According to the natives, this was a kind of royal mail-canoe,carrying a message from the queen to her friends in a distant part ofthe island.
Passing several shady bowers which looked quite inviting, we proposedtouching, and diversifying the monotony of a sea-voyage by a strollashore. So, forcing our canoe among the bushes, behind a decayed palmlying partly in the water, we left the old folks to take a nap in theshade, and gallanted the others among the trees, which were heretrellised with vines and creeping shrubs.
In the early part of the afternoon, we drew near the place to whichthe party were going. It was a solitary house inhabited by four orfive old women, who, when we entered, were gathered in a circle aboutthe mats, eating poee from a cracked calabash. They seemed delightedat seeing our companions, but rather drew up when introduced toourselves. Eyeing us distrustfully, they whispered to know who wewere. The answers they received were not satisfactory; for theytreated us with marked coolness and reserve, and seemed desirous ofbreaking off our acquaintance with the girls. Unwilling, therefore,to stay where our company was disagreeable, we resolved to departwithout even eating a meal.
Informed of this, Marhar-Rarrar and her companions evinced the mostlively concern; and equally unmindful of their former spirits, andthe remonstrances of the old ladies, broke forth into sobs andlamentations which were not to be withstood. We agreed, therefore, totarry until they left for home; which would be at the "Aheharar," orFalling of the Sun; in other words, at sunset.
When the hour arrived, after much leave-taking, we saw them safelyembarked. As the canoe turned a bluff, they seized the paddles fromthe hands of the old men, and waved them silently in the air. Thiswas meant for a touching farewell, as the paddle is only waved thuswhen the parties separating never more expect to meet.
We now continued our journey; and, following the beach, soon came to alevel and lofty overhanging bank, which, planted here and there withtrees, took a broad sweep round a considerable part of the island.
A fine pathway skirted the edge of the bank; and often we paused toadmire the scenery. The evening was still and fair, even for soheavenly a climate; and all round, as far as the eye could reach, wasthe blending blue sky and ocean.
As we went on, the reef-belt still accompanied us; turning as weturned, and thundering its distant bass upon the ear, like theunbroken roar of a cataract. Dashing forever against their coralrampart, the breakers looked, in the distance, like a line of rearingwhite chargers, reined in, tossing their white manes, and bridlingwith foam.
These great natural breakwaters are admirably designed for theprotection of the land. Nearly all the Society Islands are defendedby them. Were the vast swells of the Pacific to break against thesoft alluvial bottoms which in many places border the sea, the soilwould soon be washed away, and the natives be thus deprived of theirmost productive lands. As it is, the banks of no rivulet are firmer.
But the coral barriers answer another purpose. They form all theharbours of this group, including the twenty-four round about theshores of Tahiti. Curiously enough, the openings in the reefs, bywhich alone vessels enter to their anchorage, are invariably oppositethe mouths of running streams: an advantage fully appreciated by themariner who touches for the purpose of watering his ship.
It is said that the fresh water of the land, mixing with the saltsheld in solution by the sea, so acts upon the latter as to resist theformation of the coral; and hence the breaks. Here and there, theseopenings are sentinelled, as it were, by little fairy islets, greenas emerald, and waving with palms. Strangely and beautifullydiversifying the long line of breakers, no objects can strike thefancy more vividly. Pomaree II., with a taste in watering-placestruly Tahitian, selected one of them as a royal retreat. We passed iton our journey.
Omitting several further adventures which befell us after leaving theparty from Loohooloo, we must now hurry on to relate what happenedjust before reaching the place of our destination.
CHAPTER LXXII.
A DEALER IN THE CONTRABAND
IT MUST have been at least the tenth day, reckoning from the Hegira,that we found ourselves the guests of Varvy, an old hermit of anislander who kept house by himself perhaps a couple of leagues fromTaloo.
A stone's-cast from the beach there was a fantastic rock, moss-grownand deep in a dell. It was insulated by a shallow brook, which,dividing its waters, flowed on both sides until united below.Twisting its roots round the rock, a gnarled "Aoa" spread itselfoverhead in a wilderness of foliage; the elastic branch-rootsdepending from the larger boughs insinuating themselves into everycleft, thus forming supports to the parent stem. In some places thesependulous branches, half-grown, had not yet reached the rock;swinging their loose fibrous ends in the air like whiplashes.
Varvy's hut, a mere coop of bamboos, was perched upon a level part ofthe rock, the ridge-pole resting at one end in a crotch of the "Aoa,"and the other propped by a forked bough planted in a fissure.
Notwithstanding our cries as we drew near, the first hint the oldhermit received of our approach was the doctor's stepping up andtouching his shoulder, as he was kneeling over on a stone cleaningfish in the brook. He leaped up, and stared at us. But with a varietyof uncouth gestures, he soon made us welcome; informing us, by thesame means, that he was both deaf and dumb; he then motioned us intohis dwelling.
Going in, we threw ourselves upon an old mat, and peered round. Thesoiled bamboos and calabashes looked so uninviting that the doctorwas for pushing on to Taloo that night, notwithstanding it was nearsunset. But at length we concluded to stay where we were.
After a good deal of bustling outside under a decrepit shed, the oldman made his appearance with our supper. In one hand he held aflickering taper, and in the other, a huge, flat calabash, scantilyfilled with viands. His eyes were dancing in his head, and he lookedfrom the calabash to us, and from us to the calabash, as much as tosay, "Ah, my lads, what do ye think of this, eh? Pretty good cheer,eh?" But the fish and Indian turnip being none of the best, we madebut a sorry meal. While discussing it, the old man tried hard to makehimself understood by signs; most of which were so excessivelyludicrous that we made no doubt he was perpetrating a series ofpantomimic jokes.
The remnants of the feast removed, our host left us for a moment,returning with a calabash of portly dimensions and furnished with along, hooked neck, the mouth of which was stopped with a wooden plug.It was covered with particles of earth, and looked as if just takenfrom some place underground.
With sundry winks and horrible giggles peculiar to the dumb, thevegetable demijohn was now tapped; the old fellow looking roundcautiously, and pointing at it; as much as to intimate that itcontained something which was "taboo," or forbidden.
Aware that intoxicating liquors were strictly prohibited to thenatives, we now watched our entertainer with much interest. Charginga cocoa-nut shell, he tossed it off, and then filling up again,presented the goblet to me. Disliking the smell, I made faces at it;upon which he became highly excited; so much so that a miracle waswrought upon the spot. Snatching the cup from my hands, he shoutedout, "Ah, karhowree sabbee lee-lee ena arva tee maitai!" in otherwords, what a blockhead of a white man! this is the real stuff!
We could not have been more startled had a frog leaped from his mouth.For an instant, he looked confused enough himself; and then placing afinger mysteriously upon his mouth, he contrived to make usunderstand that at times he was subject to a suspension of the powersof speech.
Deeming the phenomenon a remarkable one, every way, the doctor desiredhim to open his mouth so that he might have a look down. But herefused.
This occurrence made us rather suspicious of our host; nor could weafterward account for his conduct, except by supposing that hisfeigning dumbness might in some way or other assist him in thenefarious pursuits in which it afterwards turned out that he wasengaged. This conclusion, however, was not altogether satisfactory.
To oblige him, we at last took a sip of his "arva tee," and found itvery crude, and strong as Lucifer. Curiou
s to know whence it wasobtained, we questioned him; when, lighting up with pleasure, heseized the taper, and led us outside the hut, bidding us follow.
After going some distance through the woods, we came to a dismantledold shed of boughs, apparently abandoned to decay. Underneath,nothing was to be seen but heaps of decaying leaves and an immense,clumsy jar, wide-mouthed, and by some means, rudely hollowed out froma ponderous stone.
Here, for a while, we were left to ourselves; the old man placing thelight in the jar, and then disappearing. He returned, carrying along, large bamboo, and a crotched stick. Throwing these down, hepoked under a pile of rubbish, and brought out a rough block of wood,pierced through and through with a hole, which was immediatelyclapped on the top of the jar. Then planting the crotched stickupright about two yards distant, and making it sustain one end of thebamboo, he inserted the other end of the latter into the hole in theblock: concluding these arrangements by placing an old calabash underthe farther end of the bamboo.
Coming up to us now with a sly, significant look, and pointingadmiringly at his apparatus, he exclaimed, "Ah, karhowree, enahannahanna arva tee!" as much as to say, "This, you see, is the wayit's done."
His contrivance was nothing less than a native still, where hemanufactured his island "poteen." The disarray in which we found itwas probably intentional, as a security against detection. Before weleft the shed, the old fellow toppled the whole concern over, anddragged it away piecemeal.
His disclosing his secret to us thus was characteristic of the "TootaiOwrees," or contemners of the missionaries among the natives; who,presuming that all foreigners are opposed to the ascendancy of themissionaries, take pleasure in making them confidants, whenever theenactments of their rulers are secretly set at nought.
The substance from which the liquor is produced is called "Tee," whichis a large, fibrous root, something like yam, but smaller. In itsgreen state, it is exceedingly acrid; but boiled or baked, has thesweetness of the sugar-cane. After being subjected to the fire,macerated and reduced to a certain stage of fermentation, the "Tee"is stirred up with water, and is then ready for distillation.
On returning to the hut, pipes were introduced; and, after a while,Long Ghost, who, at first, had relished the "Arva Tee" as little asmyself, to my surprise, began to wax sociable over it, with Varvy;and, before long, absolutely got mellow, the old toper keeping himcompany.
It was a curious sight. Everyone knows that, so long as the occasionlasts, there is no stronger bond of sympathy and good feeling amongmen than getting tipsy together. And how earnestly, nay, movingly, abrace of worthies, thus employed, will endeavour to shed light upon,and elucidate their mystical ideas!
Fancy Varvy and the doctor, then, lovingly tippling, and brimming overwith a desire to become better acquainted; the doctor politely bentupon carrying on the conversation in the language of his host, andthe old hermit persisting in trying to talk English. The result wasthat, between the two, they made such a fricassee of vowels andconsonants that it was enough to turn one's brain.
The next morning, on waking, I heard a voice from the tombs. It wasthe doctor solemnly pronouncing himself a dead man. He was sittingup, with both hands clasped over his forehead, and his pale face athousand times paler than ever.
"That infernal stuff has murdered me!" he cried. "Heavens! my head'sall wheels and springs, like the automaton chess-player! What's to bedone, Paul? I'm poisoned."
But, after drinking a herbal draught concocted by our host, and eatinga light meal, at noon, he felt much better; so much so that hedeclared himself ready to continue our journey.
When we came to start, the Yankee's boots were missing; and, after adiligent search, were not to be found. Enraged beyond measure, theirproprietor said that Varvy must have stolen them; but, consideringhis hospitality, I thought this extremely improbable; though to whomelse to impute the theft I knew not. The doctor maintained, however,that one who was capable of drugging an innocent traveller with "ArvaTee" was capable of anything.
But it was in vain that he stormed, and Varvy and I searched; theboots were gone.
Were it not for this mysterious occurrence, and Varvy's detestableliquors, I would here recommend all travellers going round by thebeach to Partoowye to stop at the Rock, and patronize the oldgentleman--the more especially as he entertains gratis.
CHAPTER LXXIII.
OUR RECEPTION IN PARTOOWYE
UPON starting, at last, I flung away my sandals--by this time quiteworn out--with the view of keeping company with the doctor, nowforced to go barefooted. Recovering his spirits in good time, heprotested that boots were a bore after all, and going without themdecidedly manly.
This was said, be it observed, while strolling along over a softcarpet of grass; a little moist, even at midday, from the shade ofthe wood through which we were passing.
Emerging from this we entered upon a blank, sandy tract, upon whichthe sun's rays fairly flashed; making the loose gravel under footwell nigh as hot as the floor of an oven. Such yelling and leaping asthere was in getting over this ground would be hard to surpass. Wecould not have crossed at all--until toward sunset--had it not beenfor a few small, wiry bushes growing here and there, into which weevery now and then thrust our feet to cool. There was no littlejudgment necessary in selecting your bush; for if not chosenjudiciously, the chances were that, on springing forward again, andfinding the next bush so far off that an intermediate cooling wasindispensable, you would have to run hack to your old place again.
Safely passing the Sahara, or Fiery Desert, we soothed ourhalf-blistered feet by a pleasant walk through a meadow of longgrass, which soon brought us in sight of a few straggling houses,sheltered by a grove on the outskirts of the village of Partoowye.
My comrade was for entering the first one we came to; but, on drawingnear, they had so much of an air of pretension, at least for nativedwellings, that I hesitated; thinking they might be the residences ofthe higher chiefs, from whom no very extravagant welcome was to beanticipated.
While standing irresolute, a voice from the nearest house hailed us:"Aramai! aramai, karhowree!" (Come in! come in, strangers!)
We at once entered, and were warmly greeted. The master of the housewas an aristocratic-looking islander, dressed in loose linen drawers,a fine white shirt, and a sash of red silk tied about the waist,after the fashion of the Spaniards in Chili. He came up to us with afree, frank air, and, striking his chest with his hand, introducedhimself as Ereemear Po-Po; or, to render the Christian name back againinto English--Jeremiah Po-Po.
These curious combinations of names among the people of the SocietyIslands originate in the following way. When a native is baptized,his patronymic often gives offence to the missionaries, and theyinsist upon changing to something else whatever is objectionabletherein. So, when Jeremiah came to the font, and gave his name asNarmo-Nana Po-Po (something equivalent to The-Darer-of-Devils-by-Night),the reverend gentleman officiating told him that such a heathenishappellation would never do, and a substitute must be had; at leastfor the devil part of it. Some highly respectable Christianappellations were then submitted, from which the candidate foradmission into the church was at liberty to choose. There was Adamo(Adam), Nooar (Noah), Daveedar (David), Earcobar (James), Eorna (John),Patoora (Peter), Ereemear (Jeremiah), etc. And thus did he come tobe named Jeremiah Po-Po; or, Jeremiah-in-the-Dark--which he certainlywas, I fancy, as to the ridiculousness of his new cognomen.
We gave our names in return; upon which he bade us be seated; and,sitting down himself, asked us a great many questions, in mixedEnglish and Tahitian. After giving some directions to an old man toprepare food, our host's wife, a large, benevolent-looking woman,upwards of forty, also sat down by us. In our soiled andtravel-stained appearance, the good lady seemed to find abundantmatter for commiseration; and all the while kept looking at uspiteously, and making mournful exclamations.
But Jeremiah and his spouse were not the only inmates of the mansion.
In one corner, upon a large na
tive couch, elevated upon posts,reclined a nymph; who, half-veiled in her own long hair, had yet tomake her toilet for the day. She was the daughter of Po-Po; and avery beautiful little daughter she was; not more than fourteen; withthe most delightful shape--like a bud just blown; and large hazeleyes. They called her Loo; a name rather pretty and genteel, andtherefore quite appropriate; for a more genteel and lady-like littledamsel there was not in all Imeeo.
She was a cold and haughty young beauty though, this same little Loo,and never deigned to notice us; further than now and then to let hereyes float over our persons, with an expression of indolentindifference. With the tears of the Loohooloo girls hardly dry fromtheir sobbing upon our shoulders, this contemptuous treatment stungus not a little.
When we first entered, Po-Po was raking smooth the carpet of driedferns which had that morning been newly laid; and now that our mealwas ready, it was spread on a banana leaf, right upon this fragrantfloor. Here we lounged at our ease, eating baked pig and breadfruitoff earthen plates, and using, for the first time in many a longmonth, real knives and forks.
These, as well as other symptoms of refinement, somewhat abated oursurprise at the reserve of the little Loo; her parents, doubtless,were magnates in Partoowye, and she herself was an heiress.
After being informed of our stay in the vale of Martair, they werevery curious to know on what errand we came to Taloo. We merelyhinted that the ship lying in the harbour was the reason of ourcoming.