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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Two Years with the Natives in the Western
+Pacific, by Felix Speiser
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Two Years with the Natives in the Western Pacific
+
+Author: Felix Speiser
+
+Release Date: December 20, 2008 [EBook #27578]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TWO YEARS WITH THE NATIVES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+       Two Years with the Natives in the Western Pacific
+
+                               By
+
+                       Dr. Felix Speiser
+
+        With 40 illustrations from photographs and a map
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+This book is a collection of sketches written on lonely evenings
+during my voyage; some of them have been published in daily papers,
+and were so kindly received by the public as to encourage me to
+issue them in book form. In order to retain the freshness of first
+impressions, the original form has been but slightly changed, and
+only so much ethnological detail has been added as will help to an
+understanding of native life. The book does not pretend to give a
+scientific description of the people of the New Hebrides; that will
+appear later; it is meant simply to transmit some of the indelible
+impressions the traveller was privileged to receive,--impressions
+both stern and sweet. The author will be amply repaid if he succeeds
+in giving the reader some slight idea of the charm and the terrors
+of the islands. He will be proud if his words can convey a vision of
+the incomparable beauty and peacefulness of the glittering lagoon,
+and of the sublimity of the virgin forest; if the reader can divine
+the charm of the native when gay and friendly, and his ferocity when
+gloomy and hostile. I have set down some of the joys and some of the
+hardships of an explorer's life; and I received so many kindnesses
+from all the white colonists I met, that one great object of my
+writing is to show my gratitude for their friendly help.
+
+First of all, I would mention His Britannic Majesty's Resident,
+Mr. Morton King, who followed my studies with the most sympathetic
+interest, was my most hospitable host, and, I may venture to
+say, my friend. I would name Mr. Colonna, Résident de France,
+Judge Alexander in Port Vila, and Captain Harrowell; in Santo,
+Rev. Father Bochu, the Messrs. Thomas, Mr. Fysh, Mr. Clapcott; in
+Malo, Mr. M. Wells and Mr. Jacquier; in Vao, Rev. Father Jamond; in
+Malekula, Rev. F. Paton, Rev. Jaffrays, Mr. Bird and Mr. Fleming;
+in Ambrym, Rev. Dr. J. J. Bowie, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Decent; in
+Pentecoste, Mr. Filmer; in Aoba, Mr. Albert and Rev. Grunling; in
+Tanna, Rev. Macmillan and Dr. Nicholson; in Venua Lava, Mr. Choyer; in
+Nitendi, Mr. Matthews. I am also indebted to the Anglican missionaries,
+especially Rev. H. N. Drummond, and to Captain Sinker of the steam
+yacht Southern Cross, to the supercargo and captains of the steamers
+of Burns, Philp & Company. There are many more who assisted me in
+various ways, often at the expense of their own comfort and interest,
+and not the least of the impressions I took home with me is, that
+nowhere can one find wider hospitality or friendlier helpfulness than
+in these islands. This has helped me to forget so many things that
+do not impress the traveller favourably.
+
+If this book should come under the notice of any of these kind friends,
+the author would be proud to think that they remember him as pleasantly
+as he will recall all the friendship he received during his stay in
+the New Hebrides.
+
+
+BASLE, April 1913.
+
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+    Chap.                                               Page
+            Introduction                                  1
+    I.      Nouméa and Port Vila                         19
+    II.     Maei, Tongoa, Epi and Malekula               28
+    III.    The Segond Channel--Life on a Plantation     35
+    IV.     Recruiting for Natives                       53
+    V.      Vao                                          85
+    VI.     Port Olry and a "Sing-Sing"                 109
+    VII.    Santo                                       136
+    VIII.   Santo (continued)--Pygmies                  161
+    IX.     Santo (continued)--Pigs                     171
+    X.      Climbing Santo Peak                         179
+    XI.     Ambrym                                      191
+    XII.    Pentecoste                                  224
+    XIII.   Aoba                                        241
+    XIV.    Loloway--Malo--The Banks Islands            250
+    XV.     Tanna                                       270
+    XVI.    The Santa Cruz Islands                      277
+
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+    Shore in Graciosa Bay                       Frontispiece
+                                                 Facing page
+    Women From the Reef Islands in Carlisle Bay            3
+    Native Taro Field on Maevo                            10
+    Man from Nitendi working the Loom                     15
+    A Cannibal before his Hut on Tanna                    22
+    Dancing Table near Port Sandwich                      31
+    Old Man with Young Wife on Ambrym                     40
+    Front of a Chief's House on Venua Lava                47
+    Man from Nitendi                                      54
+    Cannibal from Big Nambas                              61
+    Woman on Nitendi                                      70
+    Canoe on Ureparapara                                  77
+    Dancing-Ground on Vao, with Ancestor Houses           85
+    Dancing-Ground on Vao                                 93
+    Woman from Tanna                                      99
+    House Fences on Vao                                  106
+    Gamal near Port Olry                                 115
+    Group of Large and Small Drums near Port Sandwich    129
+    View along the Shore of a Coral Island               136
+    Interior of a Gamal on Venua Lava                    147
+    Wild Mountain Scenery in the District of the Pygmies 163
+    Irrigated Taro Field on Santo                        179
+    Dwelling of a Trader on Ambrym                       191
+    View from Hospital--Dip Point                        199
+    Women cooking on Ambrym                              205
+    Fern Trees on Ambrym                                 218
+    Group of Drums and Statues on Malekula               227
+    Cooking-House on Aoba                                241
+    Fire-Rubbing                                         244
+    Tattooing on Aoba                                    251
+    Dwelling-House on Gaua                               255
+    Ancestor-House on Gaua                               258
+    Drum Concert on Ureparapara                          261
+    Interior of a Gamal on Gaua                          264
+    Men from Tanna                                       270
+    Women from Tanna                                     272
+    Canoe from Nitendi                                   277
+    Man from Nitendi, Shooting                           279
+    Man from Nitendi, with Pearl Shell Nose              284
+    Man from Tucopia                                     287
+    Map                                                  291
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+TWO YEARS WITH THE NATIVES IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+Late in the sixteenth century the Spaniards made several voyages
+in search of a continent in the southern part of the great Pacific
+Ocean. Alvara Mendana de Neyra, starting in 1568 from the west coast of
+South America and following about the sixth degree southern latitude,
+found the Solomon Islands, which he took for parts of the desired
+continent. In 1595 he undertook another voyage, keeping a more
+southerly course, and discovered the Queen Charlotte Islands; the
+largest of these, Nitendi, he called Santa Cruz, and gave the fitting
+name of Graciosa Bay to the lovely cove in which he anchored. He tried
+to found a colony here, but failed. Mendana died in Santa Cruz, and
+his lieutenant, Pedro Vernandez de Quiros, led the expedition home. In
+Europe, Quiros succeeded in interesting the Spanish king, Philip III.,
+in the idea of another voyage, so that in 1603 he was able to set sail
+from Spain with three ships. Again he reached the Santa Cruz Islands,
+and sailing southward from there he landed in 1606 on a larger island,
+which he took for the desired Australian continent and called Tierra
+Australis del Espiritu Santo; the large bay he named San Iago and San
+Felipe, and his anchorage Vera Cruz. He stayed here some months and
+founded the city of New Jerusalem at the mouth of the river Jordan
+in the curve of the bay. Quiros claims to have made a few sailing
+trips thence, southward along the east coast of the island; if he had
+pushed on far enough these cruises might easily have convinced him of
+the island-nature of the country. Perhaps he was aware of the truth;
+certainly the lovely descriptions he gave King Philip of the beauties
+of the new territory are so exaggerated that one may be pardoned
+for thinking him quite capable of dignifying an island by the name
+of continent.
+
+The inevitable quarrels with the natives, and diseases and mutinies
+among his crew, forced him to abandon the colony and return home. His
+lieutenant, Luis Vaez de Torres, separated from him, discovered and
+passed the Torres Straits, a feat of excellent seamanship. Quiros
+returned to America. His high-flown descriptions of his discovery did
+not help him much, for the king simply ignored him, and his reports
+were buried in the archives. Quiros died in poverty and bitterness,
+and the only traces of his travels are the names Espiritu Santo,
+Bay San Iago and San Felipe, and Jordan, in use to this day.
+
+No more explorers came to the islands till 1767, when a Frenchman,
+Carteret, touched at Santa Cruz, and 1768, when Bougainville landed
+in the northern New Hebrides, leaving his name to the treacherous
+channel between Malekula and Santo.
+
+But all these travellers were thrown into the shade by the immortal
+discoverer, James Cook, who, in the New Hebrides, as everywhere else,
+combined into solid scientific material all that his predecessors had
+left in a state of patchwork. Cook's first voyage made possible the
+observation of the transit of Venus from one of the islands of the
+Pacific. His second cruise, in search of the Australian continent,
+led him, coming from Tongoa, to the New Hebrides, of which he first
+sighted Maevo.
+
+Assisted by two brilliant scientists, Reinhold and George Forster,
+Cook investigated the archipelago with admirable exactitude, determined
+the position of the larger islands, made scientific collections of
+all sorts, and gave us the first reliable descriptions of the country
+and its people, so that the material he gathered is of the greatest
+value even at the present day. The group had formerly been known as
+the "Great Cyclades"; Cook gave it its present name of "New Hebrides."
+
+Incited by Cook's surprising results the French Government sent La
+Pérouse to the islands, but he was shipwrecked in 1788 on Vanikoro, the
+southern-most of the Santa Cruz group; remains of this wreck were found
+on Vanikoro a few years ago. In 1789 Bligh sighted the Banks Islands,
+and in 1793 d'Entrecastaux, sent by Louis XVI. to the rescue of La
+Pérouse, saw the islands of Santa Cruz. Since that time traffic with
+the islands became more frequent; among many travellers we may mention
+the French captain, Dumont d'Urville, and the Englishmen, Belcher and
+Erskine, who, as well as Markham, have all left interesting accounts.
+
+But with Markham we enter that sad period which few islands of the
+Pacific escaped, in which the scum of the white race carried on
+their bloodstained trade in whaling products and sandalwood. They
+terrorized the natives shamelessly, and when these, naturally enough,
+often resorted to cruel modes of defence, they retaliated with deeds
+still more frightful, and the bad reputation they themselves made
+for the natives served them as a welcome excuse for a system of
+extermination. The horrors of slave-trade were added to piracy, so
+that in a few decades the native race of the New Hebrides and Banks
+Islands was so weakened that in many places to-day its preservation
+seems hopeless.
+
+Thus, for the financial advantage of the worst of whites, and from
+indolence and short-sighted national rivalry, a race was sacrificed
+which in every respect would be worth preserving, and it is a shameful
+fact that even to-day such atrocities are not impossible and very
+little is done to save the islanders from destruction.
+
+The only factor opposing these conditions was the Mission, which
+obtained a foothold in the islands under Bishop John Williams. He
+was killed in 1839 by the natives of Erromanga, but the Protestant
+missionaries, especially the Presbyterians, would not be repulsed,
+and slowly advanced northward, in spite of many losses. To-day the
+Presbyterian mission occupies all the New Hebrides, with the exception
+of Pentecoste, Aoba and Maevo. To the north lies the field of the
+Anglican mission, extending up to the Solomon Islands.
+
+In 1848 Roman Catholic missionaries settled in Aneityum, but soon
+gave up the station; in 1887 they returned and spread all over the
+archipelago, with the exception of the southern islands and the
+Banks group.
+
+Of late years several representatives of free Protestant sects have
+come out, but, as a rule, these settle only where they can combine
+a profitable trade with their mission work.
+
+Owing to energetic agitation on the part of the Anglican and
+Presbyterian Churches, especially of Bishop Patteson and the
+Rev. J. G. Paton, men-of-war were ordered to the islands on police
+duty, so as to watch the labour-trade. They could not suppress
+kidnapping entirely, and the transportation of the natives to
+Queensland continued until within the last ten years, when it was
+suppressed by the Australian Government, so that to-day the natives
+are at least not taken away from their own islands, except those
+recruited by the French for New Caledonia.
+
+Unhappily, England and France could not agree as to who should annex
+the New Hebrides. Violent agitation in both camps resulted in neither
+power being willing to leave the islands to the other, as numerical
+superiority on the French side was counter-balanced by the absolute
+economical dependence of the colonists upon Australia. England put
+the group under the jurisdiction of the "Western Pacific," with
+a high commissioner; France retorted by the so-called purchase of
+all useful land by the "Société Française des Nouvelles Hébrides,"
+a private company, which spent great sums on the islands in a short
+time. Several propositions of exchange failed to suit either of the
+powers, but both feared the interference of a third, and conditions
+in the islands called urgently for a government; so, in 1887, a
+dual control was established, each power furnishing a warship and a
+naval commissioner, who were to unite in keeping order. This was the
+beginning of the present Condominium, which was signed in 1906 and
+proclaimed in 1908 in Port Vila; quite a unique form of government
+and at the same time a most interesting experiment in international
+administration.
+
+The Condominium puts every Englishman or Frenchman under the laws
+of his own nation, as represented by its officials; so that these
+two nationalities live as they would in any colony of their own,
+while all others have to take their choice between these two.
+
+Besides the national laws, the Condominium has a few ordinances to
+regulate the intercourse between the two nations, the sale of liquor
+and arms to natives, recruiting and treatment of labourers, etc. As
+the highest instance in the islands and as a supreme tribunal, an
+international court of six members has been appointed: two Spanish,
+two Dutch, one English and one French. Thus the higher officials of
+the Condominium are:
+
+
+    One English and one French resident commissioner,
+    One Spanish president of the Court,
+    One English and one French judge,
+    One Dutch registrar,
+    One Spanish prosecuting attorney,
+    One Dutch native advocate,
+    One English and one French police commissioner.
+
+
+The Santa Cruz Islands were annexed by England in 1898 and belong to
+the jurisdiction of the Solomon Islands.
+
+
+
+Geography
+
+The New Hebrides lie between 165° and 170° east longitude, and reach
+from 13° to 20° south latitude. The Santa Cruz Islands lie 116°
+east and 11° south.
+
+The New Hebrides and Banks Islands consist of thirteen larger islands
+and a great number of islets and rocks, covering an area of about
+15,900 km. The largest island is Espiritu Santo, about 107 x 57
+km., with 4900 km. surface. They are divided into the Torres group,
+the Banks Islands, the Central and the Southern New Hebrides. The
+Banks and Torres Islands and the Southern New Hebrides are composed
+of a number of isolated, scattered islands, while the Central group
+forms a chain, which divides at Epi into an eastern and a western
+branch, and encloses a stretch of sea, hemming it in on all sides
+except the north. On the coast of this inland sea, especially on the
+western islands, large coral formations have grown, changing what was
+originally narrow mountain chains, running north and south, to larger
+islands. Indeed, most of them seem to consist of a volcanic nucleus,
+on which lie great coral banks, often 200 m. high; these usually
+drop in five steep steps to the sea, and then merge into the living
+coral-reef in the water. Most of the islands, therefore, appear as
+typical table-islands, out of which, in the largest ones, rise the
+rounded tops of the volcanic stones. They are all very mountainous;
+the highest point is Santo Peak, 1500 m. high.
+
+The tides cause very nasty tide-rips in the narrow channels between
+the islands of the Central group; but inside, the sea is fairly good,
+and the reefs offer plenty of anchorage for small craft. Much less
+safe are the open archipelagoes of the Banks and Torres Islands and
+of the Southern New Hebrides, where the swell of the open ocean is
+unbroken by any land and harbours are scarce.
+
+There are three active volcanoes on the New Hebrides--the mighty
+double crater on Ambrym, the steep cone of Lopevi, and the volcano
+of Tanna. There is a half-extinct volcano on Venua Lava, and many
+other islands show distinct traces of former volcanic activity,
+such as Meralava and Ureparapara, one side of which has broken down,
+so that now there is a smooth bay where once the lava boiled.
+
+Rivers are found only on the larger islands, where there are volcanic
+rocks. In the coral rocks the rain-water oozes rapidly away, so
+that fresh-water springs are not frequently found, in spite of very
+considerable rainfall.
+
+
+
+Climate
+
+The climate is not hot and very equable. The average temperature in
+Efate in 1910 was 24.335° C.; the hottest month was February, with
+an average of 27.295°, the coolest, July with 11.9° C. The lowest
+absolute temperature was 11.9° C. in August, and the highest 35.6°
+C. in March. The average yearly variation, therefore, was 5.48°,
+and the absolute difference 23.7°.
+
+The rainfall is very heavy. In December the maximum, 564 mm., was
+reached, and in June the minimum, 22 mm. The total rainfall was 3.012
+mm., giving a daily average of 8.3 mm.
+
+These figures, taken from a table in the Neo-Hebridais, show that the
+year is divided into a cool, dry season and a hot, damp one. From May
+to October one enjoys agreeable summer days, bright and cool, with a
+predominant south-east trade-wind, that rises and falls with the sun
+and creates a fairly salubrious climate. From November to April the
+atmosphere is heavy and damp, and one squall follows another. Often
+there is no wind, or the wind changes quickly and comes in heavy gusts
+from the north-west. This season is the time for cyclones, which occur
+at least once a year; happily, their centre rarely touches the islands,
+as they lie somewhat out of the regular cyclone track.
+
+A similar climate, with but slightly higher temperature, prevails on
+the Santa Cruz Islands.
+
+
+
+Flora and Fauna
+
+The vegetation of the New Hebrides is luxurious enough to make all
+later visitors share Quiros' amazement. The possibilities for the
+planter are nearly inexhaustible, and the greatest difficulty is
+that of keeping the plantations from the constant encroachments of
+the forest. Yet the flora is poorer in forms than that of Asiatic
+regions, and in the southern islands it is said to be much like that
+of New Caledonia.
+
+As a rule, thick forest covers the islands; only rarely we find areas
+covered with reed-grass. On Erromanga these are more frequent.
+
+In the Santa Cruz Islands the flora seems richer than in the New
+Hebrides.
+
+Still more simple than the flora is the fauna. Of mammals there are
+only the pig, dog, a flying-fox and the rat, of which the first two
+have probably been imported by the natives. There are but few birds,
+reptiles and amphibies, but the few species there are are very
+prolific, so that we find swarms of lizards and snakes, the latter
+all harmless Boidæ, but occasionally of considerable size.
+
+Crocodiles are found only in the Santa Cruz Islands, and do not grow
+so large there as in the Solomon Islands.
+
+Animal life in the sea is very rich; turtles and many kinds of fish
+and Cetaceæ are plentiful.
+
+
+
+Native Population
+
+The natives belong to the Melanesian race, which is a collective
+name for the dark-skinned, curly-haired, bearded inhabitants of the
+Pacific. The Melanesians are quite distinct from the Australians,
+and still more so from the lank-haired, light-skinned Polynesians of
+the eastern islands. Probably a mixture of Polynesians and Melanesians
+are the Micronesians, who are light-skinned but curly-haired, and of
+whom we find representatives in the New Hebrides. The island-nature
+of the archipelago is very favourable to race-mixture; and as we know
+that on some islands there were several settlements of Polynesians,
+it is not surprising to find a very complex mingling of races, which
+it is not an easy task to disentangle. It would seem, however, that
+we have before us remnants of four races: a short, dark, curly-haired
+and perhaps original race, a few varieties of the tall Melanesian
+race, arrived in the islands in several migrations, an old Polynesian
+element as a relic of its former migrations eastward, and a present
+Polynesian element from the east.
+
+Every traveller will notice that the lightest population is in the
+south and north-east of the New Hebrides, while the darkest is in
+the north-west, and the ethnological difference corresponds to this
+division.
+
+In the Banks Islands we find, probably owing to recent immigration,
+more Polynesian blood than in the northern New Hebrides; in the Santa
+Cruz group the process of mixing seems to be just going on.
+
+The number of natives in the New Hebrides and Banks Islands
+amounted, according to the approximate census of the British Resident
+Commissioner in 1910, to 65,000. At a conservative estimate we may say
+that before the coming of the whites, that is, a generation ago, it was
+ten times that, i.e. 650,000. For to judge from present conditions,
+the accounts of old men and the many ruined villages, it is evident
+that the race must have decreased enormously.
+
+
+
+Language
+
+The languages belong to the Melanesian and Polynesian classes. They are
+split up into numerous dialects, so widely different that natives of
+different districts can hardly, if at all, understand each other. It
+is evident that owing to the seclusion of the villages caused by the
+general insecurity of former days, and the lack of any literature,
+the language developed differently in every village.
+
+On some islands things are so bad that one may easily walk in one day
+through several districts, in each of which is spoken a language quite
+unintelligible to the neighbours; there are even adjoining villages
+whose natives have to learn each other's language; this makes them
+fairly clever linguists. Where, by migrations, conditions have become
+too complicated, the most important of the dialects has been adopted
+as a kind of "lingua franca."
+
+Under these circumstances I at once gave up the idea of learning a
+native language, as I never stopped anywhere more than a few weeks; and
+as the missionaries have done good work in the cause of philology, my
+services were not needed. I was, therefore, dependent on interpreters
+in "biche la mar," a language which contains hardly more than fifty
+words, and which is spoken on the plantations, but is quite useless
+for discussing any abstract subject. In nearly every village there
+is some man who can speak biche la mar.
+
+
+
+Colonization
+
+As we have seen, colonization in the New Hebrides was begun by the
+whalers, who had several stations in the southern islands. They had,
+however, little intercourse with the natives, and their influence
+may be considered fairly harmless.
+
+More dangerous were the sandalwood traders, who worked chiefly in
+Erromanga. They were not satisfied with buying the valuable wood
+from the natives, but tried to get directly at the rich supplies
+inland. Naturally, they came into conflict with the natives, and
+fierce wars arose, in which the whites fought with all the weapons
+unscrupulous cruelty can wield. As a result, the population of
+Erromanga has decreased from between 5000 and 10,000 to 800.
+
+Happily, the northern islands were not so rich in sandalwood, so that
+contact with the whites came later, through the coprah-makers. Coprah
+is dried cocoa-nut, which is used in manufacturing soap, and the
+great wealth of cocoa-nut palms attracted coprah-makers as early
+as the 'Seventies of the last century. They were nearly all ruined
+adventurers, either escaped from the Nouméa penitentiary or otherwise
+the scum of the white race. Such individuals would settle near
+a good anchorage close to some large village, build a straw hut,
+and barter coprah for European goods and liquor. They made a very
+fair profit, but were constantly quarrelling with the natives, whom
+they enraged by all sorts of brutalities. The frequent murders of
+such traders were excusable, to say the least, and many later ones
+were acts of justifiable revenge. The traders were kept in contact
+with civilization through small sailing-vessels, which brought them
+new goods and bought their coprah. This easy money-making attracted
+more whites, so that along the coasts of the more peaceable islands
+numerous Europeans settled, and at present there are so many of these
+stations that the coprah-trade is no longer very profitable.
+
+Naturally, many of these settlers started plantations, and thus grew
+up the plantation centres of Mele, Port Havannah, Port Sandwich, Epi
+and the Segond Channel. Many plantations were created by the "Société
+Française des Nouvelles Hébrides," but owing to bad management these
+have never yet brought any returns.
+
+Thus, to the alcohol peril was added another danger to the
+natives,--work on the plantations. They were kidnapped, overworked,
+ill-fed; it was slavery in its worst shape, and the treatment of the
+hands is best illustrated by the mortality which, in some places,
+reached 44 per cent. per annum. In those days natives were plentiful
+and labour easy to get, and nobody worried about the future; so the
+ruin of the race began, and to-day their number hardly suffices for
+the needs of the planters.
+
+Then the slave-trade to Queensland, Fiji, even South America began,
+so that the population, relatively small from the first, decreased
+alarmingly, all the more so as they were decimated by dysentery,
+measles, tuberculosis and other diseases.
+
+Against all these harmful influences the missions, unsupported as they
+were by any authority, could only fight by protests in the civilized
+countries; these proved effectual at last, so that the missions deserve
+great credit for having preserved the native race. Yet it cannot be
+said that they have restored its vitality, except in Tanna. It seems
+as if the system of imbibing the native with so much European culture,
+and yet separating him from the whites and regulated labour, had been
+noxious to the race, for nearly everywhere the Christianized natives
+die out just as fast as the heathen population.
+
+About ten years after the French, the English began planting, and
+to-day nearly all arable land along the coast is cultivated. The
+English suffer much less from lack of labour, which is doubtless owing
+to their more humane and just treatment of the hands. In the first
+place, they usually come from better stock than the French, and,
+secondly, they are strictly controlled by the Government, whereas
+the French Government does not even attempt to enforce its own laws.
+
+There is now some question of importing Indian coolies; the great
+expense this would entail would be a just punishment for the
+short-sighted cruelty with which the most valuable product of the
+islands--their population--has been destroyed. Only by compelling
+each native to work for a definite period could a sufficient amount
+of labour be produced to-day; but such a system, while extremely
+beneficial to the race as a whole, stands but a poor chance of being
+introduced.
+
+The products of the islands are coprah, coffee, corn, cocoa and, of
+late years, cotton. The chief item, however, is coprah, for the islands
+seem specially suited for the growing of cocoa-nut palms. Rubber does
+not seem to thrive.
+
+In spite of the great number of officials, the Government does not
+make itself much felt outside the larger settlements, at least on the
+French side. There are not yet magistrates on each island, so that
+the Government hears only so much about the crimes committed on the
+islands as the planters care to tell, and naturally they do not tell
+too much. The British Government is represented by two inspectors,
+who frequently visit all the British plantations and look into labour
+conditions; the activity of the French authorities is restricted to
+occasional visits from the Resident.
+
+Thus the natives have no means of complaining about the whites,
+while they have to submit to any punishment they may get on the
+accusation of a colonist. This would be a very one-sided affair;
+happily, the missionaries represent the interests of the natives,
+and the power of the Government does not reach far inland. There the
+natives are quite independent, so that only a few hours away from the
+coast cannibalism still flourishes. Formerly, expeditions from the
+men-of-war frightened the natives; to-day they know that resistance
+is easy. It is, therefore, not the merit of the Government or the
+planters if the islands are fairly pacified, but only of the missions,
+which work mostly through native teachers. Still, the missions have
+had one bad effect: they have undermined the old native authorities
+and thus created general anarchy to complete the destruction begun
+by European civilization.
+
+In the Santa Cruz Islands there is only one plantation, worked by boys
+from the Solomon Islands, as the Santa Cruz natives are not yet used to
+regular work. But to-day they frequently recruit for the plantations
+on the Solomons, and there come into contact with civilization. There
+the labour conditions are strictly watched by the British Government;
+still, boys returning from there have sometimes imported diseases,
+generally tuberculosis, which have reduced the population by half.
+
+
+
+Commerce
+
+Communications with Sydney, the commercial centre of the Western
+Pacific, are established by means of a French and an English line
+of steamers. A few small steamers and schooners ply at irregular
+intervals between Nouméa and the New Hebrides.
+
+The English steamers fly the flag of Burns, Philp & Company, the
+great Australian firm which trades with numerous island groups of the
+South Seas. Their steamers touch the Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands,
+stop for a few days at Vila, then call in a four weeks' cruise at
+nearly all the plantations in the islands. They carry the mail and
+ply a profitable trade with the planters; they also do errands for
+the colonists in Sydney, procuring anything from a needle to a horse
+or a house. Being practically without serious competitors they can set
+any price they please on commodities, so that they are a power in the
+islands and control the trade of the group; all the more so as many
+planters are dependent on them for large loans. To me, Burns, Philp &
+Company were extremely useful, as on board their ships I could always
+find money, provisions and articles for barter, send my collections
+to Vila, and occasionally travel from one island to another.
+
+The French line is run by the Messageries Maritimes, on quite a
+different plan: it is merely for mail-service and does not do any
+trading. Its handsome steamer travels in three weeks from Sydney
+to Nouméa and Port Vila, visits about three plantations and leaves
+the islands after one week. This line offers the shortest and most
+comfortable connection with Sydney, taking eight days for the trip,
+while the English steamers take eleven.
+
+The port of entrance to the group is Port Vila, chosen for its
+proximity to New Caledonia and Sydney; it is a good harbour, though
+somewhat narrow.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+NOUMÉA AND PORT VILA
+
+
+On April 26, 1910, I arrived at Nouméa by the large and very old
+mail-steamer of the Messageries Maritimes, plying between Marseilles
+and Nouméa, which I had boarded at Sydney.
+
+Nouméa impresses one very unfavourably. A time of rapid development has
+been followed by a period of stagnation, increased by the suppression
+of the penitentiary, the principal source of income to the town. The
+latter has never grown to the size originally planned and laid out, and
+its desolate squares and decayed houses are a depressing sight. Two or
+three steamers and a few sailing-vessels are all the craft the harbour
+contains; a few customs officers and discharged convicts loaf on the
+pier, where some natives from the Loyalty Islands sleep or shout.
+
+Parallel streets lead from the harbour to the hills that fence the
+town to the landward. Under roofs of corrugated sheet-iron run the
+sidewalks, along dark stores displaying unappetizing food, curios and
+cheap millinery. At each corner is a dismal sailors' bar, smelling of
+absinthe. Then we come to an empty, decayed square, where a crippled,
+noseless "Gallia" stands on a fountain; some half-drunk coachmen
+lounge dreaming on antediluvian cabs, and a few old convicts sprawl
+on benches.
+
+Along the hillside are the houses of the high officials and the better
+class of people. There is a club, where fat officials gather to play
+cards and drink absinthe and champagne; they go to the barber's, roll
+cigarettes, drink some more absinthe and go to bed early, after having
+visited a music-hall, in which monstrous dancing-girls from Sydney
+display their charms and moving-picture shows present blood-curdling
+dramas. Then there is the Governor's residence, the town hall, etc.,
+and the only event in this quiet city of officials is the arrival of
+the mail-steamer, when all the "beau-monde" gathers on the pier to
+welcome the few passengers, whether known or unknown.
+
+In Nouméa itself there is no industry, and the great export of minerals
+does not touch the town. Once, Nouméa was meant to form a base of
+naval operations, and strongly fortified. But after a few years
+this idea was abandoned, after having cost large sums, and now the
+fortifications are left to decay and the heavy, modern guns to rust.
+
+In spite of a prohibition, one may climb up to the forts, and be
+rewarded by a beautiful view of the island, which does not impress one
+as tropical. The rounded hills are covered with shrubs, and only in the
+valleys are there a few trees; we are surprised by the strong colouring
+of the distant mountains, shining purple through the violet atmosphere.
+
+Seaward, we see the white line of the breakers, indicating the great
+barrier-reef which surrounds the isle with an almost impenetrable belt;
+a few channels only lead from the shore to the open ocean.
+
+On the 1st of May the Pacific arrived at Nouméa, and her departure
+for Vila, next day, ended a most tiresome stay.
+
+It was a sad, rainy day when we left. Impatiently the passengers waited
+till the freight was loaded,--houses, iron, horses, cases of tins,
+etc. Of course we were six hours late, and all the whites were angry,
+while the few natives did not care, but found a dry corner, rolled
+themselves up in their blankets and dozed. When we finally left,
+heavy squalls were rushing over the sea; in the darkness a fog came
+on, so that we had soon to come to anchor. But next morning we had
+passed the Loyalty Islands and were rolling in the heavy swell the
+south-east trade raises on the endless surface of the Pacific.
+
+Next day, through the light mist of a summer morning, the forms
+of islands appeared, flat, bluish-grey lines, crowned with rounded
+hills. Slowly finer points appeared, the ridge of mountains showed
+details and we could recognize the tops of the giant banyan trees,
+towering above the forest as a cathedral does over the houses of a
+city. We saw the surf, breaking in the coral cliffs of flat shores,
+found the entrance to the wide bay, noticed the palms with elegantly
+curved trunks bending over the beach, and unexpectedly entered the
+lagoon, that shone in the bright sun like a glittering sapphire.
+
+We had passed the flat cliffs, covered only with iron-wood trees,
+and now the water was bordered by high coral plateaux, from which a
+luxuriant forest fell down in heavy cascades, in a thickness almost
+alarming, like the eruption of a volcano, when one cloud pushes
+the other before it and new ones are ever behind. It seemed as if
+each tree were trying to strangle the others in a fight for life,
+while the weakest, deprived of their ground, clung frantically to
+the shore and would soon be pushed far out over the smooth, shining
+sea. There the last dense crowns formed the beautiful fringe of the
+green carpet stretched soft and thick over the earth.
+
+Only here and there the shore was free, showing the coral strand as
+a line of white that separated the blue of the sea from the green
+of the forest and intensified every colour in the landscape. It was
+a vision of the most magnificent luxuriance, so different from the
+view which the barren shores of eastern New Caledonia offer.
+
+The bay became narrower and we approached the port proper. Small
+islands appeared, between which we had glimpses of cool bays
+across glassy, deep-green water, and before us lay a broken line of
+light-coloured houses along the beach, while on the plateau behind
+we could see the big court-house and some villas.
+
+A little distance off-shore we dropped anchor, and were soon surrounded
+by boats, from which the inhabitants came on board. A kind planter
+brought me and my belongings ashore, and I took up my quarters in
+the only hotel in Port Vila, the so-called "blood-house," thus named
+because of its history.
+
+Vila is merely the administration centre, and consists of nothing but
+a few stores and the houses of the Condominium officials. There is
+little life, and only the arrival of the ships brings some excitement,
+so that the stranger feels bored and lonely, especially as the
+"blood-house " does not offer many comforts and the society there is
+not of the choicest.
+
+I immediately went to present my letters of introduction to the French
+Resident. The offices of the British Residence were still on the small
+island of Iariki, which I could not reach without a boat. The French
+Residence is a long, flat, unattractive building; the lawn around the
+house was fairly well kept, but perfectly bare, in accordance with
+the French idea of salubrity, except for a few straggling bushes near
+by. Fowls and horses promenaded about. But the view is one of the most
+charming to be found in the islands. Just opposite is the entrance to
+the bay, and the two points frame the sea most effectively, numerous
+smaller capes deepening the perspective. Along their silhouettes
+the eye glides into far spaces, to dive beyond the horizon into
+infinity. Iariki is just in front, and we can see the well-kept park
+around the British Residence, with its mixture of art and wilderness;
+near by is the smooth sea shining in all colours. While the shores
+are of a yellowish green, the sea is of every shade of blue, and
+the green of the depths is saturated with that brilliant turquoise
+tint which is enough to put one into a light and happy humour. This
+being my first sight of a tropical landscape, my delight was great,
+and made up for any disappointment human inefficiency had occasioned.
+
+The French Resident, Mr. C, received me most kindly, and did me the
+honour of inviting me to be his guest. I had planned to stay in Vila
+a few weeks, so as to get acquainted with the country and hire boys;
+but the Resident seemed to think that I only intended a short visit
+to the islands, and he proposed to take me with him on a cruise
+through the archipelago and to deposit me at the Segond Channel, an
+invitation I could not well refuse. My objection of having no servants
+was overruled by the Resident's assurance that I could easily find some
+in Santo. I therefore made my preparations and got my luggage ready.
+
+In the afternoon, Mr. C. lent me his boat to go and pay my respects
+to Mr. Morton King, the British Resident. The difference between the
+two residences was striking, but it would be out of place to dwell on
+it here. It may be caused by the fact that the French Resident is,
+as a rule, recalled every six months, while the British Resident
+had been at Vila for more than three years. Mr. King received me
+most cordially and also offered his hospitality, which, however,
+I was unable to accept. Later on Mr. King assisted and sheltered me
+in the most generous manner, so that I shall always remember his help
+and friendship with sincere gratitude.
+
+I also had the honour of making the acquaintance of the British judge
+and of most of the Condominium officials.
+
+It was a dull morning when we left Vila on board the French Government
+yacht. In days gone by she had been an elegant racing-boat, but
+was now somewhat decayed and none too clean; however, she had been
+equipped with a motor, so that we were independent of the wind.
+
+Besides the Resident and myself there were on board the French judge,
+the police commissioner, and a crew of boys from the Loyalty Islands
+near New Caledonia. These are excellent sailors and are employed in
+Vila as French policemen. They are very strong and lively and great
+fighters, and would be perfect material for a police force were they
+not such confirmed drunkards. Because of this defect they all had
+to be dismissed soon afterwards and sent back to their own country,
+as in Vila, instead of arresting drunken natives, they had generally
+been drunk themselves and were often fighting in the streets. But
+on board ship, where they had no opportunity to get drunk, they were
+very willing and always cheerful and ready for sport of any kind.
+
+We did not travel far that first day, but stopped after a few hours'
+sail in Port Havannah, north of the Bay of Mele. This port would be one
+of the best harbours in the group, as it is almost entirely landlocked;
+only, the water is so deep that small craft cannot anchor. Yet it
+would be preferable to Port Vila, as the climate is much better, Vila
+being one of the hottest, stuffiest and rainiest spots in the group,
+and its harbour is becoming too small for the increased traffic of
+the last few years. Port Vila only became the capital of the islands
+when the English influence grew stronger, while all the land round
+Port Havannah belonged to a French company.
+
+We spent the afternoon on shore shooting pigeons. Besides a few ducks,
+flying-foxes and wild pigs, pigeons are the only game in the islands;
+but this pigeon-shooting is a peculiar sport and requires a special
+enthusiasm to afford pleasure for any length of time. The birds are
+extremely shy and generally sit on the tops of the highest trees
+where a European can hardly discover them. The natives, however,
+are very clever in detecting them, but when they try to show you the
+pigeon it generally flies off and is lost; and if you shoot it, it is
+hard to find, even for a native. The natives themselves are capable
+of approaching the birds noiselessly and unseen, because of their
+colour, so as to shoot them from a short distance. My pigeon-shooting
+usually consisted in waiting for several hours in the forest, with
+very unsatisfactory results, so that I soon gave it up.
+
+We were all unsuccessful on this particular day, but it ended most
+gaily with a dance at the house of a French planter.
+
+We slept on board, rocked softly by the ship, against which the waves
+plashed in cosy whispering. The sky was bright with stars, but below
+decks it was dark and stuffy. Now and then a big fish jumped out of the
+black sea, otherwise it was quiet, dull and gloomy as a dismal dream.
+
+Next day we rose early and went shooting again. Probably because we
+had been given the best wishes of an old French lady the result was as
+unsatisfactory as the evening before. We then resumed our journey in
+splendid weather, with a stiff breeze, and flying through blue spaces
+on the bright waves, we rapidly passed several small islands, sighted
+"Monument Rock," a lonely cliff that rises abruptly out of the sea
+to a height of 130 m., and arrived late in the afternoon at Maei,
+our destination.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+MAEI, TONGOA, EPI AND MALEKULA
+
+
+Maei is a small island whose natives have nearly all disappeared, as
+is the case on most of its neighbours. There is one small plantation,
+with the agent of which the Resident had business. After we had passed
+the narrow inlet through the reef, we landed, to find the agent in a
+peculiar, half-mad condition. He pretended to suffer from fever, but
+it was evident that alcohol had a good deal to do with it, too. The
+man made strange faces, could hardly talk and was quite unable to
+write; he said the fever had deprived him of the power of using his
+fingers. He was asked to dinner on board, and as he could not speak
+French nor the Resident English, negotiations were carried on in biche
+la mar, a language in which it is impossible to talk about anything
+but the simplest matters of everyday life. Things got still worse when
+the agent became more and more intoxicated, in spite of the small
+quantities of liquor we allowed him. I had to act as interpreter, a
+most ungrateful task, as the planter soon began to insult the Resident,
+and I had to translate his remarks and the Resident's answers. At last,
+funny as the whole affair was in a way, it became very tiresome;
+happily, matters came to a sudden close by the planter's falling
+under the table. He was then taken ashore by his native wife and the
+police-boys, who enjoyed this duty immensely. We smoked a quiet pipe,
+looked after the fish-hooks--empty, of course--and slept on deck in
+the cool night air. Next morning the planter came aboard somewhat
+sobered and more tractable. He brought with him his wife, and their
+child whom he wished to adopt. As the native women do not as a rule
+stay with their masters very long, the children are registered under
+the formula: "Child of N. N., mother unknown," an expression which
+sounds somewhat queer to those who do not know the reason for it.
+
+After having finished this business, we weighed anchor and set sail
+for Tongoa. This is one of the few islands whose native population
+does not decrease. The Presbyterian missionary there gives the entire
+credit for this pleasant fact to his exertions, as the natives are
+all converted. But as in other completely Christianized districts
+the natives die out rapidly, it is doubtful whether Christianity
+alone has had this beneficial effect, and we must seek other causes,
+though they are hard to find.
+
+After a clear night we sailed along the coast of Epi. The bright
+weather had changed to a dull, rainy day, and the aspect of the
+landscape was entirely altered. The smiling islands had become sober,
+lonely, even threatening. When the charm of a country consists so
+entirely in its colouring, any modification of the atmosphere and
+light cause such a change in its character that the same view may look
+either like Paradise or entirely dull and inhospitable. What had been
+thus far a pleasure trip, a holiday excursion, turned suddenly into
+a business journey, and this change in our mood was increased by a
+slight illness which had attacked the Resident, making the jovial
+gentleman morose and irritable.
+
+The stay in Epi was rather uninteresting. Owing to the dense French
+colonization there the natives have nearly all disappeared or become
+quite degenerate. We spent our time in visits to the different French
+planters and then sailed for Malekula, anchoring in Port Sandwich.
+
+Port Sandwich is a long, narrow bay in the south of Malekula, and
+after Port Vila the most frequented harbour of the group, as it is
+very centrally located and absolutely safe. Many a vessel has found
+protection there from storm or cyclone. The entrance to the bay is
+narrow, and at the anchorage we were so completely landlocked that
+we might have imagined ourselves on an inland lake, so quiet is the
+water, surrounded on all sides by the dark green forest which falls
+in heavy waves down from the hills to the silent, gloomy sea.
+
+Immediately after our arrival my companions went pigeon-shooting as
+usual; but I soon preferred to join the son of the French planter
+at Port Sandwich in a visit to the neighbouring native village. This
+was my first sight of the real, genuine aborigines.
+
+No one with any taste for nature will fail to feel the solemnity
+of the moment when he stands face to face for the first time with
+primitive man. As the traveller enters the depths of the virgin
+forest for the first time with sacred awe, he feels that he stands
+before a still higher revelation of nature when the first dark, naked
+man suddenly appears. Silently he has crept through the thicket, has
+parted the branches, and confronts us unexpectedly on a narrow path,
+shy and silent, while we are struck with surprise. His figure is but
+slightly relieved against the green of the bushes; he seems part of
+the silent, luxuriant world around him, a being strange to us, a part
+of those realms which we are used to imagine as void of feeling and
+incapable of thought. But a word breaks the spell, intelligence gleams
+in his face, and what, so far, has seemed a strange being, belonging
+rather to the lower animals than to human-kind, shows himself a man,
+and becomes equal to ourselves. Thus the endless, inhospitable jungle,
+without open spaces or streets, without prairies and sun, that dense
+tangle of lianas and tree-trunks, shelters men like ourselves. It
+seems marvellous to think that in those depths, dull, dark and silent
+as the fathomless ocean, men can live, and we can hardly blame former
+generations for denying all kinship with these savages and counting
+them as animals; especially as the native never seems more primitive
+than when he is roaming the forest, naked but for a bark belt, with a
+big curly wig and waving plumes, bow and arrow his only weapons. When
+alarmed, he hides in the foliage, and once swallowed up in the green
+depths which are his home and his protection, neither eye nor ear
+can find any trace of him.
+
+But our ideas change when we enter his village home, with its
+dancing-grounds with the big drums, the sacred stone tables, idols and
+carved tree-trunks, all in a frame of violently coloured bushes--red,
+purple, brown and orange. Above us, across a blue sky, a tree with
+scarlet flowers blows in the breeze, and long stamens fall slowly down
+and cover the ground with a brilliant carpet. Dogs bark, roosters
+crow and from a hut a man creeps out--others emerge from the bush
+and from half-hidden houses which at first we had not noticed. At
+some distance stand the women and children in timid amazement, and
+then begins a chattering, or maybe a whispered consultation about
+the arrival of the stranger. We are in the midst of human life, in
+a busy little town, where the sun pours through the gaps in the dark
+forest, and flowers give colour and brightness, and where, after all,
+life is not so very much less human than in civilization.
+
+Then the forest has lifted its veil, we have entered the sanctuary,
+and the alarming sensation of nature's hostility is softened. We white
+men like to talk about our mastery over nature, but is it not rather
+true that we flee from nature, as its most intense manifestations are
+oppressive to us? Is not the savage, living so very close to nature,
+more its master, or at least its friend, than we are? We need space
+and the sight of sun and sky to feel happy; the night of the forest,
+the loneliness of the ocean are terrible to us, whilst to the native
+they are his home and his element.
+
+It is evident that under our first strong impression of the native's
+life we overlook much--the filth, the sores, the brutality of social
+life; but these are really only ripples on an otherwise smooth
+existence, defects which are not less present in our civilization,
+but are better concealed.
+
+The next day we followed the coast of Malekula southward. There are
+immense coral reefs attached to the coast, so that often the line of
+breakers is one or two miles away from the shore. These reefs are a
+solid mass of cleft coral stones constantly growing seaward. Their
+surface is more or less flat, about on a level with the water at low
+tide, so that it then lies nearly dry, and one can walk on the reefs,
+jumping over the wide crevices in which the sea roars and gurgles
+with the rise and fall of the breakers outside. These ever-growing
+reefs would surround the whole coast were it not for the fresh water
+that oozes out from the land and prevents the coral from growing at
+certain points, thus keeping open narrow passages through the reef,
+or wider stretches along the coast free from rocks. These basins form
+good anchorages for small craft, as the swell of the open sea cannot
+cross the reef; only the entrances are often crooked and hard to find.
+
+Our captain brought us safely into a quiet lagoon, where the yacht
+lay in deep green water, smooth as glass, while beyond the reef the
+breakers dashed a silver line across the blue ocean.
+
+Of course we immediately went shooting on the reef. I did not have
+much sport, as I could see nothing worth shooting, but I was much
+interested in wading in the warm water to observe the multiform animal
+life of the reef. There was the "bêche-de-mer," the sea-cucumber,
+yellow or purplish-black, a shapeless mass lying in pools; this is
+a delicacy highly valued by the Chinese and therefore a frequent
+article of exportation. The animals are collected, cut open, dried
+and shipped. There was the ugly muræna, which goes splashing and
+winding like a snake between boulders, and threatens the intruder
+with poisonous looks and snapping jaws. Innumerable bright-coloured
+fish shot hither and thither in the flat pools, there were worms,
+sea-stars, octopus, crabs. The wealth of animal life on the reef,
+where each footstep stirs up a hundred creatures, is incredible,
+and ever so many more are hidden in the rocks and crevices.
+
+The plants that had taken root in the coral were mostly mangrove
+bushes with great forked roots.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE SEGOND CHANNEL--LIFE ON A PLANTATION
+
+
+When the tide rose, we returned to the yacht and continued our cruise
+northward, passed the small islands of Rano, Atchin, Vao and others,
+crossed the treacherous Bougainville Strait between Malekula and
+Santo, and came to anchor in the Canal du Segond formed by Santo and
+Malo. This channel is about eight miles long and three-quarters of
+a mile wide at its narrowest point. On its shores, which belong to a
+French company, is a colony of about a hundred and fifty Frenchmen. The
+Segond Channel would be a good harbour but for very strong currents
+caused by the tides, which are unfavourable to small boats; its
+location, too, is not very central. The shores are flat, but rise
+abruptly at some points to a height of 150 m. There are level lands
+at the mouth of the Sarrakatta River and on the tablelands.
+
+The Sarrakatta is one of the sights of the New Hebrides, and a pull up
+the narrow stream affords one of the most impressive views to be had
+of tropical vegetation. The river cuts straight through the forest,
+so that the boat moves between two high walls of leafy green. Silently
+glides the stream, silently broods the forest, only the boat swishes
+softly, and sometimes a frightened fish splashes up. Every bend we
+round shows us new and surprisingly charming views: now we pass a
+giant tree, which towers up king-like on its iron-hard trunk far
+above the rest of the forest, trunk and limbs covered with a fine
+lacework of tender-leaved lianas; now we sweep along a high bank,
+under a bower of overhanging branches. The water caresses the tips
+of the twigs, and through the leaves the sun pours golden into the
+cool darkness. Again we glide into the light, and tangled shrubbery
+seams the river bank, from which long green strands of vines trail
+down and curl in the water like snakes. Knobby roots rise out of
+the ground; they have caught floating trunks, across which the
+water pours, lifting and dropping the wet grasses that grow on
+the rotten stems. Farther up the bushes are entirely covered with
+vines and creepers, whose large, thick leaves form a scaly coat of
+mail under which the half-strangled trees seem to fight in vain for
+air and freedom. In shallow places stiff bamboos sprout, their long
+yellow leaves trembling nervously in an imperceptible breeze; again
+we see trees hung with creepers as if wearing torn flags; and once
+in a while we catch sight of that most charming of tropical trees,
+the tree-fern, with its lovely star-shaped crown, like a beautiful,
+dainty work of art in the midst of the uncultivated wilderness. As
+if in a dream we row back down stream, and like dream-pictures all
+the various green shapes of the forest sweep by and disappear.
+
+The Resident introduced me to the French planters, Mr. and Mrs. Ch.,
+and asked them to take me in, which they agreed to do. Having rented
+an old plantation from the French company, they had had the good
+fortune to find a regular frame house ready for them.
+
+After I had moved into my quarters the Resident returned to Vila,
+and I remained on the borders of the wilderness. What followed now
+was a most unsatisfactory time of waiting, the first of many similar
+periods. Having no servants, I could undertake nothing independently,
+and since the planters were all suffering from lack of hands, I could
+not hire any boys. As the natives around the French plantations at
+the Canal du Segond are practically exterminated, I saw hardly any;
+but at least I got a good insight into the life on a plantation,
+such as it was.
+
+With his land, Mr. Ch. had rented about thirty boys, with whom he
+was trying to work the completely decayed plantation. Many acres were
+covered with coffee trees, but owing to the miserable management of
+the French company, the planters had changed continually and the system
+of planting just as often. Every manager had abandoned the work of his
+predecessor and begun planting anew on a different system, so that now
+there was an immense tract of land planted which had never yet yielded
+a crop. In a short time such intended plantations are overgrown with
+bush and reconquered by the wilderness; thus thousands of coffee trees
+were covered with vines and struggled in vain for light and air. It
+seem incredible that in two weeks, on cleared ground, grass can grow
+up as tall as a man, and that after six months a cleared plantation
+can be covered with bushes and shrubs with stems as thick as one's
+finger. The planter, knowing that this overwhelming fertility and
+the jealous advances of the forest are his most formidable enemies,
+directs his most strenuous efforts to keeping clear his plantation,
+especially while the plants are young and unable to fight down the
+weeds. Later on, weeding is less urgent, but in the beginning it is the
+one essential duty, more so than planting. Mr. Ch. had therefore an
+enormous task before him, and as he could not expect any return from
+the coffee trees for two or three years, he did as all planters do,
+and sowed corn, which yields a crop after three months.
+
+His labourers, dark, curly-haired men, clad in rags, were just
+then occupied in gathering the big ears of corn. Sluggishly they
+threw the golden ears over their shoulders to the ground, where it
+was collected by the women and carried to the shed on the beach--a
+long roof of leaves, without walls. Mr. Ch. urged the men to hurry,
+as the corn had to be ready for shipment in a few days, the Pacific,
+the French mail-steamer, being due. Produce deteriorates rapidly in
+the islands owing to the humid climate, so it cannot be stored long,
+especially where there is no dry storehouse. Therefore, crops can
+only be gathered just before the arrival of a steamer, making these
+last days very busy ones everywhere. It is fortunate for the planters
+that the native labourers are not yet organized and do not insist on
+an eight-hour day. As it was, Mr. Ch. had to leave more than half his
+crop to rot in the fields, a heavy rain having delayed the harvesting.
+
+The humidity at the Segond Channel is exceptionally great. As we
+stood on the fine coral sand that forms the shores of the channel,
+our clothes were damp with the rain from the weeds and shrubs which
+we had passed through while stumbling through the plantation. The
+steel-grey sea quivers, sleepy and pulpy looking; in front of us,
+in a grey mist, lies the flat island of Aore, the air smells mouldy,
+and brown rainclouds roll over the wall of primeval forest surrounding
+the clearing on three sides. The atmosphere is heavy, and a fine
+spray floats in the air and covers everything with moisture. Knives
+rust in one's pocket, matches refuse to light, tobacco is like a
+sponge and paper like a rag. It had been like this for three months;
+no wonder malarial fever raged among the white population. Mr. Ch.,
+after only one year's sojourn here, looked like a very sick man;
+he was frightfully thin and pale and very nervous; so was his wife,
+a delicate lady of good French family. She did the hard work of a
+planter's wife with admirable courage, and, while she had never taken
+an active part in housekeeping in France, here she was standing all
+day long behind a smoky kitchen fire, cooking or washing dishes,
+assisted only by a very incapable and unsophisticated native woman.
+
+On our return to the house, which lies about 200 mètres inland, we
+found this black lady occupied with the extremely hard and puzzling
+task of laying the table. It seemed to give her the greatest trouble,
+and the deep distrust with which she handled the plates found eloquent
+expression in queer sighs and mysterious exclamations in her native
+tongue, in resigned shakes of the head and emphatic smacking of the
+lips. She was a crooked bush-woman from the north of Malekula, where
+the people, especially the women, are unusually ugly and savage. A
+low forehead, small, deep-set eyes, and a snout-like mouth gave
+her a very animal look; yet she showed human feeling, and nursed
+a shrieking and howling orphan all day long with the most tender
+care. Her little head was shaved and two upper teeth broken out as
+a sign of matrimony, so she certainly was no beauty; but the sight
+of her clumsy working was a constant source of amusement to us men,
+very much less so to her mistress, to whom nothing but her sincere
+zeal and desire to help could make up for her utter inefficiency.
+
+It cannot be denied that the women from those islands, where their
+social standing is especially low, are not half so intelligent and
+teachable as those from places where they are more nearly equal to
+the men; probably because they are subdued and kept in degradation
+from early youth, and not allowed any initiative or opinions of their
+own. But physically these women are very efficient and quite equal
+to the men in field work, or even superior, being more industrious.
+
+The feat of setting the table was accomplished in about an hour, and
+we sat down to our simple meal--tinned meat, yams and bananas. Then
+the foreman came in. Only a short time ago he was one of the finest
+warriors in the interior of Malekula, where cannibalism is still an
+everyday occurrence. He, too, wears his hair short, only, according
+to the present fashion, he lets the hair on his forehead grow in
+a roll-shaped bow across the head. He is well built, though rather
+short, and behaves with natural politeness. His voice is soft, his
+look gentle and in the doorway his dark figure shines in the lamplight
+like a bronze statue.
+
+Mr. Ch. tells him that the boys will have to work all night, at
+the same time promising an encouragement in the shape of a glass
+of wine to each. The natives' craving for alcohol is often abused by
+unscrupulous whites. Although the sale of liquor to natives is strictly
+forbidden by the laws of the Condominium, the French authorities do
+not even seem to try to enforce this regulation, in fact, they rather
+impressed me as favouring the sale, thus protecting the interests of
+a degraded class of whites, to the detriment of a valuable race. As
+a consequence, there are not a few Frenchmen who make their living by
+selling spirits to natives, which may be called, without exaggeration,
+a murderous and criminal traffic.
+
+Others profit indirectly by the alcoholism of the islanders by selling
+liquor to their hands every Saturday, so as to make them run into
+debt; they will all spend their entire wages on drink. If, their
+term of engagement being over, they want to return to their homes,
+they are told that they are still deep in debt to their master, and
+that they will have to pay off by working for some time longer. The
+poor fellows stay on and on, continue to drink, are never out of debt,
+and never see their homes again. This practice has developed of late
+years in consequence of the scarcity of labour, and is nothing but
+slavery. It might easily be abolished by a slight effort on the part
+of the Government, but there is hardly any supervision over French
+plantations outside Port Vila, and in many plantations conditions exist
+which are an insult to our modern views on humane treatment. On English
+plantations there is but little brutality, owing to the Government's
+careful supervision of the planters and the higher social and moral
+standing of the settlers in general.
+
+My host had some European conscience left, and treated his hands
+very humanely, but I dare say that in course of time, and pressed
+by adverse circumstances, even he resorted to means of finding cheap
+labour which were none too fair. The French by-laws permit the delivery
+of alcohol to natives in the shape of "medicine," a stipulation which
+opens the door to every abuse.
+
+The boys were soon on hand, each awaiting his turn eagerly, yet trying
+to seem blasé. Some drank greedily, others tasted the sour wine in
+little sips like old experts; but all took care to turn their backs
+to us while drinking, as if from bashfulness. Then they went to work,
+giggling and happy.
+
+Meanwhile, those on the sick-list were coming up for the planter's
+inspection. The diseases are mostly tuberculosis, colds, indigestion,
+fever and infections, and it is evident that if they receive any
+medical treatment at all, it is of a primitive and insufficient
+description. The planters work with fearfully strong plasters, patent
+medicines and "universal remedies," used internally and externally
+by turns, so that the patient howls and the spectator shudders, and
+the results would be most disheartening if kind Nature did not often
+do the healing in spite of man's efforts to prevent it. Naturally,
+every planter thinks himself an expert doctor, and is perfectly
+satisfied with his results.
+
+Mr. Ch. was ill with fever, nevertheless we went down to the
+work-shed. It was a pitch-dark night, the air was like that in a
+hothouse, smelling of earth and mould. The surf boomed sullenly on the
+beach, and heavy squalls flogged the forest. Sometimes a rotten branch
+snapped, and the sound travelled, dull and heavy, through the night.
+
+From far away we hear the noise of the engine peeling the
+corn-ears. Two of the natives turn the fly-wheels, and the engine gives
+them immense pleasure, all the more, the faster it runs. The partners
+are selected with care, and it is a matter of pride to turn wheels
+as long and as fast as possible; they encourage each other with wild
+shrieks and cries. It seemed as if the work had turned to a festival,
+as if it were a sort of dance, and the couples waited impatiently
+for their turn to drive the engine. The delight of the boys in the
+noise of the machinery was very favourable to the progress of the
+work, and at midnight a long row of full sacks stood in the shed. We
+stopped the work and told the boys to go to sleep. But the demon of
+dancing had taken hold of them, and they kept it up all night, and
+then went straight to work in the fields when the sun rose. By the
+third evening everything was ready for the arrival of the Pacific,
+and the boys were deadly tired and lame.
+
+We were just sitting down to dinner one dull, heavy night, when we
+heard a steamer's long, rough whistle. The Pacific. Everyone jumps up
+in excitement, for the Pacific brings a taste of civilization, and her
+arrival marks the end of a busy week and breaks the monotony of daily
+life. We run to the shore and light strong lamps at fixed points,
+to indicate the anchorage, and then we rush back to finish dinner
+and put on clean clothes. Meanwhile, the boys have been roused, and
+they arrive, sleepy, stiff and unwilling, aware that a hard night's
+work is before them, loading the produce into the tenders.
+
+The steamer approaches quickly, enormous and gay in the darkness,
+then she slowly feels her way into the harbour, the anchor falls, and
+after a few oscillations the long line of brightly lit portholes lies
+quiet on the water, only their reflection flickers irregularly on the
+waves through the night. In all directions we can see the lights of the
+approaching boats of the planters, who come to announce their shipments
+and to spend a gay evening on board. There are always some passengers
+on the steamer, planters from other islands on their way to Vila or
+Sydney, and soon carousing is in full swing, until the bar closes.
+
+All next day the steamer stays in the channel, taking on produce from
+every plantation, and for two days afterward merrymaking is kept up,
+then the quiet monotony of a tropical planter's life sets in once more.
+
+Sometimes a diversion is caused by a boy rushing up to the house to
+announce that some "men-bush" are approaching. Going to the veranda,
+we see some lean figures with big mops of hair coming slowly down the
+narrow path from the forest, with soft, light steps. Some distance
+behind follows a crowd of others, who squat down near the last shrubs
+and examine everything with shy, suspicious eyes, while the leaders
+approach the house. Nearly all carry old Snider rifles, always loaded
+and cocked. The leaders stand silent for a while near the veranda,
+then one of them whispers a few words in broken "biche la mar,"
+describing what he wants to buy--knives, cartridges, powder, tobacco,
+pipes, matches, calico, beads. "All right," says Mr. Ch., and some of
+the men bring up primitive baskets of cocoa-nut leaves, filled with
+coprah or bunches of raw cocoa-nuts. All of them, especially the women,
+have carried great loads of these things from their villages in the
+interior on the poorest paths, marching for days.
+
+The baskets are weighed and the desired goods handed to the
+head-man. Here the whites make a profit of 200-300 per cent., while on
+the other islands, where there is more competition, they have to be
+satisfied with 30 per cent. Each piece is carefully examined by the
+natives: the pipes, to see if they draw, the matches, whether they
+strike, etc., while the crowd behind follows every movement with the
+greatest attention and mysterious whispers, constantly on the watch
+for any menace to safety. The lengthy bargaining over, the delegation
+turns away and the whole crowd disappears. In the nearest thicket they
+sit down and distribute the goods--perhaps a dozen boxes of matches,
+a few belts, or some yards of calico, two pounds of tobacco, and twenty
+pipes, a poor return, indeed, for their long journey. Possibly they
+will spend the night in the neighbourhood, under an overhanging rock,
+on the bare stone, all crowded round a fire for fear of the spirits
+of the night.
+
+Sometimes, having worked for another planter, they have a little
+money. Although every planter keeps his own store, the natives, as
+a rule, prefer to buy from his neighbour, from vague if not quite
+unjustified suspicion. They rarely engage for any length of time,
+except when driven by the desire to buy some valuable object, generally
+a rifle, without which no native likes to be seen in Santo to-day. In
+that case several men work together for one, who afterwards indemnifies
+them for their help in native fashion by giving them pigs or rendering
+them other services. On the plantations they are suspicious and lazy,
+but quite harmless as long as they are not provoked. Mr. Ch. had had
+about thirty men working on his plantation for quite some time, and
+everything had gone well, until one day one of them had fallen into
+the Sarrakatta and been drowned. According to native law, Mr. Ch. was
+responsible for his death, and should have paid for him, which he
+omitted to do. At first there was general dismay, no one dared approach
+the river any more; then the natives all returned to their villages,
+and a few days later they swarmed round the plantation with rifles
+to avenge their dead relative by murdering Mr. Ch. He was warned by
+his boys, who were from Malekula for the most part, and this saved
+his life. He armed his men, and after a siege of several weeks the
+bushmen gave up the watch and retired. But no one would return to
+work for him any more.
+
+Altogether, the bushmen of Santo are none too reliable, and only the
+memory of a successful landing expedition of the English man-of-war
+a year ago keeps them quiet. On that occasion they had murdered an
+old Englishman and two of his daughters, just out of greed, so as to
+pillage his store. They had not found much, but they had to pay for
+the murder with the loss of their village, pigs and lives.
+
+I tried to find boys at the south-west corner of Santo, where the
+natives frequently descend to the shore. A neighbour of Mr. Ch., a
+young Frenchman, was going there in a small cutter to buy wood for
+dyeing mats to sell to the natives of Malekula, and he kindly took
+me with him. We sailed through the channel one rainy morning, but
+the wind died down and we had to anchor, as the current threatened
+to take us back. We profited by the stop to pay a visit to a Mr. R.,
+who cultivated anarchistic principles, also a plantation which seemed
+in perfect condition and in direct opposition to his anti-capitalistic
+ideas. Mr. R. was one of those French colonists who, sprung from the
+poorest peasant stock, have no ambitions beyond finding a new and
+kindlier home. Economical, thrifty, used to hard work in the fields,
+Mr. R. had begun very modestly, but had prospered, and was now,
+while still a young man, the owner of a plantation that would make
+him rich in a few years. This good, solid peasant stock, of which
+France possesses so much, makes the best colonists, and as a rule
+they succeed far better than those who come to the tropics with the
+idea of making a fortune in a few years without working for it. These
+fall into the hands of the big Nouméa companies, and have the greatest
+trouble in getting out of debt. Not only do these firms lend money
+at exorbitant interest, but they stipulate that the planter will sell
+them all his produce and buy whatever he needs from them, and as they
+fix prices as they please, their returns are said to reach 30 per cent.
+
+Besides these two kinds of French settlers, there is a third, which
+comes from the penitentiary in Nouméa or its neighbourhood. We shall
+meet specimens of these in the following pages.
+
+After having duly admired the plantation of Mr. R.--he proved himself
+a real peasant, knew every plant by name, and was constantly stopping
+to pick a dead leaf or prune a shoot--we continued our journey and
+arrived at Tangoa. Tangoa is a small island, on which the Presbyterian
+mission has established a central school for the more intelligent
+of the natives of the whole group, where they may be trained as
+teachers. The exterior of this school looks most comfortable. One
+half of the island is cleared and covered with a green lawn, one
+part is pasture for good-looking cattle, the other is a park in which
+nestle the cottages of the teachers,--the whole looks like an English
+country-seat. At some distance is a neatly built, well-kept village
+for the native pupils. I presented an introduction to the director. He
+seemed to think my endeavours extremely funny, asked if I was looking
+for the missing link, etc., so that I took a speedy leave.
+
+We spent a few lazy days on board the little cutter; the natives would
+not come down from their villages, in spite of frequent explosions of
+dynamite cartridges, the usual signal of recruiters to announce their
+arrival to the natives. It rained a good deal, and there was not much
+to do but to loaf on the beach. Here, one day, I saw an interesting
+method of fishing by poisoning the water, which is practised in many
+places. At low tide the natives rub a certain fruit on the stones of
+the reef, the juice mixes with the water in the pools and poisons
+the fish, so that after a short while they float senseless on the
+surface and may easily be caught.
+
+After a few days I was anxious to return to the Segond Channel,
+as I expected the arrival of the English steamer, which I wanted to
+meet. I could not find any guide, and the cutter was to stay for some
+days longer, so I decided to go alone; the distance was only about
+15 km., and I thought that with the aid of my compass I would find
+my way along the trail which was said to exist.
+
+I started in the morning with a few provisions and a dull bush-knife,
+at first along a fairly good path, which, however, soon divided
+into several tracks. I followed the one which seemed most likely to
+lead to my destination, but arrived at a deep lagoon, around which
+I had to make a long detour. Here the path came to a sudden stop in
+front of an impenetrable thicket of lianas which I could hardly cut
+with my knife. I climbed across fallen trunks, crawled along the
+ground beneath the creepers, struck an open spot once in a while,
+passed swamps and rocks,--in short, in a very little time I made an
+intimate acquaintance with the renowned Santo bush. Yet I imagined
+I was advancing nicely, so much so that I began to fear I had gone
+beyond my destination. About four o'clock in the afternoon I struck
+a small river and followed its crooked course to the coast, so as to
+get my bearings. Great was my disappointment on finding myself only
+about 1 1/2 km. from the lagoon which I had left in the morning. This
+was a poor reward for eight hours' hard work. I was ashamed to return
+to the cutter, and followed the shore, not wishing to repeat that
+morning's experience in the forest. The walk along the beach was not
+agreeable at all, as it consisted of those corroded coral rocks,
+full of sharp points and edges, and shaped like melted tin poured
+into water. These rocks were very jagged, full of crevices, in which
+the swell thundered and foamed, and over which I had to jump. Once I
+fell in, cut my legs and hands most cruelly and had only my luck to
+thank that I did not break any bones, and got safely out of the damp,
+dark prison. But at least I could see where I was, and that I was
+getting on, and I preferred this to the uncertain struggle in the
+forest. In some places the coast rose to a high bank, round which
+I could not walk. I had to climb up on one side as best I could
+and descend on the other with the help of trees and vines. Thus,
+fighting my way along, I was overtaken by the sudden tropical night,
+and I had to stop where I was for fear of falling into some hole. A
+fall would have been a real calamity, as nobody would ever have found
+me or even looked for me on that lonely coast. I therefore sat down
+where I was, on the corals where they seemed least pointed. I did not
+succeed at all in making a fire; the night was quite dark and moonless,
+and a fine rain penetrated everything. I have rarely passed a longer
+night or felt so lonely. The new day revived my spirits, breakfast
+did not detain me long, as I had nothing to eat, so I kept along the
+shore, jumping and climbing, and had to swim through several lagoons,
+swarming, as I heard afterwards, with big sharks! After a while the
+coral shore changed into a sand beach, and after having waded for some
+hours more in the warm water with the little rags that were left of my
+boots, I arrived dead tired at the plantation of Mr. R. He was away,
+so I went to his neighbour's, who was at dinner and kindly asked me
+to join him. Although it was only a flying-fox, I enjoyed it as a
+man enjoys a meal after a twenty-four hours' fast.
+
+The men were just starting for Mr. Ch.'s, and took me with them. My
+adventure had taught me the impassableness of the forest, and after
+that experience I was never again tempted to make excursions without
+a guide.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+RECRUITING FOR NATIVES
+
+
+A few days later the English steamer came, bringing my luggage but
+no hope of improvement in my dull existence. A French survey party
+arrived too, and set to work, but as they had not enough boys with
+them, I could not join them. I spent my days as well as I could,
+collected a few zoological specimens, and read Mr. Ch.'s large stock
+of French novels until I felt quite silly.
+
+At last an occasion offered to see primitive natives. George, the
+son of a neighbour, had agreed to go recruiting for Mr. Ch. As I
+have said before, providing sufficient labour is one of the most
+important problems to the planter in the New Hebrides. Formerly there
+were professional recruiters who went slave-hunting as they would have
+followed any other occupation, and sold the natives to the planters at
+a fair profit. In their schooners they hung about the shore, filled
+the natives with liquor and kidnapped them, or simply drove them on
+board wholesale, with the help of armed Loyalty boys. Their methods
+were as various as they were cruel, murder was a daily occurrence, and,
+of course, the recruiters were hated by the natives, who attacked and
+killed them whenever they got a chance. The better class of planters
+would not countenance this mode of procedure, and the natives are
+now experienced enough not to enlist for work under a master they
+do not know. Also the English Government keeps a strict watch on
+the recruiting, so that the professional recruiter is dying out,
+and every planter has to go in search of hands for himself. But
+while the English Government keeps a sharp eye on these matters,
+the French Government is as lenient in this as in the question of
+the sale of alcohol, so that frequent kidnapping and many cruelties
+occur in the northern part of the group, and slavery still exists. I
+shall relate a few recruiting stories later on: some general remarks
+on the subject may not be amiss here.
+
+In years past the natives crowded the recruiting schooners by hundreds,
+driven by the greed for European luxuries, by desire for change,
+and inexperience; to-day this is the case in but very few and savage
+districts. Generally the natives have some idea of what they may
+expect; moreover, by trading with coprah they can buy all they need
+and want. They enlist nowadays from quite different motives. With
+young people it is the desire to travel and to "see the world,"
+and to escape the strict village laws that govern them, especially
+in sexual matters, and to get rid of the supervision of the whole
+tribe. Sometimes, but only in islands poor in cocoa-nut trees, it is
+the desire to earn money to buy a woman, a very expensive article at
+present. Then many seek refuge in the plantations from persecution of
+all sorts, from revenge, or punishment for some misdeed at home. Some
+are lovers who have run away from their tribe to escape the rage of an
+injured husband. Thus recruiting directly favours the general anarchy
+and immorality, and indirectly as well, since the recruiters do their
+best to create as much trouble as possible in the villages, knowing
+it will be to their advantage. If they hear of a feud raging between
+two tribes, they collect at the shore and try to pick up fugitives;
+if there is no war, they do their best to occasion one, by intrigue,
+alcohol, or agents provocateurs. They intoxicate men and women,
+and make them enlist in that condition; young men are shown pretty
+women, and promised all the joys of Paradise in the plantations. If
+these tricks fail, the recruiters simply kidnap men and women while
+bathing. This may suffice to show that, as a rule, they do not use
+fair means to find hands, and it is hardly surprising that where
+they have been they leave behind them wrecked families, unhappiness,
+enmity, murder and a deep hatred of the white man in general as the
+cause of all this misery. This recruiting is not only immoral in the
+highest degree, but also very harmful to the race, and it is to-day
+one of the principal reasons for its decay.
+
+Those planters who from principle or from fear of the law do not
+resort to such means generally have a special recruiting district,
+where they are well known, and where the natives know the treatment
+they are likely to get on the plantation, and feel sure they will not
+be cheated, and will be taken back to their homes in due time. These
+planters, I am happy to say, find hands enough, as a rule, while the
+natives take care not to go to a French plantation if they can help
+it. The system of recruiting is very simple. The cutter anchors at some
+distance offshore, and a dynamite cartridge is exploded to announce
+her arrival; some time afterwards one of the whale-boats goes ashore,
+all the crew armed to the teeth, while the other boat lies a short
+distance off, to watch the natives, and to cover the retreat of those
+in the first boat in case of attack. The planter, as a rule, stays
+on board his cutter. These warlike practices are really unnecessary
+in many places, but as one never knows what indiscretions the last
+recruiter may have committed, and as the natives consider all whites
+as belonging to one organization, it is the part of prudence to follow
+this old recruiting rule.
+
+I will not pretend to say that the natives will never attack
+without provocation. Even Cook, who certainly was both careful
+and just, was treacherously attacked in Erromanga, for the
+Melanesian is bloodthirsty, especially when he thinks himself the
+stronger. But to-day it may be stated as a certainty that no attack
+on a recruiting-ship or on any white man occurs without some past
+brutality on the part of a European to account for it. As one of the
+Governments does nothing to abolish kidnapping, and as the plantations
+go to ruin for want of labour, it would be to the interest both of the
+settlers and of the natives to abolish the present recruiting system
+entirely, and to introduce a conscription for work in its place, so
+that each male would have to work for a term of years on a plantation
+for adequate wages and good treatment. This would be of advantage to
+the islanders even more than to the planters. It would create order,
+and would employ the natives in useful work for the development of
+their own country.
+
+It will appear from all this that recruiting is still a somewhat
+dangerous undertaking, especially on the north-west coast of Malekula,
+the home of the most primitive and savage tribes of all the group.
+
+George, our captain, was a strange fellow, about seventeen years of
+age: he might just as well have been forty. Pale, with small grey eyes
+and a suspicious look, a long hooked nose, and narrow, yet hanging
+lips, he walked with bent back and crooked knees, always bare-footed,
+in blue dungaree trousers, green shirt and an old weather-beaten
+hat. He hardly ever spoke; when he did, it was very suddenly, very
+fast and very low, so that no one could understand him except his
+boys, who evidently knew instinctively what he meant. The natives
+are very clever in these matters. He was brave, an excellent sailor
+for his age, and he knew the channels and all the anchorages. His
+boat may have been 6 or 7 mètres long and 3 mètres wide; she was
+cutter-rigged, and was probably very suitable for a trip of a few
+days, but quite insufficient for a cruise of several weeks, such as
+we were planning. The deck was full of cases of provisions, so that
+only a little space was clear for us at the stern. The cabin was
+about 2 mètres long, 1 1/2 mètre wide, and 1 1/2 mètre high, and
+was crammed with stuff--tinned meats, cloths, guns, trading goods,
+etc. One person could wriggle in it, crawling on hands and knees,
+but two had to wind round each other in impossible positions, and
+it was quite unthinkable that both should spend the night below. But
+with the happy carelessness and impatience of a long-delayed start,
+we did not think of the hardships of the future, and in fair weather,
+when the stay on deck in the brisk breeze was extremely pleasant,
+as on that first morning, existence on board seemed very bearable;
+but when it rained, and it rained very often and very hard, it was
+exceptionally disagreeable.
+
+Mr. George took no interest in such details. Although he could have
+improved matters without much trouble, he was too lazy to take the
+trouble. The sun- and rain-sail was fixed so low that one could not
+stand upright, and anyone who has experienced this for some time
+knows how irritating it is. For food George did not seem to care at
+all. Not only did he lack the sense of taste, but he seemed to have
+an unhuman stomach, for he ate everything, at any time, and in any
+condition; raw or cooked, digestible or not, he swallowed it silently
+and greedily, and thought it quite unnecessary when I wanted the boys
+to cook some rice for me, or to wash a plate. The tea was generally
+made with brackish water which was perfectly sickening. George
+had always just eaten when I announced that dinner was ready, and
+for answer he generally wrapped himself in his blankets and fell
+asleep. The consequence was that each of us lived his own life, and
+the companionship which might have made up for many insufficiencies
+on board was lacking entirely.
+
+It was the first sunny day after many rainy ones when the current
+carried us through the channel. When we got on too slowly the oars
+had to help. After several hours we arrived in the open, and a fresh
+breeze carried us quickly alongside the small islands of Aore, Tutuba
+and Malo. Blue, white-crested waves lifted us up so high that we could
+look far over the foaming sea, and again we sank down in a valley,
+out of which we could only see the nearest waves rolling threateningly
+towards us. Behind us the little dinghy shot down the swells, gliding
+on the water like a duck. In the late afternoon we approached the north
+point of Malekula, and followed the west coast southward, towards the
+country of the "Big Nambas"--our destination. Contrasting with other
+islands of the archipelago, Malekula does not seem densely covered
+with vegetation at this point. We do not see much of the impenetrable
+bush, but rather a scanty growth of grass on the coral reefs, a few
+shrubs and she-oaks, then a narrow belt of forest covering the steep
+cliffs and sides of the hills, on whose backs we find extensive areas
+covered with reed-grass. Even a luxuriant forest does not look gay
+on a dull day, and this barren landscape looked most inhospitable in
+the grey mist of the afternoon. We slowly followed a coast of ragged
+coral patches, alternating with light sand beaches. Towards nightfall
+we anchored near a stony shore, flanked by two high cliffs, in about
+10 fathoms of the most transparent water. We could see in the depths
+the irregular shapes of the rocks, separated by white sand, and the
+soft mysterious colours in which the living coral shines like a giant
+carpet. The sea was quiet as a pond, yet we were on the shores of
+that endless ocean that reaches westward to the Torres Straits.
+
+Torn clouds floated across the hills towards the north-west, the stars
+shone dull, and it was very lonely and oppressively silent, nowhere
+was there a trace of life, human or animal. Lying on deck, I listened
+to the sound of the surf breaking in the different little bays near
+and far, in a monotonous measure, soft and yet irresistible. It is
+the voice of the sea in its cleansing process, the continual grinding
+and casting out of all impurities, the eternal war against the land
+and its products, and the final destruction of the earth itself.
+
+The district of the Big Nambas, to whose shores we had come, takes
+its name from the size of a certain article of dress, the "Nambas,"
+which partly replaces our trousers, and is worn in different forms
+over the greater part of the archipelago, but nowhere of such size
+as here. It is such an odd object that it may well give its name to
+the country. Big Nambas is still the least known part of the islands,
+and hardly any white has ever set foot in the interior. Unlike those
+of other districts, the natives here have preserved their old habits
+and strict organization, and this is evidently the reason why they
+have not degenerated and decayed. The old chiefs are still as powerful
+as ever, and preserve peace and order, while they themselves do as
+they please. Big Nambas has had but little contact with the whites,
+especially the recruiters, so that the population is not demoralized,
+nor the chief's power undermined. Of course it is to the chief's
+interest to have as strong a tribe as possible, and they reserve to
+themselves the right of killing offenders, and take all revenge in
+their own hands. They watch the women and prevent child-murder and such
+things, and although their reign is one of terror, their influence,
+as a whole, on the race is not bad, because they suppress many vices
+that break out as soon as they slacken their severity. The chiefs
+in Big Nambas seem to have felt this, and systematically opposed
+the intercourse with whites. But this district is just where the
+best workmen come from, and the population is densest, and that is
+why the recruiters have tried again and again of late years to get
+hold of Big Nambas, but with little success, for so far only few
+men have enlisted. One of them was on our cutter, and had to serve
+as interpreter. The other four of the five boys were from Malekula,
+a little farther south. Our man from Big Nambas was known on the
+plantation as Bourbaki, and had enlisted two years ago. Before that
+he had been professional murderer and provider of human flesh to the
+great chief. Now he was a useful and quiet foreman on the plantation,
+always cheerful, very intelligent, strong, brutal, with small, shrewd
+eyes and a big mouth, apparently quite happy in civilization, and
+devoted to George. He was one of the few natives who openly admitted
+his liking for human flesh, and rapturously described its incomparable
+tenderness, whiteness and delicacy. A year ago, when visiting his
+village, he had been inconsolable because he had come a day late for a
+cannibal feast, and had blamed his father bitterly for not having saved
+a piece for him. Aside from this ghoulish propensity, Bourbaki was
+a thoroughly nice fellow, obliging, reliable and as happy as a child
+at the prospect of seeing his father again. We expected good service
+and help in recruiting from him, and promised him ample head-money.
+
+Bourbaki had run away without the permission of his chief, who was
+furious at the loss of his best man, and had given orders to kill the
+recruiter, a brother-in-law of George. Some natives had ambushed and
+shot at them while entering the whale-boat; the white had received
+several wounds, and a native woman had been killed. The boat pulled
+away rapidly. Bourbaki laughed, and, indeed, by this time the little
+incident was quite forgotten, as its only victim had been a woman.
+
+The morning was damp and dull. The hills came down to the sea in slopes
+of grey-green, the shore was a soft brown, and the rocks lay in dark
+patches on the beach, separated from the greyish-green of the sea
+by the white line of the breakers. The hollow sound of the dynamite
+explosions glided along the slopes and was swallowed in distant space.
+
+A few hours later, thinking the natives might be coming, we got
+our arms ready: each of us had a revolver and a repeating rifle,
+the boys had old Sniders. The cutter lay about 200 mètres off-shore,
+and we could see everything that was going on on the beach. Behind
+the flat, stony shore the forest-covered hills rose in a steep cliff
+to a tableland about 100 mètres high. On the water we were in perfect
+safety, for the villages lie far inland, and the Big Nambas are no
+sailors, hate the sea and possess no canoes. They only come to the
+beach occasionally, to get a few crabs and shell-fish, yet each tribe
+has its own place on the shore, where no stranger is admitted.
+
+We took Bourbaki ashore; he was very anxious to go home, and promptly
+disappeared in the bush, his Snider on his shoulder. We then returned
+to the cutter and waited. It is quite useless to be in a hurry when
+recruiting, but one certainly needs a supply of patience, for the
+natives have no idea of the value of time, and cannot understand the
+rush which our civilization has created.
+
+Late in the afternoon a few naked figures appeared on the beach. One
+of them signalled with a branch, and soon others followed, till
+about fifty men had assembled, and in the background, half-hidden by
+shrubs, stood half a dozen women. We entered the whale-boats, two
+boys and a white man in each, and slowly approached the shore. All
+the natives carried their rifles in their right hands and yams in
+their left, making signs to show that they wished to trade. We gave
+them to understand that they must first put down their muskets,
+and when they hesitated we cocked our rifles and waited. Some of
+them went back to the forest and laid down their guns, while the
+others sat down at a distance and watched. We promptly put down our
+rifles, approached and showed our trade-goods--tobacco, matches,
+clay pipes and calico. Hesitating, suspicious, yet tempted, they
+crowded round the boat and offered their yams, excitedly shouting
+and gesticulating, talking and laughing. They had quite enormous
+yams, which they traded for one or two sticks of tobacco or as many
+pipes. Matches and calico were not much in demand. Our visitors
+were mostly well-built, medium-sized men of every age, and looked
+very savage and dangerous. They were nearly naked, but for a belt of
+bark around their waists, about 20 cm. wide, which they wore wound
+several times around their bodies, so that it stood out like a thick
+ring. Over this they had bound narrow ribbons of braided fibres,
+dyed in red patterns, the ends of the ribbons falling down in large
+tassels. Under this belt is stuck the end of the enormous nambas,
+also consisting of red grass fibres. Added to this scanty dress are
+small ornaments, tortoise-shell ear-rings, bamboo combs, bracelets
+embroidered with rings of shell and cocoa-nut, necklaces, and thin
+bands bound under the knees and over the ankles.
+
+The beautiful, lithe, supple bodies support a head covered with long,
+curly hair, and the face is framed by a long and fairly well-kept
+beard. The eyes roll unsteadily, and their dark and penetrating look
+is in no wise softened by the brown colouring of the scela. The nose
+is only slightly concave, the sides are large and thick, and their
+width is increased by a bamboo or stone cylinder stuck through the
+septum. Both nose and eyes are overhung by a thick torus. The upper lip
+is generally short and rarely covers the mouth, which is exceptionally
+large and wide, and displays a set of teeth of remarkable strength
+and perfection. The whole body is covered with a thick layer of greasy
+soot. Such is the appearance of the modern man-eater.
+
+Just at first we did not feel any too comfortable or anxious to go
+ashore, and we watched our neighbours very carefully. They, however,
+were hardly less frightened and suspicious; but after a while,
+through the excitement of trading, they became more confident, forgot
+their suspicions and bargained noisily, as happy as a crowd of boys;
+still, any violent movement on our part startled them. For instance,
+several of them started to run for the woods when I hastily grabbed
+a pipe that a roll of the boat had set slipping off the seat.
+
+After having filled the boats to the brim with yams, and the first
+eagerness of bartering over, we ventured ashore. A suspicious crowd
+stood around us and watched every movement. We first showed them our
+weapons, and a violent smacking of the lips and long-drawn whistles,
+or a grunting "Whau!" bespoke a gratifying degree of admiration
+and wonder. The longer the cartridges and the larger the bullets,
+the more they impressed them, and our revolvers were glanced at with
+contempt and a shrug of the shoulders, expressing infinite disdain,
+until each of us shot a few rounds. Then they winced, started to
+run away, came back and laughed boisterously over their own fright;
+but after that they had more respect for our "little guns."
+
+Soon they became more daring, came closer and began to feel us, first
+touching us lightly with the finger-tips, then with their hands. They
+wanted to look at and handle everything, cartridge-belts, pipes,
+hats and clothes. When all these had been examined, they investigated
+our persons, and to me, at least, not being used to this, it was
+most disagreeable. I did not mind when they tucked up our sleeves and
+trousers and compared the whiteness and softness of our skin with their
+own dark hide, nor when they softly and caressingly stroked the soft
+skin on the inner side of our arms and legs, vigorously smacking their
+lips the while; but when they began to feel the tenderness and probably
+the delicacy of our muscles, and tried to estimate our fitness for a
+royal repast, muttering deep grunts, constantly smacking their lips,
+and evidently highly satisfied with the result of their investigation,
+I did not enjoy the situation any more; still less when I saw an
+ugly-looking fellow trembling violently from greedy desire, rolling
+his eyes in wild exultation and performing an anticipatory cannibal
+dinner-dance. We gradually began to shake off this wearisomely intimate
+crowd; the fact that there were two of us, and that I was not alone
+in this situation was very comforting. However, in the course of the
+next few years I became accustomed to this treatment, though I never
+again met it in such crudeness.
+
+We had slowly approached the forest and could get a few glimpses of the
+women, who had kept quite in the background and hid still more when
+we came near. They had braided aprons around their waists and rolled
+mats on their heads. Nearly all of them carried babies on their hips,
+and they looked fairly healthy, although the children were full of
+sores. Evidently the men did not like our looking at the ladies; they
+pushed us back and drove the women away. We returned to the boats,
+and the natives retired too, howling, shrieking and laughing. Towards
+evening another crowd arrived, and the performance was repeated in
+every detail. Happy over the bartered goods, they began to dance,
+first decorating themselves with tall branches stuck in the back of
+their belts. They jumped from one foot to the other, sometimes turning
+round, and singing in a rough, deep monotone. We withdrew to the boats,
+and they dispersed on the shore, lighted fires and roasted the yams
+they had left.
+
+Far away across the sea there was lightning, the surf boomed more
+heavily than by day, the cutter rolled more violently and restlessly
+and the whaleboat scraped against her sides, while the wind roared
+through the forest gullies and thunder threatened behind the hills. We
+felt lonely in the thick darkness, with the tempest approaching
+steadily, afloat on a tiny shell, alone against the fury of the
+elements. The lamp was blown out, and we lay on deck listening to the
+storm, until a heavy squall drove us below, to spend the night in a
+stuffy atmosphere, in uncomfortable positions, amid wild dreams. Next
+morning there were again about twenty men on the shore, and again the
+same performances were gone through. Evidently the people, influenced
+by Bourbaki, who was still in the village, were more confident, and
+left their weapons behind of their own accord. They came to trade,
+and when their provisions of yam were exhausted, most of them left;
+only a few, mostly young fellows, wanted to stay, but some older
+men stayed with them, so as to prevent them from going on board
+and enlisting. Evidently the young men were attracted by all our
+wonderful treasures, and would have liked to see the country where
+all these things came from. They imagined the plantations must be very
+beautiful places, while the old men had vague notions to the contrary,
+and were afraid of losing their young braves.
+
+During a lull in the proceedings we climbed the narrow, steep and
+slippery path up to the tableland in order to get an idea of the
+country behind the hills. Half-way up we met two old men carrying
+yam down to the beach. They were terrified at sight of us, began to
+tremble, stopped and spoke to us excitedly. We immediately laid down
+our rifles, and signed to them to approach, but they suddenly dropped
+their loads, ran off and disappeared in the bush. They evidently feared
+we had come to kidnap them, and we decided it was wiser to return to
+the beach, so as not to irritate the people. Shortly afterwards another
+crowd of natives came along the beach carrying yam. They approached
+with extreme care, ready to fight or fly, but they were less afraid of
+us than of the natives, for whom that part of the beach was reserved,
+and with whom we had been trading. They were enemies of the newcomers,
+who knew that they were outside their own territory and might expect
+an attack any moment. Squatting down near us, they anxiously watched
+the forest, ever ready to jump up. One of them, who spoke a little
+biche la mar, came up to me and asked me to anchor that night near
+their beach, and buy yams from them, which we promised to do. At a
+sound in the forest they jumped up and ran away. George, wishing to
+talk more with them, took his rifle and ran after them, but they had
+already retreated behind some boulders, and were waving their rifles
+and signalling him to stay where he was. They thought we were in a
+plot with other natives, and had ambushed them. To such a degree do
+these people live in constant fear, and thus arise misunderstandings
+which end in death, unless the whites are very prudent and quiet. Many
+a recruiter in our case would have welcomed this apparent provocation
+to shoot at the natives from a safe distance with his superior rifle.
+
+All day it rained in heavy squalls, coming from over the hills;
+everything was damp, the night was dark and still and we sighed in
+our narrow cell of a cabin. Next morning Bourbaki came back with a
+new crowd of natives, who again felt and investigated, happily, also,
+admired us. So vain is human-kind that even the admiration of cannibals
+is agreeable. I let some of them try my shot-gun, and everyone wanted
+to attempt the feat, although they were all badly frightened. They held
+the gun at arm's length, turned their faces away and shot at random;
+it was clear that very few knew how to shoot, and that their Sniders
+could be of use only at short range. This is confirmed by the fact
+that all their murders are done point-blank.
+
+Bourbaki brought news that in a few days there was to be a great
+sacrificial feast in the village, and that, everybody being busy
+preparing for it, we had no chance of recruiting, neither could we
+see the great chief, he being shut up in his house, invisible to
+everybody except to a little boy, his servant. We landed a goat for
+Bourbaki's father; the innocent animal caused terrible fright and
+great admiration. All the men retreated behind trunks or rocks and
+no one dared touch the strange creature. Bourbaki was very proud of
+himself for knowing goats, and fastened the poor little thing to a
+tree in the shade. He then coaxed three old men on board. Clumsily
+they entered the whale-boats, and even on board the cutter they
+squatted anxiously down and dared hardly move for fear the ship might
+capsize or they might slip into the water, of which they were quite
+afraid. They could hardly speak, and stared at everything, wide-eyed
+and open-mouthed. They forgot their fears, however, in delight over
+our possessions. A saucepan proved a joy; the boards and planks of
+the ship were touched and admired amid much smacking of the lips; a
+devout "Whau!" was elicited by the sight of the cabin, which seemed a
+fairy palace to them. Smaller things they approved of by whistling;
+in general they behaved very politely. If they did not understand
+the use of a thing, they shrugged their shoulders with a grimace
+of contempt. A mirror was useless to them at first; after a while
+they learned to see; they were frightened, and at last they roared
+with laughter, put out their tongues, admired their sooty faces and
+began to pull out their bristles, for they all wore their upper lips
+shaved. Naturally, they confused right and left, and became entirely
+bewildered. A watch did not impress them; the ticking seemed mysterious
+and not quite innocent, and they put the instrument away at a safe
+distance. They asked to see some money, but were much disappointed,
+having imagined it would look bigger and more imposing. They preferred
+a little slip of paper, which they carefully hid in their belts. Our
+stock of cartridges impressed them deeply, and there was no end of
+whistling and grunting. Sugar and tea were objects of suspicion. They
+thought them poison, and took some along, probably to experiment on
+a good friend or a woman. Matches were stuck into the hair, the beard
+or the perforated ears. Pictures were quite incomprehensible.
+
+After an hour they left, less frightened than before, but still very
+glad to leave all the mysterious and uncanny things behind. Bourbaki
+made fun of their innocence, and thought himself very civilized,
+but he himself was dreadfully afraid of my camera: "White man he
+savee too much."
+
+The weather cleared towards evening. Some natives stayed on the shore
+all night, lighted fires and sang songs in anticipation of the coming
+dance. Our boys mimicked them, laughed at them and felt very superior,
+though we whites failed to see much difference, and, as a matter of
+fact, a short time after having returned home these boys can hardly
+be told from ordinary bushmen. The shrieks of the savages pierced the
+velvet of the night like daggers, but by and by they quieted down,
+and we heard nothing more but the rhythmic rise and fall of the surf.
+
+In the silver light of the rising moon the boats rolled gently behind
+the ship like dark spots, and light clouds glided westward across
+the stars, eternally rising behind the black cliffs and disappearing
+in the universal dimness. We were asleep on deck, when suddenly a
+violent shower woke us up and banished us into that terrible cabin.
+
+No natives came next day; they were all busy preparing the feast. We
+had nothing to do but to loaf on the beach or on board, and smoke,
+as we had no fishing-tackle and no animals to shoot. The grey sky,
+the vague light, the thin rain, were depressing, and all sorts
+of useless thoughts came to us. We noticed the hardships of our
+existence on board, felt that we were wasting time, grew irritable and
+dissatisfied. If only my companion had been less sulky! But with him
+there could be no pleasant chat, no cosy evening hour over a cup of
+tea and a pipe; and I would almost have preferred being alone to this
+solitude à deux. I sat on deck and listened to the breakers. Often
+they sounded like a rushing express train and awakened reminiscences
+of travel and movement. The cool wind blew softly from afar, and
+I could understand for the first time that longing that asks the
+winds for news of home and friends. I gave myself up wholly to this
+vague dreaming, call it home-sickness, or what you will, it enlivened
+the oppressive colourlessness of the days and the loneliness of the
+nights. As usual, a heavy shower came, luckily, perhaps, to interrupt
+all softer thoughts.
+
+Then followed a few clear days, which changed our mood entirely. The
+cutter rolled confidingly in the morning breeze, and the sun glowed
+warm and golden. In picturesque cascades the green forest seemed
+to rush down the slopes to the bright coral beach, on which the sea
+broke playfully. Once in a while a bird called far off in the depths
+of the woods. It was delicious to lie on the warm beach and be dried
+and roasted by the sun, to think of nothing in particular, but just
+to exist. Two wild pigs came to the beach in the evening to dig for
+yam that the natives had buried there; a chase, though unsuccessful,
+gave excitement and movement. We could venture far inland now without
+fear, for the natives were all away at the feast. Brilliant sunsets
+closed the days in royal splendour. Behind a heavy cloud-bank which
+hid the sun, he seemed to melt in the sea and to form one golden
+element. Out of the cloud five yellow rays shot across the steel-blue
+sky, so that it looked like one of those old-fashioned engravings
+of God behind a cloud. When everything had melted into one gorgeous
+fire, and we were still helpless before all that glory, the colours
+faded away to the most delicate combinations of half-tones; soon the
+stars came out glittering on the deep sky, first of all the Southern
+Cross. Halley's comet was still faintly visible.
+
+In the morning the sky was cloudless, and changed from one lovely
+colour to the other, until the sun rose to give it its bright blue
+and paint the shore in every tint. Then every stone at the bottom of
+the sea was visible, and all the marvellous coral formations, with
+their weird shapes and fiery colours, glowed in rose and violet and
+pure golden yellow. Above lay big sea-stars, and large fish in bright
+hues floated between the cliffs in soft, easy movements, while bright
+blue little ones shot hither and thither like mad.
+
+Bourbaki arrived with his younger brother, a neat and gentle-looking
+boy. The feast was to begin that evening, and I asked Bourbaki if
+they had plenty of pigs to eat. "Oh no," he said; "but that is of
+no importance: we have a man to eat! Yesterday we killed him in
+the bush, and to-day we will eat him." He said this with the most
+innocent expression, as if he were talking about the weather. I had to
+force myself not to draw away from him, and looked somewhat anxiously
+into his face; but Bourbaki stared quietly into the distance, as if
+dreaming of the past excitements and the coming delights; then he
+picked up a cocoa-nut and tore the husk off with his strong teeth. It
+made me shudder to watch his brutish movements, but he was perfectly
+happy that morning, willing and obedient. At noon he went away to
+his horrid feast, and for two days we saw nobody.
+
+We passed the time as usual; the weather was rainy again, and
+everything seemed grey,--the sky, the sea and the shore, and our
+mood. One is so dependent on surroundings.
+
+On the third day Bourbaki came back, a little tired, but evidently
+satisfied. Some of his friends accompanied him, and he brought word
+that the chief had given permission for a few boys to enlist, but
+that we would have to wait about ten days until he could come to
+the shore himself. Not wishing to spend the ten days there, doing
+absolutely nothing, we decided to go farther south, to Tesbel Bay,
+and try our luck at recruiting there, as we had another boy, Macao,
+from that district. George gave leave to Bourbaki, who had been
+somewhat savage these last days, to stay at home till our return, and
+he seemed delighted to have a holiday. We were all the more surprised
+when, just before we weighed anchor, Bourbaki came back, shaking hands
+without a word. We were quite touched by this remarkable sign of his
+affection, pardoned his many objectionable ways, and never thought
+that perhaps he might have ample reason not to feel altogether safe
+and comfortable at home.
+
+The wind being contrary, we had to tack about all night long without
+advancing. Squalls rushed over the water, and then, again, the breeze
+died down completely, only black, jagged clouds drifted westward
+across the sky, and here and there a few stars were visible. The
+cutter's deck was crowded with stuff, and there seemed less room for
+us than ever, except in the hateful cabin. The boys sang monotonously
+"for wind," quite convinced that the next breeze would be due to their
+efforts. A fat old man sang all night long in falsetto in three notes;
+it was unbearably silly and irritating, yet one could hardly stop the
+poor devil and rob him of his only pleasure in that dark night. We
+felt damp, restless and sleepless, and tried in vain to find some
+comfort. Next evening we reached the entrance of Tesbel Bay, and
+the wind having died down, we had to work our way in with the oars,
+a slow and hard task. Bourbaki yelled and pulled at the oars with
+all his might, encouraging the others. These are the joys of sailing.
+
+Tesbel Bay is framed on two sides by high cliffs. Big boulders
+lie in picturesque confusion where the surf foams white against
+the narrow beach. Wherever there is a foot of ground, luxurious
+vegetation thrives. Ahead of us lies a level valley that stretches
+far inland to the foot of a high mountain, whose head is lost in grey
+clouds. A little creek runs into the bay through high reed-grass,
+behind a sandbank. Just before setting, the sun shone through the
+clouds and smiled on the lovely, peaceful landscape, seeming to
+promise us a pleasant stay. The smoke of many village fires rose
+out of the bush at a distance. Two ragged natives were loafing on
+the beach, and I engaged one of them for the next day, to guide me
+to some villages. Bourbaki and Macao marched gaily off, as they were
+to spend the night in Macao's village.
+
+Next morning, while being pulled ashore for my excursion inland, I
+saw Macao on the beach, crying, waving and behaving like a madman. He
+called out that Bourbaki was dead, and that we must come to the
+village. I took him into the boat and we returned to the cutter. Macao
+was trembling all over, uttering wild curses, sighing and sobbing like
+a child. Between the fingers of his left hand he frantically grasped
+his cartridges, and nervously kept hold of his old rifle. We could
+not get much out of him; all we could make out was that Bourbaki had
+been shot towards morning and that he himself had run away. We guessed
+that Bourbaki must have committed some misdemeanour; as there was a
+possibility of his still being alive, we decided to go and look for
+him; for satisfaction it was idle to hope.
+
+According to Macao the village was quite near, so we took our rifles,
+armed the boys, and in ten minutes we were ashore. The youngest,
+a fourteen-year-old boy, was left in the whale-boat, so as to be
+ready to pick us up in case of need. His elder brother, a tall,
+stout fellow, also preferred to stay in the boat; we left him behind,
+and this left five of us for the expedition. Macao showed us the
+way, and as we followed him we watched right and left for a possible
+ambush. It was a disagreeable moment when we dived into the thicket,
+where we expected to be attacked any moment, and I could hardly blame
+another fat boy for dropping behind, too, to "watch the shore," as
+he said. Not wishing to lose any time, we let him go, for we were
+anxious to be in the village before the natives should have time to
+rally and prepare for resistance.
+
+The path was miserable--slippery slopes, wildly knotted roots, stones,
+creeks and high reeds. We were kept quite busy enough watching our
+path, and were not careful at all about watching the bush; but we
+were confident that the natives, being very poor shots, would betray
+their presence by a random shot. We were exposed, of course, to shots
+from close quarters alongside the path, but we trusted to Macao's
+sharp eyes to detect a hidden enemy. After an hour's brisk walk,
+we asked Macao whether the village was still far off; every time
+we asked, his answer was the same: "Bim by you me catch him," or,
+"Him he close up." However, after an hour and a half, we began to
+feel worried. We had no idea whether we would find a peaceful village
+or an armed tribe, and in the latter case a retreat would doubtless
+have been fatal, owing to the long distance we would have had to go
+in the forest, where the white man is always at a disadvantage. But
+we had undertaken the adventure, and we had to see it through.
+
+After two hours we unexpectedly came upon a village. A dozen men
+and a few women were squatting about, evidently expecting some
+event. The presence of the women was a sign that the people were
+peacefully inclined. An old man, a relative of Macao's, joined us,
+and a short walk through a gully brought us quite suddenly into a
+village square. About thirty men were awaiting us, armed with rifles
+and clubs, silent and shy. Macao spoke to them, whereupon they laid
+down their rifles and led us to a hut, where we found Bourbaki,
+lying on his back, dead. He had been sitting in the house when some
+one shot him from behind; he had jumped up and tried to fly, but had
+broken down and fallen where he was then lying. He must have died
+almost at once, as the bullet had torn a great hole in his body. His
+rifle and cartridges were missing, that was all.
+
+The villagers stood around us, talking excitedly; we could not
+understand them, but they were evidently not hostile, and we told
+them to bury Bourbaki. They began at once, digging a hole in the
+soft earth with pointed sticks. We then asked for the rifle, the
+cartridges and the murderer, and were informed that two men had done
+the killing. After some deliberation a number of men walked off, one of
+them a venerable old man, armed after the old fashion with a bow and
+a handful of poisoned arrows, which he handled with deliberate care;
+he also carried a club in a sling over his shoulder. Of all those
+strong men, this old one seemed to me the most dangerous but also
+the most beautiful and the most genuine. After a while they returned,
+and two other men slunk in and stood apart.
+
+The natives seemed undecided what to do, and squatted about, talking
+among themselves, until at last one of them pulled me by the sleeve
+and led us towards the two newcomers. We understood that they were
+the murderers, and each of us took hold of one of them. They made no
+resistance, but general excitement arose in the crowd, all the other
+natives shouting and gesticulating, even threatening each other with
+their rifles. They were split in two parties,--one that wanted to give
+up the murderers, and their relatives, who wanted to keep them. We told
+them that the affair would be settled if they gave up the murderers;
+if not, the man-of-war would come and punish the whole village. As my
+prisoner tried to get loose, I bound him, and while I was busy with
+this I heard a shot. Seeing that all the men had their rifles ready,
+I expected the fight to begin, but George told me his prisoner had
+escaped and he had shot after him. The man had profited by George's
+indecision to run away.
+
+This actual outbreak of the hostilities excited the people so that
+we thought it best to retire, taking our single prisoner with us. A
+few of the natives followed us, and when we left the village the
+relatives of the murderer broke out in violent wailing and weeping,
+thinking, as did the prisoner, Belni, himself, that we were going to
+eat him up, after having tortured him to death. Belni trembled all
+over, was very gentle and inclined to weep like a punished child, but
+quite resigned and not even offering any resistance. He only asked
+Macao anxiously what we were going to do with him. Macao, furious
+at the death of his comrade, for whom he seemed to have felt real
+affection, put him in mortal fear, and was quite determined to avenge
+his murdered friend. We shut Belni up in the hold of the cutter and
+told the natives that they would have to hand over Bourbaki's rifle
+and cartridges, and pay us two tusked pigs by noon of the next day.
+
+On this occasion we learned the reason for the murder: Belni's
+brother had had an intrigue with the wife of the chief, and had been
+condemned by the latter to pay a few pigs. Being too poor to do this,
+he decided to pay his debt in an old-fashioned way by killing a man,
+and Bourbaki was unlucky enough to arrive just at the right time,
+and being a man from a distant district, there was no revenge to be
+feared. Belni, therefore, chose him as his victim. The two brothers
+chatted all night with him and Macao, and asked to see Bourbaki's
+rifle, which he carelessly handed to them. When, towards morning,
+Macao left them for a few moments, they profited by the opportunity
+to shoot Bourbaki from behind, and to run away. Macao, rushing back,
+found his friend dead, and fled to the shore. By this deed the wrong
+to the chief was supposed to be made good--a very peculiar practice in
+native justice. It may be a remnant of old head-hunting traditions,
+inasmuch as Belni's brother would have given the dead man's head to
+the chief in payment, this being even more valuable than pigs.
+
+The first excitement over, our boys were seized by fear, even Macao
+and the other one who had accompanied us. Although they were in
+perfect safety on board the cutter they feared all sorts of revenge
+from Belni's relatives,--for instance, that they might cause a
+storm and wreck the cutter. We laughed at them, but they would not
+be cheered up, and, after all, Macao's horrible dread that his old
+father was surely being eaten up by this time in the village was not
+quite groundless. We were not in the brightest of humours ourselves,
+as this event had considerably lessened our chances of recruiting
+at Big Nambas; the chief made us responsible for Bourbaki's death,
+and asked an indemnity which we could hardly pay, except with the
+tusked pigs we demanded here.
+
+We could not stay longer in Tesbel Bay, as our boys were too much
+frightened, and the natives might turn against us at any moment. We
+could hardly get the boys to go ashore for water and firewood, for
+fear of an ambush. In the evening we fetched Belni out of the hold. He
+was still doleful and ready to cry, but seemed unconscious of any
+fault; he had killed a man, but that was rather an honourable act
+than a crime, and he only seemed to regret that it had turned out so
+unsatisfactorily. He did not seem to have much appetite, but swallowed
+his yam mechanically in great lumps. The boys shunned him visibly,
+all but Macao, who squatted down close before him, and gave him food
+with wild hatred in his eyes, and muttering awful threats. Icy-cold,
+cruel, with compressed lips and poisonous looks like a serpent's,
+he hissed his curses and tortured Belni, who excused himself clumsily
+and shyly, playing with the yam and looking from one dark corner to
+the other, like a boy being scolded. The scene was so gruesome that
+I had Belni shut up again, and we watched all night, for Macao was
+determined to take the murderer's life. It was a dry, moonlit night;
+one of the boys was writhing with a pain in his stomach, and we could
+do nothing to help him, so they were all convinced it was caused by
+Belni's relatives, and wanted to sail immediately. A warm breeze had
+driven mosquitoes to the cutter; it was a most unpleasant night.
+
+Next noon the natives appeared, about twenty strong, but without
+the second murderer. They said the shot had hit him, and that he
+had died during the night. This might have been true, and as we
+could do nothing against the village anyway, we let the matter drop,
+especially as they had brought us Bourbaki's rifle and two tusked
+pigs. The chief said he hoped we were satisfied with him, and would
+not trouble anyone but the murderers.
+
+We returned to the cutter, and the pigs were put in the hold,
+where they seem to have kept good company with Belni, after a little
+preliminary squealing and shrieking. Then we sailed northward, with a
+breeze that carried us in four hours over the same distance for which
+we had taken twenty-four last time. It was a bitterly cold night. We
+decided to return home, fearing the boys would murder Belni in an
+unwatched moment, as they had asked several times, when the sea was
+high, whether we would not throw Belni into the water now. The passage
+to Santo was very rough. The waves thundered against the little old
+cutter, and we had a nasty tide-rip. We were quite soaked, and looking
+in through the portholes, we could see everything floating about in
+the cabin--blankets, saucepans, tins and pistols. We did not mind much,
+as we hoped to be at home by evening.
+
+Rest, cleanliness and a little comfort were very tempting after a
+fortnight in the filthy narrowness of the little craft. We had no
+reason to be vain of our success; but such trips are part of the game,
+and we planned a second visit to Big Nambas to reconcile the chief. We
+were glad to greet the cloud-hung coast of Santo, and soon entered
+the Segond Channel. There we discovered that the old boat had leaked
+to such an extent that we could have kept afloat for only a few hours
+longer, and had every reason to be glad the voyage was at an end. It
+was just as well that we had not noticed the leak during the passage.
+
+We brought Belni ashore; the thin, flabby fellow was a poor
+compensation for vigorous Bourbaki. He was set to work on the
+plantation, and as the Government was never informed of the affair,
+he is probably there to this day, and will stay until he dies.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+VAO
+
+
+I had not yet solved the problem of how to get away from the Segond
+Channel and find a good field of labour, when, happily, the French
+priest from Port Olry came to stay a few days with his colleague at
+the channel, on his way to Vao, and he obligingly granted me a passage
+on his cutter. I left most of my luggage behind, and the schooner of
+the French survey party was to bring it to Port Olry later on.
+
+After a passage considerably prolonged by contrary winds, we arrived
+at Vao, a small island north-east of Malekula. When one has sailed
+along the lifeless, greyish-green shores of Malekula, Vao is like a
+sunbeam breaking through the mist. This change of mood comes gradually,
+as one notices the warm air of spring, and dry souls, weather-beaten
+captains and old pirates may hardly be aware of anything beyond a
+better appetite and greater thirst. And it is not easy to define what
+lends the little spot such a charm that the traveller feels revived as
+if escaped from some oppression. From a distance Vao looks like all the
+other islands and islets of the archipelago--a green froth floating on
+the white line of breakers; from near by we see, as everywhere else,
+the bright beach in front of the thick forest. But what impresses
+the traveller mournfully elsewhere,--the eternal loneliness and
+lifelessness of a country where nature has poured all its power into
+the vegetation, and seems to have forgotten man and beast,--is softened
+here, and an easy joy of living penetrates everything like a delicate
+scent, and lifts whatever meets the eye to greater significance and
+beauty. The celestial charm of the South Sea Islands, celebrated by
+the first discoverers, seems to be preserved here, warming the soul
+like the sweet remembrance of a happy dream. Hardly anyone who feels
+these impressions will wonder about their origin, but he will hasten
+ashore and dive into the forest, driven by a vague idea of finding
+some marvel. Later he will understand that the charm of Vao lies in
+the rich, busy human life that fills the island. It is probably the
+most thickly populated of the group, with about five hundred souls
+living in a space one mile long and three-fourths of a mile wide; and
+it is their happy, careless, lazy existence that makes Vao seem to
+the stranger like a friendly home. Here there are houses and fires,
+lively people who shout and play merrily, and after the loneliness
+which blows chill from the bush, the traveller is glad to rest and
+feel at home among cheerful fellow-men.
+
+About seventy outrigger boats of all sizes lie on the beach. On
+their bows they carry a carved heron, probably some half-forgotten
+totem. The bird is more or less richly carved, according to the social
+standing of the owner, and a severe watch is kept to prevent people
+from carrying carvings too fine for their degree. Similarly, we find
+little sticks like small seats fastened to the canoes, their number
+indicating the caste of the owner. Under big sheds, in the shade of the
+tall trees, lie large whale-boats of European manufacture, belonging
+to the different clans, in which the men undertake long cruises to
+the other islands, Santo, Aoba, Ambrym, to visit "sing-sings" and
+trade in pigs. Formerly they used large canoes composed of several
+trees fastened together with ropes of cocoa-nut fibre, and caulked
+with rosin, driven by sails of cocoa-nut sheaths; these would hold
+thirty to forty men, and were used for many murderous expeditions. For
+the inhabitants of Vao were regular pirates, dreaded all along the
+coast; they would land unexpectedly in the morning near a village,
+kill the men and children, steal the women and start for home with
+rich booty. European influences have put a stop to this sport, and
+with the introduction of whale-boats the picturesque canoes have
+disappeared from the water, and now lie rotting on the beach. Their
+successors (though according to old tradition, women may not enter
+them) are only used for peaceful purposes.
+
+In the early morning the beach is deserted, but a few hours after
+sunrise it is full of life. The different clans come down from their
+villages by narrow paths which divide near the shore into one path for
+the men and another for the women, leading to separate places. The men
+squat down near one of the boat-houses and stretch out comfortably in
+the warm sand, smoking and chatting. The women, loaded with children
+and baskets, sit in the shade of the knobby trees which stretch their
+trunk-like branches horizontally over the beach, forming a natural
+roof against sun and rain. The half-grown boys are too lively to
+enjoy contemplative laziness; gossip and important deliberations
+about pigs and sacrifices do not interest them, and they play about
+between the canoes, wade in the water, look for shells on the sand,
+or hunt crabs or fish in the reef. Thus an hour passes. The sun
+has warmed the sand; after the cool night this is doubly agreeable,
+and a light breeze cools the air. Some mothers bathe their babies in
+the sea, washing and rubbing them carefully, until the coppery skin
+shines in the sun; the little creatures enjoy the bath immensely,
+and splash gaily in the element that will be their second home
+in days to come. Everyone on the beach is in the easiest undress:
+the men wear nothing but a bark belt, and the women a little apron
+of braided grass; the children are quite naked, unless bracelets,
+necklaces and ear-rings can count as dress. Having rested and amply
+fortified themselves for the painful resolution to take up the day's
+work, people begin to prepare for departure to the fields. They have
+to cross the channel, about a mile wide, to reach the big island where
+the yam gardens lie, sheltered by the forest from the trade-winds;
+and this sail is the occasion for the prettiest sight Vao can offer.
+
+The tides drive the sea through the narrow channel so hard as to start
+a current which is almost a stream. The head-wind raises short, sharp,
+white-capped waves; shallow banks shine yellow through the clear water,
+and the coral reefs are patches of violet and crimson, and we are
+delighted by constant changes, new shades and various colourings,
+never without harmony and loveliness. A cloudless sky bends over
+the whole picture and shines on the red-brown bodies of the people,
+who bustle about their canoes, adding the bright red of their mats
+and dresses to the splendour of the landscape.
+
+With sudden energy the women have grabbed the boats and pushed them
+into the water. The girls are slim, supple and strong as the young men,
+the mothers and older women rather stiff, and usually hampered by at
+least one child, which they carry on their backs or on their hips,
+while another holds on to the garment which replaces our skirts. There
+is plenty of laughter and banter with the men, who look on unmoved
+at the efforts of the weaker sex, only rarely offering a helping hand.
+
+From the trees and hiding-places the paddles and the pretty triangular
+sails are fetched and fastened on the canoes; then the boats are pushed
+off and the whole crowd jumps in. The babies sit in their mothers'
+laps or hang on their backs, perilously close to the water, into
+which they stare with big, dark eyes. By twos and threes the canoes
+push off, driven by vigorous paddling along the shore, against the
+current. Sometimes a young man wades after a canoe and joins some
+fair friends, sitting in front of them, as etiquette demands. The
+fresh breeze catches the sails, and the ten or fifteen canoes glide
+swiftly across the bright water, the spread sails looking like great
+red butterflies. The spray splashes from the bows, one woman steers,
+and the others bale out the water with cocoa-nuts,--a labour worthy of
+the Danaides; sometimes the outrigger lifts up and the canoe threatens
+to capsize, but, quick as thought, the women lean on the poles joining
+outrigger and canoe, and the accident is averted. In a few minutes
+the canoes enter the landings between the torn cliffs on the large
+island, the passengers jump out and carry the boats up the beach.
+
+A few stragglers, men of importance who have been detained by politics,
+and bachelors, who have nothing and nobody to care for but themselves,
+follow later on, and only a crowd of boys stays in Vao, to enjoy
+themselves on the beach and get into all sorts of mischief.
+
+Obliging as people sometimes are when the fancy strikes them, a
+youth took us over to the other island in his canoe, and was even
+skilful enough to keep us from capsizing. Narrow paths, bordered with
+impenetrable bush, led us from the beach across coral boulders up to
+the plantations on top of the tableland. Under some cocoa-nut palms
+our guide stopped, climbed nimbly up a slim trunk, as if mounting a
+ladder, and three green nuts dropped to the ground at our feet. Three
+clever strokes of the knife opened them, and we enjoyed the refreshing
+drink in its natural bowl. Sidepaths branched off to the gardens, where
+every individual or family had its piece of ground. We saw big bananas,
+taro, with large, juicy leaves, yams, trained on a pretty basket-shaped
+trellis-work; when in bloom this looks like a huge bouquet. There
+were pine-apples, cabbages, cocoa-nut and bread-fruit trees, bright
+croton bushes and highly scented shrubs. In this green and confused
+abundance the native spends his day, working a little, loafing a
+great deal. He shoots big pigeons and little parakeets, roasts them
+on an improvised fire and eats them as a welcome addition to his
+regular meals. From sun and rain he is sheltered by simple roofs,
+under which everybody assembles at noon to gossip, eat and laugh.
+
+Long ago there were villages here. An enormous monolith, now broken,
+but once 5 mètres high, speaks for the energy of bygone generations,
+when this rock was carried up from the coast, probably for a monument
+to some great chief.
+
+While the women were gathering food for the evening meal we returned
+to Vao. The breeze had stiffened in the midst of the channel, and
+one old woman's canoe had capsized. She clung to the boat, calling
+pitifully for help, which amused all the men on the shore immensely,
+until at last, none too soon, they went to her rescue. Such adventures
+are by no means harmless, as the channel swarms with sharks.
+
+We explored the interior of Vao, going first through the thicket on
+the shore, then through reed-grass over 6 feet high, then between
+low walls surrounding little plantations. Soon the path widened, and
+on both sides we saw stone slabs, set several rows deep; presently
+we found ourselves under the wide vault of one of those immense fig
+trees whose branches are like trunks, and the glare of the sun gave
+way to deep shadow, the heat of noonday to soft coolness.
+
+Gradually our eyes grow accustomed to the dimness, and we distinguish
+our surroundings. We are in a wide square, roofed by the long branches
+of the giant tree. At our left is its trunk, mighty enough in itself,
+but increased by the numerous air-roots that stretch like cables
+from the crown to the earth, covering the trunk entirely in some
+spots, or dangling softly in the wind, ending in large tassels of
+smaller roots. Lianas wind in distorted curves through the branches,
+like giant snakes stiffened while fighting. This square is one of
+the dancing-grounds of Vao. The rows of stones surround the square
+on three sides--two, three or more deep. Near the trunk of the great
+tree is a big altar of large slabs of rock; around it are stone tables
+of smaller size, and one or two immense coral plates, which cover the
+buried skull of some mighty chief. A large rock lies in the middle of
+the road on a primitive slide half covered by stones and earth. Long
+ago the islanders tried to bring it up from the beach; a strong vine
+served as a rope, and more than fifty men must have helped to drag the
+heavy rock up from the coast to the square. Half-way they got tired
+of the job and left the stone where it lies now, and will lie for ever.
+
+On the other side of the altar are the drums, hollow trunks, whose
+upper end is carved to represent a human face with wide, grinning
+mouth, and deep, round and hollow eyes. Rammed in aslant, leaning in
+all directions, they stand like clumsy, malicious demons, spiteful and
+brutal, as if holding their bellies with rude, immoderate laughter
+at their own hugeness and the puniness of mankind, at his miserable
+humanity, compared to the solemn repose of the great tree. In front
+of these are figures cut roughly out of logs, short-legged, with
+long bodies and exaggeratedly long faces; often they are nothing
+but a head, with the same smiling mouth, a long nose and narrow,
+oblique eyes. They are painted red, white and blue, and are hardly
+discernible in the dimness. On their forked heads they carry giant
+birds with outstretched wings,--herons,--floating as if they had just
+dropped through the branches on to the square.
+
+This is all we can see, but it is enough to make a deep
+impression. Outside, the sun is glaring, the leaves quiver, and the
+clouds are drifting across the sky, but here it is dim and cool as
+in a cathedral, not a breeze blows, everything is lapped in a holy
+calm. Abandonment, repose, sublime thoughtlessness drop down on us in
+the shadow of the giant tree; as if in a dream we breathe the damp,
+soft, mouldy air, feel the smooth earth and the green moss that covers
+everything like a velvet pall, and gaze at the altars, the drums and
+the statues.
+
+In a small clearing behind the square, surrounded by gaily coloured
+croton bushes, stands the men's house--the "gamal." Strong pillars
+support its gabled roof, that reaches down to the ground; the entrance
+is flanked by great stone slabs. Oddly branched dead trees form a hedge
+around the house, and on one side, on a sort of shelf, hang hundreds
+of boars' jaws with curved tusks. Inside, there are a few fireplaces,
+simple holes in the ground, and a number of primitive stretchers
+of parallel bamboos, couches that the most ascetic of whites would
+disdain. Among the beams of the roof hang all kinds of curiosities:
+dancing-masks and sticks, rare fish, pigs' jaws, bones, old weapons,
+amulets and so on, everything covered with a thick layer of soot from
+the ever-smouldering fires. These "gamals" are a kind of club-house,
+where the men spend the day and occasionally the night. In rainy
+weather they sit round the fire, smoking, gossiping and working on
+some tool,--a club or a fine basket. Each clan has its own gamal,
+which is strictly taboo for the women, and to each gamal belongs
+a dancing-ground like the one described. On Vao there are five,
+corresponding to the number of clans.
+
+Near by are the dwelling-houses and family enclosures. Each family has
+its square, surrounded by a wall about 1 mètre high of loose stones
+simply piled up, so that it is unsafe to lean against it. Behind the
+walls are high screens of braided reeds, which preclude the possibility
+of looking into the enclosure; even the doors are so protected that no
+one can look in; for the men are very jealous, and do not want their
+wives observed by strangers. These enclosures are very close together,
+and only narrow lanes permit circulation. As we turn a corner we may
+see a woman disappear quickly, giggling, while children run away with
+terrified howls, for what the black man is to ours the white man is
+to them.
+
+Having won the confidence of a native, we may be taken into his
+courtyard, where there is little to be seen, as all the social life
+goes on in the gamals or on the dancing-grounds. A dozen simple huts
+stand irregularly about the square, some half decayed and serving as
+pigsties. One hut belongs to the master, and each of his wives has a
+house of her own, in which to bring up her children. The yard is alive
+with pigs and fowls and dogs and children, more or less peacefully
+at play.
+
+In Vao, as in all Melanesia, the pig is the most valued of animals. All
+the thoughts of the native circle round the pig; for with pigs he
+can buy whatever his heart desires: he can have an enemy killed, he
+can purchase many women, he can attain the highest social standing,
+he can win paradise. No wonder, then, that the Vao pigs are just as
+carefully nursed, if not more so, than the children, and that it is
+the most important duty of the old matrons to watch over the welfare
+of the pigs. To call a young beauty "pig's foot," "pig's nose,"
+"pig's tail," or similar endearing names is the greatest compliment
+a lover can pay. But only the male pigs are esteemed, the females are
+of account only as a necessary instrument for propagating the species,
+and nobody takes care of them; so they run wild, and have to look out
+for themselves. They are much happier than the males, which are tied
+all their lives to a pole under a little roof; they are carefully fed,
+but this, their only pleasure, is spoilt by constant and terrific
+toothache, caused by cruel man, who has a horrible custom of knocking
+out the upper eye-teeth of the male pig. The lower eye-teeth, finding
+nothing to rub against, grow to a surprising size, first upward,
+then down, until they again reach the jaw, grow on and on, through
+the cheek, through the jaw-bone, pushing out a few other teeth en
+passant, then they come out of the jaw again, and curve a second,
+sometimes a third time, if the poor beast lives long enough. These
+pigs with curved tusks are the pride and wealth of every native; they
+are the highest coin, and power and influence depend on the number
+of such pigs a man owns, as well as on the size of their tusks,
+and this is the reason why they are so carefully watched, so that
+no harm may come to them or their teeth. Very rich people may have
+quite a number of "tuskers," people of average means own one or two,
+and paupers none at all, but they may have the satisfaction of looking
+at those of the others and feeding them if they like.
+
+It will be necessary to say a few words here about the pig-cult and
+the social organization of the natives, as they are closely connected
+and form a key to an understanding of the natives' way of living and
+thinking. I wish to state at once, however, that the following remarks
+do not pretend to be correct in all details. It is very hard to make
+any researches as to these matters, as the natives themselves have
+only the vaguest notions on the subject, and entirely lack abstract
+ideas, so that they fail to understand many of the questions put to
+them. Without an exact knowledge of the language, and much personal
+observation, it is hardly possible to obtain reliable results,
+especially as the old men are unwilling to tell all they know,
+and the young know very little, but rely on the knowledge of the
+old chiefs. Interpreters are of no use, and direct questioning has
+but little result, as the people soon become suspicious or tired
+of thinking, and answer as they suppose the white man would wish,
+so as to have done with the catechizing as soon as possible. Perfect
+familiarity with the language, habits and character of the natives
+is necessary, and their confidence must be won, in order to make any
+progress in the investigation of these problems. Missionaries are the
+men to unite these qualities, but, unfortunately, the missionaries
+of the New Hebrides do not seem to take much interest in the strange
+cult so highly developed here; so that, for want of something better,
+my own observations may be acceptable.
+
+The pig-cult, or "Suque," is found almost all over Melanesia. It
+is most highly developed in the Banks Islands and the Central New
+Hebrides, and rules the entire life of the natives; yet it forms
+only a part of their religion, and probably a newer part, while the
+fundamental principle is ancestor-worship. We must not expect to find
+in the native mind clear conceptions of transcendental things. The
+religious ceremonies differ in adjoining villages, and so do the ideas
+concerning the other world. There is no regular dogma; and since even
+the conceptions of religions with well-defined dogmas are constantly
+changing, religions which are handed down by oral tradition only,
+and in the vaguest way, must necessarily be fluctuating. Following
+the natural laws of thought, religious conceptions split into numerous
+local varieties, and it is the task of the scientist to seek, amid this
+variety of exterior forms, the common underlying idea, long forgotten
+by everyone else, and to ascertain what it was in its original purity,
+without additions and deformations.
+
+My observations led me to the following results: according to native
+belief, the soul leaves the body after death, and wanders about near
+by. Apparently the idea is that it remains in connection with the body
+for a certain time, for in some districts the corpse is fed for five
+days or longer; in Vao a bamboo tube is used, which leads from the
+surface of the earth to the mouth of the buried body. The souls of
+low-caste people soon disappear, but the higher the caste, the longer
+the soul stays on earth. Still, the natives have some conception of
+a paradise in which the soul of the high-caste finds all bliss and
+delight, and which the soul ultimately enters. This idea may have
+come up since the arrival of Christianity. It is customary to hold
+a death-feast for a man of no caste after five days, for a low-caste
+after one hundred, and for a high-caste after three hundred or even
+one thousand days. The soul remains in contact with the world of
+the living, and may be perceived as a good or bad spirit of as much
+power as the man had when alive. To obtain the favour and assistance
+of these spirits seems to be the fundamental idea, the main object of
+religion in the New Hebrides. The spirit of an ancestor will naturally
+favour his descendants, unless they have offended him deeply; and the
+more powerful the dead ancestor was, the stronger and safer do his
+descendants feel under the protection of his spirit. If a man has no
+powerful ancestral ghost, he joins some strong clan, and strives for
+the favour of its tutelary spirit by means of rich sacrifices. The
+spirits admit those who bring many sacrifices to their special favour
+and intimacy; these people are supposed to have gone half-way to the
+spirit-world, and even in this life they are dreaded and enormously
+influential; for the spirits will help him in every way, the elements
+are his servants, and he can perform the most terrible sorceries. Thus
+he terrorizes the country, becomes chief, and after death he joins
+the other ghosts as a powerful member of their company.
+
+The "Suque" transferred the hierarchy of the spirit-world into this
+world, and regulated the number of castes and the method of rising
+in caste; it also originated the rules for entering into connection
+with the other world. Its origin probably goes back to one of those
+secret societies so highly developed in Melanesia, of which I shall
+speak later.
+
+Caste is obtained by sacrificing tusked pigs; it is possible that
+this has taken the place of former human sacrifices. The "Suque" is
+the community of all the men who have sacrificed tusked pigs. It is
+an international society, divided into numerous groups composed of the
+men of different islands, districts, villages or clans. It is the only
+means to assure oneself of bliss hereafter, and to obtain power and
+wealth on earth, and whoever fails to join the "Suque" is an outcast,
+a man of no importance, without friends and without protectors, whether
+living men or spirits, and therefore exposed to every ill-treatment
+and utter contempt. This explains the all-important position of the
+"Suque" in the life of the natives, being the expression both of
+religion and of ambition.
+
+Frequently a young boy will join the "Suque," an uncle on the mother's
+side donating pigs to be sacrificed in his name after he has touched
+them with his hand. The boy is then free of the gamal, the "Suque"
+club-house. Later he works his way up in the society by attending
+numberless feasts and ceremonies, by having endless discussions
+on tusked pigs, by borrowing, buying and lending pigs, by plotting
+and sacrificing.
+
+The number of castes varies on different islands: in Ambrym there are
+fourteen, in Venua Lava twenty, in Aoba ten. On some islands, Santo,
+for example, the caste-system is connected with a severe separation of
+the fires; each caste cooks over its own fire, and loses its degree on
+eating food cooked on the fire of a lower caste. In these districts the
+floor of the gamal is frequently marked by bamboo rods or sticks in as
+many divisions as there are castes each containing one fireplace. The
+highest castes sit at the front end of the gamal, the lower at the
+back; these are forbidden to enter the gamal from the front, in order
+not to touch or step over the fireplaces of their superiors. At each
+rise in caste the novice receives the new fire, rubbed on a special
+stick and decorated with flowers; certain ceremonies attend the cooking
+of the first food with this new fire. It is then carefully tended in
+the fireplace, and if it goes out it has to be rubbed afresh with the
+stick. The number of pigs necessary to a rise in caste also varies
+on the different islands. Generally, only tusked pigs are counted,
+and there are feasts at which as many as forty of these valuable
+animals are killed. Naturally, the high-castes cannot keep all the
+animals themselves, but they lend them, like money, to those who do not
+possess the number needed to rise in caste; in this way a complicated
+credit-system has developed, by which the so-called chiefs support
+and strengthen their influence and tyrannize the country.
+
+A young man, as a rule, owns no tusked pigs. If he wishes to raise his
+caste, he has to borrow from the rich high-castes, who are very willing
+to help him, but only at exorbitant rates of interest. First he has to
+win their favour by presents, and then he has to promise to return a
+more valuable pig later. The bargain made, the transaction takes place
+publicly with some ceremony. The population of the district assembles,
+and all the transactions are ratified which have been negotiated in
+private. The owner holds the pig, the borrower dances around him and
+then takes the animal away. All the spectators serve as witnesses,
+and there is no need of a written bill. In this way nearly all the
+men of lower rank are in debt to the high-castes, and dependent on
+their goodwill, and these can obtain anything they like, simply by
+pressing their debtors to pay for their pigs.
+
+As a rule, the highest castes of a district work together; they are
+the high priests, who arrange everything connected with the "Suque,"
+set the dates for the feasts, and decide whether a man shall be
+permitted to raise his caste. They are practically omnipotent, until
+one of them rises by still larger sacrifices to a still higher caste,
+and becomes sole master. If there are no more degrees to reach, the
+whole scale is run through again an octave higher, so to speak. The
+jaws of the killed pigs are hung up in the gamal in bundles or rows,
+as a sign of the wealth and power of the proprietor. These chiefs
+are in connection with the mightiest spirits, have supernatural power
+and are as much hated as they are feared.
+
+There is another independent witchcraft beside the "Suque," for
+weather-making, charms and poisoning, which is known to private
+men. They take expensive "lessons" from old sorcerers, and transmit
+their art to the young men they consider clever enough, for good
+wages. These are the real mischief-makers, for they will lend their
+murderous assistance to anyone for adequate payment.
+
+In some islands there is also a "Suque" for the women, but it is
+quite independent of that of the men, and its degrees are easier to
+reach. Still, women of high rank enjoy a certain consideration from
+the men.
+
+Real chiefs do not exist in the northern part of the New Hebrides,
+but the chiefs are the high-castes, who, according to their rank and
+the strength of their personality, have more or less influence. They
+cannot give direct orders, but rule indirectly through pressure,
+threats and encouragement. Officially, all decisions are taken in a
+meeting of the whole "Suque." The chieftainship is not hereditary,
+but the sons and especially the nephews of high-castes generally
+reach high degrees themselves, being pushed by their relatives, who
+are naturally anxious to be surrounded by faithful and influential
+friends. Thus there have risen aristocratic families, who think
+themselves better than the others, and do not like to mix with
+common people. Daughters of these families command high prices,
+and are therefore accessible only to rich men, that is, men of high
+caste. Young men of less good family are naturally poor, and since a
+woman, as a rule, costs five pigs, it is almost impossible for them
+to marry, whereas old men can buy up all the young, pretty girls;
+the social consequences of this system are obvious. In Vao conditions
+are not quite so bad, because there is considerable wealth, and women
+are numerous, so that even young men are enabled to have a family;
+in consequence, the race here is healthier than elsewhere.
+
+In Vao I had occasion to attend a death-feast. The hero of the day
+was still alive and in excellent health; but he did not quite trust
+his family, and wishing to make sure that his death-feast would not
+be forgotten, he held it during his lifetime. His anxiety about the
+feast is explained by the following facts. According to Vao beliefs,
+the souls of the dead travel to the island of Ambrym, and after five
+days climb a narrow trail up to the volcano. In order that the soul
+may not starve on the way, the survivors often make a small canoe,
+load it with food and push it off into the sea, thinking it will drift
+after the soul. It is generally stranded behind the nearest point,
+bringing the neighbours a welcome addition to the day's rations. This
+custom is in contradiction to the feeding of the body through a tube,
+and proves that quite contradictory customs can exist simultaneously,
+without the natives noticing it. Half-way up the volcano sits a
+monster with two immense shears, like a crab. If no pigs have been
+sacrificed for the soul by the fifth day, the poor soul is alone and
+the monster swallows it; but if the sacrifice has been performed,
+the souls of the sacrificed pigs follow after the human soul, and as
+the monster prefers pig, the human has time to escape and to reach
+the entrance to paradise on top of the volcano, where there are pigs,
+women, dancing and feasting in plenty.
+
+The feast I was to attend had been in preparation for some time. On all
+the dancing-grounds long bamboos were in readiness, loaded with yams
+and flowers, as presents to the host. Everything was brought to his
+gamal, and the whole morning passed in distributing the gifts, each
+family receiving a few yams, a little pig, some sprouted cocoa-nuts
+and a few rolls of money. This money consists of long, narrow, fringed
+mats, neatly rolled up; in this case they were supposed to be the mats
+in which the dead are buried, and which are taken out of the grave
+after a while. These mats formerly served as small coin, as similar
+mats are still used on other islands, and they still represent a value
+of about one shilling; but in daily life they have been quite replaced
+by European coin, and only appear on such ceremonial occasions.
+
+All the gifts were piled up, and when the host was convinced that
+every guest had received his just dues, he took a stick and smashed
+the heads of all the pigs that were tied up in readiness for this
+ceremony. They struggled for a moment, the dogs came and licked
+the blood, and then each guest took away his portion, to have a
+private feast at home. The whole performance made a desperately
+business-like impression, and everything was done most prosaically;
+as for me, having no better dinner than usual to look forward to,
+I quite missed the slightly excited holiday feeling that ought to go
+with a great feast. Formerly, the braining of the pigs was done with
+skilfully carved clubs, instead of mere sticks, and this alone must
+have given the action something of solemnity; but these clubs have
+long since been sold to collectors and never replaced.
+
+In spite of their frequent intercourse with whites, the people of Vao
+are still confirmed cannibals, only they have not many opportunities
+for gratifying their taste in this direction. Still, not many years
+ago, they had killed and eaten an enemy, and each individual, even
+the little children, had received a small morsel of the body to eat,
+either with the idea of destroying the enemy entirely, or as the
+greatest insult that could be offered to him.
+
+These same people can be so gay, childlike, kind and obliging,
+tactful and generous, that one can hardly believe the accounts
+one often hears of sudden outbreaks of brutal savagery, devilish
+wickedness, ingratitude and falsehood, until one has experienced them
+himself. The flattering and confiding child will turn suddenly and
+without apparent reason into a man full of gloom and hatred. All
+those repressing influences which lead the dwellers in civilized
+lands to some consistency of action are lacking here, and the morals
+of the natives run along other lines than ours. Faith and truth are
+no virtues, constancy and perseverance do not exist. The same man who
+can torture his wife to death from wanton cruelty, holding her limbs
+over the fire till they are charred, etc., will be inconsolable over
+the death of a son for a long time, and will wear a curl, a tooth or
+a finger-joint of the dead as a valuable relic round his neck; and the
+same man who is capable of preparing a murder in cold blood for days,
+may, in some propitious evening hour, relate the most charming and
+poetic fairy-tales. A priest whom I met knew quite a number of such
+stories from a man whom he had digged alive out of the grave, where
+his relatives had buried him, thinking him old enough to die. This
+is not a rare occurrence; sometimes the old people themselves are
+tired of life and ask to be killed.
+
+What has preserved the old customs so well on Vao is the aversion of
+the natives to plantation work. But one day, while I was there, a ship
+rode at anchor off the coast, and a member of the French survey party
+landed, collected all the men on the beach, and told them that unless
+there were thirty men on board that evening, the whole tribe would
+be driven out of the island, as the island belonged to the French
+company. This was, to say the least, extremely doubtful; moreover,
+it would never have been feasible to expropriate the natives in this
+summary way. They were furious, but, unprotected as they were, they
+had to obey, and in the evening nearly all the young men assembled
+on the beach and were taken away in whale-boats, disappearing in the
+mist and darkness of the night. The old men and the women remained
+behind, crying loudly, so that the terrible wailing sounded sadly
+over the sea. Even to the mere spectator it was a tragic moment when
+the tribe was thus orphaned of its best men, and one could not help
+being revolted by the whole proceeding. It was not womanish pity for
+the men who were taken off to work, but regret for the consequent
+disappearance of immemorial forms of tribal life. Next day the
+beach was empty. Old men and women crossed over to the yam-fields,
+the little children played as usual, but the gay shouts were silent,
+the beautiful, brown, supple-bodied young men were gone, and I no
+longer felt the joy of living which had been Vao's greatest charm. The
+old men were sulky and sad, and spoke of leaving Vao for good and
+settling somewhere far inland. It is not surprising that the whole
+race has lost the will to live, and that children are considered an
+undesirable gift, of which one would rather be rid. What hopelessness
+lies in the words I once heard a woman of Vao say: "Why should we
+have any more children? Since the white man came they all die." And
+die they certainly do. Regions that once swarmed with people are now
+lonely; where, ten years ago, there were large villages, we find the
+desert bush, and in some districts the population has decreased by
+one-third in the last seven years. In fifteen years the native race
+will have practically disappeared.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+PORT OLRY AND A "SING-SING"
+
+
+The event just described reduced my chance of finding servants in Vao
+to a minimum, as all the able-bodied young men had been taken away. I
+therefore sailed with the missionary for his station at Port Olry. Our
+route lay along the east coast of Santo. Grey rain-clouds hung on
+the high mountains in the interior, the sun shone faintly through the
+misty atmosphere, the greyish-blue sea and the greyish-green shore,
+with the brown boulders on the beach, formed a study in grey, whose
+hypnotic effect was increased by a warm, weary wind. Whoever was not
+on duty at the tiller lay down on deck, and as in a dream we floated
+slowly along the coast past lonely islands and bays; whenever we looked
+up we saw the same picture, only the outlines seemed to have shifted
+a little. We anchored near a lonely isle, to find out whether its
+only inhabitant, an old Frenchman, was still alive. He had arrived
+there a year ago, full of the most brilliant hopes, which, however,
+had not materialized. He had no boat, hardly ever saw a human being,
+and lived on wild fruits. Hardly anyone knows him or visits him,
+but he had not lost courage, and asked for nothing but a little salt,
+which we gave him, and then sailed on.
+
+In Hog Harbour we spent the night and enjoyed a hearty English
+breakfast with the planters, the Messrs. Th., who have a large and
+beautiful plantation; then we continued our cruise. The country
+had changed somewhat; mighty banks of coral formed high tablelands
+that fell vertically down to the sea, and the living reef stretched
+seaward under the water. These tablelands were intersected by flat
+valleys, in the centre of which rose steep hills, like huge bastions
+dominating the country round. The islands off the coast were covered
+with thick vegetation, with white chalk cliffs gleaming through them
+at intervals. A thin mist filled the valleys with violet hues, the
+sea was bright and a fresh breeze carried us gaily along. The aspect
+of the country displayed the energies of elemental powers: nowhere can
+the origin of chalk mountains be more plainly seen than here, where we
+have the process before us in all its stages, from the living reef,
+shining purple through the sea, to the sandy beach strewn with bits
+of coral, to the high table mountain. We anchored at a headland near
+a small river, and were cordially welcomed by the missionary's dogs,
+cats, pigs and native teacher. There was also a young girl whom the
+father had once dug out of her grave, where a hard-hearted mother
+had buried her.
+
+I had an extremely interesting time at Port Olry. The population
+here is somewhat different from that of the rest of Santo: very
+dark-skinned, tall and different in physiognomy. It may be called
+typically Melanesian, while many other races show Polynesian
+admixture. The race here is very strong, coarse-featured and lives
+in the simplest way, without any industries, and is the primitive
+population in the New Hebrides.
+
+A few details as to personal appearance may be of interest. Among the
+ornaments used are very large combs, decorated with pigs' tails. Pigs'
+tails also are stuck into the hair and ears. The hair is worn very
+long, rolled into little curls and plentifully oiled. A most peculiar
+deformation is applied to the nose and results in extreme ugliness:
+the septum is perforated, and instead of merely inserting a stick,
+a springy spiral is used, which presses the nose upward and forward,
+so that in time it develops into an immense, shapeless lump, as if
+numberless wasps had stung it. It takes a long time to get used to
+this sight, especially as the nose is made still more conspicuous
+by being painted with a bright red stripe on its point, and two
+black ones on each side. A more attractive ornament are flowers,
+which the men stick into their hair, where they are very effective
+on the dark background. In the lobes of the ears they wear spirals
+of tortoise-shell or thin ornaments of bone; the men often paint
+their faces with a mixture of soot and grease, generally the upper
+half of the forehead, the lower part of the cheeks and the back of
+the nose. The women and children prefer the red juice of a fruit,
+with which they paint their faces in all sorts of mysterious designs.
+
+The dress of the men consists of a large belt, purposely worn very low
+so as to show the beautiful curve of the loins. About six small mats
+hang down in front. Formerly, and even at the present day on festival
+occasions, they wore on the back an ovoid of wood; the purpose is
+quite unknown, but may originally have been a portable seat, as the
+Melanesian does not like to sit on the bare ground. Provided with
+this article of dress the wearer did not need to look about for a seat.
+
+If the appearance of the men, while not beautiful, is at least
+impressive, the women are so very much disfigured that it takes
+quite some time to grow accustomed to their style of beauty. They
+are not allowed to wear many ornaments, have to shave their heads,
+and generally rub them with lime, so that they look rather like
+white-headed vultures, all the more so as the deformed nose protrudes
+like a beak and the mouth is large. The two upper incisors are broken
+out as a sign of matrimony.
+
+Their figures, except in young girls, are generally wasted,
+yet one occasionally meets with a woman of fine and symmetrical
+build. The dress is restricted to a small leaf, attached to a thin
+loin-string. Both men and women generally wear at the back a bundle of
+leaves; women and boys have strongly scented herbs, the men coloured
+croton, the shade depending on the caste of the wearer. The highest
+castes wear the darkest, nearly black, varieties. These croton bushes
+are planted along the sides of the gamals, so as to furnish the men's
+ornaments; and they lend the sombre places some brightness and colour.
+
+Half for ornament and half for purposes of healing are the large
+scars which may frequently be seen on the shoulders or breasts of
+the natives. The cuts are supposed to cure internal pains; the scabs
+are frequently scratched off, until the scar is large and high,
+and may be considered ornamental. Apropos of this medical detail
+I may mention another remedy, for rheumatism: with a tiny bow and
+arrow a great number of small cuts are shot into the skin of the
+part affected; the scars from these wounds form a network of fine,
+hardly noticeable designs on the skin.
+
+The life and cult of the natives are as simple as their dress. The
+houses are scattered and hidden in the bush, grouped vaguely around
+the gamal, which stands alone on a bare square. No statues stand there,
+nor tall, upright drums; only a few small drums lie in a puddle around
+the gamal.
+
+The dwelling-houses are simply gable-roofs, always without side-walls
+and often without any walls at all. They are divided into a pig-stable
+and a living-room, unless the owners prefer to have their pigs living
+in the same space with themselves.
+
+A few flat wooden dishes are the only implements the native does
+not find ready-made in nature. Cooking is done with heated stones
+heaped around the food, which has been previously wrapped up in
+banana leaves. Lime-stones naturally cannot be used for that purpose,
+and volcanic stones have often to be brought from quite a distance,
+so that these cooking-stones are treated with some care. In place of
+knives the natives use shells or inland bamboo-splinters, but both
+are rapidly being replaced by European knives.
+
+On approaching a village we are first frightened by a few pigs, which
+run away grunting and scolding into the thicket. Then a pack of dogs
+announce our arrival, threatening us with hypocritical zeal. A few
+children, playing in the dirt among the pigs, jump up and run away,
+then slowly return, take us by the hand and stare into our faces. At
+noon we will generally find all the men assembled in the gamal making
+"lap-lap." Lap-lap is the national dish of the natives of the New
+Hebrides; quite one-fifth part of their lives is spent in making
+and eating lap-lap. The work is not strenuous. The cook sits on the
+ground and rubs the fruit, yam or taro, on a piece of rough coral or a
+palm-sheath, thus making a thick paste, which is wrapped up in banana
+leaves and cooked between stones. After a few hours' cooking it looks
+like a thick pudding and does not taste at all bad. For flavouring,
+cocoa-nut milk is poured over it, or it is mixed with cabbage, grease,
+nuts, roasted and ground, or occasionally with maggots. Besides this
+principal dish, sweet potatoes, manioc, bread-fruit, pineapples,
+bananas, etc., are eaten in season, and if the natives were less
+careless, they would never need to starve, as frequently happens.
+
+The men are not much disturbed by our arrival. They offer us a log to
+sit on, and continue to rub their yam, talking us over the while. They
+seem to be a very peaceful and friendly crowd, yet in this district
+they are particularly cruel and treacherous, and only a few days
+after my departure war broke out. The gamal is bare, except for a
+few wooden dishes hanging in the roof, and weapons of all kinds, not
+in full sight, but ready at any moment. We can see rifles, arrows and
+clubs. The clubs are very simple, either straight or curved sticks. Old
+pieces are highly valued, and carry marks indicating how many victims
+have been killed with them: I saw one club with sixty-seven of these
+marks. In former years the spear with about two hundred and fifty
+points of human bones was much used, but is now quite replaced by
+the rifle. The bones for spear-points and arrow-heads are taken from
+the bodies of dead relatives and high-castes. The corpse is buried in
+the house, and when it is decayed the bones of the limbs are dug out,
+split, polished and used for weapons. The idea is that the courage and
+skill of the dead man may be transmitted to the owner of the weapon,
+also, that the dead man may take revenge on his murderer, as every
+death is considered to have been caused by some enemy. These bones
+are naturally full of the poisons of the corpse, and may cause tetanus
+at the slightest scratch. On the arrows they are extremely sharp and
+only slightly attached to the wood, so that they stick in the flesh
+and increase the inflammation. Besides, they are often dipped in some
+special poison.
+
+All over the archipelago the arrows are very carefully made, and
+almost every island has its own type, although they all resemble
+each other. Many are covered at the point with a fine spiral binding,
+and the small triangles thus formed are painted in rows--red, green
+and white. Much less care is bestowed on the fish- and bird-arrows,
+which are three-pointed as a rule, and often have no point at all,
+but only a knob, so as to stun the bird and not to stick in the
+branches of the trees.
+
+Shields are unknown. It would seem that the arrow was not, as
+elsewhere, the principal weapon, but rather the spear and club,
+and the wars were not very deadly, as the natives' skill in handling
+their weapons was equalled by their skill in dodging them.
+
+Having inspected the gamal, we received from the highest caste present
+a gift of some yam, or taro, which we requited with some sticks of
+tobacco. The length of the gamal depends on the caste of the chief
+who builds it. I saw a gamal 60 mètres long, and while this length
+seems senseless to-day, because of the scanty population, it was
+necessary in former days, when the number of a man's followers rose
+with his rank. Not many years ago these houses were filled at night
+with sleeping warriors, each with his weapons at hand, ready for a
+fight. To-day these long, dark, deserted houses are too dismal for
+the few remaining men, so that they generally build a small gamal
+beside the big one.
+
+To have killed a man, no matter in what way, is a great honour,
+and gives the right to wear a special plume of white and black
+feathers. Such plumes are not rare in Port Olry.
+
+Each man has his own fire, and cooks his own food; for, as I have
+said, it would mean the loss of caste to eat food cooked on the
+fire of a lower caste. Women are considered unworthy to cook a man's
+meal; in fact, their standing here is probably the lowest in all the
+archipelago. Still, they do not lack amusement; they gather like the
+men for social carousals, and are giggling and chattering all day
+long. Their principal occupation is the cultivation of the fields,
+but where Nature is so open-handed this is not such a task as we might
+think when we see them coming home in the afternoon, panting under
+an immense load of fruit, with a pile of firewood on top, a child on
+their back and possibly dragging another by the hand. Port Olry is the
+only place in the New Hebrides where the women carry loads on their
+heads. Everywhere else they carry them on their backs in baskets of
+cocoa-nut leaves. In consequence the women here are remarkable for
+their erect and supple carriage.
+
+The work in the fields consists merely of digging out the yam and
+picking other fruit, and it is a sociable affair, with much talking and
+laughter. There is always something to eat, such as an unripe cocoa-nut
+or a banana. Serious work is not necessary except at the planting
+season, when the bush has to be cleared. Then a whole clan usually
+works together, the men helping quite energetically, until the fields
+are fenced in and ready for planting; then they hold a feast, a big
+"kai-kai," and leave the rest of the work to the women. The fences are
+made to keep out the pigs, and are built in the simplest way: sticks
+of the wild cotton-wood tree, which grows rankly everywhere, are stuck
+into the ground at short intervals; they immediately begin to sprout,
+and after a short time form a living and impenetrable hedge. But they
+last much longer than is necessary, so that everywhere the fences
+of old gardens bar the road and force the traveller to make endless
+detours, all the more so as the natives have a way of making their
+fields right across the paths whenever it suits them.
+
+The number of women here amounts only to about one-fourth of that
+of the men. One reason for this is the custom of killing all the
+widows of a chief, a custom which was all the more pernicious as the
+chiefs, as a rule, owned most of the young females, while the young
+men could barely afford to buy an old widow. Happily this custom is
+dying out, owing to the influence of the planters and missionaries;
+they appealed, not unwisely, to the sensuality of the young men, who
+were thus depriving themselves of the women. Strange to say, the women
+were not altogether pleased with this change, many desiring to die,
+for fear they might be haunted by the offended spirit of their husband.
+
+When a chief died, the execution did not take place at once. The
+body was exposed in a special little hut in the thicket, and left to
+decay, which process was hastened by the climate and the flies. Then
+a death-feast was prepared, and the widows, half frantic with mad
+dancing and howling, were strangled.
+
+Ordinary people are buried in their own houses, which generally decay
+afterwards. Often the widow had to sleep beside the decaying body
+for one hundred days.
+
+Being short of boys, I could not visit many of the villages inland,
+and I stayed on at the mission station, where there was generally
+something for me to do, as the natives frequently came loitering
+about the station. I made use of their presence as much as possible
+for anthropological measurements, but I could not always find willing
+subjects. Everything depends on the humour of the crowd; if they make
+fun of the first victim, the case is lost, as no second man is willing
+to be the butt of the innumerable gibes showered on the person under
+the instruments. Things are more favourable if it is only fear of
+some dangerous enchantment that holds them back, for then persuasion
+and liberal gifts of tobacco generally overcome their fears. The best
+subjects are those who pretend to understand the scientific meaning
+of the operation, or the utterly indifferent, who never think about
+it at all, are quite surprised to be suddenly presented with tobacco,
+and go home, shaking their heads over the many queer madnesses of white
+men. I took as many photographs as possible, and my pictures made quite
+a sensation. Once, when I showed his portrait to one of the dandies
+with the oiled and curled wig, he ran away with a cry of terror at his
+undreamt-of ugliness, and returned after a short while with his hair
+cut. His deformed nose, however, resisted all attempts at restoration.
+
+The natives showed great reluctance in bringing me skulls and
+skeletons. As the bones decay very quickly in the tropics, only skulls
+of people recently deceased can be had. The demon, or soul, of the
+dead is supposed to be too lively as yet to be wantonly offended; in
+any case, one dislikes to disturb one's own relatives, while there
+is less delicacy about those of others. Still, in course of time,
+I gathered quite a good collection of skulls at the station. They
+were brought carefully wrapped up in leaves, fastened with lianas,
+and tied to long sticks, with which the bearer held the disgusting
+object as far from him as possible. The bundles were laid down, and
+the people watched with admiring disgust as I untied the ropes and
+handled the bones as one would any other object. Everything that had
+touched the bones became to the natives an object of the greatest
+awe; still they enjoyed pushing the leaves that had wrapped them
+up under the feet of an unsuspecting friend, who presently, warned
+of the danger, escaped with a terrified shriek and a wild jump. It
+would seem that physical disgust had as much to do with all this as
+religious fear, although the natives show none of this disgust at
+handling the remains of pigs. Naturally, the old men were the most
+superstitious; the young ones were more emancipated, some of them
+even going the length of picking up a bone with their toes.
+
+Most of them had quite a similar dread of snakes, but some men handled
+them without much fear, and brought me large specimens, which they
+had caught in a sling and then wrapped up in leaves. While I killed
+and skinned a big snake, a large crowd always surrounded me, ever
+ready for flight, and later my boys chased them with the empty skin,
+a performance which always ended in great laughing and dancing.
+
+I had been in Port Olry for three weeks, waiting anxiously every
+day for the Marie-Henry, which was to bring the luggage I had left
+behind at the Segond Channel. My outfit began to be insufficient;
+what I needed most was chemicals for the preservation of my zoological
+specimens, which I had plenty of time and occasion to collect here. One
+day the Marie-Henry, a large schooner, arrived, but my luggage had been
+forgotten. I was much disappointed, as I saw no means of recovering
+it in the near future. The Marie-Henry was bound for Talamacco,
+in Big Bay, and took the Rev. Father and myself along.
+
+One of the passengers was Mr. F., a planter and trader in
+Talamacco, and we soon became good friends with him and some of the
+others. Mr. F. was very kind, and promised to use all his influence to
+help me find boys. The weather was bad, and we had to tack about all
+night; happily, we were more comfortable on the big schooner than on
+the little cutters. At Talamacco Mr. F. offered us his hospitality,
+and as it rained continually, we were very glad to stay in his
+house, spending the time in sipping gin and winding up a hoarse
+gramophone. Thus two lazy days passed, during which our host was
+constantly working for me, sending his foreman, the "moli," to all
+the neighbouring villages, with such good results that at last I was
+able to engage four boys for two months. I took them on board at once,
+well pleased to have the means, at last, of moving about independently.
+
+We sailed in the evening, and when, next morning, we rounded Cape
+Quiros, we found a heavy sea, so that the big ship pitched and
+ploughed with dull hissing through the foaming waves. She lay aslant
+under the pressure of the wind that whistled in the rigging, and the
+full curve of the great sails was a fine sight; but it was evident
+that the sails and ropes were in a very rotten condition, and soon,
+with anxious looks, we followed the growth of a tear in the mainsail,
+wondering whether the mast would stand the strain. A heavy sea broke
+the rudder, and altogether it was high time to land when we entered
+Port Olry in the late afternoon.
+
+A few days later I started for Hog Harbour, for the plantation
+of the Messrs. Th., near which I meant to attend a great feast,
+or "sing-sing." This meant a march of several hours through the
+bush. My boys had all put on their best finery,--trousers, shirts,
+gay handkerchiefs,--and had painted their hair with fresh lime.
+
+"Well, boys, are you ready?" "Yes, Masta," they answer, with
+conviction, though they are far from ready, as they are still tying
+their bundles. After waiting a while, I say, "Well, me, me go." They
+answer, "All right, you go." I take a few steps and wait again. One
+of them appears in front of the hut to look for a stick to hang his
+bundle on, another cannot find his pipe; still, after a quarter of an
+hour, we can really start. The boys sing and laugh, but as we enter
+the forest darkness they suddenly become quiet, as if the sternness
+of the bush oppressed their souls. We talk but little, and only in
+undertones. These woods have none of the happy, sensuous luxuriance
+which fancy lends to every tropical forest; there is a harshness,
+a selfish struggle for the first place among the different plants, a
+deadly battling for air and light. Giant trees with spreading crowns
+suppress everything around, kill every rival and leave only small
+and insignificant shrubs alive. Between them, smaller trees strive
+for light; on tall, straight, thin stems they have secured a place and
+developed a crown. Others look for light in roundabout ways, making use
+of every gap their neighbours leave, and rise upward in soft coils. All
+these form a high roof, under which younger and weaker plants lead a
+skimped life--hardwood trees on thin trunks, with small, unassuming
+leaves, and vulgar softwood with large, flabby foliage. Around and
+across all this wind the parasites, lianas, rotang, some stretched
+like ropes from one trunk to another, some rising in elegant curves
+from the ground, some attached to other trunks and sucking out their
+life with a thousand roots, others interlaced in the air in distorted
+curves. All these grow and thrive on the bodies of former generations
+on the damp, mouldy ground, where leaves rot and trunks decay, and
+where it is always wet, as never a sunbeam can strike in so far.
+
+Thus it is sad in the forest, and strangely quiet, as in a churchyard,
+for not even the wind can penetrate the green surface. It passes
+rushing through the crowns, so that sometimes we catch an upward
+glimpse of bright yellow sunshine as though out of a deep gully. And
+as men in sternest fight are silent, using all their energy for one
+purpose, so here there is no sign of gay and happy life, there are
+no flowers or coloured leaves, but the endless, dull green, in an
+infinity of shapes.
+
+Even the animals seem to shun the dark forest depths; only on the
+highest trees a few pigeons bathe in the sun, and as they fly heavily
+over the wood, their call sounds, melancholy as a sad dream, from
+afar. A lonely butterfly flutters among the trees, a delicate being,
+unused to this dark world, seeking in vain for a ray of sun and a
+breath of fresh air. Sometimes we hear the grunt of an invisible
+pig, the breaking of branches and the rustling of leaves as it runs
+away. Moisture and lowering gloom brood over the swampy earth; one
+would not be surprised if suddenly the ground were to move and wriggle
+like slimy snakes tightly knotted around each other. Thorns catch the
+limbs, vines catch the feet, and the wanderer, stumbling along, almost
+fancies he can hear the spiteful laughter of malicious demons. One
+feels tired, worried, unsafe, as if in an enemy's country, helplessly
+following the guide, who walks noiselessly on the soft ground. With
+a branch he sweeps aside the innumerable spider-webs that droop
+across the path, to keep them from hanging in our faces. Silently
+the other men follow behind; once in a while a dry branch snaps or
+a trunk creaks.
+
+In this dark monotony we go on for hours, without an outlook, and
+seemingly without purpose or direction, on a hardly visible path, in
+an endless wilderness. We pass thousands of trees, climb over hundreds
+of fallen trunks and brush past millions of creepers. Sometimes we
+enter a clearing, where a giant tree has fallen or a village used to
+stand. Sometimes great coral rocks lie in the thicket; the pools at
+their foot are a wallowing-place for pigs.
+
+It is a confusing walk; one feels quite dizzy with the constantly
+passing stems and branches, and a white man would be lost in this
+wilderness without the native, whose home it is. He sees everything,
+every track of beast or bird, and finds signs on every tree and vine,
+peculiarities of shape or grouping, which he recognizes with unerring
+certainty. He describes the least suggestion of a trail, a footprint,
+or a knife-cut, or a torn leaf. As the white man finds his way about
+a city by means of street signs, so the savage reads his directions
+in the forest from the trees and the ground. He knows every plant and
+its uses, the best wood for fires; he knows when he may expect to find
+water, and which liana makes the strongest rope. Yet even he seems
+to feel something of the appalling loneliness of the primeval forest.
+
+Our path leads steeply up and down, over loose coral blocks, between
+ferns and mosses; lianas serve as ropes to help us climb over coral
+rocks, and with our knives we hew a passage through thorny creepers
+and thick bush. The road runs in zigzags, sometimes turning back
+to go round fallen trunks and swampy places, so that we really walk
+three or four times the distance to Hog Harbour. Our guide uses his
+bush-knife steadily and to good purpose: he sees where the creepers
+interlace and which branch is the chief hindrance, and in a few deft
+cuts the tangle falls.
+
+At last--it seems an eternity since we dived into the forest--we hear
+from afar, through the green walls, a dull roaring, and as we go on,
+we distinguish the thunder of the breakers like the beating of a great
+pulse. Suddenly the thicket lightens, and we stand on the beach,
+blinded by the splendour of light that pours on us, but breathing
+freely in the fresh air that blows from the far horizon. We should like
+to stretch out on the sand and enjoy the free space after the forest
+gloom; but after a short rest we go on, for this is only half-way to
+our destination, and we dive once more into the semi-darkness.
+
+Towards evening we reach the plantation of the Messrs. Th. They are
+Australians of good family, and their place is splendidly kept. I
+was struck by the cleanliness of the whole establishment, the good
+quarters of the native labourers, the quiet way in which work was
+done, the pleasant relations between masters and hands, and last,
+but not least, the healthy and happy appearance of the latter.
+
+The brothers had just finished the construction of what was quite a
+village, its white lime walls shining invitingly through the green
+of the cocoa-nut palms. There was a large kitchen, a storehouse, a
+tool-shed, a bakery, a dwelling-house and a light, open summer-house,
+a delightful spot, where we dined in the cool sea-breeze and sipped
+whisky in the moonlight, while the palm-leaves waved dreamily. Then
+there was a large poultry yard, pigsty and paddocks, and along the
+beach were the boat-houses, drying-sheds and storehouses, shaded by
+old trees. The boys' quarters were roomy, eight sleeping together in
+an airy hut, while the married couples had houses of their own. The
+boys slept on high beds, each with his "bocase" underneath, to hold his
+possessions, while all sorts of common property hung in the roof--nets,
+fish-spears, bows, guns, etc.
+
+Such plantations, where the natives lack neither food nor good
+treatment, can only have a favourable influence on the race, and it is
+not quite clear why the Presbyterian missionaries do not like their
+young men to go in for plantation work. Owing to the good treatment
+of their hands the Messrs. Th. have always had enough labourers, and
+have been able to develop their plantation wonderfully. It consists
+almost exclusively of cocoa-nut palms, planted on ground wrested from
+the forest in a hard fight. When I was there the trees were not yet in
+full bearing, but the proprietors had every reason to expect a very
+considerable income in a few years. The cultivation of the cocoa-nut
+is extremely simple; the only hard work is the first clearing of the
+ground, and keeping the young trees free from lianas. Once they are
+grown up, they are able to keep down the bush themselves to a certain
+extent, and then the work consists in picking up the ripe nuts from
+the ground, husking and drying them. The net profit from one tree
+is estimated at one shilling per annum. Besides the cultivation of
+their plantation the Messrs. Th. plied a flourishing trade in coprah
+and sandalwood all along the west coast of Santo, which they visited
+frequently in their cutter. This same cutter was often a great help to
+me, and, indeed, her owners always befriended me in the most generous
+way, and many are the pleasant hours I spent in their company.
+
+After dinner that first day we went to the village where the
+"sing-sing" was to take place. There was no moon, and the night was
+pitch dark. The boys had made torches of palm-leaves, which they
+kept burning by means of constant swinging. They flared up in dull,
+red flames, lighting up the nearest surroundings, and we wound our
+way upwards through the trunk vines and leaves that nearly shut in
+the path. It seemed as if we were groping about without a direction,
+as if looking for a match in a dark room. Soon, however, we heard
+the dull sound of the drums, and the noise led us to the plateau,
+till we could see the red glare of a fire and hear the rough voices
+of men and the shrill singing of women.
+
+Unnoticed, we entered the dancing-ground. A number of men were standing
+in a circle round a huge fire, their silhouettes cutting sharply into
+the red glare. Out of a tangle of clubs, rifles, plumes, curly wigs,
+round heads, bows and violently gesticulating arms, sounds an irregular
+shrieking, yelling, whistling and howling, uniting occasionally to
+a monotonous song. The men stamp the measure, some begin to whirl
+about, others rush towards the fire; now and then a huge log breaks
+in two and crowns the dark, excited crowd with a brilliant column of
+circling sparks. Then everybody yells delightedly, and the shouting
+and dancing sets in with renewed vigour. Everyone is hoarse, panting
+and covered with perspiration, which paints light streaks on the
+sooty faces and bodies.
+
+Noticing us, a man rushes playfully towards us, threateningly swinging
+his club, his eyes and teeth shining in the darkness; then he returns
+to the shouting, dancing mob around the fire. Half-grown boys sneak
+through the crowd; they are the most excited of all, and stamp the
+ground wildly with their disproportionately large feet, kicking and
+shrieking in unpleasant ecstasy. All this goes on among the guests;
+the hosts keep a little apart, near a scaffolding, on which yams are
+attached. The men circle slowly round this altar, carrying decorated
+bamboos, with which they mark the measure, stamping them on the ground
+with a thud. They sing a monotonous tune, one man starting and the
+others joining in; the dance consists of slow, springy jumps from
+one foot to the other.
+
+On two sides of this dancing circle the women stand in line, painted
+all over with soot. When the men's deep song is ended, they chant the
+same melody with thin, shrill voices. Once in a while they join in
+the dance, taking a turn with some one man, then disappearing; they
+are all much excited; only a few old hags stand apart, who are past
+worldly pleasures, and have known such feasts for many, many years.
+
+The whole thing looks grotesque and uncanny, yet the pleasure in mere
+noise and dancing is childish and harmless. The picture is imposing and
+beautiful in its simplicity, gruesome in its wildness and sensuality,
+and splendid with the red lights which play on the shining, naked
+bodies. In the blackness of the night nothing is visible but that
+red-lit group of two or three hundred men, careless of to-morrow,
+given up entirely to the pleasure of the moment. The spectacle lasts
+all night, and the crowd becomes more and more wrought up, the leaps
+of the dancers wilder, the singing louder. We stand aside, incapable
+of feeling with these people or sharing their joy, realizing that
+theirs is a perfectly strange atmosphere which will never be ours.
+
+Towards morning we left, none too early, for a tremendous shower came
+down and kept on all next morning. I went up to the village again, to
+find a most dismal and dejected crowd. Around the square, in the damp
+forest, seedy natives stood and squatted in small groups, shivering
+with cold and wet. Some tried to warm themselves around fires, but
+with poor success. Bored and unhappy, they stared at us as we passed,
+and did not move. Women and children had made umbrellas of large flat
+leaves, which they carried on their heads; the soot which had formed
+their festival dress was washed off by the rain. The square itself
+was deserted, save for a pack of dogs and a few little boys, rolling
+about in the mud puddles. Once in a while an old man would come out
+of the gamal, yawn and disappear. In short, it was a lendemain de
+fête of the worst kind.
+
+About once in a quarter of an hour a man would come to bring a tusked
+pig to the chief, who danced a few times round the animal, stamped his
+heel on the ground, uttered certain words, and retired with short,
+stiff steps, shaking his head, into the gamal. The morning was over
+by the time all the pigs were ready. I spent most of the time out of
+doors, rather than in the gamal, for there many of the dancers of the
+evening lay in all directions and in most uncomfortable positions,
+beside and across each other, snoring, shivering or staring sulkily
+into dark corners. I was offered a log to sit on, and it might have
+been quite acceptable had not one old man, trembling with cold,
+pressed closely against me to get warm, and then, half asleep,
+attempted to lay his shaggy, oil-soaked head on my shoulder, while
+legions of starved fleas attacked my limbs, forcing me to beat a
+hasty though belated retreat.
+
+In the afternoon about sixty pigs were tied to poles in front of
+the gamal, and the chief took an old gun-barrel and smashed their
+heads. They represented a value of about six hundred pounds! Dogs
+and men approached the quivering victims, the dogs to lick the blood
+that ran out of their mouths, the men to carry the corpses away for
+the feast. This was the prosaic end of the great "sing-sing."
+
+As it is not always easy to borrow the number of pigs necessary to rise
+in caste, there are charms which are supposed to help in obtaining
+them. Generally, these are curiously shaped stones, sometimes carved
+in the shape of a pig, and are carried in the hand or in little baskets
+in the belt. Such charms are, naturally, very valuable, and are handed
+down for generations or bought for large sums. On this occasion the
+"big fellow-master" had sacrificed enough to attain a very high caste
+indeed, and had every reason to hold up his head with great pride.
+
+Formerly, these functions were generally graced with a special feature,
+in the shape of the eating of a man. As far as is known, the last
+cannibal meal took place in 1906; the circumstances were these: Some
+young men were walking through the forest, carrying their Snider
+rifles, loaded and cocked as usual, on their shoulders. Unluckily,
+one of the rifles went off, and killed the man behind, the son of
+an influential native. Everyone was aware that the death was purely
+accidental, but the father demanded a considerable indemnity. The
+"murderer," a poor and friendless youth, was unable to pay, and fled to
+a neighbouring village. He was received kindly enough, but his hosts
+sent secretly to the offended father to ask what they were to do with
+him. "Kill him and eat him," was the reply. They therefore prepared a
+great feast, in honour, as they said, of their beloved guest, and while
+he was sitting cheerfully near the fire, in anticipation of the good
+meal to come, they killed him from behind with an axe. The body was
+roasted, and the people of his village were asked to the feast. One
+man had received the forearm and hand, and while he was chewing the
+muscles and pulling away at the inflectors of the fingers, the hand
+closed and scratched his cheek,--"all same he alive,"--whereupon the
+horrified guest threw his morsel away and fled into the forest.
+
+On my return to Port Olry I found that the Father had gone to visit
+a colleague, as his duties did not take up much of his time. His
+post at Port Olry was rather a forlorn hope, as the natives showed no
+inclination to become converts, especially not in connection with the
+poor Roman Catholic mission, which could not offer them any external
+advantages, like the rich and powerful Presbyterian mission. All
+the priests lived in the greatest poverty, in old houses, with very
+few servants. The one here had, besides a teacher from Malekula,
+an old native who had quarrelled with his chief and separated from
+his clan. The good man was very anxious to marry, but no girl would
+have him, as he had had two wives, and had, quite without malice,
+strangled his second wife by way of curing her of an illness. I was
+reminded of this little episode every time I looked at the man's long,
+bony fingers.
+
+One day a native asked me for medicine for his brother. I tried to find
+out the nature of the ailment, and decided to give him calomel, urging
+his brother to take it to him at once. The man had eaten a quarter of
+a pig all by himself, but, of course, it was said that he had been
+poisoned. His brother, instead of hurrying home, had a little visit
+with his friends at the coast, until it was dark and he was afraid to
+go home through the bush alone; so he waited till next morning, when
+it was too late. The man's death naturally made the murder theory
+a certainty, so the body was not buried, but laid out in the hut,
+with all sorts of finery. Around it, in spite of the fearful odour,
+all the women sat for ten days, in a cloud of blow-flies. They burned
+strong-scented herbs to kill the smell, and dug a little trench across
+the floor, in order to keep the liquids from the decaying corpse from
+running into the other half of the house. The nose and mouth of the
+body were stopped up with clay and lime, probably to keep the soul
+from getting out, and the body was surrounded by a little hut. In the
+gamal close by sat all the men, sulky, revengeful, and planning war,
+which, in fact, broke out within a few days after my departure.
+
+The Messrs. Th. had been kind enough to invite me to go on a recruiting
+trip to Maevo, the most north-easterly island of the group. Here I
+found a very scanty population, showing many traces of Polynesian
+admixture in appearance and habits. The weather was nasty and our
+luck at recruiting poor, so that after a fortnight we returned to
+Hog Harbour. I went to Port Olry to my old priest's house, and a few
+days later Mr. Th. came in his cutter to take me to Tassimaloun in
+Big Bay; so I bade a hearty farewell to the good Father, whom I have
+never had the pleasure of meeting again.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+SANTO
+
+
+There are hardly any natives left in the south of the Bay of
+St. Philip and St. James, generally called Big Bay. Only to the
+north of Talamacco there are a few villages, in which the remnants
+of a once numerous population, mostly converts of the Presbyterian
+mission, have collected. It is a very mixed crowd, without other
+organization than that which the mission has created, and that is
+not much. There are a few chiefs, but they have even less authority
+than elsewhere, and the feeling of solidarity is lacking entirely,
+so that I have hardly ever found a colony where there was so much
+intrigue, immorality and quarrelling. A few years ago the population
+had been kept in order by a Presbyterian missionary of the stern and
+cruel type; but he had been recalled, and his place was taken by a man
+quite unable to cope with the lawlessness of the natives, so that every
+vice developed freely, and murders were more frequent than in heathen
+districts. Matters were not improved by the antagonism between the
+Roman Catholic and Presbyterian missions and the traders; each worked
+against the others, offering the natives the best of opportunities to
+fish in troubled waters. The result of all this was a rapid decrease
+of the population and frequent artificial sterility. The primitive
+population has disappeared completely in some places, and is only to
+be found in any numbers far inland among the western mountains. The
+situation is a little better in the north, where we find a number of
+flourishing villages along the coast around Cape Cumberland.
+
+The nearest village to Talamacco was Tapapa. Sanitary conditions
+there were most disheartening, as at least half of the inhabitants
+were leprous, and most of them suffered from tuberculosis or
+elephantiasis. I saw hardly any children, so that the village will
+shortly disappear, like so many others.
+
+Native customs along the coast are much the same as at Port Olry, but
+less primitive, and the houses are better built. There is wood-carving,
+or was. I found the doorposts of old gamals beautifully carved, and
+plates prettily decorated; but these were all antiques, and nothing
+of the kind is made at the present day.
+
+The race, however, is quite different from that around Port Olry. There
+are two distinct types: one, Melanesian, dark, tall or short, thin,
+curly-haired, with a broad nose and a brutal expression; and one
+that shows distinct traces of Polynesian blood in its finer face,
+a larger body, which is sometimes fat, light skin and frequently
+straight hair. Just where this Polynesian element comes from it
+is hard to say, but the islands in general are very favourable to
+race-mixture along the coasts. As I said before, the Melanesian type
+shows two distinct varieties, a tall dark one, and a short light
+one. At first I did not realize the significance of the latter until
+I became aware of the existence of a negroid element, of which I saw
+clear traces. The two varieties, however, are much intermingled, and
+the resulting blends have mixed with the Polynesian-Melanesian type,
+so that the number of types is most confusing, and it will be hard
+to determine the properties of the original one.
+
+Finding little of interest in the immediate surroundings of
+Talamacco, I determined to make an excursion into the interior of the
+island. Mr. F. put his foreman, or moli, at my disposal, and he engaged
+my bearers, made himself useful during the trip in superintending
+the boys, and proved valuable in every way, as he was never afraid,
+and was known to nearly all the inland chiefs.
+
+After a rainy spell of six weeks we had a clear day at last; and
+although the weather could not be taken into consideration when making
+my plans, still, the bright sunshine created that happy and expectant
+sensation which belongs to the beginning of a journey. The monthly
+steamer had arrived the day before, had shipped a little coprah, and
+brought some provisions for the trader and myself. I had completed
+my preparations, engaged my boys and was ready to start.
+
+In the white glare of a damp morning we pulled from the western shore
+of Big Bay to the mouth of the Jordan River. The boat was cramped
+and overloaded, and we were all glad to jump ashore after a row of
+several hours. The boys carried the luggage ashore and pulled the
+boat up into the bush with much noise and laughter. Then we settled
+down in the shade for our first meal, cooking being an occupation of
+which the boys are surprisingly fond. Their rations are rice and tea,
+with a tin of meat for every four. This discussed, we packed up,
+and began our march inland.
+
+The road leads through a thin bush, over rough coral boulders and
+gravel deposited by the river. We leave the Jordan to our right,
+and march south-east. After about an hour we come to a swampy
+plain, covered with tall reed-grass. Grassy plains are an unusual
+sight in Santo; the wide expanse of yellowish green is surrounded
+by dark walls of she-oak, in the branches of which hang thousands
+of flying-foxes. At a dirty pond we fill our kettles with greenish
+water, for our night camp will be on the mountain slope ahead of us,
+far from any spring. Even the moli has to carry a load of water, as I
+can hardly ask the boys to take any more. He feels rather humiliated,
+as a moli usually carries nothing but a gun, but he is good enough to
+see the necessity of the case, and condescends to carry a small kettle.
+
+Straight ahead are the high coral plateaux across which our road
+lies. While we tackle the ascent, the sky has become overcast, the
+gay aspect of the landscape has changed to sad loneliness and a heavy
+shower soaks us to the skin. The walk through the jungle is trying,
+and even the moli loses the way now and again. Towards nightfall
+we enter a high forest with but little underbrush, and work our way
+slowly up a steep and slippery slope to an overhanging coral rock,
+where we decide to camp. We have lost our way, but as night is closing
+in fast, we cannot venture any farther.
+
+The loads are thrown to the ground in disorder, and the boys drop
+down comfortably; strong language on my part is needed before they
+make up their minds to pile up the luggage, collect wood and begin
+to cook. Meanwhile my own servant has prepared my bed and dried my
+clothes. Soon it is quite dark, the boys gather round the fires, and do
+not dare to go into the yawning darkness any more, for fear of ghosts.
+
+The rain has ceased, and the soft damp night air hangs in the
+trees. The firelight is absorbed by the darkness, and only the nearest
+surroundings shine in its red glare; the boys are stretched out in
+queer attitudes round the fire on the hard rocks. Soon I turn out the
+lamp and lie listening to the night, where vague life and movement
+creeps through the trunks. Sometimes a breath of wind shivers through
+the trees, shaking heavy drops from the leaves. A wild pig grunts,
+moths and insects circle round the fires, and thousands of mosquitoes
+hum about my net and sing me to sleep. Once in a while I am roused
+by the breaking of a rotten tree, or a mournful cry from one of the
+dreaming boys; or one of them wakes up, stirs the fire, turns over and
+snores on. Long before daybreak a glorious concert of birds welcomes
+the new day. Half asleep, I watch the light creep across the sky,
+while the bush is still in utter darkness; suddenly, like a bugle-call,
+the first sunbeams strike the trees and it is broad day.
+
+Chilly and stiff, the boys get up and crowd round the fires. As
+we have no more water there is no tea, and breakfast is reduced to
+dry biscuits. The moli has found the lost trail by this time, and we
+continue the ascent. On the plateau we again strike nearly impenetrable
+bush, and lose the trail again, so that after a few hours' hard work
+with the knives we have to retrace our steps for quite a distance. It
+is a monotonous climb, varied only by an occasional shot at a wild
+pig and fair sport with pigeons. Happily for the thirsty boys, we
+strike a group of bamboos, which yield plenty of water. All that
+is needed is to cut the joint of the stems, and out of each section
+flows a pint of clear water, which the boys collect by holding their
+huge mouths under the opening. Their clothes are soaked, but their
+thirst is satisfied and our kettles filled for the midday meal.
+
+Presently we pass a native "camp" under an overhanging rock: it
+consists of a few parallel sticks, on which the native sleeps as well
+as any European on a spring-mattress, and a hollow in the ground,
+with a number of cooking-stones.
+
+After a stiff climb we stop for our meal, then follow a path
+which gradually widens and improves, a sign that we are nearing a
+village. Towards evening we come to some gardens, where the natives
+plant their yam and taro. At the entrance of the village I make my
+boys close up ranks; although the natives are not supposed to be
+hostile, my people show signs of uneasiness, keeping close together
+and carrying the few weapons we have very conspicuously.
+
+We cross the village square to the gamal, a simple place, as they
+all are, with a door about a yard from the ground, in order to keep
+out the pigs which roam all over the village. In line with the front
+of the house is a row of tall bamboo posts, wound with vines; their
+hollow interior is filled with yam and taro, the remains of a great
+feast. The village seems quite deserted, and we peep cautiously
+into the interior of the gamal, where, after a while, we discern a
+man, lying on the damp and dirty ground, who stares at us in silent
+fright. He gets up and comes slowly out, and we can see that he has
+lost half of one foot from leprosy. From him the moli learns that
+the two chiefs are away at a great "sing-sing," and the rest of the
+men in the fields or in their wives' houses. There is nothing for us
+to do but sit down and wait, and be sniffed at by pigs, barked at by
+dogs and annoyed by fowls. The moli beats vigorously on one of the
+wooden drums that lie in the mud in front of the house. He has his
+own signal, which most of the natives know, so that all the country
+round is soon informed of his arrival.
+
+One by one the men arrive, strolling towards the gamal as if
+unconscious of our presence; some of them greet one or the other
+of my boys whom they have met when visiting at the shore. Nearly
+all of them are sick with leprosy or elephantiasis or tuberculosis,
+and after the long rainy period they all have colds and coughs and
+suffer from rheumatism; altogether they present a sad picture of
+degeneration and misery, and there are few healthy men to be seen.
+
+My luggage is taken into the gamal, and I order the boys to buy and
+prepare food, whereupon the natives hurry away and fetch a quantity of
+supplies: pigs, fowls, yam, taro, of which I buy a large stock, paying
+in matches and tobacco. There are also eggs, which, I am assured,
+are delicious; but this is according to native taste, which likes eggs
+best when half hatched. While the boys are cooking, I spend the time
+in measuring the villagers. At first they are afraid of the shiny,
+pointed instruments, but the tobacco they receive, after submitting
+to the operation, dispels their fears. The crowd sits round us on the
+ground, increasing the uneasiness of my victims by sarcastic remarks.
+
+Meanwhile, the women have arrived, and crouch in two groups at the
+end of the square, which they are forbidden to enter. There are
+about twenty of them, not many for nearly fifty men, but I see only
+three or four babies, and many faded figures and old-looking girls
+of coarse and virile shape, the consequence of premature abuse and
+artificial sterility. But they chat away quite cheerfully, giggle,
+wonder, clap their hands, and laugh, taking hold of each other,
+and rocking to and fro.
+
+At last the two chiefs arrive, surprisingly tall and well-built men,
+with long beards carefully groomed, and big mops of hair. Like all the
+men, they are dressed in a piece of calico that hangs down in front,
+and a branch of croton behind. They have big bracelets, and wear
+the curved tusks of pigs on their wrists. There is just time before
+nightfall to take their measures and photographs, then I retire into
+the gamal for my supper, during which I am closely observed by the
+entire male population. They make remarks about the spoons and the
+Worcester sauce, and when I put sugar into my tea, they whisper to each
+other, "Salt!" which idea is almost enough to spoil one's appetite,
+only the delicious roast sucking-pig is too tempting.
+
+My toilet for the night is watched with the same attention; then, while
+I am still reading on my bed, the men seek their couches in the long,
+low house. They stir up all the fires, which smoke terribly, then they
+lie down on their bamboo beds, my boys among them, and talk and talk
+till they fall asleep,--a houseful of leprous and consumptive men,
+who cough and groan all night.
+
+In front of me, near the entrance, is the chiefs place. He spends
+a long time in preparing his kava, and drinks it noisily. Kava is a
+root which is ground with a piece of sharp coral; the fibres are then
+mixed with water, which is contained in a long bamboo, and mashed
+to a soft pulp; the liquid is then squeezed out, strained through a
+piece of cocoa-nut bark into a cocoa-nut bowl and drunk. The liquid
+has a muddy, thick appearance, tastes like soapy water, stings like
+peppermint and acts as a sleeping-draught. In Santo only chiefs are
+allowed to drink kava.
+
+At first, innumerable dogs disturbed my sleep, and towards morning it
+grew very cold. When I came out of the hut, the morning sun was just
+getting the better of the mist, and spreading a cheery light over the
+square, which had looked dismal enough under a grey, rainy sky. I made
+all the women gather on the outskirts of the square to be measured
+and photographed. They were very bashful, and I almost pitied them,
+for the whole male population sat around making cruel remarks about
+them; indeed, if it had not been for the chiefs explicit orders, they
+would all have run away. They were not a very pleasant spectacle, on
+the whole. I was struck by the tired, suffering expression of even the
+young girls, a hopeless and uninterested look, in contradiction with
+their lively behaviour when unobserved. For they are natural and happy
+only when among themselves, and in the presence of the men they feel
+that they are under the eye of their master, often a brutal master,
+whose property they are. Probably they are hardly conscious of this,
+and take their position and destiny as a matter of course; but they
+are constrained in the presence of their owners, knowing that at any
+moment they may be displeased or angry, for any reason or for none,
+and may ill-treat or even kill them. Aside from these considerations
+their frightened awkwardness was extremely funny, especially when
+posing before the camera. Some could not stand straight, others
+twisted their arms and legs into impossible positions. The idea of
+a profile view seemed particularly strange to them, and they always
+presented either their back or their front view. The poor things got
+more and more nervous, the men roared, I was desperate,--altogether
+it was rather unsatisfactory.
+
+I was in need of more bearers to carry the provisions I had bought,
+and the chiefs were quite willing to supply them; but their orders
+had absolutely no effect on the men, who were too lazy, and I should
+have been in an awkward position had not one of the chiefs hit on
+the expedient of employing his women. They obeyed without a moment's
+hesitation; each took a heavy load of yam, all but the favourite wife,
+the only pretty one of the number; her load was small, but she had
+to clear the trail, walking at the head of the procession.
+
+The women led the way, chatting and giggling, patient and steady
+as mules, and as sure-footed and supple. Nothing stops them; with a
+heavy load on their heads they walk over fallen trunks, wade through
+ditches, twist through vines, putting out a hand every now and then to
+feel whether the bunch of leaves at their back is in place. They were
+certainly no beauties, but there was a charm in their light, soft step,
+in the swaying of their hips, in the dainty poise of their slim ankles
+and feet, and the softness and harmony of all their movements. And
+the light playing on their dark, velvety, shining bodies increased
+this charm, until one almost forgot the many defects, the dirt, the
+sores, the disease. This pleasant walk in the cool, dewy forest,
+under the bright leaves, did not last long, and after two hours'
+tramp we reached our destination.
+
+At the edge of the square the women sat down beside their loads,
+and were soon joined by the women of the village. Our hostesses were
+at once informed of every detail of our outfit, our food and our
+doings, and several dozen pairs of big dark eyes followed our every
+movement. The women were all quite sure that I was a great doctor and
+magician, and altogether a dangerous man, and this belief was not at
+all favourable to my purposes.
+
+We men soon withdrew to the gamal, where the men likewise had to be
+informed of everything relating to our doings and character. The gamal
+was low and dirty, and the state of health of the inhabitants still
+worse than in the first village, but at least there were a few more
+babies than elsewhere. The chief suffered from a horrible boil in
+his loin, which he poulticed with chewed leaves, and the odour was
+so unbearable that I had to leave the house and sit down outside,
+where I was surrounded by many lepers, without toes or even feet,
+a very dismal sight.
+
+I now paid my carriers the wages agreed upon, but they claimed that I
+ought to pay the men extra, although their services had been included
+in the price. I took this for one of the tricks by which the natives
+try to get the better of a good-natured foreigner, and refused flatly,
+whereupon the whole crowd sat down in front of the house and waited
+in defiant silence. I left them there for half an hour, during which
+they whispered and deliberated in rather an uncomfortable way. I
+finally told them that I would not pay any more, and that they had
+better go away at once. The interpreter said they were waiting for
+the chiefs to get through with something they had to talk over, and
+they stayed on a while longer. My refusal may have been a mistake,
+and there may really have been a misunderstanding, at any rate,
+I had to suffer for my unyielding way, inasmuch as the behaviour of
+our hosts immediately changed from talkative hospitality and childish
+curiosity to dull silence and suspicious reticence. The people sat
+around us, sullen and silent, and would not help us in any way,
+refused to bring firewood or show us the water-hole, and seemed most
+anxious to get rid of us. Under these circumstances it was useless
+to try to do any of my regular work, and I had to spend an idle
+and unpleasant afternoon. At last I induced a young fellow to show
+me the way to a high plateau near by, from which I had a beautiful
+view across trees to the east coast of the island, with the sea in
+a blue mist far away. As my guide, consumptive like all the others,
+was quite out of breath with our short walk, I soon had to return,
+and I paid him well. This immediately changed the attitude of all
+the rest. Their sullenness disappeared, they came closer, began to
+talk, and at last we spent the afternoon in comparative friendship,
+and I could attend to my business.
+
+But the consequences of my short visit to the gamal became very
+noticeable. In my hat I found a flourishing colony of horrid bug-like
+insects; my pockets were alive, my camera was full of them, they
+had crawled into my shoes, my books, my luggage, they were crawling,
+flying, dancing everywhere. Perfectly disgusted, I threw off all my
+clothes, and had my boys shake and clean out every piece. For a week
+I had to have everything cleaned at least once a day, and even then I
+found the loathsome creatures in every fold, under straps, in pouches.
+
+On that afternoon I had a great success as an artist. My drawings
+of pigs, trees and men went the rounds and were quite immoderately
+admired, and preserved as we would a sketch of Holbein's. These
+drawings have to be done as simply as possible and fairly large, else
+the natives do not understand them. They consider every line essential,
+and do not understand shadows or any impressionistic treatment. We must
+remember that in our civilized art we work with many symbols, some
+of which have but a vague resemblance to the object they represent,
+whose meaning we know, while the savage does not. This was the reason
+why I had often no success at all with what I considered masterpieces,
+while the natives went into raptures over drawings I thought utter
+failures. At any rate, they made me quite a popular person.
+
+The sick chief complained to me that a late wife of his had been
+poisoned, and as he took me for a great "witch-doctor," he asked me
+to find out the murderer. To the native, sickness or death is not
+natural, but always the consequence of witchcraft, either on the part
+of enemies or spirits. The terribly high death-rate in the last years
+makes it seem all the more probable that mysterious influences are
+at work, and the native suspects enemies everywhere, whom he tries
+to render harmless by killing them. This leads to endless murders
+and vendettas, which decimate the population nearly as much as the
+diseases do. The natives know probably something about poisons,
+but they are always poisons that have to be mixed with food, and
+this is not an easy thing to do, as every native prepares his food
+himself. Most of the dreaded poisons are therefore simply charms,
+stones or other objects, which would be quite harmless in themselves,
+but become capable of killing by the mere terror they inspire in the
+victim. If the belief in these charms could be destroyed, a great deal
+of the so-called poisoning would cease, and it may be a good policy to
+deny the existence of poison, even at the risk of letting a murderer
+go unpunished. I therefore felt justified in playing a little comedy,
+all the more, as I was sure that the woman had died of consumption,
+and I promised the chief my assistance for the next morning.
+
+I had my bed made in the open air; even the boys would not enter the
+dirty house any more, and we slept well under the open sky, in spite
+of the pigs that grunted around us and the dew that fell like rain.
+
+Next day the chief called all the men together; he was convinced
+that I could see through every one of them and tell who had done any
+wrong. So he made them all sit round me, and I looked very solemnly at
+each through the finder of my camera, the chief watching carefully to
+see that I did not omit any one. The men felt uneasy, but did not quite
+know what to make of the whole performance. I naturally could not find
+anything wrong, and told the chief so, but he was not satisfied, and
+shook his head doubtfully. Then I talked to him seriously and tried
+to convince him that everyone had to die once, and that sickness was
+something natural, especially considering the filth in which they
+lived; but I do not think my speech made much impression.
+
+The men had now become very suspicious, the women were away, and I
+had great trouble in finding bearers and guides to the next village. A
+pleasant march brought us to this settlement, whose houses were close
+together in a big clearing. We were received very coolly by the chief
+and a few men. My bearers and guides would not be induced to accompany
+us farther, so that I had to ask for boys here; but the chief said he
+had not a single able-bodied man, which I felt to be mere excuse. I
+also noticed that my own boys were very dissatisfied and sullen,
+and that something was in the wind. In order to raise their spirits,
+and not to leave our yam provisions behind, I had them cook the midday
+meal, but the sullen, threatening atmosphere remained the same. When
+it was time to continue our march, I heard them grumble and complain
+about their loads, and it all looked like rising mutiny. I was ahead
+with the chief, who had consented to show us the way, when the moli
+came after me and informed me that the boys were unwilling to go on,
+that they were afraid to go farther inland and were ready to throw
+their loads away. Later on I learned that two of the boys had tried to
+bribe some natives to show them the road back to the coast and leave
+me alone with the moli. I assembled the boys and made them a speech,
+saying that their loads were not too heavy nor the marches too long,
+that they were all free to return home, but would have to take the
+consequences, and that I and the moli would go on without them. If
+they liked, I said, they could throw away their tinned meats, I did not
+care, and the two bottles of grog were not meant for me, and we could
+easily spare those. I grasped the bottles and offered to smash them,
+but that was too much for the boys; half crying, they begged me not to
+do that: the bottles were not too heavy, and they would gladly carry
+them as far as I liked. Hesitatingly I allowed myself to be persuaded,
+and kindly desisted from the work of destruction. I had won, but I had
+lost confidence in my boys, and was careful not to put their patience
+and fidelity to any more tests, conscious as I was of how much depended
+on their goodwill. After this episode they accomplished a long and
+tiresome march, up and down through thick bush on slippery clay,
+quite willingly. In the evening we reached a few huts in a clearing
+at a height of about 1200 feet, and went into camp for the night.
+
+While cooking, we heard dismal howling and weeping from a neighbouring
+hut; it was a woman mourning her husband, who had been dead ninety-nine
+days. To-morrow, on the hundredth day, there was to be a death-feast,
+to which all the neighbours were invited. Of course, this man, too,
+had been poisoned.
+
+The fire of revolt was smouldering in my boys. They sat round
+the camp-fire in groups, whispering and plotting, grumbling and
+undecided; but I felt safe enough, as they were evidently divided
+into two parties, one faithful and the other mutinous, and the former
+seemed rather more influential. They proved their goodwill to me by
+delightful servility, and took excellent care of me.
+
+Next morning we were wakened by the howls of the unhappy widow,
+and soon the guests appeared, some from far off, and all bringing
+contributions to the feast. They killed several pigs, and while
+the men cut them up in a manner rather more clever than appetizing,
+the women prepared the fires by lighting large quantities of wood
+to heat the cooking-stones. This lasted several hours. Meanwhile,
+every person present received his share of a half-rotten smoked pig,
+of the freshly killed pigs, yam, taro and sweet potatoes. The women
+took the entrails of the pigs, squeezed them out, rolled them up in
+banana leaves, and made them ready for cooking. When the fire was
+burnt down they took out half of the stones with forks of split
+bamboo, and then piled up the food in the hole, first the fruit,
+then the meat, so that the grease should run over the fruit; then the
+hole was covered with banana leaves, the hot stones piled on top and
+covered with more leaves. Food cooked in this way is done in three or
+four hours, so that the "stoves" are usually opened in the afternoon,
+and enormous quantities eaten on the spot, while the rest is put in
+baskets to take home. The amount a native can eat at one sitting
+is tremendous, and one can actually watch their stomachs swell as
+the meal proceeds. Violent indigestion is generally the consequence
+of such a feast. On the whole, no one seemed to be thinking much of
+the dead man in whose honour it was given,--such things are said to
+happen in civilized countries as well.
+
+I stayed in this village for another day, and many chiefs from the
+neighbourhood came to consult me, always complaining of the one
+thing--poison. Each secretly accused the others, each wanted me to
+try my glass on all the others. I did not like my reputation of being
+a magician at all, as it made the people still more suspicious of me
+and more afraid of my instruments and my camera.
+
+These so-called chiefs were rather more intelligent than the
+average. Most of them had worked for whites at one time, and learned to
+speak pidgin-English; but they were as superstitious as anyone else,
+and certainly greater rogues. They were naked and dirty, but some had
+retained some traces of civilization, one, for instance, always took
+off his old felt hat very politely, and made quite a civilized bow;
+he must have been in Nouméa in former days.
+
+There was no leprosy or elephantiasis here, but a great deal of
+tuberculosis, and very few children, and nearly all the men complained
+that their women were unwilling to have any more children.
+
+From the next village I had a glimpse of the wild mountains of western
+Santo. I decided to spend the night here, left the boys behind, and
+went southward with the moli and a few natives. This was evidently
+the region where the volcanic and coral formations meet, for the
+character of the landscape suddenly changed, and instead of flat
+plateaux we found a wild, irregular country, with lofty hills and
+deep, narrow gullies. Walking became dangerous, though the path was
+fair. On top of a hill I found an apparently abandoned village, from
+which I could overlook all central Santo. To the west were the rugged,
+dark-looking mountains round Santo Peak, with white clouds floating
+on the summit, and a confusion of deep blue valleys and steep peaks;
+northward lay the wild Jordan valley, and far away I could distinguish
+the silver mirror of Big Bay. All around us rose the silent, stern,
+lonely forest--imposing, unapproachable.
+
+On our way back to camp we rested beside a fresh creek which gaily
+squeezed its way through rocks and rich vegetation. A little tea
+and a tin of sardines were all the menu, but we enjoyed a delightful
+bath in the cool water, and had as good a wash as we could without
+soap. It was a great luxury after the hot days in the coral country
+without any water. While our things were drying in the bright sun,
+we lay in the moss near the rushing stream, and it was like a summer
+day at home in the mountains. The water sounded familiar, the soft,
+cool breeze was the same, and while I lay watching the white clouds
+through the bright foliage I dreamt of home. At home I had dreamt of
+travel, and thus one wish follows the other and the soul is preserved
+from lazy content. I almost fancied I heard the sound of bells and the
+far-away lowing of cattle. And again the reality seemed like a dream
+when I roused myself and saw the dark figures crouching on the rocks,
+with their frizzy mops of hair and their Sniders on their knees.
+
+The village turned out to be too dirty to spend the night in, and I
+decided to go to one which seemed quite near, just across a gully. Had
+I known what an undertaking it would be, I would not have started,
+for the ravine was very deep and the sides unpleasantly steep;
+but my boys managed the descent, over rocks and fallen trees, with
+their usual cleverness. At the bottom we were rewarded by a beautiful
+sight. Beneath us, in a narrow cut it had eaten through the rock,
+roared a river, foaming out of the depths of the dark wilderness. It
+was like one of the celebrated gorges in the Alps, only the tropical
+vegetation which hung in marvellous richness and variety over the
+abyss gave a fairy-like aspect to the scene. The boys did not seem
+to appreciate it in the least, and prepared, sighing, for the steep
+ascent. A simple bridge led across the gully; it was made of a few
+trees, and even provided with a railing in the shape of a vine. The
+existence of this bridge surprised me very much; for, considering
+the thoughtless egotism with which the natives pass through life, I
+had thought them incapable of any work of public utility. They rarely
+think of repairing a road or cutting a vine, nor do they remove trees
+that may have fallen across the path, but always rely on others to
+see to it.
+
+The second village was not much cleaner than the first, but we camped
+there, and the next day I went with the moli and a few of my boys to
+the western mountains. The natives warned us, saying that the people
+were "no good" and would kill us. But, for one thing, I could not
+see that they themselves were particularly "good," and, for another,
+I knew that all natives consider other tribes especially dangerous;
+so I stuck to my intention, only we hung all our available weapons
+about us, leaving the rest of the boys defenceless.
+
+This turned out one of the most strenuous days I ever had in the
+islands, as the road--and what a road!--constantly led up and down
+the steepest slopes. It seemed to me we were climbing perpendicular
+mountains all day long, and I had many an opportunity of admiring the
+agility of my companions. I am a fair walker myself, but I had to crawl
+on my hands and knees in many spots where they jumped from a stone to
+a root, taking firm hold with their toes, never using their hands,
+never slipping, and always with a loaded and cocked rifle on their
+shoulders. My boys from the coast, good pedestrians though they were,
+always remained far behind.
+
+First we reached well-tended taro fields, then a few scattered
+huts. The natives received us very kindly, and more men kept joining
+us, till we formed a big, jolly crowd. The population here seemed very
+primitive, and evidently had but little contact with the shore, but
+they were clean and comparatively healthy and flourishing, and I found
+them rather more frank, childlike and confiding than others I had seen.
+
+We roasted our yam, and while we were enjoying our frugal but
+delicious meal, I witnessed rather an amusing episode. A bushman,
+painted black for mourning, suddenly called to one of my boys, and
+wanted to shake hands with him. My boy, a respectable "schoolboy,"
+was visibly annoyed by the idea of having anything to do with a naked
+"man-bush," and behaved with icy reserve; but he could not long resist
+the rural cordiality of the other, and presently resigned himself to
+his fate, and made friends. It turned out that they had once worked
+together in Vila, and one had become an elegant young swell, while
+the other returned to simple country life.
+
+On the way back we rested by the river-bank, amusing ourselves by
+shooting pigeons with pistols and guns, feeling quite peaceful and
+happy. But the sound of our shots had an unexpected effect in the
+village where I had left the rest of my boys. All the natives jumped
+to their feet, shouting, "Did we not tell you that they would kill
+your master? Now you have heard them; he is dead, and now we will
+see what you have in your boxes and divide it among ourselves."
+
+They approached my boys threateningly, whereupon they all ran away,
+with the exception of the ringleader of the mutineers of the last
+few days, who sat down on the box containing the trading-stock and
+said they had better go and see whether I was really dead before
+plundering my luggage. The situation must have grown rather strained,
+until some one had the good sense to go and look out for us, whereupon
+he saw us sitting peacefully near the river below. This calmed the
+natives, they withdrew, much disappointed, and my boys returned and
+prepared everything for my arrival with remarkable zeal. I found
+dry clothes ready, and tea boiling, and was quite touched by so much
+thoughtfulness. I was not told of the day's occurrence till after my
+return to the coast, and perhaps it was just as well.
+
+By this time I had seen a good part of south-east Santo, and I was
+eager to visit the south-west, with Santo Peak. But without guides
+and with marked symptoms of home-sickness on the part of my boys,
+I decided it would not be wise to attempt it. The news that we were
+going to start for home revived the boys at once. With enormous
+alacrity they packed up next day and raced homeward with astonishing
+speed and endurance; I had had to drag them along before, now I could
+hardly keep up with them. In two days we had reached the plain of
+the Jordan, had a delightful swim and a jolly last night in camp,
+free from pigs, dogs, fowls, fleas and bugs,--but not from mosquitoes!
+
+The last day we strolled in and along the river, through the
+forest swarming with wild pigs and pigeons, while a huge colony of
+flying-foxes circled in the air, forming an actual cloud, and then
+we came to the shore, with the wide expanse of Big Bay peaceful in
+the evening sun. A painful walk on the sharp pebbles of the beach
+brought us home towards nightfall.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+SANTO (continued)--PYGMIES
+
+
+The term of service of my boys had now expired, and I had to look
+about for others. Happily, now that I was known in the region, I had
+less trouble, especially as I held out the prospect of a visit to
+Nouméa. With six boys of my own and a few other men, I started on
+another journey.
+
+I had always suspected the existence of a race of pygmies in the
+islands, and had often asked the natives if they had ever seen
+"small fellow men." Generally they stared at me without a sign of
+intelligence, or else began to tell fairy-tales of dwarfs they had
+seen in the bush, of little men with tails and goat's feet (probably
+derived from what they had heard of the devil from missionaries),
+all beings of whose existence they were perfectly convinced, whom
+they often see in the daytime and feel at night, so that it is very
+hard to separate truth from imagination.
+
+I had heard stories of a colony of tailed men near Mele, and that, near
+Wora, north of Talamacco, tailed men lived in trees; that they were
+very shy and had long, straight hair. The natives pretended they had
+nearly caught one once. All this sounded interesting and improbable,
+and I was not anxious to start on a mere wild-goose chase. More exact
+information, however, was forthcoming. One of my servants told me that
+near a waterfall I could see shining out of a deep ravine far inland,
+there lived "small fellow men."
+
+It was an exceptionally stormy morning when we started, so that
+Mr. F. advised me to postpone my departure; but in the New Hebrides it
+is no use to take notice of the weather, and that day it was so bad
+that it could not get any worse, which was some consolation. Soon we
+were completely soaked, but we kept on along the coast to some huts,
+where we were to meet our guide. Presently he arrived, followed by a
+crowd of children, as they seemed to me, who joined our party. While
+climbing inland toward the high mountains, I asked the guide if he
+knew anything about the little people; he told me that one of them
+was walking behind me. I looked more closely at the man in question,
+and saw that whereas I had taken him for a half-grown youth, he was
+really a man of about forty, and all the others who had come with him
+turned out to be full-grown but small individuals. Of course I was
+delighted with this discovery, and should have liked to begin measuring
+and photographing at once, had not the torrents of rain prevented.
+
+I may mention here that I found traces later on of this diminutive race
+in some other islands, but rarely in such purity as here. Everywhere
+else they had mingled with the taller population, while here they
+had kept somewhat apart, and represented an element by themselves,
+so that I was fortunate in having my attention drawn to them here,
+as elsewhere I might easily have overlooked them.
+
+The trail by which we were travelling was one of the worst I ever
+saw in the islands, and the weather did not improve. The higher
+up we went, the thicker was the fog; we seemed to be moving in a
+slimy mass, breathing the air from a boiler. At noon we reached
+the lonely hut, where a dozen men and women squatted, shivering
+with cold and wet, crowded together under wretched palm-leaf mats,
+near a smouldering fire. There were some children wedged into the
+gaps between the grown-ups. Our arrival seemed to rouse these poor
+people from their misery a little; one man after the other got up,
+yawning and chattering, the women remained sitting near the fire. We
+made them some hot tea, and then I began to measure and take pictures,
+to which they submitted quite good-humouredly.
+
+I was much struck by the fact of these men and women living together,
+a most unusual thing in a Melanesian district, where the separation
+of the sexes and the "Suque" rules are so rigorously observed.
+
+We started off once more in the icy rain, keeping along the crest
+of the hill, which was just wide enough for the path. The mountain
+sloped steeply down on either side, the thick mist made an early
+twilight, we could only see the spot where we set our feet, while
+all the surroundings were lost in grey fog, so that we felt as though
+we were walking in a void, far above all the world. At nightfall we
+arrived at a solitary hut--the home of our companions. After having
+repaired the broken roof, my boys succeeded in lighting a fire,
+though how they did it is a mystery, as matches and everything else
+were soaked. Soon tea and rice were boiling, while I tried to dry
+my instruments, especially my camera, whose watertight case had not
+been able to resist the rain. Then I wrapped myself up in my blanket,
+sipped my tea and ate my rice, and smoked a few pipes. It certainly
+is a reward for the day's work, that evening hour, lying satisfied,
+tired and dreamy, under the low roof of the hut, while outside the
+wind roars through the valley and the rain rattles on the roof, and a
+far-off river rushes down a gorge. The red fire paints the beams above
+me in warm colours, and in the dark corners the smoke curls in blue
+clouds. Around a second fire the natives lie in ecstatic laziness,
+smoking and talking softly, pigs grunt and dogs scratch busily about.
+
+In the morning the storm had passed, and I could see that the house
+was set on the slope of a high mountain, much as a chalet is, and
+that we were at the end of a wild ravine, from every side of which
+fresh rivulets and cascades came pouring. Owing to the mountainous
+character of the country there are no villages here, but numerous huts
+scattered all along the mountains, two or three families at the utmost
+living together. The structure of the houses, too, was different from
+those on the coast; they had side walls and a basement of boulders,
+sometimes quite carefully built. Here men and women live together,
+and a separation of the fires does not seem to exist, nor does the
+"Suque" seem to have penetrated to this district.
+
+We passed several hamlets where the mode of life was the same as in
+this one. The dress of the men is the same as at the coast, except
+that they wind strings of shell-money about their waists in manifold
+rows. The women wear a bunch of leaves in front and behind. The weapons
+are the same as elsewhere, except that here we find the feathered
+arrows which are such a rarity in the Pacific. It is surprising to
+find these here, in these secluded valleys among the pygmy race,
+and only here, near Talamacco, nowhere else where the same race is
+found. It is an open question whether these feathered arrows are an
+original invention in these valleys, an importation or a remnant of
+an earlier culture.
+
+The population lives on the produce of the fields, mostly taro,
+which is grown in irrigated lands in the river bottoms.
+
+In appearance these people do not differ much from those of central
+Santo, who are by no means of a uniform type. The most important
+feature is their size, that of the men amounting to 152 cm., that
+of the women to 144 cm. The smallest man I measured was 138.0 cm.,
+others measured 146.0, 149.2, 144.2, 146.6, 140.6, 149.0, 139.6, 138.4
+cm. The maximum size is hard to state, as even here the small variety
+has mixed with taller tribes, so that we find all the intermediate
+sizes, from the pygmy 139.6 cm. high, to the tall Melanesian of 178.0
+cm. My object, therefore, was to find a colony of pure pygmies, and
+I pursued it in many subsequent wanderings, but without success. The
+following description is based on the type as I constructed it in
+the course of my travels and observations.
+
+The hair is very curly, and seems black, but is in reality a
+dark, yellowish brown. Fil-fil is less frequent than among the
+tall variety. The forehead is straight, very slightly retreating,
+vaulted and rather narrow, the eyes are close together, straight,
+medium-sized and dark brown. The superciliar ridges are but slightly
+developed. The jaw-bones are large, but do not protrude, whereas the
+chewing muscles are well developed, which gives the face breadth, makes
+the chin-line round and the chin itself small and pointed. The mouth
+is not very large, with moderately thick lips, the nose is straight,
+hardly open toward the front, the nostrils not thick. As a rule, the
+growth of beard is not heavy, unlike that of the tall Melanesians;
+there is only a light moustache, a few tufts at the chin and near
+the jaw. Up to the age of forty this is all; in later years a heavier
+beard develops, but the face and the front of the chin remain free.
+
+Thus it will be seen that these people are not at all repulsive, as
+all the ridges of bone and the heavy muscle attachments which make the
+face of ordinary Melanesians so brutal are lacking. On the contrary,
+they look quite agreeable and childlike. Their bodies are vigorous,
+but lightly built: the chest broad and deep, the arms and legs fine,
+with beautiful delicate joints, the legs well proportioned, with
+handsome calves. Their feet are short and broad, especially in front,
+but the great toe does not stand off from the others noticeably. Thus
+the pygmy has none of the proportions of a child, and shows no signs
+of degeneration, but is of harmonious build, only smaller than other
+Melanesians.
+
+The shade of the skin varies a good deal from a dull purple,
+brownish-black, to coffee colour; but the majority of individuals
+are light, and the dark ones probably inherited their shade from the
+tall race.
+
+Deformations of the body are not practised, save for an occasional
+perforation of the lobes of the ear. I never saw a perforation of
+the septum, nor women with incisors extracted.
+
+It seems as if the small race were better preserved here in Santo
+than the tall one. The diseases which destroy the other tribes are
+less frequent here, there are more children and a good number of
+women. All this may be due to a great extent to their living inland
+and not coming into touch with the unfavourable sides of civilization
+as the coast tribes do, but even more to the hardy outdoor life in the
+mountains. In their country one cannot walk three steps on a level,
+and the whole population is expert in climbing, very sure-footed,
+thinking nothing of jumping with a heavy load from one rock to another,
+or racing at full speed down the steep and uneven slopes.
+
+In character, too, they differ from the tribes near the water. They
+seem less malicious and more confiding, and show less of the distrust
+and shy reserve of the average Melanesian. They will laugh and chat
+in the presence of strangers, and are very hospitable. I do not know
+if these are accidental impressions, but I can only say that I always
+felt safer and more comfortable in a village where the majority of
+the inhabitants belonged to the small race.
+
+With all this the pygmies are by no means helpless or even inferior,
+compared to their tall neighbours. Possibly, in former days, they
+may have been driven from their homes in the plains back into the
+mountains, but at present they are quite equal to the tall race,
+and the "salt-water men" are even a little afraid of their small
+neighbours inland. What they lack in size and strength they make
+up in speed and suppleness and temperament. The barrier between the
+races has disappeared, and the mixing process is hastened by the fact
+that the small race frequently sells its women to the tall one. It is
+rare for a woman from the coast to settle in the mountains, still, it
+occurs frequently enough to alloy the purity of the pygmy race, and in
+no village have I found more than about 70 per cent. of real pygmies.
+
+In the afternoon we came to the chief's dwelling. The old man lived
+there alone with his wife, quietly and happily, venerated by all the
+other people. It was touching to see the little couple, delicate as
+two dolls, who seemed to love each other sincerely, a most uncommon
+occurrence in Melanesia. I really had too much respect for the old
+people to trouble them with my measuring instruments, but I could
+not resist taking their pictures. After consulting her husband with
+a look of the greatest confidence, the old lady consented shyly,
+while he stood beside her as if it was an everyday event to him,
+and a sort of tribute I was paying to his age and position and the
+beauty of his wife.
+
+From this point I had a fine view of the cascade that fell down in a
+wide silver ribbon through the forest. Some months later all that wild
+scenery was destroyed by an earthquake, which caused many land-slides
+and spoilt the cascade. Following the roaring river, jumping from one
+block of stone to another, we soon reached our camp, a large gamal. As
+we were nearing the coast its arrangements were adapted to the customs
+of the tall Melanesians. There were a few small individuals, but the
+tall race was predominant. The reign of the "Suque" was evident by the
+floor of the gamal being divided by parallel sticks into compartments
+corresponding to the number of fires and castes, and each man sat
+down in his division and cooked his own food.
+
+Next day, after having waded through the cold water of the river, we
+arrived at the coast. From the last hills I sent a farewell look into
+the wild green tangle of forest, rocks, ravines, cascades and valleys,
+over which heavy rain-clouds were gathering. Before me the greyish-blue
+mirror of Big Bay lay in the mist, and in the Jordan valley the rain
+fell heavily. The high reed-grass all around us rustled dismally,
+and the damp cold was depressing. I hurried home and arrived there
+in the night, wet as when I had started on my expedition.
+
+With regard to the pygmies I must not omit to mention the following
+experience. The fact that among them husband and wife live together,
+and that I had nowhere seen a man with two wives, made me suspect
+that this race was monogamous, as other pygmy races are. I made
+frequent inquiries, and was assured that each man was allowed but one
+wife. Still, I was not quite convinced, for it seemed strange to find
+a monogamous population in the midst of polygamous tribes. Others
+having given me similar information, I began to accept this theory
+as a fact. At last, however, I found I had been deceived, as all the
+people had taken me for a missionary, and had fancied I was asking
+them questions in order to interfere with their matrimonial customs
+by sending them a teacher or a "mission-police-man." My error was
+cleared up, thanks to the investigations of a trader, for which I am
+much indebted to him.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+SANTO (continued)--PIGS
+
+
+The sun had hardly risen, yet the air hung heavy in the shrubs
+surrounding my sleeping-hut. Damp heat and light poured into the
+shed-like room, where hundreds of flies and as many mosquitoes
+sought an entrance into my mosquito-net. It was an atmosphere to sap
+one's energy; not even the sunshine, so rare in these parts, had any
+attraction for me, and only the long-drawn "Sail ho!" of the natives,
+announcing the arrival of the steamer, had power to drive me out
+of bed.
+
+She soon came to anchor and sent a boat ashore, and when I entered
+my host's house, I found some of the ship's officers there, ready for
+business and breakfast. Probably to drown the touch of home-sickness
+that the arrival of a steamer brings to those who are tied to the
+islands, our host set about emptying his cellar with enthusiasm and
+perseverance, while the visitors would have been satisfied with much
+smaller libations, as they had many more stations to visit that day.
+
+While the crew was loading the coprah and landing a quantity of goods,
+the host started his beloved gramophone for the general benefit, and a
+fearful hash of music drifted out into the waving palms. Presently some
+one announces that the cargo is all aboard, whereupon the supercargo
+puts down his paper and remarks that they are in a hurry. A famous
+soprano's wonderful high C is ruthlessly broken off short, and we
+all run to the beach and jump on the backs of boys, who carry us
+dry-shod to the boat. We are rowed to the steamer, and presently
+descend to the storeroom, which smells of calico, soap, tobacco and
+cheese. Anything may be bought here, from a collar-button to a tin
+of meat, from perfumery to a shirt, anything,--and sometimes even
+the very thing one wants. We provide for the necessities of life for
+the next month or two, hand over our mail and end our visit with a
+drink. Then the whistle blows, we scramble into the boat, and while
+my host waves his hat frantically and shouts "good-bye," the steamer
+gradually disappears from sight. My friend has "a bad headache" from
+all the excitement of the morning. I guide him carefully between the
+cases and barrels the steamer has brought, and deposit him in his bunk;
+then I retire to my own quarters to devour my mail.
+
+
+
+Some days after this we went to see a "sing-sing" up north. We rowed
+along the shore, and as my host was contributing a pig, we had the
+animal with us. With legs and snout tightly tied, the poor beast lay
+sadly in the bottom of the boat, occasionally trying to snap the feet
+of the rowers. The sea and the wind were perfect, and we made good
+speed; in the evening we camped on the beach. The next day was just
+as fine; my host continued the journey by boat, while I preferred to
+walk the short distance that remained, accompanied by the pig, whose
+health did not seem equal to another sea-voyage in the blazing sun. It
+was touching to see the tenderness with which the natives treated the
+victim-elect, giving it the best of titbits, and urging it with the
+gentlest of words to start on the walk. It was quite a valuable animal,
+with good-sized tusks. After some hesitation the pig suddenly rushed
+off, Sam, his keeper, behind. First it raced through the thicket,
+which I did not like, so I proposed to Sam to pull the rope on the
+energetic animal's leg; but Sam would not damp its splendid enthusiasm
+for fear it might balk afterwards. Sam managed, however, to direct
+it back into the path, but we had a most exhausting and exciting,
+if interesting, walk, for the pig was constantly rushing, sniffing,
+grunting and digging on all sides, so that Sam was entirely occupied
+with his charge, and it was quite impossible to converse. At last
+we proudly entered the village, and the beast was tied in the shade;
+we separated, not to meet again till the hour of sacrifice.
+
+I was then introduced to the host, a small but venerable old man,
+who received me with dignified cordiality. We could not talk together,
+but many ingratiating smiles assured each of the other's sympathy. The
+village seemed extremely pleasant to me, which may have been due to
+the bright sun and the cool breeze. The square was situated on the
+beach, which sloped steeply to the sea. Along the ridge were planted
+brightly-coloured trees, and between their trunks we could see the
+ocean, heavenly blue. On the other side were the large, well-kept
+gamals, and crowds of people in festival attire; many had come from
+a distance, as the feast was to be a big one, with plenty to eat
+for everybody.
+
+Palo, the host, was very busy looking after his guests and giving each
+his share of good things. He was a most good-natured, courteous old
+gentleman, although his costume consisted of nothing but a few bunches
+of ferns. The number of guests increased steadily; besides the real
+heathen in unadorned beauty, there were half-civilized Christians,
+ugly in ill-fitting European clothes, of which they were visibly vain,
+although they made blots on the beautiful picture of native life. All
+around the square grunted the tusked pigs.
+
+At noon four men gave the signal for the beginning of the festivities
+by beating two big drums, which called the guests to dinner. Palo
+had sent us a fowl cooked native fashion between hot stones, and,
+like everything cooked in this way, it tasted very delicious. Shortly
+afterwards the real ceremonies began, with the killing of about two
+hundred young female pigs which had been kept in readiness in little
+bamboo sheds.
+
+Accompanied by the drums, Palo led all the high-castes in dancing
+steps out of the gamal and round the square. After a few turns the
+chiefs drew up in line in front of him, and he mounted a stone table,
+while everyone else kept on dancing. His favourite wife was next
+to the table, also dancing. Palo was entirely covered with ferns,
+which were stuck in his hair, his bracelets and his belt. He still
+looked quite venerable, but with a suggestion of a faun, a Bacchus or
+a Neptune. It was a warm day, and the dancing made everybody perspire
+more than freely.
+
+Now one of the other men took hold of a little pig by the hind-legs and
+threw it in a lofty curve to one of the dancing chiefs, who caught the
+little animal, half stunned by the fall, and, still dancing, carried
+it to Palo, who killed it by three blows on the head, whereupon it
+was laid at his feet. This went on for a long time. It was a cruel
+sight. Squealing and shrieking, the poor animals flew through the
+air, fell heavily on the hard earth, and lay stunned or tried to
+crawl away with broken backs or legs. Some were unhurt, and ran off,
+but a bloodthirsty crowd was after them with clubs and axes, and soon
+brought them back. Still, one man thought this troublesome, and broke
+the hind-legs of each pig before throwing it to the chief, so that
+it might not escape. It was horrible to see and hear the bones break,
+but the lust for blood was upon the crowd, and on all sides there were
+passionate eyes, distorted faces and wild yells. Happily the work was
+soon done, and in front of Palo lay a heap of half-dead, quivering
+animals. He and his wife now turned their backs to the assembly, while
+a few high-castes counted the corpses. For each ten one lobe was torn
+off a sicca-leaf, then the missing lobes were counted, and after a
+puzzling calculation, the result was announced. Palo turned round
+and descended from his pedestal with much dignity, though panting
+from his exertions, and looking so hot that I feared an apoplexy
+for the old man. I did not know how tough such an old heathen is,
+nor that his efforts were by no means at an end. Noblesse oblige and
+such high caste as Palo's is not attained without trouble.
+
+As female pigs may not be eaten, those just killed were thrown into
+the sea by the women; meanwhile, the chiefs blew a loud blast on the
+shell-bugles, to announce to all concerned that Palo's first duty was
+accomplished. The deep yet piercing tones must have sounded far into
+the narrow valleys round.
+
+Then poles were driven into the ground, to which the tusked pigs were
+tied. Some were enormous beasts, and grunted savagely when anyone
+came near them. I saw my companion of the morning lying cheerfully
+grunting in the shade of a tree. Now came a peculiar ceremony, in
+which all who had contributed pigs were supposed to take part. To my
+disappointment, Mr. F. refused to join in. Palo took up his position
+on the stone table, armed with a club. Out of a primitive door,
+hastily improvised out of a few palm-leaves, the chiefs came dancing
+in single file, swinging some weapon, a spear or a club. Palo jumped
+down, danced towards them, chased each chief and finally drove them,
+still dancing, back through the door. This evidently symbolized some
+fight in which Palo was the victor. After having done this about
+twenty times, Palo had to lead all the chiefs in a long dance across
+the square, passing in high jumps between the pigs. After this he
+needed a rest, and no wonder. Then the pigs were sacrificed with
+mysterious ceremonies, the meaning of which has probably never been
+penetrated. The end of it all was that Palo broke the pigs' heads
+with a special club, and when night fell, twenty-six "tuskers" lay
+agonizing on the ground. Later they were hung on trees, to be eaten
+next day, and then everybody retired to the huts to eat and rest.
+
+Some hours later great fires were kindled at both ends of the square,
+and women with torches stood all around. The high-castes opened the
+ball, but there was not much enthusiasm, and only a few youngsters
+hopped about impatiently, until their spirits infected some older
+people, and the crowd increased, so that at last everybody was raving
+in a mad dance. The performance is monotonous: some men with pan-pipes
+bend down with their heads touching, and blow with all their might,
+always the same note, marking time with their feet. Suddenly one gives
+a jump, others follow, and then the whole crowd moves a number of
+times up and down the square, until the musicians are out of breath,
+when they come to a standstill. The excitement goes on until the sun
+rises. The women, as a rule, keep outside the square, but they dance
+too, and keep it up all night; now and then a couple disappears into
+the darkness.
+
+Next morning Palo, who had hardly closed his eyes all night, was very
+busy again, giving each guest his due share of the feast. The large
+pigs were dressed, cut up and cooked. This work lasted all day, but
+everybody enjoyed it. The dexterity and cleanliness with which the
+carcases are divided is astonishing, and is quite a contrast to the
+crude way in which native meals are usually dressed and devoured. We
+whites received a large and very fat slice as a present, which we
+preferred to pass on, unnoticed, to our boys. Fat is considered the
+best part of the pig.
+
+The lower jaws of the tuskers were cut out separately and handed over
+to Palo, to be cleaned and hung up in his gamal in the shape of a
+chandelier, as tokens of his rank.
+
+Palo is a weather-maker. When we prepared to go home, he promised to
+smooth the sea, which was running too high for comfort, and to prevent
+a head-wind. We were duly grateful, and, indeed, all his promises were
+fulfilled: we had a perfectly smooth sea, and such a dead calm that
+between the blue sky and the white sea we nearly fainted, and had to
+row wearily along instead of sailing. Just as we were leaving, Palo
+came to the bank, making signs for us to come back, a pretty custom,
+although it is not always meant sincerely.
+
+Late at night we arrived at home once more.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+CLIMBING SANTO PEAK
+
+
+Some days later I left Talamacco for Wora, near Cape Cumberland,
+a small station of Mr. D.'s, Mr. F.'s neighbour. What struck me most
+there were the wide taro fields, artificially irrigated. The system
+of irrigation must date from some earlier time, for it is difficult to
+believe that the population of the present day, devoid as they are of
+enterprise, should have laid it out, although they are glad enough to
+use it. The method employed is this: Across one of the many streams
+a dam of great boulders is laid, so that about the same amount of
+water is constantly kept running into a channel. These channels are
+often very long, they skirt steep slopes and are generally cut into
+the earth, sometimes into the rock; sometimes a little aqueduct is
+built of planks, mud and earth, supported by bamboo and other poles
+that stand in the valley. In the fields the channel usually divides
+into several streams, and runs through all the flat beds, laid out in
+steps, in which the taro has only to be lightly stuck to bring forth
+fruit in about ten months. Taro only grows in very swampy ground,
+some varieties only under water, so that it cannot be grown in the
+coral region, where there is plenty of rain, but no running water. In
+these districts yam is the principal food, while we find taro in the
+mountains of primary rock. Both are similar in taste to the potato.
+
+
+
+My next journey led me across the peninsula to the west coast of
+Santo. As usual, it was a very rainy day when we started, but once
+across the divide the air became much drier. The clouds, driven by
+the south-east trade-wind, strike the islands on the east side,
+and this is the reason why the east coast is so much damper than
+the west, and why the vegetation is so immoderately thick on the
+one side, and much less luxuriant on the other. On the west side
+the bush is thinner and there are wide stretches of reed-grass,
+but there is plenty of water, bright creeks fed by the rainfall on
+the mountains. Here, on the coast, it was much warmer than where we
+had come from, but the air was most agreeable, dry and invigorating,
+quite different from the damp, heavy air on the other side.
+
+Late at night, after a long walk on the warm beach sand, we reached
+the village of Nogugu. Next day Mr. G., a planter, was good enough to
+take me with him in his motor-boat, southward along the coast. High
+mountains came close to the shore, falling in almost perpendicular
+walls straight down into the sea. Deep narrow valleys led inland into
+the very heart of the island. Several times, when we were passing
+the openings of these valleys, a squall caught us, and rain poured
+down; then, again, everything lay in bright sunshine and the coast
+was picturesque indeed with its violet shadows and reddish rocks. The
+only level ground to be seen was at the mouths of the valleys in the
+shape of little river deltas.
+
+The village to which we were going was on one of these deltas. Hardly
+had we set foot on shore than a violent earthquake almost threw us
+to the ground. The shock lasted for at least thirty seconds, then
+we heard a dull rumbling as of thunder, and saw how all along the
+coast immense masses of earth fell into the sea from the high cliffs,
+so that the water boiled and foamed wildly. Then yellow smoke came
+out of all the bays, and hung in heavy clouds over the devastated
+spots, and veiled land and sea. Inland, too, we saw many bare spots,
+where the earth and trees had slipped down. The shocks went on all
+night, though with diminished violence, and we continually heard the
+thunderous rattling of falling rocks and earth.
+
+Next day we stopped at the village of Wus, and I persuaded a dainty
+damsel (she was full-grown, but only 134.4 cm. high) to make me a
+specimen of pottery. It was finished in ten minutes, without any tool
+but a small, flat, bamboo splinter. Without using a potter's wheel
+the lady rounded the sides of the jar very evenly, and altogether
+gave it a most pleasing, almost classical shape.
+
+When we returned south we could see what damage the earthquake had
+done. All the slopes looked as if they had been scraped, and the sea
+was littered with wood and bushes. We also experienced the disagreeable
+sensation of an earthquake on the water. The boat suddenly began to
+shake and tremble, as if a giant hand were shaking it, and at the same
+time more earth fell down into the water. The shocks recurred for
+several weeks, and after a while we became accustomed to them. The
+vibrations seemed to slacken and to become more horizontal, so that
+we had less of the feeling of being pushed upwards off our feet,
+but rather that of being in an immense swing. For six weeks I was
+awakened almost every night by dull, threatening thunder, followed
+some seconds later by a shock.
+
+Another village where pottery was made was Pespia, a little inland. The
+chief obligingly gathered the scattered population, and I had ample
+opportunity to buy pots and watch the making of them. The method is
+different from that at Wus, for a primitive wheel, a segment of a
+thick bamboo, is used. On this the clay is wound up in spirals and
+the surface smoothed inside and out. This is the method by which
+most of the prehistoric European pottery was made. The existence of
+the potter's art in these two villages only of all the New Hebrides
+is surprising. Clay is found in other districts, and the idea that
+the natives might have learnt pottery from the Spaniards lacks
+all probability, as the Spaniards never visited the west coast of
+Santo. The two entirely different methods offer another riddle.
+
+I made my way back along the coast, round Cape Cumberland. One of my
+boys having run away, I had to carry his load myself, and although
+it was not the heaviest one, I was glad when I found a substitute
+for him. This experience gave me an insight into the feelings of a
+tired and discontented carrier.
+
+At Wora I found that my host had returned to his station near
+Talamacco. So I returned to Talamacco by boat; the earthquake had
+been very violent there, and had caused the greatest damage, and I
+heard that all the new houses of the Messrs. Thomas at Hog Harbour
+had been ruined.
+
+Times had been troublous in other respects at Talamacco; the natives,
+especially the Christians, were fighting, and one Sunday they were
+all ready, looking very fierce, to attack each other with clubs and
+other weapons, only neither side dared to begin. I asked them to do
+the fighting out in the open, so that I could take a picture of it,
+and this cooled them down considerably. They sat down and began a
+long palaver, which ended in nothing at all, and, indeed, no one
+really knew what had started the excitement.
+
+In spite of the supercargo's announcement that the steamer would
+arrive on the twentieth, she did not come till the first of the
+following month. This kept me constantly on the look out and ready
+for departure, and unable to do anything of importance. At last we
+sailed, touching the Banks Islands on our route; and after enjoying
+a few days of civilization on board, I went ashore at Tassimaloun,
+on the south-west corner of Santo, where I had the pleasure of being
+Mr. C.'s guest. My object there was to follow the traces of the pygmy
+population, but as the natives mostly live inland, and only rarely come
+to the coast, I had to go in search of them. At that time I was often
+ill with fever, and could not do as much as I could have wished. Once
+I tried to reach the highest mountain of the islands, Santo Peak,
+but my guides from the mission village of Vualappa led me for ten
+days through most uninteresting country and an unfriendly population
+without even bringing me to the foot of the mountain. I had several
+unpleasant encounters with the natives, during one of which I fully
+expected to be murdered, and when our provisions were exhausted we had
+to return to the coast. But every time I saw the tall pyramid of Santo
+Peak rising above the lower hills I longed to be the first European
+to set foot on it, and I tried it at last from the Tassiriki side.
+
+After long consultations with the natives, I at last found two men
+who were willing to guide me to the mountain. I decided to give up
+all other plans, and to take nothing with me but what was strictly
+necessary. On the second day we climbed a hill which my guides insisted
+was the Peak, the highest point of the island. I pointed out a higher
+summit, but they said that we would never get up there before noon,
+and, indeed, they did everything they could to delay our advance,
+by following wrong trails and being very slow about clearing the
+way. Still, after an hour's hard work, we were on the point in
+question, and from there I could see the real Santo Peak, separated
+from us by only one deep valley, as far as I could judge in the tangle
+of forest that covered everything. The guides again pretended that we
+were standing on the highest mountain then, and that it would take
+at least a fortnight to reach the real Peak. I assured them that I
+meant to be on its top by noon, and when they showed no inclination
+whatever to go on, I left them and went on with my boys. We had to
+dive into a deep ravine, where we found a little water and refilled
+our bottles. Then we had to ascend the other side, which was trying,
+as we had lost the trail and had to climb over rocks and through the
+thickest bush I ever met. The ground was covered with a dense network
+of moss-grown trunks that were mouldering there, through which we
+often fell up to our shoulders, while vines and ferns wound round
+our bodies, so that we did our climbing more with our arms than with
+our feet. After a while one of the guides joined us, but he did not
+know the way; at last we found it, but there were many ups and downs
+before we attained the summit. The weather now changed, and we were
+suddenly surrounded by the thick fog that always covers the Peak before
+noon. The great humidity and the altitude combine to create a peculiar
+vegetation in this region; the tree-ferns are tremendously developed,
+and the natives pretend that a peculiar species of pigeon lives here.
+
+I was surprised to find any paths at all up here; but the natives come
+here to shoot pigeons, and several valleys converge at Santo Peak,
+so that there are important passes near its summits. One of my boys
+gave out here, and we left him to repose. The rest of the way was not
+difficult, but we were all very tired when we reached the top. There
+was another summit, a trifle higher, separated from the first by
+a long ridge, but we contented ourselves with the one we were on,
+especially as we could see absolutely nothing. I was much disappointed,
+as on a clear day the view of Santo and the whole archipelago must
+be wonderful. I deposited a bottle with a paper of statistics,
+which some native has probably found by this time. We were wet and
+hungry, and as it was not likely that the fog would lift, we began the
+descent. Without the natives I never could have found the way back in
+the fog; but they followed the path easily enough, and half-way down
+we met the other guides coming slowly up the mountain. They seemed
+pleased to have escaped the tiresome climb; possibly they may have
+had other reasons for their dislike of the Peak. They were rather
+disappointed, I thought, that I had had my way in spite of their
+resistance. They now promised to lead us back by another route, and
+we descended a narrow valley for several hours; then came a long halt,
+as my guides had to chat with friends in a village we passed. At last
+I fairly had to drive them away, and we went down another valley,
+where we found a few women bathing in a stream, who ran away at the
+sight of us. We bathed, and then enjoyed an excellent meal of taro,
+which one of the guides had brought from the village. Before leaving,
+one of my boys carefully collected all the peelings of my food, and
+threw them into the river, so that I might not be poisoned by them,
+he said. A last steep climb ended the day's exertions, and we entered
+the village where we were to sleep. While the guides bragged to the
+men of their feats, the women brought us food and drink, and I had
+a chance to rest and look about me.
+
+I was struck by the great number of women and the very small number
+of men in this place; after a while I found out the reason, which was
+that ten of the men had been kidnapped by a Frenchman while on their
+way to a plantation on the Segond Channel, where they meant to work
+a few days. The women are now deprived of their husbands for at least
+three years, unless they find men in some other village. If five of the
+ten ever return, it will be a good average, and it is more than likely
+that they will find a deserted and ruined village if they do come back.
+
+This is one of many illustrations of how the present recruiting
+system and the laxity of the French authorities combine to ruin the
+native population. (I have since heard that by request of the British
+authorities these men were brought back, but only after about nine
+months had passed, and without receiving any compensation. Most
+kidnapping cases never come to the ears of the authorities at all.)
+
+As our expedition was nearly at an end, and I had no reason to
+economize my provisions, I gave some to the villagers, and the
+women especially who had hardly ever tasted rice or tinned meat,
+were delighted. One old hag actually made me a declaration of love,
+which, unfortunately, I could not respond to in the same spirit.
+
+Night crept across the wide sea, and a golden sunset was followed by a
+long afterglow. Far away on the softly shining silver we saw a sail,
+small as a fly, that drifted slowly seaward and was swallowed up by
+the darkness, from which the stars emerged one by one. The women had
+disappeared in the huts; the men were sitting outside, around the
+fires, and, thinking I was asleep, talked about me in biche la mar.
+
+First they wondered why a man should care to climb up a mountain
+simply to come down again; and my boys told them of all my doings,
+about my collecting curios and skulls, of my former wanderings and the
+experiences we had had, and how often the others had tried to shoot
+me, etc. In short, I found out a great many things I had never known,
+and I shivered a little at hearing what I had escaped, if all the
+boys said was true. At last, when I had been sufficiently discussed,
+which was long after midnight, they lay down, each beside a small fire,
+and snored into the cool, clear night.
+
+The following morning was brilliantly fine. We took a hearty leave
+of our hosts, and raced, singing and shouting, down the steep hills,
+and so home. The fine weather was at an end. The sky was cloudy, the
+barometer fell and a thin rain pierced everything. Two days later the
+steamer arrived, and I meant to go aboard, but a heavy swell from the
+west set in, such as I had never seen before, although not a breath of
+wind was stirring. These rollers were caused by a cyclone, and gave us
+some idea of its violence. I despaired of ever reaching the steamer,
+but Mr. B. was an expert sailor, and making the most of a slight lull,
+he brought me safely through the surf and on board. His goods, however,
+could not be loaded on to the steamer, which immediately sailed. We
+passed New Year's Eve and New Year's Day at anchor in South-West Bay,
+Malekula, while a terrific gale whipped the water horizontally toward
+the ship and across the deck. We spent gloomy holidays, shut up in the
+damp, dark steamer, unable to stay on deck, restless and uncomfortable
+below. How one learns to appreciate the British impassiveness which
+helps one, in such conditions, to spend a perfectly happy day with
+a pipe and a talk about the weather!
+
+On the morning of the third day we lay off the east coast of Malekula,
+on a blue, shining sea, with all the landscape as peaceful and bright
+as if there were no such thing as a cyclone in the world.
+
+I landed, packed my collections, which I had left in Vao, and, with the
+help of a missionary, I reached Bushman Bay, whence Mr. H. kindly took
+me to Vila. There H.B.M. Resident Commissioner, Mr. Morton King, did
+me the honour of offering me his hospitality, so that I was suddenly
+transplanted to all the luxuries of civilized life once more. I spent
+the days packing the collections awaiting me at Vila, and which I found
+in fairly good condition; the evenings were passed in the interesting
+society of Mr. King, who had travelled extensively and was an authority
+on matters relating to the Orient. He inspired me with admiration
+for the British system of colonial politics with its truly idealistic
+tendencies. The weeks I spent at Port Vila will always be a pleasant
+memory of a time of rest and comfort and stimulating intercourse.
+
+In February I left for Nouméa, where I hoped to meet two friends and
+colleagues, Dr. Fritz Sarasin and Dr. Jean Roux, who were coming to
+New Caledonia in order to pursue studies similar to mine. The time I
+spent with them was rich in interest and encouragement, and in March
+I returned to the New Hebrides with renewed energy.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+AMBRYM
+
+
+It was a miserable little boat in which I sailed from Nouméa. We
+were to have started on a Monday, but it was Friday before we
+got off. The boat was overloaded. On deck there was a quantity of
+timber, also cattle, pigs, sheep and calves, all very seasick and
+uncomfortable. The deck was almost on a level with the water, and even
+while still inside the reef occasional waves broke over the gunwale
+and flooded the ship. At nightfall we entered the open ocean. Now
+the waves began to pour on to the deck from all sides, and the bow
+of the vessel dived into the sea as if it were never going to rise
+again. The night was dark, shreds of cloud raced across a steel-grey
+sky, while a greenish patch showed the position of the moon. At the
+horizon glistened an uncertain light, but the sea was a black abyss,
+out of which the phosphorescent waves appeared suddenly, rolled
+swiftly nearer and broke over the ship as if poured down from above.
+
+I looked on without another thought save that of pity for the poor sick
+calves, when the captain whispered in my ear that things looked bad,
+as the ship was much too heavily loaded. In the darkness I could see
+nothing but that the boat was very deep in the water, and that her
+bow, instead of rising on the waves, dug into them. On deck a quantity
+of water ran backward and forward in a wave as high as the bulwarks,
+and it seemed as if the ship could scarcely right herself when once
+she lay over on one side. The growing excitement of the captain,
+his nervous consultations with the engineer and the supercargo, were
+most uncomfortable; presently the passengers began to take part in
+the deliberations, and to observe the behaviour of the ship. As our
+course gave us a sidewise current, the captain ordered the sails to be
+hoisted, in order to lessen the rolling; but the sea was too heavy,
+and we shipped still more water and rolled alarmingly. The captain
+sighed, ran hither and thither, then lowered the sails and took a
+more westerly course, in the direction of one of the Loyalty Islands;
+thus we had the current from behind, which made things still worse,
+as the sea, rolling along the ship, filled the deck from both sides;
+and as the bulwarks were blocked up by the lumber, the water could
+not run off, thus adding an enormous weight to the already overloaded
+ship; the water ran forward, pressing down the bow, while the stern
+reared upward.
+
+When the captain saw the state of affairs, he lost his head completely,
+and began to lament piteously: "We do not want to drown, no, we do not
+want to drown; but we are going to. Oh, my poor wife and children! Do
+you like to drown, doctor?" I denied this energetically, but I could
+not help looking at the dark sea and trying to get used to the idea of
+a closer acquaintance with it. The feeling of insecurity was increased
+by the knowledge that the boat was old and in poor repair, and might
+spring a leak at any moment.
+
+Meanwhile the skipper had turned her round and was making headway
+against the waves, but still her bow would not lift, and the captain
+wept still more. His womanish behaviour disgusted me. At last a quiet
+passenger, an experienced sailor, gave some advice, which the skipper
+followed, and which helped matters a little, so that he regained his
+self-control to the extent of calling a general council; he announced
+that he dared not continue the voyage, and asked our consent to
+return to Nouméa. We all agreed, and about midnight we approached the
+reef. Now there are lights in the passage, but they are so poor as to
+be invisible until the traveller is already in the passage, so that
+they are of little use. We were trying to find the entrance, when the
+experienced seaman I mentioned before, who was keeping a look out,
+called out that we were close to the breakers and surrounded by the
+reef. The only thing we could do was to turn seaward again and beat
+about till daylight. After some hours the wind fell and the worst was
+over; still, the night was unpleasant enough, and frequent squalls
+kept us awake. We were all glad when the day broke and we were able
+to enter the passage. We landed at Nouméa in the finest of weather,
+and our unexpected return created quite a sensation. We passengers
+convinced ourselves that the cargo was considerably reduced before
+starting out again the next day.
+
+This time we arrived safely at Port Vila, where the British and
+French native police forces came aboard, bound for Santo, to quell
+a disturbance at Hog Harbour; and so the hapless boat was overloaded
+again, this time with passengers.
+
+Next day we arrived at Epi, and I landed at Ringdove Bay. The
+station of the Messrs. F. and H. is one of the oldest in the
+islands. Besides running a plantation, they trade with the natives,
+and their small cutters go to all the neighbouring islands for coprah
+and other produce. There is always plenty of life and movement at the
+station, as there are usually a few of the vessels lying at anchor,
+and natives coming in from all sides in their whale-boats to buy or
+sell something. From Malekula one can often see them tacking about
+all day, or, if there is a calm, drifting slowly along, as they are
+too lazy to row. When they have found the passage through the reef,
+they pull down the sails with much noise and laughter, and come to
+anchor; then the whole crowd wades through the surf to the shore,
+with the loads of coprah, and waits patiently for business to begin.
+
+On these stations, where almost everyone is squeezed into decent
+European clothes, it is a charming sight to see the naked bodies of
+the genuine savages, all the more so as only young and able-bodied
+men take part in these cruises, under the leadership of one older and
+more experienced companion. Their beauty is doubly striking beside
+the poor station hands, wrapped in filthy calico.
+
+When the coprah has been bought and paid for, they all go to the
+store, where they buy whatever they need or think they need. The
+native of the coast districts to-day goes beyond needs to luxuries;
+he buys costly silks, such as he may once have seen in Queensland,
+and he samples sewing-machines or whatever else tempts him. In
+consequence of competition, the prices for coprah and the wages of
+labour are unreasonably high, and the natives might profit greatly
+by this state of things if they knew the value of money or how to
+use it to advantage. But, as a rule, they spend it for any nonsense
+they may fancy, to the joy of the trader, who makes an average profit
+of 50 per cent. on all commodities; or else the natives economize
+to buy a pig (tusked pigs have brought as much as forty pounds),
+or they bury their money.
+
+It is astonishing how easily a native might make a small fortune
+here, and how little use he makes of his opportunities, not only
+from laziness, but also because he has no wants. Nature supplies
+food in abundance without any effort on his part, so that matches,
+tobacco, a pipe and a knife satisfy all his needs, and he can spend
+all the rest of his money for pleasure. Thus the native, in spite of
+everything, is economically master of the situation in his own country,
+and many traders have been made to realize this fact to their cost,
+when the natives, to avenge some ill-treatment, have simply boycotted
+a station. Needless to say that the traders always do their best to
+excite the natives' cupidity by exhibiting the most tempting objects,
+and, careful as the islander may be when buying necessaries, he is
+careless enough when luxuries are in question.
+
+The house of the planters is a long, low building with whitewashed
+walls, a broad, flat roof and wide verandas. Around it is an abandoned
+garden, and one feels that long ago a woman's hand must have worked
+here; but now no one cares about keeping the surroundings clean
+and pretty, and the wilderness is reclaiming its own and advancing
+steadily towards the house. Inside, the house is clean and neat;
+from the veranda there is a splendid view over the sea, in which the
+sun disappears at evening.
+
+The employés are quiet people, who have but little to say; the weather
+and speculations as to the name and destination of some far-off
+sail are their chief topics. After lunch they sit in easy-chairs,
+enjoying the breeze and reading the papers. Soon the "Bubu" calls
+to work once more, and the natives come creeping out of their huts,
+away from their ever-burning fires.
+
+The production of coprah varies greatly on the different islands. While
+on some of them there is scarcely any to be had, there are others which
+are practically covered with cocoa-nut trees; this is chiefly the
+case on islands of volcanic origin, on which springs and rivers are
+very scarce. It has been supposed that the natives, being dependent
+on the water of the cocoa-nut as a beverage, had planted these trees
+very extensively. This is not quite exact, although it is a fact that
+in these islands the natives hardly ever taste any other water than
+that of the cocoa-nut.
+
+In sun and shower, the natives work in the plantations in long rows,
+the women together with their husbands or with other women at some
+lighter task. The men dislike to be separated from their wives, for
+they are very jealous; neither do they approve of the women discussing
+their husbands among themselves. For light work the women are more
+useful, as they are more accustomed to regular work from their youth
+up than the men, who are used to spending their days in easy laziness.
+
+Towards sunset, the "Bubu" announces the end of work, and the natives
+stroll towards their quarters, simple huts of straw, where each man has
+his couch, with a trunk underneath containing his belongings. Meals
+are prepared by a cook, and the men go to fetch their rations, rice,
+yam, or taro. Sometimes there is meat, but not often, except in
+places where wild pig is plentiful. In that case, it is simplest for
+the master to send his boys shooting every Sunday, when it depends
+on themselves if they are to have meat during the coming week
+or not. After the meal, the natives sit round the fires chatting,
+gossiping and telling fairy-tales. They know stories of all sorts of
+monsters and demons, and excite each other by tales of these horrors
+to such a degree, that bad dreams or even a general panic are often
+the consequence, and the whole crowd turns out in the middle of the
+night, declaring that the place is haunted, and that they have seen
+a devil, who looked thus and so. If someone suddenly dies in a hut,
+it is worst of all. Death is invariably caused, so they all believe,
+by poison or witchcraft, and the natives will build another house
+of their own accord rather than go on living in one they consider
+haunted. If a planter loses many hands by death, his plantation gets
+a bad reputation, and the natives refuse to work there; so that it is
+to the planter's advantage to take some care of their labourers, and
+they do so to a certain extent, whereas in former years the mortality
+on French plantations was very high, as much as 44 per cent. per annum.
+
+Sometimes, especially on moonlight nights, the boys wish to dance,
+and they all go to the beach and spend the whole night singing and
+dancing. Another amusement is hunting for crayfish on the reef at
+low tide.
+
+My boys' term of service was over in a month. They were very much
+afraid of being taken to another island, which was natural in a way,
+as a savage is really not as safe in a strange place as a white
+man. Besides, they had had their desire and had seen Nouméa, so that
+there was no longer any inducement for them to stay with me. They
+accordingly became most disagreeable, slow, sulky and sleepier than
+ever, and as I could not be punishing them all day long, life with
+them became somewhat trying. It is disappointing to find so little
+gratitude, but the natives are quite unaccustomed to be treated
+better by a white man than his interest demands, so that they suspect
+a trap in every act of kindness. Under the circumstances, I thought
+it best to dismiss my boys, and, finding little of interest in Epi,
+the natives having nearly all died out, I boarded the Australian
+steamer for Ambrym.
+
+Although Ambrym is only twenty-five miles from Epi, I was five days
+on the way, so zigzag a route did the steamer pursue. But if one is
+not in a hurry, life on board is quite entertaining. The first day we
+anchored near the volcano of Lopevi, a lofty peak that rises from a
+base six kilomètres in diameter to a height of 1440 mètres, giving its
+sides an average slope of 48° which offers rather an unusual sight. The
+whole of Lopevi is rarely to be seen, as its top is usually covered
+with a thick cloud of fog or volcanic steam. It is still active,
+and but few whites have ascended it. At periods of great activity,
+the natives climb to the top and bring sacrifices to appease it,
+by throwing cocoa-nuts and yam into the crater.
+
+We touched at Port Sandwich, and then steamed along the coast of
+Malekula, calling every few miles at some plantation to discharge
+goods, horses, cattle and fowls, and take on maize or coprah. At
+last we arrived at Dip Point, Ambrym, where I was kindly received by
+Dr. B. of the Presbyterian Mission, who is in charge of the fine large
+hospital there. Its situation is not more picturesque than others,
+but the place has been made so attractive that one can hardly imagine
+a more lovely and restful sight. The buildings stand on level ground
+that slopes softly down to the beach. The bush has been cleared,
+with the exception of a number of gigantic fig trees, that overshadow
+a green lawn. Under their airy roof there is always a light breeze,
+blowing from the hills down to the sea. In the blue distance rises
+Aoba, and the long-drawn coast of Malekula disappears in the mist. A
+quieter, sweeter place for convalescents does not exist, and even the
+native patients, who are not, as a rule, great lovers of scenery,
+like to lie under the trees with their bandaged limbs and heads,
+staring dreamily into the green and blue and sunny world.
+
+Dr. B. is an excellent surgeon, famous all over the group, not only
+among the white population, but among the natives as well, who are
+beginning to appreciate his work. Formerly they used to demand payment
+for letting him operate on them, but now many come of their own accord,
+so that the hospital never lacks patients. The good that Dr. B. does
+these people can hardly be overrated, and the Presbyterian Mission
+deserves great credit for having established the hospital; but it
+is a regrettable fact that all these efforts are not strong enough
+to counteract other effects of civilization, such as alcoholism,
+which is the curse of the native race, especially on Ambrym.
+
+Although the sale of alcohol to natives is strictly prohibited by the
+laws of the Condominium, the French pay no attention to these rules,
+and sell it in quantities without being called to account. The sale of
+liquor is the simplest means of acquiring wealth, as the profit on one
+bottle may amount to five shillings. The natives of Ambrym spend all
+their money on drink, and as they are quite rich and buy wholesale,
+the results, in money for the trader and in death for the native, are
+considerable. For they drink in a senseless way, simply pouring down
+one bottle after the other, until they are quite overcome. Some never
+wake up again; others have dangerous attacks of indigestion from the
+poison they have consumed; still more catch colds or pneumonia from
+lying drunk on the ground all night. Quarrels and fights are frequent,
+and it is not a rare sight to see a whole village, men, women and
+children, rolling on the sand completely intoxicated. The degeneration
+which results from this is all the sadder, as originally the race
+on Ambrym was particularly healthy, vigorous and energetic. These
+conditions are well known to both governments, and might be suppressed
+on the French side as easily as they are on the English; but the
+French government seems to take more interest in the welfare of an
+ex-convict than in that of the native race, although the latter is
+one of the most important sources of wealth on the islands, setting
+aside all considerations of humanity. If the liquor traffic is not
+speedily suppressed, the population is doomed.
+
+Ambrym offers quite a different aspect from the coral islands, as
+its sloping sides are seamed by streams of lava, the course of which
+may be traced by the breaks in the forest, as the glowing mass flows
+slowly down to the coast, congealing in the water to peculiarly shaped
+jagged rocks. Every few hundred yards we find one of these black walls
+on the shore in which the sea foams, and the sand that covers the
+beaches is black too. In dull weather all this looks extremely gloomy,
+monotonous and imposing--the war of two elements, fire and water;
+and this dark, stern landscape is far more impressive than the gay,
+smiling coral beach with the quiet blue sea.
+
+My stay on Ambrym was very pleasant. By the help of Dr. B., I
+was enabled to find four bright boys, willing and cheerful, with
+whom I used to start out from Dip Point in the mornings, visit the
+neighbouring villages, and return loaded with objects of all sorts at
+noon; the afternoons were devoted to work in the house. The weather
+was exceptionally favourable, and the walks through the dewy forest,
+on the soft paths of black volcanic dust, in the cool, dark ravines,
+with occasional short climbs and delightful glimpses of the coast,
+were almost too enjoyable to be regarded as a serious duty.
+
+The culture of Ambrym is similar to that of Malekula, as is plainly
+shown by the natives' dress. The men wear the bark belt and the nambas,
+which they buy on Malekula; the dress of the women is the same as that
+worn in central Malekula, and consists of an apron of pandanus or
+some similar fibre, wound several times round the waist; this forms
+a thick roll, not unlike ballet skirts, but more graceful. It is a
+pretty dress, though somewhat scanty, and the "skirts" flap up and
+down coquettishly when the wearer walks. The other parts of the body
+are covered with a thick layer of soot, filth, oil, fat and smoke,
+for the Ambrymese are not at all fond of bathing.
+
+The villages are open, rarely surrounded by a hedge. The houses are
+rather close together, grouped irregularly in a clearing; a little
+apart, on a square by themselves, are the houses of the secret
+societies, surrounded by images and large drums. The dwelling-houses
+are rather poor-looking huts, with low walls and roofs and an
+exceedingly small entrance which is only to be passed through on
+one's hands and knees. Decency demands that the women should always
+enter the houses backward, and this occasions funny sights, as they
+look out of their huts like so many dogs from their kennels.
+
+As a rule, the first event on my entering a village was that the women
+and children ran away shrieking and howling; those not quite so near me
+stared suspiciously, then retired slowly or began to giggle. Then a few
+men would appear, quite accidentally, of course, and some curious boys
+followed. My servants gave information as to my person and purpose,
+and huge laughter was the result: they always thought me perfectly
+mad. However, they admired me from all sides, and asked all sorts
+of questions of my boys: what was my name, where did I live, was I
+kind, was I rich, what did I have to eat, did I smoke or drink, how
+many shirts and trousers did I have, how many guns and what kinds,
+etc. The end of it was, that they either took me for a dangerous
+sorcerer, and withdrew in fear, or for a fool to be got the better
+of. In the latter case, they would run eagerly to their houses and
+bring out some old broken article to offer for sale. A few sarcastic
+remarks proved useful; but it was always some time before they realized
+what I wanted. The fine old possessions from which they did not like
+to part would suddenly turn out to be the property of someone else,
+which was a polite way of saying, "we have that, but you won't get it."
+
+In this way collecting was a very tiresome and often disappointing
+process of bargaining, encouraging, begging and flattering; often, just
+as I was going away, some man or other would call me aside to say that
+he had decided to sell after all, and was ready to accept any price.
+
+Horror and silent consternation were aroused when I asked for
+skulls. "Lots over there," they said, pointing to an enclosed thicket,
+their burying-ground. Only very rarely a man would bring me a skull,
+at the end of a long stick. Once I started on the quest myself,
+armed with a shovel and spade; as my servants were too much afraid
+of the dead to help, I had to dig for myself. A man loafed near by,
+attracted by the excited chatter of some old women. He told me sadly
+that I was digging up his papa, although it was a woman; then he
+began to help with some show of interest, assuring me that his papa
+had two legs, whereas at first I could find but one. A stranger had
+given me permission to dig, so as to play a trick on the son; but
+the latter was quite reconciled when I paid him well. For a week all
+the village talked of nothing but the white madman who dug up bones;
+I became a celebrity, and people made excursions from a distance to
+come and stare at me.
+
+Although the Suque is highly developed here, there are other secret
+societies whose importance, however, is decreasing, as they are
+being more or less absorbed by the Suque. As each of these clubs has
+its own house, we sometimes find quite a number of such huts in one
+village, where they take the place of gamals. Each Suque high caste
+has his own house, which the low castes may not enter. The caste
+of the proprietor may be seen by the material of which the hedge is
+made, the lower castes having hedges of wood and logs, the highest,
+walls of stone and coral slabs. Inside the courtyard, each man lives
+alone, served only by his wives, who are allowed to cook his food. The
+separation of the sexes is not so severe on Ambrym as on Santo. On the
+whole, it would seem that in the past Ambrym had a position apart,
+and that only lately several forms of cult have been imported from
+Malekula and mingled with genuinely local rites. Even to-day, it is
+not rare for a man from Ambrym to settle for a while on Malekula, so
+as to be initiated into some rites which he then imports to Ambrym;
+and the Ambrymese pay poets large fees to teach them poems which
+are to be sung at certain feasts, accompanied by dances. Unhappily,
+I never had occasion to attend one of these "sing-songs."
+
+The originality of Ambrym has been preserved in its sculpture only. The
+material used is tree-fern wood, which is used nowhere else but in
+the Banks Islands. The type of human being represented differs from
+that on the other islands, especially as regards the more moon-shaped
+form of the head. Representations of the whole body are frequent,
+so are female statues; these I have only found again in Gaua, where
+they are probably modern inventions. Sometimes a fish or a bird is
+carved on the statue, probably as a survival of old totemistic ideas,
+and meant to represent the totem animal of the ancestor or of his
+clan. The meaning of these carvings is quite obscure to the natives,
+and they answer questions in a very vague way, so that it is probable
+that totemistic ideas are dying out in the New Hebrides.
+
+Most of the statues are meant to represent an ancestor. If a native is
+in trouble, he blows his whistle at nightfall near the statue, and if
+he hears a noise, he thinks the spirit of the ancestor has approached
+and entered the statue, and he proceeds to tell the statue his sorrows
+and ask the spirit for help. Occasionally sacrifices are made to the
+figures, as is shown by the pigs' jaws frequently found tied to them.
+
+The Ambrymese conceptions of the spirit world are very similar to
+those of other islanders. The native likes to wear on his back or
+chest or arm the tusks of the most valuable pigs he has sacrificed,
+and has them buried with him, so that in the other world he may at
+any time be able to prove how much he respected his ancestors.
+
+The centre of the dancing grounds is generally occupied by the big
+drums, not quite so numerous but better made than those of Malekula. By
+the drums, too, the caste of the proprietor may be recognized: the
+higher his standing, the more heads are carved on them. Horizontal
+drums are sometimes found, but they are always small, and only serve
+to accompany the sound of the larger ones.
+
+There are usually a few men sitting round the drums, playing games. One
+game is played by two men sitting opposite to each other; one sticks
+a small shell into the ground, and his opponent tries to hit it with
+another. There does not seem to be any winning or losing, as in our
+games, but they keep it up for hours and even days. Another favourite
+game borders on the marvellous. One man has six shells and the other
+five. Each in turn puts a shell on the ground, and when they have
+all been dealt, each in turn picks up one at a time, when the one who
+had six before has five, and the one who had only five has six. They
+stare at each other, wonder, and try it again; behold, the one who
+had six at the beginning has five now and the other six. They try
+again and again, and each time the shell changes hands, and nobody
+can explain how on earth it could have jumped from one man to the
+other. It seems too strange to be natural, and while a cold shiver
+creeps up their backs, they play on and on, with ever new delight
+and wonder. At such enviable pastimes these people spend their days
+and kill time, which would otherwise hang heavy on their hands. Tops,
+nicely made from nuts, are a popular toy; and there are other games,
+more sportsmanlike, such as throwing reeds to a distance, and throwing
+wooden shells, at which two villages often compete against each other.
+
+After I had exhausted the surroundings of Dip Point, I marched along
+the coast to Port Vato, where I lived in an abandoned mission house,
+in the midst of a thickly populated district. At present, the people
+are quiet, and go about as they please; but not long ago, the villages
+lived in a constant state of feud among themselves, so that no man
+dared go beyond his district alone, and the men had to watch the
+women while they were at work in the fields, for fear of attack. The
+sense of insecurity was such that many people who lived in villages
+only twenty minutes' walk from the coast had never seen the ocean. The
+population as a whole enjoys the state of peace, which the missionaries
+have brought about, though there are always mischief-makers who try
+to create new feuds, and there is no doubt that the old wars would
+break out anew, if the natives were left to themselves.
+
+These disturbances were not very destructive in the days of the old
+weapons; it is only since the introduction of firearms that they
+have become a real danger to the race as a whole. They even had their
+advantages, in forcing the men to keep themselves in condition, and
+in providing them with a regular occupation, such as preparing their
+weapons, or training, or guarding the village and the women. With the
+end of the feuds, the chief occupation of the men disappeared, and but
+few of them have found any serious work to take up their time. Thus
+civilization, even in its role of peace-maker, has replaced one evil
+by another.
+
+In this district, I could go about with my servants wherever I pleased;
+only one Santo boy I had with me did not feel safe, and suddenly
+developed great interest in cooking, which allowed him to stay at
+home while the rest of us went on expeditions. His cooking was not
+above reproach; he would calmly clean a dirty cup with his fingers,
+the kitchen towels occasionally served as his head-dress, and one day
+he tried to make curry with some iodoform I had left in a bottle on
+the table. However, I had learned long ago not to be too particular,
+and not to take too much interest in the details of the kitchen.
+
+An exceptionally bright man had offered me his services as guide,
+and with his help I obtained many objects I would never have found
+alone. He had a real understanding of what I wanted, and plenty
+of initiative. He made the women bring their modest possessions,
+and they approached, crawling on their hands and knees, for they
+are not allowed to walk before the men. Later on the men appeared
+with better things. It is an odd fact that all over the archipelago
+the owner rarely brings things himself, but generally gives them
+to a friend. This may be due to the desire to avoid the ridicule
+they would surely be exposed to if their possessions were to be
+refused. The extreme sensitiveness and pride with which the natives
+feel every refusal and are deeply hurt by any rebuke, may surprise
+those who look on them as savages, incapable of any finer sentiment;
+but whoever learns to know them a little better will find that they
+have great delicacy of feeling, and will be struck by the politeness
+they show a stranger, and by the kind and obliging way in which they
+treat each other. It must be admitted that this is often enough
+only a veneer, under which all sorts of hatred, malice, and all
+uncharitableness are hidden, just as among civilized people; still,
+the manners of the crudest savages are far superior to those of most
+of the whites they meet.
+
+One sign of this sensitiveness is their reluctance to express any
+desire, for fear of a refusal. I saw a daily illustration of this, when
+my boys wanted the tin of meat for dinner which was their due. Although
+they might have taken it themselves, a different boy came each day
+to the room where I was writing, and waited patiently for some time,
+then began coughing with increasing violence, until I asked what he
+wanted. Then he would shyly stammer out his request. Never would they
+accost me or otherwise disturb me while I was writing or reading;
+yet at other times they could be positively impertinent, especially
+if excited. The islander is very nervous; when he is quiet, he is shy
+and reticent, but once he is aroused, all his bad instincts run riot,
+and incredible savageness and cruelty appear. The secret of successful
+treatment of the natives seems to be to keep them very quiet, and never
+to let any excitement arise, a point in which so many whites fail.
+
+They are very critical and observant, and let no weakness pass without
+sarcastic comment; yet their jokes are rarely offensive, and in the
+end the victim usually joins in the general laughter. On the whole,
+the best policy is one of politeness, justice and consistency; and
+after many years, one may possibly obtain their confidence, although
+one always has to be careful and circumspect in every little detail.
+
+In general, the Ambrymese are more agreeable than the Santo
+people. They seem more manly, less servile, more faithful and reliable,
+more capable of open enmity, more clever and industrious, and not
+so sleepy.
+
+Assisted by my excellent guide, I set about collecting, which was not
+always a simple matter. I was very anxious to procure a "bull-roarer,"
+and made my man ask for one, to the intense surprise of the others;
+how could I have known of the existence of these secret and sacred
+utensils? The men called me aside, and begged me never to speak
+of this to the women, as these objects are used, like many others,
+to frighten away the women and the uninitiated from the assemblies
+of the secret societies. The noise they make is supposed to be the
+voice of a mighty and dangerous demon, who attends these assemblies.
+
+They whispered to me that the instruments were in the men's house,
+and I entered it, amid cries of dismay, for I had intruded into their
+holy of holies, and was now standing in the midst of all the secret
+treasures which form the essential part of their whole cult. However,
+there I was, and very glad of my intrusion, for I found myself in a
+regular museum. In the smoky beams of the roof there hung half-finished
+masks, all of the same pattern, to be used at a festival in the near
+future; there was a set of old masks, some with nothing left but
+the wooden faces, while the grass and feather ornaments were gone;
+old idols; a face on a triangular frame, which was held particularly
+sacred; two perfectly marvellous masks with long noses with thorns,
+carefully covered with spider-web cloth. This textile is a speciality
+of Ambrym, and serves especially for the preparation and wrapping of
+masks and amulets. Its manufacture is simple: a man walks through the
+woods with a split bamboo, and catches all the innumerable spider-webs
+hanging on the trees. As the spider-web is sticky, the threads cling
+together, and after a while a thick fabric is formed, in the shape
+of a conical tube, which is very solid and defies mould and rot. At
+the back of the house, there stood five hollow trunks, with bamboos
+leading into them. Through these, the men howl into the trunk, which
+reverberates and produces a most infernal noise, well calculated to
+frighten others besides women. For the same purpose cocoa-nut shells
+were used, which were half filled with water, and into which a man
+gurgled through a bamboo. All this was before my greedy eyes, but I
+could obtain only a very few articles. Among them was a bull-roarer,
+which a man sold me for a large sum, trembling violently with fear,
+and beseeching me not to show it to anybody. He wrapped it up so
+carefully, that the small object made an immense parcel. Some of the
+masks are now used for fun; the men put them on and run through the
+forest, and have the right to whip anybody they meet. This, however,
+is a remnant of a very serious matter, as formerly the secret societies
+used these masks to terrorize all the country round, especially people
+who were hostile to the society, or who were rich or friendless.
+
+These societies are still of great importance on New Guinea, but here
+they have evidently degenerated. It is not improbable that the Suque
+has developed from one of these organizations. Their decay is another
+symptom of the decline of the entire culture of the natives; and other
+facts seem to point to the probability that this decadence may have
+set in even before the beginning of colonization by the whites.
+
+My visit to the men's house ended, and seeing no prospects of acquiring
+any more curiosities, I went to the dancing-ground, where most of the
+men were assembled at a death-feast, it being the hundredth day after
+the funeral of one of their friends. In the centre of the square,
+near the drums, stood the chief, violently gesticulating. The crowd
+did not seem pleased at my coming, and criticized me in undertones. A
+terrible smell of decomposed meat filled the air; evidently they
+had all partaken of a half-rotten pig, and the odour did not seem to
+trouble them at all.
+
+The chief was a tall man, bald-headed, wearing the nambas, of larger
+size than those of the others, and with both arms covered with pigs'
+tusks to show his rank. He looked at me angrily, came up to me, and
+sat down, not without having first swept the ground with his foot,
+evidently in order not to come into contact with any charm that an
+enemy might have thrown there. One of the men wanted me to buy a
+flute, asking just double what I was willing to give; seeing that I
+did not intend to pay so much, he made me a present of the flute,
+and seemed just as well pleased. Still, the others stared at me
+silently and suspiciously, until I offered some tobacco to the chief,
+which he accepted with a joke, whereat everybody laughed and the ice
+was broken. The men forgot their reserve, and talked about me in
+loud tones, looking at me as we might at a hopelessly mad person,
+half pitying, half amused at his vagaries. The chief now wished to
+shake hands with me, though he did not trouble to get up for the
+ceremony. We smiled pleasantly at each other, and then he took me
+to his house, which, according to his high rank, was surrounded by
+a stone wall. He rummaged about inside for a long time, and finally
+brought out a few paltry objects; I thought best to pay well for them,
+telling him that as he was a "big fellow-master," I was ready to
+pay extra for the honour of having a souvenir of him. This flattered
+him so much that he consented to have his photograph taken; and he
+posed quite cleverly, while the others walked uneasily around us,
+looking at the camera as if it were likely to explode at any moment;
+and as none of them dared have his picture taken, I left.
+
+Rounding a bend of the path on my way home, I suddenly came upon a
+young woman. First she looked at me in deadly fright, then, with a
+terrified cry, she jumped over the fence, and burst into hysterical
+laughter, while a dozen invisible women shrieked; then they all ran
+away, and as I went on, I could hear that the flight had ceased and the
+shrieks changed to hearty laughter. They had taken me for a kidnapper,
+or feared some other harm, as was natural enough with their experience
+of certain kinds of white men.
+
+Walking along, I heard the explosions of the volcano like a far-away
+cannonade. The dull shocks gave my walk a peculiar solemnity, but the
+bush prevented any outlook, and only from the coast I occasionally
+saw the volcanic clouds mounting into the sky.
+
+From the old mission-house the view on a clear day is splendid. On
+the slope stand a few large trees, whose cleft leaves frame
+the indescribably blue sea, which breaks in snowy lines in
+the lava-boulders below. Far off, I can see Malekula, with its
+forest-covered mountains, and summer clouds hanging above it. It
+is a dreamlike summer day, so beautiful, bright and mild as to be
+hardly real. One feels a certain regret at being unable to absorb
+all the beauty, at having to stand apart as an outsider, a patch on
+the brightness rather than a part of it.
+
+At night the view is different, but just as enchanting. A fine dust
+from the volcano floats in the air and the pale moonlight plays softly
+on the smooth surface of the bay, filling the atmosphere with silver,
+so that everything shines in the white light, the long, flat point,
+the forest; even the bread-fruit tree on the slope, whose outline cuts
+sharply into the brightness, is not black, but a darker silver. In
+the greenish sky the stars glitter, not sharply as they do elsewhere,
+but like fine dots, softly, quietly, as if a negligent hand had
+sprinkled them lightly about. And down by the water the breakers
+roll, crickets cry, a flying-fox chatters and changes from one tree
+to the other with tired wings, passing in a shapeless silhouette in
+front of the moon. It is the peace of paradise, dreamlike, wishless;
+one never tires of listening to the holy tropical night, for there
+is secret life everywhere. In the quiet air the trees shiver, the
+moonlight trembles in the bushes and stirs imperceptibly in the lawn;
+and from the indistinct sounds of which the mind is hardly conscious
+the fancy weaves strange stories. We see all those creatures that
+frighten the natives under the roof of the forest, giants with crabs'
+claws, men with fiery eyes, women that turn into deadly serpents,
+vague, misty souls of ancestors, that pass through the branches and
+appear to their descendants; all that we dream of in our northern
+midsummer night wakes in tenfold strength here.
+
+Suddenly, violent shocks shake the house, explosions follow, like
+distant shots, and the thin, misty silver is changed to a red glow. The
+volcano is in action,--a dull, reddish-yellow light mounts slowly up
+behind the black trees, thick smoke rises and rises, until it stands,
+a dark monster, nearly touching the zenith, its foot still in the
+red glare. Slowly the fire dies out, the cloud parts, and it is dark
+night again, with the silver of the moon brooding everywhere.
+
+But the charm is broken by this warning from the primitive powers that
+counterbalance each other behind the peace of the tropic night. By and
+by, one grows accustomed to the uncanny neighbourhood of the volcano,
+and only the more formidable eruptions attract notice. Sometimes,
+while at work, I hear one of the boys exclaim, "Huh, huh!" to call
+my attention to the fact that a particularly violent outbreak has
+taken place; and, indeed, half the sky is a dirty red, the smoke
+rises behind the trees as if from a gigantic bonfire, and the dull
+detonations resound. The glowing lava flies high in the air, and comes
+down in a great curve. One of these performances lasted several hours,
+presaging a wonderful spectacle for my visit to the volcano, which
+was set for the next day.
+
+Several natives joined my party, evidently thinking it safer to go
+to see the "fire" in my company than alone. Yet the Ambrymese in
+general show remarkably little fear of the volcano, and regard it as
+a powerful but somewhat clumsy and rather harmless neighbour, whereas
+on other islands legend places the entrance to hell in the craters.
+
+Quite a company of us marched through the forest, accompanied by the
+cannonading of the volcano; we felt as if we were going to battle. We
+traversed the plain and mounted the foot-hills; halfway up, we observed
+an eruption, but we could see only the cloud, as the crater itself
+was hidden by hills. Through thick bush, we came to a watercourse,
+a narrow gully, formed by lava-streams. The rocks in the river-bed had
+been polished smooth by the water, and though the natives walked over
+them with ease, my nailed boots gave me great trouble, and I had to
+cross many slippery spots on my hands and knees, which greatly amused
+my companions. We passed many tree-ferns, whose dainty crowns seemed
+to float on the surface of the forest--like stars, and often covered
+the whole bush, so that the slopes looked like a charming carpet of
+the loveliest pattern. This tree, the most beautiful of the tropical
+forest, far surpasses the palm in elegance, whose crown too often
+looks yellowish and unkempt.
+
+For a few hours we followed the river, which led nearly to the edge of
+the plateau. When the path branched off, I called a halt for lunch,
+as we were not likely to find any water later on. We were now quite
+near the craters, and while we ate our rice, we heard the roaring,
+so that the boys grew nervous, till the joker of the company made
+them laugh, and then the meal absorbed their attention. Still, they
+occasionally sent furtive glances skyward, to see if any lava was
+coming down upon us.
+
+Having filled all our vessels with water, we marched on, and after a
+short ascent, found ourselves on the great plain, 650 mètres above
+sea-level, about 12 kilomètres in diameter, and shaped like a huge
+dinner-plate, a chain of hills forming the rim. It would seem that the
+whole plain was formerly one gigantic crater; now only two openings
+are left, two craters 500 and 700 mètres high, in the north-west of
+the plain.
+
+The ground consists of black, coarse-grained slag, which creaks when
+walked on, and forms a fine black dust. Naturally the vegetation
+in this poor soil is very scanty,--only bushes and reed-grass,
+irregularly scattered in the valleys between little hillocks ranged
+in rows. This arid desert-scene is doubly surprising to the eye,
+owing to the sudden change from the forest to the bare plain.
+
+In this seemingly endless plain, the two craters rise in a bold
+silhouette, grimly black. One of them stands in lifeless rigidity,
+from the top of the other curl a few light, white clouds of steam. It
+is a depressingly dismal sight, without any organic life whatever on
+the steep, furrowed slopes.
+
+We camped on a hillock surrounded by shrubs; on all sides spread the
+plain, with low hills, rounded by rain and storm, radiating from the
+craters, and where these touched, a confused wilderness of hills,
+like a black, agitated sea, had formed. The hilltops were bare, on
+the slopes there clung some yellowish moss. The farther away from the
+craters, the lower the hills became, disappearing at the edge of the
+plain in a bluish-green belt of woods.
+
+The sky was cloudy, a sallow light glimmered over the plain, and
+the craters lay in forbidding gloom and lifelessness, like hostile
+monsters. Hardly had I set up my camera, when the western giant began
+his performance. The clouds of steam thickened, detonations followed,
+and at each one a brownish-grey cloud rose out of the mountain,
+whirled slowly upwards, and joined the grey clouds in the sky. The
+mountain-top glowed red, and red lumps of lava came flying out of
+the smoke and dropped behind a hill. Then all became quiet again,
+the mountain relapsed into lifelessness, the clouds dissolved to a
+thick mist, and only the steam curled upward like a white plume.
+
+I had taken care to observe how far the lava flew, so as to know how
+near it would be safe to approach. The path towards the craters was
+the continuation of the one we had followed, and led to the north
+shore of the island, passing between the craters. It is remarkable
+that the natives should dare to use this road, and indeed it is not
+much travelled; but it speaks for the courage of the first man who
+had the courage to cross the plain and pass between the craters. The
+sharp points of the lava caused great suffering to the bare-footed
+natives, and here I had the advantage of them for once, thanks to my
+nailed boots.
+
+The clouds had disappeared, the sky shone deeply blue, everything
+reminded me of former trips in other deserts. The same dry air cooled
+the heat that radiated from the ground, the same silence and solemnity
+brooded over the earth, there was the same colouring and the same
+breadth of view. After the painful march through the forest, where
+every step had to be measured and watched, it was a joy to step out
+freely and take great breaths of clear, sweet air.
+
+After a short, steep climb, I reached the ridge, sharp as a knife,
+that joins the two craters, and following it, I suddenly found myself
+on the brink of the crater, from which I could overlook the great bowl,
+800 mètres wide. The inside walls fell vertically to the bottom, an
+uncanny, spongy-looking mass of brownish lava, torn, and foaming,
+and smoking in white or yellowish clouds. The opposite side rose
+much higher, and the white cloud I had seen from below floated on
+top. There was a smaller crater, the real opening, and through a gap
+in it I had a glimpse inside, but failed to see much because of the
+smoke. The general view was most imposing, the steep, naked walls,
+the wild confusion in the crater, the red and yellow precipitates
+here and there, the vicious-looking smoke from the slits, the steam
+that floated over the opening, swayed mysteriously by an invisible
+force, the compactness of the whole picture, in the gigantic frame
+of the outer walls. There was no need of the oppressive odour,
+the dull roaring and thundering and hissing, to call up a degree of
+reverent admiration, even fear, and it required an effort of will
+to stay and grow used to the tremendous sight. The first sensation
+on seeing the crater is certainly terror, then curiosity awakens,
+and one looks and wonders; yet the sight never becomes familiar, and
+never loses its threatening aspect. Still, the inner crater may be
+a disappointment. From a distance, we see the great manifestations,
+the volcano in action, when its giant forces are in play and it looks
+grand and monumental. From near by, we see it in repose, and the crater
+looks quite insignificant. Instead of the fire we expected to see,
+we find lava blocks and ashes, and instead of the clash of elemental
+forces, we see a dark mass, that glows dully. We can hardly believe
+that here is the origin of the explosions that shake the island,
+and are inclined to consider the demon of the volcano rather as a
+mischievous clown than a thundering, furious giant.
+
+I went to the slope of the eastern crater to find a spot from which I
+might be able to photograph an eruption, and returned to camp just as
+the sun sank down in red fire, and the evening mists formed a white
+belt around the two black mountains. The tops of the craters shone
+red against a cool evening sky.
+
+Suddenly an immense cloud shot up, white and sky-high. One side of it
+shone orange in the last sunbeams, the other was dull and grey, and
+the top mingled with the evening clouds. It was a wildly beautiful
+sight, gone too soon. A hawk circled afar in the green sky, night
+crept across the plain, and soon the moon poured her silver over the
+tranquil scene. I hoped in vain to see an eruption equal to that of
+the last nights. Everything was quiet, the volcano seemed extinct,
+the fog thickened, covering the mountains and the moon. It became
+disagreeably cool, and there was a heavy dew. The natives shivered in
+their blankets, and I was most uncomfortable under a light canvas. We
+were all up long before daylight, when the volcano sent out a large
+cloud. The sun and the fog had a long struggle, when suddenly the
+clouds tore apart, and the welcome sunbeams came to warm us.
+
+I went to the spot chosen the day before and dug my camera into the
+lava and waited. My impatience was quieted by the splendid view I
+enjoyed, embracing nearly all the islands of the group: Epi, Malekula,
+Aoba, Pentecoste, and higher than all, the cone of Lopevi. All these
+floated in a soft, blue haze, and even the two craters shone in a
+violet hue.
+
+We waited for several hours, freezing in spite of the bright sun,
+between the damp, mossy walls of the gully where we sat, and the
+volcano remained quiet, merely hissing and roaring and emitting steam,
+but a real eruption did not occur then, nor for several weeks later. We
+returned to camp, packed up our things, and hurried down the slippery
+gullies and lava banks, diving back into the thick, heavy atmosphere
+of the sea-level; and at nightfall I washed off the heat and dust of
+the day in the warm waves of the ocean.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+PENTECOSTE
+
+
+The term of service of my Ambrym boys being over, I tried to replace
+them in Paama, but failed; but Mr. G. kindly took me to Epi, where
+I engaged four new boys. However, they proved as sulky as they were
+dirty, and I was disgusted with them, and quite glad they had refused
+to sign for more than a month. As they were all troubled with many
+sores, they were of very little service to me, and I gladly sent them
+home by steamer when their month was up.
+
+I returned to Dip Point, and a few days later Dr. B. escorted me to
+Olal, where I took up my quarters with Mr. D., a young Australian
+who was trying to make a living by the coprah trade. In Olal, at
+the northern point of Ambrym, the alcohol trade is particularly
+flourishing, and numerous settlers along the coast earn large sums
+by selling liquor. Everybody knows this, and numbers of intoxicated
+natives are always to be seen, so that it is somewhat surprising that
+the authorities pretend not to have sufficient proof to punish these
+traders. If ever one of them is fined, the amount is so minute that
+the sale of half a dozen bottles makes up for it, so that they go on
+as before. I myself witnessed two cases of death in consequence of
+drinking, alone and at one sitting, a bottle of pure absinthe.
+
+The house of Mr. D. was typical of the dwellings built by the
+colonists. In a circumference of about 50 mètres, the bush had
+been cleared, on a level spot somewhat off the shore and slightly
+elevated. Here stood a simple grass hut, 3 mètres wide and 6 long;
+the floor was covered with gravel, and the interior divided into
+a store-room and a living-room. On the roof lay a few sheets of
+corrugated iron, the rain from which was collected in a tank to provide
+water. A few paces off was another hut, where the coprah was smoked
+and the boys slept, and on the beach was a shed for storing the coprah.
+
+The actual work a coprah trader has to do is very small, amounting
+to little besides waiting for the natives who bring the coprah or
+the fresh nuts, to weigh them and sell his goods. Occasionally he
+may visit a distant village by boat to buy coprah there; but there is
+plenty of unoccupied time, and it is not surprising that many of the
+settlers take to drink from pure boredom. Not so Mr. D., who tried
+to educate the neighbouring natives, but with small success.
+
+I did not see much of interest here, or learn anything new about
+the natives, but I was able to obtain some interesting objects, and
+my collection of skulls was nicely started, until some one told the
+natives not to bring me any more skulls, as on the day of resurrection
+the former owners would not be able to find their heads. The same
+person created all sorts of difficulties when I attempted some
+excavations, and at last insinuated that I was a German spy. It is
+sad to see that the very people who, by virtue of their education
+and position, ought to help one most, work against one, while very
+often poor and plain people make sacrifices to help one along.
+
+A young Ambrymese who had worked for me for some days, wanted to
+enlist in my service when I left, although he grew tearful at the
+thought of Malekula, where I intended to go next, and where he was
+convinced he would be killed. Lingban was a light-haired native,
+very nice-looking, and a favourite with the ladies; this fact had
+brought him into considerable trouble, and he was obliged to leave
+his home. He stayed with me for three months, and was not killed,
+but suffered much from home-sickness. He finally settled at the south
+end of Pentecoste, whence he could see his beloved Ambrym, count the
+cocoa-nut trees on the shore and see the heavy clouds over the volcano.
+
+From Dip Point Mr. S. took me over to Aunua on Malekula, the station
+of the Rev. F. Paton, a son of the celebrated J. G. Paton, the founder
+of the Presbyterian missions in the New Hebrides. He lived there as a
+widower, devoting all his strength, time and thought to the spiritual
+and physical welfare of the natives.
+
+Malekula has the reputation of being one of the most dangerous islands
+in the group. The natives in the north, the Big Nambas, are certainly
+not very gentle, and the others, too, are high-spirited and will not
+submit to ill-treatment from the settlers. Malekula is the second
+largest island of the group, and its interior is quite unexplored. I
+could not penetrate inland, as I was unable to find boys and guides
+for a voyage they all thought extremely dangerous. Mr. Paton, who
+had traversed the island at various points, consoled me by telling
+me that the culture inland was much the same as along the coast. So
+I gave up my plan, though with some regret.
+
+Mr. Paton took me to the south end of Malekula, and left me on one of
+the flat coral islands, which are all connected under the surface by
+an extensive reef. The landscape is charming, the sea above the reef
+shining in all possible shades, and small flat islands enlivening
+the view in all directions. In these islands only Christians live,
+the few remaining heathen having retired to the mainland.
+
+Here on the south coast the strange fashion obtains of deforming the
+head. This habit is very rare in the Pacific, and restricted to two
+small districts. It is now purely a matter of fashion or vanity,--the
+longer the head, the handsomer the individual is thought to be,--but
+probably there was originally some religious or hygienic notion at
+the bottom of the peculiar custom. The operation is begun about a
+month after birth, by rubbing the child's head with grease and soot,
+and then putting on a small cap of braided pandanus fibre, which is
+very tight and allows the head to develop only in the direction of the
+crown. When the cap becomes too tight, it is cut off, and another,
+a little larger, put on, until the parents are satisfied with the
+shape of the child's head. These baby skulls have an extreme shape
+which is very ugly, and the whole process can hardly be agreeable to
+the patient; but the operation does not seem to have any prejudicial
+effect on the intellect, and in later years the shape of the head
+becomes somewhat less marked, although a man from the south of Malekula
+is always unmistakable.
+
+This region is remarkable, too, for its highly developed
+ancestor-worship. Although the general ideas on the subject are
+the same here as elsewhere in the archipelago, there is a special
+veneration here for the head or skull of deceased ancestors. The
+bones are generally used in making arrow-heads and lance-points,
+and the head, which is useless, is thrown away in most islands,
+or buried again; but in the south of Malekula, the heads are kept,
+and the face is reproduced in a plastic material of fibres, clay and
+sticky juice. The work is very cleverly done, and the face looks quite
+natural, with fine, slightly Semitic features. The surface is varnished
+and painted with patterns corresponding to the caste of the dead. Often
+the face has eyes made of bits of shell, the real hair is stuck on,
+and the plumes and nose-stick are not forgotten, so that the whole
+becomes an exact portrait of the deceased. Whether this head is to have
+a body or not is a question of caste. The higher the caste of the dead,
+the more completely is his body modelled. The heads of low castes are
+simply stuck on poles, higher ones have bodies of carved wood, often
+branches to indicate arms; but the bodies of the highest castes are
+composed of bamboo, fibres and straw, and modelled throughout in the
+same way as the head. They are covered with varnish, and every detail
+reproduced, including dress, ornaments and caste signs. In their right
+hands these statues carry a "bubu" or shell horn, and in their left,
+a pig's jaw. The shoulders are modelled in the shape of faces, and from
+these, occasionally, sticks protrude, bearing the heads of dead sons,
+so that such a statue often has three or four heads. These figures
+stand along the walls of the gamal, smiling with expressionless faces
+on their descendants round the fires, and are given sacrifices of food.
+
+Side by side with this ancestor-worship there goes a simpler
+skull-cult, by which a man carries about the head of a beloved son
+or wife, as a dear remembrance of the departed. Among a flourishing
+population it would naturally be impossible to obtain such objects,
+but here, where the people are rapidly decreasing in number, a statue
+often enough loses its descendants, whereupon others have no objection
+to sell it.
+
+The taste for plastic art shows in other things as well. I found
+several grotesque dancing-masks and sticks, made for some special
+dance. The feeling for caricature expressed in these articles is
+extraordinary and amusing even, from a European point of view. Here,
+too, the Semitic type appears, and the natives seem to delight in the
+hooked noses, thick lips and small chins. I gathered a rich harvest of
+these curios near the little island of Hambi; unfortunately Mr. Paton
+came to take me home before I had time to pack the objects carefully,
+and I had to leave them in charge of natives until the arrival of the
+steamer; when I found them again, after six months, they had suffered
+a good deal.
+
+Towards evening, while rounding the south-east corner of Malekula,
+our motor broke down, and we had neither oars nor sail. Fortunately
+the tide was in our favour, and we improvised a sail from a blanket, so
+that we drifted slowly along and reached the anchorage late at night.
+
+Mr. Paton then took me to Malo, where a Frenchman, Mr. I., was
+expecting me. On the east coast there was but little to be done,
+as the natives had nearly all disappeared; but I was able to pick
+up some skulls near a number of abandoned villages. I found very
+considerable architectural remains,--walls, mounds and altars, all
+of masonry; buildings of this importance are to be found nowhere else
+except in Aoré and the Banks Islands, and it seems probable that the
+populations of these three districts are related.
+
+I had an interesting experience here. Mr. I. and his neighbour did
+not enjoy the best of reputations as regarded their treatment of
+natives. One day Mr. I. took me over to N.'s place. N. was just
+returning from a recruiting trip to Malekula. We saw him come
+ashore, staggering and moaning; on being questioned, he told us
+that he had been attacked by the natives, and his crew eaten up. He
+was in a frightful state, completely broken, weeping like a child,
+and cursing the savages, to whom, he said, he had never done any
+wrong. His grief was so real that I began to pity the man, and
+thought he had probably been paying the penalty for the misdeeds
+of another recruiter. Mr. I. was just as emphatic in cursing the
+bloodthirstiness of the natives, but while we were going home, he
+told me that Mr. N. had kidnapped thirty-four natives at that very
+place a year before, so that the behaviour of the others was quite
+comprehensible. From that moment I gave up trying to form an opinion
+on any occurrence of the kind without having carefully examined
+the accounts of both parties. One can hardly imagine how facts are
+distorted here, and what innocent airs people can put on who are really
+criminals. I have heard men deplore, in the most pathetic language,
+acts of cruelty to natives, who themselves had killed natives in cold
+blood for the sake of a few pounds. It requires long and intimate
+acquaintance with the people to see at all clearly in these matters,
+and for a Resident it is quite impossible not to be deceived unless
+he has been on the spot for a year at least.
+
+While waiting at Dip Point for an opportunity to cross to Pentecoste,
+I saw the volcano in full activity, and one day it rained ashes,
+so that the whole country was black as if strewn with soot, and the
+eruptions shook the house till the windows rattled. I made a second
+ascent of the mountain, but had such bad weather that I saw nothing
+at all. We came back, black as chimney-sweeps from the volcanic
+dust we had brushed off the bushes. I heard later that the extinct
+eastern crater had unexpectedly broken out again, and that several
+lava streams were flowing towards the coast.
+
+Pentecoste, a long, narrow island running north and south, resembles
+Maevo in shape. My host here was a missionary who seemed to connect
+Christianity with trousers and other details of civilization. It was
+sad to see how many quaint customs, harmless enough in themselves,
+were needlessly destroyed. The wearing of clothes constitutes a
+positive danger to health, as in this rainy climate the natives are
+almost constantly soaked, do not trouble to change their wet clothes,
+sleep all night in the same things and invariably catch cold. Another
+source of infection is their habit of exchanging clothes, thus
+spreading all sorts of diseases. That morals are not improved by
+the wearing of clothes is a fact; for they are rather better in the
+heathen communities than in the so-called Christian ones. It is to be
+hoped that the time is not far off when people will realize how very
+little these externals have to do with Christianity and morality; but
+there is reason to fear that it will then be too late to save the race.
+
+We undertook an excursion into the interior, to a district whose
+inhabitants had only recently been pacified by Mr. F., my host; the
+tribes we visited were very primitive, especially on the east coast,
+where there is little contact with whites. The people were still
+cannibals, and I had no difficulty in obtaining some remnants of a
+cannibal meal.
+
+We frequently tried to obtain information about the organization of
+the family among these natives, but, being dependent on biche la mar,
+we made small progress. My observations were supplemented later by
+the Rev. Mr. Drummond, for which I am very much indebted to him;
+some of these observations may be of interest.
+
+The population is divided into two clans--the Bule and the Tabi. The
+former is supposed to have originated from the tridacna shell, the
+latter from the taro. Every individual knows exactly to which clan
+he belongs, although there are no external signs. There is a strict
+rule forbidding marriage within the clan, and an offence against this
+law was formerly punished by death; to this day, even in Christian
+districts, marriage within the clan is extremely rare. No one can
+change his clan. Children do not belong to the clan of the father,
+but to that of the mother, and property cannot be alienated from the
+clan. The father has no rights over his children, and the head of the
+family is not the father, but the eldest brother of the mother, who
+educates the boys and helps them along in the Suque. Land belongs to
+the clan, which is like a large family, and indeed seems a stronger
+organization than the family itself; but the clans live together
+in the villages, and as such they form a whole with regard to the
+outside world. Quarrels between two clans are not so rare as those
+inside a clan, and the vendetta does not act inside the clan, whereas
+a murder outside the clan must be avenged. Uncles and aunts within
+the clan are called father and mother, and the cousins are called
+sister and brother.
+
+However, this exogamic system could not prevent inbreeding, as there
+was always the possibility that uncles and nieces might marry, so
+that a "horizontal" system was superimposed across this "vertical"
+one, forbidding all marriages between different generations. Thus,
+all marriages between near relations being impossible, the chances to
+marry at all are considerably diminished, so that nowadays, with the
+decreased population, a man very often cannot find a wife, even though
+surrounded by any number of girls. I do not mean to imply by this
+that the whole clan-system was organized simply to prevent inbreeding.
+
+As I have said before, young men, as a rule, either cannot marry,
+being too poor to buy a wife, or, at best, can only afford to pay
+for an old widow, a low-priced article. The young, pretty girls are
+generally bought by old men, who often buy them when children, paying
+half the price down, and waiting till the girl is of marriageable
+age. As soon as she is old enough, she has to work for her future
+husband, and is under the care of one of his wives. Later on, the
+husband pays the rest of the money, builds a house for the girl,
+and the marriage takes place without any ceremony beyond a dinner to
+the nearest relatives of the couple. In most islands the girl cannot
+object to a match otherwise than by running away from a disagreeable
+husband. Generally, when she has run away several times, and repeated
+beatings have not changed her mind, her parents pay back the money
+and the husband gives up his wife. What is valued highest in a woman
+is her capacity for work; but the young men have a marked taste for
+beauty, and there are girls that are courted by all the young fellows
+of the village, and who, although married to an old man, accept the
+addresses of a young one. The husband does not seem to mind much,
+provided the woman continues to work well for him.
+
+There is such a thing as love even here, and it has been known to
+grow so powerful as to lead, if unrequited, to suicide or to rapid
+pining away and to death.
+
+On the whole, the women are treated fairly well by their husbands,
+but for an occasional beating, which is often provoked by foolish
+behaviour; and they are taken care of, as they represent a great
+value. There are old ruffians, however, who take a perverse pleasure in
+torturing their wives, and these unhappy women are quite helpless, as
+they are entirely in the power of their husbands. Otherwise, the fate
+of the women is not as bad as many people think, and the severest rules
+have never yet prevented Eve from finding and taking her pleasure.
+
+During babyhood the children stay with their mothers; but from the
+age of four on the boys spend most of their time in the gamal, while
+the girls remain under their mother's care. Clothes are not worn by
+the boys till they have joined the Suque, which, in some cases, takes
+place long after puberty. The girls seem to begin to wear something
+whenever the mother thinks fit, generally between the ages of four and
+seven. From that moment every connection between brother and sister
+ceases; they may not speak to each other, not meet on the road, in
+some regions not even see each other, and to mention the sister's
+name before the brother is, if not an actual insult, certainly very
+tactless. Similar rules regulate the relations between parents-
+and children-in-law.
+
+The parents are very lenient to their children, and pass over every
+impertinence; they get small thanks for their kindness, and the boys,
+especially, often treat their mothers very badly. The natives' fondness
+for children makes them very good nurses, and it is a source of the
+greatest pride to a native boy to take care of a white child.
+
+The father's death is of little importance to the children, and not
+much to their mother, who, as a rule, goes over to her husband's oldest
+brother. If the mother dies, the children are adopted by a maternal
+aunt or some other woman of the clan. One reason why all this is of
+no great importance is the far-reaching communism which is a feature
+of native life, every one sleeping and eating wherever he pleases.
+
+Mr. F. took me up north, where I wished to study the population. I must
+not omit to mention that the population of Pentecoste is divided into
+two distinct types: the people in the south are like those of Ambrym,
+those in the north resemble the inhabitants of Aoba. This is evident
+not only in the dress, but also quite distinctly in the exterior of
+the people. Yet in spite of the close relations with Ambrym, the art
+of sculpture, so highly developed in the other island, is entirely
+lacking in the south of Pentecoste.
+
+In the north we find a dress similar to that of Aoba: the men do
+not wear the nambas, while the women have a small mat around the
+waist. The art of braiding is brought to great perfection here, and
+the mats from Pentecoste are surpassed only by those from Maevo. The
+material is pandanus, whose leaves are split into narrow strips,
+bleached and then braided. Some of the mats are dyed with the root of
+a plant, by boiling in a dyeing vat of bark. Besides the small mats,
+chiefly used for the women's dress, there are larger ones which serve
+as money and represent a great amount. They are as much as 1 mètre
+wide and 4 long, and are always dyed. The manufacture of these mats is
+very laborious, and only high-caste men with many wives can afford to
+have them made. The patterns for dyeing are cut out of banana-sheath,
+which is then tied tightly on the mat, and the whole rolled round a
+thick stick. The dyeing takes almost an entire day. These mats are
+used, for example, to buy the valuable tusked pigs.
+
+The only form of wood-carving in this region are clubs, and those made
+here are the most elegant of the whole group, and so much in demand in
+all the islands that they are quite largely exported. At present they
+are mostly used as ceremonial clubs at dances. All those of modern
+make are inferior to the old ones in regard to hardness, elegance of
+shape, polish and strength. Here, in Pentecoste, I found the first
+basket-plates I had ever seen. They are frequent farther north, in
+the Banks Islands, but do not exist in the south. These plates had
+no centre, and had to be lined with leaves to make them serviceable,
+being mere rings. They are used to carry cooked food about. In the
+Banks Islands the natives have learned to braid the centre too.
+
+Up in these northern mountains I spent a most unpleasant week in wet,
+cold weather, in a wretched house; but I had the satisfaction of
+finding two boys to take the place of Lingban, who had, by this time,
+become semi-idiotic with home-sickness.
+
+I returned to the coast and waited for an opportunity to cross to Aoba,
+but the weather was so bad that even Mr. G., an old sea-dog, would not
+risk the voyage; so we tried to get to Ambrym instead, where I could
+meet the steamer for Aoba. We waited for a calm day, and started out
+in the tiny whale-boat. Soon we were caught by one after another of
+the ill-famed Pentecoste squalls, and though my skipper was known
+as one of the best sailors in the islands, one squall struck us so
+suddenly that the boat heeled over, and only a very quick turn of
+the wheel saved us from capsizing. The escape was such a narrow one
+that even Mr. G. turned pale, and decided to go back, especially as
+the boys sat on deck, quite useless, green with fear and incapable
+of helping us in any way.
+
+It took us a long time to beat back, and we were all glad to feel
+solid ground under our feet once more. After a few days we started
+again, but luck was against me on this occasion, and inside of twelve
+hours I missed the steamer no less than three times, which, in the
+New Hebrides, implies a delay of four weeks.
+
+So, in a heavy whale-boat, I rowed along the coast toward Olal with
+some natives. A dull rain drenched us, followed by glaring sunshine
+that stewed us in heavy dampness. Like the ruins of a giant wall, black
+lava blocks lay here and there along the coast. The surf foamed white
+in the crevasses, and the forest rose, sallow and greenish-yellow,
+above the high bank. Here and there naked natives squatted on the
+rocks, motionless, or looking lazily for crabs; among the huge boulders
+they looked tiny, and their colouring scarcely distinguished them
+from their surroundings; so that they seemed rather like animals, or
+the shyest of cave-dwellers. Floating slowly on the grey sea, in the
+sad broken light, I thought I had never seen a more inhospitable coast.
+
+Owing to the heavy swell, we had difficulty in passing through the
+narrow channel inside the reef. The great rollers pounded against
+the coral banks, and poured back in a thousand white streamlets,
+like a wonderful cascade, to be swallowed by the next wave.
+
+I found my friend, Mr. D., in a sad state with fever, cold and
+loneliness; wrapped up in woollen caps, blankets and heavy clothes, he
+looked more like an Arctic explorer than a dweller near the Equator. He
+spoke of leaving the islands, and, indeed, did so some months later.
+
+On my way to Aoba I had to spend a few days off Pentecoste, in such
+rainy weather that I went ashore but once in all that time. The day was
+fine, and I shall never forget the beauty of that woodland scene. A
+lovely creek winds through reeds, reflecting the bright sand and the
+bushes on its banks. Dark iron-woods rise in stiff, broken lines,
+and their greyish needles quiver like a light plume against the blue
+sky, where white clouds float serenely. Inland the forest swells in
+a green wall, and farther off it lies in rounded cupolas and domes
+of soft green, fading into a light around the distant hills. Under
+overhanging branches I lie, sheltered from the sun; at my feet the
+ripples caress the bank; delicate lianas hang from the branches
+and trail lazily in the water. Swallows dart across the stream,
+and sometimes the low call of a wood-dove sounds from far away. A
+cricket shrieks, and stops suddenly, as if shocked at the discordant
+sound of its own voice. Far off in the hills I can hear the rushing
+of the wind, like a deep chord that unites in a sacred symphony with
+the golden sun and the glittering water to voice the infinite joy of
+living that penetrates all creation to-day.
+
+Down-stream I can see the heavy coast banks, with a narrow strip of
+brilliant blue sea shining above them, and now and then a glint of
+snowy foam. Two pandanuses frame the view, their long leaves waving
+softly in the breeze that comes floating down the valley. Half asleep,
+I know the delights of the lotus-eaters' blessed isle.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+AOBA
+
+
+Next day I landed in Aoba, at "Albert's." He was an American negro,
+who, after having been a stoker and sailor, had settled here as a
+coprah trader. His language was of the strangest, a mixture of biche la
+mar, negro French and English, and was very hard to understand. With
+the help of two native women he kept his house in good order, and
+he was decidedly one of the most decent colonists of the group,
+and tried to behave like a gentleman, which is more than can be said
+of some whites. He seemed to confirm the theory that the African is
+superior to the Melanesian. Albert sheltered me to the best of his
+ability, although I had to sleep in the open, under a straw roof,
+and his bill of fare included items which neither my teeth nor my
+stomach could manage, such as an octopus. There were several other
+negroes in Aoba; one was Marmaduke, an enormous Senegalese, who had
+grown somewhat simple, and lived like the natives, joining the Suque
+and dancing at their festivals. He occasionally came to dinner at
+Albert's; this was always amusing, as Albert thought himself far
+superior to Marmaduke, and corrected his mistakes with still more
+comical impossibilities. Both were most polite and perfectly sober. The
+talk, as a rule, turned on stories of ghosts, in which both of them
+firmly believed, and by which both were much troubled. Marmaduke was
+strangled every few nights by old women, while a goblin had sat on
+Albert's chest every night until he had cleared the bush round his
+house and emptied his Winchester three times into the darkness. This
+had driven the ghosts away,--a pretty case of auto-suggestion. I
+was interested in hearing these stories, though I should hardly have
+thought a sensible man like Albert could have believed such things.
+
+The people of Aoba are quite different from those of the other
+islands,--light-coloured, often straight-haired, with Mongolian
+features; they are quite good-looking, intelligent, and their habits
+show many Polynesian traits. The Suque is not all-important here:
+it scarcely has the character of a secret society, and the separation
+of the sexes is not insisted on. Men and women live together, and the
+fires do not appear to be separated. As a result, there is real family
+life, owing in part to the fact that meals are eaten in common. The
+gamal is replaced by a cooking-house, which is open to the women;
+generally it is nothing but a great gabled roof, reaching to the
+ground on one side and open on the others. Here the families live
+during the day, and the young men and guests sleep at night, while
+the married couples sleep in their huts, which are grouped around
+the cooking-house.
+
+The position of the women, so much better here than elsewhere, is
+not without effect on their behaviour. They are independent and
+self-possessed, and do not run away from a stranger nor hide in
+dark corners when a white man wants to speak to them. Because of
+their intelligence they are liked on plantations as house-servants,
+and so many of them have gone away for this purpose that Aoba has
+been considerably depopulated in consequence; few of these women ever
+return, and those who do are usually sick. Some Aoba women have made
+very good wives for white men.
+
+The people of Aoba are remarkable for their cleanliness, the dwellers
+on the coast spending half the day in the water, while those from the
+mountains never miss their weekly bath, after which they generally
+carry a few cocoa-nuts full of salt water up to their homes. The
+women are very pretty, slim and strong; their faces often have quite a
+refined outline, a pointed chin, a small mouth and full but well-cut
+lips; their eyes are beautiful, with a soft and sensual expression;
+and the rhythm of their movements, their light and supple walk,
+give them a charm hardly ever to be found in Europe. The men, too,
+are good to look at. Considering the intelligence and thriftiness of
+the race, it is doubly regrettable that alcoholism, recruiting and
+consumption have had such evil effects of recent years.
+
+I roamed about in the neighbourhood of Nabutriki and attended several
+festivals; they are much the same as elsewhere, except that the
+pigs are not killed by braining, but by trampling on their stomachs,
+which apparently causes rupture of the heart and speedy death.
+
+As I mentioned elsewhere, a man's rise in caste is marked on every
+occasion by the receipt of new fire, rubbed on a special stick
+ornamented with flowers. Fire is lighted here, as in all Melanesia,
+by "ploughing," a small stick being rubbed lengthwise in a larger
+one. If the wood is not damp, it will burn in less than two minutes:
+it is not necessary, as is often stated, to use two different kinds
+of wood. To-day matches are used nearly everywhere, and the natives
+hardly ever "plough" their fire, except for ceremonial purposes;
+but they are still very clever about keeping the fire burning, and
+often take along a smouldering log on their walks.
+
+Wood-carving and sculpture are wanting, except in the shape of drums,
+which are placed in a horizontal position, and often reach considerable
+dimensions.
+
+Not far from Albert's lived a man of the highest caste, my friend
+Agelan. He was planning to kill one hundred tusked pigs in the near
+future, which would raise him to the highest caste far and wide,
+but would also impoverish him for the rest of his life. He lived
+quietly and comfortably, like a country squire, surrounded by his
+relatives and descendants. He seemed fond of good living, and his wife
+was an excellent housekeeper. In the midst of a somewhat colourless
+Christian population, wearing trousers and slovenly dresses, using
+enamel pots and petrol-lamps, Agelan and his household were a genuine
+relic of the good old times, and no one could have pretended that
+his home was less pleasant than those around him. These things are
+largely a matter of taste; and those who prefer grotesque attire to
+beautiful nakedness will be happy to know that their wishes will soon
+be fulfilled. I liked the old heathen, and spent a good deal of time
+with him. A sketch of his home life may not come amiss, just because
+these primitive ways are dying out so fast.
+
+As I near the house, some dogs rush out at me, and a woman's voice
+calls them back; Agelan roars a welcome--he always shouts, and likes to
+put on masterful airs; for in years gone by he was a very unpleasant
+customer, until the man-of-war--but that is all ancient history, and
+now his bark is much worse than his bite. I have the honour of being
+in his good books, thanks to certain medical services I was able to
+render him; he has an ugly cough, for which we have tried in turn:
+iodine, Peruvian balsam, eucalyptus oil, quinine, and other medicines;
+nothing helps, but he seems to enjoy swallowing the drugs.
+
+The floor of the house is hard clay; there are two fireplaces at one
+end, and at the other some large drums serve as seats. Everywhere
+in the roofing hang bows, arrows, bones, plummets, ropes, and
+clubs. Agelan has been toasting himself at a little fire of his
+own; now he rises, coughing, and shakes hands. He is a very tall,
+strongly-made man of about sixty, with a high forehead, long,
+hooked nose, wide mouth, thin lips and white beard. His dress is the
+old-fashioned loin-mat, and around his wrists he wears heavy strands
+of shell money. His wife, too, is very tall and strong, with quiet,
+dignified movements; she may be forty years old. Everything about
+her is calm and determined; while not handsome, she has such a kind
+expression as to look very pleasant. She wears a small loin-cloth, and
+her light coffee-coloured skin is scrupulously clean. Around her neck
+and over her left shoulder she wears a string of shells, and around
+her ankles, small red beads. Near her squats her little daughter,
+a pretty child of six; an adopted daughter plays near the fire with
+a small, thick-bellied orphan boy, who is always crying. The girls,
+too, wear little ornaments; and their dainty movements, curly heads,
+round faces and great dark eyes are very attractive.
+
+The midday meal is steaming under a heap of leaves and dust, and a man
+is busily scraping cocoa-nuts for the delicious cocoa-nut milk. Agelan
+sends one of the girls for an unripe nut, which is opened in three
+deft cuts, and I am offered the refreshing drink as a welcome. Now
+Agelan, who has been brooding for days over these matters, questions
+me as to my origin and plans, and he roars himself nearly hoarse,
+for we cannot understand each other. The other man, a fugitive from
+the east coast, is asked to interpret, but he is sulky and awkward;
+not that he is a bad sort, but he is sick, and spends most of his time
+asleep in a shed he has built for himself in a corner of the house,
+and only appears at meals.
+
+The youngest son comes in, the last left to Agelan, for the older
+ones have all joined the mission,--it is the fashion. This boy is a
+quiet, cheerful lad of twelve, already a high caste, for his father
+has killed many pigs for him. He has shot a miserable pigeon, and
+his mother and the girls laugh at the poor booty, much to his chagrin.
+
+Agelan now takes me to "view" a particularly fine tusked pig, tied
+under a roof, on a clean couch of straw; the boy shows it bits of
+cocoa-nut to make it open its mouth, so that I can see and admire its
+tusks. Agelan would like nothing better than to show off all his pigs,
+and if I were a native I would pass them in review as we Europeans
+visit picture-galleries; but I refuse as politely as I can. We
+return to the cook-house, where the cocoa-nut rasping is finished;
+the man washes his hands in the water of a nut, splitting it open and
+squeezing the water in a little spray on to his hands. Mrs. Agelan
+knows a simpler way; she fills her mouth with water and squirts it on
+her hands. The cocoa-nut gratings are kneaded with a little water,
+while the girls sweep the earth off the cooking-place and uncover
+the stones; an appetizing smell spreads, and the master of the house
+watches the preparations with a sharp eye and a silent tongue. One
+feels that the least carelessness will provoke an outburst, and,
+indeed, a solemn silence has fallen on the company, only the wife
+smiles quietly.
+
+"Lap-lap banana good!" Agelan roars in my ear, and I nod assent. Now
+the hot stones are removed with bamboo tongs, and the great flat
+object, wrapped in banana leaves, is taken out. Mrs. Agelan throws back
+the leaves and uncovers the beautifully cooked golden lap-lap. Her
+lord looks at it critically, and returns to his corner silent, but
+evidently satisfied. His wife cannot quite hide a smile of pride.
+
+The stranger now squeezes the cocoa-nut gratings over a wooden bowl,
+and a creamy juice runs through his fingers. The bowl is brought to
+Agelan, who looks at it as if reading an oracle; then he selects a
+hot stone from his own fire, and sends the bowl back to be embedded
+in the gratings. He approaches with his stone in a wooden fork,
+and squats down near the bowl lost in thought, as if anxious not to
+miss the right moment; then he drops the stone into the milk, which
+hisses, bubbles and steams. A fine smell of burnt fat is noticeable;
+and while the liquid thickens, Agelan behaves as if he could perform
+miracles and was in league with supernatural powers. After a while
+his wife hands him the bowl, and he holds it over the pudding,
+undecided how and where to pour the milk; one would think the fate
+and welfare of creation depended on his action. Being a man of energy,
+he makes up his mind, and pours one stream right across the pudding,
+then empties his bowl and retires with a sigh to his seat. About ten
+more bowlfuls are needed, but these are poured by Mrs. Agelan without
+further ceremony. The solemn hush is over. With a long bush-knife,
+Mama cuts the pudding into strips and squares and distributes it,
+and the meal proceeds amid general satisfaction. I am given a large
+slab; fortunately it tastes very good and is easily digestible,
+for politeness ordains that one must eat enormous quantities. At
+one stage of the proceedings the girls are sent to take some food to
+the neighbours as a present. When everyone has finished, Agelan lies
+down for a siesta, while his wife lights a pipe and squats in silent
+happiness near the fire. The girls play with the dirty little boy,
+and the son plucks his tiny pigeon and a flying-fox; singeing the
+creature's fur off occasions such an evil smell that I prefer to take
+my leave. Mrs. Agelan smiles her farewell, the girls giggle, and when
+I have gone some distance I hear Agelan, awakened from his siesta,
+roar a sleepy good-bye after me.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+LOLOWAY--MALO--THE BANKS ISLANDS
+
+
+Having traversed the western part of the island, I sailed to
+Loloway, near the eastern point, one of the loveliest spots in the
+archipelago. Lofty cliffs flank two sides of a round bay; at the
+entrance a barrier-reef breaks the swell, which glides in a soft
+undulation over the quiet water, splashing up on the sandy beach. All
+around is the forest, hanging in shadowy bowers over the water,
+and hardly a breeze is astir. The white whale-boat of the Anglican
+missionary floats motionless on the green mirror; sometimes a fish
+leaps up, or a pigeon calls from the woods. In the curve of the
+bay the shore rises in two terraces; on the lower lies the Anglican
+missionary's house, just opposite the entrance. In the evening the sun
+sets between the cliffs, and pours a stream of the purest gold through
+the narrow gap. It is a pity this fairy spot is so rarely inhabited;
+Melanesian missionaries are not often at home, being constantly on
+the road, or at work in the native villages. Mr. G., too, was on the
+point of departure, and agreed to take me with him on his trip.
+
+In his alarmingly leaky boat we sailed westward, two boys baling all
+the time. We ran into a small anchorage, pulled the boat ashore, and
+marched off inland. The people I found here were similar to those in
+the west, except that they had developed certain arts to a greater
+degree of perfection, particularly mat-braiding and tattooing. The
+braiding is done by a method very similar to that in vogue on
+Pentecoste. The tattooing is mostly done by women and on women;
+but the men, especially the high castes, often have a beautifully
+designed sicca leaf running from the chest towards one shoulder,
+which probably has some religious significance. The women often have
+their whole body, arms and legs, covered with tattooing, as if with
+fine lace. The operation is done bit by bit, some one part being
+treated every few days. The colour used is the rosin of a nut-tree
+precipitated on a cool stone and mixed with the juice of a plant;
+the pattern is drawn on the skin with a stick, and then traced with
+the tattooing-needle. This consists of three orange thorns, tied
+at right angles to a stick. The needles are guided along the design
+with the left hand, while the right keeps striking the handle softly
+with a light stick, to drive the needles into the skin. This is kept
+up until a distinct outline is produced; the operation is not very
+painful. The skin is then washed and rubbed with a certain juice,
+which evidently acts as a disinfectant; at least I never saw any
+inflammation consequent on tattooing. During the next few days some
+of the dye works out and falls off with the dry crust that forms on
+the wound, leaving the tattooing a little paler. The patterns are
+rather complicated, and at the present day there are no recognizable
+representations of real objects; yet there seems no doubt that at one
+time all the designs represented some real thing. They are carefully
+adapted to the body, and accentuate its structure. The women who do
+the tattooing are well paid, so that only the wealthy can afford to
+have their wives and daughters tattooed all over; and naturally a
+tattooed woman brings a higher price in the matrimonial market than a
+"plain" one.
+
+In this same place I had occasion to observe an interesting zoological
+phenomenon, the appearance of the palolo-worm, which occurs almost all
+over the Pacific once a year, at a certain date after the October full
+moon. The natives know the date exactly, which proves the accuracy
+of their chronology. The palolo is a favourite delicacy, and they
+never fail to fish for it. We went down to the shore on the first
+night; there were not many worms as yet, but the next evening the
+water was full of the greenish and brownish threads, wriggling about
+helplessly. Each village had its traditional fishing-ground, and we
+could see the different fires all along the coast. The worms were
+gathered by hand and thrown into baskets, and after midnight we went
+home with a rich harvest. The palolo is mixed with pudding, and said
+to taste like fish; I am not in a position to pronounce an opinion.
+
+I returned to Nabutriki, and thence to Malo, where Mr. W. informed me
+that the Burns-Philp steamer had already passed, and asked me to stay
+with him and his kind family until I should find an opportunity to
+cross. I accepted all the more gladly, as this part of Malo was still
+quite unknown to me. The population I found here is probably identical
+with that which formerly inhabited the south shore of Santo. This
+was interesting to me because of certain scientific details, though
+on the whole the life was much the same as elsewhere in Melanesia,
+with the Suque, etc. I collected a number of charms and amulets,
+which the people sold willingly, as they no longer believed in their
+power. Formerly, they were supposed to be useful for poisoning,
+as love-charms, or for help in collecting many tusked pigs.
+
+I also visited the neighbouring islands, and heard the gruesome story
+of how the last village on Aoré disappeared. The Aoré people were for
+ever at war with those of South Santo, across the Segond Channel. The
+men of Aoré were about sixty strong, and one day they attacked a
+Santo village. Everyone fled except one man, who was helpless from
+disease. He was killed and eaten up, and in consequence of this meal
+thirty out of the sixty men from Aoré died. The others dispersed among
+the villages of Malo. In Aoré, I had the rare sensation of witnessing
+an earthquake below the surface. I was exploring a deep cave in the
+coral banks when I heard the well-known rumbling, felt the shock, and
+heard some great stalactites fall from the ceiling. This accumulation
+of effects seemed then to me a little theatrical and exaggerated.
+
+The next steamer took me to the Banks Islands, and I went ashore at
+Port Patterson on Venua Lava. Here were the headquarters of a rubber
+planting company; but the rubber trees had not grown well, and the
+company had started cocoa-nuts. I had met Mr. Ch., the director,
+before, and he took me in. The company owned a motor-launch,
+which cruised all through the Banks Islands, visiting the different
+plantations; this gave me a good opportunity to see nearly all the
+islands. The sea is much more dangerous here than in the New Hebrides,
+being open everywhere; and the strong currents cause heavy tide rips
+at the points of the jagged coasts.
+
+An excursion to Gaua was a failure, owing to bad weather. After
+having shivered in a wet hut for four days, we returned to Port
+Patterson only just in time; for in the evening the barometer fell,
+a bad sign at that season, and the wind set in afresh. The launch was
+anchored in a sheltered corner of the bay, near an old yacht and a
+schooner belonging to Mr. W., a planter on a neighbouring islet. All
+the signs pointed to a coming cyclone, and suddenly it shot from the
+mountains, furrowed the sea, and ruled supreme for two days. From
+the director's house I watched the whirling squalls gliding over
+the water, lifting great lumps of spray, that shot like snow over
+the surface and disappeared in the misty distance. Rain rattled in
+showers on the roof; everywhere was a hissing, rushing, thundering;
+the surf broke in violent, irregular shocks like the trampling of an
+excited horse; the wind roared in the forest till the strongest trees
+trembled and the palms bent over with inverted crowns. In a moment
+the creeks swelled to torrents, and in every gully there ran rivers,
+which collected to a deep lake in the plain. In the house the rain
+penetrated everywhere, leaked through the roof, dripped on the beds,
+and made puddles on the floor.
+
+Meanwhile the captain and engineer of the launch had passed an
+unpleasant time; they had stayed aboard till the rolling of the boat
+drove them to the larger yacht; but seeing the schooner break her
+two chains and drift on to the reef, they became frightened and went
+ashore in the dinghey, and home along the beach. Later they arrived
+at the station and reported "all well," and were amazed when I told
+them that the launch had stranded. I had just been looking from the
+veranda through the glass at the boats, when a huge wave picked up
+the launch and threw her on the beach. There she had rolled about a
+little, and then dug herself into the sand, while the tide fell and
+the wind changed. Next day the cyclone had passed, but the swell
+was still very heavy. Equipped with everything necessary to float
+the launch, we marched along the beach, which was beaten hard by the
+waves. We had to cross a swollen river on an improvised raft; to our
+satisfaction we found the boat quite unhurt, not even the cargo being
+damaged; only a few copper plates were torn. Next day Mr. W. arrived,
+lamenting his loss; for his beautiful schooner was pierced in the
+middle by a sharp rock, and she hung, shaken by the waves that
+broke over her decks and gurgled in the hold. The rigging was torn,
+the cabin washed away, and the shore strewn with her doors, planks,
+beams and trade goods. It was a pitiful sight to see the handsome
+ship bending over like a fallen warrior, while the company's old
+yacht had weathered the cyclone quite safely.
+
+During the work of refloating the boat, Mr. Ch. was taken very ill
+with fever, and I nursed him for some days; he was somewhat better by
+Christmas Eve, and we had the satisfaction of bringing the saved launch
+back to the station. He was visibly relieved, and his good humour was
+agreeably felt by his boys as well as by his employés, to whom he sent
+a goodly quantity of liquor to celebrate the occasion. We sat down to
+a festive dinner and tried to realize that this was Christmas; but it
+was so different from Christmas at home, that it was rather hard. At
+our feet lay the wide bay, turquoise blue, edged with white surf;
+in the distance rose the wonderful silhouette of Mota Lava Island;
+white clouds travelled across the sky, and a gentle breeze rustled
+in the palms of the forest. The peaceful picture showed no trace of
+the fury with which the elements had fought so few days ago.
+
+Tired with his exertions, Mr. Ch. withdrew early, and I soon followed;
+but we were both aroused by the barking of the dogs, followed by the
+pad of bare feet on the veranda, whispering and coughing, and then by
+a song from rough and untrained throats. The singers were natives of
+a Christian village some miles away, who came to sing Christmas hymns
+in a strange, rough language, discordant and yet impressive. When
+they had finished the director went out to them; he was a man whom one
+would not have believed capable of any feeling, but he had tears in his
+eyes; words failed him, and he thanked the singers by gestures. We all
+went down to the store, where they sang to the employés, and received
+presents; after which they spent the rest of the night with the hands,
+singing, eating and chatting. On Christmas Day the natives roasted
+a fat pig, the employés spent the day over their bottles, and I was
+nurse once more, my patient being delirious and suffering very much.
+
+Before New Year's Day the launch was sent to all the different
+stations to fetch the employés, an interesting crowd of more or less
+ruined individuals. There was a former gendarme from New Caledonia, a
+cavalry captain, an officer who had been in the Boer war, an ex-priest,
+a clerk, a banker and a cowboy, all very pleasant people as long as
+they were sober; but the arrival of each was celebrated with several
+bottles, which the director handed out without any demur, although the
+amount was prodigious. Quarrels ensued; but by New Year's Eve peace was
+restored, and we all decorated the director's house with wreaths for
+the banquet of the evening. The feast began well, but towards midnight
+a general fight was going on, which came to an end by the combatants
+falling asleep one by one. Thus the new year was begun miserably,
+and the next few days were just as bad. The natives looked on at the
+fights with round-eyed astonishment; and the director was in despair,
+for a second cyclone was threatening, and there was hardly anyone in
+a fit condition to help him secure the launch.
+
+All one morning it rained, and at noon the cyclone broke, coming from
+the south-west, as it had done the first time, but with threefold
+violence. We sat on the veranda, ready to jump off at any moment,
+in case the house should be blown away. The view was wiped out by
+the mist; dull crashes resounded in the forest, branches cracked and
+flew whirling through the air, all isolated trees were broken off
+short, and the lianas tangled and torn. The blasts grew ever more
+violent and frequent, and if the house had not been protected by the
+mountain, it could never have resisted them. As it was, it shook and
+creaked, and a little iron shed went rolling along the ground like
+a die. Down in the plain the storm tore the leaves off the palms,
+and uprooted trees and blew down houses. The cyclone reached its
+climax at sunset, then the barometer rose steadily, and suddenly
+both wind and rain ceased. The stillness lasted for about half an
+hour and then the storm set in again, this time from the north,
+striking the house with all its strength; fortunately it was not so
+violent as at first. With the rising barometer the storm decreased and
+changed its direction to the east. All next day it rained and blew;
+but on the third morning the storm died out in a faint breeze from
+the south-east, and when we came to reckon up our damages, we found
+that it might have been worse. Meanwhile the employés had had time
+to recover from their orgy. A brilliant day dried the damp house,
+and soon everything resumed a normal aspect except the forest, which
+looked brown and ragged, like autumn woods at home.
+
+I made use of the first calm day to visit the lonely little islet of
+Meralava. As it has no anchorage, no one can land there except in
+quiet weather, and so it had come about that the company's employé
+had had no communication with the outside world for four months. The
+island is an extinct volcano, a regular cone, with the crater as a deep
+cavity in the top. There is hardly a level square mètre on the whole
+island, and the shores rise steeply out of the sea; only a few huge
+lava blocks form a base, on which the swell breaks and foams. When
+we reached the island, this swell was so heavy as to render landing
+almost impossible. All we could do was to take the employé aboard and
+return home. I was very sorry to have to give up my visit to Meralava,
+as the natives, though all christianized, have preserved more of
+their old ways than those of other islands, owing to their infrequent
+intercourse with civilization. For the same reason, the population is
+quite large; but every time a ship has landed an epidemic goes through
+the island, the germs of which appear to be brought by the vessels,
+and the natives evidently have very small powers of resistance. We
+may here observe on a small scale what has taken place all over the
+archipelago in the degeneration and decimation of the aborigines.
+
+The people of Meralava live on taro, which they grow in terraced
+fields, the water being obtained from holes in the rocks, and on
+cocoa-nuts, of which the island yields a fair supply.
+
+The following day we started for Ureparapara, also a volcanic island,
+with an enormous crater, one side of which has fallen in; because,
+as the natives say, a great fish knocked against it. The sea has
+penetrated into the interior of the crater, forming a lovely bay, so
+that ships now lie at anchor where formerly the lava boiled and roared.
+
+In consequence of the frequent intercourse with whites, the population
+is scanty. There is hardly a level patch, except the small strip at
+the base of the slope and the great reef outside. Here, too, we had
+difficulty in landing, but in the evening we found an ideal anchorage
+inside the bay. The water was scarcely ruffled, and little wavelets
+splashed on the shore, where mangrove thickets spread their bright
+foliage. Huge trees bent over the water, protecting the straw roofs
+of a little village. In the deep shade some natives were squatting
+round fires, and close by some large outrigger-canoes lay on the
+beach. On three sides the steep wooded slopes of the former crater's
+walls rise up to a sharply dented ridge, and it all looks like a
+quiet Alpine lake, so that one involuntarily listens for the sound
+of cow-bells. Instead, there is the call of pigeons, and the dull
+thunder of the breakers outside.
+
+We took a holiday in this charming bay; and though the joys of
+picnicking were not new to us, the roasting of some pigeons gave us a
+festive sensation and a hearty appetite. The night under the bright,
+starlit sky, on board the softly rocking launch, wrapped me in a
+feeling of safety and coziness I had not enjoyed for a long time.
+
+Along the steepest path imaginable I climbed next morning to the
+mountain's edge. The path often led along smooth rocks, where lianas
+served as ropes and roots as a foothold; and I was greatly surprised
+to find many fields on top, to which the women have to climb every
+day and carry the food down afterwards, which implies acrobatic feats
+of no mean order.
+
+Ureparapara was the northernmost point I had reached so far, and
+the neighbourhood of the art-loving Solomon Islands already made
+itself felt. Whereas in the New Hebrides every form of art, except
+mat-braiding, is at once primitive and decadent, here any number
+of pretty things are made, such as daintily designed ear-sticks,
+bracelets, necklaces, etc.; I also found a new type of drum, a regular
+skin-drum, with the skin stretched across one end, while the other
+is stuck into the ground. The skin is made of banana leaves. These
+and other points mark the difference between this people and that of
+the New Hebrides. As elsewhere all over the Banks group, the people
+have long faces, high foreheads, narrow, often hooked, noses, and
+a light skin. Accordingly, it would seem that they are on a higher
+mental plane than those of the New Hebrides, and cannibalism is said
+never to have existed here.
+
+My collections were not greatly enriched, as a British man-of-war had
+anchored here for a few days a short time before; and anyone who knows
+the blue-jackets' rage for collecting will understand that they are
+quite capable of stripping a small island of its treasures. A great
+deal of scientifically valuable material is lost in this way, though
+fortunately these collectors go in for size chiefly, leaving small
+objects behind, so that I was able to procure several valuable pieces.
+
+After our return to Port Patterson the launch took me to a plantation
+from which I ascended the volcano of Venua Lava. Its activity shows
+principally in sulphur springs, and there are large sulphur deposits,
+which were worked fifteen years ago by a French company. A large amount
+of capital had been collected for the purpose, and for a few weeks
+or months the sulphur was carried down to the shore by natives and
+exported. Then it was found that the deposits were not inexhaustible,
+that the employés were not over-conscientious, that the consumption
+of alcohol was enormous, and finally the whole affair was given up,
+after large quantities of machinery had been brought out, which I saw
+rusting away near the shore. In this way numerous enterprises have
+been started and abandoned of late years, especially in Nouméa. It
+is probably due to this mining scheme that the natives here have
+practically disappeared; I found one man who had once carried sulphur
+from the mine, and he was willing to guide me up the volcano.
+
+There are always clouds hanging round the top of the mountain, and the
+forest is swampy; but on the old road we advanced quite rapidly, and
+soon found ourselves on the edge of a plateau, from which two streams
+fell down in grand cascades, close together, their silver ribbons
+gleaming brightly in the dark woods. One river was milk-white with
+sulphur precipitate, the other had red water, probably owing to iron
+deposits. The water was warm, and grew still warmer the farther up we
+followed the river. Suddenly we came upon a bare slope, over certain
+spots of which steam-clouds hung, while penetrating fumes irritated
+one's eyes and nose. We had come to the lower margin of the sulphur
+springs, and the path led directly across the sulphur rocks. Mounting
+higher, we heard the hissing of steam more distinctly, and soon we
+were in the midst of numerous hillocks with bright yellow tops, and
+steam hissing and whistling as it shot out of cracks, to condense in
+the air into a white cloud. The whole ground seemed furrowed with
+channels and crevasses, beneath which one heard mysterious noises;
+one's step sounded hollow, and at our side ran a dark stream, which
+carried the hot sulphur water to the shore. Great boulders lay about,
+some of them so balanced that a slight touch sent them rolling into the
+depths, where they broke into atoms. Sometimes we were surrounded by a
+thick cloud, until a breeze carried it away, and we had a clear view
+over the hot, dark desert, up to the mountain-top. It was uncanny in
+the midst of those viciously hissing hillocks, and I could not blame my
+boys for turning green with fear and wishing to go home. But we went on
+to a place where water boiled in black pools, sometimes quietly, then
+with a sudden high jump; some of the water was black, some yellowish,
+and everything around was covered with sulphur as if with hoar-frost.
+
+We followed the course of a creek whose water was so hot as to scald
+our feet, and the heat became most oppressive. We were glad to reach
+the crater, though it was a gloomy and colourless desert, in the
+midst of which a large grey pool boiled and bubbled. In front was a
+deep crevice in the crater wall, and a cloud of steam hid whatever
+was in it; yet we felt as though something frightful must be going
+on there. Above this gloomy scene stretched a sky of serenest blue,
+and we had a glimpse of the coast, with its little islands bathing
+in the sapphire sea.
+
+Next day we left for Gaua. Unhappily the captain met friends, and
+celebrated with them to such an extent that he was no longer to be
+relied on, which was all the more unpleasant as the weather was of
+the dirtiest, and the barometer presaged another cyclone. After two
+days it cleared up a little; I went ashore at the west point of Gaua,
+where the launch was to pick me up again two days later, as I meant to
+visit the interior while the others went to buy coprah. Even now the
+wind and the swell from the north-west were increasing suspiciously,
+and after I had spent a rainy night in a village off the shore, I
+saw the launch race eastward along the coast, evidently trying to
+make a safe anchorage, with the storm blowing violent squalls and
+the sea very high.
+
+On my way inland I still found the paths obstructed by fallen trees
+from the last cyclone, while nearly all the cocoa-nut palms had lost
+their nuts. And again the storm raged in the forest, and the rain
+fell in torrents.
+
+I was anxious to buy statues of tree-fern wood; they are frequently
+to be seen here, standing along a terrace or wall near the gamal, and
+seem not so much images of ancestors, as signs of rank and wealth. The
+caste may be recognized by the number of pigs' jaws carved on the
+statues. Often the artist first makes a drawing of the statue in
+red, white and black paint on a board; and these same designs are
+used as patterns for tattooing, as well as on ear-sticks and other
+objects. Female statues are common, which is an unusual thing.
+
+I obtained a good number of skulls, which were thrown into the roots
+of a fig tree, where I was allowed to pick them up as I pleased.
+
+The Suque is supposed to have originated here; and here certainly it
+has produced its greatest monuments, large altar-like walls, dams and
+ramparts. The gamals, too, are always on a foundation of masonry,
+and on either side there are high pedestals on which the pigs are
+sacrificed. Among the stones used for building we often find great
+boulders hollowed out to the shape of a bowl. No one knows anything
+about these stones or their purpose; possibly they are relics of an
+earlier population that has entirely disappeared.
+
+When I returned from my excursion I looked down on a wild foam-flecked
+sea, over which the storm was raging as it did during the previous
+cyclones. I realized that I should have to stay here for some time,
+and ate my last provisions somewhat pensively. I only hoped that
+the launch had found an anchorage, else she must inevitably have
+been wrecked, and I should be left at the mercy of the natives for
+an indefinite time. The hut in which I camped did not keep off the
+rain, and I was wet and uncomfortable; thus I spent the first of a
+series of miserable nights. I was anxious to know the fate of the
+launch, and this in itself was enough to worry me; then I was without
+reading or writing materials, and my days were spent near a smoky
+fire, watching the weather, trying to find a dry spot, sleeping and
+whistling. Sometimes a few natives came to keep me company; and once
+I got hold of a man who spoke a little biche la mar, and was willing
+to tell me about some old-time customs. However, like most natives, he
+soon wearied of thinking, so that our conversations did not last long.
+
+The natives kept me supplied with food in the most hospitable manner:
+yam, taro, cabbage, delicately prepared, were at my disposal; but,
+unaccustomed as I was to this purely vegetable diet, I soon felt such
+a craving for meat that I began to dream about tinned-meat, surely not
+a normal state of things. To add to my annoyance, rumours got afloat
+to the effect that the launch was wrecked; and if this was true,
+my situation was bad indeed.
+
+On the fifth day I decided to try and find the anchorage where I
+supposed the launch to be. The wind had dropped a little, but it was
+still pouring, and the walk through the slippery, devastated forest,
+up and down steep hills and gullies, across fallen trees, in a thick,
+oppressive fog, was strenuous enough. In the afternoon, hearing that
+the launch was somewhere near, we descended to the coast, where we came
+upon the captain and the crew. They had managed to anchor the launch
+at the outbreak of the storm, and had camped in an old hut on the
+beach; but the huge waves, breaking over the reef, had created such
+a current along the beach that the launch had dragged her anchors,
+and was now caught in the worst of the waves and would surely go down
+shortly. Unfortunately the captain had sent the dinghey ashore some
+time before coming to this bay, so that there was no means whatever
+of reaching the launch. The rising sea had threatened to wash away
+the hut, and the captain, leaving the boat to her fate, had gone
+camping inland.
+
+I went down to the beach to see for myself how things stood, and
+was forced to admit that the man had not exaggerated. In the midst
+of the raging surf the launch rocked to and fro, and threatening
+waves rose on every side and often seemed to cover her. Still she was
+holding her own, and had evidently not struck a rock as yet; and if
+her cables held out, hope was not lost. I watched her fight for life
+for some time, and she defended herself more gallantly than I should
+ever have expected from so clumsy a craft; but I had little hope. We
+spent a miserable night in the village, in a heavy atmosphere, amid
+vermin and filth, on an uneven stone floor. The rain rattled on the
+roof, the storm roared in the forest like a passing express train,
+the sea thundered from afar, and a river echoed in a gorge near by;
+to complete the gloomy scene, a violent earthquake shook the hills.
+
+In the morning the launch was still afloat on the same spot; the
+wind had abated, and the sky no longer looked quite so stormy. During
+the night things improved still more, and we ventured to camp on the
+shore. The boys went for the dinghey, and although they had hard work,
+half dragging, half carrying it along the shore over the cliffs, they
+succeeded in bringing it to our beach, and then made an attempt to row
+to the launch, but were almost carried out beyond the reef. Encouraged
+by a faintly rosy sunset and a few stars, we waited another day;
+then the current along the coast had nearly ceased, only outside the
+reef huge mountains of water rolled silently and incessantly past,
+and broke thundering against the cliffs. The second attempt to reach
+the launch was successful, and, wonderful to relate, she had suffered
+no damage, only she had shipped so much water that everything was
+soaked and rusty. The engineer began to repair her engines, and by
+evening she steamed back to her anchorage, where we welcomed her as
+if she had been a human being.
+
+The wind had quite fallen when we steamed out next day. It was dull
+weather, and we were rocked by an enormous swell; yet the water was
+like a mirror, and the giant waves rose and disappeared without a
+sound. It all seemed unnatural and uncanny, and this may have produced
+the frightened feeling that held us all that morning. While we were
+crossing over to Port Patterson a sharp wind rose from the north,
+and the barometer fell, so that we feared another edition of the
+storm. If our engines had broken down, which happened often enough,
+we should have been lost, for we were in a region where the swell
+came from two directions, and the waves were even higher than in
+the morning. Fortunately the wind increased but slowly; presently
+we were protected by the coast, and at night we arrived at Port
+Patterson. The men had given us up, and welcomed us with something
+akin to tenderness. Here, too, the cyclone had been terrible, the
+worst of the three that had passed in four weeks.
+
+Soon afterwards the steamer arrived, bringing news of many wrecks and
+accidents. A dozen ships had been smashed at their anchorages, four
+had disappeared, and three were known to have foundered; in addition,
+news came of the wreck of a steamer. Hardly ever had so many fallen
+victims to a cyclone.
+
+Painfully and slowly our steamer ploughed her way south through the
+abnormally high swell. None of the anchorages on the west coast could
+be touched, and everywhere we saw brown woods, leafless as in winter,
+and damaged plantations; and all the way down to Vila we heard of
+new casualties.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+TANNA
+
+
+Of the larger inhabited islands of the New Hebrides, only Tanna
+remained to be visited. Instead of stopping at Vila, I went on to
+White Sands, Tanna, where the Rev. M. was stationed. The large
+island of Erromanga has but little native population, and that
+is all christianized; the same is true of the smaller islands of
+Aneityum, Aniwa and Futuna. I preferred to study Tanna, as it is
+characteristic of all the southern part of the archipelago. The
+population is quite different from that in the north, and one would
+call it Polynesian, were it not for the curly hair which shows
+Melanesian admixture. Light-coloured, tall, strong, with the fleshy
+body that is often a feature of the Polynesian, the people have, not
+infrequently, fine open features, small noses and intelligent faces
+of oval outline. They are more energetic, warlike and independent
+than those up north, and their mode of life is different, the Suque
+and everything connected with it being entirely absent. Instead, we
+find hereditary chieftainship, as in all Polynesia, and the chiefs
+are held in the highest veneration by their subjects. This state of
+things was greatly to the advantage of the missions, as the chiefs,
+even if converted, retained their authority, whereas in the north the
+high castes, on their conversion, lost all influence and position,
+as these only depended on the Suque. The brilliant results of the
+missions in Tanna are due, apart from the splendid work of the two
+Presbyterian missionaries, chiefly to this fact. If the missionaries
+and the authorities would join forces for the preservation of the
+native race, great good might be done. Intelligent efforts along
+this line ought to comprise the following features: revival of the
+wish to live and the belief in a future for the race, increase in
+the birth-rate, rational distribution of the women, abolition of the
+present recruiting system, compulsory medical treatment, creation
+of law and order, and restoration of old customs as to daily life
+and food.
+
+The houses on Tanna are poor huts of reed-grass, probably because the
+perpetual wars discouraged the people from building good dwellings. The
+principal weapons are the spear and club, the arrow, as elsewhere
+in Polynesia, playing a subordinate part. A weapon which is probably
+peculiar to Tanna are throwing-stones, carefully made stone cylinders,
+which were hurled in battle. If a man had not time to procure one of
+these granite cylinders, a branch of coral or a slab of stone, hewn
+into serviceable shape, would serve his turn; and these instruments
+are not very different from our oldest prehistoric stone implements.
+
+Quite a Polynesian art is the manufacture of tapa: bark cloth. The
+Tannese do not know how to make large pieces, but are satisfied with
+narrow strips, used as belts by the men, and prettily painted in
+black and red.
+
+The dress of the men is similar to that of Malekula, that of the
+women consists of an apron of grass and straw; and they often wear
+a hat of banana leaves, while the men affect a very complicated
+coiffure. The hair is divided into strands, each of which is wound
+with a fibre from the head out. A man may have several hundred of
+these ropes on his head all tied together behind, giving a somewhat
+womanish appearance. It takes a long time to dress the hair thus,
+and the custom is falling into disuse.
+
+On the whole, the culture of the Tannese is low; there is no braiding
+or carving, and the ornaments worn consist only of a few bracelets
+and necklaces, with an occasional nose-stick; the only conspicuous
+feature are ear-rings of tortoise-shell, of which as many as a dozen
+may hang in one ear.
+
+On the other side of Tanna is Lenakel, where the Rev. W. was working
+with admirable devotion and success in a hospital. I crossed the
+island several times, and enjoyed the delightful rides through the
+shady forest, on very good bridle-paths the natives had made.
+
+Tanna's most striking sight is its volcano; there is hardly another
+in the world so easily accessible; for in half an hour from the
+shore its foot may be reached, and in another half-hour one is at
+the top. It is about 260 m. high, a miniature volcano, with all its
+accessories complete, hot springs, lake, desert, etc., always active,
+rarely destructive, looking like an overgrown molehill. A wide plain
+stretches inland, utterly deserted owing to the poisonous vapours
+always carried across it by the south-east trade-wind, and in the
+centre of the plain is a sweet-water lake.
+
+I climbed the volcano for the first time on a rainy day. On top, I
+suddenly found myself at the end of the world; it was the edge of the
+crater, completely filled with steam. As I walked along the precipice,
+such an infernal thundering began just under my feet as it seemed,
+that I thought best to retire. My next ascent took place on a clear,
+bright day; but the wind drove sand and ashes along the desert,
+and dimmed the sunshine to a yellowish gloomy light. I traversed the
+desert to the foot of the crater, where the cone rose gradually out
+of brownish sand, in a beautiful curve, to an angle of 45°. The lack
+of all vegetation or other point of comparison made it impossible
+to judge whether the mountain was 100 or 1000 m. high. The silence
+was oppressive, and sand columns danced and whirled up and down,
+to and fro, like goblins. A smell of sulphur was in the air, the
+heat was torturing, the ground burnt one's feet, and the climb in
+the loose sand was trying. But farther up the sea-breeze cooled the
+air deliciously, and stone blocks afforded a foothold. Soon I was on
+top, and the sight I saw seemed one that only the fancy of a morbid,
+melancholy genius could have invented, an ugly fever dream turned real,
+and no description could do it justice.
+
+In front of me the ground fell down steeply, and the torn sides of
+the crater formed a funnel-shaped cavity, a dark, yawning depth. There
+were jagged rocks, fantastic, wild ridges, crevices, fearful depths,
+from which issued steam and smoke. Poisonous vapour poured out of
+the rocks in white and brownish clouds that waved to and fro, slowly
+rising, until a breeze caught and carried them away. The sight alone
+would suffice to inspire terror, without the oppressive smoke and the
+uncanny noise far down in the depths. Dull and regular, it sounded like
+the piston of an engine or a great drum, heard through the noises of a
+factory. Presently there was silence, and then, without any warning,
+came a tearing crack, the thunder as of 100 heavy guns, a metallic
+din, and a cloud of smoke rose; and while we forced ourselves to
+stay and watch, the inferno below thundered a roaring echo, the walls
+shook, and a thousand dark specks flew up like a swarm of frightened
+birds. They were lava blocks, and they fell back from the height of the
+crater, rattling on the rocks, or were swallowed up by the invisible
+gorge. Then a thick cloud surrounded everything, and we realized
+that our post at the mouth of the crater, on an overhanging ridge,
+was dangerous; indeed, a part of the edge, not far off, broke down
+and was lost in the depths. Another and another explosion followed;
+but when we turned, we overlooked a peaceful landscape, green forests,
+palms bending over the bright blue water, and far off the islands of
+Erromanga, Futuna and Aniwa.
+
+A visit to the volcano at night was a unique experience. Across the
+desert the darkness glided, and as we climbed upward, we felt and
+heard the metallic explosions through the flanks of the mountain, and
+the cloud over the crater shone in dull red. Cautiously we approached
+the edge, just near enough to look down. The bottom of the crater
+seemed lifted, the walls were almost invisible, and the uncertain
+glare played lightly over some theatrical-looking rocks. We could see
+three orifices; steam poured out of one, in the other the liquid lava
+boiled and bubbled, of the third there was nothing to be seen but
+a glow; but underneath this some force was at work. Did we hear or
+feel it? We were not sure; sometimes it sounded like shrill cries of
+despair, sometimes all was still, and the rocks seemed to shake. Then
+suddenly it boiled up, hissing as if a thousand steam-pipes had burst,
+something unspeakable seemed preparing, yet nothing happened. Some
+lava lumps were thrown out, to fall back or stick to the rocks, where
+they slowly died out. All at once a sheaf of fire shot up, tall and
+glowing, an explosion of incredible fury followed; the sheaf dispersed
+and fell down in marvellous fireworks and thousands of sparks. Slowly,
+in a fiery stream the lava flowed back to the bottom. Then another
+explosion and another, the thumping increased, one of the other
+openings worked, spitting viciously in all directions, the noise
+became unbearable. All one's senses were affected, for the din was
+too violent to touch one's hearing only. Then there was silence;
+the cloud rose, and beside it we saw the stars in the pure sky,
+and heard the surf beat peacefully, consolingly, as if there were no
+volcano and no glowing lava anywhere near.
+
+While we were standing on the brink as if fascinated, the silver
+moon rose behind us, spread a broad road of light on the quiet sea,
+played round us with her cool light, shone on the opposite wall of
+the crater, and caressed the sulphurous cloud. It was a magical sight,
+the contrast of the pure moonlight and the dirty glare of the volcano;
+an effect indescribably grand and peculiar, a gala performance of
+nature, the elements of heaven and hell side by side.
+
+At last we left. Behind and above us thundered the volcano, below
+us lay the desert, silvery in the moonlight, in quiet, simple lines;
+far away rolled the sea, and in the silence the moon rose higher and
+higher, and our shadows followed us as we traversed the plain and
+gained the friendly shade of the palm grove.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+THE SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
+
+
+After my return to Port Vila, where I again had the honour of being
+Mr. King's guest, and having practically finished my task in the
+New Hebrides, I decided not to leave this part of the world without
+visiting the Santa Cruz Islands, a group of small islands north of
+the New Hebrides and east of the Solomon Islands. This archipelago
+has not had much contact with civilization, and is little known. I had
+a good opportunity to go there, as the steam yacht Southern Cross of
+the Anglican mission in Melanesia was expected to stop at Vila on her
+way to the Solomons. She touched at the Santa Cruz island of Nitendi
+going and returning, and could therefore drop me and take me up again
+after about six weeks. While waiting for her arrival, I investigated
+some caves on Leleppa, near Port Havannah, which the natives reported
+to be inhabited by dwarfish men; but the results were insignificant.
+
+Passage having been granted me by the skipper of the Southern Cross,
+I once more sailed the well-known route northward through the New
+Hebrides and Banks Islands; but from Ureparapara onward I was in
+strange waters. The Southern Cross was a steamer of about five
+hundred tons, built especially for this service, that is, to convey
+the missionaries and natives from the headquarters on Norfolk Island
+to the different islands. Life on board was far from luxurious; but
+there was good company and an interesting library. I had the pleasure
+of making some interesting acquaintances, and the missionaries gave me
+much valuable information about the natives and their customs. When
+the tone of the conversation in the evening threatened to become
+too serious, our jovial Captain S. speedily improved matters by
+his grotesquely comical sallies. A strenuous life was that of the
+missionary who was responsible for the organization of the voyage;
+he had to visit the native communities, and went ashore at every
+anchorage, sometimes through an ugly surf or dangerous shoals,
+generally with overcrowded whale-boats; and this went on for three
+months. I had nothing to do, and amused myself by comparing the
+boys from the various islands, who were quite different in looks,
+speech and character. There were the short, thick-set, plebeian
+natives from the New Hebrides, the well-built men from the Solomons,
+with their long faces and open, energetic expression, the languid,
+sleepy boys from the Torres Islands and the savage Santa Cruzians.
+
+The trip of the Southern Cross was important as an experiment, being
+the first with an exclusively native crew. Hitherto the Melanesians had
+been considered incapable of any work calling for energy, initiative
+and conscientiousness. Captain C. was convinced that this was unjust,
+and started on this voyage without any whites except the officers;
+the result was most satisfactory. The natives, when carefully and
+patiently trained, work quite as well as low-class whites, and have
+proved themselves capable of more than plantation work.
+
+It was a bright morning when we entered the lovely Graciosa Bay on
+Nitendi. The island had a much more tropical aspect than those of
+the New Hebrides, and the vegetation seemed more varied and gayer in
+colour. Natives in canoes approached from every side, and all along the
+beach lay populous villages, a sight such as the now deserted shores of
+the New Hebrides must have afforded in days gone by. Hardly had we cast
+anchor when the ship was surrounded by innumerable canoes. The men in
+them were all naked, except the teachers the missionaries had stationed
+here; all the others were genuine aborigines, who managed their boats
+admirably, and came hurrying on board, eager to begin bartering.
+
+The natives here have a bad reputation, and are supposed to be
+particularly dangerous, because they never stir from home without
+their poisoned arrows. A missionary had recently been forced to leave
+the island, after having been besieged by the natives for several
+days. But it would seem that they are not hostile unless one of their
+many intricate laws and customs is violated, which may happen easily
+enough to anyone unacquainted with their habits.
+
+I took up my quarters with the only white man in the place, a Mr. M.,
+who managed a cocoa-nut plantation for an Australian company with
+boys from the Solomons. My first task was to find servants, as none
+had dared accompany me from the New Hebrides to the ill-famed Santa
+Cruz Islands. Through his coprah trade Mr. M. knew the people well,
+and by his help I soon found two boys who had some vague notion
+of biche la mar, real savages, who served me well in a childish,
+playful way. They were always jolly, and although they seemed to
+look upon what they did for me rather as a kindness than a duty, we
+got along fairly well. When it became known that my service implied
+good food and little work, many others applied, but I only chose one
+young fellow, probably the most perfect specimen of a man I have
+ever seen. He kept himself scrupulously clean, and in his quiet,
+even behaviour there was something that distinguished him from all
+the rest. It is difficult to put the beauty of a human body into
+words; I can only say that he was of symmetrical build, with a deep
+chest and well-developed limbs, but without the great muscles that
+would have given him the coarse aspect of an athlete. His greatest
+charm was in the grace of his movements and the natural nobility
+of his attitudes and his walk; for he moved as lightly and daintily
+as a deer, and it was a constant pleasure, while walking behind him
+during our marches through the forest, to admire his elastic gait,
+the play of his muscles and the elegant ease with which he threaded
+the thicket. I tried to take some photographs of him, but without
+great success, owing to technical difficulties; besides, the face had
+to be hidden as much as possible, as to a European eye the natives'
+faces often seem to have a brutal expression. The men of Santa Cruz,
+too, wear disfiguring nose-rings of tortoise-shell hanging down over
+their mouths, so large that when eating they have to be lifted up out
+of the way with the left hand. Another ugly habit is the chewing of
+betel, the nut of the areca palm, which is mixed with pepper leaves
+and lime. The lime is carried in a gourd, often decorated with drawings
+and provided with an artistically carved stopper. The leaves and this
+bottle are kept in beautifully woven baskets, the prettiest products
+of native art, made of banana fibre interwoven with delicate designs
+in black. Betel-chewing seems to have a slightly intoxicating effect;
+my boys, at least, were often strangely exhilarated in the evening,
+although they had certainly had no liquor. The lime forms a black
+deposit on the teeth, which sometimes grows to such a size as to hang
+out of the mouth, an appendage of which some natives seem rather vain.
+
+The dress of the men consists of a narrow belt of bark and a strip
+of tapa worn between the legs. Around their knees and ankles they
+wear small, shiny shells, and on their chests a large circular
+plate of tridacna-shell, to which is attached a dainty bit of carved
+tortoise-shell representing a combination of fish and turtle. This
+beautiful ornament is very effective on the dark skin. In the lobes
+of the ears are hung large tortoise-shell ornaments, and on the arms
+large shell rings or bracelets braided with shell and cocoa-nut beads
+are worn.
+
+The men are never seen without bows and arrows of large and heavy
+dimensions. Like all the belongings of the Santa Cruzians, the arrows
+show artistic taste, being carefully carved and painted so as to
+display black carving on a white and red ground. The points of the
+arrows are made of human bone.
+
+I bought one of the excellent canoes made by these people, and often
+crossed the lovely, quiet bay to visit different villages. The natives
+take great care of their canoes, and make it a point of honour to
+keep them spotlessly white, which they do by rubbing them with a
+seaweed they gather at the bottom of the ocean.
+
+On approaching a village it requires all the skill of the native not
+to be dashed by the swell against the reefs. A narrow sandy beach lies
+behind, and then a stone terrace 6 feet high, on which the gamal is
+built. Generally there was great excitement when I landed, and the men
+came rushing from all sides to see me. They were not hostile, only too
+eager for trade, and I had to interrupt my visits for a week and trade
+only at the house where I was staying, so as to give them time to quiet
+down. This helped matters a little, although, until the day I left,
+I was always the centre of an excited mob that pulled at my sleeves
+and trousers and shrieked into my ears. I was always cordially invited
+to enter the gamals; these were square houses, kept very clean, with
+a fireplace in the centre, and the floor covered with mats. As usual,
+the roof was full of implements of all sorts, and over the fire there
+was a stand and shelves, where coprah was roasted and food preserved.
+
+The natives are expert fishermen, and know how to make the finest as
+well as the coarsest nets. They frequently spend the mornings fishing,
+a flotilla of canoes gathering at some shallow spot in the bay.
+
+The afternoons are mostly spent in the village in a dolce far
+niente. Each village has its special industry: in one the arm-rings
+of shell are made, in another the breastplates, in a third canoes,
+or the fine mats which are woven on a loom of the simplest system,
+very similar to a type of loom found in North America. Weaving,
+it will be remembered, is quite unknown in the New Hebrides.
+
+An object peculiar to these islands is feather money. This consists
+of the fine breast-feathers of a small bird, stuck together to
+form plates, which are fastened on a strip of sinnet, so that a
+long ribbon of scarlet feathers is obtained of beautiful colour
+and brilliancy. These strips are rolled and preserved in the houses,
+carefully wrapped up and only displayed on great occasions. Considering
+how few available feathers one little bird yields, and how many are
+needed for one roll, it is not surprising that this feather money
+is very valuable, and that a single roll will buy a woman. At great
+dances the circular dancing-grounds along the shore are decorated
+with these ribbons.
+
+For a dance the men exchange the nose-ring of tortoise-shell for a
+large, finely carved plate of mother-of-pearl. In the perforated sides
+of the nose they place thin sticks, which stand high up towards the
+eyes. In the hair they wear sticks and small boards covered with the
+same feathers as those used for feather money. They have dancing-sticks
+of a most elaborate description, heavy wooden clubs of the shape of
+a canoe, painted in delicate designs and with rattles at the lower
+end. The designs are black and red on a white ground, and are derived
+from shapes of fish and birds. Similar work is done on carvings showing
+the different species of fish and birds; the drawing is exquisite,
+and shows fine feeling for ornamental composition.
+
+The position of women in Santa Cruz is peculiar, although the
+Suque does not exist, and therefore no separation of fires is
+enforced. Masculine jealousy seems to have reached its climax here, for
+no man from another village even dares look at a woman. The women's
+houses are a little inland, away from the gamal and separated by
+high walls from the outer world. Most of the houses are square, but
+there are some circular ones, a type very rare in these regions. To
+my regret I was never able to examine one of these round houses,
+so that I have no idea how they are built. To enter the women's
+quarters, or to approach nearer than 100 mètres to any woman, is
+a deadly offence, and such breaches of etiquette are the cause of
+frequent feuds. Only once I was taken by one of my boys through the
+lanes of his village, and this was considered very daring, and the
+limit of permissible investigation. However, with the help of Mr. M.,
+who was practically a "citizen" of one of the villages, I succeeded
+in taking some photographs of women; but only the oldest dowagers and
+some sick girls presented themselves, and among them I saw the most
+repulsive being I ever met,--an old shrivelled-up hag. At sight of
+such a creature one cannot wonder that old women were often accused
+of sorcery.
+
+It is surprising how much inferior physically the women of Nitendi
+are to the men. The men are among the best made people I ever saw,
+while the women are the poorest. The dress of the women consists
+of large pieces of tapa, worn around the hips and over the head,
+and a third piece is sometimes used as a shawl. Tapa is not made at
+Graciosa Bay, but inland; it is often painted in simple but effective
+geometrical designs.
+
+The majority of the population lives near the sea; I was credibly
+informed that there are hardly any people inland. The Santa Cruzian
+is a "salt-water man," and there is a string of villages all along
+the coast. The inhabitants of the different villages keep very much to
+themselves, and their territories are separated by a strip of forest,
+and on the shore by high stone walls leading far out into the sea. On
+the whole, the two thousand people in the bay live very quietly,
+certainly more so than the same number of whites would without any
+police. It is not quite clear in what respect our civilization could
+improve them, as, like most aborigines, they have a pronounced sense
+of propriety, justice and politeness. There is very little disputing or
+quarrelling, and differences of opinion are usually settled by a joke,
+so that in this respect the savages show a behaviour far superior to
+that of many a roaring and swearing white.
+
+I found neither drums nor statues here, and of the local religion
+I could learn nothing. There is a skull-cult, similar to that on
+Malekula: a man will paint the skull of a favourite wife or child
+yellow, shut all the openings with wooden stoppers and carry the relic
+about with him. Towards the end of my stay I obtained possession of
+some of these interesting skulls. The idea in shutting the holes is
+doubtless to preserve the spirit of the dead inside the skull.
+
+One evening I crossed the bay to attend a dance. The starless sky shone
+feebly, spotted with dark, torn clouds. A dull silver light lay on the
+sea, which was scarcely lighter than the steep shores. In the silence
+the strokes of our oars sounded sharp and energetic, yet they seemed
+to come from a distance. In the darkness we felt first the outrigger,
+then the canoe, lifted by a heavy swell, which glided away out of sight
+in monotonous rhythm. Then light began to play around us, indistinct
+at first, then two silver stripes formed at the bow and ran along
+the boat. They were surrounded by bright, whirling sparks, and at the
+bow of the outrigger the gayest fireworks of silver light sprang up,
+sparkling and dying away as if the boat had been a meteor. The oars,
+too, dripped light, as though they were bringing up fine silver dust
+from below. The naked boy in front of me shone like a marble statue on
+a dark background as his beautiful body worked in rhythmic movements,
+the light playing to and fro on his back. And ever the sparks danced
+along the boat in hypnotizing confusion, and mighty harmonies seemed
+to echo through the night air. The feeling of time was lost, until
+the opposite shore rose to a black wall, then, through the silence,
+we heard the cold rush of the surf beating moodily on the reef. We
+slackened speed, the fairy light died and the dream ended. We kept
+along the shore, looking for the entrance, which the boys found by
+feeling for a well-known rock with their oars. A wave lifted us,
+the boys bent to their oars with all their might, we shot across the
+reef and ran into the soft sand of the beach.
+
+But as the rain fell now in torrents, there was no dance that night.
+
+Mr. M. and I attempted a few excursions, but bad weather interfered
+with our plans, and a rainy period of three weeks followed. One squall
+chased the other, rattling on the roof, forming swamps everywhere,
+and penetrating everything with moisture. I was glad when the Southern
+Cross came back for me, especially as this was to be the beginning
+of my homeward journey.
+
+This time we touched at a small island called Tucopia, where
+a primitive Polynesian population still exists, probably the only
+island where this is the case. When the steamer approached we saw the
+people running about on the reef in excitement, and soon countless
+canoes surrounded us. The appearance of these islanders was quite new
+to me. Instead of the dark, curly-haired, short Melanesians, I saw
+tall, light-coloured men with thick manes of long, golden hair. They
+climbed aboard, wonderful giants, with soft, dark eyes, kind smiles
+and childlike manners. They went everywhere, touched everything,
+and flattered and caressed us. We were all eager to go ashore, and at
+the edge of the reef an excited crowd awaited our arrival impatiently
+and pulled our boat violently on the rocks in their eagerness. Two
+tall fellows grabbed me under the arms, and, willy-nilly, I was
+carried across the reef and carefully deposited under a shady tree
+on the beach. At first I did not quite trust my companions, but I
+was powerless to resist, and soon I became more confident, as my
+new friends constantly hugged and stroked me. Soon a missionary was
+brought ashore in the same way, and then, to our greatest surprise,
+a man approached us who spoke biche la mar. He asked if we had no
+sickness on board, for some time ago the same ship had infected the
+island with an epidemic that had caused many deaths. We assured him
+that we had none, and he gave us permission to visit the island,
+telling us, too, that we were to have the great honour of being
+presented to one of the four chiefs. This was indeed something to
+be proud of, for in Polynesian islands the chieftainship, as I have
+said, is hereditary, and the chiefs are paid honours almost divine. We
+took off our hats and were led before the chief, a tall, stout man,
+who sat in a circle of men on a sort of throne, with his ceremonial
+spear leaning against a tree beside him. His subjects approached him
+crouching, but he shook hands with us and smiled kindly at us. A noble
+gesture of the hand gave us leave to taste a meal prepared to welcome
+us, which looked most uninviting, but turned out to be beautifully
+cooked sago and cocoa-nut cream. We could not finish the generous
+portions, and presently signed that we were satisfied; the chief
+seemed to regret that we did not do more honour to his hospitality,
+but he gave us permission to walk about. While all the other natives
+ran about in great excitement over our visit, the good old man sat on
+his throne all the time, quite solemnly, although I am convinced that
+he was fairly bursting with curiosity. We hurried through the village,
+so as to get a general idea of the houses and implements, and then
+to the beach, which was a beautiful sight. Whereas on Melanesian
+islands the dancing-grounds only are kept cleared, and surrounded
+by thick shrubbery for fear of invasion, here all the underbrush
+had been rooted out, and the shore was like a park, with a splendid
+view through dark tree-trunks across the blue sea, while the golden,
+godlike forms of the natives walked about with proud, regal gait,
+or stood in animated groups. It was a sight so different in its
+peaceful simplicity from what I was accustomed to see in Melanesia,
+it all looked so happy, gay and alluring that it hardly needed the
+invitations of the kind people, without weapons or suspicion, and
+with wreaths of sweet-scented flowers around their heads and bodies,
+to incline us to stay. Truly, the sailors of old were not to blame if
+they deserted in numbers on such islands, and preferred the careless
+native life to hard work on board a whaler. Again and again I seemed
+to see the living originals of some classical picture, and more and
+more my soul succumbed to the intoxicating charm of the lovely island.
+
+But we could not stay; the steamer whistled, and we had to leave. A
+young native was going to Norfolk Island, and he took leave of his
+family and the chief in a manly way which was touching to witness. He
+bowed and laid his face on the knees of some old white-haired men
+with finely chiselled, noble faces. They seemed to bless him, then
+they raised his head and tenderly pressed their faces against his,
+so that their noses touched. The boy brushed away a tear and then
+jumped bravely on board.
+
+When we came on board, the steamer was crowded with natives, and
+they refused to leave. We had to drive them away energetically, and
+as their canoes were soon overcrowded, many of them jumped into the
+water with shouts and laughter, and swam several miles to the shore,
+floating happily in the blue sea, with their long hair waving after
+them like liquid gold. Thus I saw the last of the dream-island,
+bathed in the rays of the setting sun. My regret was shared by the
+boy, who stood, still ornamented with flowers and wreaths, at the
+stern of the steamer, looking sadly back at his disappearing paradise.
+
+Our good times, too, were over. We had a dull, rainy night, a heavy,
+broadside swell, and as the steamer had not enough ballast, she rolled
+frightfully. In this nasty sea we were afraid she might turn turtle,
+as another steamer had done some months ago. The storm became such
+that we had to lie at anchor for five days, sheltered by the coast
+of Gaua. It was with real relief that I left the Southern Cross at
+Port Vila; sorry as I was to leave my friends on board, I did not
+envy them the long voyage to New Zealand.
+
+Two days later I took the mail steamer for Sydney. Although tired
+enough, and glad to return to the comforts of civilization, I felt
+real regret at leaving the places where I had spent so many delightful
+hours, and where I had met with so much kindness on all sides.
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Two Years with the Natives in the
+Western Pacific, by Felix Speiser
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Two Years with the Natives in the Western
+Pacific, by Felix Speiser
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Two Years with the Natives in the Western Pacific
+
+Author: Felix Speiser
+
+Release Date: December 20, 2008 [EBook #27578]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TWO YEARS WITH THE NATIVES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div class="front">
+<div class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><p class="aligncenter">Two Years with the Natives in the Western Pacific
+
+
+</p>
+</div>
+<div class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><p></p>
+<div id="p000" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p000.jpg" alt="SHORE IN GRACIOSA BAY." width="720" height="462"><p class="figureHead">SHORE IN GRACIOSA BAY.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+</div>
+<div class="titlePage">
+<h1 class="docTitle">Two Years with the Natives in the Western Pacific</h1>
+<h2 class="byline">By
+<br>
+<span class="docAuthor">Dr. Felix Speiser</span>
+<br>
+With 40 illustrations from photographs and a map
+</h2>
+<h2 class="docImprint">Mills &amp; Boon, Limited 49 Rupert Street London, W.</h2>
+</div><div class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><p class="aligncenter"><i>Published 1913</i>
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="xd0e117" href="#xd0e117">v</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><h2 class="normal">Preface</h2>
+<p>This book is a collection of sketches written on lonely evenings during my voyage; some of them have been published in daily
+papers, and were so kindly received by the public as to encourage me to issue them in book form. In order to retain the freshness
+of first impressions, the original form has been but slightly changed, and only so much ethnological detail has been added
+as will help to an understanding of native life. The book does not pretend to give a scientific description of the people
+of the New Hebrides; that will appear later; it is meant simply to transmit some of the indelible impressions the traveller
+was privileged to receive,&#8212;impressions both stern and sweet. The author will be amply repaid if he succeeds in giving the
+reader some slight idea of the charm and the terrors of the islands. He will be proud if his words can convey a vision of
+the incomparable beauty and peacefulness of the glittering lagoon, and of the sublimity of the virgin forest; if the reader
+can divine the charm of the native when gay and friendly, and his ferocity when gloomy and hostile. I have set down some of
+the joys and some <span class="pagenum">[<a id="xd0e123" href="#xd0e123">vi</a>]</span>of the hardships of an explorer&#8217;s life; and I received so many kindnesses from all the white colonists I met, that one great
+object of my writing is to show my gratitude for their friendly help.
+
+</p>
+<p>First of all, I would mention His Britannic Majesty&#8217;s Resident, Mr. Morton King, who followed my studies with the most sympathetic
+interest, was my most hospitable host, and, I may venture to say, my friend. I would name Mr. Colonna, R&eacute;sident de France,
+Judge Alexander in Port Vila, and Captain Harrowell; in Santo, Rev. Father Bochu, the Messrs. Thomas, Mr. Fysh, Mr. Clapcott;
+in Malo, Mr. M. Wells and Mr. Jacquier; in Vao, Rev. Father Jamond; in Malekula, Rev. F. Paton, Rev. Jaffrays, Mr. Bird and
+Mr. Fleming; in Ambrym, Rev. Dr. J. J. Bowie, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Decent; in Pentecoste, Mr. Filmer; in Aoba, Mr. Albert and
+Rev. Grunling; in Tanna, Rev. Macmillan and Dr. Nicholson; in Venua Lava, Mr. Choyer; in Nitendi, Mr. Matthews. I am also
+indebted to the Anglican missionaries, especially Rev. H. N. Drummond, and to Captain Sinker of the steam yacht <i>Southern Cross</i>, to the supercargo and captains of the steamers of Burns, Philp &amp; Company. There are many more who assisted me in various
+ways, often at the expense of their own comfort and interest, and not the least of the impressions I took home with me is,
+that nowhere can one find wider hospitality or friendlier helpfulness <span class="pagenum">[<a id="xd0e130" href="#xd0e130">vii</a>]</span>than in these islands. This has helped me to forget so many things that do not impress the traveller favourably.
+
+</p>
+<p>If this book should come under the notice of any of these kind friends, the author would be proud to think that they remember
+him as pleasantly as he will recall all the friendship he received during his stay in the New Hebrides.
+
+
+</p>
+<p class="alignright"><span class="smallcaps">BASLE</span>, <i>April</i> 1913.
+
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="xd0e141" href="#xd0e141">ix</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div id="toc" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><h2 class="normal">Contents</h2>
+<p></p>
+<div class="table">
+<table>
+<tr valign="top">
+<td valign="top">Chap. </td>
+<td valign="top" class="&#xA; alignright&#xA; "> </td>
+<td valign="top" class="alignright">Page</td>
+</tr>
+<tr valign="top">
+<td valign="top" class="&#xA; alignright&#xA; "> </td>
+<td valign="top"><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#intro">Introduction</a></span>
+</td>
+<td valign="top" class="alignright">1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr valign="top">
+<td valign="top">I. </td>
+<td valign="top"><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#ch1">Noum&eacute;a and Port Vila</a></span>
+</td>
+<td valign="top" class="alignright">19</td>
+</tr>
+<tr valign="top">
+<td valign="top">II. </td>
+<td valign="top"><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#ch2">Maei, Tongoa, Epi and Malekula</a></span>
+</td>
+<td valign="top" class="alignright">28</td>
+</tr>
+<tr valign="top">
+<td valign="top">III. </td>
+<td valign="top"><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#ch3">The Segond Channel&#8212;Life on a Plantation</a></span>
+</td>
+<td valign="top" class="alignright">35</td>
+</tr>
+<tr valign="top">
+<td valign="top">IV. </td>
+<td valign="top"><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#ch4">Recruiting for Natives</a></span>
+</td>
+<td valign="top" class="alignright">53</td>
+</tr>
+<tr valign="top">
+<td valign="top">V. </td>
+<td valign="top"><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#ch5">Vao</a></span>
+</td>
+<td valign="top" class="alignright">85</td>
+</tr>
+<tr valign="top">
+<td valign="top">VI. </td>
+<td valign="top"><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#ch6">Port Olry and a &#8220;Sing-Sing&#8221;</a></span>
+</td>
+<td valign="top" class="alignright">109</td>
+</tr>
+<tr valign="top">
+<td valign="top">VII. </td>
+<td valign="top"><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#ch7">Santo</a></span>
+</td>
+<td valign="top" class="alignright">136</td>
+</tr>
+<tr valign="top">
+<td valign="top">VIII. </td>
+<td valign="top"><a href="#ch8"><span class="smallcaps">Santo</span> (<i>continued</i>)&#8212;<span class="smallcaps">Pygmies</span></a>
+</td>
+<td valign="top" class="alignright">161</td>
+</tr>
+<tr valign="top">
+<td valign="top">IX. </td>
+<td valign="top"><a href="#ch9"><span class="smallcaps">Santo</span> (<i>continued</i>)&#8212;<span class="smallcaps">Pigs</span></a>
+</td>
+<td valign="top" class="alignright">171</td>
+</tr>
+<tr valign="top">
+<td valign="top">X. </td>
+<td valign="top"><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#ch10">Climbing Santo Peak</a></span>
+</td>
+<td valign="top" class="alignright">179</td>
+</tr>
+<tr valign="top">
+<td valign="top">XI. </td>
+<td valign="top"><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#ch11">Ambrym</a></span>
+</td>
+<td valign="top" class="alignright">191</td>
+</tr>
+<tr valign="top">
+<td valign="top">XII. </td>
+<td valign="top"><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#ch12">Pentecoste</a></span>
+</td>
+<td valign="top" class="alignright">224</td>
+</tr>
+<tr valign="top">
+<td valign="top">XIII. </td>
+<td valign="top"><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#ch13">Aoba</a></span>
+</td>
+<td valign="top" class="alignright">241</td>
+</tr>
+<tr valign="top">
+<td valign="top">XIV. </td>
+<td valign="top"><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#ch14">Loloway&#8212;Malo&#8212;The Banks Islands</a></span>
+</td>
+<td valign="top" class="alignright">250</td>
+</tr>
+<tr valign="top">
+<td valign="top">XV. </td>
+<td valign="top"><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#ch15">Tanna</a></span>
+</td>
+<td valign="top" class="alignright">270</td>
+</tr>
+<tr valign="top">
+<td valign="top">XVI. </td>
+<td valign="top"><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#ch16">The Santa Cruz Islands</a></span>
+</td>
+<td valign="top" class="alignright">277</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div><p>
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="xd0e340" href="#xd0e340">xi</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><h2 class="normal">List of Illustrations</h2>
+<ol class="lsoff">
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p000">Shore in Graciosa Bay</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum"><i>Frontispiece</i></span></li>
+<li>&nbsp; <span class="tocPagenum">Facing page</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p003">Women From the Reef Islands in Carlisle Bay</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">3</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p010">Native Taro Field on Maevo</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">10</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p015">Man from Nitendi working the Loom</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">15</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p022">A Cannibal before his Hut on Tanna</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">22</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p031">Dancing Table near Port Sandwich</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">31</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p040">Old Man with Young Wife on Ambrym</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">40</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p047">Front of a Chief&#8217;s House on Venua Lava</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">47</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p054">Man from Nitendi</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">54</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p061">Cannibal from Big Nambas</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">61</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p070">Woman on Nitendi</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">70</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p077">Canoe on Ureparapara</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">77</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p085">Dancing-Ground on Vao, with Ancestor Houses</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">85</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p093">Dancing-Ground on Vao</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">93</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p099">Woman from Tanna</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">99</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p106">House Fences on Vao</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">106</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p115">Gamal near Port Olry</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">115</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p129">Group of Large and Small Drums near Port Sandwich</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">129</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p136">View along the Shore of a Coral Island</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">136</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p147">Interior of a Gamal on Venua Lava</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">147</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p163">Wild Mountain Scenery in the District of the Pygmies</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">163</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p179">Irrigated Taro Field on Santo</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">179</span><span class="pagenum">[<a id="xd0e504" href="#xd0e504">xii</a>]</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p191">Dwelling of a Trader on Ambrym</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">191</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p199">View from Hospital&#8212;Dip Point</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">199</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p205">Women cooking on Ambrym</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">205</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p218">Fern Trees on Ambrym</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">218</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p227">Group of Drums and Statues on Malekula</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">227</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p241">Cooking-House on Aoba</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">241</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p244">Fire-Rubbing</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">244</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p251">Tattooing on Aoba</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">251</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p255">Dwelling-House on Gaua</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">255</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p258">Ancestor-House on Gaua</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">258</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p261">Drum Concert on Ureparapara</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">261</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p264">Interior of a Gamal on Gaua</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">264</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p270">Men from Tanna</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">270</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p272">Women from Tanna</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">272</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p277">Canoe from Nitendi</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">277</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p279">Man from Nitendi, Shooting</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">279</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p284">Man from Nitendi, with Pearl Shell Nose</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">284</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p287">Man from Tucopia</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">287</span></li>
+<li><span class="smallcaps"><a href="#p291b">Map</a></span> <span class="tocPagenum">291</span></li>
+</ol>
+</div>
+</div><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb1" href="#pb1">1</a>]</span><div class="body">
+<div id="intro" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><h2 class="super">Two Years with the Natives in the Western Pacific</h2>
+<h2 class="normal">Introduction</h2>
+<p>Late in the sixteenth century the Spaniards made several voyages in search of a continent in the southern part of the great
+Pacific Ocean. Alvara Mendana de Neyra, starting in 1568 from the west coast of South America and following about the sixth
+degree southern latitude, found the Solomon Islands, which he took for parts of the desired continent. In 1595 he undertook
+another voyage, keeping a more southerly course, and discovered the Queen Charlotte Islands; the largest of these, Nitendi,
+he called Santa Cruz, and gave the fitting name of Graciosa Bay to the lovely cove in which he anchored. He tried to found
+a colony here, but failed. Mendana died in Santa Cruz, and his lieutenant, Pedro Vernandez de Quiros, led the expedition home.
+In Europe, Quiros succeeded in interesting the Spanish king, Philip III., in the idea of another voyage, so that in 1603 he
+was able to set sail from Spain with three ships. Again he reached the Santa Cruz Islands, and sailing southward from there
+he landed in 1606 on a larger island, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb2" href="#pb2">2</a>]</span>which he took for the desired Australian continent and called Tierra Australis del Espiritu Santo; the large bay he named
+San Iago and San Felipe, and his anchorage Vera Cruz. He stayed here some months and founded the city of New Jerusalem at
+the mouth of the river Jordan in the curve of the bay. Quiros claims to have made a few sailing trips thence, southward along
+the east coast of the island; if he had pushed on far enough these cruises might easily have convinced him of the island-nature
+of the country. Perhaps he was aware of the truth; certainly the lovely descriptions he gave King Philip of the beauties of
+the new territory are so exaggerated that one may be pardoned for thinking him quite capable of dignifying an island by the
+name of continent.
+
+</p>
+<p>The inevitable quarrels with the natives, and diseases and mutinies among his crew, forced him to abandon the colony and return
+home. His lieutenant, Luis Vaez de Torres, separated from him, discovered <span class="corr" id="xd0e651" title="Source: an">and</span> passed the Torres Straits, a feat of excellent seamanship. Quiros returned to America. His high-flown descriptions of his
+discovery did not help him much, for the king simply ignored him, and his reports were buried in the archives. Quiros died
+in poverty and bitterness, and the only traces of his travels are the names Espiritu Santo, Bay San Iago and San Felipe, and
+Jordan, in use to this day.
+
+</p>
+<p>No more explorers came to the islands till 1767, when a Frenchman, Carteret, touched at Santa Cruz, and 1768, when Bougainville
+landed in the northern <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb3" href="#pb3">3</a>]</span>New Hebrides, leaving his name to the treacherous channel between Malekula and Santo.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p003" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p003.jpg" alt="WOMEN FROM THE REEF ISLANDS IN CARLISLE BAY, NITENDI." width="720" height="459"><p class="figureHead">WOMEN FROM THE REEF ISLANDS IN CARLISLE BAY, NITENDI.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>But all these travellers were thrown into the shade by the immortal discoverer, James Cook, who, in the New Hebrides, as everywhere
+else, combined into solid scientific material all that his predecessors had left in a state of patchwork. Cook&#8217;s first voyage
+made possible the observation of the transit of Venus from one of the islands of the Pacific. His second cruise, in search
+of the Australian continent, led him, coming from Tongoa, to the New Hebrides, of which he first sighted Maevo.
+
+</p>
+<p>Assisted by two brilliant scientists, Reinhold and George Forster, Cook investigated the archipelago with admirable exactitude,
+determined the position of the larger islands, made scientific collections of all sorts, and gave us the first reliable descriptions
+of the country and its people, so that the material he gathered is of the greatest value even at the present day. The group
+had formerly been known as the &#8220;Great Cyclades&#8221;; Cook gave it its present name of &#8220;New Hebrides.&#8221;
+
+</p>
+<p>Incited by Cook&#8217;s surprising results the French Government sent La P&eacute;rouse to the islands, but he was shipwrecked in 1788
+on Vanikoro, the southern-most of the Santa Cruz group; remains of this wreck were found on Vanikoro a few years ago. In 1789
+Bligh sighted the Banks Islands, and in 1793 d&#8217;Entrecastaux, sent by Louis XVI. to the rescue of La P&eacute;rouse, saw the islands
+of Santa Cruz. Since that time traffic with the islands became more frequent; <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb4" href="#pb4">4</a>]</span>among many travellers we may mention the French captain, Dumont d&#8217;Urville, and the Englishmen, Belcher and Erskine, who, as
+well as Markham, have all left interesting accounts.
+
+</p>
+<p>But with Markham we enter that sad period which few islands of the Pacific escaped, in which the scum of the white race carried
+on their bloodstained trade in whaling products and sandalwood. They terrorized the natives shamelessly, and when these, naturally
+enough, often resorted to cruel modes of defence, they retaliated with deeds still more frightful, and the bad reputation
+they themselves made for the natives served them as a welcome excuse for a system of extermination. The horrors of slave-trade
+were added to piracy, so that in a few decades the native race of the New Hebrides and Banks Islands was so weakened that
+in many places to-day its preservation seems hopeless.
+
+</p>
+<p>Thus, for the financial advantage of the worst of whites, and from indolence and short-sighted national rivalry, a race was
+sacrificed which in every respect would be worth preserving, and it is a shameful fact that even to-day such atrocities are
+not impossible and very little is done to save the islanders from destruction.
+
+</p>
+<p>The only factor opposing these conditions was the Mission, which obtained a foothold in the islands under Bishop John Williams.
+He was killed in 1839 by the natives of Erromanga, but the Protestant missionaries, especially the Presbyterians, would not
+be repulsed, and slowly advanced northward, in spite <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb5" href="#pb5">5</a>]</span>of many losses. To-day the Presbyterian mission occupies all the New Hebrides, with the exception of <span class="corr" id="xd0e679" title="Source: Pentecote">Pentecoste</span>, Aoba and Maevo. To the north lies the field of the Anglican mission, extending up to the Solomon Islands.
+
+</p>
+<p>In 1848 Roman Catholic missionaries settled in Aneityum, but soon gave up the station; in 1887 they returned and spread all
+over the archipelago, with the exception of the southern islands and the Banks group.
+
+</p>
+<p>Of late years several representatives of free Protestant sects have come out, but, as a rule, these settle only where they
+can combine a profitable trade with their mission work.
+
+</p>
+<p>Owing to energetic agitation on the part of the Anglican and Presbyterian Churches, especially of Bishop Patteson and the
+Rev. J. G. Paton, men-of-war were ordered to the islands on police duty, so as to watch the labour-trade. They could not suppress
+kidnapping entirely, and the transportation of the natives to Queensland continued until within the last ten years, when it
+was suppressed by the Australian Government, so that to-day the natives are at least not taken away from their own islands,
+except those recruited by the French for New Caledonia.
+
+</p>
+<p>Unhappily, England and France could not agree as to who should annex the New Hebrides. Violent agitation in both camps resulted
+in neither power being willing to leave the islands to the other, as numerical superiority on the French side was counter-balanced
+by the absolute economical dependence of the colonists upon Australia. England put the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb6" href="#pb6">6</a>]</span>group under the jurisdiction of the &#8220;Western Pacific,&#8221; with a high commissioner; France retorted by the so-called purchase
+of all useful land by the &#8220;Soci&eacute;t&eacute; Fran&ccedil;aise des Nouvelles H&eacute;brides,&#8221; a private company, which spent great sums on the islands
+in a short time. Several propositions of exchange failed to suit either of the powers, but both feared the interference of
+a third, and conditions in the islands called urgently for a government; so, in 1887, a dual control was established, each
+power furnishing a warship and a naval commissioner, who were to unite in keeping order. This was the beginning of the present
+Condominium, which was signed in 1906 and proclaimed in 1908 in Port Vila; quite a unique form of government and at the same
+time a most interesting experiment in international administration.
+
+</p>
+<p>The Condominium puts every Englishman or Frenchman under the laws of his own nation, as represented by its officials; so that
+these two nationalities live as they would in any colony of their own, while all others have to take their choice between
+these two.
+
+</p>
+<p>Besides the national laws, the Condominium has a few ordinances to regulate the intercourse between the two nations, the sale
+of liquor and arms to natives, recruiting and treatment of labourers, etc. As the highest instance in the islands and as a
+supreme tribunal, an international court of six members has been appointed: two Spanish, two Dutch, one English and one French.
+Thus the higher officials of the Condominium are:
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb7" href="#pb7">7</a>]</span>
+</p>
+<ol class="lsoff">
+<li>One English and one French resident commissioner,
+
+</li>
+<li>One Spanish president of the Court,
+
+</li>
+<li>One English and one French judge,
+
+</li>
+<li>One Dutch registrar,
+
+</li>
+<li>One Spanish prosecuting attorney,
+
+</li>
+<li>One Dutch native advocate,
+
+</li>
+<li>One English and one French police commissioner.</li>
+</ol><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>The Santa Cruz Islands were annexed by England in 1898 and belong to the jurisdiction of the Solomon Islands.
+
+
+</p>
+<div class="div2">
+<h3 class="normal">Geography</h3>
+<p>The New Hebrides lie between 165&deg; and 170&deg; east longitude, and reach from 13&deg; to 20&deg; south latitude. The Santa Cruz Islands
+lie 116&deg; east and 11&deg; south.
+
+</p>
+<p>The New Hebrides and Banks Islands consist of thirteen larger islands and a great number of islets and rocks, covering an
+area of about 15,900 km. The largest island is Espiritu Santo, about 107 x 57 km., with 4900 km. surface. They are divided
+into the Torres group, the Banks Islands, the Central and the Southern New Hebrides. The Banks and Torres Islands and the
+Southern New Hebrides are composed of a number of isolated, scattered islands, while the Central group forms a chain, which
+divides at Epi into an eastern and a western branch, and encloses a stretch of sea, hemming it in on all sides except the
+north. On the coast of this inland sea, especially on the western islands, large coral formations have grown, changing what
+was originally narrow mountain chains, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb8" href="#pb8">8</a>]</span>running north and south, to larger islands. Indeed, most of them seem to consist of a volcanic nucleus, on which lie great
+coral banks, often 200 m. high; these usually drop in five steep steps to the sea, and then merge into the living coral-reef
+in the water. Most of the islands, therefore, appear as typical table-islands, out of which, in the largest ones, rise the
+rounded tops of the volcanic stones. They are all very mountainous; the highest point is Santo Peak, 1500 m. high.
+
+</p>
+<p>The tides cause very nasty tide-rips in the narrow channels between the islands of the Central group; but inside, the sea
+is fairly good, and the reefs offer plenty of anchorage for small craft. Much less safe are the open archipelagoes of the
+Banks and Torres Islands and of the Southern New Hebrides, where the swell of the open ocean is unbroken by any land and harbours
+are scarce.
+
+</p>
+<p>There are three active volcanoes on the New Hebrides&#8212;the mighty double crater on Ambrym, the steep cone of Lopevi, and the
+volcano of Tanna. There is a half-extinct volcano on Venua Lava, and many other islands show distinct traces of former volcanic
+activity, such as Meralava and Ureparapara, one side of which has broken down, so that now there is a smooth bay where once
+the lava boiled.
+
+</p>
+<p>Rivers are found only on the larger islands, where there are volcanic rocks. In the coral rocks the rain-water oozes rapidly
+away, so that fresh-water springs are not frequently found, in spite of very considerable rainfall.
+
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb9" href="#pb9">9</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="div2">
+<h3 class="normal">Climate</h3>
+<p>The climate is not hot and very equable. The average temperature in Efate in 1910 was 24.335&deg; C.; the hottest month was February,
+with an average of 27.295&deg;, the coolest, July with 11.9&deg; C. The lowest absolute temperature was 11.9&deg; C. in August, and the
+highest 35.6&deg; C. in March. The average yearly variation, therefore, was 5.48&deg;, and the absolute difference 23.7&deg;.
+
+</p>
+<p>The rainfall is very heavy. In December the maximum, 564 mm., was reached, and in June the minimum, 22 mm. The total rainfall
+was 3.012 mm., giving a daily average of 8.3 mm.
+
+</p>
+<p>These figures, taken from a table in the <i>Neo-Hebridais</i>, show that the year is divided into a cool, dry season and a hot, damp one. From May to October one enjoys agreeable summer
+days, bright and cool, with a predominant south-east trade-wind, that rises and falls with the sun and creates a fairly salubrious
+climate. From November to April the atmosphere is heavy and damp, and one squall follows another. Often there is no wind,
+or the wind changes quickly and comes in heavy gusts from the north-west. This season is the time for cyclones, which occur
+at least once a year; happily, their centre rarely touches the islands, as they lie somewhat out of the regular cyclone track.
+
+</p>
+<p>A similar climate, with but slightly higher temperature, prevails on the Santa Cruz Islands.
+
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb10" href="#pb10">10</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="div2">
+<h3 class="normal">Flora and Fauna</h3>
+<p>The vegetation of the New Hebrides is luxurious enough to make all later visitors share Quiros&#8217; amazement. The possibilities
+for the planter are nearly inexhaustible, and the greatest difficulty is that of keeping the plantations from the constant
+encroachments of the forest. Yet the flora is poorer in forms than that of Asiatic regions, and in the southern islands it
+is said to be much like that of New Caledonia.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p010" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p010.jpg" alt="NATIVE TARO FIELD ON MAEVO." width="720" height="461"><p class="figureHead">NATIVE TARO FIELD ON MAEVO.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>As a rule, thick forest covers the islands; only rarely we find areas covered with reed-grass. On Erromanga these are more
+frequent.
+
+</p>
+<p>In the Santa Cruz Islands the flora seems richer than in the New Hebrides.
+
+</p>
+<p>Still more simple than the flora is the fauna. Of mammals there are only the pig, dog, a flying-fox and the rat, of which
+the first two have probably been imported by the natives. There are but few birds, reptiles and amphibies, but the few species
+there are are very prolific, so that we find swarms of lizards and snakes, the latter all harmless Boid&aelig;, but occasionally
+of considerable size.
+
+</p>
+<p>Crocodiles are found only in the Santa Cruz Islands, and do not grow so large there as in the Solomon Islands.
+
+</p>
+<p>Animal life in the sea is very rich; turtles and many kinds of fish and Cetace&aelig; are plentiful.
+
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb11" href="#pb11">11</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="div2">
+<h3 class="normal">Native Population</h3>
+<p>The natives belong to the Melanesian race, which is a collective name for the dark-skinned, curly-haired, bearded inhabitants
+of the Pacific. The Melanesians are quite distinct from the Australians, and still more so from the lank-haired, light-skinned
+Polynesians of the eastern islands. Probably a mixture of Polynesians and Melanesians are the Micronesians, who are light-skinned
+but curly-haired, and of whom we find representatives in the New Hebrides. The island-nature of the archipelago is very favourable
+to race-mixture; and as we know that on some islands there were several settlements of Polynesians, it is not surprising to
+find a very complex mingling of races, which it is not an easy task to disentangle. It would seem, however, that we have before
+us remnants of four races: a short, dark, curly-haired and perhaps original race, a few varieties of the tall Melanesian race,
+arrived in the islands in several migrations, an old Polynesian element as a relic of its former migrations eastward, and
+a present Polynesian element from the east.
+
+</p>
+<p>Every traveller will notice that the lightest population is in the south and north-east of the New Hebrides, while the darkest
+is in the north-west, and the ethnological difference corresponds to this division.
+
+</p>
+<p>In the Banks Islands we find, probably owing to recent immigration, more Polynesian blood than in the northern New Hebrides;
+in the Santa Cruz group the process of mixing seems to be just going on.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb12" href="#pb12">12</a>]</span></p>
+<p>The number of natives in the New Hebrides and Banks Islands amounted, according to the approximate census of the British Resident
+Commissioner in 1910, to 65,000. At a conservative estimate we may say that before the coming of the whites, that is, a generation
+ago, it was ten times that, <i>i.e.</i> 650,000. For to judge from present conditions, the accounts of old men and the many ruined villages, it is evident that the
+race must have decreased enormously.
+
+
+</p>
+</div>
+<div class="div2">
+<h3 class="normal">Language</h3>
+<p>The languages belong to the Melanesian and Polynesian classes. They are split up into numerous dialects, so widely different
+that natives of different districts can hardly, if at all, understand each other. It is evident that owing to the seclusion
+of the villages caused by the general insecurity of former days, and the lack of any literature, the language developed differently
+in every village.
+
+</p>
+<p>On some islands things are so bad that one may easily walk in one day through several districts, in each of which is spoken
+a language quite unintelligible to the neighbours; there are even adjoining villages whose natives have to learn each other&#8217;s
+language; this makes them fairly clever linguists. Where, by migrations, conditions have become too complicated, the most
+important of the dialects has been adopted as a kind of &#8220;lingua franca.&#8221;
+
+</p>
+<p>Under these circumstances I at once gave up the idea of learning a native language, as I never stopped anywhere more than
+a few weeks; and as the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb13" href="#pb13">13</a>]</span>missionaries have done good work in the cause of philology, my services were not needed. I was, therefore, dependent on interpreters
+in &#8220;biche la mar,&#8221; a language which contains hardly more than fifty words, and which is spoken on the plantations, but is
+quite useless for discussing any abstract subject. In nearly every village there is some man who can speak biche la mar.
+
+
+</p>
+</div>
+<div class="div2">
+<h3 class="normal">Colonization</h3>
+<p>As we have seen, colonization in the New Hebrides was begun by the whalers, who had several stations in the southern islands.
+They had, however, little intercourse with the natives, and their influence may be considered fairly harmless.
+
+</p>
+<p>More dangerous were the sandalwood traders, who worked chiefly in Erromanga. They were not satisfied with buying the valuable
+wood from the natives, but tried to get directly at the rich supplies inland. Naturally, they came into conflict with the
+natives, and fierce wars arose, in which the whites fought with all the weapons unscrupulous cruelty can wield. As a result,
+the population of Erromanga has decreased from between 5000 and 10,000 to 800.
+
+</p>
+<p>Happily, the northern islands were not so rich in sandalwood, so that contact with the whites came later, through the coprah-makers.
+Coprah is dried cocoa-nut, which is used in manufacturing soap, and the great wealth of cocoa-nut palms attracted coprah-makers
+as early as the &#8217;Seventies of the last century. They were nearly all ruined adventurers, either <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb14" href="#pb14">14</a>]</span>escaped from the Noum&eacute;a penitentiary or otherwise the scum of the white race. Such individuals would settle near a good anchorage
+close to some large village, build a straw hut, and barter coprah for European goods and liquor. They made a very fair profit,
+but were constantly quarrelling with the natives, whom they enraged by all sorts of brutalities. The frequent murders of such
+traders were excusable, to say the least, and many later ones were acts of justifiable revenge. The traders were kept in contact
+with civilization through small sailing-vessels, which brought them new goods and bought their coprah. This easy money-making
+attracted more whites, so that along the coasts of the more peaceable islands numerous Europeans settled, and at present there
+are so many of these stations that the coprah-trade is no longer very profitable.
+
+</p>
+<p>Naturally, many of these settlers started plantations, and thus grew up the plantation centres of Mele, Port Havannah, Port
+Sandwich, Epi and the Segond Channel. Many plantations were created by the &#8220;Soci&eacute;t&eacute; Fran&ccedil;aise des Nouvelles H&eacute;brides,&#8221; but
+owing to bad management these have never yet brought any returns.
+
+</p>
+<p>Thus, to the alcohol peril was added another danger to the natives,&#8212;work on the plantations. They were kidnapped, overworked,
+ill-fed; it was slavery in its worst shape, and the treatment of the hands is best illustrated by the mortality which, in
+some places, reached 44 per cent. per annum. In those days natives were plentiful and labour easy to <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb15" href="#pb15">15</a>]</span>get, and nobody worried about the future; so the ruin of the race began, and to-day their number hardly suffices for the needs
+of the planters.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p015" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p015.jpg" alt="MAN FROM NITENDI WORKING THE LOOM." width="720" height="451"><p class="figureHead">MAN FROM NITENDI WORKING THE LOOM.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>Then the slave-trade to Queensland, Fiji, even South America began, so that the population, relatively small from the first,
+decreased alarmingly, all the more so as they were decimated by dysentery, measles, tuberculosis and other diseases.
+
+</p>
+<p>Against all these harmful influences the missions, unsupported as they were by any authority, could only fight by protests
+in the civilized countries; these proved effectual at last, so that the missions deserve great credit for having preserved
+the native race. Yet it cannot be said that they have restored its vitality, except in Tanna. It seems as if the system of
+imbibing the native with so much European culture, and yet separating him from the whites and regulated labour, had been noxious
+to the race, for nearly everywhere the Christianized natives die out just as fast as the heathen population.
+
+</p>
+<p>About ten years after the French, the English began planting, and to-day nearly all arable land along the coast is cultivated.
+The English suffer much less from lack of labour, which is doubtless owing to their more humane and just treatment of the
+hands. In the first place, they usually come from better stock than the French, and, secondly, they are strictly controlled
+by the Government, whereas the French Government does not even attempt to enforce its own laws.
+
+</p>
+<p>There is now some question of importing Indian <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb16" href="#pb16">16</a>]</span>coolies; the great expense this would entail would be a just punishment for the short-sighted cruelty with which the most
+valuable product of the islands&#8212;their population&#8212;has been destroyed. Only by compelling each native to work for a definite
+period could a sufficient amount of labour be produced to-day; but such a system, while extremely beneficial to the race as
+a whole, stands but a poor chance of being introduced.
+
+</p>
+<p>The products of the islands are coprah, coffee, corn, cocoa and, of late years, cotton. The chief item, however, is coprah,
+for the islands seem specially suited for the growing of cocoa-nut palms. Rubber does not seem to thrive.
+
+</p>
+<p>In spite of the great number of officials, the Government does not make itself much felt outside the larger settlements, at
+least on the French side. There are not yet magistrates on each island, so that the Government hears only so much about the
+crimes committed on the islands as the planters care to tell, and naturally they do not tell too much. The British Government
+is represented by two inspectors, who frequently visit all the British plantations and look into labour conditions; the activity
+of the French authorities is restricted to occasional visits from the Resident.
+
+</p>
+<p>Thus the natives have no means of complaining about the whites, while they have to submit to any punishment they may get on
+the accusation of a colonist. This would be a very one-sided affair; happily, the missionaries represent the interests of
+the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb17" href="#pb17">17</a>]</span>natives, and the power of the Government does not reach far inland. There the natives are quite independent, so that only
+a few hours away from the coast cannibalism still flourishes. Formerly, expeditions from the men-of-war frightened the natives;
+to-day they know that resistance is easy. It is, therefore, not the merit of the Government or the planters if the islands
+are fairly pacified, but only of the missions, which work mostly through native teachers. Still, the missions have had one
+bad effect: they have undermined the old native authorities and thus created general anarchy to complete the destruction begun
+by European civilization.
+
+</p>
+<p>In the Santa Cruz Islands there is only one plantation, worked by boys from the Solomon Islands, as the Santa Cruz natives
+are not yet used to regular work. But to-day they frequently recruit for the plantations on the Solomons, and there come into
+contact with civilization. There the labour conditions are strictly watched by the British Government; still, boys returning
+from there have sometimes imported diseases, generally tuberculosis, which have reduced the population by half.
+
+
+</p>
+</div>
+<div class="div2">
+<h3 class="normal">Commerce</h3>
+<p>Communications with Sydney, the commercial centre of the Western Pacific, are established by means of a French and an English
+line of steamers. A few small steamers and schooners ply at irregular intervals between Noum&eacute;a and the New Hebrides.
+
+</p>
+<p>The English steamers fly the flag of Burns, Philp <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb18" href="#pb18">18</a>]</span>&amp; Company, the great Australian firm which trades with numerous island groups of the South Seas. Their steamers touch the
+Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands, stop for a few days at Vila, then call in a four weeks&#8217; cruise at nearly all the plantations
+in the islands. They carry the mail and ply a profitable trade with the planters; they also do errands for the colonists in
+Sydney, procuring anything from a needle to a horse or a house. Being practically without serious competitors they can set
+any price they please on commodities, so that they are a power in the islands and control the trade of the group; all the
+more so as many planters are dependent on them for large loans. To me, Burns, Philp &amp; Company were extremely useful, as on
+board their ships I could always find money, provisions and articles for barter, send my collections to Vila, and <span class="corr" id="xd0e845" title="Source: occasionaly">occasionally</span> travel from one island to another.
+
+</p>
+<p>The French line is run by the Messageries Maritimes, on quite a different plan: it is merely for mail-service and does not
+do any trading. Its handsome steamer travels in three weeks from Sydney to Noum&eacute;a and Port Vila, visits about three plantations
+and leaves the islands after one week. This line offers the shortest and most comfortable connection with Sydney, taking eight
+days for the trip, while the English steamers take eleven.
+
+</p>
+<p>The port of entrance to the group is Port Vila, chosen for its proximity to New Caledonia and Sydney; it is a good harbour,
+though somewhat narrow.
+
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb19" href="#pb19">19</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="ch1" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><h2 class="label">Chapter I</h2>
+<h2 class="normal">Noum&eacute;a and Port Vila</h2>
+<p>On April 26, 1910, I arrived at Noum&eacute;a by the large and very old mail-steamer of the Messageries Maritimes, plying between
+Marseilles and Noum&eacute;a, which I had boarded at Sydney.
+
+</p>
+<p>Noum&eacute;a impresses one very unfavourably. A time of rapid development has been followed by a period of stagnation, increased
+by the suppression of the penitentiary, the principal source of income to the town. The latter has never grown to the size
+originally planned and laid out, and its desolate squares and decayed houses are a depressing sight. Two or three steamers
+and a few sailing-vessels are all the craft the harbour contains; a few customs officers and discharged convicts loaf on the
+pier, where some natives from the Loyalty Islands sleep or shout.
+
+</p>
+<p>Parallel streets lead from the harbour to the hills that fence the town to the landward. Under roofs of corrugated sheet-iron
+run the sidewalks, along dark stores displaying unappetizing food, curios and cheap millinery. At each corner is a dismal
+sailors&#8217; bar, smelling of absinthe. Then we come to an empty, decayed square, where a crippled, noseless &#8220;Gallia&#8221; stands on
+a fountain; some half-drunk coachmen <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb20" href="#pb20">20</a>]</span>lounge dreaming on antediluvian cabs, and a few old convicts sprawl on benches.
+
+</p>
+<p>Along the hillside are the houses of the high officials and the better class of people. There is a club, where fat officials
+gather to play cards and drink absinthe and champagne; they go to the barber&#8217;s, roll cigarettes, drink some more absinthe
+and go to bed early, after having visited a music-hall, in which monstrous dancing-girls from Sydney display their charms
+and moving-picture shows present blood-curdling dramas. Then there is the Governor&#8217;s residence, the town hall, etc., and the
+only event in this quiet city of officials is the arrival of the mail-steamer, when all the &#8220;beau-monde&#8221; gathers on the pier
+to welcome the few passengers, whether known or unknown.
+
+</p>
+<p>In Noum&eacute;a itself there is no industry, and the great export of minerals does not touch the town. Once, Noum&eacute;a was meant to
+form a base of naval operations, and strongly fortified. But after a few years this idea was abandoned, after having cost
+large sums, and now the fortifications are left to decay and the heavy, modern guns to rust.
+
+</p>
+<p>In spite of a prohibition, one may climb up to the forts, and be rewarded by a beautiful view of the island, which does not
+impress one as tropical. The rounded hills are covered with shrubs, and only in the valleys are there a few trees; we are
+surprised by the strong colouring of the distant mountains, shining purple through the violet atmosphere.
+
+</p>
+<p>Seaward, we see the white line of the breakers, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb21" href="#pb21">21</a>]</span>indicating the great barrier-reef which surrounds the isle with an almost impenetrable belt; a few channels only lead from
+the shore to the open ocean.
+
+</p>
+<p>On the 1st of May the <i>Pacific</i> arrived at Noum&eacute;a, and her departure for Vila, next day, ended a most tiresome stay.
+
+</p>
+<p>It was a sad, rainy day when we left. Impatiently the passengers waited till the freight was loaded,&#8212;houses, iron, horses,
+cases of tins, etc. Of course we were six hours late, and all the whites were angry, while the few natives did not care, but
+found a dry corner, rolled themselves up in their blankets and dozed. When we finally left, heavy squalls were rushing over
+the sea; in the darkness a fog came on, so that we had soon to come to anchor. But next morning we had passed the Loyalty
+Islands and were rolling in the heavy swell the south-east trade raises on the endless surface of the Pacific.
+
+</p>
+<p>Next day, through the light mist of a summer morning, the forms of islands appeared, flat, bluish-grey lines, crowned with
+rounded hills. Slowly finer points appeared, the ridge of mountains showed details and we could recognize the tops of the
+giant banyan trees, towering above the forest as a cathedral does over the houses of a city. We saw the surf, breaking in
+the coral cliffs of flat shores, found the entrance to the wide bay, noticed the palms with elegantly curved trunks bending
+over the beach, and unexpectedly entered the lagoon, that shone in the bright sun like a glittering sapphire.
+
+</p>
+<p>We had passed the flat cliffs, covered only with <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb22" href="#pb22">22</a>]</span>iron-wood trees, and now the water was bordered by high coral plateaux, from which a luxuriant forest fell down in heavy cascades,
+in a thickness almost alarming, like the eruption of a volcano, when one cloud pushes the other before it and new ones are
+ever behind. It seemed as if each tree were trying to strangle the others in a fight for life, while the weakest, deprived
+of their ground, clung frantically to the shore and would soon be pushed far out over the smooth, shining sea. There the last
+dense crowns formed the beautiful fringe of the green carpet stretched soft and thick over the earth.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p022" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p022.jpg" alt="A CANNIBAL BEFORE HIS PRIMITIVE HUT ON TANNA." width="720" height="463"><p class="figureHead">A CANNIBAL BEFORE HIS PRIMITIVE HUT ON TANNA.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>Only here and there the shore was free, showing the coral strand as a line of white that separated the blue of the sea from
+the green of the forest and intensified every colour in the landscape. It was a vision of the most magnificent luxuriance,
+so different from the view which the barren shores of eastern New Caledonia offer.
+
+</p>
+<p>The bay became narrower and we approached the port proper. Small islands appeared, between which we had glimpses of cool bays
+across glassy, deep-green water, and before us lay a broken line of light-coloured houses along the beach, while on the plateau
+behind we could see the big court-house and some villas.
+
+</p>
+<p>A little distance off-shore we dropped anchor, and were soon surrounded by boats, from which the inhabitants came on board.
+A kind planter brought me and my belongings ashore, and I took up my quarters in the only hotel in Port Vila, the so-called
+&#8220;blood-house,&#8221; thus named because of its history.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb23" href="#pb23">23</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Vila is merely the administration centre, and consists of nothing but a few stores and the houses of the Condominium officials.
+There is little life, and only the arrival of the ships brings some excitement, so that the stranger feels bored and lonely,
+especially as the &#8220;blood-house &#8221; does not offer many comforts and the society there is not of the choicest.
+
+</p>
+<p>I immediately went to present my letters of introduction to the French Resident. The offices of the British Residence were
+still on the small island of Iariki, which I could not reach without a boat. The French Residence is a long, flat, unattractive
+building; the lawn around the house was fairly well kept, but perfectly bare, in accordance with the French idea of salubrity,
+except for a few straggling bushes near by. Fowls and horses promenaded about. But the view is one of the most charming to
+be found in the islands. Just opposite is the entrance to the bay, and the two points frame the sea most effectively, numerous
+smaller capes deepening the perspective. Along their silhouettes the eye glides into far spaces, to dive beyond the horizon
+into infinity. Iariki is just in front, and we can see the well-kept park around the British Residence, with its mixture of
+art and wilderness; near by is the smooth sea shining in all colours. While the shores are of a yellowish green, the sea is
+of every shade of blue, and the green of the depths is saturated with that brilliant turquoise tint which is enough to put
+one into a light and happy humour. This being my first sight of a tropical landscape, my delight was great, and made <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb24" href="#pb24">24</a>]</span>up for any disappointment human inefficiency had occasioned.
+
+</p>
+<p>The French Resident, Mr. C, received me most kindly, and did me the honour of inviting me to be his guest. I had planned to
+stay in Vila a few weeks, so as to get acquainted with the country and hire boys; but the Resident seemed to think that I
+only intended a short visit to the islands, and he proposed to take me with him on a cruise through the archipelago and to
+deposit me at the Segond Channel, an invitation I could not well refuse. My objection of having no servants was overruled
+by the Resident&#8217;s assurance that I could easily find some in Santo. I therefore made my preparations and got my luggage ready.
+
+</p>
+<p>In the afternoon, Mr. C. lent me his boat to go and pay my respects to Mr. Morton King, the British Resident. The difference
+between the two residences was striking, but it would be out of place to dwell on it here. It may be caused by the fact that
+the French Resident is, as a rule, recalled every six months, while the British Resident had been at Vila for more than three
+years. Mr. King received me most cordially and also offered his hospitality, which, however, I was unable to accept. Later
+on Mr. King assisted and sheltered me in the most generous manner, so that I shall always remember his help and friendship
+with sincere gratitude.
+
+</p>
+<p>I also had the honour of making the acquaintance of the British judge and of most of the Condominium officials.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb25" href="#pb25">25</a>]</span></p>
+<p>It was a dull morning when we left Vila on board the French Government yacht. In days gone by she had been an elegant racing-boat,
+but was now somewhat decayed and none too clean; however, she had been equipped with a motor, so that we were independent
+of the wind.
+
+</p>
+<p>Besides the Resident and myself there were on board the French judge, the police commissioner, and a crew of boys from the
+Loyalty Islands near New Caledonia. These are excellent sailors and are employed in Vila as French policemen. They are very
+strong and lively and great fighters, and would be perfect material for a police force were they not such confirmed drunkards.
+Because of this defect they all had to be dismissed soon afterwards and sent back to their own country, as in Vila, instead
+of arresting drunken natives, they had generally been drunk themselves and were often fighting in the streets. But on board
+ship, where they had no opportunity to get drunk, they were very willing and always cheerful and ready for sport of any kind.
+
+</p>
+<p>We did not travel far that first day, but stopped after a few hours&#8217; sail in Port Havannah, north of the Bay of Mele. This
+port would be one of the best harbours in the group, as it is almost entirely landlocked; only, the water is so deep that
+small craft cannot anchor. Yet it would be preferable to Port Vila, as the climate is much better, Vila being one of the hottest,
+stuffiest and rainiest spots in the group, and its harbour is becoming too small for the increased traffic of the last few
+years. Port <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb26" href="#pb26">26</a>]</span>Vila only became the capital of the islands when the English influence grew stronger, while all the land round Port Havannah
+belonged to a French company.
+
+</p>
+<p>We spent the afternoon on shore shooting pigeons. Besides a few ducks, flying-foxes and wild pigs, pigeons are the only game
+in the islands; but this pigeon-shooting is a peculiar sport and requires a special enthusiasm to afford pleasure for any
+length of time. The birds are extremely shy and generally sit on the tops of the highest trees where a European can hardly
+discover them. The natives, however, are very clever in detecting them, but when they try to show you the pigeon it generally
+flies off and is lost; and if you shoot it, it is hard to find, even for a native. The natives themselves are capable of approaching
+the birds noiselessly and unseen, because of their colour, so as to shoot them from a short distance. My pigeon-shooting usually
+consisted in waiting for several hours in the forest, with very unsatisfactory results, so that I soon gave it up.
+
+</p>
+<p>We were all unsuccessful on this particular day, but it ended most gaily with a dance at the house of a French planter.
+
+</p>
+<p>We slept on board, rocked softly by the ship, against which the waves plashed in cosy whispering. The sky was bright with
+stars, but below decks it was dark and stuffy. Now and then a big fish jumped out of the black sea, otherwise it was quiet,
+dull and gloomy as a dismal dream.
+
+</p>
+<p>Next day we rose early and went shooting again. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb27" href="#pb27">27</a>]</span>Probably because we had been given the best wishes of an old French lady the result was as unsatisfactory as the evening before.
+We then resumed our journey in splendid weather, with a stiff breeze, and flying through blue spaces on the bright waves,
+we rapidly passed several small islands, sighted &#8220;Monument Rock,&#8221; a lonely cliff that rises abruptly out of the sea to a height
+of 130 m., and arrived late in the afternoon at Maei, our destination.
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb28" href="#pb28">28</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div id="ch2" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><h2 class="label">Chapter II</h2>
+<h2 class="normal">Maei, Tongoa, Epi and Malekula</h2>
+<p>Maei is a small island whose natives have nearly all disappeared, as is the case on most of its neighbours. There is one small
+plantation, with the agent of which the Resident had business. After we had passed the narrow inlet through the reef, we landed,
+to find the agent in a peculiar, half-mad condition. He pretended to suffer from fever, but it was evident that alcohol had
+a good deal to do with it, too. The man made strange faces, could hardly talk and was quite unable to write; he said the fever
+had deprived him of the power of using his fingers. He was asked to dinner on board, and as he could not speak French nor
+the Resident English, negotiations were carried on in biche la mar, a language in which it is impossible to talk about anything
+but the simplest matters of everyday life. Things got still worse when the agent became more and more intoxicated, in spite
+of the small quantities of liquor we allowed him. I had to act as interpreter, a most ungrateful task, as the planter soon
+began to insult the Resident, and I had to translate his remarks and the Resident&#8217;s answers. At last, funny as the whole affair
+was in a way, it became very tiresome; happily, matters came to a sudden close by the planter&#8217;s falling under the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb29" href="#pb29">29</a>]</span>table. He was then taken ashore by his native wife and the police-boys, who enjoyed this duty immensely. We smoked a quiet
+pipe, looked after the fish-hooks&#8212;empty, of course&#8212;and slept on deck in the cool night air. Next morning the planter came
+aboard somewhat sobered and more tractable. He brought with him his wife, and their child whom he wished to adopt. As the
+native women do not as a rule stay with their masters very long, the children are registered under the formula: &#8220;Child of
+N. N., mother unknown,&#8221; an expression which sounds somewhat queer to those who do not know the reason for it.
+
+</p>
+<p>After having finished this business, we weighed anchor and set sail for Tongoa. This is one of the few islands whose native
+population does not decrease. The Presbyterian missionary there gives the entire credit for this pleasant fact to his exertions,
+as the natives are all converted. But as in other completely Christianized districts the natives die out rapidly, it is doubtful
+whether Christianity alone has had this beneficial effect, and we must seek other causes, though they are hard to find.
+
+</p>
+<p>After a clear night we sailed along the coast of Epi. The bright weather had changed to a dull, rainy day, and the aspect
+of the landscape was entirely altered. The smiling islands had become sober, lonely, even threatening. When the charm of a
+country consists so entirely in its colouring, any modification of the atmosphere and light cause such a change in its character
+that the same view may look either <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb30" href="#pb30">30</a>]</span>like Paradise or entirely dull and inhospitable. What had been thus far a pleasure trip, a holiday excursion, turned suddenly
+into a business journey, and this change in our mood was increased by a slight illness which had attacked the Resident, making
+the jovial gentleman morose and irritable.
+
+</p>
+<p>The stay in Epi was rather uninteresting. Owing to the dense French colonization there the natives have nearly all disappeared
+or become quite degenerate. We spent our time in visits to the different French planters and then sailed for Malekula, anchoring
+in Port Sandwich.
+
+</p>
+<p>Port Sandwich is a long, narrow bay in the south of Malekula, and after Port Vila the most frequented harbour of the group,
+as it is very centrally located and absolutely safe. Many a vessel has found protection there from storm or cyclone. The entrance
+to the bay is narrow, and at the anchorage we were so completely landlocked that we might have imagined ourselves on an inland
+lake, so quiet is the water, surrounded on all sides by the dark green forest which falls in heavy waves down from the hills
+to the silent, gloomy sea.
+
+</p>
+<p>Immediately after our arrival my companions went pigeon-shooting as usual; but I soon preferred to join the son of the French
+planter at Port Sandwich in a visit to the neighbouring native village. This was my first sight of the real, genuine aborigines.
+
+</p>
+<p>No one with any taste for nature will fail to feel the solemnity of the moment when he stands face to face for the first time
+with primitive man. As the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb31" href="#pb31">31</a>]</span>traveller enters the depths of the virgin forest for the first time with sacred awe, he feels that he stands before a still
+higher revelation of nature when the first dark, naked man suddenly appears. Silently he has crept through the thicket, has
+parted the branches, and confronts us unexpectedly on a narrow path, shy and silent, while we are struck with surprise. His
+figure is but slightly relieved against the green of the bushes; he seems part of the silent, luxuriant world around him,
+a being strange to us, a part of those realms which we are used to imagine as void of feeling and incapable of thought. But
+a word breaks the spell, intelligence gleams in his face, and what, so far, has seemed a strange being, belonging rather to
+the lower animals than to human-kind, shows himself a man, and becomes equal to ourselves. Thus the endless, inhospitable
+jungle, without open spaces or streets, without prairies and sun, that dense tangle of lianas and tree-trunks, shelters men
+like ourselves. It seems marvellous to think that in those depths, dull, dark and silent as the fathomless ocean, men can
+live, and we can hardly blame former generations for denying all kinship with these savages and counting them as animals;
+especially as the native never seems more primitive than when he is roaming the forest, naked but for a bark belt, with a
+big curly wig and waving plumes, bow and arrow his only weapons. When alarmed, he hides in the foliage, and once swallowed
+up in the green depths which are his home and his protection, neither eye nor ear can find any trace of him.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p031" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p031.jpg" alt="A DANCING-TABLE ON DANCING-GROUND NEAR PORT SANDWICH, MADE OF CORAL PLATES." width="720" height="465"><p class="figureHead">A DANCING-TABLE ON DANCING-GROUND NEAR PORT SANDWICH, MADE OF CORAL PLATES.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb32" href="#pb32">32</a>]</span></p>
+<p>But our ideas change when we enter his village home, with its dancing-grounds with the big drums, the sacred stone tables,
+idols and carved tree-trunks, all in a frame of violently coloured bushes&#8212;red, purple, brown and orange. Above us, across
+a blue sky, a tree with scarlet flowers blows in the breeze, and long stamens fall slowly down and cover the ground with a
+brilliant carpet. Dogs bark, roosters crow and from a hut a man creeps out&#8212;others emerge from the bush and from half-hidden
+houses which at first we had not noticed. At some distance stand the women and children in timid amazement, and then begins
+a chattering, or maybe a whispered consultation about the arrival of the stranger. We are in the midst of human life, in a
+busy little town, where the sun pours through the gaps in the dark forest, and flowers give colour and brightness, and where,
+after all, life is not so very much less human than in civilization.
+
+</p>
+<p>Then the forest has lifted its veil, we have entered the sanctuary, and the alarming sensation of nature&#8217;s hostility is softened.
+We white men like to talk about our mastery over nature, but is it not rather true that we flee from nature, as its most intense
+manifestations are oppressive to us? Is not the savage, living so very close to nature, more its master, or at least its friend,
+than we are? We need space and the sight of sun and sky to feel happy; the night of the forest, the loneliness of the ocean
+are terrible to us, whilst to the native they are his home and his element.
+
+</p>
+<p>It is evident that under our first strong impression <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb33" href="#pb33">33</a>]</span>of the native&#8217;s life we overlook much&#8212;the filth, the sores, the brutality of social life; but these are really only ripples
+on an otherwise smooth existence, defects which are not less present in our civilization, but are better concealed.
+
+</p>
+<p>The next day we followed the coast of Malekula southward. There are immense coral reefs attached to the coast, so that often
+the line of breakers is one or two miles away from the shore. These reefs are a solid mass of cleft coral stones constantly
+growing seaward. Their surface is more or less flat, about on a level with the water at low tide, so that it then lies nearly
+dry, and one can walk on the reefs, jumping over the wide crevices in which the sea roars and gurgles with the rise and fall
+of the breakers outside. These ever-growing reefs would surround the whole coast were it not for the fresh water that oozes
+out from the land and prevents the coral from growing at certain points, thus keeping open narrow passages through the reef,
+or wider stretches along the coast free from rocks. These basins form good anchorages for small craft, as the swell of the
+open sea cannot cross the reef; only the entrances are often crooked and hard to find.
+
+</p>
+<p>Our captain brought us safely into a quiet lagoon, where the yacht lay in deep green water, smooth as glass, while beyond
+the reef the breakers dashed a silver line across the blue ocean.
+
+</p>
+<p>Of course we immediately went shooting on the reef. I did not have much sport, as I could see nothing worth shooting, but
+I was much interested in <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb34" href="#pb34">34</a>]</span>wading in the warm water to observe the multiform animal life of the reef. There was the &#8220;b&ecirc;che-de-mer,&#8221; the sea-cucumber,
+yellow or purplish-black, a shapeless mass lying in pools; this is a delicacy highly valued by the Chinese and therefore a
+frequent article of exportation. The animals are collected, cut open, dried and shipped. There was the ugly mur&aelig;na, which
+goes splashing and winding like a snake between boulders, and threatens the intruder with poisonous looks and snapping jaws.
+Innumerable bright-coloured fish shot hither and thither in the flat pools, there were worms, sea-stars, octopus, crabs. The
+wealth of animal life on the reef, where each footstep stirs up a hundred creatures, is incredible, and ever so many more
+are hidden in the rocks and crevices.
+
+</p>
+<p>The plants that had taken root in the coral were mostly mangrove bushes with great forked roots.
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb35" href="#pb35">35</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div id="ch3" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><h2 class="label">Chapter III</h2>
+<h2 class="normal">The Segond Channel&#8212;life on a Plantation</h2>
+<p>When the tide rose, we returned to the yacht and continued our cruise northward, passed the small islands of Rano, Atchin,
+Vao and others, crossed the treacherous Bougainville Strait between Malekula and Santo, and came to anchor in the Canal du
+Segond formed by Santo and Malo. This channel is about eight miles long and three-quarters of a mile wide at its narrowest
+point. On its shores, which belong to a French company, is a colony of about a hundred and fifty Frenchmen. The Segond Channel
+would be a good harbour but for very strong currents caused by the tides, which are unfavourable to small boats; its location,
+too, is not very central. The shores are flat, but rise abruptly at some points to a height of 150 m. There are level lands
+at the mouth of the Sarrakatta River and on the tablelands.
+
+</p>
+<p>The Sarrakatta is one of the sights of the New Hebrides, and a pull up the narrow stream affords one of the most impressive
+views to be had of tropical vegetation. The river cuts straight through the forest, so that the boat moves between two high
+walls of leafy green. Silently glides the stream, silently broods the forest, only the boat swishes softly, and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb36" href="#pb36">36</a>]</span>sometimes a frightened fish splashes up. Every bend we round shows us new and surprisingly charming views: now we pass a giant
+tree, which towers up king-like on its iron-hard trunk far above the rest of the forest, trunk and limbs covered with a fine
+lacework of tender-leaved lianas; now we sweep along a high bank, under a bower of overhanging branches. The water caresses
+the tips of the twigs, and through the leaves the sun pours golden into the cool darkness. Again we glide into the light,
+and tangled shrubbery seams the river bank, from which long green strands of vines trail down and curl in the water like snakes.
+Knobby roots rise out of the ground; they have caught floating trunks, across which the water pours, lifting and dropping
+the wet grasses that grow on the rotten stems. Farther up the bushes are entirely covered with vines and creepers, whose large,
+thick leaves form a scaly coat of mail under which the half-strangled trees seem to fight in vain for air and freedom. In
+shallow places stiff bamboos sprout, their long yellow leaves trembling nervously in an imperceptible breeze; again we see
+trees hung with creepers as if wearing torn flags; and once in a while we catch sight of that most charming of tropical trees,
+the tree-fern, with its lovely star-shaped crown, like a beautiful, dainty work of art in the midst of the uncultivated wilderness.
+As if in a dream we row back down stream, and like dream-pictures all the various green shapes of the forest sweep by and
+disappear.
+
+</p>
+<p>The Resident introduced me to the French <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb37" href="#pb37">37</a>]</span>planters, Mr. and Mrs. Ch., and asked them to take me in, which they agreed to do. Having rented an old plantation from the
+French company, they had had the good fortune to find a regular frame house ready for them.
+
+</p>
+<p>After I had moved into my quarters the Resident returned to Vila, and I remained on the borders of the wilderness. What followed
+now was a most unsatisfactory time of waiting, the first of many similar periods. Having no servants, I could undertake nothing
+independently, and since the planters were all suffering from lack of hands, I could not hire any boys. As the natives around
+the French plantations at the Canal du Segond are practically exterminated, I saw hardly any; but at least I got a good insight
+into the life on a plantation, such as it was.
+
+</p>
+<p>With his land, Mr. Ch. had rented about thirty boys, with whom he was trying to work the completely decayed plantation. Many
+acres were covered with coffee trees, but owing to the miserable management of the French company, the planters had changed
+continually and the system of planting just as often. Every manager had abandoned the work of his predecessor and begun planting
+anew on a different system, so that now there was an immense tract of land planted which had never yet yielded a crop. In
+a short time such intended plantations are overgrown with bush and reconquered by the wilderness; thus thousands of coffee
+trees were covered with vines and struggled in vain for light and air. It seem incredible that in two weeks, on cleared <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb38" href="#pb38">38</a>]</span>ground, grass can grow up as tall as a man, and that after six months a cleared plantation can be covered with bushes and
+shrubs with stems as thick as one&#8217;s finger. The planter, knowing that this overwhelming fertility and the jealous advances
+of the forest are his most formidable enemies, directs his most strenuous efforts to keeping clear his plantation, especially
+while the plants are young and unable to fight down the weeds. Later on, weeding is less urgent, but in the beginning it is
+the one essential duty, more so than planting. Mr. Ch. had therefore an enormous task before him, and as he could not expect
+any return from the coffee trees for two or three years, he did as all planters do, and sowed corn, which yields a crop after
+three months.
+
+</p>
+<p>His labourers, dark, curly-haired men, clad in rags, were just then occupied in gathering the big ears of corn. Sluggishly
+they threw the golden ears over their shoulders to the ground, where it was collected by the women and carried to the shed
+on the beach&#8212;a long roof of leaves, without walls. Mr. Ch. urged the men to hurry, as the corn had to be ready for shipment
+in a few days, the <i>Pacific</i>, the French mail-steamer, being due. Produce deteriorates rapidly in the islands owing to the humid climate, so it cannot
+be stored long, especially where there is no dry storehouse. Therefore, crops can only be gathered just before the arrival
+of a steamer, making these last days very busy ones everywhere. It is fortunate for the planters that the native labourers
+are not yet organized and do not insist on an eight-hour <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb39" href="#pb39">39</a>]</span>day. As it was, Mr. Ch. had to leave more than half his crop to rot in the fields, a heavy rain having delayed the harvesting.
+
+</p>
+<p>The humidity at the Segond Channel is exceptionally great. As we stood on the fine coral sand that forms the shores of the
+channel, our clothes were damp with the rain from the weeds and shrubs which we had passed through while stumbling through
+the plantation. The steel-grey sea quivers, sleepy and pulpy looking; in front of us, in a grey mist, lies the flat island
+of Aore, the air smells mouldy, and brown rainclouds roll over the wall of primeval forest surrounding the clearing on three
+sides. The atmosphere is heavy, and a fine spray floats in the air and covers everything with moisture. Knives rust in one&#8217;s
+pocket, matches refuse to light, tobacco is like a sponge and paper like a rag. It had been like this for three months; no
+wonder malarial fever raged among the white population. Mr. Ch., after only one year&#8217;s sojourn here, looked like a very sick
+man; he was frightfully thin and pale and very nervous; so was his wife, a delicate lady of good French family. She did the
+hard work of a planter&#8217;s wife with admirable courage, and, while she had never taken an active part in housekeeping in France,
+here she was standing all day long behind a smoky kitchen fire, cooking or washing dishes, assisted only by a very incapable
+and unsophisticated native woman.
+
+</p>
+<p>On our return to the house, which lies about 200 m&egrave;tres inland, we found this black lady occupied with the extremely hard
+and puzzling task of laying the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb40" href="#pb40">40</a>]</span>table. It seemed to give her the greatest trouble, and the deep distrust with which she handled the plates found eloquent
+expression in queer sighs and mysterious exclamations in her native tongue, in resigned shakes of the head and emphatic smacking
+of the lips. She was a crooked bush-woman from the north of Malekula, where the people, especially the women, are unusually
+ugly and savage. A low forehead, small, deep-set eyes, and a snout-like mouth gave her a very animal look; yet she showed
+human feeling, and nursed a shrieking and howling orphan all day long with the most tender care. Her little head was shaved
+and two upper teeth broken out as a sign of matrimony, so she certainly was no beauty; but the sight of her clumsy working
+was a constant source of amusement to us men, very much less so to her mistress, to whom nothing but her sincere zeal and
+desire to help could make up for her utter inefficiency.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p040" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p040.jpg" alt="OLD MAN WITH YOUNG WIFE ON AMBRYM." width="471" height="720"><p class="figureHead">OLD MAN WITH YOUNG WIFE ON <span class="corr" id="xd0e1021" title="Source: AMBRYN">AMBRYM</span>.
+</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>It cannot be denied that the women from those islands, where their social standing is especially low, are not half so intelligent
+and teachable as those from places where they are more nearly equal to the men; probably because they are subdued and kept
+in degradation from early youth, and not allowed any initiative or opinions of their own. But physically these women are very
+efficient and quite equal to the men in field work, or even superior, being more industrious.
+
+</p>
+<p>The feat of setting the table was accomplished in about an hour, and we sat down to our simple <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb41" href="#pb41">41</a>]</span>meal&#8212;tinned meat, yams and bananas. Then the foreman came in. Only a short time ago he was one of the finest warriors in the
+interior of Malekula, where cannibalism is still an everyday occurrence. He, too, wears his hair short, only, according to
+the present fashion, he lets the hair on his forehead grow in a roll-shaped bow across the head. He is well built, though
+rather short, and behaves with natural politeness. His voice is soft, his look gentle and in the doorway his dark figure shines
+in the lamplight like a bronze statue.
+
+</p>
+<p>Mr. Ch. tells him that the boys will have to work all night, at the same time promising an encouragement in the shape of a
+glass of wine to each. The natives&#8217; craving for alcohol is often abused by unscrupulous whites. Although the sale of liquor
+to natives is strictly forbidden by the laws of the Condominium, the French authorities do not even seem to try to enforce
+this regulation, in fact, they rather impressed me as favouring the sale, thus protecting the interests of a degraded class
+of whites, to the detriment of a valuable race. As a consequence, there are not a few Frenchmen who make their living by selling
+spirits to natives, which may be called, without exaggeration, a murderous and criminal traffic.
+
+</p>
+<p>Others profit indirectly by the alcoholism of the islanders by selling liquor to their hands every Saturday, so as to make
+them run into debt; they will all spend their entire wages on drink. If, their term of engagement being over, they want to
+return to their homes, they are told that they are still deep <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb42" href="#pb42">42</a>]</span>in debt to their master, and that they will have to pay off by working for some time longer. The poor fellows stay on and
+on, continue to drink, are never out of debt, and never see their homes again. This practice has developed of late years in
+consequence of the scarcity of labour, and is nothing but slavery. It might easily be abolished by a slight effort on the
+part of the Government, but there is hardly any supervision over French plantations outside Port Vila, and in many plantations
+conditions exist which are an insult to our modern views on humane treatment. On English plantations there is but little brutality,
+owing to the Government&#8217;s careful supervision of the planters and the higher social and moral standing of the settlers in
+general.
+
+</p>
+<p>My host had some European conscience left, and treated his hands very humanely, but I dare say that in course of time, and
+pressed by adverse circumstances, even he resorted to means of finding cheap labour which were none too fair. The French by-laws
+permit the delivery of alcohol to natives in the shape of &#8220;medicine,&#8221; a stipulation which opens the door to every abuse.
+
+</p>
+<p>The boys were soon on hand, each awaiting his turn eagerly, yet trying to seem <i>blas&eacute;</i>. Some drank greedily, others tasted the sour wine in little sips like old experts; but all took care to turn their backs
+to us while drinking, as if from bashfulness. Then they went to work, giggling and happy.
+
+</p>
+<p>Meanwhile, those on the sick-list were coming up for the planter&#8217;s inspection. The diseases are mostly <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb43" href="#pb43">43</a>]</span>tuberculosis, colds, indigestion, fever and infections, and it is evident that if they receive any medical treatment at all,
+it is of a primitive and insufficient description. The planters work with fearfully strong plasters, patent medicines and
+&#8220;universal remedies,&#8221; used internally and externally by turns, so that the patient howls and the spectator shudders, and the
+results would be most disheartening if kind Nature did not often do the healing in spite of man&#8217;s efforts to prevent it. Naturally,
+every planter thinks himself an expert doctor, and is perfectly satisfied with his results.
+
+</p>
+<p>Mr. Ch. was ill with fever, nevertheless we went down to the work-shed. It was a pitch-dark night, the air was like that in
+a hothouse, smelling of earth and mould. The surf boomed sullenly on the beach, and heavy squalls flogged the forest. Sometimes
+a rotten branch snapped, and the sound travelled, dull and heavy, through the night.
+
+</p>
+<p>From far away we hear the noise of the engine peeling the corn-ears. Two of the natives turn the fly-wheels, and the engine
+gives them immense pleasure, all the more, the faster it runs. The partners are selected with care, and it is a matter of
+pride to turn wheels as long and as fast as possible; they encourage each other with wild shrieks and cries. It seemed as
+if the work had turned to a festival, as if it were a sort of dance, and the couples waited impatiently for their turn to
+drive the engine. The delight of the boys in the noise of the machinery was very favourable to the progress of the work, and
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb44" href="#pb44">44</a>]</span>at midnight a long row of full sacks stood in the shed. We stopped the work and told the boys to go to sleep. But the demon
+of dancing had taken hold of them, and they kept it up all night, and then went straight to work in the fields when the sun
+rose. By the third evening everything was ready for the arrival of the <i>Pacific</i>, and the boys were deadly tired and lame.
+
+</p>
+<p>We were just sitting down to dinner one dull, heavy night, when we heard a steamer&#8217;s long, rough whistle. The <i>Pacific</i>. Everyone jumps up in excitement, for the <i>Pacific</i> brings a taste of civilization, and her arrival marks the end of a busy week and breaks the monotony of daily life. We run
+to the shore and light strong lamps at fixed points, to indicate the anchorage, and then we rush back to finish dinner and
+put on clean clothes. Meanwhile, the boys have been roused, and they arrive, sleepy, stiff and unwilling, aware that a hard
+night&#8217;s work is before them, loading the produce into the tenders.
+
+</p>
+<p>The steamer approaches quickly, enormous and gay in the darkness, then she slowly feels her way into the harbour, the anchor
+falls, and after a few oscillations the long line of brightly lit portholes lies quiet on the water, only their reflection
+flickers irregularly on the waves through the night. In all directions we can see the lights of the approaching boats of the
+planters, who come to announce their shipments and to spend a gay evening on board. There are always some passengers on the
+steamer, planters from other islands on their way to Vila or <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb45" href="#pb45">45</a>]</span>Sydney, and soon carousing is in full swing, until the bar closes.
+
+</p>
+<p>All next day the steamer stays in the channel, taking on produce from every plantation, and for two days afterward merrymaking
+is kept up, then the quiet monotony of a tropical planter&#8217;s life sets in once more.
+
+</p>
+<p>Sometimes a diversion is caused by a boy rushing up to the house to announce that some &#8220;men-bush&#8221; are approaching. Going to
+the veranda, we see some lean figures with big mops of hair coming slowly down the narrow path from the forest, with soft,
+light steps. Some distance behind follows a crowd of others, who squat down near the last shrubs and examine everything with
+shy, suspicious eyes, while the leaders approach the house. Nearly all carry old Snider rifles, always loaded and cocked.
+The leaders stand silent for a while near the veranda, then one of them whispers a few words in broken &#8220;biche la mar,&#8221; describing
+what he wants to buy&#8212;knives, cartridges, powder, tobacco, pipes, matches, calico, beads. &#8220;All right,&#8221; says Mr. Ch., and some
+of the men bring up primitive baskets of cocoa-nut leaves, filled with coprah or bunches of raw cocoa-nuts. All of them, especially
+the women, have carried great loads of these things from their villages in the interior on the poorest paths, marching for
+days.
+
+</p>
+<p>The baskets are weighed and the desired goods handed to the head-man. Here the whites make a profit of 200&#8211;300 per cent.,
+while on the other islands, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb46" href="#pb46">46</a>]</span>where there is more competition, they have to be satisfied with 30 per cent. Each piece is carefully examined by the natives:
+the pipes, to see if they draw, the matches, whether they strike, etc., while the crowd behind follows every movement with
+the greatest attention and mysterious whispers, constantly on the watch for any menace to safety. The lengthy bargaining over,
+the delegation turns away and the whole crowd disappears. In the nearest thicket they sit down and distribute the goods&#8212;perhaps
+a dozen boxes of matches, a few belts, or some yards of calico, two pounds of tobacco, and twenty pipes, a poor return, indeed,
+for their long journey. Possibly they will spend the night in the neighbourhood, under an overhanging rock, on the bare stone,
+all crowded round a fire for fear of the spirits of the night.
+
+</p>
+<p>Sometimes, having worked for another planter, they have a little money. Although every planter keeps his own store, the natives,
+as a rule, prefer to buy from his neighbour, from vague if not quite unjustified suspicion. They rarely engage for any length
+of time, except when driven by the desire to buy some valuable object, generally a rifle, without which no native likes to
+be seen in Santo to-day. In that case several men work together for one, who afterwards indemnifies them for their help in
+native fashion by giving them pigs or rendering them other services. On the plantations they are suspicious and lazy, but
+quite harmless as long as they are not provoked. Mr. Ch. had had about thirty men <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb47" href="#pb47">47</a>]</span>working on his plantation for quite some time, and everything had gone well, until one day one of them had fallen into the
+Sarrakatta and been drowned. According to native law, Mr. Ch. was responsible for his death, and should have paid for him,
+which he omitted to do. At first there was general dismay, no one dared approach the river any more; then the natives all
+returned to their villages, and a few days later they swarmed round the plantation with rifles to avenge their dead relative
+by murdering Mr. Ch. He was warned by his boys, who were from Malekula for the most part, and this saved his life. He armed
+his men, and after a siege of several weeks the bushmen gave up the watch and retired. But no one would return to work for
+him any more.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p047" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p047.jpg" alt="FRONT Of A CHIEF&#8217;S HOUSE ON VENUA LAVA." width="720" height="495"><p class="figureHead">FRONT Of A CHIEF&#8217;S HOUSE ON VENUA LAVA.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>Altogether, the bushmen of Santo are none too reliable, and only the memory of a successful landing expedition of the English
+man-of-war a year ago keeps them quiet. On that occasion they had murdered an old Englishman and two of his daughters, just
+out of greed, so as to pillage his store. They had not found much, but they had to pay for the murder with the loss of their
+village, pigs and lives.
+
+</p>
+<p>I tried to find boys at the south-west corner of Santo, where the natives frequently descend to the shore. A neighbour of
+Mr. Ch., a young Frenchman, was going there in a small cutter to buy wood for dyeing mats to sell to the natives of Malekula,
+and he kindly took me with him. We sailed through the channel one rainy morning, but the wind died <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb48" href="#pb48">48</a>]</span>down and we had to anchor, as the current threatened to take us back. We profited by the stop to pay a visit to a Mr. R.,
+who cultivated anarchistic principles, also a plantation which seemed in perfect condition and in direct opposition to his
+anti-capitalistic ideas. Mr. R. was one of those French colonists who, sprung from the poorest peasant stock, have no ambitions
+beyond finding a new and kindlier home. Economical, thrifty, used to hard work in the fields, Mr. R. had begun very modestly,
+but had prospered, and was now, while still a young man, the owner of a plantation that would make him rich in a few years.
+This good, solid peasant stock, of which France possesses so much, makes the best colonists, and as a rule they succeed far
+better than those who come to the tropics with the idea of making a fortune in a few years without working for it. These fall
+into the hands of the big Noum&eacute;a companies, and have the greatest trouble in getting out of debt. Not only do these firms
+lend money at exorbitant interest, but they stipulate that the planter will sell them all his produce and buy whatever he
+needs from them, and as they fix prices as they please, their returns are said to reach 30 per cent.
+
+</p>
+<p>Besides these two kinds of French settlers, there is a third, which comes from the penitentiary in Noum&eacute;a or its neighbourhood.
+We shall meet specimens of these in the following pages.
+
+</p>
+<p>After having duly admired the plantation of Mr. R.&#8212;he proved himself a real peasant, knew every plant by name, and was constantly
+stopping to pick <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb49" href="#pb49">49</a>]</span>a dead leaf or prune a shoot&#8212;we continued our journey and arrived at Tangoa. Tangoa is a small island, on which the Presbyterian
+mission has established a central school for the more intelligent of the natives of the whole group, where they may be trained
+as teachers. The exterior of this school looks most comfortable. One half of the island is cleared and covered with a green
+lawn, one part is pasture for good-looking cattle, the other is a park in which nestle the cottages of the teachers,&#8212;the whole
+looks like an English country-seat. At some distance is a neatly built, well-kept village for the native pupils. I presented
+an introduction to the director. He seemed to think my endeavours extremely funny, asked if I was looking for the missing
+link, etc., so that I took a speedy leave.
+
+</p>
+<p>We spent a few lazy days on board the little cutter; the natives would not come down from their villages, in spite of frequent
+explosions of dynamite cartridges, the usual signal of recruiters to announce their arrival to the natives. It rained a good
+deal, and there was not much to do but to loaf on the beach. Here, one day, I saw an interesting method of fishing by poisoning
+the water, which is practised in many places. At low tide the natives rub a certain fruit on the stones of the reef, the juice
+mixes with the water in the pools and poisons the fish, so that after a short while they float senseless on the surface and
+may easily be caught.
+
+</p>
+<p>After a few days I was anxious to return to the Segond Channel, as I expected the arrival of the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb50" href="#pb50">50</a>]</span>English steamer, which I wanted to meet. I could not find any guide, and the cutter was to stay for some days longer, so I
+decided to go alone; the distance was only about 15 km., and I thought that with the aid of my compass I would find my way
+along the trail which was said to exist.
+
+</p>
+<p>I started in the morning with a few provisions and a dull bush-knife, at first along a fairly good path, which, however, soon
+divided into several tracks. I followed the one which seemed most likely to lead to my destination, but arrived at a deep
+lagoon, around which I had to make a long detour. Here the path came to a sudden stop in front of an impenetrable thicket
+of lianas which I could hardly cut with my knife. I climbed across fallen trunks, crawled along the ground beneath the creepers,
+struck an open spot once in a while, passed swamps and rocks,&#8212;in short, in a very little time I made an intimate acquaintance
+with the renowned Santo bush. Yet I imagined I was advancing nicely, so much so that I began to fear I had gone beyond my
+destination. About four o&#8217;clock in the afternoon I struck a small river and followed its crooked course to the coast, so as
+to get my bearings. Great was my disappointment on finding myself only about 1&frac12; km. from the lagoon which I had left in the
+morning. This was a poor reward for eight hours&#8217; hard work. I was ashamed to return to the cutter, and followed the shore,
+not wishing to repeat that morning&#8217;s experience in the forest. The walk along the beach was not agreeable at all, as it consisted
+of <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb51" href="#pb51">51</a>]</span>those corroded coral rocks, full of sharp points and edges, and shaped like melted tin poured into water. These rocks were
+very jagged, full of crevices, in which the swell thundered and foamed, and over which I had to jump. Once I fell in, cut
+my legs and hands most cruelly and had only my luck to thank that I did not break any bones, and got safely out of the damp,
+dark prison. But at least I could see where I was, and that I was getting on, and I preferred this to the uncertain struggle
+in the forest. In some places the coast rose to a high bank, round which I could not walk. I had to climb up on one side as
+best I could and descend on the other with the help of trees and vines. Thus, fighting my way along, I was overtaken by the
+sudden tropical night, and I had to stop where I was for fear of falling into some hole. A fall would have been a real calamity,
+as nobody would ever have found me or even looked for me on that lonely coast. I therefore sat down where I was, on the corals
+where they seemed least pointed. I did not succeed at all in making a fire; the night was quite dark and moonless, and a fine
+rain penetrated everything. I have rarely passed a longer night or felt so lonely. The new day revived my spirits, breakfast
+did not detain me long, as I had nothing to eat, so I kept along the shore, jumping and climbing, and had to swim through
+several lagoons, swarming, as I heard afterwards, with big sharks! After a while the coral shore changed into a sand beach,
+and after having waded for some hours more in the warm water with the little rags that were <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb52" href="#pb52">52</a>]</span>left of my boots, I arrived dead tired at the plantation of Mr. R. He was away, so I went to his neighbour&#8217;s, who was at dinner
+and kindly asked me to join him. Although it was only a flying-fox, I enjoyed it as a man enjoys a meal after a twenty-four
+hours&#8217; fast.
+
+</p>
+<p>The men were just starting for Mr. Ch.&#8217;s, and took me with them. My adventure had taught me the impassableness of the forest,
+and after that experience I was never again tempted to make excursions without a guide.
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb53" href="#pb53">53</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div id="ch4" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><h2 class="label">Chapter IV</h2>
+<h2 class="normal">Recruiting for Natives</h2>
+<p>A few days later the English steamer came, bringing my luggage but no hope of improvement in my dull existence. A French survey
+party arrived too, and set to work, but as they had not enough boys with them, I could not join them. I spent my days as well
+as I could, collected a few zoological specimens, and read Mr. Ch.&#8217;s large stock of French novels until I felt quite silly.
+
+</p>
+<p>At last an occasion offered to see primitive natives. George, the son of a neighbour, had agreed to go recruiting for Mr.
+Ch. As I have said before, providing sufficient labour is one of the most important problems to the planter in the New Hebrides.
+Formerly there were professional recruiters who went slave-hunting as they would have followed any other occupation, and sold
+the natives to the planters at a fair profit. In their schooners they hung about the shore, filled the natives with liquor
+and kidnapped them, or simply drove them on board wholesale, with the help of armed Loyalty boys. Their methods were as various
+as they were cruel, murder was a daily occurrence, and, of course, the recruiters were hated by the natives, who attacked
+and killed them whenever they got a chance. The <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb54" href="#pb54">54</a>]</span>better class of planters would not countenance this mode of procedure, and the natives are now experienced enough not to enlist
+for work under a master they do not know. Also the English Government keeps a strict watch on the recruiting, so that the
+professional recruiter is dying out, and every planter has to go in search of hands for himself. But while the English Government
+keeps a sharp eye on these matters, the French Government is as lenient in this as in the question of the sale of alcohol,
+so that frequent kidnapping and many cruelties occur in the northern part of the group, and slavery still exists. I shall
+relate a few recruiting stories later on: some general remarks on the subject may not be amiss here.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p054" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p054.jpg" alt="MAN FROM NITENDI, STA CRUZ, WITH ORNAMENTAL BREASTPLATE." width="461" height="720"><p class="figureHead">MAN FROM NITENDI, STA CRUZ, WITH ORNAMENTAL BREASTPLATE.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>In years past the natives crowded the recruiting schooners by hundreds, driven by the greed for European luxuries, by desire
+for change, and inexperience; to-day this is the case in but very few and savage districts. Generally the natives have some
+idea of what they may expect; moreover, by trading with coprah they can buy all they need and want. They enlist nowadays from
+quite different motives. With young people it is the desire to travel and to &#8220;see the world,&#8221; and to escape the strict village
+laws that govern them, especially in sexual matters, and to get rid of the supervision of the whole tribe. Sometimes, but
+only in islands poor in cocoa-nut trees, it is the desire to earn money to buy a woman, a very expensive article at present.
+Then many seek refuge in the plantations from persecution <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb55" href="#pb55">55</a>]</span>of all sorts, from revenge, or punishment for some misdeed at home. Some are lovers who have run away from their tribe to
+escape the rage of an injured husband. Thus recruiting directly favours the general anarchy and immorality, and indirectly
+as well, since the recruiters do their best to create as much trouble as possible in the villages, knowing it will be to their
+advantage. If they hear of a feud raging between two tribes, they collect at the shore and try to pick up fugitives; if there
+is no war, they do their best to occasion one, by intrigue, alcohol, or <i>agents provocateurs</i>. They intoxicate men and women, and make them enlist in that condition; young men are shown pretty women, and promised all
+the joys of Paradise in the plantations. If these tricks fail, the recruiters simply kidnap men and women while bathing. This
+may suffice to show that, as a rule, they do not use fair means to find hands, and it is hardly surprising that where they
+have been they leave behind them wrecked families, unhappiness, enmity, murder and a deep hatred of the white man in general
+as the cause of all this misery. This recruiting is not only immoral in the highest degree, but also very harmful to the race,
+and it is to-day one of the principal reasons for its decay.
+
+</p>
+<p>Those planters who from principle or from fear of the law do not resort to such means generally have a special recruiting
+district, where they are well known, and where the natives know the treatment they are likely to get on the plantation, and
+feel sure they will not be cheated, and will be taken back <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb56" href="#pb56">56</a>]</span>to their homes in due time. These planters, I am happy to say, find hands enough, as a rule, while the natives take care not
+to go to a French plantation if they can help it. The system of recruiting is very simple. The cutter anchors at some distance
+offshore, and a dynamite cartridge is exploded to announce her arrival; some time afterwards one of the whale-boats goes ashore,
+all the crew armed to the teeth, while the other boat lies a short distance off, to watch the natives, and to cover the retreat
+of those in the first boat in case of attack. The planter, as a rule, stays on board his cutter. These warlike practices are
+really unnecessary in many places, but as one never knows what indiscretions the last recruiter may have committed, and as
+the natives consider all whites as belonging to one organization, it is the part of prudence to follow this old recruiting
+rule.
+
+</p>
+<p>I will not pretend to say that the natives will never attack without provocation. Even Cook, who certainly was both careful
+and just, was treacherously attacked in Erromanga, for the Melanesian is bloodthirsty, especially when he thinks himself the
+stronger. But to-day it may be stated as a certainty that no attack on a recruiting-ship or on any white man occurs without
+some past brutality on the part of a European to account for it. As one of the Governments does nothing to abolish kidnapping,
+and as the plantations go to ruin for want of labour, it would be to the interest both of the settlers and of the natives
+to abolish the present recruiting system <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb57" href="#pb57">57</a>]</span>entirely, and to introduce a conscription for work in its place, so that each male would have to work for a term of years
+on a plantation for adequate wages and good treatment. This would be of advantage to the islanders even more than to the planters.
+It would create order, and would employ the natives in useful work for the development of their own country.
+
+</p>
+<p>It will appear from all this that recruiting is still a somewhat dangerous undertaking, especially on the north-west coast
+of Malekula, the home of the most primitive and savage tribes of all the group.
+
+</p>
+<p>George, our captain, was a strange fellow, about seventeen years of age: he might just as well have been forty. Pale, with
+small grey eyes and a suspicious look, a long hooked nose, and narrow, yet hanging lips, he walked with bent back and crooked
+knees, always bare-footed, in blue dungaree trousers, green shirt and an old weather-beaten hat. He hardly ever spoke; when
+he did, it was very suddenly, very fast and very low, so that no one could understand him except his boys, who evidently knew
+instinctively what he meant. The natives are very clever in these matters. He was brave, an excellent sailor for his age,
+and he knew the channels and all the anchorages. His boat may have been 6 or 7 m&egrave;tres long and 3 m&egrave;tres wide; she was cutter-rigged,
+and was probably very suitable for a trip of a few days, but quite insufficient for a cruise of several weeks, such as we
+were planning. The deck was full of cases of provisions, so that only a little space was clear for us at the stern. The <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb58" href="#pb58">58</a>]</span>cabin was about 2 m&egrave;tres long, 1&frac12; m&egrave;tre wide, and 1&frac12; m&egrave;tre high, and was crammed with stuff&#8212;tinned meats, cloths, guns, trading
+goods, etc. One person could wriggle in it, crawling on hands and knees, but two had to wind round each other in impossible
+positions, and it was quite unthinkable that both should spend the night below. But with the happy carelessness and impatience
+of a long-delayed start, we did not think of the hardships of the future, and in fair weather, when the stay on deck in the
+brisk breeze was extremely pleasant, as on that first morning, existence on board seemed very bearable; but when it rained,
+and it rained very often and very hard, it was exceptionally disagreeable.
+
+</p>
+<p>Mr. George took no interest in such details. Although he could have improved matters without much trouble, he was too lazy
+to take the trouble. The sun- and rain-sail was fixed so low that one could not stand upright, and anyone who has experienced
+this for some time knows how irritating it is. For food George did not seem to care at all. Not only did he lack the sense
+of taste, but he seemed to have an unhuman stomach, for he ate everything, at any time, and in any condition; raw or cooked,
+digestible or not, he swallowed it silently and greedily, and thought it quite unnecessary when I wanted the boys to cook
+some rice for me, or to wash a plate. The tea was generally made with brackish water which was perfectly sickening. George
+had always just eaten when I announced that dinner was ready, and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb59" href="#pb59">59</a>]</span>for answer he generally wrapped himself in his blankets and fell asleep. The consequence was that each of us lived his own
+life, and the companionship which might have made up for many insufficiencies on board was lacking entirely.
+
+</p>
+<p>It was the first sunny day after many rainy ones when the current carried us through the channel. When we got on too slowly
+the oars had to help. After several hours we arrived in the open, and a fresh breeze carried us quickly alongside the small
+islands of Aore, Tutuba and Malo. Blue, white-crested waves lifted us up so high that we could look far over the foaming sea,
+and again we sank down in a valley, out of which we could only see the nearest waves rolling threateningly towards us. Behind
+us the little dinghy shot down the swells, gliding on the water like a duck. In the late afternoon we approached the north
+point of Malekula, and followed the west coast southward, towards the country of the &#8220;Big Nambas&#8221;&#8212;our destination. Contrasting
+with other islands of the archipelago, Malekula does not seem densely covered with vegetation at this point. We do not see
+much of the impenetrable bush, but rather a scanty growth of grass on the coral reefs, a few shrubs and she-oaks, then a narrow
+belt of forest covering the steep cliffs and sides of the hills, on whose backs we find extensive areas covered with reed-grass.
+Even a luxuriant forest does not look gay on a dull day, and this barren landscape looked most inhospitable in the grey mist
+of the afternoon. We slowly followed a coast of ragged coral patches, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb60" href="#pb60">60</a>]</span>alternating with light sand beaches. Towards nightfall we anchored near a stony shore, flanked by two high cliffs, in about
+10 fathoms of the most transparent water. We could see in the depths the irregular shapes of the rocks, separated by white
+sand, and the soft mysterious colours in which the living coral shines like a giant carpet. The sea was quiet as a pond, yet
+we were on the shores of that endless ocean that reaches westward to the Torres Straits.
+
+</p>
+<p>Torn clouds floated across the hills towards the north-west, the stars shone dull, and it was very lonely and oppressively
+silent, nowhere was there a trace of life, human or animal. Lying on deck, I listened to the sound of the surf breaking in
+the different little bays near and far, in a monotonous measure, soft and yet irresistible. It is the voice of the sea in
+its cleansing process, the continual grinding and casting out of all impurities, the eternal war against the land and its
+products, and the final destruction of the earth itself.
+
+</p>
+<p>The district of the Big Nambas, to whose shores we had come, takes its name from the size of a certain article of dress, the
+&#8220;Nambas,&#8221; which partly replaces our trousers, and is worn in different forms over the greater part of the archipelago, but
+nowhere of such size as here. It is such an odd object that it may well give its name to the country. Big Nambas is still
+the least known part of the islands, and hardly any white has ever set foot in the interior. Unlike those of other districts,
+the natives here have preserved their old habits and strict organization, and this <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb61" href="#pb61">61</a>]</span>is evidently the reason why they have not degenerated and decayed. The old chiefs are still as powerful as ever, and preserve
+peace and order, while they themselves do as they please. Big Nambas has had but little contact with the whites, especially
+the recruiters, so that the population is not demoralized, nor the chief&#8217;s power undermined. Of course it is to the chief&#8217;s
+interest to have as strong a tribe as possible, and they reserve to themselves the right of killing offenders, and take all
+revenge in their own hands. They watch the women and prevent child-murder and such things, and although their reign is one
+of terror, their influence, as a whole, on the race is not bad, because they suppress many vices that break out as soon as
+they slacken their severity. The chiefs in Big Nambas seem to have felt this, and systematically opposed the intercourse with
+whites. But this district is just where the best workmen come from, and the population is densest, and that is why the recruiters
+have tried again and again of late years to get hold of Big Nambas, but with little success, for so far only few men have
+enlisted. One of them was on our cutter, and had to serve as interpreter. The other four of the five boys were from Malekula,
+a little farther south. Our man from Big Nambas was known on the plantation as Bourbaki, and had enlisted two years ago. Before
+that he had been professional murderer and provider of human flesh to the great chief. Now he was a useful and quiet foreman
+on the plantation, always cheerful, very intelligent, strong, brutal, with small, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb62" href="#pb62">62</a>]</span>shrewd eyes and a big mouth, apparently quite happy in civilization, and devoted to George. He was one of the few natives
+who openly admitted his liking for human flesh, and rapturously described its incomparable tenderness, whiteness and delicacy.
+A year ago, when visiting his village, he had been inconsolable because he had come a day late for a cannibal feast, and had
+blamed his father bitterly for not having saved a piece for him. Aside from this ghoulish propensity, Bourbaki was a thoroughly
+nice fellow, obliging, reliable and as happy as a child at the prospect of seeing his father again. We expected good service
+and help in recruiting from him, and promised him ample head-money.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p061" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p061.jpg" alt="A CANNIBAL FROM BIG NAMBAS, WITH NOSE-STICK." width="462" height="720"><p class="figureHead">A CANNIBAL FROM BIG NAMBAS, WITH NOSE-STICK.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>Bourbaki had run away without the permission of his chief, who was furious at the loss of his best man, and had given orders
+to kill the recruiter, a brother-in-law of George. Some natives had ambushed and shot at them while entering the whale-boat;
+the white had received several wounds, and a native woman had been killed. The boat pulled away rapidly. Bourbaki laughed,
+and, indeed, by this time the little incident was quite forgotten, as its only victim had been a woman.
+
+</p>
+<p>The morning was damp and dull. The hills came down to the sea in slopes of grey-green, the shore was a soft brown, and the
+rocks lay in dark patches on the beach, separated from the greyish-green of the sea by the white line of the breakers. The
+hollow sound of the dynamite explosions glided along the slopes and was swallowed in distant space.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb63" href="#pb63">63</a>]</span></p>
+<p>A few hours later, thinking the natives might be coming, we got our arms ready: each of us had a revolver and a repeating
+rifle, the boys had old Sniders. The cutter lay about 200 m&egrave;tres off-shore, and we could see everything that was going on
+on the beach. Behind the flat, stony shore the forest-covered hills rose in a steep cliff to a tableland about 100 m&egrave;tres
+high. On the water we were in perfect safety, for the villages lie far inland, and the Big Nambas are no sailors, hate the
+sea and possess no canoes. They only come to the beach occasionally, to get a few crabs and shell-fish, yet each tribe has
+its own place on the shore, where no stranger is admitted.
+
+</p>
+<p>We took Bourbaki ashore; he was very anxious to go home, and promptly disappeared in the bush, his Snider on his shoulder.
+We then returned to the cutter and waited. It is quite useless to be in a hurry when recruiting, but one certainly needs a
+supply of patience, for the natives have no idea of the value of time, and cannot understand the rush which our civilization
+has created.
+
+</p>
+<p>Late in the afternoon a few naked figures appeared on the beach. One of them signalled with a branch, and soon others followed,
+till about fifty men had assembled, and in the background, half-hidden by shrubs, stood half a dozen women. We entered the
+whale-boats, two boys and a white man in each, and slowly approached the shore. All the natives carried their rifles in their
+right hands and yams in their left, making signs to show that they wished to trade. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb64" href="#pb64">64</a>]</span>We gave them to understand that they must first put down their muskets, and when they hesitated we cocked our rifles and waited.
+Some of them went back to the forest and laid down their guns, while the others sat down at a distance and watched. We promptly
+put down our rifles, approached and showed our trade-goods&#8212;tobacco, matches, clay pipes and calico. Hesitating, suspicious,
+yet tempted, they crowded round the boat and offered their yams, excitedly shouting and gesticulating, talking and laughing.
+They had quite enormous yams, which they traded for one or two sticks of tobacco or as many pipes. Matches and calico were
+not much in demand. Our visitors were mostly well-built, medium-sized men of every age, and looked very savage and dangerous.
+They were nearly naked, but for a belt of bark around their waists, about 20 cm. wide, which they wore wound several times
+around their bodies, so that it stood out like a thick ring. Over this they had bound narrow ribbons of braided fibres, dyed
+in red patterns, the ends of the ribbons falling down in large tassels. Under this belt is stuck the end of the enormous nambas,
+also consisting of red grass fibres. Added to this scanty dress are small ornaments, tortoise-shell ear-rings, bamboo combs,
+bracelets embroidered with rings of shell and cocoa-nut, necklaces, and thin bands bound under the knees and over the ankles.
+
+</p>
+<p>The beautiful, lithe, supple bodies support a head covered with long, curly hair, and the face is framed by a long and fairly
+well-kept beard. The <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb65" href="#pb65">65</a>]</span>eyes roll unsteadily, and their dark and penetrating look is in no wise softened by the brown colouring of the scela. The
+nose is only slightly concave, the sides are large and thick, and their width is increased by a bamboo or stone cylinder stuck
+through the septum. Both nose and eyes are overhung by a thick <i>torus</i>. The upper lip is generally short and rarely covers the mouth, which is exceptionally large and wide, and displays a set
+of teeth of remarkable strength and perfection. The whole body is covered with a thick layer of greasy soot. Such is the appearance
+of the modern man-eater.
+
+</p>
+<p>Just at first we did not feel any too comfortable or anxious to go ashore, and we watched our neighbours very carefully. They,
+however, were hardly less frightened and suspicious; but after a while, through the excitement of trading, they became more
+confident, forgot their suspicions and bargained noisily, as happy as a crowd of boys; still, any violent movement on our
+part startled them. For instance, several of them started to run for the woods when I hastily grabbed a pipe that a roll of
+the boat had set slipping off the seat.
+
+</p>
+<p>After having filled the boats to the brim with yams, and the first eagerness of bartering over, we ventured ashore. A suspicious
+crowd stood around us and watched every movement. We first showed them our weapons, and a violent smacking of the lips and
+long-drawn whistles, or a grunting &#8220;Whau!&#8221; bespoke a gratifying degree of admiration and wonder. The longer the cartridges
+and the larger <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb66" href="#pb66">66</a>]</span>the bullets, the more they impressed them, and our revolvers were glanced at with contempt and a shrug of the shoulders, expressing
+infinite disdain, until each of us shot a few rounds. Then they winced, started to run away, came back and laughed boisterously
+over their own fright; but after that they had more respect for our &#8220;little guns.&#8221;
+
+</p>
+<p>Soon they became more daring, came closer and began to feel us, first touching us lightly with the finger-tips, then with
+their hands. They wanted to look at and handle everything, cartridge-belts, pipes, hats and clothes. When all these had been
+examined, they investigated our persons, and to me, at least, not being used to this, it was most disagreeable. I did not
+mind when they tucked up our sleeves and trousers and compared the whiteness and softness of our skin with their own dark
+hide, nor when they softly and caressingly stroked the soft skin on the inner side of our arms and legs, vigorously smacking
+their lips the while; but when they began to feel the tenderness and probably the delicacy of our muscles, and tried to estimate
+our fitness for a royal repast, muttering deep grunts, constantly smacking their lips, and evidently highly satisfied with
+the result of their investigation, I did not enjoy the situation any more; still less when I saw an ugly-looking fellow trembling
+violently from greedy desire, rolling his eyes in wild exultation and performing an anticipatory cannibal dinner-dance. We
+gradually began to shake off this wearisomely intimate crowd; the fact that there were two of us, and that I was not alone
+in this situation <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb67" href="#pb67">67</a>]</span>was very comforting. However, in the course of the next few years I became accustomed to this treatment, though I never again
+met it in such crudeness.
+
+</p>
+<p>We had slowly approached the forest and could get a few glimpses of the women, who had kept quite in the background and hid
+still more when we came near. They had braided aprons around their waists and rolled mats on their heads. Nearly all of them
+carried babies on their hips, and they looked fairly healthy, although the children were full of sores. Evidently the men
+did not like our looking at the ladies; they pushed us back and drove the women away. We returned to the boats, and the natives
+retired too, howling, shrieking and laughing. Towards evening another crowd arrived, and the performance was repeated in every
+detail. Happy over the bartered goods, they began to dance, first decorating themselves with tall branches stuck in the back
+of their belts. They jumped from one foot to the other, sometimes turning round, and singing in a rough, deep monotone. We
+withdrew to the boats, and they dispersed on the shore, lighted fires and roasted the yams they had left.
+
+</p>
+<p>Far away across the sea there was lightning, the surf boomed more heavily than by day, the cutter rolled more violently and
+restlessly and the whaleboat scraped against her sides, while the wind roared through the forest gullies and thunder threatened
+behind the hills. We felt lonely in the thick darkness, with the tempest approaching steadily, afloat on a tiny shell, alone
+against the fury of the elements. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb68" href="#pb68">68</a>]</span>The lamp was blown out, and we lay on deck listening to the storm, until a heavy squall drove us below, to spend the night
+in a stuffy atmosphere, in uncomfortable positions, amid wild dreams. Next morning there were again about twenty men on the
+shore, and again the same performances were gone through. Evidently the people, influenced by Bourbaki, who was still in the
+village, were more confident, and left their weapons behind of their own accord. They came to trade, and when their provisions
+of yam were exhausted, most of them left; only a few, mostly young fellows, wanted to stay, but some older men stayed with
+them, so as to prevent them from going on board and enlisting. Evidently the young men were attracted by all our wonderful
+treasures, and would have liked to see the country where all these things came from. They imagined the plantations must be
+very beautiful places, while the old men had vague notions to the contrary, and were afraid of losing their young braves.
+
+</p>
+<p>During a lull in the proceedings we climbed the narrow, steep and slippery path up to the tableland in order to get an idea
+of the country behind the hills. Half-way up we met two old men carrying yam down to the beach. They were terrified at sight
+of us, began to tremble, stopped and spoke to us excitedly. We immediately laid down our rifles, and signed to them to approach,
+but they suddenly dropped their loads, ran off and disappeared in the bush. They evidently feared we had come to kidnap them,
+and we decided it was wiser to return to the beach, so <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb69" href="#pb69">69</a>]</span>as not to irritate the people. Shortly afterwards another crowd of natives came along the beach carrying yam. They approached
+with extreme care, ready to fight or fly, but they were less afraid of us than of the natives, for whom that part of the beach
+was reserved, and with whom we had been trading. They were enemies of the newcomers, who knew that they were outside their
+own territory and might expect an attack any moment. Squatting down near us, they anxiously watched the forest, ever ready
+to jump up. One of them, who spoke a little biche la mar, came up to me and asked me to anchor that night near their beach,
+and buy yams from them, which we promised to do. At a sound in the forest they jumped up and ran away. George, wishing to
+talk more with them, took his rifle and ran after them, but they had already retreated behind some boulders, and were waving
+their rifles and signalling him to stay where he was. They thought we were in a plot with other natives, and had ambushed
+them. To such a degree do these people live in constant fear, and thus arise misunderstandings which end in death, unless
+the whites are very prudent and quiet. Many a recruiter in our case would have welcomed this apparent provocation to shoot
+at the natives from a safe distance with his superior rifle.
+
+</p>
+<p>All day it rained in heavy squalls, coming from over the hills; everything was damp, the night was dark and still and we sighed
+in our narrow cell of a cabin. Next morning Bourbaki came back with a new crowd of natives, who again felt and investigated,
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb70" href="#pb70">70</a>]</span>happily, also, admired us. So vain is human-kind that even the admiration of cannibals is agreeable. I let some of them try
+my shot-gun, and everyone wanted to attempt the feat, although they were all badly frightened. They held the gun at arm&#8217;s
+length, turned their faces away and shot at random; it was clear that very few knew how to shoot, and that their Sniders could
+be of use only at short range. This is confirmed by the fact that all their murders are done point-blank.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p070" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p070.jpg" alt="WOMAN ON NITENDI, WITH LARGE SORE ON FOOT." width="720" height="454"><p class="figureHead">WOMAN ON NITENDI, WITH LARGE SORE ON FOOT.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>Bourbaki brought news that in a few days there was to be a great sacrificial feast in the village, and that, everybody being
+busy preparing for it, we had no chance of recruiting, neither could we see the great chief, he being shut up in his house,
+invisible to everybody except to a little boy, his servant. We landed a goat for Bourbaki&#8217;s father; the innocent animal caused
+terrible fright and great admiration. All the men retreated behind trunks or rocks and no one dared touch the strange creature.
+Bourbaki was very proud of himself for knowing goats, and fastened the poor little thing to a tree in the shade. He then coaxed
+three old men on board. Clumsily they entered the whale-boats, and even on board the cutter they squatted anxiously down and
+dared hardly move for fear the ship might capsize or they might slip into the water, of which they were quite afraid. They
+could hardly speak, and stared at everything, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. They forgot their fears, however, in delight over
+our possessions. A saucepan proved a joy; the boards and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb71" href="#pb71">71</a>]</span>planks of the ship were touched and admired amid much smacking of the lips; a devout &#8220;Whau!&#8221; was elicited by the sight of
+the cabin, which seemed a fairy palace to them. Smaller things they approved of by whistling; in general they behaved very
+politely. If they did not understand the use of a thing, they shrugged their shoulders with a grimace of contempt. A mirror
+was useless to them at first; after a while they learned to see; they were frightened, and at last they roared with laughter,
+put out their tongues, admired their sooty faces and began to pull out their bristles, for they all wore their upper lips
+shaved. Naturally, they confused right and left, and became entirely bewildered. A watch did not impress them; the ticking
+seemed mysterious and not quite innocent, and they put the instrument away at a safe distance. They asked to see some money,
+but were much disappointed, having imagined it would look bigger and more imposing. They preferred a little slip of paper,
+which they carefully hid in their belts. Our stock of cartridges impressed them deeply, and there was no end of whistling
+and grunting. Sugar and tea were objects of suspicion. They thought them poison, and took some along, probably to experiment
+on a good friend or a woman. Matches were stuck into the hair, the beard or the perforated ears. Pictures were quite incomprehensible.
+
+</p>
+<p>After an hour they left, less frightened than before, but still very glad to leave all the mysterious and uncanny things behind.
+Bourbaki made fun of their innocence, and thought himself very civilized, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb72" href="#pb72">72</a>]</span>but he himself was dreadfully afraid of my camera: &#8220;White man he savee too much.&#8221;
+
+</p>
+<p>The weather cleared towards evening. Some natives stayed on the shore all night, lighted fires and sang songs in anticipation
+of the coming dance. Our boys mimicked them, laughed at them and felt very superior, though we whites failed to see much difference,
+and, as a matter of fact, a short time after having returned home these boys can hardly be told from ordinary bushmen. The
+shrieks of the savages pierced the velvet of the night like daggers, but by and by they quieted down, and we heard nothing
+more but the rhythmic rise and fall of the surf.
+
+</p>
+<p>In the silver light of the rising moon the boats rolled gently behind the ship like dark spots, and light clouds glided westward
+across the stars, eternally rising behind the black cliffs and disappearing in the universal dimness. We were asleep on deck,
+when suddenly a violent shower woke us up and banished us into that terrible cabin.
+
+</p>
+<p>No natives came next day; they were all busy preparing the feast. We had nothing to do but to loaf on the beach or on board,
+and smoke, as we had no fishing-tackle and no animals to shoot. The grey sky, the vague light, the thin rain, were depressing,
+and all sorts of useless thoughts came to us. We noticed the hardships of our existence on board, felt that we were wasting
+time, grew irritable and dissatisfied. If only my companion had been less sulky! But with him there could be no pleasant chat,
+no cosy evening hour over a cup of tea and a pipe; and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb73" href="#pb73">73</a>]</span>I would almost have preferred being alone to this <i lang="fr">solitude &agrave; deux</i>. I sat on deck and listened to the breakers. Often they sounded like a rushing express train and awakened reminiscences of
+travel and movement. The cool wind blew softly from afar, and I could understand for the first time that longing that asks
+the winds for news of home and friends. I gave myself up wholly to this vague dreaming, call it home-sickness, or what you
+will, it enlivened the oppressive colourlessness of the days and the loneliness of the nights. As usual, a heavy shower came,
+luckily, perhaps, to interrupt all softer thoughts.
+
+</p>
+<p>Then followed a few clear days, which changed our mood entirely. The cutter rolled confidingly in the morning breeze, and
+the sun glowed warm and golden. In picturesque cascades the green forest seemed to rush down the slopes to the bright coral
+beach, on which the sea broke playfully. Once in a while a bird called far off in the depths of the woods. It was delicious
+to lie on the warm beach and be dried and roasted by the sun, to think of nothing in particular, but just to exist. Two wild
+pigs came to the beach in the evening to dig for yam that the natives had buried there; a chase, though unsuccessful, gave
+excitement and movement. We could venture far inland now without fear, for the natives were all away at the feast. Brilliant
+sunsets closed the days in royal splendour. Behind a heavy cloud-bank which hid the sun, he seemed to melt in the sea and
+to form one golden element. Out of the cloud five yellow rays shot across the steel-blue <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb74" href="#pb74">74</a>]</span>sky, so that it looked like one of those old-fashioned engravings of God behind a cloud. When everything had melted into one
+gorgeous fire, and we were still helpless before all that glory, the colours faded away to the most delicate combinations
+of half-tones; soon the stars came out glittering on the deep sky, first of all the Southern Cross. Halley&#8217;s comet was still
+faintly visible.
+
+</p>
+<p>In the morning the sky was cloudless, and changed from one lovely colour to the other, until the sun rose to give it its bright
+blue and paint the shore in every tint. Then every stone at the bottom of the sea was visible, and all the marvellous coral
+formations, with their weird shapes and fiery colours, glowed in rose and violet and pure golden yellow. Above lay big sea-stars,
+and large fish in bright hues floated between the cliffs in soft, easy movements, while bright blue little ones shot hither
+and thither like mad.
+
+</p>
+<p>Bourbaki arrived with his younger brother, a neat and gentle-looking boy. The feast was to begin that evening, and I asked
+Bourbaki if they had plenty of pigs to eat. &#8220;Oh no,&#8221; he said; &#8220;but that is of no importance: we have a man to eat! Yesterday
+we killed him in the bush, and to-day we will eat him.&#8221; He said this with the most innocent expression, as if he were talking
+about the weather. I had to force myself not to draw away from him, and looked somewhat anxiously into his face; but Bourbaki
+stared quietly into the distance, as if dreaming of the past excitements and the coming <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb75" href="#pb75">75</a>]</span>delights; then he picked up a cocoa-nut and tore the husk off with his strong teeth. It made me shudder to watch his brutish
+movements, but he was perfectly happy that morning, willing and obedient. At noon he went away to his horrid feast, and for
+two days we saw nobody.
+
+</p>
+<p>We passed the time as usual; the weather was rainy again, and everything seemed grey,&#8212;the sky, the sea and the shore, and
+our mood. One is so dependent on surroundings.
+
+</p>
+<p>On the third day Bourbaki came back, a little tired, but evidently satisfied. Some of his friends accompanied him, and he
+brought word that the chief had given permission for a few boys to enlist, but that we would have to wait about ten days until
+he could come to the shore himself. Not wishing to spend the ten days there, doing absolutely nothing, we decided to go farther
+south, to Tesbel Bay, and try our luck at recruiting there, as we had another boy, Macao, from that district. George gave
+leave to Bourbaki, who had been somewhat savage these last days, to stay at home till our return, and he seemed delighted
+to have a holiday. We were all the more surprised when, just before we weighed anchor, Bourbaki came back, shaking hands without
+a word. We were quite touched by this remarkable sign of his affection, pardoned his many objectionable ways, and never thought
+that perhaps he might have ample reason not to feel altogether safe and comfortable at home.
+
+</p>
+<p>The wind being contrary, we had to tack about <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb76" href="#pb76">76</a>]</span>all night long without advancing. Squalls rushed over the water, and then, again, the breeze died down completely, only black,
+jagged clouds drifted westward across the sky, and here and there a few stars were visible. The cutter&#8217;s deck was crowded
+with stuff, and there seemed less room for us than ever, except in the hateful cabin. The boys sang monotonously &#8220;for wind,&#8221;
+quite convinced that the next breeze would be due to their efforts. A fat old man sang all night long in falsetto in three
+notes; it was unbearably silly and irritating, yet one could hardly stop the poor devil and rob him of his only pleasure in
+that dark night. We felt damp, restless and sleepless, and tried in vain to find some comfort. Next evening we reached the
+entrance of Tesbel Bay, and the wind having died down, we had to work our way in with the oars, a slow and hard task. Bourbaki
+yelled and pulled at the oars with all his might, encouraging the others. These are the joys of sailing.
+
+</p>
+<p>Tesbel Bay is framed on two sides by high cliffs. Big boulders lie in picturesque confusion where the surf foams white against
+the narrow beach. Wherever there is a foot of ground, luxurious vegetation thrives. Ahead of us lies a level valley that stretches
+far inland to the foot of a high mountain, whose head is lost in grey clouds. A little creek runs into the bay through high
+reed-grass, behind a sandbank. Just before setting, the sun shone through the clouds and smiled on the lovely, peaceful landscape,
+seeming to promise us a pleasant stay. The smoke of many <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb77" href="#pb77">77</a>]</span>village fires rose out of the bush at a distance. Two ragged natives were loafing on the beach, and I engaged one of them
+for the next day, to guide me to some villages. Bourbaki and Macao marched gaily off, as they were to spend the night in Macao&#8217;s
+village.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p077" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p077.jpg" alt="A LARGE CANOE ON UREPARAPARA." width="720" height="454"><p class="figureHead">A LARGE CANOE ON UREPARAPARA.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>Next morning, while being pulled ashore for my excursion inland, I saw Macao on the beach, crying, waving and behaving like
+a madman. He called out that Bourbaki was dead, and that we must come to the village. I took him into the boat and we returned
+to the cutter. Macao was trembling all over, uttering wild curses, sighing and sobbing like a child. Between the fingers of
+his left hand he frantically grasped his cartridges, and nervously kept hold of his old rifle. We could not get much out of
+him; all we could make out was that Bourbaki had been shot towards morning and that he himself had run away. We guessed that
+Bourbaki must have committed some misdemeanour; as there was a possibility of his still being alive, we decided to go and
+look for him; for satisfaction it was idle to hope.
+
+</p>
+<p>According to Macao the village was quite near, so we took our rifles, armed the boys, and in ten minutes we were ashore. The
+youngest, a fourteen-year-old boy, was left in the whale-boat, so as to be ready to pick us up in case of need. His elder
+brother, a tall, stout fellow, also preferred to stay in the boat; we left him behind, and this left five of us for the expedition.
+Macao showed us the way, and as we followed him we watched right and left for a <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb78" href="#pb78">78</a>]</span>possible ambush. It was a disagreeable moment when we dived into the thicket, where we expected to be attacked any moment,
+and I could hardly blame another fat boy for dropping behind, too, to &#8220;watch the shore,&#8221; as he said. Not wishing to lose any
+time, we let him go, for we were anxious to be in the village before the natives should have time to rally and prepare for
+resistance.
+
+</p>
+<p>The path was miserable&#8212;slippery slopes, wildly knotted roots, stones, creeks and high reeds. We were kept quite busy enough
+watching our path, and were not careful at all about watching the bush; but we were confident that the natives, being very
+poor shots, would betray their presence by a random shot. We were exposed, of course, to shots from close quarters alongside
+the path, but we trusted to Macao&#8217;s sharp eyes to detect a hidden enemy. After an hour&#8217;s brisk walk, we asked Macao whether
+the village was still far off; every time we asked, his answer was the same: &#8220;Bim by you me catch him,&#8221; or, &#8220;Him he close
+up.&#8221; However, after an hour and a half, we began to feel worried. We had no idea whether we would find a peaceful village
+or an armed tribe, and in the latter case a retreat would doubtless have been fatal, owing to the long distance we would have
+had to go in the forest, where the white man is always at a disadvantage. But we had undertaken the adventure, and we had
+to see it through.
+
+</p>
+<p>After two hours we unexpectedly came upon a village. A dozen men and a few women were squatting about, evidently expecting
+some event. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb79" href="#pb79">79</a>]</span>The presence of the women was a sign that the people were peacefully inclined. An old man, a relative of Macao&#8217;s, joined us,
+and a short walk through a gully brought us quite suddenly into a village square. About thirty men were awaiting us, armed
+with rifles and clubs, silent and shy. Macao spoke to them, whereupon they laid down their rifles and led us to a hut, where
+we found Bourbaki, lying on his back, dead. He had been sitting in the house when some one shot him from behind; he had jumped
+up and tried to fly, but had broken down and fallen where he was then lying. He must have died almost at once, as the bullet
+had torn a great hole in his body. His rifle and cartridges were missing, that was all.
+
+</p>
+<p>The villagers stood around us, talking excitedly; we could not understand them, but they were evidently not hostile, and we
+told them to bury Bourbaki. They began at once, digging a hole in the soft earth with pointed sticks. We then asked for the
+rifle, the cartridges and the murderer, and were informed that two men had done the killing. After some deliberation a number
+of men walked off, one of them a venerable old man, armed after the old fashion with a bow and a handful of poisoned arrows,
+which he handled with deliberate care; he also carried a club in a sling over his shoulder. Of all those strong men, this
+old one seemed to me the most dangerous but also the most beautiful and the most genuine. After a while they returned, and
+two other men slunk in and stood apart.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb80" href="#pb80">80</a>]</span></p>
+<p>The natives seemed undecided what to do, and squatted about, talking among themselves, until at last one of them pulled me
+by the sleeve and led us towards the two newcomers. We understood that they were the murderers, and each of us took hold of
+one of them. They made no resistance, but general excitement arose in the crowd, all the other natives shouting and gesticulating,
+even threatening each other with their rifles. They were split in two parties,&#8212;one that wanted to give up the murderers, and
+their relatives, who wanted to keep them. We told them that the affair would be settled if they gave up the murderers; if
+not, the man-of-war would come and punish the whole village. As my prisoner tried to get loose, I bound him, and while I was
+busy with this I heard a shot. Seeing that all the men had their rifles ready, I expected the fight to begin, but George told
+me his prisoner had escaped and he had shot after him. The man had profited by George&#8217;s indecision to run away.
+
+</p>
+<p>This actual outbreak of the hostilities excited the people so that we thought it best to retire, taking our single prisoner
+with us. A few of the natives followed us, and when we left the village the relatives of the murderer broke out in violent
+wailing and weeping, thinking, as did the prisoner, Belni, himself, that we were going to eat him up, after having tortured
+him to death. Belni trembled all over, was very gentle and inclined to weep like a punished child, but quite resigned and
+not even offering any resistance. He only asked Macao anxiously what we were going to do <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb81" href="#pb81">81</a>]</span>with him. Macao, furious at the death of his comrade, for whom he seemed to have felt real affection, put him in mortal fear,
+and was quite determined to avenge his murdered friend. We shut Belni up in the hold of the cutter and told the natives that
+they would have to hand over Bourbaki&#8217;s rifle and cartridges, and pay us two tusked pigs by noon of the next day.
+
+</p>
+<p>On this occasion we learned the reason for the murder: Belni&#8217;s brother had had an intrigue with the wife of the chief, and
+had been condemned by the latter to pay a few pigs. Being too poor to do this, he decided to pay his debt in an old-fashioned
+way by killing a man, and Bourbaki was unlucky enough to arrive just at the right time, and being a man from a distant district,
+there was no revenge to be feared. Belni, therefore, chose him as his victim. The two brothers chatted all night with him
+and Macao, and asked to see Bourbaki&#8217;s rifle, which he carelessly handed to them. When, towards morning, Macao left them for
+a few moments, they profited by the opportunity to shoot Bourbaki from behind, and to run away. Macao, rushing back, found
+his friend dead, and fled to the shore. By this deed the wrong to the chief was supposed to be made good&#8212;a very peculiar practice
+in native justice. It may be a remnant of old head-hunting traditions, inasmuch as Belni&#8217;s brother would have given the dead
+man&#8217;s head to the chief in payment, this being even more valuable than pigs.
+
+</p>
+<p>The first excitement over, our boys were seized by fear, even Macao and the other one who had accompanied us. Although they
+were in perfect safety on <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb82" href="#pb82">82</a>]</span>board the cutter they feared all sorts of revenge from Belni&#8217;s relatives,&#8212;for instance, that they might cause a storm and
+wreck the cutter. We laughed at them, but they would not be cheered up, and, after all, Macao&#8217;s horrible dread that his old
+father was surely being eaten up by this time in the village was not quite groundless. We were not in the brightest of humours
+ourselves, as this event had considerably lessened our chances of recruiting at Big Nambas; the chief made us responsible
+for Bourbaki&#8217;s death, and asked an indemnity which we could hardly pay, except with the tusked pigs we demanded here.
+
+</p>
+<p>We could not stay longer in Tesbel Bay, as our boys were too much frightened, and the natives might turn against us at any
+moment. We could hardly get the boys to go ashore for water and firewood, for fear of an ambush. In the evening we fetched
+Belni out of the hold. He was still doleful and ready to cry, but seemed unconscious of any fault; he had killed a man, but
+that was rather an honourable act than a crime, and he only seemed to regret that it had turned out so unsatisfactorily. He
+did not seem to have much appetite, but swallowed his yam mechanically in great lumps. The boys shunned him visibly, all but
+Macao, who squatted down close before him, and gave him food with wild hatred in his eyes, and muttering awful threats. Icy-cold,
+cruel, with compressed lips and poisonous looks like a serpent&#8217;s, he hissed his curses and tortured Belni, who excused himself
+clumsily and shyly, playing with the yam and looking from one dark corner to the other, like a boy <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb83" href="#pb83">83</a>]</span>being scolded. The scene was so gruesome that I had Belni shut up again, and we watched all night, for Macao was determined
+to take the murderer&#8217;s life. It was a dry, moonlit night; one of the boys was writhing with a pain in his stomach, and we
+could do nothing to help him, so they were all convinced it was caused by Belni&#8217;s relatives, and wanted to sail immediately.
+A warm breeze had driven mosquitoes to the cutter; it was a most unpleasant night.
+
+</p>
+<p>Next noon the natives appeared, about twenty strong, but without the second murderer. They said the shot had hit him, and
+that he had died during the night. This might have been true, and as we could do nothing against the village anyway, we let
+the matter drop, especially as they had brought us Bourbaki&#8217;s rifle and two tusked pigs. The chief said he hoped we were satisfied
+with him, and would not trouble anyone but the murderers.
+
+</p>
+<p>We returned to the cutter, and the pigs were put in the hold, where they seem to have kept good company with Belni, after
+a little preliminary squealing and shrieking. Then we sailed northward, with a breeze that carried us in four hours over the
+same distance for which we had taken twenty-four last time. It was a bitterly cold night. We decided to return home, fearing
+the boys would murder Belni in an unwatched moment, as they had asked several times, when the sea was high, whether we would
+not throw Belni into the water now. The passage to Santo was very rough. The waves thundered against the little old cutter,
+and we had a nasty tide-rip. We were <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb84" href="#pb84">84</a>]</span>quite soaked, and looking in through the portholes, we could see everything floating about in the cabin&#8212;blankets, saucepans,
+tins and pistols. We did not mind much, as we hoped to be at home by evening.
+
+</p>
+<p>Rest, cleanliness and a little comfort were very tempting after a fortnight in the filthy narrowness of the little craft.
+We had no reason to be vain of our success; but such trips are part of the game, and we planned a second visit to Big Nambas
+to reconcile the chief. We were glad to greet the cloud-hung coast of Santo, and soon entered the Segond Channel. There we
+discovered that the old boat had leaked to such an extent that we could have kept afloat for only a few hours longer, and
+had every reason to be glad the voyage was at an end. It was just as well that we had not noticed the leak during the passage.
+
+</p>
+<p>We brought Belni ashore; the thin, flabby fellow was a poor compensation for vigorous Bourbaki. He was set to work on the
+plantation, and as the Government was never informed of the affair, he is probably there to this day, and will stay until
+he dies.
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb85" href="#pb85">85</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div id="ch5" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><h2 class="label">Chapter V</h2>
+<h2 class="normal">Vao</h2>
+<p>I had not yet solved the problem of how to get away from the Segond Channel and find a good field of labour, when, happily,
+the French priest from Port Olry came to stay a few days with his colleague at the channel, on his way to Vao, and he obligingly
+granted me a passage on his cutter. I left most of my luggage behind, and the schooner of the French survey party was to bring
+it to Port Olry later on.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p085" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p085.jpg" alt="DANCING-GROUND ON VAO, WITH ANCESTOR HOUSES." width="720" height="459"><p class="figureHead">DANCING-GROUND ON VAO, WITH ANCESTOR HOUSES.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>After a passage considerably prolonged by contrary winds, we arrived at Vao, a small island north-east of Malekula. When one
+has sailed along the lifeless, greyish-green shores of Malekula, Vao is like a sunbeam breaking through the mist. This change
+of mood comes gradually, as one notices the warm air of spring, and dry souls, weather-beaten captains and old pirates may
+hardly be aware of anything beyond a better appetite and greater thirst. And it is not easy to define what lends the little
+spot such a charm that the traveller feels revived as if escaped from some oppression. From a distance Vao looks like all
+the other islands and islets of the archipelago&#8212;a green froth floating on the white line of breakers; from near by we see,
+as everywhere else, the bright beach in front of the thick forest. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb86" href="#pb86">86</a>]</span>But what impresses the traveller mournfully elsewhere,&#8212;the eternal loneliness and lifelessness of a country where nature has
+poured all its power into the vegetation, and seems to have forgotten man and beast,&#8212;is softened here, and an easy joy of
+living penetrates everything like a delicate scent, and lifts whatever meets the eye to greater significance and beauty. The
+celestial charm of the South Sea Islands, celebrated by the first discoverers, seems to be preserved here, warming the soul
+like the sweet remembrance of a happy dream. Hardly anyone who feels these impressions will wonder about their origin, but
+he will hasten ashore and dive into the forest, driven by a vague idea of finding some marvel. Later he will understand that
+the charm of Vao lies in the rich, busy human life that fills the island. It is probably the most thickly populated of the
+group, with about five hundred souls living in a space one mile long and three-fourths of a mile wide; and it is their happy,
+careless, lazy existence that makes Vao seem to the stranger like a friendly home. Here there are houses and fires, lively
+people who shout and play merrily, and after the loneliness which blows chill from the bush, the traveller is glad to rest
+and feel at home among cheerful fellow-men.
+
+</p>
+<p>About seventy outrigger boats of all sizes lie on the beach. On their bows they carry a carved heron, probably some half-forgotten
+totem. The bird is more or less richly carved, according to the social standing of the owner, and a severe watch is kept to
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb87" href="#pb87">87</a>]</span>prevent people from carrying carvings too fine for their degree. Similarly, we find little sticks like small seats fastened
+to the canoes, their number indicating the caste of the owner. Under big sheds, in the shade of the tall trees, lie large
+whale-boats of European manufacture, belonging to the different clans, in which the men undertake long cruises to the other
+islands, Santo, Aoba, Ambrym, to visit &#8220;sing-sings&#8221; and trade in pigs. Formerly they used large canoes composed of several
+trees fastened together with ropes of cocoa-nut fibre, and caulked with rosin, driven by sails of cocoa-nut sheaths; these
+would hold thirty to forty men, and were used for many murderous expeditions. For the inhabitants of Vao were regular pirates,
+dreaded all along the coast; they would land unexpectedly in the morning near a village, kill the men and children, steal
+the women and start for home with rich booty. European influences have put a stop to this sport, and with the introduction
+of whale-boats the picturesque canoes have disappeared from the water, and now lie rotting on the beach. Their successors
+(though according to old tradition, women may not enter them) are only used for peaceful purposes.
+
+</p>
+<p>In the early morning the beach is deserted, but a few hours after sunrise it is full of life. The different clans come down
+from their villages by narrow paths which divide near the shore into one path for the men and another for the women, leading
+to separate places. The men squat down near one of the boat-houses and stretch out comfortably <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb88" href="#pb88">88</a>]</span>in the warm sand, smoking and chatting. The women, loaded with children and baskets, sit in the shade of the knobby trees
+which stretch their trunk-like branches horizontally over the beach, forming a natural roof against sun and rain. The half-grown
+boys are too lively to enjoy contemplative laziness; gossip and important deliberations about pigs and sacrifices do not interest
+them, and they play about between the canoes, wade in the water, look for shells on the sand, or hunt crabs or fish in the
+reef. Thus an hour passes. The sun has warmed the sand; after the cool night this is doubly agreeable, and a light breeze
+cools the air. Some mothers bathe their babies in the sea, washing and rubbing them carefully, until the coppery skin shines
+in the sun; the little creatures enjoy the bath immensely, and splash gaily in the element that will be their second home
+in days to come. Everyone on the beach is in the easiest undress: the men wear nothing but a bark belt, and the women a little
+apron of braided grass; the children are quite naked, unless bracelets, necklaces and ear-rings can count as dress. Having
+rested and amply fortified themselves for the painful resolution to take up the day&#8217;s work, people begin to prepare for departure
+to the fields. They have to cross the channel, about a mile wide, to reach the big island where the yam gardens lie, sheltered
+by the forest from the trade-winds; and this sail is the occasion for the prettiest sight Vao can offer.
+
+</p>
+<p>The tides drive the sea through the narrow channel so hard as to start a current which is almost <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb89" href="#pb89">89</a>]</span>a stream. The head-wind raises short, sharp, white-capped waves; shallow banks shine yellow through the clear water, and the
+coral reefs are patches of violet and crimson, and we are delighted by constant changes, new shades and various colourings,
+never without harmony and loveliness. A cloudless sky bends over the whole picture and shines on the red-brown bodies of the
+people, who bustle about their canoes, adding the bright red of their mats and dresses to the splendour of the landscape.
+
+</p>
+<p>With sudden energy the women have grabbed the boats and pushed them into the water. The girls are slim, supple and strong
+as the young men, the mothers and older women rather stiff, and usually hampered by at least one child, which they carry on
+their backs or on their hips, while another holds on to the garment which replaces our skirts. There is plenty of laughter
+and banter with the men, who look on unmoved at the efforts of the weaker sex, only rarely offering a helping hand.
+
+</p>
+<p>From the trees and hiding-places the paddles and the pretty triangular sails are fetched and fastened on the canoes; then
+the boats are pushed off and the whole crowd jumps in. The babies sit in their mothers&#8217; laps or hang on their backs, perilously
+close to the water, into which they stare with big, dark eyes. By twos and threes the canoes push off, driven by vigorous
+paddling along the shore, against the current. Sometimes a young man wades after a canoe and joins some fair friends, sitting
+in front of them, as etiquette demands. The fresh breeze catches <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb90" href="#pb90">90</a>]</span>the sails, and the ten or fifteen canoes glide swiftly across the bright water, the spread sails looking like great red butterflies.
+The spray splashes from the bows, one woman steers, and the others bale out the water with cocoa-nuts,&#8212;a labour worthy of
+the Danaides; sometimes the outrigger lifts up and the canoe threatens to capsize, but, quick as thought, the women lean on
+the poles joining outrigger and canoe, and the accident is averted. In a few minutes the canoes enter the landings between
+the torn cliffs on the large island, the passengers jump out and carry the boats up the beach.
+
+</p>
+<p>A few stragglers, men of importance who have been detained by politics, and bachelors, who have nothing and nobody to care
+for but themselves, follow later on, and only a crowd of boys stays in Vao, to enjoy themselves on the beach and get into
+all sorts of mischief.
+
+</p>
+<p>Obliging as people sometimes are when the fancy strikes them, a youth took us over to the other island in his canoe, and was
+even skilful enough to keep us from capsizing. Narrow paths, bordered with impenetrable bush, led us from the beach across
+coral boulders up to the plantations on top of the tableland. Under some cocoa-nut palms our guide stopped, climbed nimbly
+up a slim trunk, as if mounting a ladder, and three green nuts dropped to the ground at our feet. Three clever strokes of
+the knife opened them, and we enjoyed the refreshing drink in its natural bowl. Sidepaths branched off to the gardens, where
+every individual or family had its <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb91" href="#pb91">91</a>]</span>piece of ground. We saw big bananas, taro, with large, juicy leaves, yams, trained on a pretty basket-shaped trellis-work;
+when in bloom this looks like a huge bouquet. There were pine-apples, cabbages, cocoa-nut and bread-fruit trees, bright croton
+bushes and highly scented shrubs. In this green and confused abundance the native spends his day, working a little, loafing
+a great deal. He shoots big pigeons and little parakeets, roasts them on an improvised fire and eats them as a welcome addition
+to his regular meals. From sun and rain he is sheltered by simple roofs, under which everybody assembles at noon to gossip,
+eat and laugh.
+
+</p>
+<p>Long ago there were villages here. An enormous monolith, now broken, but once 5 m&egrave;tres high, speaks for the energy of bygone
+generations, when this rock was carried up from the coast, probably for a monument to some great chief.
+
+</p>
+<p>While the women were gathering food for the evening meal we returned to Vao. The breeze had stiffened in the midst of the
+channel, and one old woman&#8217;s canoe had capsized. She clung to the boat, calling pitifully for help, which amused all the men
+on the shore immensely, until at last, none too soon, they went to her rescue. Such adventures are by no means harmless, as
+the channel swarms with sharks.
+
+</p>
+<p>We explored the interior of Vao, going first through the thicket on the shore, then through reed-grass over 6 feet high, then
+between low walls surrounding little plantations. Soon the path widened, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb92" href="#pb92">92</a>]</span>and on both sides we saw stone slabs, set several rows deep; presently we found ourselves under the wide vault of one of those
+immense fig trees whose branches are like trunks, and the glare of the sun gave way to deep shadow, the heat of noonday to
+soft coolness.
+
+</p>
+<p>Gradually our eyes grow accustomed to the dimness, and we distinguish our surroundings. We are in a wide square, roofed by
+the long branches of the giant tree. At our left is its trunk, mighty enough in itself, but increased by the numerous air-roots
+that stretch like cables from the crown to the earth, covering the trunk entirely in some spots, or dangling softly in the
+wind, ending in large tassels of smaller roots. Lianas wind in distorted curves through the branches, like giant snakes stiffened
+while fighting. This square is one of the dancing-grounds of Vao. The rows of stones surround the square on three sides&#8212;two,
+three or more deep. Near the trunk of the great tree is a big altar of large slabs of rock; around it are stone tables of
+smaller size, and one or two immense coral plates, which cover the buried skull of some mighty chief. A large rock lies in
+the middle of the road on a primitive slide half covered by stones and earth. Long ago the islanders tried to bring it up
+from the beach; a strong vine served as a rope, and more than fifty men must have helped to drag the heavy rock up from the
+coast to the square. Half-way they got tired of the job and left the stone where it lies now, and will lie for ever.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb93" href="#pb93">93</a>]</span></p>
+<p>On the other side of the altar are the drums, hollow trunks, whose upper end is carved to represent a human face with wide,
+grinning mouth, and deep, round and hollow eyes. Rammed in aslant, leaning in all directions, they stand like clumsy, malicious
+demons, spiteful and brutal, as if holding their bellies with rude, immoderate laughter at their own hugeness and the puniness
+of mankind, at his miserable humanity, compared to the solemn repose of the great tree. In front of these are figures cut
+roughly out of logs, short-legged, with long bodies and exaggeratedly long faces; often they are nothing but a head, with
+the same smiling mouth, a long nose and narrow, oblique eyes. They are painted red, white and blue, and are hardly discernible
+in the dimness. On their forked heads they carry giant birds with outstretched wings,&#8212;herons,&#8212;floating as if they had just
+dropped through the branches on to the square.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p093" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p093.jpg" alt="DANCING-GROUND ON VAO." width="461" height="720"><p class="figureHead">DANCING-GROUND ON VAO.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>This is all we can see, but it is enough to make a deep impression. Outside, the sun is glaring, the leaves quiver, and the
+clouds are drifting across the sky, but here it is dim and cool as in a cathedral, not a breeze blows, everything is lapped
+in a holy calm. Abandonment, repose, sublime thoughtlessness drop down on us in the shadow of the giant tree; as if in a dream
+we breathe the damp, soft, mouldy air, feel the smooth earth and the green moss that covers everything like a velvet pall,
+and gaze at the altars, the drums and the statues.
+
+</p>
+<p>In a small clearing behind the square, surrounded <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb94" href="#pb94">94</a>]</span>by gaily coloured croton bushes, stands the men&#8217;s house&#8212;the &#8220;gamal.&#8221; Strong pillars support its gabled roof, that reaches
+down to the ground; the entrance is flanked by great stone slabs. Oddly branched dead trees form a hedge around the house,
+and on one side, on a sort of shelf, hang hundreds of boars&#8217; jaws with curved tusks. Inside, there are a few fireplaces, simple
+holes in the ground, and a number of primitive stretchers of parallel bamboos, couches that the most ascetic of whites would
+disdain. Among the beams of the roof hang all kinds of curiosities: dancing-masks and sticks, rare fish, pigs&#8217; jaws, bones,
+old weapons, amulets and so on, everything covered with a thick layer of soot from the ever-smouldering fires. These &#8220;gamals&#8221;
+are a kind of club-house, where the men spend the day and occasionally the night. In rainy weather they sit round the fire,
+smoking, gossiping and working on some tool,&#8212;a club or a fine basket. Each clan has its own gamal, which is strictly taboo
+for the women, and to each gamal belongs a dancing-ground like the one described. On Vao there are five, corresponding to
+the number of clans.
+
+</p>
+<p>Near by are the dwelling-houses and family enclosures. Each family has its square, surrounded by a wall about 1 m&egrave;tre high
+of loose stones simply piled up, so that it is unsafe to lean against it. Behind the walls are high screens of braided reeds,
+which preclude the possibility of looking into the enclosure; even the doors are so protected that no one can look in; for
+the men are very jealous, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb95" href="#pb95">95</a>]</span>and do not want their wives observed by strangers. These enclosures are very close together, and only narrow lanes permit
+circulation. As we turn a corner we may see a woman disappear quickly, giggling, while children run away with terrified howls,
+for what the black man is to ours the white man is to them.
+
+</p>
+<p>Having won the confidence of a native, we may be taken into his courtyard, where there is little to be seen, as all the social
+life goes on in the gamals or on the dancing-grounds. A dozen simple huts stand irregularly about the square, some half decayed
+and serving as pigsties. One hut belongs to the master, and each of his wives has a house of her own, in which to bring up
+her children. The yard is alive with pigs and fowls and dogs and children, more or less peacefully at play.
+
+</p>
+<p>In Vao, as in all Melanesia, the pig is the most valued of animals. All the thoughts of the native circle round the pig; for
+with pigs he can buy whatever his heart desires: he can have an enemy killed, he can purchase many women, he can attain the
+highest social standing, he can win paradise. No wonder, then, that the Vao pigs are just as carefully nursed, if not more
+so, than the children, and that it is the most important duty of the old matrons to watch over the welfare of the pigs. To
+call a young beauty &#8220;pig&#8217;s foot,&#8221; &#8220;pig&#8217;s nose,&#8221; &#8220;pig&#8217;s tail,&#8221; or similar endearing names is the greatest compliment a lover
+can pay. But only the male pigs are esteemed, the females are of account only as a necessary instrument <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb96" href="#pb96">96</a>]</span>for propagating the species, and nobody takes care of them; so they run wild, and have to look out for themselves. They are
+much happier than the males, which are tied all their lives to a pole under a little roof; they are carefully fed, but this,
+their only pleasure, is spoilt by constant and terrific toothache, caused by cruel man, who has a horrible custom of knocking
+out the upper eye-teeth of the male pig. The lower eye-teeth, finding nothing to rub against, grow to a surprising size, first
+upward, then down, until they again reach the jaw, grow on and on, through the cheek, through the jaw-bone, pushing out a
+few other teeth <i lang="fr">en passant</i>, then they come out of the jaw again, and curve a second, sometimes a third time, if the poor beast lives long enough. These
+pigs with curved tusks are the pride and wealth of every native; they are the highest coin, and power and influence depend
+on the number of such pigs a man owns, as well as on the size of their tusks, and this is the reason why they are so carefully
+watched, so that no harm may come to them or their teeth. Very rich people may have quite a number of &#8220;tuskers,&#8221; people of
+average means own one or two, and paupers none at all, but they may have the satisfaction of looking at those of the others
+and feeding them if they like.
+
+</p>
+<p>It will be necessary to say a few words here about the pig-cult and the social organization of the natives, as they are closely
+connected and form a key to an understanding of the natives&#8217; way of living and thinking. I wish to state at once, however,
+that the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb97" href="#pb97">97</a>]</span>following remarks do not pretend to be correct in all details. It is very hard to make any researches as to these matters,
+as the natives themselves have only the vaguest notions on the subject, and entirely lack abstract ideas, so that they fail
+to understand many of the questions put to them. Without an exact knowledge of the language, and much personal observation,
+it is hardly possible to obtain reliable results, especially as the old men are unwilling to tell all they know, and the young
+know very little, but rely on the knowledge of the old chiefs. Interpreters are of no use, and direct questioning has but
+little result, as the people soon become suspicious or tired of thinking, and answer as they suppose the white man would wish,
+so as to have done with the catechizing as soon as possible. Perfect familiarity with the language, habits and character of
+the natives is necessary, and their confidence must be won, in order to make any progress in the investigation of these problems.
+Missionaries are the men to unite these qualities, but, unfortunately, the missionaries of the New Hebrides do not seem to
+take much interest in the strange cult so highly developed here; so that, for want of something better, my own observations
+may be acceptable.
+
+</p>
+<p>The pig-cult, or &#8220;Suque,&#8221; is found almost all over Melanesia. It is most highly developed in the Banks Islands and the Central
+New Hebrides, and rules the entire life of the natives; yet it forms only a part of their religion, and probably a newer part,
+while the fundamental principle is ancestor-worship. We must <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb98" href="#pb98">98</a>]</span>not expect to find in the native mind clear conceptions of transcendental things. The religious ceremonies differ in adjoining
+villages, and so do the ideas concerning the other world. There is no regular dogma; and since even the conceptions of religions
+with well-defined dogmas are constantly changing, religions which are handed down by oral tradition only, and in the vaguest
+way, must necessarily be fluctuating. Following the natural laws of thought, religious conceptions split into numerous local
+varieties, and it is the task of the scientist to seek, amid this variety of exterior forms, the common underlying idea, long
+forgotten by everyone else, and to ascertain what it was in its original purity, without additions and deformations.
+
+</p>
+<p>My observations led me to the following results: according to native belief, the soul leaves the body after death, and wanders
+about near by. Apparently the idea is that it remains in connection with the body for a certain time, for in some districts
+the corpse is fed for five days or longer; in Vao a bamboo tube is used, which leads from the surface of the earth to the
+mouth of the buried body. The souls of low-caste people soon disappear, but the higher the caste, the longer the soul stays
+on earth. Still, the natives have some conception of a paradise in which the soul of the high-caste finds all bliss and delight,
+and which the soul ultimately enters. This idea may have come up since the arrival of Christianity. It is customary to hold
+a death-feast for a man of no caste after five days, for a low-caste after one hundred, and for a <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb99" href="#pb99">99</a>]</span>high-caste after three hundred or even one thousand days. The soul remains in contact with the world of the living, and may
+be perceived as a good or bad spirit of as much power as the man had when alive. To obtain the favour and assistance of these
+spirits seems to be the fundamental idea, the main object of religion in the New Hebrides. The spirit of an ancestor will
+naturally favour his descendants, unless they have offended him deeply; and the more powerful the dead ancestor was, the stronger
+and safer do his descendants feel under the protection of his spirit. If a man has no powerful ancestral ghost, he joins some
+strong clan, and strives for the favour of its tutelary spirit by means of rich sacrifices. The spirits admit those who bring
+many sacrifices to their special favour and intimacy; these people are supposed to have gone half-way to the spirit-world,
+and even in this life they are dreaded and enormously influential; for the spirits will help him in every way, the elements
+are his servants, and he can perform the most terrible sorceries. Thus he terrorizes the country, becomes chief, and after
+death he joins the other ghosts as a powerful member of their company.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p099" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p099.jpg" alt="WOMAN FROM TANNA." width="458" height="720"><p class="figureHead">WOMAN FROM TANNA.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>The &#8220;Suque&#8221; transferred the hierarchy of the spirit-world into this world, and regulated the number of castes and the method
+of rising in caste; it also originated the rules for entering into connection with the other world. Its origin probably goes
+back to one of those secret societies so highly developed in Melanesia, of which I shall speak later.
+
+</p>
+<p>Caste is obtained by sacrificing tusked pigs; it is <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb100" href="#pb100">100</a>]</span>possible that this has taken the place of former human sacrifices. The &#8220;Suque&#8221; is the community of all the men who have sacrificed
+tusked pigs. It is an international society, divided into numerous groups composed of the men of different islands, districts,
+villages or clans. It is the only means to assure oneself of bliss hereafter, and to obtain power and wealth on earth, and
+whoever fails to join the &#8220;Suque&#8221; is an outcast, a man of no importance, without friends and without protectors, whether living
+men or spirits, and therefore exposed to every ill-treatment and utter contempt. This explains the all-important position
+of the &#8220;Suque&#8221; in the life of the natives, being the expression both of religion and of ambition.
+
+</p>
+<p>Frequently a young boy will join the &#8220;Suque,&#8221; an uncle on the mother&#8217;s side donating pigs to be sacrificed in his name after
+he has touched them with his hand. The boy is then free of the gamal, the &#8220;Suque&#8221; club-house. Later he works his way up in
+the society by attending numberless feasts and ceremonies, by having endless discussions on tusked pigs, by borrowing, buying
+and lending pigs, by plotting and sacrificing.
+
+</p>
+<p>The number of castes varies on different islands: in Ambrym there are fourteen, in Venua Lava twenty, in Aoba ten. On some
+islands, Santo, for example, the caste-system is connected with a severe separation of the fires; each caste cooks over its
+own fire, and loses its degree on eating food cooked on the fire of a lower caste. In these districts the floor of the gamal
+is frequently marked by bamboo rods <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb101" href="#pb101">101</a>]</span>or sticks in as many divisions as there are castes each containing one fireplace. The highest castes sit at the front end
+of the gamal, the lower at the back; these are forbidden to enter the gamal from the front, in order not to touch or step
+over the fireplaces of their superiors. At each rise in caste the novice receives the new fire, rubbed on a special stick
+and decorated with flowers; certain ceremonies attend the cooking of the first food with this new fire. It is then carefully
+tended in the fireplace, and if it goes out it has to be rubbed afresh with the stick. The number of pigs necessary to a rise
+in caste also varies on the different islands. Generally, only tusked pigs are counted, and there are feasts at which as many
+as forty of these valuable animals are killed. Naturally, the high-castes cannot keep all the animals themselves, but they
+lend them, like money, to those who do not possess the number needed to rise in caste; in this way a complicated credit-system
+has developed, by which the so-called chiefs support and strengthen their influence and tyrannize the country.
+
+</p>
+<p>A young man, as a rule, owns no tusked pigs. If he wishes to raise his caste, he has to borrow from the rich high-castes,
+who are very willing to help him, but only at exorbitant rates of interest. First he has to win their favour by presents,
+and then he has to promise to return a more valuable pig later. The bargain made, the transaction takes place publicly with
+some ceremony. The population of the district assembles, and all the transactions are ratified which have been negotiated
+in private. The <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb102" href="#pb102">102</a>]</span>owner holds the pig, the borrower dances around him and then takes the animal away. All the spectators serve as witnesses,
+and there is no need of a written bill. In this way nearly all the men of lower rank are in debt to the high-castes, and dependent
+on their goodwill, and these can obtain anything they like, simply by pressing their debtors to pay for their pigs.
+
+</p>
+<p>As a rule, the highest castes of a district work together; they are the high priests, who arrange everything connected with
+the &#8220;Suque,&#8221; set the dates for the feasts, and decide whether a man shall be permitted to raise his caste. They are practically
+omnipotent, until one of them rises by still larger sacrifices to a still higher caste, and becomes sole master. If there
+are no more degrees to reach, the whole scale is run through again an octave higher, so to speak. The jaws of the killed pigs
+are hung up in the gamal in bundles or rows, as a sign of the wealth and power of the proprietor. These chiefs are in connection
+with the mightiest spirits, have supernatural power and are as much hated as they are feared.
+
+</p>
+<p>There is another independent witchcraft beside the &#8220;Suque,&#8221; for weather-making, charms and poisoning, which is known to private
+men. They take expensive &#8220;lessons&#8221; from old sorcerers, and transmit their art to the young men they consider clever enough,
+for good wages. These are the real mischief-makers, for they will lend their murderous assistance to anyone for adequate payment.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb103" href="#pb103">103</a>]</span></p>
+<p>In some islands there is also a &#8220;Suque&#8221; for the women, but it is quite independent of that of the men, and its degrees are
+easier to reach. Still, women of high rank enjoy a certain consideration from the men.
+
+</p>
+<p>Real chiefs do not exist in the northern part of the New Hebrides, but the chiefs are the high-castes, who, according to their
+rank and the strength of their personality, have more or less influence. They cannot give direct orders, but rule indirectly
+through pressure, threats and encouragement. Officially, all decisions are taken in a meeting of the whole &#8220;Suque.&#8221; The chieftainship
+is not hereditary, but the sons and especially the nephews of high-castes generally reach high degrees themselves, being pushed
+by their relatives, who are naturally anxious to be surrounded by faithful and influential friends. Thus there have risen
+aristocratic families, who think themselves better than the others, and do not like to mix with common people. Daughters of
+these families command high prices, and are therefore accessible only to rich men, that is, men of high caste. Young men of
+less good family are naturally poor, and since a woman, as a rule, costs five pigs, it is almost impossible for them to marry,
+whereas old men can buy up all the young, pretty girls; the social consequences of this system are obvious. In Vao conditions
+are not quite so bad, because there is considerable wealth, and women are numerous, so that even young men are enabled to
+have a family; in consequence, the race here is healthier than elsewhere.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb104" href="#pb104">104</a>]</span></p>
+<p>In Vao I had occasion to attend a death-feast. The hero of the day was still alive and in excellent health; but he did not
+quite trust his family, and wishing to make sure that his death-feast would not be forgotten, he held it during his lifetime.
+His anxiety about the feast is explained by the following facts. According to Vao beliefs, the souls of the dead travel to
+the island of Ambrym, and after five days climb a narrow trail up to the volcano. In order that the soul may not starve on
+the way, the survivors often make a small canoe, load it with food and push it off into the sea, thinking it will drift after
+the soul. It is generally stranded behind the nearest point, bringing the neighbours a welcome addition to the day&#8217;s rations.
+This custom is in contradiction to the feeding of the body through a tube, and proves that quite contradictory customs can
+exist simultaneously, without the natives noticing it. Half-way up the volcano sits a monster with two immense shears, like
+a crab. If no pigs have been sacrificed for the soul by the fifth day, the poor soul is alone and the monster swallows it;
+but if the sacrifice has been performed, the souls of the sacrificed pigs follow after the human soul, and as the monster
+prefers pig, the human has time to escape and to reach the entrance to paradise on top of the volcano, where there are pigs,
+women, dancing and feasting in plenty.
+
+</p>
+<p>The feast I was to attend had been in preparation for some time. On all the dancing-grounds long bamboos were in readiness,
+loaded with yams and flowers, as presents to the host. Everything was <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb105" href="#pb105">105</a>]</span>brought to his gamal, and the whole morning passed in distributing the gifts, each family receiving a few yams, a little pig,
+some sprouted cocoa-nuts and a few rolls of money. This money consists of long, narrow, fringed mats, neatly rolled up; in
+this case they were supposed to be the mats in which the dead are buried, and which are taken out of the grave after a while.
+These mats formerly served as small coin, as similar mats are still used on other islands, and they still represent a value
+of about one shilling; but in daily life they have been quite replaced by European coin, and only appear on such ceremonial
+occasions.
+
+</p>
+<p>All the gifts were piled up, and when the host was convinced that every guest had received his just dues, he took a stick
+and smashed the heads of all the pigs that were tied up in readiness for this ceremony. They struggled for a moment, the dogs
+came and licked the blood, and then each guest took away his portion, to have a private feast at home. The whole performance
+made a desperately business-like impression, and everything was done most prosaically; as for me, having no better dinner
+than usual to look forward to, I quite missed the slightly excited holiday feeling that ought to go with a great feast. Formerly,
+the braining of the pigs was done with skilfully carved clubs, instead of mere sticks, and this alone must have given the
+action something of solemnity; but these clubs have long since been sold to collectors and never replaced.
+
+</p>
+<p>In spite of their frequent intercourse with whites, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb106" href="#pb106">106</a>]</span>the people of Vao are still confirmed cannibals, only they have not many opportunities for gratifying their taste in this
+direction. Still, not many years ago, they had killed and eaten an enemy, and each individual, even the little children, had
+received a small morsel of the body to eat, either with the idea of destroying the enemy entirely, or as the greatest insult
+that could be offered to him.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p106" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p106.jpg" alt="HOUSE FENCES ON VAO, MADE FROM STONE WALLS AND REED SCREENS." width="720" height="497"><p class="figureHead">HOUSE FENCES ON VAO, MADE FROM STONE WALLS AND REED SCREENS.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>These same people can be so gay, childlike, kind and obliging, tactful and generous, that one can hardly believe the accounts
+one often hears of sudden outbreaks of brutal savagery, devilish wickedness, ingratitude and falsehood, until one has experienced
+them himself. The flattering and confiding child will turn suddenly and without apparent reason into a man full of gloom and
+hatred. All those repressing influences which lead the dwellers in civilized lands to some consistency of action are lacking
+here, and the morals of the natives run along other lines than ours. Faith and truth are no virtues, constancy and perseverance
+do not exist. The same man who can torture his wife to death from wanton cruelty, holding her limbs over the fire till they
+are charred, etc., will be inconsolable over the death of a son for a long time, and will wear a curl, a tooth or a finger-joint
+of the dead as a valuable relic round his neck; and the same man who is capable of preparing a murder in cold blood for days,
+may, in some propitious evening hour, relate the most charming and poetic fairy-tales. A priest whom I met knew quite a number
+of such stories from a man whom he had <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb107" href="#pb107">107</a>]</span>digged alive out of the grave, where his relatives had buried him, thinking him old enough to die. This is not a rare occurrence;
+sometimes the old people themselves are tired of life and ask to be killed.
+
+</p>
+<p>What has preserved the old customs so well on Vao is the aversion of the natives to plantation work. But one day, while I
+was there, a ship rode at anchor off the coast, and a member of the French survey party landed, collected all the men on the
+beach, and told them that unless there were thirty men on board that evening, the whole tribe would be driven out of the island,
+as the island belonged to the French company. This was, to say the least, extremely doubtful; moreover, it would never have
+been feasible to expropriate the natives in this summary way. They were furious, but, unprotected as they were, they had to
+obey, and in the evening nearly all the young men assembled on the beach and were taken away in whale-boats, disappearing
+in the mist and darkness of the night. The old men and the women remained behind, crying loudly, so that the terrible wailing
+sounded sadly over the sea. Even to the mere spectator it was a tragic moment when the tribe was thus orphaned of its best
+men, and one could not help being revolted by the whole proceeding. It was not womanish pity for the men who were taken off
+to work, but regret for the consequent disappearance of immemorial forms of tribal life. Next day the beach was empty. Old
+men and women crossed over to the yam-fields, the little children played as usual, but <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb108" href="#pb108">108</a>]</span>the gay shouts were silent, the beautiful, brown, supple-bodied young men were gone, and I no longer felt the joy of living
+which had been Vao&#8217;s greatest charm. The old men were sulky and sad, and spoke of leaving Vao for good and settling somewhere
+far inland. It is not surprising that the whole race has lost the will to live, and that children are considered an undesirable
+gift, of which one would rather be rid. What hopelessness lies in the words I once heard a woman of Vao say: &#8220;Why should we
+have any more children? Since the white man came they all die.&#8221; And die they certainly do. Regions that once swarmed with
+people are now lonely; where, ten years ago, there were large villages, we find the desert bush, and in some districts the
+population has decreased by one-third in the last seven years. In fifteen years the native race will have practically disappeared.
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb109" href="#pb109">109</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div id="ch6" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><h2 class="label">Chapter VI</h2>
+<h2 class="normal">Port Olry and a &#8220;Sing-Sing&#8221;</h2>
+<p>The event just described reduced my chance of finding servants in Vao to a minimum, as all the able-bodied young men had been
+taken away. I therefore sailed with the missionary for his station at Port Olry. Our route lay along the east coast of Santo.
+Grey rain-clouds hung on the high mountains in the interior, the sun shone faintly through the misty atmosphere, the greyish-blue
+sea and the greyish-green shore, with the brown boulders on the beach, formed a study in grey, whose hypnotic effect was increased
+by a warm, weary wind. Whoever was not on duty at the tiller lay down on deck, and as in a dream we floated slowly along the
+coast past lonely islands and bays; whenever we looked up we saw the same picture, only the outlines seemed to have shifted
+a little. We anchored near a lonely isle, to find out whether its only inhabitant, an old Frenchman, was still alive. He had
+arrived there a year ago, full of the most brilliant hopes, which, however, had not materialized. He had no boat, hardly ever
+saw a human being, and lived on wild fruits. Hardly anyone knows him or visits him, but he had not lost courage, and asked
+for nothing but a little salt, which we gave him, and then sailed on.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb110" href="#pb110">110</a>]</span></p>
+<p>In Hog Harbour we spent the night and enjoyed a hearty English breakfast with the planters, the Messrs. Th., who have a large
+and beautiful plantation; then we continued our cruise. The country had changed somewhat; mighty banks of coral formed high
+tablelands that fell vertically down to the sea, and the living reef stretched seaward under the water. These tablelands were
+intersected by flat valleys, in the centre of which rose steep hills, like huge bastions dominating the country round. The
+islands off the coast were covered with thick vegetation, with white chalk cliffs gleaming through them at intervals. A thin
+mist filled the valleys with violet hues, the sea was bright and a fresh breeze carried us gaily along. The aspect of the
+country displayed the energies of elemental powers: nowhere can the origin of chalk mountains be more plainly seen than here,
+where we have the process before us in all its stages, from the living reef, shining purple through the sea, to the sandy
+beach strewn with bits of coral, to the high table mountain. We anchored at a headland near a small river, and were cordially
+welcomed by the missionary&#8217;s dogs, cats, pigs and native teacher. There was also a young girl whom the father had once dug
+out of her grave, where a hard-hearted mother had buried her.
+
+</p>
+<p>I had an extremely interesting time at Port Olry. The population here is somewhat different from that of the rest of Santo:
+very dark-skinned, tall and different in physiognomy. It may be called typically Melanesian, while many other races show Polynesian
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb111" href="#pb111">111</a>]</span>admixture. The race here is very strong, coarse-featured and lives in the simplest way, without any industries, and is the
+primitive population in the New Hebrides.
+
+</p>
+<p>A few details as to personal appearance may be of interest. Among the ornaments used are very large combs, decorated with
+pigs&#8217; tails. Pigs&#8217; tails also are stuck into the hair and ears. The hair is worn very long, rolled into little curls and plentifully
+oiled. A most peculiar deformation is applied to the nose and results in extreme ugliness: the septum is perforated, and instead
+of merely inserting a stick, a springy spiral is used, which presses the nose upward and forward, so that in time it develops
+into an immense, shapeless lump, as if numberless wasps had stung it. It takes a long time to get used to this sight, especially
+as the nose is made still more conspicuous by being painted with a bright red stripe on its point, and two black ones on each
+side. A more attractive ornament are flowers, which the men stick into their hair, where they are very effective on the dark
+background. In the lobes of the ears they wear spirals of tortoise-shell or thin ornaments of bone; the men often paint their
+faces with a mixture of soot and grease, generally the upper half of the forehead, the lower part of the cheeks and the back
+of the nose. The women and children prefer the red juice of a fruit, with which they paint their faces in all sorts of mysterious
+designs.
+
+</p>
+<p>The dress of the men consists of a large belt, purposely worn very low so as to show the beautiful <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb112" href="#pb112">112</a>]</span>curve of the loins. About six small mats hang down in front. Formerly, and even at the present day on festival occasions,
+they wore on the back an ovoid of wood; the purpose is quite unknown, but may originally have been a portable seat, as the
+Melanesian does not like to sit on the bare ground. Provided with this article of dress the wearer did not need to look about
+for a seat.
+
+</p>
+<p>If the appearance of the men, while not beautiful, is at least impressive, the women are so very much disfigured that it takes
+quite some time to grow accustomed to their style of beauty. They are not allowed to wear many ornaments, have to shave their
+heads, and generally rub them with lime, so that they look rather like white-headed vultures, all the more so as the deformed
+nose protrudes like a beak and the mouth is large. The two upper incisors are broken out as a sign of matrimony.
+
+</p>
+<p>Their figures, except in young girls, are generally wasted, yet one occasionally meets with a woman of fine and symmetrical
+build. The dress is restricted to a small leaf, attached to a thin loin-string. Both men and women generally wear at the back
+a bundle of leaves; women and boys have strongly scented herbs, the men coloured croton, the shade depending on the caste
+of the wearer. The highest castes wear the darkest, nearly black, varieties. These croton bushes are planted along the sides
+of the gamals, so as to furnish the men&#8217;s ornaments; and they lend the sombre places some brightness and colour.
+
+</p>
+<p>Half for ornament and half for purposes of healing <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb113" href="#pb113">113</a>]</span>are the large scars which may frequently be seen on the shoulders or breasts of the natives. The cuts are supposed to cure
+internal pains; the scabs are frequently scratched off, until the scar is large and high, and may be considered ornamental.
+Apropos of this medical detail I may mention another remedy, for rheumatism: with a tiny bow and arrow a great number of small
+cuts are shot into the skin of the part affected; the scars from these wounds form a network of fine, hardly noticeable designs
+on the skin.
+
+</p>
+<p>The life and cult of the natives are as simple as their dress. The houses are scattered and hidden in the bush, grouped vaguely
+around the gamal, which stands alone on a bare square. No statues stand there, nor tall, upright drums; only a few small drums
+lie in a puddle around the gamal.
+
+</p>
+<p>The dwelling-houses are simply gable-roofs, always without side-walls and often without any walls at all. They are divided
+into a pig-stable and a living-room, unless the owners prefer to have their pigs living in the same space with themselves.
+
+</p>
+<p>A few flat wooden dishes are the only implements the native does not find ready-made in nature. Cooking is done with heated
+stones heaped around the food, which has been previously wrapped up in banana leaves. Lime-stones naturally cannot be used
+for that purpose, and volcanic stones have often to be brought from quite a distance, so that these cooking-stones are treated
+with some care. In place of knives the natives use shells or inland bamboo-splinters, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb114" href="#pb114">114</a>]</span>but both are rapidly being replaced by European knives.
+
+</p>
+<p>On approaching a village we are first frightened by a few pigs, which run away grunting and scolding into the thicket. Then
+a pack of dogs announce our arrival, threatening us with hypocritical zeal. A few children, playing in the dirt among the
+pigs, jump up and run away, then slowly return, take us by the hand and stare into our faces. At noon we will generally find
+all the men assembled in the gamal making &#8220;lap-lap.&#8221; Lap-lap is the national dish of the natives of the New Hebrides; quite
+one-fifth part of their lives is spent in making and eating lap-lap. The work is not strenuous. The cook sits on the ground
+and rubs the fruit, yam or taro, on a piece of rough coral or a palm-sheath, thus making a thick paste, which is wrapped up
+in banana leaves and cooked between stones. After a few hours&#8217; cooking it looks like a thick pudding and does not taste at
+all bad. For flavouring, cocoa-nut milk is poured over it, or it is mixed with cabbage, grease, nuts, roasted and ground,
+or occasionally with maggots. Besides this principal dish, sweet potatoes, manioc, bread-fruit, pineapples, bananas, etc.,
+are eaten in season, and if the natives were less careless, they would never need to starve, as frequently happens.
+
+</p>
+<p>The men are not much disturbed by our arrival. They offer us a log to sit on, and continue to rub their yam, talking us over
+the while. They seem to be a very peaceful and friendly crowd, yet in this district they are particularly cruel and treacherous,
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb115" href="#pb115">115</a>]</span>and only a few days after my departure war broke out. The gamal is bare, except for a few wooden dishes hanging in the roof,
+and weapons of all kinds, not in full sight, but ready at any moment. We can see rifles, arrows and clubs. The clubs are very
+simple, either straight or curved sticks. Old pieces are highly valued, and carry marks indicating how many victims have been
+killed with them: I saw one club with sixty-seven of these marks. In former years the spear with about two hundred and fifty
+points of human bones was much used, but is now quite replaced by the rifle. The bones for spear-points and arrow-heads are
+taken from the bodies of dead relatives and high-castes. The corpse is buried in the house, and when it is decayed the bones
+of the limbs are dug out, split, polished and used for weapons. The idea is that the courage and skill of the dead man may
+be transmitted to the owner of the weapon, also, that the dead man may take revenge on his murderer, as every death is considered
+to have been caused by some enemy. These bones are naturally full of the poisons of the corpse, and may cause tetanus at the
+slightest scratch. On the arrows they are extremely sharp and only slightly attached to the wood, so that they stick in the
+flesh and increase the inflammation. Besides, they are often dipped in some special poison.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p115" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p115.jpg" alt="GAMAL NEAR PORT OLROY, ABOUT SIXTY YARDS LONG." width="720" height="465"><p class="figureHead">GAMAL NEAR PORT OLROY, ABOUT SIXTY YARDS LONG.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>All over the archipelago the arrows are very carefully made, and almost every island has its own type, although they all resemble
+each other. Many are covered at the point with a fine spiral binding, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb116" href="#pb116">116</a>]</span>and the small triangles thus formed are painted in rows&#8212;red, green and white. Much less care is bestowed on the fish- and
+bird-arrows, which are three-pointed as a rule, and often have no point at all, but only a knob, so as to stun the bird and
+not to stick in the branches of the trees.
+
+</p>
+<p>Shields are unknown. It would seem that the arrow was not, as elsewhere, the principal weapon, but rather the spear and club,
+and the wars were not very deadly, as the natives&#8217; skill in handling their weapons was equalled by their skill in dodging
+them.
+
+</p>
+<p>Having inspected the gamal, we received from the highest caste present a gift of some yam, or taro, which we requited with
+some sticks of tobacco. The length of the gamal depends on the caste of the chief who builds it. I saw a gamal 60 m&egrave;tres long,
+and while this length seems senseless to-day, because of the scanty population, it was necessary in former days, when the
+number of a man&#8217;s followers rose with his rank. Not many years ago these houses were filled at night with sleeping warriors,
+each with his weapons at hand, ready for a fight. To-day these long, dark, deserted houses are too dismal for the few remaining
+men, so that they generally build a small gamal beside the big one.
+
+</p>
+<p>To have killed a man, no matter in what way, is a great honour, and gives the right to wear a special plume of white and black
+feathers. Such plumes are not rare in Port Olry.
+
+</p>
+<p>Each man has his own fire, and cooks his own food; for, as I have said, it would mean the loss of <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb117" href="#pb117">117</a>]</span>caste to eat food cooked on the fire of a lower caste. Women are considered unworthy to cook a man&#8217;s meal; in fact, their
+standing here is probably the lowest in all the archipelago. Still, they do not lack amusement; they gather like the men for
+social carousals, and are giggling and chattering all day long. Their principal occupation is the cultivation of the fields,
+but where Nature is so open-handed this is not such a task as we might think when we see them coming home in the afternoon,
+panting under an immense load of fruit, with a pile of firewood on top, a child on their back and possibly dragging another
+by the hand. Port Olry is the only place in the New Hebrides where the women carry loads on their heads. Everywhere else they
+carry them on their backs in baskets of cocoa-nut leaves. In consequence the women here are remarkable for their erect and
+supple carriage.
+
+</p>
+<p>The work in the fields consists merely of digging out the yam and picking other fruit, and it is a sociable affair, with much
+talking and laughter. There is always something to eat, such as an unripe cocoa-nut or a banana. Serious work is not necessary
+except at the planting season, when the bush has to be cleared. Then a whole clan usually works together, the men helping
+quite energetically, until the fields are fenced in and ready for planting; then they hold a feast, a big &#8220;kai-kai,&#8221; and leave
+the rest of the work to the women. The fences are made to keep out the pigs, and are built in the simplest way: sticks of
+the wild cotton-wood tree, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb118" href="#pb118">118</a>]</span>which grows rankly everywhere, are stuck into the ground at short intervals; they immediately begin to sprout, and after a
+short time form a living and impenetrable hedge. But they last much longer than is necessary, so that everywhere the fences
+of old gardens bar the road and force the traveller to make endless detours, all the more so as the natives have a way of
+making their fields right across the paths whenever it suits them.
+
+</p>
+<p>The number of women here amounts only to about one-fourth of that of the men. One reason for this is the custom of killing
+all the widows of a chief, a custom which was all the more pernicious as the chiefs, as a rule, owned most of the young females,
+while the young men could barely afford to buy an old widow. Happily this custom is dying out, owing to the influence of the
+planters and missionaries; they appealed, not unwisely, to the sensuality of the young men, who were thus depriving themselves
+of the women. Strange to say, the women were not altogether pleased with this change, many desiring to die, for fear they
+might be haunted by the offended spirit of their husband.
+
+</p>
+<p>When a chief died, the execution did not take place at once. The body was exposed in a special little hut in the thicket,
+and left to decay, which process was hastened by the climate and the flies. Then a death-feast was prepared, and the widows,
+half frantic with mad dancing and howling, were strangled.
+
+</p>
+<p>Ordinary people are buried in their own houses, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb119" href="#pb119">119</a>]</span>which generally decay afterwards. Often the widow had to sleep beside the decaying body for one hundred days.
+
+</p>
+<p>Being short of boys, I could not visit many of the villages inland, and I stayed on at the mission station, where there was
+generally something for me to do, as the natives frequently came loitering about the station. I made use of their presence
+as much as possible for anthropological measurements, but I could not always find willing subjects. Everything depends on
+the humour of the crowd; if they make fun of the first victim, the case is lost, as no second man is willing to be the butt
+of the innumerable gibes showered on the person under the instruments. Things are more favourable if it is only fear of some
+dangerous enchantment that holds them back, for then persuasion and liberal gifts of tobacco generally overcome their fears.
+The best subjects are those who pretend to understand the scientific meaning of the operation, or the utterly indifferent,
+who never think about it at all, are quite surprised to be suddenly presented with tobacco, and go home, shaking their heads
+over the many queer madnesses of white men. I took as many photographs as possible, and my pictures made quite a sensation.
+Once, when I showed his portrait to one of the dandies with the oiled and curled wig, he ran away with a cry of terror at
+his undreamt-of ugliness, and returned after a short while with his hair cut. His deformed nose, however, resisted all attempts
+at restoration.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb120" href="#pb120">120</a>]</span></p>
+<p>The natives showed great reluctance in bringing me skulls and skeletons. As the bones decay very quickly in the tropics, only
+skulls of people recently deceased can be had. The demon, or soul, of the dead is supposed to be too lively as yet to be wantonly
+offended; in any case, one dislikes to disturb one&#8217;s own relatives, while there is less delicacy about those of others. Still,
+in course of time, I gathered quite a good collection of skulls at the station. They were brought carefully wrapped up in
+leaves, fastened with lianas, and tied to long sticks, with which the bearer held the disgusting object as far from him as
+possible. The bundles were laid down, and the people watched with admiring disgust as I untied the ropes and handled the bones
+as one would any other object. Everything that had touched the bones became to the natives an object of the greatest awe;
+still they enjoyed pushing the leaves that had wrapped them up under the feet of an unsuspecting friend, who presently, warned
+of the danger, escaped with a terrified shriek and a wild jump. It would seem that physical disgust had as much to do with
+all this as religious fear, although the natives show none of this disgust at handling the remains of pigs. Naturally, the
+old men were the most superstitious; the young ones were more emancipated, some of them even going the length of picking up
+a bone with their toes.
+
+</p>
+<p>Most of them had quite a similar dread of snakes, but some men handled them without much <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb121" href="#pb121">121</a>]</span>fear, and brought me large specimens, which they had caught in a sling and then wrapped up in leaves. While I killed and skinned
+a big snake, a large crowd always surrounded me, ever ready for flight, and later my boys chased them with the empty skin,
+a performance which always ended in great laughing and dancing.
+
+</p>
+<p>I had been in Port Olry for three weeks, waiting anxiously every day for the <i>Marie-Henry</i>, which was to bring the luggage I had left behind at the Segond Channel. My outfit began to be insufficient; what I needed
+most was chemicals for the preservation of my zoological specimens, which I had plenty of time and occasion to collect here.
+One day the <i>Marie-Henry</i>, a large schooner, arrived, but my luggage had been forgotten. I was much disappointed, as I saw no means of recovering it
+in the near future. The <i>Marie-Henry</i> was bound for Talamacco, in Big Bay, and took the Rev. Father and myself along.
+
+</p>
+<p>One of the passengers was Mr. F., a planter and trader in Talamacco, and we soon became good friends with him and some of
+the others. Mr. F. was very kind, and promised to use all his influence to help me find boys. The weather was bad, and we
+had to tack about all night; happily, we were more comfortable on the big schooner than on the little cutters. At Talamacco
+Mr. F. offered us his hospitality, and as it rained continually, we were very glad to stay in his house, spending the time
+in sipping gin and winding up a hoarse gramophone. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb122" href="#pb122">122</a>]</span>Thus two lazy days passed, during which our host was constantly working for me, sending his foreman, the &#8220;moli,&#8221; to all the
+neighbouring villages, with such good results that at last I was able to engage four boys for two months. I took them on board
+at once, well pleased to have the means, at last, of moving about independently.
+
+</p>
+<p>We sailed in the evening, and when, next morning, we rounded Cape Quiros, we found a heavy sea, so that the big ship pitched
+and ploughed with dull hissing through the foaming waves. She lay aslant under the pressure of the wind that whistled in the
+rigging, and the full curve of the great sails was a fine sight; but it was evident that the sails and ropes were in a very
+rotten condition, and soon, with anxious looks, we followed the growth of a tear in the mainsail, wondering whether the mast
+would stand the strain. A heavy sea broke the rudder, and altogether it was high time to land when we entered Port Olry in
+the late afternoon.
+
+</p>
+<p>A few days later I started for Hog Harbour, for the plantation of the Messrs. Th., near which I meant to attend a great feast,
+or &#8220;sing-sing.&#8221; This meant a march of several hours through the bush. My boys had all put on their best finery,&#8212;trousers,
+shirts, gay handkerchiefs,&#8212;and had painted their hair with fresh lime.
+
+</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, boys, are you ready?&#8221; &#8220;Yes, Masta,&#8221; they answer, with conviction, though they are far from ready, as they are still
+tying their bundles. After waiting a while, I say, &#8220;Well, me, me go.&#8221; <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb123" href="#pb123">123</a>]</span>They answer, &#8220;All right, you go.&#8221; I take a few steps and wait again. One of them appears in front of the hut to look for a
+stick to hang his bundle on, another cannot find his pipe; still, after a quarter of an hour, we can really start. The boys
+sing and laugh, but as we enter the forest darkness they suddenly become quiet, as if the sternness of the bush oppressed
+their souls. We talk but little, and only in undertones. These woods have none of the happy, sensuous luxuriance which fancy
+lends to every tropical forest; there is a harshness, a selfish struggle for the first place among the different plants, a
+deadly battling for air and light. Giant trees with spreading crowns suppress everything around, kill every rival and leave
+only small and insignificant shrubs alive. Between them, smaller trees strive for light; on tall, straight, thin stems they
+have secured a place and developed a crown. Others look for light in roundabout ways, making use of every gap their neighbours
+leave, and rise upward in soft coils. All these form a high roof, under which younger and weaker plants lead a skimped life&#8212;hardwood
+trees on thin trunks, with small, unassuming leaves, and vulgar softwood with large, flabby foliage. Around and across all
+this wind the parasites, lianas, rotang, some stretched like ropes from one trunk to another, some rising in elegant curves
+from the ground, some attached to other trunks and sucking out their life with a thousand roots, others interlaced in the
+air in distorted curves. All these grow and thrive on the bodies of former generations on the damp, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb124" href="#pb124">124</a>]</span>mouldy ground, where leaves rot and trunks decay, and where it is always wet, as never a sunbeam can strike in so far.
+
+</p>
+<p>Thus it is sad in the forest, and strangely quiet, as in a churchyard, for not even the wind can penetrate the green surface.
+It passes rushing through the crowns, so that sometimes we catch an upward glimpse of bright yellow sunshine as though out
+of a deep gully. And as men in sternest fight are silent, using all their energy for one purpose, so here there is no sign
+of gay and happy life, there are no flowers or coloured leaves, but the endless, dull green, in an infinity of shapes.
+
+</p>
+<p>Even the animals seem to shun the dark forest depths; only on the highest trees a few pigeons bathe in the sun, and as they
+fly heavily over the wood, their call sounds, melancholy as a sad dream, from afar. A lonely butterfly flutters among the
+trees, a delicate being, unused to this dark world, seeking in vain for a ray of sun and a breath of fresh air. Sometimes
+we hear the grunt of an invisible pig, the breaking of branches and the rustling of leaves as it runs away. Moisture and lowering
+gloom brood over the swampy earth; one would not be surprised if suddenly the ground were to move and wriggle like slimy snakes
+tightly knotted around each other. Thorns catch the limbs, vines catch the feet, and the wanderer, stumbling along, almost
+fancies he can hear the spiteful laughter of malicious demons. One feels tired, worried, unsafe, as if in an enemy&#8217;s country,
+helplessly following the guide, who walks <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb125" href="#pb125">125</a>]</span>noiselessly on the soft ground. With a branch he sweeps aside the innumerable spider-webs that droop across the path, to keep
+them from hanging in our faces. Silently the other men follow behind; once in a while a dry branch snaps or a trunk creaks.
+
+</p>
+<p>In this dark monotony we go on for hours, without an outlook, and seemingly without purpose or direction, on a hardly visible
+path, in an endless wilderness. We pass thousands of trees, climb over hundreds of fallen trunks and brush past millions of
+creepers. Sometimes we enter a clearing, where a <span class="corr" id="xd0e1569" title="Source: gaint">giant</span> tree has fallen or a village used to stand. Sometimes great coral rocks lie in the thicket; the pools at their foot are a
+wallowing-place for pigs.
+
+</p>
+<p>It is a confusing walk; one feels quite dizzy with the constantly passing stems and branches, and a white man would be lost
+in this wilderness without the native, whose home it is. He sees everything, every track of beast or bird, and finds signs
+on every tree and vine, peculiarities of shape or grouping, which he recognizes with unerring certainty. He describes the
+least suggestion of a trail, a footprint, or a knife-cut, or a torn leaf. As the white man finds his way about a city by means
+of street signs, so the savage reads his directions in the forest from the trees and the ground. He knows every plant and
+its uses, the best wood for fires; he knows when he may expect to find water, and which liana makes the strongest rope. Yet
+even he seems to feel something <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb126" href="#pb126">126</a>]</span>of the appalling loneliness of the primeval forest.
+
+</p>
+<p>Our path leads steeply up and down, over loose coral blocks, between ferns and mosses; lianas serve as ropes to help us climb
+over coral rocks, and with our knives we hew a passage through thorny creepers and thick bush. The road runs in zigzags, sometimes
+turning back to go round fallen trunks and swampy places, so that we really walk three or four times the distance to Hog Harbour.
+Our guide uses his bush-knife steadily and to good purpose: he sees where the creepers interlace and which branch is the chief
+hindrance, and in a few deft cuts the tangle falls.
+
+</p>
+<p>At last&#8212;it seems an eternity since we dived into the forest&#8212;we hear from afar, through the green walls, a dull roaring, and
+as we go on, we distinguish the thunder of the breakers like the beating of a great pulse. Suddenly the thicket lightens,
+and we stand on the beach, blinded by the splendour of light that pours on us, but breathing freely in the fresh air that
+blows from the far horizon. We should like to stretch out on the sand and enjoy the free space after the forest gloom; but
+after a short rest we go on, for this is only half-way to our destination, and we dive once more into the semi-darkness.
+
+</p>
+<p>Towards evening we reach the plantation of the Messrs. Th. They are Australians of good family, and their place is splendidly
+kept. I was struck by the cleanliness of the whole establishment, the good quarters of the native labourers, the quiet way
+in <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb127" href="#pb127">127</a>]</span>which work was done, the pleasant relations between masters and hands, and last, but not least, the healthy and happy appearance
+of the latter.
+
+</p>
+<p>The brothers had just finished the construction of what was quite a village, its white lime walls shining invitingly through
+the green of the cocoa-nut palms. There was a large kitchen, a storehouse, a tool-shed, a bakery, a dwelling-house and a light,
+open summer-house, a delightful spot, where we dined in the cool sea-breeze and sipped whisky in the moonlight, while the
+palm-leaves waved dreamily. Then there was a large poultry yard, pigsty and paddocks, and along the beach were the boat-houses,
+drying-sheds and storehouses, shaded by old trees. The boys&#8217; quarters were roomy, eight sleeping together in an airy hut,
+while the married couples had houses of their own. The boys slept on high beds, each with his &#8220;bocase&#8221; underneath, to hold
+his possessions, while all sorts of common property hung in the roof&#8212;nets, fish-spears, bows, guns, etc.
+
+</p>
+<p>Such plantations, where the natives lack neither food nor good treatment, can only have a favourable influence on the race,
+and it is not quite clear why the Presbyterian missionaries do not like their young men to go in for plantation work. Owing
+to the good treatment of their hands the Messrs. Th. have always had enough labourers, and have been able to develop their
+plantation wonderfully. It consists almost exclusively of cocoa-nut palms, planted on ground wrested from the forest in a
+hard fight. When I was there the trees were not yet in full <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb128" href="#pb128">128</a>]</span>bearing, but the proprietors had every reason to expect a very considerable income in a few years. The cultivation of the
+cocoa-nut is extremely simple; the only hard work is the first clearing of the ground, and keeping the young trees free from
+lianas. Once they are grown up, they are able to keep down the bush themselves to a certain extent, and then the work consists
+in picking up the ripe nuts from the ground, husking and drying them. The net profit from one tree is estimated at one shilling
+per annum. Besides the cultivation of their plantation the Messrs. Th. plied a flourishing trade in coprah and sandalwood
+all along the west coast of Santo, which they visited frequently in their cutter. This same cutter was often a great help
+to me, and, indeed, her owners always befriended me in the most generous way, and many are the pleasant hours I spent in their
+company.
+
+</p>
+<p>After dinner that first day we went to the village where the &#8220;sing-sing&#8221; was to take place. There was no moon, and the night
+was pitch dark. The boys had made torches of palm-leaves, which they kept burning by means of constant swinging. They flared
+up in dull, red flames, lighting up the nearest surroundings, and we wound our way upwards through the trunk vines and leaves
+that nearly shut in the path. It seemed as if we were groping about without a direction, as if looking for a match in a dark
+room. Soon, however, we heard the dull sound of the drums, and the noise led us to the plateau, till we could see the red
+glare of a <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb129" href="#pb129">129</a>]</span>fire and hear the rough voices of men and the shrill singing of women.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p129" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p129.jpg" alt="GROUP OF LARGE AND SMALL DRUMS ON A DANCING-GROUND NEAR PORT SANDWICH." width="720" height="461"><p class="figureHead">GROUP OF LARGE AND SMALL DRUMS ON A DANCING-GROUND NEAR PORT SANDWICH.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>Unnoticed, we entered the dancing-ground. A number of men were standing in a circle round a huge fire, their silhouettes cutting
+sharply into the red glare. Out of a tangle of clubs, rifles, plumes, curly wigs, round heads, bows and violently gesticulating
+arms, sounds an irregular shrieking, yelling, whistling and howling, uniting occasionally to a monotonous song. The men stamp
+the measure, some begin to whirl about, others rush towards the fire; now and then a huge log breaks in two and crowns the
+dark, excited crowd with a brilliant column of circling sparks. Then everybody yells delightedly, and the shouting and dancing
+sets in with renewed vigour. Everyone is hoarse, panting and covered with perspiration, which paints light streaks on the
+sooty faces and bodies.
+
+</p>
+<p>Noticing us, a man rushes playfully towards us, threateningly swinging his club, his eyes and teeth shining in the darkness;
+then he returns to the shouting, dancing mob around the fire. Half-grown boys sneak through the crowd; they are the most excited
+of all, and stamp the ground wildly with their disproportionately large feet, kicking and shrieking in unpleasant ecstasy.
+All this goes on among the guests; the hosts keep a little apart, near a scaffolding, on which yams are attached. The men
+circle slowly round this altar, carrying decorated bamboos, with which they mark the measure, stamping them on the ground
+with a thud. They sing <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb130" href="#pb130">130</a>]</span>a monotonous tune, one man starting and the others joining in; the dance consists of slow, springy jumps from one foot to
+the other.
+
+</p>
+<p>On two sides of this dancing circle the women stand in line, painted all over with soot. When the men&#8217;s deep song is ended,
+they chant the same melody with thin, shrill voices. Once in a while they join in the dance, taking a turn with some one man,
+then disappearing; they are all much excited; only a few old hags stand apart, who are past worldly pleasures, and have known
+such feasts for many, many years.
+
+</p>
+<p>The whole thing looks grotesque and uncanny, yet the pleasure in mere noise and dancing is childish and harmless. The picture
+is imposing and beautiful in its simplicity, gruesome in its wildness and sensuality, and splendid with the red lights which
+play on the shining, naked bodies. In the blackness of the night nothing is visible but that red-lit group of two or three
+hundred men, careless of to-morrow, given up entirely to the pleasure of the moment. The spectacle lasts all night, and the
+crowd becomes more and more wrought up, the leaps of the dancers wilder, the singing louder. We stand aside, incapable of
+feeling with these people or sharing their joy, realizing that theirs is a perfectly strange atmosphere which will never be
+ours.
+
+</p>
+<p>Towards morning we left, none too early, for a tremendous shower came down and kept on all next morning. I went up to the
+village again, to <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb131" href="#pb131">131</a>]</span>find a most dismal and dejected crowd. Around the square, in the damp forest, seedy natives stood and squatted in small groups,
+shivering with cold and wet. Some tried to warm themselves around fires, but with poor success. Bored and unhappy, they stared
+at us as we passed, and did not move. Women and children had made umbrellas of large flat leaves, which they carried on their
+heads; the soot which had formed their festival dress was washed off by the rain. The square itself was deserted, save for
+a pack of dogs and a few little boys, rolling about in the mud puddles. Once in a while an old man would come out of the gamal,
+yawn and disappear. In short, it was a <i lang="fr">lendemain de f&ecirc;te</i> of the worst kind.
+
+</p>
+<p>About once in a quarter of an hour a man would come to bring a tusked pig to the chief, who danced a few times round the animal,
+stamped his heel on the ground, uttered certain words, and retired with short, stiff steps, shaking his head, into the gamal.
+The morning was over by the time all the pigs were ready. I spent most of the time out of doors, rather than in the gamal,
+for there many of the dancers of the evening lay in all directions and in most uncomfortable positions, beside and across
+each other, snoring, shivering or staring sulkily into dark corners. I was offered a log to sit on, and it might have been
+quite acceptable had not one old man, trembling with cold, pressed closely against me to get warm, and then, half asleep,
+attempted to lay his shaggy, oil-soaked head <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb132" href="#pb132">132</a>]</span>on my shoulder, while legions of starved fleas attacked my limbs, forcing me to beat a hasty though belated retreat.
+
+</p>
+<p>In the afternoon about sixty pigs were tied to poles in front of the gamal, and the chief took an old gun-barrel and smashed
+their heads. They represented a value of about six hundred pounds! Dogs and men approached the quivering victims, the dogs
+to lick the blood that ran out of their mouths, the men to carry the corpses away for the feast. This was the prosaic end
+of the great &#8220;sing-sing.&#8221;
+
+</p>
+<p>As it is not always easy to borrow the number of pigs necessary to rise in caste, there are charms which are supposed to help
+in obtaining them. Generally, these are curiously shaped stones, sometimes carved in the shape of a pig, and are carried in
+the hand or in little baskets in the belt. Such charms are, naturally, very valuable, and are handed down for generations
+or bought for large sums. On this occasion the &#8220;big fellow-master&#8221; had sacrificed enough to attain a very high caste indeed,
+and had every reason to hold up his head with great pride.
+
+</p>
+<p>Formerly, these functions were generally graced with a special feature, in the shape of the eating of a man. As far as is
+known, the last cannibal meal took place in 1906; the circumstances were these: Some young men were walking through the forest,
+carrying their Snider rifles, loaded and cocked as usual, on their shoulders. Unluckily, one of the rifles went off, and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb133" href="#pb133">133</a>]</span>killed the man behind, the son of an influential native. Everyone was aware that the death was purely accidental, but the
+father demanded a considerable indemnity. The &#8220;murderer,&#8221; a poor and friendless youth, was unable to pay, and fled to a neighbouring
+village. He was received kindly enough, but his hosts sent secretly to the offended father to ask what they were to do with
+him. &#8220;Kill him and eat him,&#8221; was the reply. They therefore prepared a great feast, in honour, as they said, of their beloved
+guest, and while he was sitting cheerfully near the fire, in anticipation of the good meal to come, they killed him from behind
+with an axe. The body was roasted, and the people of his village were asked to the feast. One man had received the forearm
+and hand, and while he was chewing the muscles and pulling away at the inflectors of the fingers, the hand closed and scratched
+his cheek,&#8212;&#8220;all same he alive,&#8221;&#8212;whereupon the horrified guest threw his morsel away and fled into the forest.
+
+</p>
+<p>On my return to Port Olry I found that the Father had gone to visit a colleague, as his duties did not take up much of his
+time. His post at Port Olry was rather a forlorn hope, as the natives showed no inclination to become converts, especially
+not in connection with the poor Roman Catholic mission, which could not offer them any external advantages, like the rich
+and powerful Presbyterian mission. All the priests lived in the greatest poverty, in old houses, with very few servants. The
+one here had, besides a teacher from Malekula, an old native who had <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb134" href="#pb134">134</a>]</span>quarrelled with his chief and separated from his clan. The good man was very anxious to marry, but no girl would have him,
+as he had had two wives, and had, quite without malice, strangled his second wife by way of curing her of an illness. I was
+reminded of this little episode every time I looked at the man&#8217;s long, bony fingers.
+
+</p>
+<p>One day a native asked me for medicine for his brother. I tried to find out the nature of the ailment, and decided to give
+him calomel, urging his brother to take it to him at once. The man had eaten a quarter of a pig all by himself, but, of course,
+it was said that he had been poisoned. His brother, instead of hurrying home, had a little visit with his friends at the coast,
+until it was dark and he was afraid to go home through the bush alone; so he waited till next morning, when it was too late.
+The man&#8217;s death naturally made the murder theory a certainty, so the body was not buried, but laid out in the hut, with all
+sorts of finery. Around it, in spite of the fearful odour, all the women sat for ten days, in a cloud of blow-flies. They
+burned strong-scented herbs to kill the smell, and dug a little trench across the floor, in order to keep the liquids from
+the decaying corpse from running into the other half of the house. The nose and mouth of the body were stopped up with clay
+and lime, probably to keep the soul from getting out, and the body was surrounded by a little hut. In the gamal close by sat
+all the men, sulky, revengeful, and planning war, which, in fact, broke out within a few days after my departure.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb135" href="#pb135">135</a>]</span></p>
+<p>The Messrs. Th. had been kind enough to invite me to go on a recruiting trip to Maevo, the most north-easterly island of the
+group. Here I found a very scanty population, showing many traces of Polynesian admixture in appearance and habits. The weather
+was nasty and our luck at recruiting poor, so that after a fortnight we returned to Hog Harbour. I went to Port Olry to my
+old priest&#8217;s house, and a few days later Mr. Th. came in his cutter to take me to Tassimaloun in Big Bay; so I bade a hearty
+farewell to the good Father, whom I have never had the pleasure of meeting again.
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb136" href="#pb136">136</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div id="ch7" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><h2 class="label">Chapter VII</h2>
+<h2 class="normal">Santo</h2>
+<p>There are hardly any natives left in the south of the Bay of St. Philip and St. James, generally called Big Bay. Only to the
+north of Talamacco there are a few villages, in which the remnants of a once numerous population, mostly converts of the Presbyterian
+mission, have collected. It is a very mixed crowd, without other organization than that which the mission has created, and
+that is not much. There are a few chiefs, but they have even less authority than elsewhere, and the feeling of solidarity
+is lacking entirely, so that I have hardly ever found a colony where there was so much intrigue, immorality and quarrelling.
+A few years ago the population had been kept in order by a Presbyterian missionary of the stern and cruel type; but he had
+been recalled, and his place was taken by a man quite unable to cope with the lawlessness of the natives, so that every vice
+developed freely, and murders were more frequent than in heathen districts. Matters were not improved by the antagonism between
+the Roman Catholic and Presbyterian missions and the traders; each worked against the others, offering the natives the best
+of opportunities to fish in troubled waters. The result of all this was a rapid decrease of the population and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb137" href="#pb137">137</a>]</span>frequent artificial sterility. The primitive population has disappeared completely in some places, and is only to be found
+in any numbers far inland among the western mountains. The situation is a little better in the north, where we find a number
+of flourishing villages along the coast around Cape Cumberland.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p136" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p136.jpg" alt="VIEW ALONG THE SHORE OF A CORAL ISLAND." width="720" height="459"><p class="figureHead">VIEW ALONG THE SHORE OF A CORAL ISLAND.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>The nearest village to Talamacco was Tapapa. Sanitary conditions there were most disheartening, as at least half of the inhabitants
+were leprous, and most of them suffered from tuberculosis or elephantiasis. I saw hardly any children, so that the village
+will shortly disappear, like so many others.
+
+</p>
+<p>Native customs along the coast are much the same as at Port Olry, but less primitive, and the houses are better built. There
+is wood-carving, or was. I found the doorposts of old gamals beautifully carved, and plates prettily decorated; but these
+were all antiques, and nothing of the kind is made at the present day.
+
+</p>
+<p>The race, however, is quite different from that around Port Olry. There are two distinct types: one, Melanesian, dark, tall
+or short, thin, curly-haired, with a broad nose and a brutal expression; and one that shows distinct traces of Polynesian
+blood in its finer face, a larger body, which is sometimes fat, light skin and frequently straight hair. Just where this Polynesian
+element comes from it is hard to say, but the islands in general are very favourable to race-mixture along the coasts. As
+I said before, the Melanesian type shows two distinct varieties, a tall dark one, and a short light one. At first I did not
+realize the significance of the latter until I became <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb138" href="#pb138">138</a>]</span>aware of the existence of a negroid element, of which I saw clear traces. The two varieties, however, are much intermingled,
+and the resulting blends have mixed with the Polynesian-Melanesian type, so that the number of types is most confusing, and
+it will be hard to determine the properties of the original one.
+
+</p>
+<p>Finding little of interest in the immediate surroundings of Talamacco, I determined to make an excursion into the interior
+of the island. Mr. F. put his foreman, or moli, at my disposal, and he engaged my bearers, made himself useful during the
+trip in superintending the boys, and proved valuable in every way, as he was never afraid, and was known to nearly all the
+inland chiefs.
+
+</p>
+<p>After a rainy spell of six weeks we had a clear day at last; and although the weather could not be taken into consideration
+when making my plans, still, the bright sunshine created that happy and expectant sensation which belongs to the beginning
+of a journey. The monthly steamer had arrived the day before, had shipped a little coprah, and brought some provisions for
+the trader and myself. I had completed my preparations, engaged my boys and was ready to start.
+
+</p>
+<p>In the white glare of a damp morning we pulled from the western shore of Big Bay to the mouth of the Jordan River. The boat
+was cramped and overloaded, and we were all glad to jump ashore after a row of several hours. The boys carried the luggage
+ashore and pulled the boat up into the bush with much noise and laughter. Then we settled down in <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb139" href="#pb139">139</a>]</span>the shade for our first meal, cooking being an occupation of which the boys are surprisingly fond. Their rations are rice
+and tea, with a tin of meat for every four. This discussed, we packed up, and began our march inland.
+
+</p>
+<p>The road leads through a thin bush, over rough coral boulders and gravel deposited by the river. We leave the Jordan to our
+right, and march south-east. After about an hour we come to a swampy plain, covered with tall reed-grass. Grassy plains are
+an unusual sight in Santo; the wide expanse of yellowish green is surrounded by dark walls of she-oak, in the branches of
+which hang thousands of flying-foxes. At a dirty pond we fill our kettles with greenish water, for our night camp will be
+on the mountain slope ahead of us, far from any spring. Even the moli has to carry a load of water, as I can hardly ask the
+boys to take any more. He feels rather humiliated, as a moli usually carries nothing but a gun, but he is good enough to see
+the necessity of the case, and condescends to carry a small kettle.
+
+</p>
+<p>Straight ahead are the high coral plateaux across which our road lies. While we tackle the ascent, the sky has become overcast,
+the gay aspect of the landscape has changed to sad loneliness and a heavy shower soaks us to the skin. The walk through the
+jungle is trying, and even the moli loses the way now and again. Towards nightfall we enter a high forest with but little
+underbrush, and work our way slowly up a steep and slippery slope to an overhanging coral rock, where we decide to camp. We
+have <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb140" href="#pb140">140</a>]</span>lost our way, but as night is closing in fast, we cannot venture any farther.
+
+</p>
+<p>The loads are thrown to the ground in disorder, and the boys drop down comfortably; strong language on my part is needed before
+they make up their minds to pile up the luggage, collect wood and begin to cook. Meanwhile my own servant has prepared my
+bed and dried my clothes. Soon it is quite dark, the boys gather round the fires, and do not dare to go into the yawning darkness
+any more, for fear of ghosts.
+
+</p>
+<p>The rain has ceased, and the soft damp night air hangs in the trees. The firelight is absorbed by the darkness, and only the
+nearest surroundings shine in its red glare; the boys are stretched out in queer attitudes round the fire on the hard rocks.
+Soon I turn out the lamp and lie listening to the night, where vague life and movement creeps through the trunks. Sometimes
+a breath of wind shivers through the trees, shaking heavy drops from the leaves. A wild pig grunts, moths and insects circle
+round the fires, and thousands of mosquitoes hum about my net and sing me to sleep. Once in a while I am roused by the breaking
+of a rotten tree, or a mournful cry from one of the dreaming boys; or one of them wakes up, stirs the fire, turns over and
+snores on. Long before daybreak a glorious concert of birds welcomes the new day. Half asleep, I watch the light creep across
+the sky, while the bush is still in utter darkness; suddenly, like a bugle-call, the first sunbeams strike the trees and it
+is broad day.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb141" href="#pb141">141</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Chilly and stiff, the boys get up and crowd round the fires. As we have no more water there is no tea, and breakfast is reduced
+to dry biscuits. The moli has found the lost trail by this time, and we continue the ascent. On the plateau we again strike
+nearly impenetrable bush, and lose the trail again, so that after a few hours&#8217; hard work with the knives we have to retrace
+our steps for quite a distance. It is a monotonous climb, varied only by an occasional shot at a wild pig and fair sport with
+pigeons. Happily for the thirsty boys, we strike a group of bamboos, which yield plenty of water. All that is needed is to
+cut the joint of the stems, and out of each section flows a pint of clear water, which the boys collect by holding their huge
+mouths under the opening. Their clothes are soaked, but their thirst is satisfied and our kettles filled for the midday meal.
+
+</p>
+<p>Presently we pass a native &#8220;camp&#8221; under an overhanging rock: it consists of a few parallel sticks, on which the native sleeps
+as well as any European on a spring-mattress, and a hollow in the ground, with a number of cooking-stones.
+
+</p>
+<p>After a stiff climb we stop for our meal, then follow a path which gradually widens and improves, a sign that we are nearing
+a village. Towards evening we come to some gardens, where the natives plant their yam and taro. At the entrance of the village
+I make my boys close up ranks; although the natives are not supposed to be hostile, my people show signs of uneasiness, keeping
+close together <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb142" href="#pb142">142</a>]</span>and carrying the few weapons we have very conspicuously.
+
+</p>
+<p>We cross the village square to the gamal, a simple place, as they all are, with a door about a yard from the ground, in order
+to keep out the pigs which roam all over the village. In line with the front of the house is a row of tall bamboo posts, wound
+with vines; their hollow interior is filled with yam and taro, the remains of a great feast. The village seems quite deserted,
+and we peep cautiously into the interior of the gamal, where, after a while, we discern a man, lying on the damp and dirty
+ground, who stares at us in silent fright. He gets up and comes slowly out, and we can see that he has lost half of one foot
+from leprosy. From him the moli learns that the two chiefs are away at a great &#8220;sing-sing,&#8221; and the rest of the men in the
+fields or in their wives&#8217; houses. There is nothing for us to do but sit down and wait, and be sniffed at by pigs, barked at
+by dogs and annoyed by fowls. The moli beats vigorously on one of the wooden drums that lie in the mud in front of the house.
+He has his own signal, which most of the natives know, so that all the country round is soon informed of his arrival.
+
+</p>
+<p>One by one the men arrive, strolling towards the gamal as if unconscious of our presence; some of them greet one or the other
+of my boys whom they have met when visiting at the shore. Nearly all of them are sick with leprosy or elephantiasis or tuberculosis,
+and after the long rainy period they all have colds and coughs and suffer from rheumatism; <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb143" href="#pb143">143</a>]</span>altogether they present a sad picture of degeneration and misery, and there are few healthy men to be seen.
+
+</p>
+<p>My luggage is taken into the gamal, and I order the boys to buy and prepare food, whereupon the natives hurry away and fetch
+a quantity of supplies: pigs, fowls, yam, taro, of which I buy a large stock, paying in matches and tobacco. There are also
+eggs, which, I am assured, are delicious; but this is according to native taste, which likes eggs best when half hatched.
+While the boys are cooking, I spend the time in measuring the villagers. At first they are afraid of the shiny, pointed instruments,
+but the tobacco they receive, after submitting to the operation, dispels their fears. The crowd sits round us on the ground,
+increasing the uneasiness of my victims by sarcastic remarks.
+
+</p>
+<p>Meanwhile, the women have arrived, and crouch in two groups at the end of the square, which they are forbidden to enter. There
+are about twenty of them, not many for nearly fifty men, but I see only three or four babies, and many faded figures and old-looking
+girls of coarse and virile shape, the consequence of premature abuse and artificial sterility. But they chat away quite cheerfully,
+giggle, wonder, clap their hands, and laugh, taking hold of each other, and rocking to and fro.
+
+</p>
+<p>At last the two chiefs arrive, surprisingly tall and well-built men, with long beards carefully groomed, and big mops of hair.
+Like all the men, they are dressed in a piece of calico that hangs down in front, and a branch of croton behind. They have
+big <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb144" href="#pb144">144</a>]</span>bracelets, and wear the curved tusks of pigs on their wrists. There is just time before nightfall to take their measures and
+photographs, then I retire into the gamal for my supper, during which I am closely observed by the entire male population.
+They make remarks about the spoons and the Worcester sauce, and when I put sugar into my tea, they whisper to each other,
+&#8220;Salt!&#8221; which idea is almost enough to spoil one&#8217;s appetite, only the delicious roast sucking-pig is too tempting.
+
+</p>
+<p>My toilet for the night is watched with the same attention; then, while I am still reading on my bed, the men seek their couches
+in the long, low house. They stir up all the fires, which smoke terribly, then they lie down on their bamboo beds, my boys
+among them, and talk and talk till they fall asleep,&#8212;a houseful of leprous and consumptive men, who cough and groan all night.
+
+</p>
+<p>In front of me, near the entrance, is the chiefs place. He spends a long time in preparing his kava, and drinks it noisily.
+Kava is a root which is ground with a piece of sharp coral; the fibres are then mixed with water, which is contained in a
+long bamboo, and mashed to a soft pulp; the liquid is then squeezed out, strained through a piece of cocoa-nut bark into a
+cocoa-nut bowl and drunk. The liquid has a muddy, thick appearance, tastes like soapy water, stings like peppermint and acts
+as a sleeping-draught. In Santo only chiefs are allowed to drink kava.
+
+</p>
+<p>At first, innumerable dogs disturbed my sleep, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb145" href="#pb145">145</a>]</span>and towards morning it grew very cold. When I came out of the hut, the morning sun was just getting the better of the mist,
+and spreading a cheery light over the square, which had looked dismal enough under a grey, rainy sky. I made all the women
+gather on the outskirts of the square to be measured and photographed. They were very bashful, and I almost pitied them, for
+the whole male population sat around making cruel remarks about them; indeed, if it had not been for the chiefs explicit orders,
+they would all have run away. They were not a very pleasant spectacle, on the whole. I was struck by the tired, suffering
+expression of even the young girls, a hopeless and uninterested look, in contradiction with their lively behaviour when unobserved.
+For they are natural and happy only when among themselves, and in the presence of the men they feel that they are under the
+eye of their master, often a brutal master, whose property they are. Probably they are hardly conscious of this, and take
+their position and destiny as a matter of course; but they are constrained in the presence of their owners, knowing that at
+any moment they may be displeased or angry, for any reason or for none, and may ill-treat or even kill them. Aside from these
+considerations their frightened awkwardness was extremely funny, especially when posing before the camera. Some could not
+stand straight, others twisted their arms and legs into impossible positions. The idea of a profile view seemed particularly
+strange to them, and they always presented either their back or their <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb146" href="#pb146">146</a>]</span>front view. The poor things got more and more nervous, the men roared, I was desperate,&#8212;altogether it was rather unsatisfactory.
+
+</p>
+<p>I was in need of more bearers to carry the provisions I had bought, and the chiefs were quite willing to supply them; but
+their orders had absolutely no effect on the men, who were too lazy, and I should have been in an awkward position had not
+one of the chiefs hit on the expedient of employing his women. They obeyed without a moment&#8217;s hesitation; each took a heavy
+load of yam, all but the favourite wife, the only pretty one of the number; her load was small, but she had to clear the trail,
+walking at the head of the procession.
+
+</p>
+<p>The women led the way, chatting and giggling, patient and steady as mules, and as sure-footed and supple. Nothing stops them;
+with a heavy load on their heads they walk over fallen trunks, wade through ditches, twist through vines, putting out a hand
+every now and then to feel whether the bunch of leaves at their back is in place. They were certainly no beauties, but there
+was a charm in their light, soft step, in the swaying of their hips, in the dainty poise of their slim ankles and feet, and
+the softness and harmony of all their movements. And the light playing on their dark, velvety, shining bodies increased this
+charm, until one almost forgot the many defects, the dirt, the sores, the disease. This pleasant walk in the cool, dewy forest,
+under the bright leaves, did not last long, and after two hours&#8217; tramp we reached our destination.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb147" href="#pb147">147</a>]</span></p>
+<p>At the edge of the square the women sat down beside their loads, and were soon joined by the women of the village. Our hostesses
+were at once informed of every detail of our outfit, our food and our doings, and several dozen pairs of big dark eyes followed
+our every movement. The women were all quite sure that I was a great doctor and magician, and altogether a dangerous man,
+and this belief was not at all favourable to my purposes.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p147" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p147.jpg" alt="INTERIOR OF A GAMAL ON VENUA LAVA." width="720" height="460"><p class="figureHead">INTERIOR OF A GAMAL ON VENUA LAVA.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>We men soon withdrew to the gamal, where the men likewise had to be informed of everything relating to our doings and character.
+The gamal was low and dirty, and the state of health of the inhabitants still worse than in the first village, but at least
+there were a few more babies than elsewhere. The chief suffered from a horrible boil in his loin, which he poulticed with
+chewed leaves, and the odour was so unbearable that I had to leave the house and sit down outside, where I was surrounded
+by many lepers, without toes or even feet, a very dismal sight.
+
+</p>
+<p>I now paid my carriers the wages agreed upon, but they claimed that I ought to pay the men extra, although their services
+had been included in the price. I took this for one of the tricks by which the natives try to get the better of a good-natured
+foreigner, and refused flatly, whereupon the whole crowd sat down in front of the house and waited in defiant silence. I left
+them there for half an hour, during which they whispered and deliberated in rather an uncomfortable way. I finally told them
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb148" href="#pb148">148</a>]</span>that I would not pay any more, and that they had better go away at once. The interpreter said they were waiting for the chiefs
+to get through with something they had to talk over, and they stayed on a while longer. My refusal may have been a mistake,
+and there may really have been a misunderstanding, at any rate, I had to suffer for my unyielding way, inasmuch as the behaviour
+of our hosts immediately changed from talkative hospitality and childish curiosity to dull silence and suspicious reticence.
+The people sat around us, sullen and silent, and would not help us in any way, refused to bring firewood or show us the water-hole,
+and seemed most anxious to get rid of us. Under these circumstances it was useless to try to do any of my regular work, and
+I had to spend an idle and unpleasant afternoon. At last I induced a young fellow to show me the way to a high plateau near
+by, from which I had a beautiful view across trees to the east coast of the island, with the sea in a blue mist far away.
+As my guide, consumptive like all the others, was quite out of breath with our short walk, I soon had to return, and I paid
+him well. This immediately changed the attitude of all the rest. Their sullenness disappeared, they came closer, began to
+talk, and at last we spent the afternoon in comparative friendship, and I could attend to my business.
+
+</p>
+<p>But the consequences of my short visit to the gamal became very noticeable. In my hat I found a flourishing colony of horrid
+bug-like insects; my pockets were alive, my camera was full of them, they <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb149" href="#pb149">149</a>]</span>had crawled into my shoes, my books, my luggage, they were crawling, flying, dancing everywhere. Perfectly disgusted, I threw
+off all my clothes, and had my boys shake and clean out every piece. For a week I had to have everything cleaned at least
+once a day, and even then I found the loathsome creatures in every fold, under straps, in pouches.
+
+</p>
+<p>On that afternoon I had a great success as an artist. My drawings of pigs, trees and men went the rounds and were quite immoderately
+admired, and preserved as we would a sketch of Holbein&#8217;s. These drawings have to be done as simply as possible and fairly
+large, else the natives do not understand them. They consider every line essential, and do not understand shadows or any impressionistic
+treatment. We must remember that in our civilized art we work with many symbols, some of which have but a vague resemblance
+to the object they represent, whose meaning we know, while the savage does not. This was the reason why I had often no success
+at all with what I considered masterpieces, while the natives went into raptures over drawings I thought utter failures. At
+any rate, they made me quite a popular person.
+
+</p>
+<p>The sick chief complained to me that a late wife of his had been poisoned, and as he took me for a great &#8220;witch-doctor,&#8221; he
+asked me to find out the murderer. To the native, sickness or death is not natural, but always the consequence of witchcraft,
+either on the part of enemies or spirits. The terribly high death-rate in the last years makes it seem all <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb150" href="#pb150">150</a>]</span>the more probable that mysterious influences are at work, and the native suspects enemies everywhere, whom he tries to render
+harmless by killing them. This leads to endless murders and vendettas, which decimate the population nearly as much as the
+diseases do. The natives know probably something about poisons, but they are always poisons that have to be mixed with food,
+and this is not an easy thing to do, as every native prepares his food himself. Most of the dreaded poisons are therefore
+simply charms, stones or other objects, which would be quite harmless in themselves, but become capable of killing by the
+mere terror they inspire in the victim. If the belief in these charms could be destroyed, a great deal of the so-called poisoning
+would cease, and it may be a good policy to deny the existence of poison, even at the risk of letting a murderer go unpunished.
+I therefore felt justified in playing a little comedy, all the more, as I was sure that the woman had died of consumption,
+and I promised the chief my assistance for the next morning.
+
+</p>
+<p>I had my bed made in the open air; even the boys would not enter the dirty house any more, and we slept well under the open
+sky, in spite of the pigs that grunted around us and the dew that fell like rain.
+
+</p>
+<p>Next day the chief called all the men together; he was convinced that I could see through every one of them and tell who had
+done any wrong. So he made them all sit round me, and I looked very solemnly at each through the finder of my camera, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb151" href="#pb151">151</a>]</span>the chief watching carefully to see that I did not omit any one. The men felt uneasy, but did not quite know what to make
+of the whole performance. I naturally could not find anything wrong, and told the chief so, but he was not satisfied, and
+shook his head doubtfully. Then I talked to him seriously and tried to convince him that everyone had to die once, and that
+sickness was something natural, especially considering the filth in which they lived; but I do not think my speech made much
+impression.
+
+</p>
+<p>The men had now become very suspicious, the women were away, and I had great trouble in finding bearers and guides to the
+next village. A pleasant march brought us to this settlement, whose houses were close together in a big clearing. We were
+received very coolly by the chief and a few men. My bearers and guides would not be induced to accompany us farther, so that
+I had to ask for boys here; but the chief said he had not a single able-bodied man, which I felt to be mere excuse. I also
+noticed that my own boys were very dissatisfied and sullen, and that something was in the wind. In order to raise their spirits,
+and not to leave our yam provisions behind, I had them cook the midday meal, but the sullen, threatening atmosphere remained
+the same. When it was time to continue our march, I heard them grumble and complain about their loads, and it all looked like
+rising mutiny. I was ahead with the chief, who had consented to show us the way, when the moli came after me and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb152" href="#pb152">152</a>]</span>informed me that the boys were unwilling to go on, that they were afraid to go farther inland and were ready to throw their
+loads away. Later on I learned that two of the boys had tried to bribe some natives to show them the road back to the coast
+and leave me alone with the moli. I assembled the boys and made them a speech, saying that their loads were not too heavy
+nor the marches too long, that they were all free to return home, but would have to take the consequences, and that I and
+the moli would go on without them. If they liked, I said, they could throw away their tinned meats, I did not care, and the
+two bottles of grog were not meant for me, and we could easily spare those. I grasped the bottles and offered to smash them,
+but that was too much for the boys; half crying, they begged me not to do that: the bottles were not too heavy, and they would
+gladly carry them as far as I liked. Hesitatingly I allowed myself to be persuaded, and kindly desisted from the work of destruction.
+I had won, but I had lost confidence in my boys, and was careful not to put their patience and fidelity to any more tests,
+conscious as I was of how much depended on their goodwill. After this episode they accomplished a long and tiresome march,
+up and down through thick bush on slippery clay, quite willingly. In the evening we reached a few huts in a clearing at a
+height of about 1200 feet, and went into camp for the night.
+
+</p>
+<p>While cooking, we heard dismal howling and weeping from a neighbouring hut; it was a woman <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb153" href="#pb153">153</a>]</span>mourning her husband, who had been dead ninety-nine days. To-morrow, on the hundredth day, there was to be a death-feast,
+to which all the neighbours were invited. Of course, this man, too, had been poisoned.
+
+</p>
+<p>The fire of revolt was smouldering in my boys. They sat round the camp-fire in groups, whispering and plotting, grumbling
+and undecided; but I felt safe enough, as they were evidently divided into two parties, one faithful and the other mutinous,
+and the former seemed rather more influential. They proved their goodwill to me by delightful servility, and took excellent
+care of me.
+
+</p>
+<p>Next morning we were wakened by the howls of the unhappy widow, and soon the guests appeared, some from far off, and all bringing
+contributions to the feast. They killed several pigs, and while the men cut them up in a manner rather more clever than appetizing,
+the women prepared the fires by lighting large quantities of wood to heat the cooking-stones. This lasted several hours. Meanwhile,
+every person present received his share of a half-rotten smoked pig, of the freshly killed pigs, yam, taro and sweet potatoes.
+The women took the entrails of the pigs, squeezed them out, rolled them up in banana leaves, and made them ready for cooking.
+When the fire was burnt down they took out half of the stones with forks of split bamboo, and then piled up the food in the
+hole, first the fruit, then the meat, so that the grease should run over the fruit; then the hole was covered with banana
+leaves, the hot stones <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb154" href="#pb154">154</a>]</span>piled on top and covered with more leaves. Food cooked in this way is done in three or four hours, so that the &#8220;stoves&#8221; are
+usually opened in the afternoon, and enormous quantities eaten on the spot, while the rest is put in baskets to take home.
+The amount a native can eat at one sitting is tremendous, and one can actually watch their stomachs swell as the meal proceeds.
+Violent indigestion is generally the consequence of such a feast. On the whole, no one seemed to be thinking much of the dead
+man in whose honour it was given,&#8212;such things are said to happen in civilized countries as well.
+
+</p>
+<p>I stayed in this village for another day, and many chiefs from the neighbourhood came to consult me, always complaining of
+the one thing&#8212;poison. Each secretly accused the others, each wanted me to try my glass on all the others. I did not like my
+reputation of being a magician at all, as it made the people still more suspicious of me and more afraid of my instruments
+and my camera.
+
+</p>
+<p>These so-called chiefs were rather more intelligent than the average. Most of them had worked for whites at one time, and
+learned to speak pidgin-English; but they were as superstitious as anyone else, and certainly greater rogues. They were naked
+and dirty, but some had retained some traces of civilization, one, for instance, always took off his old felt hat very politely,
+and made quite a civilized bow; he must have been in Noum&eacute;a in former days.
+
+</p>
+<p>There was no leprosy or elephantiasis here, but a great deal of tuberculosis, and very few children, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb155" href="#pb155">155</a>]</span>and nearly all the men complained that their women were unwilling to have any more children.
+
+</p>
+<p>From the next village I had a glimpse of the wild mountains of western Santo. I decided to spend the night here, left the
+boys behind, and went southward with the moli and a few natives. This was evidently the region where the volcanic and coral
+formations meet, for the character of the landscape suddenly changed, and instead of flat plateaux we found a wild, irregular
+country, with lofty hills and deep, narrow gullies. Walking became dangerous, though the path was fair. On top of a hill I
+found an apparently abandoned village, from which I could overlook all central Santo. To the west were the rugged, dark-looking
+mountains round Santo Peak, with white clouds floating on the summit, and a confusion of deep blue valleys and steep peaks;
+northward lay the wild Jordan valley, and far away I could distinguish the silver mirror of Big Bay. All around us rose the
+silent, stern, lonely forest&#8212;imposing, unapproachable.
+
+</p>
+<p>On our way back to camp we rested beside a fresh creek which gaily squeezed its way through rocks and rich vegetation. A little
+tea and a tin of sardines were all the menu, but we enjoyed a delightful bath in the cool water, and had as good a wash as
+we could without soap. It was a great luxury after the hot days in the coral country without any water. While our things were
+drying in the bright sun, we lay in the moss near the rushing stream, and it was like a summer day at home in the mountains.
+The <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb156" href="#pb156">156</a>]</span>water sounded familiar, the soft, cool breeze was the same, and while I lay watching the white clouds through the bright foliage
+I dreamt of home. At home I had dreamt of travel, and thus one wish follows the other and the soul is preserved from lazy
+content. I almost fancied I heard the sound of bells and the far-away lowing of cattle. And again the reality seemed like
+a dream when I roused myself and saw the dark figures crouching on the rocks, with their frizzy mops of hair and their Sniders
+on their knees.
+
+</p>
+<p>The village turned out to be too dirty to spend the night in, and I decided to go to one which seemed quite near, just across
+a gully. Had I known what an undertaking it would be, I would not have started, for the ravine was very deep and the sides
+unpleasantly steep; but my boys managed the descent, over rocks and fallen trees, with their usual cleverness. At the bottom
+we were rewarded by a beautiful sight. Beneath us, in a narrow cut it had eaten through the rock, roared a river, foaming
+out of the depths of the dark wilderness. It was like one of the celebrated gorges in the Alps, only the tropical vegetation
+which hung in marvellous richness and variety over the abyss gave a fairy-like aspect to the scene. The boys did not seem
+to appreciate it in the least, and prepared, sighing, for the steep ascent. A simple bridge led across the gully; it was made
+of a few trees, and even provided with a railing in the shape of a vine. The existence of this bridge surprised me very much;
+for, considering the thoughtless egotism <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb157" href="#pb157">157</a>]</span>with which the natives pass through life, I had thought them incapable of any work of public utility. They rarely think of
+repairing a road or cutting a vine, nor do they remove trees that may have fallen across the path, but always rely on others
+to see to it.
+
+</p>
+<p>The second village was not much cleaner than the first, but we camped there, and the next day I went with the moli and a few
+of my boys to the western mountains. The natives warned us, saying that the people were &#8220;no good&#8221; and would kill us. But,
+for one thing, I could not see that they themselves were particularly &#8220;good,&#8221; and, for another, I knew that all natives consider
+other tribes especially dangerous; so I stuck to my intention, only we hung all our available weapons about us, leaving the
+rest of the boys defenceless.
+
+</p>
+<p>This turned out one of the most strenuous days I ever had in the islands, as the road&#8212;and what a road!&#8212;constantly led up and
+down the steepest slopes. It seemed to me we were climbing perpendicular mountains all day long, and I had many an opportunity
+of admiring the agility of my companions. I am a fair walker myself, but I had to crawl on my hands and knees in many spots
+where they jumped from a stone to a root, taking firm hold with their toes, never using their hands, never slipping, and always
+with a loaded and cocked rifle on their shoulders. My boys from the coast, good pedestrians though they were, always remained
+far behind.
+
+</p>
+<p>First we reached well-tended taro fields, then a few scattered huts. The natives received us very kindly, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb158" href="#pb158">158</a>]</span>and more men kept joining us, till we formed a big, jolly crowd. The population here seemed very primitive, and evidently
+had but little contact with the shore, but they were clean and comparatively healthy and flourishing, and I found them rather
+more frank, childlike and confiding than others I had seen.
+
+</p>
+<p>We roasted our yam, and while we were enjoying our frugal but delicious meal, I witnessed rather an amusing episode. A bushman,
+painted black for mourning, suddenly called to one of my boys, and wanted to shake hands with him. My boy, a respectable &#8220;schoolboy,&#8221;
+was visibly annoyed by the idea of having anything to do with a naked &#8220;man-bush,&#8221; and behaved with icy reserve; but he could
+not long resist the rural cordiality of the other, and presently resigned himself to his fate, and made friends. It turned
+out that they had once worked together in Vila, and one had become an elegant young swell, while the other returned to simple
+country life.
+
+</p>
+<p>On the way back we rested by the river-bank, amusing ourselves by shooting pigeons with pistols and guns, feeling quite peaceful
+and happy. But the sound of our shots had an unexpected effect in the village where I had left the rest of my boys. All the
+natives jumped to their feet, shouting, &#8220;Did we not tell you that they would kill your master? Now you have heard them; he
+is dead, and now we will see what you have in your boxes and divide it among ourselves.&#8221;
+
+</p>
+<p>They approached my boys threateningly, whereupon <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb159" href="#pb159">159</a>]</span>they all ran away, with the exception of the ringleader of the mutineers of the last few days, who sat down on the box containing
+the trading-stock and said they had better go and see whether I was really dead before plundering my luggage. The situation
+must have grown rather strained, until some one had the good sense to go and look out for us, whereupon he saw us sitting
+peacefully near the river below. This calmed the natives, they withdrew, much disappointed, and my boys returned and prepared
+everything for my arrival with remarkable zeal. I found dry clothes ready, and tea boiling, and was quite touched by so much
+thoughtfulness. I was not told of the day&#8217;s occurrence till after my return to the coast, and perhaps it was just as well.
+
+</p>
+<p>By this time I had seen a good part of south-east Santo, and I was eager to visit the south-west, with Santo Peak. But without
+guides and with marked symptoms of home-sickness on the part of my boys, I decided it would not be wise to attempt it. The
+news that we were going to start for home revived the boys at once. With enormous alacrity they packed up next day and raced
+homeward with astonishing speed and endurance; I had had to drag them along before, now I could hardly keep up with them.
+In two days we had reached the plain of the Jordan, had a delightful swim and a jolly last night in camp, free from pigs,
+dogs, fowls, fleas and bugs,&#8212;but not from mosquitoes!
+
+</p>
+<p>The last day we strolled in and along the river, through the forest swarming with wild pigs and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb160" href="#pb160">160</a>]</span>pigeons, while a huge colony of flying-foxes circled in the air, forming an actual cloud, and then we came to the shore, with
+the wide expanse of Big Bay peaceful in the evening sun. A painful walk on the sharp pebbles of the beach brought us home
+towards nightfall.
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb161" href="#pb161">161</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div id="ch8" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><h2 class="label">Chapter VIII</h2>
+<h2 class="normal">Santo (<i>continued</i>)&#8212;Pygmies
+</h2>
+<p>The term of service of my boys had now expired, and I had to look about for others. Happily, now that I was known in the region,
+I had less trouble, especially as I held out the prospect of a visit to Noum&eacute;a. With six boys of my own and a few other men,
+I started on another journey.
+
+</p>
+<p>I had always suspected the existence of a race of pygmies in the islands, and had often asked the natives if they had ever
+seen &#8220;small fellow men.&#8221; Generally they stared at me without a sign of intelligence, or else began to tell fairy-tales of
+dwarfs they had seen in the bush, of little men with tails and goat&#8217;s feet (probably derived from what they had heard of the
+devil from missionaries), all beings of whose existence they were perfectly convinced, whom they often see in the daytime
+and feel at night, so that it is very hard to separate truth from imagination.
+
+</p>
+<p>I had heard stories of a colony of tailed men near Mele, and that, near Wora, north of Talamacco, tailed men lived in trees;
+that they were very shy and had long, straight hair. The natives pretended they had nearly caught one once. All this sounded
+interesting and improbable, and I was not anxious to start on a mere wild-goose chase. More exact information, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb162" href="#pb162">162</a>]</span>however, was forthcoming. One of my servants told me that near a waterfall I could see shining out of a deep ravine far inland,
+there lived &#8220;small fellow men.&#8221;
+
+</p>
+<p>It was an exceptionally stormy morning when we started, so that Mr. F. advised me to postpone my departure; but in the New
+Hebrides it is no use to take notice of the weather, and that day it was so bad that it could not get any worse, which was
+some consolation. Soon we were completely soaked, but we kept on along the coast to some huts, where we were to meet our guide.
+Presently he arrived, followed by a crowd of children, as they seemed to me, who joined our party. While climbing inland toward
+the high mountains, I asked the guide if he knew anything about the little people; he told me that one of them was walking
+behind me. I looked more closely at the man in question, and saw that whereas I had taken him for a half-grown youth, he was
+really a man of about forty, and all the others who had come with him turned out to be full-grown but small individuals. Of
+course I was delighted with this discovery, and should have liked to begin measuring and photographing at once, had not the
+torrents of rain prevented.
+
+</p>
+<p>I may mention here that I found traces later on of this diminutive race in some other islands, but rarely in such purity as
+here. Everywhere else they had mingled with the taller population, while here they had kept somewhat apart, and represented
+an element by themselves, so that I was fortunate in having my <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb163" href="#pb163">163</a>]</span>attention drawn to them here, as elsewhere I might easily have overlooked them.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p163" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p163.jpg" alt="WILD MOUNTAIN SCENERY IN THE DISTRICT OF THE PYGMY POPULATION." width="455" height="720"><p class="figureHead">WILD MOUNTAIN SCENERY IN THE DISTRICT OF THE PYGMY POPULATION.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>The trail by which we were travelling was one of the worst I ever saw in the islands, and the weather did not improve. The
+higher up we went, the thicker was the fog; we seemed to be moving in a slimy mass, breathing the air from a boiler. At noon
+we reached the lonely hut, where a dozen men and women squatted, shivering with cold and wet, crowded together under wretched
+palm-leaf mats, near a smouldering fire. There were some children wedged into the gaps between the grown-ups. Our arrival
+seemed to rouse these poor people from their misery a little; one man after the other got up, yawning and chattering, the
+women remained sitting near the fire. We made them some hot tea, and then I began to measure and take pictures, to which they
+submitted quite good-humouredly.
+
+</p>
+<p>I was much struck by the fact of these men and women living together, a most unusual thing in a Melanesian district, where
+the separation of the sexes and the &#8220;Suque&#8221; rules are so rigorously observed.
+
+</p>
+<p>We started off once more in the icy rain, keeping along the crest of the hill, which was just wide enough for the path. The
+mountain sloped steeply down on either side, the thick mist made an early twilight, we could only see the spot where we set
+our feet, while all the surroundings were lost in grey fog, so that we felt as though we were walking in a void, far above
+all the world. At nightfall we arrived at a solitary hut&#8212;the home of our companions. After <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb164" href="#pb164">164</a>]</span>having repaired the broken roof, my boys succeeded in lighting a fire, though how they did it is a mystery, as matches and
+everything else were soaked. Soon tea and rice were boiling, while I tried to dry my instruments, especially my camera, whose
+watertight case had not been able to resist the rain. Then I wrapped myself up in my blanket, sipped my tea and ate my rice,
+and smoked a few pipes. It certainly is a reward for the day&#8217;s work, that evening hour, lying satisfied, tired and dreamy,
+under the low roof of the hut, while outside the wind roars through the valley and the rain rattles on the roof, and a far-off
+river rushes down a gorge. The red fire paints the beams above me in warm colours, and in the dark corners the smoke curls
+in blue clouds. Around a second fire the natives lie in ecstatic laziness, smoking and talking softly, pigs grunt and dogs
+scratch busily about.
+
+</p>
+<p>In the morning the storm had passed, and I could see that the house was set on the slope of a high mountain, much as a chalet
+is, and that we were at the end of a wild ravine, from every side of which fresh rivulets and cascades came pouring. Owing
+to the mountainous character of the country there are no villages here, but numerous huts scattered all along the mountains,
+two or three families at the utmost living together. The structure of the houses, too, was different from those on the coast;
+they had side walls and a basement of boulders, sometimes quite carefully built. Here men and women live together, and a separation
+of the fires does not seem <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb165" href="#pb165">165</a>]</span>to exist, nor does the &#8220;Suque&#8221; seem to have penetrated to this district.
+
+</p>
+<p>We passed several hamlets where the mode of life was the same as in this one. The dress of the men is the same as at the coast,
+except that they wind strings of shell-money about their waists in manifold rows. The women wear a bunch of leaves in front
+and behind. The weapons are the same as elsewhere, except that here we find the feathered arrows which are such a rarity in
+the Pacific. It is surprising to find these here, in these secluded valleys among the pygmy race, and only here, near Talamacco,
+nowhere else where the same race is found. It is an open question whether these feathered arrows are an original invention
+in these valleys, an importation or a remnant of an earlier culture.
+
+</p>
+<p>The population lives on the produce of the fields, mostly taro, which is grown in irrigated lands in the river bottoms.
+
+</p>
+<p>In appearance these people do not differ much from those of central Santo, who are by no means of a uniform type. The most
+important feature is their size, that of the men amounting to 152 cm., that of the women to 144 cm. The smallest man I measured
+was 138.0 cm., others measured 146.0, 149.2, 144.2, 146.6, 140.6, 149.0, 139.6, 138.4 cm. The maximum size is hard to state,
+as even here the small variety has mixed with taller tribes, so that we find all the intermediate sizes, from the pygmy 139.6
+cm. high, to the tall Melanesian of 178.0 cm. My object, therefore, was to find a colony of pure pygmies, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb166" href="#pb166">166</a>]</span>and I pursued it in many subsequent wanderings, but without success. The following description is based on the type as I constructed
+it in the course of my travels and observations.
+
+</p>
+<p>The hair is very curly, and seems black, but is in reality a dark, yellowish brown. Fil-fil is less frequent than among the
+tall variety. The forehead is straight, very slightly retreating, vaulted and rather narrow, the eyes are close together,
+straight, medium-sized and dark brown. The superciliar ridges are but slightly developed. The jaw-bones are large, but do
+not protrude, whereas the chewing muscles are well developed, which gives the face breadth, makes the chin-line round and
+the chin itself small and pointed. The mouth is not very large, with moderately thick lips, the nose is straight, hardly open
+toward the front, the nostrils not thick. As a rule, the growth of beard is not heavy, unlike that of the tall Melanesians;
+there is only a light moustache, a few tufts at the chin and near the jaw. Up to the age of forty this is all; in later years
+a heavier beard develops, but the face and the front of the chin remain free.
+
+</p>
+<p>Thus it will be seen that these people are not at all repulsive, as all the ridges of bone and the heavy muscle attachments
+which make the face of ordinary Melanesians so brutal are lacking. On the contrary, they look quite agreeable and childlike.
+Their bodies are vigorous, but lightly built: the chest broad and deep, the arms and legs fine, with beautiful delicate joints,
+the legs well proportioned, with handsome <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb167" href="#pb167">167</a>]</span>calves. Their feet are short and broad, especially in front, but the great toe does not stand off from the others noticeably.
+Thus the pygmy has none of the proportions of a child, and shows no signs of degeneration, but is of harmonious build, only
+smaller than other Melanesians.
+
+</p>
+<p>The shade of the skin varies a good deal from a dull purple, brownish-black, to coffee colour; but the majority of individuals
+are light, and the dark ones probably inherited their shade from the tall race.
+
+</p>
+<p>Deformations of the body are not practised, save for an occasional perforation of the lobes of the ear. I never saw a perforation
+of the septum, nor women with incisors extracted.
+
+</p>
+<p>It seems as if the small race were better preserved here in Santo than the tall one. The diseases which destroy the other
+tribes are less frequent here, there are more children and a good number of women. All this may be due to a great extent to
+their living inland and not coming into touch with the unfavourable sides of civilization as the coast tribes do, but even
+more to the hardy outdoor life in the mountains. In their country one cannot walk three steps on a level, and the whole population
+is expert in climbing, very sure-footed, thinking nothing of jumping with a heavy load from one rock to another, or racing
+at full speed down the steep and uneven slopes.
+
+</p>
+<p>In character, too, they differ from the tribes near the water. They seem less malicious and more confiding, and show less
+of the distrust and shy reserve of the average Melanesian. They will laugh and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb168" href="#pb168">168</a>]</span>chat in the presence of strangers, and are very hospitable. I do not know if these are accidental impressions, but I can only
+say that I always felt safer and more comfortable in a village where the majority of the inhabitants belonged to the small
+race.
+
+</p>
+<p>With all this the pygmies are by no means helpless or even inferior, compared to their tall neighbours. Possibly, in former
+days, they may have been driven from their homes in the plains back into the mountains, but at present they are quite equal
+to the tall race, and the &#8220;salt-water men&#8221; are even a little afraid of their small neighbours inland. What they lack in size
+and strength they make up in speed and suppleness and temperament. The barrier between the races has disappeared, and the
+mixing process is hastened by the fact that the small race frequently sells its women to the tall one. It is rare for a woman
+from the coast to settle in the mountains, still, it occurs frequently enough to alloy the purity of the pygmy race, and in
+no village have I found more than about 70 per cent. of real pygmies.
+
+</p>
+<p>In the afternoon we came to the chief&#8217;s dwelling. The old man lived there alone with his wife, quietly and happily, venerated
+by all the other people. It was touching to see the little couple, delicate as two dolls, who seemed to love each other sincerely,
+a most uncommon occurrence in Melanesia. I really had too much respect for the old people to trouble them with my measuring
+instruments, but I could not resist taking their pictures. After consulting her <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb169" href="#pb169">169</a>]</span>husband with a look of the greatest confidence, the old lady consented shyly, while he stood beside her as if it was an everyday
+event to him, and a sort of tribute I was paying to his age and position and the beauty of his wife.
+
+</p>
+<p>From this point I had a fine view of the cascade that fell down in a wide silver ribbon through the forest. Some months later
+all that wild scenery was destroyed by an earthquake, which caused many land-slides and spoilt the cascade. Following the
+roaring river, jumping from one block of stone to another, we soon reached our camp, a large gamal. As we were nearing the
+coast its arrangements were adapted to the customs of the tall Melanesians. There were a few small individuals, but the tall
+race was predominant. The reign of the &#8220;Suque&#8221; was evident by the floor of the gamal being divided by parallel sticks into
+compartments corresponding to the number of fires and castes, and each man sat down in his division and cooked his own food.
+
+</p>
+<p>Next day, after having waded through the cold water of the river, we arrived at the coast. From the last hills I sent a farewell
+look into the wild green tangle of forest, rocks, ravines, cascades and valleys, over which heavy rain-clouds were gathering.
+Before me the greyish-blue mirror of Big Bay lay in the mist, and in the Jordan valley the rain fell heavily. The high reed-grass
+all around us rustled dismally, and the damp cold was depressing. I hurried home and arrived there in the night, wet as when
+I had started on my expedition.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb170" href="#pb170">170</a>]</span></p>
+<p>With regard to the pygmies I must not omit to mention the following experience. The fact that among them husband and wife
+live together, and that I had nowhere seen a man with two wives, made me suspect that this race was monogamous, as other pygmy
+races are. I made frequent inquiries, and was assured that each man was allowed but one wife. Still, I was not quite convinced,
+for it seemed strange to find a monogamous population in the midst of polygamous tribes. Others having given me similar information,
+I began to accept this theory as a fact. At last, however, I found I had been deceived, as all the people had taken me for
+a missionary, and had fancied I was asking them questions in order to interfere with their matrimonial customs by sending
+them a teacher or a &#8220;mission-police-man.&#8221; My error was cleared up, thanks to the investigations of a trader, for which I am
+much indebted to him.
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb171" href="#pb171">171</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div id="ch9" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><h2 class="label">Chapter IX</h2>
+<h2 class="normal">Santo (<i>continued</i>)&#8212;Pigs
+</h2>
+<p>The sun had hardly risen, yet the air hung heavy in the shrubs surrounding my sleeping-hut. Damp heat and light poured into
+the shed-like room, where hundreds of flies and as many mosquitoes sought an entrance into my mosquito-net. It was an atmosphere
+to sap one&#8217;s energy; not even the sunshine, so rare in these parts, had any attraction for me, and only the long-drawn &#8220;Sail
+ho!&#8221; of the natives, announcing the arrival of the steamer, had power to drive me out of bed.
+
+</p>
+<p>She soon came to anchor and sent a boat ashore, and when I entered my host&#8217;s house, I found some of the ship&#8217;s officers there,
+ready for business and breakfast. Probably to drown the touch of home-sickness that the arrival of a steamer brings to those
+who are tied to the islands, our host set about emptying his cellar with enthusiasm and perseverance, while the visitors would
+have been satisfied with much smaller libations, as they had many more stations to visit that day.
+
+</p>
+<p>While the crew was loading the coprah and landing a quantity of goods, the host started his beloved gramophone for the general
+benefit, and a fearful hash of music drifted out into the waving palms. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb172" href="#pb172">172</a>]</span>Presently some one announces that the cargo is all aboard, whereupon the supercargo puts down his paper and remarks that they
+are in a hurry. A famous soprano&#8217;s wonderful high C is ruthlessly broken off short, and we all run to the beach and jump on
+the backs of boys, who carry us dry-shod to the boat. We are rowed to the steamer, and presently descend to the storeroom,
+which smells of calico, soap, tobacco and cheese. Anything may be bought here, from a collar-button to a tin of meat, from
+perfumery to a shirt, anything,&#8212;and sometimes even the very thing one wants. We provide for the necessities of life for the
+next month or two, hand over our mail and end our visit with a drink. Then the whistle blows, we scramble into the boat, and
+while my host waves his hat frantically and shouts &#8220;good-bye,&#8221; the steamer gradually disappears from sight. My friend has
+&#8220;a bad headache&#8221; from all the excitement of the morning. I guide him carefully between the cases and barrels the steamer has
+brought, and deposit him in his bunk; then I retire to my own quarters to devour my mail.
+</p>
+<hr class="tb"><p>
+
+</p>
+<p>Some days after this we went to see a &#8220;sing-sing&#8221; up north. We rowed along the shore, and as my host was contributing a pig,
+we had the animal with us. With legs and snout tightly tied, the poor beast lay sadly in the bottom of the boat, occasionally
+trying to snap the feet of the rowers. The sea and the wind were perfect, and we made good speed; in the evening we camped
+on the beach. The next day <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb173" href="#pb173">173</a>]</span>was just as fine; my host continued the journey by boat, while I preferred to walk the short distance that remained, accompanied
+by the pig, whose health did not seem equal to another sea-voyage in the blazing sun. It was touching to see the tenderness
+with which the natives treated the victim-elect, giving it the best of titbits, and urging it with the gentlest of words to
+start on the walk. It was quite a valuable animal, with good-sized tusks. After some hesitation the pig suddenly rushed off,
+Sam, his keeper, behind. First it raced through the thicket, which I did not like, so I proposed to Sam to pull the rope on
+the energetic animal&#8217;s leg; but Sam would not damp its splendid enthusiasm for fear it might balk afterwards. Sam managed,
+however, to direct it back into the path, but we had a most exhausting and exciting, if interesting, walk, for the pig was
+constantly rushing, sniffing, grunting and digging on all sides, so that Sam was entirely occupied with his charge, and it
+was quite impossible to converse. At last we proudly entered the village, and the beast was tied in the shade; we separated,
+not to meet again till the hour of sacrifice.
+
+</p>
+<p>I was then introduced to the host, a small but venerable old man, who received me with dignified cordiality. We could not
+talk together, but many ingratiating smiles assured each of the other&#8217;s sympathy. The village seemed extremely pleasant to
+me, which may have been due to the bright sun and the cool breeze. The square was situated on the beach, which sloped steeply
+to the sea. Along the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb174" href="#pb174">174</a>]</span>ridge were planted brightly-coloured trees, and between their trunks we could see the ocean, heavenly blue. On the other side
+were the large, well-kept gamals, and crowds of people in festival attire; many had come from a distance, as the feast was
+to be a big one, with plenty to eat for everybody.
+
+</p>
+<p>Palo, the host, was very busy looking after his guests and giving each his share of good things. He was a most good-natured,
+courteous old gentleman, although his costume consisted of nothing but a few bunches of ferns. The number of guests increased
+steadily; besides the real heathen in unadorned beauty, there were half-civilized Christians, ugly in ill-fitting European
+clothes, of which they were visibly vain, although they made blots on the beautiful picture of native life. All around the
+square grunted the tusked pigs.
+
+</p>
+<p>At noon four men gave the signal for the beginning of the festivities by beating two big drums, which called the guests to
+dinner. Palo had sent us a fowl cooked native fashion between hot stones, and, like everything cooked in this way, it tasted
+very delicious. Shortly afterwards the real ceremonies began, with the killing of about two hundred young female pigs which
+had been kept in readiness in little bamboo sheds.
+
+</p>
+<p>Accompanied by the drums, Palo led all the high-castes in dancing steps out of the gamal and round the square. After a few
+turns the chiefs drew up in line in front of him, and he mounted a stone table, while everyone else kept on dancing. His favourite
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb175" href="#pb175">175</a>]</span>wife was next to the table, also dancing. Palo was entirely covered with ferns, which were stuck in his hair, his bracelets
+and his belt. He still looked quite venerable, but with a suggestion of a faun, a Bacchus or a Neptune. It was a warm day,
+and the dancing made everybody perspire more than freely.
+
+</p>
+<p>Now one of the other men took hold of a little pig by the hind-legs and threw it in a lofty curve to one of the dancing chiefs,
+who caught the little animal, half stunned by the fall, and, still dancing, carried it to Palo, who killed it by three blows
+on the head, whereupon it was laid at his feet. This went on for a long time. It was a cruel sight. Squealing and shrieking,
+the poor animals flew through the air, fell heavily on the hard earth, and lay stunned or tried to crawl away with broken
+backs or legs. Some were unhurt, and ran off, but a bloodthirsty crowd was after them with clubs and axes, and soon brought
+them back. Still, one man thought this troublesome, and broke the hind-legs of each pig before throwing it to the chief, so
+that it might not escape. It was horrible to see and hear the bones break, but the lust for blood was upon the crowd, and
+on all sides there were passionate eyes, distorted faces and wild yells. Happily the work was soon done, and in front of Palo
+lay a heap of half-dead, quivering animals. He and his wife now turned their backs to the assembly, while a few high-castes
+counted the corpses. For each ten one lobe was torn off a sicca-leaf, then the missing lobes were counted, and after a puzzling
+calculation, the result was announced. Palo turned <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb176" href="#pb176">176</a>]</span>round and descended from his pedestal with much dignity, though panting from his exertions, and looking so hot that I feared
+an apoplexy for the old man. I did not know how tough such an old heathen is, nor that his efforts were by no means at an
+end. <i lang="fr">Noblesse oblige</i> and such high caste as Palo&#8217;s is not attained without trouble.
+
+</p>
+<p>As female pigs may not be eaten, those just killed were thrown into the sea by the women; meanwhile, the chiefs blew a loud
+blast on the shell-bugles, to announce to all concerned that Palo&#8217;s first duty was accomplished. The deep yet piercing tones
+must have sounded far into the narrow valleys round.
+
+</p>
+<p>Then poles were driven into the ground, to which the tusked pigs were tied. Some were enormous beasts, and grunted savagely
+when anyone came near them. I saw my companion of the morning lying cheerfully grunting in the shade of a tree. Now came a
+peculiar ceremony, in which all who had contributed pigs were supposed to take part. To my disappointment, Mr. F. refused
+to join in. Palo took up his position on the stone table, armed with a club. Out of a primitive door, hastily improvised out
+of a few palm-leaves, the chiefs came dancing in single file, swinging some weapon, a spear or a club. Palo jumped down, danced
+towards them, chased each chief and finally drove them, still dancing, back through the door. This evidently symbolized some
+fight in which Palo was the victor. After having done this about twenty times, Palo had to lead all the chiefs in a long dance
+across the square, passing <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb177" href="#pb177">177</a>]</span>in high jumps between the pigs. After this he needed a rest, and no wonder. Then the pigs were sacrificed with mysterious
+ceremonies, the meaning of which has probably never been penetrated. The end of it all was that Palo broke the pigs&#8217; heads
+with a special club, and when night fell, twenty-six &#8220;tuskers&#8221; lay agonizing on the ground. Later they were hung on trees,
+to be eaten next day, and then everybody retired to the huts to eat and rest.
+
+</p>
+<p>Some hours later great fires were kindled at both ends of the square, and women with torches stood all around. The high-castes
+opened the ball, but there was not much enthusiasm, and only a few youngsters hopped about impatiently, until their spirits
+infected some older people, and the crowd increased, so that at last everybody was raving in a mad dance. The performance
+is monotonous: some men with pan-pipes bend down with their heads touching, and blow with all their might, always the same
+note, marking time with their feet. Suddenly one gives a jump, others follow, and then the whole crowd moves a number of times
+up and down the square, until the musicians are out of breath, when they come to a standstill. The excitement goes on until
+the sun rises. The women, as a rule, keep outside the square, but they dance too, and keep it up all night; now and then a
+couple disappears into the darkness.
+
+</p>
+<p>Next morning Palo, who had hardly closed his eyes all night, was very busy again, giving each guest his due share of the feast.
+The large pigs were dressed, cut up and cooked. This work lasted <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb178" href="#pb178">178</a>]</span>all day, but everybody enjoyed it. The dexterity and cleanliness with which the carcases are divided is astonishing, and is
+quite a contrast to the crude way in which native meals are usually dressed and devoured. We whites received a large and very
+fat slice as a present, which we preferred to pass on, unnoticed, to our boys. Fat is considered the best part of the pig.
+
+</p>
+<p>The lower jaws of the tuskers were cut out separately and handed over to Palo, to be cleaned and hung up in his gamal in the
+shape of a chandelier, as tokens of his rank.
+
+</p>
+<p>Palo is a weather-maker. When we prepared to go home, he promised to smooth the sea, which was running too high for comfort,
+and to prevent a head-wind. We were duly grateful, and, indeed, all his promises were fulfilled: we had a perfectly smooth
+sea, and such a dead calm that between the blue sky and the white sea we nearly fainted, and had to row wearily along instead
+of sailing. Just as we were leaving, Palo came to the bank, making signs for us to come back, a pretty custom, although it
+is not always meant sincerely.
+
+</p>
+<p>Late at night we arrived at home once more.
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb179" href="#pb179">179</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div id="ch10" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><h2 class="label">Chapter X</h2>
+<h2 class="normal">Climbing Santo Peak</h2>
+<p>Some days later I left Talamacco for Wora, near Cape Cumberland, a small station of Mr. D.&#8217;s, Mr. F.&#8217;s neighbour. What struck
+me most there were the wide taro fields, artificially irrigated. The system of irrigation must date from some earlier time,
+for it is difficult to believe that the population of the present day, devoid as they are of enterprise, should have laid
+it out, although they are glad enough to use it. The method employed is this: Across one of the many streams a dam of great
+boulders is laid, so that about the same amount of water is constantly kept running into a channel. These channels are often
+very long, they skirt steep slopes and are generally cut into the earth, sometimes into the rock; sometimes a little aqueduct
+is built of planks, mud and earth, supported by bamboo and other poles that stand in the valley. In the fields the channel
+usually divides into several streams, and runs through all the flat beds, laid out in steps, in which the taro has only to
+be lightly stuck to bring forth fruit in about ten months. Taro only grows in very swampy ground, some varieties only under
+water, so that it cannot be grown in the coral region, where there is plenty of rain, but no running water. In these <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb180" href="#pb180">180</a>]</span>districts yam is the principal food, while we find taro in the mountains of primary rock. Both are similar in taste to the
+potato.
+</p>
+<hr class="tb"><p>
+
+</p>
+<p>My next journey led me across the peninsula to the west coast of Santo. As usual, it was a very rainy day when we started,
+but once across the divide the air became much drier. The clouds, driven by the south-east trade-wind, strike the islands
+on the east side, and this is the reason why the east coast is so much damper than the west, and why the vegetation is so
+immoderately thick on the one side, and much less luxuriant on the other. On the west side the bush is thinner and there are
+wide stretches of reed-grass, but there is plenty of water, bright creeks fed by the rainfall on the mountains. Here, on the
+coast, it was much warmer than where we had come from, but the air was most agreeable, dry and invigorating, quite different
+from the damp, heavy air on the other side.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p179" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p179.jpg" alt="IRRIGATED TARO FIELD ON SANTO." width="720" height="458"><p class="figureHead">IRRIGATED TARO FIELD ON SANTO.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>Late at night, after a long walk on the warm beach sand, we reached the village of Nogugu. Next day Mr. G., a planter, was
+good enough to take me with him in his motor-boat, southward along the coast. High mountains came close to the shore, falling
+in almost perpendicular walls straight down into the sea. Deep narrow valleys led inland into the very heart of the island.
+Several times, when we were passing the openings of these valleys, a squall caught us, and rain poured down; then, again,
+everything lay in bright sunshine and the coast was picturesque <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb181" href="#pb181">181</a>]</span>indeed with its violet shadows and reddish rocks. The only level ground to be seen was at the mouths of the valleys in the
+shape of little river deltas.
+
+</p>
+<p>The village to which we were going was on one of these deltas. Hardly had we set foot on shore than a violent earthquake almost
+threw us to the ground. The shock lasted for at least thirty seconds, then we heard a dull rumbling as of thunder, and saw
+how all along the coast immense masses of earth fell into the sea from the high cliffs, so that the water boiled and foamed
+wildly. Then yellow smoke came out of all the bays, and hung in heavy clouds over the devastated spots, and veiled land and
+sea. Inland, too, we saw many bare spots, where the earth and trees had slipped down. The shocks went on all night, though
+with diminished violence, and we continually heard the thunderous rattling of falling rocks and earth.
+
+</p>
+<p>Next day we stopped at the village of Wus, and I persuaded a dainty damsel (she was full-grown, but only 134.4 cm. high) to
+make me a specimen of pottery. It was finished in ten minutes, without any tool but a small, flat, bamboo splinter. Without
+using a potter&#8217;s wheel the lady rounded the sides of the jar very evenly, and altogether gave it a most pleasing, almost classical
+shape.
+
+</p>
+<p>When we returned south we could see what damage the earthquake had done. All the slopes looked as if they had been scraped,
+and the sea was littered with wood and bushes. We also experienced <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb182" href="#pb182">182</a>]</span>the disagreeable sensation of an earthquake on the water. The boat suddenly began to shake and tremble, as if a giant hand
+were shaking it, and at the same time more earth fell down into the water. The shocks recurred for several weeks, and after
+a while we became accustomed to them. The vibrations seemed to slacken and to become more horizontal, so that we had less
+of the feeling of being pushed upwards off our feet, but rather that of being in an immense swing. For six weeks I was awakened
+almost every night by dull, threatening thunder, followed some seconds later by a shock.
+
+</p>
+<p>Another village where pottery was made was Pespia, a little inland. The chief obligingly gathered the scattered population,
+and I had ample opportunity to buy pots and watch the making of them. The method is different from that at Wus, for a primitive
+wheel, a segment of a thick bamboo, is used. On this the clay is wound up in spirals and the surface smoothed inside and out.
+This is the method by which most of the prehistoric European pottery was made. The existence of the potter&#8217;s art in these
+two villages only of all the New Hebrides is surprising. Clay is found in other districts, and the idea that the natives might
+have learnt pottery from the Spaniards lacks all probability, as the Spaniards never visited the west coast of Santo. The
+two entirely different methods offer another riddle.
+
+</p>
+<p>I made my way back along the coast, round Cape Cumberland. One of my boys having run away, I had to carry his load myself,
+and although <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb183" href="#pb183">183</a>]</span>it was not the heaviest one, I was glad when I found a substitute for him. This experience gave me an insight into the feelings
+of a tired and discontented carrier.
+
+</p>
+<p>At Wora I found that my host had returned to his station near Talamacco. So I returned to Talamacco by boat; the earthquake
+had been very violent there, and had caused the greatest damage, and I heard that all the new houses of the Messrs. Thomas
+at Hog Harbour had been ruined.
+
+</p>
+<p>Times had been troublous in other respects at Talamacco; the natives, especially the Christians, were fighting, and one Sunday
+they were all ready, looking very fierce, to attack each other with clubs and other weapons, only neither side dared to begin.
+I asked them to do the fighting out in the open, so that I could take a picture of it, and this cooled them down considerably.
+They sat down and began a long palaver, which ended in nothing at all, and, indeed, no one really knew what had started the
+excitement.
+
+</p>
+<p>In spite of the supercargo&#8217;s announcement that the steamer would arrive on the twentieth, she did not come till the first
+of the following month. This kept me constantly on the look out and ready for departure, and unable to do anything of importance.
+At last we sailed, touching the Banks Islands on our route; and after enjoying a few days of civilization on board, I went
+ashore at Tassimaloun, on the south-west corner of Santo, where I had the pleasure of being Mr. C.&#8217;s guest. My object there
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb184" href="#pb184">184</a>]</span>was to follow the traces of the pygmy population, but as the natives mostly live inland, and only rarely come to the coast,
+I had to go in search of them. At that time I was often ill with fever, and could not do as much as I could have wished. Once
+I tried to reach the highest mountain of the islands, Santo Peak, but my guides from the mission village of Vualappa led me
+for ten days through most uninteresting country and an unfriendly population without even bringing me to the foot of the mountain.
+I had several unpleasant encounters with the natives, during one of which I fully expected to be murdered, and when our provisions
+were exhausted we had to return to the coast. But every time I saw the tall pyramid of Santo Peak rising above the lower hills
+I longed to be the first European to set foot on it, and I tried it at last from the Tassiriki side.
+
+</p>
+<p>After long consultations with the natives, I at last found two men who were willing to guide me to the mountain. I decided
+to give up all other plans, and to take nothing with me but what was strictly necessary. On the second day we climbed a hill
+which my guides insisted was the Peak, the highest point of the island. I pointed out a higher summit, but they said that
+we would never get up there before noon, and, indeed, they did everything they could to delay our advance, by following wrong
+trails and being very slow about clearing the way. Still, after an hour&#8217;s hard work, we were on the point in question, and
+from there I could see the real Santo <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb185" href="#pb185">185</a>]</span>Peak, separated from us by only one deep valley, as far as I could judge in the tangle of forest that covered everything.
+The guides again pretended that we were standing on the highest mountain then, and that it would take at least a fortnight
+to reach the real Peak. I assured them that I meant to be on its top by noon, and when they showed no inclination whatever
+to go on, I left them and went on with my boys. We had to dive into a deep ravine, where we found a little water and refilled
+our bottles. Then we had to ascend the other side, which was trying, as we had lost the trail and had to climb over rocks
+and through the thickest bush I ever met. The ground was covered with a dense network of moss-grown trunks that were mouldering
+there, through which we often fell up to our shoulders, while vines and ferns wound round our bodies, so that we did our climbing
+more with our arms than with our feet. After a while one of the guides joined us, but he did not know the way; at last we
+found it, but there were many ups and downs before we attained the summit. The weather now changed, and we were suddenly surrounded
+by the thick fog that always covers the Peak before noon. The great humidity and the altitude combine to create a peculiar
+vegetation in this region; the tree-ferns are tremendously developed, and the natives pretend that a peculiar species of pigeon
+lives here.
+
+</p>
+<p>I was surprised to find any paths at all up here; but the natives come here to shoot pigeons, and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb186" href="#pb186">186</a>]</span>several valleys converge at Santo Peak, so that there are important passes near its summits. One of my boys gave out here,
+and we left him to repose. The rest of the way was not difficult, but we were all very tired when we reached the top. There
+was another summit, a trifle higher, separated from the first by a long ridge, but we contented ourselves with the one we
+were on, especially as we could see absolutely nothing. I was much disappointed, as on a clear day the view of Santo and the
+whole archipelago must be wonderful. I deposited a bottle with a paper of statistics, which some native has probably found
+by this time. We were wet and hungry, and as it was not likely that the fog would lift, we began the descent. Without the
+natives I never could have found the way back in the fog; but they followed the path easily enough, and half-way down we met
+the other guides coming slowly up the mountain. They seemed pleased to have escaped the tiresome climb; possibly they may
+have had other reasons for their dislike of the Peak. They were rather disappointed, I thought, that I had had my way in spite
+of their resistance. They now promised to lead us back by another route, and we descended a narrow valley for several hours;
+then came a long halt, as my guides had to chat with friends in a village we passed. At last I fairly had to drive them away,
+and we went down another valley, where we found a few women bathing in a stream, who ran away at the sight of us. We bathed,
+and then enjoyed an excellent meal of taro, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb187" href="#pb187">187</a>]</span>which one of the guides had brought from the village. Before leaving, one of my boys carefully collected all the peelings
+of my food, and threw them into the river, so that I might not be poisoned by them, he said. A last steep climb ended the
+day&#8217;s exertions, and we entered the village where we were to sleep. While the guides bragged to the men of their feats, the
+women brought us food and drink, and I had a chance to rest and look about me.
+
+</p>
+<p>I was struck by the great number of women and the very small number of men in this place; after a while I found out the reason,
+which was that ten of the men had been kidnapped by a Frenchman while on their way to a plantation on the Segond Channel,
+where they meant to work a few days. The women are now deprived of their husbands for at least three years, unless they find
+men in some other village. If five of the ten ever return, it will be a good average, and it is more than likely that they
+will find a deserted and ruined village if they do come back.
+
+</p>
+<p>This is one of many illustrations of how the present recruiting system and the laxity of the French authorities combine to
+ruin the native population. (I have since heard that by request of the British authorities these men were brought back, but
+only after about nine months had passed, and without receiving any compensation. Most kidnapping cases never come to the ears
+of the authorities at all.)
+
+</p>
+<p>As our expedition was nearly at an end, and I had no reason to economize my provisions, I gave some to the villagers, and
+the women especially who had <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb188" href="#pb188">188</a>]</span>hardly ever tasted rice or tinned meat, were delighted. One old hag actually made me a declaration of love, which, unfortunately,
+I could not respond to in the same spirit.
+
+</p>
+<p>Night crept across the wide sea, and a golden sunset was followed by a long afterglow. Far away on the softly shining silver
+we saw a sail, small as a fly, that drifted slowly seaward and was swallowed up by the darkness, from which the stars emerged
+one by one. The women had disappeared in the huts; the men were sitting outside, around the fires, and, thinking I was asleep,
+talked about me in biche la mar.
+
+</p>
+<p>First they wondered why a man should care to climb up a mountain simply to come down again; and my boys told them of all my
+doings, about my collecting curios and skulls, of my former wanderings and the experiences we had had, and how often the others
+had tried to shoot me, etc. In short, I found out a great many things I had never known, and I shivered a little at hearing
+what I had escaped, if all the boys said was true. At last, when I had been sufficiently discussed, which was long after midnight,
+they lay down, each beside a small fire, and snored into the cool, clear night.
+
+</p>
+<p>The following morning was brilliantly fine. We took a hearty leave of our hosts, and raced, singing and shouting, down the
+steep hills, and so home. The fine weather was at an end. The sky was cloudy, the barometer fell and a thin rain pierced everything.
+Two days later the steamer arrived, and I meant to go aboard, but a heavy swell from the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb189" href="#pb189">189</a>]</span>west set in, such as I had never seen before, although not a breath of wind was stirring. These rollers were caused by a cyclone,
+and gave us some idea of its violence. I despaired of ever reaching the steamer, but Mr. B. was an expert sailor, and making
+the most of a slight lull, he brought me safely through the surf and on board. His goods, however, could not be loaded on
+to the steamer, which immediately sailed. We passed New Year&#8217;s Eve and New Year&#8217;s Day at anchor in South-West Bay, Malekula,
+while a terrific gale whipped the water horizontally toward the ship and across the deck. We spent gloomy holidays, shut up
+in the damp, dark steamer, unable to stay on deck, restless and uncomfortable below. How one learns to appreciate the British
+impassiveness which helps one, in such conditions, to spend a perfectly happy day with a pipe and a talk about the weather!
+
+</p>
+<p>On the morning of the third day we lay off the east coast of Malekula, on a blue, shining sea, with all the landscape as peaceful
+and bright as if there were no such thing as a cyclone in the world.
+
+</p>
+<p>I landed, packed my collections, which I had left in Vao, and, with the help of a missionary, I reached Bushman Bay, whence
+Mr. H. kindly took me to Vila. There H.B.M. Resident Commissioner, Mr. Morton King, did me the honour of offering me his hospitality,
+so that I was suddenly transplanted to all the luxuries of civilized life once more. I spent the days packing the collections
+awaiting me at Vila, and which I found in fairly good condition; the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb190" href="#pb190">190</a>]</span>evenings were passed in the interesting society of Mr. King, who had travelled extensively and was an authority on matters
+relating to the Orient. He inspired me with admiration for the British system of colonial politics with its truly idealistic
+tendencies. The weeks I spent at Port Vila will always be a pleasant memory of a time of rest and comfort and stimulating
+intercourse.
+
+</p>
+<p>In February I left for Noum&eacute;a, where I hoped to meet two friends and colleagues, Dr. Fritz Sarasin and Dr. Jean Roux, who
+were coming to New Caledonia in order to pursue studies similar to mine. The time I spent with them was rich in interest and
+encouragement, and in March I returned to the New Hebrides with renewed energy.
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb191" href="#pb191">191</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div id="ch11" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><h2 class="label">Chapter XI</h2>
+<h2 class="normal">Ambrym</h2>
+<p>It was a miserable little boat in which I sailed from Noum&eacute;a. We were to have started on a Monday, but it was Friday before
+we got off. The boat was overloaded. On deck there was a quantity of timber, also cattle, pigs, sheep and calves, all very
+seasick and uncomfortable. The deck was almost on a level with the water, and even while still inside the reef occasional
+waves broke over the gunwale and flooded the ship. At nightfall we entered the open ocean. Now the waves began to pour on
+to the deck from all sides, and the bow of the vessel dived into the sea as if it were never going to rise again. The night
+was dark, shreds of cloud raced across a steel-grey sky, while a greenish patch showed the position of the moon. At the horizon
+glistened an uncertain light, but the sea was a black abyss, out of which the phosphorescent waves appeared suddenly, rolled
+swiftly nearer and broke over the ship as if poured down from above.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p191" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p191.jpg" alt="DWELLING OF A TRADER ON AMBRYM." width="720" height="458"><p class="figureHead">DWELLING OF A TRADER ON <span class="corr" id="xd0e2027" title="Source: AMBRYN">AMBRYM</span>.
+</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>I looked on without another thought save that of pity for the poor sick calves, when the captain whispered in my ear that
+things looked bad, as the ship was much too heavily loaded. In the darkness I could see nothing but that the boat was very
+deep <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb192" href="#pb192">192</a>]</span>in the water, and that her bow, instead of rising on the waves, dug into them. On deck a quantity of water ran backward and
+forward in a wave as high as the bulwarks, and it seemed as if the ship could scarcely right herself when once she lay over
+on one side. The growing excitement of the captain, his nervous consultations with the engineer and the supercargo, were most
+uncomfortable; presently the passengers began to take part in the deliberations, and to observe the behaviour of the ship.
+As our course gave us a sidewise current, the captain ordered the sails to be hoisted, in order to lessen the rolling; but
+the sea was too heavy, and we shipped still more water and rolled alarmingly. The captain sighed, ran hither and thither,
+then lowered the sails and took a more westerly course, in the direction of one of the Loyalty Islands; thus we had the current
+from behind, which made things still worse, as the sea, rolling along the ship, filled the deck from both sides; and as the
+bulwarks were blocked up by the lumber, the water could not run off, thus adding an enormous weight to the already overloaded
+ship; the water ran forward, pressing down the bow, while the stern reared upward.
+
+</p>
+<p>When the captain saw the state of affairs, he lost his head completely, and began to lament piteously: &#8220;We do not want to
+drown, no, we do not want to drown; but we are going to. Oh, my poor wife and children! Do you like to drown, doctor?&#8221; I denied
+this energetically, but I could not help looking at the dark sea and trying to get used to the idea of a closer <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb193" href="#pb193">193</a>]</span>acquaintance with it. The feeling of insecurity was increased by the knowledge that the boat was old and in poor repair, and
+might spring a leak at any moment.
+
+</p>
+<p>Meanwhile the skipper had turned her round and was making headway against the waves, but still her bow would not lift, and
+the captain wept still more. His womanish behaviour disgusted me. At last a quiet passenger, an experienced sailor, gave some
+advice, which the skipper followed, and which helped matters a little, so that he regained his self-control to the extent
+of calling a general council; he announced that he dared not continue the voyage, and asked our consent to return to Noum&eacute;a.
+We all agreed, and about midnight we approached the reef. Now there are lights in the passage, but they are so poor as to
+be invisible until the traveller is already in the passage, so that they are of little use. We were trying to find the entrance,
+when the experienced seaman I mentioned before, who was keeping a look out, called out that we were close to the breakers
+and surrounded by the reef. The only thing we could do was to turn seaward again and beat about till daylight. After some
+hours the wind fell and the worst was over; still, the night was unpleasant enough, and frequent squalls kept us awake. We
+were all glad when the day broke and we were able to enter the passage. We landed at Noum&eacute;a in the finest of weather, and
+our unexpected return created quite a sensation. We passengers convinced ourselves that the cargo was considerably reduced
+before starting out again the next day.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb194" href="#pb194">194</a>]</span></p>
+<p>This time we arrived safely at Port Vila, where the British and French native police forces came aboard, bound for Santo,
+to quell a disturbance at Hog Harbour; and so the hapless boat was overloaded again, this time with passengers.
+
+</p>
+<p>Next day we arrived at Epi, and I landed at Ringdove Bay. The station of the Messrs. F. and H. is one of the oldest in the
+islands. Besides running a plantation, they trade with the natives, and their small cutters go to all the neighbouring islands
+for coprah and other produce. There is always plenty of life and movement at the station, as there are usually a few of the
+vessels lying at anchor, and natives coming in from all sides in their whale-boats to buy or sell something. From Malekula
+one can often see them tacking about all day, or, if there is a calm, drifting slowly along, as they are too lazy to row.
+When they have found the passage through the reef, they pull down the sails with much noise and laughter, and come to anchor;
+then the whole crowd wades through the surf to the shore, with the loads of coprah, and waits patiently for business to begin.
+
+</p>
+<p>On these stations, where almost everyone is squeezed into decent European clothes, it is a charming sight to see the naked
+bodies of the genuine savages, all the more so as only young and able-bodied men take part in these cruises, under the leadership
+of one older and more experienced companion. Their beauty is doubly striking beside the poor station hands, wrapped in filthy
+calico.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb195" href="#pb195">195</a>]</span></p>
+<p>When the coprah has been bought and paid for, they all go to the store, where they buy whatever they need or think they need.
+The native of the coast districts to-day goes beyond needs to luxuries; he buys costly silks, such as he may once have seen
+in Queensland, and he samples sewing-machines or whatever else tempts him. In consequence of competition, the prices for coprah
+and the wages of labour are unreasonably high, and the natives might profit greatly by this state of things if they knew the
+value of money or how to use it to advantage. But, as a rule, they spend it for any nonsense they may fancy, to the joy of
+the trader, who makes an average profit of 50 per cent. on all commodities; or else the natives economize to buy a pig (tusked
+pigs have brought as much as forty pounds), or they bury their money.
+
+</p>
+<p>It is astonishing how easily a native might make a small fortune here, and how little use he makes of his opportunities, not
+only from laziness, but also because he has no wants. Nature supplies food in abundance without any effort on his part, so
+that matches, tobacco, a pipe and a knife satisfy all his needs, and he can spend all the rest of his money for pleasure.
+Thus the native, in spite of everything, is economically master of the situation in his own country, and many traders have
+been made to realize this fact to their cost, when the natives, to avenge some ill-treatment, have simply boycotted a station.
+Needless to say that the traders always do their best to excite the natives&#8217; cupidity by exhibiting the most tempting objects,
+and, careful as the islander may be <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb196" href="#pb196">196</a>]</span>when buying necessaries, he is careless enough when luxuries are in question.
+
+</p>
+<p>The house of the planters is a long, low building with whitewashed walls, a broad, flat roof and wide verandas. Around it
+is an abandoned garden, and one feels that long ago a woman&#8217;s hand must have worked here; but now no one cares about keeping
+the surroundings clean and pretty, and the wilderness is reclaiming its own and advancing steadily towards the house. Inside,
+the house is clean and neat; from the veranda there is a splendid view over the sea, in which the sun disappears at evening.
+
+</p>
+<p>The employ&eacute;s are quiet people, who have but little to say; the weather and speculations as to the name and destination of
+some far-off sail are their chief topics. After lunch they sit in easy-chairs, enjoying the breeze and reading the papers.
+Soon the &#8220;Bubu&#8221; calls to work once more, and the natives come creeping out of their huts, away from their ever-burning fires.
+
+</p>
+<p>The production of coprah varies greatly on the different islands. While on some of them there is scarcely any to be had, there
+are others which are practically covered with cocoa-nut trees; this is chiefly the case on islands of volcanic origin, on
+which springs and rivers are very scarce. It has been supposed that the natives, being dependent on the water of the cocoa-nut
+as a beverage, had planted these trees very extensively. This is not quite exact, although it is a fact that in these islands
+the natives hardly ever taste any other water than that of the cocoa-nut.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb197" href="#pb197">197</a>]</span></p>
+<p>In sun and shower, the natives work in the plantations in long rows, the women together with their husbands or with other
+women at some lighter task. The men dislike to be separated from their wives, for they are very jealous; neither do they approve
+of the women discussing their husbands among themselves. For light work the women are more useful, as they are more accustomed
+to regular work from their youth up than the men, who are used to spending their days in easy laziness.
+
+</p>
+<p>Towards sunset, the &#8220;Bubu&#8221; announces the end of work, and the natives stroll towards their quarters, simple huts of straw,
+where each man has his couch, with a trunk underneath containing his belongings. Meals are prepared by a cook, and the men
+go to fetch their rations, rice, yam, or taro. Sometimes there is meat, but not often, except in places where wild pig is
+plentiful. In that case, it is simplest for the master to send his boys shooting every Sunday, when it depends on themselves
+if they are to have meat during the coming week or not. After the meal, the natives sit round the fires chatting, gossiping
+and telling fairy-tales. They know stories of all sorts of monsters and demons, and excite each other by tales of these horrors
+to such a degree, that bad dreams or even a general panic are often the consequence, and the whole crowd turns out in the
+middle of the night, declaring that the place is haunted, and that they have seen a devil, who looked thus and so. If someone
+suddenly dies in a hut, it is worst of all. Death is invariably caused, so they all believe, by poison or <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb198" href="#pb198">198</a>]</span>witchcraft, and the natives will build another house of their own accord rather than go on living in one they consider haunted.
+If a planter loses many hands by death, his plantation gets a bad reputation, and the natives refuse to work there; so that
+it is to the planter&#8217;s advantage to take some care of their labourers, and they do so to a certain extent, whereas in former
+years the mortality on French plantations was very high, as much as 44 per cent. per annum.
+
+</p>
+<p>Sometimes, especially on moonlight nights, the boys wish to dance, and they all go to the beach and spend the whole night
+singing and dancing. Another amusement is hunting for crayfish on the reef at low tide.
+
+</p>
+<p>My boys&#8217; term of service was over in a month. They were very much afraid of being taken to another island, which was natural
+in a way, as a savage is really not as safe in a strange place as a white man. Besides, they had had their desire and had
+seen Noum&eacute;a, so that there was no longer any inducement for them to stay with me. They accordingly became most disagreeable,
+slow, sulky and sleepier than ever, and as I could not be punishing them all day long, life with them became somewhat trying.
+It is disappointing to find so little gratitude, but the natives are quite unaccustomed to be treated better by a white man
+than his interest demands, so that they suspect a trap in every act of kindness. Under the circumstances, I thought it best
+to dismiss my boys, and, finding little of interest in Epi, the natives having <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb199" href="#pb199">199</a>]</span>nearly all died out, I boarded the Australian steamer for Ambrym.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p199" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p199.jpg" alt="VIEW FROM THE PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL, DIP POINT, AMBRYM." width="720" height="459"><p class="figureHead">VIEW FROM THE PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL, DIP POINT, <span class="corr" id="xd0e2078" title="Source: AMBRYN">AMBRYM</span>.
+</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>Although Ambrym is only twenty-five miles from Epi, I was five days on the way, so zigzag a route did the steamer pursue.
+But if one is not in a hurry, life on board is quite entertaining. The first day we anchored near the volcano of Lopevi, a
+lofty peak that rises from a base six kilom&egrave;tres in diameter to a height of 1440 m&egrave;tres, giving its sides an average slope
+of 48&deg; which offers rather an unusual sight. The whole of Lopevi is rarely to be seen, as its top is usually covered with
+a thick cloud of fog or volcanic steam. It is still active, and but few whites have ascended it. At periods of great activity,
+the natives climb to the top and bring sacrifices to appease it, by throwing cocoa-nuts and yam into the crater.
+
+</p>
+<p>We touched at Port Sandwich, and then steamed along the coast of Malekula, calling every few miles at some plantation to discharge
+goods, horses, cattle and fowls, and take on maize or coprah. At last we arrived at Dip Point, Ambrym, where I was kindly
+received by Dr. B. of the Presbyterian Mission, who is in charge of the fine large hospital there. Its situation is not more
+picturesque than others, but the place has been made so attractive that one can hardly imagine a more lovely and restful sight.
+The buildings stand on level ground that slopes softly down to the beach. The bush has been cleared, with the exception of
+a number of gigantic fig trees, that overshadow a green lawn. Under their airy roof there is always a light breeze, blowing
+from the hills down to <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb200" href="#pb200">200</a>]</span>the sea. In the blue distance rises Aoba, and the long-drawn coast of Malekula disappears in the mist. A quieter, sweeter
+place for convalescents does not exist, and even the native patients, who are not, as a rule, great lovers of scenery, like
+to lie under the trees with their bandaged limbs and heads, staring dreamily into the green and blue and sunny world.
+
+</p>
+<p>Dr. B. is an excellent surgeon, famous all over the group, not only among the white population, but among the natives as well,
+who are beginning to appreciate his work. Formerly they used to demand payment for letting him operate on them, but now many
+come of their own accord, so that the hospital never lacks patients. The good that Dr. B. does these people can hardly be
+overrated, and the Presbyterian Mission deserves great credit for having established the hospital; but it is a regrettable
+fact that all these efforts are not strong enough to counteract other effects of civilization, such as alcoholism, which is
+the curse of the native race, especially on Ambrym.
+
+</p>
+<p>Although the sale of alcohol to natives is strictly prohibited by the laws of the Condominium, the French pay no attention
+to these rules, and sell it in quantities without being called to account. The sale of liquor is the simplest means of acquiring
+wealth, as the profit on one bottle may amount to five shillings. The natives of Ambrym spend all their money on drink, and
+as they are quite rich and buy wholesale, the results, in money for the trader and in death for the native, are considerable.
+For they <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb201" href="#pb201">201</a>]</span>drink in a senseless way, simply pouring down one bottle after the other, until they are quite overcome. Some never wake up
+again; others have dangerous attacks of indigestion from the poison they have consumed; still more catch colds or pneumonia
+from lying drunk on the ground all night. Quarrels and fights are frequent, and it is not a rare sight to see a whole village,
+men, women and children, rolling on the sand completely intoxicated. The degeneration which results from this is all the sadder,
+as originally the race on Ambrym was particularly healthy, vigorous and energetic. These conditions are well known to both
+governments, and might be suppressed on the French side as easily as they are on the English; but the French government seems
+to take more interest in the welfare of an ex-convict than in that of the native race, although the latter is one of the most
+important sources of wealth on the islands, setting aside all considerations of humanity. If the liquor traffic is not speedily
+suppressed, the population is doomed.
+
+</p>
+<p>Ambrym offers quite a different aspect from the coral islands, as its sloping sides are seamed by streams of lava, the course
+of which may be traced by the breaks in the forest, as the glowing mass flows slowly down to the coast, congealing in the
+water to peculiarly shaped jagged rocks. Every few hundred yards we find one of these black walls on the shore in which the
+sea foams, and the sand that covers the beaches is black too. In dull weather all this looks extremely gloomy, monotonous
+and imposing<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb202" href="#pb202">202</a>]</span>&#8212;the war of two elements, fire and water; and this dark, stern landscape is far more impressive than the gay, smiling coral
+beach with the quiet blue sea.
+
+</p>
+<p>My stay on Ambrym was very pleasant. By the help of Dr. B., I was enabled to find four bright boys, willing and cheerful,
+with whom I used to start out from Dip Point in the mornings, visit the neighbouring villages, and return loaded with objects
+of all sorts at noon; the afternoons were devoted to work in the house. The weather was exceptionally favourable, and the
+walks through the dewy forest, on the soft paths of black volcanic dust, in the cool, dark ravines, with occasional short
+climbs and delightful glimpses of the coast, were almost too enjoyable to be regarded as a serious duty.
+
+</p>
+<p>The culture of Ambrym is similar to that of Malekula, as is plainly shown by the natives&#8217; dress. The men wear the bark belt
+and the nambas, which they buy on Malekula; the dress of the women is the same as that worn in central Malekula, and consists
+of an apron of pandanus or some similar fibre, wound several times round the waist; this forms a thick roll, not unlike ballet
+skirts, but more graceful. It is a pretty dress, though somewhat scanty, and the &#8220;skirts&#8221; flap up and down coquettishly when
+the wearer walks. The other parts of the body are covered with a thick layer of soot, filth, oil, fat and smoke, for the Ambrymese
+are not at all fond of bathing.
+
+</p>
+<p>The villages are open, rarely surrounded by a hedge. The houses are rather close together, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb203" href="#pb203">203</a>]</span>grouped irregularly in a clearing; a little apart, on a square by themselves, are the houses of the secret societies, surrounded
+by images and large drums. The dwelling-houses are rather poor-looking huts, with low walls and roofs and an exceedingly small
+entrance which is only to be passed through on one&#8217;s hands and knees. Decency demands that the women should always enter the
+houses backward, and this occasions funny sights, as they look out of their huts like so many dogs from their kennels.
+
+</p>
+<p>As a rule, the first event on my entering a village was that the women and children ran away shrieking and howling; those
+not quite so near me stared suspiciously, then retired slowly or began to giggle. Then a few men would appear, quite accidentally,
+of course, and some curious boys followed. My servants gave information as to my person and purpose, and huge laughter was
+the result: they always thought me perfectly mad. However, they admired me from all sides, and asked all sorts of questions
+of my boys: what was my name, where did I live, was I kind, was I rich, what did I have to eat, did I smoke or drink, how
+many shirts and trousers did I have, how many guns and what kinds, etc. The end of it was, that they either took me for a
+dangerous sorcerer, and withdrew in fear, or for a fool to be got the better of. In the latter case, they would run eagerly
+to their houses and bring out some old broken article to offer for sale. A few sarcastic remarks proved useful; but it was
+always some time before they realized what I wanted. The fine old <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb204" href="#pb204">204</a>]</span>possessions from which they did not like to part would suddenly turn out to be the property of someone else, which was a polite
+way of saying, &#8220;we have that, but you won&#8217;t get it.&#8221;
+
+</p>
+<p>In this way collecting was a very tiresome and often disappointing process of bargaining, encouraging, begging and flattering;
+often, just as I was going away, some man or other would call me aside to say that he had decided to sell after all, and was
+ready to accept any price.
+
+</p>
+<p>Horror and silent consternation were aroused when I asked for skulls. &#8220;Lots over there,&#8221; they said, pointing to an enclosed
+thicket, their burying-ground. Only very rarely a man would bring me a skull, at the end of a long stick. Once I started on
+the quest myself, armed with a shovel and spade; as my servants were too much afraid of the dead to help, I had to dig for
+myself. A man loafed near by, attracted by the excited chatter of some old women. He told me sadly that I was digging up his
+papa, although it was a woman; then he began to help with some show of interest, assuring me that his papa had two legs, whereas
+at first I could find but one. A stranger had given me permission to dig, so as to play a trick on the son; but the latter
+was quite reconciled when I paid him well. For a week all the village talked of nothing but the white madman who dug up bones;
+I became a celebrity, and people made excursions from a distance to come and stare at me.
+
+</p>
+<p>Although the Suque is highly developed here, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb205" href="#pb205">205</a>]</span>there are other secret societies whose importance, however, is decreasing, as they are being more or less absorbed by the
+Suque. As each of these clubs has its own house, we sometimes find quite a number of such huts in one village, where they
+take the place of gamals. Each Suque high caste has his own house, which the low castes may not enter. The caste of the proprietor
+may be seen by the material of which the hedge is made, the lower castes having hedges of wood and logs, the highest, walls
+of stone and coral slabs. Inside the courtyard, each man lives alone, served only by his wives, who are allowed to cook his
+food. The separation of the sexes is not so severe on Ambrym as on Santo. On the whole, it would seem that in the past Ambrym
+had a position apart, and that only lately several forms of cult have been imported from Malekula and mingled with genuinely
+local rites. Even to-day, it is not rare for a man from Ambrym to settle for a while on Malekula, so as to be initiated into
+some rites which he then imports to Ambrym; and the Ambrymese pay poets large fees to teach them poems which are to be sung
+at certain feasts, accompanied by dances. Unhappily, I never had occasion to attend one of these &#8220;sing-songs.&#8221;
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p205" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p205.jpg" alt="WOMEN COOKING ON AMBRYM." width="720" height="462"><p class="figureHead">WOMEN COOKING ON <span class="corr" id="xd0e2122" title="Source: AMBRYN">AMBRYM</span>.
+</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>The originality of Ambrym has been preserved in its sculpture only. The material used is tree-fern wood, which is used nowhere
+else but in the Banks Islands. The type of human being represented differs from that on the other islands, especially as regards
+the more moon-shaped form of the head. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb206" href="#pb206">206</a>]</span>Representations of the whole body are frequent, so are female statues; these I have only found again in Gaua, where they are
+probably modern inventions. Sometimes a fish or a bird is carved on the statue, probably as a survival of old totemistic ideas,
+and meant to represent the totem animal of the ancestor or of his clan. The meaning of these carvings is quite obscure to
+the natives, and they answer questions in a very vague way, so that it is probable that totemistic ideas are dying out in
+the New Hebrides.
+
+</p>
+<p>Most of the statues are meant to represent an ancestor. If a native is in trouble, he blows his whistle at nightfall near
+the statue, and if he hears a noise, he thinks the spirit of the ancestor has approached and entered the statue, and he proceeds
+to tell the statue his sorrows and ask the spirit for help. Occasionally sacrifices are made to the figures, as is shown by
+the pigs&#8217; jaws frequently found tied to them.
+
+</p>
+<p>The Ambrymese conceptions of the spirit world are very similar to those of other islanders. The native likes to wear on his
+back or chest or arm the tusks of the most valuable pigs he has sacrificed, and has them buried with him, so that in the other
+world he may at any time be able to prove how much he respected his ancestors.
+
+</p>
+<p>The centre of the dancing grounds is generally occupied by the big drums, not quite so numerous but better made than those
+of Malekula. By the drums, too, the caste of the proprietor may be recognized: <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb207" href="#pb207">207</a>]</span>the higher his standing, the more heads are carved on them. Horizontal drums are sometimes found, but they are always small,
+and only serve to accompany the sound of the larger ones.
+
+</p>
+<p>There are usually a few men sitting round the drums, playing games. One game is played by two men sitting opposite to each
+other; one sticks a small shell into the ground, and his opponent tries to hit it with another. There does not seem to be
+any winning or losing, as in our games, but they keep it up for hours and even days. Another favourite game borders on the
+marvellous. One man has six shells and the other five. Each in turn puts a shell on the ground, and when they have all been
+dealt, each in turn picks up one at a time, when the one who had six before has five, and the one who had only five has six.
+They stare at each other, wonder, and try it again; behold, the one who had six at the beginning has five now and the other
+six. They try again and again, and each time the shell changes hands, and nobody can explain how on earth it could have jumped
+from one man to the other. It seems too strange to be natural, and while a cold shiver creeps up their backs, they play on
+and on, with ever new delight and wonder. At such enviable pastimes these people spend their days and kill time, which would
+otherwise hang heavy on their hands. Tops, nicely made from nuts, are a popular toy; and there are other games, more sportsmanlike,
+such as throwing reeds to a distance, and throwing wooden shells, at which two villages often compete against each other.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb208" href="#pb208">208</a>]</span></p>
+<p>After I had exhausted the surroundings of Dip Point, I marched along the coast to Port Vato, where I lived in an abandoned
+mission house, in the midst of a thickly populated district. At present, the people are quiet, and go about as they please;
+but not long ago, the villages lived in a constant state of feud among themselves, so that no man dared go beyond his district
+alone, and the men had to watch the women while they were at work in the fields, for fear of attack. The sense of insecurity
+was such that many people who lived in villages only twenty minutes&#8217; walk from the coast had never seen the ocean. The population
+as a whole enjoys the state of peace, which the missionaries have brought about, though there are always mischief-makers who
+try to create new feuds, and there is no doubt that the old wars would break out anew, if the natives were left to themselves.
+
+</p>
+<p>These disturbances were not very destructive in the days of the old weapons; it is only since the introduction of firearms
+that they have become a real danger to the race as a whole. They even had their advantages, in forcing the men to keep themselves
+in condition, and in providing them with a regular occupation, such as preparing their weapons, or training, or guarding the
+village and the women. With the end of the feuds, the chief occupation of the men disappeared, and but few of them have found
+any serious work to take up their time. Thus civilization, even in its role of peace-maker, has replaced one evil by another.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb209" href="#pb209">209</a>]</span></p>
+<p>In this district, I could go about with my servants wherever I pleased; only one Santo boy I had with me did not feel safe,
+and suddenly developed great interest in cooking, which allowed him to stay at home while the rest of us went on expeditions.
+His cooking was not above reproach; he would calmly clean a dirty cup with his fingers, the kitchen towels occasionally served
+as his head-dress, and one day he tried to make curry with some iodoform I had left in a bottle on the table. However, I had
+learned long ago not to be too particular, and not to take too much interest in the details of the kitchen.
+
+</p>
+<p>An exceptionally bright man had offered me his services as guide, and with his help I obtained many objects I would never
+have found alone. He had a real understanding of what I wanted, and plenty of initiative. He made the women bring their modest
+possessions, and they approached, crawling on their hands and knees, for they are not allowed to walk before the men. Later
+on the men appeared with better things. It is an odd fact that all over the archipelago the owner rarely brings things himself,
+but generally gives them to a friend. This may be due to the desire to avoid the ridicule they would surely be exposed to
+if their possessions were to be refused. The extreme sensitiveness and pride with which the natives feel every refusal and
+are deeply hurt by any rebuke, may surprise those who look on them as savages, incapable of any finer sentiment; but whoever
+learns to know them a little better will find that they have great delicacy of feeling, and will <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb210" href="#pb210">210</a>]</span>be struck by the politeness they show a stranger, and by the kind and obliging way in which they treat each other. It must
+be admitted that this is often enough only a veneer, under which all sorts of hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness are
+hidden, just as among civilized people; still, the manners of the crudest savages are far superior to those of most of the
+whites they meet.
+
+</p>
+<p>One sign of this sensitiveness is their reluctance to express any desire, for fear of a refusal. I saw a daily illustration
+of this, when my boys wanted the tin of meat for dinner which was their due. Although they might have taken it themselves,
+a different boy came each day to the room where I was writing, and waited patiently for some time, then began coughing with
+increasing violence, until I asked what he wanted. Then he would shyly stammer out his request. Never would they accost me
+or otherwise disturb me while I was writing or reading; yet at other times they could be positively impertinent, especially
+if excited. The islander is very nervous; when he is quiet, he is shy and reticent, but once he is aroused, all his bad instincts
+run riot, and incredible savageness and cruelty appear. The secret of successful treatment of the natives seems to be to keep
+them very quiet, and never to let any excitement arise, a point in which so many whites fail.
+
+</p>
+<p>They are very critical and observant, and let no weakness pass without sarcastic comment; yet their jokes are rarely offensive,
+and in the end the victim usually joins in the general laughter. On the whole, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb211" href="#pb211">211</a>]</span>the best policy is one of politeness, justice and consistency; and after many years, one may possibly obtain their confidence,
+although one always has to be careful and circumspect in every little detail.
+
+</p>
+<p>In general, the Ambrymese are more agreeable than the Santo people. They seem more manly, less servile, more faithful and
+reliable, more capable of open enmity, more clever and industrious, and not so sleepy.
+
+</p>
+<p>Assisted by my excellent guide, I set about collecting, which was not always a simple matter. I was very anxious to procure
+a &#8220;bull-roarer,&#8221; and made my man ask for one, to the intense surprise of the others; how could I have known of the existence
+of these secret and sacred utensils? The men called me aside, and begged me never to speak of this to the women, as these
+objects are used, like many others, to frighten away the women and the uninitiated from the assemblies of the secret societies.
+The noise they make is supposed to be the voice of a mighty and dangerous demon, who attends these assemblies.
+
+</p>
+<p>They whispered to me that the instruments were in the men&#8217;s house, and I entered it, amid cries of dismay, for I had intruded
+into their holy of holies, and was now standing in the midst of all the secret treasures which form the essential part of
+their whole cult. However, there I was, and very glad of my intrusion, for I found myself in a regular museum. In the smoky
+beams of the roof there hung half-finished masks, all of the same pattern, to be used <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb212" href="#pb212">212</a>]</span>at a festival in the near future; there was a set of old masks, some with nothing left but the wooden faces, while the grass
+and feather ornaments were gone; old idols; a face on a triangular frame, which was held particularly sacred; two perfectly
+marvellous masks with long noses with thorns, carefully covered with spider-web cloth. This textile is a speciality of Ambrym,
+and serves especially for the preparation and wrapping of masks and amulets. Its manufacture is simple: a man walks through
+the woods with a split bamboo, and catches all the innumerable spider-webs hanging on the trees. As the spider-web is sticky,
+the threads cling together, and after a while a thick fabric is formed, in the shape of a conical tube, which is very solid
+and defies mould and rot. At the back of the house, there stood five hollow trunks, with bamboos leading into them. Through
+these, the men howl into the trunk, which reverberates and produces a most infernal noise, well calculated to frighten others
+besides women. For the same purpose cocoa-nut shells were used, which were half filled with water, and into which a man gurgled
+through a bamboo. All this was before my greedy eyes, but I could obtain only a very few articles. Among them was a bull-roarer,
+which a man sold me for a large sum, trembling violently with fear, and beseeching me not to show it to anybody. He wrapped
+it up so carefully, that the small object made an immense parcel. Some of the masks are now used for fun; the men put them
+on and run through the forest, and have the right <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb213" href="#pb213">213</a>]</span>to whip anybody they meet. This, however, is a remnant of a very serious matter, as formerly the secret societies used these
+masks to terrorize all the country round, especially people who were hostile to the society, or who were rich or friendless.
+
+</p>
+<p>These societies are still of great importance on New Guinea, but here they have evidently degenerated. It is not improbable
+that the Suque has developed from one of these organizations. Their decay is another symptom of the decline of the entire
+culture of the natives; and other facts seem to point to the probability that this decadence may have set in even before the
+beginning of colonization by the whites.
+
+</p>
+<p>My visit to the men&#8217;s house ended, and seeing no prospects of acquiring any more curiosities, I went to the dancing-ground,
+where most of the men were assembled at a death-feast, it being the hundredth day after the funeral of one of their friends.
+In the centre of the square, near the drums, stood the chief, violently gesticulating. The crowd did not seem pleased at my
+coming, and criticized me in undertones. A terrible smell of decomposed meat filled the air; evidently they had all partaken
+of a half-rotten pig, and the odour did not seem to trouble them at all.
+
+</p>
+<p>The chief was a tall man, bald-headed, wearing the nambas, of larger size than those of the others, and with both arms covered
+with pigs&#8217; tusks to show his rank. He looked at me angrily, came up to me, and sat down, not without having first swept the
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb214" href="#pb214">214</a>]</span>ground with his foot, evidently in order not to come into contact with any charm that an enemy might have thrown there. One
+of the men wanted me to buy a flute, asking just double what I was willing to give; seeing that I did not intend to pay so
+much, he made me a present of the flute, and seemed just as well pleased. Still, the others stared at me silently and suspiciously,
+until I offered some tobacco to the chief, which he accepted with a joke, whereat everybody laughed and the ice was broken.
+The men forgot their reserve, and talked about me in loud tones, looking at me as we might at a hopelessly mad person, half
+pitying, half amused at his vagaries. The chief now wished to shake hands with me, though he did not trouble to get up for
+the ceremony. We smiled pleasantly at each other, and then he took me to his house, which, according to his high rank, was
+surrounded by a stone wall. He rummaged about inside for a long time, and finally brought out a few paltry objects; I thought
+best to pay well for them, telling him that as he was a &#8220;big fellow-master,&#8221; I was ready to pay extra for the honour of having
+a souvenir of him. This flattered him so much that he consented to have his photograph taken; and he posed quite cleverly,
+while the others walked uneasily around us, looking at the camera as if it were likely to explode at any moment; and as none
+of them dared have his picture taken, I left.
+
+</p>
+<p>Rounding a bend of the path on my way home, I suddenly came upon a young woman. First she <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb215" href="#pb215">215</a>]</span>looked at me in deadly fright, then, with a terrified cry, she jumped over the fence, and burst into hysterical laughter,
+while a dozen invisible women shrieked; then they all ran away, and as I went on, I could hear that the flight had ceased
+and the shrieks changed to hearty laughter. They had taken me for a kidnapper, or feared some other harm, as was natural enough
+with their experience of certain kinds of white men.
+
+</p>
+<p>Walking along, I heard the explosions of the volcano like a far-away cannonade. The dull shocks gave my walk a peculiar solemnity,
+but the bush prevented any outlook, and only from the coast I occasionally saw the volcanic clouds mounting into the sky.
+
+</p>
+<p>From the old mission-house the view on a clear day is splendid. On the slope stand a few large trees, whose cleft leaves frame
+the indescribably blue sea, which breaks in snowy lines in the lava-boulders below. Far off, I can see Malekula, with its
+forest-covered mountains, and summer clouds hanging above it. It is a dreamlike summer day, so beautiful, bright and mild
+as to be hardly real. One feels a certain regret at being unable to absorb all the beauty, at having to stand apart as an
+outsider, a patch on the brightness rather than a part of it.
+
+</p>
+<p>At night the view is different, but just as enchanting. A fine dust from the volcano floats in the air and the pale moonlight
+plays softly on the smooth surface of the bay, filling the atmosphere with silver, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb216" href="#pb216">216</a>]</span>so that everything shines in the white light, the long, flat point, the forest; even the bread-fruit tree on the slope, whose
+outline cuts sharply into the brightness, is not black, but a darker silver. In the greenish sky the stars glitter, not sharply
+as they do elsewhere, but like fine dots, softly, quietly, as if a negligent hand had sprinkled them lightly about. And down
+by the water the breakers roll, crickets cry, a flying-fox chatters and changes from one tree to the other with tired wings,
+passing in a shapeless silhouette in front of the moon. It is the peace of paradise, dreamlike, wishless; one never tires
+of listening to the holy tropical night, for there is secret life everywhere. In the quiet air the trees shiver, the moonlight
+trembles in the bushes and stirs imperceptibly in the lawn; and from the indistinct sounds of which the mind is hardly conscious
+the fancy weaves strange stories. We see all those creatures that frighten the natives under the roof of the forest, giants
+with crabs&#8217; claws, men with fiery eyes, women that turn into deadly serpents, vague, misty souls of ancestors, that pass through
+the branches and appear to their descendants; all that we dream of in our northern midsummer night wakes in tenfold strength
+here.
+
+</p>
+<p>Suddenly, violent shocks shake the house, explosions follow, like distant shots, and the thin, misty silver is changed to
+a red glow. The volcano is in action,&#8212;a dull, reddish-yellow light mounts slowly up behind the black trees, thick smoke rises
+and rises, until it stands, a dark monster, nearly touching <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb217" href="#pb217">217</a>]</span>the zenith, its foot still in the red glare. Slowly the fire dies out, the cloud parts, and it is dark night again, with the
+silver of the moon brooding everywhere.
+
+</p>
+<p>But the charm is broken by this warning from the primitive powers that counterbalance each other behind the peace of the tropic
+night. By and by, one grows accustomed to the uncanny neighbourhood of the volcano, and only the more formidable eruptions
+attract notice. Sometimes, while at work, I hear one of the boys exclaim, &#8220;Huh, huh!&#8221; to call my attention to the fact that
+a particularly violent outbreak has taken place; and, indeed, half the sky is a dirty red, the smoke rises behind the trees
+as if from a gigantic bonfire, and the dull detonations resound. The glowing lava flies high in the air, and comes down in
+a great curve. One of these performances lasted several hours, presaging a wonderful spectacle for my visit to the volcano,
+which was set for the next day.
+
+</p>
+<p>Several natives joined my party, evidently thinking it safer to go to see the &#8220;fire&#8221; in my company than alone. Yet the Ambrymese
+in general show remarkably little fear of the volcano, and regard it as a powerful but somewhat clumsy and rather harmless
+neighbour, whereas on other islands legend places the entrance to hell in the craters.
+
+</p>
+<p>Quite a company of us marched through the forest, accompanied by the cannonading of the volcano; we felt as if we were going
+to battle. We traversed the plain and mounted the foot-hills; halfway <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb218" href="#pb218">218</a>]</span>up, we observed an eruption, but we could see only the cloud, as the crater itself was hidden by hills. Through thick bush,
+we came to a watercourse, a narrow gully, formed by lava-streams. The rocks in the river-bed had been polished smooth by the
+water, and though the natives walked over them with ease, my nailed boots gave me great trouble, and I had to cross many slippery
+spots on my hands and knees, which greatly amused my companions. We passed many tree-ferns, whose dainty crowns seemed to
+float on the surface of the forest&#8212;like stars, and often covered the whole bush, so that the slopes looked like a charming
+carpet of the loveliest pattern. This tree, the most beautiful of the tropical forest, far surpasses the palm in elegance,
+whose crown too often looks yellowish and unkempt.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p218" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p218.jpg" alt="FERN TREES ON AMBRYM." width="720" height="459"><p class="figureHead">FERN TREES ON <span class="corr" id="xd0e2204" title="Source: AMBRYN">AMBRYM</span>.
+</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>For a few hours we followed the river, which led nearly to the edge of the plateau. When the path branched off, I called a
+halt for lunch, as we were not likely to find any water later on. We were now quite near the craters, and while we ate our
+rice, we heard the roaring, so that the boys grew nervous, till the joker of the company made them laugh, and then the meal
+absorbed their attention. Still, they occasionally sent furtive glances skyward, to see if any lava was coming down upon us.
+
+</p>
+<p>Having filled all our vessels with water, we marched on, and after a short ascent, found ourselves on the great plain, 650
+m&egrave;tres above sea-level, about 12 kilom&egrave;tres in diameter, and shaped like a huge dinner-plate, a chain of hills forming the
+rim. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb219" href="#pb219">219</a>]</span>It would seem that the whole plain was formerly one gigantic crater; now only two openings are left, two craters 500 and 700
+m&egrave;tres high, in the north-west of the plain.
+
+</p>
+<p>The ground consists of black, coarse-grained slag, which creaks when walked on, and forms a fine black dust. Naturally the
+vegetation in this poor soil is very scanty,&#8212;only bushes and reed-grass, irregularly scattered in the valleys between little
+hillocks ranged in rows. This arid desert-scene is doubly surprising to the eye, owing to the sudden change from the forest
+to the bare plain.
+
+</p>
+<p>In this seemingly endless plain, the two craters rise in a bold silhouette, grimly black. One of them stands in lifeless rigidity,
+from the top of the other curl a few light, white clouds of steam. It is a depressingly dismal sight, without any organic
+life whatever on the steep, furrowed slopes.
+
+</p>
+<p>We camped on a hillock surrounded by shrubs; on all sides spread the plain, with low hills, rounded by rain and storm, radiating
+from the craters, and where these touched, a confused wilderness of hills, like a black, agitated sea, had formed. The hilltops
+were bare, on the slopes there clung some yellowish moss. The farther away from the craters, the lower the hills became, disappearing
+at the edge of the plain in a bluish-green belt of woods.
+
+</p>
+<p>The sky was cloudy, a sallow light glimmered over the plain, and the craters lay in forbidding gloom and lifelessness, like
+hostile monsters. Hardly had I set up my camera, when the western giant began <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb220" href="#pb220">220</a>]</span>his performance. The clouds of steam thickened, detonations followed, and at each one a brownish-grey cloud rose out of the
+mountain, whirled slowly upwards, and joined the grey clouds in the sky. The mountain-top glowed red, and red lumps of lava
+came flying out of the smoke and dropped behind a hill. Then all became quiet again, the mountain relapsed into lifelessness,
+the clouds dissolved to a thick mist, and only the steam curled upward like a white plume.
+
+</p>
+<p>I had taken care to observe how far the lava flew, so as to know how near it would be safe to approach. The path towards the
+craters was the continuation of the one we had followed, and led to the north shore of the island, passing between the craters.
+It is remarkable that the natives should dare to use this road, and indeed it is not much travelled; but it speaks for the
+courage of the first man who had the courage to cross the plain and pass between the craters. The sharp points of the lava
+caused great suffering to the bare-footed natives, and here I had the advantage of them for once, thanks to my nailed boots.
+
+</p>
+<p>The clouds had disappeared, the sky shone deeply blue, everything reminded me of former trips in other deserts. The same dry
+air cooled the heat that radiated from the ground, the same silence and solemnity brooded over the earth, there was the same
+colouring and the same breadth of view. After the painful march through the forest, where every step had to be measured and
+watched, it was a joy to step out freely and take great breaths of clear, sweet air.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb221" href="#pb221">221</a>]</span></p>
+<p>After a short, steep climb, I reached the ridge, sharp as a knife, that joins the two craters, and following it, I suddenly
+found myself on the brink of the crater, from which I could overlook the great bowl, 800 m&egrave;tres wide. The inside walls fell
+vertically to the bottom, an uncanny, spongy-looking mass of brownish lava, torn, and foaming, and smoking in white or yellowish
+clouds. The opposite side rose much higher, and the white cloud I had seen from below floated on top. There was a smaller
+crater, the real opening, and through a gap in it I had a glimpse inside, but failed to see much because of the smoke. The
+general view was most imposing, the steep, naked walls, the wild confusion in the crater, the red and yellow precipitates
+here and there, the vicious-looking smoke from the slits, the steam that floated over the opening, swayed mysteriously by
+an invisible force, the compactness of the whole picture, in the gigantic frame of the outer walls. There was no need of the
+oppressive odour, the dull roaring and thundering and hissing, to call up a degree of reverent admiration, even fear, and
+it required an effort of will to stay and grow used to the tremendous sight. The first sensation on seeing the crater is certainly
+terror, then curiosity awakens, and one looks and wonders; yet the sight never becomes familiar, and never loses its threatening
+aspect. Still, the inner crater may be a disappointment. From a distance, we see the great manifestations, the volcano in
+action, when its giant forces are in play and it looks grand and monumental. From near by, we see it in repose, and the crater
+looks quite insignificant. Instead <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb222" href="#pb222">222</a>]</span>of the fire we expected to see, we find lava blocks and ashes, and instead of the clash of elemental forces, we see a dark
+mass, that glows dully. We can hardly believe that here is the origin of the explosions that shake the island, and are inclined
+to consider the demon of the volcano rather as a mischievous clown than a thundering, furious giant.
+
+</p>
+<p>I went to the slope of the eastern crater to find a spot from which I might be able to photograph an eruption, and returned
+to camp just as the sun sank down in red fire, and the evening mists formed a white belt around the two black mountains. The
+tops of the craters shone red against a cool evening sky.
+
+</p>
+<p>Suddenly an immense cloud shot up, white and sky-high. One side of it shone orange in the last sunbeams, the other was dull
+and grey, and the top mingled with the evening clouds. It was a wildly beautiful sight, gone too soon. A hawk circled afar
+in the green sky, night crept across the plain, and soon the moon poured her silver over the tranquil scene. I hoped in vain
+to see an eruption equal to that of the last nights. Everything was quiet, the volcano seemed extinct, the fog thickened,
+covering the mountains and the moon. It became disagreeably cool, and there was a heavy dew. The natives shivered in their
+blankets, and I was most uncomfortable under a light canvas. We were all up long before daylight, when the volcano sent out
+a large cloud. The sun and the fog had a long struggle, when suddenly the clouds tore apart, and the welcome sunbeams came
+to warm us.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb223" href="#pb223">223</a>]</span></p>
+<p>I went to the spot chosen the day before and dug my camera into the lava and waited. My impatience was quieted by the splendid
+view I enjoyed, embracing nearly all the islands of the group: Epi, Malekula, Aoba, Pentecoste, and higher than all, the cone
+of Lopevi. All these floated in a soft, blue haze, and even the two craters shone in a violet hue.
+
+</p>
+<p>We waited for several hours, freezing in spite of the bright sun, between the damp, mossy walls of the gully where we sat,
+and the volcano remained quiet, merely hissing and roaring and emitting steam, but a real eruption did not occur then, nor
+for several weeks later. We returned to camp, packed up our things, and hurried down the slippery gullies and lava banks,
+diving back into the thick, heavy atmosphere of the sea-level; and at nightfall I washed off the heat and dust of the day
+in the warm waves of the ocean.
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb224" href="#pb224">224</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div id="ch12" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><h2 class="label">Chapter XII</h2>
+<h2 class="normal">Pentecoste</h2>
+<p>The term of service of my Ambrym boys being over, I tried to replace them in Paama, but failed; but Mr. G. kindly took me
+to Epi, where I engaged four new boys. However, they proved as sulky as they were dirty, and I was disgusted with them, and
+quite glad they had refused to sign for more than a month. As they were all troubled with many sores, they were of very little
+service to me, and I gladly sent them home by steamer when their month was up.
+
+</p>
+<p>I returned to Dip Point, and a few days later Dr. B. escorted me to Olal, where I took up my quarters with Mr. D., a young
+Australian who was trying to make a living by the coprah trade. In Olal, at the northern point of Ambrym, the alcohol trade
+is particularly flourishing, and numerous settlers along the coast earn large sums by selling liquor. Everybody knows this,
+and numbers of intoxicated natives are always to be seen, so that it is somewhat surprising that the authorities pretend not
+to have sufficient proof to punish these traders. If ever one of them is fined, the amount is so minute that the sale of half
+a dozen bottles makes up for it, so that they go on as before. I myself witnessed two cases of death in <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb225" href="#pb225">225</a>]</span>consequence of drinking, alone and at one sitting, a bottle of pure absinthe.
+
+</p>
+<p>The house of Mr. D. was typical of the dwellings built by the colonists. In a circumference of about 50 m&egrave;tres, the bush had
+been cleared, on a level spot somewhat off the shore and slightly elevated. Here stood a simple grass hut, 3 m&egrave;tres wide and
+6 long; the floor was covered with gravel, and the interior divided into a store-room and a living-room. On the roof lay a
+few sheets of corrugated iron, the rain from which was collected in a tank to provide water. A few paces off was another hut,
+where the coprah was smoked and the boys slept, and on the beach was a shed for storing the coprah.
+
+</p>
+<p>The actual work a coprah trader has to do is very small, amounting to little besides waiting for the natives who bring the
+coprah or the fresh nuts, to weigh them and sell his goods. Occasionally he may visit a distant village by boat to buy coprah
+there; but there is plenty of unoccupied time, and it is not surprising that many of the settlers take to drink from pure
+boredom. Not so Mr. D., who tried to educate the neighbouring natives, but with small success.
+
+</p>
+<p>I did not see much of interest here, or learn anything new about the natives, but I was able to obtain some interesting objects,
+and my collection of skulls was nicely started, until some one told the natives not to bring me any more skulls, as on the
+day of resurrection the former owners would not be able to find their heads. The same person created all sorts of difficulties
+when I attempted some excavations, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb226" href="#pb226">226</a>]</span>and at last insinuated that I was a German spy. It is sad to see that the very people who, by virtue of their education and
+position, ought to help one most, work against one, while very often poor and plain people make sacrifices to help one along.
+
+</p>
+<p>A young Ambrymese who had worked for me for some days, wanted to enlist in my service when I left, although he grew tearful
+at the thought of Malekula, where I intended to go next, and where he was convinced he would be killed. Lingban was a light-haired
+native, very nice-looking, and a favourite with the ladies; this fact had brought him into considerable trouble, and he was
+obliged to leave his home. He stayed with me for three months, and was not killed, but suffered much from home-sickness. He
+finally settled at the south end of Pentecoste, whence he could see his beloved Ambrym, count the cocoa-nut trees on the shore
+and see the heavy clouds over the volcano.
+
+</p>
+<p>From Dip Point Mr. S. took me over to Aunua on Malekula, the station of the Rev. F. Paton, a son of the celebrated J. G. Paton,
+the founder of the Presbyterian missions in the New Hebrides. He lived there as a widower, devoting all his strength, time
+and thought to the spiritual and physical welfare of the natives.
+
+</p>
+<p>Malekula has the reputation of being one of the most dangerous islands in the group. The natives in the north, the Big Nambas,
+are certainly not very gentle, and the others, too, are high-spirited and will not submit to ill-treatment from the settlers.
+Malekula <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb227" href="#pb227">227</a>]</span>is the second largest island of the group, and its interior is quite unexplored. I could not penetrate inland, as I was unable
+to find boys and guides for a voyage they all thought extremely dangerous. Mr. Paton, who had traversed the island at various
+points, consoled me by telling me that the culture inland was much the same as along the coast. So I gave up my plan, though
+with some regret.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p227" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p227.jpg" alt="GROUP OF DRUMS AND STATUES ON MALEKULA." width="463" height="720"><p class="figureHead">GROUP OF DRUMS AND STATUES ON MALEKULA.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>Mr. Paton took me to the south end of Malekula, and left me on one of the flat coral islands, which are all connected under
+the surface by an extensive reef. The landscape is charming, the sea above the reef shining in all possible shades, and small
+flat islands enlivening the view in all directions. In these islands only Christians live, the few remaining heathen having
+retired to the mainland.
+
+</p>
+<p>Here on the south coast the strange fashion obtains of deforming the head. This habit is very rare in the Pacific, and restricted
+to two small districts. It is now purely a matter of fashion or vanity,&#8212;the longer the head, the handsomer the individual
+is thought to be,&#8212;but probably there was originally some religious or hygienic notion at the bottom of the peculiar custom.
+The operation is begun about a month after birth, by rubbing the child&#8217;s head with grease and soot, and then putting on a
+small cap of braided pandanus fibre, which is very tight and allows the head to develop only in the direction of the crown.
+When the cap becomes too tight, it is cut off, and another, a little larger, put on, until the parents are satisfied with
+the shape of the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb228" href="#pb228">228</a>]</span>child&#8217;s head. These baby skulls have an extreme shape which is very ugly, and the whole process can hardly be agreeable to
+the patient; but the operation does not seem to have any prejudicial effect on the intellect, and in later years the shape
+of the head becomes somewhat less marked, although a man from the south of Malekula is always unmistakable.
+
+</p>
+<p>This region is remarkable, too, for its highly developed ancestor-worship. Although the general ideas on the subject are the
+same here as elsewhere in the archipelago, there is a special veneration here for the head or skull of deceased ancestors.
+The bones are generally used in making arrow-heads and lance-points, and the head, which is useless, is thrown away in most
+islands, or buried again; but in the south of Malekula, the heads are kept, and the face is reproduced in a plastic material
+of fibres, clay and sticky juice. The work is very cleverly done, and the face looks quite natural, with fine, slightly Semitic
+features. The surface is varnished and painted with patterns corresponding to the caste of the dead. Often the face has eyes
+made of bits of shell, the real hair is stuck on, and the plumes and nose-stick are not forgotten, so that the whole becomes
+an exact portrait of the deceased. Whether this head is to have a body or not is a question of caste. The higher the caste
+of the dead, the more completely is his body modelled. The heads of low castes are simply stuck on poles, higher ones have
+bodies of carved wood, often branches to indicate arms; but the bodies of the highest castes are composed of <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb229" href="#pb229">229</a>]</span>bamboo, fibres and straw, and modelled throughout in the same way as the head. They are covered with varnish, and every detail
+reproduced, including dress, ornaments and caste signs. In their right hands these statues carry a &#8220;bubu&#8221; or shell horn, and
+in their left, a pig&#8217;s jaw. The shoulders are modelled in the shape of faces, and from these, occasionally, sticks protrude,
+bearing the heads of dead sons, so that such a statue often has three or four heads. These figures stand along the walls of
+the gamal, smiling with expressionless faces on their descendants round the fires, and are given sacrifices of food.
+
+</p>
+<p>Side by side with this ancestor-worship there goes a simpler skull-cult, by which a man carries about the head of a beloved
+son or wife, as a dear remembrance of the departed. Among a flourishing population it would naturally be impossible to obtain
+such objects, but here, where the people are rapidly decreasing in number, a statue often enough loses its descendants, whereupon
+others have no objection to sell it.
+
+</p>
+<p>The taste for plastic art shows in other things as well. I found several grotesque dancing-masks and sticks, made for some
+special dance. The feeling for caricature expressed in these articles is extraordinary and amusing even, from a European point
+of view. Here, too, the Semitic type appears, and the natives seem to delight in the hooked noses, thick lips and small chins.
+I gathered a rich harvest of these curios near the little island of Hambi; unfortunately Mr. Paton came to take me home before
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb230" href="#pb230">230</a>]</span>I had time to pack the objects carefully, and I had to leave them in charge of natives until the arrival of the steamer; when
+I found them again, after six months, they had suffered a good deal.
+
+</p>
+<p>Towards evening, while rounding the south-east corner of Malekula, our motor broke down, and we had neither oars nor sail.
+Fortunately the tide was in our favour, and we improvised a sail from a blanket, so that we drifted slowly along and reached
+the anchorage late at night.
+
+</p>
+<p>Mr. Paton then took me to Malo, where a Frenchman, Mr. I., was expecting me. On the east coast there was but little to be
+done, as the natives had nearly all disappeared; but I was able to pick up some skulls near a number of abandoned villages.
+I found very considerable architectural remains,&#8212;walls, mounds and altars, all of masonry; buildings of this importance are
+to be found nowhere else except in Aor&eacute; and the Banks Islands, and it seems probable that the populations of these three districts
+are related.
+
+</p>
+<p>I had an interesting experience here. Mr. I. and his neighbour did not enjoy the best of reputations as regarded their treatment
+of natives. One day Mr. I. took me over to N.&#8217;s place. N. was just returning from a recruiting trip to Malekula. We saw him
+come ashore, staggering and moaning; on being questioned, he told us that he had been attacked by the natives, and his crew
+eaten up. He was in a frightful state, completely broken, weeping like a child, and cursing the savages, to whom, he <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb231" href="#pb231">231</a>]</span>said, he had never done any wrong. His grief was so real that I began to pity the man, and thought he had probably been paying
+the penalty for the misdeeds of another recruiter. Mr. I. was just as emphatic in cursing the bloodthirstiness of the natives,
+but while we were going home, he told me that Mr. N. had kidnapped thirty-four natives at that very place a year before, so
+that the behaviour of the others was quite comprehensible. From that moment I gave up trying to form an opinion on any occurrence
+of the kind without having carefully examined the accounts of both parties. One can hardly imagine how facts are distorted
+here, and what innocent airs people can put on who are really criminals. I have heard men deplore, in the most pathetic language,
+acts of cruelty to natives, who themselves had killed natives in cold blood for the sake of a few pounds. It requires long
+and intimate acquaintance with the people to see at all clearly in these matters, and for a Resident it is quite impossible
+not to be deceived unless he has been on the spot for a year at least.
+
+</p>
+<p>While waiting at Dip Point for an opportunity to cross to Pentecoste, I saw the volcano in full activity, and one day it rained
+ashes, so that the whole country was black as if strewn with soot, and the eruptions shook the house till the windows rattled.
+I made a second ascent of the mountain, but had such bad weather that I saw nothing at all. We came back, black as chimney-sweeps
+from the volcanic dust we had brushed off the bushes. I heard later that the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb232" href="#pb232">232</a>]</span>extinct eastern crater had unexpectedly broken out again, and that several lava streams were flowing towards the coast.
+
+</p>
+<p>Pentecoste, a long, narrow island running north and south, resembles Maevo in shape. My host here was a missionary who seemed
+to connect Christianity with trousers and other details of civilization. It was sad to see how many quaint customs, harmless
+enough in themselves, were needlessly destroyed. The wearing of clothes constitutes a positive danger to health, as in this
+rainy climate the natives are almost constantly soaked, do not trouble to change their wet clothes, sleep all night in the
+same things and invariably catch cold. Another source of infection is their habit of exchanging clothes, thus spreading all
+sorts of diseases. That morals are not improved by the wearing of clothes is a fact; for they are rather better in the heathen
+communities than in the so-called Christian ones. It is to be hoped that the time is not far off when people will realize
+how very little these externals have to do with Christianity and morality; but there is reason to fear that it will then be
+too late to save the race.
+
+</p>
+<p>We undertook an excursion into the interior, to a district whose inhabitants had only recently been pacified by Mr. F., my
+host; the tribes we visited were very primitive, especially on the east coast, where there is little contact with whites.
+The people were still cannibals, and I had no difficulty in obtaining some remnants of a cannibal meal.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb233" href="#pb233">233</a>]</span></p>
+<p>We frequently tried to obtain information about the organization of the family among these natives, but, being dependent on
+biche la mar, we made small progress. My observations were supplemented later by the Rev. Mr. Drummond, for which I am very
+much indebted to him; some of these observations may be of interest.
+
+</p>
+<p>The population is divided into two clans&#8212;the Bule and the Tabi. The former is supposed to have originated from the tridacna
+shell, the latter from the taro. Every individual knows exactly to which clan he belongs, although there are no external signs.
+There is a strict rule forbidding marriage within the clan, and an offence against this law was formerly punished by death;
+to this day, even in Christian districts, marriage within the clan is extremely rare. No one can change his clan. Children
+do not belong to the clan of the father, but to that of the mother, and property cannot be alienated from the clan. The father
+has no rights over his children, and the head of the family is not the father, but the eldest brother of the mother, who educates
+the boys and helps them along in the Suque. Land belongs to the clan, which is like a large family, and indeed seems a stronger
+organization than the family itself; but the clans live together in the villages, and as such they form a whole with regard
+to the outside world. Quarrels between two clans are not so rare as those inside a clan, and the vendetta does not act inside
+the clan, whereas a murder outside the clan must be avenged. Uncles and aunts within the clan are <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb234" href="#pb234">234</a>]</span>called father and mother, and the cousins are called sister and brother.
+
+</p>
+<p>However, this exogamic system could not prevent inbreeding, as there was always the possibility that uncles and nieces might
+marry, so that a &#8220;horizontal&#8221; system was superimposed across this &#8220;vertical&#8221; one, forbidding all marriages between different
+generations. Thus, all marriages between near relations being impossible, the chances to marry at all are considerably diminished,
+so that nowadays, with the decreased population, a man very often cannot find a wife, even though surrounded by any number
+of girls. I do not mean to imply by this that the whole clan-system was organized simply to prevent inbreeding.
+
+</p>
+<p>As I have said before, young men, as a rule, either cannot marry, being too poor to buy a wife, or, at best, can only afford
+to pay for an old widow, a low-priced article. The young, pretty girls are generally bought by old men, who often buy them
+when children, paying half the price down, and waiting till the girl is of marriageable age. As soon as she is old enough,
+she has to work for her future husband, and is under the care of one of his wives. Later on, the husband pays the rest of
+the money, builds a house for the girl, and the marriage takes place without any ceremony beyond a dinner to the nearest relatives
+of the couple. In most islands the girl cannot object to a match otherwise than by running away from a disagreeable husband.
+Generally, when she has run away several times, and repeated beatings have not changed her mind, her <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb235" href="#pb235">235</a>]</span>parents pay back the money and the husband gives up his wife. What is valued highest in a woman is her capacity for work;
+but the young men have a marked taste for beauty, and there are girls that are courted by all the young fellows of the village,
+and who, although married to an old man, accept the addresses of a young one. The husband does not seem to mind much, provided
+the woman continues to work well for him.
+
+</p>
+<p>There is such a thing as love even here, and it has been known to grow so powerful as to lead, if unrequited, to suicide or
+to rapid pining away and to death.
+
+</p>
+<p>On the whole, the women are treated fairly well by their husbands, but for an occasional beating, which is often provoked
+by foolish behaviour; and they are taken care of, as they represent a great value. There are old ruffians, however, who take
+a perverse pleasure in torturing their wives, and these unhappy women are quite helpless, as they are entirely in the power
+of their husbands. Otherwise, the fate of the women is not as bad as many people think, and the severest rules have never
+yet prevented Eve from finding and taking her pleasure.
+
+</p>
+<p>During babyhood the children stay with their mothers; but from the age of four on the boys spend most of their time in the
+gamal, while the girls remain under their mother&#8217;s care. Clothes are not worn by the boys till they have joined the Suque,
+which, in some cases, takes place long after puberty. The girls seem to begin to wear something whenever the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb236" href="#pb236">236</a>]</span>mother thinks fit, generally between the ages of four and seven. From that moment every connection between brother and sister
+ceases; they may not speak to each other, not meet on the road, in some regions not even see each other, and to mention the
+sister&#8217;s name before the brother is, if not an actual insult, certainly very tactless. Similar rules regulate the relations
+between parents- and children-in-law.
+
+</p>
+<p>The parents are very lenient to their children, and pass over every impertinence; they get small thanks for their kindness,
+and the boys, especially, often treat their mothers very badly. The natives&#8217; fondness for children makes them very good nurses,
+and it is a source of the greatest pride to a native boy to take care of a white child.
+
+</p>
+<p>The father&#8217;s death is of little importance to the children, and not much to their mother, who, as a rule, goes over to her
+husband&#8217;s oldest brother. If the mother dies, the children are adopted by a maternal aunt or some other woman of the clan.
+One reason why all this is of no great importance is the far-reaching communism which is a feature of native life, every one
+sleeping and eating wherever he pleases.
+
+</p>
+<p>Mr. F. took me up north, where I wished to study the population. I must not omit to mention that the population of Pentecoste
+is divided into two distinct types: the people in the south are like those of Ambrym, those in the north resemble the inhabitants
+of Aoba. This is evident not only in the dress, but also quite distinctly in the exterior of the people. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb237" href="#pb237">237</a>]</span>Yet in spite of the close relations with Ambrym, the art of sculpture, so highly developed in the other island, is entirely
+lacking in the south of Pentecoste.
+
+</p>
+<p>In the north we find a dress similar to that of Aoba: the men do not wear the nambas, while the women have a small mat around
+the waist. The art of braiding is brought to great perfection here, and the mats from Pentecoste are surpassed only by those
+from Maevo. The material is pandanus, whose leaves are split into narrow strips, bleached and then braided. Some of the mats
+are dyed with the root of a plant, by boiling in a dyeing vat of bark. Besides the small mats, chiefly used for the women&#8217;s
+dress, there are larger ones which serve as money and represent a great amount. They are as much as 1 m&egrave;tre wide and 4 long,
+and are always dyed. The manufacture of these mats is very laborious, and only high-caste men with many wives can afford to
+have them made. The patterns for dyeing are cut out of banana-sheath, which is then tied tightly on the mat, and the whole
+rolled round a thick stick. The dyeing takes almost an entire day. These mats are used, for example, to buy the valuable tusked
+pigs.
+
+</p>
+<p>The only form of wood-carving in this region are clubs, and those made here are the most elegant of the whole group, and so
+much in demand in all the islands that they are quite largely exported. At present they are mostly used as ceremonial clubs
+at dances. All those of modern make are inferior to the old ones in regard to hardness, elegance of shape, polish and strength.
+Here, in Pentecoste, I found <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb238" href="#pb238">238</a>]</span>the first basket-plates I had ever seen. They are frequent farther north, in the Banks Islands, but do not exist in the south.
+These plates had no centre, and had to be lined with leaves to make them serviceable, being mere rings. They are used to carry
+cooked food about. In the Banks Islands the natives have learned to braid the centre too.
+
+</p>
+<p>Up in these northern mountains I spent a most unpleasant week in wet, cold weather, in a wretched house; but I had the satisfaction
+of finding two boys to take the place of Lingban, who had, by this time, become semi-idiotic with home-sickness.
+
+</p>
+<p>I returned to the coast and waited for an opportunity to cross to Aoba, but the weather was so bad that even Mr. G., an old
+sea-dog, would not risk the voyage; so we tried to get to Ambrym instead, where I could meet the steamer for Aoba. We waited
+for a calm day, and started out in the tiny whale-boat. Soon we were caught by one after another of the ill-famed Pentecoste
+squalls, and though my skipper was known as one of the best sailors in the islands, one squall struck us so suddenly that
+the boat heeled over, and only a very quick turn of the wheel saved us from capsizing. The escape was such a narrow one that
+even Mr. G. turned pale, and decided to go back, especially as the boys sat on deck, quite useless, green with fear and incapable
+of helping us in any way.
+
+</p>
+<p>It took us a long time to beat back, and we were all glad to feel solid ground under our feet once more. After a few days
+we started again, but luck was <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb239" href="#pb239">239</a>]</span>against me on this occasion, and inside of twelve hours I missed the steamer no less than three times, which, in the New Hebrides,
+implies a delay of four weeks.
+
+</p>
+<p>So, in a heavy whale-boat, I rowed along the coast toward Olal with some natives. A dull rain drenched us, followed by glaring
+sunshine that stewed us in heavy dampness. Like the ruins of a giant wall, black lava blocks lay here and there along the
+coast. The surf foamed white in the crevasses, and the forest rose, sallow and greenish-yellow, above the high bank. Here
+and there naked natives squatted on the rocks, motionless, or looking lazily for crabs; among the huge boulders they looked
+tiny, and their colouring scarcely distinguished them from their surroundings; so that they seemed rather like animals, or
+the shyest of cave-dwellers. Floating slowly on the grey sea, in the sad broken light, I thought I had never seen a more inhospitable
+coast.
+
+</p>
+<p>Owing to the heavy swell, we had difficulty in passing through the narrow channel inside the reef. The great rollers pounded
+against the coral banks, and poured back in a thousand white streamlets, like a wonderful cascade, to be swallowed by the
+next wave.
+
+</p>
+<p>I found my friend, Mr. D., in a sad state with fever, cold and loneliness; wrapped up in woollen caps, blankets and heavy
+clothes, he looked more like an Arctic explorer than a dweller near the Equator. He spoke of leaving the islands, and, indeed,
+did so some months later.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb240" href="#pb240">240</a>]</span></p>
+<p>On my way to Aoba I had to spend a few days off Pentecoste, in such rainy weather that I went ashore but once in all that
+time. The day was fine, and I shall never forget the beauty of that woodland scene. A lovely creek winds through reeds, reflecting
+the bright sand and the bushes on its banks. Dark iron-woods rise in stiff, broken lines, and their greyish needles quiver
+like a light plume against the blue sky, where white clouds float serenely. Inland the forest swells in a green wall, and
+farther off it lies in rounded cupolas and domes of soft green, fading into a light around the distant hills. Under overhanging
+branches I lie, sheltered from the sun; at my feet the ripples caress the bank; delicate lianas hang from the branches and
+trail lazily in the water. Swallows dart across the stream, and sometimes the low call of a wood-dove sounds from far away.
+A cricket shrieks, and stops suddenly, as if shocked at the discordant sound of its own voice. Far off in the hills I can
+hear the rushing of the wind, like a deep chord that unites in a sacred symphony with the golden sun and the glittering water
+to voice the infinite joy of living that penetrates all creation to-day.
+
+</p>
+<p>Down-stream I can see the heavy coast banks, with a narrow strip of brilliant blue sea shining above them, and now and then
+a glint of snowy foam. Two pandanuses frame the view, their long leaves waving softly in the breeze that comes floating down
+the valley. Half asleep, I know the delights of the lotus-eaters&#8217; blessed isle.
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb241" href="#pb241">241</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div id="ch13" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><h2 class="label">Chapter XIII</h2>
+<h2 class="normal">Aoba</h2>
+<p>Next day I landed in Aoba, at &#8220;Albert&#8217;s.&#8221; He was an American negro, who, after having been a stoker and sailor, had settled
+here as a coprah trader. His language was of the strangest, a mixture of biche la mar, negro French and English, and was very
+hard to understand. With the help of two native women he kept his house in good order, and he was decidedly one of the most
+decent colonists of the group, and tried to behave like a gentleman, which is more than can be said of some whites. He seemed
+to confirm the theory that the African is superior to the Melanesian. Albert sheltered me to the best of his ability, although
+I had to sleep in the open, under a straw roof, and his bill of fare included items which neither my teeth nor my stomach
+could manage, such as an octopus. There were several other negroes in Aoba; one was Marmaduke, an enormous Senegalese, who
+had grown somewhat simple, and lived like the natives, joining the Suque and dancing at their festivals. He occasionally came
+to dinner at Albert&#8217;s; this was always amusing, as Albert thought himself far superior to Marmaduke, and corrected his mistakes
+with still more comical impossibilities. Both were most polite and perfectly sober. The <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb242" href="#pb242">242</a>]</span>talk, as a rule, turned on stories of ghosts, in which both of them firmly believed, and by which both were much troubled.
+Marmaduke was strangled every few nights by old women, while a goblin had sat on Albert&#8217;s chest every night until he had cleared
+the bush round his house and emptied his Winchester three times into the darkness. This had driven the ghosts away,&#8212;a pretty
+case of auto-suggestion. I was interested in hearing these stories, though I should hardly have thought a sensible man like
+Albert could have believed such things.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p241" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p241.jpg" alt="COOKING-HOUSE ON AOBA." width="720" height="456"><p class="figureHead">COOKING-HOUSE ON AOBA.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>The people of Aoba are quite different from those of the other islands,&#8212;light-coloured, often straight-haired, with Mongolian
+features; they are quite good-looking, intelligent, and their habits show many Polynesian traits. The Suque is not all-important
+here: it scarcely has the character of a secret society, and the separation of the sexes is not insisted on. Men and women
+live together, and the fires do not appear to be separated. As a result, there is real family life, owing in part to the fact
+that meals are eaten in common. The gamal is replaced by a cooking-house, which is open to the women; generally it is nothing
+but a great gabled roof, reaching to the ground on one side and open on the others. Here the families live during the day,
+and the young men and guests sleep at night, while the married couples sleep in their huts, which are grouped around the cooking-house.
+
+</p>
+<p>The position of the women, so much better here than elsewhere, is not without effect on their <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb243" href="#pb243">243</a>]</span>behaviour. They are independent and self-possessed, and do not run away from a stranger nor hide in dark corners when a white
+man wants to speak to them. Because of their intelligence they are liked on plantations as house-servants, and so many of
+them have gone away for this purpose that Aoba has been considerably depopulated in consequence; few of these women ever return,
+and those who do are usually sick. Some Aoba women have made very good wives for white men.
+
+</p>
+<p>The people of Aoba are remarkable for their cleanliness, the dwellers on the coast spending half the day in the water, while
+those from the mountains never miss their weekly bath, after which they generally carry a few cocoa-nuts full of salt water
+up to their homes. The women are very pretty, slim and strong; their faces often have quite a refined outline, a pointed chin,
+a small mouth and full but well-cut lips; their eyes are beautiful, with a soft and sensual expression; and the rhythm of
+their movements, their light and supple walk, give them a charm hardly ever to be found in Europe. The men, too, are good
+to look at. Considering the intelligence and thriftiness of the race, it is doubly regrettable that alcoholism, recruiting
+and consumption have had such evil effects of recent years.
+
+</p>
+<p>I roamed about in the neighbourhood of Nabutriki and attended several festivals; they are much the same as elsewhere, except
+that the pigs are not killed by braining, but by trampling on their stomachs, which apparently causes rupture of the heart
+and speedy death.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb244" href="#pb244">244</a>]</span></p>
+<p>As I mentioned elsewhere, a man&#8217;s rise in caste is marked on every occasion by the receipt of new fire, rubbed on a special
+stick ornamented with flowers. Fire is lighted here, as in all Melanesia, by &#8220;ploughing,&#8221; a small stick being rubbed lengthwise
+in a larger one. If the wood is not damp, it will burn in less than two minutes: it is not necessary, as is often stated,
+to use two different kinds of wood. To-day matches are used nearly everywhere, and the natives hardly ever &#8220;plough&#8221; their
+fire, except for ceremonial purposes; but they are still very clever about keeping the fire burning, and often take along
+a smouldering log on their walks.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p244" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p244.jpg" alt="FIRE RUBBING." width="681" height="515"><p class="figureHead">FIRE RUBBING.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>Wood-carving and sculpture are wanting, except in the shape of drums, which are placed in a horizontal position, and often
+reach considerable dimensions.
+
+</p>
+<p>Not far from Albert&#8217;s lived a man of the highest caste, my friend Agelan. He was planning to kill one hundred tusked pigs
+in the near future, which would raise him to the highest caste far and wide, but would also impoverish him for the rest of
+his life. He lived quietly and comfortably, like a country squire, surrounded by his relatives and descendants. He seemed
+fond of good living, and his wife was an excellent housekeeper. In the midst of a somewhat colourless Christian population,
+wearing trousers and slovenly dresses, using enamel pots and petrol-lamps, Agelan and his household were a genuine relic of
+the good old times, and no one could have pretended that his home was less pleasant than those around <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb245" href="#pb245">245</a>]</span>him. These things are largely a matter of taste; and those who prefer grotesque attire to beautiful nakedness will be happy
+to know that their wishes will soon be fulfilled. I liked the old heathen, and spent a good deal of time with him. A sketch
+of his home life may not come amiss, just because these primitive ways are dying out so fast.
+
+</p>
+<p>As I near the house, some dogs rush out at me, and a woman&#8217;s voice calls them back; Agelan roars a welcome&#8212;he always shouts,
+and likes to put on masterful airs; for in years gone by he was a very unpleasant customer, until the man-of-war&#8212;but that
+is all ancient history, and now his bark is much worse than his bite. I have the honour of being in his good books, thanks
+to certain medical services I was able to render him; he has an ugly cough, for which we have tried in turn: iodine, Peruvian
+balsam, eucalyptus oil, quinine, and other medicines; nothing helps, but he seems to enjoy swallowing the drugs.
+
+</p>
+<p>The floor of the house is hard clay; there are two fireplaces at one end, and at the other some large drums serve as seats.
+Everywhere in the roofing hang bows, arrows, bones, plummets, ropes, and clubs. Agelan has been toasting himself at a little
+fire of his own; now he rises, coughing, and shakes hands. He is a very tall, strongly-made man of about sixty, with a high
+forehead, long, hooked nose, wide mouth, thin lips and white beard. His dress is the old-fashioned loin-mat, and around his
+wrists he wears heavy strands of shell money. His wife, too, is very tall and strong, with quiet, dignified movements; she
+may <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb246" href="#pb246">246</a>]</span>be forty years old. Everything about her is calm and determined; while not handsome, she has such a kind expression as to
+look very pleasant. She wears a small loin-cloth, and her light coffee-coloured skin is scrupulously clean. Around her neck
+and over her left shoulder she wears a string of shells, and around her ankles, small red beads. Near her squats her little
+daughter, a pretty child of six; an adopted daughter plays near the fire with a small, thick-bellied orphan boy, who is always
+crying. The girls, too, wear little ornaments; and their dainty movements, curly heads, round faces and great dark eyes are
+very attractive.
+
+</p>
+<p>The midday meal is steaming under a heap of leaves and dust, and a man is busily scraping cocoa-nuts for the delicious cocoa-nut
+milk. Agelan sends one of the girls for an unripe nut, which is opened in three deft cuts, and I am offered the refreshing
+drink as a welcome. Now Agelan, who has been brooding for days over these matters, questions me as to my origin and plans,
+and he roars himself nearly hoarse, for we cannot understand each other. The other man, a fugitive from the east coast, is
+asked to interpret, but he is sulky and awkward; not that he is a bad sort, but he is sick, and spends most of his time asleep
+in a shed he has built for himself in a corner of the house, and only appears at meals.
+
+</p>
+<p>The youngest son comes in, the last left to Agelan, for the older ones have all joined the mission,&#8212;it is the fashion. This
+boy is a quiet, cheerful lad of twelve, already a high caste, for his father has killed <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb247" href="#pb247">247</a>]</span>many pigs for him. He has shot a miserable pigeon, and his mother and the girls laugh at the poor booty, much to his chagrin.
+
+</p>
+<p>Agelan now takes me to &#8220;view&#8221; a particularly fine tusked pig, tied under a roof, on a clean couch of straw; the boy shows
+it bits of cocoa-nut to make it open its mouth, so that I can see and admire its tusks. Agelan would like nothing better than
+to show off all his pigs, and if I were a native I would pass them in review as we Europeans visit picture-galleries; but
+I refuse as politely as I can. We return to the cook-house, where the cocoa-nut rasping is finished; the man washes his hands
+in the water of a nut, splitting it open and squeezing the water in a little spray on to his hands. Mrs. Agelan knows a simpler
+way; she fills her mouth with water and squirts it on her hands. The cocoa-nut gratings are kneaded with a little water, while
+the girls sweep the earth off the cooking-place and uncover the stones; an appetizing smell spreads, and the master of the
+house watches the preparations with a sharp eye and a silent tongue. One feels that the least carelessness will provoke an
+outburst, and, indeed, a solemn silence has fallen on the company, only the wife smiles quietly.
+
+</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lap-lap banana good!&#8221; Agelan roars in my ear, and I nod assent. Now the hot stones are removed with bamboo tongs, and the
+great flat object, wrapped in banana leaves, is taken out. Mrs. Agelan throws back the leaves and uncovers the beautifully
+cooked golden lap-lap. Her lord looks at it critically, and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb248" href="#pb248">248</a>]</span>returns to his corner silent, but evidently satisfied. His wife cannot quite hide a smile of pride.
+
+</p>
+<p>The stranger now squeezes the cocoa-nut gratings over a wooden bowl, and a creamy juice runs through his fingers. The bowl
+is brought to Agelan, who looks at it as if reading an oracle; then he selects a hot stone from his own fire, and sends the
+bowl back to be embedded in the gratings. He approaches with his stone in a wooden fork, and squats down near the bowl lost
+in thought, as if anxious not to miss the right moment; then he drops the stone into the milk, which hisses, bubbles and steams.
+A fine smell of burnt fat is noticeable; and while the liquid thickens, Agelan behaves as if he could perform miracles and
+was in league with supernatural powers. After a while his wife hands him the bowl, and he holds it over the pudding, undecided
+how and where to pour the milk; one would think the fate and welfare of creation depended on his action. Being a man of energy,
+he makes up his mind, and pours one stream right across the pudding, then empties his bowl and retires with a sigh to his
+seat. About ten more bowlfuls are needed, but these are poured by Mrs. Agelan without further ceremony. The solemn hush is
+over. With a long bush-knife, Mama cuts the pudding into strips and squares and distributes it, and the meal proceeds amid
+general satisfaction. I am given a large slab; fortunately it tastes very good and is easily digestible, for politeness ordains
+that one must eat enormous quantities. At one stage of the proceedings the girls are sent to take some food to <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb249" href="#pb249">249</a>]</span>the neighbours as a present. When everyone has finished, Agelan lies down for a siesta, while his wife lights a pipe and squats
+in silent happiness near the fire. The girls play with the dirty little boy, and the son plucks his tiny pigeon and a flying-fox;
+singeing the creature&#8217;s fur off occasions such an evil smell that I prefer to take my leave. Mrs. Agelan smiles her farewell,
+the girls giggle, and when I have gone some distance I hear Agelan, awakened from his siesta, roar a sleepy good-bye after
+me.
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb250" href="#pb250">250</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div id="ch14" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><h2 class="label">Chapter XIV</h2>
+<h2 class="normal">Loloway&#8212;Malo&#8212;The Banks Islands</h2>
+<p>Having traversed the western part of the island, I sailed to Loloway, near the eastern point, one of the loveliest spots in
+the archipelago. Lofty cliffs flank two sides of a round bay; at the entrance a barrier-reef breaks the swell, which glides
+in a soft undulation over the quiet water, splashing up on the sandy beach. All around is the forest, hanging in shadowy bowers
+over the water, and hardly a breeze is astir. The white whale-boat of the Anglican missionary floats motionless on the green
+mirror; sometimes a fish leaps up, or a pigeon calls from the woods. In the curve of the bay the shore rises in two terraces;
+on the lower lies the Anglican missionary&#8217;s house, just opposite the entrance. In the evening the sun sets between the cliffs,
+and pours a stream of the purest gold through the narrow gap. It is a pity this fairy spot is so rarely inhabited; Melanesian
+missionaries are not often at home, being constantly on the road, or at work in the native villages. Mr. G., too, was on the
+point of departure, and agreed to take me with him on his trip.
+
+</p>
+<p>In his alarmingly leaky boat we sailed westward, two boys baling all the time. We ran into a small anchorage, pulled the boat
+ashore, and marched off <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb251" href="#pb251">251</a>]</span>inland. The people I found here were similar to those in the west, except that they had developed certain arts to a greater
+degree of perfection, particularly mat-braiding and tattooing. The braiding is done by a method very <span class="corr" id="xd0e2434" title="Source: similiar">similar</span> to that in vogue on Pentecoste. The tattooing is mostly done by women and on women; but the men, especially the high castes,
+often have a beautifully designed sicca leaf running from the chest towards one shoulder, which probably has some religious
+significance. The women often have their whole body, arms and legs, covered with tattooing, as if with fine lace. The operation
+is done bit by bit, some one part being treated every few days. The colour used is the rosin of a nut-tree precipitated on
+a cool stone and mixed with the juice of a plant; the pattern is drawn on the skin with a stick, and then traced with the
+tattooing-needle. This consists of three orange thorns, tied at right angles to a stick. The needles are guided along the
+design with the left hand, while the right keeps striking the handle softly with a light stick, to drive the needles into
+the skin. This is kept up until a distinct outline is produced; the operation is not very painful. The skin is then washed
+and rubbed with a certain juice, which evidently acts as a disinfectant; at least I never saw any inflammation consequent
+on tattooing. During the next few days some of the dye works out and falls off with the dry crust that forms on the wound,
+leaving the tattooing a little paler. The patterns are rather complicated, and at the present day there are <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb252" href="#pb252">252</a>]</span>no recognizable representations of real objects; yet there seems no doubt that at one time all the designs represented some
+real thing. They are carefully adapted to the body, and accentuate its structure. The women who do the tattooing are well
+paid, so that only the wealthy can afford to have their wives and daughters tattooed all over; and naturally a tattooed woman
+brings a higher price in the matrimonial market than a &#8220;plain&#8221; one.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p251" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p251.jpg" alt="TATTOOING ON AOBA." width="514" height="620"><p class="figureHead">TATTOOING ON AOBA.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>In this same place I had occasion to observe an interesting zoological phenomenon, the appearance of the palolo-worm, which
+occurs almost all over the Pacific once a year, at a certain date after the October full moon. The natives know the date exactly,
+which proves the accuracy of their chronology. The palolo is a favourite delicacy, and they never fail to fish for it. We
+went down to the shore on the first night; there were not many worms as yet, but the next evening the water was full of the
+greenish and brownish threads, wriggling about helplessly. Each village had its traditional fishing-ground, and we could see
+the different fires all along the coast. The worms were gathered by hand and thrown into baskets, and after midnight we went
+home with a rich harvest. The palolo is mixed with pudding, and said to taste like fish; I am not in a position to pronounce
+an opinion.
+
+</p>
+<p>I returned to Nabutriki, and thence to Malo, where Mr. W. informed me that the Burns-Philp steamer had already passed, and
+asked me to stay with him and his kind family until I should find an opportunity <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb253" href="#pb253">253</a>]</span>to cross. I accepted all the more gladly, as this part of Malo was still quite unknown to me. The population I found here
+is probably identical with that which formerly inhabited the south shore of Santo. This was interesting to me because of certain
+scientific details, though on the whole the life was much the same as elsewhere in Melanesia, with the Suque, etc. I collected
+a number of charms and amulets, which the people sold willingly, as they no longer believed in their power. Formerly, they
+were supposed to be useful for poisoning, as love-charms, or for help in collecting many tusked pigs.
+
+</p>
+<p>I also visited the neighbouring islands, and heard the gruesome story of how the last village on Aor&eacute; disappeared. The Aor&eacute;
+people were for ever at war with those of South Santo, across the Segond Channel. The men of Aor&eacute; were about sixty strong,
+and one day they attacked a Santo village. Everyone fled except one man, who was helpless from disease. He was killed and
+eaten up, and in consequence of this meal thirty out of the sixty men from Aor&eacute; died. The others dispersed among the villages
+of Malo. In Aor&eacute;, I had the rare sensation of witnessing an earthquake below the surface. I was exploring a deep cave in the
+coral banks when I heard the well-known rumbling, felt the shock, and heard some great stalactites fall from the ceiling.
+This accumulation of effects seemed then to me a little theatrical and exaggerated.
+
+</p>
+<p>The next steamer took me to the Banks Islands, and I went ashore at Port Patterson on Venua Lava. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb254" href="#pb254">254</a>]</span>Here were the headquarters of a rubber planting company; but the rubber trees had not grown well, and the company had started
+cocoa-nuts. I had met Mr. Ch., the director, before, and he took me in. The company owned a motor-launch, which cruised all
+through the Banks Islands, visiting the different plantations; this gave me a good opportunity to see nearly all the islands.
+The sea is much more dangerous here than in the New Hebrides, being open everywhere; and the strong currents cause heavy tide
+rips at the points of the jagged coasts.
+
+</p>
+<p>An excursion to Gaua was a failure, owing to bad weather. After having shivered in a wet hut for four days, we returned to
+Port Patterson only just in time; for in the evening the barometer fell, a bad sign at that season, and the wind set in afresh.
+The launch was anchored in a sheltered corner of the bay, near an old yacht and a schooner belonging to Mr. W., a planter
+on a neighbouring islet. All the signs pointed to a coming cyclone, and suddenly it shot from the mountains, furrowed the
+sea, and ruled supreme for two days. From the director&#8217;s house I watched the whirling squalls gliding over the water, lifting
+great lumps of spray, that shot like snow over the surface and disappeared in the misty distance. Rain rattled in showers
+on the roof; everywhere was a hissing, rushing, thundering; the surf broke in violent, irregular shocks like the trampling
+of an excited horse; the wind roared in the forest till the strongest trees trembled and the palms bent over with inverted
+crowns. In a moment the creeks <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb255" href="#pb255">255</a>]</span>swelled to torrents, and in every gully there ran rivers, which collected to a deep lake in the plain. In the house the rain
+penetrated everywhere, leaked through the roof, dripped on the beds, and made puddles on the floor.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p255" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p255.jpg" alt="DWELLING-HOUSE ON GAUA, WITH PAINTINGS AND CARVED POLES." width="720" height="458"><p class="figureHead">DWELLING-HOUSE ON GAUA, WITH PAINTINGS AND CARVED POLES.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>Meanwhile the captain and engineer of the launch had passed an unpleasant time; they had stayed aboard till the rolling of
+the boat drove them to the larger yacht; but seeing the schooner break her two chains and drift on to the reef, they became
+frightened and went ashore in the dinghey, and home along the beach. Later they arrived at the station and reported &#8220;all well,&#8221;
+and were amazed when I told them that the launch had stranded. I had just been looking from the veranda through the glass
+at the boats, when a huge wave picked up the launch and threw her on the beach. There she had rolled about a little, and then
+dug herself into the sand, while the tide fell and the wind changed. Next day the cyclone had passed, but the swell was still
+very heavy. Equipped with everything necessary to float the launch, we marched along the beach, which was beaten hard by the
+waves. We had to cross a swollen river on an improvised raft; to our satisfaction we found the boat quite unhurt, not even
+the cargo being damaged; only a few copper plates were torn. Next day Mr. W. arrived, lamenting his loss; for his beautiful
+schooner was pierced in the middle by a sharp rock, and she hung, shaken by the waves that broke over her decks and gurgled
+in the hold. The rigging was torn, the cabin washed away, and the shore strewn with her <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb256" href="#pb256">256</a>]</span>doors, planks, beams and trade goods. It was a pitiful sight to see the handsome ship bending over like a fallen warrior,
+while the company&#8217;s old yacht had weathered the cyclone quite safely.
+
+</p>
+<p>During the work of refloating the boat, Mr. Ch. was taken very ill with fever, and I nursed him for some days; he was somewhat
+better by Christmas Eve, and we had the satisfaction of bringing the saved launch back to the station. He was visibly relieved,
+and his good humour was agreeably felt by his boys as well as by his employ&eacute;s, to whom he sent a goodly quantity of liquor
+to celebrate the occasion. We sat down to a festive dinner and tried to realize that this was Christmas; but it was so different
+from Christmas at home, that it was rather hard. At our feet lay the wide bay, turquoise blue, edged with white surf; in the
+distance rose the wonderful silhouette of Mota Lava Island; white clouds travelled across the sky, and a gentle breeze rustled
+in the palms of the forest. The peaceful picture showed no trace of the fury with which the elements had fought so few days
+ago.
+
+</p>
+<p>Tired with his exertions, Mr. Ch. withdrew early, and I soon followed; but we were both aroused by the barking of the dogs,
+followed by the pad of bare feet on the veranda, whispering and coughing, and then by a song from rough and untrained throats.
+The singers were natives of a Christian village some miles away, who came to sing Christmas hymns in a strange, rough language,
+discordant and yet impressive. When they had finished the director went out <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb257" href="#pb257">257</a>]</span>to them; he was a man whom one would not have believed capable of any feeling, but he had tears in his eyes; words failed
+him, and he thanked the singers by gestures. We all went down to the store, where they sang to the employ&eacute;s, and received
+presents; after which they spent the rest of the night with the hands, singing, eating and chatting. On Christmas Day the
+natives roasted a fat pig, the employ&eacute;s spent the day over their bottles, and I was nurse once more, my patient being delirious
+and suffering very much.
+
+</p>
+<p>Before New Year&#8217;s Day the launch was sent to all the different stations to fetch the employ&eacute;s, an interesting crowd of more
+or less ruined individuals. There was a former gendarme from New Caledonia, a cavalry captain, an officer who had been in
+the Boer war, an ex-priest, a clerk, a banker and a cowboy, all very pleasant people as long as they were sober; but the arrival
+of each was celebrated with several bottles, which the director handed out without any demur, although the amount was prodigious.
+Quarrels ensued; but by New Year&#8217;s Eve peace was restored, and we all decorated the director&#8217;s house with wreaths for the
+banquet of the evening. The feast began well, but towards midnight a general fight was going on, which came to an end by the
+combatants falling asleep one by one. Thus the new year was begun miserably, and the next few days were just as bad. The natives
+looked on at the fights with round-eyed astonishment; and the director was in despair, for a second cyclone was threatening,
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb258" href="#pb258">258</a>]</span>and there was hardly anyone in a fit condition to help him secure the launch.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p258" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p258.jpg" alt="ANCESTOR HOUSE ON GAUA, WITH PICTURES AND CARVED STATUES." width="720" height="458"><p class="figureHead">ANCESTOR HOUSE ON GAUA, WITH PICTURES AND CARVED STATUES.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>All one morning it rained, and at noon the cyclone broke, coming from the south-west, as it had done the first time, but with
+threefold violence. We sat on the veranda, ready to jump off at any moment, in case the house should be blown away. The view
+was wiped out by the mist; dull crashes resounded in the forest, branches cracked and flew whirling through the air, all isolated
+trees were broken off short, and the lianas tangled and torn. The blasts grew ever more violent and frequent, and if the house
+had not been protected by the mountain, it could never have resisted them. As it was, it shook and creaked, and a little iron
+shed went rolling along the ground like a die. Down in the plain the storm tore the leaves off the palms, and uprooted trees
+and blew down houses. The cyclone reached its climax at sunset, then the barometer rose steadily, and suddenly both wind and
+rain ceased. The stillness lasted for about half an hour and then the storm set in again, this time from the north, striking
+the house with all its strength; fortunately it was not so violent as at first. With the rising barometer the storm decreased
+and changed its direction to the east. All next day it rained and blew; but on the third morning the storm died out in a faint
+breeze from the south-east, and when we came to reckon up our damages, we found that it might have been worse. Meanwhile the
+employ&eacute;s had had time to recover from their orgy. A brilliant day dried the damp house, and soon everything resumed <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb259" href="#pb259">259</a>]</span>a normal aspect except the forest, which looked brown and ragged, like autumn woods at home.
+
+</p>
+<p>I made use of the first calm day to visit the lonely little islet of Meralava. As it has no anchorage, no one can land there
+except in quiet weather, and so it had come about that the company&#8217;s employ&eacute; had had no communication with the outside world
+for four months. The island is an extinct volcano, a regular cone, with the crater as a deep cavity in the top. There is hardly
+a level square m&egrave;tre on the whole island, and the shores rise steeply out of the sea; only a few huge lava blocks form a base,
+on which the swell breaks and foams. When we reached the island, this swell was so heavy as to render landing almost impossible.
+All we could do was to take the employ&eacute; aboard and return home. I was very sorry to have to give up my visit to Meralava,
+as the natives, though all christianized, have preserved more of their old ways than those of other islands, owing to their
+infrequent intercourse with civilization. For the same reason, the population is quite large; but every time a ship has landed
+an epidemic goes through the island, the germs of which appear to be brought by the vessels, and the natives evidently have
+very small powers of resistance. We may here observe on a small scale what has taken place all over the archipelago in the
+degeneration and decimation of the aborigines.
+
+</p>
+<p>The people of Meralava live on taro, which they grow in terraced fields, the water being obtained <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb260" href="#pb260">260</a>]</span>from holes in the rocks, and on cocoa-nuts, of which the island yields a fair supply.
+
+</p>
+<p>The following day we started for Ureparapara, also a volcanic island, with an enormous crater, one side of which has fallen
+in; because, as the natives say, a great fish knocked against it. The sea has penetrated into the interior of the crater,
+forming a lovely bay, so that ships now lie at anchor where formerly the lava boiled and roared.
+
+</p>
+<p>In consequence of the frequent intercourse with whites, the population is scanty. There is hardly a level patch, except the
+small strip at the base of the slope and the great reef outside. Here, too, we had difficulty in landing, but in the evening
+we found an ideal anchorage inside the bay. The water was scarcely ruffled, and little wavelets splashed on the shore, where
+mangrove thickets spread their bright foliage. Huge trees bent over the water, protecting the straw roofs of a little village.
+In the deep shade some natives were squatting round fires, and close by some large outrigger-canoes lay on the beach. On three
+sides the steep wooded slopes of the former crater&#8217;s walls rise up to a sharply dented ridge, and it all looks like a quiet
+Alpine lake, so that one involuntarily listens for the sound of cow-bells. Instead, there is the call of pigeons, and the
+dull thunder of the breakers outside.
+
+</p>
+<p>We took a holiday in this charming bay; and though the joys of picnicking were not new to us, the roasting of some pigeons
+gave us a festive sensation and a hearty appetite. The night under <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb261" href="#pb261">261</a>]</span>the bright, starlit sky, on board the softly rocking launch, wrapped me in a feeling of safety and coziness I had not enjoyed
+for a long time.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p261" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p261.jpg" alt="DRUM CONCERT ON UREPARAPARA." width="720" height="455"><p class="figureHead">DRUM CONCERT ON UREPARAPARA.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>Along the steepest path imaginable I climbed next morning to the mountain&#8217;s edge. The path often led along smooth rocks, where
+lianas served as ropes and roots as a foothold; and I was greatly surprised to find many fields on top, to which the women
+have to climb every day and carry the food down afterwards, which implies acrobatic feats of no mean order.
+
+</p>
+<p>Ureparapara was the northernmost point I had reached so far, and the neighbourhood of the art-loving Solomon Islands already
+made itself felt. Whereas in the New Hebrides every form of art, except mat-braiding, is at once primitive and decadent, here
+any number of pretty things are made, such as daintily designed ear-sticks, bracelets, necklaces, etc.; I also found a new
+type of drum, a regular skin-drum, with the skin stretched across one end, while the other is stuck into the ground. The skin
+is made of banana leaves. These and other points mark the difference between this people and that of the New Hebrides. As
+elsewhere all over the Banks group, the people have long faces, high foreheads, narrow, often hooked, noses, and a light skin.
+Accordingly, it would seem that they are on a higher mental plane than those of the New Hebrides, and cannibalism is said
+never to have existed here.
+
+</p>
+<p>My collections were not greatly enriched, as a <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb262" href="#pb262">262</a>]</span>British man-of-war had anchored here for a few days a short time before; and anyone who knows the blue-jackets&#8217; rage for collecting
+will understand that they are quite capable of stripping a small island of its treasures. A great deal of scientifically valuable
+material is lost in this way, though fortunately these collectors go in for size chiefly, leaving small objects behind, so
+that I was able to procure several valuable pieces.
+
+</p>
+<p>After our return to Port Patterson the launch took me to a plantation from which I ascended the volcano of Venua Lava. Its
+activity shows principally in sulphur springs, and there are large sulphur deposits, which were worked fifteen years ago by
+a French company. A large amount of capital had been collected for the purpose, and for a few weeks or months the sulphur
+was carried down to the shore by natives and exported. Then it was found that the deposits were not inexhaustible, that the
+employ&eacute;s were not over-conscientious, that the consumption of alcohol was enormous, and finally the whole affair was given
+up, after large quantities of machinery had been brought out, which I saw rusting away near the shore. In this way numerous
+enterprises have been started and abandoned of late years, especially in Noum&eacute;a. It is probably due to this mining scheme
+that the natives here have practically disappeared; I found one man who had once carried sulphur from the mine, and he was
+willing to guide me up the volcano.
+
+</p>
+<p>There are always clouds hanging round the top <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb263" href="#pb263">263</a>]</span>of the mountain, and the forest is swampy; but on the old road we advanced quite rapidly, and soon found ourselves on the
+edge of a plateau, from which two streams fell down in grand cascades, close together, their silver ribbons gleaming brightly
+in the dark woods. One river was milk-white with sulphur precipitate, the other had red water, probably owing to iron deposits.
+The water was warm, and grew still warmer the farther up we followed the river. Suddenly we came upon a bare slope, over certain
+spots of which steam-clouds hung, while penetrating fumes irritated one&#8217;s eyes and nose. We had come to the lower margin of
+the sulphur springs, and the path led directly across the sulphur rocks. Mounting higher, we heard the hissing of steam more
+distinctly, and soon we were in the midst of numerous hillocks with bright yellow tops, and steam hissing and whistling as
+it shot out of cracks, to condense in the air into a white cloud. The whole ground seemed furrowed with channels and crevasses,
+beneath which one heard mysterious noises; one&#8217;s step sounded hollow, and at our side ran a dark stream, which carried the
+hot sulphur water to the shore. Great boulders lay about, some of them so balanced that a slight touch sent them rolling into
+the depths, where they broke into atoms. Sometimes we were surrounded by a thick cloud, until a breeze carried it away, and
+we had a clear view over the hot, dark desert, up to the mountain-top. It was uncanny in the midst of those viciously hissing
+hillocks, and I could not blame my boys for turning green with fear and wishing to go <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb264" href="#pb264">264</a>]</span>home. But we went on to a place where water boiled in black pools, sometimes quietly, then with a sudden high jump; some of
+the water was black, some yellowish, and everything around was covered with sulphur as if with hoar-frost.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p264" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p264.jpg" alt="INTERIOR OF A GAMAL ON GAUA." width="720" height="460"><p class="figureHead">INTERIOR OF A GAMAL ON GAUA.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>We followed the course of a creek whose water was so hot as to scald our feet, and the heat became most oppressive. We were
+glad to reach the crater, though it was a gloomy and colourless desert, in the midst of which a large grey pool boiled and
+bubbled. In front was a deep crevice in the crater wall, and a cloud of steam hid whatever was in it; yet we felt as though
+something frightful must be going on there. Above this gloomy scene stretched a sky of serenest blue, and we had a glimpse
+of the coast, with its little islands bathing in the sapphire sea.
+
+</p>
+<p>Next day we left for Gaua. Unhappily the captain met friends, and celebrated with them to such an extent that he was no longer
+to be relied on, which was all the more unpleasant as the weather was of the dirtiest, and the barometer presaged another
+cyclone. After two days it cleared up a little; I went ashore at the west point of Gaua, where the launch was to pick me up
+again two days later, as I meant to visit the interior while the others went to buy coprah. Even now the wind and the swell
+from the north-west were increasing suspiciously, and after I had spent a rainy night in a village off the shore, I saw the
+launch race eastward along the coast, evidently trying to make a safe anchorage, with the storm blowing violent squalls and
+the sea very high.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb265" href="#pb265">265</a>]</span></p>
+<p>On my way inland I still found the paths obstructed by fallen trees from the last cyclone, while nearly all the cocoa-nut
+palms had lost their nuts. And again the storm raged in the forest, and the rain fell in torrents.
+
+</p>
+<p>I was anxious to buy statues of tree-fern wood; they are frequently to be seen here, standing along a terrace or wall near
+the gamal, and seem not so much images of ancestors, as signs of rank and wealth. The caste may be recognized by the number
+of pigs&#8217; jaws carved on the statues. Often the artist first makes a drawing of the statue in red, white and black paint on
+a board; and these same designs are used as patterns for tattooing, as well as on ear-sticks and other objects. Female statues
+are common, which is an unusual thing.
+
+</p>
+<p>I obtained a good number of skulls, which were thrown into the roots of a fig tree, where I was allowed to pick them up as
+I pleased.
+
+</p>
+<p>The Suque is supposed to have originated here; and here certainly it has produced its greatest monuments, large altar-like
+walls, dams and ramparts. The gamals, too, are always on a foundation of masonry, and on either side there are high pedestals
+on which the pigs are sacrificed. Among the stones used for building we often find great boulders hollowed out to the shape
+of a bowl. No one knows anything about these stones or their purpose; possibly they are relics of an earlier population that
+has entirely disappeared.
+
+</p>
+<p>When I returned from my excursion I looked <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb266" href="#pb266">266</a>]</span>down on a wild foam-flecked sea, over which the storm was raging as it did during the previous cyclones. I realized that I
+should have to stay here for some time, and ate my last provisions somewhat pensively. I only hoped that the launch had found
+an anchorage, else she must inevitably have been wrecked, and I should be left at the mercy of the natives for an indefinite
+time. The hut in which I camped did not keep off the rain, and I was wet and uncomfortable; thus I spent the first of a series
+of miserable nights. I was anxious to know the fate of the launch, and this in itself was enough to worry me; then I was without
+reading or writing materials, and my days were spent near a smoky fire, watching the weather, trying to find a dry spot, sleeping
+and whistling. Sometimes a few natives came to keep me company; and once I got hold of a man who spoke a little biche la mar,
+and was willing to tell me about some old-time customs. However, like most natives, he soon wearied of thinking, so that our
+conversations did not last long.
+
+</p>
+<p>The natives kept me supplied with food in the most hospitable manner: yam, taro, cabbage, delicately prepared, were at my
+disposal; but, unaccustomed as I was to this purely vegetable diet, I soon felt such a craving for meat that I began to dream
+about tinned-meat, surely not a normal state of things. To add to my annoyance, rumours got afloat to the effect that the
+launch was wrecked; and if this was true, my situation was bad indeed.
+
+</p>
+<p>On the fifth day I decided to try and find the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb267" href="#pb267">267</a>]</span>anchorage where I supposed the launch to be. The wind had dropped a little, but it was still pouring, and the walk through
+the slippery, devastated forest, up and down steep hills and gullies, across fallen trees, in a thick, oppressive fog, was
+strenuous enough. In the afternoon, hearing that the launch was somewhere near, we descended to the coast, where we came upon
+the captain and the crew. They had managed to anchor the launch at the outbreak of the storm, and had camped in an old hut
+on the beach; but the huge waves, breaking over the reef, had created such a current along the beach that the launch had dragged
+her anchors, and was now caught in the worst of the waves and would surely go down shortly. Unfortunately the captain had
+sent the dinghey ashore some time before coming to this bay, so that there was no means whatever of reaching the launch. The
+rising sea had threatened to wash away the hut, and the captain, leaving the boat to her fate, had gone camping inland.
+
+</p>
+<p>I went down to the beach to see for myself how things stood, and was forced to admit that the man had not exaggerated. In
+the midst of the raging surf the launch rocked to and fro, and threatening waves rose on every side and often seemed to cover
+her. Still she was holding her own, and had evidently not struck a rock as yet; and if her cables held out, hope was not lost.
+I watched her fight for life for some time, and she defended herself more gallantly than I should ever have expected from
+so clumsy a craft; but I had little hope. We spent a miserable <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb268" href="#pb268">268</a>]</span>night in the village, in a heavy atmosphere, amid vermin and filth, on an uneven stone floor. The rain rattled on the roof,
+the storm roared in the forest like a passing express train, the sea thundered from afar, and a river echoed in a gorge near
+by; to complete the gloomy scene, a violent earthquake shook the hills.
+
+</p>
+<p>In the morning the launch was still afloat on the same spot; the wind had abated, and the sky no longer looked quite so stormy.
+During the night things improved still more, and we ventured to camp on the shore. The boys went for the dinghey, and although
+they had hard work, half dragging, half carrying it along the shore over the cliffs, they succeeded in bringing it to our
+beach, and then made an attempt to row to the launch, but were almost carried out beyond the reef. Encouraged by a faintly
+rosy sunset and a few stars, we waited another day; then the current along the coast had nearly ceased, only outside the reef
+huge mountains of water rolled silently and incessantly past, and broke thundering against the cliffs. The second attempt
+to reach the launch was successful, and, wonderful to relate, she had suffered no damage, only she had shipped so much water
+that everything was soaked and rusty. The engineer began to repair her engines, and by evening she steamed back to her anchorage,
+where we welcomed her as if she had been a human being.
+
+</p>
+<p>The wind had quite fallen when we steamed out next day. It was dull weather, and we were rocked <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb269" href="#pb269">269</a>]</span>by an enormous swell; yet the water was like a mirror, and the giant waves rose and disappeared without a sound. It all seemed
+unnatural and uncanny, and this may have produced the frightened feeling that held us all that morning. While we were crossing
+over to Port Patterson a sharp wind rose from the north, and the barometer fell, so that we feared another edition of the
+storm. If our engines had broken down, which happened often enough, we should have been lost, for we were in a region where
+the swell came from two directions, and the waves were even higher than in the morning. Fortunately the wind increased but
+slowly; presently we were protected by the coast, and at night we arrived at Port Patterson. The men had given us up, and
+welcomed us with something akin to tenderness. Here, too, the cyclone had been terrible, the worst of the three that had passed
+in four weeks.
+
+</p>
+<p>Soon afterwards the steamer arrived, bringing news of many wrecks and accidents. A dozen ships had been smashed at their anchorages,
+four had disappeared, and three were known to have foundered; in addition, news came of the wreck of a steamer. Hardly ever
+had so many fallen victims to a cyclone.
+
+</p>
+<p>Painfully and slowly our steamer ploughed her way south through the abnormally high swell. None of the anchorages on the west
+coast could be touched, and everywhere we saw brown woods, leafless as in winter, and damaged plantations; and all the way
+down to Vila we heard of new casualties.
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb270" href="#pb270">270</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div id="ch15" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><h2 class="label">Chapter XV</h2>
+<h2 class="normal">Tanna</h2>
+<p>Of the larger inhabited islands of the New Hebrides, only Tanna remained to be visited. Instead of stopping at Vila, I went
+on to White Sands, Tanna, where the Rev. M. was stationed. The large island of Erromanga has but little native population,
+and that is all christianized; the same is true of the smaller islands of Aneityum, Aniwa and Futuna. I preferred to study
+Tanna, as it is characteristic of all the southern part of the archipelago. The population is quite different from that in
+the north, and one would call it Polynesian, were it not for the curly hair which shows Melanesian admixture. Light-coloured,
+tall, strong, with the fleshy body that is often a feature of the Polynesian, the people have, not infrequently, fine open
+features, small noses and intelligent faces of oval outline. They are more energetic, warlike and independent than those up
+north, and their mode of life is different, the Suque and everything connected with it being entirely absent. Instead, we
+find hereditary chieftainship, as in all Polynesia, and the chiefs are held in the highest veneration by their subjects. This
+state of things was greatly to the advantage of the missions, as the chiefs, even if converted, retained <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb271" href="#pb271">271</a>]</span>their authority, whereas in the north the high castes, on their conversion, lost all influence and position, as these only
+depended on the Suque. The brilliant results of the missions in Tanna are due, apart from the splendid work of the two Presbyterian
+missionaries, chiefly to this fact. If the missionaries and the authorities would join forces for the preservation of the
+native race, great good might be done. Intelligent efforts along this line ought to comprise the following features: revival
+of the wish to live and the belief in a future for the race, increase in the birth-rate, rational distribution of the women,
+abolition of the present recruiting system, compulsory medical treatment, creation of law and order, and restoration of old
+customs as to daily life and food.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p270" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p270.jpg" alt="MEN FROM TANNA." width="720" height="457"><p class="figureHead">MEN FROM TANNA.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>The houses on Tanna are poor huts of reed-grass, probably because the perpetual wars discouraged the people from building
+good dwellings. The principal weapons are the spear and club, the arrow, as elsewhere in Polynesia, playing a subordinate
+part. A weapon which is probably peculiar to Tanna are throwing-stones, carefully made stone cylinders, which were hurled
+in battle. If a man had not time to procure one of these granite cylinders, a branch of coral or a slab of stone, hewn into
+serviceable shape, would serve his turn; and these instruments are not very different from our oldest prehistoric stone implements.
+
+</p>
+<p>Quite a Polynesian art is the manufacture of tapa: bark cloth. The Tannese do not know how <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb272" href="#pb272">272</a>]</span>to make large pieces, but are satisfied with narrow strips, used as belts by the men, and prettily painted in black and red.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p272" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p272.jpg" alt="WOMEN FROM TANNA." width="720" height="478"><p class="figureHead">WOMEN FROM TANNA.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>The dress of the men is similar to that of Malekula, that of the women consists of an apron of grass and straw; and they often
+wear a hat of banana leaves, while the men affect a very complicated coiffure. The hair is divided into strands, each of which
+is wound with a fibre from the head out. A man may have several hundred of these ropes on his head all tied together behind,
+giving a somewhat womanish appearance. It takes a long time to dress the hair thus, and the custom is falling into disuse.
+
+</p>
+<p>On the whole, the culture of the Tannese is low; there is no braiding or carving, and the ornaments worn consist only of a
+few bracelets and necklaces, with an occasional nose-stick; the only conspicuous feature are ear-rings of tortoise-shell,
+of which as many as a dozen may hang in one ear.
+
+</p>
+<p>On the other side of Tanna is Lenakel, where the Rev. W. was working with admirable devotion and success in a hospital. I
+crossed the island several times, and enjoyed the delightful rides through the shady forest, on very good bridle-paths the
+natives had made.
+
+</p>
+<p>Tanna&#8217;s most striking sight is its volcano; there is hardly another in the world so easily accessible; for in half an hour
+from the shore its foot may be reached, and in another half-hour one is at the top. It is about 260 m. high, a miniature volcano,
+with <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb273" href="#pb273">273</a>]</span>all its accessories complete, hot springs, lake, desert, etc., always active, rarely destructive, looking like an overgrown
+molehill. A wide plain stretches inland, utterly deserted owing to the poisonous vapours always carried across it by the south-east
+trade-wind, and in the centre of the plain is a sweet-water lake.
+
+</p>
+<p>I climbed the volcano for the first time on a rainy day. On top, I suddenly found myself at the end of the world; it was the
+edge of the crater, completely filled with steam. As I walked along the precipice, such an infernal thundering began just
+under my feet as it seemed, that I thought best to retire. My next ascent took place on a clear, bright day; but the wind
+drove sand and ashes along the desert, and dimmed the sunshine to a yellowish gloomy light. I traversed the desert to the
+foot of the crater, where the cone rose gradually out of brownish sand, in a beautiful curve, to an angle of 45&deg;. The lack
+of all vegetation or other point of comparison made it impossible to judge whether the mountain was 100 or 1000 m. high. The
+silence was oppressive, and sand columns danced and whirled up and down, to and fro, like goblins. A smell of sulphur was
+in the air, the heat was torturing, the ground burnt one&#8217;s feet, and the climb in the loose sand was trying. But farther up
+the sea-breeze cooled the air deliciously, and stone blocks afforded a foothold. Soon I was on top, and the sight I saw seemed
+one that only the fancy of a morbid, melancholy genius could have invented, an ugly <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb274" href="#pb274">274</a>]</span>fever dream turned real, and no description could do it justice.
+
+</p>
+<p>In front of me the ground fell down steeply, and the torn sides of the crater formed a funnel-shaped cavity, a dark, yawning
+depth. There were jagged rocks, fantastic, wild ridges, crevices, fearful depths, from which issued steam and smoke. Poisonous
+vapour poured out of the rocks in white and brownish clouds that waved to and fro, slowly rising, until a breeze caught and
+carried them away. The sight alone would suffice to inspire terror, without the oppressive smoke and the uncanny noise far
+down in the depths. Dull and regular, it sounded like the piston of an engine or a great drum, heard through the noises of
+a factory. Presently there was silence, and then, without any warning, came a tearing crack, the thunder as of 100 heavy guns,
+a metallic din, and a cloud of smoke rose; and while we forced ourselves to stay and watch, the inferno below thundered a
+roaring echo, the walls shook, and a thousand dark specks flew up like a swarm of frightened birds. They were lava blocks,
+and they fell back from the height of the crater, rattling on the rocks, or were swallowed up by the invisible gorge. Then
+a thick cloud surrounded everything, and we realized that our post at the mouth of the crater, on an overhanging ridge, was
+dangerous; indeed, a part of the edge, not far off, broke down and was lost in the depths. Another and another explosion followed;
+but when we turned, we overlooked a peaceful landscape, green forests, palms <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb275" href="#pb275">275</a>]</span>bending over the bright blue water, and far off the islands of Erromanga, Futuna and Aniwa.
+
+</p>
+<p>A visit to the volcano at night was a unique experience. Across the desert the darkness glided, and as we climbed upward,
+we felt and heard the metallic explosions through the flanks of the mountain, and the cloud over the crater shone in dull
+red. Cautiously we approached the edge, just near enough to look down. The bottom of the crater seemed lifted, the walls were
+almost invisible, and the uncertain glare played lightly over some theatrical-looking rocks. We could see three orifices;
+steam poured out of one, in the other the liquid lava boiled and bubbled, of the third there was nothing to be seen but a
+glow; but underneath this some force was at work. Did we hear or feel it? We were not sure; sometimes it sounded like shrill
+cries of despair, sometimes all was still, and the rocks seemed to shake. Then suddenly it boiled up, hissing as if a thousand
+steam-pipes had burst, something unspeakable seemed preparing, yet nothing happened. Some lava lumps were thrown out, to fall
+back or stick to the rocks, where they slowly died out. All at once a sheaf of fire shot up, tall and glowing, an explosion
+of incredible fury followed; the sheaf dispersed and fell down in marvellous fireworks and thousands of sparks. Slowly, in
+a fiery stream the lava flowed back to the bottom. Then another explosion and another, the thumping increased, one of the
+other openings worked, spitting viciously in all directions, the noise became unbearable. All one&#8217;s senses were affected,
+for the din was too <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb276" href="#pb276">276</a>]</span>violent to touch one&#8217;s hearing only. Then there was silence; the cloud rose, and beside it we saw the stars in the pure sky,
+and heard the surf beat peacefully, consolingly, as if there were no volcano and no glowing lava anywhere near.
+
+</p>
+<p>While we were standing on the brink as if fascinated, the silver moon rose behind us, spread a broad road of light on the
+quiet sea, played round us with her cool light, shone on the opposite wall of the crater, and caressed the sulphurous cloud.
+It was a magical sight, the contrast of the pure moonlight and the dirty glare of the volcano; an effect indescribably grand
+and peculiar, a gala performance of nature, the elements of heaven and hell side by side.
+
+</p>
+<p>At last we left. Behind and above us thundered the volcano, below us lay the desert, silvery in the moonlight, in quiet, simple
+lines; far away rolled the sea, and in the silence the moon rose higher and higher, and our shadows followed us as we traversed
+the plain and gained the friendly shade of the palm grove.
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb277" href="#pb277">277</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div id="ch16" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><h2 class="label">Chapter XVI</h2>
+<h2 class="normal">The Santa Cruz Islands</h2>
+<p>After my return to Port Vila, where I again had the honour of being Mr. King&#8217;s guest, and having practically finished my task
+in the New Hebrides, I decided not to leave this part of the world without visiting the Santa Cruz Islands, a group of small
+islands north of the New Hebrides and east of the Solomon Islands. This archipelago has not had much contact with civilization,
+and is little known. I had a good opportunity to go there, as the steam yacht <i>Southern Cross</i> of the Anglican mission in Melanesia was expected to stop at Vila on her way to the Solomons. She touched at the Santa Cruz
+island of Nitendi going and returning, and could therefore drop me and take me up again after about six weeks. While waiting
+for her arrival, I investigated some caves on Leleppa, near Port Havannah, which the natives reported to be inhabited by dwarfish
+men; but the results were insignificant.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p277" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p277.jpg" alt="CANOE FROM NITENDI." width="720" height="461"><p class="figureHead">CANOE FROM NITENDI.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>Passage having been granted me by the skipper of the <i>Southern Cross</i>, I once more sailed the well-known route northward through the New Hebrides and Banks Islands; but from Ureparapara onward
+I was in strange waters. The <i>Southern Cross</i> was a steamer of about five hundred tons, built especially <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb278" href="#pb278">278</a>]</span>for this service, that is, to convey the missionaries and natives from the headquarters on Norfolk Island to the different
+islands. Life on board was far from luxurious; but there was good company and an interesting library. I had the pleasure of
+making some interesting acquaintances, and the missionaries gave me much valuable information about the natives and their
+customs. When the tone of the conversation in the evening threatened to become too serious, our jovial Captain S. speedily
+improved matters by his grotesquely comical sallies. A strenuous life was that of the missionary who was responsible for the
+organization of the voyage; he had to visit the native communities, and went ashore at every anchorage, sometimes through
+an ugly surf or dangerous shoals, generally with overcrowded whale-boats; and this went on for three months. I had nothing
+to do, and amused myself by comparing the boys from the various islands, who were quite different in looks, speech and character.
+There were the short, thick-set, plebeian natives from the New Hebrides, the well-built men from the Solomons, with their
+long faces and open, energetic expression, the languid, sleepy boys from the Torres Islands and the savage Santa Cruzians.
+
+</p>
+<p>The trip of the <i>Southern Cross</i> was important as an experiment, being the first with an exclusively native crew. Hitherto the Melanesians had been considered
+incapable of any work calling for energy, initiative and conscientiousness. Captain C. was convinced that this was unjust,
+and started on this <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb279" href="#pb279">279</a>]</span>voyage without any whites except the officers; the result was most satisfactory. The natives, when carefully and patiently
+trained, work quite as well as low-class whites, and have proved themselves capable of more than plantation work.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p279" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p279.jpg" alt="MAN FROM NITENDI, SHOOTING." width="462" height="720"><p class="figureHead">MAN FROM NITENDI, SHOOTING.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>It was a bright morning when we entered the lovely Graciosa Bay on Nitendi. The island had a much more tropical aspect than
+those of the New Hebrides, and the vegetation seemed more varied and gayer in colour. Natives in canoes approached from every
+side, and all along the beach lay populous villages, a sight such as the now deserted shores of the New Hebrides must have
+afforded in days gone by. Hardly had we cast anchor when the ship was surrounded by innumerable canoes. The men in them were
+all naked, except the teachers the missionaries had stationed here; all the others were genuine aborigines, who managed their
+boats admirably, and came hurrying on board, eager to begin bartering.
+
+</p>
+<p>The natives here have a bad reputation, and are supposed to be particularly dangerous, because they never stir from home without
+their poisoned arrows. A missionary had recently been forced to leave the island, after having been besieged by the natives
+for several days. But it would seem that they are not hostile unless one of their many intricate laws and customs is violated,
+which may happen easily enough to anyone unacquainted with their habits.
+
+</p>
+<p>I took up my quarters with the only white man in the place, a Mr. M., who managed a cocoa-nut plantation for an Australian
+company with boys from the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb280" href="#pb280">280</a>]</span>Solomons. My first task was to find servants, as none had dared accompany me from the New Hebrides to the ill-famed Santa
+Cruz Islands. Through his coprah trade Mr. M. knew the people well, and by his help I soon found two boys who had some vague
+notion of biche la mar, real savages, who served me well in a childish, playful way. They were always jolly, and although
+they seemed to look upon what they did for me rather as a kindness than a duty, we got along fairly well. When it became known
+that my service implied good food and little work, many others applied, but I only chose one young fellow, probably the most
+perfect specimen of a man I have ever seen. He kept himself scrupulously clean, and in his quiet, even behaviour there was
+something that distinguished him from all the rest. It is difficult to put the beauty of a human body into words; I can only
+say that he was of symmetrical build, with a deep chest and well-developed limbs, but without the great muscles that would
+have given him the coarse aspect of an athlete. His greatest charm was in the grace of his movements and the natural nobility
+of his attitudes and his walk; for he moved as lightly and daintily as a deer, and it was a constant pleasure, while walking
+behind him during our marches through the forest, to admire his elastic gait, the play of his muscles and the elegant ease
+with which he threaded the thicket. I tried to take some photographs of him, but without great success, owing to technical
+difficulties; besides, the face had to be hidden as much as possible, as to a <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb281" href="#pb281">281</a>]</span>European eye the natives&#8217; faces often seem to have a brutal expression. The men of Santa Cruz, too, wear disfiguring nose-rings
+of tortoise-shell hanging down over their mouths, so large that when eating they have to be lifted up out of the way with
+the left hand. Another ugly habit is the chewing of betel, the nut of the areca palm, which is mixed with pepper leaves and
+lime. The lime is carried in a gourd, often decorated with drawings and provided with an artistically carved stopper. The
+leaves and this bottle are kept in beautifully woven baskets, the prettiest products of native art, made of banana fibre interwoven
+with delicate designs in black. Betel-chewing seems to have a slightly intoxicating effect; my boys, at least, were often
+strangely exhilarated in the evening, although they had certainly had no liquor. The lime forms a black deposit on the teeth,
+which sometimes grows to such a size as to hang out of the mouth, an appendage of which some natives seem rather vain.
+
+</p>
+<p>The dress of the men consists of a narrow belt of bark and a strip of tapa worn between the legs. Around their knees and ankles
+they wear small, shiny shells, and on their chests a large circular plate of tridacna-shell, to which is attached a dainty
+bit of carved tortoise-shell representing a combination of fish and turtle. This beautiful ornament is very effective on the
+dark skin. In the lobes of the ears are hung large tortoise-shell ornaments, and on the arms large shell rings or bracelets
+braided with shell and cocoa-nut beads are worn.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb282" href="#pb282">282</a>]</span></p>
+<p>The men are never seen without bows and arrows of large and heavy dimensions. Like all the belongings of the Santa Cruzians,
+the arrows show artistic taste, being carefully carved and painted so as to display black carving on a white and red ground.
+The points of the arrows are made of human bone.
+
+</p>
+<p>I bought one of the excellent canoes made by these people, and often crossed the lovely, quiet bay to visit different villages.
+The natives take great care of their canoes, and make it a point of honour to keep them spotlessly white, which they do by
+rubbing them with a seaweed they gather at the bottom of the ocean.
+
+</p>
+<p>On approaching a village it requires all the skill of the native not to be dashed by the swell against the reefs. A narrow
+sandy beach lies behind, and then a stone terrace 6 feet high, on which the gamal is built. Generally there was great excitement
+when I landed, and the men came rushing from all sides to see me. They were not hostile, only too eager for trade, and I had
+to interrupt my visits for a week and trade only at the house where I was staying, so as to give them time to quiet down.
+This helped matters a little, although, until the day I left, I was always the centre of an excited mob that pulled at my
+sleeves and trousers and shrieked into my ears. I was always cordially invited to enter the gamals; these were square houses,
+kept very clean, with a fireplace in the centre, and the floor covered with mats. As usual, the roof was <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb283" href="#pb283">283</a>]</span>full of implements of all sorts, and over the fire there was a stand and shelves, where coprah was roasted and food preserved.
+
+</p>
+<p>The natives are expert fishermen, and know how to make the finest as well as the coarsest nets. They frequently spend the
+mornings fishing, a flotilla of canoes gathering at some shallow spot in the bay.
+
+</p>
+<p>The afternoons are mostly spent in the village in a <i>dolce far niente</i>. Each village has its special industry: in one the arm-rings of shell are made, in another the breastplates, in a third canoes,
+or the fine mats which are woven on a loom of the simplest system, very similar to a type of loom found in North America.
+Weaving, it will be remembered, is quite unknown in the New Hebrides.
+
+</p>
+<p>An object peculiar to these islands is feather money. This consists of the fine breast-feathers of a small bird, stuck together
+to form plates, which are fastened on a strip of sinnet, so that a long ribbon of scarlet feathers is obtained of beautiful
+colour and brilliancy. These strips are rolled and preserved in the houses, carefully wrapped up and only displayed on great
+occasions. Considering how few available feathers one little bird yields, and how many are needed for one roll, it is not
+surprising that this feather money is very valuable, and that a single roll will buy a woman. At great dances the circular
+dancing-grounds along the shore are decorated with these ribbons.
+
+</p>
+<p>For a dance the men exchange the nose-ring <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb284" href="#pb284">284</a>]</span>of tortoise-shell for a large, finely carved plate of mother-of-pearl. In the perforated sides of the nose they place thin
+sticks, which stand high up towards the eyes. In the hair they wear sticks and small boards covered with the same feathers
+as those used for feather money. They have dancing-sticks of a most elaborate description, heavy wooden clubs of the shape
+of a canoe, painted in delicate designs and with rattles at the lower end. The designs are black and red on a white ground,
+and are derived from shapes of fish and birds. Similar work is done on carvings showing the different species of fish and
+birds; the drawing is exquisite, and shows fine feeling for ornamental composition.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p284" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p284.jpg" alt="MAN FROM NITENDI, WITH PEARL SHELL NOSE ORNAMENT FOR DANCING." width="459" height="720"><p class="figureHead">MAN FROM NITENDI, WITH PEARL SHELL NOSE ORNAMENT FOR DANCING.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>The position of women in Santa Cruz is peculiar, although the Suque does not exist, and therefore no separation of fires is
+enforced. Masculine jealousy seems to have reached its climax here, for no man from another village even dares look at a woman.
+The women&#8217;s houses are a little inland, away from the gamal and separated by high walls from the outer world. Most of the
+houses are square, but there are some circular ones, a type very rare in these regions. To my regret I was never able to examine
+one of these round houses, so that I have no idea how they are built. To enter the women&#8217;s quarters, or to approach nearer
+than 100 m&egrave;tres to any woman, is a deadly offence, and such breaches of etiquette are the cause of frequent feuds. Only once
+I was taken by one of my boys through the lanes of his village, and this <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb285" href="#pb285">285</a>]</span>was considered very daring, and the limit of permissible investigation. However, with the help of Mr. M., who was practically
+a &#8220;citizen&#8221; of one of the villages, I succeeded in taking some photographs of women; but only the oldest dowagers and some
+sick girls presented themselves, and among them I saw the most repulsive being I ever met,&#8212;an old shrivelled-up hag. At sight
+of such a creature one cannot wonder that old women were often accused of sorcery.
+
+</p>
+<p>It is surprising how much inferior physically the women of Nitendi are to the men. The men are among the best made people
+I ever saw, while the women are the poorest. The dress of the women consists of large pieces of tapa, worn around the hips
+and over the head, and a third piece is sometimes used as a shawl. Tapa is not made at Graciosa Bay, but inland; it is often
+painted in simple but effective geometrical designs.
+
+</p>
+<p>The majority of the population lives near the sea; I was credibly informed that there are hardly any people inland. The Santa
+Cruzian is a &#8220;salt-water man,&#8221; and there is a string of villages all along the coast. The inhabitants of the different villages
+keep very much to themselves, and their territories are separated by a strip of forest, and on the shore by high stone walls
+leading far out into the sea. On the whole, the two thousand people in the bay live very quietly, certainly more so than the
+same number of whites would without any police. It is not quite clear in what respect our civilization could <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb286" href="#pb286">286</a>]</span>improve them, as, like most aborigines, they have a pronounced sense of propriety, justice and politeness. There is very little
+disputing or quarrelling, and differences of opinion are usually settled by a joke, so that in this respect the savages show
+a behaviour far superior to that of many a roaring and swearing white.
+
+</p>
+<p>I found neither drums nor statues here, and of the local religion I could learn nothing. There is a skull-cult, similar to
+that on Malekula: a man will paint the skull of a favourite wife or child yellow, shut all the openings with wooden stoppers
+and carry the relic about with him. Towards the end of my stay I obtained possession of some of these interesting skulls.
+The idea in shutting the holes is doubtless to preserve the spirit of the dead inside the skull.
+
+</p>
+<p>One evening I crossed the bay to attend a dance. The starless sky shone feebly, spotted with dark, torn clouds. A dull silver
+light lay on the sea, which was scarcely lighter than the steep shores. In the silence the strokes of our oars sounded sharp
+and energetic, yet they seemed to come from a distance. In the darkness we felt first the outrigger, then the canoe, lifted
+by a heavy swell, which glided away out of sight in monotonous rhythm. Then light began to play around us, indistinct at first,
+then two silver stripes formed at the bow and ran along the boat. They were surrounded by bright, whirling sparks, and at
+the bow of the outrigger the gayest fireworks of silver light sprang up, sparkling and dying away <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb287" href="#pb287">287</a>]</span>as if the boat had been a meteor. The oars, too, dripped light, as though they were bringing up fine silver dust from below.
+The naked boy in front of me shone like a marble statue on a dark background as his beautiful body worked in rhythmic movements,
+the light playing to and fro on his back. And ever the sparks danced along the boat in hypnotizing confusion, and mighty harmonies
+seemed to echo through the night air. The feeling of time was lost, until the opposite shore rose to a black wall, then, through
+the silence, we heard the cold rush of the surf beating moodily on the reef. We slackened speed, the fairy light died and
+the dream ended. We kept along the shore, looking for the entrance, which the boys found by feeling for a well-known rock
+with their oars. A wave lifted us, the boys bent to their oars with all their might, we shot across the reef and ran into
+the soft sand of the beach.
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div id="p287" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p287.jpg" alt="MAN FROM TUCOPIA WITH TAPA DRESS." width="459" height="720"><p class="figureHead">MAN FROM TUCOPIA WITH TAPA DRESS.</p>
+</div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p>But as the rain fell now in torrents, there was no dance that night.
+
+</p>
+<p>Mr. M. and I attempted a few excursions, but bad weather interfered with our plans, and a rainy period of three weeks followed.
+One squall chased the other, rattling on the roof, forming swamps everywhere, and penetrating everything with moisture. I
+was glad when the <i>Southern Cross</i> came back for me, especially as this was to be the beginning of my homeward journey.
+
+</p>
+<p>This time we touched at a small island called Tucopia, where a primitive Polynesian population still exists, probably the
+only island where this is the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb288" href="#pb288">288</a>]</span>case. When the steamer approached we saw the people running about on the reef in excitement, and soon countless canoes surrounded
+us. The appearance of these islanders was quite new to me. Instead of the dark, curly-haired, short Melanesians, I saw tall,
+light-coloured men with thick manes of long, golden hair. They climbed aboard, wonderful giants, with soft, dark eyes, kind
+smiles and childlike manners. They went everywhere, touched everything, and flattered and caressed us. We were all eager to
+go ashore, and at the edge of the reef an excited crowd awaited our arrival impatiently and pulled our boat violently on the
+rocks in their eagerness. Two tall fellows grabbed me under the arms, and, willy-nilly, I was carried across the reef and
+carefully deposited under a shady tree on the beach. At first I did not quite trust my companions, but I was powerless to
+resist, and soon I became more confident, as my new friends constantly hugged and stroked me. Soon a missionary was brought
+ashore in the same way, and then, to our greatest surprise, a man approached us who spoke biche la mar. He asked if we had
+no sickness on board, for some time ago the same ship had infected the island with an epidemic that had caused many deaths.
+We assured him that we had none, and he gave us permission to visit the island, telling us, too, that we were to have the
+great honour of being presented to one of the four chiefs. This was indeed something to be proud of, for in Polynesian islands
+the chieftainship, as I have said, is hereditary, and the chiefs are <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb289" href="#pb289">289</a>]</span>paid honours almost divine. We took off our hats and were led before the chief, a tall, stout man, who sat in a circle of
+men on a sort of throne, with his ceremonial spear leaning against a tree beside him. His subjects approached him crouching,
+but he shook hands with us and smiled kindly at us. A noble gesture of the hand gave us leave to taste a meal prepared to
+welcome us, which looked most uninviting, but turned out to be beautifully cooked sago and cocoa-nut cream. We could not finish
+the generous portions, and presently signed that we were satisfied; the chief seemed to regret that we did not do more honour
+to his hospitality, but he gave us permission to walk about. While all the other natives ran about in great excitement over
+our visit, the good old man sat on his throne all the time, quite solemnly, although I am convinced that he was fairly bursting
+with curiosity. We hurried through the village, so as to get a general idea of the houses and implements, and then to the
+beach, which was a beautiful sight. Whereas on Melanesian islands the dancing-grounds only are kept cleared, and surrounded
+by thick shrubbery for fear of invasion, here all the underbrush had been rooted out, and the shore was like a park, with
+a splendid view through dark tree-trunks across the blue sea, while the golden, godlike forms of the natives walked about
+with proud, regal gait, or stood in animated groups. It was a sight so different in its peaceful simplicity from what I was
+accustomed to see in Melanesia, it all looked so happy, gay and alluring that it hardly needed the invitations of the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb290" href="#pb290">290</a>]</span>kind people, without weapons or suspicion, and with wreaths of sweet-scented flowers around their heads and bodies, to incline
+us to stay. Truly, the sailors of old were not to blame if they deserted in numbers on such islands, and preferred the careless
+native life to hard work on board a whaler. Again and again I seemed to see the living originals of some classical picture,
+and more and more my soul succumbed to the intoxicating charm of the lovely island.
+
+</p>
+<p>But we could not stay; the steamer whistled, and we had to leave. A young native was going to Norfolk Island, and he took
+leave of his family and the chief in a manly way which was touching to witness. He bowed and laid his face on the knees of
+some old white-haired men with finely chiselled, noble faces. They seemed to bless him, then they raised his head and tenderly
+pressed their faces against his, so that their noses touched. The boy brushed away a tear and then jumped bravely on board.
+
+</p>
+<p>When we came on board, the steamer was crowded with natives, and they refused to leave. We had to drive them away energetically,
+and as their canoes were soon overcrowded, many of them jumped into the water with shouts and laughter, and swam several miles
+to the shore, floating happily in the blue sea, with their long hair waving after them like liquid gold. Thus I saw the last
+of the dream-island, bathed in the rays of the setting sun. My regret was shared by the boy, who stood, still ornamented with
+flowers and wreaths, at the stern of <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb291" href="#pb291">291</a>]</span>the steamer, looking sadly back at his disappearing paradise.
+
+</p>
+<p>Our good times, too, were over. We had a dull, rainy night, a heavy, broadside swell, and as the steamer had not enough ballast,
+she rolled frightfully. In this nasty sea we were afraid she might turn turtle, as another steamer had done some months ago.
+The storm became such that we had to lie at anchor for five days, sheltered by the coast of Gaua. It was with real relief
+that I left the <i>Southern Cross</i> at Port Vila; sorry as I was to leave my friends on board, I did not envy them the long voyage to New Zealand.
+
+</p>
+<p>Two days later I took the mail steamer for Sydney. Although tired enough, and glad to return to the comforts of civilization,
+I felt real regret at leaving the places where I had spent so many delightful hours, and where I had met with so much kindness
+on all sides.
+
+
+</p>
+<p class="trailer&#xA; aligncenter">THE END</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="back"><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb292" href="#pb292">292</a>]</span><div class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><p class="aligncenter"><i>Printed by</i><br>
+<span class="smallcaps">Morrison &amp; Gibb Limited</span><br>
+<i>Edinburgh</i>
+
+
+
+
+</p>
+</div>
+<div class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><p></p>
+<div id="p291b" class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p291b.gif" alt="Overview map, showing the location of the New Hebrides relative to Australia and New Guinea." width="720" height="481"></div><p>
+
+
+</p>
+<p></p>
+<div class="figure"><img border="0" src="images/p291a.gif" alt="Detailed map of the New Hebrides." width="499" height="720"></div><p>
+
+
+
+
+</p>
+</div>
+<div class="div1"><span class="pagenum">
+[<a href="#toc">Contents</a>]
+</span><h2 class="normal">A SELECTION FROM MILLS &amp; BOON&#8217;S LATEST GENERAL LITERATURE</h2>
+<p><b>MY COSMOPOLITAN YEAR.</b> By the Author of &#8220;Mastering Flame&#8221; and &#8220;Ashes of Incense.&#8221; With 17 Illustrations. Demy 8vo, <b>10s. 6d.</b> net.
+
+</p>
+<p><b>TWO YEARS WITH THE NATIVES IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC.</b> By Dr. <span class="smallcaps">Felix Speiser</span>. With 40 Illustrations and a Map. Demy 8vo, <b>10s. 6d.</b> net.
+
+</p>
+<p><b><a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2512">THE CRUISE OF THE SNARK</a>.</b> By <span class="smallcaps">Jack London</span>. With 119 Illustrations. Demy 8vo, <b>10s. 6d.</b> net.
+
+</p>
+<p><b>FROM A PUNJAUB POMEGRANATE GROVE.</b> By <span class="smallcaps">C. C. Dyson</span>. With 14 Illustrations. Demy 8vo, <b>10s. 6d.</b> net.
+
+</p>
+<p><b>MEMORIES AND ADVENTURES.</b> By <span class="smallcaps">Louise H&eacute;ritte-Viardot</span>. With 20 Illustrations. Demy 8vo, <b>10s. 6d.</b> net.
+
+</p>
+<p><b>A MOTOR TOUR IN BELGIUM AND GERMANY.</b> By <span class="smallcaps">Tom R. Xenier</span>. With 39 Illustrations and a Map. Demy 8vo, <b>10s. 6d.</b> net.
+
+</p>
+<p><b>THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ARABELLA STUART.</b> By <span class="smallcaps">M. Lefuse</span>. With 12 Illustrations. Demy 8vo, <b>10s. 6d.</b> net.
+
+</p>
+<p><b>MY RUSSIAN YEAR.</b> By <span class="smallcaps">Rothay Reynolds</span>. With 28 Illustrations. Second Edition. Demy 8vo, <b>10s. 6d.</b> net.
+
+</p>
+<p><b>ROMAN MEMORIES in the Landscape seen from Capri.</b> Narrated by <span class="smallcaps">Thomas Spencer Jerome</span>. Illustrated by <span class="smallcaps">Morgan Heiskell</span>. With 3 Maps. Demy 8vo, <b>7s. 6d.</b> net.
+
+</p>
+<p><b>THE ROMANCE OF THE CAMBRIDGE COLLEGES.</b> By <span class="smallcaps">Francis Gribble</span>. With 16 Illustrations. Crown 8vo, <b>6s.</b>
+
+</p>
+<p><b>SHAKESPEARE TO SHAW.</b> By <span class="smallcaps">Cecil Ferard Armstrong</span>. Crown 8vo, <b>6s.</b>
+
+</p>
+<p><b>FOUNDED ON FICTION.</b> By <span class="smallcaps">Lady Sybil Grant</span>. With 50 Illustrations and a cover design by <span class="smallcaps">George Morrow</span>. <b>3s. 6d.</b> net.
+
+</p>
+<p><b>RAMBLES IN THE NORTH YORKSHIRE DALES.</b> By <span class="smallcaps">J. E. Buckrose</span>. With 4 Illustrations in Colour and 23 from Photographs. Crown 8vo, <b>3s. 6d.</b> net.
+
+</p>
+<p><b>A LITTLE GIRL&#8217;S GARDENING BOOK.</b> By <span class="smallcaps">Selina Randolph</span>. Crown 8vo, cloth, <b>2s. 6d.</b> net; paper, <b>1s.</b> net.
+
+</p>
+<p><b>FIRST STEPS TO GOLF.</b> By <span class="smallcaps">G. S. Brown</span>. With 94 Illustrations by <span class="smallcaps">G. P. Abraham</span>, F.R.P.S., and 9 Diagrams. Crown 8vo, <b>2s. 6d.</b> net.
+
+
+</p>
+</div>
+<div class="transcribernote">
+<h2>Colophon</h2>
+<h3>Availability</h3>
+<p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give
+it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/">www.gutenberg.org</a>.
+
+</p>
+<p>This eBook is produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at <a href="http://www.pgdp.net/">www.pgdp.net</a>.
+
+</p>
+<p>Published in 1913. Felix Speiser was born 20 Oct. 1880, and died 19 Sept. 1949 in Basel, Switzerland.
+
+</p>
+<p>An abbreviated Dutch translation of this book appeared in the Dutch magazine <i lang="nl">De Aarde en haar Volken</i> in 1917 and 1918. This is available from Project Gutenberg in two parts as ebooks number <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/24649">24649</a> (part I) and <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/18023">18023</a> (part II).
+
+</p>
+<h3>Encoding</h3>
+<p></p>
+<h3>Revision History</h3>
+<ol class="lsoff">
+<li>2008-12-19 Started.
+
+</li>
+</ol>
+<h3>External References</h3>
+<p>This Project Gutenberg eBook contains external references. These links may not work for you.</p>
+<h3>Corrections</h3>
+<p>The following corrections have been applied to the text:</p>
+<table width="75%">
+<tr>
+<th>Page</th>
+<th>Source</th>
+<th>Correction</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td width="20%"><a class="pageref" href="#xd0e651">2</a></td>
+<td width="40%">an</td>
+<td width="40%">and</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td width="20%"><a class="pageref" href="#xd0e679">5</a></td>
+<td width="40%">Pentecote</td>
+<td width="40%">Pentecoste</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td width="20%"><a class="pageref" href="#xd0e845">18</a></td>
+<td width="40%">occasionaly</td>
+<td width="40%">occasionally</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td width="20%"><a class="pageref" href="#xd0e1021">40</a></td>
+<td width="40%">AMBRYN</td>
+<td width="40%">AMBRYM</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td width="20%"><a class="pageref" href="#xd0e1569">125</a></td>
+<td width="40%">gaint</td>
+<td width="40%">giant</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td width="20%"><a class="pageref" href="#xd0e2027">191</a></td>
+<td width="40%">AMBRYN</td>
+<td width="40%">AMBRYM</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td width="20%"><a class="pageref" href="#xd0e2078">199</a></td>
+<td width="40%">AMBRYN</td>
+<td width="40%">AMBRYM</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td width="20%"><a class="pageref" href="#xd0e2122">205</a></td>
+<td width="40%">AMBRYN</td>
+<td width="40%">AMBRYM</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td width="20%"><a class="pageref" href="#xd0e2204">218</a></td>
+<td width="40%">AMBRYN</td>
+<td width="40%">AMBRYM</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td width="20%"><a class="pageref" href="#xd0e2434">251</a></td>
+<td width="40%">similiar</td>
+<td width="40%">similar</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
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+</body>
+</html>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Two Years with the Natives in the Western
+Pacific, by Felix Speiser
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Two Years with the Natives in the Western Pacific
+
+Author: Felix Speiser
+
+Release Date: December 20, 2008 [EBook #27578]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TWO YEARS WITH THE NATIVES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+       Two Years with the Natives in the Western Pacific
+
+                               By
+
+                       Dr. Felix Speiser
+
+        With 40 illustrations from photographs and a map
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+This book is a collection of sketches written on lonely evenings
+during my voyage; some of them have been published in daily papers,
+and were so kindly received by the public as to encourage me to
+issue them in book form. In order to retain the freshness of first
+impressions, the original form has been but slightly changed, and
+only so much ethnological detail has been added as will help to an
+understanding of native life. The book does not pretend to give a
+scientific description of the people of the New Hebrides; that will
+appear later; it is meant simply to transmit some of the indelible
+impressions the traveller was privileged to receive,--impressions
+both stern and sweet. The author will be amply repaid if he succeeds
+in giving the reader some slight idea of the charm and the terrors
+of the islands. He will be proud if his words can convey a vision of
+the incomparable beauty and peacefulness of the glittering lagoon,
+and of the sublimity of the virgin forest; if the reader can divine
+the charm of the native when gay and friendly, and his ferocity when
+gloomy and hostile. I have set down some of the joys and some of the
+hardships of an explorer's life; and I received so many kindnesses
+from all the white colonists I met, that one great object of my
+writing is to show my gratitude for their friendly help.
+
+First of all, I would mention His Britannic Majesty's Resident,
+Mr. Morton King, who followed my studies with the most sympathetic
+interest, was my most hospitable host, and, I may venture to
+say, my friend. I would name Mr. Colonna, Resident de France,
+Judge Alexander in Port Vila, and Captain Harrowell; in Santo,
+Rev. Father Bochu, the Messrs. Thomas, Mr. Fysh, Mr. Clapcott; in
+Malo, Mr. M. Wells and Mr. Jacquier; in Vao, Rev. Father Jamond; in
+Malekula, Rev. F. Paton, Rev. Jaffrays, Mr. Bird and Mr. Fleming;
+in Ambrym, Rev. Dr. J. J. Bowie, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Decent; in
+Pentecoste, Mr. Filmer; in Aoba, Mr. Albert and Rev. Grunling; in
+Tanna, Rev. Macmillan and Dr. Nicholson; in Venua Lava, Mr. Choyer; in
+Nitendi, Mr. Matthews. I am also indebted to the Anglican missionaries,
+especially Rev. H. N. Drummond, and to Captain Sinker of the steam
+yacht Southern Cross, to the supercargo and captains of the steamers
+of Burns, Philp & Company. There are many more who assisted me in
+various ways, often at the expense of their own comfort and interest,
+and not the least of the impressions I took home with me is, that
+nowhere can one find wider hospitality or friendlier helpfulness than
+in these islands. This has helped me to forget so many things that
+do not impress the traveller favourably.
+
+If this book should come under the notice of any of these kind friends,
+the author would be proud to think that they remember him as pleasantly
+as he will recall all the friendship he received during his stay in
+the New Hebrides.
+
+
+BASLE, April 1913.
+
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+    Chap.                                               Page
+            Introduction                                  1
+    I.      Noumea and Port Vila                         19
+    II.     Maei, Tongoa, Epi and Malekula               28
+    III.    The Segond Channel--Life on a Plantation     35
+    IV.     Recruiting for Natives                       53
+    V.      Vao                                          85
+    VI.     Port Olry and a "Sing-Sing"                 109
+    VII.    Santo                                       136
+    VIII.   Santo (continued)--Pygmies                  161
+    IX.     Santo (continued)--Pigs                     171
+    X.      Climbing Santo Peak                         179
+    XI.     Ambrym                                      191
+    XII.    Pentecoste                                  224
+    XIII.   Aoba                                        241
+    XIV.    Loloway--Malo--The Banks Islands            250
+    XV.     Tanna                                       270
+    XVI.    The Santa Cruz Islands                      277
+
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+    Shore in Graciosa Bay                       Frontispiece
+                                                 Facing page
+    Women From the Reef Islands in Carlisle Bay            3
+    Native Taro Field on Maevo                            10
+    Man from Nitendi working the Loom                     15
+    A Cannibal before his Hut on Tanna                    22
+    Dancing Table near Port Sandwich                      31
+    Old Man with Young Wife on Ambrym                     40
+    Front of a Chief's House on Venua Lava                47
+    Man from Nitendi                                      54
+    Cannibal from Big Nambas                              61
+    Woman on Nitendi                                      70
+    Canoe on Ureparapara                                  77
+    Dancing-Ground on Vao, with Ancestor Houses           85
+    Dancing-Ground on Vao                                 93
+    Woman from Tanna                                      99
+    House Fences on Vao                                  106
+    Gamal near Port Olry                                 115
+    Group of Large and Small Drums near Port Sandwich    129
+    View along the Shore of a Coral Island               136
+    Interior of a Gamal on Venua Lava                    147
+    Wild Mountain Scenery in the District of the Pygmies 163
+    Irrigated Taro Field on Santo                        179
+    Dwelling of a Trader on Ambrym                       191
+    View from Hospital--Dip Point                        199
+    Women cooking on Ambrym                              205
+    Fern Trees on Ambrym                                 218
+    Group of Drums and Statues on Malekula               227
+    Cooking-House on Aoba                                241
+    Fire-Rubbing                                         244
+    Tattooing on Aoba                                    251
+    Dwelling-House on Gaua                               255
+    Ancestor-House on Gaua                               258
+    Drum Concert on Ureparapara                          261
+    Interior of a Gamal on Gaua                          264
+    Men from Tanna                                       270
+    Women from Tanna                                     272
+    Canoe from Nitendi                                   277
+    Man from Nitendi, Shooting                           279
+    Man from Nitendi, with Pearl Shell Nose              284
+    Man from Tucopia                                     287
+    Map                                                  291
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+TWO YEARS WITH THE NATIVES IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+Late in the sixteenth century the Spaniards made several voyages
+in search of a continent in the southern part of the great Pacific
+Ocean. Alvara Mendana de Neyra, starting in 1568 from the west coast of
+South America and following about the sixth degree southern latitude,
+found the Solomon Islands, which he took for parts of the desired
+continent. In 1595 he undertook another voyage, keeping a more
+southerly course, and discovered the Queen Charlotte Islands; the
+largest of these, Nitendi, he called Santa Cruz, and gave the fitting
+name of Graciosa Bay to the lovely cove in which he anchored. He tried
+to found a colony here, but failed. Mendana died in Santa Cruz, and
+his lieutenant, Pedro Vernandez de Quiros, led the expedition home. In
+Europe, Quiros succeeded in interesting the Spanish king, Philip III.,
+in the idea of another voyage, so that in 1603 he was able to set sail
+from Spain with three ships. Again he reached the Santa Cruz Islands,
+and sailing southward from there he landed in 1606 on a larger island,
+which he took for the desired Australian continent and called Tierra
+Australis del Espiritu Santo; the large bay he named San Iago and San
+Felipe, and his anchorage Vera Cruz. He stayed here some months and
+founded the city of New Jerusalem at the mouth of the river Jordan
+in the curve of the bay. Quiros claims to have made a few sailing
+trips thence, southward along the east coast of the island; if he had
+pushed on far enough these cruises might easily have convinced him of
+the island-nature of the country. Perhaps he was aware of the truth;
+certainly the lovely descriptions he gave King Philip of the beauties
+of the new territory are so exaggerated that one may be pardoned
+for thinking him quite capable of dignifying an island by the name
+of continent.
+
+The inevitable quarrels with the natives, and diseases and mutinies
+among his crew, forced him to abandon the colony and return home. His
+lieutenant, Luis Vaez de Torres, separated from him, discovered and
+passed the Torres Straits, a feat of excellent seamanship. Quiros
+returned to America. His high-flown descriptions of his discovery did
+not help him much, for the king simply ignored him, and his reports
+were buried in the archives. Quiros died in poverty and bitterness,
+and the only traces of his travels are the names Espiritu Santo,
+Bay San Iago and San Felipe, and Jordan, in use to this day.
+
+No more explorers came to the islands till 1767, when a Frenchman,
+Carteret, touched at Santa Cruz, and 1768, when Bougainville landed
+in the northern New Hebrides, leaving his name to the treacherous
+channel between Malekula and Santo.
+
+But all these travellers were thrown into the shade by the immortal
+discoverer, James Cook, who, in the New Hebrides, as everywhere else,
+combined into solid scientific material all that his predecessors had
+left in a state of patchwork. Cook's first voyage made possible the
+observation of the transit of Venus from one of the islands of the
+Pacific. His second cruise, in search of the Australian continent,
+led him, coming from Tongoa, to the New Hebrides, of which he first
+sighted Maevo.
+
+Assisted by two brilliant scientists, Reinhold and George Forster,
+Cook investigated the archipelago with admirable exactitude, determined
+the position of the larger islands, made scientific collections of
+all sorts, and gave us the first reliable descriptions of the country
+and its people, so that the material he gathered is of the greatest
+value even at the present day. The group had formerly been known as
+the "Great Cyclades"; Cook gave it its present name of "New Hebrides."
+
+Incited by Cook's surprising results the French Government sent La
+Perouse to the islands, but he was shipwrecked in 1788 on Vanikoro, the
+southern-most of the Santa Cruz group; remains of this wreck were found
+on Vanikoro a few years ago. In 1789 Bligh sighted the Banks Islands,
+and in 1793 d'Entrecastaux, sent by Louis XVI. to the rescue of La
+Perouse, saw the islands of Santa Cruz. Since that time traffic with
+the islands became more frequent; among many travellers we may mention
+the French captain, Dumont d'Urville, and the Englishmen, Belcher and
+Erskine, who, as well as Markham, have all left interesting accounts.
+
+But with Markham we enter that sad period which few islands of the
+Pacific escaped, in which the scum of the white race carried on
+their bloodstained trade in whaling products and sandalwood. They
+terrorized the natives shamelessly, and when these, naturally enough,
+often resorted to cruel modes of defence, they retaliated with deeds
+still more frightful, and the bad reputation they themselves made
+for the natives served them as a welcome excuse for a system of
+extermination. The horrors of slave-trade were added to piracy, so
+that in a few decades the native race of the New Hebrides and Banks
+Islands was so weakened that in many places to-day its preservation
+seems hopeless.
+
+Thus, for the financial advantage of the worst of whites, and from
+indolence and short-sighted national rivalry, a race was sacrificed
+which in every respect would be worth preserving, and it is a shameful
+fact that even to-day such atrocities are not impossible and very
+little is done to save the islanders from destruction.
+
+The only factor opposing these conditions was the Mission, which
+obtained a foothold in the islands under Bishop John Williams. He
+was killed in 1839 by the natives of Erromanga, but the Protestant
+missionaries, especially the Presbyterians, would not be repulsed,
+and slowly advanced northward, in spite of many losses. To-day the
+Presbyterian mission occupies all the New Hebrides, with the exception
+of Pentecoste, Aoba and Maevo. To the north lies the field of the
+Anglican mission, extending up to the Solomon Islands.
+
+In 1848 Roman Catholic missionaries settled in Aneityum, but soon
+gave up the station; in 1887 they returned and spread all over the
+archipelago, with the exception of the southern islands and the
+Banks group.
+
+Of late years several representatives of free Protestant sects have
+come out, but, as a rule, these settle only where they can combine
+a profitable trade with their mission work.
+
+Owing to energetic agitation on the part of the Anglican and
+Presbyterian Churches, especially of Bishop Patteson and the
+Rev. J. G. Paton, men-of-war were ordered to the islands on police
+duty, so as to watch the labour-trade. They could not suppress
+kidnapping entirely, and the transportation of the natives to
+Queensland continued until within the last ten years, when it was
+suppressed by the Australian Government, so that to-day the natives
+are at least not taken away from their own islands, except those
+recruited by the French for New Caledonia.
+
+Unhappily, England and France could not agree as to who should annex
+the New Hebrides. Violent agitation in both camps resulted in neither
+power being willing to leave the islands to the other, as numerical
+superiority on the French side was counter-balanced by the absolute
+economical dependence of the colonists upon Australia. England put
+the group under the jurisdiction of the "Western Pacific," with
+a high commissioner; France retorted by the so-called purchase of
+all useful land by the "Societe Francaise des Nouvelles Hebrides,"
+a private company, which spent great sums on the islands in a short
+time. Several propositions of exchange failed to suit either of the
+powers, but both feared the interference of a third, and conditions
+in the islands called urgently for a government; so, in 1887, a
+dual control was established, each power furnishing a warship and a
+naval commissioner, who were to unite in keeping order. This was the
+beginning of the present Condominium, which was signed in 1906 and
+proclaimed in 1908 in Port Vila; quite a unique form of government
+and at the same time a most interesting experiment in international
+administration.
+
+The Condominium puts every Englishman or Frenchman under the laws
+of his own nation, as represented by its officials; so that these
+two nationalities live as they would in any colony of their own,
+while all others have to take their choice between these two.
+
+Besides the national laws, the Condominium has a few ordinances to
+regulate the intercourse between the two nations, the sale of liquor
+and arms to natives, recruiting and treatment of labourers, etc. As
+the highest instance in the islands and as a supreme tribunal, an
+international court of six members has been appointed: two Spanish,
+two Dutch, one English and one French. Thus the higher officials of
+the Condominium are:
+
+
+    One English and one French resident commissioner,
+    One Spanish president of the Court,
+    One English and one French judge,
+    One Dutch registrar,
+    One Spanish prosecuting attorney,
+    One Dutch native advocate,
+    One English and one French police commissioner.
+
+
+The Santa Cruz Islands were annexed by England in 1898 and belong to
+the jurisdiction of the Solomon Islands.
+
+
+
+Geography
+
+The New Hebrides lie between 165 deg. and 170 deg. east longitude, and reach
+from 13 deg. to 20 deg. south latitude. The Santa Cruz Islands lie 116 deg.
+east and 11 deg. south.
+
+The New Hebrides and Banks Islands consist of thirteen larger islands
+and a great number of islets and rocks, covering an area of about
+15,900 km. The largest island is Espiritu Santo, about 107 x 57
+km., with 4900 km. surface. They are divided into the Torres group,
+the Banks Islands, the Central and the Southern New Hebrides. The
+Banks and Torres Islands and the Southern New Hebrides are composed
+of a number of isolated, scattered islands, while the Central group
+forms a chain, which divides at Epi into an eastern and a western
+branch, and encloses a stretch of sea, hemming it in on all sides
+except the north. On the coast of this inland sea, especially on the
+western islands, large coral formations have grown, changing what was
+originally narrow mountain chains, running north and south, to larger
+islands. Indeed, most of them seem to consist of a volcanic nucleus,
+on which lie great coral banks, often 200 m. high; these usually
+drop in five steep steps to the sea, and then merge into the living
+coral-reef in the water. Most of the islands, therefore, appear as
+typical table-islands, out of which, in the largest ones, rise the
+rounded tops of the volcanic stones. They are all very mountainous;
+the highest point is Santo Peak, 1500 m. high.
+
+The tides cause very nasty tide-rips in the narrow channels between
+the islands of the Central group; but inside, the sea is fairly good,
+and the reefs offer plenty of anchorage for small craft. Much less
+safe are the open archipelagoes of the Banks and Torres Islands and
+of the Southern New Hebrides, where the swell of the open ocean is
+unbroken by any land and harbours are scarce.
+
+There are three active volcanoes on the New Hebrides--the mighty
+double crater on Ambrym, the steep cone of Lopevi, and the volcano
+of Tanna. There is a half-extinct volcano on Venua Lava, and many
+other islands show distinct traces of former volcanic activity,
+such as Meralava and Ureparapara, one side of which has broken down,
+so that now there is a smooth bay where once the lava boiled.
+
+Rivers are found only on the larger islands, where there are volcanic
+rocks. In the coral rocks the rain-water oozes rapidly away, so
+that fresh-water springs are not frequently found, in spite of very
+considerable rainfall.
+
+
+
+Climate
+
+The climate is not hot and very equable. The average temperature in
+Efate in 1910 was 24.335 deg. C.; the hottest month was February, with
+an average of 27.295 deg., the coolest, July with 11.9 deg. C. The lowest
+absolute temperature was 11.9 deg. C. in August, and the highest 35.6 deg.
+C. in March. The average yearly variation, therefore, was 5.48 deg.,
+and the absolute difference 23.7 deg..
+
+The rainfall is very heavy. In December the maximum, 564 mm., was
+reached, and in June the minimum, 22 mm. The total rainfall was 3.012
+mm., giving a daily average of 8.3 mm.
+
+These figures, taken from a table in the Neo-Hebridais, show that the
+year is divided into a cool, dry season and a hot, damp one. From May
+to October one enjoys agreeable summer days, bright and cool, with a
+predominant south-east trade-wind, that rises and falls with the sun
+and creates a fairly salubrious climate. From November to April the
+atmosphere is heavy and damp, and one squall follows another. Often
+there is no wind, or the wind changes quickly and comes in heavy gusts
+from the north-west. This season is the time for cyclones, which occur
+at least once a year; happily, their centre rarely touches the islands,
+as they lie somewhat out of the regular cyclone track.
+
+A similar climate, with but slightly higher temperature, prevails on
+the Santa Cruz Islands.
+
+
+
+Flora and Fauna
+
+The vegetation of the New Hebrides is luxurious enough to make all
+later visitors share Quiros' amazement. The possibilities for the
+planter are nearly inexhaustible, and the greatest difficulty is
+that of keeping the plantations from the constant encroachments of
+the forest. Yet the flora is poorer in forms than that of Asiatic
+regions, and in the southern islands it is said to be much like that
+of New Caledonia.
+
+As a rule, thick forest covers the islands; only rarely we find areas
+covered with reed-grass. On Erromanga these are more frequent.
+
+In the Santa Cruz Islands the flora seems richer than in the New
+Hebrides.
+
+Still more simple than the flora is the fauna. Of mammals there are
+only the pig, dog, a flying-fox and the rat, of which the first two
+have probably been imported by the natives. There are but few birds,
+reptiles and amphibies, but the few species there are are very
+prolific, so that we find swarms of lizards and snakes, the latter
+all harmless Boidae, but occasionally of considerable size.
+
+Crocodiles are found only in the Santa Cruz Islands, and do not grow
+so large there as in the Solomon Islands.
+
+Animal life in the sea is very rich; turtles and many kinds of fish
+and Cetaceae are plentiful.
+
+
+
+Native Population
+
+The natives belong to the Melanesian race, which is a collective
+name for the dark-skinned, curly-haired, bearded inhabitants of the
+Pacific. The Melanesians are quite distinct from the Australians,
+and still more so from the lank-haired, light-skinned Polynesians of
+the eastern islands. Probably a mixture of Polynesians and Melanesians
+are the Micronesians, who are light-skinned but curly-haired, and of
+whom we find representatives in the New Hebrides. The island-nature
+of the archipelago is very favourable to race-mixture; and as we know
+that on some islands there were several settlements of Polynesians,
+it is not surprising to find a very complex mingling of races, which
+it is not an easy task to disentangle. It would seem, however, that
+we have before us remnants of four races: a short, dark, curly-haired
+and perhaps original race, a few varieties of the tall Melanesian
+race, arrived in the islands in several migrations, an old Polynesian
+element as a relic of its former migrations eastward, and a present
+Polynesian element from the east.
+
+Every traveller will notice that the lightest population is in the
+south and north-east of the New Hebrides, while the darkest is in
+the north-west, and the ethnological difference corresponds to this
+division.
+
+In the Banks Islands we find, probably owing to recent immigration,
+more Polynesian blood than in the northern New Hebrides; in the Santa
+Cruz group the process of mixing seems to be just going on.
+
+The number of natives in the New Hebrides and Banks Islands
+amounted, according to the approximate census of the British Resident
+Commissioner in 1910, to 65,000. At a conservative estimate we may say
+that before the coming of the whites, that is, a generation ago, it was
+ten times that, i.e. 650,000. For to judge from present conditions,
+the accounts of old men and the many ruined villages, it is evident
+that the race must have decreased enormously.
+
+
+
+Language
+
+The languages belong to the Melanesian and Polynesian classes. They are
+split up into numerous dialects, so widely different that natives of
+different districts can hardly, if at all, understand each other. It
+is evident that owing to the seclusion of the villages caused by the
+general insecurity of former days, and the lack of any literature,
+the language developed differently in every village.
+
+On some islands things are so bad that one may easily walk in one day
+through several districts, in each of which is spoken a language quite
+unintelligible to the neighbours; there are even adjoining villages
+whose natives have to learn each other's language; this makes them
+fairly clever linguists. Where, by migrations, conditions have become
+too complicated, the most important of the dialects has been adopted
+as a kind of "lingua franca."
+
+Under these circumstances I at once gave up the idea of learning a
+native language, as I never stopped anywhere more than a few weeks; and
+as the missionaries have done good work in the cause of philology, my
+services were not needed. I was, therefore, dependent on interpreters
+in "biche la mar," a language which contains hardly more than fifty
+words, and which is spoken on the plantations, but is quite useless
+for discussing any abstract subject. In nearly every village there
+is some man who can speak biche la mar.
+
+
+
+Colonization
+
+As we have seen, colonization in the New Hebrides was begun by the
+whalers, who had several stations in the southern islands. They had,
+however, little intercourse with the natives, and their influence
+may be considered fairly harmless.
+
+More dangerous were the sandalwood traders, who worked chiefly in
+Erromanga. They were not satisfied with buying the valuable wood
+from the natives, but tried to get directly at the rich supplies
+inland. Naturally, they came into conflict with the natives, and
+fierce wars arose, in which the whites fought with all the weapons
+unscrupulous cruelty can wield. As a result, the population of
+Erromanga has decreased from between 5000 and 10,000 to 800.
+
+Happily, the northern islands were not so rich in sandalwood, so that
+contact with the whites came later, through the coprah-makers. Coprah
+is dried cocoa-nut, which is used in manufacturing soap, and the
+great wealth of cocoa-nut palms attracted coprah-makers as early
+as the 'Seventies of the last century. They were nearly all ruined
+adventurers, either escaped from the Noumea penitentiary or otherwise
+the scum of the white race. Such individuals would settle near
+a good anchorage close to some large village, build a straw hut,
+and barter coprah for European goods and liquor. They made a very
+fair profit, but were constantly quarrelling with the natives, whom
+they enraged by all sorts of brutalities. The frequent murders of
+such traders were excusable, to say the least, and many later ones
+were acts of justifiable revenge. The traders were kept in contact
+with civilization through small sailing-vessels, which brought them
+new goods and bought their coprah. This easy money-making attracted
+more whites, so that along the coasts of the more peaceable islands
+numerous Europeans settled, and at present there are so many of these
+stations that the coprah-trade is no longer very profitable.
+
+Naturally, many of these settlers started plantations, and thus grew
+up the plantation centres of Mele, Port Havannah, Port Sandwich, Epi
+and the Segond Channel. Many plantations were created by the "Societe
+Francaise des Nouvelles Hebrides," but owing to bad management these
+have never yet brought any returns.
+
+Thus, to the alcohol peril was added another danger to the
+natives,--work on the plantations. They were kidnapped, overworked,
+ill-fed; it was slavery in its worst shape, and the treatment of the
+hands is best illustrated by the mortality which, in some places,
+reached 44 per cent. per annum. In those days natives were plentiful
+and labour easy to get, and nobody worried about the future; so the
+ruin of the race began, and to-day their number hardly suffices for
+the needs of the planters.
+
+Then the slave-trade to Queensland, Fiji, even South America began,
+so that the population, relatively small from the first, decreased
+alarmingly, all the more so as they were decimated by dysentery,
+measles, tuberculosis and other diseases.
+
+Against all these harmful influences the missions, unsupported as they
+were by any authority, could only fight by protests in the civilized
+countries; these proved effectual at last, so that the missions deserve
+great credit for having preserved the native race. Yet it cannot be
+said that they have restored its vitality, except in Tanna. It seems
+as if the system of imbibing the native with so much European culture,
+and yet separating him from the whites and regulated labour, had been
+noxious to the race, for nearly everywhere the Christianized natives
+die out just as fast as the heathen population.
+
+About ten years after the French, the English began planting, and
+to-day nearly all arable land along the coast is cultivated. The
+English suffer much less from lack of labour, which is doubtless owing
+to their more humane and just treatment of the hands. In the first
+place, they usually come from better stock than the French, and,
+secondly, they are strictly controlled by the Government, whereas
+the French Government does not even attempt to enforce its own laws.
+
+There is now some question of importing Indian coolies; the great
+expense this would entail would be a just punishment for the
+short-sighted cruelty with which the most valuable product of the
+islands--their population--has been destroyed. Only by compelling
+each native to work for a definite period could a sufficient amount
+of labour be produced to-day; but such a system, while extremely
+beneficial to the race as a whole, stands but a poor chance of being
+introduced.
+
+The products of the islands are coprah, coffee, corn, cocoa and, of
+late years, cotton. The chief item, however, is coprah, for the islands
+seem specially suited for the growing of cocoa-nut palms. Rubber does
+not seem to thrive.
+
+In spite of the great number of officials, the Government does not
+make itself much felt outside the larger settlements, at least on the
+French side. There are not yet magistrates on each island, so that
+the Government hears only so much about the crimes committed on the
+islands as the planters care to tell, and naturally they do not tell
+too much. The British Government is represented by two inspectors,
+who frequently visit all the British plantations and look into labour
+conditions; the activity of the French authorities is restricted to
+occasional visits from the Resident.
+
+Thus the natives have no means of complaining about the whites,
+while they have to submit to any punishment they may get on the
+accusation of a colonist. This would be a very one-sided affair;
+happily, the missionaries represent the interests of the natives,
+and the power of the Government does not reach far inland. There the
+natives are quite independent, so that only a few hours away from the
+coast cannibalism still flourishes. Formerly, expeditions from the
+men-of-war frightened the natives; to-day they know that resistance
+is easy. It is, therefore, not the merit of the Government or the
+planters if the islands are fairly pacified, but only of the missions,
+which work mostly through native teachers. Still, the missions have
+had one bad effect: they have undermined the old native authorities
+and thus created general anarchy to complete the destruction begun
+by European civilization.
+
+In the Santa Cruz Islands there is only one plantation, worked by boys
+from the Solomon Islands, as the Santa Cruz natives are not yet used to
+regular work. But to-day they frequently recruit for the plantations
+on the Solomons, and there come into contact with civilization. There
+the labour conditions are strictly watched by the British Government;
+still, boys returning from there have sometimes imported diseases,
+generally tuberculosis, which have reduced the population by half.
+
+
+
+Commerce
+
+Communications with Sydney, the commercial centre of the Western
+Pacific, are established by means of a French and an English line
+of steamers. A few small steamers and schooners ply at irregular
+intervals between Noumea and the New Hebrides.
+
+The English steamers fly the flag of Burns, Philp & Company, the
+great Australian firm which trades with numerous island groups of the
+South Seas. Their steamers touch the Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands,
+stop for a few days at Vila, then call in a four weeks' cruise at
+nearly all the plantations in the islands. They carry the mail and
+ply a profitable trade with the planters; they also do errands for
+the colonists in Sydney, procuring anything from a needle to a horse
+or a house. Being practically without serious competitors they can set
+any price they please on commodities, so that they are a power in the
+islands and control the trade of the group; all the more so as many
+planters are dependent on them for large loans. To me, Burns, Philp &
+Company were extremely useful, as on board their ships I could always
+find money, provisions and articles for barter, send my collections
+to Vila, and occasionally travel from one island to another.
+
+The French line is run by the Messageries Maritimes, on quite a
+different plan: it is merely for mail-service and does not do any
+trading. Its handsome steamer travels in three weeks from Sydney
+to Noumea and Port Vila, visits about three plantations and leaves
+the islands after one week. This line offers the shortest and most
+comfortable connection with Sydney, taking eight days for the trip,
+while the English steamers take eleven.
+
+The port of entrance to the group is Port Vila, chosen for its
+proximity to New Caledonia and Sydney; it is a good harbour, though
+somewhat narrow.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+NOUMEA AND PORT VILA
+
+
+On April 26, 1910, I arrived at Noumea by the large and very old
+mail-steamer of the Messageries Maritimes, plying between Marseilles
+and Noumea, which I had boarded at Sydney.
+
+Noumea impresses one very unfavourably. A time of rapid development has
+been followed by a period of stagnation, increased by the suppression
+of the penitentiary, the principal source of income to the town. The
+latter has never grown to the size originally planned and laid out, and
+its desolate squares and decayed houses are a depressing sight. Two or
+three steamers and a few sailing-vessels are all the craft the harbour
+contains; a few customs officers and discharged convicts loaf on the
+pier, where some natives from the Loyalty Islands sleep or shout.
+
+Parallel streets lead from the harbour to the hills that fence the
+town to the landward. Under roofs of corrugated sheet-iron run the
+sidewalks, along dark stores displaying unappetizing food, curios and
+cheap millinery. At each corner is a dismal sailors' bar, smelling of
+absinthe. Then we come to an empty, decayed square, where a crippled,
+noseless "Gallia" stands on a fountain; some half-drunk coachmen
+lounge dreaming on antediluvian cabs, and a few old convicts sprawl
+on benches.
+
+Along the hillside are the houses of the high officials and the better
+class of people. There is a club, where fat officials gather to play
+cards and drink absinthe and champagne; they go to the barber's, roll
+cigarettes, drink some more absinthe and go to bed early, after having
+visited a music-hall, in which monstrous dancing-girls from Sydney
+display their charms and moving-picture shows present blood-curdling
+dramas. Then there is the Governor's residence, the town hall, etc.,
+and the only event in this quiet city of officials is the arrival of
+the mail-steamer, when all the "beau-monde" gathers on the pier to
+welcome the few passengers, whether known or unknown.
+
+In Noumea itself there is no industry, and the great export of minerals
+does not touch the town. Once, Noumea was meant to form a base of
+naval operations, and strongly fortified. But after a few years
+this idea was abandoned, after having cost large sums, and now the
+fortifications are left to decay and the heavy, modern guns to rust.
+
+In spite of a prohibition, one may climb up to the forts, and be
+rewarded by a beautiful view of the island, which does not impress one
+as tropical. The rounded hills are covered with shrubs, and only in the
+valleys are there a few trees; we are surprised by the strong colouring
+of the distant mountains, shining purple through the violet atmosphere.
+
+Seaward, we see the white line of the breakers, indicating the great
+barrier-reef which surrounds the isle with an almost impenetrable belt;
+a few channels only lead from the shore to the open ocean.
+
+On the 1st of May the Pacific arrived at Noumea, and her departure
+for Vila, next day, ended a most tiresome stay.
+
+It was a sad, rainy day when we left. Impatiently the passengers waited
+till the freight was loaded,--houses, iron, horses, cases of tins,
+etc. Of course we were six hours late, and all the whites were angry,
+while the few natives did not care, but found a dry corner, rolled
+themselves up in their blankets and dozed. When we finally left,
+heavy squalls were rushing over the sea; in the darkness a fog came
+on, so that we had soon to come to anchor. But next morning we had
+passed the Loyalty Islands and were rolling in the heavy swell the
+south-east trade raises on the endless surface of the Pacific.
+
+Next day, through the light mist of a summer morning, the forms
+of islands appeared, flat, bluish-grey lines, crowned with rounded
+hills. Slowly finer points appeared, the ridge of mountains showed
+details and we could recognize the tops of the giant banyan trees,
+towering above the forest as a cathedral does over the houses of a
+city. We saw the surf, breaking in the coral cliffs of flat shores,
+found the entrance to the wide bay, noticed the palms with elegantly
+curved trunks bending over the beach, and unexpectedly entered the
+lagoon, that shone in the bright sun like a glittering sapphire.
+
+We had passed the flat cliffs, covered only with iron-wood trees,
+and now the water was bordered by high coral plateaux, from which a
+luxuriant forest fell down in heavy cascades, in a thickness almost
+alarming, like the eruption of a volcano, when one cloud pushes
+the other before it and new ones are ever behind. It seemed as if
+each tree were trying to strangle the others in a fight for life,
+while the weakest, deprived of their ground, clung frantically to
+the shore and would soon be pushed far out over the smooth, shining
+sea. There the last dense crowns formed the beautiful fringe of the
+green carpet stretched soft and thick over the earth.
+
+Only here and there the shore was free, showing the coral strand as
+a line of white that separated the blue of the sea from the green
+of the forest and intensified every colour in the landscape. It was
+a vision of the most magnificent luxuriance, so different from the
+view which the barren shores of eastern New Caledonia offer.
+
+The bay became narrower and we approached the port proper. Small
+islands appeared, between which we had glimpses of cool bays
+across glassy, deep-green water, and before us lay a broken line of
+light-coloured houses along the beach, while on the plateau behind
+we could see the big court-house and some villas.
+
+A little distance off-shore we dropped anchor, and were soon surrounded
+by boats, from which the inhabitants came on board. A kind planter
+brought me and my belongings ashore, and I took up my quarters in
+the only hotel in Port Vila, the so-called "blood-house," thus named
+because of its history.
+
+Vila is merely the administration centre, and consists of nothing but
+a few stores and the houses of the Condominium officials. There is
+little life, and only the arrival of the ships brings some excitement,
+so that the stranger feels bored and lonely, especially as the
+"blood-house " does not offer many comforts and the society there is
+not of the choicest.
+
+I immediately went to present my letters of introduction to the French
+Resident. The offices of the British Residence were still on the small
+island of Iariki, which I could not reach without a boat. The French
+Residence is a long, flat, unattractive building; the lawn around the
+house was fairly well kept, but perfectly bare, in accordance with
+the French idea of salubrity, except for a few straggling bushes near
+by. Fowls and horses promenaded about. But the view is one of the most
+charming to be found in the islands. Just opposite is the entrance to
+the bay, and the two points frame the sea most effectively, numerous
+smaller capes deepening the perspective. Along their silhouettes
+the eye glides into far spaces, to dive beyond the horizon into
+infinity. Iariki is just in front, and we can see the well-kept park
+around the British Residence, with its mixture of art and wilderness;
+near by is the smooth sea shining in all colours. While the shores
+are of a yellowish green, the sea is of every shade of blue, and
+the green of the depths is saturated with that brilliant turquoise
+tint which is enough to put one into a light and happy humour. This
+being my first sight of a tropical landscape, my delight was great,
+and made up for any disappointment human inefficiency had occasioned.
+
+The French Resident, Mr. C, received me most kindly, and did me the
+honour of inviting me to be his guest. I had planned to stay in Vila
+a few weeks, so as to get acquainted with the country and hire boys;
+but the Resident seemed to think that I only intended a short visit
+to the islands, and he proposed to take me with him on a cruise
+through the archipelago and to deposit me at the Segond Channel, an
+invitation I could not well refuse. My objection of having no servants
+was overruled by the Resident's assurance that I could easily find some
+in Santo. I therefore made my preparations and got my luggage ready.
+
+In the afternoon, Mr. C. lent me his boat to go and pay my respects
+to Mr. Morton King, the British Resident. The difference between the
+two residences was striking, but it would be out of place to dwell on
+it here. It may be caused by the fact that the French Resident is,
+as a rule, recalled every six months, while the British Resident
+had been at Vila for more than three years. Mr. King received me
+most cordially and also offered his hospitality, which, however,
+I was unable to accept. Later on Mr. King assisted and sheltered me
+in the most generous manner, so that I shall always remember his help
+and friendship with sincere gratitude.
+
+I also had the honour of making the acquaintance of the British judge
+and of most of the Condominium officials.
+
+It was a dull morning when we left Vila on board the French Government
+yacht. In days gone by she had been an elegant racing-boat, but
+was now somewhat decayed and none too clean; however, she had been
+equipped with a motor, so that we were independent of the wind.
+
+Besides the Resident and myself there were on board the French judge,
+the police commissioner, and a crew of boys from the Loyalty Islands
+near New Caledonia. These are excellent sailors and are employed in
+Vila as French policemen. They are very strong and lively and great
+fighters, and would be perfect material for a police force were they
+not such confirmed drunkards. Because of this defect they all had
+to be dismissed soon afterwards and sent back to their own country,
+as in Vila, instead of arresting drunken natives, they had generally
+been drunk themselves and were often fighting in the streets. But
+on board ship, where they had no opportunity to get drunk, they were
+very willing and always cheerful and ready for sport of any kind.
+
+We did not travel far that first day, but stopped after a few hours'
+sail in Port Havannah, north of the Bay of Mele. This port would be one
+of the best harbours in the group, as it is almost entirely landlocked;
+only, the water is so deep that small craft cannot anchor. Yet it
+would be preferable to Port Vila, as the climate is much better, Vila
+being one of the hottest, stuffiest and rainiest spots in the group,
+and its harbour is becoming too small for the increased traffic of
+the last few years. Port Vila only became the capital of the islands
+when the English influence grew stronger, while all the land round
+Port Havannah belonged to a French company.
+
+We spent the afternoon on shore shooting pigeons. Besides a few ducks,
+flying-foxes and wild pigs, pigeons are the only game in the islands;
+but this pigeon-shooting is a peculiar sport and requires a special
+enthusiasm to afford pleasure for any length of time. The birds are
+extremely shy and generally sit on the tops of the highest trees
+where a European can hardly discover them. The natives, however,
+are very clever in detecting them, but when they try to show you the
+pigeon it generally flies off and is lost; and if you shoot it, it is
+hard to find, even for a native. The natives themselves are capable
+of approaching the birds noiselessly and unseen, because of their
+colour, so as to shoot them from a short distance. My pigeon-shooting
+usually consisted in waiting for several hours in the forest, with
+very unsatisfactory results, so that I soon gave it up.
+
+We were all unsuccessful on this particular day, but it ended most
+gaily with a dance at the house of a French planter.
+
+We slept on board, rocked softly by the ship, against which the waves
+plashed in cosy whispering. The sky was bright with stars, but below
+decks it was dark and stuffy. Now and then a big fish jumped out of the
+black sea, otherwise it was quiet, dull and gloomy as a dismal dream.
+
+Next day we rose early and went shooting again. Probably because we
+had been given the best wishes of an old French lady the result was as
+unsatisfactory as the evening before. We then resumed our journey in
+splendid weather, with a stiff breeze, and flying through blue spaces
+on the bright waves, we rapidly passed several small islands, sighted
+"Monument Rock," a lonely cliff that rises abruptly out of the sea
+to a height of 130 m., and arrived late in the afternoon at Maei,
+our destination.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+MAEI, TONGOA, EPI AND MALEKULA
+
+
+Maei is a small island whose natives have nearly all disappeared, as
+is the case on most of its neighbours. There is one small plantation,
+with the agent of which the Resident had business. After we had passed
+the narrow inlet through the reef, we landed, to find the agent in a
+peculiar, half-mad condition. He pretended to suffer from fever, but
+it was evident that alcohol had a good deal to do with it, too. The
+man made strange faces, could hardly talk and was quite unable to
+write; he said the fever had deprived him of the power of using his
+fingers. He was asked to dinner on board, and as he could not speak
+French nor the Resident English, negotiations were carried on in biche
+la mar, a language in which it is impossible to talk about anything
+but the simplest matters of everyday life. Things got still worse when
+the agent became more and more intoxicated, in spite of the small
+quantities of liquor we allowed him. I had to act as interpreter, a
+most ungrateful task, as the planter soon began to insult the Resident,
+and I had to translate his remarks and the Resident's answers. At last,
+funny as the whole affair was in a way, it became very tiresome;
+happily, matters came to a sudden close by the planter's falling
+under the table. He was then taken ashore by his native wife and the
+police-boys, who enjoyed this duty immensely. We smoked a quiet pipe,
+looked after the fish-hooks--empty, of course--and slept on deck in
+the cool night air. Next morning the planter came aboard somewhat
+sobered and more tractable. He brought with him his wife, and their
+child whom he wished to adopt. As the native women do not as a rule
+stay with their masters very long, the children are registered under
+the formula: "Child of N. N., mother unknown," an expression which
+sounds somewhat queer to those who do not know the reason for it.
+
+After having finished this business, we weighed anchor and set sail
+for Tongoa. This is one of the few islands whose native population
+does not decrease. The Presbyterian missionary there gives the entire
+credit for this pleasant fact to his exertions, as the natives are
+all converted. But as in other completely Christianized districts
+the natives die out rapidly, it is doubtful whether Christianity
+alone has had this beneficial effect, and we must seek other causes,
+though they are hard to find.
+
+After a clear night we sailed along the coast of Epi. The bright
+weather had changed to a dull, rainy day, and the aspect of the
+landscape was entirely altered. The smiling islands had become sober,
+lonely, even threatening. When the charm of a country consists so
+entirely in its colouring, any modification of the atmosphere and
+light cause such a change in its character that the same view may look
+either like Paradise or entirely dull and inhospitable. What had been
+thus far a pleasure trip, a holiday excursion, turned suddenly into
+a business journey, and this change in our mood was increased by a
+slight illness which had attacked the Resident, making the jovial
+gentleman morose and irritable.
+
+The stay in Epi was rather uninteresting. Owing to the dense French
+colonization there the natives have nearly all disappeared or become
+quite degenerate. We spent our time in visits to the different French
+planters and then sailed for Malekula, anchoring in Port Sandwich.
+
+Port Sandwich is a long, narrow bay in the south of Malekula, and
+after Port Vila the most frequented harbour of the group, as it is
+very centrally located and absolutely safe. Many a vessel has found
+protection there from storm or cyclone. The entrance to the bay is
+narrow, and at the anchorage we were so completely landlocked that
+we might have imagined ourselves on an inland lake, so quiet is the
+water, surrounded on all sides by the dark green forest which falls
+in heavy waves down from the hills to the silent, gloomy sea.
+
+Immediately after our arrival my companions went pigeon-shooting as
+usual; but I soon preferred to join the son of the French planter
+at Port Sandwich in a visit to the neighbouring native village. This
+was my first sight of the real, genuine aborigines.
+
+No one with any taste for nature will fail to feel the solemnity
+of the moment when he stands face to face for the first time with
+primitive man. As the traveller enters the depths of the virgin
+forest for the first time with sacred awe, he feels that he stands
+before a still higher revelation of nature when the first dark, naked
+man suddenly appears. Silently he has crept through the thicket, has
+parted the branches, and confronts us unexpectedly on a narrow path,
+shy and silent, while we are struck with surprise. His figure is but
+slightly relieved against the green of the bushes; he seems part of
+the silent, luxuriant world around him, a being strange to us, a part
+of those realms which we are used to imagine as void of feeling and
+incapable of thought. But a word breaks the spell, intelligence gleams
+in his face, and what, so far, has seemed a strange being, belonging
+rather to the lower animals than to human-kind, shows himself a man,
+and becomes equal to ourselves. Thus the endless, inhospitable jungle,
+without open spaces or streets, without prairies and sun, that dense
+tangle of lianas and tree-trunks, shelters men like ourselves. It
+seems marvellous to think that in those depths, dull, dark and silent
+as the fathomless ocean, men can live, and we can hardly blame former
+generations for denying all kinship with these savages and counting
+them as animals; especially as the native never seems more primitive
+than when he is roaming the forest, naked but for a bark belt, with a
+big curly wig and waving plumes, bow and arrow his only weapons. When
+alarmed, he hides in the foliage, and once swallowed up in the green
+depths which are his home and his protection, neither eye nor ear
+can find any trace of him.
+
+But our ideas change when we enter his village home, with its
+dancing-grounds with the big drums, the sacred stone tables, idols and
+carved tree-trunks, all in a frame of violently coloured bushes--red,
+purple, brown and orange. Above us, across a blue sky, a tree with
+scarlet flowers blows in the breeze, and long stamens fall slowly down
+and cover the ground with a brilliant carpet. Dogs bark, roosters
+crow and from a hut a man creeps out--others emerge from the bush
+and from half-hidden houses which at first we had not noticed. At
+some distance stand the women and children in timid amazement, and
+then begins a chattering, or maybe a whispered consultation about
+the arrival of the stranger. We are in the midst of human life, in
+a busy little town, where the sun pours through the gaps in the dark
+forest, and flowers give colour and brightness, and where, after all,
+life is not so very much less human than in civilization.
+
+Then the forest has lifted its veil, we have entered the sanctuary,
+and the alarming sensation of nature's hostility is softened. We white
+men like to talk about our mastery over nature, but is it not rather
+true that we flee from nature, as its most intense manifestations are
+oppressive to us? Is not the savage, living so very close to nature,
+more its master, or at least its friend, than we are? We need space
+and the sight of sun and sky to feel happy; the night of the forest,
+the loneliness of the ocean are terrible to us, whilst to the native
+they are his home and his element.
+
+It is evident that under our first strong impression of the native's
+life we overlook much--the filth, the sores, the brutality of social
+life; but these are really only ripples on an otherwise smooth
+existence, defects which are not less present in our civilization,
+but are better concealed.
+
+The next day we followed the coast of Malekula southward. There are
+immense coral reefs attached to the coast, so that often the line of
+breakers is one or two miles away from the shore. These reefs are a
+solid mass of cleft coral stones constantly growing seaward. Their
+surface is more or less flat, about on a level with the water at low
+tide, so that it then lies nearly dry, and one can walk on the reefs,
+jumping over the wide crevices in which the sea roars and gurgles
+with the rise and fall of the breakers outside. These ever-growing
+reefs would surround the whole coast were it not for the fresh water
+that oozes out from the land and prevents the coral from growing at
+certain points, thus keeping open narrow passages through the reef,
+or wider stretches along the coast free from rocks. These basins form
+good anchorages for small craft, as the swell of the open sea cannot
+cross the reef; only the entrances are often crooked and hard to find.
+
+Our captain brought us safely into a quiet lagoon, where the yacht
+lay in deep green water, smooth as glass, while beyond the reef the
+breakers dashed a silver line across the blue ocean.
+
+Of course we immediately went shooting on the reef. I did not have
+much sport, as I could see nothing worth shooting, but I was much
+interested in wading in the warm water to observe the multiform animal
+life of the reef. There was the "beche-de-mer," the sea-cucumber,
+yellow or purplish-black, a shapeless mass lying in pools; this is
+a delicacy highly valued by the Chinese and therefore a frequent
+article of exportation. The animals are collected, cut open, dried
+and shipped. There was the ugly muraena, which goes splashing and
+winding like a snake between boulders, and threatens the intruder
+with poisonous looks and snapping jaws. Innumerable bright-coloured
+fish shot hither and thither in the flat pools, there were worms,
+sea-stars, octopus, crabs. The wealth of animal life on the reef,
+where each footstep stirs up a hundred creatures, is incredible,
+and ever so many more are hidden in the rocks and crevices.
+
+The plants that had taken root in the coral were mostly mangrove
+bushes with great forked roots.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE SEGOND CHANNEL--LIFE ON A PLANTATION
+
+
+When the tide rose, we returned to the yacht and continued our cruise
+northward, passed the small islands of Rano, Atchin, Vao and others,
+crossed the treacherous Bougainville Strait between Malekula and
+Santo, and came to anchor in the Canal du Segond formed by Santo and
+Malo. This channel is about eight miles long and three-quarters of
+a mile wide at its narrowest point. On its shores, which belong to a
+French company, is a colony of about a hundred and fifty Frenchmen. The
+Segond Channel would be a good harbour but for very strong currents
+caused by the tides, which are unfavourable to small boats; its
+location, too, is not very central. The shores are flat, but rise
+abruptly at some points to a height of 150 m. There are level lands
+at the mouth of the Sarrakatta River and on the tablelands.
+
+The Sarrakatta is one of the sights of the New Hebrides, and a pull up
+the narrow stream affords one of the most impressive views to be had
+of tropical vegetation. The river cuts straight through the forest,
+so that the boat moves between two high walls of leafy green. Silently
+glides the stream, silently broods the forest, only the boat swishes
+softly, and sometimes a frightened fish splashes up. Every bend we
+round shows us new and surprisingly charming views: now we pass a
+giant tree, which towers up king-like on its iron-hard trunk far
+above the rest of the forest, trunk and limbs covered with a fine
+lacework of tender-leaved lianas; now we sweep along a high bank,
+under a bower of overhanging branches. The water caresses the tips
+of the twigs, and through the leaves the sun pours golden into the
+cool darkness. Again we glide into the light, and tangled shrubbery
+seams the river bank, from which long green strands of vines trail
+down and curl in the water like snakes. Knobby roots rise out of
+the ground; they have caught floating trunks, across which the
+water pours, lifting and dropping the wet grasses that grow on
+the rotten stems. Farther up the bushes are entirely covered with
+vines and creepers, whose large, thick leaves form a scaly coat of
+mail under which the half-strangled trees seem to fight in vain for
+air and freedom. In shallow places stiff bamboos sprout, their long
+yellow leaves trembling nervously in an imperceptible breeze; again
+we see trees hung with creepers as if wearing torn flags; and once
+in a while we catch sight of that most charming of tropical trees,
+the tree-fern, with its lovely star-shaped crown, like a beautiful,
+dainty work of art in the midst of the uncultivated wilderness. As
+if in a dream we row back down stream, and like dream-pictures all
+the various green shapes of the forest sweep by and disappear.
+
+The Resident introduced me to the French planters, Mr. and Mrs. Ch.,
+and asked them to take me in, which they agreed to do. Having rented
+an old plantation from the French company, they had had the good
+fortune to find a regular frame house ready for them.
+
+After I had moved into my quarters the Resident returned to Vila,
+and I remained on the borders of the wilderness. What followed now
+was a most unsatisfactory time of waiting, the first of many similar
+periods. Having no servants, I could undertake nothing independently,
+and since the planters were all suffering from lack of hands, I could
+not hire any boys. As the natives around the French plantations at
+the Canal du Segond are practically exterminated, I saw hardly any;
+but at least I got a good insight into the life on a plantation,
+such as it was.
+
+With his land, Mr. Ch. had rented about thirty boys, with whom he
+was trying to work the completely decayed plantation. Many acres were
+covered with coffee trees, but owing to the miserable management of
+the French company, the planters had changed continually and the system
+of planting just as often. Every manager had abandoned the work of his
+predecessor and begun planting anew on a different system, so that now
+there was an immense tract of land planted which had never yet yielded
+a crop. In a short time such intended plantations are overgrown with
+bush and reconquered by the wilderness; thus thousands of coffee trees
+were covered with vines and struggled in vain for light and air. It
+seem incredible that in two weeks, on cleared ground, grass can grow
+up as tall as a man, and that after six months a cleared plantation
+can be covered with bushes and shrubs with stems as thick as one's
+finger. The planter, knowing that this overwhelming fertility and
+the jealous advances of the forest are his most formidable enemies,
+directs his most strenuous efforts to keeping clear his plantation,
+especially while the plants are young and unable to fight down the
+weeds. Later on, weeding is less urgent, but in the beginning it is the
+one essential duty, more so than planting. Mr. Ch. had therefore an
+enormous task before him, and as he could not expect any return from
+the coffee trees for two or three years, he did as all planters do,
+and sowed corn, which yields a crop after three months.
+
+His labourers, dark, curly-haired men, clad in rags, were just
+then occupied in gathering the big ears of corn. Sluggishly they
+threw the golden ears over their shoulders to the ground, where it
+was collected by the women and carried to the shed on the beach--a
+long roof of leaves, without walls. Mr. Ch. urged the men to hurry,
+as the corn had to be ready for shipment in a few days, the Pacific,
+the French mail-steamer, being due. Produce deteriorates rapidly in
+the islands owing to the humid climate, so it cannot be stored long,
+especially where there is no dry storehouse. Therefore, crops can
+only be gathered just before the arrival of a steamer, making these
+last days very busy ones everywhere. It is fortunate for the planters
+that the native labourers are not yet organized and do not insist on
+an eight-hour day. As it was, Mr. Ch. had to leave more than half his
+crop to rot in the fields, a heavy rain having delayed the harvesting.
+
+The humidity at the Segond Channel is exceptionally great. As we
+stood on the fine coral sand that forms the shores of the channel,
+our clothes were damp with the rain from the weeds and shrubs which
+we had passed through while stumbling through the plantation. The
+steel-grey sea quivers, sleepy and pulpy looking; in front of us,
+in a grey mist, lies the flat island of Aore, the air smells mouldy,
+and brown rainclouds roll over the wall of primeval forest surrounding
+the clearing on three sides. The atmosphere is heavy, and a fine
+spray floats in the air and covers everything with moisture. Knives
+rust in one's pocket, matches refuse to light, tobacco is like a
+sponge and paper like a rag. It had been like this for three months;
+no wonder malarial fever raged among the white population. Mr. Ch.,
+after only one year's sojourn here, looked like a very sick man;
+he was frightfully thin and pale and very nervous; so was his wife,
+a delicate lady of good French family. She did the hard work of a
+planter's wife with admirable courage, and, while she had never taken
+an active part in housekeeping in France, here she was standing all
+day long behind a smoky kitchen fire, cooking or washing dishes,
+assisted only by a very incapable and unsophisticated native woman.
+
+On our return to the house, which lies about 200 metres inland, we
+found this black lady occupied with the extremely hard and puzzling
+task of laying the table. It seemed to give her the greatest trouble,
+and the deep distrust with which she handled the plates found eloquent
+expression in queer sighs and mysterious exclamations in her native
+tongue, in resigned shakes of the head and emphatic smacking of the
+lips. She was a crooked bush-woman from the north of Malekula, where
+the people, especially the women, are unusually ugly and savage. A
+low forehead, small, deep-set eyes, and a snout-like mouth gave
+her a very animal look; yet she showed human feeling, and nursed
+a shrieking and howling orphan all day long with the most tender
+care. Her little head was shaved and two upper teeth broken out as
+a sign of matrimony, so she certainly was no beauty; but the sight
+of her clumsy working was a constant source of amusement to us men,
+very much less so to her mistress, to whom nothing but her sincere
+zeal and desire to help could make up for her utter inefficiency.
+
+It cannot be denied that the women from those islands, where their
+social standing is especially low, are not half so intelligent and
+teachable as those from places where they are more nearly equal to
+the men; probably because they are subdued and kept in degradation
+from early youth, and not allowed any initiative or opinions of their
+own. But physically these women are very efficient and quite equal
+to the men in field work, or even superior, being more industrious.
+
+The feat of setting the table was accomplished in about an hour, and
+we sat down to our simple meal--tinned meat, yams and bananas. Then
+the foreman came in. Only a short time ago he was one of the finest
+warriors in the interior of Malekula, where cannibalism is still an
+everyday occurrence. He, too, wears his hair short, only, according
+to the present fashion, he lets the hair on his forehead grow in
+a roll-shaped bow across the head. He is well built, though rather
+short, and behaves with natural politeness. His voice is soft, his
+look gentle and in the doorway his dark figure shines in the lamplight
+like a bronze statue.
+
+Mr. Ch. tells him that the boys will have to work all night, at
+the same time promising an encouragement in the shape of a glass
+of wine to each. The natives' craving for alcohol is often abused by
+unscrupulous whites. Although the sale of liquor to natives is strictly
+forbidden by the laws of the Condominium, the French authorities do
+not even seem to try to enforce this regulation, in fact, they rather
+impressed me as favouring the sale, thus protecting the interests of
+a degraded class of whites, to the detriment of a valuable race. As
+a consequence, there are not a few Frenchmen who make their living by
+selling spirits to natives, which may be called, without exaggeration,
+a murderous and criminal traffic.
+
+Others profit indirectly by the alcoholism of the islanders by selling
+liquor to their hands every Saturday, so as to make them run into
+debt; they will all spend their entire wages on drink. If, their
+term of engagement being over, they want to return to their homes,
+they are told that they are still deep in debt to their master, and
+that they will have to pay off by working for some time longer. The
+poor fellows stay on and on, continue to drink, are never out of debt,
+and never see their homes again. This practice has developed of late
+years in consequence of the scarcity of labour, and is nothing but
+slavery. It might easily be abolished by a slight effort on the part
+of the Government, but there is hardly any supervision over French
+plantations outside Port Vila, and in many plantations conditions exist
+which are an insult to our modern views on humane treatment. On English
+plantations there is but little brutality, owing to the Government's
+careful supervision of the planters and the higher social and moral
+standing of the settlers in general.
+
+My host had some European conscience left, and treated his hands
+very humanely, but I dare say that in course of time, and pressed
+by adverse circumstances, even he resorted to means of finding cheap
+labour which were none too fair. The French by-laws permit the delivery
+of alcohol to natives in the shape of "medicine," a stipulation which
+opens the door to every abuse.
+
+The boys were soon on hand, each awaiting his turn eagerly, yet trying
+to seem blase. Some drank greedily, others tasted the sour wine in
+little sips like old experts; but all took care to turn their backs
+to us while drinking, as if from bashfulness. Then they went to work,
+giggling and happy.
+
+Meanwhile, those on the sick-list were coming up for the planter's
+inspection. The diseases are mostly tuberculosis, colds, indigestion,
+fever and infections, and it is evident that if they receive any
+medical treatment at all, it is of a primitive and insufficient
+description. The planters work with fearfully strong plasters, patent
+medicines and "universal remedies," used internally and externally
+by turns, so that the patient howls and the spectator shudders, and
+the results would be most disheartening if kind Nature did not often
+do the healing in spite of man's efforts to prevent it. Naturally,
+every planter thinks himself an expert doctor, and is perfectly
+satisfied with his results.
+
+Mr. Ch. was ill with fever, nevertheless we went down to the
+work-shed. It was a pitch-dark night, the air was like that in a
+hothouse, smelling of earth and mould. The surf boomed sullenly on the
+beach, and heavy squalls flogged the forest. Sometimes a rotten branch
+snapped, and the sound travelled, dull and heavy, through the night.
+
+From far away we hear the noise of the engine peeling the
+corn-ears. Two of the natives turn the fly-wheels, and the engine gives
+them immense pleasure, all the more, the faster it runs. The partners
+are selected with care, and it is a matter of pride to turn wheels
+as long and as fast as possible; they encourage each other with wild
+shrieks and cries. It seemed as if the work had turned to a festival,
+as if it were a sort of dance, and the couples waited impatiently
+for their turn to drive the engine. The delight of the boys in the
+noise of the machinery was very favourable to the progress of the
+work, and at midnight a long row of full sacks stood in the shed. We
+stopped the work and told the boys to go to sleep. But the demon of
+dancing had taken hold of them, and they kept it up all night, and
+then went straight to work in the fields when the sun rose. By the
+third evening everything was ready for the arrival of the Pacific,
+and the boys were deadly tired and lame.
+
+We were just sitting down to dinner one dull, heavy night, when we
+heard a steamer's long, rough whistle. The Pacific. Everyone jumps up
+in excitement, for the Pacific brings a taste of civilization, and her
+arrival marks the end of a busy week and breaks the monotony of daily
+life. We run to the shore and light strong lamps at fixed points,
+to indicate the anchorage, and then we rush back to finish dinner
+and put on clean clothes. Meanwhile, the boys have been roused, and
+they arrive, sleepy, stiff and unwilling, aware that a hard night's
+work is before them, loading the produce into the tenders.
+
+The steamer approaches quickly, enormous and gay in the darkness,
+then she slowly feels her way into the harbour, the anchor falls, and
+after a few oscillations the long line of brightly lit portholes lies
+quiet on the water, only their reflection flickers irregularly on the
+waves through the night. In all directions we can see the lights of the
+approaching boats of the planters, who come to announce their shipments
+and to spend a gay evening on board. There are always some passengers
+on the steamer, planters from other islands on their way to Vila or
+Sydney, and soon carousing is in full swing, until the bar closes.
+
+All next day the steamer stays in the channel, taking on produce from
+every plantation, and for two days afterward merrymaking is kept up,
+then the quiet monotony of a tropical planter's life sets in once more.
+
+Sometimes a diversion is caused by a boy rushing up to the house to
+announce that some "men-bush" are approaching. Going to the veranda,
+we see some lean figures with big mops of hair coming slowly down the
+narrow path from the forest, with soft, light steps. Some distance
+behind follows a crowd of others, who squat down near the last shrubs
+and examine everything with shy, suspicious eyes, while the leaders
+approach the house. Nearly all carry old Snider rifles, always loaded
+and cocked. The leaders stand silent for a while near the veranda,
+then one of them whispers a few words in broken "biche la mar,"
+describing what he wants to buy--knives, cartridges, powder, tobacco,
+pipes, matches, calico, beads. "All right," says Mr. Ch., and some of
+the men bring up primitive baskets of cocoa-nut leaves, filled with
+coprah or bunches of raw cocoa-nuts. All of them, especially the women,
+have carried great loads of these things from their villages in the
+interior on the poorest paths, marching for days.
+
+The baskets are weighed and the desired goods handed to the
+head-man. Here the whites make a profit of 200-300 per cent., while on
+the other islands, where there is more competition, they have to be
+satisfied with 30 per cent. Each piece is carefully examined by the
+natives: the pipes, to see if they draw, the matches, whether they
+strike, etc., while the crowd behind follows every movement with the
+greatest attention and mysterious whispers, constantly on the watch
+for any menace to safety. The lengthy bargaining over, the delegation
+turns away and the whole crowd disappears. In the nearest thicket they
+sit down and distribute the goods--perhaps a dozen boxes of matches,
+a few belts, or some yards of calico, two pounds of tobacco, and twenty
+pipes, a poor return, indeed, for their long journey. Possibly they
+will spend the night in the neighbourhood, under an overhanging rock,
+on the bare stone, all crowded round a fire for fear of the spirits
+of the night.
+
+Sometimes, having worked for another planter, they have a little
+money. Although every planter keeps his own store, the natives, as
+a rule, prefer to buy from his neighbour, from vague if not quite
+unjustified suspicion. They rarely engage for any length of time,
+except when driven by the desire to buy some valuable object, generally
+a rifle, without which no native likes to be seen in Santo to-day. In
+that case several men work together for one, who afterwards indemnifies
+them for their help in native fashion by giving them pigs or rendering
+them other services. On the plantations they are suspicious and lazy,
+but quite harmless as long as they are not provoked. Mr. Ch. had had
+about thirty men working on his plantation for quite some time, and
+everything had gone well, until one day one of them had fallen into
+the Sarrakatta and been drowned. According to native law, Mr. Ch. was
+responsible for his death, and should have paid for him, which he
+omitted to do. At first there was general dismay, no one dared approach
+the river any more; then the natives all returned to their villages,
+and a few days later they swarmed round the plantation with rifles
+to avenge their dead relative by murdering Mr. Ch. He was warned by
+his boys, who were from Malekula for the most part, and this saved
+his life. He armed his men, and after a siege of several weeks the
+bushmen gave up the watch and retired. But no one would return to
+work for him any more.
+
+Altogether, the bushmen of Santo are none too reliable, and only the
+memory of a successful landing expedition of the English man-of-war
+a year ago keeps them quiet. On that occasion they had murdered an
+old Englishman and two of his daughters, just out of greed, so as to
+pillage his store. They had not found much, but they had to pay for
+the murder with the loss of their village, pigs and lives.
+
+I tried to find boys at the south-west corner of Santo, where the
+natives frequently descend to the shore. A neighbour of Mr. Ch., a
+young Frenchman, was going there in a small cutter to buy wood for
+dyeing mats to sell to the natives of Malekula, and he kindly took
+me with him. We sailed through the channel one rainy morning, but
+the wind died down and we had to anchor, as the current threatened
+to take us back. We profited by the stop to pay a visit to a Mr. R.,
+who cultivated anarchistic principles, also a plantation which seemed
+in perfect condition and in direct opposition to his anti-capitalistic
+ideas. Mr. R. was one of those French colonists who, sprung from the
+poorest peasant stock, have no ambitions beyond finding a new and
+kindlier home. Economical, thrifty, used to hard work in the fields,
+Mr. R. had begun very modestly, but had prospered, and was now,
+while still a young man, the owner of a plantation that would make
+him rich in a few years. This good, solid peasant stock, of which
+France possesses so much, makes the best colonists, and as a rule
+they succeed far better than those who come to the tropics with the
+idea of making a fortune in a few years without working for it. These
+fall into the hands of the big Noumea companies, and have the greatest
+trouble in getting out of debt. Not only do these firms lend money
+at exorbitant interest, but they stipulate that the planter will sell
+them all his produce and buy whatever he needs from them, and as they
+fix prices as they please, their returns are said to reach 30 per cent.
+
+Besides these two kinds of French settlers, there is a third, which
+comes from the penitentiary in Noumea or its neighbourhood. We shall
+meet specimens of these in the following pages.
+
+After having duly admired the plantation of Mr. R.--he proved himself
+a real peasant, knew every plant by name, and was constantly stopping
+to pick a dead leaf or prune a shoot--we continued our journey and
+arrived at Tangoa. Tangoa is a small island, on which the Presbyterian
+mission has established a central school for the more intelligent
+of the natives of the whole group, where they may be trained as
+teachers. The exterior of this school looks most comfortable. One
+half of the island is cleared and covered with a green lawn, one
+part is pasture for good-looking cattle, the other is a park in which
+nestle the cottages of the teachers,--the whole looks like an English
+country-seat. At some distance is a neatly built, well-kept village
+for the native pupils. I presented an introduction to the director. He
+seemed to think my endeavours extremely funny, asked if I was looking
+for the missing link, etc., so that I took a speedy leave.
+
+We spent a few lazy days on board the little cutter; the natives would
+not come down from their villages, in spite of frequent explosions of
+dynamite cartridges, the usual signal of recruiters to announce their
+arrival to the natives. It rained a good deal, and there was not much
+to do but to loaf on the beach. Here, one day, I saw an interesting
+method of fishing by poisoning the water, which is practised in many
+places. At low tide the natives rub a certain fruit on the stones of
+the reef, the juice mixes with the water in the pools and poisons
+the fish, so that after a short while they float senseless on the
+surface and may easily be caught.
+
+After a few days I was anxious to return to the Segond Channel,
+as I expected the arrival of the English steamer, which I wanted to
+meet. I could not find any guide, and the cutter was to stay for some
+days longer, so I decided to go alone; the distance was only about
+15 km., and I thought that with the aid of my compass I would find
+my way along the trail which was said to exist.
+
+I started in the morning with a few provisions and a dull bush-knife,
+at first along a fairly good path, which, however, soon divided
+into several tracks. I followed the one which seemed most likely to
+lead to my destination, but arrived at a deep lagoon, around which
+I had to make a long detour. Here the path came to a sudden stop in
+front of an impenetrable thicket of lianas which I could hardly cut
+with my knife. I climbed across fallen trunks, crawled along the
+ground beneath the creepers, struck an open spot once in a while,
+passed swamps and rocks,--in short, in a very little time I made an
+intimate acquaintance with the renowned Santo bush. Yet I imagined
+I was advancing nicely, so much so that I began to fear I had gone
+beyond my destination. About four o'clock in the afternoon I struck
+a small river and followed its crooked course to the coast, so as to
+get my bearings. Great was my disappointment on finding myself only
+about 1 1/2 km. from the lagoon which I had left in the morning. This
+was a poor reward for eight hours' hard work. I was ashamed to return
+to the cutter, and followed the shore, not wishing to repeat that
+morning's experience in the forest. The walk along the beach was not
+agreeable at all, as it consisted of those corroded coral rocks,
+full of sharp points and edges, and shaped like melted tin poured
+into water. These rocks were very jagged, full of crevices, in which
+the swell thundered and foamed, and over which I had to jump. Once I
+fell in, cut my legs and hands most cruelly and had only my luck to
+thank that I did not break any bones, and got safely out of the damp,
+dark prison. But at least I could see where I was, and that I was
+getting on, and I preferred this to the uncertain struggle in the
+forest. In some places the coast rose to a high bank, round which
+I could not walk. I had to climb up on one side as best I could
+and descend on the other with the help of trees and vines. Thus,
+fighting my way along, I was overtaken by the sudden tropical night,
+and I had to stop where I was for fear of falling into some hole. A
+fall would have been a real calamity, as nobody would ever have found
+me or even looked for me on that lonely coast. I therefore sat down
+where I was, on the corals where they seemed least pointed. I did not
+succeed at all in making a fire; the night was quite dark and moonless,
+and a fine rain penetrated everything. I have rarely passed a longer
+night or felt so lonely. The new day revived my spirits, breakfast
+did not detain me long, as I had nothing to eat, so I kept along the
+shore, jumping and climbing, and had to swim through several lagoons,
+swarming, as I heard afterwards, with big sharks! After a while the
+coral shore changed into a sand beach, and after having waded for some
+hours more in the warm water with the little rags that were left of my
+boots, I arrived dead tired at the plantation of Mr. R. He was away,
+so I went to his neighbour's, who was at dinner and kindly asked me
+to join him. Although it was only a flying-fox, I enjoyed it as a
+man enjoys a meal after a twenty-four hours' fast.
+
+The men were just starting for Mr. Ch.'s, and took me with them. My
+adventure had taught me the impassableness of the forest, and after
+that experience I was never again tempted to make excursions without
+a guide.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+RECRUITING FOR NATIVES
+
+
+A few days later the English steamer came, bringing my luggage but
+no hope of improvement in my dull existence. A French survey party
+arrived too, and set to work, but as they had not enough boys with
+them, I could not join them. I spent my days as well as I could,
+collected a few zoological specimens, and read Mr. Ch.'s large stock
+of French novels until I felt quite silly.
+
+At last an occasion offered to see primitive natives. George, the
+son of a neighbour, had agreed to go recruiting for Mr. Ch. As I
+have said before, providing sufficient labour is one of the most
+important problems to the planter in the New Hebrides. Formerly there
+were professional recruiters who went slave-hunting as they would have
+followed any other occupation, and sold the natives to the planters at
+a fair profit. In their schooners they hung about the shore, filled
+the natives with liquor and kidnapped them, or simply drove them on
+board wholesale, with the help of armed Loyalty boys. Their methods
+were as various as they were cruel, murder was a daily occurrence, and,
+of course, the recruiters were hated by the natives, who attacked and
+killed them whenever they got a chance. The better class of planters
+would not countenance this mode of procedure, and the natives are
+now experienced enough not to enlist for work under a master they
+do not know. Also the English Government keeps a strict watch on
+the recruiting, so that the professional recruiter is dying out,
+and every planter has to go in search of hands for himself. But
+while the English Government keeps a sharp eye on these matters,
+the French Government is as lenient in this as in the question of
+the sale of alcohol, so that frequent kidnapping and many cruelties
+occur in the northern part of the group, and slavery still exists. I
+shall relate a few recruiting stories later on: some general remarks
+on the subject may not be amiss here.
+
+In years past the natives crowded the recruiting schooners by hundreds,
+driven by the greed for European luxuries, by desire for change,
+and inexperience; to-day this is the case in but very few and savage
+districts. Generally the natives have some idea of what they may
+expect; moreover, by trading with coprah they can buy all they need
+and want. They enlist nowadays from quite different motives. With
+young people it is the desire to travel and to "see the world,"
+and to escape the strict village laws that govern them, especially
+in sexual matters, and to get rid of the supervision of the whole
+tribe. Sometimes, but only in islands poor in cocoa-nut trees, it is
+the desire to earn money to buy a woman, a very expensive article at
+present. Then many seek refuge in the plantations from persecution of
+all sorts, from revenge, or punishment for some misdeed at home. Some
+are lovers who have run away from their tribe to escape the rage of an
+injured husband. Thus recruiting directly favours the general anarchy
+and immorality, and indirectly as well, since the recruiters do their
+best to create as much trouble as possible in the villages, knowing
+it will be to their advantage. If they hear of a feud raging between
+two tribes, they collect at the shore and try to pick up fugitives;
+if there is no war, they do their best to occasion one, by intrigue,
+alcohol, or agents provocateurs. They intoxicate men and women,
+and make them enlist in that condition; young men are shown pretty
+women, and promised all the joys of Paradise in the plantations. If
+these tricks fail, the recruiters simply kidnap men and women while
+bathing. This may suffice to show that, as a rule, they do not use
+fair means to find hands, and it is hardly surprising that where
+they have been they leave behind them wrecked families, unhappiness,
+enmity, murder and a deep hatred of the white man in general as the
+cause of all this misery. This recruiting is not only immoral in the
+highest degree, but also very harmful to the race, and it is to-day
+one of the principal reasons for its decay.
+
+Those planters who from principle or from fear of the law do not
+resort to such means generally have a special recruiting district,
+where they are well known, and where the natives know the treatment
+they are likely to get on the plantation, and feel sure they will not
+be cheated, and will be taken back to their homes in due time. These
+planters, I am happy to say, find hands enough, as a rule, while the
+natives take care not to go to a French plantation if they can help
+it. The system of recruiting is very simple. The cutter anchors at some
+distance offshore, and a dynamite cartridge is exploded to announce
+her arrival; some time afterwards one of the whale-boats goes ashore,
+all the crew armed to the teeth, while the other boat lies a short
+distance off, to watch the natives, and to cover the retreat of those
+in the first boat in case of attack. The planter, as a rule, stays
+on board his cutter. These warlike practices are really unnecessary
+in many places, but as one never knows what indiscretions the last
+recruiter may have committed, and as the natives consider all whites
+as belonging to one organization, it is the part of prudence to follow
+this old recruiting rule.
+
+I will not pretend to say that the natives will never attack
+without provocation. Even Cook, who certainly was both careful
+and just, was treacherously attacked in Erromanga, for the
+Melanesian is bloodthirsty, especially when he thinks himself the
+stronger. But to-day it may be stated as a certainty that no attack
+on a recruiting-ship or on any white man occurs without some past
+brutality on the part of a European to account for it. As one of the
+Governments does nothing to abolish kidnapping, and as the plantations
+go to ruin for want of labour, it would be to the interest both of the
+settlers and of the natives to abolish the present recruiting system
+entirely, and to introduce a conscription for work in its place, so
+that each male would have to work for a term of years on a plantation
+for adequate wages and good treatment. This would be of advantage to
+the islanders even more than to the planters. It would create order,
+and would employ the natives in useful work for the development of
+their own country.
+
+It will appear from all this that recruiting is still a somewhat
+dangerous undertaking, especially on the north-west coast of Malekula,
+the home of the most primitive and savage tribes of all the group.
+
+George, our captain, was a strange fellow, about seventeen years of
+age: he might just as well have been forty. Pale, with small grey eyes
+and a suspicious look, a long hooked nose, and narrow, yet hanging
+lips, he walked with bent back and crooked knees, always bare-footed,
+in blue dungaree trousers, green shirt and an old weather-beaten
+hat. He hardly ever spoke; when he did, it was very suddenly, very
+fast and very low, so that no one could understand him except his
+boys, who evidently knew instinctively what he meant. The natives
+are very clever in these matters. He was brave, an excellent sailor
+for his age, and he knew the channels and all the anchorages. His
+boat may have been 6 or 7 metres long and 3 metres wide; she was
+cutter-rigged, and was probably very suitable for a trip of a few
+days, but quite insufficient for a cruise of several weeks, such as
+we were planning. The deck was full of cases of provisions, so that
+only a little space was clear for us at the stern. The cabin was
+about 2 metres long, 1 1/2 metre wide, and 1 1/2 metre high, and
+was crammed with stuff--tinned meats, cloths, guns, trading goods,
+etc. One person could wriggle in it, crawling on hands and knees,
+but two had to wind round each other in impossible positions, and
+it was quite unthinkable that both should spend the night below. But
+with the happy carelessness and impatience of a long-delayed start,
+we did not think of the hardships of the future, and in fair weather,
+when the stay on deck in the brisk breeze was extremely pleasant,
+as on that first morning, existence on board seemed very bearable;
+but when it rained, and it rained very often and very hard, it was
+exceptionally disagreeable.
+
+Mr. George took no interest in such details. Although he could have
+improved matters without much trouble, he was too lazy to take the
+trouble. The sun- and rain-sail was fixed so low that one could not
+stand upright, and anyone who has experienced this for some time
+knows how irritating it is. For food George did not seem to care at
+all. Not only did he lack the sense of taste, but he seemed to have
+an unhuman stomach, for he ate everything, at any time, and in any
+condition; raw or cooked, digestible or not, he swallowed it silently
+and greedily, and thought it quite unnecessary when I wanted the boys
+to cook some rice for me, or to wash a plate. The tea was generally
+made with brackish water which was perfectly sickening. George
+had always just eaten when I announced that dinner was ready, and
+for answer he generally wrapped himself in his blankets and fell
+asleep. The consequence was that each of us lived his own life, and
+the companionship which might have made up for many insufficiencies
+on board was lacking entirely.
+
+It was the first sunny day after many rainy ones when the current
+carried us through the channel. When we got on too slowly the oars
+had to help. After several hours we arrived in the open, and a fresh
+breeze carried us quickly alongside the small islands of Aore, Tutuba
+and Malo. Blue, white-crested waves lifted us up so high that we could
+look far over the foaming sea, and again we sank down in a valley,
+out of which we could only see the nearest waves rolling threateningly
+towards us. Behind us the little dinghy shot down the swells, gliding
+on the water like a duck. In the late afternoon we approached the north
+point of Malekula, and followed the west coast southward, towards the
+country of the "Big Nambas"--our destination. Contrasting with other
+islands of the archipelago, Malekula does not seem densely covered
+with vegetation at this point. We do not see much of the impenetrable
+bush, but rather a scanty growth of grass on the coral reefs, a few
+shrubs and she-oaks, then a narrow belt of forest covering the steep
+cliffs and sides of the hills, on whose backs we find extensive areas
+covered with reed-grass. Even a luxuriant forest does not look gay
+on a dull day, and this barren landscape looked most inhospitable in
+the grey mist of the afternoon. We slowly followed a coast of ragged
+coral patches, alternating with light sand beaches. Towards nightfall
+we anchored near a stony shore, flanked by two high cliffs, in about
+10 fathoms of the most transparent water. We could see in the depths
+the irregular shapes of the rocks, separated by white sand, and the
+soft mysterious colours in which the living coral shines like a giant
+carpet. The sea was quiet as a pond, yet we were on the shores of
+that endless ocean that reaches westward to the Torres Straits.
+
+Torn clouds floated across the hills towards the north-west, the stars
+shone dull, and it was very lonely and oppressively silent, nowhere
+was there a trace of life, human or animal. Lying on deck, I listened
+to the sound of the surf breaking in the different little bays near
+and far, in a monotonous measure, soft and yet irresistible. It is
+the voice of the sea in its cleansing process, the continual grinding
+and casting out of all impurities, the eternal war against the land
+and its products, and the final destruction of the earth itself.
+
+The district of the Big Nambas, to whose shores we had come, takes
+its name from the size of a certain article of dress, the "Nambas,"
+which partly replaces our trousers, and is worn in different forms
+over the greater part of the archipelago, but nowhere of such size
+as here. It is such an odd object that it may well give its name to
+the country. Big Nambas is still the least known part of the islands,
+and hardly any white has ever set foot in the interior. Unlike those
+of other districts, the natives here have preserved their old habits
+and strict organization, and this is evidently the reason why they
+have not degenerated and decayed. The old chiefs are still as powerful
+as ever, and preserve peace and order, while they themselves do as
+they please. Big Nambas has had but little contact with the whites,
+especially the recruiters, so that the population is not demoralized,
+nor the chief's power undermined. Of course it is to the chief's
+interest to have as strong a tribe as possible, and they reserve to
+themselves the right of killing offenders, and take all revenge in
+their own hands. They watch the women and prevent child-murder and such
+things, and although their reign is one of terror, their influence,
+as a whole, on the race is not bad, because they suppress many vices
+that break out as soon as they slacken their severity. The chiefs
+in Big Nambas seem to have felt this, and systematically opposed
+the intercourse with whites. But this district is just where the
+best workmen come from, and the population is densest, and that is
+why the recruiters have tried again and again of late years to get
+hold of Big Nambas, but with little success, for so far only few
+men have enlisted. One of them was on our cutter, and had to serve
+as interpreter. The other four of the five boys were from Malekula,
+a little farther south. Our man from Big Nambas was known on the
+plantation as Bourbaki, and had enlisted two years ago. Before that
+he had been professional murderer and provider of human flesh to the
+great chief. Now he was a useful and quiet foreman on the plantation,
+always cheerful, very intelligent, strong, brutal, with small, shrewd
+eyes and a big mouth, apparently quite happy in civilization, and
+devoted to George. He was one of the few natives who openly admitted
+his liking for human flesh, and rapturously described its incomparable
+tenderness, whiteness and delicacy. A year ago, when visiting his
+village, he had been inconsolable because he had come a day late for a
+cannibal feast, and had blamed his father bitterly for not having saved
+a piece for him. Aside from this ghoulish propensity, Bourbaki was
+a thoroughly nice fellow, obliging, reliable and as happy as a child
+at the prospect of seeing his father again. We expected good service
+and help in recruiting from him, and promised him ample head-money.
+
+Bourbaki had run away without the permission of his chief, who was
+furious at the loss of his best man, and had given orders to kill the
+recruiter, a brother-in-law of George. Some natives had ambushed and
+shot at them while entering the whale-boat; the white had received
+several wounds, and a native woman had been killed. The boat pulled
+away rapidly. Bourbaki laughed, and, indeed, by this time the little
+incident was quite forgotten, as its only victim had been a woman.
+
+The morning was damp and dull. The hills came down to the sea in slopes
+of grey-green, the shore was a soft brown, and the rocks lay in dark
+patches on the beach, separated from the greyish-green of the sea
+by the white line of the breakers. The hollow sound of the dynamite
+explosions glided along the slopes and was swallowed in distant space.
+
+A few hours later, thinking the natives might be coming, we got
+our arms ready: each of us had a revolver and a repeating rifle,
+the boys had old Sniders. The cutter lay about 200 metres off-shore,
+and we could see everything that was going on on the beach. Behind
+the flat, stony shore the forest-covered hills rose in a steep cliff
+to a tableland about 100 metres high. On the water we were in perfect
+safety, for the villages lie far inland, and the Big Nambas are no
+sailors, hate the sea and possess no canoes. They only come to the
+beach occasionally, to get a few crabs and shell-fish, yet each tribe
+has its own place on the shore, where no stranger is admitted.
+
+We took Bourbaki ashore; he was very anxious to go home, and promptly
+disappeared in the bush, his Snider on his shoulder. We then returned
+to the cutter and waited. It is quite useless to be in a hurry when
+recruiting, but one certainly needs a supply of patience, for the
+natives have no idea of the value of time, and cannot understand the
+rush which our civilization has created.
+
+Late in the afternoon a few naked figures appeared on the beach. One
+of them signalled with a branch, and soon others followed, till
+about fifty men had assembled, and in the background, half-hidden by
+shrubs, stood half a dozen women. We entered the whale-boats, two
+boys and a white man in each, and slowly approached the shore. All
+the natives carried their rifles in their right hands and yams in
+their left, making signs to show that they wished to trade. We gave
+them to understand that they must first put down their muskets,
+and when they hesitated we cocked our rifles and waited. Some of
+them went back to the forest and laid down their guns, while the
+others sat down at a distance and watched. We promptly put down our
+rifles, approached and showed our trade-goods--tobacco, matches,
+clay pipes and calico. Hesitating, suspicious, yet tempted, they
+crowded round the boat and offered their yams, excitedly shouting
+and gesticulating, talking and laughing. They had quite enormous
+yams, which they traded for one or two sticks of tobacco or as many
+pipes. Matches and calico were not much in demand. Our visitors
+were mostly well-built, medium-sized men of every age, and looked
+very savage and dangerous. They were nearly naked, but for a belt of
+bark around their waists, about 20 cm. wide, which they wore wound
+several times around their bodies, so that it stood out like a thick
+ring. Over this they had bound narrow ribbons of braided fibres,
+dyed in red patterns, the ends of the ribbons falling down in large
+tassels. Under this belt is stuck the end of the enormous nambas,
+also consisting of red grass fibres. Added to this scanty dress are
+small ornaments, tortoise-shell ear-rings, bamboo combs, bracelets
+embroidered with rings of shell and cocoa-nut, necklaces, and thin
+bands bound under the knees and over the ankles.
+
+The beautiful, lithe, supple bodies support a head covered with long,
+curly hair, and the face is framed by a long and fairly well-kept
+beard. The eyes roll unsteadily, and their dark and penetrating look
+is in no wise softened by the brown colouring of the scela. The nose
+is only slightly concave, the sides are large and thick, and their
+width is increased by a bamboo or stone cylinder stuck through the
+septum. Both nose and eyes are overhung by a thick torus. The upper lip
+is generally short and rarely covers the mouth, which is exceptionally
+large and wide, and displays a set of teeth of remarkable strength
+and perfection. The whole body is covered with a thick layer of greasy
+soot. Such is the appearance of the modern man-eater.
+
+Just at first we did not feel any too comfortable or anxious to go
+ashore, and we watched our neighbours very carefully. They, however,
+were hardly less frightened and suspicious; but after a while,
+through the excitement of trading, they became more confident, forgot
+their suspicions and bargained noisily, as happy as a crowd of boys;
+still, any violent movement on our part startled them. For instance,
+several of them started to run for the woods when I hastily grabbed
+a pipe that a roll of the boat had set slipping off the seat.
+
+After having filled the boats to the brim with yams, and the first
+eagerness of bartering over, we ventured ashore. A suspicious crowd
+stood around us and watched every movement. We first showed them our
+weapons, and a violent smacking of the lips and long-drawn whistles,
+or a grunting "Whau!" bespoke a gratifying degree of admiration
+and wonder. The longer the cartridges and the larger the bullets,
+the more they impressed them, and our revolvers were glanced at with
+contempt and a shrug of the shoulders, expressing infinite disdain,
+until each of us shot a few rounds. Then they winced, started to
+run away, came back and laughed boisterously over their own fright;
+but after that they had more respect for our "little guns."
+
+Soon they became more daring, came closer and began to feel us, first
+touching us lightly with the finger-tips, then with their hands. They
+wanted to look at and handle everything, cartridge-belts, pipes,
+hats and clothes. When all these had been examined, they investigated
+our persons, and to me, at least, not being used to this, it was
+most disagreeable. I did not mind when they tucked up our sleeves and
+trousers and compared the whiteness and softness of our skin with their
+own dark hide, nor when they softly and caressingly stroked the soft
+skin on the inner side of our arms and legs, vigorously smacking their
+lips the while; but when they began to feel the tenderness and probably
+the delicacy of our muscles, and tried to estimate our fitness for a
+royal repast, muttering deep grunts, constantly smacking their lips,
+and evidently highly satisfied with the result of their investigation,
+I did not enjoy the situation any more; still less when I saw an
+ugly-looking fellow trembling violently from greedy desire, rolling
+his eyes in wild exultation and performing an anticipatory cannibal
+dinner-dance. We gradually began to shake off this wearisomely intimate
+crowd; the fact that there were two of us, and that I was not alone
+in this situation was very comforting. However, in the course of the
+next few years I became accustomed to this treatment, though I never
+again met it in such crudeness.
+
+We had slowly approached the forest and could get a few glimpses of the
+women, who had kept quite in the background and hid still more when
+we came near. They had braided aprons around their waists and rolled
+mats on their heads. Nearly all of them carried babies on their hips,
+and they looked fairly healthy, although the children were full of
+sores. Evidently the men did not like our looking at the ladies; they
+pushed us back and drove the women away. We returned to the boats,
+and the natives retired too, howling, shrieking and laughing. Towards
+evening another crowd arrived, and the performance was repeated in
+every detail. Happy over the bartered goods, they began to dance,
+first decorating themselves with tall branches stuck in the back of
+their belts. They jumped from one foot to the other, sometimes turning
+round, and singing in a rough, deep monotone. We withdrew to the boats,
+and they dispersed on the shore, lighted fires and roasted the yams
+they had left.
+
+Far away across the sea there was lightning, the surf boomed more
+heavily than by day, the cutter rolled more violently and restlessly
+and the whaleboat scraped against her sides, while the wind roared
+through the forest gullies and thunder threatened behind the hills. We
+felt lonely in the thick darkness, with the tempest approaching
+steadily, afloat on a tiny shell, alone against the fury of the
+elements. The lamp was blown out, and we lay on deck listening to the
+storm, until a heavy squall drove us below, to spend the night in a
+stuffy atmosphere, in uncomfortable positions, amid wild dreams. Next
+morning there were again about twenty men on the shore, and again the
+same performances were gone through. Evidently the people, influenced
+by Bourbaki, who was still in the village, were more confident, and
+left their weapons behind of their own accord. They came to trade,
+and when their provisions of yam were exhausted, most of them left;
+only a few, mostly young fellows, wanted to stay, but some older
+men stayed with them, so as to prevent them from going on board
+and enlisting. Evidently the young men were attracted by all our
+wonderful treasures, and would have liked to see the country where
+all these things came from. They imagined the plantations must be very
+beautiful places, while the old men had vague notions to the contrary,
+and were afraid of losing their young braves.
+
+During a lull in the proceedings we climbed the narrow, steep and
+slippery path up to the tableland in order to get an idea of the
+country behind the hills. Half-way up we met two old men carrying
+yam down to the beach. They were terrified at sight of us, began to
+tremble, stopped and spoke to us excitedly. We immediately laid down
+our rifles, and signed to them to approach, but they suddenly dropped
+their loads, ran off and disappeared in the bush. They evidently feared
+we had come to kidnap them, and we decided it was wiser to return to
+the beach, so as not to irritate the people. Shortly afterwards another
+crowd of natives came along the beach carrying yam. They approached
+with extreme care, ready to fight or fly, but they were less afraid of
+us than of the natives, for whom that part of the beach was reserved,
+and with whom we had been trading. They were enemies of the newcomers,
+who knew that they were outside their own territory and might expect
+an attack any moment. Squatting down near us, they anxiously watched
+the forest, ever ready to jump up. One of them, who spoke a little
+biche la mar, came up to me and asked me to anchor that night near
+their beach, and buy yams from them, which we promised to do. At a
+sound in the forest they jumped up and ran away. George, wishing to
+talk more with them, took his rifle and ran after them, but they had
+already retreated behind some boulders, and were waving their rifles
+and signalling him to stay where he was. They thought we were in a
+plot with other natives, and had ambushed them. To such a degree do
+these people live in constant fear, and thus arise misunderstandings
+which end in death, unless the whites are very prudent and quiet. Many
+a recruiter in our case would have welcomed this apparent provocation
+to shoot at the natives from a safe distance with his superior rifle.
+
+All day it rained in heavy squalls, coming from over the hills;
+everything was damp, the night was dark and still and we sighed in
+our narrow cell of a cabin. Next morning Bourbaki came back with a
+new crowd of natives, who again felt and investigated, happily, also,
+admired us. So vain is human-kind that even the admiration of cannibals
+is agreeable. I let some of them try my shot-gun, and everyone wanted
+to attempt the feat, although they were all badly frightened. They held
+the gun at arm's length, turned their faces away and shot at random;
+it was clear that very few knew how to shoot, and that their Sniders
+could be of use only at short range. This is confirmed by the fact
+that all their murders are done point-blank.
+
+Bourbaki brought news that in a few days there was to be a great
+sacrificial feast in the village, and that, everybody being busy
+preparing for it, we had no chance of recruiting, neither could we
+see the great chief, he being shut up in his house, invisible to
+everybody except to a little boy, his servant. We landed a goat for
+Bourbaki's father; the innocent animal caused terrible fright and
+great admiration. All the men retreated behind trunks or rocks and
+no one dared touch the strange creature. Bourbaki was very proud of
+himself for knowing goats, and fastened the poor little thing to a
+tree in the shade. He then coaxed three old men on board. Clumsily
+they entered the whale-boats, and even on board the cutter they
+squatted anxiously down and dared hardly move for fear the ship might
+capsize or they might slip into the water, of which they were quite
+afraid. They could hardly speak, and stared at everything, wide-eyed
+and open-mouthed. They forgot their fears, however, in delight over
+our possessions. A saucepan proved a joy; the boards and planks of
+the ship were touched and admired amid much smacking of the lips; a
+devout "Whau!" was elicited by the sight of the cabin, which seemed a
+fairy palace to them. Smaller things they approved of by whistling;
+in general they behaved very politely. If they did not understand
+the use of a thing, they shrugged their shoulders with a grimace
+of contempt. A mirror was useless to them at first; after a while
+they learned to see; they were frightened, and at last they roared
+with laughter, put out their tongues, admired their sooty faces and
+began to pull out their bristles, for they all wore their upper lips
+shaved. Naturally, they confused right and left, and became entirely
+bewildered. A watch did not impress them; the ticking seemed mysterious
+and not quite innocent, and they put the instrument away at a safe
+distance. They asked to see some money, but were much disappointed,
+having imagined it would look bigger and more imposing. They preferred
+a little slip of paper, which they carefully hid in their belts. Our
+stock of cartridges impressed them deeply, and there was no end of
+whistling and grunting. Sugar and tea were objects of suspicion. They
+thought them poison, and took some along, probably to experiment on
+a good friend or a woman. Matches were stuck into the hair, the beard
+or the perforated ears. Pictures were quite incomprehensible.
+
+After an hour they left, less frightened than before, but still very
+glad to leave all the mysterious and uncanny things behind. Bourbaki
+made fun of their innocence, and thought himself very civilized,
+but he himself was dreadfully afraid of my camera: "White man he
+savee too much."
+
+The weather cleared towards evening. Some natives stayed on the shore
+all night, lighted fires and sang songs in anticipation of the coming
+dance. Our boys mimicked them, laughed at them and felt very superior,
+though we whites failed to see much difference, and, as a matter of
+fact, a short time after having returned home these boys can hardly
+be told from ordinary bushmen. The shrieks of the savages pierced the
+velvet of the night like daggers, but by and by they quieted down,
+and we heard nothing more but the rhythmic rise and fall of the surf.
+
+In the silver light of the rising moon the boats rolled gently behind
+the ship like dark spots, and light clouds glided westward across
+the stars, eternally rising behind the black cliffs and disappearing
+in the universal dimness. We were asleep on deck, when suddenly a
+violent shower woke us up and banished us into that terrible cabin.
+
+No natives came next day; they were all busy preparing the feast. We
+had nothing to do but to loaf on the beach or on board, and smoke,
+as we had no fishing-tackle and no animals to shoot. The grey sky,
+the vague light, the thin rain, were depressing, and all sorts
+of useless thoughts came to us. We noticed the hardships of our
+existence on board, felt that we were wasting time, grew irritable and
+dissatisfied. If only my companion had been less sulky! But with him
+there could be no pleasant chat, no cosy evening hour over a cup of
+tea and a pipe; and I would almost have preferred being alone to this
+solitude a deux. I sat on deck and listened to the breakers. Often
+they sounded like a rushing express train and awakened reminiscences
+of travel and movement. The cool wind blew softly from afar, and
+I could understand for the first time that longing that asks the
+winds for news of home and friends. I gave myself up wholly to this
+vague dreaming, call it home-sickness, or what you will, it enlivened
+the oppressive colourlessness of the days and the loneliness of the
+nights. As usual, a heavy shower came, luckily, perhaps, to interrupt
+all softer thoughts.
+
+Then followed a few clear days, which changed our mood entirely. The
+cutter rolled confidingly in the morning breeze, and the sun glowed
+warm and golden. In picturesque cascades the green forest seemed
+to rush down the slopes to the bright coral beach, on which the sea
+broke playfully. Once in a while a bird called far off in the depths
+of the woods. It was delicious to lie on the warm beach and be dried
+and roasted by the sun, to think of nothing in particular, but just
+to exist. Two wild pigs came to the beach in the evening to dig for
+yam that the natives had buried there; a chase, though unsuccessful,
+gave excitement and movement. We could venture far inland now without
+fear, for the natives were all away at the feast. Brilliant sunsets
+closed the days in royal splendour. Behind a heavy cloud-bank which
+hid the sun, he seemed to melt in the sea and to form one golden
+element. Out of the cloud five yellow rays shot across the steel-blue
+sky, so that it looked like one of those old-fashioned engravings
+of God behind a cloud. When everything had melted into one gorgeous
+fire, and we were still helpless before all that glory, the colours
+faded away to the most delicate combinations of half-tones; soon the
+stars came out glittering on the deep sky, first of all the Southern
+Cross. Halley's comet was still faintly visible.
+
+In the morning the sky was cloudless, and changed from one lovely
+colour to the other, until the sun rose to give it its bright blue
+and paint the shore in every tint. Then every stone at the bottom of
+the sea was visible, and all the marvellous coral formations, with
+their weird shapes and fiery colours, glowed in rose and violet and
+pure golden yellow. Above lay big sea-stars, and large fish in bright
+hues floated between the cliffs in soft, easy movements, while bright
+blue little ones shot hither and thither like mad.
+
+Bourbaki arrived with his younger brother, a neat and gentle-looking
+boy. The feast was to begin that evening, and I asked Bourbaki if
+they had plenty of pigs to eat. "Oh no," he said; "but that is of
+no importance: we have a man to eat! Yesterday we killed him in
+the bush, and to-day we will eat him." He said this with the most
+innocent expression, as if he were talking about the weather. I had to
+force myself not to draw away from him, and looked somewhat anxiously
+into his face; but Bourbaki stared quietly into the distance, as if
+dreaming of the past excitements and the coming delights; then he
+picked up a cocoa-nut and tore the husk off with his strong teeth. It
+made me shudder to watch his brutish movements, but he was perfectly
+happy that morning, willing and obedient. At noon he went away to
+his horrid feast, and for two days we saw nobody.
+
+We passed the time as usual; the weather was rainy again, and
+everything seemed grey,--the sky, the sea and the shore, and our
+mood. One is so dependent on surroundings.
+
+On the third day Bourbaki came back, a little tired, but evidently
+satisfied. Some of his friends accompanied him, and he brought word
+that the chief had given permission for a few boys to enlist, but
+that we would have to wait about ten days until he could come to
+the shore himself. Not wishing to spend the ten days there, doing
+absolutely nothing, we decided to go farther south, to Tesbel Bay,
+and try our luck at recruiting there, as we had another boy, Macao,
+from that district. George gave leave to Bourbaki, who had been
+somewhat savage these last days, to stay at home till our return, and
+he seemed delighted to have a holiday. We were all the more surprised
+when, just before we weighed anchor, Bourbaki came back, shaking hands
+without a word. We were quite touched by this remarkable sign of his
+affection, pardoned his many objectionable ways, and never thought
+that perhaps he might have ample reason not to feel altogether safe
+and comfortable at home.
+
+The wind being contrary, we had to tack about all night long without
+advancing. Squalls rushed over the water, and then, again, the breeze
+died down completely, only black, jagged clouds drifted westward
+across the sky, and here and there a few stars were visible. The
+cutter's deck was crowded with stuff, and there seemed less room for
+us than ever, except in the hateful cabin. The boys sang monotonously
+"for wind," quite convinced that the next breeze would be due to their
+efforts. A fat old man sang all night long in falsetto in three notes;
+it was unbearably silly and irritating, yet one could hardly stop the
+poor devil and rob him of his only pleasure in that dark night. We
+felt damp, restless and sleepless, and tried in vain to find some
+comfort. Next evening we reached the entrance of Tesbel Bay, and
+the wind having died down, we had to work our way in with the oars,
+a slow and hard task. Bourbaki yelled and pulled at the oars with
+all his might, encouraging the others. These are the joys of sailing.
+
+Tesbel Bay is framed on two sides by high cliffs. Big boulders
+lie in picturesque confusion where the surf foams white against
+the narrow beach. Wherever there is a foot of ground, luxurious
+vegetation thrives. Ahead of us lies a level valley that stretches
+far inland to the foot of a high mountain, whose head is lost in grey
+clouds. A little creek runs into the bay through high reed-grass,
+behind a sandbank. Just before setting, the sun shone through the
+clouds and smiled on the lovely, peaceful landscape, seeming to
+promise us a pleasant stay. The smoke of many village fires rose
+out of the bush at a distance. Two ragged natives were loafing on
+the beach, and I engaged one of them for the next day, to guide me
+to some villages. Bourbaki and Macao marched gaily off, as they were
+to spend the night in Macao's village.
+
+Next morning, while being pulled ashore for my excursion inland, I
+saw Macao on the beach, crying, waving and behaving like a madman. He
+called out that Bourbaki was dead, and that we must come to the
+village. I took him into the boat and we returned to the cutter. Macao
+was trembling all over, uttering wild curses, sighing and sobbing like
+a child. Between the fingers of his left hand he frantically grasped
+his cartridges, and nervously kept hold of his old rifle. We could
+not get much out of him; all we could make out was that Bourbaki had
+been shot towards morning and that he himself had run away. We guessed
+that Bourbaki must have committed some misdemeanour; as there was a
+possibility of his still being alive, we decided to go and look for
+him; for satisfaction it was idle to hope.
+
+According to Macao the village was quite near, so we took our rifles,
+armed the boys, and in ten minutes we were ashore. The youngest,
+a fourteen-year-old boy, was left in the whale-boat, so as to be
+ready to pick us up in case of need. His elder brother, a tall,
+stout fellow, also preferred to stay in the boat; we left him behind,
+and this left five of us for the expedition. Macao showed us the
+way, and as we followed him we watched right and left for a possible
+ambush. It was a disagreeable moment when we dived into the thicket,
+where we expected to be attacked any moment, and I could hardly blame
+another fat boy for dropping behind, too, to "watch the shore," as
+he said. Not wishing to lose any time, we let him go, for we were
+anxious to be in the village before the natives should have time to
+rally and prepare for resistance.
+
+The path was miserable--slippery slopes, wildly knotted roots, stones,
+creeks and high reeds. We were kept quite busy enough watching our
+path, and were not careful at all about watching the bush; but we
+were confident that the natives, being very poor shots, would betray
+their presence by a random shot. We were exposed, of course, to shots
+from close quarters alongside the path, but we trusted to Macao's
+sharp eyes to detect a hidden enemy. After an hour's brisk walk,
+we asked Macao whether the village was still far off; every time
+we asked, his answer was the same: "Bim by you me catch him," or,
+"Him he close up." However, after an hour and a half, we began to
+feel worried. We had no idea whether we would find a peaceful village
+or an armed tribe, and in the latter case a retreat would doubtless
+have been fatal, owing to the long distance we would have had to go
+in the forest, where the white man is always at a disadvantage. But
+we had undertaken the adventure, and we had to see it through.
+
+After two hours we unexpectedly came upon a village. A dozen men
+and a few women were squatting about, evidently expecting some
+event. The presence of the women was a sign that the people were
+peacefully inclined. An old man, a relative of Macao's, joined us,
+and a short walk through a gully brought us quite suddenly into a
+village square. About thirty men were awaiting us, armed with rifles
+and clubs, silent and shy. Macao spoke to them, whereupon they laid
+down their rifles and led us to a hut, where we found Bourbaki,
+lying on his back, dead. He had been sitting in the house when some
+one shot him from behind; he had jumped up and tried to fly, but had
+broken down and fallen where he was then lying. He must have died
+almost at once, as the bullet had torn a great hole in his body. His
+rifle and cartridges were missing, that was all.
+
+The villagers stood around us, talking excitedly; we could not
+understand them, but they were evidently not hostile, and we told
+them to bury Bourbaki. They began at once, digging a hole in the
+soft earth with pointed sticks. We then asked for the rifle, the
+cartridges and the murderer, and were informed that two men had done
+the killing. After some deliberation a number of men walked off, one of
+them a venerable old man, armed after the old fashion with a bow and
+a handful of poisoned arrows, which he handled with deliberate care;
+he also carried a club in a sling over his shoulder. Of all those
+strong men, this old one seemed to me the most dangerous but also
+the most beautiful and the most genuine. After a while they returned,
+and two other men slunk in and stood apart.
+
+The natives seemed undecided what to do, and squatted about, talking
+among themselves, until at last one of them pulled me by the sleeve
+and led us towards the two newcomers. We understood that they were
+the murderers, and each of us took hold of one of them. They made no
+resistance, but general excitement arose in the crowd, all the other
+natives shouting and gesticulating, even threatening each other with
+their rifles. They were split in two parties,--one that wanted to give
+up the murderers, and their relatives, who wanted to keep them. We told
+them that the affair would be settled if they gave up the murderers;
+if not, the man-of-war would come and punish the whole village. As my
+prisoner tried to get loose, I bound him, and while I was busy with
+this I heard a shot. Seeing that all the men had their rifles ready,
+I expected the fight to begin, but George told me his prisoner had
+escaped and he had shot after him. The man had profited by George's
+indecision to run away.
+
+This actual outbreak of the hostilities excited the people so that
+we thought it best to retire, taking our single prisoner with us. A
+few of the natives followed us, and when we left the village the
+relatives of the murderer broke out in violent wailing and weeping,
+thinking, as did the prisoner, Belni, himself, that we were going to
+eat him up, after having tortured him to death. Belni trembled all
+over, was very gentle and inclined to weep like a punished child, but
+quite resigned and not even offering any resistance. He only asked
+Macao anxiously what we were going to do with him. Macao, furious
+at the death of his comrade, for whom he seemed to have felt real
+affection, put him in mortal fear, and was quite determined to avenge
+his murdered friend. We shut Belni up in the hold of the cutter and
+told the natives that they would have to hand over Bourbaki's rifle
+and cartridges, and pay us two tusked pigs by noon of the next day.
+
+On this occasion we learned the reason for the murder: Belni's
+brother had had an intrigue with the wife of the chief, and had been
+condemned by the latter to pay a few pigs. Being too poor to do this,
+he decided to pay his debt in an old-fashioned way by killing a man,
+and Bourbaki was unlucky enough to arrive just at the right time,
+and being a man from a distant district, there was no revenge to be
+feared. Belni, therefore, chose him as his victim. The two brothers
+chatted all night with him and Macao, and asked to see Bourbaki's
+rifle, which he carelessly handed to them. When, towards morning,
+Macao left them for a few moments, they profited by the opportunity
+to shoot Bourbaki from behind, and to run away. Macao, rushing back,
+found his friend dead, and fled to the shore. By this deed the wrong
+to the chief was supposed to be made good--a very peculiar practice in
+native justice. It may be a remnant of old head-hunting traditions,
+inasmuch as Belni's brother would have given the dead man's head to
+the chief in payment, this being even more valuable than pigs.
+
+The first excitement over, our boys were seized by fear, even Macao
+and the other one who had accompanied us. Although they were in
+perfect safety on board the cutter they feared all sorts of revenge
+from Belni's relatives,--for instance, that they might cause a
+storm and wreck the cutter. We laughed at them, but they would not
+be cheered up, and, after all, Macao's horrible dread that his old
+father was surely being eaten up by this time in the village was not
+quite groundless. We were not in the brightest of humours ourselves,
+as this event had considerably lessened our chances of recruiting
+at Big Nambas; the chief made us responsible for Bourbaki's death,
+and asked an indemnity which we could hardly pay, except with the
+tusked pigs we demanded here.
+
+We could not stay longer in Tesbel Bay, as our boys were too much
+frightened, and the natives might turn against us at any moment. We
+could hardly get the boys to go ashore for water and firewood, for
+fear of an ambush. In the evening we fetched Belni out of the hold. He
+was still doleful and ready to cry, but seemed unconscious of any
+fault; he had killed a man, but that was rather an honourable act
+than a crime, and he only seemed to regret that it had turned out so
+unsatisfactorily. He did not seem to have much appetite, but swallowed
+his yam mechanically in great lumps. The boys shunned him visibly,
+all but Macao, who squatted down close before him, and gave him food
+with wild hatred in his eyes, and muttering awful threats. Icy-cold,
+cruel, with compressed lips and poisonous looks like a serpent's,
+he hissed his curses and tortured Belni, who excused himself clumsily
+and shyly, playing with the yam and looking from one dark corner to
+the other, like a boy being scolded. The scene was so gruesome that
+I had Belni shut up again, and we watched all night, for Macao was
+determined to take the murderer's life. It was a dry, moonlit night;
+one of the boys was writhing with a pain in his stomach, and we could
+do nothing to help him, so they were all convinced it was caused by
+Belni's relatives, and wanted to sail immediately. A warm breeze had
+driven mosquitoes to the cutter; it was a most unpleasant night.
+
+Next noon the natives appeared, about twenty strong, but without
+the second murderer. They said the shot had hit him, and that he
+had died during the night. This might have been true, and as we
+could do nothing against the village anyway, we let the matter drop,
+especially as they had brought us Bourbaki's rifle and two tusked
+pigs. The chief said he hoped we were satisfied with him, and would
+not trouble anyone but the murderers.
+
+We returned to the cutter, and the pigs were put in the hold,
+where they seem to have kept good company with Belni, after a little
+preliminary squealing and shrieking. Then we sailed northward, with a
+breeze that carried us in four hours over the same distance for which
+we had taken twenty-four last time. It was a bitterly cold night. We
+decided to return home, fearing the boys would murder Belni in an
+unwatched moment, as they had asked several times, when the sea was
+high, whether we would not throw Belni into the water now. The passage
+to Santo was very rough. The waves thundered against the little old
+cutter, and we had a nasty tide-rip. We were quite soaked, and looking
+in through the portholes, we could see everything floating about in
+the cabin--blankets, saucepans, tins and pistols. We did not mind much,
+as we hoped to be at home by evening.
+
+Rest, cleanliness and a little comfort were very tempting after a
+fortnight in the filthy narrowness of the little craft. We had no
+reason to be vain of our success; but such trips are part of the game,
+and we planned a second visit to Big Nambas to reconcile the chief. We
+were glad to greet the cloud-hung coast of Santo, and soon entered
+the Segond Channel. There we discovered that the old boat had leaked
+to such an extent that we could have kept afloat for only a few hours
+longer, and had every reason to be glad the voyage was at an end. It
+was just as well that we had not noticed the leak during the passage.
+
+We brought Belni ashore; the thin, flabby fellow was a poor
+compensation for vigorous Bourbaki. He was set to work on the
+plantation, and as the Government was never informed of the affair,
+he is probably there to this day, and will stay until he dies.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+VAO
+
+
+I had not yet solved the problem of how to get away from the Segond
+Channel and find a good field of labour, when, happily, the French
+priest from Port Olry came to stay a few days with his colleague at
+the channel, on his way to Vao, and he obligingly granted me a passage
+on his cutter. I left most of my luggage behind, and the schooner of
+the French survey party was to bring it to Port Olry later on.
+
+After a passage considerably prolonged by contrary winds, we arrived
+at Vao, a small island north-east of Malekula. When one has sailed
+along the lifeless, greyish-green shores of Malekula, Vao is like a
+sunbeam breaking through the mist. This change of mood comes gradually,
+as one notices the warm air of spring, and dry souls, weather-beaten
+captains and old pirates may hardly be aware of anything beyond a
+better appetite and greater thirst. And it is not easy to define what
+lends the little spot such a charm that the traveller feels revived as
+if escaped from some oppression. From a distance Vao looks like all the
+other islands and islets of the archipelago--a green froth floating on
+the white line of breakers; from near by we see, as everywhere else,
+the bright beach in front of the thick forest. But what impresses
+the traveller mournfully elsewhere,--the eternal loneliness and
+lifelessness of a country where nature has poured all its power into
+the vegetation, and seems to have forgotten man and beast,--is softened
+here, and an easy joy of living penetrates everything like a delicate
+scent, and lifts whatever meets the eye to greater significance and
+beauty. The celestial charm of the South Sea Islands, celebrated by
+the first discoverers, seems to be preserved here, warming the soul
+like the sweet remembrance of a happy dream. Hardly anyone who feels
+these impressions will wonder about their origin, but he will hasten
+ashore and dive into the forest, driven by a vague idea of finding
+some marvel. Later he will understand that the charm of Vao lies in
+the rich, busy human life that fills the island. It is probably the
+most thickly populated of the group, with about five hundred souls
+living in a space one mile long and three-fourths of a mile wide; and
+it is their happy, careless, lazy existence that makes Vao seem to
+the stranger like a friendly home. Here there are houses and fires,
+lively people who shout and play merrily, and after the loneliness
+which blows chill from the bush, the traveller is glad to rest and
+feel at home among cheerful fellow-men.
+
+About seventy outrigger boats of all sizes lie on the beach. On
+their bows they carry a carved heron, probably some half-forgotten
+totem. The bird is more or less richly carved, according to the social
+standing of the owner, and a severe watch is kept to prevent people
+from carrying carvings too fine for their degree. Similarly, we find
+little sticks like small seats fastened to the canoes, their number
+indicating the caste of the owner. Under big sheds, in the shade of the
+tall trees, lie large whale-boats of European manufacture, belonging
+to the different clans, in which the men undertake long cruises to
+the other islands, Santo, Aoba, Ambrym, to visit "sing-sings" and
+trade in pigs. Formerly they used large canoes composed of several
+trees fastened together with ropes of cocoa-nut fibre, and caulked
+with rosin, driven by sails of cocoa-nut sheaths; these would hold
+thirty to forty men, and were used for many murderous expeditions. For
+the inhabitants of Vao were regular pirates, dreaded all along the
+coast; they would land unexpectedly in the morning near a village,
+kill the men and children, steal the women and start for home with
+rich booty. European influences have put a stop to this sport, and
+with the introduction of whale-boats the picturesque canoes have
+disappeared from the water, and now lie rotting on the beach. Their
+successors (though according to old tradition, women may not enter
+them) are only used for peaceful purposes.
+
+In the early morning the beach is deserted, but a few hours after
+sunrise it is full of life. The different clans come down from their
+villages by narrow paths which divide near the shore into one path for
+the men and another for the women, leading to separate places. The men
+squat down near one of the boat-houses and stretch out comfortably in
+the warm sand, smoking and chatting. The women, loaded with children
+and baskets, sit in the shade of the knobby trees which stretch their
+trunk-like branches horizontally over the beach, forming a natural
+roof against sun and rain. The half-grown boys are too lively to
+enjoy contemplative laziness; gossip and important deliberations
+about pigs and sacrifices do not interest them, and they play about
+between the canoes, wade in the water, look for shells on the sand,
+or hunt crabs or fish in the reef. Thus an hour passes. The sun
+has warmed the sand; after the cool night this is doubly agreeable,
+and a light breeze cools the air. Some mothers bathe their babies in
+the sea, washing and rubbing them carefully, until the coppery skin
+shines in the sun; the little creatures enjoy the bath immensely,
+and splash gaily in the element that will be their second home
+in days to come. Everyone on the beach is in the easiest undress:
+the men wear nothing but a bark belt, and the women a little apron
+of braided grass; the children are quite naked, unless bracelets,
+necklaces and ear-rings can count as dress. Having rested and amply
+fortified themselves for the painful resolution to take up the day's
+work, people begin to prepare for departure to the fields. They have
+to cross the channel, about a mile wide, to reach the big island where
+the yam gardens lie, sheltered by the forest from the trade-winds;
+and this sail is the occasion for the prettiest sight Vao can offer.
+
+The tides drive the sea through the narrow channel so hard as to start
+a current which is almost a stream. The head-wind raises short, sharp,
+white-capped waves; shallow banks shine yellow through the clear water,
+and the coral reefs are patches of violet and crimson, and we are
+delighted by constant changes, new shades and various colourings,
+never without harmony and loveliness. A cloudless sky bends over
+the whole picture and shines on the red-brown bodies of the people,
+who bustle about their canoes, adding the bright red of their mats
+and dresses to the splendour of the landscape.
+
+With sudden energy the women have grabbed the boats and pushed them
+into the water. The girls are slim, supple and strong as the young men,
+the mothers and older women rather stiff, and usually hampered by at
+least one child, which they carry on their backs or on their hips,
+while another holds on to the garment which replaces our skirts. There
+is plenty of laughter and banter with the men, who look on unmoved
+at the efforts of the weaker sex, only rarely offering a helping hand.
+
+From the trees and hiding-places the paddles and the pretty triangular
+sails are fetched and fastened on the canoes; then the boats are pushed
+off and the whole crowd jumps in. The babies sit in their mothers'
+laps or hang on their backs, perilously close to the water, into
+which they stare with big, dark eyes. By twos and threes the canoes
+push off, driven by vigorous paddling along the shore, against the
+current. Sometimes a young man wades after a canoe and joins some
+fair friends, sitting in front of them, as etiquette demands. The
+fresh breeze catches the sails, and the ten or fifteen canoes glide
+swiftly across the bright water, the spread sails looking like great
+red butterflies. The spray splashes from the bows, one woman steers,
+and the others bale out the water with cocoa-nuts,--a labour worthy of
+the Danaides; sometimes the outrigger lifts up and the canoe threatens
+to capsize, but, quick as thought, the women lean on the poles joining
+outrigger and canoe, and the accident is averted. In a few minutes
+the canoes enter the landings between the torn cliffs on the large
+island, the passengers jump out and carry the boats up the beach.
+
+A few stragglers, men of importance who have been detained by politics,
+and bachelors, who have nothing and nobody to care for but themselves,
+follow later on, and only a crowd of boys stays in Vao, to enjoy
+themselves on the beach and get into all sorts of mischief.
+
+Obliging as people sometimes are when the fancy strikes them, a
+youth took us over to the other island in his canoe, and was even
+skilful enough to keep us from capsizing. Narrow paths, bordered with
+impenetrable bush, led us from the beach across coral boulders up to
+the plantations on top of the tableland. Under some cocoa-nut palms
+our guide stopped, climbed nimbly up a slim trunk, as if mounting a
+ladder, and three green nuts dropped to the ground at our feet. Three
+clever strokes of the knife opened them, and we enjoyed the refreshing
+drink in its natural bowl. Sidepaths branched off to the gardens, where
+every individual or family had its piece of ground. We saw big bananas,
+taro, with large, juicy leaves, yams, trained on a pretty basket-shaped
+trellis-work; when in bloom this looks like a huge bouquet. There
+were pine-apples, cabbages, cocoa-nut and bread-fruit trees, bright
+croton bushes and highly scented shrubs. In this green and confused
+abundance the native spends his day, working a little, loafing a
+great deal. He shoots big pigeons and little parakeets, roasts them
+on an improvised fire and eats them as a welcome addition to his
+regular meals. From sun and rain he is sheltered by simple roofs,
+under which everybody assembles at noon to gossip, eat and laugh.
+
+Long ago there were villages here. An enormous monolith, now broken,
+but once 5 metres high, speaks for the energy of bygone generations,
+when this rock was carried up from the coast, probably for a monument
+to some great chief.
+
+While the women were gathering food for the evening meal we returned
+to Vao. The breeze had stiffened in the midst of the channel, and
+one old woman's canoe had capsized. She clung to the boat, calling
+pitifully for help, which amused all the men on the shore immensely,
+until at last, none too soon, they went to her rescue. Such adventures
+are by no means harmless, as the channel swarms with sharks.
+
+We explored the interior of Vao, going first through the thicket on
+the shore, then through reed-grass over 6 feet high, then between
+low walls surrounding little plantations. Soon the path widened, and
+on both sides we saw stone slabs, set several rows deep; presently
+we found ourselves under the wide vault of one of those immense fig
+trees whose branches are like trunks, and the glare of the sun gave
+way to deep shadow, the heat of noonday to soft coolness.
+
+Gradually our eyes grow accustomed to the dimness, and we distinguish
+our surroundings. We are in a wide square, roofed by the long branches
+of the giant tree. At our left is its trunk, mighty enough in itself,
+but increased by the numerous air-roots that stretch like cables
+from the crown to the earth, covering the trunk entirely in some
+spots, or dangling softly in the wind, ending in large tassels of
+smaller roots. Lianas wind in distorted curves through the branches,
+like giant snakes stiffened while fighting. This square is one of
+the dancing-grounds of Vao. The rows of stones surround the square
+on three sides--two, three or more deep. Near the trunk of the great
+tree is a big altar of large slabs of rock; around it are stone tables
+of smaller size, and one or two immense coral plates, which cover the
+buried skull of some mighty chief. A large rock lies in the middle of
+the road on a primitive slide half covered by stones and earth. Long
+ago the islanders tried to bring it up from the beach; a strong vine
+served as a rope, and more than fifty men must have helped to drag the
+heavy rock up from the coast to the square. Half-way they got tired
+of the job and left the stone where it lies now, and will lie for ever.
+
+On the other side of the altar are the drums, hollow trunks, whose
+upper end is carved to represent a human face with wide, grinning
+mouth, and deep, round and hollow eyes. Rammed in aslant, leaning in
+all directions, they stand like clumsy, malicious demons, spiteful and
+brutal, as if holding their bellies with rude, immoderate laughter
+at their own hugeness and the puniness of mankind, at his miserable
+humanity, compared to the solemn repose of the great tree. In front
+of these are figures cut roughly out of logs, short-legged, with
+long bodies and exaggeratedly long faces; often they are nothing
+but a head, with the same smiling mouth, a long nose and narrow,
+oblique eyes. They are painted red, white and blue, and are hardly
+discernible in the dimness. On their forked heads they carry giant
+birds with outstretched wings,--herons,--floating as if they had just
+dropped through the branches on to the square.
+
+This is all we can see, but it is enough to make a deep
+impression. Outside, the sun is glaring, the leaves quiver, and the
+clouds are drifting across the sky, but here it is dim and cool as
+in a cathedral, not a breeze blows, everything is lapped in a holy
+calm. Abandonment, repose, sublime thoughtlessness drop down on us in
+the shadow of the giant tree; as if in a dream we breathe the damp,
+soft, mouldy air, feel the smooth earth and the green moss that covers
+everything like a velvet pall, and gaze at the altars, the drums and
+the statues.
+
+In a small clearing behind the square, surrounded by gaily coloured
+croton bushes, stands the men's house--the "gamal." Strong pillars
+support its gabled roof, that reaches down to the ground; the entrance
+is flanked by great stone slabs. Oddly branched dead trees form a hedge
+around the house, and on one side, on a sort of shelf, hang hundreds
+of boars' jaws with curved tusks. Inside, there are a few fireplaces,
+simple holes in the ground, and a number of primitive stretchers
+of parallel bamboos, couches that the most ascetic of whites would
+disdain. Among the beams of the roof hang all kinds of curiosities:
+dancing-masks and sticks, rare fish, pigs' jaws, bones, old weapons,
+amulets and so on, everything covered with a thick layer of soot from
+the ever-smouldering fires. These "gamals" are a kind of club-house,
+where the men spend the day and occasionally the night. In rainy
+weather they sit round the fire, smoking, gossiping and working on
+some tool,--a club or a fine basket. Each clan has its own gamal,
+which is strictly taboo for the women, and to each gamal belongs
+a dancing-ground like the one described. On Vao there are five,
+corresponding to the number of clans.
+
+Near by are the dwelling-houses and family enclosures. Each family has
+its square, surrounded by a wall about 1 metre high of loose stones
+simply piled up, so that it is unsafe to lean against it. Behind the
+walls are high screens of braided reeds, which preclude the possibility
+of looking into the enclosure; even the doors are so protected that no
+one can look in; for the men are very jealous, and do not want their
+wives observed by strangers. These enclosures are very close together,
+and only narrow lanes permit circulation. As we turn a corner we may
+see a woman disappear quickly, giggling, while children run away with
+terrified howls, for what the black man is to ours the white man is
+to them.
+
+Having won the confidence of a native, we may be taken into his
+courtyard, where there is little to be seen, as all the social life
+goes on in the gamals or on the dancing-grounds. A dozen simple huts
+stand irregularly about the square, some half decayed and serving as
+pigsties. One hut belongs to the master, and each of his wives has a
+house of her own, in which to bring up her children. The yard is alive
+with pigs and fowls and dogs and children, more or less peacefully
+at play.
+
+In Vao, as in all Melanesia, the pig is the most valued of animals. All
+the thoughts of the native circle round the pig; for with pigs he
+can buy whatever his heart desires: he can have an enemy killed, he
+can purchase many women, he can attain the highest social standing,
+he can win paradise. No wonder, then, that the Vao pigs are just as
+carefully nursed, if not more so, than the children, and that it is
+the most important duty of the old matrons to watch over the welfare
+of the pigs. To call a young beauty "pig's foot," "pig's nose,"
+"pig's tail," or similar endearing names is the greatest compliment
+a lover can pay. But only the male pigs are esteemed, the females are
+of account only as a necessary instrument for propagating the species,
+and nobody takes care of them; so they run wild, and have to look out
+for themselves. They are much happier than the males, which are tied
+all their lives to a pole under a little roof; they are carefully fed,
+but this, their only pleasure, is spoilt by constant and terrific
+toothache, caused by cruel man, who has a horrible custom of knocking
+out the upper eye-teeth of the male pig. The lower eye-teeth, finding
+nothing to rub against, grow to a surprising size, first upward,
+then down, until they again reach the jaw, grow on and on, through
+the cheek, through the jaw-bone, pushing out a few other teeth en
+passant, then they come out of the jaw again, and curve a second,
+sometimes a third time, if the poor beast lives long enough. These
+pigs with curved tusks are the pride and wealth of every native; they
+are the highest coin, and power and influence depend on the number
+of such pigs a man owns, as well as on the size of their tusks,
+and this is the reason why they are so carefully watched, so that
+no harm may come to them or their teeth. Very rich people may have
+quite a number of "tuskers," people of average means own one or two,
+and paupers none at all, but they may have the satisfaction of looking
+at those of the others and feeding them if they like.
+
+It will be necessary to say a few words here about the pig-cult and
+the social organization of the natives, as they are closely connected
+and form a key to an understanding of the natives' way of living and
+thinking. I wish to state at once, however, that the following remarks
+do not pretend to be correct in all details. It is very hard to make
+any researches as to these matters, as the natives themselves have
+only the vaguest notions on the subject, and entirely lack abstract
+ideas, so that they fail to understand many of the questions put to
+them. Without an exact knowledge of the language, and much personal
+observation, it is hardly possible to obtain reliable results,
+especially as the old men are unwilling to tell all they know,
+and the young know very little, but rely on the knowledge of the
+old chiefs. Interpreters are of no use, and direct questioning has
+but little result, as the people soon become suspicious or tired
+of thinking, and answer as they suppose the white man would wish,
+so as to have done with the catechizing as soon as possible. Perfect
+familiarity with the language, habits and character of the natives
+is necessary, and their confidence must be won, in order to make any
+progress in the investigation of these problems. Missionaries are the
+men to unite these qualities, but, unfortunately, the missionaries
+of the New Hebrides do not seem to take much interest in the strange
+cult so highly developed here; so that, for want of something better,
+my own observations may be acceptable.
+
+The pig-cult, or "Suque," is found almost all over Melanesia. It
+is most highly developed in the Banks Islands and the Central New
+Hebrides, and rules the entire life of the natives; yet it forms
+only a part of their religion, and probably a newer part, while the
+fundamental principle is ancestor-worship. We must not expect to find
+in the native mind clear conceptions of transcendental things. The
+religious ceremonies differ in adjoining villages, and so do the ideas
+concerning the other world. There is no regular dogma; and since even
+the conceptions of religions with well-defined dogmas are constantly
+changing, religions which are handed down by oral tradition only,
+and in the vaguest way, must necessarily be fluctuating. Following
+the natural laws of thought, religious conceptions split into numerous
+local varieties, and it is the task of the scientist to seek, amid this
+variety of exterior forms, the common underlying idea, long forgotten
+by everyone else, and to ascertain what it was in its original purity,
+without additions and deformations.
+
+My observations led me to the following results: according to native
+belief, the soul leaves the body after death, and wanders about near
+by. Apparently the idea is that it remains in connection with the body
+for a certain time, for in some districts the corpse is fed for five
+days or longer; in Vao a bamboo tube is used, which leads from the
+surface of the earth to the mouth of the buried body. The souls of
+low-caste people soon disappear, but the higher the caste, the longer
+the soul stays on earth. Still, the natives have some conception of
+a paradise in which the soul of the high-caste finds all bliss and
+delight, and which the soul ultimately enters. This idea may have
+come up since the arrival of Christianity. It is customary to hold
+a death-feast for a man of no caste after five days, for a low-caste
+after one hundred, and for a high-caste after three hundred or even
+one thousand days. The soul remains in contact with the world of
+the living, and may be perceived as a good or bad spirit of as much
+power as the man had when alive. To obtain the favour and assistance
+of these spirits seems to be the fundamental idea, the main object of
+religion in the New Hebrides. The spirit of an ancestor will naturally
+favour his descendants, unless they have offended him deeply; and the
+more powerful the dead ancestor was, the stronger and safer do his
+descendants feel under the protection of his spirit. If a man has no
+powerful ancestral ghost, he joins some strong clan, and strives for
+the favour of its tutelary spirit by means of rich sacrifices. The
+spirits admit those who bring many sacrifices to their special favour
+and intimacy; these people are supposed to have gone half-way to the
+spirit-world, and even in this life they are dreaded and enormously
+influential; for the spirits will help him in every way, the elements
+are his servants, and he can perform the most terrible sorceries. Thus
+he terrorizes the country, becomes chief, and after death he joins
+the other ghosts as a powerful member of their company.
+
+The "Suque" transferred the hierarchy of the spirit-world into this
+world, and regulated the number of castes and the method of rising
+in caste; it also originated the rules for entering into connection
+with the other world. Its origin probably goes back to one of those
+secret societies so highly developed in Melanesia, of which I shall
+speak later.
+
+Caste is obtained by sacrificing tusked pigs; it is possible that
+this has taken the place of former human sacrifices. The "Suque" is
+the community of all the men who have sacrificed tusked pigs. It is
+an international society, divided into numerous groups composed of the
+men of different islands, districts, villages or clans. It is the only
+means to assure oneself of bliss hereafter, and to obtain power and
+wealth on earth, and whoever fails to join the "Suque" is an outcast,
+a man of no importance, without friends and without protectors, whether
+living men or spirits, and therefore exposed to every ill-treatment
+and utter contempt. This explains the all-important position of the
+"Suque" in the life of the natives, being the expression both of
+religion and of ambition.
+
+Frequently a young boy will join the "Suque," an uncle on the mother's
+side donating pigs to be sacrificed in his name after he has touched
+them with his hand. The boy is then free of the gamal, the "Suque"
+club-house. Later he works his way up in the society by attending
+numberless feasts and ceremonies, by having endless discussions
+on tusked pigs, by borrowing, buying and lending pigs, by plotting
+and sacrificing.
+
+The number of castes varies on different islands: in Ambrym there are
+fourteen, in Venua Lava twenty, in Aoba ten. On some islands, Santo,
+for example, the caste-system is connected with a severe separation of
+the fires; each caste cooks over its own fire, and loses its degree on
+eating food cooked on the fire of a lower caste. In these districts the
+floor of the gamal is frequently marked by bamboo rods or sticks in as
+many divisions as there are castes each containing one fireplace. The
+highest castes sit at the front end of the gamal, the lower at the
+back; these are forbidden to enter the gamal from the front, in order
+not to touch or step over the fireplaces of their superiors. At each
+rise in caste the novice receives the new fire, rubbed on a special
+stick and decorated with flowers; certain ceremonies attend the cooking
+of the first food with this new fire. It is then carefully tended in
+the fireplace, and if it goes out it has to be rubbed afresh with the
+stick. The number of pigs necessary to a rise in caste also varies
+on the different islands. Generally, only tusked pigs are counted,
+and there are feasts at which as many as forty of these valuable
+animals are killed. Naturally, the high-castes cannot keep all the
+animals themselves, but they lend them, like money, to those who do not
+possess the number needed to rise in caste; in this way a complicated
+credit-system has developed, by which the so-called chiefs support
+and strengthen their influence and tyrannize the country.
+
+A young man, as a rule, owns no tusked pigs. If he wishes to raise his
+caste, he has to borrow from the rich high-castes, who are very willing
+to help him, but only at exorbitant rates of interest. First he has to
+win their favour by presents, and then he has to promise to return a
+more valuable pig later. The bargain made, the transaction takes place
+publicly with some ceremony. The population of the district assembles,
+and all the transactions are ratified which have been negotiated in
+private. The owner holds the pig, the borrower dances around him and
+then takes the animal away. All the spectators serve as witnesses,
+and there is no need of a written bill. In this way nearly all the
+men of lower rank are in debt to the high-castes, and dependent on
+their goodwill, and these can obtain anything they like, simply by
+pressing their debtors to pay for their pigs.
+
+As a rule, the highest castes of a district work together; they are
+the high priests, who arrange everything connected with the "Suque,"
+set the dates for the feasts, and decide whether a man shall be
+permitted to raise his caste. They are practically omnipotent, until
+one of them rises by still larger sacrifices to a still higher caste,
+and becomes sole master. If there are no more degrees to reach, the
+whole scale is run through again an octave higher, so to speak. The
+jaws of the killed pigs are hung up in the gamal in bundles or rows,
+as a sign of the wealth and power of the proprietor. These chiefs
+are in connection with the mightiest spirits, have supernatural power
+and are as much hated as they are feared.
+
+There is another independent witchcraft beside the "Suque," for
+weather-making, charms and poisoning, which is known to private
+men. They take expensive "lessons" from old sorcerers, and transmit
+their art to the young men they consider clever enough, for good
+wages. These are the real mischief-makers, for they will lend their
+murderous assistance to anyone for adequate payment.
+
+In some islands there is also a "Suque" for the women, but it is
+quite independent of that of the men, and its degrees are easier to
+reach. Still, women of high rank enjoy a certain consideration from
+the men.
+
+Real chiefs do not exist in the northern part of the New Hebrides,
+but the chiefs are the high-castes, who, according to their rank and
+the strength of their personality, have more or less influence. They
+cannot give direct orders, but rule indirectly through pressure,
+threats and encouragement. Officially, all decisions are taken in a
+meeting of the whole "Suque." The chieftainship is not hereditary,
+but the sons and especially the nephews of high-castes generally
+reach high degrees themselves, being pushed by their relatives, who
+are naturally anxious to be surrounded by faithful and influential
+friends. Thus there have risen aristocratic families, who think
+themselves better than the others, and do not like to mix with
+common people. Daughters of these families command high prices,
+and are therefore accessible only to rich men, that is, men of high
+caste. Young men of less good family are naturally poor, and since a
+woman, as a rule, costs five pigs, it is almost impossible for them
+to marry, whereas old men can buy up all the young, pretty girls;
+the social consequences of this system are obvious. In Vao conditions
+are not quite so bad, because there is considerable wealth, and women
+are numerous, so that even young men are enabled to have a family;
+in consequence, the race here is healthier than elsewhere.
+
+In Vao I had occasion to attend a death-feast. The hero of the day
+was still alive and in excellent health; but he did not quite trust
+his family, and wishing to make sure that his death-feast would not
+be forgotten, he held it during his lifetime. His anxiety about the
+feast is explained by the following facts. According to Vao beliefs,
+the souls of the dead travel to the island of Ambrym, and after five
+days climb a narrow trail up to the volcano. In order that the soul
+may not starve on the way, the survivors often make a small canoe,
+load it with food and push it off into the sea, thinking it will drift
+after the soul. It is generally stranded behind the nearest point,
+bringing the neighbours a welcome addition to the day's rations. This
+custom is in contradiction to the feeding of the body through a tube,
+and proves that quite contradictory customs can exist simultaneously,
+without the natives noticing it. Half-way up the volcano sits a
+monster with two immense shears, like a crab. If no pigs have been
+sacrificed for the soul by the fifth day, the poor soul is alone and
+the monster swallows it; but if the sacrifice has been performed,
+the souls of the sacrificed pigs follow after the human soul, and as
+the monster prefers pig, the human has time to escape and to reach
+the entrance to paradise on top of the volcano, where there are pigs,
+women, dancing and feasting in plenty.
+
+The feast I was to attend had been in preparation for some time. On all
+the dancing-grounds long bamboos were in readiness, loaded with yams
+and flowers, as presents to the host. Everything was brought to his
+gamal, and the whole morning passed in distributing the gifts, each
+family receiving a few yams, a little pig, some sprouted cocoa-nuts
+and a few rolls of money. This money consists of long, narrow, fringed
+mats, neatly rolled up; in this case they were supposed to be the mats
+in which the dead are buried, and which are taken out of the grave
+after a while. These mats formerly served as small coin, as similar
+mats are still used on other islands, and they still represent a value
+of about one shilling; but in daily life they have been quite replaced
+by European coin, and only appear on such ceremonial occasions.
+
+All the gifts were piled up, and when the host was convinced that
+every guest had received his just dues, he took a stick and smashed
+the heads of all the pigs that were tied up in readiness for this
+ceremony. They struggled for a moment, the dogs came and licked
+the blood, and then each guest took away his portion, to have a
+private feast at home. The whole performance made a desperately
+business-like impression, and everything was done most prosaically;
+as for me, having no better dinner than usual to look forward to,
+I quite missed the slightly excited holiday feeling that ought to go
+with a great feast. Formerly, the braining of the pigs was done with
+skilfully carved clubs, instead of mere sticks, and this alone must
+have given the action something of solemnity; but these clubs have
+long since been sold to collectors and never replaced.
+
+In spite of their frequent intercourse with whites, the people of Vao
+are still confirmed cannibals, only they have not many opportunities
+for gratifying their taste in this direction. Still, not many years
+ago, they had killed and eaten an enemy, and each individual, even
+the little children, had received a small morsel of the body to eat,
+either with the idea of destroying the enemy entirely, or as the
+greatest insult that could be offered to him.
+
+These same people can be so gay, childlike, kind and obliging,
+tactful and generous, that one can hardly believe the accounts
+one often hears of sudden outbreaks of brutal savagery, devilish
+wickedness, ingratitude and falsehood, until one has experienced them
+himself. The flattering and confiding child will turn suddenly and
+without apparent reason into a man full of gloom and hatred. All
+those repressing influences which lead the dwellers in civilized
+lands to some consistency of action are lacking here, and the morals
+of the natives run along other lines than ours. Faith and truth are
+no virtues, constancy and perseverance do not exist. The same man who
+can torture his wife to death from wanton cruelty, holding her limbs
+over the fire till they are charred, etc., will be inconsolable over
+the death of a son for a long time, and will wear a curl, a tooth or
+a finger-joint of the dead as a valuable relic round his neck; and the
+same man who is capable of preparing a murder in cold blood for days,
+may, in some propitious evening hour, relate the most charming and
+poetic fairy-tales. A priest whom I met knew quite a number of such
+stories from a man whom he had digged alive out of the grave, where
+his relatives had buried him, thinking him old enough to die. This
+is not a rare occurrence; sometimes the old people themselves are
+tired of life and ask to be killed.
+
+What has preserved the old customs so well on Vao is the aversion of
+the natives to plantation work. But one day, while I was there, a ship
+rode at anchor off the coast, and a member of the French survey party
+landed, collected all the men on the beach, and told them that unless
+there were thirty men on board that evening, the whole tribe would
+be driven out of the island, as the island belonged to the French
+company. This was, to say the least, extremely doubtful; moreover,
+it would never have been feasible to expropriate the natives in this
+summary way. They were furious, but, unprotected as they were, they
+had to obey, and in the evening nearly all the young men assembled
+on the beach and were taken away in whale-boats, disappearing in the
+mist and darkness of the night. The old men and the women remained
+behind, crying loudly, so that the terrible wailing sounded sadly
+over the sea. Even to the mere spectator it was a tragic moment when
+the tribe was thus orphaned of its best men, and one could not help
+being revolted by the whole proceeding. It was not womanish pity for
+the men who were taken off to work, but regret for the consequent
+disappearance of immemorial forms of tribal life. Next day the
+beach was empty. Old men and women crossed over to the yam-fields,
+the little children played as usual, but the gay shouts were silent,
+the beautiful, brown, supple-bodied young men were gone, and I no
+longer felt the joy of living which had been Vao's greatest charm. The
+old men were sulky and sad, and spoke of leaving Vao for good and
+settling somewhere far inland. It is not surprising that the whole
+race has lost the will to live, and that children are considered an
+undesirable gift, of which one would rather be rid. What hopelessness
+lies in the words I once heard a woman of Vao say: "Why should we
+have any more children? Since the white man came they all die." And
+die they certainly do. Regions that once swarmed with people are now
+lonely; where, ten years ago, there were large villages, we find the
+desert bush, and in some districts the population has decreased by
+one-third in the last seven years. In fifteen years the native race
+will have practically disappeared.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+PORT OLRY AND A "SING-SING"
+
+
+The event just described reduced my chance of finding servants in Vao
+to a minimum, as all the able-bodied young men had been taken away. I
+therefore sailed with the missionary for his station at Port Olry. Our
+route lay along the east coast of Santo. Grey rain-clouds hung on
+the high mountains in the interior, the sun shone faintly through the
+misty atmosphere, the greyish-blue sea and the greyish-green shore,
+with the brown boulders on the beach, formed a study in grey, whose
+hypnotic effect was increased by a warm, weary wind. Whoever was not
+on duty at the tiller lay down on deck, and as in a dream we floated
+slowly along the coast past lonely islands and bays; whenever we looked
+up we saw the same picture, only the outlines seemed to have shifted
+a little. We anchored near a lonely isle, to find out whether its
+only inhabitant, an old Frenchman, was still alive. He had arrived
+there a year ago, full of the most brilliant hopes, which, however,
+had not materialized. He had no boat, hardly ever saw a human being,
+and lived on wild fruits. Hardly anyone knows him or visits him,
+but he had not lost courage, and asked for nothing but a little salt,
+which we gave him, and then sailed on.
+
+In Hog Harbour we spent the night and enjoyed a hearty English
+breakfast with the planters, the Messrs. Th., who have a large and
+beautiful plantation; then we continued our cruise. The country
+had changed somewhat; mighty banks of coral formed high tablelands
+that fell vertically down to the sea, and the living reef stretched
+seaward under the water. These tablelands were intersected by flat
+valleys, in the centre of which rose steep hills, like huge bastions
+dominating the country round. The islands off the coast were covered
+with thick vegetation, with white chalk cliffs gleaming through them
+at intervals. A thin mist filled the valleys with violet hues, the
+sea was bright and a fresh breeze carried us gaily along. The aspect
+of the country displayed the energies of elemental powers: nowhere can
+the origin of chalk mountains be more plainly seen than here, where we
+have the process before us in all its stages, from the living reef,
+shining purple through the sea, to the sandy beach strewn with bits
+of coral, to the high table mountain. We anchored at a headland near
+a small river, and were cordially welcomed by the missionary's dogs,
+cats, pigs and native teacher. There was also a young girl whom the
+father had once dug out of her grave, where a hard-hearted mother
+had buried her.
+
+I had an extremely interesting time at Port Olry. The population
+here is somewhat different from that of the rest of Santo: very
+dark-skinned, tall and different in physiognomy. It may be called
+typically Melanesian, while many other races show Polynesian
+admixture. The race here is very strong, coarse-featured and lives
+in the simplest way, without any industries, and is the primitive
+population in the New Hebrides.
+
+A few details as to personal appearance may be of interest. Among the
+ornaments used are very large combs, decorated with pigs' tails. Pigs'
+tails also are stuck into the hair and ears. The hair is worn very
+long, rolled into little curls and plentifully oiled. A most peculiar
+deformation is applied to the nose and results in extreme ugliness:
+the septum is perforated, and instead of merely inserting a stick,
+a springy spiral is used, which presses the nose upward and forward,
+so that in time it develops into an immense, shapeless lump, as if
+numberless wasps had stung it. It takes a long time to get used to
+this sight, especially as the nose is made still more conspicuous
+by being painted with a bright red stripe on its point, and two
+black ones on each side. A more attractive ornament are flowers,
+which the men stick into their hair, where they are very effective
+on the dark background. In the lobes of the ears they wear spirals
+of tortoise-shell or thin ornaments of bone; the men often paint
+their faces with a mixture of soot and grease, generally the upper
+half of the forehead, the lower part of the cheeks and the back of
+the nose. The women and children prefer the red juice of a fruit,
+with which they paint their faces in all sorts of mysterious designs.
+
+The dress of the men consists of a large belt, purposely worn very low
+so as to show the beautiful curve of the loins. About six small mats
+hang down in front. Formerly, and even at the present day on festival
+occasions, they wore on the back an ovoid of wood; the purpose is
+quite unknown, but may originally have been a portable seat, as the
+Melanesian does not like to sit on the bare ground. Provided with
+this article of dress the wearer did not need to look about for a seat.
+
+If the appearance of the men, while not beautiful, is at least
+impressive, the women are so very much disfigured that it takes
+quite some time to grow accustomed to their style of beauty. They
+are not allowed to wear many ornaments, have to shave their heads,
+and generally rub them with lime, so that they look rather like
+white-headed vultures, all the more so as the deformed nose protrudes
+like a beak and the mouth is large. The two upper incisors are broken
+out as a sign of matrimony.
+
+Their figures, except in young girls, are generally wasted,
+yet one occasionally meets with a woman of fine and symmetrical
+build. The dress is restricted to a small leaf, attached to a thin
+loin-string. Both men and women generally wear at the back a bundle of
+leaves; women and boys have strongly scented herbs, the men coloured
+croton, the shade depending on the caste of the wearer. The highest
+castes wear the darkest, nearly black, varieties. These croton bushes
+are planted along the sides of the gamals, so as to furnish the men's
+ornaments; and they lend the sombre places some brightness and colour.
+
+Half for ornament and half for purposes of healing are the large
+scars which may frequently be seen on the shoulders or breasts of
+the natives. The cuts are supposed to cure internal pains; the scabs
+are frequently scratched off, until the scar is large and high,
+and may be considered ornamental. Apropos of this medical detail
+I may mention another remedy, for rheumatism: with a tiny bow and
+arrow a great number of small cuts are shot into the skin of the
+part affected; the scars from these wounds form a network of fine,
+hardly noticeable designs on the skin.
+
+The life and cult of the natives are as simple as their dress. The
+houses are scattered and hidden in the bush, grouped vaguely around
+the gamal, which stands alone on a bare square. No statues stand there,
+nor tall, upright drums; only a few small drums lie in a puddle around
+the gamal.
+
+The dwelling-houses are simply gable-roofs, always without side-walls
+and often without any walls at all. They are divided into a pig-stable
+and a living-room, unless the owners prefer to have their pigs living
+in the same space with themselves.
+
+A few flat wooden dishes are the only implements the native does
+not find ready-made in nature. Cooking is done with heated stones
+heaped around the food, which has been previously wrapped up in
+banana leaves. Lime-stones naturally cannot be used for that purpose,
+and volcanic stones have often to be brought from quite a distance,
+so that these cooking-stones are treated with some care. In place of
+knives the natives use shells or inland bamboo-splinters, but both
+are rapidly being replaced by European knives.
+
+On approaching a village we are first frightened by a few pigs, which
+run away grunting and scolding into the thicket. Then a pack of dogs
+announce our arrival, threatening us with hypocritical zeal. A few
+children, playing in the dirt among the pigs, jump up and run away,
+then slowly return, take us by the hand and stare into our faces. At
+noon we will generally find all the men assembled in the gamal making
+"lap-lap." Lap-lap is the national dish of the natives of the New
+Hebrides; quite one-fifth part of their lives is spent in making
+and eating lap-lap. The work is not strenuous. The cook sits on the
+ground and rubs the fruit, yam or taro, on a piece of rough coral or a
+palm-sheath, thus making a thick paste, which is wrapped up in banana
+leaves and cooked between stones. After a few hours' cooking it looks
+like a thick pudding and does not taste at all bad. For flavouring,
+cocoa-nut milk is poured over it, or it is mixed with cabbage, grease,
+nuts, roasted and ground, or occasionally with maggots. Besides this
+principal dish, sweet potatoes, manioc, bread-fruit, pineapples,
+bananas, etc., are eaten in season, and if the natives were less
+careless, they would never need to starve, as frequently happens.
+
+The men are not much disturbed by our arrival. They offer us a log to
+sit on, and continue to rub their yam, talking us over the while. They
+seem to be a very peaceful and friendly crowd, yet in this district
+they are particularly cruel and treacherous, and only a few days
+after my departure war broke out. The gamal is bare, except for a
+few wooden dishes hanging in the roof, and weapons of all kinds, not
+in full sight, but ready at any moment. We can see rifles, arrows and
+clubs. The clubs are very simple, either straight or curved sticks. Old
+pieces are highly valued, and carry marks indicating how many victims
+have been killed with them: I saw one club with sixty-seven of these
+marks. In former years the spear with about two hundred and fifty
+points of human bones was much used, but is now quite replaced by
+the rifle. The bones for spear-points and arrow-heads are taken from
+the bodies of dead relatives and high-castes. The corpse is buried in
+the house, and when it is decayed the bones of the limbs are dug out,
+split, polished and used for weapons. The idea is that the courage and
+skill of the dead man may be transmitted to the owner of the weapon,
+also, that the dead man may take revenge on his murderer, as every
+death is considered to have been caused by some enemy. These bones
+are naturally full of the poisons of the corpse, and may cause tetanus
+at the slightest scratch. On the arrows they are extremely sharp and
+only slightly attached to the wood, so that they stick in the flesh
+and increase the inflammation. Besides, they are often dipped in some
+special poison.
+
+All over the archipelago the arrows are very carefully made, and
+almost every island has its own type, although they all resemble
+each other. Many are covered at the point with a fine spiral binding,
+and the small triangles thus formed are painted in rows--red, green
+and white. Much less care is bestowed on the fish- and bird-arrows,
+which are three-pointed as a rule, and often have no point at all,
+but only a knob, so as to stun the bird and not to stick in the
+branches of the trees.
+
+Shields are unknown. It would seem that the arrow was not, as
+elsewhere, the principal weapon, but rather the spear and club,
+and the wars were not very deadly, as the natives' skill in handling
+their weapons was equalled by their skill in dodging them.
+
+Having inspected the gamal, we received from the highest caste present
+a gift of some yam, or taro, which we requited with some sticks of
+tobacco. The length of the gamal depends on the caste of the chief
+who builds it. I saw a gamal 60 metres long, and while this length
+seems senseless to-day, because of the scanty population, it was
+necessary in former days, when the number of a man's followers rose
+with his rank. Not many years ago these houses were filled at night
+with sleeping warriors, each with his weapons at hand, ready for a
+fight. To-day these long, dark, deserted houses are too dismal for
+the few remaining men, so that they generally build a small gamal
+beside the big one.
+
+To have killed a man, no matter in what way, is a great honour,
+and gives the right to wear a special plume of white and black
+feathers. Such plumes are not rare in Port Olry.
+
+Each man has his own fire, and cooks his own food; for, as I have
+said, it would mean the loss of caste to eat food cooked on the
+fire of a lower caste. Women are considered unworthy to cook a man's
+meal; in fact, their standing here is probably the lowest in all the
+archipelago. Still, they do not lack amusement; they gather like the
+men for social carousals, and are giggling and chattering all day
+long. Their principal occupation is the cultivation of the fields,
+but where Nature is so open-handed this is not such a task as we might
+think when we see them coming home in the afternoon, panting under
+an immense load of fruit, with a pile of firewood on top, a child on
+their back and possibly dragging another by the hand. Port Olry is the
+only place in the New Hebrides where the women carry loads on their
+heads. Everywhere else they carry them on their backs in baskets of
+cocoa-nut leaves. In consequence the women here are remarkable for
+their erect and supple carriage.
+
+The work in the fields consists merely of digging out the yam and
+picking other fruit, and it is a sociable affair, with much talking and
+laughter. There is always something to eat, such as an unripe cocoa-nut
+or a banana. Serious work is not necessary except at the planting
+season, when the bush has to be cleared. Then a whole clan usually
+works together, the men helping quite energetically, until the fields
+are fenced in and ready for planting; then they hold a feast, a big
+"kai-kai," and leave the rest of the work to the women. The fences are
+made to keep out the pigs, and are built in the simplest way: sticks
+of the wild cotton-wood tree, which grows rankly everywhere, are stuck
+into the ground at short intervals; they immediately begin to sprout,
+and after a short time form a living and impenetrable hedge. But they
+last much longer than is necessary, so that everywhere the fences
+of old gardens bar the road and force the traveller to make endless
+detours, all the more so as the natives have a way of making their
+fields right across the paths whenever it suits them.
+
+The number of women here amounts only to about one-fourth of that
+of the men. One reason for this is the custom of killing all the
+widows of a chief, a custom which was all the more pernicious as the
+chiefs, as a rule, owned most of the young females, while the young
+men could barely afford to buy an old widow. Happily this custom is
+dying out, owing to the influence of the planters and missionaries;
+they appealed, not unwisely, to the sensuality of the young men, who
+were thus depriving themselves of the women. Strange to say, the women
+were not altogether pleased with this change, many desiring to die,
+for fear they might be haunted by the offended spirit of their husband.
+
+When a chief died, the execution did not take place at once. The
+body was exposed in a special little hut in the thicket, and left to
+decay, which process was hastened by the climate and the flies. Then
+a death-feast was prepared, and the widows, half frantic with mad
+dancing and howling, were strangled.
+
+Ordinary people are buried in their own houses, which generally decay
+afterwards. Often the widow had to sleep beside the decaying body
+for one hundred days.
+
+Being short of boys, I could not visit many of the villages inland,
+and I stayed on at the mission station, where there was generally
+something for me to do, as the natives frequently came loitering
+about the station. I made use of their presence as much as possible
+for anthropological measurements, but I could not always find willing
+subjects. Everything depends on the humour of the crowd; if they make
+fun of the first victim, the case is lost, as no second man is willing
+to be the butt of the innumerable gibes showered on the person under
+the instruments. Things are more favourable if it is only fear of
+some dangerous enchantment that holds them back, for then persuasion
+and liberal gifts of tobacco generally overcome their fears. The best
+subjects are those who pretend to understand the scientific meaning
+of the operation, or the utterly indifferent, who never think about
+it at all, are quite surprised to be suddenly presented with tobacco,
+and go home, shaking their heads over the many queer madnesses of white
+men. I took as many photographs as possible, and my pictures made quite
+a sensation. Once, when I showed his portrait to one of the dandies
+with the oiled and curled wig, he ran away with a cry of terror at his
+undreamt-of ugliness, and returned after a short while with his hair
+cut. His deformed nose, however, resisted all attempts at restoration.
+
+The natives showed great reluctance in bringing me skulls and
+skeletons. As the bones decay very quickly in the tropics, only skulls
+of people recently deceased can be had. The demon, or soul, of the
+dead is supposed to be too lively as yet to be wantonly offended; in
+any case, one dislikes to disturb one's own relatives, while there
+is less delicacy about those of others. Still, in course of time,
+I gathered quite a good collection of skulls at the station. They
+were brought carefully wrapped up in leaves, fastened with lianas,
+and tied to long sticks, with which the bearer held the disgusting
+object as far from him as possible. The bundles were laid down, and
+the people watched with admiring disgust as I untied the ropes and
+handled the bones as one would any other object. Everything that had
+touched the bones became to the natives an object of the greatest
+awe; still they enjoyed pushing the leaves that had wrapped them
+up under the feet of an unsuspecting friend, who presently, warned
+of the danger, escaped with a terrified shriek and a wild jump. It
+would seem that physical disgust had as much to do with all this as
+religious fear, although the natives show none of this disgust at
+handling the remains of pigs. Naturally, the old men were the most
+superstitious; the young ones were more emancipated, some of them
+even going the length of picking up a bone with their toes.
+
+Most of them had quite a similar dread of snakes, but some men handled
+them without much fear, and brought me large specimens, which they
+had caught in a sling and then wrapped up in leaves. While I killed
+and skinned a big snake, a large crowd always surrounded me, ever
+ready for flight, and later my boys chased them with the empty skin,
+a performance which always ended in great laughing and dancing.
+
+I had been in Port Olry for three weeks, waiting anxiously every
+day for the Marie-Henry, which was to bring the luggage I had left
+behind at the Segond Channel. My outfit began to be insufficient;
+what I needed most was chemicals for the preservation of my zoological
+specimens, which I had plenty of time and occasion to collect here. One
+day the Marie-Henry, a large schooner, arrived, but my luggage had been
+forgotten. I was much disappointed, as I saw no means of recovering
+it in the near future. The Marie-Henry was bound for Talamacco,
+in Big Bay, and took the Rev. Father and myself along.
+
+One of the passengers was Mr. F., a planter and trader in
+Talamacco, and we soon became good friends with him and some of the
+others. Mr. F. was very kind, and promised to use all his influence to
+help me find boys. The weather was bad, and we had to tack about all
+night; happily, we were more comfortable on the big schooner than on
+the little cutters. At Talamacco Mr. F. offered us his hospitality,
+and as it rained continually, we were very glad to stay in his
+house, spending the time in sipping gin and winding up a hoarse
+gramophone. Thus two lazy days passed, during which our host was
+constantly working for me, sending his foreman, the "moli," to all
+the neighbouring villages, with such good results that at last I was
+able to engage four boys for two months. I took them on board at once,
+well pleased to have the means, at last, of moving about independently.
+
+We sailed in the evening, and when, next morning, we rounded Cape
+Quiros, we found a heavy sea, so that the big ship pitched and
+ploughed with dull hissing through the foaming waves. She lay aslant
+under the pressure of the wind that whistled in the rigging, and the
+full curve of the great sails was a fine sight; but it was evident
+that the sails and ropes were in a very rotten condition, and soon,
+with anxious looks, we followed the growth of a tear in the mainsail,
+wondering whether the mast would stand the strain. A heavy sea broke
+the rudder, and altogether it was high time to land when we entered
+Port Olry in the late afternoon.
+
+A few days later I started for Hog Harbour, for the plantation
+of the Messrs. Th., near which I meant to attend a great feast,
+or "sing-sing." This meant a march of several hours through the
+bush. My boys had all put on their best finery,--trousers, shirts,
+gay handkerchiefs,--and had painted their hair with fresh lime.
+
+"Well, boys, are you ready?" "Yes, Masta," they answer, with
+conviction, though they are far from ready, as they are still tying
+their bundles. After waiting a while, I say, "Well, me, me go." They
+answer, "All right, you go." I take a few steps and wait again. One
+of them appears in front of the hut to look for a stick to hang his
+bundle on, another cannot find his pipe; still, after a quarter of an
+hour, we can really start. The boys sing and laugh, but as we enter
+the forest darkness they suddenly become quiet, as if the sternness
+of the bush oppressed their souls. We talk but little, and only in
+undertones. These woods have none of the happy, sensuous luxuriance
+which fancy lends to every tropical forest; there is a harshness,
+a selfish struggle for the first place among the different plants, a
+deadly battling for air and light. Giant trees with spreading crowns
+suppress everything around, kill every rival and leave only small
+and insignificant shrubs alive. Between them, smaller trees strive
+for light; on tall, straight, thin stems they have secured a place and
+developed a crown. Others look for light in roundabout ways, making use
+of every gap their neighbours leave, and rise upward in soft coils. All
+these form a high roof, under which younger and weaker plants lead a
+skimped life--hardwood trees on thin trunks, with small, unassuming
+leaves, and vulgar softwood with large, flabby foliage. Around and
+across all this wind the parasites, lianas, rotang, some stretched
+like ropes from one trunk to another, some rising in elegant curves
+from the ground, some attached to other trunks and sucking out their
+life with a thousand roots, others interlaced in the air in distorted
+curves. All these grow and thrive on the bodies of former generations
+on the damp, mouldy ground, where leaves rot and trunks decay, and
+where it is always wet, as never a sunbeam can strike in so far.
+
+Thus it is sad in the forest, and strangely quiet, as in a churchyard,
+for not even the wind can penetrate the green surface. It passes
+rushing through the crowns, so that sometimes we catch an upward
+glimpse of bright yellow sunshine as though out of a deep gully. And
+as men in sternest fight are silent, using all their energy for one
+purpose, so here there is no sign of gay and happy life, there are
+no flowers or coloured leaves, but the endless, dull green, in an
+infinity of shapes.
+
+Even the animals seem to shun the dark forest depths; only on the
+highest trees a few pigeons bathe in the sun, and as they fly heavily
+over the wood, their call sounds, melancholy as a sad dream, from
+afar. A lonely butterfly flutters among the trees, a delicate being,
+unused to this dark world, seeking in vain for a ray of sun and a
+breath of fresh air. Sometimes we hear the grunt of an invisible
+pig, the breaking of branches and the rustling of leaves as it runs
+away. Moisture and lowering gloom brood over the swampy earth; one
+would not be surprised if suddenly the ground were to move and wriggle
+like slimy snakes tightly knotted around each other. Thorns catch the
+limbs, vines catch the feet, and the wanderer, stumbling along, almost
+fancies he can hear the spiteful laughter of malicious demons. One
+feels tired, worried, unsafe, as if in an enemy's country, helplessly
+following the guide, who walks noiselessly on the soft ground. With
+a branch he sweeps aside the innumerable spider-webs that droop
+across the path, to keep them from hanging in our faces. Silently
+the other men follow behind; once in a while a dry branch snaps or
+a trunk creaks.
+
+In this dark monotony we go on for hours, without an outlook, and
+seemingly without purpose or direction, on a hardly visible path, in
+an endless wilderness. We pass thousands of trees, climb over hundreds
+of fallen trunks and brush past millions of creepers. Sometimes we
+enter a clearing, where a giant tree has fallen or a village used to
+stand. Sometimes great coral rocks lie in the thicket; the pools at
+their foot are a wallowing-place for pigs.
+
+It is a confusing walk; one feels quite dizzy with the constantly
+passing stems and branches, and a white man would be lost in this
+wilderness without the native, whose home it is. He sees everything,
+every track of beast or bird, and finds signs on every tree and vine,
+peculiarities of shape or grouping, which he recognizes with unerring
+certainty. He describes the least suggestion of a trail, a footprint,
+or a knife-cut, or a torn leaf. As the white man finds his way about
+a city by means of street signs, so the savage reads his directions
+in the forest from the trees and the ground. He knows every plant and
+its uses, the best wood for fires; he knows when he may expect to find
+water, and which liana makes the strongest rope. Yet even he seems
+to feel something of the appalling loneliness of the primeval forest.
+
+Our path leads steeply up and down, over loose coral blocks, between
+ferns and mosses; lianas serve as ropes to help us climb over coral
+rocks, and with our knives we hew a passage through thorny creepers
+and thick bush. The road runs in zigzags, sometimes turning back
+to go round fallen trunks and swampy places, so that we really walk
+three or four times the distance to Hog Harbour. Our guide uses his
+bush-knife steadily and to good purpose: he sees where the creepers
+interlace and which branch is the chief hindrance, and in a few deft
+cuts the tangle falls.
+
+At last--it seems an eternity since we dived into the forest--we hear
+from afar, through the green walls, a dull roaring, and as we go on,
+we distinguish the thunder of the breakers like the beating of a great
+pulse. Suddenly the thicket lightens, and we stand on the beach,
+blinded by the splendour of light that pours on us, but breathing
+freely in the fresh air that blows from the far horizon. We should like
+to stretch out on the sand and enjoy the free space after the forest
+gloom; but after a short rest we go on, for this is only half-way to
+our destination, and we dive once more into the semi-darkness.
+
+Towards evening we reach the plantation of the Messrs. Th. They are
+Australians of good family, and their place is splendidly kept. I
+was struck by the cleanliness of the whole establishment, the good
+quarters of the native labourers, the quiet way in which work was
+done, the pleasant relations between masters and hands, and last,
+but not least, the healthy and happy appearance of the latter.
+
+The brothers had just finished the construction of what was quite a
+village, its white lime walls shining invitingly through the green
+of the cocoa-nut palms. There was a large kitchen, a storehouse, a
+tool-shed, a bakery, a dwelling-house and a light, open summer-house,
+a delightful spot, where we dined in the cool sea-breeze and sipped
+whisky in the moonlight, while the palm-leaves waved dreamily. Then
+there was a large poultry yard, pigsty and paddocks, and along the
+beach were the boat-houses, drying-sheds and storehouses, shaded by
+old trees. The boys' quarters were roomy, eight sleeping together in
+an airy hut, while the married couples had houses of their own. The
+boys slept on high beds, each with his "bocase" underneath, to hold his
+possessions, while all sorts of common property hung in the roof--nets,
+fish-spears, bows, guns, etc.
+
+Such plantations, where the natives lack neither food nor good
+treatment, can only have a favourable influence on the race, and it is
+not quite clear why the Presbyterian missionaries do not like their
+young men to go in for plantation work. Owing to the good treatment
+of their hands the Messrs. Th. have always had enough labourers, and
+have been able to develop their plantation wonderfully. It consists
+almost exclusively of cocoa-nut palms, planted on ground wrested from
+the forest in a hard fight. When I was there the trees were not yet in
+full bearing, but the proprietors had every reason to expect a very
+considerable income in a few years. The cultivation of the cocoa-nut
+is extremely simple; the only hard work is the first clearing of the
+ground, and keeping the young trees free from lianas. Once they are
+grown up, they are able to keep down the bush themselves to a certain
+extent, and then the work consists in picking up the ripe nuts from
+the ground, husking and drying them. The net profit from one tree
+is estimated at one shilling per annum. Besides the cultivation of
+their plantation the Messrs. Th. plied a flourishing trade in coprah
+and sandalwood all along the west coast of Santo, which they visited
+frequently in their cutter. This same cutter was often a great help to
+me, and, indeed, her owners always befriended me in the most generous
+way, and many are the pleasant hours I spent in their company.
+
+After dinner that first day we went to the village where the
+"sing-sing" was to take place. There was no moon, and the night was
+pitch dark. The boys had made torches of palm-leaves, which they
+kept burning by means of constant swinging. They flared up in dull,
+red flames, lighting up the nearest surroundings, and we wound our
+way upwards through the trunk vines and leaves that nearly shut in
+the path. It seemed as if we were groping about without a direction,
+as if looking for a match in a dark room. Soon, however, we heard
+the dull sound of the drums, and the noise led us to the plateau,
+till we could see the red glare of a fire and hear the rough voices
+of men and the shrill singing of women.
+
+Unnoticed, we entered the dancing-ground. A number of men were standing
+in a circle round a huge fire, their silhouettes cutting sharply into
+the red glare. Out of a tangle of clubs, rifles, plumes, curly wigs,
+round heads, bows and violently gesticulating arms, sounds an irregular
+shrieking, yelling, whistling and howling, uniting occasionally to
+a monotonous song. The men stamp the measure, some begin to whirl
+about, others rush towards the fire; now and then a huge log breaks
+in two and crowns the dark, excited crowd with a brilliant column of
+circling sparks. Then everybody yells delightedly, and the shouting
+and dancing sets in with renewed vigour. Everyone is hoarse, panting
+and covered with perspiration, which paints light streaks on the
+sooty faces and bodies.
+
+Noticing us, a man rushes playfully towards us, threateningly swinging
+his club, his eyes and teeth shining in the darkness; then he returns
+to the shouting, dancing mob around the fire. Half-grown boys sneak
+through the crowd; they are the most excited of all, and stamp the
+ground wildly with their disproportionately large feet, kicking and
+shrieking in unpleasant ecstasy. All this goes on among the guests;
+the hosts keep a little apart, near a scaffolding, on which yams are
+attached. The men circle slowly round this altar, carrying decorated
+bamboos, with which they mark the measure, stamping them on the ground
+with a thud. They sing a monotonous tune, one man starting and the
+others joining in; the dance consists of slow, springy jumps from
+one foot to the other.
+
+On two sides of this dancing circle the women stand in line, painted
+all over with soot. When the men's deep song is ended, they chant the
+same melody with thin, shrill voices. Once in a while they join in
+the dance, taking a turn with some one man, then disappearing; they
+are all much excited; only a few old hags stand apart, who are past
+worldly pleasures, and have known such feasts for many, many years.
+
+The whole thing looks grotesque and uncanny, yet the pleasure in mere
+noise and dancing is childish and harmless. The picture is imposing and
+beautiful in its simplicity, gruesome in its wildness and sensuality,
+and splendid with the red lights which play on the shining, naked
+bodies. In the blackness of the night nothing is visible but that
+red-lit group of two or three hundred men, careless of to-morrow,
+given up entirely to the pleasure of the moment. The spectacle lasts
+all night, and the crowd becomes more and more wrought up, the leaps
+of the dancers wilder, the singing louder. We stand aside, incapable
+of feeling with these people or sharing their joy, realizing that
+theirs is a perfectly strange atmosphere which will never be ours.
+
+Towards morning we left, none too early, for a tremendous shower came
+down and kept on all next morning. I went up to the village again, to
+find a most dismal and dejected crowd. Around the square, in the damp
+forest, seedy natives stood and squatted in small groups, shivering
+with cold and wet. Some tried to warm themselves around fires, but
+with poor success. Bored and unhappy, they stared at us as we passed,
+and did not move. Women and children had made umbrellas of large flat
+leaves, which they carried on their heads; the soot which had formed
+their festival dress was washed off by the rain. The square itself
+was deserted, save for a pack of dogs and a few little boys, rolling
+about in the mud puddles. Once in a while an old man would come out
+of the gamal, yawn and disappear. In short, it was a lendemain de
+fete of the worst kind.
+
+About once in a quarter of an hour a man would come to bring a tusked
+pig to the chief, who danced a few times round the animal, stamped his
+heel on the ground, uttered certain words, and retired with short,
+stiff steps, shaking his head, into the gamal. The morning was over
+by the time all the pigs were ready. I spent most of the time out of
+doors, rather than in the gamal, for there many of the dancers of the
+evening lay in all directions and in most uncomfortable positions,
+beside and across each other, snoring, shivering or staring sulkily
+into dark corners. I was offered a log to sit on, and it might have
+been quite acceptable had not one old man, trembling with cold,
+pressed closely against me to get warm, and then, half asleep,
+attempted to lay his shaggy, oil-soaked head on my shoulder, while
+legions of starved fleas attacked my limbs, forcing me to beat a
+hasty though belated retreat.
+
+In the afternoon about sixty pigs were tied to poles in front of
+the gamal, and the chief took an old gun-barrel and smashed their
+heads. They represented a value of about six hundred pounds! Dogs
+and men approached the quivering victims, the dogs to lick the blood
+that ran out of their mouths, the men to carry the corpses away for
+the feast. This was the prosaic end of the great "sing-sing."
+
+As it is not always easy to borrow the number of pigs necessary to rise
+in caste, there are charms which are supposed to help in obtaining
+them. Generally, these are curiously shaped stones, sometimes carved
+in the shape of a pig, and are carried in the hand or in little baskets
+in the belt. Such charms are, naturally, very valuable, and are handed
+down for generations or bought for large sums. On this occasion the
+"big fellow-master" had sacrificed enough to attain a very high caste
+indeed, and had every reason to hold up his head with great pride.
+
+Formerly, these functions were generally graced with a special feature,
+in the shape of the eating of a man. As far as is known, the last
+cannibal meal took place in 1906; the circumstances were these: Some
+young men were walking through the forest, carrying their Snider
+rifles, loaded and cocked as usual, on their shoulders. Unluckily,
+one of the rifles went off, and killed the man behind, the son of
+an influential native. Everyone was aware that the death was purely
+accidental, but the father demanded a considerable indemnity. The
+"murderer," a poor and friendless youth, was unable to pay, and fled to
+a neighbouring village. He was received kindly enough, but his hosts
+sent secretly to the offended father to ask what they were to do with
+him. "Kill him and eat him," was the reply. They therefore prepared a
+great feast, in honour, as they said, of their beloved guest, and while
+he was sitting cheerfully near the fire, in anticipation of the good
+meal to come, they killed him from behind with an axe. The body was
+roasted, and the people of his village were asked to the feast. One
+man had received the forearm and hand, and while he was chewing the
+muscles and pulling away at the inflectors of the fingers, the hand
+closed and scratched his cheek,--"all same he alive,"--whereupon the
+horrified guest threw his morsel away and fled into the forest.
+
+On my return to Port Olry I found that the Father had gone to visit
+a colleague, as his duties did not take up much of his time. His
+post at Port Olry was rather a forlorn hope, as the natives showed no
+inclination to become converts, especially not in connection with the
+poor Roman Catholic mission, which could not offer them any external
+advantages, like the rich and powerful Presbyterian mission. All
+the priests lived in the greatest poverty, in old houses, with very
+few servants. The one here had, besides a teacher from Malekula,
+an old native who had quarrelled with his chief and separated from
+his clan. The good man was very anxious to marry, but no girl would
+have him, as he had had two wives, and had, quite without malice,
+strangled his second wife by way of curing her of an illness. I was
+reminded of this little episode every time I looked at the man's long,
+bony fingers.
+
+One day a native asked me for medicine for his brother. I tried to find
+out the nature of the ailment, and decided to give him calomel, urging
+his brother to take it to him at once. The man had eaten a quarter of
+a pig all by himself, but, of course, it was said that he had been
+poisoned. His brother, instead of hurrying home, had a little visit
+with his friends at the coast, until it was dark and he was afraid to
+go home through the bush alone; so he waited till next morning, when
+it was too late. The man's death naturally made the murder theory
+a certainty, so the body was not buried, but laid out in the hut,
+with all sorts of finery. Around it, in spite of the fearful odour,
+all the women sat for ten days, in a cloud of blow-flies. They burned
+strong-scented herbs to kill the smell, and dug a little trench across
+the floor, in order to keep the liquids from the decaying corpse from
+running into the other half of the house. The nose and mouth of the
+body were stopped up with clay and lime, probably to keep the soul
+from getting out, and the body was surrounded by a little hut. In the
+gamal close by sat all the men, sulky, revengeful, and planning war,
+which, in fact, broke out within a few days after my departure.
+
+The Messrs. Th. had been kind enough to invite me to go on a recruiting
+trip to Maevo, the most north-easterly island of the group. Here I
+found a very scanty population, showing many traces of Polynesian
+admixture in appearance and habits. The weather was nasty and our
+luck at recruiting poor, so that after a fortnight we returned to
+Hog Harbour. I went to Port Olry to my old priest's house, and a few
+days later Mr. Th. came in his cutter to take me to Tassimaloun in
+Big Bay; so I bade a hearty farewell to the good Father, whom I have
+never had the pleasure of meeting again.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+SANTO
+
+
+There are hardly any natives left in the south of the Bay of
+St. Philip and St. James, generally called Big Bay. Only to the
+north of Talamacco there are a few villages, in which the remnants
+of a once numerous population, mostly converts of the Presbyterian
+mission, have collected. It is a very mixed crowd, without other
+organization than that which the mission has created, and that is
+not much. There are a few chiefs, but they have even less authority
+than elsewhere, and the feeling of solidarity is lacking entirely,
+so that I have hardly ever found a colony where there was so much
+intrigue, immorality and quarrelling. A few years ago the population
+had been kept in order by a Presbyterian missionary of the stern and
+cruel type; but he had been recalled, and his place was taken by a man
+quite unable to cope with the lawlessness of the natives, so that every
+vice developed freely, and murders were more frequent than in heathen
+districts. Matters were not improved by the antagonism between the
+Roman Catholic and Presbyterian missions and the traders; each worked
+against the others, offering the natives the best of opportunities to
+fish in troubled waters. The result of all this was a rapid decrease
+of the population and frequent artificial sterility. The primitive
+population has disappeared completely in some places, and is only to
+be found in any numbers far inland among the western mountains. The
+situation is a little better in the north, where we find a number of
+flourishing villages along the coast around Cape Cumberland.
+
+The nearest village to Talamacco was Tapapa. Sanitary conditions
+there were most disheartening, as at least half of the inhabitants
+were leprous, and most of them suffered from tuberculosis or
+elephantiasis. I saw hardly any children, so that the village will
+shortly disappear, like so many others.
+
+Native customs along the coast are much the same as at Port Olry, but
+less primitive, and the houses are better built. There is wood-carving,
+or was. I found the doorposts of old gamals beautifully carved, and
+plates prettily decorated; but these were all antiques, and nothing
+of the kind is made at the present day.
+
+The race, however, is quite different from that around Port Olry. There
+are two distinct types: one, Melanesian, dark, tall or short, thin,
+curly-haired, with a broad nose and a brutal expression; and one
+that shows distinct traces of Polynesian blood in its finer face,
+a larger body, which is sometimes fat, light skin and frequently
+straight hair. Just where this Polynesian element comes from it
+is hard to say, but the islands in general are very favourable to
+race-mixture along the coasts. As I said before, the Melanesian type
+shows two distinct varieties, a tall dark one, and a short light
+one. At first I did not realize the significance of the latter until
+I became aware of the existence of a negroid element, of which I saw
+clear traces. The two varieties, however, are much intermingled, and
+the resulting blends have mixed with the Polynesian-Melanesian type,
+so that the number of types is most confusing, and it will be hard
+to determine the properties of the original one.
+
+Finding little of interest in the immediate surroundings of
+Talamacco, I determined to make an excursion into the interior of the
+island. Mr. F. put his foreman, or moli, at my disposal, and he engaged
+my bearers, made himself useful during the trip in superintending
+the boys, and proved valuable in every way, as he was never afraid,
+and was known to nearly all the inland chiefs.
+
+After a rainy spell of six weeks we had a clear day at last; and
+although the weather could not be taken into consideration when making
+my plans, still, the bright sunshine created that happy and expectant
+sensation which belongs to the beginning of a journey. The monthly
+steamer had arrived the day before, had shipped a little coprah, and
+brought some provisions for the trader and myself. I had completed
+my preparations, engaged my boys and was ready to start.
+
+In the white glare of a damp morning we pulled from the western shore
+of Big Bay to the mouth of the Jordan River. The boat was cramped
+and overloaded, and we were all glad to jump ashore after a row of
+several hours. The boys carried the luggage ashore and pulled the
+boat up into the bush with much noise and laughter. Then we settled
+down in the shade for our first meal, cooking being an occupation of
+which the boys are surprisingly fond. Their rations are rice and tea,
+with a tin of meat for every four. This discussed, we packed up,
+and began our march inland.
+
+The road leads through a thin bush, over rough coral boulders and
+gravel deposited by the river. We leave the Jordan to our right,
+and march south-east. After about an hour we come to a swampy
+plain, covered with tall reed-grass. Grassy plains are an unusual
+sight in Santo; the wide expanse of yellowish green is surrounded
+by dark walls of she-oak, in the branches of which hang thousands
+of flying-foxes. At a dirty pond we fill our kettles with greenish
+water, for our night camp will be on the mountain slope ahead of us,
+far from any spring. Even the moli has to carry a load of water, as I
+can hardly ask the boys to take any more. He feels rather humiliated,
+as a moli usually carries nothing but a gun, but he is good enough to
+see the necessity of the case, and condescends to carry a small kettle.
+
+Straight ahead are the high coral plateaux across which our road
+lies. While we tackle the ascent, the sky has become overcast, the
+gay aspect of the landscape has changed to sad loneliness and a heavy
+shower soaks us to the skin. The walk through the jungle is trying,
+and even the moli loses the way now and again. Towards nightfall
+we enter a high forest with but little underbrush, and work our way
+slowly up a steep and slippery slope to an overhanging coral rock,
+where we decide to camp. We have lost our way, but as night is closing
+in fast, we cannot venture any farther.
+
+The loads are thrown to the ground in disorder, and the boys drop
+down comfortably; strong language on my part is needed before they
+make up their minds to pile up the luggage, collect wood and begin
+to cook. Meanwhile my own servant has prepared my bed and dried my
+clothes. Soon it is quite dark, the boys gather round the fires, and do
+not dare to go into the yawning darkness any more, for fear of ghosts.
+
+The rain has ceased, and the soft damp night air hangs in the
+trees. The firelight is absorbed by the darkness, and only the nearest
+surroundings shine in its red glare; the boys are stretched out in
+queer attitudes round the fire on the hard rocks. Soon I turn out the
+lamp and lie listening to the night, where vague life and movement
+creeps through the trunks. Sometimes a breath of wind shivers through
+the trees, shaking heavy drops from the leaves. A wild pig grunts,
+moths and insects circle round the fires, and thousands of mosquitoes
+hum about my net and sing me to sleep. Once in a while I am roused
+by the breaking of a rotten tree, or a mournful cry from one of the
+dreaming boys; or one of them wakes up, stirs the fire, turns over and
+snores on. Long before daybreak a glorious concert of birds welcomes
+the new day. Half asleep, I watch the light creep across the sky,
+while the bush is still in utter darkness; suddenly, like a bugle-call,
+the first sunbeams strike the trees and it is broad day.
+
+Chilly and stiff, the boys get up and crowd round the fires. As
+we have no more water there is no tea, and breakfast is reduced to
+dry biscuits. The moli has found the lost trail by this time, and we
+continue the ascent. On the plateau we again strike nearly impenetrable
+bush, and lose the trail again, so that after a few hours' hard work
+with the knives we have to retrace our steps for quite a distance. It
+is a monotonous climb, varied only by an occasional shot at a wild
+pig and fair sport with pigeons. Happily for the thirsty boys, we
+strike a group of bamboos, which yield plenty of water. All that
+is needed is to cut the joint of the stems, and out of each section
+flows a pint of clear water, which the boys collect by holding their
+huge mouths under the opening. Their clothes are soaked, but their
+thirst is satisfied and our kettles filled for the midday meal.
+
+Presently we pass a native "camp" under an overhanging rock: it
+consists of a few parallel sticks, on which the native sleeps as well
+as any European on a spring-mattress, and a hollow in the ground,
+with a number of cooking-stones.
+
+After a stiff climb we stop for our meal, then follow a path
+which gradually widens and improves, a sign that we are nearing a
+village. Towards evening we come to some gardens, where the natives
+plant their yam and taro. At the entrance of the village I make my
+boys close up ranks; although the natives are not supposed to be
+hostile, my people show signs of uneasiness, keeping close together
+and carrying the few weapons we have very conspicuously.
+
+We cross the village square to the gamal, a simple place, as they
+all are, with a door about a yard from the ground, in order to keep
+out the pigs which roam all over the village. In line with the front
+of the house is a row of tall bamboo posts, wound with vines; their
+hollow interior is filled with yam and taro, the remains of a great
+feast. The village seems quite deserted, and we peep cautiously
+into the interior of the gamal, where, after a while, we discern a
+man, lying on the damp and dirty ground, who stares at us in silent
+fright. He gets up and comes slowly out, and we can see that he has
+lost half of one foot from leprosy. From him the moli learns that
+the two chiefs are away at a great "sing-sing," and the rest of the
+men in the fields or in their wives' houses. There is nothing for us
+to do but sit down and wait, and be sniffed at by pigs, barked at by
+dogs and annoyed by fowls. The moli beats vigorously on one of the
+wooden drums that lie in the mud in front of the house. He has his
+own signal, which most of the natives know, so that all the country
+round is soon informed of his arrival.
+
+One by one the men arrive, strolling towards the gamal as if
+unconscious of our presence; some of them greet one or the other
+of my boys whom they have met when visiting at the shore. Nearly
+all of them are sick with leprosy or elephantiasis or tuberculosis,
+and after the long rainy period they all have colds and coughs and
+suffer from rheumatism; altogether they present a sad picture of
+degeneration and misery, and there are few healthy men to be seen.
+
+My luggage is taken into the gamal, and I order the boys to buy and
+prepare food, whereupon the natives hurry away and fetch a quantity of
+supplies: pigs, fowls, yam, taro, of which I buy a large stock, paying
+in matches and tobacco. There are also eggs, which, I am assured,
+are delicious; but this is according to native taste, which likes eggs
+best when half hatched. While the boys are cooking, I spend the time
+in measuring the villagers. At first they are afraid of the shiny,
+pointed instruments, but the tobacco they receive, after submitting
+to the operation, dispels their fears. The crowd sits round us on the
+ground, increasing the uneasiness of my victims by sarcastic remarks.
+
+Meanwhile, the women have arrived, and crouch in two groups at the
+end of the square, which they are forbidden to enter. There are
+about twenty of them, not many for nearly fifty men, but I see only
+three or four babies, and many faded figures and old-looking girls
+of coarse and virile shape, the consequence of premature abuse and
+artificial sterility. But they chat away quite cheerfully, giggle,
+wonder, clap their hands, and laugh, taking hold of each other,
+and rocking to and fro.
+
+At last the two chiefs arrive, surprisingly tall and well-built men,
+with long beards carefully groomed, and big mops of hair. Like all the
+men, they are dressed in a piece of calico that hangs down in front,
+and a branch of croton behind. They have big bracelets, and wear
+the curved tusks of pigs on their wrists. There is just time before
+nightfall to take their measures and photographs, then I retire into
+the gamal for my supper, during which I am closely observed by the
+entire male population. They make remarks about the spoons and the
+Worcester sauce, and when I put sugar into my tea, they whisper to each
+other, "Salt!" which idea is almost enough to spoil one's appetite,
+only the delicious roast sucking-pig is too tempting.
+
+My toilet for the night is watched with the same attention; then, while
+I am still reading on my bed, the men seek their couches in the long,
+low house. They stir up all the fires, which smoke terribly, then they
+lie down on their bamboo beds, my boys among them, and talk and talk
+till they fall asleep,--a houseful of leprous and consumptive men,
+who cough and groan all night.
+
+In front of me, near the entrance, is the chiefs place. He spends
+a long time in preparing his kava, and drinks it noisily. Kava is a
+root which is ground with a piece of sharp coral; the fibres are then
+mixed with water, which is contained in a long bamboo, and mashed
+to a soft pulp; the liquid is then squeezed out, strained through a
+piece of cocoa-nut bark into a cocoa-nut bowl and drunk. The liquid
+has a muddy, thick appearance, tastes like soapy water, stings like
+peppermint and acts as a sleeping-draught. In Santo only chiefs are
+allowed to drink kava.
+
+At first, innumerable dogs disturbed my sleep, and towards morning it
+grew very cold. When I came out of the hut, the morning sun was just
+getting the better of the mist, and spreading a cheery light over the
+square, which had looked dismal enough under a grey, rainy sky. I made
+all the women gather on the outskirts of the square to be measured
+and photographed. They were very bashful, and I almost pitied them,
+for the whole male population sat around making cruel remarks about
+them; indeed, if it had not been for the chiefs explicit orders, they
+would all have run away. They were not a very pleasant spectacle, on
+the whole. I was struck by the tired, suffering expression of even the
+young girls, a hopeless and uninterested look, in contradiction with
+their lively behaviour when unobserved. For they are natural and happy
+only when among themselves, and in the presence of the men they feel
+that they are under the eye of their master, often a brutal master,
+whose property they are. Probably they are hardly conscious of this,
+and take their position and destiny as a matter of course; but they
+are constrained in the presence of their owners, knowing that at any
+moment they may be displeased or angry, for any reason or for none,
+and may ill-treat or even kill them. Aside from these considerations
+their frightened awkwardness was extremely funny, especially when
+posing before the camera. Some could not stand straight, others
+twisted their arms and legs into impossible positions. The idea of
+a profile view seemed particularly strange to them, and they always
+presented either their back or their front view. The poor things got
+more and more nervous, the men roared, I was desperate,--altogether
+it was rather unsatisfactory.
+
+I was in need of more bearers to carry the provisions I had bought,
+and the chiefs were quite willing to supply them; but their orders
+had absolutely no effect on the men, who were too lazy, and I should
+have been in an awkward position had not one of the chiefs hit on
+the expedient of employing his women. They obeyed without a moment's
+hesitation; each took a heavy load of yam, all but the favourite wife,
+the only pretty one of the number; her load was small, but she had
+to clear the trail, walking at the head of the procession.
+
+The women led the way, chatting and giggling, patient and steady
+as mules, and as sure-footed and supple. Nothing stops them; with a
+heavy load on their heads they walk over fallen trunks, wade through
+ditches, twist through vines, putting out a hand every now and then to
+feel whether the bunch of leaves at their back is in place. They were
+certainly no beauties, but there was a charm in their light, soft step,
+in the swaying of their hips, in the dainty poise of their slim ankles
+and feet, and the softness and harmony of all their movements. And
+the light playing on their dark, velvety, shining bodies increased
+this charm, until one almost forgot the many defects, the dirt, the
+sores, the disease. This pleasant walk in the cool, dewy forest,
+under the bright leaves, did not last long, and after two hours'
+tramp we reached our destination.
+
+At the edge of the square the women sat down beside their loads,
+and were soon joined by the women of the village. Our hostesses were
+at once informed of every detail of our outfit, our food and our
+doings, and several dozen pairs of big dark eyes followed our every
+movement. The women were all quite sure that I was a great doctor and
+magician, and altogether a dangerous man, and this belief was not at
+all favourable to my purposes.
+
+We men soon withdrew to the gamal, where the men likewise had to be
+informed of everything relating to our doings and character. The gamal
+was low and dirty, and the state of health of the inhabitants still
+worse than in the first village, but at least there were a few more
+babies than elsewhere. The chief suffered from a horrible boil in
+his loin, which he poulticed with chewed leaves, and the odour was
+so unbearable that I had to leave the house and sit down outside,
+where I was surrounded by many lepers, without toes or even feet,
+a very dismal sight.
+
+I now paid my carriers the wages agreed upon, but they claimed that I
+ought to pay the men extra, although their services had been included
+in the price. I took this for one of the tricks by which the natives
+try to get the better of a good-natured foreigner, and refused flatly,
+whereupon the whole crowd sat down in front of the house and waited
+in defiant silence. I left them there for half an hour, during which
+they whispered and deliberated in rather an uncomfortable way. I
+finally told them that I would not pay any more, and that they had
+better go away at once. The interpreter said they were waiting for
+the chiefs to get through with something they had to talk over, and
+they stayed on a while longer. My refusal may have been a mistake,
+and there may really have been a misunderstanding, at any rate,
+I had to suffer for my unyielding way, inasmuch as the behaviour of
+our hosts immediately changed from talkative hospitality and childish
+curiosity to dull silence and suspicious reticence. The people sat
+around us, sullen and silent, and would not help us in any way,
+refused to bring firewood or show us the water-hole, and seemed most
+anxious to get rid of us. Under these circumstances it was useless
+to try to do any of my regular work, and I had to spend an idle
+and unpleasant afternoon. At last I induced a young fellow to show
+me the way to a high plateau near by, from which I had a beautiful
+view across trees to the east coast of the island, with the sea in
+a blue mist far away. As my guide, consumptive like all the others,
+was quite out of breath with our short walk, I soon had to return,
+and I paid him well. This immediately changed the attitude of all
+the rest. Their sullenness disappeared, they came closer, began to
+talk, and at last we spent the afternoon in comparative friendship,
+and I could attend to my business.
+
+But the consequences of my short visit to the gamal became very
+noticeable. In my hat I found a flourishing colony of horrid bug-like
+insects; my pockets were alive, my camera was full of them, they
+had crawled into my shoes, my books, my luggage, they were crawling,
+flying, dancing everywhere. Perfectly disgusted, I threw off all my
+clothes, and had my boys shake and clean out every piece. For a week
+I had to have everything cleaned at least once a day, and even then I
+found the loathsome creatures in every fold, under straps, in pouches.
+
+On that afternoon I had a great success as an artist. My drawings
+of pigs, trees and men went the rounds and were quite immoderately
+admired, and preserved as we would a sketch of Holbein's. These
+drawings have to be done as simply as possible and fairly large, else
+the natives do not understand them. They consider every line essential,
+and do not understand shadows or any impressionistic treatment. We must
+remember that in our civilized art we work with many symbols, some
+of which have but a vague resemblance to the object they represent,
+whose meaning we know, while the savage does not. This was the reason
+why I had often no success at all with what I considered masterpieces,
+while the natives went into raptures over drawings I thought utter
+failures. At any rate, they made me quite a popular person.
+
+The sick chief complained to me that a late wife of his had been
+poisoned, and as he took me for a great "witch-doctor," he asked me
+to find out the murderer. To the native, sickness or death is not
+natural, but always the consequence of witchcraft, either on the part
+of enemies or spirits. The terribly high death-rate in the last years
+makes it seem all the more probable that mysterious influences are
+at work, and the native suspects enemies everywhere, whom he tries
+to render harmless by killing them. This leads to endless murders
+and vendettas, which decimate the population nearly as much as the
+diseases do. The natives know probably something about poisons,
+but they are always poisons that have to be mixed with food, and
+this is not an easy thing to do, as every native prepares his food
+himself. Most of the dreaded poisons are therefore simply charms,
+stones or other objects, which would be quite harmless in themselves,
+but become capable of killing by the mere terror they inspire in the
+victim. If the belief in these charms could be destroyed, a great deal
+of the so-called poisoning would cease, and it may be a good policy to
+deny the existence of poison, even at the risk of letting a murderer
+go unpunished. I therefore felt justified in playing a little comedy,
+all the more, as I was sure that the woman had died of consumption,
+and I promised the chief my assistance for the next morning.
+
+I had my bed made in the open air; even the boys would not enter the
+dirty house any more, and we slept well under the open sky, in spite
+of the pigs that grunted around us and the dew that fell like rain.
+
+Next day the chief called all the men together; he was convinced
+that I could see through every one of them and tell who had done any
+wrong. So he made them all sit round me, and I looked very solemnly at
+each through the finder of my camera, the chief watching carefully to
+see that I did not omit any one. The men felt uneasy, but did not quite
+know what to make of the whole performance. I naturally could not find
+anything wrong, and told the chief so, but he was not satisfied, and
+shook his head doubtfully. Then I talked to him seriously and tried
+to convince him that everyone had to die once, and that sickness was
+something natural, especially considering the filth in which they
+lived; but I do not think my speech made much impression.
+
+The men had now become very suspicious, the women were away, and I
+had great trouble in finding bearers and guides to the next village. A
+pleasant march brought us to this settlement, whose houses were close
+together in a big clearing. We were received very coolly by the chief
+and a few men. My bearers and guides would not be induced to accompany
+us farther, so that I had to ask for boys here; but the chief said he
+had not a single able-bodied man, which I felt to be mere excuse. I
+also noticed that my own boys were very dissatisfied and sullen,
+and that something was in the wind. In order to raise their spirits,
+and not to leave our yam provisions behind, I had them cook the midday
+meal, but the sullen, threatening atmosphere remained the same. When
+it was time to continue our march, I heard them grumble and complain
+about their loads, and it all looked like rising mutiny. I was ahead
+with the chief, who had consented to show us the way, when the moli
+came after me and informed me that the boys were unwilling to go on,
+that they were afraid to go farther inland and were ready to throw
+their loads away. Later on I learned that two of the boys had tried to
+bribe some natives to show them the road back to the coast and leave
+me alone with the moli. I assembled the boys and made them a speech,
+saying that their loads were not too heavy nor the marches too long,
+that they were all free to return home, but would have to take the
+consequences, and that I and the moli would go on without them. If
+they liked, I said, they could throw away their tinned meats, I did not
+care, and the two bottles of grog were not meant for me, and we could
+easily spare those. I grasped the bottles and offered to smash them,
+but that was too much for the boys; half crying, they begged me not to
+do that: the bottles were not too heavy, and they would gladly carry
+them as far as I liked. Hesitatingly I allowed myself to be persuaded,
+and kindly desisted from the work of destruction. I had won, but I had
+lost confidence in my boys, and was careful not to put their patience
+and fidelity to any more tests, conscious as I was of how much depended
+on their goodwill. After this episode they accomplished a long and
+tiresome march, up and down through thick bush on slippery clay,
+quite willingly. In the evening we reached a few huts in a clearing
+at a height of about 1200 feet, and went into camp for the night.
+
+While cooking, we heard dismal howling and weeping from a neighbouring
+hut; it was a woman mourning her husband, who had been dead ninety-nine
+days. To-morrow, on the hundredth day, there was to be a death-feast,
+to which all the neighbours were invited. Of course, this man, too,
+had been poisoned.
+
+The fire of revolt was smouldering in my boys. They sat round
+the camp-fire in groups, whispering and plotting, grumbling and
+undecided; but I felt safe enough, as they were evidently divided
+into two parties, one faithful and the other mutinous, and the former
+seemed rather more influential. They proved their goodwill to me by
+delightful servility, and took excellent care of me.
+
+Next morning we were wakened by the howls of the unhappy widow,
+and soon the guests appeared, some from far off, and all bringing
+contributions to the feast. They killed several pigs, and while
+the men cut them up in a manner rather more clever than appetizing,
+the women prepared the fires by lighting large quantities of wood
+to heat the cooking-stones. This lasted several hours. Meanwhile,
+every person present received his share of a half-rotten smoked pig,
+of the freshly killed pigs, yam, taro and sweet potatoes. The women
+took the entrails of the pigs, squeezed them out, rolled them up in
+banana leaves, and made them ready for cooking. When the fire was
+burnt down they took out half of the stones with forks of split
+bamboo, and then piled up the food in the hole, first the fruit,
+then the meat, so that the grease should run over the fruit; then the
+hole was covered with banana leaves, the hot stones piled on top and
+covered with more leaves. Food cooked in this way is done in three or
+four hours, so that the "stoves" are usually opened in the afternoon,
+and enormous quantities eaten on the spot, while the rest is put in
+baskets to take home. The amount a native can eat at one sitting
+is tremendous, and one can actually watch their stomachs swell as
+the meal proceeds. Violent indigestion is generally the consequence
+of such a feast. On the whole, no one seemed to be thinking much of
+the dead man in whose honour it was given,--such things are said to
+happen in civilized countries as well.
+
+I stayed in this village for another day, and many chiefs from the
+neighbourhood came to consult me, always complaining of the one
+thing--poison. Each secretly accused the others, each wanted me to
+try my glass on all the others. I did not like my reputation of being
+a magician at all, as it made the people still more suspicious of me
+and more afraid of my instruments and my camera.
+
+These so-called chiefs were rather more intelligent than the
+average. Most of them had worked for whites at one time, and learned to
+speak pidgin-English; but they were as superstitious as anyone else,
+and certainly greater rogues. They were naked and dirty, but some had
+retained some traces of civilization, one, for instance, always took
+off his old felt hat very politely, and made quite a civilized bow;
+he must have been in Noumea in former days.
+
+There was no leprosy or elephantiasis here, but a great deal of
+tuberculosis, and very few children, and nearly all the men complained
+that their women were unwilling to have any more children.
+
+From the next village I had a glimpse of the wild mountains of western
+Santo. I decided to spend the night here, left the boys behind, and
+went southward with the moli and a few natives. This was evidently
+the region where the volcanic and coral formations meet, for the
+character of the landscape suddenly changed, and instead of flat
+plateaux we found a wild, irregular country, with lofty hills and
+deep, narrow gullies. Walking became dangerous, though the path was
+fair. On top of a hill I found an apparently abandoned village, from
+which I could overlook all central Santo. To the west were the rugged,
+dark-looking mountains round Santo Peak, with white clouds floating
+on the summit, and a confusion of deep blue valleys and steep peaks;
+northward lay the wild Jordan valley, and far away I could distinguish
+the silver mirror of Big Bay. All around us rose the silent, stern,
+lonely forest--imposing, unapproachable.
+
+On our way back to camp we rested beside a fresh creek which gaily
+squeezed its way through rocks and rich vegetation. A little tea
+and a tin of sardines were all the menu, but we enjoyed a delightful
+bath in the cool water, and had as good a wash as we could without
+soap. It was a great luxury after the hot days in the coral country
+without any water. While our things were drying in the bright sun,
+we lay in the moss near the rushing stream, and it was like a summer
+day at home in the mountains. The water sounded familiar, the soft,
+cool breeze was the same, and while I lay watching the white clouds
+through the bright foliage I dreamt of home. At home I had dreamt of
+travel, and thus one wish follows the other and the soul is preserved
+from lazy content. I almost fancied I heard the sound of bells and the
+far-away lowing of cattle. And again the reality seemed like a dream
+when I roused myself and saw the dark figures crouching on the rocks,
+with their frizzy mops of hair and their Sniders on their knees.
+
+The village turned out to be too dirty to spend the night in, and I
+decided to go to one which seemed quite near, just across a gully. Had
+I known what an undertaking it would be, I would not have started,
+for the ravine was very deep and the sides unpleasantly steep;
+but my boys managed the descent, over rocks and fallen trees, with
+their usual cleverness. At the bottom we were rewarded by a beautiful
+sight. Beneath us, in a narrow cut it had eaten through the rock,
+roared a river, foaming out of the depths of the dark wilderness. It
+was like one of the celebrated gorges in the Alps, only the tropical
+vegetation which hung in marvellous richness and variety over the
+abyss gave a fairy-like aspect to the scene. The boys did not seem
+to appreciate it in the least, and prepared, sighing, for the steep
+ascent. A simple bridge led across the gully; it was made of a few
+trees, and even provided with a railing in the shape of a vine. The
+existence of this bridge surprised me very much; for, considering
+the thoughtless egotism with which the natives pass through life, I
+had thought them incapable of any work of public utility. They rarely
+think of repairing a road or cutting a vine, nor do they remove trees
+that may have fallen across the path, but always rely on others to
+see to it.
+
+The second village was not much cleaner than the first, but we camped
+there, and the next day I went with the moli and a few of my boys to
+the western mountains. The natives warned us, saying that the people
+were "no good" and would kill us. But, for one thing, I could not
+see that they themselves were particularly "good," and, for another,
+I knew that all natives consider other tribes especially dangerous;
+so I stuck to my intention, only we hung all our available weapons
+about us, leaving the rest of the boys defenceless.
+
+This turned out one of the most strenuous days I ever had in the
+islands, as the road--and what a road!--constantly led up and down
+the steepest slopes. It seemed to me we were climbing perpendicular
+mountains all day long, and I had many an opportunity of admiring the
+agility of my companions. I am a fair walker myself, but I had to crawl
+on my hands and knees in many spots where they jumped from a stone to
+a root, taking firm hold with their toes, never using their hands,
+never slipping, and always with a loaded and cocked rifle on their
+shoulders. My boys from the coast, good pedestrians though they were,
+always remained far behind.
+
+First we reached well-tended taro fields, then a few scattered
+huts. The natives received us very kindly, and more men kept joining
+us, till we formed a big, jolly crowd. The population here seemed very
+primitive, and evidently had but little contact with the shore, but
+they were clean and comparatively healthy and flourishing, and I found
+them rather more frank, childlike and confiding than others I had seen.
+
+We roasted our yam, and while we were enjoying our frugal but
+delicious meal, I witnessed rather an amusing episode. A bushman,
+painted black for mourning, suddenly called to one of my boys, and
+wanted to shake hands with him. My boy, a respectable "schoolboy,"
+was visibly annoyed by the idea of having anything to do with a naked
+"man-bush," and behaved with icy reserve; but he could not long resist
+the rural cordiality of the other, and presently resigned himself to
+his fate, and made friends. It turned out that they had once worked
+together in Vila, and one had become an elegant young swell, while
+the other returned to simple country life.
+
+On the way back we rested by the river-bank, amusing ourselves by
+shooting pigeons with pistols and guns, feeling quite peaceful and
+happy. But the sound of our shots had an unexpected effect in the
+village where I had left the rest of my boys. All the natives jumped
+to their feet, shouting, "Did we not tell you that they would kill
+your master? Now you have heard them; he is dead, and now we will
+see what you have in your boxes and divide it among ourselves."
+
+They approached my boys threateningly, whereupon they all ran away,
+with the exception of the ringleader of the mutineers of the last
+few days, who sat down on the box containing the trading-stock and
+said they had better go and see whether I was really dead before
+plundering my luggage. The situation must have grown rather strained,
+until some one had the good sense to go and look out for us, whereupon
+he saw us sitting peacefully near the river below. This calmed the
+natives, they withdrew, much disappointed, and my boys returned and
+prepared everything for my arrival with remarkable zeal. I found
+dry clothes ready, and tea boiling, and was quite touched by so much
+thoughtfulness. I was not told of the day's occurrence till after my
+return to the coast, and perhaps it was just as well.
+
+By this time I had seen a good part of south-east Santo, and I was
+eager to visit the south-west, with Santo Peak. But without guides
+and with marked symptoms of home-sickness on the part of my boys,
+I decided it would not be wise to attempt it. The news that we were
+going to start for home revived the boys at once. With enormous
+alacrity they packed up next day and raced homeward with astonishing
+speed and endurance; I had had to drag them along before, now I could
+hardly keep up with them. In two days we had reached the plain of
+the Jordan, had a delightful swim and a jolly last night in camp,
+free from pigs, dogs, fowls, fleas and bugs,--but not from mosquitoes!
+
+The last day we strolled in and along the river, through the
+forest swarming with wild pigs and pigeons, while a huge colony of
+flying-foxes circled in the air, forming an actual cloud, and then
+we came to the shore, with the wide expanse of Big Bay peaceful in
+the evening sun. A painful walk on the sharp pebbles of the beach
+brought us home towards nightfall.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+SANTO (continued)--PYGMIES
+
+
+The term of service of my boys had now expired, and I had to look
+about for others. Happily, now that I was known in the region, I had
+less trouble, especially as I held out the prospect of a visit to
+Noumea. With six boys of my own and a few other men, I started on
+another journey.
+
+I had always suspected the existence of a race of pygmies in the
+islands, and had often asked the natives if they had ever seen
+"small fellow men." Generally they stared at me without a sign of
+intelligence, or else began to tell fairy-tales of dwarfs they had
+seen in the bush, of little men with tails and goat's feet (probably
+derived from what they had heard of the devil from missionaries),
+all beings of whose existence they were perfectly convinced, whom
+they often see in the daytime and feel at night, so that it is very
+hard to separate truth from imagination.
+
+I had heard stories of a colony of tailed men near Mele, and that, near
+Wora, north of Talamacco, tailed men lived in trees; that they were
+very shy and had long, straight hair. The natives pretended they had
+nearly caught one once. All this sounded interesting and improbable,
+and I was not anxious to start on a mere wild-goose chase. More exact
+information, however, was forthcoming. One of my servants told me that
+near a waterfall I could see shining out of a deep ravine far inland,
+there lived "small fellow men."
+
+It was an exceptionally stormy morning when we started, so that
+Mr. F. advised me to postpone my departure; but in the New Hebrides it
+is no use to take notice of the weather, and that day it was so bad
+that it could not get any worse, which was some consolation. Soon we
+were completely soaked, but we kept on along the coast to some huts,
+where we were to meet our guide. Presently he arrived, followed by a
+crowd of children, as they seemed to me, who joined our party. While
+climbing inland toward the high mountains, I asked the guide if he
+knew anything about the little people; he told me that one of them
+was walking behind me. I looked more closely at the man in question,
+and saw that whereas I had taken him for a half-grown youth, he was
+really a man of about forty, and all the others who had come with him
+turned out to be full-grown but small individuals. Of course I was
+delighted with this discovery, and should have liked to begin measuring
+and photographing at once, had not the torrents of rain prevented.
+
+I may mention here that I found traces later on of this diminutive race
+in some other islands, but rarely in such purity as here. Everywhere
+else they had mingled with the taller population, while here they
+had kept somewhat apart, and represented an element by themselves,
+so that I was fortunate in having my attention drawn to them here,
+as elsewhere I might easily have overlooked them.
+
+The trail by which we were travelling was one of the worst I ever
+saw in the islands, and the weather did not improve. The higher
+up we went, the thicker was the fog; we seemed to be moving in a
+slimy mass, breathing the air from a boiler. At noon we reached
+the lonely hut, where a dozen men and women squatted, shivering
+with cold and wet, crowded together under wretched palm-leaf mats,
+near a smouldering fire. There were some children wedged into the
+gaps between the grown-ups. Our arrival seemed to rouse these poor
+people from their misery a little; one man after the other got up,
+yawning and chattering, the women remained sitting near the fire. We
+made them some hot tea, and then I began to measure and take pictures,
+to which they submitted quite good-humouredly.
+
+I was much struck by the fact of these men and women living together,
+a most unusual thing in a Melanesian district, where the separation
+of the sexes and the "Suque" rules are so rigorously observed.
+
+We started off once more in the icy rain, keeping along the crest
+of the hill, which was just wide enough for the path. The mountain
+sloped steeply down on either side, the thick mist made an early
+twilight, we could only see the spot where we set our feet, while
+all the surroundings were lost in grey fog, so that we felt as though
+we were walking in a void, far above all the world. At nightfall we
+arrived at a solitary hut--the home of our companions. After having
+repaired the broken roof, my boys succeeded in lighting a fire,
+though how they did it is a mystery, as matches and everything else
+were soaked. Soon tea and rice were boiling, while I tried to dry
+my instruments, especially my camera, whose watertight case had not
+been able to resist the rain. Then I wrapped myself up in my blanket,
+sipped my tea and ate my rice, and smoked a few pipes. It certainly
+is a reward for the day's work, that evening hour, lying satisfied,
+tired and dreamy, under the low roof of the hut, while outside the
+wind roars through the valley and the rain rattles on the roof, and a
+far-off river rushes down a gorge. The red fire paints the beams above
+me in warm colours, and in the dark corners the smoke curls in blue
+clouds. Around a second fire the natives lie in ecstatic laziness,
+smoking and talking softly, pigs grunt and dogs scratch busily about.
+
+In the morning the storm had passed, and I could see that the house
+was set on the slope of a high mountain, much as a chalet is, and
+that we were at the end of a wild ravine, from every side of which
+fresh rivulets and cascades came pouring. Owing to the mountainous
+character of the country there are no villages here, but numerous huts
+scattered all along the mountains, two or three families at the utmost
+living together. The structure of the houses, too, was different from
+those on the coast; they had side walls and a basement of boulders,
+sometimes quite carefully built. Here men and women live together,
+and a separation of the fires does not seem to exist, nor does the
+"Suque" seem to have penetrated to this district.
+
+We passed several hamlets where the mode of life was the same as in
+this one. The dress of the men is the same as at the coast, except
+that they wind strings of shell-money about their waists in manifold
+rows. The women wear a bunch of leaves in front and behind. The weapons
+are the same as elsewhere, except that here we find the feathered
+arrows which are such a rarity in the Pacific. It is surprising to
+find these here, in these secluded valleys among the pygmy race,
+and only here, near Talamacco, nowhere else where the same race is
+found. It is an open question whether these feathered arrows are an
+original invention in these valleys, an importation or a remnant of
+an earlier culture.
+
+The population lives on the produce of the fields, mostly taro,
+which is grown in irrigated lands in the river bottoms.
+
+In appearance these people do not differ much from those of central
+Santo, who are by no means of a uniform type. The most important
+feature is their size, that of the men amounting to 152 cm., that
+of the women to 144 cm. The smallest man I measured was 138.0 cm.,
+others measured 146.0, 149.2, 144.2, 146.6, 140.6, 149.0, 139.6, 138.4
+cm. The maximum size is hard to state, as even here the small variety
+has mixed with taller tribes, so that we find all the intermediate
+sizes, from the pygmy 139.6 cm. high, to the tall Melanesian of 178.0
+cm. My object, therefore, was to find a colony of pure pygmies, and
+I pursued it in many subsequent wanderings, but without success. The
+following description is based on the type as I constructed it in
+the course of my travels and observations.
+
+The hair is very curly, and seems black, but is in reality a
+dark, yellowish brown. Fil-fil is less frequent than among the
+tall variety. The forehead is straight, very slightly retreating,
+vaulted and rather narrow, the eyes are close together, straight,
+medium-sized and dark brown. The superciliar ridges are but slightly
+developed. The jaw-bones are large, but do not protrude, whereas the
+chewing muscles are well developed, which gives the face breadth, makes
+the chin-line round and the chin itself small and pointed. The mouth
+is not very large, with moderately thick lips, the nose is straight,
+hardly open toward the front, the nostrils not thick. As a rule, the
+growth of beard is not heavy, unlike that of the tall Melanesians;
+there is only a light moustache, a few tufts at the chin and near
+the jaw. Up to the age of forty this is all; in later years a heavier
+beard develops, but the face and the front of the chin remain free.
+
+Thus it will be seen that these people are not at all repulsive, as
+all the ridges of bone and the heavy muscle attachments which make the
+face of ordinary Melanesians so brutal are lacking. On the contrary,
+they look quite agreeable and childlike. Their bodies are vigorous,
+but lightly built: the chest broad and deep, the arms and legs fine,
+with beautiful delicate joints, the legs well proportioned, with
+handsome calves. Their feet are short and broad, especially in front,
+but the great toe does not stand off from the others noticeably. Thus
+the pygmy has none of the proportions of a child, and shows no signs
+of degeneration, but is of harmonious build, only smaller than other
+Melanesians.
+
+The shade of the skin varies a good deal from a dull purple,
+brownish-black, to coffee colour; but the majority of individuals
+are light, and the dark ones probably inherited their shade from the
+tall race.
+
+Deformations of the body are not practised, save for an occasional
+perforation of the lobes of the ear. I never saw a perforation of
+the septum, nor women with incisors extracted.
+
+It seems as if the small race were better preserved here in Santo
+than the tall one. The diseases which destroy the other tribes are
+less frequent here, there are more children and a good number of
+women. All this may be due to a great extent to their living inland
+and not coming into touch with the unfavourable sides of civilization
+as the coast tribes do, but even more to the hardy outdoor life in the
+mountains. In their country one cannot walk three steps on a level,
+and the whole population is expert in climbing, very sure-footed,
+thinking nothing of jumping with a heavy load from one rock to another,
+or racing at full speed down the steep and uneven slopes.
+
+In character, too, they differ from the tribes near the water. They
+seem less malicious and more confiding, and show less of the distrust
+and shy reserve of the average Melanesian. They will laugh and chat
+in the presence of strangers, and are very hospitable. I do not know
+if these are accidental impressions, but I can only say that I always
+felt safer and more comfortable in a village where the majority of
+the inhabitants belonged to the small race.
+
+With all this the pygmies are by no means helpless or even inferior,
+compared to their tall neighbours. Possibly, in former days, they
+may have been driven from their homes in the plains back into the
+mountains, but at present they are quite equal to the tall race,
+and the "salt-water men" are even a little afraid of their small
+neighbours inland. What they lack in size and strength they make
+up in speed and suppleness and temperament. The barrier between the
+races has disappeared, and the mixing process is hastened by the fact
+that the small race frequently sells its women to the tall one. It is
+rare for a woman from the coast to settle in the mountains, still, it
+occurs frequently enough to alloy the purity of the pygmy race, and in
+no village have I found more than about 70 per cent. of real pygmies.
+
+In the afternoon we came to the chief's dwelling. The old man lived
+there alone with his wife, quietly and happily, venerated by all the
+other people. It was touching to see the little couple, delicate as
+two dolls, who seemed to love each other sincerely, a most uncommon
+occurrence in Melanesia. I really had too much respect for the old
+people to trouble them with my measuring instruments, but I could
+not resist taking their pictures. After consulting her husband with
+a look of the greatest confidence, the old lady consented shyly,
+while he stood beside her as if it was an everyday event to him,
+and a sort of tribute I was paying to his age and position and the
+beauty of his wife.
+
+From this point I had a fine view of the cascade that fell down in a
+wide silver ribbon through the forest. Some months later all that wild
+scenery was destroyed by an earthquake, which caused many land-slides
+and spoilt the cascade. Following the roaring river, jumping from one
+block of stone to another, we soon reached our camp, a large gamal. As
+we were nearing the coast its arrangements were adapted to the customs
+of the tall Melanesians. There were a few small individuals, but the
+tall race was predominant. The reign of the "Suque" was evident by the
+floor of the gamal being divided by parallel sticks into compartments
+corresponding to the number of fires and castes, and each man sat
+down in his division and cooked his own food.
+
+Next day, after having waded through the cold water of the river, we
+arrived at the coast. From the last hills I sent a farewell look into
+the wild green tangle of forest, rocks, ravines, cascades and valleys,
+over which heavy rain-clouds were gathering. Before me the greyish-blue
+mirror of Big Bay lay in the mist, and in the Jordan valley the rain
+fell heavily. The high reed-grass all around us rustled dismally,
+and the damp cold was depressing. I hurried home and arrived there
+in the night, wet as when I had started on my expedition.
+
+With regard to the pygmies I must not omit to mention the following
+experience. The fact that among them husband and wife live together,
+and that I had nowhere seen a man with two wives, made me suspect
+that this race was monogamous, as other pygmy races are. I made
+frequent inquiries, and was assured that each man was allowed but one
+wife. Still, I was not quite convinced, for it seemed strange to find
+a monogamous population in the midst of polygamous tribes. Others
+having given me similar information, I began to accept this theory
+as a fact. At last, however, I found I had been deceived, as all the
+people had taken me for a missionary, and had fancied I was asking
+them questions in order to interfere with their matrimonial customs
+by sending them a teacher or a "mission-police-man." My error was
+cleared up, thanks to the investigations of a trader, for which I am
+much indebted to him.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+SANTO (continued)--PIGS
+
+
+The sun had hardly risen, yet the air hung heavy in the shrubs
+surrounding my sleeping-hut. Damp heat and light poured into the
+shed-like room, where hundreds of flies and as many mosquitoes
+sought an entrance into my mosquito-net. It was an atmosphere to sap
+one's energy; not even the sunshine, so rare in these parts, had any
+attraction for me, and only the long-drawn "Sail ho!" of the natives,
+announcing the arrival of the steamer, had power to drive me out
+of bed.
+
+She soon came to anchor and sent a boat ashore, and when I entered
+my host's house, I found some of the ship's officers there, ready for
+business and breakfast. Probably to drown the touch of home-sickness
+that the arrival of a steamer brings to those who are tied to the
+islands, our host set about emptying his cellar with enthusiasm and
+perseverance, while the visitors would have been satisfied with much
+smaller libations, as they had many more stations to visit that day.
+
+While the crew was loading the coprah and landing a quantity of goods,
+the host started his beloved gramophone for the general benefit, and a
+fearful hash of music drifted out into the waving palms. Presently some
+one announces that the cargo is all aboard, whereupon the supercargo
+puts down his paper and remarks that they are in a hurry. A famous
+soprano's wonderful high C is ruthlessly broken off short, and we
+all run to the beach and jump on the backs of boys, who carry us
+dry-shod to the boat. We are rowed to the steamer, and presently
+descend to the storeroom, which smells of calico, soap, tobacco and
+cheese. Anything may be bought here, from a collar-button to a tin
+of meat, from perfumery to a shirt, anything,--and sometimes even
+the very thing one wants. We provide for the necessities of life for
+the next month or two, hand over our mail and end our visit with a
+drink. Then the whistle blows, we scramble into the boat, and while
+my host waves his hat frantically and shouts "good-bye," the steamer
+gradually disappears from sight. My friend has "a bad headache" from
+all the excitement of the morning. I guide him carefully between the
+cases and barrels the steamer has brought, and deposit him in his bunk;
+then I retire to my own quarters to devour my mail.
+
+
+
+Some days after this we went to see a "sing-sing" up north. We rowed
+along the shore, and as my host was contributing a pig, we had the
+animal with us. With legs and snout tightly tied, the poor beast lay
+sadly in the bottom of the boat, occasionally trying to snap the feet
+of the rowers. The sea and the wind were perfect, and we made good
+speed; in the evening we camped on the beach. The next day was just
+as fine; my host continued the journey by boat, while I preferred to
+walk the short distance that remained, accompanied by the pig, whose
+health did not seem equal to another sea-voyage in the blazing sun. It
+was touching to see the tenderness with which the natives treated the
+victim-elect, giving it the best of titbits, and urging it with the
+gentlest of words to start on the walk. It was quite a valuable animal,
+with good-sized tusks. After some hesitation the pig suddenly rushed
+off, Sam, his keeper, behind. First it raced through the thicket,
+which I did not like, so I proposed to Sam to pull the rope on the
+energetic animal's leg; but Sam would not damp its splendid enthusiasm
+for fear it might balk afterwards. Sam managed, however, to direct
+it back into the path, but we had a most exhausting and exciting,
+if interesting, walk, for the pig was constantly rushing, sniffing,
+grunting and digging on all sides, so that Sam was entirely occupied
+with his charge, and it was quite impossible to converse. At last
+we proudly entered the village, and the beast was tied in the shade;
+we separated, not to meet again till the hour of sacrifice.
+
+I was then introduced to the host, a small but venerable old man,
+who received me with dignified cordiality. We could not talk together,
+but many ingratiating smiles assured each of the other's sympathy. The
+village seemed extremely pleasant to me, which may have been due to
+the bright sun and the cool breeze. The square was situated on the
+beach, which sloped steeply to the sea. Along the ridge were planted
+brightly-coloured trees, and between their trunks we could see the
+ocean, heavenly blue. On the other side were the large, well-kept
+gamals, and crowds of people in festival attire; many had come from
+a distance, as the feast was to be a big one, with plenty to eat
+for everybody.
+
+Palo, the host, was very busy looking after his guests and giving each
+his share of good things. He was a most good-natured, courteous old
+gentleman, although his costume consisted of nothing but a few bunches
+of ferns. The number of guests increased steadily; besides the real
+heathen in unadorned beauty, there were half-civilized Christians,
+ugly in ill-fitting European clothes, of which they were visibly vain,
+although they made blots on the beautiful picture of native life. All
+around the square grunted the tusked pigs.
+
+At noon four men gave the signal for the beginning of the festivities
+by beating two big drums, which called the guests to dinner. Palo
+had sent us a fowl cooked native fashion between hot stones, and,
+like everything cooked in this way, it tasted very delicious. Shortly
+afterwards the real ceremonies began, with the killing of about two
+hundred young female pigs which had been kept in readiness in little
+bamboo sheds.
+
+Accompanied by the drums, Palo led all the high-castes in dancing
+steps out of the gamal and round the square. After a few turns the
+chiefs drew up in line in front of him, and he mounted a stone table,
+while everyone else kept on dancing. His favourite wife was next
+to the table, also dancing. Palo was entirely covered with ferns,
+which were stuck in his hair, his bracelets and his belt. He still
+looked quite venerable, but with a suggestion of a faun, a Bacchus or
+a Neptune. It was a warm day, and the dancing made everybody perspire
+more than freely.
+
+Now one of the other men took hold of a little pig by the hind-legs and
+threw it in a lofty curve to one of the dancing chiefs, who caught the
+little animal, half stunned by the fall, and, still dancing, carried
+it to Palo, who killed it by three blows on the head, whereupon it
+was laid at his feet. This went on for a long time. It was a cruel
+sight. Squealing and shrieking, the poor animals flew through the
+air, fell heavily on the hard earth, and lay stunned or tried to
+crawl away with broken backs or legs. Some were unhurt, and ran off,
+but a bloodthirsty crowd was after them with clubs and axes, and soon
+brought them back. Still, one man thought this troublesome, and broke
+the hind-legs of each pig before throwing it to the chief, so that
+it might not escape. It was horrible to see and hear the bones break,
+but the lust for blood was upon the crowd, and on all sides there were
+passionate eyes, distorted faces and wild yells. Happily the work was
+soon done, and in front of Palo lay a heap of half-dead, quivering
+animals. He and his wife now turned their backs to the assembly, while
+a few high-castes counted the corpses. For each ten one lobe was torn
+off a sicca-leaf, then the missing lobes were counted, and after a
+puzzling calculation, the result was announced. Palo turned round
+and descended from his pedestal with much dignity, though panting
+from his exertions, and looking so hot that I feared an apoplexy
+for the old man. I did not know how tough such an old heathen is,
+nor that his efforts were by no means at an end. Noblesse oblige and
+such high caste as Palo's is not attained without trouble.
+
+As female pigs may not be eaten, those just killed were thrown into
+the sea by the women; meanwhile, the chiefs blew a loud blast on the
+shell-bugles, to announce to all concerned that Palo's first duty was
+accomplished. The deep yet piercing tones must have sounded far into
+the narrow valleys round.
+
+Then poles were driven into the ground, to which the tusked pigs were
+tied. Some were enormous beasts, and grunted savagely when anyone
+came near them. I saw my companion of the morning lying cheerfully
+grunting in the shade of a tree. Now came a peculiar ceremony, in
+which all who had contributed pigs were supposed to take part. To my
+disappointment, Mr. F. refused to join in. Palo took up his position
+on the stone table, armed with a club. Out of a primitive door,
+hastily improvised out of a few palm-leaves, the chiefs came dancing
+in single file, swinging some weapon, a spear or a club. Palo jumped
+down, danced towards them, chased each chief and finally drove them,
+still dancing, back through the door. This evidently symbolized some
+fight in which Palo was the victor. After having done this about
+twenty times, Palo had to lead all the chiefs in a long dance across
+the square, passing in high jumps between the pigs. After this he
+needed a rest, and no wonder. Then the pigs were sacrificed with
+mysterious ceremonies, the meaning of which has probably never been
+penetrated. The end of it all was that Palo broke the pigs' heads
+with a special club, and when night fell, twenty-six "tuskers" lay
+agonizing on the ground. Later they were hung on trees, to be eaten
+next day, and then everybody retired to the huts to eat and rest.
+
+Some hours later great fires were kindled at both ends of the square,
+and women with torches stood all around. The high-castes opened the
+ball, but there was not much enthusiasm, and only a few youngsters
+hopped about impatiently, until their spirits infected some older
+people, and the crowd increased, so that at last everybody was raving
+in a mad dance. The performance is monotonous: some men with pan-pipes
+bend down with their heads touching, and blow with all their might,
+always the same note, marking time with their feet. Suddenly one gives
+a jump, others follow, and then the whole crowd moves a number of
+times up and down the square, until the musicians are out of breath,
+when they come to a standstill. The excitement goes on until the sun
+rises. The women, as a rule, keep outside the square, but they dance
+too, and keep it up all night; now and then a couple disappears into
+the darkness.
+
+Next morning Palo, who had hardly closed his eyes all night, was very
+busy again, giving each guest his due share of the feast. The large
+pigs were dressed, cut up and cooked. This work lasted all day, but
+everybody enjoyed it. The dexterity and cleanliness with which the
+carcases are divided is astonishing, and is quite a contrast to the
+crude way in which native meals are usually dressed and devoured. We
+whites received a large and very fat slice as a present, which we
+preferred to pass on, unnoticed, to our boys. Fat is considered the
+best part of the pig.
+
+The lower jaws of the tuskers were cut out separately and handed over
+to Palo, to be cleaned and hung up in his gamal in the shape of a
+chandelier, as tokens of his rank.
+
+Palo is a weather-maker. When we prepared to go home, he promised to
+smooth the sea, which was running too high for comfort, and to prevent
+a head-wind. We were duly grateful, and, indeed, all his promises were
+fulfilled: we had a perfectly smooth sea, and such a dead calm that
+between the blue sky and the white sea we nearly fainted, and had to
+row wearily along instead of sailing. Just as we were leaving, Palo
+came to the bank, making signs for us to come back, a pretty custom,
+although it is not always meant sincerely.
+
+Late at night we arrived at home once more.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+CLIMBING SANTO PEAK
+
+
+Some days later I left Talamacco for Wora, near Cape Cumberland,
+a small station of Mr. D.'s, Mr. F.'s neighbour. What struck me most
+there were the wide taro fields, artificially irrigated. The system
+of irrigation must date from some earlier time, for it is difficult to
+believe that the population of the present day, devoid as they are of
+enterprise, should have laid it out, although they are glad enough to
+use it. The method employed is this: Across one of the many streams
+a dam of great boulders is laid, so that about the same amount of
+water is constantly kept running into a channel. These channels are
+often very long, they skirt steep slopes and are generally cut into
+the earth, sometimes into the rock; sometimes a little aqueduct is
+built of planks, mud and earth, supported by bamboo and other poles
+that stand in the valley. In the fields the channel usually divides
+into several streams, and runs through all the flat beds, laid out in
+steps, in which the taro has only to be lightly stuck to bring forth
+fruit in about ten months. Taro only grows in very swampy ground,
+some varieties only under water, so that it cannot be grown in the
+coral region, where there is plenty of rain, but no running water. In
+these districts yam is the principal food, while we find taro in the
+mountains of primary rock. Both are similar in taste to the potato.
+
+
+
+My next journey led me across the peninsula to the west coast of
+Santo. As usual, it was a very rainy day when we started, but once
+across the divide the air became much drier. The clouds, driven by
+the south-east trade-wind, strike the islands on the east side,
+and this is the reason why the east coast is so much damper than
+the west, and why the vegetation is so immoderately thick on the
+one side, and much less luxuriant on the other. On the west side
+the bush is thinner and there are wide stretches of reed-grass,
+but there is plenty of water, bright creeks fed by the rainfall on
+the mountains. Here, on the coast, it was much warmer than where we
+had come from, but the air was most agreeable, dry and invigorating,
+quite different from the damp, heavy air on the other side.
+
+Late at night, after a long walk on the warm beach sand, we reached
+the village of Nogugu. Next day Mr. G., a planter, was good enough to
+take me with him in his motor-boat, southward along the coast. High
+mountains came close to the shore, falling in almost perpendicular
+walls straight down into the sea. Deep narrow valleys led inland into
+the very heart of the island. Several times, when we were passing
+the openings of these valleys, a squall caught us, and rain poured
+down; then, again, everything lay in bright sunshine and the coast
+was picturesque indeed with its violet shadows and reddish rocks. The
+only level ground to be seen was at the mouths of the valleys in the
+shape of little river deltas.
+
+The village to which we were going was on one of these deltas. Hardly
+had we set foot on shore than a violent earthquake almost threw us
+to the ground. The shock lasted for at least thirty seconds, then
+we heard a dull rumbling as of thunder, and saw how all along the
+coast immense masses of earth fell into the sea from the high cliffs,
+so that the water boiled and foamed wildly. Then yellow smoke came
+out of all the bays, and hung in heavy clouds over the devastated
+spots, and veiled land and sea. Inland, too, we saw many bare spots,
+where the earth and trees had slipped down. The shocks went on all
+night, though with diminished violence, and we continually heard the
+thunderous rattling of falling rocks and earth.
+
+Next day we stopped at the village of Wus, and I persuaded a dainty
+damsel (she was full-grown, but only 134.4 cm. high) to make me a
+specimen of pottery. It was finished in ten minutes, without any tool
+but a small, flat, bamboo splinter. Without using a potter's wheel
+the lady rounded the sides of the jar very evenly, and altogether
+gave it a most pleasing, almost classical shape.
+
+When we returned south we could see what damage the earthquake had
+done. All the slopes looked as if they had been scraped, and the sea
+was littered with wood and bushes. We also experienced the disagreeable
+sensation of an earthquake on the water. The boat suddenly began to
+shake and tremble, as if a giant hand were shaking it, and at the same
+time more earth fell down into the water. The shocks recurred for
+several weeks, and after a while we became accustomed to them. The
+vibrations seemed to slacken and to become more horizontal, so that
+we had less of the feeling of being pushed upwards off our feet,
+but rather that of being in an immense swing. For six weeks I was
+awakened almost every night by dull, threatening thunder, followed
+some seconds later by a shock.
+
+Another village where pottery was made was Pespia, a little inland. The
+chief obligingly gathered the scattered population, and I had ample
+opportunity to buy pots and watch the making of them. The method is
+different from that at Wus, for a primitive wheel, a segment of a
+thick bamboo, is used. On this the clay is wound up in spirals and
+the surface smoothed inside and out. This is the method by which
+most of the prehistoric European pottery was made. The existence of
+the potter's art in these two villages only of all the New Hebrides
+is surprising. Clay is found in other districts, and the idea that
+the natives might have learnt pottery from the Spaniards lacks
+all probability, as the Spaniards never visited the west coast of
+Santo. The two entirely different methods offer another riddle.
+
+I made my way back along the coast, round Cape Cumberland. One of my
+boys having run away, I had to carry his load myself, and although
+it was not the heaviest one, I was glad when I found a substitute
+for him. This experience gave me an insight into the feelings of a
+tired and discontented carrier.
+
+At Wora I found that my host had returned to his station near
+Talamacco. So I returned to Talamacco by boat; the earthquake had
+been very violent there, and had caused the greatest damage, and I
+heard that all the new houses of the Messrs. Thomas at Hog Harbour
+had been ruined.
+
+Times had been troublous in other respects at Talamacco; the natives,
+especially the Christians, were fighting, and one Sunday they were
+all ready, looking very fierce, to attack each other with clubs and
+other weapons, only neither side dared to begin. I asked them to do
+the fighting out in the open, so that I could take a picture of it,
+and this cooled them down considerably. They sat down and began a
+long palaver, which ended in nothing at all, and, indeed, no one
+really knew what had started the excitement.
+
+In spite of the supercargo's announcement that the steamer would
+arrive on the twentieth, she did not come till the first of the
+following month. This kept me constantly on the look out and ready
+for departure, and unable to do anything of importance. At last we
+sailed, touching the Banks Islands on our route; and after enjoying
+a few days of civilization on board, I went ashore at Tassimaloun,
+on the south-west corner of Santo, where I had the pleasure of being
+Mr. C.'s guest. My object there was to follow the traces of the pygmy
+population, but as the natives mostly live inland, and only rarely come
+to the coast, I had to go in search of them. At that time I was often
+ill with fever, and could not do as much as I could have wished. Once
+I tried to reach the highest mountain of the islands, Santo Peak,
+but my guides from the mission village of Vualappa led me for ten
+days through most uninteresting country and an unfriendly population
+without even bringing me to the foot of the mountain. I had several
+unpleasant encounters with the natives, during one of which I fully
+expected to be murdered, and when our provisions were exhausted we had
+to return to the coast. But every time I saw the tall pyramid of Santo
+Peak rising above the lower hills I longed to be the first European
+to set foot on it, and I tried it at last from the Tassiriki side.
+
+After long consultations with the natives, I at last found two men
+who were willing to guide me to the mountain. I decided to give up
+all other plans, and to take nothing with me but what was strictly
+necessary. On the second day we climbed a hill which my guides insisted
+was the Peak, the highest point of the island. I pointed out a higher
+summit, but they said that we would never get up there before noon,
+and, indeed, they did everything they could to delay our advance,
+by following wrong trails and being very slow about clearing the
+way. Still, after an hour's hard work, we were on the point in
+question, and from there I could see the real Santo Peak, separated
+from us by only one deep valley, as far as I could judge in the tangle
+of forest that covered everything. The guides again pretended that we
+were standing on the highest mountain then, and that it would take
+at least a fortnight to reach the real Peak. I assured them that I
+meant to be on its top by noon, and when they showed no inclination
+whatever to go on, I left them and went on with my boys. We had to
+dive into a deep ravine, where we found a little water and refilled
+our bottles. Then we had to ascend the other side, which was trying,
+as we had lost the trail and had to climb over rocks and through the
+thickest bush I ever met. The ground was covered with a dense network
+of moss-grown trunks that were mouldering there, through which we
+often fell up to our shoulders, while vines and ferns wound round
+our bodies, so that we did our climbing more with our arms than with
+our feet. After a while one of the guides joined us, but he did not
+know the way; at last we found it, but there were many ups and downs
+before we attained the summit. The weather now changed, and we were
+suddenly surrounded by the thick fog that always covers the Peak before
+noon. The great humidity and the altitude combine to create a peculiar
+vegetation in this region; the tree-ferns are tremendously developed,
+and the natives pretend that a peculiar species of pigeon lives here.
+
+I was surprised to find any paths at all up here; but the natives come
+here to shoot pigeons, and several valleys converge at Santo Peak,
+so that there are important passes near its summits. One of my boys
+gave out here, and we left him to repose. The rest of the way was not
+difficult, but we were all very tired when we reached the top. There
+was another summit, a trifle higher, separated from the first by
+a long ridge, but we contented ourselves with the one we were on,
+especially as we could see absolutely nothing. I was much disappointed,
+as on a clear day the view of Santo and the whole archipelago must
+be wonderful. I deposited a bottle with a paper of statistics,
+which some native has probably found by this time. We were wet and
+hungry, and as it was not likely that the fog would lift, we began the
+descent. Without the natives I never could have found the way back in
+the fog; but they followed the path easily enough, and half-way down
+we met the other guides coming slowly up the mountain. They seemed
+pleased to have escaped the tiresome climb; possibly they may have
+had other reasons for their dislike of the Peak. They were rather
+disappointed, I thought, that I had had my way in spite of their
+resistance. They now promised to lead us back by another route, and
+we descended a narrow valley for several hours; then came a long halt,
+as my guides had to chat with friends in a village we passed. At last
+I fairly had to drive them away, and we went down another valley,
+where we found a few women bathing in a stream, who ran away at the
+sight of us. We bathed, and then enjoyed an excellent meal of taro,
+which one of the guides had brought from the village. Before leaving,
+one of my boys carefully collected all the peelings of my food, and
+threw them into the river, so that I might not be poisoned by them,
+he said. A last steep climb ended the day's exertions, and we entered
+the village where we were to sleep. While the guides bragged to the
+men of their feats, the women brought us food and drink, and I had
+a chance to rest and look about me.
+
+I was struck by the great number of women and the very small number
+of men in this place; after a while I found out the reason, which was
+that ten of the men had been kidnapped by a Frenchman while on their
+way to a plantation on the Segond Channel, where they meant to work
+a few days. The women are now deprived of their husbands for at least
+three years, unless they find men in some other village. If five of the
+ten ever return, it will be a good average, and it is more than likely
+that they will find a deserted and ruined village if they do come back.
+
+This is one of many illustrations of how the present recruiting
+system and the laxity of the French authorities combine to ruin the
+native population. (I have since heard that by request of the British
+authorities these men were brought back, but only after about nine
+months had passed, and without receiving any compensation. Most
+kidnapping cases never come to the ears of the authorities at all.)
+
+As our expedition was nearly at an end, and I had no reason to
+economize my provisions, I gave some to the villagers, and the
+women especially who had hardly ever tasted rice or tinned meat,
+were delighted. One old hag actually made me a declaration of love,
+which, unfortunately, I could not respond to in the same spirit.
+
+Night crept across the wide sea, and a golden sunset was followed by a
+long afterglow. Far away on the softly shining silver we saw a sail,
+small as a fly, that drifted slowly seaward and was swallowed up by
+the darkness, from which the stars emerged one by one. The women had
+disappeared in the huts; the men were sitting outside, around the
+fires, and, thinking I was asleep, talked about me in biche la mar.
+
+First they wondered why a man should care to climb up a mountain
+simply to come down again; and my boys told them of all my doings,
+about my collecting curios and skulls, of my former wanderings and the
+experiences we had had, and how often the others had tried to shoot
+me, etc. In short, I found out a great many things I had never known,
+and I shivered a little at hearing what I had escaped, if all the
+boys said was true. At last, when I had been sufficiently discussed,
+which was long after midnight, they lay down, each beside a small fire,
+and snored into the cool, clear night.
+
+The following morning was brilliantly fine. We took a hearty leave
+of our hosts, and raced, singing and shouting, down the steep hills,
+and so home. The fine weather was at an end. The sky was cloudy, the
+barometer fell and a thin rain pierced everything. Two days later the
+steamer arrived, and I meant to go aboard, but a heavy swell from the
+west set in, such as I had never seen before, although not a breath of
+wind was stirring. These rollers were caused by a cyclone, and gave us
+some idea of its violence. I despaired of ever reaching the steamer,
+but Mr. B. was an expert sailor, and making the most of a slight lull,
+he brought me safely through the surf and on board. His goods, however,
+could not be loaded on to the steamer, which immediately sailed. We
+passed New Year's Eve and New Year's Day at anchor in South-West Bay,
+Malekula, while a terrific gale whipped the water horizontally toward
+the ship and across the deck. We spent gloomy holidays, shut up in the
+damp, dark steamer, unable to stay on deck, restless and uncomfortable
+below. How one learns to appreciate the British impassiveness which
+helps one, in such conditions, to spend a perfectly happy day with
+a pipe and a talk about the weather!
+
+On the morning of the third day we lay off the east coast of Malekula,
+on a blue, shining sea, with all the landscape as peaceful and bright
+as if there were no such thing as a cyclone in the world.
+
+I landed, packed my collections, which I had left in Vao, and, with the
+help of a missionary, I reached Bushman Bay, whence Mr. H. kindly took
+me to Vila. There H.B.M. Resident Commissioner, Mr. Morton King, did
+me the honour of offering me his hospitality, so that I was suddenly
+transplanted to all the luxuries of civilized life once more. I spent
+the days packing the collections awaiting me at Vila, and which I found
+in fairly good condition; the evenings were passed in the interesting
+society of Mr. King, who had travelled extensively and was an authority
+on matters relating to the Orient. He inspired me with admiration
+for the British system of colonial politics with its truly idealistic
+tendencies. The weeks I spent at Port Vila will always be a pleasant
+memory of a time of rest and comfort and stimulating intercourse.
+
+In February I left for Noumea, where I hoped to meet two friends and
+colleagues, Dr. Fritz Sarasin and Dr. Jean Roux, who were coming to
+New Caledonia in order to pursue studies similar to mine. The time I
+spent with them was rich in interest and encouragement, and in March
+I returned to the New Hebrides with renewed energy.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+AMBRYM
+
+
+It was a miserable little boat in which I sailed from Noumea. We
+were to have started on a Monday, but it was Friday before we
+got off. The boat was overloaded. On deck there was a quantity of
+timber, also cattle, pigs, sheep and calves, all very seasick and
+uncomfortable. The deck was almost on a level with the water, and even
+while still inside the reef occasional waves broke over the gunwale
+and flooded the ship. At nightfall we entered the open ocean. Now
+the waves began to pour on to the deck from all sides, and the bow
+of the vessel dived into the sea as if it were never going to rise
+again. The night was dark, shreds of cloud raced across a steel-grey
+sky, while a greenish patch showed the position of the moon. At the
+horizon glistened an uncertain light, but the sea was a black abyss,
+out of which the phosphorescent waves appeared suddenly, rolled
+swiftly nearer and broke over the ship as if poured down from above.
+
+I looked on without another thought save that of pity for the poor sick
+calves, when the captain whispered in my ear that things looked bad,
+as the ship was much too heavily loaded. In the darkness I could see
+nothing but that the boat was very deep in the water, and that her
+bow, instead of rising on the waves, dug into them. On deck a quantity
+of water ran backward and forward in a wave as high as the bulwarks,
+and it seemed as if the ship could scarcely right herself when once
+she lay over on one side. The growing excitement of the captain,
+his nervous consultations with the engineer and the supercargo, were
+most uncomfortable; presently the passengers began to take part in
+the deliberations, and to observe the behaviour of the ship. As our
+course gave us a sidewise current, the captain ordered the sails to be
+hoisted, in order to lessen the rolling; but the sea was too heavy,
+and we shipped still more water and rolled alarmingly. The captain
+sighed, ran hither and thither, then lowered the sails and took a
+more westerly course, in the direction of one of the Loyalty Islands;
+thus we had the current from behind, which made things still worse,
+as the sea, rolling along the ship, filled the deck from both sides;
+and as the bulwarks were blocked up by the lumber, the water could
+not run off, thus adding an enormous weight to the already overloaded
+ship; the water ran forward, pressing down the bow, while the stern
+reared upward.
+
+When the captain saw the state of affairs, he lost his head completely,
+and began to lament piteously: "We do not want to drown, no, we do not
+want to drown; but we are going to. Oh, my poor wife and children! Do
+you like to drown, doctor?" I denied this energetically, but I could
+not help looking at the dark sea and trying to get used to the idea of
+a closer acquaintance with it. The feeling of insecurity was increased
+by the knowledge that the boat was old and in poor repair, and might
+spring a leak at any moment.
+
+Meanwhile the skipper had turned her round and was making headway
+against the waves, but still her bow would not lift, and the captain
+wept still more. His womanish behaviour disgusted me. At last a quiet
+passenger, an experienced sailor, gave some advice, which the skipper
+followed, and which helped matters a little, so that he regained his
+self-control to the extent of calling a general council; he announced
+that he dared not continue the voyage, and asked our consent to
+return to Noumea. We all agreed, and about midnight we approached the
+reef. Now there are lights in the passage, but they are so poor as to
+be invisible until the traveller is already in the passage, so that
+they are of little use. We were trying to find the entrance, when the
+experienced seaman I mentioned before, who was keeping a look out,
+called out that we were close to the breakers and surrounded by the
+reef. The only thing we could do was to turn seaward again and beat
+about till daylight. After some hours the wind fell and the worst was
+over; still, the night was unpleasant enough, and frequent squalls
+kept us awake. We were all glad when the day broke and we were able
+to enter the passage. We landed at Noumea in the finest of weather,
+and our unexpected return created quite a sensation. We passengers
+convinced ourselves that the cargo was considerably reduced before
+starting out again the next day.
+
+This time we arrived safely at Port Vila, where the British and
+French native police forces came aboard, bound for Santo, to quell
+a disturbance at Hog Harbour; and so the hapless boat was overloaded
+again, this time with passengers.
+
+Next day we arrived at Epi, and I landed at Ringdove Bay. The
+station of the Messrs. F. and H. is one of the oldest in the
+islands. Besides running a plantation, they trade with the natives,
+and their small cutters go to all the neighbouring islands for coprah
+and other produce. There is always plenty of life and movement at the
+station, as there are usually a few of the vessels lying at anchor,
+and natives coming in from all sides in their whale-boats to buy or
+sell something. From Malekula one can often see them tacking about
+all day, or, if there is a calm, drifting slowly along, as they are
+too lazy to row. When they have found the passage through the reef,
+they pull down the sails with much noise and laughter, and come to
+anchor; then the whole crowd wades through the surf to the shore,
+with the loads of coprah, and waits patiently for business to begin.
+
+On these stations, where almost everyone is squeezed into decent
+European clothes, it is a charming sight to see the naked bodies of
+the genuine savages, all the more so as only young and able-bodied
+men take part in these cruises, under the leadership of one older and
+more experienced companion. Their beauty is doubly striking beside
+the poor station hands, wrapped in filthy calico.
+
+When the coprah has been bought and paid for, they all go to the
+store, where they buy whatever they need or think they need. The
+native of the coast districts to-day goes beyond needs to luxuries;
+he buys costly silks, such as he may once have seen in Queensland,
+and he samples sewing-machines or whatever else tempts him. In
+consequence of competition, the prices for coprah and the wages of
+labour are unreasonably high, and the natives might profit greatly
+by this state of things if they knew the value of money or how to
+use it to advantage. But, as a rule, they spend it for any nonsense
+they may fancy, to the joy of the trader, who makes an average profit
+of 50 per cent. on all commodities; or else the natives economize
+to buy a pig (tusked pigs have brought as much as forty pounds),
+or they bury their money.
+
+It is astonishing how easily a native might make a small fortune
+here, and how little use he makes of his opportunities, not only
+from laziness, but also because he has no wants. Nature supplies
+food in abundance without any effort on his part, so that matches,
+tobacco, a pipe and a knife satisfy all his needs, and he can spend
+all the rest of his money for pleasure. Thus the native, in spite of
+everything, is economically master of the situation in his own country,
+and many traders have been made to realize this fact to their cost,
+when the natives, to avenge some ill-treatment, have simply boycotted
+a station. Needless to say that the traders always do their best to
+excite the natives' cupidity by exhibiting the most tempting objects,
+and, careful as the islander may be when buying necessaries, he is
+careless enough when luxuries are in question.
+
+The house of the planters is a long, low building with whitewashed
+walls, a broad, flat roof and wide verandas. Around it is an abandoned
+garden, and one feels that long ago a woman's hand must have worked
+here; but now no one cares about keeping the surroundings clean
+and pretty, and the wilderness is reclaiming its own and advancing
+steadily towards the house. Inside, the house is clean and neat;
+from the veranda there is a splendid view over the sea, in which the
+sun disappears at evening.
+
+The employes are quiet people, who have but little to say; the weather
+and speculations as to the name and destination of some far-off
+sail are their chief topics. After lunch they sit in easy-chairs,
+enjoying the breeze and reading the papers. Soon the "Bubu" calls
+to work once more, and the natives come creeping out of their huts,
+away from their ever-burning fires.
+
+The production of coprah varies greatly on the different islands. While
+on some of them there is scarcely any to be had, there are others which
+are practically covered with cocoa-nut trees; this is chiefly the
+case on islands of volcanic origin, on which springs and rivers are
+very scarce. It has been supposed that the natives, being dependent
+on the water of the cocoa-nut as a beverage, had planted these trees
+very extensively. This is not quite exact, although it is a fact that
+in these islands the natives hardly ever taste any other water than
+that of the cocoa-nut.
+
+In sun and shower, the natives work in the plantations in long rows,
+the women together with their husbands or with other women at some
+lighter task. The men dislike to be separated from their wives, for
+they are very jealous; neither do they approve of the women discussing
+their husbands among themselves. For light work the women are more
+useful, as they are more accustomed to regular work from their youth
+up than the men, who are used to spending their days in easy laziness.
+
+Towards sunset, the "Bubu" announces the end of work, and the natives
+stroll towards their quarters, simple huts of straw, where each man has
+his couch, with a trunk underneath containing his belongings. Meals
+are prepared by a cook, and the men go to fetch their rations, rice,
+yam, or taro. Sometimes there is meat, but not often, except in
+places where wild pig is plentiful. In that case, it is simplest for
+the master to send his boys shooting every Sunday, when it depends
+on themselves if they are to have meat during the coming week
+or not. After the meal, the natives sit round the fires chatting,
+gossiping and telling fairy-tales. They know stories of all sorts of
+monsters and demons, and excite each other by tales of these horrors
+to such a degree, that bad dreams or even a general panic are often
+the consequence, and the whole crowd turns out in the middle of the
+night, declaring that the place is haunted, and that they have seen
+a devil, who looked thus and so. If someone suddenly dies in a hut,
+it is worst of all. Death is invariably caused, so they all believe,
+by poison or witchcraft, and the natives will build another house
+of their own accord rather than go on living in one they consider
+haunted. If a planter loses many hands by death, his plantation gets
+a bad reputation, and the natives refuse to work there; so that it is
+to the planter's advantage to take some care of their labourers, and
+they do so to a certain extent, whereas in former years the mortality
+on French plantations was very high, as much as 44 per cent. per annum.
+
+Sometimes, especially on moonlight nights, the boys wish to dance,
+and they all go to the beach and spend the whole night singing and
+dancing. Another amusement is hunting for crayfish on the reef at
+low tide.
+
+My boys' term of service was over in a month. They were very much
+afraid of being taken to another island, which was natural in a way,
+as a savage is really not as safe in a strange place as a white
+man. Besides, they had had their desire and had seen Noumea, so that
+there was no longer any inducement for them to stay with me. They
+accordingly became most disagreeable, slow, sulky and sleepier than
+ever, and as I could not be punishing them all day long, life with
+them became somewhat trying. It is disappointing to find so little
+gratitude, but the natives are quite unaccustomed to be treated
+better by a white man than his interest demands, so that they suspect
+a trap in every act of kindness. Under the circumstances, I thought
+it best to dismiss my boys, and, finding little of interest in Epi,
+the natives having nearly all died out, I boarded the Australian
+steamer for Ambrym.
+
+Although Ambrym is only twenty-five miles from Epi, I was five days
+on the way, so zigzag a route did the steamer pursue. But if one is
+not in a hurry, life on board is quite entertaining. The first day we
+anchored near the volcano of Lopevi, a lofty peak that rises from a
+base six kilometres in diameter to a height of 1440 metres, giving its
+sides an average slope of 48 deg. which offers rather an unusual sight. The
+whole of Lopevi is rarely to be seen, as its top is usually covered
+with a thick cloud of fog or volcanic steam. It is still active,
+and but few whites have ascended it. At periods of great activity,
+the natives climb to the top and bring sacrifices to appease it,
+by throwing cocoa-nuts and yam into the crater.
+
+We touched at Port Sandwich, and then steamed along the coast of
+Malekula, calling every few miles at some plantation to discharge
+goods, horses, cattle and fowls, and take on maize or coprah. At
+last we arrived at Dip Point, Ambrym, where I was kindly received by
+Dr. B. of the Presbyterian Mission, who is in charge of the fine large
+hospital there. Its situation is not more picturesque than others,
+but the place has been made so attractive that one can hardly imagine
+a more lovely and restful sight. The buildings stand on level ground
+that slopes softly down to the beach. The bush has been cleared,
+with the exception of a number of gigantic fig trees, that overshadow
+a green lawn. Under their airy roof there is always a light breeze,
+blowing from the hills down to the sea. In the blue distance rises
+Aoba, and the long-drawn coast of Malekula disappears in the mist. A
+quieter, sweeter place for convalescents does not exist, and even the
+native patients, who are not, as a rule, great lovers of scenery,
+like to lie under the trees with their bandaged limbs and heads,
+staring dreamily into the green and blue and sunny world.
+
+Dr. B. is an excellent surgeon, famous all over the group, not only
+among the white population, but among the natives as well, who are
+beginning to appreciate his work. Formerly they used to demand payment
+for letting him operate on them, but now many come of their own accord,
+so that the hospital never lacks patients. The good that Dr. B. does
+these people can hardly be overrated, and the Presbyterian Mission
+deserves great credit for having established the hospital; but it
+is a regrettable fact that all these efforts are not strong enough
+to counteract other effects of civilization, such as alcoholism,
+which is the curse of the native race, especially on Ambrym.
+
+Although the sale of alcohol to natives is strictly prohibited by the
+laws of the Condominium, the French pay no attention to these rules,
+and sell it in quantities without being called to account. The sale of
+liquor is the simplest means of acquiring wealth, as the profit on one
+bottle may amount to five shillings. The natives of Ambrym spend all
+their money on drink, and as they are quite rich and buy wholesale,
+the results, in money for the trader and in death for the native, are
+considerable. For they drink in a senseless way, simply pouring down
+one bottle after the other, until they are quite overcome. Some never
+wake up again; others have dangerous attacks of indigestion from the
+poison they have consumed; still more catch colds or pneumonia from
+lying drunk on the ground all night. Quarrels and fights are frequent,
+and it is not a rare sight to see a whole village, men, women and
+children, rolling on the sand completely intoxicated. The degeneration
+which results from this is all the sadder, as originally the race
+on Ambrym was particularly healthy, vigorous and energetic. These
+conditions are well known to both governments, and might be suppressed
+on the French side as easily as they are on the English; but the
+French government seems to take more interest in the welfare of an
+ex-convict than in that of the native race, although the latter is
+one of the most important sources of wealth on the islands, setting
+aside all considerations of humanity. If the liquor traffic is not
+speedily suppressed, the population is doomed.
+
+Ambrym offers quite a different aspect from the coral islands, as
+its sloping sides are seamed by streams of lava, the course of which
+may be traced by the breaks in the forest, as the glowing mass flows
+slowly down to the coast, congealing in the water to peculiarly shaped
+jagged rocks. Every few hundred yards we find one of these black walls
+on the shore in which the sea foams, and the sand that covers the
+beaches is black too. In dull weather all this looks extremely gloomy,
+monotonous and imposing--the war of two elements, fire and water;
+and this dark, stern landscape is far more impressive than the gay,
+smiling coral beach with the quiet blue sea.
+
+My stay on Ambrym was very pleasant. By the help of Dr. B., I
+was enabled to find four bright boys, willing and cheerful, with
+whom I used to start out from Dip Point in the mornings, visit the
+neighbouring villages, and return loaded with objects of all sorts at
+noon; the afternoons were devoted to work in the house. The weather
+was exceptionally favourable, and the walks through the dewy forest,
+on the soft paths of black volcanic dust, in the cool, dark ravines,
+with occasional short climbs and delightful glimpses of the coast,
+were almost too enjoyable to be regarded as a serious duty.
+
+The culture of Ambrym is similar to that of Malekula, as is plainly
+shown by the natives' dress. The men wear the bark belt and the nambas,
+which they buy on Malekula; the dress of the women is the same as that
+worn in central Malekula, and consists of an apron of pandanus or
+some similar fibre, wound several times round the waist; this forms
+a thick roll, not unlike ballet skirts, but more graceful. It is a
+pretty dress, though somewhat scanty, and the "skirts" flap up and
+down coquettishly when the wearer walks. The other parts of the body
+are covered with a thick layer of soot, filth, oil, fat and smoke,
+for the Ambrymese are not at all fond of bathing.
+
+The villages are open, rarely surrounded by a hedge. The houses are
+rather close together, grouped irregularly in a clearing; a little
+apart, on a square by themselves, are the houses of the secret
+societies, surrounded by images and large drums. The dwelling-houses
+are rather poor-looking huts, with low walls and roofs and an
+exceedingly small entrance which is only to be passed through on
+one's hands and knees. Decency demands that the women should always
+enter the houses backward, and this occasions funny sights, as they
+look out of their huts like so many dogs from their kennels.
+
+As a rule, the first event on my entering a village was that the women
+and children ran away shrieking and howling; those not quite so near me
+stared suspiciously, then retired slowly or began to giggle. Then a few
+men would appear, quite accidentally, of course, and some curious boys
+followed. My servants gave information as to my person and purpose,
+and huge laughter was the result: they always thought me perfectly
+mad. However, they admired me from all sides, and asked all sorts
+of questions of my boys: what was my name, where did I live, was I
+kind, was I rich, what did I have to eat, did I smoke or drink, how
+many shirts and trousers did I have, how many guns and what kinds,
+etc. The end of it was, that they either took me for a dangerous
+sorcerer, and withdrew in fear, or for a fool to be got the better
+of. In the latter case, they would run eagerly to their houses and
+bring out some old broken article to offer for sale. A few sarcastic
+remarks proved useful; but it was always some time before they realized
+what I wanted. The fine old possessions from which they did not like
+to part would suddenly turn out to be the property of someone else,
+which was a polite way of saying, "we have that, but you won't get it."
+
+In this way collecting was a very tiresome and often disappointing
+process of bargaining, encouraging, begging and flattering; often, just
+as I was going away, some man or other would call me aside to say that
+he had decided to sell after all, and was ready to accept any price.
+
+Horror and silent consternation were aroused when I asked for
+skulls. "Lots over there," they said, pointing to an enclosed thicket,
+their burying-ground. Only very rarely a man would bring me a skull,
+at the end of a long stick. Once I started on the quest myself,
+armed with a shovel and spade; as my servants were too much afraid
+of the dead to help, I had to dig for myself. A man loafed near by,
+attracted by the excited chatter of some old women. He told me sadly
+that I was digging up his papa, although it was a woman; then he
+began to help with some show of interest, assuring me that his papa
+had two legs, whereas at first I could find but one. A stranger had
+given me permission to dig, so as to play a trick on the son; but
+the latter was quite reconciled when I paid him well. For a week all
+the village talked of nothing but the white madman who dug up bones;
+I became a celebrity, and people made excursions from a distance to
+come and stare at me.
+
+Although the Suque is highly developed here, there are other secret
+societies whose importance, however, is decreasing, as they are
+being more or less absorbed by the Suque. As each of these clubs has
+its own house, we sometimes find quite a number of such huts in one
+village, where they take the place of gamals. Each Suque high caste
+has his own house, which the low castes may not enter. The caste
+of the proprietor may be seen by the material of which the hedge is
+made, the lower castes having hedges of wood and logs, the highest,
+walls of stone and coral slabs. Inside the courtyard, each man lives
+alone, served only by his wives, who are allowed to cook his food. The
+separation of the sexes is not so severe on Ambrym as on Santo. On the
+whole, it would seem that in the past Ambrym had a position apart,
+and that only lately several forms of cult have been imported from
+Malekula and mingled with genuinely local rites. Even to-day, it is
+not rare for a man from Ambrym to settle for a while on Malekula, so
+as to be initiated into some rites which he then imports to Ambrym;
+and the Ambrymese pay poets large fees to teach them poems which
+are to be sung at certain feasts, accompanied by dances. Unhappily,
+I never had occasion to attend one of these "sing-songs."
+
+The originality of Ambrym has been preserved in its sculpture only. The
+material used is tree-fern wood, which is used nowhere else but in
+the Banks Islands. The type of human being represented differs from
+that on the other islands, especially as regards the more moon-shaped
+form of the head. Representations of the whole body are frequent,
+so are female statues; these I have only found again in Gaua, where
+they are probably modern inventions. Sometimes a fish or a bird is
+carved on the statue, probably as a survival of old totemistic ideas,
+and meant to represent the totem animal of the ancestor or of his
+clan. The meaning of these carvings is quite obscure to the natives,
+and they answer questions in a very vague way, so that it is probable
+that totemistic ideas are dying out in the New Hebrides.
+
+Most of the statues are meant to represent an ancestor. If a native is
+in trouble, he blows his whistle at nightfall near the statue, and if
+he hears a noise, he thinks the spirit of the ancestor has approached
+and entered the statue, and he proceeds to tell the statue his sorrows
+and ask the spirit for help. Occasionally sacrifices are made to the
+figures, as is shown by the pigs' jaws frequently found tied to them.
+
+The Ambrymese conceptions of the spirit world are very similar to
+those of other islanders. The native likes to wear on his back or
+chest or arm the tusks of the most valuable pigs he has sacrificed,
+and has them buried with him, so that in the other world he may at
+any time be able to prove how much he respected his ancestors.
+
+The centre of the dancing grounds is generally occupied by the big
+drums, not quite so numerous but better made than those of Malekula. By
+the drums, too, the caste of the proprietor may be recognized: the
+higher his standing, the more heads are carved on them. Horizontal
+drums are sometimes found, but they are always small, and only serve
+to accompany the sound of the larger ones.
+
+There are usually a few men sitting round the drums, playing games. One
+game is played by two men sitting opposite to each other; one sticks
+a small shell into the ground, and his opponent tries to hit it with
+another. There does not seem to be any winning or losing, as in our
+games, but they keep it up for hours and even days. Another favourite
+game borders on the marvellous. One man has six shells and the other
+five. Each in turn puts a shell on the ground, and when they have
+all been dealt, each in turn picks up one at a time, when the one who
+had six before has five, and the one who had only five has six. They
+stare at each other, wonder, and try it again; behold, the one who
+had six at the beginning has five now and the other six. They try
+again and again, and each time the shell changes hands, and nobody
+can explain how on earth it could have jumped from one man to the
+other. It seems too strange to be natural, and while a cold shiver
+creeps up their backs, they play on and on, with ever new delight
+and wonder. At such enviable pastimes these people spend their days
+and kill time, which would otherwise hang heavy on their hands. Tops,
+nicely made from nuts, are a popular toy; and there are other games,
+more sportsmanlike, such as throwing reeds to a distance, and throwing
+wooden shells, at which two villages often compete against each other.
+
+After I had exhausted the surroundings of Dip Point, I marched along
+the coast to Port Vato, where I lived in an abandoned mission house,
+in the midst of a thickly populated district. At present, the people
+are quiet, and go about as they please; but not long ago, the villages
+lived in a constant state of feud among themselves, so that no man
+dared go beyond his district alone, and the men had to watch the
+women while they were at work in the fields, for fear of attack. The
+sense of insecurity was such that many people who lived in villages
+only twenty minutes' walk from the coast had never seen the ocean. The
+population as a whole enjoys the state of peace, which the missionaries
+have brought about, though there are always mischief-makers who try
+to create new feuds, and there is no doubt that the old wars would
+break out anew, if the natives were left to themselves.
+
+These disturbances were not very destructive in the days of the old
+weapons; it is only since the introduction of firearms that they
+have become a real danger to the race as a whole. They even had their
+advantages, in forcing the men to keep themselves in condition, and
+in providing them with a regular occupation, such as preparing their
+weapons, or training, or guarding the village and the women. With the
+end of the feuds, the chief occupation of the men disappeared, and but
+few of them have found any serious work to take up their time. Thus
+civilization, even in its role of peace-maker, has replaced one evil
+by another.
+
+In this district, I could go about with my servants wherever I pleased;
+only one Santo boy I had with me did not feel safe, and suddenly
+developed great interest in cooking, which allowed him to stay at
+home while the rest of us went on expeditions. His cooking was not
+above reproach; he would calmly clean a dirty cup with his fingers,
+the kitchen towels occasionally served as his head-dress, and one day
+he tried to make curry with some iodoform I had left in a bottle on
+the table. However, I had learned long ago not to be too particular,
+and not to take too much interest in the details of the kitchen.
+
+An exceptionally bright man had offered me his services as guide,
+and with his help I obtained many objects I would never have found
+alone. He had a real understanding of what I wanted, and plenty
+of initiative. He made the women bring their modest possessions,
+and they approached, crawling on their hands and knees, for they
+are not allowed to walk before the men. Later on the men appeared
+with better things. It is an odd fact that all over the archipelago
+the owner rarely brings things himself, but generally gives them
+to a friend. This may be due to the desire to avoid the ridicule
+they would surely be exposed to if their possessions were to be
+refused. The extreme sensitiveness and pride with which the natives
+feel every refusal and are deeply hurt by any rebuke, may surprise
+those who look on them as savages, incapable of any finer sentiment;
+but whoever learns to know them a little better will find that they
+have great delicacy of feeling, and will be struck by the politeness
+they show a stranger, and by the kind and obliging way in which they
+treat each other. It must be admitted that this is often enough
+only a veneer, under which all sorts of hatred, malice, and all
+uncharitableness are hidden, just as among civilized people; still,
+the manners of the crudest savages are far superior to those of most
+of the whites they meet.
+
+One sign of this sensitiveness is their reluctance to express any
+desire, for fear of a refusal. I saw a daily illustration of this, when
+my boys wanted the tin of meat for dinner which was their due. Although
+they might have taken it themselves, a different boy came each day
+to the room where I was writing, and waited patiently for some time,
+then began coughing with increasing violence, until I asked what he
+wanted. Then he would shyly stammer out his request. Never would they
+accost me or otherwise disturb me while I was writing or reading;
+yet at other times they could be positively impertinent, especially
+if excited. The islander is very nervous; when he is quiet, he is shy
+and reticent, but once he is aroused, all his bad instincts run riot,
+and incredible savageness and cruelty appear. The secret of successful
+treatment of the natives seems to be to keep them very quiet, and never
+to let any excitement arise, a point in which so many whites fail.
+
+They are very critical and observant, and let no weakness pass without
+sarcastic comment; yet their jokes are rarely offensive, and in the
+end the victim usually joins in the general laughter. On the whole,
+the best policy is one of politeness, justice and consistency; and
+after many years, one may possibly obtain their confidence, although
+one always has to be careful and circumspect in every little detail.
+
+In general, the Ambrymese are more agreeable than the Santo
+people. They seem more manly, less servile, more faithful and reliable,
+more capable of open enmity, more clever and industrious, and not
+so sleepy.
+
+Assisted by my excellent guide, I set about collecting, which was not
+always a simple matter. I was very anxious to procure a "bull-roarer,"
+and made my man ask for one, to the intense surprise of the others;
+how could I have known of the existence of these secret and sacred
+utensils? The men called me aside, and begged me never to speak
+of this to the women, as these objects are used, like many others,
+to frighten away the women and the uninitiated from the assemblies
+of the secret societies. The noise they make is supposed to be the
+voice of a mighty and dangerous demon, who attends these assemblies.
+
+They whispered to me that the instruments were in the men's house,
+and I entered it, amid cries of dismay, for I had intruded into their
+holy of holies, and was now standing in the midst of all the secret
+treasures which form the essential part of their whole cult. However,
+there I was, and very glad of my intrusion, for I found myself in a
+regular museum. In the smoky beams of the roof there hung half-finished
+masks, all of the same pattern, to be used at a festival in the near
+future; there was a set of old masks, some with nothing left but
+the wooden faces, while the grass and feather ornaments were gone;
+old idols; a face on a triangular frame, which was held particularly
+sacred; two perfectly marvellous masks with long noses with thorns,
+carefully covered with spider-web cloth. This textile is a speciality
+of Ambrym, and serves especially for the preparation and wrapping of
+masks and amulets. Its manufacture is simple: a man walks through the
+woods with a split bamboo, and catches all the innumerable spider-webs
+hanging on the trees. As the spider-web is sticky, the threads cling
+together, and after a while a thick fabric is formed, in the shape
+of a conical tube, which is very solid and defies mould and rot. At
+the back of the house, there stood five hollow trunks, with bamboos
+leading into them. Through these, the men howl into the trunk, which
+reverberates and produces a most infernal noise, well calculated to
+frighten others besides women. For the same purpose cocoa-nut shells
+were used, which were half filled with water, and into which a man
+gurgled through a bamboo. All this was before my greedy eyes, but I
+could obtain only a very few articles. Among them was a bull-roarer,
+which a man sold me for a large sum, trembling violently with fear,
+and beseeching me not to show it to anybody. He wrapped it up so
+carefully, that the small object made an immense parcel. Some of the
+masks are now used for fun; the men put them on and run through the
+forest, and have the right to whip anybody they meet. This, however,
+is a remnant of a very serious matter, as formerly the secret societies
+used these masks to terrorize all the country round, especially people
+who were hostile to the society, or who were rich or friendless.
+
+These societies are still of great importance on New Guinea, but here
+they have evidently degenerated. It is not improbable that the Suque
+has developed from one of these organizations. Their decay is another
+symptom of the decline of the entire culture of the natives; and other
+facts seem to point to the probability that this decadence may have
+set in even before the beginning of colonization by the whites.
+
+My visit to the men's house ended, and seeing no prospects of acquiring
+any more curiosities, I went to the dancing-ground, where most of the
+men were assembled at a death-feast, it being the hundredth day after
+the funeral of one of their friends. In the centre of the square,
+near the drums, stood the chief, violently gesticulating. The crowd
+did not seem pleased at my coming, and criticized me in undertones. A
+terrible smell of decomposed meat filled the air; evidently they
+had all partaken of a half-rotten pig, and the odour did not seem to
+trouble them at all.
+
+The chief was a tall man, bald-headed, wearing the nambas, of larger
+size than those of the others, and with both arms covered with pigs'
+tusks to show his rank. He looked at me angrily, came up to me, and
+sat down, not without having first swept the ground with his foot,
+evidently in order not to come into contact with any charm that an
+enemy might have thrown there. One of the men wanted me to buy a
+flute, asking just double what I was willing to give; seeing that I
+did not intend to pay so much, he made me a present of the flute,
+and seemed just as well pleased. Still, the others stared at me
+silently and suspiciously, until I offered some tobacco to the chief,
+which he accepted with a joke, whereat everybody laughed and the ice
+was broken. The men forgot their reserve, and talked about me in
+loud tones, looking at me as we might at a hopelessly mad person,
+half pitying, half amused at his vagaries. The chief now wished to
+shake hands with me, though he did not trouble to get up for the
+ceremony. We smiled pleasantly at each other, and then he took me
+to his house, which, according to his high rank, was surrounded by
+a stone wall. He rummaged about inside for a long time, and finally
+brought out a few paltry objects; I thought best to pay well for them,
+telling him that as he was a "big fellow-master," I was ready to
+pay extra for the honour of having a souvenir of him. This flattered
+him so much that he consented to have his photograph taken; and he
+posed quite cleverly, while the others walked uneasily around us,
+looking at the camera as if it were likely to explode at any moment;
+and as none of them dared have his picture taken, I left.
+
+Rounding a bend of the path on my way home, I suddenly came upon a
+young woman. First she looked at me in deadly fright, then, with a
+terrified cry, she jumped over the fence, and burst into hysterical
+laughter, while a dozen invisible women shrieked; then they all ran
+away, and as I went on, I could hear that the flight had ceased and the
+shrieks changed to hearty laughter. They had taken me for a kidnapper,
+or feared some other harm, as was natural enough with their experience
+of certain kinds of white men.
+
+Walking along, I heard the explosions of the volcano like a far-away
+cannonade. The dull shocks gave my walk a peculiar solemnity, but the
+bush prevented any outlook, and only from the coast I occasionally
+saw the volcanic clouds mounting into the sky.
+
+From the old mission-house the view on a clear day is splendid. On
+the slope stand a few large trees, whose cleft leaves frame
+the indescribably blue sea, which breaks in snowy lines in
+the lava-boulders below. Far off, I can see Malekula, with its
+forest-covered mountains, and summer clouds hanging above it. It
+is a dreamlike summer day, so beautiful, bright and mild as to be
+hardly real. One feels a certain regret at being unable to absorb
+all the beauty, at having to stand apart as an outsider, a patch on
+the brightness rather than a part of it.
+
+At night the view is different, but just as enchanting. A fine dust
+from the volcano floats in the air and the pale moonlight plays softly
+on the smooth surface of the bay, filling the atmosphere with silver,
+so that everything shines in the white light, the long, flat point,
+the forest; even the bread-fruit tree on the slope, whose outline cuts
+sharply into the brightness, is not black, but a darker silver. In
+the greenish sky the stars glitter, not sharply as they do elsewhere,
+but like fine dots, softly, quietly, as if a negligent hand had
+sprinkled them lightly about. And down by the water the breakers
+roll, crickets cry, a flying-fox chatters and changes from one tree
+to the other with tired wings, passing in a shapeless silhouette in
+front of the moon. It is the peace of paradise, dreamlike, wishless;
+one never tires of listening to the holy tropical night, for there
+is secret life everywhere. In the quiet air the trees shiver, the
+moonlight trembles in the bushes and stirs imperceptibly in the lawn;
+and from the indistinct sounds of which the mind is hardly conscious
+the fancy weaves strange stories. We see all those creatures that
+frighten the natives under the roof of the forest, giants with crabs'
+claws, men with fiery eyes, women that turn into deadly serpents,
+vague, misty souls of ancestors, that pass through the branches and
+appear to their descendants; all that we dream of in our northern
+midsummer night wakes in tenfold strength here.
+
+Suddenly, violent shocks shake the house, explosions follow, like
+distant shots, and the thin, misty silver is changed to a red glow. The
+volcano is in action,--a dull, reddish-yellow light mounts slowly up
+behind the black trees, thick smoke rises and rises, until it stands,
+a dark monster, nearly touching the zenith, its foot still in the
+red glare. Slowly the fire dies out, the cloud parts, and it is dark
+night again, with the silver of the moon brooding everywhere.
+
+But the charm is broken by this warning from the primitive powers that
+counterbalance each other behind the peace of the tropic night. By and
+by, one grows accustomed to the uncanny neighbourhood of the volcano,
+and only the more formidable eruptions attract notice. Sometimes,
+while at work, I hear one of the boys exclaim, "Huh, huh!" to call
+my attention to the fact that a particularly violent outbreak has
+taken place; and, indeed, half the sky is a dirty red, the smoke
+rises behind the trees as if from a gigantic bonfire, and the dull
+detonations resound. The glowing lava flies high in the air, and comes
+down in a great curve. One of these performances lasted several hours,
+presaging a wonderful spectacle for my visit to the volcano, which
+was set for the next day.
+
+Several natives joined my party, evidently thinking it safer to go
+to see the "fire" in my company than alone. Yet the Ambrymese in
+general show remarkably little fear of the volcano, and regard it as
+a powerful but somewhat clumsy and rather harmless neighbour, whereas
+on other islands legend places the entrance to hell in the craters.
+
+Quite a company of us marched through the forest, accompanied by the
+cannonading of the volcano; we felt as if we were going to battle. We
+traversed the plain and mounted the foot-hills; halfway up, we observed
+an eruption, but we could see only the cloud, as the crater itself
+was hidden by hills. Through thick bush, we came to a watercourse,
+a narrow gully, formed by lava-streams. The rocks in the river-bed had
+been polished smooth by the water, and though the natives walked over
+them with ease, my nailed boots gave me great trouble, and I had to
+cross many slippery spots on my hands and knees, which greatly amused
+my companions. We passed many tree-ferns, whose dainty crowns seemed
+to float on the surface of the forest--like stars, and often covered
+the whole bush, so that the slopes looked like a charming carpet of
+the loveliest pattern. This tree, the most beautiful of the tropical
+forest, far surpasses the palm in elegance, whose crown too often
+looks yellowish and unkempt.
+
+For a few hours we followed the river, which led nearly to the edge of
+the plateau. When the path branched off, I called a halt for lunch,
+as we were not likely to find any water later on. We were now quite
+near the craters, and while we ate our rice, we heard the roaring,
+so that the boys grew nervous, till the joker of the company made
+them laugh, and then the meal absorbed their attention. Still, they
+occasionally sent furtive glances skyward, to see if any lava was
+coming down upon us.
+
+Having filled all our vessels with water, we marched on, and after a
+short ascent, found ourselves on the great plain, 650 metres above
+sea-level, about 12 kilometres in diameter, and shaped like a huge
+dinner-plate, a chain of hills forming the rim. It would seem that the
+whole plain was formerly one gigantic crater; now only two openings
+are left, two craters 500 and 700 metres high, in the north-west of
+the plain.
+
+The ground consists of black, coarse-grained slag, which creaks when
+walked on, and forms a fine black dust. Naturally the vegetation
+in this poor soil is very scanty,--only bushes and reed-grass,
+irregularly scattered in the valleys between little hillocks ranged
+in rows. This arid desert-scene is doubly surprising to the eye,
+owing to the sudden change from the forest to the bare plain.
+
+In this seemingly endless plain, the two craters rise in a bold
+silhouette, grimly black. One of them stands in lifeless rigidity,
+from the top of the other curl a few light, white clouds of steam. It
+is a depressingly dismal sight, without any organic life whatever on
+the steep, furrowed slopes.
+
+We camped on a hillock surrounded by shrubs; on all sides spread the
+plain, with low hills, rounded by rain and storm, radiating from the
+craters, and where these touched, a confused wilderness of hills,
+like a black, agitated sea, had formed. The hilltops were bare, on
+the slopes there clung some yellowish moss. The farther away from the
+craters, the lower the hills became, disappearing at the edge of the
+plain in a bluish-green belt of woods.
+
+The sky was cloudy, a sallow light glimmered over the plain, and
+the craters lay in forbidding gloom and lifelessness, like hostile
+monsters. Hardly had I set up my camera, when the western giant began
+his performance. The clouds of steam thickened, detonations followed,
+and at each one a brownish-grey cloud rose out of the mountain,
+whirled slowly upwards, and joined the grey clouds in the sky. The
+mountain-top glowed red, and red lumps of lava came flying out of
+the smoke and dropped behind a hill. Then all became quiet again,
+the mountain relapsed into lifelessness, the clouds dissolved to a
+thick mist, and only the steam curled upward like a white plume.
+
+I had taken care to observe how far the lava flew, so as to know how
+near it would be safe to approach. The path towards the craters was
+the continuation of the one we had followed, and led to the north
+shore of the island, passing between the craters. It is remarkable
+that the natives should dare to use this road, and indeed it is not
+much travelled; but it speaks for the courage of the first man who
+had the courage to cross the plain and pass between the craters. The
+sharp points of the lava caused great suffering to the bare-footed
+natives, and here I had the advantage of them for once, thanks to my
+nailed boots.
+
+The clouds had disappeared, the sky shone deeply blue, everything
+reminded me of former trips in other deserts. The same dry air cooled
+the heat that radiated from the ground, the same silence and solemnity
+brooded over the earth, there was the same colouring and the same
+breadth of view. After the painful march through the forest, where
+every step had to be measured and watched, it was a joy to step out
+freely and take great breaths of clear, sweet air.
+
+After a short, steep climb, I reached the ridge, sharp as a knife,
+that joins the two craters, and following it, I suddenly found myself
+on the brink of the crater, from which I could overlook the great bowl,
+800 metres wide. The inside walls fell vertically to the bottom, an
+uncanny, spongy-looking mass of brownish lava, torn, and foaming,
+and smoking in white or yellowish clouds. The opposite side rose
+much higher, and the white cloud I had seen from below floated on
+top. There was a smaller crater, the real opening, and through a gap
+in it I had a glimpse inside, but failed to see much because of the
+smoke. The general view was most imposing, the steep, naked walls,
+the wild confusion in the crater, the red and yellow precipitates
+here and there, the vicious-looking smoke from the slits, the steam
+that floated over the opening, swayed mysteriously by an invisible
+force, the compactness of the whole picture, in the gigantic frame
+of the outer walls. There was no need of the oppressive odour,
+the dull roaring and thundering and hissing, to call up a degree of
+reverent admiration, even fear, and it required an effort of will
+to stay and grow used to the tremendous sight. The first sensation
+on seeing the crater is certainly terror, then curiosity awakens,
+and one looks and wonders; yet the sight never becomes familiar, and
+never loses its threatening aspect. Still, the inner crater may be
+a disappointment. From a distance, we see the great manifestations,
+the volcano in action, when its giant forces are in play and it looks
+grand and monumental. From near by, we see it in repose, and the crater
+looks quite insignificant. Instead of the fire we expected to see,
+we find lava blocks and ashes, and instead of the clash of elemental
+forces, we see a dark mass, that glows dully. We can hardly believe
+that here is the origin of the explosions that shake the island,
+and are inclined to consider the demon of the volcano rather as a
+mischievous clown than a thundering, furious giant.
+
+I went to the slope of the eastern crater to find a spot from which I
+might be able to photograph an eruption, and returned to camp just as
+the sun sank down in red fire, and the evening mists formed a white
+belt around the two black mountains. The tops of the craters shone
+red against a cool evening sky.
+
+Suddenly an immense cloud shot up, white and sky-high. One side of it
+shone orange in the last sunbeams, the other was dull and grey, and
+the top mingled with the evening clouds. It was a wildly beautiful
+sight, gone too soon. A hawk circled afar in the green sky, night
+crept across the plain, and soon the moon poured her silver over the
+tranquil scene. I hoped in vain to see an eruption equal to that of
+the last nights. Everything was quiet, the volcano seemed extinct,
+the fog thickened, covering the mountains and the moon. It became
+disagreeably cool, and there was a heavy dew. The natives shivered in
+their blankets, and I was most uncomfortable under a light canvas. We
+were all up long before daylight, when the volcano sent out a large
+cloud. The sun and the fog had a long struggle, when suddenly the
+clouds tore apart, and the welcome sunbeams came to warm us.
+
+I went to the spot chosen the day before and dug my camera into the
+lava and waited. My impatience was quieted by the splendid view I
+enjoyed, embracing nearly all the islands of the group: Epi, Malekula,
+Aoba, Pentecoste, and higher than all, the cone of Lopevi. All these
+floated in a soft, blue haze, and even the two craters shone in a
+violet hue.
+
+We waited for several hours, freezing in spite of the bright sun,
+between the damp, mossy walls of the gully where we sat, and the
+volcano remained quiet, merely hissing and roaring and emitting steam,
+but a real eruption did not occur then, nor for several weeks later. We
+returned to camp, packed up our things, and hurried down the slippery
+gullies and lava banks, diving back into the thick, heavy atmosphere
+of the sea-level; and at nightfall I washed off the heat and dust of
+the day in the warm waves of the ocean.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+PENTECOSTE
+
+
+The term of service of my Ambrym boys being over, I tried to replace
+them in Paama, but failed; but Mr. G. kindly took me to Epi, where
+I engaged four new boys. However, they proved as sulky as they were
+dirty, and I was disgusted with them, and quite glad they had refused
+to sign for more than a month. As they were all troubled with many
+sores, they were of very little service to me, and I gladly sent them
+home by steamer when their month was up.
+
+I returned to Dip Point, and a few days later Dr. B. escorted me to
+Olal, where I took up my quarters with Mr. D., a young Australian
+who was trying to make a living by the coprah trade. In Olal, at
+the northern point of Ambrym, the alcohol trade is particularly
+flourishing, and numerous settlers along the coast earn large sums
+by selling liquor. Everybody knows this, and numbers of intoxicated
+natives are always to be seen, so that it is somewhat surprising that
+the authorities pretend not to have sufficient proof to punish these
+traders. If ever one of them is fined, the amount is so minute that
+the sale of half a dozen bottles makes up for it, so that they go on
+as before. I myself witnessed two cases of death in consequence of
+drinking, alone and at one sitting, a bottle of pure absinthe.
+
+The house of Mr. D. was typical of the dwellings built by the
+colonists. In a circumference of about 50 metres, the bush had
+been cleared, on a level spot somewhat off the shore and slightly
+elevated. Here stood a simple grass hut, 3 metres wide and 6 long;
+the floor was covered with gravel, and the interior divided into
+a store-room and a living-room. On the roof lay a few sheets of
+corrugated iron, the rain from which was collected in a tank to provide
+water. A few paces off was another hut, where the coprah was smoked
+and the boys slept, and on the beach was a shed for storing the coprah.
+
+The actual work a coprah trader has to do is very small, amounting
+to little besides waiting for the natives who bring the coprah or
+the fresh nuts, to weigh them and sell his goods. Occasionally he
+may visit a distant village by boat to buy coprah there; but there is
+plenty of unoccupied time, and it is not surprising that many of the
+settlers take to drink from pure boredom. Not so Mr. D., who tried
+to educate the neighbouring natives, but with small success.
+
+I did not see much of interest here, or learn anything new about
+the natives, but I was able to obtain some interesting objects, and
+my collection of skulls was nicely started, until some one told the
+natives not to bring me any more skulls, as on the day of resurrection
+the former owners would not be able to find their heads. The same
+person created all sorts of difficulties when I attempted some
+excavations, and at last insinuated that I was a German spy. It is
+sad to see that the very people who, by virtue of their education
+and position, ought to help one most, work against one, while very
+often poor and plain people make sacrifices to help one along.
+
+A young Ambrymese who had worked for me for some days, wanted to
+enlist in my service when I left, although he grew tearful at the
+thought of Malekula, where I intended to go next, and where he was
+convinced he would be killed. Lingban was a light-haired native,
+very nice-looking, and a favourite with the ladies; this fact had
+brought him into considerable trouble, and he was obliged to leave
+his home. He stayed with me for three months, and was not killed,
+but suffered much from home-sickness. He finally settled at the south
+end of Pentecoste, whence he could see his beloved Ambrym, count the
+cocoa-nut trees on the shore and see the heavy clouds over the volcano.
+
+From Dip Point Mr. S. took me over to Aunua on Malekula, the station
+of the Rev. F. Paton, a son of the celebrated J. G. Paton, the founder
+of the Presbyterian missions in the New Hebrides. He lived there as a
+widower, devoting all his strength, time and thought to the spiritual
+and physical welfare of the natives.
+
+Malekula has the reputation of being one of the most dangerous islands
+in the group. The natives in the north, the Big Nambas, are certainly
+not very gentle, and the others, too, are high-spirited and will not
+submit to ill-treatment from the settlers. Malekula is the second
+largest island of the group, and its interior is quite unexplored. I
+could not penetrate inland, as I was unable to find boys and guides
+for a voyage they all thought extremely dangerous. Mr. Paton, who
+had traversed the island at various points, consoled me by telling
+me that the culture inland was much the same as along the coast. So
+I gave up my plan, though with some regret.
+
+Mr. Paton took me to the south end of Malekula, and left me on one of
+the flat coral islands, which are all connected under the surface by
+an extensive reef. The landscape is charming, the sea above the reef
+shining in all possible shades, and small flat islands enlivening
+the view in all directions. In these islands only Christians live,
+the few remaining heathen having retired to the mainland.
+
+Here on the south coast the strange fashion obtains of deforming the
+head. This habit is very rare in the Pacific, and restricted to two
+small districts. It is now purely a matter of fashion or vanity,--the
+longer the head, the handsomer the individual is thought to be,--but
+probably there was originally some religious or hygienic notion at
+the bottom of the peculiar custom. The operation is begun about a
+month after birth, by rubbing the child's head with grease and soot,
+and then putting on a small cap of braided pandanus fibre, which is
+very tight and allows the head to develop only in the direction of the
+crown. When the cap becomes too tight, it is cut off, and another,
+a little larger, put on, until the parents are satisfied with the
+shape of the child's head. These baby skulls have an extreme shape
+which is very ugly, and the whole process can hardly be agreeable to
+the patient; but the operation does not seem to have any prejudicial
+effect on the intellect, and in later years the shape of the head
+becomes somewhat less marked, although a man from the south of Malekula
+is always unmistakable.
+
+This region is remarkable, too, for its highly developed
+ancestor-worship. Although the general ideas on the subject are
+the same here as elsewhere in the archipelago, there is a special
+veneration here for the head or skull of deceased ancestors. The
+bones are generally used in making arrow-heads and lance-points,
+and the head, which is useless, is thrown away in most islands,
+or buried again; but in the south of Malekula, the heads are kept,
+and the face is reproduced in a plastic material of fibres, clay and
+sticky juice. The work is very cleverly done, and the face looks quite
+natural, with fine, slightly Semitic features. The surface is varnished
+and painted with patterns corresponding to the caste of the dead. Often
+the face has eyes made of bits of shell, the real hair is stuck on,
+and the plumes and nose-stick are not forgotten, so that the whole
+becomes an exact portrait of the deceased. Whether this head is to have
+a body or not is a question of caste. The higher the caste of the dead,
+the more completely is his body modelled. The heads of low castes are
+simply stuck on poles, higher ones have bodies of carved wood, often
+branches to indicate arms; but the bodies of the highest castes are
+composed of bamboo, fibres and straw, and modelled throughout in the
+same way as the head. They are covered with varnish, and every detail
+reproduced, including dress, ornaments and caste signs. In their right
+hands these statues carry a "bubu" or shell horn, and in their left,
+a pig's jaw. The shoulders are modelled in the shape of faces, and from
+these, occasionally, sticks protrude, bearing the heads of dead sons,
+so that such a statue often has three or four heads. These figures
+stand along the walls of the gamal, smiling with expressionless faces
+on their descendants round the fires, and are given sacrifices of food.
+
+Side by side with this ancestor-worship there goes a simpler
+skull-cult, by which a man carries about the head of a beloved son
+or wife, as a dear remembrance of the departed. Among a flourishing
+population it would naturally be impossible to obtain such objects,
+but here, where the people are rapidly decreasing in number, a statue
+often enough loses its descendants, whereupon others have no objection
+to sell it.
+
+The taste for plastic art shows in other things as well. I found
+several grotesque dancing-masks and sticks, made for some special
+dance. The feeling for caricature expressed in these articles is
+extraordinary and amusing even, from a European point of view. Here,
+too, the Semitic type appears, and the natives seem to delight in the
+hooked noses, thick lips and small chins. I gathered a rich harvest of
+these curios near the little island of Hambi; unfortunately Mr. Paton
+came to take me home before I had time to pack the objects carefully,
+and I had to leave them in charge of natives until the arrival of the
+steamer; when I found them again, after six months, they had suffered
+a good deal.
+
+Towards evening, while rounding the south-east corner of Malekula,
+our motor broke down, and we had neither oars nor sail. Fortunately
+the tide was in our favour, and we improvised a sail from a blanket, so
+that we drifted slowly along and reached the anchorage late at night.
+
+Mr. Paton then took me to Malo, where a Frenchman, Mr. I., was
+expecting me. On the east coast there was but little to be done,
+as the natives had nearly all disappeared; but I was able to pick
+up some skulls near a number of abandoned villages. I found very
+considerable architectural remains,--walls, mounds and altars, all
+of masonry; buildings of this importance are to be found nowhere else
+except in Aore and the Banks Islands, and it seems probable that the
+populations of these three districts are related.
+
+I had an interesting experience here. Mr. I. and his neighbour did
+not enjoy the best of reputations as regarded their treatment of
+natives. One day Mr. I. took me over to N.'s place. N. was just
+returning from a recruiting trip to Malekula. We saw him come
+ashore, staggering and moaning; on being questioned, he told us
+that he had been attacked by the natives, and his crew eaten up. He
+was in a frightful state, completely broken, weeping like a child,
+and cursing the savages, to whom, he said, he had never done any
+wrong. His grief was so real that I began to pity the man, and
+thought he had probably been paying the penalty for the misdeeds
+of another recruiter. Mr. I. was just as emphatic in cursing the
+bloodthirstiness of the natives, but while we were going home, he
+told me that Mr. N. had kidnapped thirty-four natives at that very
+place a year before, so that the behaviour of the others was quite
+comprehensible. From that moment I gave up trying to form an opinion
+on any occurrence of the kind without having carefully examined
+the accounts of both parties. One can hardly imagine how facts are
+distorted here, and what innocent airs people can put on who are really
+criminals. I have heard men deplore, in the most pathetic language,
+acts of cruelty to natives, who themselves had killed natives in cold
+blood for the sake of a few pounds. It requires long and intimate
+acquaintance with the people to see at all clearly in these matters,
+and for a Resident it is quite impossible not to be deceived unless
+he has been on the spot for a year at least.
+
+While waiting at Dip Point for an opportunity to cross to Pentecoste,
+I saw the volcano in full activity, and one day it rained ashes,
+so that the whole country was black as if strewn with soot, and the
+eruptions shook the house till the windows rattled. I made a second
+ascent of the mountain, but had such bad weather that I saw nothing
+at all. We came back, black as chimney-sweeps from the volcanic
+dust we had brushed off the bushes. I heard later that the extinct
+eastern crater had unexpectedly broken out again, and that several
+lava streams were flowing towards the coast.
+
+Pentecoste, a long, narrow island running north and south, resembles
+Maevo in shape. My host here was a missionary who seemed to connect
+Christianity with trousers and other details of civilization. It was
+sad to see how many quaint customs, harmless enough in themselves,
+were needlessly destroyed. The wearing of clothes constitutes a
+positive danger to health, as in this rainy climate the natives are
+almost constantly soaked, do not trouble to change their wet clothes,
+sleep all night in the same things and invariably catch cold. Another
+source of infection is their habit of exchanging clothes, thus
+spreading all sorts of diseases. That morals are not improved by
+the wearing of clothes is a fact; for they are rather better in the
+heathen communities than in the so-called Christian ones. It is to be
+hoped that the time is not far off when people will realize how very
+little these externals have to do with Christianity and morality; but
+there is reason to fear that it will then be too late to save the race.
+
+We undertook an excursion into the interior, to a district whose
+inhabitants had only recently been pacified by Mr. F., my host; the
+tribes we visited were very primitive, especially on the east coast,
+where there is little contact with whites. The people were still
+cannibals, and I had no difficulty in obtaining some remnants of a
+cannibal meal.
+
+We frequently tried to obtain information about the organization of
+the family among these natives, but, being dependent on biche la mar,
+we made small progress. My observations were supplemented later by
+the Rev. Mr. Drummond, for which I am very much indebted to him;
+some of these observations may be of interest.
+
+The population is divided into two clans--the Bule and the Tabi. The
+former is supposed to have originated from the tridacna shell, the
+latter from the taro. Every individual knows exactly to which clan
+he belongs, although there are no external signs. There is a strict
+rule forbidding marriage within the clan, and an offence against this
+law was formerly punished by death; to this day, even in Christian
+districts, marriage within the clan is extremely rare. No one can
+change his clan. Children do not belong to the clan of the father,
+but to that of the mother, and property cannot be alienated from the
+clan. The father has no rights over his children, and the head of the
+family is not the father, but the eldest brother of the mother, who
+educates the boys and helps them along in the Suque. Land belongs to
+the clan, which is like a large family, and indeed seems a stronger
+organization than the family itself; but the clans live together
+in the villages, and as such they form a whole with regard to the
+outside world. Quarrels between two clans are not so rare as those
+inside a clan, and the vendetta does not act inside the clan, whereas
+a murder outside the clan must be avenged. Uncles and aunts within
+the clan are called father and mother, and the cousins are called
+sister and brother.
+
+However, this exogamic system could not prevent inbreeding, as there
+was always the possibility that uncles and nieces might marry, so
+that a "horizontal" system was superimposed across this "vertical"
+one, forbidding all marriages between different generations. Thus,
+all marriages between near relations being impossible, the chances to
+marry at all are considerably diminished, so that nowadays, with the
+decreased population, a man very often cannot find a wife, even though
+surrounded by any number of girls. I do not mean to imply by this
+that the whole clan-system was organized simply to prevent inbreeding.
+
+As I have said before, young men, as a rule, either cannot marry,
+being too poor to buy a wife, or, at best, can only afford to pay
+for an old widow, a low-priced article. The young, pretty girls are
+generally bought by old men, who often buy them when children, paying
+half the price down, and waiting till the girl is of marriageable
+age. As soon as she is old enough, she has to work for her future
+husband, and is under the care of one of his wives. Later on, the
+husband pays the rest of the money, builds a house for the girl,
+and the marriage takes place without any ceremony beyond a dinner to
+the nearest relatives of the couple. In most islands the girl cannot
+object to a match otherwise than by running away from a disagreeable
+husband. Generally, when she has run away several times, and repeated
+beatings have not changed her mind, her parents pay back the money
+and the husband gives up his wife. What is valued highest in a woman
+is her capacity for work; but the young men have a marked taste for
+beauty, and there are girls that are courted by all the young fellows
+of the village, and who, although married to an old man, accept the
+addresses of a young one. The husband does not seem to mind much,
+provided the woman continues to work well for him.
+
+There is such a thing as love even here, and it has been known to
+grow so powerful as to lead, if unrequited, to suicide or to rapid
+pining away and to death.
+
+On the whole, the women are treated fairly well by their husbands,
+but for an occasional beating, which is often provoked by foolish
+behaviour; and they are taken care of, as they represent a great
+value. There are old ruffians, however, who take a perverse pleasure in
+torturing their wives, and these unhappy women are quite helpless, as
+they are entirely in the power of their husbands. Otherwise, the fate
+of the women is not as bad as many people think, and the severest rules
+have never yet prevented Eve from finding and taking her pleasure.
+
+During babyhood the children stay with their mothers; but from the
+age of four on the boys spend most of their time in the gamal, while
+the girls remain under their mother's care. Clothes are not worn by
+the boys till they have joined the Suque, which, in some cases, takes
+place long after puberty. The girls seem to begin to wear something
+whenever the mother thinks fit, generally between the ages of four and
+seven. From that moment every connection between brother and sister
+ceases; they may not speak to each other, not meet on the road, in
+some regions not even see each other, and to mention the sister's
+name before the brother is, if not an actual insult, certainly very
+tactless. Similar rules regulate the relations between parents-
+and children-in-law.
+
+The parents are very lenient to their children, and pass over every
+impertinence; they get small thanks for their kindness, and the boys,
+especially, often treat their mothers very badly. The natives' fondness
+for children makes them very good nurses, and it is a source of the
+greatest pride to a native boy to take care of a white child.
+
+The father's death is of little importance to the children, and not
+much to their mother, who, as a rule, goes over to her husband's oldest
+brother. If the mother dies, the children are adopted by a maternal
+aunt or some other woman of the clan. One reason why all this is of
+no great importance is the far-reaching communism which is a feature
+of native life, every one sleeping and eating wherever he pleases.
+
+Mr. F. took me up north, where I wished to study the population. I must
+not omit to mention that the population of Pentecoste is divided into
+two distinct types: the people in the south are like those of Ambrym,
+those in the north resemble the inhabitants of Aoba. This is evident
+not only in the dress, but also quite distinctly in the exterior of
+the people. Yet in spite of the close relations with Ambrym, the art
+of sculpture, so highly developed in the other island, is entirely
+lacking in the south of Pentecoste.
+
+In the north we find a dress similar to that of Aoba: the men do
+not wear the nambas, while the women have a small mat around the
+waist. The art of braiding is brought to great perfection here, and
+the mats from Pentecoste are surpassed only by those from Maevo. The
+material is pandanus, whose leaves are split into narrow strips,
+bleached and then braided. Some of the mats are dyed with the root of
+a plant, by boiling in a dyeing vat of bark. Besides the small mats,
+chiefly used for the women's dress, there are larger ones which serve
+as money and represent a great amount. They are as much as 1 metre
+wide and 4 long, and are always dyed. The manufacture of these mats is
+very laborious, and only high-caste men with many wives can afford to
+have them made. The patterns for dyeing are cut out of banana-sheath,
+which is then tied tightly on the mat, and the whole rolled round a
+thick stick. The dyeing takes almost an entire day. These mats are
+used, for example, to buy the valuable tusked pigs.
+
+The only form of wood-carving in this region are clubs, and those made
+here are the most elegant of the whole group, and so much in demand in
+all the islands that they are quite largely exported. At present they
+are mostly used as ceremonial clubs at dances. All those of modern
+make are inferior to the old ones in regard to hardness, elegance of
+shape, polish and strength. Here, in Pentecoste, I found the first
+basket-plates I had ever seen. They are frequent farther north, in
+the Banks Islands, but do not exist in the south. These plates had
+no centre, and had to be lined with leaves to make them serviceable,
+being mere rings. They are used to carry cooked food about. In the
+Banks Islands the natives have learned to braid the centre too.
+
+Up in these northern mountains I spent a most unpleasant week in wet,
+cold weather, in a wretched house; but I had the satisfaction of
+finding two boys to take the place of Lingban, who had, by this time,
+become semi-idiotic with home-sickness.
+
+I returned to the coast and waited for an opportunity to cross to Aoba,
+but the weather was so bad that even Mr. G., an old sea-dog, would not
+risk the voyage; so we tried to get to Ambrym instead, where I could
+meet the steamer for Aoba. We waited for a calm day, and started out
+in the tiny whale-boat. Soon we were caught by one after another of
+the ill-famed Pentecoste squalls, and though my skipper was known
+as one of the best sailors in the islands, one squall struck us so
+suddenly that the boat heeled over, and only a very quick turn of
+the wheel saved us from capsizing. The escape was such a narrow one
+that even Mr. G. turned pale, and decided to go back, especially as
+the boys sat on deck, quite useless, green with fear and incapable
+of helping us in any way.
+
+It took us a long time to beat back, and we were all glad to feel
+solid ground under our feet once more. After a few days we started
+again, but luck was against me on this occasion, and inside of twelve
+hours I missed the steamer no less than three times, which, in the
+New Hebrides, implies a delay of four weeks.
+
+So, in a heavy whale-boat, I rowed along the coast toward Olal with
+some natives. A dull rain drenched us, followed by glaring sunshine
+that stewed us in heavy dampness. Like the ruins of a giant wall, black
+lava blocks lay here and there along the coast. The surf foamed white
+in the crevasses, and the forest rose, sallow and greenish-yellow,
+above the high bank. Here and there naked natives squatted on the
+rocks, motionless, or looking lazily for crabs; among the huge boulders
+they looked tiny, and their colouring scarcely distinguished them
+from their surroundings; so that they seemed rather like animals, or
+the shyest of cave-dwellers. Floating slowly on the grey sea, in the
+sad broken light, I thought I had never seen a more inhospitable coast.
+
+Owing to the heavy swell, we had difficulty in passing through the
+narrow channel inside the reef. The great rollers pounded against
+the coral banks, and poured back in a thousand white streamlets,
+like a wonderful cascade, to be swallowed by the next wave.
+
+I found my friend, Mr. D., in a sad state with fever, cold and
+loneliness; wrapped up in woollen caps, blankets and heavy clothes, he
+looked more like an Arctic explorer than a dweller near the Equator. He
+spoke of leaving the islands, and, indeed, did so some months later.
+
+On my way to Aoba I had to spend a few days off Pentecoste, in such
+rainy weather that I went ashore but once in all that time. The day was
+fine, and I shall never forget the beauty of that woodland scene. A
+lovely creek winds through reeds, reflecting the bright sand and the
+bushes on its banks. Dark iron-woods rise in stiff, broken lines,
+and their greyish needles quiver like a light plume against the blue
+sky, where white clouds float serenely. Inland the forest swells in
+a green wall, and farther off it lies in rounded cupolas and domes
+of soft green, fading into a light around the distant hills. Under
+overhanging branches I lie, sheltered from the sun; at my feet the
+ripples caress the bank; delicate lianas hang from the branches
+and trail lazily in the water. Swallows dart across the stream,
+and sometimes the low call of a wood-dove sounds from far away. A
+cricket shrieks, and stops suddenly, as if shocked at the discordant
+sound of its own voice. Far off in the hills I can hear the rushing
+of the wind, like a deep chord that unites in a sacred symphony with
+the golden sun and the glittering water to voice the infinite joy of
+living that penetrates all creation to-day.
+
+Down-stream I can see the heavy coast banks, with a narrow strip of
+brilliant blue sea shining above them, and now and then a glint of
+snowy foam. Two pandanuses frame the view, their long leaves waving
+softly in the breeze that comes floating down the valley. Half asleep,
+I know the delights of the lotus-eaters' blessed isle.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+AOBA
+
+
+Next day I landed in Aoba, at "Albert's." He was an American negro,
+who, after having been a stoker and sailor, had settled here as a
+coprah trader. His language was of the strangest, a mixture of biche la
+mar, negro French and English, and was very hard to understand. With
+the help of two native women he kept his house in good order, and
+he was decidedly one of the most decent colonists of the group,
+and tried to behave like a gentleman, which is more than can be said
+of some whites. He seemed to confirm the theory that the African is
+superior to the Melanesian. Albert sheltered me to the best of his
+ability, although I had to sleep in the open, under a straw roof,
+and his bill of fare included items which neither my teeth nor my
+stomach could manage, such as an octopus. There were several other
+negroes in Aoba; one was Marmaduke, an enormous Senegalese, who had
+grown somewhat simple, and lived like the natives, joining the Suque
+and dancing at their festivals. He occasionally came to dinner at
+Albert's; this was always amusing, as Albert thought himself far
+superior to Marmaduke, and corrected his mistakes with still more
+comical impossibilities. Both were most polite and perfectly sober. The
+talk, as a rule, turned on stories of ghosts, in which both of them
+firmly believed, and by which both were much troubled. Marmaduke was
+strangled every few nights by old women, while a goblin had sat on
+Albert's chest every night until he had cleared the bush round his
+house and emptied his Winchester three times into the darkness. This
+had driven the ghosts away,--a pretty case of auto-suggestion. I
+was interested in hearing these stories, though I should hardly have
+thought a sensible man like Albert could have believed such things.
+
+The people of Aoba are quite different from those of the other
+islands,--light-coloured, often straight-haired, with Mongolian
+features; they are quite good-looking, intelligent, and their habits
+show many Polynesian traits. The Suque is not all-important here:
+it scarcely has the character of a secret society, and the separation
+of the sexes is not insisted on. Men and women live together, and the
+fires do not appear to be separated. As a result, there is real family
+life, owing in part to the fact that meals are eaten in common. The
+gamal is replaced by a cooking-house, which is open to the women;
+generally it is nothing but a great gabled roof, reaching to the
+ground on one side and open on the others. Here the families live
+during the day, and the young men and guests sleep at night, while
+the married couples sleep in their huts, which are grouped around
+the cooking-house.
+
+The position of the women, so much better here than elsewhere, is
+not without effect on their behaviour. They are independent and
+self-possessed, and do not run away from a stranger nor hide in
+dark corners when a white man wants to speak to them. Because of
+their intelligence they are liked on plantations as house-servants,
+and so many of them have gone away for this purpose that Aoba has
+been considerably depopulated in consequence; few of these women ever
+return, and those who do are usually sick. Some Aoba women have made
+very good wives for white men.
+
+The people of Aoba are remarkable for their cleanliness, the dwellers
+on the coast spending half the day in the water, while those from the
+mountains never miss their weekly bath, after which they generally
+carry a few cocoa-nuts full of salt water up to their homes. The
+women are very pretty, slim and strong; their faces often have quite a
+refined outline, a pointed chin, a small mouth and full but well-cut
+lips; their eyes are beautiful, with a soft and sensual expression;
+and the rhythm of their movements, their light and supple walk,
+give them a charm hardly ever to be found in Europe. The men, too,
+are good to look at. Considering the intelligence and thriftiness of
+the race, it is doubly regrettable that alcoholism, recruiting and
+consumption have had such evil effects of recent years.
+
+I roamed about in the neighbourhood of Nabutriki and attended several
+festivals; they are much the same as elsewhere, except that the
+pigs are not killed by braining, but by trampling on their stomachs,
+which apparently causes rupture of the heart and speedy death.
+
+As I mentioned elsewhere, a man's rise in caste is marked on every
+occasion by the receipt of new fire, rubbed on a special stick
+ornamented with flowers. Fire is lighted here, as in all Melanesia,
+by "ploughing," a small stick being rubbed lengthwise in a larger
+one. If the wood is not damp, it will burn in less than two minutes:
+it is not necessary, as is often stated, to use two different kinds
+of wood. To-day matches are used nearly everywhere, and the natives
+hardly ever "plough" their fire, except for ceremonial purposes;
+but they are still very clever about keeping the fire burning, and
+often take along a smouldering log on their walks.
+
+Wood-carving and sculpture are wanting, except in the shape of drums,
+which are placed in a horizontal position, and often reach considerable
+dimensions.
+
+Not far from Albert's lived a man of the highest caste, my friend
+Agelan. He was planning to kill one hundred tusked pigs in the near
+future, which would raise him to the highest caste far and wide,
+but would also impoverish him for the rest of his life. He lived
+quietly and comfortably, like a country squire, surrounded by his
+relatives and descendants. He seemed fond of good living, and his wife
+was an excellent housekeeper. In the midst of a somewhat colourless
+Christian population, wearing trousers and slovenly dresses, using
+enamel pots and petrol-lamps, Agelan and his household were a genuine
+relic of the good old times, and no one could have pretended that
+his home was less pleasant than those around him. These things are
+largely a matter of taste; and those who prefer grotesque attire to
+beautiful nakedness will be happy to know that their wishes will soon
+be fulfilled. I liked the old heathen, and spent a good deal of time
+with him. A sketch of his home life may not come amiss, just because
+these primitive ways are dying out so fast.
+
+As I near the house, some dogs rush out at me, and a woman's voice
+calls them back; Agelan roars a welcome--he always shouts, and likes to
+put on masterful airs; for in years gone by he was a very unpleasant
+customer, until the man-of-war--but that is all ancient history, and
+now his bark is much worse than his bite. I have the honour of being
+in his good books, thanks to certain medical services I was able to
+render him; he has an ugly cough, for which we have tried in turn:
+iodine, Peruvian balsam, eucalyptus oil, quinine, and other medicines;
+nothing helps, but he seems to enjoy swallowing the drugs.
+
+The floor of the house is hard clay; there are two fireplaces at one
+end, and at the other some large drums serve as seats. Everywhere
+in the roofing hang bows, arrows, bones, plummets, ropes, and
+clubs. Agelan has been toasting himself at a little fire of his
+own; now he rises, coughing, and shakes hands. He is a very tall,
+strongly-made man of about sixty, with a high forehead, long,
+hooked nose, wide mouth, thin lips and white beard. His dress is the
+old-fashioned loin-mat, and around his wrists he wears heavy strands
+of shell money. His wife, too, is very tall and strong, with quiet,
+dignified movements; she may be forty years old. Everything about
+her is calm and determined; while not handsome, she has such a kind
+expression as to look very pleasant. She wears a small loin-cloth, and
+her light coffee-coloured skin is scrupulously clean. Around her neck
+and over her left shoulder she wears a string of shells, and around
+her ankles, small red beads. Near her squats her little daughter,
+a pretty child of six; an adopted daughter plays near the fire with
+a small, thick-bellied orphan boy, who is always crying. The girls,
+too, wear little ornaments; and their dainty movements, curly heads,
+round faces and great dark eyes are very attractive.
+
+The midday meal is steaming under a heap of leaves and dust, and a man
+is busily scraping cocoa-nuts for the delicious cocoa-nut milk. Agelan
+sends one of the girls for an unripe nut, which is opened in three
+deft cuts, and I am offered the refreshing drink as a welcome. Now
+Agelan, who has been brooding for days over these matters, questions
+me as to my origin and plans, and he roars himself nearly hoarse,
+for we cannot understand each other. The other man, a fugitive from
+the east coast, is asked to interpret, but he is sulky and awkward;
+not that he is a bad sort, but he is sick, and spends most of his time
+asleep in a shed he has built for himself in a corner of the house,
+and only appears at meals.
+
+The youngest son comes in, the last left to Agelan, for the older
+ones have all joined the mission,--it is the fashion. This boy is a
+quiet, cheerful lad of twelve, already a high caste, for his father
+has killed many pigs for him. He has shot a miserable pigeon, and
+his mother and the girls laugh at the poor booty, much to his chagrin.
+
+Agelan now takes me to "view" a particularly fine tusked pig, tied
+under a roof, on a clean couch of straw; the boy shows it bits of
+cocoa-nut to make it open its mouth, so that I can see and admire its
+tusks. Agelan would like nothing better than to show off all his pigs,
+and if I were a native I would pass them in review as we Europeans
+visit picture-galleries; but I refuse as politely as I can. We
+return to the cook-house, where the cocoa-nut rasping is finished;
+the man washes his hands in the water of a nut, splitting it open and
+squeezing the water in a little spray on to his hands. Mrs. Agelan
+knows a simpler way; she fills her mouth with water and squirts it on
+her hands. The cocoa-nut gratings are kneaded with a little water,
+while the girls sweep the earth off the cooking-place and uncover
+the stones; an appetizing smell spreads, and the master of the house
+watches the preparations with a sharp eye and a silent tongue. One
+feels that the least carelessness will provoke an outburst, and,
+indeed, a solemn silence has fallen on the company, only the wife
+smiles quietly.
+
+"Lap-lap banana good!" Agelan roars in my ear, and I nod assent. Now
+the hot stones are removed with bamboo tongs, and the great flat
+object, wrapped in banana leaves, is taken out. Mrs. Agelan throws back
+the leaves and uncovers the beautifully cooked golden lap-lap. Her
+lord looks at it critically, and returns to his corner silent, but
+evidently satisfied. His wife cannot quite hide a smile of pride.
+
+The stranger now squeezes the cocoa-nut gratings over a wooden bowl,
+and a creamy juice runs through his fingers. The bowl is brought to
+Agelan, who looks at it as if reading an oracle; then he selects a
+hot stone from his own fire, and sends the bowl back to be embedded
+in the gratings. He approaches with his stone in a wooden fork,
+and squats down near the bowl lost in thought, as if anxious not to
+miss the right moment; then he drops the stone into the milk, which
+hisses, bubbles and steams. A fine smell of burnt fat is noticeable;
+and while the liquid thickens, Agelan behaves as if he could perform
+miracles and was in league with supernatural powers. After a while
+his wife hands him the bowl, and he holds it over the pudding,
+undecided how and where to pour the milk; one would think the fate
+and welfare of creation depended on his action. Being a man of energy,
+he makes up his mind, and pours one stream right across the pudding,
+then empties his bowl and retires with a sigh to his seat. About ten
+more bowlfuls are needed, but these are poured by Mrs. Agelan without
+further ceremony. The solemn hush is over. With a long bush-knife,
+Mama cuts the pudding into strips and squares and distributes it,
+and the meal proceeds amid general satisfaction. I am given a large
+slab; fortunately it tastes very good and is easily digestible,
+for politeness ordains that one must eat enormous quantities. At
+one stage of the proceedings the girls are sent to take some food to
+the neighbours as a present. When everyone has finished, Agelan lies
+down for a siesta, while his wife lights a pipe and squats in silent
+happiness near the fire. The girls play with the dirty little boy,
+and the son plucks his tiny pigeon and a flying-fox; singeing the
+creature's fur off occasions such an evil smell that I prefer to take
+my leave. Mrs. Agelan smiles her farewell, the girls giggle, and when
+I have gone some distance I hear Agelan, awakened from his siesta,
+roar a sleepy good-bye after me.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+LOLOWAY--MALO--THE BANKS ISLANDS
+
+
+Having traversed the western part of the island, I sailed to
+Loloway, near the eastern point, one of the loveliest spots in the
+archipelago. Lofty cliffs flank two sides of a round bay; at the
+entrance a barrier-reef breaks the swell, which glides in a soft
+undulation over the quiet water, splashing up on the sandy beach. All
+around is the forest, hanging in shadowy bowers over the water,
+and hardly a breeze is astir. The white whale-boat of the Anglican
+missionary floats motionless on the green mirror; sometimes a fish
+leaps up, or a pigeon calls from the woods. In the curve of the
+bay the shore rises in two terraces; on the lower lies the Anglican
+missionary's house, just opposite the entrance. In the evening the sun
+sets between the cliffs, and pours a stream of the purest gold through
+the narrow gap. It is a pity this fairy spot is so rarely inhabited;
+Melanesian missionaries are not often at home, being constantly on
+the road, or at work in the native villages. Mr. G., too, was on the
+point of departure, and agreed to take me with him on his trip.
+
+In his alarmingly leaky boat we sailed westward, two boys baling all
+the time. We ran into a small anchorage, pulled the boat ashore, and
+marched off inland. The people I found here were similar to those in
+the west, except that they had developed certain arts to a greater
+degree of perfection, particularly mat-braiding and tattooing. The
+braiding is done by a method very similar to that in vogue on
+Pentecoste. The tattooing is mostly done by women and on women;
+but the men, especially the high castes, often have a beautifully
+designed sicca leaf running from the chest towards one shoulder,
+which probably has some religious significance. The women often have
+their whole body, arms and legs, covered with tattooing, as if with
+fine lace. The operation is done bit by bit, some one part being
+treated every few days. The colour used is the rosin of a nut-tree
+precipitated on a cool stone and mixed with the juice of a plant;
+the pattern is drawn on the skin with a stick, and then traced with
+the tattooing-needle. This consists of three orange thorns, tied
+at right angles to a stick. The needles are guided along the design
+with the left hand, while the right keeps striking the handle softly
+with a light stick, to drive the needles into the skin. This is kept
+up until a distinct outline is produced; the operation is not very
+painful. The skin is then washed and rubbed with a certain juice,
+which evidently acts as a disinfectant; at least I never saw any
+inflammation consequent on tattooing. During the next few days some
+of the dye works out and falls off with the dry crust that forms on
+the wound, leaving the tattooing a little paler. The patterns are
+rather complicated, and at the present day there are no recognizable
+representations of real objects; yet there seems no doubt that at one
+time all the designs represented some real thing. They are carefully
+adapted to the body, and accentuate its structure. The women who do
+the tattooing are well paid, so that only the wealthy can afford to
+have their wives and daughters tattooed all over; and naturally a
+tattooed woman brings a higher price in the matrimonial market than a
+"plain" one.
+
+In this same place I had occasion to observe an interesting zoological
+phenomenon, the appearance of the palolo-worm, which occurs almost all
+over the Pacific once a year, at a certain date after the October full
+moon. The natives know the date exactly, which proves the accuracy
+of their chronology. The palolo is a favourite delicacy, and they
+never fail to fish for it. We went down to the shore on the first
+night; there were not many worms as yet, but the next evening the
+water was full of the greenish and brownish threads, wriggling about
+helplessly. Each village had its traditional fishing-ground, and we
+could see the different fires all along the coast. The worms were
+gathered by hand and thrown into baskets, and after midnight we went
+home with a rich harvest. The palolo is mixed with pudding, and said
+to taste like fish; I am not in a position to pronounce an opinion.
+
+I returned to Nabutriki, and thence to Malo, where Mr. W. informed me
+that the Burns-Philp steamer had already passed, and asked me to stay
+with him and his kind family until I should find an opportunity to
+cross. I accepted all the more gladly, as this part of Malo was still
+quite unknown to me. The population I found here is probably identical
+with that which formerly inhabited the south shore of Santo. This
+was interesting to me because of certain scientific details, though
+on the whole the life was much the same as elsewhere in Melanesia,
+with the Suque, etc. I collected a number of charms and amulets,
+which the people sold willingly, as they no longer believed in their
+power. Formerly, they were supposed to be useful for poisoning,
+as love-charms, or for help in collecting many tusked pigs.
+
+I also visited the neighbouring islands, and heard the gruesome story
+of how the last village on Aore disappeared. The Aore people were for
+ever at war with those of South Santo, across the Segond Channel. The
+men of Aore were about sixty strong, and one day they attacked a
+Santo village. Everyone fled except one man, who was helpless from
+disease. He was killed and eaten up, and in consequence of this meal
+thirty out of the sixty men from Aore died. The others dispersed among
+the villages of Malo. In Aore, I had the rare sensation of witnessing
+an earthquake below the surface. I was exploring a deep cave in the
+coral banks when I heard the well-known rumbling, felt the shock, and
+heard some great stalactites fall from the ceiling. This accumulation
+of effects seemed then to me a little theatrical and exaggerated.
+
+The next steamer took me to the Banks Islands, and I went ashore at
+Port Patterson on Venua Lava. Here were the headquarters of a rubber
+planting company; but the rubber trees had not grown well, and the
+company had started cocoa-nuts. I had met Mr. Ch., the director,
+before, and he took me in. The company owned a motor-launch,
+which cruised all through the Banks Islands, visiting the different
+plantations; this gave me a good opportunity to see nearly all the
+islands. The sea is much more dangerous here than in the New Hebrides,
+being open everywhere; and the strong currents cause heavy tide rips
+at the points of the jagged coasts.
+
+An excursion to Gaua was a failure, owing to bad weather. After
+having shivered in a wet hut for four days, we returned to Port
+Patterson only just in time; for in the evening the barometer fell,
+a bad sign at that season, and the wind set in afresh. The launch was
+anchored in a sheltered corner of the bay, near an old yacht and a
+schooner belonging to Mr. W., a planter on a neighbouring islet. All
+the signs pointed to a coming cyclone, and suddenly it shot from the
+mountains, furrowed the sea, and ruled supreme for two days. From
+the director's house I watched the whirling squalls gliding over
+the water, lifting great lumps of spray, that shot like snow over
+the surface and disappeared in the misty distance. Rain rattled in
+showers on the roof; everywhere was a hissing, rushing, thundering;
+the surf broke in violent, irregular shocks like the trampling of an
+excited horse; the wind roared in the forest till the strongest trees
+trembled and the palms bent over with inverted crowns. In a moment
+the creeks swelled to torrents, and in every gully there ran rivers,
+which collected to a deep lake in the plain. In the house the rain
+penetrated everywhere, leaked through the roof, dripped on the beds,
+and made puddles on the floor.
+
+Meanwhile the captain and engineer of the launch had passed an
+unpleasant time; they had stayed aboard till the rolling of the boat
+drove them to the larger yacht; but seeing the schooner break her
+two chains and drift on to the reef, they became frightened and went
+ashore in the dinghey, and home along the beach. Later they arrived
+at the station and reported "all well," and were amazed when I told
+them that the launch had stranded. I had just been looking from the
+veranda through the glass at the boats, when a huge wave picked up
+the launch and threw her on the beach. There she had rolled about a
+little, and then dug herself into the sand, while the tide fell and
+the wind changed. Next day the cyclone had passed, but the swell
+was still very heavy. Equipped with everything necessary to float
+the launch, we marched along the beach, which was beaten hard by the
+waves. We had to cross a swollen river on an improvised raft; to our
+satisfaction we found the boat quite unhurt, not even the cargo being
+damaged; only a few copper plates were torn. Next day Mr. W. arrived,
+lamenting his loss; for his beautiful schooner was pierced in the
+middle by a sharp rock, and she hung, shaken by the waves that
+broke over her decks and gurgled in the hold. The rigging was torn,
+the cabin washed away, and the shore strewn with her doors, planks,
+beams and trade goods. It was a pitiful sight to see the handsome
+ship bending over like a fallen warrior, while the company's old
+yacht had weathered the cyclone quite safely.
+
+During the work of refloating the boat, Mr. Ch. was taken very ill
+with fever, and I nursed him for some days; he was somewhat better by
+Christmas Eve, and we had the satisfaction of bringing the saved launch
+back to the station. He was visibly relieved, and his good humour was
+agreeably felt by his boys as well as by his employes, to whom he sent
+a goodly quantity of liquor to celebrate the occasion. We sat down to
+a festive dinner and tried to realize that this was Christmas; but it
+was so different from Christmas at home, that it was rather hard. At
+our feet lay the wide bay, turquoise blue, edged with white surf;
+in the distance rose the wonderful silhouette of Mota Lava Island;
+white clouds travelled across the sky, and a gentle breeze rustled
+in the palms of the forest. The peaceful picture showed no trace of
+the fury with which the elements had fought so few days ago.
+
+Tired with his exertions, Mr. Ch. withdrew early, and I soon followed;
+but we were both aroused by the barking of the dogs, followed by the
+pad of bare feet on the veranda, whispering and coughing, and then by
+a song from rough and untrained throats. The singers were natives of
+a Christian village some miles away, who came to sing Christmas hymns
+in a strange, rough language, discordant and yet impressive. When
+they had finished the director went out to them; he was a man whom one
+would not have believed capable of any feeling, but he had tears in his
+eyes; words failed him, and he thanked the singers by gestures. We all
+went down to the store, where they sang to the employes, and received
+presents; after which they spent the rest of the night with the hands,
+singing, eating and chatting. On Christmas Day the natives roasted
+a fat pig, the employes spent the day over their bottles, and I was
+nurse once more, my patient being delirious and suffering very much.
+
+Before New Year's Day the launch was sent to all the different
+stations to fetch the employes, an interesting crowd of more or less
+ruined individuals. There was a former gendarme from New Caledonia, a
+cavalry captain, an officer who had been in the Boer war, an ex-priest,
+a clerk, a banker and a cowboy, all very pleasant people as long as
+they were sober; but the arrival of each was celebrated with several
+bottles, which the director handed out without any demur, although the
+amount was prodigious. Quarrels ensued; but by New Year's Eve peace was
+restored, and we all decorated the director's house with wreaths for
+the banquet of the evening. The feast began well, but towards midnight
+a general fight was going on, which came to an end by the combatants
+falling asleep one by one. Thus the new year was begun miserably,
+and the next few days were just as bad. The natives looked on at the
+fights with round-eyed astonishment; and the director was in despair,
+for a second cyclone was threatening, and there was hardly anyone in
+a fit condition to help him secure the launch.
+
+All one morning it rained, and at noon the cyclone broke, coming from
+the south-west, as it had done the first time, but with threefold
+violence. We sat on the veranda, ready to jump off at any moment,
+in case the house should be blown away. The view was wiped out by
+the mist; dull crashes resounded in the forest, branches cracked and
+flew whirling through the air, all isolated trees were broken off
+short, and the lianas tangled and torn. The blasts grew ever more
+violent and frequent, and if the house had not been protected by the
+mountain, it could never have resisted them. As it was, it shook and
+creaked, and a little iron shed went rolling along the ground like
+a die. Down in the plain the storm tore the leaves off the palms,
+and uprooted trees and blew down houses. The cyclone reached its
+climax at sunset, then the barometer rose steadily, and suddenly
+both wind and rain ceased. The stillness lasted for about half an
+hour and then the storm set in again, this time from the north,
+striking the house with all its strength; fortunately it was not so
+violent as at first. With the rising barometer the storm decreased and
+changed its direction to the east. All next day it rained and blew;
+but on the third morning the storm died out in a faint breeze from
+the south-east, and when we came to reckon up our damages, we found
+that it might have been worse. Meanwhile the employes had had time
+to recover from their orgy. A brilliant day dried the damp house,
+and soon everything resumed a normal aspect except the forest, which
+looked brown and ragged, like autumn woods at home.
+
+I made use of the first calm day to visit the lonely little islet of
+Meralava. As it has no anchorage, no one can land there except in
+quiet weather, and so it had come about that the company's employe
+had had no communication with the outside world for four months. The
+island is an extinct volcano, a regular cone, with the crater as a deep
+cavity in the top. There is hardly a level square metre on the whole
+island, and the shores rise steeply out of the sea; only a few huge
+lava blocks form a base, on which the swell breaks and foams. When
+we reached the island, this swell was so heavy as to render landing
+almost impossible. All we could do was to take the employe aboard and
+return home. I was very sorry to have to give up my visit to Meralava,
+as the natives, though all christianized, have preserved more of
+their old ways than those of other islands, owing to their infrequent
+intercourse with civilization. For the same reason, the population is
+quite large; but every time a ship has landed an epidemic goes through
+the island, the germs of which appear to be brought by the vessels,
+and the natives evidently have very small powers of resistance. We
+may here observe on a small scale what has taken place all over the
+archipelago in the degeneration and decimation of the aborigines.
+
+The people of Meralava live on taro, which they grow in terraced
+fields, the water being obtained from holes in the rocks, and on
+cocoa-nuts, of which the island yields a fair supply.
+
+The following day we started for Ureparapara, also a volcanic island,
+with an enormous crater, one side of which has fallen in; because,
+as the natives say, a great fish knocked against it. The sea has
+penetrated into the interior of the crater, forming a lovely bay, so
+that ships now lie at anchor where formerly the lava boiled and roared.
+
+In consequence of the frequent intercourse with whites, the population
+is scanty. There is hardly a level patch, except the small strip at
+the base of the slope and the great reef outside. Here, too, we had
+difficulty in landing, but in the evening we found an ideal anchorage
+inside the bay. The water was scarcely ruffled, and little wavelets
+splashed on the shore, where mangrove thickets spread their bright
+foliage. Huge trees bent over the water, protecting the straw roofs
+of a little village. In the deep shade some natives were squatting
+round fires, and close by some large outrigger-canoes lay on the
+beach. On three sides the steep wooded slopes of the former crater's
+walls rise up to a sharply dented ridge, and it all looks like a
+quiet Alpine lake, so that one involuntarily listens for the sound
+of cow-bells. Instead, there is the call of pigeons, and the dull
+thunder of the breakers outside.
+
+We took a holiday in this charming bay; and though the joys of
+picnicking were not new to us, the roasting of some pigeons gave us a
+festive sensation and a hearty appetite. The night under the bright,
+starlit sky, on board the softly rocking launch, wrapped me in a
+feeling of safety and coziness I had not enjoyed for a long time.
+
+Along the steepest path imaginable I climbed next morning to the
+mountain's edge. The path often led along smooth rocks, where lianas
+served as ropes and roots as a foothold; and I was greatly surprised
+to find many fields on top, to which the women have to climb every
+day and carry the food down afterwards, which implies acrobatic feats
+of no mean order.
+
+Ureparapara was the northernmost point I had reached so far, and
+the neighbourhood of the art-loving Solomon Islands already made
+itself felt. Whereas in the New Hebrides every form of art, except
+mat-braiding, is at once primitive and decadent, here any number
+of pretty things are made, such as daintily designed ear-sticks,
+bracelets, necklaces, etc.; I also found a new type of drum, a regular
+skin-drum, with the skin stretched across one end, while the other
+is stuck into the ground. The skin is made of banana leaves. These
+and other points mark the difference between this people and that of
+the New Hebrides. As elsewhere all over the Banks group, the people
+have long faces, high foreheads, narrow, often hooked, noses, and
+a light skin. Accordingly, it would seem that they are on a higher
+mental plane than those of the New Hebrides, and cannibalism is said
+never to have existed here.
+
+My collections were not greatly enriched, as a British man-of-war had
+anchored here for a few days a short time before; and anyone who knows
+the blue-jackets' rage for collecting will understand that they are
+quite capable of stripping a small island of its treasures. A great
+deal of scientifically valuable material is lost in this way, though
+fortunately these collectors go in for size chiefly, leaving small
+objects behind, so that I was able to procure several valuable pieces.
+
+After our return to Port Patterson the launch took me to a plantation
+from which I ascended the volcano of Venua Lava. Its activity shows
+principally in sulphur springs, and there are large sulphur deposits,
+which were worked fifteen years ago by a French company. A large amount
+of capital had been collected for the purpose, and for a few weeks
+or months the sulphur was carried down to the shore by natives and
+exported. Then it was found that the deposits were not inexhaustible,
+that the employes were not over-conscientious, that the consumption
+of alcohol was enormous, and finally the whole affair was given up,
+after large quantities of machinery had been brought out, which I saw
+rusting away near the shore. In this way numerous enterprises have
+been started and abandoned of late years, especially in Noumea. It
+is probably due to this mining scheme that the natives here have
+practically disappeared; I found one man who had once carried sulphur
+from the mine, and he was willing to guide me up the volcano.
+
+There are always clouds hanging round the top of the mountain, and the
+forest is swampy; but on the old road we advanced quite rapidly, and
+soon found ourselves on the edge of a plateau, from which two streams
+fell down in grand cascades, close together, their silver ribbons
+gleaming brightly in the dark woods. One river was milk-white with
+sulphur precipitate, the other had red water, probably owing to iron
+deposits. The water was warm, and grew still warmer the farther up we
+followed the river. Suddenly we came upon a bare slope, over certain
+spots of which steam-clouds hung, while penetrating fumes irritated
+one's eyes and nose. We had come to the lower margin of the sulphur
+springs, and the path led directly across the sulphur rocks. Mounting
+higher, we heard the hissing of steam more distinctly, and soon we
+were in the midst of numerous hillocks with bright yellow tops, and
+steam hissing and whistling as it shot out of cracks, to condense in
+the air into a white cloud. The whole ground seemed furrowed with
+channels and crevasses, beneath which one heard mysterious noises;
+one's step sounded hollow, and at our side ran a dark stream, which
+carried the hot sulphur water to the shore. Great boulders lay about,
+some of them so balanced that a slight touch sent them rolling into the
+depths, where they broke into atoms. Sometimes we were surrounded by a
+thick cloud, until a breeze carried it away, and we had a clear view
+over the hot, dark desert, up to the mountain-top. It was uncanny in
+the midst of those viciously hissing hillocks, and I could not blame my
+boys for turning green with fear and wishing to go home. But we went on
+to a place where water boiled in black pools, sometimes quietly, then
+with a sudden high jump; some of the water was black, some yellowish,
+and everything around was covered with sulphur as if with hoar-frost.
+
+We followed the course of a creek whose water was so hot as to scald
+our feet, and the heat became most oppressive. We were glad to reach
+the crater, though it was a gloomy and colourless desert, in the
+midst of which a large grey pool boiled and bubbled. In front was a
+deep crevice in the crater wall, and a cloud of steam hid whatever
+was in it; yet we felt as though something frightful must be going
+on there. Above this gloomy scene stretched a sky of serenest blue,
+and we had a glimpse of the coast, with its little islands bathing
+in the sapphire sea.
+
+Next day we left for Gaua. Unhappily the captain met friends, and
+celebrated with them to such an extent that he was no longer to be
+relied on, which was all the more unpleasant as the weather was of
+the dirtiest, and the barometer presaged another cyclone. After two
+days it cleared up a little; I went ashore at the west point of Gaua,
+where the launch was to pick me up again two days later, as I meant to
+visit the interior while the others went to buy coprah. Even now the
+wind and the swell from the north-west were increasing suspiciously,
+and after I had spent a rainy night in a village off the shore, I
+saw the launch race eastward along the coast, evidently trying to
+make a safe anchorage, with the storm blowing violent squalls and
+the sea very high.
+
+On my way inland I still found the paths obstructed by fallen trees
+from the last cyclone, while nearly all the cocoa-nut palms had lost
+their nuts. And again the storm raged in the forest, and the rain
+fell in torrents.
+
+I was anxious to buy statues of tree-fern wood; they are frequently
+to be seen here, standing along a terrace or wall near the gamal, and
+seem not so much images of ancestors, as signs of rank and wealth. The
+caste may be recognized by the number of pigs' jaws carved on the
+statues. Often the artist first makes a drawing of the statue in
+red, white and black paint on a board; and these same designs are
+used as patterns for tattooing, as well as on ear-sticks and other
+objects. Female statues are common, which is an unusual thing.
+
+I obtained a good number of skulls, which were thrown into the roots
+of a fig tree, where I was allowed to pick them up as I pleased.
+
+The Suque is supposed to have originated here; and here certainly it
+has produced its greatest monuments, large altar-like walls, dams and
+ramparts. The gamals, too, are always on a foundation of masonry,
+and on either side there are high pedestals on which the pigs are
+sacrificed. Among the stones used for building we often find great
+boulders hollowed out to the shape of a bowl. No one knows anything
+about these stones or their purpose; possibly they are relics of an
+earlier population that has entirely disappeared.
+
+When I returned from my excursion I looked down on a wild foam-flecked
+sea, over which the storm was raging as it did during the previous
+cyclones. I realized that I should have to stay here for some time,
+and ate my last provisions somewhat pensively. I only hoped that
+the launch had found an anchorage, else she must inevitably have
+been wrecked, and I should be left at the mercy of the natives for
+an indefinite time. The hut in which I camped did not keep off the
+rain, and I was wet and uncomfortable; thus I spent the first of a
+series of miserable nights. I was anxious to know the fate of the
+launch, and this in itself was enough to worry me; then I was without
+reading or writing materials, and my days were spent near a smoky
+fire, watching the weather, trying to find a dry spot, sleeping and
+whistling. Sometimes a few natives came to keep me company; and once
+I got hold of a man who spoke a little biche la mar, and was willing
+to tell me about some old-time customs. However, like most natives, he
+soon wearied of thinking, so that our conversations did not last long.
+
+The natives kept me supplied with food in the most hospitable manner:
+yam, taro, cabbage, delicately prepared, were at my disposal; but,
+unaccustomed as I was to this purely vegetable diet, I soon felt such
+a craving for meat that I began to dream about tinned-meat, surely not
+a normal state of things. To add to my annoyance, rumours got afloat
+to the effect that the launch was wrecked; and if this was true,
+my situation was bad indeed.
+
+On the fifth day I decided to try and find the anchorage where I
+supposed the launch to be. The wind had dropped a little, but it was
+still pouring, and the walk through the slippery, devastated forest,
+up and down steep hills and gullies, across fallen trees, in a thick,
+oppressive fog, was strenuous enough. In the afternoon, hearing that
+the launch was somewhere near, we descended to the coast, where we came
+upon the captain and the crew. They had managed to anchor the launch
+at the outbreak of the storm, and had camped in an old hut on the
+beach; but the huge waves, breaking over the reef, had created such
+a current along the beach that the launch had dragged her anchors,
+and was now caught in the worst of the waves and would surely go down
+shortly. Unfortunately the captain had sent the dinghey ashore some
+time before coming to this bay, so that there was no means whatever
+of reaching the launch. The rising sea had threatened to wash away
+the hut, and the captain, leaving the boat to her fate, had gone
+camping inland.
+
+I went down to the beach to see for myself how things stood, and
+was forced to admit that the man had not exaggerated. In the midst
+of the raging surf the launch rocked to and fro, and threatening
+waves rose on every side and often seemed to cover her. Still she was
+holding her own, and had evidently not struck a rock as yet; and if
+her cables held out, hope was not lost. I watched her fight for life
+for some time, and she defended herself more gallantly than I should
+ever have expected from so clumsy a craft; but I had little hope. We
+spent a miserable night in the village, in a heavy atmosphere, amid
+vermin and filth, on an uneven stone floor. The rain rattled on the
+roof, the storm roared in the forest like a passing express train,
+the sea thundered from afar, and a river echoed in a gorge near by;
+to complete the gloomy scene, a violent earthquake shook the hills.
+
+In the morning the launch was still afloat on the same spot; the
+wind had abated, and the sky no longer looked quite so stormy. During
+the night things improved still more, and we ventured to camp on the
+shore. The boys went for the dinghey, and although they had hard work,
+half dragging, half carrying it along the shore over the cliffs, they
+succeeded in bringing it to our beach, and then made an attempt to row
+to the launch, but were almost carried out beyond the reef. Encouraged
+by a faintly rosy sunset and a few stars, we waited another day;
+then the current along the coast had nearly ceased, only outside the
+reef huge mountains of water rolled silently and incessantly past,
+and broke thundering against the cliffs. The second attempt to reach
+the launch was successful, and, wonderful to relate, she had suffered
+no damage, only she had shipped so much water that everything was
+soaked and rusty. The engineer began to repair her engines, and by
+evening she steamed back to her anchorage, where we welcomed her as
+if she had been a human being.
+
+The wind had quite fallen when we steamed out next day. It was dull
+weather, and we were rocked by an enormous swell; yet the water was
+like a mirror, and the giant waves rose and disappeared without a
+sound. It all seemed unnatural and uncanny, and this may have produced
+the frightened feeling that held us all that morning. While we were
+crossing over to Port Patterson a sharp wind rose from the north,
+and the barometer fell, so that we feared another edition of the
+storm. If our engines had broken down, which happened often enough,
+we should have been lost, for we were in a region where the swell
+came from two directions, and the waves were even higher than in
+the morning. Fortunately the wind increased but slowly; presently
+we were protected by the coast, and at night we arrived at Port
+Patterson. The men had given us up, and welcomed us with something
+akin to tenderness. Here, too, the cyclone had been terrible, the
+worst of the three that had passed in four weeks.
+
+Soon afterwards the steamer arrived, bringing news of many wrecks and
+accidents. A dozen ships had been smashed at their anchorages, four
+had disappeared, and three were known to have foundered; in addition,
+news came of the wreck of a steamer. Hardly ever had so many fallen
+victims to a cyclone.
+
+Painfully and slowly our steamer ploughed her way south through the
+abnormally high swell. None of the anchorages on the west coast could
+be touched, and everywhere we saw brown woods, leafless as in winter,
+and damaged plantations; and all the way down to Vila we heard of
+new casualties.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+TANNA
+
+
+Of the larger inhabited islands of the New Hebrides, only Tanna
+remained to be visited. Instead of stopping at Vila, I went on to
+White Sands, Tanna, where the Rev. M. was stationed. The large
+island of Erromanga has but little native population, and that
+is all christianized; the same is true of the smaller islands of
+Aneityum, Aniwa and Futuna. I preferred to study Tanna, as it is
+characteristic of all the southern part of the archipelago. The
+population is quite different from that in the north, and one would
+call it Polynesian, were it not for the curly hair which shows
+Melanesian admixture. Light-coloured, tall, strong, with the fleshy
+body that is often a feature of the Polynesian, the people have, not
+infrequently, fine open features, small noses and intelligent faces
+of oval outline. They are more energetic, warlike and independent
+than those up north, and their mode of life is different, the Suque
+and everything connected with it being entirely absent. Instead, we
+find hereditary chieftainship, as in all Polynesia, and the chiefs
+are held in the highest veneration by their subjects. This state of
+things was greatly to the advantage of the missions, as the chiefs,
+even if converted, retained their authority, whereas in the north the
+high castes, on their conversion, lost all influence and position,
+as these only depended on the Suque. The brilliant results of the
+missions in Tanna are due, apart from the splendid work of the two
+Presbyterian missionaries, chiefly to this fact. If the missionaries
+and the authorities would join forces for the preservation of the
+native race, great good might be done. Intelligent efforts along
+this line ought to comprise the following features: revival of the
+wish to live and the belief in a future for the race, increase in
+the birth-rate, rational distribution of the women, abolition of the
+present recruiting system, compulsory medical treatment, creation
+of law and order, and restoration of old customs as to daily life
+and food.
+
+The houses on Tanna are poor huts of reed-grass, probably because the
+perpetual wars discouraged the people from building good dwellings. The
+principal weapons are the spear and club, the arrow, as elsewhere
+in Polynesia, playing a subordinate part. A weapon which is probably
+peculiar to Tanna are throwing-stones, carefully made stone cylinders,
+which were hurled in battle. If a man had not time to procure one of
+these granite cylinders, a branch of coral or a slab of stone, hewn
+into serviceable shape, would serve his turn; and these instruments
+are not very different from our oldest prehistoric stone implements.
+
+Quite a Polynesian art is the manufacture of tapa: bark cloth. The
+Tannese do not know how to make large pieces, but are satisfied with
+narrow strips, used as belts by the men, and prettily painted in
+black and red.
+
+The dress of the men is similar to that of Malekula, that of the
+women consists of an apron of grass and straw; and they often wear
+a hat of banana leaves, while the men affect a very complicated
+coiffure. The hair is divided into strands, each of which is wound
+with a fibre from the head out. A man may have several hundred of
+these ropes on his head all tied together behind, giving a somewhat
+womanish appearance. It takes a long time to dress the hair thus,
+and the custom is falling into disuse.
+
+On the whole, the culture of the Tannese is low; there is no braiding
+or carving, and the ornaments worn consist only of a few bracelets
+and necklaces, with an occasional nose-stick; the only conspicuous
+feature are ear-rings of tortoise-shell, of which as many as a dozen
+may hang in one ear.
+
+On the other side of Tanna is Lenakel, where the Rev. W. was working
+with admirable devotion and success in a hospital. I crossed the
+island several times, and enjoyed the delightful rides through the
+shady forest, on very good bridle-paths the natives had made.
+
+Tanna's most striking sight is its volcano; there is hardly another
+in the world so easily accessible; for in half an hour from the
+shore its foot may be reached, and in another half-hour one is at
+the top. It is about 260 m. high, a miniature volcano, with all its
+accessories complete, hot springs, lake, desert, etc., always active,
+rarely destructive, looking like an overgrown molehill. A wide plain
+stretches inland, utterly deserted owing to the poisonous vapours
+always carried across it by the south-east trade-wind, and in the
+centre of the plain is a sweet-water lake.
+
+I climbed the volcano for the first time on a rainy day. On top, I
+suddenly found myself at the end of the world; it was the edge of the
+crater, completely filled with steam. As I walked along the precipice,
+such an infernal thundering began just under my feet as it seemed,
+that I thought best to retire. My next ascent took place on a clear,
+bright day; but the wind drove sand and ashes along the desert,
+and dimmed the sunshine to a yellowish gloomy light. I traversed the
+desert to the foot of the crater, where the cone rose gradually out
+of brownish sand, in a beautiful curve, to an angle of 45 deg.. The lack
+of all vegetation or other point of comparison made it impossible
+to judge whether the mountain was 100 or 1000 m. high. The silence
+was oppressive, and sand columns danced and whirled up and down,
+to and fro, like goblins. A smell of sulphur was in the air, the
+heat was torturing, the ground burnt one's feet, and the climb in
+the loose sand was trying. But farther up the sea-breeze cooled the
+air deliciously, and stone blocks afforded a foothold. Soon I was on
+top, and the sight I saw seemed one that only the fancy of a morbid,
+melancholy genius could have invented, an ugly fever dream turned real,
+and no description could do it justice.
+
+In front of me the ground fell down steeply, and the torn sides of
+the crater formed a funnel-shaped cavity, a dark, yawning depth. There
+were jagged rocks, fantastic, wild ridges, crevices, fearful depths,
+from which issued steam and smoke. Poisonous vapour poured out of
+the rocks in white and brownish clouds that waved to and fro, slowly
+rising, until a breeze caught and carried them away. The sight alone
+would suffice to inspire terror, without the oppressive smoke and the
+uncanny noise far down in the depths. Dull and regular, it sounded like
+the piston of an engine or a great drum, heard through the noises of a
+factory. Presently there was silence, and then, without any warning,
+came a tearing crack, the thunder as of 100 heavy guns, a metallic
+din, and a cloud of smoke rose; and while we forced ourselves to
+stay and watch, the inferno below thundered a roaring echo, the walls
+shook, and a thousand dark specks flew up like a swarm of frightened
+birds. They were lava blocks, and they fell back from the height of the
+crater, rattling on the rocks, or were swallowed up by the invisible
+gorge. Then a thick cloud surrounded everything, and we realized
+that our post at the mouth of the crater, on an overhanging ridge,
+was dangerous; indeed, a part of the edge, not far off, broke down
+and was lost in the depths. Another and another explosion followed;
+but when we turned, we overlooked a peaceful landscape, green forests,
+palms bending over the bright blue water, and far off the islands of
+Erromanga, Futuna and Aniwa.
+
+A visit to the volcano at night was a unique experience. Across the
+desert the darkness glided, and as we climbed upward, we felt and
+heard the metallic explosions through the flanks of the mountain, and
+the cloud over the crater shone in dull red. Cautiously we approached
+the edge, just near enough to look down. The bottom of the crater
+seemed lifted, the walls were almost invisible, and the uncertain
+glare played lightly over some theatrical-looking rocks. We could see
+three orifices; steam poured out of one, in the other the liquid lava
+boiled and bubbled, of the third there was nothing to be seen but
+a glow; but underneath this some force was at work. Did we hear or
+feel it? We were not sure; sometimes it sounded like shrill cries of
+despair, sometimes all was still, and the rocks seemed to shake. Then
+suddenly it boiled up, hissing as if a thousand steam-pipes had burst,
+something unspeakable seemed preparing, yet nothing happened. Some
+lava lumps were thrown out, to fall back or stick to the rocks, where
+they slowly died out. All at once a sheaf of fire shot up, tall and
+glowing, an explosion of incredible fury followed; the sheaf dispersed
+and fell down in marvellous fireworks and thousands of sparks. Slowly,
+in a fiery stream the lava flowed back to the bottom. Then another
+explosion and another, the thumping increased, one of the other
+openings worked, spitting viciously in all directions, the noise
+became unbearable. All one's senses were affected, for the din was
+too violent to touch one's hearing only. Then there was silence;
+the cloud rose, and beside it we saw the stars in the pure sky,
+and heard the surf beat peacefully, consolingly, as if there were no
+volcano and no glowing lava anywhere near.
+
+While we were standing on the brink as if fascinated, the silver
+moon rose behind us, spread a broad road of light on the quiet sea,
+played round us with her cool light, shone on the opposite wall of
+the crater, and caressed the sulphurous cloud. It was a magical sight,
+the contrast of the pure moonlight and the dirty glare of the volcano;
+an effect indescribably grand and peculiar, a gala performance of
+nature, the elements of heaven and hell side by side.
+
+At last we left. Behind and above us thundered the volcano, below
+us lay the desert, silvery in the moonlight, in quiet, simple lines;
+far away rolled the sea, and in the silence the moon rose higher and
+higher, and our shadows followed us as we traversed the plain and
+gained the friendly shade of the palm grove.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+THE SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
+
+
+After my return to Port Vila, where I again had the honour of being
+Mr. King's guest, and having practically finished my task in the
+New Hebrides, I decided not to leave this part of the world without
+visiting the Santa Cruz Islands, a group of small islands north of
+the New Hebrides and east of the Solomon Islands. This archipelago
+has not had much contact with civilization, and is little known. I had
+a good opportunity to go there, as the steam yacht Southern Cross of
+the Anglican mission in Melanesia was expected to stop at Vila on her
+way to the Solomons. She touched at the Santa Cruz island of Nitendi
+going and returning, and could therefore drop me and take me up again
+after about six weeks. While waiting for her arrival, I investigated
+some caves on Leleppa, near Port Havannah, which the natives reported
+to be inhabited by dwarfish men; but the results were insignificant.
+
+Passage having been granted me by the skipper of the Southern Cross,
+I once more sailed the well-known route northward through the New
+Hebrides and Banks Islands; but from Ureparapara onward I was in
+strange waters. The Southern Cross was a steamer of about five
+hundred tons, built especially for this service, that is, to convey
+the missionaries and natives from the headquarters on Norfolk Island
+to the different islands. Life on board was far from luxurious; but
+there was good company and an interesting library. I had the pleasure
+of making some interesting acquaintances, and the missionaries gave me
+much valuable information about the natives and their customs. When
+the tone of the conversation in the evening threatened to become
+too serious, our jovial Captain S. speedily improved matters by
+his grotesquely comical sallies. A strenuous life was that of the
+missionary who was responsible for the organization of the voyage;
+he had to visit the native communities, and went ashore at every
+anchorage, sometimes through an ugly surf or dangerous shoals,
+generally with overcrowded whale-boats; and this went on for three
+months. I had nothing to do, and amused myself by comparing the
+boys from the various islands, who were quite different in looks,
+speech and character. There were the short, thick-set, plebeian
+natives from the New Hebrides, the well-built men from the Solomons,
+with their long faces and open, energetic expression, the languid,
+sleepy boys from the Torres Islands and the savage Santa Cruzians.
+
+The trip of the Southern Cross was important as an experiment, being
+the first with an exclusively native crew. Hitherto the Melanesians had
+been considered incapable of any work calling for energy, initiative
+and conscientiousness. Captain C. was convinced that this was unjust,
+and started on this voyage without any whites except the officers;
+the result was most satisfactory. The natives, when carefully and
+patiently trained, work quite as well as low-class whites, and have
+proved themselves capable of more than plantation work.
+
+It was a bright morning when we entered the lovely Graciosa Bay on
+Nitendi. The island had a much more tropical aspect than those of
+the New Hebrides, and the vegetation seemed more varied and gayer in
+colour. Natives in canoes approached from every side, and all along the
+beach lay populous villages, a sight such as the now deserted shores of
+the New Hebrides must have afforded in days gone by. Hardly had we cast
+anchor when the ship was surrounded by innumerable canoes. The men in
+them were all naked, except the teachers the missionaries had stationed
+here; all the others were genuine aborigines, who managed their boats
+admirably, and came hurrying on board, eager to begin bartering.
+
+The natives here have a bad reputation, and are supposed to be
+particularly dangerous, because they never stir from home without
+their poisoned arrows. A missionary had recently been forced to leave
+the island, after having been besieged by the natives for several
+days. But it would seem that they are not hostile unless one of their
+many intricate laws and customs is violated, which may happen easily
+enough to anyone unacquainted with their habits.
+
+I took up my quarters with the only white man in the place, a Mr. M.,
+who managed a cocoa-nut plantation for an Australian company with
+boys from the Solomons. My first task was to find servants, as none
+had dared accompany me from the New Hebrides to the ill-famed Santa
+Cruz Islands. Through his coprah trade Mr. M. knew the people well,
+and by his help I soon found two boys who had some vague notion
+of biche la mar, real savages, who served me well in a childish,
+playful way. They were always jolly, and although they seemed to
+look upon what they did for me rather as a kindness than a duty, we
+got along fairly well. When it became known that my service implied
+good food and little work, many others applied, but I only chose one
+young fellow, probably the most perfect specimen of a man I have
+ever seen. He kept himself scrupulously clean, and in his quiet,
+even behaviour there was something that distinguished him from all
+the rest. It is difficult to put the beauty of a human body into
+words; I can only say that he was of symmetrical build, with a deep
+chest and well-developed limbs, but without the great muscles that
+would have given him the coarse aspect of an athlete. His greatest
+charm was in the grace of his movements and the natural nobility
+of his attitudes and his walk; for he moved as lightly and daintily
+as a deer, and it was a constant pleasure, while walking behind him
+during our marches through the forest, to admire his elastic gait,
+the play of his muscles and the elegant ease with which he threaded
+the thicket. I tried to take some photographs of him, but without
+great success, owing to technical difficulties; besides, the face had
+to be hidden as much as possible, as to a European eye the natives'
+faces often seem to have a brutal expression. The men of Santa Cruz,
+too, wear disfiguring nose-rings of tortoise-shell hanging down over
+their mouths, so large that when eating they have to be lifted up out
+of the way with the left hand. Another ugly habit is the chewing of
+betel, the nut of the areca palm, which is mixed with pepper leaves
+and lime. The lime is carried in a gourd, often decorated with drawings
+and provided with an artistically carved stopper. The leaves and this
+bottle are kept in beautifully woven baskets, the prettiest products
+of native art, made of banana fibre interwoven with delicate designs
+in black. Betel-chewing seems to have a slightly intoxicating effect;
+my boys, at least, were often strangely exhilarated in the evening,
+although they had certainly had no liquor. The lime forms a black
+deposit on the teeth, which sometimes grows to such a size as to hang
+out of the mouth, an appendage of which some natives seem rather vain.
+
+The dress of the men consists of a narrow belt of bark and a strip
+of tapa worn between the legs. Around their knees and ankles they
+wear small, shiny shells, and on their chests a large circular
+plate of tridacna-shell, to which is attached a dainty bit of carved
+tortoise-shell representing a combination of fish and turtle. This
+beautiful ornament is very effective on the dark skin. In the lobes
+of the ears are hung large tortoise-shell ornaments, and on the arms
+large shell rings or bracelets braided with shell and cocoa-nut beads
+are worn.
+
+The men are never seen without bows and arrows of large and heavy
+dimensions. Like all the belongings of the Santa Cruzians, the arrows
+show artistic taste, being carefully carved and painted so as to
+display black carving on a white and red ground. The points of the
+arrows are made of human bone.
+
+I bought one of the excellent canoes made by these people, and often
+crossed the lovely, quiet bay to visit different villages. The natives
+take great care of their canoes, and make it a point of honour to
+keep them spotlessly white, which they do by rubbing them with a
+seaweed they gather at the bottom of the ocean.
+
+On approaching a village it requires all the skill of the native not
+to be dashed by the swell against the reefs. A narrow sandy beach lies
+behind, and then a stone terrace 6 feet high, on which the gamal is
+built. Generally there was great excitement when I landed, and the men
+came rushing from all sides to see me. They were not hostile, only too
+eager for trade, and I had to interrupt my visits for a week and trade
+only at the house where I was staying, so as to give them time to quiet
+down. This helped matters a little, although, until the day I left,
+I was always the centre of an excited mob that pulled at my sleeves
+and trousers and shrieked into my ears. I was always cordially invited
+to enter the gamals; these were square houses, kept very clean, with
+a fireplace in the centre, and the floor covered with mats. As usual,
+the roof was full of implements of all sorts, and over the fire there
+was a stand and shelves, where coprah was roasted and food preserved.
+
+The natives are expert fishermen, and know how to make the finest as
+well as the coarsest nets. They frequently spend the mornings fishing,
+a flotilla of canoes gathering at some shallow spot in the bay.
+
+The afternoons are mostly spent in the village in a dolce far
+niente. Each village has its special industry: in one the arm-rings
+of shell are made, in another the breastplates, in a third canoes,
+or the fine mats which are woven on a loom of the simplest system,
+very similar to a type of loom found in North America. Weaving,
+it will be remembered, is quite unknown in the New Hebrides.
+
+An object peculiar to these islands is feather money. This consists
+of the fine breast-feathers of a small bird, stuck together to
+form plates, which are fastened on a strip of sinnet, so that a
+long ribbon of scarlet feathers is obtained of beautiful colour
+and brilliancy. These strips are rolled and preserved in the houses,
+carefully wrapped up and only displayed on great occasions. Considering
+how few available feathers one little bird yields, and how many are
+needed for one roll, it is not surprising that this feather money
+is very valuable, and that a single roll will buy a woman. At great
+dances the circular dancing-grounds along the shore are decorated
+with these ribbons.
+
+For a dance the men exchange the nose-ring of tortoise-shell for a
+large, finely carved plate of mother-of-pearl. In the perforated sides
+of the nose they place thin sticks, which stand high up towards the
+eyes. In the hair they wear sticks and small boards covered with the
+same feathers as those used for feather money. They have dancing-sticks
+of a most elaborate description, heavy wooden clubs of the shape of
+a canoe, painted in delicate designs and with rattles at the lower
+end. The designs are black and red on a white ground, and are derived
+from shapes of fish and birds. Similar work is done on carvings showing
+the different species of fish and birds; the drawing is exquisite,
+and shows fine feeling for ornamental composition.
+
+The position of women in Santa Cruz is peculiar, although the
+Suque does not exist, and therefore no separation of fires is
+enforced. Masculine jealousy seems to have reached its climax here, for
+no man from another village even dares look at a woman. The women's
+houses are a little inland, away from the gamal and separated by
+high walls from the outer world. Most of the houses are square, but
+there are some circular ones, a type very rare in these regions. To
+my regret I was never able to examine one of these round houses,
+so that I have no idea how they are built. To enter the women's
+quarters, or to approach nearer than 100 metres to any woman, is
+a deadly offence, and such breaches of etiquette are the cause of
+frequent feuds. Only once I was taken by one of my boys through the
+lanes of his village, and this was considered very daring, and the
+limit of permissible investigation. However, with the help of Mr. M.,
+who was practically a "citizen" of one of the villages, I succeeded
+in taking some photographs of women; but only the oldest dowagers and
+some sick girls presented themselves, and among them I saw the most
+repulsive being I ever met,--an old shrivelled-up hag. At sight of
+such a creature one cannot wonder that old women were often accused
+of sorcery.
+
+It is surprising how much inferior physically the women of Nitendi
+are to the men. The men are among the best made people I ever saw,
+while the women are the poorest. The dress of the women consists
+of large pieces of tapa, worn around the hips and over the head,
+and a third piece is sometimes used as a shawl. Tapa is not made at
+Graciosa Bay, but inland; it is often painted in simple but effective
+geometrical designs.
+
+The majority of the population lives near the sea; I was credibly
+informed that there are hardly any people inland. The Santa Cruzian
+is a "salt-water man," and there is a string of villages all along
+the coast. The inhabitants of the different villages keep very much to
+themselves, and their territories are separated by a strip of forest,
+and on the shore by high stone walls leading far out into the sea. On
+the whole, the two thousand people in the bay live very quietly,
+certainly more so than the same number of whites would without any
+police. It is not quite clear in what respect our civilization could
+improve them, as, like most aborigines, they have a pronounced sense
+of propriety, justice and politeness. There is very little disputing or
+quarrelling, and differences of opinion are usually settled by a joke,
+so that in this respect the savages show a behaviour far superior to
+that of many a roaring and swearing white.
+
+I found neither drums nor statues here, and of the local religion
+I could learn nothing. There is a skull-cult, similar to that on
+Malekula: a man will paint the skull of a favourite wife or child
+yellow, shut all the openings with wooden stoppers and carry the relic
+about with him. Towards the end of my stay I obtained possession of
+some of these interesting skulls. The idea in shutting the holes is
+doubtless to preserve the spirit of the dead inside the skull.
+
+One evening I crossed the bay to attend a dance. The starless sky shone
+feebly, spotted with dark, torn clouds. A dull silver light lay on the
+sea, which was scarcely lighter than the steep shores. In the silence
+the strokes of our oars sounded sharp and energetic, yet they seemed
+to come from a distance. In the darkness we felt first the outrigger,
+then the canoe, lifted by a heavy swell, which glided away out of sight
+in monotonous rhythm. Then light began to play around us, indistinct
+at first, then two silver stripes formed at the bow and ran along
+the boat. They were surrounded by bright, whirling sparks, and at the
+bow of the outrigger the gayest fireworks of silver light sprang up,
+sparkling and dying away as if the boat had been a meteor. The oars,
+too, dripped light, as though they were bringing up fine silver dust
+from below. The naked boy in front of me shone like a marble statue on
+a dark background as his beautiful body worked in rhythmic movements,
+the light playing to and fro on his back. And ever the sparks danced
+along the boat in hypnotizing confusion, and mighty harmonies seemed
+to echo through the night air. The feeling of time was lost, until
+the opposite shore rose to a black wall, then, through the silence,
+we heard the cold rush of the surf beating moodily on the reef. We
+slackened speed, the fairy light died and the dream ended. We kept
+along the shore, looking for the entrance, which the boys found by
+feeling for a well-known rock with their oars. A wave lifted us,
+the boys bent to their oars with all their might, we shot across the
+reef and ran into the soft sand of the beach.
+
+But as the rain fell now in torrents, there was no dance that night.
+
+Mr. M. and I attempted a few excursions, but bad weather interfered
+with our plans, and a rainy period of three weeks followed. One squall
+chased the other, rattling on the roof, forming swamps everywhere,
+and penetrating everything with moisture. I was glad when the Southern
+Cross came back for me, especially as this was to be the beginning
+of my homeward journey.
+
+This time we touched at a small island called Tucopia, where
+a primitive Polynesian population still exists, probably the only
+island where this is the case. When the steamer approached we saw the
+people running about on the reef in excitement, and soon countless
+canoes surrounded us. The appearance of these islanders was quite new
+to me. Instead of the dark, curly-haired, short Melanesians, I saw
+tall, light-coloured men with thick manes of long, golden hair. They
+climbed aboard, wonderful giants, with soft, dark eyes, kind smiles
+and childlike manners. They went everywhere, touched everything,
+and flattered and caressed us. We were all eager to go ashore, and at
+the edge of the reef an excited crowd awaited our arrival impatiently
+and pulled our boat violently on the rocks in their eagerness. Two
+tall fellows grabbed me under the arms, and, willy-nilly, I was
+carried across the reef and carefully deposited under a shady tree
+on the beach. At first I did not quite trust my companions, but I
+was powerless to resist, and soon I became more confident, as my
+new friends constantly hugged and stroked me. Soon a missionary was
+brought ashore in the same way, and then, to our greatest surprise,
+a man approached us who spoke biche la mar. He asked if we had no
+sickness on board, for some time ago the same ship had infected the
+island with an epidemic that had caused many deaths. We assured him
+that we had none, and he gave us permission to visit the island,
+telling us, too, that we were to have the great honour of being
+presented to one of the four chiefs. This was indeed something to
+be proud of, for in Polynesian islands the chieftainship, as I have
+said, is hereditary, and the chiefs are paid honours almost divine. We
+took off our hats and were led before the chief, a tall, stout man,
+who sat in a circle of men on a sort of throne, with his ceremonial
+spear leaning against a tree beside him. His subjects approached him
+crouching, but he shook hands with us and smiled kindly at us. A noble
+gesture of the hand gave us leave to taste a meal prepared to welcome
+us, which looked most uninviting, but turned out to be beautifully
+cooked sago and cocoa-nut cream. We could not finish the generous
+portions, and presently signed that we were satisfied; the chief
+seemed to regret that we did not do more honour to his hospitality,
+but he gave us permission to walk about. While all the other natives
+ran about in great excitement over our visit, the good old man sat on
+his throne all the time, quite solemnly, although I am convinced that
+he was fairly bursting with curiosity. We hurried through the village,
+so as to get a general idea of the houses and implements, and then
+to the beach, which was a beautiful sight. Whereas on Melanesian
+islands the dancing-grounds only are kept cleared, and surrounded
+by thick shrubbery for fear of invasion, here all the underbrush
+had been rooted out, and the shore was like a park, with a splendid
+view through dark tree-trunks across the blue sea, while the golden,
+godlike forms of the natives walked about with proud, regal gait,
+or stood in animated groups. It was a sight so different in its
+peaceful simplicity from what I was accustomed to see in Melanesia,
+it all looked so happy, gay and alluring that it hardly needed the
+invitations of the kind people, without weapons or suspicion, and
+with wreaths of sweet-scented flowers around their heads and bodies,
+to incline us to stay. Truly, the sailors of old were not to blame if
+they deserted in numbers on such islands, and preferred the careless
+native life to hard work on board a whaler. Again and again I seemed
+to see the living originals of some classical picture, and more and
+more my soul succumbed to the intoxicating charm of the lovely island.
+
+But we could not stay; the steamer whistled, and we had to leave. A
+young native was going to Norfolk Island, and he took leave of his
+family and the chief in a manly way which was touching to witness. He
+bowed and laid his face on the knees of some old white-haired men
+with finely chiselled, noble faces. They seemed to bless him, then
+they raised his head and tenderly pressed their faces against his,
+so that their noses touched. The boy brushed away a tear and then
+jumped bravely on board.
+
+When we came on board, the steamer was crowded with natives, and
+they refused to leave. We had to drive them away energetically, and
+as their canoes were soon overcrowded, many of them jumped into the
+water with shouts and laughter, and swam several miles to the shore,
+floating happily in the blue sea, with their long hair waving after
+them like liquid gold. Thus I saw the last of the dream-island,
+bathed in the rays of the setting sun. My regret was shared by the
+boy, who stood, still ornamented with flowers and wreaths, at the
+stern of the steamer, looking sadly back at his disappearing paradise.
+
+Our good times, too, were over. We had a dull, rainy night, a heavy,
+broadside swell, and as the steamer had not enough ballast, she rolled
+frightfully. In this nasty sea we were afraid she might turn turtle,
+as another steamer had done some months ago. The storm became such
+that we had to lie at anchor for five days, sheltered by the coast
+of Gaua. It was with real relief that I left the Southern Cross at
+Port Vila; sorry as I was to leave my friends on board, I did not
+envy them the long voyage to New Zealand.
+
+Two days later I took the mail steamer for Sydney. Although tired
+enough, and glad to return to the comforts of civilization, I felt
+real regret at leaving the places where I had spent so many delightful
+hours, and where I had met with so much kindness on all sides.
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Two Years with the Natives in the
+Western Pacific, by Felix Speiser
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