The Call Of The South Part 12

"When two months had pa.s.sed two score of great trees had been felled and cut into lengths of five fathoms each, and then squared. These were to be the main timbers of the outer wall of Lirou's fort--so he said. But he did not mean to have them carried away, for now he and his chiefs had completed their plans to destroy the people of Yap, and this cutting of the trees was but a subterfuge, designed to throw Lea and her advisers off their guard.

"One day Lirou and his chiefs, dressed in very gay attire, came into Tokolme, each carrying in his hand a tame ring-dove which is a token of peace and amity, and desired speech of Lea. She came forth, and ordered fine mats, trimmed with scarlet parrots' feathers, to be spread for them upon the ground and received them as honoured guests.

"'We come,' said Lirou, lifting her hand to his forehead, 'to beg thee and all thy people to come to a great feast that will be ready to-morrow, to celebrate the carrying away of the wood thou hast so generously given unto me.'

"'It is well,' said Lea; 'I thank thee. We shall come.'

"Little did Lea and her people know that during the night, as it rained heavily, some of Lirou's warriors had hidden clubs and spears and axes of stone near where the logs lay and where the feast was to be given.

They were hidden under a great heap of chips and shavings that came from the fallen trees.

"At dawn on the day of the feast, three hundred of Lirou's men, all dressed very gaily, marched past Tokolme, carrying no arms, but bearing baskets of food. They were going, they said, with presents to King Roka to tell him that Lirou would hold faithfully to his promise of tribute.

"'But why,' asked the men of Yap, 'do ye go to-day--which is the day of the feast?'

"'Because the heart of Lirou is glad, and he desires peace with all men--even Roka. And whilst he and those of our people who remain feast with ye men of Yap, and make merriment, we, the tribute messengers, go unto Roka with words of goodwill.'

"Now these words were lies, for when the three hundred men had marched a quarter of a league past Tokolme, they halted at a place in the forest where they had arms concealed. Then they waited for a certain signal from Lirou, who had said:--

"'When thou hearest the sound of a conch sh.e.l.l at the beginning of the feast, march quickly back and form a circle around us and the people of Yap, but let not one of ye be seen. Then when there comes a second blast rush in, and see that no one escapes. Spare no one but the girl Lea.'

"When the sun was a little high Lirou and all his people--men, women and children--came and made ready the feast On each of the squared logs was spread out baked hogs, fowls, pigeons, turtle and fish, and all manner of fruits in abundance, and then also there were placed in the centre of the clearing twenty stone mortars for making kava.

"When all was ready, Lea and her people were bidden to come, and they all came out of the fort, dressed very gaily and singing as is customary for guests to do. And Lirou stepped out from among his people and took Lea by the hand and seated her on a fine mat in the place of honour, and as she sat with Lirou beside her, a man blew a loud, long blast upon a conch sh.e.l.l and the feast began."

Rai's story had interested me keenly, but I was now guilty of a breach of native etiquette--I had to interrupt him to ask how it was that the man Kol and others who were friendly to the Yap people did not give them a final warning of the intended ma.s.sacre.

"Ah, I forgot to tell thee that Lirou was as cunning as he was cruel, and ten days before the giving of the feast he had sent away Kol and some others whom he knew to be well disposed to the people of Yap. He sent them to the islands of Pakin--ten leagues from Ponape, and desired them to catch turtle for him. But with them he sent a trusty man, whom he took into his confidence, and said, 'Tell Rairik, Chief of Pakin, to make some pretext, and prevent Kol from returning to Ponape for a full moon. And say also that if he yields not to my wish I shall destroy him and his people.'"

"Ah," I said, "Lirou was a Napoleon."

"Who was he?"

"Oh, a great Franki chief, who was as lying and as treacherous and cruel and merciless as Lirou. Some day I will tell thee of him. Now, about the feast."

"Ah, the feast After a little while, Lirou, whilst the people ate, said softly to Lea, 'Wilt thou not honour me and be my wife? I promise thee that I shall send away my other wives, and thou alone shalt rule my house and me.'

"Lea was displeased, and her eyes flashed with anger as she drew away from him, and then Lirou seized her by her wrist, and threw up his left hand.

"A long, loud blast sounded from the conch, and then Lirou's men, who were feasting, sprang to the great heap of chips, and seized their weapons. And then began a cruel slaughter--for what could three hundred unarmed people do against so many! But yet some of the men of Yap fought most bravely, and tearing clubs or short stabbing spears from their treacherous enemies, they killed over two score of Lirou's people.

"As Lea beheld the murdering of her kith and kin, she cried piteously to Lirou to at least spare the women and children, but he laughed and bade her be silent Some of the women and children tried to escape to the fort, but they were met by the men who had been in ambush, and slain ruthlessly.

"When all was over, the bodies were taken to a high cliff, and cast down into the valley below. Then Lirou and his men entered the fort, and made great rejoicing over their victory.

"Lea sat on a mat with her face in her hands, dumb with grief, and Lirou bade her go to her sleeping-place, telling her to rest, and that he would have speech with her later on when he was in the mood. She obeyed, and when she was un.o.bserved she picked up a short, broad-bladed dagger of _talit_ (obsidian) and hid it in her girdle, and then lay down and pretended to sleep. But through the cane lattice-work of her sleeping-place she watched Lirou.

"After Lirou had viewed the fort outside and inside, he sent a man to Lea, bidding her come to him.

"She rose and came slowly to him, with her head bent, and stood before him. Then suddenly she sprang at him, and thrust the dagger into his heart. He fell and died quickly.

"Then Lea leapt over a part of the stone wall where it was low, and ran towards the river, pursued by some of Lirou's mea But she was fleet of foot, crossed the river, and escaped into the jungle and rested awhile.

Then she pa.s.sed out of the jungle into the rough mountain country, and that night she reached King Roka's town.

"Roka made her very welcome, and was filled with anger when she told her story.

"'I will quickly punish these cruel murderers,' he said; 'as for thee, Lea, make this thy home and dwell with us.'

"Roka gathered together his fighting men. Half he sent to Roan Kiti by water, and half he himself led across the mountains. They fell upon Lirou's people at night, and slew nearly half of the men, and drove all the rest into the mountains, where they remained for many months, broken and hunted men.

"That is the story of Tokolme."

CHAPTER XVI ~ "LANO-To"

A white rain squall came cras.h.i.+ng through the mountain forest, and then went humming northward across the quiet lake, down over the wooded littoral and far out to sea Silence once more, and then a mountain c.o.c.k, who had scorned the sweeping rain, uttered his shrill, cackling, and defiant crow, as he shook the water from his black and golden back and long snaky neck, and savage, fierce-eyed head.

Between two wide-flanking b.u.t.tresses of a mighty _tamana_ tree I had taken shelter, and was comfortably seated on the thick carpet of soft dry leaves, when I heard my name called, and looking up, I saw, a few yards away, the grave face of an elderly Samoan, named Marisi (Maurice).

We were old acquaintances.

"Talofa, Marisi. What doest thou up here at Lano-to?" I said, as I shook hands and offered him my pipe for a draw.

"I and my nephew Mana-ese and his wife have come here to trap pigeons.

For three days we have been here. Our little hut is close by. Wilt come and rest, and eat?"

"Aye, indeed, for I am tired. And this Lake of Lano-to is a fine place whereat to rest."

Marisi nodded. "That is true. Nowhere in all Samoa, except from the top of the dead fire mountain in Savai'i, can one see so far and so much that is good to look upon. Come, friend."

I had shot some pigeons, which Marisi took from me, and began to pluck as he led the way along a narrow path that wound round the edge of the crater, which held the lake in its rugged but verdure-clad bosom. In a few minutes we came to an open-sided hut, with a thatched roof. It stood on the verge of a little tree-clad bluff, overlooking the lake, two hundred feet below. Seated upon some of the coa.r.s.e mats of coco-nut leaf called _tapa'au_ was a fine, stalwart young Samoan engaged in feeding some wild pigeons in a large wicker-work cage. He greeted me in the usual hospitable native manner, and taking some fine mats from one of the house beams, his uncle and I seated ourselves, whilst he went to seek his wife, to bid her make ready an _umu_ (earth oven). Whilst he was away, my host and I plucked the pigeons, and also a fat wild duck which Marisi had shot in the lake that morning. In half an hour the young couple returned, the woman carrying a basket of taro, and the man a bunch of cooking bananas. Very quickly the oven of hot stones was ready, and the game, taro and bananas covered up with leaves.

I had crossed to Lano-to from the village of Safata on the south side of Upolu and was on my way to Apia The previous night I had slept in the bush on the summit of the range. Marisi gravely told me that I had been foolish--the mountain forest was full of ghosts, etc.

Marisi himself lived in Apia, and he gave me two weeks' local gossip. He and his nephew and niece had come to remain at the lake for a few days, for they had a commission to catch and tame ten pigeons for some district chief, whose daughter was about to be married.

We had a delightful meal, followed by a bowl of kava (mixed with water from the lake), and as I was not pressed for time I accepted my host's invitation to remain for the night, and part of the following day.

This was my fourth or fifth visit to this beautiful mountain lake of Lano-to (_i.e._, the Deep Lake), and the oftener I came the more its beauty grew upon me. Alas! its sweet solitude is now disturbed by the cheap c.o.c.kney and Yankee tourist globe-trotter who come there in the American excursion steamers. In the olden days only natives frequented the spot--very rarely was a white man seen. To reach it from Apia takes about five hours on foot, but there is now a regular road on which one can travel two-thirds of the way on horseback.

The surface of the water, which is a little over two hundred feet from the rugged rim of the crater, is according to Captain Zemsch, two thousand three hundred feet above the sea, the distance across the crater is nearly one thousand two hundred yards. The water is always cold, but not too cold to bathe in, and during the rainy season--November to March--is frequented by hundreds of wild duck. All the forest about teems with pigeons, which love the vicinity of Lano-to, on account of the numbers of _masa'oi_ trees there, on the rich fruit of which they feed, and all day long, from dawn to dark, their deep _croo!_ may be heard mingling with the plaintive cry of the ringdove.

The view from the crater is of matchless beauty--I know of nothing to equal it, except it be Pago Pago harbour in Tutuila, looking southwards from the mountain tops. Here at Lano-to you can see the coast line east and west for twenty miles. Westwards looms the purple dome of Savai'i, thirty miles away. Directly beneath you is Apia, though you can see nothing of it except perhaps some small black spots floating on the smooth water inside the reef. They are s.h.i.+ps at anchor. Six leagues to the westward the white line of reef trends away from the sh.o.r.e, makes a sharp turn, and then runs southward. Within this bend the water is a brilliant green, and resting upon it are two small islands. One is Manono, a veritable garden, lined with strips of s.h.i.+ning beaches and fringed with cocos. It is the home of the n.o.ble families of Samoa, and most of the past great chiefs are buried there. Beyond is the small but lofty crater island of Apolima--a place ever impregnable to a.s.sault by natives. Its red, southern face starts steep-to from the sea, the top is crowned with palms, and on the northern side what was once the crater is now a romantic bay, with an opening through the reef, and a tiny, happy little village nestling under the swaying palms. 'Tis one of the sweetest spots in all the wide Pacific. And, thank Heaven, it has but seldom been defiled by the globe-trotter. The pa.s.sage is difficult even for a canoe. One English lady, however (the Countess of Jersey), I believe once visited it.

Under the myriad stars, set in a sky of deepest blue, Marisi and I lie outside the huts upon our sleeping mats, and talk of the old Samoan days, till it is far into the quiet, voiceless night.

At dawn we are called inside by the woman, who chides us for sleeping in the dew.

"Listen," says Marisi, raising his hand.