Nat the Naturalist: A Boy's Adventures in the Eastern Seas

by George Manville Fenn

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

  I FIND THE BLACK WAYS STRANGE.

  We were not very long in getting to the harbour, a snug landlocked covewhere the great prahu in which we had come could lie well protected fromthe rollers. Our passage in was made easy, as the great sails werelowered by the men in a couple of canoes, who paddled out, shouting andsinging, and splashing the water; and then, after ropes had been madefast to their sterns, they paddled away again, drawing us steadilyinshore.

  I began to wonder directly whether these would be anything like thesavages who came to Robinson Crusoe's island; but a moment's reflectiontold me that Juan Fernandez was supposed to be his island, and that wason the other side of the world.

  "Well, Nat, what do you think of our visitors?" said my uncle, as Ileaned over the prow of our vessel and watched the men in the canoe.

  "I was thinking, uncle, that it can't cost them much for clothes," Isaid, laughing.

  "No, Nat," he replied, joining in my mirth; "but do you see howdifferent they are to our sailors here?"

  "Yes, they are blacker, uncle, and have different shaped noses, andtheir hair curls instead of being straight."

  "Good!" he exclaimed; "that's the way to become a naturalist. Observeeverything. You are quite right; we are going to leave one race of mennow, Nat, the Malays, to travel amongst the Papuans, a people who arewonderfully different in every way."

  I felt a little nervous at first on going ashore, for we were surroundedby quite a crowd of fierce-looking blacks, all chattering,gesticulating, and pressing on us in their eagerness to get close up,but I soon found that it was only excitement and delight at seeing usamong them, and that they wanted to barter ornaments and shells, fortobacco and sugar, or knives.

  They were just like children, and though, had they been so disposed,they could have overpowered us and taken possession of everything wepossessed in an instant, nothing seemed farther from their thoughts.

  The captain of the prahu came ashore with us, and we explained to one ofthe chief men that we wanted to have a hut on shore and stay with themfor a time, and his countenance expanded into a broad grin of pleasure,one which seemed to increase as we both shook hands with him, and unclegave him a handful of tobacco, and I a small common one-bladed knife.

  He looked at both in turn, and then seemed puzzled as to what he oughtto give us in exchange, while, when he was made to understand that theywere presents and nothing was wanted back, he attached himself to us,and very soon we found ourselves the possessors of a very dark, littlewell-thatched hut, with no windows, and nothing to close the door, butit answered our purpose in giving us shelter, and to it the chiefwillingly helped with a couple of dozen of his men, in getting ourchests, boxes, and stores.

  The next thing was to find a place for our boat, which was towed ashorebehind a canoe; and on the chief understanding the want, he very soonpointed out to us a shady nook where it could be run ashore and beachedin safety, away from the waves, he helping himself to make the rope fastto a large cocoa-nut tree.

  This done, the chief walked, or rather strutted, round our boat, andlooked under it, over it, and about it in all directions, makinggrimaces expressive of his disgust, and ending by kicking its sides andmaking derisive gestures, to show that he thought it a very poor boatindeed.

  The prahu was going away the next day, so a busy scene of trading wenton till night, when the captain sought us out, and in his broken Englishenquired very earnestly whether we had landed everything, includingsundry stores which my Uncle Dick had purchased of the Scotch merchantsat Singapore, they being able to tell him what was most likely to findfavour amongst the savages with whom we should have to deal.

  In answer to a question, the Malay captain assured us that we might feelquite safe amongst the Ke islanders, and also with those in the Aru andneighbouring isles; but he said that he would not trust the men of NewGuinea, unless it was in a place where they had never seen white menbefore.

  He promised to be on the look-out for us as he was trading to and froduring the next year or two, for my uncle assured him that we should beabout that time among the islands, and with the promise to meet us herein a year's time if we did not meet before, and to come from Singaporeprovided with plenty of powder and shot for our use, and ready to takeback any cases of specimens we might have ready, he parted from us withthe grave courtesy of a Mohammedan gentleman. The next time we saw himwas in the morning, as he waved his scarlet headkerchief to us from thedeck of his prahu, which was floating away on the current, there beingbarely wind enough to fill the sails.

  Some very beautifully shaped canoes filled with the naked blackislanders paddled out for some little distance beside the prahu, singingand shouting, and splashing the sea into foam with their paddles, makingit sparkle like diamonds in the glorious morning sunshine.

  But after a while my uncle and I, in spite of the delightful sensationof being ashore in such a glorious climate, began to feel so very humanthat we set to and made a fire; then I fetched water from a spring inthe rock that ran over in a cascade towards the sea, and after riggingup three pieces of bamboo, gypsy fashion, the kettle soon began to sing,the coffee was measured out, a box dragged outside the hut door to actas a table, and just as the canoes approached the shore we began uponbiscuit, a couple of toasted red herrings, of which we got a couple ofboxes at Singapore, and what seemed to me the most delicious cup ofcoffee I had ever tasted.

  "There," uncle said to me at last, "we are regularly launched now, Nat.Those Malays were not savages, but people of law and order. Now we areleft alone in the wilds indeed."

  "Yes, uncle, and here come the black fellows," I said with my mouth fullof biscuit.

  In fact, as soon as they had run their beautiful canoes up on to thesands they were starting in a body to come and look at us; but there wasa loud shout and some gesticulating, and we saw one tall savageflourishing a spear, when they all went off in other directions, whilethe savage with the spear came sidling towards us in a slow, awkwardway, keeping his face turned in the opposite direction, but graduallycoming nearer.

  "I hope he does not mean to throw that spear at us, Nat," said my uncle."Where did the others go?"

  "They seemed to go into the woods there," I said.

  "Humph! And they might get round to the back of our hut," said myuncle, looking rather uneasy. "But we will not show any distrust. Haveyou recognised that chief this morning?"

  "I think this is he, uncle," I said, "but I can't see his face."

  "Well, we will soon see," said my uncle, as we went on with ourbreakfast, and kept on watching the black till he came about fifty yardsaway, apparently searching for something amongst the shrubs and plantswith the handle of his spear.

  "Shout at him, Nat," said my uncle.

  "Eh?"

  The savage must have seen us from the first, but he looked up, thendown, then turned himself and _gazed_ in every direction but that inwhich we were; and I shouted again, but still he would not look our way.

  "He is shamming, Nat, like a very bashful boy," said Uncle Dick. "Hewants us to ask him to breakfast. Hallo! Get my rifle, Nat; I can seea lot of heads in the trees there. No, sit still; they are only boys."

  The savage evidently saw them at the same moment, for he made a rushtowards the dark figures that were stealing from tree trunk to treetrunk, and we saw them dash away directly out of sight, after which thesavage came sidling in our direction again.

  "Hi!" I shouted, as the childish pantomime went on, and the savagestared in all directions as if wonder-stricken at a strange noise cominghe knew not whence, and ending by kneeling down and laying his ear tothe ground.

  "Hi!" I shouted again; but it was of no use, he could not possibly seeeither us, our chest, our fire, or the hut, but kept sidling along,staring in every direction but the right.

  "Go and fetch him, Nat, while I toast another bloater. We'll give himsome breakfast, and it will make him friendly."

  I got up and went off, wondering what Unc
le Joe and Aunt Sophia wouldhave said to see me going to speak to that great spear-armed savage, andfor a moment I wondered what would happen if he attacked me.

  "Uncle Dick would shoot him dead with his rifle," I said to myself byway of comfort, and I walked boldly on.

  Still he would not see me, but kept sidling on till I got close up tohim and gave him a smart spank on his naked shoulder.

  In an instant he had spun round, leaped to a couple of yards away, andpoised his spear as if to hurl. Then, acting his astonishment withgreat cleverness, his angry countenance broke up into a broad smile, heplaced his spear into the hollow of his left arm, and stepped forward toshake hands, chattering away eagerly, though I could not understand aword.

  "Come and have some breakfast," I said, and he chattered again. "Comeand have some breakfast," I shouted; and then to myself: "How stupid Iam! He can't understand."

  So I took him by the arm, and pointed towards where my uncle waswatching us with his rifle leaning against the table; and I knew that hemust have been looking after my safety.

  The savage stared here and there and everywhere, but he could not see myuncle till I dragged him half-way to the fire and pointed again, when heuttered a shout of surprise, as much as to say, "Well, who would havethought of seeing him there!"

  He then walked up with me, grinning pleasantly, shook hands, and lookedastonished as we pointed to the ground for him to sit down.

  He seated himself though, at last, after sticking his spear in the sandyearth, and then watched us both as I spread some salt butter out of apot on a piece of biscuit, and then handed him over some hot coffee,which I made very sweet, while my uncle, after shaking hands, had goneon toasting the bloater upon a stick of bamboo.

  "Don't give him the coffee too hot, Nat," said my uncle. "There, that'sdone, I think."

  "I could drink it myself, uncle," I replied, and we placed the foodbefore our guest, pointing to it, but he kept on shaking his head, andput his hands behind him.

  "Perhaps he thinks it is not good, uncle," I said, after we had severaltimes partaken of our own to set him an example.

  "Or that it is poisoned," said my uncle. "Taste it to show him it isgood, Nat."

  I took up the tin mug of coffee and tasted it twice, then broke a pieceoff the biscuit, put a little of the herring upon it, and ate it, thesavage watching me closely the while.

  Then his face broke into a broad smile once more, and he made believe tohave suddenly comprehended that the food was meant for him, for, takinga good draught of the coffee, he leaped up, tossing his arms on high,and danced round us, shouting with delight for quite a minute before hereseated himself, and ate his breakfast, a good hearty one too,chattering all the while, and not troubling himself in the least that wecould not understand a word.

  "I'm sorry about one thing, Nat," my uncle said. "He would not eat thatfood because he was afraid that it was poisoned."

  "Well, wasn't that right of him, uncle?" I said, "as we are quitestrangers."

  "Yes, my boy; but it teaches us that he knows what poison is, and thatthese savages may make use of it at times."

  Our black guest looked at us intently whenever we spoke, and seemed tobe trying to comprehend what we said, but began to laugh again as soonas he saw that we observed him, ending by jumping up and shaking handsagain, and pointing to the rifle, seizing his spear, holding it up tohis shoulder, and then making a very good imitation of the report withhis mouth.

  He then pointed to a bird flying at a distance, and laughed and noddedhis head several times.

  "That relieves us of a little difficulty, Nat," said my uncle. "TheMalay captain seems to have told him why we have come; but there isanother difficulty still, and that is about leaving our stores."

  "It seems to me, uncle, that what we ought to do first is to learn thelanguage."

  "Yes, Nat, and we must. It would be more useful to us now than yourLatin and French."

  "Yes, uncle, and we shall have to learn it without books. Hallo! what'she going to do?"