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Typee

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by Herman Melville




  FAYAWAY AND I HAD A DELIGHTFUL LITTLE PARTY ON THE LAKE]

  TYPEE HERMAN MELVILLE

  ILLUSTRATIONS BYMEAD SCHAEFFER

  DODD, MEAD AND COMPANYPUBLISHERS NEW YORK

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER PAGE I A LAND-SICK SHIP 1 The sea--Longings for shore--A land-sick ship--Destination of the voyagers II TO THE MARQUESAS 5 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 _Dolly_ boarded by them--State of affairs that ensue. III AFFAIRS ABOARD 14 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. IV LAST NIGHT ABOARD 21 Thoughts previous to attempting an escape--Toby, a fellow-sailor, agrees to share the adventure--Last night aboard the ship. V THE ESCAPE 26 A specimen of nautical oratory--Criticisms of the sailors--The starboard watch are given a holiday--The escape to the mountains. VI DISAPPOINTMENT 34 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. VII A WILD-GOOSE CHASE 45 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. VIII INTO THE VALLEY 54 Perilous passage of the ravine--Descent into the valley. IX CAUTIOUS ADVANCE 63 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. X MORNING VISITORS 75 Midnight reflections--Morning visitors--A warrior in costume--A savage AEsculapius--Practice of the healing art--Body-servant--A dwelling-house of the valley described--Portraits of its inmates. XI ADVENTURE IN THE DARK 90 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. XII ADVENTURE OF TOBY 101 Attempt to procure relief from Nukuheva--Perilous adventure of Toby in the Happar Mountains--Eloquence of Kory-Kory. XIII A GREAT EVENT 109 A great event happens in the valley--The island telegraph--Something befalls Toby--Fayaway displays a tender heart--Melancholy reflections--Mysterious conduct of the islanders--Devotion of Kory-Kory--A rural couch--A luxury--Kory-Kory strikes a light _a la_ Typee. XIV KINDNESS OF THE ISLANDERS 120 Kindness of Marheyo and the rest of the islanders--A full description of the bread-fruit tree--Different modes of preparing the fruit. XV MELANCHOLY CONDITION 126 Melancholy condition--Occurrence at the Ti--Anecdote of Marheyo--Shaving the head of a warrior. XVI IMPROVEMENT 132 Improvement in health and spirits--Felicity of the Typees--A skirmish in the mountain with the warriors of Happar. XVII A STRANGER ARRIVES 140 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. XVIII BATTLE OF THE POP-GUNS 155 Reflection after Marnoo's departure--Battle of the pop-guns--Strange conceit of Marheyo--Process of making tappa. XIX DANCES 162 History of a day as usually spent in the Typee valley--Dances of the Marquesan girls. XX MONUMENTS 167 The spring of Arva Wai--Remarkable monumental remains--Some ideas with regard to the history of the pi-pis found in the valley. XXI A FESTIVAL 171 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. XXII THE FEAST OF CALABASHES 178 The Feast of Calabashes. XXIII RELIGION OF THE TYPEES 185 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. XXIV BEAUTY OF THE TYPEES 196 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. XXV MARRIAGE CUSTOMS 204 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. XXVI SOCIAL CONDITIONS 210 The social condition and general character of the Typees. XXVII FISHING PARTIES 216 Fishing parties--Mode of distributing the fish--Midnight banquet--Timekeeping tapers--Unceremonious style of eating the fish. XXVIII NATURAL HISTORY 220 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 co
coa-nut tree--The birds of the valley. XXIX TATTOOING 228 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. XXX MUSIC 238 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. XXXI CANNIBALISM 244 Apprehensions of evil--Frightful discovery--Some remarks on cannibalism--Second battle with the Happars--Savage spectacle--Mysterious feast--Subsequent disclosures. XXXII ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE 254 The stranger again arrives in the valley--Singular interview with him--Attempt to escape--Failure--Melancholy situation--Sympathy of Marheyo. XXXIII THE ESCAPE 260 The escape SEQUEL 270 NOTE.--The Author of "Typee" 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. APPENDIX 285

 

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