ground. The wildbirds, on seeing them, collected from all quarters to learn what theywere about. The sportsmen then drew down their birds, when, as soon asthe wild birds came near enough, they raised their nets, and seldomfailed to capture one of the wild pigeons. In an instant the bird wasbrought down. Bird after bird was caught in the same manner. Beforecommencing the game, stakes were put in, and he who caught the greatestnumber of pigeons won them.
"We remained nearly a month engaged in this sport, spending the morningin bird-catching, and the evening in feasting. I tried my hand at it,but though, after a few days' practice, I managed to catch severalbirds, I did not succeed as well as the young chiefs. This was more tomy interest, for had I beat them, perhaps they might have become jealousof me.
"Altogether, this sort of life suited me much better than that which Iled with the Christian natives. They were a hospitable sort of people,and I had as much liberty as I could wish for.
"Among other curious things I observed while I was among them, was theway they manufactured the cloth with which they make their dresses.They used the bark of the paper mulberry tree. The young tree is firstcut down, and the bark stripped off; it is then steeped in water for acouple of days, when the inner bark is separated from the coarse outerbark. This is then beaten until it becomes as thin as silver-paper, andmuch increased in size. Even then it is scarcely a foot wide; but theedges are overlapped, and stuck together with arrow-root melted inwater. It is then again beaten till all the parts are completelyjoined. Pieces are thus made of many yards in length, such as I sawduring my first visit to these islands. They are afterwards dyed ofvarious colours, red, brown, and yellow, and patterns are put on with asort of stamp.
"Though the heathen natives wore very few clothes generally, they attimes dressed up in robes formed of the cloth I have described, whichhas a very handsome appearance.
"I might tell you a good deal more about these people. I had made up mymind to remain among them; but people, as you know, don't do always whatthey intend. Such was my case in the present instance, as you shallhear. But pass the grog-bottle. I must wet my whistle before I movealong."
I was almost sick with listening to the account of the atrocitieswitnessed if not perpetrated by the old ruffian, our host, and wasinclined to stop him, but his tongue once set going that was more than Icould do, and so on he went again.
CHAPTER THREE.
"One day a brig brought up in the harbour near which I happened to bestaying, and the crew came on shore. She belonged to Sydney, New SouthWales, and as they talked to me about that place I was seized with afancy to go there. Fearing that the chief would not let me get away, Itold him that I was just going on board to pay my countrymen a visit. Ikept below during the remainder of the day, and next morning the briggot under weigh, and stood out of the harbour. She was the `Tickler,'engaged in the sandal-wood trade, and had still several places to visitto complete her cargo, which she was obliged to pick up here and there,and often had a hard job to get it. The captain was in no wayparticular how he managed. I was on board for some months and saw somecurious things done.
"The wood mostly grows on the Western Islands, north and south of theline. On one occasion we came off a place where the captain understoodit was to be procured from the mountains, some way in the interior. Wemanaged to entice the chief of the district on board by promising himsome presents, if he would come and fetch them. As soon as we had gothim, the captain told his people that unless they would bring twelveboats' loads of sandal-wood off he would carry him away as a prisoner.The savages exclaimed that the white men were very cruel and unjust, butthe captain did not mind that, as they were only savages, do you see;and as they did not wish to lose their chief, they were obliged tocomply. The captain told him that it he didn't behave himself and holdhis tongue, he would double the quantity. The chief, seeing that thecaptain was in earnest, ordered his people to go and fetch the wood,when the whole neighbourhood had to turn out and cut it. In the courseof two or three days it was brought on board.
"Having got the wood we sailed away to another place. These savages arecontent with curious articles in exchange for their wood. Instead ofmoney the brig had on board a quantity of small white shells, the teethof sharks and other animals, as also pigs, cats, and goats. So eagerare they to possess these animals that they would sometimes give a tonof sandal-wood for a goat or cat. One day a native came on board with asmall quantity of sandal-wood when our shells had run short. The mateoffered him some tobacco, which he did not want. He got angry and saidhe must have a shell, when the mate without more ado pulled out hisrevolver: it went off, and the native was shot dead. The body wasthrown overboard, and the sandal-wood remained with us, though the man'sfriends wanted payment for it. The captain told the mate he should nothave been so careless as to shoot the man, and then thought no moreabout the matter.
"Our object, however, being to get sandal-wood, the captain cared littleas to the means. The lazy islanders in some places, where it grewabundantly, would not take the trouble of cutting it, so the captaindevised a plan for obtaining what he wanted. We visited for thispurpose an island where the natives were friendly with the white men,and enticed a number on board. When we had got them the captain toldthem that he would give them their liberty if they would go on shore ata place to which he would take them, and cut as much sandal-wood as hewanted. Back we sailed to the island where the sandal-wood grew. Wethen took them on shore, and landing with a strong party of armed men,guarded them while they cut the wood, which the inhabitants seemed toobject to their doing. They worked well, for they were anxious to goback to their own island. We had to shoot a few of the inhabitants whocame too close to us with their spears and clubs, but they were savageblack fellows, and terrible cannibals, and so to my mind there was nogreat harm in shooting them.
"The wood was cut and carried down by our natives to the boats. We hadnow got pretty well as much as the brig would carry, but the captaintold them to go back and cut more. They said they were afraid, lest theblack fellows should kill them. The captain answered that that wastheir look out, and that if they wanted their liberty the wood must becut. When we had got it into the boats we returned to the brig; thecaptain then ordered the anchor to be hove up, saying that he could notspare time to go back to the island from which the natives had come, andthat he had fulfilled his contract by giving them their liberty andleaving them on shore.
"As we sailed out of the harbour, we saw some of them running down tothe beach, and waving their hands to us, with the black fellows at theirheels. They were soon overtaken, and one after the other were knockedover by the clubs of the savages, who, to my belief, ate the whole ofthem; for the inhabitants of that island were well known, as I havesaid, to be fearful cannibals.
"Now, perhaps some people may think that the captain of the `Tickler'didn't behave quite straightforward in the matter; but that's nobusiness of mine. What he had to do was to get a shipload ofsandal-wood as cheaply as he could, and he did his best to save expense.To be sure, others who came after us might have suffered, because thesavages were not very likely to trust them. We ourselves were nearlycut off on one occasion, when visiting a large island called NewCaledonia. Though we had seen a number of natives gathering on thecoast, we pulled in without fear, supposing that their clubs and spearscould not reach us, and a volley of small arms would soon put them toflight. As we pulled on we heard them shouting to us, and shriekingloudly. They were a jet-black, fine race of fellows. We could see thatsome of them had long spears in their hands, but others seemed to beunarmed. Suddenly, however, down there came upon us a thick shower ofstones, wounding two or three of our number, which was immediatelyfollowed by a whole flight of spears, when more of us were wounded,while several stuck in the boat. The order was given to pull round; andglad enough we were to get out of their reach.
"I afterwards heard that the natives of these islands use a sling, notonly for throwing stones, which they can send to a grea
t distance, butfor casting their spears, which, as we found, far as they were off, camerattling down upon us in a very unpleasant manner.
"One of our men was killed. When at a safe distance we fired two orthree volleys in return, and probably killed some of them; but theyquickly got under cover. We then once more pulled in, thinking thatthey had taken to flight; but they were up again in an instant, and thewhole shore appeared lined with warriors. We therefore came to theconclusion, that instead of carrying them off as labourers, they weremore likely to kill and eat us, should we land on their island. Wepulled away and steered for another place, where we expected to find thenatives more peaceably disposed or more easily captured.
"I afterwards heard that several vessels went there, some of which hadthe crews of their boats murdered on going on shore, while in two orthree cases the vessels themselves were attacked, and
Kidnapping in the Pacific; Or, The Adventures of Boas Ringdon Page 9
