Iron Maiden

by Jim Musgrave

  After dinner, Miriam Christian entertained everyone with a tune on the organ. She played several American favorites, and Dana Greene danced with his wife, Anna, and even Walter Sinclair and John Ericsson tried their dancing feet with their women, although with much less success. In fact, Penelope enviously watched Dana Greene's wife, as she was spun, around and around, and they all laughed uproariously to the tune of "Yankee Doodle Dandy." I'll soon have your doodle dandy, my lady, thought Penelope, as she trudged around the floor with Walter. There will be time enough for me to attract the likes of Dana Greene!

  Before leaving Pitcairn, John Ericsson gave Moses Young the gift of a fifth of Irish whiskey, and they both sat before a roaring fire on the beach to drink it. Ericsson, however, pretended to drink, and as Young would raise his cup to down the liquor, the captain would fling the contents of his cup into the sand. Thus, as his host became increasingly inebriated, Ericsson remained stone sober. The goal of his plan was to get Young sufficiently drunk so that he would forget about the book he had given John.

  The trick worked splendidly, and John Ericsson was able to journey back in the longboat without the company of one Moses Young, who was recuperating with a horrible hangover. John knew this book would assist him in developing a plan to gain control over the natives on Easter Island. He needed the trust of these people in order to keep the power base he needed to establish his Platonic Republic. Sinclair and Greene were potential rivals for control over the island, and Ericsson wanted to gain the upper hand before they landed.

  John also knew that many of the problems of the Pitcairn Islanders stemmed from the women, and he therefore wanted a way to keep his own women out of mischief. He had already seen Penelope's wandering eyes upon young Dana Greene, and this would not do in his new republic! Indeed, Ericsson realized he was in part to blame for the romantic notions Greene had about Easter Island, but now was the time to stop the young man's wild imaginings before they became a hindrance.

  After they all arrived back on board the Caine, Ericsson told everyone he was going to his quarters and that he should not be disturbed. He said he "needed to plan for their arrival at Easter Island," and he put Sinclair in charge. It would take another week's voyage to reach their final destination, and Ericsson's planning was to be about how their new government would be set-up, to be certain, but it was also going to be about forecasting to stop potential uprisings amongst the citizens and tribal members. He already had a few inventions in mind that could keep his new society in line, and he was not afraid to use them.

  Chapter Fifty-Three: On to Easter Island

  May 26, 1863

  Behind his locked door and under his copper gas lamp, John Ericsson opened the journal of Bounty crewmember, James Morrison, and began reading. The text, although it was filled with grammatical and other erroneous passages, proved to be quite enlightening. Two hours later, when he had completed his analysis, he was especially interested in a passage in the journal which read:

  Turban bound on with Secred leaves a Breastplate (Calld Tawmee) on their Breast and their Cloaths bound on with a Sash or Girdle of Braided hairor Cocoanut Fibers neatly platted of a Great length, and Made up in Bights or doubles, with a Tasell at each end. The Provisions brought to the Morai must be dressd on it, and near the House, where Baskets are kept for keeping it in, should it last three or four days.

  They always wash themselves before, and after they eat, and should a Dead lizard, Mouse or rat toutch them they would wash before they handled any Food and should they happen to find one in or near their oven or toutch any of their Culinary Utensils they would use them No More. Notwitshtanding which the[y] will eat a Hog which has died if they know of No disorder which might be the Occasion of his Death.

  If any person toutches a dead body except of those killd by War, or for Sacrafice, is rendered unclean and can toutch no provisions with their hands for one Month, during which time they must be fed by another. If the Man killd in War be toutched by a relation they must undergo the like but otherwise Washing is sufficient. If any person have a running sore or large Ulcers they are toutchd by no person else and if they die the House wherein they lived is burnt with evry thing belonging to it. When Mourning for the Death of any relation they Shave the Fore part of their heads and sometimes the hind part together with their Eye brows & beards and Cut their heads with Sharks teeth in excess of Grief or Joy. See the Mourning Ceremony. They always Venerate the Grey heads, and are kind to Strangers, and protect the Fatherless & the Widow. A Child may Curse its Father, Mother, Uncle or Aunt but it would be Blasphemy for them to Curse it. The Child may not Curse its Grand Father, Grandmother, Brothers or Sisters but the Grand Father or Grandmother may Curse their Grand Children with Impunity, but it is Death For any Man to Blaspheme or revile the Gods or the King.

  John believed he understood why the Pitcairn refugees in Tahiti had contracted diseases. There was much cutting of the skin by these natives, and it was a medical fact that disease was often spread through infections contracted from open wounds. Moses Young had pointed out that the Pitcairn settlers in Tahiti made a point of taking up all the practices of the natives, and if they did the things described in Morrison's journal, well then, it was obvious that disease and infections could have run rampant amongst their group, resulting in the deaths of so many

  Ericsson understood it to be his duty to keep his people away from such blood-letting practices, but he also knew he must perform the obligatory worship, or else he would never gain an upper hand with these primitives. However, he had with him certain vaccines against the modern plagues, and these would help inoculate the natives as well as his passengers. As he read on, Ericsson saw where he could perform some practices that were less dangerous but still important to the tribe's cultural traditions:

  War in this Country often happens from mere trifles; however what we may think a trifle may seem to them of Great Consequence — The Districts have all a parting or Boundary line, frequently a river, which separates their lands from each other. If any dispute happens the party Who happens to be the Occasion of it are Calld upon to make good any damage or defeciency which if they refuse to do war is declared in this Manner — The Priests and the head Men of the Contending Party being Assembled near their Bounds, and having consulted the Preists — if they give a Favourable answer War is then the Word and the party who think themselves most Injured send out a

  Slinger to the Boundary line, where having Charged the Sling he discharges it over the Heads of the Opposite party Crying out 'W'affwa te Vye ay O' which Signifies the War is declared but litterally The Water has borne down its banks'. This is answer d by a Slinger from the other side who slings a Stone and Calls out in the same manner; they then Cry out to each other 'Yowrye t 'Eatooa te Tamye ra' — 'God save you in your War' — they then return home seemingly in peace, and make a War Feast, killing a Number of Hogs for the Warriors, and sometimes make a human Sacrifice & Next morning repair to the Appointed Ground. They are always attended by inspired priests who before they come to the Charge encourage them to Fight manfully and there is no fear of Victory and Spirits them up by blowing their Conch Shells which they always use on these Occasions having a bamboo tube which they blow through like a Trumpet. They always send or offer conditions of Peace to those which are deemd the weakest party which if they refuse & they are Worsted they are drove from their posessions and the Conquering Chief puts a Subordinate Chief of his own in to Command the Conquered Country and if the Vanquishd people will promise to pay obedience to the New Chief they are permitted to remain and enjoy their lands as before, but this they seldom will do, they having so great an affection for their Chiefs that they had rather partake of his disgrace and loose their Estates then enjoy their property under another. Should

  they act otherwise they would be very meanly lookd on, be made a by word among their Countrymen, and their lives be a torment to them afterwards.

  They take No Captives nor give any quarter, unless a man falls in with one
who has formerly been His adopted friend, a breach of which they were never known to make — they are not forced to Fight any longer then they please, and a man never obtains the Name of a Warrior tho he kills his Man, should he receive any wound himself, as they think that a Man Who suffers himself to be wounded does not know how to defend himself, and tis more Honor to return with whole bones then broken ones. Tho they are not Imediately under the Authority of the Chief in Battle, yet they Fight furiously knowing that in case of being Vanquishd they loose all their posessions. Yet tho this seems of small account where it is but ask and have, yet they all prefer the having to give then being forced to receive — and when they make a present, it is so freely done and so graceful that Christianity may blush at the action and be ashamed to be surpass'd by those whom we Call Savages — This is the Chief reason that a Taheitean has to Fight for and in Some of their Sea Actions Much blood has been shed as they Frequently lassh Bow to bow & fight it out, when the Strongest party generally get the day and the Weaker are forced to save themselves by Jumping Overboard.

  Their Weapons are Spears of 12 or 14 feet long pointed with the Stings of the Sting Ray — Clubs of 7 or 8 feet, both of which are Made of Toa a hard heavy wood, Slings made of the Platted fibers of the Cocoa Nut; they have bows and Javlins for Sport but never use them in War.

  Some of their War Canoes are very large, and carry from one to Three Hundred Men; they have often one Hundred paddlers all of which have heaps of Stones and each man a Sling besides Spears & Clubbs, and when the one party becomes too strong for the Others they are forced to Fly and the Conquerors Carry off their prize in Triumph — Such was mostly the Fate of o 'Toos Fleet after Captain Cook left him, and since that time his Navy has gone almost to ruin, tho he has still been lucky, and often Conqueror yet he always prefers peace to War.

  They always bring off the Dead if they can, by any means, as all that they leave are Carried to the Morai where the body being offered as a Sacrafice, the lower Jaw bone being Cut out and placed in the Morai as a Trophie and the Body is interrd in the Morai. The Man who kilid him now takes his Name. This being the only Method by which they attain to the Charracter of a Warrior they must bring off their dead which is often severely disputed by the living and especially the Friends of the Fallen Warrior who fight more furious to protect the body when dead then they did to assist him while living — If the Conqueror Should prevail and Maintain his conquest he takes the Name of His Adversary as a Title of Honor — after the Peace is made the relations of the Deceased Warriors soon find out the Men who killd them and each Family send a present to the Man by Who their Freind or Relation was kilid & hire a Set of Urre Heiva or a Sort of People somthing similar to our Morris Dancers and a Principal part is acted by the Daughter or Nearest Female relation of the Deceased Warrior in a Dance at the House of the Man who killd him. The Dance being Finished the Cloth, Matting & Dresses are all presented to Him and He Now entertains all the Deceaseds Relations, sumptuosly for Several days and they Declare that they [do not] Owe him any Grudge or animosity for killing their Relation and their Sorrow is now turnd to Joy and evry thing is most amicably Settled and the Conqueror, to Make the Friendship more Firm on his part, adopts the Nearest relation of the Deceased as his Friend, and by bearing his Name becomes one of the Family and is ever after Treated as such and is as much beloved in the Family as if he had been born in it.

  These passages in Morrison's journal would prove to be quite valuable to him. He now understood the culture of war amongst the natives of the Pacific. It was this knowledge, he believed, that would give him the method of control. Without a thorough understanding of his people, he knew he could never invent the machines and war tools that would make him their king. He would, at last, fulfill Plato's dream of establishing a republic, headed by an authentic philosopher king!

  Chapter Fifty-Four: The Arrival

  June 15, 1863

  It had taken them longer than they had planned, as the weather in the South Pacific was unpredictable, and they met with two storms. However, as Captain Sinclair was an experienced seaman, the ship was able to maneuver through the rain and giant waves, but they were driven off course for several days. Finally, back on course, Sinclair steamed the rest of the way. The women were quite excited about their landing, and they spent many hours talking about what they would do once ashore for the first time.

  Visiting the village and doing some primitive shopping were foremost in Anna's mind, as she was getting quite irritated with life aboard ship and with the seaman's attire they had to wear, day in and day out. The other women also wanted to get new clothes and other items to make their habitat more attractive and livable, and they had some unique ideas about how to decorate.

  Chip ran around packing things for all of them, and the men kept busy with the arrangements of a more technical nature. Ericsson knew he must establish a quick connection with the natives on the island so he could set-up his new colony without problems. He planned to seek out the priests of the tribe, as he was prepared to show them some feats of spectacular genius. He knew fishing and land cultivation would be most beneficial to his cause, and he had two inventions to show them that would be most valuable to his cause.

  Captain Sinclair knew the local harbor to land, Hanga Piko, which was sheltered from storms, but it was very difficult to navigate. Therefore, Sinclair had procured a map from another British captain that instructed him how to navigate amongst the treacherous currents and volcanic rocks. The main population lived at Hanga Roa, but the swell there was quite dangerous to any anchored ships. Ericsson wanted to land at Hanga Piko because he said it would serve their interests best, as they would need access to their ship in order to construct the new Ericssonville colony.

  As they came into the harbor, the sight that greeted them was not to be believed. Instead of a lush, tropical paradise, filled with waving palms and greenery, what they saw was a barren land of eroded, sand-like dirt and scattered shrubs. Captain Ericsson stood with the other men on the beach at Ovahe, which was said to be the place where the first King of the island, Hoto Matua, landed in his double-hulled canoe in around 400 A.D. Ericsson was certain the books had said that this land was a paradise, but the sight he now saw was far from Edenesque. What had happened? What had caused this land to become so barren and forsaken?

  It was Dana Greene who spoke first. "I suppose we need to push on inland to see what else she has to offer, right mates?"

  Sinclair laughed. "So, this is Ericssonville? Indeed, I can see the resemblance, Mister Ericsson. She's as nearly as bald as you are!" The Brit ran his big hand over the elder Swede's shining head.

  The wind picked-up at that moment, and a dark cloud appeared overhead. Ericsson knew it rained almost every day in this climate, and he also knew they needed to get things unloaded despite the approaching downpour. "Get to work, men! We need to establish a small beach colony here, and I want at least two tents pitched over there by those caves in the side of the cliff," he ordered, pointing to the several hundred feet of volcanic ash cliff that bordered the white, sandy beachfront property.

  Six hours later, the two tents were in place, and the women were busy cooking stew on a large, cast iron pot over a coal fire. They had brought over 200 pounds of coal with them from America, and it was good thing, judging from the sparse fuel all around them. Only Anna seemed to be out of composure, as she had become quite seasick during the storms, and she was still not in a good mood. The harsh living conditions were not what she was expecting out of life on "their island," and she told her husband as much. Dana told her he was going inland with Captain Ericsson to see if they could make contact with the natives. He assured her that they would soon find comfort, and then he gave her a hug and a kiss. "Anna, we can't go back there. I am a deserter, and they would hang me or put me into prison for the rest of my life. We will find our new life right here, I promise you."

  Dana's assurances were somewhat comforting, but Anna was still out of sorts as she stabbed at a potat
o before slicing it sideways and then tossing it into the pot. "We should visit the natives' village ourselves, ladies—tomorrow," she said, a smug tone coming into her voice.

  Penelope poked at the coals and laughed, "I say, perhaps you should strip down and do a little fertility dance to initiate us into your tribe!"

  Amelia Ericsson raised her eyebrows in exasperation. "Let's not have any of that! You know how the Captain is about our new civilization. We can't have any pagans running about and causing mischief. There will be no unescorted shopping visits without the men going with us."

  "Oh, Amelia, I thought we were in agreement about Women's Suffrage?" asked Penelope, realizing that her friend had become much more conservative since they had voyaged to their New World. "Why shouldn't we have the same rights to explore as those men of ours?"

  "I'm not saying we shouldn't have the same rights. I'm just saying that we don't know what dangers lurk out there. We may be equal in mind and spirit, but we certainly don't have the martial skills that our men do!" Amelia responded.

  Dana Greene and John Ericsson came into the "cooking cave" and inhaled deeply. "My, that smells delicious!" said Dana, putting an arm around Anna's waist.

  "Yes, but we must wait to eat, my boy. Ladies, we shall be going out for some time to explore the island. The other men will be in shortly. Feed them, and keep some aside for us, if you would. I will address the group when we return."

  "Yes, my dear. We shall certainly save you both hearty portions," said Amelia, wiping her hands on her apron.

  The two men picked-up a gas lantern and a compass and turned to leave. "Welcome to Ericssonville!" the Captain proclaimed, putting an arm around Greene's shoulders as they stepped out into the gathering dusk.