Typee

by Herman Melville

  SEQUEL

  CONTAINING

  THE STORY OF TOBY

  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.

  The morning my comrade left me, as related in the narrative, he wasaccompanied by a large party of the natives, some of them carrying fruitand hogs for the purposes of traffic, as the report had spread that boatshad touched at the bay.

  As they proceeded through the settled parts of the valley, numbers joinedthem from every side, running with animated cries from every pathway. Soexcited 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 thevalley ring with their shouts, they hurried along on a swift trot, thosein advance pausing now and then, and flourishing their weapons to urge therest forward.

  Presently they came to a place where the path crossed a bend of the mainstream 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 goneon before; he was striking his heavy lance against the hollow bough of atree.

  This was a signal of alarm;--for nothing was now heard but shouts of"Happar! Happar!"--the warriors tilting with their spears and brandishingthem in the air, and the women and boys shouting to each other, andpicking up the stones in the bed of the stream. In a moment or two Mow-Mowand two or three other chiefs ran out from the grove, and the dinincreased tenfold.

  Now, thought Toby, for a fray; and being unarmed, he besought one of theyoung men domiciled with Marheyo for the loan of his spear. But he wasrefused; the youth roguishly telling him, that the weapon was very goodfor him (the Typee), but that a white man could fight much better with hisfists.

  The merry humour of this young wag seemed to be shared by the rest, for inspite of their warlike cries and gestures, everybody was capering aboutand laughing, as if it was one of the funniest things in the world to beawaiting the flight of a score or two of Happar javelins from an ambush inthe thickets.

  While my comrade was in vain trying to make out the meaning of all this, agood number of the natives separated themselves from the rest and ran offinto the grove on one side, the others now keeping perfectly still, as ifawaiting the result. After a little while, however, Mow-Mow, who stood inadvance, motioned them to come on stealthily, which they did, scarcelyrustling a leaf. Thus they crept along for ten or fifteen minutes, everynow and then pausing to listen.

  Toby by no means relished this sort of skulking; if there was going to bea fight he wanted it to begin at once. But all in good time,--for justthen, as they went prowling into the thickest of the wood, terrific howlsburst upon them on all sides, and volleys of darts and stones flew acrossthe 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 likehail.

  There was a moment's pause, when the Typees, with wild shrieks, flungthemselves into the covert, spear in hand; nor was Toby behind-hand.Coming so near getting his skull broken by the stones, and animated by anold grudge he bore the Happars, he was among the first to dash at them. Ashe broke his way through the underbush, trying, as he did so, to wrest aspear from a young chief, the shouts of battle all of a sudden ceased, andthe wood was as still as death. The next moment, the party who had leftthem so mysteriously rushed out from behind every bush and tree, andunited with the rest in long and merry peals of laughter.

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

  It afterwards turned out that the whole affair had been concerted for hisparticular benefit, though with what precise view it would be hard totell. My comrade was the more enraged at this boy's play, since it hadconsumed so much time, every moment of which might be precious. Perhaps,however, it was partly intended for this very purpose; and he was led tothink so, because, when the natives started again, he observed that theydid not seem to be in so great a hurry as before. At last, after they hadgone some distance, Toby, thinking all the while that they never would getto the sea, two men came running towards them, and a regular halt ensued,followed by a noisy discussion, during which Toby's name was oftenrepeated. All this made him more and more anxious to learn what was goingon at the beach; but it was in vain that he now tried to push forward; thenatives held him back.

  In a few moments the conference ended, and many of them ran down the pathin the direction of the water, the rest surrounding Toby, and entreatinghim to "Moee," or sit down and rest himself. As an additional inducement,several calabashes of food, which had been brought along, were now placedon the ground, and opened, and pipes also were lighted. Toby bridled hisimpatience awhile, but at last sprang to his feet and dashed forwardagain. He was soon overtaken nevertheless, and again surrounded, butwithout further detention was then permitted to go down to the sea.

  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.

  No sign of a boat, however, was beheld; nothing but a tumultuous crowd ofmen and women, and some one in their midst, earnestly talking to them. Asmy comrade advanced, this person came forward, and proved to be nostranger. He was an old grizzled sailor, whom Toby and myself hadfrequently seen in Nukuheva, where he lived an easy, devil-may-care life,in the household of Mowanna the king, going by the name of "Jimmy." Infact, he was the royal favourite, and had a good deal to say in hismaster's councils. He wore a Manilla hat, and a sort of tappa morninggown, sufficiently loose and negligent to show the verse of a songtattooed upon his chest, and a variety of spirited cuts by native artistsin other parts of his body. He sported a fishing-rod in his hand, andcarried a sooty old pipe slung about his neck.

  This old rover having retired from active life, had resided in Nukuhevasome time--he could speak the language, and for that reason was frequentlyemployed 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, andregaling their crews with choice little morsels of court scandal--such, forinstance, as a shameful intrigue of his majesty with a Happar damsel, apublic dancer at the feasts--and otherwise relating some incredible talesabout the Marquesas generally. I remember, in particular, his telling the_Dolly's_ crew what proved to be literally a cock-and-bull story, abouttwo natural prodigies, which he said were then on the island. One was anold monster of a hermit, having a marvellous reputation for sanctity, andreputed a famous sorcerer, who lived away off in a den among themountains, where he hid from the world a great pair of horns that grew outof his temples. Notwithstanding his reputation for piety, his horrid oldfellow was the terror of all the island round, being reported to come outfrom his retreat, and go a man-hunting every dark night. Some anonymousPaul Pry, too, coming down the mountain, once got a peep at his den, andfound it full of bones. In short, he was a most unheard-of monster.

  The other prodigy Jimmy told us about, was the younger son of a chief,who, although but just turned of ten, had entered upon holy orders,because his superstitious countrymen thought him especially intended forthe priesthood, from the fact of his having a comb on his head like arooster. But this was not all: for, still more wonderful to relate, theboy prided himself upon this strange crest, being actually endowed with acock's voice, and frequently crowing over his peculiarity.

  But to return to Toby. The moment he saw the old rover on the beach, heran up to him, the natives following after,
and forming a circle roundthem.

  After welcoming him to the shore, Jimmy went on to tell him how that heknew all about our having run away from the ship, and being among theTypees, 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, hisroyal master being exceedingly anxious to share with him the reward whichhad been held out for our capture. He, however, assured Toby that he hadindignantly spurned the offer.

  All this astonished my comrade not a little, as neither of us hadentertained the least idea that any white man ever visited the Typeessociably. But Jimmy told him that such was the case, nevertheless,although he seldom came into the bay, and scarcely ever went back from thebeach. One of the priests of the valley, in some way or other connectedwith an old tattooed divine in Nukuheva, was a friend of his, and throughhim he was "taboo."

  He said, moreover, that he was sometimes employed to come round to thebay, and engage fruit for ships lying in Nukuheva. In fact, he was now onthat very errand, according to his own account, having just come acrossthe mountains by the way of Happar. By noon of the next day, the fruitwould be heaped up in stacks on the beach, in readiness for the boats,which he then intended to bring into the bay.

  Jimmy now asked Toby whether he wished to leave the island--if he did,there was a ship in want of men, lying in the other harbour, and he wouldbe glad to take him over, and see him on board that very day.

  "No," said Toby; "I cannot leave the island, unless my comrade goes withme. I left him up the valley because they would not let him come down. Letus go now and fetch him."

  "But how is he to cross the mountain with us," replied Jimmy, "even if weget him down to the beach? Better let him stay till to-morrow, and I willbring him round to Nukuheva in the boats."

  "That will never do," said Toby; "but come along with me now, and let usget him down here at any rate"; and yielding to the impulse of the moment,he started to hurry back into the valley. But hardly was his back turned,when a dozen hands were laid on him, and he learned that he could not go astep farther.

  It was in vain that he fought with them: they would not hear of hisstirring from the beach. Cut to the heart at this unexpected repulse, Tobynow conjured the sailor to go after me alone. But Jimmy replied, that inthe 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.

  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 justincited the natives to restrain him, as he was in the act of going afterme. Well must the old sailor have known, too, that the natives would neverconsent to our leaving together; and he therefore wanted to get Toby offalone, for a purpose which he afterwards made plain. Of all this, however,my comrade now knew nothing.

  He was still struggling with the islanders, when Jimmy again came up tohim, and warned him against irritating them, saying that he was onlymaking matters worse for both of us, and if they became enraged, there wasno telling what might happen. At last he made Toby sit down on a brokencanoe, by a pile of stones, upon which was 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 theirofferings were laid before an image, upon a smooth black stone within.This spot, Jimmy said, was strictly "taboo," and no one would molest orcome 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, whileall the rest formed a circle round the taboo place, looking intently atToby, and talking to each other without ceasing.

  Now, notwithstanding what Jimmy had just told him, there presently came upto my comrade an old woman, who seated herself beside him on the canoe.

  "Typee Mortarkee?" said she. "Mortarkee muee," said Toby.

  She then asked whether he was going to Nukuheva; he nodded yes; and with aplaintive wail, her eyes filling with tears, she rose and left him.

  This old woman, the sailor afterwards said, was the wife of an aged kingof a small inland valley, communicating by a deep pass with the country ofthe Typees. The inmates of the two valleys were related to each other byblood, and were known by the same name. The old woman had gone down intothe Typee valley the day before, and was now, with three chiefs, her sons,on a visit to her kinsmen.

  As the old king's wife left him, Jimmy again came up to Toby, and told himthat he had just talked the whole matter over with the natives, and therewas only one course for him to follow. They would not allow him to go backinto the valley, and harm would certainly come to both him and me, if heremained much longer on the beach. "So," said he, "you and I had better goto Nukuheva now overland, and to-morrow I will bring Tommo, as they callhim, by water; they have promised to carry him down to the sea for meearly in the morning, so that there will be no delay."

  "No, no," said Toby desperately, "I will not leave him that way; we mustescape together."

  "Then there is no hope for you," exclaimed the sailor, "for if I leave youhere on the beach, as soon as I am gone you will be carried back into thevalley, and then neither of you will ever look upon the sea again." Andwith many oaths he swore that if he would only go to Nukuheva with himthat day, he would be sure to have me there the very next morning.

  "But how do you know they will bring him down to the beach to-morrow, whenthey will not do so to-day?" said Toby. But the sailor had many reasons,all of which were so mixed up with the mysterious customs of theislanders, that he was none the wiser. Indeed, their conduct, especiallyin preventing him from returning into the valley, was absolutelyunaccountable to him; and added to everything else was the bitterreflection, that the old sailor, after all, might possibly be deceivinghim. 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 toprocure some relief for me. But might not the savages who had acted sostrangely, hurry me off somewhere before his return? Then, even if heremained, perhaps they would not let him go back to the valley where Iwas.

  Thus perplexed was my poor comrade; he knew not what to do, and hiscourageous spirit was of no use to him now. There he was, all by himself,seated upon the broken canoe--the natives grouped around him at a distance,and eyeing him more and more fixedly.

  "It is getting late," said Jimmy, who was standing behind the rest."Nukuheva is far off, and I cannot cross the Happar country by night. Yousee how it is:--if you come along with me, all will be well; if you do not,depend upon it neither of you will ever escape."

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

  "Now keep close to my side," said the sailor, "and let us be movingquickly." Tinor and Fayaway here appeared; the kind-hearted old womanembracing Toby's knees, and giving way to a flood of tears; while Fayaway,hardly less moved, spoke some few words of English she had learned, andheld up three fingers before him--in so many days he would return.

  At last Jimmy pulled Toby out of the crowd, and after calling to a youngTypee who was standing by with a young pig in his arms, all three startedfor the mountains.

  "I have told them that you are coming back again," said the old fellow,laughing, as they began the ascent, "but they'll have to wait a longtime." Toby turned, and saw the natives all in motion--the girls wavingtheir tappas in adieu, and the men their spears. As the last figureentered the grove with one arm raised, and the three fingers spread, hisheart smote him.

  As the natives had at last consented to his going, it might have been,that some of them, at least, really counted upon his speedy return;probably supposing, as indeed he had told them when they were coming downthe valley, that his only object in leaving them was to procure themedicines I needed. This, Jimmy also must have told them. And as they haddone before, when my comrade, to oblige me, started on his perilousjourney to Nukuheva, th
ey looked upon me, in his absence, as one of twoinseparable friends who was a sure guarantee for the other's return. Thisis only my own supposition, however, for as to all their strange conduct,it is still a mystery.

  "You see what sort of a taboo man I am," said the sailor, after for sometime silently following the path which led up the mountain. "Mow-Mow mademe a present of this pig here, and the man who carries it will go rightthrough Happar, and down into Nukuheva with us. So long as he stays by mehe 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."

  The ascent of the mountain was not very difficult, owing to its being nearto 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 thesummit with the two valleys at their feet. The white cascades marking thegreen head of the Typee valley first caught Toby's eye; Marheyo's housecould easily be traced by them.

  As Jimmy led the way along the ridge, Toby observed that the valley of theHappars did not extend near so far inland as that of the Typees. Thisaccounted for our mistake in entering the latter valley as we had.

  A path leading down from the mountain was soon seen, and, following it,the party were in a short time fairly in the Happar valley.

  "Now," said Jimmy, as they hurried on, "we taboo men have wives in all thebays, and I am going to show you the two I have here."

  So, when they came to the house where he said they lived--which was closeby 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, welcomedJimmy quite cordially, as well as Toby, about whom they were veryinquisitive. Nevertheless, as the report of their arrival spread, and theHappars began to assemble, it became evident that the appearance of awhite stranger among them was not by any means deemed so wonderful anevent as in the neighbouring valley.

  The old sailor bade his wives prepare something to eat, as he must be inNukuheva before dark. A meal of fish, bread-fruit, and bananas, wasaccordingly served up, the party regaling themselves on the mats, in themidst of a numerous company.

  The Happars put many questions to Jimmy about Toby; and Toby himselflooked sharply at them, anxious to recognise the fellow who gave him thewound from which he was still suffering. But this fiery gentleman, sohandy 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 tomaking him stay in the valley,--some of the afternoon loungers in Happarhaving politely urged Toby to spend a few days with them,--there was afeast coming on. He, however, declined.

  All this while the young Typee stuck to Jimmy like his shadow, and thoughas lively a dog as any of his tribe, he was now as meek as a lamb, neveropening his mouth except to eat. Although some of the Happars lookedqueerly at him, others were more civil, and seemed desirous of taking himabroad and showing him the valley. But the Typee was not to be cajoled inthat way. How many yards he would have to remove from Jimmy before thetaboo would be powerless, it would be hard to tell, but probably hehimself knew to a fraction.

  On the promise of a red cotton handkerchief, and something else which hekept secret, this poor fellow had undertaken a rather ticklish journey,though, as far as Toby could ascertain, it was something that had neverhappened before.

  The island-punch--arva--was brought in at the conclusion of the repast, andpassed round in a shallow calabash.

  Now my comrade, while seated in the Happar house, began to feel moretroubled than ever at leaving me: indeed, so sad did he feel that hetalked about going back to the valley, and wanted Jimmy to escort him asfar as the mountains. But the sailor would not listen to him, and, by wayof diverting his thoughts, pressed him to drink of the arva. Knowing itsnarcotic nature, he refused; but Jimmy said he would have something mixedwith it, which would convert it into an innocent beverage that wouldinspirit them for the rest of their journey. So at last he was induced todrink of it, and its effects were just as the sailor had predicted; hisspirits rose at once, and all his gloomy thoughts left him.

  The old rover now began to reveal his true character, though he was hardlysuspected at the time. "If I get you off to a ship," said he, "you willsurely give a poor fellow something for saving you." In short, before theyleft the house, he made Toby promise that he would give him five Spanishdollars if he succeeded in getting any part of his wages advanced from thevessel, aboard of which they were going; Toby, moreover, engaging toreward him still farther, as soon as my deliverance was accomplished.

  A little while after this they started again, accompanied by many of thenatives, and going up the valley, took a steep path near its head, whichled to Nukuheva. Here the Happars paused, and watched them as theyascended the mountain, one group of bandit-looking fellows shaking theirspears and casting threatening glances at the poor Typee, whose heart aswell as heels seemed much the lighter when he came to look down upon them.

  On gaining the heights once more, their way led for a time along severalridges covered with enormous ferns. At last they entered upon a woodedtract, and here they overtook a party of Nukuheva natives, well armed, andcarrying bundles of long poles. Jimmy seemed to know them all very well,and stopped for awhile, and had a talk about the "Wee-Wees," as the peopleof Nukuheva call the Monsieurs.

  The party with the poles were King Mowanna's men, and by his orders theyhad been gathering them in the ravines for his allies, the French.

  Leaving these fellows to trudge on with their loads, Toby and hiscompanions now pushed forward again, as the sun was already low in thewest. They came upon the valleys of Nukuheva on one side of the bay, wherethe highlands slope off into the sea. The men-of-war were still lying inthe harbour, and as Toby looked down upon them, the strange events whichhad happened so recently seemed all a dream.

  They soon descended towards the beach, and found themselves in Jimmy'shouse before it was well dark. Here he received another welcome from hisNukuheva wives, and after some refreshments in the shape of cocoa-nut milkand poee-poee, they entered a canoe (the Typee, of course, going along)and paddled off to a whale-ship which was anchored near the shore. Thiswas the vessel in want of men. Our own had sailed some time before. Thecaptain professed great pleasure at seeing Toby, but thought from hisexhausted appearance that he must be unfit for duty. However, he agreed toship him, as well as his comrade as soon as he should arrive.

  Toby begged hard for an armed boat, in which to go round to Typee andrescue me, notwithstanding the promise of Jimmy. But this the captainwould not hear of, and told him to have patience, for the sailor would befaithful to his word. When, too, he demanded the five silver dollars forJimmy, 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 wouldbe sure to prove faithless if not well paid. Accordingly he not only gavehim the money, but took care to assure him, over and over again, that assoon as he brought me aboard he would receive a still larger sum.

  Before sunrise the next day, Jimmy and the Typee started in two of theship's boats, which were manned by tabooed natives. Toby, of course, wasall eagerness to go along, but the sailor told him that if he did, itwould spoil all; so, hard as it was, he was obliged to remain.

  Towards evening he was on the watch, and descried the boats turning theheadland and entering the bay. He strained his eyes, and thought he sawme; but I was not there. Descending from the mast almost distracted, hegrappled Jimmy as he struck the deck, shouting in a voice that startledhim, "Where is Tommo?" The old fellow faltered, but soon recovering, didall he could to soothe him, assuring him that it had proved to beimpossible to get me down to the shore that morning; assigning manyplausible reasons, and adding that early on the morrow he was going tovisit the bay again in a French boat, when, if he did not find me on thebeach--as this time he certainly expected to--he would march right back intothe valley, and carry me away at all haz
ards. He, however, again refusedto allow Toby to accompany him.

  Now, situated as Toby was, his sole dependence for the present was uponJimmy, and therefore he was fain to comfort himself as well as he couldwith what the old sailor told him.

  The next morning, however, he had the satisfaction of seeing the Frenchboat 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 again. Hardly was theboat out of sight, when the captain came forward and ordered the anchorweighed; he was going to sea.

  Vain were all Toby's ravings,--they were disregarded; and when he came tohimself, the sails were set, and the ship fast leaving the land.

  ... "Oh! said he to me at our meeting, what sleepless nights were mine.Often I started from my hammock, dreaming you were before me, andupbraiding me for leaving you on the island."

  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 yearsafter leaving the Marquesas. He always thought of me as dead--and I hadevery reason to suppose that he, too, was no more; but a strange meetingwas in store for us, which made Toby's heart all the lighter.