The Coral Island

by R. M. Ballantyne

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.

  THE SANDAL-WOOD PARTY--NATIVE CHILDREN'S GAMES SOMEWHAT SURPRISING--DESPERATE AMUSEMENTS SUDDENLY AND FATALLY BROUGHT TO A CLOSE--AN OLDFRIEND RECOGNISED--NEWS--ROMATA'S MAD CONDUCT.

  Next day the wood-cutting party went ashore again, and I accompaniedthem as before. During the dinner-hour I wandered into the woods alone,being disinclined for food that day. I had not rambled far when I foundmyself unexpectedly on the seashore, having crossed a narrow neck ofland which separated the native village from a large bay. Here I founda party of the islanders busy with one of their war-canoes, which wasalmost ready for launching. I stood for a long time watching this partywith great interest, and observed that they fastened the timbers andplanks to each other very much in the same way in which I had seen Jackfasten those of our little boat. But what surprised me most was itsimmense length, which I measured carefully, and found to be a hundredfeet long; and it was so capacious that it could have held three hundredmen. It had the unwieldy outrigger and enormously high stern-postswhich I had remarked on the canoe that came to us while I was on theCoral Island. Observing some boys playing at games a short way alongthe beach, I resolved to go and watch them; but as I turned from thenatives who were engaged so busily and cheerfully at their work, Ilittle thought of the terrible event that hung on the completion of thatwar-canoe.

  Advancing towards the children, who were so numerous that I began tothink this must be the general playground of the village, I sat down ona grassy bank under the shade of a plantain-tree to watch them. And ahappier or more noisy crew I have never seen. There were at least twohundred of them, both boys and girls, all of whom were clad in no othergarments than their own glossy little black skins, except the maro, orstrip of cloth, round the loins of the boys, and a very short petticoator kilt on the girls. They did not all play at the same game, butamused themselves in different groups.

  One band was busily engaged in a game exactly similar to our blind man'sbuff. Another set were walking on stilts, which raised the childrenthree feet from the ground. They were very expert at this amusement,and seldom tumbled. In another place I observed a group of girlsstanding together, and apparently enjoying themselves very much; so Iwent up to see what they were doing, and found that they were openingtheir eyelids with their fingers till their eyes appeared of an enormoussize, and then thrusting pieces of straw between the upper and lowerlids, across the eyeball, to keep them in that position! This seemed tome, I must confess, a very foolish as well as dangerous amusement.Nevertheless, the children seemed to be greatly delighted with thehideous faces they made. I pondered this subject a good deal, andthought that if little children knew how silly they seemed to grown-uppeople when, they make faces, they would not be so fond of doing it. Inanother place were a number of boys engaged in flying kites; and I couldnot help wondering that some of the games of those little savages shouldbe so like to our own, although they had never seen us at play. But thekites were different from ours in many respects, being of every varietyof shape. They were made of very thin cloth, and the boys raised themto a wonderful height in the air by means of twine made from thecocoa-nut husk. Other games there were, some of which showed thenatural depravity of the hearts of these poor savages, and made me wishfervently that missionaries might be sent out to them. But theamusement which the greatest number of the children of both sexes seemedto take chief delight in was swimming and diving in the sea, and theexpertness which they exhibited was truly amazing. They seemed to havetwo principal games in the water, one of which was to dive off a sort ofstage which had been erected near a deep part of the sea, and chase eachother in the water. Some of them went down to an extraordinary depth;others skimmed along the surface, or rolled over and over likeporpoises, or diving under each other, came up unexpectedly and pulledeach other down by a leg or an arm. They never seemed to tire of thissport, and from the great heat of the water in the South Seas, theycould remain in it nearly all day without feeling chilled. Many ofthese children were almost infants, scarce able to walk; yet theystaggered down the beach, flung their round, fat little black bodiesfearlessly into deep water, and struck out to sea with as muchconfidence as ducklings.

  The other game to which I have referred was swimming in the surf. Butas this is an amusement in which all engage, from children of ten togrey-headed men of sixty, and as I had an opportunity of witnessing itin perfection the day following, I shall describe it more minutely.

  I suppose it was in honour of their guest that this grand swimming-matchwas got up, for Romata came and told the captain that they were going toengage in it, and begged him to "come and see."

  "What sort of amusement is this surf-swimming?" I inquired of Bill aswe walked together to a part of the shore on which several thousands ofthe natives were assembled.

  "It's a very favourite lark with these 'xtr'or'nary critters," repliedBill, giving a turn to the quid of tobacco that invariably bulged out ofhis left cheek. "Ye see, Ralph, them fellows take to the water as soona'most as they can walk, an' long before they can do that anythingrespectably, so that they are as much at home in the sea as on the land.Well, ye see, I 'spose they found swimmin' for miles out to sea, anddivin' fathoms deep, wasn't excitin' enough, so they invented this gameo' swimmin' on the surf. Each man and boy, as you see, has got a shortboard or plank, with which he swims out for a mile or more to sea, andthen, gettin' on the top o' yon thunderin' breaker, they come to shoreon the top of it, yellin' and screechin' like fiends. It's a marvel tome that they're not dashed to shivers on the coral reef, for sure an'sart'in am I that if any o' us tried it, we wouldn't be worth the flukeof a broken anchor after the wave fell. But there they go!"

  As he spoke, several hundreds of the natives, amongst whom we were nowstanding, uttered a loud yell, rushed down the beach, plunged into thesurf, and were carried off by the seething foam of the retreating wave.

  At the point where we stood, the encircling coral reef joined the shore,so that the magnificent breakers, which a recent stiff breeze hadrendered larger than usual, fell in thunder at the feet of themultitudes who lined the beach. For some time the swimmers continued tostrike out to sea, breasting over the swell like hundreds of blackseals. Then they all turned, and watching an approaching billow,mounted its white crest, and each laying his breast on the short, flatboard, came rolling towards the shore, careering on the summit of themighty wave, while they and the onlookers shouted and yelled withexcitement. Just as the monster wave curled in solemn majesty to flingits bulky length upon the beach, most of the swimmers slid back into thetrough behind; others, slipping off their boards, seized them in theirhands, and plunging through the watery waste, swam out to repeat theamusement; but a few, who seemed to me the most reckless, continuedtheir career until they were launched upon the beach and enveloped inthe churning foam and spray. One of these last came in on the crest ofthe wave most manfully, and landed with a violent bound almost on thespot where Bill and I stood. I saw by his peculiar head-dress that hewas the chief whom the tribe entertained as their guest. The sea-waterhad removed nearly all the paint with which his face had been covered,and as he rose panting to his feet, I recognised, to my surprise, thefeatures of Tararo, my old friend of the Coral Island!

  Tararo at the same moment recognised me, and advancing quickly, took meround the neck and rubbed noses, which had the effect of transferring agood deal of the moist paint from his nose to mine. Then, recollectingthat this was not the white man's mode of salutation, he grasped me bythe hand and shook it violently.

  "Hallo, Ralph!" cried Bill in surprise, "that chap seems to have taken asudden fancy to you, or he must be an old acquaintance."

  "Right, Bill," I replied; "he is indeed an old acquaintance." And Iexplained, in a few words, that he was the chief whose party Jack andPeterkin and I had helped to save.

  Tararo having thrown away his surf-board, entered into an animatedconversation with Bill, pointing frequently during the course of it tome, whereby I c
oncluded he must be telling him about the memorablebattle and the part we had taken in it. When he paused I begged of Billto ask him about the woman Avatea, for I had some hope that she mighthave come with Tararo on this visit. "And ask him," said I, "who sheis, for I am persuaded she is of a different race from the Feejeeans."On the mention of her name the chief frowned darkly, and seemed to speakwith much anger.

  "You're right, Ralph," said Bill when the chief had ceased to talk;"she's not a Feejee girl, but a Samoan. How she ever came to this placethe chief does not very clearly explain; but he says she was taken inwar, and that he got her three years ago, an' kept her as his daughterever since. Lucky for her, poor girl, else she'd have been roasted andeaten like the rest."

  "But why does Tararo frown and look so angry?" said I.

  "Because the girl's somewhat obstinate, like most o' the sex, an' won'tmarry the man he wants her to. It seems that a chief of some otherisland came on a visit to Tararo and took a fancy to her; but shewouldn't have him on no account, bein' already in love, and engaged to ayoung chief whom Tararo hates, and she kicked up a desperate shindy.So, as he was goin' on a war-expedition in his canoe, he left her tothink about it, sayin' he'd be back in six months or so, when he hopedshe wouldn't be so obstropolous. This happened just a week ago; an'Tararo says that if she's not ready to go, when the chief returns, ashis bride, she'll be sent to him as a _long pig_."

  "As a long pig!" I exclaimed in surprise. "Why, what does he mean bythat?"

  "He means somethin' very unpleasant," answered Bill with a frown. "Yousee, these blackguards eat men an' women just as readily as they eatpigs; and as baked pigs and baked men are very like each other inappearance, they call men _long_ pigs. If Avatea goes to this fellow asa long pig, it's all up with her, poor thing!"

  "Is she on the island now?" I asked eagerly.

  "No; she's at Tararo's island."

  "And where does it lie?"

  "About fifty or sixty miles to the south'ard o' this," returned Bill;"but I--"

  At this moment we were startled by the cry of "mao! mao--a shark! ashark!" which was immediately followed by a shriek that rang clear andfearfully loud above the tumult of cries that arose from the savages inthe water and on the land. We turned hastily towards the directionwhence the cry came, and had just time to observe the glaring eyeballsof one of the swimmers as he tossed his arms in the air. Next instanthe was pulled under the waves. A canoe was instantly launched, and thehand of the drowning man was caught; but only half of his body wasdragged from the maw of the monster, which followed the canoe until thewater became so shallow that it could scarcely swim. The crest of thenext billow was tinged with red as it rolled towards the shore.

  In most countries of the world this would have made a deep impression onthe spectators; but the only effect it had upon these islanders was tomake them hurry with all speed out of the sea, lest a similar fateshould befall some of the others. But so utterly reckless were they ofhuman life that it did not for a moment suspend the progress of theiramusements. It is true the surf-swimming ended for that time somewhatabruptly, but they immediately proceeded with other games. Bill told methat sharks do not often attack the surf-swimmers, being frightened awayby the immense numbers of men and boys in the water, and by the shoutingand splashing that they make. "But," said he, "such a thing as you haveseen just now don't frighten them much. They'll be at it againto-morrow or next day, just as if there wasn't a single shark betweenFeejee and Nova Zembla."

  After this the natives had a series of wrestling and boxing matches; andbeing men of immense size and muscle, they did a good deal of injury toeach other, especially in boxing, in which not only the lower orders butseveral of the chiefs and priests engaged. Each bout was very quicklyterminated; for they did not pretend to a scientific knowledge of theart, and wasted, no time in sparring, but hit straight out at eachother's heads, and their blows were delivered with great force.Frequently one of the combatants was knocked down with a single blow,and one gigantic fellow hit his adversary so severely that he drove theskin entirely off his forehead. This feat was hailed with immenseapplause by the spectators.

  During these exhibitions, which were very painful to me, though Iconfess I could not refrain from beholding them, I was struck with thebeauty of many of the figures and designs that were tattooed on thepersons of the chiefs and principal men. One figure, that seemed to mevery elegant, was that of a palm-tree tattooed on the back of a man'sleg, the roots rising, as it were, from under his heel, the stemascending the tendon of the ankle, and the graceful head branching outupon the calf. I afterwards learned that this process of tattooing isvery painful, and takes long to do, commencing at the age of ten, andbeing continued at intervals up to the age of thirty. It is done bymeans of an instrument made of bone, with a number of sharp teeth, withwhich the skin is punctured. Into these punctures a preparation madefrom the kernel of the candle-nut, mixed with cocoa-nut oil, is rubbed,and the mark thus made is indelible. The operation is performed by aclass of men whose profession it is, and they tattoo as much at a timeas the person on whom they are operating can bear, which is not much,the pain and inflammation caused by tattooing being very great--sometimes causing death. Some of the chiefs were tattooed with anornamental stripe down the legs, which gave them the appearance of beingclad in tights; others had marks round the ankles and insteps, whichlooked like tight-fitting and elegant boots. Their faces were alsotattooed, and their breasts were very profusely marked with everyimaginable species of device--muskets, dogs, birds, pigs, clubs, andcanoes, intermingled with lozenges, squares, circles, and otherarbitrary figures.

  The women were not tattooed so much as the men, having only a few markson their feet and arms. But I must say, however objectionable thisstrange practice may be, it nevertheless had this good effect--that ittook away very much from their appearance of nakedness.

  Next day, while we were returning from the woods to our schooner, weobserved Romata rushing about in the neighbourhood of his house,apparently mad with passion.

  "Ah!" said Bill to me, "there he's at his old tricks again. That's hisway when he gets drink. The natives make a sort of drink o' their own,and it makes him bad enough; but when he gets brandy he's like a wildtiger. The captain, I suppose, has given him a bottle, as usual, tokeep him in good-humour. After drinkin' he usually goes to sleep, andthe people know it well, and keep out of his way for fear they shouldwaken him. Even the babies are taken out of earshot; for when he'swaked up he rushes out, just as you see him now, and spears or clubs thefirst person he meets."

  It seemed at the present time, however, that no deadly weapon had beenin his way, for the infuriated chief was raging about without one.Suddenly he caught sight of an unfortunate man who was trying to concealhimself behind a tree. Rushing towards him, Romata struck him aterrible blow on the head, which knocked out the poor man's eye and alsodislocated the chief's finger. The wretched creature offered noresistance; he did not even attempt to parry the blow. Indeed, fromwhat Bill said, I found that he might consider himself lucky in havingescaped with his life, which would certainly have been forfeited had thechief been possessed of a club at the time.

  "Have these wretched creatures no law among themselves," said I, "whichcan restrain such wickedness?"

  "None," replied Bill. "The chief's word is law. He might kill and eata dozen of his own subjects any day for nothing more than his ownpleasure, and nobody would take the least notice of it."

  This ferocious deed took place within sight of our party as we wendedour way to the beach, but I could not observe any other expression onthe faces of the men than that of total indifference or contempt. Itseemed to me a very awful thing that it should be possible for men tocome to such hardness of heart and callousness to the sight of bloodshedand violence; but, indeed, I began to find that such constant exposureto scenes of blood was having a slight effect upon myself, and Ishuddered when I came to think that I too was becoming callous.

  I th
ought upon this subject much that night while I walked up and downthe deck during my hours of watch, and I came to the conclusion that ifI, who hated, abhorred, and detested such bloody deeds as I hadwitnessed within the last few weeks, could so soon come to be lesssensitive about them, how little wonder that these poor, ignorantsavages, who were born and bred in familiarity therewith, should thinknothing of them at all, and should hold human life in so very slightesteem!