Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara Volume Ii Part 24

While picking up this information, we were getting nearer and nearer to Roankiddi Harbour on the S.W. of the island, and Tellet now stated he could not undertake to conduct us further, as there resided a pilot in the harbour whom he was not unwilling to give a job to. Another boat was now approaching the frigate, which had on board the regular pilot of Roankiddi Harbour, a Virginia Negro, named Johnson. Our man Tellet now took his leave, and set out in his boat on his return to Middle Harbour. Many a longing glance did we cast at the spot, where for the first time we were to be privileged to examine the wonders of the coral beds of the South Sea. For Puynipet is one of the finest examples known of a lofty island of the great ocean regularly hemmed in by wall-like reefs, by far the majority of the other islands being mere low "atolls." Unfortunately the breeze was unsteady and very light; the sky looked so gloomy and threatening that we had to haul off again from the island, and steer to the S.E., so as not to approach the reef too closely during the night. In the morning we once more neared the island, under the influence of a gentle west wind, having run 15 miles out during the night. Gradually the small wooded or rocky islets hove in sight again, which, stretching northward from the great central ma.s.s, 2860 feet in height, surround the lofty island like a ring, inside of the wall-reef, which encompa.s.ses it at a distance of from one to two miles. We tacked about during the whole day with light variable winds from the west, and by evening had got sufficiently near our anchorage, that every one expected by a last tack to fetch it ere night set in, when the breeze suddenly s.h.i.+fted, died away, and once more compelled us to withdraw to a safe distance from the island, and pa.s.s the night under easy sail. At length, on 18th September, a fresh leading wind from the westward promised to carry us in without further delay.

Right in front of us, and with not a cloud to interrupt the view, lay this extinct volcano of an island, densely covered with the most luxuriant verdure. Only at its N.E. corner there sprang suddenly into the air a naked, castellated rock, about 1000 feet high or so, cut off horizontally above, and with perpendicular sides, which we were informed was a small island (Dochokoits), separated by a narrow channel from the main island.

Gradually, on either side of the isle, several rocky points became visible, which steadily increased in dimension, and began to stretch towards each other, till they looked like a row of pearls densely sprinkled in the air above the horizon; after which a number of thin, small, white clouds suddenly rose and disappeared above the dark blue surface of the sea, flickering here and there like flames. This was our first glimpse of the island-reef and the surf-beaten coral, seen under the influence of a mirage, when, as is very frequently the case in tropical climates, the temperature of the surface of the water, and consequently of the immediately adjacent strata of atmosphere, is higher than those next above. Having got within about a couple of miles, the dark points resolved themselves into verdant cocoa-groves, patches of which adorn the outermost reef, while the small clouds now proved to be the tumultuous lash of a tremendous blinding surf, on the reef which separated the rise and fall of the ocean outside from the smooth placid surface of the broad channel, which inside the ring-shaped coral reef forms those singular natural ca.n.a.ls, on which the natives in their frail canoes can sail right round the island, sheltered from the violence of the waves, and which, at those places where there is sufficient depth, and a breach in the line of reef admits of ingress from without, affords for even large-sized s.h.i.+ps a secure harbour, according to observation in 6 47' N., 158 13' 3" E.

We now endeavoured to enter between Nahlap Island on the west, covered with cocoa-palms and bread-fruit, and Sandy Island on the east, surrounded with a belt of raging foam, its coral ma.s.ses clothed with low scanty brushwood. But almost immediately "Halt" was once more the order. In order to get into the harbour proper, which lay between two majestic banks of coral rising from the level of the sea like an elegantly hewn dock, we had to pa.s.s through a very narrow channel in the reef, barely 50 fathoms wide, which indeed was pretty plainly indicated by the colour of the smooth water, besides being well marked out by regular buoys, but winds in a direction first westerly and then northwards, and accordingly was inaccessible to us with a west wind blowing. There was no alternative but to let the anchor go among the naked coral rocks forming the sub-marine plateau over which we now lay. But anxiety for the safety of the s.h.i.+p did not admit of her being suffered to remain in circ.u.mstances so dangerous.

While therefore the frigate once more made sail, a survey of the island and harbour was ordered by a boat expedition.

About 9 A.M. the Commodore, accompanied by some of the scientific staff, set off for land in a slim, flat-floored, Venetian gondola, admirably adapted for such purposes. When we had pa.s.sed the twin Nahlap Islands and Sandy Island, we found ourselves in a channel about 100 fathoms in length by not quite 80 in width, which led directly into the interior of this huge basin constructed exclusively by insects, and surrounded by a triple wall of coral, an unfathomable, mirror-like pool, in which a s.h.i.+p lies calm and motionless as though in a dock. A buoy at the S.W. angle of the channel indicates some sunken rocks. On the further side of the coral reef one perceives the low-lying group of the Ants' Islands, thickly covered with trees. Although our Venetian boat drew hardly any water, we nevertheless found great difficulty in advancing in proportion as we approached the sh.o.r.e. The fact too that it was ebb-tide served to increase the obstacles that beset our progress. Every moment the gondola touched upon sand-bank or rock. The utmost caution had therefore to be exercised, as we steered for some huts which were visible under the cocoa-palms quite close to the sh.o.r.e. Following the deeper more navigable channels, we reached the mouth of a river running from N.E., the low swampy soil on either side being covered with dense mangrove bushes, but all our efforts to push through the thickets so as to reach the huts proved unavailing, while the whole soil seemed to be beset with the stumps of the mangrove, like so many sharp stakes. After pus.h.i.+ng a short distance up this mangrove channel, from which on either side smaller channels diverged, we retraced our steps, as there was no appearance of the scene changing, nor any appearance of human habitation, and endeavoured to reach the land near the huts already mentioned, by some of the deeper channels. Just then a white settler came to our a.s.sistance, who, standing on the sh.o.r.e, indicated to us by manual signs the clue out of this labyrinth of coral, and enabled us by a less shallow channel to reach one of the few points at which a landing is practicable. For at almost every point of the sh.o.r.e the mangroves, by the tenacity of their roots, prevent, or at any rate impede, the approach of boats, the natives themselves being confined to the use of those few spots where rivers or other natural channels afford means of access. Close to the sh.o.r.e appeared three wooden huts thatched with bamboo and palm-leaves. This was a small colony of whites, whom a singular freak of destiny seemed to have cast away upon these islands, where they earned their subsistence as wood-cutters, smiths, fishermen, &c. They call their settlement Rei. The first hut we entered was inhabited by a Scotchman, who called himself "Dr. Cook," and practised as a physician. He had lived 26 years on the island. His dwelling consisted of three large apartments, which up to a certain height were shut off from each other by thin wooden walls, so that the air could circulate freely overhead throughout the entire length of the hut. Everything was neat and orderly: in the first room, which apparently was used as a surgery, stood a number of medicine bottles duly labelled, and crucibles, which at the very first glance revealed the avocation of the possessor. Cook, who seemed far past the half century, with pale, faded, expressionless features, and a long silver-grey beard, clothed in a coa.r.s.e woollen jacket, and with the huge, broad-brimmed, worn-out straw-hat pulled low upon his wrinkled forehead, had quite caught the listless, motionless deportment of the natives.

Nothing roused him, nothing surprised him; it took considerable time to elicit from him any reply to our questions. The other white settlers in the adjoining islands were not much more communicative; all showed in their conduct a certain embarra.s.sment, which left little doubt that theirs had not been an altogether blameless life in former days. Most of them were surrounded by a number of native wives, who had covered their bodies with a powder of an intense yellow, prepared from the _Curc.u.ma longa_, and wore merely a piece of calico round the loins, while splendid yellow blossoms set off the raven blackness of their long hair.

We now followed up a narrow footpath, which led to a gently-sloping eminence behind the huts, and soon found ourselves surrounded by bread-fruit trees and banana, while from time to time a black basaltic rock cropped out from among the red, marl-like soil, and beautiful small lizards with sapphire-blue tails that shone with a metallic l.u.s.tre, shot about with the velocity of an arrow among the stones. The prevailing formation, as in almost all the volcanic islands of the Pacific, is an amorphous basalt-lava, full of olivin and porphyry. On gaining the summit of the hill, we found there a solitary, wretched-looking hut. A dog, a few hens, and a phlegmatic native worn away to a shadow, whom the sudden appearance of a number of European strangers hardly seemed to rouse from his apathy, were the only living creatures visible. On our requesting to be furnished with a light, a wrinkled old hag crept out of the hut, and handed us a piece of lighted wood. The dusky old woman was presented with a cigar, which she forthwith lit, and proceeded to smoke with unmistakeable satisfaction. To our request for fresh cocoa-nuts with which to quench our thirst, the man, without moving from his place, shouted a few words in the direction of the forest, which was speedily replied to, when some young girls came forth giggling and romping, who brought us what we had asked for, fresh plucked from the slender cocoa-stem, as well as a sugar-cane, and some ginger (_Zingiber officinalis_); all these refreshments were handed us amid much hilarity by a lot of daughters of Eve, young, not the least shy, but by no means attractive, whom a present of two small mirrors in return sent away in a state of enthusiastic delight. On our return to Dr. Cook's hut on the sh.o.r.e, several natives had approached who bartered mussels and fresh fruit for tobacco, which they preferred to everything, besides a number of young females, who were retailing, from small bags hung round their persons, the different animals they had collected the same morning at ebb-tide among the coral reefs.

One of the white settlers offered his services as guide, to pilot us up the Roankiddi river as far as a village of the natives about two miles inland, where the chief of the nation dwelt, and several American missionaries had formed a settlement. Before reaching the main stream, which is about 100 feet wide and is densely wooded on either side, we had to pa.s.s various small branches and ca.n.a.ls, which appeared to be artificially constructed, and wind about in a succession of extraordinary meanderings beneath an elastic covering of conical mangrove roots. For about a mile inwards there was nothing but dreary, swampy, unlovely mangrove forest, after which the vegetation on either sh.o.r.e began to a.s.sume an unusually variegated but thoroughly tropical appearance. Palms, bread-fruit trees, panda.n.u.s trees, papayas, caladias, Barringtonias, were the chief representatives of this abounding forest flora. The animals on this island seem to be less numerous and less varied; there are no large ones at all. Of doves, as also of sand-pipers and parrots, we saw some very beautiful species, of which the fowling-pieces of our sportsmen furnished numerous specimens for our zoological collection. All along the bank of the river and around the hills lay scattered at will, under the shade of the most beautiful and abundant vegetation, the dwellings of the natives. Near where the pretty Roankiddi falls into the sea, rises on the left bank the handsome mission house built of wood, which serves the missionaries for school, church, and residence in one. Close by is a stone building, which serves as a larder. Unfortunately, the sole missionary, Mr. Sturges of Pennsylvania, was absent on a tour of inspection, and only his a.s.sistant (a native of the Sandwich Islands, who had received his education in the States) was at home with his family. A third missionary, also a native of the Sandwich Islands, lives at what is called Foul-weather Harbour, where he also occupies his time with meteorological observations.

The mission, which has been in the island since 1851, is supported at considerable expense. A schooner, the property of the American Missionary Society, keeps up regular communication with the neighbouring islands and the Sandwich Islands, and supplies the missionaries with provisions and other necessaries. These industrious, energetic men have quite recently made experiments in planting several sorts of vegetables, as also tobacco and sugar-cane, nearer their houses, in the hope, if successful, of inciting the natives to similar exertions. The great resources at the disposal of the Protestant missionaries, and the circ.u.mstance that they attend to the temporal as well as the eternal weal of their dusky neophytes, exhausting their medical skill in illness, educating their children, ministering to their wants both by advice and co-operation, must be regarded as the main causes of the rapid spread of Protestantism throughout the races of the Pacific Ocean. We have seen missions, of which the schools, places of wors.h.i.+p, and dwelling-houses, constructed of iron, were imported from the United States ready made, while the expenses of maintenance were defrayed by an annual grant of 20,000 dollars. What a gratifying contrast to the wretched appliances with which Catholic oversea missions are compelled to eke out a precarious existence!

We landed at a spot where the Roankiddi promised to be navigable for vessels of a better cla.s.s than the hollowed-out canoes of the natives, and for the remainder of the distance to the chief's residence we followed a footpath through the forest. Close to the landing-place is a large, hall-like building, which is used as an a.s.sembly-room by the natives on the occasion of their festivities. Around the interior of this are ranged couches stuffed with straw for families of rank, not unlike berths round a s.h.i.+p's cabin. The centre of the hall is set apart for slaves and servants, who during these rude reunions are busily employed preparing food and drink for strangers. As often as a meeting is deemed necessary, invitations are sent off to the various chiefs requesting their co-operation. On very important occasions these are intoned through a conk. As soon as all are a.s.sembled the king lays the subject-matter of the debate before them, when every one present is at liberty to express his opinion. Frequently these discussions become very animated, especially when the orators happen to have partaken too freely of Kawa, when only the interference of the less excited chiefs can prevent the disputants from coming to blows. When we saw it, there were in the hall of justice, as it might be termed, a number of huge, lengthy, but elegant canoes, painted red, which gave it rather the appearance of a shed than a festive hall.

The footpath to the chief's residence led through a most beautiful tropical landscape. The estate of the Nannekin (as the natives designate a king in their own language) was laid out quite in the European fas.h.i.+on, and the entrance was indicated by a wooden gateway. The house itself, a lengthy oblong of wood and cane-work, with a roof of palm-leaves, and built upon a sort of platform of two or three courses of stone, and furnished in every part with numerous large apertures serving as windows, presented from without a very comfortable, even imposing appearance; but the interior was bare, ill-equipped, and sadly out of order. A row of wooden columns, irregularly cut, and partially covered with gay-coloured stuffs, running parallel with the thin exterior walls, formed a narrow pa.s.sage, a closer view of which was, however, shut off by cotton hangings stretching across. The clothes and other property of the family hung here at random, suspended from pegs and lines all round the wide hall, and in the middle a hole had been excavated, which apparently was intended for a fire-place. Among the articles of furniture we specially noticed a large iron chest, with iron clampings, and a very singular-looking loom, on which a fabric was being woven in variegated colours. The chief was not at home, and had to be summoned, his timely absence affording an excellent opportunity for examining the environs of the palace a little more closely. In immediate proximity were a number of bread-fruit trees (_Dong-dong_), the fruit of which forms the staple diet of the natives, and has long been prepared by them in quite a unique manner.

The bread-fruit, so soon as it is ripe, is stripped of its husk, and cut into small pieces. These the natives place in pits dug for the purpose about three feet deep, in which they are placed in layers carefully wrapped in banana leaves so as to prevent moisture reaching them. Thus prepared, the pits are filled up to within a few inches of the surface, covered with leaves, and weighted with heavy stones so distributed as to diffuse an equal pressure throughout. Thus each pit is both air and water tight. After a short time fermentation sets in, till the whole is converted into a substance resembling cheese. The original idea of thus storing the bread-fruit is said, according to tradition, to have been suggested to the natives by a violent hurricane having at a remote period levelled all the bread-fruit trees on the island, thus causing a great famine. The fruit thus treated continues fit for consumption for years, and, despite its sour taste and nauseous odour when exhumed, it is regarded by the natives as a most palatable and nutritive dish, when well kneaded, placed between two banana leaves, and baked between two hot stones. Besides the bread-fruit, the princ.i.p.al articles of food in use among the natives are cocoa-nuts, sugar-cane, yams, pigeons, turtle, fish, and trepang, the sort of sea-cuc.u.mber of which we have already given a description, and which the natives eat in the raw state.

They also eat taro (_Caladium esculentum_), a beautiful bulbous-rooted plant of the _Aroidea_ tribe, with its broad elegant leaves, which, together with wild ginger and turmeric (which is used sometimes for food, sometimes for anointing the person, or dyeing their dresses) and the plant they call Kawa (_Piper Methystic.u.m_), grow in great profusion on the property of the Nannekin.

As in all the South Sea Islands, the juice of the Kawa is used in Puynipet for distilling an intoxicating beverage, which indeed plays a conspicuous part in all their solemnities. But the mode of preparing it is somewhat better calculated to tempt the palate, since it is not, as elsewhere, first chewed by the women, but rubbed between two large stones, wetted, and then drawn off in cocoa-nut sh.e.l.ls. The leading chief is ent.i.tled to the first sh.e.l.ls of the prepared Kawa, or, if he is not present, the chief priest, who mutters a few prayers over it ere drinking it.

The liquid, as thus procured from this species of pepper, is of a brownish-yellow colour, somewhat like that of coffee into which milk has been poured. The taste is sweet and agreeable, producing a glow in the stomach, and induces a sort of intoxication, widely different however from the form that alcoholic inebriations a.s.sume with us. Men in the habit of drinking Kawa neither stagger about, nor speak thick and loud, when under its influence. A sort of s.h.i.+ver affects the whole frame, and their gait becomes listless and slow, but they never lose consciousness. In its last stage, the person affected feels an extraordinary weakness in all his joints; headache and an irresistible inclination to go to sleep supervene, and a state of most complete repose becomes an absolute necessity.

The custom of Kawa drinking is diffused over the whole of the islands of the Pacific. It even appears to have become a necessary of life among the natives of Polynesia, just as betel-chewing and palm-wine are to the Malays and Hindoos, opium-smoking and samchoo to the Chinese, chicha to the Mexican races, and coca to the South American Indians.

In former times, on certain of the islands, the chiefs had regular watchers, whose duty it was to guard their monarchs from being disturbed when thus reposing. A dog which dared to bark, a c.o.c.k that was venturesome enough to crow, were forthwith put to death. The too liberal or long-continued indulgence in Kawa seems to generate a peculiar cuticular disease. Inveterate Kawa drinkers seem haggard or melancholy, their eyes are sunk, their teeth of a bright yellow, their skin dry and chopped, and the whole body is covered with boils; but those in whom such sores heal up again, point with pride to the cicatrices that mark where they occurred.

The more of these scars a Kawa drinker can show, the higher is his character. Besides producing unconsciousness, Kawa also induces exceedingly erotic dreams.

According to the information which the white settlers gave us respecting the method of cultivation of the soil of Puynipet and its climate, it seems that sugar-cane, coffee, cotton, rice, tobacco, &c., would be certain to succeed. Sugar-cane is found even now in the wild state; and to a certain extent it forms an article of food of the natives, who suck the juice.

The chief of Roankiddi is a handsome young man of lofty stature, strong frame, of dark brown almost bronze skin, and agreeable, winning expression. With the exception of the usual ap.r.o.n of palm-leaves, and a bright red belt, he was naked, and wore a green circlet on his fine, l.u.s.trous black hair, and a piece of sugar-cane in his right hand. His arms and legs were very neatly tattooed. He seemed quite to understand the use of a red Turkish fez with blue ta.s.sel, which we presented to him, and took from his head its own exceedingly picturesque covering. Having been apprized of the friendly nature of our visit, he begged us to enter his house, which was not so easy a process as it seems, since the only access was by one of the windows, about three feet from the ground. The Nannekin, however, set us the example, and we followed. He first invited us to sit upon European chairs, and ordered his pretty young wife to fetch us cocoa-nut milk. It was the first time we had ever tasted this drink of the natural man in the goblet of civilization! How differently did this invaluable drink taste, when quaffed from the fresh green sh.e.l.l, than in the artificial vessel of human manufacture! The natives of Puynipet did not, like those of Nicobar, show their dexterity in opening the young cocoa-nut by means of a slash. Here the husk is peeled off, and an opening bored with much trouble till the fluid contents gush out--a process so tedious, and manifesting so little ingenuity, that one would rather expect it to be adopted by a European, who for the first time in his life was opening a cocoa-nut, than from a child of the tropics. After the queen had presented with her dainty little hands the cocoa-nut drink to the foreign guests, she squatted herself smiling and laughing on the earth beside the monarch, occasionally hiding herself with much natural grace behind her youthful husband, when she could not restrain a burst of mirth at the interest with which we seemed to regard many of the objects in her simple household. Nothing surprised her more than that we should attach such value to some baskets, plaited work, boxes, &c., as to be willing to exchange articles of European make for them. Like all the other females we saw, the young queen wore nothing but a piece of yellow linen (_liku_), about five feet long, round her loins, which reached to her knees, and was attached by one extremity to the haunch. Her splendid black hair was adorned with a chaplet of yellow flowers, and her body, smeared with cocoa-nut oil, was plentifully besprinkled with turmeric (called by the natives _Kitschi-neang_). Her legs and forearms were beautifully tattooed.

The gown, or rather ap.r.o.n, worn by the men is made of the fresh leaves of the cocoa-palm, which, bleached and cut into narrow strips, are fastened at the upper end with a string, and then adorned with numerous flaps of red cloth. This gown stretches from the hips to about the knees, and is about two feet long. To be in the fas.h.i.+on at Puynipet, a dandy must wear at least six of these round his body! The ladies of the island stain white calico with turmeric, yellow being apparently the favourite colour of the country. A bright-coloured light handkerchief usually covers the upper part of the body, and they adorn their long beautiful black tresses with the delicate flowers of the cocoa-palm. On high days the ladies wear red clothes hemmed with white calico. Such of the natives, however, as are converted to Christianity, appear in clothes made after the European fas.h.i.+on, although many a part of dress would still have to be remedied, ere a native of Puynipet or his better half would be presentable in a saloon.

Men and women alike are tattooed from the loins to the ancles, and from the elbows to the wrist. This curious practice is performed on both s.e.xes at from ten to twelve years of age by old women, with whom it is a regular profession. The blue colouring matter used is obtained from the abundant nut-like fruit of the _Aleurites triloba_, which they heat on the fire, and then peel off the hard crust which forms upon it. The operation is performed with the sharp point of a species of pine, or with a pointed instrument[193] made from fish-bone, which is placed upon the skin, when it is driven in with a slight blow, till the whole design comes out upon the body. Besides the turmeric already mentioned, we saw but one colouring stuff, dyeing red, which seemed to be obtained from _Bixa Orellana_, and is used by the natives to paint their canoes with.

Many of the natives are subject to a very disgusting scaly eruption of the skin (_Ichthyosis_), but do not seem to feel any discomfort from it. Some travellers ascribe this to the immoderate use as an article of diet of raw uncooked fish. It is singular that this malady is found on all the islands near the equator, and was also found by Captain Cheyne among the Pellew Islanders. That shrewd observer once had on board for four months a native of Puynipet as servant, whose whole body was covered with this eruption, but who speedily lost every trace of it as soon as his chief diet was salt meat and vegetables. Beside this cuticular malady, the natives are greatly afflicted with scurvy and intermittent fever. Most of their infants too suffer from Yaws[194] (_Framboesia_), a disgusting eruption, called by the natives "_Keutsch_," which, however, disappears when the child has attained about its third or fourth year. The marks left by this malady when cicatrized might easily be mistaken for those of inoculation.

The Nannekin, although the king of his tribe, nevertheless seemed on the whole to exercise but little influence over his subjects. Thus, for example, we were eye-witnesses of how he vainly attempted to induce two native boys to carry our bananas as far as our place of disembarkation. On the other hand, in all that concerned trading with foreigners he seemed to be thoroughly alive to his own interest. One native who was driving a bargain with us for something, was informed forthwith of the value which the Nannekin a.s.signed to it.

Money is as yet but little used at Puynipet as a medium of exchange, only the whites resident there and the chiefs take a few English and United States coins; and many a native would generally not part for a silver dollar from an object which he will readily give for a piece of chewing tobacco or a common knife. The most useful articles for barter are pieces of bright-coloured calico, red s.h.i.+rts, hatchets, knives, axes, straight swords, muskets, ammunition, biscuit, old clothes, and tobacco.[195]

Of the latter article American Cavendish or negro-head in longish pieces is the most in repute. The Puynipetanese have no special fondness for cigars, nor do they use pipes, but only chew pa.s.sionately tobacco. As they are unacquainted with the use of the Betel, their teeth are universally beautiful, and of a brilliant white.

There are on the island five tribes, wholly independent of each other,--the Roankiddi, the Metelemia, the Not, the Tchokoits, and the Awnak, none, however, numbering much above 1500 souls, the most numerous and important being the Roankiddi.

Each king, we are told, has a minister whose power almost rivals his own.

Next in rank to the minister are the n.o.bles, who bear the following strange-sounding t.i.tles: Talk, Washy, Nane-by, Noatch, Shoe-Shabut, and Groen-wani; after these come such as are not of n.o.ble birth, but have earned them through ill.u.s.trious deeds, and have been rewarded with estates. On the death of the king he is succeeded by whichever of his n.o.bles has the t.i.tle of Talk, the others rising one grade. The monarch has the right of freely disposing of his property. As a rule he leaves it to his sons, but if he have none he usually bequeaths it to the next sovereign. Between the monarch and his courtiers some quaint patriarchal customs prevail. Thus the first ripe bread-fruit is brought to the king.

Whenever a chief uses a new turtle or fish net, the prey during a certain number of days is sent to the king. Another mark of the respect paid to the king, as also by all ranks to their superiors, is to be found in the custom for a native who meets another of higher rank in a canoe,--he cowers down in his own boat till the other has pa.s.sed by, the two canoes approaching on the side opposite the outrigger, so that the person of superior condition may, if he see fit, satisfy himself of the ident.i.ty of the other.

The Awnaks and Tchokoits had, at the period of our visit, been at war with each other for six months, and it is significant of the ferocity and courage of both parties, that not a single combatant had thus far been wounded on either side! Their weapons are chiefly spears of hard wood, six feet long, the barb, instead of iron, being made of fish-bones, thorns, or ground mussel-sh.e.l.ls, which they throw with great dexterity; also hatchets, long knives, and old muskets, obtained from the whale-fishers in return for yams and tortoise-sh.e.l.l. At present there are about 1500 muskets in all on the island, and each native possesses at least one, some of the chiefs having as many as three, besides ample ammunition. Singular to say, these formidable auxiliaries are rarely called into play in any of their wars, the fatal effect of fire-arms having contributed not a little to the promotion of harmony and peace between the various tribes!

Their warriors are selected from among the most powerful men of the tribe, and as a rule they behave with much consideration to the women and children, whom they almost always spare. When either party sues for peace, a neutral party is sent to the monarch of the opposite tribe with a few Kawa roots. If these are accepted, the struggle is considered over, and a succession of friendly visits are thereupon exchanged between the chiefs of the two tribes, which are usually followed up by festivities and much consumption of Kawa.

As to the narratives of most earlier travellers that the island is inhabited by two entirely distinct races, the one yellow the other black, we could neither see nor hear of anything which would confirm such a statement. It seemed more probable that the diversity of skin and hair among the various tribes was exclusively caused by a variety of crosses, which are still frequent, and in former times must have been still more prevalent. The present population consists of whites, negroes, and yellow-coloured aborigines, who, as speaking a dialect allied to that of Polynesia, seem to belong to the Malay-Polynesian _stirps_. The present white settlers are English and North Americans; formerly they were chiefly Spanish and Portuguese who traded with the natives. Negro slaves and free blacks have also occasionally visited the island, or been left there for good and all. These considerations alone suffice to explain certain appearances among the natives, such as brown or yellow skins, with crisp woolly hair, and very full lips, without any more marked characteristics of the Ethiopian race. We noticed one native with woolly hair of a reddish hue, but otherwise of strongly-marked Malay features, and on inquiring into his ancestry, were informed in reply that his father was a Portuguese (negro understood), and his mother a native.

The daughter of Doctor Cook, the Scotchman already mentioned, of whose union with a native woman of the island there was issue a handsome well-shaped _mestiza_ of a light yellow colour, strongly recalling the stately, elegant quadroons of New Orleans and St. Domingo, had intermarried with a full-blooded negro of the district of Columbia, U. S., from which resulted a new and entirely dissimilar admixture. Their children had the face of the mother, with the woolly head of the father.

At all events it may be laid down with some degree of certainty, that the aboriginal races, especially those inhabiting the Caroline Archipelago, are not of the Pelagian Mongols, nor are they an offshoot of the Mongolian race of the Asiatic continent, as Lesson maintained; also that Puynipet has not been peopled by the Papuan negroes; that the woolly crisp hair of so many of its inhabitants is mainly explained by the intimacy between the black crews of the whalers (it being well known that a large proportion of the crews of the American whalers are negroes), some 50 or 60 of which visit the island every year, and often remain for several weeks taking in provisions and other stores.

Puynipet has been for some years past the chief rendezvous of the whalers in the Caroline Archipelago, because it is of all the islands the most accessible, has the best and safest harbours, and because fuel and water are procurable thence in unlimited quant.i.ties.

The complexion of the natives is of a clear copper hue, and the average height of the males is 5 feet 8 in.; the women are much smaller than the men, with delicate features and flexible forms. The sons of the chiefs are usually well formed, and lighter in colour than the majority of the population, the consequence of their being less exposed to the weather, and in any part of the world would pa.s.s for elegant men. The nose is arched, the mouth wide with full lips and dazzling teeth. The flap of the ear is bored in both s.e.xes, but is rarely much enlarged by artificial means. Both men and women have beautiful black hair, which they take great care of.

The men have neither beard nor mustachios. They eradicate the hair so soon as it makes its appearance on the cheeks by means of mussel-sh.e.l.ls, or two little pieces of tortoise-sh.e.l.l sharpened. The women are usually pretty, but as the girls marry very young they soon lose the freshness of youth.

Their complexion is much fairer than that of the men. The cause of this is to be found in their wearing a sort of upper robe of calico; a large piece of stuff with a hole in the centre through which to put the head, which thus protects their bodies somewhat from the direct rays of the sun.

The natives are said to be very temperate and methodical in their habits of life. They rise at daybreak, bathe in the river, take a little vegetable food, anoint their bodies with cocoa-nut oil, after which they sprinkle themselves plentifully with powdered turmeric. This done, they address themselves to some simple avocation, which they prosecute till noon, when they once more withdraw to their huts, bathe, and partake of another equally frugal repast. The rest of the day is spent in amus.e.m.e.nts and mutual visiting. Towards sunset they take a third meal, and as they have neither torches nor artificial light of any sort, they usually retire early to rest, unless fis.h.i.+ng or dancing by moonlight.

Much respect and consideration is paid to the weaker s.e.x throughout the island, they not being put to any work which does not come within their regular sphere of duty. All outdoor work is done by the men, who build the huts and canoes, plant yams and Kawa, fish, transport the food from the plantation to the house, and even cook it.

The women are chiefly occupied within-doors, in fis.h.i.+ng, or cleaning the vegetables, most of their time being taken up with preparing head-dresses, weaving girdles, sewing together palm or panda.n.u.s leaves for clothes, plaiting elegant baskets, and looking after the house and children.

Never at any time patterns of virtue and chast.i.ty, the importation of European trinkets and luxuries of all sorts has greatly increased the spread of immorality among the native women, who are actuated by an insatiate, irresistible craving to possess articles of European manufacture.

When a native wishes to marry, he makes a present to the father of the girl he wishes to marry; if not returned, it is understood his addresses are accepted. Thereupon invitations are issued to a merry-making, with feast, and dance, and revel, after which the bridegroom conducts his bride to his dwelling. When she dies the widower marries her sister, the brother in like manner being required to marry his widowed sister-in-law in the case of the death of the husband, even though he may happen to be already married. Under certain circ.u.mstances a man is at liberty to divorce his wife and take another; a woman, on the other hand, enjoys no such privilege, unless she happen to be of higher rank. The chiefs usually have several wives, polygamy, as among the Mormons, being only limited by the means of providing subsistence. The women are of an unusually gossiping, talkative turn, they are quite incapable of keeping their own secrets, and many a delinquency is generally known at the very moment of its commission.

The funeral ceremonies seem to have undergone some modification since the natives began to have intercourse with Europeans. In former times the dead were enveloped in straw mats, and kept for a considerable time in the huts: through the influence of the missionaries, apparently, they have adopted the European custom of interring their dead in certain special places. On the death of a chief or any exalted person, the female relatives of the deceased a.s.semble to mourn for a specific period, and betray their sorrow by loud sobs and lamentations by day and dances by night. The connections of the deceased cut off their hair as a mark of their sorrow. All the goods and clothes of the defunct are carried away by whoever is nearest or first possesses himself of them, and this custom is so universal that objects thus obtained are thenceforth considered as lawful property.

The natives usually pray to the spirits of their departed chiefs, whom they implore to grant them success in fis.h.i.+ng, rich harvests in bread-fruit and yams, the arrival of numerous foreign s.h.i.+ps with beautiful articles for barter, and a variety of similar matters. The priests of their idols profess to be able to read the future, and the natives place the most implicit confidence in these predictions. They believe that the priest is inspired with the spirit of a deceased chief, and that every word they utter when in this excited state is dictated by the departed.

When any of these prophecies fail, as is often enough the case, the cunning priest pretends that another more powerful spirit has interfered, and forcibly prevented the accomplishment of what they had foretold.

The religion of this primitive people is very simple. They have neither idols nor temple, and although they believe in a future state after death, they seem to have no religious customs or festivals of any sort. Their notion of a future state is under such circ.u.mstances exceedingly extraordinary.

Their abode after death they believe to be surrounded by a colossal wall amid a fathomless abyss, in fact a sort of fortress. The only portal into this Elysian abode is guarded by an old woman, whose duty it is to hurl back into the yawning deep the shadows of the departed, who are compelled to spring upwards from the abyss. Such of the shadows as succeed in eluding the evil spirit and effecting an entrance are for ever happy; on the other hand, those whom the malicious female demon succeeds in precipitating into the abyss sink into the region of endless woe and torture.

The native festivals, as a rule, take precedence of every other business, no matter how pressing. Every year the king visits the various villages and settlements of those of his tribe, at which period the chief festivities take place, the chiefs vieing with each other in entertaining him. Enormous quant.i.ties of yam and bread-fruit are on such occasions cooked two days previous, and Kawa is drunk to excess.

Their dances are far from unbecoming, and are quite free from those lascivious gestures which are so often seen at the festivals of the other inhabitants of the South Sea. The dancers are usually unmarried lads and girls, who stand opposite each other in long rows. While keeping time with their feet to the music, they accompany the dance with graceful motions of the arms and upper part of the body. Occasionally they throw their arms out, snap their fingers, and then clap the hands together. Every movement is performed with extraordinary precision, and at the same moment by all the dancers. Their sole musical instrument is a small flute made of bamboo-cane, the notes of which they draw forth by inserting one end in the nostril and blowing gently, while their hands are busy fingering the holes in the usual way.

Their drum is a piece of hollowed-out wood with the skin of a shark stretched over it, of the shape of a sand-gla.s.s. This is struck with the fingers of the right hand, the instrument being hung on the left side. The sound somewhat resembles the Tom-tom of the Hindoos. The drummer sits cross-legged on the ground, and accompanies the beat of the drum with apposite words.

As to the monumental ruins of the interior of Puynipet which have never yet been visited and described by scientific travellers, we were informed that they consisted of nothing more than a large number of colossal rough-hewn blocks of basalt in the heart of the forest, near Metelenia harbour. The simplicity of the native, in the absence of all means of accounting for them naturally, sees in these the grand forms of the spirits of departed chiefs. Experienced travellers, on the other hand, are of opinion that in this primeval forest, where now only rocky debris lie scattered about, there once stood strong fortifications, such as indeed no savage people could have erected, and that the character of the ruins evidences a high state of civilization in those who erected them. Some of the blocks are 8 or 10 feet long, hexagonal, and must evidently have been brought from some other country, since, with the exception of these, there are no other stones of a similar description found in any part of the island. Streets are laid out at various points, and the whole settlement seems to have consisted of a range of strongly fortified dwellings.[196]

These columns and blocks, however, possess a special interest not merely in the history of civilization, but of geology, as a part is at present under water, and can only be reached in canoes, a difficulty which cannot have been in existence at the period of their erection. What once were streets are now pa.s.sages for canoes, and were the walls, built of ma.s.sive basalt blocks, to be pulled up, the water would obtain access to the inclosed s.p.a.ce. This has induced later geologists to refer this phenomenon to a sinking of the entire group, so that Puynipet is perhaps the only spot on the earth where Darwin's ingenious theory of the construction of perpendicular reefs and atolls being the result of a sinking of the soil on which the coral-animal had begun to erect his edifice, receives confirmation from the existence of the remains of man's handiwork within the historic period.