AN ADVENTURE IN THE NEW HEBRIDES
More than twenty years ago a fine young Polynesian half-caste, namedAlan, and the writer, were running a small trading cutter out of Samoa,among the low-lying atolls of the Ellice and Tokelau groups, in theSouth Pacific. We had hauled her up on the beach to clean and put a fewsheets of copper on her, when, one day, a big, bronze-faced man cameto us, and asked us if we were open to a charter to Santo in the NewHebrides. After a few minutes' conversation we struck a bargain, theterms of which were to take him, his native wife, three servants, andtwenty tons of trade goods to his trading station on Espiritu Santo inthe New Hebrides, for six hundred dollars. He was an ex-trading skipper,but had given up the sea, married a Hervey Island half-caste, and, aftertrading some years in the Caroline and Marshall groups, had made atrip to the New Hebrides, where he had gone into partnership with aFrenchman, who, like himself, was a sailor man, and had settled down onSanto. Hannah--for that was his name--had then returned to the Carolinesfor his family, and brought them to Samoa, from whence he thought hecould get a passage down to the New Hebrides in one of the two Germanbrigs then engaged in the Kanaka labour trade--'black-birding,' as itwas called. But one, the _Iserbrook_ had been burnt in Sydney Harbour,and the other was away at Valparaiso.
But now arose a difficulty. I was not navigator enough to take thevessel to Santo--a distance of thirteen hundred miles--let alone beather back to Samoa against the south-east trades. This, however, CaptainHannah soon settled. He agreed to navigate us down, and his partnerwould come back with me, as his wife, who was a Samoan woman, wanted topay a visit to her native country, and our vessel would afford her anexcellent opportunity; his own services in bringing the cutter back toSamoa to be 'squared' by free passages for himself and wife.
My partner Alan was quite satisfied. The big man planked down twohundred and fifty dollars on account, and we shook hands all round.Hannah was a quiet, silent sort of fellow, but I knew we should get onall right, for he came down to us next morning with his people, helpedus heave the cutter off the beach, and covered our decks with pigs andpoultry. That afternoon we got our wood and water aboard, and were readyfor sea at daylight.
Alan was a splendid type of a man. Brought up to the sea from hischildhood, he had served some years as a boat-steerer on Americanwhale-ships, then with 'Bully' Hayes as boatswain in the notorious_Rona_ brig; and a finer seaman never walked a deck. He was very proudof the English blood in his veins, and always talking of the exploitsof his father, who had served with the gallant Cochrane in the Chiliannavy. At sea he was a man for emergencies--quick, resolute, resourcefuland sober. On shore, with money in his pocket, he descended to thelevel of the lowest beach-comber, and was always in trouble for thumpingsomebody--generally another half-caste or a policeman. Peace to hisbones! He went to a sailor's death long ago; but the writer of thisnarrative will never forget the dark, handsome face, laughter-filledeyes, and cheery voice of the best shipmate with whom he ever sailed.
We put to sea with a fine breeze, and running between the islands ofUpolu and Savai'i, were out of sight of land by dusk. There were butthirteen persons all told on board--our seven passengers, Alan, fournative sailors, and myself--but we were in no wise crowded for room, forthe hold was used as a sleeping-place by Captain Hannah's wife, her twochildren and three servants. Mats had been spread over the cargo, andthe weather being fine, the hatch was left open from the time we leftSamoa nearly till we reached Santo.
The south-east trade wind held steadily, and the little vessel, beingclean and in fine trim, ran along at a great rate, till, on the sixthday out, when we had just sighted Pentecost Island, one of the NewHebrides group, it died away, and at sunset we were becalmed. All thatnight the air was close and muggy, but towards dawn a faint air camefrom the westward. During the night the strong current had carried us inten or twelve miles nearer to the shore, and at sunrise we were notmore than six miles from the land. Pentecost, from the treachery of itssavage inhabitants, had always borne a bad reputation; and so, as thecutter still continued to drift shorewards, Alan, Captain Hannah andmyself thought it just as well to be prepared for any canoes that mightattempt to cut us off. (As-a matter of fact, however, we need not havebeen under any alarm in this respect, for although the Pentecost nativeswere, and are now, a thoroughly bad lot, as the surveying vessels of theAustralian Squadron know to their cost, they would never attempt to cutoff a vessel unless she were anchored. But no one of we white menknew much of the New Hebrides.) So as we had plenty of arms onboard--Winchesters and Sharp's rifles--We got them in readiness; andvery fortunate it was that we did so.
We drifted steadily along the densely-wooded shores of Pentecost allthat day, the sea as smooth as glass, and the pitch bubbling up in thedecks from the intense heat. Towards sunset, Captain Hannah's wife, whowas lying on the skylight with her youngest child, called out to us thatshe could see a boat or canoe on the starboard beam. Hannah and I atonce got our glasses, and soon made out a boat, pulling five oars,coming towards us from the island, and not more than a couple of milesaway.
As she came nearer, and lifted now and then to the swell, we obtained abetter view, and saw there were six people in her--five pulling and onesteering. They came along very leisurely.
'Shipwrecked people, I imagine,' said Hannah; and then, turning to Alanand myself, he added, with a laugh, 'Perhaps there's a fine big lumpof a ship ashore about here, and you fellows are bound to get some finepickings--might get the ship herself afloat.'
In ten minutes or so a bit of a light air came over the water, andfilled our sails, so we stood over towards the boat, which was nowdrawing close. Presently one of our native sailors hailed us from aloft,and said he could see four or five more men in the boat besides thosewho were pulling; and at the same time she ceased rowing awhile, thenthe oars dipped again, and she came on.
Suddenly Hannah, who was scanning the strange boat very closely, turnedto me quietly and said, 'I don't like the looks of that boat. We hadbetter not let them come alongside. Perhaps they're escapees from NewCaledonia. I thought so at first--they've got the regular "Ile Noustroke." If they try to board we must beat them off, or we may lose theship.'
Realising the danger, we at once called the native hands aft, gave eachman a loaded Sharp's rifle and half a dozen cartridges, and told him tolay it down handy on the deck, and be prepared to use it. Hannah's wifeat once began loading our five Winchester rifles. By this time the boatwas within a hundred yards of the cutter. Whether those in her saw whatwe were doing or not I do not know, but they came on very confidently.
Then, getting up on the rail, I hailed, 'Boat ahoy, there! Don't comeany nearer, or we'll fire into you. What do you want?'
There was a sudden commotion among the rowers, and then Hannah and Alan,coming to the rail, stood beside me with their Winchesters in theirhands. This display had a good effect, for they stopped pulling at once,and the man steering stood up. The moment I got a full view of him andheard him speak, I knew that Hannah was right about the identity of thestrangers.
'We are a ship-a-wreck men,' he called out; 'we wanta water andprovis'.'
'Well, pull abeam or us to windward, but don't come alongside just yet.'
'All right,' was the answer.
The wind was very light, and the boat could have soon overtaken us, butwe felt confident that, with the arms we possessed, we could easily beatthem off if they tried to board. At the same time we were willing togive them some provisions, and such other assistance as lay in ourpower.
After talking the matter over with Hannah, I again hailed the boat, andtold the steersman that he could come aboard, but that the rest of hiscrowd must keep to the boat.
Hauling our jib to windward, we let them range alongside, and thesteersman jumped on deck. During the few minutes that the boat waswaiting, we had a good look at her and her occupants. The former,I could see, was German-built, very long, narrow and heavy, and waslumbered up with a quantity of fresh coco-nuts, yams, taro andother native food
. As for the crew, they were as suspicious and asdesperate-looking a lot of scarecrows as could be imagined.
Some of them were dressed in the heavy woollen garments usually wornby German merchant seamen, but half a dozen of them were wearing theyellow-grey canvas trousers of the New Caledonian convict. As I lookeddown at them Alan pointed out to me the muzzles of three or four shortrifles showing from beneath the edge of a ragged native mat which wasspread over the bottom boards for'ard. They had evidently spent thenight on shore, for some of them, who were wearing cloth caps, had madethemselves peaked sunshades of plaited green coco-nut leaves, which weretied round their heads, native-fashion. Lying amidships was a good-sizedwater-breaker; and one of the gang, a little, hooknosed ruffian, with avillainous face and wearing a filthy print shirt with the tails outsidehis pants, kept tapping it with a piece of wood to show us by the hollowsound that it was empty.
'Pass it up on deck, you monkey-faced swine,' said Alan. 'Why didn't youfill it when you were ashore?'
'We no finda water,' said the leader; 'we looka two, tree day--nofinda, and too many -------- nigger on shore shoota us all the timewitha-bow-anda-arra.'
'Well, you've got some guns there, I see. Couldn't you keep the niggersoff while a couple of you filled the breaker?' I asked. 'And there'splenty of water on Pentecost, I believe.'
He shrugged his shoulders. 'Of what-a good the gun? We no have thecartridge. Perhaps you give some--feefty, twenty, ten, eh?'
Alan, who was a bit of a humorist, answered that we would give him asmany cartridges as he wanted, if he gave us all the rifles he had in theboat in exchange.
A scowl--which he tried to twist into a smile--flitted across his face,and he turned his head away.
Giving the crowd in the boat a long line, we veered them astern, andas the breeze was now freshening, the cutter slipping through thewater pretty fast, and we felt safe, Hannah, Alan and myself turned ourundivided attention to our visitor. He was a tall, squarely-built fellowof about fifty years of age, with a thick stubble of iron-grey beardcovering his cheeks and chin, and his forehead and neck were burnt tothe colour of dark leather by the rays of a tropic sun. He was dressedin a pea-jacket and dungaree pants, but had no boots.
'Sit down,' I said, c and tell us what we can do for you. But take aglass of grog first.'
He drank the liquor eagerly, first bowing to Mrs Hannah and then to usall in turn, and at the same time taking a sweeping glance along thedeck at our crew, who were grouped for'ard. As he raised his hand to hismouth I saw that the back of it was much tattooed.
'Where did you lose your ship?' I asked.
'Astrolaba Reefa,' he answered quickly, 'three hundreda mila tosouth-a-ward.'
'What was her name?'
'The _Airdale_,' he replied glibly. 'Belonga to Liverpool--fine bigaship. We bound to Pam in New Caledonia to load chroma ore, and runashore on dark night. Ship break up very quick'--and then he spun offthe rest of his yarn, and a very plausible one it was, too. The ship,he said, was not injured much at first, and on the following morningthe captain, with the second mate and four hands, had left in one of theboats for Pam to get assistance. The first mate, bos'un and three handswere drowned. After waiting for ten days on the wreck the rest of thecrew took to the long boat, for bad weather came on, and the ship beganto pound on the reef.
'But what are you doing here so far to the northward?' asked Hannah, inhis slow, drawling tones. 'Why didn't you steer for New Caledonia? Youwere only two days' sail to there from Astrolabe Reefs. Now you arethree hundred miles to the north.'
The man was a marvellous liar. Yes, he said, that was true, but 'Godahelp him,' he would 'speaka true.' He and the nine men with him did notwant to go to New Caledonia, and did not want to have anything more todo with the captain, who was a very 'harda' man, and so they had stoodto the northward, meaning to land on one of the New Hebrides.
'What was the captain's name?'
'Smeeth--Captain Johna Smeeth. Belonga to Liverpool.'
'Are you one of the ship's officers?'
'I am carpenter,' he answered promptly. 'I all the time sail in Englishaship.'
'Just so; are you a Frenchman?' asked Hannah, casually.
'No; I come from Barcelon'.'
'Well,' I said, 'I hope you will get along all right in your boat,wherever you go. I'll give you a 50-lb. tin of biscuits, some tinnedmeats, and as much water as you can take.'
He thanked me effusively, and said he would remember me in his prayersto the Virgin, etc.
'Have you a compass?' I asked.
He shrugged his shoulders despairingly. No, they had no compass; the'gooda Goda must be compass' for them.
Mani, Hannah's wife, who was sitting near us, with her youngest child onher lap, apparently taking no heed of our talk, held the infant up andsmiled; and, as if speaking to it, said in Samoan,--
'He lies. I saw a boat compass in the stern sheets of the boat.'
'Well, I'm sorry I can't give you a compass,' I said. 'Alan, pass up atin of biscuit and a case of meat. The breeze is freshening, and we mustget along.'
Then our visitor made an earnest appeal. His boat was leaky, hiscomrades were worn out, yet if we would let them come aboard they would,after a little rest, tow the cutter in a calm, and not trouble us inany way. Then, when we sighted Santo, they would leave us and make forLeper's Island, which was the place they wanted to reach. The nativesthere were very friendly, and there were some white men there.
'No,' I said, 'our vessel is too small for so many people. If you followPentecost along to the north, you will sight Leper's Island as soon asyou round the north point. Now, haul your boat alongside. And here area couple of bottles of brandy for yourself and crew, some matches, and asmall box of tobacco.'
The boat hauled alongside, and our visitor, again thanking us, got in.In a few minutes we saw their leader serving them out a nip; then thenight blotted them from view.
At daylight we were again becalmed and drifting steadily to thenorthward. The boat was not in sight, and the only signs of life visiblearound us were some slender columns of smoke ascending from the nativevillages along the coast, which was less than three miles away. The heatat ten o'clock was intense, and, to add to our discomfort, a heavyswell set in and caused us to roll incessantly. However, we lowered ourmainsail, tried to be philosophical, and waited for a breeze. Towardsfour in the afternoon a sharp rain squall swept down upon us from theland; it lasted barely ten minutes, and was followed by others at shortintervals, and then we knew we were in for a night of it. Whenever oneof these squalls came tearing over the water we made good use of thewind by running before it to the east, so as to get away from the land;but at midnight we found we were still a great deal too close; and thatthe current was very strong, and now setting in-shore very rapidly, wecould tell by the sound of the surf. There was nothing for us but to towoff, for the water was too deep to anchor, even within thirty fathoms ofthe reef. Just as we got the boat over the side there came a tremendousdownpour of rain, and we could only make ourselves heard by shouting toeach other at the top of our voices. This continued for half an hour,and through it all, the boat, with Alan and three hands, continued totow. Suddenly the rain ceased--for about five minutes--only to fallagain with a deafening uproar. At two o'clock it toned down to a mistydrizzle, and we called to Alan to come alongside, as Hannah, two of hisnatives and myself would give him a spell. The rain had beaten the swelldown, but the current was terribly strong, and when the mist lifted abit we saw we were still too close to the reef. After taking a cast ofthe lead, and finding no bottom, Hannah and his two natives and myselftumbled into the boat. We had just about tautened the tow-line whenAlan's voice rang out.
'Boat ahoy! Come back, quick, for God's sake! Here's the Frenchmencoming!'
We backed alongside and jumped on board, just in time; for almost at thesame moment the Frenchmen's boat came up with a rush, and half a dozenmen sprang on to our decks and instantly closed with us. The rest wouldhave followed, but the ever
-ready Mani began firing into their boatwith a Winchester. This kept them off. Had they, too, gained the deck weshould probably have lost the ship. The struggle on board was short butsharp. Hannah, who was possessed of enormous strength, had seized thefirst man who jumped over the rail round his waist, and slung him cleanacross the deck against the port bulwarks, were he lay stunned; and thenwent for the next man, whom he knocked backward into the boat with aterrific blow. Meanwhile, Alan, two native sailors and myself, wheretied up in a knot with three others on the port side. It was so darkthat it was impossible to tell friend from foe at first; and one of ourhands, a Savage Islander, named Puniola, was just about to put a knifeinto me, as he, two of the boarders and myself were struggling together,when by chance he felt the big square buckle of my leather belt andrecognised me. He quickly let go of me, seized one of the convicts bythe throat, and choked him into insensibility, and we soon quietened oneof the other two by the same method. The third man, who was as wiry asan eel and as strong as a horse, fought desperately, knocked two ofus down, and was then himself laid out by Hannah, who had come to ourassistance. Poor Alan, however, had fared badly; for the leader of thegang had half-stunned him with a weapon of some sort, and we found himlying across the cutter's tiller, bleeding profusely from a cut on thehead. His assailant, seeing that the attempt to capture the ship hadfailed, jumped overboard and swam to his boat, which was drifting nearto us in the darkness.
As quickly as possible we got lights and examined the gentry lying abouton the deck. One of them was still unconscious, the rest were prettybadly mauled about in the tussle; and Mani suggested that we had betterdrop them overboard to save further trouble. Her blood was up, and shewas full of fight; but Hannah merely laughed, and told her not to besuch a _pun fia ai_ (tiger cat).
Showing a light, we hailed the Frenchmen's boat, and told them to comealongside again.
'If you don't look smart we'll drop these five men overboard. So hurryup.'
The gentleman from 'Barcelon'--who was certainly possessed of inimitablecheek--after telling us to go to Hades, added that he had but one oarin the boat, the others had gone adrift. So we had to dump our prisonersinto our own boat, and pull out to the other. Then, while Alan and Icovered those in the Frenchmen's boat, Hannah and two hands flung ourprisoners out of our boat into their own. Their leader took matters verycoolly, cursed his returning comrades freely as cowards, and then hadthe face to ask us for some oars.
Then Hannah, who, we now found, spoke French, boiled over. Jumping intothe other boat, he seized the gentleman from Barcelona by the throatwith his left hand and rapidly pounded his face into a pulp with hisright.
Whilst Hannah was taking his satisfaction out of the big man, we strucksome matches and examined the rest of the crowd in the boat. One man, wesaw, was badly wounded, Mani having sent two bullets through his rightshoulder and one through his thigh; another had his cheek cut open, butwhether this was caused by a bullet or not I could not tell. I, beingyoung and green, felt very pitiful and wanted Hannah to bring thebadly-wounded man on board; but he, like a sensible man, said he wouldsee me hanged first, and that we ought to shoot the lot of them.
But, anyway, we gave them three oars, and then pushed clear of theirboat just as another rain squall came seething along.
At dawn we saw them, about two miles abeam of us, pulling slowly intowards Pentecost.
We heard afterwards that they were sighted by the Sydney steamer_Ripple_ Captain Ferguson, off Torres Island, in the Banks Group. Mostprobably they abandoned the idea of stopping at Leper's Island, wherethey would not be safe from recapture by the French cruisers, andwere then making for the Solomons. But that they ever reached there isdoubtful; or, if they did, they were probably eaten by the natives. Theboat, we heard, they had captured from a German vessel loading nickelore at one of north-eastern ports of New Caledonia, and they had thenraided a small settlement on the coast and obtained some arms andprovisions. Long afterwards I was told that their leader was a sailorwho was serving a life sentence for killing his mistress at La Ciotat,in the South of France.
It is quite possible, however, that they may have been picked up byan American whale-ship making northwards to the Moluccas from theNew Zealand ground. In those days there were quite thirty ships stillremaining of the once great American whaling fleet, which traversed thePacific from one end to the other.
Publisher's Note.--The half-caste Alan mentioned in this story is the same 'Alan' who so frequently figures in Mr Becke's tales in _By Reef and Palm_, and his subsequent books.