountain with us,</q> replied Jimmy,
<q>even if we get him down to the beach? Better let him stay till
to-morrow, and I will bring him round to Nukuheva in the boats.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>That will never do,</q> said Toby; <q>but come along with me now,
and let us get him down here at any rate</q>; 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 farther.
</p>

<p>
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 to do so, though, at the same time, he was not afraid of their
offering him any harm.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='276'/><anchor id='Pg276'/>a ruinous little shrine, supported by four upright paddles, 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 <q>taboo,</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
<q>Typee Mortarkee?</q> said she. <q>Mortarkee muee,</q> said Toby.
</p>

<p>
She then asked whether he was going to Nukuheva; he nodded
yes; and with a plaintive wail, her eyes filling with tears, she rose
and left him.
</p>

<p>
This old woman, the sailor afterwards said, was the wife of an aged
king of a small inland 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.
</p>

<p>
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. <q>So,</q>
said he, <q>you and I had better go to Nukuheva now overland, and to-morrow
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.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>No, no,</q> said Toby desperately, <q>I will not leave him that way;
we must escape together.</q>
</p>

<pb n='277'/><anchor id='Pg277'/>

<p>
<q>Then there is no hope for you,</q> exclaimed the sailor, <q>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.</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
<q>But how do you know they will bring him down to the beach to-morrow,
when they will not do so to-day?</q> 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 to the valley where I was.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
<q>It is getting late,</q> said Jimmy, who was standing behind the rest.
<q>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.</q>
</p>

<p>
<q>There is no help for it,</q> said Toby, at last, with a heavy heart, <q>I
will have to trust you</q>; and he came out from the shadow of the little
shrine, and cast a long look up the valley.
</p>

<p>
<q>Now keep close to my side,</q> said the sailor, <q>and let us be moving
quickly.</q> Tinor and Fayaway here appeared; the kind-hearted old
woman embracing Toby’s knees, and giving way to a flood of tears;
<pb n='278'/><anchor id='Pg278'/>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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
<q>I have told them that you are coming back again,</q> said the old
fellow, laughing, as they began the ascent, <q>but they’ll have to wait a
long time.</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
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 guarantee for
the other’s return. This is only my own supposition, however, for as
to all their strange conduct, it is still a mystery.
</p>

<p>
<q>You see what sort of a taboo man I am,</q> said the sailor, after for
some time silently following the path which led up the mountain.
<q>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 to-morrow with Tommo. Cheer up, then, and rely
upon me, you will see him in the morning.</q>
</p>

<p>
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
<pb n='279'/><anchor id='Pg279'/>cascades marking the green head of the Typee valley first caught
Toby’s eye; Marheyo’s house could easily be traced by them.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
<q>Now,</q> said Jimmy, as they hurried on, <q>we taboo men have wives
in all the bays, and I am going to show you the two I have here.</q>
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
The old sailor 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.
</p>

<p>
The Happars put many questions to Jimmy about Toby; and
Toby himself looked sharply at them, anxious to recognise 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 him 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.
</p>

<pb n='280'/><anchor id='Pg280'/>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
The island-punch—arva—was brought in at the conclusion of the repast,
and passed round in a shallow calabash.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
The old rover now began to reveal his true character, though he was
hardly suspected at the time. <q>If I get you off to a ship,</q> said he,
<q>you will surely give a poor fellow something for saving you.</q> 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 farther, as soon as my
deliverance was accomplished.
</p>

<pb n='281'/><anchor id='Pg281'/>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 awhile, and had a talk about
the <q>Wee-Wees,</q> as the people of Nukuheva call the Monsieurs.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
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 cocoa-nut milk and poee-poee, they entered a canoe (the
Typee, of <anchor id="corr281"/><corr sic="course">course,</corr> going along) and paddled off to a whale-ship 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.
</p>

<pb n='282'/><anchor id='Pg282'/>

<p>
Toby begged hard for an armed boat, in which to go round to Typee
and rescue me, notwithstanding the promise 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.
</p>

<p>
Before sunrise 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.
</p>

<p>
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, <q>Where is Tommo?</q> 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.
</p>

<p>
Now, situated as Toby was, his sole dependence for the present was
upon Jimmy, and therefore he was fain to comfort himself as well as
he could with what the old sailor told him.
</p>

<p>
The next morning, however, he had the satisfaction of seeing the
French boat start with Jimmy in it. To-night, then, I will see him,
thought Toby; but many a long day passed before he ever saw Tommo
<pb n='283'/><anchor id='Pg283'/>again. Hardly was the boat out of sight, when the captain came forward
and ordered the anchor weighed; he was going to sea.
</p>

<p>
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.
</p>

<p>
... <q>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.</q>
</p>

<p>
There is little more to be related. Toby left his 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, which made Toby’s
heart all the lighter.
</p>

<pb n='284'/><anchor id='Pg284'/>

</div>
</body>
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<div type="appendix">
<pb n='285'/><anchor id='Pg285'/>
<index index="toc"/><index index="pdf"/>
<head>APPENDIX</head>

<p>
The author of this volume arrived at Tahiti the very day that the iniquitous
designs of the French were consummated by inducing the subordinate
chiefs, during the absence of their queen, to ratify an artfully-drawn treaty,
by which she was virtually deposed. Both menaces and caresses were employed
on this occasion, and the 32-pounders which peeped out of the port-holes
of the frigate were the principal arguments adduced to quiet the
scruples of the more conscientious islanders.
</p>

<p>
And yet this piratical seizure of Tahiti, with all the woe and desolation
which resulted from it, created not half so great a sensation, at least in
America, as was caused by the proceedings of the English at the Sandwich
Islands. No transaction has ever been more grossly misrepresented than the
events which occurred upon the arrival of Lord George Paulet at Oahu.
During a residence of four months at Honolulu, the metropolis of the group,
the author was in the confidence of an Englishman who was much employed
by his lordship; and great was the author’s astonishment on his arrival at
Boston, in the autumn of 1844, to read the distorted accounts and fabrications
which had produced in the United States so violent an outbreak of
indignation against the English. He deems it, therefore, a mere act of
justice towards a gallant officer briefly to state the leading circumstances
connected with the event in question.
</p>

<p>
It is needless to rehearse all the abuse that for some time previous to the
spring of 1843 had been heaped upon the British residents, especially upon
Captain Charlton, Her Britannic Majesty’s consul-general, by the native
authorities of the Sandwich Islands. High in the favour of the imbecile
king at this time was one Dr. Judd, a sanctimonious apothecary-adventurer,
who, with other kindred and influential spirits, were animated by an inveterate
dislike to England. The ascendancy of a junta of ignorant and
designing Methodist elders in the councils of a half-civilised king, ruling
with absolute sway over a nation just poised between barbarism and civilisation,
and exposed by the peculiarities of its relations with foreign states to
unusual difficulties, was not precisely calculated to impart a healthy tone to
the policy of the government.
</p>

<p>
At last matters were brought to such an extremity, through the iniquitous
maladministration of affairs, that the endurance of further insults and
<pb n='286'/><anchor id='Pg286'/>injuries on the part of the British consul was no longer to be borne.
Captain Charlton, insultingly forbidden to leave the islands, clandestinely
withdrew, and arriving at Valparaiso, conferred with Rear-Admiral Thomas,
the English commander-in-chief on the Pacific station. In consequence of
this communication, Lord George Paulet was despatched by the admiral in
the <name type="ship">Carysfort</name> frigate, to inquire into and correct the alleged abuses. On
arriving at his destination, he sent his first lieutenant ashore with a letter
to the king, couched in terms of the utmost courtesy, and soliciting the
honour of an audience. The messenger was denied access to His Majesty,
and Paulet was coolly referred to Dr. Judd, and informed that the apothecary
was invested with plenary powers to treat with him. Rejecting this
insolent proposition, his lordship again addressed the king by letter, and
renewed his previous request; but he encountered another repulse. Justly
indignant at this treatment, he penned a third epistle, enumerating the
grievances to be redressed, and demanding a compliance with his requisitions,
under penalty of immediate hostilities.
</p>

<p>
The government was now obliged to act, and an artful stroke of policy
was decided upon by the despicable councillors of the king to entrap the
sympathies and rouse the indignation of Christendom. His Majesty was
made to intimate to the British captain that he could not, as the conscientious
ruler of his beloved people, comply with the arbitrary demands of his
lordship, and in deprecation of the horrors of war, tendered to his
acceptance the <hi rend='italic'>provisional cession</hi> of the islands, subject to the result of
the negotiations then pending in London. Paulet, a bluff and straight-forward
sailor, took the king at his word, and after some preliminary
arrangements, entered upon the administration of Hawaiian affairs, in the
same firm and benignant spirit which marked the discipline of his frigate,
and which had rendered him the idol of his ship’s company. He soon
endeared himself to nearly all orders of the islanders; but the king and the
chiefs, whose feudal sway over the common people was laboriously sought
to be perpetuated by their missionary advisers, regarded all his proceedings
with the most vigilant animosity. Jealous of his growing popularity, and
unable to counteract it, they endeavoured to assail his reputation abroad by
ostentatiously protesting against his acts, and appealing in Oriental phrase
to the <hi rend='italic'>wide universe</hi> to witness and compassionate their <hi rend='italic'>unparalleled
wrongs</hi>.
</p>

<p>
Heedless of their idle clamours, Lord George Paulet addressed himself
to the task of reconciling the differences among the foreign residents,
<pb n='287'/><anchor id='Pg287'/>remedying their grievances, promoting their mercantile interests, and
ameliorating, as far as lay in his power, the condition of the degraded
natives. The iniquities he brought to light and instantly suppressed are
too numerous to be here recorded; but one instance may be mentioned that
will give some idea of the lamentable misrule to which these poor islanders
are subjected.
</p>

<p>
It is well known that the laws at the Sandwich Islands are subject to
the most capricious alterations, which, by confounding all ideas of right
and wrong in the minds of the natives, produce the most pernicious effects.
In no case is this mischief more plainly descernible than in the continually
shifting regulations concerning licentiousness. At one time the most
innocent freedoms between the sexes are punished with fine and imprisonment;
at another the revocation of the statute is followed by the most open
and undisguised profligacy.
</p>

<p>
It so happened that at the period of Paulet’s arrival the Connecticut
blue laws had been for at least three weeks steadily enforced. In consequence
of this, the fort at Honolulu was filled with a great number of
young girls, who were confined there doing penance for their slips from
virtue. Paulet, although at first unwilling to interfere with regulations
having reference solely to the natives themselves, was eventually, by the
prevalence of certain reports, induced to institute a strict inquiry into the
internal administration of General Kekuanoa, governor of the island of
Oahu, one of the pillars of the Hawaiian Church, and captain of the fort.
He soon ascertained that numbers of the young females employed during
the day at work intended for the benefit of the king, were at night
smuggled over the ramparts of the fort—which on one side directly overhangs
the sea—and were conveyed by stealth on board such vessels as had
contracted with the General to be supplied with them. Before daybreak
they returned to their quarters, and their own silence with regard to these
secret excursions was purchased by a small portion of those wages of
iniquity which were placed in the hands of Kekuanoa.
</p>

<p>
The vigour with which the laws concerning licentiousness were at that
period enforced, enabled the General to monopolise in a great measure the
detestable trade in which he was engaged, and there consequently flowed
into his coffers—and some say into those of the government also—considerable
sums of money. It is indeed a lamentable fact that the principal
revenue of the Hawaiian government is derived from the fines levied upon,
or rather the licences taken out by Vice, the prosperity of which is linked
<pb n='288'/><anchor id='Pg288'/>with that of the government. Were the people to become virtuous the
authorities would become poor; but from present indications there is little
apprehension to be entertained on that score.
</p>

<p>
Some five months after the date of the cession, the <name type="ship">Dublin</name> frigate, carrying
the flag of Rear-Admiral Thomas, entered the harbour of Honolulu.
The excitement that her sudden appearance produced on shore was prodigious.
Three days after her arrival an English sailor hauled down the
red cross which had been flying from the heights of the fort, and the
Hawaiian colours were again displayed upon the same staff. At the same
moment the long 42-pounders upon Punchbowl Hill opened their iron
throats in triumphant reply to the thunders of the five men-of-war in the
harbour; and King Kammahammaha III, surrounded by a splendid group
of British and American officers, unfurled the royal standard to assembled
thousands of his subjects, who, attracted by the imposing military display
of the foreigners, had flocked to witness the formal restoration of the
islands to their ancient rulers.
</p>

<p>
The admiral, after sanctioning the proceedings of his subaltern, had
brought the authorities to terms; and so removed the necessity of acting
any longer under the provisional cession.
</p>

<p>
The event was made an occasion of riotous rejoicing by the king and the
principal chiefs, who easily secured a display of enthusiasm from the inferior
orders, by remitting for a time the accustomed severity of the laws.
Royal proclamations in English and Hawaiian were placarded in the streets
of Honolulu, and posted up in the more populous villages of the group, in
which His Majesty announced to his loving subjects the re-establishment of
his throne, and called upon them to celebrate it by breaking through all
moral, legal, and religious restraint for ten consecutive days, during which
time all the laws of the land were solemnly declared to be suspended.
</p>

<p>
Who that happened to be at Honolulu during those ten memorable days
will ever forget them! The spectacle of universal broad-day debauchery,
which was then exhibited, beggars description. The natives of the surrounding
islands flocked to Honolulu by hundreds, and the crews of two
frigates, opportunely let loose like so many demons to swell the heathenish
uproar, gave the crowning flourish to the scene. It was a sort of Polynesian
saturnalia. Deeds too atrocious to be mentioned were done at noon-day
in the open street, and some of the islanders, caught in the very act of
stealing from the foreigners, were, on being taken to the fort by the
aggrieved party, suffered immediately to go at large and to retain the stolen
<pb n='289'/><anchor id='Pg289'/>property—Kekuanoa informing the white men, with a sardonic grin, that
the laws were <q>hannapa</q> (tied up).
</p>

<p>
The history of these ten days reveals in their true colours the character
of the Sandwich islanders, and furnishes an eloquent commentary on the
results which have flowed from the labours of the missionaries. Freed
from the restraint of severe penal laws, the natives almost to a man had
plunged voluntarily into every species of wickedness and excess, and by
their utter disregard of all decency plainly showed that, although they had
been schooled into a seeming submission to the new order of things, they
were in reality as depraved and vicious as ever.
</p>

<p>
Such were the events which produced in America so general an outbreak
of indignation against the spirited and high-minded Paulet. He is not
the first man who, in the fearless discharge of his duty, has awakened the
senseless clamours of those whose narrow-minded suspicions blind them to
a proper appreciation of measures which unusual exigencies may have
rendered necessary.
</p>

<p>
It is almost needless to add that the British cabinet never had any idea
of appropriating the islands; and it furnishes a sufficient vindication of
the acts of Lord George Paulet, that he not only received the unqualified
approbation of his own government, but that to this hour the great body
of the Hawaiian people invoke blessings on his head, and look back with
gratitude to the time when his liberal and paternal sway diffused peace and
happiness among them.
</p>
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            <index index="pdf" level1="Transcriber's Note"/>
                <head>Transcriber&rsquo;s Note</head>
            
                <p>Obvious typographical errors were corrected:</p>
                <list>
                    <item><ref target="corrvi">page vi</ref>, <q>Mysterious</q> changed to <q>mysterious</q></item>
                    <item><ref target="corr002">page 2</ref>, <q>attentuated</q> changed to <q>attenuated</q></item>
                    <item><ref target="corr003">page 3</ref>, quote mark added after first <q>Marquesas!</q></item>
                    <item><ref target="corr007">page 7</ref>, double primes changed to primes in first coordinate</item>
                    <item><ref target="corr018">page 18</ref>, <q>coacoa-nut</q> changed to <q>cocoa-nut</q></item>
                    <item><ref target="corr023">page 23</ref>, period changed to comma after <q>home</q></item>
                    <item><ref target="corr026">page 26</ref>, <q>tatooed</q> changed to <q>tattooed</q></item>
                    <item><ref target="corr052">page 52</ref>, <q>Decend</q> changed to <q>Descend</q></item>
                    <item><ref target="corr062">page 62</ref>, <q>hairbreath</q> changed to <q>hairbreadth</q></item>
                    <item><ref target="corr066">page 66</ref>, <q>inceased</q> changed to <q>increased</q></item>
                    <item><ref target="corr089">page 89</ref>, <q>interwined</q> changed to <q>intertwined</q></item>
                    <item><ref target="corr112">page 112</ref>, <q>preverse</q> changed to <q>perverse</q></item>
                    <item><ref target="corr120">page 120</ref>, <q>kemp</q> changed to <q>kelp</q></item>
                    <item><ref target="corr123">page 123</ref>, <q>As</q> changed to <q>At</q></item>
                    <item><ref target="corr150">page 150</ref>, period added after <q>enemy</q></item>
                    <item><ref target="corr199">page 199</ref>, <q>Figneroa</q> changed to <q>Figueroa</q></item>
                    <item><ref target="corr242">page 242</ref>, <q>as</q> changed to <q>is</q></item>
                    <item><ref target="corr273">page 273</ref>, <q>tumultous</q> changed to <q>tumultuous</q></item>
                    <item><ref target="corr281">page 281</ref>, comma added after <q>course</q></item>
                </list>
    <p>Spelling variations were not normalized (e. g. <q>figure head</q>, <q>figure-head</q> and <q>figurehead</q>,
        <q>forefinger</q> and <q>fore-finger</q>, <q>clamor</q> and <q>clamour</q>, <q>verd-antique</q> and <q>verde-antique</q>,
        <q>incumbrances</q> and <q>encumber</q>).</p>
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