Kidnapping in the Pacific; Or, The Adventures of Boas Ringdon
Page 11
looking-glasses, andtrinkets we had brought to trade with. He then told the natives thatthey must go off in their canoes to the reef where the pearl-oysterswere to be found, and be quick in bringing him as many as he wanted,threatening them if they were not sharp about it he would carry offtheir chiefs, cut down their cocoa-nut trees, and leave their wives andchildren to starve. This made them all alive, though they grumbled alittle, and every evening they returned bringing a fair supply ofshells. They dared not refuse to work, seeing that they had no muskets;and as their island was perfectly flat, they had no place to fly to andhide themselves, so that by landing a few of our men we could, if we hadwished, have burned their huts, cut down their trees, and have carriedoff as many of them as we wanted.
"One day when they had brought fewer shells than usual, the captain senta party of us on shore, and having caught two of their chiefs, webrought them on board, and kept them in irons, telling them that weshould carry them away unless their people would stir themselves.
"Next day a double quantity was brought on board. The captain seemedmightily pleased.
"`Now, my boys, this shows what you can do,' he said, in the lingo thesavages spoke. `I am going to make a cruise to some other islands notfar off, and I shall take your chiefs with me. If, when I come back,you have not got as many pearls as I want,' and he told them thequantity he should require, `up go your chiefs to our yard-arms.'
"I don't mean that he said this in as many words, but it was what hewished the people to understand.
"The other islands we visited could supply us only with cocoa-nut oil,and though we had a quarrel now and then about it, we generally managedto get what we wanted at the price we chose to give.
"On our return we found the supply of shells the captain had ordered.
"I thought that he would have allowed the chiefs to go on shore, but hewas too deep a hand for that. He had found the plan answer so well thathe determined to have some more pearls before sailing, so he pretendedthat the natives had not brought him enough, and told them that theymust go off and collect more. They grumbled, declaring that they woulddo no such thing, and demanded their chiefs back.
"`You shall have them,' he answered, `but they shall swing at ouryard-arms first,' and he ordered the ropes to be rove to hang them by.
"The chiefs were then brought on deck. They did not look much likechiefs, half-starved and dirty as they were, for they had been keptbelow during the voyage for fear of their jumping overboard, and makingtheir escape. The natives set up a loud yell when they saw them, andmade as if they would attack us, and try to rescue them. On this thecaptain ordered us to present our muskets, and fire if they approached.Bill was the only person who refused to obey, declaring that it was ashame, and that he would sooner let the natives kill us than shoot oneof them. The captain, hearing this, threatened to trice him up with thechiefs, and to my mind he meant what he said. The natives, however,thought better of it, and paddled off to try to get more pearls.
"`It's lucky for you, Bill, that the savages played us no tricks; butI'll not forget you, my lad,' exclaimed the captain, shaking his fist athim.
"In a couple of days the natives appeared paddling towards us. Theykept, however, at a distance, and one canoe only with three men in hercame alongside, bringing a few pearls. They said they had got more, butthey had resolved to throw them into the sea unless their chiefs werefirst delivered up to them.
"The captain grinned at this, and replied that they should have onechief, and when the pearls were brought they should have the other. Thenatives after talking a long time were obliged to comply. The chiefsembraced; they might have suspected that the one who remained would runa great chance of swinging at the yardarm, notwithstanding the captain'spromise. At last he told the younger of the two that he might go,thinking, probably, that he was of less consequence than the other. Thepoor fellow was lowered into the canoe, and away his countrymen paddledto the shore.
"I thought that the elder man looked well pleased at the escape of hiscompanion, as he squatted down on deck, resting his head on his hands,though he looked up every now and then at the rope hanging from theyardarm, as if he expected to be dangling from it before long.
"The same canoe returned in a couple of hours, bringing a further supplyof pearls, while the rest of the natives were seen gathering in thedistance.
"Perhaps the captain thought that if he did not deliver up the chief--driven to desperation, they might attack the vessel, and that thoughmany might have been killed, we should not have got off scathless. Thenatives were indeed in great numbers advancing closer and closer. Hetherefore told the chief he might go. The old man rose, and with thehelp of his countrymen got into the canoe, which immediately paddledaway towards the rest, advancing rapidly to meet him.
"The breeze was fair out of the harbour. Sails were loosed, the anchortripped. There was no time to be lost, for some scores of canoes wereclose up to us.
"`Give the savages a parting volley to teach them that we are not to beinsulted with impunity,' cried the captain.
"Several shots were fired at the canoes, and two or three of the savageswere hit. I cannot say whether all fired, but Bill did not.
"The brig had gathered way, and we were distancing the canoes, andthough the captain ordered another volley to be fired, the shot fellshort of them.
"`We have managed that pretty cleverly,' he observed, as he walked thedeck, rubbing his hands. `I never expected to get so many pearls, andwe have not paid dear for them either,' and he chuckled to himself as heturned aft.
"I asked Bill if he had got as many as he had hoped for.
"`No,' he answered. `The skipper kept too sharp a look-out to allow meto trade honestly as I had intended, and I'd sooner not have got asingle one, than obtain them in the vile abominable way he has done. Iwish that I was clear of the craft, and hope that I may never set eyeson him again.'
"I told Bill that he was too particular.
"`No, no,' he exclaimed. `I am a vile wretch as it is, but I am notsunk so low as to stand by and see such things done without exclaimingagainst them.'
"We had a quick run to the westward, and the captain was congratulatinghimself on making a prosperous voyage. We had still room, however, forsome more sandal-wood, and he took it into his head to visit the placewhere he had given a couple of dozen to a native chief for refusing tobring off sandal-wood. He was mad, you will allow, to make the attempt.He thought he could catch the chief, and play the trick a second time.
"Bringing up before the place, and telling us to keep our arms ready foruse, and to let no native on board, away he went in the boat with sixhands well armed. The natives, instead of running off, came down to thebeach quite in a friendly manner, and welcomed him on shore. Hethought, I suppose, that they did not know the brig again, or that thechief had forgotten his flogging.
"We watched him from the deck, and he and two men advanced up the beachtowards the very chief himself, who came down to meet him.
"The captain's idea was, I have no doubt, to seize the chief and bringhim off.
"In another instant we saw one of the men running, and a party withclubs and spears, who had remained hidden behind some rocks, rushingtowards the captain. Before he could escape, his brains were dashedout, and his companion was struck to the ground. The other man reachedthe boat with a spear in his back, and was hauled in just before thesavages got up to him. The boat shoved off and pulled away towards us,a shower of spears following her. Another man was hit, for we saw anoar dropped. The remaining three pulled away for their lives. We,meantime, loosed the sails and got under way; and time it was to do so,for we saw a number of canoes, which had been concealed behind rocksalong the shore, darting out towards us. As soon as the boat wasalongside, we hauled up the men, one of whom was pretty near dead bythat time, cut the cable, let the boat go adrift--we had no time tohoist her up--sheeted home the sails, and stood away from the shore.
"We had a narrow escape of it, for though we kep
t firing at theadvancing canoes, they were almost up to us; and it's my belief thesavages would have got on board in spite of all we could have done toresist them, for they seemed resolved to have their revenge. As it was,another man was hit, and our deck was covered with spears and darts.
"We at last got clear of the land, and the mate, who took command, saidhe would shape a direct course for Sydney, and have nothing more to dowith trading. We soon, however, began to suspect that he was but a poornavigator, and Bill said he was sure of it.
"Three or four days afterwards a gale sprung up from the westward. Welost our topmasts, and were driven before it for a week or more.
"Whether or not the mate was a bad navigator, we had no means ofproving, for one night he was washed overboard. Bill, who was the onlyscholar among us, looked at the log; that had not been