CHAPTER VIII.
NUKUHEVA.
We set sail from Banks's Bay October 2, in company with the _EssexJunior_ and our prizes, but the latter were such slow sailers ascompared with the frigate that we did not make the group of theMarquesas until the 23d, when we ran here and there seeking such aharbor as would admit of our performing the work the captain counted ondoing.
Not until four days more had passed did we find that which seemed tosuit us in every particular, and then the fleet came to anchor in a finebay at the island of Nukuheva.
Now a word in regard to the spelling of the island's name. My cousin,Lieutenant McKnight, gave it as set down above; but I have since seen itwritten "Nooaheevah," and "Noukahiva," therefore the reader, if it sochances that any one ever reads what has cost me so much time to setdown, may take his choice of the names. I believe, however, that itshould be written Nukuheva, because my cousin, the lieutenant, told meso.
And now, before I relate anything concerning our visit to this island,which proved to be so full of adventure, I ask permission to copy herethat which I read many years afterward, and this I do because it wouldbe impossible otherwise to describe the beautiful place--the mostbeautiful I have ever seen.
That which follows was written by a sailor[1] who spent many months onthe island, and was fortunate in being able to describe in a mostentertaining manner everything he saw, which is by long odds more than Ican do.
"The cluster comprising the islands of Roohka, Ropo, and Nukuheva werealtogether unknown to the world until the year 1791, when they werediscovered by Captain Ingraham of Boston, nearly two centuries after thediscovery of the adjacent islands by the agent of the Spanish viceroy.
"Nukuheva is the most important of these islands, being the only one atwhich ships are much in the habit of touching, and is celebrated asbeing the place where the adventurous Captain Porter refitted his shipsduring the late war between England and the United States, and whencehe sallied out upon the large whaling fleet then sailing under theenemy's flag in the surrounding seas. This island is about twenty milesin length and nearly as many in breadth. It has three good harbors onits coast; the largest and best of which is called by the people livingin its vicinity, 'Tyohee,' and by Captain Porter was denominatedMassachusetts Bay. Among the adverse tribes dwelling about the shores ofthe other bays, and by all voyagers, it is generally known by the namebestowed upon the island itself--Nukuheva.
"In the bay of Nukuheva was the anchorage we desired to reach. We hadperceived the loom of the mountains about sunset; so that after runningall night with a very light breeze, we found ourselves close in with theisland the next morning; but as the bay we sought lay on its fartherside, we were obliged to sail some distance along the shore, catching,as we proceeded, short glimpses of blooming valleys, deep glens,waterfalls, and waving groves, hidden here and there by projecting androcky headlands, every moment opening to the view some new and startlingscene of beauty.
"Those who for the first time visit the South Seas, generally aresurprised at the appearance of the islands when beheld from the sea.From the vague accounts we sometimes have of their beauty, many peopleare apt to picture to themselves enamelled and softly swelling plains,shaded over with delicious groves, and watered by purling brooks, andthe entire country but little elevated above the surrounding ocean. Thereality is very different; bold rock-bound coasts with the surf beatinghigh against the lofty cliffs, and broken here and there into deepinlets which open to the view thickly wooded valleys separated by thespurs of mountains clothed with tufted grass, and sweeping down towardthe sea from an elevated and furrowed interior, form the principalfeatures of these islands.
"... As we slowly advanced up the bay, numerous canoes pushed off fromthe surrounding shores, and we were soon in the midst of quite aflotilla of them, their savage occupants struggling to get aboard of us,and jostling one another in their ineffectual attempts.
"Occasionally the projecting outriggers of their slight shallops,running foul of one another, would become entangled beneath the water,threatening to capsize the canoes, when a scene of confusion would ensuethat baffles description. Such strange outcries and passionategesticulations I never certainly heard or saw before. You would havethought the islanders were on the point of flying at one another'sthroats, whereas they were only amicably engaged in disentangling theirboats.
"Scattered here and there among the canoes might be seen numbers ofcocoanuts floating closely together in circular groups, and bobbing upand down with every wave. By some inexplicable means these cocoanutswere all steadily approaching toward the ship. As I leaned curiouslyover the side, endeavoring to solve their mysterious movements, one massfar in advance of the rest attracted my attention. In its centre wassomething I could take for nothing less than a cocoanut, but which Icertainly considered one of the most extraordinary specimens of thefruit I had ever seen. It kept twirling and dancing about among the restin the most singular manner, and as it grew nearer I thought it bore aremarkable resemblance to the brown shaven skull of one of the savages.Presently it betrayed a pair of eyes, and soon I became aware that whatI had supposed to have been one of the fruit was nothing else than thehead of an Islander, who had adopted this singular method of bringinghis produce to market. The cocoanuts were all attached to one another bystrips of the husk, partly torn from the shell and rudely fashionedtogether. Their proprietor, inserting his head into the midst of them,impelled his necklace of cocoanuts through the water by striking outbeneath the surface with his feet.
"... We had approached within a mile and a half, perhaps, of the foot ofthe bay, when some of the islanders, who by this time had managed toscramble aboard of us at the risk of swamping their canoes, directed ourattention to a singular commotion in the water ahead of the vessel. Atfirst I imagined it to be produced by a shoal of fish sporting on thesurface, but our savage friends assured us that it was caused by a shoalof 'whinhenies' (young girls), who in this manner were coming off fromthe shore to welcome us. As they drew nearer, and I watched the risingand sinking of their forms, and beheld the uplifted right arm bearingabove the water the girdle of tappa, and their long dark hair trailingbehind them as they swam, I almost fancied they could be nothing elsethan so many mermaids--and very like mermaids they behaved too....
"The bay of Nukuheva in which we were then lying is an expanse of waternot unlike in figure the space included within the limits of ahorseshoe. It is, perhaps, nine miles in circumference. You approach itfrom the sea by a narrow entrance, flanked on either side by two smalltwin islets which soar conically to the height of some five hundredfeet. From these the shore recedes on both hands, and describes a deepsemicircle.
"From the verge of the water the land rises uniformly on all sides, withgreen and sloping acclivities, until from gentle rolling hillsides andmoderate elevations it insensibly swells into lofty and majesticheights, whose blue outlines, ranged all around, close in the view. Thebeautiful aspect of the shore is heightened by deep and romantic glens,which come down to it at almost equal distances, all apparentlyradiating from a common centre, and the upper extremities of which arelost to the eye beneath the shadow of the mountains. Down each of theselittle valleys flows a clear stream, here and there assuming the form ofa slender cascade, then stealing invisibly along until it bursts uponthe sight again in larger and more noisy waterfalls, and at lastdemurely wanders along to the sea.
"The houses of the natives, constructed of the yellow bamboo, tastefullytwisted together in a kind of wickerwork, and thatched with the longtapering leaves of the palmetto, are scattered irregularly along thesevalleys beneath the shady branches of the cocoanut tree.
"Nothing can exceed the imposing scenery of this bay. Viewed from ourship as she lay at anchor in the middle of the harbor, it presented theappearance of a vast natural amphitheatre in decay, and overgrown withvines, the deep glens that furrowed its sides appearing like enormousfissures caused by the ravages of time. Very often when lost inadmiration of its beauty, I have experienc
ed a pang of regret that ascene so enchanting should be hidden from the world in these remoteseas, and seldom meet the eyes of devoted lovers of nature.
"Besides this bay the shores of the island are indented by several otherextensive inlets, into which descend broad and verdant valleys. Theseare inhabited by as many different kinds of savages, who, althoughspeaking kindred dialects of a common language, and having the samereligion and laws, have from time immemorial waged hereditary warfareagainst each other. The intervening mountains, generally two or threethousand feet above the level of the sea, geographically define theterritories of each of these hostile tribes who never cross them, saveon some expedition of war or plunder. Immediately adjacent to Nukuheva,and only separated from it by the mountains seen from the harbor, liesthe lovely valley of Happar, whose inmates cherish the most friendlyrelations with the inhabitants of Nukuheva. On the other side ofHappar, and closely adjoining it, is the magnificent valley of thedreaded Typees, the unappeasable enemies of both these tribes.
"These celebrated warriors appear to inspire the other islanders withunspeakable terrors. Their very name is a frightful one; for the word'Typee' in the Marquesan dialect signifies a lover of human flesh.
"It is rather singular that the title should have been bestowed uponthem exclusively, inasmuch as the natives of all this group areirreclaimable cannibals. The name may, perhaps, have been given todenote the powerful ferocity of this clan, and to convey a specialstigma along with it.
"These same Typees enjoy a prodigious notoriety all over the islands.The natives of Nukuheva would frequently recount in pantomime to ourship's company their terrible feats, and would show the marks of woundsthey had received in desperate encounters with them. When ashore theywould try to frighten us by pointing to one of their own number, andcalling him a 'Typee,' manifesting no little surprise that we did nottake to our heels at so terrible an announcement. It was quite amusing,too, to see with what earnestness they disclaimed all cannibalpropensities on their own part, while they denounced their enemies--theTypees--as inveterate gormandizers of human flesh....
"Although I was convinced that the inhabitants of our bay were as arrantcannibals as any of the other tribes on the island, still I could notbut feel a particular and most unqualified repugnance to the aforesaidTypees. Even before visiting the Marquesas, I had heard from men who hadtouched at the group on former voyages, some revolting stories inconnection with these savages; and fresh in my remembrance was theadventure of the master of the _Katherine_, who only a few monthsprevious, imprudently venturing into this bay in an armed boat for thepurpose of barter, was seized by the natives, carried back a littledistance into their valley, and was only saved from a cruel death by theintervention of a young girl, who facilitated his escape by night alongthe beach to Nukuheva.
"I have heard too of an English vessel that many years ago, after aweary cruise, sought to enter the bay of Nukuheva, and arriving withintwo or three miles of the land, was met by a large canoe filled withnatives, who offered to lead the way to the place of their destination.The captain, unacquainted with the localities of the island, joyfullyacceded to the proposition--the canoe paddled on and the ship followed.She was soon conducted to a beautiful inlet, and dropped her anchor inits waters beneath the shadows of the lofty shore. That same night theperfidious Typees, who had thus inveigled her into their fatal bay,flocked aboard the doomed vessel by hundreds, and at a given signalmurdered every soul on board."
After reading the description which I have copied word for word, it ispossible to have a good idea concerning that harbor into which our fleetsailed, all hands knowing full well that here we might remain securealike from the elements and Britishers, so long as it should please usto stay.
In addition, we were free from any fears regarding what the nativesmight attempt to do, partly owing to our strength, but chiefly becausethe first person to greet us was neither more nor less than a member ofthe American navy.
Fancy meeting a Yankee gentleman in this out-of-the-way place whoseinhabitants were credited with being the most ferocious of cannibals,eager to devour anything in the way of human flesh that crossed theirpath!
The natives came out in boats to meet us exactly as is set down in thatwhich I have copied; but all hands gave way to a canoe in which we sawone of our own countrymen.
He came over the side, spoke a few words with Lieutenant McKnight, whoimmediately treated him with the greatest consideration, and thenintroduced the stranger to our captain.
It can well be supposed that every man jack of our crew stood by inopen-mouthed astonishment at seeing this white man come aboard as if hefelt himself at home in the Marquesas group; but we were forced toremain in ignorance until that evening, when one of the marinesunravelled the yarn which at first had seemed too strange to us.
Our visitor was Mr. John Maury, a midshipman of the navy, who, withthree sailors, had been left in this harbor by the captain of anAmerican merchantman, himself a lieutenant in the service, to gathersandalwood while the ship was gone to China. Now that he heard of thewar for the first time, and believed his captain would not dare come tofetch him away, the midshipman proposed to Captain Porter that he andhis companions join our frigate; a proposition which was quicklyaccepted. A little later that evening the three sailors came on board,and mighty good shipmates did they prove to be.
These last told us of the gun-deck that a fierce war was raging betweenthe Typees over the mountains and the Happars who dwelt along the shoreof the bay, and most likely it would be necessary for us to take part init against the Typees if we counted on being allowed to remainunmolested while the repairs were being made to our ships.
This did not cause us very much uneasiness, however, and Master Hackettbut echoed the thought in the minds of all when he said to thenewcomers:--
"Seein's how we've driven the Britishers out of the Pacific Ocean, so tospeak, I reckon it won't be any very hard job to wipe up the earth witha lot of niggers that ain't supposed to know the muzzle of a musket fromthe stock."
The new sailors made no reply to this rather bold remark, and I fanciedfrom the expression on their faces that they did not believe we wouldfind it very easy work to do the "wiping," even though the Typees wereignorant as to the use of a musket.
These jolly fellows also told us another yarn which caused somesurprise, and led us to wonder whether we might not find more of ourcountrymen on the island.
According to the story which they had heard from the Happars, a smallschooner had gone ashore further up the coast, and at least one of hercrew was yet living with the Typees, which went to prove, according tomy way of thinking, that these natives were not quite the cannibalsthey had been represented; although Phil suggested that the man, toolean for good eating, was thus being kept until he had gathered fatenough for the roasting.
However, we gave but little heed to the story, because in the firstplace, none of our visitors had seen the man, and secondly, owing to thefact that the natives might easily have been mistaken.
Perhaps it would have been better for Phil and me had we paid moreattention to the yarn and kept it well in mind.
Next morning when the captain and two of the lieutenants went on shore,Mr. Maury accompanied them. He, having learned the language, was to actas interpreter, which assistance, so all hands believed, would help usalong in great shape.
It was owing to my cousin, Lieutenant McKnight, that Phil and I had anopportunity of seeing the landing, which was a rare sight, I assure you.
When the boat's crew was called away Stephen motioned for us two lads totake our places in the boat, and since each of us pulled an oar, it isdoubtful if the captain knew that we were out of place.
The natives had been swimming around our ship since early daylight,passing up fruit and flowers until the gun-deck of the _Essex_ had muchthe appearance of a country fair-ground; and now when the captain wasrowed ashore they followed our boat, tossing and tumbling in the waterlike a lot of seals, or, perhaps, mermaids, though I'm no
t just certainhow these last would act under the same circumstances.
Well, the natives gave Captain Porter a fine reception,--though perhapsthey would have made him into a stew but for the fact that they wereneeding help in their war,--and, later in the day, we learned by way ofthe marines that our commander had agreed to do whatever he might to endthe war.
As we were situated he couldn't have done less than agree to this, soour old sea lawyers declared after a tremendous lot of jawing; forunless the natives were willing to help us with the repairs and keep thepeace, Nukuheva harbor was no place for us.
During the afternoon one watch from each ship was given shore leave, andevery Happar who owned a house set out his best in the way of a feastfor the frolicsome sailors.
We were given quarts and quarts of peoo-peoo, which looks exactly likethick flour paste and tastes like a nice stew, and in the eating of itwe made fun enough for the natives to keep them laughing half alife-time. It seems, as we learned afterward, that the people sticktheir finger into the stuff, twist it around a bit, and manage to hookup a portion as large as a walnut; but there's considerable of a knackin that kind of work, as we soon learned to our cost.
Master Hackett, Phil, and I, the guests of an old native who was coveredwith tattooing till his body looked like a piece of calico, contrived tocover our hands and face with the sticky stuff; and if the old woman whoappeared to be our host's wife had not swabbed us off with a mop, wewould have been glued fast to whatever we touched.
We were also treated to the milk of young cocoanuts, which comesprecious near being the best drink you ever tasted, and fruit of allkinds, which would have been received with more show of gratitude butfor the fact that the gun-deck of the _Essex_ was literally lumbered upwith such stuff.
Describe what we saw and did that afternoon? It's beyond me entirely,and I must give over the attempt by saying that it was the queerest andquite the most enjoyable half day I ever spent. Of course we couldn't doany chinning with the natives; but we looked at them and laughed, andthey looked at us laughing still harder, until we managed to get thesame idea they probably did, that the whole boiling of us were firmfriends forever.
I wish you could have seen those boys and girls swim! They were like somany ducks in the water, and spent the greater portion of their time,when there was no company at home, drifting around the bay with, so faras Phil and I could make out, no effort whatever to keep themselvesafloat.
Next morning the other watch was given shore leave, and meanwhile ourofficers were making preparations for the war which must be foughtbefore we could set about getting the fleet into trim for another rubwith the Britishers.
There was more than one man on our gun-deck who began to believe, nowthere was no question but we should have a scrimmage ashore, that it wasrisky for our captain to take any part in the quarrel, and the argumentthey put forth was a good one, as even Master Hackett was forced toadmit.
In the first place we were so few in numbers that not a single vessel inthe fleet was fully manned, and there would be no opportunity to enlistothers to make up a crew. Every man killed or disabled would weaken ourforce just so much when we met the British ships of war, and suchchances as these we had no right to take.
In the second place our jackies understood nothing about fighting onland, particularly in such a wild country as we saw before us. Thenatives might not be overly well armed; but we knew for a fact that theypossessed weapons of some kind and could use them to good advantage.
"How much show would an old shellback who must depend upon a cutlass ora boarding pike, stand against these black fellows in a bit of woods sothick that you couldn't swing a cat?" one of the men asked, and MasterHackett replied sharply:--
"We've muskets enough to arm all hands, an' I allow that you've gotsense enough to pull the trigger after the piece has been loaded, eh?"
"I can do that much all right, matey; but what about the rest of it.While I'm mixed up with a lot of bushes tryin' to reload, how am I tokeep the villains from comin' to close quarters where I'm outclassed?"
"If you're goin' to pick up sich imaginin's as that, I reckon youwouldn't be fit timber for a shore fight; but I'd hate to say I was aYankee, an' didn't dare to stand up in front of these heathen."
"I'm willin' enough to stand up pervidin' I can find out what it allamounts to. We're mixin' in this 'ere row without gettin' any benefitfrom it."
"We shall have the use of the bay while we're refittin', an' won'tstand in danger of bein' knocked over by a dirty heathen and a club."
"There's plenty of islands about here with bays as big as we need, an'no bloomin' war on hand," the old barnacle said in a surly tone,whereupon Master Hackett jumped upon him, so to speak:--
"How do you know that? Have you been knockin' 'round these seas so manyyears that you can call to mind every hole and corner? If three whitemen can live here a matter of ten months, as we know has been the case,why isn't it the choice island of the whole group for us?"
"I ain't kickin' about the island; it's the war that sticks in my crop."
"Let it stick there then," Master Hackett growled. "Send word aft thatyou've got a rush of light-colored blood to the head, an' ain't fit tobe trusted ashore. I reckon the captain will let you off without makin'much of a fuss."
"See here, Hiram Hackett, you're too free with your tongue, an' that'sno lie either. When I try to get out of a scrimmage, jest let me know,an' I'll make you a present of the best pair of black eyes you everwore. I reckon a man can have his growl without it bein' told all overthe ship that he's gettin' weak in the upper story, eh?"
This last remark brought the squabble to a close, and each man appearedto think that he had come off at the top of the heap, when, according tomy idea, they ended in the same place they began.
Phil and I did a good bit of thinking and arguing over this new war inwhich we were to take part; but we were mighty careful not to speak ofit where any sailorman might hear us, and in the meantime we watched andtook part in the preparations.
On the third day after our arrival a crowd of Typees appeared on thecrests of the mountains, brandishing spears and clubs as if they countedon killing and eating us in short order.
One of the marines told us of the gun-deck that Captain Porter had sentword to the Typees that he had force enough to take possession of theisland, and if they didn't mind their eyes and keep peaceable, he'dsettle the hash of the whole tribe before their chief could so much assay, scat! I didn't believe the yarn, however, for if all that Mr.Maury's sailormen had told us was true, where did the captain find amessenger to carry his threats?
Phil and I had supposed, from the preparations which were being made,and the talk we had heard, that we'd begin our share of the war beforework was commenced on the vessels; but this we soon learned was amistake.
The muskets, cutlasses, and ammunition had been taken out where we mightget at them handily, I suppose, and the boats were fitted up with small2-pounder guns, after which we were set to work on other duties.
Camps, made of spare sails, were set up in a grove a short distance fromthe shore, and the frigate pulled in where we might clean her bottom bydiving, or, what was better still, hire the natives to do it.
Phil and I were detailed for shore duty, and we had a soft snap of it,since our only work was to help the cooks; and while the men weresetting up rigging, scraping spars, or slushing down the masts, weloafed in the cool grove, enjoying ourselves mightily.
We didn't see anything that looked like war, except once in a while whena crowd of Typees came out on the top of the mountain and shook theirclubs at us; but all that was such harmless amusement for them, and didnot interfere with us in the slightest, that we came to think of thepromise to the natives as something already forgotten.
Now and again we would hear of the white man who was with the Typees,evidently enjoying himself, and more than one of our crew seemed tothink it was the captain's duty to go in search of him; but nothing wasdone in that line, and meanwhile
the work on the fleet was progressingin great shape.
All the ships had been cleaned of the marine growth which prevented themfrom sailing at their best speed, and on each a fair share of other workhad been done.
Captain Porter had given out that the name of the bay was to be"Massachusetts" instead of Nukuheva; but otherwise than that, and thefact that we had grown fast friends with the natives, particularly thegirls and young fellows, all was as when we first arrived.
Then came the day when we found that our commander meant all hepromised, so far as taking a hand in the war was concerned.
The Typees, having danced and shaken their clubs without beingdisturbed, probably came to believe that we wouldn't attempt to do themany harm if they cut capers with the Happars, so they began operationsby coming into the valley one dark night, tearing down houses, tramplingover gardens, and killing bread-fruit trees.
The scoundrels did a big lot of mischief, and having grown bolder byaction, even had the cheek to send a messenger to Captain Porter withthe announcement that he was a coward who didn't dare come on themountains.
Master Hackett was near by when the Typee boy arrived, and heard Mr.Maury translate the message. This is the old sailor's story:--
"The captain kept his face straight when the lad begun, and then Mr.Maury tried to back down from repeatin' all that was said; but ourcommander wouldn't have any such sneakin' as that. 'Repeat every word,sir!' he cried, an' the little midshipman went at it lookin' as if hecounted on bein' kicked after it was finished. When all was said, thecaptain sent his message back, which was this: 'Tell him who sent youthat I will be on the mountain before the sun has risen three times, an'then it will be seen which of us is the coward.' The boy went off,though some of the Happars claimed he ought 'er be killed jest for thesake of keepin' their hand in at such work; an' I reckon we'll knowmighty soon what it's like to be standin' up against a lot of niggerswith nothin' but a musket an' a cutlass to help out."
The island war was to be begun, and I felt very uncomfortable in theregion of my spine, for there was good reason to believe I would soonsucceed in proving myself an arrant coward.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] Herman Melville.