CHAPTER ONE
THE SEA--LONGINGS FOR SHORE--A LAND-SICK SHIP--DESTINATION OF THEVOYAGERS--THE MARQUESAS--ADVENTURE OF A MISSIONARY'S WIFE AMONG THESAVAGES--CHARACTERISTIC ANECDOTE OF THE QUEEN OF NUKUHEVA
Six months at sea! Yes, reader, as I live, six months out of sight ofland; cruising after the sperm-whale beneath the scorching sun of theLine, and tossed on the billows of the wide-rolling Pacific--the skyabove, the sea around, and nothing else! Weeks and weeks ago our freshprovisions were all exhausted. There is not a sweet potato left; not asingle yam. Those glorious bunches of bananas, which once decoratedour stern and quarter-deck, have, alas, disappeared! and the deliciousoranges which hung suspended from our tops and stays--they, too, aregone! Yes, they are all departed, and there is nothing left us butsalt-horse and sea-biscuit. Oh! ye state-room sailors, who make somuch ado about a fourteen-days' passage across the Atlantic; who sopathetically relate the privations and hardships of the sea, where,after a day of breakfasting, lunching, dining off five courses,chatting, playing whist, and drinking champagne-punch, it was your hardlot to be shut up in little cabinets of mahogany and maple, and sleepfor ten hours, with nothing to disturb you but 'those good-for-nothingtars, shouting and tramping overhead',--what would ye say to our sixmonths out of sight of land?
Oh! for a refreshing glimpse of one blade of grass--for a snuff at thefragrance of a handful of the loamy earth! Is there nothing fresh aroundus? Is there no green thing to be seen? Yes, the inside of our bulwarksis painted green; but what a vile and sickly hue it is, as if nothingbearing even the semblance of verdure could flourish this weary way fromland. Even the bark that once clung to the wood we use for fuel has beengnawed off and devoured by the captain's pig; and so long ago, too, thatthe pig himself has in turn been devoured.
There is but one solitary tenant in the chicken-coop, once a gay anddapper young cock, bearing him so bravely among the coy hens.
But look at him now; there he stands, moping all the day long on thateverlasting one leg of his. He turns with disgust from the mouldy cornbefore him, and the brackish water in his little trough. He mourns nodoubt his lost companions, literally snatched from him one by one, andnever seen again. But his days of mourning will be few for Mungo, ourblack cook, told me yesterday that the word had at last gone forth, andpoor Pedro's fate was sealed. His attenuated body will be laid out uponthe captain's table next Sunday, and long before night will be buriedwith all the usual ceremonies beneath that worthy individual's vest. Whowould believe that there could be any one so cruel as to long for thedecapitation of the luckless Pedro; yet the sailors pray every minute,selfish fellows, that the miserable fowl may be brought to his end. Theysay the captain will never point the ship for the land so long as hehas in anticipation a mess of fresh meat. This unhappy bird can alonefurnish it; and when he is once devoured, the captain will come to hissenses. I wish thee no harm, Pedro; but as thou art doomed, sooner orlater, to meet the fate of all thy race; and if putting a period tothy existence is to be the signal for our deliverance, why--truth tospeak--I wish thy throat cut this very moment; for, oh! how I wish tosee the living earth again! The old ship herself longs to look out uponthe land from her hawse-holes once more, and Jack Lewis said right theother day when the captain found fault with his steering.
'Why d'ye see, Captain Vangs,' says bold Jack, 'I'm as good a helmsmanas ever put hand to spoke; but none of us can steer the old lady now. Wecan't keep her full and bye, sir; watch her ever so close, she will falloff and then, sir, when I put the helm down so gently, and try like tocoax her to the work, she won't take it kindly, but will fall round offagain; and it's all because she knows the land is under the lee, sir,and she won't go any more to windward.' Aye, and why should she, Jack?didn't every one of her stout timbers grow on shore, and hasn't shesensibilities; as well as we?
Poor old ship! Her very looks denote her desires! how deplorably sheappears! The paint on her sides, burnt up by the scorching sun, ispuffed out and cracked. See the weeds she trails along with her, andwhat an unsightly bunch of those horrid barnacles has formed about herstern-piece; and every time she rises on a sea, she shows her coppertorn away, or hanging in jagged strips.
Poor old ship! I say again: for six months she has been rolling andpitching about, never for one moment at rest. But courage, old lass, Ihope to see thee soon within a biscuit's toss of the merry land, ridingsnugly at anchor in some green cove, and sheltered from the boisterouswinds.
. . . . . .
'Hurra, my lads! It's a settled thing; next week we shape our course tothe Marquesas!' The Marquesas! What strange visions of outlandish thingsdoes the very name spirit up! Naked houris--cannibal banquets--grovesof cocoanut--coral reefs--tattooed chiefs--and bamboo temples; sunnyvalleys planted with bread-fruit-trees--carved canoes dancing onthe flashing blue waters--savage woodlands guarded by horribleidols--HEATHENISH RITES AND HUMAN SACRIFICES.
Such were the strangely jumbled anticipations that haunted me during ourpassage from the cruising ground. I felt an irresistible curiosity tosee those islands which the olden voyagers had so glowingly described.
The group for which we were now steering (although among the earliest ofEuropean discoveries in the South Seas, having been first visited inthe year 1595) still continues to be tenanted by beings as strangeand barbarous as ever. The missionaries sent on a heavenly errand, hadsailed by their lovely shores, and had abandoned them to their idols ofwood and stone. How interesting the circumstances under which they werediscovered! In the watery path of Mendanna, cruising in quest of someregion of gold, these isles had sprung up like a scene of enchantment,and for a moment the Spaniard believed his bright dream was realized.
In honour of the Marquess de Mendoza, then viceroy of Peru--under whoseauspices the navigator sailed--he bestowed upon them the name whichdenoted the rank of his patron, and gave to the world on his returna vague and magnificent account of their beauty. But these islands,undisturbed for years, relapsed into their previous obscurity; and it isonly recently that anything has been known concerning them. Once in thecourse of a half century, to be sure, some adventurous rover would breakin upon their peaceful repose, and astonished at the unusual scene,would be almost tempted to claim the merit of a new discovery.
Of this interesting group, but little account has ever been given, ifwe except the slight mention made of them in the sketches of South-Seavoyages. Cook, in his repeated circumnavigations of the globe, barelytouched at their shores; and all that we know about them is from a fewgeneral narratives.
Among these, there are two that claim particular notice. Porter's'Journal of the Cruise of the U.S. frigate Essex, in the Pacific,during the late War', is said to contain some interesting particularsconcerning the islanders. This is a work, however, which I have neverhappened to meet with; and Stewart, the chaplain of the American sloopof war Vincennes, has likewise devoted a portion of his book, entitled'A Visit to the South Seas', to the same subject.
Within the last few, years American and English vessels engaged in theextensive whale fisheries of the Pacific have occasionally, when shortof provisions, put into the commodious harbour which there is in one ofthe islands; but a fear of the natives, founded on the recollection ofthe dreadful fate which many white men have received at their hands, hasdeterred their crews from intermixing with the population sufficientlyto gain any insight into their peculiar customs and manners.
The Protestant Missions appear to have despaired of reclaiming theseislands from heathenism. The usage they have in every case received fromthe natives has been such as to intimidate the boldest of their number.Ellis, in his 'Polynesian Researches', gives some interesting accountsof the abortive attempts made by the ''Tahiti Mission'' to establish abranch Mission upon certain islands of the group. A short time beforemy visit to the Marquesas, a somewhat amusing incident took place inconnection with these efforts, which I cannot avoid relating.
An intrepid missionary, undaunted by the ill-success that had attendedall previous e
ndeavours to conciliate the savages, and believing muchin the efficacy of female influence, introduced among them his young andbeautiful wife, the first white woman who had ever visited their shores.The islanders at first gazed in mute admiration at so unusual a prodigy,and seemed inclined to regard it as some new divinity. But after a shorttime, becoming familiar with its charming aspect, and jealous of thefolds which encircled its form, they sought to pierce the sacred veilof calico in which it was enshrined, and in the gratification of theircuriosity so far overstepped the limits of good breeding, as deeplyto offend the lady's sense of decorum. Her sex once ascertained, theiridolatry was changed into contempt and there was no end to the contumelyshowered upon her by the savages, who were exasperated at the deceptionwhich they conceived had been practised upon them. To the horror ofher affectionate spouse, she was stripped of her garments, and given tounderstand that she could no longer carry on her deceits with impunity.The gentle dame was not sufficiently evangelical to endure this, and,fearful of further improprieties, she forced her husband to relinquishhis undertaking, and together they returned to Tahiti.
Not thus shy of exhibiting her charms was the Island Queen herself, thebeauteous wife of Movianna, the king of Nukuheva. Between two and threeyears after the adventures recorded in this volume, I chanced, whileaboard of a man-of-war to touch at these islands. The French hadthen held possession of the Marquesas some time, and already pridedthemselves upon the beneficial effects of their jurisdiction, asdiscernible in the deportment of the natives. To be sure, in one oftheir efforts at reform they had slaughtered about a hundred and fiftyof them at Whitihoo--but let that pass. At the time I mention, theFrench squadron was rendezvousing in the bay of Nukuheva, and during aninterview between one of their captains and our worthy Commodore, itwas suggested by the former, that we, as the flag-ship of the Americansquadron, should receive, in state, a visit from the royal pair. TheFrench officer likewise represented, with evident satisfaction, thatunder their tuition the king and queen had imbibed proper notions oftheir elevated station, and on all ceremonious occasions conductedthemselves with suitable dignity. Accordingly, preparations were made togive their majesties a reception on board in a style corresponding withtheir rank.
One bright afternoon, a gig, gaily bedizened with streamers, wasobserved to shove off from the side of one of the French frigates, andpull directly for our gangway. In the stern sheets reclined Mowanna andhis consort. As they approached, we paid them all the honours due toroyalty;--manning our yards, firing a salute, and making a prodigioushubbub.
They ascended the accommodation ladder, were greeted by the Commodore,hat in hand, and passing along the quarter-deck, the marine guardpresented arms, while the band struck up 'The King of the CannibalIslands'. So far all went well. The French officers grimaced and smiledin exceedingly high spirits, wonderfully pleased with the discreetmanner in which these distinguished personages behaved themselves.
Their appearance was certainly calculated to produce an effect. Hismajesty was arrayed in a magnificent military uniform, stiff with goldlace and embroidery, while his shaven crown was concealed by a hugechapeau bras, waving with ostrich plumes. There was one slight blemish,however, in his appearance. A broad patch of tattooing stretchedcompletely across his face, in a line with his eyes, making him look asif he wore a huge pair of goggles; and royalty in goggles suggested someludicrous ideas. But it was in the adornment of the fair person of hisdark-complexioned spouse that the tailors of the fleet had evinced thegaiety of their national taste. She was habited in a gaudy tissue ofscarlet cloth, trimmed with yellow silk, which, descending a littlebelow the knees, exposed to view her bare legs, embellished with spiraltattooing, and somewhat resembling two miniature Trajan's columns. Uponher head was a fanciful turban of purple velvet, figured with silversprigs, and surmounted by a tuft of variegated feathers.
The ship's company, crowding into the gangway to view the sight, soonarrested her majesty's attention. She singled out from their number anold salt, whose bare arms and feet, and exposed breast, were coveredwith as many inscriptions in India ink as the lid of an Egyptiansarcophagus. Notwithstanding all the sly hints and remonstrances of theFrench officers, she immediately approached the man, and pulling furtheropen the bosom of his duck frock, and rolling up the leg of his widetrousers, she gazed with admiration at the bright blue and vermilionpricking thus disclosed to view. She hung over the fellow, caressinghim, and expressing her delight in a variety of wild exclamations andgestures. The embarrassment of the polite Gauls at such an unlooked-foroccurrence may be easily imagined, but picture their consternation, whenall at once the royal lady, eager to display the hieroglyphics on herown sweet form, bent forward for a moment, and turning sharply round,threw up the skirt of her mantle and revealed a sight from which theaghast Frenchmen retreated precipitately, and tumbling into their boats,fled the scene of so shocking a catastrophe.
Typee: A Romance of the South Seas Page 3
